Neon Genesis Evangelion: Altered Destinies.
Launch Thirty
School was.. decidedly odd after Bardiel's attack on the city. The number of kids in classes dropped both because of losses and, in a lot of cases, because families had had enough of the danger of living in Tokyo-3. It wasn't quite a full fledged exodus, but a lot of kids were gone and the school reorganized classes too.
"Well, this is going to be interesting," Shinji noted as she sat with the now united group of NERV and other pilots.
"I think this is cool," Mana grinned as the tomboy lounged in her chair, "we're all in one class now. Just imagine the possibilities!"
"It is not optimal for security," Rei noted dryly, "one bomber could force the replacement of the entire pilots corps."
"And aren't YOU Miss Ray of Sunshine?" Asuka noted dryly.
Ken snickered softly. "Like any of us are?" he offered a bit tiredly. "At least Toji is coming back today," he said.
"I do miss that dumb slab of beef," Asuka offered.
"Now that's just mean," Shinki said, but she was smiling.
Hikari Horaki came in, the class president actually smiling for the first time in a week, and Toji Suzuhara was beside her. He looked tired, but was smiling as they headed towards the pilots. "Hey, guys," Toji grinned.
"Good to see you," Ken actually hugged him, making Hikari chuckle at her boyfriend's stunned expression.
"Hey!" Toji yelped.
"Welcome back," Asuka said, "we need someone to be the far end of the bell curve..."
"Love you too, red," Toji shook his head wryly.
Shinji shook her head as she asked, "How is your sister?"
Toji smiled a bit tiredly, "Pretty good, really. She's gonna end up with a artificial leg, no helping that, but otherwise they think she'll recover."
Ken felt a odd chill he did his best to hide. Toji had lost a leg in the Bardiel confrontation in that other world... now his sister had here. Did that mean anything?
"You just went unusually pale," Rei noted quietly.
Ken waved it off, "Just thinking how close we came, I suppose."
Rei gave him a sceptical look, but decided not to press.
The old man who still taught the class shuffled in, and Hikari jerked to her feet and called out, "Stand! Bow!"
The morning was spent catching up on lost classes due to everything that had been going on. What that meant, in practical terms, was a lot of assigned reading and a test at the end of the week. Oh joy. The teacher's disjointed remembrances of pre-impact Japan didn't help much either.
"Should we tell the school that our teacher has lost it?" Toji wondered aloud as they sat together during the break.
"We'd probably have to work harder if they replaced him," Asuka pointed out cynically from her seat by the window.
"Mean, yet accurate," Rei noted mildly.
"Besides," Shinji offered, "who are they going to get to replace him? It's not like Tokyo-3 is exactly swimming with surplus adults right now."
"Point. Can you imagine who they might have to railroad into covering for him?" Hikari said with a smile.
"Misato?" Shinji grinned.
"Oh, she would NEVER be on time," Asuka laughed.
"But she would be great to look at," Toji offered with a leer, then yelped when Hikari kicked him in the shin.
Ken snickered softly. "She's not THAT bad is she?" he asked as he looked over at Shinji and Rei curiously.
Rather tellingly both girls hesitated to answer that. "She's a total slob," Shinji finally admitted, "but Ritsuko keeps her in line." She added thoughtfully, "In fact, if I was gonna suggest a emergency teacher I'd go with Ritsuko."
"Also pleasing to the eyes," Ken noted.
"Look but don't touch," Shinji suggested to them seriously. "Misato has guns and she knows how to use 'em."
"Seriously?" Toji blinked.
"That's ALSO kinda hot," Ken admitted.
"I sometimes forget you're a military otaku," Hikari shook her head with a sigh.
The teacher returned and everyone promptly shut up, while trying to look innocent.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Gendo Ikari poured himself a glass of rum, his hand shaking slightly, then took a drink. He thumped the empty cup down then looked at Kozo, "How bad is it?"
"Very. SEELE appears to be losing confidence in us, and is apparently pushing ahead on Mass Production Evangelions," Kozo told him.
"For which the need a working Dummy Plug," Gendo sighed as he poured another drink. "Is NERV Berlin working on it?"
"As far as I can determine," Kozo admitted, "my own contacts are starting to dry up on me."
"As are mine," Gendo agreed as he poured for them both.
Both men tossed back their drinks. "There is also the scrolls to consider," Kozo said grimly, "their accuracy is coming increasingly into question."
"Which also has SEELE in a lather," Gendo sighed.
"I suppose we should have expected it, though," Kozo added thoughtfully. As Gendo looked at him curiously Kozo explained, "The Dead Sea Scrolls were written by people whom... well, channelled information from the aliens."
"Hmm," Gendo nodded.
"So the information was filtered through human perceptions, probably adding a degree of error," Kozo concluded.
"And I imagine the process drove a few of them mad as well," Gendo agreed. He topped up their glasses, "Still, it's the only guide we have."
Kozo took a drink, "Next one is Zeruel. We have four Evangelions now, along with Jet Alone. Are we ready?"
"Hopefully," Gendo sighed. He finished off his cup, "That bastard Keel will try to use the Mass Production Evangelions against us?"
"Assuming he can get them working. Which is in no way certain," Kozo noted. "Why?"
"They will get them working, I think," Gendo said grimly. He looked at Kozo, "Misato will need to be briefed on the situation."
Kozo looked at him blankly a moment, "You don't trust her. Why...?"
Gendo shook his head, "Trust has nothing to do with it. IT may be a matter of survival."
Kozo looked at his superior thoughtfully.
Gendo made a face, "If things go especially bad Shinji might be hurt. Yui would be... annoyed with me if that happened."
Kozo gave him a 'You are SO pussy-whipped' look, but let it go.
To be continued...