The One
By
One-Winged Angel

Disclaimer: I don't own Neon Genesis Evangelion

The coldness enveloped Shinji's body, the pink goo was semi-dense and while it was liquid, it was very hard to maneuver inside the plastic-like pod that was imprisoning Shinji.

His arms and legs were connected to the back of the pod with some kind of wire, kind of like an umbilical cord. The base of his neck was firmly attached to a wide cord that was connected to the center of the pod.

Shinji tried to break free of his bindings, but to no avail. The cords were firmly secured by some locking mechanism installed within the pod. He didn't know why he was trapped inside some weird-looking pod. But he hoped that he could get out of there soon.

'Is this the real world?' Shinji faintly thought. His mind was filled with questions about this world. What was the outside like, who were the people living here. The most prominent one, however, was the question of breaking out of the pod.

Suddenly, the cords that were restricting his movement were detracted back into the pod. The pink goo that was inside was slowly starting to drain out of the pod. Finally the cord that was attached to his neck finally detached itself. When the goo had completely drained out of the pod. The front casing whirred and opened itself with a strong "whoosh" sound.

As he looked around, he saw massive fields each with multitudes of pods. He assumed that each encased a human within. But he wasn't too sure about that fact. They could be filled with something else. The sky was dark and bleak, it was not an ordinary darkness, Shinji felt, it was like an artificial darkness, like some dark cloak that came to cover the sun.

A massive robot suddenly appeared out of nowhere and startled Shinji. The massive robot seemed to be scanning Shinji. It then said something in an undecipherable language. Maybe robot talk, it was cold, unfeeling, metallic...

It's blood red eyes seemed to be analyzing Shinji inside out, for it kept flashing strange blue lights from it's arms that seemed to scan Shinji. Abruptly, the robot stopped scanning Shinji, it moved it's head forward a little and once again talked in that unknown language it was using.

Then a hole in the back of the pod opened and then Shinji gets propelled downwards in a cylindrical shaft that was twisting and turning. When Shinji finally came out of the long tunnel, he was deposited into a vast expanse of a sewer and fell with a large splash.

A large ship seemed to be hovering over him, blinding him with it's luminescent lights. Then, the underbelly of the ship opened and Shinji felt himself being hoisted off the water and into the ship and slowly fell into unconsciousness.

ooooooooooooooooooo

When Shinji felt some semblance of sense come back to him, he tried to open his eyes, but found it agonizingly hard to open them. It took a few tries, but he finally managed to open his eyes. He saw Ritsuko slowly looking over him, he turned his head and found it also hard to turn it. He managed to turn his head a few degrees sideward and saw Asuka leaning against the wall with her arms folded beneath her breasts.

"Don't try to move. You're muscles have atrophied, we're trying to restore your motor functions right now. Just relax, you'll be up and running in no time."

Ritsuko's reassuring words made Shinji a little more comfortable, but he still feels some anxiety at losing the use of his motor skills. Shinji tried to move his limbs again, but to no avail. They just wouldn't budge, nothing would. His neck, legs, arms and even his eyes refused to respond. He tried to speak, but once again a hand was placed upon his shoulder.

"You haven't used your vocal cords in a long time, they have atrophied as well. Just rest, I assure you, everything will be fine," Ritsuko said.

Shinji just looked at her, he tried to nod, but he decided not to strain himself. He opted just to close his eyes and lose himself in the land of dreams.

ooooooooooooooooooo

"Shinji."

"Shinji!"

"Shinji!!"

Shinji was startled awake and was very groggy. He looked around and all he could see was white and an old man standing in the center of the room. The old man looked like a Chinese mystic, but somehow he had the feeling that he wasn't.

Shinji slowly approached the old man, taking in his features. He appeared to be an average old man with a yellow silk shirt and black silk pants, he also had a cane that he was apparently using for support.

Shinji slowly approached the old man, he was unsure of him. He looked like an average old man, but his recent experience with Ritsuko taught him that looks could be deceiving.

"You are wary of me Shinji, that is good, you must not be so trusting of anybody. Yet you must keep an open mind," the old man suddenly said.

Shinji was startled by the voice of the old man. He asked "Wh..Who are you?"

"Me? My name is not important, but you can call me the Master."

"The Master, are you the controller of the Matrix?"

"Hmm... I suppose you can say that, but still it is not an accurate description of me."

"What do you mean?"

"Well you see, I am the one who made the Matrix, as well as the one who controls it. But I do not do it of my own free will. If I knew my people would rebel against me, I would have never created it."

"What do you mean? Did you not make the Matrix to control the world?"

The old man laughed and shook his head.

"No, I did not. I made the Matrix so that the world would have a place to spend their free time with. A battle simulator, a recreational tool, a teaching aid. Those and many more were the initial use of the Matrix. It is used by placing neural interface connectors in your spinal cord, cerebral cortex and of course your limbs. It totally immerses you in a simulated world, one where you cannot tell the difference between the real world and the Matrix anymore. That is how dangerous the Matrix is, but during those times I was being heralded as the genius of the 21st century and I let it go to my head. I was such a fool back then."

Shinji was still absorbing the information, he was shocked at the fact the Matrix was actually a tool used for helping people a long time ago. He thought the creator was an evil being, but here he was just a normal scientist the tried to help people.

"That was not the worst part. The worst part was one night, maybe three to four years after the completion of the Matrix, A rag-tag bunch of thieves broke in and stole the system. At the time there were approximately 8 billion people worldwide who were using the system. Each time someone connected they could not get out anymore. Through my monitor, I saw, one by one, the population of the world was being trapped in the world of the Matrix. Until eventually, the world was consumed by the Matrix. At first, everything was pandemonium. People were scared at the fact of being stranded in the Matrix forever. But after a while, they adapted to the Matrix and went on with their normal lives. Having children, living and dying. Actually no one dies, they are all being nourished by a special machine that I created for long-term use of the Matrix, and then reborn as new beings after a memory wipe. No children are actually born as well, they are all subroutines of the Matrix."

The Master gave an exasperated sigh, he didn't want to relive those days. Never a day goes by without him regretting his actions. He looked at Shinji, he was visibly shaken from his tirade. He wished he could say it to him in a gentler way, but reality was harsh and he had to be too.

Shinji was shocked to hear all this. He knew that the Matrix was a false world. But to think even the children weren't real. Was he even real? Or was he just a simple subroutine? Maybe he wasn't even Shinji Ikari, but someone else. He shook his head, he was Shinji and as long as he believed himself to be, he will always be Shinji.

"Don't worry Shinji, you are who you are. Your core personality will never change, only your name will and names aren't that at all important."

"I know, I am Shinji and always will be Shinji."

"Correct, Shinji you maybe wondering why I brought you to this place. This place is a part of the Matrix, albeit an isolated one. You have a special ability Shinji, one that no other person possesses, you are unique in a way that no other individual will be. You are the One."

"The One? What's that? Some omnipotent being? You make it sound like a powerful thing."

"No nothing like that, but you will be very strong. You will need that strength to free the rest of humankind. You will be also granted wisdom, this will help you see through the various trials that will be placed upon you. But before you attain these you will need to destroy three limiters that are scattered around the Matrix."

"Three? But you only said Strength and Wisdom, what is the third thing?"

The Master smiled; an eerie smile that hinted on something hidden.

"The last is a secret, it is something that I cannot tell you, you must see it for yourself."

He turned his back and faced away from Shinji. He quietly spoke.

"When you awaken you must seek the oracle. Ritsuko will inform you more of her. I have spoken to her already in hidden messages through her communications array and have informed her of the oracles whereabouts some time ago." "I understand. But, where are these limiters?"

"The first one, I have already told to Ritsuko. The first limiter will lead you to the others."

"I see. So, how am I supposed to get out of here?"

"Well... I just have to..."

The Master felt it, a terrible ominous feeling of dread. It was as if a dark shadow was cast upon the entire place. The Master knew what was coming or rather who.

"I must get you out of here now, before he finds you. Before you go I need to remind you of another, one who will help you, one has similar powers as you. His name is..."

The Master was slowly fading out as he spoke these words. And before he was able to speak the name of Shinji's companion the Master totally faded out. Shinji suddenly felt very trapped in the endless white walls that were encompassing the place.

Footsteps could be heard, Shinji turned around to see a Silver-Haired figure. He had silver hair up to his shoulders, blood red eyes, and had a large sword by his side.

"Welcome, Mr. Ikari. My name is Kaworu Nagisa. You don't know me, but I certainly know you. My mission and the mission of the two others like me is the total annihilation of you and your companion, both of you are a threat to the objectives of our masters."

"Who are your masters?"

"We do not know, we only obey. We need not know the identity of our master."

"Then you are like dogs, following blindly the commands of your masters. You are nothing but mindless slaves."

"Enough, if you weren't so weak, I would kill you where you stand."

Kaworu smiled an evil-looking smile. One that conveyed the message of murder.

"But you are still weak, I do not kill weaklings. I will release you from this place. Train hard, for the next time I see you, I will kill you."

Shinji started to feel weird, Kaworu's image was starting distort. Everything was starting to distort. He felt like his head was splitting open and a giant was coming out of it. The room started to spin and then he felt his knees buckle and give way. He came crashing to the ground and fell unconscious.

ooooooooooooooooo

"Shinji."

"Shinji!"

"Shinji!!"

Shinji was startled awake yet again and thought that he should stay more alert. At least this time it was a female voice. Shinji slowly opened his eyes and saw Ritsuko and Asuka staring down at him.

He slowly smiled and said, "Can I move now?"

ooooooooooooooo

Well, it has been a long time since I updated. Sorry it took so long, but I took a vacation for a while.

At least on my vacation, I had the chance many writing styles and decided to incorporate them into my style. I don't think it's plagiarism if it's just the style of writing and not the idea.

Anyway, after this I will be writing the epilogue of my other story: Goodbye. So stay tuned for that too. I will continue this story after I have written the epilogue, so people who read this story, don't be thinking I have abandoned this story.

Even if I take almost forever to update, I never abandon any of my stories. No matter what the reason, even if there are zero reviews until I finish it. I write because I want to write and share it with the world. You people don't need to review if you don't want to.

Domo Arigato,

One-Winged Angel