Throwing plumes of blood-colored dust into the air, Unit 11 ran along a prearranged path which took it over man-made hills and gullies created for the exercise. A thin beam of light coming from a rotating pillar on the top of the city wall stuck a point at the back of the Eva, providing it with power, keeping up with the Unit as it moved around. Several projectiles then began landing around the Unit, forcing the Eva to dodge the explosions. Seconds after clearing them, a series of walls, each wall a different height, shot out of the ground. Unit 11 began to jump over them, leaping hundreds of feet in the air, and making perfect landings with each jump. A large container then landed near it, and opened up revealing a pallet rifle. The Eva grabbed the rifle without slowing down or stopping. Before it, several targets began to pop out of the ground, staying up for various rates of time, and going back down before popping up again a few seconds later, starting the process over again. Unit 11 stopped, took aim, and began to fire, taking out several targets, though she missed a couple of the faster moving ones.
"Spectacular," Hood was looking at the exercise through a pair of binoculars. Shinji and Aida had their own binoculars and watching it. She's doing good on speed, but it appears she needs work on her shooting. With improvement, there's a chance she could beat Shinkinami's best."
"She is looking pretty good," Aida stated. "I would think that she is more than ready to take on whatever comes our way." Shinji didn't say anything, but that last comment sent a chill through him.
"Okay Joanna, bring it in," Hood said through the com. "We're done here for the day. You did a great job."
"Roger," her voice came through the com. "Thanks." Unit 11 began walking towards the flatbed truck that the three were using as an observation platform. When the Unit reached the truck, it started up and headed towards the city, the Eva walking alongside it. Shinji stared up at the Eva strolling along with them, as if it were on a Sunday walk.
"She is doing fantastic," Hood said to him. "We have you to thank for it."
"It couldn't have been all me," Shinji countered. "Joanna worked very hard."
"That is true," Hood replied, "but you played a significant role in helping her work as hard as she did. I don't think she would be this far along if you weren't here."
"Uh, thanks," Shinji said, not sure if he believed what he said. The truck entered a gate in the outer wall of the city, while Unit 11 descended down an elevator.
A week later, Shinji was leaving school when Miyashima ran up to him.
"Finally caught up with you," he said. "You have work today?"
"Yeah," Shinji replied. "She's meeting me here."
"Yeesh, how much longer do you need to do this job?"
"It's…going to be a while yet," Shinji dodged the question. "I'll be free after school tomorrow."
"If you say so," Miyashima said. "There she is now." The two saw Joanna approach them. She was wearing jeans and a black and white coat with the hood designed to resemble the head of a panda, ears and all when the wearer pulled it on.
"Hey, you're here," Shinji said to her.
"Y-yeah," she replied. She took a quick glance at Miyashima, and furrowed her brow, avoiding any further eye contact with him.
"How you've been?" Miyashima asked her, with her only response being to turn her head away from him with a humph.
"Jeez, you're still mad, aren't you?" he remarked.
"You really should apologize," Shinji said to him.
"I really don't see why," Miyashima retorted. "Besides, even you didn't know that would make her angry." Shinji crossed his arms, and stared at him, waiting. Miyashima in turn, sighed, walked over, and stood in front of her.
"Look, I'm sorry that I called you Joey," he said to her. "I didn't realize that you didn't like being called that, but in my defense, you didn't tell me when Shinji first introduced us. I was just trying to lighten things up. That's my style." Joanna studied him for a few moments.
"Maybe… you're right," she said. "I'll forgive you on this, but don't call me by that name again."
"See, it all worked out," Shinji said. "I think that there is a lesson you can take away from this, don't you agree?" Miyashima thought about it for a moment.
"Not that I can think of," he replied. "I have to get going. See you around Shinjiko." This time, it was Shinji that furrowed his brow. The two watched him leave for a minute, followed by Joanna turning to Shinji.
"Shinjiko?" she asked. "What's he talking about?"
"Well, it's something you don't know about," Shinji replied. "It was during our school's cultural festival, and there weren't enough girls in the astronomy club, and- anyway, he's a nice guy, so I hope you can get along with him."
"I-I'll try," she said. Shinji then saw that Joanna was looking past him. "Uh, do you know her?" He turned around to find Miyoko standing there.
"Uh, oh, hello there…" he never did find out her last name. "Uh, Miyoko-san." He hoped that she wouldn't be too insulted by calling her that.
"I…see that you are well, Ikari," Miyoko replied.
"Is there something I can do for you?" Shinji asked her. "There's a place we need to be, and-"
"I…just wanted to see how you were doing," Miyoko said. Both Shinji and Joanna looked at her in confusion, but before anyone else could speak, a couple of girls crowded around Miyoko, distracting her with idle bits of chit-chat.
"Uh, we have to get going," Shinji said as he started to walk, pushing Joanna along with him. "See you tomorrow." Miyoko tried to chase after him, but was prevented by her friends from doing so.
"That was weird," Shinji said after they were away.
"She seems nice," Joanna said. "She probably just wants to talk."
"But we've never talked before, that's the weird part," Shinji countered. "Why?"
"Maybe…she likes you," Joanna answered. Shinji thought about it for a few seconds.
"Impossible," Shinji shook his head. "She doesn't know me. She'd be wasting her time." He then felt a sharp jab into his side.
"Ow, what was that for?" he asked as Joanna stepped away from him, straightening out her elbow she used to jab him.
"Respect a girl's feelings," she said. "Even if you don't share them."
"Okay, I get it," Shinji said as he rubbed his side. "So what do I do, whether or not she likes me?"
"I-I suppose talk to her," Joanna replied. "At the very least, send her a message or leave a note in her locker. Do…Japanese schools have lockers?"
"There are lockers to put your shoes in," he answered. "Not those big lockers in Western schools that I've seen on TV and in the movies."
"Really," was all she said as the two continued to walk, their conversation drifting to how each others day went as they made their way to Headquarters.
As Shinji slept, he dreamed that he was on a ship, sailing on the open red sea. No one else was on board, but he knew that the ship was heading South. Shinji walked to the bow, and looked out upon the water. He also saw the stars in the night sky, but he could not recognize any constellations. And in the far distance, a bright column of light could seen in the South.
As Shinji looked out upon it wondering what it was, a dark cloud came and began to cover the sky. He saw that the clouds were thick and rolling through the sky at great speed, their colors ranging from light pink to a blood red, swirling all together. Lightning flashed, and he could see the frothing waves crash upon the sides of the ship. Shinji then heard a loud pounding sound. It didn't sound like thunder. It seemed to be coming from somewhere else. His vision filled with light, but the pounding continued, and as he began to wake up. Burke burst through, wearing his night clothes, and the whiskers on his face could be seen in the morning light.
"Wake up!" he shouted at Shinji.
"Wha-What's going on?" Shinji asked, half-successful in stifling a yawn.
"Get Joanna," Burke replied. "We're on alert." Shinji sat up on his bed, now awake.
"What happened?" he asked.
"Look outside your window," Burke replied. "Shinji got out of bed and sprinted to the window, setting aside the curtain. At first, nothing appeared to be out of the ordinary, at least before he heard the sound of sirens in the distance. He then saw to his right the familiar shape of the Wunder, but it did not bring happiness to him like it usually did, instead bringing terror as that shape was distorted by plumes of smoke that was billowing from it, and the glow from the fires that were happening on board.
"How-How did," he began to say before Burke cut him off.
"I don't have time to explain. Get Joanna, and help her prepare for combat."
"You mean go to her apartment?"
"That's why you got a spare key card to her place," Burke replied sounding a little annoyed. "I don't care if she's having breakfast or in the shower, get her and bring her down to the front of the building. There'll be a car waiting for her."
"Right." Shinji ran out of the apartment, fear coarsening through him with every step, wondering if the people he knew were all right, or of they got hurt in the fighting, or… He shook his head trying to drive those thoughts away. Shinji made it to Joanna's door, and after fumbling with the key card for a couple of seconds, went in. He made his way straight to her bedroom figuring that since it was still early in the morning, she was still asleep. He opened the bedroom door; and found her sprawled on her bed, blanket and sheets thrown on the floor, wearing a teeshirt with a faded pink unicorn on it, shorts, and clutching a stuffed panda close to her. He shook her awake, yelling her name. She awoke and let out a scream, which Shinji thought, given the circumstances, that it was understandable.
"We're going into combat," he said to her. After giving a very brief explanation of what he knew so far, Joanna got up and the two rushed down to the front of the building where Burke was waiting for them with his car.
During the drive, both Shinji and Joanna noticed that the city was quiet. Burke's car was the only one on the road, and the three were treated to an eerie experience during the drive. They could see the Wunder in closer detail. Around the ship, scores of helicopters, both military, and medical swarmed. Some of them were landing an taking off from the on board helipad. There wasn't as much smoke coming out of her compared to what Shinji saw earlier, but they could see in better detail how extensive the damage was. The smoke was beginning to settle into the city, giving a hazy stillness to the scene. The three of them could even smell it in the car. Around them, cannons and missile batteries, as well as other weapons systems came up from under the ground.
No one talked to each other during the drive. Burke was talking on his phone, trying to coordinate medical rescue and other matters. Shinji noticed that Joanna has brought along her panda, holding it on her lap. He also saw that her hands, which her clutching the key, were shaking in slight tremors. Shinji placed his hand and the one nearest to him. He could feel the trembling through his hand, but it soon stopped. Within minutes of arriving at headquarters, the three ran over to the ready room when they were met by Aida.
"We're downgrading to level two alert," he said. "There's no sign of the enemy for over 200 kilometers, so Jo isn't going into combat right away, but we do need her on standby." A small bit of relief came to Shinji, but there still was enough to worry about.
"What happened to the Wunder?" Shinji blurted out. "Are they all right? Is-"
"I don't know the details," Aida replied. "I only know for a fact that Captain Katsuragi is all right. She'll be here at any moment. I…don't know about anyone else." Shinji relief at that news as well, but he wouldn't feel all right until he knew about the others.
"S-So what do I do?" Joanna asked.
"We'll need you to get in your plug suit in short order. After that, you just hang out, watch TV, play games, do what you want, as long as you remain in the vicinity. We want no more than five minutes between the go order and when you are ready to launch."
"Okay," she replied.
"And you can leave the panda with Shinji," Aida added. She looked down at the plushie she was still holding and blushed.
"Su-Sure," She kept her eyes down as she replied. The door then opened and Misato entered, followed by Asuka and Mari in their plug suits, the odor of LCL emanating from them. The sight of the three brought great relief to Shinji, knowing that they were all right. While Misato's eyes were covered by a pair of sunglasses, Shinji was able to take a good look at the two pilots, and found that their eyes were dull and lifeless with dark shades below them, their lips were cracked, and their skin was pale. Asuka looked sullen, but even Mari, by what few direct encounters Shinji had with her, appeared to always be a bundle of sunshine, looked just a sullen.
"What the hell happened?" Aida asked as he walked up to Misato.
"Nemesis Series," she replied. "They attacked every thirty-three minutes…like clockwork." It appeared to Shinji that she was having trouble forming words, taking pauses every few seconds between sentences. "Kept it up for days. Most of us…haven't slept in that time."
"Why didn't you contact us?" Burke declared as he came up to them. "We didn't know that anything was wrong until the Wunder showed up on our radar."
"They…um…they always had one around to jam all transmissions. They were trying to close down the ring on us…close down the ring…" she trailed off.
"What do you mean by 'close down the ring?'" Aida asked.
"It's an old boxing term," Burke answered for her. "When a fighter puts their opponent in a position so that they can't maneuver around the ring. I think she's trying to say that she was prevented by them from reaching a city or base, and had to take indirect ways of getting here." Misato nodded in agreement.
"It…It took everything we had to get here. We…we need to be ready…they could be …"
"And we will be ready," Aida said. "We at full strength, and can take them on." He grabbed Misato by the shoulder. "You can rest now."
"Can't rest," Misato wasn't talking to Aida, but to an empty space behind him. "Can't rest now…so much to do…" She said the last words much softer than the others.
"We'll see to the Wunder," Burke told her. "There is a a private room where you can rest for a few hours. I'll have someone take you there now." He went for his phone and started to give orders.
"Asuka…Mari…must be on standby…further attacks…" Misato started to sway from left to right, Aida the only factor preventing her from falling over.
"We're bringing their Eva here for repair," Aida said. "They need to rest as well, and we do have another pilot." Misato did not respond. Shinji noticed that Asuka took a quick glance at Joanna when she was mentioned. A female attendant walked into the room and began escort her out of the room.
"We'll be taking you down to the medical wing for a check up, and then we'll let you sleep," she said to her before turning to Asuka and Mari. "We'll be back for the both of you shortly." After the two left room, with Aida following them.
"Okay," Burke said to the others, "I have to go speak to the Commander. Shinji, Joanna, could you two keep them company? I'll be back in a few minutes."
"Oh, sure," Shinji replied while Joanna nodded yes.
"Great, Thanks." As Burke left the room, Shinji turned to see Asuka and Mari standing there.
"Um…should we go sit down?" asked them.
"…yeah, sure…" Asuka's voice sounded distant. As Shinji and Joanna made their way to a large couch, Asuka started to follow them, but when she saw that Mari was still standing there, she went back and grabbed her by the hand to lead her to the couch, but she shook off Asuka's hand yelling that she was coming before she trudged over to the couch ahead of her. Once they all were settled, the room went silent. Shinji didn't know what to say as he couldn't say the things that were used in normal conversation, such as asking how they have been. He could tell how have they been, and it wasn't good. He couldn't ask if they were all right. He could see that they were all right, at least physically. And, based on what he saw with Misato, mentally might be a different picture. He felt he had to say something, but what? The question was answered for him when Asuka turned to him.
"You worried?" she asked him.
"A little," he answered, shifting in the seat.
"I don't know why," she said as she leaned against the back of the sofa. "Just give me a few hours to nap and to have our Eva repaired, and I'll get back into the fight. Just live your life."
"I'm not worried for me," Shinji had leaned in and lowered the volume in his voice.
"Then who?" The volume of her voice matched his. Shinji responded by nudging his head towards Joanna. Asuka took a hard look at her.
"I see," she said. "So this our hope against Nerv," she added as she took notice of the girl's panda.
"I know it's likely that she will fight sooner or later, it couldn't be avoided. But today…today, I'm glad she doesn't have to fight." Asuka now shifted her gaze to him.
"And when she does fight, what then?" she asked.
"When she does…" he began, but he couldn't finish. He no answer for her.
"You need to figure out an answer before that happens," was all she said.
"Huh," Shinji settled into the sofa, reflecting on what she said. He then felt a weight against his left shoulder. He turned his head to see that Joanna had leaned against him, and had fallen asleep. They had woken up early, so he didn't blame her. Shinji then felt a similar weight on his right, and turned to Asuka leaning against him fast asleep as well.
"What is going on? Shinji asked the open air.
"What else could be said sweetie," Mari said as she laid her head on Shinji's lap "You get all the bitches." Within minutes, Shinji found himself surrounded by sleeping beauties, not daring to move lest he woke any of them. The only thought that came into his head at that exact moment was that Miyashima would kill to be in this position. He relaxed and settled back into the couch, waiting for at least one of them to wake up. None of them did, and soon, he drifted off himself. A short time later, both Burke and Aida walked in and too a good thirty seconds staring at the scene.
"Give Shinji and Joanna another hour," Burke told Aida, then put her on standby."
"Right," Aida replied. Burke looked upon the scene again.
"Shinji seems to be in quite the situation," Burke remarked.
"I know back in the day, he did catch the eye of some of the girls in school due to him being a pilot, but nothing like this," Aida added.
"Normally, I hated guys like that when I was younger, but I have to admit that it suits him. I'll leave this to you." Burke left the room, and Aida turned to do the same. Before he did that, however, he turned back around, brought out his phone, took a picture, and then left.
School had been out for a week, along with other government buildings. Other than a few grocery stores, the entire city had been shut down due to the state of emergency, and as Joanna had to be on standby 24 hours a day, Shinji was spending most of the time at Headquarters, only going home to get things for Joanna or to make her, and occasionally Burke, a quick meal to take them. As there never had been any followup attacks, the day to day routine was beginning to become boring. As he was walking down the corridor, with nowhere in particular to go, he ran into Burke.
"How's it going?" he asked Shinji.
"Fine," Shinji replied, "but I can't wait until everything goes back to normal."
"Hopefully, you don't have to wait long," Burke stated. The main speculation is that Nerv is going after the Wunder. We believe that once the ship is repaired and they leave, we'll be able to stand down. And the repairs are about 70% complete, so that means it'll just be a few more days before everything does go back to normal.
"That's good to hear," Shinji said. "But why is the Wunder being targeted?"
"That ship is the tip of the spear in our fight with Nerv," Burke answered. "They probably think that taking them down will put the war in their favor."
"Oh," Shinji said. "I hope they'll be all right."
"They will be fine," Burke said. "Katsuragi is already chomping at the bit to get back in the field."
"Huh…" Shinji became lost in thought, which Burke picked up on.
"What's up?" he asked.
"Nothing," Shinji replied. "It's just that I'm pretty amazed that after all that she has been through recently, she still wants to go back out there."
"She's a tough person," Burke said. "She's really driven to do her duty." Burke was about to say more when Aida came up to him.
"Good morning Vice-Commander," he said to Burke while handing a clipboard to him. "I need you to sign this."
"Commander goes off to Hamburg, and I get stuck doing all the crap work," he muttered as he signed the paper and returned it to him.
"We always appreciate your leadership," Aida remarked. Neither Shinji or Burke could tell if he was being sarcastic or not.
"Why is he there?" Shinji asked.
"He has meeting with top-level brass regarding the attack on the Wunder, and how to deal with the situation," Burke replied. "Matters that can't be done over regular channels."
"I'm surprised he took the risk, considering the situation," Aida said. "I hope you don't mind me asking, but you were talking about someone being driven?"
"Shinji and I were talking about Captain Katsuragi," Burke answered. "I was just saying to him that she always had this drive for victory, and from what I heard, that was true even back when he was an active pilot."
"But why?" Shinji asked them. "Kaji told me a little about her past, and I know how much danger the world is in, but I don't understand what exactly drives her. Is it revenge?"
"Revenge?" Burke asked.
"He tasks me," Aida added, and he was about to say more when Burke interrupted him.
"'He tasks me; he heaps me; I see in him outrageous strength, with an inscrutable malice sinewing it. That inscrutable thing is chiefly what I hate; and be the white whale agent, or be the white whale principal, I will wreak that hate upon him,'"Burke gave a slight smile. "Always had a soft spot for Moby Dick."
"Well…" Aida began as he looked toward him with a blank look on his face. "I was going to quote Star Trek II, but I suppose that would work as well." The smile from Burke's face faded as he took in Aida's words.
"Well, uh, anyway," he turned towards Shinji, "there is no way that Katsuragi would end up like Ahab, or even Khan." He turned towards Aida on those last words. "Anyway, I have a meeting to get to. Se you around." Shinji and Aida watched Burke walk away.
"To be honest, I have no idea what the reason is," Aida said when Burke is out of earshot. "If you really want to know, it would be best to ask her."
"You think so?" Shinji asked.
"Sure," Aida replied. "It'll be a few days before the Wunder is back on the field, so now would be the perfect time to ask her."
"Do-Do you think so?" Shinji asked. "Aida looked at him with a compassionate look on his face.
"Is it hard to talk to her?" he asked. Shinji shrugged in reply.
"It's been so long," he said. "I mean, the last meaningful conversation we had was fourteen years ago, and that ended when I walked out of the apartment on her. So much has happened for the both of us, and I don't know how to reconnect, or even if she wants to. I know her reasoning for the way she acted when I was on board the Wunder, and I don't blame her. But she hasn't tried to contact me, even Asuka and Mari contact me from time to time." Aida stood there for a moment looking at him. He then began to rifle some papers he had in his hand.
"I think I might have the solution right…here." He pulled out a sheet of paper from the pile. "This needs this to get to her as soon as possible, and I don't have time to give it her today. Could you do me a favor and take this to her place?"
"Uh, well," Shinji began.
"Great, thanks." Aida was already halfway down the corridor when he said those words. "See you later." Shinji stood in the now empty corridor with the paper in his hand, thinking up excuses that he couldn't use as there was no one to them to. All he could do was sigh at the situation he found himself in.
An hour later, Shinji found himself in front of Misato's apartment door. He had to go through with it. This was something she had to receive. Yet, other thoughts were racing in his mind. What if she didn't want to talk to him? What the hell was he going to say to her if she did? Once again, his finger hesitated over the doorbell button, but unlike last time, he at last pushed it. Shinji waited for about a minute and raised his hand to press it again when the door opened. To his surprise, he found Miyoko standing in the open door way.
"Ikari?" she asked with a confused look on her face. Shinji looked at the nameplate again to confirm this was Misato's apartment, which it was, before turning back to her.
"Why would you…be… Shinji began, but couldn't finish his question due to the confusion. Miyoko gave him a once over with her eyes, noticing the Wille jacket he was wearing along with the paper in his hand. She sighed, and then shouted at the top of her lungs.
"Mom!"
