Disclaimer: Anno owns everything, I don't
Note, this is one of my darker works, so don't expect sunshine, butterflies, rainbows and ponies.
Also In homage to my favorite fan-fiction author JClong (read his stuff it's great) i'm doing my scene changes and flashbacks as Ichi, Ni, San! or 1,2,3 in Japanese
The bleak, cloudy day fit the mood of the procession. A long line, cloaked in black suits and dresses assembled around the casket. Mourners and loved ones surrounded the fallen hero, in the empty casket.
It had been less than a week since Seele had attempted to attack and destroy Nerv, and the fallout had yet to clear up. In Gendo's failed attempt to initiate the Third Impact, the world had learned of both organizations. Gendo's surprising survival of the attack had lead quickly to a call for his imprisonment to face war crimes, followed by the largest manhunt mankind had ever participated in, yet Gendo still evaded arrest.
The attack had failed, but at a heavy cost. The confirmed death of one of the pilots, with the presumed death of another struck Nerv's employees hard. Misato had yet to recover.
Crying over the empty casket, with Shinji's picture, she still couldn't forgive herself for her part in his death. Her mind almost constantly went back to those crucial moments.
Ichi, Ni, San
Rushing over the bridge, towards the Evangelion hangers, Misato could hear the din of battle over her head.
"Just hold on for a few more minutes Asuka." She prayed, dragging her unwieldy charge behind her. Heading for the door, she was so focussed on getting her charge to the Evangelion she had forgotten a crucial fact. They were being hunted.
"There they are!" A shout rang out, as some of Seele's Mercs opened fire.
"Watch out!" Shinji shouted, fear for his adoptive mother coursing through him. Shoving Misato into the hallway, he felt two bullets tear through his shoulder, shoving him with Misato.
"SHINJI!" Misato screamed, pulling her charge with her to the elevator.
"I'm fine, let's continue" he grunted, the adrenaline overruling his usually submissive and passive personality.
Clicking on the Elevator, and watching her charge hide his wound, Misato reliazed it was futile to try and treat the wound, he would be going into another liquid soon enough.
"Just survive you fool." she whispered, praying that no one else would have to die.
Ichi, Ni, San
The procession stopped. Entering the funeral hall for the viewing, the survivors all went up to pay their respects. Most ignoring, or even offering a pat on the shoulder for Misato, they continued on.
Maya came up to the casket. Crying she reminisced about the kind boy, who was always thinking of others. Maya still was in grief over Ritsuko's death, and was nearing the abyss. Her sempai and her small friend had both died, leaving her alone. Weeping she moved on.
Hyuga was next. Bowing his head in prayer, he silently spoke "Shinji, you were used in this life. Your father used you, Your country used you, even WE used you. Yet, I have nothing but respect for you. You preserved in the face of adversity, you killed gods angels, and you never compromised your moral code doing it. I hope that you receive in your next life the love and compassion you failed to receive in this one. Rest in Peace." ending his prayer, he moved over to stand by Misato, to ensure that she made it home this night.
Next up was Shigeru Aoba. Moving by Misato, he glanced down with Pity. He had known that she loved Kaji. Moving up to the coffin he stared down at it. His thoughts were his own, and he reveled in it. "I'm sorry Shinji, I know you looked up to Kaji, as a role model and a mentor. But Seele ordered the hit and I was forced to oblige. God, I'm a hypocrite." Aoba cringed and glanced about. "I killed for Seele, and then killed Seele when they infiltrated, I don't deserve to be here, and yet here I am." with that, the spy left, his secret on Kaji's last moments remained his own till the day he died.
A glint of red hair flashed in the procession, as Asuka walked up.
"Baka Shinji" she muttered, her hair done up, but her face showed signs of neglect and depression. "why did you have to take that spear, it was meant for me." Her tears came falling down, like diamonds. Collapsing, she yelled herself hoarse as some of the Nerv techs attempted to console her.
A gray haired man stood behind her, holding an elderly, loving hand on her shoulder. " Shinji, I'm sorry, Yui, I failed you." was his simple thoughts, as he ferried the greiving pilot away.
Slipping in almost unnoticed, a broken man stood in front of the casket. Placing a small DVD on the Casket, he knelt, offering to the dead.
Gasps erupted from the crowd, as the last person they expected to show appeared. Angry voices were silenced as they saw the man they once knew, the tall, unyielding, unfeeling man of steel, who wouldn't hesitate to send his son to face certain death, decay into this broken man.
His once black beard had turned Gray, his eyes, always obstructed by his glaces, showed black rings of sleepless nights, his once straight back had bent. Oh how the mighty had fallen.
But the most distinctive thing to the crowd, was not his worn features or broken pride, it was the tears running down his face. The monster they had relied on to kill the monsters that were angels had broken.
"It wasn't meant to be like this Yui" he whispered, " We were meant to be reunited, Shinji would find happiness with us, he wasn't meant to die!" his volume slowly increased, unaware of the effect it was having on the audience. "I left him when he was a child so that he might be able to initaite the Third Impact, I let him fight the angels so that one day we could all be reunited, and yet for all the suffering I put him through, he died before he could know true joy." Gendo was weeping now, mourning his son and wife.
Rising, Gendo walked over to Fuyutsuki, pointing towards the DVD on Shinji's casket.
"That contains the last moments of Shinji and Rei." he stated, before leaving the procession.
Ichi, Ni, San
The DVD slid into the disk tray as the mourners prepared to watch their saviors last moments.
The screen flickered before showing Eva-01 charging at the MP Eva's. The battle had already started, Shinji and Asuka dancing around eachother, slicing their enemies with the grace of a ballerina. The first few minutes of this were a blur of Shinji switching off the umbical cable with Asuka to preserve power. They had quickly reliazed that the plugs were the Eva's weak points. After the first five fell, the MP Eva's had switched tatics facing them in quick strikes.
Shinji's Eva twitched as one of the MP's slashed downward, trying to slash the Eva in two. Turning, he shouted "NOW ASUKA!" a progressive knife spun in the air, intercepting Shinji's last location and slamming into the MP's Eva's Chest. Quickly tearing through, the Dummy plug broke, leaving three MP Eva's left. Hoisting their swords, they flung it at the distracted pilot.
"HA!" Asuka shouted, her AT field stopping the blade. Morphing its metal flowed like liquid into a lance.
"Longinus," Asuka gasped, as a twenty story purple Eva slammed into her, knocking her free.
"SHINJI!" she shouted, the false lance pierced his hastily erected AT field,slamming into his plug ejected, twisting and spinning out of control as the lance tried to maintain a grip on its pierced prize.
The tearing of metal resounded as the lance finally let the plug go, leaving it to hurtle at the wreckage of Nerv.
Asuka growled, pulling the lance out of Eva-01, she charged.
Ichi, Ni, San
The camera switched to the Eva Hangers. A small blue girl watched as a plug smashed through the cage and landed, skidding across the floor.
"Shinji." the small blue girl gasped, watching it.
Moving to the plug, she pulled open the door, letting it expel steaming hot LCL onto the floor.
"Rei" a murmur resounded from the small audience cried out at Shinji's appearance. His school uniform stained red with blood, the two bullet wounds in his shoulder had obviously been inflamed. At the bottom of the plug, was a red mess where Shinji's legs had previously been.
Misato looked on bravely, trying to hold back the deluge of tears in her eyes.
Rei simply looked down at him, and let out a small choked cry. Tears running down her delicate features.
"Rei, I'm sorry…" Shinji started, tears filling his eyes. His sentence was interrupted by Rei, planting a kiss on his lips.
"There's nothing to be sorry for." Her response was the longest most of Nerv had ever heard. Crawling into the plug with him, she cradled him in her arms, as they shared a moment. Looking up, Shinji watched as the ceiling gave way, beginning to let loose debris. He turned back to Rei, and smiled.
"I love yo…" his words were interrupted by the concrete blocks smashing the Entry plug, followed by a burst of static as the camera was destroyed.
The employees of Nerv watched silently, grieving their loss. Misato broke down again, tears rolling down her face as she tried to gasp for breath. Hyuga stood over her, rubbing her back and trying to comfort her, as the rest of Nerv simply finished the viewing, and prepared to move on.
Epilogue.
Misato never recovered, feeling responsible for the death of Kaji, her Father, and finally Shinji, she was instituted into a mental hospital after her failed suicide attempt.
Hyuga visited Misato every week, and was employed as a tech, charged with discovering how exactly the Magi worked, as the Magi were now mysteries thanks to the death of Ritsuko.
Maya worked with Hyuga, attempting to maintain her Sempai's work even after her untimely death.
Aoba was never seen again. A spy always had more work to do, and as one with extensive technical knowledge, he was always in demand.
Fuyutsuki took Asuka in for a short time, before age finally caught up with him. He died peacefully, and was remembered not as the vice-commander of Nerv, but as a professor who dedicated his life to teaching the young uns.
Asuka eventually recovered from the guilt of letting Shinji take the hit. She worked on the Evangelions, but refused to pilot ever again. When someone attempted to install new pilots in the Eva's, Asuka detonated the plugs, leaving the Evangelions pilotless until their secrets had finally been pried from their cold, unfeeling brains.
Gendo was found a week later, dead, kneeling over Yui's grave. He, unlike Fuyutsuki, was remembered as a monster that mankind had created, and served as a warning against the accumulation of too much power in a single, flawed man.
Fin
So, that was my fic. I got the idea thinking that Gendo did love Shinji, he just felt that Shinji would be rewarded for his suffering. From there my sick mind twisted over how much I could screw over shinji and the cast. The original epilogue had both Maya and Misato succeeding in committing Suicide, but I prefer this ending. I'll type up the Skyrim Fic I've been talking about soon, I've finished it, i'm just lazy. Also I'll get working on that big project I've been working on soon enough.
Please Review as Honestly as you can, If I suck tell me how.