(in which Asuka is truly an Ace Pilot, Misato tries to kick Kaji in the face, and a running gag is solidified with Toji and Kensuke.)
"Well thank God
that's still the same."
"Looks like
that's still the same as well." Misato mused in amusement.
"The hell would a running gag be?"
"A joke that keeps happening, Zero Two." Ritsuko tutored. "It's a common trope in comedy."
"I thought they were
already that."
"Oh they aren't
that bad." Shinji defended. "Laserdiscs aside."
"They certainly
differ from their Laserdisc counterparts. Similar to all of us."
"You could even say it was their
others that shaped them for the better. Like
us."
USS Tastelessness
""This task force still has four whole wings at its disposal.""
A: "Not that they'd be
useful against an
Angel."
K: "I believe he was getting to that point."
Mi: "All this
sounds accurate, at the very least. I wonder why they didn't
rename the vessels this time around."
Ma: "Probably a bridge too far, in that world. Things were
coordinated by the UN, not
requisitioned by the UN."
S: "That sounds like a rather
key difference."
Ri: "And yet, not much is
too different. The UN is still in ultimate control of the armed forces of the world."
Mi: "Unless you're a powerful enough nation to
ignore the United Nations and fight on your own."
E: "The fleet seems rather larger this time around, as well. At least from what I remember from the Laserdiscs."
Mi: "They didn't give us a
full fleet. They
knew they were nothing more than a glorified delivery service, so they didn't even
bother giving us the whole affair."
Z: "Of course, it's all in the
spectacle. I know
here they didn't really
focus on that, if Asuka's anyone to go by."
A: "Oh they certainly hyped it up. There was
always a sizeable crowd, even
Reykjavik had a lot of people come see us off. And that's practically a
fishing town."
Re: "I would expect
another reason why the fleet size was smaller than average. No fleet could go against an Angel, so why bother?"
H: "Looks like they
never expected an Angel to attack."
Mi: "You can thank
Kaji for that."
...
"It didn't help that he had a granddaughter that was Asuka's age."
Ri: "It wouldn't. It's rather a shame he wouldn't know
why, even
with his higher clearance."
A: "Of course, if I was a
Nephilim he probably wouldn't have given two shits about it."
E: "It makes sense they would find such a new reality difficult to adapt to. But that's the simple truth. Conventional weaponry simply does not work."
Z: "The Jet Alone seemed to work alright. Although then again, that's not even really
conventional in of itself."
Mi: "Considering
Gundam are a common thing in that world, they might as
well be conventional weapons at this point."
H: "Y'know, it's always someone
young piloting an Evangelion or other mech.
We certainly weren't that old by the time we got into the Franxx."
Ma: "The only exception I know
you guys would've seen would've been Pacific Rim. Cause I know pretty much
all the pilots in Gurren Lagann were adult, excluding Simon in the first half."
S: "Even then,
Uprising had some young pilots. Hell, some of them
died."
K: "This world has a good reason for using such young pilots, as you would know. The Evangelion, at least the Old-Type, relies on a previous emotional connection between core and pilot. Just so, the strongest relation was realised by Seele to be that of a mother and her child."
A: "I started piloting probably younger than
any of you, I was like
8 when I first got into Unit-02. Then again,
Rei probably wasn't that old as well."
Re: "I was
young. 2011 sometime. Going by legal age, that would put me at
9 years old."
Ri: "It's not a competition, you know."
Re: "I would most likely be exempt either way. I have
three distinct ages, all of which feel rather irrelevant to me."
Ri: "It all comes down to what would be easiest to explain to authorities like the government. Hence why we use your
legal age in all your official documents."
Z: "You at least have a
year you were born. I don't even know when
either of us we're born. Hell, I never really kept
track of my age."
Ri: "Rei's
legal date of birth is April 4, 2001. We essentially took
Shinji's birthdate and added 10 months with change to it."
Re: "Do you know when Yui Ikari's recovery attempt happened? That would be when I first came to be."
Ri: "March 30, 2006. Gendo
very deliberately picked that date to match her birthday."
A: "Well, do you want us to celebrate
both birthdays? Cause I know we celebrate the
April one."
Re: "One birthday is enough for me. But thank you for the gesture." A demure smile.
Aware
"SO BE IT."
Kaworu gave a curious hum. "I wonder whom awakened."
Ri: "One could say
Iruel took a different approach to most other Angels."
E: "You could say as much for Sandalphon as well."
A: "Considering they were one of the few Angels
not to be near Tokyo-3, at least excluding Gaghiel."
H: "That
could be rather odd, to the Angels. Not falling for the trap but instead
trapping."
Re: "Perhaps Sandalphon expects one of their kin to
inform someone else about it."
K: "Wise, if you wanted to avoid Seele. It very well could be
either of them. Though I am myself leaning closer to Sandalphon, if only because my kin seem to be awakening in a rather linear fashion. I doubt Iruel will awaken before Sahaquiel will."
Ma: "Iruel didn't even
exist in the Theatrical, did he?"
Mi: "
Gaghiel exists alright in
this book."
K: "Indeed. Despite the similarities to the Theatrical, there are yet still several elements that are native to
our world, and the Laserdiscs."
S: "Then again, wasn't there a completely
new Angel in the Theatrical? That Asuka faced?"
A: "The one you called
Clockiel?"
S: "It
looked vaguely like clockwork, alright?"
Misato barely suppressed her laugh. "It's
fitting, I suppose."
Z: "I'm guessing it's not like anything
we've seen."
They all shook their heads. "It's exclusive to the Theatricals. Though honestly,
I defeated it rather easily
there, we could've probably
thrashed it here. Hey Rits, any chance we can get that in the sim?"
Ri: "
Clockiel was
painfully weak as an Angel; it took
one Evangelion, on
battery, to defeat them in around
two minutes."
A: "I'm guessing that's a
no?"
Ri: "Not without
overhauling it. Plus, I'm busy adding
another Angel to that simulator anyway."
S: "
Joy."
...
"Tokita frowned; he didn't need to pretend that this realization stung. "Yes.""
Mi: "That would be the
only somewhat reasonable explanation to it all. Cause there's absolutely
no way they would've missed that."
K: "Good old fashioned
gaslighting. Of course, Seele
would have the resources for such thing."
Ri: "Manipulating something to their advantage would be
easy."
S: "Tokita was
right to be paranoid, then."
Ma: "Though it
is rather impressive, the lengths they went to. It's a thing that once something gets
on the Internet, it
never leaves it."
Re: "Of course, Seele would have the resources to do such thing."
Ri: "We do too, at least to an extent. Surface level internet is rather easy with the Magi, helps not many people keep their servers secure enough."
E: "Then again any computer would fall to the brunt of the Magi."
Ma: "Doesn't help most of the servers still run on
Whistler, of all things."
A: "It's better than fucking
2000 or
Millennium, at least. Plus, what
else are they gonna run?"
E: "I would hope one of the various Unixes or Unix alike systems."
Ri: "You'd be disappointed. Most average users don't want to mess with such systems; they see Unix as something
arcane."
Z: "I mean, I can see
why it might be considered arcane.
Eliza runs it, and I don't know
how you could use a computer program like
that."
E: "Ostensibly, it is of the same codebase as the standard Evangelion or Magi PTOS. Though I doubt Unix was ever designed for consciousness."
S: "And yet here you are."
E: "And yet here I am. You could call it a testament to the modularity and reliability of my system, at least."
...
""I have no doubt that NHIS would like to implement my nanotech in other fields.""
Ma: "Well, they explained
why us and Seele would find the MTS interesting, at least."
Ri: "
We would find such thing interesting. Nanotechnology is still rather experimental in this world."
H: "Could blame Second Impact for that, though
that world seemed to do alright despite that."
E: "That seems to be a common thread, that that world is more technologically advanced than our own."
S: "That extended research of Adam seems to have paid off, then."
Z: "
Was the MTS even from Adam?"
Re: "The base information was obtained from
NERV. It is rather likely that there is at least
some Adam sourced knowledge from that."
A: "Not to mention
Kleinium was originally Adam based as well."
K: "It's rather a shame this world was not able to spend more time with my father, then."
Mi: "I find it odd they
could even spend
years observing and experimenting on Adam. Why couldn't
this world be that lucky?"
Re: "I believe they said Adam was
observing the Lilim. Which could explain
why they felt the need to...
delay their awakening."
K: "Though such observation could have also
detrimental the Lilim. In fact, it very well
might've. We would've had more of an insight into the way you go about things. Combine this knowledge with our more
open communication, you have a more difficult time for the Lilim."
A: "We've done alright
so far."
Ri: "No point jumping to conclusions just yet. There are many more Angels after Gaghiel."
...
""Hn. The twists and turns of life can be quite unfortunate," remarked Tokita."
Ri: "It doesn't help him the twists and turns were in
our favour."
Ma: "Though that
is rather noble of him, isn't it?"
A: "Considering this country's work culture."
K: "He himself even stated he had a
duty to remain with Jet Alone. It is his own, after all."
Mi: "At least
before we requisitioned it."
Re: "Still. He is the
face of Jet Alone. He would know best how to work it, and he has at least a
business relationship with the mother of the pilots."
H: "I doubt it'd be a rather
cordial relationship, after today."
S: "Not like he
can leave NERV now, can he?"
E: "The others can. They do not know too much, as of yet. And I imagine it would be in their best interests to return to the NHIS; not just reputation wise but for safety's sake."
Z: "Even just to
keep that relation they have with the NHIS."
Ri: "There is also the fact they will most likely have to
move to Tokyo-3 in order to work for NERV. Which would be a difficult issue in of itself."
Mi: "Not many salarymen want to move their families to a war zone. What a surprise there."
Ri: "Why do you think we have so many benefits? We have to entice them
somehow."
A: "It works for
us. Though not like
we had too much of a choice."
...
"Shiro Tokita smiled. Two out of five wasn't that bad."
A: "I'm rather surprised they
did stay with him."
Ma: "Sometimes personal loyalties trump
company loyalties."
Z: "And I imagine with how...
grey the NHIS have been with this, some
might turn against them."
Mi: "
NERV has been rather grey with this matter as well."
S: "Though he expected to lose
all of his team, didn't he? Two out of five really
isn't that bad."
Re: "Rather a shame he can
not tell Kirishima about
why he must stick with NERV."
K: "He has his reasons. I imagine it'd be...
problematic if she knew."
E: "For the continuity of her life, maybe."
Ri: "Someone like
Lilith, you simply can't
tell someone about it. You have to actually
see her for yourself, in order to believe."
H: "It
is a rather unbelievable truth."
A: "Which is probably
why it's not common knowledge.
No one would believe we have
God trapped in our basement."
Ri: "Pretty much. Which has worked well in our favour; no one but a conspiracy theorist would believe such thing without seeing it for themselves."
S: "I
knew we had Lilith, but I don't think I even
saw her until the
Laserdiscs."
Re: "
We have. And you took our word for it."
S: "Well, you're not exactly a
conspiracy theorist. Plus, we
trust you two."
A: "Plus, after
everything you told us, we just readily accepted it by that point."
Mi: "That's probably the key detail. You
trust Rei. I doubt Kirishima would readily trust
Tokita."
Ma: "Especially
after he wasn't able to overturn the acquisition. It's
not lost on me she holds some
ire for us."
Ri: "They were like that
here, as well."
Z: "I imagine that would've made them
eager to invade NERV."
Ri: "Holding their families hostage wouldn't have helped either. I heard their
attitude towards us has improved since they tried to invade us, at least."
Suggestions of Physics
""Bah, excuses excuses.""
Kaworu huffed.
"Why is it I keep imagining the same dramatic piece of music every time we visit your secret lab?"
Ri: "I wouldn't be surprised if I made a
mechanism to play some cliche musical number every time I entered this lab."
Z: "Does Mondschein exist
here?"
Ri: "If he does, he's not Tokyo-3 staff. He could be Massachusetts staff."
Mi: "God forbid he was
Nevada staff."
Ma: "Still, science takes
time. Hell, we even said it could take
decades."
A: "That's
way too slow for
that, Rits."
E: "Of course, Angelic materials don't really follow the laws of physics. It would be difficult at best to really look into such things."
S: "Considering not even the
Magi knew what Shamshel was."
Ri: "It found
some aspects, but even then."
K: "They're more
suggestions for Nephilim, Angels and Evangelion, instead of outright
laws."
S: "No wonder Ritsuko's insane."
Ri: "Though that's an odd thing. The knowledge has driven
me insane, but
others seemed to have handled this in an at least
somewhat more productive manner."
Mi: "Not like you're
not productive in your insane personality."
Ritsuko nodded in acknowledgement. "That
is a decent thing. I'm not screaming in a straitjacket, at least."
...
""Dr. Mondschein stared. "…whatever Doc. I'm sending the specs.""
Mi: "Oh for Christ's sake,
Angel Nukes?"
Ri: "Though
that is an interesting observation of the
fourth Angel. We never observed such thing with
our Shamshel."
K: "Of course, considering our nature."
Ri: "Oh there
were some safeguards. But we generally considered your kin rather
stable. Otherwise they would've
annihilated as soon as they awoke."
K: "That would have been rather unfortunate, admittedly."
Ma: "Even a
bomb made of that would've been considered somewhat exotic, at least by
my standards."
A: "It's
Ritsuko. Exotic to
her would be if it sang
Hello My Baby like that fucking alien in
Spaceballs."
E: "It seems to me like it's just a more expensive N2 mine."
S: "Man, no
wonder you guys set up a facility in Alaska. It's probably the most
isolated one you have there."
Ri: "The
Nevada facility was our isolated facility. For all the stuff that
could be damaging."
Z: "Well, you can say not
much was lost, at least."
Mi: "Even though the Americans, in all their wisdom, continued to use the area surrounding it as a military base."
K: "Then again, not like they could've
known the ground would've swallowed them up."
Ri: "There is that.
No one could have anticipated such a thing happening."
Re: "Other than Seele."
...
""Oh my dear sweet daughter," The saccharine tone of HEROD's voice was dripping with acid. "It's hard for me to be inefficient." For all intents and purposes, given her abilities to multitask as MAGI-00, Naoko Akagi could afford to 'waste time', as some would term it. "I just wanted to talk.""
Ri: "
Sure."
Ma: "She certainly
does know how to push your buttons, doesn't she?"
Ri: "So did
my mum. But her's was more... light hearted, in a way."
K: "Her current situation would've almost certainly changed her."
Re: "...She certainly
does seem more...
toxic. In a sense."
S: "I doubt she's
happy as a
computer. It's not exactly a fate I'd
want."
E: "I'm doing alright for myself. Though admittedly, I was always designed with a computer architecture in mind."
Z: "Something about
becoming a computer doesn't entirely appeal to me."
E: "It wouldn't appeal to most people. Though it's somewhat better with wetware; you aren't restricted to either a 1 or a 0, on or off, yes or no with nowhere in between."
A: "Instead, you could have logic like '
maybe', or '
who cares'. That's what I
always found odd about biocomputing, you have a
lot more leniency when it comes to logical states. They're rather
human, in a way."
Ri: "Wetware
does have a tendency to develop a personality, if the Magi are any indication."
H: "Though from my understanding, the Magi were grown to
be Magi. They weren't
human beforehand, were they?"
Ri: "Not at all. This makes
Herod rather exceptional, in a sense."
A: "Even though you could
theoretically do such a thing."
Mi: "Theory is one thing.
Ethics is another."
S: "Not like
that NERV gives much concern to
ethical considerations."
Ri: "I'm sure
if we did, Randall would still be a regular cat."
Ma: "Though it seems the general insanity
isn't relegated just to
our NERV. If Mondschein created a
bomb out of
Angel material."
K: "I am almost
certain my kin would consider such thing
desecration. Using our own to
attack us? It would be on the same level as using an
Adam based Evangelion, at the very least."
Re: "It would depend what your kin considered more heinous. Appropriating your father, or appropriating your
departed kin."
Kaworu huffed. "
Either would result in my kin's wrath, I imagine."
...
"She glanced at the orange tabby nuzzling against her arm, smiling sadly as she pulled him into her arms, cradling him like a baby. "I need a smoke…""
Ritsuko
growled. "I'd
need a smoke after that."
Mi: "Sounds like
you need a smoke."
E: "You felt that way for Kaji?"
Ri: "Back then, a bit."
Mi: "Hell, you two were even a
thing after I first broke up with him."
Ri: "Which lasted all of a
month. There were
many reasons we broke it off."
S: "Didn't feel like rubbing salt into Misato's wound?"
Ri: "That was one of them. There was also the question of my burgeoning sexuality."
Ma: "I imagine that...
poor example of a relationship didn't help too much."
Ri: "It didn't. Though it's not like he was
bad; you're a lucky woman in that regard Misato."
She seemed rather proud of that fact, smirking.
Ri: "But I ultimately decided such a thing wasn't my thing."
Re: "Which is fair."
Z: "Though I wonder if your
mother would've known about such thing."
Ri: "She might've
guessed, but I never told her as much. I imagine
she would've guessed as much, considering I dress Miyata as a
woman. At least I can say
that's the same about me."
K: "If she
does see it like that, then this implies she might see it as a
sickness."
Ma: "Like
most people in this country, then."
Ri: "
Fuck the people who think that way. Even
with the relationship I had with my mother, I never bought up such a thing with her."
Re: "...In case she reacted as so. That was the reason why I pushed Sayaka and Kyoko to Kensuke. Love is love, no matter what society thinks."
K: "Society is rather powerful, alas. Especially one with as much rigidity as Japan."
Mi: "Why do you think not many people are
public with such relationship? Hell, Rits and Maya are the
only couple that's been rather
public with their relationship."
Ri: "Even
then, it was only because we
stopped giving a shit. We've been through hell and back, we
deserve some happiness in this Gods forsaken world."
After some silence, she got up and did as her counterpart wanted. "...You've been rather quiet, Asuka."
Asuka seemed to snap out of some deep thoughts. "Well... I wasn't exactly thinking about
that. You mentioned my mama was
completely absorbed into the Evangelion."
Ri: "...I did?"
Kaworu glanced over the text, and nodded in affirmation.
Asuka huffed. "That... no wonder I'm a bit more emotionally stable than I was."
S: "It would've
still destroyed you. As it would
me."
A: "...Well, that's the thing. What is better: having
all of you absorbed by Evangelion, or only
part of you? After... seeing what happened to my mama."
Ritsuko exhaled, smoke drifting toward an outlet fan. "None of us could have known at the time."
A: "I know. It's just...
bullshit. She tried to make it
better for herself and only ended up fucking over
everyone, and I can't blame
anyone, let alone
her. As you said, she couldn't have known."
H: "...Sounds like
you could use one of those smokes."
Asuka was rather grimly amused by this remark. "Nah. I don't like the idea of gumming up my lungs with tar. If I wanted stimulation, I'd drink some coffee or I'd get
Shinji to help. Cause ultimately, the best kinds of drugs are the ones your
body can make. And yeah, I know that's kinda rich coming from someone that drinks
beer most nights."
Mi: "At least
you can excuse drinking beer as being a
cultural thing. Plus, I usually
stop you once you get more than buzzed anyway."
A: "Not unless
you're more than buzzed. I usually have to stop
myself, in that case. Not to mention I
only drink beer."
Ritsuko gave a less than amused look at Misato.
Mi: "Yeah yeah, I know my pilots are more responsible than
I am."
Girl Talk
"("Then why did you call me cute?")
("Because you are!")"
There was well needed giggling throughout the crowd.
Re: "One of
many details I will need to learn."
K: "As
here."
A: "Maybe
as here, I'll help you out. Cause God knows I need to offload all my eccentric happiness
somewhere."
Re: "I am sure I will appreciate such a thing."
Mi: "Hikari would know enough to at least act as a
springboard."
H: "How
would your dynamic be? You two seem like
exact opposites in this book."
Ma: "You could even say that of
here, at least a while back."
Re: "An accurate statement. And yet, Asuka and Shinji
helped me become who I was today."
E: "It remains to be seen whether that will happen in this book as well, but Shinji has already begun to help defrost you, I believe the analogy went."
Re: "It is an
apt analogy. Even with how I am in that book, Shinji does not treat me any different. He treats me like I am...
normal. And I believe
that is why I feel this way for him."
Z: "That was one of the reasons I fell so hard for my
darling. He was the
second person to ever treat me normally. And I couldn't even
remember the first person who treated me like that; it took watching that damn
show of ours to recall it."
K: "It would also be why
you feel so strongly for Shinji and Asuka."
Re: "And how I eventually fell for
you too, Kaworu."
S: "Amazing how actually treating someone
normally helps in a relationship."
A: "
You'd know Shinji, you're practically an
expert in treating us all like that."
...
""Yo, Ayanami!""
The smile that was gradually growing on Rei during this whole exchange immediately deflated.
Much to everyone's amusement. "That's
Mana, I'm guessing."
Ri: "I imagine that's a similar reaction to what
you're feeling in here, Rei."
Re: "That would not surprise me in the slightest."
E: "Shame is we do have precedent for that kind of thinking. The last time you two interacted with each other, Mana had to be sedated to prevent her from going berserk."
K: "Though thing is, Mayumi wanted to
avoid this kind of thinking."
Re: "Even for
us, it would be difficult to ignore her rather
egregious errors of judgement."
A: "Going back to a more
happier place at least, it sounds like Hikari has taught you a bit about boys and stuff."
Mi: "Doin you proud, Asuka?"
A: "A bit. Especially if you consider how blind
she was with
Toji."
S: "I wonder if my father would
want us to be... well,
friendly."
Ma: "Probably nothing
too much, but
friendship he should find acceptable enough."
H: "Well, friendship is rather
required in a piloting group."
Z: "It was more
mandatory in
our world, wasn't it?"
S: "
This world, my father would've
gleefully broken us all up. Get all of us under his thumb."
Re: "We would not have allowed it. We
did not allow it. And... if events did not transpire as they did. I would have made sure myself."
...
"Her casual irreverence given the subject matter was irritating. "Is that all, Kirishima-san? If so, I'll be on my way.""
Ma: "I think she's trying to say 'stop and smell the roses'."
Ri: "I doubt Rei will take her words into consideration. Not after that
first impression."
Re: "It is not something you can just
drop."
S: "Even to
us,
without all that military training."
Z: "Is that
also another war that didn't happen here?"
Mi: "There were
some Central American Wars we know of, though word was thin. Remember, the UN had essentially written off
everything south of the equator."
K: "At least from what Seele knew from what little came out: Venezuela suffered greatly from Second Impact and eventually becoming embroiled in a civil war between the ruling Socialists and Neoliberalists, whom Seele suspected the CIA funded. Alas, such a war was ultimately pyrrhic for all sides involved; the Greater Brazilian Empire took all of six days to end a war that had lasted six
years. Of course, at that point, the citizens of Venezuela
accepted their imperial superiors with open arms."
H: "Do we know what happened afterwards?"
K: "Alas, no. The Greater Brazilian Empire was rather...
unwelcoming of Seele."
A: "Gee, I wonder why."
Mi: "Even
today, they seem rather
insular. Kaji said it was like Sakoku on
amphetamines. They haven't even joined the
United Nations."
Ri: "I doubt many
empires would join the United Nations. Something to do with keeping their
empire intact."
...
"One moment, they were still. The next, there were footprints in the concrete, and the nephilim were gone."
Ritsuko chuckled. "And so a friendship is born."
Re: "Or at least a competitive relationship."
E: "It's better than where you were."
S: "Though that's rather
kind of Kirishima to allow that for her sister."
A: "She seems to be doing rather
well for herself, despite Mana."
Ma: "It's almost like
your relationship with Rei, Kaworu. How you two started off kinda at each other's throats."
K: "I can at least say I
never attacked another person. Unlike Kirishima."
Z: "I know
I can't say as much."
Mi: "You never attacked anyone with a
rocket launcher. How 'bout that?"
Z: "That's a rather
specific category, ain't it?"
H: "Mana would probably be the
only member in that category."
A: "At the very least, having you two actually train somewhere
isolated means no one'll get on the wrong end of a rocket launcher."
Re: "That is one of the reasons we train somewhere isolated
here. More often than not one of the many forests, either the Geofront forest or the forested regions surrounding Tokyo-3."
Z: "Actually, it's been a bit
since we've trained like that."
Re: "We can always train tonight, if you want. Sleep is rather redundant for us now, as we posses a Solenoid. And I know
you two do not attend school."
Zero Two gave a glance to Hiro, who gave her a nod. "Works for me."
A: "What
do you guys do all day? Surely there wouldn't be
that much to do in this damn
dome."
Z: "Well, we're
still reading through that book Maya gave us ages ago. Wandering the Geofront is pretty cool as well, and we've wandered the city a few time just taking in the sights. Though we don't do
too much on the surface."
Ri: "Were you
timid in interacting with the surface world?"
Z: "Kinda, yeah."
H: "It's not like
we know too well how to interact in this society as a whole."
Zero Two laughed. "Maybe you guys had a
point sending Rei to school."
A: "You
want to get sent to school?"
Zero Two shrugged. "At the very least, it'd get us
socialised."
Ritsuko chuckled at this thought. "We
still don't really know where to start with the education of you two."
Mi: "Maybe you could give them an
exam."
Z: "I can't even use a
pen."
Mi: "Oh
jeez. Did they
really not teach you that in your world?"
Z: "Not like I had to do paperwork or anything. Hell, 'bout the only paper we even
had was in Mistillteinn."
Ri: "That's what I mean, there's so many
discrepancies in the education you've had that we
have to do a specialised learning plan. And by the time you're done with
that, all the people
here going to school would be just about
done."
S: "I mean, we still got another
year to go after this one. With any luck, they might get
one year."
Ma: "Doesn't seem
that long to get socialised."
Ri: "At this point, it would be more worth your while if we focused on socialisation programs that
didn't involve schooling."
A: "Might have to take you guys
out somewhere on the weekend."
Great and Powerful
"The uncertainty was a little intimidating. What are we going to talk about?"
K: "Even
that you finds it hard to open up."
A: "It doesn't help it's a
shrink."
S: "I'm
already being more open than I would be, though."
Ri: "
Would you even attend therapy? If we set it up for you lot?"
A: "Depends if we were
forced to or not."
Ri: "That's a no." Flat. "Don't know why I bothered asking."
Re: "At least Kensuke seems to be enjoying himself."
Mi: "Same
here, then. Though Toji didn't really bother keeping him grounded."
Ma: "Knowing him, that grounding won't exactly
work for long."
Z: "They
are some impressive boats, at least judging by the Laserdiscs."
E: "And this rendition would be greater than our world. No wonder he's excited."
H: "Toji just seems happy to be there, in comparison."
Mi: "It wouldn't surprise me if he wanted to come thanks to
me."
Asuka snorted. "Hey, d'ya think things will go the way they did
here?"
S: "What, you
tax us?"
A: "Depends if I'm wearing that sundress I
know you love." A sly smirk. "Plus, you weren't
exempt from taxation back then."
Z: "Do ya reckon
Toji will do
that, as well?"
A: "If he does, then I'll just have to
fine him again."
...
"Shinji, equally dumbfounded, muttered, "I wouldn't even know where to begin.""
This dumbfounding was closely emulated by many of the gathered. "Well,
that went better than I expected."
S: "Even though you
still tried to
roundhouse kick him."
K: "Seems you two have a much more
amicable relationship, this time around."
Mi: "Probably due to me lacking all the fucked up shit going on in my head. Since
everyone else seems at least
somewhat better adjusted."
Ri: "I wonder why
I seem to be the lone exception to this rule."
E: "You have the other team that Misato hired on, as well."
H: "You
still have that kind of separation, though."
Misato shrugged. "Even
today, that tends to be a thing. Hell, he wasn't even
here for six months, when he was on assignment to Australia."
Ma: "You still had phone calls, I would hope."
Mi: "Well
yeah, he always has his satellite phone on him. Still, I'm sure
Asuka would've known how I felt."
A: "Yeah that was some
tension you had back then. Makes sense you
emulated your college days when he came back."
Misato rolled her eyes.
...
"Maybe he was just too used to the sensibilities of his aunt and cousin. Goodness knows they'd never act like that; even Annette had limits."
Mi: "I was wearing a
dress?"
Re: "It
must be a strong relationship, to forget sensibilities like that."
Ri: "At least you aren't
taxing everyone for the
show."
Z: "I assume he didn't have to win Pen-Pen over like
that."
Mi: "Nah, an expensive piece of salmon did that for him."
S: "Though he
does play chess."
His flat remark rather
intrigued Zero Two.
A: "Oh yeah,
that's a good story. We did a rather
roundabout way of telling Misato about
us."
Mi: "You played
strip chess with Pen-Pen." Complete deadpan. "And he was
winning."
Zero Two burst out laughing. "You
what?"
S: "...I mean, he was
meant to win
that time."
A: "Yeah,
I was meant to win. And I did."
Mi: "Only because he threw 'cause you promised him some
tuna."
Ma: "Y'know, with how your
home life is like, you'd think you came from
that work."
Misato chuckled. "It
is rather absurd, ain't it?"
E: "That seems rather extreme for a secret handshake. Of course, my definition of a secret handshake is rather different."
K: "It would be more
entertaining than exchanging salted and hashed keys, at the very least."
...
""Unit-02?" The connection was immediate…and inescapable. Her mother. Unit-02. Shinji gulped, anxiety gripping him as to the implications. Then…is Asuka…like me?"
A: "And just like that we're
already ahead of just after that kiss."
Ma: "Well, you have to
meet first."
Z: "Mari seems rather adorable, at least."
K: "I'm sure she would appreciate having someone speak her mother tongue."
H: "One
I don't know."
Asuka huffed. "You two are probably the
only people here who don't understand German." She subvocalised the German that Kaworu spoke. "
'You probably don't remember me, but I met you when you were just a wee little baby!' More or less."
S: "And
dummkopf is
idiot. I know
that one well."
The candle laughed. "I don't think I've even
called you a dummkopf for a while now."
Mi: "He's been doing a
good job, then."
Re: "It seems like Mari has your fire, at the very least."
A: "Well, we
are sisters. Makes sense we inherited that
fire."
E: "From your mother, I assume?"
A: "In
this world, yeah. Though it seems my father has a
reputation for such thing in that world, so maybe we got it from
him this time around."
Ri: "It's the hair, isn't it?"
Such remark amused Asuka. "'Kissed by fire', my Oma used to say. Though it's not
just the hair; Mari's is
brown."
Ma: "I've heard that
somewhere before. Also, I haven't really
seen your mother get as hot headed as
you can get."
Asuka smirked. "I think having
me helped quell her fire. When I was younger I never saw so much as a
hint of hot blood in her."
Mi: "Might even be the same for
you, at least if
Aki's anything to go by."
The smirk gained a bit of an embarrassing hint.
...
"Misato politely smiled, from one veteran to another, from a younger soldier acknowledging the experience of an elder. "It never hurts to be professional.""
S: "It's more professional than
you were."
Mi: "Good to see that animosity is still there, at least."
A: "I wouldn't be surprised if they were wondering about your status as
pilot."
Ma: "They did the same for
you?"
A: "Oh hell yeah. They never
said it, of course, but there was always that sort of
feeling."
Re: "You
would have been rather out of place, admittedly. In a naval environment such as your transports."
Ri: "I imagine they'd be thinking there was some
nepotism as well. The daughter of a prominent Gehirn personnel."
A: "If they even
knew that. For
Shinji that would've been rather obvious, what with Commander Asshole being in charge. But
my father hasn't been involved in my life since
2006. There'd be
no nepotism for at least
me."
E: "This you, however."
A: "Well yeah, you could say that of
that me."
K: "I would think it'd depend on your
background, as well. You choose the path of university, whereas we know of at least
one other version of you in
an armed force of some sort."
A: "I'm pretty sure I'm still
Soryu instead of
Shikinami."
H: "Even your
names can be different?"
A: "Odd, ain't it?
I definitely thought it odd, though at the very least it wasn't my
whole name. Makes us both easier to differentiate, at the very least."
...
"It was at that moment that Misato and Shinji's phones rang, blaring out an all-too-familiar tone."
S: "Gods damn it."
K: "It was only a matter of time."
A: "I... I wonder how
Mari's gonna react to that."
Mi: "Already having your sisterly instincts go off?"
Asuka grew a small blush. "Perhaps."
Re: "Your father's words are true, at the very least. It is lonely at the top."
Ri: "You guys would know that. Pilot isn't exactly a
top position, but it's still a prominent position."
Z: "I'm sure we'd
all know about that."
A: "Our various issues wouldn't have helped that matter, but it didn't help people saw me as
exotic, instead of just another person."
E: "Shinji was one of the few people who took you for you."
A: "Yeah, though we're
both at the proverbial top, aren't we?"
Ma: "You two haven't even
met yet, have you? And Gaghiel's already attacking."
S: "I doubt that'll stop
Asuka, at least."
A: "I mean,
I wouldn't mind if we ended up in an entry plug together again."
Z: "
You wouldn't, though I recall your
early self complaining a bit."
Mi: "Honestly I doubt
that Asuka would mind either way as well."
A: "She probably wouldn't."
Then Perish
""Then we'll have to rely on the Second Child earlier than we anticipated.""
Ri: "And that was probably why they didn't include
submarines in the fleet."
S: "Kensuke would say that was probably one of their
best submarines as well."
A: "Gone like
that."
Z: "A good thing
you're there, Asuka."
Mi: "I imagine you can blame Kaji for that."
K: "I doubt he intended for so many people to perish, like that."
Ma: "A part of me thinks that's
also why they didn't send a complete fleet with the Evangelion. They didn't want to risk all their chips in Japan when an Angel could attack practically whenever."
Re: "Perhaps a
wise decision, given retrospect."
E: "Then again, it would've been more luck than knowledge, not to use submersibles against a submersed Angel."
K: "Indeed, it isn't like they
knew Gaghiel would attack."
H: "Did
Seele expect as much? Since they have those scrolls and that."
K: "Of course. Though it was not
entirely anticipated it would attack the fleet
directly; it was expected of them to follow the course my other kin would."
Mi: "Then again, did they anticipate
Kaji would do something like
that?"
K: "It didn't take long to clue in, but at that point Kaji was still useful as a double agent, so no action was taken. Of course,
in retrospect."
...
""It's all your fault!" screamed Mari, eyes glistening with unshed tears. "If you were better at your job, Ska wouldn't even be here! Ich hasse dich!""
Mi: "Jeez, you'd think she was
you, Asuka."
A: "Ah, I'll be fine.
'Don't go, please, I beg you.' and
'I hate you.'"
Zero Two chuckled. "Not like Shinji
could do his job. Unit-01 ain't there."
Ma: "She probably wouldn't know that."
Re: "She would not have known the logistics behind deciding to sortie Unit-02."
E: "The logistics seem rather simple, really."
S: "Not like an
eight year old would think about that. All she'd be thinking was that Asuka was going out to face the Angel, and I cannot join her."
Ri: "So she
attacks you."
Mi: "Young children aren't exactly
logical, after all. At least the
Captain wasn't acting like a child this time around."
H: "They actually
knew about the transfer of power, this time around."
Mi: "Oh, they
knew. They just didn't want to admit it."
...
"To the newcomers, all expectations of the Second Child were utterly shattered."
Asuka
burst out laughing. "Oh for
fucks sake. You really
sold that, Kaworu."
K: "Thank you." He gave a small bow.
Z: "I could
see your anger when he referred to you like...
that."
A: "Oh don't get me wrong, I'd
make him mentally disabled if I could."
Mi: "Good thing
your actions made up for it, eh?"
Asuka huffed. "And you actually equipped
M-Type equipment. Gee,
that would've been a smart idea."
Mi: "We had our reasons."
Ri: "Looks like those reasons were thrown overboard in this world."
E: "Then again, it would've been hard to anticipate such a thing could happen. Hence the lack of M-Type equipment. It's M-Type here, right?"
Her mama gave a nod. "Marine Type. Though I know
we've never had to use the M-Type load out."
A: "I trained with it once or twice in Germany, though it was more just filling out my knowledge instead of training
proper. Not like the Evangelion was explicitly
designed for underwater combat, after all."
H: "I don't even think we so much as
touched water in our Franxx."
Ma: "Mecha in general aren't designed for the water. Go figure."
Re: "One would think that strange, as surely more weight could be supported in a medium such as water."
Ri: "The
entry plugs are sealed from the outside. The rest of the Evangelion, not so much. Mainly for agility's sake."
A: "Yeah, the M-Type, at least when
I was using it, it was really kinda
sluggish. Though that's
still better than
not being able to move at all."
S: "I'd say you made that look rather
graceful, Asuka."
Asuka chuckled. "Of course, knowing a
lot of the tech in this book, it's probably
much better than usual."
155
""I do believe we're about to see something spectacular," concluded Gendo as he munched on some chocolate truffles he had procured from his cloak."
A: "
ONE HUNDRED FIFTY FIVE?! Are you fucking
kidding me?!"
Ri: "You barely hit 90s
now, at least immediately after sortieing."
Mi: "And so
quickly after sortieing as well. That's almost
fucked in how impressive that is."
A: "That
is fucked. How the hell can I even
get that high? Even in
battle, I don't get past
110."
E: "At least for Rei, the sync limit was set at 150. Of course, the commanders could increase this limit if they saw fit."
Re: "Which they did on at least
one occasion."
H: "Our Franxx didn't even go
past 100."
Ri: "Honestly, the sync ratio is rather arbitrary. 100 is just the minimum where crossover between core and pilot
doesn't happen."
S: "And 400 is where you
fully cross over."
Ri: "Indeed. Of course, we put in
limits on all the Evangelion, just in case. Starts at 100, but we can up it at our own discretion."
K: "Though as I recall, the
highest limit is
150."
Ri: "Not like limits matter to
you, Kaworu."
K: "I at least
try to cooperate with Mrs Horaki."
...
"Gaghiel gurgled and blood leaked from its face as the Evangelion's fist planted itself into his nose."
Z: "You're
really showing off that 155% right there."
A: "Fuck
yeah I am!"
Mi: "I see Gaghiel does not like being pitied."
K: "It's mainly the seeming
arrogance of it all. To many of my kin; not just Gaghiel, Adamites are the superior form of life. To have a
Lilim proclaim as much."
S: "Didn't we
say anger prevents good strategy?"
E: "Maybe that's why Asuka's mother thought to... push Gaghiel."
Re: "It worked for
Ramiel. Of course, the Evangelion would not have this hive mentality that the Angels possess."
Ri: "Surely Gaghiel would
know about what felled Ramiel. If not from actually
being there, from
you or Zeruel telling him, Kaworu."
K: "One would
think that. Of course, anger throws logic out the window." He hummed. "Though Asuka's
bond with Unit-02 is strangely evident. The higher sync ratio must allow your bond to become more apparent."
A: "It's all
true. My mama
always felt joy and love in being with me, and would
always protect me.
That is still the same."
Ma: "You sound excited, Asuka."
A: "Of
course I'd be! It's me and my mama
thrashing an Angel! What's not to love? The only way it could be better is if
Shinji was there with me, but considering we haven't even
seen each other yet, I can forgive Bond for that."
Rei had a reserved smile, seeing this spark of light.
...
""If anyone's listening, the Angel's AT-Field is down! Attack with everything you've got!""
Mi: "...You know, I haven't seen piloting Evangelion described like
that."
Re: "You
do start seeing things differently once you go past 100. That
is where the crossover starts, after all. It makes some sort of sense you would see things
greater than the standard senses."
A: "Though... 110 wasn't
that much more intense than usual. Thing's felt more...
sharper. And there was some other kind of... well, you know how Spiderman has that sort of spider
sense? He can sorta sense danger like half a second before it actually happens."
K: "A basic form of precognition. One where you can
only act on instinct."
A: "Well, spider sense has a better ring to it."
Ri: "There
is immense power potential beyond 100. But there is always a
risk when you go beyond 100. We simply don't know much about it."
S: "Not like we
can usually go past 100 to
test it."
Ma: "It'd be
dangerous to test such a thing, wouldn't it? Cause we know at
400 you
merge with the Evangelion."
E: "I know in my experience, the merge does not happen at 400. It started around 200. By the time Rei reached 300, she was directly manipulating my system."
Re: "And by
395, I was beginning to lose my grip on this world."
Z: "...Though this is the
regular Evangelion, isn't it? What's
our kind of system gonna be like when it comes to oversyncing?"
Ri: "It's a rather interesting question. Because there's two schools of thought: the Franxx system with a maximum of 100, no oversync; or
our system."
H: "The whole
combining thing sounds like it'd fall apart with the NACSS, wouldn't it? At least from my understanding of the Evangelion, 400% results in the pilot merging with the
core. But what if you get rid of the
core?"
Ritsuko huffed. "I imagine the general scenario would be similar. The higher the sync ratio, we still aren't sure
what sync ratios are relevant as of yet; the more
crossover there'll be between pilot and core. Gods know what will happen when it gets to
400; not like there
is a core for the pilot to merge into."
A: "Best case scenario: it's literally
sex.
Worst case scenario, we become some fucked up amalgam like we were in Instrumentality."
Z: "Well,
we ended up alright after we practically
merged. Then again, we
died, so that might've undid some things."
Ri: "That doesn't help my apprehensions, you know."
Rodeo
"Then the various frigates, destroyers, and cruisers unleashed a barrage of gunfire, missiles, and rockets. Fire and smoke seemed to erupt around the Sixth Angel as the sky suddenly roared with the song of war."
A: "Maybe I
am trying to ride it. How would
I know."
Ri: "Though it sounds like your eccentricity is kept
out of the Evangelion."
Mi: "Now, you
say that. But she
swan dove in an
Evangelion."
Ri: "Not
as eccentric, then."
S: "She knows how to pilot, and you're doing a
damn good job at it."
A slightly embarrassed smirk appeared. "Good to see
you aren't worried, at least."
Re: "I am sure once
that Shinji learns you can handle your own, he will learn to stop worrying."
Ma: "I wonder how
Israfel will go between you two then."
Z: "
That was pretty entertaining when we saw that."
K: "I'm sure it would've been." Flat.
E: "With how you two are in this, I can't see how Israfel will go the way it did here."
Mi: "Though remember: we didn't
know Israfel could split into two."
K: "Rather devious, in retrospect."
Re: "Did you find such thing
entertaining?"
K: "Disappointing, more like."
A: "Gee, thanks Kaworu."
Ri: "I'm sure he felt what
most people thought. After seeing you two work together to take down Gaghiel, however begrudgingly it was, there was an expectation you could work together." A thought occurred to her, much to her ire. "Someone
leaked those images of you two
ass up in the water and ground onto an anonymous imageboard. Do you want to know
how many times that was shared on the Internet and Usenet and other such networks?"
S: "Do we
want to?"
Ri: "Borderline
twenty million times. It became
memetic. The Magi couldn't do
shit to scrub it."
Ma: "I wouldn't be surprised if it's
still spreading."
Mi: "Why do I feel like
Kaji's responsible for that?"
...
"If only because he hated feeling so helpless."
K: "Well. That took a turn."
A: "Man
that'd be kinda shitty if I died
now."
Re: "Hence why you would not."
Mi: "Probably can't say the same of
those poor saps."
E: "I would expect this wouldn't be enough to end you, Asuka. Your high sync and skill would prevent such thing."
A: "Could say it's a minor setback."
Ri: "That resulted in
many deaths."
Mi: "A
lot of people were gonna die anyway, against
that Angel.
None of their vessels could even
hope to defend themselves. And it could've been
worse; the fleet was reduced in size of course, and
two ships were
evacuated. Even so, at least
three ships and practically
all of their hands were lost."
H: "So this has
already gone worse, at least in terms of casualties."
S: "Four ships and a submarine, so far. If I've been keeping count right."
Ma: "A
lot worse. At least the ships you used to
defeat Gaghiel were
evacuated."
Ri: "Something you cannot readily do with damn
submarines. The UN
was damn lucky they didn't decide to send a full fleet; that would've just meant
more needless deaths."
K: "All for making more of a show."
Z: "So something has gone
worse for once."
Mi: "I mean,
Ramiel also went to shit pretty quickly."
A: "This better not start a
pattern, then."
...
"Little did they know that the Second Child had not yet begun to fight."
Z: "You're not out of it
yet."
Ri: "Though you can see
why we have sortied locally."
Mi: "Even though we didn't
want to. Tokyo-3 wasn't back to being battle ready until after
Sandalphon."
K: "I never knew Gaghiel could
fly. That's rather
fascinating, actually."
E: "It makes some sense. If Gaghiel used the AT-Field to propel themselves in a body of water, surely they could do the same thing in a body of air."
K: "It
does make sense. Strange how I never thought of such thing."
A: "It explains
how it could even get to Tokyo-3 in the first place. Christ,
that would've been a battle."
S: "Of course, there's still
a battle left. Gaghiel hasn't finished you off, have they?"
Ma: "And they
know what happened with Ramiel as well. Did they just expect you to be a non-issue?"
A: "Well,
obviously. But I better not be down for the count
now. It's
Israfel I fuck up,
not Gaghiel."
H: "I'd think you'd do
something. If that last line was anything to go by."
...
"The Angel's core cracked into a dozen pieces, shattered by the horrible power of the red giant. The beast's struggles immediately went lax, as if a switch had been thrown. The Evangelion stumbled out of the dead creature's jaws, seemingly staring at its kill.
It was over."
As if Asuka's grin couldn't grow wider. "Holy fucking
shit!
That's what you get for not finishing me off, Gaghiel!"
S: "That was
amazing!"
H: "Well, I said do
something. But
that, I didn't expect."
Re: "And we can thank that
bond you have between yourself and your mother."
A: "Hell
yeah you can!
God I love my mama!"
Rei smirked.
'Look at her glow.'
'It is
rather amazing, isn't it. A different love to Shinji, but as strong nonetheless.'
'What of... Gaghiel?'
Kaworu chuckled, with a hint of pensiveness. "I see Gaghiel
also fell to hubris."
Z: "That seems to be a common thread, no offence."
K: "None taken, I
know my kin were one to think that. And with how they thought themselves superior."
Ri: "Almost makes the call irrelevant, in a sense."
K: "Perhaps for my other kin."
Mi: "Though speaking of other kin, what the hell would they think of
this? To them, this would've come out of
nowhere."
E: "Gaghiel did not even leave so much as a message. At least one that was written down."
K: "It would've been akin to a light suddenly burning out. But I imagine we would've sensed
something happening to Gaghiel. But with how...
quickly you brought Gaghiel low, I wouldn't be surprised if we were
shocked at the turn of events."
...
"Asuka chuckled nervously. "Heh heh…oops.""
A: "
Gottverdammt!"
And everyone laughed.
Implications
"The possibility that they, the [children/pieces/remnants] of ADAM, could experience such discord…was [unthinkable/terrifying]."
Ma: "I could certainly
understand Iruel's divorce."
E: "Would that be what Iruel wanted here?"
K: "Perhaps. Not like many of my kin could even
understand them. Akin to Leliel, almost."
S: "Does that mean Ireul will attack us
earlier?"
Mi: "Oh God. What if Iruel gets to
Herod?"
A: "I mean,
Herod can't really get much
more insane."
Ri: "I wouldn't be surprised if she kills Iruel herself."
H: "Course,
you of all people could, as well."
Ri: "As
here."
K: "I dread to think what hell
Iruel will get put through, if they attempt the same plan
there as
here."
Ri: "Something absurd, I imagine. How about dragging Iruel through every circle of hell?"
Re: "If you could code such a prison for Iruel. Or if Herod could."
A: "And thing is, it'd be
Iruel's fault. Cause he didn't
listen to his
other kin."
K: "Though his reasonings can be justified."
Ma: "It's not even that you two are
untrustworthy. Ramiel and Gaghiel
both underestimated the Lilim."
E: "In that sense, so did Kaworu and Zeruel."
K: "In which case, we were not even
factors in my kin's demises. If
we could not anticipate such thing, how could we even
warn our kin of such thing?"
Mi: "I can see that going one of two ways: Iruel is
wildly successful, or Iruel wildly
fails and none of the other Angels left would even
think of going at it alone."
...
""The truth usually is.""
Ri: "There is
always collateral."
K: "But against an enemy such as my
kin, even the most
extreme collateral damage is better than
any alternatives."
Mi: "Even against enemies that
Seele send. That's why the UN are so
lenient with us; they
know the alternative is
everything going down the drain."
Re: "Although in
this case, the collateral damage is somewhat
greater than our own world."
E: "It can always be worse."
A: "I wonder if
Mana knows that. Since she's so
eager to fight."
S: "She's
causing collateral damage."
Ma: "Maybe
that's why they're on cleanup duty." She wryly remarked.
Z: "Oh I'm sure she'll do
something to spice things up."
...
"Regardless, there was a sense of relief over how the Second Child had emerged victorious, seemingly no worse for the wear."
H: "
She's happy to see you."
Asuka gave a smile. "She was
scared, as she would be."
Mi: "Makes that
ecological disaster rather distant, in comparison."
Ri: "And that would've happened
here as well, if the Over the Rainbow fell to Gaghiel."
E: "Yet another good reason the fleet size was reduced in our world."
Ri: "There
is that. The only ship
I remember that had a nuclear reactor
was the Over the Rainbow."
Ma: "Though that is rather
oddly generous of Kihl, isn't it?"
K: "Manipulating the narrative. If they see him as a philanthropist, then why would they suspect him as being the mastermind behind Instrumentality?"
S: "Course,
in that kind of circle."
Re: "Though it
does seem a rather intriguing strategy, from him."
K: "He was a rather insular person, in
our world. A retired businessman with more wealth than he could spend. Not entirely known for philanthropy."
Z: "Even if it
helped him?"
Ri: "The thing with throwing your money at charitable endeavours, there's a
trail. Someone wants to follow that, they might start finding out some
problematic things."
K: "And the leader of
Seele would
not want anyone looking into his activities. Hence his general disconnection from regular life."
Mi: "Not like
he has to deal with any of the paperwork when it comes to this anyway."
A: "I imagine there'd be at least
one tree's worth."
...
"That Shinji escaped with only a slight blush as Asuka walked towards him was a minor miracle. "So…I take it you've heard of me then.""
A: "Ah, you've already
learnt some discipline, I see."
Shinji shared his counterpart's slight blush.
Ri: "Doesn't help Bond's
emphasising all this."
Z: "With those plugsuits, they
need some discipline. Eh darling?"
Mi: "At least Hiro isn't
staring at your ass the entire time. Not getting distracted by
that requires willpower you don't often
see in a man."
Zero Two giggled. "Almost a shame you didn't implement that system
here."
A: "I mean,
I wouldn't mind Shinji staring at my ass for hours on end."
Ma: "I'm sure you don't."
Re: "I imagine
I would not mind such thing with Kaworu as well."
Ri: "And this is all well and good, because you are all nice and close with one another. Now, what if you were piloting with
someone else?"
A: "Yeah, that's where it kinda falls flat. What was the system implemented
here again?"
Ri: "Not
that."
H: "Two seats, back to back. Stamen facing forward, Pistil facing back."
E: "It is certainly a less provocative position."
Z: "And you're
still in close contact with your Stamen. Just... in a more mental sense. But I'm sure you guys'll enjoy it regardless."
...
"A bit of professional camaraderie, following a great victory tinged with disaster and tragedy: it was the adult thing to do."
Misato huffed. "In a way, you guys are
lucky. You don't have to deal with all the stuff
we have to deal with."
A: "Yeah,
we got our own fucked up stuff to deal with."
K: "Though we can't deny we have much
simpler roles.
Fight."
Re: "We do not have to worry about the
logistics of it all. We just fight to our fullest extent."
Z: "All the relationship stuff is almost rather
secondary to that."
Ri: "Coming from
you. Back in the Angel war, they put their self worth in their
fighting ability."
S: "Until we were able to put our self worth in
another."
E: "Though perhaps that will happen here, as well. You two seemed to have hit it off rather well."
Ma: "And yet they still haven't
fought together. I reckon it was those battles you shared together that
helped you two bond."
A: "It helped he
saved my life as well. Not just with
Sandalphon, but a
lot of times."
Z: "Amazing what
saving someone does for your relationship, eh?"
Mi: "You two seemed to have clicked
without the saving life part."
K: "You can still see that
competitive streak in you, too. Though it's more of an
altruistic example."
A: "Instead of me just wanting to prove my worth. So I really
am better adjusted in that work."
Re: "I am sure I would appreciate
that aspect of you. Though I suspect there would be at least
some clash."
A: "Well, we're practically
opposites. Kinda like
here, although I feel it's a
bit more extreme in that work."
Mi: "Not to mention
Shinji. I'm sure
that tension would be great."
~
"To be continued..."
"Hot
damn that was great!"
"At least for
you." Ritsuko muted. "Probably not for the 1300 such poor saps on that
fleet."
"Not to mention the
environment getting the Godzilla treatment."
"Maya, with how the environment is
now, a bit of nuclear contamination is
nothing." Misato thought.
"I'm still rather amazed you did that
solo." Shinji exclaimed. "That was
great!"
Asuka had a small smirk at his excitement. "Would've been better if we were
together, but oh well. There's still plenty of opportunity for
collaboration."
"Israfel is up next, after all." Mused Rei.
"Yeah, with how
that went, there
will be some collaboration."
"Though with how both of them are, Israfel will most likely not go the way it did here. In addition, you have Unit-00 and the Jet Alone that will aid you."
"Why do I get the feeling it'll be
Mana in my shoes, that time around?" Asuka remarked. "Cause
I would at least know how to
collaborate this time around."
"She already
has that reputation, perhaps." Thought Hiro. "Not even related to her little
incident at the school, she wants to take the Angels for
herself. Or at the very least, for the
Jet Alone."
"Probably
that. She cares for her sister, at the very least."
~~~
