Chapter 60: Tester Again
At the south side police station, Chief Yogosami was pacing in his office. Waiting for his secretary to finish her call in her office, he continued to walk back and forth worrying about a missing officer. Turning around, he saw Nami put down her phone and exit her office. Entering his office, she saw him looking at her while holding his hands behind his back loosely.
"Any luck?" Ryu asked and saw her shake her head.
"None of the other police stations around Neo-Tokyo have seen or heard of Rayne recently," she said with an exhausted face. "It is great that all of the stations are offering support in searching for her."
"Yes," he stated turning back to his chair and sitting down. "Despite having Jack track down her police car, the cam inside showed that she exited the car. After that, we don't have details of where she went."
"What about combing through the various camera feeds in the city during the time she left the patrol car?"
"That's what each police station is committing to do. So far, there hasn't been anything that turned up."
"…" Nami commented then looked down to think. "You know, NERV hasn't been calling if Ikari has been found or not."
"Hmm," the chief said looking at her. "Do we have a contact for NERV?"
"We can get in touch with the Major. She might be able to give updated information," the secretary replied then immediately picked up his desk phone. Dialing the number from memory, she handed it to him. Grabbing it and placing it to his ear, he listened to the line ring.
[NERV organization. May I have your name and reason for calling?] a NERV security personnel picked up the phone.
"This is Police Chief Ryu Yogosami from the South Side District of Neo-Tokyo. May I be directed to Major Misato Katsuragi regarding the manhunt of Pilot Ikari?"
[…] the guard said typing on his computer. Seeing a record, he nodded to himself. [Very well. I will transfer your call chief.]
"Thanks," he said and heard the line get place on hold. After several seconds of waiting, the line was picked up.
[Major Katsuragi speaking.]
"Afternoon Major. Chief Yogosami here."
[Afternoon Chief. What can I do for you?]
"Could you can give me an update on your end with the manhunt for Pilot Ikari?"
[Oh, we were able to find him. Thank you for your assistance earlier.]
"That is good to hear. Consequently, we are missing an officer on our force. She went AWOL some days ago. Would you happen to know if Officer Rayne Hymity was with Ikari at the time you found him?"
[…] Misato said blinking and glanced at the wall phone that she was using. A thought came to her and cleared her throat.
[I'm sorry chief, I need to leave right now. Is there a number I can reach you to give you a call back?] she asked getting out a pen. Hearing him give his office number and extension, she wrote it down on her hand. Hanging up the phone, she went to the nearest door stating she will be back to the group in the room. Leaving the space she was in and closing hands into loose fists, she headed toward a bathroom that was down the hallway.
"…" Ryu said putting down the phone in its receiver and stared at it.
"What did she say?" Nami asked curious then saw him raise a hand. Blinking, she saw him cross his arms over his chest and waited. Several seconds passed and his phone ringed. He grabbed it and placed it to his ear.
"Police Chief Yogosami speaking."
[She's here in our care] the Major said on her cell phone quietly while washing her hands. The faucet water added background noise.
"She alright?"
[Yes]
"Thanks," Ryu said sitting back in his chair.
[Sorry] she said hanged up her mobile phone.
"…" he said putting the phone back in its holder. Letting out a sigh of relief, he looked less tense.
"Spill the beans," Nami stated with an anxious face.
"She's at the NERV base and is doing fine."
"…?" she reacted by blinking in confusion. "Are they going to release her or something?"
"I don't know. Assuming that the Major had to do the classic call in the bathroom, she wasn't supposed to give out that information. For right now, it is a waiting game with NERV. I also assume their overseer organization SEELE is involved too," he said stroking his beard a little with an unpleased face.
"I guess it is good to know that Rayne is alright and the Major is someone we can trust," Nami mentioned with a sigh. "You still seem tense about it."
"That's because the waiting game is more of a stake out…and we are the ones in the dark."
At school, everyday was like any other minus having the male pilot in the classroom. It felt odd not to not see him in the room early or talking with Ayanami in the morning. At the same time, many students felt themselves relax a bit more not feeling the male pilot's offsetting aura. Seeing that Rei seemed to revert back to staring out the window, Hikari saw Asuka come into the classroom.
"Morning Asuka," the Class Rep said smiling.
"Morning Hikari!" the Second Child said smiling back.
"How are you today?"
"Feeling a bit relaxed these days. Hey, did you watch that show last night?"
"I did. It was a bit cliché of how the episode ended."
"I know, right? Totally went cheap with the script and used stereotypical development."
"Yeah," Hikari said smiling a little then fidgeted with her fingers. "Hey Asuka…may I ask a question?"
"Hikari, don't be silly! I'm your best friend!" Asuka said with a confident smile and posture. "You can ask me anything."
"Would…would you know how Ikari is doing?"
"…?" the Second Child said with a surprised face. "Why do you want to know that?"
"Just wanted to know," the Class Rep stated holding up her hands. "That's all. I figured you and Ayanami would be the only two points of contact with Ikari."
"Why not ask the stooges? They seem to be pals with him," Asuka asked with a neutral face.
"They don't normally hang out with him since he lives so far away. He still is a butler at your place, right?"
"…" Asuka said blinking then sighing. Placing both hands on her hips, she had a small frown on her face.
"I don't know why you should worry about him. That idiot is doing just fine. Since he has so much free time, NERV uses him for doing extra pilot tests and tasks."
"Really?" Hikari said looking a little relieved. "That's good to hear."
"Don't tell me you fancy him Hikari?"
"What?! No…it isn't like that," she said waving her hand in front of her. "Like I said, I was just wondering. It feels odd to not seem him for this past week."
"…" Asuka said still frowning and crossed her arms over her chest. "That so huh?"
"…" Rei said staring out the window.
She was not paying attention to what was going on in the classroom. Her usual morning routine with Shinji in the morning kept throwing her off since he wasn't at his desk. Knowing that he was suspended from school and residing at NERV, it made her feel a little edgy. Despite keeping a stoic face, she tried figuring out other small talks to discuss while visiting him. The aspect that he was being held in an entry plug instead on a bed, made her feel sad.
'The only comfort I can give him is through talking,' she thought blinking and continuing to stare out the window. '…yet…it feels inadequate.'
'Communicating with a comm-link makes conversations…more cumbersome,' Rei thought continuing to ponder in her mind.
After two more days of attempts, Ritsuko and her team were able to stabilize him longer. Instead of lasting for 10 seconds, it steadily increased to about five minutes before his symptoms would violently come back. Making adjustments again and injecting a different concentration mixture, the Third Child awoke and was looking forward.
[Greetings again Dr. Akagi] Shinji stated calmly through the gas mask.
"Greetings again Ikari. I forgot to ask you in our previous session. Are you aware of what is happening to you?"
[Yes]
"You know you are mentally gone?"
[Yes doctor. I apologize for causing everyone trouble] he answered and slightly bent forward to bow.
"The Commander has ordered me to make you usable for piloting Eva-01."
[I see]
"If you don't want to Ikari, I won't force you. I just need to know what you want to do," the scientist stated with a straight face.
[I do not have a choice in the matter Dr. Akagi. If only functioning like this is adequate for piloting, I will continue if allowed to] Shinji replied evenly.
"Out of curiosity Ikari, what if you did have a choice? What would you do?"
[…] the male pilot said. [I believe even if I did have a choice, I would not be able to make any…rationally. Given my current mindset, all my choices and decisions are…not of my own free will.]
"…I see…" Ritsuko stated feeling ambivalent. She was impressed that he had recovered enough to engage in coherent conversations. At the same time, she felt a little sorry for him knowing and admitting that he was just a puppet now.
"Just to confirm, you still want to pilot?"
[To want to, to not want to, it does not matter. If allowed to, I will pilot until my usefulness becomes unwanted.]
"He doesn't sound very appreciative from the aspect that we were able to make him function again," one tech mentioned out loud.
"…" the faux blonde commented with narrow eyes and held back her tongue. "Ikari, I going to experiment with you more by removing your restraints."
[Very well Dr. Akagi. I am ready whenever you are] he replied calmly.
"Good," she said. "Put the Third Child under."
After putting the pilot back to a deep sleep, she got the contamination team suited up and back in the lab area. Pressing the controls to start opening up the hatch, the LCL pool in the cockpit started to drain down. The moveable catwalk extended toward entry plug 01. Once locked and secured, the squad walked over to the hatch door. They had syringes on standby in case the Third Child resisted. Once there and signaling they were ready, the sliding hatch opened up to reveal the pilot still in his restraints and gas mask. He was hunched over and out cold with the LCL solution waist high in the cockpit.
"Remove the pilot's gas mask," Ritsuko ordered. Everyone in the control room was watching with caution wondering if the boy would have another outburst. It was his first time being exposed outside of the entry plug in the last couple of days.
[Removing pilot's gas mask] one squad member stated and pressed the two release buttons on the underside of the gas mask. The mouth contraption whirled slowly as it was amplified in the loud speakers. An air of suction sounded as the mask became slack. Removing the straps to keep the gas mask on his head, the crew watched anxiously.
[Gas mask is removed] the squad leader stated when his team stepped back a little in front of him. He remained calm despite feeling his eyes widen.
[…WhErE…WHERE…I'll bite his tongue…No! I will do that!…Why are we fighting again…HAHAHAHAHAHA!] Shinji said with multiple voice changes.
[Restrain and inject him!] the lead shouted. He and two squad members entered the cockpit to restrain the pilot. Resisting the prowess of the Third Child, another member injected a syringe into the pilot's neck with heavy sleep medicine.
[JJJJJJOOOOIIINNNNNMMMMEEEEE...$#^ $^...SHARE!SHARE!SHARE!] a corrupted voice shouted at them and was still trying to break free. The male pilot was grinning at them cruelly with his teeth showing. Feeling the boy's fierce strength fading quickly, the squad members exited out of the entry-plug. Looking back at the pilot, they felt unnerved from the malicious aura and the black-red eyes boring at them.
"Close the entry-plug," the Ritsuko ordered quickly with fear in her face. While the hatch was closing, the contamination squad were starting to see morbid images brewing inside the capsule. What they and the crew heard before the door closed, was the Third Child laughing dementedly and growing deeper in pitch till it was nothing but a low decibel noise.
"Inject LCL and compound solution! Concentration at 20%!" she stated in a control tone despite feeling cold sweat form on her head.
[…i…T…i…S…t…I…m…E…t-t-t-t-toooo $^ ReLiVe…old…m-m-m-m-m-mEMORIES!] Shinji's voice cackled loudly as the entry plug became completely filled.
The Third Child was twitching visibly and had violently spasms trying to break free. His laughter started to die down till he was giggling hysterically. Slowly, the mirth he had was going away till his expression went back to the normal stoic version. Seeing that the male pilot was calm and collected, the crew saw his dark magenta eyes come back and looked mostly normal. His sclera was a dark cloudy color that contrasted with how piercing his iris color was. Looking at his face and neck, he was paler, thinner, and sickly.
"Can you hear me Ikari?" Ritsuko asked slowly.
[Yes Dr. Akagi. I can.]
"How does it feel to have the gas mask off?"
[Mildly refreshing] he answered with a blink and moving his head a little. The action caused his hair to sway a little in the LCL compound solution.
"I bet," the doctor said with a small smirk and wiping the sweat on her forehead. Taking her finger off the intercom button, she addressed her crew regarding his vitals and brain wave readings. All responded back that everything was stable and holding. Turning back to the monitor of the cockpit, she pressed the intercom again.
"How do you feel Ikari?"
[Despite feeling drowsy and weak, I am okay for the time being]
"Can you still hear your voices?"
[Yes; however, they are muffled and are not altering anything]
"Can you see me through the comm-link?"
[Yes Dr. Akagi] Shinji answered with a small nod.
"Tell me what you see."
[Other than your usual attire with your lab coat, have you not been sleeping Dr. Akagi?]
"Hmph, guess you are still sharp," she replied with a small smirk as the door to the hallway opened. "What else can you see?"
[Though I can't see outside of monitor view, I believe Miss Misato entered the control room] the Third Child stated with stoic expression.
"…" the crew inside blinked in surprise to see that what he said was who walked in. It made the Major stopped seeing everyone look at her at the same time.
"…what?" she asked blinking.
"Nothing Major. What is it?" Ristuko asked.
"Just stopping by to see how things were going," Misato answered. Seeing everyone turn back to their stations, she saw her friend motioned with her head to the monitor. Walking over, she saw the Third Child blankly looking back without the gas mask contraption on. Despite the sickly look of his face and the full-body strait jacket, she saw him bow his head a little.
[Greetings Miss Misato. How are you?]
"Hey Shinji! I'm doing fine. It is nice to hear you talking again. How are you feeling?"
[Other than adapting to the sensation and feeling of being drugged up, I am okay for now]
"Amazing Rits. You were able to get him out of his schizo state!"
"For a short period of time, yes."
"What's the goal for him?" Misato asked seeing that her statement made everyone take a look of neutral expressions.
[The Commander has ordered Dr. Akagi to find a way to stabilize me to pilot again Miss Misato.]
"…!?" she said with a surprised look on her face. "What?"
"It is the Commander's orders. If he hadn't, Pilot Ikari would still be in the quarantine hospital room."
"…yeah…but," the Major replied then grew quiet. She turned toward him and saw him blinking lethargically at them.
"Are you okay with this Shinji?"
[I don't have a choice Miss Misato. Without Dr. Akagi and her crew's time and effort, I am useless.]
"…" the Major stated frowning a little looking at him. Shaking her head, she put on a smile.
"Better than being a couch potato all day long I guess."
[So to speak, yes] he agreed with a stoic expression.
"What's the next step for him?" Misato asked turning to the faux blonde.
"The next step is to remove his strait jacket and go from there," Ritsuko said then turned to the monitor. "Are you ready for that Ikari?"
[Yes doctor] Shinji said and closed his eyes.
Feeling his consciousness slip again into his subconscious, the chaotic void rushed back filling all of his senses. Multiple hands were touching him and ripping his body into pieces. Pain shot through him as he couldn't stop them or utter a gasp. The pulsating light of relief was nowhere in sight. Watching the hands continue, they were slowing down their pace of ripping the remaining parts of his torso. Looking down, only the spine and rib cage were remaining. A waterfall of blood was flowing out of his waist and open chest area.
'You think you can keep running away from us,' Shino stated cackling in the background. Shinji felt a small slit open up on the inside part of his right ear. He heard a vile soft hiss.
'…dO-yOu…r…e…m…e…m…B…E…R…' it whispered to him and chatter its numerous teeth together.
'You are bound to us,' Shoji said breaking off a piece of Shinji's rib cage.
'…s…o…l…o…n…g…a…g…o…AT…AT-THE…p-p-p-p-pitssssssssss…' the morbid voice cooed from feeling the sharp pain.
'You can't escape us,' Sno said stepping hard on the pilot's right hand fingers.
'…of-Of-oF-OF!#$^&$y-yo-your-you-YoUr DeSpAAAAAAAAAirr…mmmmmm' the dark clone reacted softly in a distorted seductive feminine voice. It gasped pleasurably feeling his right fingers break and crack from being stomped on.
'You are nothing without us,' Shonj claimed while kicking into the Third Child's open chest.
'…hah!…ahhh!…tHiS-tReAtMeNt…W-w-We-E-e c-o-n-SUM-e-d…' it breathed with barbaric mirth.
'You can't live without us,' Shinzin stated with an evil grin and squeezed the pilot's rapidly beating heart.
'…ShAlL…gah!…lEaD uS…#$^#$%…tO oUr SaLLLLLLLLLLLLL-vAAAAAAAAAtIoN…N…N…N…N-N-N-N-N-Nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn#$^$^!…" the twisted voice screeched deafening loud and rattled the remaining bones and mind of Shinji.
Its pleasure and pain coursed through him until blood flowed out of his mouth, nose, ears, and eyes. Feeling his body convulsing, soft hands wrapped around him. Hearing a familiar voice crying, Rana had slashed all the male voices hands away. Holding his head to her chest, she breathed harshly and sobbed more. Feeling his essence become weaker and weaker, he noticed that the black-red whirlpool around him started becoming lighter and lighter. Something sounded in the distance that wasn't distinguishable.
"…" the Third Child said hearing it start to sound like a voice of some kind. Feeling his body pulsate like a heart, everything slowly began to take shape. The faster he was pulsating, the sound was getting louder.
"…I…k…a…r…i…Ikari…IKARI!…PILOT IKARI!" a female voice screamed at him.
Slowly opening his eyes, all he could see was a red haze that pulsated. Blinking lethargically, he felt his arms were free. Moving his hands to his tired eyes, he closed them and began to rub them. Though his vision was blocked, the pulsating sensation throbbed his head. The smell of where he was seemed a mixture of both blood, LCL, and other fluids. Opening his eyes slowly, the red haze was still present and rhythmically vibrating. Despite feeling a mild numbing sting, he ignored it.
"Shinji! Wake up! Respond!" a familiar voice blared through the comm-link.
[…YeS…mIsS…mIsAtO?] he asked shaking and breathing hard.
"Ikari! I need you to concentrate on my voice and do as I instruct!" Ritsuko ordered in a controlled authority voice.
[…VeRy…WeLl]
"Do you know where you are?"
[…I aM...iiinnnnn...a SiMuLaTeD...EnTrY-pLuG…01…]
"Do you know who you are?"
[…Eva pilot…Shinji Ikari…]
"His vitals are calming down!"
"Brain wave activity is becoming less erratic!"
"Keep easing off the pressure slowly! Pump more of the compound solution!" the scientist ordered.
"We have pumped enough to kill him!" one technician stated from the critical levels of the concentration solution in the entry plug.
"I'll take responsibility for killing him of overdose. Just do it!" she barked back.
"Yes doctor!"
"Ikari, please tell me what you see."
[…red…a haze of red…]
"Do you know why?"
[I am assuming…I am bleeding…from my orifices] he stated calmly and more normally. He wasn't shaking or showing physical signs of pain.
"Are you in pain?"
[I would be...lying Dr. Akagi if I said...nO]
"Can you breathe in that solution?"
[It makes breathing...laborious...but I can breathe]
"Can you see?"
[Yes Dr. Akagi...minus the...red haze]
"Pilot's vitals are out of danger zone."
"Pilot's brain waves have normalized."
"…" Ritsuko and Misato sighed in relief. Sitting down in nearby chairs, the panic and stress from what just happened had exhausted the entire crew.
"What the hell happened in there?" the Major asked grimacing from looking at the Third Child. The aspect that he was not affected much from being in his own blood pool mixture was disturbing.
"His body had a rejection of the compound solution. Probably from being in a reuse of it for too long of a period of time."
"A rejection…his body was rejecting it? How?"
"Trying to regurgitate the solution from his digestion system, skin, and any openings, most cases would be a quick death."
"That's why you essentially flushed it out and supplied a fresh batch."
"Yes," Ritsuko stated rubbing her eyes and slowly standing up. "Everyone take five…we will resume afterwards."
As everyone walked out, both scientist and Major remained in the control room. Looking back at the monitor of the entry-plug cockpit, the Third Child could be seen in the haze mixture of his own blood blending with the LCL. It created a blood-orange color like looking through tinted sunglasses.
"Will he be alright for now?" Misato asked.
"I don't know other than his vitals and brain scans saying he is stable," the Ritsuko responded.
"I overheard that this has never been done before and that you guys are doing this through trial and error," the Major stated and had a nervous look on her face. "How many trials and errors have you gone through?"
"Would you like a print out of all the tests we did?"
"No. Just give me a rough ball estimate."
"For the past couple of days…275 tests have been conducted," Ritsuko stated looking at her clipboard to see the clicker number.
"…!?" Misato said with an open mouth in shock. "Y-you mean…"
"He has relapsed 274 times," the scientist said looking at the monitor in which showed the sickly, pale, and thinner looking body of Third Child. He was breathing softly and had his eyes closed.
Still conscious, he was waiting for the next set of orders. He opened his eyes a little hearing the Major raise her voice. About to look, his eye lids grew heavy and closed. Feeling the evil voice swimming around in the cockpit, it spoke to him.
'#$%#THIS#$(*#^…b…L…o…O…d…F…r…O…m…B…eInGs Ab-Ab-ABOOOOOOOVVVVVEEEE!?' it said in various pitches and slow motions.
'NERV states the substance as LCL. It seems to act as a blend of blood and a serum,' Shinji thought not bothered as it turned the compound pool inside the entry plug into something morbid. It chuckled deeply as it seemed intrigued by it.
'…heeeeeee…hehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehe…PiEcEs#$^ $...PUZZLES$*#$!CON-N-N-N-Nnnnnn$^ECTING$!' the evil voice shouted in dark mirth before it disappeared slowly away.
"…" Shinji said blinking slowly. Feeling everything around him was numb, his brain was slowly feeling a burning needle going into his head. The voices were becoming clearer.
[…D…r…A…k…a…g…i] he said slowly and shaking. [I…f…e…e…l…m…i…n…d…s…l…i…p…a…p…O…L-G-I-ES! APOLOGIES! APOLOGIES! APOLOGIES!#$^#$^#$#...]
"…" Ritsuko said inputting a command to apply more pressure to knock out the Third Child. Once he's vitals showed that he was in a deep slumber, she turned to see Misato's disturbed face.
"275 tests…and counting," she commented. Hitting the clicker, she marked down the time of session.
"Well, he can last five minutes before relapsing. That will be the bare minimum level. If we get to at least seven minutes, then we have reached the benchmark."
"You make it sound like he is a lab experiment."
"…" Ritsuko replied looking at her with a blank expression. Turning back to her clipboard and writing a couple of notes, she responded without looking at her.
"Yes Misato. He is my guinea pig. Anything else you'd like to inform me about?"
"…" the Major said feeling her mouth close and twitch a little. "No."
"How have the children been?"
"Asuka seems to be back to her usual self," she said turning to monitor that showed Shinji sleeping with his head downcast. "Rei still acts the same despite going to NERV every day. She visits him, doesn't she?"
"I wouldn't know," the faux blonde stated. When she put her clipboard down, the techs and scientists were coming back in.
"Well, back to work. Oh, the pilots have a synch test after school today. If you could pass on that message to them."
"Sure. I'll let them know," the Major said getting up and leaving.
Heading back to her office, she felt drained and pity for the Third Child. Seeing him in his state was more than depressing. Despite the progress that was being made to get him to function, his treatment of experimentation and suffering made her frown. After relaying a phone message to both Asuka and Rei, they acknowledged that they would be on their way. Going back to work, the Major headed toward a different lab facility to have a discussion/observation of new Eva equipment developments. It was something to take her mind off of what she witness.
After school, both female Eva pilots were picked up and drove to the NERV base by Section-2. Reaching it, they headed toward the locker rooms to change into their plug suits. Exiting, they saw Misato outside.
"Misato, were you waiting for us?" Asuka asked seeing the Major smile and nod.
"Just wanted to inform you two that Shinji will be participating in the synch test as well."
"What?! In his condition?" the Second Child said with mild shock.
"…!?" Rei said with a surprised expression.
"Isn't he bed ridden?"
"He might be still outside of an entry-plug, but Rits was able to get him stabilized enough to last about eight minutes before he loses control."
"So he is still a psycho regardless," the redhead stated flatly.
"Major," Ayanami asked quietly with her face in a neutral expression. "Where will the synch test be held?"
"It is in a different location from the usual room. Let's go," Misato answered leading both to the nearby elevator. Entering it, both Misato and Asuka saw the First Child press a floor button and stand in front of the elevator doors.
"How do you know where we are supposed to go?" Asuka said frowning leaning on the side wall of the elevator.
"Now, now Asuka. Rei visited the lab room before that Shinji was in."
"…" the redhead said then turned her head a little. "Hmph."
'I wonder how much anxiety and anticipation Rei is having in seeing him,' the Major thought smiling a little. After a few more level clicks, the elevator stopped at the level selected. All three exited and were following the First Child down a hallway. Passing several doors, one of them opened. Ritsuko stepped out with a clipboard and had a very tired look on her face.
"Oh, there you two are," the doctor stated. "Come on, let's get started."
"Doctor. How is Ikari?" Ayanami asked following her back in the room with Misato and Asuka entering afterwards.
"You can ask him that after the synch test. Go to 00 Pilot Ayanami. Pilot Souryu, go to 02."
"Understood," Rei said and Asuka nodded. The door that lead to the large lab area opened. Both pilots entered and were escorted on the mobile catwalks to the open hatches. Getting inside their designated entry-plugs, the hatches closed and the mobile catwalks retracted. Ritsuko and Misato took their positions in the control room.
"Begin synchronization," the doctor ordered and the crew inside complied. As technicians and scientists were reading off neural connections and vital signs, there were three successful synchronizations.
"I am still amazed when you told me that he was able to synch up. Seeing it in person is even more amazing," Misato said.
"Yes. It is good to see that from all the labor and effort, fruit has developed from it," Ritsuko said with a tired smile. "What are the pilots' levels?"
"Pilot Souryu is leading with 86%...Pilot Ayanami is next with 73%...Pilot Ikari is at 40% with small changes of 2-3% up and down," Maya read off the readings on her monitor. She put a hand over her mouth and yawned. Blinking, she concentrated back on her monitor.
"At least he is recovering a bit," the doctor stated putting her hands in her lab coat pockets. Looking at the time, she had a minute or so before the five minute mark would hit.
"At the five minute mark, put Pilot Ikari under and continue the tests with Pilot Souryu and Ayanami," she stated.
"Why five minutes when he can last up a little bit longer?" Misato asked.
"If he starts losing control, it will affect the other pilots' mental state. Both of them will not be able to concentrate. I don't want to be here all night just to get an accurate reading."
"You look like you could sleep a whole day."
"I didn't sleep well last night."
"Trouble falling asleep?"
"I worked overnight to get Pilot Ikari here," Ritsuko said removing her glasses and rubbing her eyes.
"Everyone here too?"
"No. Just me and Ibuki."
"…how many more trials and errors did you two do?"
"…" Dr. Akagi said putting her glasses back on and blinking. "We are at 328 at this point…roughly 50 more."
"…" Misato said blinking. "How does he look?"
"He looks relatively the same," Ritsuko stated.
Going to a monitor, she changed the screen to a cockpit view in entry plug 01. Misato came closer and looked at the image of Shinji in his plug suit. However, his face looked more sickly than yesterday. His eyes had dark circles and bulging veins around his temples. The paleness in his face was close to Rei's skin color. Hearing a beeper, he slowly opened his eyes tiredly. His eye color was dull instead of piercing as he looked somewhat dead.
"Putting the Third Child under," one technician stated. Ritsuko hit the intercom to entry-plug 01.
"Good job Ikari. Rest for now."
[…] Shinji said as he just moved his mouth slowly. No sound was produced as his eyes closed slowly. Misato and Ritsuko watched as his head leaned back a little and his grip on the controls loosened and began to float in place.