Evangelion2020

I.

Her Story

"Is that right? ...Yeah... Yeah... I'll be right there...", I said as I ended the video call. It was the MP office. They had called regarding Shinji...again. He had gotten into another fight and as a result was arrested and charged to spend the night in the MP detention center. Ever since...well 4 years ago... he has been like this. Getting into fights at every moments notice was just part of Shinji's nature now... in a way, it's kind of sad. I had always wanted him to grow a spine and show more initiative... but now... in some ways, I miss the old Shinji...

Before I could get too far with my inner thoughts, I heard the shower shut off from across the hall. Moments later, a teenager by the name of Koji Nagata, emerged from the bathroom. Heading my way, Kouta (as I like to call him) smiled, "Good Morning, Asuka," he said as he started preparing breakfast. In a way, he reminded me of how Shinji used to be...this time, I am quick to appreciate this side of people. While I still have my stubborn streak about me... I like to believe that I have learned from my past mistakes of dealing with people.

"Good Morning, Kouta," I said, "Look, I know you said you'd prepare breakfast this morning but there's something I have to go ahead and do... I'm not sure how long it'll take me this time, so..."

Kouta smiled, looking back, "Don't worry about it, it's about Shinji isn't it?" Damn, he's always so perceptive about things I wish he would just leave well enough alone with yet clueless when it comes to common sense situations...sometimes I wonder if he just doesn't act clueless on purpose...

"Yeah... he got in another scuffle. MP's detained him again."

"I understand he's been through a lot, Asuka...we all have... but, still... why can't he realize that he has friends here who are there for him?"

"It's not that simple, Kouta, you know that. What we went through wasn't anything compared to what Shinji had to experience. We were taken out of the game early, it was Shinji who had to experience the "End of the World" scenario alone. We can't even begin to imagine the level of stress that puts on his psyche."

Kouta was quiet for a moment, and then he stopped what he was doing at the counter and turned towards me, "That's not exactly true, Asuka. My mind was shredded and you almost died... We all—" I had moved without thinking. My hand struck the side of Kouta's face almost as if it was pure instinct. "No, Kouta," I said, "It's not the same. He had the weight of the entire existence of the planet on his shoulders and surprisingly managed to still stay sane enough to preserve humanity... what we experienced pale in comparison. Don't forget that..."

Kouta, downcast, rubbed the side of his face slowly where I had struck him. Letting out a small sniffle, he responded, "Yeah... don't worry, I won't..." Those were the words I left him with as I exited my apartment. The apartment in which I lived, along with Kouta, wasn't too sizable yet very accommodating. It was basically a clone of the apartment I shared with Shinji and Misato in Tokyo-3 four years ago. The apartment was located on base here in D.C.2. D.C.2 was a man-made island off the coast of Washington D.C. The island itself was quite the marvel, roughly the size of Okinawa. While it was considered a military base, a full civilian populous made up at least 66% of the islands population. The largest bi-pedal mechanized testing facility in all of the United Continental States of America (UCSA) and one of the largest in the entire world was located right here on D.C.2. This facility is where Shinji, Kouta, and myself work as Test Pilots... if there is one thing our time with NERV taught us, it was that our richest worth to humanity was our ability at piloting the greatest weapon of our time: The Evangelion...

Arriving at the MP detention center, I parked my car in the lot and headed inside. Once inside, I approached the front desk. Much to my dissatisfaction, there was already someone who I knew all too well that had beat me here first... Someone who shouldn't be alive, let alone standing here before me... Her hair wasn't blue anymore nor were her eyes crimson. She shared the same hair and eye color that Shinji did. And to make matters all the more worse, she referred to him as "Brother". It was absurd, Shinji had no sister...well, I suppose in a manner of speaking he could have... but still, they—she died four years ago during "Third Impact"...

"Oh, Asuka! It's good to see you!" She said as she noticed my approach. "It's terrible, they're holding Big Brother in the detention center again!"

"...Well maybe if he would stop getting into fights then perhaps—" The receptionist at the desk was immediately interrupted by the woman standing before me, "Excuse me?! Since when is it a crime to defend oneself? There's no way my big brother would ever start a fight maliciously!"

I could feel the sweat dripping off my brow, was this girl for real? Clearly the Shinji that I deal with on a daily basis and the Shinji she deals with cannot be one in the same if things were as she stated to the receptionist... Shinji has been actively seeking confrontations almost religiously for the past three years... Probably the only reason that he hasn't been court-martial-ed by now is the fact that he is the only one that can pilot the recovered relic: Evangelion Unit 01. Still, that fact doesn't keep them from locking him up every time he gets into fisticuffs with our fellow comrades over the pettiest of circumstances.

"I'm sorry, miss. My friend here hasn't slept well last night and hasn't had her morning cup of coffee either. Please excuse us for a moment," I interjected as I pulled her away from the receptionist desk over towards the main lobby area.

"Just what in the hell is your problem, Rei?"

"Asuka, why are you giving me a hard time? You're acting like I was doing something wrong over there... I was only speaking the truth—"

"If you were speaking the truth, you wouldn't of said that. You and I both know that Shinji has been actively and aggressively starting fights for the better part of the last three years. Don't delude yourself otherwise, it wouldn't be good for your own well being let alone his..."

"Yeah... you're right. I'm sorry, I just get so frustrated whenever I hear them talking crap about my big brother, Shinji..."

I really don't understand how it was this girl came to exist in this world, but right then, the one thing I could clearly understand without any shadow of doubt was that she cared deeply for Shinji and I could respect that much at least.

"Yeah... I get it. But please, can you wait here while I go through the process of getting him released?"

"Sure..."

Surprisingly... I was able to keep my composure. Myself of four years ago would've never been able to do so... Leaving Rei in the lobby, I returned to the receptionist desk, "I'm sorry about that," I said while signing the vistor log book, "I'm here to pick up Shinji Ikari, I trust he hasn't caused too much trouble?"

Of course, I was trying to smooth things over with the receptionist after Rei had given her a bit of a hard time. The receptionist at the desk adjusted her glasses as she looked up at me from her computer screen, "If he wasn't so important to the "Program", he would be locked up in solitary for at least 90 days... that man has a death wish. Do everyone a favor here at D.C.2 and help that young man reconnect with the part of his mind that loves the self. At this rate, he's going to end up killing someone or getting killed himself and at that point there's nothing you, I, nor anyone can do to save him at that moment.."

Well, I suppose it was to be expected that she would be upset. After all, this wasn't the first time Shinji had been arrested for intentionally getting into fights on base here nor was this the first time she had processed him. These meetings between her and I were becoming almost routine. A habit I'm sure the both of us could have benefited greatly from breaking. Taking a deep breath and letting out with a sigh, I replied, "There's not much we can do. He won't let me in... but that's my own fault... I pushed him away when he needed me the most. For now all I can do is my best to try to keep him out of trouble and focused on the importance of carrying out the "Program".

"Yeah... well good luck with that. In any case, he's already been processed. Just head down the east wing of the facility and through the double doors on the end which open up into the atrium. He should be out there, you know, the usual spot."

"Yes, I know. Thank you."

After dealing with her, I noticed Rei had gotten up and started to approach me. This wasn't something I wanted to deal with yet, so I stopped her before she got too close.

"No, let me go get him," I exclaimed, "You just wait right here."

Of course, this wasn't what she wanted to hear. However, she knew that arguing with me wouldn't get her anywhere... So, after crossing her arms in frustration, she sat back down on the seat in the lobby where I left her as I headed down the east wing. Upon reaching the end, I pushed the double doors open at the end of the hall which led out into the atrium. Inside the atrium of the facility, while appearing like it was an outdoor garden, there was a steep glass roof lined with support structures overhead high in the air. As I looked around I noticed many people taking advantage of the outdoor like space. Almost everyone currently in here were former inmates of this detention center who were waiting to be discharged. Shinji was among this group and I was here to collect him. He was sitting a considerable distance away from the majority of the others, against a tree near the far wall. As I approached, he lifted his head up and with a smug grin, his eyes locked on to mine. I could feel my face flush a bit, I'll admit, these last few years have been very kind to Shinji as far as his physical maturation has gone. He's not the same weak, sniveling, coward he used to be. In fact, he's quite handsome and well fit. While we're only test pilots, we have access to all of the military's training facilities. I was very surprised that he wanted to train there once we were accepted into the UCSA to help with the "Program".

"Asuka," he said as he stood up, "You always come here to get me whenever I 'screw up'. Keep this up and I'm going to start thinking we're more than just friends."

Of course, when he opens his mouth I always had completely forgotten how handsome he was. I'm sure at this point the blush on my face was a result of my anger boiling to the surface.

"Excuse me?! You really should appreciate your good fortune, you know! I could have of just as easily of left you in here, but instead I came down here out of the goodness of my heart! I didn't have to do that, ya know!"

Shinji shrugged his shoulders with a slight chuckle that fallowed, "No, of course you didn't. But had you not, the Company would've started to get frustrated that I wasn't back there assisting them with the "Program". You and I both know that Eva 01 is an integral part of it. Furthermore, you came here because you knew you would've had to sooner or later. You just chose sooner, rather than later, and in doing so preventing the Company from breathing down your neck about the lack of progress of the "Program" due to my absence. So don't try to guilt me with the whole 'goodness of my heart' bleeding heart bullshit. Save it for someone who gives a shit," he retorted, his smug look was gone replaced with a cold, emotionless expression. It's in times like this that he really scared me. Not a fear of him, but a fear that he reminded me exactly like his Father, Gendo Ikari, in these moments...

His Story

Seeing the way she looked at me was enough to make me sick to my stomach. She acted like the way she treated me before should be 'water under the bridge'. Asuka and I were together from the moment I was able to halt 3rd Impact. And by 'together', I meant that in the loosest sense one could imagine. I simply tolerated her, she was familiar to me, therefore agreeable. There were only two priorities that mattered to me in what had remained of my life. First, piloting the Evangelion Unit 01 once again. And second, looking after Rei. Rei was my 'sister', or so she claimed. Either way, having her around as opposed to Asuka was quite preferred. Unlike Asuka, Rei didn't appear to have any ulterior agenda when dealing with me. Oh, and if Asuka thought that I couldn't discern the way in which she has been looking at me, she's only fooled herself. I know she must have felt bad for how she treated me... and I was glad she felt that way. She deserved to feel bad, and I intended to continue to make her feel that way. In no way has she redeemed herself for how she treated me four years ago...

"Shinji..."

My train of throught was broken by an annoying sound, it was moments later that I realized it was Asuka's voice...

"...I trust you drove here?" I questioned her immediately to the point. I didn't have time to listen to her feelings or any other stupid banter that might spew from her mouth.

"...Y-yeah, I did... Also, Rei's outside in the lobby. I figured—"

"-that now would be a good time to talk in private and waste your time and mine before she interjected?" I interrupted her before she could finish. She looked somewhat upset that I viewed her presence as an annoyance...but that's simply how it was. I didn't care what she felt. She didn't care how I felt about her back then... now she would know how it felt... however, instead of losing her cool like she always would, she responded how she had usually been responding to me lately... with a soft smile. It sickened me. Seeing her smile at me like that. It made my heart sink. I made me, if only for a moment-a fraction of a second, revert back to the way I used to be. I felt bad for how I was treating Asuka... but then those feelings left me, and I was able to apathetically move past the moment... That was, of course, how it usually went. This time...she said something I never in a million years ever thought she would say...

"I'm sorry..."

And with those words, she turned away from me. I felt a feeling of anxiousness overcome me. She had never apologized to me. Ever. For anything. Why had she suddenly decided to start now?

"...Rei drove here too, so, if you would rather leave here with her... You could just as easily do that... you know, if I'm inconveniencing you so much..."

I wanted to say something to her at that point. I knew I probably should have... but I simply couldn't at that time... I watched her leave the atrium, shortly before Rei entered to collect me from the detention center. Naturally, Rei didn't even once bother to ask what Asuka and I had talked about. She was oblivious to those sort of things... despite seemingly having my best interests at heart... or did she? For the first time since I had awakened after the events of four years ago... ever since the first day I met her... I started to doubt her...

As Rei drove, I began to reflect on the events of the last four years...

Authors Note:

Thank you for reading the first pilot chapter of a story that has recently started to formulate in my head. In this story I wanted to continue Evangelion in a manner that could in some ways be interpreted as the spiritual successor to my original story here on – Neon Genesis Evangelion: An Alternate Retelling. While it's not a direct sequel, and certain characters and names have been changed as far as some original characters are concerned, it's the closest thing to a successor to that story as it'll come by. I'm not sure if I'll continue this or not at this time. While I will begin work on the second chapter as this one is uploaded on , I will look forward to reviews/comments and that will be the tipping point to see if I will ultimately continue this through.