"WHAT DO YOU MEAN I CAN'T GO ON THE TRIP!?"

I guess she really did think she'd be able to go. Bringing my steaming cup of coffee down from my lips, I swished the bitter liquid around in my mouth, deciding on the best way to answer this fuming girl now staring at me expectantly, assumedly waiting for a damn good answer.

"Well, you know how you're a pilot for the Evangelion?"

"...yeah, of course."

I gave her a long look, and took another sip of my coffee.

Once she connected the dots in her head, she exploded.

"SO I CAN'T GO ANYWHERE!? I'M JUST SUPPOSED TO BE ON STANDBY FOREVER!?" Throwing her arms in the air she stomped into the den, tossing herself onto the couch. "WHOEVER CAME UP WITH THAT SHITTY IDEA IS A REAL IDIOT, I SWEAR."

"I'll be sure to tell Misato you called her that."

Asuka groaned loudly into a pillow. "I bet stupid Shinji just bent over and took the news without a word in defense, too! What a useless guy." Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if he figured the trip would be cancelled for the trio from the get-go. "Ugh, now what am I supposed to do? Hikari's gonna be gone for half the week, and I just bought a cute swimsuit I can't use! Was für schreckliche neuigkeiten!"

My head tilted slightly. "Sh-Shrek lick a noig…?"

Asuka sat up. "Schreckliche neuigkeiten! It means terrible news! This sucks!"

"Oh… sorry, sometimes I can pick out what you mean in German, but those words were just above me." She started kicking her heels into the couch cushions in annoyance. I walked over to the edge of the couch, still sipping my coffee. "NERV HQ has a pool you can use, if you really want to go diving. I could take you to the beach sometime too."

Immediately, her ears perked up. "Huh? Why didn't you say so sooner! We should go right now!" I tapped my watch. It was already getting dark out, after all. Letting out a hard sigh, she plopped back down on the couch, throwing her arm across her eyes in a dramatic fashion. "Why do we always have to wait around for the Angels to show up anyway, shouldn't there be a way of tracking them down and killing them before they come to us?"

Draining the rest of my coffee, I chuckled a bit. "If we had the means, we'd probably do that. I'd say just enjoy the luxury of being able to wait. If the Angels all stormed us at once, or we found… their hideout or something, it may just make everything worse. Don't kick the wasp's nest, right?"

She poked one eye out from under her arm to glare at me for a second before outing another sigh. "...no way we can go gang up on Misato and force her to change her mind, is there?"

"Something tells me this is a stance nothing would move her from."

"...okay, well you're definitely taking me somewhere so I can wear my swimsuit, or I will be very angry with you all."

I winced slightly. There was no way out of it, though I did bring up the alternatives to her myself, so I only have myself to blame.

The next morning I took my first steps into the den to find the balcony window had been slid open. I figured it wasn't an intruder, who would scale up the side of an apartment complex anyway, so I calmly approached to find the more likely scene I expected.

Asuka had herself draped over the railing watching a contrail.

"There they go, off on a great adventure. Scuba diving and local delicacies galore awaits them, while I'm stuck watching them leave. It's not fair."

"Well at least you don't have to go to school until they come back."

She looked back at me, a little sugar in her tank. "Oh yeah, you're right. I guess there is a silver lining!"

I smirked and walked towards the kitchen to start making breakfast. "Yup, plenty of time to catch up on your studies!"

"Oh, you cannot be serious!"

While eating we discussed just how much studying she should be doing for her days off. I say "we", but really it was me, telling her how much I wanted to see her doing. The enticement of letting her into the pool at the HQ was just enough to coax her into focusing on some actual work, though it was clear to me the entire time, her mind was still mourning the loss of her week of tropical island fun. After a couple hours of listening to her groan her way through a Japanese workbook, I relented. Maybe I was a little lenient with her, but what was the harm?

Apparently, I wasn't the only one with this idea, as when we arrived at the HQ, Misato had already brought Shinji and Rei there to spend the day anyway, and so, I was put in charge of all three while Misato had things to check on for the next few hours. The way she talked about her plans gave me a chill, however. It made me think there was a chance we'd be involved in another fight soon. I hoped it wouldn't come to that, but the Angels seem dead set on appearing at the times when we're just settling in.

"You're quite diligent, Shinji." The young boy had bought a portable terminal down to the poolside in order to catch up with his studies. I was impressed.

He nodded and smiled softly. "Misato just found out that I hadn't been doing very well in science courses, so she set me up with a work terminal to study for the day. I don't mind doing it since I have the time and all, it's just… a little embarrassing."

Chuckling, I sat on the paneled floor beside his chair. "I'd still consider that pretty diligent. You're not blowing it off while she's not around, unlike some folk…"

Both of our heads turned towards the redhead currently practicing her diving technique into the pool, sending a spray of chlorine-smelling water over the area every few minutes. I let out a sigh in slight frustration, even though I was the one who brought her here.

"...Asuka, on the other hand, is blowing off her studies within eyesight of me, and smiling as she does it. I worry about her grades daily, you know?" Shinji just let out a sheepish giggle. "You probably know better than I do, so how's she doing in school?"

"Oh, um, she doesn't talk to you about it?" I shook my head.

"Hasn't yet, dunno if she ever will."

Shinji took a moment to think, grimacing ever so slightly. When he finished, he spoke in a hushed tone, so as not to attract Asuka's wrath, surely. "From what I can tell, she excels in everything that's not centered around the Japanese language."

"Fair enough. She still runs into problems with kanji, I know that much."

"Yeah, but because of that, when it comes to taking tests, she's awful. Wouldn't hurt for her to be a little nicer to some of her classmates as well."

I stared at him for a second. "Do you mean yourself, or?"

Immediately he sat back up, his voice normalizing. "N-No, no, I'm used to it, but I saw her kick someone the other day for s-"

He was cut off by the girl in question hopping up out of the water directly next to us. With a slosh of water, she sat on the edge and squeezed water out of her hair before turning to us with a devilish grin.

"So what are you two talking about in secret over there, hmm?" Her feet clapped on the wet paneling as she made her way over taking a look at the terminal monitor. "Ugh, you really are a total dip if you can't figure out something as simple as science!" She tapped away at the keyboard, finishing the problem before his eyes, and flashing a prideful smile to top it off.

Shinji looked quite taken aback. "H-Hey, I was just working on that one!" Asuka scoffed and continued squeezing her hair.

"It's embarrassing that I have to be around a guy like you, who can't even figure out simple equations like that one! I mean, I'm a university graduate, so obviously it's no problem for me, but it shouldn't be you either!"

His face squished in befuddlement. "A… university graduate?"

Asuka whipped out a classic smug look. "But of course! The difference between you and I is just that great, silly boy. The only reason I'm attending classes with you at all is to get a better grasp at the Japanese language." She cleared her throat and tapped her finger at the next science question on screen. "Now, what does this one say?"

Scanning the screen, Shinji answered. "It's asking what the definition of thermal-expansion is."

She scoffed again. "Ah, yes, things even a child should know. To put it in terms you can understand, the hotter things get, the bigger they grow. Similarly, when things get cold, they shrivel up." Before Shinji could answer, she shot him a look. "So, if I were to warm up my breasts, they'd…" Her hands laid firmly on the front of her swimsuit top. Shinji's face painted itself red immediately.

"GAH! Why are you asking me, like I'd know!?"

In a huff, a bored expression fell across her face. "Well geez, I just explained it, you prude. I bet the Lieutenant knows the answer though."

Nervously scratching my neck, I coughed slightly, not expecting her to turn to me. "Uh, I think… legally, I shouldn't be involved in this conversation."

Asuka turned on her heel, walking back towards the pool. "You're both so boring! Not even fun to tease!" The two of us let out exhausted breaths.

At the other end of the pool, Rei Ayanami lifted herself from the water. She wiped her body dry with a large towel, and I noticed Shinji's eyes traveling over, seemingly gazing at her form. He noticed me looking at him and turned away, his face still red from Asuka's blunt question.

"LIEUTENANT, SHINJI! LOOKIE, LOOKIE!" Asuka's voice carried easily enough across the echoey pool room, but she yelled anyway, grabbing our attention easily. She had donned a scuba tank and was sitting at the poolside, her back facing towards the water. "BACKROLL ENTRY!" With a giant splash, she rolled backwards into the water.

"...I'm not going to get any work done here, am I."

"Probably not, no. Good effort, though." Shinji closed the terminal's screen and placed it back in it's case so as not to get wet from Asuka's rampant splashing.

It was about an hour later that the PA system in the pool room suddenly clicked on, interrupting a card game I had been attempting to have with Shinji (in-between bouts of Asuka spraying us with water), and the voice of Dr. Akagi came across it.

"Lieutenant Hatsuyuki, are you still there?"

I exchanged concerned looks with him and got up from my spot on the floor, striding over to the intercom on the wall, pressing the button to respond.

"Yeah, I'm here. What do you need?"

"Are the three children with you?"

A knot began forming in my stomach. I knew what this meant. "They're here, yes."

"I'm going to need you to bring them up to the tactical planning room. There's been a development." I answered affirmatively and the line closed.

Their feet clapping on the wet floor, Asuka and Rei both made their way over to me. "Does this mean what I think it means, Lieutenant?" Asuka started, excitement quickly injecting itself into her voice.

I shook my head. "There's always a chance, but let's get up there and see what exactly is going on before we jump to any conclusions." I looked over at Shinji, who was slowly packing the cards away into his bag, alongside the terminal. He looked dreadful, like he was worrying about something. "You hear that, Shinji?"

He looked up, broken out of his momentary stupor. "Uh, y-yeah, I'm coming!"

Asuka and Rei quickly got themselves dried and dressed, and the four of us took the elevator up to the main building of the HQ, and from there, through the dreary hallways until we were met by Dr. Akagi, and the technician Maya, who hurried us into the dark tactics room. I had only been in there once before, but the anxious feeling it had given me then had returned. Maybe it was because of how closely I related it to oncoming Angel fights.

Dr. Akagi's voice sounded in the unlit room. "Maya, set the article into the projector."

"Yes, ma'am."

Instantly, the room lit up with the middle of the floor being enveloped with this image. It was hard to make out at first, but when my eyes adjusted, it was clear to see what I was looking at was a…

"...is that an Angel?" Shinji spoke up, inquisitively.

Dr. Akagi nodded. "Almost. It's more accurate to say it's an Angel chrysalis, currently sitting at the bottom of a dormant volcano. We're lucky with this opportunity, so the plan for this engagement is to capture it alive. In a best case scenario, with as little damage as possible dealt to it."

"As little damage as possible!?" Asuka questioned. "What if it doesn't want to be captured and starts attacking?"

"Then the only choice left at that point is to exterminate it. Understood?" We all answered positively in sync. "Perfect, now, we only need one of you to lead the capture mission, so wh-"

She was cut off by the redhead pilot throwing up her arm and exclaiming her interest loudly. "OH ME, PICK ME!" She could hardly contain herself. "Getting to do a battle all on my own is what I've wanted since I got here! It just has to be me doing the dive!" Dr. Akagi's brow furrowed.

"Okay, you can do it, Asuka. Just remember, as much as I appreciate your enthusiasm, it's not a battle. It's a containment mission." She looked at Maya. "Send word to start prepping Unit-02 with the Type-D equipment."

Asuka punched the air in victory. "Ha! Don't worry about anything. Battle or containment, this'll be a piece of cake!" She raised her hand to me for a high-five, and I gave her one, even though I felt that sorta thing should wait until after the mission was over. In the back of my mind I worried that she was getting a bit too excited, too quickly. Those thoughts were sidelined briefly, however, when I noticed Shinji airing a sigh of relief. I understood what he had looked so worried about before.

He really wasn't a fighter, was he.

"...and what will I be doing?" Rei's voice echoed eerily.

Dr. Akagi spoke quickly, gathering her things to go make her own preparations. "Unit-00 has no compatible equipment in its current state. The repairs are finished, at least, so you will stay here at HQ on standby… just in case." Rei nodded. "Now, the three pilots will follow me. Lieutenant Hatsuyuki, you can go with Maya to prep the Eva's equipment, and make the transport arrangements."

Shinji's ears were piqued. "W-Wait, I thought you said you only needed one Eva unit for the dive. Why am I going?"

"Why do you think?" Dr. Akagi flashed him a small smile. "You're going to be there with D-Type equipment as well, in case Unit-02 needs a rescue." The worried look that had so briefly left Shinji's face had returned in an instant. We all walked out into the hall, splitting into two groups going separate directions. I was following Maya's lead, but after a few moments had passed, Asuka's feet came quickly clacking back up from the direction she had left in, until she stood just behind me.

"Lieutenant!"

I whipped around, expecting her to've forgotten something, but I ended up coming close to connecting with her finger being pointed at me.

"You just watch me, okay!?" A grin growing across her lips. "This'll be the most spectacular victory for Asuka, and I don't want you to miss any part of it!"

I stared at her for a second, confused at why she ran back just to tell me that. Of course I was going to be watching her, that was my job…

...but as I processed it, I realized. This meant so much more to her. A victory that she could claim for herself; that's what she craved. It didn't matter whose job it was, she wanted me to watch her succeed. That's what I needed to focus on here.

So I smiled. I reached my arm past her pointing finger and patted her barely dried hair.

"Go get'em, Asuka, and don't do anything crazy."

The newly grown startled expression settled into her face, as she quickly tried playing it off by looking away. "W-Well, duh! This is a super important mission!" With that, she took off down the hallway, disappearing around the corner, and so I moved along to start helping with the preparations.

Dr. Akagi spoke softly as we finished setting up the outdoor command center at the base of the molten crater's entry point. "They sure didn't waste any time…" I looked up to notice her staring at some objects in the sky. How curious.

Shinji's voice came across the radio system, a sign that it was all up and running well. "What are those things in the sky?"

She hit the button to respond, opening the channel for both Eva units. "Those are aircraft that belong to the UN's forces. They're here to observe the situation... and to respond if necessary." Asuka's voice followed up, a noticeable amount of pep in her words.

"They're here to assist if things get hairy?" Dr. Akagi bit her bottom lip for a moment in pause before responding. I raised my eyebrow, concerned.

"...not quite to assist. Moreso to settle."

"...what's that supposed to mean?"

The blonde woman let out a sigh. "They're here to drop N2 depth charges to clean up the mess if we fail. At that point, the lot of us are considered expendable, and so we'll likely be eradicated by the blasts as well." My heart sank.

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME!? THIS JOB SUCKS!" Asuka screamed back over the line. "THEY'D JUST BLOW US ALL UP, WITHOUT A SINGLE THOUGHT!?"

Shinji's voice came back, sounding like he was holding back screams himself. "What kind of person in their right mind would order something like that!?"

"These were the orders of Director Ikari." She spoke curtly. Shinji said something under his breath, but the static of the radio didn't make it come through clear enough to hear. There was silence among us for a little while, with Maya working away at finishing the prepwork on the outdoor terminals, and Dr. Akagi fishing for a smoke in her labcoat's pocket.

"...he really doesn't want to leave anything up to chance, does he?" I broke the silence. The two women didn't offer much in terms of responses, so I continued. "Though, like this, we can't really afford to, so I completely understand… but even so, something as drastic as that?" I turned towards the science chief. "You could've explained as much to us before we left."

She shook her head. "That information was irrelevant then. It's not like we could just back down when there's an Angel at our doorstep. Backup plans like this would be in place regardless of if it were here, or on the coast, or even in Tokyo-3 itself." Her eyes were cold. "You all should've expected a contingency plan like this far before now." I couldn't argue with her there. If we were afraid of dying, we shouldn't be part of NERV to begin with. She put the smoke in her mouth and walked towards the mobile base setup behind us, where Misato waited with the other operators.

...if I had known before coming out here what would happen if we fail, I would've at least tried to give my sister a call…