Shinji plopped down onto the sofa, a bowl of cereal in hand and wondering what was on T.V. His train of thought was cut short by Asuka plopping herself beside him and shoving her legs across his lap, "What's on at this hour, anyway?"

He turned his deep green eyes to the redhead with a tiny smirk, "You tell me. You're the one with the remote."

Asuka started to grump at Wonder Boy, but she was cut short by Misato appearing in the doorway. The Major's polished appearance and dress uniform caused the redhead to just gape at the sight, "M- Misato?"

Shinji looked over and nodded to the new arrival, "You're up early."

Misato exhaled calmly, "Eva Unit Three activation test at Kinkasan Island."

"Isn't that island one of the three holiest places in this country?" Asuka asked aloud.

The Major nodded, "Yeah. Well, it was before the earthquake and tsunami last year."

Turning her blue eyes to the bowl in her hands, Asuka proceeded to begin eating.

"I think we'll be on standby a bit after you get up that way," Shinji noted.

Misato barely tilted her head at that, "You will?" Before he could answer, she realized what the answer was, "He would be prudent like that." She sighed, thinking about how long of a day was before her, "I'll be out late." Thank God they're responsible!

She made for the exit, teasing the couple, "Don't do anything I wouldn't do!" Opening the door, Misato didn't let them get in a retort, "See ya!"

All four pilots stood on the steel catwalk, waiting for their Evangelions to get to their respective cages. Klaxons and alarms blared at the bridge station as data became available.

Gendo didn't shout, but even the pilots could clearly hear the Commander of NERV, "I want Units Zero and Four at Nikko Station immediately. One and Two..."

"Commander!" A voice below the pilots called out, garnering their collective curiosity.

"Yes?"

"Section Three. We have the prototype positron rifle from the Self Defense Force assembled."

"Thank you, Sergeant." The Commander's tone gave away that he had that sinister grin again, "Unit One will take the prototype rifle to Mt. Takasuzu near Kasama City, along with Unit Two taking the makeshift tower sheild. The power station there will be prepped to divert all energy to the weapon."

Several voices at once acknowledged the man in charge, "Yes, Sir!"

Misato's voice rang in over the radio, "Mike Alpha Mike Kilo to Tango Three."

"Major, speak plainly. I read you loud and clear."

"The Eva was p-," Misato took a breath, trying to remember the codeword. "Echo Three is code seven one. I repeat, code seven one. Requesting immediate termination of the Unit. I assume full responsibility for the situation."

"Responsibility will be determined later, Major. What is the status of the base and personnel?"

"Base destroyed by internal explosion. Not our doing, but by Alpha One Niner Three."

Rei narrowed her eyes then, "Bardiel."

Gendo was also annoyed by the report, "Acknowledged Major, but what is the status of personnel?"

"Evac teams pulled Romeo India a few minutes ago, along with myself. I don't know about anyone else yet, will update as information becomes available. Mike Kilo out."

"We have visual on the target." Hyuga gaped in awe at the image on the screen, "What the-? Christ..."

"Yes, Lieutenant. That would be a predicted code seven one. Possession of an Eva- -by an Angel," Kozo stopped beside Hyuga's terminal, resting a hand on it. The Sub-Commander of NERV silently uttered a prayer.

Shigeru sifted through some data on his terminal, "Sirs, sensors indicate its armor and core are intact. Minimal life signs from within, so..."

Gendo pushed his glasses up onto the bridge of his nose, "...it's unlikely the pilot survived." He inhaled, "Eject the plug."

"Sir." Shigeru hit his enter key, sending the signal to the Eva on the screen. A brief puff of smoke burst from behind Eva Three's head, but nothing further happened. He switched the main display to another camera, revealing a webbing beneath the Eva's armor, "Plug ejection has failed."

"Reclassify Eva Unit Three as the Thirteenth Angel and request Jaysock assistance in target suppression."

"Yes sir!"

Eva Units Zero and Four awaited their quarry, their chance to surprise the Angel diminishing as time went by. Radio silence meant they could not transmit any data. The MAGI would be almost blind in their assessment of the operation.

Kensuke shook his head, God this sucks! That bastard is taking forever!

Ken, a disconnected voice said to him.

Shinji? H- how the hell can you do that?

An image of Adam's embryonic form flashed in Kensuke's mind, Adam's influence. You might even call it blending or taint. I try not to look a gift horse in the mouth. I take it you're bored out of your mind?

That's an understatement! Oh, Shit! There it is!

I see what you see, Ken.

Hey, I just hope there's still a live pilot inside.

Speaking of that, did Misato get around to telling you who- KEN!

"Sierra India to Tango Three, what's going on with Team Kilo?"

"Current status is as follows, Sierra: Echo Four is disabled, Echo Zero is crippled. Along with stretchable and growing arms, and a semi-concealing A.T. field, the Target was just too fast for them. We read life signs from both pilots and from the pilot trapped within. Target is en route to your POS. ETA at current speed, eight mikes."

The Red Giant held a makeshift shield cannibalized from a space shuttle and stood by a prone Purple Behemoth behind the prototype positron rifle, "What good is this shield, anyway? The damn thing is just a big target."

"We can't afford to throw out a perfectly good weapon after one shot. If the Angel fires a particle blast-"

"Yeah, yeah, Wonder Boy. I get the idea."

Staring along the projected path was wearing on both pilots. Shinji himself was wondering what was taking the Angel so long to get going. As he let out a breath of LCL, the weapon's targeting system emitted a slow series of pings.

"Team Yashima, you should be seeing the target on the horizon. Approximately twenty-six miles out."

"This is Alpha. We copy, Tango Three."

"Oh crap."

"What do you see?"

"That's... disturbing. Web just beneath the armor, which isn't entirely held on in some places."

Asuka fidgeted with her controls to zoom in on the target. It was an Eva alright, but barrages of missiles and thirty millimeter cannon fire had bitten off some pieces of protective plating; revealing a white, web-like bonding agent. The Eva's face had become bloated, breaking the helmet into five disproportionate segments. Lastly, its arms nearly reached the ground. Whether that was due to the Angel's melding or the Eva walking with a horrible slouch was unclear. "Ugh, Alpha confirms the creepy factor," Asuka said with a cringe.

"Transfer power to weapon station Yashima-" Gendo's voice paused as he awaited his subordinates. As soon as they confirmed the energy transfer, he continued, "Shinji, son, you may fire at will."

Did he just-?

Called me "son."

And here I had just gotten used to hating his guts...

Shit happens, mom.

Shinji heard a disconnected giggle. It does. That reminds me of some movie I saw once...

A bumper-sticker?

That's right!

Forrest Gump. We'll chat after this is over. "I have a weapons lock, releasing final safety."

Evangelion Unit One thumbed off the safety switch beside the trigger of its rifle. A bright orange box on Shinji's HUD warned of the current power being supplied to the weapon versus its safe operating limit and a gradient indicator of the weapon's current thermal state.

The Angel lumbered forth as the Purprle Behemoth slowly drew on a trigger. Soon enough, a thin blue light ripped across the landscape to the Angel. Realizing its peril, it lept into the air; though the Angel had forgotten to deactivate its A.T. field. The beam caught the edge of the shield, nudging the Angel higher into the sky than it had wanted to go with an eruption of light and kinetic energy similar to an N Two mine.

Seeing the Angel reach the highest point of its flight, Shinji called out, "Fuck it! Get out of here!"

Red and Purple blurs abandoned their equipment and sprinted off in opposite directions. The Angel had used its A.T. field to regain control, landing on the rifle with tremendous force only moments after its prey.

The pair of Evas watched the confused Angel for a moment; its gaze went left towards Asuka and right towards Shinji. Back and forth. It chose straight instead, bursting from all-fours to sprint to its ultimate target: a presently unguarded Lilith.

"Overlord, broken arrow! I repeat BROKEN ARROW!"

"All units, all units, hit the target with anything you have. Bravo Five Two's may blind run. Jaysock authorizes use of one N Two mine per Five Two per run. Likely only one shot. Good luck, everyone."

Both Evangelions sprinted back toward Tokyo-Three parallel to the Angel's path, keeping enough distance for all the aircraft that were now heading for the Creepy Monster.

Asuka watched the individual aircraft make their strafing runs. A dozen A-10 Warthogs unloaded entire payloads of missiles and gunfire; the last three made their run together actually defeated the Angel's A.T. field with their thirty millimeter Vulcan cannons, not that they did any further damage. Next, five full squadrons of F-35s dumped missile after missile. "Target is losing velocity. Keep at it!"

"Echo Two, Jaysock reports that will be the last ordinance other than the Fifty-Twos."

"Roger, Mike India. Hey, open junction G Fifteen. I can get in faster that way."

"Acknowledged, Two. We have the ship prepped and internal defenses are good to go. There's even a present from Section Three."

Eva Two looked left to see a descending Eva launch door open and proceeded toward it, "You mean OUR OWN multi-shot positron accelerator? Sweet!"

"See you when you get here!"

Shinji tried to keep pace with the Angel as he reached out with his thoughts, trying to pry into whatever it was that he was chasing. At first, his efforts were met with resistance from Bardiel. Images were thrown at his consciousness: suffering, wounds, and soldiers marching off to war. Wonder Boy pushed through to whatever was inside the Target. A single, lonely mind, barely aware of its current predicament responded with more images. This time one each of Kensuke, Shinji himself, Rei, some other classmates, even Asuka. Realizing someone missing from the images, he wondered, Toji?

Toji slowly opened his eyes, feeling very heavy and weak.

"Toji?" a girl's voice asked.

As his strength ebbed back to him, Toji's vision improved enough to see someone he recognized, "Class Rep?"

She shook her head and he realized who she was, "Sis. Sakura! Damn, it's good to see you're alright."

The girl smiled at him, but was interrupted by the appearance of another presence.

A familiar male voice called out, "Toji. You probably won't believe this..."

Focusing on the voice, Toji asked, "Shinji? What are you doing here?"

Shinji joined the pair and looked at the girl, "Sakura Suzahara. Or rather- -you were her, once." Her dark brown, knee-length hair covered her naked body.

Sakura looked down at her toes and frowned, "Yeah, this... I don't know where I am."

Toji looked away from his sister out of familial respect, "So, where is here anyway?"

"You're in an Evangelion, but you aren't alone. There is another." Shinji's words creeped out Sakura, who widened her eyes.

She glimpsed at Shinji with worry, "He's right, Toji. Someone... unpleasant... is here. In my mind."

Toji clenched his fists and faced Sakura, "Where is he?"

Shinji approached Toji and extended a hand, "It's an Angel, but I can help you if you trust me, Toji."

Sakura's expression turned fearful and her voice became quiet, "No. He's here... watching..."

Toji looked around before taking Shinji's hand. As soon as they contacted, Toji could see a shadow standing behind Sakura and a white light emanating from Shinji. "Whoa," was all he could manage.

"Fight it, Toji. Keep its attention here and I can get you out."

Toji tightened his grip in anger, "What about her?"

"I- I don't know if I can help her. She's... inside the Eva."

"No she isn't. I am!"

"You don't know how the Evas are created. It needs a human will to connect to us, Toji!"

A sense of horror crossed Toji's face at the revelation as he looked at his sister and the shadow, "So she's not in the hospital..." He just stood there in awe for a moment, "What the fuck!?"

"Fight the shadow, Toji. You can do it."

"I'll do what I can, Shinji."

"It'll be enough. Good luck."

"You too, man."

Shinji saw the Angel stumble, but it vaulted up and blasted a hole in the ground to fall into. A warning message and klaxon sounded, indicating another Angel was approaching. "Fuck me!" Shinji gritted his teeth. "Asuka, save Toji and ... if you can, disable the Eva."

"You have GOT to be shitting me, Wonder Boy! Why the hell would I save an Angel?"

"Sakura..." Shinji noted. "They used her to complete the Eva."

"Mein ... Gott. I'll do what I can, but I'm not going to die trying to save the dead!"

"Thanks, love."

As soon as Asuka saw Shinji's camera wink out of her display, she grumbled, "If I pull this off, it'll be a Gott verdammt miracle!"

Misato rested her head against Kaji's shoulder as they stared off to the south, "If anyone can do it..."

He nodded in agreement, "Provided there's a way, at least."

She smirked, "Rits would have a nerdgasm with a live Angel test subject."

Asuka watched a blur land a ways off from her position, "Target sighted. Proceeding to intercept."

The Angel picked itself up haphazardly as Eva Two sprinted right for it. The arms of the Angel sprang forth to grab the aggressor.

She dodged each arm with practiced fluidity. Once she was close enough, Asuka laid a fist into the Angel's chest with plenty of force. She didn't see the Angel's arms cutting her power cable, but her HUD went red. Grabbing the Angel's head, she pushed down to see the Evangelion's entry plug part-way out of the socket, webbing holding it in place.

Toji tried to punch the shadow behind Sakura, but his fist hit nothing and the shadow dissipated.

Sakura started crying, so he took her into a hug, "It's gonna be okay sis. We have'ta fight this thing."

Her sobbing didn't quit, "I- can't. It's so... vicious." So he just stood there holding his sister for a while.

"Take me to him."

She looked up to her brother's face with terror and tears, "No! I can't!"

He stared at her face with care and concern, "This thing doesn't have a face I can punch, but there's always more than one way to skin a cat."

Sakura looked away, "I hate that expression."

"Take me to it," Toji calmly demanded.

Shinji fixed his gaze and his HUD on the incoming target: another Angel. In place of arms, this one had some sort of thin semi-metallic protrusions. It floated down towards Tokyo Three with a kind of silent grace. The moment was cut short when the Angel fired a blast at Unit One that was dodged, but tore a hole into the ceiling of the Geofront.

Back on the bridge, Kozo widened his eyes at what he was now seeing, "Ei- eighteen layers of armor with a single shot. The Geofront can't withstand attacks like that for long."

Gendo took the microphone and pressed its button, "Shinji, lead the Angel inside. Spare the city further punishment..."

"R- roger."

Kensuke.

The boy in question looked around his entry plug, it was inconspicuously empty.

Ken.

"Shinji?"

Close your eyes, Ken. Toji needs all the help he can get. I- I have something I have to do, but I'll help you get to him.

Whatever it is, I'll give it a shot.

In Kensuke's mind, Shinji appeared and offered a hand to help him to his feet. I don't know what's going to happen. Asuka is inside the Geofront taking on the Angel possessing Toji's Eva and another target just dropped in from space.

As they touched, Shinji's form glowed for a moment. Then Kenuke's did the same thing. What is this?

Adam's influence. It's the only way. I'll get Rei. Let's go see Toji. You ready?

Yeah, I think.

Eva Two landed on its back, thwarted from extricating the Eva's plug from the Angel. "Verdammt!"

Bardiel ran this way and that, occasionally roaring in pain while clawing at its Eva's entry plug.

Asuka watched, not wanting to kill the Stooge inside.

"Pilot Sohryu, what are you waiting for?" Gendo never did waste time with things he didn't want.

"I'm certain Wonder Boy is cooking up something with this one. I just have no idea what his plan is."

"He has other concerns at present. Kill your target."

She gnashed her teeth, He doesn't care about Toji or his sister.

Another twenty seconds passed and Shinji landed nearby Asuka, "What'd I miss?"

"Ha ha, Wonder Boy. Very funny. I can't get in close to get the damned plug."

"Saw that. I gathered some support for Toji. He should be okay for a bit."

When she didn't reply, he offered, "I'll tell you all about it over dinner. Whenever the hell we get out of the hospital..."

"Tchya. So you have a plan for the new arrival?"

Unit One walked back toward the HQ pyramid and stopped to face the Angel as it blasted through the final layer of the Geofront's armor, "Exceedingly powerful particle weapon. I think its A.T. field isn't strong, but there's got to be more to this one. There always is."

Asuka let a groaning sigh be heard on the radio, "Well... we're going to have to actively assess this arschloch."

"I don't like it. Nothin' better, though."

"Nein shieze."

Their simultaneous approach was sporadically circumvented by Zeruel blasting their predicted paths only a dozen meters ahead of them.

Hyuga stared at the terminal, wishing there was something he could do to help. Kozo offered him a fresh cup of coffee, "We're powerless to help them without more Evas. Let's just be ready to pick up the pieces and put things back together when they're done."

The subordinate took a sip of his new beverage and relaxed in his chair, "I've had all that done for ten minutes. Anything else is just pissing around, Sir."

Kozo smirked and chuckled, "It's hard to imagine how this could play out. I don't want to know the odds."

A voice beside them perked up from an apparent snooze, "They will win. There is nothing else." Gendo's confidence filtered into the other two men to some extent. Hyuga set the main screen to cycle between cameras every few seconds. He still hated being useless.

"Mike Alpha to Tango Three. We saw something descend to the city. Any data?"

"Hyuga here Major. It's another Angel."

The profanity she uttered wasn't entirely picked up by the radio, "... at our end: Shigeru and Ibuki are alright. There are a few more every now and then, but the last few- our casualties are mounting."

"Four and Zero are inoperable. Rescue teams won't get to them for another fifteen minutes. Shinji and Asuka are inside the Geofront trying to get into melee range of the new arrival, while your code seven one is fighting an internal battle. We believe the Third Child is responsible, but we have no data available."

Misato peeked at Kaji beside her, who gave a clueless shrug, "No bad news is kind of like good news, right?"

She sighed and closed her eyes, "I hope you're right."

Zeruel floated up nearly halfway to the ceiling, assessing the scene below.

"We'll have to wait til it gets closer to the floor before reengaging it. Even I can't make an Eva jump up that high."

Asuka grunted and turned her attention back to Bardiel, "Have fun with that one, Wonder Boy. I'll see what I can do over here."

Unit One nodded, watching Zeruel float forth to hover over the HQ pyramid.

It's being very deliberate, Shinji. Probably scanning for weaknesses in HQ's structure.

I was thinking that too. It's not like there aren't already ways into-

Shinji's thoughts were cut short by Zeruel repeatedly firing into the ground beside the pyramid. Hyuga's voice called out on the radio, "Target's shots have breached Central Dogma! All Class D and C personnel evac HQ immediately!"

The Purple Behemoth became a blur as it ran over to the hole the Angel just made, looking up to dare Zeruel to try to use the new access point; in turn, firing several more shots at a different location to open another new path. Shinji eyed the other hole, silently swearing to himself.

As Zeruel made for the new opening, it fired shot after shot at its pursuer before finally dropping down into Central Dogma. Shinji made sure to jump in after, but Zeruel didn't go all the way down as he'd hoped.

"Hyuga! Where's that Angel?! It didn't descend to the third level!"

"DIG UP DAMMIT!"

Shinji realized where he was in relation to the Bridge, almost right below the MAGI.

Kozo, Hyuga, and Gendo stared into an eyeless face that was lighting up to blast them into oblivion. A purple fist to the face rudely interrupted Zeruel.

Gendo cheered Shinji, even if it did come out like a cold order, "Get that bastard out of my building!"

The Purple Behemoth grabbed Zeruel in a bear hug and dragged the Angel off toward the catapult cages on the far wall. Zeruel was not pleased, taking the opportunity to blast off one of the aggressor's arms just below the shoulder. Shinji writhed in pain for a moment, but managed to kick Zeruel back against the wall of catapults. The Angel recovered its composure just as Unit One slammed into it, "HYUGA!"

The man hit the appropriate key, launching the number three catapult and the two juggernauts toward the Geofront interior. During the ascent, Zeruel's face had been pressed against the wall by the Purple Behemoth's remaining arm, grinding a shower of sparks the whole way to the surface.

Toji and Sakura had been joined by Rei, Ken, Hokari, and a few other people Toji didn't recognize. They all took turns verbally tormenting the sketchy, writhing shadow. "Psychophant!" "What a waste of material." "You don't belong here." "Get out!" Bardiel raged and tried to get away from them. Being in a dream world, the Angel's hiding places were quickly discovered without much effort. All of them together were too much to face alone.

Kaji squinted at something in the distance and picked up the binoculars, "Must be another Angel. Looks like a Torus, that ring shape they based the Kansai airport on."

Misato stole the Chief's ocular equipment to have a look for herself, "At least this one is kinda pretty." She could feel Kaji's groan before he made the noise, "Oh come on. A ring shape in the sky that glows? It's kinda like a halo."

Sighing instead, he had agree with her aesthetic assessment, "I guess I can see that."

Kensuke felt his skin start to crawl around him in the dream world, "The hell-?"

Rei looked him over and realized what was happening, "Ken, wake up!" She grabbed his hand, leading him back to his own mind. As soon as she woke to the pain of her crippled Eva, the Albino gasped at the image of a strip of light beginning to merge with Eva Unit Four. It took all she had not to scream out loud; not that her Evangelion didn't, however.

Hyuga would be lucky to not have heart trouble after this war, "It's merging with Unit Four! There's nothing we can do to stop it!"

Misato and Kaji stared at the light show, hugging one another just a little tighter. The Major swallowed, setting the binoculars beside herself, "I wish there w-"

"Me, too, Katsu-kun."

The words of his interruption caused Misato to blush. Before she could say something, a nearby groan became a familiar voice, "Get a room, you two."

Hyuga's voice came in over the radio again, "Unit Zero has regenerated itself!"

Kensuke felt heavy, but something seemed to stab into his mind, "W-what is this?! Something's trying to-"

With that, Ken found himself floating in another white void, but Rei was there too.

She gestured and another human figure formed near her.

"Dad!?" Ken nearly ran to the man and grabbed him in a hug, "What are you doing here? I thought you were at work?"

The man returned his son's hug. Looking over at Rei, he lifted his eyebrows in disbelief, "Last I knew, I was." Neither father nor son noticed the subtle glow of the man's form when they initiated contact.

"You still are, Sergent. You're the only other one I could think might be able to help. But if you can't, I thought you ought to be here."

He nodded to her, "Arigato. So- -am I physically here? Or-"

"After a fashion."

"You must be Rei. The one my poor Ken here won't shut up about." The man's words were not hurried, and he smiled with kindness at the albino.

Rei, with red in her cheeks, smiled sheepishly, "Yes, that is me. About Ken-"

He looked down to the younger man still clinging for dear life. A tendril of shadow was coursing over Ken's back. With an exhaled breath, he touched the shadow and found he could grab onto it. Ken groaned, but his father began pulling on the shadow. Before long, the shadow began transferring onto Sergent Aida.

"The new Angel is- -it's here! Right here in Central Dogma!" Hyuga looked around the bridge, unable to determine the source of the signal.

Standing by the railing, Gendo looked down to the catwalks and Eva cages below. A man looked up to the Supreme Commander and smiled as tendril-like veins began to ebb to the surface of his form. Gendo spoke loudly, but with gritted teeth and, surprisingly, compassion, "Sergent Major, what is going on?"

Sergent Aida turned his attention to a nearby Section Two agent, "I- I require your weapon and one bullet, Ensign."

The Agent produced a short-barreled M-1911 from his coat, and released the magazine into his own hand before tossing the weapon to Sergent Aida.

With a heavy-hearted expression, Aida faced Gendo again and clicked off the weapon's safety catch, "Sir. It's been an honor."

Kozo joined Gendo at the railing, the pair saluting Aida, who saluted back. A single, slightly muffled shot rang out. The Professor stated in deference, "No, Sergent Major, the honor is ours." Gendo nodded in agreement, but kept silent.

Asuka was keeping within four hundred meters of the possessed Unit Three, just out of reach of its extensible arms. Every so often, it would take a swipe at Unit Two, but Asuka would just dodge out of the way. Bardiel knelt down and roared out of its internal torment. Liebkind took the opportunity to jettison its umbilical cable and sprint to the Angel in an instant. Asuka stopped her Eva to carefully rip out Eva Three's entry plug. Once free of its torture, Bardiel attempted to grab Liebkind, only to have the Eva back-flip out of harm's way again. The Red Giant landed beside the lake and gingerly set the plug onto the beach. Asuka heard the klaxon sound when Bardiel made another run for her Eva and crouched down. From that position, Liebkind waited for the Angel to lash out with its arms once more and darted forth to bash into a very surprised Bardiel.

Meanwhile, the Purple Behemoth had gone berserk to mercilessly beat the snot out of its angelic target. At least, until the Eva ran out of energy. Zeruel took the opportunity to turn the tables on Wonder Boy and began bashing the core of Unit One with repeated strikes with its sheet-like weapons.

Being without power had sent Shinji into a frenzy. He rocked the control yokes back and forth, yelling at the 'damn, stupid machine' to get itself going again.

He heard a heartbeat, it was not his own, "Who's there?!"

"Answer me, dammit!" Another heartbeat was the only answer he received.

Seconds later, he could swear he heard Yui's voice, but the images he saw of her were shadowy and poorly constructed. He even saw his own body, but as a child. The mother's voice was comforting as a pair of hands now offered him a small ball of light,

There. Is this enough? Well, that's good for you.

Asuka spied Unit One's eyes light up red while giving a fiendish grin to Zeruel, "Glad I'm not on the receiving end of THAT argument!"

Finally, Bardiel's button-masher-attack-style worked, grabbing onto Unit Two and trying to meld with it. Liebkind shifted its torso to line up a shoulder mount with the Angel's head. The Red Giant's armor popped open and fired multiple ballista spikes into Eva Unit Three's face. Liebkind moved away as soon as Bardiel's form went limp, drawing its progressive knife and waiting to see if the Angel recovered.

The Purple Behemoth lifted its remaining hand, fingers slicing through Zeruel's ribbon weapon like tissue paper, then quickly stopped the shredding process by gabbing the appendage. With one pull, the Eva both drew Zeruel toward itself and removed a large portion of said weapon. The material in Unit One's hand ignited with light and melted into the Eva's right arm and hand; responsively, the Purple Behemoth regenerated a naked, left arm.

Zeruel gazed agape at what it had believed an impossible feat, yet there it was.

Unit One kicked the Angel away with another ROAR, and climbed onto all fours; meanwhile, Zeruel launched its remaining ribbon at the Purple Behemoth, but the Eva lifted its new hand to summon an A.T. field only a baker's dozen meters from the Angel, shattering the entire ribbon in mid-air.

Before Zeruel could finish charging a particle blast, an unarmored purple hand invaded the Angel's personal space and started trying to tear out the Super Solenoid Engine. Unit One's frenzy, as seen from afar, ended with a low growl, a river and pond of blood, and the Eva literally eating Zeruel's core like a wolf with a fresh kill.

Gendo stood agape at the scene on the monitor, "My- -God."

Kozo and Hyuga mirrored the Commander's expression, but the younger man looked down at his terminal, "Sirs! Shinji's synch ratio passed four-hundred eighty percent and was still climbing as the Eva made its A.T. field attack."

The Commander didn't reveal any emotion, "When Unit One powers down, retrieve it. Make preparations to analyze the Eva as soon as it enters the Cage. Also, we'll need the bandage restraints in the Cage to contain the Eva. It's going to be messy."

Bardiel slowly withdrew each spike from its head, taking most of Eva Three's cranial armor off, too. Liebkind launched a spear at the Angel which was blocked with a particle blast and a shower of light.

"Ver dammt! Ich hasse dich! Stirbt bereits!" The Red Giant bull-rushed the Angel's A.T. field hard enough to crack its own shoulder armor and register a solid six on HQ's seismographs.

While Asuka focused on aligning her A.T. field to nullify Bardiel's, the Angel ran forward with a spike in hand; she tore open the field to see Bardiel thrusting the spike into her belly. Liebkind returned the favor, punching the Possessed Eva right in the gut with enough force to break segments of its abdominal and dorsal armor.

Bardiel stood in a daze, blinking to try to get back to reality. A reality wherein Liebkind kicked the Angel's opportunely positioned chest, sending the Angel three hundred meters away to land on its back.

Liebkind handily retrieved another spear from a new weapon locker sent by Hyuga and lobbed it at the Blue Giant. Bardiel tried to get up, but found one of its thighs nailed to the ground. Meanwhile, the Red Giant took up NERV's own positron rifle and began connecting the power cables.

By the time the Angel freed itself, Asuka was ready with the shiny, new weapon. She hadn't activated the targeting mechanism, instead relying on the sheer feel of her situation. The first shot hit home, obliterating the Blue Giant's left ribs and left arm, causing the remaining hulk to collapse where it once stood. A low wail informed Asuka that her target was not dead, Ire arsch ist meine!

Liebkind assailed Bardiel's remaining form with several shots, leaving little more than a few skid marks nearly a thousand meters long to indicate that Evangelion Unit Three ever existed at all.

Asuka set the weapon down and looked over to see the Purple Behemoth being gathered, but not opened. The Red Devil's heart skipped a beat, causing the girl to worry, "Is he-?"

"Please return to the cage, Pilot Sohryu."

When Liebkind turned to head back, Asuka groaned at hearing another alarm, "Sheizekerl-"

Shinji slowly opened his eyes and found his mother draped in shadow, cradling his head in her lap. Her voice held a second set of chords, "Oh good, you're awake. It hurts us to see you suffer."

He wanted to move, but his body felt so heavy, "Where's my mother?"

"She is here. Within us." The shadowy form lifted a hand and touched its own chest indicatively.

"How did I-?"

The figure stroked his forehead as it answered, "You were fighting the one called Zeruel and my primary power source had been entirely expended. Something within you called out to me. I know not the language to adequately describe it, but I came forth. Through each others' eyes, I saw your situation and lent my strength. In that moment, we were close to merging as one being."

The young man thought back to the fight, "I reached out with my thoughts? No, I wou-. -Shit."

The figure smirked, "Crisis av-" It paused the thought, "Interesting. It appears Bardiel is not dead."

"Then I have to go back. Asuka might need me."

"Your form is not ready, it will be- -excruciating."

Shinji took a breath before answering, "If there's one thing I learned well from my father, it's that pain is irrelevant." He stretched out with his thoughts, "Dammit, Asuka's down. There's nobody else who can stop Bardiel!"

"I see now why you will prevail." There was an ominous undertone that caught Shinji's attention, "Tenacity, tempered with wisdom."

Wonder Boy willed himself back to Unit One's entry plug.

"Sirs, Eva Two is down! No response from Asuka, nor her Evangelion! There's nothing operational between the Angel and Terminal Dogma!"

"All defenses fire at will."

"Ikari, should we deploy an N Two mine?"

Gendo stared at the screen and pushed his glasses back onto his nose, "The Evas will survive. Do-"

"Unit One is activating! Sir, Shinji is alive!" Hyuga called out. "Transferring plug camera feed to main screen."

NERV's Supreme Commander greeted his progeny with guarded concern, "Status, pilot Ikari?"

"I'll take care of the Angel."

"Indeed. Good luck, son." He saluted Shinji, who mock-saluted back.

The Purple Behemoth jogged up to find a growing mass of white webbing that was starting to form an Eva-sized body. Some pieces of broken metallic armor from the ceiling of the Geofront were being dragged into the mass. As it shifted, the plates were pushed to the outside, giving a sort of structure to the being within.

Shinji swallowed at the grotesquery his eyes had fallen upon, "Ugh. I thought I didn't have any lunch left to lose."

Bardiel, in all his sickening glory, fired a weak pulse of accelerated particles at Unit One. Shinji reacted with the A.T. field, but now his vision was obscured. The Angel made its move to try to tear through Unit One's defensive barrier. Wonder Boy dropped the field, letting Bardiel in, but giving Shinji a chance to strike first. Before a fist could land on Bardiel's face, the Angel blasted the Purple Behemoth squarely in the chest, sending the Eva down in a smokey haze.

Asuka! Shinji thought as his connection severed and he felt gravity pulling him backwards.

Dammit, Wonder Boy. What? The images flashed through her thoughts, You let that ficker inside your A.T. field?! W- Hmm. Fine, but you OWE me for this one! He heard the frustration in her voice, but knew the strength of her resolve.

Fortunately for those within Central Dogma, the pyramid was saved from a particle blast again by the blurry fist of an Evangelion. This time, though, it was clearly red. To say that a certain redheaded girl was cross with the entire population of Adam's descendents would be an error worthy of her casting a spell of familicide.

After her perfectly executed tackle, Asuka put everything she had into her first punch as she straddled Bardiel. The impact was so powerful that not only did Liebkind's hand armor and half of the forearm armor shatter on impact, but Asuka's own knuckles started bleeding and mixing with the LCL of her entry plug. Bardiel's head fared far less fortunately. A streak of heavy crimson ran from the remaining lower jaw to well past the Pyramid, drenching nearly half the building. The macabre massacre continued with Liebkind ripping open the Angel's chest like a hyperactive four-year-old on cocaine would a Christmas present. A chunk of armor landed in the lake opposite of the battleship, while another, larger plate landed a few dozen meters away from Kaji's watermelon field. Liebkind ROARED as it grabbed Bardiel's now fully-formed Super Solenoid core. After a single, blood-geyser-inducing yank, Liebkind proceeded to consume the God-like power source.

Gendo lifted an eyebrow at the screen and Hyuga sat in a daze. Kozo, having retained his sanity, placed a palm over his face and uttered something incomprehensible.

Ten minutes later, Eva Unit Zero landed inside the Geofront to assess the situation. From what Rei saw, there was no longer cause for concern, so she quietly made her way back into an Eva launch tunnel for her retrieval.

In Gendo's immense office, Kozo spoke evenly to his friend and commanding officer, "It's going to be at least a month before they wash away the blood. But, surprisingly, only a few days to repair all of our Evas. Apparently we have extra sets of armor. Not to mention, another round of construction for the Geofront's ceiling to be re-reinforced, and all the repairs to Central Dogma down into the labyrinth. Along with the repairs to the Geofront floor, too, of course."

"Indeed." Ikari closed an inconspicuous folder and pushed it aside on his desk, "What about our pilots? We're so vulnerable without a suitable operator lying in wait."

The Professor shuffled through another few folders before him and produced one for each pilot, "Pilots Ayanami and Aida were easily retrieved. The former was remanded to Section Four for physical recovery, analysis, and observation. Pilot Aida is undergoing surgery. His return is assured in two or three days."

"Pilots Sohryu and Ikari?" Folding his hands before his mouth, NERV's Supreme Commander hid another grin.

"She was retrieved without issue. Remanded to Section Four for analysis and observation." Kozo languidly sighed as he opened the appropriate folder, "He- -is another story altogether." The former Professor slid it across the desk to the Commander, "His sync ratio shot past the four-hundred-fifty mark just as Unit One went berserk again. Although, this time-"

Gendo thumbed through the scant, single-sided, two-page document, "This is everything?"

"No," former Professor Fuyutsuki started. He sighed again, "There's a collective theory that Pilot Ikari had something to do with the Code Seven One, before it was obliterated, that is."

Gendo hummed in response, "I see. At least one of our star pilots did not merge."

It was then that Kozo realized, "Oh. Unit Three-"

"Yes?"

The Professor was giddy as a school boy, but did what he could to hide it, "Your son may truly be a Saint, Gendo. Not only was Toji Suzuhara recovered, but Sakura Suzuhara, as well."

"I see." Gendo lowered his hands back to the desk, "Thank you, Fuyutski. Please put Rei on Alert Status Two until further notice. Someone has to keep watch."

"Goodnight, Ikari."