[Fic] New Genesis Evangelion: Rise of the Lillin

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Olin of Xephon
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[Fic] New Genesis Evangelion: Rise of the Lillin

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Postby Olin of Xephon » Wed Aug 11, 2004 12:11 pm

I hope you people aren't bored to death by Eva fan fictions yet, because Karma Burn has inspired (or possessed :roll: ) me to put down a rough draft from my novel, Rise of the Lillin.

I wrote this last year, but have been to busy with college to mess with it much, I had some more free time on my hands this past weekend, and was cleaning out some files when i happened upon it.

I checked for spelling errors and decided I'd work on it after all.
This is the first draft from the first sub chapter.
Since the chapters are really long, I have them devided into sub chapters.

Hope you like it.


Rise of the Lillin

by

The Olin





Chapter 1: Return to the New

When you blink do you only find,
the misery between the lines?
-AFI

The countryside of Japan had undergone a extensive tansformation since the polar ice caps had
begun to shift, but remained nonetheless beautiful as summer gave way to fall.
Already the flora had taken on a unatural shade of gold and orange that would remain that way
untill the winter snow stole the foliage away.
Shinji’s aunt had told him a long time ago that before the floods, the season of fall had once
lasted a proper three months in Japan and the leaves had been a far more handsome shade of
crimson. She had also told him of how long and cold the winters had been. Shinji, who had been
born almost a decade after the polar shift still had always had trouble imagining the mountains
of Japan covered in powdery drifts of snow.
Most of the things his aunt had told him about the world that had exisited before the global
upheaval that had taken place at the beginning of the twenty first century seemed nebulous to
him.

When a person tells you the air you have breathed all your life once tasted not of the ever present
sea salt or purifying chemicals that where fed through the streets from the massive vents in the
ground, or that the plants you learned about in school and grew in your neighbor’s garden where
really nothing but colorful mutations of the original plant, you find you have either very little
interest in what this person is telling you or you think they’ve taken leave of their senses.
The past can not be touched or smelt, and when you lived with someone like Shinji Ikari’s aunt,
who would wake in the morning and stare at the sunken buildings that stuck up from their
crumblings foundations in the ocean not with familliarity but in disgust, their company became
very tiring.
Shinji’s aunt blamed every misfortune in the world on the Impact and when Shinji pointed out
how it had actually rejuvinated the Earth’s eco system rather then destroying it and done in just a
couple of decades what a millenium of war and politcal squables could not, peace bewtween the
free nations, his aunt would roll her eyes and say “don’t by into the press Shinji, your uncle
always did and it killed him.”

Of course, the Impact had been a planetary disastor that had caused the polar shift and consequnt
flooding that had resulted in the death of two thirds of the human race.
There was no way around that but Shinji was content to live in the present. And if half the things
his history teachers had taught him was true, things had been looking up for Japan and the
human race in general.

So his aunt could just stop her ranting about the Impact as if it marked the beggining of the end
of the world and be content with the fruits of the new age.
It was a brave new world, the global economy was back up, Japan was prospering, and most of
the new plants beat his aunt’s old set by a hell of a long shot. He couldn’t understand why she
was so discontent.
Although discontent wasn’t the right word for it really. Furious seemed more like it.
That was it. It sometimes seemed to Shinji that his Aunt was furious that humanity had had the
gawl to survive the impact in the first place.
That they should have just raised a white flag and let the floods wipe them out. How dare they
cope? How could they rebuild? Didn’t the fools see? Humanity’s number was up! throw in the
towel you ninnes!
Although she had never said these things aloud, her disdain for the new world became more and
more prevelent (or at least apparent) as he got older.

It was upsetting, but what of that? Adults were a very upsetting bunch. Shinji couldn’t really
understand how they got along.
He sighed loudly and stared back out the window. The countryside was beutiful, but it was so
damn boring after the first two hours. Although Shinji suspected that when you spent two hours
on a bus, the mythical isle of Avalon would start to look boring.

Shinji reached for his duffel bag and discovered his arm had fallen asleep.
Inside the old black duffel were the whole of his meager possesions. A cd player, four of the five
T-shirts he owned, (he was wearing the fifth) assorted pairs of sock and underwear, some jeans,
his school books, a battered arist’s pad, a Sony portable game system, and a wrinkled manila
envelope. This he pulled out and emptied it’s contents into his lap.
He quickly sifted through the six or seven sheets of computer paper with important looking
messages typed across them, and sat aside a red jacket that was still wrapped in plastic.
Come on Come on, where is it? Shinji was suddenly afraid he had made this whole trip for
nothing.
He stacked the envelope and it’s contents on the empty seat next to him before pulling the duffel
onto his lap and giving it a second more thorough search.
This time he found what he was looking for. A photgraph with a message scrawled along the
back.
The photo depicted a woman who was in reality, well near the end of her thirties but looked not
a day over twenty seven. The woman’s hair was cut almost as short as her sons’ and was dyed a
perfect shade of fir tree green.
She wore a white lab coat over a plain pink shirt and a very fetching black mini. Her arms where
folded over her breasts and her face was glowing with a smirk of defiant triumph.
Although if one where to lean over Shinji’s shoulder and give his postcard a cursory glance, they
would not have even noticed the woman. They would have been far to busy examining the iron
behemoth in back of her.
The postcard was dominated by a monolithic pair of shoulders, accompanied by a massive trunk
that bore a passing resemblance to the human neck. A equally immense head sat atop it.

As near as Shinji could tell, it was some kind of new MWC* built for battlefield engagemnt
rather then weapon retrival. It was a millitaristic green but the camoflouge was interrputed in
several places by bright orange trimmings that were so indescreet, Shinji guessed stealth
missions were not one of this particular unit’s qualifications.
There was something that made this unit stand out though, the head. While most MWCs were
equipped either with steel domes that resembelled jet fighter cockpits, the synthetic before him
had a proper neck, and perfectly porportioned head set upon it. There was a single red optical
sensor that served as it’s face, and it’s head was shaped like a commando’s helmet.

Further observation revealed a similiar humanism detailing covered the entire unit’s design.
While JSDF* carriers had two long struts that served as legs, and a trio of sythetic limbs that
ended in rude clamps designed exclusivlly for retriving tanks or missles, the green robot in the
picture had a pair of broad but very organic shoulders, with two matching arms that ended in a
perfectly formed human hand, granted one large enough to hold the bus he was riding in it’s
palm, but it had a thumb and four multi jointed fingers, and the design was so smooth and
streamlined one could imagine not a mass of wires and circut boards beneath it’s plating but a
immense, pink human hand.

This did not surprise Shinji, who could still remember vaugely the mechanical designs his
mother had framed and hung in there old house in Kyoto, pencil sketches that depicted common
street lifters with perfectly human legs, and a cockpit situated between two enormous but
elegently crafted iron breasts, or space stations shaped like a human embryo, Shinji could
remember one that his mother had loved. It had been done by a famous science fiction artist and
looked like a design plan for a refrigerator, only when one opened the door, by themselves or by
remote, a four foot tall sythetic, that resembled a highly intelegent human baby, that was stored
in the bottom shelf popped out and prepared your dinner. In the picture the robot baby’s eyes
where colored a deep shade of red and seemed to stare straight through whoever happened by the
painting.
Shinji could still remember many a nightmare that painting had given him.

The Sythetic carrier in the photo carried the same pointlessly human aesthetic that marked all his
mother’s private works, be they a new car design or a human shaped laptop computer.

Author’s Note: MWC stands for Mobile Weapons Carrier and is a common piece of twenty first century millitary
tehcnology. Essatially a Weapons platform equipped with two legs and multi purpose forelimbs, a MWC carries
weapons and personell to and from specidifec points. The most popular model is Japan’s Jet Alone.

JSDF stands for Japanese Self Defense force




The bus hit a pothole, yanking Shinji out of his nostalgic reverie.
He went back to looking outside for a few mintues and was rewarded with a big green traffic
sign that read:

NEW CITY 20KM

Authorized Personnel only!

Have proper I.D. ready.




This brought Shinji back to the small stack of papers that had come with his long lost mother’s
dubious postcard. Underneath the second sheet of offical drivel was a plastic Id. card that
proclaimed it’s owner, Shinji Ikari, a officaly authorized visitor of New City.
This he shoved into his back pocket before going back to examing the photo. He turned it over to
read yet again the cryptic message that had gotten him on the stupid bus in the first place.

Scrawled across back in neat handwriting was a message:


Happy Birthday Son! I’ve enclosed a one way plane and bus
ticket to New City, why don’t you come down and see what you’re
mother has been up to?
All my love, Mom

P.S. don’t lose the visitor’s card


Shinji had thought it was some kind of joke, and one that was in overwhelmingly bad taste at
that, until he had shown the postcard and tickets to his aunt.
“This is amazing Shinji! I knew this day was coming, You’re mother is ready to take you back!”
His aunt had then set to work, or rather set him to work, packing.
It was a brief chore, Shinji had never owned much, and his aunt belived that earthly possessions
did nothing but tie down the human soul.
After packing, they had set down to their usual supper and his aunt had asked him wether or not
he was excited. “I guess...yeah” had been his response and Shinji knew even before the words
had left his mouth, they had been ill advised.

His Aunt had sniffed (in her usual oh my goodness, there he goes again manner) and told him he
sure didn’t sound like it.
“Well, I don’t really know my mother and-”
She had interrupted him “Don’t be stupid Shinji, she’s a lovely person and you’ll love her.”
The statement left little in the way for argument, but Shinji had to disagree.
“You don’t know if you can love a person if you’ve never known them.”
“What’s that mean?” His Aunt had had her eyes fixed on him at this point and Shinji decided to
keep his own eyes locked on his sock covered feet.
“Just that, I might not like it there and-”
Again she interuppted. “Nonsense. You’ll like it in New city, why, it’s built right over the ocean,
and they have much nicer schools, and you’ll be able to live in a real house again Shinji, no more
dirty little apartments for you.”
The apartment he shared with his aunt was spotless and they both knew it, but when Akio Ikari
was trying to make a point, reality rarely played any but the vaguest part in it.
“Yes...ma’am.”

Aunt Akio had gone on to explain that she would take care of the transfer to his new school, and
he could leave as soon as the school week was over.

Supper had passed in the usual silence, and it was only after his aunt had excused herself with
the usual “Wash the dishes before you go to bed Shinji” that he had blurted out “C-can I come
back if I don’t like it there Akio-sama?”

She had paused and gave Shinji a brief look. Shinji wasn’t sure what the look had ment at first,
but he understood now that his Aunt had been on the verge of losing her usually well kept
temper. Instead she had smiled and said “But Shinji, dear, why would you want to?”

As Shinji’s new residence grew ever closer, he decided that that had been a no.


Well? Questions? Comments?
Does it Suck? Am I wasting my time?

Or Should I go ahead and finish what I started?
I asked "And where would you take me?"
At this the beast laughed, tears made of my mother's blood leaked from his eyes.
"I will take you to every place you never wanted to be, and you will hate it."
"Then I will take you to every place you've already been, and you will hate that also."
"Last I will take you to the places you have always dreamed of, and that you'll hate worst of all."

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Postby the_seventh_child » Wed Aug 11, 2004 1:28 pm

I like it a lot.It's really very good.Hope the next chapter will be as good as this one. :)

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Postby Karma Burn » Wed Aug 11, 2004 6:38 pm

Good job. I'm glad that I've inspired someone. Now if I could only inspire people to give feedback, that would rock...
"Everyone but me has gone fucking nuts. I'm the eye of the goddam storm." - Tycho, Penny Arcade (Or a very irrate Fuyutsuki)

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Thanks!

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Postby Olin of Xephon » Wed Aug 11, 2004 10:07 pm

Thanks a lot!
I kinda thought it sucked. Guess I'll get started on it after all.
Chapter (or should i say episode) one is almost half way done.
I don't think I'll post every chapter I write here, unless promted of course,
but i could really do with the same feedback and critisicm, Karma burn is going for.

Be brutal.
Of course, feel free to tell me what you liked.

Rise of The lilin will be getting it's own web site around the same time I finsih episode five or six...I may wait untill episode eight (when Asuka shows up) but I'lll be posting the rest of Episode 1 and probably episode 2 here. If you people are interested.

Keep in mind that what i post here will be mostly first drafts, I don't know how much I'll be changing after I proof read it.

I guess I didn't give you much of a introduction. I was tired and a little nervous.
Rise of the Lilin is a complete retelling of Evangelion. It's in novel form obviously, which is proving to be more tricky then i thought, and it's a very different animal.
We will be fighting a kind of Angel (caled Aralim) but their just a warm up for the real enemy. (Ishim)
There are a lot more government funded orginizations this time around
Marduk, Archistratege, and U.Nbound, to name a few.

I also ended up with a cast that was almost twice the size of the original Evangelions' and as you can already see from my description of the now living Yui Ikari, most of the orginal characters wil be different in both appearence and mannerisms.

Something I personally want to avoid in my story is the Eva mystery syndrome, you know the unwritten rule that says nothing can be explained untill the final act?
Eva did it right, but so many shows after it ripped the idea off a little to much. I plan on letting you see a lot more behind the scenes, to know almost from the outset, what we are up aginast and what Seele, Nerv, Yui, Gendo, and company are plotting.
Naturally, there will be a lot of revalations toward the end but I want the plot spread out right.

Anyway, I find I actually have a lot of fun writing this stuff, I'm glad somebody found it worth while.
I asked "And where would you take me?"
At this the beast laughed, tears made of my mother's blood leaked from his eyes.
"I will take you to every place you never wanted to be, and you will hate it."
"Then I will take you to every place you've already been, and you will hate that also."
"Last I will take you to the places you have always dreamed of, and that you'll hate worst of all."

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Postby Hexon.Arq » Wed Aug 11, 2004 10:49 pm

Wow.

I don't say wow.

_you can't do anything, so don't even try
_get some help
_don't do what sonic does

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Postby EVA-01X » Thu Aug 12, 2004 8:41 pm

This seems interesting. Keep writing and just a quick question......... do you need a prereader? I'm avaliable if you need one.
Great Job, A truly great fic in the making. :D
The demon returns after a long slumber....
http://www.evamade.org/user.php?id.161
New Signature Image Policy
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Prereader?

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Postby Olin of Xephon » Thu Aug 12, 2004 10:32 pm

Hexon, your praise has left me speechless.
Seriously though, thanks man, and the exact same to you Eva.
Chapter 2 is just falling into place, I guess I needed a push.

As far as a prereader goes, that's like a proofreader right?
Pardon my ignorance. Any help would be greatly appreciated, I'm just not sure what your offering.
I asked "And where would you take me?"
At this the beast laughed, tears made of my mother's blood leaked from his eyes.
"I will take you to every place you never wanted to be, and you will hate it."
"Then I will take you to every place you've already been, and you will hate that also."
"Last I will take you to the places you have always dreamed of, and that you'll hate worst of all."

Olin of Xephon
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Quick Update!

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Postby Olin of Xephon » Sat Aug 21, 2004 1:33 am

Quick Update!

Episode one is almost finished, I'm sorry it took so long, out of town this week, Episode 2 is almost done too.

I'll post the rest of Episode 1 here Sunday or Monday Night, I'm a little more satisifed with how it turned out.

If anyone is still offering help as a prereader, and if they can tell me exactly what a prereader is, I'd be grateful.
I asked "And where would you take me?"
At this the beast laughed, tears made of my mother's blood leaked from his eyes.
"I will take you to every place you never wanted to be, and you will hate it."
"Then I will take you to every place you've already been, and you will hate that also."
"Last I will take you to the places you have always dreamed of, and that you'll hate worst of all."

Hexon.Arq
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Postby Hexon.Arq » Sat Aug 21, 2004 5:18 pm

Just one thing: in relating the points of your story, be sure and take your time. I'm expecting length out of such a setup.

_you can't do anything, so don't even try
_get some help
_don't do what sonic does

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Re: Quick Update!

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Postby Dave » Sat Aug 21, 2004 11:57 pm

Olin of Xephon wrote:I'll post the rest of Episode 1 here Sunday or Monday Night, I'm a little more satisifed with how it turned out.


Is it Sunday or Monday night yet?
Beatus vir qui suffert tentationem.

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Thank you.

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Postby Olin of Xephon » Mon Aug 23, 2004 3:52 pm

I'm glad you want some setup hexon, because the rest of th episode is setup!
When I sat down to write I told myself, I'm really going write this like a novel, so even if somebody started reading, even if they hd no idea what Evangelion was, they would be able to enjoy the new story.

I didn't think about how much explanation and detail that would mean!
It becomes a challenge not to go on for pages and pages just describing the city, New city is a lot different rom Tokyo 3, the characters, a bunch of new ones, and I need to re introduce everybody as if we'd never seen them before, it's very challenging, I had some trouble today so I probably won't be posting tonight, I will have it ready Tuesday.
I asked "And where would you take me?"
At this the beast laughed, tears made of my mother's blood leaked from his eyes.
"I will take you to every place you never wanted to be, and you will hate it."
"Then I will take you to every place you've already been, and you will hate that also."
"Last I will take you to the places you have always dreamed of, and that you'll hate worst of all."

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Postby Hexon.Arq » Mon Aug 23, 2004 4:28 pm

I'm glad you want some setup hexon, because the rest of th episode is setup!


Great! :D And... great... :? :roll:

_you can't do anything, so don't even try
_get some help
_don't do what sonic does

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Postby advent_child » Mon Sep 20, 2004 1:53 pm

I just read this and i must say it's great...well done,you're a talented writer...

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Postby Dark FireStar » Tue Sep 21, 2004 12:53 am

Leons Reveiw of whatever the hell this story is called!!!

The Good ^.^
*o* Easy to read!!(unlike the other guys {glares at the other guy})
*.* Like the back round of Shinji and his relationship with his aunt!
*_* Some new things( the card crap from Yui and other stuff)

The Bad >_<
^o~ Better fit title
~.~ repetive (no action needed a least a litte to keep intrested)
o_o not comming out with this sooner! lol

The Very Good
@o@ The conflict or what-ever between Shinji and Aunt and other stuff


Overall rateing out of 10 : 7.5
Bonus : 2 (Bunch of shinjis past and very good rateing)
Extra/Minus : -1(too much time on one thing;need verity)

Total : 8.5 (Good good)
Don't ban me for a limited time! Either ban me for good or let me be. (I only hold grudges for a few years lol)

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Thanks!

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Postby Olin of Xephon » Fri Oct 22, 2004 1:32 am

Thanks for the review Dark Fire Star, and for those of you who have been waiting for the conclusion to chapter one for...uh... a month? two? It's almost done.

NO! FOR REAL!

First college, then hurricanes, I live in Florida, then week long trip up to New York to help friend move back down, followed by overdue College work, killed my creative time. (Not to mention wiped out my computer)

I'm finishing up chapter one (original draft destroyed along with chapter two) and WILL have it ready SUNDAY NIGHT (or monday morning since it may be 2 A.M. or so)

If it is NOT up at that time...You will never hear from me again since I will have killed myself out of pent up frustration.
I asked "And where would you take me?"
At this the beast laughed, tears made of my mother's blood leaked from his eyes.
"I will take you to every place you never wanted to be, and you will hate it."
"Then I will take you to every place you've already been, and you will hate that also."
"Last I will take you to the places you have always dreamed of, and that you'll hate worst of all."

Dave
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Joined: Jun 21, 2004
Location: New York, U.S.A.

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Postby Dave » Fri Oct 22, 2004 9:19 am

I shall eagerly await your post Olin. And don't worry about letting us down, we will always wait for you!
Beatus vir qui suffert tentationem.

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Postby the_seventh_child » Fri Oct 22, 2004 9:57 am

Dave wrote:I shall eagerly await your post Olin. And don't worry about letting us down, we will always wait for you!

yeah that's true..
Anime and manga unite us all. Much better than the Olympics. - Carl Horn |11.30.2004.
"As of this moment, we are changing from soldiers to pirates!" - Captain Jeffrey Wilder (Macross Frontier #22)

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Return to the new (chapter one) complete.

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Postby Olin of Xephon » Mon Oct 25, 2004 1:30 am

Okay guys, here it is. The conclusion to chapter one of Rise of the Lillin.

Chapter 1 Return to the New (concluded)

Shinji disembarked at the last bus stop, a isolated bench nearly five miles from the city limits.
The bus driver, a stocky, unshaven man who possessed a thick Okinawin accent, said that
unauthorized traffic, including public transportation busses, where not allowed past the first
barricade but if Shinji “had all the right papers” he would be able to get a ride into town.

Shinji bowed and thanked the man before turning back to the road.
He was a short boy, his long legs connecting to his scrawny torso above a non existent crotch.
His shoulders where scant and seemed more then accustomed to cringing.
Hair short but unkempt, flopping this way and that when he turned his head.
His eyes wore a expression of constant bewilderment that is not too alien among those
undergoing that dreadful stage of life known as adolescents.

Now, he hesitated. As the drone of the transit vehicle’s engine faded into quiet obscurity, Shinji
was overcome by a sudden wave of home sickness coupled with excitement and trepidation.

For the first and final time in his short life, Shinji Ikari felt a sudden finality, and kind of horrible
rightness within him. Horrible because he had no control over it. Right because in the end it was
all there was for him. He felt that the door that had enclosed all of his existence in Neo Tokyo,
memories of arguments he’d had with his aunt, the bullying he had taken at school, the familiar
sounds of his apartment complex, closed tightly behind him.

And as he began his trek down what remained of the thoroughfare, he felt a equally alien
sensation welling up inside of him. The feeling of the new. Of the coming and eventual
assimilation with something entirely different.

Then it was gone. And he was yet again just a hot and sweating little Japanese boy walking down
a abandoned avenue on a hot day in early fall, nothing to accompany him but the content twitters
of the birds.

* * *

While much of what happened between the day his mother abandoned him and the day he
trudged uphill toward a uncertain reunion with her, had been forgotten, in the mundane and
somehow terrible way we all forget the very things that once happened to us, slowly eroding the
eccentric canvas of memory that defines the how and why of our actions and convictions, the
actual day, she left was still crystal clear in his mind.

He could remember the dampness of his pillow, covered in sweat, the smell of the hallway as he
trudged, for our friend Shinji did a lot of trudging even in the long ago days of 3rd grade, toward
the kitchen, rubbing the sleep from his eyes the whole while.

He can remember arriving in that oh so quiet kitchen and wondering why all the lights in the
house were out. His mommy was a early riser and, on any other day, was usually fully bathed,
dressed, and on her way out the door when little Shinji came down for breakfast.
But she usually waited for him. Waited to give him a hug or a kiss goodbye, and on the days
when she had to leave early, she left the light on, his breakfast sitting prepared on the table.
She always left the light on. And the boy had gotten up early that day. Mommy shouldn’t have
finished her breakfast yet, let alone left for work.

Shinji had had a horrible moment of clarity. Mommy was gone. She had packed her things in the
car and was now gone forever.
She’s probably sick and sleepin Shinji thought. And was a little frightened by his own voice
when he said it aloud. He was frightened by his voice because it sounded frightened. And that
was stupid because mommy was just sick, sick and sleeping in bed, so there was nothing for him
to be afraid of. Right?

The Shinji that made his way down a empty highway on a hot autumn day in the year 2027,
could still remember rushing back down the hallway on bare feet, heart beating in his ears,
feeling certain he would not find his mother sick in bed, because she wasn’t sick, she wasn’t
even at work, she was gone. Gone forever.

What made the discovery worse in so many different ways was the child’s built in instinct that
everything comes out all right in the end. Sometimes scary stuff happened. Like on the his
TV show, where the demon busters girl, Aoi Flash, got captured by lord Jigoku and was going to
be eaten by the Giant Grasshopper.

A little scary maybe, but you knew the other Monster Busters where going to get there in time to
save Aoi, and beat Lord Jigoku. Because they where cool. They where strong. And besides, Aoi
was a main character, and you couldn’t kill main characters could you?

The other Monster Busters would save Aoi, and beat Jigoku, beat him really bad.
But they wouldn’t kill Jigoku, of course not, he was really bad, but he was also a Main
Character. And if you killed him, the show would have to end. And who would want that?
He’d get away, and the red Buster, Kyo Speeder, would be sad, because Jigoku killed his brother,
and since he the evil lord got away, Kyo couldn’t get him back.

But Aoi or the other girl Buster, Shinji wished all girls could be like the Buster girls, they where
so nice, Mio Raven, would hug him and make him feel better, and everything would come out
okay, because it was the end of the episode and everything comes out alright in the end.

And mommy’s didn’t just pack up their things and leave their little boys alone at home.
Only crazy people did that, and Shinji’s mommy wasn’t crazy, couldn’t be crazy, because she
was a mommy, and mommies had kids to take care of.
So even as little Shinji ran down the hall, to check, to ensure himself, that his mommy was still
there, even as his fear grew, that he would find her gone, her bed made, her storage cabinets
empty, a soft sane voice, the voice of innocence if you like, or naiveté if that suits you, reminded
the little boy that everything comes out alright in the end,so mommy would have to be there.
If she wasn’t, well, nothing would be all right again. And that couldn’t happen.

So upon reaching his mother’s bedroom and sliding the door open, little Shinji was almost
certain she would be there. Sick or just to tired to go to work, and everything would be all right.
He even stopped running, stopped rushing, and tip toed up to the door, so as not to wake her up.
Shinji slid the door open quietly, if she was there, and really what if was there, everything comes
out okay in the end right?, he would say he had had a bad dream, then he could go snuggle up
with her in the big bed daddy had bought before Shinji was born, and that would be really all
right.

The bed was empty.
It wasn’t made.
The storage cabinets where open.
They where empty.

Even the funky little alarm clock she on her nightstand, the one that had the weird German logo
on it, was gone. More came after that, little Shinji wandering into the bathroom, he was crying
by then, finding her toothbrush gone, coming back into the kitchen, finding his breakfast
wrapped up in the microwave, running out the front door of their house, standing in the drive
way crying, the eventual arrival of his aunt and uncle, but these things where not so fresh.

Not as crystal clear as the actual discovery, just random, nearly nightmarish images, rudely
splattered across a new landscape. One where little boys aren’t suppose to go.


Where the Monster Busters did get eaten by the mutant Grasshoppers, where Mommies did leave
their little kids all alone, because they where crazy, where bad guys won, good guys lost, people
always cried, or tried not to cry, and things didn’t come out all right in the end, never came out
all right at all.


* * *

So on that hot autumn day that would change one Japanese boy’s life forever after, Shinji’s state
of mind was startlingly similar to the way it had been on the day his mother left.
But in reverse. This time the small sane hope of naiveté was at the forefront of his mind telling
him thing where going to be all right, and while maybe not perfect, they never where, better, life
with his estranged mother simply had to be better then it was with his aunt.

The other voice was whispering in the back of his head, and was all to quick to assure him that it
was some kind of mistake, whatever the letter, the invitation, meant, it wouldn’t be good,
wouldn’t be all right. Because, as his mother had already so vividly illustrated, she didn’t care
about her son, and if she did want Shinji with her, at her new place of work, because that was
what New City was, Mother’s place of work, because if she was somewhere, she was always
working, not because she needed money, not even because she enjoyed it, but because work was
about her and was all she wanted to do, all she could do, because it made her feel she was worth
something, justified her existence, and if she did want Shinji there, it was because she wanted to
feel better, because she wanted something for him.

Because the world revolved around Yui Ikari, and she would do as she fucking pleased.

Ikari was more then aware of this voice, he believed it, and if that was the case, it was fine by
him. At least he’d be face to face with her, at last after so long, and she would have nowhere to
run, she would listen to him. And she would finally hear how much her son hated her.
And if he could tell her that, maybe the whole trip was worth it.

Shinji knew this wouldn’t, in the fabled long run, do much good, but it would just feel good. And
it was something he wanted to do. He could go through his whole life just a little happier
because he finally got the chance to tell his mother he hated her.

It was with these hopelessly morbid and angst ridden thoughts that Ikari made his way down
service highway 76, at least that’s what the bus driver had called it, for almost a hour.
After that, it got harder to think of those thing because, hot as it was, it was a very nice day and
Shinji enjoyed walking.

The walks to and from school back home had always been his favorite times of the day.
no Aunt to hassle him, no classmates to ridicule him, and nobody but himself to please.
Shinji wasn’t adept at many thing, pleasing himself included, but a nice long walk was soothing
so he never took the train.
On this particular day, the cicadas where chirping as if sound itself where going out of style.
Their drone coupled with the occasional bird cry made for a simple and pleasing melody, and
before long Shinji had pushed aside thoughts of his mother, aunt, new home, and hate aside with
a effortless shrug somewhat rare for most world weary teenagers and was enjoying the moment.

He observed the landscape. It was nice, really good actually, a forest stretched off to his right
where the pavement ended, and to his left was a drop, protected by traffic railing, that gave way
to more trees and foliage before meeting with a harsh, rock choked, beach.
Beyond that was the sea, dazzling in the mid day sun, stretching out to the horizon, unobstructed
by half sunken buildings or humps of distant islands.

White and bulging cumulus clouds hung static in the sky, and while there was some darker
clouds off to the South, there was very little wind so Shinji doubted he would have to worry
about getting rained on.

The enjoyment of the walk gave way to mild fatigue and then frustration.
Shinji had expected a hike, but he must have come several kilometers by now, and there was no
sign of the “first barricade” the bus driver had spoken of.
Also, while the scenery was nice, it quickly began to suffer from the same problem the scenery
outside the transit vehicle’s windows had. It all looked the same.
Woods to the right, drop to the left, ocean beyond that. There was a bend in the road every now
and again, always partially obscured by the somewhat unruly foliage, and every time he came to
one, his eager eyes searched for signs of that, by now pretty damn reclusive, barricade.

Another twenty minutes of walking brought his last ramen soda out of his duffel, it’s contents
were warm but better then having his tongue feel like a thick piece of sandpaper. In a word, dry.
Shinji didn’t own a cell phone, his mother insisted they couldn’t afford one, not on her income,
and besides, it was a glorified portable pay phone, farm from essential, and certainty not the time
and stress saving device the television adds made them seem.
It’s a big fat gimmick Shinji, we’re just to smart for it. Shinji had left it at that, he knew bringing
up the modern models Internet capabilities would fall on deaf ears, his aunt never saw the point
of the Internet.

Shinji sighed. So no cell, no food, soon no drink, and next to no sign of civilization. Let alone
some damn military barricade.
The road had been going steadily uphill, and now, as he rounded the third bend in the road (it
had gone right as the previous two had) he saw the smooth upward slope vanish into a sharp
upturn that curved neatly to the left.

The upturn was the steepest he had ever seen.
Shinji dropped roughly into a sitting position, letting loose a sigh of defeat as he did.



While the dark clouds he had seen gathering earlier now seemed to be heading in his general
vicinity, promising a good soaking to add to the fun of his little trek, the sun was still out and the
cement he had sat on was hot to the touch.

He stood up quickly, rubbing his now sore rump, and sighed louder. As if the very act of
admitting defeat would somehow cool the weather, smooth the upturn, and maybe produce a
reliable form of transportation. No such luck. Shinji began to climb.

Upon reaching the top, he exhaled heavily and planted his hand firmly on his knees, bent over in
a posture suiting a old man of about eighty, trying to catch his breath.
Sweat coursed down his forehead, ran along his nose and began to drip onto the pavement.
Because he was so busy catching his breath and staring at the ground, he didn’t see the girl.
He had promised himself he would save the last of the warm soda for later, he now broke that
promise with great vigor by snatching it out of his pack and guzzling the whole thing.

Looking up, he found himself witness to a rather surreal view.
The woods, still to the right, branched out a little here and cast a deep shadow across the road.
It was in this shade somebody had laid a plain white sheet. The sheet was anchored at the
corners by a stack of books, a pair of shoes, and a book bag. These precautions seemed a little
unnecessary since there was hardly enough wind to stir the leaves.
A little food carrier lay in the center of the sheet.

Situated a little ways outside of the shade was a pale purple beach blanket.
A girl was sunbathing atop it in a plain two piece swim suit.
What made the scene surreal, at least for Shinji, was the girl’s picnic, a scene perfectly suited for
a local beach or park, was being held in the center of the road. As if she was attempting suicide
but since traffic was sparse, decided to make a day of it.

Shinji made his way over slowly. His footfalls sounded loud in his ears, and he expected the girl
to sit up and see who had joined her. She didn’t. She merely lay on the beach towel, her body
spread eagled, staring up into the sky.
Shinji thought he ought to announce his presence, maybe she was wearing ear plugs and hadn’t
heard him approach. Wearing ear plugs while lying in the middle of a road? Strange girl.
“E..excuse me?” Shinji stuttered, most of his sentences began with a stutter.
No reply from the sunbather.
“Uh...um. It’s not really safe to do that. You know?”
Still no reply.
“Umm. I was wondering if you could help me? I’m kinda lost.”
Nothing.
Shinji was a little creeped out by now, he was two steps from believing he had stumbled across a
corpse.
“I-I’m trying to get to military barricade 1. Do you know were it is?”
Another stretch of silence.
Shinji had now gotten close enough to the girl to observe her better.

The first thing he noticed was how pale she was. The girl’s skin looked as white as her picnic
sheet. The second thing he noticed as that her “swimsuit” was actually her underwear. The
second revelation made his face go red, the first convinced him he’d found a corpse.

The girl’s eyes where red and glassy. Not a bright shade of brown, but actually crimson.
Azure Shinji corrected himself they where much brighter then crimson.
He noticed her hair, which was cut shorter then his, was a curious shade of blue. Dyed it he
thought.
Her palms were open and lax, one of them cradled a semi transparent pill bottle. It was empty.
A white dress shirt, a red tie, and a badge pleated skirt were folded neatly beside her.
He realized he’d broken into a cold sweat, accompanied by a chill down his spine.
So she had killed herself. The poor girl had come out on some kind of picnic, maybe she had
eaten, undressed, and taken a bunch of pills.

Shinji caught himself analyzing the scene like a bogus detective in a TV drama and that made
him laugh. The laugh was strained, sickly, and a little hysterical. He had never found a corpse
before. Best be moving on.

Then the corpse spoke. “What are you laughing at?”

Shinji recoiled as if a somebody had thrown a snake at him. He also let out a strangled scream
that sounded caught halfway between a wheeze and a hiccup.
The girl sat up. Shinji took a step or two backward, got his feet tangled and fell down on his butt
hard.

“What’s wrong?” Her voice was soft almost a whisper, as if she had a sore throat and was trying
her best not to strain it.
Shinji nearly blacked out. His heart was hammered in his chest. Both of his ears popped.
It’sjust a girl Ghost! It’sjut a girl Ghost! It’sjust a girl. His mind was yammering, and he
couldn’t get his tongue to work. He choked something twice and then clamped his mouth shut.
The girl did something reassuringly human. She rubbed her right eye with her knuckles. Working
the sleep out.

Shinji gasped and exhaled. The girl was looking at him quizzically. There was something about
the regard in those deep red eyes that made him feel extremely guilty.
“I-I’m sorry...I”
She interrupted. “Why?”
“It’s just that, for a second-I mean, I thought...”
“Yes.”
She already thinks your a fool, don’t make her think your insane. His aunt’s voice, shrill as a
seagull. “I- you just startled me.”
“Why?”
It came out all at once. “I thought you were dead.”
“I sleep with my eyes open.”

The remark was dead pan Shinji thought she had made a joke she hadn’t understood.
“What?”
“I sleep with my eyes open. That’s why you thought I looked dead.”
Shinji blushed profusely. He was such a idiot. She sleeps with her eyes open?

The girl had stood up and was adjusting her left bra strap. She then reached down and began
adjusting her panties. Shinji’s face went from brick red to a weird kind of purple as he jerked his
head to the left and squeezed his eyes shut.
“Is something wrong?”
She still spoke in a somewhat raspy whisper, and her tone was one of complete disinterest.
“I-I didn’t mean to peek.”
When she offered no reply, he chanced a glance. She had put on the skirt and was getting into
the white dress shirt. He set his eyes firmly on the horizon.

He was nervous and he knew from past experience that he gabbled when he was nervous so he
concentrated on keeping his mouth shut.
“It’s okay.”
He glanced back at her. She was dressed save for the shoes, socks, and tie, and was kneeling on
the sheet, rummaging through a little black book bag.
She brought out a digital camera. It was a Sony palm photographer, a fairly old model, and was
about the length and size of a stack of five credit cards.
“Umm...I...” he trailed off as she walked past him and over to the traffic railing.
She put the camera lens up to her eye and looked through it, out into the ocean.

“What are you doing?”
Her answer was cryptic, spoken in a very matter of fact tone. “Waiting.”
Shinji waited for her to expound. She pulled the camera away from her face and continued to
stare off into space.
“Waiting for what?”

“The aliens.”

Shinji wasn’t sure if there was a good way to respond to that so he kept his mouth
shut.
Her silence dragged another question out of him.
“Aliens?”
“Yes. The Aralim.”

Shinji recognized the word. Of course he did, who in this brave new world post Impact didn’t?
“There aren’t anymore Aralim. Their dead.” There had really been only one, but “they” referred
to the premature death of the species.
“They have returned.” Her voice still soft, still matter of fact, it made him feel nervous, it made
him angry. “What’s wrong with you?” Again the answer, soft as a mid summer breeze,
incontestable as the weather. “Nothing. I’m waiting for the Aralim.”

The girl was crazy. Wow, how long did it take you to figure that out. That was his own voice
jeering. “Look. Do you know hot to get to military barricade number one?”

She looked back into her camera at the glistening surface of the water. “It’s just down the road.”
“How far?”
“A kilometer or so.”
“Can I get into town from there?”
“Not until the emergency is over.”
Shinji started. “What emergency?”
The girl finally turned, fixing her eyes on him. She looked slightly annoyed.
“The Aralim.” Shinji decided he’d had enough. “Okay. Arigoto.” He bowed and turned back
toward the road. He’d gone six paces or so when she spoke again.
“Do you want to stay and watch the Aralim? I’m going to take pictures.”
“There are no Aralim. And if there where, you and I would have to be evacuated to a shelter or
something.” He kept walking. She spoke again. “What’s you name?”

“Ikari Shinji.”
“I am Ayanami Rei.”
Shinji hoped he would never have to meet miss Rei again.

“Good bye Ayanami.”
“Good bye Ikari.”

The girl regarded the boy’s retreating form until it was lost in the foliage that lined the right side
of the road. When he was gone, she turned her attention back to the seaway.

END CHAPTER ONE.


Well? What did you think?

I know chapter one isn't that interesting, it's motly set up, but we got some action to make that process a little easier next chapter.

As always comments are welcome, tell me what you like, tell me what you hate.
I asked "And where would you take me?"
At this the beast laughed, tears made of my mother's blood leaked from his eyes.
"I will take you to every place you never wanted to be, and you will hate it."
"Then I will take you to every place you've already been, and you will hate that also."
"Last I will take you to the places you have always dreamed of, and that you'll hate worst of all."

Dave
Lilin
Lilin
Posts: 1018
Joined: Jun 21, 2004
Location: New York, U.S.A.

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Postby Dave » Mon Oct 25, 2004 4:42 pm

I enjoyed it Olin; I especially liked how you introduced Rei. :wink:
Beatus vir qui suffert tentationem.

Olin of Xephon
Ramiel
Ramiel
User avatar
Posts: 310
Joined: Jul 06, 2004
Location: Standing on the fine line

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Postby Olin of Xephon » Wed Oct 27, 2004 12:31 am

Thanks Dave, I got stuck on that Rei scene a couple of times, I'm glad you like how it turned out.

Give me another two weeks and I should have chapter two ready.

(crosses fingers)
I asked "And where would you take me?"
At this the beast laughed, tears made of my mother's blood leaked from his eyes.
"I will take you to every place you never wanted to be, and you will hate it."
"Then I will take you to every place you've already been, and you will hate that also."
"Last I will take you to the places you have always dreamed of, and that you'll hate worst of all."


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