Part I - Fallen

2015 C.E.

Shinji woke up lying face down on the ground. The ground was hard, cold. Opening his eyes, he could tell wherever he was, that it was dark.

He coughed and opened his eyes. How long had he been here? Misato and Ritsuko would probably be looking for him by now.

The last thing he remembered was walking up the side of a mountain…he couldn't even remember the name, to be honest. He'd just been listening to music when he'd felt rushing blackness, like he had stepped over the side of a ledge…

He stood up slowly, gazing around him. Above him, the mountain towered, seemingly to infinity. Steep slopes surrounding him made any climb back up seem impossible. He looked at the rocky ground. Not far from where he fell, his digital cassette player was lying on the ground in pieces.

Great, now I've broken it, he thought sadly. Looking around, it seemed like he would be stuck here for at least a little while. He'd have no source of entertainment.

Looking to the side, he saw a dark passageway. He thought he saw some sort of light coming from it.

I can see what is in there, he thought to himself. At least it might be some sort of shelter. Maybe he could ask for help…

He slowly walked inside. The passage was barely lit and silent, almost eerily so. This doesn't seem like a very inviting place…

Just when he was about to go back, however, he saw an odd looking flower in the middle of a large room. There wasn't anything really abnormal about the flower…except that it was smiling at him.

An Angel? Shinji thought desperately. He turned to run away or try and hide, panic washing over him. But then the flower did something else he didn't expect.

It spoke.

"There's no need to be afraid, child! It's just little ol' me!" the flower said in a cheery, calming sort of voice. Shinji almost couldn't resist stopping and walking back, if for nothing but curiosity.

"W-who are you?" Shinji asked, a little uncertain. He didn't exactly trust out of the ordinary things.

"I'm Flowey. The Flower! You must be so lost, being here all alone! Here, I can help show you around this place." Flowey replied, still cheery as usual.

Shinji looked around again. "W-where exactly am I?"

"This is the Underground. Specifically, the Ruins. It's the home of a race known as the Monsters."

"M-monsters?" Shinji said, a little concerned.

"Why yes! Monsters," Flowey said. "Surely you know about them, being human and all! No? Well, I can teach you something!"

"The humans and monsters used to be at war with one another, until they lost. Monsters have been trapped here by the humans ever since the war ended."

Shinji looked puzzled. He'd never heard of any such war…the only thing NERV spoke about were the Angels, and the Second Impact. When had humanity fought against the Monsters too?

"So…this is called the Underground, then?"

"Yep!" Flowey said, excited now. "It's a series of puzzles, really."

"So, there's no easy way to get back up?"

Flowey chuckled lightly.

"There's only one way back up, child! And that's through the maze."

Shinji sighed. He didn't like the sound of that. He had to get back as soon as possible.

"Anyway, while you're here, I might as well give you some instructions," Flowey explained. "Here in the Underground, our souls exist outside of our bodies. They represent our lives."

Shinji looked shocked as a red heart slowly floated beside him.

"T…This is my…soul?"

"Yep! And you can even make your soul stronger by collecting things known as 'friendliness pellets.' Do you want to try?"

Shinji seemed confused.

"I can try…I guess…" he said. He readied himself. Did he have to look for them?

"Yay!" Flowey said, smiling again. "Catch as many as you can!"

White pellets suddenly appeared around Flowey and began to zoom towards him. He was frightened, but didn't move. One of the pellets scraped his shoulder.

"Ow!" Shinji cried as he was wounded. He suddenly felt dizzy and weak. It was like he was piloting the Eva again, only it was his injury he was feeling now…

He heard cold, ringing laughter. Looking up weakly, he saw Flowey again. His face had changed now. It looked cruel and evil.

"You idiot!" Flowey said, cold and amused. "In this world, it's kill or be killed! You're so weak and naive, I can't pass up the opportunity to kill you!"

Shinji tried to straighten himself. He felt a little better, now that some of the pain was subsiding.

"Die!" Flowey said, loudly.

A circle of pellets surrounded him now. They were all zooming towards him…there was no way he could escape.

This is how I'm going to die, Shinji thought to himself, resigned. After all of those Angels…This is how I'm going to die…

A flash of fire suddenly disturbed the darkness. Shinji looked up to see what had caused it. The pellets had all disappeared. Flowey was being brushed aside by the jet of fire. He glanced at his arm…it wasn't hurting or bleeding anymore. What happened?

"What a terrible creature, torturing such a poor, innocent child," a soft voice said in front of him. A tall figure approached him. She looked almost like a goat, and was wearing plush blue and white robes.

"Do not be afraid, child. My name is Toriel. I'm the Caretaker of the Ruins," Toriel said, smiling warmly as she bent down to help Shinji up. "You're safe now."

Shinji found himself speechless. "I-I'm Shinji. Ikari Shinji."

"Follow me," Toriel said, sympathetically. "I'll take you through the Ruins."