Disclaimer: I don't own Neon Genesis Evangelion or Sailor Moon, if you tell me I do, I'll say "No I don't." If you give me the rights and ownership, I'll say "Is this a joke?" Now that that's out of the way, read on.

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The next thing he knew, he was lying on his back. At least, that's all his mind could come up with at the time. His pulse was racing and his mind was becoming more and more foggy. He felt it grip his arm, at that time, by instinct, he threw a mad swing with his other arm knocking the beast unbalanced. It fell to the earth with a shattering crash. Shinji began to stand his Eva up so that maybe he could change the tide of the losing battle. As he began to stand the other creature hammered him with a powerful blow to the stomach of the Eva. Shinji toppled over and the Angel they called Shamshiel, looked down upon the Eva with a touch of death in its gleam. Just as it had drawn back to strike the Eva down it vanished. The simulation was over, yet Shinji just couldn't shake the grim image from his head.

"SHINJI! What was that?!" a loud voice exclaimed over the intercom inside the Eva.

Even though the voice was deafening and threatening, it was nice to hear a familiar voice. "I'm sorry… I couldn't concentrate… I must've overdone it when I chose to do it with only half my power… but I just wanted to challenge myself, to see if I was as good as Rei… or Asuka…" Shinji answered.

"Hah! That's right Third Child, you only WISH you were as good as moi! Well, I bet I could've done it with only HALF power!" a certain voice yelled from across the control room.

"Alright, Asuka, that's enough of that now. Shinji are you alright?" Ritsuko finally answered.

"Yes, I'll be fine. I'm just a bit shaken…"

"Well, that was expected I suppose, but next time I hope you will fill a bit more into our expectations Shinji."

"I'm sorry…"

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            Sleep doesn't come easy to one that can't silence their thoughts. That night, Shinji couldn't sleep well. He just kept running the film of failing in front of everyone through his head. If an Angel were to attack right now, would he be good enough? Sure, he had taken care of all the ones up to now, but they were getting progressively stronger.

He awoke the next morning to find that Asuka had still been asleep. Misato had been working long hours, so she wasn't home much for the time being. He thought about leaving her to sleep, letting her wake herself up if she was so good. But the best of Shinji always had a way of coming out. He opened her door and began to approach her bed. He put his hand on her shoulder and began to shake her gently.

"Asuka, wake up, it's almost time for school. Asuka?" He pulled the covers back to find only some pillows arranged beneath them.

"AHA! I bet you were hoping to find me asleep so you could take advantage of my body weren't you, Third Child!" Asuka shouted as she slammed open the door of her closet.

"WHA?! No! It's Not That!"

She had already started stomping towards him.

"Oh? Then what IS it then?"

"It's almost time for school… I just thought I'd come wake you up… That's all… I'm sorry if things didn't look that way…" Shinji was trying to hold back his nervousness.

"HMPH! Well… I suppose I can accept an answer like that… THIS time! Don't EVER come into my room again without knocking Third Child, you won't live to regret it"

Agitated and a bit confused, Shinji left Asuka to prepare for the day ahead.

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            At school Kensuke was already pumped up for Shinji's latest tale of being one of the people chosen as an Eva pilot. As soon as Shinji stepped into the class he was raided by Kensuke's interrogations and Touji's playful teasing. Even though this may drive even the tamest boy insane, these were his friends and he wouldn't give them up for anything. ANYTHING is better than being alone, Shinji knew this all too well. After school Touji was desperately asking Shinji as to when Misato might get back on her regular schedule. The highlight of Shinji's day; being absolutely needed.

On the way home from school an enigmatic figure stepped out in front of them. Her blue hair seemed to radiate from the suns light. She was a vision of loveliness, even though the sheer company of her made most of Shinji and his friends uncomfortable. Shinji especially, it was like he knew her very well, yet he knew nothing about her. It was too confusing to understand, but too eerie to forget.

She stared blankly at them and said what she normally does when Shinji runs into her.

"Ikari, you're needed for training right away. I will go there immediately," she said. And with that, she turned and ran to her destination.

Touji leaned over towards Shinji. "So, is Ayanami like this ALL the time?"

Shinji, with a slight blush across his face nodded.

"So, I'll see you tomorrow at school then Shinji. Have fun!"

It always sickened Shinji as to how Kensuke could be jealous of something he repulsed so much. Shinji loathed piloting the Eva, the hideous beast. But even though he hated it so much, it gave him purpose, a reason to carry on. Something that he felt he never had before. He was constantly in a state of turmoil since becoming a pilot, but it was something he had to do.

Shinji temporarily glanced up to see Touji and Kensuke staring at him as though he had lost his mind. He didn't realize that he had been standing there for a pretty good amount of time letting his mind wander.

"OH! Yeah, err… I'll see you guys tomorrow, heh…"

Touji and Kensuke exchanged glances.

"Sure, well… uh, goodbye now," Kensuke said.

Shinji quickly ran off in the direction of NERV, leaving the two dumbfounded friends behind.

"Eva pilots are pretty messed up…" Touji muttered to himself as Shinji disappeared into the distance.

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            The smell of blood, it's quite unsettling. Most people haven't smelled it; if you pick a scab and try to smell the blood you most likely won't pick it up. Although given enough blood, it does have a definite smell. This is a smell is something that Shinji Ikari cannot escape. He sat at the controls of the Eva with the bizarre odor surrounding him.

"So you've collected your instruction fully, correct?"

"Yes Ritsuko, I think I understand."

"Tell me your instruction then Shinji"

"I must neutralize the Angel's AT Field, one-handed, and attempt to destroy the Angel with the prototype bomb."

"It's not just a 'prototype bomb' Shinji, this bomb shatters even the bonds of reality if mishandled. You MUST get it right the first time, if not then not only the Eva will be shattered, but quite possibly your soul as well, not just your body."

"NERV can get away with something THIS powerful?!"

"Well… ahem… NERV can make things this powerful, yes…"

"That isn't what I asked…"

"You're a pilot Shinji, not a scientist. Don't bother with questions, if it were dangerous would we make you do it?"

"I know I could do it if you're not up to it Third Child," Asuka exclaimed from nowhere.

"I'll do it…" Shinji finally said.

He could do it, he knew he could… or rather, he knew he must, he knew he had to. He also knew very well that even if it were dangerous they would make him do it. They didn't bother pitting him against the creatures that could initiate Third Impact and annihilate mankind, although from where he stood right now, fighting a bloodthirsty Angel didn't look very bad…

"Are you ready, Shinji?"

After a long sigh he replied, "Yes Ritsuko, I am."

And with that Shinji launched Unit-01 into action. It never ceased to amaze him as to how the body of the Angel could be cloned. It could've been done if the Angel had DNA, but did it? What kind of technology could NERV have at its fingertips? After thinking about this for a while Shinji decided to concentrate only on the mission at hand.

He clutched the bulky bomb in his left arm while he charged the crustacean type Angel. It reminded him of a cross between a lobster and a squid.

"Stay focused this time Shinji, this is worth more than just a good mark," Ritsuko warned over the COM.

The enormous Angel made a massive swing with its tentacle, but Shinji had prepared for such an attack and leapt the strike.

"SHINJI! Be careful with that! The bomb is VERY sensitive!"

He hadn't noticed, but he nearly dropped the bomb as he landed. Deciding to quickly end the test before he had a chance to mess it up he threw his arm out to the Angel and began to fight its AT Field down. After making a large enough puncture in it he struggled to get the bomb as close to the Angel as possible. With a lunge he managed to stick a pointed end of the bomb into the Angel, almost as well as the pre-mission diagram.

"GREAT job Shinji! Now get out of there!"

Shinji leapt back a bit from the Angel, turned and began to evacuate as far from it as possible. From behind he could feel a great impact. He turned to see the new bomb in action.

The scene was amazing, like that from a sci-fi movie. The Angel had begun to turn inward as rainbow prisms ejected from the pool of blackness that was once the Angel's stomach. After a long 13 seconds, the Angel had completely sucked itself into oblivion.

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            The vision wouldn't stop haunting Shinji all night. He had trouble getting good rest for the next few days. How much about NERV was he dumb about? Was he really needed after all or could they suppress him if he wasn't around? Ever since the first test he had been trying out the same bomb, new types of the same bomb, bombs, bombs, bombs, he was sick of all of them. It had been given the experimental name CH²AOS. It was given that name for it's rumored ability to be able to manipulate even Heaven and Hell.

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            "Alright Shinji, here's the newest test, are you ready?"

"Okay, the same as the others, right?"

"Almost, this time the AI on the Angel will be set for it to act just like a REAL Angel."

"You mean all this time I've been fighting dummies?!"

"Well we needed a guarantee that it was working right"

"Well… Alright… I understand…"

"There will be one more change in the test too though…"

"Oh? What's that?"

"Your father will be watching."

Shinji swallowed hard at the mention of that. Before it was just a test, but now he had to really prove himself.

"…Alright…"

"Just stay focused Shinji and you'll be fine."

"I trust you won't disappoint me Shinji…" Gendo chimed in. His cold, dark voice standing out from the rest.

"Of course not father…"

And with that Eva Unit-01 began on its familiar path. Shinji, hoping to eliminate any chance to mess up with his father watching, hit the Angel head on completely surprising it and nearly toppling it. Shredding the AT Field like paper maché, Shinji quickly planted the CH²AOS bomb into the Angels head and began his run back. It had slipped his mind that he was dealing with a real Angels AI now though. In an effort to retaliate it swung one of its massive tentacles around his leg and pulled the Eva to the ground as if it were nothing. Shinji was completely panic stricken and was unable to sync right with his Eva; therefore he lost control of it.

"Shinji! Get out of there NOW!"

All of the cries coming from over the intercom weren't helping him calm down either. He turned to see the bomb detonate and the Angel still gripping him like death. The last thing he remembered doing was pressing the eject button on his Eva Unit and flying not into safety, but launching the Plug into the heart of the bomb. Somewhere in his thoughts he found a memory of something Ritsuko was saying to him.

"While the bomb can detonate and ravage a great area, if something is thrown into the heart of the bomb during its greatest kinetic phase, the blast, then the bomb will nullify itself with the object. While the bomb may be one our greatest accomplishments so far in the fight against the Angels, it isn't flawless."

That was Ritsuko, an optimist, pessimist, and scientist all rolled into one. As Shinji hurdled towards the oblivion he began wondering weather he should be afraid or glad. He was finally escaping piloting Eva, he was escaping his father, and he was escaping his pains. He realized that he was once again running away. In his flurry of fear, panic, and mad thoughts he did the only thing he could think of at that time. He cried as he was sucked into the blackness.

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Dr. Ritsuko Akagi, a brilliant scientist thought sometimes to be heartless; this was a prime example of one of those times. After losing contact with Shinji's Plug she quickly sent Rei and Asuka out in their Evas to destroy the Angel who was unaffected due to the accident.

"It is a very unfortunate thing that has happened to Shinji. He must be replaced immediately. It seems he wasn't up to our expectations after all…" Gendo said without expression. Where as Ritsuko was sometimes considered heartless, Gendo was a full time case.

After a long silence Ritsuko replied, "Understood…"