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Fragmented Lives (The Parody Pieces)
"By the Book?"
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Copyright Info and Disclaimer.
"Neon Genesis Evangelion" is Copyright (c) 2003 by Gainax. All OTHER material is Copyright (c) 2003 their owners. All materials used for PARODY purposes.
"Altered Lives (The Parody)" and "Fragmented Lives (The Parody Pieces)" are Copyright (c) 2003 by DBM. This work is an Amateur, Non-Commercial work by an Anime/Manga Fan. This work was created in the Spirit of the Copyright Exemptions regarding Parodies and Satire.
If you like my work, you may keep a copy for your own personal records, but you may NOT post it on any websites/newsgroups, NOR may you include it in any printed publication for sale/public distribution. If printing out a copy for yourself or a friend, you may reformat it (paragraph spacing, page-breaks, font and font size, borders, bold/italic, etc) to fit the paper you use, but please do not change any of the actual words or wording in the document.
Sole web-posting at FanFiction.Net - Author's E-Mail address on File.
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Censorship Info and Disclaimer.
NOT Recommended for Children.
Intended for MATURE Audiences.
There are NO 'sex scenes', but, just like the original NGE series, the story will explore the results and side effects of such activities. Along the way, there'll be swearing, violence, drugs, Adult situations, and frank discussions of sex education/family planning information, as well as thoughts and opinions on the morals and ethics of sexual assault, dating, courtship, marriage, alternate sexualities, pregnancy, childbirth, parenthood, Family Values, etc.
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Fandom Alerts and Disclaimer.
AU Alert (Alternate Universe).
OOC Alert (Out Of Character).
ACC Alert (Author Created Character).
SI Alert (Self Insert - Author appears in the story as a character).
SPOILER Alert (May 'spoil' surprises in the Manga and Anime TV/Movies).
' ' denotes thoughts.
" " denotes speech.
* * denotes emphasis, or electronic communication.
denotes other method of communication.
--- denotes letters deleted for censorship reasons.
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Author's Ramblings – As the years go by, the Clones develop their OWN individual personalities, part of which includes hobbies…
The Clone known as Twelve, becomes a reasonably famous writer, while other Clones become musicians, singers, artists, painters, sculptors, etc.
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Fragment – By the Book?
In the months since the end of the AVE wars in late 2016, the Rave Clones had finally started finding time to explore and develop their own personalities. Their quest for their own 'Humanity' was aided by the personal experiences that were now as unique to each Clone, as such things were to any normal human.
As part of their attempt to better understand Human Society, the Clones had made serious study of that most fundamental of ALL Social Requirements…
Communication…
The Clones studied various languages, seeking out the various ways in which concepts could be distilled into sounds and visual cues, and the ways they could be used to unlock the secrets of what it is to be Human.
Along the way, the Clones delved thoroughly into the Arts, taking to heart the sort of lessons that can only be learned through active participation in Music, Song and Poetry, Sculpture, Painting, Drawing, Architecture, Drama and Literature…
One Clone who was to be become famous for giving a voice to her Inner Muse, was the Clone known by name and number as Twelve…
Shakey Atari woke to the sound of someone knocking softly on his bedroom door…
"Just a minute…" Shakey called out, still half asleep.
The groggy young man rose from his slumber and stumbled over and opened the door, revealing a Rave Clone wearing jeans, sneakers, and a tracksuit top with a large number '12' on it. A black shoulder bag was slung over one shoulder, the bag not interfering with the long blue hair that was pulled back into a ponytail.
"Twelve?" Shakey said with a smile, "Is that you?"
"I am not sure," Twelve replied in tones more playful than Rave#2 had ever used. She looked down at her clothes with a questioning expression on her face, "Is this 'me', or should I try some other items from the wardrobe?"
Shakey laughed at Twelve's twisting of their 'private joke'. Ever since Twelve had saved his life, Shakey had always been able to tell her apart from the other Clones… The slight scar on the side of Twelve's head near the fringe line, was both a reminder of an incident long past, and a rare identity marker…
"You look good," Shakey said, giving his honest opinion to an old friend.
Twelve blushed slightly at the praise, then extracted a small package in a brown paper bag from her shoulder bag and presented it to Shakey.
"What's this?" Shakey asked the expected question.
"My first book," Twelve quietly replied.
"You got it published?" Shakey's face lit up with a grin, "That's Great!"
Shakey took the bag and opened it, revealing a small novel sized paperback with the title of 'Pilot's Passion', and an illustration of two gaunt and grim faced young men on the cover.
Shakey blinked, not just because the cover bore the imprint of the 'Teen Angst' Romance Library brand, but also because…
"Gee," Shakey opinioned, "Their outfits look sorta like AVE Pilot Snugsuits…"
"One should write what One knows," Twelve replied unapologetically.
"True," Shakey politely replied, before reading the 'blurb' on the back cover…
'Pilot's Passion - A raw expose of the tense emotions that torment the hearts of youthful defenders of Humanity… Through Destruction of War and Social Upheaval, the team of 'Ice Maiden', 'Amazon', 'Idiot' and 'Athlete' strive to prevail over the deadly obstacles in the path of their future happiness. But, will they finally meet their downfall when the 'Imposter' infiltrates their ranks?'
"Ah…" Shakey began to sweat as he saw… similarities… in the blurb and what he knew as actual history, "When you said 'write what you know'… You didn't…?"
"It was cleared by Security," Twelve replied, "There is no restricted data in the book, nor is there any data that relates to actual people, living or dead…"
Feeling a vague sense of relief, Shakey took another look at the cover…
'Gee…' Shakey still wasn't totally convinced, 'They really DO look like AVE Pilot Snugsuits… But… she said Security cleared it… so…'
"It hits the shops today," Twelve advised, "Demand is expected to be strong, as books of this nature have proven popular lately. Since it is my first book, I thought you might like an autographed copy…"
"Thanks!" Shakey said, truly touched by such a thoughtful gesture, but then a troubling thought struck him, "Um… Did you just sign your name, or did you put a dedication in it as well?"
The fact that Twelve was one of the Clones who 'had a thing' for Shakey was NO secret whatsoever… That the level of her infatuation was the strongest of ANY of the Clones, had already led to several… incidents. Incidents that had upset Aesir, embarrassed Shakey, and generally made Mazurka grin or laugh her head off…
So it was no small concern to Shakey that Twelve might have worded any message in the book in 'not-quite-appropriate' terms… Or in such a way that the message might act as a another source of friction between Aesir and the Clones…
"There is a message," Twelve confessed, "Inside the cover…"
With trepidation, Shakey opened the book and read the message…
To the One who was there With me,
The One who was there For me,
Love and Best Wishes,
-June Echi
ジュニ 愛知
"Juni Aichi?" Shakey mumbled the Kana and Kanji characters under his breath, trying to say them so that they would match the English letters. He frowned as what little English he knew, failed to match the transliteration of the Kanji.
'Perhaps it's a dialect thing?' Shakey thought to himself as something tugged at the borders of his mind, 'Or maybe…'
"It is a Pen name," Twelve replied, her comments interrupting Shakey's train of thought, "Many writers take an alias."
"Heh," Shakey laughed, shrugging off his concerns as he recognized a hidden meaning in the Katakana, "But it's still got your number in it! The Katakana spell 'juni' (12)… But…"
Twelve shrugged, "The ability to hide in plain sight is a desirable asset… Most will assume that the Katakana is for the foreign female name of 'June', further disguising things…"
"Aichi?" Shakey muttered, his mind wondering, 'The Kanji Ai = Love, while the Kanji Chi = knowledge… Love knowledge? Well it IS a 'Romance Library' title…'
"It may not…" Twelve said hesitantly, "…be the sort of book you would normally read… Although, it is a popular theme with many Japanese women…"
"That's okay," Shakey smiled warmly, "You don't have to please everyone to be a success in this world… Since no one can please everyone, it's just as well…"
"If you will excuse me," Twelve said politely, a faint blush on her face, "I am shortly required at the Book launch, and I must prepare myself…"
"Sorry," Shakey automatically apologised.
"Mondai Arimasen (No Problem)," Twelve replied with a smile.
Shakey went back to bed, leaving the book on the bedside table for another time…
- - - - - - - - - -
Some hours later, Shakey's cell phone went off, rousing him from slumber…
"Yeah?" Shakey mumbled into the phone.
"Hey Atari?" the voice was instantly recognisable as Toe-Jam's, although it had uncharacteristically tense tones in it, "We gotta talk…"
"Sure?" Shakey readily agreed, concerned by the way Toe-jam sounded.
"I… got a package from a mutual friend," Toe-jam said guardedly, "It was to do with a book written by someone we know…"
"Oh? Has she given you a signed copy as well?"
"Uh… Yeah… She has…"
"Oh," Shakey paused, thinking 'Maybe Twelve worded the dedication improperly?'
"Atari?" Toe-jam continued, "I'm… flattered… but I gotta tell you… Hickory is kinda the jealous sort and… well, I don't know how she's gonna see things…"
"Oh no," Shakey groaned, as his worst fears were realised, "Were the words in the dedication a problem to you and Hickory? Twelve only meant well…"
"Uh… no… NOT the dedication…" Toe-Jam's words practically blushed their way out of the phone, "…the story… inna book…"
"In the book?" Shakey asked, slightly bewildered, "I don't understand? I thought everything was fine in it?"
A sudden choking sound came over the line.
"Toe-Jam?" Shakey asked in alarm, "Are you all right?"
"Atari," Toe-Jam croaked out, "We've been through a lot together… Things weren't always smooth between us… But we're friends… And I just wanna say, if ever yer need to talk about… things… Well, I'm always here fer ya… I'll always listen to ya, even if I can't… PERSONALLY help… with yer actual problem…"
"Thanks…" Shakey said self-consciously, wondering 'Was there something in the book that upset him? Is he having a flashback to the wars?'
"Toe-Jam," Shakey said earnestly, "Have you got a problem with… the book?"
"Naw," Toe-jam quickly said, "I don't got no problems with… you know… Hey, I mean, it's no big deal, it happens all the time… It's just… Me and Hickory… we're making our future together, With Each Other… And… well, the book let me see how others can… have… a different viewpoint… to my own… Not that I'm saying that's a bad thing… It's just… it ain't ME…"
"I… see," Shakey replied, feeling sympathy for Toe-Jam, "Toe-jam, if you and Hickory have any problems with the book, or even if you want to talk things over, I'm always available…?"
"Thanks…" Toe-jam said in ambiguous tones, "I'm… fine with things, really… And I think Hickory will be too… Women are… understanding… of stuff like that… Anyways, I gotta go… I'll catch ya later…"
A faint noise and then static came from the phone indicating that the connection had been broken.
'Something in the book upset Toe-Jam…' Shakey concluded, 'He sounded terrible, like he's had a severe shock? A different viewpoint? Was there something that forced him to see something he'd been avoiding? Something from the War?'
Feeling worried, Shakey picked up Twelve's book.
'I'd better find out what it was,' Shakey decided, before settling back in bed with the book, 'It might be something serious…'
In his nervous haste to find out what might have upset Toe-Jam, Shakey decided to skip through the book, using the time-honoured method of only reading a paragraph or two per page.
A system that quickly bogged down into reading extended segments, as not only was it a well-written and realistic war story, but the pulse-pounding action pieces set the scenes for heart-breaking depictions of how the 'little people' suffered in times of war.
"That's…" Shakey choked back his words and rubbed his misting eyes on reading one intensely emotional scene, "…that's exactly what it WAS like!"
Overall, the mood of the book was dark and oppressive, with here and there a faint glimmer of hope, a true recollection of life at the time of the AVE wars.
…And then there was the scene on page 108 of the book…
'He couldn't take it anymore, his overwrought body slumping onto the bench in the changing room, the tears streaming from his eyes as his body shook with sobs…
"I know how you feel…"
The quiet words pierced through the darkness around him, offering a slight glimmer of hope. He raised his tear-streaked face to see that the Driver of Earth Defence Force Unit 4 was standing nearby.
Half-undressed, the other Driver's muscled body revealed myriad scars, proof etched on his tanned physique of the personal pain the young man had already experienced in his few brief years.
"If you need to talk," the other said soothingly as he sat down on the same bench, "I've got the time to listen… For now at any rate…"
He found he couldn't speak, even though he now had an audience willing to listen to him, one that wasn't instantly dismissive of his views, he couldn't speak!
"It's all right," the other murmured, putting a comforting arm around the other and holding him tight against a firm-muscled chest, "It's all right… Hush now… We don't have to go back into action again for a while… This is a time of peace… Let's enjoy it while we can…"
Grateful for another's understanding, he collapsed into a safe haven of the other's strong, well-muscled arms…'
Shakey blinked as he read the words, feeling a strangely disturbing sense of deja-vu, but not being able to place the memory that sparked the feeling… Feeling more than slightly uneasy, he flipped over the page…
…And stared wide-eyed as the random paragraph he chose revealed in 'blistering detail', the sort of 'action' the two Hunky Young Males were getting into…
…in the shower of the changing room… with each other…
"…oh… My… GOOD… *GOD*!!" Shakey wailed, not so much at the Homo-Erotic content of what he was reading, but at the realisation that the physical descriptions of the two Males involved, the 'Drivers of Earth Defence Force Units 3 and 4', not to mention their code name/call signs of 'Idiot' and 'Athlete', were MORE THAN VAGUELY REMINISCENT of two male AVE pilots Shakey could mention…
…Himself and Toe-Jam…
"…" Shakey began sweating nervously, as he realised that Toe-Jam MAY JUST POSSIBLY have read the section in question…
Shakey's Vague Sense of Impending Doom now urged him into full-blown paranoia, making him breeze through the rest of the book, only to discover that the two males in the showers weren't the only 'Familiar faces' in the book.
Or at least, not going by the physical descriptions and code name/call signs used…
…'Poppa Bear' the mysterious man in charge…
…'The Grey Ghost' second in command and chief advisor…
…'Big Mama' the Operations Commander…
…'Marilyn Mark 2' the jaded Genius with the Peroxide Hair-do…
…'Onnagata' (female impersonator) long-haired technician and guitar playing Transvestite…
…'Specks' a dedicated young technician…
…'Mouse' the shy young technician, inexperienced in the ways of the world…
…'Ice Maiden' the quiet girl with a mind and soul scarred by war, the person who, by COMPLETE COINCIDENCE, overcomes ALL of her problems in a series of highly detailed 'Hot and Steamy' encounters with the 'Idiot'…
…'Amazon' the frigid/sexually repressed and 'frustrated' Man-Hating Harridan…
By the end of his hasty book review, Shakey was a gibbering puddle of terrified jelly on the floor of his room…
"…Aesir's…" Shakey gurgled in one of his more lucid moments, "…gonna FREAK!!!"
His cell-phone rang again, disturbing Shakey even more, but not enough to stop his conditioned reflex of automatically answering the phone…
"…h-hello…?" Shakey stammered out.
"Shakey? Are you all right?" the voice was feminine, familiar and obviously concerned for Shakey's well-being, "It's Mayi…"
"Mayi!" Shakey sighed with blessed relief on hearing the voice of one of the few people he knew wouldn't give him any grief, "Thank God it's you!"
"You've read the book then?" Mayi asked, getting straight to the point.
"…p-parts of it!" Shakey barely croaked out.
"You sound… upset…"
"UPSET!" Shakey nearly shouted down the phone line, "I'm NOT Gay! I never…"
"Who ever said you were Gay?"
"…the-the Book!"
"Oh Shakey, don't be silly! The book is just Fiction!"
"Yeah?! Well the 'fiction' looks a LOT like me and Toe-Jam!"
"Don't you mean, you and Rave?"
"Rave?"
"The 'Idiot' and the 'Ice Maiden' steam up a LOT more pages than the June stuff!"
"J-JUNE Stuff?" Shakey squealed, a sudden suspicion blooming in him.
"Yeah, you know 'June'? Like 'Yaoi' it's a term for Male-Male Romance stories. Not that it's ALL 'Homo-Erotica', let alone explicit material, although some…"
Shakey sat on the edge of his bed, totally oblivious to what Mayi was saying, his mind dredging up some facts from the recent past…
…Twelve saying 'It may not be the sort of book you would normally read…'
…The 'pen name' in the book of 'June Echi', the one that didn't quite look to be a correct transliteration of 'Juni Aichi'…
"…mayi…" Shakey said in a very small voice, "…how well do you know Eigo (English Language)?"
"Eigo?" Mayi sounded surprised, "Uh… fairly well… I had to learn a lot of it in College. Why? Do you need a translation of something?"
"Something… like that," Shakey admitted, "You know the Japanese word… 'Hentai' (pervert, abnormal)?"
Mayi coughed discretely, "Ahem, yes I have… heard the term…"
"You know how we shorten it to 'Etchi' for something that's risque?"
Mayi said nothing.
"Isn't that because the 'Etchi' is based on how we Japanese say the first letter of the word 'Hentai', when it's written in English alphabet characters?"
"Err… yes… I believe it is…"
"How…" Shakey's voice cracked, "…how would you spell 'Etchi' in the characters used in the English alphabet?"
Mayi coughed again, then said "Well, I'm by no means an expert on the subject of translation, but going by the most common transliteration systems, I THINK it would be either E-T-C-H-I or E-C-C-H-I… The letter C repeats in the second example because of how the second syllable is stressed…"
Shakey picked up Twelve's book and turned to the dedication written in the front, seeing certain characters in a new light.
"Juni… Echi…" Shakey mumbled under his breath, "One letter out in each word…"
"Shakey?" the voice on the voice sounded urgent, "Are you all right?"
"I don't know…" Shakey said in all honesty, "Toe-Jam rang me before, he sounded… oh man… I don't know HOW he sounded, but he sounded like he read the book…"
"Oh my!" Mayi exclaimed at Shakey's apt but vague statement.
"Mayi," Shakey moaned, "Do women really… LIKE… this 'June stuff'?"
"Ah, well, sure! A lot of them do!"
"Why?"
There was a slight pause before Mayi replied with…
"The reasons are varied, and depend on the particular woman, but to start with… Women usually feel safer with a Gay man, because Gay men don't rape women…"
"But," although shocked at Mayi's choice of words, Shakey felt a need to stand up for his Gender, and consequently himself, "Neither do most Men who AREN'T Gay!"
"No," Mayi admitted, "They just treat Women as Sex Objects instead…"
"…" Shakey had no words.
Despite Shakey's lack of audible comment, Mayi continued
"Many women also think Gay men make better friends… And not just because they treat Women as People, instead of a potential 'Roll in the Hay'… But because Gay men also tend to be more… sensitive to other people's emotional states, and more attentive to the needs of other people…"
"But why the… the 'sex' with the 'same sex' thing?" Shakey wailed.
"Again," Mayi said quietly, "It's a personal thing. A kind of voyeuristic thrill, for those who may be too shy, or feel too unlovely to ever attract the true affections of a Pretty Boy… Or those who may not feel comfortable, or secure enough to be able to have a relationship with a man. Then there's the simple reason of enjoying the sight of two Hunky Young things you wouldn't mind spending some time alone with, making passionate love to each other… It's similar to the popular male fantasy of watching pretty women make Lesbian love…"
Shakey blushed, remembering SOME of the stuff Kantsee had in his 'library'.
"Although," Mayi continued, "Most of the material made for women deals more with people as emotional beings, with plausibly realistic relationships that deal with the tender, emotional, Erotic side of things. Material made for men usually deals LESS with emotions, and more with 'fetishes' and 'power trips', and often have little more plot or theme than 'insert Rod A into Slot B' using whatever force or 'technique' is needed to do so…"
Mayi's voice had been calm, but in her last conversation, it had become increasingly bitter.
"Mayi?" Shakey ventured timidly, "Are YOU okay?"
For a few long moments, there was no answer, then…
"Do you know why I rang you?" Mayi sounded too quiet.
"No…"
"I knew about the book," Mayi confessed, "And I had a talk with Mazurka about it… About the… content… of the book."
Shakey groaned audibly, his mind suddenly aware of ANOTHER source of potential grief, "Oh Great! I'd forgotten about Mazurka!"
"Don't worry," Mayi reassured, "Mazurka won't tease you about this… We have her word on that…"
Shakey blinked.
"But why I phoned…" Mayi's voice became hesitant, "Many years ago, when I was in College, I had a pen friend… She lived in the USA, and we often sent letters to each other… every week or so… One day, the letters stopped coming. I didn't think anything of it, as we were both going through College, and our studies were always taking our time… But then… I sent a letter a-and…"
Mayi suddenly broke off.
"Mayi?" Shakey prompted, when the silence got too much for him.
A sob came over the phone, then Mayi continued, in a voice full of tears, "Her parents sent me a l-letter back… S-she'd committed suicide… after being p-pack raped at a party…"
Shakey sat in shocked silence.
"Do you know…" Mayi asked in a ragged voice, "Why they raped her?"
Shakey shook his head in silent shock.
"Because she was a Lesbian… Because she preferred to love other women, a group of drunken Frat boys decided to 'set her straight' by showing her what it was like to be with a 'Real Man'…"
Shakey swallowed hard, not knowing what to say.
"She was never the same afterwards… She no longer felt able to trust men… And in a world where half the population are men… She lived in constant fear…"
For a while neither Shakey nor Mayi said anything.
Mayi broke the silence, "There IS a difference between Love and Rape… Regardless of what two people actually do to each other in their sex lives, Love involves being caring and considerate of another person's rights and desires. Rape, is a one-way thing, only concerned with satisfying the wants of the Rapist. The only time a Rapist pays attention to the rights and desires of their victim, is when the violation or abuse of such things can give the Rapist a greater thrill…"
"They weren't trying to 'set her straight'," Mayi said bitterly, "They were just seeking an excuse to justify their actions, and make THEMSELVES feel better!"
Again, silence fell.
"Shakey," Mayi said in a more normal voice, "Do you wonder why Twelve wrote the story she did?"
"…uh… she said…" Shakey's voice was nervous and uncertain, "…'it is a popular theme with many Japanese women'… Was she after the 'June' market?"
"More than that," Mayi replied, "The fact that she used such 'recognisable' parodies of people she knows, especially you, shows something else… You have a trusted place in her heart… As you do with all of the Clones… Otherwise she wouldn't have used the 'Idiot' character in her work as a 'love interest' for the 'Ice Maiden' character!"
"Um…" Shakey felt embarrassed, but for some unknown reason, pleasantly so, "Does the book mean she trusts Toe-Jam too then?"
Mayi actually laughed, "Perhaps, but not as much as she trusts YOU! The book is really just a story about the 'Idiot' and the 'Ice Maiden' finding True Love… There's more interaction between those two than between any of the others!"
"Shakey," Mayi's voice was back to normal, but with a warm hint of merriment, "People create stories using readily recognised icons. An icon can be a theme, a place or thing, a particular personal attribute of a character in a story, or even the achievements of a Real Person. The use of that icon is a way of creating a source of mental orientation, something that can be used to highlight a particular problem or situation, and provide ways of understanding it… of taking control of it and ultimately being able to change things to their liking…"
"In a way, it's an adult version of the child trusting their teddy-bear to care for them and keep them safe from the terrors of childhood, such as loneliness. As we grow up, we find new terrors we need to deal with, and whether or not we make up our own stories, or make use of the stories of others, we use these icons and their avatars, the Super-Hero, Fantasy Hero, Cartoon Hero, and larger than life 'real-life' characters in films, to vicariously exorcise our own inner demons…"
"Oh," Shakey simply said.
"Do you feel better now?"
"Yeah, I guess so… it's just…" Shakey lapsed into silence, unsure of how to say what he felt needed to be said.
"Just?" Mayi gently prompted.
"You've read the book?"
"From back to front…"
"Then you know how Twelve portrays the 'Amazon' character…"
"Uh…" Shakey could practically hear Mayi start sweating…
"What advice do you have," Shakey asked earnestly, "For someone who's going to be living at 'Ground Zero' sometime in the VERY near future?"
"I think you should stay over at a friend's house…" Mayi wisely advised.
"Which friends?" Shakey asked incredulously, "The ones who now think I'm Gay?"
"Um… well… You could always stay over at my place for a few days…"
"But you're a Girl!" Shakey blurted out, caught off guard by Mayi's offer, "Ah… I mean… Rumours… Your neighbours might think…"
"Woman actually," Mayi said dryly, interrupting Shakey's nervous ramblings, "Don't worry, you needn't be afraid I'll try to 'Jump Your Bones'… Mazurka would skin me alive if I tried, and then throw the left-overs to the Clones… Well, to Aesir at any rate…"
Shakey made an incoherent noise.
"Then again," Mayi said reasonably, "Those of your friends who may NOW think you're Gay, might just have their illusions shattered if they see you in the company of a Fully Fledged Woman like myself… And I certainly wouldn't be unhappy if people thought I was 'scoring' with such a Handsome Young Man…"
Shakey became even more incoherent…
"Tell you what," Mayi said conspiratorially, "You and a couple of the Clones can come over and stay at my place, on the excuse of helping me with the redecorating… That is, IF you don't want to stay where Aesir can get her hands on you, and you're too afraid to stay with friends, or with me by yourself?"
"Th-thanks!" Shakey stuttered, his mind recognising a Good Deal when it saw one, "I'll start packing now! How many weeks will redecorating take?"
- - - - - - - - - -
A mere thirty minutes later, Shakey knocked on the door to Mayi's house in the suburbs.
"Could you please answer that?" Mayi's voice came from somewhere inside the house.
The door was shortly opened by a Rave Clone that Shakey recognised, despite the overalls and splattered paint.
"Twelve?" Shakey exclaimed, "What are YOU doing here?"
"You aren't the only one on Aesir's S--T List," Twelve advised.
- - - - - - - - - -
NOTE - For those needing to know, the Kanji used for Twelve's Pen Name, really can be read as 'Aichi', WITH the meanings shown. However, according to the book 'Japanese Names - A Comprehensive Index by Characters and Readings' by 'P.G. O'Neill' (Published by WeatherHill Inc ISBN 0-8348-0225-2), there appears to be a 'dialect' version that pronounces it more like Echi. This is probably a Japanese version of the situation involving the many ways of saying and spelling the European name 'Smith' (Smiff, Smythe, etc).
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The END of this Fragment of "Altered Lives (The Parody)"
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