Disclaimer: I do not own Evangelion. All characters and other affiliated materials are the property of Gainax.
"Shinji…It's hard without you, but I am trying my best. I keep hoping for the impossible; hoping that somehow I can see your face again. Maybe if I hope long enough and hard enough I can be with you again."
Her words echoed across the silent water to nothingness, lost in the deafening silence of the sunrise. Asuka Langley Soryu wondered if perhaps her sanity had finally left her as she sat upon the shore. Her heart and soul felt bereft of the will to exist, as if some piece of her had fallen into the small waves and floated off, never to return. And perhaps it was true. Perhaps she was just a silly little girl, brokenhearted, headstrong, and steadfastly refusing to give up on the only part of her life that she felt gave her meaning.
She did not know how long she sat on that little patch of shoreline or whether she was now sleeping or awake. She hoped it was the former instead of the latter; dreams offered her escape, though, she could never see his face in her dreams either. But sometimes she would feel something warm, something close. A voice.
"I will never forget you."
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Idan Yakir was in no way a timid man. He was young, a hearty 18 years of age, and full of life and passion. He was taller than most, around 6'2" with dark hair that he wore cut fairly short. There was much on the mind of this man, namely the German advance. He, like most Israeli men of his age, was a soldier, and a very well trained soldier at that. However he was highly concerned about the downward movement of the German forces. The country of Israel had only 6 Gamma series Evangelions to its name, which was miniscule when compared to the amount employed by the Germans. The split of the United States had been bad news politically for the always threatened state of the country, and the alliance with the Pacific States made Israel the only Pacifically allied country in the Middle East. So, naturally, an attack was expected to come swiftly, most likely in the next two to three days.
It was in an alley outside of his family's synagogue where he found the man he and his people would later come to know as Gideon. The corpse looked fresh, as if the body had been living only moments ago. The body was that of a man of what appeared to be Asian descent. He was naked, and his exposed skin was marked with several frighteningly long scars: Two on one shoulder, one on the other, a horizontal mark on his cheek, and a bizarre cross shaped one that rand down the length of his chest. In the middle of this long cross scar, at the point where the vertical met the horizontal, was embedded a sword, a Katana he believed it was called. Yakir turned from the alley way and began to yell for a doctor.
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The darkness seemed to go on forever, both in the physical area around him as well as the thoughts in his mind. Cain, despite his assuredness, did not like this place. It was too…he found that he couldn't quite decide why, but either way he would not be in this place for long. And soon he found what he had been looking for.
"Unit-04."
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The sound of a basketball hitting a backboard could be heard as three boys found themselves out of the house. Kensuke Aida spoke:
"Do you think that we will be in Japan long?"
"I hope so," Toji said.
Damon Robinson, however, shook his head.
"We won't be. From the looks of things Germany is going to make a move on Israel, and they are our only Middle Eastern ally."
Kensuke grinned.
"I hope we get shipped out soon. I can't wait."
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"And what of Shinji? Surely something has gone wrong."
Kowaru Nagisa shook his head.
"I do not know. He is not dead but…I am not sure what happened."
"The scrolls…they mentioned something about ascending to the mother, and then, confronting the father," Fuyutski said.
"Again, nothing is certain. This is indeed an unstable existence. No predictions are ever exact."
"I fear what…the enemy might do. We have obligations to our allies, but if we are to be attacked head on…we will need more Evangelions to hold."
"Am I incorrect in assuming that Unit-06 is nearly complete?"
"You are correct. It is in New Zealand at the moment, but the construction is nearly done."
"I might be obligated to lend you my services in that regard."
Fuyutski nodded.
"As far as Germany though…we will need to send a force to Israel."
"How many do you propose?"
"I have not yet decided. It would be unwise to send a large force. I doubt Israel will hold if an entire German force is thrown at them, plus it will be difficult transporting an Eva there in the first place," Fuyutski said.
"Send Soryu."
"Soryu? Is that wise? She seems to be somewhat unstable after Ikari's death."
The Fifth child smiled, and commander Fuyutski was given the distinct impression that the boy was not telling him something.
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"Rei?"
"Yes."
"I'm starting to worry about Toji."
"Maybe you should apologize to him," the first child suggested to Hikari Horaki.
"Apologize to him? Apologize for what? This is his fault."
"Are you so sure? I would consider giving the situation more thought on your part."
"Do you really mean that?"
"Toji was very upset at the time, Shinji has been his good friend for years now. They have been through a lot together."
"Yes…"
"Maybe instead of being angry with him about not being able to deal with his feelings, you should help him try to deal with his feelings."
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"What do we do?"
"I am not sure. I have never seen a case like this before. I mean, he still has a pulse."
The man looked up from the body on the table in front of him to the young soldier.
"I say you should pull the sword out."
"Idan, I am not so sure that is wise."
"What other options do we have? Are you going to put a man with a pulse in the morgue?"
The old doctor was obviously agitated by this remark.
"Fine."
The doctor leaned down and grabbed the sword by the handle, making sure that he had a tight grip. Moments later he gave a momentous tug. The sword was easily removed from the body, though, as soon as this occurred, the doctor's hands began to burn, and he ran out of the room screaming. Idan Yakir found himself blinded by a scorching white light that seemed to emanate from the body. He heard a clatter as the steel of the removed weapon hit the floor, and then, at last, he was told what to do.
Cover the Sword.
It was a voice like which he had never heard before, an unearthly, powerful, booming tone that seemed to echo around the room. Idan grabbed a sheet off of the nearest hospital bed and covered the weapon. In an instant the blinding light was gone as soon as it had come, and only the body of a dark haired Asian boy remained.
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It was his first time in an Evangelion, but, like all things, Cain found that it came naturally to him. As expected, the lance of Longinus had grown large again once the Evangelion had come near it, and now he clasped it tightly in his massive steel hand. There was still much to do, and Cain began walking north east towards Washington D.C.. It would be a long way from Nevada, and he decided to waist no more time.
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"I apologize for what happened to your friend."
"Don't worry about it. It wasn't your fault, plus it didn't seem like his hands sustained any permanent damage."
Idan Yakir watched the man smile slightly and nod. Talking to this man was easily the strangest thing he had ever done. He had no explanations as to how he was alive at all, or why he spoke the language, or how he got to Israel, or his scars, or what had happened to him. Though, Idan did find him somewhat familiar, though he couldn't quite place why.
"So you don't remember anything at all?"
The Asian man shook his head.
"Not even your name?"
Again he motioned that he did not.
"Well I suppose that I will just have to give you a name," Idan said as he glanced at the blade he carried still wrapped in hospital sheets. "From here on out your name is Gideon. Okay?"
The man now dubbed Gideon nodded.
"Good," Idan said, "It fits you. The name means Warrior."
Gideon nodded.
"I…I would like to find a better cover for the sword," he said as he adjusted the weapon in his grasp, "Something wooden, or at least not fabric."
"Idan nodded.
"It's not a problem, I know a guy who can probably make you something."
The young soldier sighed.
"It must be tough not remembering anything."
"Yes," Gideon said, "But I have not forgotten everything."
Idan stopped walking and turned to his new acquaintance.
"Oh?"
"I…I can see an image in my mind. An image of a woman. I…I think that I am in love with her."
"You're in love with her, but you don't know who she is?"
Gideon nodded.
"I think that if I can find her, then everything will be alright again. I think that…my purpose is to find her, my reason for being here is to be by her side forever."
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"Misato!"
Ryoji Kaji was becoming frustrated now.
"For God's sake we are already late enough as it is!"
"I know, and I'm sorry," Misato Katsuragi yelled as she came scrambling down her to her car.
"I think the food is going to get cold if we make them wait any longer, and that would be highly unfortunate, because Hikari is an amazing cook."
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"Toji, Toji are you in here?"
Hikari Horaki slowly entered Toji Suzahara's room. It was in complete darkness. She walked to the center of the space, and sat on the bed.
"Toji please answer me."
"What."
"I wanted to apologize to you. I was insensitive and selfish, and I am sorry."
Toji Suzahara stood from where he had been sitting by the window and moved to the bed as well.
"No, Hikari it was my-," Toji found his words cut off as a finger was placed upon his lips.
"No, Toji, don't. You've apologized to me enough. This one was my fault, and I don't want you saying you're sorry."
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"Do you think dinner is ready yet?"
"I am not sure," Rei Ayanami said as she let her head rest against the chest of her husband.
"Oh man I am so hungry."
Silence followed for several minutes.
"Damon?"
"Yes?"
"Do you ever think about…children?"
The seventh child suddenly felt his entire world tip upside down at the mention of one simple word.
"Um, children, Rei?"
The blue haired girl nodded, her head rubbing upon the chest of the American pilot.
"I'm not quite sure that I'm ready for that Rei. I think that might be getting a bit ahead of ourselves."
"Why?"
"Because…for one thing both of us are 18 for God's sake. We still have our whole lives ahead of us. Do you really want to be burdened with a child already?"
"You do not wish to have children with me?"
"No! No that's not it at all. I guess I kind of just want to concentrate on loving you right now, and you only."
"I see."
"Plus we are in the middle of a war right now. I don't think that it would be right to bring a child into a world plunged into war."
"Perhaps."
Damon shifted his position on the bed so that he was now looking into the eyes of the first child, grasping her hand in his own as he did so.
"Rei…I would love to have children with you. I just want to wait a while, that's all. Okay?"
The blue haired girl leaned in closely to the American's face, wrapping her arms around his back and holding him close.
"Okay."
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"Asuka?"
"Yes."
"Asuka this is Commander Fuyutski. At 1300 hours tomorrow you and Unit-02 are being mobilized. Your destination is Israel. There you will command a defensive posture against the German troops with the help of the Israeli Gamma's. You will receive a full briefing at NERV HQ tomorrow. That is all."
With a soft click, the telephone receiver went dead.
Asuka Langley Soryu hung up the phone receiver with a sigh and headed towards the kitchen for dinner with the only family she felt she had left.
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"Will I ever see you again?" She wondered to her memories and her dreams.
"Perhaps we shall meet in Heaven."
"So, in the end, Death was the only answer, wasn't it?"
"No, we cannot die in this place, for neither of us is truly alive."
"I don't know if I can stand to be apart from you until then. It hurts so much."
"Do not despair. This life becomes only what you yourself make it, and Heaven is much closer than you imagine."