Creation began on 09-23-22
Creation ended on 12-19-22
Neon Genesis Evangelion
The Living Alchemist: To See You Again
A/N: Until actually bites the dust, I refuse to believe these rumors without further evidence that supports its destiny.
It was like traveling down a tunnel of nightmares! All of these shadow people, a legion of lifeless eyes, hands as cold as death, reaching out to grab them, to rip them all apart and add them to their numbers. None of them could really fathom how anyone could survive, let alone endure being in this hopeless place. And then…there was this bright flash of red light, shining their way to safety.
A young man…or a young boy, holding a bright light of red in his hands, lighting the way.
"Is that Shinji?" Asuka asked, pointing towards the person outside the makeshift transport vessel.
"It looks like him," Misato replied.
The red light shone brighter and obscured all vision.
"You would save these insignificant people, but you won't lift a finger for your father?!" They heard a man's voice that was filled with malice.
"You would desire salvation from someone that walks a path of peace instead of violence…and you would do nothing to save others that seek salvation!" They heard Shinji's voice.
"I matter more than anyone else ever will!"
"Nobody matters more than those who still live…and there's no way that I'll ever bring you back to life! You…are as insignificant as you thought of me to be in your life!"
The light intensified and then…nothing.
-x-
The massive transmutation ceased…and Aquroyo had been remade. All across the land where the city stood once before sinking slowly into the sea, water ways, bridges, rows and rows of buildings that nearly became lost to the sinking were standing strong.
"Incredible," Psiren uttered, feeling slightly weak in her knees.
"And again," went Ed as he looked over at Shinji, "something else happens that causes Shinji to pass out."
It had to be a separate transmutation, something unexpected or undesired, and Shinji was exhausted because of it. Behind the four alchemists, a strange vessel stood, bearing that same insignia that the drone Shinji took possession of had.
Click! Something inside it went, and a hatch opened up, releasing a hiss of smoke, causing the people that came to examine the salvaged city to back away.
"What is that thing?" Al wondered, checking Shinji as he slowly revived.
"People that have to answer for what I feel is a stupid move on their part," Shinji replied.
-x-
The hatch opened up and out came Asuka, followed by a man carrying an automatic rifle in his hands. She looked around and saw people stepping backwards from them; she assumed they were more afraid of the armed man than they were likely to be of her. Then came Misato, Rei and Pen-Pen.
"Wah… Whoa!" Misato expressed, seeing the coastal city that had been transmuted. "It looks like Venice!"
"What is Venice?" Rei asked, and noticed Shinji standing nearby, his face contorted in anger and concern. "Ikari-Kun."
"You three…have better have a valid excuse for why, when I specifically told you not to try and come here, you go and do the very opposite of what I told you not to do," he informed them.
"You can't possibly blame us for trying to get here," Asuka told him. "And we got here without difficulty! I don't see what the problem is."
"You only got here because of a transmutation I was involved in. But there are other factors involved in going through the Gate, most of which could be worse than whatever I believe could happen when attempted. And just because you were able to get here, that doesn't mean you should be able to go back."
"We learned you were alive," Rei told him. "We just wanted…to see you again."
Shinji, as angry as he was at them for choosing to come through the Gate, despite his warnings for them not to, couldn't fault them that much for trying. And they were alive, unlike his father, who seemed to linger around within the Gate after his death, trying to pressure his son into bringing him back to life when he told him that he wouldn't. His fears of what could have happened to anyone that went through the Gate, not even his darkest nightmares could compare to what could have been had he not been there or had the Red Stones to mitigate the danger of the transmutation.
"What do you think could have happened if you weren't there?" Asuka questioned him.
"Comprehension comparable to violation," he explained, "deconstruction comparable to being skinned alive, disemboweled, dismembered and everything else that rips apart the body, mind and soul to even the very seams…and very little chance of being put back together and surviving. Anyone that goes through the Gate is fortunate enough to go through such and survive just once, but if they do it more than once, knowing the risks involved, they shouldn't go through with it under the expectation of avoiding the consequences. Did any of you see the guardian within the Gate?"
"The Gate has a guardian?" Misato asked him, confused. "We didn't see anyone in there. Just…people in the darkness."
Shinji sighs; he didn't expect them to have crossed paths with the Gate's guardian, but that didn't mean that the guardian hadn't seen any of them. It might've even ignored them due to Shinji's involvement with the transmutation of Aquroyo, or because of the Red Stones. Either way, it was a risk just to go through the Gate…and come out unscathed.
"Um, are you people friends of Shinji's?" One of the two boys asked them.
-x-
"…Do you think they made it through?" Fuyutsuki was asked by one of the workers that saw the ship go through the Gate.
"They might've," he responded.
Because the doors were still open, it was anyone's guess as to what was going on over there, wherever it was that Shinji currently resided. It its darkness, nobody standing in front of the Gate could see the eyes of its inhabitants that observed them, unable to do anything beyond gazing out into their world, waiting to lure any unsuspecting soul into theirs.
-x-
"…So, this is where you live?" Asuka asked Shinji as she followed him around the remade walkways of Aquroyo.
"Here as in this city…or here as in this world?" He responded.
"This world," she reiterated.
"Yes."
"Ever since…that day?"
"Ever since."
He stopped walking and sat down on the edge of the walkway to gaze out at the altered landscape of the city that he hoped people would return to live in once word of its modification spread across the country.
Asuka sat beside him.
"I still can't believe you were able to do something like this to a city that was sinking into the water," she admitted.
"It wasn't only me," he told her. "Nobody on their own is powerful enough to do any one feat of such a magnitude. It was only because I had the aid of the Elrics and Psiren that this was possible. If it had been only myself, it would have taken longer."
"How do you feel right now?"
"Like I ran a marathon…and dragged a cart of stones behind me."
Asuka looked at Shinji, and from the angle she had, she could see that he looked…different from how he did when he was piloting the Eva. He looked…mature.
"You look better," she expressed.
"Thank you," he replied.
"So…you're a…State Alchemist?"
"Yeah. That's…what I've been since I got here."
"What is that? I mean, what…do you do?"
"I'm basically a specialist employed by the Amestrian State Military. I use alchemy in the service of the military to perform tasks that regular soldiers can't do. However, there hasn't been any further conflict for several weeks between Amestris or any neighboring countries since the government was reorganized and its dictatorship removed from power. So…I'm just traveling around when ordered to investigate locations I'm instructed to."
"Sounds like you're having fun traveling around."
"I get to help people, yes, and traveling to different places helps me to see what troubles people have and to look for innovative solutions. Beneficial solutions."
"Well, everything in Tokyo-3 has changed since you were declared dead."
"How so?"
-x-
Opening his eyes, the clone of Shinji Ikari found himself in a familiar-yet-unfamiliar setting. While the seating was different, the scent all around him and the texture of his current attire stirred these memories and feelings that had been buried and fragmented for as long as he could comprehend.
Why? He thought, lifting his hands up to feel his head, feeling those nodes on the headset he was wearing. Why…did they…put me back in here?
"We're ready to begin," he heard a female voice say.
Flash! The interior of his surroundings changed colors as it went through its stages.
Don't…don't…don't…don't… Stop…stop…stop it…stop it… The clone was mentally pleading, but his words were lacking.
Outside of the plug, in the upper portion of a rudimentary form of Evangelion, incomplete and missing its hands, with exposed wiring and muscle tissue, Ritsuko and the people assigned to test the clone's synchronization capabilities began the test.
"Where are we on synchronization?" Ritsuko asked.
"We're registering at…fifty-seven percent," a man answered her. "This is lower than what we expected from him."
"Cellular structure is stable so far," a woman revealed. "Heart rate is elevated, though. Skin temperature is above normal."
"He's tense," another woman stated. "Probably recalling things."
On some of the monitors displaying the interior of the plug, they could see the clone's face, seeing that he was starting to look less than was expected of him when his original was inside the Eva during testing phases.
"He doesn't seem happy about this, Dr. Akagi," the faux-blond was informed by the guy behind her as she looked at the clone's face.
"He's not supposed to feel happy," she countered. "He's supposed to follow orders."
The clone's face slowly contorted into one of frustration.
"Stop," they heard him speak. "Stop… Don't…"
"Synchronization is rising to…eighty-seven percent," the man monitoring his synchronization uttered. "No, ninety-five percent!"
"Heart rate is rising above one-thirty," the woman monitoring the clone's health added. "One-forty…one-fifty…"
"Stop…stop it!" The clone said, his eyes becoming bloodshot. "Stop! Don't! Let me out! Let me out! Let me out!"
"It's rising to one-hundred-twenty. No, two-hundred-seventeen. It's going too high!"
"Cellular structure is starting to become unstable. Stress levels are too high! Pulse is over one-eighty! He's going to crash!"
"Let me out! Let me out!" The clone yelled as his face was deteriorating, looking less like Shinji and looking like a corpse. "LET ME OUT! LET ME OUT!"
"Synchronization is rising over two-hundred-ninety!"
"Shut it down!" Ritsuko ordered the crew. "Eject the plug!"
The incomplete Eva started to move its head around, groaning as its unfinished mouth opened up and let out a mechanical roar (A/N: Think of the Mechagodzilla roar), sparks flying out of its exposed neck wiring and shoulder areas.
"He's at three-hundred-twenty now!"
"Cellular structure is destabilizing! He's at the risk of breaking down!"
"Eject the plug! Eject the plug!"
"We're trying! It's not responding!"
"LET…ME…OUT!" The clone yelled, just before his face exploded into nothingness and the screen turned staticky.
The Eva ceased its unrestrained movement and slumped where it resided with its head down. The plug popped up and its hatch opened, spilling its contents out.
"What…what happened?" Ritsuko demanded. "Where was his synchronization before contact was cut?"
"Four-hundred-ten percent," the man revealed to her.
"His cell structure collapsed under the instability he was feeling," the woman added. "He…he broke down."
Ritsuko couldn't believe this! The only clone they had of Shinji Ikari so far just turned to pulp due to an instability in its physical structure and unregulated synchronization that not even his original was able to achieve, effectively terminating himself. This setback would land her in hot water with SEELE if she couldn't explain to them what went wrong.
-x-
It was different from what they had expected. While it was one thing to have their minds at ease with the fact that he was alive, it was another thing to Misato, Asuka and Rei to feel…distant with him because of their attempt to cross through the Gate and into a world where there were people capable of these feats that seemed like magic. One of the drawbacks of this unexpected reunion was the fact that it felt like Shinji was making excuses to avoid having to talk to them about the one thing they needed to talk about. And it wasn't unnoticed by Shinji; he was using his position as a State Alchemist as his excuse to avoid them for a while, checking around Aquroyo just to make sure the transmutation was as stable as it could've been before they arrived unannounced.
"…He is older and more responsible than we are," went Alphonse to the ladies as they sat outside a café by one of the canal streets on the northern side of the city. "He's probably just being thorough before we have to report back."
"All three of you are State Alchemists?" Misato questioned.
"That's right," answered Edward to her as they were enjoying a cold drink under the hot sun.
"I didn't expect the military to be capable of recruiting people at such a young age," Asuka expressed her opinion.
"We weren't exactly recruited. We joined the State Alchemist program they have. We're not soldiers, just scientists. Although Shinji kind of blurs the line a little."
"How so?" Rei asked him.
"He doesn't like fighting and prefers the research he started on when he chose what branch of alchemy to focus on above all else."
"There are branches in alchemy?" Asuka questioned.
"Some people use alchemy for combat," Al stated, "some for building and repair work, some even for agricultural purposes, and some use it for biological experimentation. Ugh. Not a branch of alchemy we like in particular."
"Biological alchemy? What, is that like, mixing animals together or something?" Misato suggested, finding it unusual.
"Yeah," Ed responded. "Basically, it's the production and exploitation of chimeras. Alchemically-enhanced animals."
"You make it sound as though it's not a brand of alchemy you three like at all," Asuka stated.
"We don't," Al explained. "Someone we met a while back…practiced this alchemy…and went too far with it."
"So…what brand of alchemy does Ikari-Kun practice?" Rei asked.
"Medical alchemy," Ed answered. "He practices Living Transmutation, the alchemy of regenerating human limbs and organs."
"So…he's like a doctor, then?"
"Not an actual one, but close to it," Al stated. "He does seem to be a lot better at it than some think, though. And when he goes through with something, it's like he's a completely different person from what we've seen of him."
"Different in what way?" Misato wanted to know.
"Sometimes, he seems worried about something…and other times, he seems confident that things will work out. It's like he knows more than he lets on, but doesn't really say much about it. Sometimes, I think he's aware of things and how they play out more than Ed and I are, even knowing when someone does something wrong sometimes…and doing something different to fix what they did."
"Has he done anything like what you're suspecting he did?" Asuka questioned.
"It was a while back," Ed went, "but we think he went and saved someone we know back home after her father did something to her."
"What did he do?" Rei wanted to hear.
"This alchemist, Shou Tucker, he once turned his wife into a chimera and drove her to her death, and then later, he turned his daughter, Nina, into another chimera. Shinji stopped me from beating the man…and then this other guy, Basque Grand, a brigadier general before he was killed, took them away. The next morning, Nina was in our hotel, back to normal. We didn't question Shinji directly if he had something to do with it, but…"
"You believe that he did something to return her to normal?" Misato suspected. "If he did have something to do with it, is it…really a problem if he was responsible?"
"No," Al stated truthfully, "it wouldn't be a problem. Nina's like a sister to us. If Shinji's the reason she's able to smile and laugh like before, then…he's a lot more unpredictable with alchemy than we know. He…he has more heart than arrogance."
"Yeah," all three ladies agreed with that assumption.
Further down the street, no longer having an excuse to stay away after confirming that the structures were stable, Shinji looked at the three women he hadn't seen in months since he arrived in this world and sighed at the conversation he needed to have with them.
Don't keep them at a distance just because they put themselves at risk to see you, he heard his own say to himself, full of conviction. The truth can be justifiable…but don't let it be cruel to you or them. You used to be weak, but you're not, anymore. Cast aside your doubts and embrace what you're capable of. You're stronger than you know, Shinji Ikari. You're the Living Alchemist. Within the miracle that is life itself, you will find the solutions to your problems and overcome them in the pursuit of greater feats of benevolence.
Inhaling a new breath, he approached the café and greeted them all with a smile.
"We should talk now," he told them as he sat in a chair.
-x-
SEELE was not happy that the clone of the Third Child had met with an untimely demise when they were expecting results from Ritsuko Akagi. The revelation that it was unstable and had achieved a high synchronization ratio before breaking down at the cellular level made them suspect that anyone, even an artificial person, achieving such a high ratio was at risk.
"The DNA sample of the Third Child," SEELE 04 brought up in the meeting with Dr. Akagi. "Is it still viable?"
"We still have access to the sample and yes, it is still preserved," she answered; so long as they had access to the samples, this setback wasn't really too significant.
"What went wrong in the test?" SEELE 01 wanted to know.
"There was…a psychological instability within the clone's state of mind that affected the physical state of the body."
"Elaborate."
"Either a buried memory or an artificial memory that failed to adjust to his psychological profile, he demanded to be released from the plug. Before we could eject it, his cellular structure broke down upon achieving a four-hundred-ten percent synchronization with the Eva."
"The core used in the Eva rigged up for the test. It was a copy of the core of Unit-01, was it now?" SEELE 10 requested to know.
"No, it was the actual core from Unit-01," Ritsuko explained; since NERV was no longer using the Evas for facing Angels, SEELE had taken Unit-01 after it was decommissioned and disassembled for transportation.
"Could the Eva had suspected him of being a clone?" SEELE 06 suggested.
"It's unknown until a further investigation is committed," Ritsuko responded.
"If it becomes necessary, use the DNA to produce additional copies of the Third Child," SEELE 01 instructed her. "Find out what went wrong and insure that it doesn't happen again."
"Yes, sir."
When the holographic monoliths disappeared, the faux-blond felt like she could breathe again. Even though they hadn't been in the same room as her, the fact that these people were the ones who had Gendo killed for his incompetence was a grim reminder that they didn't tolerate too many setbacks. She feared that if she failed them too many times, she would wind up in a ditch somewhere in the middle of nowhere. That would be how much her very life mattered to these men that controlled the world from the shadows.
This is starting to feel like those times with Rei, she dreaded thinking.
-x-
Shinji was different from whom they once knew before he became an alchemist. Despite not even being fifteen, Misato, Asuka and Rei could see that his maturity had come from a different place than when he was a pilot. His knowledge of alchemy obtained from the Elric brothers, his preference towards alchemy for healing purposes, the revelation that he did pay Basque Grand a visit in the night and took Nina from her father and restoring her to normal, his use of the Red Stones to benefit others, learning that whenever he performed a powerful transmutation, he would encounter the ghost of his father demanding that he bring him back to life…and him refusing each time because it wouldn't work out for either of them. Not that they were surprised that Shinji would refuse to bring back his father; there was a bitterness and gaping wound between father and son that would not mend, mostly because of the father's arrogance in demanding that his son use his acquired knowledge and skills to attempt a resurrection that could've killed him because of the risks involved. Even after explaining his convictions of how his limits were based upon how much potential people truly possessed in their ability to do things, they could see how he was different from who he used to be…and was affecting the lives of people he met.
"…But…you could bring someone back to life," Asuka questioned, "could you?"
"That's…not how alchemy works here," went Edward. "Everything revolves around Equivalent Exchange, the fundamental law of alchemy. You can't obtain without giving up."
"And it's against the law to try and bring someone back…or create humans in any variety," added Alphonse. "It's not even possible to do so without knowing what might be taken if you try. You could lose anything; your arms, legs, intestines, lungs…"
"Or your entire life," Shinji stated simply. "Nothing is certain in such an attempt to trespass on a domain that is beyond yourself."
"So, can everyone here do alchemy?" Rei questioned.
"Only if you put in the effort to learn about it. Those that don't put in the effort can't do anything beyond what they're already capable of. Again, it all has to do with Equivalent Exchange. To obtain, you have to give up."
"And you can create just about anything you want with it?" Misato asked. "I mean, anything that is within possibility? Buildings? Devices? Furniture?"
"If people are already capable of making those, then alchemists are simply able to do it at a different level…or heavy repair work."
"But you're more capable than others, right?" Rei asks him. "You're the only one that uses alchemy to help people recover from injuries. That's incredible."
"It's far removed from violence. But please, enough about me. I want to hear about you three. I want to hear about life in Tokyo-3. I want to hear…what happened after that day."
"Well, NERV beat the Angels," Asuka reveals. "A lot of people were upset with your…absence…but we were able to save the world in the end."
"Everyone formerly affiliated with NERV resigned towards the end of the situation with the Angels," Misato added. "I couldn't really blame them. The idea of the Evas being safe was turned sideways when the Twelfth Angel was defeated. Plus, you were gone, so the agency had been painted with negativity. Then, a while later, we get re-tasked with cracking the secrets of the Gate after it was dug up in China."
"The Gate was found somewhere in your world?" Ed asked. "How is that possible? The Gate is always floating in a vast, white space."
"More than likely it's a physical representation of the Gate," Shinji expressed. "A tangible version, if you will. Probably just opens up and leads to this world, but doesn't allow for anything else to befall anyone…but this is only speculation."
"You mentioned something about there being a guardian of the Gate," Asuka reminded. "What did the guardian look like?"
"That's a…little harder to explain. I only saw them once, but they're not someone you can truly forget. They…looked like an outline of a person, devoid of any features. It was like they were meant to represent whoever they were facing."
"That's creepy," went Al, though he and Ed probably met the same entity Shinji was describing when they attempted Human Transmutation for the very first time, only it was briefer than the time he saw it. "Still, it makes sense. It'd be like looking at yourself in a mirror that is devoid of all your features; the outline reflected would try to look more like you…but wouldn't be you."
"Did it ever say what it was?" Misato asked.
"It was everything we could comprehend in our own way," said Ed, recalling his brief meeting with the guardian. "It called itself the things we know as the world, the universe, God, truth, one and all."
"So…you were standing before a being that was…God?" Rei questioned.
"In a way…yes," Shinji answered her. "That…was the closest one would ever get to meeting and speaking with a being greater than themselves and all that they understand."
"But…you couldn't ask them anything you wanted, could you?" Asuka suspected; if it had been herself, she would've asked this being a personal question and hope for an answer.
"What could you possibly ask them?"
"Nothing universal, like the meaning of life; that's something that has no answer, no matter how it's asked. Something like…why that day transpired the way it did? Why did it happen to you instead of someone else? Why were we spared while you suffered? Something like that?"
"The truth is that there's always an answer for such questions…but sometimes the answer you get isn't the one you're expecting."
"Say, Shinji," Misato went, "if you could come back with us… I mean, if you travel through this Gate…and we were able to move past the Angels…do you think you could still perform alchemy over there?"
Shinji thought about it…but then had to be realistic about the possibility.
"Living over there, yes," he stated, "but able to perform alchemy like over here is something I doubt to be possible. If it had been possible to do so, people would've done so years ago. Such a power appears to be nonexistent over there due to various factors and limitations. Reality being the greatest factor and limitation that we can understand."
"But…we were able to open the Gate and travel to here," Asuka claimed. "It can't all be impossible to achieve."
"He is just being cautious and realistic about the possibility of doing alchemy in a world where circles and transmutations seem like make-believe," Ed revealed. "He's more cautious than Al and I are when people desire something that is unrealistic…like what we wanted."
"But…you were trying to reclaim the sense of normality that you had," Rei clarified, sympathetic towards their former plight. "Anyone would desire to have that."
Shinji then reached into his pouch of Red Stones and put one in front of them on the table.
"It looks like a ruby," Asuka expressed. "You actually walk around with this in your pockets?"
"Yes," he explained. "I make these due to my privileges as a State Alchemist. They're part of the reason I'm able to do as I do with my alchemy. If I use these to get you guys back through the Gate, it's possible you can avoid being harmed like before when you came through."
Misato reached out and picked up the small stone. It didn't even feel like a rock; based on its texture alone, it felt like an unfinished piece of refined jewelry.
"Hard to believe that you make these," she claimed as she put it down. "Just from looking at it…and looking at you, I wouldn't expect you for being able to fashion something like this at all. And yet…it's an impressive feat."
"If it were easy for anyone to do, everyone would do it."
"What's your rank in this military?"
"As an alchemist employed by the military, my rank is that of major."
Misato, Rei and Asuka couldn't believe this! Because this was the case, this rank also applied to the Elrics, as well, since they were employed by the military, too. But Misato, being a major of a paramilitary agency, didn't possess the same degree of privileges as Shinji likely did…but she doubt that he exploited them as much as she would've wanted to.
"You're amazing, Shinji," she praised him.
"Everyone is amazing in their own way," he countered. "You three managed to get here, even after I warned you against doing so because I feared for your safety. The fact that you were able to get through without so much as a scar…takes a lot of conviction and tenacity. Y'all should stick around for a few days and see the world here in Amestris. You just showed up in Aquroyo; explore the place. It just got altered to enable the people to continue living in it, that's all."
"Are you sure about that?" Asuka asked him. "We wouldn't want to get you into trouble with anyone around here."
"For Shinji, it's only trouble if he can't explain anything to our superior," Ed explained. "Because he's older than us, he's the one that usually has to report on what we do. But so long as the results are positive, the risks for accidents is low, everything else is overlooked."
"Sounds like exploiting loopholes."
"Loopholes exist when you know about the rules you live by," Al stated. "Shinji's just careful with everything he does."
Shinji missed these types of conversations. They felt humanizing, brought a type of relief to him that he hadn't felt in a while. And he was glad that these three women were around to talk to. It was a small piece of the past had been returned to him and he was able to take comfort in what it meant to him.
"So," he spoke up, "where to?"
To be continued…
A/N: Not sure when the next chapter will be, but I hope y'all enjoy this chapter. I really wanted for Shinji to enjoy the reunion, but I also wanted for him to be worried because of how dangerous it seemed for them to come directly through the Gate. As for Ritsuko, her first clone of Shinji got taken out of the equation that was SEELE trying to regain control of their scenario that was destroyed by Shinji's displacement, putting her on a shorter leash with their patience. I want to know what you expect to happen next. Until later on.