(The First Episode: Let's Get Together)

"You are always looking at her.
You look at her too much.
It is dangerous to look at people in such fashion.
Something terrible may happen."

The door opened, and for a second Frederik squirmed, before resigning himself to his fate. The light turned on, blinding.
"Get up."
His eyes were still burning.
"I said get up!"
He rolled aside, finally able to to see. He had seen the woman. He hadn't cared enough to remember her name. He stood.
"Yes?"
"Get dressed. Put on your shoes. Grab whatever you need."
"Why?"
The woman sighed and slid outside the room, closing over the door. "Two hours ago the Third Angel was spotted near Tokyo-3. Maybe fifteen minutes ago we receved confirmation that it was destroyed. It doesn't matter what you wear, just pack, you can change on the bloody plane. Unit-01 is trashed. Hurry up! The Sixth Child is probably halfway across China by now. I said hurry up!"
Frederik slid on his shoes and straightened the backs. "Ophelia?"
"You idiot! It'll be shipped- oh hurry up!" the technician shouted, slamming open the door. Frederik took his bags in hand and walked out. The lights in the empty bedroom remained on as he was briskly led through the hallways.
"What's your issue with me?"
"Oh, maybe because with you two gone, most of us are going to get laid off!"
"Oh."
---
The golden dawn was hardly rising, though only an hour or so had passed. Though he supposed that was because they were flying into the sunrise. He could read. But he didn't. He liked this feeling, of being above and looking down over the yellow-black earth safe behind every glass. He wanted it to last longer. It was almost as good as when he was with Ophelia.
At the ends of the long aisle stood a few Nerv guards. They were half asleep. What could they ever do? The artificial light revealed but one other person on the plane. Seated far behind him was a girl, Frederik knew her as Ro Aisling. He had briefly seen her a few times at Berlin. They never spoke for more than greetings. She was not at all lovely, but still beautiful. Ashamed, he snapped his head back to the lovely, airy wall of light that was the dawn.

Qiuyi sat in the pasenger compartment of the VTOL as it soared over the Pacific. She gazed wearily out the window, looking at the sea.

She was going to miss her home in Taiwan. She was going to miss her grandmother, her friends, her village...everything really. Still, she was excited to be visiting Japan. For all the terrible things she had heard in her history classes, she had always wanted to visit. After all, how could anyone hold a grudge for over 70 years?

What she was not looking forward to, however, was piloting an Evangelion.

She still remembered how excited her sister Fei was to be piloting the gigantic mechanoid. Fei had asked her to watch from the bridge of the test chamber, to watch her as she entered the beast for the first time. And Qiuyi had been forced to watch as the unit malfunctioned hideously, boiling her sister alive.

What was left of her sister was barely recognizable, just a wad of burnt, red meat. But for all the disfigurement her death had caused, her screaming face was still recognizable, contorted into a permanent mask as her last moments had been screaming for help.

They had promised Qiuyi that it would not happen again, and that the accident had been a complete anomaly. The core had originally been designed for Unit 02, but had been temporarily transplanted into the Provisional Unit, 03-2. After the accident, the core had been placed back into Unit 02 until they could make sure that a repeat of the incident would never happen again.

Despite her protestations, however, Unit 03-2 was simply taken back to the development stage rather than completely scrapped, and she was told that once it was found to be safe that she would have to pilot it.

Why couldn't they find a new pilot? Why couldn't she stay in Unit 02 whilst someone else piloted Unit 03-2? Why would she eventually have to control the monster that had killed her sister?

She sighed at the injustice of it all. Still, there was no point complaining. It wasn't like she had any choice in the matter.

She sighed, and leaned back in her seat. At least her plugsuit was comfortable.

Then she felt the whole aircraft judder as it decelerated.

"We will be landing at Tokyo-3 airbase in approximately 30 minutes, repeat, we will be landing at Tokyo-3 airbase in approximately 30 minutes. Out"

Well, there was no going back now. Still, it would be good to meet the other pilots.

She stared out the window again, looking at the transport VTOL accompanying her. Slung underneath it was what looked like a giant crucifix, affixed to which was a monstrous red and white titan-Unit 02.

She shuddered. At the very least, she supposed, it looked slightly less hideous than the black and green, 3 eyed abomination that was Unit 03-2.

The entry plug hatch closed with a hiss. The entire plug shuddered as it plunged into the back of the Eva’s neck. It filled with LCL and the walls soon lit up with various patterns as Leon began to synchronize with Unit-01. “Ok Leon I’m sorry we are putting you in harm’s way with so little experience but you are all we have right now.” Maya explained. “I understand.” Leon said cautiously as the Eva began to move into the launch position. “As you already know… We are under attack by an angel. JSSDF’s earlier efforts to neutralize it failed miserably, that’s where you come in.” She explained further. “So I just need to neutralize it right?” Leon asked her.

“Yes. We have no idea what this thing is capable of so be careful.” She said as a screen appeared in front of Leon showing the angel. It was grey with four faces facing in all directions and four arms, ending in long staves along with four legs jutting out at right angles. A red glowing core sat in its chest. Unit-01 was jolted as it was locked into the launch elevator. “Are you ready?” She asked. “As I’ll ever be…” Leon moaned.

“Unit-01… launching!”

There was a loud bang as electricity crackled through the air; the launch elevator flew up into the shaft. Leon felt as if he was going to pass out from the amount of G- forces being exerted on him as the Eva flew up the elevator shaft towards the surface. The Eva exited the shaft directly in front of the Angel. “Releasing locks! Alright Leon… there is a pallet rifle stored in the building next to you…” The angel shrieked. “Leon look out!” Maya yelled. Leon tried to run behind some buildings for cover when a flash of light enveloped Unit-01. He screamed as a large explosion rang out. A cross of made of light shot up into the night sky from Unit-01’s position. “Leon what’s your status?” Maya said worryingly.

The smoke cleared to reveal Unit-01 kneeling on one knee, its armor blackened and damaged. Its face armor partially blown open revealing the creature’s face beneath it. In the entry plug, Leon grasped his head as blood streamed down his face. “I’m bleeding a little… but I think I’m okay.” He moaned in pain. “Get the hell out of there! We will regroup and…” Maya was cut off as the angel let out a roar as it charged at Unit-01. Leon willed his Unit to its feet and began to run as the angel attempted to strike Unit-01 with one of it four arms. “Damn it!” Leon yelled as the angel successfully hit Unit-01 in the back of its right leg, sending it face first into the ground. The angel then kicked Unit-01 over on its back before it began to pound on Unit-01’s chest, alternating between its four arms between each strike. Leon yelped in pain with each blow.

“Damn it! We need to get him out of there! Eject the plug now!” Maya ordered. “Belay that!” The commander bellowed. “But sir! He will die if we don’t…” “I don’t want to die!” Leon cried out. Grasping the controls he let out a rage filled scream. The progressive knife deployed from Unit-01’s shoulder pylon. Shoving the angel backwards, Unit-01 stood up and charged the angel, stabbing it in its glowing, red core. Sparks flew from the knife as Leon continued his rage filled scream.

“Leon retreat!” Maya yelled. He ignored the command as he continued to stare down the angel. Suddenly one of the angel’s arms slammed into Unit-01 stomach. Leon gasped as the wind was knocked out of him but continued to push the knife into the angels’ core. “I’m going to kill you!” Leon raged. The Knife plunged deeper as cracks formed in the angels’ core. The cores glow faded and the angel collapsed onto the ground. Leon sat in the plug, grasping at his profusely bleeding head, shaking and with tears streaming down his face.

“He’s hurt! Retrieve the pilot immediately!” Maya ordered. The plug suddenly ejected after what seemed like he had been waiting for hours to be retrieved. The hatch flew open. Medics in hazard suit’s pulled Leon out of the plug and loaded him onto a stretcher. Loading him into an ambulance and slamming the doors shut, it quickly made its way to the hospital.

Things had gone from bad to worse in a short amount of time. Ro had been woken up in the middle of the night, told to pack a bag and get ready for a long flight to head quarters. Hastily getting dressed, she threw several bottles of pills into her bag, uncertain of how she would restock in Japan. Holding one bottle, she dumped out a couple of pills and swallowed them dry. It was awful. Soon enough she was out the door and being loaded into a car.

En route she asked the usual questions, how long would she be there, what was going on, what about Unit-03? She was met with very straight forward explanations, unknown, angel attack and it'll be shipped.

The flight to Berlin didn't take long, and the stay was exceptionally short as the plane was fueled up and the Second Child was practically thrown aboard. Ro shrank back into her seat as he sat several rows ahead. Panic started to swell in her chest as realization came about the whole situation. If an Angel had attacked Tokyo-3, were they being mobilized to fight it? Were they going to have to suit up together and go into battle. She couldn't bear the thought of it. She gripped the edge of her skirt and looked down, trying to fade into the background as the plane continued it's long flight.

Almost the instant the plane doors opened and the stairs descended, a young woman dashed inside. Her hair was short but messy, and there was a smile on her face.
"Hello Qiuyi! My name is Ibuki Maya," she said. "I'm the lead Eva technician, and I'm also in charge of your welfare and stuff!" She glanced down at Qiuyi's bags. "I'll take one if you like," she said, grabbing one regardless.
They walked out to a car, Qiuyi being told to sit in the back seat, while in the distance Unit-02 was being unloaded like freight.
"Er, yes, so the other children won't be arriving for a while. They're coming from Europe. So, how about I take you to breakfast?" Maya asked, in the manner of a question that needed no answer.
---
When the plane finally landed Frederik had reached a state of almost-sleep. He didn't move until the door opened and a guard grunted brutishly, and for a few seconds after that he struggled to find the will to stand up. Clutching his book, he walked out, quickly looking back to check if Ro was following.
"I'm Ibuki Maya," said a young Japanese woman waiting just outside.

The flight had been long and tiring. The journey had been bumpy, the aircraft was excruciatingly hot, the whole contraption rattled, and the seats were uncomfortable. Still, Qiuyi was glad to have finally arrived. She stretched and stood up.

A friendly Japanese woman had greeted her, and helped her carried her bags. She had said her name was Maya Ibuki. She seemed nice enough.

Qiuyi followed the woman out of the VTOL and into her car, driving to NERV headquarters. She checked in, and followed Maya deeper into the base to the cafeteria.

"So, how about I take you to breakfast?" asked Maya, cheerfully.

"That sounds good. Thank you!" Qiuyi replied.

She sat down with Maya and had a breakfast of miso soup, steamed rice and tamagoyaki (a kind of rolled sweet omelette). She wolfed it down, starving hungry after the long flight. It was her first experience of Japanese food, and she enjoyed it massively.

Qiuyi and Maya chatted for a while, over such topics as Qiuyi's home of Taiwan, her favourite foods, what she thought of Japan, and other such trivial matters. After a while, the pair finished breakfast, and left the cafeteria.

The pair were walking back when Maya's phone rang.

"What?...Yes, OK, I'll be there immediately" she said.

She hung up and put her phone back in her pocket.

"Qiuyi" she said, gently "The Third Child has arrived. Let's go and meet them!"

Qiuyi nodded, smiling.

The two of them drove back out to the landing pad, as the VTOL came to a stop on the ground. The side hatch slid open, and 2 figures walked out. Maya went over to greet them, whilst Qiuyi stayed in the car. She was excited to meet the Third Child, but also a little nervous.

Leon watched as the nurse delivered his lunch to him. Staring at the plate, he recalled how breakfast was rather unpleasant tasting and did not want to subject his taste buds to the potential horridness that lunch would be. His head started to itch but with the bandages applied to it he was unable to scratch it. That along with how sore he was, the boringness of the hospital, and the horrible food, he was about to go insane.

A nurse walked in and greeted him with a smile. "Good news! You will be released soon!" Leon sighed in relief at the news. The nurse walked back out. "I wonder if they have brought in the other pilots yet?" He thought out loud. He was not at all eager to meet his peers. Sighing again he took a bite of the mysterious concoction of "food" that laid in front of him. "This isn't that bad... certainly better than breakfast." He said aloud as he slowly ate his meal. "I would much rather be the sole pilot protecting mankind, that would certainly be better than having to deal with the other pilots." He thought aloud. "The only person who I can trust is myself... the others are just a burden... What am I saying... I'm the burden not them!" He shook his head. "No... not going to start thinking that way again... I can't wait to get the hell out of this place." He whispered. He finished the rest of his lunch. Another nurse came by to take his plate.

Ro stood up hastily when they landed. It felt like no time at all before Maya Ibuki, senior technician, stuck her head in the door and introduced herself. Frederik stood up, book in hand and started to disembark, glancing back to check if she was following. Ro blushed a little. She hated being looked at, being the centre of attention in any way really. She shuffled along behind them, carrying her bag.

Stepping off the plane, Ro had heard that after Second Impact, Japan had become a land of eternal summer, but it didn't stop a chill from passing through her as she passed from the warm cabin to the open air. She glanced toward the car a little ways off and met the gaze of another of the pilots. Ro looked away sheepishly. She was only vaguely acquainted with Frederik from a few meetings in the past, but otherwise Ro was pretty much a stranger to her peers. She continued to shuffle along as Maya led them on, unsure of what to do with herself.

It felt unreal, every time.
Behind his computer screen the juxtaposition aligned. A few minutes ago Frederik had been dancing through the shops, fantasizing about angels. It felt like a game.
He sat at a desk, like that of a schoolboy, and behind him a black monolith stood, in a circle with seven others. Slender trees with pink leaves, intertwined a spiral staircase beneath a lone light, were at the center, and around the circle was a forest of massive trees.
Even though it was underground there was wind, and even though he was not there the preacher could feel it.
"Raphael is dead. We are in the second hour of the last day," said the Old Doctor, the First Lord of the Instrumentality. "I am happier than I sometimes am."
There was silence. Mister Aaben felt like he wasn't dead.
"He went for Lilith," he said. "And not Lord Adam. Don't up and down matter to him? What did he want?"
"Our position is untenable."
"And so was his. We now know, the fear that has rotted in our hearts, that a switch of fruits will not free us."
A note of despair should have went through Frederik. "I never doubted that."
"So what do you recommend? Is there no alternative than Lilith's Egg?"
"C-can we consider the blasphemy?"
"We can't," spat Mr. Aaben.
"I didn't think so."
"Nature still has left us with a miserable solution. Love her with tears in our eyes."
Frederik snatched his own hand.
"In any case we must forward the Instrumentality... God bless..." said the First Lord.
Mr. Aaben didn't pay attention to the remainder of the meeting, about financing the GeoFront. It didn't matter.
---
Once he entered Maya's car, Frederik saw the Sixth Child.
She was sitting on the seat opposite the one he was half in. She was also in her plugsuit.
He shamefully shunted his gaze aside to the spine of his book, but intermittently his eyes darted towards her anyways.
Why is she wearing that now? he wondered, almost blushing.
At last he settled in, and looking at her face, said, "Hello, I'm Frederik Sunesen..."

The car ride was not the most pleasant experience Qiuyi had ever had. The suspension was stiff, the air conditioning barely worked, the upholstery was worn, and for some reason a boy her age was staring at her breasts.

The boy finally stopped ogling at her and looked at her face.

"Hello, I'm Frederik Sunesen..." he said, smiling.

Qiuyi hesitated for a moment. She was wary of this boy. He seemed...odd.

"Hello! I'm Qiuyi Fang" she eventually replied, nervously. "I'm from Taiwan. Pleased to meet you!"

She shook his hand, and smiled.

Then she turned her attention to the scrawny, tanned girl with the black hair in the front seat. She hadn't said a word throughout the whole trip.

"...Hello? What's your name?" Qiuyi asked, tapping her on the shoulder.

The girl did not respond, simply turning away.

"Are...Are you OK? It's alright, I-"

"She doesn't like to talk" cut in Frederik, coldly.

"...Oh. OK"

The Sixth Child stretched and yawned, before leaning back in her seat.

Frederik gave her a funny look, blushing slightly.

"Why...are you wearing your plugsuit?" he asked, somewhat perplexed.

Qiuyi looked down at herself, then laughed.

"Oh! Oh, yeah, habit of mine. I wear it an awful lot. Maybe I should change when I get to the apartment!"

Frederik muttered something to himself. "Perhaps you should...You could get an awful lot of unwanted attention going around like that"

Qiuyi giggled, but quickly stopped when she noticed the stern expression on his face.

He was still staring at her breasts, but she pretended not to notice that.

The time in the car passed. They got out before an apartment building; in the parking lot beside there were no other cars.
"I thought that since you're old enough, you might like to have your own apartments," Maya said. "I'm in this building too, down the hall; but no one else. We bought it out just for you."
The children were escorted to their rooms and given the keys. "I'd like to take you to Nerv headquarters, so please hurry. Just put down your bags and clean yourselves up; you can unpack later."
Frederik nodded, but as the others left, he turned to Qiuyi.
"Quiyi, I want you to know that I'm sorry. I'm really sorry," he said, then dashed off, afraid of seeming to expect forgiveness.
---
Once in his room Frederik saw a phone. He thought of calling his uncle, but realized he would have nothing to say. He quickly changed, and then threw himself on the bed. A few too-short minutes later he heard Maya rapping on the door.

After a long journey, they finally arrived at the apartment. Qiuyi got out of the car and stretched. She felt exhausted, and needed to lie down.

Maya showed her, Ro and Frederik around the apartment, and gave them their keys. She showed them where she lived, and told them to clean up and put down their bags.

As Qiuyi was entering her room, Frederik tapped her on the shoulder.

"Qiuyi, I want you to know that I'm sorry. I'm really sorry" he said to her, before hurrying off to his room.

She stood there, confused. What was he apologizing about? If it was over staring at her breasts, he needn't apologize. She was rather flattered that someone had payed attention to her, to be honest.

She shrugged and entered her room.

The girl put down her bags, and flopped out on the bed. It was quite comfortable, but there was something not quite right. Qiuyi would rather share a room with Maya or one of the other pilots than be on her own. She got lonely easily.

After a few minutes she changed, into a light blue summer dress and a pair of sandals, and washed her face. She lay back on her bed for a a bit, until eventually Maya came, knocking on the door.

"Qiuyi! Time to go!" came the Japanese woman's gentle voice.

"Like a rope?" Commander Ishii frowned.
"Er, that might not have been the best metaphor, sir... but it is true, sir. To our satellites the target appears like a string of golden-white, that slithers across the earth and ice and water."
"And we didn't know about it until now?"
"The target's light had not yet solidified. But it was visible, at least as far back as when it crossed the Siberian wastes. It is indeed shameful that we did not notice it sooner."
"And there it is now," Ishii noted the map on the screen. The little string was formed like a crescent, standing on the Pacific, looking like it was about to envelop Japan. And, of course, it was. "Two Angels in a single day. I thought there would be more time."
---
"Another Angel has appeared," Maya noted as they entered Nerv. "I'm sorry, but some of you will have to engage it." She sighed.
The gravity did not reach Frederik. He would soon be with Ophelia again; a cause for joy. And he would avoid the danger in a battle. But to save my life, even before the lives of these girls? I am a coward... And so were the towers, retreating below the GeoFront.
---
The Children stood expectantly at the top of the commander tower. A screen showed an image of what was supposedly the Angel, that merely looked as if someone had drawn a line on the Pacific.
"Miss Fang, Mister Aisling," said a grim-looking man, Commander Ishii. "You will sortie against the Fourth Angel."
Mister Aisling? Frederik stared at Ro, bewildered. Then he realized that he had not been called.
"I would also pilot," he added quietly.
The commander looked at him intently; his emotion indecipherable. "Unit-e is not available."
"Where's Ophelia?" he shouted in shock.
"Ophelia... that is its name? It has yet to be shipped," the commander grew indignant for an instant, but calmed himself.
"I was told she would be!"
"It will be. But the Evas built for the fierce combat, it was more pressing to ship them."
Frederik had embarassed himself. "I'm sorry sir." He threw a hand upon his face, looked down despairingly.

Leon listened as alarms started to blare outside. He got up from his hospital bed to look out of the window. He saw that the buildings above were being retracted down into the Geofront for protection. This meant only one thing. "Another Angel attack in less than twenty four hours?!" He exclaimed. He was expecting the order to come down for him to pilot again, despite his injuries. "If the other pilot's aren't here yet we are in big trouble."

He made his way out of his room only to be stopped by a nurse further down the hallway. "What do you think you are doing?!" She exclaimed. "There is an emergency! You need to stay put in your room." Leon grimaced. "But there is an Angel attacking! I need to get to headquarters so I can..." "Don't worry, the other pilots have arrived." She said, cutting him off. "But!" She put a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, HQ has everything under control." She motioned him towards his room. "Besides, if you keep getting up like this it will delay your discharge!" Leon sighed. "Okay whatever you say." He moaned. "Good!" The nurse then walked him back to his room.

Leon stared out the windows of his room once more. "Hopefully they do better than I did..."

Ro stared up at the apartment building. It was rather stark and imposing looking. She joined the others in going to drop off their things. Wandering into her apartment, she stepped inside without removing her shoes. Japanese customs were something Ro hadn't thought to look into before, she would have to find some books on the matter. Dumping out the contents of her bag, she stood staring at the meager pile of clothes, tablets and books. Remembering the other girl touching her shoulder, she shuddered. She wanted to say hello, to introduce herself, but the contact startled her.

"I'm pathetic..." she muttered drearily before heading back outside.

It wasn't long before they were called on again and made their way to Headquarters, Commander Ishii briefing them on the battle to come. She cringed as the Commander addressed him as mister. He watched silently as Frederik demanded answers of the Commander.

"-But the Evas built for the fierce combat, it was more pressing to ship them." The Commander answered and Ronan suddenly realised the gravity of the situation. Brionac, the Evangelion imbued with the power of the Lance. Incapable of manifesting an AT Field, but can use its spears to cut down any it encounters. That was the theory anyway. To Ronan, it was just the monster that had cost him his parents. It was the reason Ro existed...

He glanced sideways at Qiuyi. She had changed clothes since they had gotten off the plane. She looked quite pretty when not rushing back and forth due to orders. She glanced his way and he froze, his eyes darting forward to avoid meeting hers.

"I, um, I'm Ro, Ro Aisling." he muttered pitifully to her, his belated introduction delivered in the smallest voice he could muster.

Qiuyi looked at the girl next to her. She seemed odd, something looked not quite right about her, but she was still very pretty. Although she did wonder why the commander had called her "mister".

"I, um, I'm Ro, Ro Aisling" mumbled the girl.

She didn't sound exactly as a girl should, but Qiuyi paid no mind.

"Nice to meet you!" replied the Taiwanese pilot, cheerfully "My name's Qiuyi Fang. I'm from Taiwan...How about you?"

Ro was about to respond when an alarm blared, and red warning lights began to flash. The main viewing screen went red, with a gigantic sign pulsing on the screen, stating "WARNING: ANGEL PROXIMITY. DANGER LEVEL: CONSIDERABLE. MUSTER EVANGELIONS IMMEDIATELY"

"Fang, Aisling, change into your Plugsuits. You will be deployed imminently. The best of luck to the pair of you" stated the commander coldly.

Qiuyi simply nodded, and was led by Maya to the changing room. A pity, she liked this dress, but still, her Plugsuit wasn't bad.

After getting changed, she and Ro were led into the holding bay. Qiuyi clambered up the entrance ladder and into her Entry Plug. The Plug hatch shut with a hiss, and slowly the interior filled with orange liquid, LCL.

No matter how many times she practiced, Qiuyi still hated the LCL. It left a horrible taste in her mouth and left her feeling like she was choking.

Slowly, Unit 02's on-board sync computer booted up, and the interior of the Plug seemed to melt and change colour, flashing between red and blue and green and every colour of the rainbow. Qiuyi began to feel sick. Then, the synchronization kicked in, and Qiuyi could see everything the Evangelion unit could. It didn't feel like she was looking at a screen showing the unit's viewpoint, she felt like she was the unit. It took some getting used to.

She could feel every single sensation in the robotic monster. The holding clamps locking it in place, the weight of the pylons pressing on its shoulders, even the curvature of its spine. And yet, through all that, Qiuyi swore she could here a familiar voice...

She ignored it for now. All that mattered was defeating the Angel.

"5!...4!...3!...2!...1!" called out Maya from the operations booth.

"LAUNCH!"

The lift platform rocketed upwards like a firework. The G-force was unbearable, leaving the Taiwanese pilot struggling to breathe. She steeled herself against the inevitable jolt of arriving at the surface, just about holding down her breakfast.

Then the Evangelion reached the surface, and Qiuyi vomited.

"Ack...gehk...Ugh...Well, here goes nothing..." gasped Qiuyi, as the lift came to a rest and the Evangelion was released from the platform.

The angel walked on the skin of the sea with a million mechanic pistons, as the million cloud-towering shields, filled with milky liquid/gas refracting the overcast afternoon sky. Gilded runes pulsed at times, a lovely airy siege wall.
With regal air Uriel endured the pounding of the blasts. In the Sea of Japan his wyrmlike ends were straining to meet; ten nuclear blasts had beaten them, but the charred tentacles only dyed the ocean red. The winds tore through the gap, the only place they could pass within; Japan was in a ring of calm, the sky itself disrupted by the angel.
By the screen Ishii saw the pair of Evangelions march towards the sea off Hakone; the tremors of explosions a thousand miles away did nothing to disturb the serene white phalanx. Uriel had no need for weapons.
That girl... he has a blade in her heart... I hope he can- she will- use it. The core cannot be found; it spirits like light..."Aisling, you must pass through to kill it. Tear the target apart." And if not, the Holy Lance can be nudged further in.
---
Frederik watched. Dread gently filled his heart, a subtly controlling unease. Women should never be forced into battle. Especially the girl I just wronged... I should be there now! My current inconstancy. He seized a lock of hair and pulled, rationalizing the despair as trying to hide the inner feeling with outer pain. He then remembered a quote, from an Irishman whom had written in English because of the strange conspiracy of history- and altered it a bit. "There is only one thing in the world worse than being in control, and that is not being in control."

With a hiss of steam and an almighty clunk, the restraints were released from Unit 02. Quiyi felt the weight of the armour on her shoulders and back as if she was wearing it herself.

She slowly lurched forwards off of the elevator. She adopted a defensive stance, as she looked off into the distance at the approaching Angel.

"Damnit" muttered Qiuyi "That thing is really far off! How are we supposed to kill it?"

She picked up the Pallet Rifle from the support tower and took aim at the luminous beast.

"Only one thing for it!" she shouted, and pulled the trigger, blasting away.

The rifle spewed shot after shot into the approaching beast, but to no avail. Every round that hit was deflected by a shimmering, kaleidoscopic octagonal shield.

Qiuyi began to panic. The magazine was almost dry, and yet the creature hadn't got a scratch. It was still racing towards them, with no signs of stopping.

"It...it's not dying...how?" shuddered Qiuyi, trembling in the seat.

Then, the ammo ran out.

The rifle simply started clicking, and Qiuyi tossed it aside.

Now she was really terrified. It seemed if she was going to kill this...thing, she was going to have to do it up close and personal.

She turned to Ro, quivering.

"What...what are we going to do?"

Ro changed hurriedly in an empty storage room just off from the lockers. Her unique situation making it difficult to place her on either side, this was the most effective method to get by without causing a fuss. The plugsuit hissed as it sealed itself around her body, Ro taking a deep breath as she considered the upcoming battle. Stuffing the rest of her clothes into a duffel bag, she soon joined Qiuyi and Maya again to make their way to the Eva bay.

Ro sucked in another breath of LCL as they prepared to launch the Evas. The walls shimmered as the world outside the monstrous came into view. Thoughts began to drift to the surface of her mind as Maya began the countdown.

"5!" She thought about Frederik voicing his complaints to the Commander.

"4!" Qiuyi's cheerful introduction.

"3!" Her Father leaving to retrieve the spear.

"2!" Her Mother creating this monster.

"1!" Her mission. The elevator ignited beneath her. Accelerating upward at speed, Ro gripped the controls, shutting her eyes tight as she felt every bone rattle under the force of the movement.

She felt the Eva break the surface and halt, for a moment Ro drifted, her body weightless before falling back into the pilot's seat. The LCL cushioned any real impact, but it was still an unusual feeling. The two Evas lurched forward, the Angel visible in the distance.

"Damnit" muttered Qiuyi "That thing is really far off! How are we supposed to kill it?" Ro shrugged. The other girl hefted a pallet rifle from the nearby tower and started to unload, but at this distance there was no way to stop the AT Field defending the Angel. Their only options were to either wait until the Angel drew closer or...

"Aisling, you must pass through to kill it. Tear the target apart." Ishii's voice echoed over the comms. Ro jumped. She had to use it. As Qiuyi continued to empty ammunition at the distant enemy, Brionac raised an arm. The Eva creaked as the fibrous veins that ran through it extended outward. In a matter of moments a javelin of twisted wood reached out in front of the Eva. Snapping the connecting material, Ro stood with the spear in hand, shaking as she glanced at the Angel in the distance. The sound of gunfire stopped, causing Ro to turn to face her teammate. Qiuyi's face appeared on her monitor, the Taiwanese pilot visibly shaken.

"What...what are we going to do?" she asked, clearly out of options. Ro stared down at the spear in her grip.

"I... We should try to find the core." she decided. "I'll try to startle it. Look for something that looks important." Unit 03 pulled back, the spear laying near flat against its arm before thrusting forward. Letting loose, the Longinus Fragment soared through the sky before arcing down towards the Angel. Ro could already tell the aim was off. Even if it pierced the AT Field, the spear wouldn't cause any real damage, but promoting a response from the Angel would be good enough. Make it feel threatened. Let it know they can fight back, force it to work outside its pattern and it might make a mistake they can take advantage of. That was how combat worked for the weak. You waited for the enemy to expose their weakness and attack it indiscriminately. That was the only way for the weak to win.

The sublance glided serenely towards the tower-shields, unaffected until it hit. With an electric crackle the holy weapon shattered both itself and the wall for an instant, before convoluted spirals of polygonal light forged a hole right through the Angel. What remained of the lance passed through, and then the tunnel sealed itself.
A few drops of blood fell into the sea.
A technican shouted that at the other end of the island the Angel had united with itself: it now formed a circle around Japan.
"It's an AT-Field!" exclaimed Ibuki.
The water-walking pistons accelerated. The air filled with a glorious morning light. The towers ever so slightly bent down, for Uriel hoped to crush the islands beneath his shields.
"No, I mean it is an AT-Field! The Angel! Its towers are just fluid held within by it's own energy!"
Needless segments exploded into a crosses as their neighbors fused. Heavenly wings seemed to form out of the corners where the bending shields had intersected.
"Aisling!" Commander Ishii repeated, "you must pass through to kill it. Tear it apart!"
He looked down grieving at his ready hand.