Neon Genesis Evangelion (TV Anime and Manga), End of Evangelion, Evangelion: Death and Rebirth, and the Evangelion Rebuild series are owned by Hideki Anno and written by Yoshikuki Sadamoto. I own no characters, locations nor elements or songs from the original Manga, Anime, or Rebuild/EoE movies. I own only OC Shiro Ikari. Please support future Evangelion Rebuild releases.


Normal Talking- "Hello"
Radio/EVA- "Hello"
SEELE/VEELE/Angel-"Hello"


Chapter 2: To Wake Up

"I….I've missed you…. Brother…."

"WARNING: REACTOR OVERLOAD CRITECAL….."

"You can't do this….. Not to me, or him….!"

"I won't let you kill him any more than… have!"

"Forgive me….."

"I won't….et you…!"

"YOU'RE NOT SHINJI!"

Blue eyes flashed open, red fading away with a petrified cry as his head hit something, hard with a platic bang. "Ow!" He cried out, tugging his arm….

He blinked, and his breath hesitated for a moment to once more come up as he tugged his arm again, and felt a pinch. A pinch on his right wrist and a tightness all across his left arm. "A-Another unfamiliar..." Something was wrong; very wrong.

Everything felt different.

Weird.

He felt less emotion. Like something was lingering all of a sudden.

"What-What are these…? Cuffs? What… the hell?" His eyes found a glass screen in front of him, barely making out a far ceiling because of the red glow across the room he assumed he was in. It didn't help the feeling he now had in his stomach; it made him feel smaller, colder even. "A-Ack?!"

The tightness over his left arm clenched even more, feeding him more pain than anything he'd felt in EVA-

Suddenly everything came back to him.

Evangelion Unit-01.

Zeruel, the Tenth Angel.

Null Unit being trashed.

Unit-02 being beaten.

Rei.


He felt himself now being pulled forward atop a gurney, still cuffed down with a holographic screen next to him. He didn't dare speak, but he knew damn well who was around him: at least 5 or 6 armed guards, decked in armor with looks of pure hatred in his direction.

"His cardiopulmonary function is normal, for the most." A voice, this one female and young at that, caught his ears and filled them with irritancy. As much as he respected whoever this was and their role, he was really hoping it was to be an adult. He didn't need a nanny, what he needed was a person to give him answers, such as why there were guard pointing their guns and weapons at him. "No palsy extremities found… Yes, he's opened his eyes, ma'am."

A face looked down at him, looking into his own confused eyes. She was young, a bit younger than himself he'd dare to say, and she brought an odd sense of…. Familiarity and peace with her. She wore a cape with a symbol on it, but he couldn't make out the insignia before she continued. "Hey, can you understand what I'm saying?" She repeated this in both basic Japanese and English.

He raised a brow in confusion, glancing to the guards as if to get confirmation to speak. No response, huh? Well it's now or never he thought as his mouth opened "U-Um, yes I think? Where am I, if I'm allowed to ask miss…?" He trailed off hoping she'd get his message.

She either did or flat out ignored him as she spoke into an earpiece. "Good…. Yes, he can talk." She said. "BM-03 is conscious, yes. Fully in fact…. Yes. Yes… Understood."

"Wh-Where-Where am I?" He asked with more shown concern. Memories began to connect more and more as his mind fully came too. The Geo-Front was….. Attacked by the Tenth… Zeruel, was it? How do I know the Angels…? Wait there was Null Unit and Unit-02…. They lost and Unit-00 tried to…. Tried to destroy itself and Zeruel altogether… I fought, and won…. Rei and I were floating in Unit-01…. "I was in Unit-01 with…. Wait. Wait, where's Rei?"

"Yes, ma'am. His memories of the Tenth Angel assault are returning, and quiet rapidly compared to… the other Specimens." She said, stealing a stoic glance to him before back away.

"Rei… Rei, where's… where's Ayanami?" It anything he expected a answer when using her last name; it was seemingly the only other way to get information about her. Talking like she was a toy; a tool, an experiment.

"Tell me, sir. Do you know who this is?" The screen became a mirror, and he reeled back slightly at the reflection. It was himself, but different; sharper blue eyes, with somewhat longer hair ending just above his neck in a much more messy fashion. But it was still him; same flesh and blood, same voice and mind. Same boy who'd fought against his personal will for NERV…

"Is that…. Me?" He questioned, though she spoke into her earpiece again.

"Yes, he can recognize himself. No apparent problems so far, ma'am." She continued, looking towards a pad in her hands.

"What-What are these things?" He managed to catch a glimpse of it; a black choker like neck piece with a red square in the center. He looked to his left arm, seeing a black arm sleeve with a red line at the end. "I, uh… didn't know the military was involving BDSM into their…. Experimental operations." He struggled not to laugh in finding the right words.

The girl seemed to nearly giggle at his voice, but she was soon silence by one guards glare. "Anyways," she started. "Are you hungry in any way? Do you have urinate at all?"

"No, miss." He replied calmly, before feeling a sudden shutter as the elevator they rode came to a halt. "It seems we've arrived…"


Command deck, undisclosed location

He soon discovered where they were; being a sort of makeshift bridge/command deck. It was entirely circular with the "deck" being in the center of it all with wires and cables coming off it and from the ceiling.

"Cargo delivery clearance is up now by 88%."

"Maintaining N2 Reactor power generation at 90% and rising…."

"No enemy cruisers detected for the next 12,000 radius, ma'am."

"Opening pressure valves 9-12; manual release initiated."

"No aerial objects discernible."

"Forget about the condenser for a moment and…."

"Prioritizing Block-D battleships for personnel transferring immediately."

"We need more to bring up ship rations!"

"Hurry it up then, we haven't got all day!"

"Checking gyrocompasses for Battleships 3-5."

"Gauge is accurate, requesting calibration confirmation over."

"All ships now under outfitting for movement, checking mainstream road maps."

"Wunder armament is 3% behind presumed schedule, not to mention the other…."

"Ma'am's, we've brought the Specimen, BM-03, as requested!" The girl gave a former Japanese bow as his gurney stopped rolling just below the highest platform on the "deck," where two people stood. One sat by a far computer with a large screen, while the other turned at the phrase "ma'am." Unlike her companion who wore a wool grey jacket, she wore a red jacket ending just at the waist with black pants, as well as a red captain's hat to boot.

"Perfect." Came the response, emotionless and cold with what could only be described as a slight edge in the woman's voice. Yet it also held familiarity too. "Release him immediately. The rest of you guards, return to your posts."

As the guards all left, his gurney's cuff holders snapped open letting him sit upright. He flexed both arms, all fingers as well before finally, and hesitantly, stepping off and onto the cold metal flooring. "What in the hell is going on here…? And just what are these?" He asked himself, looking from him arms sleeve to the choker on his neck.

"Ship steering equipment under recheck; no problems so far." Blue eyes blinked at the voice, one he almost instantly made out. Is that… Makoto Hyuga, from NERV? He questioned, before silence brought him back to reality.

A reality that was concerning as everyone's gaze fell upon.

"Aaaaand, cue the ominous music." He joked softly. Not even a giggle from the girl before, and he gulped nervously as everyone watched him with mixed emotions. He looked back to the commander, who wore dark glasses under her cap but he could make out her face almost easily. "Wait… Misato is-is that you?"

"Shinji Ikari." A haunting flashback came in the form of his first time meeting Misato and how kind she was ton him then. Now she seemed distant, colder. Uncaring even. Dare he say like his father, Gendo Rokubungi was up for question as she continued. "Can I even call him… call it that?"

"I'd assume so." Another voice, the one in the form of NERV's Evangelion director Ritsuko Akagi, came to life from behind Misato. "All physiological data matched the Mudake Code-03 Child. Even his dental profile and body composition are 100% identical to the body prior to NTI. And yet oddly the test results for his Deep Synchronization test didn't foresee the change to his arm. It could possibly be due to extreme exposure to the LCL and EVA's physical system."

Captain Katsuragi stayed silent for that duration, before looking down to "Shinji Ikari." A part of her wanted to have him killed on the spot. Another part longed to hug and cry for him. She pushed for neither, settling to hold her emotions aside for the time being. "And the DSS Choker? What of that?" She inquired.

Her second-in-command turned back to her deck, bringing back what looked to be some sort of trigger like detonator. "Already installed and ready for use, Captain." She said. "And as per your… request, we implanted a severe Shock Systems which connected into his nervous system. The glove will stay on unless he goes through surgery, and it will keep… whatever is underneath it, at bay for now."

"Underneath it…" Shinji looked to his arm, unsure of how to comprehend what was going on. Did something happen to me while I was asleep or…? "Wait, Captain Katsuragi? I could have sword Misato was a Colonel under NERV rank-"

A beeping cut him off as the choker abrupt tightened around his neck." Ack!" he cried out, nearly dropping to the floor. He felt his air hole tighten before being loosened of pain, and he bit his tongue to hold back another cry once he heard several snickers from the crew on deck. Bastards, was all that came to mind. "Bastards…"

Katsuragi humored herself on the inside as at his insult. Indeed, this is Shinji Ikari. She thought. Stupid fucking goody-two shoe clones….

"You do realize that there is no way to take it off right?" the younger medic stated, looking with disdain. "Better yet, there's no time whereas we'll take if off you."

"We're done here." Cap. Katsuragi snapped, flashing around to the bridge crew. "Have him send down to R&D for another-"

A familiar hexagon, red with the red "WARNING," flared with fury across the bridge. "Decoy Drones 1-5 are under engage-never mind, they've actually just been destroyed!" Another familiar voice came to cry out, Shigeru Aoba who sat across from Hyuga. "Wavelength now detected!"

"What's this thing?" This voice didn't catch Shinji's memory compared to the others of NERV; no, this one was young. Not as young as himself, but still in youth if anything. Sad thing thought was the tone that came out; if sounded so confused, as if this was new to her or something.

"Is it NEVEC?" Katsuragi raised her gaze with disinterest and annoyance.

"After the Stormbreaker crashed in old Boston? Yeah right." Makoto mocked. "Pattern Indicator is Blue; Nemesis Series has been confirmed, Captain!"

"Damn, they're ahead of schedule now are they…?" Katsuragi snarled.

"Three-Dimensional attacks all across the far blockade!"

"Indeed, these are as we assumed: the Mark.04-C's, though it seems these are no prototypes as from before, ma'am." Ritsuko explained. "And they're locked on to us. Worst part is we can't leave just yet-"

"Have all construction halt and support the main engine." Katsuragi interrupted, fixing her arms under her chest. "All ships, go to combat Battle Station Level 2! Target all Nemesis Series drones immediately!"

"Acknowledged." The front screens replaced the red hexagons with attention icons, each reading 'All Stations: COMBAT CONDITION II.' "All ships, prepare for Station 2 combat! Prepare for all aerial, sex and underwater assaults!"

"Transports, abandon all your supply transfers effective immediately! Yes… Yes! Yep, yep prioritize the transfer of personnel now!"


North Epicenter, Arctic Circle

Across the old Arctic Circle, drenched in blood red water that spanned for miles, a singularity of unprecedented power stood out against all others. It sat larger than the entirety of the UN's Naval Pacific Fleet, dwarfing even that of the UN's prize Over the Rainbow aircraft carrier with wings that spanned across the sea. Maroon and bright red coloring painted the hull with large parabolic dished across the top, with large cranes and vehicles rushing past or working across the massive ship.

"All ships, personnel transfer in now top priority!"

"Don't stop working on that damn engine, we need it up and running stat!"

"I repeat: prepare for all land, sea and air combat!" Makoto's voice rang out as alarms gave warnings. "Long-range cannon array's now mobilizing and readying!"

"Confirm the power supply status! All aircraft, move out of the airspace and head for point-02!"

"Continue ship outfitting while you still can…!"

"…I'll say again: keep working till the last second!"

"Anyone working on the power lines, assemble at your utility boats stat!"

"All tower cannons F-Z, prepare for long-distance assault!" Navy destroyers and cruiser flew past the large wires that sat across the Rainbow carrier, their guns now primes with burning bullets ready to teat at the first wave. "Activate any and all remote linkage systems. And prepare for any surprise movements!"

"Keep working on the Main Engines Transfer System injection!" One tech order, tossing his cap aside as more voices spoke around him. "And for God sake, give me the status of Engine functionality!"

"N2-Reactor is now ac 99% output increase!"

"Injection in progress."

"Open the 1st 90 Valves now."

"10 1st Lower power pipes are now connected to the engine cell system!"

"No irregularities found in the 3rd or 4th Hub Station ports!"

"Roger, all 90 ports now fully opened."

"Begin energy supply systems!"

"Power supply to the N2-Reactor is going smooth."


Inside the large vessel laid EVA Unit-08, covered in a sheet of large LCL wires and machines working around its chamber. "Now inspecting LCL Circulation Pumps… all filtering systems checked and are in order, ma'am!"

"Okay then boys, Battle Stations on the double!" The voice came from Maya Ibuki, her once shy and quiet personality seemingly replaced by a powerful, much more strict and authoritative woman. "Take your positions-Hey, you! Yeah, you move back now or you'll get killed first!"

"Chief, we got no dice over here!"

"And you guys wonder why I said it was bad to have civilians and the crew mix…" One guy murmured.

"That's enough! Get back to work, you slackers!" She roared, making the men jumped as they ran from side to side consoles. She tsked as they moved, glaring over to Unit-08 and its pilot inside. "Seriously, Mari how the hell do you still put up with all these kids…?"


"Jeez, and here I thought NERV was bad when Angels attack… but this… This is pathetic to see." Shinji meanwhile watched as 'NERV' specialist and technicians worked at their machines with fury, struggling to work on certain key problems that Shinji himself knew was not like NERV to do. "This…"

What if I'm not at NERV? He suddenly thought, glancing from the girl and then towards Katsuragi above. What if I'm asleep or something stupid like that? Are these even people I know..? Are they actually Misato, or Ritsuko, or Aoba or Hyuga? No… No don't-don't jump the gun on this Shinji, it's just like Shiro said: Best to keep your friends clo-

His mind abruptly drifted from the thought as he snapped back to reality. "Okay so… stop outfitting here and then… start wall barrier closure, right? Is this it?"

"What does it mean by watch the skies carefully? I can't see a thing in here…" Another groaned, this one from a pink haired female who caught Shinji and, unbeknownst to him, Shigeru's attention. "This is sonar direction, I think?"

"Kitakami, what's the status on the upper deck stations?" Shigeru asked, scratching his beard with concern.

"Wait-hold up, I'm still in charge of that?" Kitakmai questioned.

"Yes!" He cried out with a groan, slapping his head with frustration. "Double! Jobs! C'mon how could you forget this by know?!"

"We're doomed…" Ritsuko uttered with a silent sight. Her mind wandered back to 2015; back to NERV and the perfectly organized structure, and the power they had, and her cat. Nowadays all she found were complaints and cries to stop work for a break wherever she'd go.

"Seriously?"

"Oh my God what is this…?" Shinji asked himself, thought it did catch Katsuragi and Ritsuko's ears. "Now I know this can't be NERV, they'd never let themselves go this badly…"

Oh if only you knew why we were like this, Shinji… If you even are him that is. Ritsuko thought, looking towards a now irritated Katusragi who turned.

"Come over here, you can stay here with all the danger about to go down." The young medic next to him said, pointing to a opening under the platform beside them.

"Anti-Air cannons and Guided Missiles are ready on all destroyers and cruisers!"

"I uh hate to say it, but we've got a lot more tension around the bridge during Battle Stations!" Someone cried out with worry.

"Good, just as how it should be." Katsuragi simply replied, watching the outer video feed. "Link all the A.A systems together; Unit-01's protection is now our top priority."

"Unit-01…" Shinji's mind flashed memories fast: purple, green, black. A giant, green eyes, a halo, a wish…. Rei, that caught his attention fast. Rei… Rei, Rei! Where-what happened to Rei?! She has to be here if I'm here too!

"Oh hell, here they come!" Kitakami screamed out as her radar flashed multiple targets surrounding the center. "10 Pillars of Light confirmed; the numbers are rising rapidly!"

"Identification Core blocks impossible now!"

"Shit, they must be using cloaking cocoons." Ritsuko hypothesized. "Not good: id that's the case, then we'll be sitting ducks very soon in their Saturation assault."

"600 seconds now till contact!"

"Captain, we need to spread the fleet if we want to survive the attack." The Ex-NERV doctor continued. "We have-"

"Is that right, Commander Akagi?" Katsuragi abruptly questioned.

"Yes!" Ritsuko exclaimed. "We lack any skilled personnel are ships are just barely being outfit for real combat and any flight tests. And worst all, we're unable to really identify the enemy Core Blocks, with the MAGI Achiral giving us a victory percent chance of 00.00%."

"Funny, we've had this sort of predicament before with the Sahaquiel Angel back then…" Katusragi replied fast.

"Back then we had more than 5 EVA's rather than the current 3-no, 2 actually that we have right now!" Ritsuko cried back trying to her higher-up to listen to her reasoning. "We have to retreat!"

Dammit, don't give me the silent treatment woman! Ritsuko screamed mentally, watching her friend go silent. Don't give me the Gendo Ikari treatment, you know in the end I'm right!

"… Your right. We lack the firepower and ability to truly win; which why we'll simply have to change our situations and get all problems for the future of us…" Katsuragi explained, turning her head towards the faux blonde. "From this point on call it in: we're taking off, Vice-Captain Akagi."

"'Taking off'?" Ritsuko questioned, before her mind rapidly rushing realizations to her brain as she cried out, "You… You can't serious you-You can't to use the main engine?!"

"All cruiser and stations, be advised we're preparing for launch!" Katsuragi gave a bark of order which easily showed her belief in the Vice-Captains fear as she glared. "Prepare for engine ignition!"

"What?!"

"You can't be serious are you?"

"That's insane, ma'am!" Everyone, Shinji included with curiosity, looked at Katsuragi with terror. In the few years most of them had been with the group, no one dared to think they'd go so far as to use the main engine of their command ship. And yet here they were now; with a Captain ready to use it and damned if they wouldn't.

"Captain, I keep telling you we can't use the Wunder in full combat!" Ritsuko protested.

"See exactly!" Another technician cried out. "We haven't so much as tried doing a VR simulation, let alone prepared the ship completely. It's suicide!"

"And I have not experience with gravitational control! I think I can do that with everyone's lives on the line!"

"I don't think it's smart to try fighting at all!" Kitakami cried. "I don't want to fight a fight we'll die in!"

"Oh shut up now, Kitakmai!" Another technician, this one older with a short goatee who stared at her shaken figure. "You young kids really ought to stop complaining so much…"

"Funny, considering you're a bit too old to say that, aren't you Koji?!" Kitakami snapped at the older who turned his head with a whistle. "Shouldn't you be watching out for yourself now?"

More and more began arguing back and forth, and Katsuragi's headache now began to grow rampant. This is getting us nowhere, she thought as she moved forward. Its fight or flight- not time to argue like fools!

"I myself admit this is indeed insane." She started, fixing her cap as she spoke. "But we won't fight! Simply use ourselves as bait while the enemy finally comes out for us!"

"The supposed 'Power to kill God' hm?" Ritsuko asked with a worried look. "Fine; I'll see what I can do from here. But let me remind you still, Captain Katsuragi, how the Ignition Systems are installed yet. Unless you plan to use the fake Cassius with Unit-02 or 05 to bring us up?"

"….."

"Katsuragi….?"

"….. Mari, can you do it?" Katsuragi questioned over the radio systems.

"Sorry, Misato no can do!" Came a reply.

Shinji shivered. Oh God please don't tell me she's here…. He thought. Wait… Actually this might be good. She might be able to tell me something about how she knew-

"Shikinami? What about her?"

"Shikinami? As in… Asuka Shikinami?" Shinji blinked at the name. "Asuka is here too?!"

"Got my spear and I'm on my way now!" Came a familiar voice, followed by an even more familiar humming of an Evangelion coming to life. "Just fix the ignitor into the engine, then get out right? Simple!"

"I'm counting on it being easy for you, Captain." Katsuragi encouraged. "But just a heads up, Captain there is a barrier density around the engine itself."

"Is anyone still down there?"

"If I recall, Katsuragi's motto was to "Prioritize Objective over Human Casualties."" Ritsuko called as Katsuragi's gaze snapped to her with anger. She ignored it.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Deep down you know she has a heard still Akagi." Asuka responded as her EVA came to full power. "Evangelion Unit-02 Dash now launching!"

"Acknowledged; launching Unit-02!" Katsuragi responded.

A loud thud came across the side as Shinji shuttered with the vibration that came. "God I hate this change at my poor baby EVA's appearance… To think this was to be my real battle debut!"

Shinji could only smile at her remark; truly this was the Asuka he lived with. If there was one person, one single way to describe EVA, looks, combat appearance, and generally being in public for that matter, it was Asuka Shikinami.

A loud echo came aside Shinji, who looked towards a large window in time to see Unit-02 Dash pass by. 4 Green eyes with red and white colors glow under the ocean water as the EVA's large left arm motor engine like cell pull it past him.

"So it is Asuka… She is alive…" Shinji gasped with joy. Ever since the Bardiel/Unit-03- No, the VEELE incident, he assumed the honest to God worst. And now that he knew she was here, alive and well, he only prayed that her mental and physical state was the same still. "Shiro…"

The thought of Asuka having mechanical prosthetic arms and legs led Shinji's mind to the memories of his older brother, Shiro Ikari. The horrendous memory of that thing… that damn centipede like Angel shredding Unit-Null before Zeruel finished it off during the last battle of NERV.

"Shiro, you…" his mind began to crack under the memories he began thinking about what could have been his older brother's fate. "No…N-No…. don't think that…." He warned himself, hitting the side of his head as the thoughts began to fade. "Cross that bridge when you get to it, Ikari…. When you get to it…."

His mind struggled to stick to his words; he looked around, hoping to find something-no, anything to get his mind off the thoughts he now is getting. "Misato…" He murmured, looking up as he spoke louder. "Misato, please tell what I can do to assist?"

"All ships, prepare for Battle Station Level 01 now!" Katsuragi snapped, the alarms now returning to red as technicians got to work twice as fast.

"Understood, all ships prepare for Battle Station Combat 01 Immediately!" Makoto radioed over his console system.

"All key personnel report to the command deck; prepare the gravity ballast system."

"Roger," A technician started pulling levers and pressing switched as she continued speaking. "Check all vents now…"

"Focusing all primary controls of the ship to anchoring plugs."

"Understood, now prepares to descent."

"Injector now confirmed. Timer is now active."

"We're ready to move the Hirnstamm Tower."

Shinji finally sighs, glaring up at the captain as she continued to ignore him. "Want me to yell? Fine, I'll yell…" he said to himself, raising his voice. "Katsuragi!"

His yell caught everyone attention.

"I asked if I can help, the least you can do is give me a yes or no answer!" He exclaimed, not caring about the glares the many young and older technicians gave him. "You said Unit-01 is here, correct?"

"….." Katsuagi stared him down in silence.

"Allow me to pilot, or at least give assistance to Asuka if they enemy attacks her!"

No response, which only infuriated him.

"For fucks sake, if won't let me pilot at least say it to me face!" he screamed, making everyone gasp and glance to the Captain. This is was by far the first time in a very lone while that someone screamed profoundly at their leader, and that time it… didn't end so well.

Finally someone spoke. "Yes, that is correct Unit-01 is indeed here Shinji." Ritsuko explained with little emotion, looking aside before back to him. "But in this situation we don't need you to pilot Evangelion 01 for us."

"There. See? What that so difficult?" Shinji remarked, making the faux blonde turn away. As he began to calm down, his mind began to adjust to what was just said.

He no longer need to pilot EVA.

A part of him was filled with joy and hope… another part was suddenly bombarded by pain and grief, as if he just got a punch to the gut. "Separating the Hirnstamm Tower deck." A speaker stated, followed by the actual command deck system and its crew to lift off the ground. "Moving to Command Bridge, over."

"No need…." Shinji repeated the phrase, it felt oddly alien to him now. "So what can… Or I guess, what should I do?"

"Shinji Ikari." The way Katsuragi said his name felt more like a statement being read then her calling to him. He looked towards her as she, just for a brief moment to him, pulled off her sunglasses. He never felt such a cold stare from anyone else in his live, save for his… father, Gendo Rokubungi. "From this moment forward. You will never do anything."

That said and seemingly done, the command system was enclosed by a large sphere in the ceiling, silently twisting upwards like an Entry Plug would to an EVA. "I see…." Shinji murmured, unsure no of how to fell. The way she looked at me was different than Rokubungi would before. It self so… different so… so… cruel.