Author Note: Let me stress that this is an AU. Kozo, Rei, and the Commander have different views in this rendition of Evangelion. I want that to be clear in case questions come up. I also skipped Sachiel devastating the JSSDF because I really can't imagine how I'm supposed to write how VTOLs get rekt. On the topic of AUs, the next chapter will be more of a background as to why Kozo and Rei act this way (in this chapter) and what had happened during Unit-00's Activation Test. Most likely I'll be uploading 2 chapters next time. One for the background and one for the 3rd Angel Battle. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Evangelion or anything related to it. I only write stuff.

JSSDF Service Record 09510-3H6

Encryption Code: Epsilon

Public Code: /sigma/

Subject: Lieutenant General Hideo Iwakuro

Date of Birth: Born March 19, 1962 at 04:53:21 AM Pacific Standard Time

Place of Birth: Kurahashi, Hiroshima Prefecture. (Now merged to Kure, Hiroshima)

Age of Retirement: 53

Status: MIA, possibly deceased

Career: Lieutenant General Iwakuro entered the Nagoya Military Academy at the age of 18. Graduating with honors as 5th in his class of 40, the then lieutenant was assigned as platoon leader of the first squad of the 16th Infantry Regiment. Prior to 2nd Impact, majority of the JSSDF troop movement was relegated to internal security. The lieutenant managed to ascend the ranks through senior commendations, attaining the rank of captain. Later granted command of the 4th Armored, the captain led his troops during the post-Impact crisis. Eventually, his actions during the rescue and relief efforts afforded him a fast track to a major general position. At the age of 50, Iwakuro was promoted to Lieutenant General and given command of the JSSDF forces operating in the Kanto and Chubu regions of Japan. On the 6th of June, 2015, Lieutenant General Iwakuro was made operation commander of Operation First Contact. Details include the battle of Tokyo-3 where an Angel, codenamed Sachiel, had appeared. Further details of the operation are attached with X-ray level encryption (see end of record). After Operation First Contact, Lieutenant General Hideo Iwakuro submitted his resignation and his current whereabouts are unknown. It is believed that the General had posed as a security threat to the Global Security Organization of NERV and was summarily executed.

Press ENTER to decrypt and view Operation First Contact files.

06-06-2015 / Somewhere in high Earth orbit

Breathe in, breathe out. The almost inaudible sound of an inhale and exhale could be heard as the Third Child, Shinji Ikari, ran the system diagnostics for what seemed like the hundredth time. Military standard time showed him that it was now 1200 hours, and that meant that he had been in stasis for close to 4 hours. Shinji knew better than to complain, but no one told him that Operation First Contact would take so long. The Commander had sent him text-only messages comprised of situation reports while he was in orbit. It looked like the Battle of Tokyo-3 was underway and that the JSSDF had taken control of the Operation. In his mind, the Third Child was frustrated beyond belief. They were wasting time. He knew based on research that conventional weaponry would do nothing to the Angel. A.T. Field generation alone would have rendered most weapons useless against an EVA, much less an Angel that inherently possessed an A.T. Field of its own. Taking a glance at his overall system's scan, Shinji decided on powering the EVA up to 100% capacity in case he was needed immediately. A ping distracted him from his musings. It looked like he'd received a message from NERV Tokyo-3. Quickly blinking to acknowledge the notification, the message opened up.

Come.

Poetic, he thought. It was just like the Commander to get right to the gist of the message. Grinning in anticipation, he began cycling the re-entry vessel's generator; performing the necessary checks to ensure that the craft would survive re-entry. A soft rumble indicated that the craft was on the move. Switching to external cameras, he was greeted by a view of the stars and the Earth. Marveling at the spectacle, Shinji committed the sight to memory. The moment soon passed and with it his amusement. He had to focus on the mission. Once the vessel reached the right altitude, the auto-pilot was switched on to facilitate his descent. Attaching the restraints to his suit, the Third Child braced himself for what would promise to be a bumpy ride down.

06-06-2015 / NERV HQ, Tokyo-3

"My god, the thing's still alive!"

"That was an N2 mine! This is impossible!"

"Evacuate the Geo Front immediately! We need to regroup and reassess back at Tokyo-2!"

"ENOUGH!"

Silence immediately descended within the NERV HQ command room. The speaker, Lieutenant General Iwakuro of the JSSDF, looked at all the men under his command then stared at the NERV Commander without flinching.

"It is to my shame that I acknowledge that the JSSDF was combat ineffective in Operation First Contact. Thus said I will shoulder the blame for the failure of the operation and I hereby relinquish operation control to NERV and its commander."

With that, the Lieutenant General bowed deeply and exited the room with an about-face, along with his aides. The rest of the JSSDF command followed suit after what seemed like minutes; recovering from the shock of their leader leaving.

Meanwhile, Gendo Ikari reveled in his new-found power. Of course he had known that the scenario would play out like so. It was just icing on the cake to know that the now shamed Lieutenant General would be a target for SEELE since he had seen too much into the Operation. Clasping his gloved hands together, the Supreme Commander of NERV gestured for Vice Commander Fuyutsuki to take command of the situation. With a puzzled glance, his right hand man decided to ask the question on everyone's mind.

"Gendo, how do we fight the Angel without a functional EVA and pilot?"

Smiling, the bespectacled man sent the message to the waiting Unit-01 orbiting Earth. Satisfied that his summons had been received he faced his Vice Commander.

"Have Rei take Unit-00 out to sortie."

"Sir, the First Child is in no condition to pilot. Despite the successful activation of the EVA, the injuries incurred are still too grievous for her to pilot effectively."

"Vice Commander, I understand your attachment to the First Child. However, I will not allow a misplaced sense of paternal instinct jeopardize the fate of the world. Have EVA Unit-00 ready to sortie. Major Katsuragi, you will be Operations Director while I attend to other matters."

With that the Commander of NERV stood and exited the command room. Regaining his composure, Kozo Fuyutsuki cursed the day he was coerced to work with one Gendo Ikari.

"Major Katsuragi, I will attend to the First Child. Please have Unit-00 prepared for combat."

Striding across the room, Kozo entered the departmental lift and keyed in the floor for the secure medical wing. He left the crew to handle the logistics of preparing an EVA for combat. He was needed elsewhere. A brief trip down led him to a room marked 10-A. Sighing in resignation he pushed the door open. The sight that greeted him was that of a blue haired girl, no older than 14, reading a book whilst swathed in bandages. His entrance interrupted her activities and the girl looked up to address her visitor.

"Vice Commander, how are you today?"

"I am well Rei. Although I can say otherwise for you."

Smiling, Rei Ayanami put down her book and gave her full attention to the Vice Commander.

"I understand that you've been weaned off of the suppressants. However, I advise you to tone down your attitude change to remain under the Commander's radar."

"I understand. I will endeavor to suppress these new emotions to the best of my ability."

Offering Rei a small smile, the Vice Commander began to address the elephant in the room.

"Rei, it would seem that despite your injuries, the Commander would have you sortie with the Angel in Unit-00."

"It is of no consequence Vice Commander. After all, I am built to be replaced."

Clutching the girl's uninjured hand in frustration, Kozo decided that enough was enough.

"You are not replaceable. Do not ever consider yourself a throwaway human!"

"I understand Vice Commander. However, it is my duty to pilot."

With that final statement, Kozo Fuyutsuki could only watch as Rei Ayanami, designated First Child, prepared herself to die.

06-06-2015 / Inside Unit-00's entry plug

"How are you doing Rei? Think you can stop that thing?"

"I do not know Major Katsuragi. We will have to see how the battle pans out."

"Look out for yourself. I still owe you that lunch you hear?"

With that, the display winked out and Rei was plunged into darkness.

"Flooding entry plug with LCL!"

Hatches overhead began opening and the small chamber was soon filled to the brim. Breathing in and out steadily, the First Child attempted to manipulate the EVA's control yokes. A lance of pain shot through her injured arm and she gasped in pain. Clutching at the throbbing appendage, the First Child was hit with an emotion she had not yet felt; despair. She did not want to die. The Major had promised her a lunch out if she managed to activate Unit-00. The Vice Commander had even suggested that as soon as she had recovered then they would be able to explore all of Tokyo-3 together; like a family. Back in the medical wing, she still had her emotions under control. Now, with the absence of the suppressants, coupled with the building pain from her injuries, Rei found that she could no longer control her reactions as easily. Sobbing in frustration at the pain and unfairness of it all, Rei decided that she still had much to live for. She would pilot or die trying. Clutching the control yokes tightly, the blue haired girl began her EVA synch cycle. Managing to keep her voice level, she managed to choke out her launch callouts.

"Ayanami, Rei in Unit-00. Neural handshake accepted. Synch is green. Ready for ascent."

"Copy that First Child. Unit-00 en route to Gate 12."

Rei could not answer back because the pain was unbearable. To pilot and synch to full effectiveness, the medical staff had purged all the anesthetics from her system. The heightened pain would help her focus on her own being therefore avoiding mental contamination from the EVA. Frankly, she could care less. She needed those painkillers. Whimpering in pain when her communication cut out, Rei strapped herself in as best as she could. The ride up would be harrowing but she needed to persevere.

"Unit-00 loaded into launch catapult. All systems are green. Proceed with launch."

A series of magnetic coils that served to propel the cage to the surface powered up and soon Rei found herself hurtling upwards. The pain felt even worse now. The g-forces pressing down on her, aggravated her already beaten body. Pressing her uninjured hand to her abdomen, Rei managed to avoid regurgitating the day's lunch. Before she could recover, the catapult ground to a halt and she found herself exiting the EVA cage. It was all so sudden. She needed a moment to reorient herself. Fate, however, had other plans for the First Child. All at once the sensors detected a blue pattern approaching Tokyo-3 from the east. The Angel itself stood high and mighty. Its hideous visage visible from where she was deployed. The Angel had stopped near the outskirts of Tokyo-3; silently assessing the new arrival.

When she focused on the Angel, her thoughts suddenly cleared and she was assaulted with images she could not place in her head. It seemed like the EVA had finally deemed her fit enough to synch with. An almost primal calm settled in her mind as the EVA regarded the Angel. She gripped the control yokes tightly despite the pain as Unit-00 drew its Pallet Rifle. Before she could even squeeze off a round, her HUD flashed a threat warning and suddenly the Angel was almost upon her. It had jumped forward using something like an A.T. Field to lift itself up. Propelling Unit-00 backward, Rei fired wildly. The rifle erupted with a staccato report of heavy armor piercing rounds. The Angel stomached the brunt of the burst without flinching. Without warning, Sachiel extended its arm and its energy lance manifested. Rei tried her hardest to shift the balance of EVA to dodge the stab but it was then that her injured arm gave way. The lance managed to puncture her EVA's eye and Rei felt her head erupt in pain.

"Sir! Angel just punctured all armor layers including the ablative coating! Pilot is entering into shock!"

"Rei listen to me! It's all in your head! You have to keep piloting! Someone get the entry plug life support online!"

"We can't Major. The EVA is rejecting commands from the command center."

"Hold on Rei! We'll get you out of there!"

The voice of Major Katsuragi filled her entry plug but Rei could no longer form coherent thoughts to answer. All she knew was pain. The Angel had her at its mercy and she could no longer do anything but accept death.

"Eject the plug!"

"EVA is blocking transmission signals ma'am. It won't respond!"

Rei watched as the Angel kicked out and sent Unit-00 flying back unto a building complex. The pain she felt rendered her helpless as the Angel advanced for the killing blow. Keying in her self-destruct sequence into the EVA mainframe, she could only hope to take the Angel along with her.

"The pilot has initiated the self-destruct system. Detonation in t-minus 1 minute!"

"Rei abort! You have to try ejecting the entry plug!"

"Negative, Major Katsuragi. My purpose is to pilot, and I will pilot till my last breath."

"Major! Pilot is disabling backdoor protocols! It's truly out of our hands now."

With grave looks, the NERV staff could only stare at the main screen as Unit-00's visuals displayed a countdown timer next to the approaching Angel. No one felt more helpless than Kozo. This was finally it. A scenario in which Rei would become reset. For the Commander, it would be another day at the office. For Kozo Fuyutsuki, it would be akin to losing family. His hands had the view deck railing in a vice grip. Any more and he would have bruised his fingers. When the countdown ticked down to less than 30 seconds the crew prepared themselves for the inevitable. Hunkered down within the EVA's entry plug, the First Child clutched her sides tightly as if to ward off death. Biting back the tears and the pain, Rei turned to face the Angel. However, before the countdown could reach below 15 seconds, a new voice interrupted the NERV comms.

"Unit-00, disable self-destruct. I repeat, disable the self-destruct system First Child. The Commander orders it."

Quickly terminating the countdown, Rei scrambled up to get a better view of whatever was coming. The EVA's sensors had detected a massive buildup of energy nearing Tokyo-3. She had assumed that it was the blue pattern at fault. What greeted her, however, was a sight so unlikely she wanted to try jumping for joy. The Vice Commander had stated that it was the appropriate response to exuberance and she knew she had exuberance in droves right now. What at first looked like a meteor was in fact a landing vessel akin to a drop pod. The NERV logo was etched on side in faded white paint. The vessel itself was shaped almost like a stocky teardrop and it was apparently in flames due to what she would assume was atmospheric re-entry. Tucking her injured arm to her side, Rei began keying in transmission codes to contact the unidentified ship. She needn't have worried about the Angel as well for Sachiel was also observing the object streaking towards them. Finally managing to hail the vessel's frequency, Rei opened a video feed to the NERV ship. A window appeared and she saw what appeared to be a man in a bulky gray plugsuit with a full helmet obscuring his face.

"NERV vessel, please identify yourself. You are in a restricted battle zone."

Great, she couldn't even trust herself not to sound official after brushing so close to death. These newfound personality traits baffled her. Those drugs must have been very strong to suppress her persona.

"Don't worry First Child. I'm on your side."

End Note: Slightly shorter chapter and I feel like its rushed but what the heck. On a side note, know that I'm just making this up as I go along so I decided to cut it here. I forgot to mention that this is writing exercise and I intend to finish it. Forgive me if I update later as the story progresses because I have to keep everything coherent till the end. Thanks again for reading.