Record That

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN EVANGELION, NOR ANY OF THE SONGS! DON'T SUE ME!

Chapter 5: Levitating

The little girl was curled up in a corner of her room. It was cold and dark, the power hadn't gone out, but she was too scared to turn on the light. Her imagination had taken hold, making her think that when she would go to flip on the light switch, a hand would break through. When the alarms sounded, she feared that the world was coming to an end. If only she was with her brother when it happened, he wouldn't have let her run home by herself.

Being a child, she had thought many times that she was going to die. Though even at her age, she knew that it was only an expression. One that people said in desperation when they were greatly embarrassed and afraid of being caught, or something along those lines. Except here, she felt as if that wasn't just a possibility, it was going to happen.

Earlier, an explosion happened that shook the entire apartment building. Maybe it was the bombs dropping, perhaps World War three had finally begun. It was only natural that Tokyo-3 would be a target. According to the girl's father, the place was a city-wide fortress. Where an entire nation's military could stay safe.

It's these thoughts that made the girl cry and curl up more into a ball. Every slight sound made her tense. She expected the building to start collapsing, or perhaps even the walls to come falling down. What she didn't expect to hear was the sound of footsteps coming down the hallway. They were coming closer to her apartment, and then they seemed to stop all of a sudden in front of the front door.

The girl became incredibly tense. At any moment, she expected someone to kick the door down. Perhaps foreign troops come in and kill any last survivors. Instead, she heard a knocking. Not a booming commanding knock, it was a polite light tapping at the door. Suggesting that someone would please come and let the stranger in.

She didn't go to the door immediately, seeing if the stranger was simply at the wrong place. Though after she heard the second round of knocking, followed by a soft voice. One that sounded like a teenager, most likely the same age as her older brother, is what caused her to slowly get out of her corner and approach the door.

"Hello! Is there anybody in there? Can you hear me? Is there anyone home?"

The girl opened the door slowly and was greeted by a tired looking fourteen-year-old, with brown hair and eyes. He was skinny and was dressed in very proper school uniform attire. When he saw her, the boy sighed in relief.

"Thank whatever God is up there. I thought you were lost in the city or something."

His expression was friendly and earnest, but something about him seemed off to the little girl. Though, she couldn't put her finger on what exactly it was.

"How…How do you-"

"Know about you. I'm a friend of your brother at school, my name is Shinji."

Shinji then bowed.

"No." the girl said.

"What?"

"My brother tells me about his friends. He only has a couple because of the parents moving out."

She was nervous while talking, but she brought up a good point. Perhaps this would've phased him, if not for his experience.

"Yeah, sorry, I'm not really a friend, more of a classmate. Though, while we were on our way to the shelter, Toji told everyone that he was worried about you. So, I offered to run down here to get you and bring you back."

He spoke with such confidence and understanding, that he seemed too good to be true. Granted, he was better than a strange adult telling her to come with them. Though, still, something seemed off.

"Okay, is the shelter far away?" She asked.

"No, actually, we could make it if we-"

"Then why didn't my brother come for me?"

The little girl was smart. Her instincts were telling her not to trust this kid, and her brother had warned her about strangers. This, in her eyes, was a moment of truth. To see if this stranger was who he says to be. She expected him to start stuttering and trying to explain things, before maybe trying to grab her. So, she kept a hand on the door just in case.

But, instead, Shinji simply sighed and seemed to become calmer. Realizing that he should tell the truth, at least part of it.

"Ha, you got me kid, but in all seriousness. I know your brother."

The girl slammed the door on him. That was enough for her, she wasn't going to fall for his lies. She turned around to go back to her room. Then she screamed, when Shinji was already inside, standing right behind her.

"Calm down, kid." Shinji said.

This didn't stop her from tripping and then crawling up back against the wall. Her facial expression was a familiar one to Shinji at this point. So, he tried to confront her as gently as possible.

"I know this is weird and terrifying, but please understand. I'm here to save your life."

For the first time, he seemed to feel earnest while talking to her.

"How…How did you do that!? Get out of my home!" she shouted.

"I will, but I need to get you to safety first."

"I don't want to go with you! My brother told me to never talk to strangers!"

"Fair, but does that rule apply to a disaster scenario?"

"I….I…"

She didn't know what to say.

"Look, you're going to just have to trust me on this, okay?" Shinji said.

She didn't hear him; all she could think about was how scared she was. Perhaps if she ran for it, she would have a better chance of survival. Whomever this kid was, it's not who he wanted to be seen as.

"How about this, I'll prove to you that I'm on your side. Just…" Shinji tried to think of something to do to show that he meant no harm, but he was drawing a blank.

The girl tried to think of something as well, though her thoughts were undercut by an explosion going off that once again shook the building. The girl bumped up and down on the floor. Yet, Shinji didn't even break his balance.

"Seems they're getting closer. We need to leave as soon as possible, there's other things I need to attend to."

More sounds of explosions followed. Helicopters were flying by, and the alarms started to blare out again. No matter how calm he seemed to be, Shinji couldn't stop the girl from panicking. She was curling up into a ball again. Crying and screaming:

"Stop it! Oh, please! Stop it!" The girl screamed.

Another explosion happened, but it sort of stopped halfway through, followed by complete silence. This caused her to look up to Shinji. Who was now holding a glowing ball in his hand. It was bright orange and seemed to be on fire.

Both of them looked at it for a couple of seconds. Taking in the strange beauty of it, until eventually the ball disappeared. Burning itself out, like a campfire shortening down to the size of a single burning stick. Before eventually, flaming out.

"Funny thing, I didn't even know I could do that until now."

The little girl didn't know what to say. She just stared in awe.

"Are….are you an Angel?"

Shinji slightly smirked but kept his humble demeanor.

"No, I'm just me."

He then raised his hand again, a sound of another explosion happened then stopped suddenly. Then another flaming ball appeared in his hand until that too disappeared.

"I could do this all day, but I really want you to get back to your brother. You'd be much safer there then with my overpowered a-ahem…oops."

He stopped himself from swearing, the girl was seven after all. Though that didn't stop her from laughing. They shared a laugh together, then Shinji eventually explained one last time.

"Let's go, your brother's shelter is not that far."

Slowly, the little girl got up. Shinji went over to take her hand, but before she reached out. She took one last precaution.

"What's my name?"

Shinji stopped for a minute, and with one last reassuring look, he said:

"It's Sakura, unless you want me to call you something else."

Sakura simply shook her head and reached her hand out.

He then took her hand, and they walked through the wall. It happened so fast; Sakura didn't even notice. She thought they had simply gone through the door.

As they walked down the hallway, Sakura began asking a bunch of questions. Some of which he gave shrugs to at best, most he just ignored. Though one did catch his attention.

"Are there any others just like you?"

"Ha, let's hope not."

That last ominous note that Shinji left their conversation on seemed to loom over them in silence as they took the elevator. Kind of redundant to Sakura, who could tell that he could teleport. Why would they even bother to take an elevator?

Not only that, but they were also heading to the top. Sakura was going to ask 'why?', but Shinji simply told her to 'keep moving'. When the elevator stopped, they went down the hallway to a staircase and then emerged on the roof. From there, they both got a good look of the hills where the shelters were. Though, they were pretty far away and they both were definitely not on the right floor to start walking to them.

Sakura was naturally confused.

"What are we doing up here?" she asked.

"Well, I was planning on flying us there, but…..that will just make us a moving target."

Shinji looked out over the horizon to the Angel making its way towards Tokyo. Along with the last remaining helicopters and planes swarming it. Trying to keep it busy while NERV prepared the Evangelion. Though they weren't doing much, Sachiel was more distracted by something else. It started to sense the same presence that sent it flying earlier.

The boy/reflection could send it flying again, but that would mess up the timing of everything. And now, the Angel was about to shoot another laser in his direction yet again. So, Shinji needed to think on his feet. He could deflect the blast, but it would only be a matter of time before Sachiel would simply stride over here.

How can you teleport a little girl to a safe destination, without making her incredibly sick and passing out? What works on Angels does not work on humans. Shinji then noticed Sakura looking in the direction of the angel, her curiosity getting the better of her. Though he blocked her view just in time, so she didn't have any nightmares.

"Nope, don't bother." he said nervously when he stood in front of her.

"Why? What's over-"

A laser shot and bended around them, then exploded in the distance. Sakura screamed and practically jumped into Shinji's arms.

"The thing that can do that." Shinji told her.

"Oh no! Please, fly us out of here! Teleport us, something!" she begged him.

Shinji thought for a couple seconds, with the massive footsteps of the angel closing in. Then, in a matter of seconds, he slipped out his SDAT player and put the headphones over Sakura's ears. Before he hit play, he shouted at her to:

"Don't take these off until the song ends!"

She did as he said, and soon almost all the sound around her was silence. As music filled her ears.

(Talking Heads - This Must Be The Place)

(0:00 to 1:04)

Shinji snapped his fingers out of Sakura's vision to see if the outside sound was truly cut off. She didn't react to it, so the next step was convincing her to follow him. While he sort of walked and danced to the beat of the music, Shinji stepped off the side of the building onto thin air. Sakura's mouth felt like it almost hit the floor as Shinji remained standing, hovering in mid air.

The boy encouraged her to follow him. This worked, because despite not being able to hear the explosions, Sakura could still see and feel their heat. So, she ran up to him, grabbed him by the pant leg and then made the mistake of looking down. Not only was she hovering in mid air high above the city. They were also somewhat moving.

She started to feel queasy, so Shinji made sure to guide her chin up to look at him. He made the gesture to signal to keep her eyes on him, then broke free of her and started dancing robotically backwards. Sakura laughed at the sight and how weird everything was. The music certainly helped as well, he even seemed to wiggle his limbs to the different piano beats. Causing her to try and join in, which he encouraged.

They danced for a little bit while walking forward. Until Shinji made sure to catch her attention by singing to the song.

(1:04 to 2:12)

Home is where I want to be.

Pick me up and turn me around.

An invisible force seemed to pick Shinji up and spin him around before putting him back down.

I feel numb, born with a weak heart.

I guess I must be having fun.

He placed his hands over his heart, then kind of laughed.

The less we say about it, the better.

Make it up as we go along.

Feet on the ground, head in the sky.

It's okay, I know nothing's wrong, nothing.

Sakura meanwhile just kept following Shinji. Kind of mesmerized by his childlike behavior.

I…I got plenty of time.

I…you got light in your eyes.

Shinji of course pointed to Sakura when he sang that.

And you're standing here beside me.

I love the passing of time.

Never for money, always for love.

Cover up and say goodnight, say goodnight.

He looked kind of sad at that last line. Sakura felt like she missed something.

(2:12 to 2:48)

As Shinji continued to dance down the invisible road, he started to mimic playing the instruments. Which soon turned into real instruments, though more like the bright wireframes of ones. They were also semi-invisible and gave off this odd heavenly blue glow. His main favorite was the piano.

Sakura felt the need to join in and tried motioning to the guitar. She thought she wasn't doing it right at first, but then as if out of nowhere. A guitar formed in her hands, and she seemed to know where to place her fingers and how to strum. Though at this point, she just kind of accepted anything and went with the flow.

Which helped her not notice the missiles, gunshots and explosions happening all around them.

(2:48 to 4:17)

Home is where I want to be.

But I guess I'm already there.

I come home; she lifted up her wings.

I guess that this must be the place.

I can't tell one from another.

Did I find you, or you find me?

There was a time before we were born.

If someone asks, this is where I'll be, where I'll be.

I, we drift in and out.

I, sing into my mouth.

Out of all those kinds of people.

You got a face with a view.

I'm just an animal looking for a home.

And share the same space for a minute or two.

And you love me 'til my heart stops.

Love me 'til I'm dead.

Eyes that light up, eyes look through you.

Cover up the blank spots.

Hit me on the head, I got.

"Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh".

The both of them didn't really share any looks or anything. They were just really into the flow of the song. Sakura because she seemed to really enjoy playing the guitar, dancing and moving to the beat. And Shinji because he seemed to be growing sadder yet keeping a smile on his face.

(4:17 to 4:55)

For the last bit of the song, Shinji did away with his glowing keyboard and instead started dancing. Though, he started to purposely trip, yet managed to rebalance himself just in time. It then turned into its own strange dance in a way. Which brought much amusement to little Sakura.

This kept up for a little bit longer until.

(End Song)

The two touched down on the hills, right outside the shelter. Sakura slowly took off the headphones, looked around, and took in the fact that it covered over a good number of kilometers in only five minutes.

"I couldn't just teleport you like how I do it." Shinji explained, getting Sakura's attention. "Imagine falling for or constantly moving what feels like a lifetime, so that way you can travel somewhere in just a second."

The girl simply nodded, not knowing what to say.

"That's why I essentially just created an invisible conveyer belt for us to ride on."

"Oh! So that's why we were moving, and…Hey! Where's my guitar?" She looked around, as it seemed the instrument had disappeared.

Shinji smirked.

"Do you think you could still play it if you had one?"

Sakura shrugged. With that, Shinji reached his hand out and after a couple of seconds a guitar flew to him, and he grabbed it. Blowing back Sakura a bit and almost causing her to trip.

"Try it, I even got a junior guitar just for you." He said, while handing her one.

"Thank you." She said with big eyes and an even bigger smile.

The look of genuine thanks that Sakura gave him, caused Shinji to shiver.

'I think that's the first time someone besides Misato has ever thanked me like that.' He thought.

It took her a little bit, but Sakura began to get a flow for the instrument. She could only play the riff from the song they just listened to, but it was impressive for such a young girl.

"Do you have a headache or anything?" Shinji asked.

"What? No, I don't think so. And it's not just the instruments I loved. Those words you sang were amazing."

"You mean lyri- WAIT! You understood me!?"

Sakura nodded with a smile on her face, and began singing the song back again while playing her guitar. Unaware of how talented she had just become.

After a confused look, Shinji slapped himself on the forehead.

"Hundreds of experiments, and it all boiled down to just having a little fun while doing it. God, I'm stupid."

He then turned to the shelter's big vault-like door.

"Alright, let's get you inside before another-"

BOOM!

Sakura screamed, nearly dropped her guitar and grabbed onto Shinji. The explosion was nearby, but they were just a bit out of initial blast radius. Though that didn't stop derby from falling on them. Which Shinji just formed a barrier, similar to an umbrella in order to keep from large chunks of rock landing on their head.

"That. Let's get you inside before that happens again."

"Okay." Sakura responded.

They slowly made their way over the door. Kind of hard to do when you have a child clinging to your leg, but they made it. Shinji slid the giant door open and pushed Sakura inside. He started to close the door, but stopped when Sakura stood in the way.

"Wait! Aren't you coming in!? You said you knew my brother?" She asked.

"I do, and I know that this is the shelter he and his classmates always run to. So, just go on ahead. I have other things to do."

"What other things?"

"You'll see, trust me, now just get inside."

He tried to push her back inside again, but she stayed put.

"Will I ever see you again?" She asked.

Shinji became a bit stumped on how he could explain this situation. Though, he tried his best given that the real show was about to begin.

"Yes, and no. There's someone who looks similar to me, almost like a twin brother, but trust me, he's not the same. I have to go work with him to save the day right now, but after that. I'll probably come back around here a few times more. I don't know, I'll see how things play out."

"You hate him." Sakura said.

"Who?"

"The one who looks like you. I can tell, you have the same look my brother has when he talks about our Dad."

Shinji just remained silent, then pushed Sakura and slammed the door. The little girl stood there for a minute in the darkness, barely being lit by the dimming yellow hallway lights. She thought about trying to open the door up, but knew she probably didn't have the strength to do it. So, instead, she clutched her guitar like a stuffed animal, and made her way down the hallway.

Pretty soon, she heard footsteps coming.

"Hello? Did someone just come in? I was just using the bathroom, the real shelter is further down."

The young man's echoing voice was all too familiar.

"TOJI!" Sakura shouted, and began running. She could see him when she turned a corner, lit up by the glow from the main lobby.

"SAKURA!"

The two ran to each other and embraced. Sakura cried for a minute, but Toji kept his cool. He didn't want to cry in front of his sister. Though he didn't keep the smile off of his face.

"Sis, how did you get over here? And how did you get this guitar?" Toji eventually asked after pulling back a bit.

"Well," Sakura looked at her guitar too. "It's pretty weird, it's like those movies you know. Where the guy is all like, 'You won't believe me when I tell you this.'

"Well, right now there is a monster destroying the city. So, I'm entitled to believe anything right now."

"A monster!? I thought we were at war!"

"Wait, how did you not see the monster?"

While Sakura tried to find the right words to explain herself. The radio announcement came on, followed by a familiar voice. Or, at least familiar to Sakura.

"Hello, citizens of the nightmare city that is Tokyo-3. I hope you all have had a safe trip out to your shelters. Where you are all now at a perfect distance to watch the biggest concert of the month."

Shinji spoke in one of those parody announcement voices to really hype up what he was about to do.

"Though it's not ready just yet. I'll let you know in an hour or so when it will be safe to go outside and watch, but until then. Enjoy some smooth new age music."

He made sure to say that in the most advertiser way possible. Like he was trying to sell you an album of classic songs. What followed was some creepy, yet ethereal sounding tunes. And as the sound filled the hallway, Sakura pointed up to the speakers.

"Him, he was the one who saved me."

(Tubular Bells - Mike Oldfield)

Oh boy, that took a while, though I'm very happy with this one. I tried to think of where to put this part in the story. I thought maybe it would be a flashback when Shinji met Toji at school, but that didn't seem right. Then, later one day, these songs came on, and the magic started to happen.

Sorry if the muse follows so slow on this one, but it's so I don't rush this and end up deleting this latter. I hope you all have been enjoying this series. And I hope this story made your day a little bit brighter.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! YOUR MOTHER SUCKS COCKS IN HELL!