text: [Themes: fan fiction]
  
  ...You, Dawn Walker, are using your laptop to chat on the 'MAGI' chat client, a place for Evangelion fans...
  
  YOU ARE CHATTING AS: Shinjigal592
  YOU ARE CHATTING WITH: BigManGendo, TipsySato, ayanamiraygun, kaworuchan~<3, and ANTABAKA96.
  
  S: Hi
  T: man cant tell u nuf how happy i m thank you bigmn gendo
  T: if u wer hre id kis u
  T: don kno why th heck u wont tel wherr u foun it but il kis u
  B: I can't understand a word you're saying.
  k: Sorry I can't be there!!!!!!!!!!
  A: Hey shin you missed a LOT -_-;
  S: I figured
  S: So what is it that I missed anyway??
  B: I found a bootlegged, unfinished cut of Evangelion 3.0.
  
  a: hes going to be showing it at marvin's pizza place later today
  S: Marvin's pizza place is in Appleton right? That's where I live
  B: This is such a huge coincidence, because that's exactly where I live too.
  T: i am SO htere
  A: I live clear across the ocean so...
  a: i'm heading over already
  k: You have a good time maybe you can stream the movie later for me or something ^_^
  
  This is a golden opportunity. It's your first chance to see a movie for which delays are nearly guaranteed. It could even be your only chance. On the other hand, it's bootlegged and unfinished, meaning it's illegal AND not as polished as the final product. You also don't think it comes with subtitles. Of course, it could be fake, but would your friend and Shinji's father the Big Man ever lie to you?
  
  ...Gendo Ikari was a great manipulator.
  
  > However, should you choose to accept the Big Man's offer, you take what some would call the 'smart' choice, even though it may be unrealistic and, yes, stupid.
  B: Awesome. I'll be waiting.
  T: awriiiiiiiiight
  A: u_u Yah just our luck huh out of towners
  k: No sweat!!!!!!!! I can watch it later! <3
  S: What time do I have to be there by?
  B: It's going on this evening, so take your time.
  S: Cool! Cool! Cooooooooooool!
  
  You log off.
  
  Awesome! You've successfully taken the call. Too bad you aren't living on your own yet - you'll probably have to ask your mom if you can go before actually leaving. (While we're at it, your dad, while very loving, is often out of town.) And even then, you need directions to Marvin's Pizza Place.
  
  > continue using computer
  Of course! It's a trivial matter to search for Marvin's coordinates on your supercool 'NERV' laptop.
  
  > search for Marvin's Pizza Place directions
  Using Evangelioogle, a form of Google made just for fans like you!, you soon pull up Marvin's's official website and find its location in Appleton, U.S.A., and using the address you're able to quickly write out directions on the palm of your hand, which are as follows...
  
  1. From the house, turn left and walk.
  2. At the payphone, turn right.
  3. Walk two blocks. Marvin will be there.
  
  Criminy! Now you have everything you need to high-tail it to Marvin's! But if you didn't know where the place was, you should be ashamed of yourself, because it was very close.
  
  Of course! It's a trivial matter to search for Marvin's coordinates on your supercool 'NERV' laptop.
  
  > turn your attention towards the room instead
  Searching this cluttered fandom-saturated mess for anything that might someday be useful is hardly an option!
  
  Everywhere you look, there's either some homosexual grey-haired hunk or a sexy, pale, blue-haired mistress. Simply by leaving your bed, you have a fifty-percent chance of bumping into a life-sized cardboard cutout of Evangelion's protagonist Shinji Ikari.
  
  But you guess you could do it.
  
  > go to door
  You tiptoe around NGE paraphernalia and slowly open the door.
  
  Down these stairs is your gateway to the outside world, and also a great way to ask your mom for permission to go to Marvin's. You can see her from here; she's currently doing nothing of grave importance, lounging around on the couch and watching television.
  
  > Go talk to your mom
  You remember the vast importance of filial bonds in Evangelion, and realize that if you didn't tell your mother about your plans, you'll feel that pang of regret for the rest of your life! Or you'll just be grounded. Either case is bad.
  
  "Hey Mom," you say as you walk down the stairs a little, "I'm going out to Marvin's today."
  
  "Why the sudden trip?"
  
  "I just-"
  
  "Yeah, I bet it 'just feels like one of those pizza days', Dawn. Go on ahead, but be back by midnight."
  
  Score.
  Oh, but lest you forget...you need to get directions to Marvin's. Mom guesses that it's probably down by the payphone to the left of our house or something. The answer's good enough. You'll take whatever directions you can get.
  
  > exit house
  You leave home the smart, responsible, and guilt-free way. Time to go catch some movie!
  
  Who needs directions to some smelly old Marvin's place? Wherever it is, you can make it. Now go in whatever direction sounds right.
  
  > go left
  You turn left, and start walking.
  
  There's nothing special about this neighborhood. It's empty, mostly suburban and a bit rural, with a lot of stupid wildlife and stupid wide expanses. Compared to the big metropolis in Neon Genesis Evangelion, Tokyo-3, it's a no-name hick town.
  
  In addition to cicadas, you think you hear a helicopter. Hm! It's such a nice day.
  
  You soon reach a payphone, which you have no change for, so it's practically useless. Which way?
  
  > Straight ahead
  An explosion rings in your ears, and a sweeping gust of wind nearly knocks you off your feet.
  
  You look up, which is an option that never occurred to you before. You see several grey flying vehicles that are circling around-
  
  Woah. Wait. Huh.
  
  Let's get a closer look at that thing.
  
  > ://
  That's Sachiel.
  
  That's an Angel.
  
  That's one of the main antagonists of Evangelion.
  
  > Prologue_end
  You Can (Not) Wait
  "The interaction of men and women isn't very logical."
  
  My name is Dawn Walker. Today, something I have long fantasized about has become real; no, not Rebuild of Evangelion 3.0, but the world and mythos of Evangelion canon itself.
  
  It may be my dream come true, or my greatest nightmare.
  
  > ://
  A black car zooms toward you with wild determination! Judging by the person's driving skills, he or she might be an even greater danger to you than Sachiel and his explosions of doom!
  
  Think fast!
  
  > run away
  Shinji might have stayed put when Misato's car came rolling down to him, but you'd rather risk dying in a horrible explosion than taking any favors from this crazy broad.
  
  You flee at an average speed of five miles per hour. As she catches up to you, the driver slows her vehicle and rolls down the window.
  
  "Get in here!" the lady in shades yells. "I'll take you to Marvin's! If you don't get in, you'll be killed!"
  
  > If you choose to hop in, you are not only doing the logical thing in realistic terms; you are also doing the logical thing in choose-your-own-adventure terms.
  You open the door and quickly get in - right on time for another explosion to blow through the area, and this time much closer to you. Flames are practically licking at the rear window as the car drives away. That last explosion caused by the Angel...could it have taken your mother's life?
  
  Moreover, as the smoke clears, sunlight comes in and the car escapes with miraculously little damage, you realize something else pressing: "Are you even going to Marvin's!? Don't make so many sharp turns, you'll miss it!"
  
  "I know what I'm doing!" says the driver. "Goodness, don't you think I want to see that movie too!?"
  
  You move a bit, to get a closer look at the driver. She's wearing shades, a red coat, and a short black dress, and her hair is a sadly-normal brown. "...Who are you?" you ask.
  
  "Who d'you think I am, Shinjigal? I'm TipsySato. Now buckle up, because if I crash and you don't, I'll take you out with me."
  
  > ://
  You buckle up, and -- there it is! Marvin's Pizza Place is straight ahead!
  
  "I see it!" you exclaim.
  
  "Yeah, yeah, so do I," sighs TipsySato. "Don't give me any crap about crashing into this thing, either! I know better."
  
  > ://
  
  > ://
  A large, older crowd of people sits in the restaurant, eating pizza and setting up televisions with slight apprehension.. When TipsySato's car crashes straight through the Marvin's wall, nobody flinches. It's as if they foresaw such an event. And if that is as things seem to be, that would be correct...because that is also how things truly were.
  
  One hook-nosed man, noticing the wreckage and ensuing flames, calls up BigManGendo, the manipulator supposedly behind this whole operation. "This is xXxFuyutsuki71rules09371xXx. The Third Child is in, repeat, the Third Child is in."
  
  "Excellent," he replies. "I will be arriving momentarily. Feel free to educate Shinjigal in the meantime...if there's anything she hasn't 'gotten' already."
  
  "Roger." He closes his cell phone and watches the car...
  
  > ://
  You and TipsySato dust yourselves off and casually drop out of the car. It's suspended in the air on account of it being lodged in the wall, and its flames are slowly spreading. "Well, you didn't get hurt, right?" TipsySato says even more casually.
  
  "That was highly irresponsible of you," interjects the Fuyutsuki fan from a pizza table, "but your primary mission has been fulfilled. TipsySato, you are hereby dismissed."
  
  "Sweet. Am I paying for the damages on that thing?" She gestures toward the car.
  
  "Of course not. GAINAX will refund all parties in full."
  
  "Cool! Later, everyone." TipsySato turns away and is about to open the door.
  
  "Watch out!" everybody screams simultaneously. Another explosion forces her back in. Her face is pale with fear. She's really irresponsible and forgetful, like a Misato without morals.
  
  "If you don't mind shying away from your destiny, please come over here. I go by xXxFuyutsuki71rules09371xXx," says the old guy with the pineapple pizza slice in one hand. "In keeping with this, I am also a reproduction of the original Fuyutsuki. I know that must sound crazy to you, but you can't afford to distrust us at this time. The fates of our world and, more importantly, of the third Rebuild of Evangelion movie, ride on this."
  
  * song is NERV from the Neon Genesis Evangelion soundtrack.
  
  > say "Nah, never mind. The hell with this. I'm going to go outside and drive myself crazy shortly before getting exploded."
  Every single face in the pizza joint is staring at you; some with lifeless apathy, others with abject horror, and some with vapid distaste.
  
  Fuyutsuki's clone is the first to speak up. "Very well. If you want so badly to throw away a feature-length film and the lives of innocents, just step out that front door. Maybe we can get ayanamiraygun to pilot, but...good Lord...in the condition he's in, I don't even know if it's possible..."
  
  You open the door and take your leave.
  
  It's getting darker outside. If you look up for a moment...
  
  > ://
  ...you can see one of Sachiel's cross-shaped explosions, peaking over the ruins of houses.
  
  Like one last spectacle, at the end of your earth...
  
  _but did you respect your mother?
  
  * song is Mother is the First Other from the Evangelion soundtrack.
  
  > Got: the 'everybody died but you died in a mildly heartwarming manner' ending!
  Separation Anxiety
  "You know who else respected her mother? MY MOM!"
  
  My name is Dawn Walker. My stomach feels utterly empty, and I am drained of all motivation. Maybe I should just leave this world. That's probably what everyone would want, isn't it? So if the whole world ends, that's just a faster way to do it - kill me off.
  
  Evangelion no longer holds the same wonder and intrigue to me as it once did. Rather, I realize that I've become somewhat disillusioned with it. What could I have spent my life on instead? No; if I was simply a product of GAINAX scripted to do whatever is necessary, I would have become a fan of the show, whether I wanted to or not.
  
  Then again, why would they sign their own death sentence? Are all of the clones so dismissive of life that they would allow such a fate befall them?
  
  But that's not what some of their faces said.
  
  And 'did you respect your mother'? What kind of a question is that to ask myself at a time like this? She wasn't even my real mother, now, was she.
  
  But despite all of this heavenly destruction, I've noticed that the cicadas have never stopped chirping. It's almost nice to listen to them after everything that's happened. Weeeeooo, weeeeooo, weeoo weeeeeeeeeeee.....
  
  > ://
  But really, just because she didn't birth me doesn't make her any less my mother. She loved me and cared for me. She stayed by my side even through my Evangelion obsession. I can't begin to imagine how much of the merchandise she bought for me. It's like half of her salary goes toward just that.
  
  I settle into a fetal position and think about how hard she worked...and how immeasurable her love for me was. Perhaps doing this could spark something, anything, to bring us back together, because all of a sudden I want so desperately to thank her, one final time.
  
  Be it to a ghost, or a mere hallucination, before we have to meet in heaven.
  
  Because above all, even above protecting its sacred Rebuild movie, Neon Genesis Evangelion would want me to love my mother...
  
  > ://
  I want that to be Mother, stretching her hand out to me.
  
  > ://
  And even as I selfishly leave this world, I want to do so with as little regret as possible.