Shin Persona Evangelion [NGE/Persona Fusion]

[Ultra Sonic 007]

This may seem like it's overdue, but based on a comment I recently received elsewhere, apparently the fact that there will be spoilers to both the Neon Genesis Evangelion anime and the events of various games in the Persona Series (including but not limited to Persona 3, Persona 3 Portable, Persona 4, and Persona 5) wasn't made clear just by how the plot has unveiled.

So I'm placing a sticky post for this message: if you have not watched the original Evangelion anime, or if you have not played the Persona games — especially P3, P4, P5, and their updated re-releases — then take note that this story contains spoilers to all of them. Read at your own risk.

/that should do it
//right?
///right??

 

[Ultra Sonic 007]

Oi.

Oi, the hell am I looking at!?

Click to shrink...

Someone absolutely harmless.

 

[Timerider]

Someone absolutely harmless.

Click to shrink...

IMMENSE DOUBT.

 

[Lone Courier 6]

Birds? Where the hell are the delicious pancakes?!?

 

[Ultra Sonic 007]

"Are you watching again, Sokila?"

"Ah. Sorry, Mister Igor! I was just...distracted! Yeah, distracted!"

"I see."

"...I..."

"You have chosen a hard path. Your anxiety is perfectly natural."

"...it's just..."

"Patience. We must let fate play out, or else naught but ruin shall await."​

xxxx

The tour had been rather sedate, thus far...at least, relative to the craziness that Misato Katsuragi had subjected Shinji Ikari to, his first time into the Metaverse.



That was what he told himself, at least, as he gazed over the side of a catwalk at the legion of rainbow eyes. The pathway spanned a great chasm overlooking the cognitive double of Tokyo-3; on each side of the deep walls were hundreds upon hundreds of drones. "That's...a lot of eyes."

"The Ocular Drones serve as the Anti-Terror Task Force's eyes throughout the Hakone region," remarked Akechi, speaking with a pleasantly professional demeanor. "Whatever they see is logged and recorded; anything of interest gets tagged for a more thorough follow-up, if necessary. After all, we are dealing with a world formed from the thoughts of humanity."

"...I don't follow...?"

Akechi briefly chuckled. "My apologies, Ikari-san. I sometimes forget that you truly are new to this. Strange, for one of your reputation."

"...I have a reputation?" Since when?

"I suppose it would be more accurate to say that your status as an Evangelion-user is what drives such speculation."

"Ugh, don't remind me," groused Misato, bringing up the rear of the trio. "For an industry related to military matters and confidential cognitive countermeasures, people can act like such gossips!"

"Why do I have a reputation?!" asked Shinji, trying to draw the conversation back to what Akechi had said. "I haven't done anything!"

"Them's the breaks, kiddo," remarked Misato, patting him on the back of his shoulder. "We can't always choose how people are gonna perceive us."

Kensuke Aida's mistaken perceptions came to mind. "...okay, I guess, but what have I even done? I'm hearing Akechi-san talking about me having a reputation, and...I mean...!"

"It is one shrouded in mystery, as far as most are concerned," asserted the Chief Warden. Down more halls they went, as they continued conversing. "It is largely driven by past performances from Rei Ayanami and Asuka Langley-Sohryu. When rumors started spreading that NERV had found the Third Child, this city was bound to draw eyes...and, unfortunately, your entry to Tokyo-3 was simply a matter of bad timing."

"...oh..." The bizarre randomness of it all felt incredibly unfair. And yet this older teenager was reacting rather unflappably about it. "...how...how do you handle it, Akechi-san?" He looked up at the back of the older boy, wanting some measure of reassurance. "You look like you're not even out of high school...yet..."

"He's cool as a cucumber, eh?" finished Misato. "Trust me, I get what you're saying. Takes a lot of effort to even get this guy to shout."

"...I guess." That didn't quite get his thought across. But...ah. "How...how exactly do you deal with it?"

Akechi smiled, looking back over his shoulder with a mysterious expression. "Fame and adulation are elusive beasts...and they can be quite fickle. Yet they also pounce on the unsuspecting, drawing in the unwary...and, perhaps, the proud, who feel they are above such concerns." His lips curled upward. "Do you understand?"

"...not really."

The older boy smiled. "Well, I can certainly say that you have no trouble being honest!" They came to a stop in front of a door with a keypad. "We've arrived at the Panopticon. Once inside, please try and maintain your composure, for the sake of our many residents."

 

[Timerider]

Once inside, please try and maintain your composure, for the sake of our many residents."

Click to shrink...

Well that certainly sounds ominous.

 

[Soberan 123]

I don't know about this keeping Shadows in some kind of cognitive prison is unnerving so to say, specially a organization such as NERV acting as wardens and if you think this are people's unconscious they are holding. The last time some one try to meddle with Shadows they almost brought the end of the world.

 

[Ultra Sonic 007]

I don't know about this keeping Shadows in some kind of cognitive prison is unnerving so to say, specially a organization such as NERV acting as wardens and if you think this are people's unconscious they are holding. The last time some one try to meddle with Shadows they almost brought the end of the world.

Click to shrink...

Well, NERV isn't responsible for running it. The Anti-Terror Task Force is:

Meanwhile, a rainbow eye watched the scene with a tireless gaze. It transmitted this footage to a particular room, in another place, lined with television monitors: dozens, hundreds...maybe thousands. These monitors showed images transmitted from all over Tokyo-3's cognitive region, focused primarily on the Archetypes that traversed the realm, as well as the relatively few Shadows that had declined the safety and hospitality of the A.T. Task Force's aerial juggernaut.

Namely, the spherical Tokyo-3 Cognitive Protection Center; a rather generic name in all honesty, but it carried that sense of municipal banality which calmed and soothed the minds of the general public. It was expected, and official. It made the civilians' cognitive doubles more...pliable, and soothed the Archetypes that trudged along the contours of humanity's collective unconscious.

However, one particular monitor showed something unusual, and unusual things were interesting.

"Hmm...Agent Katsuragi has a new friend, it seems..." The young man zoomed in on the footage of the terrified-looking teenager, looking rather haggard as Katsuragi's Persona landed softly on the street. "...so, that must be the Third Child that the others have been buzzing about..." How intriguing. "Shinji Ikari...how shall you perform, I wonder...?"

Click to shrink...

 

[Gryphon]

Hiya. I had a few sessions without kids at work these past two days and decided to take a look at this story. It's pretty good, even if I feel like there's a bit too much Persona 5 in there, and too little Evangelion.

I'll be honest, though, I thought the beginning arc was pretty dull. I was about ready to drop the entire story around the point Ken and Shinji got into the Metaverse, and only Hamlet's really well done awakening kept me from putting it down for good. A good thing, since the story got better from that point forward; in retrospect, I guess it was because the entire thing felt like a rehash of P5's intro with all the interesting and otherworldly bits turned into a mundane and very well known system managed by NERV. That takes away a lot of the magic and mystery that's a big part of Persona, and the fact that you did feels kind of odd, anyway, since you then went through the trouble of making Shinji a completely clueless protagonist that went through the same process every Persona protagonist does until the point he gets his Persona (wow, that was a mouthful). I trust you have your reasons for making it like that and hope it will become clearer in the story at some point, but for now it feels like there was little reason to make the Metaverse a public knowledge thing.

And talking about NERV brings me to the other point I don't really like about the story, and that's that the EVAs feel really tacked in. I know giant robots are a hard thing to handle within the context of a Persona story, though, which is why I'm not minding it that much. I had a lot of trouble myself with striking a balance on that front for the Eva-Persona cross I've been plotting for a few years but that will likely never see the light of day, and that was set in a fairly canon friendly Eva world. Still, I feel like the EVAs could have been something a bit more interesting than glorified (maybe crappier, the jury is still out on that one) Personas that are not Personas (or something, I admit to having skimmed through that explanation. ).

Now, on to the positives: Hamlet was completely unexpected and someone that I would have never thought of as Persona material, but your explanation as to why he worked with Shinji was a really good sell. Mudo should have totally lived up to its reputation of shitty skill and whiffed during the awakening battle, though. 20% (or was it 40%?) instant kill chance is really not something you want to bank on, and if I don't read some smack talk from Asuka in regards to that when she joins I'll be sorely disappointed.

Tentarafoo on the other hand is quite nice, Yosuke taught me to appreciate that one during my P4 days.

Also, Shinji's Metaverse outfit was hilarious. Not Pen-Pen, though. I've read so much Pen-Pen doing weird and funny stuff in stories over the years that the joke has kind of lost its charm. Incidentally, I don't know how okay I am with him being a mascot character and apparently pretty integral to the story, but we'll see how he develops. Any thoughts on possible OCs, by the way? I believe you tend to use them pretty commonly in your stories, and OCs that are important to the plot are a personal pet peeve of mine, mostly because they tend to suck.

Going back to the story, the cameos by the other protagonists were nice, if maybe a bit too on the nose. Also, I'm kinda surprised that you decided to give P3 Magician guy an actual role in the story's past. He always struck me as one of the weakest links of a game that already had quite a few unimpressive Social Links, and I seem to remember that being a fairly far-reaching consensus. Cool nod, anyway.

As a related point to the above, though: why is AKECHI here. He was such a crap character, whyyyyyyy...

...Okay, rant done. Hopefully you'll make something interesting out of the guy, although admittedly the bar is really not that high. His Metaverse appearance implying he might be atoning for something is already a good start.

So, yeah. Nice story, could use a little bit more Eva in it. Keep trucking and I'll probably keep following unless something goes wrong or the OCs take over.

 

[Ultra Sonic 007]

Hiya. I had a few sessions without kids at work these past two days and decided to take a look at this story. It's pretty good, even if I feel like there's a bit too much Persona 5 in there, and too little Evangelion.

I'll be honest, though, I thought the beginning arc was pretty dull. I was about ready to drop the entire story around the point Ken and Shinji got into the Metaverse, and only Hamlet's really well done awakening kept me from putting it down for good. A good thing, since the story got better from that point forward; in retrospect, I guess it was because the entire thing felt like a rehash of P5's intro with all the interesting and otherworldly bits turned into a mundane and very well known system managed by NERV. That takes away a lot of the magic and mystery that's a big part of Persona, and the fact that you did feels kind of odd, anyway, since you then went through the trouble of making Shinji a completely clueless protagonist that went through the same process every Persona protagonist does until the point he gets his Persona (wow, that was a mouthful). I trust you have your reasons for making it like that and hope it will become clearer in the story at some point, but for now it feels like there was little reason to make the Metaverse a public knowledge thing.

And talking about NERV brings me to the other point I don't really like about the story, and that's that the EVAs feel really tacked in. I know giant robots are a hard thing to handle within the context of a Persona story, though, which is why I'm not minding it that much. I had a lot of trouble myself with striking a balance on that front for the Eva-Persona cross I've been plotting for a few years but that will likely never see the light of day, and that was set in a fairly canon friendly Eva world. Still, I feel like the EVAs could have been something a bit more interesting than glorified (maybe crappier, the jury is still out on that one) Personas that are not Personas (or something, I admit to having skimmed through that explanation. ).

Now, on to the positives: Hamlet was completely unexpected and someone that I would have never thought of as Persona material, but your explanation as to why he worked with Shinji was a really good sell. Mudo should have totally lived up to its reputation of shitty skill and whiffed during the awakening battle, though. 20% (or was it 40%?) instant kill chance is really not something you want to bank on, and if I don't read some smack talk from Asuka in regards to that when she joins I'll be sorely disappointed.

Tentarafoo on the other hand is quite nice, Yosuke taught me to appreciate that one during my P4 days.

Also, Shinji's Metaverse outfit was hilarious. Not Pen-Pen, though. I've read so much Pen-Pen doing weird and funny stuff in stories over the years that the joke has kind of lost its charm. Incidentally, I don't know how okay I am with him being a mascot character and apparently pretty integral to the story, but we'll see how he develops. Any thoughts on possible OCs, by the way? I believe you tend to use them pretty commonly in your stories, and OCs that are important to the plot are a personal pet peeve of mine, mostly because they tend to suck.

Going back to the story, the cameos by the other protagonists were nice, if maybe a bit too on the nose. Also, I'm kinda surprised that you decided to give P3 Magician guy an actual role in the story's past. He always struck me as one of the weakest links of a game that already had quite a few unimpressive Social Links, and I seem to remember that being a fairly far-reaching consensus. Cool nod, anyway.

As a related point to the above, though: why is AKECHI here. He was such a crap character, whyyyyyyy...

...Okay, rant done. Hopefully you'll make something interesting out of the guy, although admittedly the bar is really not that high. His Metaverse appearance implying he might be atoning for something is already a good start.

So, yeah. Nice story, could use a little bit more Eva in it. Keep trucking and I'll probably keep following unless something goes wrong or the OCs take over.

Click to shrink...

Thank you very much for the constructive criticism, I really appreciate it.

The overall plot is something of a slow burn, I will admit, since Shinji's apparent cluelessness is intentional for spoiler-y reasons.

I've mapped out the overall Incarna/Social Links as well (though a few might be subject to change), and with the exception of Sokila (because of course she's going to be one), I don't think I've got a single OC serving as a Confidant.

And there is an actual plot reason why Akechi and the prior protagonists have appeared as well, but that would also be spoiling.

The purpose of the Evangelions will hopefully become more apparent once we start encountering Ghosts in-story.

Again, thank you very much for taking the time to write up such a thoughtful review of the story so far, and I hope to exceed your expectations!

 

[Ultra Sonic 007]

As Akechi opened the door, and they stepped onto the catwalk hanging over empty space, Shinji had one immediate thought: this is too big. Literally, there was no way this all could fit within the sphere that floated in the sky of Tokyo-3...could it?



Seemingly endless rows upon rows of doors, lining the interior of an empty sphere, stretching upward and downward. In the center of this great expense was a floating glass orb, within which lied some form of office complex? He could make out chairs, computers, lamps, and A.T. agents...but seriously, this whole place was enormous, so much so that it felt like he couldn't see the other side, simply because of this place's own atmosphere.

How many doors were there? Thousands? Tens of thousands? Hundreds? "Wha...?"

"Has Katsuragi-senpai informed you of this place's purpose, Ikari-san?"

"...well..." He thought back to Kensuke Aida's words from yesterday, which had honestly explained more than Misato said about the giant sphere floating in the sky. "Shadows are kept here for protection...?" He framed it as a question, unsure in the face of Akechi's expectant gaze.

"That is the ostensible purpose, yes. After all, after Second Impact, the world's greater interest in the cognitive world brought to light just how...simple...it could be, to change people. To hurt people. To kill people." The Chief Warden smiled knowingly. "I imagine you would have learned this regardless, given your station...but given what Katsuragi-senpai told me about your recent 'trip', I don't think it would surprise you to know that there are other ways of accessing Metaverse, beyond just the MAGI."

Shinji mentally chewed on the words. He quietly recalled Dr. Akagi's blunt words, the day after he had met his father. "...Dr. Akagi made it sound like the MAGI were necessary."

"And for official purposes, they are. The MAGI have turned accessing the cognitive world into a proper function of governmental authority. But in a world born from humanity's collective unconscious, it should not surprise any that there might be...gaps, and loopholes." He leaned against the guardrail, uncaring for the great expanse lying beneath him, a hard and fatal fall waiting to happen. "In the wake of Angel Syndrome wreaking havoc on the minds of man, there were less...savory types, who exploited those gaps. The early years of this century were rife with stories of mental breakdowns and individuals experiencing drastic changes of character. It was because of such scum that the Anti-Terror Task Force was deemed not merely necessary in the face of Angel Syndrome, but a true public institution."

"Practicing for a commercial, Akechi-kun?" joked Misato.

"Not at all, Katsuragi-senpai. I'm simply being honest." Goro Akechi gestured at the endless rows of doors. "The Cognitive Protection Center was deemed to be the answer to quite a few questions: how do we mitigate the risk of Angel Syndrome; how do we prevent criminals from targeting the Shadows of their victims; what can be done to leverage the Metaverse as a means of pursuing justice in the real world; and so on. Right now, over ninety-five percent of all Shadows within the greater Hakone region have chosen to reside in the Cognitive Protection Center. And so far...there are many who would deem this place to be a success."

"...do you?"

Akechi did not answer his question, instead looking toward Misato. "Have you selected a suitable person from our case file?"

"Chiba Takehide," she immediately answered. "Resident ID tag of Bravo-Tango-Three-Five-Six-Zeta."

Akechi turned around, walking towards the end of the catwalk, where another device similar to the teleporter from earlier stood. This one, however, had a computer terminal standing beside it. "And what does the warrant indicate?"

"Lots of accusations of sexual harassment at his place of employment. Minor stuff, for the most part, but nothing rising to the level of actual assault...that can be tied to him directly, at least, although there's suspicions. The only reason the request came to us is because he's related to the manager, so there's concerns of employer intimidation as well."

"Hmm," muttered Akechi, keying the person's information into the terminal. "Rather simple. Some would say this is a waste of our time and resources."

Misato sighed. "Well, we get warrants for all sorts of things. It beats trying to interrogate some embezzler's Shadow for information to help a prosecutor in a real-world legal case."

"My my, Katsuragi-senpai. Are you implying that the Anti-Terror Task Force has made some individuals lazy?"

The woman snorted, briefly glancing at Shinji. "As much as I'd prefer to be on alert for incidents of Angel Syndrome, our charter with the United Nations comes with some strings attached. But, part of your contract with NERV means that you can...assist an A.T. agent in matters related to law enforcement, subject to Task Force supervision of course." As the teleporter charged up, she added, "you'll be cutting your proverbial teeth on Chiba Takehide's Shadow."

"...wait, I am?!"

"But don't worry, you'll have Akechi-kun and me as backup! We won't let anything happen to you."

He wished he could say that that filled him with confidence.

"I have faith that you will perform well, Ikari-san," said Akechi, stepped onto the plate of the teleporter. Misato gently nudged Shinji from behind, until all three were on the teleporter-

ZHYOOM!

xxxx

ZHYOOM!

-and reemerged at the end of a railed-off walkway, not even ten-feet long. It led towards a single door, one of many within the great sphere. Access to all of the other nearby doors was sequestered, such that one would have to leap over the guardrails to reach them. On each side of the armored door were two intercoms, complete with hand-scanners. With practiced ease, Akechi went to the left, while Misato went to the right. They placed their hands on the scanners, and each spoke aloud.

"Agent Goro Akechi, identification zero-zero-foxtrot-zulu-six, requesting access to Resident Bravo-Tango-Three-Five-Six-Zeta."

"Agent Misato Katsuragi, identification zero-one-whiskey-alpha-four, requesting access to Resident Bravo-Tango-Three-Five-Six-Zeta."

"Standby for authorization," answered a bored male voice from an intercom built into the wall.

Misato rolled her eyes. "Agent Benjiro sounds like he needs another cup of coffee."

"He simply prefers field work," explained Akechi. "I confess to sharing that preference, but I understand that I am more needed here for the time being."

"In the market for a replacement?"

"Are you volunteering?"

Misato snorted a laugh. "Fat chance of that, kid."

As Shinji observed their banter, the armored door suddenly hissed, as servos began to turn and locks began to unlatch. "...there is another, rather practical reason for the Cognitive Protection Center's existence, Ikari-san." Akechi looked over his shoulder. "The cognitive world responds to humanity's thoughts...and Shadows are icons, in that regard; pure, and unadulterated. If they are strong enough...well, I suppose you'll find out soon enough. I will only say that, before this room was occupied by its current resident, it was only the size of a studio apartment. But in my experience..."

The door opened up, revealing an entire cubicle-laden office floor inside.

"...they never stay that small for long."

 

[BYapes]

The door opened up, revealing an entire cubicle-laden office floor inside.

"...they never stay that small for long."

Click to shrink...

Insert TARDIS joke here.

 

[Ultra Sonic 007]

As Shinji Ikari crossed the threshold of the door, he felt a strange sense of rudeness. As though he were intruding in someone's home, if said home was also capable of looking back at him crossly...well, that sounded logical to him. Maybe. "This place feels..."

"First time stepping into a Shadow's Realm?" asked Misato with a smile...before smacking her own forehead. "Well, yeah, of course it is! That's why we brought you here!"

"My my, and the day's not even half over," chided Goro Akechi, looking around with a sense of detached calm.

"Yeah yeah, laugh it up," grumbled the older woman as she summoned her Persona. Tokoyo stood at attention, hands on the hilts of her swords. "Okay Shinji-kun, might want to bring out your Persona now."

"Indeed. I am most curious to see it."

"Oh...okay..." Shinji gulped, trying to feel for the other him within. Are you there? Wait, would that even make sense? His Persona was him. Sort of. Um...huh. How exactly do I do this...? Far ahead, past many rows of cubicles in the strangely cavernous office, a streak of yellow and red ran past. "What the?"



"I believe that's our target," said Akechi, somewhat severely.

"You've got this, Shinji-kun!"

Shinji thought he might have had this. Possibly. Potentially. Then he saw the lower half of a female mannequin walk past, wearing only a businesswoman's skirt, pantyhose, and classy dress shoes. "...eh?" The yellow and red streak flashed by the walking skirt, which briefly flipped upward as it passed. "Eh?!"

Misato grimaced at the display. "Starting to get an idea..."

The streak skidded to a halt at a four-way intersection amongst the cubicles, taking on greater definition now that it slowed down. "Who the hell are you three?" exclaimed the middle-aged man, bearing a sprinter's build; wearing a yellow speedsuit with red stripes along the front and sides, he had the appearance of an Olympian runner. A shame that the rat muzzle and rodent ears detracted from that image, because what. "You're distracting me! I have work to do, and so very little time to do it!" With the pounding of rubber against the linoleum floors, the rat-faced man dashed down another row.

"...uh..."

"...okay, maybe I don't have as much of an idea as I thought..." admitted Misato, looking somewhat perplexed.

Chiba Takehide's Shadow stopped again, this time in an intersection further away. His right hand clenched back and forth, as though practicing to grab. "Five cheeks pinched in sixty seconds...what a terrible performance! I have to up my game!" Another walking skirt passed him by; almost absentmindedly, his right hand lashed out, subtly flipping the skirt up. "I need to get quicker, or else I'll have less time for work!" The rat-man looked back towards them, yellow eyes gleaming with irritation. "You're still here?! GO AWAY!"

"Never mind, totally had the right idea."

The Shadow hissed, seemingly bothered by the fact they were looking at him. "Don't have time for this. I'll leave you to the receptionists!" As he dashed away further into the sepia-toned office, his receptionists emerged from various cubicles: dog-sized rats, bearing blue humanoid masks over their faces, leaking a noxious black substance from their joints.

"Hmm. An interesting theme..." muttered Akechi, as though he were pondering the very nature of the imagery presented to him. "I wonder what the metaphor is. Do you have any inklings?"

"...they're coming this way," answered Shinji, nervously taking a step back as the large rats began to scurry towards them. The urge to turn around and hide behind Misato's Persona was striking; honestly, it would have made for a good survival tactic, and he doubted Misato would be that angry...

xxxx

"Is that a choice you would accept?"

His own face looked intently at him.

"Will you hide now, in the face of mere vermin?"​

xxxx

...but that would have defeated the whole purpose of his being here, and so Shinji steeled himself, feeling for that familiar spark-

WHOOSH.

-and as brilliant blue flames burst into being and faded, he bore the attire of his self-image, swinging a shovel with a defiant roar. Thwack, went the garden tool, as it smashed a masked rat backwards into its brethren. The cognitive creatures hissed, right as his Persona manifested once more. Hamlet stood at attention, slashing downward at the nearest beast; instead of torn flesh and spilt blood, a splash of black and dissipating fog marked its demise.

"Ooh, so this must be Hamlet!" Misato gave him a thumbs-up. "Not bad!" And, being Misato, she apparently felt the need to poke fun at his outfit. "Also...you look so cute in your little house husband getup," she snickered.

"...why do people keep saying that?" First Aida, now Misato? All he had on was an apron and kitchen gloves and rather sensible workman's garb; what about that screamed 'house husband'?

"Hey, it ain't a criticism. Trust me," she reassured.

"More vermin incoming," cautioned Akechi.

"Well, you heard the Warden. Lead the way, Shinji-kun!"



"...all right then." And so Shinji Ikari turned around, Hamlet standing dutifully by his side. The masked shadow-rats hissed, and began charging forward in pairs and trios. "Can you please stop?" They kept charging. "...well, worth a shot." And thus did Hamlet and Shinji raise their weapons, striking at the incoming horde.

 

[Timerider]

Shinji, everything about you screams "Perfect (Future) House Husband." The fact that you don't spend 35% of your daytime beating away girls with a stick is one of life's eternal mysteries.

 

[Ultra Sonic 007]

"Tentarafoo!"

A flash of yellow erupted from Hamlet's handheld skull; a few masked rats hissed angrily, as though vexed by their sudden indecisiveness.

Shinji Ikari's shovel smashed into one, sending it tumbling away with a guttural squeak.

"Psi!" Smooth rainbows of white, yellow, pink, teal, and black flowed from his Persona's skull, crashing into one; it seemed to collapse on itself, mewling with pain as it disintegrated into shadowy wisps. The third one seemed to shake off its fear-

SMACK!

-right in time for Shinji to bring the edge of his shovel down, splitting it in twain. The halves immediately dissipated into nothing.

If he had to be honest, the fact that these strange beings didn't leave behind blood or unpleasant corpses made it a lot easier to fight them. Beyond the instinctive 'eww rats eww eww EWW' that roared through his mind, because they looked way too realistic, despite the blue masks on their faces.

"Doing pretty good Shinji-kun, but you'll need to make sure to watch your back in a Shadow's Realm," advised Misato, even as her Persona sliced a group of masked rodents - vainly trying to sneak around them in the maze of cubicles - into shadowy slices with rapid swings. "After all, it wouldn't take much to get taken down from behind!"

"...okay...but, aren't you already watching my back?"

"Not the point!" she playfully retorted.

"Er, sorry...!" He swiftly turned his attention to Goro Akechi, who had yet to summon a Persona of any kind. "Um...?"

"I'm afraid I'm here to observe," he remarked. "I won't intervene unless absolutely necessary...but you shouldn't fret at all, Ikari-san. You've done well, thus far."

"...if you say so..."

"How is your first experience with a Shadow's Realm?"

Akechi's question prompted Shinji to look around; they had passed row after row of cubicles, opting to hug the walls in the sepia-toned expanse. The few windows that existed were all plastered over by cartoonish posters with motivational slogans like 'KEEP WORKING', or 'EVERY RACE HAS ONLY ONE FIRST PRIZE'. Things of that nature...which seemed strangely at odds, for the apparently perverted nature of Takehide himself. "...I feel like I'm being watched. From everywhere." Maybe that was why fighting with his Persona felt easier to do? It helped distract him from the strangeness of this place.

"That is the nature of a Realm," explained the Chief Warden. "A Shadow's habits tend to reflect the deep-seated desires and hidden feelings of their origin; that's why almost all Shadows tend to congregate at certain locations, usually where a person secretly feels most at ease in the real world. Their very presence eventually warps the surrounding cognitive area, reflecting their own perceptions. And thus is a Realm created."

"...so...does that mean Takehide feels most at ease at where he works?"

"That would be logical, based on his Shadow's own comments...ah!" Akechi snapped his fingers, apparently having an epiphany. "A 'rat race'. So that's the metaphor. How interesting!"

Misato snorted. "It would certainly fit the things we've seen so far."

"What are they, anyway? Are they also Archetypes?"

"Not...exactly. These masked things we've seen are all a part of the Realm, tied to Takehide's own cognition in some way. Some researchers in the cognitive psiences have made the argument that differentiating between a Shadow and the Realm they create is meaningless, contending that the Realm itself is merely an extension of the Shadow."

"...huh. That...makes sense."

And that's when two female mannequins, bisected and missing everything from the waist up, walked around the corner. Instead of synthetic flesh above the skirt, a blue humanoid mask could be seen embedded into the top of the hips.

"...uh-"

"Shinji-kun, I've learned not to question what goes on in the mind of a pervert."

Misato was truly wise. "...okay then." He and his Persona held their weapons aloft as the bodiless mannequins charged towards them at a dead sprint, and he defaulted into the rhythm of combat.

It was surprisingly easy.

xxxx

/the Mister P VA poll will end on Friday

 

[Ultra Sonic 007]

Through the cognitive office space, went the trio; instead of going to an executive's office - as one may have expected - they found Takehide's Shadow sitting in a slightly larger cubicle than normal, typing on a keyboard with lightning speed. "Have to send this file, have to send that file. Proposal approved, complaint registered." A cartoonish alarm clock beeped by his computer. "Practice time!" He spun out of his chair, pausing at the sight of them. "Why do you keep bugging me?! I have work to do!"

Tokoyo and Hamlet held their swords forward.

"Threats to my person won't accomplish anything; am I going to have to get upper management involved?!"

Misato Katsuragi slowly pulled the cubicle wall aside, hands briefly flickering red; the material dissolved into traces of shadowy thoughtstuff, dissipating like smoke. "Chiba Takehide: per a judicial warrant served to the Anti-Terror Task Force by the Summary Court of Hakone, you have been accused of numerous counts of sexual harassment by over forty female employees and interns at Tojo & Sons, including but not limited to lewd comments and unwanted advances. You have also been accused of conspiring with personnel manager Kuro Takehide to suppress these accusations from the legal department of Tojo & Sons." Katsuragi's eyelids drooped slightly, giving her stare an aura of displeasure and irritation. "In addition, there have been concerns regarding incidents of groping that were not linked to any particular individual, although you are a prime suspect. Do you contest these accusations?"

The rat-faced runner huffed, as though irritated by her words. "Do you not understand how important my job is? I put in more hours than anyone else, on more days than anyone else. My contributions are invaluable! This place is my life, so much so that I've forgone trying to get married, or getting a girlfriend, or visiting a love hotel!"

...should I be hearing this? privately wondered Shinji.

"And yet, I am a man, and I have needs. But I recognize that my job takes priority!" In a flash of lightning - quite literally - the Shadow disappeared, then reappeared, holding a bra in his hand. "The women who work at Tojo & Sons are treasured employees, and I do my utmost to respect their privacy. A compliment here, a passionate stare elsewhere, a secret pinch there; those are enough to keep me focused on my work! And thus, everyone is made happy!"

"...a pervert who prides himself on being polite and swift. Seems more like you're afraid of being caught," grumbled Misato.



The Shadow's yellow eyes narrowed, as one offended. "How DARE you accuse me of such vile behavior!" He raised his right hand hand and wow the Shadow's fingers were actually quite long, now that Shinji was close enough to see. "You would dare classify me as a juvenile lech? A mere subway groper? I have far more class than that!"

Akechi huffed. "I do believe he's confessed more than enough, don't you agree, Katsuragi-senpai?"

The older woman nodded. "Chiba Takehide! By the authority invested into the Anti-Terror Task Force from the United Nations and the government of Japan, you will be compelled to settle equitably. It is our sincerest wish that you cooperate with us now, to minimize legal complications for your physical self. Any attempts at resisting will be met with force."

The Shadow seethed, his body beginning to glow with a crimson aura. "Foolish ingrates! You're interrupting my WORKFLOW! If I don't work, then I'll lose my place!" With sudden violence, all of the nearby cubicles were blown away, as the rat-faced man began to swell and grow.

"What the-?!" yelped Shinji, stunned by the development.



"Watch closely, Ikari-san," advised Akechi. "This is but one example of how someone's inner thoughts and feelings can reflect in their Shadow, if left to fester."

Standing in the Shadow's place was a bipedal robot forged from sterling silver, lean and mean and crackling with electricity; jammed into its torso, powering its every move, was an actual dog-sized rat running frantically on a stationary wheel. Despite the shift in form, the yellow eyes on the rat were sufficient to betray his nature. "Work is everything! Pleasure is secondary! If you can't understand even that, then I'll escort you out of the building MYSELF!"

"Look alive, Shinji-kun!" exclaimed Misato, withdrawing her short sword, while Tokoyo stood at attention. "You've got this!"

"...wait, I do-?!" he blurted out, right as Takehide's Shadow charged.

 

[Timerider]

If Asuka were here, he'd be dead fifty times over by now.

 

[Ultra Sonic 007]

If Asuka were here, he'd be dead fifty times over by now.

Click to shrink...

But that would be murder, which is heavily frowned upon.

 

[Ultra Sonic 007]

The rat-powered robot - and wow that was a thought Shinji never expected to have - crashed into Hamlet, the Persona's sword holding against the downward strike from the Shadow. Sort of. Did Personas have muscle mass to account for-?

"Focus Shinji! Don't think too hard!" cautioned Misato, right as Tokoyo's right sword glowed a myriad of colors. Her Persona - speaking with a calm and tranquil voice - intoned, "Heat Riser."

The colors surrounded Shinji and wait he was feeling stronger and tougher and lighter. "What the-?"

"Industrious Spark!" roared Takehide's Shadow, the rat running faster on the torso-bound wheel; electricity began sparking on the robot's fists, which lashed out for Hamlet. Yet, they were strangely slow...?

With surprising ease, Shinj and his Persona dodged to the side, avoiding the Shadow's cracking blows. Hamlet held his skull up high - "Tentarafoo!" - which flashed yellow.

The Shadow seemed annoyed. "You can't make me waver! I'll serve the company until I die!" The robot struck again, trying in vain to hit at the fleet-footed Hamlet. "I'll make sure you fail your performance review!"

"Your identity is bound to this place," said Hamlet, musing aloud. Or was it that Shinji was musing aloud, by proxy? "It seems such a wretched tragedy. Is there nothing else worth living for?"

"You must be from a competitor! I won't betray my company!" Hamlet danced away from a series of downward stomps, which made the cognitive floor ripple. "How dare you try and assume that I am anything less than fulfilled?!"

"...tied to one thing, above all else, even if none would understand." The Tragic Prince chuckled, parrying a kick with his blade. "I suppose I can relate."

Indeed; Shinji could. Not to Takehide's actions, of course...but to the prospect of believing in something that meant everything to him? To the exclusion of all else, no matter what? That...that was honestly an appealing thought. But what is mine? What drives me? These thoughts percolated in the back of his mind as he raised his shovel, striking at the Shadow's back, and hey he actually caused a dent-!

SMACK!

-and OWWWWW. Shinji saw stars, wincing mightily at the pain in his jaw. Also, he was on the floor, several meters away from where the Shadow was fighting his Persona with renewed vigor. That...that hurt...! It had hurt. It really hurt. Were it not for the strange durability he felt - from whatever Misato's Persona had done - he feared that his head might have been taken off. This...this is real. For all the strangeness and seeming unreality of the Metaverse, it was still a place of danger, and pain. I...I could actually die...

"I'm a valued employee! My fellows would never let anything bad happen to me! Team Spirit!"

The sounds of hissing rats began to close in. "Akechi-kun! Keep an eye on Shinji-kun!" yelled Misato, turning around with her Persona to face the incoming horde of masked rodents. With gun at the ready and short sword out, she struck at the creatures with a frenzied precision, even as Tokoyo kept shouting "Rampage" again and again.

Akechi sighed as Misato went off. "I hope she remembers to keep her head clear." The Chief Warden turned placidly towards him. "Are you going to stand?"

"...I..." If he didn't, what would happen? But the pain, it was realer than real, searing itself into his mind with all the ferocity of a red-hot iron poker. "I..."

"Is a little pain all it takes to make you falter, Ikari-san?"

Was this pain worth it? Why had he come here? Why did he come crawling back to an uncaring father? Why am I here-?!

"Look out!"

Hamlet's shout was heard before it reached his ears, his own mind warning himself of danger. Takehide's Shadow had turned, the robot's right hand curled as if ready to pinch. "Touch of Glory!" An electric ball built-up in between the index finger and thumb, and there was a flash-!

KRAKOOM!

-and just like that, a lightning bolt pierced Shinji through the chest...not that he could feel it.

He couldn't feel anything. He couldn't hear anything. There was a faint smell of charred flesh.

He saw Hamlet begin to dissolve. Then he saw the floor rush up to meet him.

And yet...he still wondered why he was here. Why...?

Amidst a curtain of blue, a silver-haired girl with yellow eyes stared plainly at him.

"This isn't what brings you down."

Why was she tearing up?

"I know it's not. It can't be."

She furiously wiped at her eyes with a long sleeve, putting on a brave face.

"I believe in you..."

She opened her mouth to speak...but then hesitated.

"Please. You're stronger than you realize!"​

"Samarecarm."

With sudden violence and soothing pleasure, Shinji was ripped back into the Realm of Chiba Takehide's Shadow. Gasping for air, he rose to his feet, feeling for his chest. No wound...?!

His Persona, on the verge of disappearing entirely, suddenly bloomed back into solidity, roaring valiantly at the rat-powered robot. "Psi!" roared Hamlet, once more grabbing the Shadow's attention.

Flummoxed, Shinji turned towards Akechi, who was now accompanied by...his own Persona? It was a ridiculously buff humanoid in heroic colors of white, blue, gold, and red, with various capes of blue floating as if carried by the wind; held in his right hand was a bow and arrow forged of what appeared to be golden wings. Inscribed on the inside of the stylized bow were the English words 'Robin Hood'. "What...?"

"Why exactly are you here, Shinji Ikari?" asked Goro Akechi, sounding oddly serious. The look in his eyes...there was a certain heaviness to it. It felt...dangerous. "Why have you come to this point? Why do you persist in moving forward?"

"...I..." Why had he come to Tokyo-3? Why had he come here? Why had he agreed to do this? "...I'm..." What had he sworn? What had he promised? To himself? To...to...? "I...I don't know..."

"...and yet you stand. Why?"

"...because..." He thought of Misato's paradoxically friendly demeanor. He thought of Fuyutsuki-sensei, and the promise of tales about his mother. He thought of Kaworu Nagisa's strangely aloof affability. He thought of Kensuke Aida's gung-ho attitude.

He thought of Rei Ayanami, with her strange demeanor.

He thought of his father, and those cold eyes he wished would look upon him with pride.

He thought of the silver-haired girl with yellow eyes.

He thought of...well, he wasn't sure. But he had sworn to himself. "...because I want to know." Grimacing, Shinji held his shovel up, and looked Hamlet in the eye.

His Persona - struggling mightily against the enraged machine - nodded. With a subtle movement, he backed away - letting a downward hammer blow miss - and kicked the robot in the chest while it was off balance, sending it tumbling backwards.

Shinji roared, stabbing with his shovel as though it were spear...and wedged it into the large wheel, between the spokes. With a jarring jerk, the robot came to a halt, as its power source was jammed. "What?! Hey, that's not fair-!"

A glowing aura surrounded Hamlet's sword. "Cleave." Downward, swung the Prince's blade, carving a great scar into the machine.

It was a critical blow, as the robot collapsed to its knees, dissolving into fog and smoke. When it cleared, only the original incarnation of Chiba Takehide's Shadow remained.

The fight was over.

 

[Ultra Sonic 007]

Well ladies and gentlemen, the final result is probably not a surprise, as this one was a clear favorite from the first round; between SpaceBattles and SufficientVelocity, the votes are...

Christopher Sabat (in the fashion of Major Armstrong from Fullmetal Alchemist) - 19 votes
Curtis Arnott (AKA Takahata101, in the fashion of Perfect Cell from DBZ Abridged) - 15 votes
Patrick Warburton (in the fashion of Joe Swanson, Kronk, Brock Samson, and too many others to count) - 7 votes

Close call for Perfect Cell, but our manly penguin shall be voiced by Major Armstrong!

 

[Ultra Sonic 007]

The Realm around them seemed to go still, reflecting the state of Takehide's Shadow; all other masked creatures vanished, and the sense of paranoia faded as well. The danger was past, and the three Personas faded away as a result. And in the midst of all this, the rat-faced man looked up, his outfit flickering between the speedsuit and a fairly typical business suit, fit for a salaryman. "...is this the end, then? Am I to be fired?" he asked, staring plainly at Shinji.

Misato Katsuragi was silent, staring in his direction. So was Goro Akechi. Why are they looking at me?

"Am I to be exiled from the place I sacrificed so much for?"

The words were somber, yet honest. Perhaps it was that honesty that Shinji responded to, because the real world could be veiled in misdirection and contradiction. Takehide's Shadow, despite his odd demeanor, regardless of the accusations against him...had been very straightforward. "...why do you work so hard?" he blurted out. "I...I mean, to the point of doing...what you do. To other women." Way to sound confident, he mentally berated at himself.



Yet, the Shadow responded. "I see those of higher station...and those of a lower station...I see them with girlfriends, wives, children. I hear them talk, at times, about plans outside of work. And...I want that...but I've worked so hard to get where I'm at. I'm dependable. People rely on me." Whether that sentiment had any basis in fact or not, Chiba Takehide clearly felt it to be true. "And so I keep on working, in spite of my envy. And my...actions...are just enough to keep me from going insane..."

"But it won't be enough, before long," sagely said Misato. "You're gonna keep wanting what you don't have. And eventually, you'll end up going over an edge that there's no coming back from."

"So what am I to do?! Am I to sacrifice my hard-won position at work? Am I to forego the beauty of women and the promise of children for the rest of my life?"

"...you talk like it's one or the other," murmured Shinji. The words of his Persona echoed through his mind. "...choose for thyself..." he whispered to himself, before looking back at the dejected Shadow. "You have to make a choice. I...I think you can still be a hard worker. But...but if you think you can't maintain that while pursuing love...then maybe you should slow down, a little. I don't think it'll hurt you."

The Shadow snorted. "Spoken like a true child, who knows not how cutthroat an office can be."

"...maybe..." He thought of...he thought of his father, and all his failings; his right hand briefly clenched into a fist, before the tension faded, as steam escaping a boiling kettle, letting pressure equalize. "...but I think being a good husband...being a good father...I think that's more important, in the long run." With nervousness, he rubbed the back of his head. "Um...that's how I feel, anyway..."

Strangely, Chiba Takehide's cognitive self seemed to acquiesce to this. "...maybe...maybe..."

Misato apparently chose this moment to intervene. "Hey, don't discount good advice just because it's coming from a kid!" The older woman knelt down, giving the Shadow a tough pat on the shoulder. "So, here's what's going to happen. It's still the middle of week, and I get that you're busy...so you're just gonna hold off on the sexual harassment, at least until Sunday. By then, you'll be getting a summons in the mail to visit the local prosecutor's office, for an appointment on June the fourteenth. You're gonna go there, and you'll confess what you've done. But to be honest, I think they'll be interested in hearing about any conversations you had with Kuro Takehide, because if the allegations had been reported properly, it wouldn't have gotten to this point to begin with."

"B-but...my cousin...to betray him would be to turn my back on family..."

"You've spoken so much about how important your job is to you. Almost like it's a substitute family." The woman stared intently at the Shadow's yellow eyes. "What you've done to your fellow employees...would be like abusing your fellow family, right?"

"...I suppose...yes..." The Shadow grimaced, his rodent features fading away. Chiba Takehide looked like an average Japanese man in his thirties. "...the people who work for Tojo & Sons are lovely and hard workers...they don't deserve what I've done..."

Misato grinned. "Glad we agree! So, let's cover a few more details..."

Shinji watched quietly as the woman seemed to coach the Shadow on what his real world self would do, and felt a strange twinge of disbelief. "It is quite frightening, isn't it?" He turned towards Akechi, who was looking at the scene before them with a quietly detached expression. "In the real world, Chiba Takehide will soon find his compulsions...shifting. Skewing, ever so slightly. Enough to change the decisions that he would normally make. The outline that Katsuragi-senpai is giving him...will serve as the initial conditions for a new trajectory." He smirked knowingly. "Some would consider it akin to brainwashing, or perhaps rewriting a person."

"...that's..." Terrifying? Yeah, terrifying would be a good word.

"Indeed. It is a heavy burden, that the Anti-Terror Task Force has been given, in such matters. It is not handled lightly...and that is why such emphasis is placed on following the letter of the law in all aspects of cognitive affairs, lest we be tempted to become as gods among men."

"Has...has that...happened before?"

The Chief Warden chuckled humorlessly. "It has. And the results...were not pleasant." The air hung with a heavy silence, until Akechi turned to face him with a more amiable smile. "For someone of your age and stature, I believe you handled yourself well."

"...I...I don't think I did..."

"I would disagree, but I won't contradict your personal judgment. After all, we tend to be our own worst critics." On that, Shinji could agree wholeheartedly. "I do believe this will not be the last assignment we end up working together on."

It was strange, hearing the older boy speak with such tempered confidence. "You...you think so?"

"Well...who can say? Fate is strange in many ways. But in the end, is fate not but what we make of it? Are we merely actors, or do we have free will?" His smile briefly carried a twinge of melancholy, there and gone in a blink. "Personally...I'd prefer it to be the latter."

xxxx

And all the while, on a subconscious level, in words he had no way of knowing...a familiar voice spoke, within the depths of his being:



I am thou, thou art I...
Thou hast acquired a new bond.

It shall lead thou to the truth
that parts the seas of depravity.

Take hold of the Fortune Arcana,
and let it guide you
to a new Promised Land...​

xxxx

"...maybe," muttered Shinji, even as he privately pondered the decisions that had led him to this point.

 

[Ultra Sonic 007]

Time seemed to pass with regularity, once the battle had ended. Departing the Shadow's Realm, the trio had emerged into the Panopticon's seemingly endless expanse. A few teleporter zaps later, and they had departed even that, leaving the prison behind.

Because...well, it certainly felt like a prison, regardless if the Shadows had elected to come willingly. Was the risk of braving the Metaverse alone worth being within the clutches of the Anti-Terror Task Force? After all, at any time, a highly-trained agent could do...well, whatever they wanted, it would seem (because gods knew Misato and Akechi-san hadn't felt threatened by Takehide's Shadow). Then again, they were basically like the police, weren't they? Well, police for the mind. A police with rules, and regulations, and order, and discipline. Surely, figures of authority wouldn't let anything too horrible happen, right?

A man with orange shades flashed into his mind, and that was the end of that little hope.

It was odd, working with A.T. agents...the mere fact that he had worked with them at all. What exactly could he do, realistically speaking?

What did he have that more powerful people like Misato Katsuragi and Goro Akechi did not?

Why was he an Evangelion-user?

And why was he thinking about questions that there weren't any answers to? If they knew, they'd have gotten someone better for Evangelion. Because honestly, he was only fourteen. Heck, he had been fourteen for not even a week!

"You have been awfully quiet, Ikari-san."

Akechi's voice brought Shinji out of his head and into the present; they were in a different part of the Cognitive Protection Center, that looked akin to a rather freeform office environment. And freeform was not an inappropriate word, since it seemed that every single desk and cubicle and computer station bore some kind of personal touch, be it straight out of sci-fi, anime, shoujo, or...a completely normal-looking desk. It seemed that in this particular place, an A.T. agent would let their thoughts roam unconstrained, no longer bound by their duties on the outside.

Even if meant watching various Archetypes of various sizes and shapes intermingle, uncaring of their presence. Was their nonchalance due to the fact that they came from the minds of agents?

"...you are still being quiet, it seems."

"Oh. Sorry. I was, uh...just...thinking."

A snort brought his attention to Misato, who was typing on a computer terminal with one hand while chugging a beer with the other. "You seem to be doing that a lot."

"There are worse habits to have, Katsuragi-senpai."

The woman loosed a satisfied belch, drawing some disgust from the more prim and proper Archetypes, and bellows of praise from the...well, less than prim and proper types. "I'll drink to that Akechi-kun."

"I believe you already are," calmly pointed out Akechi.

"...huh. So I am!" She lightly tossed the beer can in a graceful arc, where it landed in the mouth of an appreciative Slime. "Well, I'm done with my report!" She swiveled in her chair, looking over the rim of her sunglasses in his direction. "So, Shinji-kun...first time dealing with a Shadow, and your first time helping out the Anti-Terror Task Force. How do ya feel?"

"...um..."

"Come on, don't be shy! You can be honest."

"...well..."

The Chief Warden quietly chuckled at the back-and-forth. "I don't believe honesty is Ikari-san's problem, per se. Rather, being honest is the difficulty, I take it?" The chain connecting his manacles clinked as he rubbed his chin. "After all, so many people can misconstrue honesty as rudeness. Am I wrong?"

"...uh, yes, actually," admitted Shinji, because sometimes it was safer to keep your opinions to yourself, just in case someone heard what you really felt and reacted way too out of proportion in the event that they didn't like what you said-

"Perhaps it can be said that you think too much," commented Akechi. "I wonder how circuitous your thoughts are, right now?"

"...very," he said, trying not to feel embarrassed and failing.

Misato chortled. "You might be right there, Akechi-kun."

"Well, I am still a teenager," he helpfully pointed out. "Perhaps it would be best if you take Ikari-san out of the Metaverse, for today."

"...yeah, perhaps you're right. We've managed to do enough as is." Misato slowly rose, looking down at her erstwhile charge. Sort of. "Anyhow, I trust you won't try and go into the Metaverse on your own anymore?"

"...I will definitely try not to if I can help it. But...I may get kidnapped. Again." Wait, that didn't put Aida in the best light-

Misato cracked a smile. "I won't hold that against you. Come on, let's go." She shot her kouhai a wink. "Good working with you again, Akechi-kun. Don't be a stranger!"

"I will try not to be, Katsuragi-senpai." The older teen looked meaningfully at him, eyes filled with...well, something. What was it with people with intense expressions, lately? "Ikari-san...I will see you again."

"...okay." He dutifully bowed. "Thank you."

xxxx

As the woman and child walked away, Goro Akechi let his thoughts percolate. The other Archetypes in the room, mere remnants of stark thoughts, seemed to shy away from him by instinct. How...interesting.

xxxx

A quiet stranger looked back at him.

"So. What do you think?" His voice was calm, and polite. Almost to a fault.

"...I believe that he is but a child."

"That goes without saying. But what do you think of his potential?"

"...I am skeptical, if I must be honest. His demeanor seems...far too placid."

"An understandable consequence of how he came to be here."

"...perhaps. And yet, I can't help but wonder if there were not others more suitable for our goal."

"In terms of pure efficiency, maybe...but that would defeat the point. He is the one, by necessity."

"I am aware. I am simply...airing out my misgivings."

"I believe he will surprise you."​

xxxx

...maybe he will. Goro Akechi sighed, his detached expression bearing a touch of regret. After all, I'm far from being considered a good judge of character...

 

[Timerider]

Surely, figures of authority wouldn't anything too horrible happen, right?

Click to shrink...

Weeellll...

A man with orange shades flashed into his mind, and that was the end of that little hope.

Click to shrink...

Yeah, pretty much that.

 

[Ultra Sonic 007]

Misato had been right about one thing, mused Shinji as he walked out of NERV's headquarters; it had been a long Wednesday.

"So...I have to give you pretty good marks, for your first time in battle with a Shadow," remarked Misato Katsuragi, her red jacket fluttering in the afternoon wind. That breeze carried the smell of exhaust, the slight essence of city grunge; the warm blue of the afternoon sky, before its transition to early evening; it was a mundane reality, and one that Shinji felt a strange appreciation for. Especially after...almost dying? Actually dying? The disconnect, before that shout of 'Samarecarm', had simply been too vague for it to truly sink in. "You'd probably make a pretty good agent, with enough seasoning."

"...will NERV let me?" It was more the uncertainty that ate at him, of what working for NERV would entail; he couldn't say that being an A.T. agent was necessarily attractive...but why was he having to make these sorts of choices as a fourteen-year old? His thoughts always seemed to come back to that.

"...can't say. If we deal with the threat of Angel Syndrome, who knows what your future will hold?"

"...Misato...why did you become an A.T. agent? How...how did you choose what you wanted to do?" He briefly fidgeted. "Y-You don't have to answer-"

"Oh don't worry about it, Shinji-kun. It'd be a bit of a long story...but I can leave with you a little something." Her smile held sad nostalgia, for a memory of something formative and painful. "I think...I no longer wanted to be chained by my own fear. And the Anti-Terror Task Force just happened to be the path I took..."

"...was it...really that simple?"

The woman shrugged. "It doesn't have to be complicated. Who knows? In another life, I might have found my answer as a school teacher, or a bike rider. But I think I would found a way regardless."

"...you're really strong, Misato-san..." he admitted.

She snorted. "Hardly. I'm still trying to get my act together in other ways not fit for the ears of a kid." Those words she capped off with a wink. "Anyhow...you'll have tomorrow and Friday to yourself. You've earned it after today. But after school ends on Saturday, I want you to come straight to NERV." A pause. "...though, if we have an alert of Angel Syndrome within operational distance, I want you to drop everything and come running. So no Metaverse shenanigans without authorization, okay?"

"...uh-"

"Okay?"

"Y-Yes ma'am! Okay!"

"Good." She gave him a friendly pat on the shoulder. "Go on and head back to your dorm; take care of yourself." She promptly turned around - muttering about setting up a meeting? - and headed back into NERV.

The great skyscraper loomed like a tombstone over Tokyo-3; Shinji wandered why such a thought felt so appropriate. He quietly looked about, wondering where the nearest public transport was-

BEEP BEEP.



-and blinking at the sight of an Hakone Academy high school student sitting on a black scooter, pulling a red rickshaw - bearing a stylish logo for Proto Transport - behind it. The student in question, wearing large eyeglasses, and bearing a head full of frizzy black hair, looked intently at him. "Need a lift?"

"...actually, yes." How convenient. "Um...what's the fare-?"

"I'll charge NERV's general account."

"...uh-"

"You'd be surprised how many employees need a lift."

"...okay." Shinji gingerly got into the back of the rickshaw, buckling himself in. "...uh..." Nah, of course he would have some kind of license, there was no way a transport service would let a high-schooler work otherwise, and why did he look familiar? "Um...have I seen you somewhere...?"

"Probably. I have a few part-time jobs around the city."

"...oh." That might have explained it. "You're...very responsible, senpai...er..."

"Asking for a name?"

"Yes...?"

The student chuckled, drawing some tinted motorist's goggles over his eyes. "I have no name. Call me whatever you like."

"...um...?" Shinji wasn't sure if he was joking.

Then the scooter's motor rumbled and wait a second scooter motors shouldn't sound that loud and then they were off going WAY TOO FAST and Shinji lost himself to screaming and hanging on for dear life.

 

[Timerider]

"I have no name. Call me whatever you like."

Click to shrink...

Mysterious Person of Future Significance detected.

 

[Ultra Sonic 007]

The nameless student's scooter puttered to a stop by the curb, Hakone Academy's dorms looming across a green field. "Here you go."

Shinji Ikari nervously stumbled out, his heart still beating at a physically improbable rate.

"Take care, little kouhai!" The scooter motor roared as the he jerked the handles to the left, pulling the empty rickshaw down an alleyway across the street.

Mere moments later, a trio of police cars - sirens blaring - swerved in front of the alleyway, barely unable to fit through.

Somehow, in spite of everything, that student had been the most harrowing part of his entire day. "...ugh..." he audibly groaned, suddenly feeling extremely tired. He trudged along the walkway towards the Izanagi Dorms, too exhausted to care about the students staring his way, and oh yeah he had kind of been marched out of the dorms this morning by Ayanami and two men in black, and that's right he was wearing a NERV uniform. Wonderful.

It was this general malaise that clouded Shinji when he nearly bumped into Kensuke Aida, also wearing a NERV uniform of his own. Somehow, the bespectacled boy looked even more tired than he did. It probably had something to do with all of the technical manuals he was carrying. "...hey Ikari."

"...Aida-san."

"What was your day like?"

"...I fought a Shadow. I think I nearly died."

"Huh. Neat."

"You?"

"...became an intern for NERV. Was given a lot of homework. Dr. Akagi's a slave driver."

"...huh. That's rough."

The duo trudged to their dorm room, quietly entering it. Kaworu Nagisa was humming to himself as he worked at his desk, while Toji Suzuhara was reading from a comic book on his bed. The moment they came within view, Toji glared at them with laser-like intensity. "The hell happened with you two today?"

An unintelligible sound came from Kensuke's mouth.

Toji turned his gaze towards Shinji. "Well?!"

Shinji blurted, "I helped fight a rat-faced pervert in a speedsuit that turned into a rat-powered robot."

Toji threw his hands up, absolutely done with them.

"...well, it sounds like you had a fun day," chirped Nagisa.

"...fine, be that way. Like I care," he grumbled, flippantly pointing at their desks. "The Class Rep dropped off today's notes and coursework for you. Be prepared to get interrogated tomorrow."

More unintelligible noises oozed past Kensuke's lips, as he went over to his desk. The various technical manuals resounded with a large thud, and he slowly got to work on things.

Shinji settled for grabbing his SDAT player, jamming the earbuds into his head and collapsing onto his bed. He sluggishly pressed the 'play' button. Waiting for the familiar classical music to lull him to sleep.

Alas, he hadn't checked the tape beforehand, as a pleasantly blue DAT cassette began to roll...

xxxx



...and then his eyes blinked open. He was sitting in a metal chair in an empty auditorium; the short and bizarre man was there as before, amidst curtains of blue velvet. His silver-haired assistant, however, was sitting on her feet in another metal chair in front of him, staring eagerly at him.

"Hi!" chirped Sokila, hands gripped onto her knees.

"Welcome back to the Velvet Room," said Igor. "You have been through quite a bit today, haven't you?"