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NEON GENESIS EVANGELION: OTHER PATHS
- Prologue
Written By: James Grabowski
Revision: 1.00 - Official Release
Date: August 18, 1998
Time: 12:35:30 PM (EDT)
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* See the end of this document for the Author's Notes *
***SPOILER-WARNING***: This fanfiction will weigh in HEAVILY on
Evangelion storyline. This is in a sense a
replacement for the series, so if you haven't
seen it yet and wanted to, do it now. Otherwise,
continue.
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LEGAL INFORMATION:
All characters contained in this fanfiction are copyright GAINAX,
Project EVA, Movic, and any other company and/or division associated with
the creation and/or production of Neon Genesis Evangelion. A.D.Vision
holds the copyrights to the translated version of Neon Genesis Evangelion.
At this time, they are used WITHOUT the permission of the aforementioned
institutions.
This fanfiction is a production of James Grabowski, and may not be used in
any way, shape, or form without prior permission of the author.
Distribution is subject to prior approval by the author. (i.e.: ASK before
putting it on a web page if you wish to do so, no posting on a newsgroup
w/o permission, etc. etc. etc.)
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Neon Genesis Evangelion: Other Paths
- Prologue
Deep underground in a secret facility, a seemingly elderly man
dressed in a brown uniform silently made his way towards his goal;
information. Despite his 58 years, he was younger than he appeared to
be, but even his appearance didn't give way to old age. He looked much
as he had just 15 years ago... perhaps his hair had become whiter than
it used to be. Reaching his destination, he pulled open the door handle
and entered the massive room.
"Ikari."
"What is it Fuyutsuki?"
Kouzou Fuyutsuki made his way across the large room which could
house a few hundred people with plenty of room for a few hundred more.
Ironically enough, it was an office, rather than a social gathering
place. On the ceiling was a hand crafted design, the Sephirotic System
of the Kaballah. A painstakingly detailed, crafted image, explaining
their beliefs, and the reason such a large room was needed.. Kouzou
walked the familiar long strides he was used to walking after so many
years, up to the Commander's desk.
"I need to talk to you," he said, as he made the trek.
"Go ahead."
Kouzou regarded his friend Gendou Ikari for a moment. He'd known
this man for 16 years, and he hadn't changed all that much, in attitude
anyway. In appearance his skin had become lighter in colour, and a beard
which encircled the perimeter of his face had grown where once there was
none, but his ideas and dreams hadn't seemed to change after all this
time. Only 10 years of life separated the two, but in spirit, it seemed
like much less. Despite his dress, status, and serious demeanor, the
brown-haired and dark-eyed Gendou Ikari tended to leave his jacket
undone, the only thing that could be considered "casual" about him.
"You know that today is Unit Zero's reactivation test, don't you?"
"Yes."
"Have you spoken to Rei?"
"Yes. She will be there as scheduled."
"Sometimes I wonder Gendou..."
"About what?"
"What you see more of in Rei. Which of them is it?"
"Now is not the time for such discussions."
'A cold man...' Kouzou thought to himself.
"Are the preparations for the reactivation complete?"
"Yes. Dr. Akagi is waiting for you. She said you wanted to be in
control for this experiment."
"That's correct."
"..."
Gendou turned his attention to the intercom device on his desk.
Leaving the receiver as it was, he tapped a few numbers on its keypad.
A soft female voice could be heard on the other end.
"Commander?"
"Ibuki. Tell Dr. Akagi that we're on our way down."
"Yes sir."
Gendou pressed another button on the device, severing the
connection to the control center of Experimental Station 2. He looked up
at his friend through his gold rimmed glasses. Grunting, he slowly rose
up from his seat and walked around to the other side of the desk.
"Let's go."
------------------------------------
Kouzou reflected on the situation at hand. 'The reactivation of
Unit Zero... It stopped functioning shortly after the pilot was finally
able to synchronize with it. There was no explainable reason why it had
stopped. The explanation given by Akagi had to do with defective wiring
and frayed nerve impulse relays. It has been a long time since it had
first been constructed... what has it been, 10 years? More perhaps.'
But Kouzou didn't believe her. He knew Akagi wasn't telling the
complete truth, and he knew Gendou held the same suspicions. It mustn't
have been important if Gendou hadn't bothered to follow up on it. Still,
something in the back of his mind told him he should have investigated
the occurrence, but he simply let that thought dissipate. There were
more important matters at hand.
"Kouzou."
"Hmmm? I'm sorry. I must be getting on in my years..."
"Heh. You wouldn't expect me to believe that now, would you?"
Smiling, Kouzou softly replied, "I guess not." It wasn't often
that something resembling a grin would appear on Gendou's face. He
missed the days when Gendou's moods were of a lighter humour. But of
course, those days were long gone, and his current mood didn't last very
long. He saw the man slowly observe his surroundings from the tram
before he phrased his next question.
"Have their been any reports from the Marduk Institute about the
Third Children?"
"Yes, there has actually. A candidate has been found. He comes
from outside the normal candidate area, but then again, so did the
Second."
"And?"
"It seems that he would be an ideal choice. His mother is dead,
and he doesn't know the majority of his family. There is one
exception... but that isn't of importance. He's located a fair
distance outside of Tokyo-3, placing him near the Atsugi district.
According to the report, he would be exceptional as one of the Children.
He's ranked far higher then any of the local candidates."
"I'm not surprised."
"I find it strange that you requested him to be added to the
list, especially considering his situation..."
"It relates to that time. It would be fitting, and I've had
suspicions for some time now. If Unit One can be used, then the project
can come to fruition. And if this will be our only chance, so be it."
"Is that the only reason why you inquired about him?"
"..."
"I see."
"We've arrived Kouzou."
------------------------------------
The pair entered the control center of the 2nd Experimental
Station of the primary branch of NERV. The room seemed to be somewhat
lacking in activity, despite the event which was about to occur. A few
of the higher ranked bridge operators were present for the experiment.
A young woman with short brown hair walked up to them with a clipboard in
her hand.
"Commander. Sub-Commander."
"Ibuki, where is Dr. Akagi?" asked Gendou.
"She's in the test area with Hyuuga doing a manual check of the
connections to Unit Zero. The two of them should be finishing just about
now."
"I see."
Maya Ibuki returned to conducting checks in the control room,
making sure nothing was misconfigured or not ready. She knew that this
experiment was of the upmost importance. All other projects had
practically been on suspension because of it. Not officially, but so
much time was being spent on getting Unit Zero in working order that no
one had had the time to do anything else. She silently laughed at the
Commander, thinking how he must be paranoid to the events of 15 years
earlier, as if anything like that would happen again. But she concluded
that if the Sub-Commander and her sempai truly believed in their
necessity, then she would do what she could to aid in the project.
Kouzou walked over to a long-haired man near a control panel by
the window facing the testing area. "What is our present status Aoba?"
"We are ready to begin on the Commander's orders."
Shigeru Aoba thought to himself about the lack of awareness in the
Sub-Commander's tone as he waited patiently for Hyuuga and Dr. Akagi to
finish with Unit Zero. Fuyutsuki was normally a hard working man. He
should have scolded him already for not doing anything during such an
important event. But today he seemed somewhat distracted... as if he
had more important things on his mind. He quickly turned his attention
to the controls in front of him in the case that the Sub-Commander
changed his attitude.
Kouzou looked out the windows into the testing area. He began to
mumble his thoughts out loud without realizing it, but softly enough that
nobody else heard.
"This man-made creation, the Evangelion Unit Zero. The Prototype.
Orange in colour, immense size rivaling that of taller buildings...
human-like in form, created by us. Why did we create it? Why did I help
to create it?"
A large red eye blankly stared forth from its head. It seemed as
if it was staring into the souls of everyone in the room, but especially
Kouzou. Thoughts on how he had become involved in this entire operation
briefly caught aflame in his mind, but they were soon extinguished by the
sounds of reality, the voice of Gendou Ikari breaking his concentration.
"Dr. Akagi. How's Rei?"
Dr. Ritsuko Akagi looked up from the clipboard she had in her hand
as she entered the control center, letting her blonde hair flip behind
her head, only to return to its normal position. The bridge operator
Makoto Hyuuga took a position in front of a control panel near the center
of the room.
"She's already in the entry plug, and we've already loaded it
into the Eva. We are ready to begin the reactivation process."
Makoto looked on as the Project Chairperson and the Commander
discussed procedure for the event. He found it funny how she was one
of the few people who could actually talk to the Commander without
looking as if she wanted to be anywhere else. Was it because she had
known him since... that thought left his mind quickly. The Second Impact
was one of the last things he wanted to think about at a time like this.
He didn't know what the result of the experiment would be. Everything
had checked out alright at the Evangelion itself, and the pilot seemed to
be prepared for the experiment, but... once more he pushed the thoughts
out of his mind. He decided it would be best to go through with the
experiment, get off his shift, and read some of the manga he kept in his
desk elsewhere in the facility. It would be a miracle if the Eva would
even activate at all...
"Very well."
Gendou walked up to the window facing the control panel, his firm
expression seemingly set in stone. Kouzou stood a few paces behind him,
pondering the impending outcome of the experiment. The same thoughts ran
through the minds of everyone in the room. Gendou's voice was crystal
clear as it sounded through the room, silencing any idle chatter there
may have been.
"Begin the activation sequence." He adjusted his glasses. 'There
isn't any more room for failure,' he thought to himself.
Ritsuko began to direct the available staff of the experiment.
"Connect the main power supply and all circuits together."
A green panel on the top of the Eva's head lit up.
"The main power supply has been connected. Starting the
activation system," replied Maya. "Voltage increasing to the critical
point: 0.5, 0.2, rising!"
Once more, the voice of Ritsuko Akagi was heard. "Start the second
phase of the activation system."
Shigeru began to work at his control panel. "The pilot link-up
has been completed."
"Starting System Phase II." called Maya.
Ritsuko nodded and looked to Shigeru. "What is the status of Unit
Zero's neuron impulses?"
"The synapses have been inserted. The junction has been started.
No problems detected."
"Ibuki?"
"The pulses are being transmitted."
"Hyuuga?"
"All circuits are operational."
"The initial contact has been made, no problems detected,"
announced Maya.
Shigeru looked up from his control panel. "Power is now being
transmitted. Currently, power is available up to the brachial muscles in
both arms. There are no problems with the nerve links."
"Nerve links completed up to 2500, 2530, 2550."
"Understood. Arrange for the third connection."
"Understood. Up to 2580 have been completed. 0.9 until absolute
border line."
Kouzou reflected on the situation quietly. It had been 15 years
since the last time an Eva had been needed, but at that time the Evas
hadn't even been created. Was the future truly set in stone? Are the
events that were written so long ago determined to act themselves out?
Maya stared at the display in front of her. They were almost
there. Just a little further, and everyone could celebrate at finally
achieving what they had set out to do, albeit secretly.
Makoto kept his eyes locked on the Eva. He prayed silently that
this would work. The last thing anyone needed was more problems.
Shigeru took a silent, deep breath and held it. Either it was
going to activate, or it would just shut down. He was getting tired of
working on Unit Zero. What was the point?
Gendou continued to stare at the Eva with his set expression. He
wondered if the pilot was alright. She was of importance to him.
"... 0.5, 0.4, 0.3, 0.2, ...it's..."
An alarm began to sound, and was shortly cut off. The wails of
the Eva could be heard throughout the room.
"Damn it! The pulses are beginning to flow backwards! The
connection was reversed!"
"Problems encountered on the third stage. Rejection is setting in
on the nerve center elements!"
One thought unanimously struck everyone in the room. 'Damnit.'
Ritsuko suddenly grew very serious. This had to be stopped now.
"Stop the contacts. Break the circuits up to the 6th."
"Negative. The signal's not being received! Unit Zero has gone
completely out of control!" To herself, she continued to curse. Why
wouldn't it work? Why were there always problems? And why had the Eva
suddenly taken on a mind of it's own?
The wails of the Eva inside the testing area grew louder. It
bellowed furiously, and proceeded to rip the arm restraints keeping it
bonded to the wall off the wall. It did the same for its legs. It
howled once more, clutching its head in pain. The murmurs of the
non-essentials were drowned out in the back of the room. The Commander
finally spoke up.
"Abort the experiment immediately. Cut off the power supply."
"Yes sir!" Ritsuko quickly complied by smashing a glass case with
her hand, and pulling the handle underneath. A long cord that had been
attached to the Eva's back ejected itself and landed on the floor with a
satisfying crash.
"Unit Zero's power supply has been switched to its internal
battery."
"35 seconds until complete standstill."
Ritsuko's angry voice suddenly became louder than the Eva. "35
seconds?! Damn it, why wasn't the battery drained for this?"
She took a deep breath. "Who's incompetence let that slip
through..." she muttered angrily under her breath.
The Eva suddenly straightened and began to punch the glass window
directly in front of Gendou. Shigeru sprang from his seat to where
Makoto was to monitor the situation from there. The both of them were
trying to keep under control. Commander Ikari remained completely
motionless... until the Eva shattered the window and sent glass flying.
Shards of jagged glass grazed his face, just missing him. He looked
behind him with an expression almost resembling concern, to see what
officers who weren't directly involved in the experiment fleeing the
room. Those who were involved crowded around Makoto's workstation to
monitor the crisis from a safe distance.
He heard a cry of agony from Kouzou, and quickly turned to see him
holding his left arm in pain. The glass that had missed himself had
cleanly sliced the upper portion of Kouzou's arm. He suddenly felt sick
to his stomach. That should have been him.
"It's dangerous--step back!"
"For the love of god Akagi, that's more than obvious!" growled
the injured Kouzou. Blood was seeping through his uniform. That woman
could be an idiot sometimes, he thought to himself. Needless to say, he
wasn't in a good mood.
"Fuyutsuki!"
"I'm fine Ikari. It can wait..."
The life and death drama was interrupted by Maya's voice.
"Auto ejection system engaging..."
"Damn it!" yelled Gendou. Everything was going wrong. He began
to curse silently.
The back of Unit Zero erupted suddenly, and a long white tube was
shot out from it. It rumbled and flew its way into one of the higher
corners of the testing area.
"Time until complete standstill: 10, 9, 8, 7..."
"Enable the emergency coolant. Start the Bakelite spray. Hurry
up!" yelled Ritsuko. She began to think about the situation. 'Why did
any of this happen damn it?! Why did it go berserk like this? Is it the
pilot's will, or is it something else? Could it be after someone?'
A thick red liquid began to cover the Eva. It seemed to slow it
down as it continued to punch the wall, but it didn't help very much.
Suddenly, the engines of the entry plug, still containing the pilot, gave
out, and it crashed to the floor with a loud clank. A yellow-orangish
liquid began to spray itself from the entry plug.
"Rei!" He didn't know if she could have survived that kind of
drop. The entry plug may have been designed to keep a pilot as safe as
possible for piloting the Evangelion, but without the Eva to absorb any
of the shock from such a fall...
"..4, 3, 2, 1, 0." Maya prayed that it was over, but she knew
that just wasn't the case. There was the aftermath to deal with.
Evangelion Unit Zero finally came to a halt, a fist still embedded
in the wall. The liquid continued to spray the Eva.
Gendou's shout echoed through the silent room, "I'm going down
there!"
"Ikari! Wait!"
Seeing that the walkway was now in shambles, Gendou rushed to a
lift in the corner of the room and banged the controls. It activated,
but not before Kouzou had joined him. It rushed downwards at a high
speed, until it had reached the bottom level of the testing area. Gendou
rushed through the small corridor and flew open the door at the end,
leading into the testing area. Kouzou followed him, but at a slower
pace, still clutching his bleeding arm.
Gendou ran towards the entry plug that had formerly inhabited
Unit Zero. He couldn't believe the outcome of all this. 'First Kouzou,
now Rei...' He reached for the emergency release handle of the escape
hatch.
"AAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGHHH!!!"
He pulled his hands back, feeling the palms of his hands searing
with heat and pain. His glasses flew from his head and landed in the
liquid that had drained itself from the entry plug. His expression grew
fierce, anger boiling up inside him. This had been nothing but one
disaster after another, and he couldn't let anything else happen. The
entire project had been endangered, and so had everyone's lives. For a
brief moment, the lives became more important to him then the entire
project. He reached again for the release handle. Despite the pain,
he did not let go this time.
"Aaaaagghhh..... urrrrr..... turn damn it... TURN!!!"
Ritsuko looked down from above. This had been a complete
disaster. All she wanted to do was just destroy any records of what just
happened. She'd be credited with failing, and she couldn't stand being a
failure. She couldn't believe that any one of them could have lost their
lives, and that perhaps someone already did. She couldn't believe that
such careless precautions had been taken. She couldn't believe that any
of this had even happened. It shouldn't have...
At last the handle turned. Both of Gendou's hands had been
severely burned. He yanked open the hatch and looked inside.
"Rei! Are you all right? Rei!" Then he saw her.
A young girl dressed in a skin-tight white suit, with blue hair
and pail skin slowly looked up at him. Her red eyes were half open, the
right one slightly bleeding. There was a gash running halfway across her
forehead. Her right arm appeared to be slightly dislocated, and there
was another gash running from her left shoulder to her chest. Both her
legs were slashed around the thighs, and her lower right leg also
appeared to be cut. None of the wounds appeared to be very deep, but the
metallic debris that had broken from the entry plug and had caused them
rested by her right leg, and seemed to suggest otherwise. She looked at
him for a moment and slowly nodded.
"I see."
The glasses which had fallen from Gendou's visage slowly bent
over, and the lenses cracked.
The girl passed out, her injuries too much for her.
"Damn it..."
Gendou exited the hatch and began yelling orders to those in the
control center. He was in a dark mood.
"I want a medical team in here immediately! We have a pilot
suffering from multiple serious injuries, potentially fatal." He looked
at Kouzou. "And there's also an officer in need of immediate medical
assistance. Move!"
Kouzou couldn't help but grin slightly at the concern Gendou was
showing for the both of them. It was a rare occasion to see Gendou in
this manner. For a moment, he wondered how Rei was, but he knew it was
pointless to think about that.
Gendou left Rei and ran over to Kouzou.
"Are you alright?"
"It's just a scratch."
"I doubt that."
"Heh. I can't lie to you, can I? I guess you're going to need
some new glasses now."
Gendou chuckled at the remark. Kouzou once more pondered his
friend's actions.
The medical team arrived with a stretcher. Half of them went to
attend to Rei, while the other half went to see Kouzou.
"I'm fine you fools. I can walk. My arm's injured, not my leg."
Gendou walked over to Kouzou, "I need to see you in my office
after you've been attended to."
"I understand. I'll come as soon as I can."
Gendou nodded his head in agreement, and returned to check on Rei.
Kouzou began to think to himself once more, which of the two it
was that Ikari saw more of in Rei. Briefly, he wondered if he saw
anything at all...
He couldn't help but begin to laugh when he saw one of the medical
team leading Gendou away to treat his hands. Gendou didn't seem to be
very happy about it.
------------------------------------
"You wanted to see me Ikari?"
Kouzou's injury had already been bandaged up, and he had already
changed into a new uniform. It was impossible to tell that he had been
injured before, except that his arm appeared to be somewhat stiff.
Expectable, considering the injury. He noticed that Gendou was wearing
a set of white gloves now. Another set of glasses adorned his face,
heavily tinted, though the eyes could still be seen underneath. It
seemed to bring a darker atmosphere around the already shrouded man.
"Yes, I did."
"How's Rei?"
"...not in the best of conditions, but not in the worst either.
Her injuries appeared much worse then they were. The medical division
estimated about 2 weeks until she's fully recovered. Her appearance
wouldn't give that impression, but nonetheless, she seems to be acting
normally."
'If you could call her actions normal,' Fuyutsuki thought to
himself.
"Fuyutsuki, I want you to contact the President of the Marduk
Institute."
"..."
"Tell him that we accept the recommendation for the Third
Children, and to begin the search for the Fourth and Fifth.
"...I believe the President already knows." His voice lost
some of its serious tone, adopting one of concern. "So... you're going
to send for him? When do you plan to?"
"Now. I want him here by tomorrow. The failure of the Unit Zero
reactivation experiment has made it imperative to find a new pilot.
Unit Two and the Second are unusable as they are still located in
Germany, where they shall stay... at least for now. It's time to
reactivate Unit One."
"Immediately?"
"If it's a possibility, yes."
Kouzou suddenly became angered at his friend. 'After what had
just happened, he'd so readily be willing to attempt another
reactivation? And on Unit One? And immediately? And above all, with
him?' He kept his anger in check, never betraying it in his voice.
"How do you know he'll come?"
"He will. It's how he is."
".. Do you think what you're doing is right? After so long?"
".. My first responsibility is to NERV. After that, it becomes
complicated."
"And how do you think she would feel about it?"
"..."
Kouzou sighed discontentedly. "I see. I can't say I'm pleased
with your decision, but this isn't any of my business. I'll speak to the
communications division. They'll have a message delivered to him within
the hour. Is there anything in particular you want it to say?"
"Yes. Come. Sign it with my name. Send a second message to his
sensei with instructions for him once he reaches the city, and to make
arrangements with the sensei himself for... accommodating the Third to
the city. Arrange for him to take a government train into the city.
Please look into finding an escort for him as well."
"I understand."
"And Fuyutsuki?"
"Yes?"
"Feel free to take a break after this. You've had a rough day."
"Heh."
Kouzou departed from the room to leave Commander Ikari alone with
his thoughts. On his way to the communications division, he wondered how
the Commander could do such things. How had he become so cold? These
and other questions racked his mind, but he didn't have the time to think
about them. He had a job to do. In truth, he just wanted to forget
about the events of today. He suspected that everyone involved in the
experiment did. The last thought on his mind as he entered the
communications room was how the two of them would react to seeing each
other after so many years.
------------------------------------
A few hours later, in a small house near the Atsugi district, a
printed message had come through for a young man of 14 years living at
that home. With him deep in his studies, his sensei read over the note
himself. It seemed there was another one too, addressed to him, about
his pupil. Somewhat angered at the "request", or rather, the "order" on
the note, but regretfully understanding the necessity, he went to speak
with his pupil. He showed him the first note. The young man promptly
stopped breathing.
"..."
"..."
"...Father..."
"...It is your choice. We shall discuss it over dinner."
After a deep discussion with his sensei about his father, they
came to an agreement that it may be a good idea for the young man to go.
Perhaps after all this time, things could change between the two. The
boy was slightly more optimistic than his sensei, but not by much. Early
morning the following day, the young man said his goodbyes and walked to
the train station, the instructions given to him by his sensei still
fresh in his mind, and boarded the government train for Tokyo-3. He
noticed that he seemed to be alone. As the young man slipped a set of
headphones into his ears to listen to his miniature portable tape player
during the ride, a thought entered his mind.
"... Why is father... calling for me?"
The young man sighed to himself, troubled by the situation. After
a few moments of troubled contemplation, Shinji Ikari pressed the play
button on the tape player, and let the music lull him into a state of
relaxation. He didn't know if he would ever be able to relax again after
this time. Meeting his father didn't build his confidence, to say the
least.
As the music soothed his anxiousness, he looked at the seat across
from him, and discovered a small box with his name printed across the
top. He remembered the instructions from his sensei, and picked it up.
Slowly he undid the bindings and opened it...
TO BE CONTINUED...
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AUTHOR'S NOTES:
Well, that takes care of the first installment of this series.
Basically to set the mood.
My goal is recreate Neon Genesis Evangelion. Somewhat of an
"Alternate Universe" type, but not the MAJOR "Alternate Universe" type.
Simply put, I wish to keep the same characters from Evangelion and the
same plot, but I want to be able to focus more on the characters rather
than constant Angel battles. I want to develop the Evangelion world
further.
In my opinion, Neon Genesis Evangelion is, and probably will be
for a long time, one of the best anime ever created, both for animation,
style, and content. However, the problem with NGE, was that it was too
short. Because of this, there was little character development (yes,
I'm aware of what has happened in the series). In comparison to the
general theme of Evangelion, there wasn't a high amount of character
interaction, so many of the characters attitudes remained the same. In
real life, people change over time. It is difficult to believe that
considering the time span of Eva, that there wasn't much change. If
there had been more "life" in Evangelion, then perhaps there would have
been a very different turn out to it, a different ending. The only
thing that is truly set in stone is the appearance of the Angel's (the
Dead Sea Scrolls have ensured that), but characters like the Children
can develop if others take the initiative. This doesn't mean I plan to
turn everyone into a bunch of ridiculously positive people that you just
want to see dead, or everyone is instantly OOC (or even OOC at all!).
I'm just saying that the characters deserve a chance to develop, and I
intend to bring that in. This series doesn't end until a Third Impact is
completed or stopped. Until then, a lot of things can happen which can
change the flow of the story. Whenever characters are introduced, they
will be their "normal" selves: I don't intend to rewrite the past. My
purpose is not to determine the past of Evangelion, but the future of
that world. I find this very difficult to explain. I hope you
understand what I mean. If you don't, then keep reading the series.
You will soon enough.
For all of you Evangelion enthusiasts out there, you've noticed by
now that the flashback from Episode 5 was in here (albeit with extra
description). The reason for this was to establish a solid background
for what happened prior to Shinji's arrival. This will be important
later on of course. Note that the original time line of Evangelion was
somewhat compact, and messed up. My explanation:
The experiment flashback was 22 before the day that Shinji
started to wonder about Rei. The 4th Angel attacked 3 weeks / 21 days
after the 3rd. Rei was to be returned to "status" 20 days after the day
after the 3rd attacked, meaning 21 days to the day it did attack, meaning
the accident with Unit Zero was the day before the 3rd arrived. This
also means that Rei would be back as a pilot the same day the 4th
attacked BUT that would also be the day that Shinji began to wonder about
Rei (I'm not talking about the day after when he begins to talk to
her, and the 5th Angel appears). However, this would also be the same
day that Shinji got beaten up by Touji, talked to Rei briefly while she
was still injured (and according to the above, she shouldn't be), fought
the 4th Angel, and had run away that night. The next day follows Shinji
through Tokyo-3 (but by the time line would also be the same day that he
began to interact with Rei, and the 5th Angel had appeared). And then
there's the day after, when he's caught, returns to Tokyo-3, resigns from
NERV, and is admitted back the same day, but technically this is also
supposed to be the same day that both Rei and Shinji fight the 5th Angel
together. Hence, the time line is completely screwed up, because it's
obvious that the above is impossible. <g> This is how I've interpreted
the time line. There is no need to go into the time line further.
So, because of these flaws, I'll be writing the time line as I see
as both fit, and reasonable. For example, although Shinji is arriving
the day after Rei's accident, Rei will be returned to pilot status 2
weeks after the experiment (as this is the future, and the fact that her
injuries, though many, were not very serious, it seems possible that she
could be healed within 2 weeks). This can also help with character
development, but I think you get the picture. Similarity, but
difference. At any rate, a lot can happen between the times of Angel
attacks. And different things can happen when compared to the series.
The future is not set in stone, and the results are endless. That is the
truth behind fanfiction, Evangelion, and life in general.
Well, that's all I have to say. If you have any comments and/or
suggestions on this, let me know ASAP. The next installment will bring
Shinji into the plot. This was just the Prologue after all. Comments
are welcome, but flames will be put out with the electronic equivalent
of water. Ja na!
==========================================================================
James Grabowski
- sephirius@japan.crosswinds.net
For The Most Recent Versions:
- http://www.crosswinds.net/japan/~sephirius
- Click on "Anime Fanfiction" to get to the latest releases of:
Neon Genesis Evangelion: Other Paths
(becomes available with an official/RAAC release)
------------------------------------
"Man is descended from one alone.
One way or another, we're all related.
With this knowledge, the wall blocking the "truth" is destroyed,
Leaving an opportunity that can be used to a positive advantage.
One that can change man's perception forever,
And consequently, prove the theorem wrong..."
"And now it becomes a reality."