Today was simply another average day at NERV. Like any ordinary day, the sun was shining, the birds were singing, humanity lived in collective fear of their impending doom, and their soon to be determined savior slumbered in a hospital bed in the aftermath of an Angel attack. Visiting him was his guardian, his father, and his friends and fellow pilots.
Surrounding his body were five young men, all with varying expressions on their faces.
The first was who Gendo assumed was their leader, and the sight of the man almost disturbed him to look at dead in the face. He was sitting in a chair next to the Third Child's right, his gloved hands clasped together anxiously as he stared at Shinji's chest rise up and down, already putting together a plan in his mind.
To the leader of NERV, it nearly frightened him to see his son all grown up. Like his father, he was tall, lanky, and shared the same amount of hair. Unlike Gendo, this young man sported a tinted pair of square glass frames, and lacked his signature beard. He had Yui's eyes and softer features in place of Gendo's sharp and rough edges.
The suit he wore was nearly identical to the elder Ikari's, minus the color, a deep dark shade of blue, but lacked the NERV pin, now replaced with one that read GENESIS. He was the oldest of the five based on height and looks alone, but certainly still young.
If he didn't know any better, Gendo definitely would've thought he was staring at his own reflection. He blinked dumbly as his jaw fell in astonishment. Quite out of character, indeed.
This...was certainly not in the scenario.
Rei took notice of the skinny boy to Ikari's left. With dark blue hair and bangs that almost covered his glare, he stood completely still, shooting a glance at Shinji every now and then. Scars covered his neck, with dark veins trailing up to his Adam's apple. His eyes were a pretty shade of pink. White, chalky skin was protected underneath a skin tight black plugsuit, which resembled an astronaut suit or a scuba suit more than anything else, with tubes and glass coverings all over his second skin. These appendages were mostly hidden by a large brown overcoat he wore. Despite it being a very hot day, he didn't seem to sweat at all.
The boy noticed Rei's prolonged staring, and winked at her, pursing his lips as he did, before immediately returning to his idle position.
She narrowed her eyes at him.
He seems...very suspicious. I will keep a close eye on him.
Misato scratched her head in befuddlement, puzzled at the sight before her.
Oh, I hope this is the hangover talking from last night and that this isn't really happening. What did I miss?
Next to the Gendo clone was a young man, maybe eighteen at the least, who grit his teeth angrily as he huffed, folding his arms as he watched the others, sneering all the while. Upon his head was a military beret with the word KAIROS stamped on the side. Around his shoulders was an unzipped red vest. In his teeth was an unlit e-cig (how?!) and his suit pocket definitely had the outline of a small flask in it. If he was carrying a rifle, (and she was sure he was) it didn't seem too obvious.
He hadn't shaved in quite some time, made apparent by the stubble on his chin and the whiskers on his upper lip. He tapped his boots impatiently as he shot a nasty look at a nearby clock. She couldn't get a good look at his eyes, as they were blocked by what appeared to be a visor of some kind, but his right eye definitely had some kind of nasty looking scar running through it. She wasn't even sure if his left arm was real, based on the way it rotated.
Ouch. Poor guy. What's got him so pissed off?
Asuka stood in horror and pure shock as she took in the sight before her.
Five. F-five! Five!
Next to the albino's cousin was another pilot, dressed in an orange and red plugsuit, similar to her own. His hair was long and had a green highlight in it. His short but muscular figure was made quite apparent by the tight suit.
Leaning on the bed, her gaze caught his attention. He looked her up and down but he wasn't very impressed. He rolled his eyes at her and scoffed, then proceeded to pull out a small tablet out of seemingly nowhere and ignored her reaction as his attention was now drawn to the flashing lights and bright colors on his screen.
Popping in a pair of white earbuds, he drowned out her babbling, grinning as he mimicked her mouth flap open. He chuckled as her glare only grew with the addition of his hand joining the mimicking game.
And last but not least was the final new guest. Sitting in front of Shinji was…Shinji, or at least a nearly identical looking stranger. His skin was slightly darker, his sharp cheeks peppered with a few freckles. The usual school uniform was now a white polo and a pair of jeans. He was a bit taller than the Shinji in the bed by an inch or two. A large pair of headphones rested around his neck right below a small rusted locket. In place of his wristwatch and tape player was a small thin phone in his pants pocket which struggled to fit properly inside. Tied around his waist was a magenta jacket, its sleeves limp and loose.
He sat straight in his chair and twiddled his thumbs as he struggled to speak for the others, who were all occupied at the moment. Finally, he stood up as he rubbed the back of his neck, sheepishly muttering.
"So...it's a long story."
The pilot of Unit-01 hummed as he softly snored, blissfully unaware to the incredible spectacle no closer than an arm's length away, straight out of a comic book.