I knew I could get this one in before leaving for the beach.
Alright, well my next update will probably be around the 19th or the 20th. Till then, hope you guys like this chapter.
Enjoy!
Misato's eyes fluttered open, at first being blinded by a bright lights beaming down on her face, contrasting strongly against the night sky. As she came to, she was able to make out the silhouette of a man leaning over her. His long hair flowed behind him as his ponytail blew in the wind. Even though the floodlights behind him made it impossible to see his features, Katsuragi already knew who it was.
"Kaji…" She spoke wearily, trying to lean up, only to feel a sharp stabbing sensation shoot through her left arm. She grimaced in pain, falling back down to stretcher she was laying on while Kaji crouched down to her level.
"You hurt your arm pretty badly in the explosion." His soft voice was the just the thing she needed to hear, especially since the last thing she could remember was hearing Unit 03's head splitting roar when it went berserk and broke free of its restraints.
Unit 3...
"Oh God!" She shot up again, this time ignoring the pain in her arm. "Toji! Is he alright?!"
Kaji's expression darkened, and his eyes dulled. That alone was enough to make Misato's heart sink. "You probably shouldn't worry about that right now."
"The Hell I shouldn't!" She snapped, hissing through the pain that was shooting through the entirety of her left arm. "Where is Toji?!" Her lover's expression alone was enough to answer her question, but she was still holding onto one last stand of hope that maybe, just maybe the Fourth Child was okay.
It nearly broke Kaji's heart to have to cut that strand.
XXXXXXXXXX
"Father!" Shinji cried as Unit 01 stomped its right foot onto the peak of the pyramid that served as the entrance to NERV Headquarters. A tremor was sent through the entirety of the facility, even shaking the depths of Terminal Dogma, where the bulbous white Angel remained impaled to its crimson cross. "I have three minutes of power left. That's more than enough to destroy Headquarters and you along with it!"
Aoba looked up cautiously at the ceiling of Central Dogma, watching out for any falling debris. "In this state of mind, I think he might do it too."
Commander Ikari sat idly at his seat, while Sub Commander Fuyutsuki was nowhere to be found. Immediately after the thirteenth Angel was destroyed, Ikari sent him out to oversee NERV's public relations department. It wasn't often that NERV made public statements, but considering that the entire situation was an absolute abysmal mess, something needed to be addressed to keep the civilian populace at ease.
"I know you can hear me!" Shinji screamed, his voice echoing throughout Central Dogma before stomping Unit 01's foot into the top of the pyramid once more, this time knocking the peak of it off, sending it tumbling down the side. Dust and debris fell from above the Command Center, but nothing large enough to cause any real harm.
"Raise the LCL pressure to maximum." Commander Ikari growled. "I don't have time to deal with the temper tantrums of an insolent chil-"
"Hey!" A haughty, shrill voice echoed through the Command Center, bringing everyone's attention to the hologram being projected in the front of the room, showing a glowing red dot coming from Unit 02's position. "Stupid Shinji! What the Hell do you think you're doing?!"
Unit 01 froze as its foot came slamming down for another stomp, halting midway. "Asuka?" Shinji pulled up the video monitor to Unit 02, showing the redhead sitting in the cockpit of Unit 02, tightly gripping her right forearm. She looked terrible. Her eyes were wide, her pupils shrunken into little black beady dots, and her normally gorgeous red hair was a complete mess, wild strands dangling over her face. "I… I… You don't understan-"
"Shut up!" She hissed. "You're acting like a God damn child!"
He felt his lip quiver. "But Toji is…"
"I know." Asuka's tone simmered down a bit. "I saw everything…" She lowered her head and took a deep breath, clearly affected by what had happened as well. "But you can't do this. Please Shinji, just stop."
Shinji was still boiling with rage, and nothing would make him happier than to crush his father beneath Unit 01's gargantuan foot. However, he didn't want to go against Asuka's wishes either, so he reluctantly complied. Slowly, Ikari lowered Unit 01's foot gently atop of the pyramid, ceasing his attack on NERV Headquarters. Inside of the Command Center, all of the technicians and various employees took in deep breaths and made unanimous sighs of relief.
Despite this, Commander Ikari kept forward with his order. "Raise the pressure." He said coldly. "There is no point in taking unnecessary risks."
Maya almost protested, but knew that her qualms would go completely unheard. Against her better judgment, she made the necessary keystrokes and rose the pressure of the LCL inside of Shinji's Entry Plug to the maximum aloud.
It didn't take long for Ikari to feel the sudden change in the composition of the LCL flowing around him. At first it felt like his heart stopped beating all together, and then his lungs tightened. After that, there was a sudden release as everything suddenly went black.
Unit 01 slowly started to topple from atop the pyramid, crashing into the side of the structure back first and sliding down it, creating some superficial damage to the pyramid on its way down. Once it slid all the way down, the giant purple mech remained motionless on the artificial grass of the GeoFront, its yellow eyes dimming as its remaining battery power ran dry.
Inside of the Central Dogma, Hyuga fell back in his chair and shook his head. It wasn't even eight thirty and he was completely exhausted. He almost felt compelled to laugh at the craziness of everything that had happened. Within the past two hours, Hyuga had seen things that he thought could only happen in the worst of nightmares. This was no nightmare though. This was the reality they all had to face. At least he only had to face it from behind the safety of a computer monitor.
XXXXXXXXXX
"What a mess." Ritsuko shook her bandaged head, holding a handkerchief over her nose and mouth. It had been less than twenty four hours, but due to the blistering sun and humid weather, the half human-half Evangelion had already started to rot due to the Homo Sapien-like composition it adopted after absorbing Toji. Though they could keep the larger mammals away from the carcass, the cleanup crew had a hard time keeping the bugs away, as well as the flock of vultures that had begun feasting on its flesh.
"This is just horrible." Misato's voice rang through her ears as the lavender haired woman stepped up next to the doctor.
"I'm surprised you're here." She looked over at Misato, seeing that her wounded arm was now in a sling, and her right cheek had a small bandage on it.
"I had to come here." She replied, her tone very bleak and dull. "I had to see if it… if it was really true." Akagi could hear a crack in Misato's voice.
"Unfortunately it is." She looked back at the headless corpse, her eyes watering from the putrid smell radiating from it. "There is no sign of the Entry Plug or the Fourth Child, and the DNA tests show that this carcass is a perfect match to Toji Suzuhara." She inhaled, feeling disgusted by the boy's fate. "The Angel essentially absorbed him in an effort to regenerate itself. This in turn led to Toji becoming one with the Angel."
"I think I'm going to be sick." Misato lowered her head, and her eyes drearily dulled even more.
"If it makes you feel any better, the boy probably lost all conscious thought the moment he was absorbed into the Angel."
"It doesn't."
Ritsuko frowned underneath her handkerchief. "It's terrible that these children have to go through this, but there is just no other way."
"What about his sister?" Katsuragi asked, looking back at the blonde. "Does she know yet?"
She shook her head. "No. I'll tell her when I present her NERV's proposal."
"Proposal?" Misato's dreary expression shifted into one of puzzlement. "What are you talking about?"
"The report is going to read that Toji Suzuhara is K.I.A., meaning that he will no longer be under NERV's employment." She looked over at Misato, seeing her dulled eyes start to narrow. "This means that NERV can no longer keep Sakura in our care."
"There has to be some sort of exception made." Misato replied. "I mean look at this!" She motioned her good arm towards the wreckage laying before them. "You can't tell me we're going to just kick her out after her brother died like this!"
Ritsuko kept her calm expression. "Bare with me." She said. "Fortunately, Unit 01 didn't destroy the core of Unit 03, and being only nine years of age makes Sakura a prime candidate for the Marduk Institute's program. If she accepts, then she will remain in NERV's care, and when she has fully recovered, she will be put through the same training program that Asuka went through"
"Are you fucking serious?" Her eyes lit up, a raging fire burned behind them. "Are you seriously going to give that poor girl an ultimatum?!" Her voice could've brought giants to their knees in fear, but Ritsuko remained unmoved. "Either she has to pilot the same fucking machines that killed her brother, or we'll just kick her to the curb like a piece of trash?!"
"I don't make the rules, Major." Her voice stood firm as she lowered her handkerchief. "I only follow them."
"This is complete bullshit!" She snarled, stomping over to the blonde, grabbing her by the collar with her good hand. "What kind of monster are you?!"
Ritsuko's expression remained blank and unfazed by Misato's rage. She could see that Katsuragi was finding it incredibly unsettling how similar to Commander Ikari she had become in terms of her cynical and apathetic manner. "Do you think I take pleasure in this?" Her words slithered into Misato's ears like a snake. "Do you think I enjoy putting these children through Hell? Do you really think that I'm that sadistic?"
Misato didn't respond, as she had no honest answer she could give her. Ritsuko had been her friend for years. She used to trust her more than anyone else in the world at one point in time. Now though, she seemed like nothing more than a heartless shell of her former self.
"We live in a terrible world, Major. We live in a world where only the slimiest and most vile creatures can survive, while the goodhearted ones die one by one because of their selflessness. I hate thinking of the children as expendable tools. I hate manipulating them like puppets to do our bidding, but it's the only way we'll ever survive in this world. Either we adapt and become the very monsters that we're fighting against, or we hold true to our morals and die."
"Instead of making the world better place, just become the very things that are fucking it up." Misato growled. "One hell of a philosophy you've got there."
"Take my word for it when I say its one you better adopt as well." Ritsuko pulled herself out of the Major's grasp. "I'll see you back at Headquarters." The blonde turned away from Katsuragi and began making her way down the cracked road, leaving Misato to stand alone, letting her rage boil.
The lavender haired woman looked around her, trying to find something to punch. When she couldn't find anything, she merely stomped her boot down on the ground and growled in frustration. These children had been put through too much already. The last thing they needed was for Ritsuko to break them down even further.
XXXXXXXXXX
The brig was freezing cold. The chilly metal bench that Shinji remained seated on radiated its coolness through his black paints, and the wall made his spine shiver as he leaned against it. After coming to in NERV's medical wing, he found his right hand cuffed to his bed's railing, keeping him held in place. Around him stood two of NERV's security personnel who then escorted him into this cold and lonely cell.
After about three hours of sitting in isolation, the barred door finally opened, and he was told Commander Ikari would finally see him. In truth, Shinji could've cared less about what his father had to say to him. Not only did he make him fight his best friend, but he made him watch as he was brutally murdered. Anything that Gendo had to say to him wouldn't mean a damn thing to him.
After being removed from his cell, he was handcuffed once again and escorted to Commander Ikari's dark office, the only light source being the large window that overlooked the GeoFront. His father sat behind his desk in his standard position with his white gloved hands folded and his mouth hidden away behind them. The Commander's gaze remained fixated on his son, his glasses shimmering under the light. For about a minute the two stared at one another, neither saying a word. Shinji considered voicing his disgust with his father for forcing him to kill Toji, but he had come to accept that the fault was all his to bare. Had he not been so foolish and let Toji's Entry Plug slip away, then he'd still be here and everything would be as it had always been. Even so, his father still made him kill Toji, and for that he could not forgive him.
"You used an Evangelion Unit to carry out a personal vendetta." The Commander's voice echoed throughout the empty room. "You are aware that this is considered a treasonous act, aren't you?"
"Yes." He answered, his tone dull and void of emotion.
"Considering your importance here, I am willing to pull the strings necessary to pardon you for this offense, and you will be able to continue to pilot Unit 01." He inhaled. "However, if something like this were to happen again, I'd be given no choice but to…"
"You don't have to worry about that." The boy cut him off. "I'm never going to pilot that thing again."
Gendo exhaled in disappointment, but not the least bit surprised. "How unfortunate. You are aware that by resigning from NERV, Major Katsuragi will no longer be able to claim you as her ward, correct?"
"I know." He turned around and started making his way to the door. "I'll go back to live with my teacher."
"So you're running away again?" Gendo snickered. "Why am I not surprised." Shinji continued walking, not fazed by his father's words. "I can't possibly imagine what the Second Child possibly sees in you."
He stopped dead in his tracks. "You don't know anything about Asuka."
"Far more than you do." He replied. "Perhaps if you knew as much about her as I did, then you wouldn't be so quick to latch onto her."
"Shut up." Ikari had to fight to keep his voice from cracking.
"It doesn't matter anyways." He continued, despite his son's demand. "You will never see her again anyways. Now go." He commanded. "You will be erased from our records, and you will never hear from us ever again."
Fighting to keep his composure, Shinji continued out the door, allowing for it to shut automatically behind him.
Once his son was gone, Commander Ikari pressed a button that instantly connected him to Dr. Akagi. "Remove all records of Shinji Ikari." He spoke. "Rei will become the new designated pilot of Unit 01, with the Dummy Plug as backup."
"Understood." She replied.
XXXXXXXXXX
Shinji stood inside of Misato's apartment, staring at the front door. His backpack was filled with all of the necessities he'd need to take with him, while the rest of it would be shipped to him eventually. Second thoughts started crossing through his mind as he stood there, motionless. Kensuke left him a message earlier begging him not to leave. Shinji could've easily taken the call when it came in. However he just couldn't find it in himself to speak with his friend, especially considering what had happened to Toji. Besides the plea from his classmate, Shinji had already started to question whether or not leaving all of this behind was such a good idea. However all the reasons he tried to come up with to justify staying fell flat. He was certain Asuka hated him for not coming to her aid during the fight with Unit 03, and Misato broke his trust by refusing to tell him that Toji was the Fourth Child. Besides all that, he had probably broken the trust of all those at NERV. None of them would forget that he nearly crushed all of them under his feet during his tantrum. So even if he did decide to stay, they would never trust him again. Things would just be better if he left.
"So I guess you're leaving now, huh?"
Shinji turned to see his former guardian standing at the end of the hall wearing her red jacket with her left arm in a sling, Pen Pen waddling up next to her. "Yeah." He nodded. "I don't think I'm ever going to see any of you ever again, either."
The lavender haired woman looked down at her feet, her expression heavy and tired. "Even so, I'm going to keep your NERV ID card, as well as your password active."
"Why?" His tone was very straightforward and matter-of-fact. "I'm never getting in that thing ever again. So there's no point."
"I understand." She nodded. "I also understand that you're probably very angry at me for not telling you about Toji." She couldn't bring her eyes up to meet his. "I'm sorry about that, Shinji. I just thought it would be best if…"
"Best if what, Misato?" His words caused her to raise her eyes up and meet his. "Best if you kept me in the dark just like NERV always has? I used to think you were better than the rest them, Misato. But I was wrong. You're no different.
"I'm sorry you feel that way." Her tone had become completely disheartened.
"Can I just ask one thing before I go?"
"Of course." She nodded.
"Why Toji? Why did it have to be Toji?"
The Major took in a deep breath before answering. "Class 2-A is where all fourth level EVA pilot candidates are grouped. This was brought to my attention not too long ago. Even I'm kept in the dark by NERV at times."
Shinji didn't say anything back, but instead merely shrugged before reaching for the doorknob. That in of itself would explain a lot of things, and it also provided even more reason for him to leave. He never wanted to see anything like what happened to Toji happen to anyone else he cared about, and if everyone in his class could potentially become EVA pilots, then that only increased the likelihood of that happening tenfold.
Once he turned the doorknob, he looked outside at the orange sky, seeing the sun setting over the tree line. As he looked down at the threshold separating the apartment from the outside, his first memory of arriving at Misato's apartment played through his head. He remembered so vividly how nervous he had been, how unaware he was of all the events that would follow his arrival. It was a much more innocent time. A time when he still felt he had a chance of being accepted by his father. A time when he was starting to feel that he had finally found his place in the world. That time was over, and once he accepted that, he stepped over the threshold, leaving his life here behind.
Ikari made his way down the walkway, figuring it would take about ten minutes to get to the train station, giving him about fifteen minutes to spare before his train arrived. He didn't know what he'd do once he went back to his teacher. His teacher had been so eager to send him away to Tokyo-3, and he was certain that once he found somewhere else to ship Shinji off to, he'd most certainly do it again the second he had the chance. Then Ikari would just be right back where he started, back to starting a new life in another place with people he didn't know.
"I can't believe it." A shrill voice rang through his ears. Ikari stopped and reared his head towards the stairwell, seeing a familiar redhead leaning against the wall, her arms crossed. He couldn't help but notice the yellow sundress she was wearing. It was the very same sundress she wore when they first met on the aircraft carrier all those months ago. He found it rather fitting that she was wearing it during what would very likely be their final meeting. "So you're really leaving, aren't you?"
"Yeah." He nodded. "I just can't pilot the EVA anymore."
"Can't, or won't?" Her head tilted down a bit, letting her bangs cover her sapphire eyes.
"Both." He answered. "I just don't want to see what happened to Toji happen to anybody else ever again. Especially the people I care about."
"Fucking liar." Her words dripped with venom, causing Shinji to go a little wide eyed. "You're such a coward, you know that?"
"Asuka, you have no idea what I…"
"Shut up!" She hissed, raising her eyes up to him. When he saw her glare shimmering under the light of the setting sun, Shinji could see that her eyes didn't just betray her anger, they also betrayed her sorrow. "You're just a coward that likes to hide behind your so called 'friends' and let them fix all your problems."
"Asuka, I wanted to help you fight Unit 03." He tried to cease the incoming bombardment of Asuka's vocal thrashing. "I just couldn't! I didn't want you to get hurt, but I didn't want to hurt Toji either!"
"This isn't about that." She stood straight up, keeping her arms crossed as she walked over to the former pilot of Unit 01. "This is about how much of a terrible person you are."
He felt at a loss for words. "W..what do you mean?"
"What do I mean?" She fixated her glare on him. "What do I mean?!" Her face grew closer to his, merely inches away from him. "I mean that you go on and on about how much all of your so called 'friends' mean to you. You always act like you're worried about me, Misato, Wondergirl, Kensuke, and Hikari, but the truth is you're just in it for yourself!"
"How can you say that?" Shinji's arms dropped to his sides, feeling like she was being completely unfair in her accusations.
"Because its true!" She screamed. "You pretend to care about us so you can have our affection, but when we need you, you just run away because you're too scared to face your problems! Then you have the gall to say that it's because you're worried about seeing us get hurt? What a load of bullshit!"
"Please Asuka," He begged. "just stop…"
"Maybe I could've forgiven you for being a coward. Maybe I could've looked past all of your flaws. But the fact that you pretended to care about us, the fact that you pretended to care about me! You led me on to believe that maybe you weren't such a bad guy! That maybe, just maybe there was a chance that you and I could've been more than just friends, only to turn your back on me and run away just when I feel like I can finally let my guard down! That's what makes you so absolutely disgusting! God! Just looking at you makes me want to puke!"
Shinji had never felt so small in his entire life. He wanted to make a retort in his defense, but she had broken him in every way possible. There was no argument he could muster, and nothing he could say to make her feel any different. It was over. He could feel the hatred and the hurt in her words, and each syllable was like a dagger into his heart.
"Toji deserved a better friend than you." The redhead stepped back, making some distance between the two. "A real friend would've kept fighting to make sure that nothing like that ever happened to anyone else ever again, not run away with their tale between their legs and let them die in vain."
"I… I'm sorry."
Asuka merely shook her head at his apology. "Don't ever come back, Ikari. I never want to see your face again." With that, she stomped her way towards Misato's apartment, leaving a trail of simmering rage in her wake that Shinji could feel radiating off of her.
"Asuka." he murmured.
"What?!" She hissed, turning her furious gaze towards him, glaring into the back of his head.
"Maybe in a better world, things could've been different between us."
The German girl remained silent for a moment, letting the sound of the wind blow as she thought about how to respond. Once the gust settled, she finally had one, one that told Shinji exactly how she truly felt about him.
"Instead of just wishing you were in a better world, you should've tried to improve the one you're already in." The next thing Shinji heard was the sound of Misato's apartment door creaking open, followed by the sound of it slamming shut.
He stood motionless for a few minutes, looking down at his feet as he thought about what she had said to him. Maybe he was scared. Maybe he was a coward. Maybe he was a terrible person. Those reasons in of themselves were good enough reason for him to leave. He never did anyone a bit of good by being here, and if he stayed, all he would do is hurt those around him.
Taking in a deep breath, Shinji continued making his way to the elevator where he began his descent down to the floor level. From there he continued his long trek to the train station, leaving the apartment complex behind without even once looking back. He just couldn't bare to turn around and see what he was leaving behind.
XXXXXXXXXX
Ritsuko stood before the sleeping girl, holding her clipboard up against her chest as she looked down at Sakura. The girl had shoulder length brown hair which was strewn across her pillow, and soft babyish features. She was so young, so innocent, and so unsuspecting of what was to come.
Akagi inhaled before taking a seat in a chair next to the bed, bringing herself down closer to the little girl's level. The sound of the chair's legs scraping against the tiled floor echoed through the room, causing for Sakura's deep brown eyes to flutter open.
"Hello, Sakura." Ritsuko said in the softest tone she could muster. "How are you feeling?"
"Hi." She said meekly, her features giving way to her confusion. "Who are you?"
"My name is Doctor Akagi." She answered. "I work for NERV."
"Oh." The little girl leaned up, resting her elbows on the bed as she propped herself up. "Toji told me about you."
"Did he now?"
"Yeah." She nodded. "He said you were kinda mean."
Ritsuko frowned, but was not deterred by her words. In all her years working under the command of Gendo Ikari, she had grown very thick skinned, and was not as easily offended as she used to be. Sometimes she would even embrace her negative reputation, if only to keep her façade. "Unfortunately I have some bad news about your brother."
The little girl's eyes went wide, and her lip starting to quiver. "W..w..wha…what do you mean? Is he alright?"
The blonde bit down on her lower lip. She knew this girl was going to start bawling the moment she delivered the news, and she really didn't want to deal with that. "There was an accident during Unit 03's activation test."
"Activation test?"
She sighed, remembering that the girl was only nine years old and wasn't kept informed of these type of things. "There were some complications with Toji's EVA Unit." She explained, this time being more specific so she would understand. "And we were unfortunately unable to save your brother."
Ritsuko had seen a lot of terrible things in her life, she was a survivor of Second Impact, after all. But what she saw when Sakura's eyes dulled and her expression sunk hit her in such a way that she didn't know was possible. Though she herself had experienced loss before, she was old enough to understand it, to be able to cope with it and move on. This little girl though? She just wasn't that jaded.
"You're lying!" She denied, tears already starting to flow from her wide watery eyes.
Ritsuko sighed, rubbing her temples. "I'm not lying, Sakura."
"No!" She screamed, shaking her head as salty tears dripped from her cheeks onto the white sheets. "My brother is okay! I know he is! He has to be!"
"I wish that were the case." She truly wished that it was. She wasn't lying when she told Misato that she took no pleasure in any of this. "Unfortunately Toji is no longer with us, and because he is no longer a part of NERV, we cannot keep you in our care any longer."
"I don't care!" Her high pitched voice cracked. "I just want to see Toji!"
"Sakura," Dr. Akagi mustered up her soft tone again. "That just can't happen." She was beginning to grow frustrated with how much denial she was in. This wasn't the first time her family had been stricken by the tragedy of death. Her and Toji's mother died four years ago. Even if Sakura would've only been five at the time, she had to be able comprehend the prospect of death by now. "However, there is something that you can do for Toji."
The little girl sniffled and wiped her arm across her nose, and ran her palm over her eyes to clean away the tears that were still flowing. "How?"
Ritsuko thought of her next few words carefully. This would take a little bit of pulling and manipulating, but she had found that it was quite easy to do that to children, especially with children as young as Sakura.
XXXXXXXXXX
"So everything is squared away with the sister of the Fourth Child?" Commander Ikari looked across his dark office at the faux blonde standing before him.
"Indeed." Ritsuko nodded. "I was able to talk her into signing herself over to NERV. Tomorrow she'll be transported to the training facility in Germany, the same one Asuka attended. Once her leg is fully healed, they will begin grooming her to become an Evangelion pilot."
"Which Unit will they have her piloting?"
"We're unsure for the moment. The Germany branch will very likely begin construction of it once the Mass Produced Evangelion Series is completed."
"Good." Ikari replied. "I will report this to the Committee during our next meeting."
"They already know." Akagi said, turning her gaze partially towards the window. "I informed Chairman Keel of it before reporting to you."
The Commander frowned, but she couldn't see it. "Next time, I would like for you to report to me first before consulting the old men."
"Very well." She didn't sound like she was fully listening. Her mind was far off somewhere else. Manipulating Sakura into signing her life away to NERV wasn't exactly something she enjoyed doing. If anything, she felt completely rotten inside. Despite this, she knew that she made what was ultimately the best decision.
Had she not swayed Sakura into joining the Marduk Program, she would've been sent back to her old hospital where her recovery would be halted, and she would be left all alone with nobody to care for her. With NERV, she actually had a chance to fully recover, a chance to make a surrogate family within the confines of NERV, just as Shinji had with Misato.
"You are dismissed." Ikari spoke, bringing her attention back to him.
"Yes sir." Without so much as another word, Dr. Akagi turned around and headed out of his office, leaving the Commander to sit alone in solitude once more.
XXXXXXXXXX
Shinji sat alone at the train station, not a soul in sight. The soft breeze of the wind blew over him while he waited for his train to arrive. Asuka's words still rang through his ears. Every single thing that she said to him was so wrong. Everything she accused him of wasn't true in the least. Of course he cared about his friends. They were the only things that kept him going, but he still had to question himself that if that was true, then why was he running away? Why was he turning his back on them? He couldn't find the answer within himself, and in truth he was afraid of what that answer could be.
His trance-like state was halted as the sound of a high-pitched siren began to blare. The roaring horn grew louder and louder until it began to reach nearly deafening volumes. Instinctively he shot up from the bench, knowing exactly what the alarm was signaling before the voice came over the loudspeaker.
"All civilians report to your local shelter." The male voice echoed. "This is not a drill. I repeat, this is not a drill."
"An Angel." Shinji murmured to himself. He quickly reached for his pocket to snag his NERV ID card, only to remember he no longer carried it. In that instance, he felt a cold wave hit him. He hadn't ever felt what it was like to feel this helpless. Before he could always fight back. Now though, he could do nothing but be herded into the shelters like sheep awaiting the slaughter.
Off in the distance, towards the inner city, there was a brilliant explosion, followed by a shimmering purple light that rose from its epicenter. The light shot up into the sky and then formed two horizontal expansions three quarters of the way up, creating a glowing cross as the fires it created ravaged the city.
The brown haired teen looked up to the sky, seeing a large and bulky creature with a rectangular build slowly hovering downward, descending onto Tokyo-3 like the divine creatures that their namesake originated from. On its way down, it was quickly met by a barrage of A.A. missiles that did little more than mildly annoy it. Searching out the source of its irritation, the Angel spotted out the two turrets that remained hidden away in the hills and fired two more brilliant beams of light, eviscerating both of them with little effort.
"Oh my God." Ikari muttered, dropping his backpack where he stood. Never before had he witnessed the power of an Angel through the standpoint of a civilian. Never before had he seen these creatures and realized that all he could do was run and hide and hope that someone else would destroy them.
Instantly, second thoughts started shooting through his mind. He didn't want to cower and hide. He didn't want to die on his back, but he also wouldn't ever pilot an Evangelion again. He hadn't forgotten what those beasts had done to Toji, and he would never forget it.
Fighting his urge, Shinji bent down and picked up his backpack before looking around for signs to the nearest GeoFront shelter. If he was going to refuse to pilot the Evangelion, then he had to lean to live as a normal person again, and being a normal person meant running and hiding while the real heroes protected them so they could continue going on with their boring lives. Taking in a deep breath, Shinji began to sprint down the street, following the signs to the GeoFront shelters. It was all he could do.
XXXXXXXXXX
Considering the events occurring on the surface, Misato found the Command Center to be strangely in order, albeit very tense. Every single one of the technicians were doing their job with precise expertise, demonstrating why they had achieved such a high position in NERV.
"Major!" Hyuga called. "The Angel has already nearly pierced trough the surface! It's only be a matter of time until it breaches the GeoFront!"
"Shit." She hissed, looking at the screen of Hyuga's terminal. Sixteen layers of armor had been completely destroyed so far, and only three more stood in its way before it would penetrate the GeoFront. "We won't have time to get Unit 02 onto the surface in time. Send her to the GeoFront. She'll have to confront the Angel in front of Headquarters!"
"Roger." He replied, punching in a code to set the EVA's destination. Once in, he slammed down on the red button of his terminal, shooting the Crimson Evangelion from the cages into a series of shafts until it finally emerged in front of the pyramid, the iconic symbol that NERV had become so closely associated with.
"What's the situation with Rei?" She looked over at Ritsuko, who was leaning over Maya's shoulder, looking down at her terminal.
"We've been trying to start Evangelion Unit 01, but its rejecting the pilot!"
"What?!" Misato rushed over to the two women, looking at the screen of the terminal. Each and every single one of Unit 01's A10 connections were being refused. "I can't believe this! Not now!"
"Use the Dummy Plug." Commander Ikari's tone remained calm and collected. "Send Rei out in Unit 00."
Misato's head reared back at her superior. "But Unit 00 isn't fully repaired yet! It's still missing its left arm, and the right one hasn't even fully regenerated yet!"
"I'm aware of this." The Commander replied. "But with Unit 01's Dummy Plug on backup, she should hold up just fine."
The lavender haired woman growled under her breath, feeling the need to protest his orders.
"It's okay." A ghostly voice came from Maya's terminal, catching the Major's attention. "I can be replaced if need be."
Misato felt a hollowness in her chest upon hearing the girl's rather bleak words. However the adrenaline kept her moving and kept her from dwelling on Rei's choice to face the Angel with such a severe handicap.
"Fine." She conceded. "But please try not to get yourself killed, okay?"
"Roger." Her voice sounded weak. Attempting to synch with Unit 01 must've taken a lot out of her.
Suddenly there was a loud rumbling sound that came from the surface, which could even be heard from the depths of Central Dogma, causing the entire Command Center to shake violently. Everyone looked around at one another, trying to find the source of the sudden tremor, only for Aoba to announce it to everyone.
"The Angel has breached the GeoFront!" He exclaimed, his eyes wide. "It's making its way towards Headquarters!"
"Fuck!" Misato looked up at the giant holographic projection of the GeoFront hovering before the entire Command Center, spotting the blue dot near the top of the hologram slowly making its way down to the red one at the bottom. "Is the Dummy Plug ready yet?!" She kept her eyes on the hologram. "I don't want Asuka fighting that thing alone!"
"It's not working!" Maya almost sounded like she was about to cry.
"What the Hell do you mean it's not working?!" Katsuragi could feel a strain in her throat. All of the yelling was starting to wear down on her vocal cords.
"It's rejecting the Dummy Plug." Ritsuko answered for her protégé. "Why the Hell is it rejecting it now of all times?"
Misato's eyes were drawn to the command deck as she saw the blocky figure of Commander Ikari rise from his seat. She saw him turn to Sub Commander Fuyutsuki, saying something to him before he made his way towards his private elevator to the cages. Realizing that her attention was needed elsewhere, she brought her gaze back to the hologram.
"Asuka, what's your situation?"
"Locked and loaded." She answered as Unit 02 grabbed a four-hundred and forty millimeter Gatling gun from the stockpiles of weapons that had been delivered to her position for this fight. "I'm about to make contact with the Angel."
The redhead looked up towards the breached ceiling of the GeoFront, taking aim at the descending creature. Its blocky greenish frame slowly descended towards her, its bright red core shimmering as grew closer. Asuka was able to get a good look at its head, if you could call it that. Above its core, a skeletal-like face protruded out of its body, two black holes serving as its eyes, and a black, abyssal maw for a mouth.
Not wasting anymore time, Asuka rose the giant multi-barreled gun and took aim at the beast before holding down the trigger. The six long metal barrels started spinning, gaining a descent speed of around six rotations per second before the bullets started flying.
With an endless series of concussive bangs, Unit 02 unloaded the massive weapon into its target. Even with the incredible strength of her EVA, it took all of her effort to keep the gun from kicking upwards from the recoil.
"Die you bastard!" She screamed at the top of her lungs as hundreds of giant bullets hurdled their way towards the monster, each one bouncing off of its AT Field. "Why won't you just go down?!" Seeing that the impressive weapon was doing little to the Angel's barrier, she quickly discarded the heavy weapon for something that traded in speed for firepower.
Unit 02 took hold of a large bazooka, placing it over its left shoulder. After flipping a switch to raise the sights, Asuka took careful aim, centering the Angel's core in the crosshairs. Then with the press of a button on the top of the massive gun, a V-3 ballistic rocket shot out from the bazooka, leaving a smoke trail in its wake as it zoomed towards the Angel. On contact, the missile exploded into a concussive, fiery, eruption, engulfing the entire Angel.
"Got you!" Asuka clenched her fist and jerked her arm down in a triumphant gesture, only to be brought out of her short lived victory when the smoke finally cleared. "No way!" Her sapphire eyes went wide with astonishment as she watched the completely unscathed creature continue its descent downwards, comingto a stop about twenty or so meters above the ground, leaving a little room between it and the surface for it to hover.
"Shiesse!" The redhead quickly threw down the weapon and grabbed the first two guns she could get her hands on. With a pallet gun in one hand and a assault rifle in the other, Asuka unloaded everything she had into the Angel in a desperate attempt to defeat it at range. The Angel made no effort to even raise its AT Field, instead opting to use its hard shell-like armor to deflect the relatively low-caliber rounds. "Die! Die! Die! Die! Die!" She screamed in a fusion of both anger and fright. "Why won't you just die?!"
The blocky Angel hovered motionless as two silver, ribbon-like appendages extended from its giant, gray, pauldron-like shoulders. Before Unit 02 could properly react, both of the silver ribbons shot forward with blinding speed, cutting straight through both of the crimson Evangelion's arms, just below the shoulders.
The redhead let out a scream of terror and pain as she felt her EVA's arms sever. With a whipping motion, the Angel jerked both of the ribbons back, sending both of Unit 02's arms and the weapons they were holding flying through the air, gushing red LCL spouting from the points of amputation. The wounded redhead looked at both of her arms, which her hands remained tightly gripped to, having to remind herself that the arms she lost were not her own.
"Asuka!" Misato screamed. "Retreat!"
The German girl rose her furious eyes to her opponent which stood before her, Misato's words going completely unheard. Perhaps she felt it was foolish to feel this way, but for some reason she felt like Shinji was watching her, taunting her, laughing at her for her failure. She knew that he could see her right now, standing there helpless at the Angel's mercy. Just the thought of him judging her made her fury turn into unbound rage.
"I'll show you, Ikari!" She screamed, charging Unit 02 towards the hovering enemy. At first the Angel didn't respond, seemingly confused by the girl's suicidal attack. Shrugging it off, the Angel rose its silver ribbons again, this time taking aim at Unit 02's head.
With her instincts and her synch ratio at its peak, Asuka ducked down just in the nick of time to avoid the potentially fatal blow, and continued her charge. By the time the Angel was able to start retracting its ribbons, Unit 02 was already within a close enough proximity to cancel out its AT Field, destroying its barrier.
"Eat this, you son of a bitch!" Asuka made Unit 02 crouch down onto one knee, and opened the tops of both its shoulder pylons. Followed by this was a loud bang as dozens of razor sharp titanium spikes shot out of the pylons, piercing the Angel's armor.
It bellowed in pain as the spikes made contact, its ribbon arms shaking and trembling. Asuka looked up to see that some of the spikes managed to pierce its core, but not enough to fully destroy it. Seeing her opportunity to end it all here, Unit 02 rose to its feet and held its right leg in the air as it prepared to deliver a hard kick to its core.
Before she could get the chance to lunge her leg forward though, the Angel made one desperate swing with its left ribbon, slicing off the foot Unit 02 was standing on. Asuka cried out as the Evangelion toppled over, gripping her foot in complete agony. The next attack the Angel made happened too quickly for her to even prepare for. With one more vicious swing, one of its ribbons slung across Unit 02's neck, completely decapitating it before it even hit the ground, sending the disembodied head flying across the GeoFront.
Everything in Asuka's vision went completely red. All she could feel was nothing but pain circulating through her entire body. It felt like a thousand daggers were stabbing into every single nerve of her body. She didn't even know that such pain was even possible. In her writhing and withering, she didn't even notice that the Angel had begun to move past her. All she could think of was the pain, and once that started to subside, her failure was the only thing that her mind could dwell on.
XXXXXXXXXX
The inside of the shelter was incredibly crowded. Hundreds of people were crammed into the tiny fifteen by fifteen meter bunker, crammed shoulder to shoulder. Children were crying, and the sounds of the ensuing battle outside carried over into the shelter, only increasing the tension for those inside. Fortunately, Shinji managed to find a spot in the corner farthest away from everyone, giving him a little less than a meter of leg room.
The tension came to a peak as a loud boom filled the shelter. Ikari quickly rose his eyes to the source of the noise, seeing the large group of people scream in terror as they stared horridly at the gaping hole in the wall separating them from the Angel outside. That wasn't what scared Shinji though. What scared him was what created the giant hole in the first place.
A giant, severed red and white head with four glowing green eyes laid amongst the rubble, unmistakably the head of Asuka's Evangelion Unit 02. He felt his blood turn ice cold as he stared at the decapitated head in complete horror while everyone else in the shelter who survived the impact quickly began evacuating.
"Asuka…" He uttered, stepping through the giant hole in the wall, gazing at NERV Headquarters which remained off in the distance. The blocky Angel was beginning to make its approach towards the pyramid, and on the ground right behind it was a severely damaged Unit 02. Both its arms were missing, as was its left foot, and of course its head.
"It's terrible, isn't it?"
Shinji's attention quickly went to the voice of the person standing next to him, finding a long haired man standing before him with a hose in hand, watering a patch of melons. "Kaji? What are you doing out here? It's dangerous."
"We're all going to die anyways." He shrugged, his demeanor eerily calm. "Might as well die doing what we love."
"Die?"
"Yes." He nodded, looking towards Unit 02's broken body. "When the Angel reaches Adam, who lies in the depths of Terminal Dogma beneath NERV Headquarters, the entire human race will be purged from existence."
"Wait, what?" Shinji looked back at the Angel, seeing it hover towards the pyramid. "What do you mean purge the human race?"
"As foretold by the Dead Sea Scrolls, once an Angel makes contact with Adam, mankind will cease to exist, and the world will become taken over by all of Adam's children, the Angels."
"But…" Ikari kept looking back between Kaji, Unit 02, and the Angel, trying to make sense of all this. "Then that means everyone I care about will…"
"Die." He closed his eyes and tilted his head down. "Yes. They will." Slowly his head rose back up and he redirected his gaze at Shinji. "But you can prevent that. You can save them. You are the pilot of Evangelion Unit 01, after all."
"But then that would mean I'd have to…" Before he could say anything else, Shinji's attention was brought back to NERV Headquarters as one of the launch bays opened up, revealing an almost armless Unit 00 with only part of its right arm regenerated. It was barely more than a nub, but it was just big enough to tightly squeeze a large oval shaped object against its body. Upon closer inspection, Shinji began to make out the writing printed onto the object.
N-2
Inside of Unit 00's Entry Plug, Rei bravely charged Unit 00 forward, keeping the N-2 mine tucked as close to her as possible. The cockpit quickly became filled with objections from the crew members inside of the Command Center, seeing what she was doing. However, the blue haired girl ignored all their qualms, pressing forward anyways. Even if she died in all this, then at least she could die knowing that she saved Shinji, the only person who had ever shown her true kindness.
Much like with Unit 02, the Angel seemed more confused than anything by her blind charge forward. It rose up its silver ribbons again, shooting them towards Unit 00, only for it to sidestep both of attacks. Her footwork was much more precise than Asuka's was, as she wasn't being led by blind rage, but instead by her fearless strategic movement.
As Unit 00 drew closer to the Angel, it quickly attempted to raise its AT Field, only to remember that Unit 02 had canceled it out in their prior battle. Unable to hold Unit 00 back, it quickly started to lower the shield over its damaged core to cover itself from Unit 00's suicide attack as it tackled the Angel, placing the N-2 mine as close to its core as possible. However, when the shield lowered, the spikes Unit 02 impaled its core with kept it from closing all the way, leaving the core partially exposed, taking the brunt of the explosion.
Shinji and Kaji covered their eyes as the brilliant light flashed before them. Rei kept the explosion confined into a smaller area using her own AT Field, keeping all of the civilians, as well as those in NERV Headquarters safe from the blast.
"Rei!" Shinji screamed, running towards the explosion. Once the dust settled, Unit 00 remained barely standing, its armor severely burnt and damaged. The Angel on the other hand still stood strong, its body unharmed by the suicide attack. However its core now looked like it was just one good hit away from shattering completely.
"It looks like they need you." Kaji said, turning off the hose. "So what are you going to do?"
Shinji could feel his heart race as he watched Unit 00 topple over, joining Unit 02 on the ground while the Angel continued its trek towards NERV. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. Asuka and Rei were severely hurt, if not dead, and it was all his fault. Had he been there to help them, then things wouldn't have turned out this way. Things would've been different, but instead he chose to run away.
"You pretend to care about us so you can have our affection, but when we need you, you just run away because you're too scared to face your problems! Then you have the gall to say that it's because you're worried about seeing us get hurt? What a load of bullshit!"
Shinji gulped as he recalled Asuka's words. She was right. He wasn't running away because he was afraid of seeing them get hurt. He had ran away because he was afraid of ending up like Toji. He was afraid of meeting an equally terrible fate. He ran away and left his friends to die.
"I'm not going to run away anymore." He murmured, clenching his fists.
"Then go." Kaji said, putting his hose down. "The world needs you, Shinji."
The brown haired pilot of Unit 01 turned around and nodded at Kaji, giving him his mutual thanks as he dashed towards the giant pyramid, leaving the abandon shelter behind. He was running right into the face of danger, and he wasn't even sure if he would come out alive. But the least he could do is try. At least then he'd have no regrets.
XXXXXXXXXX
"The Angel has breached the exterior wall!" Aoba screamed, causing the already frantic staff to nearly go ballistic.
"What is the situation with Unit 01?!" Misato ran over to Maya's terminal, which Ritsuko had taken a seat at, pushing Maya to the side.
"It's still not accepting the Dummy Plug!" The otherwise normally composed blonde was showing a fearful side to her that many of the NERV staff rarely ever saw. That alone was enough to destroy what little morale they had left. "I've tried everything! I've tried rerouting the software! I've tried manipulating the activation threshold! I've even tried manually manipulating the God damn sychrograph! Nothing is working!"
"We're doomed then." Misato found it surprisingly easy to accept this realization. Without Unit 01, nothing stood in between the Angel and the bulbous white monstrosity that started all this. Though she knew there was no hope left for mankind, she didn't have to let the rest of the NERV staff know that. The least she could do was give them some false sense of hope that they could possibly get out of this alive. "Everyone, evacuate now!" She commanded, prompting for the lower ranking technicians to quickly abandon their terminals and rush out of the nearest exists in a desperate stampede to flee NERV Headquarters.
"What about us?" Hyuga looked up at her. "Do you want for us to go too."
"If you want to leave, no one will hold it against you." She answered, walking up tto the barrier separating the lower deck from the floating hologram. "But I'm not going anywhere." She raised her good hand to her chest and clenched onto the silver cross tied around her neck.
"If you're staying here, then so am I." Hyuga adjusted his glasses, which had become cracked at some point during the Angel's breach of Headquarters.
"Same here." Aoba sounded as if he had already come to terms with his imminent demise. "I'll stay here with you guys."
"Me too." Maya added, looking over at Dr. Akagi, who was still furiously typing away at her terminal. It was clear she wasn't going anywhere either.
Misato cracked a faint smile, feeling honored to have all of these wonderful people standing by her side to the very end. "What about you?" She turned around and looked up towards the command deck, gazing up at the elderly gentlemen who's hands remained clasped behind the small of his back. "Are you going to stay with us too, Sub Commander?"
Fuyutsuki grinned, his expression betraying no sense of worry or fear. "It would be an honor."
XXXXXXXXXX
Inside of the cages, Commander Ikari did all of the manual adjusting he could possibly do, but Unit 01 remained motionless, locked in its dormant state. His normally stony features began to betray an emotion that not many had seen from him before. It was one of hurt.
"Why, Yui?" He asked, staring into the visage of the purple mech. "Why are you doing this to me?"
He didn't receive an answer, which was all the same to him because he didn't expect to get one. Instead he was just met by the cold stare of the sleeping bionic beast. Though this wasn't the ending he had planned on happening, he at least took some solace in knowing that in the end, he would die alongside Yui, even if it meant that he wouldn't be meeting her on the other side.
"Father!" A familiar voice rang, bringing Gendo's attention to the catwalk below. As he looked down, he could see the son he never thought he'd meet again standing before him. His breath was labored, and his posture was slouched. He looked as though he had just ran a marathon.
Gendo felt like he should've been happy, possibly even overjoyed to see Shinji here. However, there was no such feeling. He knew that there was no reason for the boy to be here. He clearly didn't want to pilot Unit 01, and nobody could pilot the EVA unless they were willing to. Commander Ikari knew without a doubt in his mind that Shinji wasn't here because he wanted to; he was here because he felt obligated to. That wasn't a good enough reason.
"What are you doing here?" Commander Ikari growled, looking down at his panting son.
Shinji looked up at him with his hazel eyes, taking a moment to catch his breath. There were plenty of reasons he was here, and he wanted to tell his father all of them. However time was of the essence, and only precious seconds remained until the Angel would reach Terminal Dogma and bring an end to everyone and everything Shinji had ever grown to care about.
So he gave the Commander his answer.
XXXXXXXXXX
The Command Center began to shake violently as the blocky Angel shattered its way through the wall, completely destroying all the circuitry that composed the hologram floating in the front of the room. Its skeletal face gazed at the six people, gauging them, wondering why they were not fleeing from it. The Angel found it almost annoying to not be feared as it properly should've been. So it decided to make an example out of them.
Its eyes began to glow a bright purplish-pink as it charged up its attack. Maya and Aoba covered their eyes. Hyuga and Dr. Akagi tried to face the Angel, but found themselves attempting to hind their faces from it, afraid to look into their own impending death. Only Misato and Sub Commander Fuyutsuki kept their stares directed at the monstrosity, refusing to show their fear.
"I'm sorry, Father." Misato clung onto the cross one last time, knowing that this was truly the end.
Suddenly there was another loud crash in the Command Center as a giant purple mech busted through a nearby wall, smashing square into the side of the Angel, causing its energy blast to shoot upwards, completely eviscerating the ceiling of NERV HQ.
"Unit 01?" Ritsuko couldn't believe what she was seeing. "But the Dummy Plug…"
"That's not the Dummy Plug!" Misato couldn't hide the joy in her voice. "That's Shinji!"
The humanoid machine wrestled the Angel away from the Command Center, and shoved it through the wall it had just charged through, taking the fight to the cages. In the struggle, the Angel managed to get off another shot with its laser eyes, completely severing Unit 01's left arm, sending a spew of blood red LCL all over the wall, a large portion of it splattering onto Commander Ikari, who remained unmoved as he continued watching the battle ensue.
Unit 01 slammed the Angel up against the far wall of the cages, face first, placing both the Angel and itself on the launch pad. From the Command Center, Misato could see what was going on through the damaged wall, and quickly caught on to what Shinji's intentions were. Rushing over to Hyuga's terminal, she slammed down on the launch button, sending both the Angel and the EVA to the surface of the GeoFront
Once the platform shot up, the purple Evangelion grinded its opponent's face against the wall, sending sparks flying the entire way up to the surface. The Angel made a howl in pain that sounded like something that would come from a whale or some sort of aquatic creature. Unit 01 showed no remorse though, pushing the Angel harder against the wall, intending to inflict as much damage and pain to it as possible.
Once the two arrived on the surface, Unit 01 continued the pummeling by using its remaining arm to slam the Angel down onto its back before straddling on top of it where the EVA began to smash its fist away at the Angel's already damaged core.
The remaining NERV staff quickly boarded the emergency elevator, bringing them up to the surface as well, giving them all a perfect view of the ensuing battle from afar. Maya carried her laptop with her, being the only way to possibly receive any data on Unit 01 since the rest of their hardware was fried.
"He's winning!" Misato felt like she was about to jump up and down with joy. "He's actually winning!"
"Uh, Major…" Maya's tone brought her enthusiasm to a grinding halt. "Unit 01 only has five seconds of battery power remaining."
The Evangelion smashed its fist into the core again, causing the spider web cracks to dance around the red sphere. It was amazing that it was still being held together, at this point it looked as if a mere stiff wind would shatter it. The mech drew its fist back for one final punch, but just as it was about to lunge forward, the timer on Maya's laptop hit zero, bringing its motion to a full stop as the EVA lurched forward without power.
"No!" Katsuragi screamed. "This can't be happening!"
The Angel remained motionless for a moment, as if wondering why its opponent stopped attacking. Realizing that now was a prime opportunity to take the offensive, the Angel rose one of its ribbon arms up to Unit 01's face and took hold of it by completely wrapping up its head before tossing it onto the side of the pyramid. With Unit 01 down, the Angel rose up from the ground and began to hover towards its opponent. After taking a moment to examine the Evangelion, it shot a ribbon forward, slicing the chest plate off of the EVA, exposing a glowing red core in its lower abdomen.
"Oh no…" Dr. Akagi held her hand over her mouth.
"It's exposed the core!" Misato shrieked. "It's going to destroy Unit 01!"
As if on cue, the Angel began shooting its ribbon arms forward in succession, aiming each hit for Unit 01's core. Each hit made the giant mech tremble as the cracks on its core grew more and more prominent until the cracks began to turn into fissures. There was no way that it would be able to withstand anymore punishment before breaking, at which point Unit 01 would be lost forever.
"Oh my God!" Maya jumped back from her laptop, which she had placed on the ground, catching the attention of all those around her.
"What's going on?" Ritsuko asked.
"Shinji's synch ratio, it's rising!"
"How?!" Dr. Akagi placed herself next to Maya, looking at her laptop's monitor, her eyes going wide the moment she saw looked at Unit 01's synchrograph. "Oh God. It's risen over four-hundred percent!"
"What?!" Misato quickly turned to face the downed mech and the Angel attacking it, and began to witness a sight that she didn't think possible unfold before her.
Unit 01's dimmed eyes lit up again as it quickly rose its hand up, blocking the final strike from its opponent. With its powerful AT Field, the ribbon was sliced to bits by Unit 01's fingers, without so much as damaging the Evangelion in the slightest. It then took hold of the ribbon in a tight grasp and jerked the Angel towards it, bringing its skeletal face nose to nose with it. The purple mech bellowed a deep growl as the restraints around its mouth unbolted, exposing its large white teeth. With a firm kick, Unit 01 knocked the Angel back, but kept its grip on the ribbon, causing for it to completely detach from the Angel's shoulder.
From afar, the group watched on in shock as the EVA placed the ribbon over its severed arm, its cells bonding with it and growing around it to form a fully fleshed and unarmored arm. It flexed its hand, cracking all of its newly developed digits as it did so. With a new limb, the Evangelion rose its gaze towards the Angel and opened its great maw as it made a bloodcurdling roar that turned Misato's blood to ice.
"It's happening." Ritsuko sounded utterly terrified. "It's becoming aware."
Unit 01 lowered itself onto all fours and began crawling in a spider-like manner towards the downed Angel. Then like a predator in the wild, it dug its claws deep into its hard exterior, ripping through it with ease. Once a deep gash was made, the EVA lowered its head into the wound and began to devour the entrails of the monster.
Misato jumped back with shock, unable to believe what she was seeing. She wanted to believe that there was some sort of explanation for what it was doing, but there was no denying it. Unit 01 was eating the Angel .
The Evangelion viciously took another chunk out of the Angel's flesh, pulling out a large gray organ with its teeth, swallowing it whole. As Ritsuko watched on, she gasped at what it had just done.
"Oh my God. It's devoured the S2 organ!"
"The S2 organ?" Misato looked over at the faux blonde. "You mean the same thing that was in Unit 03?"
"Yes!" She cried. "The EVA has become completely self aware and is now devouring it for its own personal gains!"
"You mean these things can think for themselves?!" Misato looked away from the mech for a moment, turning her glare towards Dr. Akagi. "How?!"
"The armor we put them in keeps their minds in check. It keeps them from acting on their own freewill. Now that its free, it has become completely aware of everything."
"Oh God." Misato looked back at the EVA, watching it rise up from the Angel and make another roar as chucks of its armor busted off of it, piece by piece, exposing the body that lied underneath. It looked almost human at first glance. Its skin tone, its body structure. But when looked at closely, one could see the terrifying appearance it truly had, especially when looking into its feral green eyes.
With its restraints all but gone, the EVA returned to its meal, feasting on the flesh of its enemy. As it finished devouring its foe, Misato shook her head in complete disbelief. These were the things they were using to fight the Angels? These monsters? Katsuragi recalled what Ritsuko had said to her earlier, remembering what she said about having to either become the very monsters they were fighting against, or die. That's exactly what NERV had done. They took the monsters they were fighting against and made them into weapons. They turned these all-powerful creatures into tools to fight off the Angels, and now the tools had finally started to rebel against their creators.
The group continued watching on in horror while the Evangelion rose up to its feet and made one more bellowing roar, throwing its arms back and raising its head to the sky, howling like a rabid wolf. The deep, echoing voice shook the entire GeoFront, nearly knocking all of them off their feet. Once its terrifying battle cry came to an end, its green eyes started to dull and its body toppled over, falling motionless on the ground, shaking the entire GeoFront once more. Though The EVA's rampage had ended, Misato's worries didn't.
"Oh God, Shinji…"