New Frames (NGE and One Hour Photo Xover)

[JustBukharin]

​

First Frame: Contact

If someone had asked to Seymour Parrish weeks ago where he thought he would be in the near future, Sy would have replied with the most polite tone he could muster that 'he planned to be where he had been in the last twelve years'.

The Evants County, where Los Angeles SavMart was sited and… where he had nurtured a grand renovation of his life. The pain of the past, coupled with the loneliness of being… left forgotten had left him a shell of what he would then become.

An expert of Photo, a good technician and… a guardian.

Nine years of watching as the Yorkin family showed him a grandiose path of true affection that not even his wildest dreams could even dare to gaze at. Such a magnificent sight that keep him going for years, giving him a direction and a goal.

A selfish goal, he would easily admit to anyone that asked about it, but one that for some reason pushed him to achieve beyond what his expectations of life where.

Dark thoughts were meek compared to the bright light that ushered him toward the pleasant warmth. It was so pretty, it was so unique.

But it ended up being all a lie.

Another stab to his soul, one that pictures failed to notice and… he was left broken once more. Will Yorkin, a man so lucky to have a beautiful wife and child… cheating so eagerly with a co-worker.

Disgust and bile had reached his throat the moment the realization struck his mind. That someone would be throwing so many beautiful things, so many lucks, for the sake of selfish desires… it reminded him of his father.

Something snapped within his core and soon a new motivation rose from within his simple morals. Punishment had to be dispensed… but how?

In his depression, caused by the loss of his work at SavMart, his thoughts trailed back to his childhood.

A lone child, a chubby one that would easily be targeted by bullies. Those minor things faded before the cruelty of his paternal figure. Photos that were tainted by the vile actions of a greedy man, one that betrayed the trust of his family for the sake of money and depravity.

A plan formed and he executed it swiftly.

Few hours later, as he finished the interrogation with Detective Van Der Zee, Seymour watched one last time the results of his act. Photos of a sink, of a bathtub and of curtains. While he was sure that the Yorkin family hated him for the terrible deeds he had committed, in his heart he was proud of the aftermath.

The family will learn to heal and reach that unity he had only seen through the pictures he had from them.

It should have ended here, the life of Seymour Parrish, the 'crazy' stalker from the SavMart.

And yet it wasn't.

The first hint that something was wrong was the moment the light illuminating the room stopped working, darkness engulfing the pristine place and leaving Sy in the shadows.

Panic surged, but his composed mindset deterred him from getting up from his seat. Maybe it was a common blackout, it was quite usual in that part of the world, or maybe it was a… test?

Still he kept put as he waited for something to happen. Anything.

His mind suggesting him images he hardly wished to remember and… he fell.

Trash bags cushioned his fall, but he had to wait few moments to recollect his thoughts at this… development. Wobbling, he stood up while cleaning his glasses, dirtied by the garbage now beneath him.

As the lenses returned to help his sight, his eyes widened astronomically at his new whereabouts.

He was no more in the local police department, the interrogation room, but in an unfamiliar alley. It was night.

Thinking back to few moments earlier, Sy was sure it had been morning when the interrogation had began and the entire event lasted about 2 hours at best.

There was no way that-

The man stopped, crouching as he spotted the newspaper on the floor. There wasn't even a single English word on it.

The symbols, his mind reminded him of when his assistant Yoshi Akira had shown him a letter from his parents in Japan. It was… Kanji?

He might be clueless about the alphabet and, if it had been an actual Japanese person, Seymour would have managed fine with a normal conversation to find some help. His former assistant had been very 'eloquent' when he would fail to complete a task, using his native language to curse foul words without warranting his attention.

Of course the older man picked up that something was off and decided to learn some words of Japanese. His accent was atrocious, but this new addition to his ever-expanding knowledge did work perfectly to catch the youth using crass words in the workplace.

He cracked a smile as he remembered the surprised expression on the young Asian man's face as his foul word was met with a lecture in Japanese. He might have messed up some words along the long-winded speech but… the message reached the former assistant, Yoshi actually accepting the rule of keeping a good attitude at work.

With the newspaper in his hands, Sy sighed as he felt the sudden development fully sinking in his brain.

He wasn't in America. Japan sounded the closest to the nation he was currently in and… how did that happen?

Confusion, surprise and- panic! The Yorkin family still kept a special spot in his heart and, with him going missing the pieces he had connected would… fade away. Undone by fate and-

I-It was because he had overstepped his boundaries? Trying to make himself happy by… helping them?

His mind quivered in pain, too many frames appearing all at once and wobbling towards the exit of the alley, he tripped.

Thud

The pain rising from the fall wasn't terrible and it was soothed by the sight before him. In front of him, broken apart, was a small camera. The damage didn't look particularly horrible and… it looked different than any he had seen in his entire career as technician.

"I-I am sorry, I wasn't looking and-" But Seymour didn't listen, getting up while holding the pieces of the device as he slowly started to assemble it back together. It was different than a Kodak and… it barely resembled a Canon in terms of bulkiness, there was the space for a roll film too.

"T-That is..." The young Asian man blinked. "S-Sir, may I know who you are?"

The basic question finally struck within the American-born technician and Sy answered curtly, trying to keep himself from showing his disastrous accent. "Parrish Seymour."

The man blinked and nodded quickly. "Y-You are American, right?"

Seymour looked surprised for a moment. "Yes and... your accent is actually very good."

"Too kind, Seymour-senpai."

A perplexed brow rose in the blond man's face. "Wait, senpai?"

"You repaired my invention without hesitation and- You are older and more experienced than me, Seymour-senpai."

The passionate tone further surprised the foreigner. "I-I am- was a photo technician. N-Nothing that special-"

"With all the respect I can muster, Sir. You are brilliant." He took the camera in his hands. "That piece is one of the most sophisticated devices I have developed and-"

The stranger paused, looking left and right, before coming a little closer to whisper to Seymour.

"I know of a bar. We can talk more about this and… I have a proposal."

Sy blinked, his mind weighing out the options he was given in that particular situation.

While the young man sounded oddly 'endearing' with his way with words and his amiable personality, a personality Seymour surprisingly found well to interact with, it was also true that he was not home and that the Yorkin family-

Are probably going to keep away from breaking apart once more, as he had wished for.

The pressuring thought pushed him deep in the opportunity presented to him. A new job? After the Yorkins… he needed something to do. Something about photographs and… start a brand new life.


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That night was one of major discoveries for the poor nobody that was Seymour Parrish.

This wasn't… a world he knew of. This Second Impact, the genocidal aftermath and NERV.

So much information and so little time to fully absorb it all. Yet the night was also the cornerstone for his life, the blond man striking a deal with the young Teru Nakajima, a pioneer of the business of Cameras and Movies.

With the disasters that had happened merely years ago, people started to think less of getting Cameras to frame the chaos unfolding before them. Something that Seymour saw as reasonable as photos are meant to represent happy moments, never sad ones.

With the rise of NERV and the normalization from the madness of the Post-Impact period saw a renaissance of that branch of the business and… Teru had struck gold with his idea.

Compared to any of the available devices to record images and sounds currently existing, what the young man planned to introduce was innovative for this world.

And it was something Sy knew how to use, produce and keep in a reliable condition, which weighted a lot in the youth's judgment of his character.

The contract was quite fair compared to the miser one he had been forced to sign twelve years earlier, the rewards being more than ten-times bigger than the ones SavMart had given to him.

A 40% cut of the profits from the new patent? It was going to set him for life.

The ownership of the big shop in the city, Tokyo-3? It was ironic how he had ended up having his own clients, and not just those from SavMart.

But beyond the gifts that fate had bestowed him, a grand cost had to be paid.

Two weeks passed quickly, Seymour gaining some good hold over the frenetic rhythms of the city and the people buying things from the shop.

But every time he was at his new flat, his stare would bore dully on the empty white wall in his living room. Sadness filled his heart, the pictures that had for so long motivated him to go forward… weren't here.

It felt… odd.

He knew that anger was meant to spark from this terrible fact but… there was none within him. The ideal world, the one he had built from the copies of the frames he had collected for nine, long years had been left behind, together with his former life and… them.

A heavy loss, one that will forever stain his soul to the end of time… but he will go forward. Because now… now some rest with his passion was in order.

A guardian angel he might be, but Seymour was still mortal.

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Seymour sighed as another large crowd of people went through the line to get some photos prepared for them. The process was eased by the presence of five assistants on the workplace, but the long time spent there was much more stressful than when he worked for SavMart.

The paperwork was also there to drain whatever energy was left after the closure of the shop, something that the man had hardly faced with so much frequency in his entire career.

Once again, another eight hour flied quickly as he went through the job he loved to the core. Pictures of cats, of babies, of birthday parties and weddings. Events of joy, reminders of those moments that people enjoy and wish to keep forever in their memories.

It was getting late and Seymour was alone in his thoughts as he finished calibrating the last printer used that day. It was a task he would find pleasant to commit before finally calling a day and go back to his home.

But this time-

Tap-tap

-Things were going to be different than the usual.

His eyes raised at the familiar noise of fingers tapping at glass, meeting up with a young girl waiting patiently by the closed doors.

She was fairly short, possibly a high-schooler by her familiar uniform. Piercing red eyes that showed no emotion in the immediate and short, light-blue hair.

Sy blinked in surprise at the sight but quickly understood that the girl was calling his attention with the tapping. Walking over to the closed glass doors he opened a little. "Yes?"

The girl stood quiet for a moment, the politely replied. "I would like to buy a camera."

The man frowned. "Miss, the shop is closed."

Something stirred within her, something that only her eyes betrayed as she looked briefly at the large tag with the opening hours. Her head tilted by the side, a light scowl in her face and… Sy sighed.

"Do you truly need one?"

Her eyes returned back at his face, she nodded curtly as he hummed quietly, opening the door fully as he invited her in.

The girl didn't need to be told twice, entering the building as she started to browse the various devices Teru had developed just last week.

Finally the teen paused in front of one of the cheapest model, but also one of the easiest to use around by amateurs. Taking it in her hands, she walked by the counter putting it on the desk as Sy reached for the cash register.

"Why did you do that?"

The question interrupted the man as he finished placing the correct amount of money inside the machine, his blue eyes darting at the young girl as he considered the question. He smiled.

"I think pictures are something beautiful." He stated calmly. "Everyone should be able to afford to enjoy this gift and find happiness with it."

"But what and who is worth a picture?" She continued seemingly unfazed.

Now that was an interesting question. One that Sy knew the answers perfectly after so many years repeating this mantra inside his head.

"I think many things and people are entitled to a picture. I think that no one takes photographs of things they want to forget."

"So… it is at the leisure of the photographer?"

The man nodded, still smiling and- Click – He found himself flashed by a familiar bright light.

The girl looked down at the device and then back at the surprised man. "I think I understand now."

Seymour didn't reply, his mind rebooting at the sudden action that he hardly registered the girl leaving the shop. Alone in his thoughts, something sparked within him.

Something… new.

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AN

I am genuinely surprised by the lack of xovers between the two things. While people might be disillusioned by the mere idea of using the 'Angel figure' as a connection for the movie to Eva, I think many overlook the fact that Sy and Rei have a very similar personality.

They both lack self-worth, inherently crave affection and are incapable of connecting with others. While this might sound little, it takes this much for two individuals to find common ground.

About Seymour Parrish: This fic will not defend nor condone the actions he committed in the movie. He was a stalker, he went full Yandere and he ended up in prison for those things. This could be considered an attempt to… redeem is character. Without the Yorkins being his constant fixation, he is practically aimless as of now.

Will he get obsessed with Rei? No. Sy's obsession stem from the fact he 'wish' to be part of the perfect family. Rei is a single individual, lacks in social skills and will now put on fact the words of the kind man that had helped her when she needed some.

Will she be obsessed with someone? No. No yandere Rei in this story, my apologies.

But what this will be? A pilot for something. I don't even know if I will continue it, but I will consider words and feedback. Maybe improve the current chapter's grammar where people notice errors and mistakes, maybe even think of co-write this with someone from my trusted circles.

Without further ado, I let you enjoy another day pleasantly in the magical world of FFN.

 

[JustBukharin]

Second Frame: Watercolor

Another day, another long shift at work. Seymour opened the shop with a genuinely happy smile, behind him the workers he had started to teach about pictures, cameras and their secrets.

Putting on his uniform, a dark green shirt with light blue jeans, the man was the first one to reach the counter to address the first client.

If there was something that Sy loved the most of his work was finalizing the process for the photos he had to develop. The operation back home would have required hours to accomplish, experimental and hardly expanded in the last decade, and yet, surprising him a lot, this world was quite advanced about this particular part of the job as Photo Technician.

Ten minutes to get 20 photos printed out, giving ample opportunity to make the whole job easier and more rewarding money-wise. The lines were long even this early in the morning and punctuality was one of the first things he had quickly pressed on his subordinates.

It was also quite easy to get people interested in roll-film cameras than the rising digital ones, the quality of the latter type being still obsolete and inconvenient for people. And that was ignoring the excessive costs of the device that hindered much of its initial appeal.

With a sigh, Seymour handed another package of pictures to another young high-school student. It was odd how many youths had come that day, something unusual after two weeks of working around this section of Tokyo-3.

He had taken a glimpse at each photo of those young clients, trying to grasp the possibility of a correlation other than the same uniform and… he found none. Photos of happy faces, of beautiful views that gave to the entire city, animals, buildings…

Nothing connected to anything. And that was starting to unnerve him the more he considered it.

His confusion continued through the shift until lunchtime, taking some time alone in the building cafeteria to think well about what was going on that day.

Several students from the same institution had decided to come by to get photos developed. No teachers that he could recognize around the place to keep an eye to the conspicuous group of teens and… and then the curious coincidence of the young girl that had bought the camera the day earlier.

Her peculiar hair and eye color had left an impression to his mind. And that gesture… It left him dumbfounded.

A photo was meant to represent joyful moments of one life. Never to be wasted on someone… unknown. He didn't even know her name, and she didn't know his own, and yet the girl lacked any hesitation as she took the picture silently.

Seymour wondered why she would have done something like that. Why had she bothered wasting something so important… on him. No one has ever taken a picture of him without orders behind it and… it left him oddly clueless on what to do about this whole situation.

He sighed as he went back to his delicious strawberry smoothie, the paper in his hands now easy to understand after several days of serious study of Japanese Kanjis. He was far from being even decent at it, but it was progress. Progress that helped a lot in writing down details of commissions without requiring the help of his assistants.

A new hobby, a difficult one, but one that provided him with something to think elsewhere. No more Yorkins, no more pictures worth nine years of efforts…

He sighed again as he turned the page regarding NERV introducing some interesting new 'soldiers' to the public. 'Children' of a new Era.

It sounded quite familiar for some reason, maybe something his old TV had picked up during his moment of bliss in his old apartment and… Seymour wasn't particularly bothered by it.

Being arrested once had been a more than enough reason to not bother trifling with the influential military group and… he didn't have a reason to bother to begin with.

His moment of peace was interrupted the moment his glasses caught the reflection of two individuals approaching his table. The first, the one leading, was Hiroshi, one of the security guards. He was quite bulky for someone his age, twenty years old, but he seemed reliable enough to be able to keep troublemakers out of the shop.

"Parrish-san, there is this girl that says that wants to speak with you and-"

Sy blinked in surprise as he recognized the bluenette behind the tall guard. She looked… impassive. Just like the previous evening. He nodded at Hiroshi. "I know her."

A nod came from the bulky individual, accepting the quick gesture to return to his post while leaving the girl to take a seat the opposite of Seymour's.

The blond man paused at the familiar device in her hands, tilting his head to the side in confusion.

"I finished the roll-film, Parrish-san." She stated quietly, her eyes playing with the camera in her hold. "It was an… interesting experience."

He frowned. "Well, photographs are interesting. But could you forgive me if I ask to whom I am currently speaking to?"

Finally her eyes showed a change, widening a fraction in embarrassment as she had forgotten to introduce herself. "I am Ayanami Rei, Parrish-san."

He nodded, his smile returning genuine once more. "Rei? That is a pretty name."

It might have been a trick of the lights, but her cheeks slightly reddened at his words. But that wouldn't be possible with her expression continuing to be the same. "Thank you."

"So you wish to have your pictures printed out?" She nodded. "And what ratio do you wish those to be published with?"

"I was thinking about… 10x15."

The reply was actually unexpected for the technician, having long ruled out the possibility that the girl knew anything about the subject and… he raised a perplexed brow.

"That could be done… but forgive me if I sound too much annoying with the questions but… why did you choose those strange hours to come for the commissions?"

Her eyes moved up, right onto my face. "I don't have much… free time."

"Oh?" Now that was something curious. There was something that she was holding back, something that she… wasn't happy about. "I suppose your family is quite strict."

She shifted in her seat. "I… I don't have a family."

"Oh." This time he decided to keep quiet for a moment, trying to conceptualize what could have made this individual this much detached to the world. For someone like Seymour, this was confusing to say the least.

He had suffered loneliness and he still failed to cope with it even now, but to see someone this young facing this very issue with such stoicism was… impossible. No one should be able to keep this much inside, without the need of having a creative way to disperse the stress of everyday.

"Parrish-san." His attention was once more at Rei. "I have found a magazine that… was about you. And there is a question I want to ask."

Sy blinked but nodded. "S-Sure, do ask?" He tried to smile, maybe building some confidence as the following word fell harshly on him.

"You… don't have a family." He felt a cold hand squeezing his chest. "How does it feel… to have no family?"

His breath felt heavier as his mind quickly brought out the disgusting pictures that his father was usual to take of him. The horrible sensation and then… the bliss of being alone.

At first loneliness had been a sweet relief away from the tormented company that had pestered his soul in his first few years alive. Then the happy ending revealed to be a golden cage, one that slowly decayed the more one stared at it.

"I-" His throat ached a little, drying instantly as words failed to reach out. His mind was heating up, the emotions a crescendo of sounds, a growing noise that… died the moment he struck realization. "I am fine."

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Few things managed to confuse Rei Ayanami as she was now.

The curious encounter the day prior, a blessing for her cover as she had required some camera for a special homework from school, had left her a weird impression of the device she had brought in the small flat NERV had given her to use as living quarters.

It was small, it felt frail in her hands… but the words that the kind man had given her… struck an unknown chord within her core. The picture she took of the individual left her inwardly confused even more, the reaction giving little faith to the passionate statement that had reached her heart.

The following morning was the day where she was supposed to complete the work and… Rei was clueless how she was supposed to do this all.

At first she had thought that taking pictures of the sky, of the streets and maybe of some unknown people around her would have been enough and… the words denied her that simple solution. It was true, the limited amount of photos available to her should have pushed her to pick important details of her life. Things and people that she considered worth to 'capture' in images to keep around.

A memory that would stay alive even with her 'death'. Part of her started to consider filling her flat with frames of important things, to remind her future clones to pick up with her current life. An interesting idea that she quickly relayed to the Commander.

The man had appeared quite surprised at her sudden interest but, differently from his predicted refusal, Rei was granted some funds to procure herself with material and educational texts about the art of Photography.

It was an odd development, her mind failing to find a connection with 'piloting Unit-00' and being capable of taking proper shots with her camera.

Her camera. It was odd to perceive the possessive adjective as something truly meaningful to her.

It was just like photos, she concluded inside her mind. A representation of her humanity, of her existence and… she found it quite endearing.

Her interest further grow the moment she managed to get hold of the curious magazine about the subject that had the image of the same kind man that had helped her back in that grand shop.

Detailed descriptions of the various models she had the chance to see calmly the day before gave the young girl the opportunity to nurture her curiosity about this very matter. Seymour Parrish, the Co-Founder of the Nakajima-Parrish Group, was someone that struck as a polite and humble man, shy and very respectful. The journalist that wrote the article would go so far to say that the American-born man sounded more like the classic Japanese man than the loud and obnoxious 'Gaijin' from the States.

The trip to school was quick, ignoring the usual stares as she went through the hallways that conduced to her classroom. The door was open, giving her the opportunity to continue to read about the process behind the development of photos, something incredibly complex but surprisingly easy to understand.

Rei took her usual seat by the window as her attention was still fully taken by the interesting magazine. She could feel eyes on her, surprised stares from several classmates noticing the curious change in her usual presence.

Maybe it was the fact she wouldn't bring something like that kind of text in class. Moments passed quietly but soon someone took the lead and spoke.

"A-Ayanami-san?" Rei lifted her sight from the paper and onto the young son of the Commander.

"Yes, Ikari-kun?" For some reason he was blushing, behind him Asuka Langley Soryu looking shocked as her blue eyes were aimed at her.

"A-Are you liking that magazine?" The boy asked with a light stutter and… the bluenette frowned. Sure, he might have taken this interesting document with her, but she had hardly given any verbal input that could have make her pleased mood known to the others.

"I do. Why?" Her tone was soft and the boy gulped nervously as he tried to think of a proper way to reply to her simple question.

"Y-You are smiling, Wonder Girl." The Second Child interceded, her affirmation reached deep with Rei's core as she slowly felt that… her mouth was forming a familiar line. The very one that… that felt nice.

Was this… smiling?

This inner question fell deaf as lessons started right in that moment, her attention surprisingly not fully centered on the teacher and the explanation, but slowly conceding some glances at the paper beneath her head.

Hours passed and, when the first school pause began, she took the opportunity to complete the special homework. From the mutterings of some classmates near her, most of the class had already finished this with overly-simplistic images and that spurned her to act quickly with what she wanted to take a photo of.

The first one was Ikari-kun, the son of Gendo Ikari surprised at the sudden request, but quickly conceding a shaky smile as she got a picture of him. The following one was someone she had initially wanted to not bother too much.

Asuka was a very proud girl after being praised for her intelligence and importance in the NERV's Evangelion Program. This pride showed itself the moment the girl spotted her taking a picture of Shinji.

The extrovert girl quickly demanding a photo from her, as a way to keep the fact that 'she was the best'. An odd request, one that Rei would have liked to have not imposed on the fellow student for the sake of… keeping relations stable.

After her, there were the two boys that hanged around Ikari-kun, Kensuke Aida and Toji Suzuhara.

With the pause interrupted and her task almost complete, the rest of the school day flied rapidly for Rei Ayanami.

The bluenette quickly picked her bag and magazine the moment the bell rang the end of the lessons, her mind set on a single destination before making way to her flat.

The shop was mostly deserted by clients, but there were still the security guards she had seen earlier that morning while passing in front of its entrance. The girl reached for the door handle and… was stopped.

"Young lady, the shop is currently closed for the lunch break." The tallest of the security duo stated quickly, his finger tapping at the very paper with the opening hours that the kind man had showed her the previous day.

It was… closed indeed. Something within her stirred, but it wasn't anything overly-strong or familiar. It felt like a weight pushing her more onto the ground, her legs suddenly required further effort to not lose her footing right that exact moment.

"I..." She didn't spoke further, failing to find the proper words to describe this inner sensation.

The man blinked at her and sighed tiredly. "Look, I can ask Parrish-san if someone can help-"

Said sensation vanished as those words reached her ears-

"But I don't want to raise your hopes uselessly as the man is usually busy at this hour."

She nodded, but Rei was fairly sure that this last bit was merely a bluff from the guard.

It was… something she felt sure of. She couldn't explain why but…

Her confused trail of thoughts broke away the moment her red eyes spotted the lone man as she finished drinking from a smoothie.

Few minutes after…

Maybe she had asked too much. Rei was starting to feel something that made her question her blunt queries. Was this… regret? But why would she felt this?

Staring at the foreign-looking man, the bluenette could see his shoulder crumbling a little as he continued to think about the crucial question she had asked him that oddly connected them in some way.

Both shared an interest in Photography, both lacked parents and close family… and yet he was different. He wasn't a clone, a faker in a world of humans. Seymour Parrish was a full-fledged being that shouldn't be able to feel this kind of emotions… because humans were usually finding happiness one way or another.

The blond man didn't for some reason, breaking apart her absolute facts about the human race and… it confused her. Why would he be saddened by life? Why wouldn't he be able to find people like him, that could love him?

Her confusion was finally met by a response, just not one she would have expected. A fake smile.

"I- I think you are here to develop the photo." He nodded to himself while getting up, ushering her to follow his example as he led her back to the counter of the shop.

The deflection had come out from nowhere and she would be lying if she said that she wasn't currently staring with wide-eyes at that sudden twist of his personality.

She gave him her camera, red eyes carefully studying as he stopped to stare at the device. He frowned.

"Ayanami-san, there is still a photo available here..."

Really? She had thought that the maximum of photos that a roll-film could store was five… but then what would this mean now?

"We cannot let this picture go to waste, wouldn't we?" Rei tried to understand where this was going when- Click – she found herself partially blinded by the flash of her own camera.

"There we go…" He paused again, his smile melting in a genuine one as he stared at the preview. "You got an… interesting smile."

Surprise struck twice that day as the Ayanami didn't felt the sudden smile on her face and… it oddly didn't felt something worth of investigating further. It just was that.

"P-Parrish-san?" She was stuttering. Why was she stuttering? "Why did you… shoot that photo?"

"Oh?" He hummed quietly as he started to develop the film. "I guess you managed to leave quite the positive impression of yourself on me."

A positive impression? Synonyms rushed to her mind, reminding her of the meaning of the word and… she felt oddly pleased by the sound of it.

Her existence, something that wasn't worth even a second glance, meant something to someone. She wasn't a… doll. She was… something else. Something more.

"But since you asked about it… may I ask you why you truly took a picture of me yesterday?"

What an odd request. She had thought it had been clear but… maybe her words had failed to reach for the logic she was appealing to.

So she sighed and nodded, letting her mind speak up freely.

"You left a positive impression on me too, Parrish-san." A brief pause. "I suppose now we have something else in common."

Maybe too much at this point, she realized just now. A human sharing so much similarities with Rei Ayanami? Nigh-impossible! And yet it was happening so suddenly.

His eyes widened through his glasses, the parroted reply striking him surprised once more just like the day before.

"I… I guess we both have left a good impression to each other then..." The printer finished its job as the technician went to put the photos in a small bag-

"A-Actually I would like to make a request, Parrish-san." She stopped him for a moment. "Could you… keep my photo?"

… "What?"

"You said that photos should represent a moment of joy, a moment to remember and… I wish to be remembered." For the first time in a long-time, Rei Ayanami felt like a little girl… once more. "Please keep it."

He looked shocked at the request as it went beyond what an acquaintances should be requesting to each other but… she had to. Not for NERV, nor for the world. Just for herself. A selfish thought preserved by someone like Seymour Parrish.

"I- I don't want to o-offend you, Ayanami-san, b-but I found myself confused as to why you should-"

"I cannot tell." She stated quickly. "I just wish for you to keep it."

Blue eyes showed uncertainty as he thought about it. Some quiet moments passed and culminated with a long, tired sigh.

"I… I guess I will keep it around." He stated calmly. "But I hope you will tell me why… why you wish for this."

A strange pang echoed in her chest as she nodded at the promise. "I… I will, Parrish-san."

The bluenette took the small bag and her camera, her mind droning away from what had just happened as she decided to think about what had just happened back to her flat, where she could freely think about this strange phenomena.

But as she left the shop for the second time, she hardly looked as Sy continued to stare at her photo with an unconquerable sense of confusion.

And yet their thoughts shared a single emotion.

Why would she/he do something like this to someone as worthless as me?

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AN

I might have to explain why Rei sounds this much… emotional here. Why her mind sounds this much active this early on the series and…

It is because of Yui Ikari. While she was a Bioengineer, I noticed how there were once several photos of her and her family that were destroyed by her husband upon her death, leaving Shinji unable to remember her appearance.

Rei's emotions are calibrated to be limited… until a certain points. Shinji manages to bring out emotions out of her, Gendo does the same and… Photography is the very hobby that the Commander will let Rei enjoy. Why? Not for happy things… A happy puppet is the best puppet.

 

[JustBukharin]

Third Frame: Negative

It was 1977. Seymour could remember that day as if it had been yesterday.

He was smiling, a genuine smirk as he paid precise attention to the details of the certification that formalized all his hard-work and efforts to properly obtain a sublime degree for the very art he was even now fond off. He was young, maybe a tiny bit slimmer than now and his life felt more fulfilling than now as the hopes of a bright career were high, and for good reasons.

It was the period when photography was flourishing as new colored pictures were becoming a must for the people in the world. The capacity of capture a moment with such a realistic frame? It was an endearing concept that ushered several rich individuals to dive on the blooming industry and create new jobs in their attempt to find some lucrative opportunity to further expand their incomes.

So when an eager Seymour started to hunt for some interesting job as a freelancer photographer, he was quickly swarmed with requests. Minor jobs, nothing that seriously improved his mediocre lifestyle, but the quantity managed to give him some breathing space with the taxes and other expenses.

The reasons why major picture works were not something reachable yet could be simplified in few words: He was a rookie, one that had only recently started to work in the sector and lacked experience that several other men and women, his seniors, had. Grand requests needed a firm hand that knew perfectly how to capture the essence of an image, the emotions hidden behind an action, a person or a visual concept.

While Sy had received loud praises for his way of tackling aesthetics and draw out the joy of a frame, he was sadly limited to that. To bring the joy out of life, never another emotion.

Then there was also the fact that Hollywood too was enjoying a new golden age with the new devices. Several movies were now being presented to the world, an incredible number of actors and actresses trying to break through with stellar performances. The movie industry was relatively younger than the static picture one, but the power it was holding even now was immense compared to the latter.

He shrugged, his mind seemingly detaching even further in that dream as he found really walking in the same streets he had taken back when he was young. Seymour felt well-rested, maybe agile in that situation and… he smiled.

Finally he reached the studio that had contacted him, a large company that required fresh minds for an innovative project. Venturing inside the lobby, he walked right to the secretary and-

"Oh, hello Sy." His heartbeat quickened, his eyes widened as he couldn't believe who he was just staring at. Waving and smiling just like back then, Nina Yorkin looked as beautiful as he could remember but-

"Sy, it's good to see you." His shock partially turned in anger as he looked on his left, the approaching man too familiar and too irritating to be near to. Will Yorkin, the traitorous husband looked pleased to see him, an emotion Seymour wasn't sharing at all. The man had been lucky, to have such a beautiful family a-and- AND HE BETRAYED THEM. THEIR TRUST-

"Uncle Sy!"

A blink. That was what was allowed to the panicking man as he felt his legs give up stability, the pressure exercised by small arms forcefully slamming on his knees making him… Fall.

And he fell as the floor beneath him collapsed like glass, the figures, the sounds. Those all disappeared as he found himself

Silence was unbearable, only his heart drummed with a quick pace as the darkness around him seemed to swallow him completely.

Ba-dump

Ba-dump

Ba-dumpBa-dump

Ba-dumpBa-dumpBa-dump

A crescendo growing in his chest, his fear following its pace as he felt chocking on his own spit as he couldn't understand. He couldn't see!

Light burned as he felt his eyes closing instinctively at the bright white spreading around him, but the fall finally ended with a simple and short thud. He wasn't in pain, nor the impact left some damage on him. He kept his eyes closed for a while and then… he opened them.

It was… no.

Nonononono!

NO!

Quickly his glasses fell off his face as his hands went to his face, the pure white and sterile version of the SavMart too much familiar to be a coincidence, denoting the fact that this was now a nightmare. He had to wake up, before something horrible happened j-just like with the eyes and-

Moments of silence passed, even Seymour's mind had gone quiet at the terrifying situation he had stumbled upon. He tried to bring his breathing back to normal, but he was still hyperventilating. He needed to wake up.

H-He needed to-

"Sy! That is where you are!" Dread filled his soul as he turned around, hearing the quickly approaching footsteps, his eyes catching only the familiar figure that was the director of the SavMart, Bill as he-

STAB

"GAH!" Sy rushed away from the man, a searing pain erupting from his right eye and warm liquid flowing wrong the… the knife. His hand trembled as it tried to hold it by the handle, familiar to his touch.

I-It was the same knife h-he had stolen w-when- B-But why- why he was-

"You think I will forget what have you done?! The photos of my daughter, you monster. You tried to threaten me, you useless scumbag!" He was advancing once more, forcing the technician to run in the opposite direction, his legs wobbling but strong enough to keep a decent moving pace before-

BANG

He felt wind caress his thigh and then blood exploded. Another scream of pain, a panicked growl as he lost his footing once more. Tears were rushing out of his still functioning eye and he saw the responsible for the gun wound.

Detective Van Der Zee had his revolver aimed down, right at him as he made slow steps toward him. "N-No! P-Please I- I am sorry-"

"Sorry? That is what you can say for the hell you have made for them, you criminal scum?" His voice was erratically drilling on Seymour's mind, pain and chaos ruling now most of it as he tried to wriggle away from the approaching police officer. H-He had to move, it was his last chance and then, as he turned to fully stare forward he found his back slammed further on the floor.

Boots, he could feel a boot crushing his poor spine and his limited sight raised up to the new intruder. His face went pale, paler than before as nothing more was left to be scared. The very symbol of his hopelessness winked at him as he held a camera close and ready to take a picture.

Seymour Parrish Sr. smiled widely at him as he lifted his boot away from his son's back. "Do a pretty smile for daddy, my sweet boy!"

And the boot fell upon his face. Something was crushed, but the distinct sound of it was muted by the familiar, soft one from the camera taking a picture.

He couldn't see. He couldn't speak. He couldn't move.

This was like death, but scarier than he had thought it to be…

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Rei Ayanami hummed quietly, a minor smile in her face as she was finally free to return to her little hobby. While her improved performances in Synchronization tests and her active participation in the elimination of the ninth angle, Matarael, had gained a visible praise from the Commander himself, she had felt dismayed by the fact she couldn't properly understand the Second and Third Child with their bickering and… confusing relationship.

It was unnerving that someone like Shinji Ikari, which for some reason resonated so well in her mind, was this much of a… coward. Not that she wanted to intend it as an offensive word, but the fact that he seemed to be scared of even his own shadow wasn't a helpful thing to know when she and the Second Child were supposed to receive proper support during the fights with the Angel.

Speaking of Asuka Langley Sohryu, Rei could feel incredibly irritated by the girl. It wasn't an unmotivated sense of dislike, but one nurtured by the abrasive behavior of the fellow girl. Too much headstrong, her mood swings were a dangerous element to always consider as her reactions were so far explosive at best.

Thankfully the worst was tanked by the only boy in their team of pilots and, if Rei had to be honest, she wasn't without a need to 'return the kindness' to the very snappy female. Always calling her either 'Wondergirl' or 'Doll', the latter being quite a sore and somewhat angering word to be labeled as and… and she managed to drown away this foul sensation by thinking of her newly-discovered hobby.

Photography was complex, way more complex than she had expected, way more complex than anything the magazines she had started to read could ever prepare her for as she started to slowly sponge in her brain the various tidbits and details the kind man that was Seymour Parrish would provide every time she would visit during lunch breaks.

Two weeks had passed since she had received the developed photos and Rei had made passing to visit the Picture Shop a must everyday, even during weekends where she knew Seymour-sensei would be around the area to oversee and… patiently spent his free time there.

It was nice, to spend time with someone and… she felt that smiling was the most appropriate reaction to the barrage of emotions that would take the rein over her mind. She would ask simple things, never expanding upon complicated dilemmas as she knew the man would be unable to keep up with difficult questions. It was a… gut feeling? She could remember Misato-sab mentioning something like that while talking about sensation that couldn't be explained… but somehow held some importance within ourselves.

School day had concluded as usual and the bluenette was patiently walking to the workplace of her sensei. It was odd how the honorific had been brought up, remembering that it had been conceived out of a joke coming from the very man she had affectionately given this title.

It had a strange ring, but she liked it. It made sense and… she found it a way to further leave an impression. While her flat might be mostly unusable because of the conditions it is, the whole place brightened the moment she had placed in her fridge the pictures of those she knew and cared for… even Asuka's.

She sighed as her red eyes caught the building and, she proceeded to increase her pacing, a sense of giddiness taking over her usual formal mask. She literally blitzed to towards the place… only to find it closed. Confused, her eyes darted to the time schedule placed outside and… she was on time.

"The shop had to close early, Rei-san." He looked at the security guard, the very one that had taken her to her Sensei two weeks ago. His face was somber and something within Rei, something similar to paranoia, started to boil within her brain.

"But why?" Her simple question was met with a sigh.

"Seymour-san couldn't be present today, he was escorted to the hospital early this morning from his apartment."

Dread was a terrible sensation, a cold ice cube that slammed way too quickly on her confused heart. "W-What?"

"It might be a week before he returns and-" Something was crawling out of her eyes. Something warm, something that left wet stains on her cheeks as it rolled off of her face. "Rei-san, there is no need to cry. There, I will give you the address of the hospital he had been taken into."

She took a glance at the small piece of paper that was previously crumpled in one of the pants' pockets of the guard, memorizing the words there as she pinpointed the place in her mind and-

"T-Thank you!" A quick bow and she was already running to where her sensei had been hospitalized.

And as he walked alone, through the chaotic mass of people between her and the hospital, Rei finally realized something. The warm drops of salty water that were falling from her eyes… were tears?

It was odd that something salty would come out in a moment where only bitter and sour felt more appropriate…

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Gendo Ikari continued to stare fixedly at the bright red dot moving through Tokyo-3. He was alone in his office, Fuyutsuki having been ordered to go and see how things were going for the security force. Things had gone tense with the last few angels, especially with the larger deployment of the Pacific Navy and the subsequent power blackout caused by the latest angel's attack. Designation 'Matarael' had been somewhat less complicated than previous ones, but it still managed to put the entire NERV out of commission as it stormed the city.

He sighed, his gloved hands softly sitting on the desk as he evaluated the new unknown development he had learned from Rei's last reports.


Seymour Parrish was someone that was mostly missing from the database provided by the UN as only his birth certificate and current ID existed. It was a strange case, but not uncommon because of the extensive damage caused by the Second Impact as several official documents were destroyed by the large waves that destroyed several cities in California.

Parrish seemed to have been in… Europe when the disaster struck? It was difficult to track down the man and yet…

Seymour Parrish was a common man. No skeletons in his closet, no illicit affair and, surprisingly enough, seemingly no connection to SEELE or other organization he was wary of. Maybe it was paranoia, but it wouldn't be the first time someone affiliated to SEELE would try to approach the pilots and…

Rei was still essential. Even through she was easily replaceable, the activity to properly replace her would take a serious toll on the scientists assigned to the task and the timing… wouldn't be acceptable. The Third Impact was going to happen, too many people are now interested on the event to unfold and… and Gendo had to make his part.

To get his Yui back…

He sighed as he returned to the screen with the map of the city, the red dot now standing still in the building that was owned by the Hospital D-5. The Commander relaxed on his chair, knowing that no one in that moment was looking in his office, the Magi system regulated to turn a 'closed eye' when he was in that specific room of the place.

Rei was… showing an attitude resembling his late wife more and more. The woman might have taken a major interest in Bio-engineering, but it was Photography that reigned in her free time. Gendo had to destroy so many pictures of her, of Shinji living like a normal child and-

It was something that had to be done.

No matter how painful the regret was within his core, the leader of NERV had long decided to sacrifice his own humanity for the sake of seeing his love once more. Nothing compared to her.

Nothing.

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AN

Nightmare time! And no, the meaning behind it is not the same from the one in the movie. Looking at how few people actually look at this, no one will get it and, frankly, I am glad as it will give me the opportunity to not be sniped by precise questions.

Anyway, Rei is opening up, step by step, and Gendo is… more human? I am not sure this is the real portrait and I think things will be clearer in two chapters. Because… doubt, death and lots of inner questions.