NGE: Mitigation by Fourth Impact is another in the proud tradition of Neon Genesis Evangelion Peggy Sue Fanfic.
This time around, Asuka is the resident time traveler, though the jump didn't quite go as smoothly as she probably would have liked, leaving her with memory loss and brief flashes of a future that hasn't happened yet.
When the story kicks off, everything seems normal as Misato takes Shinji and his friends out to meet Unit-02 and Asuka. Things proceed basically exactly as they do in the show's canon. Then Asuka passes out while she and Shinji are fighting the sixth angel. Meanwhile, Gendo finds out that someone has used his top secret time machine, and he sets out to figure out who so he can correct the deviation from his scenario.
Gradually, things spin away from canon. Several characters already know the truth about Gendo's designs, a couple are on the run and forced to flee the country, and new unexpected friendships are formed.
It can be read here
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Tropes:
- After the End: Asuka spent more than a year in the post Third-Impact world before making the jump.
- Beware the Nice Ones: You know that berserk, almost feral rage that Shinji sometimes showed when he was pushed too far? Well it turns out that it can be provoked even when he's outside an EVA.
- Big Brother Mentor: Just like the original series, Kaji is this for Shinji. More so after they go on the run.
- Big Brother Is Watching: Gendo seems to have eyes and ears pretty much everywhere, including airports and the pilots' bedrooms.
- Big Damn Heroes: Kaji, with help from an unexpected source, arrives in the nick of time to save Shinji from death at the hands of Section 2 agents.
- Couch Gag: Done with the disclaimer.
- Crazy-Prepared: Gendo has a plan for absolutely everything. Including potential time travelers (He had the machine built in the first place). Not to mention, he's ready to cut off all communications between Tokyo-3 and the outside world and chemically indoctrinate thousands of soldiers at the drop of a hat. Because hey, you never know when you might need to.
- Cryptic Conversation: As in the series, Gendo and Fuyutsuki have several of these.
- Empty Piles of Clothing: Apparently a somewhat disturbing fact of life in Post-Third Impact Earth.
- Everyone Can See It: Kaji alludes to this when Shinji asks him for advice about Asuka.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Asuka hadn't planned on making the time jump alone, but... well, things kinda blew up. The machine overloaded during its first use and Shinji rerouted the power surge to above the control room he was locked in so Asuka could safely make the jump.
- Invulnerable Knuckles: Averted. After beating a Nerv agent, Shinji's hands start to scab over.
- Mythology Gag: In Chapter 2, Asuka accuses Shinji of wanting to do "something perverted" while she was unconscious in the hospital.
- No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: In chapter 9, one of NERV's agent's is subject to this at the hands of Shinji. After several chapters on the run, NERV agents finally catch up with Kaji and Shinji. During the ensuing fight, a traumatized Shinji finally snaps, tackles one of their assailants and begins beating his face to a bloody pulp; Kaji has to intervene to make him stop. Keep in mind that this is a scrawny 14 year old kid vs a full grown adult, who was also armed.
- Not What I Signed on For: Gendo has no qualms about ordering Section 2 to "neutralize" Shinji, because he believes that his son is the time traveler. Fuyutsuki however, does due to his soft spot for Shinji's mother, Yui. This leads to him leaking information to Kaji.
- Shout-Out: The fic basically starts with one to Half-Life. A resonance cascade leads to the time machine's destruction.
- Spanner in the Works: Subverted. Gendo figures out that there's a time traveler in his midst within the first chapter. Double subverted: He comes to the conclusion that Shinji, not Asuka, is the time traveler. Furthermore, he's so focused on dealing with Shinj that Asuka has completely escaped his notice.
- The Stations of the Canon: The fic's divergence from cannon is slow at first, but starts to pick up momentum as the story proceeds. Then it completely "jumps the tracks" in chapter 5.
- Teach Me How To Fight: After their flight from Tokyo 3 Shinji and Kaji find safe haven with a group of Russian Special Forces, who then begin teaching the former the basics of combat (since they don't have time to go over more intense training).
