Chapter 1: Shatterpoint

It is said that there is truth, however small, in every story ever told. So few that you and I know realize how true this is. Even fewer still realize how many variations there are to those stories. They are Echoes, so familiar sometimes and yet each so unique. Such a little thing can change one of those Echoes, one of those stories, forever…

From my perspective and others, I mean to tell you such a tale.

- 'Where I've Been', 1st Entry

Yamanakako, Japan, 2009

It was quiet, nearly silent, in the small house that sat alone in the woods, away from the town that helped keep it, and those that lived within it, supplied with everything that they needed.

Shinji Ikari, a thin boy of only 9 with dark brown hair and surprisingly deep blue eyes, a rarity in Japan, liked it that way. His room was the most quiet of all the house, a neatly ordered space just like Sensei had taught him to keep it.

He wondered for a moment sitting on his bed, as he sometimes did, if his old home was like this at all. He could remember so little of it. Of what had come before. All he could really recall on his own for certain was…

A train platform. It was rainy. Cold. He didn't know where he was. What had happened this time. Someone was missing, still. Someone…

He couldn't remember where Mother had gone. Papa might have. But he didn't say anything. Why was he turning away? Where was he going?

"Papa? Papa!"

The words he shouted, the tears mixing with the rain they threatened to get lost in, seemed so small as the man walked back onto the train.

When would he come back? They'd packed him a bag, so he had to be staying wherever he was for a while. But it still hurt. He'd lost someone he couldn't fully remember. Now, it seemed he was also losing the only person that he did.

Even now, so many years removed, the memory ached within him. Time had dulled the pain, once Sensei and his wife had finally found him under the cover of the station proper, a crumpled, somewhat damp note clutched in his hand for them. The Azumas.

Shinji leaned back on his bed as he considered them. Sensei, and such was the only thing he wished to be called, was a smart man, probably a professor, or a scientist like Father had been. Father must have trusted Sensei to leave him with a young boy. But even then, he'd kept his distance, made it clear that Shinji was a student first. And every so often, with Sensei having taught him in part how to study people, he'd catch glimpses of some strange resentment. Like Shinji had somehow made him angry, but didn't remember how. He'd learned to tread carefully, make sure that, even if Sensei wouldn't be happy, he would at least be satisfied.

Mrs. Azuma was a little more welcoming, at first. But she'd grown distant as well. He saw that she hurt at times. He'd seen a picture of a boy, happier times for the Azumas as they smiled within the frame. But he was gone. The balance was already so delicate here. He'd never asked. They'd never told.

But, for the most part, they'd left him alone. Kept him fed and clothed, warm and decently educated, but alone nonetheless. He went to primary school, did his learning, came home, and rarely left his room. Part of him was grateful for that. Part of him had, in the beginning, been confused. After some time, he'd been angry, an unfocused thing that seemed to gnaw on his heart. That had been snuffed out the one time he'd ever been in a fight. Both Sensei and Mrs. Azuma had been so disappointed then.

Now, he was simply ambivalent to it all. It didn't hurt, as long as he didn't think too much about the particulars of his life.

Besides, that he was alone meant that he could occupy himself however he wanted. The cello, an instrument that was required for his music class, sat in a corner, well-maintained. Some people at school thought it was his favorite. It was just a requirement, though. No one had told him he should stop. Mostly because no one really paid attention to him playing, he'd realized. It was starting to not even be a requirement, now. It just… was.

But there was another distraction. One that he'd found in the bottom of his bag, carefully wrapped up to protect it, more than he'd been that day. It sat in his hand now as it sometimes did, so small and yet seemingly so heavy. It was an SD card, filled with music. Seemingly the only thing left from his father.

His hand twitched, seemingly ready to throw it as he'd tried to do before, and succeeded once. He could lose it, permanently. Just like Father had decided to lose him. But…

He sighed quietly and began the now almost rote ritual of putting the card back in his phone. He plugged in his earbuds, put them in, and pressed shuffle on the music player. It played one of the classical songs on the card now, a single part of an eclectic mix of genres, each inclusion as much a mystery now as the man who had put the songs together.

He let it carry him away as he closed his eyes. Deep breaths. He almost felt like he was floating, flowing along the songs like a boat in a vast ocean. Alone. Untouchable. The one consolation life seemed to grant him.

Then, someone did touch him, and he tensed for a moment as he opened his eyes to find…

"Mrs. Azuma?" he said as he paused the music and pulled off an earbud. "Can I help you?"

The middle-aged woman, streaks of white in her black hair, smiled slightly, equally slight crow's feet crinkling at the edges of her black eyes. Even then, she seemed… strained, somehow. "There's a… visitor." she settled on after a pause to consider the proper word.

Shinji took out the other earbud and listened for a moment. Yes, there was someone else here. Sensei must have been talking to them. Whatever it was they were talking about, pitched too low for him to hear the words clearly, Sensei wasn't comfortable with it.

"Okay," he said, quietly now. "Is there something you need me to do?"

Mrs. Azuma was silent for a moment. "Our visitor… he wants to meet you."

It took a moment for the words to fully register. Then Shinji's eyes went wide as anxiety began to knot him up inside. "Why? Did I do something wrong?"

Mrs. Azuma shook her head. "No, no. He says…" she seemed so uncertain of what she was going to say next. "He says he's worked with your parents before."

Parents? His father? His mother?

'Does he know what happened? Am I going home?'

Home seemed a nearly impossible thing now. Hope, such a strange thing to feel, met his anxiety and swirled in his mind, giving him questions, some with answers that only spawned more. "Who is he?" he finally decided to ask.

"American, that much is for sure. But he seems to know things that even Daiki and I didn't fully know. Things only your father and mother knew. The truth."

"The truth?" What could be the truth?

Before she could reply, Mrs. Azuma turned to see Sensei standing in the doorway. His face, square and topped with a shock of grey hair, held an expression of resignation and, impossibly… fear. What had he been told by this stranger?

"Akina," he said in his deep rumble of a voice, "let's talk in the hallway for a moment."

Mrs. Azuma nodded, looking back at Shinji and smiling again. "We'll get this sorted out. I promise."

They left the room and closed the door behind them, silence following after a click that was broken quickly as his guardians began their discussion. They spoke quietly, their words little more than muttering to Shinji, and he was content letting them have their privacy.

He wondered if he truly would have to meet the man waiting for him. A part of him was… terrified at the thought. This, as much as he found it boring at times, was at least familiar. What would he find out? What would he see? Who would he see?

The questions gnawed at him, and he wanted to put the headphones back in and pretend that he was asleep, much as he was sure that it wouldn't fool anyone. His heart began to pound slightly.

Then, Mrs. Azuma opened the door again after what felt like a small eternity. "Shinji."

She said it as calmly as she possibly could, but her eyes held that fear that he'd seen in Sensei's face. "Come and meet Daniel."

Daniel? That was an American name, wasn't it? It didn't matter much as he got to his feet, a part of him begging not to go into the unknown. Let it stay as it was. Let it not begin to truly hurt again. But his feet obeyed, and he went down the stairs and into the living room. Standing next to Sensei was, presumably at least, Daniel.

He didn't quite know what he was expecting, but it certainly wasn't what was before him. Where he'd thought a suit or uniform on a tall, imposing man would be, an average height, barrel-chested man in a white button-up shirt over a deep green t-shirt and some black jeans were instead, dress shoes left at the door replaced by black canvas sneakers in their place in an outfit that was eerily similar to the one he usually wore. A beard, neatly trimmed, along with a short head of blond hair framed an oval face with somewhat sharp cheeks and a not-too sharp nose.

What intrigued and confused Shinji the most, however, were the man's eyes. Not for their color, a blue that was somewhat brighter than Shinji's, but for their… familiarity with the place. Had he visited here before?

The man looked at him and… smiled. It was a soft thing, a somewhat sad thing, and Shinji couldn't understand what was behind those eyes that looked at him. What had he done to deserve that look?

"Hello, Shinji." he reached out a hand, and Shinji was only slightly surprised by his nearly accentless Japanese, a surprising tenor giving the words an almost inviting edge. "I'm Daniel. It's nice to meet you."

Shinji shook the man's hand politely, more tense than he wanted to be. It felt… almost dangerous, the man's voice. "It is nice to meet you too, sir." His voice was timid and soft, almost wordlessly begging to be forgotten after the man had left.

Daniel looked over at Sensei, a somewhat warning look crossing his face. "And you're sure about this? After everything I've shown you?"

Shinji looked up at Sensei and saw the grim smile on his face. "As long as Gendo never knows, it can only be a good thing for him."

Sensei looked back at Shinji. "You're going to be living with Mr. Theisman at his apartment. We'll still be your guardians, but he will take care of your basic needs."

Shinji's eyes went wide. They were leaving him? He would be with a stranger again? Had he done something wrong? What could it have been? He'd tried so hard to do his best…

Daniel went to one knee, coming to eye-level with Shinji as he looked intently at the boy. "I'd like that to happen, yes. But only if you want it to happen. Do you want to come with me? Or do you want to stay here?"

Shinji blinked in surprise. This man was giving him a choice. A choice. It seemed so simple, but… he'd never had the option before. A part of him was curious now. But…

Shinji shook his head. "I'll stay here."

Daniel nodded slowly as he stood. "Okay, Shinji. I understand."

The man looked over at Sensei, and Shinji wondered for a moment if he'd made a mistake. "I'll still be around. And the offer will stand as long as he needs it to."

Sensei nodded, and Shinji found the man inscrutable again. "Very well. If Section 2 comes around…"

"I'm a former student, training under you to go into teaching here in Japan. As decent a cover story as any. I'll cover my tracks. I'm good enough at that."

Daniel nodded. "Well, I should get going now. I'll be back later in the week to talk to Shinji more."

Shinji turned away as the adults began to talk, heading up the stairs to his room again as Daniel began to leave. Before he could get to his room, however, that curious part of him urged him to ask. For a moment, he rebelled against the thought. What if the question upset the man? What if asking left him here with the Azumas?

Even still, he turned back, heading toward the door and hoping he'd catch the strange man before he left.

His hope was answered as he saw Daniel pause at the door, tying his shoes. "Shinji? Can I help you?"

It took a moment for him to get up the courage. "Mr. Daniel… do you know my parents?"

Daniel nodded after a moment as he stood. "I've worked with them before. Not closely. But enough to know who they are. That your father left you here…"

He saw a darkness, an anger, pass over the man's face, and Shinji shied away slightly. Then it was gone. Shinji still had another question to ask. Just one more and he could be alone again. "Why… why did you ask me if I wanted to come with you? You're an adult. Why not just take me?"

Daniel smiled slightly, walking over to Shinji and taking a knee again. "Because the first thing I want to teach you, Shinji Ikari, is that there is always a choice. And you have the strength to make the one that you want, regardless of what you may think."

Daniel stood again and walked to the door and opened it into the sunset, pausing as he looked over at Shinji one more time. "Remember that, Shinji. There is always a choice."

. . .

#12 Line to Tokyo-3, March 18th, 2015

'There is always a choice…'

A bend in the tracks, the gentle shaking of the empty train car, stirred Shinji from his thoughts. It was the first lesson that Daniel had taught him. It hadn't been the last.

The door had stayed open for when Shinji had finally decided to live with Daniel, just as promised. Shinji lost himself in thought for a moment again.

The first recital that Shinji had seen Daniel at. It was the first time there had been anyone familiar to look for in the crowd.

The first Christmas he'd ever celebrated. A bucket of KFC on the coffee table of a spare apartment, American Christmas movies (with subtitles) playing on the screen.

A guitar that Daniel had decided to play alongside his cello.

Sitting down and helping him do homework. Playing video games, few though they may have been. Celebrating a birthday with a cake and presents. Doing the things that made other children… normal.

And the talks about what had happened. The truth of Second Impact. The whispered promises to never tell a soul about what else they had talked about that had been kept to this very day.

He had become the closest thing Shinji had to a father, he'd realized. That realization had come fully with what he now held in his hands, the packet and itinerary that came with it mostly forgotten as he stared down at what had made him think so deeply in the first place.

'Come.'

A single word.

On a single piece of paper.

It was the first word to him, of any kind, that his father had given him in years.

Why? Why wait so long? Why be so cold, so impersonal? What had changed now? Why?

He hated, sometimes, how good he could be at asking questions.

He hated it especially after Daniel had been hired by NERV, the place his father worked at, and left for Germany. It had made things difficult, having to move in with the Azumas again. But Daniel's parting gift was a pair of cellphones, really good ones, and a promise that they would stay in contact, even halfway across the world. It was thus a given that Daniel had heard about it.

"I don't know why your father is doing this." Daniel had said before Shinji had left. "There's so much mystery around the man. Probably to his liking. So be careful with NERV, because things are about to get weird. Be on the lookout, because you and I both know how good you are at that. Be brave enough to ask questions. And never assume the first answer that's given is the correct one. Even with that, though, remember that, at the end of the day, I believe in you. I trust your abilities, even if they aren't apparent and nobody else seems to think of them. Good luck, Shinji."

'But he's my father… if he's calling me back… surely he's going to answer at least some questions truthfully. Right?'

He hoped so, as the train came to a stop in the station and the doors hissed open. He stood and got his carry-on bag, stepping onto a platform that was… empty. Where was everyone?

"As of 12:30 pm, a special state of emergency has been declared for this region. All residents, please make your way to your designated shelter immediately. I repeat…"

'A special state of emergency?' The message filled him with some slight dread as he made his way out of the station, and onto the street. Cell service was gone, likely shut down by whatever had caused this state of emergency in the first place. So, he resolved to find another way to contact the number that had been on his other piece of mail.

He reached a phone booth by the station, a seeming relic at this point, and picked up the phone. Nothing but an automated message. He then ranged further afield, somehow finding two more payphones.

Finally, on his fourth time picking up a phone and listening to "All phone lines are currently disabled due to the special state of emergency", he hung up the phone with a sigh. "I still can't reach her."

He looked down at the photo he'd received in conjunction with his cold summons. It was a photo of a younger woman with black hair, flashing a peace sign and winking brown eyes as she leaned into the camera, her loose shirt flashing just a little more than that. A lipstick kiss was on one corner, and her phone number was next to the words 'I'll be picking you up, Shinji, so just wait for me!' accompanied by a heart. An arrow pointed to her chest, with the words 'Something to look forward to!' at the arrow's starting point. On the back of the picture was the name 'Captain Misato Katsuragi'.

Shinji wondered why she'd sent him such a thing. Had she hoped to use his hormones to get him to stay where she could find him? Why do that if she was just picking him up? It was hardly the sort of photo an adult should have been sending a 15-year-old boy. But, if nothing else, he at least had an idea of who he should be looking for. 'Maybe it's time to make my way to one of those shelters.'

For now, though, he simply stayed in place, taking in the silent city around him. It was, even for the state of emergency, quite nice to not be in the middle of a crowd. No one to notice him and wonder. No one else to worry about whether they cared or not. Just him and his thoughts, backed by the whir of cicadas and the chirping of birds.

As his mind and gaze wandered across the buildings, taking in the closed storefronts and abandoned cars, he caught something out of the corner of his eye. As he turned to look, all else seemed to fade away, and he barely dared to breathe.

At an intersection, in what seemed like a haze of heat, was a girl with… blue hair? Was it dyed? Where had she come from?

Then, a flock of birds lifting off all at once drew his gaze to them for just a moment. Just a moment, it seemed, was all the girl needed to disappear when Shinji looked back at where she'd been. How strange. How very strange indeed.

Then, a gale ripped through the street seemingly from nowhere, the metal shutters rattling and the electric cables above undulating with a swishing, cutting sound. The gale passed after a few moments, allowing Shinji to hear something else behind him.

He looked and saw a swarm of attack aircraft, strange things compared to the planes that he knew of, all slowly backing up as something came up from behind a hill. Something big, really big, that keened like a whale out of water.

With plodding booms, a black and bony mass emerged, stick-like arms and legs attached to a chest that seemed to have no head, simply a birdlike mask above a ribcage that surrounded a massive, blood-red jewel.

There was only one thing it could be. An Angel. The same kind of creature that had started Second Impact. It looked remarkably like Daniel had described it. 'How did he know?'

How he knew didn't matter at the moment, as missiles screamed over Shinji and slammed into the Angel, blooming explosions cloaking it in baleful light for a moment as it swayed back from the force. After a moment, it began to stride through the oncoming missiles like walking through a rain shower, entering the city proper and making the world around Shinji shake with each footstep.

Finally, it seemed to tire of the barrage and extended an arm, the spike protruding from its elbow beginning to glow a baleful pink as Shinji smelled the sharp sting of ozone filling the air. Then, the spike lanced out from the Angel's arm, catching an unlucky fighter that tried to juke out of the way and clipping its tail.

The fightercraft valiantly tried to control its descent, but it still went into a mad spin toward the ground. It slammed into the street several dozen meters ahead, sliding toward him with the screech and sparks of dragging metal. The sound consumed that of Shinji's shout as he fell to the ground. It slowed, then stopped in front of him, and he heaved a sigh of relief.

Then, the world became painted in a pinkish, purple hue, and the Angel, seemingly the source of the light, lifted into the air, floating toward Shinji in further defiance of the laws of reality. It landed on the aircraft it had downed, its massive foot crumpling it like paper as it began to explode. Shinji threw his arms in front of him and squeezed his eyes shut as he desperately tried to accept the end of his life.

It made him almost miss the squeal of tires, and a shadow, faint though it was against the blast, moving in front of the explosion. As he lowered his arms, he saw a compact, sporty blue car, the passenger door opening to show who must have been Misato, here dressed in a tight, sleeveless black dress and shades, flashing him a confident grin. "Sorry I'm late. Get in and let's get out of here!"

Shinji wasted no time grabbing his bag and scrambling into the car, barely getting time to throw his bag into the back seat and get his seatbelt on before Misato slammed the car into gear. Shinji saw the Angel's massive foot lift away as the barrage continued overhead, then come down just in front of them, the impact shaking the car and sending debris raining down on the roof. In a stomach-churning series of maneuvers, Misato deftly swerved away, in reverse, Shinji holding on to whatever he could for dear life.

Before they could move much further, something from beside them opened up, Shinji catching a flash of something large, human-like, and purple of all things, being lifted above ground. Before he could get a good look at it, Misato turned and tore away down an intersection, finally escaping the battle.

The sight of the battle disappeared, and Shinji managed another sigh of relief as the sound faded away slowly. There was a second set of footsteps that Shinji heard, and he looked back at the city as best he could through the rear window. He caught a flash of the purple giant blocking out the Angel before they dipped below a hill, losing sight of the city.

"That…" Misato said after a moment. "Was not how I was expecting to pick you up."

Shinji, still dazed from the near-death experience, simply nodded, and the car was silent again, some greater battle becoming evident behind them as crashes and the crumbling of massive things echoed into the car.

After what felt like both minutes and hours all at once, Shinji blinked as they stopped on a hill outside the city. Misato looked past him out the window, and Shinji followed her gaze to see the Angel in the distance, dots of fighter craft surrounding it. "Oh, good," Misato muttered as she grabbed a pair of binoculars from the center console. "At least they led it back out of the city."

She rolled down Shinji's window and leaned out over him as he shrank down, her chest uncomfortably close to his face. She grumbled every once in a while. "Damn brass. How much more are you going to waste?"

Shinji didn't know how to reply, so he took what felt like the safe route and remained silent as his face slowly grew more and more red.

Then, Misato's eyes went wide as the binoculars dropped from her face. "Wait a minute. You're kidding. They'd have to be nuts to do an N2 strike!" she nearly shouted.

"Get down!" she said, somewhat unnecessarily, as she threw herself onto Shinji before the world went white, and a thunder that made the missiles from before seem like firecrackers roared.

Then, the shockwave hit them like a hammer, sliding the car and then sending it tumbling off the road as everything became distilled chaos within it for the most terrifying of seconds. Then, after all was still and they'd settled there for a moment, Shinji and Misato untangled themselves and looked out the passenger side window, taking in the hellish glow of a brilliant mushroom cloud.

. . .

It soon subsided, and they extracted themselves from the car. "Are you okay?" Misato asked. "That was a hell of a ride."

"Yeah," Shinji said somewhat weakly as he nodded. "I'll probably be tasting upholstery for a little while, though. Along with some sand."

Misato chuckled. "Well, the car should still drive once we get it the right way up, so help me out here."

They leaned against the car roof. "Alright. Push!"

The second try finally got it upright with a crunch, and they sat down against the door of the car, resting for a moment. "Thanks. I'm strong, but I'm not sure I could have done it without you."

"It's not a problem, Captain Katsuragi. Honestly, I should be thanking you."

Misato shook her head. "Please, just call me Misato. It's nice to meet you, Shinji Ikari."

Shinji nodded, and they were quiet for a moment before Shinji looked back at her. "So, do you think that… N2 strike killed the Angel?"

"Honestly… no." Misato shook her head. "Based on what little we know about them, that would have only slowed the thing down."

She blinked, then her eyes narrowed. "Wait a minute. How do you know it's called an Angel? We've barely even met this one, let alone talked about it to the public."

"Oh. Uh… my father sent me a packet. It was resting on my bag when you picked it up. It's probably gone now."

Misato nodded after a moment. "Well, I guess that makes sense. Means that my packet for you is mostly for your ID. And maybe a refresher."

She stood, hands on her hips and her chest puffed out almost like some superhero. "Well, time to get the emergency repair kit from the trunk."

Shinji, rightfully confused for a moment, found that the kit was mainly composed of duct tape, a clear plastic tarp for the driver's side window that had been blown out, and a worrying amount of batteries that Misato happily wired to the electric engine in the back.

Then, they made their way back onto the road and to wherever they were going, Shinji deciding to lose himself in the packet that Misato had given him. The miles melted away, and Misato's conversation with someone on her phone was a garbled, ignored rumble.

It was such a simple lie, wasn't it? Even still, it grated at him to do that. He'd been taught quite strictly to be honest with others by Sensei. It simply made life easier that way. But Daniel had been serious when he'd said that some of the things that they'd talked about were dangerous. Even if he held something, many somethings, back.

'And wait a minute. This one? Where has Ms. Misato encountered an Angel before?'

Questions for later, after they'd finished with going to where they were needed. He put the packet down as the light of day faded and looked over at Misato, who now looked out at the road with a distant, rather despondent look on her face. "Ms. Misato? Ms. Misato?"

She snapped out of whatever reverie held her, glancing over at him. "Yeah?"

"Are you sure that…" he trailed off for a moment as he looked back at the back seat, the batteries stacked even on the strange divider between them. "Those are going to get us where we need to go?"

"Of course, Shinji," Misato replied with a confident smile. "We'll get to the car tram long before those give out."

"That, uh, wasn't quite my concern." Shinji reached back, somewhat hesitantly, to steady one of the batteries that wobbled precariously. "But as long as you feel certain, then I won't say anything."

"Of course I'm certain!" Misato said. "I've got everything under control. I'm a Captain of an international civil service, after all. I really should know what I'm doing anyway."

Shinji wondered how, exactly, 'Captain' and 'international civil service' went together in this case, but Misato was actually quite pretty when she genuinely smiled. He smiled slightly in turn. "Well, with an attitude like that, I can't blame you for thinking that."

Misato nodded, then her head whipped over to look at Shinji. "And what exactly does that mean, mister?" said accusingly, her eyes narrow and her lips in a thin line.

Shinji shied away, his hands rising as he stammered for a moment. "I'm sorry! It's just, you seem…" he stammered again as he tried to find the right word. "Confident?" he finally settled on.

Like that, Misato's playful grin returned. "Well, I'm glad you think that, Shinji. Like I said, I know what I'm doing."

Shinji settled into his seat as they approached a tunnel to what must have been the station in question, thinking for a moment as the world plunged into darkness when they entered. Surely she wasn't so temperamental. Was she? He shook his head slightly. It probably wouldn't matter too much in the long run, anyway. He just had to weather it for now. That should be easy enough.

They got onto one of the mobile platforms, and Shinji studied the strange, blood-red leaf insignia that now surrounded them. "So, NERV. This is where my father works."

Misato nodded. "Yep. Special Agency NERV. We're tasked with the defense of humanity from all kinds of existential threats. Including that Angel that you saw today."

Shinji thought he heard a tinge of bitterness at the word 'Angel', but Misato continued on regardless. "Commander Ikari is, well, the commanding officer here at the Geofront. We'll probably run into him at some point."

Commander. It sounded like a busy job. Perhaps it played a part in explaining why he'd not come since the one day they'd last been together.

"I see," he said quietly. "Are we going to… see him, then?"

Misato clicked a makeup mirror, the sound almost more piercing now in the quiet rumble of the lift. "If he doesn't run into us first, yeah."

The old memory of a boy on a train platform returned to him briefly before he tamped it down, the sting of it still pricking his heart. Then, a question formed from the attempt to turn away from the pain. "So why am I here now, of all times? All this information I've been given probably means that I'm supposed to do something here. So do you know what it's supposed to be?"

"Well…" Misato was silent for a moment as she appeared to mull something over. "You're the Third Child. But… I think I get it."

'Third Child?' he wondered. Third of what? "What do you mean?"

"You're not comfortable around your father, are you?"

The non-sequitur threw Shinji off for a moment. "I mean… I don't know. I haven't really seen him since I was three."

That day so long ago didn't really count to him, but Misato nodded regardless. "I see. We're not so different, then," she said quietly.

Shinji waited for her to continue, then wondered what, exactly, she meant by that.

Then, with a rush of air, they emerged into the light, the sight before them stealing Shinji's breath as he beheld the impossibly majestic, almost magical view that surrounded him. Entire skyscrapers, a downtown view, hung like mighty stalactites, glowing with the light of a dying day seemingly reflected from above. Where they headed, a scene out of nature spread out before them, fields and groves that surrounded a lake broken up only by a few roads and bridges that led to a complex of buildings capped by a glinting glass pyramid that stood out even from their height as they spiraled down the side of the massive dome.

"Whoa…" Shinji pressed himself against the window at the sight, his eyes gleaming with awe as his mouth hung open in a half-smile.

"This is the Geofront," Misato said after a quiet chuckle, and Shinji could hear the amused smile on her face. "The first time seeing it always gets everyone who comes here. And down there is NERV-Headquarters itself. The last bastion for the defense of humanity and the restoration of life as we once knew it."

It was a sight that was as grandiose as the words used to describe it. That grandeur did not continue all the way through to its interior, however, as they entered the base.

Shinji looked around the rather uniform halls, gray broken by a blood-red stripe at waist height, then back to Misato as she looked down at a paper map, of all things, with no small amount of frustration. "Come on," she muttered, "we're going the right way. Right?"

"Is something wrong, Ms. Misato?" Shinji asked.

Misato growled as the paper crinkled in one hand. "If this map wasn't so damn convoluted, we'd be where we need to be in minutes!" she paused for a moment before sighing. "It doesn't help that I just got here recently. Man, I miss the Stahlturm."

She took a deep breath. "Anyways, if this place is even half as advanced as where I was last, there should be systems in place to get us where we need to."

Those systems, little more than wall-mounted maps that were only a little more clear than Misato's paper, led them to an elevator that went down for a while. Then another. Then yet another.

Finally, the doors to their third car opened sooner than the others had with their now customary tone, revealing another woman. She had a somewhat messy bob of blonde hair and green eyes that stared intently at Misato as she stepped into the elevator, wearing little more than a white lab coat over a swimsuit and some flats. The doors shut behind her, and they continued their descent.

Misato chuckled in embarrassment. "Ah… hey there, Ritsuko."

Ritsuko sighed quietly. "Captain Katsuragi," she said with a cool, calm voice that nonetheless dripped with resignation. "We can't afford to waste either the time or the people to have you wandering aimlessly around the base."

"Sorry," Misato said with a shrug, "I just miss how well-laid out everything was in Germany."

Ritsuko simply looked over at Shinji, a mostly clinical expression on her face, though a slight smile broke through it. "So, this is the Child?"

Misato nodded, composing herself quickly. "Yep. He's the Third Child. The Marduk Institute hasn't been wrong yet, it seems."

"What's the Third Child?" Shinji said, his question clearly catching both women off guard. "And what's the Marduk Institute?"

"Well…" Ritsuko began, as Misato hid a laugh under a faked cough. "The Marduk Institute is dedicated to searching out gifted individuals. You're one out of billions that have what's required to help us in our task."

"One in billions to be as inquisitive as him?" Misato asked, a smile still on her face taking the edge off the question. "Well, I guess it would be that sort of chance to be a little more approachable than his father."

"Captain," Ritsuko said sternly, "the Commander is to be respected. You shouldn't say that around him."

"I know," Misato replied as her smile faded, "and I won't."

"What am I the Third Child of? Where are the other two? And what would a world-saving organization need a teenager for?"

Before Ritsuko could gain her bearings again from the barrage of questions, the elevator dinged, opening up into a dark hallway lit by soft red light. "Well, young Mr. Ikari, you can follow me and find out."

. . .

After a long walk down the rather suspenseful hallway, the trio boarded a platform with rails that slowly began to ascend, the hallway opening up into a cavernous space. Echoing from somewhere, a woman's voice came over loudspeakers. "Battle Stations Condition 1, repeat Condition 1. Ready ordinance bays for city intercept deployment."

"I guess we're on then," Misato said quietly with a slight sigh.

Ritsuko nodded in the darkness. "It was only a matter of time until they fully exhausted their options, really."

Shinji looked between the two of them, his confusion not helped as they continued. "What's the status of Unit-01?" Misato asked, her tone serious now.

"It's still in the standard Type B armor from its previous sortie, and it's near the end of the cooldown from its deployment. We have repair teams working as fast as they can to bring it back up to readiness."

Misato scoffed. "Even if it's ready, will it work? Unit-00's a mess, so we really don't have much in the way of a backup if Unit-01 decides to not cooperate."

Shinji's head was spinning from all the terms. Type B? Unit-01? Unit-00? What did any of this have to do with the Marduk Institute, or being the Third Child, or even just him?

'And was that purple giant Unit-01?' he mused. 'What does that mean?'

They continued in their technobabble, just as impenetrable as before, and Shinji's gaze began to wander. The cavernous room was taken up on one side by a massive wall of what looked like clear orange-red liquid, stretching off into the distance. As he gazed at the wall, his eyes went wide as he saw something seemingly impossible; a massive hand, human-like, seeming to reach out toward them as it floated in the liquid.

"What is that?" Shinji asked as he leaned on the rail. "Another Angel?"

His question drew the attention of the adults, and he heard Ritsuko mutter something about resetting the bindings in the cage, whatever that meant, as Misato came to his side. "No, Shinji. That is Unit-01. An Evangelion."

The name set off a distant, strange memory. They'd been talking, alone of course, about Angels and the powers that had shaped the world, contrary to the stray asteroid strike that everyone had talked about.

"I hope that the Angels don't come back." he'd said. "I don't even know what we'd do then."

"We'd find a way." Daniel's tone always seemed so sure. "Humanity's creative like that."

Then, the word seemed to slip out almost as an afterthought. "The Evangelion…"

He hadn't spoken another word about whatever it might have been. What had made him so hesitant, even fearful, to talk about it in the first place?

They passed the sight and came to a dock, a motorboat moored at it allowing them to cross the liquid to a door that opened into darkness. After Shinji, Misato, and Ritsuko stepped through and walked forward a little ways, the door closed, the dark enveloping them.

Shinji stood still, not daring to risk bumping into anything. Then, with a brief flicker of light to his right, the lights in the room flashed on and revealed that it was a thin walkway that he stood on, right in front of a massive, somewhat familiar mask.

Its eyes were a baleful yellow set in a helmet of purple and lime, red accents streaming away from the corners of the mask's eyes like tears of blood. Shinji regarded the eyes uneasily. They seemed almost to stare at him, piercing to his very soul.

This was the Evangelion, the thing that had frightened even Daniel, who talked freely about so much, into silence. This was what had apparently stood against the Angel when all else seemed to fail. What could this thing do?

"What is this?" he asked his next question aloud. "Some kind of robot? A mech?"

"It is the ultimate defensive measure," Ritsuko said, an almost reverent tone in her voice. "The massive-scale artificial humanoid, designation 'Evangelion'. This is Unit-01. This is humanity's last hope, and the secret weapon in our efforts to save, and change, the world."

The words made it such a grand thing, the image in Shinji's mind almost larger than what stood before them. "Artificial humanoid… this thing's human?"

"We don't have time to answer all your questions now."

Shinji looked up at where that voice, even now all too familiar, had come from, and saw the man standing in the booth above, hands clasped behind his back and looking down at him from behind orange shades that sat above a chinstrap beard. Just like he had the one day they'd seen each other again.

"It's been quite some time." Commander Gendo Ikari said after a moment's silence.

"Father…"

What could he do? What could he say? There were so many questions, so far beyond those that came from simply standing in front of this Unit-01…

Then, with all the aplomb that having the rank of Commander bestowed on him, of being a man who would not be denied, Commander Ikari gave his order.

"Prepare to launch the Eva. You are going to ride in her, Shinji. In doing so, you will fight the Angel."