Neon Genesis Evangelion Fan Fiction ❯ The Dark Prince Emerges ❯ The Tangled Web ( Chapter 4 )

Disclaimer: I don't own NGE, can't write it off my taxes

 

Well, I promised this chapter wouldn't take long to post, & I keep my promises. Shout out to all the reviews so far. Considering that this is my first creative writing project in over 4 years, I guess the rust I'm showing is not that much.

 

I intended this to be a 5-chapter story at first, but now my creative juices are flowing. Thank the Sinn Fein & I.R.A. reports for that.

 

This Chapter's soundtrack: Ammunition “Colourin' book” If y'all don't know who he is go to http://www.myspace.com/mcammunition

 

Well, on with the show!!

-----------------------

The Dark Prince Emerges

Chapter 4: The Tangled Web

-----------------------

2025 - Tokyo 2

 

Touji was pacing around his living room like a mad man. He didn't know what to do. Hilari was not buying his excuses about the money, & he knew that stalling would only work for so long. It didn't help that his drinking has increased since he made that phone call. All he could think about was his world crumbling down.

 

All while this is going on one of his best friends, Koushiro Aida, simply stares in amusement. He always liked the way Touji acted. He was different from the rest of his snobbish, self-centered friends. It was him that got Touji into the club, even after his parents disapproved. They still treated him like he was a servant, a pauper. Now his friend got himself into a very drastic situation, which was partly his fault.

 

“Did it ever occur to you that you're just overreacting?”

 

“I know I'm not!” Touji answered with a mad look in his face. “You know how Hikari is, she wants to know how much I spend when I buy stamps. So I'm not overreacting!”

 

“Ok, ok, you made your point. What do you want me to do?”

 

“Lend me the money, your wife won't notice. Hell she won't care as long as there is still money left.”

 

Koushiro knew Touji was right. His marriage wasn't like his friend's. Touji actually found love & went after it, while his parents arranged his wife to solidify their wealth. He didn't even think she really loved him.

 

“My wife won't mind, that's true, but I didn't think that you would use the card. I gave it to you as a joke.”

 

Touji didn't like that answer. This wasn't a normal joke; people don't die when a joke is over.

 

“How did you have that card anyway?”

 

“I really don't want to get into that right now.” Koushiro never wanted to think of that. It was his father who gave him the card. All it did was give him further proof that his family did a lot of despicable things to obtain & keep their wealth.

 

“What are you gong to do with the money?” He was curious of what Touji had in mind. To get out of the jam with Hikari, it had to be good.

 

“Well, she always wanted to sail around the world, so I'm to buy that big yacht we always wanted.” Now if he could do it without the imminent yelling of Hikari.

 

“Good luck with that, I'll just give you the cash. How about tomorrow?”

 

“Yea tomorrow is cool.”

 

“Alright, well, see you tomorrow Touji”

 

As Koushiro lft the house Touji went back to his thoughts. Maybe there was a chance that nothing happened yet since there was nothing on the news about SEELE. Unfortunately, he knew what the UN is capable of as far as cover-ups go. He just kept hoping that they wouldn't trace the order back to him. He knew the sentences judges give out for conspiracy to murder. He also didn't want to put his family through the ordeal & humiliation if he was arrested. In the end, he knew that this situation was almost completely out of his control.

--------------------------

2025 - Tokyo 3

 

The evening was unusually calm, which didn't bother Asuka & Rei at all. After a very stressful day at school all they wanted was peace & quiet. Asuka sat on the couch & watched TV while Rei was in the kitchen since it was her night to cook. She needed to make something soothing; Misato would be home soon, probably tired, & would want something easy to eat so she could go to sleep.

 

Both girls knew, or at least hoped that it was going to be an early night. They would just have dinner, have small talk with Misato, & go to bed hoping for a better day tomorrow.

 

However, all hopes of an early night came crashing down when Misato slammed the door open, stomped her way inside, & slammed the door shut.

 

Both girls stood frozen. It was a while since Misato came back from work that angry. Neither of then wanted to ask why she was like this, but knew it would only make her even madder. Asuka, luckily got the courage to ask.

 

“Umm, Misato, what…” That was all Misato needed to hear.

 

“I can't believe that asshole! How dare he come to my office & accuse me of doing something like that. Like I would ever order people to go kill other people. I mean what do I look like, a YAKUZA!!!!”

 

For some reason Rei thought about the NERV costume party. Misato was dressed like a Yakuza that night, & sometimes she acted like a Yakuza, at least when it came to her & Asuka's feeling.

 

“Well, Misato, you do sometimes act like…”

 

“Don't you start, Rei!!!”

 

Rei just stood there. Misato never yelled at her like that before. Whatever she was furious about, it had to be serious. She lookes at Asuka, pretty much pleading for her to intervene, she was too afraid to say anything else.

 

Asuka saw the way Rei looked at her. The fear in her eyes was obvious. Asuka decided then to calm Misato down, or at least try to.

 

“Misato, please breathe, calm down, have a seat & tell us what happened.”

 

Hearing that suggestion brought Misato back to her senses. She was mad, but didn't want to take it out on the girls. She looked at Rei & saw how much fear was in her eyes. She obviously overreacted to Rei. Misato sighed as he walked over to the couch & sat down. Misato then motioned Rei to sit next to her. Slowly Rei walked towards the couch., hoping tat Misato wouldn't snap at her again. Both girls then sat side by side to their guardian. As Misato looked at the girls she knew that what she was going to tell them just a little bit, not the details.

 

“Well, I got all the daily work done, so I was getting ready to go home. Then the secretary told me that someone from the UN wanted to talk to me.” She saw the look on the girl's faces when she said that. It made her real sad. All three of them knew that the UN would eventually send someone to shut down NERV, & with that their chances of ever finding Shinji.

 

“Well after I let him to the office, he introduces himself, & all I'm thinking about is NERV is going to be shut down. To my GREAT surprise however, He starts telling about how those SEELE bastards got relocated to a secret location, & how most of them have been killed a couple of days ago.” Damn, went too far. Misato was now smacking herself mentally. She just wanted to say a little bit. Seeing the utter shock on the girl's faces told everything. She couldn't back out now.

 

“Then he pretty much accused me of ordering their deaths, saying it had to be someone involved with project EVA. I can't say that I disagree with him, based on the evidence so far.”

 

Asuka's face was frozen in shock while Rei's jaw kept shaking. Everyone wanted SEELE dead; they just never thought someone would actually do it. What intrigued them more was that Misato actually agreed with the UN representative, at least in one area of who the suspect would be.

 

“What makes you think that it is someone involved with the EVAs?” Asuka wanted that back as soon as those words left her mouth. It had to be someone who worked for NERV. No civilian outside Tokyo 3 had ever seen an EVA even though they knew its' ultimate purpose in SEELE's plans.

 

“Well, this is all we have to go on so far.” Misato pulled out the copies of the cards De Valera showed her earlier & laid them on the coffee table. Asuka & Rei couldn't believe their eyes. All the pictures were individually made as far as they could tell.

 

Asuka took one of the copies to examine it more closely. The drawings were very accurate. Whoever did this was also was at least a little religious. She knew that the Latin was part of a prayer, but it was so long since she took that class. It seemed like she almost forgot the entire language.

 

Rei on the other hand, just looked at the drawings in utter fear. She knew she saw those drawings of EVA unit 01 before, but where? Then the answer hits her like a battering ram. Shinji showed her some drawings when she was in the hospital that looked almost exactly like those cards. Rei didn't want to believe it. It can't be him, there's no way it could be her Shinji. Yet as she kept telling herself that, she subconsciously knew there weren't many other people who drew the EVAs, let alone know what one looks like.

 

Misato could see the look on Rei's face, but decided not ask her about it. She had a lot of work to do if she was going to clear her name, & NERV's off from that bastard's list. Besides, Rei would tell Asuka what was bothering her soon enough. She would just ask Asuka later. Misato then collected all the papers from the table & went to the kitchen. This was going to be a long night, so she needed as much coffee as possible. After grabbing 2 six packs of coffee, she started to walk to their office but realized what time it was. She would have to at least let the girls know that she wouldn't be joining them for dinner.

 

“Listen girls, I promised the UN that I would investigate NERV for possible suspects, so I'm not going to have dinner. Please keep the noise down. I got a feeling that this is going to be an all-nighter.” Misato then stepped inside the office & closed the door.

 

This suited Asuka fine, form the look on Rei's face she knew she would be busy. Slowly Asuka got up & went to the fridge, got two soda cans, & walked back to the living room. Obviously Rei had something on her mind, & Asuka was determined to find out.

 

“Rei” She was still frozen, Asuka had to be a little louder. “ Hey, Rei, what's bothering you?”

 

Rei was suddenly removed from her trance. She wanted to tell Asuka her fears, but how would she react? Not now though, not until she was sure that it wasn't Shinji.

 

“Nothing's bothering me Asuka, just have a few things to think about.”

 

“Rei, you know you can't lie to me, I can see right through you.”

 

Damn it, she was right. Rei slowly put her head down. Asuka wasn't going to let this go. She had no choice now, whether she liked it or not. With a slow sigh Rei looked at Asuka directly in the eye.

 

“Those drawings, I saw them before, & I think I know who drew them.”

 

Asuka had to be very quiet with her next statement. Misato could be listening.

 

“Who is it Rei?”

 

Rei quickly turned away from Asuka, not wanting to see her reaction to the answer. Rei took a deep breath & closed her eyes.

 

“Ikari, I think its Ikari”

 

Asuka's face turned completely pale. Rei never lied to her before, so it made what she just said more appalling. How could she think that it was Shinji? She had to be wrong about this, just had to be. Unfortunately, hearing how Rei said those words made it sound like she was almost certain.

 

“Shinji? Are you sure, how could you think that? You know that Shinji wouldn't hurt anybody.”

 

“I know, the only reason I have is that Ikari once showed me some drawing he made while I was in the hospital. The drawing styles look almost identical.” Rei was surprised that she held back tears. She wished that Misato never brought those papers. Now her best friend was feeling the same emotions, the same fears that placed her mind it a pit of sadness. Yet as this very depressing moment she realized something, a silver lining in her cloud of despair.

 

“Asuka, do you know what it means if I'm right?” Rei gave a slight smile as Asuka shook her head. “It means that Ikari is alive somewhere out there.”

 

This didn't dawn on Asuka until now. Shinji is alive. Her love is alive. Misato has to know this, know that all their searching was not in vain. Asuka then started heading to Misato's room, but was stopped when Rei grabbed her wrist.

 

“Don't tell Misato, please?

 

“Why not Rei?”

 

“What if I'm wrong, what if it's just a coincidence? I don't want to raise Misato's hopes for nothing.”

 

Asuka knew Rei was right. If this was really Shinji, they had to make sure first. She still couldn't imagine him as a killer. What if he wasn't, but was held somewhere by the real killers, forcing him to draw those cards. It was the only way she could cope with the possibility Of Shinji being the artist.

 

Both girls looked at each other. They didn't know what to feel. While their hopes were raised at the possibility of Shinji being alive, they could be easily washed away if they're wrong. This information was a little too much to take all at once. Without saying a word the girls headed to their respective rooms. They both wanted to have some time alone to reflect on these revelations.

----------------------------

2025 - Mediterranean Sea

 

The moon shined brightly over the night sky & the water. The tanker heading towards Rome was slowly breaking the reflection. This trip was a typical commercial shipment except for one thing; there were 2 extra passengers on board., Marcos & Shinji.

 

Shinji didn't know what was going on. Usually they would travel in a fancy yacht when either of them needed to go to the mainland. Lately however, his friend has not used any luxury at all. Now they were stowaways on a commercial vessel. It just didn't make sense. Why were they here, what was his friend's intentions? He wanted to ask him, but couldn't even though he was standing right next to him.

 

Shinji slowly pulled out his wallet to look at some pictures, the only mementos he had of the women he left behind. He wondered how they were doing, what they looked like now, & if he would ever see them again. While he was in his own world he didn't notice that they were going over a large swell. The wave made him lose his grip on the pictures. Luckily before they hit the water Marcos grabbed them. The young man looked at the pictures he only saw once before. A smirk slowly fell on his face as he looked at Shinji.

 

“You know you never did tell me which one you liked more”

 

Shinji simply blushed at this. He asked him that the other time he saw the pictures. He didn't have an answer then or now, actually he didn't give the idea much thought. Then he noticed Marcos turned away from him & looked over to the sea. That smirk was still on his face.

 

“Don't sweat it, you aint got to tell me right now, but you're not off the hook on this one.” The he pointed to the coastline. “We're here, get ready.”

---------------------------

2025 - Rome, Italy

 

Shinji stared out the window of the motel as rain fell on the city. He didn't leave the room since Marcos left. All he knew was that something was going on. First the stowing away, now the staying in a motel in the heart of the city. He expected to at least be in a high-class hotel. His friend was either hiding or moving in secret. Shinji knew they had nothing to fear from the authorities, so why were they in a seedy motel?

 

“Hey, I'm back”

 

This took Shinji out of his train of thought. He looked over to look at his friend. He noticed that he had a briefcase in his right hand. He picked something up obviously since he didn't leave with the case before. He kept looking at Marcos as put the briefcase on the table. Then he noticed that Marcos was looking right at him.

 

“Shinji, I'm need to ask a favor of you”

 

“Sure, what is it?”

 

Marcos opened the briefcase completely. There were 2 50-caliber Dessert Eagle handguns inside the case. As Shinji looked at the guns he noticed a few things. First the guns were handcrafted, second they looked like they were never used before, & lastly each gun had a Latin word inscribed on them, but they were written in Old English text. Slowly he was what they were.

 

FURIA & AGON

 

Shinji the looked at his friend in the eye, trying to see what he was thinking. What was he going to ask?

 

“Shinji, I'm helping you get your revenge, now help me get mine.”

--------------------------

R.I.P. my nigga Proof. Hip-Hop lost another great artist yesterday. If y'all don't know who he is go to go to Wikipedia & look him up. He was one of the underrated members of D-12. It seems eerie that Eminem's “Like Toy Soldiers” video had him being gunned down; it feels like a self-fulfilling prophecy now.

 

The Latin words that I looked up for this chapter are the following:

Furia: Rage, Agon: Agony

 

Also look at Chapter 3, I changed the Latin on there to what I wanted to write in the first place.

 

Bonus Chapter Soundtrack: Proof “Kurt Kobain” (listening while pouring out liquor for Proof) go cop `Searching for Jerry Garcia', His most recent & last gem to his fans.