Disclamer: This fic is based on the universe of Warhammer 40k, a registered product of the Gamesworkshop. And Neon Genesis Evangelion, which is of Gainax. I don't own Eva or 40k and don't claim to do so.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

2408561M41
Akris System
Seventeen Years Later

Fragments of old armour plates were torn off the surface of a medium-sized frigate as it began it's decent into Akris Prime's atmosphere. The heavily scarred craft displayed telltale signs of not just one but a multitude of hostile engagements. At closer inspection one might have been surprised that it was still in one piece.

Yet somehow the battered craft held together, descending in a smooth arc, the incandescent glow of its frontal hull lighting its path across the night sky.

From a rocky outcrop a boy, in his teens, watched as a shiny speck arced across the sky. He immediately recognised it as a spacecraft, due to it's controlled descent. Not many crafts actually landed on Akris these days, most travellers simply docked at the orbital platform and came down by shuttle, and of those most were just regular merchants. The boy shook his head, clearing his mind of such trivial matters. Standing up from his favourite sitting spot, Shinji Ikari lifted a small bag onto his shoulders. He often came here, to glaze out into the clear sky, to relax from his duties and worries. But he'd been sitting here for far long than he'd intended to, and it was time to get back now. Leaping off the outcrop, Shinji slid carefully down the side of the hill. A small cloud of red dust picked up after him, following him until he reached the bottom. Coming to a pause, the boy promptly gave a sigh, turned around and headed home.

Home, in this case, happened to be a rather spacious workshop, where potential items, recovered from the massive junkyards that covered much of Akris' desert landscape, were repaired and sold back to the trading guilds. It was a profitable business, especially if a particularly rare item was found. This was not as uncommon as one might think, if one considers that Akris was one of the major dumping grounds of the Imperium right after the Angelis war.

It was a business that was limited to a specialised few though, for repairing such complex devices required superior training to what could normally be obtained locally. For the most part, this ordinarily meant Adeptus Mechanicus priesthood, but there were exceptions.

One obvious exception in Shinji's mind was his 'Mentor'. The old man only known as Kozo.

In truth Shinji really hated calling him that, but it was the only name he had ever given to people to call him. For some reason, Shinji thought name 'Kozo' just didn't sound right, especially because of that strange air of authority the man wore around him… even others sensed it too. He guessed that it was one of the reasons why they were so successful. Not once, had Shinji know Kozo to have been paid less than what their salvaged tech was surely worth.

Kozo had taken care of Shinji ever since he could remember. He certainly didn't remember his real parents. All he did know is that sometime in the past, his mother had left him under his care, and then disappeared. Shinji tried questioning Kozo on several occasions on where his mother went but he always denied knowing anything.

The man himself was as much as a mystery as was his own past, and even more enigmatic as far as Shinji was concerned. Kozo and Shinji survived primarily on their income provided by salvaged material, but Kozo also worked as a local 'handyman'… for there was almost no problem he could not fix. This included various tasks, which were far from dealing with technological devices. The man had a knack for problem solving in general. Last year, old one-eyed Pete had a situation with his son, who wanted to ditch their workshop and spend his entire family's fortune to travel off-planet.

Shinji never found out what Kozo said to the old Pete' son, but as far as he knew the subject of interstellar travel was never breached again in their household.

Shinji vaguely suspected that his Mentor was more than he was letting on. Certainly, he was not using the full extent of his abilities…

"I'm home…" said Shinji as he stepped through the large doors of the workshop. Dropping his bag onto a nearby table, Shinji left it there for Kozo to sift through it at a later time. For he could see that his Mentor was busily welding some parts of a transport together. The old man however, took notice of the noise. He turned his head and lifted his protective eyepiece, revealing his elderly yet still sharp eyes. He nodded at Shinji for a good day's work.

"Touji dropped by earlier… he said he had some news for you" said Kozo, returning to his work.

"Hmm?" Shinji was washing his face in a pan of water to rid himself off the dust and grime.

"I think he finally did it boy… though I don't think you'll be too happy to hear it…"

"No! You mean… he was chosen and he accepted?!"

Kozo sighed as he pulled out and examined a damaged power cell, attempting to determine whether the piece was worth fixing or not. "I guess…" he responded, "It's his life after all…"

Shinji clutched his head in annoyance, having more than once argued with Touji on the subject of Eva pit fighting. Nasty business it was, though currently quite a popular sport within the Imperium and profitable for winners. When dealing with combat at that scale however, the defeated pilots have been known not to survive their experience, especially the new ones.

Even on a backwater planet as Akris Eva pit fighting was a major source of entertainment. Nobles or rich guild merchants owned most of the actual units and would often hire local pilots to fight in the arena under their name. Touji had been training amongst the candidates of a powerful merchant named Eisenov, who is known to deal with illegal materials. There had always the possibility that would be select as the pilot for Eisenov's Eva; a Scorpio class Eva modified especially for hand to hand combat, but Shinji had never thought that he'd really accept if he was offered the chance.

"Damn that idiot…" mutter Shinji, as he turned to head out again.

"Don't be stupid Shinji, it's late and it's not as if he's going to fight tomorrow" Kozo looked up after he'd finished shifting through the pile.

Shinji hesitated, but continued on his way out, determined to convince Touji to back out.

"Fine, have it your way… at least pick up a new thermal cutter on your way back."

On his way out Shinji bumped into a tall man. He seemed to play the rough and charming type well, Shinji had only seen a few starship Captains, but he immediately made a connection to the craft he'd seen landing earlier. A rogue trader… what's he doing on Akris?

"Excuse me, where can I find Mr Fuyutsuki?"

"Eh?" replied Shinji dumbly, "Are you talking about Kozo?"

"Err… yes… where is he?"

"Back there… sorry, but I have to go…" Shinji indicated behind him and politely excused himself.

The tall man nodded in thanks and watched as Shinji hurried on his way out of the warehouse. After the boy was gone, he turned around and walked over to meet the man he had sought for almost half his life.

Shinji approached the guard at the door nervously. He had visited Touji's favourite down town spot many times, for this was where he had the most chance of finding the slightly older boy. The Crimson Hand was a popular place, both for conventional entertainment and backroom sales of black market items. Of course, it also happened to be owned by Eisenov, who certainly knew how to take care of his pilots. Shinji wondered though, how he took care of those who weren't his pilots. "Where do you think you're going?" asked the guard with little more than a grunt. The man's bionic claw twitched in anticipation, Shinji could tell the he was sort looking for an excuse to fight… or kill anyone. "I'm here to see Touji." The guard glared down at Shinji, who was easily less than half his body mass. Yet the boy did not yield, knowing that he now trod the thin line between being allowed in and beaten to a pulp. Those who did not take risk did not go very far on a world like Akris.

"Buzz off kid!" crackled the guard's synthesised voice, "No one seez 'im… orders from da boss."

"Listen, you can go and ask Touji… he'll want to speak to me."

The guard made an awkward sound, like metal being scrapped and advanced dangerously towards Shinji. "You daft kid? I said buzz off or might just keep your 'ead as a little souvenir!"

Normally, Shinji would know that this was the time to back off, but unfortunately his concern towards his friend blinded him to the risks he was running.

"Look I…"

"That's it! I warned you…!" without even finishing his sentence the guard swung his mechanical claw at Shinji, who stumbled back in surprise. The crude, yet massive weapon passed mere inches before his chest.

Taking advantage of the cumbersome nature of the weapon, Shinji backed away from the man without too much difficulty. Yet to Shinji's horror, the guard kept up the attack. Shinji had been expecting the possibility of being chased off by the guard, but never considered the possibility that the man would rather crush his skull in, than do his job.

With surprising skill, he dodged several more swipes, Shinji was eventually backed up into a wall. He quickly glanced around, hoping to find someone or something to help him. But as it was all too common on Akris, the few people who didn't ignore his plight were betting on which part would get ripped off first. The brute grinned maliciously as he prepared to finish off his prey. They boy could only watch as the man closed in, expecting his ribs to by crushed in by the savage metal claw any second now.

As the man swung his claw, Shinji could do nought but squeeze his eyes shut, but for a fraction of a second, he became aware of a bright arc of light.

After a few seconds, Shinji came to the conclusion that he was still quite alive. Opening his eyes, he was amazed to find a woman standing next to him. A hand on her hips and the other resting idly on the ornate sword that hung from her waist. Glancing beyond her, Shinji was stunned to find the guard on his knees clutching what remained of his bionic claw. The crude device had been sliced cleanly in half, machine oil squirting uselessly from exposed tubes and valves.

The woman had apparently come to his rescue, drawing her sword and disabling the guard's claw before he had a chance to strike. Presumably from the confident pose that she was in when he first saw her, Shinji could only assumed that she was capable of drawing, striking and sheathing her weapon again in mere seconds, something that was quite beyond the skills of the locals. Her clothes and flamboyant purple hair also easily marked her out as coming from off planet. The very fact that she had managed to cut the bionic claw in half suggested that her sword was also a Power weapon, something rarely seem on Akris save perhaps in the Planetary Defence Force's high ranking officials. The woman remained silent, glaring at the guard who returned it with a look of utter hatred. They remained that way for a few more second before the man wisely retreated. Recognising that he had a better chance of besting a hoard of Daemons than this woman. After he left, the small crowd that had gathered also quickly dispersed. With a sigh of relief the woman finally turned around, flashing Shinji a small smile. "Well I'm glad that's over with…" she said. "Errm… Thanks…" Shinji managed. "Hmmm? Oh that's alright… Couldn't let him spread you all over the place now could I?" Shinji could only stare back at her in puzzlement.

"Well, I suppose I could have allowed that… but it wouldn't have been too nice of me" the woman grinned, "Speaking of which, it wasn't particularly too smart of you to pick a fight with one of those braindeaders in the first place."

"Well… I know… but I had to get in there to speak to a friend of mine…"

"Was it really that important?" she asked him.

"Well… yeah…"

The woman regarded him for a few seconds, then she seemed to make up her mind and turned back around grabbing Shinji's hand.

"Come along then, I'm sure no one'll pick on you any time soon after than little demonstration I gave."

"Fuyutsuki… Kozo Fuyutsuki…?"

"Yes…?" Kozo's grip tightened on the wrench he was using. Something about the voice triggered memories he had long sought to forget.

"I've been looking for you a long time…"

Kozo put down the wrench but did not turn around. Instead he toyed with a large ring on his finger.

"I believe you knew my father… Tetsuya Kaji."

The old man finally turned around, disbelief in his eyes. He had given up hope that Tetsuya would ever make the rendezvous. Hundreds of scenarios had been thought up of might have happened, even treachery had been a possibility that couldn't be ignored. After all four Evangelion units could fetch an exorbitant sum on the black market. Especially the original four units.

But he came… well… not him… this wasn't Tetsuya. This was Rouji… his son.

"Where is he?" Kozo asked.

Kaji shook his head, "He'd dead. Got shot several years back before he could meet you. He never even had the chance to tell me where or when."

"I sorry to hear that. Then how did you find me?"

"Ah… that was just by shear luck… The Lady Luck was damaged in a skirmish with pirates. I was forced to land on Akris for repairs… They didn't have one of the parts I needed so they sent me to find an old man living by the edge of town, saying that he probably had that part. A man named Kozo who came here fifteen years ago with a woman named Yui."

"And you figured it out just from those names and dates?"

"Well… not really… after all I did need the parts, I thought I might as well make sure it was you."

"You… have them?"

"The Units? Well… one of them at least."

"What do you mean one of them?!"

"I'm sorry but do you really think I'd be lugging around four Evangelion Units for years with no idea where or when to pass them on to."

"I see… yes, I can understand that… so where are the others?"

"I left them each on a different world… I had to, it would be indeed suspicious that a man like me owned four Units. I stored Unit-00 in a secure warehouse on Pristine, Unit-02 is with a old friend on Lucifero and Unit-03 on Sirenn."

"You've been travelling quite a bit"

Kaji gave Kozo his family trademark grin, "Hereditary wanderlust. My father had it and so do I"

"I take it that it's Unit-01 that you have with you then."

"Of course."

"You… didn't do anything to it did you?"

"Ermm… like what?"

"You know, take it for a spin… sold some of its parts?"

"What? No way! I know perfectly well that only certain types of people can pilot an Eva… and I certainly know better than to tinker with tech like that…"

"…"

"Well, alright… we did have it repainted years ago… It might have been fine for Magos Yui, but personally? I just couldn't stand spending so much time with something that's so massively purple"

"…"

"What?"

"What do you mean?"

"You were just thinking of something else. I could see it by your look."

"I… I was just thinking if only you came when you were meant to."

"I am very sorry about…"

"No you don't understand, I'm not blaming you or your father. It was circumstances that cause things to turn out the way they did."

"… what happened?"

"While we were waiting for you to arrive… Yui… Magos Ikari decided to go and search for you herself. I could not stop her, especially when she left her son in my care."

"Son? You mean the boy who I bumped into on the way in?"

"Yes, Shinji Ikari."

"So what happened to her?"

"I don't know. We lost contact when she reached Mars."

"Hmmm… we were there for a short while… but that was a long time ago."

"She wasn't combat trained, but she was one of the most intelligent person I'd ever met. Something unexpected must have occurred… something that even she couldn't deal with."

"Are we going to look for her then?"

"We?"

"Of course, I do owe it to you and the boy… And besides, I've been having difficulties with my trading licence of late…"

"You're broke?"

"Err…" Kaji was looking quite embarrassed, "Well… yeah… sorta… We had to ditch our cargo when the raiders attacked us earlier. If we hadn't, then I don't think we would have made it out of there alive."

"We… Wait… you don't mean… the Kasuragi child is still with you?"

"Misato? Yeah… she's… around…"

Shinji glanced around the bar as soon as he stepped into the building. This time no one stopped him, since the woman was still watching over him like a hawk. He quickly spotted Touji on the far side of the room, surrounded by older pilot candidates.

"Touji!" he called out, quickly heading towards him friend.

Touji turned around and grinned "Hey! Shinji! What are you doing here! Surprised you managed to get in here with all that commotion going on outside", of course it didn't take long for him to spot the woman behind Shinji. "Whoa..! Who's the hottie?"

Shinji winced, not knowing how his benefactor would make of his friend's obvious lack of etiquette.

The woman however, did not even show any hint that she had even heard the comment. Maintaining a bemused expression on her face.

"Touji…" Shinji begun.

"Come on Shinji! Join us! I trust you've heard the great news! Bring along the babe too see that you are!" Touji interrupted.

"Touji we need to talk… In private…" Shinji persisted.

Seeing the serious expression on his friend's face, Touji waved off another attempt on the part of the other pilots to get him pissed drunk. "Sorry boys, looks like I'll have to cut this party short…" He was answered by a chorus of boos and protests, "…but… you know me… I'll be back before you know it!" Giving Shinji the biggest smirk he could, Touji followed his friend outside the establishment.

No sooner had they stepped outside, Shinji hastily pulled Touji over to an empty side street.

"Are you insane!?" shouted Shinji, even though did his best keep his voice down.

"Wha?!! Crap… I forgot you weren't particularly too keen on me being an Eva pilot…" Touji groaned, knowing all too well he was about to be lectured at.

"Touji! You know how dangerous Eva pit fighting is! Less than half of the pilots survive their first fight! Not to mention that if you loose you then you have to survive both the trashing and Eisenov's punishment!" Shinji argued.

"Relax… that's only if I loose… and besides ever since I signed on with him I haven't had a choice in the matter, Eisenov sees me as an investment and I happen to know that he doesn't take well to failed investments. I mean, it seemed like a good idea at the time."

"I know but how long are you going to keep it up for? Even if you win your first and second and third… someone is going to beat you eventually… knowing Eisenov he might even rig it that way if too many people start betting on you."

"Shit… I never thought of it that way. Still… Shinji, it's too late, I can't quit now… Eisenov will hunt me down and kill me for sure if I do…"

"… I… I know that but…"

"Perhaps I can be of help?" the woman finally spoke.

"Huh? What?" Shinji stuttered.

"If… you can trust me… I'm willing to help your friend here get off planet if you want. I've dealt with people like this Eisenov character before and I can tell you that that would be the only way you could probably get out of this in one piece. And no… I'm not asking for anything in return" she spoke.

"But…" Shinji was confused, despite his own ideals, he was not naïve enough to think that even an outlander, would lift a finger to help them. Certainly not for free. But there was something about this woman… after all, she did save him from being torn in half for absolutely no reason whatsoever.

"Wait a sec… Shinji, will you finally explain to me who this woman is?! And I can't pack up and leave just like that!" Touji protested.

Shinji considered the situation for a moment, then he turned over and placed a hand on his friend's shoulder, "Touji… take…"

"Misato"

"…Misato here to my place… we can work this out later… arguing about this here is not safe."

"What?! You didn't even know her name?!"

"Touji, just trust me and go with her…"

"And what are you going to do?"

"I still gotta go and grab a new Thermal cutter for Kozo before I get back. But don't worry, I'll be right behind you."

Touji hesitated, but he had known Shinji long enough to know that he was a fairly good judge of people, perhaps it was due to having lived with old man Kozo for so long. The way that man just saw through you more than disturbed Touji.

"Fine… but hurry up" he finally conceded, "Let's go hot stuff… this way."

"Touji…" Shinji quickly called out before he even took a step.

"Huh?"

"I would not call her that again if I were you."

It was then, that Touji finally turned around and looked at the expression on Misato's face. It was far from pretty. In fact it was downright scary. With a gulp, he quickly nodded and without another word, led her off through the back streets of the city.

Shinji breathed a sigh of relief as soon as they disappeared from sight. He could trust that woman, he told himself, and everything was going to be all right.

Suddenly, the heavy butt of a laspistol was smashed against the back of his head, sending him sprawling onto the ground. Shinji barely registered the shadows looming over him before the darkness and pain engulfed him.

Touji led Misato to the warehouse. What he didn't know was that Kozo was already entertaining a guest, one that was already familiar with Misato.

"Oh hi there Misato… had enough of wondering around town?" asked Kaji.

"Nothing much, met some interesting people though…" she replied.

"What? Who the hell are you?" exclaimed Touji in surprise.

"Ah Touji… This is Rouji Kaji, a old friend of mine" explained Kozo.

"An old friend?" Touji was stunned, never before had the old man so much as mentioned his past, let alone suggest that he even had a friend.

"Hey Kaji… they were sort of wondering if we could take this one with us when we leave…" asked Misato, "From what I hear it's not safe for him to be around here anymore."

Kaji was at first confused by the question, but then replied with a grin, "That's just fine, one more shouldn't be a problem."

"One more?" Touji blinked in puzzlement.

"Shinji and I are going too Touji. We're leaving Akris, although I didn't tell Shinji yet" Kozo gave him a half smile.

"Whoa…! This is… man, I never would have guess… though I not surprised."

"… what do you mean?"

"Well, it's not as if you've put up a sign stating temporary residency or anything… but the way folks see it around here is that you don't seem like the kind to settle out here on this wasteland of a planet. So we kinda thought you'd leave one day… though I never realised that I'd be tagging along with you guys."

"Well… I guess it all worked out after all" smiled Misato.

"Ah… Katsuragi, I haven't seen you since you were but such a small thing…" commented Kozo, "You have grown into a fine woman."

Misato could not help but blush, not used to being treated as a child, "Thank you sir… it was your gesture of compassion that allowed me the freedom I enjoy today."

"Think nothing of it… I only applied what I learnt from someone."

"That someone being Magos Ikari of course?" asked Kaji.

"Yes."

At that point however, they we interrupted by shouting.

"Touji! Mr Kozo!" shouted a small boy as he ran into the warehouse.

"Hoji? What are you doing here?" asked Touji.

Little Hoshino was one of the orphaned boys that grew up alongside Touji and Shinji in the post-Angelic War years. A rowdy kid, but good hearted in his own way. Though, he did have this nasty habit of hiding in the shadows and blackmailing people with any secrets he overheard.

Unfortunately, this time Hoshino bit off more than he could chew.

"Touji! They've taken Shin…! They…! Knocked… him out ! … gonna… him off!" he panted heavily, trying as best he could to catch his breath.

"What?! Hoshino, slow down! Explain from the beginning!"

"I… I was sneaking around in town when… I overheard your conversation about going off-planet! At first I thought I could shake you for some creds before then but… When you left, this big ugly dude came out of nowhere and knocked Shinji out and dragged him off!"

"What?! Who was it! Did you follow him!"

"Of course I followed him!! But it was already obvious from the start where he was taking him to…"

"Eisenov…"

"Damn right it was one of his paid-scum! He must have overhear the conversation as I did!"

"Dammit! This is all my fault! He got into this mess because of me…" cursed Touji.

"No… no time for blames…" said Kozo, "Hoji… do you know what they want Shinji for?"

"I… I managed to sneak around to an opening to Eisenov's office to listen to them… I think they're planning to use him as an example somehow in tomorrow's pit fight… the _Eva_ pit fight that is…" Hoshino shook his head.

"Thank you Hoshino… You should go home now, we'll handle it from here" Kozo knelt down and handed some credits to the boy. He watched as Hoshino nodded in understanding and quickly departed.

Kozo stood up again and tried to assess the situation, "I'm going to take a guess and assume that Shinji will certainly not be given an Eva… Hmmm… I don't doubt that they will try to send you a message Touji, Eisenov will want you to be there to watch"

"Dammit no!"

"Then what are we waiting for! Let's go and get him" declared Misato.

"Got attached to him already have you?" commented Kaji.

"Shut up and be useful for once. I didn't save his ass earlier to have him turned to paste by an Eva" she turned around, about to leave.

"No, we won't be doing anything like that" Kozo words came with more authority than any of the three had ever heard in their lives.

"What?" asked Misato, irritated.

"I don't doubt your fighting ability Misato, if the stories Kaji had been telling me a true… but Eisenov controls much power on Akris. If you are going to make a move against him, you must do so without him realising who he's up against. Even if you could rescue Shinji, the spaceport will without doubt become compromised before you can escape. No… we will do this… my way…"

No one challenged him. No one dared question him.

The next day

It was early morning on Akris as the crowds poured into the massive stadium used for Eva pit fighting. Despite the cloudy weather, and only a few patches of clear sky, it was still quite bright. And as always, rain was an unlikely prospect on an arid planet as Akris. The 'pit' itself was no less than one and a half kilometres in diameter, whilst the stands themselves did not even cover a quarter of it's perimeter. Roughly modified from what use to be a mining quarry, this was by far the crudest type of stadiums for Eva pit fighting of course and as thus combat itself was limited to hand to hand.

Able to hold over 10,000 men and women at one time, the stadium was, as on many worlds, the most popular recreational site. People from across Akris came to Stadium at lest once a year to witness the battles, and indeed bet their credits on the favourites.

This year, the champion pilot was Tal Riis and the Scorpio class Eva; 'Corpse Maker', sponsored by none other than Eisenov. With six consecutive wins under belt, Riis is renowned for his showmanship, extending fights for longer than required to provide for the spectators, and for that, they loved him. Today though, he was told things would be different, that Eisenov wanted him to help him teach someone a lesson.

The crowd burst into cheers as Riis finally appeared, he walked confidently onto the walkway that led to Corpse Maker's entry plug. He waved at the audience, acknowledging their enthusiasm. Unknown to them however, Riis was at this moment, not a very happy camper.

Certainly, Riis did not claim to be a saint, having accidentally killed at least one of his opponents during battle. But he could not help but feeling uncomfortable about all this. At least… that time, his opponent had known the risks, and both had equal stakes in the fight since both of them were experienced Eva pilots.

But this…

He was a fighter dammit! Not an executioner...

Of course, it wasn't as if he had much of a choice in the matter either. No one disobeyed Eisenov, or they ended up just like the poor sod down there right now.

Rumour had it that Eisenov had already selected a replacement for him, meaning that he was meant to have taken a fall in the next fight. Outside interference changed this.

Riis went over to the side rails and looked down into the pit, where the boy, only slightly younger than himself was tied to a cross. Strangely, the boy looked unnaturally calm, and if Riis didn't know any better, he could have sworn that he was staring straight back at him.

Did he not owe it to this boy then? Without a replacement, he would enjoy his position until they could find someone qualified enough to rack in the wins. But… No… He could not help the boy. Dismissing his thoughts with a shake of his head, Riis turned away from the pit and entered the entry plug.

Shinji stared up at the audience and Corpse Maker with his remaining good eye, since the other had swollen to the point that he could not see with it. His ribs ached where he had been kicked repetitively by Eisenov himself. He was surprised however that the beating had lasted as short a time as it did. Then again, it could be that they wanted to make sure he was still conscious as the Eva crushed his body to a pulp.

At the very lest, even Touji would not be stupid enough to try to come and save him, would he?

He was going to do the smart thing and get away right?

Shit…

Knowing Touji, that's the last thing he would do.

"Are we ready then?"

"Of course, on your mark…"

"Now"

A loud deafening roar echoed across the entire stadium, throwing the entire stadium into confusion. A surprised Eisenov and his men glanced quickly glanced around, searching for the source of the disturbance. Soon enough, they could not miss the giant form of a mid-sized frigate plunge through the thick clouds above the stadium.

Their first instinct was to shoot at the spacecraft. Bright arcs of blinding light lanced up towards it, the telltale signs of Lascannon fire. The source being the weapons platforms built around the rim of the pit under Eisenov's orders to help him maintain control over any rogue Eva pilots. They were however easily deflected by the ship's shields. Any further shooting was quelled by Eisenov who realised that even if they managed to shoot it down, the craft would certainly crash down into the stadium stands, killing all of them in the process.

Shinji was surprised as anyone with the sudden appearance of the spacecraft, but he was even more surprised when he heard a low rumbling followed by some shuffling behind him.

"Misato?!" he exclaimed when he managed to catch a glimpse of her.

"Heh… nice to see you too boy. See they roughed you up real good didn't they" she told him whilst cutting him free.

"What?! Who?! When?!"

"Shush now, we have to get the hell out of here before they realise we're making a run for it. I got a shuttle nearby so we can rendezvous with the Lady Luck without her needing to land. In that way Eisenov can't stop us."

She helped support him and together they begun to hobble over to the buggy which Misato had used to get to him under the cover of the frigate's noise.

All things considered, things were going pretty well until Corpse Maker stepped on the buggy before they could reach it.

"I'm afraid…" boomed a voice from Corpse Maker, "… I can't let you do that."

"Shit!" cursed Misato, dodging a flaming wheel that rolled by. Quickly, she attempted to haul Shinji away despite the fact that any chance to escape now was in tatters.

Slowly, the Eva reached down and grabbed the pair. With great care, it pulled the two apart. Then it stood up to its full height holding Shinji in its right hand and Misato in its left.

"You ma'fuckers in the frigate! Land that rusty piece of shit now or I order my boy to crush them!" boomed Eisenov's voice through all open communication bands.

"Frag! What do we do now?!" exclaimed Touji in panic inside the Lady Luck's cockpit.

"What else can we do?" replied Kaji.

"No! If we land Eisenov will not only kill them but us as well!" argued Kozo, grabbing Kaji's shoulder.

"You… you may be right… but this is my ship and it's a risk I'm willing to take!" Kaji quickly shrugged off Kozo's grip and begun the landing sequence before he could be interrupted.

Kozo many have been an old man, but he still managed to pull Kaji off his seat and spin him around to face him eye to eye, "For her…?!" he demanded to know. Another man within the cockpit, who Kozo could only assume was the ship navigator, got up and was about to intervene when Kaji motioned for him to stand down.

Further silence was the only response Kozo got.

Together they waited in quietly as the craft descended automatically, unable to do anything after the landing sequence had been initiated. Unfortunately for them, one slight hitch about landing was also the necessity to shut down the shields, leaving them totally unprotected.

Eisenov stood in the stands, grinning ear to ear as the vessel finally settled onto the pit's floor. Silently, he motioned to one of his men and whisper to him "As soon as I say the word open fire with everything we got at the ship... I don't want any of them to leave here alive."

The man nodded and quickly walked off to relay his commands to the weapon teams. At the same time, most of the crowd that had run away when chaos broke out, had begun returning back to their seat, finding the show far more interesting that they had originally expected.

Stepping on the centre stand with a mic, Eisenov began to arrogantly address those who have challenged him. "Imbeciles! Did you think you could get away with this! Now you don't get to watch one, but two of your stupid friends get crushed by my Eva!" he raised his hand into the air.

"No!" shouted Kaji and Touji in unison.

"Riis! Do it!" Eisenov command, lowering his hand again.

Slowly… Corpse Maker's huge grip begun to tighten.

"I'm truly sorry…" came a low whisper from the Eva that only Shinji and Misato could hear.

Feeling his body being slowly crushed, Shinji could not help but feel a strange sense of irony, though he did not understand it. This moment of insight was interrupted when the pain became so much that both him and Misato begun to scream whilst they still could.

That was when they heard it. An unmistakable… loud… snarl. Even Riis heard it inside his Eva, causing him to immediately loosen his grip.

It was coming from inside the Lady Luck.

"What the fuck was that!?" Eisenov stood stunned.

Inside the frigate's cockpit, the same question was being asked.

"What the… was that…?" asked Kaji to no one in particular.

"Yes…" Kozo replied simply, the only one seeming unshaken by the turn of events. He calmly watched into the camera feed from the Eva hanger, "Kaji… open the bay and release the restraints."

"But…" he tried to protest.

"Now."

Eisenov was puzzled when one of the heavy hanger doors of the frigate before begun to open. At first he thought that perhaps his opponents possessed an Eva themselves and were now deploying it as their last option. If so, it would not be hard to imagine that the pilot was none other than that traitor Touji. If that had been the case then Eisenov was confident that Riis would plummel him to the ground. Touji may have been Riis' replacement, but they were by no mean an equal match.

If that had been the case…

It wasn't.

An old-looking, blackened Eva rose from the shelter of its hanger. No one amongst the audience recognised its class. Not even the tech-priest hired to maintain Corpse Maker had ever seen anything like it.

Upon looking at it, Eisenov begun to laugh, "Hahaha!!! What a piece of junk! Where did you get that from?! Or did you idiots build it from scrap!" he quickly contacted Corpse Maker, "Riis! Put those two down for now and tear that walking trash apart!"

Inside his entry plug, Riis was thrilled. Finally, a match! It may be walking trash like Eisenov said, but at lest it was still a decent challenge. If it's defeat meant he had to continue crushing those two sods then so be it. At lest they had will have had their shot.

Gently, Corpse Maker lowered the pair down as close to the pit's wall as possible without moving away. Although in agonising pain, Shinji and Misato managed to help each other hobble away from the two Evas.

Turning back to face the unknown Eva, Corpse Maker prepared itself for combat.

It never even saw it coming.

The black Eva, also know by a select few as Unit-01, moved with supernatural speed, smashing into Corpse Maker at the speed of a missile before anyone realised what was going on. Inside his own Eva, Riis was stunned by the ferocity of the attack, never had he seen anyone control an Eva like what he was witnessing right now. In fact, he didn't even know an Eva could move that way.

"No! This can't be!" he cried painfully as the black Eva smashed another of its massive fist into Corpse Maker's face.

Needless to be said, Eisenov was laughing no more.

"How…? But that's impossible… no one's in it…" whisper Touji as he stood watching the outside monitors in the Lady Luck's cockpit.

"… it _is_ possible…" replied Kozo with a what could be almost a smile.

"Witness… the Machine Spirit… in all its glory."

By now it was obvious that the black Eva was winning, but Unit-01's Machine Spirit did not relent. After digging its fingers into Corpse Maker's shoulder joint, it violently wrenched the arm off complete, causing Riis to scream in agony. The Eva's blood sprayed out onto the pit floor, creating small lake of crimson coloured mud. Yet this was only the beginning, as Unit-01 begun to meticulously tear Corpse Maker apart, bit by bit. Unit-01 knocked Corpse Maker down, and held it there with a foot. Soon, another one of Riis' Eva's leg was torn off and thrown outside the pit. Many of the spectators begun to become violently ill, whilst the rest begun to cheer for the now gore-covered black Eva. Misato watched with morbid fascination, closer to the carnage than she would have liked. She could not help but note the raw animal drive that the Unit-01 possessed, and wondered what exactly, had they been carrying around with them through space all these years. She came to realise at this point, that Shinji was no long standing next to the pit wall with her. Instead, he managed to hobble by himself right underneath the slaughter. Try as she might though, Misato found her own legs unwilling to move, thus she could only watch as he moved closer and closer to danger.

Shinji himself was rather calm at the moment, the appearance of the black Eva having sparked something in his memory. Perhaps not directly, since he could have sworn that he'd never even seen the monstrous war machine before in his entire life. Yet… there was something… familiar…

This was not the time to ponder such thoughts though. He did only what came naturally to him, watching idly as his own body moved on it's own whim. As soon as he stepped close enough, Shinji raised his arm, palm open.

"Stop!" came a strong, firm voice, which surprisingly, was most definitely his own.

Against all sane logic, the black Eva froze on the spot. Ready to rip the mortally incapacitated Eva's head off as a trophy of sorts.

"Don't…" his voice begun quavering.

Almost hesitantly, Unit-01 moved away from what was left of Corpse Maker. Eventually coming down on a knee before Shinji.

Many in the audience didn't know whether to feel disturbed by the turn of events or start bursting into cheer because they were able to witness something never before seen or likely to be seen around here anymore. Certainly, the news of such an incident would spread cover the planet within the day and quite possibly off planet by the end of the week.

Eventually snapping out of his daze, Eisenov finally came to realise that his precious Eva had just been completely trashed. Even now, he could not possibly front up enough credits for the repairs, if in fact it could be repaired at all. Burning with rage, he immediately gave the command to open fire on both Unit-01 and the Lady Luck.

Lascannon bolts swiftly slammed into both of the targets, tearing gashes into the side of the frigate and burning through the Eva's armour and into it's flesh. Unit-01 however, shrugged them off as little more than pin pricks. The injuries did register though, and before Shinji could react in any way, the Eva leap into the air, landing directly on one of the weapons platforms built on the border of the pit. The small structure simply crumbled under the weight, instantly reduced to so much scrap. Without even a pause the Eva leapt for the next one, destroyed it and then went for the next and next.

Even the thugs Eisenov hired to man the weapons weren't stupid enough to just sit there. They ran for it.

Finally, the last of the weapons platforms had been destroyed, leaving nothing to impede either the Eva or the frigate from taking off. Glancing down into the pit, Eisenov was unable to spot the two who had defied him. He could therefore only assume that they had taken advantage of the situation and made a run for the vessel. Sure enough, the black Eva begun to lumber back towards the spaceship, which waited there until it had once again, settled into its hold.

Without delay, the hanger doors were sealed shut and the Lady Luck began to rise up. Eisenov was forced to shield his eyes as the powerful downdraft pressed against him. Crying out in anger, the black marketer vilely cursed those who had humiliated him, watching helplessly as the craft ascended swiftly into the cloud and forever out of his sight.

Seeing that the show had obviously ended and quite satisfied with what they paid for, the crowd began to pour out of the stadium. Ignoring the foul cursing and angry swearing coming from the lonely figure that was still standing on the podium. Although his bodyguards and advisors long ago abandoned him before the sight of the black Eva, Eisenov was still standing there, red-faced and as pissed off as humanly possible.

But of course they could not get out of his reach! They would suffer for his humiliation, for the loss of his priceless Corpse Maker! He would hunt them down and make each and everyone of them pay! He would…

…scream all the way down when someone behind him shoved him off the stadium podium and onto the pit floor some five hundred metres below.

Looking down into the pit, and whistling to himself, Riis congratulated himself for taking the initiative. Once Eisenov got tired of being angry with people he could not punish, he would have undoubtedly turned his attention to those that could be.

As Corpse Maker's pilot, Riis would have been held accountable for it's loss no matter the situation. He did not want to imagine what Eisenov would have done to him if given the chance. That was why, despite the pain he was in, Riis managed to get back onto the Stadium to find his former boss in a conveniently precarious position and totally oblivious to his presence.

Finally satisfied, he shrugged at the bloody mess that was the remains of Corpse Maker and walked off to find himself a new job.

Some time later, on board the Lady Luck

Although they had managed to make good their escape in one piece against all odds, no one on board the ship felt like celebrating. Touji, for one, felt violently ill when one of the gravity generators failed temporarily. For the most part though, everyone's thoughts dwelt on a different matter.

The creature in their hold.

No one save perhaps the ship's Tech-priest and Kozo even knew that such a thing was possible. Whilst the Tech-priest himself had seen War Titans make small movements on their own, not even he knew that an Eva could gain such autonomy.

Many wondered… what would happen if it decided to awaken again whilst they were in space?

But most confused of all was none other than Shinji. Not only witnessing the carnage up close and personal, but also finding out that he had somehow managed to direct the Eva. Why? How? Were some of the most frequently asked questions in his mind.

The answers however, would come soon enough.

Kozo came to him within the hour, in the small room that he had been allocated. It seemed that his mentor had given him that time to organise his thoughts.

As he stepped into the room, Shinji noticed that his mentor was now wearing an ornate robe. Far different from anything Shinji had ever seen him in. It was also obvious that he had cleaned himself up, and appeared young… no… bolder perhaps. Kozo settled with standing in front of the seated boy with his arms crossed. Shinji on the other hand, would have been probably been intimidated, if he had been paying him any attention in the first place.

"How are your injuries?" Kozo asked.

"I'll live… Misato's already patched me up as best as she could… lots of bruises but nothing broken though…" the boy replied.

"Shinji…" the old man spoke, "That black Eva… is Unit-01. The first of it's kind to ever be built. It is also your birthright."

Shinji did not give any hint that he had even heard Kozo, but he continued none the less, "You are the son of Magos Yui Ikari, of the Adeptus Mechanicus. I myself am former of the… Inquisition."

"In… Inquisition…?" Shinji immediately paled at the mention of the organisation. He had heard rumours of them of course, but to openly speak of them was considered a death wish.

"Seventeen years ago, with the defeat of the Angelis, I helped your mother escape from powerful men within the Inquisition who planned to exploit her insight in the nature of the Shadow Cry; the very instrument of our victory… or to be more correct, the Angelis' utter annihilation. What they did not understand, and what I agreed with your mother, was that the device was too dangerous, especially in the hands of all too human individuals.

"The captain of his vessel was meant to have rendezvous with us on Akris seven years ago, but due to circumstances beyond his control, they were only able to reach us now. You know that your mother left you in my care when you were around ten, this was because she intended to seek them out."

"How…? It can't be…"

"Though your mother was not strictly speaking, combat personnel, she piloted Unit-01 into battle on more than one occasion. The first Evas, from Unit-00 to Unit-03 were built by her, and unlike conventional the units of today, possess many designs which were phased out due to lack of time and resources or… what you yourself witnessed today… Almost everyone had agreed that it was not worth the risks…"

"… my mother?"

"Last contact was on Mars, I would fear that she had been captured for not the fact that they would have long ago deployed the Shadow Cry should that have been the case."

"This is too much… what can…"

"As harsh as it may see, I leave it to you now Shinji Ikari… what will you do?"

"What?! No! Why are you asking this of me?!"

"Because I did not simply feed you and care for you like you were some lost puppy. I was also your mentor and have taught you far more than you realise. It is now time to see if you have the will to use it."

Kozo stared blankly at the boy, not with malice, but a cold indifference attainable only after years of constant observation rather than action. Personally, he would have gone in search of Yui alone if he had to, but by demanding that Shinji take action he could find out exactly how much he could rely on him. It paid out to find out now than later.

"… I…"

Shinji almost begun to stutter, but for the most part managed to keep himself calm enough to maintain a stable line of thought. Of course he was shocked to find out so much about his mother and Kozo, after all, who wouldn't be. But still… after all the years of living with the old man, he had learned to come to a firm decision even in times when confusion and doubt ran amok.

"… I want to find her then… I need to know for sure, whether she is alive or not."

Kozo nodded with approval. If he had been still an Inquisitor, he would have quite possibly taken Shinji as his apprentice. The potential for him was there, of that Kozo was sure. But would the boy still be in one piece by the time it had been drawn out?

"Very good… but first we will recover all the Evangelion units. You mother would have wanted that, and besides… the Sol system is a long way away… we must travel through many warp gates and the places the other Eva units have been stored are mostly along the way."

"So what are we waiting for, let's get going!" came Touji's unmistakable voice from the other side of the door, where he had been obviously listening to the entire conversation.

Shinji buried his face in his hands, annoyed that Touji would so quickly jump carelessly into another commitment after only just getting out of another one barely alive. It frustrated him how his friend could be so oblivious to the troubles he gets in to.

Apparently, Kozo could tell what Shinji was thinking and told him, "Don't worry… even he isn't that much of a fool. Since it was you who got him out of a tight spot, I don't doubt that he would follow you no matter the dangers."

Kronoss Hive
Sarkarn System

A dark figure patiently strolled before several worn and ragged-looking men.

"… and therefore, I judge you all guilty of heresy and treason towards the Emperor and his servants."

The figure came to an abrupt stop and watched the men before him emotionlessly. Each of them had been chained firmly to the wall behind them and their mouths gagged. Seeing nothing by malice in their eyes, the figure drew a pain-rod from beneath his cloak and promptly jabbed it viciously into the man closest to him. After a whole minute of screaming, the figure lowered the pain-rod and spoke over the broken sobs.

"I only wish to save what souls you have left. Repenting your crimes is an obvious step in the right direction don't you think…?"

The men struggled desperately against their chains, as they knew they were being taunted. Since none of them could repent even if they wanted to, being gagged and all.

"Ah… yes, I afraid I can't take of your gags. After all, I cannot risk any further heresies to be spoken from your mouths. Emperor knows what foul ideas were implanted in your minds by consorting with those loathsome aliens."

"Inquisitor?" interrupted a voice from behind the figure.

"What is it?" the Inquisitor asked without taking an eye of his prisoners.

"Priority message from Terra… it is High Lord Lorenz sir… he is recalling you."

"…"

"Inquisitor?"

"Tell him I am almost done with my investigation. I will depart for the Sol system as soon as I have tied up all loose ends."

"But… sir… I think he means for you to come _now_"

"…What part of what I said did you not understand?"

"But… I... I… understood Inquisitor."

Having dealt with the annoying matter, Inquisitor Lord Gendo Rokubugi turned swiftly his attention back to his task, pain-rod in hand and lancing arcs of energy.

"Now then… were was I?"

File Name: Compiled History of the Angelic War
Date: 0402575M41
Ref: FCA.HS.076543/64
Source: Scribe Adept Makoto Hyuga.

//Extract//

Initial Stages / Total War

After Angelus, the next world targeted by the enemy was Landine (See ref. 'History of Landine' HLA.AA.76506/63). Unlike Angelus, Landine was not a mere research outpost, but a hive world. Protected by a substantial fleet and planetary defences, the world of Landine had not been in a state of war since the great crusade. Any attacker would find themselves engaging well-trained and well-equipped troops. The greatest deterrent of all was the presence of a massive and extensive spaceport, which was not only bristling with weapons and Lance batteries, but also sported several Nova Cannons that were more than capable of crippling or destroying Capital Ships with a single shot. Despite all this, Landine was to be the first major casualty of the Angelic War.

Armed with the information recovered from Katsuragi's escape pod, the Inquisitor Fuyutsuki and Rokubungi proceeded to the Miridina system, where they could spread warning of the imminent threat. Yet only a few hours before their arrival, the Landine system was already under attack by a force of no less than twenty-four Angels. The battle was furious and despite the grim determination of the defenders, they were all but wiped out. A handful of ships with their escorts managed to evacuate less than five percent of the population of Landine before all contact was lost.

Within a week, a massive armada, commanded by the notorious Lord Solar Kural Delruis (See ref. 'Delruis Command Doctrines' DCD.BF.25437/73) arrived in the Landine System, only to find a mass graveyard of Imperial ships, torn apart my Emperor knows what terrible forces. Unable to make ranged contact the planet, their worst fears were confirmed upon entering visual range. The normally bristling and crowded world that was Landine had been transformed into a desolate rock in space, nothing more than a dead planet that once supported a population of 14 billion human souls

By now, the alarm had been raised throughout the Imperium, every planet was in a state of readiness for either total evacuation or total war.

The next few attacks were directed at smaller worlds, mining colonies or research outposts, predictably, they did not stand a chance. Such worlds died a lonely death, for no fleet would ever come to their aid until it was too late.

Several months came and went, and the numbers of worlds that fell was already in the dozens. Who knows exactly how many died in this time, for it was never known for the Angelis to leave survivors, at least intentionally.

New developments however, were quickly prompted by the recovery of the remains of several Angels killed during this conflicts. Their biology and physiology came under scrutiny of the best minds of the Adeptus of Mechanicus. And eventually, small breakthroughs were achieved. It was around that time that the Imperium gained a valuable ally when the Eldars (See ref. 'Xenology 101' XE1.AM.654200/02) joined the war.

Apparently, it was not only Humans who suffered from the relentless attacks of the Angelis, but it was disturbing to hear that the even the Eldars had lost Craftworlds to the Angelis. This was by no means something which could be ignored, for ever since Human-Eldar contact had existed, there had never been any reported destruction of a Craftworld. Such losses were staggering blows to the dwindling Eldar race, who were clinging to their existence by their fingers already as it is.

On the Garrison world of Kairis (later renamed 'Angel Gate') the massive weapon known of the Rift Cannon (See ref. 'Rift Cannon' RCA.WD.16032/00) was deployed and tested. Kairis was a major Garrison world protecting one of the few stable jump gates that led to the some of the more populated systems of the Imperium (including the Sol System). And was an obvious target for the now predictable Angelis who seemed to be generally sweeping through and wiping out any life forms they found. For the first time in the Angelic War, Humans were victorious. The Rift Cannon, proved to be a stunning success, but it did demonstrate to have its limits. Massive losses had been inflicted to the defending fleet and the Planetary Defence Force. But it would the also the first time we would be able to obtain records of ground-combat against the Angels.

Following is a record from the Emperor Class Titan; 'The Black Mirage'.
Commanded by Princeps Calec Thoran.

[RECORD BEGIN]

Princeps Thoran: Auto-Cycle the Hellfury Cannon! Give me more powers to the leg!

Moderati: Princeps! Angel #3 has broken through the cordon! But it's the last one!

Princeps Thoran: Full power to the void shields! Plasma Annihilator: Full charge…

Tactical: Rerouting plasma now!

Moderati: Emperor's light! Did you see that! It just cleaved the Regalis (A Reaver Class Titan) into half!

Princeps Thoran: Traverse the Hellfury, Triple burst!

Tactical: Two confirmed impacts! It shrugged off the first hit but it's reeling from the second, its field must be failing…!

(Sounds of explosions of screams of the injured)

Princeps Thoran: Damage report!

Moderati: The void shields took most of the brunt of the attack but we lost many servitors and the actuators are damaged, we can't move until it's repaired!

Princeps Thoran: That it then… Fire the Plasma Annihilator!

Tactical: The warning hasn't been given Princep! The crew hasn't got their eye protectors on!

Princeps Thoran: Fire now! Fire or we're all dead!!!

[RECORD END]

Such is the wrath of the Plasma Annihilator that it resulted in the permanent loss of eyesight for many of the crew and nearby troops, who are normally given a prior warning to shield their eyes. Even so, none denied that it was not a price they were willing to pay to finally end the battle for Kairis. Despite all this, the enemy would not have been defeated if the Rift Cannon's prior hits had not weakened their forces.

With its first victory, the Imperium quickly begun construction of several more Rift Cannons on it's more vital planets. Earth itself was protected by three of these massive weapons.

For a moment it seemed that this was the answer to humanity's prayers, but it was not to be. For not only the Rift Cannon had its combat limitations and was costly in resources and manpower. Not to mention the dangers of harnessing the warp energies it drew upon. In the end, even such a portent weapon became considerably ineffective as the first of the Angelis Infiltrator types begun to appear.

//End Extract//

--------------------------

END CHAPTER TWO

--------------------------

Appendix

Credit - Standard monetary unit commonly used throughout the Imperium.

Titans - Biped warmachines built by Forge worlds, they are organised into Legions and are used in the largest and bloodiest of conflicts. Powered by massive plasma reactors they are controlled a Princeps through a mindlink, and easily possess enough firepower to raze entire cities to the ground. They range in classes from the light but still house-sized Warhound Titans, to the Imperator Class, which have been called walking monastery fortresses.

The Machine Spirit - The Adeptus Mechanicus believe that all machines possess a spirit, thus how well they work is dependant on how they pleased the spirits are. Of course maintenance rituals and consecrating machine oil helps keep them happy and thus functioning. On a more specific level, advance constructs such as Space Marine Land Raiders and Titans are born (built) with a more active spirit (or as we would call it; artificial intelligence). In extreme cases they have shown total autonomic capabilities (ie. The crew has been wiped out but the machine keeps fighting).