Chapter 46: Starting to Slip

The three pilots spent several minutes crawling through the ducts. They were seemingly snaking their way towards an unseen end point. During this time, both Asuka and Rei heard muffled voices in different directions. Most of them sounded unfamiliar; however, one or two of them reminded both of someone.

'Can't be that Sno guy…he was just in a dream,' the Second Child thought glancing back. She could only see as far as where Ayanami was being behind Shinji. He was still following her with his head looking at the floor. The sight made her smirk as she turned back forward.

'…why is Shonj here?' Rei pondered following the male pilot. There were a couple of times that she thought she saw something in her peripheral. Glancing over each time, there was nothing there. However, it was starting to make her feel uneasy. All the sudden, Asuka stopped.

"Miss Souryu?" Shinji asked. Stopping to avoid a head to rear collusion, Ayanami halted as well.

"Shh!" the redhead whispered. All three heard the muffled voices in the background followed by metallic tapping. Other than the sounds of metal expanding or contracting in the ductwork, no other sound emitted.

"What's that sound…sounds like scratching nearby," Asuka stated quietly and carefully.

"I believe that is a large insect Miss Souryu," the Third Child commented stoically.

"Ewww…gross," she replied then continued forward.

"…" Rei said crawling forward.

Thinking about the metallic tapping, it also sounded as part of the background. However when they moved, there was more of it followed by a mild and deep booming. Recognizing that it was her heartbeat in her head, she convinced herself that nothing was wrong and she was over thinking things. Looking back forward, there seemed to be a small opening along with three pathways up ahead.

"Great," the Second Child stated. Stopping at the intersection, she looked down each of the pathways. She saw both the Third Child and First Child crawl into the opening space.

"Alright Wondergirl, which way now?"

"…" Ayanami answered by frowning a little. Disliking the nickname, she pushed it aside. Thinking about where they were and where each duct led to, she turned to the right.

"This way will lead to the Eva cages."

"…" Shinji said only blinking.

Hearing the sounds in the backroom, only his eyes moved in the opposite direction the First Child stated. Looking down it, he could only see some feet in front of him. However, he could see dull illumination further down. The mild light showed a T-intersection at the end with something already down there. Black-red eyes were staring at him.

The eyes started to move slowly as if levitating on their own. As if separated, a black mass body sliding slowly from the left to the right. Out of the male pilot's sight, the sounds of wet scrunches and a deep heartbeat followed the metallic tapping. The black-red eyes narrowed and slowly went out of sight following the blob silhouette. Hearing the females proceed, he turned toward them. Blinking, he was facing the other direction.

"…" the Third Child commented. Moving his head down, he was staring at the ceiling. Blinking and frowning a little, he felt a pseudo smile on his face. He sighed through his nose a little and proceeded crawling backwards. He was going forward to the duct pathway opposite of where the two were going.

"…?" Rei said and stopped. She heard a third set of crawling that was getting further away from them.

"Ikari?"

"What is that idiot doing now?" Asuka stated sighing and stopping. Both turned around and saw that he wasn't in sight anymore. Only a crawling black silhouette was seen heading further down the opposite direction. Before the redhead could yell at him, multiple giggles came from the vent duct.

The female pilots felt their sense of fear increase when the giggles became louder and tinted with malice. Blinking and looking down the duct, they couldn't see the Third Child's silhouette anymore. In fact, everything beyond the small opening at the intersection was pitched black. The muffled voices they heard before were getting closer. However, it sounded like playing a tape recorder on a faster than normal rate.

"Hey. Where did you guys go?" Shonj asked.

"Alright. Who is slacking off?" Sno said with annoyance.

"I was just following you two" Shoji stated with a sigh.

"This is embarrassing. Bunch of guys lost in a vent system," Shino commented with light laughter.

"…m...i...n...e…" an evil voice breathed. The hairs on the back of both female pilots' neck stood on end. The metallic tapping sounded louder with something shuffling and wet in the darkness.

"Why not we turn back the way we went?" Rana asked a little claustrophobic.

"Heh heh, but that would be too easy my dear," Shinzin answered chuckling out loud.

"…MiSs AyAnAmi…" a quiet and deeply muffled voice came and went. It made the First Child flinch with fear as Asuka slowly backed away looking at the open space scared.

"Nice leading the group moron," Sno said.

"If you want to lead, then be my guest hot head," Shonj shot back.

"…you-Y-Y-Y-YYYYYYYYYYYYYOU-ou-ou-ou-u-u-u-u…aaarreeee…A…L…L…" an innocent sounding child stated as if it were a computer stuck when audio was playing. The shuffling sounds changed to wet scrunches as it sounded closer.

"This is kind of a comedy skit, isn't it?" Shino asked with humor.

"Like two brothers fighting over the same girl," Shoji piped in with mirth.

"SHUT UP OLD MAN!" both male teens shouted at the same time causing laughter.

"…mIsSssssssssssOuRyU…" another soft and low pitched voice came and went. Both Rei and Asuka were shaking as both started backing up more and slowly.

"…H-Hey…where did you go?" Rana asked wanting to get out of the closed spaces.

"…yes…where did you go?" Shinzin repeated the question with pause. Both Eva pilots felt something pass through them that made them flinch. The feeling of something lurking and creeping down the duct changed to something twisted and menacing.

"…ah-Ah-aH-AHHHHHHH…mineMiNe!mInE!MINE!MINE!MINE!MINE!" the evil voice said faster and faster screaming louder and louder. Something vile started frantically crawl toward them as it was shaking the vent ducts they were in. Both girls felt it reach out at them viciously. About to scream, a voice silenced everything around them.

"Is something wrong?" Shinji questioned quietly behind them.

"…" Asuka and Rei said slowly turned around with fear.

The Third Child was up ahead of them and looking back at them. Both felt a lump in their throat seeing his dark magenta eyes seemingly pierce through the dark lit vent ducts. Still feeling spooked, the two blinked then looked behind them. There was nothing there and they could see the back of end of the opposite duct pathway. Nothing felt disturbing around them. The sounds of the voices and metallic tapping were gone. Only the sound of the male pilot shuffling ahead of them was heard.

"Please, let us continue." he mentioned. Turning around, he proceeded forward.

"…" both female pilots stated and began to follow.

Still feeling fear and confusion, both kept their distance from the male pilot. Overtime, both calmed down a little in which they caught up with him. Stating she will lead again, Asuka led the group forward with Shinji then Rei behind her. After thinking about it in her head, something occurred to her. Pushing the thought hard, it lowered the apprehension she felt.

"All right Third. How did you do it?" she asked.

"Do what Miss Souryu?" he replied still crawling and looking down.

"The multiple voices while being behind us. What was the trick?" she continued. Looking behind her while going forward, he did not look up.

"I did not do anything except go in the direction Miss Ayanami suggested."

"Ha! Yeah right. You probably enjoyed seeing me and the First get creeped out!"

"I do not receive enjoyment from that Miss Souryu" Shinji said impassively. At the same time, he heard both Sno and Shonj voice that they did enjoy it. Both of them grinned and started moving his head around a little. Asuka saw a slight head movement.

"You looked!" she stated loudly.

'Nice going moron!' Sno said annoyed.

'Oooo, you are in big trouble now hot head!' Shonj stated with mirth.

"…" the male pilot complied. Blinking, he still was looking at the metal duct he was crawling on. A swift movement was heard and he reached out his left hand. It caught a strong heel before making contact with his head.

"Let go you peeper!" the Second Child yelled trying to retrieve her foot.

"Miss Souryu," he said.

"I said let me go you pervert!" she shouted. She continued to yank her foot free to drive it back to his head. It was caught again, but a different voice responded.

"Pilot Souryu. Stop."

"You defending him Wondergirl? That's rich...I said let go of me your peeping tom!"

Ritsuko was looking at her clipboard of notes when she heard muffled voices coming from the vent ducts. The bridge monitors also heard the voices too. The murmur volume increased to an argument level. When they looked up behind them, a part of the vent duct broke off and fell. At the same time, three bodies came out of the same space and fell to the floor. A loud bang sounded from the metal duct crashing to the ground. A gasp of air was muffled from the clanking.

"Hey, the children are here," she remarked and walked over to them. "We were wondering where you three were."

Asuka and Rei blinked and looked around. They saw that they were at an observation room next to the Eva cages. Below them, they felt something warm with fabric. Looking down, both were sitting on the Third Child as he was face planted onto the floor.

"Sorry Ikari," Ayanami stated quickly getting off and being at his side.

"…sorry Third," Asuka muttered for only the pilots to hear. Both saw Shinji slowly get up to a standing position. He dusted himself and had a bruise on his forehead.

"Shinji, are you—" Ritsuko started asking with some concern then stopped. She saw him turn his neck to the left as far as he could. A loud internal pop was heard. Slowly turning all the way to the right, a couple more noises in his neck sounded. Turning his head back forward, he looked at the faux blonde.

"Greetings Dr. Akagi. Yes, I am fine," he replied after slightly bowing. Shaking off the small tremor that went through her, she instructed that all the Evas were ready to go. The three pilots hurried to the locker rooms to suit up and be deployed.

Outside of the mainline electrical buildings, Rayne was on the phone with her police station's intel officer.

"These guys are with who?" Rayne said over the phone.

[Based on the database, they are from SEELE. It is a government entity that deals with international affairs and other organizations. They are kind of like how the UN is to its members and affiliates] Jack said over the phone at a computer. Normally, he wouldn't be that interested looking up cronies at the scene of the crime. But when the young officer gave more detail and the activity they were doing, he smelled something big from it.

"A secret government organization huh?"

[That is what I have so far. I'll dig up more info on them and let you know when you get back.]

"Thanks Jack. Rayne out," she said hanging up the call.

"So are we dealing with conspiracy people?" her partner asked.

"Sounds like it. Never heard of SEELE before. Have you?"

"Mmm…nope."

'Yet…it rings a bell…somewhere…' Rayne thought saying the name SEELE over and over. She felt that there was information about them and that she should know about the organization. Both police officers heard a couple of vans pull up.

"Ah, the technician guy and our recovery team are here," the male cop stated.

Matarael shed enough acid tears to eat away through the street to see a deep and wide silo below. For what it could see, there was no light in the darkness below. Looking down at the hole it created, the Angel would have to pour a lot more tears to get its body to get through. Suddenly, it felt three synthetic beings of brethren come to life somewhere deep below. The familiarity feeling from before seemed to resonate with one of them and not the other two. About to continue to create a larger hole, a sensation shot through it causing it to stop. It began looking around itself with its eyes.

'…what was that?' Matarael thought. The sensation felt strange. It was cold and evoked an emotion causing its insides to tighten a little.

'…w…h…o…a…r…e…t…h…y…?' a demented voice went through its mind.

'…who…are…you?' the angel asked but could not see whom spoke.

' #$*&CoMe #$^#' the voice said again followed by it hyperventilating and making glitch sounds.

'…' Matarael thought continuing to search around. Blinking, it looked down at the hole in the ground.

'Cooonn #%#$ssssuuuuu#*$%^#mmmmeeee %^&% #$uuuuusssssss,' the voice drawled out its tone as it broke out between white noise and deep haggard breathing.

'…' Matarael continued to say nothing but felt anxious all the sudden. The emotion was so overwhelming, tears of acid started falling from its eyes.

'EATME!EATUS!E-A-T-E-V-E-R-Y-O-N-E!' the evil voice demanded with rage. It started to laugh uncontrollably and get louder in the Angel's head. The one voice started splitting into two then kept multiplying to a chorus of sinister laughter. The volume increased so much that a threshold was reached and only a piercing high screech was heard.

'…' Matarael stood stiff with anxiety, confusion, and fear. All the sudden, the presence and sounds were gone. Only the familiar feeling was still felt. It had gotten closer causing the Angel to be filled with dread. Despite the sensations, it was becoming curious about the familiarity. Matarael continued pour acid tears to the ground below and wait for the presence to get closer.

Still trapped in an elevator, both Misato and Kaji tried discussing on a way out. The temperature inside the elevator was rising.

"Argh, when are we going to get out of here. It is freaking hot," Misato stated opening up her jacket and removing it.

"Until someone comes I guess. It is quite a sauna," Kaji stated fanning himself and loosening his tie. He heard her stiffen up all the sudden.

"This is crazy we have to get out of here!"

"Why are you so excited?"

"I have to pee!"

"Oooohhh."

Near the silo, the three Evas were crouching in a large hallway that would lead to the wide opening. They reached a ledge and Asuka and Rei looked up to see the Angel. Murky orange liquid fell from it and through the hole it was making as it went straight down the silo.

[Looks like its primary attack is shooting out acid from its eyes] the Second child said over the comm-link.

[Analysis from MAGI states that the Angel has a weak AT-Field. The projectiles from Unit-01's rifle should be suffice to defeat it] Ritsuko stated from the bridge and turned off her comm-link.

[Roger. Oi, you got that Third?] Asuka stated after channeling a link to the other two pilots. Not getting a response, she felt her eyebrow twitched.

[Ikari. Are you alright?] Rei asked, but got no response. All the sudden, she saw two windows opened. One showed a peeved red-head and the other was the Third Child who was acting a bit strange.

[Hey idiot! Are you-] Asuka began then stopped seeing that the male pilot was hunched over and holding onto the controls murderously. Both female pilots heard him muttering very quickly and quietly. They couldn't hear clearly, but it sounded very frantic.

Yui was in the large room that was in the male pilot's conscious mind. She started to see frantic flashbacks washing over his vision.

"Pleasedon'tpourit.I' 'tpourit.I' 'tpourit.I' 'tpourit.I'llbeagoodboy."

'…oh god…' the spirit stated in horror seeing the flashbacks.

"I'llbegood!I'llbegood!I'llbegood!I'llbegood!" he said starting to shake uncontrollably.

[Ikari…please respond] Rei stated quietly hearing what he was saying. Something about him was making her insides tense up. Something familiar.

"Pleasedon' 'TpOurIT.Pleasedon'tpourit!PLEASEDON'TPOURIT!" Shinji shouted distorted and menacing.

[…he's gone insane…] the Second Child muttered. Dread filled her mind knowing which version of the Third Child that voice belonged to. Her insides started to twist feeling the fear build inside her. Both pilots felt that he was going to explode any moment.

[Pilot Soryu and Ayanami! What are you two doing?] Ritsuko called in which cut through all the emotion and trepidation. Blinking, the female pilots saw the purple Eva lying down on its back and shooting short bursts upward to the Angel.

'…what…what the hell is going on?!' Asuka thought looking lost at the purple war machine.

'…how is this happening…I don't understand…' Ayanami thought feeling a sense of dread inside her. She had noticed that the number of multiple voice encounters has been increasing. Shaking her head, she got closer to him followed by the Second Child.

'…?' Yui said blinking multiple times seeing that what she was seeing and what was happening were two different things.

'How…how can that happen?…I should be able to see what he sees all the time…so…how?'

'…no…this is just a mixture of the Captor and Shinji's mental state…that is all,' Yui thought shaking her head.

Despite doing that reason, she felt an ice cold shiver go through her. Feeling something dark near her, she thought it was the Eva Captor trying to retrieve her. Turning her head toward the hallway doors to Shinji's subconscious, she looked in horror. Two black-red eyes were looking through the doors that were opened ajar. Its aura was evil and menacing at it breathed deeply like a monster and stared at her with large toothy grin.

Matarael saw a small part of the Eva that was shooting at it. The angle of fire and the size of the hole prevented any projectile from hitting the Angel. The odd familiar feeling and the dark presence from earlier was emitting from the purple war machine. It felt its insides tightening again as tears of acid overflowed. The three pilots saw a steady small waterfall of murky orange liquid coming out of the Angel's eyes. Though the hole was large enough for their Evas to fit through, the Angel was still too big for it to fit through. Cease firing, Shinji blinked and sat up.

[Miss Ayanami or Miss Souyu. Which of you two can fire the rifle?] he said through the video-link. Both female pilots saw that his eyes were normal and his usual murky atmosphere was there.

[I can-] the blue-haired teen started but was cut off.

[Me! I'll shoot!] the redhead pilot stated quickly. Nodding, the male pilot handed the large rifle to Eva-02. Asuka grabbed it and got into an offensive ready position.

[Something on your mind Miss Ayanami?] Shinji stated just as the female pilot was about to speak.

[…yes…what are you going to do?]

[I will block the acid to give Miss Soryu a direct line of sight to the Angel.]

[How bold of you Third]

[Shall I support Pilot Soryu?]

[Yes]

[What? What will she do to give me support?]

[Miss Ayanami can be used as a platform to give you an easier aim at the Angel.]

[Understood.]

[…Fine. I guess that will do]

All three pilots got into position. Eva-01 got into a leaping pose as it stared at the waterfall of acid. Yui heard something of a child screaming in the background and bit her lip. Slowly turning her head toward the hallway doors, it was closed. Sighing in relieve, she looked back forward and froze stiff in fear.

"…" the evil voice said standing in front of her. Its vile aura was making her shiver in horror and disgust. Her breathing started becoming short and quick seeing that it looked like a dark clone of Shinji with black-red eyes. It was staring at her motionlessly with an inhuman grin and too many teeth. Seeing how out of sorts she was, the figure began to glitch in and out of existence in different places.

'…w-w-w-who…is this supposed to represent!?' Yui thought feeling herself urinate on the floor from being terrified. It uttered a deep and monstrous giggle then faded away. Jumping from hearing a boy scream nearby suddenly, she looked at Shinji's vision to see he wasn't screaming. Slowly turning behind her, it was one of the voices with acid being poured on its back.

Eva-01 jumped upward into the hollow silo and eagle spread itself making contact with the walls at four points. The war machine shifted its position a bit at an angle which was strange at first. Both female pilots saw the acid fall onto the purple robot and it instantly shuddered and moaned in agony. Relooking at why he angled his hold, it allowed the waterfall of acid to run down closer to the wall instead of straight down the middle.

Taking cue, Eva-00 copied what Unit-01 did at a slightly lower level. Rei made sure to position the hands and feet away from the falling acid that was following down Eva-01's knee. Eva-02 quickly jumped off and landed on Unit-00. Asuka quickly laid down and re-positioned the red war machine to point the rifle upward. Though she was trained to fire projectile weapons, she was more of a hand-to-hand combat person.

'Come on…come on,' she thought waiting for the AI to lock onto the Angel. However, the purple war machine was blocking the shot. She was thrown off guard a little when someone spoke.

[Pilot Soryu. Hurry] Ayanami stated with anxiety seeing parts of Unit-01 start to erode.

[Now Third! Get out of the way!] Asuka stated.

Shinji pushed himself down to where he jumped. Grabbing the ledge, it opened up the view to the Angel. Asuka pulled the trigger on the rifle opening up a full burst toward the Angel. Even though some of the projectiles where corroded away from the acid waterfall, enough made it to shoot through the Angel. After a dozen or so of bullets made several holes in Matarael's body, it died quickly. Slumping to the ground, the Angel felt better. Dying let the tension inside itself and the deathly presence fade away from its mind.

Seeing that Angel was defeated, Eva-01 got onto the hallway. Kneeling down, the Unit held on to something for leverage while reaching down with its other arm. Eva-02 got up and gave the rifle to the purple war machine. Grabbing the ledge, the red unit pulled itself up into the open hallway. Turning around, it copied what Eva-01 did and stretched its arm out. Eva-00 slowly wall climbed until the other units grabbed hold of a limb. Pulling the blue unit into the hallway, the three war machines sat near the ledge while calling in that the Angel was defeated. They were given the order to head back to base.

"…" Yui said seeing the torture behind her fade away. Turing around to the visual, all the units were heading back to the Eva cages. Feeling better that the children were safe, she saw herself hovering toward the hallway doors. Looking at the dark chains around her, she turned toward the open doors and saw the chains stretching far into the hospital hallway. However, the evil voice was near the doors as well. It was not looking at her, but at the dark chains.

'…iNtErStInG…' it said touching the chains. Its hand went through it. Slowly turning only its eyes at her, it grinned evilly. Not wanting to stay here any longer, she closed her eyes and mentally told the Eva Captor to bring her in. It complied and pulled her quickly back to the Captor's cell. Strangely, she was hearing wind friction as if something was following her. Opening her eyes, the evil voice was chasing her by hovering.

"…!?" she said in fright as her eyes widen with fear.

The look and shape of the evil voice was changing and becoming more and more grotesque. Its black-red eyes and inhuman grin never changed as its face became sinister. At the end of the long subconscious hospital hallway, the voice stopped at the hallway doors as it continued to watch. The doors began closing as the eyes became more haunting to look at. A deep chuckle emitted from the voice before the doors closed loudly. Back in her amorphous prison, she tried calming down despite the Captor grinning at her from a far.

"Alright, that should do it," said the technician in the mainline electrical room.

"Okay. Hit the switches," Rayne said to her partner as he pushed all the "on" buttons for the transformers.

The machines started to come back to life with a slow rumble and hum. Lights turned on giving a bright illumination instead of the red emergency lights. The three exited the room and headed toward outside. They slowly saw all the electrical systems turn back on going through each room area. Reaching outside, they could see building signs and lights turn back on signifying that power had returned to the city.

Back in a NERV elevator, Misato was standing on Kaji's shoulders trying to open up the hatch at the top of the elevator. Just about to push it up, the power turned back on. The lift rumbled to life and continued going down levels. Losing balance, both adults fell to the elevator floor with a loud thud. Lights turned on inside.

"What happened?" Misato asked falling on top of him.

"Seems like the power is back on," Kaji stated looking up at the elevator display. Seeing the lights working, he looked down at their position. It reminded him of a number. After thinking that, the elevator stopped and dinged indicating the floor level has been reached. The doors opened and showed two individuals looking in.

"Well well, I see you two are back at it again," Ritsuko said with a small smirk on her face.

"Wait, wait! It isn't what you think," Misato stated in defense.

"Oh I am sure," the doctor stated with her arms across her chest. "Kaji just happens to be below you, in an elevator, and in an interesting position."

"…here is your stuff Misato," Makoto stated with a sigh placing the bag in the elevator.

"What? Kaji is here!" Asuka stated from a distance and jogged over. She had already changed back into her school uniform. Looking in the elevator and seeing what was in there, her face immediately soured.

"What are you two doing?" she asked when both adults on the elevator floor sighed heavily.

The First Child received a message of being summoned by the Commander for one of their weekly tests and status. She left the locker room dressed back in her school uniform. The Second Child had left earlier and she didn't care where the redhead went to. Turing to the male locker room door, the male pilot hadn't left yet. New questions had come to mind and felt that she could get answers to them now before leaving. The closer she got to the door, her insides started tightening. Anxiety and suspense seemed to grip her.

"…" she said looking at the locker door.

'Why do I fear going inside…is it because I worry that something is changing…that is possible,' Ayanami pondered blinking.

'On the other hand, we have returned to our normal routine of communicating. In all this time and even from viewing that video, he has yet to harm me…in fact, he has only aided me…from that, I shouldn't have a reason to be afraid of him.'

'…yet…' Rei thought feeling her right hand clinch her skirt a little. '…this foreboding…won't go away.'

"…Ikari…" she said and saw the locker door open. The male pilot walked out with different attire. Recognizing it and the physical changes, her eyes widen a little as he walked toward her differently.

"Hey Rei," he said with a smile and blue eyes. "Whatcha' up to?"

"Shonj?" she said with a quiet and confused voice. Her facial expression reset back to its stoic form.

"Something the matter? You have a long quizzical face," the male teen asked with a psychologist thinker pose. It didn't drop her stoic expression as she tilted her head at him. Wondering if this variation provided answers to her questions, she engaged it in quiet conversation not caring if anyone was watching.

"How are you here?"

"What do you mean? I have always been here silly," he said laughing a little.

"I don't understand…you are a figure of a dream…a subconscious thought."

"That means I am your ideal type. What your subconscious wants."

"What…my subconscious wants?" Rei said moving her head back up straight and looked in deep in thought. She didn't hear Shonj walk closer and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Yep! The ideal Ikari for you," he said with a warm smile.

"…" Rei said looking back at him with an impassive face. Thinking about what he said, she frowned a little and pushed his hand off her shoulder.

"You are not ideal."

"…what?" Shonj said in surprise hearing loud multiple snickering in the male locker room. "Why not?"

"There are two more ideal than you," Rei said coldly.

"…hmm…" he said crossing his arms thinking. "I already knew that the Commander was in your sights…who is the other one?"

"The real one," she said and saw him make a bitter face.

"You can't be serious!? That one!?" he asked with irritation. "Why the hell should you concern yourself with that piece of shit!?"

"…" Rei said taken aback a little from the quick change of demeanor and atmosphere. Its friendly and enthusiastic vibe was replaced with hate and hostility.

"Listen Rei, you shouldn't trust that guy. He has no personality, he is lame, he has no life, he is hollow, he is a walking dead man, he is a drone, he can't satisfy you, he doesn't care about anyone, he doesn't trust anyone, he is killer, he is a lunatic, he is—"

"That's enough," the First Child said with anger that quickly formed. Each statement that Shonj stated was like a consecutive build of small bits of irritation.

"…but Rei…it-it is the truth!"

"…go away…" she said quietly with anger in her eyes. She blinked and saw the locker room door open. Shonj disappeared and the dark magenta version came out. He was in his school attire and had an impassive face.

"Greetings again Miss Ayanami," Shinji said and bowed to her. She changed her expression feeling better to see him.

"Do you not have to be going to meet with the Commander?"

"I do."

"Do you need escorting?"

"That is not necessary Ikari."

"Very well. Is there anything else?" he asked in which she shook her head. He bowed.

"I see. Have a nice time with the Commander Miss Ayanami."

"Thank you Ikari."

Both turned in opposite directions and walked away from each other. In the middle of the hallway, the First Child stopped and glanced behind her. She saw the Third Child staring out a window and was looking at something.

'Ikari is none of those things,' she thought. Turing around, she continued toward the meeting place.