A/N: This chapter may prove to be long. I don't know until I finish. I guarantee at least 3,000 words a chapter. Now on to the story. Can Shinji defeat an EVA that uses Ninjitsu?
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Shinji was dumbfounded at how to fight this opponent. It was using all these dazzling moves, and putting him in a lot of pain. Shinji tried, but he couldn't keep up.
The others watched in horror as the EVA appeared to be walking up Shinji's EVA before stomping him into the ground again.
Shinji decided that he would have to do what Asuka did and be creative. He charged again. The EVA vanished and kicked him in the back of the head sending him flat on his face again.
"Dammit. Stay still you bastard!" shouted Shinji in frustration.
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NERV- Battle Station
Misato was shocked at t what she was seeing. The other EVA Series did not put up a fight like this. Even Asuka was able to beat one that knew Kung Fu. She assumed SEELE had found out about the lost art of Ninjitsu and decided to sick it on Shinji, knowing he was the best of the EVA pilots.
Ritsuko put a hand on Misato's shoulder. "Don't worry Misato, Shinji has been in tighter spots before."
"I have faith in him too," said Misato. "But it still hurts watching how he suffers out there, fighting for those he loves. Why does it have to be him?"
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Battlefield
Shinji wasn't having any better luck. He was still getting smacked silly. But then the EVA did the unthinkable. It cut his power cable. Now he had only 5 minutes to think of a way to beat this thing.
"Oh shit," said Zack in English. "Now he has only 5 minutes."
Shinji had to play defense. He was still getting smacked around though. What could he do? An idea then hit him.
4:40 left.
He charged again. The EVA again vanished. But this time he kicked his leg backwards. His attack hit home. The white EVA was sent flying backwards. Shinji then charged forward to finish the job. The EVA however with a twirl of its legs was back on his feet in a heartbeat. Once back on its feet, it proceeded to deliver a number of hits to the front of Unit 01's body, then a nasty blow to the back of the head.
Suddenly the timer dropped from 4:20 to 1:30.
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NERV- Battle Station
"Emergency power in Unit 01 has been damaged!" said Shigeru.
Makoto gave his report. "Unit 01 has less than 90 seconds of power!"
Everyone then realized that Shinji would lose this battle. And this EVA could probably take out the others rather easily.
Gendo then stood up. He picked up the com. "Unit 01, why aren't you fighting back?"
"I can't! It's too strong!" came the panicked reply from Unit 01's entry plug.
"You can fight back," said Gendo. "It's actually a choice that you have."
"I can't fight back!"
"Shinji. You have the power. It's up to you if you wish to use it or not! Or will you run away again?" said Gendo.
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Battlefield
Shinji was now confused by what his father meant. He had the power all along? Well if he did, he had better figure it out quickly. He had only 45 seconds left. Suddenly he got hit again hard.
To his and everyone else's shock, Unit 01 deactivated.
"NOOOOOOO!" shouted Zack.
"Screw the agreement!" shouted Asuka. "That idiot is not going to die on us!" She got her Unit 02 ready to intercept the Ninjitsu-styled EVA.
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Inside Unit 01.
"NOOOOOOOO!" Now what could he do? He was out of power. He failed everyone. Now this EVA monster would come and destroy his core, thus killing him in the process. He was all alone. He had no one there to comfort him. The only thing he had was the alleged fact that his mother's soul was trapped in the EVA. He realized, his mother had protected him before. And if necessary, she would protect her son again.
A look of confidence was now on his face. He grabbed the controls, and shouted: "Let's do this together Mom!"
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Battlefield.
Unit 02 was going to attack the EVA suddenly Unit 01 came back to life.
"What the hell!" shouted Zack. "It's back to life on no power?"
"Oh my god!" shouted Asuka.
"What are you talking about?" asked Toji.
"Get back!" shouted Misato over the com.
"Don't worry Misato! Everything is fine!" said Shinji.
"Shinji?" they all said in unison.
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NERV- Battle station
"Shinji's sync ratio has hit 100," said Maya.
"But how can Shinji still be in control? The EVA usually goes berserk." But then she realized, that Shinji's mother is inside Unit 01. He calls to her and she helps him. But then he also must be getting used to the berserk mode at the same time.
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Battlefield
The EVA went to finish off Shinji. Suddenly, Unit 01 grabbed its arm, pulled it in and kicked it flying. The EVA crashed into a nearby mountain. It got back on its feet rather quick as always though. Unit 01 charged at a demonic-like speed. The EVA got behind it really fast like always. However, just as it was about to attack, Unit 01 spun around and punched it in the face. The EVA was sent flying. It was a bit slow to get up. Too slow to counter Unit 01. Unit 01 knocked it onto the ground. Next it tore the EVA's legs off. Then it tore the arms off. Blood was everywhere. In one thrust of Unit 01's arm, it punched right through the EVA, and ripped the core right out and destroyed it.
"Woohoo! Six for six!" shouted Zack over the intercom.
Then Unit 01 went silent.
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NERV- Battle Station
"We've lost all contact with Unit 01," reported Shigeru.
"Pilot is alive though," said Makoto.
Ritsuko wondered. Why would SEELE allow 6 of its 9 EVA Series to be beaten? And with Shinji unable to move, what's going to happen now?
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Battlefield
Suddenly, the other EVA Series began to move. They drew weapons. They looked like weird looking spears.
"Watch out!" shouted Misato. "They're each wielding a Lance of Longinus!"
"The Lance of WHAT?" asked Zack. "Those things are so scary that they actually have a name?"
Rei spoke up. "The Lance of Longinus has the power to penetrate an AT Field with no difficulty."
"Crap, we'll get sliced at this rate!" said Toji.
A large cache appeared behind them. "Here are some weapons," said Misato. "BE CAREFUL! AND PROTECT SHINJI!"
And so the 5-on-3 battle began. Ivana took on one by her self with a progressive sword. Toji and Zack took on another one. Toji had a positron rifle. Zack had a battle-ax. Asuka and Rei both used two progressive knives.
Shinji could only watch as his comrades battled 3 EVA Series that held those Lances of Longinus. "Could they win," he asked aloud.
"These EVAs are much more efficient then the previous ones," said Ivana, over the intercom.
Toji and Zack were having difficulty getting through their opponent. Toji fought in front, while Zack attacked from behind. Zack took a wild swing at it. The EVA brought the lance behind it and blocked the attack. Toji then fired off some rounds at it. The EVA took the hits head on. Toji then charged in with his progressive knife to finish the job. Then that EVA did the unthinkable. It used the lance to push Zack back, and stabbed Unit 03 through the chest.
A bloodcurdling human scream could be heard over the com. And Unit 03 went down.
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NERV- Battle Station
"Unit 03 is down!" shouted Shigeru.
Now the others were in a panic. Ritsuko gave the order to reroute all Unit 03's power to the life support system, as Toji could not fight with his injury.
"Zack, lead that EVA away from Toji!" ordered Misato.
"Yes ma'am," said Zack as he parried the EVA's attacks and moved back so the EVA would follow him and get away from Toji.
Ivana was having difficulty penetrating the EVA's defenses. But her own repertoire of skills could enable her to continue protecting herself. But she couldn't keep this up forever. She blocked the attack and stabbed again.
Rei and Asuka were having immense difficulty. Their small knives were difficult to defend with against an attack from the Lance of Longinus. They noticed Ivana was fighting all alone, and that Toji had already gone down.
Shinji was in shock. One of those blasted EVA Series had taken down his best friend from the looks of it. Ivana was holding her own. Zack was holding his own. But Rei and Asuka were having difficulty. And his EVA was out of power. He wanted to help them beat the EVA Series, but he couldn't do anything. He didn't want to run away. It was that he could do nothing but watch…
Asuka tried to get in close, but the fear of the lance kept her at bay. Rei used the chance to strike. She managed to get in close enough to stab it with her knife. She could sense that her knife was slowly penetrating the EVA's body. But then the unthinkable happened. The EVA, with its back to Rei, spun the lance around its body and stabbed Unit 00 in the chest area.
In Unit 00's entry plug, Rei grabbed her chest in pain as she could feel the lance going through Unit 00's body.
To Asuka's horror, Unit 00 went down. Although her and Rei were not always on best terms, she didn't want to fight alone. Now she was alone against the monster that used the same weapon to kill her last time.
Things were looking bad for Ivana. She had been caught off guard and took an injury along Unit 04's left arm. Her pain made her reflexes slower. So she could no longer attack with the same speed she had been fighting with. It seemed the end was inevitable.
Zack had long given up on the ax he was using and went with two progressive swords to defend himself. It was definitely easier when Toji was helping him, but now he had the EVA's undivided attention, as he used his green Unit 05 to keep blocking.
Asuka was scared. Usually, even in the tightest spots, she refused to show fear. But she couldn't even get close to the EVA. It attacked her. She desperately tried to use her knife to defend her. But it pushed the knife out of the way and kicked her flying into another mountain. She looked up. The EVA had an odd stance. It had its arm bent up and out on a 90-degree angle with the lance in hand. She realized what it was doing. It was going to throw the lance at her and finish her off. She froze in true fear. She couldn't move. She was going to die again.
Shinji was watching the battle in horror. First Toji, then Ivana got hurt, and now Rei is down. On top of that, Asuka is down. And that fucking EVA is about to finish her off. He let her down before during 3rd Impact. He wasn't going to run away again. He would do whatever it took. Power or no power, Asuka would not die again!
Suddenly a loud yell came over the intercom.
"ASUKA! I WON'T LET YOU DIE!"
Unit 01 roared to life once more.
The next actions were almost simultaneous. The EVA threw the lance at Asuka. She couldn't even flinch. Suddenly a purple blur appeared in front of her. It was Unit 01. As the lance flew at the two. Unit 01 caught it!
"Shinji?" Asuka called out.
There was no response. Unit 01 threw the lance right back at the EVA Series. The lance went right through it as if it were soggy paper. The EVA went down in an instant with a big gaping hole in it.
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NERV- Battle Station
"What's going on?" Ritsuko called out to her staff.
Only one reply came. "Shinji's sync ratio has hit 400!"
Ritsuko just dropped her clipboard. Misato was speechless. The EVA was coming to life again.
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Battlefield
Zack could just watch as Unit 01 tackled the EVA he was fighting. The punches Unit 01 threw at it were putting massive dents in it. With both its hands, it ripped the EVA open and ripped out the core. That EVA was dead. Unit 01 took the core, and threw it into space with tremendous force.
The last EVA took its attention off Ivana and attacked Unit 01. Unit 01 caught the lance, took it out of the EVA's grasp, and snapped it in two. It then tackled the EVA. One by one, it ripped off its limbs. And with one mighty punch, it punched through the EVA, through the core, through its back, and into the ground. Finally, the EVA Series, was dead.
Unit 01 went silent.
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Shinji this time, was found in the entry plug unconscious. Unit 01 was placed back in cryo-stasis. All other Units were under repair. Their pilots were all okay. They also took turns visiting Shinji in the hospital. Shinji woke up the next day. Surprisingly, he was given a clean bill of health. After dumbfounding everyone about his seemingly perfect health, they decided to release him from the hospital. And SEELE disappeared again. The MAGI gave the chances of SEELE one day coming back again a 96.3.
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On a Saturday in late May- Misato's apartment
Asuka was trying to understand Shinji's motives. He had rescued her from an imminent death at the hands of the EVA Series. How could one fight so viciously in an EVA yet be a lame boring kid at home? Even more, he made the EVA come to life. Twice! Once to beat the ninja EVA. The second time to save her. She learned that when he saved her, his sync ratio had hit 400 again. He must have done that because he cared. She did admit to herself that it was nice that someone out there cares.
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Zack, Shinji, Rei and Misato were talking to pass the time. Zack was talking about one of his experiences in Canada.
"Yeah. I've been to one of those balls before. They treat you like royalty."
"Even better than those parties?" asked Misato.
"Yup. The last ball I went to was the B.C. (British Columbia for those who are not familiar with Canada. Heck I don't know the U.S. that well.) Ball."
"How'd you get in?" asked Shinji who was curious.
"Simple. Look who I am. Zack Harper. Sixth Child and designated pilot of Evangelion Unit 05. I was the pride and joy of Canada. They were honoured just to have me there. My father, who's the head of a huge company, made it even easier."
Asuka came into the room and interjected. "Those balls are kind of boring, but it's an honour to be invited."
"Like the ACDC song "I Got Big Balls" says: If your name is on the guest list, no one can take you higher," Zack replied. "I'm sure you'll get invited Shinji one of these days. Heck, you saved the world."
This gave Shinji a slightly embarrassed look on his face. Suddenly the doorbell rang. So Misato answered the door. It was a man dressed in a suit.
"I'm looking for Shinji Ikari," the man said.
"I'm Shinji." Shinji got up and went to the door.
The man gave Shinji something in an envelope. And left as mysteriously as he appeared.
Shinji opened the envelope. Out came a letter. It said:
Dear Shinji Ikari,
We have heard of your great deeds. You are the one who saved mankind from imminent destruction. We would be honored if you could grace us with your presence at the Tokyo-3 ball tonight. We would also be honored if the following people could also attend:
Rei Ayanami
Asuka Sohryu
Toji Suzahara
Ivana Kharlamov
Zack Harper
Maj. M. Katsuragi
We humbly thank you for your time and hope you can be here tonight.
Sincerely, President Akagero Makamoto
"WOW! THIS IS AWESOME!" shouted Misato. "Time to PAAARRRRRTTTTAAAAYYY!"
"They sent this personally to me," said Shinji.
"See what an honour it is?" asked an excited Zack.
Misato was already at the phone. "I'll call Toji and Ivana right away!"
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3 hours later.
All the pilots and Misato got ready to go. The NERV limo had shown up and they were all excited. Zack and Shinji had to run to the department store to find suits because they didn't have any. They both bought tuxedos with the NERV budget. Toji came over wearing a suit that he found in his closet. Ivana was wearing a black dress that matched her black hair perfectly. Misato was wearing a green dress with no shoulder straps on it. Rei was wearing a pale-blue dress that also matched her hair. Asuka, well Asuka wears red. A red sleeveless dress with red gloves that went up to her elbows, along with her red shoes.
And in they got. After a 10 minute drive, they made it to the ball. An attendant came and opened their car door for them. They proceeded into the ballroom. There was even a red carpet for them to walk on. They continued on until they met a man with a checklist.
"Your names please," the man said.
"Major Katsuragi."
"Toji Suzahara."
"Rei Ayanami."
"Asuka Sohryu."
"Ivana Kharlamov."
"Zack Harper."
"Shinji Ikari."
"Ah yes. All you here are on the guest list." He looked at Shinji. "Are you THE Shinji Ikari?"
"Uh, yeah."
Everyone who heard bowed in his direction. The man spoke up again. "It is an honour to have you and your friends here tonight. Please, come right on in."
What Shinji saw was amazing. There were four large tables, arranged in a square where he assumed all the guests would sit. There were reservations, for the many people from around the world, there were some other NERV employees. One for his father. And embarrassingly, one for him.
Asuka and Misato were fascinated. They had never gone to a ball this big before.
Zack was talking with the guy who let them in. "Is Robert Harper on the list?"
The man checked and replied, "Yes. He went in already."
"Thanks."
The host, the Japanese President, motioned for everyone to sit down.
A/N: I'm already at 3,000 words, but since I want to thank everyone for all the reviews I got, I have a little treat for you all. I will extend this chapter!
The president gave a speech on how he was honoured that everyone could show up at the party. He thanked the politicians for their work in help rebuilding the world. He said Japan would continue its leadership role in that area. He then thanked Shinji Ikari personally for saving mankind from a near disaster. Shinji got a standing ovation as the President finished.
Everyone then sat down to dinner. There were foods of all sorts. From hamburgers to specially made Chinese dishes, to European dishes, and even African made specialties. They even had beverages from all over too. Alcoholic and non-alcoholic. Misato decided she would try the Irish Whiskey.
It was a fabulous dinner and everyone had their fill, except Toji that is. Everyone went about their ways in the ballroom. Every politician that was there spoke to Shinji. And got pictures with everyone of them. Many guys wanted to dance with Asuka, but she bluntly turned them down like she always did. Ivana did not want to dance either. Rei was just there. Zack was looking for his father, Robert. Eventually he ran into him.
"Well, how ya doin son?" his father asked when Zack found him.
"Things are awesome Pops," said Zack with a smile. "By the way, have you found out who my mother is yet?"
Robert hung his head. "No we haven't Zack. We've managed to knock about 18 people off the list."
"So that leaves only 42 women then."
"Yup don't worry. We'll find out who she is. So you and I can thank her for giving birth to a great son."
"Yeah," said Zack pumping his fist. "By the way Pops, got any ideas to spice up this party?"
"Yeah I do. One plan is to get those two on the floor that you told me about. The second plan is to replace the band. The music is alright for this kind of atmosphere, but these old coots need to be brought out of musical ignorance.
"So what kind of plan do you have in mind?"
Robert began whispering in Zack's ear and he was getting more excited by the second.
"That's an awesome plan Pops."
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Meanwhile, the waiters were trying to wonder how Toji could eat so much. Toji had downed 2 plates of spaghetti, 2 full sirloin steaks, 6 hamburgers, and 9 big bowls of yogurt.
Ivana had been keeping an eye on a certain man for most of the night. After she saw the way he had been looking at Shinji and everyone else, her KGB training made her quickly realize he was an assassin. So he had to be dealt with. She approached the man, seductively invited him into a bathroom stall and …
WHAM! BAM! POW! CRACK!
NERV security quickly hauled out a beaten up man found in a women's bathroom stall.
Shinji paced around the ballroom. He was alone at the moment, but he was still at peace with the happy activity. He wasn't looking where he was going when he suddenly bumped into someone. It was his father, Gendo Ikari. It was a tense moment for Shinji. Gendo was not nearly as powerful as any angel, but he gave off something that could send chills down one's spine.
He only said, "Well done," before walking off.
It was weird, but Shinji liked the fact that he received praise from his father, even he thought he was a jerk most of the time.
Suddenly, the lead singer of the band announced that they were playing a slow dance song and encouraged everyone to find a partner. Everyone scrambled around to find a partner.
Little did Shinji and Asuka know that they were the victims of Zack and his father's scheme. Suddenly and simultaneously they were "accidentally" pushed into each other. (It was planned so well it may as well been an accident to anyone else who saw it.)
Suddenly Asuka ended up in Shinji's arms.
"Sorry Asuka. Someone pushed me."
"Great. And now I can't leave the floor without looking like a fool. You'd better dance well Third Child, or you're a dead man," said Asuka with a very threatening tone.
Asuka put her arms around Shinji's neck. And Shinji put his arms around her waist. And they began to dance to the music.
To Asuka's surprise, Shinji was rather good. His form was almost flawless. "Hey, dingbat, when'd you learn to dance?" she whispered.
"Zack taught me a few moves, but most of it is self-taught I guess," replied Shinji. "Sorry."
"Stop apologizing. Your skin is safe for the moment."
They continued to dance. Shinji looked around. Rei was talking with Toji, who was too shy to dance. He noticed Misato was watching too. Zack was seen having a dance with Ivana. Zack was careful not to try anything funny or get flipped again.
Asuka let her head rest on his shoulder. 'He may be an idiot,' she thought. 'But he's my idiot.'
Asuka's resting her head on his chest made Shinji flush. He couldn't tell if Asuka was teasing him, or if she liked him, or was just plain tired. Regardless, he had to keep going until she wanted to stop otherwise not make it home in one piece.
Suddenly, most of the lights went out. And one big spotlight flashed down upon Asuka and Shinji. They both looked very embarrassed.
The band leader took this moment to speak. "Well what do you know. You two make quite a couple! Give us another dance you two!"
Shinji and Asuka reluctantly decided to have another dance with cheers from the crowd.
Misato could only watch from a distance, as she saw the magic taking place on the dance floor. 'If only Asuka could realize how he feels about her,' thought Misato.
After about 4 minutes, the song ended, and the pair got a standing ovation from the crowd.
Later, some people came and shoved the band members offstage. Then another person came up to the mike and made an announcement. "Ladies and Gentlemen, there will be a change in musicians. So let's give a big hand to DMX Jr!"
A rapper came on stage. Music started playing. DMX Jr. began rapping the song "Party Up". He only got through 90 seconds of the song before security hauled him off stage.
Later as the party went on, Misato got into a drinking contest with some guy she bumped into at the party. They were both funneling beer from two large kegs.
"CHUG! CHUG! CHUG! CHUG! CHUG! CHUG! CHUG! CHUG! CHUG!"
The crowd roared into cheers as Misato finished off the keg. Her opponent couldn't do it. So now Misato was piss-eyed drunk again.
It was 1:30am. They had been there for 5 hours. They got in their limo. Zack said goodbye to his father, and had the limo driver take Toji and Ivana home. When they got to their complex, they realized the elevator was under maintenance. So that meant Zack and Shinji had to help a totally drunk Misato, get up the stairs. Anyone would have found it slightly odd that 3 men in black suits were following them.
Suddenly Misato threw up on the floor. Zack turned around to face the security. "Yo. Is any one of you a certified janitor?"
One of them stepped forward. "Yes I am, Pilot Harper." He took out a card that certified he was qualified as a NERV janitor. "I'll clean this mess up." He cleaned it up in 49 seconds!
Finally, they got to their apartment and got in the door. The door closed behind them. One guard said to the others, "Men. Our work here is done for now."
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Inside Misato's apartment 2:00am
Zack and Shinji got Misato into her room. She passed out instantly. Everyone changed into some nightclothes. The four sat on couches. (Take note that Shinji and Asuka are on the same 3 seat couch while Rei is on a single and Zack is sitting on the floor. They talked for a bit, while Shinji listened to his SDAT player. Rei was the first to get up.
"I will retire for the night. Good night." She went into her room and shut the door.
Zack followed her lead. "Yeah. Same here. I'm calling it in. G'night everyone."
Shinji had his eyes closed He was laid out on the couch. Suddenly he felt a weight on his side. He opened his eyes and nearly choked on his breath. Asuka was sleeping on top of him! She must have passed out from pure exhaustion! She had her head rested on his chest, and had her arms somewhat wrapped around him.
"Uh, Zack? A little help here," said a desperate Shinji.
Zack came out to see what the problem was. "Ah, need a little help I see. You're not in a very comfortable position there. No problem. I got just the remedy." He went back into his room and brought out a pillow. "Here put your head under this. My only advice to you is to not try anything funny with her while she sleeps. In the movies, when the guy wants to make his moves on a girl, she wakes up and he looks like a fool. If Asuka starts doing anything, don't resist it. Even if it's a little gross. The last thing you want to do is prematurely wake the Devil-Incarnate from her sleeping bliss. G'night Shinji. Sleep tight. Don't let Asuka bite!"
Now Shinji was petrified. Asuka began to talk in her sleep. "Shinji… Shinji… don't make me wait…"
It was going to be a very LONG night for the Third Child.
A/N: Well. I got 4,700 words in for this chapter. I hope you all liked it. And Shinji's troubles will continue into the next morning/chapter. Will he survive? R&R people! Be cool!