Well guys, this is it. Fourth of July here in America, finally got around to posting the first chapter of my first story. This first chapter is going to be a little short. You'll have to forgive me. Just so my goals with this story are clear, I plan on introducing a Romance between Shinji, Asuka, and Rei. I plan on including mature content in their relationship. I intend to exaggerate their flaws and produce irony between the characters through recurring themes and actions. And, I also hope for this to be a relatively long story, I'm really hoping to hit at least 25 chapters, hopefully with around a minimum of 7000 words per chapter. (I'd really like to hit 20,000 per chapter though, but I'll admit I'm having trouble reaching 10,000.)
NOTE: To anyone new reading these earlier chapters, I'm a bad writer. I've gotten better with time though. I've noticed an improvement from this first chapter to chapter 7, which is the most current full length chapter I've written at the time of writing this note. I fully intend to come back and brush up these earlier chapters because they're ugly and poorly written in my completely honest opinion.
I AM LOOKING FOR A BETA READER. IF ANYONE IS INTRESTED, PLEASE SEND ME A PRIVATE MESSAGE.
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Text Guide
Standard Wording
"Spoken Dialogue/Speech"
'Internal Dialogue/Thoughts'
(Flashbacks)
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[Slash denotes scene transition for the moment; this may be changed in the future so as to become more visible.]
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Disclaimer: I do not own or profit off of Neon Genesis Evangelion, End Of Evangelion, or the Rebuilds of Evangelion. I do not own Shinji Ikari, Rei Ayanami, Asuka Langley Sohryu, or any of the other characters/ideas from the Evangelion intellectual property collective. All licenses remain with the proper license holders. If asked to, I will formally remove this story from the hosting website.
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All that aside, I sincerely hope that you enjoy my writing and that you'll all leave honest reviews so that I can better myself and my writing, and in turn, make better your experience as a reader.
Neon Genesis Evangelion
A Journey of Hate, Power, and Love
Chapter 01
In Our Time of Need
3 years…
It had been three years since Shinji Ikari had last seen his cold-hearted father. Three years since he had last felt that man's chilling presence. Three years since he had last been subjected to the soul penetrating stare that belonged to Gendo Ikari.
Shinji was delving deep into his suffered past when the gods above willed the train he was aboard to cease its steady nerve-wracking approach only a few kilometers from Shinji's destination. A voice on the loudspeaker of the train declared that a state of emergency had been declared for the Kanto-Chubu regions surrounding the Tokai district.
As Shinji walked off the train, he took his first tentative steps into a future unbeknownst to him as of yet.
"So, that's Tokyo-3? It looks like I still got a ways to go…"
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-The Fated Arrival-
/
"Oh, why did he have to arrive at a time like this? WHY NOW?"
A blue Renault Alpine was frantically driven down the now nearly empty streets of Tokyo-3 by a flustered young woman desperately trying to reach her would be passenger.
"Hopefully he remembers where we're supposed to meet," she said as she brushed her long purple hair from her face.
/
Shinji had been walking for nearly thirty minutes, and hadn't seen any reason for the emergency declaration that had stopped his train just outside the city limits of Tokyo-3. He had however, heard explosions in the distance as the ground beneath his feet barely shook.
"Maybe there's an earthquake…or something?"
As he arrived on the street that his contact said she'd meet him on, he saw a payphone. Growing slightly confused and worried as to his current situation, he decided that he might as well call his father. But, as he finished dialing the numbers in on the phone, he received a recorded message that informed him that no lines were available during the state of emergency.
Anxiety was starting to grip the young man's heart. "Oh, why am I here? This is stupid! Mmm…"
He pulled out a refrence picture of the woman who claimed would meet him. On it where some scribbled sentences and doodled hearts along with a note accompanied by a drawn arrow that read, "Look here," drawing Shinji's gaze to a generous amount of cleavage.
"I guess we won't be meeting here… Maybe…maybe I should find a shelter," he thought aloud as he checked his watch.
As he looked up from the time telling device, he saw a strange girl off in the distance. Before he got a good look at her however, a flock of birds taking flight startled him causing him to glance around and look away from the girl. As he returned his attention to her, he began to say, "Hey, you shouldn't-" she was gone "-be out here. Oh?"
But, he didn't have time to worry about where she had disappeared to. From seemingly out of nowhere, a large concussive blast shook every loose object on the street and forced the boy to pull his hands up to his ears in an attempt to stop the pain in them from increasing.
He noticed now that the ground was shaking even more and it was hard to keep his balance. And as he spun around, he beheld nearly a dozen gunships and seconds later, something that would change his life forever.
A massive creature scraped the skyline as it emerged and allowed Shinji to behold it in all its ferocious glory. He stared on in awe and horror realizing that he was no longer in the world he once knew.
/
"So, it's been fifteen years" stated a tall man with gray hair, known by his compatriots as Kozo Fuyutsuki, the Sub-Commander to Gendo Ikari.
"It has…" Gendo Ikari agreed. "Now we know for sure; the angels are back."
Both men stared onward towards the screen in front of the command bridge that displayed a creature that, eventually, the world would come to know very intimately.
/
Guided missiles roared above the streets of Tokyo-3. Not far below was the young Ikari, frightened near shitless as he looked up and saw a wave of armed aircraft overhead. He had never been so close to artillery in his life, and this was quite a shock to his senses. He turned and watched as the missiles detonated within close proximity of the beast, only barely knocking it back.
As the massive creature regained its awareness after having so many explosives blown up around it, a long glowing nail-like protrusion shot from its arm and stabbed straight through the gunship above the brown haired child's head. It spun wildly and nearly killed the boy as it crashed next him
A woman with purple colored hair saw the aircraft nearly land on and flatten the boy as she sped just as fast as her car would carry her towards the person she had finally identified as Shinji Ikari.
"If I could just live through this and get to my next coffee break, that would be great," she said in an attempt to psych herself up.
She stepped on the brakes and flung her door open as she stopped dangerously close to the flaming wreckage and the boy she was tasked with delivering.
"Heheh, sorry! Am I real late?"
Shinji Ikari seemingly stood frozen in time as he tried to comprehend what had just happened. Was he dead?
"Ahhah, if uh, if you could just get in the car…yeah," the purple haired babe said barely managing to keep her composure together.
Shinji decided he had time to figure out if he was dead or not later. So, he scrambled into the car as the woman shifted her car into reverse, spun it around, then shifted back into drive and drove away with as much speed as the Renault could muster. As they made their escape, Shinji looked back at the monster just as it grabbed a very large missile and crushed it between its fingers before it detonated leaving a huge cloud of smoke, obscuring it from his sight.
/
Just as the tardy woman had put some fair distance between the pair and the monster, she pulled off the road noticing that the gunships that had been sortied to dispatch the monster had begun to retreat.
"Now…now why would they do that?"
Then, realization hit her like a ton of bricks, and she felt her heart drop and her adrenaline surge.
"OH, FUCK! THEY'RE GONNA USE AN N2 MINE!"
"A-an N2 what?" Shinji asked becoming worried.
"GET DOWN!"
And, moments later, a blinding explosion of light flashed into existence in the distance as the car was tossed over the ground like a ragdoll with the delayed but still accompanying shockwave.
The car rolled and tumbled, luckily only making the two occupants dizzy more than anything else.
Finally, the car came to a stop as it rested on it's roof. The purple haired woman and the young boy hung in their seats upside down, very staggered. The woman was the first to unclasp her seatbelt and she dropped to the roof of the car. The shattered glass and dust was almost unavoidable as she crawled around in the tight space. She prodded the nearly unconscious boy with her finger, eliciting a somewhat aware groan from him.
"Oh, hell! Oh, fuck! Are you alright? You're still alive, right? Is anything broken?" the purple haired lady asked frantically, hoping the boy hadn't been injured on her watch.
"Ugh, I got a bunch of dirt in my mouth, but yeah. I think I'm okay."
The boy undid his seat belt as well, and shortly, they both clambered out of the car.
"Oh, damn it, I chipped a nail." The babe whined. "And, my dress is all torn! Oh, I just bought this dress! …Sorry, I guess we have bigger things to worry about right now. Here, help me flip the car back over. On three. One. Two. THREE!"
Both Shinji and the woman strained to push the car back over, but shortly had it back on all four tires again.
"Thanks, Shinji! You're pretty helpful!"
"Oh, uh, I should be the one thanking you, Ms. Katsuragi. You did save my life."
"Oh, please, it's Misato," she chimed as she pulled off her sunglasses, "And I imagine you prefer Shinji over Mister Ikari."
/
As Misato had arrived on the car-train that lead down to the geofront, Shinji said one simple word as he glanced at the crest on the bulkhead doors.
"NERV?"
"Well, yeah. It's where your father works…you do know what he does don't you?"
"Mmm, not really. But, my teacher said it was important to the survival of mankind. That's quite vague though if you ask me. I just decided to not worry about it. He and I aren't really…mmm."
"Heh, you sound like me."
"What?"
"The way you talk. You don't sound like you really like your father."
"I don't have a reason to."
However, Shinji was soon drawn away from this conversation as he and Misato passed the final layer of plate armor surrounding the Geofront.
"W-whoa! It's a real life Geofront!"
"Mhmm. This is NERV's secret underground base. It's a bastion for all mankind; our last hope for survival.
/
Three high ranking members of the Japanese Military looked down upon one of the most powerful men on earth.
"Command of this operation has been entrusted to you, Mr. Ikari. So, tell us…do you really think you can defeat this…thing?"
Gendo smirked at the three men across from him and pressed one of his gloved hands to his glasses just to edge them a little higher up the bridge of his nose.
"Of course. It's why NERV exists, gentlemen…"
The trio of men then left the room giving Commander Ikari free rein to do what he does best.
"Fuyutski, take care of the rest of this."
"But Sir, what do you plan to do?"
"Activate Unit-01, of course."
"B-but Sir, we don't have a pilot!"
"One was just delivered."
"You don't mean?"
"Yes, I do," Commander Ikari said bluntly as he walked away to the elevator that would take him to the eva cages.
"Their first meeting in three years…I wonder how it'll go."
Fuyutski was torn from his musings with more news on the angel though, and couldn't afford to divert his attention when all of humanity was at stake.
"Alright, I see. Everyone, battle stations, condition one."
/
-Darkest Hours-
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"Ugh, these stupid door fans are the biggest reason I hate to wear a skirt around this place." Misato mumbled as she and Shinji passed through multiple bulkhead doors constantly blowing Misato's dress just a little higher than she would have liked.
"Miss Misato, we've passed this place two times already. Are we lost?"
"I'm new here. Give me a break, okay? I'm sure the place we need to be is just up ahead…or maybe it's on the right? Who designed this place anyways? It's more confusing than- Oh, never mind, there's the elevator we need."
However, fortune was not on Misato's side today, because as soon as the elevator arrived…
"Uh, ughuh, hi…Ritsuko."
"Captain Katsuragi, what are you doing? They sent me to go looking for you because of how late you are? Don't you know we're short on both time and man power? Don't tell me you got lost again."
"Uh, sorry!" Misato squeaked out as fast as she could.
Doctor Akagi could only sigh and accept that the past is the past and continue onwards.
"Is he the one?"
"Uh, yes. According to the Marduk Report, he's the third child."
"I see. So, you must be Shinji Ikari then?"
"Yes Ma'am," Shinji bowed.
"I need you to come with me then. There's…something important you need to see."
Shinji looked back at Misato and she gestured him forwards.
'For better or worse,' Shinji thought to himself, hoping his anxiety wasn't showing.
"Oh, Hey, Ritsuko, how's Unit-01?"
"It's currently undergoing refrigeration with B-type equipment."
Shinji remained mostly silent during Ritsuko and Misato's exchange. He was only along for the ride so far, and so he kept quiet.
"Does it really work? It's never worked before has it?" Misato continued.
"We don't know, Captain. But, we're about to find out."
Shinji was oblivious to the conversation going on around him for the moment. But, if he had been listening, his heart would have skipped a beat realizing he was probably here for something important.
"Well, I suppose it's a bit late to be saying sorry, it doesn't work, right?" Misato finished.
The three kept traveling down the long and confusing hallways until they entered a large and dark room.
"What's in here?" Shinji questioned right before the lights in the chamber flickered on and before him was a large metal face painted purple. In the middle of it's brow was a long horn slanted slightly forward and on it's mouth were thick plates that looked like teeth. He almost had a heart attack due to how imposing it was simply staring at him.
"IT'S? WHAT? WHAT IS THAT?"
"That is the synthetic humanoid Evangelion," Ritsuko stated matter-o-factly.
As Shinji was flipping through his guide booklet wondering how he missed something so impressive, Doctor Akagi spoke up once more.
"You won't find this in there. This is mankind's ultimate weapon. This is Evangelion Unit-01; it is top secret and was developed right here in this facility."
Shinji tried to find his voice, but it was a difficult task. He finally managed, "Is this my father's work?" as a grim feeling settled in his chest.
And, as though he had been waiting for Shinji to ask exactly that, Gendo responded gruffly and for all to hear, "Correct."
Everyone's eyes looked up to make contact with the man who seemingly appeared from nowhere on the observation bridge above the Eva cages.
"Shinji," he started, "it's been awhile…"
Shinji looked up at his father as awe and fear struck a chord in his heart. He could now feel the weight his father issued to those around him. Just being around him made it harder for Shinji to breathe.
"Father…" the brown haired boy whispered so quietly, even he almost didn't hear it.
Commander Ikari had the slightest smirk on his face before calmly letting everyone know, "We're moving out."
Misato had a look of utter surprise on her face.
"MOVING OUT? BUT UNIT-00 IS STILL IN CRYO!"
Then, she looked towards the large purple Eva in an even more surprised expression as realization dawned on her.
"YOU'RE GONNA USE UNIT-01? BUT…" She then looked towards the third child. And, pretending Shinji wasn't an option, she looked at Ritsuko.
"Rei can't pilot right now, can she? WE DON'T HAVE A PILOT?"
Ritsuko stated her next words as coolly as Commander Ikari could have.
"We just received one."
Misato glared at Ritsuko. She almost looked like she'd been betrayed. Then, she opened her mouth once more.
"You're serious?"
Ritsuko turned to look at Shinji.
"Shinji Ikari, you are now the pilot of Evangelion Unit-01"
All Shinji could do was stare.
Misato interjected, "But, even Ayanami took seven months to synchronize with her Eva…it's suicidal; it's impossible for him. This is beyond absurd. HE JUST GOT HERE."
"He just has to sit in the seat," Ritsuko assured, "We don't expect more than that."
"BUT!"
"Listen, Misato, defeating that angel is our top priority. If we have someone who has a chance at synchronizing with an Eva, then we've got to risk it. You do realize this, don't you?"
Everyone was quiet for a very long moment, and then Shinji finally spoke with an emotion that could almost be called anger. Almost...
"Why...did you send for me?"
It was Gendo's turn to reply, and his response would be as cold and efficient as ever.
"I believe the reason has been made obvious."
"So, you're actually asking me to take this thing and go out there and fight?"
Another sweet and simple reply eased its way from commander Ikari's lips.
"Correct."
Shinji burst out, "HOW CAN YOU DO THIS TO ME? I THOUGHT I WAS WORTHLESS TO YOU! I THOUGHT YOU DIDN'T WANT ME! WHY? WHY DID YOU HAVE TO CALL ME NOW FATHER?"
Once again, Gendo chose a simple cold response for his son.
"Because now I have a use for you."
"Why me," Shinji asked in a most pitiful tone.
"Because there is no one else who can."
"NO, I CAN'T! I'VE NEVER EVEN SEEN ANYTHING LIKE THIS BEFORE. THERE'S NO WAY I CAN DO THIS!"
"You will be instructed."
"No…there's just no way. I CAN'T PILOT THAT THING!"
Commander Ikari's patience was beginning to run thin. He needed to make a choice soon.
"If you're going to do it, then do it now! If not, THEN LEAVE!"
Suddenly, the entire Geofront was shaken.
"It's close. It must be able to sense us," Gendo told no one in particular.
Another shockwave traveled through the Geofront.
Misato was shamefully swayed to Gendo and Ritsuko's side by the tremors. She gently put her hand on Shinji's shoulder, but told him in a strict tone that he had to get in the Eva.
"Get in..."
"This is all wrong. Please, I can't do this. I came all this way…AHH, WHY DID I COME?" shouted Shinji as he looked to the floor for comfort.
Misato then knelt down on one knee and pulled his gaze from the floor, carefully placing her hands on his cheeks.
"Why did you come, Shinji? You mustn't run away. You're here for a reason. You cannot run away," she cooed hoping her feminine charms would sway him.
"Erh, I KNOW THAT, BUT…but I just can't!"
Once again, everyone was silent. But this silence was not the peaceful silence the boy usually experienced. This was tense and possessed an immoderate weight of tension.
"Fuyutsuki," Gendo called out over his com unit, "prepare Rei."
"But, can we even use her?" Fuyutsuki questioned back over the com.
Gendo said in one of his most unconcerned and heartless tones, "She's not dead yet."
"Understood, Sir."
Gendo's com was redirected to Rei Ayanami, and by his standards, he gently requested her attention.
"Rei?"
"Yes," said the softest voice you could possibly imagine.
"Our spare is uncooperative and unusable. You will do it again."
"Yes, Sir," was all that followed before a few minutes later, an injured girl with short light blue hair and deep red eyes was wheeled out on a gurney in front of the Evangelion.
Ritsuko shouted out to the technicians in the Eva cage, "Reconfigure Unit-01's system for Rei Ayanami. Then activate it."
Shinji felt sick as he watched the poor girl go by him. She looked so…delicate. Like she was broken and would definitely be broken again if something even brushed against her. But, soon Shinji realized that he was not needed, and that this girl was more capable than he ever was, even in her current state.
'I knew it,' Shinji thought as he was about to start putting himself down in his mind, 'I'm not needed after all. Nobody needs me. I'm worthless. No one loves me. How could anyone?'
Another massive tremor reverberated through the geofront. And the girl toppled over onto the ground, reopening wounds and falling on broken bones. She screamed and whimpered in terrible agony. Shinji ran over to her feeling horrible about the fact he had probably put her in this situation and caused her such pain. He tried to help her up but once again, an explosion caused by the angel rocked the geofront as part of the ceiling caved in directly over the Ikari and Ayanami children.
Shinji was sure of it this time. As he looked up, he realized that he and this girl where about to be crushed and closed his eyes preparing for death's sweet embrace. Rei, who was looking at the ceiling as well, didn't even blink as the rubble made its way towards the two of them.
Misato had this saying she'd believed for a very long time. It went something like this; "Acts of men are better than acts of god."
Imagine her surprise when she saw that the unpowered Evangelion Unit-01 had somehow placed its hand over the only two pilots in Japan. Misato did not know what to believe right now. But, she wasn't about to take it for granted.
After noticing he hadn't been pummeled by falling steel beams immediately after cradling the blue haired girl, Shinji was inclined to look up to see what was taking his death so long to arrive.
He didn't know what to make of the fact that the eva had moved when there was no pilot in it, but he wasn't focusing on that. No, Shinji had finally grasped the gravity of the situation he was in. He tried to speak, but he couldn't.
And, as chaos and surprise were spewing forth from every mechanic's mouth in the Eva cages about how the Eva had activated on its own, Shinji was mentally barraging himself with, 'I mustn't run away, I mustn't run away, I mustn't run away, I mustn't run away, I MUSTN'T RUN AWAY!'
"I'LL DO IT, I'LL PILOT IT!" he yelled in a final and despairing voice.
/
As everyone on the command bridge was prepping to launch the Evangelion, Shinji kept having this strange feeling that he had seen the blue haired girl before. But, he couldn't for the life of him remember where. She just seemed so familiar.
'Maybe it's nothing. Maybe I'm crazy or something.'
His thoughts were interrupted by some reddish-orange fluid flooding his entry plug at an alarming rate.
"AHH, WHAT THE HELL IS THIS STUFF?"
Ritsuko called out over the com, "Don't worry. Once your lungs are filled with LCL, your blood will be oxygenated directly. You'll get over it"
"You could have warned me or something! Uh, I think I'm gonna be sick."
"You're a man, aren't you? Quit complaining about little things like that!" Misato said in an effort to get the Third Child to forget about the orange liquid he was inhaling.
"That's easy for you to say! You aren't the one breathing in this stuff," Shinji shot back somewhat more weakly than he intended.
Misato cringed at the thought, but Ritsuko waved her over to her computer and she quickly forgot about it
"Yes, Ritsu?
"Look at his synchronization ratio! It's at forty percent and he isn't even wearing a plugsuit. Amazing…"
"Hey, do think this might have something to do with the Eva moving without power earlier?
"I don't know. I really don't have any idea. I'll need to look into that later. In the meantime, Captain Katsuragi, do you want to do the honors?"
"Well, I am the operations director after all," the purple haired babe said unamused.
She asked everyone on the bridge if the Eva was ready for launch, just to be sure. And when the answer was a unanimous yes, Misato stood up proud and tall, and shouted so that all the command bridge heard loud and clear.
"Evangelion Unit-01, LAUNCH!" And with that, the purple Eva shot towards the surface at breakneck speeds.
"I mustn't run away," Shinji whispered to himself. "I mustn't run away!"
*Eva credits roll and Fly Me to the Moon plays*
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"Hey guys, it's your favorite babe, Misato Katsuragi here with the preview for the next chapter of Neon Genesis Evangelion: A Journey of Hate, Power, and Love.
The Eva goes berserk after Shinji passes out in his plug. He wakes up very distressed and wonders what he's doing with his life. I decide to take him home with me after he refuses to live with his father. We go shopping and I buy some expensive lingerie. Shinji gets his first taste of my cooking and meets our other roommate in an awkward but fateful encounter. And finally, we both stare at the lights of the city thinking about our lives and responsibilities. It'll all be in the next chapter, Screaming in the Dead of Night.
Oh, and I'll be there to provide fan service, so don't miss out, okay!"
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Well, that was the first chapter. I'm honestly a little disappointed with it, but I can't really figure out the best way to improve it. Hopefully, I'll get some reviews and that'll give me some direction and I can come back and fix this chapter up. Adding to the length would be the ultimate goal, but, I don't want to cheapen it with pointless text.
Anyways, please, do review. Gimme your honest opinions.