To those who have read one of my fanfcition creations named Destiny, this creation of mine is what you called an AU story. Only with a completely different anime/manga for the Freelancers to be in.

Prologue: A Chance Encounter

After the global event of Second Impact, much of the world's geography, climate, and ecosystems changed. The rising sea levels submerged many of the coastal cities including Tokyo, New York, Hong Kong, and Sydney. The most northern and southern regions of the poles became lands with an everlasting if mild winter. Countries that were closer to the equilateral zones experienced everything from chilly spring to blazing summer.

That was as true in Japan that was considered a summer country, the sound of cicadas ever droning in the background. Within one of these ever dressed forests near the home of a long retired teacher strode Shinji Ikari. Despite all the time he spent out in these woods when he wasn't in lessons Shinji knew very little about the land around him.

He knew that many of the plant, animal, and insect species became extinct after the meteor hit the South Pole, but he could barely name a handful of them. No, it was not nature that the seven years old sought outside, but the solitude it brought.

It was funny! Shinji hated being alone, yet whenever his lessons and chores were over he would go out and walk the same path. He may not be a mountain man of any sort, but he knew the position of every single rock, tree, and stream that were along this stretch of land.

The reason why Shinji walked this path time and time again were very simple. While he hated being alone and in fact craved human interaction. At the same time, it was human interaction that scared him more. The fear that someone would come along, become part of the boy's life only to one day, up and leave never to be seen again was the greatest fear Shinji had. So, while the path was lonely, it was at least familiar and unchanging. A place where Shinji could go and find everything the way he left it. That brought him comfort.

On any ordinary night, he would never dream to deviate from that path. But, today wasn't going to be an ordinary night, and Shinji would soon find himself departing this little path in the woods, but also the path his life had been walking.

Like many other nights, Shinji was alone in the forest that surrounded the home of his teacher. Never his home, just the place he lived. He was sitting on a large rock outcropping that he used to mark the end of his secret trail. Not once had he ever taken a step past these rocks. They were as lonely as any other part of the woods, but they were also the most unchanging and the most comforting. It was here Shinji went when he left his teacher's house, never anywhere else. And it was here that Shinji thought about his life.

It had been four years since his mother died and three years that he last saw his father. Not once had his old man tried contacting him. Not one visit! Not one letter! Not even a single phone call! Shinji tried asking his teacher about his father, but the man knew very little about Gendo Ikari or was ordered not to say anything.

To this day, Shinji couldn't understand why his father left him. Maybe it was because he was so average. Shinji was, according to him, the very definition of mediocrity, and in many ways he was. Although his teacher would argue that the boy had talent playing the cello. But he wasn't fast, nor strong and his ability to play sports was virtually non-existent.

Intellectually, he was a good student. Some people would call him bright when he applies himself, but they would never think of using genius to describe him. The most advanced mathematical problems, he could work were long division. He could barely play a computer game much less write a computer program. And his lingual skills were limited to Japanese.

Perhaps that was why Gendo had left him. After all, one of the few things his teacher knew about his parents was that both of them were geniuses. It was common knowledge in the world of academia that his mother some of the best papers on how to make theoretical robotics practical by using bio-mechanical engineering, and even though she pursued the life of a scientist, she was still hailed as an artistic prodigy when it came to the piano. Gendo wasn't quite as well known, but his work in the field of biology since his work never went public, but anyone who knew him in college could tell you that if he had been part of the cloning projects of the late nineteenth century the clones would have been perfect. He was also hailed as one of the greatest chess players to ever attend Tokyo University.

Yet in the end, Shinji, their offspring, was just an ordinary boy.

As he walked back to the house of his teacher, he looked to the stars, to the heavens, for answers. Something of why his life turned out like this. Is this something that fate declared his life to be.

Then, his eyes saw a shooting star. Despite knowing that a shooting star was just a meteor burning up in the upper atmosphere, he still decided to go along with the old tradition of making a wish. Closing his eyes, he concentrated on what he desired. The wish he made wasn't for his dead mother nor the father, it was for the sake of himself. Shinjo wished that something would happen that would help him change, to become different. To one day become someone of great importance.

Shinji kept his eyes closed concentrating on that desire, and then he heard it. It sounded almost like a bird, but birds were never sighted in these parts of the world. Due to the Second Impacts, some species have survived and been extremely endangered of being extinct. Birds were one of these species as Second Impact has wiped most of them leaving so few of their kinds to leave to the world.

Shinji opened his eyes and turned to see the source of his attention. It is a bird, but unlike any other species that he has learned about. It is about as big as a swan as it sits atop a branch that seemly too weak to carry the bird. The bird's body feathers are as bright as a star. It has a feather tail that is as long as a peacock's. The claws and beak of this bird are gleaming gold as its eyes are brighter than the body feathers that made like they're the eyes of the Sun. The unbelievable feature of this bird is that his feathers are so bright that it can lighten the darkness surrounding it.

At first, Shinji was started at such a sight of this bird appearing out of nowhere. As the bird did nothing, but staring at Shinji, the latter finally relaxed and studied the bird. Unknowing to Shinji, the bird was doing the same thing as it deeply scanned the boy from head to toe. As it scans the boy, it founds the boy as remarkable in a gene's sense.

To prove that he's the One, the bird flies away to another branch and sits atop it. It turns around looking, hoping that the boy will do what it suspects.

Shinji was so mesmerized by the bird that when it flies away that Shinji was scared due to his fear as the darkness of the night come back with a vengeance. Suddenly, Shinji hears whispers, very small and feminine whispers that he can barely make out the words, but he has a very strong sudden urge to follow the bird. He was confused as to why he felt like this, but he wanted to see where the bird is living, so he can see it every time that he wants to.

As the bird's predict, Shinji went astray from the path to follow the bird. It was from there, the bird knows that Shinji is the One that SHE needs. Then, the bird flew and headed to the place where SHE is located at a slow pace allowing Shinji to look up and follow the bird's every move.

Eventually, the bird flew and land near the entrance of a cave. It stays put as Shinji is within its range. As Shinji came any closer, the bird flies into the cave emitting light within the dark.

Shinji runs to the mouth of the cave and saw the bird waits for him and fly deeper into the darkness of the cave. Shinji, obeying the whispers, set one small step into the darkness and stops as he felt something. Something so alien! Then, a feminine melodic voice sounded in his mind, "It's you! Finally, I have found my …"

Before the voice finished what she said, it stops. Shinji looks around hoping to see the source of the voice. He found none and before he could do anything, the bird makes a sound in the cave. It was sounded always like the bird was in danger.

He thought as he rushed into the cave, 'I mustn't run away. I mustn't run away. I mustn't run away.'

As Shinji wandering deeper into the cave to search for the bird, he no longer hears the bird as he fears the worse as something was lurking in the cave. Before he can run back the way he came from, a small and strong light shows itself in the cave. He turned around and saw that the bluish light was located at the ground not far off from him. He took some steps towards the light.

At the end of his steps, he was closer to the light and lowered himself to gets the light, thinking that it may be some sort of stone. Then, it disappears before his hand could touch it. Soon after it disappears, it's reappeared into a narrow path. The bird makes a weakly sound somewhere in the narrow path. Bravely and ignoring all instincts to just run away, Shinji followed the light in determine to see the bird if it's an injury.

Like the phase "Reaching the end of the Rainbow," instead of finding the bird or the stone, he found some kind of wall. The wall seems to be made of metal with strange markings. These markings seem to follow the Egyptian Hieroglyphics style, but none of these markings isn't Egyptian at all. Unlike the hieroglyphics, the markings are pulsing almost like it's alive or something. The pulsing seems to be the same color as the stone from earlier, but stronger.

The bird is nowhere in sight and stone isn't on the ground as well. Shinji looks around in search of either one, but it is in vain. Shinji gave up the search and focus on the markings. The markings were so interesting that he approached the wall. He received the same level urge to touch one of these pulsing markings. He allows the urge to control one his hand to slowly touch one of these markings.

Once he touches one of the markings, the pulsing became rapid as Shinji recoiled his hand and saw the marking pulses faster and faster until it stops. Then, the wall lightens in orange-liked hard lights as a weird orange aura surrounds Shinji without casting itself onto him.

Next, Shinji finds himself hovering a bit higher, panicking and struggle to get to the ground. However, his troubles increased as the weird orange aura attacks him as electricity travels all over his body. He closed his eyes and waits for death. Lucky, death didn't come for him as he opened his eyes, finding that the electricity is roaming all over his body with no ill intentions.

Once the electricity disappears leaving the still hovering Shinji, a new voice (sounding male) echoed through the cave as it says, "Gene Identification confirmed. Disarming Security Measures. Activating Portal and Opening the Gate. Standby for Transmitting Route to Temple-112…"

As the voice says, the Wall opens up as half of the wall goes up and the other half goes down. Once the Wall completely vanish and revealing four to six long spikes with bluish electricity running. Then, the spikes fire some sort of energy beams that made contact with each other at a center point. When the beams collided, the result was formed into a whirling vortex.

The last thing he heard before he was launched into the vortex, the male voice says, "...Commence Transmitting Reclaimer to Temple-112."

When Shinji come around, realizing that he was no longer inside the cave, but floating aloft in perpetual darkness. There was no horizon, no horizontal or vertical, just the bleakness of black. The air felt chilly around him, making him break out in a cold sweat.

Then, the same voice that said to him before entering the cave sounded, "So… You are one of the few chosen to be one of the Reclaimers…"

"Who's… there?" he asked fearfully, trying to trace where the voice was coming from.

A strange presence made itself known in the back of his mind, a light pressure that made him feel lightheaded. "You truly have no idea of how special you are, Reclaimer. I can feel it deep within you; calling out to me."

Shinji tensed up as whatever the voice belongs to probe deeper into his mind, like ice water running through his veins.

"And yet… something is keeping you from me …Hmm…"

"Reclaimer…?" Shinji narrowed his eyes in confusion. "What are you talking about? Who are you?" he demanded.

A flashing orb with long "arms" of light emanating from the top and bottom suddenly shone down upon him, nearly scaring him half to death. The flashing orb is colorized in both blue and purple.

"Aahhh," Shinji had to shield his eyes from becoming permanently blinded; it was so intense.

"... I… am the consciousness of Freelancer-054, code-named Anat… created in the image of the Archaios to fight against the Enemy and safeguard the balance of the Earth."

"What enemy?" Shinji peeked out through the gaps between his fingers, his eyes coming to rest on the orb floating close by him, the features obscured. It appeared to be remotely female from what he could garner.

"My creators never said their true names, but we, Freelancers called them the Replacers! Now, what does the rest of your kind called you, Reclaimer?"

Shinji felt himself cowering before the benevolent presence above. "I'm… Shinji. Shinji Ikari!"

"So, the Reclaimer has two names, instead of one. Anywho, the name alone won't tell me anything." Said Anat, unknowingly setting a gaze unto the Reclaimer. "I despise those who hide something in their soul and I will uncover what you so desperately hide from my very essence."

The blue-eyed boy blinked, "What are you-" Shinji was cut short as lacerating pain shot up his spine. His mouth opened to scream, but all the air was driven from his lungs. It felt like someone was digging around inside his skull with a searing hot blade, peering into his mind with a vengeance.

"-Ahhh!" he screamed, clutching his head. "G-Get out of my head…! You're hurting me!"

"That is not my intention, Reclaimer." Anat declared. "If I had more time learning an Archaios' concept known as Memory, I would've made this easier for you."

The pain intensified to unbearable levels, excruciating, almost like his head could split in half. Tears of anguish crept down his face as his screams rose in crescendo.

"No… I… I-I can't… take it!"

Lacing his fingers into his scalp, he groaned loudly and tucked himself into a ball as his mind felt like it was being eaten away piece by piece by Anat. Shinji's body was going into violent convulsions of its own accord, with him writing as an animal dying from a mortal wound as the nerve endings within his mortal form became fried by the force of the Freelancer.

Then suddenly, out of the blue, his father's voice came into focus.

You are a failure... it said in a disgusted tone.

A wire of resistance snapped inside of the pilot. All the oppressive thoughts he'd locked away into a dark and forgotten area of his mind were coming back.

You are not worth my time. He deadpanned. You never have been... and never will be. You are just a tool waiting to be used, and that is all you shall remain to be.

'Damn it all...' Shinji glowered, face raw from crying.

Gritting his teeth in frustration, his pain soon turned into hatred, hatred for himself. 'Goddammit!' he seethed, wishing the tears would stop, 'Why do I always have to be so damn weak!?'

"Do not worry. All will be over soon…"

A cold chill went down Shinji's spine at hearing those words. In his folly, he had almost forgotten that he wasn't alone. With his eyes practically bugging out, Shinji's self-loathing was instantly replaced by fear. Would… would death really be an escape? Or was it a beginning to something anew...? Something... worse...

A long pause, followed by the constant bodiless entity pouring its limitless energies into the frail human's mind.

A soft whimper escaped Shinji's throat as the pain preceded by a mere hair, and it started to get him wondering. Perhaps the being would spare him after all…

Anat spoke, "To answer what's your instinct asking, NO! I won't kill you."

Shinji continued to cry in terror as the Anat forcibly enter his mind, white-hot embers burning down his throat with each gasping breath he took. His skin felt like it had been set afire, scalding him from the inside out and roasting his internal organs. He couldn't take much more of this...

"Stop…" he sobbed pitifully. "What do you want from me…?"

"... To be free of this imprisonment that my creators' enemies. To be a part of the Reclamation by becoming one with you, Reclaimer Shinji of both body and soul."

The blue-eyed boy tried with all his might to hold on, clinging to whatever hopes that he had left... which was dwindling fast.

"You are being quite resilient, Reclaimer Shinji... Interesting..." The Freelancer kept digging away at Shinji's thoughts, wanting to find a way to break through the human's emotional barrier so that they could become one.

He wished for the madness to end, whether it resulted in death he no longer cared. 'God… why can't I just die…'

Suddenly, he heard a gasp, a pained sound of surprise that was not his own.

Memories that Shinji would much rather forget resurfaced to the forefront of his mind. Like watching a sepia tone film through an old 8 mm projector, Shinji's most traumatic moments of his life played out distortedly. His mother's sudden death; his father's cold demeanor at their funeral; him being discarded like trash at his teacher's house without his father even saying goodbye; his silent, almost catatonic life throughout childhood; the constant berating he had to endure from his teacher. So many memories that he had long since buried had taken on form and substance… once again.

Sadness, grief, loneliness, and loathing; those were the feelings that Anat could feel emanating from within Shinji.

Amidst this chaos, however, laid a powerful spirit. The light that shone through him, was more radiant than the brightest star, piercing into the soul of Freelancer Anat like a dagger to the heart.

It was so overwhelming… so intoxicating… that the Freelancer could not help but feel lost within it. An impossible feat… something that was forbidden…

"Now... I see... His secret is revealed!" On that day… one of the Freelancers cried. "Your soul is so… damaged," she said, her words sympathetic.

The blue-eyed boy could only weep inconsolably into the dark, drawing his legs into his bare chest. "Why…? …What… have I ever done... hic to deserve this?"

Anat lightened her psychic probing considerably, now that she had learned of Shinji's memories. "... I'm… sorry," she whispered softly, her voice quavering.

Shinji was nearly close to hyperventilating, his breath coming out in sharp pants, his body curled in a U-shape.

Far above the hunched form of Shinji Ikari, a pale hand reached down towards the stricken pilot, "…Shin-ji…?"

The Third Child gasped, eyes snapping open in an instant… where he found himself face to face with the most glorious sight he'd ever seen. "Oh…"

Anat… is an 18 years old woman that is quite tall for any Japanese women. Anat has long, straight, and shiny purple hair along with (a triangular fringe at the front that barely touches the ridge of her nose) long limbs that make her height to be abnormal. Ocean blue pools glistening with tears gazed indolently into Shinji's star-studded eyes.

She is a maiden most fair, with a lithe body to die for. A rather peculiar aspect was that she was naked, revealing her sizable breasts and clean womanhood to the eyes of Shinji.

She placed his cheek in her palm, stroking his face, "I can end your torment," she offered, her lips hovering closer to his. "You will have what any other beings in your world to be and more. If you released me from my prison and help me to gain back my body in order to restore order on our world."

"I-I don't under-understand," his voice was caught in his throat, the trauma still reflecting in his mind.

"There is much talk, and I have listened, through rock and metal and time. Now I shall reveal the secret of the world and some, while you shall listen and decide whether or not to be my Reclaimer, Shinji." Once Anat finished, they were engulfed by white light.

Well, there you have it! For those who are Halo fans, Destiny and Deliberation will be deeply inspired to it. Personally, I tried to have a more free mind between Halo, Assassion's creed, or any other games/movies that have precusors civilizations. However, Halo universe have won that race long before I did some research on what I've mentioned, DXD (Destiny only), and Evangelion (Deliberation).

As for this story that connected to the Destiny, I still deciding or not to make a different history that is more Evangelion-ish in nature. Unlike the Dark Scenario, Deliberation will be of what I called an Anti-Evangelion, and what makes of it is that I've decided that Shinji won't be the pilot for Evangelion Unit-01. Deliberation is inspired by stories such as Cyber Shinji, Vengenance, and Evac (greek word for one). Shinji in this chapter is a little ooc (maybe) and will be a complete ooc as the story progesses.

Instead of having Dagon to show up in this chapter, I have created an all-new Freelancer known as Anat who is named after a Goddess of Love and War. For now, Dagon's fate is unknown till next chapter. Anat, the female Freelancer that is somehow connected to Dagon. Anat's human form is basically Saeko from HOTD.

As for the bird, the bird look like a phoenix from Harry Potter series, however how that bird connected to the Temple that Anat is in will be unknown too. The scene where Shinji found the wall is deeply inspired by Halo 4 trailers, but the writing on the wall may be inspired by Isu from Assassin's Creed.

As for the term Reclaimer, I will leave that a mystery unless you're a Halo fan, then there's a chance that you knows. For now, Shinji is the only Reclaimer that 'found' a temple when the trapped Freelancer (will explain that in the next chapter) so far.

And this is where you come in, my creations such as Destiny, Mark of Immortality, this one, etc will be made to be enjoyable by your choices.

1. do you want me to created a new history of the Freelancers or modify the old history? (I'm pretty confused if I'm repeat myself) (for History of the Freelancers, Please read Destiny)

2. do you want Shinji to be the only Reclaimer in this story or do you want more Reclaimers?

3. Do you want Anat to be the only freed Freelancer or do you want more like her?

4. If you wanted more like Anat, Please gives myself ideas for other Freelancers to be like. It doesn't matter if they're movies/games/comics/etc or that of your creation. Please I'm begging to more people to help me in making the Freelancers.

5. this one is the same as #4, but this request is for Destiny

6. do you wanted to make Freelancer "Wikipedia" like I promised for Destiny to give you basic information on the Freelancers themselves.

That is all! (for now) if you have questions, don't be afraid to ask that I will answer to the best of my abilities in the next chapter.