A serious Misato Katsuragi was quickly heading towards NERV's command center. The trip back from the school that the pilots attended to NERV hadn't been long, but the woman couldn't help but feel tense at the presence of the Fifth Child among them. She had been greatly surprised to learn that Kaworu Nagisa was already attending the same school as the other pilots, and that he seemed very willing to head to the Geo-Front with them. The boy seemed to behave in a friendly manner, but knowing that SEELE themselves were the ones to choose him, she knew that he could not be trusted, at least for now. Still, she allowed him to accompany them and enter the facilities, since after all, if it wasn't at that time, sooner or later it would happen anyway. The woman walked inside the command center and decided to leave those thoughts for another moment. She would have time later to think about what to do with the Fifth Child, for now they had an angel to defeat.
"Report" Misato asked as soon as she approached the command center employees.
"Visual confirmation of the angel" Aoba informed "Zooming in as much as we can"
On the screens of the command center the image of a gigantic amorphous being, remotely reminiscent of a snowflake, was displayed. The angel was floating motionless inside Earth's atmosphere.
"It's not moving from our orbit, maintains a constant distance from us" said Makoto.
"Is it waiting for an opportunity to come down?" Misato wondered aloud "Or is it going to try to attack us from there?"
"Difficult to know for sure" Ritsuko pointed out "In any case, there is little we can do until it comes within our range"
"Probably" Misato agreed "Are the pilots inside the Evas yet?"
"Yes, all three are ready" Maya confirmed.
"Okay. Guys, let's wait for the angel to get close enough to shoot him. Shinji, take the positron sniper rifle and shoot the angel as soon as he comes into range, Rei and Asuka, you will take positron rifles and act as backup" ordered the director of operations by intercom.
"Oh, of course, let invincible Shinji take the most powerful positron rifle and destroy the angel with a single shot" Asuka said bitterly "Is it even necessary for someone other than him to go?"
"Asuka, please stop complaining. If I order Shinji to take the most powerful rifle it is because he is the one who has the highest sync rate, and therefore the best chance of hitting the target" Misato stated, not being in the mood for discussion.
Asuka grimaced but remained silent. Once the three Evas were launched to the surface and were properly armed, they took up positions at various relatively distant points to maximize firing opportunities, and waited. The minutes passed by slowly, without the angel showing any signs of trying to get closer to the Earth's surface.
"The target is still out of range" Aoba confirmed after several minutes.
"Stupid cowardly angel... Come the hell down already!" Asuka thought as she checked one more time how the automatic sight of her rifle was still unable to coordinate a precise shot. A few more seconds passed, when a bright light flashed on the scope's screen. An instant later, a beam of light completely surrounded Unit 02.
Alarm signals appeared on the command center screens.
"What's that?" asked a surprised Misato "Is it some kind of destructive beam like the last angel's?"
"No, no type of thermal energy is being detected" Makoto replied "There are similarities with an AT field, but the MAGI cannot identify what it is"
"Abnormal patterns on the psychological chart!" exclaimed a worried Maya "It's causing some kind of mental contamination!"
"A psychic attack from an angel?" muttered a stunned Ritsuko "Can they understand the human mind, then?"
"Damn you!" Asuka roared as she felt her mind being invaded "Get out of my head!" she screamed, firing her rifle several times. The positron missiles flew in various directions, none of them even remotely close to hitting the target.
"Asuka..." Misato whispered, cold sweat running down her back as she listened to the redhead's anguished screams.
"The target has approached the Earth's surface!" Aoba exclaimed "It's within range!"
"Shinji, now!" Misato urged.
"Yes!" the boy exclaimed as the automatic sight focused on the angel's coordinates. As soon as the shot was secured, Shinji pulled the trigger and a bright energy projectile was fired in the angel's direction, courtesy of the positron sniper rifle. It traveled at dizzying speed through Earth's orbit, until it hit directly against the angel's AT field... being blocked by it without being able to do any damage to the target.
"No effect... there is not enough energy to break through the AT field from such a distance" Aoba reported regretfully.
"But we're already using all the power we have available" Makoto pointed out.
The command center fell into complete silence, which was interrupted by a new anguished cry from Asuka over the intercom. Misato was the first to react "Asuka, retreat!"
"No, never!" the girl refused, clutching her head with her hands "I'd rather die than retreat!"
"Asuka, have you gone crazy?" said an incredulous Misato. The only reply she received was a new scream from the girl.
"Dammit" Shinji frowned inside his entry plug as he heard Asuka refusing to back down. Then, the boy opened intercom with Unit 00, his face appearing in the entry plug of it "Rei, take my position with the sniper rifle, please" said the Third Child, and before even getting a response, he headed towards Unit 02 at full speed, leaving the weapon behind.
Rei looked at him, clearly confused, and she wasn't the only one feeling that way. Misato's face appeared a moment later on Unit 01's intercom "Shinji, what are you doing?!"
"I'm going to get Asuka out of there" the boy replied, Eva 01 still running.
"Shinji, we still don't know how the angel's attack works, if it hits Unit 01..." Ritsuko began to say.
"Alright, Shinji, get her out of there and take her to the nearest extraction point! Avoid the angel's beam as much as possible!" Misato interrupted her "Rei, go to Unit 01's earlier position while we charge the positron sniper rifle for another shot!"
"Understood" the First Child noted, Unit 00 running towards the weapon.
Ritsuko glanced cautiously at the operations director "Are you sure about this, Misato...? If the angel incapacitates Shinji too, we will only have Unit 00 left to deal with it"
"If you have a better plan, I'm listening" she replied. Ritsuko was silent for a few moments, thoughtful.
While this conversation was taking place inside the command center, Shinji had arrived within a few hundred meters of Unit 02. The boy watched in horror as it twisted around on itself, hands clinging to its skull. The intercom with Asuka's entry plug was off, but he didn't need it to guess that Asuka would be screaming in pain. Shinji looked at the beam of light that surrounded Eva 02 with a hint of fear "I have to get Asuka out of there, but how do I do it without coming into contact with that light? If I could…" then he noticed the umbilical power cable of Eva Unit 02, firmly attached to the back of it and an idea crossed his mind "That's it!"
Shinji grabbed both of Unit 01's hands around the power cable and pulled with all his might. Eva 02 was thrown backwards, falling heavily outside the beam's diameter. The angel started to slowly track down its new position, much to the displeasure of the Third Child. Shinji immediately pulled again, this time causing Asuka's Eva to land just a few meters away from him. In a quick motion, he picked it up from the ground, hurled it on the back of Unit 01 and ran out of there, getting as far away as he could from the beam of light, which began to track after him.
"Misato! I got her!" Shinji exclaimed.
"Well done, Shinji! Go to the extraction point and we'll get you out of there!" exclaimed the woman "Rei, are you in position?"
"Yes, Major" the bluenette informed.
"Good, prepare to shoot again as soon as the rifle is charged again" the woman ordered.
"Misato, the positron sniper rifle will not be able to penetrate the angel's AT field no matter how much we charge it again" Ritsuko murmured.
"That is unless it gets closer" the operations director pointed out "What probability does the MAGI estimate about the angel getting closer to the Earth's surface?" the woman asked Makoto.
The man typed on his terminal, and replied a few seconds later "The MAGI estimates less than 1% probability of that happening"
"We should opt for another strategy other than the positron rifle. We can't leave an Eva out there waiting in the open again, it will be an easy target for the angel's psychic attack" the blonde reflected.
"And what strategy do we have?" Misato asked "We don't have any long-range weapon that's more powerful than the positron sniper rifle"
"We have one," Commander Ikari intervened, to everyone's surprise "Rei, put down the rifle, go down to Terminal Dogma and take the Lance of Longinus"
Misato turned her head, giving the commander a bewildered look. Then, she looked back at Ritsuko "Can it be used offensively? I thought it only served to keep Lilith inactive more easily"
"This is how we have used it until now, but it also has great destructive power if an Eva were to launch it," the blonde explained. Misato raised an eyebrow, but decided not to ask more questions at that moment, the priority was to defeat the angel.
"You heard the commander, Rei, go get the lance" the purple-haired woman ordered.
"Understood" the bluenette nodded, running towards another of the extraction points a second later.
Behind him, an unusually worried Fuyutsuki approached Gendo "The Lance of Longinus, Ikari?" the man whispered "If we use it without SEELE's consent, there will be repercussions"
"We have no other option to destroy a target in orbit, whose AT field cannot be pierced in any other way. That is reason enough" the commander replied equally quietly.
"Reason enough?" asked the deputy commander, raising an eyebrow "Seems to me like you're looking for an excuse to use it"
"The committee has begun with the mass production series. It's our chance, Fuyutsuki" Gendo replied "We must push the clock forward"
"Misato, I'm almost there!" Shinji then exclaimed, drawing everyone's attention. He was about to reach one of the extraction points.
"Prepare the platform elevator for its descent!" Misato ordered.
Unit 01, still with Unit 02 on its back, jumped onto the extraction platform, the angel's beam of light hot on its heels. He landed on it, making it shake slightly, and a second later the platform descended rapidly, taking Shinji and Asuka away from the danger.
"Good job, Shinji!" Misato congratulated him. Afterwards, she opened intercom with Unit 02 "Asuka, how are you?"
The image of a silent Asuka appeared in the command center screens. She was curled up on the entry plug control seat, her hands covering her face.
"Asuka…" Misato murmured again.
"Go away!" the girl screamed "Leave me alone, like all of you always do!" after that, she cut off the communication.
"It seems that the angel has affected her quite a bit" Ritsuko murmured "Maya, are there any signs of mental contamination?"
"His psychic chart shows a certain possibility of contamination, indeed…" the younger woman replied after checking.
"It would be best to take her to the medical wing for now" the faux blonde concluded.
At that moment, inside Terminal Dogma, Unit 00 extracted the Lance of Longinus from the Second Angel's chest, where it had been impaled for several weeks. As soon as this occurred, the lower half of the angel began to move, regenerating its legs in just a few seconds. Rei watched the scene with equal parts surprise and fear, almost deciding to stab it with the lance again. However, the angel's body remained motionless after that. The blue-haired girl stared at it for a few more seconds to make sure she could get away from there without the Second Angel doing anything else, and when she was sure enough of this she opened intercom with the command center again "Major, I have the Lance" the bluenette informed.
"Good, Rei. Go back to the platform, we'll launch you to the surface shortly" the woman ordered "Is Eva 02 already at the cage?"
"Yes, the pilot is being extracted" Makoto replied.
"Perfect. Shinji, go back to the platform too" said Misato "We can't allow the angel to attack Rei in the same way as it did with Asuka. She has to make an accurate shot with the lance, it's our only chance. We're going to launch you to the surface again as well so that you can serve as a distraction for the angel" explained the woman.
"Understood" Shinji said with determination in his voice.
"Eva 01, launch!" the woman exclaimed.
Unit 01 was quickly launched towards the surface once more. As soon as he emerged, Shinji looked up at the sky, waiting for the angel to attack again. He didn't have to wait for long.
A new beam of light enveloped Unit 01, while Shinji felt something begin to try to penetrate his mind. Without wasting a single moment, Unit 01 began to run again, leaving the diameter of the angel's attack, which once again began to follow it closely.
As Shinji struggled to stay away from the light, Rei surfaced as well, armed with the Lance of Longinus. The girl placed herself in a launching position, the Eva systems calculating the precise angle to hit the target. The girl frowned, gritted her teeth, took three steps in order to gain momentum, and threw the weapon with all the force of Unit 00.
The Lance of Longinus rocketed at dizzying speed through the Earth's atmosphere. An instant later, it cut through the angel's AT field like a hot knife through butter and literally disintegrated it instantly.
"Target annihilated" Aoba confirmed, to the relief of everyone present.
An hour later, Misato closed the door to one of the rooms inside NERV's medical wing as she let out a disgruntled sigh. The purple-haired woman was just done visiting Asuka, and that had left her conflicted. Thankfully, the redhead was for all intents and purposes, well. Her mental readings confirmed that the angel's contamination on her mind had been minimal and that no damage of any kind had been caused to her psyche. Considering that she had not been physically injured in the battle against the angel, one could assume based on that information that the Second Child should be fine at that moment. Anyone who had visited the girl at that time, however, would say the opposite. Asuka remained lying sideways on the bed, her head buried in the pillow, and the only words coming out of her mouth during all the time that Misato was inside the room were to ask to be left alone. After a few minutes trying to talk to the girl, the operations director had no other choice but to give up. Perhaps giving the girl time with her thoughts would improve the situation.
Misato was silently reflecting on this when she noticed the presence of several people approaching. The woman looked over and could see Shinji, Rei and Touji walking towards her down the hallway.
"Hi, Misato" Shinji and Touji greeted.
"Hello, Major" was Rei's more formal greeting.
"Hey, guys" the woman greeted, smiling hesitantly at them.
"How is Asuka?" Shinji asked, a hint of concern present in his voice.
Misato sighed again "Regarding her health, fine. The angel hasn't caused significant damage to her mind... but she refuses to speak with me"
"Yeah, thought you'd be saying something like that… she wasn't in the best mood when she got out from her entry plug a while ago" Touji murmured, feeling sorry for the German girl. He had seen firsthand the state in which she had been extracted from Unit 02.
"She doesn't seem to be much better in that regard now either…" Misato lamented "I've tried to talk to her, but she insists that we leave her alone" the woman stated "Maybe we should do what she says, but… I wouldn't blame you guys if any of you want to try to talk to her"
Shinji looked at the door at their side for a few moments, suddenly remembering how he had found himself in a similar situation in the past, contemplating if he should try to talk with Asuka at Misato's apartment many weeks ago, when she had locked herself inside her room they day before they faced the Seventh Angel together. That time Shinji had also considered giving up on trying to speak with the redhead, but in the end he still tried to do so, and at the next morning the Second Child seemed to be in a much better mood. Perhaps… he could give that strategy another shot precisely at that moment.
"I think I'm going to go inside. I want to try to talk to her" Shinji said.
"Are you sure?" asked a surprised Touji, next to him "I don't know if that will turn out very well..."
"Maybe not... but I'd like to try it anyways" Shinji said while smiling softly.
"Well, you know her better than I do" Touji said while shrugging his shoulders "Either way, considering the circumstances, I'm not going to try to talk to her. Asuka already doesn't get along with me very well to begin with"
Rei glanced towards Shinji before also speaking "I probably shouldn't go inside either" the blue-hared girl said "I tried to offer her my sympathies a few days ago regarding her negative development in her synchronization rates. She didn't react positively" she explained.
"Oh…" was Shinji's reply, who was not aware of that fact "That's probably the right call in that case, yeah…"
"I would still like for us to have lunch together, if possible" Rei said later while holding one of his hands "Shall I wait for you at my apartment?"
"Okay, sounds good" the Third Child agreed "I'll try not to take too long"
Rei smiled softly at him before she, Touji and Misato said their goodbyes to the boy, departing from there. As soon as he was alone, Shinji glanced back at the door in front of him, heaved a sigh, and opened it. The Third Child looked inside the room, in which the only bed occupied was Asuka's. The redhead was lying on her side, curled up, her back to him, with her head firmly buried in the pillow.
"Hey, Asuka" the boy greeted softly as he entered the room "How are you feeling?"
Shinji received no reply other than silence. The boy took a couple of steps, getting closer to the bed "Asuka?" he tried to get her attention again "Are you okay?"
"Leave me alone" the girl finally replied with obvious bitterness in her voice.
It hadn't been a very encouraging start, but Shinji had no intention of giving up so easily "...Asuka, I understand that your performance with the Eva is very important to you, but..."
"You don't understand anything" the girl interrupted him, her back still turned to him.
Her reply was not hopeful, but Shinji still tried to persevere "Well... I would like to try to understand you, Asuka, but if you close yourself off like this, I won't be able to..."
"You can't understand!" the girl exclaimed, still without turning around to face him "How could you, the invincible pilot without prior training, be able to understand? How could you understand what it feels like to work so hard for a lifetime to be the best Evangelion pilot only to turn up as useless as I've had?"
The room was silent for a few seconds, as Shinji processed what he had just heard. Then, the boy shook his head "You're right, Asuka. I can't understand that" he said.
"Of course not. Now let me alo-" the redhead started to say.
"I can't understand that someone like you could think is useless" the Third Child interrupted her.
Asuka's eyes widened. For the first time since Shinji had entered the room, the girl turned to look at him "What did you say...?"
"Do you really think you're useless, Asuka? Seriously?" Shinji asked, his eyes filled with disbelief "You're an Evangelion pilot, you've graduated from college, you speak at least two languages, and you've achieved all of that at just fourteen years old" the boy said, determined to make his point get across "Do you have any idea how impressive is to have achieved all of that?"
Asuka sat up in bed, staring at Shinji. He kept his gaze fixed on her, and she eventually looked away "None of that matters if whenever an angel attacks us it mops the floor with me"
Shinji shook his head again "I've yet to see an angel mop the floor with you"
"Don't play dumb" Asuka shook her head as well "My last three fights against angels have been pathetic"
Shinji brought a hand to his forehead before sighing heavily "Asuka, you're human, we all have bad days" the boy said afterwards "How many times has the opposite happened, and the angel has been defeated precisely because you were there to beat his ass? Because as far as I can remember that has happened quite a few times" Shinji stated firmly "Aren't you going to take that into account?"
Asuka continued looking at the wall of the room. A part of her knew that what he said made sense, but… another part of her refused to accept such an idea "...I guess, but lately I've been nothing but a punching bag for them, and my sync rate is very poor"
"So? You'll get better eventually" Shinji replied immediately "And in the meantime, that's what Rei, Touji and me are here for. We're a team, Asuka. I know you've always liked to fight by your own, but that doesn't change that we're here to support each other. If anyone fails, the rest of us are there to fix it. I've lost count of the number of times Rei or you have saved my life, and that doesn't make me a worse pilot or a worse person"
"But... I've trained my whole life for this" was the girl's next complaint "If I'm not the best with all that effort, what's the point?"
"Come on, Asuka, don't give me that. Just because you haven't been the best for a few weeks, what you've achieved as an Eva pilot is no longer relevant?" Shinji replied "Also, Misato, our friends and me don't care whether your sync rate is the highest or not or whether you defeat more or less angels. We appreciate you for being you, not for what you do aboard your Eva"
Asuka stared at Shinji's eyes again. She could see nothing but sincerity in them "He... really means what he's saying..." a warm feeling of acceptance began to fill the girl's chest.
"Shinji...why are you telling me all of this?" Asuka asked, her voice letting her confusion be known.
"Because you're my friend, Asuka, or at least that's what I would like to think" Shinji replied as if it was the most obvious fact in the world "A few weeks ago we were getting along very well, I would like things to be like that again… I bet Hikari and the others think the same"
The German girl looked away again, her expression softening while she remembered the good moments she experienced those days "I... would also like if things were like that again" the redhead acknowledged.
"Well, nothing is stopping us for trying to make that happen, Asuka" Shinji added.
Asuka looked back at his eyes. She smiled softly "I guess you have a point…" Shinji smiled back at her, glad to see that she seemed to be in a much better mood.
They both remained silent for a few moments. Shinji eventually checked his watch, he had been talking to Asuka for quite some time "Well, I'm very glad we were able to talk about this" the boy said while still smiling "But I should get going, otherwise I'm going to be late"
Asuka looked away, her smile turning melancholic "You're going to see Wonder-girl, right?"
"Yeah, I'm going to have lunch with her" Shinji nodded.
"Thought so" Asuka murmured "It's alright, don't make her wait, I'll be fine"
"I'm very glad to hear that" Shinji said with an honest smile. Then, he headed towards the door "See you later at home"
"See you later, Shinji" Asuka said back "…and thank you"
Shinji's smile widened before he opened the door "You're welcome. Bye" he said before leaving the room, closing the door afterwards.
Asuka stared at the door for a few moments, then lay back down on the bed "You're very lucky, Wonder-girl..." the redhead murmured before covering herself with the sheets again.
The door of one of the elevators on the upper floors of NERV opened, and a very happy Shinji emerged through it, heading to the closest gate with the intention of getting out from the facilities. The boy was very pleased with how his recent conversation with Asuka had turned out. The redhead could sometimes be a little difficult to deal with, giving her personality, but Shinji still appreciated her quite a bit, so seeing the girl in such low spirits during the prior days had not pleased him in the slightest. Hopefully, after that talk Asuka would slowly return to being the outgoing girl she had been in the past.
The Third Child passed the front gate and was about to head in the direction of Rei's apartment, who would undoubtedly be waiting for him to share lunchtime together, when he heard a voice humming close by. Shinji directed his attention to where the voice came, only to spot his new classmate and NERV fellow pilot, Kaworu Nagisa. The boy was leaning with his back against one of the walls of the entrances to NERV with his eyes closed, while he calmly hummed what the Third Child could identify as Beethoven's "Ode to Joy".
Kaworu opened his eyes and stared back at Shinji, his pleased smile never abandoning his lips "It's a nice melody, don't you think?" the boy asked.
"Huh? Oh... yeah. Ode to Joy is a very nice song" Shinji nodded, bringing a hand to the back of his neck "Sorry if I interrupted you, Nagisa"
"No harm done, Shinji Ikari" the boy said "By the way, you can call me Kaworu, there's no need to be so formal. We're going to be partners from now on, right?"
"...Alright, I suppose I can call you by your name" Shinji said.
The Fifth Child got a little closer to him, maintaining his smile and that calm attitude that seemed to surround him everywhere he went "Do you like music?"
"Yeah, quite a bit, actually" the Third Child replied, unconsciously bringing a hand to his right pocket, where his SDAT was "Do you?"
"Of course" Kaworu replied, his smile widening slightly "It is the purest form of art that the Lilim culture has created"
"Lilim?" Shinji asked, raising an eyebrow "What is that?"
"Humanity" Kaworu replied without going into more detail. Shinji looked at him curiously for a second, wondering why he would refer to humanity in such a strange way. He then realized that the boy had recently arrived at Japan, obviously from another country, so probably that was a direct translation of the Humanity to other language.
Shinji came out of his musings, suddenly remembering that Rei was waiting for him "Well, it's been nice talking with you, Kaworu, but I'm running late" he said after checking his watch, giving the boy an apologetic look "I guess I'll see you tomorrow at school"
"Do you have to go already? Where are you going?" Kaworu asked calmly.
"I... I'm meeting someone for lunch. Her house is near here" Shinji replied a little reluctantly. Not that there was anything wrong with being more specific about where he was going, but he really had just met Kaworu, and while the boy was treating him in a very friendly manner, Shinji felt like there wasn't enough closeness between them to be that open with him, at least for the moment.
"You're meeting with Rei Ayanami, the First Child, correct?" said the Fifth Child, much to Shinji's surprise, something that the silver-haired man easily noticed "If you're wondering how I know about that, she left NERV a while ago and when I proposed her getting to know each other better, she told me that she had plans with someone and left without speaking another word"
"Oh" was Shinji's brief response "Yeah... that actually sounds like something Rei would do" he admitted mentally "...Rei is a very good person, but also very reserved, don't hold that against her. She meant no offense, believe me"
"It seems like you know her very well" Kaworu pointed out.
"Um, yeah, I do. She..." Shinji blushed slightly, somewhat embarrassed "...she's my girlfriend"
"Oh... I see, I see" the Fifth Child murmured while nodding his head "Well, that being the case I won't keep you any longer. Still, I would like to talk to you to get to know each other better another time... maybe tomorrow at school?"
"Um… well, I don't see why not" Shinji said, scratching his cheek with a finger.
"Good. See you tomorrow, then, Shinji" the boy said as he closed his eyes again and leaned back against the wall "Give my regards to Ayanami"
"Yeah, sure... see you tomorrow" Shinji said before start waling towards the blue-haired girl's apartment, leaving the Fifth Child behind.
"Kaworu is strange..." the Third Child thought as he walked. Leaving aside the boy's appearance, which was evidently not ordinary, he seemed very calm at all times. He also seemed to treat others more closely than he expected, which Shinji... didn't like too much. It was not like he wasn't opposed to the idea of becoming friends with him but… well, he was also a reserved person after all.
He shook his head a few seconds later. Thinking about it, maybe it wasn't that big of a deal. To be honest, he had worse first impressions. He didn't like Asuka much the first time he'd meet her, and he and Rei didn't start off on the right foot either... and yet now he could say that Asuka was his friend and Rei was the most important person in his life. He decided not to draw conclusions about the Fifth Child before getting to know him better.
Putting these thoughts aside, Shinji continued on his way to Rei's apartment.
To be continued...