Switching Places/Eva!
by Greylle and Kender_Sci
DISCLAIMER: Original series belong to someone else.
NOTE: As mentioned earlier, this is one of the threads me and Kender Sci wrote over at the Anime Addventure. There will be slight changes to better fit the different format. This catches up with our current episodes, so things will slow down because the scenes are written on a rotation and weekly basis along with several other threads we juggle.
Chapter Thirteen: There ought to be clones.
"What could happen?"
"You really shouldn't tempt fate like that," said Ranma Ikari, looking around nervously.
"Oh come on," said Misato, walking briskly along. "That's just superstition. What could possibly be more screwed up than what we just went through..."
Misato came to a stop as she saw a figure in a blue plugsuit walking along one of the other catwalks. The stride and body language were all reading "highly agitated" which did not fit Rei all that much.
Neither did the blonde hair or the red lipstick.
"R-Ritsu?" asked Misato as the girl stalked past them.
"What?" demanded Ritsuko Akagi as she stopped and half-turned towards her associate.
"You're..." began Misato, her eyes flicking over the various changes.
"I've been ordered to undergo synchronization tests," said Ritsuko Akagi.
"Ah, I see," said Misato, her voice indicating she really did NOT understand the situation.
"The Angel had a transformative attack, most of the victims ended up being redhaired girls the age of the pilots," said Ritsuko. "You might want to check into it, Captain, as the Operations Officer has been missing for a good part of this operation."
Ranma started mumbling prayers of thanks for having missed out on this one.
Misato stared at Ritsuko's retreating back as her "college buddy" was now apparently ready to go back to high school. "That's... not how it was supposed to go, was it?"
"Nope," said Ranma. "That genie said she'd shifted a few things around. I'm guessing this is her screwup."
"Go ahead and get to the ready room, I'll go to the bridge and see what's going on," decided Misato. "At least things can't get weirder."
"I really wish you wouldn't do that," said Ranma, now eyeing the dark recesses in the ceiling and vents in the walls.
The Rei brushed back her hair, adjusted her labcoat, and decided that was good enough for now.
The tank was put back in place, most of the Rei were back in place, and things were otherwise progressing quite satisfactorily.
The problem with the two Rei she had NOT put back in place was that they were still "empty vessels" for the most part, but some echo of her own existence had carried over to them. So they were really not suitable for using as "dummy plugs" when that part of the current scenario came around.
Nor was Washu/rei (Reiwa?) really inclined to let that particular scenario advance when Mihoshi had screwed with it to the extent that she had.
Fortunately, she could plan "on the fly" as it were.
Asuka was quite unhappy with recent events, as anyone overhearing the muttered cursing would be able to tell.
Not only was her luggage missing, her panties had attacked Tokyo-3.
When she'd woken up, having apparently been sleepwalking or something, she'd discovered herself apparently just wandering around the building in a daze.
"This way, please," said a guard, motioning to her.
"About time," muttered Asuka, stalking past the guard and into a room with...
Another stream of German invective was put to good use.
"WHAT IS THIS?" finally demanded Asuka.
"Oh hi," said an Asuka wearing a pair of glasses near the door. "You've been Asuka-ed too. Don't worry about it."
"WHY IS THERE DOZENS OF ME HERE?" demanded Asuka.
"Oh, you're one of those that thinks you're the real Asuka?" asked the glasses-wearing Asuka. "I'm Kensuke Aida, by the way."
"Like I care?" said Asuka, brushing off the her-with-glasses-and-a-bigger-bust. She stopped, stared at the difference there. "You..."
"Yeah, some of us are bigger there," said Kensuke, shrugging and causing those large orbs to move around. "I see why girls wear bras now. Gets pretty uncomfortable with these shifting around like that."
Now that she'd been forced to note that the various Asuka in the room DID have differences, it was easier to see. There was an Asuka with smaller breasts, a trio that had to be eight at the oldest, one with a rack even bigger than this "Kensuke" bimbo, a taller one, a shorter one, some with longer or shorter hair, even one of her with an eyepatch! What was she supposed to be, an Eva Pirate?
"First thing you should do is examine your memories," said Kensuke. "You'll find some blank area, that'll be your indication that you're not the real Asuka."
"But I AM the real Asuka!" declared Asuka.
There were a few laughs and pitying looks from some of the Asuka.
"I AM!" declared Asuka, slapping her chest. "I'm the real Asuka!"
"Oh man, this is such a pain," said Kensuke. "They're probably going to make me use the GIRL'S bathroom and all now."
"Y-y-you're a guy?" asked Asuka, her attention now swinging back to the glasses-wearing version of herself.
"Well, was," said Kensuke. "I hope they can fix this soon. Oh man, how am I going to tell my father about this?"
Asuka turned on her heel and began marching back out, only to find security wasn't inclined to let her go.
It didn't help when she found her various identification were all missing.
There were a few moments before Aoi Mogami caught her mouth stretching into a yawn. Stifling the reflex, she patted a hand over her lips before trying to shrug her tiredness away. Unfortunately, with the monotonous work that she was doing, perking herself up wasn't all that easy. After all, she had pretty much fallen into the rote of 'shampoo, rinse, repeat'.
Still, it was what she had to do, given the circumstances. Somebody had to catalogue who these people were, or had been, and it wasn't like she could just go about with copies of the identity papers of those likely changed. Some were just a little different than they had been, but a number of them were so altered that they were unrecognizable as who they had been.
At first, consideration had been needed, since they had to work out who was who. But then the fact that there were so many of them who acted out that she had long become frustrated. Between the angry ones who had been demanding answers and 'cures', the ones that were emotionally falling apart, and the ones who were overly enjoying their changes, it was a bit much to deal with. Once she had to deal with the third boy turned girl who was liking his 'new parts' entirely too much in public that she found that she was getting past the disgust. Now she was just looking at an endless mass of work and was hoping to get through it as soon as possible.
Pushing her glasses up on her nose, she wondered what sort of strangeness she would get this time. "Next!"
"About time you got to me," the redheaded girl groused as she strolled up to the table.
"I'm sure that you think so. Name?"
"Asuka Langley Soryu."
"Ah, wonderful," Aoi sighed. "Another one."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"I don't know who you used to be, but you shouldn't depend on confused memories. What has happened has imprinted you with another set of thoughts."
Lunging forward, the girl slammed her hands onto the table. "Don't lump me in with those idiots! I know who I am!"
"I am sure that you think that you do."
"Of course I do! You are the one who doesn't know anything."
"Calm down. Our situation isn't something that is that easy to take in," the operator told her.
"Not that you lot seem to be able to handle much of anything."
"What exactly do you mean by that?"
"Exactly what I said. I mean, not only did you lot need to call me in, but when I went to come, you couldn't manage to transport me right. Heck, you couldn't even get my luggage here with me!" the teenager snapped.
"That is an airport..."
"I came on a yacht!"
"But such a thing is more for the... Wait a minute, we did transport her that way..." Aoi began.
"Nice of you to remember that. Then again, it might have been nice if you could have remembered to send a real team to pick me up!"
"Ummm..."
"And poor Kaji had to do everything to help get me here," the younger girl lamented
"That is the agent they sent... oh dear."
"Hmm?"
"Let me see. The blood sample they took when you arrived..." Aoi murmured as she flipped through the papers... and then winced. "They match."
"Told you so," Asuka stated with a self satisfied sniff.
"We have a 82% on blood type matches," said Aoi, double checking. "Fingerprints and retinal scans are a little better. Only 24% on either. If all of them match you-"
"WHAT? They have my fingerprints?" asked Asuka, seeing what a security nightmare this could continue to be.
"We'll do those tests immediately, just follow Security," said Aoi, motioning for a guard.
As she shuffled along, a part of Misato lamented that she couldn't move all that quickly at the moment. Her body was a bit stiff, and needed to be given a chance to rest in a bed, or a hot bath. But given what had been happening, she wouldn't have been able to do that any time soon. There was work for her to do, and she wasn't going to be able to take it easy soon.
Not that she didn't know exactly where she had gotten her aches. She already had been sympathetic to their pilots, knowing that those kids could get stuck in those small entry plugs for long periods. Then she'd gotten stuck in one of them, and knew that it wasn't comfortable. On top of that, it was not designed for two people, and she'd been in there with Ranma throughout a good portion of the incident.
Luckily, she was out of there, and could stretch her legs. Already it had been shown that things were going kind of oddly, what with Ritsuko. Somehow, she was pretty sure that was going to veering off even more. All that she needed was for nothing else to come up to give her headaches as she prepared to deal with the current likely messes.
"Well, hello there, Misato," commented a familiar, and entirely unwanted voice as footsteps sounded against the floor near her.
Although she didn't want to, she turned to face the speaker, knowing who it was. "This day keeps on getting worse and worse."
"Oh, how funny. Aren't you glad to see me?"
"No, not really."
"Ah, I'm hurt," he murmured, drawing up towards her. "And after I've been away for so long."
"I was kind of hoping that you'd stay away longer, Kaji."
"Didn't you miss me?"
"Like a really bad hangover," Misato grumbled, already lamenting this latest development.
Asuka Langley Soryuu blinked. "Wha- wha WHAT? WHAT IS THIS?"
"That's what I want to know!" demanded Asuka Langley Soryuu.
"Why did they put me in with you IMPOSTERS?" was Asuka Langley Shikinami's response.
"MECHAKUCHA!" declared Asuka Soryuu.
"Can someone speak either English or German?" asked Asuka Langley.
"Das ist vollig verschraubt!" yelled a sixth Asuka.
"Danke," said Asuka Langley.
"You're all here," said a voice from the intercom, "because each of you has all the memories of the original Asuka Langley Soryuu. Each of you remembers details such as how you came to Japan. Each of you BELIEVES you are the original Asuka."
"But I AM the real Asuka!" declared all six Asuka.
"We are currently working on ways of determining which of you is the original and shich are copies caused by angel contamination," said the voice once the echoes had died out.
"She's the fake-"
"They're all-"
"You're just copies-"
"Can't you see that-"
"How could you mistake-"
"That's ridiculous!"
"..."
"SHUTTUP!" roared the voice from the loudspeakers.
"Well, at least I'm the cute one," said number six.
The lights abruptly cut off and there was brief silence.
"Well, this situation certainly sucks," commented one of the Asuka.
"Synchronization at... 35%?"
Gendo sighed behind his steepled hands. "Classify Ritsuko Akagi as the Fourth Child."
"Her heartrate and blood pressure just jumped, and she appears to be screaming at the Evangelion," noted Maya.
"Wow, she seems really unhappy," said Natsumi from her own station.
"Wouldn't you be?" asked Aoi, having just returned from dealing with larger numbers of often screaming teenagers.
"I'm gone for just a little bit of time, and so much happened!" exclaimed Misato as she flipped through screens at a workstation. "Ritsuko's the Fourth Child? Asuka's panties attacked Tokyo-3 and... how many Asuka?"
"Keep reading," suggested Aoi. "It gets worse. There are six Asuka who test as 100% Asuka and apparently have her memories up to the attack. There are minor psychological and a couple of physiological differences, but we're hoping that a synch-test will let us figure out which is the real one."
"I am SO glad that I locked myself in that bathroom," said Kaji as he looked over Misato's shoulder.
Misato smirked. "Yeah. Otherwise you'd be a half-Japanese redheaded teenage girl."
Kaji shuddered at the thought.
"Not all of those changed are completely Asuka'ed. Asuka-sized?" asked Aoi, pondering the proper term to use. "Asuka-fied?"
"Yeah," said Makoto, pulling up a screen of a room full of women. "It's only those six who really have the identity issues to that extent. If Ryoji-san had actually been hit, most likely he would just be a teenage Japanese girl."
"You're missing the point completely, aren't you?" asked Ryoji Kaji.
Misato smiled not-so-sweetly at him. "I bet you'd have made a cutie. With your hair in pigtails."
Kaji winced but then recovered and leered at Misato. "So... you're like that now?"
Kozo Fuyutsuki cleared his throat abruptly, then muttered something about how not only the children were acting like children.
Academically, Misato knew that she had to be there for the synch tests. It was obviously important for the Operations Director to keep herself aware of the status of the pilots under her command. She could have just as easily waited for a report, but to really do her job, there was nothing like seeing the results first hand.
But as she turned her chair around and stretched out one long leg to straddle the seat backwards, she almost wished that she wasn't quite as diligent on some things.
Leaning her forearms on the back of the chair, she sighed and slumped slightly. "Sometimes I wonder what it is that I'm doing here."
"This really is important, Captain," Maya commented from her work station. "We might be able to see which one of them is the real item."
"Yeah, yeah..."
"It's true. Since the original had already demonstrated an acceptable synch ratio, if we find the one that had the correct data correlation, we can isolate that factor as the individual that we needed."
"Oh, I get all that," the Operations Director said, waving off the concept.
"Then what's the matter?"
"Other than the fact that I don't get all that techno speak? It's the fact that I'm sitting here doing nothing, and taking up space around people that are actually working."
"I... can see your point."
"Besides," Aoi muttered, "there are things that make it more... annoying to be around.
"Can we shut off the audio?" Satsuki asked no one in particular.
"(Are you looking to keep us quiet?)" came over the intercom from Test Tube Two.
The redhead in Tube Three made a growling noise in the back of her throat. "(What I have to know is if it's really necessary to have us naked in here!)"
Growled snippets in German came over Tube One's intercom.
All those in the observation room rolled their eyes and heaved a groan.
As he walked down the corridor, Ranma had his eyes peeled for any sort of danger. There was no warning that there could have been, but he'd already seen plenty of messes going on so far. And given the fact that he was looking for a girl, it wasn't likely that something that was going to go that easily.
What he did find was Rei sitting on a bench with her head hanging down as leaned forward. It was hard to tell with such pale skin, but she didn't look like she was feeling all that well. Her lips were parted, and her eyes were fluttering like they wanted to close.
Coming up to her, the pigtailed boy almost put a hand on her shoulder before realizing how forward that would be. "Hey, are you alright?"
"Are you... concerned?" Rei asked as she turned her head to look at him.
"Of course I am. Why would I ask if I didn't?"
"You didn't have to. There are others who could have taken my place."
"What are you saying?" he grunted, and plopped down next to her. "Even if there were a thousand girls who could take your place, they wouldn't be you. There can only be one."
"I understand your meaning... I think."
"Good... 'cause I'm not sure that I get what I'm saying."
One brow rose over an eye that was red in more ways than one. "What do you know?"
"Well, that we have to get you to somewhere that you can rest. Hangovers are a nasty thing to get through."
"You have experience with such things."
"I've seen them more than once," he admitted.
"Then what do you recommend?"
"Letting you get back to bed would be good."
"Would you like to take me to my room?" Rei asked, her expression almost... expectant.
"Something like that. Though, why you drank is beyond me."
"It was a test. Do you not like such activities?"
"Pretty much... no," Ranma answered. "Now, if I was going to have something, I'd go and eat."
"Then, you would you prefer a home cooked meal?"
"Now that's something that sounds real good. I'd love one that I didn't have to make myself."
Rei frowned to herself for a moment. She already knew that she wasn't all that experienced in cooking. However, it did seem that the tradition of a girl cooking for a boy would work here. That basically meant that she would have to learn food preparation methods.
There was much scowling going on, as the various 'Asukas' switched between ignoring each other, glaring at each other, and back again. It was almost as if they were trying to deny the existence of the others. But even they couldn't ignore that there were other girls that looked just like them.
When the man in the suit and sunglasses came in, he didn't seem to care about any of that. He simply strode in with his arms full of files and looked over each and every one of them. Whatever he was thinking was hidden by a strict control of his features, and he didn't seem inclined to share his feelings.
Asuka Langley Soryu looked up to see him coming up towards her, and frowned as he went to hand her a folder. "What's this?"
"Your score confirmed that you are the one to pilot," he stated.
"Really?"
"I wouldn't say it if it wasn't the case."
"See? I told you that I was the real one!" Asuka Soryuu called out, smirking at the other redheads.
Another Asuka gave a small snort. "Oh, this is screwed up."
"Oh, go suck your sour grapes."
"I'll make sure that you suck something..."
"Shikinami!" the man barked.
"Yeah. What is it?"
"This distraction is pointless," he told her, and handed her a folder. "Use the energy to prepare for piloting."
"Her? Why?" Soryu snapped.
"She scored high enough to pilot as well. She isn't the only one."
"EH?"
"What do you mean that you are changing my name to 'Asuna Kagurazaka?" snapped yet another Asuka as she opened the folder that she had been given.
"Code names," he simply stated.
"Huh?"
"More than one of you can pilot. But other than Shikinami, there isn't a way to differentiate between each other. And we have to be able to identify you if needed."
"Ah..." chorused the 'Asukas', though fortunately they hadn't noticed.
"We need to separate them for a time, allow them to develop as different individuals," said Fuyutsuki.
"Agreed," said Gendo after he considered the concept.
"That it might keep the Asuka from beating each other senseless is entirely beside the point," added Fuyutsuki.
"If the original is damaged, we can always send for one of the spares," added Gendo, who then nodded and thumb-printed the authorization. Odd how both female pilots now had spares. Oh well, don't look at a gift horse too much.
"So Ritsuko has a 35% synch ratio," said Fuyutsuki as he checked his clipboard for the next point.
"Indeed, and is now designated the Fourth Child," said Gendo.
"What about..." Fuyutsuki's voice trailed off.
"They are all essentially copies of the Second Child," stated Gendo.
"What about the plan to have Asuka control your son?" asked Fuyutsuki.
Gendo considered that briefly. "There is no reason that particular mission must be postponed. What is her medical status?"
"That last free-for-all amongst the Asuka gave the real one a black eye," said Fuyutsuki. "Other than that - minor damage. It was broken up by security before it could get past one broken arm. Other than some stress and that bruise, and perhaps a certain degree of bottled-up rage, she's been given a clean bill of health."
"Good," said Gendo, steepling his hand in front of him and considering the displays. "Have Unit Two ready for immediate sortie. If an Angel does show, she can take it out on an appropriate target."
"Maya... stop. Just. Stop."
"But sempai! You need an entirely new wardrobe! None of your clothes will fit you anymore!"
"While I admit that's going to be the case, I am NOT wearing that... outfit. No. Not going to happen."
"It's a school uniform, sempai. Or should that be 'kohai'?"
"No, Maya."
"I feel... odd, perhaps I will lie down," said Rei in her usual soft voice.
"That's a good idea," said Ranma, patting the girl on the shoulder as she headed to her room. "I'll leave some dinner aside for you and Misato."
"Yes," said Rei, pausing before she closed the door. "Thank you."
Ranma raised an eyebrow at that as the door shut behind Rei. There had been something odd about that. Well, whatever. Misato was going to probably be kept late, what with Ritsuko now a fourteen year old.
This wasn't going too terribly close to how the series had. Ranma just hoped nothing else that ditzy genie did was gonna come around and smack him in the butt.
Rei leaned against the door and considered things.
The thing was - she DID feel odd. It was hard to tell if it was part of the drunk or after-drunk effects, as she'd never been in this condition before.
If it was, then replenishing liquids within her body and rest would remove the condition. If it was not she would have to consult...
Doctor Akagi was now fourteen and a pilot. Did that mean that she should now report to Maya Ibuki?
Maybe it would be best to consider such things when the pain in her head had receded somewhat.
Kensuke knew that she should have been thankful at that moment. Given what had happened to her, it was only natural that she should consider herself lucky that she was at least still herself mentally. As it was, she could have been like that one girl who she had met in the holding area. Instead, she was just turned into a girl, with the bits that really interested a boy her age, and the strangeness to not be sure about investigating them.
Still, she had lucked out with the fact that NERV of all groups had her back. Combined with their help, and her father's work, it had been possible to make sure that her father believed that he now had a daughter. Of course, nobody would have believed that someone so different was one's son in another form, but there was just too much to prove otherwise. Those guys in the suits had made sure that it was perfectly understood that the pretty girl really was Kensuke Aida.
Yet, not all of it was settled, as there was talk about how to deal with the aftermath of this Angel attack. No one knew how long the transformations would last, or if they could be reversed at all. That meant that there were all sorts of issues to consider, from whether the transformed students should wear boys' or girls' uniforms, to when should the new girls be sat down for talks about bodily functions.
All that was fine and all, but Kensuke was thankful about the fact that NERV had seen fit to fund a new wardrobe. She had not been the sort of person to who'd been terribly interested in clothing, but, as she noticed before, wearing a bra as a girl was just more practical. Just trying on one of her old shirts at her straining the fabric at the top and floated around her waist. So she needed more to wear, or she would be hobbling around and showing off for others more than she'd ever want to.
She just had to wonder why her father was so keen about what was going on.
For reasons that escaped her, he had decided that they would go on a moment's notice, and mumbled something about her mother. Then he had run into the shop, grabbing all sorts of items that she would need. Not that she had a problem with him helping her find things like socks and proper pajamas. It was just that she couldn't figure out what he was going on about, and that he was decidedly not quite paying attention to what he was doing.
If he had been, then he might have asked if they should go in for more feminine clothing. But Kensuke had been left to hold onto things that she hadn't exactly readied herself for, but that her father had grabbed. She just looked down and admitted that the skirts and sundress would look pretty on a girl... but wasn't too sure if she wanted to be that girl.
And it got a little more... weird.
"Ah, here we go," her father murmured as he gingerly picked up a bit of cloth and passed it on to her.
"But I don't think that I need more of them, Dad," Kensuke protested. "I've got enough of them."
"Can't be so sure. Your mother would have known."
"I guess that she would."
Her father nodded... and passed over another garment. "Besides, who knows what you would need to be ready for."
Letting her brow furrow, Kensuke wondered why her father would think that he should help her prepare her underwear. Beyond the fact that she already had several cotton sets and a couple of sports ones like the one that she was wearing now, she didn't need any more. On top of that, as she picked up a bra by the strap and dangled it before her face, she wondered why she would need one as frilly as this.
The Rei trio were at odd ends. Without a purpose having been set out for them, there was little to nothing for them to do. There hadn't even been mentally prepared for such a situation... and for good reason. Up until now, they had merely been spare bodies waiting to take the position if the current Rei was incapacitated beyond service.
Unfortunately for the serenity of the Geofront, 'idle hands were the devil's playthings'. As such, the blue haired girls began to explore their surroundings for an awareness of their situation. With no outside force guiding them, there was nothing to corral them. And that meant that they were able to do as they pleased.
When one of them found a way out of the room, she made pleased noises that brought the other two to investigate, and all three went to find out what sort of world was out there.
This sent shivers down the back of several NERV employees who wondered if that skittering from the air ducts was real.
Having decided that her father was being entirely too scatterbrained at the moment to be counted on, Kensuke had taken over the shopping experience. It just seemed to be natural, given that she wasn't all that hot to rush into open toed heels. She had originally been a boy after all, and it just made sense to follow with what she knew. Perhaps once she got comfortable with her new body, she'd experiment more, but she rather thought it might be interesting to with dressing as her sort of girl.
So, after checking in the changing room mirror that she wasn't showing off anything that she shouldn't, she pulled back the curtain and stepped out. Simple sneakers were fine enough, and regular socks didn't really didn't seem that bad. Then there were the cargo shorts, which she rather liked, and did come down to mid-thigh. Added to a simple tank top and an open shirt worn like a jacket, it was a useful outfit that she could actually wear without worry.
"So what do you think?" she asked her father.
Mister Aida looked right at her... and seemed thoughtful.
That worried Kensuke, who began to wonder if something was wrong with this outfit.
It had started.
Technicians would look at an air vent, thinking they heard a little girl giggle, before moving on and trying to ignore that feeling.
Ritsuko was feeling a bit put off due to current events, hiding in her medical office from an enthusiastic Maya Ibuki. Going over all that had happened to her, she said something that would have had Ranma ducking for cover.
"Just great. What ELSE can go wrong?"
A girlish giggle came from one vent. Ritsuko glanced up to see red eyes and a familiar flash of hair. "Rei?"
When she got to the grate there was no one there.
Another giggle from another air duct, and a glimpse of red eyes and blue hair. This time from the opposite side of the room.
"Rei, this isn't funny," started Ritsuko before she realized that there was no way for Rei to even fit in those vents. Much less make it from this one to that one so quickly.
A giggle overhead and she whipped her head up to catch a glimpse of red eyes retreating.
Ritsuko Akagi's mouth firmed as she rolled a chair underneath the grating, then stretched as far as she could - trying to reach it and look inside.
At which point, for the second time, a large spider dropped out of an air vent and landed upon her.
Upon hearing the shriek, Maya immediately realized where Little Ritsi-chan was.
They were going to have SUCH fun together shopping for new clothes.
Opening the door just a crack, Ranma checked. Rei was sleeping off her hangover, the bottle of Refresh Water (turned out Misato had a stash) at her bedside.
That left prepping dinner. He wanted something he could eat, which meant that despite her losses in jan-ken-pon - HE would have to make it. Honestly, her cooking was a little better than Akane's - but that wasn't exactly a glowing recommendation was it?
Then there was figuring out what was going on.
Sachiel had been pretty much what you'd expect from the series. Shamshel had not - instead of some wiggly worm thing it had looked like a girl. A giant girl but a girl nonetheless, and one that had laughed like Kodachi.
He couldn't help but think it had been an attempt at being Kodachi, but it wasn't nearly as bad all things considered.
Instead of that crystal thingie they'd gotten flying panties and the upshot from the people who got paid to figure this stuff up was that this was Bardiel. Which was the one that was supposed to infect Toejam's Eva. Oh, wait. Toji. Right. He couldn't remember what number that one was - but it was a LOT later.
So one of them had jumped the gun, and that meant that... Ramiel? That had been the blue cubie thing right?
Ramiel hadn't shown yet but would be due in a few days at most. That was the one that fired the beam that melted stuff. Like armor, streets, buildings, armor plate, and so on.
He needed to have some plan in case that thing showed up, cause if he remembered right - that thing would really really hurt if it hit him.
"Ah, you must be Asuka Langley Soryu, the Second Child."
Asuka blinked as she looked up from fitting into her plugsuit. "Ah, yeah. And you are?"
"Makie Sasaki," said the girl.
"And you're here because...?" asked Asuka as she hit the button that tightened the plugsuit.
"Just in case there were stragglers from Bardiel's attack," said Makie. "They want people to pair off so we can watch each other's back."
"I think it's safe," said Asuka drily. "I haven't seen killer attack panties lurking around since this morning."
"Yeah, I suppose," said Makie. "That's just what they tell me though."
Asuka considered the girl for a moment, then nodded. "Nice to meet someone NORMAL around here for a change."