Chapter 2: Arrival
Shinji
He had been called to Tokyo-3 by a single word, not a request, but a command, Come, the note had said, and so he had. But something was wrong. The street was empty, and he was (not) alone. He had felt a prickling on the back of his neck, and then the explosions started. He turned to face a scene of almost total chaos, as tanks, planes, and even battleships fired on the massive figure that was wading to the shore.
Its skin was covered in purple armor, the joints of its armor were bright green, but its face was the most terrifying part. Yellow eyes burned, full of hate. An angular jaw, locked in place by organic armor. A single horn, protruding from its forehead. The monster shrieked, and stretched its hand upwards, catching a falling missile, and everything went white. Stumbling back, ears ringing, Shinji rubbed his eyes. The scene he beheld was one of carnage, with hundreds of glowing crosses replacing the human war machines.
The armor on the monster's back opened, and hundreds of black orbs were launched into the air. Shinji recoiled, scrambling away as one of the pods crashed into the street in front of him. The Pod split, purple hands tearing it open, and a miniature version of the armored monster emerged. It stepped forwards, standing at least four feet taller than Shinji, its eyes glowing a toxic green, hands reached towards the teen, and then the creature fell flat on it's face. Shinji stopped, somewhat confused as the creature struggled to its feet, before fall again. The teen choked back his laughter as he continued to back up, until he bumped into something. Shinji looked up, and a pair of glowing green eyes looked back. The second creature lifted Shinji by the throat, bring his head level with its own. The monster's mouth opened, nail-like teeth gleaming dully.
Shinji shut his eyes, praying that his death would be quick, when a red Alpine Renault rammed into the monster, sending Shinji flying backwards. I'm not dead? was Shinji's first thought when he opened his eyes and saw a brown-haired woman offering him a hand. He took it and was pulled to his feet "Who Ar-" He started to say, before she cut him off. "Are you Shinji Ikari?" She asked. "Y-yes, what's go-"
He was once again interrupted. "My name is Maya Ibuki, I work for your father." She said, pulling him to the car. "W-where ar-" he was not surprised that she cut him off again "Come with me, there's no time to explain!" Shinji found himself shoved into the passenger seat, and Maya backed onto the street, as the creature she had smashed into the wall stirred. Maya floored the accelerator, and they sped away. During this time, the massive creature had moved closer to the shore, throwing the surviving warships like toys. "W-what is that thing?" Shinji stammered. Maya responded without taking her eyes off the road, completely unfazed by the giant. "That's an Evangelion, and we need you to help us kill it!" Shinji tilted his head as they entered a tunnel. "Ay-van-gelion?" the unfamiliar word didn't exactly roll off his tongue. Maya laughed. "We call the Evas for short, anyways, here we are." While Shinji had been distracted, they had been following the tunnel downwards, and had reached a massive door. Maya grabbed Shinji's arm and pulled him to a smaller door off to the side, which led to an elevator. A very fast elevator. After a short ride, which he was sure had gone sideways in addition to down, and much screaming, the doors opened, onto a hallway lined with even more elevators.
Another gut wrenching ride later, they stepped out into the largest office Shinji had ever seen. The first thing he noticed was the odd geometric pattern on both the floor and ceiling. The second thing he noticed was the massive desk at the far end of the room. Sitting at the desk, With his eyes hidden by reflective orange lenses, and his hands tented in front of his face, was Gendo Ikari, Supreme Commander of NERV, his father. Shinji gulped. Gendo said nothing. they both stared at one another, Gendo still as an ice sculpture, Shinji shivering. Gendo moved his hands away from his face, and gestured for Shinji to move closer, his expression cold. Shinji complied, quaking like a leaf in the wind. Gendo slowly pushed his chair back, and stood up, towering over his son, looking down on him, his gaze absent of emotion. Then he broke down laughing, as did Lieutenant Ibuki. Holding his stomach, Gendo collapsed back into his chair. Shinji tilted his head, more confused than ever. "I apologize Shinji, but the moment was just perfect." Gendo gasped between breaths. "You may go Lieutenant." Maya staggered back to the elevator, still giggling. Once the doors had closed, Gendo's face became grave once again. "All jokes aside, we are facing a very serious threat, and we need you, Shinji!" Shinji's mind was racing. "What do you mean, you need me?"
Gendo shook his head. "I'm not the best one to explain this to you, but I'll take you to those who can, don't look down." Shinji's eye widened "What do you mean don't look dow-AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH" he screamed as the section of floor he was standing on descended, moving quickly through a metal tube, before coming to a sudden stop, knocking him off of his feet. Pushing himself up, Shinji found himself facing an ordinary wooden door. He shrugged, and opened it. The only light in the room came from a pair of spotlights shining down on a metal folding chair, in which Shinji sat. He looked around, disconcerted by the absence of light, the room could be any size, could hold anything. Then the lights moved. Shinji shrieked as the glowing orbs were now level with his head. Each light was ten times taller than him, glowing a pale yellow. Shinji fell out of the chair, scrambling behind it, trying to hide as a voice boomed out. "THIS IS THE ONE YOU HAVE CHOSEN SACHIEL? THIS PATHETIC CHILD IS NOT A WARRIOR, HE IS MORE FIT TO BE A SCRIBE" Shinji cowered behind the chair, as the speaker's sheer presence washed over him. "I have made my choice Zeruel." Another set of lights, these ones much smaller and dimmer approached Shinji, and a feeling like being underwater fell across the teen, and a mask shaped like a birds skull the size of Gendo's office moved into sight, its eyes black sockets, with the dull orbs floating at their centers. "Hello Shinji Ikari, I am Sachiel, Angel of Water, and I have chosen you to aid me in the fight against the Evangelions!" And with that, Shinji's eyes rolled up, and he fainted.