The Angel's mask, cracked from the non-nuclear explosion, lit up quickly with the collapse of the AT Field, and the streets were bathed in an unearthly, blinding light, forming a cross.

Eva-01 wasn't deterred. It reached out and grabbed the Angel's arms. Almost smiling, the Eva twisted the arms around until they snapped. Then it kicked the Angel away.

The battle had become a mirror image of earlier events, the Angel flying down the streets as Eva-01 had once done. When it finally collided with a building, Eva-01 charged at it, colliding so forcefully the building collapsed.

The Eva reached down at the Angel's abdomen, where several rib bones stuck out and a red sphere sat within. It pounded at the core a few times to no avail. Instead, it tore a rib bone out and began beating the Angel… whose arms became whip-like, grabbing Eva-01 and wrapping around it. Soon the whole of the Angel was wrapped around the machine in the shape of a sphere.

"It's going to self-destruct!" Misato realized.

And it did. The explosion was massive. When it finally faded, all that was left was a cross-shaped image and a rainbow above it.

"Is the Eva…?" Misato stopped when she heard footsteps. In the blaze, the Evangelion was walking. Everyone watched, terrified.

"That is Eva's…" Ritsuko began.

"…true state." Misato gulped.

Only Ikari smiled.

---

Shinji couldn't scream any more. He just sat there, almost cataconic.

"The Eva is…covered. Everything….life signs…squad, hurry. …safety…priority." Words drifted in and out. He barely heard them. He was watching the Evangelion's reflection in a building nearby.

The Evangelion's head fell to the ground. Shinji looked at it. Slowly, something moved inside the empty eye socket. Slowly, an eye began to grow.

Slowly, Shinji began to scream.

The glowing shape of a woman appeared over Shinji. "Shh… Calm down." She had no face. "I won't hurt you."

Shinji continued to scream for sometime after that, before he suddenly passed out.

---

In Evangelion-00's cage, Ikari and Ritsuko were speaking while repairs were undergoing.

"She has awakened, it seems."

Ritsuko nodded. "Evangelion Unit 01's artificial intelligence system is operating at full capacity. Much better than we expected for such a low synch ratio."

"Much better than we dared hope for… But I think we both knew how successful the project would be."

Ritsuko scoffed. "And the girl?"

Ikari smiled. "She'll be better in twenty-one days."

"Why not just accelerate her schedule?" Ritsuko clearly wasn't referring to medicine. She was also ignoring the fact that while a purple compound was being poured into the Cage, freezing Eva-00, it was roaring and struggling.

"We still need it, and risking things like that so quickly would be unwise. A change in schedule has never been tested."

"We could just make a new one, you know."

Ikari smiled and shrugged.