The Angels Return

by Avengelith

Where do you draw the line between human and angel? Contains ShinjiRei.

6. The Last Angel

Disclaimer: I do not own Neon Genesis Evangelion, or the characters that appear in it, or the basic premises of the show.

Author's Notes: So here it is, Chapter 6 of 'The Angels Return'. This is the longest chapter so far, several thousand words longer than previous chapters. And it's almost entirely battle scenes. Enjoy.

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6. The Last Angel

(Terminal Dogma)

Nara stood barely two meters in front of Xera, his face still completely emotionless, showing no sign of any trepidation at the coming fight.

For her part Xera looked a little uneasy, Seele had mentioned Nara Ayanami only as one of Nerv's pilots, an unexplained anomaly but not a real threat. And yet he stood before her now with dark red eyes watching intently and grey wings extended, showing him to be at least part Angel and a greater threat than predicted. "Should we begin?"

Nara responded without showing any emotion. "It's a little cramp in here don't you think." He raised his right arm and pointed his palm away from his body. "Why don't we widen the playing field?" He fired a huge blast of energy from his palm, sending it straight through the corridor's right wall.

The beam blasted through wall after wall before finally emerging in Terminal Dogma's central chamber, just outside of Heaven's Gate and the LCL Chamber. It blasted two of the stone pillars to the ground before finally dissipating.

Back in the corridor Nara floated off the ground then turned to the giant hole, through which the central chamber was clearly visible. "Follow me, unless you're afraid of course." He flew into the hole and towards the chamber.

Xera hesitated for a moment but then followed him into the hole. She looked at the red circles that adorned her palms. She had hoped the boy wouldn't be capable of such an attack.

(Tokyo-3, Central District)

Unit-01 touched down at the edge of the hole it had made in order to get to the surface, its glowing wings disappearing as quickly as they had appeared. The Eva's own soul had combined with Rei and Shinji's giving the Eva the powers of Adam and Lilith and turning its eyes blood red.

The Eva stood with its head bowed, seemingly unperturbed with the surrounding Angels. It slowly raised its right arm up in front of it, holding its hand slightly slack with the fingers curled but not clenched.

There was a moment of stillness then black beams of light shot out from either side of the Eva's hand, slowly solidifying into a long black staff. The ends of the staff continued to glow for a moment longer than the rest of its bulk and formed into vicious looking black lance heads. When the light finally faded completely Unit-01 was left holding a black, double-ended, Lancea Longini. It opened its mouth and roared. A sound that spread throughout the ruined city.

Instantly all nearby 19th Angels charged towards Unit-01, all nearby 18th Angels raised their arms and fired black energy beams at the Eva and all nearby 20th Angels began to focus their AT fields.

Unit-01 raised the new Lancea Longini above its head. The two lance heads began to glow brightly.

(Nerv, Control Room)

Ritsuko was watching a camera feed at her personal console. It showed Nara standing in front of a silvery haired, silver winged girl in one of the many corridors in Terminal Dogma. On the computer screen Nara raised his hand and fired a huge blast through the corridors wall. Unfortunately the blast and the focused AT field behind it knocked out all the sensors in Terminal Dogma, including the camera feed, triggering the camera to simply replay the last minute of recorded footage. Ritsuko now had no idea what was going on down there.

Maya called out to Ritsuko from across the room. "Sempai, I've got a visual on Unit-01." No sooner had she spoken then she brought the image up on the main view screen.

The image showed Unit-01 standing amongst the Angels in the ruins of Tokyo-3. It was being charged and fired upon by the horde of Angels and yet all it was doing was holding what appeared to be a black, double-ended lance above its head.

Fuyutsuki watched the screen from the observation deck and noticed that the ends of the lance were glowing. He'd been warned about this. He gripped the railing beside him tightly. At his viewing desk Gendo placed his hands flat on the desk's surface.

(Tokyo-3, Central District)

The 19th Angels and 18th Angels' energy beams were now mere meters from Unit-01 and the nearby 20th Angels had launched their AT fields forward at full strength, heedless of the damage caused to some of the lesser Angels. The ends of the black Lancea Longini resembled small stars in their brightness. Tendrils of energy had begun to travel down the length of the weapon's haft, reaching towards each other.

For a moment time seemed to slow and then stop, everything seemed to freeze where it was, the scythe blade arm of one of the 19th Angels stopping mere inches from Unit-01's head, an energy beam freezing a hairsbreadth from the Eva's back. Then the tendrils of energy met.

A raging expanse of black energy shot out from the tendrils' meeting place, engulfing the nearby Angels in nanoseconds. The blast continued to spread, forming into a pitch black hemisphere of death that sped across the ruins of Tokyo-3, the entire central district was absorbed, Angels and buildings alike disappearing into the blackness.

The blast didn't stop there however, it didn't even slow down. It continued to spread, engulfing everything from the central district to the Tokyo-3 outskirts. When it finally stoped expanding, more than two-thirds of the Angel army had been engulfed. The remainder, unwilling to enter the dark expanse, could do nothing but watch and wait.

(Terminal Dogma, Central Chamber)

Nara and Xera now stood in the cavernous central chamber of Terminal Dogma. They each stood on top of one of the many rock pillars that inhabited the chamber, facing each other across the empty expanse.

Xera stood in a slight crouch, ready to launch herself towards Nara. All she was waited for was an opening, a moment of distraction, a lowering of his guard, anything. But Nara just stood there and looked at her, his face betraying nothing.

Xera was about to attack regardless when the chamber shook, a massive tremor that spread across the entire chamber, shaking the stone pillar that Xera stood on and…the stone pillar that Nara stood on.

For an instant Nara turned his attention away from Xera and looked down at his feet. Xera took the opportunity and launched herself off the pillar, smashing it apart with the force of her departure.

As she raced towards Nara she swung her right fist forward, aiming for the boy's chest. She was just about to connect when Nara suddenly turned back to her. A brief look of shock crossed the boy's face but he quickly recovered and brought up both his hands to defend himself. Catching Xera's wrist he stoped both her fist and her forward momentum, her knuckles coming to a halt less than a centimeter from his skin.

Unperturbed Xera swung her left fist around and punched Nara square in the jaw, causing him to stumble slightly to his left. Nara kept his footing however and his hold on her wrist. Bringing up his right leg he kicked her firmly in the abdomen and released her wrist, sending her flying back a couple of meters before she came to a stop, hovering in the air.

Nara brought up his hand and rubbed his jaw. When he brought his hand to his eyes he noticed there was a trace of blood on it. "You neutralised my AT field, impressive." The small bruise that had formed on his jaw disappeared and the blood flow stoped. "But pointless, you'll never be able to cause me any permanent harm." He clenched his right fist and formed a blade. "Unfortunately for you, that doesn't apply both ways."

Xera continued to float in her position slightly in front of and above Nara. "You're not the only one who knows how to manipulate an AT field." She clenched her own right fist and generated a blade as black as Nara's.

Nara jumped backwards of the stone pillar, coming to a stop floating in the air several meters from Xera. He raised his blade in front of him and waited.

Xera smiled slightly. "Let's really begin then shall we."

Both teens launched themselves forward, blades swinging.

(Tokyo-3)

Slowly the black hemisphere diminished, creeping back towards its point of origin. As it collapsed in on itself it slowly faded and disappeared. The destruction left behind was amazing to behold.

The majority of the ground previously covered by the explosion was now a twisted wasteland of warped metal and bloody body parts, blood and gore covering everything in sight. The Angels caught within the blast had been torn apart, none of them left fully intact. The warped metal was all that remained of the buildings.

Among the dead corpses however some Angel parts began to move and grow, drawing other parts to them. Though the vast majority of Angels caught in the explosion had been destroyed a handful had survived and they were now slowly beginning to regenerate.

Near the center of the explosion the destruction was worse. There nothing had been left behind, Angels and buildings alike completely incinerated by the raging energies. The ground had been churned up, leaving a ring of loose dust and dirt. Here the ground began to slope down gently towards the explosion's center.

At the center of the explosion was a gaping hole. The sheer amount of force released here had blasted straight through to the Geo-Front, opening the massive underground cavern to the outside world. The ground and everything on it had been annihilated.

At the very center of the explosion floated Unit-01, seemingly unscathed by its own attack. Its glowing wings were fully extended and it had lowered its weapon, now holding the titanic Lancea by its side. Its head was once again bowed.

Those Angels who had escaped the explosion stood at the edge of the wasteland, noticeable wary to enter, fearing another attack from Unit-01. The engineered Angels were not extremely intelligent but they were sentient and capable of independent thoughts and emotions, including fear.

Unit-01 slowly raised its head and surveyed the destruction around it. Inside its fused soul considered. The attack had been a success but Unit-01 was now low on energy, too low to attempt such an attack again. It would be hours before another Anti-AT field attack could be generated and that was time Unit-01 did not have. Still with the double-ended Lancea Longini it was more than capable of defending itself against the remaining Angels, its only concern was how many Angels might manage to slip past it and into the gaping hole it had created, allowing them instant access to the Geo-Front and Evas below.

Not content with staying put forever Unit-01 launched itself towards the surrounding Angels, swinging the Lancea out it front of it.

(Geo-Front)

Unit-14 stood below the gaping hole in the roof of the Geo-Front, its head tilted back in an attempt to see the activity in the city above.

Asuka was confused. She had been told to defend the Geo-Front at all cost and had eagerly awaited the arrival of whatever enemy it was she had to face. Uncaring of the presence of Touji and Kensuke she had been determined to take on all comers by herself.

And then the ground in front of her had burst open and what she could have sworn was Unit-01 had shot past her and smashed straight through the Geo-Front's ceiling. Of course that was impossible; Unit-01 had been destroyed along with Shinji when he had selfdestructed it against the 19th Angel. Perhaps it was Unit-19, but then Unit-19 was brown and silver, not purple and green. And Unit-19 had the same kind of feathery wings her Eva was equipped with. She was sure this Eva had been sporting the same glowing energy wings Unit-01 had always used.

Asuka had been violently jarred from her thoughts by some sort of explosion on the surface that had rocked the Geo-Front and left a gaping hole the ceiling. Even where the ceiling had remained intact, large clumps of rock and metal had fallen to the floor, broken off by the tremors that ran all through the Geo-Front.

Asuka had wanted to go to the surface but had been ordered to stay where she was, threatened with expulsion from Nerv if she did not comply. So instead she waited and brooded. She thought she saw something floating at the center of the hole but it disappeared before she could focus on it.

(Terminal Dogma, Central Chamber)

Nara and Xera fought violently, blades continually clashing as they battled in mid-air high above the chamber's floor, there arms extending when more reach was required for any given attack. Every time one of them managed to connect with their blade the resulting wound healed almost as fast as it was made and so far neither was showing any sign of fatigue.

A particular powerful swing from Xera was skilfully blocked by Nara who slid his blade along the length of hers and cut a deep wound in her right arm. Xera countered by kneeing him viciously in the abdomen and attempted to impale him with her left blade. Nara dodged the attack however and managed to grab her already damaged right arm. He twisted and there was an audible snap as the arm broke. Kicking out with her left foot, Xera connected with Nara's abdomen and drove him back slightly, giving her arm time to heal. A second later the two were clashing once again.

Taking advantage of a temporary lull in the fighting Nara fired an energy beam from his left palm, only to have it countered by an identical beam fired by Xera. The two beams collided and spread out, creating a large ball of energy between the two combatants. For a moment the beams jostled with each other, then simultaneously exploded, blowing the two combatants back.

When the light from the explosion cleared, Nara and Xera were left facing each other over a distance of some ten meters, both still showing no sign of weariness.

Xera eyed Nara warily. She had hoped to finish this fight quickly and move onto her assigned task of destroying Shinji Ikari but it was proving far more difficult then she had originally thought. She still hadn't managed to find a weakness in the boy's fighting style and he showed no signs of slowing down any time soon. She also found herself rather curious about the boy's origins. "Who are you, exactly?"

Nara crossed his arms over his chest. "You would probable know me best as Tabris."

Xera's eyes widened slightly in shock. "You, you are Tabris?"

Nara smiled wickedly. "Surprised?"

Xera looked even more wary then she had before. "But Tabris is supposed to be dead. He was killed by Unit-01 when he failed to initiate Third Impact."

Nara shook his head slightly. "Kaoru died that day, but Tabris returned during the Third Impact. After Third Impact was adverted I was born, a vessel for Tabris' soul."

"So you're not Tabris?" The confusion was evident in Xera's voice.

Nara's shoulders moved in what could be considered a shrug. "I haven't quite figured that part out yet, suffice to say I have his power and a whole lot more. Now do you want to fight or do you want to stand here talking all day." He clenched his left fist and generated a second blade.

Xera mimicked the action. "I will defeat you. Nothing you can do will stop that."

Nara smiled. "We'll see."

Once again the two teens launched towards each other.

(Tokyo-3 Ruins)

Unit-01 sped through the air towards the closest Angel, one of the 18th. It swung one end of the black Lancea Longini at the Angels side, putting an incredible amount of force behind the attack.

The Angel instinctively raised its arms to block the attack but to no avail, the massive weapon ripped straight through arms and body alike, cutting straight through the Angel's side and striking its S2 organ with such force that it shattered on impact.

Not even pausing to watch the Angel fall, Unit-01 tore the Lancea free of the Angel's body and moved on, launching itself towards the frightening visage of a 19th Angel. With a single swing Unit-01 severed one of the Angel's talon arms and two of its scythe blades arms. Flying over the top of the wounded Angel it pushed one end of the Lancea into its back and pulled, tearing the creature almost in two down its entire form and damaging many of its S2 organs. The damaged S2 organs exploded, causing a chain reaction that tore the entire Angel apart and obliterated all of its remaining S2 organs.

Ignoring the explosion Unit-01 swung around and buried the Lancea in the chest of a nearby 18th Angel, puncturing its S2 organ. Ripping upwards it split the Angel's torso and head in two, pulling the Lancea free of the useless corpse.

One of the 19th Angels chose that moment to charge Unit-01 in the side, smashing it to the ground and causing its energy wings to disappear. It attempted to hold Unit-01 on the ground with its talons as it brought its scythe blades down to finish the Eva off. Before the scythes could connect however Unit-01 blasted the Angel with its AT field, causing the crimson monstrosity to stumble back a couple of steps. Wasting no time Unit-01 raised its left arm and pointed its palm at the 19th Angel, revealing the red circle that had appeared there. Before the Angel could react a massive energy beam shot from the Eva's hand, incinerating the Angel in a heartbeat and continuing on to blast off one of the 20th Angels' legs.

Behind the rampaging Eva one of the 19th Angels managed to jump into the hole leading to the Geo-Front, following the example of the three 18th Angels that had gone before it.

(Geo-Front)

The 19th Angel hit the ground on all fours, shattering the rock below it and causing several nearby trees to come crashing to the ground. When the dust cleared it raised its head and glanced around.

If the Angel's face had been capable of showing surprise then it would have shown it at this point. It had expected to find 18th Angels wreaking havoc but instead it found a red Eva standing on top of the slain body of one of the black Angels, with another dead Angel slightly behind it. In the distance a white and a black Eva stood over the still form of the last of the three 18th Angels to have made it to the Geo-Front.

The 19th Angel barely had enough time to rise to its full height before it was charged by the red Eva. Caught off guard the huge Angel had only enough time to raise two of its scythe blade arms before the Eva was upon it. The attacking Eva brought one end of a huge double-ended battle axe down on the two arms, cutting one of them in two and causing the other to shatter and fall apart. Continuing through with the attack it sent the axe head tearing into the Angels chest, puncturing some of its S2 organs.

Howling in pain the Angel brought two of its tentacles swinging around and smashed them into the Eva's chest, sending it flying back to land in a crouch some distance from the wounded Angel. Unfortunately the Eva managed to keep hold of its weapon and tore it out of the Angel's body as it was flung backwards, causing even more damage than it had originally inflicted.

Regardless the 19th Angel began to heal rapidly, its remaining S2 organs quickly repairing the damage it had suffered, even repairing the S2 organs that had been damaged in the attack. What was strange was that the Eva didn't appear to have been remotely phased by being knocked back. Its eyes glowing bright, the Eva threw back its head and roared.

(Nerv, Control Room)

Misato had now arrived in the control room and was watching the main view screen which showed Unit-14 standing in front of what appeared to be a copy of the 19th Angel. Misato wanted to find out what was happening but right now there were more important things to worry about, like Asuka's well being. "What's Asuka's status?"

As always Maya was typing furiously at her console. "Her sync ratio is at 267 and still rising. I can't get a reading on her life-signs."

Misato gripped the railing in front of her tightly. "Can you get a view of the plugs interior?"

Maya shook her head. "I'm sorry Major, there's too much interference from Unit-14's AT field. I can't get a feed from any of the internal cameras or microphones."

Misato's hands were turning red from the force with which she was gripping the railing. "Damn it, what's happening to her?" She turned to Maya. "Give me an audio link to Units 16 and 17."

Maya hit several keys on her console. "Alright, you're on."

Misato moved the microphone on her collar close to her mouth. "Touji, Kensuke I need you to back up Asuka right now."

"Right." The two teens responded simultaneously and without protest. Their two Evas went charging towards Unit-14 and the Angel.

Ritsuko leaned over Maya's shoulder. "Can you get a visual on the surface?"

Maya shook her head slightly. "Sorry, all the cameras up there where knocked out by the explosion and there's no way I can access a satellite with this much interference."

Ritsuko nodded in understanding. "What about Terminal Dogma."

Maya shrugged. "I'm working on it, Nara knocked out most of the systems down there but I might still be able to get some of the cameras operational again. It's going to take some time though."

Ritsuko considered for a second. "Focus on the battle in the Geo-Front. I'll see what we can do about Terminal Dogma."

(Terminal Dogma, Central Chamber)

Nara and Xera were still trading blows in the central chamber of Terminal Dogma. They were fighting with everything they had, feet, fists, knees, blades. Even their wings were being used as offensive weapons, usually tussling with the opponent's wings as they were too weak to do much else.

Their blades clashed in a deadly dance as Xera took the offensive and tried to get a shot at Nara's S2 organ. Her two blades rose and fell in rapid succession, aiming for the base of her opponent's ribcage. Nara however blocked the vicious onslaught with his own two blades, as the defender he had more time to respond to Xera's movements and he used that time effectively.

Barely avoiding a swing from Xera's right blade, Nara caught her left between his own two blades. As Xera tried to take another swing with her right, he flipped his blades around and caught that blade as well. Unfortunately Nara was now unable to move his blades without releasing Xera's, leaving the two at somewhat of a stalemate. Neither teen tried to lash out with their legs or wings, knowing that the other would simply block them and the distraction could mean the other winning the blade battle.

Xera gritted her teeth as she struggled to pull her blades free. "Why are you so powerful, it makes no sense? Tabris was never this strong."

Nara didn't seem as strained as the girl. "I am more than Tabris ever was. I have the souls of fifteen Angels within me."

Xera increased her attempts to liberate her blades. "What do you mean?"

Nara kept his face expressionless. "Exactly what I said. My soul has fifteen Angel souls fused into it. I contain the souls of Sachiel, Shamshiel, Ramiel, Gaghiel, Israfel, Sandalphon, Matariel, Sahaqiel, Yrouel, Leliel, Bardiel, Zeruel, Arael, Armisael and Tabris." He bit out each name as he spoke.

Xera began to focus more of her AT field into her blades in an attempt to break through Nara's blades. "That isn't possible, all of those Angels were destroyed by Nerv."

Nara focused more of his AT field into his blades and continued to hold Xera's blades between his own. "Who told you that? Seele?" He laughed slightly. "For men intent on playing God they understand little. A real Angel can never be completely destroyed. Their souls will always be out there somewhere. They just need a catalyst and a vessel to bring them back into the material world. In this case the catalyst was the Third Impact and the vessel…was me."

By now the two combatants had focused so much of their AT fields into their blades that the weapons were beginning to glow and shake violently, putting an increasing amount of strain on both Nara and Xera. Growing tired of the stalemate, Nara finally released Xera's blades, propelling himself backwards to avoid any form of counterattack from Xera.

Now separated the two teens took a moment to recover from the fierce struggle, their blades first dimming then disappearing altogether.

Nara recovered noticeable faster than Xera. "You're growing tired."

Xera finally managed to get her body back under control. "Perhaps, but my S2 organ will replenish my energy before it slows me down." She brought both her arms forward and fired two thin beams at Nara.

Nara stood still, making no attempt to dodge the attack. Just before the beams could strike him, a large glowing hexagon appeared in their path. The beams struck the hexagon and reflected off it, flying off to opposite ends of the chamber where they detonated against the walls.

Nara smiled slightly. "Your energy reserves aren't limitless. Eventually your S2 organ is going to run out of power. Until that happens I'm more than capable of defending myself from your attacks."

Xera smirked. "So you can defend yourself with your AT field. I can do that to. If you think that makes you safe from my attacks you're wrong."

Nara's smile slipped. "Tell me something, why do you work for Seele?"

At first Xera looked a little surprised but she covered it up quickly. "That's simple, Seele are the one's who created me. I wouldn't exist if it wasn't for them."

Nara signed. "A simple reason, and a foolish one. What is the point of existence if you just throw it away to repay those who gave it to you?"

Xera's eyes narrowed in anger. "Spare me the mind games. I came here to fight." She clenched her fists, generating twin blades once again.

Nara signed and followed suit. "You came here because they told you to. Just like I did, a long time ago." He jumped to the attack, meeting Xera half way in a flurry of blades.

(Tokyo-3 Ruins)

Unit-01 tore straight through the body of one of the 20th Angels, passing through its entire form in less than a second and smashing its S2 organ to smithereens. Turning in mid air it hurled its Lancea at one of the 18th Angels, sending it straight through the black Angel's S2 organ. Raising its right arm it fired a huge energy beam that incinerated one of the 19th Angels whole. Its eyes glowed brighter for a second and two more of the 18th Angels were torn apart by black cross flares.

Landing with a thunderous crash in front of the corpse of the 18th Angel currently skewered by the black Lancea, Unit-01 tore the weapon free and turned to the next Angel. Its eyes still glowing a malevolent blood red.

(Geo-Front)

Units 16 and 17 ran towards the huge form of the 19th Angel, their Longinus spears held in front of them. The fearsome Angel had its back to them, as it was preparing to charge Unit-14.

Taking advantage of the Angel's distraction, Touji hurled his Longinus spear at it, sending it plunging into the Angel's back and severing one of the Angel's tentacles in the process. Roaring, the Angel turned towards him, its missing tentacle already beginning to regenerate. It was a mistake.

Unit-14 let out an animalistic scream and charged the Angel from behind, spinning its progressive battle axe in a circle as it ran. Before the Angel could turn to face the onrushing Eva Unit-14 jumped onto its back and brought its still spinning battle axe down on the Angel's armoured hide. The spiralling weapon tore through the Angel like a hacksaw, tearing its insides apart and completely shattering many of its S2 organs. Roaring in pain, the Angel was driven to the ground under Unit-14's weight.

Two of the Angel's remaining tentacles whipped around and tried to strike the Eva, only to be severed themselves when Unit-14 tore its axe free and swung it around behind it, severing both the tentacles and the Angel's spiked tail.

The Angel was just about to blast the Eva with its AT field when both Angel and Eva suddenly disappeared in a explosion of glowing cross-flares. Units 16 and 17 stoped in their tracks, their pilots shielding their eyes from the light.

(Nerv, Control Room)

Misato watched with baited breath as the light from the cross-flares dimmed and then faded. Signing in relief when a still fully intact Unit-14 was revealed, gripping the progressive battle axe in one hand and Touji's Longinus spear in the other. Of the Angel only a field of blood and gore remained, none of its S2 organs had been left intact by the cross-flares.

The red Eva threw the Longinus spear back to Unit-16 and walked past its two comrades, heading for the Geo-Front's new entrance.

Maya turned to Misato from her console. "Major, Asuka's sync ratio had levelled out at 400. Just like the last time." She started slightly as her console started beeping incessantly and turned back to it. "Major, we've got two more 18th Angels entering the Geo-Front. Unit-14's already heading for them."

Misato nodded and activated her microphone. "Okay guys, I want you to back Asuka up. Watch her back okay." Both Touji and Kensuke responded in the affirmative and took off after Unit-14.

(Terminal Dogma, Central Chamber)

Xera ducked under a swing from Nara's right blade and cut a deep wound in his chest with her left. Unfazed, Nara managed to wrap up Xera's right arm with his AT field and, crushing inwards, he mutilated the limb and tore it from her body, the arm coming off at the shoulder.

Screaming in pain Xera drifted backwards slightly and Nara took the opportunity to stab his right blade into her chest, running her through with the glowing weapon.

Xera's eyes went wide and for a moment a look of terror crossed her face but the look quickly disappeared when she realised her S2 organ hadn't been pierced. She smiled evilly. "You missed."

The wound on Nara's chest healed quickly though the tear remained in his already tattered suit. "I wasn't aiming for your S2 organ. I'm not going to kill you…yet." He pulled the now blood soaked blade out of her chest and floated backwards, putting some distance between himself and Xera.

Xera gritted her teeth as her arm regenerated and the hole in her chest knitted itself back together. Her silver body-suit now lacked a right sleeve and the tears caused by her impalement where still visible, adding to the many other tears so far incurred in the battle. "You should have killed me when you had the chance. You won't get another." She clenched the fist of her newly formed right arm and regenerated her right blade.

Nara allowed both his blades to dissipate and held his hands out in front of him. "You should realise by now that you cannot defeat me but if I still have to prove myself to you then so be it." He fired two small beams from his palms, cutting the flow of energy off quickly.

Xera raised her AT field and deflected the blasts but was caught off guard as Nara launched himself towards her, stretching his right arm beyond its natural length. Before she could react his right fist struck her chest with bone shattering force. Instinctively she bent over at the waist in an attempt to protect herself, exposing her neck in the process. Raising his left arm Nara brought it down hard on her neck, felling the vertebrae snap with the force of the impact. Performing a back-flip in mid-air Nara brought both feet down on Xera's back and sent her hurtling towards the ground. He quickly generated his two blades and followed her decent.

Keeping her head Xera managed to flip around and land on her feet, immediately propelling herself into the air and towards the still diving Nara. Swinging both blades forward she attempted to skewer the boy but was thwarted when Nara rolled to the side and avoided the attack. Swinging her blades around she managed to sever his left hand and blade but was then forced to dodge herself as he swung at her chest with his remaining blade.

Backing off to a safe distant Nara frowned at his left appendage, watching as skin and bone flowed and condensed into the form of a hand. "Well it looks like you still have some fight left in you after all. Still that was a lucky shot. It doesn't change the fact that you've already lost."

Grabbing the sides of her head and twisting, Xera realigned her neck, felling the vertebrae refuse. At the same time the ribs that had been broken by Nara's punch reconstructed themselves and her damaged lungs healed. "I could say the same to you. Your confidence may well be your downfall."

Nara looked at her solemnly. "Confidence is only a weakness when it is unfounded." He paused for a moment in thought. "Just like loyalty."

(Seele Conference Room)

The stone obelisks were in the middle of an argument.

The obelisk marked 03 glowed brighter. "We can't do that. It would ruin all our plans."

The obelisk marked 04 glowed brighter. "What over choice do we have, Unit-01 is destroying the Angel army."

The obelisk marked 07 glowed brighter. "But it can't be controlled. We should wait. Xera may still be able to succeed where the army has failed."

The obelisk marked 02 glowed brighter. "And while we wait Nerv gets closer and closer to victory. We need to finish this now."

The obelisk marked 09 glowed brighter. "That project was deemed a failure for a reason. We'd be better off to leave things as they are. How could releasing that monster possible further our goal?"

The obelisk marked 04 glowed brighter again. "It will destroy Nerv and rid us of Gendo's treachery forever."

The obelisk marked 12 glowed brighter. "I agree. It could end the Nerv threat once and for all."

The obelisk marked 03 glowed brighter. "And what then? It can't be controlled as the others. The process failed remember. When it finishes with Nerv what then? Do we just leave it to rampage at will? Do you know how much damage that thing could do to us?"

The obelisk marked 02 glowed brighter. "That is a risk we are going to have to take."

Before any of those opposed to the move could respond the obelisk marked 01 glowed brighter. "Silence all of you. Ultimately this is my decision to make." There was a long pause. "Deploy the Last Angel."

(Seele Command Satellite, Tokyo-3 Geo-Synchronistic Orbit)

A massive satellite floated in space directly above Tokyo-3, beaming down a constant string of mental commands to the Angels below. Its base was covered in antennas and transmission dishes. Its body was a mass of powerful generators, giant cables and high-tech relay stations, stuck together in what appeared to be a totally random manner. At its center was a massive hollowed out cargo hold. Designed to hold all manner of cargo the chamber currently contained one thing alone. Seele's ultimate weapon, their Last Angel.

Receiving a string of computerised commands from the surface, the base of the satellite began to open, the antennas and transmission dishes parting to reveal a massive four-part door.

When the door was completely revealed a loud series of clicks signalled the releasing of the powerful locks holding it closed. When the clicking finally stoped the door remained closed for several seconds then abruptly opened, sliding away into the satellites body. With nothing left to hold it up a massive form fell out of the cargo hold and went hurtling towards the planet's surface.

(Tokyo-3 Ruins)

Unit-01 walked among the broken bodies of the Angel army, a grim reaper marching through a field of death. Lifting its leg the Eva brought it crashing down on a random 19th Angel S2 organ, crushing the red orb underfoot.

Nearby, a larger S2 organ that once belonging to a gigantic 20th Angel was beginning to surround itself with midnight blue skin. Raising its hand, Unit-01 blasted the S2 organ into nothingness.

Unit-01 knew that few Angels had made it into the Geo-Front, just one of the 19th and a handful of the 18th. Asuka had proven herself a deadly pilot and with Touji and Kensuke backing her up they were more than capable of dealing with those Angels. All that was left now was to clean up the scraps. Noticing movement to its right, Unit-01 turned and plunged its Lancea into the chest of a partially reconstructed 18th Angel, silencing it permanently.

About to continue its search for S2 organs Unit-01 suddenly turned its eyes skyward as a dark shadow fell across it.

(Nerv, Control Room)

Misato signed in relief as Unit-14 crushed the S2 organ of the last of the 18th Angels that had entered the Geo-Front. Once again Unit-14 had suffered only minimal damage and the wounds were rapidly healing. Touji and Kensuke had mostly just teamed up against those Angels Asuka hadn't destroyed and so their Evas were also largely undamaged, the few injuries healing quickly. She noticed that Unit-14's eyes had finally stoped glowing.

Below her Maya was still typing furiously at her console, Ritsuko doing the same on her laptop. The two were trying to get visuals on both the surface and Terminal Dogma, eager to know the outcome of the battles taking place there.

Maya finally managed to connect to a satellite that was currently passing over Tokyo-3. Her look of triumph however was quickly replaced with one of dread. "Uhh, Sempai we've got a problem."

Ritsuko stopped typing on her laptop and looked over at her young assistant. "What is it Maya, I…Oh God!"

Maya's satellite feed showed another larger satellite directly below, covered in communication devices. It wasn't the satellite that worried Ritsuko however. It was the object it had just sent hurtling into the atmosphere. The object that looked remarkably like an Angel. The most horrifying Angel Ritsuko had ever seen.

Maya was typing more furiously than she ever had before. "The object has an approximate mass of five-hundred-thousand metric tons. It's on a direct course for Tokyo-3. Expected impact in thirty-two seconds." She hit a few keys and put an image of the rapidly descending object on the screen.

Misato stared in horror at the image for a second but shook herself off and raised her microphone to her lips. "Asuka, Touji, Kensuke get to coordinates five-four-seven-two right now. You have twenty seconds."

Units 16 and 17 immediately started heading for the given coordinates but Unit-14 remained where it was.

Misato continued to speak into the microphone. "Asuka? Asuka can you hear me? ASUKA!?"

"Yeah, I can hear you Misato. I'm going, stop yelling at me!" Asuka sounded a little shaken and very peeved off.

Misato watched on the view screen as Unit-14 ran after its fellow Evas towards the eastern edge of the Geo-Front, as far away as they could get from the Angel's supposed point of impact. Despite the approaching calamity, she allowed herself a brief moment to rejoice that the girl was still alive.

Maya turned from her console and looked up at the commander. "The MAGI confirm that the approaching object is an Angel sir. Impact in fifteen seconds."

Gendo nodded coolly. "Everyone prepare for impact."

(Tokyo-3 Ruins)

Unit-01 had come to the quick conclusion that staying put would not be good for its health and had deployed its wings. Taking off it angled towards the remaining mountains of the mountain range, intent on putting as much distance between itself and the falling Angel as possible.

Above it the Last Angel fell towards the ground, its shadow spreading quickly across the Tokyo-3 ruins. The Angel made no attempt to slow its decent, uncaring of the consequences of its landing. Seele had created this Angel while they constructed the Angel army but unlike them it had been deemed a failure for the simple reason that it couldn't be controlled. This Angel had only one aim, one desire, to destroy everything in its path.

(Nerv, Control Room)

Maya was counting down the time till impact. "7…6…5…4…3…2…"

One the screen the Angel got closer and closer to the ground, heading straight for the western edge of the devastated city. Everyone in the control room braced themselves against whatever was at hand and then the Last Angel hit the ground.

The colossal Angel landed with literally ground shattering force. Cracks and splinters of rock shot out to all sides of a massive and rapidly expanding crater. A nearby mountain was split in two by one of the cracks and collapsed to the ground, part of it crashing into another mountain and bringing it down as well. The already weakened ground was unable to stand up to the force of the impact and broke apart, collapsing inwards and falling into the Geo-Front.

Within the Geo-Front massive chunks of dirt and rock slammed into the ground, quickly created a massive cloud of dust that obscured the entire area from sight. The massive tremors created by the collapse sent two more mountains unceremoniously crashing to ground, only adding to the strength of the tremors.

Throughout Central Dogma corridors collapsed inwards and rooms were filled with debris when their roofs collapsed under the strain. Even those areas that remained intact were quickly spider webbed with cracks. Many Nerv employees where crushed or buried alive. The disruption to the base's power grid caused many sections to lose power completely while others suffered massive power surges.

Inside the control room a power surge caused all the view screens and lights to explode, frying all of the room's circuitry. As the room shook violently, those of its occupants still standing fell to the floor and those seated struggled to remain in their seats.

As the tremors finally wore off Misato quickly lifted herself off the ground, checking herself for any injuries. "Is everyone okay?" Several people responded in the affirmative and though she couldn't see anyone in the darkness, the distinct lack of screaming and painful moaning suggested that no-one had been seriously hurt. On the other hand they now had no way of knowing what was happening on the surface and they had lost contact with the Evas. Misato hoped the children were okay.

(The Crater Formerly Known As Tokyo-3)

Unit-01 floated high above the dust filled crater that had once been Tokyo-3 and the Geo-Front. The Geo-Fronts walls had mostly collapsed and large sections of land previously outside its area had collapsed down to the same level. Piles of dirt and rock had built up at the edges, pushed there by the Last Angel's crash landing.

At first all the Eva could see was dust then a tremendous wave of force blasted the dust away and sent clumps of rock, both large and small flying into the air to come crashing down well beyond the crater's edge. The effects of an AT field were unmistakable.

As Unit-01 watched, the source of the AT field unfolded itself from the rolled up position it had landed in and rose to its full height. Even Unit-01 was taken aback slightly by the sight. Standing at roughly eight-hundred meters in height the Angel was covered in scaly dark grey skin. It stood on two huge heavy-set legs that stuck out slightly from the sides of its body and ended in massive three clawed feet. Its two arms bulged with hulking muscles and reached almost to the ground, ending in hands sporting five huge razor sharp claws each. Its head was reptilian in appearance with massive jaws that stuck out from its face and contained three rows of needle-like teeth, a stunted nose just above the jaws and two eyes that were so black they seemed to suck the light out of the air itself. The Angel's body was wide and muscular and its back had a slight bend in it, making it appear hunched. A single S2 organ was visible in the very center of the Angel's chest, glowing a dull red with the energy contained within it.

The Angel raised its head and looked up at Unit-01, the corners of its mouth turning up in a cruel parody of a smile, its vacant seeming eyes narrowing slightly.

(Terminal Dogma, Central Chamber)

Nara had just touched down on the chamber's floor when the entire facility began to shake even more violently than the last time and the remaining stone pillars simultaneously collapsed, one of them crashing to the ground just in front of him. Struggling to keep his footing he looked up just in time to back-flip out of the way of Xera as she attempted to skewer him with her right blade. Propelling himself into the air, Nara counterattacked with an energy beam that Xera dodged by scant inches.

Spinning around Xera planted both feet on the ground and launched herself towards Nara, bringing both her blades up into a defensive position.

As Xera rushed towards him Nara raised his right blade above his head and brought it down with an incredible amount of strength. Xera had expected this move however and stoped the attack with her own blades. Using her momentum to her advantage Xera managed to cut a deep wound in Nara's right shoulder with her left blade.

Nara immediately responded by planting the heel of his right foot in Xera's abdomen and driving her backwards enough to take another swing with his right blade. Controlling her movement, Xera managed to avoid the attack and put some distance between herself and Nara.

Noticing the wound on Nara's shoulder had already healed she fired twin energy beams at him but was disappointed when he simply flew higher and dodged them. Not giving up she fired another more powerful beam from her right hand.

This time Nara didn't try to dodge he just raised his right arm. Just as the blast was about to hit him he swung his right arm down and knocked it aside, sending it straight through the hole he had made to enter the chamber. "You're beginning to bore me."

Xera looked genuinely shocked. "How did you do that?"

Nara slowly lowered his arm to his side. "We have AT fields. We can do almost anything. It's just a matter of knowing how to manipulate it to get the desired effect. You know the basics but little else."

Xera growled. "I know enough to defeat you."

"Even you don't believe that anymore."

Xera growled a little louder. "Even if that's true, it doesn't mean I'm just going to stop trying."

Nara smiled slightly. "I'd be disappointed if you did. But before we continue tell me, what do you know of my time as Kaoru?"

Xera shrugged, secretly glad for the chance to get her strength back. "Like me you worked for Seele. They sent you here to initiate Third Impact but you failed and were defeated by Nerv."

Nara's smile slipped. "I'm afraid your information is incorrect. I was never meant to initiate Third Impact, I was meant to do exactly what I did. They told me Adam was down here but instead all I found was Lilith. It was then I realised that they had sent me here to die. They just wanted the 17th Angel out of the road. I was only a tool to them, just as you are now. You mean nothing to them, so why should they mean anything to you?"

Xera considered for a moment, the boy did make a good point. Maybe Seele was just using her but then again they had created her, didn't they therefore have a right to use her. If he was telling the truth about his own demise however then it meant they had lied to her, supporting his claim that she meant nothing to them. For some reason she believed he wasn't lying to her about Kaoru's death. She shook her head violently. So maybe she was just a tool to Seele but so what! If Nara thought the realisation would make her switch sides then he was sorely mistaken. "This doesn't change things between you and me. I'm still going to destroy you."

Nara spread his arms, holding his blades out to his side. "Then give it everything you've got. You'll still lose. Both of us have reached our maximum potential and I'm stronger than you, plain and simple."

Xera clenched her fist in anger. She wasn't going to allow herself to lose to this cocky asshole. With a shriek she launched herself towards Nara, who just smiled and brought his blades in to defend himself.

As soon as Xera reached Nara she attempted to behead him with her left blade but the boy ducked under the attack and swung at her legs with his right blade. Tucking her legs up to avoid the swing Xera stabbed downwards and managed to gouge a deep wound in Nara's left arm. Uncaring of the damage he had taken Nara spun around and delivered a round-house kick to the side of Xera's head, sending her flying. Ignoring the pain from his already regenerating limb Nara followed the girl's flight path, unsurprised when she took control of her momentum and swung around to face him.

(The Crater Formerly Known As Tokyo-3)

Unit-01's fused soul was worried. It had already used up most of its energy in the destruction of the Angel army. It might not have enough power left to conquer this new threat. It didn't even know how much power it was going to need to destroy this Angel. It had never seen this type of Angel before. For now the Eva chose to circle above the mysterious new threat. It took the time to study the creature, looking for a weakness.

For its part the grey skinned Angel just watched the circling Eva, its mouth still twisted in that sickening parody of a smile. It seemed completely uncaring of the damage and death it had caused. Uncaring of the fact that it had destroyed the remaining S2 organs of the Angel army. Destruction caused meant nothing. Destruction to be caused meant everything.

The Angel roared, a terrible sound that shook the earth and drove fear into the hearts of everyone who heard it. At the same time huge reptilian wings unfolded from its back and with powerful thrusts it propelled itself into the air and towards Unit-01.

(Nerv, Central Dogma)

Ritsuko walked briskly down one of the corridors of Nerv heading for the Geo-Front, or at least what was left of it. Misato and Maya followed straight behind her. The other two bridge bunnies followed at a more leisurely pace. Gendo and Fuyutsuki had chosen to remain behind.

Ritsuko wasn't sure what they were going to find when they got to their destination but she knew that they wouldn't have achieved anything by staying in the now useless control room.

Suddenly a terrifying roar echoed down the remaining corridors of Nerv, stopping Ritsuko and her companions in their tracks. It was the most horrible sound Ritsuko had ever heard and she could tell from the pained expressions on Maya and Misato's faces that they agreed with her

As the roar finally died off Ritsuko stood still for a moment then shook herself off and headed for the Geo-Front at an even faster pace than before.

(Seele Conference Room)

The obelisk marked 07 glowed brighter. "I still think this was a mistake."

The obelisk marked 03 glowed brighter. "That is unimportant now. It is already done and it cannot be undone."

The obelisk marked 04 glowed brighter. "The Last Angel will succeed in destroying Unit-01, it is only a matter of time now."

The obelisk marked 06 glowed brighter. "And what then? How do you suppose we deal with the Angel once it has destroyed Nerv?"

The obelisk marked 01 glowed brighter. "We will deal with that once Unit-01 has been destroyed. For now we will watch, perhaps a solution will reveal itself."

(The Crater Formerly Known As Tokyo-3)

At the edge of a crater a pile of dirt and rock sifted and then lifted, falling away to reveal the hunched over form of Unit-14, still holding its deadly weapon. Slowly the red Eva rose to its full height, revealing a multitude of injuries covering its body. Its AT field had protected it from being crushed when the crater was formed but it had been heavily damaged when the new Angel expanded its AT field, an action which neutralised the AT field of Unit-14 and buried it under a huge pile of earth. The wounds were already being healed by the Eva's S2 organ but only slowly as the S2 organ had already been drained of much of its power.

Inside the Eva's entry plug Asuka stared in horror at the gigantic Angel before it. Watching as the Angel took to the sky, heading straight for what she was now certain was Unit-01. Asuka knew her Eva was currently too damaged to help and she wasn't sure if she would be able to link to her mother again so soon after being released. For now she could do little but watch.

Asuka decided to try and contact the control room. "Heh, Misato can you hear me?" She waited but there was no response forthcoming. "Touji, Kensuke can you guys hear me?" Again there was no response. She signed. "Great, it looks like I'm on my own." She turned back to the heaps of rock and dirt behind her. There was something she could do. The bakas had to be in there somewhere. Unit-14 threw its weapon aside and began to dig away at the heaps, searching for Units 16 and 17.

(Elsewhere, The Crater Formerly Known As Tokyo-3)

The Last Angel quickly closed in on Unit-01, its powerful wings propelling it at an incredible speed for its size.

Flying higher, Unit-01 held out its right hand and fired a huge energy beam that completely engulfed the Angel's head. The next moment however the beam dissipated and the Angel was revealed to have suffered no damage, protected by the awesome power of its AT field.

The Angel's left hand reached up and attempted to snatch the purple Eva out of the air but missed as the Eva flew just above its reach. Opening its mouth the Angel fired a massive bright red energy beam that engulfed Unit-01 whole. The light from the beam quickly spread until everything was bathed in an eerie red glow. The Angel finally stoped its ascent.

For almost a minute the power continued to flow from the Angel's mouth, the beam blasting through the atmosphere and continuing on into the emptiness of space. Eventually though the glow began to recede and the Angel's jaws finally slammed shut, cutting off the flow of power.

As the beam dissipated the form of Unit-01 was slowly revealed. Its arms were crossed in front of it, the black double-ended Lancea still held in its right hand. Its head was bowed, half hidden behind the arms. The beam had done an incredible amount of damage to the Eva, its AT field offering little resistance to the attack. Almost all the armour from its arms and legs had been destroyed, revealing the darkened skin that lay beneath. Many armour parts from its chest and back were also missing and its shoulder baffles had been sheered off. The armour on its head protected in part as it was by the Eva's arms was still mostly intact, though its horn had been incinerated. Those armour components remaining were now blackened and twisted as a result of the attack, regardless of where on the body they were attached. The Eva's body itself was heavily damaged, with burns all over its body and numerous bleeding wounds spilling blood down its form. Its glowing energy wings still sprouted from its back and strangely its Lancea appeared undamaged.

Ignoring the wounds it had suffered Unit-01 launched itself forward, focusing its AT field around the Lancea. As the Eva rapidly closed in on the much larger Angel one end of the Lancea disappeared and the other extended to more than twice its usual length. The Eva's many wounds began to rapidly heal, though its armour remained as it was.

The Angel raised its right arm and took a swing at the approaching Eva but missed when the Eva barrel-rolled to the left. As the Eva continued on towards its target, the Angel focused its AT field around its body and blasted outwards.

Unit-01 had almost reached the Angel's chest when it was hit head on by the Angel's AT field. Bringing its own AT field up, the Eva managed to hold the Angel's attack at bay for a handful of seconds but was then forced to retreat as the Angel's left hand began to close in on it.

Retreating to a relatively safe distant, Unit-01 condensed its own AT field to create a layer of protection around its body. It established the layer against its skin and with a slight expansion of its AT field sent all its remaining armour plates falling to the ground. Its cranial armour now removed Unit-01's bulbous green eyes opened and focused on the enemy Angel.

(Terminal Dogma, Central Chamber)

Nara was about to launch himself towards Xera when his link to Shinji and Rei suddenly exploded in pain. Groaning he clutched the sides of his head. A mental image of some sort of red energy beam flooded his consciousness. Then another image, an image of a truly gigantic Angel flying towards Unit-01. What the hell was that thing!? And how had it managed to hurt Shinji and Rei?

Nara didn't have time to dwell on the situation as he looked up to see Xera rapidly diving towards him, swinging her left blade in an overhead arc. Nara just managed to raise his own left blade to deflect the attack and was then caught off guard as Xera fired an energy beam from her right palm that blasted off half his right arm and his right wingtip.

Growling Nara stabbed Xera between the eyes with his left blade and then kicked her solidly with both feet, knocking her off the blade and sending her hurtling towards the ground. Owing to the disorientation caused by having her brain split in two Xera failed to right herself and crashed into the ground, throwing up a large cloud of dust in the process.

Temporarily closing his link to Shinji and Rei, Nara lowered himself to the ground. He landed in front of Xera, who was slowly rising to her feet and visible shaking. The hole in her head quickly healed over, though notable not as fast as it would have when the battle started. Nara inspected his already regenerated right arm, knowing he had far more power left than Xera. "I can't play with you forever, so why don't you just give up before I'm forced to destroy you?"

Xera gave him a hate filled glare. Unfortunately she knew he was telling the truth. He had been playing with her for quite some time now. There had been several occasions when she knew he had a perfect chance to destroy her S2 organ but had instead held back. On one occasion he had actually placed his hand at the base of her rib cage and charged up a blast but then had simply kicked her in the side of the head instead of firing, sending her slamming into a nearby wall. "If you're going to kill me then just do it. I'll never surrender to you."

Nara's returning gaze was serious, betraying no emotion. "First I want to show you how naïve you really are." He floated into the air, a few meters above the ground. "Tell me, do you know what a Sea of Dirac is?"

Xera was too tired to attempt another attack on Nara so she decided she might as well she where this was going. "That was what Leliel created wasn't it?"

Nara nodded slightly. "Correct, Leliel did create a Sea of Dirac though there have been others. A Sea of Dirac is essentially a gateway into another dimension and that entire dimension can often be contained within the gate itself, as it was with Leliel. These gates are never permanent, they're usually only open for a few seconds but within this time they'll swallow anything they come into contact with. What happens to the dimension once the gate closers depends entirely on the gate's origin and how it was closed. In the case of Leliel Unit-01 ripped the very fabric of the dimension apart in its escape, meaning that dimension is gone forever."

Xera was beginning to lose her patience, despite the fact she knew she was outmatched she was considering attacking once again. "As fascinating as this is, I fail to see what it could possible have to do with our current situation. I don't see any Seas of Dirac around here, do you?"

Nara slowly pointed his arms palm first at the ground, several meters in front of Xera's position. "It has to do with our current situation because some of these dimensions don't disappear when the gate does and can therefore be accessed by someone who knows how. Someone like me." He inverted a part of his AT field and melded it with the chamber's floor.

The floor of the chamber rapidly turned black, beginning where Nara had originally aimed and spreading out in an ever-expanding circle. The stones and pieces of metal littering the chamber's floor where quickly absorbed into the foreboding abyss.

Just as the circle was about to reach Xera's feet she took off, flying up to the same height as Nara. "A Sea of Dirac. Let me guess, you're going to try to trap me in it."

Keeping his palms aimed at the ground, Nara slowly shook his head. "No, I don't intend to put anything in. I intend to take things out."

(The Crater Formerly Known As Tokyo-3)

Asuka had finally found Units 16 and 17. They didn't appear to be too badly damaged but unfortunately it appeared that Touji and Kensuke had been knocked out cold as they still weren't responding to her messages and their Evas weren't moving. She knew they weren't dead, that was the one reading she could get from their Evas. She shifted the last few rocks off the motionless Evas. "Bakas, I could have used your help." Secretly she was glad the two stooges were alive. Signing she turned and looked up as the red glow that had been covering everything finally disappeared.

In the sky above a very badly damaged Eva was revealed as the beam dissipated, barely recognisable as Unit-01. Asuka watched as the Eva launched itself towards the Angel. Someone had to be piloting that thing. Maybe one of her supposedly dead friends was still alive. Asuka intended to find out what was going on. For now though she would watch and wait.

(Elsewhere, The Crater Formerly Known As Tokyo-3)

Misato had finally made it to Geo-Front, what was left of it that was. Ritsuko and the three bridge bunnies were with her. In the end they had been forced to crawl through a service tunnel as it was the only exit that hadn't either caved in or been blocked off by dirt and rocks.

The first thing she saw was Unit-14, the Eva was just standing still with its head tilted back and its gaze on the sky. Following the Eva's line of sight Misato looked up. "Oh Bullshit! There's no way anything could be that big!"

Maya immediately took out her laptop and began trying to establish a link to Unit-14. It didn't take her long to begin getting readings on the still notable damaged Eva. Unit-14's S2 organ had apparently been damaged. The damage wasn't serious so the Eva was still operational but until the damage was repaired it wouldn't be able to operate at full capacity and the S2 organ was unfortunately unable to repair itself. Asuka life signs were steady and her sync ratio was at 100.

Finally Maya managed to get an audio link to Unit-14 and handed Misato the mike. Misato replaced the now useless mike on her collar with the new one and brought it to her mouth. "Asuka can you hear me?"

The response from the red-headed teen was immediate. "Misato, where the hell have you been!?"

"Sorry Asuka, things were shaken up a little when that Angel hit the ground."

"Tell me about it. At least you were inside, I got buried out here."

"What about Touji and Kensuke?"

"They're out cold. I had to dig up their Evas. Where are you anyway?"

"Look down and too your right."

Unit-14's head slowly lowered and turned, its eyes finally coming to rest on Misato and the others. "What are you doing out here?"

Misato signed. "That's not important right now Asuka. Do you think you can fight?"

"Yeah, I can fight but I don't know what good I can do." There was a slight pause. "Misato, what's going on here?"

"I don't know Asuka." Misato's expression sharpened. "But I intend to find out as soon as this is finished."

(Elsewhere, The Crater Formerly Known As Tokyo-3)

Barely avoiding a swing from the Last Angel's right arm, Unit-01 swung its black Lancea at the extended appendage. The Lancea struck and penetrated, leaving a huge wound just below the Angel's hand. However the moment after the weapon was pulled free the wound healed, appearing as if it had never been made.

Continuing through, Unit-01 pierced the Angel's shoulder with the Lancea. The Eva twisted as it pulled the weapon free, leaving behind what appeared to be a very serious and painful wound.

The Angel took another swing at the unarmoured Eva with its left hand. As usual Unit-01 flew higher to avoid the attack but this time it didn't move fast enough. The Angel's hand collided with Unit-01's legs and abdomen, sending the Eva racing towards the ground.

The Eva smashed into a mountain that was coincidentally the only mountain in the area left standing. Unit-01 went straight through the mountain's side, leaving a large hole at its point of impact. A dust cloud bellowed out of the hole and then the entire mountain collapsed inwards, becoming little more than a jagged pile of rubble.

The dust had only just begun to clear when the top of the rubble pile exploded outwards and Unit-01 rocketed out. It headed straight for the colossal form of the Last Angel, the black Lancea still held firmly in its hands. The AT field concentrated around the Eva's body had prevented it from suffering an exorbitant amount of damage but small injuries still littered its form.

The Angel didn't seem bothered by the Eva's approach. The wound in its shoulder had long since healed, as it was once again completely undamaged. It began to concentrate its AT field and reached forward with both arms.

This time Unit-01 dived down low, flying under both of the Angel's arms and heading straight for its exposed abdomen. It managed to stab the black Lancea into the Angel but was then forced to relinquish the weapon as the Angel's AT field snapped into place and blasted the Eva backwards.

Unit-01 used the momentum from the attack to put itself beyond the Angel's reach. The Angel was still keeping itself in the air with its wings but was content to stay where it was. It enjoyed the Eva's futile attempts to damage it.

Unit-01 growled loudly as it floated in front of the Angel, angry at its inability to cause any permanent damage to the monstrosity. The growling grew in intensity as the Eva's body began to mutate. The skin on its forearms bulged and then split as scythe blades emerged on either arm. All over its body small spikes and blades emerged, the largest being on its back and arms. Its arms stretched down to its knees and its fingers mutated until they resembled claws. Unit-01's S2 organ pushed through its skin, half emerging from the Eva's chest. The Eva's green eyes began to darken and change colour, eventually becoming a dark foreboding red.

Lifting its right arm, Unit-01 made a sort of beckoning gesture. Instantly the black Lance tore free of the Angel's body and shot back into the Eva's waiting hand.

(Terminal Dogma, Central Chamber)

Xera watched with a slight hint of wariness as what appeared to be a random assortment of buildings began to rise from the black shadow that covered the floor. To her right the top of a hanger rose out of the black shadow. Behind her a large satellite dish broke the surface followed by the top of a tall, thin tower. Across the entire chamber similar buildings were rising out of the Sea of Dirac along with trucks, cars and VTOLs. Everything, buildings and vehicles alike bared the unmistakable mark of Nerv.

Xera continued to watch warily as Nara slowly floated down to the ground. When his feet touched the shadow he didn't begin to sink into it as Xera had expected, instead his feet touched something solid.

Nara looked up at the girl, his fast completely calm. "Not long after the death of Leliel and shortly before the appearance of Bardiel the second branch of Nerv disappeared into a Sea of Dirac. The gateway closed but it wasn't sealed. Which allowed me to reopen it."

Xera wasn't sure what to make of this most recent discovery. "So you opened the gateway, giving you access to some random buildings and vehicles. I don't see how this is going to help you."

Nara smiled at her, a frightening smile. "Because buildings and vehicles weren't the only things that disappeared that day. They weren't the reason the Sea of Dirac occurred."

Before Xera could question him further he suddenly began to rise up from the ground. He wasn't floating this time though. He was being lifted into the air by the object he stood on, which was slowly rising from the Sea of Dirac. A being of monolithic proportions rose from the shadow. Rising steadily and majestically, it lifted Nara high into the air. First the head broke the surface, then the chest, then the abdomen, waist, thighs, calves and finally the feet emerged and came to a stop resting on top of the shadow. As soon as the feet were clear the shadow began to recede, reabsorbing the buildings and vehicles that had emerged and shrinking back to its point of origin before finally disappearing altogether. The whole process had taken only a handful of seconds.

From his raised position Nara looked down at Xera and continued to smile. "Behold Unit-04, the lost Eva. This Eva was an experimental prototype, the first attempt at integrating an S2 organ into an Eva. They managed to successfully integrate the S2 organ but there was an unexpected side effect. Somehow Unit-04 generated a Sea of Dirac and the entire second branch of Nerv disappeared."

Xera didn't respond for a moment, taking the time to study Unit-04. The Eva was almost entirely covered in silver armour, with black as its secondary colour. It clearly hadn't been fully completed when it disappeared. The Eva's left arm reached just below the shoulder and then just stoped, what appeared to be a temporary silver armour plate covering the end of the stunted limb. The entire left half of the Eva's chest armour was missing, revealing the disturbingly human skin beneath. In the center of the Eva's abdomen the armour was missing and the skin had been pulled to the sides, revealing Unit-04's experimental S2 organ which had cleared been installed moments before the accident. The Eva's right eye was covered with a glassy red eye piece but the left eye piece was missing, revealing the yellowy orange eye that lay beneath. Usually the Eva's silver jaws would have been bolted shut but it appeared that the Nerv technicians at the second branch had not done this at the time of the accident. The jaws instead hung open, revealing the teeth and bloody gums that lay inside. Several wire plug-ins emerged from the Eva's right arm, shoulders and back, the wires ending abruptly close to where they entered the Eva's body. Nara stood on top of the Eva's head.

Xera finally met Nara's eyes. "You should know that no Eva is a match for me. Especially one that is incomplete." She tried and failed to inject a high degree of confidence into her voice. She was sure the boy had more in mind than simply sicking the one armed Eva on her.

Nara didn't respond, he just continued to smile. Slowly Unit-04's right arm rose up and began to reach for Xera. Xera was simply going to move but then to her dismay found that she couldn't. She couldn't move a muscle and her arms were suddenly glued to her side.

Nara's smile finally disappeared, to be replaced with a more serious expression. "You'll find that you're wrapped up in my AT field and that your own has been neutralised." Unit-04's fist closed around Xera's body, leaving only her head sticking out of the top. "So right now you're at the mercy of this 'incomplete' Eva."

(The Crater Formerly Known As Tokyo-3)

For the second time the Last Angel opened its mouth and fired a huge, red energy beam. This time however it failed to hit its nimble opponent as the now heavily mutated Eva dived below the beam. Unconcerned with the miss, the Angel cut of the flow of energy and allowed the beam to dissipate.

Unit-01 rammed its Lancea into the Angel's left hand and used its two scythe blades to gouge out deep wounds next to the puncture. Avoiding a retaliatory swing from the Angel's right arm, the Eva ripped the Lancea out and swung it around to cut deep into its opponent's right wrist, very nearly severing the Angel's hand.

Once again the Angel expanded its AT field to stop Unit-01 in its tracks but this time it brought both hands in and managed to catch the Eva between them just as it was being blown back.

Unit-01 roared as the Angel's hands closed around it, the razor sharp claws cutting deep into its exposed back and causing its energy wings to dissipate. It felt the increasing amount of pressure as the Angel tried to crush inwards, its AT field beginning to weaken.

The Angel's face contorted into a sickening grin as it felt the Eva began to weaken. It looked forward to the feeling of the now powerless enemy being crushed between its hands, the feeling of a life taken. Once the Eva was dead it could move on to the rest of its enemies. Everything that lived was an enemy. Everything that lived had to be destroyed.

Just as it seemed Unit-01 was about to be crushed a red blur came out of nowhere and embedded itself in the Angel's left eye. Roaring, the Angel released Unit-01 and reached for the Longinus spear that had punctured its eye.

(Elsewhere, Crater Formerly Known As Tokyo-3)

Asuka grinned as she watched the Last Angel release the now unrecognisable Unit-01 and reach for the Longinus spear, roaring in pain. "You liked that huh. Well there's more where that came from." She hefted Touji's Longinus spear, preparing to throw it as she had Kensuke's.

Misato's voice came over the intercom. "Good shot Asuka! With its arms moved, you have a clear shot at its S2 organ. Go for it!"

Asuka smiled menacingly. "You read my mind." Unit-14 raised the spear to shoulder height, took three running steps forward and then hurled the weapon with all its strength. "Take this!" The spear streaked into the sky, zeroing in on the Angel's massive S2 organ.

Unfortunately the Angel pulled the Longinus spear from its eye just in time and noticed the second spear approaching. It didn't have time to intercept the onrushing spear with its arms but it did have time to concentrate and blast out with its AT field. The Longinus spear hit the AT field head on. At first it kept coming, seemingly unaffected by the Angel's attack. It had almost reached the Angel's chest when it suddenly cracked, moments later shattering into several pieces. The Angel clenched its left fist and ground the other spear into dust. The remnants of both spears fell to the ground.

Asuka growled. "I guess I'll have to go for plan B." Unit-14 picked up its progressive battle axe, deployed its wings and took to the sky, heading straight for the enemy Angel.

(Terminal Dogma, Central Chamber)

Nara was standing on Unit-04's right wrist and looking down at Xera. "It's odd you know. This is the exact same position that Tabris found himself in. Do you see now how completely outmatched you are?"

Xera was barely able to move, restrained as she was by Unit-04's fist. She was no longer wrapped up in Nara's AT field but her own was still neutralised. She tilted her head back and glared up at Nara. "Finish it already. I told you before I don't want to play your games."

Nara squatted so he was more on Xera's height and grabbed her chin roughly with his right hand, forcing her to maintain eye contact with him. "Wether or not you want to play is a mute point. You're in no position to argue." He grip on her chin tightened to the point where he actually drew blood. "Answer my questions and I may just allow you to live. Now, where are Seele?" He released her chin so she could respond.

Xera continued to glare at him for a moment and then she suddenly lowered her head and began to laugh, like there was actually something funny about her current predicament. "So that's what you want. You want me to tell you where to find the members of Seele. Why? So you can kill them? Eliminate them for Nerv? You say I am a tool and yet you allow yourself to be used by Nerv. You're as much a tool as I am. Kill Seele and nothing will change. You'll still be a puppet. You'll still…"

"No!!"

Xera looked back up and for the first time saw what Nara looked like when he was angry. The boy's face was twisted in rage and his eyes appeared to be glowing slightly. She was taken aback by the anger in the boy's voice. "No?"

"I'm not a puppet of Nerv! I'm not a puppet of anyone!" Nara gritted his teeth as he spoke, his anger evident in every word. "I will not destroy Seele for Nerv or anyone else. Seele will die but only because I want them too." He clenched both fists. "I will annihilate them for what they have done to me!"

Xera had to force herself to maintain eye contact. "What they've done to you?"

Nara growled slightly. "Fifteen times I have died. Fifteen deaths! All of them caused by Seele."

Xera frowned slightly. "What are you talking about? The Angel's were destroyed by Nerv."

Nara reached out and grabbed her chin again, reopening the already healed wounds with the pressure of his grip. "Seele are the masterminds. It was them who found and tortured Lilith! It was them who captured Adam! I wanted to free my captured brethren and I wanted to punish the Lilim for what they had done!" He calmed himself with visible effort. "But I was wrong. I couldn't blame all Lilim for the actions of a few." The anger and rage returned to his face. "Seele knew I would come, they knew I would die! It was all part of their plan! And for that and no other reason, I WILL ANNHILATE THEM ALL!!"

Xera gulped. "Whatever your motives, it doesn't matter. I still won't tell you anything." She was appalled to hear fear in her voice.

Nara just looked at her blankly for awhile then nodded slightly, almost as if he was nodding to himself. Unit-04's fist loosened slightly then released her, the arm returning to the Eva's side.

Xera was surprised to be released and allowed her surprise to distract her. In a flash Nara was in front of her and before Xera could react he rammed his open hand into her chest. Nara's fingers dug into her skin and pushed deep into her chest. The hand broke through the skin, quickly being covered in spurting blood. Before Xera could react, Nara seized the protrusion at the base of her rib cage and crushed inwards, seizing her S2 organ in his hand.

Xera screamed as Nara let a pulse of energy travel through her S2 organ. Before the scream had died off he fired another pulse into the orb, causing her entire body to convulse in pain. He repeated the process three more times, causing Xera more pain with each successive pulse.

Nara's face was still blank, no trace of his earlier anger remaining. "Tell me where Seele are."

"Make me." Xera struggled just to form the words.

Nara suddenly smiled, something that scared Xera more than the rage she had seen before. "If you wish." He fired another pulse and tightened his grip on her S2 organ, causing Xera to scream in pain. That wasn't all however. Xera continued to scream as she felt some sort of force push and worm its way into the very foundation of her being. Something that penetrated deep into her soul. It felt as if every fibre of her being was being befouled by some unwanted presence that spread throughout her body. When it finally stoped she felt strange, it felt like there was some kind of presence nagging at the back of her consciousness.

Nara continued to smile at her. "We are linked now, you and I. At the very cores of our being. It's not unlike the link I have with Shinji and Rei, but this one is a little more powerful and a little more…selective."

"What do you mean?" Once again Xera struggled to form the words.

Nara's expression became serious. "You'll find you can't really sense anything along the link, you just know it's there. I on the other hand can sense your emotions and your thoughts. I can reach into your mind and take whatever information I wish."

Xera was about to respond when she felt the link come to life. She closed her eyes and screamed as a string of images flashed through her mind. Images from her memories flashed by in their hundreds, as Nara read her mind at will.

When it finally stoped Nara smiled slightly. "That will have to do for now." With a single, savage yank he tore out Xera's S2 organ and allowed her now useless body to fall to the floor.

(The Crater Formerly Known As Tokyo-3)

Taking advantage of the Last Angel's preoccupation with the Longinus spears, Unit-01 landed on the Angel's head. The Eva's Lancea came swinging around and bit deep into the Angel's cranium. Pushing deeper, the Eva drove almost two-thirds of the Lancea's length into the Angel's head. The grey Angel let out a tremendous roar of pain and reached for its head, attempting to swat the attacking Eva.

Unit-01 saw the attack coming and took to the sky, ripping the black Lancea from the Angel's skull in the process. Barely avoiding the Angel's hands, the mutated Eva raised both arms. Instantly its scythe blades detached and launched towards the Angel, embedding themselves in the creature's hands. As soon as the blades detached Unit-01's regenerative abilities kicked in and the missing blades were replaced with identical replicas.

Ignoring the scythe blades now half-buried in its hands the Angel flew higher and attempted to swat Unit-01 from the sky. Its right hand missed but its left caught and curled around the Eva, beginning to crush inwards as soon as the now hapless Eva was secured.

Just as Unit-01's concentrated AT field was about to collapse a dark spinning object whizzed through the air and cut straight through the Angel's left wrist, completely separating its hand from its arm. As the Angel's arm withdrew, a red Eva shot throw the gap created and went after the spinning weapon.

Unit-01 spread its AT field and lashed out with its blades, tearing apart the severed hand and sending the remnants falling to the ground.

At first the Angel's face twisted in pain but then it smiled. The skin on its severed wrist bulged and then ruptured, erupting into the form of an entirely new left hand. It opened its mouth and began to generate another energy beam, concentrating a large portion of its AT field into the attack. Its S2 organ began to glow brighter.

Above both the Unit-01 and the Angel Unit-14 finally caught up to the wayward progressive battle axe, miraculously managing to snatch the weapon out of the air without severing its own arm. Spinning around in mid-air, Unit-14 looked down at the Angel. Inside the cockpit, Asuka smiled. "Heads up." Spinning its massive weapon in a circle, Unit-14 hurled it at the Angel.

Noticing the Angel's mouth open in preparation for another beam attack, Unit-01 raised both of its arms and fired energy beams of its own which zeroed in on the Angel's chest. The beams encountered and tore through the behemoth's weakened AT field, blasting twin holes straight through its body and emerging on the other side.

The Angel didn't seem overly fazed by the damage it had suffered and continued to charge up its attack. Its mouth opened to its maximum width and a red beam of energy shot out, this one significantly larger and more powerful than the previous two beams it had fired. The beam engulfed Unit-01, the Eva disappearing completely into the terrible flow of energy.

Then, just as it seemed Unit-01's AT field was ready to give out Unit-14's progressive battle axe struck the Angel's back. With the Angel's attention and AT field focused on the beam and Unit-01 the deadly weapon encountered little resistance and tore straight through the Angel's body. It ploughed into the Angel's still glowing S2 organ and ripped through it, emerging from the other side and continuing on towards the city below.

The energy beam that had engulfed Unit-01 faded and disappeared, the flow of energy stoped at its source. The Eva's body had been badly scared and burnt from the attack, its skin blackened and bleeding. Many of the blades and spikes that littered its body had disappeared and the black Lancea was warped and twisted. Almost instantly however, the Eva's wounds began to heal. Even the black Lancea began to glow and return to its undamaged state.

The dead Angel remained frozen in the position it had died for a brief moment, then it slowly began to fall towards the ground, gaining speed as it was inexorable pulled down by the force of gravity. Eventually the titanic Angel came crashing to the ground, half-burying itself in the rubble created by its initial impact. The Last Angel had been defeated. Seele had lost.

(Seele Conference Room)

The obelisk marked 02 glowed brighter. "No, how is this possible. The Last Angel has been defeated!"

The obelisk marked 05 glowed brighter. "What now? We have failed to destroy Nerv."

The obelisk marked 08 glowed brighter. "It is clear now that Xera has failed in her mission. There is nothing left that we can do."

The obelisk marked 03 glowed brighter. "Are you suggesting we simply give up? You know as well as I do that that has never been a valid option for us."

The obelisk marked 01 glowed brighter. "We will not give up. We will conduct a new plan, a new way to achieve our goals. We 'cannot' fail!"

The obelisk marked 02 glowed brighter. "And if we do?"

There was a pause, then. "We won't."

(Terminal Dogma, Central Chamber)

Nara floated in the center of the cavernous chamber. His attention focused on the S2 organ still clutched in his hand. He appeared to be in a trance like state, his stare steady and unwavering. Unit-04 still stood behind him, the pupil of its left eye fixed on the powerful teen.

Nara finally ceased his silent study and looked up at the overbearing form of the silver Eva. He floated up until he was in front of its face. "You are to remain here Unit-04. Return to your dormant state until I command you to awaken." He had already formed a link with the Eva so it could not deny him. Its shoulders slumped slightly as its covered right eye dimmed and its exposed left eye closed.

Nara closed his fingers around Xera's S2 organ. "It is time to finish Seele." He took off towards the shaft leading to Central Dogma and headed for the surface. As he flew higher he noticed the incredible amount of damage that had been dealt to Nerv. "It looks like things got pretty rough up here." He reopened his link to Shinji and Rei. "But it seems it's over now. I guess I missed all the fun." He laughed slightly and began to concentrate his AT field.

(The Crater Formerly Known As Tokyo-3)

Misato watched as Unit-14 landed on a nearby boulder, the Eva perching on the giant rock as its wings retracted into its wing backpack. Further away, the mutated Eva that Misato believed had once been Unit-01 landed on a huge pile of rubble.

Misato brought her microphone to her lips. "Are you okay Asuka?"

Unit-14's head turned until its eyes were looking in Misato's direction. "Yeah, I'm fine Misato. Did I get it?"

Misato smiled. "Yeah, you got it Asuka."

Misato was about to say something further when the ground in front of her ruptured and exploded outwards as a glowing black cross-flare erupted from the ground. Misato was forced to shield her eyes from the light.

When Misato did uncover her eyes, she started so badly she almost fell over. Floating right in front of her, looking straight into her eyes, was Nara. But this wasn't Nara as she knew him. He had changed just like Shinji had.

Nara smiled slightly. "Hello Major. Surprised to see me?"

Misato blinked several times before responding. "You're…you're supposed to be…be dead."

Nara just smiled at her again and turned to Ritsuko. "I'm going to deal with the members of Seele. They've interfered long enough." He didn't wait for any response, glancing briefly at Unit-01 he flew higher into the sky and then took of to the north. He flew at incredible speeds, quickly disappearing from sight.

Misato continued to stand still long after the boy had disappeared. Eventually she shook herself off and looked over at Ritsuko. "Would you mind explaining what just happened?"

Ritsuko signed. "I'm sorry Misato but you'll have to take that up with the commander."

Misato grunted. "Then that's exactly what I'll do."

(Elsewhere, Crater Formerly Known As Tokyo-3)

Unit-01 watched Nara as he disappeared from sight, its enhanced sight keeping track of the boy long after he had seemingly vanished from sight. It could sense Nara's emotions, a mixture of confidence and determination. The parts of its soul that were Shinji and Rei felt apprehension at Nara's leaving but at the same time they felt sure he would return.

The still heavily mutated Eva bent over as the center of its back bulged outwards, eventually splitting open between two particularly large spikes to reveal the Eva's entry plug. The entry plug slowly slid out of the Eva's back and hissed, spitting LCL as its lid slid open. Slowly both Shinji and Rei stood up within the plug, restored to their own bodies.

Rei looked over her shoulder at Shinji. "What now Shin-chan?"

Shinji wrapped his arms around the girl. "Now Rei-chan, we wait."

---

End Notes: I hoped you liked this chapter. The battles originally weren't supposed to take so long but I got a little carried away. As a consequence, a large portion of this chapter has been pushed back into the next chapter, which won't be up anytime soon. It will contain more character development etc. As always, please review, unless you intend to flame me.