#rebuild();

The sky was the one part that Third Impact couldn’t change completely. The Wunder had landed in the sea, letting Mari go out on one of the small balconies that dotted the Ship of Hope’s sides– something she was using to full extent.

The moon was massive as always, clouds and grid lines crossing its surface– but there was far more than just it. Points of light winked in the blackness of space, twinkling in the sky. It was very attention-demanding.

Demanding enough that Mari wouldn’t really notice anyone else coming out onto the balcony if they were quiet enough.

     Compared to the quiet of NERV, the Wunder was a very noisy ship. The floors shook with the humming of the engine, a constant reminder- to Ayanami at least- that if the ship should ever fall silent, there was a good chance they were falling out of the sky. She had forgotten that a ship could land.

     She hadn’t known that at first, until she looked out a porthole and saw the hull of the ship resting underwater. Then she’d gone outside to find that they were afloat, resting on the sea she’d heard of, under a sky that she’d also never seen before. 

She was chained to NERV’s wall, staring at the ground, blue eyes glowing brightly despite their drooped appearance. Her hair color, formerly a bright red, had dulled. Growing out of her back were a pair of large, feathery wings. What looked like fangs could also be seen, set in her jaw.

At the sound of her former name, the being looked up. NERV’s experiments might have drawn out the Angel that infected her, but her eyes widened in recognition all the same. “Aya…nam…i…” came out in a croaked voice, followed by a quiet “Kyu…”

The chains might have held her down, but she was still able to crawl over to the girl that had meant so, so much to her. “Go… away… I… agreed… did this for…” A cough forced itself from her throat, but she still finished her thought. “You… I had to save you… from them…”

     “Asuka.” The name came from Ayanami’s throat in a hushed whisper, the most emotion she’d displayed in the three weeks since Asuka had given herself up. She ran to her friend’s side, falling to her knees as she took one of the chains in her hands and examined it. It wasn’t anything she’d seen before during her time at NERV, and all the ordinance was with Mari, located somewhere else in the ruins of NERV HQ. “Makinami,” Ayanami whispered into a radio on her wrist. “I’ve found her.”