Chapter 1: A New Start
Evangelion belongs to Gainax. The Last of Us belongs to Naughty Dog and Sony. I don't anything, so please don't sue me.
AN: I recommend reading this chapter again if you read it before the update.
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Failure. This was one of the many things going through 14-year-old Shinji Ikari's mind as he strangled his fellow pilot, Asuka Langley Sohryu. Tears fell from his eyes as he gripped her throat as tightly as his tired form would allow. Her uncovered eye stared at him, a blank expression adorned her face. His gripped tightened and just when he thought he would be free of this illusion, he felt it.
Her right arm had risen to gently caress the side of his face.
He couldn't believe it, she wasn't an illusion after all! He released his grip and stared into her emotionless eye. It was too much for fractured mind to take in, so he broke down and began to sob atop of her not bothering to get off her. "How disgusting" She whispered without a hint of emotion.
Shinji however, did not hear what she had said. No, his mind had the more important task of trying to keep him sane from all the traumatic events of Third Impact.
In the end his frazzled mind couldn't cope with all that had happened in the last 24 hours, and he soon found himself drifting off into unconsciousness still atop Asuka.
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It was hours later when he finally awoke. He sat up and looked around. The same disturbing scenery of the Mass Produced Evas, the sea of LCL, and the red streak across the moon were still there. But strangely Asuka and the smiling head of Rei/Lilith were nowhere to be seen. At this realization he quickly scrambled to his feet and began scanning the beach around him.
"Asuka! Asuka, where are you!" He yelled out. But there was no reply. He didn't really want to speak with Asuka, but he didn't want to be alone more.
He turned in every direction but couldn't find any trace of the redhead. There weren't even any footprints, just desolation and the sea of LCL. 'So it was just an illusion after all' He thought to himself. Just as he was about to pick a direction and start walking, he remembered. He looked down and saw a bloodstained cross on a fine silver chain hung around his neck.
"Misato…" He muttered somberly with tears welling up in his eyes. Looking made him remember the woman that had took him in and cared for him when no one else would've. The woman that had teased him and spent time with him, the same woman who had been his commanding officer in battle. She had fought for him, she had kissed him, and in the end she had given her life for him.
At this thought, he walked over to some pieces of wood scattered on the beach, and began to construct crosses for all those he had known. Except for his Father. In the end he truly did hate his Father for all he had done. Abandoning his own son after his mother's death, leaving him with a teacher for ten years, forcing him to fight in a war, and committing mass genocide all for the sake of one woman.
"Why?" He asked
"Why did you do all this Father!?" His voice rose with every word until it became a shrill yell. "Because Gendo Ikari was an insane man." A voice whispered behind him. He whirled around, and that's when he saw her.
Rei Ayanami stood a mere five feet away from him. At that moment, he didn't know whether he should run in terror of hug the girl in front of him. But before he could make his choice, he noticed the girl's feet didn't touch the ground.
"Rei?" He asked with a slight tremble.
She shook her head and said "I'm afraid not little one, I am Lilith." He took a step back and managed to choke out "What do you want with me then?" She smiled softly and looked up at the sky. "To know what it is you truly want." She whispered softly. "What do you mean by that?" He inquired. She looked at him and stated "I can feel it, this isn't what you wanted either, is it?"
"No, I just want things to go back to the way they used to be." He said with a sigh.
"That can be arranged." She said with a small grin. "You mean you can bring the world to it's former state before Third Impact!?" He asked with hope in his voice. "I can bring the world to it's former state before SECOND Impact. Yes, it would be an easy task, but not without a price. And that price requires you." She whispered.
"What do I have to do!?" His reply was immediate.
Her grin then stretched from ear to ear, it was quite unsettling for the boy.
"The world will be restored, but you must go to another one until you breathe your last breath." She giggled. "You're sending me to another planet!?" He replied with a hint of worry. "Another Earth to be exact. Knowing this, do you wish to restore the planet." She replied back.
"Yes." He said with determination filing his voice.
At this her grin became a soft smile once again. "Good. Well you'd better start gathering supplies. You have 24 hours before I send you on your way." She literally sang with a wink. Just as she was about to turn and leave she heard him ask one last question.
"Lilith, where is Rei, and what happened to Asuka?" Concern spilling from every word. Even if she was part Angel, he was very concerned for his half-sister. Lilith tilted her head and whispered "Don't fret little one, the one you know as Rei Ayanami is still alive, she will accompanying you on your journey. But she will only appear to you when you need her most. As for the second, she remains in the sea. What you saw was an illusion created by your unstable mind." His face lit up when he heard this, but fell slightly at hearing Asuka hadn't actually been there at all. But he was happy nonetheless, Rei was still alive somewhere!
He smiled at Lilith and said "Thank you for telling me."
"Of course. Oh by the way, you might want to pack clothes, medical supplies, and weapons for your 'll need them for where you're going, and you might want to hurry because your 24 hours start now!" She giggled before disappearing in a flash of bright light.
At this news, Shinji turned and sprinted on unsteady legs towards the ruins of Tokyo-3. While on the way, he couldn't help but think 'Why did she say to pack weapons?'. Where exactly was she going to send him?
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His first stop was a ruined sporting goods store near the sea of LCL. Inside the store was an absolute mess. Items flung from shelves, windows broken and smashed, and even some damage to the floor. Shinji wandered through the shop, looking for anything he could use. After nearly an hour of searching through the store the only useful items he found were a simple brown backpack perfect for his size, and a sizeable supply of batteries for his SDAT player.
After packing the batteries and his SDAT in his new backpack, Shinji left the store and began walking towards Misato's apartment. After searching many more ruined buildings later to no avail he finally arrived at the apartment building.
The outside of the building itself had sustained little damage, mostly due to it being on the outskirts of the city. He just hoped the inside was just as okay, and made his way through the lobby and up the stairs. Only to arrive at the apartment's front door and find a problem he should've expected.
"Dammit." He spat. He silently cursed himself for not remembering.
The apartment's door was electronic and required a keycard to open, a byproduct of living in such a technologically advanced place like Tokyo-3. But since the city had no power anyway it really didn't matter if he had his keycard anyway. Luckily for him, a piece of debris from another building had been lodged into the door during the N2 bombings.
It hadn't been much, but the debris had hit the door hard enough for it to cave in slightly. Just enough for Shinji to put his fingers through and after a solid twenty minutes of exertion, he finally managed to pry open the door wide enough to slip through.
It was solid steel and required a lot of effort for him to open. Shinji was stronger than his skinny frame led on, but Superman he was not.
"Finally, I made it!" He panted.
After removing his shoes, he walked further into the apartment and called out a small "I'm home!" There was no answer. Not like he had expected one anyway. "Well this place hasn't felt like home for a long time anyway." He said absently. It was then when he noticed the apartment's current state.
It was an absolute mess!
Shinji, being the clean freak that he was, began to tidy up the apartment. He finished his cleaning within an hour, and decided to take a bath to let his mind and body relax a bit. When he finished his bath he noticed the sun was beginning to set. It was at this time Shinji's stomach made itself known.
He soon started to prepare himself some dinner. It was at this time he was thankful for the stove being gas powered and not electrical, and was also silently praising Misato's tactical mind for buying gas powered lanterns and spare candles for emergencies. And so he silently cooked and ate his dinner, all the while wishing his roommates could have been there to enjoy it with him.
Or anyone to enjoy it with.
After finishing his dinner, he began packing all the supplies he needed into his backpack. He got the first-aid kit from the bathroom, all the fresh canned food in the fridge, packed some of the few different clothes he had, and then put them all into his newly acquired backpack. He then pulled out his only pair of sneakers from his closet.
He figured wearing them was a better choice than his dress shoes, and didn't exactly know where he was going to end up. There was also some sentimental value to them. Misato had gotten for him as a gift for defeating the 5th Angel after all. She said he needed to expand his wardrobe, but Shinji was quite content with what he wore, but Misato had bought them for him anyway.
He stared at the simple pair of red sneakers and tried to remember the happier times at the apartment, lately they had been few and very far between. "Nothing I can do to change the past." He told himself. He then took the shoes and set them at the front door before turning out the lights and retiring to the solace of his small bed. He laid there awake listening to his SDAT, trying so desperately to block out the bad memories of everything he had endured in his short life, Third Impact being on his mind the most.
And after a full two hours of music, he finally fell asleep to the somber sounds of Beethoven and the unholy screams of Third Impact echoing in his head. Safe to say, he did not sleep well that night.
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When he awoke the next morning, the sun had already risen. After taking a quick morning shower and brushing his teeth, he made himself a small breakfast and changed into a pair of blue jeans with a brown belt, a plain blue shirt to match, and another white button-up shirt over it. He decided to leave it untucked and unbuttoned.
There wasn't any need to keep up appearances if you were the only person on Earth anyway.
After he finished changing he went back to the bathroom to gather his razor and shaving cream. Just because he was alone didn't mean he was going to grow a beard like his father. He put the items into his backpack and sighed as he decided to bite the bullet and try to find what Lilith had told him to get; weapons.
He trudged slowly towards Misato's room, entered and began to comb over the room for any weapons she might've had hidden for emergencies. After searching Misato's room, Shinji reviewed what he had found: a 9mm pistol he found under her pillow, a tactical knife and some ammo for the pistol he found in her dresser, and holsters for both he found in a separate drawer.
Even though he needed the things spread out in front of him, he still felt as if he was invading her privacy by going through Misato's things. But he quickly cast those thoughts away and focused on putting on the holsters for his new weapons.
After a few minutes of some awkward attempts, Shinji managed to put on the pistol's holster on correctly. He found the knife's holster much easier and simply strapped it to the side of his belt. He turned to leave but stopped on account of the necklace that hung neatly around his neck.
"What should I do with this?" He asked himself somberly. When he arrived at the apartment he cleaned it of the bloodstains, but did not take it off. For a second he thought of leaving it in her room, but squashed that thought when he remembered she had died because of his inaction.
The kiss that came before she pushed him into the elevator suddenly appeared in his mind and brought tears to his eyes. Of all people he had met in Tokyo-3, he was going to miss Misato the most.
He snapped himself out of his trance and proceeded towards the apartment's entrance, but stopped when he passed his and Asuka's rooms. He prayed the fiery redhead would find happiness once the world was restored and not be haunted by her past like he now was.
He knew Third Impart wasn't really his fault, but he still felt like it was his actions that caused it. He had fallen right into Seele and his father's plans.
Before he continued, he looked at the sign on his bedroom door; a simple pink heart with the words 'Shinji's Lovely Suite' written on it. He carefully took the sign off the door, erased the writing on it and wrote one word with the marker attached to its side before laying it gingerly on the floor in front of the door.
The sign's only word simply read 'Goodbye'.
He walked over to the front door, slipped on his red sneakers and left the apartment for the last time.
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It had taken him less time to get back to the beach than when he had first awoken there. He remembered the path he took on his way to the apartment and followed it back to the sea of LCL, checking stores along the way.
When he reached the beach he managed to find only enough supplies for a light lunch, as anything else he found was either useless or starting to expire in the humid, eternal summer heat. He sat on a large piece of concrete thrown from a building and began to hurriedly eat what little food he had found along the way.
After finishing he sat there silently and waited for Lilith to show up and send him off. He didn't want to go, but he did want to undo the devastation he blamed himself for. A few hours passed and Shinji found himself starting to doze off when he heard a haunting voice whisper in his ear "Are you ready to go?".
He instantly jerked awake at that.
He turned his head and sure enough Lilith stood just behind him, an angelic smile plastered on her face. He stood up and answered. "Ready as I'll ever be." He replied. She looked him up and down and said "I see you acquired the weapons I recommended."
"Yeah, but what exactly do I need them for?" He asked her. She just winked and said "You'll see when you arrive, but my advice for you is to not get bit and be wary of other humans."
"What does that mea…" He didn't even get to finish his sentence before she poked his chest and his world exploded into pain and he promptly passed out.
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Shinji awoke with a start to a burning pain in his head.
"Ugh, my head!" He groaned out. After the pain subsided Shinji finally took notice of his surroundings. It was an abandoned warehouse with broken windows, a collapsing roof, rust and foliage slowly creeping inside, and what looked like a faded bloodstain on the far wall.
"Where the hell did she send me?" He asked himself. He then realized something was very strange about his speech. "Did I just speak English!? I did it again! I'm still doing it!" He exclaimed to himself.
It was impossible, he couldn't speak English!
He had never learned any English outside of what he had learned in his English class at school. And it's not like he did that well in that class anyway, so how could he be speaking a language he didn't know? Suddenly the voice of Lilith interrupted his train of thought.
"Hello little one, if you are wondering about your speaking English just know that it was my doing to help you on your journey. You can still speak Japanese if you try, but I would recommend sticking with English for now." The voice said to the boy.
"Lilith? Where are you?" Shinji asked aloud. Lilith's voice continued on "As for my voice, I must apologize for the pain, but it was necessary for me to implant this message into your mind before sending you on your way." He sweat dropped at hearing that.
'Well that explains this awful headache.' He thought to himself. "This is likely the last time you will ever hear my voice Shinji Ikari. Good Luck." Lilith's voice said quietly before fading away along with the remaining pain in Shinji's head.
"Alright, let's see where she sent me." He muttered
He stood up before walking towards a large hole on the side of the warehouse that led outside. When Shinji did step outside his jaw dropped in awe of the sight before him. "What the hell is this place?" He whispered to himself.
It was an abandoned city. The metropolis was like Tokyo-3 in the sense that it was completely ruined, but unlike Tokyo-3 nature had reclaimed it. And at first glance was totally abandoned.
The street he now stood on was riddled with the husks of old cars, broken and rotting buildings and, plants growing out of pretty much everywhere. Old barricades stood in the road and a large bridge stood ominously towards the other end of the city. He thought it was beautiful in a primal, unearthly way.
BANG! The sound of a distant gunshot snapped Shinji out of his trance. "Hm, seems this place isn't totally abandoned after all." He said to himself. "Well maybe they can help me out!" He exclaimed with hope in his voice.
He turned and began to walk towards the direction of the gunshot, but stopped when he saw a small diner out of the corner of his eye. He approached the door cautiously, he was in a new world after all, and it didn't hurt to be careful.
Once he reached the front door, he opened it and stepped inside. As he expected it looked old and full of dust. Shinji walked to the counter and read the sign on the wall above it.
"Angie's Diner, Awarded best family diner in the U.S. in 1976." He read aloud. He surprised himself with that little feat. "Well looks like I'm in America, and I can READ English along with speaking it!" He exclaimed with a whistle.
He then noticed another sign that read 'Proud Sponsors of the Pittsburgh Panthers!'.
"Pittsburgh, huh? Yep definitely never heard of this place before." He droned. It was at this time Shinji heard another gunshot, closer to him the first.
With the knowledge of where he was, Shinji promptly exited the diner and walked on towards what he thought could be help.
To be continued…
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Well that wraps up the first chapter of my first story, Endure and Survive! I've wanted to see a crossover like this for such a long time, but unfortunately as of my writing this there is only one other Eva x The Last of Us crossover on the site. So with that in mind I decided to take up the mantle and write it myself. So let me know what you think, and if you catch any spelling or grammar errors let me know and I'll gladly fix them.
*Update!* Good golly, miss Molly was this chapter was a mess. But that's what I get for trying to rush this story. As you all can see Endure and Survive isn't dead, and I will be updating old chapters along with posting new ones soon! I apologize for the long delay, but since this is my first story I went overboard without planning an overall story. But now I have one and will continue to write.
Sayonara, Peace!