Evangelion is property of Studio Khara and GAINAX.

Street Fighter and Street Fighter: Assassin's Fist are property of CAPCOM.

NEON GENESIS EVANGELION: SENSHI NO MICHI

As soon as Misato had wheeled her car into the NERV facility's main car park, Asuka had already unbuckled her seatbelt and was out of the car, with her bag, the second it pulled into its parking spot. Raising her eyebrows slightly, but saying nothing, Misato glanced back at Shinji, who was moving at a far more sedate pace.

The boy opened his own door, and slid out, dragging his duffel with him, and slinging it over his shoulder.

With a small sigh, Misato removed the keys from the ignition, and stepped out of the car, locking it behind her. Turning to face the two so-called pilots, she began to speak, but the words died in her throat as she struggled to find the right words.

When Misato did speak, her voice was firm and composed, if a little slow.

"Alright. If you'll follow me, I'll take you to…"

Actually, where did they want me to take the kids? Oh, that's right. The EVA cages. But I can't exactly tell them that, can I?

"I'll take you to meet the senior staff. There are some things that need to be ironed out."

At this, Asuka's expression twisted into a slight scowl, while Shinji appeared a little more unsure, taking nervous glances at his surroundings. Without saying anything, Misato turned on her heel, and began walking, inwardly praying that she'd get better at communicating with these kids as time went on. As it was, she was some kind of bizarre kidnapper giving them orders.

As Misato led them through the dizzying maze of steel and fluorescent lights that were the lower levels of the base, she tried to focus on simply getting to the cages as soon as possible.

It only occurred to her ten minutes later that she had no idea where those were.

She could almost feel the gazes of the two kids behind her, judgemental and questioning, and as they walked into an elevator, Asuka mumbled something to her companion about it being the exact same elevator they'd used minutes ago. Misato bristled, but still stayed silent.

Thankfully, her salvation came in the form of Ritsuko Akagi, whose gaze sent the Captain stepping back slightly as the elevator doors parted to reveal it.

"Oh, Ritsuko! I – uh…" Misato made a poor attempt at small talk, but the woman in front of her would have none of it.

"You're twenty minutes late, Captain Katsuragi." Ritsuko replied, blunt, but also a little triumphant, her lips curling into something of a smirk. To the side of them, Asuka whispered something to Shinji that sounded like "Told you so."

Raising one eyebrow, Ritsuko turned to the two children, running her eyes over the two of them. Asuka stood tall and straight, meeting the doctor's gaze with the same determination that she'd glared at Misato with, while Shinji appeared a little more withdrawn, save for the squareness of his stance. In particular, Ritsuko seemed to be focusing on the musculature of the two children, as well as Asuka's gloves.

"So, these are the children." Ritsuko mused, her eyes narrowing in interest. "Ritsuko Akagi, head of Project E Tech Division. A pleasure."

Finally, Asuka spoke clearly, and when she did, it seemed that she was affecting false pleasantry.

"Likewise." The girl's own face seemed to tighten somewhat, while Shinji simply murmured similar, bowing slightly.

The rest of the elevator ride was spent in terse silence, and when Ritsuko ushered them out, Misato breathed an inaudible sigh of relief. The doctor guided them through a door, and into a somewhat large room where several motorised hovercraft were anchored, floating slowly on a sea of red.

The sight of the crimson liquid drew Shinji's gaze for a few seconds, until Asuka grasped his shoulder, shaking him out of his trance. The two walked over to the first hovercraft, that Ritsuko had indicated, and alongside the Captain, stepped into it, with the doctor following behind and pulling the ignition.

As the small craft began to deftly maneuverer through the steel passages and scarlet waters leading up to the cages, Misato dared to look back at the two children. The two were sitting close together, and their expressions were the same as always – Asuka was stony-faced, while Shinji seemed somewhat rattled.

Every time the hovercraft took a particularly sharp turn, the spray of the red liquid would rise slightly higher, and Asuka would wrinkle her nose at the metallic smell. Every so often, she would look over at Shinji, but he seemed to have retreated in on himself, no doubt wondering what would happen. If Asuka remembered correctly, his father worked here.

However, as the boat turned a corner, and accelerated slightly, Asuka's breath caught in her throat at the sight before her.

She could see it.

A part of it, anyway. What appeared to be a portion of a massive arm was visible through a cutaway section of the large metal wall the hovercraft seemed to be on course for. She must have been staring, because Shinji shuffled a little closer to her, murmuring.

"Are you alright?" The boy asked, nearly inaudible over the sound of the engine and the surf.

Asuka nodded stiffly, and turned away from the sight as they got closer, instead focusing on her hands, and the yellow gloves that covered them. She flexed her fingers, then tightened them into fists, angling them so the material of the gloves strained slightly. It was a familiar feeling, one that brought her back down to Earth.

This is it.

The assembled group stepped into a room – pitch-black, save for the sliver of metal walkway illuminated from the light coming in behind them. When the door shut, they were plunged into darkness.

"Shinji Ikari, Asuka Langley Sohryu – I'm going to show you something."

The lights flashed on, too bright, and the two children stepped back slightly, shocked expressions on their faces.

On either side of the four, was a massive form, both submerged in the same red liquid, save for their shoulders and heads.

To the right, the face that Asuka had only seen in her dreams and the occasional, horrid nightmare – a large, boxy visage, no discernable humanity about it, painted in red and white, with an elongated, protruding chin and four, empty green circles, two on either side of the 'face' that served as bizarre eyes.

A wide neck, plated with purple, disappeared down to meet the beginnings of a chest, also painted red. The girl swallowed, and kept her back straight, staring the creature down.

The thing that took Mama. Mama's mind, anyway.

To the left, facing Shinji, was a somewhat different animal. It had somewhat normal eyes, but they were dead and darkened, sunken into black pits in the helmet. There were discernable jaws – metallic, clenched and with a pointed chin, though not as pronounced as the other.

It was painted in all white, with some red highlighting, and appeared somewhat – human, if that was the correct word. Its 'helmet' could be likened to a Samurai's helm – coming down the sides of the face and tapering off at the back, and a tall horn proudly spiked upwards in the middle of the forehead region.

The boy couldn't help but step back slightly, shaken, and Ritsuko stepped forward, casually passing him by to stand closer to these strange entities.

"You're looking at the most advanced weapons systems ever designed by man. The synthetic humanoid Evangelion," the doctor mused, a blank, professional expression on her face . "Unit One..."

Ritsuko indicated the great white beast, and then turned around to face its crimson companion. "Unit Two."

Asuka ground her teeth slightly, but kept composed, finally speaking after a few moments. "So my family's work was moved from Germany."

"Yes, it was."

The new voice echoed from above them, and both Shinji and Asuka whirled to find the source.

From up on high, far above Unit One's head, Commander Gendo Ikari scrutinised the two with a clinical eye. Separated from the room below him by a glass plate, his voice was somewhat tinny and distorted by the speakers transmitting it.

Asuka frowned at the sight of the Commander, but Shinji simply stared, mouth open slightly and eyes wide, as if he was staring at some kind of god or impossibility.

"F…Father?" The word was unfamiliar and slow from disuse, and the boy swallowed, his stance instinctively straightening up as the man's eyes flew to him like a hawk.

"It's been quite a while." The man replied, voice level and countenance cold.

A wave of memories and emotions crashed over Shinji, and the boy shook slightly in his father's presence, almost as if he was the same sobbing child that had been discarded all those years ago. He avoided the man's gaze, his fringe hiding his eyes

Ten years ago.

Shinji didn't know what was going on. Nobody was telling him anything – after Mother had vanished, Father had changed – had disappeared for days before he reappeared, and when he did, he had nothing for Shinji save a packed suitcase.

Left on the scorching summer street, the boy cried silently to himself, sitting on the edge of the curb. Before Father had disappeared, he had told him to wait for his 'teacher'. Whoever that was, Shinji didn't care – he just wanted someone to take him away from here and tell him Mother and Father would be back soon.

With a sniff, the boy tugged at the collar of his shirt, which was slipping off one of his shoulders. Rubbing at his eyes with his palms, Shinji drew into himself, his knees to his chest as he closed his eyes.

He stayed like that for what must have been an hour or more – until someone came.

Eyes opening when the sound of crunching gravel was heard, Shinji turned to see the new arrival, but the sun blinded him somewhat, obscuring their features.

Blinking several times, he found relief from the light when the man – it must have been a man, for the stranger's frame was tall and wide – stepped in front of it.

Shinji shuffled back slightly, as the man kneeled in front of him, his features visible. Kind eyes and a curious expression stared at him, and the boy sniffed slightly, before speaking.

"A – Are you my teacher?"

Now.

Seeming to buckle slightly under the weight of the memory, the boy took a moment to fully straighten up again, but the man called 'Father' still towered over him.

Shinji remained silent, along with Asuka, until to their left, Ritsuko spoke once more.

"Shinji – Asuka. You will be the pilots."

At this, Shinji visibly started, whilst Asuka's posture seemed to crumple slightly, with little sign of shock – only bitter acceptance.

Behind the three, Misato bit the inside of her lip, watching as the children struggled to comprehend what had befallen them. Surprisingly, it was Shinji who spoke up first, the once quiet child now sputtering in shock and apprehension.

"W – What do you mean? I – we – can't possibly pilot these things. I've never seen this kind of stuff before!"

His voice was young, and carried the barest hint of fear, Misato realised. It was somewhat strange, given that she'd only heard whispers and quiet mutterings until now.

"You'll receive necessary training." Commander Ikari replied to his son, who resumed silently fretting. "And you are already in peak physical condition."

A dangerous thought entered Shinji's mind.

What if Gouken-sensei was working with them?...With father? For this?

After that, silence descended upon the massive room, nothing but the sound of distant mechanical work to echo against the metal walls. When Shinji once again looked up to his father, he was gone – the room that the man had looked down on them from was darkened.

Ritsuko turned to Misato, then moved towards the children, speaking.

"You're expected to report to NERV HQ tomorrow afternoon. We'll begin the first steps of your training. Until then, a pair of NERV dormitories have been reserved for you."

The doctor's tone was terribly clinical, as if she was addressing some science project, and not two children. Before Misato could stop herself, she had butted into the conversation.

"No!"

Ritsuko once again faced Misato, with raised eyebrows and hard eyes.

"I mean – they need somewhere a little more comfortable. A little more removed." The captain offered, lamely, watching out of the corner of her eye as the two children moved to look at her in muted interest.

"What are you suggesting?" Ritsuko asked, her expression softening somewhat.

"My apartment, up top."

The doctor visibly bristled, but mulled over the proposal for a few moments, before speaking. "It's irregular to say the least, but perhaps necessary. I'll discuss it with the commander. For now, the two will sleep here."

Misato deflated slightly, her posture slackening as Ritsuko moved past her. The doctor gestured to the two children to follow her, and they did so, slowly and languidly, their gazes still lingering on the armoured behemoths to their sides.

Shinji was still in shock from what he'd seen – such monsters belonged in a story, or fantasy, but this was real life. This was impossible.

Then again, Gouken-sensei had performed the impossible himself, and taught both Shinji and Asuka. Perhaps this wasn't so implausible.

In the end, it was irrelevant – he and his best friend were being forced to control those things, things which they knew next to nothing about.

As Ritsuko marched them down a lifeless, steel corridor marked with numbered doors, Shinji turned to Asuka, expecting some sort of small conversation – but the typically fiery girl was quiet, her eyes masked by her fringe and her gaze aimed at the floor.

Ritsuko's voice brought Shinji out of his musings, and he watched as she stopped, indicating two doors.

"The two of you will rest here for the night. We'll call for you at one PM – we expect you ready."

Shinji nodded, and bowed, but Asuka remained still. Ritsuko eyed the girl for a moment, but then simply left, leaving the two.

Finally alone, the boy attempted to break the silence, but before he could, there was the sound of a door sliding open, and Asuka was gone, having vanished into her room.

With a heavy heart, a troubled mind, and slow steps, Shinji Ikari made his way into the room, made his way into a new chapter of his life. Without changing, he dropped his bag at the foot of the bed, and promptly collapsed on top of it, desperately seeking refuge in slumber.

Forgive me for leaving for so long - I was distracted, and I really should have put this chapter out sooner. Review, please!