Neon Genesis Evangelion Fan Fiction ❯ The Feast of St. George ❯ Prologue

THE FEAST OF ST. GEORGE

By Red Star

Author's Note: I don't own NGE. And I might as well admit that everything I know about Evangelion I got from the Internet. But I thought I'd send up a trial balloon on writing about it.

"Do you not know that on St. George's Eve the devil walks on earth?"

-Bram Stoker's Dracula

April 23rd was the day on which Gendo Ikari was supposed to have led the world into destruction.

The Human Completion Project, which would evolve humanity and-more importantly-reunite the NERV commander with his beloved wife, was delayed because of four people.

The commander sat quietly as his driver guided the slick car through the streets of Tokyo-3. His hands-as they usually were-were interlocked, with the palms down. His tinted glasses reflected the passing streetlights, and his emotionless eyes twitched slightly at the uninvited glare.

It had happened about a week before. Misato, the alcoholic major and tactical officer whom he had casually forced into the role of caretaker for his miserable excuse for a son and the fiery German girl who could easily have been mistaken for a reincarnation of a Waffen SS commander, had decided it would be "fun" to pick up Gendo's precious clone, Rei Ayanami, and go to the movies. This was fine for Gendo's security directors; all three Children in the same place meant that they would be easier to watch. For a bonus, they could watch and discuss their charges under the joint covers of the darkness and the screen. Gendo was aware that Asuka and Rei were considered the most attractive and sexiest girls in school, and the mysteries of their past and the secrecy surrounding their "jobs" added to their appeal.

Shinji was a mystery though. Misato constantly passed on notes from people as far up as the school principal, all of them expressing concerns over the boy's well being. The commander of NERV knew that social workers would consider the boy a real find; NERV was steadily eroding the trust that the UN had in it and things would only get worst. If Shinji were found by the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Gendo would be accused of negligence. The UN would be free to denounce him as unfit to command a force created to defend humanity and remove and arrest him.

But last week, everything had changed. When Misato passed by an undercover agent, the man reported that her moves seemed automated, and that her eyes revealed some sort of inner struggle. On any other day, Gendo would have dismissed the man as being too dramatic, but the events of the next few hours made him and others the best hope for tracking down the group.

It looked innocent enough: Misato was herding the Children around the theater. Shinji's face became red when Rei grabbed his hand to get his attention over some question she had and Asuka needled him as usual.

Perhaps the agents should have known something was wrong when Misato got herself a Coke to drink in the theater. The Major had always brought some beer hidden in her jacket when she went to the movies.

After the movie's two hours were up, Misato had bundled the Children into her car and driven off.

That's when it happened.

NERV's security branch had planted agents along the route to home to see to it that the ride went smoothly. But when Misato should have made a left she made a right. She went down different streets, with NERV agents hastily stuffed into a car and following them to find out what the hell was going on. Meanwhile, a mysterious fog flooded the city, making Misato's car visible only by her backlights.

Then, she turned them off.

The car was found abandoned by the warehouse district. An agent by the beach later said he had seen a tilt-rotor aircraft flying out of the city in a northern direction.

He had turned Tokyo-3 upside down looking for the pilots and the major. They were nowhere to be found. When they went to Misato's apartment they found Pen Pen gone, as well as the majority of Asuka, Shinji, and Misato's belongings. The same thing happened at Rei's place. Someone had abducted them, and done the job thoroughly.

Gendo's thoughts then turned toward his purpose tonight. He had received a message from someone asking for a meeting at a building owned by the Draculesti Group.

The note was signed "Vlad", as if Gendo should have known who he was.

Of course he did.

Of all the men on earth, the chairman of SEELE feared only one. No soft man himself, the crippled old fellow was visibly trembling when he described the man who destroyed all who stood in his path. The chairman gave strict orders for Gendo to avoid this man at all costs.

But it appeared that Vlad had decided to make his will known…

The building wasn't extraordinary. It consisted mostly of granite and glass, resembling any other business building. It was tall, of course, but could hardly be declared a skyscraper. His car met a black-clothed guard at the front, who gave instructions to his driver and then waved Gendo's car through. The car drove down a ramp and through a gate into what Gendo surmised was a private entrance for the executives. A tall black man approached the car from a glass door and opened the car door. Dressed completely in dark clothing and wearing dark sunglasses, he seemed to stand at attention as Gendo stepped out and headed for the door.

Within the entryway stood two more men, dressed like the first. These fellows were white though, and appeared to be twins. One of them held out his hand, his fingers motioning toward his palm.

Gendo handed over his gun and asked, "I suppose you all are…"

"Vampires?" asked the one who held his gun and proceeded to unload the stock and hand it over to his brother, who said, "You are right, sir."

The second vampire emptied the stock into his hand, examining the bullets closely as his brother continued, "We have served the Master for two-hundred years, Eric and I. Steven," the black man walked in and took up a position beside the elevator, "has been with us since the American Civil War."

"He was a slave?"

Eric smiled, showing off pearl-white teeth, "One of Evan's girls changed him."

The bullets were reloaded, the stock handed over to Evan who snapped it into the gun and handed it, handle outwards, to Gendo. All this was done fluidly, as if they had been practicing it.

The commander of NERV stuck his gun into his holster as Steven pressed a button and the elevator doors opened.

"The big doors right in front of you, can't miss em'," drawled the black vampire. Gendo walked past the vampire brothers toward the elevator. Suddenly, Steven's left arm shot out and smashed into the commander's face. Gendo fell to the ground, and rubbed his jaw. As he got up, Steven spoke:

"That ain't from the Master. I just heard how you treated your boy."

The big vampire then crossed his arms and glared forward.

Gendo, his jaw aching, then went into the elevator. If nothing, he was a realistic man. He could never hope to beat a vampire on hand-to-hand combat.

Gendo's elevator stopped after a while. The doors opened and he proceeded down a hallway lined by marble toward two big wooden doors.

He opened them and stepped inside. The light from a hanging chandelier was dim. At the far end of the wood-paneled office was a wall covered with monitors that showed scenes around the world. Gendo recognized the UN General Assembly in session, some sort of demonstration in Beijing, and another one in Paris among other images from cities and places around the globe. In the middle of it all were monitors showing Europe, South America, Africa, and East Asia in military fashion. Red colored targeting scopes were moving about apparently randomly over all continents, displaying unidentifiable information over blue symbols that were the shape of planes, tanks, armed men, and ships. In front of the monitors was a large desk and high-backed chair that barely showed the round top of a head.

In front of the desk was a black leather chair that looked like it belonged in a living room rather than in an office. The chair faced a low standing table.

"There are drinks under the table…and ice as well; I heard about your run in with Steven."

Gendo grunted and sat in the chair. The man in the chair was silhouetted against the monitors. The chair turned around and a hand appeared out of the shadows and pressed something on the desk. The lights brightened to reveal a pale man with shockingly black hair and deep blue eyes. His face was handsome, with a beaked nose and cleanly shaven. He wore a black suit with a red tie that was patterned with laurels. His hands were as pale as his face and ended in long fingers with long sharp nails on each one.

Gendo assumed his trademark pose and calmly regarded the man sitting opposite, who put his fingers together in a steeple and regarded him in turn.

"So," Gendo began, "Where are the Children Pilots?"

"They are quite safe," he replied.

"Of course they are," said Gendo coldly, "Prince Dracula always takes such good care of his prisoners."

Dracula gave a brief smile at the commander of NERV.

"This is not the 1400's, Commander Ikari; there is no need to torture them or treat them barbarically."

Gendo's eyes narrowed, "And I assume they are with you?"

If Dracula was surprised, he did not show it.

"Of course; I thought I should come personally to try and relieve them of their fears."

"Their response?"

Dracula slightly smiled, a gleam of admiration in his eye, "You underestimate your son, Commander: he was the only one not in tears when I arrived at their quarters."

"And that would be?"

Dracula shook his head and smiled in amusement, "Now, now, Commander; how rude of you to ask me such a question. Do you think of me as vacuous?"

Silence.

"I assume you've seen them recently, then?" Gendo asked.

Dracula nodded, "Ten minutes ago, in fact."

Of course, Gendo knew Dracula wouldn't be stupid enough to keep his charges in Japan. That's why, of course, Dracula was communicating with him by way of hologram. The commander could see the blurs as the hologram's field ended at a certain portion of the area.

"May I ask why you have taken them?"

Dracula nodded, "To stop you."

Gendo smiled, emitting some sinister mojo.

"Do you really think I would stop the HCP because of those four? You are getting old, Prince Dracula, if you think that SEELE--"

"SEELE is dead, Commander."

Gendo was silent, but what the vampire had just stated-as casually as if he had said "My hair is black"-shocked him. He did something that was extremely rare for him.

He asked for clarification.

"Excuse me?"

"SEELE is dead, my good man. Assailants who completed the job accurately and thoroughly have shot all of them and then taken their files before help could arrive."

Gendo processed this information. The Lord of Vampires had just informed him that the top-secret committee of men who had the singular ambition of evolving humanity for their own profit was completely destroyed.

Dracula leaned back in his chair and pressed a button on his desk. The monitors behind him switched to a single map of the world, with little red dots spread across the globe with signs that had names written on them.

"All are dead, Commander Ikari. Do not mourn them: they were stupid, selfish creatures."

Gendo glared at the vampire menacingly and snarled, "Why?"

Dracula spread his white hands wide and shrugged.

"What was I to do, Ikari? Those men were plotting to put forward a mad plan to unite all of humanity into some massive sea of souls…if they did it correctly. Half the world is dead. True, that means that there will be more food and land available for the rest but that is not the point. The point is that thanks to your interference and that of your compatriots, billions of people are suffering, crying out for order and help. I can give them both."

Gendo shifted in his chair. This day was just getting worse and worse.

"So…you have taken away my only pilots and murdered my superiors. I suppose I may expect a nuclear bomb to detonate at NERV any moment now."

Dracula suddenly burst into laughter, showing off sharp white teeth.

"Oh, Commander, please! I have no intention of destroying your precious base. No, the MAGI will be of great use to me in the coming years, not to mention the added bonus of your wife's abilities…"

Gendo's eyes widened at that.

"My w-wife? What do you mean?"

"Simple, Commander: I intend to get her out of that machine you made your son pilot."

Gendo gulped and lowered a slightly trembling hand to under the table and pulled out a shot glass and a bottle of whiskey.

"How? What do you know about the Evangelion system?"

"Enough to know that your wife has been screaming herself hoarse either for help or for her son in that thing for years now."

Gendo filled up the glass.

"Why? Why are you telling me all this?"

Dracula leaned forward, his hands clasped together on his blotter. His eyes began to glow red as he stared at Gendo. The Commander was now thoroughly frightened-an emotion he despised.

"For almost two decades now, Mr. Ikari, I have watched mankind tear each other apart to grasp at some bizarre, foolish dream of becoming like God. We could never hope to do that! But yet you went forth with this idiotic project, you brought down those so-called 'Angels' and let them run amok all for this stupid goal!"

Dracula now stood, the red from his eyes flowing outwards fluidly. For the first time, Gendo had a sense of the Prince's full height.

"Never before had I seen this. Deliberate murder on a scale that boggles the mind! If you'd let the whole thing alone we'd never even have thought of angels as anything else rather than divine beings in white robes. This world needs the leaders of yesteryear again to bring it back to civilization and to bring it into the future, to humanity's glorious destiny in this universe!"

"It ends now, Mr. Ikari; the battles, the bloodshed, the tears. It is our time now."

Gendo's eyes went down at his empty glass.

Dracula glared at him and hissed, "When your wife emerges from the shell of Eva-01, I suggest you find a good divorce lawyer. She saw and heard everything you did to your son."

Gendo then looked up at Dracula, who's eyes were now back to normal. The Commander of NERV knew he was beaten.

"I did it all for her…"

Dracula shook his head in…was that a look of pity?

"You know as well as I do that that is not an excuse."

A red light on a black telephone to Dracula's left began blinking. His eyes glanced toward it momentarily before resting on Gendo again.

"Go home, Mr. Ikari; I have work to do."

Gendo got up slowly as Dracula pressed a button on his desk. The hologram faded away.

The commander stood and walked out.

As his car cruised home, Gendo Ikari stared out at the passing stars overhead, his glasses held in his left hand. As the minutes toward midnight ticked away, Gendo thought over the late events.

Perhaps…perhaps he had taken his son for granted. When he needed a third pilot, he called up his son, deciding that Shinji would do anything for his attention.

And Rei. The clone was like a doll. But no matter what he did, she regarded him coldly as her superior officer. As of late, was there some sort of begrudging in her salutes? His son's coming had changed her…

His eyes snapped wide open. The glasses fell out of his hand.

That was how it happened. The boy.

Shinji, who could coax dolls to come to life and bear a beautiful smile that her creator could never enjoy.

Shinji, who could charm German tomboys into calming down and letting go.

Shinji, whose mere presence turned alcoholics into mothers and commanders into despised outcasts.

Shinji, who brought out the best in people, even if they didn't realize it yet.

Shinji Ikari, who would be remembered more fondly than Gendo ever could hope to.

The dark car sped through a night that was witnessing great change, it's occupant's head now lowered in wordless sorrow for the past and dread for an unfamiliar future.