Susano-o: Rebelion ho!
Sekhmet: Musical episode ho!
Susano-o: We always have to have one.
Sekhmet: I don't even like musicals I just like music.
Susano-o: -But anyway, there's the last of the fighting angels, now it's all psychological trauma!" *Pops off a Kaworu head*
Sekhmet: ...I miss Zeruel already. And Shamshel.
Susano-o: I miss the D8 and Big Eye.
Chapter 16: Rebellion at Central Dogma and the 14th Angel, Zeruel
"They refuse to come out sir," Maya said nervously as she looked into the EVA cages.
"Get them out," Gendo insisted.
"Fuck you," Shinji growled.
"Pilots! If you do not leave the EVA's this instant you will all be tried for treason," Gendo ordered.
"How much trouble will I be in when I destroy this place," Shinji snarled.
"WE Shinji," Asuka corrected.
"I believe with Seven EVA's we can destroy most if not all of this building," Adelise pondered clearly making it a threat.
"Probably the entire Geofront, let's be honest here." Mary added.
"I wonder if we can make a hole bigger than that big D8 did if we go fast enough." Isabelle asked.
"Enough," Gendo snapped. "Turn up the LCL pressure, I don't have time to deal with childish tantrums."
"...Sir we already tried that, the EVA's won't accept any commands."
"What," Gendo growled. "Why not."
"Hello Commander Ikari," Rei interrupted. "Maybe next time it would be wise to remove my security clearance before trying to murder one of our own," She said with vicious mockery of a grin on her face. "You'll find as of ten minutes ago the EVA's are no longer under your control, they are ours to use to bring your empire to the ground."
"And we won't hesitate. Unless of course, you listen to us. Not just hear us talk, LISTEN. It's not hard." Shinji growled. Gendo said nothing. "Alright. First demand, no matter how this goes, we're not getting in trouble for this."
"...Very well," Gendo said after Unit-00's hand twitched.
"Great. Second demand, no more suicide missions. No pilots left behind."
"The Angels are our top priority," Gendo insisted.
"And as long as none of us are thrown to their jaws in the process, they'll be killed all the same."
"...Fine," Gendo snarled.
"Alright. Third demand, financial pension. Being rewarded with our lives for fighting world ending creatures is fine enough, but it's ultimately a whole load of crap."
"We can work something out," Gendo agreed.
"Fair enough. Last demand, answers. What in the world is happening, why are the weirdest things so integral, all that stuff. We just want some answers."
"No, absolutely not!" Gendo shouted. "You are pilots, you do not need to know the inner workings of NERV."
"Ok, guess everything's falling apart, let's get to work guys."
"Wait!" Misato yelled running onto the bridge. "Stop it all of you!"
"What is it ma?" Mary asked.
"You don't need to go this far," Misato pleaded.
"We just want answers ma!" Mary argued.
"And to not be treated like dirt." Shinji added.
"We all do," Misato sighed. "-But destroying NERV won't help."
"Maybe not, but it's deserved."
Before Misato could counter the alarms went off, sending everyone running for their stations.
"Another Angel attack?! Already?!" Misato confirmed looking at the reports.
"Oh look at that ma. It would be a good time for some answers." Mary said.
Gendo snarled. "Alright, after you defeat the Angel, we will talk."
"...Very well," Rei said. "Come on everyone, we have an Angel to kill."
"Alright," Asuka finally said. "Let's go."
….
Nothing had gone to plan. The new Angel was a behemoth, a massive black and white torso embedded with two orange orbs, a tiny skull head and stumpy limbs, but two ribbon like appendages to make up for it. It was a powerhouse of an Angel, and it didn't fuck around, firing laser beams that broke through armor like it was made of paper and spearing everything and anything that came in it's path.
"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!" Asuka screamed as she unleashed belt after belt of explosive minigun rounds into the Angel's AT-Field. "Can anyone get through this thing!?"
"Ranged attacks aren't working, one of us would have to get close to disable the field. That would be suicide though!" Adelise said.
"She's right, a melee attack would just be stupid." Mary said, discarding an empty rifle for a new one.
"Even the position rifle isn't punching a hole in this bloody thing!" Isabelle said as another beam of energy slammed uselessly into the Angel's back.
"Missiles ain't shit," Mari added throwing away another empty launcher. "Fuck it."
"So what are we gonna do?" Shinji asked. "If we can't touch it, how do we beat it?"
"...I will slam into it with an N2 mine," Rei decided. "An N2 mine that close should punch a hole in it."
"Yeah, but it'll also blow you to bits!" Asuka said. "You're not doing that!"
"...I will be fine," Rei inisted.
"Zat is the exact antithesis of fine," Adelise said back. "We will find another way."
"How about this?" Mary asked. "Mari and I grab two spears, force the field open, and you chuck the mine in like a football."
"Alright, be careful of its arms," Rei said running over to the weapons stash to get a mine.
"Will do." Mary said, passing a spear to Mari.
"We're so gonna die," Mari said aiming the spear at the Angel. "Hey what's this assholes name again?"
"It's designated Zeruel." Misato said. "If your plans don't work, we may have to drop our supply of N2 mines on the Angel to destroy it," She informed them. "We'll give you a warning but, be prepared for the worst."
With that in mind, Mary and Mari charged Zeruel. They branched off, dodging it's arms and lasers well enough. They wedged the spearheads in, working a small opening in the field in record time.
Rei grabbed the mine and ran at the Angel with all her might, ducking under Zeruel's arms and hocking it inside the field. "Move now," She ordered.
All three jumped back just as the mine exploded, kicking up a huge cloud of dust and fire. The roar of the explosion made it impossible to know if it actually worked.
"...Did it work?" Mari asked. Her question was met with all three of their EVA's heads getting lopped off in less than a second. They fell to the ground like limp socks.
"What's that?!" Asuka screamed in fear as the Angel appeared out of the cloud of fire. It was completely unharmed and unfazed. In just five seconds, it's ribbon arms disabled the other EVAs, Asuka getting her arms and head cut off, Adelise losing her legs and one arm, and Isabelle getting blown back by a laser into a mountain.
Shinji was left all alone to fight Zeruel, and it didn't go well. He barely had time for the dread to sink in before it's arms swatted him away, driving him back into a forest. It was immediately upon him, slamming at his chest with its guillotine arms, chipping away at the armor.
"Move! Move!" He pleaded. "If you don't move, everyone's gonna die!" Nothing happened. "Please… please move..."
The slamming continued, and the main breastplate finally snapped off, revealing a disturbingly familiar glassy red core.
"The core's been exposed!" Ritsuko yelled nervously.
A pause filled the entire area. Zeruel raised its arm to shatter the core, but EVA 1 was quicker, raising its hand and shredding the arm between its fingers. It then grabbed the shreds and pulling it forward, only to let go and slam the Angel in the face with its other arm, sending it flying away.
"Oh no," Ritsuko said grabbing her computer.
"What's wrong now?!" Misato yelled.
"Shinji's synch ratio...it's over 400%!"
"What?!" Misato screamed. "How is that even possible!?"
"He's reaching deep plug depth!" Ritsuko said nervously.
It was an absolute bloodbath after that. Eva 1 roared a whale like death scream, exorcist crawled over to Zeruel and tore off its face, slowly and painfully. Any attempt to fight back was met with punching and tearing. When it finally got the face off, it tore into the rest of its body, smashing the core inside and devouring what seemed like random chunks and pieces indiscriminately.
"Hey! Hey! Hey!" Asuka screamed repeatedly as she finally got her coms working again. "What the hell is going on!?"
"What-fuck-on?! Where-ji!" Mary's coms came on, but cutting in and out.
"He's...He's….," Misato mumbled as she watched EVA-01 destroy its restraints while wailing like a dying beast.
"What is happening!" Adelise asked.
"...A lot…" Misato said scared as EVA-01 fell over, seemingly exhausting the last of its energy.
…
(Two weeks later)
"Want to explain what happened to him?" Misato asked Ritsuko now that everyone had recovered.
"Shinji's plug depth reached extreme levels, causing him to fall apart into the LCL," Ritsuko explained taking another drag off her cigarette, from her fourth pack of the day.
"...So how do we fix it?" Mary asked. "CAN we fix it?" Fear edged her voice in that question.
"We can, but it will take a while," Ritsuko said. "We have to create a wavelength in the exact opposite frequency of the plug to reverse the effects, since the wavelengths for Unit-01 are currently going haywire, we need to wait for them to stabilize."
"So how long do we have to wait?!" Asuka shouted angrily.
"...A month."
A collective "What?!" filled the room.
"It's the best we can do," Ritsuko said angrily, clearly done with everyone. "If you want to yell at someone go take it up with Unit-01."
Mary almost immediately did that, turning on her feet and walking down to the catwalk. Unit 1, having freed itself from its armor prior, looked a sorry state. It's entire face was bandaged up, leaving only one green eye and a massive and disturbingly human set of jaws exposed. Despite that, it looked forward in creepy glee, almost proud of what it had done, like a child with no remorse for drawing on a wall.
Mary looked right at this monstrosity, working up the nerve to address it. Despite her inherent nervousness, she forced herself to take a calm, even tone. "Why would you take him from us?" She asked it. "He's our friend. Please give him back." The EVA didn't respond.
Asuka had a different idea, grabbing a nearby wrench she hauled off and threw it at the EVA's face. "Give him back you ugly son of a bitch!" She screamed. "Or I will use you as target practice for Unit-02!"
At first, Unit 1 didn't respond. However, it's eye moved slowly but surely, looking at Asuka as if she was nothing more than a fly buzzing around the room. Asuka stared back without blinking as she backed away out of the EVA cage.
….
"That thing is a monster," Asuka murmured looking at the EVA through the glass, convinced it kept looking at her every time she looked away. "And that begs the question…."
"What question?" Adelise asked.
"What are the other EVA's…" Asuka asked nervously cutting her eyes towards EVA-02.
"Probably similar creatures, would they not be?" Adelise asked.
"Whatever they are, and like it or not, we have to watch ourselves around Unit 1. As long as Shinji's still in there, we have to show it respect. Who knows what it'll do to him otherwise." Mary said, teeth grit.
"...That's a scary thought," Isabelle decided as she watched everyone work around the grinning monstrosity.
….
The next two weeks were tense, no one knew what to do with themselves as they tried to adjust to life without Shinji around. They split his chore times with Isabelle and Mari taking up the cooking duties, Asuka and Mary the cleaning, and finally Adelise and Rei doing the laundry, but there was a hole in their group that they could all feel.
Asuka yawned for the tenth time that morning as she watched the TV in a daze. Mary was once again sprawled out on the floor, resting her eyes with an arm over her face.
"When was the last time you two slept?" Mari asked as she brought in some trays of food.
"I don't want to sleep anymore. I have dreams of the better times. It makes me sad." Mary murmured.
"I've been sleeping fine," Asuka insisted without looking away from the TV as her blinks started to slow down.
"Sure you have," Mari sighed setting down the trays. "Here just have some coffee you two, if that fails go take a nap."
"Naps are for babies and toddlers, I don't need one," Asuka insisted grabbing a cup and draining it in a few gulps. Mary said nothing as she dumped the coffee down her gullet.
"No one is going to blame you two," Mari said taking the empty cups. "Seriously, Adelise and Rei just did all the bedding so they'll be clean, fresh, and warm, give it a shot."
"You drive a soft bargain...and a minivan." Mary murmured, before getting up and leaving for the promise of fresh bedding.
"Weak, I won't be swayed that easily," Asuka grumbled chomping down her breakfast like a starving animal.
In the bedroom, Mary almost immediately fell asleep in the clean sheets. She had a small nightmare where she was reunited with Shinji, only for him to melt into LCL in her arms. As she screamed she heard a small voice calling out to her before a sharp slap brought her out of the dream, opening her eyes she saw Asuka looming above her holding her shoulders down.
"You awake now Mary?" She asked softly.
"I-I think so. Unless this is one of those stupid dream within a dream situations." Mary said, then proceeded to bite into the meat of her palm and try to tear it away. "Nope, this is real."
"Good," Asuka said sighing in relief. "Come on, scooch over," She insisted. Mary obeyed, making room on the bed for her to lie down. Asuka scooted in and quickly spooned into Mary's back.
"And what happened to the above everything person I knew before?" Mary asked, tease in her voice.
"Shut up," Asuka grumbled. "I'm not tired, but I don't want to hear you screaming again, it was awful," She said pulling the other girl in close and burying her face in Mary's locks. "So I'm gonna hold you till you get to sleep."
Mary tangled one of her hands into Asuka's, the one that was sticking out on the other end of the pillow. Asuka wrapped their legs together and set her other arm around Mary's waist.
"Sleep tight," Asuka mumbled. Mary murmured an approximate reciprocation and the two were soon blissfully asleep for the first time in days.
…
Rei loaded up the dryer and turned it on, finally finishing the last load of bedding they had been working on.
"It's done." Adelise stated.
"Yes," Rei said calmly folding the blankets she had pulled out. "Best friend Isabelle will be excited that her favorite blankets are clear again."
"I know, they're soft and perfect for fort building." Adelise said.
"Yes," Rei agreed. "We will have to do it again once…" She started before trailing off.
"I want to help. Like he helped me." Adelise said sadly.
"We all do," Rei said pulling Adelise into a hug. "He will return to us, I have faith in him."
"I hope so. Honestly if you were a guy I'd date you." She said, like that wasn't a weird thing to say at all. Rei didn't react, simply held Adelise till she calmed down and they could resume their folding.
…..
"Glasses chop those carrots," Isabelle ordered as she glazed her roast. "Then boil up those potatoes."
"Right." Mari said, following suit and doing exactly that.
"I hope I'm reading this right," Isabelle mumbled. "Damn boys handwriting is in tiny squiggly japanese," She cursed squinting harder at the small book lying open on the table.
"I think it's cute." Mari said with a light laugh followed immediately by crushing silence.
"-But It would be better if he was here to tell me," Isabelle sighed.
"I know." Mari agreed. "I miss him."
"I do too," Isabelle mumbled. "I wish we could force that thing to give him back."
"Me too. But how do you force an EVA to let go of someone?" Mari asked.
"Well I doubt threatening it with a dingo would work," Isabelle joked darkly. "That's how I got my blanket back from a kangaroo when I was 7."
"Too bad there's no Angel sized dingo. At least none we've seen yet." Mari said.
"Yeah, wonder what they'll do with the EVA's when we finish," Isabelle pondered out loud. "Like are they going into cold storage, or can we keep them as lawn decorations?"
"They'll probably keep them in case the Angels ever return. If there are any left after we beat them all," Mari said.
"I want to keep it in my backyard," Isabelle said. "Like on top of a giant rock formation overlooking my house and garden, like a guardian."
"That sounds so cool." Mari said. "I'm in. "
"Nice," Isabelle said smiling. "Now come on, let's make this dinner one Shinji would be proud of!" She shouted while doing a pose.
"Ma'am yes ma'am!" Mari said with a salute, and got to work double time.
…
At the end of two weeks, little progress was being made. The frequency wasn't settling down at all, so building a counter frequency was borderline impossible. Everyone was on edge waiting for either the next Angel attack or the device to be built, making for a very very tense workplace. The worst thing though, was the Pilots had lost all trust in Gendo and the higher ups till they got their answers, but won't listen to anything they tried to tell them till Shinji was there, leading to a situation where everyone tearing their hair out as all 6 pilots refused to do anything because of something they had no control of.
"I don't know how much more of this I can take." Mary said. She was fidgeting in her seat like a strung out coke addict, a foot tapping the floor rapidly and her hands scratching at even the slightest itch.
"I'm about to start smacking people," Asuka agreed tapping her pencil against her homework hard enough to break the tip again.
Adelise nodded through her hand, which propped her head up. "I don't want to wait any longer."
"Maybe we can run away and then they can learn to do shit faster," Isabelle mumbled.
"Nah they'll just track us down," Mari said shrugging.
The phone rang, and all six of them jumped to answer, with Asuka grabbing the phone lightning quick. "This had better be good," She growled.
"Umm...they're attempting the retrieval process soon," a nervous NERV employee stuttered out.
"We'll be there," Asuka said slamming the phone down and the six took off as fast as possible towards the train station..
…
"Alright let's get this show on the road!" Asuka ordered the second they all got to the bridge. "I want that boy back yesterday!"
"Umm, right," Ritsuko said turning to the techs. "Start the operation."
"All search needles were driven in."
"Electromagnetic wave pattern is fixed at 0, -3."
"Ego-border pulse was connected." Maya said.
"Roger. Begin to salvage him." Ritsuko said.
"Roger. Signal-1 is sent."
"Eva received the signal."
"Now, signal-2 and signal-3 is sent." Maya said.
"Plug is under the normal condition."
"Destrude isn't detected."
"Roger. Move the target to stage-2." Ritsuko said.
"No. His ego border is a loop fixedly." Maya said.
"Try to irradiate to all wave patterns from all directions." Ritsuko said. A note popped up on screen. "No. The irradiated signals are captured in Clein space."
"What do you mean?" Misato asked.
"I mean, a failure." Ritsuko said.
"What?"
"Stop the interference. Reverse the tangent graph. Set the addition value to 0." Ritsuko said.
"In Q area, Destrude reaction is detected. Pattern is sepia."
"As for the core pulse, some changes are detected. Plus 3 is confirmed."
"The water temperature is getting higher. 36, 38, 41,
58,76, 97, 106…"
"Maintaining the present condition is the top priority issue. Present flowing back." Ritsuko said.
"The internal approaching work. Over the estimated
value. It's going into the dangerous area."
"Yes. Plus 0,5, 0,8. It's strange. I can't stop it."
"What does it mean? You don't want to come back, Shinji-kun?" Ritsuko asked.
"Eva rejected the signal."
"His ego formation in LCL is breaking up."
"In the plug, the pressure is getting high."
"Stop all operations. Cut the power supply." Ritsuko ordered.
"The plug is exited!"
"Shinji-kun!" Misato yelled.
...
"Not comin back?! Whaddaya MEAN he's not coming back?!" Mary yelled, sounding like an angry New Yorker.
"He refused to come back," Ritsuko said calmly. "We detected his thought patterns, but he wouldn't return from the LCL back to a physical form," She sighed. "He just doesn't want to come back."
Mary nearly started weeping, but at the last second, as if having an idea, she grit her teeth. "Then I'll give him a reason to come back!"
"I don't know how you'll do that," Ritsuko said. "-But if it helps…" She said before walking out of the room.
"Come on. We're going to see the EVA." Mary said.
"Why? What is your plan?" Adelise asked.
"I don't know yet." Mary said.
…
Mary opened Shinji's locker, dug around a bit and retrieved the Walkman from it. "Here it is."
"Madame Mary, do you have a plan yet?" Adelise asked.
"Yeah, it hit me on the way here. Frequency equals sound, sound equals music, music was a huge thing for Shinji. So maybe if we play his tape, he'll come back." Mary said.
"...I can't find any flaw in that logic, but I don't like it," Rei said annoyed that something so unscientific sounded possible.
"So what does the boy listen to besides his cello and Mozart stuff," Mari said taking the walkman and plugging it into her speaker. "...2000's alternative," She said after '21 Guns' started playing.
"...Imma be honest, not want I was expecting from the Shin-man," Isabelle said scratching her head. "I knew he knew meme songs, but this is a shocker."
"If it'll bring him back, who cares really?" Mary shrugged. "Let's get this to the bay."
"We'll pick songs on the way there," Adelise said nodding. "Now come along, we must save our friend!"
…
"What are they doing down there?" Misato asked. She was looking down at the EVA cage, where the pilots were approaching Unit 1. Doubtful chatter erupted on the bridge.
"It seems they're attempting to convince Shinji to come back to them." Ritsuko answered.
"Would that work? Can he even hear them?" Misato asked.
"Probably not. If it were as simple as asking him to come back, he would have been back three weeks ago." Ritsuko said. "As it stands, they're wasting their time."
...
"Everyone pick their songs?" Mary asked. Everyone nodded. "Good. Adelise, you're up first."
Adelise smiled as she turned on the tape player. (Sum 41- In Too Deep)
"The faster we're falling, We're stopping and stalling, We're running in circles again!" She sang along spinning around.
"Just as things we're looking up, You said it wasn't good enough, But still we're trying one more time," She said with a pout. "Maybe we're just trying to hard, When really it's closer than it is too far," She said taking a deep breath.
"Cause I'm in too deep, and I'm trying to keep! Up above in my head, instead of going under! Cause I'm in too deep, and I'm trying to keep! Up above in my head, instead of going under! Instead of going under!" She belted out with a dance and a smile.
"Cause I'm in too deep, and I'm trying to keep! Up above in my head, instead of going under! Cause I'm in too deep, and I'm trying to keep! Up above in my head, instead of going under!"
Instead of going under! Instead of going under again! Instead of going under! Instead of going under again! Instead of going under again! Instead of going under again!" She finished with a big smile at the EVA. Nothing happened and Adelise moved back pouting while Rei walked forward.
(Black Parade-My Chemical Romance)
"When I was a young boy, My father took me into the city, To see a marching band," She sang softly as the piano trailed behind her.
"He said, "Son, when you grow up, Would you be the savior of the broken The beaten, and the damned?" She asked looking over at the other pilots. "He said, "Will you defeat them, Your demons and all the non-believers? The plans that they have made?"
She then paused for a second, holding her shaking hands together. "Because one day, I'll leave you, A phantom to lead you in the summer, To join the black parade." The music started getting more powerful and Rei remarkably got louder to match it. "When I was a young boy! My father took me into the city! To see a marching band! He said, "Son, when you grow up! You will be the savior of the broken! The beaten, and the damned?" She asked the EVA loudly as the music trailed off, when nothing happened she sighed and stepped back while Asuka stepped forward blushing and nervous as the music started up.
"Well, I took a walk around the world to ease my troubled mind, I left my body lying somewhere in the sands of time, But I watched the world float to the dark side of the moon, I feel there's nothing I can do, yeah…" She sang softly then louder towards the end.
"I watched the world float to the dark side of the moon, After all I knew, it had to be something to do with you, I really don't mind what happens now and then, As long as you'll be my friend at the end!" She sang to the eva with a hand extended ignoring all the looks she was getting.
"If I go crazy, then will you still call me Superman? If I'm alive and well, will you be there and holding my hand? I'll keep you by my side with my superhuman might, Kryptonite," She sang slowing down.
"You called me strong, you called me weak, But still your secrets, I will keep, You took for granted all the times, I never let you down, You stumbled in and bumped your head, If not for me then you'd be dead, I picked you up and put you back on solid ground!" She sang loudly pointing at the EVA.
"If I go crazy, then will you still call me Superman? If I'm alive and well, will you be there and holding my hand? I'll keep you by my side with my superhuman might, Kryptonite!" She finished with a hard stomp and a glare. The EVA didn't move and just Asuka just blushed and stood back in line so Isabelle could step forward.
(Lips of an Angel-Hinder)
"Honey, why are you calling me so late? It's kinda hard to talk right now," Isabelle cooed pointing at the EVA. "Honey, why are you crying, is everything okay? I gotta whisper 'cause I can't be too loud," She sang taking a deep breath. "Well, my girl's in the next room, Sometimes I wish she was you, I guess we never really moved on," She sang getting louder.
"It's really good to hear your voice saying my name It sounds so sweet! Coming from the lips of an angel Hearing those words - it makes me weak And I never wanna say goodbye, But, girl, you make it hard to be faithful, With the lips of an angel," She finished with a kiss, that did nothing to the EVA. With a sigh she stepped back and Mari stepped forward.
(Addicted-Saving Abel)
"I'm so addicted to all the things you do, When you're rollin' round with me in between the sheets Oh the sounds you make, with every breath you take, It's unlike anything, when you're lovin' me," She sang sensually dancing and swaying to the beat.
"Ooh girl, let's take it slow, So as for you well, you know where to go, I wanna take my love and hate ya 'til the end," She sang smirking before the beat got louder. "It's not like you to turn away, From all the bull**** I can't take,It's not like me to walk away," She sang loudly before pointing at the EVA.
"I'm so addicted to all the things you do, When you're rollin' 'round with me in between the sheets, Oh the sounds you make, with every breath you take, It's unlike anything, when you're lovin' me, yeah," She finished posing and pointing at the EVA, which had no reaction. WIth a pout she stepped back and let Mary step forward.
"Alright lets do this. This is the only song I know from your tape, and I hope you're listening Shinji, if you can even hear me in there, because this is also my confession. The only other way I could convey this is with a peach cobbler, but I can't find brown sugar." Mary yelled at the EVA.
(I'm A Believer-Smash Mouth Cover)
"I thought love was only true in fairy tales,
Meant for someone else but not for me
Love was out to get me
That's the way it seemed
Disappointment haunted all of my dreams.." Mary did a small milling around dance as she sang.
"Then I saw your face, now I'm a believer
Not a trace, of doubt in my mind
I'm in love, and I'm a believer
I couldn't leave ya if I tried." Mary burst into a more energetic dance for the chorus, doing a charismatic snap point towards Unit 1.
"I thought love was more or less a giving thing
The more I gave the less I got, oh yeah
What's the use in tryin'
All you get is pain
When I wanted sunshine I got rain…" Mary alternated between her less and more energetic styles between the stanzas and chorus.
"Then I saw your face, now I'm a believer
Not a trace, of doubt in my mind
I'm in love, I'm a believer
I couldn't leave ya if I tried!" She ended with another snap point, but even that couldn't evoke a response from the EVA.
"Damn it all!" Asuka screamed stomping her foot. "We couldn't get it to react!" She screamed clearly on the verge of tears.
"No!" Isabelle shouted. "There's one more!" She said determined. "Adelise sing the opening to "I Want It That Way!"
"Really? Ok. You are, my fire…" Adelise said, a bit confused on where this was going.
"Mari keep it going!" Isabelle ordered.
"The one, desire…" Mari sang.
"Rei you!"
"Believe, when I say…" Rei sang.
"Asuka take it!"
"I want it that way…"
"Tell me why!" Isabelle shouted.
Ain't nothing but a heartache Tell me why! Ain't nothing but a mistake!" The five sang together.
"Now Mary's turn!" Isabelle yelled.
" I never want to hear you say…" Mary sang.
"I want it that way!" The six sang together at the EVA, at first nothing happened, then Shinji came out of the core, naked and covered in red fluid.
"My god it actually worked…" Mary muttered before breaking into a breakneck sprint over to him and scooping him up in a hug. "Are you ok?" She asked, very wary of what answer she was going to get.
"Mom prefers NSYNC…" Shinji coughed.
….
Misato and the rest of the bridge looked at the scene in shock before Ritsuko pulled out a flask and sipped from it, passing it to Maya who did the same thing with a shudder.
"I'm done," Ritsuko said walking away.
….
While the pilots were celebrating, Unit 1 slowly looked at them with its one eye, it's face otherwise unchanged.
"Oh dear…" Adelise said, the first to notice the change.
"Umm," Asuka said nervous about her last encounter with this beast. "You...want and NSYNC song?" She squeaked out. Unit 1 said nothing and didn't change expression at all, but a yes was still conveyed somehow. "Ok…" She squeaked before taking a step back. "Come on then, we know what to do right?"
"Right. Everyone ok with Bye Bye Bye?" Mary asked.
"Yeah," Was the general consensus, wanting to get away as soon as possible, Mari set the tape and they started singing.
"Hey, hey
Bye bye bye, bye bye
Bye bye!"
"I'm doing this tonight
You're probably gonna start a fight
I know this can't be right
Hey baby come on!"
"I loved you endlessly
When you weren't there for me
So now it's time to leave and make it alone
I know that I can't take no more!"
"It ain't no lie
I want to see you out that door
Baby bye bye bye!"
"Don't want to be a fool for you
Just another player in your game for two
You may hate me but it ain't no lie
Baby bye bye bye
Bye bye!"
"Don't really want to make it tough
I just want to tell you that I've had enough
It might sound crazy but it ain't no lie
Baby bye bye bye!"
As the song continued, the pilots danced out of the cages, Rei carrying Shinji over her shoulder, and towards the medical bay as quickly as the dared with EVA-01's eye tracking them the entire time.