First, can I ask that someone sends me copies of any eva stuff that's been
sent since fri? (I was unsubscribe due to ml.org's outage.)
This is my first (serious) attempt at a crossover.
A note on the style: I write what I see in my head. I saw this as a music
video (sans music), similar to the original 'On Your Mark'. This explains
the lack of dialogue.
I may write a short epilogue to this, to explore Shinji and Asuka's
minds. It depends on reactions to this.
The plot is stolen from OYM, but hopefully modified enough to fit the Eva
characters and their motivations. I've taken the liberty of teaching Asuka
to drive, on the theory that if she can pilot a giant robot, she can guess
how to drive a car.
Enjoy, and send me comments.
Tom
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Neon Genesis Evangelion/On Your Mark 1.0
An Angel
Evangelion is copyright GAINAX/Project Eva.
"On Your Mark" is a music video created by Studio Ghibli for Chage and
Aska. The story is (mostly) based on the plot of the video, but
hopefully, you won't need to see the video to understand this.
Rei doesn't exist in this (alternate) universe. My apologies to Rei
fans.
Don't archive this version. You can view my fan work at
http://www.tr.ml.org/~tom/fanfics, and please mail me your
comments at tom-cnc@tr.ml.org.
"Prepare for the Third Coming," a sign on the Temple read. Like
the rest of the building, it was done in garish neon, and surrounded
by brightly colored eye-motifs. Through the open window, Shinji could
see the cult members, dressed in robes and masks. Some were armed with
automatic rifles and rocket launchers.
Behind some sort of imaginary line, NERV's forces prepared for the
assault. A variety of equipment had been gathered, from tanks to VTOL
aircraft to the Evangelion. Speakers blared warnings and demands at
the cultists, who seemed to pay little heed.
Inside Unit One, counter hit zero and blinked out of existence. He
had been told that the cult was holding an Angel, that all other means
had been tried. The cult was dangerous, with an Angel in its
possession. This was the only way to save mankind.
Much of the bunker was destroyed. The cultists had shot at the
Evangelion, but it hadn't been much of a fight. The Evangelion were
undamaged, while the roof and first floors of the bunker had been
ripped off, revealing a huge basement room. Part of a massive neon
sign flickered. "We must", the undamaged part read.
A VTOL descended past the sign. Shinji watched as four men stepped
out. The walked towards a girl, chained to a metal stake in the
floor. She was clad in a light blue dress, that didn't serve to
conceal her wings. One of the men carried a bolt cutter, and snapped
the chain holding her. Two of the other men grabbed hold of her, and
began dragging her towards the waiting aircraft.
For a second, her gaze was fixed on Unit One. With magnification,
it seemed she was looking straight at Shinji himself.
The second was over. The men dragged her inside the craft,
exposing her damaged wing. A door slammed shut, blocking Shinji's view
of her. The VTOL took off. Shinji watched as it disappeared behind
one of the mountains.
--------------------------------------------------
Back inside the geofront, Shinji and Asuka tried to make sense of
what they had been a part of. The had heard the voices telling them
that this was an angel, the enemy. And they also had seen the girl's
face. And that she hadn't threatend and attacked anyone, neither cult
member nor NERV personell.
And they wondered what had become of her.
--------------------------------------------------
Shinji was stopped by a guard at the door to the Eva cage where
he had found out they had taken the girl. The guard pointed at a sign
reading "A17 is in effect" as the reason why he wasn't allowed in.
Shinji walked away, unconvinced by what he had heard from NERV.
--------------------------------------------------
Shinji lay in his bed, but his mind wasn't there. His thoughts
were back in the Evangelion, watching the girl. He didn't notice the
walls of the entry plug dissolve, but suddenly he noticed he was
flying.
He flew toward the girl. She held her hand toward him, seemingly
trying to fly on her broken wing. For a moment, it seemed that they
would touch each other, but the men from NERV once again threw her
into the VTOL and closed the door.
Shinji tried to fly after the VTOL, but couldn't come close to the
aircraft's speed. He turned away, and found himself back in his bed.
--------------------------------------------------
Behind the school, Shinji and Asuka were discussing what had
happened and what should in future. For a second, Asuka seemed to
question Shinji's intentions, but that passed quickly. For once, she
trusted him.
--------------------------------------------------
The girl's injuries had healed, for what it was worth. She was
caged inside the geofront, in a room full of equipment. Many of the
displays included "A17", and almost all focused on some aspect of
her. The physical chain she had worn inside the temple was replaced by
a tether of wires, between her and the machinery. The bars of her cage
were not made of metal, but of light, just as impenetrable.
The few technicians in the room were clad in isolation suits. The
ones with the most sense ran for the airlock when they saw the warning
lights and heard the klaxon.
Those that didn't were treated to the sight of Unit One's fists
smashing through a wall.
--------------------------------------------------
The face on Misato's ID card was hardly a smile, but Asuka didn't
notice. She was too busy using the keys attached to the key chain that
she had "borrowed" from Misato to start the car. The car she would be
"borrowing" was Misato's new convertible.
The engine roared to life, and Asuka began driving it out of the
Geofront. It would be pointless to hope that Misato wouldn't mind.
--------------------------------------------------
Unit One's return to the surface of the geofront went
quickly. Apparently NERV had been reluctant to open fire on its most
valuable assets. Shinji put the girl down on the causeway, and
clambered out of the Eva. He was wearing his school uniform, not a
plug-suit, mostly due to the unscheduled nature of his excursion.
Asuka arrived in Misato's car a few seconds later. Shinji and the
girl quickly got into the car. Asuka drove off, the car swerving more
due to her inexperience than her desire to avoid the ordinance
exploding all around them. Somehow, the car seemed to just barely stay
ahead of the point where the ramp was collapsing completely. A NERV
tank that had been pursuing them hadn't been so lucky.
Per procedure, NERV was trying to seal the Geofront. Unfortunately,
(or fortunately, if you're rooting for Asuka, Shinji, and the girl.)
NERV was using the main entrance to retrieve Unit Two after Asuka's
last training exercise, in which she had "accidentally" ran out of
power. As a result, the door couldn't close all the way. As NERV crew
scrambled out of the way, the convertible sped underneath the arm of
the Evangelion, and out of the Geofront.
Asuka quickly turned them onto a road that lead up the mountain,
hoping to enter one of the "blind spots" caused by damage to the
defense grid. She knew her stuff, the fire tapered off as they lost
sight of the entrance to the Geofront, where the new guns had been
placed.
They were out of danger, for now. But the jet bombers' contrails
could be seen against the clear blue sky. They didn't have much time
left. Asuka nodded goodbye to the girl.
Shinji stood, and the girl did too. He clasped her hands, as he
couldn't do in the dream. She returned the simple gesture, and then
extended her wings to their full length. The wind caught her, and
pulled her into the air. She was about to fly, for the first time in
so long, but she was afraid to let go. Her gaze locked with Shinji's,
and his with hers, and then he let go, pushing her into the air.
The girl looked at Shinji for one last time, then turned and with
a flap of her wings began flying away. Shinji's gaze never left her,
not when Asuka stopped the car and turned to watch, not when the girl
was nothing but a speck on the horizon, not until she disappeared
completely from sight.
1.0 24 Oct 1997
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Mail your comments to tom-cnc@tr.ml.org.