The world suddenly... stopped.
Whereas just a second before everything had been wild, frenzy and chaos, now there was calm and peace.
Shinji realized he was awake. And outside of his EVA, even outside of his plugsuit, wearing instead a hospital gown. He was lying in a bed looking up. Something was missing.
The pain, he realized. After intense or long lasting pain, its absence could become quite notable. The pain... Suddenly his breath became haggard as he started to remember. That intense, all-consuming pain that had come out of the middle of his body. The lava inside Mt Asama, Shamshel piercing through his arms, Sachiel stabbing his head... nothing had been as painful as that. He was shaking.
And the angel isn't dead. They're going to make me go out again and fight it. That thought felt downright apocalyptic to him. He knew physical damage to his Evangelion was not actually transferred to his body, that he could not die from it, and that the pain would go as soon as he had desynchronized, or at least after the next sleep (or blackout...) afterwards. But the thought of having to endure such pain again... the pain had been so all-encompassing that any potential repeat of it did seem like the end of the world. Something he had to avoid under all circumstances. Something that nearly made him panic by just thinking about it.
He closed his eyes and willed his breath to go slower. It was no use thinking about this. What would come, would come. So it had always been in his life: There was no point worrying about the future, because it was entirely outside of his hands.
He opened his eyes again and let his head fall to the side. To his surprise, he saw another bed there, next to his. It had obviously been recently occupied, its blanket had been pulled to the side, the way people do when they get up.
For a while, Shinji just lay there. After that disastrous fight, simply staying in bed and doing nothing was appealing. But he just could not clear his head of the fear that he would have to get out again and resume fighting. That he would feel that pain again. That made him restless. He was ashamed at how much he feared pain. He maybe was not a man yet, but he was growing up to be one. Certainly he was no small child anymore. I shouldn't fear pain. And yet... Just me being weak again. And yet... I never want to feel that pain again.
His thoughts made him jittery. He would like to just lie there and think of nothing, but apparently that was not possible. So he got up nervously. After looking around and seeing nothing of any interest in the room, he slowly and carefully opened its door to step outside.
Opposite to the room, the corridor had a window front with a view of the hospital park. Soryu was looking out of those windows.
"So... Soryu..." Shinji began.
She turned her head around. Her look was grim and annoyed. "Oh. You. So the angel got you as well?"
Shinji nodded, walked up to his side and looked out of the window. He was afraid of what she might say. Ever since the incident at Ayanami's apartment, the two had avoided each other.
Soryu turned around to the windows again as well. "I'm gonna get that damn angel. It's still out there somewhere."
"You still want to fight?" Shinji could not believe it.
"Do you think what I said before the fight was just empty talk? That I was just in it for a quick victory?" Soryu accused him. "No. I am an Evangelion pilot. A warrior. I know some battles will be painful. They always try to couch it in the nicest terms, but I know. I've accepted it."
"So what you've said is true?" Shinji asked. "That you've trained to fight for years already?"
"Since I was six," Soryu told him.
Shinji looked down. That felt... wrong, somehow. But apparently Soryu was not seeing it the same way, so instead he politely commented: "You have more experience than me." A pause. "And probably more strength. When that angel hit me... the pain..." He shook his head and whispered: "Worse than everything I've ever felt."
It took some time for Soryu to answer. "....yeah. Yeah it was."
Shinji felt surprised by her admission. But then, she sounded exhausted, and who would not be after that battle? Maybe she was for once too exhausted to shout.
"And yet... they're still going to send us out to fight again," he stated.
"Of course they are," Soryu confirmed grimly. "We have to."
"That's what they'll be saying," Shinji stated. "That it's necessary for us to fight."
"I say so," Soryu corrected him. "I know so."
That made Shinji look at her. He realized that he was seeing her for the first time without her A10 clips, which she was even wearing in school. Her face was hard and determined, as if cast in stone, with her red hair, now free of any constraints, surrounding it like a halo of fire. The modern Lady Tomoe...
"What... what makes you think so?" he asked.
"We have to prevent Third Impact, after all," she claimed. Her voice was back to normal – that is, clearly saying 'Are you an idiot?'.
"Third... Impact?" Shinji echoed.
Now Soryu turned around to look at him. "Yes. Third Impact. The reason we're fighting against the angels?" When Shinji just continued to look at her in confusion, she laughed. It was a small and somewhat bitter laugh. "They haven't told you..."
"Told me what?" Shinji demanded to know, now somewhat more lively.
"The true reason for Second Impact," Soryu answered. It sounded like she enjoyed her advantage in knowledge. "It wasn't a comet that hit Antarctica. Rather, an expedition found something there... a giant, humanoid object. That was the First Angel. During the probe, there was an explosion. That was the Second Impact. It took just one angel for that, Shinji. That's why we have to fight them. So they can't start Third Impact. And that's why they're attacking here. They want to eliminate NERV, their only credible enemy."
Shinji took a shocked step back. "So whenever we fight them...."
"Third Impact could happen," Soryu confirmed. "But also if we don't. That's why we have to kill them. That is the job of the Evangelion pilots. Three people with the weight of the world on their shoulders."
Shinji turned to look outside again. He certainly was feeling that weight now.
Soryu just chuckled, though. "You really didn't know. Bought the 'comet' line hook, line and sinker, didn't you?"
Despite his surroundings, despite the angel still being alive, despite his fears, Shinji felt he had to defend himself. "Most people do!" he exclaimed petulantly. "It's not like anyone ever told me before you."
Soryu still snickered, but it soon sounded somewhat bitter. After a while she asked: "So if you didn't know, why have you been fighting?"
Shinji continued looking out of the window. "Because I was the only one who could do the job. I didn't know the world was at stake, but... there are almost a million people in Tokyo-3. It's not the world, but..."
"Still something worth fighting for," Soryu continued grimly. Shinji was not sure if he would have worded it that way. Did I fight for a worthwhile reason? She paused. "And if you didn't know... then I suppose you really didn't train in an EVA before your first fight?"
"It was the first time I had even seen an Evangelion," Shinji insisted.
Soryu scoffed. "So you just stumbled into this whole thing blindly and just did as you were told. Well, I know the truth. Know why we have to destroy that thing. And I will. I will fight it. I'm an Evangelion pilot. That's my job."
She sounds so determined... Shinji was amazed. He breathed out. He did not have her courage, her determination, her strength. But maybe he could at least try. If really the whole world depends on it... The thought of the pain he had endured still made his stomach turn. He whispered, because he did not have the strength to say it out loud, but he did manage to say: "I'm an Evangelion pilot, too. I'll be in that battle as well."
They both looked outside the windows now, looking far away into the distance where the enemy was still waiting. Neither of them spoke a word.
This tense but still comfortable silence was interrupted by a rattling sound from the end of the corridor. To his surprise, Shinji saw Ayanami coming from there, in her plugsuit. She was pushing a cart, loaded with food, in front of her and stopped right in front of her two fellow pilots.
Without further ado she began: "I am here to brief you on the timetable of Operation Yashima. The operation will begin at 00:00. Pilots Ikari, Soryu and Ayanami will arrive at the cage by 17:30. At 18:00, Units 00, 01 and 02 will activate. At 18:05..."
"Just wait a minute there," Soryu cut in aggressively. "What is Operation Yashima?"
"Captain Katsuragi's plan to defeat the angel," Ayanami reported.
"Which is...?" Soryu demanded to know.
"Captain Katsuragi will brief you on the details," Ayanami told her. "It is imperative that you are at the EVA cages by 17:30. I have brought you food and replacement plugsuits."
Soryu laughed bitterly. "So Misato has deployed us yet again. While we weren't even conscious again yet."
"Do you have objections to the plan?" Ayanami asked her.
"To a plan I don't even know yet?" Soryu asked sarcastically. She scoffed again. "But don't worry. Since you seem to be playing courier servant for our superiors, you can tell them I'm ready. I know my duty."
Ayanami nodded. Then she looked at Shinji.
It took some time until he could interpret the gesture. When he had, he took a step back. "Of course I'll be there as well!" And more bitter and subdued: "It's not like I have a choice."
"You do," Ayanami simply said.
For a long time, no one said a word. They had come to a communication impasse... which was finally broken by Soryu when she sighed exasperated. "What do you mean by that?"
"Operation Yashima only requires two Evangelion units," Ayanami explained. "I can pilot Unit 01. Dr Akagi is already prepared to rewrite the personal data files."
"Dr Akagi..." Shinji echoed. He had not seen much of the head scientist yet. He knew she was Misato's friend, but he had only seen her in a professional capacity at NERV so far. Misato redeploys us without so much as asking us. While Dr Akagi prepared...allowed for the possibility I might leave. What did that say about those two people? What did it say about Shinji's guardian?
"I'm leaving," Ayanami announced. "Captain Katsuragi and Dr Akagi are waiting for me." She turned around, leaving the cart behind. She stopped for a moment to say, without turning around: "Goodbye, Ikari."
When she started walking again, Shinji shouted: "Wait, Ayanami!" Again, the bluehaired girl stopped without turning around. Shinji ran up to her. "You think I'm leaving?"
"With Pilot Soryu and EVA-02 present, we'll have two units available again even if you leave," Ayanami answered. "You dislike piloting. It makes sense for you to leave."
Except for what Soryu just told me. And... "Except for my promise," Shinji said quietly. Ayanami's head turned around. It was a slow, deliberate move, and yet Shinji was sure he had caught her by surprise. Shinji did not know where he had gained the sudden strength to speak so frankly, but he took it. "It still counts. And it seems in order to protect you, I'll have to pilot the Evangelion."
Asuka was annoyed.
That damn idiot!
What the hell had gotten into him to talk to her like they had known each other forever? Sure, they had both been injured by the enemy. That was why Asuka had failed to shoo him away in time. That was why she had told him what she did. And yet... I shouldn't have. That only sends the wrong signals.
It was kind of cute that he had piloted EVA even though he had not known what it was all about, had piloted it just for the sake of this overgrown annex to old Hakone... cute in a 'helpless puppy' sort of way. In a weak way, a pathetic way. He really was more serious than his classmates who were always mindlessly chatting about their newest obsessions or the newest gossip. But that did not save him from being a pathetic pawn, someone who had just blindly stumbled into the whole EVA business. Someone for whom piloting EVA meant nothing.
And yet, he had defeated two angels already. It was unfair.
Probably thinks himself oh so noble for having defended Tokyo-3. She had sensed it when they had been talking. He had lit up like an American Christmas tree when she had called that something worthwhile. Pfah. Yes, he did fight even though he did not know what was at stake. That does not make him something better. And what does it matter to him anyway? The harlot even assumed he'd leave! He whines about having to pilot EVA. For me...
For her, it was more than just her job. It was her calling. A weak idiot like Shinji would never understand what that meant, would never understand putting so much work and emotion and ambition into something. That was why she had to do something now. If Shinji really wanted to leave piloting EVA he soon would be able to. That was okay, actually. Not everyone was cut out to be a pilot. He was the outdated model; now the replacement had arrived. She had already killed one angel on the way to Japan. Now she would defeat the next one. Sure, its energy beam had hurt. But she was a soldier. Hurt was part of the job. As was victory.
Currently, she was walking EVA-02 to the temporary NERV encampments at Mt Futago. EVA-00 was behind her, and EVA-01 last in line. The towering, threatening expression of Unit 01 was undermined by its slouching walk.
With some irritation, Asuka noticed the cables on the ground. Lots of cables. Lots and lots of really big cables. There were power plants and relay stations with fewer power lines than there were cables here. Most power plants and relay stations, probably. What the hell is Misato up to?
She was not pleased when she learned the answer.
The three pilots had left their machines, which now were a bit downhill so they would be relatively easy to enter again. Misato and Dr Akagi had called them together on a stretch of road. There was electrical gear all around them and even now people were still busy setting everything up.
"The energy output of all of Japan?" Asuka echoed with Misato had just said. "Is that even possible?"
"Energy transmission is problematic, but not impossible," Dr Akagi answered. "All those cables have been laid for a reason, Asuka. Don't worry, the energy will reach the rifle."
"And we need such an energy output," Misato added. "It's the only thing that allows us to pierce the enemy's AT field. In theory, at least.
"In theory..." Asuka repeated. "Just great."
"The MAGI assures us the power output should be sufficient, but it's not like we have any other way to test this than going ahead with this operation," Misato pointed out. "We have to take the risk."
No. You mean we pilots have to take the risk. But Asuka did not say so. That came with the job, and she was eager to do that job. Misato's 'we're all in this together' rhetoric still rankled her, though.
"Aiming the rifle at the enemy will be a delicate task," Dr Akagi continued. "The positron beam will be influenced by the Earth's gravity, magnetic field and rotation and will hence not fire in a straight line. The MAGI will calculate those factors and transmit a firing solution, but it still is imperative the rifle is fired at just the right moment."
"That is why you will do the job, Asuka," Misato took over. "You have the best synch rates, so your EVA has the best reaction times."
"Yes!" Asuka celebrated. "Let's see how much that angel likes energy beams when they're aimed at it."
"You need to pull the trigger exactly as soon as the target indicators converge in the centre, understood?" Misato told her.
Asuka simply glared at her. She had done EVA rifle training since she had been seven.
"Be aware that before you can fire the rifle a second time, you'll have to wait for the unit to cool, replace the fuses and reload," Dr Akagi advised her.
Asuka quickly realized what that meant. "The angel shoots everything it perceives as a threat. If I don't destroy it with my first shot..."
"You will," Misato reassured her. Hah. Easy for you to say. If I miss I'll be killed, and that's part of your operation plan. "Rei, Unit 00 will cover Unit 02. If it becomes necessary, use the shield we issued you at headquarters. It should hold up to the enemy's beam for at least seventeen seconds."
"Understood," Rei affirmed.
Surprisingly, Shinji spoke up, even if he was barely more than muttering. "If it becomes necessary? What does that mean? Is Ayanami supposed to jump in front of that ray?"
"With the shield protecting her," Misato pointed out. "It's the only way to cover Unit 02, which will be prone in order to fire the rifle and hence otherwise completely unprotected and unable to dodge."
Asuka saw how Shinji repeatedly formed his right hand into a fist and opened it again. He looked down. "And I? What will I be doing?"
"You are our reserve," Misato told him. "To be deployed as necessary. Should Unit 00 or 02 be disabled, you'll take over the job."
Asuka laughed. "So he'll do nothing."
Misato looked away for a second. "...I had planned for him to hold the shield. He has the second highest synch rate, after all. The Commander overruled me."
Asuka laughed again. More bitterly this time. "So Daddy is protecting his little boy. Figures. All nepotism here in Japan."
"You get to shoot the angel, don't you, Asuka?" Misato reminded her. Asuka knew that tone. Misato had gone beyond just being annoyed now, but she was holding her anger back. "So what does it matter to you?"
"It means I'll need to rely on this blue-haired freak to protect me," Asuka argued. Already back in Germany she had always cared little just how annoyed or angered Misato was "And I'm not sure if she's up to the job."
"Her synch rate is more than enough to simply hold a shield," Misato pointed out. She sighed. "Look. The operation starts in half an hour. I expect all of you to be in your EVAs and ready to start action by then. I'll be in the temporary command post." With that, she turned and left.
Asuka looked at her fellow to pilots with annoyance. It really did figure. Shinji had whined and complained so much about having to pilot EVA, about facing that angel again, and now all he had to do was stand around. Silly boy. She could understand that it could be a daunting job for someone who had not trained all his life, who had simply been swept off the street by all accounts. But then he should just leave. Leave the job to the professionals. Or alternatively, grow a spine and just do the damn job. But not this wavering back and forth; it's pathetic!
"I'm sorry," Shinji was now quietly telling Rei.
"What for?" the bluenette answered.
"You'll have the most dangerous task," Shinji explained. "It should have been my task. Misato even said so. And now I can't even protect you."
This raised Asuka's suspicion. She walked close up to the two. "Protect her? What's that all about?"
Shinji's demeanour changed from subdued and quiet to more lively... and somewhat panicked. He almost jumped away from her presence "Uh, you see, it's, ah..."
"He has promised to protect me," Rei told her.
Asuka's head whirled around to her. Since Rei, of course, had not moved a single milimetre, their two faces were now close up to each other. "What? What sorta sappy nonsense is that?"
She was surprised that Shinji could make such a promise. Apparently he could pilot his EVA well enough to protect people, but from what she had seen of him she would not have expected him to approach a girl and make such a promise. But then, maybe I shouldn't be surprised. God knows what the two did after I left that dump of an apartment...
Shinji was, again, looking down and this time blushing; he certainly was in no condition to answer. Instead, the eternally unperturbed Rei did. Good in exams, can pilot an EVA, nothing shocks her... a fucking Wondergirl. Bah! The bluenette was looking right at Asuka. "It is a promise. He has held it so far. And now, I will protect you."
"Why?" Asuka exclaimed. "We don't even like each other!"
"That is irrelevant," the Wondergirl stated. "I will protect you."
She was still looking right at Asuka. Right into her eyes, in fact. Only now did Asuka notice just how red Wondergirl's eyes were. It was a bit creepy, but also kind of interesting. And Wondergirl's look was determined and calm. She means what she's saying. That did not surprise Asuka, per se, but....
She scoffed. "Like I need protection!"
She turned to walk off to her Evangelion's entry plug.
Behind her, she could hear Wondergirl saying: "Good bye," but she did not care.
Misato wasn't kidding about not being able to move.
EVA-02 lay prone, and both of its hands were holding a machine that even by EVA standards was a very large rifle indeed. I'm a sitting duck. Asuka did not like that feeling at all. She told herself over and over that it did not matter, that she would shoot first and that she would get the angel, but the uneasiness remained.
"Asuka," That was Misato through the communication system. "We're entrusting you with all the energy of Japan."
Can I have Korea as well? Asuka had a feeling she could use it. Damnit, in Germany we could've drawn from the entire European grid.
"We're counting on you!" Misato continued.
Yeah, yeah, no pressure... damnit, Misato! But in her fourteen years of life Asuka had learned that showing weakness was the surest way to summon problems, so outwardly she was the model picture of self-confidence. "You can. Don't be so dramatic, Misato, it's just a single shot!"
"If you say so..." she heard Misato mutter. And after a while, louder and more official: "Final safeties released. Load the gun, Asuka!"
Asuka did so, idly wondering why they even needed the most advanced combat system ever developed by humanity for this. For simply pulling a trigger. If it was the MAGI anyway who did the aiming, surely that was something that could be automated? Well, all the better for myself. The angel of geometry will by my first kill on Japanese soil.
"Beginning energy transmission to positron rifle," Asuka heard a male voice on the communication system. She focused on her targeting apparatus. Another male voice was counting down. "8... 7... 6... 5... 4...." Asuka thought she faintly heard Ritsuko shouting over the countdown, but her mind was too focused on the rifle in front of her to notice. "2... 1..."
"Transfer complete!" Misato announced. Not a second later the target indicators converged. Immediately, Asuka fired.
...but so did the angel.
No! Asuka saw several things at once. The pulse of light from the angel, a veritable light show above the lake separating Mt Futago from Tokyo-3, and both beams impacting the ground... both missing their target. A huge explosion rocked Tokyo-3, levelling several building blocs. At the same time, EVA-02 was rocked by another explosion. Fortunately, it was only the shockwave Asuka was feeling; there was no actual damage done to her Evangelion.
Grimly, Asuka reloaded without awaiting orders to do so. But she knew this would be pointless. Dr Akagi had explained how long reloading would take. I'm dead. But maybe I can take you Hurensohn with me. At least people would remember her as the Heroine of Mt Futago.
"What the hell happened?" Asuka shouted into the communication system.
The first response she heard was a groan. Misato sounded like she was in pain. Apparently the temporary command post had been hit considerably harder by the nearby explosion than EVA-02. Finally the Captain managed to say: "Ritsuko... Rits' says it was mutual interference. The two beams came close enough to each other to divert each other." Gravity, magnetic field, even other beams... this weapon is bullshit levels of sensitive! "Asuka..."
"Yeah I know," Asuka cut her off. "I already reloaded, but..." She trailed off. There was nothing more to say. I'll die as EVA pilot. People will remember that about me. That... was not so bad, actually. The Martyr of...
There was a sudden flash of light and then it was all over...
...except that it was not.
There was a sudden shadow in the light. Asuka managed to open her eyes again and saw the strong back of an Evangelion in front of her... Evangelion Unit 00, holding the shield in front of it.
She did it. She actually jumped into the beam. For... me? Asuka knew of course that this was simply part of the mission, but that was not what she was thinking about right now. Only that someone would actually take the metaphorical bullet for her.
She was astounded about that long enough that she realized only with some delay that the mighty shape in front of her began to fizzle at the edges. The shield! It's melting!
She looked at her targeting screen again. The indicators were still far from close to each other. Hurry up! Macht hinne, ihr gottverdammten Wichser!
She could hear pained breathing from the First Child in the communication system.
Hurry...
Suddenly, there was even more shadow inside the light of the angel's beam, and a scream over the communication system, but Asuka did not regard that. The indicators had just converged. She fired.
When she looked up again, she saw the angel half in flames and slowly falling down from the sky in the distance, but she paid no attention to that, either. Instead she looked right in front of her. EVA-01 had pushed EVA-00 out of the way and then, apparently, fallen over. Its entire left shoulder was shredded up, but that seemed to be the extent of the damage. Shinji was grunting in pain over the communication system.
...but there was no signal from EVA-00. Its entire armour looked melted, and the unit itself had fallen flat on its face.
"A... aya..." That was Shinji. He still sounded pained.
Asuka's face distorted in a grimace. Whining and saying her name won't help. Pathetic. She set out to work and had her EVA remove the half-molten armour above Unit 00's entry plug. EVA-02 peeled it off bit by bit. Finally, the unit could eject said entry plug. LCL sprayed everywhere. EVA-02 carefully laid it on the ground. Then Asuka ejected her own entry-plug.
EVA-00's one looked just as bad as its unit, just as damaged and half-molten. And the First Child was still inside. Asuka was not even thinking, but rather running on autopilot. Her previous negative feelings towards 'the harlot' were forgotten for the moment. Here there was a person who had taken the shot for her... and besides, Asuka could not have anyone die for her sake. That would only lessen her; instead of a heroine she would be the cause for a fellow pilot's death. And deep down she knew she already was not worth of Rei's actions.
The entry plug's hatch was still hot, but the gloves of Asuka's plugsuit were up for the job. At first, no matter how hard she pulled, nothing happened. Finally, the hatch's opening mechanism moved a little bit. Presumably, the heat had deformed some parts. It was possible the hatch could not be opened in this condition, but Asuka would be damned if she let that stop her.
It cost all her strength and effort, but finally, the hatch opened, and Asuka could look inside.
There, Rei lay more in her pilot seat than she sat in it, surrounded by a puddle of remaining LCL. Her eyes were closed and she was not moving.
"First! Rei! Ayanami!" Asuka shouted, unsure what to really call her but not letting that stop her. "Are you all right?"
While Asuka breathed haggardly, it took some time for Rei to move. Slowly, the bluenette's head turned and her eyes opened. She looked up.
"Grundgütiger, you scared me!" Asuka exclaimed.
"Why?" Rei asked. Even now she did not seem perturbed. "You said we don't even..."
"It's not like I like you or anything!" Asuka interrupted her. "But as you've said... it's irrelevant." Rei nodded weakly. "I'm still glad you survived the fight."
"I... am glad as well," Rei answered. "That we won the fight."
It did not sound very convinced, though it was of course hard to tell with the First Child. Before Asuka could wonder any further about this, she heard a half-shouted, half-grunted "Ayanami!" from outside. She got her head out of the entry-plug and saw Shinji running towards it. He still held his left shoulder, but he seemed to have no physical problems; was still a rather weak runner but he did run without problems.
"She's fine," Asuka told him when he had approached. She could not help but to sound dismissive.
Of course, that did not stop him from sticking his head inside the entry plug. Asuka soon heard soft whimpers from inside. Shinji's shoulders were shaking.
He's crying. Asuka muttered, half to herself: "You care about her that much?"
He hastily withdrew from the entry-plug. He positioned himself in front of her, and then bowed rigidly. "Thank you for taking care of Ayanami while I was still in my EVA."
Asuka made a confused grimace. She knew about bowing and its different variants and all that, of course, but seeing it in action was still weird. And that it was directed towards her made her uncomfortable. She could see that he was sincere. One takes the shot for me, the other thanks me so profoundly... It confused her. Even if she would never admit to it, she had little experience with people acting that way, doing things for her.
Asuka coughed to overplay her emotions. "Yeah well, we need to get the First out of there. Which we could already have done if you had only shown up a bit earlier, you know!"
"I'm sorry..." Shinji muttered.
What? She had not actually intended to accuse him. After all, he himself had been injured in the fight. If it were not for that he probably would have been so quickly at EVA-00s entry plug that NERV's sensors would have detected a Doppler shift. And that was something he could have brought up in his defence. Instead, he merely apologized. How... weak.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Asuka said. "Think you're up for the job now, at least? I don't think the First is quite ready to walk to the Command Post alone, and she needs medical attention. We'll have to support her. Carry her, maybe."
"It's just some phantom pain in my shoulder," Shinji told her. "It's fading. I can..."
"I didn't ask for your medical history," Asuka told him. "Let's go then."
Gettting the First Child out of the entry-plug was a bit awkward. She could move and walk on her own, but she was very weak. After she had gotten up from her seat, Asuka and Shinji basically had to pull her outside. Then they took her in the middle of them, her arms over their shoulders, so that she could be supported.
Why am I doing this? I only wanted to check on the First. Oh well. Can't back out now. Besides, who knows what sort of perverted activities would ensue if I simply let Shinji carry her. Asuka looked over to her. At least she's wearing something now. Even if these plugsuits sure are flimsy. They were, mostly, very thin, so whenever Wondergirl leaned against Asuka it felt like there was nothing much in the way.
"Ikari," Rei spoke up. "Why were you crying?"
What sorta stupid question is that? Shinji did not seem to mind, did not even seem surprised at such a question. He just answered: "I was happy. I am happy."
After a period of silence, the First Child spoke up again: "I am sorry. I do not know what to do or feel in a time like this."
You gotta be kidding me! What is she, an alien? Before Shinji could answer, Asuka barged in: "How about, oh I don't know... be damn happy yourself? How about trying to simply smile, idiot?"
Rei looked at her, then at Shinji. The Third Child had a faint smile himself on his face and confirmed softly: "Yeah. Try smiling, Ayanami."
A second later, Shinji nearly missed a step. Herr im Himmel, can he be any more obvious? What does he even see in her? Then Rei turned her head around and smiled at Asuka.
Asuka was surprised enough that she nearly lost her hold on the First Child. It was a facial expression she had never before seen on her. She had to admit it looked kind of cute. Helpless puppy kind of cute again, to be sure, but still very unexpected from Rei.
"And since we're handing out life advice here," Asuka said haughtily. "Don't say 'good bye' before going on missions. That's way too damn final."
For those wondering why Asuka would even know that much about Second Impact (it's still a distorted story, of course), well, she shows the same level of knowledge in the manga. And it makes sense to me: Since it is still a lie, someone at NERV could have safely told her the story. She is after all a college graduate who could have started to ask too many questions...
