Neon Genesis Evangelion Fan Fiction ❯ Interregnum ❯ Prologue ( Prologue )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Interregnum

By TheLastWaltz

Rating: T

Notes: Neon Genesis Evangelion is the property of Hideaki Anno, King Records, Starchild, Studio Khara, et al. This a fan created work, and I do not intend to make any money from it. Should the involved parties request that I take it down, I will do so.

___________________________________________________________________

Prologue:

Shinji gasped as his head broke the water, his legs pushing furiously against the sea of red that threatened to drag him into its depths, fighting to not be the first death of this new world. Inwardly, Shinji berated himself for not learning to swim as he floundered as best he could towards the shore he saw in front of him, his arms arching upwards and down again, digging into the LCL ocean in concert with his legs, propelling himself onward. Some small degree of fate was with him, though, as the blood-red tide was actually assisting him in his voyage to the beach, gently pushing him along. A few moments later, Shinji’s feet gained purchase on the silty bottom of the beach, his exhausted legs pushing him a final few feet before he collapsed onto the sand, falling face-first.

He managed to push himself up on his elbows, hacking and coughing, vomiting up what must have seemed to him like gallons of LCL. The red liquid spewed forth from his stomach and his lungs, air rushing in to fill the empty space in his chest. Shinji reared back onto his knees, his back arched as he greedily sucked the air in with a massive wheeze, then pitched forward again, coughing. Thankfully the vomiting stopped, his stomach now reflexively dry heaving for a few minutes before becoming still. Taking a few deep breaths, he rose on trembling legs and staggered away from the puddle of vomit. However, his exhaustion soon caught up with him, and he dropped to the sand once more. Grunting, Shinji heaved himself onto his back, his eyes directed aimlessly at the sky, and the red streak now cutting through it. His insides twisted, and his nausea returned with a vengeance at the thought that his sins now scarred the stars as well as the earth.

Forcing himself into a sitting position, his empty eyes now scanned the beach entirely, coming to rest on a single point just offshore. The madly grinning head of Rei Ayanami, or Lilith, or both at once. A clean slice bifurcated her head from crown to chin, her dead eyes boring into Shinji’s. He gazed into her lifeless orbs and as he did, he could feel everything that was left of his soul and mind draining out of his body. A sudden, screaming bolt of pain snapped his psyche back to the present and he clapped his hands over his mouth, now filled with the taste of copper. Blood stained his fingers as he drew them back. Shinji turned his head and spat out a mouthful of blood. Gingerly, he stuck out his tongue and touched it lightly with two fingers. His nerve endings sang, and it was all he could do to not scream at the sensation. Apparently, as Shinji stared into the abyss of Rei’s dead eyes, and his sanity slipped, Shinji’s mind tripped the largest circuit breaker it could, and his body had responded by biting its tongue as hard as possible. Grimacing, he spat another mouthful of blood before affording Rei’s head another glance, then turned away, forcing himself back to his feet and trudging off in the direction he had just come from.

Half a mile past the point he had landed on the beach, Shinji found a place where he felt comfortable and sat down. The pain in his tongue had receded to a painful throb, but his mouth was no longer filled with the taste of blood. The sand and LCL had dried onto his shirt, rendering it a red ruin, caked with sand and grit that itched incessantly. Rei’s massive head was still in view, but Shinji no longer dared to look at it. Exhaustion once again caught up with him, and Shinji soon lay back against the warm white sands and let sleep claim him.

___________________________________________________________________

A/N: So, I decided to host this fic here as well as on another site. I hope everyone enjoys it. Please read and review. I won’t get any better without constructive criticism. Thank you all.