Summary: Sometimes the course of events is inevitable. But sometimes, just being there can change history. Contiunation from episode 24. Will contain action, drama, and good ol'fashioned psychological trauma. Also contains 6th child.
Disclamier: I do not own evangelion, or any of the characters, places or names in the series. If the creators of the series wish it, I shall remove this story from circulation.
Fate is like a set of traintracks. Once on them, there's not much you can do, but stay on.
Luck is like a tree branch on those traintracks. Run into some luck, and prepare to be flung into the unknown.
- Anon
Chapter 1 : Branch
She lay on the hospital bed. Eyes as lifeless as ever. Still staring blindly at the ceiling, as though it held the answer to a question that longed to be answered. Various bags of chemicals were plugged into her, an effort to keep the red headed girl alive for a little while longer. Some were just good old fashioned glucose and water, for she could no longer be fed by conventional means. Sometimes the curse of eva has a light effect. But at times like this, it has a deep and altogether too harsh impact.
There was little sound in the blue bathed room. The moonlight offered the only illumination in this particular cell cut off from the world. A beep of the heart monitor was the most prominent noise, punctuating the general murmur of the tinny sound of music played through headphones. The murmur was that of a cello concerto, played simply because the boy liked the sound of it, not through any particular preference in style of music.
The boy who wore the headphones was in the standard apparel of the local high school. A simple combination of white shirt and black trousers, although they were heavily dishevelled from days of not bothering to change. So it went with his day to day life at the moment. There wasn't really anyone left to keep his appearance smart for.
The boy was sleeping in a chair, a few yards from the girl's bed, the cello concerto all but forgotten in his dreams. The feeling of doom and depression permeated the small box like a heavy fog.
The door cracked open, a shaft of light lancing into the room, piercing the cloud of oppression. The busy sounds of a hospital ward hard at work filtered in as the nurse stepped inside, a brief respite from the solitude. She shuffles across the room quietly, so as not to disturb the sleeping teenagers. The nurse had been working at this ward ever since the hospital was built, barely half a decade ago. Only recently had it been used for what it was intended for- the care of injured eva pilots.
She had seen a lot in her career here- this ward was often used to handle the spill over from other parts of the hospital during times of crisis. And those times had come faster and thicker in the last few months than they had a right to. But in all of her time at this ward, she had never seen a stranger sight than that of the brown haired boy keeping watch over his friend.
Usually she called her co-worker into the room to have a good chuckle at the sweet gesture. But lately she had been getting worried. It was starting to become a little disconcerting, the little boy hovering around the comatose girl at all hours of the day. She was certain this wasn't healthy. She hurriedly did her checks, making sure the little girl wouldn't slip from this world through medical failure.
The nurse hated doing this part of her rounds. This room always filled her with despair, and the boy's expression as he slept threatened to make her burst into tears every time she saw it.
She hurried out of the room, the sounds of life again filling the room for the briefest of seconds, before the door clicked closed. Other than the air being a good deal less chilly than before, nothing much had changed.
Nothing did change much for those afflicted with the curse of evangelion. The boy whimpered as the tape in his player stopped. On reflex, his hand brushed against the play button, starting the player on the other side of the tape. Anything, just to keep the nightmares at bay.
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Halfway around the world, a battle was about to commence.
A collection of little rainy islands in the middle of the North Sea were preparing one of their darker secrets for war. The dark secret stood at the hieight of a tower block, and was no longer very secret from the millions of prying eyes that dotted the coastline. At closer inspection it was found that the secret was human shaped, or at least humanoid. Later it would be revealed that the secret was an Evangelion, built without public knowedge or consent, and whose designer was a complete mystery.
The eva was covered in a dull camoflauge green. Shoulder blades jutted into the sky, occasionally acting as lightning rods for the thunderstorm over head. In any other location in the world such a storm would be cause for panic. For this rainy little island, such storms as this were a weekly occurence. Rain water cascaded down the eva in great white rivers. They dug into the soil at the eva's feet gouging great holes in the ground, the fluid then spilling across the plains.
The eva was looking out to sea. Waiting.
They had recieved word from their spies in other countries about what was coming. They had watched it's progress on tiny screens connected to vast and complex surveilance devices. Very serious men in very smart and well kept uniforms had looked at each other with very solemn expressions. A decision had been reached. It was time to reveal their wild card to the world. They had hoped to learn more about their card, and how it would actually work in their hand. But, and on this all the very serious men had agreed, their conventional forces would not be able to counter this threat.
'Fighting fire with fire' had been the order of the day.
Not far from the eva in the now submerged city of Dover, a forward base had been set up in the submarine dock. The United Kingdom, as the collection of islands was still called, was now in the hands of an inexperienced group of engineers, battle tacticians and one fundamentally weak link in the chain of command. The weak link sat inside the eva. Staring at the viewer in front of him. Waiting.
Far away in the sea, against the downpour the weak link could see great white fountains of water erupt on the surface. That would be the UKs considerable submarine fleet engaging the target. It was a futile effort, meant only to discourage the invader. The submarines weapons had little hope of piercing the intruder.
As the explosions died down and the sun finally dipped below the horizon, a monstrous form began to make itself visible just under the waters surface. All involved in the defensive operation had three questions on their mind.
Why did it swim?
Why here?
Why now?
Alone amongst the torrent of rising emotions, there was a single note of absolute terror:
Can I do this?
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In Japan the day dawned, much as it had for the past few millennia. Shinji was slowly dragged from his hellish sleep, much as he had been for the past few days. And his neck was painfully stiff, much as it had been every time he woke up in this particular room. He enjoyed these few seconds between sleep and wakefulness. In these brief moments, dreams were forgotten and harsh reality had yet to settle in. It was as close to nirvana as the boy could get these days.
His eyes opened, but he barely acknowledged his surroundings. He was usually in here now, barely stopping at Misato's apartment for more than a few minutes. The apartment used to feel like home. It used to be their refuge where they could let their guards down. But, with Asuka no longer providing her special spark, and with Penpen still with the Horakis, it seemed too empty. No longer a place for living. Even Misato preferred to work late then be there.
Almost casually he glanced at Asuka, still staring lifelessly at the ceiling. He had given up on hoping to see her eyes alive again. Hope, he had decided, was for other people. But despite his resolution to give up on her, he still longed to see her eyes light up whenever she proved she was better than someone. He was even beginning to want to see her angry again. Anything apart from this self-imposed death.
He checked the clock. It was still too early in the morning for him to do anything. Not that there was much for him to do. The city had been abandoned, the usually stubborn citizens of Tokyo-3 deciding that enough was enough. Nerv was still there, but all the shops and cafes that made the city worthwhile to live in had been shut down.
He couldn't even offer his services at Nerv. No angels left meant that demand for eva pilots was low. Much of he test work was being done with their primary test subject, better known as Rei Ayanami. As a consequence Shinji was pretty much left to his own devices. He had attempted to fill another job, but found that he could not bear to keep it, thoughts of how far he had fallen making him a liability. Nerv had designated a tutor for him to keep his studies up, but she only had time a few days in the week. And even then, he barely attended the classes. They were just for show anyway. As if there was a reason for him to study for the future.
He realised his SDAT player was sounding funny. He looked down as the music began to slow down. Notes deformed into nothingness, the original beat forgotten, the melody degenerating into a dull splurge. He sighed, and listened as the batteries finally died out. He stood up, and left. He very much doubted that any shops in the area would be open, much less sell batteries, but he clung to hope that they could be found somewhere.
Then again... hope was not for overly successful pilots who outlived their occupation.
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Back at the UK the monsterous form broke the surface. A sickening giant red smile scanned the coastline. The smile was stuck to a pure white head, devoid of any other features. The disgustingly full red lips finally settled on the green eva, which was now in a classic kneeling marksman pose.
The green eva recieved the order to fire once the invader set foot on relatively dry land. The night had well and truly come now, any light offered by the moon drowned out by the storm clouds blanketing the battlefield. The green eva held what looked like a pistol, but in reality was a hastily modified battleship cannon. The pilot of the eva only had six shots. After that he would be forced to rely upon his knife. The pilot did not relish that thought.
Lage white arms erupted from the ocean, grabbing the coastline. This section of the coast used to be known as the White Cliffs. But Second Impact had raised sea levels so drastically, and the resulting climate shift had caused a profound increase in erosion. All that was left of the white cliffs was a submerged ledge barely twenty metres high. The invader hoisted itself over the once proud rockface, revealing another humanoid shape.
The men at the forward command station had anticipated this. They had known well in advance what was coming. They had known that these new production model evas were being manufactured, and some of them had even toured various factories where the parts were made. They had never dreamed that one would attack them, but they had planned for it all the same. It was all up to the pilot and artillery sections now- they could do no more from their position.
The eva opened fire, as did a vast assortment of artlillery pieces, mobile rocket launchers and self proppelled mortars. The first barrage connected solidly with the white giant, forcing the production model backwards into the sea. The accuracy of the heavy ordanance was a testament to the strict training regime the small country's0 army held itself to. A cheer rose from the less informed soldiers, as the white eva fell backwards into the Channel.
They were soon shouted down by their commanders, and as the production model once again rose kraken like from the waves they saw why. Rounds were reloaded, missile racks recharged, and even the green eva, the centre piece of the defensive line went through the complicated process of cocking the roughly made pistol.
The second barrage was barely acknowledged by the white monster, all the explosions blossoming a few metres in front of it, caught by an orange octaganol field.
The command to fire at will was given, causing the entire defensive line to suddendly break out into sporadic ordanace fire.
The white eva began to step towards the green eva, scarcely aware of the firepower being thrown it's way.
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In Japan, Asuka found herself staring blankly at the ceiling. She was vaguely aware of things around her, but they were inky and far away. Like a blur only at a distance, sounds fuzzy and at low volume. In other words, it was like she was there but somewhere else.
The specifics of it were not important though. What mattered were the thoughts raging in her head. They raged up and down her already poorly treated mind. They raged across her memories. They raged across her dreams. Thoughts as numerous as a swarm rampaged across the pitiful creature that was Asuka Langley Sohryu.
Occasionally she would latch onto one and follow it's course as it dragged her through bad memories and crushing feelings. It was as if her inner view was magnified to make up for the blurring of her outside view. She was intimidated, overwhelmed and smothered all at once. Thoughts can be terrible things. These powerful creatures are tough to manage at the best of times, but for the poor girl now, even the slightest snippet of shame became a torrent of guilt.
There was a time, she recalled, when sitting in her eva made her feel invincible. There was nothing she couldn't do in it, nothing she couldn't face up to as long as she was in the pilot seat, the cool metal of the butterfly handles warming under her grip. There was a time when she felt in complete control of her own destiny, when she could really change things- really show people she could make a difference.
But now, that all felt like a dream. In her minds eye she was pinned in the entry plug, a prison from which she couldn't do anything. A place where the pain from the world could filter in and take hold of her. It felt empty. And cold. She thought it was her safe haven, where she could be protected in the arm's of her evangelion. It was cold to her now, wouldn't listen to her. She was helpless.
Just another damned doll in a pretty dress with no other purpose than to look nice. And when done with, thrown away like so much cheap firewood. Her eva had finished with her, and had thrown her away. It was the same rejection she had gone through her entire life. Only this time, the doll had broken.
She had once promised that she would live only for herself. But she had thrown that way when she agreed to pilot the eva. The evangelion became her life. She was the designated pilot of Unit 02, and no one else. It was hers and hers alone. Only she had misunderstood. Somewhere down the line she had become dependant on the eva. In doing so she became nothing more than a part of the eva, like the entry plug or shoulder blade. A part that could be easily replaced. She was the eva's possesion.
She once promised that she would always live by herself. Throughout her time in Germany she had stuck to that where possible. Going to college made it easier to stay away from her family. Not that she acknowledged the people with her name as family. Her family had died along with her mother, and not even the fact her father was still alive made her think any different. But, as soon as she moved to Japan, she had leapt at the chance to live with Misato and Shinji.
All of her promises, tossed aside like so much cheap sentiment.
And it was those promises which had kept her alive through the dark times of her childhood. Now that she had abandoned them, the strength that they carried had abandoned her as well.
For a while she had gotten by on the pride of being a good eva pilot. But as loss and defeat became a regular feature of her life her emotional barriers had weakened. And that angel wormed it's way in and caused devastation before it left.
She had realised just how desperately alone she was.
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The night-time english coastline was lit up by the the thunderous fire of artillery. Lightning strikes played about the two giants, as if divine will was trying to stop the coming battle. The green eva had used five of it's massive shots, and was now placing the last shell into place.
The white eva was now five hundred yards away, barely two paces to an eva. Stray shots ploughed up the earth around it, errant missiles igniting an inferno at it's feet. It ignored them. Any shots that struck home were brushed aside by the octaganol shield.
The pilot of the green eva was working fast. His hands flew across his console, desperately trying to manouver the giants finger's. He had not yet mastered delicate movements, and the titan fumbled the makeshift pistol in it's hands.
He was panicking. He knew he should try to keep a cool head. He knew his instructors would be telling him to calm down. He knew that his father would be advising him to relax and let the training kick in. He knew all this, but... his enemy was now only one pace away.
A massive clack and the battleship cannon was finally reloaded.
He had no time to congratulate himself, he had to aim. His eyes had never left the target, the great grinning face staring straight at him in return. It was so close now. He couldn't miss, not as this range. The green eva's arm rose shakily, the pilots own adrenaline fueled shudder transferring to the eva.
The white eva didn't stop him, even though it was now in arms reach. He pointed the pistol straight at the monsters head, and offered a silent prayer. He hoped beyond all hope that this shot would finish it.
He pulled the trigger, his eva simultaneously firing the pistol.
He could see it in slow motion. The round left the barrel, and the eva's strength was such that the pistol didn't even kick upwards. The round flew towards his foe, bourne on a cloud of flame.
The octaganol field appeared, deflecting the shot back into the countryside.
The pilot could only stare in disbelief as the pistol was swatted out of the defender's hand.
And even though his life depended on it, he could do nothing as the invaders hands wrapped themselves around the green eva's neck.
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Back in Japan, Rei Ayanami slept.
And had nightmares.
All around her was a dark orange. She tried to move, but her limbs were sluggish to respond. It was like trying to move through water. The liquid caught in the back of her thoat, and she gagged. She coughed it out again, and felt her lungs empty.
They began to burn, and she knew she needed to breathe. She struggled forward, willing her arms and legs to propel her through the orange. She felt her legs brush against things unseen in the water, but all of which felt disturbingly familiar.
Her hand slapped onto an invisible wall in the orange. It was smooth, and extended in all directions. She pushed herself closer to the wall. Just beyond it she could see a room beyond the orange. There were people. One of them looked at her. And she felt like screaming.
Something grabbed her, and she was pulled away from the orange. The room, the people and everything fell away at her feet.
She found herself standing on a beam of brilliant blue light. She looked down the beam. Far away in the distance she could see a shape. The shape of a man. But there was a hole in his chest. It was facing away from her.
The beam of light was slowly being sucked in towards the man, disappearing down the hole. It was pulling her closer.
She jumped off the beam of light, and the man turned towards her.
Watching her fall.
She awoke with the sun on her face. She looked at her clock and saw that it was morning. Hearing the steady beat of the hammers in the nearby factories, she knew it was no longer a dream. She let go of the breath she didn't know she had been holding, giving relief to her burning lungs.
For her the nightmare had ended.
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The white eva's hand started to dig it's way into the green eva's neck. There seemed to be nothing the pilot could do. The green eva pounded uselessly on the monster, desperately trying to break free. The ground troops around him had stopped firing, fearing they would hit their ally. The green eva was lifted into the air, completely helpless at the hands of the invader.
Lightning struck the pair, briefly outlining them in a nightmarish shillouette.
The white eva stopped squeezing as the green one went limp. It brought the eva's face closer to it's own horrifyingly large lips. The green eva's head was encased in a smooth grey helmet, covering all of it's features, but nevertheless the invader seemed to be looking for something.
It cast the green giant to the ground narrowly missing the troop formations around the eva, digging great furrows into the sodden earth. It looked to sky, and mighty wings erupted from it's back. The pure white pinions beat the air and it was soon flying, lost to sight as soon as it broke the cloud cover.
Inside the entry plug of the green eva, the pilot sat clutching his chest and gasping for air. As he coughed his raven black hair danced in the entry plug, his deep blue eyes wide with shock. His was only partially aware of the radio barking at him.
"Art! What happened!"
The pilot stared dumbly at the radio console.
"Art! Can you hear me? Damn it! Pilot Cooper Report!"
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Twelve obelisks arranged in a circle. Black obelisks on black background. Featureless on the outside, like some bizarre space odyssey parody of Stonehenge. This was a meeting of Selee, a group so enigmatic that even conspiracy theorists had yet to dream them up. Needless to say, the few members of the council whose job it was to keep the public unaware were very good at their job.
But this meeting wasn't over anything so trivial as keeping a few dull witted nations under thumb. This was about a severe breach in security. Not even the supposed delving of the Japanese Intelligence agent were on this scale. Somehow, an insignificant nation had managed to bypass all their security checks, and produce something on which Selee should have the monopoly.
Not only that, but something that should never happen had happened. One of their own evas had taken actions not ordered. The attack on the UK was not Selee sanctioned, and it was worrying that the colossus had gone on it's own initiative.
An emergency meeting had been called- something which had not occurred within living memory. There were calls for increased security. There were calls for the removal of all higher command structures and replacement with more secure chains. There were calls for evaluations of all strategies from this point forward.
But more often than not, the discussion turned back to a question which could prove to be the death knell for their plans.
"How much do they know?"
At the centre of the obelisks an image of the green eva firing at the once Selee operated eva was slowly rotating.
Selee Seven responded, "We cannot know. We need to completely change our plans."
"Do not be foolish. To go against the Scrolls at this point could be dangerous..." countered Selee Eleven.
"True. But action must be taken," placated Selee Eight.
"And action will be taken," reassured Selee Two. They had names, and once long ago they had used them to talk to each other. But now names were so often replaced and changed that original identities were forgotten.
"A change in policy is needed," offered Selee Five. Of the assembled members he was one of the oldest, and most respected.
"Agreed," affirmed Selee Three, the youngest.
"Why stop at policy? Our plans may have been breached. We need to change direction entirely if we are to survive," responded Selee Seven, anger creeping into the monoliths voice.
"Silence."
It was a command not even the highly arrogant members could ignore. Selee One continued.
"We shall observe for now."
"Do we know why the eva went AWOL," enquired Selee Ten.
"It seems that the pilot wanted to investigate something..." said Selee Four.
"Did you know he wanted to?"
"There were clues, but we never dreamed he would take independant action."
Selee 1 spoke again, "Find him. If Ikari and his organisation catches him it will only increase their power."
"What about the plans we had for them?" inquired Selee Ten. Of all the members he was the one with the most tactical experience. As such he was invaluable to the inner politics of the council. He had been planning the actions against Tokyo-3 ever since the city was constructed.
"Postponed for now."
There was a long silence as each member considered the gravity of the situation. Each member, even the relatively silent voices considered voicing their concerns over the direction of the action to be taken. Each member threatened to question whether inaction was action at all.
But as the obelisks faded, one by one, each member remembered why the voice behind Selee One lead the organisation. After all, he had created them, and had been leader. For so very long.
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Asuka slept.
She could tell when she was awake and when she was a sleep. When she was awake, the world was greyed out and fuzzy, like she was experiencing life through a thick gauze. When she was asleep, images became sharper, things were more focussed, and her thoughts became much more powerful.
Fear.
It was something that often skirted around her thoughts. She always dismissed her fear. She had decided that it was just not her. Being afraid, cowering from challenges, not getting things done... she hated the very thought of it.
Why then was she feeling it now?
Shinji appeared in front of her. That was not uncommon. These days she was often tormented by the people she knew.
"You are afraid," he said, in tones too harsh and commanding for Shinji.
"No..." she responded in a manner that was far too weak for her.
Misato swirled into view behind her.
"You are afraid," the harsh commanding tone was not as misplaced coming from her.
"No..." came Asuka's pathetic reply.
Her father, and the woman he had married after her mother's death snapped into existance to her right.
"You are afraid."
This time she could only wimper.
A shadow grew on the ground to her right. The shadow developed into one she recognised instantly. Afterall, she had been piloting it since she was a child.
"You are afraid," the voice boomed behind her. It did not trouble her that her eva spoke. In her dreams, even the dolls could speak.
"I'm not... not..." she struggled out her denial.
But, here and now, what sense was there in a flat out denial. There was no image for her to keep here, no persona she forced herself to live up to. There was only the truth and what she was brave enough to face up to.
"I... am..."
It was not terror. Terror made your heart pound, and made your blood boil. In a way it was similar to being very excited. But this feeling, although it was debilitating, wasn't paralytic terror. No, it was a dull worry. It grew and grew, until it became a tidal wave of...
"I'm..."
It was always there. At the back of her mind. Ever since her mother' death... no before that. Not much longer before that. Barely a day. When they told her she was to be the pilot for Unit 02. That was when it started. Because, although they had told her she was the only person who could do it, although they had told her how special she was, she knew that they could take it away from her. After all, they had taken her mother from her. It was always there... that threat... that...
"I...can't be..."
But that was okay. She could live with that shadow on her heart. It wasn't the only thing that defined her back then. She had school, and she excelled at her studies. The people around her were so proud that she went to a university well before her time. However, when she moved to Tokyo-3, when she moved in with Misato and Shinji, the eva became the only thing that defined her. It grew exponentially from that point on. Rivalry with the other pilots only exaserbated matters. The shadow crept further across her soul. That shadow of...
"I..."
And the people she had let into her life. She had done it to herself. She had let Shinji, Misato, Hikari, and the others become important to her. And as they became more important, the threat of rejection became ever more powerful. And, as though to punish herself for doing so, she had thrust them away, knowing that if she did they would abandon her. Because although she knew that would hurt terribly it was better than the... than...
"I... am afraid..."
A hand was placed on her shoulder. It was warm, comforting and strong. To Asuka's mind, even though it fit on her shoulder, it felt like it was huge, as though it contained more than it's physical boundaries would allow.
A voice rolled out behind her, "What are you afraid of?"
The voice was threatening, yet gentle. It was fierce, yet welcoming. It had an animalistic edge to hit that made it seem as though a lion had growled it out to her, but it was friendly. She thought about it's question.
At the root of it all, she was afraid to let herself go. She was afraid to be completely reliant on others. Because at some point they will decide they will no longer need her, and she will be forgotten. Her own mother had done that to her. Clearly if her own mother had abandoned her, what hope could she have for others?
"I'm afraid of..."
"I heard you, you don't have to repeat yourself."
There was silence for sometime after, as if the figure behind her was contemplating. It was beginning to dawn on Asuka that the figure behind her was hauntingly familiar. The hand on her shoulder, the feeling of warmth... they were all so... familiar.
Finally the voice spoke.
"You once said, you would live for me. You can again."
In this place, there was nothing but he truth, and what she was brave enough to face up to.
"You have to remember that no matter who rejects you, there will always be someone that needs you. Even if the whole world rejects you, there is one person who will always be there for you. And even if at times it seems lonely, you owe it to them to keep going."
Shinji, Misato, her father and his wife all winked out of existence.
"It's okay to let them in. It's okay for them to reject you. As long as you remember, you can always find new companions."
In her dreams, there was only her and her thoughts. Asuka turned around, and looked into the dazziling cocky smile of her mirror image.
"Have you remembered who you are?" she asked herself.
She nodded, smiling.
"I think you should be able to hear your eva calling now you've remembered who it's calling for."
"Is that all it took? Just finding myself again?"
"Not really... but it's a start. The rest you'll have to work out as you go along."
Asuka opened her eyes.
It took a while for her eyes to adjust to the light in the room, but gradually the images became sharper. An unfamiliar cieling. Faint smell of disinfectant. Must be a hospital.
She dragged herself to a sitting positoin, various wires and tubes protesting as she did so. A wire popped loose, and a quiet alarm started. She idly wonderd if it was something important. She looked down at her body, hiding ashamedly underneath the bed sheet. She frowned, wondering how long it would take to get her figure back.
The door burst open and a squad of doctors and nurses charged in. A lot of people were going to be upset with her for doing this to herself. But at least...
It was a start.
To be continued...
Author's notes: Thank you, and welcome to this 6th child fan fiction. This is in fact the 4th re-write of my very first fanfiction of the same name, the third being a bit of a flop. A lot of water has passed under the bridge since I started this, but I think it's perfect now. The threads of plot that had been lost in the original have been rewoven back into the story line, but presented in a much better way. Also, all of my old readers (all two of them) have probably moved on by now. If those two are still here... sorry I left it at book two. I lost my way and let the story get out of control.
Art Cooper is the 6th child in this fanfiction. He's a character I've spent years thinking about, and just as long developing him. I've tried to distill his core belief down to one sentence, and only recently have I been able to do that. I found it had become remarkably close to Shinji's mantra of not running away, but it has a subtle and profound difference. Keep reading and hopefully you'll catch it. For the record, it's okay if you prejudge him because he's an original character, so please flame away. I look forward to them :-) But hopefully there will be enough story line from the other three main characters so that even if you hate Art, you'll still have something to read.
Asuka's reason for waking up might seem selfish, but she always struck me as having a very important self image. All her troubles seemed to stem from that self image crumbling around her. It's not the whole of the problem, but like Asuka tells herself, 'It's a start.' And for a first chapter, that's all I can ask for.
I'm looking for a pre-reader. In case it's not too obvious, I'm terrible at spotting my own mistakes. E-mail me or say in a review if you want the job.
In many ways I'm a petty, petty man. And as a petty man I like reviews of any kind. Even flames. So please review and make this petty person's day