End of the Future, Part 26

Back to the School

Please Read and Review. I'd like to know what I'm doing right (to keep doing it), and what I am doing wrong (to correct it).

Hill Valley, California, USA
Brown Enterprises Workshop
1986

"Asuka, are you Okay?" Ray Stantz repeated.

Angrily, Asuka wiped her eyes, "Yeah, I'm okay." Her voice sounded very thick. "I'm okay, I said!"

Warily, Ray took a step back. "Fine. Got it." Quickly, he looked at Egon, who shook his head minutely and tapped twice on his wristwatch, their signal for "Later". (1) Both knew she was not okay, but trying to force the issue now would cause more harm than good.

Egon took his clipboard; "Asuka, anything you could tell us about this subject? It is an unusual reaction." Best way he could think to distract her was to simply focus back in what they were doing already. Meanwhile, Lisa reduced the volume of the song to remove it from the equation.

Both things worked, as Asuka answered, "Yeah, she was a cold witch. I'm a bit surprised her gel is showing any reaction at all." The red headed ex-pilot leaned in towards the gel and tapped on the container. There was no further reaction. Without the music, the bubbles had stopped.

Rei added, "Dr. Akagi was the chief scientist of Project EVA and the MAGI. She was in charge of the health of the pilots, supervised the EVA Units maintenance, and kept the MAGI in working order. Also, Commander Ikari manipulated her into a self-destructive relationship with him, using her to further his Scenario. Years before, he also manipulated her mother, Dr. Naoko Akagi and my first iteration into a Murder-Suicide when she was of no more use to him. In the end, Dr. Ritsuko Akagi betrayed him and tried to stop Third Impact. Commander Ikari shot her to death in Lilith's Chamber, at the deepest level of Terminal Dogma."

"Hmm… …right." Egon mused, "Back to the LCL gel, is the bubbling a reaction to an external stimulus, or is it independent?"

Lisa spoke, "Let/t/t's see." The music changed, and Lisa announced singer and title. "Donna Sum/m/m/mer's I Feel L/l/love."

The gel stopped bubbling, but now another began to do the same.

"Wow…" Asuka whispered, "Aoba is a closet disco fan! I though he was more metal."

Ray rubbed his chin. "Do you know about the music any other of them likes?"

Rei shook her head, but Asuka rattled a short list, "Misato had a weakness for late 1990s j-pop, totally brainless stuff, you guys are better off not knowing. Kaji was more of a Barry White fan. Ibuki… i think she was into sappy love songs from the 1950s. No idea about Hyuga."

"Well, only one way to find out. Lisa, if you would?"

"Work/k/king on it/t."

Winston clapped his hands together, "I think I should do something more down-to-Earth, guys. I lost track of your talk five minutes ago. If you need me, I'll be at the garage. Ecto-1 needs an oil change."

"Sure, go ahead." Ray answered.

Thirty minutes later, it was confirmed, music had an immediate effect on the LCL gel, according to the tastes Asuka had relayed. Hyuga's preferences were still a mystery. Lisa took it as a challenge.

Egon concluded at the end of the session, "Contrary to what Miss Ayanami implied, it seems the souls in Instrumentality can still react to outside stimulus. Maybe it is subconscious. We will have to try to design an experiment to test that."

"Hmm… Rei can contact them, we should ask her." Asuka noted, pointing at the bluenette with her thumb. Rei shook her head again. "I'd rather not do that. This body is completely human, and relatively fragile without a close connection to Lilith to absorb the feedback. It would be relatively easy back in Hakone, but here, it would be… particularly tiring."

Ray rubbed his chin. "I see. Well, let's keep that in reserve."

Hill Valley, California, USA
Brown Enterprises Garage

At the garage, Winston changed into a coverall, still with the Ghostbusters logo and name tag, but without the elbow and knee hard protections; and grabbed his tool box, whistling a tune.

There, the only visible vehicle was Ecto-1, and the only person there was Shinji, sitting on a folding chair. He looked lost in thought. "Hey, kid." Winston called, startling the teen. "Where's everybody?"

"Dr. Brown and the McFlys went to the Mall. Something about looking for a house in the neighborhood. I… I didn't felt ready to go, so I stayed here." He hesitated, "Do you want me to go home?"

Looking at his lost expression, Winston shook his head, "Nah, no problem. I'm just going to do some basic work on Ecto-1 here. I don't mind."

Shinji looked relieved. "Um… can I watch? I won't bother you."

"I have a better idea. Would you like to learn? I got nothing else to do, and I think every young man should know how to keep his ride in working order." He raised a hand, cutting off Shinji's objection. "I know, I know; but let's work with the idea that the big brains will find a way to keep you guys around, okay? No use worrying about that all the time. Live the moment, that's a hard lesson you learn in the Air Force. There are lots of things that can kill you when you are in a war setting, but if you think too much about that, you might as well just lay down and wait, cos you'll die anyway. Better do something in the meanwhile."

Shinji thought about Winston's words for a minute. Then, he stood up and nodded decisively. "You're right. Id like to learn." He bowed respectfully.

Winston laughed amicably, and slapped Shinji's shoulder. "Great! First thing to do, change your clothes, there are some old shirts and coveralls in those lockers. Accidentally we brought one of Peter's old uniforms along with ours. It's the one with the name "Venkman". He looked down at Shinji's feet. "Check if there's a pair of work boots in your size. Those shoes are too new for this kind of work."

Shinji returned a minute later, wearing the coverall, bunched around his scrawny body. Miraculously, there was a pair of boots just a bit bigger than his size. "Okay, that's quite too big, but nothing that can't be solved with some duct tape."

Shinji rolled up the extremes until he left hands and feet uncovered. Winston used a few pieces of silver tape to make sure the ends would not fall down at any time. "If you like the mechanical stuff, you'll have to get your own coverall and boots, okay?."

Shinji nodded.

"Now, let's set a few rules. To begin with, this stuff is relatively safe, but you gotta respect your tools and the car you're working on. No monkey business with the monkey wrench, got it?" He smiled at his pun.

"Got it."

"Very well. Ecto-1 is a very old car. A total classic. Ray bought it before I joined the Ghostbusters, and it was a complete wreck!" Winston laughed, a deep and hearty laugh that instantly put Shinji at ease with the big man. "He put a lot of work on it. And he did it right! In short, he brought this old lady back from the dead! He and I have put a lot of time and work in her, and we are proud of that. It's a dirty job, but when you treat your car right, your car will run smoothly for you."

Shinji nodded again. "It was the same with the EVA Units. Dr. Akagi and Lt. Ibuki ran themselves ragged after each battle, getting them up again."

"Did you any work on them big robots?" Winston sat down on the sled, and set the tools he would use on a clean cloth, along with a pan.

"No. I had no clearance for that." He shook his head.

"Okay. Just curious. Bring that other sled and a flashlight. Ecto-1 needs an oil change. It's an easy thing to do, so we start with that. I'll be telling you what I do before I do it, along with any precautions you need to do." He grabbed the pan, and slid it under the white car.

Winston Zeddemore and Shinji Ayanami came from very different worlds, but for the next hour, it didn't matter. On the surface, it was just the passing of knowledge. Neither did know it then, but it was also the start of the healing of old wounds.

Months later, working on the old car suspension along with Winston, Shinji would ask himself, "Is this how it feels to have a Father?"

Hill Valley, California, USA
Hill Valley High School
Principal Stanford S. Strickland's Office
Next Day

"Very well." Director Strickland put the documents back into their respective folders. "Everything is in order, Doctor Brown. Your wards' transfer is complete. The only thing left to do is their placement test." The bald man adjusted his bow tie. "Mr. Arky will supervise them in Classroom 1-A."

Strickland pushed the intercom button, "Mrs. McClurg? (2) Please call Mr. Arky to Classroom 1-A, I'll meet him there with two students."

"Yes, Mr. Strickland."

Strickland laced his fingers, his hands resting directly over his desk, and nodded to himself. "I was under the impression you had three wards, ."

"It's true, but my third ward happens to be a genius." He pulled Asuka's folder from his suitcase, and handed it to Strickland. "She has the equivalent to a college degree. Putting her back in high school would be a disservice to her."

Strickland raised his eyebrows, "Amazing! At fourteen years old!"

"Actually, she tested at 12." Doc said proudly, to Strickland's amazement, "She is taking a sabbatical, after the tragic events back in Japan, but she wants to continue her education next year. For now, she is willing to tutor students willing to work hard. Of course, Shinji and Rei will be part of her tutoring duties, if and when, you approve."

Strickland's mouth almost formed a smile, "Good. What subjects would she be tutoring?"

"Hard sciences." Doc leaned in, "mathematics, physics, electronics, algebra, chemistry."

"Really? Well, not to be rude, but as you said, I'll need to approve. And for that, I need her to do the tests too."

"I understand, Director Strickland."

"Now, in other subject, how are your living conditions, Dr. Brown? I know this was very sudden, and maybe you'll need some time to adjust."

"Indeed. For the time being, while I find a bigger house, the three are staying with the McFly family. Dave and Linda are getting their own places, so they have those rooms available, plus their guests room. George and I are old friends, and his son Marty is my lab assistant. My current place is not fit for three teenagers. It's too old and too small."

"Good. I'm glad to say George McFly did manage to turn his life around. He used to be a slacker, you know? Just like his family, all the way to the founding of the city! Miss Baines was a very good influence on him. His last year here, he really made us proud, not like that good-for-nothing Tannen lad. He will never amount to anything." Strickland stabbed the desk with his righ index. "I rue the day his son, Cliff, wil return to these halls." Strickland shook his head.

Doc cleared his throat, he knew Strickland's opinion of Marty before the timeline changed, and Biff's bullying tendencies, so he tried to steer the conversation to safer grounds. "Ah, oh, yes, yes. The McFlys are very good people. Say, Mr. Strickland, how long will it take for grading of the tests? I'll need to buy the textbooks."

"Don't worry, we will have the results tomorrow morning. Please come by at 10:00 o'clock and we can discuss them."

"Could we add Asuka to the test now? She would need only a few minutes to come."

"Sure, we can photocopy the standard test for her. You can call her from here." Strickland turned the desk phone towards Doc.

One minute later, Asuka was on her way to the school.

Strickland stood up, and guided Doc and the Ayanami siblings to the classroom. Mr. Arky was already there by the time the group arrived.

Four minutes later, the volatile redhead was there too.

Two hours later, the three teenagers had finished, with varying grades of confidence in their prowess. Asuka was a bit annoyed at her own answers, as she considered many questions as too far below her level. Rei was mostly indifferent, as her almost eidetic memory allowed her to easily recall the answers.

While Shinji was sure he would be set back, due to her lack of knowledge of American History. Heck, he wasn't up to date in Japanese History!

Author's Notes:

(1) I thought it would be appropriate for the Ghostbusters to have developed a private sign language, Egon is right the type to do that kind of thing.

(2) A little homage to Ferris Bueller's Day Off, the actress who played Grace, Principal Rooney's secretary, was Edie McClurg.