The Underworld of Evangelion
A Neon Genesis Evangelion Fanfic incorporating elements of the movie Underworld.
Neon Genesis Evangelion is Copyright of Gainax Studios, and is used here without permission.
Underworld is Copyright of Subterranean Productions LLC, and is used here without their permission.
Written By: StormofDragons
Pre-read, as ever, by my loving wife (hugs and kisses), and my friends at Evamade: ChiRho and Ubersentinel.
As with all of my Evangelion works, this story Appeared FIRST at which is my preferred archive. Updates to this, and other stories, occur at least a week in advance of updates to ffn. If you wish to read this or any other stories I have authored, I encourage you to go there, and check out the fanfiction section. You'll find my works under the same author name StormofDragons.
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The Monsoon had come ashore sometime during the day, and the rain was coming down in sheets as she stood watching the crowds below. The flapping of the dark leather raincoat could be heard over the falling water, and slowly, the woman became visible through the storm. She stood there, on the side of the apartment building, looking at the street below.
Despite the rain, there were hundreds of people milling about. This country had always been too crowded for her tastes, and she'd always held herself aloof, separate from those around her. Now, on her return, she was truly different from the assembled masses.
She'd been a warrior when she was here, within the confines of Tokyo-3 all those years ago. Now, she was a warrior again; a Death Dealer, as those of her profession were known among her kind.
Her kind.
She still had a hard time grasping what had happened to her when she'd returned home to Germany all those years ago. It didn't matter now. She had a mission, to track those who had fled to this city ahead of her, fleeing from her fellow hunters.
She raised the digital camera to her face, and zoomed in on her quarry below. There were three of them walking quickly, ignoring the rain, pushing their way through the pedestrians. She pressed the record button, and filmed the three targets, zooming in closer in an attempt to get better details.
She could see them clearly now. They weren't paying much attention to their surroundings, not like they normally did. Instead they seemed focused on a something ahead of them. She pulled back the zoom, and examined the crowd. Movement attracted her attention, and she watched a figure ahead of her targets, moving fast through the crowd as well.
She tried to zoom in on him closer, but didn't get a good look at him before he turned and walked into the Mag-Lev underground station. Moments later the three targets followed him through the same doors, and she found all the confirmation she needed. Slinging the camera behind her back she leaned out, and released her grip on the balcony she was perched upon. She fell towards the street, thirty meters or more below, and landed as if she had merely stepped off of a curb. She walked quickly towards the Mag-Lev entrance, and pushed her way inside, coming out of the rain for the first time since she'd awakened at sunset.
Reaching behind her, she pulled her two favorite automatic pistols from their holsters in the small of her back, and brought them before her as she pushed through the crowds. She could still see her quarry, towering over the Japanese citizens of Tokyo-3. They were European in origin, and most Europeans, like herself, were taller than the Japanese. The individual they were following was also taller than the majority of the crowds, and easy to pick out. The hood of the sweatshirt he wore hid his features, mostly, but she'd seen enough through her camera lens to know he was male and Japanese.
The man came to a stop at the front of the crowd waiting for the next train, and her three targets spread out, appearing to encircle their quarry. Suddenly the big one, the leader, stiffened, sniffed the air, and turned.
The Lycans eyes locked on hers, and a snarl spread across his lips.
"Bloods!" the big Lycan shouted.
Then they were moving, drawing their guns. They opened fire indiscriminately, and she ducked behind a pillar, the barrage of incoming bullets chipping away at the tiles.
She stepped out around the corner, leveling her gun's and sending a dozen slugs into the Lycans. The nearest one howled in pain as he was hit in the back by three shots, but turned to face her. Lycans were hard to kill, but these rounds had been designed to do just that. Suddenly there were lines creeping over his features, and a look of agony washed over him. Then he was writhing on the ground, convulsions washing through him, before he finally quieted and became still.
The Lycans bullets were splattering through the humans in the crowd as she ducked and dodged. She made the next pillar she was aiming for, putting it between her and the Lycans. She ducked out around her new pillar, and unleashed the contents of both clips, sending thirty rounds into the smaller of the two remaining Lycans.
The big one was backing into the train that had just arrived at the station, and was still shooting, blowing out the windows as he walked through the passengers. She reloaded, preparing to do the same to this one, that she had done to the other.
Then she saw him.
The human the Lycans had followed was dragging an injured human behind the vending machine island near the back of the platform. The woman had been shot at least once, and was in obvious pain.
"It's okay. You're going to be alright. Can you tell me your name?" he was saying to the woman.
"Kimiko," the woman gasped.
"Kimiko, my name's Shinji Ikari. I'm a Doctor. You've been shot, but I'm here, and you're going to be okay," he was saying.
'Shinji,' she thought, stunned to see the boy she knew from so long ago had become the man she saw before her.
She wanted to go to him; to talk with him, and learn all she could about what he'd been through since they'd parted, but she couldn't. She had her priorities. She had made a vow long ago to see the end of this war, and she would see that vow fulfilled.
Her clips were full and ready when she stepped out and opened fire. Her shots tore through the windows of the train, mostly missing the humans, and forcing the Lycan within to duck. Ejecting the spent clips, she snapped two new ones into place, and charged the train. The big Lycan had stopped firing, and was charging through the crowd. She could hear the snapping of flesh and bone as he ran, transforming himself and slaying humans as he passed. With a howl, he crashed through the window at the front of the train.
She followed him, diving past the startled engineers, and crashed through the window and out onto the tracks, beyond the reach of the platform, and within the tunnels that allowed the trains to pass under the city. She raised her guns, prepared to charge down the tunnel, when there was a howl.
The Lycan. Only he wasn't running down the tunnel, he was on the side of the train. She turned and headed down the side. The Lycan was there, standing over the body of a couple humans. They were shredded; the Lycans teeth and claws had ripped them apart.
The Lycan heard her, as she skidded to a stop, and his wolfish muzzle turned, grinning at her as a low rumble issued from his throat.
"Oh Shit!" she said, backing up.
This Lycan had to be an Elder; he already had a few bullet holes and showed no sign of slowing. She emptied both clips from her guns at him, but he kept coming.
"Fuck!" she swore, and turned to run.
The Lycan growled low in his throat as she ran, and she could hear him start to run after her.
She ran, knowing her life depended on speed. Flashing down the tunnel faster than a human could follow, she ducked into an opening off to the right, and ran down an access way. The Lycan followed.
She turned a corner, and ran into a dead end. She spun around, waitingto wait for the Lycan. He wasn't long in coming, running along the wall, as easily as if it were the floor, turning at the corner to follow. She heard a sound beneath her, and noticed that there was a grate here. Reaching down, she flicked the grate up, and dropped into the sewer below.
She ran then, down a maze of passages, away from the grate she'd dropped through. Any second now the Lycan would reach the grate and follow. She flipped her jacket open, grabbing four of the bladed disks there, and threw them back the way she'd come.
The Lycan, sensing his prey's nearness, dropped through the open grate, loping after the Vampire woman. He'd lost the human, but he was about to kill a Death Dealer. It had cost him two pups, but the death of even a single hunter was worth the price.
Suddenly four spinning blades were in front of him, and he couldn't dodge in time. One of the blades missed, but the other three hit him. The silver tipped blades sliced into him, and he howled in agony, crashing to the floor, writhing there in the filth of the sewer.
He thrashed around on the ground until the pain finally faded to a dull throb. Getting up, slowly, he brushed at the blades, but couldn't dislodge them with his paws. He howled in frustration, and tried to smell where his quarry had gone. The Vampire's scent was lost in the stink of sewage that clung to the walls.
The others would not be pleased.
Turning, he trudged through the sewer to where the pack was laired; back to the den.
She hid behind a pillar less than twenty feet from him, and watched as the Lycan turned and left, heading deeper into the sewer. The scent of the sewerage must be confusing him, because there was no way he would just leave her here if he knew she was this close. She waited a few minutes, and then followed him, careful to avoid splashing or disturbing any of the scattered garbage. Maybe she could find where his pack was laired.
She followed him carefully for some time, before he finally turned down a side passage, and she could hear roars and growls coming from within a large chamber beyond.
She had never heard that many Lycans in one place before, it sounded like a large pack. Certainly there were more than two-dozen, maybe even as many as forty or fifty. She checked her ammunition. Only two more clips; call it 60 rounds total. Nowhere near enough to take on the Elder Lycan and a couple pups, let alone the entire den.
She had to tell the others.
###
Shinji was in the staff dressing room, putting his street clothes back on.
"Hey Ikari?"
"Yeah?" he asked, as the young resident came into the room.
"I heard what you did out there. Good job."
"Thanks. I saw her go down, and I couldn't help myself. I'm supposed to be a surgeon; I couldn't stand there and watch her die," Shinji shrugged.
"Still, those weirdo's opening fire like that in the subway. How many casualties were there?" the resident asked.
"Seven dead, and twenty-nine wounded."
"Eight. We lost the one in ER-5."
Shinji stopped pulling on his coat, and stared at the young doctor.
He shrugged.
"Anyway, I brought this to you," he said, taking Shinji's hand and dropping something into it.
"What's this?" Shinji asked, holding the small transparent object up to get a better look at it.
"Part of the slug we took out of one of the victims," he said.
"This is evidence. You could get fired for taking this."
"There's over a hundred others exactly like it. I doubt they'll miss one."
Shinji shook his head, looking at the strange bit of the shell. It was... unusual.
"Seen it yet?" the young man asked.
"A slug? Yeah, I've seen too damn many," he said, preparing to throw it away.
"Not like this. Not until today. Look closer," the other man said.
Shinji did, wondering what he was looking for.
"Well?" he asked.
"Notice anything odd about it?" the intern asked.
"Well, its' not a copper slug," Shinji said, expectantly.
"Nope. Preliminary analysis says it's some form of glass."
"Glass?"
"Yeah, no idea why. There's also trace amounts of some luminous material at half the entry wounds, and a liquid that we at first took for mercury."
"So what was it?" Shinji asked holding the slug up to the light.
"The luminous material is a complete unknown, although one of the Oncologists said it's similar to some of the radioactive compounds they use to treat cancer."
"Interesting. And the mercury like substance?" Shinji asked.
The Intern paused, and then said softly, "It's silver nitrate."
###
"Ms. Ikari, my name is Officer Sakamoto, of the Tokyo-3 Police, may I come in?"
"Certainly, just a moment," Rei said, sliding the door open. "Yes."
"Ms. Ikari, we would like to speak to you about Mr. Ikari," the detective said.
"Shinji? Is something wrong?" Rei asked, only appearing mildly nervous.
"He's fine ma'am, he was involved in a shootout between unknown individuals at a Mag-Lev station today, but was not injured. There were numerous deaths and injuries, and we believe at least two of the assailants are among the casualties. Mister Ikari provided emergency medical aid to many of the wounded, even before the gunfire had stopped."
"That is good," she said, the mask again coming up over her features.
"Our records list you as his nearest relative, so we would like to ask you a few question, if we may," the detective explained.
"Certainly."
"First," he began, pulling out a small palm computer, "Are you and Mister Ikari siblings?"
"Yes, we share the same mother, although we were unaware of each other until we were fourteen," Rei said calmly.
"I see," he made a couple notes. "Do you recognize either of these men?" he asked, holding the palm unit out so she could see the computer reconstructions of the two dead men.
"No I'm afraid not," she said.
"Some witnesses have stated that these men, and possibly an accomplice were following Mr. Ikari. A fourth individual was observed trading gun shots with the three suspects. Can you think of anyone who is likely to hold a grudge against you?"
Rei immediately thought back to their time as pilots and the numerous death threats they had received for killing 'the Lords messengers.'
"No," she stated flatly.
The detective sighed, letting some minor irritation show on his face.
"Alright Ms. Ikari, one last thing. This man and woman were identified as the other two shooters in the station. Are either of them familiar?"
Rei looked at the new pictures the detective showed her, and shook her head in the negative.
"Alright. Well, we'll have a uniformed officer on patrol in the area, in the event you two are bothered by anyone else. If you think of anything else, please don't hesitate to call," he said, handing her a business card.
"Thank you detective," she said, as the detective walked out.
As the door slid closed, Rei turned to walk back into the living room of the apartment she shared with Shinji. She called the hospital and found that Shinji had left twenty minutes before. She checked the clock, and did some mental calculations. If he caught the train on time, he should arrive home in another thirty minutes. Noting that it was much later than he normally returned home, she decided that tonight she would cook dinner for him.
'Soryu,' she thought, her eyes narrowing, as she recalled the sketch of the woman the detective had shown her. She wondered what Shinji would say when she told him.
###
Shinji walked into the apartment, and took off his shoes. He knew that it was late, after midnight in fact, but he wasn't surprised to find the apartment lights still burning brightly.
"I'm home," he called.
"Welcome home Shinji," Rei called back.
The scent of cooking food assaulted his senses, and he followed his nose into the kitchen. Rei was standing before the stove, and was moving her hands in quick, precise movements, preparing a meal. Rei had even prepared tea, and set their clay pot on the table with two cups.
Shinji smiled as he watched her. Teaching Rei to cook had been one of the more enjoyable experiences of his teen years. She had prepared some rice, and was working on a skillet of Sukiyaki.
"Sorry I'm late," he said.
Rei continued to stir the cooking ingredients in silence.
"There was an emergency, I was needed," he explained.
"At least you weren't shot," she said, turning the gas off, and turning to face him.
"So you heard?"
"A detective with the Tokyo-3 Police stopped by to ask me a few questions, and to see if I knew any of the assailants," she said, wiping her hands on a rag, and fetching them each a plate.
"I'm sorry they disturbed you," he said, staring at the floor.
"You could have at least called," she said softly.
"I went back to the hospital with a couple of the wounded, and wound up doing emergency surgery on three patients."
"Are they alright?" she asked, still in the same monotone.
"They'll live. They were luckier than some. After I got out of the ER, I just wanted to come home, so I didn't call. I'm sorry," he said, looking up at her, a sad smile on his face.
Rei smiled back at him, a small slight smile, the only kind of smile she'd ever given him.
"It's alright," she said, "I was just concerned that you were injured. The officer reassured me that you were fine. Here's your plate," she said, handing him a plate full of rice and steaming Sukiyaki.
"Thank you," he said, turning to sit down. They ate in silence for a few minutes before either spoke again.
"The detective said you were treating the wounded in the middle of the firefight," Rei said.
"Yes. I saw several people go down, and had to react. My ER skills took over, and I started to do what I could," Shinji said.
"That was very brave of you Shinji," Rei said.
Shinji blushed, and mumbled something about it being what anyone would do.
"No they wouldn't. You were the only one there who helped."
"How do you know that?" Shinji asked.
"Because the Officer pointed out your act. It was very selfless," she said.
Shinji flushed darker.
"Just doing what I could," he mumbled.
They ate for a few more minutes before Rei spoke again.
"They asked me if I recognized the two dead gunmen, and I told them I didn't."
Shinji nodded, taking a sip of his tea.
"There were not personnel I was familiar with at NERV, nor any of the Terrorists that Colonel Katsuragi has advised us of since we were placed on Combat Reserve," Rei said.
Shinji sipped at his tea again. He casually wondered why Rei was recounting this to him in such detail, but, since it was a break in their otherwise bland daily routine, he let her continue in this vein.
Rei finished her meal, and took the dishes to the sink to clean them. She finished quickly, placed them in the rack to dry, and turned to face him. Shinji had no sooner cleaned his plate than she whisked the dishes from him, cleaned them, and placed them beside hers.
"Rei... is something wrong?" Shinji asked, feeling something was amiss with his 'sister.'
"Hai," she said, formally, and reached into the cabinet behind her to retrieve a large Sake bottle that they usually reserved for special occasions. She heated the contents quickly, and poured a large cup. She then placed the cup in front of Shinji.
"Rei?"
"They also showed me sketches of the other two persons involved in the shootout. I did not recognize the male gunman," she said.
"Meaning you did recognize the other gunman?"
Rei nodded, "But I told the officer I did not."
"Why would you lie to the police Rei? You know that's not right," Shinji observed, wondering at Rei's strange behavior.
She pushed the Sake towards him, but Shinji ignored it. Rei shrugged, and continued, knowing after all these years exactly what Shinji's reaction would be to her next words.
"Well?"
"The other gunman was Pilot Soryu."
Shinji grabbed the cup and downed the contents in one quick gulp, before taking the bottle from her and pouring himself another.
Rei was glad that she had hid the other bottles before he had gotten home, as, at the rate he was going, he'd have probably drunk all of the Sake in the house tonight.
###
"Colonel Katsuragi."
"Mmm... Rei? Rei, how many times have I told you to call me Misato?"
"I no longer keep an accurate count. The last time I remember is two thousand four hundred and seven, whereupon Shinji suggested I stop keeping track."
Misato sighed, holding the receiver away from her mouth and using the back side of it to bang her head.
"Okay Rei, what can I do for you?"
"Could you please come to our apartment tonight? I need to speak to you in private."
Misato glanced at the clock, realizing it was after 2:00am, and almost refused, but Rei did not make casual requests. Ever.
"Is there something I can do for you and Shinji?"
"Shinji will not be joining the conversation," Rei said.
"Oh, is he tied up at work?" Misato asked., knowing that his shifts at the hospital often had him working odd hours for days at a time.
"No. He is here, but he got drunk and passed out almost half an hour ago. I have since put him to bed to 'sleep it off.'"
Misato's eyes widened, and she turned on her bedroom light and looked at the calendar. It wasn't even close to the three dates that she knew Shinji was prone to get this drunk on. Her former charge was not given to drinking, and only did so on three very special days. These three days all had one thing, one person, in common.
Asuka.
"I'll be there as soon as I can get dressed Rei. Say about an hour?"
"That would be excellent Colonel Katsuragi, thank you," Rei said, and hung up the phone.
###
Asuka's red BMW roared through the automatic gates of the old Mansion seated high in the hills overlooking Tokyo-3. She pulled up to the garage, and parked her car before going inside.
Several Vampires, all dressed in beautiful clothes, and enjoying the freshest blood from the rarest of donors occupied the opulent furnishings within.
Asuka felt sick.
Every night she was out on the streets, hunting down Lycans, punishing those random incursions into their territory. She walked quickly down the hallway towards the Lord's Chambers, and pushed her way through the huge oak doors.
"Asuka," the elder vampire said in greeting, only mild annoyance in his voice.
"My Lord," she said, bowing before him, her long hair sweeping along the floor.
"Arise child, and report."
"My Lord, I have encountered something... unprecedented," she said.
"And what might that be?" he asked.
"A den, my Lord, with dozens of Lycans in it."
"That's crazy. There haven't been any large dens for hundreds of years, the only time one appeared was thirty years ago when Selene convinced some of them to follow her mad scheme to kill Viktor," he explained.
"That may be, my Lord, but I have seen it with my own eyes, heard it with my own ears. There is a large den beneath Tokyo-3," Asuka said.
"The perhaps we have found that which we seek. Perhaps we have finally found Selene and her Hybrid lover."
"Perhaps my Lord, I cannot say to that, only what I observed," Asuka said.
"Excellent. Gather the other Death Dealers, and prepare for an assault. I want this blemish removed from my honor and my city immediately," he said.
"Immediately, my Lord," she said, rising at last, and turning to go.
"Asuka," he called.
"Yes, my Lord?"
"Asuka, how many times have I asked you to stop calling me 'my Lord,' and simply call me by my given name?" he said.
"Often, my Lord."
"Very well then, if won't do as I ask, I'll make it an order. You are to use my name when talking to me, and not to refer to me as 'my Lord' any longer," he said, smirking.
"Very well... Kraven."
###
A/N: This story is done by combining the worlds of "EVA" and "Underworld" It takes place years after the end of the series (no EoE, no 3I) and the movie.
The Children of Corvinus: The name given to the three races formed from the descendants of Corvinus, the first true immortal, consisting of the Lycans, Vampires, and Hybrids. All of them are incredibly strong, resistant to injury and disease, and capable of rapid healing and regeneration. All three races can be killed in hand-to-hand combat, or by the complete destruction of their body (i.e. Incineration, etc.). They are able to create "offspring" through their bite, or blood transfusion. Only one in one hundred humans are transformed by this process, the remainder die. Only direct descendants of Corvinus, who carry the disease that mutated to become Lycanthropy and Vampirism can withstand a bite from the first two races. This will give birth to a new Hybrid.
Lycans: Your Basic Werewolf. Silver Bullets can kill them if enough are shot into them. In Wolf form they are very resilient, and can even withstand multiple hits by Silver Nitrate rounds. In Human form, a single SN round is usually fatal. They look human, but can transform into a quasi-wolf form.
Vampires(Bloods): Self Explanatory. The look completely human, except when enraged, their fangs grow and their faces distort. They are extremely strong, and resistant to most injuries. Only sunlight or Lycan UV rounds can kill them
Hybrids: Those rare individuals who have survived a bite by both species, or a bite by another hybrid. Only Decendants of Corvinus, or those injected with Corvinus blood can become Hybrids. Once the Corvinus blood is in there system, bites by, or blood of the two species will trigger the transformation. Not vulnerable to Silver or UV, therefore ONLY physical attacks can harm them, as their bodies regenerate lost or damaged organs. Hybrids appear human until they transform into a muscular form with dark mottled skin, claws like a werewolf and teeth like a vampire. In this form their eyes are totally black.
Shinji tends to drink only on the following three days: Asuka's Birthday, the Anniversary of her Departure from Japan, and the Anniversary of her Disappearance.