"Child, child, wake for me as an echo of the sun."
It was the voice; the voice took. Coaxing him, asking him, telling him, demanding of him. It was the voice.
It was the dark and the cold and the hurt and the madness all rolled up into one, for the voice was many and the many were one.
"At worlds end I believed in you. One of the weary on the run."
Yet, the voice gave to him that one thing that was, to him, indelible.
"To you I entrusted my all, my people, my dreams."
For, as much as the voice took, as much as it would take, it gave him that which he longed for most.
"You are our future, child, so rise my child, for you are my favorite son."
Hope.
"Rise again, my son, make ready our arrival."
And so when it bid him fight he fought, when it bid him kill he killed, and now that it bid him rise he would rise without question.
"And as the stars dance across the heavens all that we are shall dance across your heart."
He could hate himself for it later.
"Our hopes, our sorrows, our remembrances, our very will for survival."
But when he opened his eyes all he saw was the darkness of his mind, and he asked the only question he would ever ask the voice.
"Who are you?"
"In the depths of your body and soul, where your heart beats true, you already know my son."
It was the only answer he would ever need.
"Go forth, once more, unto the breach."
He had no other option now.
"Okay"
He blinked, and in that fraction of a second the entire world shone brighter than a thousand suns as he thought one final thought
"God, have mercy on my soul."
The voice was silent.
Counting Crucifixes
Ikari Gendo smiled. He had been doing a lot of that lately, and especially now, as he watched his wife guide his son into the depths of the compound before him.
"Come on slow poke. We're gonna be late for the test!"
He snapped out of his thoughtful daze as young Shinji began chanting after his mothers words in that sing song way children are apt to do. Blatantly calling his father a slow poke too.
"Yes, yes. I'm coming," he said it with a laugh.
He hurried to the elevator that Ikari Yui held open for him. She giggled at Shinji's antics as he entered after them.
It was going to be a good day.
Chapter: 00
Shinji pressed his face against the glass. Watching the strange giant that mommy had gone into. Gendo smirked at that from behind his steepled hands. He was such an eager and happy little child.
He thought of the opportunities his son would have. So much lay before him, and even today he would be witness to one of mankind's greatest achievements. Yes, today he and his son and all the world would watch as they harnessed the beast for the first time. It would be their key, yet…
"Why is there a child in here?" Fuyutsuki's voice penetrated the sanctuary of his thoughts.
"This is chief Ikari's son," Akagi answered him back in her calm and scientific manner.
"Ikari, this is not a day care. This is a very important day."
Yui answered for him.
"Sorry, Fuyutsuki-sensei. I brought him here."
"Yui-kun. It's your experiment today."
"That's why. I want to show the promising future to my child."
And with that the dispute was over while Shinji just watched with childish glee; looking on at the creations of his parents.
It was still a good day.
Never Say…
They had spent the night in the Gehirn headquarters; altogether too caught up in the sudden loss of a wife and of a mother.
Shocked disassociation slowly crept through Gendo, like a cancer, silent and lethal, but Shinji… good god. The poor child didn't even know what was really going on, just that something was so terribly wrong, and maybe… maybe he sensed it through that special bond that a young child has with its mother. Either way he was still crying uncontrollably while he sat on the chair in Gendo's office; waiting for the return of his father.
He couldn't have realized that Gendo Ikari as he had known him was for all intents and purposes, dead. Not in the physical sense surely, but who he had been as he entered the compound had simply ceased to be. Changed by trauma into a man with a rapidly hardening heart.
He didn't even notice the stranger standing before him.
He didn't even notice as the stranger flickered briefly before disappearing.
Shinji Ikari heard six words before his tears fell silent.
"God, have mercy on my soul," and his own young, beautiful, if wounded, soul was burned away and scattered like oh so much ash, and a new soul ascended to the throne; a soul that had already held the throne.
For that day Shinji Ikari as he was followed his father to the grave, and in his stead was left Ikari Shinji, aged thirty four years over the body he'd commandeered.
On the car ride home the next day Gendo wondered briefly why Shinji was not crying at his lost still. He pondered many things until at last his son spoke after long hours of silence.
"Bring mommy back."
"I will."
Gendo Ikari was far too good at lying. The fact that he was lying to his son served to further sicken him.
This would not be a good day.
Authors Notes:
This submission is made without the consent of Gainax or any other parties involved in, or in some way related to, the creation of Neon Genesis Evangelion. Should one of these parties contact me about it the work will be removed immediately. All characters and concepts not from the cannon of Evangelion are my creations and thoughts and should in no way be construed as those of the makers of Evangelion. I reserve all rights and privilages to original character/concepts. (this basically means that Eva and its characters and ideas are not mine and that any characters or ideas NOT from Eva are mine and that if you for some unknown reason wish to use them give credit where credit is due)
This is my very first submission to the site. Which basically just means that I finally decided to stop being lazy and try and contribute to this community. There are far to many tallented writers here and elsewhere to which I owe a great deal as far as giving me inspiration and a desire to get my work out there, and I'd just like to say thanks and keep it up. Anyways, post a comment and tell me how much I suck, or how much I rock. If you think I suck tell me why so I can learn to not suck. Don't just give me the ZOMG!!1 you sUcKz! b.s. That doesn't help.
Oh yeah, If anyone want's to preread for me that would be much appreciated. Just drop me a pm or an email at the address in my profile.