Infinity Crisis: Neon Genesis Evangelion
Disclaimer: No copyright or trademark infringement is intended for Neon Genesis Evangelion by Studio Gainax/Studio Khara or Marvel Comics. This is simply a story created just for fun.
Author's Note: Hey, everyone! This is my first ever story on this very website. It is yet another sidefic to the growing Infinity Crisis multiverse, with this one set in the world of Neon Genesis Evangelion done with the explicit permission of the original story's author Michael Weyer. Enjoy the story and a big thanks to not just the other sidefic authors of Infinity Crisis but Michael Weyer too!
Throughout the Multiverse, some worlds have suffered not just one but multiple cataclysms over the centuries. One such world is Earth-95, a place that experienced two major cataclysms in it's history in the First and Second Impact, the latter responsible for the destruction of Antarctica and over half of it's population killed. When peace came to this world in the Valentine Cease-Fire, it was left ravaged by warfare, environmental damage, a massive refugee crisis and the submerging of entire lands by rising sea levels. Earth-95 was never the same after the Second Impact and the United Nations of this world took greater responsibility in the day-to-day affairs of national governments to ensure humanity's survival including the creation of Gehirn, an agency dedicated to research and the development of the artificially-created and lobotomized machines of war known as the Evangelions.
15 years after the Second Impact, strange beings collectively known as the Angels descended upon Earth-95 for their own purpose against humanity. In response, the United Nations reformed Gehirn into NERV to defend humanity and the world from the Angels with the help of the Evangelions under the leadership of Commander Gendo Ikari. The Evangelions would be controlled by the pilots, 14-year-old children recruited by the UN to serve as humanity's best hope, like the Avengers, the Justice League and other such heroes in the Multiverse. Among the children chosen to pilot the Evangelions were Gendo's son Shinji Ikari, Asuka Langley Soryu, Rei Ayanami, Toji Suzuhura and Mari Illustrious Makinami, all of whom are stationed in the Japanese capital of Tokyo-3 to defend the city and their world from the Angels. Unbeknownst to the denizens of Earth-95, there is a plan by the secretive organization SEELE known as the Human Instrumentality Project, whose goal is to forcibly transform humans into a single lifeform with Rei as one of their conduits.
However, neither the denizens of Earth-95 nor SEELE were aware that something much worse than the Second Impact was about to devastate their world.
Earth-95
2015. The Day of the Snap
Tokyo-3, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan
Tokyo-3 was facing a crisis. A massive crisis in the form of a blackout that affected the entire city, making communication between the UN-backed NERV and the Japanese Strategic Self-Defense Force harder in defending Tokyo-3 and the rest of Japan from Angel attacks. Some within NERV, such as Lieutenant Colonel Misato Katsuragi and Special Inspector Ryoji Kaji, even accused Dr. Ritsuko Akagi of causing the blackout during the testing of the Evangelion Unit-00 though she denied responsibility when asked in the lab. Nonetheless, Vice Commander Kozo Fuyutsuki ordered all emergency power in the NERV Headquarters to be immediately redirected to the Magi supercomputers and Central Dogma to ensure the facility remained functional as it would be under normal circumstances. But the blackout paled in comparison to the much larger crisis that was about to befall the universe of Earth-95 in the Snap from Earth-199999 and elsewhere in the Multiverse, an event that would be as catastrophic as the Second Impact 15 years prior.
Outside the NERV HQ, the Children consisting of Shinji Ikari, Asuka Langley Soryu, Rei Ayanami and Mari Illustrious Makinami had just arrived to enter and pilot their Evangelions. They discovered their cards could not open the gate, which remained closed to them, unaware of the blackout on Tokyo-3. Despite the Children sliding their cards repeatedly, nothing happened and the gate was still unopened.
"What? Why isn't my card working!?" Shinji wondered. Rei concurred with Shinji's response. "My card isn't working as well."
"Geez Shinji, you're not the only one whose card isn't working in this place. My card also isn't working 'ya know!" Asuka yelled at Shinji.
Mari sighed at the responses from Shinji and especially Asuka regarding the gate. "Can we please remain calm and remain patient here?" Mari told the others. "Besides, we'll find a way to get into the NERV Headquarters eventually not mention that I am as much of a genius as you and I can get past such troubles when they happen".
Inside the NERV Headquarters, everyone was trying to figure out who or what caused the Tokyo-3 blackout. The blackout caught the staff of NERV by surprise and disrupted their work as the lack of power erased progress and made things more difficult for them. At the control room of the NERV Headquarters, Fuyutsuki himself conversed with Commander Gendo Ikari about the blackout.
"Commander Ikari, what do you believe is behind the recent blackout affecting Tokyo-3?"
"Potential sabotage done on purpose to weaken our defenses against the Angels".
"Our more immediate concern is how this blackout will immediately affect fighting the Angels," Fuyutuski informed Gendo. Suddenly, Gendo and Fuyutsuki received a call from the Japanese Strategic Self-Defense Forces, which detected an unidentified object from the former Atami region heading to Tokyo-3. However, neither Gendo nor Fuyutsuki responded to the call from the JSSDF as a result of the citywide blackout, much to the latter's frustration.
Elsewhere, Ritsuko and NERV First Lieutenant Maya Ibuki climb the emergency ladder to the control room with the elevator unavailable while Misato and Shigeru Aoba try to call in the elevator they're stuck in though they cannot get anyone. The pilots, including Shinji, also try to call the others but face the same problem as Misato and Shigeru until Mari pulls out her emergency manual and recites the typical procedure for a NERV employee or Evangelion pilot, to get into the headquarters by opening an emergency door. As for the Children, Asuka was excited to see the problem of how they were going to enter the headquarters resolved though she wanted to do it on one condition.
"Hey, since we're open to get into the headquarters and open this emergency door, I should be the leader and Shinji should open it."
"Asuka, you're not exactly the most level-headed person in the room despite your intelligence," Mari said to Asuka. "I believe I should be in charge here given my skills."
"Since when did you get to decide you should be in charge of leading us to the NERV HQ!". Mari reminded Asuka that since she is just as much of a genius as her and more level-headed, she should lead the opening of the emergency door. Rei concurred with Mari. "From what I've heard about Mari during the fight with Sandalphon, she knows the inner workings of the Evangelion and I think she's more equipped to lead than you." However, Asuka wouldn't let Mari be the leader so she decided to have them play the game of rock-paper-scissors and bet that she would be the leader if she won. Mari reluctantly agreed and played the game in which she defeated Asuka by choosing rock over scissors. As such, Asuka begrudgingly allowed Mari to lead the effort to get into the NERV headquarters. She then chose Shinji to open the door. Despite not wanting to pull the door manually, he would pull it's lever to finally let him, Asuka, Rei, and Mari get in out of compassion and concern for his friends.
The unidentified object continued to make it's way to Tokyo-3. From it's appearance, it was very clear that this "unidentified object" was in fact an Angel identified in the Dead Sea Scrolls and JSSDF as Matarel. This Angel resembled an arthropod right down to it's mode of locomotion as it crawled on four legs when it emerged from Atami. Like it's offspring, this Angel was out to destroy Tokyo-3 and the rest of the world. As soon as it appeared, the JSSDF sent planes to Tokyo-3 to warn the public of it's existence which was helped by the loudspeakers delivering an important announcement urging civilians to evacuate to avoid the Angel's attack. One of these civilians who heard the announcement was Makoto who was doing laundry for Misato and immediately decided to go to NERV HQ but was briefly stuck until he found an appropriate vehicle to get there in the loudspeaker van driven by two people and quickly got into it as it's driver. With the JSSDF and loudspeakers, the civilians of Tokyo-3 were now on high alert for Matarel.
Back at the NERV HQ, Misato, Kaji, Maya and Ritsuko felt the heat with the blackout shutting out the facility's ventilation system and had different methods of keeping themselves cool. For Misato and Kaji, she removed her red NERV jacket and told him, "Man, it's really getting hot in here". Kaji was unfazed by the heat and asked Misato if she could take off her shirt but she refused and kept it on. Conversely, Ritsuko and Maya used fans to provide air to offset the heat, while Gendo and Fuyutsuki were in the control room with only candles to provide light. Meanwhile, Makoto made his way into the NERV HQ using the loudspeaker van even if he was reckless, as Matarel was now in Tokyo-3. Ritsuko later moved from one room to another to speak with Fuyutsuki concerning the possible purpose of sabotage in the blackout. "This Geofront was designed as a self-sufficient colony if it is isolated from outside. It can't happen theoretically theoretically without all the power that supplies".
"It means somebody did this intently".
"I guess that their purpose is the research of this place".
"You mean that they want to guess the structure of the Headquarters starting with the recovery procedures?"
"Spies…"
With the power out for now, Ritsuko decided to run dummy programs for the Magi supercomputers since it would make things difficult for saboteurs as she saw it. Gendo saw no problem with Ritsuko's proposal and allowed her to proceed.
In the now-darkened halls of the NERV HQ, Shinji and the Children were making their way to the next room to pilot their Evangelions. Just as they were going through the halls, Makoto was in the loudspeaker truck telling the Children about the Angel Matarel.
"Angel is coming, repeat."
"Hello, Hyuga-san!" yelled Shinji and Asuka as they tried to get the attention of Makoto despite being in different areas.
"Angel is coming, repeat, Angel is coming now!". Makoto's words were repeated by Shinji and Asuka as a reminder of what was going to happen next, though much like the denizens of other Earths in the Multiverse, they were unaware that the Snap would follow next for Tokyo-3 and elsewhere. Regardless, Shinji and Asuka decided to take a shortcut to get to the Evangelions as quickly as possible, while Mari and Rei reluctantly did so. The Children crawled in the shortcut to get to the Evangelions before Matarel could destroy Tokyo-3. Shinji then asked about the true purpose of the Angels concerning their universe.
"Listen, what do you think the Angels are?".
"What are you even saying here!" Asuka rudely retorted.
"Angels, messengers of God. Our enemies. Why are we fighting against them?"
"What are you, stupid! Unidentified aliens are invading our world for Christ's sake. It's natural that we have to deal with a lot of difficulties coming unexpectedly down our heads".
The Children finally got into another hall. As with the door at the NERV HQ, the Children were torn on what to do this time over whether they should go left or right and Asuka challenged Mari to rock-paper-scissors again. Unlike last time, Asuka defeated Mari by choosing scissors over paper and she got the opportunity to decide where the Children should go next by picking right despite Shinji's objections. However, when Asuka reached the right door, she saw Matarel, who freaked her out and unintentionally closed the door for her and the others' safety who were not too happy with her choice. Still, Asuka defended and justified her decisions to them. "We made direct visual contact and because of me, we now know we're going to need to hurry".
Makoto finally arrived at NERV HQ inside the loudspeaker van to warn the others of the attack by Matarel and urged them to launch an Eva to intercept it. Maya then told Gendo and Fuyutsuki of this urgent news from Makoto. Gendo chose to defer the duties of activating the Evangelions to Fuyutsuki though it would be done manually despite the Children still being in the building and ready to operate them.
Shinji and the Children were now in another hall and were unsure of where to go next but still walked to get to the Evangelions. Asuka began to tease Shinji on her relationship with his father.
"You know, I heard you're Commander Ikari's favorite child. I guess that makes you so special as an Evangelion pilot while an excellent girl like me is different from us".
"Asuka, please don't do this."
"That is why you're such a pussy".
Asuka then noticed that Rei was going in a different direction and stopped her. "Hey don't you make a fool out of me since I have a say in the matter".
"I'm not here to make a fool out of you." Mari shared Rei's sentiments and reminded Asuka, "Rei isn't here to make a fool out of you, Asuka. Let it go and move on". Asuka wasn't too happy with Mari's words though she heeded them.
In the control cage for the Evangelion, a group of NERV staff yelled "heave-ho" as they were pulling the entry plugs from Shinji's Evangelion Unit-01 while Gendo and Ritsuko watched when another staff member informed them that the termination signal plug was discharged. Gendo gave the order to insert the entry plugs into Units 01, 02, 03 and 04, a move that was questioned by the staff member who told Ritsuko, "But we don't have any pilots". Ritsuko reassured the staff member that the Children would arrive on time. Gendo joined the NERV staff in pulling the entry plugs from the Evangelion Units to activate them. Maya informed Ritsuko that NERV was ready to fix the plug and Ritsuko said the only thing left was for the Children to arrive.
The Children meanwhile, were coming closer and closer to finally piloting their respective Evangelion Units when Shinji informed them that he could not open the doors with his hands and Mari suggested breaking the duct to go ahead. The Children crawled further and further into the duct and Shinji was nervous, causing Asuka to become rude and kick him in the face, calling him an "Idiot" and an "Asshole" and telling Shinji not to see much to Rei and Mari's discomfort. Unbeknownst to the Children, Ritsuko knew they were finally here as Shinji told Asuka "There is nothing for it but to see. If I don't see forward, I can't advanc…" as they fell clumsily into the cage containing Evangelion Unit-01 while Rei and Mari landed gracefully. Ritsuko sighed at the behavior of Asuka and Shinji but was nonetheless glad for them to show up. Gendo saw the Children here, including his son Shinji and ordered the staff to manually open all hatches of the Evangelion Units. Shinji asked Ritsuko about the conditions of the Evas and said "They're ready". Shinji was not convinced as he felt it wouldn't work like the other things in the NERV HQ which were manually operated by humans. Ritsuko reminded Shinji that the other things in the NERV HQ manually operated by the staff were the idea of his father Gendo. Gendo and the staff continued to open the door to the entry plug of the Evangelion Units and Maya initiated the order to insert the plugs. Ritsuko declared "All Evas are ready for activation with auxiliary power sources," and she, along with Gendo and Maya, oversaw the first bolt lock of Unit-01 removed followed by the pipes being broken with axes, the hydraulic locks released and the bindings removed as well with emergency batteries installed. Ritsuko declared again they were ready as Shinji, Asuka, Rei and Mari entered their Evangelions.
The Evangelions, upon activation, crawled in the same duct as before for the Children, and Asuka's kicked down the door so that she and the others got into the landing pit. But the Children were suddenly affected by the destructive liquid from Matarel pouring onto Rei as she along with Shinji, Asuka and Mari fell though they were able to get back to the duct to avoid the liquid as they decided on what to do against Matarel when Rei spoke of it's true purpose.
"The target is trying to invade the NERV Headquarters directly with strong solvent liquid" Rei observed.
"What shall we do?" Shinji asked.
"Of course, we should beat it down!" Asuka responded.
"Sure but how are we going to do it? I dropped my rifle and the batteries are our backs are empty. We'll be able to move for no more than three minutes".
Before Mari could have a say in the matter, Asuka quickly came up with her own plan to take on Matarel. "I have a plan. Defense stays here, neutralizes the AT field and also protects Offense from the Angel's solvent liquid. Backup goes down, backup picks up the dropped rifle and gives it to Offense. And then Offense destroys the target by a salvo of the rifle". Rei and Mari were on board with Asuka's plan as was Shinji and Rei chose to be Defense but Asuka proposed that she would also be Defense to the objections of Mari and Shinji, who saw her as being too aggressive, reckless, and dangerous. "That's exactly why I am Offense" Asuka replied, putting Mari in Defense with Rei. "Trust me, this plan will work out well against the Angel".
"Alright, let's go," Asuka yelled as she made her way to the landing pit with Shinji, Rei and Mari to follow. Asuka's Evangelion Unit was poured with the solvent liquid and she felt pain. Rei flew down to get the rifle for Shinji while he was holding onto the right side of the landing pit with his two feet. With the rifle, Shinji fired at Matarel killing it for good and protecting Tokyo-3 from further harm. Asuka's Evangelion Unit fell onto Shinji's in a mix of gratitude and spitefulness. "I've got even with you". However, just as the Children were about to celebrate their victory over the Angel, the Snap finally set in for this universe as half of it's population was erased from existence by Thanos as with everywhere else in the Multiverse. One of the many unfortunate victims of the Snap was Kaji who was holding his girlfriend Misato while trying to climb the elevator to get into the escape hatch when he dissipated from existence, causing Misato to fall in pain and look at him.
"Kaji…What is happening to you!?" Misato looked with total shock.
"Misato…I am not feeling so good…" bellowed Kaji as he dissipated in front of Misato's eyes.
"KAAJJII!" Misato screamed in anguish. Misato was now stuck in the elevator with no one to get her into the escape hatch and was left heartbroken by the loss of Kaji. But Misato was far from the only person on this Earth who was in despair and anguish over losing a loved one. Millions of humans were feeling the same anguish as Misato with half of the population gone in the most destructive cataclysm in this universe since the Second Impact. Like the population of Earth-95, Misato was unaware that this cataclysm was caused by Thanos using the Infinity Gauntlet with all the Infinity Stones on Earth-199999.
In the control room of the Headquarters, NERV felt the aftershock of millions snapped out of existence with half of it's staff gone, including Fuyutsuki and technician Shigeru Aoba. Gendo, Ritsuko and the surviving staff were confused and bewildered over some of them suddenly dissipating in front of their eyes. The remaining members of NERV now had to retrieve the Children and get Misato out of the elevator for their own safety without their full staff.
"Dr. Akagi, we must find Misato and our pilots so they can be safe. I want you to bring Makoto, Maya and a few of the staff with you for support so that everything will go according to our plan," Gendo instructed Ritsuko.
"Yes, Commander Ikari".
Ritsuko, Makoto, Maya and the others crawled into the duct and found the Children still lying after their battle with Matarel. "Shinji!" screamed Ritsuko. "You must come with us, now! This is urgent and dire for all of us". Shinji and the Children heeded Ritsuko's words and followed her into the duct inside their Evangelions but to ensure she and the others were safe, they went in last. The Children, including Asuka, wondered what this urgent and dire news Ritsuko spoke of was while crawling the duct.
"You know, what exactly is this urgent and dire stuff Ritsuko is talking about? I mean, we kicked the Angel's ass together and saved Tokyo-3 again so how could it be urgent and dire?". Asuka asked.
"Maybe it might be some group of people who infiltrated the NERV HQ during the blackout," Shinji said.
"Whatever this urgent and dire news from Dr. Akagi is, we must find out and decide the best course of action," Mari replied. "Indeed," Rei responded.
The Children finally got into the control cage of the Evangelions but found themselves as the only ones and received another call from Ritsuko to meet her, Makoto and Maya in the control room. They followed Ritsuko and the others in the halls of the NERV HQ and finally got to her to learn what this urgent and dire news was.
"Everyone".
"Yes, Akagi-san".
"We have something to share for all of you".
"What is it?" Shinji wondered.
"A blackout occurred taking out the power of the facility and Tokyo-3. While we were trying to get it back on, half of our staff started to suddenly dissipate out of existence without explanation," Ritsuko outlined to the Children.
"What?" Shinji responded with a look of confusion alongside Asuka.
"For reasons as yet unknown, the survivors including myself saw the others vanish in a cataclysm amidst our efforts to restore power to the headquarters. It is why you are here".
"So this is the urgent and dire news you've told us, Dr. Akagi," Mari observed with curiosity and concern.
"We suspect that the effects of this cataclysm spread to not just us but the rest of Tokyo-3 and the world," Ritsuko told the Children. "Among those who were lost are Vice Commander Fuyutsuki and First Lieutenant Aoba. There are others who may have dissipated and the fates of Lieutenant Colonel Katsuragi and Special Inspector Kaji are left unaccounted for. We must find them and for this task, Hyuga and Ibuki will accompany you".
"OK," said Shinji.
Shinji, the Children, Ritsuko, Makoto and Maya set out to find Misato by looking through the halls of the headquarters and checking other rooms or areas. They soon heard faint cries of "Help!" and "Let me out of here!" from Misato and got into the elevator room, where they saw one of them was gone up or was until the blackout took out their power. The others discovered that Misato was trapped and alive, asking for immediate assistance in getting out of the elevator safely.
"Lieutenant Colonel Katusragi", Ritsuko bellowed.
"Oh…" Misato said.
"We are going to get you out of the elevator. Help is on the way".
Misato was glad that Ritsuko and the others were here to help her get out of the elevator with Kaji gone even as she said for him. Maya pulled out a lift elevator for Ritsuko to reach Misato but before she could do this she had to get an ax to open the door and climb down to let Misato go next. When the elevator door was finally opened, Ritsuko and the others found Misato to be crying and heartbroken with dust in her hands.
"Katsuragi, what happened?"
"Akkaagii. You see, I was stuck inside the elevator and trying to keep myself cool with Kaji while I tried to get into the elevator emergency hatch to get out of here when all of a sudden…KAJI TURNED TO DUST AND I WAS LEFT SO CONFUSED AT WHY THIS HAPPENED AND I HAD NO WAY OF GETTING OUT OF HERE BEFORE YOU SHOWED UP," Misato told Ritsuko as she was crying and screaming over his death by the Snap.
"This mysterious cataclysm has now claimed the life of Kaji-san," Ritsuko noted.
"Just when things couldn't get more dire," Mari snickered.
"Katsuragi, you are safe with us and you can get out of this elevator to safety' Ritsuko said to Misato. Misato finally saw her chance to get out and did so as Ritsuko instructed.
"Everyone, this situation has grown more dire and the power still has not yet been restored. The situation has likely extended beyond just the headquarters and into Tokyo-3 and the rest of the world. We must meet with Commander Ikari immediately," Ritsuko told the others.
Ritsuko and the others quickly rushed into the control room of NERV HQ to meet with Commander Ikari and inform him of Kaji's fate.
"Dr. Akagi, what news do you have to share?"
"Commander Ikari. Kaji-san is another victim of the mysterious cataclysm that has claimed the lives of half of our staff" Ritsuko informed Gendo. Gendo's reaction was one of cold surprise over the loss of Kaji as he was his cat's paw for NERV and his gone could derail his plans but his focus as of now was on the sudden disappearance of his staff and other people in Tokyo-3.
"We are now in the most dire situation as some of our colleagues dissipated out of existence and the power has yet to be restored. This situation extends to Tokyo-3 and the rest of the world as Dr. Akagi has noted. We must restore power to the facility and discover what caused this cataclysm," Gendo detailed to the surviving NERV staff and pilots.
"Noted, Commander Ikari," said Ritsuko.
After Ritsuko took note of Gendo's plans, Makoto had the idea of taking the loudspeaker van to meet up with the governments of Tokyo-3 and Japan on how to deal with the latest crisis affecting the world and quickly ran only for Gendo to notice which caused Makoto to turn to speak with him. "Where are you going, Hyuga?" asked Gendo. "Commander Ikari, I really think we should speak with Tokyo-3 and the national government so we can figure out how we can deal with the crisis. I can get the loudspeaker car and drive to meet with them so we can restore the power to the facility," said Makoto.
"If it's done the sake of restoring the power, you may proceed Hyuga."
Makoto ran off to get into the loudspeaker van in the control cage, which by then was empty and he noticed that the two of the people inside it were the victims of the Snap. Makoto took the key in the driver's seat and put it into the keyhole to start the car and drive outside of the headquarters. When Makoto got outside, he saw that Tokyo-3 saw it's population reduced considerably with the dust containing the dissipated persons covering the streets, vehicles and places of residence of the city as well as the JSSDF sending soldiers, tanks and supplies to the survivors and the survivors themselves creating makeshift memorials to their now dusted loved ones such as a couple mourning their son with flowers, toys and a cute little drawing. Makoto also saw surviving foreign tourists, such as a pair of Americans, discussing the cataclysm concerning their home countries, confirming that it did affect the entire world. Additionally, one woman even showed her potted plant, which had a flower missing or a man holding the collar of his dog who wasn't here which was proof for Makoto that the catastrophe affected not just humans but all living things in this universe. He later drives to Shinji's school and sees similar occurrences with the students. He gets out of the van and goes through the crowds of mourning students to meet with Shinji's teacher and ask about which students vanished in his class.
"Sensei, do you know which students from Shinji's class dissipated out of existence?" asked Makoto.
"I can confirm that Suzihara Sakura, Aida Kensuke and Horaki Hikari were dissipated along with some of my other students as well as those from different classes," Shinji's teacher told Makoto.
Makoto rushed through the halls of Shinji's school and saw Toji grieving over the death of his sister Sakura with her classmates and students elsewhere. He eventually left the school to report his findings to Ritsuko and Gendo and got back into the loudspeaker van. He reached the NERV Headquarters and rushed to meet with Ritsuko and Gendo as he had before.
"Hyuga, what findings do you want to share with us concerning Tokyo-3?" Gendo asked.
"Ikari, this catastrophe is not confined to our headquarters. From what I've heard or spoken with witnesses, the catastrophe is truly global and has claimed half of Earth's entire population no less!".
"Just as we thought. This catastrophe has spread across the entire world. It's claimed as many lives as the Second Impact but the cause is unknown and it seemed to spawn out of nowhere. We must discover what this catastrophe is so that we may prevent such incidents from happening again".
Shinji asked Makoto, "What happened to Toji, Kensuke and Hikari?". Makoto responded, "Toji is alive and well but Kensuke and Hikari...Well, they vanished. In other words, they're gone," confirming that the latter two were the victims of this seemingly mysterious cataclysm that devastated Shinji, as Kensuke was one of the friendliest classmates he ever knew. As Shinji was tearing up, Makoto was here to comfort him.
Upon hearing the news from Makoto, Ritsuko proposed an idea to find the source of the mysterious cataclysm. "Commander Ikari". "Yes, Dr. Akagi," a curious Gendo inquired. "I believe that to find the source of this cataclysm, we must build a machine so we can search for it everywhere." Gendo favored Ritsuko's idea and complimented her for proposing it. "Your idea of building a machine to discover the source of the catastrophe is logical and I will say we should do this once the power is restored to the facility". Just as Ritsuko and Gendo finished their conversation, Misato screamed, "Hey, since we're creating a machine to find where the hell this catastrophe that took Kaji and so many others, I HOPE WE CAN BRING THEM BACK!". Ritsuko and Gendo were surprised by Misato's burst of screaming and Ritsuko assured her, "We might bring Kaji and the others back through this machine but we don't know". Misato was hopeful, at least, for the possibility of Kaji being brought back from the dead along with the others in her eyes.
As for Shinji, his life was getting stranger and even more chaotic for him and the other Children. First, the Angels came to Earth, then a blackout and the dissipation of half of all living things erased from existence, including some of his friends. Could things get even stranger, he asked himself as news crews arrived at the NERV HQ regarding the cataclysm.
Tokyo-3, Misato's Apartment
Night had fallen on Tokyo-3 after the mysterious cataclysm took the lives of over half of the world's population, whether they were human, animal, or plant. Power had been restored through the efforts of the remaining workforce of Tokyo-3, thus ensuring the survivors of the Snap could go about their lives after the catastrophe. Shinji was with Misato in her apartment, along with Asuka, Rei and Mari, who came here for his and Misato's well-being with Kaji gone. Misato's pet Pen-Pen was here to comfort her and the Children after the catastrophe, including the loss of Kaji even going so far as to hug him. As Misato was depressed, Shinji served a meal for him and the Children which was delicious so they wouldn't starve. After finishing their meal, the Children and Pen-Pen were reminded by Misato, "Let's watch something on the television about the catastrophe," and they all got up to watch. They had all tuned in to watch a news report from the NHK about the disappearance of people worldwide, including Japan, with interviews from locals and the JSSDF personnel giving their thoughts on this event and a press conference from the Prime Minister. One of these local interviewers in the news report was a schoolgirl, Mana Kirishima. Kirishima was a transfer student Shinji recognized from their initial interactions with each other and belonged to the JSSDF robotics program T-RIDEN-T Land Cruiser which was created to provide a human-controlled machine of war as opposed to lobotomized and artificially-created Evangelions but one of them had gone rogue forcing the JSSF and NERV to destroy it. Shinji was at least glad to see her alive and well, in contrast to Kensuke and Hikari. He also wanted to meet up with Mana after the catastrophe.
"Mana…" Shinji muttered at the television screen as he looked at her.
Near the end of the news report, the NERV staff were next, such as Misato herself and Gendo. The latter even promised that NERV and the world would go on after such a great calamity and urged others to rebuild at least as far as the public knew of his true persona. Once the news report ended, Misato turned off her television and spoke of her interview.
"Shinji-kun, I was on the NHK report about the cataclysm and I got to express my true feelings on this event," Misato told Shinji. "I just hope we can bring Kaji back." "I hope Misato-san".
Misato then announced to Pen-Pen, Shinji and the other Children, "Let's sit around and share our thoughts on what happened today so we can be informed". They sat around the table to discuss the recent catastrophe, and all had something to share on this strange, unexpected event as they saw it.
"I just wanted everyone to know that this recent catastrophe has been the strangest, most unexpected event to ever happen". Asuka announced. "I mean, we're living in a world where Angel attacks are as common as waking up but a blackout and the disappearance of half of all life on Earth? That just came out of the blue, and we didn't expect them to occur while we were fighting an Angel".
"Asuka..." Shinji asked.
"Yeah. What is it, Shinji?".
"I'm feeling so nervous right now because this catastrophe has taken out half of all life, including the people who work for NERV. How are we going to defend ourselves against the Angels if we only have half of every human living on this planet?"
"Relax, the Earth experienced the Second Impact and look how human civilization has evolved in the last 15 years. It's not like the catastrophe will hurt us anymore than the Second Impact".
"Then again, this catastrophe is unlike anything we've seen before as we don't know it's source of origin yet and it will affect our efforts in defending the Earth from the Angels," Rei inferred.
"She's right. This catastrophe is nothing like what happened prior and it will affect how we fare against the Angels," Mari said.
Pen-Pen screamed in curiosity and concern over the Children discussing the recent cataclysm.
"You wanna know something? Akagi-san is going to build a machine to find out where the hell this catastrophe came from and hopefully fix this mess!" Misato yelled. "Anyway, it's late, so we should be going to sleep," Misato told Shinji and the others after the table discussion on the catastrophe. Misato went to her room while Shinji was with Rei and Mari in his room.
Misato, Shinji and the other Children went to bed after the table discussion since it was already late. While in his bed with Rei and Mari, Asuka knocked on the door, asking to sleep with him holding her pillows and bed sheet together.
"Hey, Shinji".
"Wha…"
"Can we please share this room because I've got something important to tell you?"
"OK," Shinji said as he got up and opened the door of his room for Asuka. Asuka then put her pillows and bed sheet close enough to Shinji's to have a little talk. "Honestly, what happened was quite frankly the strangest day we've ever experienced. First, we had a blackout shutting off all the power in Tokyo-3, then we had a freaky arachnid thingy Angel descend upon the city, which we took out and then half of all life in the universe started to dissipate from existence! Believe me, it was the craziest shit we've experienced in my lifetime or anyone else for that matter. Whatever or whoever caused this catastrophe, we're going to find out eventually and who knows, it might be even crazier than last time!" Asuka boasted.
"I guess…Asuka" Shinji told Asuka.
"This catastrophe doesn't seem to be anything we're used to," Rei observed.
"Either way, we're going to find out who or what is behind this catastrophe and whether it yields anything special for the entire planet," Mari said.
Shinji and the Children went to sleep after the conversation about the catastrophe, hoping to find out what caused it. While they were asleep, Ritsuko and the remaining NERV staff were hard at work in the first stages of creating a new machine to find the true source of the cataclysm itself, one that would, unbeknownst to them and their universe, bring something much bigger.
In a dark, dimly lit room, five figures belonging to the nefarious SEELE were with their leader, Keel Lorenz, and NERV Commander Gendo Ikari to discuss the recent cataclysm that claimed half of all life on Earth. They were not pleased with this event as it meant that the Human Instrumentality Project, the plan of forcibly unifying all humans into one living being, now had a major setback with Evangelion pilot Kaworu Nagisa, otherwise known as the Angel Tabris, dissipating from existence.
"Commander Ikari…" asked Keel.
"Lorenz".
"What has transpired recently is a critical development in our plan. Tabris has now vanished from existence and we are missing the Angel that will bring all of mankind as one being with Lilith and Rei. What do you believe is the best course of action to move forward with our plan?"
"We should continue on and use Rei as the conduit for the Human Instrumentality Project. Besides, we still have her and she is useful in accomplishing this plan of ours," Gendo said.
"Hmmm…You have a point. Rei is still around for us to have her and Lilith bring mankind as the single dominant lifeform on this planet. Very well, we shall move forward".
The meeting ended as the five figures and Lorenz departed along with Gendo. For Gendo, the goal of Instrumentality is to be with his deceased wife Yui Ikari, even if it goes against SEELE's plans. With half of the population mysteriously dusted from existence, Gendo was confident he would find a way to achieve his goals. However, like so many others in his universe, he was unaware of what was to come next.
And that was the first chapter of Infinity Crisis: Neon Genesis Evangelion. Much like Weyer and the other authors of this story, I am here to provide commentary.
Concerning the depiction of Neon Genesis Evangelion in the story, it's a combination of the original 1995-1996 series by Gainax, the video game Girlfriend of Steel and the Rebuild of Evangelion films by Khara, such as Asuka's surname Sohryu and her backstory or the presence of Mari Makinami Illustrious similar to how the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles from In Hand and Foot were based on the 1987 animated series and the animated-Mirage Comics hybrid 1990 film. Speaking of Girlfriend of Steel, Mana Kirishima is present here as in the Shinji Ikari Raising Project and other NGE fanfics. With Kensuke and Hikari snapped out of existence, Mana fills their roles, particularly the former two. Regarding Toji, I originally had him die with Kensuke and Hikari in an early draft, but I ended up keeping him alive to provide some gender parity for Shinji and the other Children with Kaworu out of the picture. Also, the Toji in the story is modeled after his original incarnation in being a regular Evangelion pilot, but her sister is called Sakura, like his Rebuild incarnation. Toji as an Evangelion pilot was done for the aforementioned reasons but was also inspired by Chuckman's Last Child of Krypton, which featured him as a pilot alongside Mari. As such, Mana will be the major non-pilot character joining Shinji and the Children in IC: NGE.
When it came to conceptualizing the story, I was inspired by a simple search on TV Tropes for Fan Works of the iconic pirate manga and anime One Piece, where I noticed that it existed in the Infinity Crisis multiverse but no other stories from the same medium were portrayed so I chose Neon Genesis Evangelion because of it's status and especially the cataclysm-related backstory. However, Episode 11 (The Day Tokyo-3 Stood Still/In the Still Darkness) was not the original choice for the story as I had briefly considered including Episode 5 (Rei I/Rei, Beyond the Heart) or a story about an entirely original Angel when planning this out, but I went with 11 because of the blackout serving as the prelude for the Snap and further troubles.
Regarding the Snap, the event itself affected so many universes that some of their heroes, such as the Avengers of Earth-199999 or the Justice League of Earth-51, teamed up to defeat Thanos and the Masters of Evil as in the original Infinity Crisis story. Neon Genesis Evangelion is not one of them and you'll find out why. That said, they will interact with other Earths in the Multiverse per the grand tradition of Infinity Crisis.
The prologue for IC: NGE above is a modified version of a prior prologue I had written but less cluttered and more organized. I based it on the prologue for In Hand and Foot by Weyer himself.
Some of the dialogue in the story is taken or based on the original Japanese version and the ADV/Netflix English dubs of episode 11.
The scene with Gendo and SEELE is styled after a post-credits scene in some franchises such as the Marvel Cinematic Universe, one of the major franchises of Infinity Crisis, hence the lines separating it from the other moments in the story.
Lastly, the IC reality designation of NGE, Earth-95, is taken from the year 1995, which was when the anime first premiered on Japanese television. The designation was chosen to avoid confusion with the separate, unrelated reality of Earth-199596.
As always, constructive criticism is welcome in improving this story.
