Creation began on 09-06-15
Creation ended on 10-25-18
Neon Genesis Evangelion
Digital Redemption: A city without people
Shinji, nearly dehydrated from all the walking he did, had finally stepped foot onto the streets of a large city. Staying out of the sunlight, he began to look for a place where he could find some water or other drinkable liquids. What he found a little unusual, even for a city of this size, was that he hadn't run into another person just yet.
"Huh?" He gazed up at a large, red tower from afar, recalling a picture he saw of a similar tower a while back. "T…Tokyo Tower?"
Such a part of Japan didn't exist after Second Impact, and yet, here he was, seeing it from a distance, in the safety of the shaded buildings as he searched for a drink.
-x-
Tentomon, as Kabuterimon, flew across the desert, over the vast road that Shinji had taken, carrying Izzy, Joe, Mimi, Tai, Sora, T.K., Kari and their Digimon, along with Evamon herself, towards the urban realm of Machinedramon that was his domain.
"This can't be right," said Izzy, as he saw several buildings that didn't go together in any city. "That's the World Trade Center of New York City…and the Notre Dame cathedral of Paris…and the Transamerica Pyramid of San Francisco."
As Kabuterimon began his descent to the ground, Evamon wondered why a Dark Master like Machinedramon would remake his share of the Digital World into an amalgamation of many cities cobbled together into a megacity. Unless it was just to feel at home in an environment of metal and glass, the idea to reign over a city as big as this one, even when it appeared to be deprived of anyone that wanted to live in it, was beyond her.
Upon making contact with the ground, Izzy took out his computer and tried to access the city's potential, wireless network.
"What are you doing?" Evamon asked him.
"If this place has a wireless network, it may have a surveillance system," he told her. "Machinedramon would likely keep his domain under constant surveillance. So if Shinji's here, we should be able to find him with some ease."
"Provided Machinedramon has a surveillance system," Evamon sighed, "and he's near a camera."
-x-
"Master," one of the two Hagurumon uttered to Machinedramon in his personal lair, "the boy is in the city."
On the screen, Machinedramon saw Shinji entering a convenience store, and knew what needed to be done about him.
"Unleash the Tankmon," he ordered the Hagurumon. "Unleash Megadramon. Seek and destroy boy."
"Yes, Master," they responded, following his orders.
-x-
In the empty store, Shinji, seeing as there was nobody around to even ask for anything, he helped himself to a bottle of water…and then grabbed a small backpack and filled it with more bottles of water and some food. If he was going to spend his time running from the situation he was faced with right now (facing an enemy he didn't want to face, that he hadn't even met yet), he wanted to at least run with some supplies for the long run. Maybe even find a place to hide within the city until the whole thing blew over, whatever he had to do in order to avoid the unavoidable.
-x-
"…I think I've established contact with his Digivice," went Izzy to the others. "He's not too far from us."
"Which direction is he in?" Evamon asked him.
"Eight blocks west of us here."
"Let's go get him, then," said Joe.
Suddenly, the ground started to shake, and Mimi and Palmon saw something coming their way.
"Aaahh!" Mimi screamed, pointing at the large, tank-like monsters that were approaching them. "What are those things?!"
"They're Tankmon," went Palmon to her.
"Tankmon?" Joe questioned her.
"They're heavy artillery Digimon. We better run for cover!"
But before they could do so, something happened with the Tankmon. Before they were less than two blocks away from them, they turned left, going down a different street from the one they were on.
"Huh?" Gomamon reacted to this change with confusion. "Why'd they turn away from us? We were right where they could see us."
"They turned west," went Evamon, fearing for the worst.
"Yeah, so?" Mimi asked her.
"I don't believe we're the ones whom they're after."
"They're going for Shinji?" Tentomon realized; if the Dark Masters viewed Shinji as a greater threat than the other DigiDestined, then it was only natural for their minions to take on this matter to the exclusion of them. "Then we have to get to him before they do!"
-x-
As he stepped out of the store with his bag full of food and supplies, Shinji sighed. With some equipment and sustenance on hand, his chances of surviving here were a bit better than before until he could better his odds a little more.
"What to do next?" He wondered.
Suddenly, the ground started shaking; it was either an earthquake or something heavy was moving along the ground to cause slight tremors.
"Whoa!" He gasped, reaching towards a nearby streetlight, hoping for it to stop soon.
"Target located," he heard a mechanical voice say, and saw a large, tank-like creature coming from around a block, looking at him. "Commence termination."
It raised its left arm up…and fired a missile at him.
"Aaahh!" Shinji gasped and ran from the streetlight, just in time to avoid being blown to pieces with it.
"Target evaded termination," the creature uttered, followed by several more of the same creature behind it. "Recalibrating… Recalibrating…and destroy target."
Shinji just held onto his bag and ran down the street away from the creatures. All he cared to think about right now was that someone wanted him dead for some reason. Sure, he just took some things from a convenience store without paying for them, but that didn't seem like an adequate reason to want him or anyone else dead.
This is insane! He thought, looking back to see if these tank things were still behind him, and ran harder after seeing that they were.
"Shinji," he heard someone yell his name out. "Over here!"
He looked down a street and saw the other kids from earlier with their monsters, but had to continue running ahead because of the tank-monsters.
"Target within range," the Tankmon said, raising their cannons up. "Commence termination."
"Everyone," Tai ordered, "digivolve now!"
The Digimon, with the exception of Evamon, changed into their Champion forms and attacked the Tankmon, managing to knock them out before any of them could fire rockets at Shinji, who disappeared around a corner.
"Evamon, get Shinji!" Sora told the digital creature. "We'll handle these guys!"
Evamon ran down the street, hoping not to see any more Tankmon.
"Shinji!" She called out to him. "Shinji, we're here to help you!"
As she ran around the corner, the boy had just vanished from sight.
"Shinji! Shinji!" She continued to call out to him.
WHOOSH! Something soared high above the buildings, and Evamon looked up at a large, flying creature with what looked like clawed cannons in place of arms and fake wings stitched to its back.
"Oh, no," she gasped, realizing that it was Megadramon, looking for Shinji alongside the Tankmon. "It could level half the city to kill him if it means getting rid of him."
-x-
"The Tankmon squadron has been disabled by the Digimon belonging to the DigiDestined, sir," went one of the Hagurumon to Machinedramon.
"Release the Mekanorimon squadron," Machinedramon ordered, "and summon WaruMonzaemon. If boy enters the sewer system, find him and destroy him."
-x-
Maybe it was luck, but Shinji was able to get away from the Tankmon by falling into an open grate, landing in the sewers beneath the city.
"Hopefully, those tank things are too big to move around down here," he assumed, as the sewers seemed too compact to move around in a large vehicle, but small enough for people to move around through without trouble.
As he walked down the rather-clean sewer tunnel, he failed to hear the footsteps of something nearby…and closing the gap between them.
A large, metal arm reached out from the darkness around him…and pulled him into it, silencing him before he could scream, not that it would've mattered; as Shinji was just trying to avoid anyone that came after him, there wasn't much point in screaming.
-x-
GASP! Evamon gasped, feeling like someone or something had snatched Shinji from the light and dragged him deep into the darkness.
"Evamon?" T.K. asked. "What is it?"
"Someone grabbed Shinji and pulled him into the darkness underground."
"Is he…" Kari asked, but didn't finish her question.
"No…no, he's still alive…but I don't know for how long."
"Then we need to go underground, too," went Sora as her Birdramon scorched what remained of the Tankmon squadron.
Tai's Greymon stomped his left foot down on the street and made a hole.
"Let's go," he told them, and they got in the hole.
-x-
"…Who are you?" Shinji asked the Digimon that pulled him away and, inadvertently, saved him from a large, dark teddy bear with a large claw.
The Digimon that saved him looked like a tall, cybernetic humanoid that had more machine parts than organic ones.
"I am Andromon," the Digimon introduced himself to the boy.
"Andromon?"
"That's right. You're fortunate I was able to find you before WaruMonzaemon did and pulled you in here where you can't be detected by the enemy Machine Digimon."
"How did you find me?"
"Your Digivice sent out a distress signal that I picked up."
Shinji looked up at his Digivice and sighed at how it was the only reason he survived getting ended by a giant teddy with an attitude.
"Based upon your skin temperature, respiratory pattern and minor motor functions," Andromon uttered, "I calculate a seventy-two percent possibility that you are in distress over your current situation as a member of the DigiDestined."
"What? I'm not with the DigiDestined. I'm not out to fight anyone. I just want to avoid conflict."
"The Dark Masters that remain won't see it that way. To them, you're a threat, no matter what you do, whether you fight back or run and hide. All I can tell you is that we're in Machinedramon's territory, and he has all of his forces focused on your apprehension and elimination. Machinedramon has been hard-wired to follow this instruction without question; once an order by his superior, Piedmon, has been given, he can't deviate. He won't eat…he won't sleep…and he will not stop looking for you until you've been eliminated."
Shinji couldn't believe this was happening. Even when he wasn't trying to fight these Dark Masters, they were out to get him because they considered him a threat. There wasn't a single way to try and avoid this matter…and they were using all of their power, their resources and minions to go after him…just because they viewed him as a threat. How was he supposed to avoid this situation if the people in control were gunning for him?
"You can't hide from them, young man," Andromon informed him. "You can't escape from this situation you're in. You have to fight back."
"But I don't want to fight, anymore," he responded. "Why does everyone think the only solution to a violent situation is more violence? Why can't they just sit and talk their problems out?"
"The Dark Masters…and some others, for that matter, are often just too deep in their chosen methods that they don't consider other possibilities. Some have been fighting for so long, they see no other alternative, while others are just made to be corrupt…and the Dark Masters and their minions are all bad news, which is why I'm going to fight them."
"You fight them? I doubt you'll beat them."
"Which is why I'm looking for Digimon survivors that are in hiding down here and across what remains of Spiral Mountain to build up a resistance force. One individual facing a legion is insufficient, but a number of survivors willing to fight back to take back this world is capable of more than one is on their own."
Beep-beep-beep! Shinji's Digivice started beeping, getting their attention.
"Seven other Digivices are down here," Andromon revealed. "The other DigiDestined are looking for you down here."
"No doubt trying to recruit me," he realized.
"DigiDestined don't recruit. They're recruited. They're chosen by forces greater than themselves, to fight the threats that others never could."
"It sounds like having your life being toyed with."
"If the Dark Masters win, they'll be free to toy with any life they choose, unbound by any limitations. The Real World will be open to their manipulations…and everyone there will be at their mercy."
-x-
"None of you are detecting any sign of the boy?" WaruMonzaemon asked the Mekanorimon that were unable to track Shinji.
"Unable to detect bioelectric energy signature," they responded; as they were only able to detect organic being through their bioelectricity, they couldn't detect through infrared, motion sensors or night vision.
"Machinedramon will eliminate us if we don't find him," he told them, losing his patience. "Search the entire sewer system! Use the Numemon if you have to! Find the boy!"
As they abandoned the part of the sewer the Mekanorimon had confirmed he wasn't hiding in, neither they nor WaruMonzaemon saw or heard a part of the walls opening up to reveal Andromon and Shinji stepping out of a small room.
"They were just outside this safe room…and they missed us," Shinji uttered. "Why?"
"It's your Digivice," Andromon explained. "It has been releasing EMP waves that disrupt all enemy tracking systems used by Machinedramon's minions. The Digivices belonging to the other DigiDestined aren't affected, and those allied with them would be able to find you. Only together can you defeat the Dark Masters and save everyone."
Shinji looked at his Digivice and sighed, seeing the seven dots on the screen a short distance from where he was.
"Say I chose to fight them, to help them defeat the Dark Masters," he questioned Andromon, "how do I know that I'm not just heading towards an early grave, because, no matter how selfish it seems, I don't want to die for something I have no faith in."
"I can't answer that question, I'm afraid. All I know about the DigiDestined's responsibility is that they aid in their Digimon's ability to digivolve and face threats they'd otherwise be unable to overcome."
"Oh, that's a game-changer."
Androman could see from a scientific point of view that Shinji was clearly bothered by everything that was going on and fearful of the unknown and under a measure of stress based from his skin temperature, heartrate and other motor functions. From a psychological point of view, the cybernetic Digimon could see that many of these factors stemmed from a degree of personal discord and major lack of social bonds that were of the long-term variety; through subtle use of mental-probing sensors, he could see that the boy had lost his mother at an early age…and was abandoned by his father for over a decade of his life, which left him as a result of the personal, emotional and literal loss of and parental bonds with any adult figures and ineffectiveness at building and maintaining social bonds, more fearful of people than desperate for stable bonds with them.
"Were you not paired with a Digimon of your own?" He asked Shinji.
"Yeah, but she's a reminder of what I did before I landed here," he answered. "Every time I look at her, I'm reminded of what causes me pain, grief, and consumes me until I have nothing left for myself."
"The purpose of the Digimon paired with the DigiDestined, first and foremost, is to protect them from danger at the risk of themselves. The Digimon paired with you is bound by this purpose to protect you, but can't unless you permit her to. Believe in your Digimon, young man. She believes in you. She will protect you from the Dark Masters."
-x-
"…He's nearby," said Tai to Evamon as they walked through the tunnel. "He should be around this corner."
They turned the corner…and were rewarded with the sight of Shinji and Andromon.
"You're with Andromon?" Joe asked.
"He saved me from Machinedramon's forces that were looking for me down here," Shinji answered him, "and informed me of how futile my attempt to walk away from this matter is."
"That's because it is futile, Shinji," Evamon told him. "It doesn't matter if you try to hide or run, the Dark Masters won't stop coming for you. Even if you're not a physical threat to them, they still see you as a threat to their order and control, and more so than the rest of these kids. Why they feel threatened by you, I wish I knew. So…what are you going to do?"
"What other choice do I have if I can't simply walk away?"
Stomp! A loud footstep was heard and they looked away down the other end of the tunnel, seeing WaruMonzaemon and three Mekanorimon.
"You…can…die," he suggested.
"Target in range," the Mekanorimon announced, targeting Shinji over the other children present, even though they were meant to eliminate them, as well; it was just that he was a primary priority. "Engaging Twin Beam attack. Eliminate target."
To be continued…
A/N: I apologize for the huge delay. Life has become more stressful. I will try to get back in touch with my inner fanfic writer as time passes. Peace out.