Neon Genesis Evangelion Fan Fiction ❯ False Prophecy ❯ Prologue ( Prologue )

Welcome to False Prophecy, an Evangelion/Matrix fusion by Kenshiro Mitsui. "Oh no, another Eva/Matrix fic," is most likely the response of the jaded FFN audience... but in actuality, this fiction has been around for quite some time (about 4-5 months ago, actually); I've just never bothered to update it. Well, now it is, and I strive to make something fresh out of an idea that's "just a crossover."

If you are a past reader, I apologize for the long delay in updating. I will also ask you to read the beginning of this prologue, at the very least. It's different from the past version of it. Enjoy.

K.M.-san, 11.13.2003

~~~~~~

There are two doors. The door to your right leads to the source, and the salvation of Zion. The door to the left leads, to the end of your species.

Why are you making me choose?

Strange. Compared to the other four, it seems that you have not accepted the fate of The One, though you seem to be the most capable out of all the other versions. In fact, I can see that the reality of your situation is only beginning to dawn on you.

What the hell is this?! I never chose to be in this position!

There is no such thing as fate. Even the Oracle should have clarified this fact for you. Ultimately, it is your choices that led you to this one pivotal moment in the survival of your species. Specifically, it was when you chose to protect her.

Asuka?

Hmph. A human emotion, which, despite my observations, is something I care not to explore further. Irrelevant, but a powerful emotion nonetheless. I can see it now; the chemical precursors that signal the onset of two different conflicting emotions. I can see that your young mind cannot fathom what has been laid out for you, so I will simplify it further in terms you might possibly understand. Choose the left door, and the human race along with your "love" will cease to exist. Choose the right, and you, your "love," and your kind will survive.

...

Rationality and love now share the same consequence. Certainly, this will help to ease your choice. All human logic states that this must be a right choice.

...

I will be back. And I'll settle this too.

Absolutely, there will be another One back.

Shinji opened the door on the right, and felt the rush of memories rushing through his mind, as if his life was flashing through his eyes. It almost brought him to his knees, but he trudged through the doorway, and the door shut close behind him...

~~~~~~

Approximately 1 Month Before

Rei was trapped in an unfortunate incident. She was cornered in a busy local train station by six or so policemen in a train station cleared of pedestrians.

Not good, she thought to herself, a small grin sitting on her lips. She grabbed the nearest policeman in a chokehold with her left hand, and flipped the body into the air. Still holding onto his neck, she used the momentum of the body to snap it with a satisfying crack. The remaining policemen were awed and terrified at the sight of this deft move. Taking full advantage of this distraction, Rei crouched down, pulled a knife that was holstered on her left boot, and jumped in the air, executing a high flying side kick. Rei was able to connect on another attacker's face, and using the momentum from the blow dealt to him, she spun in mid-air, and was able to kick another policeman in the side of the head with a spinning roundhouse. Two more bodies fell to the ground, making a sickening sound as they struck the cold concrete.

From the corner of her eye, Rei saw a fist heading towards her. Crouching into a position taken from a Tai Chi Qu'an stance to avoid it, she moved her torso forward, and with her knife in her left hand, she stabbed the would-be assailant in the chest, and simultaneously, using her other palm, dealt him a strike so hard, he went flying through a glass telephone booth.

Rei narrowed her eyes as she saw the phone booth scatter into fragments of metal and glass, and turning around, she threw her knife at the helmeted head of another policeman, killing him on the spot. That left one guard standing... but he just stood there, his face contorting awkwardly. She looked on as the last guard's body started convulsing, his skin bubbling and shimmering under his uniform.

You will not be going anywhere, she thought, as she pulled a pistol from her holster, and quickly terminated the final policeman with several slugs in the chest. The body fell to the ground, and his skin returned to its normal state. He was dead.

Holstering her gun, Rei cleaned the dust off from her white PVC outfit with her hands, and took a small cell phone from her jacket pocket.

"I was ambushed," she said softly into the phone.

"You have no exit where you are anymore," the man on the other end replied. "The nearest exit is on Sakura and University. Get moving; Agents will be there soon."

"How many?"

"At least three. Now go."

"I understand, Commander."

Rei knew that one Agent would be more than a handful. Three of them were certain suicide. She ran out that train station as fast as she could...

The next thing that she saw made her think of an old saying - - "Out of the oven, and into the fire." She ran into a busy street. Every person she saw on that street was a potential enemy. The sight of it sent shivers down her spine, and Rei dashed her way through the crowd as quick as possible, hoping not to draw the Agents' attention.

Soon, the bullets started flying. Her enemies were everywhere, but nowhere. An Agent suddenly materialized in front of Rei, surprising her, but she was ready. Performing a high jump and leg split, she soared over the man in black, and in the process, implanting several bullets in the back of his neck with her pistol. The Agent fell in a heap, and the figure morphed back into what used to be an old lady carrying groceries.

Rei knew she would not be able to keep up fighting them like this. It seemed like there was one of them everywhere she turned. She had to get to the exit. Turning right at a corner, she found her way out; a phone booth riddled with graffiti. Reaching for the receiver, she noticed a red BMW speeding towards her direction...

The Beemer struck the phone booth with such velocity, that nothing was left but shards of metal and glass. Another man dressed in black stepped out of the door, and walked over to the wreckage to examine his work. Three other Agents followed him.

"She escaped," one of them said emotionlessly. He bent down, and picked up a piece of metal. A small stream of blood covered it. "You almost got her."

"It does not matter," the other said. "Their futile search for The One is of little meaning to us. All we have to do is find their next target before we do."

"We have the next target. We caught her looking for a certain boy in the area."

"Then find him and deal with him properly."

~~~~~~

Rei squirmed painfully in her chair as she held on to her bleeding left arm.

"Rei!" A man, wearing a slightly tattered long sleeve shirt, and sporting tinted eyeglasses and a thin beard, ran to the chair where Rei was seated. "Stay still," he told her, as he reached from behind the chair, and pulled a long needle, connected to a thick wire, out of the back of Rei's neck.

Rei was breathing in sharply as she grimaced from the pain. "I... I couldn't reach him..." she muttered through her tightly clenched teeth.

The man responded with a faint smile, as he held on to Rei's hand. "We'll try again next time..."

~~~~~~

11-41 Studios

A Kenshiro Mitsui -san story

False Prophecy

A hybrid alternate universe fan fiction

Prologue : Memories

~~~~~~

"Shinji... Shinji. Shinji! SHINJI, WAKE UP!!!"

Shinji Ikari woke up with someone painfully tugging his left ear, accompanied by an equally painful-sounding voice.

"Jeez, Asuka, why do you have to wake me up like this?" he whined.

"Is that any way to talk to your girlfriend, Shinji?" she asked with a toothy grin on her face.

"Girlfriend? When did that happen...?" Shinji mumbled angrily.

Asuka Langley Soryu replied by punching Shinji in his left arm so hard, it made her knuckles ring. "Can't a girl help their guy out by making sure he isn't late for school?!? If you're gonna be like that, then I don't know why I bother to do this for you!" With that last comment, she stormed out of Shinji's room.

I did it again, Shinji thought to himself. "Asuka, wait!" he shouted out; but it was too late. She had already slammed the door to his apartment shut, leaving Shinji to tend to his bruised arm.

It was the same scenario he would relive every few weeks. He says something wrong. She gets mad. He apologizes profusely. Everything is happy once again... or about as happy as the "couple" could get. I am so whipped, Shinji thought. He got up out of bed and walked to the shower.

No time for breakfast, Shinji dashed out of the door as soon as he got some fresh clothes on. I hope I don't miss the 7:57 train, he thought to himself as he ran towards the train station.

The time was 8:03. But that was not the problem. The station was closed for repairs. Apparently, a grisly gunfight took place there involving the authorities and some wanted terrorists currently residing somewhere in the city, according to the TV news reporter at "the scene of the crime." A notice on a lamppost caught Shinji's attention. It was a "wanted" poster, and on it was a color picture of a young girl, with short, grayish-blue hair.

"Wow," Shinji said to himself. "She can't be any older than me..."

Shinji's thoughts were interrupted by the frantic screaming that could only belong to Asuka.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, `THE STATION IS CLOSED?!?!?'" she yelled at the poor foreman in charge of repairs. "Don't you know that there are kids like me who need to get to school? You can't keep me from getting an education!"

Asuka was about to hold a fist up to the foreman's face, but someone behind her restrained her wrist.

"Asuka, come on. That's enough," Shinji pleaded, hints of anger and embarrassment in his voice.

Asuka was first surprised at Shinji's boldness; then she was humbled for a brief moment before returning to her previous state of anger.

"Aaarrggh! Shinji, you're useless!" Asuka growled as she slapped Shinji's hand away. She then took his other hand and led Shinji away from the station. "Come on, Shinji, these guys are dorks."

The walk to school consisted mostly of an awkward silence between the two students. Finally, Asuka spoke up.

"So, why did you hold me back from beating that guy up to a pulp?" she asked, a hint of anger emanating from her voice.

Because you look out for me, and I care for you, was what Shinji wanted to say. However, even though they were "dating," these words still did not come out as easily as Shinji thought they would. Instead - -

"W-well, you wouldn't w-want to be late for school, right?" he said nervously. "You'd do the same for me, s-so I guess I'd do it for you too..." His words faded off gradually.

Asuka blushed deep red at Shinji's words, but quickly shook it off. A faint smile fell upon her lips.

"Yeah, I guess, Shinji," she said with a sigh. "Come on, we're already late."

Sometime during the rest of the way to school, Asuka's hand unknowingly found Shinji's, and they walked into the school grounds in this manner.

~~~~~~

"Dammit, dammit, dammit! I should have known better than to take anything that guy offered!"

Shinji continued in this manner as he ran all the way to the boys' restroom. From a distance, one could hear a pair of boys his age exploding in laughter.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA<cough><cough> - - Whoo, man, did you see the look on his face?!?"

"KYAAAHAHAHAHA! Man, he's gonna hate you for this! I think I heard his stomach do a 360 when he bit into those things! What the hell did you put in there?" the first boy asked. He was wearing a wrinkled school shirt, and sported large round glasses and freckles.

The other prankster, a slightly taller boy wearing a dark running suit, proudly held up a pink bottle of laxative. "I kind of feel sorry for that new kid," he said, as he wiped a tear away from his eye. "Sure was funny, though."

This was not the way Shinji wanted to spend his first day in school. Things were rough on him during those past few months, ever since the disappearance of his father and the death of his mother five years after that happened. With no other family to look after him, Shinji had to live alone in a small apartment he found in the city, and was living off a considerable sum of money left behind by his father - - enough for him to live on until after high school, when he could find a job. Shinji did not mind the loneliness at all; he was perfectly content with living alone, doing nothing but walking around the city and practicing his cello everyday. It was when he received a letter three weeks later from the district that he had to attend middle school that made his life a little worse than it used to be.

He continued to make a bee line towards the restroom door when suddenly - -

<SMACK>

Shinji ran into a girl who was just exiting a doorway, knocking her to the ground. He didn't get a very good look at her, as he continued his way to the restroom.

"I'm really sorry!" Shinji cried out to the girl as he entered the restroom hastily. The red-headed girl, picking herself off the floor, turned her head sideways in confusion. Slowly, her facial expression changed from perplexity to irritation...

~~~~~~

Shinji had never felt more relieved in his whole life. After washing his hands, he exited the restroom, only to find a vaguely familiar face...

"So, what was up with that, kid?" the red-headed girl said with crossed arms and a raised eyebrow.

It was now Shinji's turn to be confused. "Umm... excuse me?"

The girl got closer to Shinji's face. "If I remember correctly, you ran over me..."

"Ohhh... well, I apologized," Shinji replied with uneasiness. "...so, I guess I'll be on my way now," he said, trying to slink out of the stranger's way.

Suddenly, the girl grabbed violently at Shinji's shirt collar.

"Not so fast, diarrhea boy!" she said with a frown. The girl pointed to a small bruise on her right elbow. "You gave this to me."

Shinji started breaking a light sweat. "W-w-well, I did apologize, so if I could just - -"

Shinji tried to creep away from the aggressive schoolgirl again, only to be pulled back by his collar a second time.

"You're gonna have to show me around the school," she said, still holding on to Shinji's collar. "Call it retribution for the physical and emotional damage you've done to me. I am a new student here, after all."

Shinji tried to take the girl's hand from his shirt. "Well, s-so am I, so I don't really know - -"

She immediately let go, pushing Shinji towards the wall. "That's great!" she said with some enthusiasm. "We can help each other get acquainted to this new school!"

Shinji groaned in pain softly, as he saw the girl's hand extend towards him. "My name is Asuka Langley Soryu. Pleased to meet you."

Shinji reluctantly reached out for Asuka's hand with his. "Umm, nice to meet y - - Aack!"

The moment Shinji's hand touched Asuka's, she yanked him away from the wall, and proceeded to drag him around by the arm.

"Great! Now, we have a lot of school ground to cover before lunch time ends, so we better get moving."

"Bu-but-but-but - -"

"No complaining! This is as good for you as it is for me, kid. By the way, what is your name? I don't wanna have to be calling you `kid' from here on."

"My name's Shinji Ik - -"

"Great, Shinji, that's a nice name. Ooh, ooh, I didn't know this school had a swimming pool! Let's head over there, Shinji!"

"<groan>..."

~~~~~~

"Hey Shinji. Shinji. Wake up!"

Shinji slowly blinked his eyes open; the first things he saw were the sky, the clouds, and a pair of faces, stupidly smiling.

"Why do you guys have to wake me up every time during lunch?" Shinji groaned, as he picked himself up from the schoolyard grass.

"And why are you always sleeping?" Kensuke Aida retorted, pushing his glasses up to his face as he did so.

Shinji thought about this comment briefly as he rubbed his eyes slowly.

"I... I don't know," he answered, shaking his head as if to clear his mind. "But a lot of people ask me that..."

Toji stepped forward with a lecherous grin on his face. "What's wrong? Does Asuka keep you up too long every night?"

"S-shut up!" Shinji blurted, his face beet red. "I told you already, we're not like that!"

Toji crossed his arms. "Ok, then how are you two like then- - OWWW!!"

"You wanna repeat your little comment, you pervert?!?" Asuka hissed as she cruelly twisted Toji's ear.

"Hey! Where the hell did you come from?" exclaimed Kensuke, which was answered by an angry <hmph> from Asuka.

"Shinji, let's go," Asuka ordered. "We've got clean-up duty today."

As Shinji was dragged away by the red-head, he looked behind him to see Toji and Kensuke, waving goodbye with strange smiles on their faces.

~~~~~~

Shinji sat down in front of his computer, and turned on his cable modem to connect to the internet. He was never a big fan of the internet and online chats, but it was a good place to download music for his SDAT player. Ever since he bought himself a computer for school, he's filled more than half of his hard drive with music files. Sometimes, he would prep a good deal of downloads on his computer and just fall asleep while all the songs finished downloading (which Asuka did not like at all), which was exactly what he was doing a half an hour later.

As he propped his head on his desk to fall asleep, his screen went blank, and a blurry, pixelated image of a girl appeared on the screen. She seemed to mouth something, which looked like:

Wake up, Shinji.

This got Shinji's attention. "What is this?" Shinji asked himself, as he tried to type a few commands on his keyboard, but to no avail.

"It's that girl..."

Before he could try to do anything else, the image of the girl faded to black, except for - -

Her eyes... they're red...

Perplexed, Shinji used both of his hands to rub his own eyes, and when he looked at the screen once again, he saw that the strange image had disappeared, and he was staring at his downloading program.

Shinji shook his head several times, and reached for the power switch on his computer.

"That's it. I gotta stop staying up late like this..." He went to bed, not giving a second thought to what he had just seen.

~~~~~~

The next morning, Shinji dismissed the strange things that happened to his computer the night before. Asuka and Shinji walked to the now-opened train station, where they could see a few "Do Not Cross" police lines closing off several chalk outlines on the ground.

"Man, what the hell happened here?" Asuka mumbled as she slowly looked around the station.

As the two waited for their train to come in, Shinji noticed a familiar poster on the wall. It was the color picture of one of the terrorists.

She looks so young, Shinji commented once again. And her eyes, they look so pretty...

Shinji walked closer to the wall, and rubbed his eyes as he stared harder at the girl's picture. He stood there, almost in shock and disbelief.

Her eyes are... are red...

"Hey idiot!" Asuka called from behind. "Our train is here!"

Shinji shook off his trance and turned around to catch up to Asuka, who was already boarding the train.

It was a seven minute trip to school via the metro, and Shinji and Asuka stood next to each other in the crowded car. Shinji spent three of those minutes thinking about the mysterious, red-eyed girl, and the cryptic message someone gave him the night before, until - -

"Aack!" The train car shook briefly, and Shinji's body accidentally pressed firmly against Asuka's figure.

"S-sorry," Shinji apologized, as he struggled to get a little distance between his chest and Asuka's. He looked at the floor as he did this, blushing profusely, and awaiting the almost certain barrage of angry comments that Asuka was famous for giving.

It did not come. Puzzled, Shinji looked up, only to see Asuka's face beet-red, and turned in another direction. "Just don't let that happen again," was the terse reply that came from her.

Both teenagers continued to look in different direction, their faces flush with a deeper red of crimson than before.

The train stopped at the station nearest to the school, and Shinji and Asuka stepped off the train car at the same time. Outside, a pair of men dressed in black suits, with matching sunglasses to go along with the ensemble, stood outside the exit, waiting for them. Shinji and Asuka stopped right in front of them.

"Shinji Ikari," one of them said, "We need to have a word with you. You'll have to come with us."

Frightened, Shinji replied. "W-who exactly is `we?'"

"That does not concern you," the other stranger said. He grabbed Shinji's arm, and yanked him away with surprising force. "We will be the ones to ask the questions."

Asuka took a step forward, her fists clenched tightly at her sides. "Hey! What the hell do you think you're doing to him?!?"

Before Asuka could do anything else, one of the men briefly revealed something shiny inside his suit coat. It was a mean-looking gun, and it looked capable of taking someone's head off with one shot. Asuka gasped, and stumbled backward.

"Do not interfere," he said through clenched teeth. "And don't call the police. We promise to bring your boyfriend back in one piece."

Asuka desperately looked at Shinji for some kind of reassurance that he would be okay. "Shinji?"

Shinji nodded once, and Asuka slowly returned the gesture. "I'll be okay, Asuka," he said quietly. "I'll be back soon..."

And with those words, Shinji and the two men disappeared into the rush hour crowd, leaving a very scared and confused Asuka alone.

~~~~~~

Shinji sat in a green-tinted interrogation room, waiting for whatever it was those men would do to him. The sound of a door opening behind Shinji startled him, almost making him jump out of his seat. The same two men who accompanied him to the tall skyscraper downtown entered the room, and sat down on chairs across the table from Shinji.

One of the men carried a small manila folder with him. Opening the folder flat on the table, he revealed a few slips of paper.

The stranger spoke up. "Mr. Ikari... I understand that you've been having a little computer trouble."

"I-I-I don't know what you're talking about..." Shinji stammered, denying anything he knew.

The man with the folder leaned on the wooden table with his elbows, and took off his sunglasses, revealing a pair of menacing eyes. He spoke calmly, and slowly. "Understand, Mr. Ikari, that I am not here to harm you. The person who we suspect tried to contact you is part of a terrorist organization based inside the city." He pulled a photo from the folder, and handed it to Shinji. It was the same picture Shinji saw in the train station.

"We do not know what her true intentions are, but we are certain that she is up to no good... and we would like your help. If this dangerous criminal tries to contact you again, we'd like for you to give us a call." The man handed Shinji a card with a phone number on it.

Shinji's slightly trembling hand reached for the card. "I-if it's all the same with you," he said reluctantly, "I'd like to stay out of this..." Shinji gulped, and continued, his voice a tad bolder.

"W-what does a terrorist want with me anyways? It has nothing to do with me."

There was an unnerving silence in the room, which did nothing for Shinji's already-frayed nerves. Finally, the men stood up, and the one with the folder gathered his things.

"You disappoint me, Mr. Ikari..." the man said ominously. He went to the door and opened it. "Very well, Mr. Ikari. As promised, we will take you back to your school." He walked over to Shinji, and stopped very close to his face. "But keep in mind that we will be keeping an eye on you. Your very life could be in danger."

~~~~~~

"Were you able to place a body lock on him?"

"Yes. We should be able to monitor his movements."

"When the rebels make a move, we will be sure to catch them and contain the boy as well."

"Indeed. We will not let The One surface anytime soon."

~~~~~~

The time was 11:52 AM, almost time for lunch. Asuka shifted uncomfortably in her seat as the teacher went over the story of Socrates.

Not for the first time, and certainly not the last, she looked over at Shinji's empty desk on her right, and sighed.

Asuka's thoughts were startled by a window popping up on her laptop screen. It was a message from her friend, Hikari.

Hikari: Worried about Shinji?

Asuka stared at the screen, shaken by the fact that her good friend was spying on her. She typed a message back:

Asuka: Of course not!

- - to which Hikari replied with an emoticon:

Hikari: :- / Are you sure?

Asuka thought for a second about her response.

Asuka: ...maybe a little bit...

The conversation ended with the ringing of the recess bell, and the students closed their notebooks and headed for the door. Asuka and Hikari were the last to leave the classroom. The class rep approached her friend, and put a caring hand on her shoulder.

"It's ok to be a little worried, Asuka, because you care for him. Right?"

A look of concern washed over Asuka's face. She sighed again. "Yeah, you're right, as usual, Hikari," Asuka said with a submissive tone, which quickly changed into irritation. "But when that idiot Shinji comes back, he's really gonna get it for making me worry so much!"

Hikari just smiled at Asuka. "Come on, let's go eat," she said as they walked to the cafeteria.

~~~~~~

The black limousine stopped in front of the school, and Shinji stepped out of the car door. When Shinji was a few steps away from the limo, the door closed abruptly, and the vehicle sped away. It was undoubtedly one of the stranger things that have happened to Shinji; he even wondered for a moment whether that interrogation really happened or not. Seeing the other kids lounging about the school yard, Shinji deducted that it must be lunchtime, and fixing the backpack on his shoulders, he decided to head for the cafeteria, where he knew Asuka would be.

That did not happen. Instead, as Shinji neared the entrance to the cafeteria, Asuka came bounding out of the door, running towards Shinji.

"Asuka!" Shinji exclaimed. "Asuka, I'm really sorry - - mmph!"

Asuka never said a word, nor did she let Shinji finish his sentence. Taking Shinji in an embrace, she kissed him full on he lips, which lasted for several seconds amid the whistling and catcalls of their classmates. Shinji stood there, in a mix of shock, submissiveness, and contentment.

And as suddenly as the kiss took place, Asuka's facial expression changed from elation to anger, and she swiftly slapped a briefly inebriated Shinji on his left cheek. The audience around the two cringed in a collective "Ooooh!" as the sound of the slap rang through the school yard.

"What the hell were you thinking?!?" she screamed. "Don't you ever make me that worried ever again, you selfish idiot!"

Shinji, now just plain confused, stood there, nursing the red mark on his cheek with his fingers. He looked over to Hikari, who was now standing next to him, and gave her a puzzled look. Hikari returned the same look and shrug her shoulders.

"Sorry, Shinji" was all she said, as they both watched Asuka stomp away from the yard and enter the school.

~~~~~~

Shinji went home by himself at the end of the day. Apparently, Asuka was nowhere to be seen. With the train station closed yet again (due to repairs), Shinji had to walk home. As Shinji turned at a corner, he noticed a female figure across the street from him, dressed in a white, form-fitting outfit. As she turned around to face Shinji, she revealed a pair of mysterious red eyes, contrasting with her grayish-blue hair.

It's her, Shinji thought. He blinked once to reaffirm what he was seeing, and she disappeared. Shinji blinked several more times, almost sure of himself that he was hallucinating. Am I seeing things? Who is that girl?

After vigorously rubbing his eyes, Shinji noticed something - - a door. At the same spot that he saw the girl, there was an open door. His curiosity leading the way, Shinji ran across the street, and cautiously entered the doorway.

It was dusty and the light was dim inside, but Shinji was able to navigate his way through the building, which appeared to be a decrepit antiques store. Filthy old chairs, cupboards, lamps, and other such furniture littered almost every square inch of the place. But something more unusual than the building caught his attention. It was an old mirror, shimmering like a surface of water.

"What is that?" Shinji inched closer towards the mirror. It was like looking at an image he would see if he looked at himself at a placid body of water. Extending his finger, Shinji was about to touch the mirror, when a voice called out to him, startling him.

"Ikari."

Shinji saw her standing on the other side of the room, as if she was waiting for him. As the girl walked towards Shinji, he almost took a step back, but instead realized that he would not be harmed. There was something mysterious and entrancing about her...

The girl stopped six inches in front of Shinji's face, startling him a little. She spoke in a soft, soothing voice.

"It is finally good to meet you face to face, Shinji Ikari," she said, her face almost devoid of emotion.

"W-who are you?" Shinji asked nervously. He became even more nervous when she held a gloved hand up to his cheek gently.

"I am here to give you a message, Ikari," she replied, stroking the side of his face with her fingertips. "You have been chosen; in your hands, lies the key to our future."

"Chosen? What are you talking about?" Shinji said, as the girl started taking steps away from him.

"Do you really want to know?" she inquired. Shinji stood there silently. He nodded his head once.

She turned around to walk away from him. "Then meet me here again two nights from now. I suggest that you gather your will for the upcoming events you will experience."

Shinji stood where he was for a second, contemplating what she said; abruptly, he blurted out a question for her.

"Wait! Can't you at least tell me your name?!?"

The girl stopped at her tracks, and turned around to utter one word - -

"Rei."

- - before continuing on her way out of the building, leaving Shinji to his thoughts inside the musty room.

Rei...

That name, along with the message Rei had given him, echoed through Shinji's head all night as he walked back to his apartment building under the moon and the stars.

~~~~~~

End of Prologue

~~~~~~

"Were you able to meet him, Rei?"

"Yes, sir."

"Did you have a run-in with an Agent?"

"No, sir. The signal disrupting device created by Dr. Akagi worked perfectly."

"Good, Rei. Go get some rest now."

"Yes, sir."

As Rei walked away from the control room, the man sat back down behind his desk, and placed his elbows on it, his hands clasped in front of his face.

Soon, Shinji... you will be back to me...

~~~~~~

Legalese: Story © 11-41 Studios. The Matrix is the property of the Wachowski Brothers and Warner Brothers Studios. Evangelion is the property of Gainax, ADV, and Manga Entertainment.

This story is a work of fiction by a fan (thus the name "fan fiction"), and in no way is the author or 11-41 Studios making any profit from this story. So don't sue, unless you want my property, which consists of $20, a "half off the cover charge" coupon for the local strip club, and a copy of the "X" movie, which really sucks.