Tales of Evangelion: Chapter 1
Mysterious World, Mysterious People
GAINAX owns Eva, NAMCO owns ToS, and I own my right to idiocy.
The 02 pod opened up slowly. The LCL spilled out, along with the red-headed pilot as she collapsed onto the ground. She coughed out the LCL in her lungs, and she made an effort to look at her surroundings. It was just an island, no trees and no people, just grass. 'Where the hell am I?' No answer came other than the release valve of the other two plugs. Shinji flopped out of his face first, hocked out his LCL, and lost consciousness. 'What did that Angel do to us? I can hardly keep awake myself.' Rei was the most graceful of the three. She actually climbed out of the plug, returning the LCL she borrowed into it, but when she touched the ground, her legs went numb and she fell to her knees. 'Even Wondergirl got the stuffing knocked out of her. How fitting for a doll.'
Rei began to gasp repeatedly. Asuka blinked as she took notice. "Ayanami? Are you okay?"
"Can't...breathe! Air...thin!"
'She's lost it.' Asuka thought, 'I'm breathing fine, even though I'm completely exhausted.' "Jeez, Rei. Just chill out. You'll get used to it like you always do."
In a few moments, Rei's wheezing slowed. She remained conscious. She looked down to the boy lying on the ground. "Ikari-kun?"
"He'll be out for a while most likely. Remember, he did just tear himself out of an Angel. If you're as tired as I am, he got a bad dose of it too."
"Situation?"
"Not too good. As far as I can tell, no one is around on this island. Most likely we'll have to set up transponders and wait to be rescued."
"So survival training until then."
"No, duh."
Rei turned back to her plug. "We must retrieve our emergency supplies. I will also get Ikari-kun's. It would be wise to get yours as well."
"Hey! Don't tell me what to do! I don't take orders from a doll!"
Rei was tempted to say, "I'm not a doll." But she kept quiet as she went back into her plug. Asuka did the same in her own, but the kit was wedged under the seat, so it took a while for her to remove it. Once she came out with the pack in hand, she found Rei sitting next to Shinji with two packs.
'I'd like to know how she's so fast even though she doesn't have enough energy to walk.'
Rei looked at her. "I will tend to Ikari-kun."
'She seems rather protective of him. I hope that's not love blossoming, because that would be a match made in hell.' "I'll set up the transponder."
Asuka pulled out a tripod, opened it up, screwed a small cylinder to it, and unfolded a miniature satellite dish on top of it. She flipped the switch. Nothing happened. She did it a few more times. Still nothing. 'Damn US made crap.' She swapped out the batteries and tried again. Nothing happened. "Hey, Wondergirl! Toss me over your transponder. Mine isn't working." She repeated the same procedure with the new equipment sent over to her. Still nothing.
"Is that one useless as well?" Rei asked.
"About as useless as Shinji in school."
Shinji groaned as he opened his eyes, "I heard that. Ungh! Someone tell the guy with the jackhammer to lay off."
Asuka crawled over to the two other pilots and looked down upon the boy. "Well, good morning. Sleep well, baka?"
"Not particularly."
"Well now that you're up, you can fix us breakfast." At the mention of food, Shinji's stomach growled.
"Have some emergency kit rations. I'm too exhausted to make anything. And why haven't I woken up in a hospital? Hasn't Rescue found us yet?"
"I do not believe they can. Our transponders will not work." Rei answered as she unwrapped an energy bar for him.
He took it. "Thanks. They should be able to track us through our plug-suits, well, at least yours. Mine's dead." He took a bite of the bar and swallowed hard, "God, this tastes like crap."
"You were in that Angel for a long time, baka. How'd you break free anyway?" Asuka joined.
"It was a desire...I wanted to see you again. I wanted to see everyone again, one last time." He finished his bar and Rei opened up some water without him asking. He sat up and sipped. "How long have I been out anyway?"
"Well, let me check." Asuka pulled the screen on the back of her wrist close to her face and pressed a button on her plugsuit. She pressed it again, then a few more times. "What the hell? Mine can't be dead too!"
Rei tested hers as well. "As is mine. Either our batteries in the plug-suits ran out and the transponders are defective, or there is something else at work in this place."
Asuka took a bite of her own bar of food and she winced at the taste, "We need to find a way out of here."
Shinji looked into the sky. He blinked for a second. "We just might. Look up there!"
The other two looked to the heavens and a lone object twinkled above them in the sky far above. Asuka asked, "Is that a plane?"
Rei answered, "It is most probable."
Asuka dove for her pack and pulled out a flare gun. She loaded it, took aim, and fired. A trail of smoke lit up as the flare flew a few hundred feet into the air. "Please see it, please see it, please see it!"
The twinkling object changed course. "I believe it saw it, Pilot Soryu."
"Yes!" Shinji smiled. His smile soon turned into a fearful frown as the object closed in on them. Shinji was able to make out translucent wings on a humanoid form. He scrambled for the gun in his kit and loaded it. Rei went wide eyed at the sight of the object coming towards them. Asuka became petrified.
"This is the kind of help we DON'T need!" Asuka finally said.
"Could this be an Angel?" Rei asked.
"I don't like this." Shinji said.
The human landed some feet away. He had red hair, and instead of floating towards them on his wings, he walked. He wore a silvery-red armor, and had a sword attached to his belt. "Interesting signal. I did not know any technology like that existed." He walked towards the children. Shinji unhooked the safety and cocked the gun. "Do you..."
Shinji snapped, "DAMNED ANGEL!!" His Eva training kicked in as he fired three shots perfectly on target.
The man pulled out his sword. "Guardian!" A yellow and green ball of light surrounded him and it took the bullets' impacts.
Asuka cried, "Is that an AT Field!?"
Rei answered, "I have never seen such a thing before."
The ball of energy dissipated and the man spoke. "Advanced magitechnology. Where did you children come from?"
"We're not telling you anything, Seraphim Angel!" Shinji hissed.
"So you have heard of me and my kind. That is odd in and of itself. I know someone who would be quite interested in meeting you. Follow me."
"We're not going anywhere with you!"
"I do not wish to harm you, so..."
"KRATOS!" The red-haired man turned around at the mention of his name. Eight people jump off of the Riehards as they recede into the Wing Pack.
Asuka whispered first, "Who are these guys?"
"They seem to be quite a motley crew, don't they, Asuka?" Shinji returned in the same tone.
The one with brown hair drew the two swords at his hips. "Kratos, you traitorous swine! What are you doing to those people?"
"Lloyd. I should have known you'd be here. I was trying to help them."
'That guy can't be much older than I am, and yet he's holding those swords like a pro would!' Shinji thought.
"Like we buy that! You were probably going to take advantage of those cute hunnies over there and toss that stick-boy aside like a piece of driftwood." A prettyboy red-head smiled at the girls.
'I hate the guy already and I don't even know his name.' Asuka put a cross look on her face.
"You are untrustworthy, Kratos. We will defend these children if you do not desist." A small pink haired girl pulled out a very large axe while remaining stoic.
'This girl reminds me of myself.' Rei kept her emotionless stare.
"There is no need for that. I have no wish to fight you today." Kratos sheathed his sword.
"Still can't bring yourself to admit that you won't be able to win against me?" Lloyd still had his swords poised.
Kratos walked slowly past him as the others made room for his passage. "You still lack the skills to defeat me. But I do think you will be able to take care of these newcomers. I will leave them with you for now. Watch over them for me. Farewell." Kratos launched up into the sky.
All parties put away their weapons as the man flew away. A young blonde almost made Shinji pull out his gun again when she opened up some red and purple wings and flew towards them, but Rei stopped his hand. "No, Ikari. This one is different."
"Is everyone all right?" The girl said. "I'm sorry about all the commotion, but we've had a bit of history with Kratos. We'll talk about that some other time."
A tall blue-gray haired woman rushed past them towards the entry plugs. If the pilots had looked hard enough, then they would have seen pink hearts rising from the top of her head. "This is amazing! I've never seen magitechnology like this before, or even heard about! Oxygenated Liquid envelopment, holographic imaging, it's beautiful!"
A sweatdrop appeared on Asuka's head as well as a boy with the same color hair as the woman. "Hey lady, that stuff is top secret. I'd appreciate if you didn't look at our entry-plugs too closely." Asuka spoke, but the woman still raved on.
"Sorry about her. She gets this way sometimes." The blue-haired boy spoke.
"The sun is starting to set, perhaps we should set up camp." A very tall blue haired man in handcuffs stopped in front of them.
'This guy gives me the creeps.' Shinji thought.
They began to set up camp.
The sun had set, and the campfire had been lit by an interesting little item on Lloyd's finger. He called it the Sorcerer's Ring. All eleven people gathered around the fire in a circle. The air was thick with anticipation, but no one wished to speak. The blonde haired girl was the first to break the ice.
"Those are some interesting outfits you have there. Are they the latest style?" Everyone but her flipped over on their faces in disbelief at her statement. They quickly recovered. "What?"
"Collette! You ask them about their outfits before we even know their names?" Lloyd rolled his eyes at her.
"Hehe. It was the only thing I could think of to say. But now that you mention it, we haven't been introduced at all. Sorry about that. My name's Collette. I'm the Chosen of Sylverant."
"And you probably already figured out that my name's Lloyd. The baddest swordsman on two worlds, haha!"
"By baddest, you mean the least skilled, of course." The blue-haired boy said.
"HEY!"
"I'm Genis, half-elf and resident brainiac of the younger crew."
"I'm his older sister, Raine. I'm a professor at their school. I also love archeology." The blue-haired woman spoke.
"She loves it to a fault." She slaped Genis upside the head. "OW!"
"Where are my manners? I am Zelos Wilder, the Chosen of Tethe'-alla." The red-haired pretty-boy took a bow. "I would enjoy it very much to get to know you two lovely ladies more later."
"Will you give it a rest already, Zelos? It's obvious that you can't get any woman in our group, so now you try for newcomers? You're pathetic. Ignore him if you can. I'm Sheena, the summoner." A black haired young lady spoke.
"Can you blame me for trying?" Zelos responded.
"Of course we can. You have failed in charming our group, and you still refuse to learn from your mistakes. I am Presea." The pink haired girl leaned on her giant axe.
"Finally, I am Regal." The large man with blue hair and a serious look spoke up. "Forgive my appearance. I am not as dangerous as I look."
Asuka said, "And the handcuffs?"
"I bear these as the mark of murder which I once committed."
"I've told you you don't have to keep them on, Regal. We've all committed murder here for our mission to save both worlds." Genis said.
Asuka laughed, "So I guess we're all a bunch of murderers here."
The night became silent in reflection. But soon Rei spoke up. "I am Rei Ayanami, pilot of Unit 00."
Shinji sat with his legs pulled up to his chin. He shot glares at Collette and remained silent.
"I'm Asuka Langley Soryu, the best damn Evangelion pilot you've ever seen. I have exclusive rights to Unit 02. The idiot next to me is Shinji Ikari, pilot of Unit 01."
The eight people of the group blinked. "Evangelions?" One of them asked.
"You've never heard of Evangelions?"
"I have studied every history and current event list in the worlds, and I have never heard mention of Evangelions. Just where are you people from anyway?" Raine said, matter-of-factly.
"Tokyo-3."
"Tokyo-3? You mean Meltokio don't you?" Sheena piped up.
"No. Tokyo-3, the stronghold of man. The greatest defense against the Angels who attempt to destroy us." Rei interrupted.
"Which world are you from?" Lloyd asked.
"World? We're from Earth. Aren't you? I mean, this is Earth isn't it?" Asuka looked quizzical.
"Actually no. This is Tethe'-alla. I'm from Sylverant."
"Then how...?"
"The twelfth." Shinji finally spoke.
Presea asked, "I'm sorry?"
"The twelfth Angel must have sent us here before it killed itself. But how? Why?"
"Angel? Did you say Angel?" Collette suddenly got in Shinji's face, looking as sweet as ever. "What do you know about them? They could be related to the Cruxius Seraphim."
"You should know, you're one of them. You've got wings."
"Shinji!" Asuka hit him, "Sorry for his behavior, we've been battling Angels for nearly a year now. Our manners have sort of gone down the drain. Thanks for helping us against that Kratos guy before."
"Ah, it's no problem." Lloyd said as Collette backed away to her original spot.
"Travelers from a place called Earth, eh?" Zelos spoke. "Are all of the girls on your world as cute as you two?"
"Back off, Casanova. We're not interested." Asuka shot at him. His face faulted.
"So what are you three going to do now?" Raine interjected.
"What do you mean?" Rei answered, sort of.
"Well you're here, on Tethe'-alla, and you say you come from Earth, where apparently you're fighting some sort of war. Now that you're here, what are you going to do?"
"I didn't really think of that." Asuka looked down.
"We must return. The next Angel may appear soon, and without our ability to pilot Evangelions, our world may be lost."
"That's sad. Tomorrow, we'll see if we can take you back to your world on the Riehards. Maybe we can take a trip through the rip between Tethe'-alla and Sylverant and find your world along the way." Lloyd said.
"It may not be that simple, Lloyd." Genis spoke.
"I know, I know, but we've got to try something!"
"We'll need to take those plugs with us." Asuka thumbed her finger behind her.
Zelos pulled out a small box. "No problem! We'll just use my Wing Pack." He opened it up and the plugs shrank and jumped inside. He then put it away.
"Wow! We'll take three of those! Imagine on taking your Eva on the go, Shinji!" Asuka told the boy. He remained silent. "Shinji! Earth, I mean Tethe'-alla to Shinji! Anyone in there?"
"What? Oh, sorry."
"Why can't you pay attention once in a while?"
"Sorry."
"Will you stop apologizing?"
"Sorry."
"That's enough already!"
"Sor...."
Lloyd burst out laughing. "He apologizes just like Collette! Anyway, why don't you join up with us for now? These worlds are dangerous, and you'll need protection if you want to go around here. Fortunately, we have some spare weapons. Take your pick."
The eight members took out their spare weapons and laid them in front of the newcomers. Rei picked up one of Genis's Kendama. "This is a Kendama, correct?"
"Yep. That's the Falling Star. It's a nice one." Genis answered. "It's rather difficult to use, I'm not...."
She began to swing it professionally, letting the top ball on and off, and catching it again. "I used something similar to study hand-to-hand combat."
"I...I'm stunned! Take it, Rei, it's yours."
"Thank you."
Shinji picked up two Chakran. "What are these?"
Collette answered, "Oh, those are some of my Chakran. That's the Ring Whirlwind."
He put them down in disgust. "I'd better not. I could use something lightweight though. What's this?" He picks up two yellow cards.
Sheena answered. "Those are my Lightning Seal cards. They're actually quite powerful, but you have to actually hit someone with it for it to take effect. Try it out. I'll let you keep them if you like them."
"Thank you, Miss Sheena."
Asuka walked back and forth between the axes and the daggers. "I'm proficient in both forms of combat, but I think I'll take this blue knife/dagger here."
Zelos stood next to her, "Oh, that's the Ice Dagger. Good choice. Now a part of me will always be with you."
"Keep it up and you'll lose some important parts." He backed away quickly.
Raine spoke up, "We should all get some rest. Tomorrow is going to be a long day."
They all went to sleep.
"Shinji joined the party."
"Shinji learned Shock Seal."
"Shinji learned Seal Defense."
"Shinji learned Drain Seal."
"Rei joined the party."
"Rei learned Quake."
"Rei learned AT Protect."
"Rei learned Double First Aid."
"Asuka joined the party."
"Asuka learned Flaming Drive."
"Asuka learned Red Wind."
"Asuka learned Demonic Thrust."
Shinji woke with a start. Everyone else still slept, or seemed to sleep. He covered his mouth to muffle the scream his nightmare produced. It was the middle of the night. He got up and walked to an outcropping of rocks and felt the breeze. He sat down and put his knees to his chin and stared into the distance.
'I never thought any of this was possible. Becoming a pilot of a giant robot, every day having your life risked, the world's fate in your hands. Your friends getting hurt. It's just too much sometimes. And now....' Shinji buried his face in his knees, 'and now I'm in a place that isn't even remotely familiar.'
He heard a shuffle next to him and he looked up. Sheena had sat down next to him. "Hey kid, you okay?"
"Aside from having my reality ripped to shreds, yes."
"The stars are beautiful tonight. The constellations are perfectly aligned."
"I don't recognize any of them. Do you think my world is out there somewhere?"
"I have no clue."
"So why are you up?"
"I could ask you the same question. It was my shift on the night watch."
"I see. I couldn't sleep."
"You were in a war, right? Why would your leaders send kids to fight?"
"Because we're the only ones that were capable of piloting an Evangelion. That's why we have to head back. The Angels keep attacking." The hairs on his neck bristled at the mention of the word.
"You hate these Angels, don't you?"
"I hate them second only to my Father."
"Your father? Why do..."
"Don't ask. Just don't ask."
"Sorry." At this, Sheena paused. "You don't care much for Collette do you?"
"I'd be lying if I said no. Something about her wings disturbs me. I was a hair away from killing her before."
"She'll grow on you, like she does for everyone. Hell, I was sent to assassinate her, and now I'm on her side."
"That was unexpected."
"Heh, yeah. What do you think about the others?"
"Well...it's nothing."
"Do you realize that when you say that it usually means something's going on?"
"Jeez, even in this world people know that? Grr."
"So spill. I won't tell anyone. Be honest."
"Lloyd seems to be the exact opposite of me, and I suppose that's a good thing, but he's a little on the headstrong side. That could spell trouble. It looks like Professor Raine keeps him and Genis in check. I really should find out more about this world from the Professor."
"Her shift is next, if you want to talk to her then."
"I will. As for Zelos...."
"Ugh! I hate even hearing his name, and I have to travel with him."
"He's got the charming exterior, but I think it's a front for a deeper wound he's trying to protect. I should know about this stuff, because I'm surrounded by it all the time. Regal on the other hand shows his pain outwardly, and it scares everyone."
"He's actually more peaceful then you'd think. At first I didn't think he was capable of murder, then I saw how hard he can kick."
"Presea's eyes are cold, and it closes off her heart."
"You can thank the Cruxius Crystal embedded in her for that. A few weeks ago, she could barely speak, until Lloyd created a Key Crest for her. At least she's opening up, but she doesn't seem to realize that she's just a little girl sometimes."
"Rei is like that too."
Someone's footsteps came up behind them. Before either of them could jump around, Raine spoke. "Sheena, it's time for my watch. Get some rest."
"No problem. See you in the morning Shinji." She stood up.
"Thanks for listening." He said as she walked away. Raine took up the spot where the girl had sat before.
"Can't sleep?"
"No."
"I understand. There's a lot going on in your mind. Even my half-elven mind wouldn't be able to take in everything that you've been exposed to all at once."
"Professor, I was wondering if you could tell me about this land. If I know the story of it, maybe I can find a key to going home."
"It's a long and painful story. Are you sure you don't want to get some sleep instead?"
"I think I need to hear this."
Raine began to speak about the legends of Mithos, Karlan, the Seals, and World Regeneration.
The two girls of oddly colored hair slept facing each other on one side of the fire, or at least seemed to. After Sheena returned to her bed and began to snore, Rei spoke with her eyes closed.
"You should be sleeping."
"So should you." Presea said. Both girls opened their eyes as cold blue met cold red.
"We are similar, you and I."
"I noticed that as well."
"What caused you to become like this?"
"I was the victim of an experiment with the Cruxius Crystals. Lloyd released my personality by containing its power within a Key Crest, but I am afraid that this is all that is left of my personality. What caused you to become like this?"
"Commander Ikari raised me to have few emotions, only the ones required to associate with others. Recently I have begun to lapse into some that I do not understand."
"As have I. You were not raised this way though. Where is your Cruxius Crystal?"
"I have none."
"You indeed have one. I can sense it within you. It must not be visible."
"That is impossible."
"And yet it is true. If my theory is true, then we can expect great things from you, Rei Ayanami. Good night." Rei stared at the little girl as she fell asleep.
Not realizing that Rei and Presea were awake, Asuka began to sneak around to talk to one of her new companions. Her sneaking brought her to Lloyd.
"Hey Lloyd. You awake?" He didn't answer. "Lloyd, can I talk to you for a bit?" He flipped over and opened his mouth, instead of words there came a loud snore. "Pathetic."
"He could sleep through a Desian raid." A voice came from behind her. She spun around and found Collette smiling and bobbing up and down.
"You scared me. How did you get so close and not make a sound?"
"My wings took care of that. I use them to move around at night sometimes, just so I don't wake the others."
"That's very considerate of you. How'd you get your wings anyway?"
"It was when I unlocked the first..." She put her head down and her voice faded. Her wings receded into her back.
"Touchy subject? Fine. You don't have to tell me. We all have those, especially me."
"What did you want to talk to Lloyd about?"
"Shinji."
"Is something wrong with him? I hope he's not sick."
"I'm worried for your safety, Collette. Shinji doesn't like Angels, and if he gets suspicious to a certain point, I'm pretty sure he might try and kill you."
"But I'm not an Angel. At least, I never truly became one."
"I'm sensing that that's bordering on the rough subject line so I won't pry any further. But I was just worried about you."
"Thanks, but I can take care of myself, you know."
"I'm sure you can, Angel girl."
"Speaking of him, where is Shinji anyway?" They looked around, and found him sitting on a ledge next to the Professor. "There he is. What's wrong with him, Asuka?"
"He's a stupid, perverted introvert. He had a bad childhood, and that's left some big scars on him that irks me to no end. Most of the time he just sits in that position listening to his SDAT player. The rest of the time, he's either taking a verbal, and sometimes physical beating from me or apologizing for stuff he didn't do. He really gets on my nerves sometimes, and I'm his roommate."
"I'm sorry, what's an SDAT?"
"Oh, I guess you don't have that type of thing. It's a small box that plays different types of music depending on what is inside it. I'm sure he misses that thing right now. It's his prized possession, and now it's back on Earth. I wonder what he's going to do now?"
"I feel sorry for him. I hope we'll become friends someday."
"Maybe you will, if he ever comes out of that position he's in right now."
"I don't know. Honestly, I think he looks kind of cute like that."
"No way! You're crushing on Shinji?!"
"Hehe. No I'm not. It's just that I can see him and me becoming the greatest of friends. There are only two crushings going on in this camp. One of them is Genis. He's got the hots for Presea."
"That little half-elf has fallen for that mini-Rei? What are the worlds coming to?"
"And Zelos is crushing on every girl in sight."
"Ah yes, Zelos. Proof that woman is far superior to man."
"Asuka, can I ask a favor of you?"
"Sure. What is it?"
"Our lives are in danger every single day. If I'm not in the fight, could you watch over Lloyd for me?"
"If you're not in...sure, Collette. But it looks like there's a third crushing going on in this camp."
Collette blushed at the statement, "Not at all. I'm just worried. Everyone seems to want a piece of him."
"And you seem to want a different piece than the others." Asuka yawned, "I'm about to pass out, so I'll see you tomorrow morning." She began to walk away.
"Ya, good night."
After Asuka left, Collette stood over a sleeping Lloyd. "I wish I could tell you the truth, Lloyd. But I'm too afraid that it might hurt you. I can't tell you the truth about this body. But perhaps someone can help me, maybe even her."
(Author's Note: Well, here's the first real chapter. I know it's not much. The start of the plot will really be in like the 6th chapter, but I promise there'll be some excitement before then. Don't stop reading just yet.)