Words from the Author:

This is it. This is the episode that will change everything. To be honest, I actually thought by the time I got to this episode number, I would have either ended this story or I would be wrapping things up in a couple of episodes. It seems like my creativity has expanded to an amount that I did not foresee as possible. I still have a way to go until I'm done, which I think some of you like the fact that I'm not done yet. Well, enough talk. It's time to rock out!

Episode 20: Nero vs. Kaworu

As Nero and Kaworu finally meet for the first time, SEELE's watching from the room that they're usually located in with a lot of interest. This is due to them knowing that the battle between those two is about to begin. Right now, Unit 06 remains in the air while looking down on Unit 03. It can be noted that there's a halo above Unit 06's head. This displays that Unit 06 isn't any ordinary Eva and this obviously concerns Nero.

Nero says softly to himself while still looking up at Unit 06 with a serious stare, "This won't be easy... When Shinji brought everyone back, he brought Kaworu too. Even though he's an angel. That obviously has to do with the fact he's also human." He then sighs with his head lowered. "He's going to be tough to beat, especially when he can combine his abilities with an Eva." Nero looks up at Unit 06 again with concern in his eyes. "That thought is just plain scary by itself."

Kaworu says with his usual polite tone while looking down on Unit 03 with dullness in his eyes, "Are you ready, Nero? Because there is no avoiding destiny. You are meant to play a great role in 4th Impact, and by trying to deny that role, you created your own destruction. This is the undeniable truth of this world and the creatures that inhabit it."

Nero gives off a skeptical look while tilting his head a bit towards the left. "Is that for a fact? Considering you are Tabris, the angel of freewill, I didn't think you would be bounded by 'Destiny'." Nero chuckles for a brief moment and then says with a hint of amusement, "Especially after refusing your destiny of living forever and causing 3rd Impact."

Kaworu shows no emotion while responding with a cold tone. "Exactly my point. If you deny your destiny, you will cause your own destruction. I went against what I was destined to do, and I suffered the consequences."

Nero smiles with sincerity taking over his person. "But you had no regrets when you did that. You wanted to die to protect something that mattered a lot to you. I say, if you're going to defy destiny, do it for what you believe in. In your case, you believed that humanity deserved to live. That's why you sacrificed yourself."

Kaworu's a bit surprised by Nero's words for a moment and then smirks. "This is what intrigues me so much about the Lilin. So many of you rationalize things about the world as if that is truly the way it should be. If you believe in something with all your heart, you do not give up on it and continuously fight for it. I really wish I could be like that."

Nero retorts while joyfully smiling. "Don't sell yourself short. You're human too after all." He chuckles softly.

Kaworu closes his eyes while lowering his head. "That may be true, however, I am still an angel and there are obligations that I must uphold." He slowly opens his eyes to gaze at Unit 03 again with sadness arising. "I would really like to be as free as I am meant to be, but at this moment, I can not."

Nero's slightly concerned by what Kaworu said. "Why not? Everyone deserves to do what they please and live their life as they see fit. Why else would God have given us life?"

Unit 06 starts to descend slowly again as Kaworu says with a cold tone, "For us to die. That is why God gave us life."

Suddenly, Unit 06 flies towards Unit 03 with impeccable speed and appears right in front of it in an instant as Nero hurriedly looks at the indigo-colored Eva while being caught off guard by the Eva's instant appearance in front of him. Unit 06 then expands its A.T. Field while displaying the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil on it. Right after that, the A.T. Field hits Unit 03 with an immense amount of force and sends the black Eva rolling backwards onto the ground up to a four mile distance away. Unit 03's back then crashes into a large mountain that barely withstood the weight of the Eva.

After several seconds go by, Unit 03 regains its composure while getting back on its feet as it's facing towards the direction Unit 06 is located. The black Eva then quickly sprints towards Unit 06 while Nero passionately yells out with his body leaning forward to push the controls, "If God gave us life just for that, then this world is REALLY messed up!"

Unit 03 reaches Unit 06, collides into its A.T. Field head first with Kaworu giving the black Eva an emotionless look while calmly stating, "It might, but that is the world the Lilin and angels have been born into. Our existence is only justified by what God desires. If God desires for us to live only to die, then God's will is my command."

Nero lightly smiles with confidence brimming as Unit 03 places its hands on Unit 06's A.T. Field. "That's a load of bullshit if you ask me."

A small amount of surprise appears on Kaworu's expression as he pulls his head back a bit. "Why do you say that?"

Nero softly laughs with a slightly skeptical look. "Do I really need to repeat what I said earlier? Remember, you went against destiny. Even though you died for doing that, you still proved you're not bound by God's will like you're trying to make out."

That statement from Nero causes Kaworu to give out serious glare. Afterwards, Unit 06 expands its A.T. Field again to hit Unit 03, but fortunately, the black Eva holds its ground this time while Nero yells out with a cheerful smile, "What's wrong?! You didn't respond to that one! Can I assume that I'm right?!"

Kaworu ignores Nero's question as Unit 06 instantly disappears from in front of Unit 03 while leaving a small cloud of smoke behind.

As a result, Unit 03 stumbles forward into the smoke as Nero then frantically looks around while regaining his composure. At the same time, Unit 03 stands up straight while Nero says under his breath, "Damn...! Unit 06 sure is fast! Where the heck did it go?!" Nero's eyes abruptly widen when he hears something familiar, quickly checks behind himself out of the corner of his right eye and sees the Lance of Longinus heading straight towards him, which greatly startles him. Following that, Unit 03 ducks forward to barely dodge the lance while Unit 06 unexpectedly appears right above the black Eva and launches itself down towards Unit 03. Kaworu's Eva then grabs Unit 03's head from behind with its right hand and forcefully makes the black Eva crash onto the ground face first.

The sheer force of the impact causes the ground to crack and break a part while Unit 06 pins Unit 03 down with its right hand. Due to the impact, Nero's body uncontrollably torques forward before regaining some composure and hurriedly turns his head to the left to look behind himself with irritation arising. "Crap..."

After Nero had said that, Unit 06 expands its A.T. Field again and it crashes right into the back of Unit 03. This results in the ground breaking even more and Unit 03 being buried into the ground. Meanwhile, Nero screams out in pain with his eyes closed and his head cocked back. Unit 06 then releases its grip on Unit 03's head and quickly jumps backwards with blinding speed. It lands in front of where the Lance of Longinus had landed while skidding to face away from the downed Unit 03 to look at the lance.

Unit 06 picks up the lance as Kaworu looks behind himself afterwards by turning his head towards the right without showing any emotion. "If you do not mind me ignorantly saying, I would wager that you are wondering why you are losing to me when your synchronization is over 300%, correct?"

Nero gives off an irritated look as he's now staring down until closing his eyes while chuckling and then makes Unit 03 gradually get up from under the ground with rubble falling off his Eva's body. After that, Unit 03 turns to face Unit 06 as Nero smiles in amusement with his eyes fixed on Unit 06's back. "You read my mind."

Kaworu smirks while Unit 06 turns around to face Unit 03 with the Lance of Longinus firmly held in its right hand. After that, the grey-haired boy calmly says with his eyes focused on Unit 03, "The reason why I am winning is quite simple. It is because I am combining my own A.T. Field with the A.T. Field of Unit 06. This results in the creation of an A.T. Field that surpasses the rest."

Nero makes a dumbfounded expression while tilting his head a bit towards the right. "Is there a specific number you can give me so I can know what I'm dealing with?" He then lightly smiles.

Kaworu sighs while dropping his head down with his eyes closed. "You Lilin always need to put everything in some kind of form for you to know that it exists. Just like you need proof to know if there is a God." He then gazes at Unit 03 again with coldness resonating. "You should just accept things as they are stated without questioning it."

Nero suddenly starts laughing for a moment, rests his back against the seat with his head tilted back and covers his face with his left hand. He then stops laughing, places his hand back on the controls while leaning forward and peers up at Unit 06 with a cheerful smile. "But that's one of the great things about being a Lilin! Our curiosity is what makes us who we are! We always want to create proof for things that we don't understand, so we obviously question those things and find an answer! It doesn't even matter if we end up being wrong because being wrong just motivates us even more to find the right answer!"

Kaworu's briefly stunned by what Nero had just said, and after that, he gives out a look of admiration towards Unit 03. "You really are an interesting person, Nero Ikari. You have so much confidence in what you say. It is hard to believe that you and Shinji are brothers."

Nero chuckles while folding his arms with his back planted on his seat. "Well one of us has to be confident, right? But don't count Shinji out 'cause he's starting to develop some confidence. He just needs the help of his friends to achieve that." He then suddenly realizes something as curiosity over takes him. After that, Nero smirks while looking away from Unit 06 for a moment and then looks back at it with sincerity showing. "Actually, you can be a big help to Shinji and the others."

Kaworu's slightly confused by what Nero just said while leaning forward a little. "What are you talking about?"

Skepticism returns as Nero slants his head towards the right. "Don't play dumb, Kaworu. It doesn't suit you." He then laughs softly while unfolding his arms to grab onto the control and leans forward. "You obviously still care about my brother. Your prior actions prove that. You even said that you would like to see Shinji, which adds onto the fact that you still care." Nero chuckles a little bit and then curiosity comes forth as he says with a caring tone, "So how about it? Why don't you come with me and join NERV?"

Kaworu's completely stunned by Nero's offer while leaning his back against his seat. Afterwards, the grey-haired boy regains his composure with sadness overtaking his expression as he lowers his head. "I cannot do that. I am obligated to be the cause of humanity's destruction."

Nero says with sincerity arising, "Oh, come on! You're the angel of free will for heaven's sake! You should be able to do whatever your heart desires! Just like any ordinary person!"

Kaworu quickly looks up at Unit 03 with shock showing and thinks, "Just like... Any ordinary person..."

Nero promptly shows determination while passionately saying, "You're human, Kaworu! You can make any decision you want! Destiny doesn't truly control us until it's our time to die!" He then puts one hand over the other and places them on his chest. "Death is the only unavoidable destiny for all humans, and like a human, you can die!" Having said that, Nero moves his hands apart and places them on his lap while leaning forward even more. "Like a human, you can live, and like a human, you don't need to do anything you don't want to do! Just do what your heart tells you that you want and what you need!"

Kaworu's momentarily shocked by what Nero said. Seriousness then overcomes him as he says with a cold tone, "I would very much like to believe that, Nero Ikari. I really would, but I can not accept your rationalization."

Nero narrows his eyes a little out of concern. "Why not?"

Kaworu responds with a composed tone. "Because destiny is not as you say. It does exist and it determines the fate of every living thing. It is never wrong. The reason I was brought back is because my destiny is to destroy humanity. I was foolish in trying to change my destiny and this is my punishment."

Nero smirks with a hint of amusement being displayed as he grabs onto the controls with both hands. "That's just an excuse. You're just afraid to try to live your own life and be human. That's why you keep going back to your so-called 'Destiny'." He chuckles while pulling his head back a bit as it's slightly tilted to the right. "By the way, you didn't come back because of your destiny. You came back thanks to Shinji." Nero straightens his head while resting his back against the seat. "Destiny had nothing to do with it because destiny had stated that no matter what, 3rd Impact was going to wipe out humanity, but it didn't because of Shinji."

Kaworu grits his teeth while being mildly irritated until yelling out with a fierce tone that's uncommon for him, "That is enough! No matter how hard you try, you will not convince me or change your fate! For going against destiny, you must perish, Nero Ikari!"

A small amount of surprise is shown on Nero's person due to Kaworu's tone as he's smiling. Afterwards, the 7th Child gives out a short laugh with determination gleaming from his eyes. "If that's the case, so be it!" He then swings his left arm to be outstretched towards his left side with confidence overflowing. "But I'll prove you wrong, and I'll do it by defeating you!" Nero quickly grabs onto the control with his left hand while maintaining his focus on Unit 03. "If destiny is as you say, then there's no way I can win, right?!"

Kaworu promptly retorts with a cold tone. "It is as you just said. There is no way you can win."

Nero responds with confidence increasing. "Then let's bet on it! If you win and I'm still alive, I'll do what I'm so-called 'Destined' to do!" He then points at himself with his right thumb while having it near his chin. "But if I win..." He pauses for a moment and points at Unit 06 with his right arm extended forward while his hand is opened. "Then you have to join NERV!"

That declaration from Nero causes Kaworu to be very surprised at first. He then composes himself while seriousness takes the place of surprise and says with his usual, polite tone, "You really do not like to give up, do you?"

Nero grins while grabbing onto the control with his right hand again and says with a modest tone with his eyes turned towards the right to look away from Unit 06, "Well... I did try giving up before, but it seems like there's always something keeping me from doing that." Some curiosity then immediately takes over out of nowhere as Nero returns his focus towards Unit 06 with his left eyebrow slightly raised. "So, what do you say, Kaworu? Do we have a deal?"

Kaworu smirks while thinking, "He sure is not like Shinji..." He closes his eyes while slightly lowering his head and responds to Nero's question. "I shall consider it."

Nero smiles while leaning forward again with determination returning. "That's good enough for me." Unit 03 then instantly dashes towards Unit 06 with a good amount of speed. "But don't think for a second that I plan on losing to you!"

Kaworu nods with a cold expression while preparing himself to come into contact with Unit 03. "I would never assume such a thing from you... Nero Ikari."

Then, the scene changes to focus on Asuka as she's lying on Nero's bed. The reason for this is since she's no longer with Shinji, she and he decided they would no longer sleep in the same room together. As an obvious result, Mari moved into Shinji's room to be closer to him. At first, Misato wasn't too sure if it was a good idea due to all the perverted things Mari had once hinted she would do with Shinji if they were together. But fortunately, she was reassured by both Mari and Shinji that nothing extreme would happen between them though. This is because Mari's satisfied with the fact that she finally has Shinji.

With the decision of moving out of Shinji's room, Asuka made the choice to take over Nero's room. Misato had questioned this as well, but decided to let it go since she didn't see any real harm in it. Right now, Asuka doesn't have the brain-wave transmitters on. She's wearing a red tank-top that she normally wears to go to sleep and denim cut-off shorts. It can be noted that the room has a bunch of boxes that hold Asuka's stuff since she has an immense amount.

In the meantime, Pen-Pen's sleeping behind Asuka since he's accustomed to being in that room from the moment Nero cleaned it out. Although, it's still unknown to everyone why Pen-Pen enjoys sleeping there so much. At this very moment, it's 8:26 AM in Tokyo-03 as this is occurring at the same time Nero's fighting against Kaworu while the time over in Canada is 7:26 PM due to the time zone difference.

As Asuka lies on the bed while being on her left side, she's holding onto the cellular Nero left behind with her left hand. She's also holding onto his music player in her right hand as she's listening to some of his music. Sadness can be seen on Asuka's face due to her seeing that all the phone numbers in Nero's cellular have been deleted. This had killed any hope of her finding a way of contacting him.

Afterwards, Asuka puts the cellular down on the bed in front of her while turning herself to face towards the ceiling. She then looks at Nero's music player while holding it up in front of her as she spaces out a bit. After a few seconds pass by, Asuka whispers to herself while listening to a song called "Everything Must Go." By Taking Back Sunday, "He has an interesting taste in music. I actually kind of like the rock songs, but he has WAY too many classical songs. I never really liked classical music that much..." She then pauses for a moment and happily smiles. "But I can make an exception."

Asuka giggles while switching the song to play "Pachelbel's Canon in D Major". This song causes her to be filled with sadness while losing her smile and puts her hand down on top of her stomach to look at the ceiling. She then says with a somber tone, "I really hope that he's alright, and that he'll actually come back. I said all those things about how sure I was, but how sure WAS I when I said all that stuff?"

Suddenly, Asuka realizes something and that causes her to be filled with confidence while smiling again. "What am I talking about?! He had to be crazy not to come back! He knows I'm waiting for him!" Concern quickly takes over as Asuka says with uncertainty in her voice, "Right...?"

With that question being the last thing said by Asuka, the focus returns to the battle between Nero and Kaworu. They're currently at a stand-off due to Unit 03 having collided into Unit 06's A.T. Field as the ground begins to rumble. Unit 03 does its best to break through the A.T. Field with both hands placed near each other and on the A.T. Field.

Determination continues to emit from Nero's face as Unit 03 and Unit 06 are face to face. "You're really tough, Kaworu! For me not to be able to break through your Eva's A.T. Field while I'm over 300% is incredible! This is really starting to get exciting!"

Kaworu tilts his head back while being a bit surprised and mutters, "I can not believe that he can say such a thing. His life is at stake, and yet, he can talk as if he has no fear at all." He then leans forward with seriousness establishing itself again. "He must think that it is impossible for him to lose... But unfortunately for him, he is mistaken." Unit 06 extends out its left arm towards Unit 03 and forcefully sends the black Eva flying with its A.T. Field as some rubble is lifted off the ground due to the strength of the A.T. Field.

Nero pulls on the controls while in mid-air with a fierce look showing. Through his effort, the 7th Child's able to successfully make Unit 03 land on its feet and then gives out a sigh of relief with his head lowered as his eyes are closed. Afterwards, Nero looks up and quickly gives out a small gasp as he sees that Unit 06 is about to throw the Lance of Longinus at him. At the same time, Unit 06 has its right arm extended out in the position to throw the lance and swiftly takes a few steps forward while pulling its arm back. It then throws the lance at Unit 03 and heads towards it with remarkable speed.

In response, Nero panics a bit and then makes Unit 03 jump to its left to dodge. After seeing the black Eva dodge the lance, Unit 06 lunges forward to fly with the same impeccable speed it has been displaying since the beginning and quickly gets in front of where the lance was heading. It effortlessly catches the lance with its left hand and elegantly turns its attention towards Unit 03. After doing that, it snaps its head towards Unit 03 and appears right behind it.

Meanwhile, Nero had just made Unit 03 land on the ground after having dodge the lance the first time. He then promptly looks behind himself by turning his head towards the right and is startled to see Unit 06 right behind him. In the meantime, Kaworu maintains an emotionless expression while leaning his back against the seat. "It's already over, Nero Ikari." Unit 06 then jabs the lance towards Unit 03's lower back region.

Nero's eyes widen briefly, but quickly relaxes as he smirks with confidence brimming. "Not yet, Kaworu." Unit 03 quickly bends forward and produces a shock-wave towards the ground with the help of its A.T. Field. This results in Unit 03 being sent flying up into the sky and barely dodges the attack. After having missed, Kaworu's moderately surprised by the unexpected way Unit 03 dodged. He then looks up and sees that the black Eva is right above him while it starts to descend towards Unit 06. As Unit 03 descends, Nero smiles while happily yelling out, "Let's see if we can finally get him, Bardiel!"

Kaworu pulls his body forward while quite shocked until his expression's taken over by emptiness as Unit 06 makes its A.T. Field appear right above it and blocks the path of Unit 03. This doesn't discourage Nero though as Unit 03 lands on top of Unit 06's A.T. Field while on all fours. Right after that, the black-haired boy chuckles with excitement greatly arising. "Looks like we couldn't get him that time!" Unit 03 then pulls both of its arms back and thrusts them onto Unit 06's A.T. Field, which results in a loud impact that causes the ground to tear apart with rubble flying everywhere and crashing into nearby mountains.

Curiosity starts to rise from within Kaworu's being as he asks himself in a low volume, "Why does he continue to try when he should have realized that his efforts are futile?" His eyes then widen as he sees Unit 06's A.T. Field begin to crack a little. This causes him to let out a small gasp while leaning back in surprise and then leans forward again with concern showing. "That should not be possible."

Nero notices the small cracks in the A.T. Field while smiling out of content and then makes Unit 03 unleash a barrage of strikes via each hand, one after the other, in the attempt to break through Unit 06's A.T. Field as he yells out with determination, "Come on! We're getting to him! He won't be able to hold on for long!"

Irritation starts to consume Kaworu for a moment as he sees Unit 03's onslaught continue. Afterwards, Unit 06's A.T. Field suddenly expands out again and sends Unit 03 flying once again towards the area that's north of Unit 06. Unit 03 then lands on the ground while being on all fours and gives Unit 06 an intense glare while letting out a horrific roar.

After witnessing Unit 03's successful landing, Kaworu shows some concern while muttering, "It seems that those two work well together. Nero is using the natural capabilities of Bardiel without needing to transcend to its true form." He grins while nodding to himself. "He really is the most interesting Lilin I have ever met. But he is not Shinji, so there is no possibility I would fall for him." Kaworu faintly chuckles.

Nero stares Unit 06 down while momentarily losing his smile and thinks, "I really have no clue if I'm actually giving him any real trouble. He's most likely holding back." He chuckles while quickly cracking his neck by tilting his head towards the right. Nero then leans forward a bit more while shouting out with a joyful smile, "Screw it! There's no point in worrying about it! The only way to beat me is by him giving it his all! So one way or the other, I'll see what he's truly made of!"

With those words from Nero, Unit 03 instantly launches itself into the air towards Unit 06. In response, Unit 06 quickly pulls the lance back and immediately throws it at Unit 03 while it's still in the air. Nero gives out a loud laugh after seeing the lance head towards him and then yells out, "That sure was predictable, Kaworu!"

Unit 03 swiftly turns its body to face towards the sky while being in mid-air and lets out a shock-wave to push it down towards the ground to dodge the lance. It does a back flip as it lands on its feet with its head pointing down. Kaworu's caught off guard quite a bit due to him not expecting Unit 03 doing that. Meanwhile, the Lance of Longinus crashes down onto the ground at a pretty far distance away behind Unit 03.

After gaining some composure, Unit 03 snaps its head up to glare at Unit 06 while letting out a soft growling sound. Right after that, the black Eva dashes towards Unit 06 while grunting with each step it takes and reaches Unit 06 within mere seconds. As Kaworu watches Unit 03 head towards him, he maintains most of his composure while cocking his head back a little bit with a calm demeanor. Unit 03 then thrusts its left arm towards Unit 06, which is blocked by the Eva's A.T. Field again. This doesn't stop Nero though as he quickly makes Unit 03 strike at the A.T. Field with its right hand after burying its feet into the ground.

As this happens, Kaworu thinks while remaining calm, "He is determined to penetrate Unit 06's A.T. Field. He must believe that once he does that, he'll be able to defeat me." He then narrows his eyes while being quite serious and softly says, "That will not happen, Nero. You may have cracked the A.T. Field earlier, but that only has taught me not to hold back anymore against you." With that said, Unit 06 swiftly jumps towards the right.

Nero's concerned by Unit 06's sudden action while making Unit 03 take a few steps back and glances towards the direction that Unit 06 went. He immediately sees that Unit 06 isn't there and this causes him to look around for Unit 06's location in a frantic manner while saying underneath his breath, "Where is he? I seriously can't take my eyes off Kaworu for a second." Nero promptly realizes something, hurriedly cocks his head up to look above him and then is shocked to see that Unit 06's face is right in front of his Eva's face.

Unit 06 is currently upside down while having both of its arms extended backwards as it's about to descend onto Unit 03. It then does exactly that while thrusting both of its hands on the black Eva's face and the momentum sends it crashing down to the ground. This results in a huge impact being created that tears up the ground. After the impact subsides, Unit 06 holds onto Unit 03's face while doing a hand-stand on it with its eyes locked on Unit 03.

In the meantime, Nero's back is now against the seat with his head resting on it as his eyes are shut. It can be seen on his face that he's in a lot of pain due to that last attack. He then slowly opens his left eye while gazing at Unit 06 as it's still doing the hand-stand. After seeing that, Nero opens his other eye while being quite annoyed and says with an exhausted tone, "That's not cool..."

Having said that, Nero immediately lowers his head, leans forward to grab onto the controls and peers up at Unit 06 while getting more annoyed. "Get the hell off me!" Unit 03 promptly expands its A.T. Field and makes Unit 06 get off of it.

Unit 06 elegantly flies up into the sky and levitates at a pretty far distance away from Unit 03. As Kaworu looks down at Unit 03 with his back against the seat again, he says with a vague tone, "I am impressed that you and Unit 03 survived that. You must have deployed its A.T. Field right before I had come into contact to soften the blow. Although it did not hold up that much."

Unit 03 slowly gets up on its feet while slouching forward as Nero stares at Unit 06 with annoyance still being displayed. He then takes a deep breath with his eyes closed for a moment to calm himself down. Afterwards, Nero looks at Unit 06 with a faint smile while whispering, "We won't be able to hold on much longer if we don't give him everything, Bardiel. It's bad enough that it's Kaworu piloting that Eva, but for us to be at the disadvantage of it flying while we're stuck on the ground... Well, I don't need to say much more, do I?"

Bardiel communicates with Nero through his mind and responds with his usual menacing tone while sounding a bit aggravated. "No freaking duh! But I'm still a bit pissed that I couldn't destroy more things before having to fight my little brother!"

Nero's immediately filled with curiosity while raising his right eyebrow. "I didn't think you would refer him as that. I thought the angels didn't care to associate each other in that manner."

Bardiel groans a little while getting a bit more aggravated. "In a way you're right, but that doesn't mean I'll ignore that we are connected through being the children of Adam!"

Nero responds while narrowing his eyes a bit with skepticism showing. "So... Do you think you'll have a hard time fighting your brother with the intent to kill?" He softly laughs to himself.

Bardiel shouts out with his aggravation growing, "Are you high?! Of course I won't let that get in the way! I'm not like you stupid Lilins that let your emotions get the best of you! All I care about is destroying things!" He laughs in a maniacal manner.

Nero smiles while dropping his head down with his eyes closed. "If you say so." He then opens his eyes to look up at Unit 06 with determination radiating. "Shall we release the restraints?"

Bardiel yells out with impatience being obvious, "Do it already! You don't need to ask me! I'm itching just to destroy stuff! I could care less if you're going to be at risk of losing yourself! That would be better for me!" He laughs in a maniacal manner again.

Nero slowly gets up on the seat while momentarily looking down until peering at the ceiling with a cheerful smile. "Yeah, whatever. If I have to give up my body to take Kaworu down, then so be it. I can't afford to lose. Not just because I want to protect Shinji and the others, but because Kaworu needs to get away from Keel's grasp. This is for his happiness too."

After that, Nero shuts his eyes for several seconds and then opens them. It's revealed that his eyes have turned dark blue as confidence gleams from those eyes. Suddenly, Unit 03 releases an Anti-A.T. Field that completely destroys the surface of the ground that's under and around it up to reaching Unit 06. In response, Kaworu smirks while watching Unit 03 and says softly to himself, "So, you finally decided to use your trump card, Nero Ikari."

Nero bends forward while staring Unit 06 down with a slightly demented expression. At the same time, the crosses on his plugsuit light up with a silver glow while the mark on his back shines through the plugsuit just like last time. Nero then yells with determination overflowing, "We have to give it everything we got, Bardiel!" After that, he tightly clenches his hands while straightening his posture. "It's all or nothing!"

Suddenly, Unit 03's right arm's armor starts to crack and then shatters. Right after that, the arm turns into the silver A.T. Field arm while the large silver wings extend out from its wrists. Kaworu continues to watch Unit 03 go through its change with an emotionless expression. "This will be quite a challenge, but no matter how hard Nero tries, he can not change his fate." Concern then overtakes Kaworu's face a bit as he narrows his eyes. "I really do wonder if he has no regrets for the choice that he is making."

Nero's voice promptly comes through the intercom and says with a carefree tone. "I can hear you! And to answer your question, I have no regrets!"

Kaworu's a little surprised due to hearing Nero's outburst before deciding to abruptly appear on the 7th Child's main screen with concern resurfacing and speaks in his usual polite tone. "How could you not have any regrets? You are relinquishing your own life for those who will eventually perish anyway."

Nero sincerely smiles while lifting up his right arm towards Kaworu's image, which has the simulated wings. Unit 03 had mimicked his movement due to the high sync ratio that Nero has achieved and points its arm towards Unit 06. "That may be true, but I'll make sure they get to live a long life before that happens."

Kaworu gives Nero a cold stare while bending forward. "Is that the reason you pilot? To protect them?"

Nero raises his left eyebrow while lowering his right arm with his head slightly tilted to the right as curiosity can be noted on his person. "That's a good question." He then places his left hand on his waist, looks up at the ceiling and positions himself to stand sideways with a cheerful demeanor taking over. "I never really thought of why I pilot Eva. I had no real reason for piloting in the beginning."

Kaworu's momentarily stunned and then plants his back against the seat while being a bit confused. "Are you honestly telling me that all this time, you had no reason for piloting until you became friends with Shinji and the others?"

Nero chuckles while focusing his attention on Kaworu's image and nods. "The reason I piloted before was to pay Keel back for taking me out of the streets, but I never considered that to be much of a reason. I actually just did it because someone had to and I didn't mind." He joyfully smirks. "But thanks to the friends I have made, I decided to protect them. That by itself is a hell of a reason for me to pilot and willingly give my life for."

Kaworu continues to be a bit confused due to a small lack of understanding what Nero's saying and then suddenly smiles lightly as he nods at Nero. "If that is what you really desire, then I will fight you with everything I have. Just do not forget our agreement."

Curiosity starts to fill Nero's person while tilting his head towards the left a bit. "Agreement?" His eyes then widen from remembering what Kaworu's talking about. "Ohhh, you mean our bet?!" Nero leans towards the screen a little with a content smile appearing. "So you accept, huh?"

Kaworu sharply nods with confidence emitting from him. "Indeed, but still do not expect you being victorious. As I said multiple times already, there is no changing destiny."

Nero straightens his posture to completely face Kaworu. "Yeah, yeah. You really need to come up with something else to say. You constantly repeating the same thing over and over is kind of starting to get on my nerves."

Kaworu smiles in response as his image instantly disappears from Nero's main screen. After that, Unit 06 suddenly flies towards Unit 03 with outstanding speed and then turns its direction towards its left. Seeing this causes Nero to smirk and quickly turns his eyes to look towards his right. At that very moment, Unit 06 appears right where Nero's looking at while planting its feet on the ground as it's about to strike Unit 03 with its left hand.

In response, Unit 03's A.T. Field quickly appears and successfully blocks the attack. As a result, Kaworu makes a serious expression while looking at Unit 03 and says to himself, "His A.T. Field is much stronger after reaching 400%. I need the Lance of Longinus to be able to penetrate it."

Kaworu glances towards the left, which is the direction where the lance is located, and sees that the blades of the lance are planted into the ground. Unit 06 then suddenly separates itself from Unit 03 while jumping up into the air and heads towards the lance. Nero responds by calmly turning his head towards the right to follow Unit 06's movement. He then notices that the lance is at a small distance away behind him and smiles. After that, Unit 03 quickly turns to face the direction that the lance is located and dashes towards it.

Due to how fast Unit 03's running, a trail of smoke is left behind while Unit 06 is the first to reach the lance and stands on the right side of it. Unit 06 then grabs a hold of the lance and it's about to pull the lance out of the ground until Unit 03 appears right in front of it while being on the other side of the lance. This startles Kaworu a little as he looks up at Unit 03 with his head slightly pulled back. Nero then states with confidence brimming, "Looks like you don't have the speed advantage anymore!"

Having said that, Nero lifts up his right arm towards Unit 06, which Unit 03 imitates, and gets ready to release the Angel Beam from its A.T. Field arm in the same way it did against Unit 01. This obviously involves the blue electricity conducting all over the arm and wings.

Kaworu panics a little and then desperately makes Unit 06 launch itself into the air while taking the lance with it. Unit 06 stops above the black Eva while maintaining some distance and faces towards it with a firm hold on the lance. While doing that, Kaworu looks at Unit 03 and his eyes immediately widen out of disbelief as he sees that Unit 03's aiming at him. "He completely followed my movement!"

Meanwhile, Unit 03 maintains its aim on Unit 06 for a brief moment and then sends out the Angel Beam. It heads towards Unit 06 with remarkable speed as Unit 06 responds by deploying its A.T. Field. It manages to hold up against the Angel Beam, but it came really close to shattering until the beam had stopped.

That fact worries Kaworu quite a bit as he thinks, "I did not expect this. By transcending Unit 03 into Bardiel's true form, they are now strong enough to almost penetrate Unit 06's A.T. Field. Even though my own A.T. Field is added into it."

As Kaworu was thinking to himself, Unit 03 slightly slouches down and lunges itself towards Unit 06. Within a second, Unit 03 appears right in front of Unit 06 while they're both in the air and quickly goes for another Angel Beam aimed at Unit 06's head. Fortunately for Kaworu, Unit 06 dodges the beam by swaying its upper body towards its left and then descends towards the ground while passing right beside the black Eva.

Unit 06 elegantly lands on the ground below Unit 03 and pulls the lance back with its right hand. It then focuses on Unit 03 and throws the lance straight towards the black Eva's back as Nero glances behind himself with seriousness being displayed. After that, Unit 03 quickly turns itself towards its right side while aiming its A.T. Field arm and lets out another Angel Beam to intercept the lance.

Kaworu watches in disbelief as the Lance of Longinus is at a stand-off with the Angel Beam. Suddenly, there's a small explosion that comes from the lance and beam. This results in the lance crashing into the ground that's to the left of Unit 06, and after the explosion, Unit 03 lands on the ground while facing Unit 06 from a decent distance away.

Nero watches Unit 06 with confidence while his hands are placed behind his head as his back is resting on the seat. "Although it was a tie, I still feel like we're behind, Bardiel. The Lance of Longinus can't be destroyed, so as long as Kaworu has it, we're still in danger."

Bardiel retorts with an agitated tone. "Then let's just take the lance and use it against him! It's as simple as that!"

Nero slowly shakes his head in disagreement while maintaining his focus on Unit 06. "I highly doubt that being as simple as you think considering who we're fighting. Even if he were to throw it, we can't concern ourselves with trying to catch or retrieve it. That'll leave us vulnerable to Kaworu's next attack, and then we'll be screwed." He smirks out of amusement.

Bardiel groans a little from annoyance. "If you haven't noticed, he can't get through our A.T. Field! There's nothing to worry about!"

Nero sighs while lowering his head with his eyes closed for a moment. He then lifts up his head to look at Unit 06 with seriousness in his eyes. "Since I can't convince you that Kaworu's still a huge threat with words, I'll just have to show you exactly why I'm worried." Nero slowly lifts his right arm up towards the ceiling while putting his left arm down.

At that exact moment, both the simulated wings on his wrist and the A.T. Field wings start to dissipate while starting to create the A.T. Sphere. Kaworu's eyes narrow with a fierce look taking over. "So, that is the condensing of Unit 03's A.T. Field into an orb Keel told me about." He then smirks without losing his fierce look. "It is remarkable. To use that, he must put himself at the point where he will lose his humanity. That means he is planning on ending it."

After saying that, Kaworu leans forward with determination arising. Unit 06 then swiftly grabs onto the lance with its left hand and slowly levitates off the ground. Right after that, Unit 06 flies towards Unit 03 with the same speed it has been displaying since the beginning while the ground underneath it breaks apart quite a bit as a result of the intense speed from Unit 06.

Intensity fills Nero's expression with his eyes widening as he sees Unit 06 head towards him. He then yells out right when the A.T. Sphere completely forms, "Now!"

With that cry from Nero, Unit 06 reaches Unit 03 while thrusting the lance towards the black Eva's chest. In response, Unit 03 pulls its A.T. Field arm down towards Unit 06 while maintaining the A.T. Sphere on its palm. Both the A.T. Sphere and the Lance of Longinus collide into each other at point-blank distance. As a result, an enormous impact is created followed by a silver explosion that completely engulfs both Evas while destroying everything in its path.

This includes the 4th Branch's facility, but fortunately for SEELE and many of their personnel, they had evacuated in multiple cargo planes and a jet, having predicted that this would happen. Keel's currently in the jet as he's looking down at the explosion with SEELE 02 sitting to his right. He then gives SEELE 02 a stern look while saying, "Do you have confirmation on Evan?"

SEELE 02 firmly nods with calmness noted. "Yes. Our recovery team was able to retrieve him and Unit 07 without being noticed by Nero. They're in Cargo Plane # 6."

Keel nods back at him while being quite pleased. "Good. We'll consider this a personal lost since we now have to relocate. Other than that, I have no doubt that Tabris will be victorious."

SEELE 02's concerned by what Keel said and leans towards him a little. "Are you sure? How do you know that either one of those two survived the explosion? They were very close to each other."

Keel smirks with a hint of confidence. "Because Unit 06 isn't like the other Evas. It won't fall as long as Tabris is being serious."

As Keel and the others make their escape, the explosion dies down. After that, it's revealed that both Unit 03 and Unit 06 had survived the explosion while still standing. Unfortunately though, Unit 03's entire body, although still in one piece, has received far more damage than Unit 06 with melted plates being obvious on its body. As a matter of fact, it appears that Unit 06 managed to come out of that last confrontation almost unscathed while Unit 03's in such terrible condition that it has reverted back to its normal form. This includes its right arm turning back into an ordinary arm since it wasn't destroyed. The arm had just transformed into an A.T. Field arm without needing to be lost.

Nero's slouched forward a bit with exhaustion showing as he pants with his eyes closed. His plugsuit shows that the crosses are no longer shining and the cross-shaped mark on his back is no longer shinning through the suit. After a few seconds, Nero straightens his posture, looks at Unit 06 and reveals that his eyes have gone back to their normal color. "I told you, Bardiel. We can't underestimate him." He smiles as his eyes gleam with excitement.

Then, Nero has a flash of memory that reveals the reason why Unit 06 barely has any damage. Its A.T. Field was able to minimize the damage while Unit 06 had shattered Unit 03's A.T. Field with the Lance of Longinus. This had eliminated any form of protection for Unit 03, so it took the explosion head on. After remembering that, Nero continues to smile with excitement greatly increasing as he grits his teeth while still panting. "You're really amazing, Kaworu."

Kaworu calmly smiles as he's staring at Unit 03 while Unit 06 maintains its grip on the lance with its left hand. "I am very impressed, Nero Ikari. You managed to survive." Sadness then fills his eyes as he leans a bit more forward while losing his smile. "Unfortunately for you, this fight is over. You no longer have anything to use against me, and you're exhausted from using your trump card. Am I correct?"

Nero nods in response to what Kaworu said through the intercom while heavily breathing. "Yeah... I'll admit it. I'm at my limit. Having synchronized... With Unit 03 to this point... And using my ace in the hole... Left me on the border of losing myself." He briefly pauses and takes a deep breath with his head lowered.

After doing that, Nero snaps his head up and shouts out with determination, "But I'm not going to give up just yet! As long as I'm breathing, I'll keep fighting!" He then drops down to sit on his seat and firmly grabs onto the controls. Unit 03 instantly jumps high into the sky while doing a front flip and heads straight towards Unit 06 with Nero passionately yelling.

Kaworu's consumed with sadness as Unit 03 is right above him. "If that is what you wish."

Having said that, Kaworu makes Unit 06 pull the lance completely back as it's leaning backwards. It then throws the lance with as much force as possible at Unit 03. Nero's quickly in shock as he sees the lance head towards him due to knowing that he won't be able to dodge in time, nor be saved by his Eva's A.T. Field. Right after that, Unit 03 is struck in the stomach and the pure force of the lance sends the black Eva flying up into the sky with outstanding speed.

After several minutes of soaring through the sky pass by, Unit 03 reaches the Earth's atmosphere, and as this happens, Kaworu peers up at the sky with an emotionless expression. He then closes his eyes once he loses sight of Unit 03, lowers his head and says with a somber tone, "Farewell... Nero Ikari."

In the meantime, Unit 03 continues its way through the Earth's atmosphere and even passes through its final layer. It promptly leaves the Earth's orbit and heads straight towards the moon, and once it reaches the moon, it's back crashes into the moon's surface while causing a large crater to be made. Unit 03's now pinned to the ground by the Lance of Longinus as the black Eva suddenly shuts down while lying motionless with its head down. As Unit 03 faces down towards the Earth, Nero's passed out inside the entry plug with his entire body resting on the seat.

Then, out of nowhere, a female voice says with a caring tone, "Wake up, Nero. You can't die. You have to keep the promise you made to Rivka. You have to keep fighting for what you believe in. You have to fight to be happy. You need to continue on living to be with all of them. Do it for the people who you love. Do it for you, and do it for me. I gave you that name because I knew you could handle all the pain this world offers. You represent strength. You have to be powerful and strong to protect your brother, and to protect the people who matter to you." She then says with a passionate tone, "Please... Wake up, my beautiful boy!"

With that cry, Nero begins to stir, slowly opens his eyes with exhaustion resonating and asks with a confused tone as he's staring at the ceiling, "Mother...?" He then leans forward while grabbing onto his stomach with both hands due to the pain he felt from the synchronization as his head's lowered. With some composure returning, Nero slowly smiles and shuts his eyes for a moment. "Hey, Bardiel. Are you still alive?"

Bardiel sharply responds with an irritated tone. "Of course, I am! But that shit still hurt like hell!"

Nero smirks. "Yeah, I agree." He makes a somber expression while looking in front of himself as his vision starts to become blurry, shuts his eyes again and speaks with a calm tone. "Hey... Do you think we can still fight?"

Bardiel gives out a short, sarcastic laugh. "As if there's a point! We can't beat Tabris! He's too strong with that Eva!"

Nero casually opens his eyes while spacing out and thinks, "He has a point. Anyway, I'm about to lose myself because of the high synchronization I've been maintaining with Bardiel, and with all the injuries I've taken for the past week, I would probably die soon too." He gazes up at the ceiling while his vision continues to be blurry and firmly asks, "What if I give you complete control?"

Bardiel retorts with a surprised tone. "Are you serious?! You would actually let me take over?!"

A light smile appears on Nero's face as he nods. "Yeah... My ego is starting to disappear anyway. I can feel it." He places his hands on the seat while keeping his focus on the ceiling. "How about it? It's what you wanted. The ability of being in control so you can destroy as much as you like without being held down by me."

Bardiel yells out of joy, "Hell yeah! It's about time I get to do what I want!"

Nero nods in response while being quite amused by Bardiel's reaction. "Just be sure to take Kaworu down. If you don't, you won't be able to cause destruction like you want."

Bardiel replies with his usual tone. "That's what I was planning to do! I need to get that bastard back for messing me up so much!"

Nero lowers his head again while closing his eyes and then thinks with a hint of sadness appearing, "I really wish I could have kept fighting, but I left myself in an extremely vulnerable position. There's nothing else I can do." He gives out a small sigh while thinking, "I'm sorry, mother... I can't keep fighting like you want me to."

Suddenly, veins start to dilate across the right side of Nero's face. This is to display that Bardiel is taking over Nero's body, and after successfully doing that, Bardiel snaps Nero's head up with a demented smile showing. At the same time, Nero's eyes have turned dark blue again and the cross-shaped mark on his back starts to shine. Bardiel then gets up on the seat and says with an excited tone, "I was hoping for this to eventually happen! The only way I could infiltrate his body is when his ego was about to disappear!"

Bardiel looks at Nero's right hand while lifting it in front of him. "But I never thought he would lose it since he has a strong will." He tightly clenches Nero's hand into a fist. "But now he's even willing to give me control!" Bardiel leans forward a little while lowering Nero's right arm. "What an idiot! Now I can really...!" He unexpectedly stops himself from what he was going to say as his eyes widen out of realization before a hint of sadness promptly fills his eyes while lowering his head to gaze downward. Right after that, Bardiel smiles and says with a sincere tone, "I can really... Help him..." He then closes his eyes with an annoyed look appearing abd places Nero's right hand on his waist. "I really do hate you, Nero..."

With those words from Bardiel, the scene changes and shows Nero in the same Sea of Dirac that he was in when he first met Bardiel. He's standing while looking in front of himself with a spaced out expression. He's then a bit surprised as he notices out of the corner of his eyes that Bardiel has appear to his right. Bardiel has appeared to Nero while looking like him, but with the difference of him having the dark blue eyes and the dilated veins on his face.

Nero slowly turns his head towards Bardiel with confusion brimming. "What are you doing here? I gave you control."

Bardiel extends his right hand to Nero while smiling and says with sincerity displayed, "You don't deserve to be here."

Nero's very confused by Bardiel's words while lightly slanting his head to the left. "Huh?"

Bardiel chuckles while cocking his head to the right. "You have people you want to be with. I'm not going to take that away from you."

Nero makes a skeptical expression while turning his body to face Bardiel until leaning towards him and points his right index finger at the look-alike. "But you said..."

Bardiel gets a bit irritated while tilting his head back to look up. "I know what I said!" He reverts his attention to Nero with a slight grin while calming down. "But you got to me. After seeing how willing you are to fight for the people you care about, I guess I came to respect you a little."

In response to what he just heard, Nero's completely stunned while gawking at Bardiel. Afterwards, Bardiel puts his hand down while clenching it and gets very annoyed. "Don't make such a stupid look!" He then extends out his right hand again. "Now take my hand, so I can get you out of here!"

Nero plainly looks at Bardiel's hand and then starts to reach for it with his left hand, but suddenly stops while pulling his hand away. After that, Nero looks at Bardiel with a light smile. "On one condition."

Bardiel throws his head back while yelling out in anger and disbelief, "Not this again!" He returns his attention back to Nero with annoyance returning. "What is it this time?! I'm giving you control with no strings attached, so why does there have to be a condition?!"

Nero softly laughs. "Because my condition is for us to be one. We need to synchronize to the point that we share one body. It's the only way to beat Kaworu."

Bardiel's eyes widen while being shocked by what Nero said. Immediately after, the 13th Angel regains his composure and smirks with confidence radiating. "I'm fine with that."

Nero nods with excitement arising. "Awesome!" He lifts up his left hand and slaps Bardiel's right hand. At that moment, Nero regains control of his body while still having veins on his face, but only on the right side. His left eye has returned to its natural color while brightly shining as the right eye continues to be the shining dark blue and then yells out with a confident tone, "Let's do this!"

Unit 03 starts-up again and quickly grabs onto the lance that's still stuck into its stomach with its right hand. It then pulls it out while holding onto the ground of the moon with its left hand and throws the lance with as much force as possible straight towards the Earth.

The focus momentarily turns to Unit 06 as it continues to stand where it was earlier while Kaworu stares at the sky with a hint of concern due to him hearing a familiar sound. He's then surprised to see that the Lance of Longinus is heading towards him with remarkable speed.

Kaworu's unable to dodge in time, and as a result, Unit 06's left shoulder is pierced by the lance. This causes Kaworu to feel an intense pain resonate from his shoulder while grabbing onto it with his right hand and lets out an agonizing scream with his head thrown back.

Nero's main screen displays that the lance hit Unit 06 and this causes him to happily shout out, "Alright, this is it! You ready, Bardiel?!"

Bardiel's voice resounds through Nero's mind with an optimistic tone, "Hell yeah! It's all or nothing!"

Nero promptly nods while being very pleased. Unit 03 then lets out a loud roar as its eyes light up and launches itself off the moon's surface soon after. The black Eva heads towards the Earth and promptly reaches the Earth's orbit with amazing speed. After a few seconds go by, Unit 03 passes through both the stratosphere and atmosphere with a lot of wind blowing towards it.

Concern can be seen on Kaworu's expression as he's looking up at the sky with his hand still on his shoulder. He then hears a loud sound that's a lot like the sound a shuttle makes and is surprised to see Unit 03 heading straight towards him while yelling out in panic, "He can not be serious?! He will not be able to stop himself from crashing in that speed! Does he plan to sacrifice himself?!"

Nero confidently responds to what Kaworu said due to him being able to hear him through the intercom with his eyes locked on Unit 06. "Something like that!"

Kaworu's horrified by Nero's outburst and quickly leans forward with worry being displayed. "What do you mean?!"

Nero joyfully laughs. "It's all about luck, Kaworu! I've gone through so many near-death experiences that now I'm going to see if I'll come out of another one! Who knows, I just might come out of this alive! Either way, this is the only option I have!"

Bardiel cuts in with a reassuring tone. "Don't worry. You won't die, Nero." He then says with a hint of sadness in his voice, "I will though..."

Nero's confused by Bardiel's statement while looking upward and whispers, "Bardiel?"

Meanwhile, Kaworu's eyes had widen out of shock due to Nero's declaration, turns his attention towards his left to focus on the lance that's still pierced into Unit 06's shoulder and thinks. "That is why he threw the lance at me! He did it to keep me in one spot!" Kaworu peers at Unit 03 as its moments away from coming into contact with Unit 06. Determination then overtakes his expression while Unit 06 expands its A.T. Field to maximum capacity. "This is my only hope!"

Nero returns his sights onto Unit 06 while a bit surprised by Kaworu's statement before smiling and yelling out in excitement, "Same here!" Unit 03 then pulls its right arm back and thrusts it right onto the center of Unit 06's A.T. Field. This happens to be where the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil design is located. The collision creates a monstrous impact, which completely shatters the ground up to a large radius.

Kaworu's Eva does its best to hold its ground while the earth underneath it is crumbling. This results in Unit 06 barely maintaining its balance as Kaworu shows panic on his face while seeing Unit 06's A.T Field start to shatter a little. "No! It will not hold!"

Unit 03 intensely glares at Unit 06 while its right arm slowly starts to crack. It then suddenly shatters, and as a result, the entire entry plug turns red due to every screen displaying warning signs while an alarm goes off to show how severe the situation is.

Having witnessed the loss of Unit 03's arm, Nero shows some panic while cringing from the immense pain and damage that's caused to his right arm due to the synchronization. "That's not good!" He then quickly thinks on his feet and pulls his right arm away so he can thrust his left hand forward, which Unit 03 imitates, and forcefully thrusts its own left hand onto Unit 06's A.T. Field.

Kaworu shows an immense amount of surprise while thinking, "Incredible...! His will shows no sign of faltering! It is unbelievable!"

Then, Unit 03's left arm starts to crack as well, which this causes Nero to become a bit worried as he sees it happening. Right after seeing that, Nero suddenly chuckles while lowering his head with his eyes closed and says softly, "This is it!" Unit 03's arm instantly shatters and this makes Nero pull his body to bend backwards as he screams out in pain.

Unit 06's A.T. Field shatters as well and seeing this causes Kaworu to gasp from disbelief. Nero then suddenly opens his eyes with a fierce look on his face as he gazes at Unit 06 without moving his head lunges and forward while passionately screaming. This completely stuns Kaworu as the black Eva collides into Unit 06 and causes both Evas to crash into the ground while creating an even larger impact that takes up to a 10 mile radius.

After the impact of the two Evas, the entire outskirts of Toronto and even a large part of Toronto itself have been completely destroyed due to the destruction created from the impact. Conveniently, no civilians were hurt since they had evacuated around the same time SEELE did. After some time passes, it's revealed that both Evas are seriously damaged. Although, Unit 06 is still in one piece since it hadn't receive much damage during the battle in general and was able to withstand a good amount of that last impact.

Unit 03 on the other hand is in such bad shape that not only had it lost its arms, but most of its body had shattered from the impact. The only thing that remains of Unit 03 is its upper body while its head is gone as well. Then, Unit 06's entry plug hurriedly ejects while it's lying on its right side as it's currently underneath what's left of Unit 03 with both Evas facing each other.

Kaworu steadily gets out of his entry plug and gets on Unit 06's head while looking up at Unit 03 with concern. He can feel an intense burning sensation underneath his feet due to the heat his Eva had been producing throughout the battle, but ignores it and slowly walks up to Unit 03. Kaworu gets on top of its back and makes Unit 03's entry plug eject by pulling on a handle that's on the right shoulder of the now destroyed black Eva.

Right after doing that, Kaworu steadily walks to Unit 03's entry plug and calmly grabs onto the hatch's handle. He slightly grimaces from the immense heat that the plug is also producing while gradually opening the plug. As soon as he opens the plug, some of its LCL pours out, and after that, Kaworu peers inside while turning his head to the left to check on Nero's current condition.

Nero lies on the plug's seat while not being revealed completely because of the darkness within the entry plug as he's showing no signs of movement. In the meantime, Kaworu continues to show concern while gradually entering the entry plug. He then gets out of the plug while carrying Nero in his arms and stands on what's left of Unit 03's back with his focus on Nero.

After a few seconds go by, Kaworu looks towards the moon with a content expression and says in his usual polite tone, "You may have not beaten me, but I shall consider this as a draw. You have successfully proven to me that what you were fighting for was enough for you to overcome destiny. Just as I had denied my destiny for Shinji's sake when I let him kill me." He looks back down at Nero.

Nero still shows no sign of movement while being in Kaworu's arms as it's revealed that he has received quite a lot of physical injuries throughout his body. This is due to that last confrontation, but his body is still in one piece. His head is currently tilted backwards while peacefulness can be seen on his face. It's also noted that the cross on his back is no longer shining again and the dilated veins on his face have disappeared.

Kaworu lightly grins while seeing how peaceful Nero looks as sincerity overtakes him. "On second thought, let us say you won. You are the true pilot for the Eva that is Adam, after all." He then gazes up towards the sky. "That just adds onto how interesting you are, Nero Ikari."

*Scene Cuts to Black*

To Be Continued...

Brief Statement:

Oh my God! I'm so freaking happy that I finally finished this episode! So much crap got in my way that kept me from finishing, but I'm now done! I hope you all enjoyed the episode. I had to improvise a little, but I think it turned out well. Let me know what you think and look forward to the next episode because it will be quite emotional. Though, you might have to wait quite a bit before getting to read the next episode since I won't have internet for a while. Sorry.

That's it. Talk to you all later.