This is an Evangelion AU idea I've been working on. It was partly inspired by the 'humanoid' Angel figure series that Fatuous once linked to, and partly inspired by Star Ocean: Second Story's Ten Wise Men of God and the concept of 'Blessing of Mana' and Heraldry.
Here goes nothing!
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BACKGROUND:
The base scenario, of course, is NGE. Second Impact did occur as usual, so the starting scenario is basically the same. However, there are major differences.
First, there are no Evangelions. Instead, Second Impact caused some children born after it (not all, mind you) to develop a strong affinit with the forces of Mana, which shape Nature and the Universe - what Star Ocean 2 calls 'The Blessing of Mana'. As such, these children can wield considerable magic-like power, but it can potentially be very risky, as the power has been shown to corrupt hose who cannot handle it, causing them to go slowly insane.
In this scenario, NERV is an organization that's allegedly dedicated to three goals:
-Keeping stray 'Children of Mana' under control;
-Finding the causes of Second Impact;
-Preventing such an event from happening again (just like in NGE, SI had catastrophic results on the planet's climate, some even more extreme).
However, the organization is actually striving towards a very different goal - to herd mankind towards a controlled evolution path. Such a path will cause anyone who does not possess the 'Blessing of Mana' to die should Third Impact occur, while those who are Blessed will survive to start a new human race.
However, the infamous Dead Sea Scrolls come in play there, as well - warning of immensely powerful, almost divine beings wielding Mana who will come to annihilate mankind completely. To combat this future threat, the Marduk Institute is tasked with finding children who are strong with Mana, so that they can become the 'protectors' against the enemies to come. In the meantime, NERV works towards completing the Human Instrumentality Project.
It is in this context that the Children come on the scene. The battle for the world's fate is about to begin...
CHARACTERS:
-Ikari Shinji, age 14 - the Third Child
Son of NERV's commander Gendo Ikari, Shinji was recently called to Tokyo-3 in order to become one of mankind's protectors. What no one knows, however, is that within Shinji lies one of the same creatures whose arrival the Dead Sea Scrolls predicted, though this specific creature is not mentioned in the prophecies. This creature is considered by Shinji to just be a figment of his imagination, but is quite real - and has plans of its own for mankind. Shinji's Mana power enables him to influence the wind.
-Sohryu Asuka Langley, age 14 - the Second Child
One of the first candidates screened by the Marduk Institute, this fiery-tempered half-German half-Japanese girl reportedly has an exceptional attunement with Mana, which enables her to control fire to great effect. Unfortunately, her elemental affinity reflects on her personality, making her extremely difficult to get along with. Asuka's mother, Kyoko Sohryu Zeppelin, was one of the few adults who received the Blessing of Mana following Second Impact, but unfortunately, as with basically all other adults touched by Mana, the power drove her insane, eventually causing her to immolate herself in a holocaust of fire of her own making. Strangely, Asuka swears that her mother still visits her when she sleeps... but that couldn't be true, could it?
-Ayanami Rei, age 14 - the First Child
This quiet, introverted girl has almost total control over both water and ice. She rarely speaks, always comes across as emotionless and seems to obey Commander Gendo's orders without question. She also bears a striking resemblance to Yui Ikari... another adult touched by Mana and driven to insanity and death by it, though not before allegedly making breakthrough discoveries on Mana powers. Who is she really? And why does she seem to be acutely aware of the flow of Mana in the world?
-Rokubungi Gendo Ikari - NERV's CEO
Shinji's father and the late Yui's husband. A cold, calculating man who has been a stranger to his own son ever since his wife's death. Some think he has an agenda of his own...
-Katsuragi Misato - NERV's field officer
One of the extremely rare adults who were blessed by Mana and not made insane by it. Her Mana power is limited, but still strong enough to give her an accelerated healing ability. That is probably the reason why her excessive drinking habits haven't driven her to an early grave... she has a pet penguin named Pen-Pen, and she appears to be able to talk with him - perhaps another, minor ability granted to her by Mana.
-Akagi Ritsuko - NERV's medical officer
Yet another adult who has very minor Mana powers. However, she was made slightly unstable by it, unlike Misato, and is therefore prone to rare but sudden mood swings. She seems to be extremely hostile towards the First Child - possibly because of her Mana-induced instability. Some believe that she also has minor healing powers, as most patients treated by her seem to heal faster than normal, but no such thing was evidenced by tests, and Ritsuko herself is not saying anything about it.
-Suzuhara Touji, age 15 - the Fourth Child
Found later on by the Marduk Institute, and one of Shinji's classmates. He comes across as a dumb jock with lots of strength, and unsurprisingly, he is attuned to Earth. He tends to chase after girls, but has a soft spot for the Class Representative, Hikari Horaki.
-Aida Kensuke, age 14 - Hacking expert
A classmate of Shinji, with no Mana powers to speak of. He is, however, an unparalleled genius at hacking, being even able to break in NERV's high security network, given enough time. He is also a maniacal weapon fetishist, and hopes to one day be able to ride a Power Suit, or at the very least operate a Wanzer.
-Horaki Hikari, age 14 - Class Representative
Classmate of the Children, and Class Representative. She secretly harbors feelings for Shinji, and does not like Touji's skirt-chasing ways. The Marduk Institute dismissed her as a negligible Mana user, but she actually possesses a very strong defensive power, if totally uncontrollable - whenever she feels threatened, she projects an enormously powerful spiritual barrier around her, capable of stopping even the most powerful Mana attack. When this barrier is active, Hikari can, with huge effort, extend it to protect someone close enough to her, but the strain is so much that it leaves her exhausted for days afterwards, and also seems to make her grumpy. Touji jokingly dubs the barrier 'Absolute Terror Field', or AT-Field, because, he claims, 'it makes her a terror to deal with after she uses it'.
-Kirishima Mana, age 16 - free agent
A Mana-less child, or so it seems. Rather, she is unable to use Mana herself, but can channel it into items, thus enabling her to give said items weak elemental properties. Not a very useful skill, but its there. Her real fied of expertise is information gathering - she's very good at hacking, though not as good as Kensuke, and is also a trained spy and capable of operating both Wanzers and Power Suits. One wonders what this girl is doing around the Children, and especially Shinji...
-Nagisa Kaworu, age unknown, the Fifth Child
A young man with an immense Mana power. He seems to have control over all elements. Nothing much is known about him, but he seems to have a liking for Shinji...
-Ibuki Maya - NERV bridge operator
She is in charge of relaying orders to the battlefield, and has a case of 'hero worship' directed towards Ritsuko, whom she views as a successful, intelligent, beautiful woman. She also develops a considerable crush for Shinji when he saves her during an Angel attack. Shinji claims that she has some sort of Mana power, despite her being born before Second Impact, and also claims she is in no danger of going insane from it. If this proves to be true, NERV would be the place with the greatest concentration of sane Mana users in the world. But, what could her Mana power be...?
-Azriel - the Dark Messenger, the Wings of Chaos
The Angel living within Shinji's body. Shinji believes him to be a simple figment of the imagination, but as time goes on, the young Child realizes that Azriel is quite real... in no small pat because when Shinji is under extreme stress, he 'grows' energy wings, becomes capable of flight and becomes extremely violent. This state, which Azriel calls 'Hikari no Tsubasa' (Wings of Light), is probably a manifestation of the Angel's chaotic nature. But Shinji's greatest fear is that the Wings of Light represent... the true, hateful 'himself' under the mask.
----
That's it for now. I'll list villains later... thoughts? Please do comment!
This will likely be a full AU story, with possibly only ties to NGE: Girlfriend of Steel 2...
Here goes nothing!
----
BACKGROUND:
The base scenario, of course, is NGE. Second Impact did occur as usual, so the starting scenario is basically the same. However, there are major differences.
First, there are no Evangelions. Instead, Second Impact caused some children born after it (not all, mind you) to develop a strong affinit with the forces of Mana, which shape Nature and the Universe - what Star Ocean 2 calls 'The Blessing of Mana'. As such, these children can wield considerable magic-like power, but it can potentially be very risky, as the power has been shown to corrupt hose who cannot handle it, causing them to go slowly insane.
In this scenario, NERV is an organization that's allegedly dedicated to three goals:
-Keeping stray 'Children of Mana' under control;
-Finding the causes of Second Impact;
-Preventing such an event from happening again (just like in NGE, SI had catastrophic results on the planet's climate, some even more extreme).
However, the organization is actually striving towards a very different goal - to herd mankind towards a controlled evolution path. Such a path will cause anyone who does not possess the 'Blessing of Mana' to die should Third Impact occur, while those who are Blessed will survive to start a new human race.
However, the infamous Dead Sea Scrolls come in play there, as well - warning of immensely powerful, almost divine beings wielding Mana who will come to annihilate mankind completely. To combat this future threat, the Marduk Institute is tasked with finding children who are strong with Mana, so that they can become the 'protectors' against the enemies to come. In the meantime, NERV works towards completing the Human Instrumentality Project.
It is in this context that the Children come on the scene. The battle for the world's fate is about to begin...
CHARACTERS:
-Ikari Shinji, age 14 - the Third Child
Son of NERV's commander Gendo Ikari, Shinji was recently called to Tokyo-3 in order to become one of mankind's protectors. What no one knows, however, is that within Shinji lies one of the same creatures whose arrival the Dead Sea Scrolls predicted, though this specific creature is not mentioned in the prophecies. This creature is considered by Shinji to just be a figment of his imagination, but is quite real - and has plans of its own for mankind. Shinji's Mana power enables him to influence the wind.
-Sohryu Asuka Langley, age 14 - the Second Child
One of the first candidates screened by the Marduk Institute, this fiery-tempered half-German half-Japanese girl reportedly has an exceptional attunement with Mana, which enables her to control fire to great effect. Unfortunately, her elemental affinity reflects on her personality, making her extremely difficult to get along with. Asuka's mother, Kyoko Sohryu Zeppelin, was one of the few adults who received the Blessing of Mana following Second Impact, but unfortunately, as with basically all other adults touched by Mana, the power drove her insane, eventually causing her to immolate herself in a holocaust of fire of her own making. Strangely, Asuka swears that her mother still visits her when she sleeps... but that couldn't be true, could it?
-Ayanami Rei, age 14 - the First Child
This quiet, introverted girl has almost total control over both water and ice. She rarely speaks, always comes across as emotionless and seems to obey Commander Gendo's orders without question. She also bears a striking resemblance to Yui Ikari... another adult touched by Mana and driven to insanity and death by it, though not before allegedly making breakthrough discoveries on Mana powers. Who is she really? And why does she seem to be acutely aware of the flow of Mana in the world?
-Rokubungi Gendo Ikari - NERV's CEO
Shinji's father and the late Yui's husband. A cold, calculating man who has been a stranger to his own son ever since his wife's death. Some think he has an agenda of his own...
-Katsuragi Misato - NERV's field officer
One of the extremely rare adults who were blessed by Mana and not made insane by it. Her Mana power is limited, but still strong enough to give her an accelerated healing ability. That is probably the reason why her excessive drinking habits haven't driven her to an early grave... she has a pet penguin named Pen-Pen, and she appears to be able to talk with him - perhaps another, minor ability granted to her by Mana.
-Akagi Ritsuko - NERV's medical officer
Yet another adult who has very minor Mana powers. However, she was made slightly unstable by it, unlike Misato, and is therefore prone to rare but sudden mood swings. She seems to be extremely hostile towards the First Child - possibly because of her Mana-induced instability. Some believe that she also has minor healing powers, as most patients treated by her seem to heal faster than normal, but no such thing was evidenced by tests, and Ritsuko herself is not saying anything about it.
-Suzuhara Touji, age 15 - the Fourth Child
Found later on by the Marduk Institute, and one of Shinji's classmates. He comes across as a dumb jock with lots of strength, and unsurprisingly, he is attuned to Earth. He tends to chase after girls, but has a soft spot for the Class Representative, Hikari Horaki.
-Aida Kensuke, age 14 - Hacking expert
A classmate of Shinji, with no Mana powers to speak of. He is, however, an unparalleled genius at hacking, being even able to break in NERV's high security network, given enough time. He is also a maniacal weapon fetishist, and hopes to one day be able to ride a Power Suit, or at the very least operate a Wanzer.
-Horaki Hikari, age 14 - Class Representative
Classmate of the Children, and Class Representative. She secretly harbors feelings for Shinji, and does not like Touji's skirt-chasing ways. The Marduk Institute dismissed her as a negligible Mana user, but she actually possesses a very strong defensive power, if totally uncontrollable - whenever she feels threatened, she projects an enormously powerful spiritual barrier around her, capable of stopping even the most powerful Mana attack. When this barrier is active, Hikari can, with huge effort, extend it to protect someone close enough to her, but the strain is so much that it leaves her exhausted for days afterwards, and also seems to make her grumpy. Touji jokingly dubs the barrier 'Absolute Terror Field', or AT-Field, because, he claims, 'it makes her a terror to deal with after she uses it'.
-Kirishima Mana, age 16 - free agent
A Mana-less child, or so it seems. Rather, she is unable to use Mana herself, but can channel it into items, thus enabling her to give said items weak elemental properties. Not a very useful skill, but its there. Her real fied of expertise is information gathering - she's very good at hacking, though not as good as Kensuke, and is also a trained spy and capable of operating both Wanzers and Power Suits. One wonders what this girl is doing around the Children, and especially Shinji...
-Nagisa Kaworu, age unknown, the Fifth Child
A young man with an immense Mana power. He seems to have control over all elements. Nothing much is known about him, but he seems to have a liking for Shinji...
-Ibuki Maya - NERV bridge operator
She is in charge of relaying orders to the battlefield, and has a case of 'hero worship' directed towards Ritsuko, whom she views as a successful, intelligent, beautiful woman. She also develops a considerable crush for Shinji when he saves her during an Angel attack. Shinji claims that she has some sort of Mana power, despite her being born before Second Impact, and also claims she is in no danger of going insane from it. If this proves to be true, NERV would be the place with the greatest concentration of sane Mana users in the world. But, what could her Mana power be...?
-Azriel - the Dark Messenger, the Wings of Chaos
The Angel living within Shinji's body. Shinji believes him to be a simple figment of the imagination, but as time goes on, the young Child realizes that Azriel is quite real... in no small pat because when Shinji is under extreme stress, he 'grows' energy wings, becomes capable of flight and becomes extremely violent. This state, which Azriel calls 'Hikari no Tsubasa' (Wings of Light), is probably a manifestation of the Angel's chaotic nature. But Shinji's greatest fear is that the Wings of Light represent... the true, hateful 'himself' under the mask.
----
That's it for now. I'll list villains later... thoughts? Please do comment!
This will likely be a full AU story, with possibly only ties to NGE: Girlfriend of Steel 2...
