Showdown in Tokyo 3!

By Sonic Angel

Disclaimer: Duh! Don't own EVA! And I meant cage, in the last chapter.

Daisuke grinned, "Didn't I say I'd always have your back, Shin-man?"

Shinji sighed, "Looks like I have to owe you again."

Daisuke said, "I'll go deal with this Angel punk. Shinji, GO! Don't worry about me. I'll be fine!"

As Unit 01 retreated back to NERV HQ, Daisuke activated the intercom so that all NERV personel could hear.

Daisuke snarled, "Angel. You have destroyed my body. For that, I will make you pay."

Shinji went to the Command Center and yelped, "Misato! Ritsuko! Did you…"

Misato said, "Yeah. We heard."

Shinji sighed, "Looks like he's got a personal score with the Angels."

Daisuke snarled, "I know you attack within a certain range with your beam cannon. Your AT Field protects you from any traditional attack. Let's see you try and handle a high energy snipe attack!"

Suddenly, the Angel attacked, but Unit 07 and the pilot dodged that attack with a double backflip.

Shinji asked, "Uh, Ritsuko, what's Daisuke's synchronization rate?"

Ritsuko explained, "When he first piloted Unit 07, his sync rate was over 50."

Shinji gasped, "Amazing."

Ritsuko sighed, "That's what I said in Unit 07 did its activation test."

Suddenly, Unit 07 opened its mouth.

Maya yelled, "We're detecting a high energy output in Unit 07's mouth!"

Misato yelled, "Daisuke! What are you doing?"

Daisuke explained, "I know this Angel, Misato. It's AT Field serves as a shield. Conventional weapons, even those upgraded with HALO technology, would prove absolutely useless! Also, get in this Angel's attack range, you get fired upon, so close range combat is nothing but asking for trouble. Its weak point is snipe attacks! You can ask the MAGI supercomputers!"

Then, he yelled, "This is PAYBACK! LOVE ZERO SNIPER!"

That high-energy snipe attack went through the Angel.

Maya yelled, "The high-energy sniper attack has hit the Angel! Its been weakened by 50!"

Shinji said, "Way to go Dais. Way to go."

Daisuke grinned, "Dais? I've never heard you call me that before, Shin."

Shinji smiled, "I decided to give you a new nickname."

Suddenly, the Angel attacked Unit 07. Daisuke turned off the intercom, but how only Shinji, Rei, and Ritsuko could hear it, they may never know. But, his scream will haunt them all forever.

Ritsuko retreated Eva Unit 07, all the while, Shinji yelled, "What was that crazy baka doing, trying to show off to Rei like that!"

Ritsuko sighed, "While you may be his friend, Shinji, I have done a psychological evaluation on him. Even though he may have shown off to Rei, he knew that only a high-energy snipe attack could defeat the Angel. After all, Shinji," then, she smiled, "Daisuke Ishida was the brilliant mind behind Operation: English Channel Delta."

Shinji yelled, "WHAT?! HE'S THE ONE BEHIND THAT?"

Misato yelled, "HIM? HE'S THE GENIUS BEHIND THAT OPERATION?"

Ritsuko got serious again. She asked, "Maya! What's Unit 07's pilot status?"

Maya said, "Oh no. This is not looking good. His brainwaves are eratic, and his heart pulse is going to flatline!"

Ritsuko stated, "Increase the power to the life support systems! Give him a HALO heart massage!"

After that, Daisuke's status returned to normal.

Misato yelled, "I'm going to the cages! Take over for me, Ritsuko!"

Shinji said, "I'm going too. He almost died protecting me once; I'm not going to let him down."

As both Shinji and Misato headed down to cage 5, EVA unit 07 was damaged. Misato was on the phone, yelling, "OPEN THE HATCH!"

The hatch was opened, and they could see Daisuke, unconscious. He had a nosebleed, and Shinji said, "Hey, look! There's a sticky note!"

Misato took it and the note read:

I'm not having dirty thoughts about Rei, am I?

Unbeknownest to the duo, Rei was also looking at Daisuke. She said, "No, Daisuke,"

The duo rushed him to an emergency room, and Misato said, "Nurse, wait! There's another sticky note!"

The nurse gave the sticky note to Misato and Shinji asked, "What's on the sticky note this time?"

Shinji took the note and this time, it read:

Whatever you do, do NOT let Rei see me in the nude, OK?

Misato said, "I'll go to the MAGI supercomputers."

Shinji said, "I made a promise to Daisuke, I'm staying with him."

A voice called out, "I will stay with pilot Ishida as well."

They both turned around to see Rei, standing there, in her plug suit

Shinji asked, "Ayanami, why do you want to stay with Daisuke?"

Rei replied, "It was he who helped me be calm and calmly reactivated Unit 0. Now, I believe, it is I that should help him in his time of need."

Shinji said, "I agree. We should help him."

The two EVA pilots went in, while Daisuke, unfortunately, was in the nude, and struggling to be conscious again. He wanted payback for that Angel, and he wanted that Angel taken down.

Suddenly, after Misato was through with the preperations with Operation: Yoshima, Daisuke was awake.

Daisuke looked around and saw Shinji. Shinji said, "Dais, you crazy idiot."

Daisuke had also noticed that he had been stripped of his plug suit. Daisuke thought, 'I… I can't let Rei see me… IN THE NUDE!'

As if by some act of crazy coincedence, Rei walked in to bring Daisuke some HALO hospital food. Daisuke thought, 'Too late. I hope she won't turn perverted like that idiot Suzhara.'

All the while, both pilots noticed that there had been some strange scars on Daisuke's body.

Shinji asked, "Daisuke, where did you get the scars?"

Daisuke snarled, "That Angel that I faced today. When I saved your life from that Angel awhile back, Shin kun, that attack from that creep gave these scars."

Rei asked, "And what about those bruises, pilot Ishida?"

Shinji answered, "Daisuke had an abusive and drunken uncle, Ayanami."

Rei replied, "I see,"

Then, she got serious. She stated, "Here is the Operation: Yoshima timetable…"

Daisuke closed his eyes and smiled, "So, I see Misato came up with a crazy plan as it is already." He also noticed a brand new plug suit. Daisuke grabbed it and ran to the bathroom.

While in the bathroom, Daisuke asked, "Will Unit 07 be needed for this mission?"

Rei replied, "Yes."

Daisuke inquired, "Has the repairs been completed on Unit 07?"

Again, Rei replied, "Yes."

Daisuke exited the room and said, "Let's go."

At the battlefield, all three EVA pilots were briefed on their mission.

Before the briefing ended, Daisuke asked, "What's the purpose of Unit 07 for this mission?"

Ritsuko thought for a moment. Then, she said, "Unit 07's aim for this mission is to back up Unit 0 and defend Unit 01."

Daisuke said, "I see."

Shinji sighed, "I haven't shot with this weapon before,"

Daisuke did the one thing he rarely did nowadays. He smiled like he did pre Second Impact. He said, "Don't worry, Shin kun! It'll be like shooting ducks in a barrel!"

That's when Shinji asked, "Are… Are we breaking your barriers, Daisuke?"

Daisuke sighed, "Shin kun. I know you, Ritsuko, and Rei can do so much. The least I can do is to just go half way and break the barriers from the inside."

At their EVA's, Shinji asked, "Why do you pilot the EVA, Dais?"

Daisuke said, "The same reason why I want to live."

As the Angel attacked, and as Unit 0's shield began to disolve, a giant figure with the HALO shield appeared in front of Unit 0 and Unit 01. Daisuke yelled, "Shinji! TAKE THAT DAMN SHOT NOW!"

After the battle, Daisuke and Shinji worked together to open Rei's entry plug. The duo found Rei, alive. Daisuke found himself dropping to his knees, crying, while Shinji said, "Don't… Don't you ever say you've got nothing else, and saying goodbye before a mission, it's just too sad, Ayanami."

Rei stated, "I… I don't know what to do at this moment."

That's when both of them heard Daisuke speaking up. He said, "Why… Why don't you do the thing that Shin kun sugessted when we became friends, Rei?"

Rei asked, "And that would be…?"

The duo saw Daisuke standing up, and as his eyes opened, they saw he was not crying out of sadness, but of joy. He said, "Why don't you just smile?"

And, as Rei smiled, Shinji contacted Ritsuko. She asked, "Are you three all right?"

Shinji said, "Yes. And we just broke through Daisuke's two barriers. He's as happy and he's smiling just as he was… Before Second Impact."

Daisuke got serious again. He said, "Even though my scars form this Angel has dissappeared, my mental scars from another Angel have not."

SA: Whew, that was a close one!

Shinji: You can say THAT again!

SA: Next time, NERV's not the ONLY one finding ways to combat the Angels! And, what's THIS?! Daisuke becomes Shinji, Kensuke's, Hikari's, Rei's, and, most unfortunately for one, Touji's teacher? "A Human Work"

Kensuke: Oh YEAH! This is the BEST day of my life!

Touji: Oh no…