Contains spoilers for this episode and earlier episodes.
Shinji and Asuka are disappointed when Misato forbids the pilots from joining their class trip to Okinawa. They must remain available for Angel attacks, so the others leave while they stay behind. At the pool, Asuka helps Shinji with a problem about thermal expansion and complains that her school difficulties come from reading Japanese rather than understanding the subjects. Their standby duty soon becomes a mission when an immature Angel is discovered inside Mount Asama. Nerv hopes to capture it alive for study. Asuka accepts the assignment in Unit-02, despite disliking the bulky protective equipment required to survive immersion in the volcano's magma.
The descent places increasing pressure on the Eva and costs Asuka her knife before she reaches the target. She secures the developing creature in a capture device, but it hatches and breaks free. Misato changes the mission from retrieval to destruction. Shinji sends his knife down to Asuka, who discovers that the weapon alone cannot penetrate the Angel effectively. Recalling the lesson about temperature, she turns a coolant hose on it and then strikes successfully. The victory leaves her support cable damaged, and Unit-02 starts sinking when it breaks. Shinji dives in with Unit-01 to catch her. Afterwards, the group relaxes at hot springs, where Asuka notices Misato's old scar.