As the TARDIS dematerialized, the Doctor worked on the console to pinpoint the exact date and time that Shinji had told him about. What could he have been doing during that exact time?
A broad date, with no exact time of when the Angel attack happened.
If that was where it all began, there must have been some type of… origin place where the mess towards Armageddon started. He just moved to Tokyo-3 around that time. Yet there were so many other factors to take in.
Nonetheless, he needed to bank on it. The safety of humankind, and Shinji’s well-being, depended on it.
K-9 rolled next to the Doctor.
“Master?” He asked. “Is our holiday still on schedule?”
The Time Lord shook his head. “Not this time, K-9.” He said. “We’ve got more pressing matters to deal with, now.”
The Doctor set the new coordinates in, and decided on a date and time to gamble. Hopefully he’d land in the right spot this time, and not overshoot two months before the chain of events started.
“Hang tight, K-9!” The Doctor called as he worked furiously to the controls. “We’re going back further in time to Tokyo-3. Let’s see, 4:30 PM… On the 3rd of February… 2015!” He locked the controls in and threw the lever.
As the Time Rotor bobbed up and down on the console, the Doctor gripped the panels as the TARDIS made for its new destination.
“Hold on, Shinji.” He said. “You’re about to get visitors…”
The metalic noises of the running machine, absentminded chatter of passengers.
Somewhere down a few seats a group of younger teenagers were excitedly showing off a new card game to each other.
Shinji heard none of it, as he, and assorted other passengers, had blocked out the noise with their own music, earbuds, headphones, anything that would provide them with the white noise to help the ride pass by faster.
The train stopped at the station a few minutes ahead of time. It was meant to arrive at 4:30pm, but Shinji wasn’t going to complain. It gave him extra time to make his way through the streets to his meeting spot.
He turned his music down as he stepped off the train with his suitcase in hand, glancing around a bit before beginning his walk down the street.
He was supposed to meet Misato somewhere… He couldn’t quite remember where he was supposed to go. Maybe calling would be the best option in his situation.
Unbeknowest to the boy was a wheezing, groaning sound, filling the landscape as the train emptied the lone passenger to Tokyo-3. The blue door opened as the Doctor, sans his hat, poked his head out and peaked to the left and right. The entire platform was empty...
It was awfully quiet, save for the cicadas that rang through the landscape.
He stepped out and closed the door, as it locked behind him. Walking a distance, he took the sights in.
Tokyo-3 looked far more advanced than he would have imagined. The only issue was a particular glaring one.
The entire streets were empty.
The city was a literal ghost town. No one was found walking the streets, and the silence was incredibly unsettling.
As he wondered why exactly there was no one on the streets, a loudspeaker soon answered his question.
“May I have your attention? As of 12:30 PM today, a special State of Emergency has been declared for the Kanto and Juuban regions surrounding the Tokai district. All residents must evacuate to the shelters immediately. Repeat...”
That certainly explained why the entire place was empty. He needed to find Shinji and fast. Thankfully, he saw that there was a figure walking down one of the empty sidewalks. From behind, the figure had a familiar white dress shirt, dark blue slacks, and a familiar brown hair cut.
The Doctor's eyes widened. “Shinji...!” He said to himself.
Running to catch up to him, he slowed himself down to where he was just a bit behind him. This would be the very moment that history was going to be altered. Generally, it was punishable by death by the Time Lords to interfere with fixed points in time, like the tragedy that he had just witnessed a year later. However, when it came to a young boy, his own mental health, and the safety of the entire planet, the Doctor was more than willing to alter Shinji in a big way.
As they say, even the smallest events can completely change the course of history. Even just a simple...
“Good afternoon!” The Doctor called out to Shinji. “I don't suppose you would care for some company?”
theartofmadeline
dededos
baratheonpilled
areudirty
titsay
romaincrisis
tangentwithtanner