Armored Fighter Evangelion
By Trek1030
Part II: Revelations of Destiny
The immaculate white cleanliness of the hospital room sparkled in the morning sunlight. Beside the patient's bed, the shades of the window were drawn back, letting the morning light pour in. A sudden gasp intruded into the silence of the room, as the room's single patient awoke.
The young boy slowed down his breathing as he looked frantically around the room, finding it strange and unfamiliar. The boy looked down upon himself, finding that he wore a pale blue hospital gown, buttoned in the back. While he pondered about his current whereabouts, short flashes of memory began to flood back to his conscious mind.
"Is this Tokyo-3?" he quietly asked himself. The boy looked out the window to see lush green scenery, with a city that seemed to be stuck in the sky. "This is the geo-front…."
Slowly, Shinji walked out the door of his room and into a sparkling hallway. The TV hanging from the ceiling caught his attention; more specifically, the news showing on it.
"… and that is it for the sections of Tokyo-3 that are out of limits to civilians. Expect major construction to be going on.
"We have no confirmed reports about what caused this massive damage. Not only that, but still have no official reason for the emergency status of last night…"
Shinji zoned out the TV, as he turned inward to his own thoughts of confusion…. Maybe it was all a dream? It seemed so absurd… being chosen to wear a super-powered armor to fight hand-to-hand against an alien. Shinji nervously chuckled at himself as his confusion began to grow.
If it didn't happen, then why the hell am I in a hospital? Shinji slumped his shoulders and closed his eyes as he wondered if he was going insane….
A light squeak emanated from the hallway, toward Shinji's right. Turning toward the noise, a gurney came into view, accompanied by an entourage of doctors. As they approached, the group stopped as a tall, dark figure walked up to the small crowd. Getting to his feet, Shinji slowly edged closer, as if some force was calling for him, urging him to move.
The faint, blue-haired form on the gurney turned toward Shinji, seeming to beckon him with her crimson eyes. Stilly, she stared, her eyes burning into his weary soul. Taking notice, the dark figure turned to Shinji, as the girl slowly closed her eyes.
With the girl's eyes closed, Shinji's trance broke as he noticed the cold, dark stare of his father from behind rose-tinted glasses. Years of hatred swelling within, Shinji simply stepped to the side as the small crowd went passed, his father with them. Shinji looked on as they disappeared down the hallway, pondering to himself, never noticing the light chime of the elevator doors behind him.
"Such a cold man," came a sweet voice from behind, "Surely his soul weary son deserves a word or two."
"Misato!" Shinji exclaimed as he turned to face her, recognizing her voice.
"I came to pick you up," Misato responded with a smile and small wave, stepping out of the elevator.
Still caught in his own thoughts, Shinji walked down the hallway, meandering aimlessly. Keeping in step slightly behind him, Misato followed, smile not yet leaving her face, cheery attitude still not gone.
"I heard you were feeling okay…" She began, "… I'm glad, Shinji."
"Well… um…" Shinji mumbled, at a loss for words, "…yeah…"
"I can take you to your place," Misato continued, not noticing his muttering. "… HQ's really taken care of you, you've rated private quarters."
Noticing his demeanor, Misato frowned as she felt sorry this boy.
"Are you okay living alone, Shinji? If you submit a petition, you could arrange to live with your father..."
"No, that's alright," the boy said, stopping, a grim smile creeping across his face, "I'm used to being alone… and anyways, my father wouldn't want me around…"
"Oh don't be silly! Parents and children naturally live together! Don't hold back, if there's something you want to say then just-"
"Leave me alone! Please! It's none of your business, Misato…"
"Hey! I'm just worried about you, that's all!" Misato responded, sounding a little indignant.
"I'm always alone anyway, Misato. I'm used to it," Shinji responded. Feeling discouraged, Misato narrowed her eyes at him.
"Hmm… so gloomy," she remarked, smirking as an idea came to her, "I know just what'll fix that…"
"Huh?" Shinji questioned nervously, as he watched Misato pull out her cell phone and place a call.
"Hey Ritsuko? It's me… yeah, yeah…. About Shinji, he's gonna be living with me for a while so…"
"Wait! What did you just say?!" Shinji exclaimed, eyes wide in surprise. Taking no notice, Misato continued her conversation.
"… oh shut up, I'm not so desperate I'd to that with a child! Just get me the approval from above, all right? Seeya!
"There! That should do it," Misato smiled, facing Shinji.
"Wait… Misato," Shinji spoke despairingly, "You can't do this! Why do I have to live with you anyway?"
"Will you shut up!" she responded, becoming aggravated, "What part of 'commanding officer' do you not understand?"
Shrinking away, the young Ikari surrendered and slowly followed as Misato pulled him by his arm.
The next day found Shinji at NERV once more, awaiting a briefing from Dr. Akagi. The previous night had been odd to the boy, to say the least; beer and penguins would be forever burned into his memories, linked of course to his new home with Misato.
"Hello Shinji," Dr. Akagi greeted warmly, as she walked into the conference room. Going to the head of the table, directly opposite Shinji's seat, she put down her notebook and took a seat, taking a moment to greet the only other person in the room, Captain Katsuragi. "Hello Misato."
"Hey Rits," Misato said from the side of the room. Not wanting to keep her friend waiting, the captain took a seat beside Shinji and let Ritsuko begin.
"Before we let you wear the armor again Shinji," Dr. Akagi lectured, "It is imperative that you be briefed about the armor itself and about the operations of NERV."
"Of course, Doctor," Shinji responded unenthusiastically, though listening attentively.
"First off, I'll start with NERV's purpose. Put simply, there are Angels that are coming to attack the city, and we have to kill them before they kill us. More specifically, you and Rei have to kill them, as conventional weapons have proven useless against them. Yes, Shinji, You have a question?"
"But Mobile Armor is a conventional weapon," Shinji commented, somewhat confused, "it's everywhere. The police assault teams use it, so do those Knight Saber people in Tokyo-2, and I've heard of the Iron Man and War Machine fighting in their own armor over in America. Why not have them fight?"
"Good question," Ritsuko said, "The reason we don't have them fight the Angels is because their armor is a conventional weapon. Your armor is not.
"This brings me to my second point; the Evangelion Armor. While the Knight Sabers may fight with explosive punches and rockets, the Eva Armor has weapons on a much more surreal scale. Using your own natural energy, and the energy we provide the suit, all your attacks are in the form of AT-energy; that which holds the universe together, and comprises the human souls within each of us. It is the only thing we can fight the Angel's with."
"But why me?" Shinji interrupted, feeling scared as he realized that humanity's existence rested his ability to fight. "Why not get someone who can fight? Some one who's studied marital arts?"
"The Eva Armor can only work with specific people; the Marduk Institute has chosen from the population which people the armor would work with, only finding three."
"And I just had to be one of them…." Shinji whispered to himself, as Dr. Akagi continued. He listened attentively, as the weight of his responsibilities burned heavy upon his soul.
At Tokyo-3 High School, in the classroom known as 2A, an entire class of students began to feel true suffering as their teacher went on once more about the Second Impact, and his life before. As the teacher stared out the window, lost in his own golden memories, certain students nearly fell asleep with boredom. One such student was Shinji Ikari, who had been in the class for nearly a week; startling him to sobriety, a quiet beeping came from the speakers of his laptop computer.
Looking closer at the screen, Shinji saw an incoming chat message and, after a brief glance around, the young boy read the message:
Is it true? Are you the warrior?
A bit startled by this question, Shinji thought about the response. No one had told him to be quiet about his status, only to keep quiet about the armor. Not quite thinking about it long enough, Shinji only typed in one word:
Yes.
Almost immediately, a collective gasp filled the air. Students rushed toward the boy, bombarding him with questions about his fighting, about his armor, about who he was. The teacher never noticed; however class president Horaki Hikari still strove unsuccessfully to restore order.
"Interesting…" a boy to the side whispered to himself, adjusting his glasses as he listened in on to Shinji's vague description of his fight. Quickly typing, the boy, known as Aida Kensuke, entered the information into his own personal database, presumably for future use. Grinning at the information, Kensuke noticed a tall, dark-haired boy in a tracksuit, glaring knives at Shinji. Suzuhara Toji seemed to grow angrier by the second.
Kensuke remembered the short talk he had this morning with Toji; about his sister and the battle in the city. Kensuke knew something was about to happen; but he only adjusted his glasses and watched.
"Yo new kid!" Toji snarled at Shinji, causing the small crowd to grow silent. "Go to the roof; NOW!!"
Emphasizing his point with an angry fist, Toji only stared at the boy until Shinji reluctantly stood and made his way out of the room. Storming out, Toji followed as the rest of the class looked on his confusion. Only one other member of the class pursued them, a young man name Kensuke, gripping a digital camcorder in his hand.
Nearly growling, Toji sized up the boy who looked to the floor with downtrodden eyes. They (along with Kensuke) were alone on the roof, with the sun beating down upon them with its burning glare, though the burning light would never compare to the fury in Suzuhara's heart.
"You listen up, new kid," the angry teen began, "My little sister was hurt bad last week, during that attack on the city. She was crushed under a piece of falling rubble; and do you know whose fault this all is?"
Silently, Shinji just stared at the boy; the forlorn look in his face, still not changing, though inside the guilt began to build as he listened to the story of this boy's sister.
"It's your fault dammit!" Toji screamed, running at him. With a definitive thud, his fist struck Shinji's face, causing the Eva Warrior to fall to the ground. Suzuhara repeated kicked the fallen boy, ignoring the spot blood on the floor that just seemed to grow.
"Hold, it, Toji," Kensuke cried, grabbing his friend's arm, "That's enough!"
"Did you see her?" Toji responded, sadness filling his once angry voice, "All the machines around her… she can barely breathe…"
Closing his eyes, Kensuke backed off from the lost cause of stopping this fight; he of all people knew how stubborn Toji was, once he started something, he at least tried to go through with it. Toji's rage overtook him once again as he approached the fallen form of Shinji Ikari; though slowly he stopped as he watched the beaten boy arise.
Wiping blood from his mouth and face, Shinji's forlorn expression still hadn't changed. Staggering a bit, he turned around, no longer facing the boy, and slowly walked to the edge of the roof before finally addressing the vengeance-seeking Toji.
"I didn't want to fight… they made me…" Shinji cried, as small tears began to form at his closed eyes. "You want to hurt me? That's fine with me… but this time… don't hold back. Push me off this ledge, if you want. Just make it end."
"Okay new kid," Toji said, a grim smirk on his face as he raised his fist to Shinji, who was still not facing him, "You asked for it…"
Toji's fist impacted the back of Shinji's skull, causing the boy to lose his balance. As he stumbled on the edge of the building, Shinji peered over the edge and could only think of one thought; he thought of how peaceful it would be when everything would finally end. Not being able to compensate for his lost balance, Shinji fell through the air, edging closer to the place where he would splatter in a mess of blood, flesh, and entrails.
But the impact never occurred.
Through the air, Shinji could feel the presence of another. A gentle being, one that warmly wrapped around him like a mother's embrace. Had Shinji's eyes been open, he would have been witness to the soft glow of the Genesis Stone worn around his neck. He would have seen the light protectively envelope his body as he hit the ground. Just as suddenly as it appeared, the light vanished, leaving Shinji lying in the dirt.
Dizzy and dazed, Shinji stood up and looked down at his body. Where there should have been tears, bruises, and blood, the boy only saw his dirt-covered clothes. Still weary, Shinji absent-mindedly stumbled off, perhaps to find his way home.
Meanwhile, back at the roof of the school, two stood frozen in shock; as Kensuke and Toji peaked over the edge of the roof, they watched Shinji get up and walk away. At a loss for words, the duo simply sat down, contemplated the unreal light show they had witnessed.
The rest of the day passed slowly for Ikari Shinji; the hour spent buying groceries and the twenty minutes used to walk home were all just a meaningless blur. They were motions to mindlessly fall through; new motions for his life, but monotonous motions, nonetheless. In fact, the lowest point of his day had not yet come to pass, as Shinji would soon find something that would break his spirit far more than Suzuhara ever could. Oddly enough, it all started with the rude manners of a certain penguin.
"Pen-pen! Give that back! It's mine!"
The animal waddled off with a package of beef jerky held in his beak; behind Pen-pen, Shinji powered on, desperate to save his snacks. With Misato still at work, Shinji was on his own, and Pen-pen still had not adjusted to him. Seeking refuge, Pen-pen scrambled into Misato's room, shutting the door behind him. Confident in his genius, the penguin sat on Misato's bed with a slight smirk on his face.
Ripping open the package with his beak, Pen-pen never managed to savor a single piece of jerky as Shinji burst through the door and grabbed the entire thing from him.
"Why does Misato keep a critter like you anyway?" Shinji scolded the bird, relieved to have his snack back. Upon glancing around the room, Shinji took notice of the disaster area surrounding him. Dirty clothes lay strewn about carelessly, all over the floor and bed. Misato's disorganized dresser caught Shinji's attention; amongst the make-up products and bottles of perfume, papers were haphazardly thrown about. Just peeking out from beneath a paper, a notebook could be seen, Shinji just making out the words 'Third Child'.
Stepping through the mess, Shinji reached the dresser and picked up the notebook in fascination. The cover read 'Third Child Surveillance Report'. Something deep within Shinji broke at that moment; a vague sense of betrayal, of some strange hope lost. Flipping through the notebook, glanced at many things regarding himself. Surveillance, psychological reports, his daily routine, along with Misato's comments on every aspect of his life filled the notebook.
To an observer, it would of appeared as though the young boy was in a state of shock as he silently and unemotionally replaced the notebook and exited his guardian's room. Slowly, Shinji retreated to the darkness of his own room, not bothering to turn on the lights. Pulling his knees up to his chest, he once more lost himself in his own thoughts, letting a single tear slide down his saddened face.
To Be Continued…
Author's Note:
The entire scene where Misato decides to have Shinji live with her is almost exactly copied from the manga; I prefer the manga to the anime, as some things seem to have been done better. Seems to be more character development and such in the manga. In fact, as the fic progresses, many scenes from the manga will be used, although altered to fit… well… my tastes, really )
Now, the way I plan to structure this fic is to have a chapter for every major fight, with chapters that lack action between the fights. So, expect the next chapter to have a big ass fight. Although, don't get your expectations up, as I really doubt as to how fast I'll complete a chapter. It may be a week, or maybe even months. Years, even.