An Injection of Angst
Summary: Title subject to change. Who do you need to cross over in order to make lighthearted cartoons like Xiaolin Showdown more serious? These drabbles answer that question. (crossover with Evangelion)
Disclaimer: I do not own Neon Genesis Evangelion or Xiaolin Showdown.
A/N: Sometimes, usually when I'm listening to the OST or theme music from a particularly angsty anime, I begin to think of which characters from said anime would make the most impact on another (happier) fandom. In this case I was listening to Cruel Angel Thesis. Couple that with my current cartoon obsession, and this is what I got.
This fic is going to consist of a series of related drabbles, and some may not follow a particular order. The reason for this is due to the nature of this fic: plot is not paramount. Rather, this is going to focus on how our dear Eva character forces the XS folks to reexamine their beliefs, and the repercussions of this change in perspective.
Warnings: Nothing depraved enough for any real warnings (at least, not yet), but look out for the standard NGE psychobabble. If you don't like the idea of a happy-happy-joy-joy, not-taking-itself-too-seriously cartoon like XS being turned on its head, then this fic is not for you.
PS: Please ignore the sucky title, I couldn't think of anything else at the time of posting. I'll probably change it once I've gotten more of a feel for the story.
Part One: Meeting
Rei Ayanami was immensely confused.
Well, at least as confused as someone as emotional as her could be. So, what she was experiencing was more like a sense of startled puzzlement.
After all, even she was not used to glowing portals appearing with seemingly no provocation, and subsequently transporting her to an unknown location.
She had just been going about her daily routine, and was, at the time of the mysterious apparition, heading towards NERV headquarters for her weekly sync test. As she had stepped through the front gate of her school, she had tripped uncharacteristically on a bit of raised pavement that she had failed to evade in a moment of dizziness. She had ended up with her nose just barely above the ground, and when she had looked up, the peculiar portal had been there.
And now she was suddenly here.
Wherever 'here' was.
She looked about at her immediate surroundings, taking in as much detail as possible. A few feet from her was a boy around her own age, with red eyes and pale skin very much like her own. However, where Rei's hair was a shade of pale blue, this boy's was a shock of red that was, very likely, unnatural. He was attired in virtually all black, with the exception of a few stripes of gray. A pair of strange, swirly, impractical-looking goggles held back his hair.
He was staring at her with his mouth hanging open.
The room that she was standing in was littered with bits of metal and plastic, in addition to a number of assorted tools. Rei guessed that it was some kind of workshop.
As she became more familiar with her new location, her eyes, which had widened slightly from shock, fell back to their normal size, and her face slid into its usual expression of indifference.
"It worked…it really worked…" the boy whispered in awe, his eyes raking Rei up and down like some kind of laboratory specimen. She found this action mildly comforting— it reminded her of the commander. "You—you're really here."
"Yes," said Rei tonelessly. "I am here."
He ignored her, his mind still focused in on whatever accomplishment he felt that he had achieved. He cackled with glee. "You weren't there a second ago, and now you are."
Rei thought that this was fairly obvious. "Yes," she said. "It appears that is the case."
He grinned widely, but still gave no indication that he had heard her. "That clinches it! My dimensional transporter definitely works!"
"…"
Her silence was what finally caught his attention, and he continued grinning as he looked at her once again, saying, "Hi."
"Hello," replied Rei.
His expression wilted ever-so-slightly at her deadpan greeting. "Uh…I'm Jack Spicer. What's your name?"
She hesitated for a moment, unsure of whether or not to answer his question. However, after a second or two of deliberation, she said, "My name is…Rei Ayanami."
"So," said Jack, trying to regain some of his composure. It was clear that Rei was unnerving him. "Don't you want to know where you are? Or how you got here? Or WHY I brought you here?"
"No," she stated simply.
"Oh." Jack blinked in confusion. "You mean you don't want to know anything?"
"Your assumption is correct."
"So, is there anything else you want me to do?"
"Yes."
"Really?"
"Yes," she repeated.
"And what would that be?"
"Send me back."
Jack grinned once more, glad at the opportunity for some e-v-i-l. "Hah! You think that I'll send you back, just like that?" He crossed his arms over his chest and cocked his head haughtily. "You're my prisoner, you know. If anyone is going to be making demands around here, it's me!"
His attempt to goad a reaction from her was futile. Her demeanor remained unchanged. "If that is the case, then I request that you send me back. You are delaying the fulfillment of my purpose."
She once again caught him completely off guard—so much so that he blurted out, "I don't know how to." He slapped his hand over his mouth, but dropped it a moment later. He realized that it was already too late; he had already revealed the embarrassing truth. So he continued, "Send you back, that is. I haven't figured that part out yet."
Although he didn't notice it, Rei's eyebrows drew just a little bit closer together. "That is…inconvenient."
Rei had a talent for understatement.
A/N: Oh, poor Jack—having to deal with the enigma that is Rei Ayanami. And the poor boy is only going to get more confused as time goes on. :P
Mwahahaha! Let the transformation BEGIN!