Chapter #15
"Shinji, that you?" Touji asks, though his voice is barely over a whisper. The boy on the other end of the question slowly enters the hospital room.
"Hey, Touji. I came to tell you that they finally found Rei and Jonathan." "Oh yea? Hey, why don't you get those guys to come and see me, huh? It's boring as hell here. They said that I have to stay in here for at least another two weeks; damn Angel." "Sorry I couldn't…" "It wasn't you're fault. I shouldn't've been so careless." "But…" "Its okay, Shinji. Hey, I bet Kensuke would go through this just to sit in the entry plug." "You're probably right." Shinji laughed slightly.
"Hey, if you could, try to keep the class rep from giving me the assignments, okay?" "I'll try. Misato said that you probably wouldn't be able to pilot anymore." "Well, I guess you'll be on your own now, huh? Don't end up like me." "I'll do my best not to." "Good, 'cause that'll be the last thing I need. You lying in the bed next to me, you'll drive me crazy." "Thanks for the vote of confidence." "Anytime." "I'd better be getting back home, I have to cook tonight." "Okay, don't let Rei make your eyes wander, now." "Hey!" Shinji and Touji enjoy a good laugh for a few minutes before Shinji finally takes his leave as a nurse comes in to check on Touji.
"Kaji? Now where'd he go?" Misato asks herself as she searches the apartment. "Hey, Asuka, have you seen Kaji?" "No, not since I got home today. Why, is he okay?" Asuka asks as she walks into Misato's room.
"Well, I can't find him anywhere." "Wait, what's this?" Asuka asks as she lifts a small piece of paper off Misato's bed. Misato snatches it quickly from her and takes a second to read it over. Suddenly she feels all the blood rush out of her face.
"Hey, Misato, are you okay? You look kind of pale." "Kaji, he… he left… this morning." "What do ya mean, he left?" "That's what the note says!" "He couldn't have left!" "I just hope he knows what he's getting himself into." "Misato, what're we going to do?" "We're going to act like he was never here. You heard him before, it could be dangerous for him and us if someone finds out he was here." "Okay… maybe he went to find Shinji." "I don't think so. Maybe he finally really did leave for Germany. At least then he'd been out of danger." "Yea, I guess you're right…" "How about you just go… invite Jonathan over or something, okay? Try to take your mind off this for a while." "But… okay, I'll go. But Shinji's the one cooking!" "Alright, I'll get him on it as soon as he returns!" Misato says with a mock salute, though her face was hardly one of playfulness.
'Humm…wonder what Rei's doing… to bad she had to go back to NERV, I was really hoping to spend dinner with her… I guess Asuka and Misato and Kaji'll have to do for tonight.' Shinji is wrapped up in his thoughts as he retraces his journey back to the apartment building from the hospital. The sun is beginning to set and some of the clouds still hanging in the sky are beginning to change color.
'Wish Rei was here right now, the sunset would be much better then…' Shinji's calm is interrupted as a group of people walk past him in the opposite direction. Soon, however, Shinji is again alone on his journey back.
'I never realized how… boring it is without Asuka or Rei… I'll have to take one of them the next time I go.' Shinji finally reaches the door to the apartment and reaches for the door handle, but it slides away from him at the last second. Suddenly Shinji is on his back as Pen-Pen trips him while trying to escape Asuka.
"Come back here you stupid penguin! Give it back!" As Shinji shakes his head to clear his vision, he sees Asuka running down the hall after Pen-Pen.
"Hey, do you normally lie down in front of your apartment, Shinji?" Jonathan asks as he walks over to the dazed child.
"What's Asuka so upset about?" Shinji asks as he stands, brushing his pants off in the process. "Well, Pen-Pen stole one of her hair clips. I don't even know why she bothers…" "Where's Misato?" "Oh, she's been in her room." "Wonder what's wrong… maybe she's talking to Kaji." "She might… but I haven't seen him." "Really? Well, has Asuka started yet?" "Started what?" "Cooking, of course." "She said that it was your turn." "No way! I cooked last night! Asuka, come back here!" Jonathan leans out the doorway as he watches Shinji take off after Asuka.
"Boy, I wonder if it's always this exciting, I'll have to spend more time here." "What're you mumbling about?" Misato says sleepily as she scratches her stomach.
"Just thinking out loud. Did we wake you?" "Yea, but that's okay. Why's Shinji's bag outside?" "Shinji's chasing after Asuka and Pen-Pen." "What'd Pen-Pen do?" As Jonathan launches into another explanation, Pen-Pen comes waddling around the opposite corner with something red held within his beak. Soon following is Asuka, then Shinji.
"Damn Penguin, give it back!" "Asuka…it's…your turn…tonight…" Shinji huffs.
Pen-Pen spies Misato and quickly runs behind her legs for protection.
"Misato! Make Pen-Pen give it back!" Misato looks behind her to see the penguin huddled next to her legs. She bends down slowly and places her hand in front of his beak. For a second, Pen-Pen just stares at her, then he opens his beak, allowing the clip to fall into Misato's hand.
"Here you go, don't be so mean to him." Misato says as she hands Asuka her hair clip.
"It's his fault for stealing it in the first place!" "Asuka…" "What do you want!" "Its your turn to cook!" "No it isn't!" "I cooked last night!" "No you didn't, I did!" Before they could continue, however, they hear the sound of pans banging together and smell food being cooked.
"Who's that?" Asuka asks.
All four lean their heads into the kitchen to see Jonathan already cooking.
"Hey, I figured that since I haven't ever cooked for you guys that it'd be better than listing to Asuka and Shinji fight, is that okay, Misato?" "Yea, it's perfect!" "But Shinji was supposed to!" "Asuka, it doesn't matter anymore, I'm cooking and that's that." "So you're taking his side!" "No…" "I can't believe all of you!" Asuka exclaims as she storms into her room, slamming the door to the best of her abilities.
"She always gets so mad." "It's just her personality, don't worry about it Shinji." "She should at least be nice to Pen-Pen." "Yea, he doesn't deserve it." "Hey, Misato, what were you doing before I got back?" "I was sleeping." "Where's Kaji?" "………He's… gone." "What!" "He left a note for us, but he left somewhere this morning, after we all left." "But… how could he?" "He was almost fully healed…" "Do you know where he went?" "No, he just said that he was leaving." "Well… that's a blow… It's really to bad, I was just starting to get use to him around here all the time. So, what're we going to do?" "We're just going to act like it never happened, Shinji. It's just best that way.
"Hey, Shinji, could you help me out here?" "Yea sure…" "This is amazing… I wonder if the other Evas are capable of the same… Maya, what are the results of the Eva's power output?" Ritsuko looks up quickly from her clipboard to keep an eye on the techs.
"It's off the chart! Even without any external umbilical power, the Eva still has a higher output than we've recorded on any of the other Evas!" "What about the ultrasound?" "There seems to be something near the right torso that we've never seen before." Ritsuko takes the grainy picture from her assistant and examines it closely.
"What do the MAGI say?" "They're in agreement that there's a 78.16 chance that its an S2 organ similar to Unit 04's." "But did it grow on its own? The Evas didn't have S2 organs before, so how did it get there?" "Your guess is as good as mine, sempai. We also have readings of some kind of sac or pouch near the back where the wings are stored." "But how did it get there? Maya, I need you to get Rei in here tomorrow. We'd better do another Sync test. Maybe it'll shed some light on this." "Why don't we just question Rei?" "We don't want to put to much pressure on her. I think that its just enough for the moment to do a Sync test. Maybe in a few days we can question her… So the Eva doesn't require any external power?" "No maam, in fact, most of our tests show that having the external power supply seems to force the Eva's internal power to shut off." "Do we have any idea as to how long the Eva can maintain power?" "Well, we know it can stay at maximum output for at least a few days. There's still so much we don't know, maam." "Maya, that'll be all, you can go home now. Tomorrow you'll need to be at 100 , we have many tests to still do." "Okay, are you going home too?" "I'm going to stay a little while longer, don't worry about me." "Alright…" 'What am I not seeing? Why does that… Rei know more about this than me? Gendo must be hiding something. But why now?' Unfortunatly, the answers to Ritsuko's questions still elude her, even late into the night.
"The child was taken!" "This is an outrage!" "Not only have they taken the child, but that… that monster knows what we are planning!" "Please, calm down. The girl will do nothing to impede us." "You are far to trusting, Keel!" "She is only deluding herself with the illusion that she holds power over her destiny. We have not been compromised." "Let us hope." "We do not require hope, for we are only following what is written!" "We can not allow for another breach to occur." "It has already been taken care of." Shinji was running through the streets of Tokyo-3 wildly while he searched for any sign for an entrance to NERV. The third Angel, Sachiel, stood behind him while it eyed him curiously. It began to move towards him until it brought its foot down right next to Shinji, sending him flying across the street. As his vision stopped spinning, he noticed the forms of Unit 00, 02, and 05 moving towards his position.
'Thank God! They're here, I'm saved!' "Stupid Shinji! Why can't you do anything right!" "Asuka? Help me get back to NERV!" "Yea right, like I would help you!" "What! Rei, Jonathan, help me! Asuka won't, she wants to kill me!" "She is not the only one, Ikari." "Rei! No, don't kill me!" The blue, red, and green Evas move closer to Shinji's position as Unit 02 raises its machine gun to its shoulder.
"Asuka, no, I'm sorry!" The ground around Shinji erupts with machine gun fire, sending chunks of concrete flying. Shinji scrambles to his feet only to find his only other escape route blocked by the Angel's foot. As he turns back to face the three Evas he sees Unit 00 bring its positron rifle into firing position. Unit 05 steps in closer as it raises its spear into the air. Unit 02 discards the rifle as it takes its progressive knife in hand, moving closer as it does. Shinji turns back to Unit 00 just as he sees the beam of energy leave the barrel. Shinji jerks awake in his bed sending his blanket flying across the room. He's breathing heavily and realizes that he's shaking. He looks around his room as if to make sure that it won't suddenly change. Finally he lies back down as he comes to the realization that it was merely a nightmare.
'That was scary… I hope that doesn't happen.' Inside Misato's room, Misato is awakened from her rest by something not so dangerous, but much more annoying.
Ring, ring—Ring, ring—Ring, ring—Ring, ring.
"What the hell?" Misato says groggily.
"Yea, Katsuragi here…………yea, uh huh,………… yea, great joke Ritsuko, like I'd fall for that…………… Ritsuko, I'm trying to sleep here, you can pull your pranks in the morning…………… So you want to tell Shinji your joke, huh? ………………Sorry, maybe Shinji'll get your joke better…………… Okay, hold on." Misato puts the phone down on her bed as she stumbles to her door. Slowly she makes her way out of her room, past Asuka's, then finally to Shinji's. She opens the door to find Shinji sitting up on his bed.
"Oh, hey, listen Shinji, Ritsuko wants to tell you this joke, or something." Misato says before she yawns.
"Ritsuko called in the middle of the night to tell me a joke?" "Well she told it to me and I didn't find it very funny, just talk to her so I can go back to sleep, okay?" "Alright…" Shinji follows Misato to her room when she pointed to a phone lying face down on her bed.
"Hello, this is Shinji? Ritsuko, what's your joke? ……………… WHAT! Okay, I'll tell them, bye." Shinji hung up the phone.
"Misato, that wasn't a joke, Ritsuko was serious!" "Yea, yea, sure Shinji. Listen, tell Ritsuko that the next time she decides to get you in on her little pranks, to at least do them during the day." "You're hopeless, I'm going to wake Jonathan up." "Have fun…" "So Misato thinks it's a joke? Why would Ritsuko joke about that?" "I don't know, but I need you to wake Asuka up." "Why don't you wake her up?" "Because she'll kill me if I try; you'll have better luck than me." "Okay, but I'm taking out any blood I lose from your paycheck." "She won't be that mad." "I hope you're right. While I tempt death, how about you try and get Misato fully awake?" "Okay." Jonathan and Shinji enter Shinji's apartment through the open door before they split up, one going into Asuka's room, the other entering Misato's.
"Asuka…" Jonathan says as he enters, walking cautiously to Asuka's sleeping form.
"Asuka, wake up, come on." Jonathan says as he begins to shake Asuka, slowly getting rougher and rougher.
"Asuka, come on, you sleep like a rock!" Slowly Asuka opens her eyes, "Jonathan, what're you doing in my room?" "Ritsuko says that an Angel's been sighted. We need to get to NERV right away." "Okay…yawn… get out of here! I have to change!" "Fine… don't take too long." "The longer you stand there, the longer it's going to take!" "Misato, come on, snap out of it." "Shinji, just let me sleep, it's not funny anymore." "This isn't a joke…if you don't get up, then I'll… pour all your beer down the drain and splash you with cold water." Misato immediately snaps awake at the threat, "You wouldn't…" "Misato, we've got to hurry!" "So it really isn't a joke?" "No, that's what I've been trying to convince you!" "Okay, let me call Ritsuko……………Ritsuko? It's me, Misato, where's the Angel now? …………… Okay, what about Rei? …………………… Alright, can Unit 05 and 00 be used? ……………… Okay, we'll be right over." "So what happened to Rei?" "Commander Ikari hasn't authorized use of Unit 00, we still aren't sure if it's stable. There shouldn't be any problems with Unit 05, though." "Well, let's go then." As Misato and Shinji make their way into the living room, however, they're stopped by the sight of Jonathan kissing Asuka in the darkness. Misato and Shinji roll their eyes in unison before Jonathan becomes aware of their presence.
"Um…so what's the verdict, Shinji?" Jonathan says as he blushes slightly.
"We've got to get to NERV quickly. Unit 00 can't be used, but Ritsuko said that you can still pilot Unit 05." "Alright, let's go. Misato, after you…" Jonathan says as he bows. Misato laughs sarcastically as she leads the group of children towards her car.
"It's all over the place! As soon as the MAGI trace its location, it changes position! How're the Evas supposed to hit it!" "Let's not worry about that now, Maya. What's the status of the Evas?" "Unit 01's Sync ratio is at 68 , Unit 02's is 70 and Unit 05's is at 75 " "Alright, major, it's all in your hands now." Ritsuko says as she steps back.
"Okay, launch Evas! Send them weapons through passage 86 and 45. Shinji, Asuka, Jonathan, can all of you hear me?" "Yea, I can hear you"
"Read ya loud and clear!"
"I can hear you."
"Where's this Angel, Misato?"
"It may be difficult to see the Angel at the moment, we're trying to get the spotlights working now. Just arm your Evas and wait until we can formulate a plan." Shinji leans back in his seat as he waits patiently. Others, however, aren't as patient.
"Misato, this is taking too much time. Why can't we just start moving forward now?"
"Just wait a second, Asuka. The lights should be coming on any second."
Just as Misato completes the statement, dozens of search lights blink to life, illuminating the Evas and their target on the outskirts of Tokyo-3. Standing taller than even the Evas, it's green, incandescent body shines in the yellow glow. A small blue orb slows its orbit around the creatures face and comes to a halt near the middle of the Angels face.
"It looks like it's looking at us." The blue orb begins to change color, the blue dissolving from the edges as it is replaced with an incandescent orange. The Angel spreads its feet before a huge beam of energy is shot from the orange sphere, knocking the primary floodlights out and causing the Evas to scramble to the ground. As the Evas stand back up, the Angel's body seems to glow in the darkness that now engulfs it. The strange orange orb once more continues its orbit around the Angel's head.
"What was that!"
"The Angel seems to be able to fire some sort of beam from that orb. Be very careful when approaching it."
"So, can we attack it now?" "Yes, Shinji, Unit 05 will take up position. Shinji, Asuka, you'll be backup until we discover what tactics we need."
"I always have to be backup! Why can't I attack first? It's not like Jonathan's better than me!"
"He's shown the highest accuracy of all the pilots, Asuka, plus he has the highest Sync ratio. Don't worry; I'm sure there'll be plenty left for you. Jonathan, I'm sending up the positron rifle now, you know what to do."
"Yea, okay…" Jonathan says uneasily.
To Unit 05's right a huge armory building shoots up from the ground. After the protective grates roll away, revealing the white and blue rifle, Unit 05 takes it in hand. Inside the entry plug, Jonathan waits impatiently as the computer guidance system lines up the crosshairs on the strange glowing creature far in the distance.
"Fire!"
Immediately following the command, a gigantic beam of energy leaps from the barrel of the rifle, briefly lighting up the entire city with the brilliance of the sun, before impacting on the creature's side.
"Direct hit! Good job, Jonathan."
Jonathan tenses in his seat as the cloud begins to dissipate. From within the formation, Jonathan notices a strange glowing light.
"Hey, guys, I see some—" Jonathan is quickly cut off as another beam emanates from the core of the cloud, hitting Unit 05's arm and the positron rifle it still holds. As the beam dies down, Jonathan turns his head to reveal the mostly melted rifle and burned arm.
"Jonathan! Are you alright? Drop the rifle, its useless now!" "R…Roger" Unit 05's nearly lifeless hand slowly releases what remains of the handle and lets the smoldering piece of metal fall to the ground.
"The positron rifle didn't even phase it! Misato, can we go in now?" "Wait just a moment, we're sending up some close range weapons. Jonathan, return to base, you're to badly injured to continue fighting." "Misato, I still have my left arm. I can still help." "I'm sorry, but you need to return to base." "No! I can still help! Even if I have to use the progressive knife, its better than running away!" "Jonathan!" Before Misato can continue further, however, Jonathan cuts the feed to his Eva. "Damn it!" As Shinji and Asuka watch on, two more armory buildings appear, one holding an Eva sized katana, the other holding a spear and a nagiata. As Unit 01 reaches for the katana, Unit 05 rushes past, taking the weapon in one fluid motion from its holster.
"Jonathan, at least wait for us!" Slowly Unit 05 comes to a stop after Shinji's statement, then turns to the other two Evas, its right arm hanging lifelessly at its side. Unit 01 takes the spear before Unit 02 retrieves the nagiata and moves towards Unit 05's position.
"Okay, guys, lets get this thing!" Asuka announces as Unit 02 takes the lead of the three Eva group. Unit 05 follows closely, followed by Unit 01.
Inside NERV, near cage 02, Rei Ayanami sits in her plug suit awaiting orders. Next to her are her school bag and a few scattered books. Held in her soft grip is a picture of Shinji. Her normally calm exterior is shattered as a small smile creeps onto her face as she looks over the picture.
"Will I be piloting Unit 00?" "No, you are to remain here in case you are needed, though. Commander Ikari has delegated these orders." "I understand." "Good." Rei sighs slightly as she puts her beloved picture back into her bag, instead turning her attention to the dormant Unit 00. For a split second, it seems to Rei that the Eva's singular eye light up, almost looking her over, before returning to its sleep.
High above, on the streets of Tokyo-3, Unit 02 makes its way past the buildings and into the plain where the Angel awaits. Unit 02 swings the nagiata high into the air in preparation to attack as Unit 05 and 01 break off to flank the behemoth ahead of them. Bringing the blade towards the earth in a wide arc, Unit 02 jumps at its opponent to deliver the first blow. Asuka smirks to herself as she feels, more than hears, the blade make contact with the Angel's flesh. Bringing its arms into the air, the Angel lets out a painful roar before bringing its fists down upon the shaft held by Unit 02, shattering it in half. Unit 02 stumbles back from the force of the vibrations, holding now only a splintered shaft in its hand.
"Let's see how you like it, Arshlocke!" Jonathan announces as Unit 05 swings it's sword upwards, the blade dancing along the ground before neatly slicing the Angel's arm in half. The Angel again releases a roar as the arm falls to the ground. Unit 01 is the next to attack, shifting forward as it brings its spear point towards the Angel. Before the point connects, however, it is met with resistance from the Angel's A.T. field. "Misato, the Angel has an A.T. field! What're we supposed to do?" Shinji asks as Unit 01 continues to press against the distortion.
"Neutralize the Angel's A.T. field with your own. Asuka, use your prog. Knife once Shinji breaks through the A.T. field."
"Roger." Asuka answers as Unit 02 pulls the weapon free of its casing. Asuka waits eagerly as Unit 01 begins to decompose the Angel's A.T. field with its own. With a final burst of energy, Unit 01 pushes the spearhead through the barrier, shattering the orange distortion and sending the point into what passed as the Angel's head. Just as Unit 02 and 05 begin their second assault, though, the strange orange orb locks its position with the struggling Unit 01.
"Shinji, get out of the way!" Jonathan screams over the comm. as a bolt of energy emerges from the orb, connecting directly with the torso of Unit 01. Just after the light begins to die down, Unit 05 swings its sword downward, plunging it through the orb, splitting it in half. Unit 01 flies backwards from the burst and lands several hundred meters away, cringing at its smoldering chest.
"Shinji! What's the pilot's status?" Misato asks, unaware she still is broadcasting on the comm. network.
"The pilot's pulse is erratic! He's going unconscious!"
"Asuka, finish the Angel, we can't retrieve Shinji until you do!"
As Asuka turns her attention back to the Angel, she has just enough time to react as it flings its massive form at Unit 02. Ducking to the ground, the Angel passes over the Eva, but only to end up rolling over the prone form of Unit 01. The Angel stands next to the fallen Eva and regards it for a second, before beginning to smash the smoldering body with its feet.
"Jonathan, it's attacking Shinji!"
As the Angel brings its foot down once more, the Eva contracts as the light in its eyes returns once more. Before making contact, the Eva grabs a hold of the Angel's foot, snapping the mass of flesh around. The newly reactivated Eva stands after throwing the Angel off its body. Unit 01 seems to reach for its shoulders for a moment before letting out a roar as six gigantic glowing wings explode from its upper back.
"What the hell is going on up there!" "The pilot's still unconscious, but his brain waves are all over the chart!" "How can that be possible!" "Maam, I think you'd better take a look at this!" Misato turns her attention to the view screen to see the six wings beginning to flap, lifting the Eva off the ground. Before the Angel can stand, the Eva flies at it, keeping it pinned to the ground.
Inside their entry plugs, Asuka and Jonathan can only watch on as Unit 01 begins tearing the Angel's body apart with its bear hands. The six wings slowly come to rest as the tips touch the ground. Finally the Eva finds what it had begun searing for. With another roar, the purple Eva sticks its hand into the Angel's chest, pulling free the Angel's core. With a cry of pain, the Eva plunges its hand holding the red orb into its own torso. Slowly, the six wings begin to glow, then the white in them dissolves away, only to be replaced with a dark red. The Eva regards the torn body lying at its feet as it stands before releasing another, blood chilling roar. Then, with the same swiftness that it had activated the glow in its eyes leaves, the wings slowly disappear and falls to the ground.
"Asuka, Jonathan! Are you two okay?"
"Um… yea, I think…"
"I'm okay."
"Good. Return to base immediately."
"But what about Shinji?" Jonathan asks.
"We have a team dispatched already."
Meanwhile, near cage 02, Rei's expression has once more changed.
'He has done it. That means there are only three more to go…' "Rei, you may leave now, the Angel has been defeated." "I know, but I will wait here for Shinji." "He's not being brought through here; they're taking him to the medical ward." "There is nothing wrong with him, have them bring him through here." "I'm sorry, but that's out of my hands." "Then I will simply go to him." With that, Rei picks up her books, placing them in her bag, then stands with her bag and leaves the room, leaving the young tech very confused.
Shinji awakens in a hospital bed. He focuses only on the light shining from the ceiling halogen bulb, basking the already white room with white light. He almost cringes as he remembers that the Angel shot a white light at him. He sits slowly, allowing his body to adapt to each position before continuing, when he notices a school bag near the side of his bed. He turns his head and notices Rei sitting next to the bed in a chair reading a book. Rei takes notice of Shinji's movement and blushes slightly as she realizes that he is staring at her.
"You are finally awake." "Yea…what… happened?" "You went unconscious while you were fighting the Angel." "I remember now… so who beat the Angel?" "You did." "What do you mean? I couldn't have beaten the Angel." "Yes, you can. Your subconscious took over for you." "What do you mean?" "The same way that we are able to perform better outside of the Eva applies to within Eva as well. Your mind is a very powerful thing. That is how my Eva grew wings and functioned without power, your Eva did the same, you willed it to." "I… but…" "Do not question why or how, Shinji. You did, and that is all that matters. I'm glad that you are okay." "You…really? Thanks for caring." "That is something you do for the one you love, Shinji." Rei says as she leans over to hug Shinji.
"Thanks for coming to see me…" Shinji says as he hugs Rei, "Were you here all night?" "Yes, as soon as you arrived, I have been waiting here." "Did they say when I could leave?" "I have been telling them that you are okay, but they will not listen." "Well, I'll just go down there and…" Then Shinji realized that the doctors had not tied his hospital gown as he stood. Shinji quickly sat back down and pulled the gown back up as Rei turned her head slightly, covering her mouth with her hand, trying not to laugh.
"Shinji, I brought you some of your clothes." Rei said as she pointed to a small stack of Shinji's clothes next to her bag. "You should change too." "Then I will." Rei stands as she begins to undo the seal of the plug suit.
"I meant in another room!" Shinji says quickly as the realization.
Rei stops, nods, then leaves the room with her school bag in hand. Shinji sighs in relief as he closes his hospital door before changing back into his regular clothes.
'I wonder if she even thinks sometimes.' As Shinji finishes, he makes his way down the hall in search of Rei.
"Rei? Rei? Where are you?" Shinji eyes a door slightly ajar to his right and walks over to inspect. As he leans his head to peek in, the door suddenly opens wide as Rei comes stumbling backwards while attempting to put a sock on.
"Rei!" Shinji quickly catches Rei before she has a chance to fall and helps her back to her feet.
"Thank you, Shinji." "It's no problem, but you should be more careful. Are you almost finished?" "Yes, Shinji. I only need to put my shoes on." "Okay." Rei leans back into the room and grabs her shoes with one hand and her school bag with the other. After closing the door, she quickly slips her feet into the shoes and walks up next to Shinji.
"Here, why don't I carry that for you?" Shinji asks, referencing her school bag.
"Okay…thank you." "It's okay. So, let's get out of here, okay?" "Alright… Shinji, may I hold your arm?" "Uh…yea, sure, if you want…" Rei wraps her arms around Shinji's extended arm, resting her head on his upper arm. Shinji blushes as Rei rubs her head against his arm, letting out what seems like a sigh of happiness before they begin to make their way towards the exit of the hospital.
"That's it, I'm officially bored." Asuka says out loud as she leans back in her chair, trying to take her mind off her homework. "I wonder what Jonathan's doing…" Asuka sits up as she makes up her mind before leaving her room.
Knock-Knock-Knock…………Knock-Knock-Knock……………KNOCK-KNOCK-KNOCK………………KNOCK-KNOCK… "What is it!" Jonathan says as he finally opens his door.
"It's about time! Don't you ever listen!" "I was listing to some music." "I've been trying at your door for almost a minute." "Sorry… so, you wanted something?" "Yea, I was wondering what you were doing. I'm bored out of my mind." "Shinji isn't back yet?" "No, Misato was on her way to get him, though." "So he should be back in a little while, you can stand the wait." "But I'm so Bored!" "Well, what do you want me to do about it?" "Can't you be a little more understanding?" "Sorry, do you want to come in? How about we do our homework together, that should keep you busy for a while, what do ya think?" "Ya, sure. I'll be back in just a second, just let me get my stuff…" Jonathan watches on as Asuka runs back into her apartment. Several seconds later, she comes stumbling back out with several books and papers teetering atop each other in her hands.
"Here, let me help you with that…" Jonathan steps over to catch a book as it falls free from the stack in Asuka's hands.
"I don't need any help." "Will you just let me?" "I don't need your help!" "Asuka let me help you!" "I… okay, if you want to help that badly, then here." Asuka says as she hands the pile to Jonathan, "You can carry all of them." "That's not what I meant, and you know it. Why don't you let me help you every once in a while?" "Because I don't need your help!" "Asuka… please, I… I… how about we just go inside for now? I'll carry these this time, but you've got to carry some back." "Fine…" Asuka turns on her heel and walks into Jonathan's apartment as Jonathan struggles inside with the books. After Jonathan drops the books onto his desk, he closes his door and moves over to Asuka.
"Asuka, I know you don't need my help, but I want to help you, can't you see that?" "I don't need anyone's help for something I can do alone." "But I want to help you, to be nice. Asuka…I…" Jonathan quickly takes Asuka up in an embrace and kisses her lips. Jonathan quickly realizes what he was doing and breaks off, a deep blush on his face. "Asuka, I… love you. I don't want to see you struggling, that's why I offer my help. Please just… understand." "Jonathan… did you just? ……… You, love me?" "I… yes, Asuka, I do. Please don't push me away. I just want to make your life at least a little happier and easier." "I… I'm sorry, Jonathan… I just have never… had anyone who really wanted to help me… You really do love me?" "Yes Asuka, I do, how many times do I have to say it? I'll love you no matter what." "Jonathan… I've been really mean to you, haven't I?" "Well… yea, but I'm not angry. I know that's just what you do." "But I don't want you to think… that I… hate you… because I don't, you know… it's just… I…I… Jonathan…" Asuka wraps her arms around Jonathan's waist and buries her head into his chest. Jonathan can feel her tears begin to soak his shirt.
"Jonathan, I… ich liebe dich auch, Jonathan. I love you too. I'm sorry…" "Asuka, you don't have to be sorry, I forgive you. It'll be alright…" A silence engulfs the two, but, if only for once, it didn't seem to bother them. Jonathan's worries finally get ahold of him, however, and he breaks the silence with a depressed and anxious tone, "Asuka, do you think I'm going to get into a lot of trouble for disobeying orders?" "Probably, but you did help defeat it, so Misato might go easy on you…" "I hope so; I just couldn't leave you two out there alone, though. Besides… the Angel took my arm, so I had to repay him somehow. Asuka, are you thirsty, or something? I could get something from the kitchen…" "Yea, sure." "Okay… so, what were you working on?" Jonathan says as he enters the kitchen.
"Just the stupid math." "I thought you were really good at math." "I am, but it's so boring… I'm used to doing harder math." "I know, but it's just something we've got to do. NERV needs a cover for us, so we're just stuck doing this until this is all over." Jonathan says as he tosses Asuka a soda.
"But what're we going to do when it is over? I mean… what's going to happen to NERV? What's going to happen to us?" "I don't know, but I think it's better not to think about that now. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it, but whatever happens, I won't leave you." "That makes me feel better… what were you working on?" "Well… actually, I wasn't working. I was… taking a break, yea..." "Do you really think I'm that dumb? You were procrastinating." "Okay, so you got me there, but then isn't that what we're doing right now?" "Maybe… well, we'd better just get it finished now, while we have free time." "Asuka, how about I take you out somewhere tonight? After we get finished with this, what do you think? We could… go to a restaurant, or to a movie, or something. Plus then you won't have to cook, and you can get away from Shinji and Misato for a while." "So you want to go on a date?" "Um… well, yea, I guess you can put it that way…" "Jonathan, you can be so weird sometimes. I mean, you managed to tell me that you love me, but you are still having a problem asking me out on a date. What is with you?" "I don't know… I guess I'm still a little nervous from telling you finally… So, yea, I would like to take you out on a date." "Well then, what time will you be picking me up?" "Um… Damn, if only I had a car… Do you think Misato would mind taking us?" "I don't think so… it'll be fun not to tell Shinji, though. We'll all leave when he's in his room, and he'll be completely clueless." "You can be very cruel, you know." "I try. So, when should I tell Misato to take us?" "Um… how about at seven? That should give us enough time; I'll just call Misato when we're finished, okay?" "Okay, its set. Don't wuss out at the last second, now." "I would never. I'm hurt that you would even think I would." "I was just kidding; you shouldn't take such an offense." "I know, I did it to get that reaction out of you. We really should get started on this homework; I don't want it to get in the way of our date tonight." "Well, I've already started on mine, unlike some people…" "Hey, I was going to get started on it… you just came over so it stopped me from starting earlier." "Yea, sure, stop making excuses and let's just get this over with." "Okay, if you insist…" "I'm just fine! If I needed to be in the hospital, then how would I be able to walk all the way down here?" "I'm sorry, but we have our orders." "Listen, just call Major Misato Katsuragi. She'll give you all the clearance you need to let me go." "I'm sorry, but we can't do that…" "Okay, fine! I'll just call her myself! ………………Come on, pick up……………… Misato? Listen, these guys won't let me leave, so I need you to come down here to pick me up………………what, you're already on your way here? Well, that's good; just try to hurry, okay? Bye." "So Major Katsuragi will be here soon?" Rei asks, her face betraying no sign of the outburst she had witnessed Shinji have a moment ago.
"Yea, she said that she was on her way. Don't worry, Rei, Misato'll fix these guys." "So we will be leaving will Major Katsuragi?" "Yea, and you can just call her Misato, okay? It just feels too formal to call her Major, plus she normally doesn't act like a Major…" "Alright, Shinji, if you think I should…" "Rei, you are so weird sometimes…" "I'm sorry." "You don't have to be sorry, Rei. It's just something that defines you." "Shinji, I believe that that is Maj… Misato now." Rei says as she points through the large glass double doors at the entrance to the hospital. Shinji leans over to check and sees Misato's car barreling towards the hospital. Just before hitting the sidewalk, Misato puts the car into a slide and ends up perfectly parked in the stall marked 'NERV personnel only'. Shinji stands in front of the doors in a state of shock as Misato steps out of her car. He moves out of the way as Misato walks up to the sliding doors, allowing them to open first, then continuing towards the front desk.
"I'm Major Misato Katsuragi with NERV and I'm here for the release of Shinji Ikari." Shinji quickly walks up next to Misato with Rei trailing behind.
"Can I see some identification?" "Do I look like a terrorist?" Misato asks angrily.
"Um…No, maam, we just need your signature here." The man at the desk says as he passes Misato a pen and a piece of paper with Shinji's release information on it.
"Thank you for your cooperation, I'll just be taking him now." "Um… yes maam… have a nice day." Misato turns around and heads toward the doors once more with Shinji and Rei following closely behind. As Misato, Shinji, and Rei sit down in her car, Misato flashes a smile at Shinji.
"Now was that so hard? You really should have more faith in me, Shinji." "Thanks Misato, I never thought I would've gotten out of there." "It's no problem, Shinji." Misato says as she backs up into the parking lot. "I'm just glad to see that you're alright. We all were pretty worried back there, well, everyone except Rei. She did stay with you all night, though." "What exactly happened, Misato?" "Well… now's not the time to talk about that. I'm sure you'll find out later, but let's not think about that now. Just know that everyone's okay, the Angel was destroyed, and Asuka is cooking dinner tonight." "At least I won't have to…" "Hey, Misato, where's Asuka?" "I don't know… she was here when I left. Maybe she's still in her room. She was doing homework when I left." "I already tried her room; she not in there." "I wonder… I bet she's over next door." "At Jonathan's?" "Yea, probably doing homework or something…" "I'll go check." As Shinji reaches for the door, however, it slides away revealing Asuka with a pile of books in her hands.
"Uh…" "Get out of the way, Shinji!" "Okay…" Shinji steps into the living room as Asuka walks to her room with Jonathan following with another pile of books.
"See Shinji, I told you they were doing homework." As Jonathan walks back out of Asuka's room, a hand is placed on his shoulder.
"Komm heir, bitte…" Asuka says angrily.
Jonathan is swiftly brought back into Asuka's room before the door closes, seemingly of is own accord. All that can be heard from the outside is Jonathan's frivolous pleas for mercy.
"Asuka, er war nicht ich! Ich schwoere! Macht das bitte nicht! Helft! Helft! Sie hat ein..." Then not another word, Japanese, German, or otherwise, is heard from the room. Misato and Shinji begin to sweat drop as they stare at the door, trying to make some sense of what had just occurred. Several minutes pass before Pen-Pen waddles in between Shinji and Misato, breaking the tension.
"What do you think happened, Pen-Pen?" Shinji asks finally as the penguin stares at him. The penguin merely glances at the door, then waddles back to his refrigerator.
"What is wrong, Shinji?" Rei asks as she enters the hall from Shinji's room.
"Um…nothing, nothing's wrong at all. Misato, I'm just going to go into my room, okay?" "Uh…sure." Before Shinji can even turn around, however, the door to Asuka's room is flung open and a dazed Jonathan wobbles out in between Shinji and Misato. Traces of lipstick are smeared across his lips and a single, well formed kiss imprint in red lipstick remains on his cheek.
"Ich werde ins meine Zimmer sein…wann irgendmann brauche ich…" Jonathan manages to get out as he stumbles to the front door, opens it, and disappears through the portal.
"I'm not even going to ask…" "Ask what?" Asuka asks as she leans her head out of her room to watch Jonathan leave.
"What in gods name you did to him." "Oh…" A blush dots Asuka's cheeks, "I didn't do anything… to bad." "He acted like he just got done skydiving." "How would you know what skydiving's like?" "I just assumed…" "Well… It's nothing you need to worry about. Hey, Misato, what time is it?" "Um… it's three twenty-two, why?" "Damn it… three and a half more hours… No reason, Misato, just wondering. I'll be in my room if anyone needs me." With that Asuka closes her door, leaving Misato and Shinji even more confused than before.
"Um…" "Shinji… have you finished your homework? I'm going to go terrorize Jonathan for not following orders, okay?" "Don't you think he's traumatized enough already?" "Nope, besides, I'd better get my shots in before he completely looses it." "Okay, I'm going into my room now. See ya later, I guess." "Bye." Misato says as she picks up her jacket and heads out the door.
End Chapter #15
"Shinji, that you?" Touji asks, though his voice is barely over a whisper. The boy on the other end of the question slowly enters the hospital room.
"Hey, Touji. I came to tell you that they finally found Rei and Jonathan." "Oh yea? Hey, why don't you get those guys to come and see me, huh? It's boring as hell here. They said that I have to stay in here for at least another two weeks; damn Angel." "Sorry I couldn't…" "It wasn't you're fault. I shouldn't've been so careless." "But…" "Its okay, Shinji. Hey, I bet Kensuke would go through this just to sit in the entry plug." "You're probably right." Shinji laughed slightly.
"Hey, if you could, try to keep the class rep from giving me the assignments, okay?" "I'll try. Misato said that you probably wouldn't be able to pilot anymore." "Well, I guess you'll be on your own now, huh? Don't end up like me." "I'll do my best not to." "Good, 'cause that'll be the last thing I need. You lying in the bed next to me, you'll drive me crazy." "Thanks for the vote of confidence." "Anytime." "I'd better be getting back home, I have to cook tonight." "Okay, don't let Rei make your eyes wander, now." "Hey!" Shinji and Touji enjoy a good laugh for a few minutes before Shinji finally takes his leave as a nurse comes in to check on Touji.
"Kaji? Now where'd he go?" Misato asks herself as she searches the apartment. "Hey, Asuka, have you seen Kaji?" "No, not since I got home today. Why, is he okay?" Asuka asks as she walks into Misato's room.
"Well, I can't find him anywhere." "Wait, what's this?" Asuka asks as she lifts a small piece of paper off Misato's bed. Misato snatches it quickly from her and takes a second to read it over. Suddenly she feels all the blood rush out of her face.
"Hey, Misato, are you okay? You look kind of pale." "Kaji, he… he left… this morning." "What do ya mean, he left?" "That's what the note says!" "He couldn't have left!" "I just hope he knows what he's getting himself into." "Misato, what're we going to do?" "We're going to act like he was never here. You heard him before, it could be dangerous for him and us if someone finds out he was here." "Okay… maybe he went to find Shinji." "I don't think so. Maybe he finally really did leave for Germany. At least then he'd been out of danger." "Yea, I guess you're right…" "How about you just go… invite Jonathan over or something, okay? Try to take your mind off this for a while." "But… okay, I'll go. But Shinji's the one cooking!" "Alright, I'll get him on it as soon as he returns!" Misato says with a mock salute, though her face was hardly one of playfulness.
'Humm…wonder what Rei's doing… to bad she had to go back to NERV, I was really hoping to spend dinner with her… I guess Asuka and Misato and Kaji'll have to do for tonight.' Shinji is wrapped up in his thoughts as he retraces his journey back to the apartment building from the hospital. The sun is beginning to set and some of the clouds still hanging in the sky are beginning to change color.
'Wish Rei was here right now, the sunset would be much better then…' Shinji's calm is interrupted as a group of people walk past him in the opposite direction. Soon, however, Shinji is again alone on his journey back.
'I never realized how… boring it is without Asuka or Rei… I'll have to take one of them the next time I go.' Shinji finally reaches the door to the apartment and reaches for the door handle, but it slides away from him at the last second. Suddenly Shinji is on his back as Pen-Pen trips him while trying to escape Asuka.
"Come back here you stupid penguin! Give it back!" As Shinji shakes his head to clear his vision, he sees Asuka running down the hall after Pen-Pen.
"Hey, do you normally lie down in front of your apartment, Shinji?" Jonathan asks as he walks over to the dazed child.
"What's Asuka so upset about?" Shinji asks as he stands, brushing his pants off in the process. "Well, Pen-Pen stole one of her hair clips. I don't even know why she bothers…" "Where's Misato?" "Oh, she's been in her room." "Wonder what's wrong… maybe she's talking to Kaji." "She might… but I haven't seen him." "Really? Well, has Asuka started yet?" "Started what?" "Cooking, of course." "She said that it was your turn." "No way! I cooked last night! Asuka, come back here!" Jonathan leans out the doorway as he watches Shinji take off after Asuka.
"Boy, I wonder if it's always this exciting, I'll have to spend more time here." "What're you mumbling about?" Misato says sleepily as she scratches her stomach.
"Just thinking out loud. Did we wake you?" "Yea, but that's okay. Why's Shinji's bag outside?" "Shinji's chasing after Asuka and Pen-Pen." "What'd Pen-Pen do?" As Jonathan launches into another explanation, Pen-Pen comes waddling around the opposite corner with something red held within his beak. Soon following is Asuka, then Shinji.
"Damn Penguin, give it back!" "Asuka…it's…your turn…tonight…" Shinji huffs.
Pen-Pen spies Misato and quickly runs behind her legs for protection.
"Misato! Make Pen-Pen give it back!" Misato looks behind her to see the penguin huddled next to her legs. She bends down slowly and places her hand in front of his beak. For a second, Pen-Pen just stares at her, then he opens his beak, allowing the clip to fall into Misato's hand.
"Here you go, don't be so mean to him." Misato says as she hands Asuka her hair clip.
"It's his fault for stealing it in the first place!" "Asuka…" "What do you want!" "Its your turn to cook!" "No it isn't!" "I cooked last night!" "No you didn't, I did!" Before they could continue, however, they hear the sound of pans banging together and smell food being cooked.
"Who's that?" Asuka asks.
All four lean their heads into the kitchen to see Jonathan already cooking.
"Hey, I figured that since I haven't ever cooked for you guys that it'd be better than listing to Asuka and Shinji fight, is that okay, Misato?" "Yea, it's perfect!" "But Shinji was supposed to!" "Asuka, it doesn't matter anymore, I'm cooking and that's that." "So you're taking his side!" "No…" "I can't believe all of you!" Asuka exclaims as she storms into her room, slamming the door to the best of her abilities.
"She always gets so mad." "It's just her personality, don't worry about it Shinji." "She should at least be nice to Pen-Pen." "Yea, he doesn't deserve it." "Hey, Misato, what were you doing before I got back?" "I was sleeping." "Where's Kaji?" "………He's… gone." "What!" "He left a note for us, but he left somewhere this morning, after we all left." "But… how could he?" "He was almost fully healed…" "Do you know where he went?" "No, he just said that he was leaving." "Well… that's a blow… It's really to bad, I was just starting to get use to him around here all the time. So, what're we going to do?" "We're just going to act like it never happened, Shinji. It's just best that way.
"Hey, Shinji, could you help me out here?" "Yea sure…" "This is amazing… I wonder if the other Evas are capable of the same… Maya, what are the results of the Eva's power output?" Ritsuko looks up quickly from her clipboard to keep an eye on the techs.
"It's off the chart! Even without any external umbilical power, the Eva still has a higher output than we've recorded on any of the other Evas!" "What about the ultrasound?" "There seems to be something near the right torso that we've never seen before." Ritsuko takes the grainy picture from her assistant and examines it closely.
"What do the MAGI say?" "They're in agreement that there's a 78.16 chance that its an S2 organ similar to Unit 04's." "But did it grow on its own? The Evas didn't have S2 organs before, so how did it get there?" "Your guess is as good as mine, sempai. We also have readings of some kind of sac or pouch near the back where the wings are stored." "But how did it get there? Maya, I need you to get Rei in here tomorrow. We'd better do another Sync test. Maybe it'll shed some light on this." "Why don't we just question Rei?" "We don't want to put to much pressure on her. I think that its just enough for the moment to do a Sync test. Maybe in a few days we can question her… So the Eva doesn't require any external power?" "No maam, in fact, most of our tests show that having the external power supply seems to force the Eva's internal power to shut off." "Do we have any idea as to how long the Eva can maintain power?" "Well, we know it can stay at maximum output for at least a few days. There's still so much we don't know, maam." "Maya, that'll be all, you can go home now. Tomorrow you'll need to be at 100 , we have many tests to still do." "Okay, are you going home too?" "I'm going to stay a little while longer, don't worry about me." "Alright…" 'What am I not seeing? Why does that… Rei know more about this than me? Gendo must be hiding something. But why now?' Unfortunatly, the answers to Ritsuko's questions still elude her, even late into the night.
"The child was taken!" "This is an outrage!" "Not only have they taken the child, but that… that monster knows what we are planning!" "Please, calm down. The girl will do nothing to impede us." "You are far to trusting, Keel!" "She is only deluding herself with the illusion that she holds power over her destiny. We have not been compromised." "Let us hope." "We do not require hope, for we are only following what is written!" "We can not allow for another breach to occur." "It has already been taken care of." Shinji was running through the streets of Tokyo-3 wildly while he searched for any sign for an entrance to NERV. The third Angel, Sachiel, stood behind him while it eyed him curiously. It began to move towards him until it brought its foot down right next to Shinji, sending him flying across the street. As his vision stopped spinning, he noticed the forms of Unit 00, 02, and 05 moving towards his position.
'Thank God! They're here, I'm saved!' "Stupid Shinji! Why can't you do anything right!" "Asuka? Help me get back to NERV!" "Yea right, like I would help you!" "What! Rei, Jonathan, help me! Asuka won't, she wants to kill me!" "She is not the only one, Ikari." "Rei! No, don't kill me!" The blue, red, and green Evas move closer to Shinji's position as Unit 02 raises its machine gun to its shoulder.
"Asuka, no, I'm sorry!" The ground around Shinji erupts with machine gun fire, sending chunks of concrete flying. Shinji scrambles to his feet only to find his only other escape route blocked by the Angel's foot. As he turns back to face the three Evas he sees Unit 00 bring its positron rifle into firing position. Unit 05 steps in closer as it raises its spear into the air. Unit 02 discards the rifle as it takes its progressive knife in hand, moving closer as it does. Shinji turns back to Unit 00 just as he sees the beam of energy leave the barrel. Shinji jerks awake in his bed sending his blanket flying across the room. He's breathing heavily and realizes that he's shaking. He looks around his room as if to make sure that it won't suddenly change. Finally he lies back down as he comes to the realization that it was merely a nightmare.
'That was scary… I hope that doesn't happen.' Inside Misato's room, Misato is awakened from her rest by something not so dangerous, but much more annoying.
Ring, ring—Ring, ring—Ring, ring—Ring, ring.
"What the hell?" Misato says groggily.
"Yea, Katsuragi here…………yea, uh huh,………… yea, great joke Ritsuko, like I'd fall for that…………… Ritsuko, I'm trying to sleep here, you can pull your pranks in the morning…………… So you want to tell Shinji your joke, huh? ………………Sorry, maybe Shinji'll get your joke better…………… Okay, hold on." Misato puts the phone down on her bed as she stumbles to her door. Slowly she makes her way out of her room, past Asuka's, then finally to Shinji's. She opens the door to find Shinji sitting up on his bed.
"Oh, hey, listen Shinji, Ritsuko wants to tell you this joke, or something." Misato says before she yawns.
"Ritsuko called in the middle of the night to tell me a joke?" "Well she told it to me and I didn't find it very funny, just talk to her so I can go back to sleep, okay?" "Alright…" Shinji follows Misato to her room when she pointed to a phone lying face down on her bed.
"Hello, this is Shinji? Ritsuko, what's your joke? ……………… WHAT! Okay, I'll tell them, bye." Shinji hung up the phone.
"Misato, that wasn't a joke, Ritsuko was serious!" "Yea, yea, sure Shinji. Listen, tell Ritsuko that the next time she decides to get you in on her little pranks, to at least do them during the day." "You're hopeless, I'm going to wake Jonathan up." "Have fun…" "So Misato thinks it's a joke? Why would Ritsuko joke about that?" "I don't know, but I need you to wake Asuka up." "Why don't you wake her up?" "Because she'll kill me if I try; you'll have better luck than me." "Okay, but I'm taking out any blood I lose from your paycheck." "She won't be that mad." "I hope you're right. While I tempt death, how about you try and get Misato fully awake?" "Okay." Jonathan and Shinji enter Shinji's apartment through the open door before they split up, one going into Asuka's room, the other entering Misato's.
"Asuka…" Jonathan says as he enters, walking cautiously to Asuka's sleeping form.
"Asuka, wake up, come on." Jonathan says as he begins to shake Asuka, slowly getting rougher and rougher.
"Asuka, come on, you sleep like a rock!" Slowly Asuka opens her eyes, "Jonathan, what're you doing in my room?" "Ritsuko says that an Angel's been sighted. We need to get to NERV right away." "Okay…yawn… get out of here! I have to change!" "Fine… don't take too long." "The longer you stand there, the longer it's going to take!" "Misato, come on, snap out of it." "Shinji, just let me sleep, it's not funny anymore." "This isn't a joke…if you don't get up, then I'll… pour all your beer down the drain and splash you with cold water." Misato immediately snaps awake at the threat, "You wouldn't…" "Misato, we've got to hurry!" "So it really isn't a joke?" "No, that's what I've been trying to convince you!" "Okay, let me call Ritsuko……………Ritsuko? It's me, Misato, where's the Angel now? …………… Okay, what about Rei? …………………… Alright, can Unit 05 and 00 be used? ……………… Okay, we'll be right over." "So what happened to Rei?" "Commander Ikari hasn't authorized use of Unit 00, we still aren't sure if it's stable. There shouldn't be any problems with Unit 05, though." "Well, let's go then." As Misato and Shinji make their way into the living room, however, they're stopped by the sight of Jonathan kissing Asuka in the darkness. Misato and Shinji roll their eyes in unison before Jonathan becomes aware of their presence.
"Um…so what's the verdict, Shinji?" Jonathan says as he blushes slightly.
"We've got to get to NERV quickly. Unit 00 can't be used, but Ritsuko said that you can still pilot Unit 05." "Alright, let's go. Misato, after you…" Jonathan says as he bows. Misato laughs sarcastically as she leads the group of children towards her car.
"It's all over the place! As soon as the MAGI trace its location, it changes position! How're the Evas supposed to hit it!" "Let's not worry about that now, Maya. What's the status of the Evas?" "Unit 01's Sync ratio is at 68 , Unit 02's is 70 and Unit 05's is at 75 " "Alright, major, it's all in your hands now." Ritsuko says as she steps back.
"Okay, launch Evas! Send them weapons through passage 86 and 45. Shinji, Asuka, Jonathan, can all of you hear me?" "Yea, I can hear you"
"Read ya loud and clear!"
"I can hear you."
"Where's this Angel, Misato?"
"It may be difficult to see the Angel at the moment, we're trying to get the spotlights working now. Just arm your Evas and wait until we can formulate a plan." Shinji leans back in his seat as he waits patiently. Others, however, aren't as patient.
"Misato, this is taking too much time. Why can't we just start moving forward now?"
"Just wait a second, Asuka. The lights should be coming on any second."
Just as Misato completes the statement, dozens of search lights blink to life, illuminating the Evas and their target on the outskirts of Tokyo-3. Standing taller than even the Evas, it's green, incandescent body shines in the yellow glow. A small blue orb slows its orbit around the creatures face and comes to a halt near the middle of the Angels face.
"It looks like it's looking at us." The blue orb begins to change color, the blue dissolving from the edges as it is replaced with an incandescent orange. The Angel spreads its feet before a huge beam of energy is shot from the orange sphere, knocking the primary floodlights out and causing the Evas to scramble to the ground. As the Evas stand back up, the Angel's body seems to glow in the darkness that now engulfs it. The strange orange orb once more continues its orbit around the Angel's head.
"What was that!"
"The Angel seems to be able to fire some sort of beam from that orb. Be very careful when approaching it."
"So, can we attack it now?" "Yes, Shinji, Unit 05 will take up position. Shinji, Asuka, you'll be backup until we discover what tactics we need."
"I always have to be backup! Why can't I attack first? It's not like Jonathan's better than me!"
"He's shown the highest accuracy of all the pilots, Asuka, plus he has the highest Sync ratio. Don't worry; I'm sure there'll be plenty left for you. Jonathan, I'm sending up the positron rifle now, you know what to do."
"Yea, okay…" Jonathan says uneasily.
To Unit 05's right a huge armory building shoots up from the ground. After the protective grates roll away, revealing the white and blue rifle, Unit 05 takes it in hand. Inside the entry plug, Jonathan waits impatiently as the computer guidance system lines up the crosshairs on the strange glowing creature far in the distance.
"Fire!"
Immediately following the command, a gigantic beam of energy leaps from the barrel of the rifle, briefly lighting up the entire city with the brilliance of the sun, before impacting on the creature's side.
"Direct hit! Good job, Jonathan."
Jonathan tenses in his seat as the cloud begins to dissipate. From within the formation, Jonathan notices a strange glowing light.
"Hey, guys, I see some—" Jonathan is quickly cut off as another beam emanates from the core of the cloud, hitting Unit 05's arm and the positron rifle it still holds. As the beam dies down, Jonathan turns his head to reveal the mostly melted rifle and burned arm.
"Jonathan! Are you alright? Drop the rifle, its useless now!" "R…Roger" Unit 05's nearly lifeless hand slowly releases what remains of the handle and lets the smoldering piece of metal fall to the ground.
"The positron rifle didn't even phase it! Misato, can we go in now?" "Wait just a moment, we're sending up some close range weapons. Jonathan, return to base, you're to badly injured to continue fighting." "Misato, I still have my left arm. I can still help." "I'm sorry, but you need to return to base." "No! I can still help! Even if I have to use the progressive knife, its better than running away!" "Jonathan!" Before Misato can continue further, however, Jonathan cuts the feed to his Eva. "Damn it!" As Shinji and Asuka watch on, two more armory buildings appear, one holding an Eva sized katana, the other holding a spear and a nagiata. As Unit 01 reaches for the katana, Unit 05 rushes past, taking the weapon in one fluid motion from its holster.
"Jonathan, at least wait for us!" Slowly Unit 05 comes to a stop after Shinji's statement, then turns to the other two Evas, its right arm hanging lifelessly at its side. Unit 01 takes the spear before Unit 02 retrieves the nagiata and moves towards Unit 05's position.
"Okay, guys, lets get this thing!" Asuka announces as Unit 02 takes the lead of the three Eva group. Unit 05 follows closely, followed by Unit 01.
Inside NERV, near cage 02, Rei Ayanami sits in her plug suit awaiting orders. Next to her are her school bag and a few scattered books. Held in her soft grip is a picture of Shinji. Her normally calm exterior is shattered as a small smile creeps onto her face as she looks over the picture.
"Will I be piloting Unit 00?" "No, you are to remain here in case you are needed, though. Commander Ikari has delegated these orders." "I understand." "Good." Rei sighs slightly as she puts her beloved picture back into her bag, instead turning her attention to the dormant Unit 00. For a split second, it seems to Rei that the Eva's singular eye light up, almost looking her over, before returning to its sleep.
High above, on the streets of Tokyo-3, Unit 02 makes its way past the buildings and into the plain where the Angel awaits. Unit 02 swings the nagiata high into the air in preparation to attack as Unit 05 and 01 break off to flank the behemoth ahead of them. Bringing the blade towards the earth in a wide arc, Unit 02 jumps at its opponent to deliver the first blow. Asuka smirks to herself as she feels, more than hears, the blade make contact with the Angel's flesh. Bringing its arms into the air, the Angel lets out a painful roar before bringing its fists down upon the shaft held by Unit 02, shattering it in half. Unit 02 stumbles back from the force of the vibrations, holding now only a splintered shaft in its hand.
"Let's see how you like it, Arshlocke!" Jonathan announces as Unit 05 swings it's sword upwards, the blade dancing along the ground before neatly slicing the Angel's arm in half. The Angel again releases a roar as the arm falls to the ground. Unit 01 is the next to attack, shifting forward as it brings its spear point towards the Angel. Before the point connects, however, it is met with resistance from the Angel's A.T. field. "Misato, the Angel has an A.T. field! What're we supposed to do?" Shinji asks as Unit 01 continues to press against the distortion.
"Neutralize the Angel's A.T. field with your own. Asuka, use your prog. Knife once Shinji breaks through the A.T. field."
"Roger." Asuka answers as Unit 02 pulls the weapon free of its casing. Asuka waits eagerly as Unit 01 begins to decompose the Angel's A.T. field with its own. With a final burst of energy, Unit 01 pushes the spearhead through the barrier, shattering the orange distortion and sending the point into what passed as the Angel's head. Just as Unit 02 and 05 begin their second assault, though, the strange orange orb locks its position with the struggling Unit 01.
"Shinji, get out of the way!" Jonathan screams over the comm. as a bolt of energy emerges from the orb, connecting directly with the torso of Unit 01. Just after the light begins to die down, Unit 05 swings its sword downward, plunging it through the orb, splitting it in half. Unit 01 flies backwards from the burst and lands several hundred meters away, cringing at its smoldering chest.
"Shinji! What's the pilot's status?" Misato asks, unaware she still is broadcasting on the comm. network.
"The pilot's pulse is erratic! He's going unconscious!"
"Asuka, finish the Angel, we can't retrieve Shinji until you do!"
As Asuka turns her attention back to the Angel, she has just enough time to react as it flings its massive form at Unit 02. Ducking to the ground, the Angel passes over the Eva, but only to end up rolling over the prone form of Unit 01. The Angel stands next to the fallen Eva and regards it for a second, before beginning to smash the smoldering body with its feet.
"Jonathan, it's attacking Shinji!"
As the Angel brings its foot down once more, the Eva contracts as the light in its eyes returns once more. Before making contact, the Eva grabs a hold of the Angel's foot, snapping the mass of flesh around. The newly reactivated Eva stands after throwing the Angel off its body. Unit 01 seems to reach for its shoulders for a moment before letting out a roar as six gigantic glowing wings explode from its upper back.
"What the hell is going on up there!" "The pilot's still unconscious, but his brain waves are all over the chart!" "How can that be possible!" "Maam, I think you'd better take a look at this!" Misato turns her attention to the view screen to see the six wings beginning to flap, lifting the Eva off the ground. Before the Angel can stand, the Eva flies at it, keeping it pinned to the ground.
Inside their entry plugs, Asuka and Jonathan can only watch on as Unit 01 begins tearing the Angel's body apart with its bear hands. The six wings slowly come to rest as the tips touch the ground. Finally the Eva finds what it had begun searing for. With another roar, the purple Eva sticks its hand into the Angel's chest, pulling free the Angel's core. With a cry of pain, the Eva plunges its hand holding the red orb into its own torso. Slowly, the six wings begin to glow, then the white in them dissolves away, only to be replaced with a dark red. The Eva regards the torn body lying at its feet as it stands before releasing another, blood chilling roar. Then, with the same swiftness that it had activated the glow in its eyes leaves, the wings slowly disappear and falls to the ground.
"Asuka, Jonathan! Are you two okay?"
"Um… yea, I think…"
"I'm okay."
"Good. Return to base immediately."
"But what about Shinji?" Jonathan asks.
"We have a team dispatched already."
Meanwhile, near cage 02, Rei's expression has once more changed.
'He has done it. That means there are only three more to go…' "Rei, you may leave now, the Angel has been defeated." "I know, but I will wait here for Shinji." "He's not being brought through here; they're taking him to the medical ward." "There is nothing wrong with him, have them bring him through here." "I'm sorry, but that's out of my hands." "Then I will simply go to him." With that, Rei picks up her books, placing them in her bag, then stands with her bag and leaves the room, leaving the young tech very confused.
Shinji awakens in a hospital bed. He focuses only on the light shining from the ceiling halogen bulb, basking the already white room with white light. He almost cringes as he remembers that the Angel shot a white light at him. He sits slowly, allowing his body to adapt to each position before continuing, when he notices a school bag near the side of his bed. He turns his head and notices Rei sitting next to the bed in a chair reading a book. Rei takes notice of Shinji's movement and blushes slightly as she realizes that he is staring at her.
"You are finally awake." "Yea…what… happened?" "You went unconscious while you were fighting the Angel." "I remember now… so who beat the Angel?" "You did." "What do you mean? I couldn't have beaten the Angel." "Yes, you can. Your subconscious took over for you." "What do you mean?" "The same way that we are able to perform better outside of the Eva applies to within Eva as well. Your mind is a very powerful thing. That is how my Eva grew wings and functioned without power, your Eva did the same, you willed it to." "I… but…" "Do not question why or how, Shinji. You did, and that is all that matters. I'm glad that you are okay." "You…really? Thanks for caring." "That is something you do for the one you love, Shinji." Rei says as she leans over to hug Shinji.
"Thanks for coming to see me…" Shinji says as he hugs Rei, "Were you here all night?" "Yes, as soon as you arrived, I have been waiting here." "Did they say when I could leave?" "I have been telling them that you are okay, but they will not listen." "Well, I'll just go down there and…" Then Shinji realized that the doctors had not tied his hospital gown as he stood. Shinji quickly sat back down and pulled the gown back up as Rei turned her head slightly, covering her mouth with her hand, trying not to laugh.
"Shinji, I brought you some of your clothes." Rei said as she pointed to a small stack of Shinji's clothes next to her bag. "You should change too." "Then I will." Rei stands as she begins to undo the seal of the plug suit.
"I meant in another room!" Shinji says quickly as the realization.
Rei stops, nods, then leaves the room with her school bag in hand. Shinji sighs in relief as he closes his hospital door before changing back into his regular clothes.
'I wonder if she even thinks sometimes.' As Shinji finishes, he makes his way down the hall in search of Rei.
"Rei? Rei? Where are you?" Shinji eyes a door slightly ajar to his right and walks over to inspect. As he leans his head to peek in, the door suddenly opens wide as Rei comes stumbling backwards while attempting to put a sock on.
"Rei!" Shinji quickly catches Rei before she has a chance to fall and helps her back to her feet.
"Thank you, Shinji." "It's no problem, but you should be more careful. Are you almost finished?" "Yes, Shinji. I only need to put my shoes on." "Okay." Rei leans back into the room and grabs her shoes with one hand and her school bag with the other. After closing the door, she quickly slips her feet into the shoes and walks up next to Shinji.
"Here, why don't I carry that for you?" Shinji asks, referencing her school bag.
"Okay…thank you." "It's okay. So, let's get out of here, okay?" "Alright… Shinji, may I hold your arm?" "Uh…yea, sure, if you want…" Rei wraps her arms around Shinji's extended arm, resting her head on his upper arm. Shinji blushes as Rei rubs her head against his arm, letting out what seems like a sigh of happiness before they begin to make their way towards the exit of the hospital.
"That's it, I'm officially bored." Asuka says out loud as she leans back in her chair, trying to take her mind off her homework. "I wonder what Jonathan's doing…" Asuka sits up as she makes up her mind before leaving her room.
Knock-Knock-Knock…………Knock-Knock-Knock……………KNOCK-KNOCK-KNOCK………………KNOCK-KNOCK… "What is it!" Jonathan says as he finally opens his door.
"It's about time! Don't you ever listen!" "I was listing to some music." "I've been trying at your door for almost a minute." "Sorry… so, you wanted something?" "Yea, I was wondering what you were doing. I'm bored out of my mind." "Shinji isn't back yet?" "No, Misato was on her way to get him, though." "So he should be back in a little while, you can stand the wait." "But I'm so Bored!" "Well, what do you want me to do about it?" "Can't you be a little more understanding?" "Sorry, do you want to come in? How about we do our homework together, that should keep you busy for a while, what do ya think?" "Ya, sure. I'll be back in just a second, just let me get my stuff…" Jonathan watches on as Asuka runs back into her apartment. Several seconds later, she comes stumbling back out with several books and papers teetering atop each other in her hands.
"Here, let me help you with that…" Jonathan steps over to catch a book as it falls free from the stack in Asuka's hands.
"I don't need any help." "Will you just let me?" "I don't need your help!" "Asuka let me help you!" "I… okay, if you want to help that badly, then here." Asuka says as she hands the pile to Jonathan, "You can carry all of them." "That's not what I meant, and you know it. Why don't you let me help you every once in a while?" "Because I don't need your help!" "Asuka… please, I… I… how about we just go inside for now? I'll carry these this time, but you've got to carry some back." "Fine…" Asuka turns on her heel and walks into Jonathan's apartment as Jonathan struggles inside with the books. After Jonathan drops the books onto his desk, he closes his door and moves over to Asuka.
"Asuka, I know you don't need my help, but I want to help you, can't you see that?" "I don't need anyone's help for something I can do alone." "But I want to help you, to be nice. Asuka…I…" Jonathan quickly takes Asuka up in an embrace and kisses her lips. Jonathan quickly realizes what he was doing and breaks off, a deep blush on his face. "Asuka, I… love you. I don't want to see you struggling, that's why I offer my help. Please just… understand." "Jonathan… did you just? ……… You, love me?" "I… yes, Asuka, I do. Please don't push me away. I just want to make your life at least a little happier and easier." "I… I'm sorry, Jonathan… I just have never… had anyone who really wanted to help me… You really do love me?" "Yes Asuka, I do, how many times do I have to say it? I'll love you no matter what." "Jonathan… I've been really mean to you, haven't I?" "Well… yea, but I'm not angry. I know that's just what you do." "But I don't want you to think… that I… hate you… because I don't, you know… it's just… I…I… Jonathan…" Asuka wraps her arms around Jonathan's waist and buries her head into his chest. Jonathan can feel her tears begin to soak his shirt.
"Jonathan, I… ich liebe dich auch, Jonathan. I love you too. I'm sorry…" "Asuka, you don't have to be sorry, I forgive you. It'll be alright…" A silence engulfs the two, but, if only for once, it didn't seem to bother them. Jonathan's worries finally get ahold of him, however, and he breaks the silence with a depressed and anxious tone, "Asuka, do you think I'm going to get into a lot of trouble for disobeying orders?" "Probably, but you did help defeat it, so Misato might go easy on you…" "I hope so; I just couldn't leave you two out there alone, though. Besides… the Angel took my arm, so I had to repay him somehow. Asuka, are you thirsty, or something? I could get something from the kitchen…" "Yea, sure." "Okay… so, what were you working on?" Jonathan says as he enters the kitchen.
"Just the stupid math." "I thought you were really good at math." "I am, but it's so boring… I'm used to doing harder math." "I know, but it's just something we've got to do. NERV needs a cover for us, so we're just stuck doing this until this is all over." Jonathan says as he tosses Asuka a soda.
"But what're we going to do when it is over? I mean… what's going to happen to NERV? What's going to happen to us?" "I don't know, but I think it's better not to think about that now. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it, but whatever happens, I won't leave you." "That makes me feel better… what were you working on?" "Well… actually, I wasn't working. I was… taking a break, yea..." "Do you really think I'm that dumb? You were procrastinating." "Okay, so you got me there, but then isn't that what we're doing right now?" "Maybe… well, we'd better just get it finished now, while we have free time." "Asuka, how about I take you out somewhere tonight? After we get finished with this, what do you think? We could… go to a restaurant, or to a movie, or something. Plus then you won't have to cook, and you can get away from Shinji and Misato for a while." "So you want to go on a date?" "Um… well, yea, I guess you can put it that way…" "Jonathan, you can be so weird sometimes. I mean, you managed to tell me that you love me, but you are still having a problem asking me out on a date. What is with you?" "I don't know… I guess I'm still a little nervous from telling you finally… So, yea, I would like to take you out on a date." "Well then, what time will you be picking me up?" "Um… Damn, if only I had a car… Do you think Misato would mind taking us?" "I don't think so… it'll be fun not to tell Shinji, though. We'll all leave when he's in his room, and he'll be completely clueless." "You can be very cruel, you know." "I try. So, when should I tell Misato to take us?" "Um… how about at seven? That should give us enough time; I'll just call Misato when we're finished, okay?" "Okay, its set. Don't wuss out at the last second, now." "I would never. I'm hurt that you would even think I would." "I was just kidding; you shouldn't take such an offense." "I know, I did it to get that reaction out of you. We really should get started on this homework; I don't want it to get in the way of our date tonight." "Well, I've already started on mine, unlike some people…" "Hey, I was going to get started on it… you just came over so it stopped me from starting earlier." "Yea, sure, stop making excuses and let's just get this over with." "Okay, if you insist…" "I'm just fine! If I needed to be in the hospital, then how would I be able to walk all the way down here?" "I'm sorry, but we have our orders." "Listen, just call Major Misato Katsuragi. She'll give you all the clearance you need to let me go." "I'm sorry, but we can't do that…" "Okay, fine! I'll just call her myself! ………………Come on, pick up……………… Misato? Listen, these guys won't let me leave, so I need you to come down here to pick me up………………what, you're already on your way here? Well, that's good; just try to hurry, okay? Bye." "So Major Katsuragi will be here soon?" Rei asks, her face betraying no sign of the outburst she had witnessed Shinji have a moment ago.
"Yea, she said that she was on her way. Don't worry, Rei, Misato'll fix these guys." "So we will be leaving will Major Katsuragi?" "Yea, and you can just call her Misato, okay? It just feels too formal to call her Major, plus she normally doesn't act like a Major…" "Alright, Shinji, if you think I should…" "Rei, you are so weird sometimes…" "I'm sorry." "You don't have to be sorry, Rei. It's just something that defines you." "Shinji, I believe that that is Maj… Misato now." Rei says as she points through the large glass double doors at the entrance to the hospital. Shinji leans over to check and sees Misato's car barreling towards the hospital. Just before hitting the sidewalk, Misato puts the car into a slide and ends up perfectly parked in the stall marked 'NERV personnel only'. Shinji stands in front of the doors in a state of shock as Misato steps out of her car. He moves out of the way as Misato walks up to the sliding doors, allowing them to open first, then continuing towards the front desk.
"I'm Major Misato Katsuragi with NERV and I'm here for the release of Shinji Ikari." Shinji quickly walks up next to Misato with Rei trailing behind.
"Can I see some identification?" "Do I look like a terrorist?" Misato asks angrily.
"Um…No, maam, we just need your signature here." The man at the desk says as he passes Misato a pen and a piece of paper with Shinji's release information on it.
"Thank you for your cooperation, I'll just be taking him now." "Um… yes maam… have a nice day." Misato turns around and heads toward the doors once more with Shinji and Rei following closely behind. As Misato, Shinji, and Rei sit down in her car, Misato flashes a smile at Shinji.
"Now was that so hard? You really should have more faith in me, Shinji." "Thanks Misato, I never thought I would've gotten out of there." "It's no problem, Shinji." Misato says as she backs up into the parking lot. "I'm just glad to see that you're alright. We all were pretty worried back there, well, everyone except Rei. She did stay with you all night, though." "What exactly happened, Misato?" "Well… now's not the time to talk about that. I'm sure you'll find out later, but let's not think about that now. Just know that everyone's okay, the Angel was destroyed, and Asuka is cooking dinner tonight." "At least I won't have to…" "Hey, Misato, where's Asuka?" "I don't know… she was here when I left. Maybe she's still in her room. She was doing homework when I left." "I already tried her room; she not in there." "I wonder… I bet she's over next door." "At Jonathan's?" "Yea, probably doing homework or something…" "I'll go check." As Shinji reaches for the door, however, it slides away revealing Asuka with a pile of books in her hands.
"Uh…" "Get out of the way, Shinji!" "Okay…" Shinji steps into the living room as Asuka walks to her room with Jonathan following with another pile of books.
"See Shinji, I told you they were doing homework." As Jonathan walks back out of Asuka's room, a hand is placed on his shoulder.
"Komm heir, bitte…" Asuka says angrily.
Jonathan is swiftly brought back into Asuka's room before the door closes, seemingly of is own accord. All that can be heard from the outside is Jonathan's frivolous pleas for mercy.
"Asuka, er war nicht ich! Ich schwoere! Macht das bitte nicht! Helft! Helft! Sie hat ein..." Then not another word, Japanese, German, or otherwise, is heard from the room. Misato and Shinji begin to sweat drop as they stare at the door, trying to make some sense of what had just occurred. Several minutes pass before Pen-Pen waddles in between Shinji and Misato, breaking the tension.
"What do you think happened, Pen-Pen?" Shinji asks finally as the penguin stares at him. The penguin merely glances at the door, then waddles back to his refrigerator.
"What is wrong, Shinji?" Rei asks as she enters the hall from Shinji's room.
"Um…nothing, nothing's wrong at all. Misato, I'm just going to go into my room, okay?" "Uh…sure." Before Shinji can even turn around, however, the door to Asuka's room is flung open and a dazed Jonathan wobbles out in between Shinji and Misato. Traces of lipstick are smeared across his lips and a single, well formed kiss imprint in red lipstick remains on his cheek.
"Ich werde ins meine Zimmer sein…wann irgendmann brauche ich…" Jonathan manages to get out as he stumbles to the front door, opens it, and disappears through the portal.
"I'm not even going to ask…" "Ask what?" Asuka asks as she leans her head out of her room to watch Jonathan leave.
"What in gods name you did to him." "Oh…" A blush dots Asuka's cheeks, "I didn't do anything… to bad." "He acted like he just got done skydiving." "How would you know what skydiving's like?" "I just assumed…" "Well… It's nothing you need to worry about. Hey, Misato, what time is it?" "Um… it's three twenty-two, why?" "Damn it… three and a half more hours… No reason, Misato, just wondering. I'll be in my room if anyone needs me." With that Asuka closes her door, leaving Misato and Shinji even more confused than before.
"Um…" "Shinji… have you finished your homework? I'm going to go terrorize Jonathan for not following orders, okay?" "Don't you think he's traumatized enough already?" "Nope, besides, I'd better get my shots in before he completely looses it." "Okay, I'm going into my room now. See ya later, I guess." "Bye." Misato says as she picks up her jacket and heads out the door.
End Chapter #15