EVA Ambivilence
Evangelion Fan Fiction by .Richard Flynn.

Chapter 4.

Things were different now. Shinji knew exactly who the pilot of Unit-00 was. Now there was no chance of horrifyingly discovering the pilots identity after the battle. Shinji made an attempt to get up, but was immediately thrashed by Unit-00. It wouldn't let him get up in a hurry, so the only chance for him was to fight back. Slowly, he engaged his progressive knife and slipped it out of its holster. He lurched forward and slashed at its arms. The berserk Eva stepped back slightly, before regaining its sense of coordination and retaliating. The two punched and thrashed at each other and before long, Shinji had clutched Unit-00 in an iron grip. At this point it seemed like he had the upper hand and he attempted to communicate with the pilot. Although it was useless, he would feel guilty for not trying. Quickly he engaged the intercom.
"Matt! Matt! Are you there?" but all he could hear was a steady breathing in the background. A clear sign that the pilot was unconscious, or was it?
"Shinji, can you hear me," asked Ritsuko through the intercom.
"Unit-00 is a danger to us all, it's imperative that you finish this as soon as possible."
"Right." And he reached for his progressive knife. Just then he heard pushing and shoving in the control van, as Misato fought her way to the microphone.
"Shinji!" she started, "Unit-00's just been equipped with flying torns, you're in incredible danger there!" but it was too late. With Unit-01 holding Unit-00 in such an open position, he instantly became a prime target. All of a sudden, Unit-00's shoulder plates opened, revealing an arsenal of torns. Shinji opened his mouth in disbelief.
"What the...!"
And then it hit him. 14 torns, meticulously aimed, hit him point-blank in the chest. He screamed in pain only to be silenced by the wind being knocked out of him. Unit-01's grip wavered and dropped as Unit-00 released itself. Shinji, mortally wounded, hit the ground hard. The numerous torns clearly imbedded into Unit-01's flesh. It now remained open to further attack. He looked up to see Unit-00 holding his progressive knife and preparing to strike. Shinji felt cold sweat pouring down his neck as there was no chance of escape. In the control van, all the staff could feel the horrible anticipation that surrounded them. Misato closed her eyes as the inevitable began to unfold before her. Quietly she shed a tear as all in the van tried to give condolences. Maya was no exception, and she bowed her head. Just then she noticed something interesting. She double checked to make sure she was reading the data correctly. Apparently, Unit-00's power monitor read only seven seconds of available activation time. She held her breath as she looked at the camera screen. Unit-00 was raising the knife as high as it could as to achieve the maximum amount of damage possible on its victim. Just then it lunged forward and Shinji shut his eyes in fear. There was then a moment of silence, and no pain. Shinji opened his eyes in disbelief and awe in what had just happened. The progressive knife was mere meters from his face. Slowly, Unit-00's grip on the handle loosened and the knife dropped heavily onto the ground. Its head bowing as the last volts of power drained from it. Everyone in the van cheered at the miracle while Shinji breathed out a sigh of relief.
"Shinji! You okay?" asked Misato over the intercom.
"Umm, yeah. But I'm not in the greatest of shape however." And he lightly rubbed his shoulders, which were starting to bleed. He looked up at Unit-00, which now stood before him without power. And he wondered what had happened in the entry-plug to cause such a violent berserk. He pondered for a moment over Matsushito's last pleading words, before communication was lost. Gendo had told him that Matt was a perfect synchronization match to Unit-00. Shinji knew that it was common knowledge within NERV's Eva activation staff, that a perfect synchronization rate (should one ever be achieved) would make it impossible for an Evangelion to go berserk. So why did it happen? Why did Unit-00 brutally attack him? Just then he was hit by a hunch.
'If a perfect synchronization rate would prevent a berserk' he thought to himself, 'then that would mean that the pilot was completely conscious in the entry plug and capable of anything!'. He temporarily shrugged off the idea. But it nagged his brain. He couldn't get the thought out of his mind that the apparent berserk, may very well have been a deliberate attempt by the pilot to kill him. Was it perhaps possible that Matsushito was against them? The answer eluded him for some time. Unfortunate for him, that same answer would come back to bite his ass later.

Early the next night, NERV's cleanup crew finished recovering Units-00 and 01. The pilot of 00, as it turned out, was unconscious on recovery. Or at least that was what Shinji was told. The rest of NERV's staff made it their business to put what had recently happened behind them, and to continue with some reminiscence of a normal life. Ritsuko returned to her private studies and kept her face glued to the computer screen, Maya being close by of course. During that night, Ritsuko, who was very preoccupied, was visited by one of the hospital nurses concerned with treating Rei. She seemed very concerned with what she had to tell Ritsuko. Two minutes later, a worried Ritsuko emerged from her lab and traveled immediately to the hospital. It had been of some importance, as she had dropped everything assigned to her. When she arrived at the hospital, she was directed to Rei's room. She pushed and shoved her way through the crowd of people who had absorbed themselves in the doorway, only to be confronted by a horrendous site. Through the smoke that had engulfed her room she made out the remains of Rei's bed, which had been thoroughly burned. And above it in the ceiling, a large hole. It appeared to her that something of incredible power had torn its way through six consecutive levels until finally bursting through the roof of the hospital. She had no answers whatsoever. But what was evident, was that Rei was gone. The remainder of her night was spent reviewing old security tapes, from NERV's test labs. There were many unexplained occurrences happening throughout NERV. Firstly, the incident in the test lab where Rei was the subject. The sudden heat increase that was detected. The cause of which was still unknown. Secondly, the blackouts throughout NERV's power supply. Of which, fortunately, had been fixed, but still the cause was unknown. Then there was the berserk of Unit-00 and now the disappearance of Rei, all of which gave Ritsuko good reason to be suspicious. She watched each of NERV's hundreds of tapes carefully until one caught her attention. It was from the time period that Rei's test in the lab had been scheduled. Most of the tape was nonsense and she fast forwarded it considerably. After about a minute, she stopped, and watched carefully.
'The test is going to plan so far' she thought to herself. 'And now something happens'. She looked at the camera's temperature statistics that she had been looking at on the day of the accident. She pondered while the temperature gauge rose quickly. Then she lost her breath. Something incredible appeared on the screen. She moved closer as she witnessed the unbelievable. The camera had tracked down the source of the temperature increase that had caused the evacuation of the test room, and focused in on it. There on the screen was a glowing figure, dissolving its way into the test room through the walls. While the lab staff had been evacuating, it managed to slip its way in unnoticed. For two minutes it circled the room, as if searching for something. Until finally stopping near Rei's tube. Ritsuko watched horrified, as it smashed its way in and started merging with Rei. The whole time, Rei was lying down, screaming. After it finished, it turned, and noticed the security camera which was taping it and moved towards it. It looked at the camera with curiosity. Ritsuko couldn't miss such an opportunity. She stared closely at the video image and recognized the thing instantly. It was noneother than the 6th child. Matsushito! As soon as he had appeared, he dissolved himself back through the wall just as quickly. Horrified and shocked, Ritsuko sat back in her seat, her heart racing. But then again, this didn't surprise her in the slightest. Unit-05's berserk had to have been a direct response from the pilot. Of whom was unconscious when recovered. And with Unit-00's berserk, he was found unconscious yet again. Both times he had been interrogated as to make sure he was not of involvement. And both times he had denied all responsibility. What she didn't know, was where he came from. In normal circumstances, she would be one of the first to know. However, since the destruction of the dummy-system (at her hands) she had been denied access to crucial information. A mistake that she was paying for dearly. The fact of the matter, was that there was possibly an angel making its way around NERV causing all sorts of mayhem. The blackouts that NERV received were most likely a result of Matsushito as well. It is near impossible for anyone to directly sabotage all three power circuits. But an incredible source of heat could destroy them easily. Once again NERV had an intense situation on its hands. It had been infiltrated by one of the enemy and already, destruction had been caused. It was impossible to determine the limits of his power. Already he had destroyed an Eva from the inside out. And made another go berserk. It was quite possible that he was as powerful, if not more than Tabris, so it was imperative that he be found immediately. For if he was left to do his work, humanity as she knew it may be destroyed.

Asuka and Shinji visited Matsushito the next day in hospital. Shinji was still nursing his arm, but Matt seemed to be in worse shape than he was, despite not incurring a scratch. Asuka was happy to see him of course but Shinji, he looked at him like an insect. He didn't necessarily hate Matt anymore. No. Matt was something else. He was mysterious. An enigma. It didn't occur to either of them at the time, but NERV security was busy scouring the building for him. They had undoubtably received Ritsuko's video tapes and considered it a matter of concern for all humanity that Matt be taken in. Asuka was busy giving him a warm hug, when they busted through the door. Both of them stepped back in shock as he was held down with a gun to his head and cuffed. Curses and snarls were heard as he was dragged forcibly from the room. No explanation, no apology. He was mercilessly taken to a waiting black car and driven away to await further interrogation and the possibility of death. Meanwhile, Ritsuko and Gendo were discussing the tapes, to which Matt's fate lied. Disbelief and shock were the main themes of the conversation. Followed swiftly by the realization that they had let an angel into their facility yet again. It was then decided that interrogation was the best thing to do first. There was the possibility that SEELE was behind everything, but of course, nothing was certain as of yet. At that moment Matt was brought in. Gendo looked at him as if he was shit, and walked out. As if on queue, three men took him away for questioning. About an hour later, Matt was being held in a small white room. He had been continually bashed in an attempt to obtain information. However it had been to little avail. Countless times he had denied being an Angel and subsequently, he was bashed. Blood poured out of his nose as a security guard walked over, bearing a metal rod. Displaying it as punishment if he denied them information.
"Now, I'll ask you again." The guard began. "Are you an Angel?" but the question didn't seem to have relevance to him and he promptly denied.
"LIAR!" the guard shouted. And he was beaten again across the face with the rod. Matt's anger began to swell within him as the guard did not relent.
"You know, you could tell me what I want to hear right now, and I swear that the harm towards you will stop. Either that or I can just keep going!" and he gave Matt another swift strike. This time across the back. He screamed as blood began to spurt from his mouth.
"It's your choice. You can't really say I never gave you that... do you believe I am a man with a lot of time on my hands? Well I'M NOT!" and he forced the rod right through Matt's legs. He screamed louder than ever, only to be hit across the face again.
"It's your choice, it's your choice, IT'S YOUR FUCKEN CHOICE!" and he slammed the rod over his neck. Matt fell hard on the floor. Slowly he forced himself to his feet, his face, covered in blood. The guard smiled as he prepared to strike again. But then he stopped. Something was happening to Matsushito. He began clutching his chest as he started to convulse. Without warning, his heart began to glow, and Matt fell to his knees.
"Ah ha! I knew it!" said the guard. A crooked smile across his face symbolizing satisfaction. "You are an Angel aren't you. I knew it all along. It's thanks to your kind that my wife and children were killed. As far as I'm concerned, you're better dead than alive!" and he removed his gun from its holster and pointed it towards his prisoner. He held the top of Matt's head and pointed the gun between his eyes.
"Say your prayers boy!"... but he never pulled the trigger. Instead he just stood there, spellbound as Matt faced him. Matt's blue eyes beginning to turn red. Slowly he lifted himself to his feet and stared the guard right in the eyes. The blood on his body, beginning to magically seep back in, and in a few seconds, he was completely healed.
"You're foolish to have attacked me." He said in a low voice. "You should have known better than to attack an Angel. Nevertheless, you will meet your destiny. Sayonara!" he then raised his right hand, electric sparks transmitting back and forth between his fingers, and with one last crooked smile, a large particle beam fired from his hand, and impacted on the guards chest. It quickly burst out on the other side and the remains of his body disintegrated. With the walls stained in blood, he walked out of the interrogation room glowing, and made the most awful shrieking sound. One of which filled the ears of all those in the corridors surrounding. And in a heartbeat he dissolved through the walls. This time, in search of helpless prey...

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