One week.

One week is all I had been working at NERV by this point.

One week was all I had to prepare myself for Tokyo-3 being attacked for the first time, and it was then and there, that I came to understand the gravity of what we were all trying to do.

After a couple days of sleepless nights, I was finally feeling a routine building. The cycle of a regular job was refreshing after being used to the dull existence of university living for so long, even if my rest was compromised by nightmares of the Evangelion. Deep down, however, I wondered.

"What was I doing?", those words echoed in my heart. Despite the routine, the days were filled with endless streams of testing and running diagnostics on something that chilled me to my core. The days lurched onwards slowly. They could say it was for humanity as much as they wanted, I still didn't quite understand what that meant. What was an "Angel", anyway?

Maybe I should just be happy I'm getting paid.

"Aw, you look down in the dumps."

The playful voice of one Misato Katsuragi snapped me out of the daydream I was having. The purple haired director of operations smiled at me sweetly as she pulled out the chair next to me. It was midday, lunchtime specifically, and I had an abandoned chicken sandwich left, half-eaten, in front of me. I could tell there was a red mark on my chin from leaning on my hand, certainly a sorry sight. I straightened my back immediately, as she was a far higher rank than me, no matter how much her personality pushed to belie that fact. "Geez, no need to jump to attention, skippy, I was only checking on you."

"Well, Commander Katsuragi, I d-"

"Ugh, can't you humor me a little and not refer to me like that, it makes me sound like an old lady when you say it.". She sat in the chair while speaking, her attention turning to the coffee in her hand, which she took a long sip of. I know she prided herself on being friendly, like a big sister to everyone, but for some reason I didn't feel quite as relaxed around her yet. It's funny, but she almost reminds me of my own sister. Perhaps that's why…

She cut that thought off with a follow-up, "Anyway, how are you feeling? You seriously looked like death just then.". I did? "A young guy like you is probably out partying it up whenever you get a chance, yeah? Tell me I'm right!". She chuckled, a smile painting her face as she took another swig of coffee.

"Well, to be honest, it's not quite that exciting…", her expression dropped to one of boredom as I continued. "I've just been fixing my apartment up, and it... takes a lot out of me after working, is all.". One of her eyebrows raised.

"So, no hookers and blow for you?"

I almost choked on the breath I was taking, offering her a moment of amusement at my expense. After a few awkward moments, she put on a serious face, which kinda took me aback. "I know you're probably exhausted from that, I'm still there myself. I only moved in shortly before you did. But there's something else, isn't there?".

"...yeah.". I didn't really know how to put into verbal words how the Evangelion's visage, it's form, made me feel, but it's existence just didn't seem natural. Dr. Akagi kept calling it a robot, but was that all it was? Would a mechanical structure really shake me this much?

Commander Katsuragi struggled to read my face, but after another bout of silence, she let out a short sigh. "It's the Eva, right? Unit-01?", she started. "Ritsuko told me that you lose the color in your face whenever you enter it's room for testing.".

"...I didn't know I was being so obvious about it." I could feel my ears starting to turn red from embarrassment at the prospect of Dr. Akagi talking about me to Commander Katsuragi. "It just… doesn't feel right to me, I can't explain it.".

She stood up and patted me quickly on the shoulder, "It creeps me out too, but someday soon, it'll all come together. You'll see.". Another person faking it until they make it? That just seems to be the state of this world as of now. "Just be prepared for anything at a moment's notice, and we should all be fine." She spoke those words softly as she walked away, tossing her cup in the bin as she left.

I sat at the table for another few minutes, wringing my hands. Those last words of hers struck something inside me as well. None of this was going to get any easier, would it?

It was a normal enough evening. I arrived at my apartment after picking up fast food. I had been too exhausted lately to properly cook, but I made an empty promise to myself that I'd do better with my diet once I had finally settled it, whatever I meant by that.

My mind kept running over the conversation with Misato from earlier. I'm sure there were many things she was privy to; plans, secrets, you name it- but to expect me to be ready at a moment's notice (and without really explaining what I should be preparing for) seemed a bit unfair.

I shook my head, hoping I could displace these odd feelings of anxiety that were creeping up my back again. I had been doing a pretty good job of just focusing on my work lately, and I didn't want that to be ruined by overthinking what could've just been a simple throwaway statement.

Tossing the remainder of my meal into the bin, I showered and quickly got into bed. Lying in the cool night air, I just thought about what tomorrow's work day was going to hold. Letting sleep's embrace take me, I oddly felt at peace. The relaxation that laid about my body was a rare, albeit welcome, sensation.

If I was apathetic to my own situation in this world, I could do my job even better, right? If I could just be a tool for NERV to use, just a simple cog in the machine, that would be best, no? I have no one who cares about me right now, so who'd care if I just floated through life?

But you're lonely, aren't you?, my own voice sounded in my head. Was that part of a dream I was having, or was my subconscious trying to speak to me? The thought faded from my head as quickly as it had entered.

The sirens woke me from what seemed like the first restful sleep I had gotten since I arrived. Due to training, I knew exactly what they meant, and my heart sank. I would've rather been awoken to my apartment being on fire, or a flood warning, but this. This was the worst case scenario.

A "Pattern: Blue".

An Angel.

I scrambled out of bed and over to my drawers, viciously tearing out clothing to dress myself. I didn't know how long the siren had been going for, nor did I know what to expect from an Angel attack; I just knew I had to get to the HQ as fast as humanly possible. Tripping down my hallway, I heard loudspeakers calling for everyone to get to a designated safety bunker. I would probably have a better chance of making it to one of those, had I been a civilian, but I had a job to do. The Evangelion was going to be fielded today.

As I ran into the lot of my apartment complex, whipping my keys out to unlock my car doors, I could hear the sound of rotors. Damn, the JSSDF has been mobilized, my mind raced. Shit must be really hitting the fan, I thought, but it wasn't until I heard the fire of distance machine guns that my blood began running cold. It may've been far away, but still too close for me to be wasting time up here. I picked up my pace. My car's door whipped open and I started the ignition.

The soft rumble of the engine was dwarfed by the explosions that followed. They were close, too close, and getting closer by the minute. Things were progressing far quicker than I needed them too. Slamming the gas, my car reversed quickly to face the exit, I switched gears to drive and flew out of the parking space, heading down the road at well above the speed limit, (as if I cared). I could feel my cell phone start to vibrate in my pocket.

I flipped the top up on my cheek and was met with the voice of Dr. Akagi. "Finally you picked up, damn it.". Her voice was disheveled and angry, "if you're not dead, get here as quickly as you can; I need you to help with start-up on Unit-01!".

"I'll be there in a minute, but where the hell is this thing!?" I couldn't control my tone, but that was all I could do in this situation. "Am I even going to have a minute? I can feel the explosions, they're way too close!".

"Relax. You have time. The JSSDF are doing what they can. We haven't been given full clearance to field the Evangelion yet anyway, the military always has to act first. That's just how this operation goes.", I could tell she was pissed about that, but at least it was giving me time to make it to the Geofront. Bless their souls, I guess. "I have to disable the ID scanner for Misato anyway, so I'll turn it off for you as well. Get down here as soon as possible, We'll start the preparations on Unit-01." Commander Katsuragi?

"What do you mean, is Katsuragi not there?", I was shocked. At a moment like this, even she should've been there before I was.

"She will be soon, hopefully. She's bringing the key, afterall." I opened my mouth to question further, but she cut me off, "I'm hanging up, you'll find out when you get here!".

That was that, the line went cold. What a mess.

The express elevator for vehicles was a fast one, taking me straight to the heart of the NERV HQ without any extra hassle, its ease exemplified by the disabled card readers. When it reached its destination, I parked as quickly as my brain would allow me and I ran to the lockers, getting my gear on.

I entered Unit-01's room through a side door, meeting Dr. Akagi as soon as I arrived. Her hair was wet and she smelled of LCL. "Oh good;", she began, passing me swiftly, "I have to go collect Misato and the Third Child. I can leave the rest to you, right?". I nodded, though I wasn't certain of how much I'd be able to do without her guiding me. The door closed and she was gone, too late for second guessing myself now. Making my way over to the main monitor, I began checking process after process for problems. It was looking like everything was green.

Inexperienced as I was, I tried my best to give commands to the workers around the area, what cables to disconnect and the like. Things were progressing smoothly, and I would've normally been ready to breathe a sigh of relief, had every other second not been filled with a tremor from the Angel above. Heading up to the observation deck, where the final checks would be done, my head was ringing; it was like a sensory overload.

I faintly heard doors far below us open and shut loudly, and everything quieted down.

Taking a moment to peer through the glass of the observation deck, I saw Dr. Akagi, Katsuragi and a young boy all standing in front of Unit-01, about 20 meters below me. Was he the "key"? The "Third Child"? How puzzling, I thought for a second before something clicked in my head. Was their intention to get him to do something with the Evangelion? I don't know why, but a part of me had assumed that thing was automated. How else would he be a "key" if not to pilot it or something? Why him? Too many questions, I had to focus on getting the final prep for Unit-01 complete. That was my job. I couldn't make out what they were saying anyway.

With Dr. Akagi's signal, we finished the final layer of setup. The final step was to be completed with the Entry Plug. What I only now found out, was that the inside of the Entry Plug was to be the cockpit in which someone would pilot the Evangelion, flooded with LCL. As someone who has never enjoyed the thought of drowning, any liquid entering my lungs (even if it was oxygenated) would terrify me, so I couldn't say I was particularly jealous of this boy.

Afterall, our survival was on his shoulders. Not just those at NERV here now, but perhaps the entire world as well.

His name was Shinji Ikari. The seemingly estranged son of the NERV head, Gendo Ikari. I believe I had had only one conversation with Gendo, besides my initial interview. He was a man of few words, poised and, for the most part, respectful, but the way he carried himself gave me a weird vibe. There was a darkness surrounding him. Unfortunately, I would come to feel a similar vibe from Shinji.

Poor kid. Their relationship was surely a messy one, and as time went on, I didn't care to get involved, past viewing from afar.

Unit-01's eyes lit up, the Entry Plug was successfully connected. Everything was green. It was in his hands now, this sudden responsibility thrust upon him. Of course, I only had readouts to go by, but the Evangelion, as far as I could tell, was an insanely powerful thing. If he could take out an Angel with the Evangelion, then that would mean I contributed towards saving humanity. Isn't that what I was doing this for? Shouldn't that excite me? At the moment, I just wanted to live past today, accomplishments of mankind be damned.

Dr. Akagi collected me, and we made our way to the Central Dogma's command center. Commander Katsuragi was already there, to be Shinji's lifeline.

This is when I got my first look at the Angel. The creature that woke me up from my first good rest, and threw the day into chaos for everyone in Tokyo-3. The screens of the outside world were darkened by nightfall, but I could still make out it's grotesque, black, gangly body- its alien proportions near incomprehensible. A material that seemed like ivory bone jutted out from its shoulders, almost like armor. The most jarring aspect, however, was its chest: it housed two mask-like faces, made of the same ivory bone material, and embedded just below it, more bone, surrounding a crimson sphere. I clutched my chest as a searing pain erupted from deep within me. It was a familiar pain, but one I hadn't felt for so long, I had almost forgotten.

It felt just like that day…

As we exited the hallway that seemed to go on forever, I held onto my younger sister's hand- just as I had for the past couple days straight. The first taste of sun since we were forced into that bunker felt like heaven, but the smell that quickly entered my nose was foul, unpleasant. Burning plastic and flesh, soot, tar.

The smell of death.

Suzue began crying. Her screeches mixed into the gasps and melancholy of the people ahead of us. We came upon the precipice of the exit. I've never understood anything as painfully clear in my life.

Our home, Tokyo, was gone. Only a crater left in its wake. Anything that didn't escape in time had painted the land in front of us, a crowd of just a couple thousand people. Surely there were other bunkers, but there were no other groups currently in sight.

As my sister continued to screech, and the people around me cursed the world they lived in, I stared deeply at the image- committing every fatal detail to memory. The rest of the world began to fade around me, and I was eventually left alone with my hatred... and my weakness.

"SHINJI, GET OUT OF THERE!", Commander Katsuragi's shrill voice once again snapped me back to reality. The monitors were flashing EMERGENCY messages. The live feed of Tokyo-3 presented a scene much different than I had expected to see.

The Angel was smacking Unit-01 around like it was a paperweight. The Eva's movements were ineffective, Shinji's sync rate had tanked. The worst case scenario had, yet again, come to pass.

Mere moments later, the Angel pierced Unit-01's cranial cavity with a long stake, extended outwards from it's forearm, effortlessly pushing the giant machine backwards into the buildings 50 feet behind it. It crashed and slumped to the ground, it's head spraying crimson ichor over the surrounding area.

Why did it have blood? Was I seeing things?

His sync rate had hit 0, all nervous system activity between pilot and Eva were cut off.

"Get him out, use the emergency ejection!" Misato was almost in a fit, pleading with Maya, one of the technicians stationed at the command center. But it was hopeless. All life support functions had been disabled, and along with it, the connection to the remote emergency ejection had been disconnected as well. Dr. Akagi dropped the pen that, just a second ago, she was clenching as if her life had depended on it. Was this it? Was this all that our preparation could amount to? To lose in the first battle?

Everyone in the center had their eyes glued to the screen, awaiting the Angel's next move.

Silence.

The next thing that happened, I'll admit, I'm still unsure of what I saw.

But whatever it was, whatever I saw that thing become. That was what sealed my decision.

It made every feeling I had on that day rush back to me. Rush back to my heart.
I was scared, but the power contained within just the sight of its actions on a monitor...

The morbid inspiration it's actions put forward across the screen engendered a flame inside me, for just the few moments it took for it all to be over...

I wanted nothing more than to fight.

Unit-01 stood up. It had no power. It had no lifeline. For all intents and purposes, this thing should not have been able to stand up in the way it did. I should know, I helped run its tests. I thought I knew everything it could be capable of, at least in a purely theoretical sense, but to have its entire operating system jumpstart like this…

Unless, it wasn't the operating system at all.

I could feel my eyes widen in disbelief. Katsuragi uttered a single word.

"Berserker…"

Its jaw opened. It's fucking jaw opened. The torrential roar it expelled shook the entire base. Just what in hell was this thing. It can't be a machine. No machine could do that. Machines follow their processes, but this went beyond even AI.

This was instinct. Pure, unbridled instinct.

The Eva launched forward with a speed previously unseen. It hopped into the air and landed on the Angel, punching, tearing, and biting at its flesh. It tried to pull away, but Unit-01 was quicker. It brutalized the creature as we all stood, staring at the screen in a stunned, mystified silence.

Just as soon as it had begun, it ended.

The Angel, in a last ditch attempt to escape the fate of being torn to bits by the Eva, wrapped itself around Unit-01's body, it's broken form now evolved into a sludge-like material. The core, now fully visible, began to glow and shake. A flash of light. The following tremor was unlike any we had felt that day, but much like the pain in my chest, its magnitude was distantly familiar to me. The Angel had detonated, engulfing Tokyo-3 in a light. One of the distant monitors showed a wider view. Its explosion had made a giant cross that stretched up into the sky.

Quickly, everyone in the center began scrambling. Unit-01's status was still not confirmed. Every device was checked, but connections were still severed.

However, in just a few moments, from the blast zone, shrouded in the still burning pyre of light, a figure began to slowly emerge.

"Unit-01 is safe."