While Gendo and Fuyutsuki are out on a mission to Antarctica, a massive Angel, Sahaquiel, appears in Earth's orbit, well beyond the reach of the Evangelions, and launching several N² bombs at it has no effect. The Angel attacks by dropping small pieces of itself onto Earth below, calibrating its aim: once it has zeroed in on Tokyo-3, the main body of Sahaquiel will fall to Earth in a massive kamikaze attack to destroy Tokyo-3. All three Evangelions are deployed at once in a race to reach the Angel before it hits, hold it back by projecting their own AT fields, and destroy it. The operation is a success, and Shinji, much to his own surprise, receives words of praise from Gendo for his efforts. Shinji realizes that getting praise from his father might be his main motivation for being a pilot.