The following is a non-profit, fan work based off the respective works of Hideaki Anno and Guillermo del Toro
All rights belong to the original creators, Legend Pictures, LLC; and Gainax Company, Limited
The Bluefire Phoenix presents...
A Chapter of Evangelion 1: Today is (not) Lost…
Chapter III: Welcome to NERV
"First the Security Council splits off from us. Then they remove five trillion dollars from the budget? The world is burning and they think it's okay to spill the water down a hole?"
-Soundbite from US Amb. Kelly Wright's address to the UN General Assembly, 14 September 2003
Shinji woke gasping for air. His panting went on for nearly a minute. The clinical smell disinfectant filled his nose. A bit of light filtered through the blinds of a window. He finally controlled his breathing and gazed upon a ceiling he didn't recognize. A sigh escaped his lips. "I'm…alive?"
Stacker Pentecost looked crosser than usual. Major Misato Katsuragi was before him in full dress uniform. She stood at attention.
The marshal flipped through her file. He skimmed over each page and then placed it atop another pile.
"This is unacceptable, Major. Truly unacceptable," Stacker began He had reached the last of the papers in the file. "Insubordination, accosting the Director in the middle of a red alert, usurping the chain of command. What could you possibly, possibly have to say for yourself?"
"I was doing what was in the interest of Pilot Ikari, sir."
"And you think this gives you the right to bypass me and the Director?"
"No sir, I was trying to point out that Pilot Ikari lacked the sufficient skills to execute the director's plan."
"Don't you think we knew that, Major?"
Misato caught herself. She gave her lip a bite. "You mean that was your plan! You thought you could—"
"Watch your tone Major," the Marshal growled.
"He's been out cold for three days. Was that part of your plan too?"
The Marshal relaxed just a little. "It bothers you that we used the boy, doesn't it?"
Misato grew silent.
"I know this isn't ideal. But we are not angels or saints. Shinji is the only one we have right now, and that is the terrible truth we have to live with," Stacker said. Gently locked his hands together and set them on his desk.
"But…there has to be someone else," Misato whispered.
"Major, I could have you court martialed and you are concerned about the boy?"
"Sorry sir."
"Working for NERV is important. But your actions the other day, dismal application, and your abhorrent lifestyle have led me to believe you think that this is a joke."
Misato hung her head. "It isn't, sir."
Stacker let out a sigh. "The Director wants your head, Misato. I was able to convince him otherwise."
The woman looked up. "You mean it? When do I go back to Japan?"
The Marshal looked off to the side for a moment. "You...you are not going back."
"What?"
"Now that the Third Child has been extracted, the presence of a NERV agent without cause would violate our charter and the Security Council would happily leave us high and dry for it."
"Then what are you going to do with me?"
"You have been assigned here as Pilot Manager."
Misato hand to use every microgram of will power she possessed. Purple veins popped out of her clenched fist. "I am a trained NERV agent, not some bureaucrat. This is a waste of my talents," she calmly said between deep breaths.
Stacker forced himself up to his feet. He locked eyes with Misato. "Enough Major. It is time to grow up and take responsibility."
Misato forced her eyes forward. "I am grown up!" She shouted.
"No, you are not. I know what went on in Japan. You spent every day like it was spring break. You have never taken anything seriously and so now I have to draw a line," Stacker countered. "Now you either accept this assignment or you leave. And if you leave you won't see Ritsuko or Shinji…or me ever again."
The last sentence sent a chill down Misato's spine. Her lips quivered into a frown. "Bu—I—no, you can't," she started to bubble out.
"What's it going to be, Misato?"
"I—I accept," she finally said. Stacker nodded in approval.
"This is your last chance. Think before you act and you'll be fine. Now go see Ritsuko. She'll inform you of your specific duties. Dismissed."
Stacker picked up a picture frame off his desk the moment Misato disappeared out the door. The frame held a photo of Stacker and a little girl at a beach. He was holding the girl in his arms. The girl's smile seemed too wide for her face.
Shinji was sitting up on his bed. His back was heavily bandaged up and he had stitching on the scratch on his face. Doctor Akagi was running some tests on him.
"You'll have a few scars, but no permanent injuries," she commented.
"Doctor what—what was that thing?" he quietly asked. The doctor paused in her work and turned to Shinji.
"I don't think I am one who should tell you that. You should ask Stacker or your father," she admitted. Shinji shook his head.
Ritsuko let out a sigh. "We call them Nephilim. Our best guess says that they are aliens that are crossing over from another dimension. We encountered something like them fourteen years ago. That's all I can tell you about that," she said.
"Aliens from ah—ah another dimension?"
The doctor nodded. "Sounds crazy, but the truth is we don't really know anything other than they seem programmed to destroy humanity. Pretty scary right?"
Shinji just sat there. Misato entered the room. A dejected look marred her face. "Oh, sorry for interrupting. I was told to report to you doctor," she said. Her voice was barely above a mumble. Ritsuko stood up and gave Shinji a passing pat on the head.
She walked by Misato who followed her out. "How did your talk go?" Ritsuko asked. The women started walking down the hall.
"Well I'm still here so there's that," Misato sighed.
The doctor and turned to the major. "I know we haven't been on good terms for a long time. But I'm glad you stayed," Ritsuko admitted. She looked down at her feet. A half smile crept onto Misato's face.
Do you mean that Rits?" Misato asked. The doctor nodded.
"You deserve all the time you can get with him. I never understood until—until a while ago," she admitted. Misato wrapped her friend in a hug.
Ritsuko patted Misato's back then broke the embrace. The blonde put on a sincere, amused smile. "Okay, okay. We can continue this later. Right now you need to get up to speed on what you're going to do since you're staying," she said.
The women walked to the barracks section of the headquarters. Crews were in the middle trading shifts or going to the mess hall. A couple of maintenance workers were repairing damage from the attack. Sparks flew off the blowtorch they used to remove the metal plating.
On duty soldiers saluted the women while the ones on break either gave a passing nodded or were too wrapped up in their conversations to notice. The atmosphere felt alive and relaxed. But Misato could see an edge of nervousness in their eyes.
Ritsuko stopped at an empty room. She used her ID to access the space. The door hissed open. They entered a decent sized common area.
Misato counted three doorways on the left and right side of the room with an actual door on the far side. The room felt rather cold and calculated. The feeling was amplified by the grey color scheme.
There were a few furnishings in the common room. Two green sofas and a coffee table occupied the giant center rug. Bookshelves occupied the far wall.
The Major spotted a chalkboard by the entrance. It was divided into twelve cells with tape. The left hand cells were nowhere near as long as the right most cells.
"This is the Icebox," Ritsuko said, "now that we have more than one pilot; we will have to move them in here." She opened the back door. "Back here is your office and bedroom. All bathrooms are across the hall."
Misato looked around the place. "You mean Ayanami is going to be here too?" She asked.
"Yes Misato, Ayanami too."
Those words caused Misato to shudder quite a bit. "Okay, so what do I do exactly?" She said after she regained control.
"Simple. Make sure they get to training on time, maintain a healthy diet, and keep an eye on their mental state," Ritsuko said.
"Sounds easy enough. I think I can do this!" Misato said.
"Is that enthusiasm I hear?" Ritsuko joked.
"I'm going to prove to him that I can do this. That I deserve my NERV badge," Misato declared.
"Well I hope you can keep up that attitude."
"Why?"
"Because the Marshal told me that if he catches even a whiff of alcohol, you're out."
Misato felt her eye twitch.
What am I doing here? Shinji thought. Ritsuko and Misato had been gone for a while.
Fighting alien monsters with a giant robot. I mean how did I even survive that? He continued to worriedly ponder. The battle started to come together in his mind.
The details started to come out. A headache from hell violently erupted inside his mind. Something else took shape in his mind's eye.
Eye. Red. Madness.
Tower. Fire. Watching.
"Ghaa! Ahh! Rhaa!" Shinji screamed. Alarms sounded around him. A nurse rushed to his side. Shinji saw her lips move but heard no words. He felt a prick in his arm followed by a return to darkness.
"Was it contamination?" He heard a familiar voice say through the fog in his mind.
"Something like that. But I can't tell," another voice answered.
The feeling in Shinji's right arm began to return. He clenched some cloth. Pain shot straight up his arm. A hand landed on his shoulder.
Shinji's eyes fluttered opened. Misato was hovering above him. "You all right?" She asked.
Shinji nodded. Misato smiled. "Good."
"Where am I?" Shinji asked. His voice was raspy and his throat burned.
"They call it the Icebox. It's our new home," Misato said. She helped Shinji up then got him a glass of water.
The boy took in his surroundings. He was now in a grey room that lacked a door. "Take it easy, kid," Misato said before she left.
On Shinji's nightstand were several manuals and guides. The sound of heavy boots stopped him before he could pick one up. In his door way was a tall, dark skinned man. His face was worn down and his hair was starting to grey.
"Hello Shinji," the man greeted. The boy felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up.
"Marshal," Shinji muttered.
Pentecost nodded. "Your recovery has gone well. That's good. I would have seen you sooner, but your father had the command staff on high alert until this morning," he said.
He walked a little closer. "Are you okay?" Pentecost asked.
Shinji turned his head away. "Why am I the only one who can pilot the EVA?"
"Isn't that the question that I've asked every morning since you arrived," Stacker mused. Shinji bit his lips. "The truth is I don't know."
Shinji looked up. "What?"
"All I know is that some people can be pilots, but most can't. What the rules are that determine that are above my pay grade. They just tell me who they are and I have to live with that fact," Stacker coldly admitted. He sat down next to Shinji.
"How many of us are there? Pilots I mean," Shinji asked.
Stacker pondered a moment. "Including you? Three. Two here at the GeoFront and one awaiting their unit to finish being manufactured at EuroCommand," the marshal said.
"Three? You're protecting the world with three pilots?" Shinji shouted. He felt his heart pound faster and faster. Stacker placed a firming hand on the boy's shoulder.
"Shinji I've known your father a long time. He knows what he's doing. In the meantime, read up and get ready," Stacker said. He stood up and started walking to the exit.
"Ready for what?" Shinji asked.
"Anything and everything, kid," Stacker said reached the door.
Gendo was sitting at a table in the center of a dark room. Large, strange machines dangled down from the ceiling. Each had a large red eye that was menacingly transfixed on the Director. Their grey, mechanical bodies creepily moved up and down on silent hydraulics. It gave the illusion that they were breathing.
An unnatural silence gripped the room. The Director hid his expression behind his locked hands. He carefully pulled a file out of a silver briefcase.
"As you can see, the Evangelion project has proven successful at fending off the Nephilim. Just as you predicted," Gendo said.
One of the machines, numbered six on the side of its "head" moved in closer to Gendo. "Yes but the cost of repairing Unit-01 is far greater than we originally anticipated. Even as large as our resource pool is, we do have our limits, Ikari," it spoke in a heavily synthesized voice. Gendo calmly noted.
"I know, but this is a war. We can't expect the optimal result will occur in every battle. In fact I would say this encounter went better than anyone could have hoped for," he replied.
"That brings us to the issue of Unit-01's designated pilot. You've chosen your own son for the job. It seems highly inappropriate to give such a weapon to your own child," another one, marked number four, pointed out.
Gendo carefully adjusted his coat. "As you gentlemen know we have a very small pool of pilots to select from. It is an unfortunate coincidence that one of our pilots happens to be my son. But the Marduke Report clearly states that he is a legitimate pilot candidate. And we used him to that end," he said.
"And what of the Katsuragi girl?" the one designated number eight asked. Gendo bobbed his head slightly.
"I have decided to add her to my staff," he finally said.
"Is that wise?" number six asked.
"The Major is loyal to Pentecost and Pentecost is loyal to me. She will not be a...problem for you," Gendo answered.
The machine members looked at each other then back to Gendo. The largest of them, marked number one, approached the Directo. "You are skating on thin ice, Ikari. We swore to safeguard humanity's future. Do not make us break that promise," the it warned.
The robots faded away and lights came on, revealing a simple white room. The only door hissed open. Pentecost strode in. "So did they fire you?" he asked.
Gendo let out a snickering, sarcastic laugh. "Who would replace me? You?" he coolly jested. He stood up and walked up to the Marshal.
"Thought never crossed my sir. What's the plan in the mean time?"
"Training. Every day. Shinji's going to sink or swim, and he'd damn well better make the Olympic team."
"Sir, he was just released from the hospital wing. Shouldn't we give him a few days to recover?" Stacker asked. Gendo morbidly shook his head.
"He's back on active duty as of now."
Stacker frowned. "He's still a kid, Gendo. Can't we just pretend that he's normal?"
"Shinji hasn't been 'normal' for fourteen years."
Shinji stared up at his new unfamiliar ceiling. His clock read 22:37. He should have been asleep. He should have been dreaming.
But every time he closed his eyes, he felt as if he were back in the cockpit. His body would start to ache and his head would become inflamed. He could hear the Nephilim roar. He could smell the smoke.
So he lay sprawled out atop his cot, eyes gazing into the nothingness above. His mind swirled with stats, tactics, and jargon from the books he was given. The restlessness was starting to eat at him as the clock continued to tick away.
The curtain that acted as his only source of privacy shifted a bit. Shinji looked up to see Misato standing in the doorway. She was wearing a short nightgown. The boy felt his cheeks redden as his eyes inadvertently moved up the woman's slender legs.
He embarrassingly turned away. "Sorry, my stuff hasn't arrived yet. I had to borrow this from Ritsuko," she said. "May I come in?"
Shinji shook his head. Misato frowned. "Well I just wanted to say that you were very brave the other day. I don't think I could have done it. Anyway you should get some sleep. I'll...see you tomorrow."
To Be Continued...
A/N: Hello and thank you for reading Chapter III. Just as a heads up, don't expect this kind of speed for every project. Most of this story is done already, so it's a matter of editing it, writing these notes, and publishing it to the site. We're approaching one hundred views in just two days. That's pretty exciting.
I actually really like writing this chapter. Not a lot going on, but plenty of relationship stuff. Misato and Stacker have there first real conversation. Yes I played the pronoun game with you at the end of it. But I'd like to think that you guys and girls are smart enough to put two and two together. Shinji learned what the Nephilm are. Got to love that quick and utterly disposable explanation from Ritsuko.
/|Aliens|\
(I was trying to do that thing Giorgio Tsoukalos does on Ancient Aliens, I don't think it worked)
Back to my reality. So yes, as far as we know the Nephilim are just another alien race seeking the destruction of humanity. Big surprise there. Misato and Ritsuko have a nice chat about Misato's new job, mixed with a couple of character moments. Inadvertently, I have really enjoyed writing these two. Stacker and Shinji discuss why Shinji is a pilot. And Gendo talks with the GLaDOS cosplay committee.
Oh and Shinji had an apocalyptic vision possibly caused by his budding PTSD. Just another day at the GeoFront.
What do you guys think? Leave a comment or a question for me. Maybe even review it!
Until next time, remember that Aperture Science does what they must, because they can