True to Asuka's word, she took Rei shopping the next day. Somehow, Shinji and Kaworu got roped into it, with Kaji acting as chaperone. They had left in the morning and by the time they returned with their spoils, it was well after noon. Misato was home at this point, owing to a light load at work. She was sitting at the table and eating her usual fare of instant ramen. Shinji had opted to stock the cabinets with a higher quality brand and she had to admit, it made a difference.

She straightened up as Kaji, Asuka and Shinji came in, "Did you guys have fun?"

"Mhm! We got Rei more clothes than just her school outfit and both y'know basic necessities!" Asuka answered.

"It was fun," Shinji agreed, with the hint of a smile.

"You should have come along, Katsuragi," Kaji flashed her his trademark grin, "Would have been a treat seeing you try on some new clothes. Like a new blouse or a dress or even a bikini…"

Misato rolled his eyes at him, "Not in front of the impressionable kids, you weirdo."

Asuka perked up, "Funny though we did get some new swimwear."

Misato frowned, "Because that school trip, right? Not to get your hopes up but everyone's still on duty during that week. I was going to mention it at dinner tonight but now's a good a time as any."

A small silence passed before the girl sighed, "Saw that coming a mile away. Oh well, I'll go swimming at the pool with my new swimwear."

"I suppose that's fine," Misato shrugged, "You two's grades could be better but as long as you two fit some studying in, do what you like. Especially you Asuka, with your kanji."

Asuka beamed. The benefits of hindsight came not only in Angel fights but school too! As much as she hated it, she had paid more attention in school, set time aside to study and even roped Kaworu into helping her a few times. He didn't mind helping and had a knack for everything.

She practically skipped her way to her room, Shinji following to his own. Left alone, Kaji commented, "Just make sure they get time to be kids. Must be a bummer not to go on a school trip."

"Not like me or you know anything like that," Misato commented, a sad and sarcastic note in her voice.

After putting her stuff away, sans her new swimsuit, Asuka poked her head out of her room and called, "Shinji!"

"What?" he opened his door.

"Let's go rope Rei and Kaworu into going swimming with us."

Shinji pulled a face, "Right now?"

"No, in three business days...yes, right now!"

He frowned then said, "I dunno. I don't like swimming that much."

"Don't you wanna go enjoy yourself for once?" she scowled, "Instead of sitting around all depressed?"

This struck some cord with Shinji as he straightened up, "You said we'll get Rei and Kaworu to come too?"

"I did say that."

"Good, then someone who likes me will be there," and with that, he closed the door.

Asuka blinked owlishly at the closed door. She hadn't expected that.

When Shinji emerged again with his things, Asuka decided against pressing him about his tone. She had suggested swimming to go have fun, not try to pick a fight with him.

They tried Rei's door first, though to no response. Furrowing her eyebrows, Asuka tried again. Shinji offered, "Maybe she's out and about?"

"I guess so," Asuka shrugged dismissively.

Was Rei not being home normal? She hadn't interacted with her nearly enough last time around to know. Shinji added, "Or she had to go over to NERV...for...some reason,"

"Hell if I know," Asuka moved to the next door and knocked on it.

Unlike Rei, Kaworu answered the door, beaming when he saw it was his friends, "Hello, didn't I just see you two?"

"We're going swimming," Asuka declared.

He looked behind him at the bags on his table he hadn't yet put up, "Oh, I haven't gotten the chance to put anything away…"

"Just get your swim stuff and let's go. It'll be there when you get back."

He conceded, "Alright, give me a moment."

Once at NERV, the pair of boys and Asuka split off to get dressed before they went into the pool. Asuka rushed to get into her new striped one piece and, once at the pool, was pleasantly surprised to see this was where Rei was. The other girl was swimming laps, unaware she was no longer alone. Asuka called, "Rei!"

Rei snapped to attention and swam over, "You came to swim too?"

"Gotta break in the new swimsuit!" Asuka posed for emphasis, "See you had the same idea."

Rei averted her eyes and the subject, "I also do swim here often."

Asuka sat down at the lip of the pool then said, "Shinji and Kaworu came with me, I'm sure they'll be along soon."

Rei nodded in understanding, swimming up to the edge to chat with her. Asuka looked around then leaned in, "Hey, can you keep a secret?"

"I can keep any secret to my grave."

Asuka grimaced at her choice of words, "Overdramatic, much? Well, anyway, what if I told you Shinji's got a crush on Kaworu?"

"A crush?" Rei blinked.

"You know what that is, right?"

"...theoretically, yes. Why do you believe that?"

"I don't just believe it, I know it!"

Rei nodded slowly, though didn't seem entirely convinced. "You told me this because?"

"Because I gotta tell someone. And I gotta have someone join in watching them fumble around."

Rei hummed then asked, "Why not just tell one of them?"

"You're not supposed to do that," Asuka rolled her eyes, "You gotta let it happen organically. Tell 'em and you might scare him away. I want them to get together because then maybe Shinji will leave me alone."

"You want Shinji to leave you alone?" there was the barest hint of surprise in Rei's tone, "You don't act like it."

"I treat him nicely because I got to. You know how you sometimes have to be nice to people."

"Yes but...Shinji's always been kind to me. So I don't see any reason to "have" to be nice."

Rei pushed away and began swimming laps again. Asuka watched her exit, dumbfounded. If she didn't know better...she would think she upset Rei! "Hey, Rei!" she called.

Rei ignored her. She had upset Rei!

She scowled. Rei didn't understand—no she couldn't! An image of Shinji standing over her, face hidden in shadow but his eyes betraying a mix of guilt and revulsion came unbidden to her mind. She shook her head to dispel it. She knew that this Shinji wasn't that Shinji but if she could get away with keeping him at an arm's distance, she would.

It had merely been a mistake they were close just a few days ago. The job called for such a thing. She regretted opening up to him about her mother, no matter if he understood her pain. Why had she done such a thing?! Was she that desperate? She didn't need his pity!

Her brooding was interrupted by Shinji and Kaworu entering the pool room. Kaworu called and waved at Rei, "Here you were!"

She politely waved back before getting back to her laps. Kaworu took off into a run and leapt off the edge with a rare cry of excitement. Shinji stopped at the edge, "I'm not that great of a swimmer."

Kaworu popped back up from underwater, "C'mon, I wouldn't let you drown."

Shinji nodded and carefully slipped into the water, doggy-paddling over to him. Seeing the pair together gave Asuka a weird feeling, some sort of horrible gut-twisting anxiety she couldn't name. Pushing it away, she shot up and cried, "Let me show you how it's done!"

She backed up a few feet then ran, leaping into the water like a knife through butter. That got the desired reaction as both boys gasped in surprise. Even Rei stopped to watch. When she resurfaced, Shinji asked, "How'd you get so good?"

"Duh, I was taught! I trained as a kid to dive like that!" she preened.

Shinji turned to Kaworu, "Did you learn anything like that?"

Kaworu nodded, "Yep, but I didn't get to swim for fun. I learned a lot too when I was a kid but I think learning piano was my favorite."

Shinji perked up, "You can play piano?"

Kaworu nodded, "I love to play piano but I haven't yet got an opportunity over here. I have been meaning to go check the rec room though."

"I can play cello," Shinji offered, "But...I haven't played in a while."

"You should," he encouraged, "It's good for the soul."

Asuka paddled back to the edge, idly listening to the pair chat. Rei finally came back over and murmured, "I think you're correct about what you said."

Asuka raised an eyebrow, "About...the crush thing?" she murmured back.

Rei nodded, "I should imagine he'll spend more time with Kaworu than you. Like you wished."

Asuka bristled with indignation, "That's not what I meant. I just…" she groaned and pulled herself out of the pool.

She stalked out of the room with a call of, "Y'know, I don't wanna swim anymore!" leaving the trio to watch her with varying degrees of confusion.

Asuka dried off and got dressed so quickly, she was still damp. But the last thing she wanted was Rei coming after her.

She was just fine this morning but maybe that was because the boys were off doing their own thing while they shopped. She had been forced to be good friends with Shinji during their training for the triplet Angels but now with that past them, she was once more growing repulsed by him. The logic part of her brain could tell her all it wanted that it didn't make sense to be repulsed by him but animal emotion wasn't ready to let go of the pain. It wouldn't have been real if she let go, right?

She couldn't tell Kaworu all of this. He would once more tell her that this Shinji wasn't like the Shinji before, that she had to be kind to him, blah blah blah! He didn't get the emotional core of it! She seethed the entire way up to the surface.

The next day came. The kids had time off from NERV but work moved on as usual. Today was a survey on Mt. Asama, following bizarre seismic readings from the region. The Vice Commander was overseeing the operation in the command center and was currently studying a screen. There was an image of orange haze on it with an oval-shaped object at the center. He grumbled, "I can't tell what I'm looking at here."

Maya chirped, "The MAGI thinks it's something worth looking into."

"Let's not mince words here," Fuyutski replied, "We all suspect what it really is."

The bridge technicians all shared a look. The Vice Commander added, "Just tell Katsuragi I need a better image."

Misato hadn't expected to do what she was doing today either but the day started with her being ordered to take a VTOL to Mt. Asama, along with her choice of one of the bridge techs. So Hyuga was there with her, the pair trying to get better eyes on their mystery object using a probe they were lowering deeper and deeper into the volcano. She scowled, "We gotta go deeper. Another 500 feet please."

One of the operators protested, "Ma'am, I don't know if it can withstand the pressure."

She waved him off, "Try anyway. If it breaks, we'll replace it."

The operator was not happy, giving her a scowl when he thought she wasn't looking, but complied anyway. The computer hummed as more text scrolled on its screen. Then, all input ceased and the operator reported, "We've lost connection. The probe's been crushed by the pressure."

Misato looked to Hyuga, "Did we at least get anything from that?"

"Barely," he nodded, "As we suspected, it's a Pattern Blue."

The computer's screen showed the final image taken: the image of a fetus-like creature nestled within an oval membrane. Misato straightened up and cried, "As of now, this lab is sealed off and is under NERV jurisdiction for the foreseeable future! Until then, any and all access to the outside world is prohibited and all records of the past six hours are classified!"

She glanced back at the image of the fetal Angel. This was an unbelievable advantage and direct action had to be taken immediately. She marched out of the lab, taking her satellite phone and dialing Aoba immediately, in the hopes of reaching Commander Ikari.

Commander Ikari, unfortunately for him, was called to a meeting with the almighty Committee immediately after. Who were none too happy to hear why he was late and that he had told his subordinate to do what she deemed fit.

One cried, "You plan to launch an offensive!"

Another piped up, "Unacceptable, Ikari. It's too dangerous. Are you so ready to forget what happened fifteen years ago?"

"I am well aware," Ikari replied coolly, "This is a rare opportunity to go from a defensive position to an offensive one. We hold the advantage for once."

The head of the formation countered, "The risk is too large. Too many unknown variables."

"Every fight we deal with unknown variables. The risk is large but a live Angel sample will tell us much more than all the dead ones we've studied," Ikari countered back, "It may provide us an advantage over future Angels."

This seemed to leave the Committee thoughtful until the head warned, "Know we do not tolerate failure," and one by one, their monoliths blinked out.

Fuyutski, who had found time to accompany him, commented, "Failure? If we fail, it means the destruction of the human race. It is not an option."

He turned to the Commander, "You're really sure of this?"

From behind his gloves, Commander Ikari smiled, "I have faith in the Captain's ability to see to the Angels' destruction. And if not, we have contingencies."

The next day found the Children called into duty. A day and a half had only blunted Asuka's foul mood. An operation that put her and Shinji together brought back that gut-twisting feeling she couldn't name. On one hand, she could maybe finally prove herself on her own. On the other, if she failed, it would be Shinji saving her.

"So that's an Angel?" Shinji studied the image of the fetal Angel.

The morning had found the group of pilots, along with Misato and Ritsuko, in a debriefing room, going over all the information they had and the plan for the operation.

"Yes," answered Ritsuko, "It's a sort of chrysalis prior to reaching the adult stage."

Shinji looked thoughtful. "Like a butterfly," explained Kaworu.

"This operation's main directive is to capture this Angel. We must capture it alive and as close to its original state as possible. If we can't, we will destroy it immediately. Understood?"

Asuka still wasn't completely on board with the "capture it alive" idea. She didn't even entirely have faith they could reliably contain it. But Kaworu had warned her once more it was best to follow her orders than act out.

"Now for the actual pilot assigned to this operation...," Ritsuko trailed off, looking through her clipboard.

Asuka stole a glance at Shinji. He looked uncomfortable and glanced away from Ritsuko. Asuka's lip quirked ever so slightly up. You're not the one doing this...I hope, she thought. Even if someone else was put on, she'd insist she was to do it. It wouldn't be out of character.

"Asuka will carry out the operation in Unit Two."

She put on a grin, "Sure! Should be a piece of cake!"

Ritsuko nodded, acknowledging her, "Asuka is more experienced as her training involved deployment in harsh environments. While this was all in theory, it's better than Shinji's utter lack of experience involving this."

Experience? Ritsuko didn't know the half of it.

Rei piped up, "What will my role be in this operation?"

"Since Unit Zero is incompatible with the special equipment Two will be using, you will remain stationed here. In case of attack or failure of the operation," Ritsuko explained.

Rei nodded, holding her blank facade. But under it, worry gnawed at her. Leaving her friends behind was...upsetting. She couldn't defend them.

"I'll be here, if you're worried," Kaworu said to her before turning to Ritsuko, "...right?"

"Of course. Shinji will come with Asuka and serve as standby. But there's a good chance you'll just be standing around...no offense, Shinji," she answered.

He laughed nervously, "None taken…"

"We'll scramble immediately. So get ready. Asuka, the plugsuit has been left in the locker room by the room we're fitting 02 with the equipment. Meet me outside when we're done," Ritsuko said.

Asuka grimaced but did as she was told. All was as it was previously, she comforted herself. Even including the terrible bulky suit.

The flight to Mount Asama was quiet, leaving Asuka more time alone with her thoughts than she liked. She had gone over what happened last time about half a dozen times and crafted a dozen imaginary scenarios and how she might respond to them. But no plan survived contact with the enemy. The last Angel had taught her that divergence was always possible and for all she knew, it was fated.

At the mountain, she was quiet throughout the preparations. If anyone found this odd, they said nothing. It was more likely they assumed she was just that determined. As they waited for the operation to begin, a group of jets raced overhead, something both pilots noticed. Shinji pointed them out, "Jets?"

"The UN Air Force is on standby alert until the mission is completed. They don't have a lot of faith in us and unfortunately, the last Angel didn't instill any in them." Ritsuko explained.

"So if the mission isn't completed…?" Shinji asked warily.

"They're here to clean up if we fail."

"How will they do that...?" Asuka asked lowly, knowing the answer already but figuring Shinji was too cowardly to ask.

Almost too casually, Ritsuko explained, "They will use N2 depth charges to take out the Angel and us with it."

"That's terrible…" Shinji murmured, "It sounds like an order from my father."

"It was your father's orders," Ritsuko confirmed.

Shinji leaned back in his chair, grinding his teeth lest he say something he'd regret. The same thought was going through Asuka's mind as she hissed through her teeth. She had a lot of words concerning the Commander but her luck, she'd get called out for insubordination for voicing any of them.

Misato's voice came over the comm, "Operation is a go. Ready, Asuka."

"As I'll ever be," Asuka gave a determined nod, even though no one could see her.

With a lurch, Unit Two was lifted off the ground and Asuka steeled herself. The crane slowly moved Unit Two in position over the crater, making it so she could see down into it. Had she been this nervous the first time?

Misato felt that same creeping dread she felt every time she called the pilots into battle as she watched the crane lower Asuka into the crater. If she was lucky, this operation would go as planned and there would be no need for combat. Unfortunately, she had been born unlucky. She looked to the side of the crater where Unit 01 and Shinji stood vigil. She could tell every muscle in the Eva's body was wound up, ready to launch into action.

With another lurch, the crane began to lower Unit 02. Being lowered into the lava was an odd sensation, not at all like the diving comparison she made last time. It was thicker than water and even though the armor protected Unit 02 from the bulk of the heat, it felt uncomfortably lukewarm. Visibility plunged the second the Eva was fully immersed.

She took a deep breath and looked at the monitors on her screen. She reported in, "Current depth is 170. Speed of descent is 20. No problems detected. Visibility is zero. I'm switching over to CT monitor to check that."

Even with that, all she saw in front of her was a red haze, "Visibility with CT monitor is not much better."

"Alright, Asuka. Keep us updated," Misato said.

"Roger."

She tuned out the bulk of the technicians' chatter over the comms in favor of watching the haze like a hawk. There was no sign of movement in the red haze. Maya reported, "We are the estimated target level."

"See anything?" Misato asked.

Asuka gave the haze one last good scan and even checked the readings of the area, "Nothing's here."

"The lava currents must be faster than we estimated," Ritsuko hypothesized, "We'll have to recalculate the Angel's position."

"We'll have to keep going then," Misato grimaced, "Continue descent."

Hyuga took a moment before he complied to steal a glance at her. Her face was a grim mask, hiding how she truly felt. At least, that's what he hoped and that this wasn't just pure determination. He shook his head and turned back to his screen as it re-calculated the Angel's estimated location.

Asuka heard a muted crunch followed by one of the techs reporting in that one of her coolant pipes was cracked. She grit her teeth and said to herself, "Hold in there…"

Maya reported, "We're over the maximum allowed depth."

"And we haven't made contact with the target yet...," Misato turned to the comm, "Asuka, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, just wish we could find this thing already."

"Me too, just hang in there. We can, uh...we'll visit the hot spring after this, alright?" Misato promised.

"I'll hang in there."

Asuka already knew Misato wanted to destroy the Angels at any cost. An insidious voice in her brain murmured, how did the kids count in that? Were they an acceptable cost in killing an Angel? She shook her head to dispel the thought. Misato just wasn't thinking straight. She'd never openly sacrifice one of them.

A snap alerted her from her thoughts and she helplessly watched her prog knife drift into the lava and out of reach. She called in, "Just lost my prog knife, what if the Angel hatches before we can pull it out?"

"That's a good point," Misato hissed, mostly to herself.

To Asuka, she asked, "Do you have an idea?"

"Shinji could give me his."

"...no, not until we're sure you'll need it. We don't want to add any more interruptions than we have to. I want you out right away."

Asuka narrowed her eyes, "So I'm a sitting duck if it does hatch?"

"We'll deal with that if it happens," Misato said in a tone that meant 'I am not changing my mind'.

Asuka slumped back, stewing in her anger and the uncomfortably warm Entry Plug. Moments passed without incident until a dark shape emerged from the haze. She perked up, "There it is!"

Misato allowed herself a smile. A gambit paid off. "Alright, get ready to capture. You've got one shot before it's out of range again."

"Don't worry, I won't miss," Asuka grinned, readying the cage.

She moved in, like a snake creeping up after her prey. Once she was confident, she stuck. She deployed the cage, watching it light up around the shape through the haze. "Target's been captured!" she reported, unable to keep the gleeful tone from her voice.

"Good job, Asuka! We're gonna pull you up now," Misato praised, nodding at the techs so they could start doing just that.

With a creak, she could feel herself and her prize being winched back up. She couldn't stay too mad at Misato. Just as last time, her gambit paid off. So hopefully, it would further pay off and the damn thing would stay in its egg.

Shinji's image flashed on screen and he asked, "You got it?"

Her happiness washed all annoyance from her mind and Asuka nodded, "I've got it now!"

"Good...I'm glad. I didn't like you being...down there. Where no one could help."

"Don't be dramatic. It was easy."

Misato reminded them, "We're not quite out of the fire yet."

In the command center, Ritsuko gave her a faint smile, "But I can tell a lot of your tension's gone away."

"You have no idea," Misato told her, "Risking Asuka and also everyone's been reminding me what was at stake. Meddling with the Angels…" she trailed off.

"Could lead to a repeat performance," Ritsuko finished for her, "Don't worry. We plan to grab some live samples then kill it as soon as we can. It's too risky to leave it alive for long."

She looked back at the screen, "Still...Asuka seemed really concerned about it hatching. It isn't impossible for the temperature shock to do just that. So let's not get too comfortable yet."

Asuka had been watching the egg like a hawk the whole ascent. But this time it was quiet and still.

Before long, she was pulled from the lava and into the open air. Leaving the lava should have made her feel better but it only contributed to her anxiety. It breaking out felt like an inevitability and every passing second made her wonder when that would be. At the very least, she had more mobility up here. Not much but more than within the volcano. She asked, "What's the plan now?"

Ritsuko answered, "We'd like to move it to a secure location. So you and Shinji stand guard until transport arrives."

The crane finally lifted her free from the crater and guided her onto solid ground. The egg was oblong and a shiny red color, just like an Angel's core. Within the glass-like surface, she could see the curled up form of the Angel. There was a final lurch as she was put on the ground and disconnected from the crane. "You can put the cage down if you'd like," Ritsuko told her.

"If it's all the same to you, I'm going to hold onto it a little while longer."

"Whatever you'd like."

Moments, treacherously long, passed as they waited. Shinji wandered over and studied the egg, "It looks like an Angel's core," he observed.

"Almost makes you want to go ahead and destroy it, huh?" Asuka asked.

There was something comical in how Unit 01 mimicked his mannerisms, standing straight and waving its arms, "No, Ritsuko would be beyond mad!"

"Just kidding," she scowled. He couldn't take a joke.

The egg began to rumble in her grip and a sharp crack pierced the silence. A long plaintive cry followed. Asuka dropped the cage and stumbled away from it. She was right! It was hatching!

Ritsuko cried, "It's starting to hatch!"

"Can the cage hold?" Misato asked.

One long limb burst from the egg shell and reached out until it hit the membrane of the cage. It tested it, pushing it until it tore. "Nevermind, that answers that question," Misato said.

"We have to kill it," Ritsuko told her, "The risk is too high."

She nodded then relayed the order to the kids, "Change of plans, we kill the Eighth Angel!"

Asuka went for her prog knife but remembered she had dropped it when her hand passed over empty air. Before she could ask, Shinji had ejected his own and passed it over to her. He turned to run back to the weapons cache, "Get it away from the command center and the crater!" he told her.

A passing thought observed how out of character it was for him to take charge but Asuka pushed the thought away. She hefted the cage as the Angel struggled to be born, rocking it dangerously. She began to waddle away as fast as she can, thanks to the Type B equipment. "Is there no way to get this thing off?" she asked.

"Not in a timely manner," Ritsuko answered.

"Scheisse," she hissed.

Shinji appeared back beside her and grabbed one end of the cage, "Let me get it away," he told her.

"This was my job," she protested.

"We don't have time!" he cried, a note of annoyance in his voice.

Annoyed, she let go of the cage. He hefted the cage up in the air and took running, leaping off the peak of the mountain and into the forest below. Asuka followed him as quickly as she could, skidding down the side once she was over the edge. She arrived just in time to see the cage tumble from his hands as the Angel got its other limb free.

It used both to rip its way free of its egg and then the cage. The Angel looked right out of their history books, an early Cambrian nightmare. On the upside, it didn't seem adapted for land, clumsily propping itself on its arms. It looked from one to the other, as if it couldn't see very well. Then, with surprising speed, it launched itself at Shinji.

He yelped and got a volley of bullets off before it collided with him. It bowled him over and kept him pinned with its sheer weight. "Get off!" he yelped, kicking at its underside to dislodge it.

The Angel was unfazed, mouthing at his Eva's face with a kiss of death. He yelped again as it latched on, sending a crushing pain through his Eva's, and by proxy his, skull. His armor began to crack and cried again, "Get off, get off!"

Asuka lunged, driving her knife into its back. But the tip skidded off with a horrific squeal, refusing to puncture.

Shinji finally kicked it enough to dislodge his rifle arm free and pressed the tip against its stomach, letting loose a barrage of shots. It squealed with pain as it was thrown off him and onto its back. He staggered to his feet, "Its underside isn't armored," he observed.

The Angel rolled right side up and skittered after him. He danced back, firing more shots at it.

"Then we've got to get it on its back," Asuka scowled, following the pair and studying its back, "Or find a chink in its back. I'm going to need you to keep it still."

"Got it."

Once again, the Angel lunged but Shinji was ready, rushing to meet it with his shoulder. Instead of completely bowling him over, both fell away from each other. Shinji proved faster in his recovery, pinning it down. It thrashed but he held true.

Asuka went in for the kill, digging the knife between two plates of armor, right between its shoulders. It squealed in agony but she ignored this, digging it in deeper. She had never actually prepared a lobster but this is what she thought it might be like.

With renewed strength, the Angel bucked and Shinji yelped as he lost his grip. That was all it needed as it bucked once more, knocking Asuka off of it and onto her back, leaving her knife still lodged in it. It whirled on her and pounced. Unlike Shinji, she wasn't getting up right away. This didn't kill her resolve. She screamed at it, scrambling to retrieve her knife. Undeterred, it pressed its mouth against the glass of the Type B suit's window, cracking and splintering it under the pressure. "Damn you!" she screamed.

"Shinji, where the hell are you?!"

"I'll be right back!"

He had actually ran away, scrambling back up the mountain. "What are you doing?" she demanded.

"Coolant canister, thermal expansion!"

She blinked in surprise. How had he come to that conclusion independently?

She hadn't more time to wonder because a long crack ran across the glass. The external suit was the only thing preventing the Angel causing further damage to her Eva. The glass dome squealed under the pressure. If it broke and it latched onto her head, it could crush her armor then skull in a minute. She began to thrash, doing whatever she could to dislodge it. Even rolling it onto its back did nothing as it refused to budge.

The glass dome of her external suit shattered and it lunged for her face proper, latching on immediately. The pain was instant, a horrible pressure that felt like it would burst her skull like a watermelon. Distantly, she heard Misato demand the techs cut her synch rate manually. Her vision began to swim.

Then relief! The Angel was dislodged and through her swimming vision she could see Unit 01 bent over it. All other sound through her comms was drowned out by the sound of Shinji howling like a man possessed.

He ripped the Prog Knife from its back and began to stab it over and over in the stomach. Blood sprayed from its wounds all over his Eva but he was undeterred. He threw the knife away and reached into its open wound, digging around until he yanked its Core free. Without hesitation, he crushed it.

The Angel's corpse began to glow with a brilliant light and he staggered to his feet. He grabbed her around the waist and half-dragged, half-carried her away from it. As she was pulled away she could see what exactly it was he had done. He had retrieved a canister, shoved the tubing into the side of its mouth, and flooded it with coolant. It probably had let go of her in its panic...panic he had taken advantage of.

They didn't get quite free of the explosion but free enough. It washed over them, pushing them over but otherwise not harming them.

"Are they alright?!" Misato demanded as the forest below glowed white.

Hyuga nodded, relieved, "The kids are alright and the Angel is dead. It looks like Asuka has lost consciousness though so we're readying retrieval."

---

When Asuka awoke, she was in a mobile medical center with a throbbing headache. Thankfully, Ritsuko reported that was all the damage she had and sent her off with a bottle of painkillers. When she staggered back out into the sunlight, she found Shinji sitting there. He turned then, upon seeing her awake, bolted to his feet, "You're alright!"

She made a gesture for him to lower his voice then confirmed, "Feel like my skull's still being crushed but yeah. I'm alright."

She sized him up and tried to reconcile the nervous boy in front of her with his screams of fury only maybe half an hour before. She asked, "So how'd you know to use the coolant?"

He blinked, as if surprised that is what she would ask. He then stammered, "I figured...um, figured it would dislodge it. Temperature differential and all."

"You mentioned thermal expansion."

"I guess I remembered it from school."

A moment passed then she stated, "You killed the Angel."

He nodded slowly. She said, "I didn't think you had...that...in you."

"I didn't either but…," he shifted from foot to foot anxiously, "I just stopped thinking. I couldn't stand to see my friend hurt. I had to do whatever it took to save you."

Her eyebrows raised, "I'm your friend?"

"I'd...like to be," he frowned, "I'm not really sure what I did but I'm sorry for whatever I did to you."

"Shinji, I…" she pinched the bridge of her nose then began again, "You didn't do anything wrong. I was just being a bitch."

"Don't call yourself that,"

She pulled a face but didn't address that. Instead, she said, "Thanks, really. For saving me."

Shinji gave her a weak smile then changed the subject, "Misato told me she was serious about the hot spring thing. Once you feel up to it."

"Might help my headache," Asuka shrugged, "Let's go tell her."

Together, the pair trekked back up to the command center, only a few dozen feet up. As they did, Asuka turned over this Shinji's open declaration of her being his friend and his furious defense of her with another Shinji. Another Shinji who, after violating her, refused to even defend her from the vultures that came to pick at her carcass.

Sure, that Shinji had also saved her from this Angel in different circumstances but she still couldn't forget this Shinji's screams of fury.

She furrowed her eyebrows, finding she could not reconcile the pair. Because this Shinji was already proving to be different than that Shinji.

And for the better.