Shinji of Gaul
Ch. 6
I OWN NOTHING!
Shinji was walking towards the school, grinning from the slight buzz his homemade beer had given him and that still flattened Misato if she did anymore then breathe in the fumes. As he walked through the gate he noticed a crowd around two someones. He walked through the crowd, they parting in front of him like water around a rock. When he made through the crowd he was surprised at what he saw.
It was the two he had with him in the EVA a few days ago, Kensuke and Toji, but they had changed from what he had remembered. Kensuke had grown a good two inches, three for Toji. Both had also seemed to bulk up as if they had been through his uncle Acco's man-up training the old warrior had made for sons of druids who didn't have the temperament or ability to become druids themselves. The odd thing was that they looked as if they had been doing it for a few weeks. Once again Toji seemed to have gained a little more on that. Kensuke however seemed to have something a little off with him, that same odd feeling that he had felt before around a druid that was in the middle of a ceremony or chanting a spell. He didn't have any time to dwell on this however as Toji had noticed him and had trampled over to him; the spear that he had been given seemed to be easily held in one hand instead of having to be lugged with two.
"Shinji glad to see ya. Ya doin' fairly?" Toji half shouted, clapping his shoulder on Shinji's back, already the kid could hit a hell of a lot harder than before.
Shinji grinned and clapped the other youth on the back, failing to notice that he still knocked the guy flat on his face, "Twould be doin' ahlroit, boot what bye Daghda happened t'ye?"
Toji picked himself up quicker than many grown men in Section-2 would have, simply brushed himself off saying, "I don't really know, but whatever happened it happened after me and Kensuke got out of that mecha you had. Kensuke's changed to."
Shinji looked up to see Kensuke in clothing a bit too small for him posing like a body builder or an idiot. While he didn't look quite as bulked as Toji and nowhere near as big as Shinji, he still was hell of a lot more physically imposing and a few of the fairer sex seemed to notice that.
He was about to talk to the other boy when he heard someone's voice call out. "Shinji! Shinji!" He automatically guessed who it was when he saw the looks of horror that was see on the other students' faces. He turned to see the semi-albino walk up to him with a small smile on her face and a mild glint in her eyes that if any other guy had seen they would have been running for the hills screaming about the apocalypse. "Ah mornin' lass, tis wonderful t'see ye after th' last foight." The mild blush, which, compounded by the paleness of her skin and the novelty of it, prompted many students and not a few teachers to remember to visit a temple, mosque or church on the way home. (several decided on visiting one of every denomination they could find)
"Shinji, may I ask if you could instruct me more on your peoples' faith? The little you have told me has opened my eyes to the world and I would like to know more." (the students who heard him were torn whether to inquire more about this religion that could bring such a change on the girl or to damn him and make a mob to punish the bastard who brought about Armageddon. They decided against it as they knew that Shinji could probably rip their spines out and club them to death with them.)
Class went about as normally as usually with the teacher droning, the students mildly moaning, and Rei was sitting as close to Shinji as she could with a book called, "All You Ever Wanted to Know about Druids and Celts but Were Too Afraid to Ask." (A/N: not a real book to the best of my knowledge) sitting on her desk. Which kinda killed the droning and moaning as the students started pulling out rosary beads and crosses from places even the author doesn't know about. "Firs' oof thar be t'gods an' goddesses ye need t'ken…" He went on to talk about Daghda the great father-god of the Celtic people. He also talked about Esus the trickster woodsman of Fire and Teutatus the Thunder-god of War. He told her about the great mother goddess Danu and the other goddesses Brigedh the gentle healer, Epona the goddesses of horses and her two sons the rider brothers and war avatars. The other students were soon enthralled at the fire and the sheer conviction that Shinji had when he told his faith.
The students and in fact, the whole of Tokyo-3 had grown up or lived in the horrors and pain of post-Impact Earth and as such had little faith left in them. Oh there was the nominal Shinto faith of their ancestors and the teaching of Buddha along with a tiny smattering of Christianity in the mixture. Though they still nominally believed and a few practiced, the spark was weak and the ashes cold. But the sheer enthusiasm that Shinji had was causing a strange change in their souls and a small fire was starting to build as they heard the whirling fiery tales of incredible heroism and sometimes sheer cockiness that had so vanished from the world long before the start of second impact.
As his story telling continued it was only interrupted by the ringing of the bell that signaled for lunch. The students reluctantly went outside to eat as was the custom at the school. They went out and Shinji sat under a tree, his story telling continuing. "Then thare's t' Warchief Brennus, he was t' nephew of th' King who marched South to th' land oov t' Etruscans who lived north oov Rome an' her wee alliance oov cities. When the Etruscans wen' belly oop an' cried fer peace, the Romans sent ah trio oov ah certain family oov Rome called t' Fabii." He mentioned this name with unalloyed disgust, "They were ta be ah third party tha' woos uninvolved wit' t' fight and soo could barter a fair treaty. One wee bastard oov tha' family loost his tempar and slew the King at th' treaty table." There were a few gasps from the girls and Toji and Kensuke felt an unexplainable rage at this.
"T' Fabii ran bach t' Roome and Brennus gathered t' many clans of the Isubres, Boii, Lingones, Senones and the other tribes that had gone south with the nephew of the great king of the Biturges, he claimed High Kingship an' then according to t' laws of our people and th' laws oov Rome demanded th' Fabii t' be handed t' them. 'Owever t' bastards instead gave them t' honor oov leading their armies foor t' year." Grunts of disgust filled the air as he continued his story.
He told how that the Gauls had thundered down the Italian peninsula yet never touching any city, crying out that their only interest was in Rome and only Rome. The Roman had sent out an army to fight them, but when they saw the Gauls in their odd clothes, huge size and savage demeanor they ran for their lives, many drowning in a river to get away from them while the Gauls could only stare in shock. Shinji then told how most of the city had been abandoned and only the centre of it was defended. The others started to laugh at the story of how Brennus demanded a half ton of gold and when the Romans whined about cheating scales Brennus had laughed and threw his sword on the scales crying 'Woe to the conquered!'
"Th' Romans swore vengeance foor awl toime… they fulfilled their oath." Shinji eyes seemed to glaze over as if remembering something that was unpleasant, most of the kids in his class had seen that face on their parents as well as their older siblings, why Shinji had that face, they didn't know.
Time passed and soon Tokyo-3 was under attack yet again.
Ramial, the third child of the wandering space titan Adam, was shaped like a blue uncut diamond. Shinji was quickly dressed and he leaped into the EVA, when he activated it, he roared his challenge to the oversized gem, brandishing the recently constructed prog-axe with a prog-spear strapped across his back.
"EVA launch!" Shinji was shot to the surface of the city, rising bullet-fast on the mag-lift his knees bent to go into a flying leap and attack. When unpleasant readings began to blink on the bridge Misato tried to warn Shinji of the risk but his blood was and he was ready to fight.
"Morrigan!! He howled as the mag-stopped and he leaped to attack. Ramial fired his cannon, white-fire of unbelievable heat for a direct hit on Shinji. Shinji had a few moments before the shot struck home. 'Oh Daghda's balls-' was his only thought before his world was consumed by fire and pain.
The smell of smoke was high and strong; Shinji of the Arvernii tribe, a sworn bodyguard and companion of High King Vercingetorix looked out at the huge double line of Roman fortifications. While most of the relief army had fled, utterly hammered by the last three attempts to break into Alesia and free their king, he had stayed to see if there was some way he could help his King and companion, the man he had sworn an oath before the gods to aid in war and to accompany him in all his endeavors until his death or until Vercingetorix released him. He watched at the gates to Alesia opened again and he watched with shock and growing horror as Vercingetorix approached Caesar alone then removed his sword and the crown of the High King that Cathbad the high druid had given him scarcely several months before.
Then to his rage he watched Roman troopers tear the remaining clothing off of him and leave him stark naked. Then they presented a golden Legion Eagle to his face. Shinji realized what was happening.
"NOOOOO!" He howled and charged for the wall running as quickly as he could to stop that from happening. Suddenly he was consumed by blackness, yet the last thing he saw was Vercingetorix the First and now Last High King of the Gauls, stripped naked, forced on his knees, his head bowed, touching his lips to the Golden Eagle with Caesar the unholy killer of the South looked on with utterly cool and uncaring eyes. Before he was swallowed by oblivion he knew one thing and one thing only. He had failed his king and brothers in battle and blood, he had broken his vow.
A/N: Hi everybody! I'm glad to be back! Tell what you think.