New Perspective Evangelion
An NGE fanfic that commits the cardinal sin.

Standard legal disclaimers follow:

I don’t own Evangelion someone else does.
A lot of stuff might be mentioned that’s copyrighted.
I don’t own it either.
Its only for fun anyway.

By reading further you hereby wave all rights to legal recourse in the event of injury to eyes, brain or sanity as either a direct, or indirect result of reading, smelling, seeing or coming within 400 miles of this fic.

Like all my fanfiction, this fic is brought to you courtesy of I.E. train delays.

I…I

The 13A bus, O’Connell street. Dublin, Ireland. 12th January 2006 10:18 pm.

‘Hurry up, Hurry up.’ I mentally willed the bus to go faster, dangerously late for the last train home.

Shifting my weight between my feet, fearing I’d be stranded in the city overnight, I impatiently stared through the front window, at the glowing red brake lights of the taxi in front of the bus, and the torrential rains flowing like a waterfall from the top deck.

An odd looking man standing beside me, an albino with longish silver hair and red eyes looked at me for a moment, curious as to why I was so nervous.

“You won’t be late.” he reassured me, with this odd, unnerving smile on his face.

“How’d you know?” I asked, a little surprised that he’d spoken.

“Hmmm…” his smile widened. “I suppose you could say, it’s my job to understand what people are really thinking, who they really are.”

The white shirt and black trousers he was wearing told me that he might be a psychiatrist, definitely someone with an office job anyway. Outside the misted windows, the fencing around the O’Connell street regeneration project rolled slowly past.

“Well, this is my stop.” I smiled a little nervously, thankful I had an excuse to leave. There was something about his ruby red eyes that seemed to penetrate to my very soul giving me the horrible feeling that he might even be able to read my mind, knowing what I was thinking.

I dismissed the thought as the bus squealed to a halt.

“See you soon.” he called after me as I jumped off the bus, wincing as I was struck by the full blast of a January storm, wind howling between buildings, driving stinging rain against my face.

I stopped to check my digital watch.

10:20

“Ten minutes only.” I groaned, breaking into a run.

I had ten minutes to run the entire length of Talbot street, across Amiens street, up some stairs, along platform four , under the train tracks, and back up some more stairs.

“No more breakfast rolls.” I promised myself, breathing heavily as I passed under the railway bridge. My legs were on fire, my panted breath lost inn the January rain. I bolted across Amiens street, drawing an angry beep of a horn from an irritated BMW driver, and pushed through the glass doors of the entrance, slipping on the wet tiles as I ran for the stairs to the main hall.

“Last train. Last train.” I repeated knowing that, not having the money for a bus ticket or taxi, I’d be stuck in town for the night if I missed it. I was beginning to wish I hadn’t stayed late at DCU to watch episode twenty of Evangelion.

“Hey!” the security guard shouted as I jumped through the ticket check.

“Monthly Pass!” I half shouted, half wheezed as I continued running along platform four.

A green digital clock gave the time as 10:29

“The next train at platform Seven is the 22:30 service to Maynooth.” The automated P.A. announced. “Calling at Drumcondra…”

“Crap!” I panted, the P.A. listing the stations the train would stop.

Running down through the underpass beneath the DART tracks, a distant rumble began to resonate in the tunnel.

‘Just one last climb until the platform.’ I mentally reassured myself with the fact that I could soon sit down on a nice comfy train.

I growled as I forced my jellied legs to push me u the stairs, the rumble of the train drawing close. Up out onto the platform, the rain biting hard again as I ran out along the yellow line, the diesel train arriving behind me, casting a shadow from it’s headlights.

I noticed an odd looking blue haired girl watching me for a moment, from the other side of the platform.

A sudden squeak of rubber on rain slick paint and I felt my legs disappear from under me. With horror, I realised my own momentum was still carrying me forward over the edge, as I tried to catch myself with my hands.

The trains headlights became painfully bright as I came to the terrifying realisation that I was falling in front of this oncoming yellow and green juggernaut, the driver staring horrified back at me.

It wasn’t going to stop.

Instantly, a sudden crushing black shadow overcame me.

I…I

I came to my senses shortly afterwards.

My mind ran through a quick check-up of my body. I was relieved, and surprised, to find that nothing was hurting. It was no greatleap of the imagination to figure out that I was lying on my back on the platform.

“I must be the luckiest man in the world.” I told myself as I stood up, dusting myself off. The train was stopped, its diesel engines clattering away beside me. There wasn’t a mark on my body. That was twice that had happened.

I pushed the button to open the train door but it didn’t work for some reason. I kept trying it but it wouldn’t work. I ran to the other end of the carriage only to find that that button wouldn’t work either.

“The train now standing at platform 7 has been taken out of service due to train failure.” was announced over the P.A.

‘Why would they take the train out of service?’ I asked myself.

It was then that I noticed a group of paramedics standing at the front of the train.

“What are they doing there?” I asked no-one in particular.

“They are here to attend to your accident.” A soft voice behind me answered causing me to jump six feet in the air.

I spun around and came face to face with someone I know shouldn’t be there. Someone from an animé series. I saw Rei Ayanami. I recognised her red eyes and blue hair.

“What, What, What.?” I stammered fearfully. She shouldn’t be there. No way. No way in hell.

“It is a waste.” She said softly, looking towards the front of the train.

I was breathing heavily, bordering on hyperventilating. She shouldn’t be there. No way. I focused my breathing.

‘Calm down. Calm down.’

I’d slowed down my breathing and managed to calm myself to the point where I was capable of rational thought. I was still terrified, but at least I could think about it.

“What, what is?” I asked, my voice shaking in my ears.

“It is a waste.” she said again.

“I…don’t understand.” I said.

“You were given life, you made the choices you wanted, and yet by these choices you have squandered it.” she spoke sternly.

I scowled, but held my tongue.

“In the last year alone you have done nothing but write stories.”

“Fanfiction?” I queried, confused what some SI fic I’d written had anything to do with it.

“Yes.” she nodded. “You have written stories, that serve no purpose and that garner you no reward, beyond a fleeting praise, yet you have sacrificed academic excellence for them.”

“I guess…” I searched for an explanation, having been told the same thing by my parents just that morning. “I just wanted some idea of what it might feel like.” I answered, a little ashamed.

She regarded me curiously for a silent moment.

“Then, if you wish to leave your world, then you need only ask.”

Confused, my gaze flashed between the ghostly albino standing in front of me, my apparently dead body lying on the rail tracks, and the paramedics attempting resuscitation. I tried to apply something, anything I knew to the situation.

Rei Ayanami, or an image of her at least, was standing in front of me, lecturing me on writing bad fanfiction. And what did she mean by ‘wish to leave your world’?.

The conclusion that I came to was that I had most likely gone insane and not noticed on the way. Or this could be serious. I decided I had to deal with this as if it was real. After all, if I’d gone nuts it wouldn’t make too much of a difference at this stage.

“I don’t understand.” I spoke softly, with a hint of curiosity.

Once more, Rei thought for a moment.

“Then, it is likely you have forgotten.” she remarked cryptically, only confusing me more. “As you are now, you may understand this best as an offer of a new life.”

“A new life?” I repeated.

“Yes.” she confirmed.

I looked down at my body, appearing lifeless still.

“If I refuse? Do I die here?”

“No. You may refuse if you wish and remain here. It would be a meaningless offer if you did not exercise your own free will.”

I took a deep breath, slowly arranging the situation in my mind.

An offer of a new life, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t immediately interested.

I’d have to leave my family behind and never see them again. I had a comfortable life. I was a university student with the potential for a good career. I was bored out of my skull.

This was Rei I was talking to, from Neon Genesis Evangelion. It was such a quick, simple assumption. In my mind, I was being offered the chance to build, or even pilot something like EVA. It was every mecha fanboys dream. And then there were the women, Misato, Maya and Dr. Akagi. Okay so I was shallow, but also there was the small matter of Angel attacks and Third Impact. I could easily get killed in any of them.

I could just as easy fall under a train again the next day if I refused.

‘But if I agree and say ‘yes’ then I could get killed or worse.’

It was the ‘worse’ that scared me. A berserk EVA could mess me up or rip my mind to shreds. I could have a breakdown and become a gibbering mess.

But then, I was sick of taking the sensible option. I’d always regretted not flying, or not climbing the tower after it became to late to change the fact.

“What must I do?” I asked.

“If you accept, then you need only close your eyes.”

I’d made my decision.

I took a few deep breaths. Whatever was going to happen next was going to be interesting.

“I accept.” I said nervously.

Before I closed my eyes I watched a paramedic climb back up onto the platform from the tracks. He shook his head slowly from side to side, the body on the tracks turning pale.

Rei nodded.

“Do not waste this chance again.” she warned. “There can be no others.”

I nodded and I closed my eyes.

I was overcome with a wave of dizziness and I collapsed into darkness once more.

I…I

Oceanic flight 214, 20 miles north of Tokyo-3, Japan, December 13th 2014 .

‘Where am I?’

“I don’t want to die daddy. I don’t want to die daddy.” I whimpered in fear. But why?

I was sitting on a hard chair, a seatbelt around my waist. I was on a plane. I was confused. I was terrified. I hated flying. I’d never flown and I, God willing, never would again.

The plane bucked and shuddered sending luggage flying from the overhead storage bins.

“It’s okay sweetie. I’ll protect you.” He reassured me, running his hand through my hair. He pulled me close, threatening to crush the air from my lungs as he tried to protect me.

I heard the engines shriek to full power as the plane tried desperately to climb away, control servos whining and straining. In terror I watched out the window as evergreen trees rushed past the wing, getting faster and closer all the time.

“Brace! Brace! Brace!.” One of the hostesses yelled above the panic. The man beside me forced my head down into my lap and against the seat in front. Above the terrified din I could hear someone praying behind me.

“Hail Mary full of grace

The lord is with thee…”

The wing began to clip the tops of the tree’s, shearing the tips off with a sound like hail pattering on a roof. I wanted to screw my eyes closed and hide, somehow, but I found myself compelled to watch out the porthole.

The screeching engine snapped off with a horrible crunch sending roaring orange flame shooting through the forest.

“…Blessed art thou among women

And blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus…”

The aircraft lurched forward with a screech of tearing metal as the tail struck the ground, sending luggage and debris flying through the cabin, a suitcase striking me painfully across the face bringing tears to my eyes.

“…Holy Mary Mother of God pray for us sinners…”

The plane began to roll onto its side, parts of the fuselage tearing wide open and taking screaming passengers to what I was sure was certain death. Bright orange fire flashed past the windows and through the shredded fuselage, burning into the cabin. There was a horrible, sickening smell of jet fuel.

“…Now and at the hour of our deaths…”

The second impact dug the nose in, the fuselage flipping and tearing itself apart. Rows of seats shot past through the air, passengers still sitting in them. Some were on fire, I was sure of it.

I was surprised to see that there was tree standing tall in the centre isle for some reason.

“…AMEN…”

All hell broke lose as the still relative order of the fuselage descended into a terrible chaos of screaming passengers and shrieking metal as the plane shattered into millions of pieces of tinfoil and wire with an endless tumbling and the roar of fire feeling hot on my face, arms and skin and pieces of debris smacking into me as something snapped at my waist sending me flying forward through thin air and hot fire once more before coming to a stop on something cold and soft finally ending as something hot, heavy and metallic landed on top of me.

Strangely I was still looking out through a cracked window and I can remember the air conditioning blowing cool air on my face from an overhead fan.

That was when I lost consciousness.

I…I

-MEEP-…..-MEEP-…..-MEEP-…..-MEEP-

I was woken again by the incessant beeping of one of the heart monitor machines. I could feel the sensor pads attached to my chest. A prick in my right arm told me that there was an I.V line attached to it. A tight pressure around my waist informed me that it was bandaged and my right leg and left arm felt heavy, as if something was attached to them. There was a strange pressure on my chest as well. I could smell the lemon detergent that had been used to clean the sheets. It was a nice, clean smell.

I was still a little rattled, like I’d woken from an exceptionally bad nightmare.

Something felt warm on the side of my face.

I rolled my head to the left.

I blinked as the sunlight coming in through the windows dazzled me momentarily. Something pulled on my right cheek, stinging slightly.

I rolled my head to the right.

I could see the line of my I.V hanging from it’s stand and beside it stood the heart monitor, beeping away annoyingly. On my pillow were a few stray strands of black hair. I could see the light green walls of the hospital and the brown wood veneer of the door.

I tried to sit up but pain shot through my left arm and across my stomach causing me to whimper slightly. I lay back down on the soft bed noticing that the sheets felt strange on my chest.

‘Probably just another medical device or something’ I told myself.

Shortly afterwards I found a set of buttons at the side of the bed that operated the recliner effect. I used it to push myself into a sitting position, despite more pains of protest from my stomach. The weight on my chest shifted strangely. Brushing a few bangs of long black hair off my face I noticed that my hands seemed different to what they had been. They were much more slender and seemed more delicate somehow. I followed my now hairless arm up to my shoulder and then down on to my chest.

A sick feeling of shock and fear rose in my stomach as I noticed the reason for the extra weight on my chest. The extra weight was my chest. A gentle poke told me that they were not someone’s idea of a sick joke. Just to be sure I cautiously checked under my hospital gown.

A yelp of combined terror and shock drew nearby hospital staff my room. As they ran through the door they were surprised to see me sitting up in bed repeating. “This can’t be real.” over and over to myself.

Rei had told me that I’d get a new life but this was ridiculous. I’d fallen under a train and then been put through a terrifying plane crash and now this. If the idea was to do some psychological damage to help me fit in then she’d been very successful.

The doctors started talking at me, but I couldn’t speak Japanese. I couldn’t understand what they were saying. It seemed so immediate and so aggressive. It just terrified me even more.

A nurse picked up my right arm, probably to change my I.V line or check my pulse or something. I snatched it away fearfully. Whatever it was I didn’t want her to do it. She scowled at me before trying to pull it away from my chest. I pulled back.

She said something to Doctor which got his attention. He tried to take my arm from me but I had decided that no one was going to touch it. He tugged at my arm to release it, accidentally hurting my stomach.

“Get away from me!” I yelled, causing him and the nurse to jump back surprised.

The doctor and the nurse started talking to each other while I cradled my arm. A single imperative entered my mind.

I had to get out of there.

I pushed myself almost fully upright in the bed and tried to stand up but the doctor spotted me and pushed me down again.

“Get off me!” I shouted trying to get myself free from his arms.

“Get off me! GET OFF ME!” I began to scream, absolutely terrified, squirming and shaking, desperately trying to get away.

He gave an order to the nurse who picked a syringe off of a tray they had wheeled in.

I had to get out.

I clenched my right hand into a fist and punched the doctor as hard as I could, drawing blood from his nose and in the process tearing the I.V line from my arm, which hurt. A prick on my shoulder reminded me that the nurse had been preparing an injection but before I could smack the needle away I fell into a drug induced sleep.

I…I

I slept again, but I didn’t dream, at least not that I can remember anyway.

I…I

Slowly, I opened my eyes again, still in the same bed and still in the same body as before. The initial shock had faded and I was feeling a lot calmer now. At least I found a name for my new self.

Noriko Nagato.

It was printed on the heart monitor beside me.

I found myself feeling calmer, now that I new what had happened.

Looking out the window to get my bearings, I could now see a large object silhouetted by the sun. A series of cranes were working with it, picking pieces off of it.

It was clearly the remains of Ramiel.

At least I knew I was somewhere in the middle of the series, around episode 6 to10. It came as a small comfort that Third Impact wouldn’t be happening tomorrow.

After a while self curiosity took hold and I found myself gently, and carefully, investigating my body. I quickly figure out what tingled and what tickled, what was soft and what was…best left alone.

Everything was excitingly new and felt strange, yet at the same time it was oddly fascinating. My skin was quite soft and delicately smooth, and generally a pale colour from being in the hospital for so long. I was also quite thin and underfed, my limbs uncomfortably stiff at the joints, and a catheter in an uncomfortable place.

Had this body been in a coma of some sort?

Aside from a few bandages I seemed to be perfectly normal, but not knowing what normal was for a girl I was only guessing. I didn’t hurt as much as before though, so I must have healed

I could tell I had long hair, since it ran down over my shoulder and tickled my back, but I didn’t know exactly what I looked like yet. I had a Japanese name, so I guessed that meant I was at least of Japanese decent.

Suddenly, I was overcome by a wave of nausea, threatening to throw the contents of my stomach all over my blanket. I dry heaved violently, coughing and spitting foul air, realising that my stomach was empty.

Through it all was an ever present background feeling of familiarity.

A nurse walked in and noticed that I was awake. She quickly left.

I sat there wondering why she left so quickly. That question was answered when the Doctor I had punched came back in pushing a tray with him. Another doctor followed him, this one looking more European.

“I am Doctor Thompson.” The European doctor introduced himself in a strong English accent. “I can speak English and can act as an interpreter if you wish.” He picked a clipboard up off the tray and clicked his pen.

The other doctor tried to check my vital signs but I backed away nervously.

“Don’t worry. Dr Tanaka only wants to examine you and make sure your okay.” Dr. Thompson reassured me. There was something about his voice that made it very reassuring. Maybe it was just the fact that he was speaking a familiar language.

I allowed Dr. Tanaka to do his work. He smiled at me, no longer seeming as aggressive and dangerous as he had before.

“Now, Can you remember your name?” he asked.

“Noriko Nagato.” I answered cautiously, still not quite sure if it was right.

“Good ,Good. Now what is the last thing you can remember?” he asked while making notes on his clipboard.

“I can remember the crash.” I said softly, shuddering slightly from the memory.

He waited a moment before asking his next question, sighing loudly. Was something wrong?

“What else can you remember?”

Maybe I might have more than just a name. I concentrated, trying to remember something about Noriko’s life. A word came to mind, and a sensation. A warm embrace from someone familiar, a rainy day somewhere and a sensation of something missing from my arm.

“Am I Japanese?” I asked. I wasn’t sure. My name was a Japanese name but I couldn’t understand the language.

He smiled slightly when I said that. “You are half-Japanese.” he corrected.

That’s the way it continued, all the while Dr. Tanaka was performing his examinations.

“Can you remember anything about your family?”

“No.” I shook my head. “I can’t remember anything about them. I can’t remember anything.”

It was the truth.

“Not the last time you woke up even?” he questioned.

“Um…” I stopped before I could say any more. “I was sedated or something, wasn’t I?”

Again, there was another long pause as he noted something on his clipboard,

“Alright, After such a long time in a vegetative state some memory loss is to be expected, especially given your ‘special’ circumstances. I should say this is the third time I’ve explained this to you.”

“Third?”

I wasn’t sure what that meant. How long had I been here in hospital anyway?

“Third time you’ve reached this level of awareness, although you usually fall back asleep after a few confused minutes. Maybe it’ll be probably be Third time lucky.” he smiled hopefully, reassuringly at me.

I just felt uncomfortable wondering what guarantee I had I’d even remember this.

“Anyway” the doctor continued, “I guess that means I’ll have to fill you I on some of the details.”

He began to tell me the details of my past, while I listened intently.

“You were born in Gunma, here in Japan, on November 11th 2000 to Aoife and Hiroki Nagato. Your mother was Irish and your father was Japanese so you hold dual citizenship.”

He went on to tell me that they had moved to Europe while I was still very young. My mother was killed in car accident three years ago. My father was being transferred back to Japan as part of his job when the flight crashed. The cause of the crash was still under investigation.

The plane had ploughed into a forest at the end of the runway and exploded killing all on board except for two, myself and the pilot. I’d been found pinned under a piece of wreckage. I was alive, but “Smashed to pieces.” according to the paramedic who found me.

I’d been taken to hospital and placed on life support, but I’d been declared brain dead shortly afterwards. They kept my body alive for three days so they could use me as an organ donor. That was until a doctor came into my room and discovered that I had some weak, but measurable brain activity.

That was nearly seven months ago. The pilot was still in a coma elsewhere in the hospital.

At least I had something to tell people about myself.

Dr. Tanaka finished his examination by giving the details to Dr. Thompson.

“Well it seems you’re almost fully healed then. Only the fractures in your leg and arm have taken slightly longer than expected. How do you feel?”

I hadn’t expected a question like that. I had to think about my answer. Physically I felt fine, though I wondered how bad a fracture would have to be to take seven months to heal.

“I was a little surprised at first but I’m okay, aside from a few aches and pains.”

He noted this on his clipboard. Surprised was an understatement to say the least.

“There is another matter though. I’m not sure I should bring this up right now but it’ll have to come out sooner or later.” he took a deep breath. “Your father was killed in the crash.”

For a moment I wasn’t sure how to respond to that.

“I understand.” I nodded, not to bothered by the death of someone I’d never known.

“We’ve been trying to track down your family here and in Europe but it’s been difficult and we haven’t had any luck…yet.”

“What does that mean for me?” I wanted to know what would happen to me now. Mentally I was old enough to take care of myself but the age on my birth certificate would say fourteen.

“Provided you wake up again, there’ll be someone from the Government coming to speak with you about that tomorrow, so I’ll see you then.”

That was the end of my examination. I had a small dinner of stir fry and tea but I found that I could barely eat half of it. It was the first thing my body had eaten in seven months.

Afterwards, I found myself staring out the window at the bunt grey Ramiel, wondering what would happen to me next. Would I be an EVA Pilot, or just some kid in Shinji’s class? Would I even get the chance to meet them?

At least all the monitoring equipment had been removed so I could sleep. It was my first real nights sleep in my new body.

I felt sick again as I turned once more, triggering feelings and sensations from uncomfortable areas.

It felt strange, like everything, and I tossed and turned for quite a while. I couldn’t help but think of my family, at home, crying about me being dead. It was an unsettling thought that I’d chosen to leave them behind. They were probably mourning my death, beneath a train wheel.

I whimpered as a surge of uncontrollable emotion came over me, and I turned over into my pillow, crying softly. I’d abandoned my family, and dumped myself in some bent universe, doomed to die anyway in End of Evangelion, or an Angel attack. I’d fucked up badly, and I just wanted to go home, or wake up from this nightmare.

I…I

I was woken again by the sunlight coming through the windows and was momentarily disappointed to find that I was still Noriko.

This wasn’t a nightmare. I couldn’t go home. I had to deal with it.

At least, I still remembered it was a nightmare now.

The dissection of Ramiel continued, the dance of the tower cranes providing fascinating entertainment for most of the morning until breakfast arrived. It was just toast and tea but it was filling none the less.

I found that I could walk if I had to, but my limbs were stiff and the fact that my brain was written for a male nervous system meant I was staggering around the corridor like a drunk. Luckily I found my way to the toilet on time.

Although choosing the correct one proved harder than I thought it would be.

An irate push out the door from what looked like a janitor told me the wrong one. It was something I’d have to get used to. What people saw outside of me was different to how I felt inside. My residual self image was still of a six foot three inch tall, slightly overweight and hairy male.

Eventually I found myself lying in bed again waiting for the doctor and the person who was coming with Dr. Thompson. I just stared out the window and watched the cranes doing their job. I’d resigned myself to the fact that I would probably end up in foster care or something similar.

I tried to watch television but couldn’t understand it. It was funny to watch contestants on a ‘Takeshi’s Castle’ type show dressed like bunny rabbits getting hit with giant mallets. I watched the first few episodes of New Century Terrorist Attack, an old pre-impact animé series that seemed strangely familiar, and generally messed around trying to stave off boredom.

Eventually Dr. Thompson walked in followed by woman. I recognised her purple hair, brown eyes and distinctive red jacket immediately.

“Noriko, This is Captain Misato Katsuragi from NERV.” he introduced

“Hi.” I said, suddenly feeling very shy. I was talking to the real Captain Misato Katsuragi. But why would she be here?

I couldn’t speak Japanese anyway, so Dr. Thompson acted as an interpreter between us. I’d later find out that Dr. Thompson worked for NERV as well.

“Hello Noriko.” she answered smiling. “How are you feeling?”

“A few aches and pains, but I’m okay.” I smiled back.

“That’s good. I’m told that you’ve lost some of your memory. Can you remember anything about your parents?” she asked, her voice sounding very kind. She gave off such a good warming vibe, even though I could only understand her with the help of a translator.

“No.” I answered, shaking my head.

“Your father was an employee of an organisation called NERV. He was being transferred to NERV HQ from NERV Atlantic to work as a technician on something called Evangelion. Did he say anything to you about this?” she asked.

“I’m Sorry, I can’t remember.” I felt bad lying to her. I already knew what an EVA was.

“It’s alright. This dossier will explain everything to you.” She handed a grey folder with ‘Welcome to NERV’ written on it in English. “You can read it tonight

and I’ll come back tomorrow to talk to you about it, Okay.” she smiled.

“Okay.” I answered, smiling back.

“I’ll see you then Noriko.” she said as she left with Dr. Thompson.

I read the dossier with interest. I already knew as much as could be known, short of building an EVA from scratch or writing the Dead Sea Scrolls myself, but what would they tell me?

NERV: International UN controlled organisation tasked with defending mankind from the Angels.

Angel: Dangerous enemies who attack for unknown reasons from an unknown location. Have shown multiple configurations and abilities.

Evangelion: Techno-Organic weapons system designed to combat Angels. Further details classified.

There was another sheet of paper marked ‘Your eyes only’.

Further information on Evangelion: CLASSIFIED: Evangelion is a Techno-Organic weapons system designed to combat Angels. An Evangelion can only be piloted by 14 year old children, i.e. those born after Second Impact. Tests have shown that only 14 year old children are capable of synchronisation with EVA.

Synchronisation links the mind of the pilot with that of the machine and allows the pilot to operate the EVA as if it were an extension of their body. A drawback

of this system is the severe mental stress this induces in the pilot. In addition the pilot can feel any damage suffered by the EVA as if it was happening to them.

There are currently three operational EVA’s. Unit 00, Unit 01 and Unit 02.

Unit 03 and Unit 04 are currently under construction.

There was other stuff as well. The most recent Angel attack had been the Seventh, with it being defeated less a week ago. There was also some photographs of the EVA’s that began to bleach when I took them out of their packets. Unit 01 looked even meaner in real life.

It was clear that they wanted me to pilot an EVA, but which one? Either EVA 03 or 04 could be a death sentence. Even if I was a backup, a berserker EVA could kill me.

I…I

The next day I lay in bed waiting for Misato. It was obvious now that I had been selected as a pilot. I was buzzing with excitement at the prospect of actually getting to pilot a giant robot. But what was I going to do? I decided that I’d figure that bit out later. I’d try to enjoy myself for now.

It’s not every day you get the chance to be a teenager again.

Eventually Misato and Dr. Thompson arrived with a simple question.

“Do you want to try and pilot EVA?”

“Yes.” I answered enthusiastically, it would after a long time before Unit 03, or Bardiel, arrived and the chance to pilot a giant robot was something no mecha fanboy could turn up.

“Meet me at the main entrance tomorrow at three and I’ll pick you up then.” she smiled, but there was a slight hint of concern in her voice. “We’ll get your living arrangements sorted out as well.”

I…I

Okay folks, if you're still reading this, I'd suggest you carry on, at least until the next chapter. Trust me, it's worth it as t begins to get better towards the end.

Slán Libh
Dartz IRL