"We're Sorry. All Lines Are Currently Out Of Order..."
Shinji Ikari hung up the phone and looked around the deserted city called Tokyo-3.
Shinji Ikari, 14, grumbled as he waited for someone to pick him up. He'd tried the phone but for some reason the phone lines were dead. Whatever was going on had to have something to do with why he was called here in Tokyo-3.
Shinji was dressed in a purple short sleeved shirt over a black t-shirt with a purple scratch mark on it and the letters SCRTC under the mark. He also wore black slacks and comfortable white tennis shoes.
"I'd rather be training with sensei," Shinji said as he recalled his teacher fondly. "Why should I bother coming to see the old man when he left me?" He then remembered what'd happened ten years ago…
A 4-year old Shinji cried and cried. His mother was gone and his father just left him behind. What had he done to deserve such treatment? He'd been a good boy, right? If he was a good boy then did why did his mommy disappear inside of the big purple monster? Why did his daddy leave him here and drive away?
"Hey, kid, what's wrong?" he heard and he turned around to see a man in a purple jacket. He had spiked up black hair and a kind face.
"M-my father," Shinji hiccupped, "H-he l-l-left me b-b-behind!" Shinji sobbed. The man frowned.
'What kind of father leaves his kid behind like this? Damn bastard,' he thought. "So, what are you doing here?"
"Someone's gonna come and pick me up, but he hasn't come. I've been waiting for hours," Shinji told him. He knew his mother had told him before not to talk to strangers, but he was feeling lonely right now.
"I'm Gou," the man introduced himself, tapping his forehead with his right fist. "What's yours?"
"Shinji."
"Want to come with me?"
'Saying yes was probably the best decision I ever made,' thought Shinji fondly. He then stiffened.
Shinji immediately looked up and saw a girl in what appeared to be a school uniform standing several feet away. Her skin was deathly pale and her eyes were red. Oddly enough, her hair was bright blue. Shinji wasn't sure what to make of her, but before he could ask her anything, some birds flying away captured his attention. Turning back, he saw that the strange girl was gone. Before he could contemplate, he started feeling uneasy.
'I sense something,' he thought as he looked up and noticed a squadron of military planes headed for a much larger object that was walking. 'Ugly, but powerful. Bigger than the GekiBeasts too…lest they combined.'
The jets bombarded the large greenish monster while Shinji just looked on. To his shock, the beast managed to shoot down one of the planes with some kind of energy lance in its arm. The plane itself exploded in a cross-shape formation. It hit the ground not to far away from Shinji, but he only backed away slightly to avoid shrapnel. Just as he considered summoning some GekiBeasts, a speeding car slammed its breaks and came to a stop next to Shinji.
Inside the car was a woman who was wearing a red uniform. Shinji guessed that it was military and most likely from the people who his father ordered around. She had long purple hair and despite the seriousness of the situation, she still had a kind of carefeeness in her eyes.
"Are you Shinji Ikari?" the attractive looking woman inside asked.
"Are you Misato Katsuragi?" he replied.
"Yes," she replied.
"Why aren't you wearing your tank top?" he asked, confirming her question, as she had sent him a picture of her in shorts and a low-cut tank top, as the boy got inside the car. Misato just smirked slightly, proud that her photo had managed to catch the young man's attention.
Once Shinji was secured, she hit the accelerator and sped off in a hurry towards NERV, all the while Shinji kept his eyes focused forwards.
Suddenly, Shinji's Ki senses picked up a strong wave of urgency.
"Misato, get down!" he shouted, realizing that the planes attacking the creature were flying off.
"What?" she asked, then she saw it. "N2 MINE!"
She grabbed Shinji and covered his body with her own. However, the angle that Misato had pulled him into had the boy's face buried in her crotch, which he barely noticed as a massive explosion sent the blue car spinning over and over.
When it finally came to a stop on its side Shinji found Misato sprawled out on top of him.
"You can get off me now," said Shinji.
"Huh? OH!" the older woman shrieked as she climbed off of Shinji and out of the car. "I'm sorry about that!"
"You reek of beer," Shinji said as he got out of the car after her.
"I do?" she grimaced.
"Yeah, but it's not as bad as some of the stuff I've smelt before," he said with a smile.
"Oh, okay," she said, her mood returning to normal. Still, she felt a little apprehensive about smelling of booze. She didn't drink that much, did she? And her uniform was still fresh…sort of. She had picked it up off the ground
After getting the car back on its wheels, the pair was once again on their way. Of course, they were only able to do that after Misato plundered an auto-parts store for a new battery. She only needed one, but had filled her backseat with more. Her flimsy excuse was that she may need them 'in case of emergency'.
"So, I imagine it's going to be quite a surprise to see your father," Misato said.
"Not unless he's had a sex change and started smiling," Shinji commented. Those were the last two things in the world he expected his father to do. Well, that and actually be a father in the first place.
That actually got a laugh from Misato. She had dealt with Shinji's father many times in the past. She also knew that Shinji had named the least likely things to happen with the stoic man. Just hearing someone talking about him that way was enough to make her laugh.
"So, we're going to see my old man, huh?" he asked.
"Well, yeah. You do know what your father does, don't you?"
"Nothing humanitarian, I bet."
"Nothing humanitarian? NERV's purpose is to defeat the Angels, and your father is the head of that organization."
"How?" Shinji cocked an eyebrow. If Gendo Ikari couldn't be bothered to give a damn about his own son, then how the hell did he become the head of an organization that defended humanity?
"Well we have these things called...never mind, you'll see."
The rest of the ride was continued in silence, which Shinji used to think over exactly what it was that his masters had taught him and how he had gotten to be this way.
They were an odd bunch and had become Shinji's surrogate family. They were supportive and nurturing. They taught Shinji many, many things, but the most important thing was to fight for the sake of justice.
Shinji started to wonder just how much fun he could have in his father's organization and with the people inside it. If his father was expecting an obedient tool, he had another thing coming.
He turned and looked out the window.
"Whoa, an actual Geofront," he said, honestly impressed with the size of the underground base.
"Yup," Misato said proudly. "It's our last hope of standing against the Angels."
The tram-ride had been pleasant enough, but the escalator ride was funny to Shinji because Misato was lost. It wasn't that he was sure they passed through this section before. It wasn't even that Misato seemed to be regarding a map several times and checking her surroundings. It was the fact that she was holding it upside-down and still following it was a big tip-off.
"We're lost, aren't we?" he smirked.
"Well, that's what these mobile walkways are for," she said while behind him.
"Nice breeze in this place. Glad I'm not wearing a skirt," he said, ducking to avoid her swinging fist.
"How did you..." she asked in confusion.
"I made a joke at your expense, why wouldn't you try to smack me?" he asked, looking back at the stunned woman as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Obviously he had dealt with women who reacted that way before. Well…more like witnessed what those kinds of women did to others.
"Uh... right."
The elevator opened up to reveal an attractive blonde woman in a white labcoat and swimsuit. Shinji gawked. She was definitely a scientist, despite her apparent supermodel good looks.
'WHOA! She's THAT smart and a looker?' he thought as he paused. 'HOLY SHIT!! ELEHUNG AND SHARKIE WOULD LOVE TO MEET HER!'
Shinji wasn't kidding either. It was no secret and Elehung and Sharkie had a thing for cute women. Well, Elehung was more vocal about it than Sharkie usually was. Just telling them what Ritsuko looked like would bring them running. He was half-tempted to do that just to see how the scientist would react.
"Is this the Third Child?" Ritsuko asked.
"I'll be your first if you want?" he smiled, batting his eyes like a girl.
Growing up, Shinji was surrounded by several beautiful women. With them being such good friends and giving him tips about girls, Shinji was confident in his skills with women. Well, he knew not to follow Elehung's advice anyway. He still wanted to know how Jan captured the interest of a celebrity, but the older man seemed clueless that she even saw him that way.
Misato laughed while Ritsuko just held a stunned look on her face. This kid was far from what she was expecting of Gendo Ikari's son. Obviously things hadn't gone out as planned in Gendo's scenario concerning his son.
"He's a little on the comic side," Misato chuckled.
"Definitely didn't get that from his father," the blonde said, offhandedly.
"Speaking of which, how is the walking deadbeat?" Shinji asked.
"You mean the commander." Ritsuko corrected.
"If that's what you want to call him. Personally I'd call him the winner of the 'World's Worst Dad Award'," Shinji elaborated.
Ritsuko managed to keep a straight face, but even she looked ready to crack a smile
"So, I suppose we're going to be given the grand tour of NERV?" Shinji asked.
"This way," Ritsuko said.
Shinji and Misato were lead to the Eva cages where Shinji was introduced to the giant purple-colored, horn-headed mecha surrounded by red liquid. His first response was natural.
"It's ugly," he stated. Even SaiDain looked better in its Beast Mode.
"Hey!" Ritsuko shouted' "I'll have you know that this highly advanced synthetic weapon, built here in secret, is mankind's last line of defense against the Angels."
"And you want me to pilot it," Shinji said.
"Yes."
"Hello, Shinji. It's been awhile," a voice from above said.
Everyone looked up to see Gendo Ikari standing in a large observation booth. His eyes narrowed in a glare. How dare this man call for him when he hadn't gotten a word from him in 10 years? Well, Sha-Fu had told him to do what was best for the people…even working with the enemy.
The room suddenly started shaking.
"The Angel is advancing," another female voice said over the intercom.
"We're moving out," Gendo said.
"Shinji, we need you..." Ritsuko started to say.
"No," the boy interrupted.
"What?" she asked as everyone froze.
"I'm not piloting for you, old man," Shinji said to Gendo. "I don't owe you a damn thing, so you can get in this thing and pilot it yourself."
Gendo just looked at the boy as he continued.
"Unless you can't. Unless the weapon you built requires someone special to pilot it," Shinji mocked.
"You are not special," Gendo said.
"Then why was I called back and no one else?" he grinned.
"Then you agree to pilot."
"Give me a better reason to do it than for you."
"Fuyutsuki, wake up Rei," he said.
"But she's injured," Fuyutsuki protested.
"But she's not dead yet," Gendo replied.
Shinji frowned as he saw a pair of nurses and a doctor wheel an injured young girl out into the cages on a gurney.
"You bastard!" Shinji shouted. First his 'father' calls for him after ten long years, and now he was putting a girl who looked barely alive to pilot a monstrosity to combat a monstrosity. No way! His inner beast was raging right now but Shinji needed to rein it in.
Suddenly, the whole base shook again. Steel beams fell from the ceiling as Shinji raced over to the girl as she got jarred off the gurney. He caught her as she fell to the ground, the steel beams heading for them. Suddenly, a giant purple hand exploded from the red liquid, knocking the steel beams away from them, hitting the glass Gendo was on the other side of.
"Unit 01 activated!" a female voice over the intercom.
"How? That's impossible! The power socket wasn't inserted!" Ritsuko shouted.
"Then how..." Misato asked as she noticed Shinji holding Rei. "It's him."
Gendo was just grinning.
While everyone was staring, Shinji was using his Ki to ease her pain. Those tips for healing were sure earning their worth now.
"It's alright. I won't let anyone hurt you again," he said as his Ki did its work. He turned back to Gendo. "I'll do it."
Gendo smiled.
"However," Shinji continued. "You had better give me a damn good reason why I should stay to save your sorry butt. After what I saw, I should feed you to that thing and see if it will go away."
Shinji then started walking to the giant mecha. Misato followed to help him get in, but there was something about him now that was making her feeling hesitant in getting close. Almost as if there was a ferocious animal held back by a single fragile leash.
You wanted to be a fair distance away when that leash finally broke.
'Honestly, this stuff is nasty. It smells like blood,' Shinji thought as he sat in the pilot seat as the entry plug filled with LCL. 'Gonna need to get my clothes dry-cleaned. And these were a gift too'
"Don't worry, Shinji," said Misato. "You can breathe in the LCL."
"What's his synch ratio?" Ritsuko asked inside the control room.
"It's…it's at 95.7!" Maya Ibuki gasped.
"WHAT? THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE! It's just... IMPOSSIBLE!" Ritsuko gasped.
From the elevated platform, Gendo and Fuyutsuki just stared.
"Maybe the boy is special," the older man said.
"We'll see," Gendo grimaced, still not liking the attitude that the boy was sporting. The boy should have been meek, weak-willed, and desperate for any kind of positive attention. However, now he was confrontational, confident, and didn't have any respect for him. Something had gone wrong and now the scenario would be given a large amount of sand in the gears.
Misato was smirking. "EVA PREPARE TO LAUNCH!" Misato shouted from the control room.
The giant Evangelion rocketed to the surface, coming to a grating halt as it hit the streets.
"Just focus on walking, Shinji," Misato transmitted.
'I'll think I'll do more than just walk,' thought Shinji as he made the Eva move. All he had to do was think and it would respond. Basic mind over matter. 'Now to deal with one ugly monster before dealing with another one down there.'
Shinji let his senses spread all over the body of the Eva. From what he was receiving, the Evangelion was much more than a machine. MUCH more. It was made with flesh and blood and the energy which all living beings generated.
'That means I can use my Gekiwaza,' Shinji smirked to himself. Testing the movements, he tried to get the reaction timing down. It wasn't perfect, but it was close. 'That cable might make things hard too. Oh well, I like a challenge anyway.'
The Angel struck fast and aimed a fist at Unit-01, but the purple Evangelion managed to sidestep the strike and then plant an uppercut that sent the Angel reeling. The Angel got up and fired a beam. Instantly, an AT field formed and deflected the shot. Shinji had started pumping his Geki to better defend his body, but the field had come up and deflected the shot instead. He wasn't complaining about it, but he recalled the monster using a similar field when it deflected missiles from the military.
'OK, so if it's using long ranged attacks, I should do the same,' thought Shinji before calling out, "Gekiwaza!"
Now this was when the people in NERV were freaking out. Ritsuko's eyes went wide as did Maya's. Even Misato was stunned. Gendo's eyes widened a fraction of an inch while even Fuyutsuki gasped.
"What the HELL!?" she shouted in shock at what she was seeing. A purple aura was forming around Unit-01. It was nothing that any of the people in NERV had seen before. Never had one of the Evas revealed this kind of ability.
"Is it an AT-Field?" Ritsuko questioned.
"Sempai, it's not registering!" Maya told her.
"RO RO DAN!" Shinji called as the Ki formed into a large purple wolf emerged from the purple aura. The gigantic beast howled before charging at the Angel. The wolf crashed against the AT field, shattering it like glass. Seeing his opportunity, Shinji charged up another shot. "RO RO DAN!" A second wolf flew through the air and smashed against the Angel itself. The beast itself was hurtled backwards as the red core in the centre of its body cracked.
"Damn this thing's tough," Shinji frowned. "Well, might as well go all the way then."
The purple aura began to concentrate into Eva-01's fist, making it glow brightly, which matched its armor rather well. Seeing the Angel struggling to get back up, Shinji urged the Eva forward, having it dash towards the downed monster. It didn't even have time to bring back its AT field before Eva-01 was face to face with it. "GON GON KEN!" The mechanical beast then unleashed a terrible uppercut into the body of the monster. The fist obliterated the core and launched the monster into the air.
Sacchiel died in a blaze of glory above Tokyo-3.
Shinji yawned before he snickered, "That was easy…"
"The target has gone silent," Maya reported, but there really wasn't any need to.
"O…kay," Misato nodded. "Right, let's get some recovery teams out there. We need to get the pilot back in here and to clean up the mess the JSSDF made for us.
"What was it that we saw?" Makoto asked Shigeru in confusion.
"Not sure, but it totally rocked," the second male bridge bunny laughed. "As long as the Angels gone I'm definitely not complaining."
Meanwhile, Gendo was seeing it but didn't believe it. The scenario had changed far beyond his expectations and he definitely didn't like where it was heading. Unit-01 was supposed to awaken its berserker mode and bring the scenario one step closer to fruition. Instead, the boy had somehow accessed something never seen before and defeated the Angel with minimal effort. Sand wasn't thrown in the gears, someone had thrown a whole set of wrenches into it.
"The council will want to know about this, Ikari," Fuyutsuki commented to his former student.
"Of course," Gendo frowned. The Council of SEELE were going to be in an uproar about this. This was neither in his or their scenario.
