Her travel bag falling heavily at her side, Katsuragi Misato seated
herself at the foot of the steps outside of the station with a weary sigh.
"I can't believe this! First I miss my train out here, and then, right
before my last transfer, all of the lines shut down." Leaning back, Misato
regarded the clear blue sky. A small frown crossed her face as she
recalled the evacuation warning that had been blaring across the station's
PA system just minutes before. *I wonder what the hell's going on...*
Reaching into her bag, Misato searched around for a few moments before
extracting a crumpled piece of stationary, flattening it out and holding
it up for inspection. It was a pretty simple message, giving and a time
and a place where she was supposed to meet her escort. After noting the
time, Misato stole a glance at the watch on her wrist. A groan escaped her
lips and she hung her head, a pained expression on her face. "Damn, three
hours late already. And the phones in the station aren't working either."
*Well, I guess there's nothing for it...* With another sigh, Misato got
back to her feet and re-shouldered her bag. She took another look up at
the sky. "At least it's a nice day for a walk..." As she watched the
clouds roll by, a large gray fighter jet streaked across her field of
vision. Shading her eyes with her hands, Misato traced its path across the
sky. "Hmm... that thing was flying pretty low..."
Suddenly, with a thunderous roar, a missile tore the air less than fifty
feet above her head, raising a cloud of dust in its wake as Misato
clutched her ears to block out the sound. *A- a cruise missile??!*
As she watched, the missile broke left, angling upward to gain altitude as
it turned, spearing towards the hills off in the distance, behind the
station. Or, to be more precise, towards something that was just now
appearing from behind those hills. Misato gaped in astonishment at the
colossal, green, vaguely ape-shaped... thing, that towered before her.
Several white, bone like protrusions, one of which looked vaguely like the
skull of a bird, decorated the forest-green skin of the monstrosity, the
only other hint of color being a giant, blood red sphere that was
positioned below the "bird-skull," in the center of the thing's body. The
cruise missile, as well as several others, approaching from different
directions, quickly converged on the creature, exploding against its body
without any visible effect.
"W- wha- what the heck is _that_?!" Misato screamed, staring up at the
monster with a completely poleaxed expression on her face.
A low whirring sound from behind her forced Misato to tear her gaze from
the creature, as she turned to look back. Approaching high and fast,
several hover- jets streaked overhead, all the while showering smaller
missiles upon the giant green ape-thing. None of this seemed have any
effect on it at all, until suddenly it drew one of its spindly,
three-clawed arms back, and then thrust it forward again, in the direction
of one of the jets still hovering over Misato's head.
A beam of light streaked out from the center of the arm, lancing through
the jet with a bright flash. *Oh _Crap_!!!* With a strangled cry, Misato
scrambled away from the station as the crippled jet fell from the sky,
crashing upon the steps behind her. On impact, the plane exploded, sending
wreckage flying in all directions. Misato was thrown to the ground, where
she sat, desperately holding her arms before her face.
Just as the cloud of shrapnel was almost upon her, the plaintive screech
of abused tires rang out in Misato's ears, and a shadow fell across her.
Daring to open her eyes again, Misato found a large, black sedan
interposed between her and the flaming wreck of the jet. Misato couldn't
see who was inside of the car, as the windows were tinted, but suddenly
the passenger side door that she was facing popped open, just missing
Misato's legs as it swung out.
Inside the car, the driver leaned across the seats to look down at her. He
was a young man, probably in his late twenties, wearing a black business
suit with a button-down white shirt and a black tie. A silver and red
tie-pin, bearing a peculiar half-leaf symbol and the letters NERV,
provided the only color that his clothing held. The rest of him, on the
other hand, was slightly more interesting. He had short cut, light brown
hair, and handsome, clean-shaven face with sharp, angular features. A pair
of narrow, oval framed glasses, with tinted lenses, balanced rakishly at
the end of his nose as he cast a harried glance in Misato's direction.
Taking stock of the trembling young girl before him, the man pushed the
glasses back up on the bridge of his nose and gave her an appologetic
look. "Katsuragi Misato? I'm Major Ikari Shinji of NERV. I'm sorry about
this mess, but I was sent to pick you up. We have no time to waste, so
please get in the car."
*****
Fun With Nyanniichuan Productions Presents...
A work of Neon Genesis Evangelion fanfiction...
H I S T O R Y
Prologue: Deja Vu
April 16, 2029
Standing amidst the rice fields fifteen miles outside of Osaka-2, like a
lonely sentinel guarding the frontier, the gas station appeared to be long
abandoned; yet another casualty of progress. Most cars didn't use gasoline
anymore, the laws having shifted in the last few decades to favor cleaner
and more efficient fuels. Instead, electricity and fuel cells supplied all
of the power necessary for most modern vehicles. Some car owners, however,
still yearned for the raw power of a rumbling, gas-guzzling internal
combustion engine.
Car manufactures, ever sensitive to wants and needs of their limited
customer base, had complied; several of the more rugged gar lines now
supported hydrogen-burning engines. This simple fuel was cheap, clean
burning, and, most importantly, packed quite a kick. The car manufacturers
even claimed that they had solved most of the difficulties surrounding the
tendency of hydrogen-powered cars to explode when they got into accidents.
They needn't have worried about it; most hydrogen-car drivers didn't
really care if they had or not.
Spitting gravel from under its fat, double-thick tires like a localized
hail- storm, the jet-black hum-vee rumbled to halt in front of the pumps,
giving one final, almost feral roar before falling silent. The darkened,
broken out windows of the gas station stared out at the car like the
vacant eye-sockets of a skull, the gaping, empty maw of the garage waiting
to swallow up whatever unlucky traveler happened to present himself. There
was no fuel to be had here today.
The man that stepped forth from the black, fire-breathing beast did not
look like one to make such a mistake, however. Smoothing out his suit and
tie, the driver of the hum-vee took a moment to push his glasses back up
on the bridge of his nose and run a hand through his slightly disheveled
brown hair before turning and marching purposefully toward the side of the
gas station. Ignoring the pumps and the office entirely, he angled toward
the rather newer-looking phone booth that stood beside the station,
entering it and shutting the door firmly behind him.
Rooting around in his coat pocket for a moment, a small frown crossed the
man's face as he came back empty-handed. The frown disappeared quickly,
however, after a few moments of searching his pants pockets. Extracting a
small, silver disc and a well-worn leather wallet, the man picked up the
receiver, placing it between his shoulder and his ear. Carefully, he ran
the silver disk up and down along the sides of the phone until a small
beeping noise emitted from it, and it adhered itself magnetically to the
green casing of the phone. A small smirk crossed his lips as he selected a
card from his wallet and inserted it into the pay-slot. He didn't even
look as he dialed the number, for he already knew it by heart.
After two rings the person on the other end of the line picked up, and a
quiet, female voice rang out through the ear piece. "Yes?"
"I've found her." If you listened close enough, you could actually hear
the satisfied smile Aida Kensuke wore as he spoke into the receiver. *God
damn, but I love this job...*
Hanging up the phone, Rei turned her chair to face the rather impatient-
looking young man that was standing in the corner of her office. "That was
the Marduk Institute. They have located the Third Children." The tone of
her voice didn't change, but the corners of her mouth quirked up, just a
little, into something that might possibly have been mistaken for a smile,
as she peered inquisitively at her visitor. "I assume that you will write
the letter yourself?"
"Yeah, I'll take care of it." Shinji replied, scratching the back of his
head thoughtfully. A pensive look occupied his features for several
moments, before it finally succumbed to encroachment of a rather
infectious grin, as a relieved sigh escaped Shinji's lips. "We've finally
found her, haven't we?"
Rei didn't reply immediately, but a little bit of Shinji's grin began to
creep into her almost-smile, her piercing, red-eyed gaze softening for a
moment before she turned back to her desk and began to shuffle papers
around, shaking her head slightly. "Yes, it appears that we have..."
*****
May 5, 2029
The floor NERV command center was a whirlwind of activity, as technicians
rushed back and forth across the floor, consulting and coordinating with
the visiting US tactical command unit. Projected before them on the main
screen, the Angel continued its advance upon Tokyo-3, as UN and SDF units
continued to pound it with air and ground fire to no appreciable effect.
Staring impassively up at the observation dais from the command floor, Rei
adjusted the small microphone that was pinned to the collar of her white
lab coat. "You know that they will fail, commander. You should have your
forces withdraw."
Gritting his teeth in frustration, the commander of the UN forces stood up
and glared back down at her. "Dammit, isn't there any other way to do
this?!" He growled, tearing off his hat and throwing it down on the table.
"You know that there is not, however we may wish that there was." The
albino woman on the command floor replied, her cold words carrying through
the mic to the group of uniformed observers that was assembled on the dais
above. "This is why NERV was created."
The commander flinched at her tone, but stood his ground. As he stared
down at her for several moments more, the air in the control room was
filled with the sounds of battle, and the voices of technicians and
military aides, as the casualties continued to build. A pained look
entered the commander's features, as he straightened and walked to the end
of the table, picking up the receiver of a red phone. "This is OPS. Do we
have authorization to use our countermeasure? Good. Proceed according to
the mission objectives outlined in emergency packet B. That is correct,
emergency packet B."
A small frown formed on Rei's lips as the pickup in her ear caught the
commander's words. "You countermeasure will not be sufficient to eliminate
the target."
"I'm not trying to eliminate the target!" Commander Suzuhara Touji barked,
cracking the casing of the phone as he slammed the receiver back into its
cradle, the red plastic crumbling under the tightly clenched fingers of
his glove-sheathed left hand. "I'm buying you some time. But you and Ikari
had _damn_ well better not screw up this time!"
Turning away from the commander, Rei peered up at the lumbering behemoth
that was steadily advancing upon their position, inscrutable and
unstoppable. "Indeed..."
*****
Peering out of the passenger-side window through a pair of binoculars that
Major Ikari had lent her, Misato suddenly noticed something that didn't
make sense. "Ikari-san?"
"Shinji is fine, if you like." Shinji replied, gunning the engine as they
approached a stretch of straightaway. *Man, I'm glad I let Kensuke talk me
into a gas car.* "What's on your mind?"
Smiling slightly at Shinji's easy manner, Misato turned to the window and
pointed out at the giant green thing, Shinji had called it an "Angel,"
that was smashing its way through the city. "It looks like all of the jets
that were shooting at that thing decided it was time to run away, but they
haven't even slowed it down. Do you think they're gonna try something
else?"
"Well, I-" Suddenly, Shinji felt every hair on his head stand on end. That
was all the warning that either of them got before three columns of
blinding, bluish-white light lanced down from the sky, striking at the
Angel in quick succession. "Oh shit! Brace yourself!" The major cried, as
he slammed on the breaks and grabbed Misato, pressing her down on the
seat, below window level.
"Wha- what?!" Still dazzled by the flash of light a few moments ago, it
was all Misato could do to rub her eyes blindly as Shinji wrapped his arms
around her and pulled her down. "What the-"
The rest of her question was lost to the howl of the wind and the screech
of tortured metal, as a massive column of air rolled over the sedan,
blowing out all the windows and tossing it through the air like a child's
toy. The car flipped over several times in mid air before finally hitting
the ground and skidding to a halt, on its side, against an embankment.
Dust and debris continued to fly by for several more seconds, as the winds
of the shock wave continued to rage around them. When it finally blew
itself out, and she could hear again, Misato began to hear a high pitched
whining noise.
It took her a few moments to figure out that the noise was, in fact, the
sound of her own screaming. Funny, she couldn't remember when she had
started screaming, but it really couldn't have been that long ago; the
entire ordeal had lasted for less than a minute. Shutting her mouth with
an audible click, Misato tried to calm herself, and began to take stock.
Thankfully, it appeared that she had managed to keep from wetting herself,
at least; that certainly wouldn't have been a good start.
Peering around the inside of the car, she determined that they were
currently flipped on their right side. Feeling a few new bruises that she
had managed to acquire in the last minute or so, Misato wished that she
had listened to Shinji when he had told her to put on her seat belt. *Hey,
where is Ikari-san, anyway?* Shifting about in her awkward position at the
"bottom" of the car, Misato glanced around the inside of the car, but
couldn't find the Major anywhere. Then, a quiet groan from behind her
alerted Misato to the fact that she was, in fact, on top of him. "Aah,
sorry Ika- Shinji-san. Are you alright?" she cried, as she tried to turn
around and look at him.
>From her position, sort of stuck halfway in his lap as the car lay on its
side, Misato could tell that Major Ikari had seen better days. Several
small cuts decorated the side of his face that was pressed against the
ground outside of his window, and it appeared as though he had used his
own body to keep her from slamming into the side of the car. He was turned
at a somewhat awkward angle, halfway out of his seatbelt, with his back
pressed against the car door. Misato gasped, even as she felt a slight
heat rising in her cheeks. "Oh no, Shinji-san..."
At the sound of her voice, Shinji released another groan, and his eyes
fluttered open behind the cracked lenses of his tinted glasses. "Ugh...
Mi- Misato-san? Are you alright?" He questioned groggily.
"I'm fine, thanks to you." Misato replied, casting a worried glance at the
disoriented young man beneath her. "Are _you_ okay?"
"I... think I'm okay." Shinji replied slowly, as he lifted his left arm
from Misato's side to remove his glasses. "Nothing feels broken, anyway.
But could you get off of me; I think I can feel those binoculars poking me
in the back."
*****
After much embarrassment and several false starts, Shinji and Misato had
finally managed to extricate themselves from Shinji's car. Unfortunately,
the major's huge, black Buick sedan had proven to be far too heavy for the
two of them to right successfully. Panting heavily as she leaned against
the embankment, Misato peered up at Shinji as the older man was dabbing
the cuts on his cheek with a handkerchief. "Okay, since we're obviously
not going to be able to go on in this thing, you mind telling me what that
was that they shot the giant green 'Angel' thing with?"
Turning to look down at Misato apologetically, Shinji sat down beside her
and continued to hold the handkerchief to his cheek. "Nuclear missile
defense system; orbital particle beam satellites. They're usually pointed
perpendicular to the atmosphere; they're not designed to hit targets on
the surface." He explained, pointing up at the sky. "Still, it looks like
they _did_ hit, for what good it will do them."
"Are you kidding?! What could possibly have survived a blast like that?"
Misato cried in disbelief.
"An Angel could," the major replied wearily. "Plus, if that shock wave was
any indication, I'd say that they didn't do any special modifications on
the satellites at all." Glancing at the uncomprehending expression on the
young girl's face, Shinji continued. "Since the satellites are designed to
shoot down targets that are on the outer fringes of the atmosphere, the
beams they would fire wouldn't need to be as coherent or as well shielded
as a planet-based particle beam weapon would be. Because of that, if they
tried to fire into the atmosphere, something like half of the energy would
inevitably be wasted, dissipating into the atmosphere as heat, thus the
shock wave."
"Soo..." Misato began, staring off towards the giant dust cloud that had
risen in the center of the city. "It's still alive, then?" She murmured,
fear and incredulity vying for dominance in her voice.
"Probably..." Shinji nodded, standing up and staring at the dust could as
well. "Which means that we're still in a hurry."
As Misato groaned and glowered at him wearily, Shinji reached in through
the empty frame where his windshield used to be and groped around inside
the glove box of the car. Finding what he was looking for, he withdrew his
arm, holding a large manila envelope. "Here, this is supposed to be for
you, but first," Tearing open the envelope, Shinji extracted a folded city
map and began to scan it quickly. "There; I thought I remembered an entry
point around her somewhere. Okay, it looks like we can leave the car
behind, for now." Nodding resolutely, Shinji reached down to help Misato
back to her feet. "We're not out of the forest yet..."
Meanwhile, inside the dust cloud...
Even amidst the swirling dust and still-falling debris, an erie silence
had settled over the deserted streets of Tokyo-3. Not a soul among the
ragged, bone-weary survivors dared breathe a word, for fear that death
might find that he had passed them over in error. Instead, those too slow
or too isolated to reach the shelters simply cowered in place, waiting for
the moment to pass. Then, with a bone-wrenching screech, a solitary
manhole cover twisted free of its mountings.
"Hey-yoo!" Popping her head out of the manhole, Eimii waved cheerily for a
second, before breaking into a fit of coughs as the cloying cloud of dust
and ash invaded her lungs.
"<Hack> Eheh- <Cough> i- it's been a while, ne?" Pulling herself up to sit
on the rim of the manhole, Eimii wiped a bit of dust from her eye and
looked around. "So, what'cha think?" She queried, waving around at the
blasted ruins of outer Tokyo-3.
Continuing, she leaned down conspiratorily, putting a cupped hand to the
side of her mouth. "This is my first try at an Evangelion fanfiction, so
i'd really appreciate it if anybody'd like to say anything about it. I
won't even mind if you wanna tell me that it sucks, and i should just
quit; after all, that might be true..." Sighing, Eimii leaned down and
rested her chin in her hands.
"As usual, none of these characters are mine, and i don't claim to be
using them with the permission of the owners." She pointed out, raising a
finger. Unnoticed, a long shadow fell across the distracted fanfic author.
"Please don't sue me. I don't have any money, and if anybody at Gainax
read this and didn't like it, bad things could hap... pen..." Blinking,
Eimii trailed off, staring down at the shadow that now covered her.
Trembling slightly, she looked up just in time to see a size 900
birkenstock sandal descending on her head. "Eep..."
<SMASH>
Looking up from its foot, the second angel scanned the skyline for a
moment, before blink-blinking and giving a mildly distubing claw-fisted
thumbs-up.