Creation began on 03-22-19

Creation ended on 08-26-20

Neon Genesis Evangelion

You could care less about them

Asuka found Shinji asleep in his room, apparently calling it an early night after he had taken an inventory of his Magisword collection. Looking down at the desk where he left them, the redhead examined the remarkable set of magical swords that gave her roommate and fellow Eva pilot power unlike anything else in existence. But she noticed one was missing from the set.

Where's his Tomato Magisword? She wondered, and looked back at Shinji, seeing that his left hand was holding something red and green.

Taking a closer look, she saw that it was the Tomato Magisword; Shinji was likely sleeping with it right now because he was thinking about Vambre Warrior, the very first person he had spoken to when he was displaced. Down at her feet was Shinji's Magi Mobile, displaying a last call log, which revealed that he had used it recently and had made an attempt to reach out to Vambre…and that the call had gone on for eight minutes.

I guess you were able to contact her, despite being another universe away, she figured and then walked out his room.

-x-

Misato had to let Shinji know who was selected to be the Fourth Child, no matter how much it grieved him. But based on how much Shinji had matured during his time in another universe where he spent years with some people that were, more or less, he was likely to have a different reaction. A more counterproductive one. As she returned home that night, she saw Asuka sitting at the kitchen table.

"Hey," she greeted. "Where's Shinji?"

"He's asleep," she revealed. "He's a heavy sleeper when he trains heavily with a bokken or Magisword. I think he also managed to get in touch with Vambre Warrior earlier."

"He must've been worried that he'd be unable to get in touch with her."

"So, what's going on at NERV?"

"There's a new pilot picked for Evangelion Unit-03."

"Someone Shinji and I know?"

"Toji Suzuhara."

"Oh, how did he get picked to pilot an Eva?"

"Not what I had originally expected to find out…and I think Ritsuko knew about how the selection worked."

"What do you mean?"

"It turns out that every student in your class is a pilot candidate."

"Everyone? The stooges and Hikari, included?"

"Yeah."

"Who do you think is really pulling the strings to get them selected to pilot the Evas?"

"Of everyone affiliated with NERV, the only people with enough influence to ensure anyone gets selected to pilot an Eva…are the commanders…but I think Ritsuko has a hand in the selection, as well."

"Shinji's going to be upset when he finds out. You tell him or do I tell him?"

"I can't lie to him. I'll tell him."

-x-

"…This is the prototype of the Dummy Plug System," Ritsuko informed Gendo as they stood before an Entry Plug that was red instead of white. "It has most of the First Child's synchronization data installed, but the human soul cannot be digitized. In the end, it's just a machine, an imitation of human will."

"The Dummy Plug sends an artificial synchronization signal," Gendo explained. "The Eva thinks that an actual pilot is inside it…and syncs with that connection. Install it within Unit-01 and Unit-02. I'll leave the details surrounding the synchronization between Unit-03 and the Fourth Child to you."

"There are still some software glitches."

"It won't matter, so long as the Eva moves."

-x-

"Why would they pick Toji?" Shinji asked Misato after he was informed by her about the Fourth Child discovery. "Why him of all people? He doesn't even know how to pilot an Eva. To suddenly have him get asked to pilot one is just… Tell me, has he even been told?"

"I think Ritsuko only told him a version of why he was picked out of others that were more qualified, but any version she tells him is only one-tenth of the truth," Misato tells him.

"And what is the truth?"

"Everyone in your class is a pilot candidate, Shinji. The Marduk Institute, the group that selects the pilots for NERV, is nothing more than a fabrication. It's likely that Ritsuko and your father are the ones that choose the pilots."

"Everyone? All of my classmates?"

"Yeah. So…what will you do?"

"Whatever I have to do."

Misato got the impression that when Shinji said that, he implied that he'd use his Magiswords to deal with the situation if it ever went south. Either way, she had to support his choice due to not wanting the Eva (and by extension, NERV) to be responsible for the death of a young teen.

"Be careful, Shinji," she told him. "Not using an Eva may be a death sentence."

"You've seen my past, Misato. You know from past recollection that I can be…unpleasant when pushed to the extreme."

Of course, "unpleasant" was a word that could be used rather loosely. If Misato had to correct Shinji, she would've used words like "aggressive", "brutal", "vengeful", or even "calculating", anything but "unpleasant". And he had the Magiswords to backup his intentions on how to resolve an issue, whether or not it actually involved him or someone he knew or helped alongside the Warrior siblings. But one thing she knew she couldn't do to Shinji was compare him to his father, which was next to impossible; Gendo would more than likely disregard any possibility in saving anyone, even a small child, whereas Shinji, somewhat of a hero in his own regard, would've saved even the most expendable of lives, no matter what anyone else believed.

"Of course, I say that loosely," Shinji told her, "because I have no idea what I'm going to do if things do go sideways."

"I'll probably be the only one to say this, Shinji…but amen to that."

-x-

In the midst of transportation, the large aircraft relocating the production Eva Unit-03 from Massachusetts to Japan had journeyed into a large cloud formation, the pilots under orders to get there within a timely matter. For a brief second, it seemed as though there was a slight shift in pressure in the aircraft, but then everything returned to normal. If anyone had bothered to check for what should've not been there to begin with, they would've noticed that they picked up a stowaway in the one place they were not expecting the stowaway to take up residence in. But nobody was the wiser.

-x-

It was a school day, just another day of educational prowess. Except it wasn't a day of pursuing knowledge for Shinji. No, for him, it was a pursuit for the truth. He needed to speak with Toji, to find out whether or not he had accepted the position as the Fourth Child or was forced into it like he had been forced when the Third Angel attacked. As he saw Kensuke and Toji walk out of the school building, he was hoping that he was making a choice that allowed for Toji to walk away from what he felt was a bad decision that didn't need to escalate further.

Toji, despite hearing what Kensuke had informed him, couldn't believe that Shinji Ikari, in one piece and alive, was outside the school building.

"Shinji," he greeted, "you're back."

"Yeah," he responded.

"You look different."

"Yeah, I've been told that to a degree. In what way?"

"You…seem less timid."

"I was gone for a long time. What has Kensuke told you?"

"Only that you're not someone to treat with the kid gloves if a line gets crossed, whatever he means by that. You come from a broken family that your father intentionally broke, but he didn't say how he found out about it. I mean, what, did you come into some bad inheritance or something your father wanted to get rid of?"

"I'd like to talk about it with you…if you have free time to chat, that is."

"Yeah, I have time."

"Good. I really need to talk with you."

The three walked down the street, their destination being Toji's house. But as they did, Toji had gotten the impression that Shinji, despite not being timid as before the Twelfth Angel incident that NERV claimed had killed him, knew more than he said…and probably expected an explanation as to what he recently discovered. Even if he did tell Shinji, Toji still had a goal to achieve. A personal one that mattered more to him than all of mankind.

-x-

"…So," went Kaji to Misato as they were walking down the NERV hallways toward Central Dogma, "I take it you told Shinji?"

"I did," Misato answers as they turn left in the hall. "He wasn't thrilled to hear about it."

"I didn't expect him to be. What are you going to do about him?"

"I'm more worried about what he's going to do. Where he's been, he's had a long time to deal with his emotions in his own way…and how he deals with something is not as tolerable as we would comprehend sometimes."

"This is a war for the human race, he must know."

"Except that, as people of a nation in a coalition of nations, we don't live in the world. We just live in a country, a small piece of the world. And Shinji…can't see things the way we'd like for him to see them. He has to be able to see the way he does and handle things as he will. To deny him such…is to project our beliefs on what he must do over what he feels he should decide for himself. So, whatever it is that he decides on doing, I support his intentions, knowing that he'll make the best choice to the best of his abilities."

As they reached the command center, Kaji had to wonder just how much Shinji had changed during his time away…and how much of a change would either help or harm his own search for the truth at NERV.

"Anyway, Unit-03 will be here the day after tomorrow," he told her.

"Operational authority over four Evas," she responded, "isn't something I look forward to. Just having three of them is a problem onto itself. If something were to make NERV be considered a sort of superpower, we could declare war for control over the world."

"That's a disturbing fantasy, Katsuragi."

"Just pray that it stays a fantasy."

-x-

It was a rather depressing silence in Toji's room at his house. It had nothing to do with the revelation that Toji explained to his friends that he'd been selected to pilot Unit-03 for NERV. No, it was due to Toji having seen the Magisword that was among the few Shinji had brought with him to try and convince him not to pilot the Eva, regardless of what NERV promised him. The fact that the sword-like tool had been able to reveal everything its owner had ever seen, heard and experienced ever since he took his first breath of life…was like being part of a movie with no way to pause for a bathroom break or to question something.

Toji saw, heard and felt everything Shinji had ever done in his early childhood that was cut short by the demise of his bond with his parents (and he couldn't believe that his father had up and abandoned him just like the boy had said he did), his lonely years of development and lack of bonds. Followed by the months of being an Eva pilot (including the suffering he felt each time he got into the plug), he could see that there had been no evidence that Shinji had ever received any training from anyone on piloting the behemoth before the Third Angel attacked. Everything came after that horrid day, which made Toji regret punching the kid even more; how could anyone's father be in charge of a paramilitary agency…and be such a cold, uncaring jerk with absolutely no remorse towards the pain he caused? And then came the day the Twelfth Angel attacked…and how life changed for Shinji.

The Warriors for Hire, the dragon named Grup, the Magiswords that Shinji either found or bought from Ralphio, the fact that he was able to obtain a sword that would forever embody his past up to the present, and his conviction to protect and restore life rather than allow innocent people (even if "innocent" was loosely thrown around, because any life that was ended by unnatural means was viewed that way). It was an adventure for Shinji, a shift in his perception that was necessary to break him out of his shell and send him off elsewhere where he could do some better form of good. And the Magiswords he had acquired, many of which were capable of defying the laws human beings were bound by, including ones with the power to bring the dead back to life or heal the crippled.

"Vambre!" He heard Shinji yell after he saw the female Warrior for Hire die by the dangerous beast they were facing for the Revival Magisword, and his later use of said Magisword to bring her back to life.

If he could tease Shinji about it, Toji would've said that he was smitten with Vambre, as she was the first person he saw when he came to in the new universe that he was stranded in. But he couldn't joke about Shinji being overprotective of his friends, not even for the sake of making a joke. Not when what he was doing was hardly a game and the creatures he fought to obtain the rarest and strongest of Magiswords were no pranksters, but serious and deadly.

"Damn," he sighed as he sat at his desk. "I know you said you had an awful childhood after your father left you like that, Shinji…but that's worse than I imagined it to be."

"Yeah, his father's a monster," Kensuke added. "The Evas are not what I had initially believed them to be after seeing them from Shinji's point of view. If anything, they're as dangerous as the Angels are, except that NERV…or GEHIRN…made them. But Shinji…are you sure it's just your father who is despicable because of the Evas? Even though it's only for a few moments…it sounded as though your mother was just as committed to what was being done, regardless of how it affected you."

In truth, Shinji didn't want to think much about it, but even he had to admit that with each time he used his Magisword to review his own history, trying to verify everything that happened around him from a time where he was too young to remember anything, he had to consider the possibly that Kensuke was spot-on about his mother being just as culpable as his father. Maybe even more so than his father.

"When we created the Evangelion," he recalled a younger version of the sub-commander speaking to his mother on a sunny day, "were we trying to create a clone of God?"

"Yes," his mother had told him as she held Shinji as a baby. "Human beings can only live on this Earth…but an Evangelion can live forever…along with the human soul that dwells within it. When the sun, moon and the Earth are gone, the Eva will exist…along with the human soul that dwells within it. It'll be lonely, but as long as just one person lives…"

"It will be eternal proof that mankind truly existed," the sub-commander agreed with her.

But Shinji… Shinji couldn't agree with them! He couldn't just accept that some people with agendas were allowed to create a false god to worship over real ones or permit a select few to possess immortality at the expense of the rest of the human race. Even if a billion years did go by and they were all gone, he couldn't allow his mother to serve as a false testament of their existence, even if it was what she wanted…because he didn't want her to do this. Not to him, not to his father (despite how much he probably deserved it), not to anyone.

"I tried not to think about that possibility," he told them, "but now I can't help but consider that it might be true."

"Then…what will you do about it?" Toji asked him.

Shinji gripped his sword in his left hand and responded, "Whatever I have to…in order to prevent them from hurting people."

And they both knew Shinji had the means to stop them from doing such…and now…their friend had more to add to his conviction to stop NERV. And if Toji had known that his friend had a sword that could heal the injured before making a choice to pilot the Eva in exchange for getting his sister better medical care, he would've never made such a choice.

-x-

"…His synchronization is much lower than it was last time," said Maya to Ritsuko when they were evaluating the three pilots in the test plugs. "His recovery may only be physically complete, but his mental recovery may be not be."

"This is not good," Ritsuko expressed; while the other two pilots' synchronization was within acceptable parameters, the Third Child's was below them, making him a liability.

It was the day before the Unit-03 activation test over in Matsushiro, and they were met with minor obstacles in the form of a poor synchronization ratio between the Third Child and Unit-01, the mysterious and rather-miraculous recovery of the Fourth Child's sister…and Commander Ikari's insistence that the Fourth Child still pilot Unit-03 for the activation test. But once Commander Ikari found out about the lack of progress with his son, he was going to get furious and demand results.

"Shinji, whatever it is you're thinking about in there, stop thinking about it," she instructed him over the intercom. "Your current score is less than thirty-two percent."

"I'm not thinking about anything," Shinji defended, which was far from the truth.

If only the personnel were wiser, they'd know that Shinji was deliberately sabotaging his own synchronization with Unit-01. It was necessary for him to do this if he was to implement his own strategy later. The less he had to rely on the Eva, the more he could fall back on his Magiswords; Magiswords were only as strong as the conviction and belief of the person that wielded them.

-x-

"How are you doing so far, Toji?" Misato asked on the day of the activation test.

"Something doesn't feel right in here," Toji informed her; the last time he was in an Eva, it was during a violent situation, but this time, it was just…a strange sense of dread.

"It's probably nothing," went Ritsuko.

Two minutes later…a blinding fire left many regrets…and fewer souls to complain about those regrets to anyone.

-x-

An explosion at Matsushiro. That was all they were told, but beyond that, there was nothing of actual information that was needed to comprehend the situation. With Misato's status unknown, command of the situation was being taken over by Gendo Ikari.

"Make something up, Asuka," Shinji had told Asuka as he left the apartment. "I don't care what the story is. Say I got stuck in the bathroom or misplaced my phone. This is something I gotta try for myself."

Even he's not sure of himself if something he's going to pull off will work out, thought Asuka as she sat in her Eva; the excuse she gave when asked for the whereabouts of the Third Child was that…she didn't know where he was…and that she wasn't his mother. I hope you know what you're doing with those Magiswords of yours, Shinji.

When Asuka and Rei showed up at NERV, they were told that there was an Angel approaching Tokyo-3 and they had to stop it before it reached the city. The Thirteenth Angel, but they were told nothing on what it was or any guess of its abilities. On her screens in her plug, Asuka saw a large, obscured object coming from the direction that was miles from where Matsushiro was once located, but as it came closer and as the sun continued to set in the background, she could see it more clearly. It was Evangelion Unit-03!

"That's the target?" She questioned.

"Correct," responded Commander Ikari.

The Eva…was taken over? Asuka questioned. Where are you, Shinji?

-x-

Soaring through the air on his Hover Sword, Shinji, dressed in his dark clothes he found when he obtained his first Magisword, was heading to where the Matsushiro facility was located when he saw Unit-02 getting attacked by a black Eva.

Oh, no! He realized and brandished two Magiswords from his inventory.

"Legendary Swordmecha Magisword!" The disembodied voice announced as he held them over his head. "Shinji Ikari History Magisword!"

"Super Teamwork Combo," Shinji yelled. "Mecha Me!"

FLASH! A giant flash of light caught the black Eva's attention…and both Evas were gazing at a large, humanoid mecha that resembled a…schoolboy in a dark uniform.

Inside the mecha, Shinji placed four of his Magiswords into four ports to power it with various abilities. He had chosen his Shell Bullet, Zetsuei, Body Poppin' and Double Gauntlet Magiswords; he figured he'd need a combination of defense, offense, adaptability and maneuverability in order to disable this rogue Eva.

"I gotta make sure," he told himself.

"X-Ray Magisword! Telescope Magisword!" The voice announced as Shinji pulled out two more Magiswords; before the battle could begin, the boy needed to know that there weren't any stragglers nearby…or hostages.

"Super Teamwork Combo: Show the Revelation!" Shinji yelled, bringing his two Magiswords together, enabling him to observe the entire vicinity with x-ray vision; if anything with a human skeleton was around, he would see them.

So far, he could see Asuka inside Unit-02, Rei inside Unit-00…and a third skeleton inside Unit-03, which made Shinji uncomfortable. In addition, it appeared that the Entry Plug behind Unit-03 was only halfway-ejected from the Eva, which meant that said behemoth shouldn't have been able to move at all.

"Dammit," he cursed.

-x-

"What is that?" Maya questioned as the whole of Central Dogma saw the giant mecha that resembled a school student (because it didn't exactly resemble Shinji, they were unable to identify it properly).

"It just appeared out of nowhere," Hyuga expressed.

"Do we have communication with it?" Sub-Commander Fuyutsuki asked.

"No, sir," went Shigeru. "It may not have a communication signal."

Suddenly, the mecha changed coloration from black to orange and purple on its arms and torso, sporting thicker armor on its arms (orange) and a pair of strange, ribbon-like appendages coming out of its back (purple). Then, it engaged the Angel, ramming it away from Unit-02.

"Status?" Gendo wanted to know.

"Unit-02 is still operational," Maya confirmed.

"Hey, what is it doing?" Hyuga questioned as the mecha started punching the Angel in the face and waist, followed by its ribbon-like appendages stabbing at its legs, penetrating its lower limbs. "Incredible."

"This thing is attacking the Angel and breaking its limbs," Shigeru realized.

Before Gendo could give an order for the Evas to attack the mecha, said mecha forced the Angel to sit up on the ground and hunch forward, allowing it to remove the Entry Plug that was stuck inside it. They all watched as the Angel shrieked after the plug was removed, performing a sort of death rattle, then collapsing onto the ground.

"The…the blue pattern has faded," Maya revealed, and then watched as the mecha raised its right hand…and released a stream of fire at the black Eva, incinerating it. "Unit-03…the target has gone silent."

"What of the pilot?" Fuyutsuki requested; if the plug was removed, the possibility of salvaging the pilot was within possibility.

"We're receiving biometric telemetry," Hyuga informed, and sighed. "The pilot's alive."

Then, the mecha approached Unit-02…and handed over the salvaged plug. Unit-02 raised its left hand up and accepted the plug, and then the mecha turned to walk away.

"Unit-00, stop that mecha," Gendo ordered; whatever that thing was, he wanted its technology.

Before Unit-00 could raise its rifle up to fire, the mysterious mecha had disappeared from sight, like a ghost vanishing after being allowed to move on from the mortal plane or something.

"The mecha has disappeared," Rei uttered over the intercom.

-x-

Misato heard people talking around her as the sounds of sirens and footsteps stirred her from unconsciousness, and she saw that it was night out.

"What…what happened?" She wondered.

"You're finally awake, Katsuragi," she heard Kaji's voice. "You got lucky."

"Kaji? What happened? Where's Unit-03?"

"It had to be taken out as an Angel," he explained to her.

"And the…the pilot?"

"He was rescued…by some strange mecha that showed up and defeated the Angel. It disappeared shortly after the fight."

Misato sighed and got the feeling that the strange mecha that appeared was none other than Shinji's doing, saving the life of one of his friends.

"Are you alright?" Kaji asked her.

"I'll be fine," she told him.

-x-

Watching from a distance as the rescue crews pulled whoever they could from the ruins of the Matsushiro NERV facility where Unit-03 had been revealed to be an Angel, Shinji, with his Telescope Magisword, got ready to use his Revival Magisword in tandem with his Sun Face Magisword to perform another Super Teamwork Combo to revive the deceased workers. Even if it was against the natural order, he didn't enjoy the fact that multiple lives had been ended because of the Angel and the Eva it possessed.

"Super Teamwork Combo," he uttered as he used them, "Life-giving Warmth."

Wherever there was light illuminating, that was now infused with the rejuvenating power of the Revival Magisword, restoring the deceased men and women, found and yet-to-be found, back to life, no matter where they were around the place. No matter how unusual it seemed, Shinji felt at ease with knowing they would live to see another day. And now, looking down at his pouch of Magiswords, Shinji felt grateful to have them in his possession.

"Thank you, Magiswords," he praised them. "Thank you."

He then turned away and got on his Hover Sword and flew away.

To be continued…

A/N: Again, I apologize for the delay. I'm trying to resume progress on other stories. I hope this pleases each of you until next time. Peace.