The Continuation

TOKYO-III

AKAGI RESIDENCE

SEPTEMBER 20TH

12:32 PM JST

Kensuke and Toji both arrived at Shinji's house with a red mark on their faces.

"Hikari found out?"

Shinji said, already knowing the answer.

They both nodded.

"I really don't know what you were expecting."

They nodded again.

Shinji sighed and let them both in, with Kensuke immediately rushing to the living room and turning on the TV.

He then quickly changed it to the Japanese UN news station.

"Guys come here, I want to show you something cool that happened while you were out!"

Shinji and Toji walked over to the couch and huddled around it, looking at the TV.

A well dressed news reporter for the UN channel began to speak about this new segment.

"So last night's big event was the Ares 5 mission to Mars! Just last night, the Interplanetary Transfer Vehicle had entered a parking orbit around Mars, and will begin preparations to land on the red planet, tomorrow at 12pm Greenwich Mean Time or 9pm JST"

Kensuke's eyes were lit up with excitement.

"Isn't this cool!? We get to see in our lifetime people land on Mars and possibly colonize it!"

A small laugh came from down the hall as Ritsuko stepped out and made herself present.

"Landing yes, but a full-on autonomous colony? Give it possibly a half a century."

She said, pulling out a gum packet from her pocket and taking a piece.

Kensuke just scoffed at her.

"Didn't you build those Evangelions within a few years? Humans can do anything!"

Ritsuko sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose sensing the boy had too much optimism for this species.

"That's because it was made with every country begrudgingly agreeing to work on it together, This is only a few countries agreeing to go to another planet and make it back safely."

Ritsuko essentially shut Kensuke down, and he deflated a little.

Seeing this she tried to cheer him up.

"But it's even more impressive like that. Listen, if you want, we can gather you and some people to watch the landing tomorrow night."

That reinflated Kensuke and his enthusiasm. He nodded furiously and pulled Shinji and Toji upstairs to continue what they were going to do originally.

. . .

"Oy Vey…"

"What's wrong dear?"

Naoko asked, stepping down the stairs.

"Oh nothing, Just the Aida kid being himself is all."

Naoko sighed and shook her head, making her way over to the kitchen for a cup of coffee.

"That Aida kid keeps breaking into the MAGI somehow via Balthazar… I don't know how or why!"

Ritsuko shrugged and kept chewing.

"And chew quieter will you?"

MISATO KATSURAGI'S APARTMENT

2:32 PM JST

SAME DAY

"Misato, where did you put my yellow dress?"

Asuka asked, trying to look for it in the dryer bin, shifting other clothes around to find her dress.

"Yeah, It's on the hangers in the bathroom!"

Misato hollered, still watching TV in the living room. Asuka then went to the bathroom to try and locate her lost dress.

She looked on the hanger and found her dress wrinkled and still drying. Annoyed, she marched out of the bathroom and plopped onto the couch.

"Damnit, I wanted to wear it today."

Rei popped her head from around the corner and stared at Asuka, examining her.

"I have a few extra dresses if you want to try them, I think we are about the same size."

Asuka blinked a few times before nodding and following Rei to her room.

Once in the room, Rei opened her closet and started picking out a few dresses that might suit Asuka.

"How about this white one with the frills?"

Asuka eyed the dress before taking it in her hands to examine it better.

"It's nice, but it seems too small on me."

She said, looking at the waist size and imagining how it would fit on.

"Well that's all the sizes I really have. Is this for Shinji's party tomorrow?" She asked, pulling out her phone and looking for something.

"Yeah, guess you got that text too?"

"Mhm."

Nodded Asuka as she also pulled out her phone and looked for the text. She scrolled up and found the text she was looking for.

"Yeah, come over at 8 PM tomorrow for a Mars landing watch party. I remember that a Mars mission happened but I didn't remember if it landed or not, guess this is the same one."

Asuka remembered watching the launch in person at the Langley Launch Center back in the States. There were a good few people there, but mainly journalists and space enthusiasts.

She also remembered being told that there used to be another launch complex in a state that is now completely underwater.

"That's the one, if you still want your yellow dress, we could head to the dry cleaners to get it done quickly, if you'd like."

Offered Rei, to which Asuka thought about it and nodded.

"Great, I got some Yen leftover so we can go now."

The two left the room and grabbed their laundry to go to the Cleaners.

Meanwhile Misato returned to the living room and thought to herself about the two girls living under her care.

She remembered the time when Asuka was understandably more moody and grim, the years following her mother's death. She also remembered the first time that Asuka met Shinji and Rei. She was so excited to meet kids just like her.

Misato chuckled at the good memories about them. They have grown up so fast. She couldn't imagine what could've happened if they hadn't met early on. Asuka would've still been her old self…

SENIOR OFFICER LOUNGE

3:12 PM JST

"Ikari have you checked your messages? We both have an invitation to the Akagi's house for a small watch party. It's for the Ares V Martian landing."

Fuyutsuki handed Gendo the phone and let him read the message. Handing it back, Gendo sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"I think you should go, it might be a good chance to reconcile with him."

Gendo pondered this option in his mind. He doesn't hate the boy, but he just can't stand being near him. It makes them both uncomfortable.

"I… suppose I could… Will you also be attending?"

Fuyutsuki shook his head, and handed him a letter informing him of a relative's death.

"No, my cousin recently passed away and I'm attending the funeral. I will be gone for that day."

Gendo grunted and stood up, stretching his back.

"I'm getting old."

SEPTEMBER 21ST

8:32 PM JST

11:32 AM JST

AKAGI RESIDENCE

Ding Dong!

Shinji jogged over to the door and opened it to find Maya, Makoto, and Shigeru all in their casual clothes, standing at the door.

"We hope we aren't too late." Maya said, holding up a bag of chips.

The other two held up drinks and smiled.

"Come on in-"

Shinji stopped mid-word as he saw a blacked out car pull up.

"Shinji, are you ok?"

Asked Maya, who gave a concerned look.

"Yeah… It's just another guest… Come on in…"

The trio uneasily made their way in and Shinji stepped out, closing the door behind him.

The car door swung open and out stepped a man he had hoped to not see tonight.

Gendo Ikari had just closed the door and began walking to his trunk to retrieve a party food of sorts.

"I hope that I have brought an appropriate dish." He said, holding three boxes of pizza.

Shinji blinked and simply gestured for Gendo to enter.

They both then entered and settled down.

8:40 PM JST

11:40 AM GMT

Kensuke was talking to Makoto about the spacecraft and the landing site. Ritsuko, Kaji, and Misato shared some drinks and stories. Naoko and Gendo talked a bit about work and life. Toji was with Hikari talking about school and such. Shinji was with Rei and Asuka talking about the party and how things were going. Maya, Shigeru and a few other bridge crew members were chatting amongst themselves watching the TV.

All is good.

Shinji thought to himself about his father and decided to go speak to him. He excused himself from the two girls and made his way over. Naoko sensing a moment between them, decided to excuse herself as well and walk away.

"So… Kensuke says that this will be the first major manned spaceflight since the moon landing…"

Shinji said, hoping to start a conversation.

"It truly will be. The Americans are always trying to outdo other countries in the name of scientific research. I remember when the Challenger Space Shuttle blew up. It was a failure with the O-rings…"

Gendo replied, showing off some of his scientific knowledge.

"Really? I thought it was the giant fuel tank on the back that had a leak or something… "

"No, it was cold that day and it shrunk to a size that was unsuitable for flight… This flight will be different… No older parts are onboard. Everything was checked in space before they will land. This will be a great moment in mankind."

Replied Gendo, to which Shinji agreed. This will possibly be another point in history that mankind could get along.

"Did you know that I once considered applying to JAXA? Space is both exciting and fulfilling."

Gendo said, turning away to not see Shinji's reaction.

"I honestly didn't know that, That's something i-"

"Guys it's starting!"

9 PM JST

12 PM GMT

Everyone gathered around the large flat-screen and watched intently at the live telemetry footage they were seeing.

The lander undocked from the transfer vehicle and slowly maneuvered itself to make a landing burn. As the vehicle performs this action, messages from people across the world are shown on screen to wish them good luck.

Gendo for the first time in years, watched in awe as the lander began to dip down into the Martian atmosphere. Shinji was also watching with great interest, but was mainly impressed at his dad's interest in this.

The lander then began to fall into the atmosphere at extreme speeds but not heating up like in our atmosphere. The onboard camera showed the gorgeous yet terrifying view of the lander making its way down.

Gendo was a scientific man at heart, he had more faith in science than mankind itself, but maybe… that could change…

He is watching something that wasn't a forced together project that was necessary for survival. It was simply a scientific endeavor, put together by people with the same common interests and beliefs. A project put together in total cooperation to make sure mankind can land safely on Mars.

The video briefly lost contact as the engines fired again, making the lander vibrate as it coasted down.

Everyone watched in silence as they wanted to hear everything coming from that TV.

Despite them working with eldritch monsters, giant cyborgs and a literal god, they were still captivated by moments like this.

"500"

…

"400"

…

"300"

…

"200"

Anxiety rose throughout everyone as the meters counted down.

"150"

…

"100"

…

"75"

. . .

"50"

. . .

"25"

. .

"Contact! Engine arm off! Langley, The Hope has landed."

Cheers erupted throughout the room as everyone's anxiety disappeared. They had just witnessed a more hopeful part of history than they were currently part of. They now had something to look forward to after the war.

Naoko rush hugged both Ritsuko and Shinji, nearly choking the latter. Gendo let out a sigh of relief as the TV showed the footage of the lander safely on Martian soil. Kensuke and Makoto cheered on in their geeky ways. Rei let out a breath that she held in, breathing heavily as she was holding it for a while. Asuka fist pumped the air as she watched the Lander begin the shutdown procedures.

Everyone was happy and cheerful.

All's right with the world.

Thank you to RockPhoenix105 for beta reading this chapter.

I'll see you all in the next chapter!

-DerpymanMT

Deus