Foreword: Alright people, I've been sitting on this story for a little while, and I decided it was time to post some of the chapters I got done. Without much more ado, here's Chapter 1.
A Special Thanks to: Draknal. He's my proofreader, and I'd have missed MANY mistakes if it weren't for him. Thanks, man.
Catatonic
"Father! I need to help Asuka!" Shinji cried out, tears barely visible on his face. "It's doing things to her… She can't take it!"
The anguished screams and moans of pain made Shinji flinch visibly.
Gendo Ikari, Commander of NERV, sat there patiently, "Are you quite finished yet? No. You will stay in the cages on standby."
The young man was livid and shaking with rage, "You… You… YOU BASTARD! What would you do if it was REI out there"
The Commander glared even harder at Shinji, "That is irrelevant! This is the situation! Now, if you'll excuse me, I have business to attend to… Fuyutsuki… take care of this."
With that said Gendo stood up and exited the room, the Sub-Commander eyeing him cautiously.
Once the Commander had left, Fuyutsuki barked into the communications system, "Shinji! Get out there! Gendo may not think Pilot Sohryu is an asset to us, but both you and I believe otherwise!"
In a softer voice, he whispered, "I promised her that I won't let you become another Gendo…"
(-(-(-(-.-)-)-)-)
"EVA LAUNCH!" Shinji screamed at the top of his lungs.
Misato took a step back, "Er- What he said!"
Unit 01 was a blur of violet as it shot towards surface level. The ride would have normally thrown Shinji against his chair, but he was too anxious to get into the fray to worry about something as insignificant as gravity.
Unit 02 was curled up into a ball and was wilting under the baleful gaze of Arael, the 15th Angel. An occasional whimper or moan could be heard coming from the pilot at random intervals. The once proud Asuka was reduced to a weeping child.
With a feral roar, Unit 01 charged towards her Evangelion. He shoved Asuka out of the way and could feel the searing fingers draped across his brain as the Angel worked its magic.
He grunted in pain and managed to speak, "S-So… you l-like playing… w-with other people's m-minds… d-do you…?"
Unit 01 seemed to shrink in stature, but a shining yellow light enveloped it, bolstering his strength. Shinji struggled to stand, and seemed to reach out to the Angel.
"S-So you want to see how my l-life's been? SAVOR THIS! 'CAUSE THIS IS YOUR FIRST TASTE OF JUST HOW FUCKED UP I AM!"
Shinji felt his mind reaching out, just as the Angel's mind was doing. Like searing fingers, the Angel probed the Third Child's mind, digging deeper and deeper with its soiled fingers, bringing up his most painful memories. The pain was excruciating, but Shinji was fighting for the right reasons… He was fighting to protect something.
Instead of digging up memories blindly, somehow, Shinji was forcing Arael to relive his memories with him. A being such as Arael was not meant to feel such overpowering emotions, such as sadness, disgust, and rage.
Far in orbit around the Earth, the 15th Angel was flailing wildly. Its once luminescent body was quickly becoming a lifeless gray.
It was coming down…
(-(-(-(-.-)-)-)-)
Gendo Ikari slapped Shinji hard across the face, "LEAVE!"
The weeping child cried out with tears streaming down his cheeks, "But why daddy? Can't I stay with you? Don't you want me?"
In response, Gendo turned on his heel and began walking down the street.
The young boy cried harder and fell to his knees, "I knew it… I am worthless."
Shinji, the fourteen year old Eva pilot, staggered and fell to his knees, exactly like his younger self, hiding his face in his hands.
'No… No… No… Not this… Why are you doing this? Do you hate us that much?'
Shinji was ripped out of his musings as he felt a large impact in close proximity to his own Eva.
(-(-(-(-.-)-)-)-)
The 15th Angel had fallen from the sky and was twitching. Unit 00 had mobilized and was advancing upon the Angel with caution, edging closer and closer. It was apparent that Arael wouldn't make any other movements, so Rei unceremoniously cut the S2 organ from its body and it shattered in her hand.
Asuka shivered and regained a minimal amount of control over her Eva. She sat up and glanced around, 'I should be dead…'
Upon seeing Shinji, she flew into a rage, "YOU! YOU IDIOT! YOU JUST HAD TO SAVE THE LITTLE GIRL FROM THE TERRIBLE BEAST, DIDN'T YOU? YOU ALWAYS PLAY THE HERO, AND I'M SICK OF IT!"
Asuka was on top of Shinji, pounding away at Unit 01 over and over again. The nerve connections were finally severed once Misato realized what was going on.
(-(-(-(-.-)-)-)-)
Asuka sat in her room. There was no light. There was no order. There was only chaos. Her room was in complete disarray, but that paled in comparison to her mind.
'That bastard… always being the hero… Why did he save me…? I'm just going to hold him back… I've never even killed an Angel alone before… Why would Shinji waste his time saving me? It's not like I've done anything good for him… This is my fault… I should be in the coma… not him… Dummkopf…'
Misato Katsuragi ripped open the door to Asuka's room, "We're going."
Asuka looked up to her, hidden tears dripping down her cheeks, "W-Where?"
"Where do you think? To see Shinji," the woman said, bitterness openly showing in her voice.
"No…" the redhead whispered.
The Directions Operator moved to her and shouted, "MOVE IT! He saved your ass and you're just going to sit there?"
Asuka's face seemed shadowed by her hair, "Yeah… I didn't ask for him to do that… I… I…"
Misato drew herself up in stature and screamed, "I don't give a damn what you want! I give a damn about Shinji and I give a damn about you! If you don't see him, that'll affect him, then he won't work as well with you! Both of you will be unhappy then!"
The German girl threw herself on her bed and faced the wall, "I can't see him…"
"Why? Are you too afraid to admit that he saved you?" Misato's purple hair was tossed behind her head as she angrily scratched her ear.
Asuka drew herself into a ball and whispered, "Yes… I don't know what to feel…"
'Maybeit would be better ifI just let her be, for now...'Misato's glare softened and she put a hand on the girl's shoulder, "Alright… Just… Let me know when you want to see Shinji. I'll be there four times a week from five to six, so just order take-out on those days." The older woman exited Asuka's room to allow her some space.
The redhead curled up further and silently cried…
(-(-(-(-.-)-)-)-)
Shinji was everywhere yet nowhere at all… This was his mind. Nothing could intrude. Or so he thought…
Gendo Ikari was once again standing before Shinji, dark eyes blazing.
"Failure… You are a failure…"
Shinji faltered and looked away, "I… I know…"
Rei appeared next to him and whispered, "Nobody likes you… You have no friends…"
Again, Shinji took a step backwards, "Stop… I don't want to hear this. It's… to painful."
Next to come was Misato, "Look at yourself… You're a sniveling pansy. I'm surprised you aren't suicidal."
The young pilot fell to his knees and covered his face, "No, no, NO! I… am I really that bad?"
"You are… You bastard! YOU MURDERED MY SISTER! YOU STOLE MY ARM AND LEG!"
Shinji was kicked in the side of the head, and saw Toji when he looked up.
"Sh-she died? But she was alive when I visited her! How… How can I do stuff like this… Maybe I am worthless…" Shinji was curled into a ball and he cried silently.
Footsteps broke the tense silence. A flash of golden-red hair was easily recognizable in the dim room… Asuka.
Shinji called out to her, "Hey, Asuka! Asuka! It's me, Shinji. You know, Idiot-Shinji!"
She stopped and looked at him with a haughty glare, "I don't know a Shinji. Why would I care about somebody as useless dirt?"
Each footstep she took as she walked away sounded like shattering glass, and felt like fiery barbs.
"A…As… Asuka…"
(-(-(-(-.-)-)-)-)
Asuka Langley Sohryu rolled out of bed and quietly slid the door open. She had fallen into a routine in the last few days. There was no room for anything else. Brooding was the only activity she took place in. School wasn't mandatory, because Asuka had already graduated college.
She didn't go out of her way to spread misery or gloom. She didn't talk to Hikari. She didn't beat on the stooges.
She sat and thought… for sixteen hours at a time. The other eight were spent in dreams.
Asuka's once radiant hair was now dull, and her eyes, lifeless.
Misato noticed her change of appearance, and commented on it, "You look like hell! Why don't you go wash your hair and have a good meal?"
Asuka glanced at the woman and meekly nodded.
'She's so withdrawn… Does she blame herself for what happened to Shinji?' Misato thought as she watched the retreating girl.
(-(-(-(-.-)-)-)-)
Droplets of water dripped off of red strands of hair. Asuka stood there in the nude, not caring if somebody were to come in to the bathroom. Asuka's hair had regained the fresh and vibrant color, but her eyes were much different, they were pale as ever.
"I did it… It's my fault… I can't do anything right, can I?" she whispered.
Asuka slammed her face into her hands and started weeping. Slowly, she began to feel odd. Odd like there was somebody in the shower with her. She could feel that it was Shinji. Though she didn't know how it could be possible, she could feel his spirit.
This aura radiated strength and confidence, something that Shinji only did when he was piloting Eva.
Shinji was trying to tell her something. She knew what it was.
'I can't just wallow this whole time. I need to go and do something.'
Asuka's eyes lit up with a passion that had been taken away five days ago. She was going to do something. Anything would be better than doing nothing.
She quickly hopped out of the steaming water and dried herself off. After turning off the faucet and retreating to her room. The girl set about dressing in a mad frenzy. She quickly regretted this once she had put on her panties, because they stuck to her skin uncomfortably since she was still somewhat wet.
"God damn it!" she exclaimed as she removed the damp garment and began to dry herself off.
(-(-(-(-.-)-)-)-)
"I wonder how she's doing… She doesn't seem to be very happy since… Shinji… Why did you do something like that?" Misato whispered.
She had taken up her usual way of eating since Shinji left. Sitting like a gargoyle on her chair, the woman had her toast hanging from her mouth and she noisily ate it.
A flash of red alerted the woman to Asuka's presence.
Misato called out to her, "A-Asuka? Could you come in here for a minute?"
Asuka's head popped into the room, her eyes blazing with color, "What do you want?"
Misato was startled, "You… you're like a whole new person!"
The redhead scoffed, "Whatever. Anyway, I'm going to go out for a little while. Okay?"
"Thank God! You're going outside! I was thinking that you might have died in there." Misato let loose asigh of relief.
The girl rolled her eyes and shouted, "Oh shut up! I just needed some time to think!"
The Direction Operator chuckled, "Okay then… But Asuka… It's good to see you back to normal again."
The Pilot of Unit 02 grinned, "S'good to be back."
(-(-(-(-.-)-)-)-)
Tap… Tap… Tap… Tap… Asuka's fingers drummed an unknown beat on her desk at school. Nobody seemed to care that her head was down and she wasn't paying attention. Even Hikari let it slide.
The girl quietly began to hum. The tune was unknown, but it was confident. Though she lifted her head up and started doodling in her notebook, she continued to humming, albeit it was still soft. Her fingers were working of their own accord as the girl's pencil continued to draw lines, circles and shades on her paper.
Her eyes opened wide. Two dark eyes were staring right back at Asuka. They were sorrowful and had tears forming under them.
The eyes looking back at her were Shinji's.
Asuka audibly gasped when she realized that she had been drawing her fellow pilot in her notebook.
If he looked a little bit happier, Asuka wouldn't have minded too much, but he was in despair. He looked like a puppy that just got his food taken away and has been kicked a few too many times.
'I just don't think I can see him yet. I need to sort out some feelings…' she thought.
The girl silently closed her notebook and put her head back down on the desk.
There was no humming.
(-(-(-(-.-)-)-)-)
"Hey, Asuka! Where's Shinji?" Hikari said as she sat next to the German girl.
Asuka's expression darkened considerably and said, "The hospital… He's in a coma… Something bad happened to him during the last angel attack…"
Hikari pressed a hand over her mouth and said, "That's awful! Is he okay? Have you seen him yet?"
The pilot of Unit 02 shook her head, and Hikari started, "I can't believe it! You haven't even visited him yet? I know you may not like him much, but how can you just turn a blind eye to his problem?"
"Don't say it like that, Hikari… I just feel weird… I usually know exactly what to do in any situation, but this time… This time, I'm as lost a Kensuke on a date with a normal girl. I just don't know what to do…"
The Class Representative began chuckling, "Kensuke couldn't get a date with a normal girl. Anyway, this isn't like you, Asuka. You have to go see him in the hospital of course. That makes the most sense, that way you'll feel better."
Asuka's head lowered, "No…"
Hikari stomped her foot and said, "Damn it, Asuka!"
The redhead almost choked. Hikari never cursed, not even in the heat of rage. Yet, she was sure that the docile girl had indeed said those words.
"Stop being so stubborn! You can go back to hating him right after you see him, but you are going to visit him." She stomped her foot again, as if to seal the conversation.
The redhead sighed, "I can't, Hikari… I don't know what to do or feel around him. Especially not after what happened… I don't even care that he beat the Angel, or even that he protected me. I was attacking him… I hurt him. After it happened I started to punch him… And I-"
The Class Rep cut her off, "You're afraid he won't forgive you? Talk about unfounded fears. Have you really known anyone that Shinji hasn't forgiven for doing something to him?"
Though Asuka knew she could talk about the Commander, she thought it wise to leave him out of the conversation.
"No… not really… But then again, why would he forgive me?"
Hikari sighed, 'Some people are so ignorant of other people's feelings. I guess she just can't see how he feels.' "Look. If you don't see him within the week, I'll sell your cell phone number to the people that'll pay and turn a profit big enough to make my own Evangelion."
Asuka's jaw almost fell off, "You've gotta be shitting me… Scheisse… Fine, I'll visit Shinji by the end of the week."
Hikari Horaki smiled smugly, 'At least I know what tactic to use against her now.'
Asuka feigned being grumpy and finished her lunch by flinging the food into her mouth.
Asuka smiled mentally, 'At least Hikari cares about me.'
(-(-(-(-.-)-)-)-)
Misato sat at Shinji's bedside, her eyes threatening to shed tears. She had been at his bedside for forty-five minutes now, and just like every day, she told him of how Asuka was doing. The older woman resolved to tell him of the girl for the last fifteen minutes that she spent with him on each day.
"She's doing a lot better, you know… She used to shut herself in her room and say less than six words a day. They were so predictable… 'Shinji,' 'I'm hungry,' 'night,' and 'sorry.' I know… she doesn't seem like the kind of girl to apologize much, but she's changed a little. She even went to school today," Misato said while smiling faintly.
The Directions Operator sighed, "Rei's been here twice this week… I don't know if Asuka will come and visit you though… She's been blaming herself for this… I know that's the last thing that you want, but it's what she's doing. I'm not blind, you know… I can see that you like her… I'm just not sure if either of you notice it yet."
Shinji's heart rate quickened unnoticeably, and he seemed to want to move.
Tears dropped onto Shinji and she stammered, "I… I'm j-just not sure if you're c-coming back…"
(-(-(-(-.-)-)-)-)
Kouzou Fuyutsuki sat in his chair when a gruff man interrupted his thoughts, "Why did you do this, Professor?"
Gendo Ikari was standing in the Sub-Commander's office.
"Why do you think? If you had let that continue, Pilot Sohryu would have died. These kids deserve to live at the very least." Fuyutsuki's eyes were blazing and he was somewhere between his shouting and talking voice.
Nobody dared to yell at the Supreme Commander, Gendo Ikari!
Nobody except Kouzou Fuyutsuki…
"Damn it Gendo! You need to see what you're doing to these kids! They have bad enough pasts, but you have to go and act like this to them? Even Shinji, your own son, gets treated like a stray mongrel!"
The Commander turned around and began to leave, "Do not tell me how to act or how to raise children, Professor."
'You bastard… What did Yui see in you anyway?' the aging professor thought.
(-(-(-(-.-)-)-)-)
It was now Wednesday, the day that people most hated. Since it was the middle of the week, the teachers loved to pile work on to the students. Asuka didn't mind though, she had already passed college, so this was child's play.
The redhead again sat at her desk, though this time, she was actively doodling on her history folder. She used all of her concentration to make sure that she didn't draw him.
She had already finished the front and back of the folder, so she was now working on the inside. The front cover was created to have all sorts of tubes weaving through each other and becoming one large pipe system. The back was just pure chaos… Nobody really knew what she had drawn there. She had drawn Shinji's face, so she scratched it out and made it chaotic to hide his face… His poignant face was too much for Asuka right now.
The inside was quickly taking shape. She would draw a shape, then draw it smaller inside of the shape, then scribble circles inside of the various shapes. Drawing anything was better than drawing Shinji.
The teacher's dull voice called out, "… Miss Sohryu? Please answer the question."
"…" Asuka sighed, "The Americans nuked you guys…"
"… … … As blunt as that answer was, it is correct. World War II ended after the United States dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, and Nagasaki." The teacher turned around again and began to write on the board.
'That guy needs better questions… Anyway… I wonder if I should talk to Hikari,' Asuka thought as she began to fire up her laptop.
Once it had started up, a blinking light on the screen told Asuka that somebody was trying to talk to her.
The girl opened it, hoping that it was Hikari, but groaned when she realized that it was the stooges.
'Where's Shinji? What did you do to him? Oh God! She probably sucked his blood!'
Asuka furiously typed back, 'You prepubescent stooges! I am not a goddamned vampire!'
The only reply that she received was, 'Could've fooled me! I've seen you bare those fangs against people before!'
'Have I ever bitten anyone? Not other than Shinji! You should ask him what we do when Misato's out!' Asuka tapped the enter button and put on a devilish smile. She whispered, "This ought to get those morons."
Both Toji and Kensuke stood up and shouted in unison, "WHAAAT?"
Hikari turned to the two and shouted, "SIT DOWN! YOU TWO HAVE CLEAN UP DUTY TODAY!"
The two stooges sat back down in their seats and moped.
Hikari sent a message to Asuka and it read, 'What was that about?'
The redhead grinned and relayed their conversation to the Class Rep.
'WHAT! You and Ikari are doing THAT?'
Asuka rolled her eyes, 'No. I was just saying that to get them to do something stupid. Shinji would never do something like that… that idiot…'
Hikari smiled, and thought, 'Yep… She definitely likes him.' 'So… have you visited him yet?'
Asuka sighed and didn't reply.
'I'll take that as a no. You only have until Friday, you know.'
The redhead replied, 'I know that… I just can't go see him yet.'
'Okay then. If you don't see him today, I'll give your phone number to Kensuke, and you know what he'll do with that: Sell it on the internet. Not just school, but the INTERNET!' Hikari could feel the evil little smirk creeping up on her face.
Asuka was about to stand up and throw her computer at Hikari but just opted to type 'Fine… You do know how evil you are, right?'
'I know, and I'm going to be taking you right after school, just to make sure that you do go.'
Asuka just sighed, "There's no way to get out of it now…"
(-(-(-(-.-)-)-)-)
"Okay Hikari, let's just get this over with…" Asuka said with her hands on her hips.
The Class Rep smiled, "You have to spend at least an hour with him."
Asuka groaned and started to complain, "What! That's absurd! People might think I'd be doing something perverted!"
Hikari shot back a well placed retort, "Well, you are the one that said you and he do things together…"
The mortified Asuka shouted, "S-Shut up! I was kidding about that stuff! That's-"
The freckled girl cut her off and said, "But you do think about it, don't you?"
"Ye- I mean, not in a million years!" Asuka immediately covered her face to hide the bright scarlet tint to her skin.
The Class Rep grinned, and patted the girl's shoulder, "It's okay… I won't tell anyone. Just… try to be nicer to him, okay? Make sure that it's a progression though. He'll think something's up if you are just flat out nice to him."
Asuka allowed a small smile to grace her face, "I didn't know you were this devious, Hikari…"
(-(-(-(-.-)-)-)-)
Asuka gingerly sat down next to Shinji's bedside.
"Hey there… Idiot… Quite a fix you got yourself into, huh?" she said meekly.
Shinji's heart rate increased slightly, but the girl didn't notice.
She continued, "You really are an idiot, aren't you? You may have saved me, but I'm on standby for now… I can't fight anything until my synch ratio goes back above forty percent. I know you aren't laughing at me inside there, so that's the only reason I told you."
"I… know you can't hear me, but you better listen up, because I have some important stuff to say. Okay, here goes. I guess… I guess I wanted… Damn it! I-wanted-to-thank-you-for-saving-me!" The words all came out so quickly that Asuka had a tough time understanding what she had said. But all and all, she had still said it.
"Don't think that this'll be a habit though… I can't just let apologies ruin my reputation. People will think I've gone soft."
"I know I haven't been the nicest person… So why? Why did you save me? Why did you save me? What have I done for you?"
There was no response.
"It's okay… You don't have to answer… I feel a little bit better just knowing that I've spoken my mind. This is the first time I've been here to visit you, so you should appreciate your good fortune. I probably wouldn't have visited you before! Once you wake up, I expect some answers Shinji. I will get them…"
The redhead looked at Shinji, gently touching his hand,and whisperedso softly that nobody but the two of them could hear it, "Dummkopf…"
(-(-(-(-.-)-)-)-)
Misato Katsuragi was just getting off work and today was one of the days that she was visiting Shinji. She had forgotten to call Asuka at home before she went, but that didn't really matter, she knew where Misato would be anyway.
Each step she took brought the older woman closer to her goal. She needed to see if Shinji was alright. It was the same need that took over every time that she went to see him. It was a motherly need. She felt that Shinji would be neglected if nobody were to visit him.
The long, pristine corridors of the hospital seemed to get longer as Misato quickened her pace. She finally reached Shinji's door, and opened it.
"Scheisse, Misato! Can't I have a private conversation here?"
The purple haired woman backed out of the room and said, "Um… You've got five minutes… Then we should go home…"
Asuka's voice replied, "Yeah…"
Misato sat in a chair out side of Shinji's door and thought, 'Looks like I don't need to visit him today… I didn't think she'd be coming to visit him… How long has she been here?'
"Since school ended. She's been here since school ended," a voice said.
Misato looked up and took notice of the person standing in front of her, "Hikari, right? What are you doing here? She's been in there for an hour and a half?"
The girl with freckles chuckled, "I had to drag her over here. She most likely wouldn't have come otherwise. I told her she had to stay with him for at least an hour."
The woman stared incredulously, "How the hell did you get Asuka to do this?"
"I told her that I would give her phone number to Kensuke to sell on the internet. That definitely got her motivated." Hikari glanced at her finger nails and examined them.
Misato thought for a moment then said, "You threatened Asuka?"
The girl shrugged, "It was the only way to get her here. She would have been preparing until he came out of the coma! I did this for both of them… Asuka needed to talk to him, and he wanted her to visit him, I'm sure."
Misato gaped and said, "I didn't think you were that devious!"
Hikari spoke in a soft but matter-of-factly tone, "It's so obvious that they like each other. I don't know how they don't see it. I think Shinji is aware of his feelings for Asuka… but I know that she is clueless."
Misato nodded her head and stood up. She knocked on the door and said, "Okay Asuka! It's time to go!"
(-(-(-(-.-)-)-)-)
Asuka heard Misato call for her and she glanced back down at Shinji.
"I'm glad we could have this little chat, aren't you? Anyway Misato says that it's time to go, so I'll see you sometime soon. I'll make sure that I come to visit you at least one more time this week, okay? I really need to get going now, okay? Unless…"
She got a devilish glint in her eye and started to bark orders, "Alright Idiot! You have until the count of five to get up and come home with us! Five…! Four…! Three…! Two…! One!"
(-(-(-(-.-)-)-)-)
'Where am I?'
'You are in your mind.'
'Why?'
'Don't you remember?'
'… Yes…'
'Why did you do it?'
'The thing… that… I treasure most in life… I won't let anything take it away.'
'Heroism? Fame? Power?'
'Asuka…'
'Heh… That redheaded bitch? Why not choose Rei? She likes you.'
'I won't change for you… I'd rather die.'
'Why?'
'You'll never understand…'
'Why?'
'Because I don't…'
'I already know what'd happen.'
'No you don't… You can't just predict these things.'
'Oh, but I can.'
'NO YOU CAN'T!'
'Why aren't you this way all the time? Life sucks if you hold your anger inside.'
'I don't… No… I won't hold it in any more… There is no purpose.'
'You'll have to get past me to get back to her…'
'I'm not useless… Don't even label me. You don't know who I really am.'
'I'll keep you here forever.'
'You'll never take me alive!'
'… Well, technically you aren't alive.'
'It was a figure of speech… Besides, I'm going whether you like it or not.'
'Do you really want to return?'
'I… Yes.'
'Then go. I couldn't stop you if you're determined.'
'Thanks… Goodbye.'
'Just don't screw it up.'
Author's Notes: This chapter was the basic length that they will be: 5000 words. Should I update daily, or weekly? Give me some insight. By the way, Shinji is talking with his inner self in the last scene. Please review and give me your thoughts.
Outtakes
-
Torture
Shinji was everywhere yet nowhere at all… This was his mind. Nothing could intrude. Or so he thought…
Gendo Ikari was once again standing before Shinji. His once dark clothes were replaced. An immaculate white suit wrapped the man and a white hat flopped down over his eyes, masking the older man's face. He brushed it away and his face was a mask of deadly seriousness.
Shinji didn't know what to expect.
Gendo started bellowing, "CALIFORNIA HERE I COME! RIGHT BACK WHERE I STARTED FROM!"
"AH! NO! NOT THIS! ANYTHING BUT THIS!"
Gendo's face never changed from his serious façade.
Who is the Bitch Now?
Shinji was sitting in the broken shards of his spirit. More footsteps shattered the silence.
An odd noise was emitted from the steps, and a black flyswatter smacked Shinji on the head.
It wasn't a flyswatter. It was a flipper.
Pen-Pen continued squawking.
Shinji stood up in defiance, "Okay look! I can take being mentally abused by my friends and family, but a PENGUIN! That's way too much!"
Pen-Pen drew himself up to full height and shoved Shinji to the ground.
Shinji caught a glimpse of a silver flash in its flipper.
The homicidal, warm-water penguin had a switchblade to the young Ikari's throat.
'Bitch please! I rule you!' it thought.