Lights coming on, Shinji could see the inside of the entry plug. In his new body tight plug suit, not dissimilar to that of Rei or Jonathan, but with different color. Taking a look around, he could see cityscape in all directions with some mountains in the distance.
"Good morning Shinji, how's it going?" Ritsuko asked over the comm.
'Apart from an early morning wakeup call not four hours after I fell asleep the night after fighting against a monster with my own mechanical monster, and feeling as though my arm had been broken…' "No problems." He replied. "I think I'm getting used to it."
"That's good. Have you memorized the location of all the Eva's emergence locations, emergency power junctions, armament equipment buildings and recovery zones?"
He did, he had spent an hour reading through the manual he had been provided and knew every stop like the back of his hands. "I guess so."
"Well let's review it now. Normally the Eva runs off electricity provided by an umbilical cable. In emergencies it can switch to a built in battery with an active life of one minute at full power and no more than five minutes in the minimal activity gain mode." Ritsuko explained.
'Five minutes? Is this thing mechanical or biological?'
"This is due to our current limit in battery capacity technology. Do you understand?"
'She hasn't told me anything that wasn't in the manual she gave me herself. Has she expected me to already have forgotten?' "Yes." He replied dismissively.
"Now let's continue from where we left off yesterday. Initiate induction mode." With that, the timer started a five minute countdown indicating how long the Unit would have power for. Lifting the rifle in the Eva's hands up in a preparatory stance, Shinji locked his eyes on the hologram of the third Angel.
"Position the target in the center." Ritsuko ordered. As opposed to where, Shinji did not know, but didn't say anything as he aimed and locked the rifle onto the Angel. "Now squeeze the trigger switch on."
Doing as tolled, Shinji unleashed a two second burst of fire which arched over the Angel.
"Take it easy, position the target in the center." The doctor repeated.
"Pull the switch." He quietly mumbled to himself, unloading a two second burst across the Angel's body, causing it to fall over and promptly explode.
"Next." He was ordered as a new hologram took the place of the old. Repeating the motion, the new Angel meets the fate of its predecessor. To make things more difficult, Maya placed each new Angel at a new location and different distance from Unit 1. It didn't change the fact that their lifespan was under five seconds.
"You know, I can't help but wonder why Shinji agreed to pilot again." Maya informed Ritsuko as they observed Shinji's training.
"It seems he simply does what he's told to do. I suppose it's just his way of getting through life." Ritsuko replied. Misato didn't like that answer.
"Position target in the center, and pull the switch." Shinji said quietly as he took out another Angel hologram.
He repeated the phrase with each new Angel.
XXXXXX
"You do it." Jonathan quietly told Shinji.
"What? Me? I had to get up early yesterday for all day training." Shinji countered.
"So? I've been doing that for years. Besides, don't you Japanese have some ritual or custom to do this sort of thing?"
"No, and don't you Westerners have one of your own?"
"No, we just walk in, shake them and say 'hey ass hole, wake up.'"
Standing in front of Misato's bedroom door, the boys where at a stalemate as to who would enter and wake her up. Knowing there was no way to win using argument, Shinji raised his fist, Jonathan doing the same. Shaking them three times, Shinji chose scissors, Jonathan, rock.
With a sigh, Jonathan slowly slid the door open. "Captain, its morning. You need to wake up."
"I just got back from night duty a little while ago." She said, half asleep and with a yawn "I don't have to go to work until this evening so please let me sleep."
"Alright, I'll go." About to close the door, Jonathan stopped as Misato interrupted.
"Hey, isn't today Thursday? It's burnable trash day, take it to the garbage."
'Burnable trash day? Oh that's right, here in Japan they split their garbage between burnable and not burnable.' "Yes ma'am."
"So how is school?" This question was directed at both of them. Without thinking, the two said the same lie.
"It's fine."
XXXXXX
"What?" Misato sleepily asked as she answered the phone. She would have let the boys do it, but both where taking the garbage out to the curb. "Oh, it's you Ritsuko."
"How's it going, are you getting along with them?" The woman asked, a fresh cup of coffee in hand.
"Them? Oh, the boys. Well it's been two weeks since they started school and neither really seems to have changed. They've opened up a bit to each other but I haven't heard anything about them making friends. No one ever calls Shinji and Jonathan only seems to get routine checkups from his superiors back home."
"Calls? Checkups?"
"Since I figured Shinji would need one, I got him a cell, and Jonathan already had one. But I don't think either really ever uses them. I'm not sure but, I don't think they have any friends at that school."
"Well I don't think either is the type to make friends easily. Shinji's to quiet for his own good, and he always seems to need someone to lead him forward. Jonathan doesn't seem to outgoing either, and it doesn't help that at times he acts like a fish out of water."
"Well Ritsuko, their just going to have to learn, someday, that part of growing up is learning to interact with others.
XXXXXX
Without saying a word, the two boys look their seats in the class. As there was still some time before class started, most of the class was empty, but some students had come in to either spend time with friends, while others where finishing up last minute work they should have done the night before but had chosen not to. And on the side Rei was sitting and…. Being Rei.
When they had started coming to class, everyone took notice of them. The two new guys, both transferring right after the battle that took place, one of them a foreigner. They stuck out like a sore thumb. Initially a few had tried to great them, maybe befriend them, but Shinji didn't take any interest, and Jonathan didn't seem to understand any Japanese beyond 'hello', 'goodbye' and 'thank you'. Judging it as not worth the time and effort, the students one by one stopped trying, just as they had with Rei.
With a toy VTOL in one hand and his camera in the other, Aida Kensuke recorded himself flying it while making engine and shooting noises, only stopping as he noticed the class rep standing in front of him, clearly displeased.
"What's up class rep?" He asked her, putting the camera and toy down on his desk.
"Did you deliver the printout I gave you yesterday?"
Caught off guard, Kensuke panicked for a moment, hand reaching into his desk. "Uh, well, uh. Well uh, there wasn't anybody home over at Toji's place."
"Mr. Aida," the class rep said sternly "aren't you Suzuhara's friend? Aren't you even just a little bit worried about him?"
"You don't suppose he was injured do you?" Kensuke asked. Though neither made any move to show it, both male pilots started to listen the conversation.
"What? You mean in the robot incident?" With those words, Shinji turned his head to look at the two over his shoulder. "The television reports all said that nobody was injured."
'People actually believe that? The media had a field day when they found out that it was a monster and a giant robot that fought, but how can anyone believe no one dies, let alone got injured?' Jonathan thought to himself. Looking over at Shinji, who turned his head to him, he could see that he was as perplexed as he was. 'The class rep doesn't seem to smart.'
"No way, you say what the explosion on Mr. Toganasu was didn't you? There where fighters scrambled from as far as Komatsu, and troops all the way from Kyushu. I'll bet at least ten or twenty people were injured. And there had to be a few fatalities to." The young nerd said.
'If only we could be so lucky.' Shinji thought, remembering what the Angel had done to the tanks and VTOLs he came across.
Hearing someone open the door loudly, the two male pilots turned their heads to see student Suzuhara enter the room.
"Toji!" Kensuke exclaimed, camera in hand. The class rep merely said "Suzuhara" in acknowledging his entry.
Dropping his bag on his desk, Toji took a look around the room before asking "Where is everyone? Has our entire class disappeared or what?"
"They've all either evacuated or transferred to another school. No one wants to stay here after there was a battle inside the city." Kensuke explained, pointing to Shinji and Jonathan.
"You're probably the only one who's happy to find himself in the middle of a warzone."
"Who knows, you're probably right about that. And speaking of people disappearing, where have you been Toji? Why where you absent so long?" Kensuke asked. Turning his camera to look at Toji, he continued. "Did you get involved in the war?"
"No, but my little sister did." Toji said. It was subtle, but there was anger in his voice. "She was crushed under a pile of debris. She survived, but, she's been in the hospital ever since. Both my dad and granddad have been working at the lab so there's no way they can leave their post, so if I'm not with here, she's all alone."
Taking a moment to think, he suddenly let out his frustration. "That robot's pilot is an idiot! It makes me so angry, how could he wreck out own city? What did that idiot think he was doing?"
"Speaking of the pilot, have you heard the rumors about the transfer students?" Kensuke asked. With how the conversation was going, Jonathan started to feel nervous while Shinji felt ashamed of himself.
Not knowing who he was talking about, Toji asked "what transfer students?"
"Those guys over there." Kensuke nodded his head towards the two male pilots. "They transferred in while you were absent, right after the giant robot incident. Don't you think that's a little bit of an odd coincidence?"
At that, Jonathan started to sweat. Not that it would seem odd for him, ever since he had arrived in Japan he was sweating a lot due to the heat of the eternal summer. But this time it was not from the heat.
Before anything could happen though, the door opened to reveal the teacher entering the room.
"All rise." The class rep announced.
XXXXXX
"And so humankind was about to face its greatest trial as in the last year of the twentieth century a massive meteor from outer space slammed into Antarctica and…" While the teacher went on and on about the history of second impact, no one really paid him much attention. After all, they had been told their whole lives about the event.
As the teacher threw around a few numbers to try and make them feel impressed by the magnitude of second impact, both Shinji and Jonathan got a popup message appear on their laptop screens.
Opening the message, both received the same. A simple question: 'Are you the pilot of the giant robot? Y/N'.
Looking at the back of the class, Shinji say two girls wave at him, one of them quietly laughing. The other quickly typed something into the computer. A new line appeared asking 'Are you the one who pilots it? Y/N'.
Without hesitation, Jonathan typed 'N' and left it at that.
Shinji hesitated. If he typed 'N', things would probably stay the same. No one would have any interest in him, people would keep ignoring him and life would go on as if the question had never been asked.
But if he typed 'Y', then what would happen? Would people think of him as a hero? A villain? Would they start talking to him? He had no idea what could happen. After a few long moments, he found himself typing down 'Yes'. Not despite the fact he didn't know what would happen.
He did so because of it.
The moment we pressed enter, all but a few students turned to him, huddled around his desk and started asking him questions from all sides. As the teacher continued his lecture, unaware of the disruption in his class as he looked out the window, lost in his own world.
"Hey, everyone sit down, we're in the middle of class." Hikari yelled at the other students, to which one of the boys said "lighten up class rep."
Though Rei didn't take notice of the events transpiring around her, Jonathan chose to intervene. Standing up, he slowly made his way to the crowd.
"Hey, how did you get chose?"
"Did you have to take a test?"
"Weren't you really scared?"
"What's the cockpit look like?"
Before Shinji could answer any of the questions the girls around him asked, Jonathan spoke.
"Any and all information regarding the robot is classified to class 3 clearances, and any information is only on a need-to-know basis. As none of you have either the need or the clearance for such information, divulging it could risk three or more years of jail time for spying." Though they were disappointed, the students assembled around Shinji's desk where more surprised than anything. Jonathan's statement had not only shown that he actually did know Japanese, but he had said more in that statement then he had to all of them over the previous two weeks.
After a moment, one of the girls asked "why do you care? You're not the one piloting the robot. And you came here on the same day as Shinji, so if he pilots the robot why are you here?"
Everyone's attention now on him, Jonathan took a moment to think of his response. He could just say he works with Shinji, but then people would ask what he does, and they would think he was dogging the question. He could say he was only looking out for Shinji, but he knew that would not be a satisfactory answer. He could lie about what he did, but at some point either he, Shinji or possibly Rei would unwittingly reveal. And with his luck sooner rather than later.
"Well," he said "I pilot a plane."
Shinji had said the truth, and he wasn't lying about what he did. They didn't need to know the details.
While everyone had been talking, Kensuke had been at his desk, listening intently.
"So what can you guys tell us?" One of the male students asked.
"Uh, well everyone calls the robot Eva or Unit 1, and his plane as Evalon." Shinji said quietly. Not quite enough though, as everyone around them heard. Kensuke started typing on his laptop.
"What type of weapons does it use?" One of the girls asked.
"Now THAT is classified." Jonathan told her.
A few students asked tried to ask their own questions, but the bell rang announcing the end of the class. Stopping his lecture, the teacher only then noticed the state of his class. Though he dismissed the class, most of the students stayed around the two boys, asking them more personal questions.
XXXXXX
Taking another hit to the gut, Jonathan admitted to himself that he may have found an opponent on par with himself. As he recovered from the hit, he responded to his opponent in kind, hitting him in his face. Though a punch to the face was not typically a good idea as it usually caused more pain to the one giving it, it was the straw the broke the camel's back as Toji fell over.
Taking deep breaths, Jonathan had to force himself not to do the same. He had to make it clear who had won this fight. After a few moments he felt confident enough in his ability to remain standing to walk over to Shinji and offer him his hand. Reluctantly accepting it, Shinji lifted himself off the ground, his face still baring the mark which started the fight.
Kensuke recorded the entire event with his camera.
"So tell me Mr. Toji," Jonathan said, the aforementioned boy trying to force himself up from the ground. "Why did you hit Shinji when he did nothing to provoke you?"
"What do you mean without provoking me? That bastard sent my sister to the hospital." Toji replied. As he stood up straight, he nearly fell over as he tried to keep his balance. "That idiot could have killed her."
"Who's the real idiot" Jonathan responded "the one fighting on a battlefield or the one who didn't take his sister to a shelter when told to?"
Toji felt a new wave of anger flow through him. Who was this asshole to call him an idiot? How was he supposed to know that it wasn't just another drill? They had them once every few weeks. Shinji's the one who was piloting the Evangelion, Shinji's the one who fought the monster, and Shinji's the one who caused their apartment to be damaged and the ceiling to collapse. It wasn't his fault.
It wasn't his fault.
But with neither the energy nor the will to either fight again or even respond, Toji walked away.
"There's an emergency." Not having noticed Rei, both boys jumped slightly. "I'll report in first."
Without another word she turned and ran off. Unsure of what she meant, both boys looked at each other and then back at her as she disappeared around a corner.
A moment later a siren could be heard throughout Tokyo-3.
XXXXXX
"Well, this is different."
"Cut the chatter Evalon, this is an open channel."
"Yes ma'am."
Jonathan was nervous. With the Evalon 1 pressed against the launch cannon, he felt slightly dizzy. With the plane being held upright, he would have thought it looked like a rocket if it wasn't for the fact that his cockpit's seat was slightly reclined, causing the blood to start to accumulate in his upper body, most annoyingly his head.
"Evalon confirm launch readiness."
"Launch readiness confirmed."
"Roger. Launching in 3, 2, 1, launch."
With that, Jonathan felt himself being pushed back into his seat as the Evalon ascended from the cages to the surface several kilometers above. Moments later the dark walls where replaced by a blue sky.
"Launch successful."
Back in the cage, Shinji took a deep breath as the entry plug was inserted into Unit 1. As the beast slowly came to life, he wondered to himself 'why am I piloting this thing again? Even though my father's not here.' His mind went back to the fight earlier. 'Even though I was punched and caused a fight.'
XXXXXX
"Hey, I need to talk to you privately for a second." Kensuke told Toji. Deep in the shelter under the school, the two had spent the past hour with the other students, waiting for the emergency to be over.
"What for?" Toji wasn't in the mood for talking; he still hadn't fully recovered from the fight.
"Come on, please?" Reluctantly, Toji decided to go along with Kensuke.
"Hey, class rep." Toji called out, getting the girl's attention.
"Now what?" Hikari asked, clearly annoyed.
"We've both got to go to the bathroom." Toji explained.
"You were supposed to do that before coming down here. Besides, didn't you already go to clean yourself up from your little fight?"
"You know about that?" Toji asked, genuinely surprised.
"Everyone knows about that, you punched Ikari and Haida kicked your ass because of it. It took a whole five minutes for everyone in school to find out." She explained. "Now are you going or not?"
XXXXXX
"So what's this all about?" Toji asked. He wanted to know what could be so important that Kensuke would bring him to the bathroom to talk in private for.
"I've got to see it, at least once in my life." And with that Toji couldn't help but feel as if he had expected too much. Kensuke asking to talk with him privately during a battle? He really didn't know what he was expecting, but he should have known.
"You mean the battle up there between a three hundred foot robot and a giant monster?"
"Nobody knows when the enemy will come the next time."
"Kensuke, are you serious? Not knowing when the next time is probably for the better, I don't want those things around. Ever."
"But if we let this opportunity escape us, we may lose it forever. Pleasssse help me unlock the gate?"
"But you could get killed if you go out there. Is it worth it just to see the thing in action?"
"If we stay in the shelter, who's to say the risk isn't the same? You say what happened after the last battle, if this monster is anything like the last nowhere is safe. If I might be killed anyway, I'd like to at least see it first."
"You idiot, what do you think NERV's for?"
"And what is NERV's most important weapon? It's the robot that new kid pilots. He protected us the other day but you hit him pretty hard. I hate to say it but you deserved the ass kicking you got."
"I would have won if I got the first shot in."
"But you didn't, you used that first shot on Shinji instead. And think about it, if he refuses to fight, where all going to die. Doesn't that make it your obligation to watch him fight?"
"Kay, you're not leaving me any options. You'll do just about anything to get what you want, won't you?"
Laughing, Kensuke replied "Well, you've known me for year, do you even have to ask?"
XXXXXX
"Shinji, are you ready?" He heard Misato ask.
"Yeah." He said, clearly disappointed.
"First, neutralize the enemy's AT field, and then fire a volley. Do it just like we practiced. The Evalon will provide support. Think you can handle that?" Ritsuko asked.
"Yeah."
"Launch Eva!" With Misato's order, Unit 1 began its rapid ascent to the surface.
XXXXXX
Having found their way to an exit a fair distance from the school's shelter in the grand network of tunnels and passageways underneath Tokyo-3's surface, Kensuke and Toji found themselves on a hill outside of the urban sprawl and instead on a tree-filled mountain close to a temple.
Running alone the path that connected to tunnel's exit and the temple, Kensuke pulled out his camera as he spotted the monster slowly flying inside the city, slowly floating between the skyscrapers.
High above them, the Evalon flew around the city, observing the Angel as it slowly raised itself to its full height.
Seeing its true form, Jonathan couldn't help but think out loud "that thing looks like a…"
"Don't say it." Maya interrupted him
"But it looks like…"
"We know what it looks like, don't say it."
"Alright. But I'm sure thinking it though."
Back on the ground, Toji and Kensuke watched the Angel in awe.
"Cool" Kensuke said as he recorded the Angel. "All my efforts really paid off. I've been waiting for this moment all my life."
"Kensuke, didn't we only need to break one lock to get here? Not that much effort if you ask me."
"Shut up, something's happening."
Inside one of the armament building near the city's center, Unit 1 reached the surface.
"Position target, pull the trigger." Shinji quietly said to himself. He repeated so as Ritsuko spoke to him.
"AT field has been unfolded."
"Do it just like we planned, ok Shinji?" Misato said, to which he responded "Ok."
Assault rifle in hand, Shinji turned Unit 1 around and faced the 4th Angel, immediately unleashing the power of the weapon. For a moment it seemed to be going as planned, but after a few moments of continuous fire the dust in the air became too thick to see the Angel at all through and there was no sign of it being killed.
Realizing the blunder he had made, Misato wasn't pleased. "Idiot, you hit the enemy with your own smoke."
Only a moment later the massive assault rifle went silent, its precious ammunition depleted. Taking deep breaths, Shinji tried to see if there was any movement in the smoke. He didn't have to wait long as two glowing whips appeared from the smock and quickly tried to strike him, missing him due to a quick dodge but cutting both the rifle and the armament building in half.
"I can't believe it" Toji commented, "He's losing already."
"It's not a problem" Kensuke reassured him, not taking his sight or that or the camera away from the action.
"I'm sending you a spare rifle." Misato informed Shinji. "Take it. Shinji! Shinji!"
Shaking with fear, Shinji was unable to move. It hadn't worked. It had always worked in the simulator. Never more than a few moments were needed. They would just pop-up, he targets them and then before he had time to think they were already down. No need to reload, no need for the Evalon to back him up, no need to worry. No need to think.
No need to be afraid.
Noticing Unit 1 wasn't moving; Kensuke commented "Jeez, you punching him must have really gotten to him."
"Oh shut up!" Was the yell he got in response.
"Shinji" He heardJonathan's voice say. "You need to get up now and grab the rifle or the Angel will strike you again."
From his vantage point a few hundred meters above the ground, he didn't like what he was seeing. Not one bit. At this rate Unit 1 wouldn't last much longer.
Although he heard the words, it was easy for Jonathan to say. He couldn't see the Angel looking down on Unit 1, the cold look in its "eyes" as it slowly moved closer. Shinji couldn't force himself to move, no matter how he may try.
When one of the whips quickly moved towards him, his brain went on auto-pilot as he forced Unit 1 to dodge it. A dodge he failed as he was sent flying through several buildings before coming to a stop five blocks from where he had been. To the dismay of the bridge, one of the buildings in his path had been the remains of the armament building he had been launched of, this second assault on it causing the umbilical cable to snap.
The five minute countdown began.
Bringing himself back to his feet, he hand not made Unit 1 stand up straight before its left leg was caught by one of the whips. With no time to react the Eva was lifted and thrown several kilometers away, landing close to a temple.
Seeing his time to act, Jonathan dove the Evalon to be at eye-level with the Angel's core, doing what he could to distract it, if nothing else.
As he was only a hundred meters from it, he unleashed the dozen spikes that where on the left wing. Not expecting much, he pulled up so he wouldn't collide with it. As he came about, he saw that though there had been no visible effect on it, the Angel had changed its attention away from Unit 1 and towards the Evalon, moving it' two whips in an attempt to hit it. Doing his best to dodge the whips, Jonathan did what he could to lure the Angel in the opposite direction from where Shinji was.
"Shinji, are you alright? Shinji?" Misato franticly asked. Lifting his head, the first thing Shinji noticed what that between the fingers of his Evangelion the boy who had punched him and his friend where hunched over, bracing themselves for an impact which never came.
"What the hell are those two doing there?" Ritsuko asked as the MAGI pulled up their ID's.
"Activation time three minutes twenty-eight seconds" Maya informed the bridge.
"Shinji, let them into the cockpit." Misato ordered.
"What?"
"Evalon 1 is distracting the Angel. Get them and once you've got them make a temporary retreat. We'll start again later"
"What makes you think that unauthorized civilians can be allowed into the entry plug?" Ritsuko demanded.
"I'm authorizing it." Misato informed her.
"You're exceeding your authority Captain."
"Unit 1's remaining activation time three minutes." Maya stated.
"Shinji, hold Eva on 'current commands' and eject the entry plug. Hurry up and do it."
"Yes ma'am."
Seeing the entry plug eject, for a moment Toji and Kensuke where at a loss as to what they should do.
"You two, get it!" Misato ordered. "Now!"
XXXXXX
"My camera!" Had they been in any other situation, Toji would have laughed at his friend's lose, but given that they had just entered a dark, wet place that smelled of blood, he had other things on his mind.
"Sync ratio falling fast!" Makoto said.
"Of course it is, we've let two foreign bodies into the entry plug." Ritsuko replied matter-of-factly.
"Shinji, retreat. Utilize recovery root 34." Misato ordered him.
Looking into the distance at the Angel, he could see that it was still trying to swat the Evalon out of the sky, constantly being provoked as Jonathan would dive towards it, shot it with a split second of conventional rounds, pass it by and turn around to repeat the whole proses. Having no apparent problems with the distraction, Shinji told himself that Jonathan could handle it while he retreated temporarily.
Finding the opening in the side of the mountain, he quickly plugs the new umbilical cord to allow the Unit's batteries to charge as it was quickly lowered into the base. As the Eva reached the Cages moments later, he heard Jonathan over the comm.
"I'm out of ammo. I only got a dozen spikes left, which should keep him occupied for two or three minutes but nothing more."
As the Eva was slowly docked, the moments felt as though they each lasted for long minutes. Finally completing the docking sequence, the entry plug ejected and techs immediately opened the doorway.
"Alright you two get out." One of the techs yelled as another put his arm in to pull them out. One they had been pulled out and Unit 1 began to once again go through the launch procedure, on the surface Jonathan prepared to use his last spike against the Angel.
Diving in from the sky, after firing the last spike, he noticed that it hit the core, and though it didn't do much, it did leave a small mark on it.
"Haida, NERV, I'm out of ammo, but the last run got through it's AT field. It's getting weaker. Requesting full assault with anything that the city has." He informed the bridge as he flew away from the main city towards the airbase on the other side of the northern mountain.
As Unit 1 still was not finished the launch proses, Misato accepted the request. Throughout the city the silent gun towers rose and unleashed payloads at the Angel. In the thirty seconds it took for Unit 1 to finish the launch proses, several thousand rounds had hit the Angel, straining the AT field, though for damaging the Angel it was all for not as it strained it but it didn't collapse.
"Alright Shinji, let's try this again just like we practiced. Ready?" Misato asked.
"Yes ma'am."
"Unit 1, launch!"
Rising back to the damaged city, Shinji couldn't help but feel stressed. This was his last chance; he had no backup for this one. As he reached the surface, the surviving gun towers fell silent and returned to their underground homes.
Taking a death breath, Shinji took the backup assault rifle and took his time. It may have been only three seconds, but his aim was on the mark. Unleashing the ammo clip, this time releasing the smoke on himself instead of the Angel, his aim stayed true and he hit the core with most of his shots… only for the Angel to remain standing.
No, that couldn't be. After two attacks, an air assault and so much more, and it still lived. Feeling a new wave of fear go through him, he started to tell himself 'I mustn't run away' faster and faster, becoming louder each time.
"The progressive knife's been engaged." Shigeru informed the bridge.
Taking the knife in hand, Shinji knew what he had to do. He only had one chance at this; there was no other weapon up NERVs sleeves.
"Shinji no! It's too dangerous!" Misato told him, but he couldn't hear her.
Without a word, he charged. Trying to defend itself, the Angel struck each leg with its whips to try and slow it down. Ignoring the pain, Shinji continued his charge until he reached the Angel and came face-to-face with its core. Which he promptly stabbed as hard as he could. As the knife dug into core, Shinji forced both hands to push with everything he had, yelling at the top of his lungs as he did so.
As the moments went on, the Angel pulled out its whips from Unit 1's legs and struck the head. Shinji felt the surge of pain from the blow, but he didn't let it phase him, as the cracks around the knife grew larger and larger, and then, a moment later, the ordeal which for him had lasted not ten minutes but felt as though a lifetime, came to an end as the target went silent. Thankfully without an explosion like its predecessor.
And as the adrenalin died down, the emotional high ended and the emotional and physical pain came rushing back, Shinji broke down.
XXXXXX
The rain was fitting to the mood. That's how Jonathan felt about it. It had been three days since the battle and things for the most part had returned to a state of normalcy. For him and Rei it had been the first day back to school, as standard protocol is for them to be on full standby for two days after an attack.
But he noticed that Toji seemed oddly down. Though he didn't care until it concerned him.
"Hey Yankee, where has Shinji been?" the jock asked. Turning his head, Jonathan looked at the jock with a look that said all it needed to. But knowing him, he would need to say his point to make it clear.
"You call me a Yankee one more time and you will be losing one of your legs." He say Kensuke shiver, even though he was speaking to Toji. Good. "As for him not coming, today is the first day he could have come, but he chose not to out of his own volition. If you want his cell number I can give it to you."
"Don't bother," Kensuke interrupted. "I have it written right here."
Taking out a folded piece of paper, he held it out and offered it to Toji.
Who promptly accepted it.
