[EVA] [fan-fiction] My first one, be nice!

[dougde at bellsouth.net]

Why don't you post it on Fanfiction.net?


> 
> From: "Novel Idea" <eli108 at bellsouth.net>
> Date: 2002/03/11 Mon PM 02:59:43 EST
> To: <evangelion at eva.onegeek.org>
> Subject: [EVA] [fan-fiction]  My first one, be nice!
> 
> Ok, this is my first fan-fiction and I'm hoping to make a small series out
> of it.  The title is "Too Little; Too Late."
> 
> Just a couple of notes:
> 
> 1. This isn't in the storyline.  I've watched the whole series through once,
> and not all at one time.  I'm sure if I tried, I could meld my story to
> conform what happened in the actual series, or maybe not.  I've heard what
> some people term as AU, (I presume that means Alternate Universe) but that
> seems a bit too... corny.  So let's just say mine is "different".  ^_^
> 
> 2. The timeline.  Like I said, since this doesn't really fit too tightly (or
> at all) into the actual series, it's sort of hard to say.  What I can say
> right now though, that this is after what happened with Touji.  Touji, even
> after the Angel took over his Evangelion and the resulting bloodshed, he got
> back in and started piloting.  I'm using "Marie" as his sister's name.  I'm
> not to sure if that is her actual name, but I think I saw it in a couple of
> fan-fictions.  Let me know if I'm wrong.  Later on, I might go into why
> Touji started piloting again, and it will inevitably go to his sister, so it
> is rather important I have her name.
> 
> 3. Mana.  I saw her in a couple of fan-fictions, and I think she was in am
> Evangelion game.  I've never played the game, nor have I seen here anywhere
> else, so I more than likely have her character wrong.  It's just derived
> from the fan-fictions I have seen her in.  Again, this is my own little
> story, so if something did happen to her, it didn't happen here!  Or hasn't
> happened yet.
> 
> 4. The rest of the characters.  I'm trying to keep all characters true to
> the Evangelion series.  I haven't read the manga or anything else that has
> sprung from the Evangelion series, so all character information comes from
> the show.  Speaking of information, through the middle of writing this
> little piece, I noticed that the S2 Engine and an Angel's core were two
> different things.  I tried to correct it, but if you see me saying the "S2
> Core in the Angel", it is an error I'm correcting.  Shinji is still the
> same, though you might not see it too much in this part of my fiction, which
> will be explained later.  I am planning on adding to this.
> 
> 5. This might seem like an action fan-fiction right now, but as the story
> progresses a lot of WAFF will be added into it.  This was just a... rude
> awakening.  There will be more fighting, but romance in it too.  Maybe even
> a little dark added into it, though I will never end on a dark note without
> at least a glimmer of hope.  Besides, the dark parts will never be
> mind-shattering dark, just... a little shadowy. ^_^
> 
> 6. I'm probably forgetting something, something important, but the
> fan-fiction is just below:
> 
> ____________________________________________________________________________
> ___________________
> 
> 		Oh SDAT, how I love thee;
> 		Let me count the ways.
> 
> 
> 	I once told myself that if you keep breathing, you could survive anything.
> I mean, really, isn't breathing the most basic function of survival?  Each
> day... each day I found out exactly how much that statement is... false, at
> best.  You may survive physically, but there is no survival instinct to keep
> your brain 'breathing'.  You have to make a conscious effort to cheer
> yourself up, so to speak.  I was never good at that.  A reason to wake up
> every morning, it would be great to have one reason to wake up, one reason
> to get me out of bed.
> 
> EVANGELION
> 
> 	No.  I attribute to many bad things with Unit-01.  Pain, fear, stupidity,
> blood... especially blood.  How much blood have I seen since I've piloted
> the Eva.  I've hurt myself in the Eva; I've hurt other people... Touji's
> sister; Maria.  Touji.
> 	I shook my head.  No, not Eva.
> 
> MISATO... ASUKA
> 
> 	The answer didn't come readily to mind.  I remember my first impression of
> Misato, "A good woman," I think were my exact words.  The bath, I remembered
> the image of her holding up a finger saying, "A bath cleans the body and
> soul."  My soul...
> 	I curled up into a tighter fetal position.  My soul.  My soul; my soul is
> lost.  No, not lost, because I can feel it inside me still, but it's not
> talking.  It's silent, my soul isn't telling me what to do anymore.  My soul
> isn't there to comfort me in silence.  Could Misato be my soul, could she
> tell me what to do, what would best for me... without thinking of NERV's
> best interest?  I mentally shook my head, she's a guardian, at times a
> friend... but she's always the superior officer.
> 	Asuka?  No.  I do like Asuka, and maybe even on some level, love her.
> She's like me though; I use my silence as an emotional self-defense
> mechanism.  I know that, but I cannot stop it.  Like breathing, I can alter
> my emotional mechanism, but I cannot stop it.  In the end, I will always
> return to my introverted state.  Asuka on the other hand uses her... ample,
> voice to drive people away.  Instead of crawling into her shell, she's
> drives people away with her temper.  Funny that, people I mean.  I can drive
> people away by being silent, and Asuka drives them away by being... loud.
> 	No, neither of them.  I want to protect them, but I could not put the
> responsibility of my soul in their hands.  I couldn't trust Misato with it,
> I don't think so, and I can't place that burden on Asuka's shoulders.  She
> has enough troubles as is, I'm sure.
> 
> FRIENDS
> 
> 	Touji.  Kensuke.  Hikari Even.  Again, I mentally shook my head.  I wanted
> to protect them, but I couldn't make that the reason I woke up every
> morning.  The reason I climbed into the Eva each time I did.  Why couldn't
> wanting to protect be enough to wake up every morning?
> 	My eyes stung as tears tried to drip out, but I forcefully kept them in
> check.  I didn't want to become a blubbering idiot, I wanted to think
> clearly now.  Protecting.  Yes, I suppose that's a good enough reason to
> wake up tomorrow, and maybe even the next day.
> 
> *	*	*
> 
> 	I had just closed my eyes; content with the fact I found a reason to wake
> up when the alarm sounded.  Oh god, did I set wrong?  Asuka's going to be
> pissed if it wakes her up.  I reached up from my bed and groggily hit the
> snooze button.
> 	It persisted.
> 	The realization of what the alarm hit me.
> 	"No," I pleaded, "No, oh please... no."
> 	Suddenly my door slid open with such force that it rebounded, and started
> to close itself again.  That is if there wasn't a fiery redhead blocking the
> way.
> 	"Shinji," she yelled, "There's an attack, and we have to get to NERV!"
> 	I groaned, but I didn't have time to do anything further as I was quickly
> dragged out of bed, and half pulled out the door.  Asuka skipped the
> elevator and she ran down the stairs at suicidal speed, still having her
> grip on my wrist.  I was wondering about Misato when we exited the bottom
> floor, and then I saw her already in the car.  I was thrown into the back of
> the car gracelessly as Asuka took her place up front.
> 	True to style, Misato literally burnt rubber as I heard the tires screech
> against the pavement before we lurched forward at a sickening speed.
> "Damn," I heard Misato mutter, "You'd think they would at least have some
> decency... attacking at this hour," she shook her head.
> 	I think I dozed off, or maybe it was Misato's driving, either way... we
> were pulling into the automobile elevator, heading down into the GeoFront.
> I took the time to dig some of the sleep out of my eyes, and I could see the
> impatience grow in Asuka's face.  The quietness suddenly vanished as
> Misato's phone rang.
> 	"Yeah," I heard her answer.  "We're heading down right now," she said
> crisply to whomever was on the other end, "Yeah... yeah, well we're going as
> fast as we can!"
> 	Suddenly, the 'automobile-elevator' lurched and then increased it's speed
> dramatically.  "I didn't know they could do that," Asuka mused.
> 	Misato put her hand over the receiver, "Neither did I," she replied.
> 	The speed we increased to was so fast, I was pushed up against the side of
> the car, but it was mercifully brief as we abruptly stopped.  I got out of
> the car, not needing Asuka to drag me out by the wrist.  When we got to
> another elevator, this one made for humans, there was someone they're
> holding the doors open.
> 	We all entered, and suddenly were hurtling upwards.  We passed the floor
> that our changing rooms in, but I didn't say anything.  Asuka though... "We
> need to get into our suits Dummkopfe!"
> 	He was silent until Misato, reminding him she was still Major, gave him a
> curt, "Ahem."
> 	"The Commander said there is no time."
> 	Time?  The changing rooms are connected to the Eva holding area via an
> umbilical bridge.  It would be the first place to go... if there was an
> Angel.  From the faces of my roommates, they understood that too.  It was
> silent for a while, but for the ticking of the counter telling us we were
> heading up, when suddenly there was a loud crash and the elevator shook.  I
> felt sick; I could only guess how far down it was from here.  Thankfully
> though, the elevator announced our arrival with a sharp 'ding' and the doors
> slid open to the bridge.
> 	The man was the first out, and then motioned for us to follow.  I could
> hear the sounds of metal hitting metal, flesh ripping... and various other
> combat sounds.  Asuka was the first to walk out, before I saw the expression
> of the man... change if you could call it that.
> 	"No," he shouted shielding Asuka.  From my vantage point from still in back
> of the elevator I could only see cement debris spray the man.  I rushed out,
> more out of curiosity than anything, and saw the black Unit-03 combating the
> Angel.  The huge space where the holographic projectors displayed their
> image was now an arena for the two goliaths.  We started running to the
> center of the bridge.
> 	I saw Miya turn around to Ritsuko.  Miya was wearing soft pink pajamas with
> a brown teddy bear embroidered on the front, while Ritsuko was still in her
> normal, everyday clothes.  What Miya said was not lost in the crash of sound
> though, "They destroyed B-24," she cried out.
> 	B-24?  "B" stands for bunker... they destroyed a bunker... of civilians?
> If the Angel is here, then...
> 	"There are more," father said from atop his pedestal, in answer to my
> thoughts.
> 	"More," Misato beat me to the question.
> 	"There are six on the surface," Ritsuko answered.
> 	Six, I mouthed silently.
> 	"Rei is combating them as we speak," he added.
> 	"Rei?  You sent her alone," Misato yelled over the battle sounds.
> 	He stayed silent.
> 	"Oh god, Wondergirl is up there... we're all gonna die."
> 	Misato turned to her, "Then why don't you get in Unit-02 now!"
> 	And what of me?  There is still that lockdown on Unit-01, why am I here?
> 	Misato barely acknowledged me as she turned to Miya.  "What is the status
> of Unit-00?"
> 	"Operational."
> 	That didn't sound good.
> 	I could see that the fight was going well for Touji.  Too well, if he
> didn't get the Angel out of here, it would detonate its core.  How did the
> Angel even get here anyway?  Touji had the Angel senseless it seemed, as he
> pushed and shoved it though the whole that connected to the Eva holding
> areas.  He pushed the Angel back into one of the catapults, "Doctor," I
> heard Touji yell.
> 	"What," she responded.
> 	Misato groaned in tired disgust.  "Launch the catapult."
> 	"Oh," I heard Ritsuko said meekly, then turn to smile at me, "I wonder
> where he got that from?"
> 	"I'm in," I heard Asuka say over the com-link.
> 	"Assist Ayanami... Launch!"
> 	The Holograms were turned back on, and I was able to see most of what was
> happening to my friends.  Touji, after being sent to the surface was
> attacked by a second Angel.  So he was fighting two.  Rei was stuck with
> fighting four.  Asuka would be released just a hundred or so feet away from
> the fight.  She would alleviate a little pressure, or add some.
> 	"Where's the seventh," I muttered to myself.
> 	"There," Miya said pointing to a screen.  The seventh was standing atop a
> small mountain, surveying the battle going on beneath him in the city.  The
> other six all looked the same; sort of like the first Angel I fought.
> Bi-pedal humanoid shaped.  This one looked different... he looked... aware.
> 	"And Mana?  Is she ok?"  I felt so weak.
> 	"She hasn't come yet," Miya indulged me, and suddenly there was the
> portrait of Unit-05 on one of the smaller screens.  It's deep, dark blue
> with just the faintest hint of purple reflecting some light.  Mana...
> 	"Hey, that's two more notches on my prog knife," Touji exclaimed, his
> cockpit cam showing an excited Touji.
> 	"That's not fair," Asuka, retorted, "We were late because baka wouldn't get
> up!"
> 	Some of the cameras on various structures showed the battle between the two
> Eva's and four Angels.  It would be a few moments before Touji could get
> across city to help them.  In the moment that Asuka had shrugged off an
> Angel to berate Touji, she wasn't watching Rei's back, and one of them was
> trying to backstab her.
> 	"Ayanami, behind you," I shouted.  Reacting... reacting means not thinking,
> if I would have been thinking, I would have known.
> 	"I see it."  Monotone.
> 	Her arms were currently locked with an Angel's, but she suddenly shifted
> her weight and spun around, leaving the Angel trying to backstab her to cut
> his comrade down.
> 	"Shinji, maybe you should, umm..." Misato tried to put it gently.  That
> hurt.  I understood her logic, but it still hurts to be called useless.  I
> nodded and moved back away from Miya and the control panels.
> 	I could see in the monitors that Asuka, immediately stabbed her prog knife
> through the core of the Angel that Ayanami was struggling with.  Two more.
> Touji finally made his presence known, wielding an axe that he picked up
> along the way, and cleft one of the things through it's midsection.  He
> didn't tear all the way through, but it did hit the core, fracturing it and
> the inevitable explosion.  Though these seemed... smaller.  Unit-00 and
> Unit-02 were back-to-back, facing the last... no, second to last angel.
> 	"I got this one Wondergirl," Asuka said huffily.  She charged the thing,
> and one swift feint attack, had her left fist crunching through the core.
> "That's what Touji... two for me," she asked smugly.
> 	"Yup," he replied, sounding defeated.  "And three for me."
> 	The three Eva's then turned to the ominous silhouette still standing on the
> mountain.  One of the camera's zoomed into the Angel.  Starting at its feet,
> it moved up until it settled on its face.  I was sure... there is something
> different about this Angel.
> 	"Shinji," father said.  In the silence, his hushed whisper sounded like a
> blood curdling scream.  Or maybe it just made me tense up like it was one.
> 	"H-hai?"
> 	He didn't look at me, "I'm removing the hold on Unit-01, you will be
> launched if necessary."
> 	Misato took the order, and started barking the necessary arrangements to
> the underlings.  What?  Did this Angel scare my father that he didn't think
> those three could handle it.  If they couldn't... why did he think I would
> be of any use?
> 	My musings were cut short as another voice sprung into the air, "What is
> with all this racket... I swear, a girl can't sleep like this."  Mana... no
> fear.
> 	"Hai," I told my father before being lead to my Eva.
> 
> *	*	*
> 
> 	Inside the Entry Plug, I could see all my friends' faces in small screens.
> While the Bakelite had been destroyed, the restraints were kept in place.
> Mana wasn't sent to aid the other three Eva's.  There was some deliberation
> on what to do... there was no orange signals coming from it, showing a lack
> of an AT field.  Asuka, in her impatience quickly picked up a rifle and shot
> a volley of bullets at the Angel.  They would have all hit the mark to if
> suddenly the aforementioned AT field didn't spring to life.  Immediately
> after the last bullet hit, the Angel, however it did it, leapt from the
> mountain and crossed the five to six hundred yard gap in a single bound.  He
> landed but meters away from the three, and I suddenly got a very bad feeling
> in my stomach.
> 	With a speed and agility that seemed impossible in something that large,
> the Angel put down the three Evangelions.  They were all up in a flash, but
> that was not the only trick this Angel had.  They all worked in unison, the
> pilots; Touji was holding one arm while was behind it, her arm around it's
> neck and the hip of her Unit-00 pressed firmly into it's lower back.  Asuka
> was striking it repeatedly, but there was some sort of membrane around the
> core.  It's legs kicked up and pushed off of Asuka, sending her to the
> ground, flipping up and over Rei, and finally breaking her and Touji's hold.
> In another flash of fists and feet, the Angel sent Unit-00 and Unit-03 to
> the ground.
> 	"Should... should I go help," I said meekly.
> 	"Yes," Misato ordered.
> 	"No," father said calmly.
> 	"Wha..."
> 	"No."
> 	"But..."
> 	"No!"
> 	I tried to sink into my chair, and accidentally let a whimper escape my
> lips.  Things were looking grim for the pilots, for my friends.  I was
> afraid my teeth were going to crack when I clenched them down as I heard
> Unit-03's arm snapping and Touji's cry of pain.  He wasn't yet use to it...
> he couldn't numb himself to the physical pain... if he can't even do that,
> how will he handle the mental pain, the emotional ones?
> 	"Rei... get Unit-03 to a catapult, Asuka, continue to engage the enemy.
> Rei, return once Touji is safe," Misato ordered.
> 	"Affirmative."
> 	Rei quickly scooped up unit-03, and Asuka diverted the Angel's attention.
> Tried to at least: The Angle hit Asuka in the gut, sharply and with a lot of
> force, which in turn made her grab her stomach.  The Angel then hit Asuka
> across the face with a right hook, and in her cam I could see a frail
> tendril of blood escape her lips then disappear in the LCL.
> 	"Asuka, retreat," father said.  At that time, Rei was placing Touji in a
> catapult sending him downwards.
> 	"I can win," she said weakly and with much pain.
> 	"I gave you an order," he replied.
> 	"Hai," she conceded.
> 	The Angel didn't appear to advance on her as she crab-walked away from it.
> 	"Shall I engage," Rei asked calmly.
> 	"No, you will return as well."
> 	"But that would leave us defenseless," Misato pointed out.
> 	"I'm recalling all pilots," he continued, ignoring the Major, "Shinji..."
> 	No.
> 	"You will engage."
> 	"Hai," I whispered.
> 	I suddenly looked out of my Eva, through the whole that was created in wall
> separated the Evangelion holding cells and the bridge.  I magnified so I
> could see all of them clearly.
> 
> PROTECTION.
> 
> 	"Hai," I repeated, a bit stronger this time.
> 	Rei was just being locked into place, and Asuka was coming down the
> catapult now.  I was being moved to the shoot that would bring me a good two
> hundred or so feet away from the Angel.
> 	"How do you expect me to win though?"
> 	If I was answered, it was lost as the g-force pulled me down and drowned
> out any noise except those of my discomfort.  I came to a bone-jarring halt
> as I reached the surface.  The door in front of me slid down quickly with a
> thick metallic hiss.  My heart caught in my throat as I saw the Angel
> standing by a meter away.  I swear, my heart was in my throat.  Every beat,
> I felt my throat expand to accommodate it.
> 
> CHAMPION?
> 
> 	It came in a feeling.  Not in a voice, or an image, just a feeling in my
> heart at what it 'said'.  "What," was my only reply.
> 
> CHAMPION?
> 
> 	It said it much slower, as if it was speaking to a child... heh, I guess it
> is.  "N-no... I mean... I don't think so."
> 	"Shinji, who are you talking to," Ritsuko asked, a bit exasperated.  Of
> course they couldn't hear.  I wasn't really surprised.
> 
> WORTHY.
> 
> 	Again, my only reply was, "What?"
> 
> WORTHY!
> 
> 	"I don't... I don't understand."
> 
> YOU WILL.
> 
> 	"Shinji!  What's going on?"
> 	"I'm... I'm ready to fight."
> 	"Huh?"
> 	That did sound odd coming from me.  I knew it, but... but...
> 	"Release him from the catapult," I heard my father say.
> 
> *	*	*
> 
> 	No one noticed the smile forming behind the Commander's hands.
> 	"I don't understand Gendo," Fuyutsuki said.
> 	The smile only broadened, a tight malicious smile.
> 
> *	*	*
> 
> 	I was released from the cage and the Angel stepped back, allowing me room
> to exit.  When I did step out, the cage slipped back into the ground.  Out
> of nowhere, it suddenly swung its right arm to strike me, but I had my left
> up to intercept it, and quickly connected my right fist with his chin in a
> swift uppercut.
> 
> WORTHY.
> 
> 	It said that to itself.  As if confirming its first assessment of me.
> 	"Shinji, take it out of the city," Misato ordered.
> 	I backed up, and the Angel followed me, keeping equal distance at all
> times.  We reached a clearing.  Actually it was a small forest, but there
> were no buildings, thus it was a clearing.  With the swiftness that I
> observed back at the bridge, it quickly swung its elbow, and it connected
> with the Eva's jaw.  In that moment of opportunity, it then swung around
> plowing its forearm into my face.  My eyes started to water.  It was more
> out of luck that I caught his next swing, and pulled him towards me.  I
> kicked his leg at the knee and allowed him in his momentary imbalance to
> head butt my fist.
> 	It fell to the ground on it's back.  I was on top of it quickly, and used
> both my fists to bludgeon its head.  In a roar of fury, I was kicked off,
> and rolling away.  He got to his feet and steadied itself.  I used the
> momentum of my roll, to push off the ground and land on my own.  I only
> slipped a little bit.  We both charged each other, and I managed to land a
> left hook before we locked our arms together.  The next part really lacked
> any finesse, as it was a matter of blocking, parrying, and just dodging
> fists and feet.  After a barrage of attacks, I planted my foot and struck
> out with my right fist, except I didn't bring it back quick enough as the
> Angel grabbed it.  I was pulled to him, and my right arm was twisted behind
> my back.  I clenched my teeth as not to cry in pain as he put pressure on my
> arm.  More specifically, my collarbone.
> 	My stalwart attempts at not crying out failed as the bone reached breaking
> point.  Stupidly, I struggled, for in my struggle, I added the last bit of
> pressure, thus snapping my own arm.  I screamed my agony, but he wasn't
> finished there.  He started to twist and pull the arm of.  For a while, I
> thought he'd give up, but suddenly in a flash of burning white, I couldn't
> feel my right arm anymore.  I screamed, not in agony, the pain was far
> beyond that.  After a few minutes of screaming, my throat was raw and
> molested, but through the waves or red that clouded my vision, I could see
> him draw his fist back.  Without a moment to spare, I moved my head to the
> side.  His fist sailed past me, and he was off balance by my sudden
> movement.  I quickly head butted him, and then gave him another left hook.
> Taking advantage of his sudden confusion, I sailed towards and tackled him
> to the ground.  I used my left fist, and elbow to repeatedly thrash his
> face.  I could see the armor or exoskeleton, or whatever, start to crack and
> dent.
> 	I am going to win!  My sudden confidence shot as he grabbed my left arm,
> but he was too dazed to do anything else immediately.  I quickly improvised
> and kept head butting him in the face.  He rippled his body weakly to try
> and thrash me off, but I wouldn't have it.  His left arm came up and grabbed
> my face.  With strength I didn't expect he pushed me off as he got to his
> knee.  I ran towards him and kicked him in the face, sending him sprawling
> on his stomach.  As I approached him again, he played possum until I got
> close where he then kicked me in the chest, making me stumble backwards.
> Our fight left the clearing and brought us a cliff that dropped straight
> into the ocean.  I had him cornered.  He stepped back so he was but meters
> away from the drop off.
> 
> WORTHY.
> 
> 	The voice came back, tired, raspy and broken.  He gave me what looked to be
> a salute, hand brought to forehead at a perfect forty-five degree angle.  It
> then fell backwards into the mist that covered the ocean.  I stood where it
> was, looking down.  It was sill too early, and the sun hadn't even risen, so
> my vision couldn't pierce the fog.  It has to be down there.
> 
> WORTHY...
> 
> 	A feeling of a smile followed this one.  I'm not sure if it was his
> impression or mine, because I noticed that I had been smiling too.
> 
> *	*	*
> 
> 	"We've lost it," Aoba shouted.
> 	"Confirmed, Blue Pattern has... vanished," Miya followed up.
> 	"After the beating Shinji gave it, I suppose it's broken body couldn't
> survive the fall," Ritsuko surmised.
> 	"Status on Touji," Misato asked.
> 	"He's moving his arm already, noting serious," Miya reported.
> 	"And Asuka?"
> 	"It looks like her ribs are bruised, a lot of her left side as well."
> 	"That's good," Misato replied.  Almost as an afterthought, and she mentally
> berated herself, "Shinji?"
> 
> *	*	*
> 
> 	I tried to reply, but my throat hurt, it was dry even though the LCL was
> pouring into it, and it just came out in a scratchy grunt.
> 	"Shinji, you can come back to base now."
> 	I swallowed, "Hai."
> 	"And Shinji," Ritsuko chimed in, "could you pick up your arm on the way
> back?"
> 	"Hai."
> 	I did as I was told, finding the metallic arm with organic tissue
> fluttering in wind at the shoulder of the arm.  I noted how the missing arm
> was now just a dull ach and not a searing white pain.  I had a sick feeling
> in my stomach, and the negative g-force that I got on the rush downwards
> only increased the feeling.  I'm going to be sick.
> 	As I guessed, once the entry plug was ejected and the LCL flushed out, I
> fell to the umbilical bridge and empties the LCL into the floor.  Even some
> of that green stuff you vomit, when you don't have anything left in your
> stomach came out.  A medical team appeared next to me.
> 	"I'm fine," I told them, but I wasn't surprised when they didn't move.  I
> looked down; I was holding my right arm awkwardly.  I sighed; the nausea
> passed, and stood up.  With much discomfort, I shook out my right arm.
> "Really... I'm fine," I repeated.
> 	I was awarded with a reluctant nod from the doctor as the gurney was rolled
> away.  I took a deep breath, and noticed that my chest hurt too.  I noticed
> why we weren't brought to the changing rooms, I guess in the Touji-Angel
> battle, it was... destroyed.  The bridge led to a side hallway though, and
> as the door slid to the side, allowing me passage, I saw Misato there.  She
> had a very... worried look on her face, though there was almost a sense that
> she was... proud?
> 	She looked about to cry she was so happy, but she kept herself in check as
> she said, "There are spare changing rooms, after you shower, there will be a
> debriefing... there are spare clothes in there.  I'll show you where it is."
> 	I nodded.
> 	"Do you need help walking," she said, she looked on the verge of tears.
> 	I shook my head.
> 	"Ok, follow me."
> 	The spare changing room wasn't far away, she could have told me how to
> reach it.  I walked in without a word, and saw my clothes on the bench.  My
> clothes.  A school uniform?  No, not my clothes... a school uniform, yes,
> but not mine.  Until now I suppose.
> 	I peeled the LCL drenched clothes from me and threw them in a basket.  With
> a towel in hand, I walked to the showers and hung the towel on the rack
> before turning on the hot water.  Just a little cold to take the bite out of
> it.
> 
> PROTECTION.
> 
> 	"Yeah... I guess I did ok."  The memory of Miya saying that they destroyed
> a bunker made that a short-lived sense of pride.
> 	What the Angel said.  Just that the Angel even 'spoke' was unnerving.  I
> leaned forward against the tile wall and let the water splash over me.
> "What happened to me out there," I asked.  I didn't go berserk, I remember
> everything, but I don't know how to fight like that.  I'm not the Champion
> of this city.
> 
> CHAMPION.
> 
> 	I scrubbed the LCL out of my hair furiously, trying to drown the feeling
> out.  I ended up resting my head against the tile again.  Out there I was
> something I've never been before, I don't have a word for it.  I was...
> 
> WORTHY.
> 
> 	"No," I hissed to myself, clenching my right fist.
> 	"Shinji?"
> 	I gasped and reached for my towel, trying vainly to be decent.  Mana stood
> in the middle of the large white tile shower room.  She was in her school
> uniform.
> 	"Mana," I said desperately, and I'm sure the heat I feel on my face is not
> from the hot water.
> 	She just smiled with an evil little snicker in her eyes.  "I just came to
> make sure you were all right," she said.
> 	"I-I'm fine," I stuttered out.
> 	She tried to look over the towel that I had as a screen between her and me.
> I quickly wrapped it around myself; she just gave me the same evil little
> look and licked her bottom lip lightly.  Winking, she turned around and
> walked out of the men's changing room.  I made the rest of the shower brief,
> in case any other female personnel couldn't wait until I got out.  The
> clothes were my size and fit just like the uniforms I had at Misato's
> apartment.  I really didn't suspect they weren't.  I discarded the towel in
> the same basket that the LCL drenched school uniform was in and walked out.
> 	Heading to the briefing room, I saw Miya about to head into the women's
> changing room.  I guess she was going to get in her NERV uniform.  "Miya," I
> stopped her.
> 	"Oh, Shinji," her eyes lighted up.
> 	Mine didn't though, "How many people were in the bunker?"
> 	She sobered up, I knew she didn't handle deaths well either.  Looking down
> at the ground, "Forty-three."
> 	My jaw tightened and I continued walking to the briefing room.
> 	"Shinji," she called after me lightly.  Thinking it rude to just ignore
> her, I muttered something about having to get to the debriefing now.
> 	It was a bit confusing, where I was, but I quickly found familiar terrain
> and made my way to the briefing room.  They were all waiting in there.  All
> of them.  I blushed as dozen or so pairs of eyes turned to me.  I quickly
> and quietly took my seat.
> 	Ritsuko began, "At o'two hundred hours," two in the morning in my mind,
> "the first Angel appeared on mountains out skirting Tokyo-3."  My Angel.
> "Alarms were sounded once we verified the blue pattern."
> 	"It just appeared," Asuka asked incredulously.
> 	"Yes.  At o'two o'nine, the six other Angel's appeared just like Angel One
> did."
> 	"One just appeared in bridge," Touji asked raising his hand.
> 	"Yes."
> 	"At o'two fifty-seven, the six sub-Angels were destroyed.  At o'three
> seventeen, Units-00, 02, and 03 engaged Angel One."
> 	Misato cleared her throat, with an amused smile on her face.
> 	Ritsuko continued, "At o'three eighteen, Units-00, 02, and 03 were ordered
> to evacuate."
> 	Asuka scowled from behind me.
> 	"At that same time, Unit-01 was ordered to engage.  At o'three nineteen,
> Unit-01 did engage Angel One, and lead it out of the city.  At o'four
> fifty-four, Angel One's pattern vanished.  Presumed dead on impact with
> water.  Will verify at first light."
> 	"You are dismissed," Misato said.
> 	I got up with my cohorts, but was singled out by Ritsuko, "Shinji, not
> you."
> 	I sat back down as the other pilots left; some gives me a wave goodbye.
> 	"You never answered me Shinji, right before you engaged Angel One, you were
> talking... was that thing communicating with you?"
> 	"Hai."
> 	"What did it say," she asked, becoming very excited.
> 	"He asked me if I was the champion of this city."
> 	I could tell Ritsuko was playing back what happened in her mind, so she
> knew my response.  "Then what did it say?"
> 	"I am worthy."
> 	"Damn straight you are," Misato muttered.
> 	"I don't know if he meant worthy of being the champion of this city, or
> worthy of fighting him."
> 	Ritsuko considered this a moment, then shrugged.  "It doesn't matter now.
> You are dismissed Pilot Ikari."
> 	"Hai," I replied getting up from my seat.
> 	Now I have to deal with school.  I'll have to find out if Touji is going or
> not.
> 
> 
> ____________________________________________________________________________
> ___________________
> 
> 
> Ok, that's it for this little section.  The grammar might be more than a
> little poor.  I used the .txt editor on this instead of the .doc, so I
> didn't have the blessed spell checker with me.  Of course commends and
> CONTRUCTIVE criticism are welcome, but don't flame me; I'm a petite delicate
> flower, dammit!  ^_^
> Now, I will repeat this is my first attempt at a fan-fiction, and I will
> also repeat that I'm not trying to conform into the series.  This is my own
> wittle world, and I'm happy with it.  Any blatant errors or inconsistencies
> should be brought to light though, and I'll change them if I think I should.
> Some inconsistencies were on purpose.  I know that in the show, never did
> Angels attack in force.  The closest thing would be when that one Angel
> split in two.
> Oh yeah, and that thing I forgot.  Everyone is the same age, and all
> routines are the same, everything is basically... the same.
> 
> Ok, right below is the end of this email.
> -Novel Idea
> 
> 
> 
>