Neon Genesis Evangelion Fan Fiction ❯ Neon Exodus Evangelion ❯ Exodus 0:2 - To find a heart/Unmistakable Identity ( Chapter 2 )

"Humans should evolve into a new world. That is the purpose of the EVA series."

"We have no intention of giving up our human forms simply to enter the ark called EVA..."

--Taken from the transcripts of SEELE meetings between Gendo Ikari and the
Assembly.

NEON EXODUS EVANGELION
Exodus 0:2

Episode 2: To find a heart/Unmistakable Identity
Written By: Art Damon
<TheProf42@cs.com>

"Evangelion Unit-01, LAUNCH!"

The command given, the locks snapped open and Unit-01 rocketed up through the
access hatches, toward the surface of the ARK. The girl inside felt gravity pulling down
on her; inertia telling her that she should be staying in one spot, while motion was telling
her quite plainly that she was going another. Gritting her teeth against it, she heard a
great HISS-CLANK above her, and looked up.

Massive airlock doors had parted, and Unit-01 was soon standing on the hull of
the ARK. The girl looked about, instinct taking over again. "I don't see it!" she
exclaimed. The fact that she was on the hull of a spaceship seemed not to be of
consequence.

Ishako's face appeared on a holoscreen beside her. "We sent you to the wrong
hatch. Follow the tracking beacon we've activated."
"But-won't I float away?"
"No, silly. We installed magnetic pads to Unit-01's feet. Just don't do any
marathon jumps, and you'll be fine. Besides, we can always reel your power cable back
in."
"Okay... I'm off!"

Unit-01 disconnected from its restraints and began to move. The girl followed a
glowing crosshair that led along the surface of the hull, and with a steady CLANK-
CLANK-CLANK, the giant biomachine grew closer to its target.

"We've activated the ship's AT Field, sir. It appears to be working fine."
"I don't like this, Kensuke. Not one little bit." Ryu said, keeping a watchful eye
on the approaching Angel.
"Ryu, if it was good enough for the EVAs, it's good enough for us."
"We're placing ourselves in incredible danger-"

Kensuke was suddenly in his face. "Do you want to sacrifice all of these lives
back to Adam?" he said, lowering his voice angrily. "No? Then enslaving one soul to
save one hundred and forty-four thousand is hardly a crime."

The normally stoic boy's outburst surprised Ryu into quiet, but as Aida returned to
his post, he found his voice again. "I'll not have one of my subordinates dictating orders
to me." He said in a low, challenging voice.
"Of course not, sir. I am only reminding you of our position... and our duties."

There was silence for a few moments, then beeping from the tactical station.

"The target is within range of our cannons, sir." The Tac officer said.
"Bring us to bear on her, ensign. Ready us for a full blast."
"Aye, Captain. Charging all laser cannons."

Unit-01's hand came down and gripped a part of the ARK, helping the EVA to
move from one side of it to another. The girl looked up to see the Angel approaching, its
white head rearing evil looking teeth. She could not help but shudder as its white wings
were silhouetted against the yellow flare that came out of them, pushing it across the
vacuum of space.

"I see it..." she said, making the EVA stand on its new plane. "Ejecting
Progressive Knife."

With that, the shoulder blade parted and the knife slid out and down, and she took
it. The massive blade slid out from its handle, and became white with energy. She could
not hear the same whine she normally did, and a thought struck her-she was fighting in
space. She could not let the EVA's armor get damaged too severely, otherwise the
biological components would be exposed and flash-frozen.... Not a good prospect. There
was also no air outside; if she had to eject the Entry Plug for any reason, she would have
to stay in it and be recovered by the ARK-all the while, being vulnerable to the Angel's
attack.

This would NOT be an easy battle.

"Wait a moment, dear." The Doctor said again. "The boys on the Bridge want a
shot at it, first."

The girl only nodded. She didn't want to be here, anyway. If they can fight the
battle for her, all the better.

"Foreword cannon armed!" Tactical Officer Tamari said, confirming the
computer's lock.
"Fire at will, mister Tamari!" Ryu exclaimed, leaning ahead in his seat.

The whole of the bridge turned from their stations to see the result...

With a thundering CRASH, the laser cannons were suddenly aglow with deadly
yellow light. The beams raced across the great vacuum toward the ever-nearing Angel,
who continued her course unwaveringly. The beams converged on the giant being, and
with a blink of the eye, the tension lines of an AT Field appeared, deflecting the beams in
different directions.

A silent sigh went throughout the Bridge. They all knew that was what would
happen, but hoped differently. The next thing that happened, however, was NOT
expected.

"Mister Aida... extend our AT Field. Neutralize that thing."
Kensuke rapidly turned to face him. "Captain?!"
Ryu met his gaze unwaveringly. "Did I stutter, Lieutenant?"
"... No, sir. Diverting more power to the AT Field..."

The girl watched the failed attempt from Unit-01. The cannons stopped their
firing, and she just furrowed her brow. "Idiots." She muttered. "I could have told them
that would happen."

'... God, that sounded just like Asuka...' he thought. 'I wonder if she....'
"Shinko?" the Doctor's voice said.
The girl came to her senses. "What was that, Doctor?"
"Shinko. Your new name." She said smugly.
"My... new name?"
"Yes. You are no longer Shinji, nor are you Rei.... I put the feminine on Shinji to
get 'Shinko'. Not bad, ne?"
"Uhm, Doctor... the Angel?"
"Hm? Oh, right. They're going to take another shot at it."
"Didn't they see how useless THAT shot was?"
"They're extending our AT Field to neutralize the Angel's."
"What? The entire SHIP has an AT Field? How is that possible?"
"I'm afraid I can't say, Shinko. You'll have to figure that out on your own."

She sighed and slumped back in the pilot's chair, looking up again at the Angel.
'Maybe I died, somehow, and this is punishment for my cowardice.' Shinji thought. 'I'm
in Ayanami's body, fighting in my own EVA against an enemy that I thought I'd
defeated... But WHY? WHY am I here?'

"AT Field at maximum power, Captain. The cannon are still charging."
"Put a rush on it, Tamari."
"Aye, sir."
"C-Captain! The Energy Taurus is beginning to grow!"

Shinko gasped in sudden surprise as the wings of the Angel flew open, and its
eyes flared a bright red. The green weapon it held began to grow and transform into a far
more familiar weapon: the Lance of Longinus. EVA-01 moved almost without Shinko
telling it to, scaling the objects on the hull and readying its Prog Knife for hand-to-hand.
The Angel, however, had other ideas. It raised the Pseudo-Lance and, with a motion of
its mighty arm, sent it hurtling for the hull at unbelievable speeds.

The pilot was suddenly frozen in horror. To her astonishment, the EVA truly
acted without her consent, slashing at the right second to send the Lance away from itself,
penetrating the hull of the ARK for several meters.
It was as if the EVA had gone through this before.

"Hull Breech in Sector 12! Decks One and Two!"
"Unit-01 has disarmed the Angel for the time-being. It is moving to retrieve its
Lance."
"Shinko! Get on top of that thing and fling it back into space!"

"Okay!" the girl said, determination beginning to sink in again. She felt at home,
in some odd way. The EVA was reacting a bit more fluidly than Shinji remembered, but
that was of little consequence right now. All that mattered was making the Target silent,
and the Target was quickly descending onto the hull.

With a loud battlecry (that sounded damn peculiar coming from the small female
frame he wore), Shinko leapt from the hull and slashed downward with the knife. The
knife did its job, burying itself into the surprisingly soft armor of the Angel. However,
the magpads on the bottom of the EVA's feet were no longer attached, and the only thing
keeping the biomachine anchored was its hold on the enemy.

The cold vacuum of space quickly did its work, sending purple shards of flash-
frozen blood into the area, and the Angel raised its head in a cry of pain. The scariest
thing about it was, despite the lack of any kind of medium for sound to travel, the Angel
screamed a painful shriek that everyone on the ARK could hear...

I awoke to find myself surrounded by infinite space. A void left behind, where
there was nothing before. We were pilgrims escaping persecution for simply existing-
escaping the plans of a vengeful God and a cunning man, plans we had no part in
planning.

I was dead, but now I live. I live for them, to prove to God that we need to exist...
Perhaps to prove that we WILL exist... no matter what...

Shinko slowly floated back into consciousness. The battle... somehow, she
remembered. She had won the battle. She remembered sticking the knife into the
Angel's back... and then...

And then? And then what? Only black.
"... And then there was light..." she muttered, painfully opening her eyes. She
recognized her surroundings immediately by the sounds and smells... the sights came
after a few seconds of painful adjustment to the bright lights. She was back in the ARK's
Sickbay, with tubes going into her and Doctor Ichimi fretting over her. The good Doctor
seemed very relieved that she had said anything, even if it hadn't made any sense to her.

"Shinko-chan?" Ichimi said, leaning close to her. "Are you alright?"
"... '-chan'.... I'll never get used to that..."
"I'll take that as a 'yes' for now. I wasn't sure after they launched the Containment
Sphere..."
The young girl's red eyes widened. "The... Containment... Sphere?"
"Yes, dear. The thing they used to capture the Angel's core."
Shinko's interest was now piqued. She struggled onto her upper arm, sitting up a
bit. "Capture the core? Is... that possible?"
"Oh, very much so. We think that by capturing the cores, we'll learn what we
need to do to separate us from the Angels forever."
"How does it work?"
Ichimi laughed. "There will be time for that after you've healed. You need to rest
now, dear. I hope you don't mind my taking you out of that plugsuit..."
"No, it's fine, thank you... I'm getting used to Rei's body... it seems she spent a lot
of time in hospitals."

Doctor Ichimi looked at her, her face showing a bit of uncertainty. "Shinko...
how much did you... know about 'Rei' in your past incarnation?"
"Not nearly as much as I had to learn... not nearly as much as I wanted to learn."
"Do you remember the Dummy Plug system?"
"... Vaguely. Doctor Akagi destroyed them all, didn't she?"
Ichimi shook her head, sitting at the foot of the bed. "A few of them were still in
their Plugs when Akagi destroyed the rest. One of those was the Dummy Plug for Unit-
01..." She bit her lip, averting her gaze. "Do you know how the Dummy Plug system
worked?"
"Not exactly..." Shinko was a bit nervous and curious now.
"Well... basically, the whole of the Rei series was meant to be empty templates...
easily imprinted on, made to accept any pattern given to them. Unit-01's Dummy Plug
was imprinted with the signals of Shinji Ikari, the Third Child..."
Ishako met Shinko's gaze again. "... Dear... you are that Dummy Plug. You were
part of a batch of experimental materials seized from NERV just before the Third Impact.
We thought that by stealing a Dummy Plug, we could learn how to alter our own cloning
techniques..."
Shinko stared off into empty space. This hit her, and hit her hard. "... Are you
trying to tell me.." she began slowly, "... That I'm nothing more than a copy? I've not
switched bodies... I... I was never IN the body of Shinji Ikari?"

Doctor Ichimi nodded.

Shinko looked down at her IV tubes and slowly withdrew each from the small
ports. "... Excuse me..." she said, and slid painfully out of the bed and made her way to
the bathroom. Ishako heard her throw up.

'... I'm so sorry, Shinji.' Ishako thought, her face falling into sadness. 'I wish I
could undo the past made for you by those bastards... but now there's nothing left of
them. The Past is truly dead... Now all that's left is the cold, uncertain future.
'But I'll be there for you.' She nodded to herself with determination. 'I'll be
there...'

*******************

*******************

Deep within the core units of the United Nations Ship ARK, two young men
stared up at a glowing, pulsating sphere of dark red energy. Somehow, they sensed that it
glared back at them, and it was enough to send shudders down the spine of one of them.
The sphere was held in the bottom-most slot in an arrangement of thirteen slots that
looked like the Tree of Life, with a massive array of computer consoles at the very
bottom.

"I can't believe it." Kensuke muttered, glancing down at the control panels that
held the sphere in place. He adjusted his glasses and studied the screens. "But the
computers all confirm it."

"Malkuth was captured too easily." Ryu mused, his hands clasped behind his
back. He looked at Aida, the ponytail that was typical of the Kaji family flipping over his
shoulder. "You don't suppose this was a sacrifice on the part of the Universal Soul, do
you? The whole containment process is still very untested."
"Oh, come on." Kensuke said, beginning to type. "Doubting NERV was what got
your brother killed. You don't want to endanger your crew, do you?"

Ryu frowned intensely at Kensuke and quickly strode over to his station, clasping
his shoulder hard. "Aida, I don't need that kind of reminder from such a Loyalist like
you."

The two shot a hard glare at each-other. There was a silence that was broken only
by the muffled sounds of the Angel's core, until Kensuke spoke. "My grandfather gave
his life so that I would make it on the ARK in time. One of the last things he told me
about was the Vessels. I intend to see this project to its completion, CAPTAIN."

More silence filled the room. Ryu turned quickly on his heel, his ponytail nearly
whapping Aida in the face. He began to stride out of the room, "Don't forget your role as
my Science Officer, COMMANDER. I expect you to see to the repairs to Unit-01
immediately. Also, see what you can do about assembling EVA Unit-03. We finally got
the parts sorted out."
"You're not serious. We don't have any pilots, and we'd have to replace the S2
Engine with something more reliable--"

Ryu paused just before the massive sliding doors that read "GAUF" in large
roman script. "The other eleven Angels WILL attack us. It's just a matter of when.
We're headed for Mars, so we can expect that to be the next point of attack. That gives us
a month and a half. We must be ready, especially if Ikari cannot fight."

He gave a small glance over his shoulder. "Failure is not an option."

With that, he walked out of the room, the massive doors parting for him, and
quickly shutting again, locking. Aida looked where his captain had went for a few
seconds, then turned to look at the pulsating orb at the bottom of the Tree of Life
arrangement.

"I agree." he mused, furrowing his brow. "... I shall not fail."

"... I sincerely doubt I'll ever get used to this."

Doctor Ichimi smiled a bit, trying to comfort her. "Oh, don't worry, dear! You
look beautiful!"
"Yeah. I doubt I'll ever get used to that."

Shinko was standing in front of a mirror, wearing a long, flowing blue dress. The
dress covered her shoulders and upper arms and had a normal neckline, which she
debated over for quite some time. The male inside of her wanted to be modest, and was
quite embarrased at the fact it was wearing a dress... and yet, he couldn't help but admit
that, yes, this form was somewhat attractive. A very small part of him kinda wanted to
show it off-- but then he'd hit that wall of being embarassed again. Doctor Ichimi helped
her pick out this dress, which nicely matched her hair colour.

"Oh, come on." Ishako said. "Why don't you give it a twirl?"
"... A twirl?"
"Yeah! You know... a twirl!"

She illustrated by quickly spinning in place, arms slightly out, which made her lab
coat billow out. Shinko went a little red in the cheeks, but then sighed. She raised her
arms a bit and spun around slightly, making the dress billow out a bit. She felt a breeze
on her legs and, yes, all the way up to her thighs, which made her gasp a bit.

"What's wrong?"
"N-n-nothing! I just... felt a draft. Don't girls get cold in these?"
Ishako laughed. "Yeah, sometimes we do. Some of us just get resiliant, though.
I don't wear dresses much."
Shinko turned toward the mirror again and nervously ran her hands along the
skirt. "Well... it's... not a bad dress." she conceded.
"You're going to need something more than a Plug Suit." Ishako reminded her,
"Unless you want to wear a hospital gown the whole time you're here."
"No thank you! The draft was worse in that-- but at least I knew to expect it."
The Doctor laughed again. "Then I'll see the clerk about buying it."
"... Ishako, I don't understand... how can they have a whole promenade like this
inside the ship? How can they just have businesses and... and..."
"... And carry on like normal people, when they know what's going on?"

Shinko nodded.

"Well, for one, YOU try to pack 10,000 people into a relatively small space and
tell them to do nothing... we built the Promenade so that they'd have something to do."
"Ten thousand? I thought you said that the ARK held 144,000 people..."
"It does. But only 10,000 are ever awake at a given time. The others are all in
Cryostasis."
"Oh..."
Shinko looked out at the throngs of people in the Prominade. "... Did I... hurt
anyone in the last battle?"
"... There were a few injuries." Ishako said, fumbling for her ID card.
"A few injuries? Didn't the Angel's lance pierce the hull?"

The Doctor quickly gave her card to the clerk, who swiped it through. She simply
said nothing. Shinko sighed and hung her head. 'Of course.' Shinji thought, glancing
down at the pale white form he wore, covered by the light blue dress. 'Ritsuko and
Misato would say the same thing...'

"Oh, lighten UP, will you? I can only say 'I'm sorry' so many times!"
"Well, you've not said it NEARLY enough!"

A dark-skinned young man of Hispanic descent was imploring a young Asian girl, who had her
arms crossed defiantly and began to walk away. "I'm not going to forgive you that easily!" she said,
looking out of the large windows at the panorama of stars that the ARK slowly passed.

The young man scrambled after her, his long black ponytail trailing behind. "Hey, Chiharu, give
me some credit! I'm only human after all, and haven't I been wonderful to you in the past?"
She threw an angry glance at him, still walking. "Don't change the subject."
"Ah, but I'm not!" The young Hispanic declared, running around in front of her, to appeal to her
while walking backwards. "This is all about your happiness, is it not?"
"Yes, Eddie. And I've not been happy for some weeks now, and it all came to a head when you
had to go staring after that... that tramp!"
"Look, darling, the Angel attack just got us all disoriented, and I saw a body that was attractive-"
"HUMPH! Well, at least you're being HONEST!"
"No!! Wait!! Notice I just said 'body'. That's all that was there, darling! I know she has a
reputation! I wouldn't dare lower myself to her level..."
Chiharu stopped, as did the young man. ".... You... you mean that?" The teenage girl asked.
"Hey... my people may be lovers... but we're not traitors." He punctuated this by taking her hand
in his. She seemed to relax some.
"... I'm going back into hibernation soon." She said, somewhat apprehensively. "I know that
NERV needs you out here. Will you... wait for me?"
"Ah, Chiharu, my sweet chrysanthemum... I will wait until God has run out of Angels, and even
then!"
This seemed to bring a small smile to her face. "... Come see me tomorrow morning, okay?"
He bent down to kiss her hand. "Count on it."

She smiled again and bounded off across the observation deck and down the Promenade, off to
parts unknown. Edward de la Marco sighed, leaning up against the railing. 'Barely saved that...' he
thought. 'I'd better be careful who and what I look at from now on!'

He had no sooner opened his eyes again and cast them upon the Promenade below before he had
to remind himself of what he had just thought. The first person he saw was a frail young woman with
pale skin and pale blue hair. She wore a dress that matched the color of her hair and also hugged her
curves respectably. That alone would have been enough to make him question his values, but walking
beside her was a woman in her late 20's with long brown hair and brown eyes, and a very flattering figure,
covered by the uniform of someone in NERV Medical.

'Wow... she must be important.' Edward mused, stroking his chin. 'I can tell. Pale skin, and
escorted by one of the heads of Medical Division?' He closed his eyes, and seemed to weigh his very moral
system. 'Chiharu, darling... forgive me, but I have to at least say 'hello'!'

He ran down the nearest stairwell and checked his hair in the reflection of a nearby bulkhead.
"Perfect, as usual." He muttered with satisfaction, then turning to chase after the two women. His mind
scrambled for the name of the woman from Medical, and it came to him just in time...

"Doctor Ichimi?" he inquired, walking up behind them. Both of them turned, and he found
himself met by the eyes of the blue-haired girl. Pale, red eyes. 'An albino, maybe? Maybe the Doctor is
guiding her because she's blind?'
"Yes?" Ishako responded, trying to recall where she had seen this boy before. Shinko simply
tried to size up the young man, and there was a quality about him that, for some reason, reminded him of
Ryouji Kaji.
"I'm Pilot Trainee de la Marco. We met after I was first brought out of hibernation about six
months ago I think?"
Doctor Ichimi's face lit up with recognition. "Ah, yes! Edward, how are you?"
Shinko only looked at Ishako with a mixture of surprise and horror. "A Pilot trainee??" She
said, her voice filled with disbelief.
The doctor glanced back over at the young woman, her face suddenly turned into a nervous
smile. Edward, however, was un-phased. "Yes, I'm learning how to pilot an Evangelion, though it's been
very slow going from what I understand. Are you connected to the E-Program too, miss...?"
Shinko locked eyes with him, and responded solidly and coldly. "Ikari. Shinko Ikari, designated
Pilot of Evangelion Unit-01."

Edward was not only beside himself, but above, below, and outside at the same time. A few
syllables came out of his mouth that resembled the beginnings of words, but nothing else seemed to come
together. Doctor Ichimi tried her best to pull the conversation together, "Yes, Shinko fought in the battle
with the last Angel, Edward. Don't you remember?"
"I thought that the Third Child was a boy!" Edward finally put together, looking at Shinko with
several different kinds of confusion.
"I AM-or rather I WAS." She responded, her gaze drifting down to the deckplate.

There was an uneasy silence between the three for many more seconds as Edward tried to
assimilate what was put before him. Finally, Ishako did her best to salvage the moment, "Well, it was
nice that the two of you could meet! We have some other business to attend to, so, if you'll excuse us..."

Shinko allowed herself to be lead away from the confused young Hispanic, her eyes still not
leaving the soft, reflective surface of the deck. 'I hadn't really thought about it before...' the male inner-
monologue thought. 'I've lost the last thing that I thought no-one could take away from me... my gender.
Good Lord, what would Asuka think?'

"Well, here we are!" Ishako said, gesturing to the door they stopped at. The engineers had
already been hard at work, and the nameplate on the door was already inscribed with the words "S. Ikari -
NERV Pilot" in English, and the same words just above it in Japanese. Shinko looked at it for quite some
time, memories flooding back about the apartment back in Tokyo-3 he had shared with Asuka, Misato,
and Pen-Pen. He finally had a place of his own...

No. SHE had a place of HER own.

Shinko sighed as she stepped into the rather comfortable quarters set aside for her. It had a
rather nice looking Living Room-Kitchen area with a half-bathroom connected to it, and a comfortable
bedroom/office with a full bathroom connected to that. The dining table, although somewhat utilitarian,
had a small bouquet of flowers sitting on it with "Welcome to your new home" written in kanji on the
card.

Shinko couldn't help but allow a small smile as she read the card. "I'm... home." She
whispered.
Ishako smiled. "Home indeed. Well, I'll leave you to get comfortable, then."
"-Ishako..."
The doctor turned to face her again. "Hm?"
"... What happened to Earth? Why are we fleeing? Did the Angels... succeed?"
"... We're going to find a new home, Shinko-chan. Ours was taken from us by an evil group of
people... the Angels were only a tool of theirs."
"A tool? Of whose?"
"... You should rest, Shinko-chan. You have a long bit of history to learn tomorrow."
Ishako took a few more steps and was soon at the door. Shinko continued to look at her as she
prepared to leave, and the doctor could feel her intensely curious and confused look on her back. With a
sigh, Ishako cast a final glance over her shoulder, "They say home is where the heart is, Shinko-chan. My
heart is here, on the ARK now, regardless of whether or not we find a new planet to live on."
"... My heart must have died in Tokyo-3."
"No, Shinko. Shinji Ikari's heart died there. YOU have been given another chance. Take it.
Find a new home... and if needed, find a new heart."
Without another word, Ishako pressed the pad and stepped out of the room, whispering one last
thing to the girl as she left...
"... Hang in there."

TO BE CONTINUED...

Fly me to the moon,
And let me play among the stars
Let me see what spring is like,
On Jupiter and Mars...
In other words,
Hold my hand.
In other words,
Darling, kiss me.
Fill my heart with song,
And let me sing forever more.
You are all I long for,
All I worship and adore.
In other words, please be true
In other words, I love you....

NEXT EPISODE:
Edward de la Marco isn't the only new inductee into the Evangelion Program, and soon Shinko will come face to face with all of her new co-pilots, including one girl who seems to be particularly jealous of her for some obscure reason, and a young man that seems distantly familiar to her, in more ways than one. While she faces a whole host of new problems, Captain Kaji tries to determine whether or not Mars must be the new home of humanity-but that is quickly disqualifed. It's all on our next episode, "The Color of Blood"-- oh, and if you're lucky, maybe some traditional fan-service as well... ~.^