NOTE: The M:tG storyline is a bit sketchy on some details, so expect some OOCness and headcanons from that side. But I will try my best!
NOTE 2: This takes place in a fusion of the Rebuild and original universe. Gaghiel doesn't exist and Asuka appeared when "Clockiel" struck. Mari appeared shortly after "Tunniel" and the Angels 7-13 all appeared, with Leliel the 12th Angel taking Asuka and 13 being Bardiel who possesses Asuka's Eva. Again, my attempt.
To those of you who do not know Magic the Gathering, fear not! This chapter will have important explanations in it! (Not everything, but enough to start off)
I own nothing except my OC's.
Read and Review! Constructive criticism is welcome! BETA NEEDED!
"Speech"
'thought'
"Spells/attacks"
'mind-speech'
Chapter 2 – Niv-Mizzet
"If you are going to pilot, do it now. If not, then leave!"
"You had your orders, Shinji! Why didn't you retreat?"
"The target has been reclassified as the 13th Angel. Eliminate immediately."
No…
No…
No…
STOOOOP!
"AAAAAAUUUGGHH!"
Shinji shot up as he screamed. His eyes opened and his breathing was hard. He may have been dazed, but he could still remember what had happened prior.
'Father…damn you. You really are a heartless monster.'
He managed to calm himself down a little when he noticed something unfamiliar. The room he was in, it was not NERV's hospital. The bed didn't feel like the ones from there either.
He was in a small room, with a desk to his right and a door opposite it. Above the desk were several small shelves, all holding books. The room was colored red, blue and gold, a rather unusual color scheme. He gazed up, and saw that the ceiling was made of stone, painted in red and blue patterns.
"I would say 'an unfamiliar ceiling' now, but it doesn't feel right since I didn't see it first" he muttered groggily. He kept looking around the room, looking for a clue that would tell him where he was.
"Where am I? This doesn't look like NERV."
The door then swung open, drawing Shinji's attention to it. Standing there was a woman with long black hair and bronze-colored goggles over her eyes. She wore red and blue armor and had an odd-looking device attached to her back.
She looked at him and tilted her head, but didn't budge from her spot. Shinji tried to say something, but the only thing that could come out of his mouth was: "H-hello?"
The woman's head perked up and she let out a small grin.
"Oh good, you can understand me! Just like the master said you would! You're alive too! Thank goodness!"
She rushed over to him and began looking all over his body, poking and prodding various spots on it. He was about to let out a squeak of protest when he realized something.
Wait, my body…
Whenever she poked at him, he could barely feel it. It was as though something was coating his body, and Shinji was sure that it wasn't his plugsuit.
He slowly looked down at his hands and his eyes widened. Instead of normal human hands, they were rough-looking, covered in red scales, and were those claws!?
His eyes trailed to his arms who were, just like his hands, covered in red scales. Twisting them, he saw that the scales on his arms' undersides were paler, a yellowish-white color. He ran his hands along them and felt that they were smoother too.
His eyes widening by the second, he turned to the woman slowly to try and ask her what had happened. But his heart seemed to pause at what he saw.
A red-scaled chest against a yellowish-white belly, covered by a grey shirt.
Two large red wings with white membrane folded against the back.
A red tail with black spikes drooping from the bed and onto the floor.
Finally, a red lizard-like snout, crowned with short black spikes. Blue, silted eyes gazed back at him, widening as his did. As he opened his mouth, a jaw filled with white razor-sharp teeth opened as well.
Shinji may have seen a lot of weird stuff over the past few months, but that took the cake for him.
He raised his clawed hand and touched his face, only to see the…thing in front of him do the same thing, exactly in fact. Looking a little to the side, he realized just at what he was looking; his own reflection.
He let out a low whimper. "W-w-w-what…"
The mirror suddenly vanished, making him blink. Still shocked by what he had seen, he quickly turned to the woman, who had stopped prodding him and had adopted a calmer look.
"Are you alright? From the looks of things, you didn't expect to see that did you?"
Shinji dumbly nodded. "Well that means you were something else before you came here. I found you like this. So, what were you?"
'Found me like this? I remember what happened with the EVAs, then a lot of pain, and then nothing. Did the EVA do something to me?'
He had managed to regain some measure of cognitive function so he answered her. "Human. I was a human."
The woman cocked her head to the side. "Human? Makes some sense. The clothes I found on you – they're long gone, by the way – were human ones, if a little weird. So, feeling better now?"
Feeling better? After nearly killing a friend and finding out he was some lizard-thing, Shinji didn't think that 'better' could fit what he felt. Although he did feel calmer for some reason now…
"Yeah, a little bit" he took another look at the room and back at the woman. "Who are you anyway? Where am I?"
"Oh, didn't I say so before? Sorry, I get distracted a lot. My name's Trivaz – genius inventor and technomage at your service – and we are in Nivix!" She said with an excited tone.
"Nivix? What's that?"
"That's my home and my guild-hall!"
"Guild-hall?"
"Ooh!" Trivaz quickly put her hand to her lips. "Sorry, but I can't tell you more. Don't worry though! We're going to see the guild-master!"
"Guild-master?" Shinji asked with a confused tone. She let out a bark of laughter.
"You sure have a lot of questions, do ya? Like I said, don't worry! The guild-master will have answers to anything you ask!"
A folded shirt and pair of pants suddenly plopped on his bed, much to his ever-increasing confusion. "Put those on and meet me out the door. We can't have you meeting the master like that!" With those words she walked out the door and slammed it shut.
Shinji blinking and stared at the clothes that appeared from seemingly nowhere. 'This is getting insane. Clothes appearing out of nowhere? Did I hit my head or something?' He pinched his nose and got a flare of pain in response.
'Nope, not dreaming. That means I'm not at NERV anymore.' His thoughts wandered from there to Misato, Mari, Rei, Asuka, his friends at Tokyo-3. He felt a pang of guilt in his heart. What about the Angels? What about…
A loud knocking distracted him from his thoughts. "Hey, you ready yet?" asked Trivaz.
"One moment!" he flipped open the covers. His legs had grown the same red scales like on the rest of his body and his toes had claws now. His eyes turned to the tail that protruded from his behind. How was he going to fit that?
He took a look at the now unfolded pants and saw that there was a large opening in their rear section, undoubtedly made for the tail.
He put on the pants with little resistance, much to his surprise, and put on the shirt. It was more like a trench coat though, white with red and blue markings and with the chest area exposed. The back of the coat was loose enough to allow his wings to protrude through with no interruptions. As such, the sleeves were nearly nonexistent, only covering the shoulders.
He walked out the door with surprising ease, not stumbling even once and saw Trivaz waiting for him.
"You ready? Follow me"
She turned around and walked the stone hallway with Shinji following her closely. As he did, he looked at the arches that decorated the ceiling and the banners that adorned the sides of the hall. All of the Were a pale golden color, with a strange emblem at the center.
She led him out the hallway and down a long, winding flight of stairs. They came to another door and when she opened it, Shinji's eyes were greeted to the sight of a huge chamber, adorned by a holed-out dome. Marble pillars stood tall, adorned with large banners. He assumed this was the entrance hall.
But what was the most eye-catching out of everything were the passerbys in the chamber. Odd and strange creatures scampered around in a constant state of hurry. Shinji spotted a few human faces amid the crowd, but he also saw a lot of pointed ears, large noses, multiple arms and other inhuman features. Clatters of metal and machines echoed through the hall along with their footsteps. The one thing they had in common was the red and blue clothes that they all wore, and some of them even had goggles like the ones Trivaz wore.
He stood there gaping at the astonishing sight before him when he felt someone jabbing him in the side. He turned to the source to see Trivaz standing there with her arms crossed.
"Well come on! You can gaze in awe later. The master doesn't like to be kept waiting." She walked through the hall in a rapid pace, and Shinji struggled to keep up with her among the passing creatures. As he followed her, he saw that some of them gazed at him in open curiosity. He tried to ignore their stares.
The two managed to reach a large floating circle guarded by two large robots. They wore red and blue plating (Shinji got the feeling that red and blue were this place's favorite colors) and had reptilian helmets, which somewhat resembled his face, if a little fiercer. They all held two large spears that sparked small blue bolts.
Shinji gulped and took a step back, but Trivaz held him in place. "The master wants to see us."
The two robots stood unmoving for 3 seconds before stepping aside. Trivaz pulled Shinji into the circle with her, and in a flash of blue light he suddenly found himself standing in front of a large ornate set of double doors. It had no handles or doorknob and on it was the emblem that he had seen around this place, gleaming brightly in a kaleidoscopic manner.
"Now, when you are before the master, speak respectfully at all times and be interesting."
Shinji tilted his head in confusion at this. "Be interesting? What does that mean?"
"Oh, it's just that the master tends to melt the brain anyone who wastes his time" she replied in a chipper tone.
"Ah. Sounds like a nice man" he muttered sarcastically. Trivaz let out a small giggle in response.
"Well, he isn't quite a man…but he is the wisest and most powerful being in all of existence. No one is more perfect than him!"
As if the words were right on cue, the doors swung open inwardly. The goggles-wearing woman pushed Shinji inside.
"Have fun!" The doors then slammed shut.
While a bit miffed that she left him there like that, Shinji took a moment to survey the room. It was more a large open clearing, suspended above the clouds than a room, about as big as the entrance hall he had just come out of. Various gears and blue-red baubles adorned the back walls. Piles of books and pages were stacked on top of one another. A large round platform lay in front of him. But nobody came to his sight.
He took another look around to see if there was anyone else when he spotted a book on a nearby desk. What was different about it was that the title was written in kanji, so Shinji went over to check it out. He never did stop to think just how he was able to see that it was kanji from that distance.
He opened the book hoping to understand something, but written inside was what seemed like scribbles. He flipped through the pages to try and see if there was anything else when a beautiful drawing got his attention. It was a drawing of a white Asian dragon, with glowing eyes and a tail that seemed to coil endlessly…
Wait, was that drawing moving?
"Enjoying the show, I see. I cannot blame you, they are magnificent."
Shinji jumped backwards and looked to where he had heard the voice, but the sight made him drop the book (and his jaw) in total shock and awe. The only thing he could think of was 'How did I not notice this!?'
Sitting in front of him was a massive reptilian creature, covered in red scales. Its frilled head nearly touched the nonexistent ceiling, while its body filled out the platform. Massive wings were folded at its sides and blue frills adorned its back and the back of its head. Its legs were massive as well, with sharp black claws adorning each digit. Its jaw possessed frills as well, giving them the appearance of a "small", blue beard. Glowing orange eyes seemed to stare into Shinji's soul.
As he took the creature's appearance in, something clicked in his mind. The emblems, the drawing, his new appearance…
"A dragon" he whispered "You're a dragon."
Said dragon just chuckled in amusement. "You are a slow one, aren't you?" Shinji didn't reply.
"I trust that you found your temporary quarters comfortable?" Shinji broke out of his stupor and nodded.
"Y-yes, thank you. S-sorry if I seem rude but, who are you?"
The dragon chuckled again "My, how rude of me. Allow me to introduce myself: My name is Niv-Mizzet, last true dragon of Ravnica, guild-master of the Izzet guild and Lord of Nivix."
Shinji widened his eyes even more as the dragon introduced himself. This was the guild-master!? He then recalled what Trivaz had said beforehand. He quickly snapped his hands to his sides and bowed.
"It's an honor to meet you sir! Sorry for intruding!"
The dragon chuckled again "Please, lift your head. We have more or less an equal standing here." Shinji did so but remained still. "Would you come closer, child?"
Shinji walked forward until he stood at the bridge connecting the platform to the castle (a castle!?). The dragon – Niv-Mizzet – dipped his head a little closer and Shinji stared back up. He wanted to shrink away from those glowing eyes. They reminded him of his father's tinted sunglasses. Unlike his father's cold and emotionless gaze though, this gaze possessed a hint of curiosity and…was that excitement? Couldn't be.
"What is your name child?" Niv-Mizzet asked.
"Shinji Ikari, sir."
"You are not from Ravnica are you? I know all that happens here, and I am sure that I would have seen you before, given what you are. Where are you from?"
"Tokyo-3, sir. I don't even know what Ravnica is."
The dragon tilted his head. "Tokyo-3? Unusual name. Though it does explain some things…is it a human settlement?"
"Yes." Niv-Mizzet lifted his snout up and mumbled something under his breath, though Shinji couldn't hear it.
The dragon looked back down at him again and asked "How did you arrive here? What is the last thing you remember?"
"Um…" Shinji tried to answer in a way that wouldn't seem confusing. "I remember I saw something awful, then there was this pain in my chest, a bright light and then…I woke up in the room here."
"Something awful? What do you mean by that?"
Shinji was hesitant to answer. Would he even believe him if he told him? Should he even tell him?
"I will not tell another soul if you wish, child. I have seen a great many interesting things in my life, so I would be hard-pressed not to believe anything you say." Shinji nearly jumped in shock. How...?
"It is practically written all over your face, child."
At the mention of his face, Shinji remembered what he had seen in the mirror and touched his face once more, feeling the snout and hard scales.
He must have made some outward sign of emotion, because Niv-Mizzet spoke up. "You need not be alarmed child. Nothing bad has happened to you." His eyes snapped back up to the dragon, whose orange eyes had a comforting glint to them.
"How about we make a little trade-off? Knowledge for knowledge; you tell me your experiences up until now, and in return I shall tell you all that you wish to know about what has happened to you and where you are. Deal?"
Shinji considered the offer, yet quickly relented; it wasn't like he had anything to lose, right?
So he took a deep breath and began telling his story to the dragon. About how he was abandoned by his father only to be summoned 10 years later and forced to fight in a war that he was never prepared for. About the Angels that tried to wipe out humanity and the world he had lived in. The EVAs and how much pain he had felt when in them. He told him about his fellow pilots and guardian, about how one was a bully, one a quiet girl, the other a flirt and the guardian who was a slob and a drunk. How he was forced to attack and probably kill one of them thanks to his father.
He didn't know why he had talked about that last thing in front of a stranger, a dragon no less, but once he started talking, he just couldn't stop the words from coming out. By the end of his tale he had some tears in his eyes.
He looked to Niv-Mizzet expecting to see a pitiful or angry expression about him being a wimp, but for the life of him he couldn't figure out the dragon's gaze. There was no malice or anger in it, but rather it seemed…calculative.
The dragon remained silent for a few minutes before he eventually spoke.
"Hmm. It is far too elaborate of a story to be made up, and I have heard of stranger things in my lifetime. Tell me though; your world was technologically advanced, right? With no magic?"
Not expecting that question to be the first thing someone would ask after his story, he replied with a simple "Yes".
Niv-Mizzet chuckled again. "It seems I have maybe underestimated your kind a little, to go that far without mana…"
He saw the child's questioning gaze and said "Nothing. Merely some ramblings. Now what is it you wish to know? Take your time, I am not rushed."
Shinji had a multitude of questions in his head, but the most prominent one was:
"What happened to me?"
"It would seem that as a result of the trauma from your forced fight, you triggered your spark and planeswalked here."
"Planeswalked?"
"Right, silly me. As you probably guessed, we are not in your Tokyo-3. We are not even on your Earth. This is another world, another plane."
Shinji just stared at him with a very confused look. "There isn't one universe, but many. An infinite number of them, all part of a vast multiverse. They are all separate, unaware of one another. To them, their universe is the only one. However, there are those who can travel between these universes, these planes, called Planeswalkers. That is what you are." The dragon stopped for a moment and Shinji gestured him to go on.
"A Planeswalker possesses a special spark in his soul that allows him to cross the void between planes, the Blind Eternities. That spark is found within one in a million people, but only one of those million spark-holders will awaken; basically, one in a trillion become Planeswalkers."
Shinji's jaw dropped at that probability. One in a trillion? Him, out of all people. However, he heard Niv-Mizzet talking again so he paid attention.
"I can see you are mind-boggled by that probability, as you should. It is a great honor and privilege to be a Planeswalker. But keep in mind there is nearly an infinite number of planes with a nearly infinite number of intelligent denizens, so while the number of currently active Planeswalkers is somewhat small, it is still more than you think."
"Do all planeswalkers transform?"
The old dragon expected that question. "No, they do not physically transform, at least to such a degree as you have. You are an anomaly, the first one I have heard of. Although…" His throat rumbled in thought.
"Out of all of the planes you could have arrived at, you were sent here. For some reason unknown even to me, Planeswalkers are drawn to this plane and will come here at least once in their lives, if they survive that long. Several of them actually live here.
This is just a theory, but I believe that the presence of multiple Planeswalkers on one plane unconsciously drew you here. As for your transformation? I don't know."
Shinji processed the information in his head and tried to make sense of it.
"Um…so if I heard correctly, I'm someone who can travel between universes, there are more like me here and you don't know how I became like this?"
"A bit of an oversimplification, but yes."
"Are you one?"
The dragon let out a mirthful chuckle "Despite my knowledge and prowess, no I am not."
Shinji had two questions left to ask.
"What am I? What is this place?"
"From my study of you, I have deduced that you are a dragon-human hybrid – half human, half dragon. But you are still you, Shinji Ikari. Your soul, your personality, who you are – that remained the same.
As for where you are? Well, see for yourself…"
Niv-Mizzet gestured with his wing for him to step on the platform. He did so, and for what seemed like the umpteenth time today his jaw dropped again.
Spread out in front of him, at a bird's-eye view, was an ENORMOUS city. So enormous that he couldn't see its end. Buildings and spires of various shapes and sizes were scattered as far as his eye could see. Clouds dotted his vision as he gazed up from the platform, and he heard(!) the symphony of chatters and bustles from the seemingly endless streets.
'This makes Tokyo-3 look like an apartment block!' he thought in awe. As he gazed at the endless scenery, he heard Niv-Mizzet speak with pride in his voice.
"This city stretches out farther than you can see. It encompasses our whole planet in fact, so much so that among Planeswalkers, the city's name has become synonymous with the plane itself.
Welcome, Shinji Ikari, to Ravnica!"
-DPoI-
Ta-da! What do you think!
Like I said, I made a couple of changes, but nothing noticeable. As you can see, explanations are provided about the M:tG multiverse, and more will come soon.
What pairing should I do: Shinji x OC, Shinji x Mari or Shinji x Female Planeswalker?
Check out my other stories and challenges!
Read and Review. Review. RRREEEEEEEEEEEEVVVVVVVVIIIIIIEEEEEEWWWWWWW!
Please?
