Chapter 61: Implanting
"Third Child is in deep slumber state and stable," a male technician stated.
"He's not dying, is he?" Misato asked looking a little alarmed at how he looked.
"Despite how he looks, he has responded from each trial and error test. With each one, we run screenings through the entry-plug. All his organs have kept reading and showing functionality. His brain seems very durable despite the constant relapsing. Probably use to it from having episodes before."
"If he is okay, why does he look like death?"
"…" Ritsuko said frowning. "Given his environment and what he consumes, it might give you a hint on why."
"…!?" the Major said with a shock and a look of disgust. "Don't tell me he drinks that stuff he is in?!"
"If you got a better option for him while having to be submerged in LCL, I liked to hear it," Ritsuko stated annoyed.
"…I…I don't. Sorry."
"..." the doctor said turning to her clipboard. "When this synch test is over, we can move forward and I can step away."
"Okay," Misato said nodding her head and turning back to the sleeping image of the Third Child.
Unseen by everyone, Shinji's eyes would twitch slightly as well as the corners of his mouth. From time to time, different voices would breathe out of him though no one heard them. For the male voices, they didn't hear the sounds of something swimming in the background of the entry-plug. The vile voice was making slurping sounds and emitting giggles that faded in and out. After a period of time and gathering enough data from the synch test, Ritsuko ended it.
"That is enough. Shut down synchronization tests for entry-plugs 00 and 02," the scientist stated while yawning.
"Shutting down synchronization tests," Maya complied. The humming of the computers and machines around them sounded powering down. After the shutdowns were completed, two of the three entry-plug hatches opened. Mobile catwalks extended toward them with support teams walking down them. Seeing the female pilots exit out and leave the lab area, they entered the control room.
"Good job you two," Misato said.
"Who was on top?" Asuka asked with a confident look on her face.
"First was you, then Rei, and Shinji came in 3rd."
"Sounds about right. I am the most experienced and an ace pilot of the other two," the redhead commented with a smirk and throwing some locks behind her shoulders.
"Does look that way," the Major said with a tight smile. Ritsuko had moved to where Maya was to look over some of the collected data for documentation.
"…" Rei stated with a neutral expression not caring for the Second Child's comment.
Turning toward Dr. Akagi, she looked preoccupied. Looking back at the monitor with the small dent on its panel, she walked toward it. Standing in front of it, the monitor showed the slumbering Third Child. His hands floated in the same spot of the control handles in the cockpit. Looking at his complexion, he looked strained and sick.
"…Ikari…" she said quietly then heard footsteps coming up behind her.
"Looks like a vampire with that face," the redhead mentioned with hands on her hips.
"…" Misato said feeling like her comment and what Ritsuko described about his consumption was a little surreal. "He does look that way."
"Major, is it possible to talk to him?" Ayanami asked not turning around.
"Hey Rits," the Major said looking back. Ritsuko didn't look up from the monitor that Maya was at.
"Five minutes," the faux blonde replied and motioned to another tech.
He nodded and turned some switches. The three turned to the monitor and saw small jolts hit Shinji until he started to breathe a little faster. His eyes twitched then opened lethargically. Moving his hands to his face, he rubbed his cheeks slowly. Bringing them back down and blinking at a snail's pace, his eyes looked forward. Bowing slowly, he sat back up.
[Greetings madams…how are you this evening?] Shinji said in his normal impassive voice. It seemed strange that it didn't sound tired.
"You look like death Third," Asuka piped in first.
[I…see] he said blinking.
"How are you feeling Shinji?"
[…] the male pilot said looking down in thought for a couple of seconds. […I do not…know…]
"Ikari," Rei asked in her usual tone; however, she was pressing her hands against the side of her thighs. She was controlling her build up of conflicting emotions.
[Yes Miss…Ayanami?] Shinji said looking up with his eyes slowly. The angle and the dark circles around his eyes made him look like he was haggardly glaring at them. Slowly, his head rose up and his expression became blank. It almost seemed as if his eyes were processing faster than other body parts. His hands were moving at a snail's pace still.
"I…I have acquired new questions to speak to you about," the First Child stated quietly. "I am having difficulty…answering them."
[…] he replied with a slow blink. [If Dr. Akagi will allow it, I…may…Be…oF…sOmE…SoMe…]
"Shinji?" Misato called to him.
She felt tension building rapidly in the air. Asuka felt goosebumps flaring on her arms listening as his voice started changing. Rei felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise. All the sudden, a chorus of timer beeps were going off in the control room. Blinking and looking around them, the crew started inputting commands on their terminals and engaging some levers.
[…S…o…M…e…help-HEL-HEL-heeeeeee…heeeeellllpppp…t…o…y…o…u…] the male pilot said in a lethargic change of voices. Hearing the infamous evil one quickly come and go made the three women alert. Watching Third Child's head become downcast, both Misato and Asuka turned around hearing someone walk toward them.
"Like I said, five minutes. His longest bout without succumbing is eight minutes. He is averaging a five minute session about 27% of the time. All the others are longer. He rarely loses control under five minutes," Ritsuko mentioned.
"What happens to him if he does lose control?" the Second Child asked.
"Most of the time, he will have multiple personality disorder, schizophrenia, convulsions, rapid incoherent speech, self-infliction, uncontrollable laughter, and random screaming. Worst case so far, he'll start bleeding everywhere."
"Ewww," the redhead said grimacing. "Sounds like a gross monster in a horror movie."
"…" the First Child commented. She did not turn around and stared at the him sleeping. An emotion was festering inside that made her hands clenching into tight fists and started shaking. Ritsuko noticed her behavior, but was too tired to care.
"Everyone go home so I can go home," she said with a sigh and walked away.
"Let's go home you two," Misato said turning toward the door out of the control room.
"What's the doc's deal?" the redhead asked.
"Worked overnight and hasn't slept yet," the Major said as both walked out of the room. Technicians and scientists started trickling out with mild conversations going on around them. Maya asked if Ritsuko needed anything else, she would stay to help. Thanking her, the scientist stated she would leave after writing up a brief report. The one remaining was the First Child who kept standing in front of the monitor.
"…" the faux blonde said as she typed away on a terminal. Seeing the blue hair teen in her peripheral, she ignored her and continued her report. Minutes passed by in silence as the only sound in the room was the clicks from pressing the digital keypad. After completing it and closing out the window screens, Ritsuko stood up and yawned. Looking over, the First Child was still standing in the same place in front of the monitor.
"Ayanami, I will be leaving. Will Misato drive you home?"
"She didn't say. I wish to remain here for a little while," Rei answered without turning around.
"Under the circumstances of being alone with the Third Child, no one is allowed in here unless authorized," she stated flatly.
"…why?"
"If you want to know, ask the Commander. Now, would you leave or do I need you to be forcibly removed?" Ritsuko said with annoyance.
"…" Ayanami replied turning around to stare at the doctor. Strangely, the expression the older woman had was vaguely familiar. However, it didn't seem to matter or strike a significance.
"I will leave doctor," the First Child said coldly then turned around to the monitor. "I will come to visit again Ikari."
[WON $^#DER-r-r-r-rrrrrrrrrFUL!] Shinji screamed. It was a high piercing shrill with static and glitches before becoming dead silent. His outburst echoed and ringed in both of their ears making them flinch. Instantly, Rei felt her wrist being pulled as the scientist headed toward the exit quickly. Opening the door and leaving the control room, the door slid to a close.
"…?" Ayanami said feeling Dr. Akagi let go of her wrist and rubbing her temples. "Dr. Akagi?"
"I'm going home," she said tiredly and started walking away.
"…" Rei said watching the doctor go down the hallway.
Once she was gone from sight, the female pilot turned back to the control room. Debating on going back inside, her other self voiced disapproval. Wanting to argue, she noticed that she was tired and still in her plug suit. Heading back to the locker room, she wondered how she could interact more. Thinking of plan, she made a decision of what to do tomorrow.
The next day and after recovering from a lack of sleep, Ritsuko received a call from NERV about the Commander wanting an in person report. Once she got to the base and collected all her data and documents, she headed to his office. Reaching it in a few minutes, she hit the intercom on his door.
"Dr. Akagi reporting."
[Enter] he responded. Pushing the doors open and closing them, the scientist walked into the dark lit office. Continuing forward till she was at the appropriate distance from his desk, she stopped. Gendo was sitting at his desk with his usual hand pose. Kozo was standing to his right.
"Report doctor."
"Yes Commander. After trial and error testing and experimenting, we have been able to stabilize the Third Child for about six minutes on average."
"…!?" the Sub-Commander said with a surprised face. "You were able to bring Pilot Ikari out of his mental disorder?"
"For a small duration of time, yes."
"What happens after the time limit?" the Commander asked not moving.
"He relapses to his schizophrenic state. I have trained my team to put him under before he starts losing control."
"How long till the pilot can be re-used again?"
"It varies sir. The average is two to three minutes of resting before he can be awakened again."
"Does the time duration of being stable change after coming to?"
"In terms of individual sessions, yes. Overall, no."
"How many trial and error tests were done to get Pilot Ikari to this point?" Kozo asked curious.
"328 tests Sub-Commander," she stated neutrally seeing the older man raise his eyebrows in shock. Gendo remained emotionless.
"What are the Third Child's capabilities in the time limit?"
"Coherent speech, follows orders without deviation, informs when there is an issue, sharp perception, and a synch ratio of 40% in simulation."
"Good," the Commander stated. "Test him in Eva-01."
"…!?" Ritsuko said blinking in surprise. She willed herself to keep a straight face.
"Is that wise Commander?" Kozo asked calmly.
"He has met the requirement. If he can pilot Unit-01 for five minutes, then he is useful," Gendo said placing his hands on his desk. His expression was cold.
"If he passes Dr. Akagi, test him in Eva-00. I will send Pilot Ayanami to be tested in Eva-01."
'I had plans on doing that experiment of cross-piloting,' Ritsuko thought feeling her eyebrows rise a little from surprised again. 'How did he know? I haven't reported, documented, or told anyone.'
"Is that clear Dr. Akagi?"
"Yes Commander," she said blinking and looked neutral again.
"Good. You are dismissed," he said seeing her nod her head and turn around. Both men watched her exit out of the office and close the doors. Once alone, Gendo saw Kozo come forward a little.
"I thought Evas rejected anyone that isn't their designated pilot. Do you think that there is a chance that this time is different?"
"There is a possibility," the Commander said with a small smirk.
"Intriguing," the Sub-Commander stated then looked down at a piece of paper on the desk. It was a report from Section-2.
"It appears they were unable to find the black tape from Pilot Ikari's home."
"Seems so," he stated dropping his smirk.
"Even acquiring his backpack from the locker room on base, it wasn't in there either. Where else could it be?"
"There are a couple more places to probe," Gendo said pushing up his glasses.
Ritsuko walked back to the laboratory that held the Third Child in the entry-plug tester. Upon entering the control room, her team was inside monitoring the Third Child.
"Hello Dr. Akagi," Maya stated standing up from her monitoring area. "How was the meeting with the Commander?"
"More or less the usual reporting of findings. We are going to move Pilot Ikari to Eva-01 next for testing," she reported. Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at her with surprise.
"I-Is that wise?" the lieutenant asked with a shocked look.
"Commander's orders," Ritsuko said neutrally and went to a monitor. It was the one that still had the dent of when she slammed her fist down. Waking up the screen, it showed the Third Child in a state of deep slumber.
"How is he?"
"We haven't awoken him yet doctor," a technician stated.
"Wake him," she said without turning away and crossed her arms over her chest. Hearing them comply, Shinji received two jolts before stirring awake. His eyes looked dull and still had dark circles around them. Body movements seemed more normal.
[Greetings Dr. Akagi. How are you?] he said in a stoic tone blinking slowly.
"Hello Ikari. How are you?"
[I am…adequate.]
"The Commander has deemed that you have met the requirement for piloting. I am informing you that you will be transferring to Eva-01 for more testing."
[I see.]
"You will be placed in an enclosed unit while being transported. Your mask contraption and strait-jacket will be put on for safety of yourself and others. Do you understand?"
[…y…e…s…d…o…c…t…o…r…] Shinji breathed slowly while blinking rapidly.
"I will see you again when you come to," she stated motioning to put him under.
[…] he said slowly closing his eyes and spreading his arms and legs out a little.
Feeling the deep sleep take him, the male pilot rushed into his chaotic mind whirling around faster and faster. The past memories and altered ones started to tear and rip him apart. Everything in him started to spread out far and thin throughout the schizophrenic world in his subconscious. Feeling the last grain of his essence be sanded down to nothing, he felt cold and dead.
[…i…k…a…r…i…]
"…?" Shinji said.
A strange sensation started to occure. It felt as if his mind was starting to reconstruct itself one cell at a time. Searing hot needles piercing and stitching every neural connection and brain cell back together. Each one burned and caused his essence to grimace. When his brain was completed, eye balls were slowly squeezing out of it. Feeling the pain receptors flare wildly, the pilot's mind contracted rapidly.
[…Ika$#%$ri…]
"…" he replied.
Feeling his eye balls formed, he was able to move them around. Seeing nothing but a sea of red and black around him, there was a recognizable figure in front of him. It was another brain and set of eyes that looked at him. However, its brain was a dark pigmentation and its eyes were black and red. Knowing that the corrupted voice was staring at him, its brain started pulsating opposite to his brain's contractions.
[Ikari?...#$^#$...can...#$^&%$#...hear…]
'…TiMe…To…ReBuIlD…mYsEeD…'the dark clone thought to him while hyperventilating.
'…r…e…b…u…i…l…d…s…i…r…?' the Third Child thought weakly back. His vision started to see millions of needles emerge and surround them.
' #$ #YYYY#$^$&EEEEE$ &%#*SSSSSS!' it mentally screamed.
As its tone reached shouts of ecstasy, the army of syringe like objects randomly shot forward. In a chaotically burst of suffering and agony, both were being reconstructed. The needles hit every inch, building the body cell by cell. Muscles, organs, veins, nervous system, and skin were built in a fury of speed and torture. When the dark clone gained its mouth, it was drooling from the sensations of pain.
It giggled erratically while its skeletal structure was hunched over with hands and knees on an invisible ground. Shinji kept his two feet without skin planted down as he stood and gritted his teeth murderously. When their bodies were complete, the final needles impaled both his and the evil voice's chest. Both felt their hearts start to beat again as air rushed into their lungs. Each felt their blood avalanche into the bodies and filling them up. When blood flow was established, their brain sent a growing rapid flare of electric pulses to activate.
[Ikari, do you hear me?] Ritsuko called the nth time. The Third Child slowly opened his eyes painfully and blinked lethargically.
"…D…r…A…k…a…g…i," the male pilot whispered in a raspy voice rubbing his eyes slowly.
[Glad to finally get you awake. How are you?] she asked relieved that he finally woke up.
Looking around, Shinji saw that he was in the Eva cages. Looking down, the restraints that were supposedly put on him were not there anymore. About to respond, he thought his personas would take over. However, they seemed to be quiet for some reason. Instead of their mumbling in the background, there was silence.
"…I…feel…abnormal," he said quietly looking at his hands. His plug suit was still on him. Opening and closing his hands, they didn't feel as painful when he was in his subconscious void. Blinking a little more normally, he was confused on why he had a little more control than before. Keeping a stoic expression, he relaxed his hands on the top of his thighs.
[I can imagine. Do you know where you are Ikari?]
"…yes," he said. "I am assuming I'm in Eva-01…in the Eva cage…NERV HQ."
[That's right] Ritsuko said in the speaker and looked over at Maya. "How are his levels?"
"Currently stable," Maya stated based on the monitor readouts. Both saw that the five minute ticker had about three minutes left.
"Good," the doctor said and made notes on her clipboard.
"How are his vitals?"
"Stable doctor," a technician stated.
"These readings are the most stable I have seen of him Dr. Akagi," Maya stated looking at her.
"I am surprised as well. Might be a new test run for him. Despite that, we still have a bit of testing to do. If he can synchronize with Eva-01, then the Commander will use him," Ritsuko stated with a straight face.
"…" Maya said feeling a bit uncomfortable from this continuous usage of the male pilot. Seeing him not only drugged and in pain, but it was the aspect that the Commander was specifically treating him as a tool. The inhumanity from his father toward him gnawed on her conscious.
[Dr. Akagi?] both females heard from the comm-link. The faux blonde pressed the intercom button.
"Yes Ikari?"
[Has there been any new introduction of drugs to the LCL solution mixture?] he asked in his stoic voice. He didn't sound tired or lethargic. It made the crew in the control room to blink and look at the scientist.
"…?" Ritsuko blinked in surprise and looked around the room. Everyone shook their head with a surprised look on their faces.
"No. There hasn't been…you know what is in the solution?"
[Yes Dr. Akagi] the male pilot said blinking.
"You do?"
[Do you wish for me to state the drugs in use as well as their concentrations?]
"No, that is okay," she said not really doubting him knowing.
[…I see…] he said and looked down at his hands in deep thought.
"Is something wrong?"
[No…I was just asking] Shinji feeling odd that none of the voices were saying anything. However, he heard a familiar beeping on the other side of the comm-link. Knowing that was the five minute mark, he was now most susceptible to his voices.
"That is the five minute mark Ikari. Let's see how far we can keep going."
[Very well]
"Okay. We are going to see if you can synchronize with Unit-01. Are you ready?"
[Yes Dr. Akagi] Shinji said grabbing the controls and closing his eyes. Hearing the procedure for the synchronization, everything proceeded as normal.
'…' the male pilot thought finding that the connection to Eva-01 was more challenging than he remembered; however, he felt that he did establish a wave length.
"Pilot Ikari has established synchronization with Eva-01," Maya said smiling a little. The crew around in the room murmured amazement and small congratulations toward each other.
"…" Ritsuko stated with a small smile. Looking at her watch, the eight minute mark was reached.
"What is his ratio at?"
"It is holding at 45% with +/- 1% variance."
"That's definitely an improvement," she commented marking that down on her clipboard. Going to the intercom, she looked at a monitor that had a cockpit view of him. He still looked calm as he still had his eyes closed and concentrated.
"Ikari. You're doing a good job. How are you feeling?"
[…] he said slowly opening his eyes. They were still the dark magenta color. Shinji was about to respond with he heard a soft deep cackle in his ears. Feeling himself relax a little, he addressed the doctor.
[I feel fine.]
"How about your voices?"
[…I…do not hear them…as of this moment.]
"Seems that being in Eva-01 might have made the difference Ikari."
[So it seems Dr. Akagi] he said nodding a little and closing his eyes.
In the conscious chair in his mind, he saw that the half dome structure room was rebuilt. Getting out of his seat and slowly looking around, there were alterations. The walls were caked with black and red blood that dripped to the floor in droplets. Looking at the floor, it had been resurfaced with a dark resin of something kind. Despite the enriched iron smell, it could explain why he could act more stable.
'…' Shinji thought seeing the double doors. It looked like the originals and walked closer to them. Stopping in front of them, a familiar presence materialized behind him. Turning around and bowing a little, he saw the dark clone showing a toothy grin at him.
'Greetings sir.'
'GrEeTiNgS…m-M-m-mMMMMMMMMy SE$^$^ED!' it said with dark amusement. 'IT-IT-IT-ITITITITITIT…i…s…in-in-innnnnnnnnnnnnppppprrrrrooooogggggrrrrreeesssssss…'
'…' the male pilot said glancing around and behind him. Blinking and facing the twisted voice, it grinned wider and split its lips in many places. Bowing slightly to it, he watched the dark clone explode itself. Gore was sent in all directions and splashing the Third Child. Blinking again, he walked back to the conscious chair.
On the other end of the connection, Yui saw double doors materialize. The sound of it unlocking echoed loudly in her void. Moving toward it, the Eva captor strangely did not restrain her from heading toward the double doors. The closer she got to it, her amorphous state started to form into her human figure.
'I haven't talked to him after leaving him…do I have a right to?' Yui thought feeling guilty from remembering her actions at the previous Angel attack. 'I…I can make it up to him. If I explain myself, he would understand.'
Grabbing the handles on the double doors, she pulled the doors to open. Opening both halfway, she froze with shock and fright.
'…!?' she said seeing that there was no hospital hallway. All that was before her was a sea of frantic space with chaos and madness. Strangely, there was a black half dome shape island in the distance. It was the only thing floating amongst the insane and frenzy void.
'…what…what happen to you?!' she asked out loud. She heard and recognized the pilot's male voices being somewhere in the chaotic sea. However, it was the black floating island that made her feel apprehension. Just as she thought of it, a black-red eye rolled around on the topside of the dome. It stopped and looked at her directly.
'…!?' Yui said feeling goosebumps and started closing the doors. In a blink, the malicious presence was in front of her. Panicking, she pushed harder closing the doors.
'…CoMe-DON'TCOME!-…WaItInG-HEISNOT!-fOr YoU-FORNOONE!' it spoke in rapid tones while another mouth split open through its chest. It cackled dementedly loud in front of her. When the doors closed, everything became quiet.
'…!?' she said flinching hard. The doors get rammed into by a few things followed by loud pounding.
'Come on out here doctor…'
'…we have a lot of things to discuss…
'…why are you hiding here?'
'What's in here?'
'Is it fun inside?'
'Don't make us break down these doors!'
'Is Ikari in there?'
'Tell him we got bones to pick with him!' the male voices shouted from the other side of the door. Yui moved away from the door and went back to her form of nothingness.
Back at the other end of the connection, Shinji reached the conscious chair and sat down. Instantly, he could hear the scientist was talking to him and closed his eyes. Blinking his eyes open, he was seeing inside the cockpit again.
[-NERV guards outside that will put a strait-jacket on you as well as the mask contraption to prevent you harming yourself or others when the LCL is drained. Do you understand?]
"Yes Dr. Akagi. I am ready to be constrained," the pilot answered with a stoic expression and closed his eyes again. Hearing the deactivation sequence, he felt his head becoming heavy. Knowing they were increasing the pressure in the cockpit, he tried to succumb to it. However, he could only get himself in a semi-state of consciousness.
Feeling the cockpit slowly empty out of the compound LCL solution, he wondered if the other voices would overtake him. An innocent evil giggle ringed in his head to answer his question. Once completely drained, the male teen felt his mind split violently. The male voices impacted harshly in his head and altered his perceptions rapidly. Refusing to open his eyes, he felt needles creeping and crawling all over his skin giving him goosebumps and chills.
Suddenly, his orientation shifted and landed hard on a metal surface. Multiple hands were touching him and folding him over and over again. Something started wrapping around him that jingled like a Christmas bell. With a final click sound from his back, a cold leather mask with straps covered his mouth and nose. Feeling it being heavy at his mouth, he figure it was the gas mask contraption. After straps tightened around his head, the multiple hands shifted and hosted him in the air. Feeling extremely dizzy, disoriented, and shaking, he blacked out. Oddly, liquid rose around him just as he fainted.
"Ikari?" a female voice called to him.
[…] he said slowly opening his eyes and blinking a couple of times.
"Welcome back Ikari. How do you feel?" Ritsuko asked surprised that he came around quicker.
[Hello Dr. Akagi…I feel abnormal still…but am adjusting] he said when he started to look around his environment. Still in a cockpit, something about this one seemed different.
'Smells different,' he thought closing his eyes trying to identify it.
[Ikari?] a familiar voice called to him. Opening his eyes and looking at a video comm-link, he saw the First Child. She was also sitting in a cockpit and in her plug suit. Blinking, he bowed a little in his seat.
[Greetings Miss Ayanami. How are you?]
[I am adequate…how…are you?] she asked seeing her stoic face relax.
[I am…okay for now.]
[I…am glad…] Rei said feeling the corners of her mouth turn up a little.
"Pleasantries aside, let us begin the test. We are going to attempt synchronization with different Evas. Normally, an Eva is accustomed to one pilot and prefers one user. However in the times that one EVA or pilot is unable to battle, then substitutions are necessary. In theory, an Eva pilot should be able to activate any Unit. We will start with Pilot Ayanami then Ikari. Are you both ready?" Ritsuko asked. She got two verbal responses that they were read.
"Start synchronization with Eva-01."
"Starting Synchronization…now," Maya stated and entered the command code. The crew watched the readouts of the first activation. The First Child's stats were holding throughout the procedure.
"Synchronization with EVA-01 complete. Levels stable. 56% sync ratio."
"Good so far," Ritsuko stated then hit the intercom button. "Ayanami, how are you feeling?"
[...] the First Child replied. She opened her eyes and saw that the cockpit did not change. The link between her mind and the Eva's was established without it rejecting her. On the other hand, she felt an uncanny familiarity with it. Strangely though, it was very distant. Deciding to ignore it for the time being, she addressed the question.
[I feel fine]
"Good," the scientist stated and documented the findings on her clipboard.
'…' Ayanami thought going back to her thoughts. The familiarity still lingered. Despite calling to it and asking questions, it never responded or gave a sign. Deciding that it would not answer her curiosity, she noticed a scent. Breathing in and out a couple of times, the First Child could identify it.
'It smells like Ikari,' she thought to herself.
Closing her eyes, she recalled where she picked up the scent before. Remembering the memories, it made her feel warm inside. Strangely, something inside the Unit stirred. It almost seemed as if the memories that she recalled triggered a different familiarity. Unable to identify it, it didn't respond to her calls or questions either. Hearing the staffers in the control room speak, the female pilot opened her eyes.
"Begin Synchronization with Eva-00," Ritsuko stated.
"Starting Synchronization…now," Maya complied and punched in the code. The crew watched the sequence go through and monitored the readings with caution. The Third Child's levels varied a bit in the beginning before stabilizing. Once completed, the scientists and technicians doubled checked the readings and the male pilot's vitals.
"Synchronization with Eva-00 complete. Levels stable. 37% sync ratio with no variance," the lieutenant stated then continued. "Barely enough to get the Eva to move, but still a feat in of its own."
"Indeed. It is a pretty big step forward in more ways than one," Ritsuko stated then looked at her watch. "This is the second time in a row that he has sustained up to ten minutes without relapsing."
"Strange how the Evas contributes a better stable environment for him."
"Indeed," she stated then hit the intercom button. "How are you feeling Ikari?"
[…I…am…okay…Dr. Akagi…] the male pilot said as calmly as possible. There was something noticeably different with the spirit in Unit-00 than with 01.
"Your levels are stable. Just keep it up for a few more minutes."
[Very…well] Shinji said keeping his eyes closed and concentrating back into his mind.