'Whe.. Where am I?' Was the first thought that went through the young mans head as he stood up and brushed himself off. He was standing in what appeared to be a canyon, the cliffs that surrounded him seemed to stretch right up to the clouds, preventing him from seeing the top, if there even was a top.
He remembered everything about himself, but didn't at the same time, almost as if the memories used to be somebody else's, it was a very disturbing feeling. He tried to walk, but his legs felt heavy, like something was holding them. Looking down he screamed, or at least would have if he could. The rock he had been standing on had now become a muddy pool in which he was now waist deep. His attempts to free himself were futile at best, every slight movement caused him to fall faster until only his face was left exposed, but it was not to stay that way. As his face finally sank beneath the surface a feeling washed over his body, a feeling of familiarity, of belonging, of purpose. Then there was only dark.
Once again light found its way to the young mans eyes. Only this time he found himself sitting calmly on a train, a strange orange glow emanating from somewhere outside its windows, but this didn't scare him it relieved him, made him more confident one would say. He glanced around taking in his surroundings, noticing two figures down the other end of the train. The memories of them flooded his mind, he knew them, but their names were being elusive.
' I know these two, I have...memories of them. But are they truly mine, I don't know. Wait, names, they are Shinji Ayanami. No, names sound right but not together. Maybe the answer will come if I'm patient, Yes, I shall wait here for the answers.'
The young man, content with his plan lent back closed his eyes and smiled a small, but very content smile. He never noticed the fourth figure that had appeared across from him, or the look of confusion and fear that spread slowly across their face.
############
Chapter 1
Calm Before The Storm
He missed walking, one of the most basic movements and one of the first learnt by a person in their life, one movement Toji Suzahara would never be able to do again, well not like he used to.
It had been about six weeks since he'd been informed of his being chosen as the fourth child, sometimes he woke up and thought it all a dream, then the truth came running back when he attempted to rub his eyes with his left hand and found it missing. Toji had always taken pride in the fact that he was a good athlete, he won practically every sport he entered at school and was the best player on the basketball team, but not anymore, now he needed help just to take a piss. To him that was worse then losing the limbs themselves, the fact he was now a cripple, that he now was unable to do the most basics of body movements without a nurse or orderly to help him.
He had started his re-habilitation about three weeks ago, after the doctors said his wounds were healed enough, he was now onto using the prosthetics. It was one of the hardest things he had ever had to do, but he was thankful for it, because it meant he was doing something besides lying on a bed feeling sorry for himself. His doctors had told him that he had been making excellent progress, which was something that pleased him immensely, mainly because it meant that even in his current condition he was still ahead of the curve, even if the curve was other amputees.
The hospital was a lonely place; the fact that he didn't get many visitors didn't help either. Hikari had visited him once, she had special permission because of her being class rep. Toji knew that Hikari and Kensuke would have visited him more, but since he was in a NERV hospital they didn't have the clearance. His sister hadn't visited him because she was unaware that he was actually in hospital, he missed her terribly but was determined not to visit her until he could walk in to her room by himself. Others had come to visit him, but not really to visit 'him'. Dr Akagi had come a couple of times to do some tests and take blood samples. Misato also dropped in, she had asked him how he was doing but she had seemed distant, like she was only there because it was her duty.
The most surprising visitor had been Ayanami, and the most regular. She came to see him every second day at exactly 1.00pm. She asked how he was, gave him print outs from Hikari, and then left. This happened the exact same way every time she visited. Her fourth visited was when Toji decided to ask why she came, he didn't mind that she did, but his curiosity just wasn't going to let up. She informed him, not very tactfully, that Shinji had asked her to checkup on him before he left.
Toji couldn't believe that Shinji had run again, but he also couldn't blame him. He knew what Shinji had gone through, he understood better now he had gone through something similar. He wondered where his friend was, and if he was ever coming back.
' Shinji Ikari, Where are you?'
############
" Unit-03's repairs have been completed, the abnormality in the LCL is still there but the MAGI don't predict it to be a problem."
Ritsuko stood on the walkway over looking Unit-03; Maya Ibuki was standing behind her reading from stat sheets she held in her hands, she listened but her mind was elsewhere. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, the commander had been on edge lately and it was showing, though only to those who knew what it looked like. The fourteenth angel still hadn't shown up and Seele was putting the pressure on, accusing the commander and NERV of being directly involved, unwilling to admit they might of made a mistake in the Dead Sea Scrolls translation. 'Arrogant bastards.' She smiled a small but distinguished smile. 'Just like you Ikari. I wonder how this will affect your own plans.' She turned around and lent against the railing. She placed her hands in her pockets as she noticed that Maya had stopped talking and was staring at her. The young tech blushed and quickly looked away as Ritsuko met her gaze. 'Poor thing. I wish I could feel something towards you but I really don't see that happening.'
" What's the status on the other Units?"
Maya flipped over to the next page on her clipboard before speaking. " Unit's 00 and 02 are both fully functional, operational guidelines are both in the green. But Unit-01..."
" Still won't activate." Ritsuko said cutting off the young tech. " It keeps rejecting the dummy plug, It would be a waste of time to continue, I believe there is only one person that Unit-01 will activate for."
" Do we know where the Third child is?" Maya asked looking up from her notes.
" Section two just located him in Toyko-2." Both women were startled by the third voice and looked to identify its source. They found Misato Katsuragi walking towards them with a cup of coffee in her hand.
" Why did he go there?" Ritsuko asked after dismissing Maya.
" Who knows, he probably just needed to blow off some steam. Section two is to bring him back immediately."
" Will he pilot?" Misato didn't answer, she didn't need to. Ritsuko knew very well what happened after the thirteenth had attacked. Shinji had to be forcibly removed from the entry plug, then he vowed never to pilot again. But now, with Unit-01 refusing to activate, and the future being as unknown as it was before, they needed him more then ever.
############
Shinji sat in a little coffee house on the outskirts of Tokyo-2. He'd been there for almost three hours and had only ordered one coffee, much to the distaste of the owner. Shinji didn't care what the owner thought of him, he really didn't have the energy.
He had originally been heading back to live with his uncle, until he remembered how unhappy he had been there, so he got off at the Tokyo-2 stop. Shinji had never been in this city before so he had no clue where anything was. So Shinji did what he always did, he just started walking. He walked for what seemed like hours before he ended up in the coffee house.
'Maybe I should go back.' Shinji shook his head in disgust just for thinking about doing that. 'I hate Eva, why would I even think about going back there?'
Shinji barely got a minute to ponder that question before a shadow fell over his table.
" Shinji Ikari?" The voice was gruff and even. He didn't even have to look up to know it was a section two agent; they all seemed to talk alike. " I've got orders to escort you back to NERV."
Shinji looked at the man. 'Same black suit. Same black Glasses.' For a moment Shinji thought about making a run for the exit, but realized the agent had him cornered at the table. 'No chance. Well it seems my question was answered for me.'
He stood up and headed for the door. Trailed closely by the section two agent.
############
" So, Unit-01 is being more temperamental then we expected." Gendo said, as usual his voice giving no hint of emotion.
'It's almost as if she is rejecting you Ikari.'
" Yes. Doctor Akagi believes it has developed a bond with the third preventing anyone else from piloting it. Though that's not surprising considering what Unit-01 is." Kouzou Fuyutsuki said. He had situated himself directly across from his long time colleague; it was the position he had always preferred when it was just the two of them.
" You think he will pilot again?"
" Perhaps." Gendo lent back slightly in his chair. If he didn't know better, Kouzou would have assumed this movement was for comfort.
" I suppose if he refuses we can always try brainwashing. It might be successful."
" Yes but Unit-01 might notice his change in attitude and still refuse to activate." Again Gendo shifted slightly, this time to adjust his glasses.
Kouzou allowed himself a small, well-concealed smile. 'Some things will never change.' He knew Gendo had always made small, almost hidden movements when he was agitated. Kouzou knew very well what the true source of that agitation was. 'It's almost as if she is rejecting you Ikari.' He knew the commander valued Unit-01 more then the other Eva's, but only a couple of people knew the exact reasons.
" The world does not revolve around the third child. We also have other matters of importance. Unit-03 is still without a pilot."
" Akagi believes the fourth could still pilot, but his injuries would limit his usefulness in combat. And she seems hesitant to use the dummy plug." Kouzou shifted in his seat before continuing. " We could always have Rei pilot it."
" Unit-00 is functioning properly. I would prefer to leave Rei as its pilot for now."
"Then the only other alternative is to locate another pilot."
" Doctor Akagi is already going through the list of candidates. The fifth child will be selected soon." Gendo pivoted his chair so he was faxing towards his office window. "Since the scenario has changed we will need to be at full strength for whatever comes next, Angel or otherwise."
" Do you think Seele are preparing an assault?"
" Since the fourteenth angel failed appear the old men are becoming paranoid. I am unsure of what they plan, but I will not be caught off guard."
Kouzou remained silent as he took that in. He felt uneasy about the possibility of Seele launching an assault against them, more so then he was about the lack of angels. Having some knowledge about what the future held from the scrolls had driven much of what Gendo and Seele had planned. Now things were unknown again, they were much more lost then either party would ever admit to.
To Be Continued...
I've decided to go with short chapters with this fic with only a few scenes in each one, though hopefully the next one will be longer. The next chapter will primarily involve the fifth child ( no it won't be Kaoru) and how Toji will react to it. The angels won't resurface for at least a couple of chapters. Shinji and Asuka won't have a lot to do with the main story until later on.
p.s. I'm also looking for a pre-reader to help me with grammar etc. If anyone is interested please e-mail me at set_aside_the_pride@hotmail.com
He remembered everything about himself, but didn't at the same time, almost as if the memories used to be somebody else's, it was a very disturbing feeling. He tried to walk, but his legs felt heavy, like something was holding them. Looking down he screamed, or at least would have if he could. The rock he had been standing on had now become a muddy pool in which he was now waist deep. His attempts to free himself were futile at best, every slight movement caused him to fall faster until only his face was left exposed, but it was not to stay that way. As his face finally sank beneath the surface a feeling washed over his body, a feeling of familiarity, of belonging, of purpose. Then there was only dark.
Once again light found its way to the young mans eyes. Only this time he found himself sitting calmly on a train, a strange orange glow emanating from somewhere outside its windows, but this didn't scare him it relieved him, made him more confident one would say. He glanced around taking in his surroundings, noticing two figures down the other end of the train. The memories of them flooded his mind, he knew them, but their names were being elusive.
' I know these two, I have...memories of them. But are they truly mine, I don't know. Wait, names, they are Shinji Ayanami. No, names sound right but not together. Maybe the answer will come if I'm patient, Yes, I shall wait here for the answers.'
The young man, content with his plan lent back closed his eyes and smiled a small, but very content smile. He never noticed the fourth figure that had appeared across from him, or the look of confusion and fear that spread slowly across their face.
############
Chapter 1
Calm Before The Storm
He missed walking, one of the most basic movements and one of the first learnt by a person in their life, one movement Toji Suzahara would never be able to do again, well not like he used to.
It had been about six weeks since he'd been informed of his being chosen as the fourth child, sometimes he woke up and thought it all a dream, then the truth came running back when he attempted to rub his eyes with his left hand and found it missing. Toji had always taken pride in the fact that he was a good athlete, he won practically every sport he entered at school and was the best player on the basketball team, but not anymore, now he needed help just to take a piss. To him that was worse then losing the limbs themselves, the fact he was now a cripple, that he now was unable to do the most basics of body movements without a nurse or orderly to help him.
He had started his re-habilitation about three weeks ago, after the doctors said his wounds were healed enough, he was now onto using the prosthetics. It was one of the hardest things he had ever had to do, but he was thankful for it, because it meant he was doing something besides lying on a bed feeling sorry for himself. His doctors had told him that he had been making excellent progress, which was something that pleased him immensely, mainly because it meant that even in his current condition he was still ahead of the curve, even if the curve was other amputees.
The hospital was a lonely place; the fact that he didn't get many visitors didn't help either. Hikari had visited him once, she had special permission because of her being class rep. Toji knew that Hikari and Kensuke would have visited him more, but since he was in a NERV hospital they didn't have the clearance. His sister hadn't visited him because she was unaware that he was actually in hospital, he missed her terribly but was determined not to visit her until he could walk in to her room by himself. Others had come to visit him, but not really to visit 'him'. Dr Akagi had come a couple of times to do some tests and take blood samples. Misato also dropped in, she had asked him how he was doing but she had seemed distant, like she was only there because it was her duty.
The most surprising visitor had been Ayanami, and the most regular. She came to see him every second day at exactly 1.00pm. She asked how he was, gave him print outs from Hikari, and then left. This happened the exact same way every time she visited. Her fourth visited was when Toji decided to ask why she came, he didn't mind that she did, but his curiosity just wasn't going to let up. She informed him, not very tactfully, that Shinji had asked her to checkup on him before he left.
Toji couldn't believe that Shinji had run again, but he also couldn't blame him. He knew what Shinji had gone through, he understood better now he had gone through something similar. He wondered where his friend was, and if he was ever coming back.
' Shinji Ikari, Where are you?'
############
" Unit-03's repairs have been completed, the abnormality in the LCL is still there but the MAGI don't predict it to be a problem."
Ritsuko stood on the walkway over looking Unit-03; Maya Ibuki was standing behind her reading from stat sheets she held in her hands, she listened but her mind was elsewhere. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, the commander had been on edge lately and it was showing, though only to those who knew what it looked like. The fourteenth angel still hadn't shown up and Seele was putting the pressure on, accusing the commander and NERV of being directly involved, unwilling to admit they might of made a mistake in the Dead Sea Scrolls translation. 'Arrogant bastards.' She smiled a small but distinguished smile. 'Just like you Ikari. I wonder how this will affect your own plans.' She turned around and lent against the railing. She placed her hands in her pockets as she noticed that Maya had stopped talking and was staring at her. The young tech blushed and quickly looked away as Ritsuko met her gaze. 'Poor thing. I wish I could feel something towards you but I really don't see that happening.'
" What's the status on the other Units?"
Maya flipped over to the next page on her clipboard before speaking. " Unit's 00 and 02 are both fully functional, operational guidelines are both in the green. But Unit-01..."
" Still won't activate." Ritsuko said cutting off the young tech. " It keeps rejecting the dummy plug, It would be a waste of time to continue, I believe there is only one person that Unit-01 will activate for."
" Do we know where the Third child is?" Maya asked looking up from her notes.
" Section two just located him in Toyko-2." Both women were startled by the third voice and looked to identify its source. They found Misato Katsuragi walking towards them with a cup of coffee in her hand.
" Why did he go there?" Ritsuko asked after dismissing Maya.
" Who knows, he probably just needed to blow off some steam. Section two is to bring him back immediately."
" Will he pilot?" Misato didn't answer, she didn't need to. Ritsuko knew very well what happened after the thirteenth had attacked. Shinji had to be forcibly removed from the entry plug, then he vowed never to pilot again. But now, with Unit-01 refusing to activate, and the future being as unknown as it was before, they needed him more then ever.
############
Shinji sat in a little coffee house on the outskirts of Tokyo-2. He'd been there for almost three hours and had only ordered one coffee, much to the distaste of the owner. Shinji didn't care what the owner thought of him, he really didn't have the energy.
He had originally been heading back to live with his uncle, until he remembered how unhappy he had been there, so he got off at the Tokyo-2 stop. Shinji had never been in this city before so he had no clue where anything was. So Shinji did what he always did, he just started walking. He walked for what seemed like hours before he ended up in the coffee house.
'Maybe I should go back.' Shinji shook his head in disgust just for thinking about doing that. 'I hate Eva, why would I even think about going back there?'
Shinji barely got a minute to ponder that question before a shadow fell over his table.
" Shinji Ikari?" The voice was gruff and even. He didn't even have to look up to know it was a section two agent; they all seemed to talk alike. " I've got orders to escort you back to NERV."
Shinji looked at the man. 'Same black suit. Same black Glasses.' For a moment Shinji thought about making a run for the exit, but realized the agent had him cornered at the table. 'No chance. Well it seems my question was answered for me.'
He stood up and headed for the door. Trailed closely by the section two agent.
############
" So, Unit-01 is being more temperamental then we expected." Gendo said, as usual his voice giving no hint of emotion.
'It's almost as if she is rejecting you Ikari.'
" Yes. Doctor Akagi believes it has developed a bond with the third preventing anyone else from piloting it. Though that's not surprising considering what Unit-01 is." Kouzou Fuyutsuki said. He had situated himself directly across from his long time colleague; it was the position he had always preferred when it was just the two of them.
" You think he will pilot again?"
" Perhaps." Gendo lent back slightly in his chair. If he didn't know better, Kouzou would have assumed this movement was for comfort.
" I suppose if he refuses we can always try brainwashing. It might be successful."
" Yes but Unit-01 might notice his change in attitude and still refuse to activate." Again Gendo shifted slightly, this time to adjust his glasses.
Kouzou allowed himself a small, well-concealed smile. 'Some things will never change.' He knew Gendo had always made small, almost hidden movements when he was agitated. Kouzou knew very well what the true source of that agitation was. 'It's almost as if she is rejecting you Ikari.' He knew the commander valued Unit-01 more then the other Eva's, but only a couple of people knew the exact reasons.
" The world does not revolve around the third child. We also have other matters of importance. Unit-03 is still without a pilot."
" Akagi believes the fourth could still pilot, but his injuries would limit his usefulness in combat. And she seems hesitant to use the dummy plug." Kouzou shifted in his seat before continuing. " We could always have Rei pilot it."
" Unit-00 is functioning properly. I would prefer to leave Rei as its pilot for now."
"Then the only other alternative is to locate another pilot."
" Doctor Akagi is already going through the list of candidates. The fifth child will be selected soon." Gendo pivoted his chair so he was faxing towards his office window. "Since the scenario has changed we will need to be at full strength for whatever comes next, Angel or otherwise."
" Do you think Seele are preparing an assault?"
" Since the fourteenth angel failed appear the old men are becoming paranoid. I am unsure of what they plan, but I will not be caught off guard."
Kouzou remained silent as he took that in. He felt uneasy about the possibility of Seele launching an assault against them, more so then he was about the lack of angels. Having some knowledge about what the future held from the scrolls had driven much of what Gendo and Seele had planned. Now things were unknown again, they were much more lost then either party would ever admit to.
To Be Continued...
I've decided to go with short chapters with this fic with only a few scenes in each one, though hopefully the next one will be longer. The next chapter will primarily involve the fifth child ( no it won't be Kaoru) and how Toji will react to it. The angels won't resurface for at least a couple of chapters. Shinji and Asuka won't have a lot to do with the main story until later on.
p.s. I'm also looking for a pre-reader to help me with grammar etc. If anyone is interested please e-mail me at set_aside_the_pride@hotmail.com