NERV always seems to demand something from you, whether that'd be your strength, your alertness, your ability to follow orders, etcetera. But when being a pilot becomes such a huge part of your life, you kind of grow to either ignore or accept it, with the former being the more viable option.

But sometimes, even ignoring it seems impossible. Times when you're pushed to your limits, being forced to perform under great pressure, with the loads exceeding far beyond your capabilities.

This mission was no exception, but it was one you knew you'd remember for life.

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With the 6th Angel, Ramiel, now ravaging Tokyo-3, it was determined to be one of the strongest entities NERV ever had to face: it had a drill that could reach deep below the ground and penetrate all 20 thick concrete armor plates protecting the GeoFront, and not only that, its core was hidden deep beyond an impenetrable octahedron shell. And with a powerful particle beam that can level mountains in seconds, it is truly an unstoppable force of its own otherworldly nature.

The estimated time for it to reach Central Dogma was 20 hours, which sounds like a lot, until you realize that all that time has to be spent flawlessly preparing for the fight with nearly no room for mistakes.

But unfortunately, this time mistakes couldn't be completely avoided..

With Shinji having decided to confront the Angel up close, he's suffered a devastating loss, with having almost been boiled by the LCL heating up due to a particularly powerful release of the temperature from the beam, but luckily he and Unit-01 were evacuated from the battlefront with Unit-01 having sustained a pretty serious amount of damage.

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Thus, Operation "Yashima" was launched.

Two Evangelions would have to position themselves atop a mountain far outside the city. One would have to try and shoot the angel, while another would have to shield the former. This may sound easy on paper, but the preparations that have to be made make it anything but. With the transportation of the Evas with all the equipment, briefings and assembling the rifle in such a short time period it all sounds like hell. Not to mention, the entire Japanese power grid would have to be shut down for a day just to power the rifle.

And since Shinji was still in recovery, and Unit-01 couldn't be repaired in time, you were called to pilot Unit-03 instead.

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All throughout the time of your preparation you couldn't shake off how nervous you were, yet when you tried to talk about it with Rei, she seemed almost.. confused. As if to her, it was more natural than nature itself. As if the weight of the world's fate on her shoulders was but a feather. But you knew that soon would come time when none of it would matter and you'll have to climb into the entry plug no matter what.

Midnight came.

The city below instantly went dark.

You both got into your Evangelions and got into position with Rei in Unit-00 shielding you in Unit-03. The rumbling of the missile batteries below made it exponentially harder to focus, but despite that, you kept on trying to steady your shaking hands.

As soon as the octahedral Angel came into view, you immediately adjusted your sight and locked onto it.

First shot rang off.

A miss.

You watched the Angel swiftly shift into a flower-like structure before firing its powerful particle beam with a deafening screech. The beam hit the mountain below you, making the ground shake, but you two were unharmed.

With unsteady hands, you racked and reloaded the giant rifle.

Second shot.

Another miss.

But what you didn't expect is for the beam to hit you back way sooner than it should have. And this time it was way more precise.

The beam hit the shield, but before you both knew it, it started to melt under the temperature, seeping right through it and hitting Unit-00. You knew you had to act fast.

Amidst the blaring alarms, the explosions and the racing of your own heart you managed to line up the barrel and take a precise shot, and when it landed, the Angel exploded into a flood of crimson viscous blood-like liquid.

You quickly managed to bring Unit-03 to its feet, and having gathered your bearings, almost on instinct, you ripped the entry plug right out of Unit-00's spine and carefully set it down on the concrete.

You climbed out right out of the entry plug and instantly noticed Unit-00, which was now burnt to a crisp. But you quickly shifted your focus to the entry plug, which fortunately seemed intact. You quickly ran towards it, but when you tried to open it, the handles for the hatch nearly burned your hands despite the protective layer of rubber from your suit's gloves. But gritting through the pain, you managed to open the hatch.

When you peeked inside, Rei didn't rush to meet your gaze. Her hair was slightly messy, her pale skin had an unnatural crimson hue to it, likely from the intense heat. Her breathing was still ragged, with occasional quiet residual whimpers from the ebbing pain.

REI: She finally managed to look up at you. Her face remained expressionless, save from the occasional pained twitches.