HELLO EVERYBODY!! HOW WAS YOUR SUMMER??
Wow, it's been awhile, how's everyone been doing? Well, it took a long time, but here's your newest installement of everyone's favorite story Deviance from the Norm. HOORAY!
Disclaimer: I do not own NGE, Gainax does. I do own all original characters, and if they bear any resemblence to real people or fictional characters in other stories it is merely coincidental
Preread by YouarenotasrandomasI
The new/old commander of Nerv sat behind the giant desk as he stared at the picture engraved along the ceiling and floor.
"The tree of knowledge," he mumbled as he let his memories flow before his eyes.
Knowledge was indeed power, but like the old saying went, power comes at a cost.
"Fuyutsuki," he called to his aide, "You have not asked me any questions"
Standing next to him with his hands behind his back, the old teacher replied, "If there is something you wish to tell me, you would. It is not polite to ask a personal question when someone does not wish to talk about it"
Smiling behind his hands, Gendo leaned back into his chair and stared out the window at the view of the underground fortress, "I missed you, old friend"
Chuckling, Fuyutsuki replied, "Technically it's only been a few minutes for me, so I can't really say the same for you"
Silence descended on the room between the two men. Then, Gendo opened a drawer hidden beneath 'his' desk. Reaching in, he had a satisfied smile as he pulled out a mostly full fifty year scotch.
"Care to join me?" Gendo asked, also pulling out a pair of shot glasses.
Surprised by his offer, the Second replied, "Alright"
Pouring a small measure into the glasses, Gendo and Fuyutsuki slowly drank the harsh liquor, savoring the taste. Around the third cup the new Commander spoke up, surprising Fuyutsuki, who was not accustomed to an open Gendo.
"The version of the world I came from was destroyed. Seele's plans for Instrumentality was a failure, and so was mine"
Staying quiet, so that Gendo could proceed, Fuyutsuki poured another round for them. Taking a sip, the Commander sighed as he continued
"I was a fool for thinking that I could reach into the realms of the gods," he said, staring into his glass, "I threw so much away to get her back, but in the end, I lost everything"
Sighing, Gendo drained the rest of his glass and said softly, "After the last Angel was killed, Seele attacked, catching us off guard. I was with Rei in Central Dogma, preparing my Third Impact. Everything happened so fast after that. From what I was able to gather afterwards, the mass produced units had devoured Unit-02 and had captured Unit-01"
"After that, Third Impact occurred," he continued, a glazed look in his eyes as he recalled that day, "One unplanned by either me or those old fools. Shinji was given the power, the ability to decide what the fate of humanity would be during that moment. And during those few moments of perfection, I saw her again"
Fuyutsuki felt bad as he saw the look of grief and despair on his old student's face. He could easily understand what Yui would say to him in their moment of oneness.
"It was terrible," Gendo continued, "Her rage at me was great and terrible. In that one moment of eternity I was sentenced to a hell unknown to man. And then I was sentenced to another hell"
Taking the scotch, he poured himself a full glass that he downed in one gulp. Grimacing at the sharpness, he sighed as he began the next part of his monologue
"I was sent back to earth, along with Shinji and Asuka. I don't know why he brought me there, or maybe it was my desire to escape Yui, but we were left there. I tried to make amends, but he refused my aid and took her away. I searched for them for weeks, hoping that it wasn't too late"
A tear fell from his eye, surprising Fuyutsuki again at the sharp contrast to the Gendo he had grown to know.
"She was badly injured during the event, and she died from her injuries. Shinji was overcome with such grief that he could not save the one he loved. When I finally found them, he had taken his own life"
Placing a hand over his eyes, Gendo recalled that day with such clarity, "He was smiling, Fuyutsuki, his face at peace. Shinji followed her into the beyond, and he had found his happiness"
"I could not follow, not after what I had done. So I endured in that blasted wasteland that was once earth. For years, I lived, hoping to be redeemed, and allowed a chance to make things right. And then they came"
Turning to look out the window, Gendo asked his aide, "Do you know what the Avatars do when they find a world where life had been blasted away?"
"I believe that I do not know," the other man replied
"They rebuild it," the Commander replied simply, "They clear away the old ruins and debris and help new life to grow upon it, whether by helping native flora and fauna grow and evolve or by allowing other civilizations to move to it. When they discovered me, I was at the brink of madness, and thought them no more than illusions conjured by my lonely mind"
Pulling off his gloves, Fuyutsuki saw a scar encircling the wrist of Gendo's right hand. He knew that was where the key to Instrumentality was kept, and was not really surprised to see the deformity and burns were gone.
"I was given a choice: Continue to live alone in this land until I die, or I could leave and live a new life," Gendo continued, staring at his hand, "It was as if the gods had finally taken pity on an old fool, and gave me a chance to redemption"
The old man sighed as he remembered what happened on that fateful day
Flashback
He sat there in his tattered old clothes as he stared in awe. Standing before him was a man and a woman in a world where he was supposed to be the only person left in existence. The man looked around and gave a sigh of sadness
"To think, a whole world was made devoid of life," the woman said, "It is so sad. To think what these people could have accomplished"
"I know," he said, "but there is some hope, look"
The man pointed at Gendo, who could only stare in surprise at being discovered so quickly. The man approached, and the former commander could see that he was encased in armor. Taking off his visored helmet, Gendo saw a man in his late twenties approaching him
The armored man appeared young, yet his hair was a shade of gray and his green eyes spoke of many things they had seen.
"Hello," the stranger greeted in a different voice, "My name is Triad Krad, and who might you be?"
Receiving no reply, he sighed. The woman suddenly appeared next to them in a rainbow of light. She wore robes like those of Greek times. Her hair was blonde and her eyes the same shade of green as his
The woman asked impetuously, "Is he deaf or dumb? Or maybe he is both?"
Gendo heard the first male voice again, coming from the helmet the one called Krad carried, "My scanners indicate that he is in moderate health. He is quite capable of speaking, so he must be surprised or shocked by our presence"
Sighing, the woman retorted, "Well some of us don't have your scanners, so how was I supposed to know?"
"I do not understand," the helmet responded in its emotionless tone, "You are an AI built into me, you have near complete access to all my functions"
"Hah," the image of the woman said, "Near, is right"
Sighing, the man interrupted what would have been an intense argument, "Stop it, both of you"
"W-who are you?" Gendo asked, finally regaining his voice
"I believe I told you my name," the man with gray hair said, "They are my others, Triad Andromeda and Triad Nathaniel"
The first was directed at the image of the woman, the second to the helmet he carried. To say Gendo was confused would be an understatement
"What do you want?"
"We were doing a routine scan," the helmet responded. A pair of green eyes appeared on the visor and stared at him from its position in Krad's arms
"It was our turn for patrols," the AI continued, "we go and check on all of the worlds, realities, universes, and so forth. This world, aside from you, has no life. We came to access this world and see what could be done with it"
Standing up, Krad looked around, "It's been ruined, but we've worked on worse than this"
Flabbergasted, a word not usually associated with the once feared man, Gendo asked, "You can bring them back? Return the earth to normal?"
Andromeda answered his question, making wide gestures at the ruined landscape around them, "We do not 'return' things to normal. Of the rules we have placed, one states that we do not undo anything. We allow nature to run its course, helping out when needed. When a world ends, we simply build a new one"
"A rule of thumb," the armor interrupted, "We don't do anything unless all sentient life has been wiped clean. So you have an option"
"You can continue to live in wasteland until you die," Andromeda picked up, "At which point we will come back"
"Or," Krad said, "We move you to another reality, and then begin to work"
As if to prove their honesty, he reached down and picked up Gendo's damaged arm and placed his palm on the stump. A glow emanated from where he touched, and when Krad removed his hand, Gendo saw that he had a new hand. Without a second thought, he then got to his knees.
"Take me home," he begged, "Allow me the chance to make it up to my son, the ones he loved, and everyone else"
Startled Krad looked at his associates, "Wow, that was startling"
Eyes frowning in concentration, Andromeda said, "He wants to repent. That's a bit more difficult than simple relocation"
"We must confer," Nathaniel said, "If you would"
The gray-haired man replaced the helmet back on his head, as Andromeda disappeared in a rainbow of light. For a few long minutes, it was just the standing figure and the kneeling figure, silence stretching across the space. Finally, they came to a decision.
"It has been decided;" all three of their voices said at once, "Take my hand"
Reaching out with his trembling hand, Gendo grasped the strangely warm metal gauntlet and was pulled to his feet. Suddenly, a hole opened up below the two. Looking down, the frightened man saw that the abyss continued on endlessly. The next thing he knew, his body began to break apart.
"Do not fear," the one who was three said, "Each Council has their own mode of travel, and this is mine. It is not painful, so please try to relax"
Gendo watched as both of their feet broke apart and was sucked into the vortex below. Then, their legs broke apart, following the feet. By the time the disassembly reached their chests, he could not hold it in any longer and shouted in terror, though he felt no pain, no sensation at all. His scream echoed into nothing as the remains of their bodies was quickly broken apart and sucked into the vortex.
End Flashback
Fuyutsuki could not help it; he chuckled as he thought of Gendo screaming in terror. He was surprised as the other man smiled in amusement as well.
"I know," Gendo replied, "It was a silly thing to be afraid of. And at the end of the trip, we were at what they called, Central Station. It was a culmination of every civilization, species, and culture combined together in a peaceful organization."
Draining another glass of scotch, Fuyutsuki asked, "It must have been amazing, but what happened next?"
"Ah, what happened next was quite an adventure as well"
Flashback
A scream echoed into existence as a hole opened up in the sky. Pieces of metal and man fell from the hole and quickly reassembled the two figures. Gasping for breath, Gendo pulled his hand away from the metal encased figure. Lurching around, he turned and had his breath taken away. He was standing in the middle of an enormous structure, a thousand times larger than the cave Nerv was located back in Tokyo-3.
The first thing to cross his line of sight was a flying machine, causing Gendo to jerk around and follow it, causing him to bump into someone
"Excuse me," the person said in a drawl
The figure he had bumped into was a giant tree. Its face was old and weathered, as it used its arm like branches to gently push to bewildered man to the side
"Watch your step," it told him, "Newcomers are always bumping into people. It's normal, but it still pays to be careful"
Gendo then noticed the wide array of beings that were crossing the floor. All shapes and sizes, they came and went. The floor he stood on was filled with circles of various sizes. He watched as beings came in and left by these circles.
"Come along," the Council who had brought him here said, "You had best not get lost, not here anyway"
They then left what the armored man called the crossing floor. As they walked, Gendo stared in amazement and Krad, the main mind he supposed, explained things
"We will take you to temporary quarters until we find a suitable world for you," he said, voice not muffled by the helmet he wore, "We'll find you a guide to show you round"
Just then, a small boy ran up, "Third Council Triad, how are you?"
"Ah, if it isn't the Second's young apprentice," Andromeda's voice said
"I've finally passed my test," the boy said proudly, holding out a card, "I'm an Avatar now!"
The boy, who appeared no more than ten, dressed as one would think a mage would: blue robes, pointed hat, and he carried a staff a head taller than him. He had brown hair, and wore glasses over his green eyes.
"Good job," Nathaniel's voice congratulated, "Your parents would have been proud"
"Thank you," the boy said, "Oh, who's this?"
"Ah, perfect timing," Krad said, "Keevan, I need you to do a very special job for me. This is Ikari Gendo, though he prefers Rokubungi as his surname, and he's here temporarily until we find a new reality for him to situate in"
"And you want me to be his guide while he's here," the boy finished intuitively
Nodding his head, the three responded in unison, "Thank you. We'll let you know when we finish the paperwork what to do with him. Until then, keep him out of trouble"
"Yes sir," the boy responded, giving them a salute
Without another word, the armored man left. Holding out his hand, the boy introduced himself
"My name is Keevan Markan. Nice to meet you," he introduced with a smile on his young face
Confused, Gendo asked, "How did he know my name?"
"Oh," the boy said, dropping his hand, "It's a side-effect of his mode of transport. He disassembles and reassembles your personal data during the trip, so he pretty much knows everything about you"
The boy waved his hand, "Come on then, let's get this tour started, Mr. Rokubungi"
Following the child, Gendo began to learn more about the world he had just entered
"Um, how long will it take before I can…" Gendo tried to ask, but could not find the words for the question
A mechanical bird flew down and dropped a thin stick into the boy's hands. A holographic screen appeared with writing appearing on it. Keevan read the thing for a few moments before choosing to reply
"Since you want to 'repent', you'll need an alternate version of your world," he explained, "It's impossible to allow two of the same exact person of object in a single reality, so we'll need to find a version of you to replace"
"Oh"
Smiling, Keevan said, "Don't worry, until then you can perform community service. It's hard, but it helps a whole lot"
"Um," Gendo began nervously as he stared at the massive space around them and the myriad of beings walking around them
"Don't worry," the boy said, "I'll be there with you, and everyone needs a friend"
A weary smile appearing on his face, the old man replied, "Arigato"
End Flashback
"Amazing," Fuyutsuki said, "We had figured that the boy might be an Avatar, but to think that he was the first Avatar you met?"
"He was also the first friend I had for years," Gendo added, "That is why I asked that he be along for this mission"
Silence descended again as they drank their scotch. They decided to put away the alcohol, especially since the day had almost ended.
"So," Fuyutsuki asked as they finished their last glass, "What'll happen to the other Gendo?"
"He will take my place in the wasteland," he responded, "He will most likely die and the Avatars will finally rebuild the world"
As they took the elevator to the monorail that would take them to the surface, Fuyutsuki asked, "What will you tell the others? And what will you do about your son? He will hate 'you' for nearly forcing him to kill his friend"
"Do not worry my friend," Gendo said in the confident tone that he shared with the previous Commander, "I have set aside many plans. I swore to myself that I would make things right, and I shall"
Looking at him, Fuyutsuki saw that he had gained the wisdom that came with his years. He may truly be able to redeem himself, and the old man truly wished for it to end on a good note for him and his son.
YES, ANOTHER CHAPTER DOWN!! Thank you all for your patience, I will be back with another chapter for this and for my other story. Until then, send your reviews and keep reading!
Later!