Chapter 1: Introductions
Daniel
Hi. My name's Daniel. I'm headed to Tokyo-3 for an old friend of mine. And when I say old, I mean old, and when I say old, I mean SEELE 04. He's sent me to the Japanese city of Tokyo-3 to keep an eye on NERV.
If those names make no sense to you, don't worry, my old friend only explained things to me recently and I tend to have a hard time remembering big fancy meaningless names like that anyway.
In layman's terms, there was a big apocalypse in the year 2000, an apocalypse which hit pretty close to home for me.
It's now 2015, people are trying to rebuild the world and SEELE, a.k.a. the real illuminati, have some projects set up in the corners of the world to help things along.
My old friend is one of these people who helps make the world go round, codename SEELE 04, and I'm going to Tokyo-3 for him.
Why's the city I'm going to called Tokyo-3? Because old Tokyo has been completely obliterated by the rising sea level and Tokyo-2 isn't the place where one of SEELE's projects, a megacorporation named NERV, is located.
I honestly don't have a clue what I'm walking into, only that I would be the right man in the right place in this case.
I do know that the apocalypse of 2000, the one that obliterated half the world's population and shifted the planet's axis, wasn't natural.
They're calling it Second Impact. First Impact would be the onset of life on Earth. Second Impact would be the end to that nice little era.
I would've called it overdramatized nonsense. Except I have first hand experience of people's souls being ripped out of their bodies during the event. It might have something to do with the unique geography of my town, but when people started dying, other stuff started happening.
I'm leaving out something big here, but what matters is that the bodies of the deceased turned into some sort of primordial soup. Ectoplasmic goo.
Whatever Second Impact was, it wasn't a meteorite impact, which is what the media would have you believe.
It was something spooky, something weird... something I know how to deal with, thankfully.
SEELE 04
At that same moment, online, during a SEELE virtual reality meeting, SEELE 01 turns to SEELE 04. An ominous, electronically warped voice sounds out from an illusory slab of obsidian bearing the number 01 in white.
"Um, 04, why are you sending a survivor from the Gomorrah incident to Tokyo-3? I hope you know what you're doing."
Sitting in the chair of his castle mansion, SEELE 04 tents his hands and smirks. "Don't worry, I trust my agent."
SEELE 04 turns to adress the assembled members of SEELE. All hidden behind black monolith slabs bearing their number. SEELE 04 would be the first to admit that it looked very cool.
"Ask yourself this: If you're supposed to know eeeverything," he draws out the syllable in mockery, "how come you still don't know what happened at Gomorrah?"
SEELE 01 does not reply, so the monolith of SEELE 02 pipes up. "Ahem, Vladimir, because nobody at Gomorrah actually talked about what happened at... oh wait, I understand, so you're telling us to trust in your agent's ability to keep a secret?"
SEELE 04 leans back into his chair. "Yes, Irene. I know what went on at Gomorrah, and I'm never telling you."
His lips curl into a vicious smile, unseen by the other members of SEELE but certainly heard in his voice.
"I can assure you, Daniel's the best person to keep tabs on NERV. The bond of secrecy we share makes him very loyal. And the money I've spent on SEELE's endeavours can vouch for my loyalties, can't it?"
"Yes, it certainly can..." SEELE 01 replies tersely. Gomorrah was a mystery to everyone but the people who survived. And 04 has been an enormous financial asset to SEELE. If only 04 stopped using their mortal names. It was starting to give 01 a nervous headache.
"Before I forget, Lorenz?" SEELE 04 says offhandedly, distorted voice twanging out the German name.
"Can we stop using the inaccurate biblical connotations? Sure, Gomorrah's pretty accurate for what happened to that town, especially taking into account what I know, but the melodrama is getting tiresome. I motion we give significant events a number code instead. Like our monoliths!"
"Noted, SEELE 04. Next issue." Inside his grand mansion, Lorenz Kihl, mortal identity of SEELE 01, taps out a text message for his butler while SEELE 03's voice drones through the teleconference. 'Another Paracetamol, Dashiell. Please hurry.'
Daniel
I'm going to Tokyo-3 by train at SEELE 04's request.
Started learning Japanese two years ago. Not actually because I wanted to visit Japan someday, but because I wanted to enjoy their cultural media...
Before Impact, Japan had a thriving entertainment industry. Anime cartoons. Manga comics. Not all of them were translated into English before the world exploded, so some good storytelling was locked behind a language barrier.
Of course my best friend's the nerdiest nerd in existence and just kept watching Anime when we were sharing an office a few years back.
It was easy, boring work, so the constant lights and sounds and "oh, did you see that?' got disruptive fast.
So like a sensible young man I packed away my notebooks and started watching the Anime with him. Which is how I got into Gundam, and then other stuff.
Was pretty cool, even inspired me a little. Inspired what? We'll get to that later, but it's pretty obvious there's more going on with me then meets the eye. 'Hero of Gomorrah'. Yep, that's me.
Anyway, I'm on a maglev train on the way to Tokyo-3, following my old pal SEELE 04's instructions. This train's on the way to pick up the Third Child, apparently.
No idea what that title means. Except that we're presumably dealing with a child and, this is a stretch, the third of three children. I know, right? Damn spy talk.
Sure enough, the train stops at a small town station, looks the same as half a dozen others we passed at top speed, only there's a single kid waiting at this one.
He looks about fourteen, a little scrawny. Reminds me of myself when I was his age. Black hair, thin, zoned out. He's asian, of course, while I'm white. White shirt, loose, black pants, suitcase.
When I was his age I was the most easily bored slacker in all of slackerdom. But when I look into this kid's eyes I see something else.
Now my parents, bless their graves, were wonderful people. Completely crazy, but wonderful people.
This kid's parents, I'm sorry, but they did something wrong. This kid looks anxious to get on the train, he's skittish... Hell, he looks downright scared of the people around him.
Still, something's bound to be up with a boy who has the real life Illuminati taking notice of him.
Better go up and say hi... In a few minutes, when he's settled in. Don't want to spook him.
Shinji
I've gotten a letter from my father. My estranged father. From what little my Uncle has told me about him, I know he is a very important man, involved with a company called NERV, which pretty much owns the city of Tokyo-3.
He has always lived far away and my uncle made his dislike for him clear enough. My father never once bothered to check up on me.
Why?
I don't know, but I want to know. He's written me a letter now, but he's only written one word on it. "Come." So that's what I'm doing. I'm on my way to him, to Tokyo-3, with the train ticket that came with the letter and no idea what to expect.
The train pulls up to the station and I notice the first strange thing of the day. It's completely empty, apart from a single man sitting in the back. Could that man be my... nope, he's a foreigner. Dang.
Hesitantly, I get on the train. There's two possibilities here, as far as I can tell. One, the foreigner in the back and myself are the only people with tickets and my father ensured that it would be just me and the foreigner. Two, the train's just not very busy right now.
Or three, the train was meant to be only for me but the clumsy foreigner got on by accident.
No, the foreigner's eyeing me, and I look pretty average, so he's either a child molester or he's intrigued that I'm the one he's meeting on the train.
My imagination is not my friend today.
I sit down, try to calm down. The man might be giving me some space, he might be here on buisness or a tourist or he might be... Okay, that's enough of that.
Gotta look outside, at the trees and fields flashing by.
A few minutes later, I hear the back door of the carriage open.
"You the Third Child?" The foreigner asks me, though says keeps the word "Third Child" in a very american English accent.
I'm pretty sure he's talking to me, because there's nobody else on the train he can be adressing, so I turn toward him. He looks like your average white guy. Not exactly fat, maybe a bit tall... Though what he's wearing is a little garish. He's wearing a black sleeveless jacket over a venom green T-shirt. White pants. Hm, I chuckle lightly. Kind of like a color inverted version of what I'm wearing.
I suddenly realize I left the man's questiong hanging way too long, and look away, embarassed. "I don't know what a Third Child is. What do you mean?" I ask sheepishly.
The man steps into the carriage and sits down in the seat across from. "Ah." He mutters. I've been told to meet up with the "Third Child" by... eh, an old friend I guess. I don't really know anything else, just that the Third would be on this train."
The stranger looks out the window, he seems a little flustered. "I guess nobody told you anything yet?" he asks. "Sorry for the spy speak... To be honest, I don't know what it means either."
I hazard a glance toward the stranger. "It's okay." For a westerner, he speaks decent Japanese...
The stranger raises his eyebrows, probably noticing me staring at him, being all thoughtful and somber. "Is my Japanese alright?" He asks, eyebrows furrowed, a little embarassed.
I nod. "Yes, it's great." Hesitantly, I look up at my fellow passenger. Why's he smiling at me like that?
"Um..." he starts. "I don't know if this is a culture thing... But don't be shy, alright?" The man says in a kind voice, with a smile on his face that betrays far more amusement at the situation then is appropriate.
I all but sink away into my chair, but I can't help but glower at the man in front of me. Calling a shy person out for their shyness? Yes, that's sure to work. Definitely won't aggravate the problem at all...
A nervous chuckle on his part later and he mutters a "sorry...".
I can't help but chuckle a little myself. This strange, strange stranger, whoever he is, seems to have a good sense of humour.
As for his looks, he's got black hair and a small beard that accentuates the chin... Pretty boy looks and icy blue eyes.
My mind wonders to the woman in the picture, the woman who is my contact for NERV at at Tokyo-3. She would certainly love this guy.
Ehehe, the picture... Of a woman with deep black, almost purple hair, blowing a kiss at the camera. Her red paramilitary jacket and beret are all but drowned out by the not-so-subtle focus the photograph puts on h-...
"You're blushing!" The stranger suddenly exclaims.
This, of course, causes me to blush harder. "Er, it's nothing, honest!" I look away, trying my best to make the trees rushing past outside more interesting then the stranger in the train with me.
I can feel him raise his eyebrow. Damn stranger. What was his name anyway?
"I'll tell you what I was thinking of if we have introductions afterward!" I squeak out.
He chuckles. "How about introductions first, shy guy?" I recoil slightly at the all too accurate discription. But he wants introductions! Okay then! "I'm Shinji Ikari!" I say a little too entheusiastically.
The man chuckles lightly. "My name's Daniel Fenton." He holds out his hand. I take it and we shake on it.
We pass under a bridge and I could swear I could see Daniel's eyes glint with a green light in the darkness.
"Shinji, I think you are the Third Child I was sent to tag along with." Daniel says after we pass out of the tunnel. "And I think..." He turns away, toward Tokyo-3, which is becoming visible in the distance. "...I think we need to compare notes... That is: You tell me what you know, I tell you what I know, and we'll each be a little bit more prepared at what's coming up."
An interesting idea. "Alright..." I reply hesitantly.
A moment of quiet. Daniel looks at me quizically...
Oh, he wants me to start. ...Okay...
"Um, my father has written me a letter to come to Tokyo-3. He works at NERV." I clear my throat. "High up at NERV."
Everyone knows NERV: The biotech megacorporation that provides pretty much all of the work and most of the money for the city of Tokyo-3. Second Impact has wrought merry hell on the world, especially the biosphere. NERV has successfully stabilized not only Japan's biosphere, but many others across the globe, earning them the love of practically everyone.
And that's not all. "I've got a picture of my- our contact, to use spy speak..." I smile at Daniel, who grins back. Yes, he got the joke!
I fish the picture of Captain Katsuragi out of my pocket. "For a paramilitary, she seems a little odd, though..."
Daniel flashes a crooked smirk. "Well I'm guessing that's why she's paramilitary and not just regular military, right?"
" S'pose so..." I mumble, and hand Daniel the picture...
And his grin is immedeately wiped off his face, replaced by a scowl. "Misato Katsuragi... With a kiss, how cute." He mumbles in english, but the venomous tone is unmistakeable.
He hands the picture back at me, mumbling something inaudible. It's his turn to clear his throat. "Ahem... eh..." He sweatdrops. "That's not the way to greet a teenager, no offense. You're what, fifteen?"
"Fourteen." I smile back awkwardly, scratching the back of my head somewhat theatrically. "It is a little weird, yeah. But she seems fun..."
Daniel nods slowly, apparently thinking. "You're missing my point, Shinji." He mumbles, but he sounds a little distant.
A moment later, he leans forward conspiratorically. I happily mimic my new friend.
"Why is your father sending her to greet you? I mean, I'm assuming he's the one who arranged your escort, and he's the one who sent you the picture, right?"
I manage a halting nod while my mind mulls over Daniel's insinuation. Is my father sending the... eccentric member of staff on purpose? And then I remember the letter. Or his sorry excuse for a letter. Suspicion and confusion boil over into worry. Is my father, who I have not seen in so long, messing with me?
Fear compels me to pull my father's letter out of my pocket. I look back up at Danny, who's got a really concerned look in his eyes, like he's worried for me.
"Have a look at this.. This is the 'letter' he sent me." I say hollowly, adding as much sarcasm as I can to the offending word.
Daniel furrows his brow at the letter. Then at me. Um... Why does he look so worried?
"Yeah, that's not a normal way to greet your kid, Shinji." He confirms, before handing back the letter.
"Hope I got your name right?" Daniel says suddenly. "Yeah, you got it in one, don't worry, you're doing fine." We both let out a chuckle. A little breathing room.
I suddenly realize Daniel just broke the ice, probably on purpose on some level. I never understood that idiom... But now we can both chuckle at eachother and breathe.
Talking with someone hasn't been this... liveable, I guess... in... forever. We're being friendly, we're being honest, and I don't feel at all as as nervous or embarassed as I normally would! I'm not gonna think 'yay, he likes me' because that would be stupid, but that's pretty much where I'm going here. This is like a breath of fresh air.
"Um, why are you squeeing at me?" Daniel says, somewhat apprehensively, breaking my thought bubble. "What's squeeing?" I ask back.
He shakes his head, dismissing the earlier question. "Never mind, not important. But yeah, Shinji. ...Something is going on with you." He sticks a finger in the air and points at me. "And your dad. And this whole thing." Finger waggles in a circle. "An old friend has sent me over to Tokyo-3 and like your father, he's one of the most important people in the world."
"How important?" I blurt out without thinking.
Daniel sucks his teeth with a hiss in reply. The universal sign for both 'I just hit my toe on the table leg oh god it hurts' and 'that's a really awkward one to answer'.
"Oh." I stammer.
"Yeeeah..." Daniel mumbles in reply. "I don't like it either, but my experience (and I have a lot of that) tells me that there's something weird going on, so I'm gonna do what he wanted and keep an eye on things."
I nod, seeing that the train's coming out of the mountains already. Time flies when you're talking. "We'll see, I suppose. If you're around NERV..." Can't bear to finish that sentence with a request.
Daniel chuckles at me, laughing at my reluctance. "I'm obviously gonna stay in touch, Shinji." Yay!
"As I just explained, you're pretty central to my mission statement!" he says with a big grin.
Oh, right. My face almost falls, but I quickly look to the side. I almost forgot. He's an agent person.
Unnoticed, Daniel rolls his eyes and whispers a sarcastic "real smooth" to himself in English.
"Yo, Shinji?" Daniel's voice sounds very commanding, but also a little worried right now. The way my uncle always sounded when he talked to me. Gah... Tingle up the spine...
"I like talking with you, okay?" Daniel raises an eyebrow, smiles a little...
"Yeah, okay." I nod a little in thanks. "Seems we're here." I incline my head toward the onrushing platform encapsulated by metal and concrete.