Chapter One: Awakening

I opened my eyes. There was an odd feeling of tension as I opened them, as if they had been left unused for a prolonged period of time. Little by little, my body was slowly coming to life, feeling the familiar rush of warmth and blood coursing throughout my body. I was able to blink more rapidly, and finally determined that I could probably sit up.

I could feel my body creaking and moaning like a warped violin on a humid summer day, cicadas screaming in chorus, sun beating down through the misty trees, the smell of beer and perfume saturating the air, the perpetual feeling of being enveloped in a heated blanket, the sound of people screaming, and so on and so forth — except that it wasn’t actually summer, nor was I a violin. I am a penguin.

“Where am I?”, I thought. I mustered the strength to sit up straight, and scanned my penguin eyes around the strange room I was in. It was then when it hit me like lightening.

“What about my backpack?!”, my mind screamed. I immediately reached to my back with my flippers. I could feel the cold, metal surface that was all too familiar. “Thank goodness!”, I squawked out loud. The backpack was vital to my survival, obviously. Without it, how could I do anything? I sighed a breath of relief. I could really use a hot shower and a cold beer.

Just then, I was frightened by a loud sound. A giant monolith appeared right before my eyes. Then another. And another. I soon was completely surrounded by titan slabs. I couldn’t figure out why, but they had an aura of authority to them, as if they were some sort of council for something important.

“What is the meaning of this,” a monolith bellowed. “This is not instrumentality!”

“Gendo has tricked us again!” another monolith howled.

“No need to fret,” a monolith behind me said with a calm tone. “This is why I have created a plan B. Does anyone see a penguin in this room?”

“I can’t see anything. Can anyone else?”

“No, I’ve never been able to see anything.”

“Who can see?!”

“SILENCE!” The calm voiced monolith was now frustrated. “Is there a penguin in the room with us? Speak now!”

I was struck frozen. A penguin? How would they know I was here? Where am I exactly? Should I respond?

I swallowed, and after a long moment of silence, decided to speak up.

“Hello, gentlemen. My name is Pen-pen. I’m not quite sure where I am, but you seem to know why I am here. Can someone please give me some information?”

“…I just heard a squawking noise! There IS a penguin in here!” I heard a nasally voiced monolith yell.

One of the monoliths suddenly started moving steadily towards me. I glanced nervously from side to side, with enormous beads of sweat flying off of my sleek penguin fur. The monolith seemed to stop right in front of me, as if it knew where I was.

“You, penguin…” The monolith said slowly, “… are Plan B.”

“W-what? That doesn’t make any sense! I’m just a penguin! I just eat terrible curry, drink beer, and take showers all day!” I yelled with tears in my eyes.

“Patience, little penguin. All will be clear to you soon. It sounds kind of crazy, but you’re going to be the key for putting the Instrumentality project back under our control. But before I explain any further, penguin, I need you to understand one thing first.”

The big, scary monolith scooted a little bit closer in my direction.

“We are all dead. You are DEAD.”

-Enter title card “EVANGELION 3.56 – YOU CAN [NOT] RE-DIE“-

author’s note: Chapter two is coming soon, like maybe late 2015. If you like what you just read, please like and subscribe, favorite this story, follow my twitter, instagram, or shoot me an e-mail. I’ve been working on this for at least a year, and let me tell you, this story goes places! Stay tuned!

(c) Japanator – Read entire story here.