CHAPTER 1: In the World, but not of it…

"[...]the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world."

"Ikari Shinji, born on June 6th, 1997. Son of Ikari Gendo and Yui. Lost his mother at age 7. Handed to Social Services at age 8 on counts of his father, Commander Ikari Gendo of NERV, being 'unable to raise a child due to line of work and time constraints.' Graduated school at age 14, graduated suma cum laude at age 16 from the University of Tokyo with a degree in Mechanical Engineering and one in Aeronautics. Despite his academic background, joined NERV's Tactical Operations Branch in…Hamburg? NERV-03? It says here he is a trained combat pilot of the NERV/UN Special Air Force. SAF? Impressive. And now has been personally requested by Commander Ikari as a pilot for Project E. Wait, Ritsuko what is this?" Misato dropped the file onto the table and stared at her friend.

"What does it say it is? A transfer document." Ritsuko then took another drag of her cigarette.

"I know what it is," Misato grinded her teeth, "I meant, what is this? He never requested the transfer. He moved all the way to Germany, he worked his way up like any ordinary recruit and was suddenly requested by Commander Ikari as an EVA Pilot? I know him well enough to know this isn't a way to make up for shitty parenting. I also know enough about shitty parenting."

Ritsuko looked at her friend. She had her cigarette in between her lips and a cloud of smoke hid her eyes. "This is not nepotism if that's what you mean. You know that as well as I do. The Third Child was chosen by the Marduk Institute due to various factors. And-"

"Ugh, fine! I'll approve the transfer," she signed and sealed the paper, "as if I had a choice," she added quietly. "Just don't give me the bullshit answer. I know what classified means."

"Do you?" Ritsuko was already looking at other documents.

The train was awfully quiet. The air-conditioned air and the view of trees and cables whooshing by were enthralling. The seat was not luxurious, but it felt comfortable to him. He was used to bunk beds and cramped spaces, so the cabin felt as comfortable as a room.

The sound of the door sliding pulled Shinji out of his head. Kaji entered the cabin with boxed sandwiches and juice in plastic pouches.

"I hope you're not too hungry. This is everything they had at the restaurant cart." He sat down and handed a sandwich and juice to Shinji. Shinji took them and nodded. He turned around immediately towards the window. "Nervous?"

Shinji savored the words he wanted to say. He waited, looking for words to better express himself. In the end, though, he swallowed the words. "Why should I be nervous, Kaji-san?"

"Well, for starters, working at HQ is way different than working at NERV-03."

"Since I haven't been briefed about the motives of my transfer I assume I'll be working in a similar capacity."

"And about your dad?" Kaji knew what he was asking.

"I don't expect to be in contact with Commander Ikari, he outranks me by far."

Kaji smiled and laughed with a hand on the back of his head. "Of course, of course, still maybe you'll see him around?"

Shinji was not a spiteful person and hardly let his temper get the better of him, Kaji knew that, that's why it was surprising to see the cold stare and furrowed brow on his face. "I'll burn that bridge when I get there."

The rest of the trip was spent in silence. Kaji reminisced about the last two years. He had been tasked with befriending Shinji. He had learned everything about the young man, well, everything he let people know. Shinji, Kaji had learned, was a private person, and disciplined. He had gathered that much. Certified college graduate geniuses with military training tend to come out that way. And now, it appeared the man himself, Commander Ikari, was convinced Shinji would be a valuable asset to NERV HQ. In what capacity? He didn't know. But he had a pretty good hunch. A pilot would always be a pilot after all.

It was around two in the afternoon when the train operator announced that they would not be arriving at Tokyo-3. The PA's sound, however, was drowned out by the noise in the distance.

Shinji and Kaji looked at each other. They could see the people fleeing from the station. They were still far away from Tokyo-3. The sky was blue and summer was at its peak. "Well," Kaji said, lighting a cigarette, "it appears we are walking."

Shinji put on his duffel bag on his back and his backpack on his chest. As they were walking out of the train, Kaji's cell phone rang.

"Kaji here. Yes. Correct. Understood." He closed the phone and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Well, kid, it looks like you're walking. Got a new assignment, has priority over babysitting, you understand, right?" He gave Shinji a piece of paper. "This is your contact person at NERV, give her a ring when you arrive. Be seeing ya." He started walking towards the exit and looking back said, "Oh, and, try not to die."

Shinji sighed. He started walking toward the exit at the other end of the station. "I'd better get on my way."

The line was dead. No tone came out of the green handset. He sighed as he hung up the phone. The streets were deserted and he was still thirteen kilometers away from Tokyo-3. He looked at the sky. "No point waiting for someone to come pick me up." He discarded his jacket, rolled up the sleeves of his white shirt, and grabbed the telephone handset again.

He bundled the telephone cable around his fist and pulled it towards him, disconnecting it from the machine. Stepping to a nearby car he put the telephone handset on the window corner on the driver's side. "Here goes nothing." With a blunt hit on the telephone handset, the window came crashing down and he unlocked the door.

After clearing the remaining glass shards from the seat, he sat down and reached into his pocket. With his keys in hand, he began unscrewing the screws under the wheel. After the screws fell, he popped the plastic cover to reveal a bundle of cables.

Out of air due to the uncomfortable position he tried to remember the exact cables. "Ok, so this is the starter and this should be-" The car roared to life. "Power."

He had been driving for about 20 minutes when a blue car pulled up in his rearview mirror. It caught up with him quickly and steadied its pace to go along with him.

He heard the muffled shouts of the driver. Quickly looking beside him he saw the driver making signs for him to pull out to the side. The driver was a woman. With long dark violet hair, sunglasses, and a sweet smile. And a gun. Pointed right at him.

He stopped as quickly as he could and the blue car stopped in front of him. He saw the woman's legs exit the car. He unbuckled his seatbelt and opened the door, but before he could come out, the woman was already there. He couldn't quite see her face because of the sun behind it, but he noticed she didn't have the glasses anymore. She had a white cross hanging from her neck.

"Where are you going, cowboy?" The woman asked, "Last I heard, all civilians were supposed to head to the shelters."

"I…I was…" Shinji tried to think of something that would get him out of whatever problem this meant, suddenly his mind unblocked itself, and reaching into his pocket he said, "I'm with NERV." He showed his NERV-ID, praying this stranger didn't say anything about it being issued in Germany.

"Huh…funny," she said looking at the ID Card, "I'm with NERV too and I don't remember ever seeing you in my life." She pointed the gun at him. Shinji paled and his eyes grew wide and his heart started beating like a drum. But before he could process much of it, the woman was laughing. She laughed and laughed, holding her stomach. "Well, well, Shinji-kun, you seemed to be a lot more fun than your files suggest."

Shinji felt strangely comfortable around Misato. She was talkative and she was pretty. Which meant he didn't have to talk a lot himself and no boy his age would refuse her company.

"Tell me, Shinji-kun, how does a boy like you learn to hotwire a car?" Shinji's face fell and his cheeks went red.

He lowered his voice and mumbled, "I…read it somewhere…" He felt a need to explain himself, "bu-but it's not like I'm a criminal! I had to report myself at HQ and-"

"Easy, easy, I'm sure you had good reasons, Shinji-kun. That was some quick thinking and acting if I might say so. You clearly are an asset to NERV."

"T-thanks." Shinji looked out the window. "Katsuragi-san, if I may-"

"Just Misato, please, you make me feel so old."

"Ok…Misato-san, I-"

Just before Shinji could say further, VTOLs flew into their sight. They were shooting at something hidden behind the hill that rose at the side of the road. Whatever it was, Shinji could hear it. A rhythmic sound not unlike footsteps.

They kept driving down the highway and when they were halfway through the curve it appeared.

"Shit!" Misato exclaimed, "They were unable to contain it."

It was tall like a skyscraper and had massive, armored shoulders. Its face was white and reminded Shinji of an owl and on most of its chest, there was a blood-red orb.

"An angel?!" Shinji asked.

The angel swatted one of his arms with a speed that seemed unnatural for a creature of its size. It took down three VTOLs, which were now spinning uncontrollably toward the ground. One of them landed directly in front of the car.

Misato turned the wheel and pulled the handbrake up, sending the car into a drift that barely evaded the aircraft. "Hold on!" She struggled to regain control of the wheel, but the car finally straightened and shot out forward. "Phew! That was close. Wasn't it, Shinji-kun?"

Shinji gave her an uneasy look. "Misato-san, we need to get out of here. Is there a way we can reach NERV HQ without…without getting crushed by an angel?"

"Right now, our safest bet is just getting away from it. We'll wait for an opening at that rest stop."

Misato parked the car in a vast open space. The tires growled over the gravel of the parking space. She turned down the car and with a final rumble, it was still and quiet, except for the gentle ticking of the engine cooling down.

They got down and stretched their legs. Shinji felt tired, he liked that, it felt to him like a reward for a job well done. Even though the job had been staying alive. He walked towards the edge of the parking lot. It was a steep cliff. He could see a vast area of the valley that surrounded and kept the Tokyo municipalities hidden and protected.

Airplanes flew over his head. They were heading for the angel. He watched, with his hand in his pockets. His eyes followed the planes all the way to the horizon. He wished he was inside his plane. Up there, the world seemed so distant, he barely felt a part of it. It had no effect on him.

He heard Misato try to contact HQ, but her radio had been of little use so far. Another plane flew past them. Bigger and louder. "It looks like a Type 88 JKRS…a bomber! Misato-san!" Shinji ran towards her escort and tackled her inside the car. He struggled for the door and when it finally closed he said, "Get Down!"

A deafening force accompanied by a bright orange light covered everything. The car was ripped off the ground like a piece of paper and flew several meters back.

The first thing Shinji felt was the rearview mirror under his right leg. Then his head. He started breathing again and that made him aware of Misato on top of him. "Misato-san, are you alright?"

"T-Those bastards! What were they thinking of? Dropping an N2 Mine like that!"

They crawled out of the car to see the once beautiful green valley they were in turned into a desolate field of light brown earth, ripped-off trees, and craters. The car looked beat up, but whole.

"Here, help me flip the car, Shinji." Misato pressed her shoulder against the lower end of the door and Shinji did the same. "One, two, three!"

The car turned slowly, screeching and rattling and with a thunderous noise finally fell onto its wheels, making the suspension squeal.

"Thank you, Shinji-kun, for saving my life. It was lucky we met." Misato smiled at him.

"Don't mention it." Shinji smiled at her. He felt glad to be needed.

The car was now secured in one of the many platforms that descended diagonally, with the help of rail and pulley systems, into the Geofront. Shinji was, even if he didn't show it, excited. They still had a few hundred meters to go. Every couple of meters lights would illuminate the inside of the car, casting moving shadows that went up, up, and disappeared, only to be replaced by another.

Misato played quietly with various gadgets she had inside the car. Navigation instruments, radios, and even her gun. Anything she could get her hands on. Looking at Misato's gun, Shinji reached for his own holster, but it wasn't there. He chuckled. "I haven't worn off-duty clothing in a while," he thought, amused. He had flown commercially, so his gun had to be left behind. He had found it strange at first. He was being transferred. Why hadn't he been flown in along with other NERV personnel or equipment? He also hadn't been told what this transfer entailed. "Misato-san?"

Misato had reclined her seat and had her eyes closed and her hands underneath her head. "Yes, Shinji-kun?"

"What were the motives for my transfer?"

Misato was taken aback, she was almost certain he had been informed to a certain degree. She cleared her throat, "You, uh…were not briefed?"

"I was told I had been granted a promotion and that my new post required me to relocate to HQ. It was compulsory, of course. They also told me I was going to be a…test pilot, of sorts. The file just stated Project E, the rest had been redacted"

"Well, at least the promotion part is true," Misato mumbled, "Congratulations, Captain Ikari!"

"Wait, I was already a flight lieutenant." Shinji furrowed his brow.

"That was in the SAF, dummy, Captain means a higher Rank in NERV."

"Aren't both of them OF-2 Ran-"

"Would you look at that, we are here!"

The light slowly filled the car, tainting its gray insides with a warm orange color. The light slowly crept up Shinji's body until it reached his eyes. Shinji leaned into the dashboard. The Geofront was a vast underground cavern, 6 kilometers in diameter and almost a kilometer high. The retractable buildings of Tokyo-3 hung from the ceiling like stalactites with the longer ones in the middle pointing downwards to the NERV Headquarters, a black pyramid entrenched within one of the corners of an artificial square lake. Shinji noticed the lake narrowed down at the bottom, reflecting the pyramid at its shore. Behind the black building stood another one, much more modest in form but far taller.

In the distance, Shinji could see the glimmer of water. A wide lake sat against the edge of the cavern. Railways floated all around the Geofront with trains going to and fro NERV HQ, Tokyo-3, and the outside. Just like the one they were in.

He could see the sunlight dimming slightly and getting redder and redder. The Geofront was provided with light by an extensive amount of gigantic mirrors inside Tokyo-3's many buildings, which profited from the Geofront's naturally highly reflective surface.

Slowly the car ventured further down until the darkness of the tunnel swallowed it again.

The lift came to a halt as platforms aligned, revealing a road... Misato started the car and drove for another 10 minutes through a big tunnel. They arrived at an underground parking lot and parked near a big metal door with CD-233 written in bold, white letters. "C'mon, we need to hurry," she dragged Shinji to the door, "we are already late and I don't want Rits- '' the door opened and a tall blonde woman with her arms crossed now stood in front of Misato. "He-e-ey, Ritsuko! We were just talking about you!"

"You're late!" Ritsuko said, turning around and walking. Misato and Shinji followed her.

"Aw, c'mon, that's so unfair! Have you seen my car? They dropped an N2 Mine, it's not like we stopped for some ice cream."

"Just…fine! You're right! But you know this is a stressful day for me, everything has to work just right and-"

"Ritsuko," Misato said sternly, grabbing Ritsuko by the arm. "This is a stressful day for all of us."

"God, I know. I'm sorry, it's just-"

"I know. But the good news is," she said, lightening up, "I found your pilot!" She grabbed Shinji by the shoulders. "Shinji-kun, this is Dr. Ritsuko Akagi, head of project E."

Ritsuko had barely noticed the boy until now. She felt a bit flustered about having ranted in front of him, but did her best to appear composed. The boy extended her hand towards her. She observed him for an instant. She had read multiple psychological reports of the boy. This didn't seem like the boy those reports described at all. He had a quiet confidence around him that was supposed to be awkward shyness and a firm, straight look that should be avoiding eye contact. "Dr. Akagi," the boy said. His voice was much deeper than she imagined. It was not the same boy at all. Then again, the case file only spanned 15 years of his life. The last two were blank.

"Shinji-kun," Ritsuko shook his hand. "I trust your relocation hasn't been too…troublesome." She started walking again.

"Not at all, Major Katsuragi and Kaji-san have been most helpful." He heard Misato's quiet 'tsk' at the mention of Kaji.

"That 's good. This way please," she said as a door so big it looked like the wall opened to her left. She started walking across what it looked to be a bridge surrounded by darkness. The room was cold and Shinji's steps on the metal floor were then muffled and distorted by what felt like water.

"Dr. Akagi, if I may, I haven't been fully briefed as to what my new position entails, I know the current situation takes precedence, but-"

"That 's okay, Captain Ikari," her use of rank had not gone unnoticed by him, "consider this your briefing." Just then, he heard several deep clicks reverberating in the room and slowly, lights started revealing the borders of the room. It was enormous. It felt as if two football stadiums had been lifted ninety degrees from the ground and stacked one over the other. He could see an immense glass panel at the top of the room in front of him. Then something called him to look at his left. He saw purple first. Then two black holes nearly five meters apart from each other and in the middle of them, a…horn, rose almost ten meters into the air. "This," the last remaining lights turned on, "is an EVA." The black holes filled with a greenish glow. They looked like eyes and they were looking straight at him.

Shinji stepped backwards. It was massive. It had two protruding rudders on its…shoulders. Its look had an intense pull on Shinji. It was so clearly there, but something told Shinji it didn't belong there. It didn't belong to them. It was still, yes, but he could almost feel its breathing, its muscles twitching. He corrected that thought. It was clearly a robot, he told himself, no tissue, just parts. Still, he knew enough about mechanics, this wasn't it. How could something be in the world and not look as if it was a part of it? "In the world, but not of it, huh?" Shinji thought.

"Major Katsuragi, Dr. Akagi, I trust we are ready to commence the operation." A deep voice called behind them. Shinji hadn't heard that voice in a long time.

"Commander Ikari, sir," Misato acknowledged him. "The pilot is here, we still have to have a medical check-up and run necessary synchronization tests before we-"

"We don't have time, Commander, may I remind you the third angel is upon us."

"Sir!" Misato obeyed.

"Captain," it took a second before Ikari realized his father was talking to him. He steeled himself and adopted an 'at attention' position like he had been trained to do. "Major Katsuragi and Dr. Akagi will give you further instructions."

"Sir?"

The commander stopped its retreat. He looked at Shinji over his shoulder and asked "Is there a problem, Captain?" His voice was sharp and almost taunting.

Shinji looked at the commander. "Don't run away, don't run away, don't run away," he repeated in his head. His knuckles had turned white. His lips were pressed firmly together and it wasn't until he tasted the blood that he realized he was biting his lower one. "I'll do my best, sir," he said.

The commander hummed in response and, with his hands behind his back, left the bridge, disappearing into the darkness.

Shinji's hands were still closed into fists. His posture was tense and his breathing was agitated. "Shinji-kun?" Misato inquired. His shoulders fell, his hands went behind his back and his chest stilled.

"Major Katsuragi, what are my orders?"

Shinji was led to a room that was behind Unit-01. That was the designation of his EVA. In the room were two scientists who placed on his head some sort of headset with two nodes that sat on his temples.

Then, he was led to a bigger room with a long white metal capsule and yellow tips in the middle. It had 'UNIT-01' written on the side. Surrounding it were a lot of tools and devices and cables of various sizes that ran all along the floor and ceiling from machine to machine and some even to and from the capsule itself. Right above the capsule was a metal arm with hydraulic joints and cables attached to the ceiling via a rail. On the unattached end were two metal semicircles big enough to close around the capsule.

"Shinji," Dr. Akagi approached the capsule, "sit here please." The capsule had a displaced panel on its upper side. It revealed a padded sitting place inside. Shinji sat down and found he had much more room than he expected. In front of him were two handles he couldn't quite reach, but the rest of the capsule was dark. "This is Unit-01's Entry Plug, we are gonna seal you inside and lower you inside the EVA Unit. Don't worry about the rest."

He nodded and looked at Misato one last time before the panel above closed. It was pitch black. It was dark enough to confuse his sense of dimension and he felt his arms grow longer and legs shrink. Then, he heard the hydraulic arm moving above him and the metal hand enveloping the capsule.

"Captain Ikari, can you hear me?" Misato's voice came along a low red light.

"Yes," Shinji answered.

"Good, is the system initializing?" In front of him, various lines of code began appearing along a loading bar and various information windows. Shinji began studying them.

"Yes." Shinji's eyes flew from one window to the next. "Airtight seals, brainwave, heart rate, blood pressure, and oxygen detectors, audio and video feed…so this is an advanced cockpit, designed for neural interface synchronization piloting," he mused in his head. Then his seat slid forward until he could reach the handles. He reached for the handles and when he did, a part of the metal base, where his feet went in and separated his legs, slid towards his hip, securing him in place.

"Captain, we will begin Entry Plug Insertion."

"Very well, Major" The capsule rose and advanced forward, Shinji felt every tiny movement the crane did. From outside the capsule had been aligned with a hole at the base of the EVA's neck and was being lowered inside. When the tip was securely inside, the capsule began rotating as it lowered itself without the assistance of the crane.

The lights inside the capsule turned off again and Shinji was again in the dark. He closed his eyes and tried to calm his breathing.

In the bridge control room, dozens of scientists and engineers stared at displays of various sizes, reading values that appeared on the screens at impressive speeds. Above them all, white-gloved fingers interlaced, sat the ever-still figure of Ikari Gendo. Beside him, just as statue-like, was a man with white hair and a long nose that accentuated his skinny face.

A level below, on the control room bridge, were Misato and Ritsuko. Misato stood with his arms crossed analyzing everything that popped on the giant screen that surrounded the control room. Ritsuko discussed various readings with a girl with short brown hair. "Major Katsuragi!" a voice pierced through the room, "we are ready to start."

"Very well, commence LCL Injection."

Shinji was breathing slowly. "Captain Ikari," the radio buzzed.

"Major."

"We are ready to begin LCL Injection, I assume you've heard of liquid breathing experiments?"

"Nothing good..."

"I can assure you it's for the best," Ritsuko's voice joined the conversation. "Just breathe normally." The screens turned on again, they showed a string of data and readings along with a percentage that began rising steadily.

Shinji felt the cold running up his legs. Soon, pressure in his chest increased and in seconds he was completely under the liquid. He reminded himself to breathe normally and after a few choked breaths, he was able to breathe just as well as outside. The blood flavor, however, wasn't particularly to his taste.

"Captain?"

Shinji's furrowed brow appeared on the corner of the control room display. "Major..." he answered with some difficulty. He could hear the different voices shouting in the control room.

"Vitals clear!"

"A-10 Nerve Connection, normal!"

"All preliminary contacts established."

"Bi-directional circuits are open. Synchronization rate at 41.3%"

"We are clear for take-off!

"Right!" Misato answered, "Captain, you are clear for take-off."

Shinji braced himself, "Roger, Major."

"Launch!"

In an instant, Shinji felt the G-Force pushing him down. Familiar territory.

"Shinji," he heard Misato's voice, "we are counting on you."

[TO BE CONTINUED...]