Seven black monoliths hovered in a circular formation, emanating a soft light that held back the darkness. Each construct was adorned with the same symbol on the front; an upside-down triangle with three eyes on the left and four eyes on the right. A snake was coiled around an apple in between the seven eyes, the words "SEELE" and "Überm Sternenzelt richtet Gott, wie wir gerichtet" emblazoned on the apple in blood red text. Each monolith was marked with large red numbers ranging from 00 to 07, the only aspect that made each monolith different from the other. “SOUND ONLY SELECTED” was written near the bottom of each monolith.

The fourth Angel's attack and subsequent destruction. The acquisition of the Third Child. Eva Unit-01's successful deployment. All according to plan, it would seem.

The astronomical cost of repair to Unit-01 was an unexpected setback.

Compared to Unit-00’s suspension, however, this is a minor concern.

A minor concern? Surely this incident could have been handled a little more efficiently! The repair bills, along with the reconstruction of the damaged sections of the city... why, it’s going to cost as much as a small nation!

How serious was this malfunction? Will the Unit be ready when the fifth Angel appears?

At the center of the monoliths’ formation sat a single aged man behind a glowing desk, hands folded in front of his face in deep thought. "You needn't be concerned. Now that Unit-01 is assigned to active duty, Unit-02 and its designated pilot are undergoing evaluation in Germany," he replied stoically, unintimidated by the large Onyx slabs that surrounded him.

See to it that Unit-04 in Nevada is completed on schedule in preparation for the Catalyst. Unit-03 and the rest will be handled by us.

We are counting on you not to disappoint us. It is your duty to insure that NERV and the Evas are utilized appropriately. Your pet projects should only come second in priority.

Precisely. Annihilating the Angels is only one part of our covenant with Lilith. NERV and the Evas are not your only concerns.

The Earth’s reunification with Humanity’s first Eden.

The Final Unraveling of the Threads of Fate.

The Instrumentality Project. What we ultimately desire is the execution of that plan. I would advise you to remember our goal and not lose sight of it.

The man stayed silent for a moment, his eyes hidden behind glasses that reflected light from his eyes, concealing the windows to his human soul. “I understand. Rest assured, SEELE's plans will soon come to fruition," he acknowledged as his form vanished without a trace, leaving an empty purple glow.

Can we truly trust Gendo Ikari?

Ikari knows what is at stake and the importance of the project. If he becomes a liability, he will be disposed of.

That entirely depends on who has their grip on destiny.

With a brief but loud hum, a new monolith marked by the image of a swirling star at its top shimmered into existence, its new cylindrical figure hovering in the once vacant center of their circle, filling it with a new purpose.

Eleven circular markings adorned it’s long body in the formation of a sephirot. Five glowed a dull silver, a dim representation of life and its cacophonies; while the other five shined a brilliant gold, each emblazoned with either an orange apple, a pink butterfly, a teal balloon, a purple diamond, or a red bolt, a bright image of the knowledge of harmony can bring. At the bottom of the pattern was a white circle with a pink star in the middle, like a spark of magic.

After all, you yourselves possess only the same Fruit of Knowledge as he does.

You actually decided on coming this time, I take it the Catalyst has been prepared?

She has passed most of her given evaluations and tests. She need only overcome one more obstacle before the plan can be put into motion. There have been some difficulties, however, in relocating the fragments to Mare Crisium.

It seems a millenia of hatred will not be so easy to acquire after all.

Unit-03 is still awaiting for the test’s results from Unit-04’s newly installed Faust Engine. Additionally, Unit-01 has only fought one Angel so far and therefore has not collected the required amount of combat data. Without these two, Project Nyx would not be able to proceed even if we did possess her essence.

The Armaros is only a back-up plan however, and we should not devote all of our time and resources to only possibilities. The construction of the Mark.06 is already luckily ahead of schedule. Our focus now should be on the Third Child and the Catalyst.

The Third Child. Our Trigger to the Final Destiny and the Unraveling of the Threads of Fate.

And with the Catalyst, the Eradication of the Original Sin.

“And so, while mankind has always praised the maturation of culture that comes with the advancement of science, the time came when all was reduced to ashes…”

A classroom filled with high school freshman groaned in boredom. Their history teacher, Mr. Nebukawa, remained completely oblivious to the loss of his class as he continued to relay the same rant he had the day before, as well as the day before that. "It was exactly the last year of the twentieth century. I'm sure you all know about the great meteor impact in Antarctica…

A lone young boy sat slouched at his desk, boredly doodling a random drawing on a blue sheet of paper. His white collared school uniform contrasted with his black slacks, in akin to his light tan skin shining under his short, dark-brown hair.

“As a result of that event, the ice of the continent evaporated in an instant, and the sea level rose by 60-meters. The world was assaulted by droughts, floods, volcanic eruptions, and the ensuing economic panics and racial conflicts. In a mere six months, half of the human population was lost forever.”

He too, like the rest of his classroom, was oblivious to his teacher’s ramblings, as well as the whispering banter between two seats behind his desk.

“Say, didja hear? All the guys have been talking about it.”
“Hmm? About what?”
“Remember that whole big emergency three weeks ago? And that kid who transferred in yesterday?”

“This event has come to be called ‘The Second Impact,’ an event that near rivals the first when our Moon was created.”

“They say Shinji Ikari’s the pilot of that giant robot.”
“Y-you’re kidding! Are you seriou-mmph!?”
“Shhh! Not so loud!”

Near the far back, a tall jock eavesdropped on the girls’ conversation in front of him silently. Another boy besides him looked at his friend nervously.

“That was fifteen years ago, and yet in a mere fifteen years, we’ve come this far. One could attribute this to man’s inherent greatness, but it would be closer to the truth to say it was the result of your parents’ blood and toil — the fruit of their labors.”

The aloof teacher was snapped out of his monologue as the school bell rang, signaling the time for students to return home. “O-oh, school’s over already? Hmph, well that was short, we’ll just have to cram today’s lesson into tomorrow’s then.

He picked up a blue sheet of paper off his desk. “And don’t forget to take these sheets on your desk with you, I want these assignments turned in to me by tomorrow. No late work, understood?”

The young boy finished drawing the picture he had been doodling lazily, a crude drawing of a quadrupedal creature with a silly wizard hat displayed rather uncreatively in the middle. He wrote his name near the top right, labelling ‘Shinji Ikari’’, before sighing and crumpling his work.

Two five story buildings stood tall and proud together, connected by a small bridge in the middle like two brothers shaking hands as equals. The sun gleamed off their silvery and glossy metals, a reflection of a green bike rack and some benches in crystal clear. In between them stood Shinji Ikari, waiting patiently for the two boys from the back of his class to speak their mind. After all, he was dragged out here without his consent, though he did little to voice any sort of objection.

The tall boy stood straight and stout, his black waterproof jacket inflating his size and ego with sleeves pulled back for extra old-school intimidation. His brown eyes, black hair, and tannish skin gave his outlook a dark theme, the patches of white and purple on his clothes adding a monotone color scheme. Shinji knew him as Toji Suzuhara, Class 2-A’s resident jock.

The other boy however was more similar to Shinji’s figure, even having the same build and height. His apparel was the same as well, wearing only his white collared school uniform and black slacks. Brown men-sized glasses that sat under his brown flayed hair and over his freckled cheeks were his only distinctive physical identity. Kensuke Aida was his name, Class 2-A’s infamous resident geek.

“Okay, new kid, listen up!” Toji yelled towards Shinji, even though they only stood about a meter from each other. “My younger sister was hurt, bad. She’s still in da hospital! My dad and gramps work in your lab, and I’m the only one who can stay with her!”

He put his hands in his coat pocket and began circling Shinji, like a wolf would circle around a wounded deer. “It ain’t da goin’ dere I mind, but supposin’ she ends up with some scar? She’ll never be a babe!”

He glared into Shinji’s eyes with a smug smile, a predator ready to pounce on his prey. “And whose fault d’ya think it was?”

With a growl of frustration, he jammed his finger towards the confused boy. “It’s your fault! She was pinned under rubble because you had to go crashin’ in dat robot a’ yours!”

Toji’s efforts and claims, although without grounds nor evidence, was rewarded with satisfaction as a hint of guilt spread across Shinji’s face, a clear sign of responsibility. “So da rumors are true then, it was you, wasn’t it? Well, what da ya have ta say for yourself?”

The satisfaction vanished. “Sorry,” Shinji replied, shrugging as if it weren’t his problem.

Kensuke rushed forward in panic as Toji made a lunge for the boy, hastily grabbing an arm as the enraged jock roared in anger. “Sorry, is dat all ya got? You tryin’ ta make fun of me or something, buddy?! ‘Sorry’ just don’t cut it!”

“A little 8-year old girl, all alone by herself in da hospital for weeks, months, years even! She’s all alone, don’t you understand? She’s always been alone, no parents, no friends, not even me now! Don’t ya even have da heart to say somethin’ else?”

Shinji arrogantly replied, “What do you want me to do? Kneel down and beg for forgiveness?”

Toji tore his right arm from Kensuke and into Shinji’s left cheek, sending him flying several feet back before he crashed against a couple bikes. “Ya asked for this, punk!”

“Hey! You can’t go around decking important pilots!” Kensuke exclaimed, surprising Toji as he found himself arm-locked by his friend. “Kensuke, geddoffa me!”

Shinji wiped the blood from his face, gritting his teeth. "What did I do? It's not like I wanted to be the pilot," he muttered as he picked himself off the ground.

“You don’ know when to shut up, don’t cha? You don’t think I have the guts ta prove something? I’LL SHOW YOU!!!” Toji screamed, struggling against Kensuke and reaching out towards Shinji with hatred.

“HEY! WHAT ARE YOU GUYS DOING?!” a girl shouted from behind the two, hands on hips like a teacher would flay authority over their students.

Kensuke gasped nervously as he noticed her, recognizing her unique twin-ponytailed brown hair along with her white and blue school uniform. “I-it’s the class rep!”

Toji tsked and clenched his fists, body shaking in anger with no outlet to unleash on. “Damnit, she just hadda butt in!”

He pulled away from Kensuke again while he was distracted by the class rep and grabbed Shinji by the shirt. “Listen up, putz! A little advice!” Toji yelled once more into his face, inciting an annoyed grimace from Shinji. “Next time yer inna fight, watch where ya put yer friggin’ feet! GOT DAT?”

Toji growled and pushed him away before walking off towards their class representative. Kensuke gave Shinji a look of sympathy, but did nothing to help him up, only turning and following in his own footsteps with his unlikely friend.

Shinji didn’t even watch, didn’t even feel. All he did was gaze at the limitless sky from his limited Earth. After all, he was used to this kind of pain.

A Blue Renault Alpine A310 drove quickly at 100 km/h on a mountainside freeway. Multiple dents covered the metal exterior, as well as some spiderweb patterns that littered the glass headlights. The trunk and windows were held in place by a few brown pieces of duct tape, though surprisingly the windows featured no form of damage to them.

A young asian woman in her late 20s sat at the helm of the car, her figure something most women could only dream of possessing. Dark purple hair, neatly cut and curled from the front, flowed smoothly past her shoulders from her back. A simple striped T-shirt and a white vest along with torn blue jeans were all that concealed her nigh perfect body.

The car hit a large bump on the road, launching a small yellow card into the air and out of the car before the woman quickly catched it with lightning fast reflexes. Emblazoned on the top was ‘Misato Katsuragi, Lieutenant Colonel,’ accompanied with a grumpy picture of the same woman and other biometrics.

“Woops, almost lost my work ID there. Now that would have been a disaster!” she laughed to herself before placing the card firmly between her breasts. “Sooo, Shinji. How are things lately? Having fun, hmm?”

On the left of her driver’s seat sat Shinji Ikari, silently gazing out at the open seas with disinterest. “Today’s training was okay, I guess,” he replied without turning to face Misato as he spoke.

“No, not that. Your new school. You make any new friends?” Misato chided with her cheery high-pitched voice.

“Well, Ritsuko told me that your accuracy has improved over 10% from your last test,” said Misato as she attempted to cheer up the sullen-looking boy.

“Hmph, you sure are being depressing today,” Misato said with a pout. “10% is a lot, you know. It’s not easy aiming and focusing with a real gun. You should feel more proud of yourself!”

Shinji continued to gaze out towards the crimson oceans that crashed against the green hillside. He took a sideway glance at a few old and rusted apartment complexes sliding down into the red sea.

“Weeell, I think this calls for a celebration.” She giggled. “What to do, what to do," she thought out loud, chin on hand. "Oh, I know! How about I actually cook for us today!”

"Isn't that just instant food and leftovers?" Shinji asked her skeptically, turning towards her for the first time since she had begun driving.

"Hey! Instant food and leftovers are perfectly okay to eat!" Misato snapped defensively. "And for your previous question, no. Today I plan on making my own steak specialty. Hehe, I bet you'll love it!"

Shinji turned back to stare out the car’s window. A series of tanks with cannons facing the waters greeted him.

Misato smile dropped and she sighed. “Why are you so depressed? You’re not the one with thirty-three loan repayments. And I still gotta get this car fixed.” She pointed toward the car’s dented roof. “Paying for these things are expensive, you know? I only get so much cash for being a government official.”

Shinji mentally scoffed. “Maybe if you weren’t such a reckless driver, you wouldn’t have to.”

“Hey, don’t get so snotty. You know, you’re not as cute as I thought you were.”

Shinji grumbled slightly. Misato couldn’t tell if it was because of the comment or because she thought he was cute in the first place.

“What’s got you in such a bad mood today anyway?” she asked. She ruffled her hair as she said, “I know you don’t like to talk much but geez, even you were more talkative the first time I met you. Did you get in a fight with a friend or something?”

“Pfft, stop being so dramatic. Everyone has at least a friend or two by your age. So tell me, what happened today at school?”

Misato sniffed. “Well, you’re the only one who can do it for one thing. And at the end of the day, all the ladies will fawn over your heroism and manliness. Isn’t that something to look forward to?”

Toji tore his right arm from Kensuke and into Shinji’s left cheek, sending him flying several feet back before he crashed against a couple bikes. “Ya asked for this, punk!”

Misato sighed. “Regardless, you need to be more optimistic about being the super-kid piloting the giant robot to save the world. Down thoughts like that is not good for Unit-01’s synchronization programs, nor is it for any of us.”

“...I can’t help it. I’m just not cut out for this kind of stuff. Besides, it’s not like I’m piloting it because I want to.”

Misato adopted a surprised look. “Hey, what kind of thinking is that? You pilot to protect the lives of all mankind. Every single person’s life rides on your shoulders. If you keep piloting the Eva like you don’t care, you’ll be dead before you know it!”

Shinji grimaced and looked towards the free sea once more. “That’s okay. I don’t care.”

“What do you think you’re saying?!” Misato said loudly. “You may feel fine about dying, but the rest of us aren’t quite ready for it yet! Besides, you’re an important pilot to us, your body doesn’t belong to you anymore!”

Misato gasped at her own harmful words, instantly regretting her choice of words. The following reply even made her feel worse.

“...I get it, alright? All I need to do is beat the bad guys, you made your point. Just, please don’t ask me how I’m doing anymore.”

Misato opened her mouth to speak, but found that she could not. After all, how could she reply to that without making him feel worse? I’m a terrible guardian.

Not a word passed between the two for the rest of the trip back to the apartment.

“You know, this steak is gonna take me a while to finish cooking; why don’t you go take a bath?” Shinji heard Misato call from the kitchen. “You’re still reeking of LCL by the way, it was hard driving back here with that stench of yours. Don’t want you spoiling the food just ‘cause you weren’t aware of your own hygiene.”

Shinji sighed to himself as he stopped his music player, an S-DAT developed by Sony, before getting off his thin futon mattress and heading toward the bathroom. The digital audio tape was left on track three, 3:13 adorning the front screen.

“Oh, I thought I should let you know Pen-Pen is in the shower right now, don’t want you freaking out like last time!” he heard Misato yell out to him again as he slid the washroom curtain open.

About five minutes later, Shinji stepped into the filled bathtub carefully before fully submerging himself. He stared into the light at the top of the ceiling, unmoving. A penguin waddled out of the shower and exited into the kitchen.

I wonder when it all started... the drifting... It’s like my mind and body have come apart, little by little...

Shinji raised his left hand and stared at it. He clenched and unclenched it repeatedly, remembering the pain he had endured to protect what Misato had said he should protect.

Whenever something sad... or painful... happens... it’s like there’s another me who watches it... like it’s happening to someone else, thinking... “that’s not me, why should I care?”

He closed his eyes as brief images of his past echoed from the light. A boy crying for his father to come back, to hold him and comfort him like Mother used to. A boy watching as kids played and had fun with each other, blissfully unaware and uncaring of the suffering others endured. A boy apologizing to two adults, apologizing for being different and not letting go of the pain like they had oh so quickly.

An image of a bigger boy punching another. The bigger boy didn’t care about the smaller one, what he was going through, or how his actions would affect him. All he cared about was himself.

I’ll lock my heart away deeper... if I do that... I won’t have to feel pain inside or outside...

An image of a monster holding a boy by the head. The monster didn’t care about the boy’s past, present, or future, his life’s experiences, journeys, nor epiphanies. All it cared about was itself.

An image of nothing but him and a field of white. A place where freedom and happiness reign together side by side. A paradise where he himself wouldn’t be hurt by others in any way, shape, or form. A true Eden that he can experience alone for all eternity.

An image of a boy holding a violet flower to a blurred figure, bright radiant smiles shining through the fog of memory.

He opened his eyes to the dim light bulb, before noticing a small purple dot in the middle of his vision.

Confused, he squinted to try and get a better look to see if he wasn’t seeing things. However, the dot soon became a very bright violet sphere with purple arches of energy flashing around brilliantly, forcing Shinji to look away from the light.

Not a second later, there was a large splash that emptied the tub of most of its hot water, and there was a light clang to the left of him, as if something metal but light had fallen to the ground. There was also the unmistakable sensation of someone on top of his waist. Or at least, something.

Shinji opened his eyes slowly, before staring at one of the strangest things he had ever seen.

It was quadrupedal creature, with appendages ending in short stumps and a body type the closest he could relate to was a dog. It's fur was a light grayish mulberry, and it had moderate sapphire blue hair with brilliant rose and violet streaks down the middle on its scalp and tail, a style a human who dyed their hair might have. On its rump was a tattoo, a pink star surrounded by five other ones. Its most striking feature, however, was its face. Its eyes were huge, encompassing most of its face. There was also a purple grooved horn that sat on top of its forehead.

Just a minute ago, Twilight had restored the memories and identities of each of her friends, returning the most important ponies in her life to their true selves.

Not only that, she had figured out a way to fix Starswirl’s secret unfinished masterpiece! Through the power of friendship, she created a brand new form of magic, something not even he could do.

She was still unsure of what the spell was actually supposed to do, as the spell she cast changed cutie marks based on the Elements of Harmony. What sort of spell was he attempting that required the alteration of destinies? But in the end, it didn’t really matter to her. She had her friends back, and that was all that she needed.

"Oww... my... head. I don't think that was supposed to happen." Twilight Sparkle clutched her forehead with her right hoof. She could feel her coat drenched in a warm liquid, though where the liquid came from was beyond her. Her landing was oddly soft as well, and she moved her left hoof onto the fleshy skin she was sitting on to try and balance herself.

She raised her head and opened her violet eyes as pale blue eyes stared back at her.

Looking back at her was an animal the likes of which she had never seen. The closest she could come up with in describing its appearance was a frail hairless monkey. Its shoulders weren’t very broad, and it didn’t have much muscle. Its hairless body was also tawny, while its mane was brown.

It also had a horrified expression on its face, which was not a good thing as she had learned from experience. Not good at all.

Twilight didn’t know what had happened, nor what was happening at the moment, but she knew with certainty that having a new species being scared of her was a very, very bad situation to be in.

If it panicked, it could start calling its friends, and then she would be in deep trouble.

Putting the best speaking voice she could, she nervously said, “U-um, hi there! I come in peace from the land of Equestria.”

“My name is Twilight Sparkle, personal student of Princess Celestia,” she said a little bit more confidently, pointing her hoof towards herself. “And I would like to offer peace between our two species.”

“So I ask of you, will you accept my friendship?” she said, extending her hoof for a hoof shake while putting on an awkward smile.

Well, that was easy. First contact with a new species wasn’t so hard after all! She even got her mentor’s tone right!

Thank goodness Princess Celestia had assigned her to read First Contact 101 last weekend during that timberwolf incident. With her offer of friendship, there was no way it would start scre-

Rebuild of Magic: 1.0 - 序/Beginning

by Smiles

Prologue: You Are Alone (1.10)