Disclaimer: I own neither Evangelion nor the aforementioned board game; therefore I am not using it for any commercial purpose.
Greatest Fear
Chapter 2... "Imprisonment"
By: Oblivious
"Mother… help me mother…" pleaded young Kaworu's voice helplessly in the deep darkness.
His eyes stared widely into the black void, cold sweat pouring from his face, as the sound of his desperate, labored breathing infused his overwrought mind. A cold, heavy stone slab was pressing against him. Tiny, child-like hands lay uselessly at his side, gored red from repeated, obsessive attempts to liberate their owner from the ton of rubble that had engulfed him. Aside from this and the overall numbness in his body, he had no critical physical injuries… all the better to prolong his cursed existence in this living hell.
Ages upon ages he had languished in this sightless prison… in the knowledge he was slowly going mad, hearing voices of mother telling him he would be fine, that she would find him, and more recently… damning him.
"Don't… leave me mother…" Kaworu begged the absolute silence around him.
During his tortured slumbers, he had seen visions of himself running freely through the fields, feeling the soothing breeze flying through his jet-black hair flashed through his mind. How he wished those things were… but he had always woken up… woken up to the place were there was no field, and no breeze… only the darkness, binding rock, and the echoes of his crazed mutterings punctuated with his labored panting that only served to prolong his torment.
It was as if he had spent his whole life trapped in this place, happy memories had either deserted him or served to intensify his suffering, and all he knew was the bondage of his movement, the suffocating void, the agony in his arms, and the eternal wait... Once he remembered struggling fruitlessly against his baneful prison, the unseen blood flowing from his anguished arms lying as a testament to this memory… but that was short lived compared to the amount of time he had laid, defeated.
"How… long more…"
"I wish I could just…"
"Die…"
"Kaworu! The ramen's done." called a girl's voice.
Kaworu opened his eyes.
Staring at him quizzically from around the crackling and flickering campfire was Asuka, Shinji and Rei, and behind them was a big, lightning-struck tree. Judging from the substantial amount of sunlight streaming through the branches of the tree, it was midday. The smell of cooking ramen intermingled with that of burning wood filled the air.
"Kaworu you look terrible…" observed Rei, looking at Kaworu with a concerned look on her face.
"His eyes…" whispered Asuka to Shinji, leaning closer to him.
"…look the same as that time…" finished Shinji as he looked at Kaworu with a sense of worry weighing upon his chest.
"If you don't like ramen I have granola bars." offered Rei good-naturedly.
His eyes… he looked as if he lost his soul… thought Rei to herself.
"Think we should try and take his mind off it…?" Shinji said.
It's been a long time… since the last time I dreamt that dream… thought Kaworu shakily to himself as he ran his fingers through his pure white hair…
Staring nostalgically at a strand of white hair in the palm of his hand, Kaworu sighed deeply.
How could I ever forget…Just then, Kaworu jolted back to reality when he remembered that everyone was watching him intently. Smiling weakly, he decided to apologize.
"Sorry guys… I just have a lot on my mind…"
Asuka rolled her eyes as she slurped her ramen noisily.
"No shit…"
"…and eerr… thanks Rei, but I think I'll go with the Ramen." He said, smiling faintly at Rei.
Shinji handed him a tin of instant.
"There you go." Shinji said amiably.
"Thanks Shinji."
"Soo… what do you reckon?" asked Shinji, jerking a thumb at the innocuous looking rectangular box that was propped against a log in front of the fire.
Kaworu looked gravely into Shinji's eyes.
"All my best instincts tell me that we shouldn't open it…"
"Let's open it!!" suggested Asuka cheerfully.
"Asuka…" said, or sighed Kaworu.
"We didn't come all this way to not open it did we?" reasoned Rei thoughtfully.
"I'm sure all of us are curious about what's inside it." She added.
"Rei's right!" Asuka agreed eagerly, setting aside her empty tin.
"Well if you put it that way…"
"It's decided then!" said Asuka, taking the box and laying it on her lap.
She slid her hand across its elaborately carved surface, searching for an opening.
"This box is a real piece of work…" She commented, visibly impressed.
Locating the opening down the center of the box, she flipped open it's covers, as the sweet smell of old wood escaped from its interior. Shinji, Rei and Kaworu crowded around. Revealed to the party was a playing surface, across which snaked and meandered ivory pawn paths, starting from the four corners and leading to a circular green crystal in the center. The flaps, which were also side panels, had words written on them…
"Hey it's English." Said Shinji as he noticed this.
"A game for those who seek to find a way to leave their world behind…" Asuka translated into Japanese effortlessly.
"It's like a video game?" Rei wondered.
"What else does it say?" asked Kaworu, putting aside his tin.
"You roll the dice to move your token… doubles gets another turn… the first player to reach the end wins" Asuka said.
"Intriguing." said Kaworu.
"Hey Asuka what's that drawer there?" asked Shinji, pointing at a latch on the compartment of one of the panels.
Asuka opened the drawer. Inside were intricately created humanoid figurines in four different colors: blue, red, purple and black. Asuka picked up a red one and stared at it appraisingly.
"Wow, this one has four eyes… freaky."
"Let me see?" asked Shinji.
Asuka picked up the other three figures and moved her hand over Shinji's.
"Let Kaworu and Rei see… the hell?"
As Asuka dropped the figurines into Shinji's open hand, they immediately flew towards the board and started spinning in circles on its surface, finally stopping on the beginning of each of the four lanes.
"Oro?" said Rei.
"Strange…" observed Kaworu.
"Those are some strong magnets..." said Shinji, sounding uncertain.
"There are some dice here too." said Asuka, reaching back into the drawer.
The air was thick with foreboding mystery, however, Asuka seemed oblivious to it as she picked up the dice nonchalantly and threw them onto the playing field.
"Heh… six five." She said as the dice came to a stop.
Slowly, and eerily, the red figurine moved eleven spaces along its path.
"I guess that means we're playing…" said Shinji, as he nervously eyed the red piece.
"Yes… four pieces, four players…" said Kaworu.
"Hey… there are words appearing there." Rei noticed.
The crystal center glowed emerald, as yellow mist swirled around within it, materializing into words.
"You may think they're just short, black and peeving…" read Asuka just as the first verse dissipated, giving way to the second. "…but you'll find that looks can be deceiving."
"So what do we do now?" Asked Shinji.
"It looks like a clue to something…" Kaworu thought aloud.
"Feh… what a boring game!" Asuka complained loudly.
"We sure wasted our-"
She was cut off by a loud squawking sound accompanied by the rustling of bushes behind them, which caused all four heads to turn around in shocked apprehension. Looming from the bushes with black, featherless wings raised were short and plump bodies, four feet tall, painted black and white, carried by stubby webbed feet, and topped by yellow beaked heads, each sporting a gash of red feathers.
"Anyone would know what penguins are doing here?" Kaworu casually asked no one in particular.
The group of penguins, which comprised several, fanned out and edged slowly, and menacingly, towards the children.
"I don't like that look in their eyes…" Shinji said anxiously, squeezing Asuka's shoulder.
"This is not good, they seem to be organized…" Rei sharply observed.
"Anyone besides me thinks that the game caused this?" Rei continued.
"That's impossible… but then again… so are these birds." Answered Kaworu.
More squawking sounds are heard as more fowls appear around them as if from thin air, completely surrounding the children.
Resisting the urge to stare in absolute disbelief at these peculiar birds, Asuka slammed Jumanji shut and stood up.
"We're organized too." She said with a twisted smile on her face.
With a bloodthirsty caw, the foremost penguin charged forward, its jagged beak ready to tear…
==========
"How long have we been running??" shouted Shinji in between labored breaths.
"It's only been two minutes baka!" replied Asuka, who was in the lead.
Stampeding over soft earth and splashing up puddles as they hurried through the forest, Asuka, Shinji, Rei and Kaworu, fled hastily from their billed pursuers.
"They really know how to work those tiny legs of theirs…" commented Rei as she glanced to a penguin running alongside her a few meters away.
"We've already lost most of them." said Kaworu.
"They seem to find it difficult to stand up after they fall…" He added.
"Can you see how many of them are there left?"
"About… two or three."
Asuka stopped in her tracks and turned around.
"Asuka?" asked Shinji.
"WAARRK" screamed a penguin as it pounced at Asuka… only to have Jumanji smashed violently into its face with a noisy and woody thud.
The penguin fell to the ground several feet away, skimming along a little before coming to rest, unconscious.
"Why are we running when we out number them?!" Asuka asked testily, as she raised her foot high and brought it crashing down onto the skull of another featherless chaser, driving it straight into the mushy earth.
"Errr… am I counted?" Shinji asked anxiously.
"Of course you are you BAKA!!"
"It's OK Shinji, we can handle the fighting." said Kaworu reassuringly, retrieving a Swiss army knife from his pack.
"Kaworu! Stop spoiling Shinji!" shouted Asuka exasperatedly.
A thump was heard as a fist sized rock that Rei let loose at the last remaining penguin impacted dead on, causing it to stagger around dizzily before keeling over.
"Wow, nice throw Rei." said Kaworu, pocketing his knife.
"Oh, it's nothing." She replied a little bashfully.
"Let's finish the game quick… I don't want to be blamed for releasing man-eating penguins into the nature reserve." Said Asuka, laying Jumanji on a nearby tree stump.
"I wonder how this would affect the eco-system…" wondered Rei aloud as she held her chin with her hand.
Flipping open Jumanji, Asuka collected the dice and held it in front of her.
"So, who's next?" She asked, her hand on her hip.
The other three stared silently at her.
"COME ON!!"
I… I'll do it." Shinji said finally.
Asuka looked at Shinji in amazement.
This is my chance to impress Asuka… He thought to himself.
I mustn't run from this…
==========
As Shinji read the dice and he felt his heart sink…
"One… two…"
"Don't worry Shinji, it's not your fault." comforted Rei as the purple piece moved forward three spaces.
Before long, cryptic words were swirling into existence within the glass again.
"Misfortune seems to arrive in droves…" read Asuka quickly. "…pray you're not around wherever she goes…"
"I don't like the sound of that…" said Shinji.
"She…?" asked Kaworu.
At this moment, an infernal, bloodcurdling howl echoed through the forest, causing birds to flee in panic from nearby trees. The party looked around frantically as Shinji felt his blood freeze in his veins.
"I don't like the sound of that either…" He said.
Kaworu turned to Asuka.
"I think we should continue running." He suggested prudently.
"Let's do that." agreed Asuka fervently before gathering up Jumanji and turning to run.
A mauve coloured blur lunged from the undergrowth several meters behind the party and landed on the earth on all fours.
"Dive for the bushes!" Asuka commanded.
The four of them hastily disappeared into the bushes just as the creature turned its head to the spot they were at moments ago.
It looked human. A human with greyish flesh and bits of purple plating attached various areas of his body. Its head was covered with a purple helmet with a single horn protruding from the forehead. Its staring eyes were green and lidless and its mouth was void of cheeks, ensuring that it had a permanent grin. This combination gave it an eerie impression of madness.
"…And I thought the penguins were bad." Said Shinji.
"Or impossible…" Added Kaworu.
They watched in silence as the creature sniffed the air, and then bounded toward the unconscious body of one of the downed penguins. After cautiously sniffing it, it sank its teeth into it and started tearing off and devouring pieces of it. The penguin squawked loudly in pain and agony as it awoke to find itself being eaten alive. More squawks indicated that the others had heard the calls.
"It's occupied… let's sneak away…" whispered Asuka to the rest.
Slowly, the party tiptoed out of the bushes, wary of doing anything that might attract the beast's attention. As they got further, the tiptoeing turned into a hurried pace, finally culminating in a full-blown sprint. Once they were a safe distance away, about one kilometre, their collective heart rates dropped to a more nominal level.
"That was close…" Said Rei, cold sweat rolling down her cheek.
"Maybe we should just bury the game where no one will find it and forget about it." Suggested Shinji.
Ahhh… but what about impressing Asuka? asked a nasty little voice in his head.
"Are you stupid? The instructions say the game must be finished..." Said Asuka.
"…and I'm not willing to find out what will happen if we break a rule…" She added.
Kaworu put a hand on Shinji's shoulder.
"Don't worry Shinji, we're all in this together, you are not alone." He said encouragingly.
"Kaworu's right!" Agreed Rei bubbly.
"Thanks… guys." Shinji replied, smiling slightly.
"Think we should get back to civilisation before rolling the dice again?" Asked Rei.
"Hmm… don't you think it will be irresponsible to release more demons in a populated area?" Asked Kaworu.
"That's right, we can't involve other people." Said Asuka purposefully.
"We have to finish this on our own… we started it and we'll end it." She added.
"So what do you suggest we do?" Asked Rei.
"There's an abandoned mansion on the outskirts of town, we'll do it there, not many things to wreck there."
==========
The mansion was a great one, though in considerable disrepair, its sizable oak doors were preceded by sweeping marble stairs, and was flanked by four huge pillars, covered with various creepers that held up an artfully carved ceiling, which took the shape of the stairway below it. Right above the door was a tiny veranda about the size of a normal door. Nucleating from this area were large paned windows, which were mostly shattered and had yellowed curtains. In the courtyard, was an out of order fountain flanked by unkempt hedge bushes. Surrounding this mansion was moss and vine covered brick walls, and standing at the tall and rusty gates… were the heroes of our story.
"So this is the place… it must've looked magnificent in its day." Said Rei.
Asuka skilfully scaled the rusty iron gate, which was a few meters high, as the others watched from below. With a little difficulty, she managed to clear it and climb down the other side safely.
"Come on guys, it is not very hard." She called from the other side, as she dusted the rust from her clothes.
Kaworu walked over the gate and kicked it open, causing it to creak and whine, as it swung apart.
"Yes Asuka I agree." He said, as Shinji laughed weakly.
Minutes later…
Clutching a huge bump on his head, Kaworu followed the party into the derelict mansion.
Dusting off the thick layer of dust on a table, Asuka set Jumanji on it and took out the dice.
"Your turn macho man!" She said irritably to Kaworu, holding the dice in front of him.
Kaworu sighed.
"Good luck Kaworu…" Said Rei.
"Very well then…" He said, before throwing the dice into the playing field.
"A three and six… not too shabby." Said Shinji.
"…and the clue?" Asked Kaworu as he watched the black figurine move forward nine spaces.
"Alone in the grave you shall slumber…" Read Asuka. "Till the dice rolls the gamblers number…"
"I have a bad feeling about this…" Said Kaworu gravely.
A flash of green light emanating from the centre of the game engulfed Kaworu, as his figure started warping and bending.
"What the hell is happening??" Implored Shinji.
In the next moment, Kaworu was pulled bodily into the crystal, vanishing totally. The rest stood there…mouths wide open, frozen with shock.
==========
Staring wide-eyed into the darkness… Kaworu despaired… as he felt the velvet cushions surrounding his body he banged hard on the cover above him. Feeling nausea building up in his stomach, he held his hand to his mouth. His heart beat intensely and his entire body broke out into a cold sweat. He squirmed uncomfortably in his coffin…
Not again…
Not again…
Not again…
Not again…
Not again…
Not again…
Not again…
Not again…
Not again…
Author's notes
I'd just like to say that no penguins were hurt in the making of this fic.
And yes... the dark elements are finally presenting themselves... hope you enjoyed them =D
Incase anyone was wondering, the gamblers number is seven.