Disclaimer
The series, Neon Genesis Evangelion, from which this work of fiction is based, is owned by GAINAX. Characters presented in this document that come directly from the series are also owned by GAINAX. "Lady Pheaura" owns Madison Timlitt. I own all other original characters.

Evangelion: Primum Revelation
Chapter 12: Chatter
Written by T.S. a.k.a. "Kain Tempest"
German Translations by "Steve Vader"

The smell of fried fish and the crackle of the frying pan filled the air of the kitchen. Humming a little tune to himself as he flipped the fish over, ever under the watchful eyes of a very particular warm water penguin. Near the opposite end of the kitchen, sitting at the table with only the quiet clink of cutlery betraying his presence, Tristan slowly worked on his breakfast while leafing through the local paper.

"Um, Tristan?" The captain looked up from a cup of coffee, which, to Shinji's relief, was a welcome alternative to the four or five beers that his previous roommate, Misato, had for breakfast.

"What?"

"When should I expect to get back to school." Tristan looked at Shinji strangely and then glanced up at the ceiling.

"You know, now that I think about it… I have no idea. I suppose it's a little difficult for me to remember that you are still fifteen and not a graduate of high school." Shinji gave him a weak, disdainful look.

"Don't you think that's a little…"

"Condescending? I know. Sorry. There's really not any way I can say that without sounding superior. But to tell you the truth, I haven't even checked to see whether or not any form of youth education has been established by the NEC. They must have, considering the amount of kids that have shown up. They couldn't just be running wild." Tristan glanced down at his watch and made a grunt.

"Late for a meeting?" Shinji guessed.

"Nope. Gonna be on time now." Tristan jumped up, grabbing one last slice of toast before throwing on his coat and closing the apartment door behind him.

Tristan was odd in his habits, not exactly like that of an absurd character in a children's novel, but rather, someone who did things differently. Whenever there was a meeting of some sort that was scheduled, he would always ensure that he was early. It would bother him when he gets someplace and is not left idle for very long. He had defended himself by admitting that he wanted to keep ahead of things, but Shinji could tell that he was usually just trying to occupy his time.

Looking back on the conversation he and Tristan had a few days ago, when Asuka first sprained her ankle, Shinji could understand why he wanted to be busy. Tristan believed his heartbreak was real, and whether or not that was true, he wanted to avoid dwelling on it. The easiest way of doing that being focused on something else, like his studies or his job.

Perhaps this was why Shinji was stuck mulling the days away. Having found this small piece of life out in the new world, Shinji didn't have his mind on trying to keep himself and his friends alive. In the beginning, after Third Impact, it was just Asuka and he. Of course they fought but it also seemed like the friendship between them was starting to grow. She was still a handful, but working together and not really wanting to escape the other in fear of being alone brought them closer. Shinji liked it.

When Shigeru joined them in their travels, it began to feel familiar, he rarely ever saw the lieutenant in Tokyo-3, but the commonality that they had a brought out a relationship. He felt like he had a family again, much like when it was him, Misato, and Asuka. Misato and Shigeru both took on the roles of older siblings. Kaji on the other hand, was different, although logically the fact that he and Misato had a relationship would have required Misato to be his foster mother, she didn't have the depth or wisdom that Kaji seemed to have.

A shrieking Pen-Pen interrupted Shinji's stroll down memory lane. With a cry, Shinji immediately flipped the fish out of the frying pan and onto a plate, singed side up. The penguin looked up at him with a pseudo-expression of disappointment on his face.

"Um… Sorry?" The penguin simply continued to stare at him. If the flightless bird wanted to make Shinji feel guilty, mission accomplished.

The air in the room was wet and thick, the smell of mildew was etched in every crack. Blindfolded, the prisoner growled at his disability. Not only detained by the cuffs on his wrist, but the guard had thought it best to make him temporarily blind as well. But considering their background, these troops could have very well used much more brutal tactics to get him to break down. However, knowing better, the prisoner knew that it would only take a few more sessions of interrogation before his captors got frustrated.

The problem was that he knew nothing. All of these accusations of being a spy for the other side of two organizations he never even heard of. Apparently, he had fallen into some kind of clan war among much more right-wing extremists. Apparently, even in an age of reason, bullies like the ones he had to deal with when he was in school still existed. The strong that preyed on the weak, how disgusting. He wanted to spit, but rubbing his dry cracked lips together reminded him that they had been giving him only the minimum amounts of food and water in order to survive, trying to drag out his duration for as long as was necessary.

The sound of two silenced pistol rounds and the subsequent sound of a heavy weight hitting the floor outside of the cell, told the captive that something was afoot. The blindfold on his face didn't make it any easier to get his bearings as to where he was. Whoever, this was, they were willing to kill another human being, even after the guard had put up so much of a struggle just to earn the right to live again. There were always cold people in the world and it seemed as thought he was fated to meet one.

The rattle of keys and the creaking of the cell doors hinges signalled the arrival of this mysterious visitor.

"Who are you?" The captive whispered. The stranger gave a chuckle.

"I'm hear to get you out. Unless you like being beaten and interrogated." The cuffs on his arms were removed and immediately, the prisoner threw the blindfold off of his face to come eye to eye with a familiar man. Or at least, one who had becomean acquaintancea long time ago.

"Is it really you?"

"I guess so."

"But-" The sound of voices outside caused them both to become silent.

"Guess the diversion worked." The rescuer mused. He pulled a pistol from his belt holster and handed it to his charge. "You know how to fire a gun." A nod. "Let's go then, I don't want us to have overstayed our welcome."

After an unsuccessful attempt at appeasing his other roommate, Shinji knew there was nothing to gain from sitting around the apartment, not including the burnt fish and tuna smell, and the fact that there was now an angry penguin moping in front of the television set. Shinji decided that it was time he took an aimless walk. Besides, it was high time that he decide to explore the city of Hamburg on his own.

"Shinji!" Without fail, Madison always had the ability to materialize from nothingness when someone passed through a door. There had to have been a culture somewhere in the world that feared this phenomenon. With her usual smile of her face, the girl from New Zealand approached Shinji. "Is Tristan here?"

"Well… Yes. But he left maybe about, fifteen -twenty minutes ago." Some of the cheer seemed to drain out of Madison's body. "Is everything all right?" The girl sighed.

"Yes, I suppose. I wanted to get a chance to talk to Tristan again. You know I think he's been avoiding me."

"What for?"

"That's what I'm trying to find out. Ever since he decided he was going to put you and Asuka through some kind of training program, he's been so busy that he doesn't even stop for coffee. In fact, I think he's probably brewing a pot or two in his office. Speaking of which, how is that training going? He's not being too rough with you two, is he?"

"Well… I don't think so. Though Asuka may think otherwise."

"Look on the bright side. This probably means you're on Tristan's good side for not having any trouble. I mean, it's not really that easy considering the fact that he often acts like a tough as nails sort of guy. But then again, he's a captain of a militaristic organization at his age, so that's a lot you have to get past to impress him. So how have the sync tests been going?"

"Fine, I suppose. Tristan said that Asuka can't go though the sync tests because of her injury."

"Yeah, that's what I heard from some of the technicians from the box a few days ago. Something about complications with the EVA's articulation if the pilot cannot effectively… Um. It's complicated."

"Don't worry. I barely even know what is usually going on myself." Madison looked back at the apartment.

"So do you know where Tristan is, or when he's going to be back?"

"He said he has a meeting. Though he didn't tell me when he was going to get back or anything at all. Besides the two of us are pretty self-sufficient."

"Two? Oh right, I keep forgetting that the two of your are living together. So what is it like living with Tristan."

"I'm not really sure what to say about him. He seems a lot nicer than he appears, though he seems to want to keep his image consistent." Madison nodded and then glanced at her watch.

"So what are you planning to do for the day?"

"Um… Well I was thinking about taking a walk. There's no point in just sitting around the apartment all day, so…"

"Why don't I come with you. You probably don't know the city that well and you probably don't know how to read German, but Tristan has been teaching you to speak it, hasn't he?"

"Ja?" A wide grin spread across Madison's face.

"Hat er dir gebräuchliche Sätze beigebracht, oder nur Wörter?" There was a long pause as Shinji just stared at the girl.

"Ja?" Madison laughed and looked away for a couple of seconds, only managing to drop the hilarity to a small snicker.

"I apologize, that was mean. I just couldn't help but see the look on your face. You looked like a deer caught in headlights."

"What?"

"It's nothing. Anyway, I have a reservation at Bobby Reich's for lunch and since Tristan is probably not going to show, would you like to come along?"

"Why don't you just reschedule?"

"Because Bobby Reich's is a really popular restaurant, even after the Second and Third Impact, I was lucky I was able to get booked with a table on the jetty."

"I think Tristan wanted to take Asuka and I in that area beforeshe got injured. Boy, she was really disappointed."

"I'm not surprised. Say, why don't we go ask and see if she wants to come along, the more the merrier."

"I don't think that would be a good idea. You-"

"You still haven't resolved that one argument? Well I guess I really can't be the one the decide how you're going to deal with your friendship, but she's a nice girl. I know that makes me sound like a mother, but even though she seems mean, I'm sure deep down she has a heart of gold." Shinji shook his head.

"I really think we need time to let this blow over. I'd like to agree with you and have her come along, but I don't want us to get into a fight and ruin your good time."

"Shinji, I always find myself having a good time when the people I'm with are having a good time. But if it bothers you that much…" Madison finished the sentence by shrugging. Shinji turned away and started down the street. "Wait up!"

"What now?"

"You didn't forget that we're going to the jetty, did you?"

"But I thought you wanted to bring Asuka along."

"No, no. It was just a suggestion. I just don't want to eat alone or cancel the reservation."

"So why don't you just ask Asuka to go along with you?"

"Well the thing is, I don't think we started on good footing when we first met. It was probably something I said. I was only suggesting that she come along because it would be nice to get to know the both of you and I was thinking that if one of her friends was coming along, it would help smooth things over, that's all." Madison took a breath and gave a bit of a chuckle.

"Well I don't really think we're friends, so…"

"Then why don't we just go there ourselves? Just the two of us." A look of shock came across Shinji's face.

"You mean like a d-date?" Madison's eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"Oh no! It's not like that! I just wanted to have some company is all."

"Company?"

"Yes, company."

"And not a date?"

"Nope." Shinji breathed a sigh of relief. He looked up to hear Madison giggling.

"Is something wrong?"

"I just never imagined that you would be so… I'm not really sure what the right word is, but you seem awfully uptight around girls. You really seem shy. It's really cute." Shinji looked away, turning and even redder shade that before. "So, you do you want to come. You haven't told me that you wanted to come."

"Um…" Shinji looked back at Madison and could already see disappointment creeping on her face. He gave a weak smile.

"Of course, I'd be happy to come along." This brought a warm smile to the girl's face.

"That's terrific." Madison looked down at her watch. "So you said that you were planning to take a walk?"

"Y- yeah…"

"Well the reservation isn't until noon, so that means we have a little time to kill, so why don't we take that walk of yours. I can show you around and we can chat for a bit. What do you think?"

"That sounds… Great." Madison's smile widened and she nodded.

"Alright, let's go then." She passed Shinji, giving him just enough time to let out a long breath and the pressure he felt pressing down from this encounter. How strange that he would get so flustered over a small thing such as lunch. What was he afraid of? It wasn't like he had a girlfriend or anything, and not insinuating that he thought that lunch with Madison could be considered a date. He was just keeping her company. Besides, she was usually attached to Tristan. It wouldn't hurt to actually try and start making friends, the captain himself suggested he didn't just coop himself up in the apartment all day. Turning, Shinji followed and slowly caught up to walk beside Madison.

"So how has your day been?" Madison asked after reaching the end of the block.

"I guess it's been a pretty normal day. I got up, had some breakfast, though I burnt the fish." Madison wrinkled her nose.

"Fish? I was wondering why you smelt so strange. But why are you cooking fish?"

"Well it's for…" Shinji paused, wondering what Madison would think if he actually admitted that he and Tristan had a warm-water penguin living in their apartment. "A cat." Shinji lied.

"Wow, you're lucky. I haven't seen many animals show up. But then again, not many animals can actually swim. It's a shame really, I'm going to miss the birds." Shinji looked skyward at the mention, recalling that he never even heard a chirp from neither a bird nor a cricket. It did seem sad that some animals were not going to survive. Millions of years of evolution and who was to expect that everything would return to the ocean again. "So what's her name?"

"It's a he… I think. We call him Pen-Pen."

"Pen-Pen? That's a weird name."

"Well Tristan always preferred just calling him 'the cat', so I thought it would be better if the cat was given a better name than that." Madison shrugged.

"I suppose it makes more sense, but why Pen-Pen?"

"It's a long story."

"Ah." A period of silence followed. Shinji was tempted to ask some questions about Madison, but considering what Tristan told him, about how far the girl was from her home and that fact that she might never see her family or friends ever again could cause her to fall into a depression. Shinji didn't want to be the cause of that problem for Madison. But did that mean he was doing what he was out of pity?

"So what do you think of Germany?" Madison asked out of the clear blue. Shinji looked at her then skyward.

"It's nice. Though I still haven't seen much of it."

"It's weird, isn't it? I feel the same way, but for you it must be different. Considering you've already done this before, having to go to Tokyo-3 and living with complete strangers."

"Well at first, yes, it was strange. In fact, it bothered me terribly, but as I stuck to it, I started to feel better and got used to it. I guess it'll be the same way like it is here."

"Did you ever imagine, before you got to Tokyo-3 that you would become a defender of humanity?"

"Defender of… That name seems kind of absurd."

"You're being modest. I'm sure if it wasn't for you, the Angels would have killed us all. I hear that things got pretty messed up before Third Impact, that NERV was falling apart and disbanding."

"Disbanding?"

"I never heard the details, but the sponsors who had supplied NERV's facilities simply dropped out and it started becoming a scramble. Companies bidding for equipment, agents of multiple governments stepping in. A complete power vacuum." Shinji nodded silently, that didn't sound very far from the truth. As soon as Ka- the Seventeenth Angel was killed, NERV immediately went silent. It was like the calm after a battle, when Shinji was still ready to fight but the threat was long gone. Just silence and him thrashing around in the vacuum. That was what the beginning of Third Impact felt like. The whole world simply held it's breath. But Madison's description of what had happened elsewhere made it sound like there was still movement in the silence, it only helped to paint an even more disturbing picture.

"I even heard a rumour that the Japan branch went renegade." Shinji stopped and thought about it. Tokyo-3 went renegade? That would probably explain why those soldiers came. Were they afraid of what his father was going to do with the Evangelions. What was his father going to do with the EVAs when it was all over? Considering how cold his parent had become, he would probably simply take over the world, after all, aside from the Angels, there was nothing that could stop the EVA series except for other Evangelions.

"Do you believe it happened?" Shinji asked.

"I don't know. Did it happen?"

"I don't know, either. I just pilot EVAs, I have nothing to do with what else goes on."

"But you live with the operations director. You still do now, surely you'd have more input than most other personnel at NERV."

"I guess I just never exercised that…" Shinji trailed off, not being able to find the right word to finish the sentence. "It just wasn't my place."

"If you say so." Madison sighed and looked at their surroundings. "I've always heard so much about the seasons, I hope that one day we'll actually get them back. I'd like to see what snow is."

"Snow…" Shinji tested the word on his tongue. The mythical alter ego of rain. "A friend of mine, back in Tokyo-3 had told me that the ecosystem was beginning to return to it's original state."

"How did he figure that?"

"Cicadas were starting to show up in the fields."

"What's a cicada?"

"It's a chirping insect."

"Like a cricket?"

"Um… Yes?" Madison nodded, her image of the cicada formed rigidlyin her mind.

"I'm not sure that will be the same case this time. I don't think anything will ever be the same." Madison's words ended on a dour note. Shinji knew she was starting to become depressed, no doubt about the loss of her family. Shinji's mind raced to find something to say to pull her out of her misery. Nothing tangible formed in his mind however.

"A-are you okay?" Madison looked up and nodded.

"Yes, I'm fine. It's nothing." Silence followed as they strolled down the sidewalk. "Is there anything you want to ask me?" Shinji thought about it for a moment.

"I've seen you every so often at NERV headquarters and yet I don't know what you really do. So…"

"I was wondering when someone was going to ask that. I suppose I should start from the beginning. After Third Impact occurred, you, Asuka, Tristan, and several others all over the world were quickly brought back. This was before the NEC was established, when it was a bunch of people with jeeps combing the beach and using radios to keep in touch. About two weeks later, I crawled out onto the beach and was found. By that time people started to trickle into the cities. I had gotten pneumonia and since most of the medical facilities were at the cost for such an occurrence, I was to remain there for an extra week.

"It was Tristan's squad that had found me in the first place and he seemed to have made it his personal duty to ensure that I lived. Tristan didn't want anyone he found to die, it was so important to him that humanity survived. He would always check on me back then…" Madison trailed off into a nostalgic revelry.

Shinji was amazed at just how drastic the transformation from what Madison was describing to the normalcy that seemed to bleed from every pore of the city. Not a few months ago this place was abandoned and what would become the NEC was simply a chaotic mess of radio signals sent back and forth between campsites dotting the European coast. Not to mention that Tristan was involved since the very beginning.

"And then what happened?" Madison's mind came back into focus and looked back at Shinji before continuing.

"At the middle of the third week, post Third Impact, I had recovered from my illness and was preparing to go with the next supply convoy to the repopulated areas. Along with food, fuel, and everything else the search teams needed, there were also two men in suits who told Tristan that was being assigned to Hamburg. We went together on the same trip to Hamburg where I found out that he was a NERV Captain before the incident and that the NEC wanted him as part of the E-NERV branch. I guess at that point I became attached to him.

"Even after we were supposed to go our separate ways, he kept visiting me, after noticing that I was starting to become depressed. He pulled some strings and got me a job in NERV."

"So you were never NERV personnel to begin with?" Madison shook her head. "So what do you really do as work?"

"Well I'm good with computers, so I am an assistant network technician. It's nothing that fancy, I'm still working on learning the MAGI programming language. The notes are pretty sparse and so I am often stuck doing more of the drudge work with hard connections. I never knew how much maintenance goes in ensure that the cable connections throughout NERV broke down so quickly. Tristan said it was because of reduced funding. As soon as Unit-02 was created, the facility was neglected and two manufacturing bases were used to start work on the other EVAs commissioned to be done by E-NERV. I think it was because all the Angels seemed to have been converging on Tokyo-3 and considering how much collateral damage the city was taking, they had to send all their funds that way.

"You know, I still can't believe the commander of J-NERV decided to betray all of humanity for his own personal gain."

"The commander… Was my father." Surprise and shock erupted on Madison's face.

"Oh I'm so sorry! I didn't mean-"

"I-it's alright." Shinji waved his hand in a dismissive way. "I really don't take offence to that. In fact, it was common to hear bad things about my father. About his work, about my mother…" Madison became very quiet, listening to Shinji's every word. "I got used to hearing it all and it really didn't mean anything to me by the time I got a letter asking for me to come to Tokyo-3. In fact, if I didn't already hate my father, I would have just burned the letter and be done with it."

"Then why didn't you?" Shinji pondered it for a moment.

"Because, the only reason I wanted to come was to reject him personally. I wanted… I wanted to get back at him for abandoning me. I didn't care about my father's work, I wanted to get back at him, to hurt him as much as he hurt me. All the suffering I had to go through because of him." The rage in Shinji's voice tapered off and he looked down at the concrete underneath his feet. "But then, I got side tracked."

"Evangelion?" Shinji nodded.

"I was swept away into my father's project. I came only to reject him and somehow I ended up becoming so integral. I didn't know what to do. The entire city was depending on me to stop the Angels. But I didn't… And then came-" A vision of a blue-haired girl crawled into Shinji's mind, but immediately was replaced by the vicious leer of Kowaru.

Wincing and sweating, Shinji covered his face with his hands and took several sharp breaths. Madison gently placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Are you okay?" Her answer was Shinji snapping his head up towards the horizon, his eyes hazing, before quickly returning to clarity. "You okay?" Madison repeated. Shinji swallowed the lump in his throat and lowered his gaze to his feet.

"Yeah, I'm fine… It's just…" He took a deep breath. "Sorry."

"Don't be. But what was that all about?"

"I- I don't… I think it's something from piloting EVA, I just started to get these dreams… Nightmares rather. They bother me. Sometimes…"

"Do they happen often?"

"I'm not sure. This is the first time it happened while I was awake… I think."

"Do you want to sit down?"

"No! N-no, I'm f-fine." Shinji saw worry deeply etched on the girl's face. He managed a weak smile. "Really… I feel better now."

"You sure?" Shinji nodded. Madison sighed. "Okay, you scared me for a minute there."

"Sorry."

"There's nothing to apologize for."

"Sorry." Madison sighed and chuckled, she smiled at Shinji.

"You're so cute." Shinji blushed and looked away, Madison got a laugh out of his bashfulness. "Sorry, it's just that I never expected to run into such a shy guy before. Tristan is so absorbed in what he does, he is like stone, it something knew to see someone who acts like a real boy should."

"'Should'?"

"Well… Not really. But, it's… Cute. That's really the only way I can describe it."

"Cute?" Madison nodded. "I see…"

"I didn't offend you, did I?"

"No… It's just that it was the same thing that someone told me, awhile back… A-a girl."

"Asuka?" Shinji shook his head. "Who then?"

"Her name was Kirishima Mana. She was… A friend I made in Tokyo-3." Madison looked down, already assuming the end of the story.

"I'm sorry."

"You shouldn't apologize. You didn't know."

"Yeah, but…"

"Don't worry. She's long gone…" Shinji continued forward, past a silent Madison. He lifted her head to the sudden sound of screeching tires. The two of them jumped back from the curb as a black car stopped next to them. A man in a black suit scrambled out of the back of the car and left it open for them.

"NERV personnel get it." Shinji blinked.

"W- what's-"

"Now!" The agent barked. Madison, knowing the gravity of the situation dragged Shinji to the door of the car and pulled him in after her. The agent followed in. Shinji looked around the darkened confines of the backseat and looked to the suit next to him. As soon as the door closed the vehicle was in motion. The man, dark shades concealing his eyes looked to a bewildered Shinji. "I apologize for my brashness, but this is extremely important, Mr. Ikari."

"What's this all about?" Madison blurted out.

"A target has been sighted to the north, in the Bering Sea." Shinji's heart clenched in his chest. His worst fears had come true.

To Be Continued…

Author's Notes
There is little doubt that I won't get at least a little bit of hate mail after the occurrence of a character that is not really an official part of the Evangelion saga. I'd want to put the blame on Steve, but I know that wouldn't be write, because even though he suggested that I put Iron Maiden's heroine into the story, I still had the final say as to whether or not she would be included or not.

It would also like to address JimmyWolk's review. Before I began writing Primum, I did indeed consult several fan fiction fans and writers concerning the dos and don'ts of an Evangelion fan fiction. The results were informative, and discouraging. ACCs were to be burned at the stake, post 3I was a forbidden subject and under no circumstances should an Eva even be remotely alluded to. Perhaps I don't have the imagination for it, but I've always had a problem with dealing with alternate universe fictions, that is, ones that simply start on an episode and simply throw everything else out the window. But it seems that was the norm and it didn't sit well with me.
Redemption2 pointed out that I have been taking a lot of risks and he is very right. I knew the risk when I started and frankly, I really don't have a problem. I feel I have been monitoring things enough that there is some kind of division between the main and ACCs, but I suppose that's a matter of opinion.

Thus far I've had a pretty clear idea of what is going to occur in Primum, however, now I'm getting into the realm involving a lot of choices. Further, new instalments may take longer to complete as time goes on, my post secondary education comes first after all.