Way of the warrior
Disclaimer: I don't own Neon Genesis Evangelion or any of it's characters. Nor do I intend to. This right goes to other genial people and I will merely borrow their incredible works to expand upon as to provide further entertainment for fans.
No money is made of this, nor do I have any.
So, please don't sue me, the four cent I have aren't worth it anyway.
Chapter 2 - Arrival
Tokyo 2 - Year 2014
' You have to come to Tokyo 3 Shinji. I have need for you. The time and station for your leave by train should be with this letter.
Your father, Gendo Ikari'
Would Gendo have been there when Shinji was finished reading the measly thing his father called a letter, he would have died instantly due to several broken bones and internal bleeding.
In other words, Shinji was pissed, really pissed. The past 10 years his father had done nothing for him and now that bastard expected him to come hopping when he called.
Knowing that only made Shinji madder and he struck out, putting a nice fist-sized hole into the nearest wall. That calmed him down somewhat, but not by much.
Now a new thought struck him: Why the hell would his worthless excuse of a parent need him now of all times? Try as he might Shinji could not come up with anything that would make sense.
However, it had to be something important, otherwise the bastard wouldn't have bothered to make contact with his child.
So it might be something really important.
Not someone to let anybody down, even if said person was his father, Shinji decided to go.
'It's not like I can't beat the crap out of him afterwards, if it's unimportant.'
Shinji chuckled a bit at that. It would be really satisfying to pay his father back.
Not that he was a violent person, mind you, he just didn't know a more satisfying way to pay his father back.
Now that he had resolved what to do Shinji had to inform Mitsune-sensei and Umura-sensei of his leave. Akira also had a right to know. Anybody else he could care less about. He didn't know anybody that good around the compound anyway, the training simply didn't leave much time to make friends. he was on a first name basis with some students, but they were only distant friends.
Only Masaru Lee, the person who brought him into the compound had to know, he was the administrator after all.
Carefully Shinji placed the letter back into closet ans set out to find the aforementioned persons.
********************************
Tokyo 3 - The next day
It was a beautiful day in Tokyo 3. The sun was standing high in the deep blue sky and not one sound was heard.
'Not one sound? That doesn't sound right,I'm in Tokyo 3 right? There should be a lot of noises. Odd'
That was what ran through the head of the sole occupant of a train station in Tokyo 3. As some of you might have already guessed, this person's name was Shinji Ikari.
The 14 year old was getting impatient now. His father wrote him, that somebody would wait to fetch him. Instead he had been waiting here nearly 20 minutes, growing more nervous by the minute. Once he found this Katsuragi person he was going to give her a piece of his mind, no matter her beauty (and he knew she was one, from the card she had laid into the letter!).
Something was very wrong in this city and Shinji could practically feel his hackels rise.
"Ahh, what the fuck, I will just find a phone, maybe they forgot?"
He said to himself as he picked up his duffelbag and started to wander in a random direction, searching for a payphone.
Not 10 minutes later he located one, but to his dismay the only response he got was :"This phone is not working due to a city-wide emergeny, please go to the shelters!"
Shinji stared at the headpiece dumbfounded for a few seconds, but decided it was best to do as the artificial voice said.
Shinji strechted out his senses to find a mass of people and the shelters with them, but what he found wasn't what he expected.
There was an aura in the city that was huge! No make that really HUGE!
The strange thing was, that it seemed to be generated by one highly dense point in the aura.
"What the fuck!"
Was all Shinji could say before a squadron of military jets zoomed past and fired their missiles on the unknown aura.
He couldn't see anything because of the buildings, but the explosions where strong enough to shake the earth, nearly pulling his legs out from under him.
"Just what is that here? Did my father just call me into the middle of a war, or what!"
The answer Shinji got was a lot worse: the next moment a huge... something stepped into view further ahead on the street. The monstrosity was towering well over 500 feet. It had small, frail looking arms and legs, looking like a miscreated humanoid. His head seemed to be pulled into the torso, which in turn was protected by a white boney looking cage. In the middle of it all a big red orb was pulsing angrily, that was also the area where Shinji located the dense point of the aura.
To say Shinji was blown of his feet, was to say the sun was merely warm.
'This isn't a war, this is a friggin' alien invasion. And to think I could have stayed at home! damn my curiosity.'
Now, Shinji wasn't someone to be easily scared, but when confronted with a creature that was shrugging of missiles like they were nothing even he knew not to fight. So he did the next best thing that came to mind: He ran.
Well, actually he only ran a few feet, before he had to jump to the side to avoid being crushed under the wreck of an aircraft that was batted his way by the monster.
Shinji got to his feet again, his heart now thundering in his chest, drowning out everything around him and ran with all he had, making a good 30 miles per hour.
*****************************
Misato Katsuragi wasn't having a very good day, in fact, her day was one of the worst you can have:
She was late (no suprise there, really), some monster was stomping around in her city, and now she had to search the damn city for the new pilot that should have arrived.
"Just why couldn't he wait until I arrived huh?"
Further ranting on part of the Nerv Officer was interrupted as she had to concentrate on the street, which was littered with various wrecks and debris. She desperateky hoped the pilot wans't underneath one of these.
As fate would have it, she finally saw somebody on the street.
'Finally!' she thought triumphatically.
Since the brown haired boy was running in her direction she hit the brakes and truned her car into a tight spin, bringing it to a standstill only two feet in front of the brownhaired youth with dark blue eyes, who managed to stop running just in time not to crash into her car.
*******************************
As Shinji roundend another corner he saw the first sign of life: A blue sports car that was coming towards him at full speed.
The moment he spotted the car he started to stop his all out run, fearing he wouldn't be able to avoid the car.
However, 60 feet before the two met the driver forced his car into a tight spin and brought the car to a stop only 2 feet in front of him.
The door was opened and a purple haired woman in her late twenties appeared. She was cald into a short (very short for Shinji's tastes) shirt and a black sweater that was covered by a red jacket. All in all she was quite the looker. But now was not the time for that, more important was the fact that this was Misato Katsuragi, the person who was to fetch him from the station.
"Hop in. We have to get out of here." The woman said frantically
"Don't have to say that twice mam!" Shinji gave back as he jumped into his seat and slammed the door shut. The moment it snapped shut Misato hit the accelerator and they sped away, driving like a devil. Shinji didn't seem perturbed by her driving style,although he was wondering if he could learn to drive like that.
"Why the hell didn't you wait where you were supposed to?" Misato requested while driving like mad.
"Oh I don't know. Well, maybe it had to do with the fact that a certain person was late and I tried to phone her. Only to get trampled by some giant monstrosity right out of the film."
Misato winced, hearing the strong edge of sarcasm in his voice.
"Uhm, a simple sorry wouldn't do, would it?"
Shinji brightened a bit, quite a feat considering they were still chased by some freakish creature that was able to crush them like bugs.
"Well, a sorry is a start Misato-san. Although I would appriciate if you could tell me why we're being chased by an over 500 feet high monster."
"This monster is called 'angel' Shinji. That's all I can tell you right now."
"Well, that's not very much I must say. What are we going to do now? And why are we stopping?"
Misato was already out the door, pulling out a pair of binoculars. Shinji also exited the car and tried to make out what she was looking for. All he saw was another bomber flying towards its doom. Then he watched closer and realized it was a lot bigger than all the others and it's altitude was much higher. In fact there weren't any aircrafts near the Angel anymore.
"What's going on Misato-san?"
Misato's face had gone withe while watching.
"They wouldn't.." Shinji heard her wispher.
"Duck! They're going to drop an N-2 mine"
That was all the warning Shinji got before Misato dragged him down with her towards the ground.
Only seconds later Shinji heard the distinct sound of a huge explosion, followed by a shockwave.
All around them trees were torn up and debris were flying everywhere.
Shinji decided it was best to stay where he was.
Once it was over Shinji noted with a bit of worry that his face was currently nestled between a nice pair of breasts. Not that it wasn'T nice or something, in fact the warmth that was seeping from them was great, but still.
When Misato got up she didn't look like she noticed.
"You all right Shinji-kun?"
"Yeah, all fine." he looked around for a moment "although I think your car needs a check up."
Misato gave him a confused look, until she spotted her precious car, lying on the side a few meters off the road. her expression grew frustrated instantly.
"That can't be. That car is brand new, and I still have to pay 36 rates. I'm so doomed! Come on, we have to get it up again. Hopefully it's still functional."
Shinji shrugged and walked to the car, and before Misato could react, he grabbed the underside and turned it over with seemingly no effort.(1)
Misato stood there gaping. That kid had more power than she thought. She very much doubted she would have been able to do that.
"What... How..ahh, buh.." Misato was also at a loss for words. That enigmatic grin on the boys face was also unnerving.
Another part of her mind noted that he looked quite handsome with it though, for a 14 year old. Yet another part of her mind quickly squashed the last, saying he was 'JUST A KID'.
Finally Misato simply decided to let it drop for now and tried to start the engine. However, it became soon apparent, that something wasn't working
"Aww fuck! Well, lets see what it is..."
*******************************
2 hours later
Misato and Shinji were once again driving towards NERV, Shinji looking slightly unnerved.
"You know Misato-san, most people would call that stealing." he said, pointing out the stack of car-batteries in the backseat.
Misato turned a slight shade of pink, but had an excuse anyway.
"No, we sipmly confiscated that material for an national emergency. I'm allowed to do that."
Shinji snorted.
"It's still stealing. Besides, I still think I could have gotten us to NERV faster."
Misato just shook her head and said nothing. Ever since she had gone to the city to get some batteries Shinji was insisting they go there by foot. What a crazy kid.
5 minutes later they drove into a mountain. The road was leading deeper and deeper, until they came to some sort of laoding area. Misato drove the car into a lot in the wall, and only as the wall started to move did Shinji realize, that it was a train!
They were descending even faster now, and the next moment Shinji was looking out into a vast underground cavern. It's ground was covered with trees and medows, that we're stretching several miles in all directions. Even a small river could be seen making its way to the lake in the middle. Next to the lake there stood some strange pyramide. Shinji summed the sight up in one word:
"WOW!"
Misato grinned, she knew he would like it.
"Beautiful isn't it? A real Geofront, it's totally independent with it's on circulation system. The first time I saw it I was stunned as well. We're heading down there, to the pyramide. That's Central Dogma."
"Misato-san? Just why does my father want me down here? I don't think it is because he wanted me to show the nice view. What's he doing down here anyway?"
Misato looked at Shinji beduffled.
"You don't know what your father is doing at NERV?"
"No, I haven't seen him in 8 years. So what does he do now?"
Misato frowned a bit at his answer. The commander sure wasn't a good father, if he could be called that, but Shinji didn't seem bothered at all.
"Shinji, your father is the commander of NERV.I think you should read that, to learn a bit more about NERV." With that she handed him a thick brochure, which Shinji started to leaf through almost casually while answering.
"Hah, I knew it. It's always the bastards who leave their child behind them, that rise the highest." A bitter chuckle folowed that statement.
Misato's frown deepened even more. It seemed Shinji didn't hate his father, but if that was the chase then only because he didn't deem him worthy of it. maybe he was simply good at hiding it...
*************************************
Shinji and Misato could be seen walking through the endless mazes that were NERV, they had been walking for the last 15 minutes and hadn't made any progress. Shinji was starting to think Misato didn't know where she was.
"Misato-san, I think we're walking in circels. I'm sure we passed here at least 3 times. We should call someone."
"We're not lost, I'm simply trying to find the best way to our destination, that's all."
Shinji chuckled at that. Misato sure could be funny.
"Now you're lying. Just call somebody okay?"
Misato caved in and nodded. She took the next best phone and dialed a number. An annoyed voice was heard on the other end.
"Misato? is that you?"
"Yes, it's me Ritsuko. ehhehheh.... You see, uhm, I'm kinda lost. Could you pick me up please?"
"Is the new pilot with you?"
"Yes, he's standing behind me."
"Okay, don't move. I'll come down. So where are you?"
"level B-12." Misato didn't get an answer, the other end simply went dead. Oh well...
"There all done."
Shinji sighed relieved. He was getting bored of walking in circels and reading the brochure Misato gave him wasn't very useful either,since it only held some major data on NERV, but nothing special. Hopefully the person she called was a bit more potent the her when it came to directions.
Not 4 minutes later a door shifted open, revealing an elevator. It was occupied by a tall blond, with shoulder lenght hair. She had a mole under her left eye and a frown on her face. her state of dress was another thing: A short red miniskirt with matching blouse, overlayed with a lab coat of all things. A quick glimpse at her aura revealed to Shinji that Misato was about to be chewed out, jugding from the annoyed and angry vibes he was getting.
"Well Misato, you are lost again. Just when are you going to get a card of the complex?"
Misato rubbed her head in embaressement and chuckled lightly
"Sorry Rit's. Anyway, Shinji I want you to meet a friend of mine. her name is Ritsuko Akagi, and she's the head scientist at NERV. Ritsuko, meet Shinji Ikari."
Only now shifted Ritsuko's attention over to Shinji, which earned an unnoticed sigh of relief from Misato, who was happy to be let of the hook.
"Nice to meet you Ikari-kun. I take it your stay here was rather turbulent up till now?"
Shinji gave a fromal bow before answering.
"The pleasure is all mine Akagi-san. And Yes, I would say it was rather interesting up to this point. I'm just wondering what comes next."
Ristuko only gave an enigmatic grin.
"Let's just say, the day just started for you Shinji-kun. Now follow me. Oh, and Misato, try not to get lost, okay?"
Soon they were on there way, Misato still cursing Ritsuko for making fun of her and the other two laughing at her antics.
***************************************
The trio soon found themself before a door, which opened just like all the others before.
There was, however, a important detail. It was pitch black inside.
Therefore Shinji was rather suprised to find himself surrounded by blackness when the door closed, he hadn't noticed there was no light until he couldn't read the brochure anymore.
"Hey? Who turned out the lights? I wanne see something." 'Not that I really need to' he thought to himself, still amused about all the advantages his mysterious powers brought with them. Absently he noted the room had to be vast, judging from the echo his question got. That he could tell, even without powers.
"Lights!" came the commanding voice of Dr. Akagi beside him, and instantly the world lit up, causing Shinji's jaw to drop.
Before him laid a huge room that was stretching a good half mile to his left and right. They were standing on a catwalk. These things seemed to cross the room everywhere. The room was also filled with a reddish/orange liquid that was coming up half a meter under the catwalk they were standing on.
But the most promiment feature in the otherwise metallic grey room was the giant purple head, that was on the right side of the catwalk. It was towering over Shinji, staring back at him with menacing, but lifeless eyes. It also had a horn on his head, that was looking rather silly, bt menacing all the same.
'What the hell!'
"Misato, what is that pruple thing?"
before the women got to say a word a booming voice was heard in the vast room, coming from a few levels higher.
"That is EVA 01. You will pilot it son!"
Shinji new that voice from his memories.
'Father' he thought furious.
Shinji searched the wall opposite to him, to find a figur standing on a high platform above him. he was dressed in a dark uniform and white gloves adorned his hands. Shinji's first impulse was to kill the bastard that abandoned him, but he wouldn't do that, not now. He was a fighter, and knew how to hold himself in check.
However, his voice wasn't neutral when addressing the mighty commander of NERV. In fact, his voice was so cold the temperature around him dropped 20 degree.
"Hello father. Nice to meet you, too!"
Hearing Shinji's voice Misato had to shudder and even Ritsuko swallowed a little.
The commander however, didn't give away any uneasiness, if he had any. His voice was equally cold however, even if it didn't have the same egde to it.
"We do not have time for exchanging pleasentries. Shinji, you have to pilot this machine, otherwise we're doomed!"
Shinji's face twisted into a scowl. The audacity of this man was galling him to no end. This time some anger seeped into his voice
"Oh? And just why, why should I do that? Huh? You have done nothing for me for 10 friggin years and now you expect me to pilot some friggin robot to fight off a friggin' monster that is probably your fault too. What do I get in compesation?.... So tell me?"
Gendo's lips curled up a little.
Misato blinked 'was that a smile?'
"I think we can work something out. How about I give you 2 million Yen for every time you sortie to battle and a monthly salary of 200000 Yen?"
Shinji's frown turned into a smile. It wasn't like he really needed it and he knew if what his father said wasn't exaggerated he was underpaid, but it was good to be set for life. He could kick a little ass for that. He still wasn't happy with his father though.
"Sure thing!"
Misato blinked again. Had the boy just accepted? She was prepared to throw herself at his feet and beg him to do it, but he just accepted for a bunch of money. Surely he din't know what he was getting himself into.
"Shinji are you sure you know what you do? You are going to risk your life out there, you know?"
Shinji gave her a confused look
"So? I'm getting a lot of money for it. I'm also saving the world. What else is there to consider? It's better to die fighting some ugly monster than to die because a car hit you by accident. Don't you think so?"
Misato was even more baffeld now. The kid was taking this all in very good stride. Too good, for her taste.
Gendo simply smiled when exiting the room.
"Dr, Akagi, I trust you to instruct him on what is to be done?" Were his parting words.
Ritsuko nodded, still a bit shocked, that Shinji was convinced this easily.
"Very well..." The rest of her sentence was cut short, when a deep rumble was heard and suddenly the earth shook heftily.
the next moments were only a blur. A few grinders broke from the ceiling, barreling towards them.
Shinji's mind didn't even lose a second before he moved to action. His heart started racing and adrenaline pumped through his veins to make his body do the impossible.
With a quick move he had both the doctor and the caipten grabbed by their arms and jerked them to the side with him, landing on the ground, as he cleared the dangerous area with inhumen speed.
The grinders crashed to the ground before them only milliseconds later, bending the catwalk and resounding throughout the hangar with a mighty 'BOOM'.
While Shinji was lying there his heart was slowly coming down to earth. 'Puh..That was to close for comfort.'
Next to him Misato and Ritsuko were still shellshocked at nearly dying, not to mention their arms hurt like hell from Shinji's unexpected pull.
Slowly the three stood up to survey the damage done.
Sure enough, three grinders landed directly where they where standing only moments before.
"I think I have to thank you for saving my life Shinji. Just how did you move so fast anyway?" Misato said.
"Thats right. You have my gratitude as well Shinji-kun."
Shinji smiled radiantly.
"hey, no problem. can't let you die before you show me how everything works, can I. Besides, I like my company alive. As for me moving so fast, let's just say my reflexes are very good."
Ristuko just thought 'reflexes, my ass! No human can move so fast!'
Misato smiled weakly at his joke.
"Just one thing. Don't pull my arm off next time you safe me!"
Shinji turned his most sugar sweet smile onto Misato.
"Why Misato-san, would you rather next time I safe you by carrying you damsel-in-distress style?"
Misato couldn't help but imagine the scene of him carrying her in his arms, pressing her to his chest and promptly stomped the thought, embaressed with herself. her cheeks adorned a red tint as she tried to come up with a snide comeback. However, a lame "It would at least be preferable to getting my arm amputed" was all that came out.
Ritsuko saw Shinji hadn't finished and wondered what came next. That boy sure was amusing and a good observer as well.
It was, after all, very hard to get Misato embaressed.
When Shinji's smile turned predatory the moment neared.
"Why Misato, if you want me to carry you just ask, we can leave out the saving part."
Ristsuko nearly laughed her as of as Misato's cheeks turned flame red.(2)
"bah..I..what...how.." Misato was really speechless it seemed.
Shinji himself was enjoying the expierience as much as Ritsuko.
After a few seconds of laughing Misato said a bit more forceful
"Will you two knock it off already?"
"It's alright Misato, just a little teasing. After all, you could be my mother. Something like 'that' would be a bit much, don't you think so? Anyway, lets get to work. I wanne kick angel-butt"
"I think Shinji's right come on now, we don't have much time."
**************************
Some time later Shinji found himself in some kind of tube, that was inserted into the backside of EVA-01, as they called that robot.
The interior was a dull gray and he was sitting in a comfortable seat. In front of him there were some kind of handels to either side of the seat, obviously thought to pilot the monstrosity he was sitting in. However, two control-sticks and a few buttons couldn't be enough to pilot something that had legs and arms.
'Just how does this work?'
As if to answer his unspoken question the entry plug was filled with the voice of Dr. Akagi.
"Shinji? Can you hear me?"
"Yep, loud and clear doc. Say, how am I supposed to pilot this with only two control-sticks?"
Ritsujo hesitated a moment before speaking
"You will have you answer soon enough. But for now: Fill the entry plug!"
A distant 'Yes Mam' was heard from the backround.
Suddenly the plug was filled with the same orange liquid Shinji had seen earlier in the hangar. Just what were they doing? Going to drown him? NO, he doubted that very much, a corpse couldn't be too good at piloting.
'Better make sure they know what they are doing'
"Uhm, guys" Shinji said, now with the LCL to his neck "In here there's some kind of fluid. Whats going on?" The LCL finally was over his mouth
"Dont worry Shinji. This is LCL, an oxigenic fluid. You can breath it like normal air, just take a gulp." he heard her cristal clear voice, even though he was surrounded by fluid.
However, breathing the stuff was easier said then done, and so Shinji waited till he ran out of air before taking a deep breath.
"..Gaahhhh.." At first he nearly choked, not used to have fluid in his lungs. It tasted like rotten flesh or something and smelled like blood. All in all he was proud of himself for not vomiting.
"Bäh! Do you have this stuff with lemon aroma or something. Otherwise I'm going to quit the job. Thats awful."
Suddenly a holoscreen activated in front of him, showing the face of Misato.
"Don't be such a whiner. You're supposed to be tough, remember?"
Shinji grimaced.
"Just because I'm tough doesn't mean I have to like the taste of rotten flesh. You don't believe me: How about you taste it yourself sometime? Anyway, what now?"
Another screen appeared, bearing Dr. Akagi's face.
"Now we are going to link you with EVA-01. Just stay put."
Shinji nodded and waited patiently. he heard somebody counting of some status reports, and suddenly, when someone shouted 'critical point reached' his world changed:
Somehow he felt bigger now, In fact, he felt like he was as big as EVA-01. His body was feeling different too. Like he was ripped from his own and thrown into another. The gray walls of the plug lightened up, and he saw the outside. Right now he was looking directly into the control room.
He still couldn't get over the feeling of power and familarity this body gave him. Out of reflex he scanned the surroundings with his sixth sense, and nearly had a heart attack.
The machine he was in had suddenly developed a huge aura, that was nearly palable. Shinji judged it to be nearly as big as that of the monster.'Just how can a robot have an aura' he wondered
That aside, it's aura didn't have a concentrated sphere like the other. That explained the ridiculuosly huge power cord that was attached to his back.
Just how was he supposed to fight, if something like that was cutting down on his agility?
Shinji was interrupted from further observation by Dr. Akagi's voice.
"Shinji? Do you feel all right?"
"Yeah. I feel a bit out of place, like I'm the EVA or somthing, but there aren't any other ill effects."
He saw Ristuko nod and then she asked somebody how high his sync ratio was.
"That can't be" came a techs voice "It's over 60 percent!"
Misato whirled around
"What? 60 percent? let me see that... Oh damn, it's true."
Shinji didn't know what they were talking about, but jugding from their reactions his performence was very good. Instead he focused inward again. he wanted to know what was going on.
That was when he saw it. His power was seeping out, slowly, but it was. Something was using it. But what? Shinji suddenly had a vague idea what they meant by linking. It seemed to involve his power somehow. Maybe that was what made him able to pilot that thing, and others not?
'If that is the chase then I should be able to move this thing somehow, but how?'
His further musings were again interrupted by Dr. Akagi.
"Okay Shinji, everything is allright. Now I'm going to instruct you on piloting. First, try to move your arm."
Shinji raised an eyebrow. She called that instructing, he knew he had to move that thing himself.
"And just how, pray tell, am I going to do that?"
"Just think to move your on arm. That should do."
Shinji affirmad that and concentrated, willing his, or rather EVA's arm to move.
Misato gasped as she saw the right purple armored arm of EVA 01 move upward until it was in front of it's face. The robot looked like it was examining his hand curiously.
"Incredible..." She heard Shinji whisper over the com-link, and all she could do was agrre with him.
"Just how is that possible. The first child needed months just to sync with her EVA and he's just moving his arm around with the first try!"
Ritsuko just shrugged
"He's a natural, that's all.Maybe we really have a chance to win this one." Then addressing Shinji she said :" We will try walking once you're on the surface. Now, we will unlock the safety mountings."
Moments later EVA 01 was free from his cage and Shinji was standing on his own, still wondering about all of this.
"Move Unit 01 to catapult 3!" he heard Misato order and he was moving again.
Once his EVA was locked into place he was shot to the surface, his innards pressed together by 10 g.
At first Shinji felt like he was being pressed into a compact little box. His stomach lurched, prostesting at the sudden movement, and his head was swimming slightly.
Then he reached the surface and slammed into another set of safety mountings so he wouldn't fly out into the open, free to be shot like a bird.
His shoulders still protested slightly, as did his stomach as he slammed into them.
"Say, Ain't there a better way to come up here? I feel like somebody tried to stuff me into a tin of Thunafish."
Instantly Misato was heard again.
"Shinji, stop whining! Instead try to concentrate on walking. We have to get you acquainted with piltoing EVA before you can fight."
Shinji decided to do what was asked of him. After all, what didn't one do to safe the world?
In the control room everybody gasped as EVA 01 made his first step, and then another. The joy dind't last long as the purple robot tripped over his own feet on the third step.
A rather frustrated 'fuck' was heard over the com-link to EVA-01.
There was another problem though. The angel, which was up to this point ignorant of the EVA's presence had heard the loud thud it's landing made, and set out to elimimante this new threat.
Shinji struggled with the controls as he tried to get back to his feet. After a few failed tries he managed to get up, just in time to see the monstrosity he saw a few hours prior, charging at him.
He felt panic welling up in him, knowing he wasn't really up to this, but squashed it with all his will. He could do this!
When the angel was nearly on top of him, Shinji threw himself to the side. This time he got up instantly, if a bit shaky, and charged at his seemingly confused quarry's undefended back.
He drew his right arm back clumsily and threw a punch into it's back.
The moment his fist connected he felt the angel's hide give a bit.
Then his opponent whirled around and knocked him into the head with one of it's frail appendages.
Not one to be distracted easily Shinji retaliated with a kick, sending the monster flying.
His attack was shrugged of again and Shinji was starting to get annoyed. He was sure that kick did some damage, but it was gone the next moment.
'Time to call in some help'
"Misato, Does this thing have any weapons?. I don't think I will get very far with just punching and kicking that bastard."
"Do you see that button on the left control stick? Press it and a knife will pop out form your upper shoulder."
Shinji didn't waste time to speak more and simply pressed the button.
Moments later he had the prog-knife in hand. It was giving of a low hum and was glowing.
"Now that's more like it!" He crowed while turning the kife in 'his' hands to get a better feeling.
All to soon Shinji was once again attacked by the angel.
This time however, the bastard simply blasted at him.
The 14 year old didn't manage to completely evade the energy spike and it grazed his right side, causing him to grimace in slight pain.
'What the hell' he thought in disgust 'These things work with feedback? Are these Freaks crazy, not to tell me something like that? I think I will have a long talk with them later, but for now...'
************************
Down in Ikari Gendo's office the supreme commander of NERV was watching his only child fighting a terrible monster with an expressionless face. Next to him his trusted second-in-command Kozo Fuyutski stood, watching as well. The otherwise dark office was tinted in flickering light from the screen, giving it a surreal feeling. The room was only filled with the sounds coming over the viedo feed until Fuyutski spoke.
"Your son is quite good, isn't he. Quite a suprise I must say."
Gendo allowed himself a small, if cold, smile.
"That is right. He is more than I expected him to be. It seems he pulled through quite well and will make a good addition to my plans."
Fuyutski shook his head slightly. The man was thinking of his own son as some subordinate he could do with as he pleased.
"I just hope he won't turn against us. We need him, you know?"
Ikari turned his head to the side, his glasses glinting.
"Even if the Third Child is going to turn against me, I have means to make him do my bidding." He said with confidence.
Kozo wasn't as confident. He knew NERV had a lot of ways to get someone to do something, but the commander's son seemed like someone who only did what he really wanted.
'I hope your means are enough Gendo....' At the same time another part of his mind silently hoped Shinji would go up against his father. The man needed someone to pull him down to earth again, but Kozo knew he couldn't do that.
They both sat in silence again, watching the battle proceed. Right now Shinji was slicing away at the angel without much results.
*************************
Shinji was starting to get really annoyed. This bastard just wouldn't die. The new pilot now had the hang of piloting, but he still wasn't able to bring his enemy down. The fucker healed most of his wounds instantly. A new tactic was needed now, but what?
As he was forced to dogde once again, an idea sprang to mind. If he was right this thing was powered by that red core in his torso.
It would be very risky to try. If his assumption was wrong it would mean 'goodbye Shinji'. At this close proximity he wouldn't be able to dodge a blast or evade any blows from his opponent, especially with the power-cord impeding his movements, so that had to go. Dr. Akagi had told him he would only have a minute power left after that, so he had to move fast.
'Well, here goes nothing!'
*************************
In the command cneter everybody was nervous as hell. The battle was nearing it's 20 minute and their pilot still hadn't managed to kill their enemy.
However, this all changed suddenly as the pilot reached behind his EVA and disengaged the umbilincal-cord.
Everybody gasped. Now he would only have 60 to fight, before his power ran out.
Misato was just about to pull her hair out. She took the nearest micro and screamed in.
"Shinji, whatthe hell are you doing? You have to put the umbilincal-cord back on!"
The only response she got was a grumpy 'I'm going to do this my way, or I don't do it at all, okay?' then the link was disconnected, leaving her to stare at the remainder of the battle.
**************************
Shinji pulled all his determination in and stormed forth. The angel wasn't used to a frontal attack from his quarry and stood wondering, until his enemy made his move and rammed the prog-knife into it's core.
The entity known as Sachiel hadn't thought his weakness would be discovered that fast. However, it wouldn't give up his quest. It was clear it would die, but not without taking the one who killed it with it.
Already his energies were waning so it pulled his aggressor into a tight hug with his remaining power and initiated his self-destruction.
Shinji wanted to rejoice as he rammed his knife into the perplexed angel. With his sixth sense he already felt his enemy's power waning.
He was a bit suprised to find himself wrapped up inside the embrace of his enemy. What was going on?
That was when he noticed a massive power build-up in the angel's aura. He didn't know what was to come, but he doubted it would be very good. With all his EVA's might he tried to free himself, his movents almost frantic as the energy was climbing ever higher in mere seconds.
His heart was racing now and his only thought was to get out of this death-trap, his opponent was self-destructing!
Then Shinji's vain attempts to escape ceased as his world went white........
END chapter 2
**************************
(1) Remember Shinji can boast his strenght and speed to incredible levels with his powers, even if only temporary
(2) Imagine yourself (a 29 year old) being teased by a 14 year old that you liked him: You would be emberassed too!
author's notes:
Peh, thought I would never finish that. It has almost been three weeks since my last update, but finally chapter 2 is here. I changed my mind and didn't use it too much to explain about Shinji's earlier live. Instead I plan on inserting a few flashbacks every now and then to explain his time at the compound better. It's also quite possible that some friends and enemies from his past will crop up over time.
However, I don'T plan on making this a crossover (for now anyways).
Some of you might also wonder: What's so different about this timeline than the original?
Well, all I can say is, that it takes time for a charakter to affect his surroundings, and Shinji was only there a day. Be assured there WILL be changes that mess up the original quite well. For example: Imagine how Asuka will react to somebody who doesn't bow to her?
Anyway, enough of my ramblings. Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please review and tell me what you think. flames welcome, as long as they give me something to work with.You want to contact me? My E-mail is master_meister@gmx.de. I'm still searching prereaders you know?
Chapter 3 will be out in 1-2 months.
Till next time, mastermage .....
Disclaimer: I don't own Neon Genesis Evangelion or any of it's characters. Nor do I intend to. This right goes to other genial people and I will merely borrow their incredible works to expand upon as to provide further entertainment for fans.
No money is made of this, nor do I have any.
So, please don't sue me, the four cent I have aren't worth it anyway.
Chapter 2 - Arrival
Tokyo 2 - Year 2014
' You have to come to Tokyo 3 Shinji. I have need for you. The time and station for your leave by train should be with this letter.
Your father, Gendo Ikari'
Would Gendo have been there when Shinji was finished reading the measly thing his father called a letter, he would have died instantly due to several broken bones and internal bleeding.
In other words, Shinji was pissed, really pissed. The past 10 years his father had done nothing for him and now that bastard expected him to come hopping when he called.
Knowing that only made Shinji madder and he struck out, putting a nice fist-sized hole into the nearest wall. That calmed him down somewhat, but not by much.
Now a new thought struck him: Why the hell would his worthless excuse of a parent need him now of all times? Try as he might Shinji could not come up with anything that would make sense.
However, it had to be something important, otherwise the bastard wouldn't have bothered to make contact with his child.
So it might be something really important.
Not someone to let anybody down, even if said person was his father, Shinji decided to go.
'It's not like I can't beat the crap out of him afterwards, if it's unimportant.'
Shinji chuckled a bit at that. It would be really satisfying to pay his father back.
Not that he was a violent person, mind you, he just didn't know a more satisfying way to pay his father back.
Now that he had resolved what to do Shinji had to inform Mitsune-sensei and Umura-sensei of his leave. Akira also had a right to know. Anybody else he could care less about. He didn't know anybody that good around the compound anyway, the training simply didn't leave much time to make friends. he was on a first name basis with some students, but they were only distant friends.
Only Masaru Lee, the person who brought him into the compound had to know, he was the administrator after all.
Carefully Shinji placed the letter back into closet ans set out to find the aforementioned persons.
********************************
Tokyo 3 - The next day
It was a beautiful day in Tokyo 3. The sun was standing high in the deep blue sky and not one sound was heard.
'Not one sound? That doesn't sound right,I'm in Tokyo 3 right? There should be a lot of noises. Odd'
That was what ran through the head of the sole occupant of a train station in Tokyo 3. As some of you might have already guessed, this person's name was Shinji Ikari.
The 14 year old was getting impatient now. His father wrote him, that somebody would wait to fetch him. Instead he had been waiting here nearly 20 minutes, growing more nervous by the minute. Once he found this Katsuragi person he was going to give her a piece of his mind, no matter her beauty (and he knew she was one, from the card she had laid into the letter!).
Something was very wrong in this city and Shinji could practically feel his hackels rise.
"Ahh, what the fuck, I will just find a phone, maybe they forgot?"
He said to himself as he picked up his duffelbag and started to wander in a random direction, searching for a payphone.
Not 10 minutes later he located one, but to his dismay the only response he got was :"This phone is not working due to a city-wide emergeny, please go to the shelters!"
Shinji stared at the headpiece dumbfounded for a few seconds, but decided it was best to do as the artificial voice said.
Shinji strechted out his senses to find a mass of people and the shelters with them, but what he found wasn't what he expected.
There was an aura in the city that was huge! No make that really HUGE!
The strange thing was, that it seemed to be generated by one highly dense point in the aura.
"What the fuck!"
Was all Shinji could say before a squadron of military jets zoomed past and fired their missiles on the unknown aura.
He couldn't see anything because of the buildings, but the explosions where strong enough to shake the earth, nearly pulling his legs out from under him.
"Just what is that here? Did my father just call me into the middle of a war, or what!"
The answer Shinji got was a lot worse: the next moment a huge... something stepped into view further ahead on the street. The monstrosity was towering well over 500 feet. It had small, frail looking arms and legs, looking like a miscreated humanoid. His head seemed to be pulled into the torso, which in turn was protected by a white boney looking cage. In the middle of it all a big red orb was pulsing angrily, that was also the area where Shinji located the dense point of the aura.
To say Shinji was blown of his feet, was to say the sun was merely warm.
'This isn't a war, this is a friggin' alien invasion. And to think I could have stayed at home! damn my curiosity.'
Now, Shinji wasn't someone to be easily scared, but when confronted with a creature that was shrugging of missiles like they were nothing even he knew not to fight. So he did the next best thing that came to mind: He ran.
Well, actually he only ran a few feet, before he had to jump to the side to avoid being crushed under the wreck of an aircraft that was batted his way by the monster.
Shinji got to his feet again, his heart now thundering in his chest, drowning out everything around him and ran with all he had, making a good 30 miles per hour.
*****************************
Misato Katsuragi wasn't having a very good day, in fact, her day was one of the worst you can have:
She was late (no suprise there, really), some monster was stomping around in her city, and now she had to search the damn city for the new pilot that should have arrived.
"Just why couldn't he wait until I arrived huh?"
Further ranting on part of the Nerv Officer was interrupted as she had to concentrate on the street, which was littered with various wrecks and debris. She desperateky hoped the pilot wans't underneath one of these.
As fate would have it, she finally saw somebody on the street.
'Finally!' she thought triumphatically.
Since the brown haired boy was running in her direction she hit the brakes and truned her car into a tight spin, bringing it to a standstill only two feet in front of the brownhaired youth with dark blue eyes, who managed to stop running just in time not to crash into her car.
*******************************
As Shinji roundend another corner he saw the first sign of life: A blue sports car that was coming towards him at full speed.
The moment he spotted the car he started to stop his all out run, fearing he wouldn't be able to avoid the car.
However, 60 feet before the two met the driver forced his car into a tight spin and brought the car to a stop only 2 feet in front of him.
The door was opened and a purple haired woman in her late twenties appeared. She was cald into a short (very short for Shinji's tastes) shirt and a black sweater that was covered by a red jacket. All in all she was quite the looker. But now was not the time for that, more important was the fact that this was Misato Katsuragi, the person who was to fetch him from the station.
"Hop in. We have to get out of here." The woman said frantically
"Don't have to say that twice mam!" Shinji gave back as he jumped into his seat and slammed the door shut. The moment it snapped shut Misato hit the accelerator and they sped away, driving like a devil. Shinji didn't seem perturbed by her driving style,although he was wondering if he could learn to drive like that.
"Why the hell didn't you wait where you were supposed to?" Misato requested while driving like mad.
"Oh I don't know. Well, maybe it had to do with the fact that a certain person was late and I tried to phone her. Only to get trampled by some giant monstrosity right out of the film."
Misato winced, hearing the strong edge of sarcasm in his voice.
"Uhm, a simple sorry wouldn't do, would it?"
Shinji brightened a bit, quite a feat considering they were still chased by some freakish creature that was able to crush them like bugs.
"Well, a sorry is a start Misato-san. Although I would appriciate if you could tell me why we're being chased by an over 500 feet high monster."
"This monster is called 'angel' Shinji. That's all I can tell you right now."
"Well, that's not very much I must say. What are we going to do now? And why are we stopping?"
Misato was already out the door, pulling out a pair of binoculars. Shinji also exited the car and tried to make out what she was looking for. All he saw was another bomber flying towards its doom. Then he watched closer and realized it was a lot bigger than all the others and it's altitude was much higher. In fact there weren't any aircrafts near the Angel anymore.
"What's going on Misato-san?"
Misato's face had gone withe while watching.
"They wouldn't.." Shinji heard her wispher.
"Duck! They're going to drop an N-2 mine"
That was all the warning Shinji got before Misato dragged him down with her towards the ground.
Only seconds later Shinji heard the distinct sound of a huge explosion, followed by a shockwave.
All around them trees were torn up and debris were flying everywhere.
Shinji decided it was best to stay where he was.
Once it was over Shinji noted with a bit of worry that his face was currently nestled between a nice pair of breasts. Not that it wasn'T nice or something, in fact the warmth that was seeping from them was great, but still.
When Misato got up she didn't look like she noticed.
"You all right Shinji-kun?"
"Yeah, all fine." he looked around for a moment "although I think your car needs a check up."
Misato gave him a confused look, until she spotted her precious car, lying on the side a few meters off the road. her expression grew frustrated instantly.
"That can't be. That car is brand new, and I still have to pay 36 rates. I'm so doomed! Come on, we have to get it up again. Hopefully it's still functional."
Shinji shrugged and walked to the car, and before Misato could react, he grabbed the underside and turned it over with seemingly no effort.(1)
Misato stood there gaping. That kid had more power than she thought. She very much doubted she would have been able to do that.
"What... How..ahh, buh.." Misato was also at a loss for words. That enigmatic grin on the boys face was also unnerving.
Another part of her mind noted that he looked quite handsome with it though, for a 14 year old. Yet another part of her mind quickly squashed the last, saying he was 'JUST A KID'.
Finally Misato simply decided to let it drop for now and tried to start the engine. However, it became soon apparent, that something wasn't working
"Aww fuck! Well, lets see what it is..."
*******************************
2 hours later
Misato and Shinji were once again driving towards NERV, Shinji looking slightly unnerved.
"You know Misato-san, most people would call that stealing." he said, pointing out the stack of car-batteries in the backseat.
Misato turned a slight shade of pink, but had an excuse anyway.
"No, we sipmly confiscated that material for an national emergency. I'm allowed to do that."
Shinji snorted.
"It's still stealing. Besides, I still think I could have gotten us to NERV faster."
Misato just shook her head and said nothing. Ever since she had gone to the city to get some batteries Shinji was insisting they go there by foot. What a crazy kid.
5 minutes later they drove into a mountain. The road was leading deeper and deeper, until they came to some sort of laoding area. Misato drove the car into a lot in the wall, and only as the wall started to move did Shinji realize, that it was a train!
They were descending even faster now, and the next moment Shinji was looking out into a vast underground cavern. It's ground was covered with trees and medows, that we're stretching several miles in all directions. Even a small river could be seen making its way to the lake in the middle. Next to the lake there stood some strange pyramide. Shinji summed the sight up in one word:
"WOW!"
Misato grinned, she knew he would like it.
"Beautiful isn't it? A real Geofront, it's totally independent with it's on circulation system. The first time I saw it I was stunned as well. We're heading down there, to the pyramide. That's Central Dogma."
"Misato-san? Just why does my father want me down here? I don't think it is because he wanted me to show the nice view. What's he doing down here anyway?"
Misato looked at Shinji beduffled.
"You don't know what your father is doing at NERV?"
"No, I haven't seen him in 8 years. So what does he do now?"
Misato frowned a bit at his answer. The commander sure wasn't a good father, if he could be called that, but Shinji didn't seem bothered at all.
"Shinji, your father is the commander of NERV.I think you should read that, to learn a bit more about NERV." With that she handed him a thick brochure, which Shinji started to leaf through almost casually while answering.
"Hah, I knew it. It's always the bastards who leave their child behind them, that rise the highest." A bitter chuckle folowed that statement.
Misato's frown deepened even more. It seemed Shinji didn't hate his father, but if that was the chase then only because he didn't deem him worthy of it. maybe he was simply good at hiding it...
*************************************
Shinji and Misato could be seen walking through the endless mazes that were NERV, they had been walking for the last 15 minutes and hadn't made any progress. Shinji was starting to think Misato didn't know where she was.
"Misato-san, I think we're walking in circels. I'm sure we passed here at least 3 times. We should call someone."
"We're not lost, I'm simply trying to find the best way to our destination, that's all."
Shinji chuckled at that. Misato sure could be funny.
"Now you're lying. Just call somebody okay?"
Misato caved in and nodded. She took the next best phone and dialed a number. An annoyed voice was heard on the other end.
"Misato? is that you?"
"Yes, it's me Ritsuko. ehhehheh.... You see, uhm, I'm kinda lost. Could you pick me up please?"
"Is the new pilot with you?"
"Yes, he's standing behind me."
"Okay, don't move. I'll come down. So where are you?"
"level B-12." Misato didn't get an answer, the other end simply went dead. Oh well...
"There all done."
Shinji sighed relieved. He was getting bored of walking in circels and reading the brochure Misato gave him wasn't very useful either,since it only held some major data on NERV, but nothing special. Hopefully the person she called was a bit more potent the her when it came to directions.
Not 4 minutes later a door shifted open, revealing an elevator. It was occupied by a tall blond, with shoulder lenght hair. She had a mole under her left eye and a frown on her face. her state of dress was another thing: A short red miniskirt with matching blouse, overlayed with a lab coat of all things. A quick glimpse at her aura revealed to Shinji that Misato was about to be chewed out, jugding from the annoyed and angry vibes he was getting.
"Well Misato, you are lost again. Just when are you going to get a card of the complex?"
Misato rubbed her head in embaressement and chuckled lightly
"Sorry Rit's. Anyway, Shinji I want you to meet a friend of mine. her name is Ritsuko Akagi, and she's the head scientist at NERV. Ritsuko, meet Shinji Ikari."
Only now shifted Ritsuko's attention over to Shinji, which earned an unnoticed sigh of relief from Misato, who was happy to be let of the hook.
"Nice to meet you Ikari-kun. I take it your stay here was rather turbulent up till now?"
Shinji gave a fromal bow before answering.
"The pleasure is all mine Akagi-san. And Yes, I would say it was rather interesting up to this point. I'm just wondering what comes next."
Ristuko only gave an enigmatic grin.
"Let's just say, the day just started for you Shinji-kun. Now follow me. Oh, and Misato, try not to get lost, okay?"
Soon they were on there way, Misato still cursing Ritsuko for making fun of her and the other two laughing at her antics.
***************************************
The trio soon found themself before a door, which opened just like all the others before.
There was, however, a important detail. It was pitch black inside.
Therefore Shinji was rather suprised to find himself surrounded by blackness when the door closed, he hadn't noticed there was no light until he couldn't read the brochure anymore.
"Hey? Who turned out the lights? I wanne see something." 'Not that I really need to' he thought to himself, still amused about all the advantages his mysterious powers brought with them. Absently he noted the room had to be vast, judging from the echo his question got. That he could tell, even without powers.
"Lights!" came the commanding voice of Dr. Akagi beside him, and instantly the world lit up, causing Shinji's jaw to drop.
Before him laid a huge room that was stretching a good half mile to his left and right. They were standing on a catwalk. These things seemed to cross the room everywhere. The room was also filled with a reddish/orange liquid that was coming up half a meter under the catwalk they were standing on.
But the most promiment feature in the otherwise metallic grey room was the giant purple head, that was on the right side of the catwalk. It was towering over Shinji, staring back at him with menacing, but lifeless eyes. It also had a horn on his head, that was looking rather silly, bt menacing all the same.
'What the hell!'
"Misato, what is that pruple thing?"
before the women got to say a word a booming voice was heard in the vast room, coming from a few levels higher.
"That is EVA 01. You will pilot it son!"
Shinji new that voice from his memories.
'Father' he thought furious.
Shinji searched the wall opposite to him, to find a figur standing on a high platform above him. he was dressed in a dark uniform and white gloves adorned his hands. Shinji's first impulse was to kill the bastard that abandoned him, but he wouldn't do that, not now. He was a fighter, and knew how to hold himself in check.
However, his voice wasn't neutral when addressing the mighty commander of NERV. In fact, his voice was so cold the temperature around him dropped 20 degree.
"Hello father. Nice to meet you, too!"
Hearing Shinji's voice Misato had to shudder and even Ritsuko swallowed a little.
The commander however, didn't give away any uneasiness, if he had any. His voice was equally cold however, even if it didn't have the same egde to it.
"We do not have time for exchanging pleasentries. Shinji, you have to pilot this machine, otherwise we're doomed!"
Shinji's face twisted into a scowl. The audacity of this man was galling him to no end. This time some anger seeped into his voice
"Oh? And just why, why should I do that? Huh? You have done nothing for me for 10 friggin years and now you expect me to pilot some friggin robot to fight off a friggin' monster that is probably your fault too. What do I get in compesation?.... So tell me?"
Gendo's lips curled up a little.
Misato blinked 'was that a smile?'
"I think we can work something out. How about I give you 2 million Yen for every time you sortie to battle and a monthly salary of 200000 Yen?"
Shinji's frown turned into a smile. It wasn't like he really needed it and he knew if what his father said wasn't exaggerated he was underpaid, but it was good to be set for life. He could kick a little ass for that. He still wasn't happy with his father though.
"Sure thing!"
Misato blinked again. Had the boy just accepted? She was prepared to throw herself at his feet and beg him to do it, but he just accepted for a bunch of money. Surely he din't know what he was getting himself into.
"Shinji are you sure you know what you do? You are going to risk your life out there, you know?"
Shinji gave her a confused look
"So? I'm getting a lot of money for it. I'm also saving the world. What else is there to consider? It's better to die fighting some ugly monster than to die because a car hit you by accident. Don't you think so?"
Misato was even more baffeld now. The kid was taking this all in very good stride. Too good, for her taste.
Gendo simply smiled when exiting the room.
"Dr, Akagi, I trust you to instruct him on what is to be done?" Were his parting words.
Ritsuko nodded, still a bit shocked, that Shinji was convinced this easily.
"Very well..." The rest of her sentence was cut short, when a deep rumble was heard and suddenly the earth shook heftily.
the next moments were only a blur. A few grinders broke from the ceiling, barreling towards them.
Shinji's mind didn't even lose a second before he moved to action. His heart started racing and adrenaline pumped through his veins to make his body do the impossible.
With a quick move he had both the doctor and the caipten grabbed by their arms and jerked them to the side with him, landing on the ground, as he cleared the dangerous area with inhumen speed.
The grinders crashed to the ground before them only milliseconds later, bending the catwalk and resounding throughout the hangar with a mighty 'BOOM'.
While Shinji was lying there his heart was slowly coming down to earth. 'Puh..That was to close for comfort.'
Next to him Misato and Ritsuko were still shellshocked at nearly dying, not to mention their arms hurt like hell from Shinji's unexpected pull.
Slowly the three stood up to survey the damage done.
Sure enough, three grinders landed directly where they where standing only moments before.
"I think I have to thank you for saving my life Shinji. Just how did you move so fast anyway?" Misato said.
"Thats right. You have my gratitude as well Shinji-kun."
Shinji smiled radiantly.
"hey, no problem. can't let you die before you show me how everything works, can I. Besides, I like my company alive. As for me moving so fast, let's just say my reflexes are very good."
Ristuko just thought 'reflexes, my ass! No human can move so fast!'
Misato smiled weakly at his joke.
"Just one thing. Don't pull my arm off next time you safe me!"
Shinji turned his most sugar sweet smile onto Misato.
"Why Misato-san, would you rather next time I safe you by carrying you damsel-in-distress style?"
Misato couldn't help but imagine the scene of him carrying her in his arms, pressing her to his chest and promptly stomped the thought, embaressed with herself. her cheeks adorned a red tint as she tried to come up with a snide comeback. However, a lame "It would at least be preferable to getting my arm amputed" was all that came out.
Ritsuko saw Shinji hadn't finished and wondered what came next. That boy sure was amusing and a good observer as well.
It was, after all, very hard to get Misato embaressed.
When Shinji's smile turned predatory the moment neared.
"Why Misato, if you want me to carry you just ask, we can leave out the saving part."
Ristsuko nearly laughed her as of as Misato's cheeks turned flame red.(2)
"bah..I..what...how.." Misato was really speechless it seemed.
Shinji himself was enjoying the expierience as much as Ritsuko.
After a few seconds of laughing Misato said a bit more forceful
"Will you two knock it off already?"
"It's alright Misato, just a little teasing. After all, you could be my mother. Something like 'that' would be a bit much, don't you think so? Anyway, lets get to work. I wanne kick angel-butt"
"I think Shinji's right come on now, we don't have much time."
**************************
Some time later Shinji found himself in some kind of tube, that was inserted into the backside of EVA-01, as they called that robot.
The interior was a dull gray and he was sitting in a comfortable seat. In front of him there were some kind of handels to either side of the seat, obviously thought to pilot the monstrosity he was sitting in. However, two control-sticks and a few buttons couldn't be enough to pilot something that had legs and arms.
'Just how does this work?'
As if to answer his unspoken question the entry plug was filled with the voice of Dr. Akagi.
"Shinji? Can you hear me?"
"Yep, loud and clear doc. Say, how am I supposed to pilot this with only two control-sticks?"
Ritsujo hesitated a moment before speaking
"You will have you answer soon enough. But for now: Fill the entry plug!"
A distant 'Yes Mam' was heard from the backround.
Suddenly the plug was filled with the same orange liquid Shinji had seen earlier in the hangar. Just what were they doing? Going to drown him? NO, he doubted that very much, a corpse couldn't be too good at piloting.
'Better make sure they know what they are doing'
"Uhm, guys" Shinji said, now with the LCL to his neck "In here there's some kind of fluid. Whats going on?" The LCL finally was over his mouth
"Dont worry Shinji. This is LCL, an oxigenic fluid. You can breath it like normal air, just take a gulp." he heard her cristal clear voice, even though he was surrounded by fluid.
However, breathing the stuff was easier said then done, and so Shinji waited till he ran out of air before taking a deep breath.
"..Gaahhhh.." At first he nearly choked, not used to have fluid in his lungs. It tasted like rotten flesh or something and smelled like blood. All in all he was proud of himself for not vomiting.
"Bäh! Do you have this stuff with lemon aroma or something. Otherwise I'm going to quit the job. Thats awful."
Suddenly a holoscreen activated in front of him, showing the face of Misato.
"Don't be such a whiner. You're supposed to be tough, remember?"
Shinji grimaced.
"Just because I'm tough doesn't mean I have to like the taste of rotten flesh. You don't believe me: How about you taste it yourself sometime? Anyway, what now?"
Another screen appeared, bearing Dr. Akagi's face.
"Now we are going to link you with EVA-01. Just stay put."
Shinji nodded and waited patiently. he heard somebody counting of some status reports, and suddenly, when someone shouted 'critical point reached' his world changed:
Somehow he felt bigger now, In fact, he felt like he was as big as EVA-01. His body was feeling different too. Like he was ripped from his own and thrown into another. The gray walls of the plug lightened up, and he saw the outside. Right now he was looking directly into the control room.
He still couldn't get over the feeling of power and familarity this body gave him. Out of reflex he scanned the surroundings with his sixth sense, and nearly had a heart attack.
The machine he was in had suddenly developed a huge aura, that was nearly palable. Shinji judged it to be nearly as big as that of the monster.'Just how can a robot have an aura' he wondered
That aside, it's aura didn't have a concentrated sphere like the other. That explained the ridiculuosly huge power cord that was attached to his back.
Just how was he supposed to fight, if something like that was cutting down on his agility?
Shinji was interrupted from further observation by Dr. Akagi's voice.
"Shinji? Do you feel all right?"
"Yeah. I feel a bit out of place, like I'm the EVA or somthing, but there aren't any other ill effects."
He saw Ristuko nod and then she asked somebody how high his sync ratio was.
"That can't be" came a techs voice "It's over 60 percent!"
Misato whirled around
"What? 60 percent? let me see that... Oh damn, it's true."
Shinji didn't know what they were talking about, but jugding from their reactions his performence was very good. Instead he focused inward again. he wanted to know what was going on.
That was when he saw it. His power was seeping out, slowly, but it was. Something was using it. But what? Shinji suddenly had a vague idea what they meant by linking. It seemed to involve his power somehow. Maybe that was what made him able to pilot that thing, and others not?
'If that is the chase then I should be able to move this thing somehow, but how?'
His further musings were again interrupted by Dr. Akagi.
"Okay Shinji, everything is allright. Now I'm going to instruct you on piloting. First, try to move your arm."
Shinji raised an eyebrow. She called that instructing, he knew he had to move that thing himself.
"And just how, pray tell, am I going to do that?"
"Just think to move your on arm. That should do."
Shinji affirmad that and concentrated, willing his, or rather EVA's arm to move.
Misato gasped as she saw the right purple armored arm of EVA 01 move upward until it was in front of it's face. The robot looked like it was examining his hand curiously.
"Incredible..." She heard Shinji whisper over the com-link, and all she could do was agrre with him.
"Just how is that possible. The first child needed months just to sync with her EVA and he's just moving his arm around with the first try!"
Ritsuko just shrugged
"He's a natural, that's all.Maybe we really have a chance to win this one." Then addressing Shinji she said :" We will try walking once you're on the surface. Now, we will unlock the safety mountings."
Moments later EVA 01 was free from his cage and Shinji was standing on his own, still wondering about all of this.
"Move Unit 01 to catapult 3!" he heard Misato order and he was moving again.
Once his EVA was locked into place he was shot to the surface, his innards pressed together by 10 g.
At first Shinji felt like he was being pressed into a compact little box. His stomach lurched, prostesting at the sudden movement, and his head was swimming slightly.
Then he reached the surface and slammed into another set of safety mountings so he wouldn't fly out into the open, free to be shot like a bird.
His shoulders still protested slightly, as did his stomach as he slammed into them.
"Say, Ain't there a better way to come up here? I feel like somebody tried to stuff me into a tin of Thunafish."
Instantly Misato was heard again.
"Shinji, stop whining! Instead try to concentrate on walking. We have to get you acquainted with piltoing EVA before you can fight."
Shinji decided to do what was asked of him. After all, what didn't one do to safe the world?
In the control room everybody gasped as EVA 01 made his first step, and then another. The joy dind't last long as the purple robot tripped over his own feet on the third step.
A rather frustrated 'fuck' was heard over the com-link to EVA-01.
There was another problem though. The angel, which was up to this point ignorant of the EVA's presence had heard the loud thud it's landing made, and set out to elimimante this new threat.
Shinji struggled with the controls as he tried to get back to his feet. After a few failed tries he managed to get up, just in time to see the monstrosity he saw a few hours prior, charging at him.
He felt panic welling up in him, knowing he wasn't really up to this, but squashed it with all his will. He could do this!
When the angel was nearly on top of him, Shinji threw himself to the side. This time he got up instantly, if a bit shaky, and charged at his seemingly confused quarry's undefended back.
He drew his right arm back clumsily and threw a punch into it's back.
The moment his fist connected he felt the angel's hide give a bit.
Then his opponent whirled around and knocked him into the head with one of it's frail appendages.
Not one to be distracted easily Shinji retaliated with a kick, sending the monster flying.
His attack was shrugged of again and Shinji was starting to get annoyed. He was sure that kick did some damage, but it was gone the next moment.
'Time to call in some help'
"Misato, Does this thing have any weapons?. I don't think I will get very far with just punching and kicking that bastard."
"Do you see that button on the left control stick? Press it and a knife will pop out form your upper shoulder."
Shinji didn't waste time to speak more and simply pressed the button.
Moments later he had the prog-knife in hand. It was giving of a low hum and was glowing.
"Now that's more like it!" He crowed while turning the kife in 'his' hands to get a better feeling.
All to soon Shinji was once again attacked by the angel.
This time however, the bastard simply blasted at him.
The 14 year old didn't manage to completely evade the energy spike and it grazed his right side, causing him to grimace in slight pain.
'What the hell' he thought in disgust 'These things work with feedback? Are these Freaks crazy, not to tell me something like that? I think I will have a long talk with them later, but for now...'
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Down in Ikari Gendo's office the supreme commander of NERV was watching his only child fighting a terrible monster with an expressionless face. Next to him his trusted second-in-command Kozo Fuyutski stood, watching as well. The otherwise dark office was tinted in flickering light from the screen, giving it a surreal feeling. The room was only filled with the sounds coming over the viedo feed until Fuyutski spoke.
"Your son is quite good, isn't he. Quite a suprise I must say."
Gendo allowed himself a small, if cold, smile.
"That is right. He is more than I expected him to be. It seems he pulled through quite well and will make a good addition to my plans."
Fuyutski shook his head slightly. The man was thinking of his own son as some subordinate he could do with as he pleased.
"I just hope he won't turn against us. We need him, you know?"
Ikari turned his head to the side, his glasses glinting.
"Even if the Third Child is going to turn against me, I have means to make him do my bidding." He said with confidence.
Kozo wasn't as confident. He knew NERV had a lot of ways to get someone to do something, but the commander's son seemed like someone who only did what he really wanted.
'I hope your means are enough Gendo....' At the same time another part of his mind silently hoped Shinji would go up against his father. The man needed someone to pull him down to earth again, but Kozo knew he couldn't do that.
They both sat in silence again, watching the battle proceed. Right now Shinji was slicing away at the angel without much results.
*************************
Shinji was starting to get really annoyed. This bastard just wouldn't die. The new pilot now had the hang of piloting, but he still wasn't able to bring his enemy down. The fucker healed most of his wounds instantly. A new tactic was needed now, but what?
As he was forced to dogde once again, an idea sprang to mind. If he was right this thing was powered by that red core in his torso.
It would be very risky to try. If his assumption was wrong it would mean 'goodbye Shinji'. At this close proximity he wouldn't be able to dodge a blast or evade any blows from his opponent, especially with the power-cord impeding his movements, so that had to go. Dr. Akagi had told him he would only have a minute power left after that, so he had to move fast.
'Well, here goes nothing!'
*************************
In the command cneter everybody was nervous as hell. The battle was nearing it's 20 minute and their pilot still hadn't managed to kill their enemy.
However, this all changed suddenly as the pilot reached behind his EVA and disengaged the umbilincal-cord.
Everybody gasped. Now he would only have 60 to fight, before his power ran out.
Misato was just about to pull her hair out. She took the nearest micro and screamed in.
"Shinji, whatthe hell are you doing? You have to put the umbilincal-cord back on!"
The only response she got was a grumpy 'I'm going to do this my way, or I don't do it at all, okay?' then the link was disconnected, leaving her to stare at the remainder of the battle.
**************************
Shinji pulled all his determination in and stormed forth. The angel wasn't used to a frontal attack from his quarry and stood wondering, until his enemy made his move and rammed the prog-knife into it's core.
The entity known as Sachiel hadn't thought his weakness would be discovered that fast. However, it wouldn't give up his quest. It was clear it would die, but not without taking the one who killed it with it.
Already his energies were waning so it pulled his aggressor into a tight hug with his remaining power and initiated his self-destruction.
Shinji wanted to rejoice as he rammed his knife into the perplexed angel. With his sixth sense he already felt his enemy's power waning.
He was a bit suprised to find himself wrapped up inside the embrace of his enemy. What was going on?
That was when he noticed a massive power build-up in the angel's aura. He didn't know what was to come, but he doubted it would be very good. With all his EVA's might he tried to free himself, his movents almost frantic as the energy was climbing ever higher in mere seconds.
His heart was racing now and his only thought was to get out of this death-trap, his opponent was self-destructing!
Then Shinji's vain attempts to escape ceased as his world went white........
END chapter 2
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(1) Remember Shinji can boast his strenght and speed to incredible levels with his powers, even if only temporary
(2) Imagine yourself (a 29 year old) being teased by a 14 year old that you liked him: You would be emberassed too!
author's notes:
Peh, thought I would never finish that. It has almost been three weeks since my last update, but finally chapter 2 is here. I changed my mind and didn't use it too much to explain about Shinji's earlier live. Instead I plan on inserting a few flashbacks every now and then to explain his time at the compound better. It's also quite possible that some friends and enemies from his past will crop up over time.
However, I don'T plan on making this a crossover (for now anyways).
Some of you might also wonder: What's so different about this timeline than the original?
Well, all I can say is, that it takes time for a charakter to affect his surroundings, and Shinji was only there a day. Be assured there WILL be changes that mess up the original quite well. For example: Imagine how Asuka will react to somebody who doesn't bow to her?
Anyway, enough of my ramblings. Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please review and tell me what you think. flames welcome, as long as they give me something to work with.You want to contact me? My E-mail is master_meister@gmx.de. I'm still searching prereaders you know?
Chapter 3 will be out in 1-2 months.
Till next time, mastermage .....