Effectively, the Angel, Jabniel, is Magneto with an AT field and about 90 meters tall. So, yes, its going to cause the Evas some problems. I make it clear this one won't be a push over by having Cirus' usually successful attack get caught and used to make him very vulnerable. I also thought it a good idea to show one of the pilots forgetting something basic, like a real person might, and so Asuka and Unit 02 lack an AT field at first. I added the brief scene where Unit 02 actually activates the spiritual defense field for this edition of the story. Shinji gets more of the spotlight during this fight as part of my effort to balance out the presentation of the pilots across all four rather than just Rei or Cirus.

Ayanami-sama finally enters the fray, roughly marking a 'round 2' for the fight. Of course, having Ayanami-sama in a life-threatening situation tugs at the heart-strings too much to let by, so Jabniel starts to crush her very much like it was Asuka until Cirus leaps in to free her with a distracting attack. Of course, Jabniel isn't that weak, so Cirus pays for his attack with some nice 'rag-doll' flying. Having Shinji actually rescue Ayanami-sama from the Angel is a twist I deliberately planned, again, part of the balancing out. This will, of course, force Cirus to be more realistic, and be perceived more realistically by the reader. He's highly skilled, but just another pilot at the end of the day.

That Cirus' brief come-back ends in him getting hit by Shinji's fire is very much his own fault and not Shinji's. He knew it was a risk when he dove at the Angel, and considered it worth taking for Rei's sake. Shinji, of course, will feel responsible anyway, but my intent is not to make Shinji look foolish. And the reader has probably noticed Rei's 'quivering gasps' every time she's in pain or crying. Since we first really meet Ayanami-sama gasping for life on the floor of the Eva hangar in Episode 1, it made an impression, and I found it very potent in particular at 'tugging the heart strings'.

Asuka comes to the rescue at last, and though she takes some blows, effectively dominates the Angel in a few moves. The specific thought-dialogue about her mother protecting her again (relating to her Eva going 'berserk' for her) is new for this edition of the story. I thought it tied better into her dynamic with her Eva, and was easy enough to add with the flow of the scene.

The brief scene after the battle simply establishes that Ayanami-sama will also be in the medical facility (or believably could be) along with Cirus and Shinji, while maintaining her dislike of the medical facility itself. It's also simply an opportunity to write for her.

Naturally, upon waking, Cirus' first concern is to check on Ayanami-sama. He does so, with some classic adorableness in his adoration of her, and then Asuka arrives. This was intended to be a more calm interaction between them, to show a shift in their dynamic, but the conversation flowed naturally to him taking her outside and finally being clear, as much as he can, on which of them is 'more attractive'. Asuka handles as well as can be expected, I think, and simply storms off. Read on!