Creation began on 08-16-24

Creation ended on 08-16-24

Neon Genesis Evangelion

Different from You: Life in Bubble Town

A/N: For anyone that has seen the series, you can guess how unique this story is likely to be, as I'm always looking to do the things nobody else thinks of doing.

How many times must something happen to anyone before you come to realize that there is no such thing as a coincidence or accident? How many times must someone go through the same kind of bizarre phenomenon before they realize that they are being manipulated by a higher power at work? And how long can they endure what is outside their control before they are able to take control and make their own decisions about what comes next? This was how one Shinji Ikari was thinking as he sat in the back of the van with his illegitimate daughter, Shado Ikari, as they were being transported across the terrain to their new setting, the so-called victims of an unfortunate situation.

Some two weeks ago, the father and daughter were in the Entry Plug of Evangelion Unit-01, mostly because Shinji didn't trust any of the adults of NERV around his daughter, especially his absentee ghost of a father, who gave Shado one terrible look and tried to separate the pair, about to go up against an Angel that was too bizarre to describe, and the next thing either knew, they were in a place where there was no such organization as NERV, no such enemies called Angels, no such city as Tokyo-3, and where no such individuals known as Shinji and Shado Ikari…even existed. The people that found them had been in charge of interdimensional exploration, trying to open doorways to other realms outside their own, and when they did so for the tenth time, they ended up pulling the two and the Evangelion from their dimension into a new one, causing an explosion that destroyed the research station. This, combined with how unsanctioned their work was by every government, left Shinji and Shado in a predicament with no credible chance of a solution in which they were returned to their own world.

"You've been quiet ever since we passed the checkpoint," the driver, a woman with long, chestnut hair and blue eyes, says to Shinji; she was among the research participants that was responsible for putting the two in their new situation. "Are we really that different from the world you two are from?"

Shinji, who was looking out at the ocean view, turns to face her and replies, "I really couldn't say, for sure. We only lived in one part of Japan before Tokyo-3, and it was a lonely place where everyone was… I really just don't expect to get my hopes up. What is to be expected?"

"Well…where we're heading is out of place and nobody is likely to ponder about two new faces moving in."

"Why?" Shado asks her.

"We're setting you two up in Bubble Town. Out of place in the countryside, but well-known for its own unique quirk."

"Bubble Town?" Shinji questions in confusion; he had been reading about the location, but found it unusual in the fact that, unlike other places inhabited by people, its population consisted of more robots than humans. "That's where we're heading?"

"Well, yeah. Why live in a big city where the unknown is known to occur everyday when it's better to live in a small town where the unknown is easily predictable and where the crime rate is low? Also, who doesn't like life in a small town?"

"Um…just how big does a town have to be to be considered 'small'?" Shado asks, just wanting to know the layout of the town.

"We're a minute away from it right now," the driver tells them, and they look up ahead.

Shinji's eyes widen at the buildings in the distance. If he had to use one word to describe his impression with the location, it was this word: Impressed. The buildings were large, small, looking like they belonged in a future where everything looked like they were made by children with a lot of free time on their hands and came from families that were set for life. Not to mention they were all brightly painted and had this sense of being made from non-metallic materials or glass.

"Daddy," went Shado as they got within walking distance of different buildings, "it's like a large…block set."

"Block set? Does she mean, Legos?" The driver asks Shinji.

"You have Legos here?" He responds.

"I guess that's something our worlds have in common."

As the van continued on, Shinji noticed why this town was unusual with its population quirk. He could see people of all races and ages up and down the blocks, but they were few in number, outnumbered by the menagerie of robots that were out and about. Not only were there robots of many varieties present, but Shinji noticed how several children, particularly those around his daughter's age, seemed to have fun with several that likely served as pets or companions.

"So many 'roobots' (robots)," went Shado, seeing a girl running after a robot shaped like a dog.

Shinji smiles. It was now a likelihood that Shado would want a robot of her own. Who wouldn't want one? And in a world not their own, but where they needed to adjust because it was unlikely that they would ever return (not that he wanted to), who wouldn't want a robot for something?

-x-

NERV was in a bind due to the loss of Unit-01. It was hardly a loss with the Third Child and his illegitimate daughter, but the loss of the Eva was a problem. However, because it was Gendo Ikari that authorized the order to use all remaining N² explosives to detonate the Twelfth Angel, it was technically his fault for losing all three of them, the Eva, the pilot, and the pilot's child. Even though it was Ritsuko Akagi that carried out the operation to salvage the Eva, she was no different from employee that was following instructions, but that didn't save the faux-blond from another smack from the tactical strategist that lost her cool after the discovery that the Dirac Sea that made up the Angel's body wasn't going to regurgitate any of what it consumed beforehand, which meant that whatever and whoever was sucked inside it were as good as gone.

"Who's going to say it?" Makoto Hyuga asks Shigeru Aoba and Maya Ibuki as they were in the cafeteria. "I don't want to say it."

"Then don't say it," went Shigeru. "There's nothing to say."

"It's not really like we're facing scrutiny from what happened," says Maya to them. "He…didn't want to be here to start with."

They both look at her like she crossed a line with her choice of words.

"Well, he didn't want to be here," she defends.

"Even so," Shigeru responds, "there are other ways to walk away from here. He could've resigned. He could've just left with his kid. He could've just…"

"You honestly think that man would even let either of them leave?" Hyuga questions.

It was common knowledge around the base that Shinji hated his father for personal reasons, and the hate seemed to be mutual, as Gendo Ikari had made several attempts to have Shado Ikari removed from the boy's care, knowing that neither of them, Shinji in particular, could function well without the other being present. The only reason Shinji even reconsidered leaving after the Third Angel incident was because of Sub-Commander Kozo Fuyutsuki talking him out of leaving, a choice the elder didn't realize until just a few days ago was his worst mistake among many he had made.

"You said the Angel was like a different dimension of sorts, right?" Shigeru asks Maya. "Do you think it's possible that…they're still alive elsewhere?"

"Yes, it's possible," Maya answers, "but we don't know where they could've ended up once the Angel was detonated. The possibilities are beyond unknown to us. And…even if they survived the explosion, we don't know if they are likely to survive wherever they ended up. They could be in a demonic universe, a universe where time stands still, a world where dinosaurs still exist or something else just as unlikely."

"Would it be too much to ask for them to just be somewhere else where people like his father don't exist?" Hyuga questions, and all three of them sigh.

-x-

It was a quiet neighborhood, and Shinji had to admit, the house was a nice setup for Shado and himself. The research team had really set them up for their new life here in Bubble Town. It made him smile a little as he let it sink in that he was no longer required to pilot Unit-01, that there were no monsters to fight that endangered the world, that he was…was free of his father and other people that found him being a father to a little girl disturbing and outrageous because of what befell him when he was nine years old and nobody really did anything until it was too late to do anything. Yes, he was finally free of them, able to move on and make his own decisions on how to live now.

"Is this really our house?" Shado asks as she looks inside the interior of the little house through the front door; she didn't want to enter the residence until she got the okay to do so.

"Yes, Shado," Shinji tells her. "It is our home now. It's…it's home."

Shado smiles and steps inside, turns around and looks up at her father with a smile.

"We're home!" She cheers, and Shinji chuckles.

"We're home, Shado," he says, grateful to be here now.

To be continued…

A/N: This idea was in my head for some time, but I wasn't able to figure out the plot just yet. Another crossover idea that nobody else has done. Another what-if scenario within the Different from You series where Shinji Ikari has to look after a child of his own while navigating the ups and down of a life where he has to be better than his own father. What do you think will transpire later on?