Anyone who recognizes this title... good for you!!  It was something I
started quite a time ago, and rather liked it.  So, I decided to dig it
up, dust it off... shatter it, and re-glue it back together again.  In
other words, this is a total rewrite of the fanfic.
Enjoy.

This is Eva, need I warn about things such as language and adult
content?  Consider this once anyway.

Spoiler Warning?

     Darkness dwelled not in the mind of the madman, but in the heart.
He felt not the pain of others, but did the hatred.  Self-loathing was a
way of life, and it seemed nothing could be done to stop it.  No torture
was deep enough, nor pleasure too great.  It could be considered an
amusing irony that modern technology was the slayer of this particular
beast.      
     "Shinji, it's time for your medication." the nurse said calmly as
she came up to the young man's bedside.      
     The boy opened his eyes, feeling their weight as they seperated.
He could only manage to let a small crack appear, and light poured
hungrily through, as if to consume him while his guard was down.  Even
given this opening, it was too minute to make out anything clearly of
his surroundings.        
     He knew, however, from the smell and the feel of the very air that
he was in the... Hospital. That place where they remove those who are
societally incompatible and put them in a more "proper" environment.        
     Shinji knew it as "home," for he could recall nothing before.
     "Please, Shinji, don't be difficult with me today," pleaded the
nurse, who was trying to pry open his mouth, and failing miserably.
For Shinji, it was not being difficult.  It was simply being a child,
that which everyone expected him to be.  The world had let him down, he
was determined not to be so low in return.  "Nobody loves me," he
whispered ever so softly.      
     The nurse didn't hear him, but she saw his lips part and took the
initiative.  She barely managed to remove her fingers before the jaw
clamped shut again.  Her breathing was labored as she cradled her hand
and walked out the door mumbling about "needing a transfer from this nut
barn."      
     Shinji remained behind, as always, wrapped in his darkened cacoon,
safe from the outside world which had damaged him so.  He didn't know
what it was that protected him, but he was thankful for its presense.
Never would he get rid of the wonderful barrier that divided him from
the rest of mankind.

PM Productions Presents
A Phillip Masters Fanfic
Being A Child
Chapter One (A): The Awakening Child

     Ikari Shinji held the crumpled picture in his hand and stared at
it.  Upon the photo was a woman with purple hair, all too much bosom,
and a rather mischievous glint in her eye.  Shinji was rather balanced
between whether he was eager or scared to death of meeting this person
who was supposed to pick him up.        
     He had exited the train, alone, to make his way down a ridiculously
empty city street.  It was downright erie the way multiple skyscrapers
towered overhead, while not a soul was in sight for blocks at a time.
After twenty minutes of standing at the designated corner, he was
beginning to wish the Captain would show up... if not only because he
knew the car would be air-conditioned.        
     A dull thud wracked Shinji's spine, and he winced.  He glanced
around, trying to figure out what would cause such a large jolt.  Then,
the building across the street erupted into a bright fireball.  He was
almost thrown to the ground by the shockwave, as it was every window in
the building behind him was shattered.  
     Another tremendous shock went through the earth, causing Shinji to
fall back on his butt from the precarious half-standing position he was
in.  The day was turning out to be not quite as good as originally
planned.  He had taken all his medicine that morning, and was intrigued
by the thought of meeting his father after so many years.  It never
would have occured to him that a war would be breaking out in his new
home town.  
     An unnatural squeal ripped through the air, and a '13 Mustang flew
around the nearby corner to come to a stop in front of Shinji's feet.
The passanger door opened, coming two inches too close to his kneecaps
for comfort.  Inside the vehicle was the woman from his picture.  She
was dressed similarly, except for a flight jacket which held in the
incredible assets the photo made no attempt to hide.  
     For once, however, it could be truly said that sex was as far from
the teenagers mind as possible.  The survival instinct had kicked in and
could not be denied.  
     "Get in!!" the Captain screamed, her foot shaking on the gas pedal.  
     Shinji jumped from sitting on the curb to sitting in the car in
record time in a feat of acrobatics that could have most likely won him
the Olympics.  His sudden aerobic skill was entirely lost on the rest of
the world as the Captain released the clutch and the accelorator was
mashed against the backrest.  The engine redlined as the tires burned on
the blacktop, the horrific squeal filling the air once more.  
     As the car began to gain speed, a gigantic foot came crashing down
in their path.  The Captain instantly yanked the wheel to the left,
narrowly avoiding the largest ankle Shinji had ever seen.  
     As they sped their way out of Tokyo-3, Shinji looked out the back
window at the towering monstrosity attached to the invading podietrist's
nightmare.  "What the hell is that?" he yelled over the sound of
exploding masonry and devices he didn't even want to know about. 
     "That," Captain Katsuragi began, "is why you are here, Shinji...
shit...!"  She cursed as she dodged a four ton piece of concrete which
had somehow managed to drop right in the middle of the road.  
     "I thought I was here to see my father?" Shinji asked, now utterly
confused.  What did they expect him to do about *that* thing?
     "You are... however, he has a job for you."  Finally, they had
escaped the confines of the city and were currently heading into what
appeared to be the sticks.
     "What job?  And not that I mind you running from the war zone back
there... but where are we going?"  Shinji would have liked some answers,
unfortunately he was suddenly faced with the task of keeping his meager
lunch down as the good Captain came to a screeching halt somewhere
between where they had come from and nowhere.  She was intently studying
the rear-view mirror.  "What is it?" Shinji whispered, almost afraid to
break her concentration.  
     "No... they wouldn't...." she mumbled, her eyes widening ever so
slightly.
     "Huh...?" was all Shinji managed before he was shoved from the car.
The door did a mighty fine job of stopping his forward motion.  Getting
the hint, he opened the obstruction and fell out to the ground.  He
barely heard the Captain say something about "N2 Mine" before sampling
the pavement.  A moment later he felt himself being dragged across the
ground by the coller of his shirt.  It was a decidedly uncomfortable way
to run for ones life.
     As they both fell behind a natural bunker of a hill, the world
turned white.  The light died down, only to be replaced by a column of
fire.  A rumbling in the ground was accompanied by a tremendous
shockwave, which tossed the Mustang off the street like one might
lightly flick a gnat off ones shoulder.  
     The Captain was understandibly pissed.  "Damnit!  What the fuck is
your problem?!" she screamed at the fire, as though it would suddenly
bow and apologize for its error.  
     The "non-nuclear" flame slowly died down, leaving behind the same
monster that had stood their before.  "That's a shame," Shinji stated,
shaking his head.
     Grimacing at the sight of the creature, Katsuragi turned to her
assignment.  "What, exactly, is a shame?"
     "That your car had to be wasted for nothing... it was a nice model,
and unless you were issued it I'm sure you had many payments left to
go."  He grinned, as if to try and lift her spirits through will alone.
     Apparently, his will was not strong that day, for she simply
grumbled in response and walked with a dark cloud hovering over her head
to her newfound hooptie.  In a feat of amazing dexterity and skill the
likes of which Shinji had never seen, the Captain flipped her car over
onto its wheels once more.  "Come on, get in," she barked and sat down
in the driver's seat... actually opening the door would have been rather
redundant as it was lying some twenty meters down the road.
     Shinji had no such luxury and fiddled with the handle until the
door creaked open.  He sat down, and was almost killed by the suddenly
slammed door as the Captain gunned the obviously in tact engine,
shooting them down the highway like a bullet.  He caught his breath and
glanced over at his "protector."  "You are doing one heck of a job... I
haven't got a scratch."
     Katsuragi glared at the boy next to her for a moment, then just
sighed and smiled.
     Satisfied, he returned the smile.  The Captan certainly was
beautiful when she smiled... he wondered if he should tell her that.
The idea was quickly vetoed, and summarily dumped by Congress as he
realized it most certainly was not the time.
     They drove on for only a few more moments when they entered a
tunnel.  It quickly dead ended at what appeared to be an enterance to an
underground base of some sort.  Shinji wasn't sure was this meant, but
he was certain he wouldn't like it.  "What is this place?"
     Katsuragi slid her security card through the slot next to the car
and the door in front of them slid up into the ceiling.  "This is NERV,
Shinji... your new place of employment."  She maneuvered the car into
the bay and the door slid shut behind them as a carrier of some sort
began to move them down the new tunnel.
     They picked up speed over time until they were moving fast enough
that the regularly placed lights along the tunnel wall began to look
like one continuous line.  Then, they were flying.  Shinji felt the
breath catch in his chest as the tunnel gave way to the sky.  Artificial
illumination filled the enormous underground construct.  Skyscrapers
ceased to be just a clever name as they quite literally hung from the
"ceiling" of the massive geofront.  He pressed himself to the window to
see a vast forest below and a clean, clear lake smack in the middle with
what appeared to be a pyrimid at its shores.  "What's that building down
there?"
     "That's NERV Headquarters... the last stopgap between here and
infinity." the Captain answered enigmatically.
     Shinji blinked and looked at the woman he was trusting his
well-being to.  "Could you *please* give me a straight answer just
*once*?"  
     Katsuragi grinned apologetically and put her hand behind her head.
"Sorry... I'm not supposed to tell you anything."  Then, she lit up and
pulled a manual from her jacket pocket.  "Oh!  Almost forgot... this is
your NERV handbook."  Her face went serious.  "Guard it with your life."  
     Shinji took the book as though it might decide to try human flesh.
The Captain broke out into uproarous laughter and he knew he had fallen
for it... hard.  He blushed and did his best to bury his face in the
manual.  At that point, something caught his attention.  "Um...
Captain... I think someone who part of the Council for the Liberal Use
of Black Marker got a hold of mine."  He flashed her the pages of his
handbook, which were mostly dark scribbles.  
     "Ah... well...." Katsuragi started, then brightened, "We're here!"
The car came to halt at the base of the clear tube, inside the very
complex that was supposedly the end of everything.  
     Shinji was unsure as to how much he wanted to be in such a place.
"Now do we meet someone who can answer questions?" he asked as they left
the car and headed toward the elevator.  
     The doors slid aside and a blond haired woman was standing before
them.  Shinji's eyebrows lifted as he noticed if anything he wouldn't be
lacking in wonderful things to watch in his down time.  Or, maybe he
would get to work *with* these people!  
     "Captain," the blond greeted, as one might welcome a person who had
driven through her lawn.  
     "Ritsuko," Katsuragi returned, equally enthusiastic about their
chance meeting.
     "I was just on my way to the cages... I assume you and the Third
might want to join me." Ritsuko said, though it sounded an aweful lot
like an order to Shinji.  
     The Captain didn't answer, she simply stepped on board the
elevator.  Not wishing to be left alone in the Lord-knows-how-big
Headquarters, he followed.  
     As the doors slid obediently shut behind him with a silent hiss, he
began to again wander just what sort of situation he had managed to get
into this time.  

END Chapter One (A)
I said this was one I would work on... just figured out yesterday how I
was going to work it out however.  It's new... I think interesting...
and I'd like to know what you think so far.  I'd rather not hear about
continuity... I did not want to novelize the true opening, I just flew
from memory and knocked a few things about.  
Thanks for reading!
PMasters (2-22-99)        

"I'm only holding back the rain.  So many raindrops, so many pains.  I
want to find my train someday.  As seasons go past the station." - Tokyo
Babylon OVA 1
/ E-mail: PhilMasters@webtv.net /
"...has anyone ever used something alive for a coat of arms?" - The
Sailor Who Fell From Grace With The Sea (Mishima Yukio, 1965) / 
"You see, what you call a cat, we use as armor." - Rune (El-Hazard,
1994)