"Ah!! Run!"
With a blood-curdling scream echoing through the sprawling military base, panic erupted. What had been a press conference quickly devolved into a desperate fight for survival. Reporters and personnel scrambled in chaos as Unit 00 stomped through them, crushing people underfoot. SOLDIERS and civilians trampled one another in a mad rush toward the exit. Broadcast cameras captured every horrific moment—blood flowed like rivers, screams filled the air, and the sky shuddered with the roar of mechanical destruction. Two "monsters" were tearing the base apart.
Inside Unit 01's cockpit, Colonel Ishiki's face drained of color. He understood all too well what was unfolding—not a battle, but a catastrophe. A disaster, yes—but worse still, the wrath of the military high command. His career, his future: destroyed. Pale, trembling, he stared out, haunted by what he'd wrought.
Outside the base, the stench of blood was overpowering as bodies lay strewn across every inch of ground.
Suddenly, a shimmering blue diamond-shaped object—the Sixth Angel, Ramiel—tore across the sky, heading straight for NERV Headquarters.
In NERV's underground command center, Gendo Ikari and Kouzou Fuyutsuki observed the readout, voices low yet firm.
"The scent of the Fruit of Life is too strong to hide," Fuyutsuki murmured.
"From this moment, the game's over," Gendo declared, rising. "Prepare yourself, Fuyutsuki… battle is imminent."
A tectonic tremor shook the command room as Ramiel burrowed downward toward them.
Inside Unit 01, Ishiki sat drenched in cold sweat, disbelief etched on his face.
It was over. Any pilot in EVA 00 had died in the berserk rampage—or at best, been rendered comatose. And now, Ramiel was closing in.
Then the phone rang again—always at the worst time. Ishiki's hands trembled as he answered:
"Sir… General…" he stammered.
"The blame for this fiasco falls on you, Ishiki. Damage control is required—now. Understand?" barked the voice.
"Yes… yes, General. I will manage this."
Returning the phone to its cradle, Ishiki's rage targetted Ryota Kitazawa. He was certain Kitazawa had sabotaged EVA 01's sync test. That had to be the reason he couldn't pilot the machine.
Backing out of the cockpit with clenched fists, Ishiki barked orders to the remaining troops: "Get me… backup!"
What he didn't realize was that EVA 01 itself had evolved—no longer the prototype it once was. It'd been reborn as "Eve."
But Ishiki's thoughts were consumed with revenge… until another call came in.
"The United Nations Joint Chief?" He stared at the caller ID, falling onto his knees. He had been summoned by the highest military authority on Earth. A single phone call from them carried the weight of nations.
In the aftermath of Second Impact, humanity had fractured, and global authority consolidated under the UN's military command. Suddenly, a phone call from the top meant life or death.
Numbers flashed across his screen—world leaders, UN officials, secret powers. Each call repeated the same command: withdraw Unit 00, secure the situation, and finish off the Sixth Angel—now!
Captain Ishiki shuddered in the pit of a nightmare that had only just begun.
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