Shinji Ikari discovered that Gendo Ikari was still standing in front of Unit-00. Perhaps he had been scared senseless; he stood at the shattered window, staring at Unit-00 without moving.
The laboratory lights made everyone's faces deathly pale. The stark white light mingled with the suffocating sense of impending death, making everyone's breathing quicken.
But the yellow machine's fist stopped at that very moment. The iron fist did not come crashing down to crush him into pulp as expected. Unit-00 merely looked toward the laboratory.
A technician reported again that Unit-00 had twenty seconds of operating time remaining. Gendo Ikari raised his head and gazed into Unit-00's single red eye.
These two...
Curiosity crossed Shinji Ikari's face. Although he was a little disappointed that Unit-00 had not smashed Gendo Ikari to death with one punch, he was more interested in seeing how this intriguing scene would unfold.
Then he saw Unit-00 reach out a hand. This time, its movement was no longer as frenzied and abrupt as when it had swung its fist, but gentle and slow.
Yet the enormous hand merely passed over Gendo Ikari's head. Even Gendo Ikari froze at the sight. Unit-00's hand reached straight toward Shinji Ikari behind him.
Why is it coming for me?
Shinji Ikari, who had been watching from the sidelines, was dumbfounded.
As everyone stood stunned, equally unable to make sense of the situation, a deafening crash rang out from the testing chamber. A massive hole had been punched through its wall!
An enormous purple hand thrust through and slammed a fist into the side of Unit-00's face, deforming its head armor.
The punch sent Unit-00, which weighed thousands of tons, flying. It only stopped when it crashed into the wall.
The purple EVA emerged through the hole in the testing chamber's right-hand wall, roaring as it charged inside like a savage beast.
For a brief moment after being knocked flying, even the berserk Unit-00 lay motionless, as though its system had crashed.
But that state lasted less than three seconds. Unit-00 planted both hands on the floor and tried to get up.
It even tried to deploy its AT Field and retaliate, but its resistance was meaningless.
Unit-01's enormous hands instantly tore Unit-00's AT Field apart. Unit-01 straddled it, reached out with both hands, and seized its neck.
Pinned to the floor by Unit-01, Unit-00 arched its upper body as though unable to breathe. It grabbed the hands around its neck and tried to pry them away.
But those enormous purple hands clamped down like iron pincers, refusing to budge. The two biological weapons seemed to share such bitter hatred that nothing short of the other's death would satisfy them.
"Shinji..." Misato Katsuragi murmured worriedly. Unit-01 looked genuinely frightening, possessed by a madness completely unlike its usual behavior.
"I'm here," Shinji Ikari answered softly.
"I almost forgot you weren't inside Unit-01. Wait, if you're here, how did Unit-01 start moving?" Misato Katsuragi realized.
"Who knows? I'll go take a look," Shinji Ikari said.
"Wait..." Misato Katsuragi was about to warn him of the danger when a warm yellow screen of light appeared beneath Shinji Ikari's feet. He pushed off and vanished before her eyes.
Shinji Ikari jumped out of the laboratory and landed on Unit-01's shoulder with a light leap. Though Unit-01 was like a berserk beast, it did not attack him.
In fact, once he stood on Unit-01's shoulder, the giant's movements gradually became less violent. It seemed to have suddenly become a motionless statue.
Everyone watched the scene in a trance. Two giants fought in the pure white room: the yellow giant howled, the purple giant remained calm, and the boy stood on the giant's shoulder.
"Automatic ejection system activated. Ten seconds until complete shutdown..."
The technician's voice rang out. Unit-00's spinal armor opened automatically, venting scalding steam. A yellow cylindrical object shot out a moment later.
As the technician's countdown reached zero, Unit-00 quieted down and lay motionless on the floor.
"The unit has come to a complete stop!" The technicians watching the screens all breathed sighs of relief.
The ejected Entry Plug struck the wall twice and hurtled toward Shinji Ikari. He merely raised a hand slightly, and an invisible barrier stopped the incoming cockpit.
"Shinji, Shinji Ikari!"
The name was like an incantation. A will of unknown origin lingered in Rei Ayanami's heart, threatening to engulf her.
A woman and a child in a mist-shrouded hospital room. A girl and a boy in a sunlit classroom.
And finally, beneath those glaring white lights.
The girl looked up from this side of the window, but the boy was not looking at her.
"Hey, wake up! Rei Ayanami!"
The call drove away the dream that had made the girl unhappy. She opened her eyes and saw the open hatch, and Shinji Ikari's face, its tenderness tinged with urgent displeasure.
He seemed angry at her for sleeping too long.
The boy treated everyone that way-or rather, he could show that same compassion to anyone, except scum. But to the girl, that expression looked like a mask.
That was why she had always watched from afar, never approaching. This time, however, something seemed subtly different. Wanting to draw closer, she reached out a hand.
Shinji Ikari suddenly caught that hand and pulled Rei Ayanami tightly into his arms amid the orange-red liquid.
She buried her face in Shinji Ikari's shoulder. It was hard to imagine such a slender figure could offer such a warm embrace. His hold was gentle, but Rei Ayanami's heart beat astonishingly fast.
The Entry Plug was scorching hot, billowing steam rising from it without pause. Only then did the people upstairs come to their senses, as though waking from a dream.
At Ritsuko Akagi's command, the testing chamber's walls sprayed out vast quantities of special phenolic resin, pouring it all over Unit-00.
Holding Rei Ayanami, Shinji Ikari climbed invisible stairs. Below him, the red resin spread like a sea of blood.
The quick-setting resin rapidly hardened, marking Unit-00's immobilization once again.
Shinji Ikari raised his head and looked toward the observation laboratory on the third floor.
Gendo Ikari stood beneath the lights, his face hidden in their shadows. His expression was dark and ashen, like a stagnant pool, without the slightest flicker of emotion.
It was as though all the shock and bewilderment he had shown moments earlier had never existed...
Rei Ayanami's consciousness was still hazy. The misty steam filling the testing chamber made everything seem unreal, like an illusory dream.
But the touch and warmth of the arms around her brought her back to her senses. This felt completely different from a dream. Though it still seemed somewhat unreal, it truly existed.
Shinji Ikari released the girl into the care of the arriving medical staff. After glancing at Rei Ayanami as she was placed in a high-tech medical device, he turned and walked over to Ritsuko Akagi.
"What about Unit-01?"
"Its internal battery must have powered it long enough to get here. Once we've checked it and confirmed there are no abnormalities, it'll be returned to the First Hangar."
Ritsuko Akagi answered briefly, giving Shinji Ikari a quick glance. She had explained what had allowed Unit-01 to get here, but not why it had come.
By unspoken agreement, Shinji Ikari asked no unnecessary questions, and the chief technician offered no unnecessary explanations.
The medical staff carried the emergency treatment device, which resembled a black coffin. Rei Ayanami watched the boy's figure gradually disappear as the device closed.
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