2

In Nerv, the institution protecting humanity from extinction, a red light flashed, alerting the pilots to the danger. Now everything faced the threat posed by the Angels once again.

"Shinji, you and Asuka will take care of the Angels, and Rei will prepare for takeoff in half an hour..."

Misato ran up to them as they were changing in their cabins.

"How many are there?" Asuka asked.

"Two, we haven't seen them yet. Too much fog and some strange anomalies related to the magnetic field and light...

" "It's probably something new," Shinji remarked.

"Hurry up."

She rushed to Misato's side and went to the room where the Evangelions were.

"Katsuragi, what about the pilots?"

Commander Ikari asked, sitting on the balcony.

"They should be here soon, Commander..."

Ikari nodded and looked at the Eva heads poking out of the liquid. Shinji then ran up, and his father could watch him calmly. It was hard to say what he thought of this inconspicuous boy now boarding an Evangelion. After all, so much had happened recently...

" "Cooling is finished." Docking positions checked," a male voice boomed over the speakers. "Entry plugs and pilots are already in the cockpits..."

A moment's pause, and then Misato's assistant spoke up.

"Number one ready! Number two ready!" Maya read the data from the computer and signaled to Misato that they were ready to begin.

And after a few minutes, the Evangelions disappeared onto the elevator walkways. It didn't take long before both bio-robots emerged onto the forested surface of the city.

"Shinji!"

The boy heard Asuka's voice and looked at the display.

"I'll go first, you give me a good shield.

" "OK."

The pilot nodded and looked around with interest. He couldn't see anything of interest, however, as everything was shrouded in thick fog. He didn't like it, as in such conditions it was easy to attack without being noticed. After a few minutes of waiting, both Evangelions moved forward to move away from the walkway leading to Nerv.

"What's going on, Misato? Are you sending us for nothing?" Asuka asked nervously.

"The target is approaching, be careful..." she heard in response.

"Be careful..." Shinji added.

"I always watch out!" She huffed proudly and ran forward, disappearing into the fog.

"Asuka!!!" Misato screamed. "What are you doing?!

" "I'll follow her."

Shinji replied, and leisurely walked in the direction Asuka had headed. And since quite some time had passed, Rei soon joined him.

"Did you see number two?"

"No. Nothing's known at headquarters yet either." Asuka didn't respond.

The boy swallowed, and the two continued on their way... But then they also heard an unsettling rustle. Something moved ahead of them, as the light was obscured by two enormous silhouettes of beautiful Evangelions, striding towards them.

"This... This is supposed to be our target?!" Shinji groaned.

But at that moment, he saw Number Two crashing down on one of the newcomers with a thud. The two robots slid down the slope, and the other watched them without moving. The boy even thought the other was surprised. Number Zero also entered the fray, shielded by his laser pistol fire. The new Evangelion didn't react at first, only retreating a few steps under the powerful and accurate fire. He didn't wait, however, when he realized that Rei was indeed attacking. He leaned forward, grabbed Number Zero as he ran, and then lifted it high above his head.

"Rei!" Shinji shouted in terror. "Rei!"

Number zero flew violently into the nearest building. "Oh no! What do I do now?! What do I do?!" the frantic boy thought as he fired at the target approaching him. And suddenly something grabbed him from behind, so tightly that he couldn't move. The rifle fell to the ground with a crash... He screamed in frustration, trying to break free, but his attempts were futile. Suddenly, on his monitor, through which he communicated with the other Evangelion pilots, a blurry image of a human face began to flash.

"Shinji!... Shinji...

" "Who are you?!" he said, surprised.

"We're Evangelion pilots, you attacked unnecessarily..."

The boy stopped struggling, and then the Eva holding his arms from behind released him. Number seven, standing in front of him, offered him a hand and glanced at the Evangelion standing behind him.

"We came to Japan specifically, and you're preparing this kind of welcome for us!?" He heard the amused voice of the other girl.

"What did you do to Rei and Asuka?

" "They're fine, they should be here soon..."

"Shinji! Shinji!!!" Misato's voice interrupted their conversation.

"Everything's fine, we'll be down soon." He explained flatly.

"Didn't you do anything to them? They're from America...

" "I know, it's all clear now."

Shinji looked at Rei getting up from the building and Asuka climbing the hill. "They beat us up real bad. I didn't expect it at all..."

"What's the matter, Shinji?!" Asuka screamed. "Attack!

" "They're friends..."

He replied calmly.

"I don't believe it, they attacked us!

" "You attacked us!" He heard the amused voice again.

"Let's go, the walkways are open.

" Rei suddenly spoke, and all five Evas entered TOKYO-3. Downstairs, after all the Evas had been rehydrated, the pilots emerged from their Entry Plugs to observe the new arrivals. They were two tall girls. One had short brown hair and blue eyes. Beautiful curves, and an earpiece attached to her ear. She also wore special, tall, blue glasses. The other girl had longer, dark cherry-colored hair, bordering on brown, tied in a high ponytail. Her eyes were dark, and like the first girl, she wore strange glasses.

"Nice to meet you, my name is Achika,"

the first girl said with a smile.

"Nice to meet you too, my name is Ryoko.

" "I'm Shinji...

" "We know almost everything about you, you don't need to introduce yourselves," Ryoko smiled.

"Konnihiwa."

They heard Commander Ikari's voice. Rei and the others watched as he walked across the walkway toward them. He had clearly been expecting their arrival. Achika approached him and, shaking his hand, said politely,

"We didn't expect such a welcome, Commander. You really keep too much under wraps.

" "We apologize, but it's best to be careful here."

Achika nodded.

"So we are, if possible, we'd like to speak with you in private..." Ryoko joined the conversation.

"Yes, please..."

The Commander pointed to the door leading to the exit and, with a quick glance at the bewildered pilots, followed the new pilots out. When they sat down quietly in his office, the girls explained the whole situation to him.

"It's absurd that the Angels would be hunting me!" Ikari said after a long moment.

"This is as much a surprise to us as it is to you. Our command suspected that it was solely due to your position. You understand, don't you?" Achika asked.

"I understand..." He nodded. "And you come from America to tell me about this?"

"From Nerv... Are you surprised?" Ryoko smiled. "It's certainly quite unusual. However, do you perhaps remember your brother, who emigrated to the USA a few years ago? He's the founder of the American organization. So it's no wonder he ordered us to come here and take care of you.

" "But that's nonsense, my brother...

" "Yes, he was at odds with you; but now that he's realized it, he preferred to forget about it and help you." Achika handed him a diskette. "This is a letter for you, please read it."

Commander Ikari reached for it with a trembling hand and after a moment, put it in his pocket.

"Commander!" Misato burst into the room. "An Angel Attack!" Unfortunately, all the Evas are in a cooling state, and it's impossible to resist…"

Achika looked at the terrified Misato for a moment, then turned to Ikari.

"Please send us.

" "But you were in combat just now," Misato said.

"Our Evas aren't built like these. They can be used at any time," Ryoko said.

"Go, let's see what you can do.

" Ikari nodded and headed for his balcony, as the other girls ran toward the Evangelions.

"Ryoko!"

Achika said, turning on her microphone by pressing a button by her ear.

"Yes, sir! We'll get to him.

" "Great."

The girl smiled, and both Evangelions surfaced. Their enemy was already waiting for them there. He was under fire from what looked like miniature helicopters, but that didn't bother him much. Number six, piloted by Ryoko, charged into the fray as Evangelion Achika stood quietly on the sidelines.

"What are they doing?" Shinji whispered, looking at the massive screen projected on the wall.

"A brilliant tactic."

Misato nodded, admiring Ryoko's actions. Meanwhile, Number six attacked an Angel that resembled a robot. Yet, at the same time, it was very different. It had four pairs of long, spiky arms and a tiny head resembling a circle with two holes in the center. Number six didn't hesitate for a moment. He dodged the Angel's attacks for a moment, and when he got close enough, he lifted it high above his head, simultaneously throwing it into the air.

"Now Achika!" the girl shouted.

Number seven swished into the air to strike him with all his might, sending the Angel crashing into the ground. There was no need to finish him off. The blow was perfectly aimed, causing his entire circulatory system to explode, rupturing his heart and internal organs. Clouds of dust rose into the air, covering the entire battlefield. Achika crouched deftly beside the dead body and glanced at Number six, who had carved a piece of the Angel's armor.

"Hide it well..." she whispered to her.

"Sure."

The other agreed, smiling contentedly. When the initial daze in headquarters subsided, the commander looked at the others and took a deep breath.

"They defeated him in less than 45 seconds, and how long will it take you!?

" "I only need 36 seconds," Asuka said indignantly.

Shinji glanced at his father; he'd never seen him so pale.

"It's ridiculous that the three of you couldn't defeat a single Angel. And yet two people managed perfectly well, even without weapons. What's more, they move so agilely, as if they were part of them...

" "Commander..." Misato tried to defend them, but she couldn't find the words.

At that moment, the door slid open for the two novices, who calmly stopped right in front of the door.

"Good job." The commander nodded.

"Thank you. Although it wasn't that difficult." Ryoko laughed modestly.

Achika was pale, and Misato noticed.

"Sorry, you must be sleepy." She looked expectantly at Commander Ikari.

"You may leave; your mission is complete for now." He smiled and waved them away.

Misato got into her car and glanced in the rearview mirror, seeing both girls and Asuka. Shinji sat next to her.

"I'll take you to the hotel first, then we'll figure something out.

" "Okay, our parents should call soon, then we'll find each other..." Ryoko agreed, looking anxiously at Achika, who was clearly not feeling well.

"Oh, so your parents are in Japan too?" Misato asked with interest.

"Yes, they were on the ships that escorted us. They arrived at the port around seven in the morning... We haven't had any contact with them since then. However, they were supposed to call us on their cell phones after completing all the formalities related to our stay in Japan."

Both girls looked with interest at the city they were driving through. Until now, they had only heard about it from their commander, who spoke of it often. "TOKYO-3 is a city composed of a mixture of residential buildings and various structures used to house the Evangelions, especially the large number of exit holes. In an emergency, the residential buildings sink into shelters several hundred meters deep in the ground. Civilians are relocated to these shelters. The first relocation of the capital Tokyo-2 to Tokyo-3 took place in 2016," he said once, and from that moment on, both girls dreamed of one day being able to see this amazing and fascinating city.

"...The hotel you'll be staying in is called Phi Long, and you'll certainly be pleased with it..." Misato smiled, turning the car onto a side street.

"Thank you..."

Achika got out of the car, slamming the door.