Neon Genesis Evangelion Fan Fiction ❯ The Program ❯ Corrupted Souls ( Chapter 1 )

Welcome to the first chapter (technically, the second, if you count the prologue) of The Program, a work of Evangelion fan fiction by Bad Ronald and Kenshiro Mitsui -san. The making of this chapter was not without problems, and after a much disliked earlier version, we decided to look back at the beginning of the story itself, and correct elements of it to remedy the things you, the readers, found wrong or excessive. If you've read the prologue a long time ago, and skipped ahead to this new chapter, I recommend you go back and re-read a bit of it before reading any further. Without any further ado, here is the revised (hopefully for the first and last time) version of Chapter 1. Enjoy.

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37 participants remaining.

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It reminded Kensuke of a pre-Second Impact computer game. He had gotten an illegal copy of it from the internet. Making his way through endless hallways and corridors, just waiting for some zombie or demon to attack him, then he'd have to blast his way through with a machine gun. Here he was: making his way through endless hallways and corridors, waiting for an ambush from an attacker, and holding what would appear to be a long, silver dessert box with a similarly long handle to the untrained eye. Kensuke, the military freak, knew it to be an Ingram Mac-10; probably not a real Ingram model, but some Czechoslovakian-built model. He knew that the real company went out of business many years ago. Any original Ingram model that could be found after Second Impact would be very expensive, and - -

No, Kensuke couldn't shake the fear and doubt from his mind, as much as he liked to rattle off stats inside his head under normal circumstances. This was not a game, though that was what that Shirota guy liked to call it. These were real people that would be shooting at him, with real bullets, and he would have to shoot back as well. Oh, what Kensuke would give to go back to his much simpler and less life-threatening war games. He would have been camping out in the woods, toting his bb gun modeled to look like a real M-16. He would have taken a few potshots at the massive army of trees surrounding him, and maybe at a few small animals. Or maybe not. He remembered that he had shot and killed a small bird with a BB once. He had cried.

And Kensuke was almost on the verge of tears, and perhaps soiling his underpants. The unfairness of it all! What did I do wrong that I would have to take place in this so-called Program? I wasn't even an Eva pilot! They never gave me the chance! And to top it all off, I was picked last to get out; there might be people already itching to off me! They've already got Toji- -

Toji. He was not able to let it really register with his head until that moment. The image of a broken body lying awkwardly on the very bottom of the Control Room attacked Kensuke's head, and he stopped for a moment to remember his fallen friend. His best friend. They had been together ever since they were placed in the same class in the beginning of middle school. A single tear managed to fight its way through and roll down Kensuke's cheek, before being extinguished by the back of his free hand.

He started running. Everything became a blur, and the only sounds he could hear were the slapping of synthetic rubber soles on cold linoleum, and the metallic rattle the Ingram made in his hand while he ran.

Kensuke hit something soft, and he felt his body hit the floor very hard, dropping his gun and survival pack. He rubbed his back, and looked to see what kind of obstacle he hit.

"Ayanami!" he exclaimed, with a notable sign of relief in his shaky voice. "I'm glad I ran into- -"

Then he remembered; the "order" Shirota gave her. The curt "Yes, sir" that came afterwards. The eerily calm exit.

Kensuke unconsciously backed away from Rei, who was already up and dusting her school uniform off.

"Get back!" Kensuke pointed his gun towards Rei unconvincingly. His hand shook unsteadily with the Ingram in his hand making a rattling noise.

"I apologize, but I do not come here to kill you, Aida." Her voice, though it sounded the same, was unnervingly calm to Kensuke's ears. He took the safety off.

"I'm warning you; I'll shoot!" he replied, his voice cracking.

Rei calmly placed her backpack on the floor and put her arms up. "Please do not kill me, I choose not to participate in the Program." Again, the calm voice that annoyed Kensuke seconds ago.

"You sound too calm for your own good."

"I find that being calm in a situation like this will ensure my survival. It is no use to panic for fear of death."

That made a lot of sense. Suddenly, Ayanami's composed behavior and annoyingly tranquil voice made her look like an angel of some sort. Kensuke put his gun down.

"Jeez, I'm- - I'm sorry for that. I'm just so paranoid, and I didn't realize that I would have friends here," Kensuke stammered. He gave Rei his best determined look, and tried to control his wavering voice. "Look, I know we never talked much in school, but we have to try our best to survive. We should stick together, and look for more people who aren't willing to fight. All right?"

Rei simply nodded.

Kensuke had never felt so much relief in his life. He had allies. He didn't have to go through the Program Rambo-style. His friends would help each other escape this place.

"Follow me," Kensuke said, and he turned around and walked cautiously in the other direction.

"Where are we going, Aida?"

"To find a place to stay. We need to hide out somewhere for the night." Kensuke stopped, and turned around to face Rei.

"You should know this place well, Ayanami. Do you know of any places here that most people wouldn't know about?"

Rei stared blankly in space as she pondered the question. There was only one place she could think about; one that most people would rather not see- -

"Yes."

"That's great! Can you take us there?"

Rei replied, her voice slightly hesitant. "I'm... not sure you will want to see this, Aida."

"Is... is it d-dangerous?"

"No... no, it isn't."

"Then I suppose it's ok..." Kensuke muttered after thinking it over for a moment.

"Very well." Rei took the lead, and Kensuke followed, the gun rattling in his hands briefly before he gripped the steel frame tighter.

Rei trudged on quietly, but her subdued demeanor belied the turmoil within her. Their destination was the least pressing matter in her mind right now. What terrified her now was the lack of direction her life has taken; essentially, she was without purpose. The newfound sense of freedom worried Rei Ayanami... the only thing she was more frightened of - -

- - was the man named Gendo Ikari.

~~~~~

The Program
An Evangelion fan fiction
based on the novel BattleRoyale
by Koushun Takami
Written by:
Bad Ronald
Kenshiro Mitsui -san
Chapter 1: Corrupted Souls

~~~~~

Misato's facial expression was stuck somewhere between pity and disgust as she glanced back at Shinji. They had been zooming through familiar and unfamiliar hallways, stairwells, and rooms for what had seemed like a couple of hours already, and Shinji' demeanor managed to stay the same: depressed and downtrodden, and constantly dragging his feet wherever they went. Misato was surprised that Shinji had the strength (or the balls) to tag along with her into the unknown dangers that awaited them inside NERV. She knew that it would be merely wishful thinking that no one would participate in the Program. The truth was that some people were weak, and they would do what it takes to save themselves, even if it meant taking a few people's lives. Hopefully she could find people willing to fight against this injustice.

But Misato's priority right now is to ensure that she and this quivering sack of flesh she had to tug along like a toddler survived long enough to enact some plan of rebellion. Or, perhaps it was more than that. When Misato first spotted Shinji as he was hauled out of the control room by soldiers, she saw months of errors on her part. She was Shinji's guardian for many months... and by the looks of it, she failed. Ah, I was never the stuff mothers were made of. And I tried, but that kid is just damned impossible to get through!

But she couldn't help but feel guilty.

"God, I knew you'd be stupid enough to pull something like this!" Misato exclaimed when she first approached him just outside the control room. She was waiting for him, expecting this exact situation to happen. So, she hid himself inside a small maintenance room just across the doorway leading to the control room. She didn't have to wait too long. After Misato walked out, Rei was next. She did not dare approach her. She looked too calm in a situation like this, almost implying that she was cold-blooded.

"Leave me alone..." Shinji whispered after Misato offered him her hand. "Just let me die."

"What the hell is wrong with you? You know this is wrong! None of us should have to die like this, even a crybaby like you!" This time, Misato forcibly placed Shinji's hand into hers and clenched it tight.

"Save yourself..." was Shinji's sole reply as he tried to wrench his hand free from Misato's.

Misato would not have any of it. "Be quiet and get the hell up!" She tried to pull Shinji to his feet, but he would only make a half-assed attempt to stand up. Misato started walking at a brisk pace, with Shinji being half-dragged behind her.

"Right now, my responsibility is to save you, or anyone else here, and a child throwing a tantrum won't stop me now. If you still want to die, you can die later."

As an afterthought, Misato rummaged through her survival pack for her weapon, and pulled it out. It was a bowie knife, and a rather large one, like the one she's seen in those old pre-Second Impact western movies from America. She remembered seeing one in college with Kaji, when they went to the movies on a date one night. For a passing moment, Misato remembered that she and Kaji never really saw much of the movie...

This was unimportant. Misato pushed the thought back in her head, and tried to find a safe place to stay for the night, while praying not to run into anybody crazy enough to be playing the game tonight.

"I'm afraid we'll have to take a risk tonight, Shinji," Misato said. "We'll have to take the elevator. It's not the safest way because others might be taking it too, but the faster we get to a safe spot, the longer we'll survive."

"Something bad happened within the government. I overheard it from a couple of the soldiers while I was still in my cell. They were intending to kill us. They were going to take the Evas, Adam, the MAGI- - everything."

"But they received an order to stop. I have no idea why they would keep us alive, just to have us kill each other by our own hands. It's sadistic. It wouldn't make sense if all this was just for fun... There has to be some kind of valid reason. I just don't know what that reason would be! But we're going to find out, before this kills both of us and everyone else in here."

Misato turned around to look at Shinji, and sighed in frustration. She might as well have been talking to a brick wall, or maybe even Rei.

The two turned at a corner and proceeded to head towards the cargo elevators used by maintenance to transport things too large or too heavy to carry inside the regular lifts.

It happened too fast. Misato felt Shinji's hand jerk free from hers. Before she could turn around, she was violently knocked off her feet, and the knife she was holding in her other hand flew to the side.

The taste of blood overwhelmed Misato's senses, and she shook her head to clear the clouds in her vision so she could see the attacker. It was Kazuya Ochiai; a NERV technician who used to work in the Control Room. He was always a quiet man, very polite. She remembered having coffee with him at one point during break time, and they had a nice, but brief conversation about a television show they both saw the other night.

That was during more peaceful times. Kazuya's agreeable facial expressions were replaced by a dangerous look in his eye, and a deranged smile on his lips. In his right hand, he held a very sharp ice pick, his provided weapon.

Misato quickly scanned the room for her weapon. She scrambled for her knife as soon as she caught sight of it. Kazuya reacted instantly, sidestepping behind her and brutally kicking her legs out from under her. A sharp jolt of pain ran through her as she was slammed to the floor with another boot to her backside.

Shinji stared on as they fought, clutching his bag tightly. Why did this happen? Why can't I do anything? I'm useless! Misato will die, and it's because of me, because she wanted to protect me!

He realized that something hard was pressing against his ribs, and that it was inside the bag. He frantically zipped it open and reached inside, gripped something sturdy, and took it out. A gun! They gave me a gun! He dropped the bag in shock and stared at the gun.

Misato coughed blood as she rolled over and looked defiantly at Kazuya. He swung his ice pick, which careened towards her ribs. Misato arched her back, it wasn't much, but it was all she could do at that time. She felt her ribs cave in as the ice pick slammed into her, but she didn't feel anything tear except the fabric of her jacket; the wooden handle of the ice pick hit her on the side while the pointed edge tore through her jacket. She moved to the side and pinned the handle down with Kazuya's hand behind her back.

Shinji pointed the gun at the insane assailant, now using his feet in an attempt to stomp Misato into the ground. His hand shook as the cold metallic feel of the firearm overwhelmed him. I can't believe I'm doing this… I'm going to shoot a man! His aim wavered… he didn't want to shoot Misato. If I shoot Misato, I'll do more harm than help. Why am I even trying? I don't want to kill anybody! He gritted his teeth and clutched the gun tightly, staring at the man. He glanced at Misato, who was bruised and beaten, but had the man's weapon under her and the man was yelling and screaming...

Enough! He aimed the gun and resolved to help.

Kazuya roared and backhanded Misato off his flattened ice pick, snatching it away as Misato doubled over. Misato could feel one of her teeth come loose from the force of the backhand. Her vision stopped spinning, and she found herself lying on the floor, face first. A trickle of blood fell from her chin to the floor as she picked herself up. Misato moved her head towards Shinji's direction and was surprised to see him pointing a pistol (A pistol, where did that come from?!) at the attacker. She quickly turned to look at Kazuya, who had just noticed Shinji and the weapon. A relieved expression crossed his face as he stepped towards Shinji. Misato realized that he wanted the gun, and was going to kill Shinji to get it. Every damn bone in her body was hurting, but the threat of Shinji being harmed forced Misato to push the hurt into the back of her head.

The barrel of the gun wavered uncontrollably as Shinji's hands shook like a leaf. He was so focused on the gun that he almost did not notice his target walking towards him with a glint in his eye. His finger tightened on the trigger. Could he even do it? This was a man, and his life was going to be taken because of him. He may have even been a good man, with a family, and he was going to kill this man...

...I want to die... but I don't want anyone else to die along with me!

Misato ignored the blood seeping through her nose and mouth as she grabbed the knife on the floor and started charging towards Kazuya, who was so close to Shinji that he could have snatched his weapon in a heartbeat.

Shinji pulled the trigger. He couldn't help it. The thought of Misato being brutally killed after he died had become unbearable to him, and fueled his resolve.

Nothing happened.

He couldn't even press the trigger down; it was too strong, defying him. He whimpered at the man's gleeful expression and dropped the gun, then fell to his knees, expecting the ice pick to make its way through his brain.

I knew it. I'm no good. I can't even shoot a gun to help Misato.

Misato slammed into Kazuya, knocking the wind out of him. They both crashed into the floor, and Kazuya dropped his ice pick. He tried to grope for it as it slid away, but could only howl in agony as Misato jammed the knife deep into his arm, all the way down to the hilt. He angrily kicked her away, quickly got up, and stomped down on her stomach. Misato couldn't believe the pain that encompassed her entire body, and felt bile surging from her stomach to her throat. Kazuya grabbed the hilt of the knife and groaned as he yanked it out of his arm. Both he and Misato were splattered with red, and the blood that coursed from his arm dripped onto Misato. Kazuya laughed maniacally as Misato turned her head to the side and vomited. He raised the pick high in the air to drive into her neck.

Kazuya could barely comprehend what happened next as he gasped in pain and dropped the knife after Misato shoved her foot into his crotch. She looked up from the puddle of bile and saw Shinji, whimpering in fear in a curled up position... and the gun (a SIG P228). Crawling quickly towards Shinji, she grasped the handle as soon as she could reach it.

Misato looked behind her and saw Kazuya charging her, and leveled the SIG at his forehead, snapped off the safety, and pulled the trigger three times in quick succession. His right eye popped into oblivion, his left cheekbone caved in, and then red and gray matter sprayed out of his ears as his nose crumpled.

The former NERV employee fell in a heap with a loud flop, which made Shinji jump slightly. He didn't dare get up from where he was. He did not want to see the end result of the battle; instead, he looked down and shuddered uncontrollably.

Misato shook off the leftover adrenaline in her system, and stood up to survey the damage. Kazuya was now very dead, and Misato felt a pang of regret for killing her former co-worker. She understood how a situation like this could drive people mad. She tucked the gun in her inside jacket pocket, and quickly picked up Kazuya's ice pick and backpack, which she slung over her shoulder with her own survival pack.

"Come on, Shinji, let's go." Misato held out a hand shaking lightly from battle stress.

Shinji did not budge, as the same dazed look remained on his face.

The first rule of helping a person in shock is to reassure him. "Shinji, it's okay, you're not dead," she said as calmly as possible.

I wish I was, Shinji wanted to say. Instead, he uttered, "I couldn't help you..."

"Yes, you did- -"

"You could have died because of me."

"But I didn't, Shinji- -"

"Just leave me here!"

His tear-filled blue eyes affected Misato more than the sight of Kazuya's corpse. They were full of many things: regret, anger, resentment. It induced sympathy in Misato, as well as irritation. She wanted to teach him a lesson at that moment, but she knew that there wasn't time for that. The gunshots would have surely attracted more potential attackers. She picked him up by the front of his shirt hastily and proceeded to head towards the elevators.

"Let's go."

~~~~~

Ryuhei Ogawa instinctively curled his body in fear as they beat him, swinging their fists, putting him in his place.

Ryuhei Ogawa stepped towards her, his face calm and detached. She held a knife, and weakly struggled to lift it up. He didn't bother worrying about it.

He could hear a girl's laughter cascade in his battered ears. He should have stayed away. Why did he even go near her? He didn't know! She seemed so nice.

He brought his beer bottle down on the girl's head, and then kicked her in the stomach. She cried out, and across his fire-ravaged face, a distorted smile surfaced. He looked down at her battered form, and then…

He felt his hair being clenched, and his head yanked up. He was suddenly staring into the glaring eyes of Seto Araya, who scowled at him and slammed his head back into the bank of lockers.

"You think you can fuck around with my girl? You're creeping her out. When you creep her out, you piss me off. You do not want to piss me off."

"He was leering all over me. Get off him."

He stepped back, and Ryuhei, sobbing, beaten, humiliated, and begging for mercy in his eyes, looked up at her and received a shoe in the face.

Her head bounced off the wall and she slumped to the floor, whimpering.

"L… Leave her alone, you scrawny fuck!" Someone screamed from behind him, far away.

He did not turn. Instead, he kicked the knife away from her groping hand, and then brought his shoe down on her hand.

She screamed as running footsteps could be heard behind Ryuhei.

"Did you sneak a peek? Did you enjoy it? Well, you're not going to enjoy the rest of your year in this place. We're going to make your life a living hell. Fucking moron. Come up to me and use a pick-up line, huh? You think you can do that to me?! YOU THINK YOU CAN DO THAT TO ME?!"

Her pretty face was contorted with anger, and she lashed out at him again and again, scraping her nails over his face, kicking him in the groin, slamming her heel into his ribs. And he cried and cried, and she laughed.

She cried and cried, and he scowled, his scarred, burnt mouth taut with fury.

"Stop crying," he whispered.

"Keep crying. No one will hear you. You pathetic scrawny bastard. Kiss the floor. Kiss the fucking floor."

Crack! He gasped, bent over and dropped to the ground on top of the battered girl, groaning. He turned and saw that it was Seto Araya, looking desperate, tearful. He raised his baseball bat, and Ryuhei realized that the girl was his weakness.

"Are you done with him? We're in the wing, but that doesn't mean a teacher isn't going to come by."

"Yeah, I'm done. Damn moron. Go trash him in a locker or something. Stick to trying your luck on grade-schoolers, little boy."

Ryuhei was not stupid. He would not bend to them. He had done that in the past, but he was different now. He grabbed the girl and rolled her towards the direction of the rushing bat. He quickly lifted her up, groaning, and a resounding snap was heard. Her spine was smashed. She couldn't even scream in response.

He always tried to hide, but they always found him. Everywhere he went, they always found him. The girl had made good on her promise to make his life miserable. Whenever they found him, they showed no mercy.

Seto opened his shaking mouth and let out a guttural scream of despair. Ryuhei didn't have time for this shit. He tossed the paralyzed girl aside and grabbed her knife. He stabbed upwards, cutting his arm open. As Seto Araya stepped back quickly, screaming in fear, Ryuhei was on him in a second.

They did everything possible to make him leave. He always came back. He had no choice. His grandparents were honorable people, but fickle, and they wouldn't have it when Ryuhei came crying to them to have him transferred. They were worried, and contacted the authorities, but the girl's father was the chief of police. She could do anything she wanted. And she did.

Stop screaming! He wanted to beg. He hated the gurgling screams as he stabbed the boy in the chest, again and again. He felt like he was killing a kitten. Blood winked out at him and stained his clothes, and he sustained his frustration as the screams rose higher in pitch. Why was Seto so weak? The knife went in so easily, and he screamed like a girl! Was I so pathetic in the past that he had to fear a weakling like Seto Araya?!

They did everything to him when they found him. They pulled his pants and underwear down in front of Hitomi Nakagawa and then shoved him onto her as she stared at him, shocked beyond belief. They locked him in the girl's locker room, leaving him to toil there and deal with his claustrophobia overnight, much to the surprise and ire of the female students the next day. They stuffed his locker full to the brim with sex toys and materials of a homosexual nature. He was never able to live that down with gossiping family members and fellow classmates. They vandalized school property, and then sat back and laughed hysterically as the blame was placed on him. They made him scream with fear whenever they found him.

Stop screaming! Where are the monsters that I've been scared of when I was here? Where are you? Why are you so fucking weak?

Ryuhei felt the weight of Seto's body slumping down on his shoulder, and pushed him aside in surprise. He's dead! Oh my God, I just killed a defenseless boy in cold blood! Dropping the knife, he dashed over to his survival pack, procured the bottle of water given to him, and proceeded to wash his shaking hands with it.

I'm such a coward, he kept repeating to himself as he lost his grip on the water bottle and the rest of its contents mingled with the washed-off blood on the floor. Ryuhei hurriedly wiped his half-washed hands on his dark pants and slung his backpack over his shoulder. The only action left that he could think of was to run away; and so, he did.

The guilt ate Ryuhei Ogawa up on the inside. He felt even guiltier when he realized he was planning to kill Shinji Ikari and the rest of the Evangelion pilots just before Seto Araya and his girlfriend ran into him.

~~~~~

Yuki Namai was scared; she has been scared ever since government agents came to her home in Tokyo-1, and carried her away from her father. It was just the two of them. She cried and kicked and even bit one of the five men in the dark suits, but to no avail. Then her father stepped into the bedroom, and came back out with a rifle, the kind you used to hunt deer. He fired one shot and killed one of the men. Blood from the exit wound stained Yuki's brown-dyed hair and pink Hello Kitty shirt dark red. But before he could pull the bolt back to fire another bullet, the four remaining agents pulled pistols from holsters hidden under their suit jackets. It was the last thing she remembered before waking up inside a holding cell with one of her old classmates from Tokyo-3, Hisashi Saito. Apparently, Hisashi was also taken forcibly to this place, except that he was at an arcade when they abducted him. Hisashi also left Tokyo-3 because of the constant harassment of the Angel attacks.

Her troubles did not stop there. Yuki was lost, and to make things more complicated, she was running a rather high fever, and she had the chills now; a telltale sign of perhaps a cold or flu. She felt progressively weaker ever since her capture, and would have complained about it, if it were not for Toji's death. They might have just killed her for it. Who would need a sick participant in the program?

Yuki walked aimlessly through cold grey corridors, but finally just collapsed. She was very tired, and that made her even more frightened. She was easy prey for whoever might want to kill her. But that's silly. Why would any of us kill each other? We were friends, and we are just kids! Well, most of us. But why would anyone kill a person without cause?

Yuki leaned back against a corner, uncertainty, as well as illness, was gnawing at her body physically and mentally. She just wanted to rest... but she also needed to find her friends. Hikari would know what to do... she had always admired her, depended on her. She felt lucky just to be in the same class as her.

A long shadow cast itself on the opposite side of the corridor. Yuki's body tensed.

"W-who's there?" she called out in her weak, petite voice. She remembered her weapon, and procured it from her backpack. It was a .30 revolver pistol, fully loaded, and Yuki could barely lift it up to point it at the advancing shadow. She felt herself growing hotter from her fever and from nervousness.

The shadow belonged to a woman. She wore a dark skirt, a blue sleeveless blouse, and a long lab coat. She briefly arranged her short, blond hair before placing her hands up as if she was being held up.

"Please, don't shoot me," she pleaded. "I won't hurt you."

"Who are you?!?" Yuki cried out. She tried to lift her gun a little higher to look more intimidating.

"Please, I won't harm you," the stranger continued. "You look like you are hurt; I can help you. I'm a doctor."

"A... a doctor?" Relief surged through her aching muscles, and she weakly dropped her revolver to the side.

Thank God... someone to help me! Yuki smiled as tears of joy fell from her eyes.

"Doctor, please, can you help me? I think I might have the flu or something."

"Let me see." The woman checked Yuki's pulse, felt her temperature on her forehead, all with the utmost care and compassion that a physician could give to her patient. It was something about her that comforted Yuki, and she could breathe a little easier.

"It's definitely the flu," was the good doctor's prognosis. "You need bedrest. Here, I'll carry you. I know a safe spot where you can lie down and take some medicine."

Yuki consented. The woman took her backpack and placed the revolver inside her own, and carried her with both arms for about five minutes to what appeared to be a small nurse's office. There were several beds, a medicine cabinet, and a refrigerator. The doctor set Yuki down on the nearest bed, and pulled a blanket over her body.

"Here, you must be cold. Lie here until I find some medicine for you." She walked over to the medicine cabinet and began rummaging through it.

After a brief moment of silence, Yuki asked, "What is your name?"

"Ritsuko Akagi."

"Dr. Akagi, I want to- -"

"Please, call me Ritsuko." Her smile brightened the room, and Yuki returned the smile with another.

"I want to thank you, Dr. Aka- - I mean, Dr. Ritsuko."

"No need for formalities. Just 'Ritsuko' is fine." Ritsuko continued to look through the cabinet, until she found a disposable syringe. "What's your name?"

"My name is Yuki. I'm supposed to find more of my friends. We were supposed to meet at - -"

Ritsuko now took a small glass vial from the refrigerator, and began to shake it. "Please, rest. You need to keep your strength up. Don't worry, Yuki, I'll be here to help you. Once you get better, I'll help you in finding your friends."

"Will you, really?" Yuki exclaimed in her weak voice. "I would really appreciate it. One of them is named Hikari, and she's the class rep in my class. She's really smart, so she would know what to do..." Her voice drifted off, as she felt the combined effects of her fever, and her energy sapping away slowly from chatting away.

Ritsuko now removed the cap from the needle, and inserted it into the rubber stopper of the vial, extracting the fluid inside. She now walked towards Yuki's bedside. "Slow down... you're already exhausted. When you get your strength back, we'll try and find your friends. For now, just lie down. It's safe in here." Ritsuko smiled warmly again.

Yuki nodded.

"Good. Now, I have to give you this shot. This will help with the fever, and it will help you sleep. I hope you don't mind shots."

Yuki shook her head. "Good. You might feel a small sting." After rubbing her forearm with an alcohol-soaked cotton ball, she found Yuki's vein, inserted the needle, and pressed the plunger on the syringe down.

Ritsuko continued to talk, this time quietly, as if she was conversing with herself. "I don't know what the government is trying to do, but one thing is for sure... you kids should not even be here. For the troubles we have brought upon our children, we adults probably deserve to die. This is the only way I could find help for you... I hope you find some semblance of comfort in this way..."

Yuki was not able to make out most of the words her benefactor said, as the drowsiness began to overwhelm her. The last thing she remembered was a warm feeling flowing through her body, before sleep came to her.

~~~~~

Tokyo-3 was the last place Natsumi Chidou wanted to be in. She moved far, far away to avoid the curse that its inhabitants seemed to carry with them in their lives, the same curse that took the lives of her mother and sister.

Natsumi's mother, a scientist, died just after she was born. She worked for some company called Gehirn. A freak accident, they say. Nothing of her body was recoverable, so all they had for her funeral was an empty casket.

Tried as he could to play the role of his deceased spouse, Natsumi's father sank into depression, and she saw less and less of him as he buried himself in work and liquor bottles. Then, it happened: the first Angel attack on the city. The poor citizens of Tokyo-3 were warned about this many months ago, but it all happened so fast; they were almost caught off guard. Natsumi's family raced to the shelter, but not all of them would make it. Her sister, Miki, died when a flying piece of VTOL aircraft crushed her to the ground.

After the second funeral she'd ever been to in her life, Natsumi knew what to do. She was able to persuade her father to move away; far away. They found an apartment in Singapore. Natsumi went to school there. Her father worked for another company in Singapore, where he was paid rather well. At least they were able to have some form of happiness for a year or so.

Then those men came. They forced their way into her school, into her classroom, and they led her away in front of her friends, her boyfriend, and the whole building. Natsumi was too scared to say anything, other than "Where are we going?" None of the strange men replied.

Once she saw all of her old classmates in the control room, Natsumi immediately knew where she was: the place that she dreaded most of all. Apparently, the curse caught up with her.

And now, she was trying to outrun it again. But with every step she took, it felt like the very walls and shadows of the Geofront were one step behind her, ready to take advantage of one mistake, one misstep. It was almost ironic that the very people she desperately wanted to avoid were the people she was relying on for help. Hikari passed her a note while they were all still in the control room ("Let's all meet in the Detention Cells," it said). What did she have to lose? It was either that, and die later, or die alone.

Something caught the corner of Natsumi's eye. She stopped, pulled her gun (a Luger) from her pack, and turned around, paranoia gnawing on her mind. She saw only an empty entrance… she could've sworn someone had been there. Natsumi sighed, stuffing the gun back in her pack. This stupid game was killing her, both mentally and physically. It was driving her crazy. The officials of The Program must really know what they're doing, if someone was there, I might have shot them!

"Where are the others?"

God! She instantly grabbed the gun out of her pack and pointed it at the direction of the cold, immaculate voice. It was that same man, the first man that left the control room. He scared her then; he was terrifying now. He was holding his backpack by the strap at his side, staring at her. She withered under his glare, but managed to keep the gun aimed at his face.

He only looked down at her with those cold eyes. She wondered if he was a statue, he didn't even tilt his head; he just stared down at her.

"Have you seen the other children?" he asked.

Natsumi shook her head, almost involuntarily, to the question.

"What about the pilots? Have you seen them?" The stranger's voice, cold and steady, seemed to complement his face; it seemed like it was etched in stone, like those statues in the museums.

Natsumi hands were quaking terribly, to the point where she dropped her gun with a resounding clunk as it hit the cold linoleum floor. She scrambled desperately to pick her weapon up.

"I will take that as a 'no.'"

To Natsumi's surprise, the man bent over, reached for the German Luger on the floor...

This is it; I'm going to die...

...and handed it to her without as much as a blink.

"You may need this in the near future," the stranger uttered, plainly and matter-of-factly, and with a strange gleam in his eyes that suspiciously looked like benevolence... all the more reason for Natsumi to feel even more uncomfortable. Her face felt flushed.

He turned around, walked away, and disappeared in the same manner that he showed up, leaving a very confused (and somewhat blushing) Natsumi Chidou. After staring at the same spot where the stranger disappeared, she snapped back into attention, fixed her bag on her shoulder, and continued to head towards the facility's brig.

Gendo Ikari stopped in the darkness briefly, and stared at his gloved right palm, tracing something in the white leather with his finger.

"She may yet be alive... all is not lost yet, Yui."

He continued traversing through the hallways that he knew all too well with only one goal in his mind: the Instrumentality of Man.

~~~~~

The holding cells were quiet that night, save for the shuffling of feet and the occasional stifled sob. Huddled inside one of the larger open cells were a decent-sized group of girls.

They were all once classmates, only to be separated by the misfortune of having to live in a city constantly under siege. Perhaps at a different place and time, they would have been all happy to see each other, maybe at a café or a restaurant or a mall. Joyful hugs would be exchanged, and laughter would be plentiful amongst them.

No laughter was heard here tonight, and the only hugs shared between the girls were for comforting each other, to try to lessen the fear of death prevalent in the air, hanging above them like cigarette smoke. Some cried quietly, uncontrollably, while others tried to maintain their composure. One girl tried to hang on to the few, remaining threads of control over the situation, determination wrinkling her brow, as the freckles on her face bent down as she frowned.

Footsteps ominously echoed through the hallway leading to the cell the girls hid in, feeding the collective fear of the group. They all turned silent, as the girls slowly removed a varied assortment of weapons from their packs.

A human figure appeared in the doorway, and seven guns, knives, and other such armaments were brandished threateningly at it.

A young girl's voice cried out in shock. "Guys, don't shoot! It's me!!"

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. "It's ok; it's just Natsumi," someone said.

"How many more are left?" Natsumi asked.

"It was just you and Yuki."

"And she's still not here," one girl noted darkly.

Yuki's friend, Erika, stood up. She was on the verge of crying again, as was evidenced by the transparent streaks of tears on her face. "No, she has to come! We just have to wait a few more minutes."

They waited for ten more minutes before a girl stood up. Her composure was very different from that of most of the other girls; her eyes were free of tears, and determination was visible on her freckled cheeks.

"Girls, we have to start now," Hikari said. "If we wait any longer, we could be in even more danger. So, let's go over this quickly."

Another girl, attractive, with flowing dark hair and an equally dark school uniform, unlike Hikari's, spoke up, trying to replicate the strength the former speaker had in her voice.

"What hell are you up to, Hikari?" Meiko Yoshi said. "You better not be trying to trick us!" Five other girls next to her nodded in agreement, as if they were siding with her.

Hikari's eyes narrowed. "It's called 'common sense,' Meiko. If this was a trap, we would all be dead by now. This is about survival."

"Hikari's right." Reika Ueda added. She was a petite girl, with her short hair tied in a ponytail. "We'll all have a better chance of survival if we stick together. Who knows what kind of dangers are out there?"

About half of the group of nine agreed with this, while the other half remained silent.

Only one person remained 'neutral,' and kept the same dejected appearance throughout the makeshift meeting in the holding cell: Asuka Langley Sohryu. Her once beautiful reddish hair was dirty, and was covering her eyes while she sat on a corner and hugged her legs. Her fiery eyes held only a fraction of the intensity they once had. In other words, she looked downright miserable.

Her attitude seemed to survive the near-coma she endured after her defeat to an Angel, and her defeat to Shinji. She was also downright irritating, but even that sounded pathetic, as it lacked the vigor in her voice she once had. Even so, she was still loud, and, if possible, twice as obnoxious.

"Please... I don't see what the hell the point is in all this. We would all be better dead right now, because we'll never escape! You girls are just a bunch of damn idiots for thinking otherwise, all of you."

"Shut up!" Reika exclaimed, her face beet red in anger. "No one asked you for advice here; no one in their right mind would!"

Asuka grinned slyly. "What's wrong? You going to hit me? Go ahead."

She felt herself being tugged by her suit collar, as Reika picked her up with both hands.

"You brain-dead bitch, I'll send you back to your coma!" Reika shook Asuka's body like a rag doll. Asuka responded with maniacal leer that sent shivers crawling down Reika's spine like drops of ice water. She threw Asuka down to the floor.

"Look, we can't be fighting like this!! We're supposed to be helping each other!!" Hikari's voice was high and agitated.

Hikari's patience for Asuka and the rest of the group was on the edge ever since she picked Asuka up from the floor just a few meters outside of the control room. She found her toying inappropriately with the kitchen knife she was given as a weapon, sometimes pressing lightly on the skin of her wrists with the blade. It took taking the knife away from Asuka and a lot of arguing with both her and the group, but Hikari managed to drag Asuka along to the impromptu meeting, much to the dismay of several girls who disliked her. But, what else could Hikari do? She had already seen one of her friends die; she did not want to experience that again.

Meiko spoke up again. "If she wants to die so badly, why did you bring her here, Hikari? You should have left her where she was; she's pathetic and no good!"

Hikari's face turned red with anger. "I will not have you talking to anyone in this room like that! It is our priority to make sure that everyone we can save survives. We don't have time to bicker and fight."

"Now listen up, everyone, I'm going to need everyone's cooperation. Some of you might remember on the way to the control room, that there was a sign pointing towards the cafeteria. My plan is that we should hide and take shelter in the kitchens. There should be only a few entrances to the kitchens that can be monitored and watched, and food shouldn't be a problem. We can all hide in there until we can figure out a way to escape the Geofront."

A small hmph! was heard from Asuka's corner.

"And what about her?" Meiko argued, pointing towards Asuka. "If this stupid plan works, then she could get us into some serious shit."

Hikari sighed. "Fine. Asuka will be my responsibility. From now on, you're either with us, or not. We're moving now." She took her weapon, a .22 caliber pistol, and tucked it into her school uniform.

As Hikari was stepping out the door, Meiko called out again. "We'll follow you now, Hikari, but mark my words; I see anything out of the ordinary, I won't have any problem shooting you and that bitch." Meiko took her weapon, a Czechoslovakian CZ75, and did likewise.

Hikari quickly turned around, gritted her teeth and glared at her.

"Do you want to try saying that again?" Her sudden intense anger could be felt by everyone in the room, even Asuka. Meiko didn't take the chance and just kept silent, touching her gun for reassurance.

Hikari lifted her nose at them and then turned to Asuka and held out her hand.

She spoke briskly. "Come on, Asuka. Everyone, let's go."

~~~~~

36 participants remaining

~~~~~

END OF CHAPTER 1

AUTHORS' NOTES:

Kenshiro: I certainly hope that this will be the last time this needs rewriting. If you've read the earlier version of the chapter, you will have noticed that most of the scenes' outcomes have changed radically, and we hope that you liked this version better. The level of violence, however, will remain unchanged, but we will not resort to violence just for the hell of it; it will be justified.

If there's any confusion with the style of writing Ron and I adapted, it was taken from the English translation of the Battle Royale novel. We felt it would be a nice artistic touch if we wrote the story in the same manner.

I would like to take this time to thank the nice people who volunteered to be pre-readers: Alexei, Badges2, Infested Paladin, and our not-quite-a-pre-reader-but-still-very-helpful Xanatose for helping us make a better story. And of course, the readers, who ultimately tell us once it's all done that we still suck. 'Til next chapter...

Bad Ronald: Rewrite, revise, rewrite, revise, it's all in the mind. Well, at least this thing came out a lot better than the last one, which was really crappy. I hope this thing is a little bit less crappier than last time. If you have read this far, I am pleasantly surprised. Our story has been garnering negative opinions by the bucket load, and we have acknowledged them and tweaked the story to make more sense. If it does not, then you need to read between the lines. If you can't, then you need a brick in the head.
We have been working on this thing a lot and trying to shovel a plot-ful of story inside the plot holes, so please excuse all the bumps. Or maybe not, it might make for a really fun ride.