Disclaimer: The world of Neon Genesis Evangelion and the characters contained within do not belong to me. I am only borrowing them for my own twisted purposes. This story is for entertainment purposes only and not for profit because no one in their right mind would buy a fanfic from me. :)
04/01/2004: After some thought and discussion with my pre-readers, I decided that I needed a prologue to my story that would help readers ease into my unique premises and give clues to the direction that I intend to take this in. I haven't changed the original first chapter so you don't have to read it again unless you want to of course. Enjoy.
Anyway, Funvince Fanfic Enterprises presents:
WISHES OF THE CHILDREN
-By Vincent "Funvince" Nguyen
-Prologue: Last Chance-
Aoba: Both Evangelions are in position and standing by.
Maya: AT-Fields are ready to generate.
Ritsuko: Roger.
Hyuga: T minus 60 seconds to mine drop.
*The ground rumbles. The "shadow" on the surface of the earth begins to crack.*
Asuka: What in the hell is that?
Misato: What's going on?
Hyuga: We don't know!
Maya: All of our sensors are going off the scale!
Ritsuko: But we haven't done anything yet.
Misato: You think it could be Shinji?
Ritsuko: It's impossible! Unit One's power level must be at zero.
*The "sphere" in the sky suddenly splits and bloody fingers appear from the interior trying to rip their way free.*
*Misato and the others scream as they see a blood-soaked horn emerge from inside the body of the "sphere", stabbing its way out to freedom.*
*Evangelion Unit 01 roars as it claws it way out of the sphere and onto the surface.*
Asuka: My god, is that what I'm piloting?
Ritsuko: God in heaven... What kind of monster have we made?
*Unit 01 continues to bellow as it rips through the collapsed shell of its prison to freedom.*
The image froze.
"Our celebration was evidently premature," Bakeo Solecke, Chairman and Sorcerer Supreme of the Council of Nine, said. He sighed heavily. "Our task would have been much easier if Unit 01 had really been destroyed."
He snapped his fingers. Nothing happened. Belatedly, he remembered that he was watching a holographic projection and not a shimmering.
His guest, Aki Tanaka, chuckled then reached out and pressed the Stop button on the remote.
"Damn machines," Solecke muttered. Then he smiled slightly. "Don't let my colleagues hear that. I'm supposed to be the expert on science and technology, after all."
"Things have certainly changed since the last time I was in this office," Tanaka said. "Computers, projectors... your predecessor would not have approved. He would have said that you were undermining the purity of magic by using these toys."
Solecke gave him a weary look. He replied, "He was a fool, as you well know. I will not make the same mistakes. There is an undeniable relationship between science and magic, and it is our over-reliance on one art to the exclusion of the other that has led us to this dilemma."
He pointed to the projector on his desk. "The members of Seele, on the other hand, have never had that problem. They have always used the worst of both crafts for their own ends and look at what they have accomplished! They can pull souls from the ether, create impossible hybrids, and can destroy so-called divine messengers. Say what you will of Keel, but never forget that without him, Seele would still be nothing more than a dying cult."
"What does this have to do with me?" Tanaka asked, inspecting his fingernails. "I am just a humble magic shop owner, after all."
"Your neutrality is ill-placed," Solecke said. "Seele is closer than ever before to performing the Red Earth Ceremony and achieving their goals. The Council of Nine is in no position to stop them. After two thousand years, Seele finally has the chance to be the ruin of us all."
"And you're peeved that they're going to beat you to it?" Tanaka suggested.
"We are nothing like them!" Solecke thundered, rising half-way out of his seat.
Tanaka held up a hand to forestall him. He said, "My apologies. Even though you and your peers refer to yourselves by number and use holograms that are magically constructed rather than technologically, you're different in that you would rather control the world rather than destroy it. How could I ever have confused you two?"
"If you have finished with your derision, may I continue?" Solecke asked coldly. Not waiting for a response, he said, "The other members of the Council have all but given up. They point out that all the predictions of the Dead Sea Scrolls have come true, and that it is pointless to continue to try to defy Fate."
Tanaka rubbed his forehead. "You people are as bad as Keel and his cronies. You put too much stock in prophecies. Those stupid things cause more trouble than they're worth. Are any of you prophets? Do any of you have brains for that matter?"
Solecke closed his eyes for a few seconds then reopened them. He said, "Officially, Seele and the Council can not interfere with each other's activities. At this point, we can't do anything to stop them anyway. Seele is too well-protected and without NERV, Earth will fall to the Angels. Brute force has failed. It's time for subtlety. This is where you come in."
"I'm overjoyed," Tanaka replied flatly.
"Everything comes down to the pilots. The various scenarios of everyone involved center around them. We need them to continue destroying the Angels, but we also need them to make the correct choice when the time comes."
"Why don't you brainwash or threaten them? Aren't you people supposed to be good at things like that?" Tanaka asked, sounding distracted. He took an exaggerated look at his watch. "The trouble with you bureaucratic types is you're so unimaginative. Considering that you're supposed to be the most powerful sorcerers in the world, that's rather sad. Now, I have better things to do than terrorize children..."
"You know it's not that easy!" Solecke roared, clenching his fists tightly. "The time of reckoning depends on free will! If that wasn't so, NERV could simply drug the pilots to the gills before they initiate Third Impact. We don't have time to earn the Children's trust and I hate to admit it, but none of us would be too adept at dealing with these particular teenagers."
"And I would be?" Tanaka asked, leaning forward. His features were stern and his eyes were focused directly on the Chairman.
Solecke shifted in his seat uncomfortably. "You have a... talent for dealing with people who are not quite... normal." Avoiding Tanaka's eyes, Solecke pulled a thick folder out of his desk and slid it over.
"Yes, psychological magic is beyond your scope, isn't it?" Tanaka said scornfully, taking the folder. "Helping others is no doubt a foreign concept. And I wouldn't be so quick to espouse the virtues of normalcy if I were you." He silently read through the file for several minutes, raising an eyebrow every so often.
Finally, he leaned back and sighed. "Fascinating. None of that cases here are that unusual, but it is alarming that not only are these children the expected saviors of our world, but also that their mental conditions have gone unresolved and unchecked for so long."
He spread out a group of photos on the desk then he tapped his finger on a picture of a red-eyed, blue-haired girl. "Most people would notice right away that her facial expressions rarely change. They might assume that she is bored or indifferent with the world around her. They would feel uncomfortable and uneasy around such a person and not bother to look any further. But if they were to take the time, they might notice how closed her body language is and the way she tries to fade into the background. There is more brimming under the surface here than meets the eye."
Tanaka shifted the photos around then picked up one of a red-haired girl with striking blue eyes. "Now we come to this girl Asuka. She seems happy, well-adjusted, and satisfied with life. That's how she wants to be perceived, but look at how her smiles rarely reach her eyes. Notice that while she constantly vies for attention from her peers, she also keeps them at an arm's length. She is a cauldron of conflicting desires. Her traumatic past suggests she might be a little unstable. Again, it is the length of time she has gone untreated that worries me."
He put her photo down and picked up another one of a brown-haired, average-looking boy. "Then we come to our newest pilot. A boy who desperately longs for approval and acceptance, but feels that he doesn't deserve it. Look at how even when he's smiling, his shoulders are slumped and he doesn't make direct eye contact. To sum things up, we have a trio of messed up kids that nobody gives a damn about beyond their use. Whose deficiencies are seen as opportunities to exploit because after all, who is more pliant than a damaged child?"
Tanaka carefully gathered the papers and photos back together and placed them within the folder. He looked up and said, "And this is what playing God comes down to. It wasn't enough to extinguish billions of lives in an instant. They had to create living dead too.
"In a way I can understand it. The desire to be like everyone else is one of the strongest urges there are. Who would want to be isolated and alone? But it's sad, really, how easily humans will trample their fellows in pursuit of such a dream."
Tanaka slowly shook his head. "One wants to die, one believes the world would be better off without him, and one actively courts death with a smile on her face. What is it you expect me to do?"
"We want you to convince the Children to live," Solecke replied solemnly.
"Is that all?" Tanaka asked. He sunk deeper into his seat and closed his eyes. Minutes passed and when he finally opened them, his eyes were clear. He said, "The world can go to hell for all I care, but it seems wrong to make children the instruments of that destruction. Especially children like these who came to this through no fault of their own."
He gave Solecke a piercing glare. "Just to be clear, I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing this for them. But you already knew that I would agree, didn't you? Given our history together and all."
Solecke looked down at his folded hands. He said, "I'm sorry, Aki. But this is our last chance. We don't want to die. It's as simple as that."
"Of course." Tanaka rose from his chair and walked over to the door. He twisted the knob, pulled it toward him then paused. "I will do this task for you, old friend, but do not presume to call me out of retirement again."
Solecke accepted this reproof with a slight nod. Then he asked, "What is it that you will do?"
Tanaka leaned against the frame. He said softly, "What I do best. Create hope where there is none. Then pray that it will actually do some good."
He closed the door behind him.
*Thanks to my pre-readers Feyrbrand and PhilG for forcing me to improve my garbage. ;)