Chapter 104: Forceful Influencer

Opening up her refrigerator and getting a beer out, Misato looked down to see Pen-Pen with a towel hanging around his neck.

'There goes about 30 minutes to an hour of not being able to use the bathroom,' she thought watching him go in the direction of the restroom. Hearing the door close, she looked at her beer then shrugged her shoulders. Opening it and about to drink it, her home phone rang.

'After a swig,' she thought swallowing down part of the alcoholic beverage.

"Ahh…that hit the spot," the Major stated then walked to the landline phone and answered it. "Hello, Katsuragi speaking."

[Evening Misato]

"Hey Rits! Finally going home?" she replied smiling a little.

[Yes]

"That is good. What's up?"

[I am driving both Ikari and Ayanami home. I will be at your place in a bit.]

"That's kind of you. So, what extra testing did you do on Shinji?" she asked curious.

[More or less explaining the basics of the dummy plug system. Also did screenings to see if he is still clear of the previous Angel's cells.]

"How did that go?"

[He was clear.]

"That is a relief. No more surprises," Misato said with a smile again. "There has been enough already."

[…yes] Ritsuko stated with a slight pause before answering.

"How about Rei's checkup?"

[…she says no problems found.]

"…" the Major said with tired sigh. "I can just picture her saying that with her deadpan expression and monotone voice."

[Yes indeed. Did you take the others home already?]

"Yep. Dropped both Toji and Rayne at their places before coming back to my place."

[I see…so it is just you and Souryu?]

"…yeah…" Misato said thinking something didn't feel right. "Are you okay?"

[Yeah…I'm just…tired]

"The extra tests must have pushed you over the limit…or…you tried pushing Shinji over the limit?" she asked with sly smile on her face.

[…] the scientist said looking back at the rear view mirror. Both pilots were sitting on the backseat and looking out opposite windows. Suddenly, his eyes started moving slowly toward her. Focusing quickly back on the road, her apprehension rose.

[A combination of things.]

'Okay…something is up. She hasn't snapped at me or corrected me given how tired she is,' she thought. Looking at the Second Child, she was lying on the couch with the TV on.

"That tired huh?"

[…can I ask a favor?]

"Sure."

[May I spend the night at your place? I'm a bit too sleepy to make the drive home by myself.] Ritsuko asked as normally as possible.

'…that doesn't sound like tiredness…' the Major thought blinking. Knowing that her friend was not the type to play games, she went along with it in the hopes to get more out of her.

"Of course. Anything for a friend."

[…thank you…]

"…" Misato said blinking feeling more concerned. Moving toward the kitchen, she spoke in a softer tone.

"Hey…what's going on? You aren't acting like yourself."

[I will let you know when we arrive there.]

"…" she replied and blinked a couple of times. "Okay. Sounds good. See you in a bit."

[See you in a bit.]

"…something definitely happened," Misato muttered.

Looking at her phone and ending the call, she became anxious and curious. Looking at the clock, she wondered how long it be before the scientist arrived. Getting her beer, she went to the couch to watch whatever the Second Child was viewing. Fifteen minutes later, the front doorbell rang. Telling Asuka that she will get it, the Captain got up and walked to the entrance. Opening it, the two remaining Eva pilots and Dr. Akagi were there.

"Thanks for driving them home," she said smiling.

"Sure," the faux blonde replied with a nod.

"Is there anything else I can assist you with Dr. Akagi?" Shinji asked stoically. She turned around and shook her head.

"Very well. I will depart to next door. Good day madams," he said bowing a little and turning around. Watching him walk away for a bit, Rei started following him. When both were halfway to the other side, the Major leaned toward her and whispered.

"What happened?"

"…" Ritsuko said blinking. Turning toward her with an unreadable expression, the scientist looked back at the two teens.

"Other than the additional tests and talking, was getting the creeps again."

"Again? I thought he was cleared. Didn't his schizo get cured and his blood normalized?"

"Based on what the computer testing and MAGI analysis…yes," she said with a small nod. Both saw the two Eva pilots stop. The Third Child was in front of his door and turned to face the First Child. After a brief talk, Ayanami turned around and walked back to them. The expression on her face was her usual one.

"Do you think it came back?"

"Possible, but there is no proof relapse either."

"Did…you see something?" Misato asked. The Major saw Ritsuko give a small nod and tried to remain calm.

"What did you—Hey Rei! What were you whispering with Shinji?" she stated with a cheery smile.

"…" Ayanami said stopping and blinking. Looking up at both adults, she remained calm though had a hesitant look on her face.

"I wanted to thank Ikari for making Pilot Souryu and I bentos for school today."

"Ooo, that must have been nice to have. Knowing that Shinji is good at cooking, he would definitely be a keeper."

"…" Rei said tilting her head a little. "A keeper? It refers to holding onto someone due to favorable qualities for friendship, relationship, and/or courting purposes. Is that correct?"

"…" Misato and Ritsuko said. Staring at the First Child a bit, the two women blinked.

"Well…yeah."

"I see," Ayanami said tilting her head back up and nodding her head. "I agree…Ikari is…a keeper."

"…!" both said widening their eyes a little. Watching the female pilot pass them, she entered the Major's apartment. After not seeing the teen anymore, both got out of their stupor. The lavender haired woman elbowed the faux blonde.

"Did you hear that?! It is without a doubt that she wants him."

"Yes. Straight from the horse's mouth," Ritsuko said sighing and rubbing her face.

"Mmm-hmm. Well come on, I got plenty of beer to help you relax. Let's forget our worries and drink till we drop!" Misato said excited hugging her friend's arm.

"No," the scientist said firmly. "Rather have a clear head tomorrow."

"Aww. You are always a party pooper."

Pulling her friend into the apartment, the door closed behind them. The two stayed up for a bit talking and discussing things that were outside of NERV. Both Eva pilots had gone to bed a bit ago and it was just the two of them. After more talking, both decided to go to sleep. Misato laid out the spare futon in her room in which Ritsuko did not object. Lying down, both eventually went to sleep.

In the midst of the early morning, the Angel alarm sounded. Scrambling awake, both Misato and Ritsuko quickly got ready. Waking up both pilots, the scientist stated that she will go fetch the other two. Making it so far as opening the front door, she froze. The Third Child was standing in front of the door, dressed and stoically staring. Rana was half-awake leaning against him with her head on his shoulder.

"Shall we both go with you Dr. Akagi?" Shinji asked after blinking.

"Rits, let's split up. Take the twins and go pick up Rayne. I'll take Rei and Asuka to go get Toji!" the Major stated inside.

"Alright," Ritsuko stated in the open door way.

Closing the door, she turned around to see the male pilot giving his female twin a piggy-back ride. Nodding, they went down to the parking garage. Leaving first, the scientist saw Misato, Rei, and Asuka running to the Major's car. Getting onto the streets, there was little traffic.

"I don't know where Pilot Hymity lives," Ritsuko stated.

"I have called her and informed her to head toward the nearest bus stop. She should be easier to pick up there," Shinji stated from the backseat.

"You know where this stop is?"

"Yes Dr. Akagi."

"Guide me," she said stepping on the gas.

While driving, both women called HQ for a situation status. Detailing what information they have so far, contact with the Angel would not be for another 6 hours. Making it to HQ with all pilots, the six changed into their plug suits and were waiting in a debriefing room. Eventually, Misato and an assistant came in with documents and computer files.

"Alright, listen up," the Major stated. Turning on a projector, it gave a satellite image of the Pacific Ocean. There was a circle that popped on the screen. It closed in on a location that was several kilometers away from the coast line of Neo-Tokyo.

"Our satellites picked up the next Angel coming in from the Pacific. Close up images show this one to be a towering fortress. So far, every engagement of arsenal by the military and the UN have been reflected off its powerful AT-field. We don't know much of its capabilities other than its high defense abilities."

"Other scans indicate that its current body is only an outer shell," she continued. Going to the next slide, it showed a multi-layer screenshot. Entering a command made more windows appear and separate segments from the original screenshot.

"Currently, its only limbs are the stubbed legs and arms. However, its outer skin is segmented. Upon closer inspection of them, it appears to be more limbs that are connected to its upper torso. The core is protected by an outer layer as well. Breakthrough that, and the core will be exposed."

"No footage of it going on the offense?" Rayne asked.

"Negative. We will have to proceed with caution. Given that it has a high defense capability, that will most likely mean a strong offense capability."

"This will be a piece of cake," Asuka commented with a smug. "That Angel won't know what hit him."

"That is what we hope will happen," Misato corrected turning to her then to the rest.

"Here is the game plan. Since Unit-01 is still under repair and research, it is not authorized for usage based on the Commander's orders. Also given that Shinji has the lowest score out of everyone here, he will be part of the back-up pilot team."

"First group will be Asuka, Rei, and Toji. Given that you are still training, you will be providing support to both Unit-00 and Unit-02."

"Roger," the Fourth Child replied with a nod.

"Rana, Rayne, and Shinji will be back-up pilots if one of the first unit's members falls back. Understand?" she asked getting slight head nods.

"Good. More debriefing will happen once in the command center and you three in your units. Any questions?"

"…" all pilots said not moving.

"Alright, go get ready," the Major ordered seeing all of them nod their heads.

Leading the large young group down the hallway, an intersection came up. Both groups broke off with the pilot group going straight to the Eva cages. The second group followed Misato to the command center. Rei, Asuka, and Toji hurried up to the Eva cages and found four war machines secured and standing tall. Going on the mobile catwalks, each passed by the purple Unit and got different vibes. Asuka ignored it, Toji felt it was corrupted, and Rei stared it down. For some reason, she felt it was staring back at her with equal measure.

'…' the First Child thought. Turning back forward, she headed toward her Eva.

The spirits in Units 00, 02, and 03 saw that they were the only ones getting ready for battle. Waiting for the pilots to be loaded into their entry plugs and inserted, the three spirits readily synched up with them. Feeling immediate connection with their pilot's psyche, it relieved their psychological strain. Each spirit wanted to get far away from the spirit that was in Unit-01. They could still hear it cackling in the background softly as the purple war machine gazed at them with its wicked grin.

"Lt. Ikubi. Status report," Ritsuko stated. Hearing multiple footsteps, she turned to see Misato entering the command center with the back-up pilots. The Major went to and took her position near where the scientist stood. The three teens stood to the right of the terminals and looked toward the main screens.

"Target spotted two kilometers away. Time till contact in 30. Eva pilots' synchronization to their Units completed. Unit-00, 02, and 03 active," the bridge monitor stated.

"Any activity from the Angel?" the lavender haired woman asked out loud.

"Other than its AT-field projection, it is continuing its direct course to here," Makoto stated from his station.

"Lt. Shigeru, is the frequency module ready?" Dr. Akagi asked looking over at him.

"Active and ready," he stated then put on his headset.

"Looks like a showdown," Misato stated then looked up behind her. "Commander, permission to launch and set the pilots up for a staged attack."

"…" Gendo said sitting in his chair with his infamous pose. Seeing the Sub-Commanders standing behind him and watching, he moved only his eyes to see the back-up pilots standing to the right down below. Pushing up his shades a little, he reassumed his sitting posture.

"Permission granted Major," he stated. Hearing her turn back forward, she gave the order.

"Eva Launch!"

With the launch sequence engaged, a loud muffled rushed emitted. The three Units were sent to the surface.

The skyscraping Angel hovered closer and closer to the coastline of Neo-Tokyo. Zeurel continued to project its AT-Field as it continued its path to where its mother and father were being held. As it got closer and closer, it felt many different things arising. Multiple fake brethren were coming up from the ground below on the land ahead. There were two weak lilims that had a similar wavelengths to itself. More oddly, one of the fake brethren that remained in the ground felt morbidly different. Despite being so far away from where it was, the Angel could begin to feel its presence.

'…' Zeurel thought continuing forward at its pace. 'No matter. It does not concern me. My purpose is absolute.'

All three Evas reached the surface on their lifts. Disengaging and standing on their own, each grabbed their weapon that was attached to the other side of the platform. Misato states the strategic orders and the Eva pilots comply. Once in positions, they wait for the signal.

[Angel in sights] Asuka stated with a large sniper rifle in hand. With the headset over her head, it gave her readings and measurements of the enemy.

[This thing is pretty big]

"Got to close the distance and find a way to neutralize its AT-field," Misato stated.

[Got it]

"Do you think they will be okay?" Rayne whispered at the side of her mouth toward Shinji. Rana was standing on his left side and was wondering the same thing.

"…" he replied blinking looking at the footage on the screen.

'ThEaUdIeNcE…iShErE,' the twisted voice thought and was grinning monstrously wide.

"I believe the three will…see victory one way or another," the Third Child answered quietly.

"How are you sure?" Rana whispered intrigued.

Suddenly, she felt an ice cold chill go down her spine. Glancing quickly at him, his eyes were still dark magenta as he slowly moved his eyes toward her. Blinking, she saw a horrid figure standing at the hallway entrance. Blinking again, it was gone.

"…!?" Rayne said immediately turning to her right to the hallway. Not seeing anything, something nearby made her skin crawl.

"They are skilled pilots. Though Mr. Suzuhara is new, he will be fine," Shinji commented slowly moving his eyes forward. Blinking, he turned his head to the right to see the ex-officer had gotten closer to him. She was staring at the hallway; however, there was no one there.

"Miss Rayne, is something the matter?"

"Where…where is it?" she whispered. Moving closer to him, she put a hand on his right shoulder.

"…" he stated. About to ask her for clarification, the Third Child felt his left arm being grabbed. Blinking and slowly turning his head to his left, Rana had a not so pleasant look on her face. Not so much at him, she was staring daggers at the Fifth Child.

"…" Yui stated.

Though she was facing forward, her eyes were looking below. Moving a little, she was looking at the three backup pilots. Something familiar came to her and shook her a little. Looking at the Third Child, she could feel apprehension rising. Resisting in giving into the fear, paranoia was starting to sink in and make her feel tense.

'sssoooooommmmaaaannnnnyyyy…SOMANYGATHEREDTOGETHER!' the dark clone boomed in Shinji's head. Many images flash by showing torture and experimentation. It moaned from the psychological agony, the endless feeling of physical suffering, and the emotional destruction of self and faith over and over again.

'mOrE,' the voice shouted. Beginning to foam out of its main mouth, the imagery crescendo. Numerous faces of children, adults, and clients passed through the mindscape of both it's and the Third Child.

'MORE,' it shouted with moans of pleasure. Feeling aroused, it sticks out its tongue bites down hard to make it bleed. The other mouths started cackling dementedly from the combination of pain and pleasure sensations.

'THIS MY SEED! #$% #$' demented voice bellowed viciously in thought. "HEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEE…ITWILLBEWHATSTIRSTHEUTOPIA! CANYOUUNDERSTAND!? THEGREATERTHENUMBERS, THEGREATERTHEUTOPIAWILLBE!'

After it shouted its last word, the evil voice murderously screamed as its body began to vibrate. Its pitch slowly bent higher and higher till it broke from being a voice. Only a piercing single pitch sound emitted from all of its mouths that were regurgitating blood, inners, memories, and chaos. As if something popped internally, both the dark clone and Shinji felt it. It was as if their bodies was ripped inside out and slathered in salt.

"…" the Third Child responded. Feeling the sensation tear through his being, the male pilot closed his eyes. Concentrating with all his will power, he tried not reacting to the mind-blowing agony surging through his head.

'YES!YES!YES! #$%#$GGGGOOOODDDDDYYYYEEEESSSS!' it shouted in pain and pleasure. Lurching forward in its captive space, foam was flowing out of all of its mouths. Blood was flowing out of its eyes and discoloring the atmosphere around itself. Hyperventilating and fully aroused, it grinned inhumanly wide as a high and low decibel frequency emitted through the comm-link channels.

"Contact in 5 minutes," Maya stated out loud.

'My first real battle,' Toji thought concentrating on the towering image of the Angel. 'If it is like that one game in the arcade, this one is in the bag.'

'I'll show that stooge and idiot that I am the real deal! No one is better that Asuka Langley Souryu!' the Second Child thought. Grinning, she kept her sights on the Angel for a head shot.

[…] Rei said focusing on the Angel.

Suddenly, comm-links opened up which showed the command center.

It specifically showed the image of Rayne, Shinji, and Rana and how both female back-up pilots were either touching him or holding onto him. The three pilots could hear the conversation between them going back and forth. Despite not saying anything, both Rei and Asuka kept looking back and forth between the Angel and the video-feed. Toji turned his head a little.

[Pilot Suzuhara! Concentrate!] Misato barked at him. Flinching, he re-aimed his rifle at the incoming Angel. Despite hearing a low decibel vibration on their ends, both the First and Second Child could hear what seemed like the inner thoughts of both Rayne and Rana. Each thought they had, sounded loud and clear to both of them.

"…" Asuka said starting to get jealous and angry.

"…" Rei said firmly gripping her controls and slowly lowering her head into a glare.

At the same time, the spirits in the Evas were beginning to hear things. It sounded like abstract sounds and faint murmurs. Slowly, they got louder to where whispers were heard. Ignoring them and focusing on what was at hand, the sounds continued to get louder. Each of them heard something that stuck as a familiarity in them. Recognizing what was being said and the abstract noises, the three uttered quivering denial and started to tremble.

'…?' Zeurel thought as he got within range of the coastline. It casually hovered over the beach and continued inland.

'What is this…what are they doing?'

The Angel noticed that the Evas that were in different positions of the inland were changing. Each of them was slowly growing more hostile and disturbed. At the same time, the fake brethren below ground seemed to be relatively the same. However now that it was on land, its aura was more pronounced and gripping. It made the Angel slow down a little to analyze its surroundings.

' #$%# $...h...i...#$% #$%' a voice echoed in its head. It was mixed violently with static, screams, and a malicious sounding voice that haggardly breathed its greeting.

'…!?' the Angel said completely stopping its advancement. It found the location of earth to remove to get to where its mother and father were being held. Zeurel was about to engage its offense attack from its eyes, when the voice came. Abruptly halting its attack, the disturbing synthetic's aura from below was now around it.

'Who…who are you?' the Angel asked slowly looking around itself.

"…?" the bridge staff said staring at the main screen. A look of confusion and suspension came as the larger than an Eva sized Angel was slowly hovering and turning in place.

"Angel has ceased all forward movement. We did pick up an energy convergence from its head," Makoto stated. "However, it faded as quickly as it came."

"What's it doing?" Misato asked quietly staring intently at the screen.

"Who knows…scanning…surveying…it was about to attack but it stopped suddenly," Ritsuko stated quietly looking at the screen.

'ArEyOuCuRiOuS? #$% #$ …d…o…y…o…u…s…e…e…k…t…h…e…r…e…d…u…t…o…p…i…a?' the voice answered.

'What non-sense do you speak of? Show yourself.'

'heeeeeeeeeeee…cUrIoUsYoUaReNoT…NOT! #$% #$DOYOUHEARMYSEED?!$#&%*(#$%'

'NOTCURIOUS!'

'NOT# $CURIOUS!'

'NOT! #$CUR#$% #IOUS!'

'NNNOOOTTTTTCCCUURRRIIIOOUUUUSSSSSS!'

'Silence lilim! I will not heed your disorder. I only have my purpose to fulfill. Nothing you say will sway me,' Zeurel stated firmly.

'#$% #$(%…y…O…u…#$%# ^…N…o…I…d…E…a… $%^#$…O…w…N…f…A…l…L…a…c…y #$%#$DDDDDDDOOOOOOOYYYYYOOOOOUUUUUUUU!?' the evil voice cooed with many shouts of chaos from it.

In the Eva cage, Unit-01's mouth started to make creaking noises. Slowly, the Eva began to utter sounds. A very deep, slow, and booming chuckle came out of it making the anchoring equipment it was secured to vibrate and bend.

"…" Shinji said still keeping his eyes closed. Still resisting, he moved his eyes slowly toward the direction of where the Eva cage would be. Rayne felt another disturbing cold chill feeling the vicious and vile presence nearby. Getting even closer, part of her was pressing against him. Rana, becoming more irritated at her actions, pressed herself against his arm.

'…mOrE…'

'Sir?' the Third Child thought slowly opening his eyes.

'THEREISSOMUCHMORE!' it yelled with equal amount of savage excitement and suffering. All that the male pilot could hear was the sound of five different conversations going on at once in his head. Feeling warmth flowing inside of him and growing up to his eyes, he closed them and waited.

'What the hell are you doing in the midst of this Angel battle!?' Asuka thought. Aggravated, she was having a hard time not looking at the comm-link footage. Seeing the Fifth Child get even closer, the redhead saw her look directly at the video feed. It felt that she was staring right at her.

[He's mine dolly…you can't beat me to get him] Rayne stated quietly with a smug on her face. She emphasized by pressing her chest against his shoulder.

[I'll become one with him…you are just a throw away] Rana stated quietly with a smug on her face. The feed showed the female twin touching cheek to cheek with his face.

[My connection with him is so much closer than yours…I have so much more to give to him than you…wondergirl.]

At the same time, the spirits in the active Evas felt the evil soul in Unit-01 near them. About to panic and try to run as far away as possible, a bright light began to unfold in front of them.

Naoko felt the blinding illumination start to die down. Opening her eyes, she was standing at the command level of the bridge. Looking around, there was no one around. Turning around toward the lift, a familiar child suddenly stood in front of her. The girl was wearing the same light red dress that day so many years ago.

'He calls you old hag,' the toddler states with an evil smug on her face.

'…no…' the spirit states out loud with wide eyes.

'Old hag…old hag…hee hee hee…'

'You're an old hag…he said so himself.'

'…hee hee hee…behind your back…old hag,' the child repeated over and over again.

'…stop it…' Naoko said evenly with narrow eyes. Hearing the child continue with the cruel smug on its face, she slowly stepped forward feeling her hands and forearms tingle.

After the blinding illumination went away, the spirit in Eva-02 found herself sitting on a hospital bed. Staring straight ahead, the familiar whispers were audible and clear. Remembering what occurred here, she closed her eyes tight.

'No! I don't want to remember!' Kyoko shouted. Despite her outburst, she still heard the soft voices in the other room. Suddenly, the voices became louder making her open her eyes a little. They shot open seeing and recognizing the two individuals were in the room with her.

'Mr. Souryu…we can't do that here.'

'Why not? No one has suspected anything.'

'Your wife…is in the next…ahh…room.'

'In her state, she has become a vegetable…isn't that what you said doctor?'

'Mmmmmm…maybe…aaaahhhh'

'Stop denying yourself…you've been craving for another.'

'…just…don't be…so rough…mmmmmm…like the previous time.'

'…' the spirit said feeling her face go into shellshock. At the same time her fingers began to curl to form tense claws.

When the brightness subsided, the spirit in Eva-03 saw the events that unfolded prior to where she was locked in the war machine. Closing her eyes and cringing, she shouted for the visions to stop. The recollection of the past didn't cease as they became more lucid. Hearing everything slowly get faster and faster, something shook her insides.

'You useless woman!' a familiar man shouted at her.

'…' the spirit said slowly looking up seeing his face.

'This food tastes like trash!'

'How do expect me to live with the money you bring in?'

'Can't you do anything right?'

'Shudda' up you bitch. I can drink whatever I wanna!'

'If I had the chance, I'd never marry you again!'

'Stupid boy! Stop crying! Men don't cry! Go to that useless mother of yours you miserable runt!'

'…' she said listening to the past repeat. Seeing the man drinking another bottle of sake, his back was turn. Looking down at the table, the cleaver she used to make dinner was in front of her.

'Mama,' a familiar boy's voice spoke softly. Flinching, she glanced to her left instantly. His hairstyle was recognizable. The baby girl that he was holding in his arms made her eyes go wider.

'It is what you should have done…when you went away…he left us…abandon us.'

'…' the spirit said feeling everything inside of her tighten up.

'That bitch!' the Second Child thought. Gripping her hand controls tight, a fire sensation started developing.

'…I will…not allow…you to take him,' Rei stated in her head. Everything around her become consumed with anger.

"…?" Toji said feeling something odd.

'What is that…its strange…yet…it feels really familiar somehow,' he thought. As he concentrated on the sensation, it gave him a nostalgic remembrance of something.

Back in the command center, several messages and indications began popping up.

"Status report!" Misato asked from seeing multiple windows pop up on the main screen.

"Angel has begun its offense attack. Energy convergence at its head!" Makoto stated.

"Synch ratios for the three pilots above 150% and going critical!" Maya stated.

On the main screen, the eyes of the Angel flashed. An invisible powerful blast shot in the area where the three Evas stood. Materializing instantly, a large wall of an AT-Field appeared that blocked the enormous explosion. Despite the large eruption of earth, rubble, and ash, the area in front of the units was the only thing scorched. All of the bridge crew witnessing the battle murmured from the spectacle.

"Thank god their AT-Fields held the blast," Misato stated. "How are the pilots doing?"

"The comm-links to them have been disabled by their Evas," Maya stated.

"What!?"

"Bring a visual of them," Ritsuko ordered. When a close up of the war machines came on, she became shocked.

"All three of them have gone berserk!?" she stated out loud causing others to blink and look up at the screen. All three Evas eyes had changed color. Instead of a bright white, all three had red eye slots.

"S-Shinji…what's wrong?" Rana asked seeing him cringing with his eyes closes. His brow scrunched a little as a blood vein appeared on his temple. It surfaced a little and began pulsating. Feeling something occurring inside of him, the hairs on her skin stood up.

"…no…" she whispered seeing a small amount of blood tearing out of his closed eyes.

'…my god…' Shigeru thought from listening what was coming in through his headset. Roughly six conversations were going on at the same time in which five of them were getting more and more hostile. The last one sounded as if someone was getting a sick form of pleasure from all of it.

'What…what the hell am I picking up?!'

[…p…U…s…H…i…T…dddeeeeeeeepppppeeerrrrrrr] the sound of a demented voice whispered and cooed through the headphones.

"Gendo…what is going on with the Evas?" Yui asked fascinated. At the same time, she felt unease about what was about to unfold.

"They will show their true mantle," he said unable to smirk.

He felt something morbid growing nearby, but didn't look away to see what it was. Part of him was intrigued on how the three Units were able to block the attack. When the smoke cleared on the screen, the crew saw the mouth guards of Eva-02 and 03 come off and cratered the ground below. Unit-00 head was shaking as its mouth guard started to buckle. Blood began to seep out as the sound of metal bending and grinding was screeching through the speakers. With a loud pop, its mouth guard fell off. Along with holes in its gums, there was a welded line outlining the armor surrounding its mouth.

'…!?' the Commander thought in surprise. Shocked from what happen, he put his hands down on the panel in front of him.

'How did its mouth open? It was sealed shut with restraints after the first accident?'

"Shinji…I can feel it near, where-!?" Rayne said.

Turning to him, she saw blood tears coming down from his eyes. Another blood vein came to the surface and pulsated making more blood come out. Both she and Rana let go of him and slowly backed away. Only managing a couple of small steps, his eyes slowly opened. Black-red eyes looked up at the screen then slowly moved them to look at Lt. Shigeru.

"…" the bridge monitor froze stiff with fear all of the sudden. Feeling something staring at him, he slowly turned his head to the right. As his eyes widened in fright from seeing the Third Child staring at him, the distorted voice gave a vile affectionate whisper.

[…I…'…m…C…o…M…i…N…g…]