Fallen
A Neon Genesis Evangelion Fanfic
By: Aaron Nowack
Chapter 2: Omen
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Disclaimer: Neon Genesis Evangelion is not mine, but instead belongs to
Gainax and Hideako Anno. The text of this fanfic is mine, however, and
may not be used without permission. The Power of Cheese compels you!
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Suzuhara Touji was not prone to deep thoughts. Indeed, he was
known as almost anything but a great thinker. He was well aware of, and
indeed more than content with, this fact. Back when such things had
mattered far more than they did today, he had been at best indifferent
towards his education. He had, in fact, in his younger years been
something of a bully, often convincing others to follow his commands
through the strength of his fists, rather than that of his arguments.
Had the world continued as it had once been, he would not ever
have amounted to much, he knew. He might have been able to make some
sort of a living off of his physical strength, but it would have likely
been a poor one. When he had been crippled, even that possibility had
vanished, leaving him with nothing but the generosity of Nerv to rely
upon.
In this world, though... in this world Suzuhara Touji had done
more than amount to much. This world had dire need of people like him.
He was one of the not much more than a hundred people who stood between
the people of Tokyo-4 and pillage, starvation, and eventual death. Not
only that, but he was one of the best of those few.
They were called scouts, but their duties extended far beyond
simple patrols and exploration. Tokyo-4 was not the only settlement to
have risen up in the aftermath of Third Impact, and it was the scouts
who maintained relations, such as they were, with those other groups.
Between the settlements lay vast stretches of uncontrolled territory,
and those spaces were home to uncountably many groups of bandits, some
numbering over a hundred themselves, for there were always those who
found it easier to take from others than to make for themselves.
Despite these accomplishments, the fact remained that Touji was
not a deep thinker. Yet, as he sat on a cracked sidewalk, idly
sharpening his large, if crude, broadsword, he found himself lost in
thought, countless figments floating through his head, being replaced as
quickly as he could consider them, and he was well aware of the catalyst
that had provoked this storm.
Ayanami. He had never expected her to return. Nobody had.
After the first few years, the pace of returns had slowed to a crawl, so
any new arrival was an unexpected event. However, Rei in particular...
he would have expected to see just about anyone more than her. Very
little was known about what exactly had occurred six years ago, but he
had heard enough fragmentary testimonies to conclude that Ayanami had
been intimately involved. For her to return... he could not think
anything but that it must have some greater meaning.
As, he felt, must the dream that had awakened him the previous
night. He could not truly recall it; in his memory it was little more
than fleeting, unknowable images and strong feelings. However, it stuck
with him in a way that his more ordinary dreams did not. He could still
remember the raw, unreasoning panic that had gripped him when he had
awoken, a feeling matched in intensity by only one other he had ever
experienced... one he deeply hoped he would never feel again.
Fortunately, he had little fear of that ever occurring.
Another thought presented itself - what of Ayanami's memory
loss? Everyone seemed to have some - he himself was missing most of a
day, from what he could gather. Yet for most, it was no more than a
matter of hours, at most a day or two. Ayanami had seemingly lost more
than a month, by far the most of anyone he had heard of. Another odd
fact, one of many that had presented itself the previous day. Far too
many to be a coincidence, he thought.
That was why he had decided to examine the site of the meteor
landing. He knew it was a totally irrational feeling, but he felt that
something surrounded by such odd events had to be important. There had
to be some significance to the past night's events. More than that, he
felt that something dangerous was coming. There was no real basis for
the feeling, no more than a dream and coincidence, but Touji always
trusted his gut feelings.
"Ah, finally. What in the world was the food doing here?"
Nakamura Katai said, holding up a small package in triumph. "I thought
I'd never find it."
"Where was it?" Kensuke asked, looking up from the squad's small
two-way radio transmitter. It had broken during the course of their
patrol, and he had been trying without success to repair it for the past
several days.
"It's all in the same bag as the dirty laundry," Katai replied
as he began to busy himself preparing lunch.
Hiruma Kuro, the squad's oldest member, made a disgusted noise.
"I know things were confused this morning, but who would've done that?"
Touji decided to change the subject, as he thought he recalled
packing the food that morning. "What have we got for lunch, anyways?"
"Not much," Katai replied. "We were supposed to finish the
patrol yesterday, and we do have an extra mouth to feed - even if she
doesn't look like she eats much."
"We'll have to forage tonight, then," Kuro said. "Or hunt." He
fingered the bow that lay by his side.
Touji grunted in agreement, then bent himself back to the task
of sharpening his blade. An instant later, this task was abandoned. A
howl echoed throughout the shopping center, sending chills down Touji's
spine.
"Dogs," Hiruma said. He grabbed his bow and quickly strung it.
Katai spat as he set the food aside and reached for his sword.
"Just what we need."
"Sounds like they're on the other side of the building," Kensuke
commented.
Touji grimaced, rising. "And so are the others." Kensuke
blinked and scrambled up as Touji continued. "Aida, you guard the
packs. Nakamura, Hiruma, follow me."
The three quickly followed the other group's path, and were soon
able to hear the sounds of combat. When they turned the corner and were
able to see the shoe store, they were met by two large, mongrel dogs,
which quickly moved to intercept their path.
Kuro was swifter, though, and was able to shoot the arrow he had
nocked before they could close the distance. It hit the lead dog in the
shoulder, and the beast fell. The second dog turned to flee, but Touji
stepped forward and cleaved it nearly in two with a two-handed swing of
his massive sword.
The dog Kuro had hit whimpered in pain as it struggled to rise.
Katai walked over and silenced it with his sword. "I had a dog like
that before the Impact," he commented, moments before the three raced
towards the shoe store, spurred on by a sudden, human cry of pain. In a
matter of seconds, they were at the store's door.
Inside, Aoki had fallen to one knee, clutching his bloody sword
arm while his blade lay discarded on the floor beside him. A gigantic
black dog loomed over him, but as it heard footsteps behind it, it
whirled about to face the newcomers, a low growl in its throat. Behind
it, twin daggers appeared in Himiko's hands, while Rei took a step
backwards, away from the confrontation.
The black dog leapt at Touji, and he moved his sword to block
the attack, but not quickly enough. The dog got inside his reach and
bit at his leg, though fortunately Touji was able to dodge fast enough
that its sharp teeth met only air. He cursed, trying to back away far
enough to swing his sword, but the dog pressed forward.
Himeko hurled a dagger that struck a glancing blow on the dog's
back, but that was not enough to put the beast down. A moment later
Touji's retreat had taken him out of the store's narrow entryway, and
Katai immediately moved to flank the dog, and quickly delivered a solid
strike on it. This gave Touji enough time to back away far enough to
finish the dog off with a swift blow.
Even as the dog's final death cry sounded, Kuro shouted a
warning. Behind Rei, another dog leapt from the darkness. Cursing,
Touji dropped his blade and drew his pistol from its sheath, quickly
taking aim. "Everyone down," he yelled, mere instants before he fired.
The shot missed, and the dog barreled into Rei, snarling and
snapping at the girl. She toppled, and the dog struck for her throat.
Before it could finish her off, Himiko killed it with another thrown
dagger.
Touji hurriedly entered the store, followed closely by Kuro and
Katai. He paused to help Aoki up, asking, "Are you all right, Toru?" he
asked.
"I'm fine," the other man replied. "What about the girl?"
"I am unhurt." All eyes turned at that simple statement.
Unnoticed, Rei had risen from where she had fallen, and the truth of her
assessment was self-evident. Even her borrowed clothing was undamaged.
"But that dog-" Kuro began, only to be cut off by Himiko.
"There are some more dogs in the back. Let's get out of here
before they work up the courage to attack."
Touji nodded in agreement, and they all swiftly left the store.
Less than a minute later, they had reached the campsite and rejoined
Kensuke, who reported that no dogs had come near. He then began to
bandage Aoki's wound, which had proven to be relatively minor. As he
continued to tend to the wound, the others busied themselves repacking
and preparing to leave. None of them had any intention of eating lunch
near a dog pack.
It was a shame that they couldn't take the time to butcher at
least some of the dogs, but they all knew that they should get out of
the area as quickly as possible. They'd been pretty lucky to escape as
uunharmed as they were, and there was no telling how long it might take
for the remainder of the pack to strike.
In a matter of minutes, they were on the move again, and soon
the shopping center was well behind them. It took half an hour to make
up the distance they had traveled out of their way, but the lack of a
break for lunch still put them well ahead of where they would have been
without the detour. Touji ignored Aoki's half-serious griping about
that lack and the resulting banter.
Instead, his unusually unruly thoughts focused on the young girl
- it was so odd to think of Ayanami like that - who walked beside and
slightly behind him. Every so often he snuck a glance at her, almost to
remind himself that she was still there. Each time he did, he marveled
anew at the latest mystery her presence brought.
What had happened to her, at the end of the fight? Touji
clearly remembered seeing the last dog biting and clawing at Ayanami,
and her falling under the onslaught. He had expected to see her at
worst dead, at best seriously wounded. Yet she had suffered not even a
scratch. Ayanami was a strange girl, but she still bled just like
anyone else. He had seen her come to class wounded often enough to know
that.
After tripping over a fairly large rock, Touji forced himself to
force his distracting musings on the subject aside. Whatever had
happened, he could do nothing about it, and was not likely to discover
anything on his own. He would simply have to keep an eye out for
anything else unusual about... Ayanami. Touji felt like hitting
himself. The girl was walking not five feet behind him. He could ask
her what had happened! It couldn't hurt. Well, not much, in any case.
"Ayanami," Touji said, slowing slightly to allow the girl to
catch up with him. After several long moments passed with no response
from her, he repeated himself.
"I heard the first time," she said flatly, not looking at Touji.
"Then why didn't you answer?" Touji asked.
At this, Ayanami's eyes did flicker sideways to glance at him.
"You did not ask me anything."
"Err... I guess you're right." Touji scratched the back of his
head, trying to come up with a subtle way to broach the subject he was
interested in. "Ummm... back at the fight, how did ya keep from getting
hurt? It sure looked like that dog had got you pretty bad at first."
Well, this was Ayanami. There wasn't much point in subtlety with her.
Ayanami stopped walking suddenly, and Touji stumbled as he tried
to stop his own motion. Rei closed her eyes for a moment, then
answered. "I... I do not know." To Touji's ear she sounded quite
disturbed. Before he could come up with a reply, Ayanami started
walking again at a rapid pace.
Touji raced after her. "Whoa, wait up a moment!" Rei slowed
her walk, but only slightly. Touji thought he could feel most of the
squad's eyes on him - it seemed as though their conversation had
attracted an audience. As he caught up with Rei, he asked her quietly,
"What... what do ya remember about it?"
"I do not know." Rei's voice was, if anything, even flatter
than it had been before her unusual display of emotion, and her eyes
remained fixed on the path before her.
"Well, I know but... I mean, did the dog manage to bite ya or
what?"
"I do not wish to discuss this."
"I... see." Touji hesitated a moment, then continued. "Well,
what do ya want to talk about then? I can tell ya 'bout Tokyo-4-"
"I do not wish to talk," Rei said, and irritation was evident in
her voice. She sped up, moving so quickly that she almost ran into
Nakamura's back.
Touji stared after her. Something truly had to be bothering
Ayanami, for her to have such an outburst. Well, it was an outburst for
her. He'd gone to school with her for years, and he'd never seen her
that upset. Even Soryuu hadn't been able to get that much of a reaction
from her! He slowly shook his head as he continued to walk. Whatever it
was, he wasn't going to find out. Pressing the girl would be fruitless,
and likely counterproductive.
Besides, he supposed he'd be a little out of sorts if he'd
suddenly awoken in an almost unimaginable future, then almost gotten
killed by a feral dog. Best to give Ayanami some time to adjust and
recover. Even if she was physically fine, her mental state had to be at
the least upset.
Touji started as he heard a sudden, pained curse from behind
him. His head whirled about, but he soon relaxed as he saw that it had
been nothing more than Aoki probing his wound. As he picked up his
pace, he heard the other man mutter a few more choice words under his
breath.
"Don't play with it," Yamada said. "You'll just make it worse."
"Oh, shut up," Aoki replied, and the conversation deteriorated
from there.
Smiling despite himself, Touji turned his head back again and
said, "Quiet down! Haven't you two had enough fighting for today?"
Behind the two, Hiruma chuckled. "Yeah. The rest of us don't
want to hear your lovers' quarrels."
"Wh-what?! We- we aren't-" Aoki sputtered.
Himiko merely snorted, but she did not continue the argument.
Touji smiled again as silence descended on his squad for the moment.
Yet, after only a few minutes, he heard Katai and Kensuke arguing over
something. He sped up and walked past Rei to approach the two. "What's
up?" he asked as he neared.
The two men looked at each other, then Kensuke spoke. "We're
not sure, but it looks like the meteor may have attracted some other
people. Look," he said, pointing across the wide plain they were
traversing. "See that cloud of dust?"
Touji shaded his eyes, and after a moment nodded. There did
seem to be a dust cloud just on the horizon. "It could just be the
wind."
Nakamura nodded. "It could be. Or it could be a car."
Touji noted the cloud's direction, "From home, maybe?"
"Maybe," Kensuke said. "Maybe not."
Touji grimaced. It was rare to find a bandit group that was
organized enough, but occasionally one did salvage a mostly-intact
vehicle and lay claim to a gas station's tanks. The added mobility made
those groups very dangerous. "True. Just keep an eye out, and we'll
have to be careful when we get to the site."
The two men nodded, and Touji fell back to spread the warning.
Rei did not respond when he told her, but he could feel her tensing
slightly. When he told the other three, the response was little
different. Yamada merely nodded, while Aoki grumbled slightly under his
breath. Hiruma took his bow off his shoulder and restrung it, but did
not yet nock an arrow.
This complete, Touji moved back towards the front off the
column. As he passed Rei, she spoke. "Suzuhara-san. If we encounter
hostiles, what should I do?"
Touji frowned. "I guess ya should just try and stay outa the
fight." He paused. He would feel a lot more comfortable if she had
some way to defend herself. "Do ya know how to use any weapons?"
"I have been trained in the personal analogues of most weapons
available for the Evangelions."
Touji searched his memories, trying to remember what exact
weapons that implied. Ah, the progressive knife! "So ya could use a
dagger?"
Rei nodded.
"Then go on back and ask Yamada for one of hers. That way
you'll have somethin' to defend yourself with if things go bad."
Rei nodded again, and began to fall back to where Yamada was
walking. Touji let out a soft sigh. This was starting to get much more
complicated than he had thought it would. And to think that he had
thought he'd be back in Tokyo-4 by now!
Something stirred. Touji couldn't tell what, but there was a
definite change in the air. He stopped, ears straining but hearing only
the slow whistle of the wind. Looking around, he noticed that Rei too
had stopped. The others moved forward a few steps more, then halted as
well, puzzlement evident on their faces.
"What's wrong?" Himiko asked.
Touji frowned. "I don't..." He trailed off as his straining
senses heard something. A peculiar ringing, almost too soft to hear.
Each chime resounded inside him, and he could feel raw terror crawling
its way into his mind. With a sudden effort, he forced it down and
spoke. "Do you hear that?" He noticed that he was spasmodically
clenching and relaxing his right fist, and he forced himself to stop.
"Hear what?" Aoki said.
"I hear it." Rei's quiet whisper seemed far louder than it was.
Ahead of Touji, Kensuke shook his head. "I don't hear
anything." Similar negatives soon came from the other members of the
squad.
The ringing stopped, and Touji shuddered. "Let's get moving,"
he said, his voice weak. As they began to resume their journey, Rei
walked up beside him. For several minutes they walked along side each
other in silence, until the dull aftertaste of terror had left Touji's
mouth and he had began to wonder whether he had imagined the whole
incident.
Then, Rei spoke. "Is that... usual?" Her voice was filled with
hesitation and fear - not emotions Touji had ever expected Ayanami to
show.
He shook his head. "No." He found himself clenching his fists
again, and slowly relaxed them.
Rei frowned. "It felt familiar." This time it was puzzlement
that showed in her voice.
Touji opened his mouth to state the opposite, then reconsidered.
He could remember one thing that had felt like that, one memory he had
tried for years to forget. He glanced sideways at the young girl, then
slowly spoke. "I felt like that once before." He paused. "In the
Evangelion, when the Angel..." He did not complete the sentence, and
felt there was no need to.
Rei nodded once, then let the distance between her and Touji
increase, signaling an end to her unusually talkative mood. Touji
smiled weakly. At least Rei seemed to be getting back to normal
quickly, even if he was still shaken by the strange occurrence.
Something crawled at the base of his spine as he remembered the
sensation of purest, absolute terror. He wished he could think that it
was just nerves. If that feeling had any basis in reality, he was not
looking forward to meeting its cause. He could only hope he wasn't
walking straight toward it.
Fortunately, the only other incident to occur before nightfall
was less disturbing. Hiruma managed to shoot a passing bird, and the
squad was delayed slightly while it was plucked and cleaned. This took
only a few minutes, and the squad soon continued on its way. With the
rest of the rations, the fresh meat could just be stretched to feed
everyone for the night, but they would need to take time out to find
more food tomorrow.
The sun was just sinking beneath the horizon when the meteor's
landing site came into view. A thin plume of smoke rose into the
darkening sky, though Touji could not tell whether its cause was the
meteor or a campfire of some other group come to investigate it. He
gestured harshly for a halt, and within moments this was accomplished.
"Let's wait till it gets a little darker before we move any
closer," Touji said. "If there's anybody there, no reason to let them
know we're coming." He paused. "Everybody be ready, but nobody make
any hostile moves. They might be friendly, and there's no reason to get
into a pointless fight."
This statement was met with general agreement, and they settled
down to wait in the shadow of a small hill. As he sat, Touji gazed
worriedly at the still-visible smoke. He still did not know what caused
it, but he suspected that, even if the smoke was not a sign of such,
someone had beaten them to the site. But who?
When only the tiniest sliver of the sun still hung over the
horizon, Touji rose. "Let's go," he said in a soft whisper, and the
squad came to its feet. The quickly circled the hill that they had
sheltered behind, and began to move towards a thin line of hills, the
sole obstacle between them and their destination.
As he neared the hills, Touji could hear the sounds of people on
the other side. He loosened his sword in its sheath. If there was to
be fighting, it would be soon. At the base of the hill, he saw Rei next
to him, and he flashed her a smile he wasn't sure she saw in the dim
twilight. "Don't slip this time." He thought he saw her nod curtly in
response as he began to climb.
They all made good speed, and he was halfway up the hill when he
heard the voice from above him. "None of you move or we shoot!"
He could feel Ayanami tensing nearby, but it was a grin that
came to his face as he placed the voice. "Ah, get yer finger of the
trigger, Uoya! Don't want you to screw up and waste bullets!"
A rueful chuckle came in response. "It had to be you, didn't
it, Suzuhara? Get your squad up here, we were about to eat dinner."
Touji's stomach rumbled in response, and moments later he had
reached the crest of the hill. As he took in the small camp on the
edges of the crater, he turned to Uoya. "Weren't you supposed to be
resting in the city?"
The other squad leader shrugged. "Our glorious leaders wanted
to check this out, so we took the jeeps down. Come on, let's get you
all settled in, and you can tell me who that new girl is." Uoya gave
Rei a curious glance.
A few minutes later, as his squad was setting up camp on the
outskirts of the already existing one, Touji heard another familiar
voice. "I thought I smelled stooges! Shinji was starting to get
worried since you didn't radio in."
Touji turned, and smiled. "Nice ta see ya too, Soryuu. I
didn't know you were here."
The redhead shrugged. "It seemed like a good idea, after..."
She trailed off, staring over Touji's shoulder. "Is... is that..." she
began, her voice trembling.
Touji looked behind him and saw Ayanami. He turned back to
Asuka and nodded. She shuddered slightly. "I never thought she'd come
back."
"Neither did I," Touji replied.
Asuka walked over to the other girl. "Wo... Ayanami?"
Rei nodded. "You are Pilot Soryuu."
It was not a question, but Asuka answered anyways. "Yes.
Though I haven't been called that in a long time."
Rei simply nodded again.
Asuka stared at her a moment, then spoke again. "It's... good
to have you back." To Touji's ears she sounded like she was forcing
herself to say the words. When Rei did not respond, instead simply
staring at the nearby campfire, Asuka walked back to Touji. "I'd
forgotten how... creepy she was." She suddenly shook her head. "I
almost forgot! You'll never guess who Kumon's squad brought in last
week!"
Touji felt a sudden hope in his heart. "Was it..."
Asuka's face fell. "No." She was silent a moment. Then a
smile appeared on her face. "But it was one of your old flames."
Touji raised an eyebrow.
Asuka sighed. "Not in a guessing mood, I take it. It's
Misato!"
"Really?" Touji said. "That's wonderful."
"She's got a lot of adjusting to do," Asuka said with a laugh.
"She can't quite handle the fact that we aren't kids anymore."
Touji glanced sideways at where Rei still sat motionlessly.
"Speaking of adjusting," he began, only to be cut off when Asuka waved
him off.
"Not now, Suzuhara. I'm hungry, and not in the mood. Let's go
get something to eat, and then I'll show you the..." She trailed off,
shaking her head. "We'll talk about that later." She paused, then
raised her voice. "Wonder... Ayanami."
Rei's head turned to look at her.
"We're getting dinner. You can come with us, if you like."
To Touji's surprise, Rei rose. As she neared, Asuka smiled,
though it seemed a little forced. "Come on. Let's eat."
A few moments later, Touji and Rei were seated around a
different campfire, waiting for Asuka to return with the food. Rei
gazed into the fire's depths, as though she were searching for
something. After a few moments' awkward silence, Touji forced himself
to break it.
"Are... are you all right?" he asked. When Rei did not respond,
he continued. "I know this has to be hard for you. It was hard enough
for me, and I came back after less than a couple months."
Rei did not speak, and Touji felt rather awkward. "Err... if
you want to talk about anything, Ayanami, I'll listen." He scratched
the back of his head nervously. "That's all I wanted to say."
Rei opened her mouth, but Touji would never know what she was
about to say as Asuka returned, bearing two small trays. "Here we go.
We have some random meat - I didn't have the heart to ask what - and
some roasted vegetables for you, Ayanami." She set the trays down where
everyone could easily reach them and took a seat next to Touji.
For several minutes, there was little conversation as the three
concentrated on eating. Eventually, Asuka began to speak. "I know this
is going to sound really weird, but... did either of you feel anything
strange this afternoon?"
Touji and Rei shared a glance, then the man spoke. "Yes."
Asuka breathed a sigh of relief. "Good. I thought I was going
crazy. Nobody else felt it."
"We were the only ones in my squad," Touji said, and Asuka
frowned.
"Strange," she said.
"We are the ones who can synchronize with Eva." The other two
looked at Rei, surprised that she had spoken.
After a moment, Asuka nodded curtly. "Did either of you have a
dream last night?" Touji and Rei nodded in unison, and Asuka muttered a
German curse under her breath. "Shinji did too."
Touji noticed Rei stiffen at the mention of Ikari, but she did
not speak. He, however, did. "I don't like this."
For some time, the three were silent. When only a few scraps of
meat remained, Touji spoke again. "Soryuu. What about the meteor?"
Asuka started. "The meteor." She rose. "Come on. You too,
Wondergirl. You should see it."
Touji stood, a churning feeling settling into the bottom of his
stomach. "What... what is it?"
Asuka shook her head. "You should see it yourself."
Frowning, Touji followed her as she strode through the camp, and
Rei trailed after him. Along the way, they passed Kensuke, who was once
again fiddling with the innards of the squad's broken radio. "Yo,
Suzuhara!" he called. "What's up?"
"We're... going to go look at the meteor," Touji replied after
the barest instants hesitation.
"Cool," Kensuke said, putting the radio down. "I think I'll tag
along."
Asuka muttered something, of which Touji caught only the tail
end. "...'ll probably get a kick out of it."
The four now moved to the edge of the camp, Asuka pausing only
to grab a torch from Uoya. Soon they reached the crater's edge, though
Touji could not make out the bottom. "Be careful," Asuka said. "The
footing isn't good, and there are still some hot spots. One of Uoya's
squad burned herself pretty badly."
Touji frowned. "Maybe we should just wait till dawn? It'll be
easier with better light."
Asuka shook her head in reply. "You need to see this now." She
laughed bitterly. "Though you probably won't thank me for it."
As they prepared to descend the steep slope, Touji turned to
Rei. Before he could speak, she spoke. "I will not slip."
Touji blinked in surprise, and merely shook his head at Asuka's
puzzled glance. She shrugged, and started down the slope. It was tough
going, and Touji nearly slipped more than once. Fortunately, there was
a relatively safe path already marked out, so all he had to do was
follow the red glow of Asuka's torch. Still, he breathed a sigh of
relief when they all reached the bottom safely.
He frowned as he looked toward the center of the crater, seeing
a massive, oddly shaped shadow that he couldn't quite make out. Asuka
rested a moment before continuing across the crater floor. The other
three followed after her.
The churning feeling in his gut strengthened as they neared the
object - he couldn't call it a meteor - and the smell of burnt flesh
filled his nostrils, almost making him wish he hadn't eaten yet. As the
object drew ever closer, his mind began to make patterns, patterns that
he did his best to force himself to believe were coincidence. It wasn't
possible. It simply wasn't!
Finally, the object loomed overhead, many times the height of a
man. Asuka raised her torch to the object's side, illuminating part of
it. Kensuke let out a tortured gasp, and Touji was sure he saw Rei
start, though within moments the girl's features were once again
controlled.
Touji himself simply stared at anything but the Latin
characters. His eyes wandered along the metallic plating, noting its
scorched and battered condition. He kept trying to tell himself that
this couldn't be what he thought it was, that this was some sort of
joke. Yet he knew that this could not be the case.
Slowly, unwillingly, his eyes returned to the writing. He
traced it in his mind, mouthing the syllables, trying to make sense of
the occurrence. Why? How? Why now? What did it mean? Those and a
thousand more questions whirled through his mind as he stared, unable to
tear his eyes away.
Ikari was not going to be pleased. For some reason, that
thought was stuck in his head. He had... no, they all had tried so hard
to forget how the world had become what is was. To forget all that had
occurred six years ago. Forget the pain, forget the tears, forget the
blood. To forget and heal. Slowly, all those memories had been pushed
into the background by the never-ending struggle to survive and rebuild.
But now, these simple words brought it all crashing back. It
wasn't fair. They had thought these words, and all they represented,
were long behind them. Even if this event had no greater meaning, was
no warning, it had already shattered that illusion. These simple
words...
Evangelion Unit-01.
***********************************************************************
Author's Random Ramblings
1) Thanks go to Ryan Hupp and Angus MacSpon for their efforts in
prereading this chapter.
2) C&C of any sort is, of course, greatly desired and appreciated.
3) The prelude and previous chapter of this fanfic can be found at my
website ( http://www.geocities.com/anowack/fallen.html ).
Started: May 13, 2003
Draft Finished: May 27, 2003
Draft Released: May 31, 2003
Final Released: June 05, 2003
A Neon Genesis Evangelion Fanfic
By: Aaron Nowack
Chapter 2: Omen
***********************************************************************
Disclaimer: Neon Genesis Evangelion is not mine, but instead belongs to
Gainax and Hideako Anno. The text of this fanfic is mine, however, and
may not be used without permission. The Power of Cheese compels you!
***********************************************************************
Suzuhara Touji was not prone to deep thoughts. Indeed, he was
known as almost anything but a great thinker. He was well aware of, and
indeed more than content with, this fact. Back when such things had
mattered far more than they did today, he had been at best indifferent
towards his education. He had, in fact, in his younger years been
something of a bully, often convincing others to follow his commands
through the strength of his fists, rather than that of his arguments.
Had the world continued as it had once been, he would not ever
have amounted to much, he knew. He might have been able to make some
sort of a living off of his physical strength, but it would have likely
been a poor one. When he had been crippled, even that possibility had
vanished, leaving him with nothing but the generosity of Nerv to rely
upon.
In this world, though... in this world Suzuhara Touji had done
more than amount to much. This world had dire need of people like him.
He was one of the not much more than a hundred people who stood between
the people of Tokyo-4 and pillage, starvation, and eventual death. Not
only that, but he was one of the best of those few.
They were called scouts, but their duties extended far beyond
simple patrols and exploration. Tokyo-4 was not the only settlement to
have risen up in the aftermath of Third Impact, and it was the scouts
who maintained relations, such as they were, with those other groups.
Between the settlements lay vast stretches of uncontrolled territory,
and those spaces were home to uncountably many groups of bandits, some
numbering over a hundred themselves, for there were always those who
found it easier to take from others than to make for themselves.
Despite these accomplishments, the fact remained that Touji was
not a deep thinker. Yet, as he sat on a cracked sidewalk, idly
sharpening his large, if crude, broadsword, he found himself lost in
thought, countless figments floating through his head, being replaced as
quickly as he could consider them, and he was well aware of the catalyst
that had provoked this storm.
Ayanami. He had never expected her to return. Nobody had.
After the first few years, the pace of returns had slowed to a crawl, so
any new arrival was an unexpected event. However, Rei in particular...
he would have expected to see just about anyone more than her. Very
little was known about what exactly had occurred six years ago, but he
had heard enough fragmentary testimonies to conclude that Ayanami had
been intimately involved. For her to return... he could not think
anything but that it must have some greater meaning.
As, he felt, must the dream that had awakened him the previous
night. He could not truly recall it; in his memory it was little more
than fleeting, unknowable images and strong feelings. However, it stuck
with him in a way that his more ordinary dreams did not. He could still
remember the raw, unreasoning panic that had gripped him when he had
awoken, a feeling matched in intensity by only one other he had ever
experienced... one he deeply hoped he would never feel again.
Fortunately, he had little fear of that ever occurring.
Another thought presented itself - what of Ayanami's memory
loss? Everyone seemed to have some - he himself was missing most of a
day, from what he could gather. Yet for most, it was no more than a
matter of hours, at most a day or two. Ayanami had seemingly lost more
than a month, by far the most of anyone he had heard of. Another odd
fact, one of many that had presented itself the previous day. Far too
many to be a coincidence, he thought.
That was why he had decided to examine the site of the meteor
landing. He knew it was a totally irrational feeling, but he felt that
something surrounded by such odd events had to be important. There had
to be some significance to the past night's events. More than that, he
felt that something dangerous was coming. There was no real basis for
the feeling, no more than a dream and coincidence, but Touji always
trusted his gut feelings.
"Ah, finally. What in the world was the food doing here?"
Nakamura Katai said, holding up a small package in triumph. "I thought
I'd never find it."
"Where was it?" Kensuke asked, looking up from the squad's small
two-way radio transmitter. It had broken during the course of their
patrol, and he had been trying without success to repair it for the past
several days.
"It's all in the same bag as the dirty laundry," Katai replied
as he began to busy himself preparing lunch.
Hiruma Kuro, the squad's oldest member, made a disgusted noise.
"I know things were confused this morning, but who would've done that?"
Touji decided to change the subject, as he thought he recalled
packing the food that morning. "What have we got for lunch, anyways?"
"Not much," Katai replied. "We were supposed to finish the
patrol yesterday, and we do have an extra mouth to feed - even if she
doesn't look like she eats much."
"We'll have to forage tonight, then," Kuro said. "Or hunt." He
fingered the bow that lay by his side.
Touji grunted in agreement, then bent himself back to the task
of sharpening his blade. An instant later, this task was abandoned. A
howl echoed throughout the shopping center, sending chills down Touji's
spine.
"Dogs," Hiruma said. He grabbed his bow and quickly strung it.
Katai spat as he set the food aside and reached for his sword.
"Just what we need."
"Sounds like they're on the other side of the building," Kensuke
commented.
Touji grimaced, rising. "And so are the others." Kensuke
blinked and scrambled up as Touji continued. "Aida, you guard the
packs. Nakamura, Hiruma, follow me."
The three quickly followed the other group's path, and were soon
able to hear the sounds of combat. When they turned the corner and were
able to see the shoe store, they were met by two large, mongrel dogs,
which quickly moved to intercept their path.
Kuro was swifter, though, and was able to shoot the arrow he had
nocked before they could close the distance. It hit the lead dog in the
shoulder, and the beast fell. The second dog turned to flee, but Touji
stepped forward and cleaved it nearly in two with a two-handed swing of
his massive sword.
The dog Kuro had hit whimpered in pain as it struggled to rise.
Katai walked over and silenced it with his sword. "I had a dog like
that before the Impact," he commented, moments before the three raced
towards the shoe store, spurred on by a sudden, human cry of pain. In a
matter of seconds, they were at the store's door.
Inside, Aoki had fallen to one knee, clutching his bloody sword
arm while his blade lay discarded on the floor beside him. A gigantic
black dog loomed over him, but as it heard footsteps behind it, it
whirled about to face the newcomers, a low growl in its throat. Behind
it, twin daggers appeared in Himiko's hands, while Rei took a step
backwards, away from the confrontation.
The black dog leapt at Touji, and he moved his sword to block
the attack, but not quickly enough. The dog got inside his reach and
bit at his leg, though fortunately Touji was able to dodge fast enough
that its sharp teeth met only air. He cursed, trying to back away far
enough to swing his sword, but the dog pressed forward.
Himeko hurled a dagger that struck a glancing blow on the dog's
back, but that was not enough to put the beast down. A moment later
Touji's retreat had taken him out of the store's narrow entryway, and
Katai immediately moved to flank the dog, and quickly delivered a solid
strike on it. This gave Touji enough time to back away far enough to
finish the dog off with a swift blow.
Even as the dog's final death cry sounded, Kuro shouted a
warning. Behind Rei, another dog leapt from the darkness. Cursing,
Touji dropped his blade and drew his pistol from its sheath, quickly
taking aim. "Everyone down," he yelled, mere instants before he fired.
The shot missed, and the dog barreled into Rei, snarling and
snapping at the girl. She toppled, and the dog struck for her throat.
Before it could finish her off, Himiko killed it with another thrown
dagger.
Touji hurriedly entered the store, followed closely by Kuro and
Katai. He paused to help Aoki up, asking, "Are you all right, Toru?" he
asked.
"I'm fine," the other man replied. "What about the girl?"
"I am unhurt." All eyes turned at that simple statement.
Unnoticed, Rei had risen from where she had fallen, and the truth of her
assessment was self-evident. Even her borrowed clothing was undamaged.
"But that dog-" Kuro began, only to be cut off by Himiko.
"There are some more dogs in the back. Let's get out of here
before they work up the courage to attack."
Touji nodded in agreement, and they all swiftly left the store.
Less than a minute later, they had reached the campsite and rejoined
Kensuke, who reported that no dogs had come near. He then began to
bandage Aoki's wound, which had proven to be relatively minor. As he
continued to tend to the wound, the others busied themselves repacking
and preparing to leave. None of them had any intention of eating lunch
near a dog pack.
It was a shame that they couldn't take the time to butcher at
least some of the dogs, but they all knew that they should get out of
the area as quickly as possible. They'd been pretty lucky to escape as
uunharmed as they were, and there was no telling how long it might take
for the remainder of the pack to strike.
In a matter of minutes, they were on the move again, and soon
the shopping center was well behind them. It took half an hour to make
up the distance they had traveled out of their way, but the lack of a
break for lunch still put them well ahead of where they would have been
without the detour. Touji ignored Aoki's half-serious griping about
that lack and the resulting banter.
Instead, his unusually unruly thoughts focused on the young girl
- it was so odd to think of Ayanami like that - who walked beside and
slightly behind him. Every so often he snuck a glance at her, almost to
remind himself that she was still there. Each time he did, he marveled
anew at the latest mystery her presence brought.
What had happened to her, at the end of the fight? Touji
clearly remembered seeing the last dog biting and clawing at Ayanami,
and her falling under the onslaught. He had expected to see her at
worst dead, at best seriously wounded. Yet she had suffered not even a
scratch. Ayanami was a strange girl, but she still bled just like
anyone else. He had seen her come to class wounded often enough to know
that.
After tripping over a fairly large rock, Touji forced himself to
force his distracting musings on the subject aside. Whatever had
happened, he could do nothing about it, and was not likely to discover
anything on his own. He would simply have to keep an eye out for
anything else unusual about... Ayanami. Touji felt like hitting
himself. The girl was walking not five feet behind him. He could ask
her what had happened! It couldn't hurt. Well, not much, in any case.
"Ayanami," Touji said, slowing slightly to allow the girl to
catch up with him. After several long moments passed with no response
from her, he repeated himself.
"I heard the first time," she said flatly, not looking at Touji.
"Then why didn't you answer?" Touji asked.
At this, Ayanami's eyes did flicker sideways to glance at him.
"You did not ask me anything."
"Err... I guess you're right." Touji scratched the back of his
head, trying to come up with a subtle way to broach the subject he was
interested in. "Ummm... back at the fight, how did ya keep from getting
hurt? It sure looked like that dog had got you pretty bad at first."
Well, this was Ayanami. There wasn't much point in subtlety with her.
Ayanami stopped walking suddenly, and Touji stumbled as he tried
to stop his own motion. Rei closed her eyes for a moment, then
answered. "I... I do not know." To Touji's ear she sounded quite
disturbed. Before he could come up with a reply, Ayanami started
walking again at a rapid pace.
Touji raced after her. "Whoa, wait up a moment!" Rei slowed
her walk, but only slightly. Touji thought he could feel most of the
squad's eyes on him - it seemed as though their conversation had
attracted an audience. As he caught up with Rei, he asked her quietly,
"What... what do ya remember about it?"
"I do not know." Rei's voice was, if anything, even flatter
than it had been before her unusual display of emotion, and her eyes
remained fixed on the path before her.
"Well, I know but... I mean, did the dog manage to bite ya or
what?"
"I do not wish to discuss this."
"I... see." Touji hesitated a moment, then continued. "Well,
what do ya want to talk about then? I can tell ya 'bout Tokyo-4-"
"I do not wish to talk," Rei said, and irritation was evident in
her voice. She sped up, moving so quickly that she almost ran into
Nakamura's back.
Touji stared after her. Something truly had to be bothering
Ayanami, for her to have such an outburst. Well, it was an outburst for
her. He'd gone to school with her for years, and he'd never seen her
that upset. Even Soryuu hadn't been able to get that much of a reaction
from her! He slowly shook his head as he continued to walk. Whatever it
was, he wasn't going to find out. Pressing the girl would be fruitless,
and likely counterproductive.
Besides, he supposed he'd be a little out of sorts if he'd
suddenly awoken in an almost unimaginable future, then almost gotten
killed by a feral dog. Best to give Ayanami some time to adjust and
recover. Even if she was physically fine, her mental state had to be at
the least upset.
Touji started as he heard a sudden, pained curse from behind
him. His head whirled about, but he soon relaxed as he saw that it had
been nothing more than Aoki probing his wound. As he picked up his
pace, he heard the other man mutter a few more choice words under his
breath.
"Don't play with it," Yamada said. "You'll just make it worse."
"Oh, shut up," Aoki replied, and the conversation deteriorated
from there.
Smiling despite himself, Touji turned his head back again and
said, "Quiet down! Haven't you two had enough fighting for today?"
Behind the two, Hiruma chuckled. "Yeah. The rest of us don't
want to hear your lovers' quarrels."
"Wh-what?! We- we aren't-" Aoki sputtered.
Himiko merely snorted, but she did not continue the argument.
Touji smiled again as silence descended on his squad for the moment.
Yet, after only a few minutes, he heard Katai and Kensuke arguing over
something. He sped up and walked past Rei to approach the two. "What's
up?" he asked as he neared.
The two men looked at each other, then Kensuke spoke. "We're
not sure, but it looks like the meteor may have attracted some other
people. Look," he said, pointing across the wide plain they were
traversing. "See that cloud of dust?"
Touji shaded his eyes, and after a moment nodded. There did
seem to be a dust cloud just on the horizon. "It could just be the
wind."
Nakamura nodded. "It could be. Or it could be a car."
Touji noted the cloud's direction, "From home, maybe?"
"Maybe," Kensuke said. "Maybe not."
Touji grimaced. It was rare to find a bandit group that was
organized enough, but occasionally one did salvage a mostly-intact
vehicle and lay claim to a gas station's tanks. The added mobility made
those groups very dangerous. "True. Just keep an eye out, and we'll
have to be careful when we get to the site."
The two men nodded, and Touji fell back to spread the warning.
Rei did not respond when he told her, but he could feel her tensing
slightly. When he told the other three, the response was little
different. Yamada merely nodded, while Aoki grumbled slightly under his
breath. Hiruma took his bow off his shoulder and restrung it, but did
not yet nock an arrow.
This complete, Touji moved back towards the front off the
column. As he passed Rei, she spoke. "Suzuhara-san. If we encounter
hostiles, what should I do?"
Touji frowned. "I guess ya should just try and stay outa the
fight." He paused. He would feel a lot more comfortable if she had
some way to defend herself. "Do ya know how to use any weapons?"
"I have been trained in the personal analogues of most weapons
available for the Evangelions."
Touji searched his memories, trying to remember what exact
weapons that implied. Ah, the progressive knife! "So ya could use a
dagger?"
Rei nodded.
"Then go on back and ask Yamada for one of hers. That way
you'll have somethin' to defend yourself with if things go bad."
Rei nodded again, and began to fall back to where Yamada was
walking. Touji let out a soft sigh. This was starting to get much more
complicated than he had thought it would. And to think that he had
thought he'd be back in Tokyo-4 by now!
Something stirred. Touji couldn't tell what, but there was a
definite change in the air. He stopped, ears straining but hearing only
the slow whistle of the wind. Looking around, he noticed that Rei too
had stopped. The others moved forward a few steps more, then halted as
well, puzzlement evident on their faces.
"What's wrong?" Himiko asked.
Touji frowned. "I don't..." He trailed off as his straining
senses heard something. A peculiar ringing, almost too soft to hear.
Each chime resounded inside him, and he could feel raw terror crawling
its way into his mind. With a sudden effort, he forced it down and
spoke. "Do you hear that?" He noticed that he was spasmodically
clenching and relaxing his right fist, and he forced himself to stop.
"Hear what?" Aoki said.
"I hear it." Rei's quiet whisper seemed far louder than it was.
Ahead of Touji, Kensuke shook his head. "I don't hear
anything." Similar negatives soon came from the other members of the
squad.
The ringing stopped, and Touji shuddered. "Let's get moving,"
he said, his voice weak. As they began to resume their journey, Rei
walked up beside him. For several minutes they walked along side each
other in silence, until the dull aftertaste of terror had left Touji's
mouth and he had began to wonder whether he had imagined the whole
incident.
Then, Rei spoke. "Is that... usual?" Her voice was filled with
hesitation and fear - not emotions Touji had ever expected Ayanami to
show.
He shook his head. "No." He found himself clenching his fists
again, and slowly relaxed them.
Rei frowned. "It felt familiar." This time it was puzzlement
that showed in her voice.
Touji opened his mouth to state the opposite, then reconsidered.
He could remember one thing that had felt like that, one memory he had
tried for years to forget. He glanced sideways at the young girl, then
slowly spoke. "I felt like that once before." He paused. "In the
Evangelion, when the Angel..." He did not complete the sentence, and
felt there was no need to.
Rei nodded once, then let the distance between her and Touji
increase, signaling an end to her unusually talkative mood. Touji
smiled weakly. At least Rei seemed to be getting back to normal
quickly, even if he was still shaken by the strange occurrence.
Something crawled at the base of his spine as he remembered the
sensation of purest, absolute terror. He wished he could think that it
was just nerves. If that feeling had any basis in reality, he was not
looking forward to meeting its cause. He could only hope he wasn't
walking straight toward it.
Fortunately, the only other incident to occur before nightfall
was less disturbing. Hiruma managed to shoot a passing bird, and the
squad was delayed slightly while it was plucked and cleaned. This took
only a few minutes, and the squad soon continued on its way. With the
rest of the rations, the fresh meat could just be stretched to feed
everyone for the night, but they would need to take time out to find
more food tomorrow.
The sun was just sinking beneath the horizon when the meteor's
landing site came into view. A thin plume of smoke rose into the
darkening sky, though Touji could not tell whether its cause was the
meteor or a campfire of some other group come to investigate it. He
gestured harshly for a halt, and within moments this was accomplished.
"Let's wait till it gets a little darker before we move any
closer," Touji said. "If there's anybody there, no reason to let them
know we're coming." He paused. "Everybody be ready, but nobody make
any hostile moves. They might be friendly, and there's no reason to get
into a pointless fight."
This statement was met with general agreement, and they settled
down to wait in the shadow of a small hill. As he sat, Touji gazed
worriedly at the still-visible smoke. He still did not know what caused
it, but he suspected that, even if the smoke was not a sign of such,
someone had beaten them to the site. But who?
When only the tiniest sliver of the sun still hung over the
horizon, Touji rose. "Let's go," he said in a soft whisper, and the
squad came to its feet. The quickly circled the hill that they had
sheltered behind, and began to move towards a thin line of hills, the
sole obstacle between them and their destination.
As he neared the hills, Touji could hear the sounds of people on
the other side. He loosened his sword in its sheath. If there was to
be fighting, it would be soon. At the base of the hill, he saw Rei next
to him, and he flashed her a smile he wasn't sure she saw in the dim
twilight. "Don't slip this time." He thought he saw her nod curtly in
response as he began to climb.
They all made good speed, and he was halfway up the hill when he
heard the voice from above him. "None of you move or we shoot!"
He could feel Ayanami tensing nearby, but it was a grin that
came to his face as he placed the voice. "Ah, get yer finger of the
trigger, Uoya! Don't want you to screw up and waste bullets!"
A rueful chuckle came in response. "It had to be you, didn't
it, Suzuhara? Get your squad up here, we were about to eat dinner."
Touji's stomach rumbled in response, and moments later he had
reached the crest of the hill. As he took in the small camp on the
edges of the crater, he turned to Uoya. "Weren't you supposed to be
resting in the city?"
The other squad leader shrugged. "Our glorious leaders wanted
to check this out, so we took the jeeps down. Come on, let's get you
all settled in, and you can tell me who that new girl is." Uoya gave
Rei a curious glance.
A few minutes later, as his squad was setting up camp on the
outskirts of the already existing one, Touji heard another familiar
voice. "I thought I smelled stooges! Shinji was starting to get
worried since you didn't radio in."
Touji turned, and smiled. "Nice ta see ya too, Soryuu. I
didn't know you were here."
The redhead shrugged. "It seemed like a good idea, after..."
She trailed off, staring over Touji's shoulder. "Is... is that..." she
began, her voice trembling.
Touji looked behind him and saw Ayanami. He turned back to
Asuka and nodded. She shuddered slightly. "I never thought she'd come
back."
"Neither did I," Touji replied.
Asuka walked over to the other girl. "Wo... Ayanami?"
Rei nodded. "You are Pilot Soryuu."
It was not a question, but Asuka answered anyways. "Yes.
Though I haven't been called that in a long time."
Rei simply nodded again.
Asuka stared at her a moment, then spoke again. "It's... good
to have you back." To Touji's ears she sounded like she was forcing
herself to say the words. When Rei did not respond, instead simply
staring at the nearby campfire, Asuka walked back to Touji. "I'd
forgotten how... creepy she was." She suddenly shook her head. "I
almost forgot! You'll never guess who Kumon's squad brought in last
week!"
Touji felt a sudden hope in his heart. "Was it..."
Asuka's face fell. "No." She was silent a moment. Then a
smile appeared on her face. "But it was one of your old flames."
Touji raised an eyebrow.
Asuka sighed. "Not in a guessing mood, I take it. It's
Misato!"
"Really?" Touji said. "That's wonderful."
"She's got a lot of adjusting to do," Asuka said with a laugh.
"She can't quite handle the fact that we aren't kids anymore."
Touji glanced sideways at where Rei still sat motionlessly.
"Speaking of adjusting," he began, only to be cut off when Asuka waved
him off.
"Not now, Suzuhara. I'm hungry, and not in the mood. Let's go
get something to eat, and then I'll show you the..." She trailed off,
shaking her head. "We'll talk about that later." She paused, then
raised her voice. "Wonder... Ayanami."
Rei's head turned to look at her.
"We're getting dinner. You can come with us, if you like."
To Touji's surprise, Rei rose. As she neared, Asuka smiled,
though it seemed a little forced. "Come on. Let's eat."
A few moments later, Touji and Rei were seated around a
different campfire, waiting for Asuka to return with the food. Rei
gazed into the fire's depths, as though she were searching for
something. After a few moments' awkward silence, Touji forced himself
to break it.
"Are... are you all right?" he asked. When Rei did not respond,
he continued. "I know this has to be hard for you. It was hard enough
for me, and I came back after less than a couple months."
Rei did not speak, and Touji felt rather awkward. "Err... if
you want to talk about anything, Ayanami, I'll listen." He scratched
the back of his head nervously. "That's all I wanted to say."
Rei opened her mouth, but Touji would never know what she was
about to say as Asuka returned, bearing two small trays. "Here we go.
We have some random meat - I didn't have the heart to ask what - and
some roasted vegetables for you, Ayanami." She set the trays down where
everyone could easily reach them and took a seat next to Touji.
For several minutes, there was little conversation as the three
concentrated on eating. Eventually, Asuka began to speak. "I know this
is going to sound really weird, but... did either of you feel anything
strange this afternoon?"
Touji and Rei shared a glance, then the man spoke. "Yes."
Asuka breathed a sigh of relief. "Good. I thought I was going
crazy. Nobody else felt it."
"We were the only ones in my squad," Touji said, and Asuka
frowned.
"Strange," she said.
"We are the ones who can synchronize with Eva." The other two
looked at Rei, surprised that she had spoken.
After a moment, Asuka nodded curtly. "Did either of you have a
dream last night?" Touji and Rei nodded in unison, and Asuka muttered a
German curse under her breath. "Shinji did too."
Touji noticed Rei stiffen at the mention of Ikari, but she did
not speak. He, however, did. "I don't like this."
For some time, the three were silent. When only a few scraps of
meat remained, Touji spoke again. "Soryuu. What about the meteor?"
Asuka started. "The meteor." She rose. "Come on. You too,
Wondergirl. You should see it."
Touji stood, a churning feeling settling into the bottom of his
stomach. "What... what is it?"
Asuka shook her head. "You should see it yourself."
Frowning, Touji followed her as she strode through the camp, and
Rei trailed after him. Along the way, they passed Kensuke, who was once
again fiddling with the innards of the squad's broken radio. "Yo,
Suzuhara!" he called. "What's up?"
"We're... going to go look at the meteor," Touji replied after
the barest instants hesitation.
"Cool," Kensuke said, putting the radio down. "I think I'll tag
along."
Asuka muttered something, of which Touji caught only the tail
end. "...'ll probably get a kick out of it."
The four now moved to the edge of the camp, Asuka pausing only
to grab a torch from Uoya. Soon they reached the crater's edge, though
Touji could not make out the bottom. "Be careful," Asuka said. "The
footing isn't good, and there are still some hot spots. One of Uoya's
squad burned herself pretty badly."
Touji frowned. "Maybe we should just wait till dawn? It'll be
easier with better light."
Asuka shook her head in reply. "You need to see this now." She
laughed bitterly. "Though you probably won't thank me for it."
As they prepared to descend the steep slope, Touji turned to
Rei. Before he could speak, she spoke. "I will not slip."
Touji blinked in surprise, and merely shook his head at Asuka's
puzzled glance. She shrugged, and started down the slope. It was tough
going, and Touji nearly slipped more than once. Fortunately, there was
a relatively safe path already marked out, so all he had to do was
follow the red glow of Asuka's torch. Still, he breathed a sigh of
relief when they all reached the bottom safely.
He frowned as he looked toward the center of the crater, seeing
a massive, oddly shaped shadow that he couldn't quite make out. Asuka
rested a moment before continuing across the crater floor. The other
three followed after her.
The churning feeling in his gut strengthened as they neared the
object - he couldn't call it a meteor - and the smell of burnt flesh
filled his nostrils, almost making him wish he hadn't eaten yet. As the
object drew ever closer, his mind began to make patterns, patterns that
he did his best to force himself to believe were coincidence. It wasn't
possible. It simply wasn't!
Finally, the object loomed overhead, many times the height of a
man. Asuka raised her torch to the object's side, illuminating part of
it. Kensuke let out a tortured gasp, and Touji was sure he saw Rei
start, though within moments the girl's features were once again
controlled.
Touji himself simply stared at anything but the Latin
characters. His eyes wandered along the metallic plating, noting its
scorched and battered condition. He kept trying to tell himself that
this couldn't be what he thought it was, that this was some sort of
joke. Yet he knew that this could not be the case.
Slowly, unwillingly, his eyes returned to the writing. He
traced it in his mind, mouthing the syllables, trying to make sense of
the occurrence. Why? How? Why now? What did it mean? Those and a
thousand more questions whirled through his mind as he stared, unable to
tear his eyes away.
Ikari was not going to be pleased. For some reason, that
thought was stuck in his head. He had... no, they all had tried so hard
to forget how the world had become what is was. To forget all that had
occurred six years ago. Forget the pain, forget the tears, forget the
blood. To forget and heal. Slowly, all those memories had been pushed
into the background by the never-ending struggle to survive and rebuild.
But now, these simple words brought it all crashing back. It
wasn't fair. They had thought these words, and all they represented,
were long behind them. Even if this event had no greater meaning, was
no warning, it had already shattered that illusion. These simple
words...
Evangelion Unit-01.
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Author's Random Ramblings
1) Thanks go to Ryan Hupp and Angus MacSpon for their efforts in
prereading this chapter.
2) C&C of any sort is, of course, greatly desired and appreciated.
3) The prelude and previous chapter of this fanfic can be found at my
website ( http://www.geocities.com/anowack/fallen.html ).
Started: May 13, 2003
Draft Finished: May 27, 2003
Draft Released: May 31, 2003
Final Released: June 05, 2003