The Paradigm of Tokyo

by Traitor of All Traitors

The day Second Impact happened was a day that nobody ever expected to happen…and nobody would ever recall happening. For fifteen years, the world was in a virtual standstill, with most cities surrounded by large domes of glass and steel. But who built the domes? Why did everyone lose their memories? And why, in Tokyo, Japan, has a young man been chosen by a mysterious giant?

2. A New Dominus

Creation began on 12-26-20

Creation ended on 12-30-20

Neon Genesis Evangelion

The Paradigm of Tokyo: A New Dominus

A/N: Dominus, from the Latin meaning "master" or "owner".

Shinji returned home later that day, instructed not to tell anyone about what he saw at Mr. Kaji's place; Big O was not something the world as a whole was meant to know about out of fear of trying to possess it…or him. If anyone with something to either gain or lose because of its/his discovery, there'd be a lot to answer for before even the answers could found, and Mr. Kaji barely knew anything about Big O, other than its/his name and it/him being something called a Megadeus. So, as he lay on his futon, Shinji wondered why this Big O liked him out of the various others that went to see Mr. Kaji due to one problem or another. He wasn't that special or had much in his life.

"If Big O likes you, then that means you're the only one worthy to operate him," Misato told him as she, being more mobile than Mr. Kaji, showed him more of the black Megadeus. "My father said something about those chosen by the Megadai being able to control them. Based on bits of random memory he had, some of which he was certain weren't even his own, these Megadai were probably intended as war machines. He drew descriptions of at least three, but he was clueless as to who would build them and why anyone would want to use them for war. But if Big O chose you, then that means that right now, you're probably the most important person in Japan. You're the only one that can operate Big O. His Dominus."

Dominus? He thought, seeing that Big O was bigger than most of the older buildings in Tokyo. Me? Why me?

The nearby sound of a train passing by was heard by Shinji…as the sound of it running on tracks slowed down…it became almost indistinguishable from the sound of giant footsteps.

-x-

"…You don't believe that it was a mistake?" Ryoji asked Misato as she helped him into his futon later that night.

"Ever since my father found him, it was like he had to look after two children after my mother died," she told him. "Last I checked, Big O never made a single sound when he was put back together and my father found the other pieces that made up his body were like repair parts, in case he was ever damaged in conflict, like whoever was responsible for building it intended to make more like it. Can you imagine what could happen if there were more than one Big O?"

"I can…and it's horrifying."

In his imagination, the whole of Tokyo was on fire, with people running from an army of at least forty copies of Big O, all smashing the buildings and releasing various weapons that they were capable of using. And then, they would spread from Japan to other parts of the world. Canada, New York, the United Kingdom, China, wherever they could go. It was a nightmare of Hell on Earth with the world ending because of giants made of metal.

"But Shinji Ikari… How can we be certain that he's not going to go around being reckless if he feels the need to get revenge on a bully or something?" Misato asked him.

"What was it your father said? It was about being guilty and not guilty."

"The Three Verdicts. One positive, one troubling, and one severe. 'Cast in the name of God' is how they each begin, but after that beginning, each verdict changes, depending on the person inside Big O. But because Big O never moved or made any indication that he ever accepted anyone inside the cockpit, all my father could ever suspect was that it was the Second Verdict: 'Ye not'."

"Big O refused to do anything."

"But if he moves for Shinji, then it's the First Verdict: 'Ye not guilty'."

-x-

Where am I? Shinji thought, finding himself inside a cockpit he had only seen once before, holding onto a pair of joysticks connected to some sort of metal semicircle surrounding him while a weird, vibrating sound could be heard.

In front of him was a large behemoth that appeared similar to Big O, but it gave off an ominous feeling of inescapable dread because of its apparent smile or grin. And as it walked towards them, the city they were in started to vanish, leaving on what looked like a black and white, grid-like realm behind.

What will you do to prevent this from happening again? He heard a female voice in his head.

"What?" He went in response. "Who…who are you?"

Big Venus, the overseer of the Bigs…and the remover of things that threaten the order of the Play of Life.

"The…the Play of Life? Big Venus?"

Yes. Again, what will you do to prevent all of this from happening again?

"This has happened before?"

Many times over, and yet it seems as though it will happen again because of the arrogance committed by those that seek that which they cannot have, threatening the play that is the world's right to continue going on as though the end never were. What will you do to prevent me from removing the world you know and all the people that reside within it?

"I…I…"

Would you be willing to fight those that threaten to unleash the beginning of the end? Big O would not have chosen you if he didn't see within you a benevolent spirit willing to stand up for those that can't stand up for themselves. The power of a Megadeus can only be wielded by those that can use their power to reach the realm beyond the lies and deceit and restore the truth. In other words, one that sees through the curtain of falsehood and can face the next day without fear of the unknown. Big O sees that within you.

Behind Big Venus, Shinji could see several large monsters and giant robots that seemed similar to Big O, but each one was different in many ways to the black behemoth; he could see one that looked like some type of Frankenstein's Monster while another looked like Big O, but without a lot of armor and was physically shorter.

"If…if I can protect the people, I'll fight to protect the world from you, Big Venus."

The smiling Megadeus stopped in front of him and generated a pair of wings of light from behind herself.

Be careful of those that seek the power of the Megadeus, she told him. Power in the hands of the undeserving, the unworthy…promises nothing but a grim ending for all involved. The end result sought after fifteen years ago was not the one desired by those that chose to seek it, but should it be repeated, there will only be damnation from which there is no salvation without retribution.

And then…her smile morphed into a mouth filled with mechanical teeth, releasing a hideous, mechanical roar the likes of which Shinji had never heard before (A/N: The roar of Unit-01 used in the second episode of the anime), shattering the cockpit he was inside of, sending him plunging into a deep darkness.

"Aaaahh!" He yelled as he fell.

Gasp! He awoke, looking up and seeing his bedroom ceiling as the sun shone through his window, signifying the new day.

But he couldn't stop his hands from shaking. What he had experienced in the dream…felt so real and unlike anything he had experienced before.

Big O would not have chosen you if he didn't see within you a benevolent spirit willing to stand up for those that can't stand up for themselves, he remembered what Big Venus had told him. The end result sought after fifteen years ago was not the one desired by those that chose to seek it, but should it be repeated, there will only be damnation from which there is no salvation without retribution.

If he took the dream serious, then that meant there were people in the world that sought the power of those like Big O, a power that would spell disaster if the wrong people got possession of them. And Big O chose him, meaning he was the keeper of such a power that only he could use…and he had to ensure that it was used to keep the people safe.

"But if Big O chose you, then that means that right now, you're probably the most important person in Japan," he recalled Misato's words to him from yesterday. "You're the only one that can operate Big O. His Dominus."

Big O's Dominus, he sighed and accepted his new position. I'm Big O's Dominus. What to do, what to do, what to do?

He got up from his futon and got ready for school.

-x-

Flick. Within the cockpit of Big O, the primary monitor came on and showed a recording of Shinji's face. Then, it was replaced by a series of words that ran across the screen from right to left.

CAST IN THE NAME OF GOD, YE NOT GUILTY…SHINJI IKARI, it read, and then it powered down again.

To be continued…

A/N: I'm not sure how many chapters of which stories I'll be able to finish before this lousy year ends, but I hope y'all will enjoy this until the new year begins. Peace!