Chapter 2: Brave New World
"Ughh…" The voices stopped now. Shinji was trying to comprehend what happened. Was it all a vision, a hallucination, a dream? He was in the void again, but this time it was different. He could feel something. It felt like he was lying down on a hospital bed. Then he could feel himself breathing. Was he really alive now?
"Ikari's got potential, but if he doesn't recover from this we're gonna have to drop him." he heard a professional sounding voice say. Based on how soft it was, the man was probably a few meters away.
"What happened to him?" a second voice asked. "He suffered a concussion to his forehead. I assume he received it while performing the synch tests. We'd be lucky if he only receives a minor one but at this point we can't be sure." the first speaker answered.
"I don't wanna see him go. Besides, he's my friend." the second speaker said. "Why don't you stay here and watch over him, rookie. I have other patients to attend to at the moment. Just tell me if he wakes up," Shinji assumed that the man was probably a doctor.
"I must be in a hospital again…he mentioned synch tests though…Oh God don't tell me that I have to pilot an EVA again…" he mentally facepalmed. "...waitaminute…is this real? Is all this real? I need to wake up…I need to wake up… I need to wake up!"
Shinji forced open his eyes. He could only squint but he could make out the ceiling. It looked kind of dirty. "Reminds me of Rei's apartment…" he thought. He tried to turn his head to the left. He saw a futuristic looking window. It looked like the inside of a spaceship. He tried pushing himself up to sit up straight but failed. He did succeed in calling the attention of his watcher, though.
"Shinji? Shinji!" his observer exclaimed. "Doc! Doc! He's awake!"
Shinji fell back down on the bed with a thump. His observer stood over him.
"Shinji! Uhhh…" the man held up four fingers. "…how many fingers am I holding?!"
Shinji struggled to take a good look at the man's hand. "Four?" he answered in a weak voice.
He noticed something about the guy. He couldn't see very clearly but it seemed that the guy resembled Toji Suzuhara, his old classmate and EVA pilot candidate. He even sounded like him.
The doctor arrived just in time. "What happened?"
"It's Shinji, sir. He's awake!"
The doctor went over to Shinji's bed. He examined his forehead. The bruise was still there, but it was small.
"Soldier. Go inform the top brass that Ikari's regained consciousness." the doctor ordered . "I'll see to it that he hasn't suffered anything more severe."
"Yes, sir!" the other man left the room.
"Shinji. Don't force yourself up. Just rest. I'll ask you some questions when you wake up, okay?"
Shinji struggled to nod, then succumbed to the tiredness and fell asleep.
"I'm not dreaming. This IS real. Where am I? " He was back in the void of his mind again. Too tired to move, he was stuck on the bed unable to find out more about his whereabouts. He wondered where everyone else was.
"If that other guy might be Toji…I wonder where Asuka, Rei and Kensuke might be. My wish was granted after all but…how?" He wondered. His body started to regain its strength. He could properly feel his arms and legs now, although his head still felt like shit. He opened his eyes again, looking at the ceiling. He managed to properly push himself up now.
"Ah…Shinji…I…uh…guess you're okay now," the familiar voice asked him. Shinji turned to where it came from. He was right, standing beside him was none other than Toji.
"T-T-Toji?!" Shinji stuttered. "Thank goodness you're here."
"And thank goodness you aren't dead. The doctor told me to watch over you while you were out. He'll be back to check if you've got amnesia but by the looks of it, you're okay to me," he said.
Shinji noticed that he seemed to be wearing some armored padding on his knees and elbows. He also had a computer gauntlet thingy on his left arm.
"What are you wearing on your arm?" Shinji asked him, pointing at the device.
Toji looked puzzled. "This? It's a Data Glove 3000, standard-issue communications device for all Pilots. You have one too, Shinji. I'm surprised that you don't know about this, bro."
"I have one?" Sure enough, he was wearing a similar looking device on his arm. He then noticed what he was wearing, it seemed to be his old Plugsuit but with an armored vest, elbow and knee pads, and several magazine pouches attached to the vest.
"What the heck are we wearing this stuff for?" Shinji asked out loud.
"Okay, man. I think that you seriously have amnesia now." Toji started backing away from him.
The doctor entered the room. "Ah, Shinji. You're up now. I guess we'll start the questioning."