Homecoming

A Neon Genesis Evangelion one-shot by Andrew J. Talon

Disclaimer: Gainax owns it, I don't. I'm not making any money off this story either.

Author's Note: Due to my archaeology field trip this week, I have to split this chapter into two. So, next chapter will have a Shinji flashback to his POV during the battle, while this shows what the Doctor gets up to while Shinji is unconscious. To make up for this, I'll have the next chapter include even more stuff than just that. See you all on Friday!

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"MARI! MARIII!"

Toji Suzuhara coughed in the acrid air of the burning city, his lungs burning. His eyes watering, he focused on the partially-collapsed building in front of him, hunting through the wreckage. His screams sounded so quiet in the night against the distant whine of sirens and the roar of the burning buildings.

"MARIII!" He shouted again, running towards a pile of rubble in particular. Coughing harder, he looked around, desperately trying to catch a sign of his sister.

"MARIIII!"

Fuck, fuck, FUCK! He thought furiously. It's my goddamned fault, my goddamned fault! If I hadn't-

"DAMNIT!" He screamed. "MARI!"

The sound of a siren distracted him, and he turned, squinting. A sleek, large car drove up through the rubble, it's headlights shining directly on Toji as red lights up top glowed, it's siren wailing like an ambulance. The motor was still running when the driver's side door opened, and a tall, gray-haired man exited.

"HEY! HEY!" Toji shouted. The man ran over, coughing a bit.

"Hey! My sister, my sister, she-I can't find her!" Toji shouted. "I-I don't-I need to find her! Help me out here!"

"It's all right, it's all right," the man said reassuringly. "We'll find her, all right? Now…"

The man looked over towards a burning building with a frown. "What's that?"

"What?" Toji shouted, turning to look. There was an odd sound behind him, and a flash of light like a camera flashing behind him, and he turned quickly back to look.

However, nothing had happened, aside from the man fiddling with a gizmo of some sort.

"Huh? What was that?"

"What was what?" The man asked, looking innocent. Toji shook his head.

"Nevermind! C'mon, we need to get going and-!"

A flash of lightening and the loud boom of thunder interrupted Toji, and he looked up to see that the dark night sky was now covered in swirling clouds. A few moments later, it began to pour on the city, a deluge of rain upon the burning buildings.

"Well now, that's better," the man said with a small grin. He waved his odd device about, humming thoughtfully, before nodding and turning to Toji.

"I've found her. Quick! Go to the car, there's a stretcher in the boot."

"The what?" Toji demanded.

"Boot! Trunk!" The man corrected. "I'm the Doctor, it's all right!"

At the word 'Doctor', Toji took off, running to the back of the strange vehicle; which, now that he got a closer look at, seemed to be some kind of old-fashioned ambulance. It even had fins, like those bizarre American cars from… What time period was it? The 1960s? 70s?

It didn't matter. All that mattered was that his sister needed help, and this man, this Doctor, was providing it. He reached the trunk of the car, which opened the moment he got close. The stretcher popped out, and Toji grabbed it, rushing it back towards where the Doctor was now clearing away debris from a pile of rubble against the closest building. The flames dancing upon the roof slowly fading away into smoke.

"She's in here!" The Doctor shouted. "Give me a hand!"

Toji dove in, furiously digging through the rubble, pulling off chunks of concrete and steel recklessly. The Doctor worked just as hard, tossing pieces of rubble to the side.

"MARI! MARI, CAN YOU HEAR ME?!" Toji shouted.

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Mari Suzuhara had long since stopped screaming in pain. It had felt like hours ago… Or maybe days, she couldn't tell. No matter how long it had been, it would do no good, and would only waste air in the small pocket amid the wreckage burying her. She'd kept her eyes closed, and hummed a small song to keep herself awake and conscious. She may have only been nine years old, but she was sensible enough to keep her head in such a situation.

I wonder what that was? She idly thought, recalling the huge black shape that smashed against the building she'd been standing by. The blow had seemed to send the entire building falling down upon her. She could not feel her legs, and one of her arms was pinned. Her brother had wanted to go see the monster attacking, but she'd refused to let him go alone. He was always being reckless, sometimes it was a wonder he didn't get himself killed at times. Her brother's dumb jokes, her father's kind smiles, the wind blowing across her face, wide fields of grass spread out before her… It was like a dream, and Mari wasn't prepared to let it stop…

A sudden movement above her broke her from her reverie. The rock and steel over her head was shifting. Mari held her breath and stayed perfectly still, hoping that the rest of the wreckage was not about to come down on her.

"MARI! MARIII!"

A hole opened, and she felt a few drops of rain fall upon her face. More rubble was shifted, allowing her to see two shapes above her.

"T-Toji!" She managed. An older man's voice registered.

"Calm down, calm down, she'll be fine," he said. "We just need to get her out of there…"

More rubble was cleared, and more rain fell upon her. She felt her legs freed, and the last piece of rubble moved from her arm. Pain came back at that moment, but it wasn't as intense as before. Strong arms picked her up, and she dazedly looked at the face of the older man with her brother. He gave her a comforting smile.

"It's all right, it's all right… You're safe now…" He set her down on a stretcher, and strapped her in with practiced efficiency. He rolled the stretcher back, away from the burning building, and a strange peace came over Mari, her pain being numbed.

"Will she be all right, Doc? Really all right?" Toji asked desperately.

"She'll be fine, we just need to get her to a hospital," the Doctor replied. She felt the stretcher shift and tremble, and she was being loaded into a vehicle-An ambulance, she imagined. Toji clambered in after, sitting next to her, worried face over hers. She smiled softly at him.

"Toji…"

"Mari, I, I'm sorry," he said. "I'm sorry, I didn't… I just-"

"Hang on," the Doctor said, now filling her view. Mari heard a door close, and felt the vehicle move around them. Toji started and gaped.

"Hey! What the hell?!"

"Don't worry, she knows the way," the Doctor said simply. He shined a blue light in her eyes with a thoughtful expression, and down her body.

"Is it… Bad?" She gasped.

"Try not to talk, it's all right," the Doctor said.

"But… The car… It's…!" Toji tried. The Doctor gave a little smirk.

"Relax! She hasn't crashed once! Well… Okay, once. Well… More than once, but she was just a bit finicky at those times…"

"Finicky?!" Toji asked in a high-pitched voice. The Doctor chuckled.

"Giant monsters, you don't mind. Cars that drive themselves? That's something new?" He produced another device and waved it over Mari's legs, a strange buzzing filling the compartment.

"What are you doing now?!" Toji shouted.

"Just piecing her bones back together," the Doctor said. "It's a real mess, but nothing too serious…"

"With what?! What the hell is that?" Toji gaped.

"T-Toji," Mari said, her voice weak but still holding a bit of disapproval he was familiar with. Toji scowled, sighed, and gave the Doctor an apologetic look.

"Sorry… And… And thanks," he said. The Doctor smiled back.

"It's fine… Though uh… If I were you, I'd make sure my weirdness meter was set a bit higher from now on. Things are only going to get… Stranger."

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R&R please!