Disclaimer: I do not own Neon Genesis Evangelion. Gainax and ADV Films do. Nor do I own "Turn the Page" by Bob Seger or "Stairway to Heaven". This fiction is made without knowledge or consent of either body.
(Author's note) This is not a songfic. Though, I do recommend listening to "Turn the Page" while reading this chapter and "Stairway to Heaven" is always good. The song sets up the narrator very well. And without further ado…
"Intervention: Chapter 1, the Angel Named Bob"
He ran away. Not that I can blame him. The fallout from the destruction of Shamshel was rough on him. His two classmates saw him at his weakest. His guardian yelled at him, add to all of that the pain he endures every time he fights an angel, and well…he's begun to doubt his decision to pilot. I would ask how people could live with themselves, relying on the pain and suffering of children to survive. But I know better than that. People can be horrendously wretched creatures, willing to do anything to anyone just to survive. But then, people can, at certain times, be so overwhelmingly noble that it would bring tears to a demon's eyes: a mother enduring such pain to bring a life into this world, a cop taking a bullet for a person she doesn't even know, soldiers fighting for people they can't even see. He is one of those rare exceptions, Shinji Ikari.
Oh, I'm sorry. Where are my manners? I've yet to introduce myself. I've had many names over the ages, some of which I actually tolerated. In times long past, I've been known as a king, a painter, and a playwrite. For now, call me Robert Aeschylus Kreedo…or how about just Bob. I put way too much thought into these names. Everyone just shortens them despite my protests. Anyway, I forget how old I am, probably in the high thousands. It's been so long since I've celebrated a birthday that I just stopped counting. I have to say, I look good for my age. You'd swear I was in my late twenties if it weren't for my starch-white hair, which is getting rather shaggy. Personally, I like my hair. It complements my red eyes and pale skin. Most people just think that I'm albino. I usually wear sunglasses to distract people from the eyes. This week the glasses are tinted green. Combined with all of that, the black leather jacket, ratty jeans, and white T-shirt I'm wearing make a very nice image.
See, I'm an angel. And, no, I am not one of the sort my young friend has been fighting. I hate it when people compare me to those Nephilim, those giants who ate the Fruit of the Tree of Life. Oh well, you see, I was once one of the Lilim, in the days long since past. I was plain, ordinary…okay, maybe not so ordinary. I was a prophet. Then one day thousands of years ago, I awoke in a mighty apotheosis. The eternities fed me the Fruit of the Tree of Knowledge. My wings spread wide. And I knew the truth of Lilith, the Lilim, and what I am now. At that, I began to collect stories: stories of heroes, stories of villains, the best of humanity, and the worst of humanity.
I'm looking at him right now, at Shinji-kun, his eyes downcast. He's been like that for hours now, hunched over, staring at the floor, the ear-buds of his S-DAT player stuck in his ears. He looks so small right now, almost like he wants to curl up in a ball and be forgotten like the rest of humanity. I'm sitting on one of the benches in a train, traveling around Tokyo 3, gently strumming out Bob Seger's "Turn the Page" on my guitar. I find that playing good music always calms the nerves. Shinji-kun might agree with me, with how he's been drowning in the music from his S-DAT player.
The rain has stopped outside. Night is falling. I can see the city out the window behind Shinji's seat. The city lights have been on for almost a half-hour but we can only just now see them. We've reached the end of the #7 loop's run time. The train's going out of service.
"I've got to go back," Shinji says to no one in particular. I stop playing and look at him properly. He's looking up and out the window just past my head. I smile.
"And that makes you better than the rest of us, Shinji-kun," I say. He looks at me like he's just now noticed me. I get that a lot. It might be the way I look…or it might be the fact that a complete stranger just called him by his given name. Either way, he's looking at me now like I've got three heads, instead of the usual two for the male of the species.
"Um, I'm sorry, but," he says.
"You don't know me," I interrupt him, looking him in the eyes, "at least not yet. I work at NERV…or… I will soon enough."
"Oh," he sighs. He looks away from me.
"I guess I should introduce myself," I scratch my head with my free hand. "You can call me Bob."
He hesitates for a moment, looking unsure of himself. I can certainly understand. He's been through a lot in the last few weeks: getting a letter from the Father that abandoned him telling him to come to Tokyo 3, meeting Misato while running for his life from a Nephilim, having to fight the monster he just ran away from in place of a girl he just met. It's enough to strain the strongest of hearts. And he's only a child himself.
"Uh, Bob-san," he's not looking at me.
"Bob," I interrupt him.
"Huh," he finally looks in my eyes. I think I saw his own widen. He must have realized my eyes are red.
"I don't like when people add honorifics to my gaijin name. So just call me Bob."
"Uh, okay. Bob, they're closing the train. We have to get off," Shinji says, pragmatic as usual. We both get up. I shoulder strap my guitar. And we leave the train.
"Um, where do we go now?" Shinji asks.
"That's entirely up to you, Shinji-kun." We start walking with him leading, clutching his bag. He glances back at me occasionally.
"Um, uh," he says.
"We don't have to talk if you don't want to," I say with a smile. He seems to take my words as they are. We don't talk anymore as he resumes his brooding.
He wanders through the teeming masses, seemingly without destination. I decide to smoke a cigar while we're out in the open. I picked up the habit a few years ago. It's not like I'm addicted to it or something. It's more of a way to occupy my mouth when I'm not talking than anything else. I've commonly had to take up a new habit every now and then, dropping an old one. These last few years, the habit of choice has been smoking. I take the cigar out of the case. I've already trimmed the ends. I put it in my mouth and take out my lighter. The light from the lighter illuminates my hands and face briefly before I close it. The end of the cigar now glows a dim red. I take that as my cue to draw a puff of smoke from the lit tobacco. Shinji stops and looks back at me.
"I can stop if you like," I say. He turns back and looks away.
"No…it's…okay," he says. He keeps looking back at me every now and then. "Uh…why are you following me anyway?"
"Well…you look like you could use some company right now. I guess that's the reason more than anything else," I respond.
"Oh."
I eventually finish the cigar. Our wandering eventually leads to an old movie theater. They're showing another bad second impact movie. There aren't many people in here, just us, a homeless person sleeping, and a young couple making out. Too bad all the good writers fried in second impact. This is the kind of plot that would have been fine in a 1950s science fiction movie. The movie is supposed to be about the drama of the Katsuragi Expedition. It fails miserably, enough said. We're sitting here, in the back. He's glancing over at the couple that's making out every now and then. It looks like he might be just a little envious. He furrows his brow, gets up, and leaves.
As we're walking out the door, he turns to me and asks, "Uh, Bob, you work at NERV right?" I nod. He looks away. "So, you know about…"
"I've heard."
"So, uh…what would you do?" He's talking about whether he should go back or not.
I look at him, square in the eyes, "I won't answer that. My answer doesn't matter right now. All that really matters is what you think, Shinji-kun." I leave it at that.
Shinji sits down on a bench next to the vending machines in the lobby. I sit down against the wall opposite him, pull out my guitar again, and start strumming "Turn the Page" again. It isn't long before I'm singing along quietly. He lies down and curls up facing away from me. He goes to sleep listening to me singing Bob Seager, illuminated by the fluorescent lighting.
After he's asleep, I can't help but think about his future prospects. I can see. He's a good person. But he needs someone to help him. I've finished "Turn the Page." I think I'll work on "Stairway to Heaven." A little Led Zeppelin always helps. The first few chords of the guitar part come out. I whistle the flute part. He shifts as I start practicing the new song. He twists his body till he's facing the ceiling. His hand is twitching in time with the music. It's almost like he's listening to my playing while he's asleep. So, I play on into the night, the music wafting through the air.
As we're walking the next morning, we can hear the cicadas making their calls. The sun's red rays border the looming shadows of the trees and buildings. We're approaching the area of town where Shinji lives with Misato. I look over at Shinji. He doesn't look all too well. He's shaking and sweating and his eyes are big. He holds his head and steps away like he's going to run.
"Shinji," I say as I grab onto his shoulder. He jerks his shoulder out of my grasp and runs away…in a different direction from before. Right now, he's running in a direction that will take him towards the block that's been under construction since it was damaged during the battle with Sachiel. It's mostly empty now. It's always been like that. Only a group of homeless people lived there before. They've all cleared out by now, thanks to the Nephilim attacks. However…there is one notable inhabitant. She lives in a run down building with no other inhabitants, in a filthy, unkempt apartment on the fourth floor, room 402. Her name is… Rei Ayanami.
I take out another cigar, trim the end, put it in my mouth, and light it as I watch his retreating form. I take a long drag and blow the smoke above my head, watching the smoke rise and blow away in the wind. I'm just staring at the sky now, watching the red of dawn receding as the sun rises, and thinking. Maybe Shinji can learn something from Rei. He could learn some restraint from her. And she could learn to be more expressive. They could work so well together. I think I've done my job here today. All I can do now is hope for the best. I turn my back and start walking towards NERV. I need to finish setting my office up. After all, I start work tomorrow. NERV's new resident psychologist can't be late.
(Author's note) Well, there it is…the first chapter. It's done. Future chapters will probably be longer…much longer. I'll update when I have the time, which won't be for a while.