Misato was recklessly driving Shinji, Asuka, and Rei to NERV HQ to begin the fight with Arael. She was being debriefed over the phone as the pilots spoke with one another. Asuka was in the front because she called shotgun, Shinji was behind her because he was a little upset she called it first, and Rei was behind Misato because she really didn’t care where she sat.
“We have two main options. According to Lilith, Arael fires a ray of something like an inverted AT field to forcefully enter the mind of its target.”
“Gross.”
“Fascinating.”
“It’ll stay in orbit during its attack, so our best bet for offense is you, Asuka. You have the best aim out of all of us. Question is, should we fire first?”
“What do you mean?”
“I see…”
“Well, if we LET it enter our mind, it will know what Lilith has told us. It’ll know that it isn’t Adam underneath Central Dogma, but Lilith herself. Maybe if the angel knows that, they’ll end the attack.”
“EUGH?!”
“We can’t be certain of that.”
He turned to Rei.
“Not even a little bit. And Asuka is obviously opposed.”
“OF COURSE I AM, THAT’S AWFUL!”
Asuka flinched when Misato gred at her, gesturing with her phone.
“ s o r r y “
She whispered.
“I don’t like that pn.”
Rei scrunched her nose at the thought of her newest friend and lover being subjected to the whims of the mind-fying angel.
“Well, that leaves us with the other main option. We need to figure out a way to avoid that ray at all cost.”
“But how?”
“If Asuka and myself attack at the same time, it can only choose one target. The other will be free to strike.”
Shinji frowned.
“Maybe. But we don’t even know for sure that it can’t fire two rays simultaneously. It could backfire. Hell, we don’t even know how effective our weapons are against it.”
“How the hell else would we beat it?”
“The Spear of Longinus…”
“...”
“The what?!”
“The Spear, or Lance, of Longinus. It’s the perfect weapon for killing angels.”
“But if we throw it, it could fly out of orbit and be lost forever.”
“You mean we’ve had the Spear this whole time and haven’t been using it?!”
“It was retrieved retively recently and has been kept in Terminal Dogma to disable Lilith. Further preventing risk of a Third Impact.”
“I don’t think we can afford to lose the Spear.”
Asuka was starting to understand.
“Ah, you mean because of Unit-01, right?”
“With an S2 Engine…”
“It’s basically a walking timebomb, yeah.”
Misato put her phone down.
“I caught the tail end of that, what was that about the Spear of Longinus? It’s in Terminal Dogma?”
Shinji leaned forward, his head between the two front seats.
“The Spear can kill Arael with retively little risk to ourselves, but for reasons I’m not too sure about, I feel like it’s a horrible idea to throw away the Spear like that.”
Asuka turned to face him directly
“This is the second-to-st before Kaworu, right? Do we really need it that badly?”
“You’re forgetting Seele’s mass-produced EVA’s.”
“Shit, you’re right.”
“Plus, it would be a huge help in killing Armisael.”
“Armisael… Gah, how do you remember all these weird names so easily?”
“Heh, I guess it helps when the information is beamed directly into your brain- er… soul, or whatever.”
He leaned back again as Misato turned her head slightly, eyes still on the road.
“And how dangerous is Armisael, exactly. Can we win without it?”
“...I’m not sure… I think it’s too risky not to.”
“That’s all I need to hear. If Shinji says so, then we won’t use it. Right, Rei?”
Asuka smiled at her.
Rei smiled back.
“Right…
…But then…”
Her smile faded.
“How do we beat this one?”
“...”
At NERV HQ, Misato uneasily waits at the command center as everybody discusses the best pn of action.
Misato keeps quiet, fiddling with her nails.
I know the Spear of Longinus would be our best bet… What if Gendo doesn’t authorize it? What if their nerve fails them and they miss? Can we afford to lose it? What do we do?
“-agi?..
…
-tsuragi?..
CAPTAIN KATSURAGI!”
“Agh- Yes?!
It was Maya Ibuki.
“What pn of action have you decided on?”
“I’m… Not sure… While it’s sitting in orbit, there’s not many choices we have for reaching it… But while sending out just one pilot is too risky, it also doesn’t seem like a good idea to put two into its crosshair.”
“Mmm. Good point.” Maya turned to the others. “What do-…”
Misato stopped listening. Ritsuko subtly slid up to her.
“Get your head straight!” She whisper-screamed. “Stop thinking about ANYTHING other than killing that angel.”
“AGH. You’re right. You’re right, thank you. Yeesh. What do you think?”
“What about the Spear of Longinus?”
“According to Shinji, it might be too dangerous to be without it when the next angel comes.”
“Damn. To think we need such a trump card to the bitter end, huh?”
“And the mass-produced EVA’s…”
Misato whispered even quieter.
“Mmmm… You’re right… I guess we really can’t afford to. I’ll try to convince Gendo not to authorize it.”
“Right…” She still wasn’t sure if that was for the best. “I’ll try to think of something else in the meantime. Let me know if he suggests anything.”
“Got it.”
Ritsuko walked off as Misato stepped toward the screen.
What the hell are we gonna do?
…
“We can’t just sit and wait. I think we need to make the first move.”
“Captain?”
“I don’t think it’ll be easy, but our best bet might be a preemptive strike. After all, there’s no telling what its range is, and we sure as hell can’t do anything until it’s in OUR range. We may as well try something.”
“Understood!”
“Are you nervous?” Shinji was on standby in Unit-01, though he had strict orders not to activate it.
“I suppose.” Rei was in Unit-00 while they prepared her long-range weapon.
“I get you. Like, the answer’s definitely ‘yes’ but at the same time, you don’t really FEEL nervous, right?”
Asuka was gearing up to enter Unit-02.
Rei didn’t answer. She stared bnkly at the weapon she would use against Arael.
“I know you’re worried about Rei, but we can’t afford to send two pilots at once. And I know you don’t want to hear this, Asuka, but it’s the firm truth that Rei’s sync rates are higher than yours at the moment. It only makes logical sense to send her out for such a precise shot.”
“I told you, I get it! No need to rub it in!”
Asuka limply threw a nearby pencil at Misato, clearly only mocking outrage to provide levity in order to soothe her nerves.
Incredible. She really, really cares so much for Rei. She wanted to murder both her and Shinji such a short time ago, but now that-
…
-THAT… She’s so easily able to put aside her pride. I should be proud of her, but I can’t help but feel worried that they’re being puppeteered by something… Whether it be Lilith or those Goddamned pills…
No. No. Clear your mind. Stop thinking about anything other than killing this angel. All else can wait.
“Be ready, though, Asuka. If anything goes wrong, you’ll be first response. We can’t risk activating Unit-01 until we run more diagnostics on what possessing an S2 engine will do to an EVA.”
“Yes, ma’am!”
Asuka's eyes were brimming with determination.
Like a true soldier.
Damn, these kids.
