I apologize for the typos present in my previous chapters. I am working to make sure they say as low as possible. God, I hate typos...

Trying to sit up in his hospital bed caused an enourmous wave of pressure and sharp pain to rise in Shinji's chest. It felt as if a gigantic weight had crashed into him. Rei was at his side, holding him down.

"Do not try to move. You sustained trauma to several ribs and internal organs from the Angel's attack. The damage has been repaired, but there will be some...lasting discomfort."

"How long was I out for?" Shinji asked.

"Six hours, forty-nine minutes. After the Fifth Angel disabled your EVA, it deployed a drill of some sort that is currently boring through the armor plate of NERV. It will reach the Central Core by midnight tonight. That cannot happen."

"That fucker shut me down. I've never hurt that much in my life." Shinji cracked his neck, bringing the feeling back in it.

"The Angel has been confirmed as using a high-energy proton beam, vastly superior to conventional weaponry. It fires at the speed of light. You never had a chance with a conventional physical engagement."

"All right. hand-to-hand is out. What can we do?"

"Captain Katsuragi has devised a plan of attack against the Angel. We will be briefed shortly."

"We? I thought Unit 00 was still locked down?"

"My re-sync test with Unit 00 was successful. I will be alongside you for this operation. Are you well enough to move?"

"Yes...help me up." Shinji reached out an arm to Rei. She grabbed his hand and tried to pull him to his feet. But even injured, Shinji was still quite strong. He pulled Rei off her feet and she fell on top of him.

"This seems to be happening a lot, the two of us on top of each other." Shinji said, trying to lighten the mood. But the truth was that although Rei was a light girl, she only increased the pressure in his chest. A trickle of blood came from the corner of his mouth.

Rei immediately stood up. "I-I am sorry. I have injured you again."

"I'd rather it be you than some Angel." Shinji said. He was unprepared for the naked look of doubt and fear on her face. it was only for a moment before her face evened out and the moment passed. What was that about?

"Let's try again." Shinji said. "Let me get up, but you be there to support me once I'm on my feet. I don't want to fall."

With effort, Shinji slid off the bed, nearly falling. He waved away Rei, who moved to pull him up. We stood up on wobbly legs, holding his chest. Rei moved to hold his side, but visibly had trouble holding Shinji up. He outweighed her by at least sixty pounds, all of it felt like hard muscle. Eventually, the two of them made it outside, where Misato was waiting with her blue Alpine sportscar. The two of them helped Shinji into a lying position in the backseat, and then Rei sat in the passenger seat as Misato drove away from the hospital slowly, taking no sharp turns.

T-minus 6 hours to NERV Operation "Midnight Sriker"...

It seemed that the Fifth Angel did not see the numerous humans scurrying around in the periphery a threat, as it made no moves against them. Misato had previously briefed Shinji and Rei on her plan to destroy the Angel. Misato had requisitioned the JSDF's prototype positron cannon to use in a sniper-style attack against the Angel. It had been determined by the MAGI that the Angel only attacked once an aggressor passed within a certain range of the Fifth Angel. The EVAs and all of their support equipment would be deployed outside of that range. A buffer zone had been created earlier around Tokyo-3 and the surrounding airspace and waters. Sjinji and Rei would conduct the operation from a 4 kilometers out.

The positron cannon required a massive expenditure of energy, that had been calculated as equal to the entire power output of Japan. Measures had been quickly put into place to provide power outputs, energy filtration stations, and all other equipment necessary to shunt power foward to the cannon. Rei's place in the operation was to protect Shinji, as EVA 01 would be taking the shot. Misato had explained that Shinji's synchronization scores, which were higher than Rei's, was crucial, as absolute precision was needed. A reinforced heat shield, coated with an electromagnetic diffusion paint, had been requisitioned from the UN's space program. If the Angel sensed an attack, it would surely retailate, and Rei had to ensure Shinji's safety.

All was in readiness...

Rei was dressed in her plugsuit and was seated crosslegged on a service gantry that had been hastily mounted on a hillside on the city's outskirts. The sun was setting, and the red-orange of the daylight was giving way to a midnight blue/violet shift of night. In the distance, the sounds of drilling and tearing metal could be heard as the Angel drilled its way towards NERV.

Rei looked up as the sounds of footsteps on the metal could be heard. She could just make out Shinji in the darkness. He was wearing his plugsuit, and holding two cans of soda. He stopped and offered one to Rei. She held her hand up, signifying she was not thirsty.

Shinji shrugged and bent down, placing one can next to her. "Just in case." he said. He walked over to the railing of the gantry and leaned on it, seemingly detached from everything. A sharp HISS came out as he opened his own can.

"The technicians are undergoing final checks on the power leads and the power converters. We have a couple hours, and then we'll have to head out. Our EVAs are set up and undergoing system checks. Misato has a jeep and driver ready and waiting for us downstairs. He'll come get us when they're ready."

Shinii cracked his knuckles, and rubbed his chest. When he had been dressing earlier, he noticed in the mirror a slight circular discoloration on his chest, precisely where Unit 01 had been struk by the Angel. Ritsuko had told him that at the moment of impact, his mind had fooled itself into believing that it had been injured along with the EVA, and had psychosomatically reproduced the EVA's injury. Shinji found that hard to believe, but there it was. Recently, he found trusting Ritsuko harder and harder. She talked a lot of psychobabble, for one, which Shinji largely tuned out. Secondly, Shinji was convinced she was messing around after hours with his father. That brought her character into question for him. What she wanted to do with whomever she wanted to do it with was her business, but Shinji thought anyone who would be bedroom buddies with a snake like the Commander, they were hiding something.

He looked in the distance, at the Angel cutting through the earth. "Round two coming your way soon, motherfucker." His chest still hut, and he was still feeling short of breath. Something had to pay for that.

"Ikari."

Shinji turned around and sat crosslegged across from Rei. He thought the darkness made those red eyes of hers glow, just a little bit. It was quite striking.

"Something on your mind?" Rei thought Shinji's expression was unreadable in the nighttime darkness.

"I wish to understand your statement better. What you mentioned earlier today about Commander Ikari. In what way is he untrustworthy?"

"Will you hit me again if I tell you?"

"...No."

"He-he-the Commander, he never comes at anyone straight, you see? It always has to be on his terms, his way, the tables stacked against you for him. That's how I look at it. Look at me. I'm comfortable in my own life, getting myself together, moving on. Then he comes back up out of the blue, and it's like I'm a little kid again, not in control of myself, tossed out on my ass."

"That does not sound like a rational explanation, Ikari."

"Damn right it's not rational!!" Shinji barked, taking Rei aback. "It's irrational! Good! That's just how I feel. I get summoned here like some servant, and he acts like nothing happened. I would give anything, anything to smash that face of his...looking at me like I should be grateful, or something..."

"Ikari," Rei said. How to proceed foward with this was a mystery to her, but she would do so. "Ikari, can you...-can you forget the past?"

Shinji suddenly bolted up and grabbed Rei roughly by the arm, dragging her to her feet. "Did he tell you to say that?!" he yelled. "He wants to mend fences, does he?" Shinji's voice lowered. "You tell him-you tell him...when he's ready to burn his hands for me, then we'll talk."

"Burn his hands...? I am unsure what you mean, Ikari."

"Don't give me that! I know all about the accident with Unit 00. I know that he was first on the scene to get you out of the Entry Plug, and burned his hands doing it! When he can do something like that for me, then there can be room for...dialogue."

"Do you not believe he would do the same for you?"

"I-I don't know what he would do. I won't put myself in a position where I have to find out, that's for sure."

"The Commander did not order me to approach you regarding your relationship. In fact, he has not spoken to me at all regarding you. Your suspicions are unfounded."

Shinji released his hold on Rei's arm. "Please...please forgive me, Ayanami. I was out of line, grabbing you like that." He stepped away from her.

Rei faced him. "Yes, you were. But do not concern yourself."

"I want you to understand something. I feel...I think my life might have been better if he were not my father. I really do. I might be...happier, or something. Having to deal with someone who he has treated better than me...it's difficult, alright?"

"The Commander does not treat me 'better' than you. My relationship with him is not a familial one. My relationship with him is related to my purpose."

"Your purpose? What is your purpose?"

"My purpose, my duty, is to pilot EVA. Anything else is irrelevant."

"But one day, the Angels will be gone. This war cannot last forever. What will you do then?"

"I will die in this, Ikari. Of that I am certain."

"What the hell kind of thing is that to say?! You go into this with that kind of attitude and of course you'll die, you idiot! You have some kind of death wish, or something?!"

"This is no death wish. This is reality. This is fact. I have accepted this. You-you are grabbing me again, Ikari."

"How can you protect humanity if you can't protect yourself?"

"Protecting humanity and protecting myself are not mutually exclusive."

"Yes they are! What is the point of fighting, ensuring humanity has a future, if you die before you see it? In that case, we may as well pack up and let that Angel roll over on us. I'm not giving up without a fight, and neither should you."

"Why do you care so much, Ikari? I am nothing to you."

"I just do, alright? Leave it at that."

"How can you protect humanity if you can't protect yourself?" Rei thought as Shinji turned his back to her and resumed staring out at the city. What kind of question was that? And why did that eat at her?

As 'Midnight Striker' commenced, events went wrong very quickly. But nothing ever moves along strictly as planned.

At 2355 hours, EVAs 01 and 00 powered up and assumed their positions. Unit 01 had been mounted with specialized sensor apparatuses and linkups to satellites in orbit that transmitted positioning data and updated constantly. Shinji was briefed on the need to rely on his electronic lock on sensor suite, as the sensors had been modified to compensate for the positron cannon firing a beam that went along the line of the curve of the Earth.

When Shinji took his shot, the Angel, sensing the danger, retaliated. It shot a proton beam that intersected with the positron beam from Shinji's shot. The energies from these beams intersected and reacted, and gravity played a part. Shinji's shot bent, and struck the Angel, severely damaging it's drill. Immediately, it's incursion into the Geofront stopped.

The Angel's beam, however, struck Evangelion Unit 01 in the face, and the reaction was also immediate.

Every technician monitoring the com lines in relation to the operation suffered ruptured eardrums as screaming began emanating from the pilot of Unit 01, who had been blinded. The damage had been felt so severely that biomonitors of the Third Child's medical condtion reflected a similar blinding effect. Biodata showed Shinji Ikari's nerve endings on fire, and his retinas and optic nerves literally destroyed. The howling continued, and only seemed to increase, as Unit 01 began to resonate, screaming and staggering in relation to it's pilot's condition.

The screaming and noise became more and more chaotic. Every speaker exploded inside the NERV foward headquarters, and still, the night was filled with screaming, of such a force that the hills themselves began shaking...

Shinji looked up from where he was standing to see the bluest sky he had ever seen in his life. That somehow struck him as odd, because he could remember being very distressed over something happening to his eyes very recently. But the specific memory just wasn't coming.

Why was he here? He looked around. He was on a deserted street, standing across from a machanic's garage. It kind of felt like a weekend. Maybe that was why no one was about.

There was something in the garage he had to pick up, something important. He walked up to the door. Hanging above the door was a small sign. It read:

EVANGELION UNIT 01

That struck him as a strange name for a mechanic's shop, but whatever. He rapped on the metal door. A woman, grease stained, opened the door and looked at him.

There was something intensely familiar about her. What the hell was it? Shinji felt like it was important he remember who this woman was. He was sure he had seen her before.

"You're Shinji Ikari." the woman said, her voice betraying an odd familiarity he could not place. "Your car is ready. Please come in." she grabbed him and pulled him inside, off the street.

When had Shinji owned a car? He could not remember ever even driving a car, much less owning one. But something told him that a car, his car, was what he had come in for.

"I did'nt have a lot of time, Shinji, but I fixed your car." The woman said. He looked at her coveralls. The name Yui was stenciled on the front. Why was that name familiar to him? It struck him as terribly important.

"Refresh my memory. What was wrong with my car again?"

"Don't you remember?" the woman asked, a strange expression on her face. "You brought this car to me because the headlights were out. You were unable to see. Blind, in fact. But as you can see, I repaired the damage. You can see again."

"Ok...thanks?"

"No problem. I also did some...modifications, some refinements to the engine and body. Made them stronger. More work will need to be done in the future, however. But this will do for now." Again, she had that strange look on her face.

"Can you show me?"

"Sure." she said. She led Shinji to the front of his car and popped the hood. It came as no surprise to him that the engine looked like a metallic brain. "So what did you do?" he asked. "I don't see much of a difference."

"I reworked the reaction time, speeded up processing speed, the neural tissues fire at least twice as quickly now. All in all, the engine is quicker. But as I said, more work will have to be done in the future."

"Ok. What about the body? I don't see that much of a difference."

"Cosmetically, the body is the same, but structurally, it is quite strong. The superstructure has been reinforced, the joints, the muscles...everything. This vehicle is exponentially stronnger than it was in the past."

"Cool...cool. Can I take it now? I kinda have places I have to be, Miss...Yui."

"Don't say my name!" the woman, "Yui", suddenly barked. She softened. "My name...is unimportant. Only the work was important."

"Yui...Yui...why does that name sound familiar to me?"

Suddenly, the woman reached up and grabbed Shinji's head. Shinji noticed that his vision seemed to fuzz out for a second, like a bad TV picture. The word REW appeared in the corner of his vision, and the world appeared to run backwards for a moment. The word PAUSE then appeared, and the world appeared to stop. Next, the word ERASE appeared in the corner of his vision, and a snowy effect, much like a bad TV signal, enveloped his vision...

Shinji shook the cobwebs out of his head. What had he been talking about? Whatever. It must not have been important. "Miss?' the mechanic looked up at him. "Is there anything else?'

"Yes, there is. If you'll look at your car registration, make sure everything is in order..." she handed him a computer printout. Shinji looked at it a moment, before laughing.

My car...my car is named Shinji Ikari? That's kinda funny..." Shinji continued reading...

MODEL NX-01 "Shinji Ikari"

Current Design Cycle: 14 years old

Currently only one model ever produced

Features include:

High-level martial arts training in:

Shokotan

Muay-Thai Kickboxing

Israeli Krav-Maga

Judo

Boxing

Proficient in:

Gymnastics

Firearms-recent addition (small arms, rifles, light machine weapons, sniper rifles. additions in further weaponry areas pending??)

Classical Music

Cooking

Cleaning

Shipped to Osaka 5+ years after inital unveiling, recently transported to Tokyo-3, commissioned by NERV, a subsidiary of Gendo Ikari Industries

NEW FEATURES:

Improved response time

Increased adrenaline, dopamine levels, etc.

Muscular system enhanced by 4.3 percent

Enhanced visual system...visual acuity, etc. increased by 14 percent

Limbic system, skeletal system, etc. adjusted to compensate to increased and more efficient functions

Alterations deemed necessary for...future endeavors

Further adjustments may be made when necessary

NOTES: Minor design flaws made visible in relation to Gendo Ikari Industries...high degree of probability flaws can be corrected in time for Final Movement

Shinji folded the paper and gave it back to the woman. "Everything seems to be in order. If you'll open up your garage door, I'll take my car and be out of your hair."

"I'm afraid I can't do that just yet."

"Why not?"

"I-I would like to come with you, wherever you're going."

"What?! Miss, that's completely out of the question. I have something...important I have to get back to. I've spent too much time here as it is."

"This place...I have spent too much time in this place. Please, will you take me with you? I will not cause you any trouble. I-I-I just need to get out, if only for a little while."

"Miss, I think there's only enough room in there for one person, and that person has to be me."

"I added a second seat, you see? It will be a tight fit, but there's enough room for both of us. Please. There's no one else around except for me around here. I need a change of scenery."

"Fine. But any trouble, and you're coming right back, understand?"

"I understand. Just let me change."

Shinji looked away for a moment, and when he saw the woman again, she was dressed in a leather jacket, a red blouse, a pair of jeans, and black boots. Shinji got into the car and waited for the mechanic to close up her shop and roll up the garage door. She shen got in and slid into a smaller seat next to him.

With an ease that confused him, Shinji pulled out of the garage and began driving up the nearby street. Suddenly, he seemed to pick up speed.

"Miss? What's happening?!" there was panic in his voice.

"Don't worry. I won't be any trouble to you at all. I promised...

The ground stopped shaking, and the screaming stopped. Shinji opened his eyes. He was in Unit 01's Entry Plug, fighting the Fifth Angel with Rei. Odd. He felt as if he had been somewhere else. It must have been in his head. Shinji's eyes felt itchy. He would deal with that later.

He looked around. He seemed to have dropped the positron rifle. He reached for it and Unit 01 picked it up. He sighted through it. The lock on systems were destroyed, but he could still sight through the rifle perfectly. He saw the Fifth Angel in the distance. It appeared damaged, and seemed to be attempting a retreat, to heal itself and try again. Not on his watch.

Was'nt there something he had been told about gravity and the curve of teh Earth affecting the shot? Shinji remembered that. Suddenly, Shinji's vision seemed to...shift into blue. Shinji could see a bright blue line, extending from his rifle barrel towards the Angel. Shinji sighted along this glowing line, and fired, The positron beam traveled along the arc of the blue line.

The Angel got a shot off before it's destruction, but Rei stepped in and covered Shinji, the force of the Angel's last attack melting the shield in it's entirety and striking Unit 00, melting it's orange armor. The Fifth Angel was then cored by Shinji's shot, and fell to earth in flames.

After disengaging from Unit 01, Shinji leapt out of his Entry Plug and ran towards Unit 00. He pressed the emergency release built into the neck area, and Unit 00's Entry Plug slid out. Shinji grabbed onto the hatch built into the Plug, and began to pull. With a light tearing of metal, the hatch came off, releasing a flood of LCL.

Faulty manufacturing... Shinji thought. It had not taken much effort to pry off the hatch when he put his mind to it. Tossing away the hatch door, Shinji reached inside and pulled out a weak Rei. She was sweating profusely, and was red and flushed by the heat of the Angel's attack.

With a cough, Rei regained consciousness. Shinji lay her down on the grass and sat next to her, trying to keep Rei conscious.

Shinji turned around, feeling someone was close. It was the woman. Now, she wore a white business suit with white heels. She looked around her, and then looked at Shinji.

"It's been so long...free again...I promise you, You will not regret this. I thank you from the bottom of my heart."

Then she shimmered and dissapeared.

"Ikari," Rei said weakly, "who is that woman?"