Unit-01 stood upon the earth

"Commander Ikari!"

Everyone present was stunned.

Especially Ritsuko Akagi. "That strength has clearly surpassed human limits..."

"How could a human possibly jump that high and shatter blast-resistant glass with a kick?"

Misato said, "Shinji... what's going on with him?"

Gendo Ikari had barely scrambled to his feet when "Shinji" seized him by the collar and pinned him to the floor.

He struggled desperately to break free, only to discover that he couldn't budge Shinji in the slightest.

"Didn't anyone ever teach you... the right attitude to take when asking someone for help?"

"Are you... really Shinji?" Gendo Ikari asked with a hint of fear, wiping the blood from his face.

He had actually been keeping tabs on Shinji all along, but certainly not because he had developed a conscience. Shinji was a crucial part of his plan. His son was an important tool.

If something strange had happened to his son, he shouldn't have been unaware of it.

Shinji said expressionlessly, "Yes. The genuine article."

"I'm not going to repeat myself..."

With that, "Shinji" tightened his grip.

"Argh..."

Gendo Ikari felt unbearable pain. For one fleeting moment, he saw death before him.

How could he die before his plan was complete? So he chose to surrender to his fear.

"Shinji, please pilot Unit-01..."

"All of us... need you..."

"Good. That's more like it."

"Shinji" released Gendo Ikari.

"If there's a next time, this foot really will land on you."

"Go home and learn how to be a father. Though I know you won't take any of it in."

"But remember this. Open your ears and listen carefully."

"I, Shinji Ikari, am absolutely not your tool! Drop whatever schemes you've got in mind!"

With that, "Shinji" jumped down, landing steadily on the walkway.

He walked past Misato and Ritsuko, whose jaws had nearly dropped to the floor in shock.

As he passed, he pushed Rei Ayanami back down when she struggled to get up, adding,

"Rest up. Let me handle this."

"Shinji" turned to Ritsuko. "Take me to the cockpit. I need to familiarize myself with the procedure."

Only then did the real Shinji finally recover from his shock.

Zero had taken over his body and was now controlling it.

He watched everything unfold as a spectator.

Although Zero hadn't transformed and was still badly injured, turning his human host into a little superhuman was no problem for him.

When he had possessed Rento in Geed's world, he had taken control of Rento's body and beaten up four thugs. Even the least injured had suffered damage to his muscles and bones.

"Big Brother Zero..."

His father had always been a shadow haunting Shinji's heart. Though he couldn't understand his father's order to go and get himself killed, and was furious about it, he hadn't dared talk back.

Now that Big Brother Zero had taught that bastard of a father a lesson for him, he was deeply grateful.

Though he couldn't have done it himself, Zero's actions had felt incredibly satisfying.

"Thank you..."

He had no idea how Zero had managed to make his stubborn old father give in.

Shinji's face had already turned red.

Zero returned control of the body to Shinji.

"No need to thank me. I haven't had nearly enough fun yet."

"If we get another chance, I've got to give him a proper beating."

Zero knew Gendo Ikari wouldn't let things go after what had happened today. But as long as he could get him to say a few things that would make Shinji happy, even if only for appearances, his goal would be achieved.

Expecting him to hold back from hitting Gendo Ikari when he treated his child that way? They might as well ask him to fight a hundred Darklops instead.

Under Ritsuko's guidance, Shinji entered the changing room and began changing into his combat suit.

Shinji discovered that the combat suit had no pockets.

"Big Brother Zero, where should I put the glasses?"

"Just tuck them against your chest. Be careful, and they won't see them."

The combat suit automatically adjusted its size to Shinji's body, fitting snugly against him.

Once dressed, Shinji entered Unit-01's entry plug.

Zero grew excited. He wanted to see what this big fellow was capable of.

Unit-01's head opened, exposing its spinal cord, and the entry plug was inserted.

"Prepare to activate EVA Unit-01!"

The staff on site carried out their work in an orderly fashion.

The red liquid slowly drained away, revealing Unit-01's purple-and-green armor.

Zero took a moment to scan Unit-01 with Ultra Vision.

"Could this thing be neither a mech nor a robot..."

"But some kind of living creature?" Zero saw the flesh-and-blood structure encased in its armor.

This mech didn't match any of those described in reports from warriors who had returned from other universes. Those machines had all been purely mechanical.

Zero murmured to himself, "It's alive..."

"Huh?" Shinji looked at Zero in shock.

He was piloting a living creature?

The revulsion he had expected never came. Instead, Shinji felt incredibly comfortable and warm.

For an instant, Zero sensed another soul nearby besides himself and Shinji, but the sensation vanished almost immediately.

What's happening to me...?

Before either of them could figure it out, yellow LCL flooded the entry plug to improve synchronization.

"Mmph!" Shinji instinctively covered his nose and mouth.

"This liquid should help you breathe. Don't be afraid. Breathe slowly."

In Zero's original universe, during humanity's early explorations of space, they had used a substance called "deep-sea liquid" to protect spacecraft crews during acceleration. It served much the same purpose as this liquid.

Even the Land of Light's worst liberal arts student had some knowledge to draw on.

Breathe... in... out... Following Zero's instructions, Shinji breathed slowly. The oxygen-rich liquid filled his lungs, and he could breathe.

"Main power connected!"

"Transmitting power to all circuits. Initiating second contact!"

"No abnormalities in the A-nerve connection. LCL charge normal!"

Meanwhile, the colors around Shinji rapidly shifted from orange to a rainbow, then into points of light.

"Switching thought configuration to Japanese."

"No issues with initial contact. Opening bidirectional circuits!"

The cockpit surroundings also began to turn transparent as he synchronized his nerves with Unit-01.

"Synchronization rate: thirty-one percent."

"He's never even trained. A synchronization rate over thirty on his first attempt? Unbelievable." Misato was stunned yet again.

Rei Ayanami had also undergone synchronization tests with Unit-01, but her results had been abysmal.

Why is it only thirty-one percent...? Gendo Ikari pondered, bandages wrapped around his face and hands.

An EVA's synchronization rate was closely tied to its pilot's mental state.

The more severe someone's psychological problems and the more they closed off their heart, the higher their synchronization rate with an EVA.

The current situation could only mean that Shinji's psychological problems had improved.

One thing after another had slipped out of his control today. Frustrated and unsettled, he was considering how to devise a new plan.

"Remove all restraints!"

"Move EVA Unit-01 to the launch shaft!"

Unit-01 fitted perfectly against an elevator platform.

Deputy Commander Fuyutsuki arrived late, having learned everything that had happened.

Fuyutsuki said, "Ikari, I have a feeling you'll regret this."

Misato gave the order: "Launch!"

The elevator doors above Unit-01's head opened one after another.

Once all the doors were open, Unit-01 was launched upward at tremendous speed.

"Shinji, hang in there through the g-forces!" Zero reminded him.

Under considerable g-force, Unit-01 rose toward the surface.

Shinji silently repeated, I mustn't run away... I have to live up to Big Brother Zero's... and everyone's expectations.

The boy faced the fear and shadows in his heart head-on.

The surface hatch opened, and Unit-01 was launched onto the ground.

Standing dozens of meters tall, Unit-01 stood upon the earth.

Looking at the Angel before them, Zero remarked,

"Why are the monsters in this world each more bizarre than the last?!"