Chapter 1: Dear Shinji
2015
Shinji Ikari stood on the balcony. He was home alone, deep in thought when the angel alarm snapped him out of it. He was taught the sound so he'd remember it and hop into action when the time came.
"Damn it." He said as he dashed to his closet, dragging out a box labeled "Shinji" and searching through the videotapes.
Eventually, he found one labeled "Watch this when the angels start to attack."
He had a small TV with a VCR in his room, so he inserted the tape and his 'play.'
The image of Mother faded in.
"Hello, Shinji. If you're watching this, that means that the angels have arrived at last, and the Third Angel is coming. The military will do their thing to grandstand against it, but the only thing that can take out an angel is an Eva, and at this point you should have already synchronized with it."
Shinji briefly though back to a month ago when he had his first activation test with Evangelion Unit-01.
One month ago
"Shinji, today you will see your mother when you synchronize with Unit-01."
Father had a menacing exterior, and it made Shinji nervous at times, but he knew the man went well. Over the years, he didn't see a whole lot of Father but he still checked in from time to time, and it's clear he was trying. Reaching out to people simply wasn't in his nature, but Shinji appreciated when he tried. Whether it was a phone call every week or so, or stopping by for dinner, Father made it clear that he was making an effort for Mother's sake.
The day after Mother went away, Father presented Shinji with a large box of videotapes and letters meant for him, explaining that she left thm in case something happened to her. When Shinji turned 6, one of the videotapes explained that he'd have to pilot a giant robot one day. When he asked Father, he explained it's what Mother wanted. From there, Father had Shinji start training in Gehrin.
Training was exhausting, but at least he wasn't alone. He was excited to start when he found out Rei would be training too. He met Rei when he was 5, and Father explained that Mother had a long-lost twin sister that couldn't take care of her, and that Rei would live with them, so the two grew to be very close. Shinji held solace in the fact that whatever he did, his cousin Rei had his back. Although, when Shinji would go to school, Rei would have to stay underground. When he asked Father why, he said that she needed to be homeschooled due to issues before she lived with them.
By the prime fighting age of 14, Shinji was ready to sync with Unit-01 and meet mother for the first time in years.
"Yes, Father. I'm ready for this. I'll make sure to say hi for you."
Father gave Shinji a small smile and a formal pat on the shoulder. He nodded and turned to make his way to where the Eva cage. Shini was used to the way Father communicated, often wordlessly conveying things.
Shinji found his new plugsuit, coloured blue and white with an '01' on the chest. It was much more comfortable than the test plugsuits, mainly because this one was fitted to his body. It was awkward to have Miss Ritsuko go up and down him with a measuring tape, but she didn't make him too uncomfortable. He sealed the suit, fitted his neural clips and made his way to the cage.
Along the way, he saw Rei in the hall. She was wearing head bandages and a cast on her arm, which she aquired from her activation test a month prior. When he asked about Unit-00 and his core, he couldn't get a straight answer, even from her, so he resolved he'd find out a some point. When she saw him approach, she smiled.
"Hello, Shinji. Ready for the activation?" She asked in her usual quiet voice. Rei was not the most expressive person ever, and often spoke very formally. Shinji attributed this to her love of literature and upbringing pretty much being in NERV headquarters. When it had changed from Gehirn, he was not sure.
"Yeah, just a little nervous and shaky, as you can see." He aswered sheepishly.
"Don't you have faith in your father's work?" She asked.
Shinji rubbed the back of his head "Not particularly."
There was a tense beat.
And both laughed. Rei's laugh was subdued, but so was her whole personality. Growing up in the geofront does that to you.
"Nah, it'll be fine, I think. He and Miss Ritsuko know what they're doing." He said sheepishly.
Rei nodded. "They are careful, and as long as you are, we won't have matching injuries."
Shinji smiled "Right, heh. Well, I'll make my way to the cage, and I'll see you after."
"See you then."
They smiled at each other and Shinji briefly squeezed her shoulder before continuing to the cage.
It was dark and quiet in the entry plug, but the silence was interrupted by Miss Ritsuko's voice. "Ready, Shinji?"
"Ready."
"Alright, filling the entry plug."
Shinji hated this part. He knew he wouldnt drown in the LCL, but he hated feeling it enter his system and it took forever to expel it. At times he felt like it was still in his lungs for days. The plug filled and he tried his best not to cringe at the feeling.
The voiced outside ran some more numbers, something about depth and whatnot, and the entry plug's walls went rainbow for a moment.
Shinji closed his eyes and focused.
Mother...
Mother...
Mother...
Silence for a moment...
...
...Shinji?
Mother?
SHINJI!
It was her, he could hear her voice in his head, crystal clear, just like how she sounded in the videotapes.
Mother? It worked? That's you?
Yes, Shinji, my baby, yes it's me! I'm in the core! Oh gods, I wish I could give you a hug, you've gotten so big!
Shinji felt a comforting warmth around him.
Mother, I'm... I don't even know what to say right now, I want to cry.
Good thing you're in liquid right now, then.
He smiled at that.
My, my, you sure do think a lot, young man. How's your father?
He's alright. Not the most skilled at raising me, but he makes his effort. He's tried his best over the years I think, but he's a bit awkward.
That's the Rokubungi genes. When you get out of here, tell him "Told you so."
Shinji chuckled. Alright, I will. He misses you a ton and says hello.
I'm glad he listen to me and- Rei? Who's Rei?
Oh, she's my cousin. Apparently you had a twin sister that couldn't take care of her anymore, so she's lived with us since. Because of something that happened with her parents, she grew up in NERV pretty much. Oh, um, Gehirn became NERV. Dunno when, I'm a kid.
...Ah, I see. The atmosphere was awkward, but quickly changed. I see you found my cello. Wow, you're a little prodigy, aren't you?
Oh, stop it, Mother. I'm alright.
Oooooh, you cook too. So you must have a woman clinging to you. What's her name, and what did you feed her and serenade her with?
What?! I- um, I don't have a girlfriend.
Not yet, that is. I'm sure you'll have a ton of ladies lining up soon enough, and I have a videotape for that. You're in junior high school aren't you?
Yeah, I'm transferring to a new one soon.
See? Ample opportunity.
"Shinji? Shinji? Hello?"
That was Miss Ritsuko.
"All good over here, Miss Ritsuko!"
"I'll say, You're holding at a steady 75% sync rate! I got some great data, and we'll shut this down shortly." The scientist beamed through the comm window.
"Ok!"
That's my boy! Shinji felt pride enveloping him.
T-thanks, Mother. Looks like they have to shut it down, but it was very nice to finally talk to you again.
You too, my baby. Remember what I always say.
Yes, anywhere can be paradise as long as you have the will to live. I love you, Mother.
I love you too, Shinji.
Then it went dark again.
The test concluded, and Shinji got out of the entry plug fast. Stepping onto the catwalk, he saw Father, and could tell he had several questions.
"How was it?" He asked with a sense of urgency, despite himself.
"I heard her, Father. She spoke to me. She's very proud of both of us."
Father gave the smallest smile. "Then it was a success. Well done, Shinji."
Shinji gave a smile of relief "Thanks. Oh, she also said to tell you 'told you so,' and mentioned 'Rokubungi genes'? Not sure why, but yeah."
He nodded "Yup, that's your mother. As lively as she left."
"When you launch, make sure to remember that any pain inflicted on the Eva, you will feel, but it won't actually be on your body, just the sensation of it. Angels have a distinct core, and that's what you need to attack it with. Of course, I'll make sure you remember that when you sync. But I'll keep this one short. Fight well, I love you, and anywhere can be heaven as long as you have the will to live. Bye!"
The video came to an end, and Shinji put the tape in the box, then hoist it into a bigger box with packing peanuts. He closed both boxes and sealed each with packing tape, then quickly grabbed a jacket before he heard the distinct honking of a car horn.
Stepping out of the front door of the apartment building, he saw Misato in her Renault Alpine, waiting for him. He got in the front passenger seat and mentally prepared himself for her driving.
"Hey Shinji, glad you were ready on time." The charming older lady said to him.
Shinji had known Misato Katsuragi for a few years at this point. She joined NERV when he was 10 after being brought on by Miss Ritsuko. After college, she served some time in the military before working in NERV Berlin. When she was reassigned to Japan, Father asked her about taking care of him while he was wrapped up in his duties as commander. She happily obliged, and Shinji moved out of the Geofront to live with her. It was a shame Rei couldn't move with them, being confined to the Geofront at the time. Misato had an apartment in the city, but they were both told that when the angel attacks began, she would be reassigned to a new apartment. Hopefully Section 2 and the movers could get their stuff moved before it was crushed underfoot by the angel.
"Well, this is what I trained for, isn't it?" He responded calmly.
"Sure is! And angels won't know what him them! I'll start thinking of some nicknames for ya!" She said with a wink.
Shinji flushed slightly "Ah, well, I'm just here to protect people, y'know..."
Misato reached over and ruffled his hair "Shinji Ikari, you are such a humble young boy, alllllways downplaying yourself, but I'm telling you: once you start at that new school, you're gonna have girls flooding in." This was true, the new school part, not necessarily the girls part, as Shinji and Rei were both due to transfer to Tokyo-3 First Municipal Junior High School after Shinji attended another school in further-away part of the city and Rei was tutoured in the Geofront.
Shinji flushed harder and gave a nervous chuckle. "It's a good thing you came fast. If I showed up late and people got hurt, I'd be devastated."
She turned her head and offered a smile "Don't worry, just stay focused and we'll all be okay."
As soon as they got into the Geofront they urgently parted ways; Misato to Central Dogma and Shinji to the lockers to get changed. He quickly threw on his plugsuit and let it tighten around his figure. He hastily put his clothes in the locker, grabbed his neural clips and headed towards the cage. On the way out, he saw Rei waiting for him. He smiled at her.
"Good luck, Shinji." She smiled back, as she pulled him into a brief hug with her good arm.
"Thanks, Rei." He said before continuing on his way.
When he got there, he saw Ritsuko standing outside with her lab coat overtop a form-fitting bathing suit. Eyes up, Shinji. Good.
"H-hey Miss Ritsuko, what's with the bathing suit?"
She regarded him with a nod "Hello, Shinji. I had to quickly take a dive and check something with the Eva. Seeing you in front of me means Misato got you here safely. Thank everything sacred, given her navigation skills."
"Yup!" He responded "And as 'safe' as I can be with her driving."
She laughed "Misato Katsuragi at her finest. Now, get in there and we'll get a head start on the angel."
He walked past her into the cage, where the room was dark. "Um... what's with the lights?"
Suddenly, they all turned on at once, revealing Unit-01 awaiting him "Oh."
"Shinji, it's been a while."
The voice came from above, and he saw father standing up in the booth.
He cocked his head up "Oh, hey Father. It's been a couple weeks, hasn't it?"
"Yes. It's been quite busy since the activation tests. Ready?" The man inquired. His tone was flat, but Shinji knew he wanted to say 'Ready to pilot with Mother?' but they both knew her presence inside Unit-01 was unknown to general NERV staff.
"Yeah. Hopefully the training pays off." he responded.
"Good. It will. I'll speak to you after the sortie. Best of luck, Pilot Ikari." And with that, Shinji climbed into the entry plug and the sync began.
Mother...
...Shinji?
Hi again.
Hello, my baby. Sync testing again?
Nope. Angel attack.
Oh! Theres a videotape for that! Did you watch it?
Yes, Mother, I watched it.
Good! Now launch me and let's do this. You'll be in control, but I'll be here. Remember that.
Thank you.
"Eva Unit-01, launch!"
Unit-01 careened to the surface and Shinji recognized that he was in the middle of Tokyo-3, which had shifted to 'battle-mode.' During a dinner, Shinji asked about fighting the angels, and Father briefly explained that Tokyo-3 was designed so that the buildings could retract into the ground when an angel attacked, and several of the buildings in the city could store weapons.
"Shinji, can you hear me?" Cut in Misato.
"Loud and clear, Miss Misato."
"Good! Look to your right, there should be a building with a pallet rifle for you."
Sure enough, there was. Shinji grabbed it and briefly recalled his weapons training. Giving a 12 year-old a gun sounds like a horrible idea, but who would say no to Gendo Ikari, aside from his MIA wife? Thankfully, Shinji figured out how to properly hold a rifle and the safety measures. After his activation test, Miss Ritsuko set up a simulation body for him so that he could get accustomed to the Eva's weapons. 'Centre the target and pull the switch.' became a mantra for him while doing the simulation, which was basically hitting computerized targets.
Shinji examined the rifle in his hand when he heard a large boom. He looked up, and over the horizon was the angel: a tall, bipedal beast with skeleton-like fingers and three claws on each arm. In his view a window came up '3rd Angel: Sachiel'
See it, Mother?
Clear as day, my son. Now, remember what I said in the video.
Yeah, yeah, aim for the core.
Get closer, I'll know the core when I see it.
"I'm getting closer." He said over the comm.
"Good call, Shinji. Minimize the damage in the city. We'll have a new cable for you." Responded Misato.
He nodded, and broke into a sprint, coming to a clean halt at the edge of Tokyo-3. Shinji imagined how he would've performed had it not been for his practice moving Unit-01. He shuddered at the thought of falling on his face and screwing everything up.
Hey, focus, enough self-loathing.
Sorry.
He now had a full visual on the angel. It had a ribcage of sorts, and a large red sphere in the middle.
There it is! The core! Just break that and the angel's dead!
Got it. And with that, Shinji let loose a volley of shots from his pallet rifle. Unluckily, the shots bounced off of a large hexagonal forcefield.
Damn it. AT-Field. You need to get closer. Fight it hand-to-hand.
He nodded "Miss Misato, I'm switching to melee."
"Roger, be careful." She said as a building came up for him to put away his rifle.
With his hands free, Unit-01's hands curled to fists and it got closer to Sachiel. As soon as it was within swinging distance, the angel began throwing blows rapidly. Shinji caught it's bony fist in the Eva's palm, but he was outsmarted. The angel used a concentrated beam to knock away his grip, and he slipped for a moment, giving it some leverage. The angel grabbed Unit-01's head and lifted it up.
Shinji, kick it's core, NOW! Had it not been for Mother, he would still have been out of focus, but she made him privy to an opening, so he seized his opportunity and swung a leg into the core.
The angel dropped him as it reeled back, and Shinji quickly got onto his feet. He reached into his left shoulder pylon and grabbed his progressive knife. Weapons training included a myriad of blades, so this felt very natural. prog knife in hand, he charged towards the recuperating angel, but stopped short at the sight of the AT-field.
Shinji, project your AT-field. It'll neutralize the angel's.
He stuck his free hand out, and willed his AT-field to manifest. Sure enough, it did, and with some strain he made it move forward. When it made contact, Sachiel's AT-field shattered like a car window, and it was momentarily stunned.
NOW! The mother-and-son duo thought in unison.
He stepped forward. Grabbing the angel by it's throat, he plunged the prog knife right into the core. Upon contact, it made a small crack, but did not break. So he shoved the angel onto it's back, and swung his blade again.
And again
And again.
And again.
One more his, and the blade cracked all over. Shinji put his knife into both hands, and drove it into the fractured core. With a loud cracking sound and a shill screech, he watched the core burst and the angel stop moving in seconds.
Silence reigned the entry plug, only Shinji's wild panting could be heard.
"...Target has gone silent!"
Yes! Well done, Shinji! Oh, my baby, I'm so proud of you! A thousand kisses! If only!
Shinji blushed. T-thank you, Mother. As he leaned his head back in his pilot seat.
A few minutes later, he made his way to the Eva-sized elevator, which came down a lot slower than the launcher came up. He decided to have a short nap, and Mother's warmth made his exhausted body fall asleep in minutes.
A series loud clunk noises brought Shinji back from his power nap, which lasted no longer than 10 minutes. He knew this meant that he was back in the cage. He bid Mother farewell and opened the entry plug.
Stepping onto the stairs, he saw Miss Misato and Miss Ritsuko waiting for him on the catwalk.
"Well done, Shinji!" Said his captain "How are you feeling?"
"T-thanks. I'm okay, just... tired. Training never made me feel like my hands and feet were 100 pounds each." He answered.
"Well, it's only natural for someone with your sync rate." Explained Miss Ritsuko. "In the heat of battle you reached 80%, and the higher it goes, the more you feel. You need to take more care not to over-exert yourself. We can't have our pilots too sore to move."
"Alright, yeah. I'm gonna go shower this stuff off me." He said as he stepped down the stairs.
"Go ahead. I'll wait for you to come out and we'll go to the new place." said Misato.
"One more thing before that; I just want to give you a quick checkup before you go." Cut in Ritsuko.
Shinji nodded and sluggishly made his way to the showers.
Just outside the cage, he saw Father, who approached him, stopping him in his tracks.
"How was she?"
"Good. She helped me stay focused."
Father smiled. "Good. Well done, Shinji." and he turned around to walk away.
Shinji watched him, then a thought crossed his mind "W-wait, Father."
Father stopped and looked over his shoulder.
"I understand Miss Misato and I are moving. Is Rei moving too?"
He paused, almost in thought before answering. "I will make arrangements so that she lives in an adjacent apartment."
Shinji smiled "Oh, ok. Thanks." and the ever-awkward duo parted ways.
As he made his way to his office, Gendo let out the smallest sigh of relief. Shinji had not caught on that he planned to keep Rei in the Geofront.
Damn it Yui, he thought. Why did he have to take after you so much? I can't say no to him or Rei for that matter.
After a long shower of getting that damn LCL off and a quick checkup with Miss Ritsuko, Shinji had one final trial for the day: Miss Misato's driving again. As much as he cared for her, he always felt at least somewhat sick after a car ride with her, given the fact that she drove like she was playing Daytona USA. She was also abysmal at navigation, so if it were possible, the GPS system would definitely hate her. Along the way, the two agreed to stop at a grocery store: Shinji for ingredients so he could cook, and Misato for her unnatural amount of beer. They also bought instant food, for those late, busy nights and so Misato could accidentally make bioweapons.
The rollercoaster ride came to a stop as the two arrived at their new apartment complex, which was just outside the main part of the city. This was intentional, so if an angel attacked, it would not destroy their living quarters in battle.
Section 2 and a team of NERV-assigned movers had already furnished the new place, put their stuff into boxes, and put them in, so all the two needed to do was unpack. One agent handed Misato three keycards: one for each member of the apartment and one spare. The two took the elevator to their floor and approached the door to their new home, which resided at the end of the hallway.
"Well," said Misato as she turned her head to address Shinji, "We're home." She swiped her keycard, and the door slid open. She turned the lights on and entered, and Shinji paused a moment to take it in.
He smiled sheepishly as he crossed the threshold "We're home." He was brought out of his thought by his older roommate, who was checking out the rooms.
"Ooooohh, this is nice~" Misato said as she spun around with her arms outstretched. Shinji watched on and chuckled as he rolled his eyes. He put the grocery bags on the new kitchen table as he examined the area. It was a spacious room with a sink, a stovetop built into the counter, and a fridge with a microwave on top of it. The entrance to the washroom was next to the fridge, and there was a smaller fridge across from it, but he already knew it's purpose.
He knelt down and knocked on the small fridge door. It abruptly swung open and hit him in the face, knocking him onto his bum. Rubbing the spot, he regarded his other roommate "Good evening, Pen Pen." The warm water penguin simply 'wark'ed at him. He remembered the day Misato brought him home, explaining that he was product of an experiment from a friend's workplace and was going to be euthanized. When she heard about it, she went to her friend and asked if she could adopt it. Shinji accepted it, but didn't expect the penguin to behave so human-like. It could read, play cards, and he had even seen him do crosswords and sudoku. He was effectively another roommate, and when you live with Misato Katsuragi, you're going to end up drinking beer at some point. Shinji thought the idea of a penguin drinking beer was strange, but then again, what wasn't strange in his life?
The small fridge shut, and Shinji stood up and began to put away the groceries, making note of where the plates, utensils, and kitchen appliances were. Once he was finished, he made his way to his new bedroom. Misato got the larger once, which he didn't mind. As long as his room could hold clothes, a bed and his cello, he was content. He liked the space he had, so he started going through his boxes to sort out his stuff. Just as a precaution, he had packed the box of Mother's videotapes in the larger box, using styrofoam and packing peanuts in both to ensure the contents were safe. He sighed in relief as he checked through the box, seeing it just as he left it before the angel attack.
Taking the bigger moving box, now empty, he placed it in the hallway as he slid the box with the videotapes into the closet. He unpacked his cello, a collection, albeit small, of his personal belongings, including mother's SDAT which he used frequently, and his TV with the VCR, both of which he also slid into the closet. The dresser had been moved from his old apartment, so he just opened each drawer to make sure his clothes were still there. They were, despite being a bit wrinkled from being moved around. He re-folded each item, which did not take long as Shinji was not one to wear a lot of different clothes. With his work done, he went back to the kitchen to see Misato exiting her room at the same time.
"Wanna just order takeout for dinner?" She asked.
"Yeah." They were both exhausted, so eating without having to prep or wash dishes sounded really good.
One meal, and one beer with a side of happy screaming later, Shinji took a shower and bid Misato goodnight.
"Goodnight, Shin. And hey, good job today. You saved a lot of lives."
"T-thanks, Miss Misato. I'm glad I can save people like that."
She chuckled "Oh, Shinji. You need to loosed up some. We've known each other for how long? You don't have to call me 'Miss' every time, y'know. I'm not that old."
"Sorry, um, force of habit, I guess." He replied sheepishly.
"No worries, go get some rest, I'll see you in the morning."
He retreated to his room, put on some sleepwear, and turned on his SDAT to fall asleep to some music.
As he drift off, What A Wonderful World by Louie Armstrong played. In Mother's tapes, she would occasionally sing, and she had translated that one into Japanese for him, so the English that he knew extended to the translation of that song and little else. The song seemes to have a deeper meaning to himelf and to Mother. It aligned with her vision of a bright future, and aligned with his ideal world where she with him and Father, not stuck inside a mech that could bleed.
Nevertheless, he let all thoughts fall to the wayside as the lyrics filled his head.
I see skies of blue,
and clouds of white.
The bright blessed day,
The dark sacred night.
And I think to myself
'What a wonderful world'
A/N: Wheeoooooo! What a chapter! I apologize if its a bit wordy or dense with exposition. I just wanted to establish some things early on, and the following chapters will focus more on the present. Shaping some of the characters, namely Shinji, Gendo, and Rei as they're the most different, is interesting, but not impossible. Gendo is still stiff and serious, but he isn't praying on Shinji's downfall like canon, since the biggest thing is that he is honouring his promise to Yui. Rei isn't as emotionless and extremely obedient since she's not being subdued. She is still kinda awkward due to her being Nephilim and also very sheltered living in the Geofront. This will be touched upon in future chapters. Lastly, Shin-man himself is a bit more well adjusted due to Yui's tapes and being able to talk to her in Unit-01, but he's still an awkward (and kinda clueless) young boy. Stick with me on this one and you will not regret.
I hope the characterizations I have going are okay and not poorly OOC without good cause. Especially Shinji. I am afraid of making him into this Chad that you tend to see in bad fics. My plan is that he's awkward with good intentions, and averse to harming others.
The next chapter will probably take longer to come out, likely a week rather than a few days. I don't wanna burn myself out by throwing out chapters rapidly. Some people can do that, I cannot.
Review Responses!
jellodude: Thanks! stick with me here, good ideas to come.
spartanman2: Not broken? Kinda. I plan to explore Shinji's character. There'll be a lot of strain on him from watching Yui get absorbed. He'll have his issues, and I don't plan on making him a male Mary Sue. I should know how to write an awkward 14 year-old, I was one once. As for "Would be neat if he shipped him off to be raised with the 2nd child," that exists as a story called Amarantos by Glory-To-Our-August-King. Well written one at that.
Next time: Shinji goes to his new school and gets accustomed to the massive shift in his life in Chapter 2: New Places.
See ya next time!