Neon Genesis Evangelion Fan Fiction ❯ Genetic Lessons ❯ Changes ( Chapter 1 )

Disclaimer: The Characters of Evangelion do not belong to me, I'm sorry to say. They belong to Gainax. The rest of the characters, as well as the Global Compact, belong to me. If you want to use them, just make sure to tell me and give credit where it's due.

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Genetic Lessons: Changes

By Polar Kodiak

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Doctor Sachiko Nogawama did not like surprises. She also did not like to see five years of hard work tossed into the street, casually tossed aside like the previous day's garbage. What raised her ire even more than either of these two eventualities? When they were part of the same event, naturally. To top it off, this detested surprise also occurred at the least convenient time as well. Such is the way of the universe.

"May the wrath of Hephaestus fall upon you, Gendo Ikari!"

Hephaestus was not a very wrathful deity, but she was a Second Variant, and they were the soldiers of Fire. It would have been unseemly to use another's deity to curse one's existence. Sachiko did not necessarily believe in such things, but there was no point not to be careful.

Her cell phone rang. She was still simmering over her anger at Gendo Ikari, and let her avarice filter through the speaker. "What could you possibly want?"

There was a momentary pause before the response whispered into her ear, quiet but strong. "Calm yourself, Doctor. This situation requires equanimity, which you do not currently possess. Of course, that lack of emotional control I expect from a Second Variant like you. Fourth Variants as well, for that matter."

She groaned internally. It was him. Technically, she was not under his direct command, but he had overall control of this operation and she deferred to his judgment. Summoning up whatever courage that had not fled at the sound of his voice, she replied calmly, "Neither Fire nor Wind enjoy being confined. We do not hide in the shadows as you Fifth Variants do."

"Quite poetic."

Sachiko smiled sardonically. "Apt, as well."

A quiet chuckle slipped its way through the receiver. "Half-true. We do not hide in the shadows, Doctor. We are the Shadows. -But that is not the issue. I would appreciate if we kept the conversation on the matter at hand."

"Shinji Ikari."

"Yes. Would you agree that this child has nothing to look forward to on this world?"

She heard the real question, Does this world have any more use for him?

There was that Evangelion project, but it was unlikely that Ikari would need his son for that. Why would he Sachiko nodded her head grimly to the asked question and not the implied one. She did this despite the fact that he could not see her. `Or maybe he can,' she thought. Fifth Variants had a nasty habit of invading others' privacy, within reason and when necessary. That was to be expected, of course. They cared little for their own modesty or privacy, and cared even less for others'.

"Well, Doctor?"

Startled, she quickly said, "Yes, Elemental Blackwood."

Ignoring the reference to rank, the Fifth Variant continued, "I shall recommend your immediate promotion to the Second Variant Elemental. When you deliver the young Ikari here on Lunar Base in the home universe, you shall find your new quarters, uniform, etcetera waiting for you.

"Congratulations, Reasonist Class One Nogawama."

The phone went dead, but Sachiko had never felt more alive. Setting the cell phone down on the counter, she grabbed her coat and dashed off into the city, eager to find the young boy she had watched and cared for every day over the past half-decade, ever since she had taken over his care while his mother was pregnant. His busy parents often left their son in her care.

The door closed. A moment later, the phone rang once more. The answering machine produced a tone. "Doctor, be wary. Reports suggest that there may be Imperials in the area. With Faithists nearby, be sure to stay away from their places of power; religious institutions are to be avoided at all costs. Military escort units have been dispatched, but will not be in your vicinity for another hour."

The line went dead.

Forty-five minutes later…

"Sachi!" The young boy threw himself at the only family that he had left.

Sachiko's eyes were alight with joy as she easily caught the leaping five-year-old. Setting him down, she took his hand and the duo began walking down the empty city street. Even the standard hum of machinery had stopped.

`That is strange,' she thought. `It is the middle of the day. Where is everyone? The street should be as crowded as…'

A shiver ran down her back as Sachiko realized that the two of them were standing in front of a temple. She quickly scooped up the boy as if he were lighter than a feather, effectively knocking the wind out of him. She tore down the street as fast as her legs would carry her. Moments later, the double doors of the temple burst open to reveal six figures, armored in medieval fashion. Upon spotting the fleeing doctor, the apparent leader of the group pointed a massive broadsword at her. With a cry of "Death to the heretic!", the sextet began to pursue her.

Putting on an extra burst of speed, Sachiko dared not look back. By Hephaestus, she was a doctor, not a warrior! Her fighting skills were just effective enough to help her attain her current rank of Acolyte. Turning a corner, she placed Shinji back on his feet. Sachiko quickly took a bracelet off each of her wrists and pressed them into the young boy's hands. Each bracelet was fashioned out of lightweight platinum and set with smooth, oval rubies.

Giving him one last brilliant smile, she drew two daggers from hidden sheaths. "Now, Shinji, I want you to find the Variants. They are friends of mine, and will make sure you get the family you need. Take these bracelets. Keep them as a reminder of me. -Good. Show them to the Variants when you find them. Now go!"

The urgency in her voice prompted the young boy to turn around and run off. Once he was safely out of sight, she steeled herself, turned the corner, and hurled herself at the advancing Imperial soldiers.

"For the Compact!"

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Fifth Variant Shinji Ikari blinked away tears as the unwanted memories of that fateful day nine years ago sprang to the surface. It was not any particular sound that triggered the memory; it was the lack of sound. The thunderous silence, the oppressive still air that transported the third-level Acolyte back in time. A strange sense of déjà vu crept over Shinji.

The Third Angel was not as subtle as most reminisces; it crashed into a nearby building. Quickly pivoting to face it, the teenager took off his sunglasses, only to replace them a second later as the unfiltered sunlight crashed into his sensitive eyes. After a decade of attuning his eyes to functioning equally well in the dark and light, Shinji's eyes quickly became too sensitive to use in the open during hours of sunlight.

Hot tears ran down his cheek as he quickly delegated the Angel to a position of minor importance in his mind. His superiors had always told him that he often had problems with setting priorities; this was such a time. Nevertheless, his control slipped for only a moment. The impassive mask that was the product of a decade of Apparition Training had returned. He tightened his gloved hands into fists as he made a conscious effort to drain his self of those cursed emotions that eluded the iron grip he maintained over his body and mind.

Despite all of his attempts at controlling the emotional torrents that washed over him (he was using water metaphors again; he had been listening for Third Variants too much), he still had difficulties controlling his emotions. They were wild, uncontrollable.

Sachiko would have been proud of him. She had been a Second Variant, after all; Flames were carefree and never tempered their emotions.

A car's breaks screeched as it came to an abrupt halt in front of the young Acolyte. The passenger side door opened, and a beautiful woman smiled at him. "Get in!"

After entering calmly, the young Ikari strapped himself in. A perfect contrast to his collected calm, Misato Katsuragi slammed her foot on the accelerator, pressing Shinji into the seat. `That acceleration hit me harder than a First Variant's fist,' he thought as the tires groaned in protest at the harsh treatment. Minutes later, with the besieged metropolis behind them, the two relaxed.

Shinji's eyes roamed over his driver, the voluptuous Captain Misato Katsuragi. Being a Fifth Variant convert operations agent, the young man took in every detail of her body. For profile purposes only, of course. The fact that she was extremely attractive and radiated sexuality encouraged him to take a few more moments of examination. Despite rumors to the contrary, Shinji did notice women and their physical and psychological wiles. He simply never acted on such temptations, no matter how…tempting. And these were awfully tempting wiles…Shinji bit his lip in a physical effort to clamp down on his blasted desires. He was a Third Class Acolyte, by Hades! Not some dumb teenage sack of hormones!

"Umm, Shinji, I just got this car and…well, I'd like the dashboard intact, if you don't mind."

He smiled, removing his fist from the partially dented console. "Sorry about that, Captain Katsuragi. It is just that-"

She patted his thigh reassuringly. "Call me Misato. And don't worry. I know how frustrating it must be, not having seen your father in ten years."

His grin froze on his lips. Despite being unable to see his eyes, Misato could tell that he wasn't entirely thrilled at the mention of his biological father. It wasn't as if she needed to pay much attention to the road, right?

As if in response to her unasked question about his father, he replied warmly, "I do not relish the thought of meeting Gendo Ikari, but if I have the opportunity to meet you en route, then there is a silver lining to the rather dark cloud that I believe will symbolize the meeting between the two Ikaris." The moment those words left his mouth, his mind froze.

`I did not just say that, did I? Iridian is going to have a field day with this.'

`I could've sworn that he's flirting with me,' Misato thought. `The kid's quite the charmer. Nothing at all like his father, even though they look so much alike.'

Shinji did indeed look a great deal like his father. The chiseled face was constant, as was the perpetual preference for eyewear. The wardrobe of father and son was similar, although the younger version's garb was cut more along sharper, military lines. Unlike Gendo's earth tone colors, Shinji wore entirely black.

The car halted abruptly. Shinji was too busy trying to analyze his spontaneous flirting with the woman to notice either the car stopping or Misato's claim about N2 bombs. He most certainly did notice when she pounced on him, and the following non-nuclear blast that tossed the car about like a leaf.

Shinji crawled out of the car after it had ceased its turbulent rotation. Reaching both hands into the vehicle, he soon grabbed hold of Misato's arms and pulled her out with little effort. A few `borrowed' batteries and the duo were on their way to NERV headquarters once more. However, Misato soon got the two of them lost in the confusing labyrinth of the pyramidal headquarters. Luckily, Dr. Ritsuko Akagi found the wayward Captain and Pilot, escorting them to a darkened room. The young boy removed his sunglasses, allowing his sensitive eyes to adapt to the pitch-black room. His gaze drifted and focused on the massive humanoid robot to his right.

`So, this is the infamous `Evangelion' that you have been building for the past decade, Gendo Ikari? Is this meant simply as a device to stop the so-called Angels, or is it a part of the secretive Instrumentality project that I have been ordered to-`

His mind ground to a stop as his vision exploded in a massive flash of light. The lights of the hangar had been turned on, and Shinji's eyes had little time to acclimatize themselves. Crumpling to the floor, he began convulsing in pain, his hands covering his blinded eyes. Misato and Ritsuko quickly rushed over to him.

"What the hell's wrong with him, Ritsuko?" Misato asked, worriedly.

Not taking her eyes off him for a second, the doctor replied, "It appears to be an epileptic seizure, but he shouldn't-"

"It is of no concern. He is useless to us." Gendo Ikari's voice boomed through the massive hangar. A few moments later, a gurney was wheeled into the room, it's wheels squeaking as it ferried its valuable human cargo in front of the monstrous purple robot. A young teenager sat up, breathing heavily. Her pale white skin and cyan hair starkly contrasted with her crimson red eyes.

The entire hangar shook as a blast from the Third Angel grew closer. Part of the ceiling fell, massive debris careening towards the young girl. Meanwhile, on the other side of the room, Shinji held a gloved hand to his head as consciousness seeped in. His eyes had focused sufficiently to recognize the imminent danger to the wounded girl, and his protective instincts took over. Disregarding the pain in his head, Shinji rose to his feet and dashed forward. Grabbing the young woman by the hips, he leaped out of the trajectory of the incoming debris. He failed to notice that the Evangelion had already moved to intercept the chunks of ceiling.

After pulling himself off Rei, he asked if she was unhurt. However, she was too distracted by his golden eyes to respond. Quickly realizing that his contacts had fallen out, he quickly replaced his sunglasses. Without the contacts that made his eyes appear brown, it was readily apparent that he wasn't exactly the normal, fourteen-year-old that his profile suggested he was.

"Will you pilot it?" Despite all the commotion, Gendo Ikari still kept a powerful command over his facilities.

"That?" Shinji asked incredulously. The Evangelion's hand was frozen in place over Shinji and Rei.

"If you will not pilot it, Rei will." Gendo's eyes remained impassive.

"Rei? -Oh. Pleased to make your acquaintance, Rei. I am Shinji Ikari." He bowed deeply to her. She blinked, baffled at the rather odd introduction.

Turning back to his father, Shinji smiled. "Politeness costs nothing, Gendo Ikari. -I will pilot."

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`Well, here goes.' The Evangelion took a tentative step forward, the ground rumbling. Unbalanced by the difficulty in piloting, the Evangleion began to fall forward. The other foot quickly stepped forward, steadying it. Everyone in the NERV control room breathed a collective sigh of relief. Eva Unit 01 righted itself and stood tall before the Third Angel.

Then the Evangelion vanished.

"Shinji!"

No response.

"Shinji! Respond!"

Turning to his Commander, Sub-Commander Fuyutsuki asked the elder Ikari, "Was that supposed to happen, Ikari?"

Gendo Ikari said nothing. The monstrous Third Angel began its destruction anew. It had passed the original position of the Evangelion when Unit 01 reappeared from out of nowhere and delivered a powerful kick to the Angel's unprotected back, sending it reeling.

The Angel fell head first into the ground, buildings shaking at their foundations. It sprang upright, angrily searching for the coward that had dared strike it in the back. Unit 01 was nowhere in sight. The Angel relaxed.

Only to have the Eva tackle it from the side. Extending its arm straight out as both fell to the ground, Unit 01 easily rolled to its feet and leapt toward the Angel, which had landed a few dozen meters away. The Eva was stopped before it could intercept its foe by a wall of light and energy.

From inside the entry plug, Shinji cursed. `I did not think that these Angels had Faithist shields! Since when did the Imperials ever deal with anyone other than the Corporates?'

Those precious seconds of indecision were all that the Angel needed. A white beam of light fired from its ruby core, exploding on the Eva's chest. Despite the mitigating properties of LCL, the point-blank range blast knocked Shinji's head against the entry plug headrest, rendering him unconscious.