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"Dialogues"
- Thoughts -
"Radio Talk"
Liability Note:
Evangelion, its characters and setting are the property of Hideaki Anno. Any brands, movies and series mentioned in this Fanfic are the property of their creators.
(*)
Chapter 26 - I thank you.
The mighty Wunder was flying through the skies of Europe awaiting new instructions, carrying with it the hope of humanity in its cargo compartments, its pilots and crews were doing their jobs flawlessly, but one thing almost everyone had in their minds, when would this war end?
Misato was in his office reading the battle plan that Kaji had sent him, Misato was shaking his head at all the information he received through WILLE's system, her mind was imagining the course of action that the plan suggested.
"That's not a plan!" Misato spoke in annoyance as she threw a sheet of paper on her desk, receiving a frown from Ritsuko.
"So the plan is to just go and attack with everything and hope it works out?" Misato spoke keeping her tone incredulous.
Stopping to take a breath, Misato looked at Ritsuko and soon her mind began to flood with questions. Ritsuko just reached out and took one of the sheets of paper on her desk, her mind busy with other things, Ritsuko just nodded.
Misato looked at Ritsuko, Rei's words still flowed through her mind, suspicious of her old friend, Misato asked suspiciously.
"Ritsuko." Misato waited to look her in the eye. "What was your relationship with Gendo?"
Ritsuko gave a long sigh as she was confronted by Misato. "We didn't have a relationship."
Misato gave a wry snort. "Don't give me that!"
Ritsuko at this moment stared Misato in the eye and spoke coldly. "What are you implying Misato?"
Returning her gaze with the same intensity, Misato confronted her. "How could you not? You never mentioned that you knew about Rei's origin before."
Ritsuko snorted and spoke wryly. "Does it matter? What's the point of me knowing your origin?"
"It's worth a lot!" Misato shouted. "What else are you hiding?"
"What I hide gives you no respect Misato." Ritsuko spoke keeping her posture cool.
"Of course you give me respect!" Misato shouted as she slammed her hands on the table.
Ritsuko seeing her friend's outburst, decided to speak ironically. "OK, I knew all along about Rei's origin, but that doesn't matter now."
Getting up to leave, Misato accompanied her still with many doubts. "Hey! This isn't over!" Coming around the table, Misato held Ritsuko by the arm.
"Did you know what the EVAS were capable of?"
Ritsuko turned and faced Misato coldly, her eyes were fixed on Misato's, seeing Ritsuko's gaze, Misato gave a growl as she tightened her grip on Ritsuko's arm.
"You traitorous bitch." Misato spoke threateningly.
"Do you realize the shit you've done?"
Shaking off Misato's grip, Ritsuko huffed and spoke strongly.
"And what did I do? Yes, I knew very well what the EVAS were capable of, happy?"
Punching her former friend hard in the face, Misato spoke still maintaining her tone. "You still wonder, you were there that day, you saw all the shit going on and you did nothing?"
Ritsuko recovering from the punch she took, faced Misato with disdain and spoke. "This has nothing to do with the world, this has to do with Shinji."
Seeing the shock of the words on Misato, Ritsuko looked at her and gave a small smile and continued.
"Shinji caused all this, he shouldn't have pushed the EVA to its limit."
"Pushed!? Those kids didn't even know what the EVAS were capable of, we blame an innocent child because of their secrets." Misato retorted intensely. "And yes, if we knew that little detail earlier, the third impact would never have happened, Shinji would have been by our side from the beginning!"
"Get real Misato, that kid is just like his father, always running away from his responsibilities." Ritsuko spoke with hatred in her eyes.
"What responsibilities Ritsuko?..." Misato was speaking when something came into her mind, nodding at the thought Misato continued with a look of disgust on her face.
"You were doing all this for Gendo?"
Having confirmation by Ritsuko's gaze, Misato intensified her gaze. "You were going to help that maniac just for what he had in his pants?"
"You don't know anything Misato!" Ritsuko spoke as she felt Misato's words hit her hard.
"That bastard only cared about his dead wife!, he humiliated me every time he asked me to tend to Rei's injuries! He used me in every way he wanted!"
Misato closed her fists in anger. "That doesn't change the fact, Shinji could be dead now because of your fault, what if he had been sentenced to death?"
"But it wasn't!" Ritsuko shouted in response. "And I don't regret it."
Misato seeing all the secrets her friend had kept from her and not resisting any longer, she landed another punch on Ritsuko's face, seeing her on the floor Misato spoke threateningly.
"You traitorous bitch, get out of my office and only come to me again when you are relevant to your position as sub-commander."
Getting up and looking at Misato, Ritsuko grabbed her lab coat and turned to leave, stopping at the door.
"You have to think about your priorities commander, you have to get your hands dirty to get to the top."
Seeing the door closing, Misato lowered her shoulders and spoke to herself in her living room, not knowing if she could trust Ritsuko anymore.
"Shit."
Sitting back down at her desk, Misato picked up a set of pages and immediately her eyes widened at what she was reading.
"Do they intend to use it?"
Shinji's room.
Shinji was lying on his bed, he could hear the sound of the shower running, using the free time with Asuka taking a shower to think about everything that had happened so far.
With a thought in his head, Shinji remembered the dinners he had with everyone in the time before the third impact, smiling at the idea that came into his head, Shinji didn't even realize that the shower had already been turned off and Asuka came out wrapped in a towel, seeing her boyfriend looking up at the ceiling and a weak smile on his face, Asuka gave a mischievous smile.
"Thinking about what?" Asuka spoke as she jumped on top of Shinji on the bed.
Giving a little jump at the impact, Shinji looked at her and saw that Asuka was only toweling over her body, being intoxicated by the strawberry smell of her shampoo, Shinji quickly began to turn red.
Giving a laugh, Asuka let her head fall onto Shinji's chest and stood listening to his beating heart. "But seriously now, what were you thinking about?"
Shinji looked down at Asuka's head lying on his chest. "I was weighing in on something ... Remember the dinners at Misato's apartment?"
Asuka looked at the wall as she remembered that time, but she couldn't deny that she had good memories, nodding and giving the answer Shinji wanted.
"I was wondering if it would be possible for me to make dinner for you guys." Shinji spoke as he felt Asuka's head rise and look him in the eye.
"Just like old times."
Asuka began to think about the possibility, she always liked Shinji's food and would love to be able to have a decent meal, Asuka was already filling up on the pasta served at Wunder.
"Talk to the person in charge of the kitchen."
Shinji only nodded, but doubts soon suggested, seeing Shinji's body tense up, Asuka asked.
"What is it Baka?"
"Nothing." Shinji spoke quickly, but was soon met by a sharp pinch on his chest.
"OK, I don't know if I should talk to them, I still have my fears."
"Baka, after the battle the crew is seeing you with different eyes." Asuka spoke as she sat on Shinji's bed and faced him.
"I know, but..." Shinji started to speak, but soon felt Asuka's hand weakly hit his chest stopping him.
"Baka, talk to them." Asuka spoke with arrogance. "By the way, you are the boyfriend of the amazing Asuka Shikinami."
Shinji gave a smile at seeing all of Asuka's self-confidence, envying her in a way, nodding Shinji decided to change the subject.
"How is Mari?"
Asuka gave a small laugh. "She's fine, when I went in the room to get some things, I found her and Rei sleeping on the bed, they were both naked."
Shinji blushed at the thought of imagining Rei and Mari having sex, but quickly cleared the mental image from his head, but Asuka noticed and spoke with fake annoyance.
"But you're a pervert anyway, she's your sister!" Asuka spoke up faking a look of disgust on her face.
Shinji began to stammer out a response. "Sorry, I can't help it, are you going to tell me that you didn't think either?"
This time it was Asuka's turn to blush, looking away and giving an unsure response. "But she's not my sister."
Receiving a laugh from Shinji, Asuka listened to him speak between faint giggles. "Then I'm the pervert."
Holding Shinji's arms in an immobilization, Asuka spoke up laughing, "That's for staying close to you."
The two laughed a little until Asuka let go of Shinji's arms and again laid her head on his chest, giving a smile Asuka spoke. "You know, they don't have to be the only ones having fun this morning."
Getting up and giving Shinji a flick of the eyebrow, they both kissed and enjoyed the couple's intimacy.
The rest of the day passed uneventfully, the appropriate pairs made a synchronization test with the EVAS and soon it was time for lunch, the quartet had arrived at one of the tables to eat their food, soon Sakura had joined the group.
Everyone was chatting among themselves, but Shinji's mind was on how he was going to approach the kitchen staff asking if he could prepare a special dinner for Misato and the others.
Asuka seeing the look on Shinji's face where the kitchen staff was standing, gave Shinji a little kick in the shin to break the anxious look on his face.
"Alright guys, how are you doing?" Maya approached the table and spoke with a shy smile on her face.
"We'll be fine Miss Ibuki." Shinji spoke with a smile, but saw the dangerous look Maya threw at him, Shinji quickly put his hand behind his head and spoke clumsily. "Sorry ... Maya."
"That's better. Misato asked me to let you know that she wants everyone in her room when lunch is over." Maya spoke professionally, receiving a nod from all the pilots, Maya turned and left the cafeteria.
"I wonder what she wants with us?" Shinji asked curiously trying to figure out the reason.
"Maybe it's the rumors." Rei spoke gently next to Mari, receiving everyone's gaze Rei continued. "There are some rumors following that WILLE has plans to attack NERV in the near future."
Everyone in the room was silent as they let the information sink in, Shinji was the first to speak up to break the ice. "Gee, that's just a rumor."
"But it would be nice, who knows, maybe we can break up with Gendo and have a more normal life." Asuka said, but was soon regretted by the downcast look on Shinji's face, it was hard for everyone at the table to believe that Gendo was Shinji's father, they both had a very different personality.
"No problem Asuka, my father ... my dad is an asshole." Shinji spoke as he gave a smile to the group, holding his hand, Shinji continued. "Everyone I consider my family is on this ship."
"You spoke beautifully son." Mari spoke as she shook her head positively at Shinji.
Shinji couldn't help but smile at what the group was talking about, but his thoughts soon fell on his father, even though he hated him, he was still his father and in the back of his mind, he wished he could make things right with him.
When lunch was over, the group headed towards Misato's office, the group was soon inside the room, she was sitting with a tired look on her face, with a stack of papers on her desk.
With the group properly seated, Misato looked at Shinji and took a long breath. "Okay, I called you here because I want you to be the first to know."
Seeing the looks on everyone's faces Misato continued. "WILLE has plans to attack NERV and capture Gendo and Kozo." Misato's gaze locked on Shinji as he said his father's name, "We will attack in a few days."
Misato saw the look on everyone's face in the room, everyone was anxious and worried, but she hadn't told the main information yet, turning her gaze again on Shinji, Misato spoke again worriedly.
"But..." Mari spoke in the background predicting what was to come, receiving a nod from Misato she spoke.
"They want us to wear Unit 01." Misato spoke as she shook her own hands, again looking at Shinji, she could see the faraway look on his face, he knew what it meant to use Unit 01 again, he would have to wear the DSS choker.
Giving a sad sigh, Shinji lowered his gaze, Misato knew he already knew to wear the choker again.
"What if... " Shinji stopped as he put his hand to his forehead. "What if she has to be activated, who will..."
Shinji was speaking when he was interrupted by Asuka speaking strongly. "That won't be necessary." Receiving a small nod from Shinji, Asuka looked at Misato who nodded as well.
"I'm sorry Shinji." Misato spoke genuinely. "If it were up to me, you wouldn't have to wear it ever again."
"I know Misato, I trust you." Shinji tried to give a confident answer. "But other than that?"
Misato seeing that Shinji changed the subject, using that as an excuse continued. "Bottom line, let's go however we have, Ritsuko is in the research room preparing some kind of ammunition that should help in battle, she told me it's based on the Magorox sword."
Misato paused for breath. "So that's it folks, get ready."
Everyone nodded and stood up, leaving the room, the group crossed paths with Ritsuko who was waiting outside, she had a small worried frown on her face, duly greeted, Ritsuko took a long breath as she entered Misato's room.
"What do you want?" Misato spoke rustically without lifting her head from the leaves.
"I came to talk to you." Ritsuko spoke low.
"Be brief." Misato spoke as she crossed his arms in annoyance.
"Misato, I value your friendship." Ritsuko started to speak, she was wanting to make things right with Misato, deep down she knew she had to open up. "Yes, I was Gendo's lover, I knew about the real power of EVAS." Misato was listening to everything intently. "I didn't want anything bad to happen to Shinji back then, when all the shit happened and the world went to space."
Misato uncrossed her arms as she listened to everything. "I had plans to try to get Shinji out of Unit 01, but then everyone started blaming him for everything ... I was afraid to reveal the truth."
"But why only now?" Misato spoke up annoyed.
"Rei revealed things that were not for her to remember ... I blame myself for the suffering Shinji went through, but I am not a traitor." Ritsuko spoke being one hundred percent sincere in life. "He did not deserve the burden that I somehow placed on his shoulders."
Misato only nodded, speaking in a tired voice. "I know, but damn Ritz, fucking Gendo, you expected me to think what?"
"I know." Ritsuko spoke as she lowered her gaze.
"But that's okay." Misato spoke as he scratched her head. "Help me finish that bastard off and we'll call it even."
Receiving a nod from Ritsuko she turned to leave when she heard Misato speak seriously. "Don't make me regret it."
"It won't." Ritsuko spoke with a small smile on her face, leaving the room and giving a sigh of relief, Ritsuko returned to the sector to continue developing her special ammunition.
As the day went on, the group of pilots spent the whole day training in the simulator, they faced dozens of Mark 09s with the new Magorox sword, having more victories than defeats the group was eventually dismissed after hours of training.
"Wow, if that sword acts the way it did in the simulator, we're going to kick Gendo's ass." Mari spoke excitedly as she hugged Rei and Shinji by the shoulders.
"Easy four eyes, don't get all thoughtful." Asuka spoke as she pulled Shinji from Mari's grip.
"Let me be happy princess." Mari retorted.
"More?" Asuka retorted, Shinji and Rei gave a smile as they saw the girls arguing in the background.
"Well Asuka, I have to see something." Shinji spoke tense as he approached the kitchen, he received a nod from Asuka, the three girls saw Shinji walking away going towards the kitchen, Mari approached Asuka and spoke curious.
"What is the puppy going to do?"
"A surprise." Asuka spoke with a small smile on her face, but she soon turned away from Mari and Rei and followed Shinji from afar, she still didn't trust the crew after the incident.
Shinji was feeling his hands shaking, he was standing in front of the access door in the kitchen section of Wunder, knocking and waiting for it to open, Shinji was greeted by a large man, this man would be somewhere in between strong and fat.
"Sorry to interrupt you sir but, can I ask you a small favor?" Shinji asked nervously, receiving a look of doubt from the man, he was soon invited into the kitchen. Asuka was in the background watching everything intently, seeing Shinji enter the kitchen and decided to wait for his exit.
Misato's office
With a tired snort Misato stretched out on her desk, seeing the stack of papers beside her, squeezed the space between her eyes, gave a tired sigh and enjoyed the calm silence of her office, the day was already ending and all Misato wanted was to be in her apartment in the moments before the third impact.
Misato began to remember the events of the day, the analysis of the plan of attack, her fight with Ritsuko, her conversation with the pilots, the moment she had to tell Shinji about the use of Unit 01 and the council's demand for the use of the DSS choker.
Misato was brought out of her reverie with a weak knock on the door, but with the silence of her office at the time of the knock, the sound was not hard to hear, taking a deep breath to pull herself together and adjusting herself at her desk Misato spoke wearily.
"Come in."
Seeing Shinji's form entering and speaking with a shy smile on his face, Misato brightened up. "Hi Shinji, what's up?"
"No big deal." Shinji spoke nervously as he scratched the back of his head, Misato noticed his hands shaking and immediately gave him a questioning look.
"Shinji?" Misato only spoke Shinji's name in a long and interrogative manner, she knew he was hiding something and now her commander's mind was activated and willing to extract the information.
Shinji seeing Misato's look shuddered inside, taking courage to speak before some misunderstanding. "It's nothing ... It's just ... It's been a while since Asuka mentioned that she wanted to eat a decent meal ... And I talked to the cook at Wunder."
Misato felt her anxiety diminish at Shinji's words, seeing that it was no big deal she decided to relax her body and listen to everything carefully.
"He let me prepare a dinner for you."
Misato's eyes widened softly at the information, opening a smile at Shinji who was scratching her head in nervousness, then remembering the meals Shinji used to prepare at that time, feeling her appetite awakening he stood up.
"The dishes are in the meeting room." Shinji replied calmer, he didn't know why he was nervous, he had cooked for Misato and the girls before, the only new people were Mari and Sakura.
"What did you prepare?" Misato asked curiously, she knew he didn't have all the necessary equipment, but her curiosity was piqued.
"Well, the cook showed me the pantry and all he had, I was able to improvise a potato salad with Kare Raisu." Shinji replied with a shy smile. "Simple stuff."
Widening her smile, Misato slung an arm across Shinji's shoulder and spoke cheerfully. "No problem, I bet it's delicious." Making Shinji blush at the compliment.
When Misato and Shinji arrived in the meeting room, a large table was set up and prepared to accommodate all six people, Rei was sitting next to Mari who was arguing with Asuka, Sakura was laughing about something, soon the smell of Shinji's food flooded her nostrils making her stomach rumble loudly.
"I don't think that's what Maya washed with soap." Mari spoke with a thoughtful look on her face, Asuka was rolling her eyes. "Still with that? Why don't you just ask Maya what it was that she washed with soap?"
"It wouldn't be funny that way." Mari retorted, everyone stopped when they saw Misato's smiling look beside Shinji.
"Hi." They both said in unison.
"So puppy, where's the food?" Mari spoke hurriedly, her hunger was already starting to become visible to the group, Asuka was in charge of protecting the trays with the food so Mari wouldn't attack them.
With a shake of his head, Shinji approached the table where the trays of food were, opening them and causing the smells to flood the air, preparing each dish with care, Shinji placed them in front of each person at the table.
"Since I know you don't eat meat, I prepared yours with boiled vegetables Rei." Shinji spoke with a smile on his face as he placed Rei's plate.
"Thank you Shinji." Rei replied softly as she looked down at her plate with a smile on her face, she soon remembered the bento that Shinji had prepared for her at school.
When everyone had their plates in front of them, Mari was hastily tapping her finger on the table in anxiety, her belly rumbled loudly, so did the others.
"Before we start." Misato spoke as she stopped the people from attacking her, looking at Shinji fondly. "I want to know the reason." At this moment everyone looked at Shinji.
Seeing that everyone was looking at him, Shinji took a deep breath to put all his emotions and motives into words, taking a deep breath to speak, Shinji began.
"That's a thank you, for everything." Shinji spoke confidently. "When I woke up and saw everything I had caused, I thought I had lost everything." Soon Shinji noticed Misato opening his mouth to speak, but soon continued. "I know we're all fine now, but that doesn't change the fact that you guys gave me a second chance ... You had every right to hate me, to never want to see me again, to forget me."
As Shinji spoke his speech everyone was looking at him intently. "But you guys worked it out, against everything and everyone you gave me a second chance."
Looking at everyone at the table, Shinji began to speak directly to each person.
"I am thankful to have the best friends." Shinji spoke looking at Mari and Sakura, both responded with a true and honest smile.
"I thankful having the best girlfriend." Shinji spoke looking at Asuka, who smiled and blushed.
"I am thankful to have a sister." Shinji spoke looking at Rei, who responded by smiling.
And his gaze finally stopping on Misato. "I am thankful to have a family." Who held back tears of joy. - When did you get so good with words Shinji? -
"But the main thing of all, I thank you all for the second chance." Shinji spoke as he looked at the nothing on the table, but he kept a small smile on his face.
"Ohhh!" Sakura and Mari spoke with wet eyes in unison when Shinji finished speaking.
After a few seconds, Shinji decided to break the ice. "Let's get started before it gets cold."
Receiving a big "yes", everyone began to enjoy the dinner that Shinji had prepared, with her mouth full of food, Mari decided to ask. "Puppy? What did you have to do to convince Izidor to let you take possession of his ingredients?"
Shinji gave a small laugh, swallowing and taking a breath to answer. "It wasn't hard, at first he didn't really like the idea, but soon I convinced him by preparing a dish for him."
Hearing a collective laugh from everyone, Shinji went back to eating, feeling Asuka's hand in his, Shinji lifted his gaze to lock on Asuka's eye, they both exchanged a happy smile.
After everyone finished eating, Mari stretched out in her chair and slapped her full belly a few times in satisfaction. "Gee boy, how did it take the princess so long to get you hooked?"
Receiving a threatening look from Asuka, Mari was not intimidated and continued. "For you know how it is, girls love a man who can cook."
"I always said that, but she didn't believe it." Misato spoke equally satisfied.
"Fuck you guys." Asuka retorted in the only way she knew how, but her mind was asking the same question, why it took her so long to admit that she was in love with Shinji.
Shinji was still not used to the compliments about his food, deep down he believed that his meals were no big deal, scratching his head in shame. "Thank you, I'm glad you all enjoyed it. "
With that the group sat for some time at the table talking about random things, with Mari teasing Asuka from time to time.
"Now with the princess practically living in the pupps's room, I bet if we throw a black light in the room now, he can be seen from space." Mari spoke in a teasing tone as she looked at Shinji and Asuka with a mischievous smile.
Shinji and Asuka blushed at the comment, Asuka retorted as best she could, hoping she had managed to hit Mari. "And you four eyes? A few days ago I found you two sleeping naked in bed." Rei blushed a little at the insinuation, but Mari stood still like a statue, Misato and Sakura were giggling muffledly.
Mari flashed a smile, her counterattacks already prepared. "That wasn't even half the naughtiness we did." Mari turned and gave a wink to Rei who was blushing and smiling.
Asuka was in shock at Mari's counterattack, she didn't expect that response.
As night fell, the group was starting to get up to leave, Shinji was putting the dishes on the cart to take them back to the kitchen, he had dismissed the numerous requests for help.
Being surprised by a strong hug from Mari from behind and receiving a kiss on the cheek, she spoke happily. "Thank you so much puppy, that was delicious."
Blushing at the contact and the kiss, Shinji replied. "It was nothing."
After receiving thanks from everyone, including Mari's strong squeeze, Shinji was looking at the table to check that nothing was missing, Asuka was by his side helping him with everything she could.
"Shinji!" Misato called out from the door, she had a serious look on her face, Shinji slowly approached and stopped in front of her.
Mari and Rei watched from the background, they were curious to see what would happen.
Stretching out her arms and pulling Shinji into a tight hug, Misato whispered in his ear. "Thank you."
"For what?" Shinji replied confused.
"For dinner and... "Misato paused to choose the right words. "For giving us a second chance too, for giving me a second chance."
Smiling at Misato's words, Shinji was with his eyes closed and just enjoying the embrace he was enjoying with Misato.
The two didn't know how long they stayed like this, but they both enjoyed the action, feeling another pair of arms around him, Shinji opened his eyes slightly to see the hands and Asuka on his chest.
Asuka gently laid her head on Shinji's back and the trio stood there, oblivious to the world around them, in the background Mari and Rei were looking at the scene with ball eyes and smiling. Mari took Rei's hand and guided her out, giving the three of them the moment.
Shinji lay in his bed after taking a shower and listening to the sound of the shower where Asuka was, his body was feeling exhausted by the routine of the day, the training in the simulators, the preparation of the dishes for everyone, the stress with the anxiety of the whole process.
Closing his eyes for a few seconds, Shinji was soon in his private world, as he was distracted, Shinji didn't notice Asuka coming out of the shower who looked at his motionless body on the bed and soon began to remember her words at dinner, giving Shinji a smile, she soon approached him.
Shinji opened his eyes and soon found Asuka looking at him, looking around confused, Shinji didn't have time to ask why, feeling Asuka's lips on his, Shinji's world was turned upside down.
Breaking the kiss, Asuka looked him in the eye and began to speak. "Didn't you think you would gain nothing from all the work and words you said?"
Shinji felt confused, he didn't expect any reward for what he had done, but soon he felt Asuka's lips again, hugging her tightly, and they both lay down on the bed still without breaking the kiss.
"Did you mean everything you said?" Asuka asked as she broke the kiss.
"Yes, every word." Shinji spoke confidently.
- Damn, when did Baka get so good with words? - Asuka thought as she smiled, soon she reconnected her lips with Shinji's as they lay there, both again tasting their love for each other.
A few days had passed since Shinji's dinner, Misato was in her office again, she was anxious, they were already close enough to Tokyo 3 to start the attack, getting up and heading towards the bridge.
The news of WILLE's attack soon spread through the halls, everyone was eager to finish off NERV, everyone wanted to know when the day of vengeance would be.
Arriving on the command bridge, Misato pulled out her communicator and began her speech to the entire ship.
"This is Colonel Katsuragi."
All the crew members of the huge Wunder battleship stopped what they were doing, including the pilots, all were listening attentively to the words of their commander.
"Today is the day, today will be the day that all suffering will be avenged, today will be the day that the crimes committed by Gendo Ikari will be avenged, we will go to NERV and capture him to bring him to justice, we will make his actions for all the evil he has caused us, all the lives that have been lost, all the lives that have been ruined by this bastard, today will be the day that this ends, today will be the day that NERV falls." Misato concluded his speech strongly.
Shouts of elation could be heard from the bridge and nearby places, Misato looked at everyone on the bridge, everyone was looking determined and firm, with a final nod, Misato adjusted his uniform and ordered.
"Everyone to your station! Level one battle!" Misato ordered, soon alarms sounded saying that everything was going on high alert.
Turning to Sub-Commander Ritsuko who was standing next to her, she was holding a small box, seeing Ritsuko's downcast look, Misato spoke lower just for her to hear and took the box from her friend.
"I'm off to the cages." Receiving a weak nod from Ritsuko.
The way to the cages was slow, in her hand was a small box, inside it was a device that Misato hated, a device she judged unnecessary, soon she would have to do something she judged as a betrayal, put the DSS choker on Shinji.
The pilots were in their cages, they were waiting for Misato, Mari and Rei were behind Shinji and Asuka, in the background the three giants, Units 01, 02 and 08 were waiting for their pilots, everyone could see the commotion around them.
Shinji looked at his hands and realized they were shaking, opening and closing to control the shaking, but he knew it was a futile effort, his mind again was flooding with memories of Kaworu's death, for he knew Misato was coming with the collar.
His mind knew that she didn't want to use it, that it was an order from the council, but it still bothered him, his childish emotional part was screaming that he would never be accepted by people, that they would always see him as a monster. The rational part was saying that it was just a precaution, that the council was just taking precautions, that it was nothing personal.
Raising a hand to his forehead, Shinji took a long breath to control himself, Asuka was beside him, she could see Shinji's anxiety, taking his free hand, Asuka tried to give him the necessary support, she knew that Shinji's mind must be bombarded with doubts.
Asuka was looking at Shinji's face at all times, a noise came from the side, revealing Misato entering, she had a dark look on her face, soon Shinji's eyes fell on the box she was carrying.
Moving closer and ignoring the greetings of her mens, Misato approached the group of pilots, but her gaze was on Shinji.
"I don't approve of that." Misato spoke directly to Shinji.
"No problem, I know you wouldn't do that." Shinji replied trying to sound strong.
Opening the box, inside was the choker and the blaster pistol, looking angrily at the object, Misato reluctantly took it, taking a few seconds and giving a downcast sigh, Misato looked at Shinji who had the same look.
Shinji approached and felt Misato's hands placing the object on his neck, with an electronic beep, the choker closed and emitted a small red light, raising his hand and running his fingertips through the icy material, Shinji gave a downcast sigh, he watched Misato place the detonator in his jacket pocket.
"Misato." Shinji called out to her. "If it gets ugly like that time, don't hesitate..."
"That won't be necessary." Misato cut Shinji off before he finished his sentence.
"But..." Shinji tried again, but soon he was cut off again by Misato.
"That won't be necessary!" She repeated in a stronger voice this time, she didn't want that to be in Shinji's head during the battle, she pulled him into a motherly and protective hug, Misato spoke in his ear.
"Don't think about it, I trust you, I want you to be as focused as possible."
Feeling Shinji's nod in his embrace, she shifted her gaze locked on the other pilots watching, calling them with a nod, Mari and Rei soon joined Shinji in a collective hug, Asuka was reluctant to join in, but seeing Misato's look, decided to give in.
With everyone in his hands, Misato spoke confidently.
"Let's finish them off." Releasing the group, Misato ordered everyone into their EVAS.
Inside EVA 01, Shinji closed his eyes and soon began to concentrate on the feeling of his mother inside the entrance plug, it was strange to be alone after always training with Asuka, seeing the movement of people around, Shinji closed his eyes to concentrate.
On the command bridge, Misato could see the NERV geofront now exposed, turning to Ritsuko, Misato again looked to where it would all end, either WILLE would win or lose this day. Her thoughts were cordoned off with alarms of approaching enemies.
"Units Mark 04 approaching!" Hyuga shouted from his location.
"Evasive maneuvers! " Misato ordered.
With that the mighty Wunder began to move sideways to evade interception by the Mark 04 units.
"When they are in range, open fire!" Misato again ordered.
Koji began fiddling with the controls of the ship, maneuvering it to get the best view of weapons fire.
"Adjusting the aim." Tama spoke from his seat, he was clearly anxious.
Outside, Wunder's cannons soon came to life and began to lock onto their targets, powerful shots began to be fired towards the enemies, with the new Magorox sword based ammunition, the shots easily penetrated the enemies' AT fields, only leaving huge energy crosses in the air.
"Don't stop, keep moving toward the Geofront." Misato ordered from his seat.
As the Wunder approached its destination, hundreds of shots were fired, destroying many of the targets and losing others, the Wunder was maneuvering fiercely to get as close as it could to the former NERV base.
NERV.
Gendo was in his office, he could hear all the noise outside, turning to Fuyutsuki who was beside him with a tired look on his face, Gendo got up and started walking towards the hangar where the EVA 13 would be.
"It has begun." Gendo spoke coldly.
Fuyutsuki exchanged a brief glance with Sebastian who was standing next to him playing a game of Shogi, noticing Sebastian's small smile, Kozo only nodded at everything that was happening.
Author's Notes: Please review, your critiques (Good or bad) are very important to me, you know that I take a lot into consideration what is said and it also gives me strength to continue this translation project, of course the translation will have problems, but hopefully it will be at satisfactory levels.
Don't forget to also like the Facebook page, search for "Calborghete" and locate a picture of Shinji and Asuka, on this page I will post updates and it will also be easier for you to contact me.
Well, see you next time.
