Evangelion: You Shall (not) Win This Time
Episode 15: Yes, We're (doing) An Amnesia Story During An Invasion/ The (first) Arc Ends Here
(Warning: All intellectual properties belong to their respective original creators/current copyright holders. EVA to Studio Khara, Reality Warpers to Yoshi3000, you get the idea.)
(Opening Theme: "Reverse/Re:Birth" by Hiroaki Iwagana and Asaya Kimijima)
(Generic P.O.V.)
It was safe to say that both Asuka and Mari were popular among most of the student body of Tokyo 3 High upon their arrival, and thankfully Shinji and the other Knights of Ryujin didn't have to deal with most of it. Love letters were sent, photos were taken, and talk of hotness was had. Asuka and Mari eventually found themselves approaching Rei, who was reading her science textbook to study for an upcoming test.
"Well well well, you must be the first child and the pilot of the prototype." Asuka went as Rei responded "What is it that you want, I have a test after break and I'd prefer to guarantee that I'm ready."
Mari answers "Ol' princess and I were both thinking that since we're gonna be working together, we should try and get chummy with you and maybe ask you about where the feisty puppy boy who pilots Unit-01 and his pals are around here. We can't find them anywhere." as the human/Angel hybrid answers "To answer you inquiry regarding Mr. Ikari and his associates, they were offered an alternative education program which only requires them to attend one class here per day, which they accepted. Quite frankly, I've recently been beginning to see why they took up the offer. As for your offer of companionship, I'll have to give it some thought, considering how I've heard of your actions onboard the Over the Rainbow being and I quote "thot-like"."
Asuka could only balk at Rei's response before responding "What alternative program? And quite frankly, why weren't any of us offered such a thing?"
Rei could only respond "Spaces were limited, and I had declined as I had grown accustomed to attending classes here at the time and didn't want to adjust my schedule out of the blue outside of Angel attacks."
Asuka only says "We'll be in touch." before grabbing Mari and dragging her off elsewhere with her going "Ooooh, are we gonna get weird and freaky, princess?" as Asuka responds "Knock it off, four eyes. You heard the same thing I did about that alternative education program, didn't you?"
Mari responds "What you thinking?" as Asuka answers "I'm thinking that something's up if the first rejected a possibly better education because of "adjusting her schedule"."
Mari replies "What are you getting at here?" as the second child responds "I'm getting at that we should do some investigating on these that asshole third child and his little buddies. You in?"
The pilot of Provisional Unit-05 answers "Yeah, but how are we gonna get out of here to actually get anything done?" as Asuka answers "Leave that to me."
(P.O.V. Shift: Desmond)
No matter how many times I try to think of the upsides, I continuously look back and think that maybe the way that I handled Pinkamena's retirement was more or less of a mistake. Ever since I "took one for the team" to put it in Safe For Work terms, I've been met with nothing but feelings of disorientation and on and off again headaches. Lately, I've tried taking a walk around the area of Shinji's journey through the canon episode 4 that we pretty much destroyed, but so far, nothing seems to be working. I was about ready to call it quits and consider seeing a doctor on Planet Creation as I'm once again met with what I'm now sure would become a reoccurring gag for me.
"Hello." said the Warper equivalent of Friendship is Magic's Cosmic Derp Meme Horse after landing on top of me before continuing "Special delivery for one Desmond Bishops." as I answer "That would be me, and could you please get off?"
She answers "Oopsie." before rummaging through a mail bag and pulling out a cube with a note attached to it along with your standard delivery clipboard and responding "Sign here please." I reluctantly do as she asks before she flies off after telling me to have a nice day, oh how I wish I could right now as I read the note attached which stated the following:
Mr. Bishops,
I trust that this package made its way to you alright. I don't have a lot of time to explain the full story, but I'll stick to the primary points.
1: A Warper version of Spinel from the Steven Universe movie has recently taken up Pinkamena's spot as pink Warper tyrant, and might become a threat to you and your team in the near future due to association with a family harboring her universe's version of Pink Diamond/Rose Quartz.
2: Due to the intrusion of people like my cousin Joshinari and the revived Rebecca Dil, I've decided to take a huge flight risk on you by entrusting you with 1 of the 7 Metsu Emeralds. Inside of the cube is the emerald itself contained in a special bubble made of Warper Energy to hopefully keep it out of your Gendo's hands. Keep it near or on your person at all times, because chances are that you've now got an even bigger target on your back.
I wish this was done under less urgent circumstances, but I'm trusting you to get the job done.
Good luck,
Ryker Blackthorn: Active Leader of the Crystal Squadron of CN-Zen Kuro.
Of course something else would be thrown my way, but I wasn't expecting something of this level. I quickly make a portal to the GARD and make the call to the rest of the team.
"Everyone report to the GARD at once, code red."
Less than 3 minutes later, we're all gathered within the GARD's confines as I spill the details on the situation. Of course there was some concern about being punked, if not the risk of the cube secretly being a bomb placed by a rival or unknown hitman, but there was only one way to find out. Telling everyone to back up I open the cube and the bubble from a distance, revealing one glowing cyan jewel, overflowing with Warper Energy.
"It's the real deal, all right." came out of Toji's mouth before Jessie opens up and asks "Alright, I'll bite: what in the name of all that is debatably holy are we supposed to do with this? I mean, we're just a fledgling group of Warpers, and if people find out that we have this..." as I interrupt her by going "Yes, I know, we'd be turned into pin cushions in a matter of moments. For now, all we can do is keep it safe from at least Gendo and Lorenz while progressing on with our training to be at least slightly more prepared for whatever may come."
Hearing this made Shinji respond with some obvious facts by going "No offense, boss man, but ever since your little one night stand of negotiations with Pinkamena, you haven't exactly been at 100% yourself. Don't bother denying it, we can all sense it." as I respond "Don't you think I know that, kid? I've been trying to figure out what's wrong so I can get over it and be back to full strength again. Right now, we should also look into ways of making use of the emerald in our favor. Any ideas?"
A few ideas came to mind like figuring out how to make fakes to trick people, diverting energy from it into our weapons for an added punch, and so on until the call to action from NERV as I turn to Shinji and go "time to go to work, kid." Figuring out what to do with the Metsu Emerald would have to wait as I rebubble it and take it with us. A gigantic flight risk, but right now, it was the best option I had on me.
(P.O.V. Shift: Shinji)
Bishops better damn well know what he's doing bringing something that the two biggest enemies we currently have would be on arm's reach of as he gets into position while in his vigilante costume while me, Asuka and Mari were in our EVAs ready to face the freak of the week, and boy was this one freaky. Anyone ever watch the Dragonball movie that had the guy's giant brain inside of the mech suit who wanted to implant his brain into Goku's body? Yeah, it kinda looked like that, but more organic looking like those giant monsters from Blue Seed. Anyways, I was in the cockpit of Unit-01 while the German uber bitch was standing by in Unit-02 to the left of me and the psycho Brit in the "Provisional" Unit-05 was getting antsy to the right. Misato of course had to share her insight on the matter by going "Alright, you three. I know that this is your first real mission together and you guys haven't really had time to practice working together, but I'm sure that you three can learn it on the fly. Cover each other's backs, and we should be able to pull through just fine."
To which Asuka responded "Oh please, the third and four eyes can sit this one out. Me and Unit-02 can handle this all on our own."
Oh, how I'm gonna enjoy taking her down multiple pegs over the course of the remainder of canon. Of course she made the first move by charging at the thing with a Pallet rifle, unloading a full clip to no effect as Mari then moved in with her EVA's drill lance arm and actually slammed into it, doing some damage...until it got swatted into a nearby hill and Asuka got the same treatment into a couple buildings. My turn came as I got ready with a sword and prepared to dodge and slash until that thing was as good as dead until a bright light came out of its eyes.
(P.O.V. Shift: Rei III)
It would seem that I've been selected to share my insight on the events of this episode from my own perspective. Very well. After the flash of light affected Unit-01, the Angel had disappeared from the area, most likely making a tactical retreat. I was in the middle of being scanned for contagions such as Influenza when I had received the news that Shinji had been knocked out by the light and was to be placed in the hospital wing of NERV for the time being in a manner similar to his and my sister's confrontation with the angel known as Ramiel. Upon completion of the procedure, I had proceeded to reobtain my clothing for the day and made my way to the part of the ward where Mr. Ikari was beeping held, only to be met with the second and fourth along with Mr. Bishops and Ms. Katsuragi...Bishops strangely giving off a more powerful Warper Energy signature than usual.
"Come on, Shinji. Speak to us." went the major as Bishops pulls her aside and responds "Back up, he's coming to."
With a momentary stir, the third had awakened while grabbing his forehead, signifying that the flash must have left him with a rather persistent headache. Of course the fourth had to throw in her own two cents by going "Praise tha' lyard, Puppy Boy is alive!" with the second adding "Seriously, what kind of moron blacks out at a simple flash of light? I mean come on, if it were me in that situation, I'd-" only to be interrupted by Bishops and Misato stating "Not now, Asuka." My half brother had finally awakened with the standard comment of "Uuuugh, did I fucking get hit by a truck or something?" as one would be expected to react upon dealing with such situations as Ms. Katsuragi responded "No, but considering the situation that happened, I can kinda see where you'd get that idea."
"You dumbass, you sussed out and got knocked out by a flash of light from the Angel before it up and vanished." the second bluntly proclaimed with all of her "charm and grace" before throwing proverbial salt to the wound by adding "Must've decided that dealing with you isn't worth it compared to me or even four eyes here."
Mr. Bishops simply responded by threatening "Control yourself, Ms. Sohryu. Like it or not, you four are now a team, meaning that you put your individual beef aside for the good of others. And if I'm not mistaken, you two didn't fare so well either. So I suggest that you watch your choice of words, lest you wish to spend all of your time that isn't occupied by your schooling and missions in the confines of a NERV holding cell." though I wish his choice of words regarding individual arguments was chosen differently. Something I would blame on my stance as a vegetarian, but one would cast doubt on how such arguments would hold in a debate. However, Shinji's response was more of a shock than expected.
"Okay, 1: what the hell are you talking about? And 2: who the hell are you people, because I have never seen any of you a moment in my goddamn life. And judging by this, I'm thinking you people are a bunch of freaking insane asylum escapees, especially that girl in pink with the glasses."
Bishops and the major were quick to come to the conclusion that the flash that incompacitated my half brother had given him a case of amnesia, to what extent was currently up in the air. Obviously being down a pilot was out of the question at the moment as the Angel could return at any moment. The decision was made that while major Katsuragi was to locate Shinji's dossier in order to test the common "familiar sights and sounds can help undo memory loss" theory while Bishops would offer my brother lodgings in the penthouse so he wouldn't have to deal with pilot Sohryu's unending jabs and japes, stating and I quote "My apprentice, my responsibility as much as it is yours". Little did we know that the unfortunate timing of this situation was about to get much worse.
(P.O.V. Shift: Bishops)
Well, my day is going well, isn't it? Between becoming a bigger target than before for being a Metsu Emerald holder, my continuing persistant headache, and now one of my most powerful apprentices losing their memories in an Angel attack that to my surprise had no accompanying herald, I'm sure you can realize that I'm being sarcastic. Having called another emergency meeting of the Knights in the penthouse, I needed as much help as I could to not only put the emerald to use, but hopefully get my entire team back to full power, including me.
"So let me get this straight, you mean to tell me that I'm part of some sort of team of alternate universe traveling warriors primarily formed to keep my deadbeat dad from instigating the end of the world through the use of giant bio-mechanical abominations killing giant space monsters created from a race of God like beings who have existed since at the earliest, the beginning of time while exploring said alternate universes for fortune and glory?" asked Shinji as we tried to jog his memory regarding his life before adding "Yeah, I don't buy it."
Toji, Kensuke, Mana, Strasburg, Keita and Sakura were showing well appointed concern, especially Mana considering that if it wasn't for him bringing her to me, she and her friends might very well have died at the hands of "Dr. Destructo".
Toji then responds "We're telling the truth here, man. We're part of a team, and you and Mana over there, you guys kinda have a thing going on." as the third child looks at the ex-Tri-DENT pilot and responds "Okay, if I was dating someone as fine as her, I'd remember it."
Clearly this was gonna take a while as I ask Mana to help Shinji get the lay of the land for now while the rest of us figure out ways to not only get Shinji's memories restored, but also put the Metsu Emerald to a proper use where it'll be safe. Little did I know that this day was only gonna get worse.
(P.O.V. Shift: Mana)
This is bad. Okay, so I guess you guys haven't really seen it, but in between episodes ever since the robot madness of episode 7, Shinji and I have kinda started seeing each other. I'll admit, his drinking is a bit of a concern, but he has been trying to keep it in check for me. Anyways, we were making our way to a convenience store to grab a bite to eat to try and test the theory of familiar sights, smells and maybe tastes could jog lost memories when we bump into this girl in kind of a different uniform than what you would find the girls in Tokyo 3 wear and a pair of glasses. Oddly enough, I did some research regarding characters in case we encounter them, and if I'm not mistaken, that girl was part of a visual novel like I originally was where she had the core of an Angel inside of her where whenever it showed up, it was like a heart attack for her. And by the looks of things, she was recovering from something very serious. Thankfully Shinji and I get her on her feet with both of us propping her up when I ask who she was. The name I got: Mayumi Yamagishi. I'll have to do some detective work of my own later, but for now Shinji and I have a job to do: make sure this girl doesn't up and die in the street.
(P.O.V. Shift: Gourdar, the Never Ending)
Well well well, it was only a matter of time before you'd surrender precious air time to Gourdar, the Never Ending. And now, you have no choice but to hear of my holy Gourdian gospel. Let's begin with the beginning: lo and behold, I, Gourdar along with the mighty patron saint of the Gourdian people: Timbor, the Dark Shard stood alone against a savage land of warring fools. With a singular mighty push, we-
"Uh, Master Gourdar, shouldn't we address what is happening in the present before going into the history of our glorious empire?"
Curses, you are indeed right, Dr. Frog. Very well. There I am, standing alongside Frog as we watch the current progress of the Gourdian Subjugation Fleet branch we had sent into Bishops' territory as I give the order to one of the communications Squash Droids to open a channel with our allies within.
"Ah, master Gourdar. A pleasure to hear from you again." said opening the conversation before adding "I was hoping to receive a status update regarding that dispatch of the mighty subjugation fleet you had sent to our little neck of the woods."
Curious. Not that I can blame them considering who he and his surly apprentice are dealing with as I answer "Ground forces of over 600 Squash Droids along with the fleet compliment of a destroyer paired with a duo of destroyer escorts and a small company of supply craft are currently hiding behind the dark side of you world's moon, hidden from your people's sensor technology and ready to strike. All you have to do is give the all clear, and the invasion can begin."
This puts a smile on the old fool's face as he responds "Your forces are cleared to strike. Commence the invasion." as I answer "As you wish. You should see results in about, oh say...30 seconds."
The old fool shows signs of joy before he ends the call, knowing that the might of the Gourdian Empire shall issue the key to victory against the accursed Knights of Ryujin. Yes, I have a feeling that we'll wear them down by at most, 2 or 3 waves of ships, then their world shall fall to me. Oh yes, things are looking good...or at least they were until I get another call concerning my most idiotic commander, Stotch. I need to give this buffoon a verbal thrashing, go to the next point of view. Master Gourdar, the Never Ending commands it!
(P.O.V. Shift: Bishops)
Well I guess it's mail day for me since not only have I gotten a Metsu Emerald, but another package just showed up in the GARD. Thankfully it's from someone I know and can at least trust to some extent in the form of Merch, complete with a note:
"Hey,
I've gotten around to developing some new Anti-A.T. Field tech, and considering your situation so far, I figured you might wanna give these a test run. Now I assume that you've at least heard of the Danny Phantom special, "The Ultimate Enemy", but in case not I'll give you the rundown on what these babies were based on.
Now the gauntlets these were based on were used first by Vlad Masters to remove the main character's powers...who would later use it on Vlad himself in order to remove his own ghost powers as the two would fuse into who is commonly referred to as either Dark Danny or Dan Phantom. These gauntlets in particular me and Rick designed are meant to remove Angel cores from physical bodies, ignoring any A.T. Field based defenses they have. Keep in mind that you might not be able to just rip the cores out of regular Angels, but they should still help make quick work of the Kaijin heralds, so keep that Unmaker on you.
Call back with notes when you get a chance to try it out and I'll do some upgrades in exchange for your continuous involvement as a beta tester.
With care,
Merch"
Well at least these should come in handy at least once. Taking out the gauntlets from their packaging, I try them on and they seem like an alright fit before I take 'em back off to read the instructions. So you'd think things were finally starting to pick up in my favor, right? This is me we're talking about, there's always a setback to overtake a W that I get as I start hearing the distinct sound of panic in the streets, mechanical feet clanking and gunfire going off like it was goddamn Omaha Beach. Look outside and what do I see? A goddamn robot invasion with a squad of 'em being dropped off in a gunship looking like a metal Plank from Ed, Edd n Eddy. Now I didn't need a 2000 IQ to know that this was obviously the work of that Johnny 2x4 that the maids told me about a while ago out for payback, but what if they found out about the Metsu Emerald and are making a move? Thankfully the others show up as Toji goes "It's starting to go to hell in a handbasket out there. What do we do to stop it, boss?" As I formulate a plan...or at least try to since now the Angel came back for round 2.
"Alright" I start before continuing "Mana, Strasberg and Keita will protect Shinji while trying to get his memories of us back. Toji, you, Sakura, Kensuke, the maids, and Ami will fight off the invasion. Girls, since you've dealt with these guys in the past, so you take point."
Kensuke then asks "What about you and the Emerald?" to which I answer "First I make it so the Angel can be killed, then deal with the most likely source of these bots to send a message. I may not be at 100%, but I can still knock heads around."
Mana then speaks up saying that she might know who to find in order to take care of the Angel part of my role as it came time to put it all together.
(Generic P.O.V. Shift)
(Track Change: "Screaming Eagles (Instrumental Version)" by Sabaton)
With orders given, the Knights set out with their objectives after a quick change into their vigilante armors. A 20 unit platoon of Squash Droids were marching towards the center of town as they were swiftly met with destruction at the hands of Toji and Kensuke unleashing a pair of medium strength Ki blasts with the survivors being met with both ax and lance strikes. Sakura and Ami on the other hand were in the midst of a daring rescue of a group of civilians with the former daughter of Aku stabbing the head of a Category: Ogre with a pair of twin sai and Sakura dealing with the regular foot soldiers with her most recent purchase: a version of the Fenrir keyblade from Kingdom Hearts. Meanwhile, the maid trio were wasting no time taking down not just a full squad of Ogre droids on top of a new contender in the form of a larger mechanized dragon. And where was Bishops you may ask? Well he had just located one Mayumi Yamagishi, looking far worse for wear as the core inside of her most likely killing her as the battle around them raged on. Bishops managed to get close to her and goes "I can help you with your heart problem, but I'm going to need to to trust me with your life. Can you do that?" as she just nods in agreement wanting any way to get rid of her current situation. Bishops then activates the new gauntlets he was given and proceeds to push the needles into her body while being careful not to hit anything vital before extracting the core from her with his right arm. The level 10 Warper was able to breath a temporary sigh of relief before the removed core managed to manifest into a new Kaijin humanoid form and went "It's never easy, is it?". As Bishops drew Occam's Razor to get the fight over as fast as possible, the Kaijin quickly jumped into the air and merged with the Angel as the larger creature had just finished rendering Mari's EVA out of commission, creating a being similar to a bipedal medieval dragon, leading Bishops to go "Of course".
While Bishops' battle was only just getting started, Shinji and the TRI-DENT trio were prepping for the possible attack on the GARD as Mana and Keita were in the midst of a dire conversation
"This isn't good." went Keita before continuing with "If only we could figure out a way to get Shinji's memories back so we can have one of our heavy hitters back in action." to which Strasberg responds "Well it's not like we can just WebMD it to find a...". It was in that moment where they realized...they were goddamn stupid as Mana quickly whips out her phone and searches Warper amnesia online until she gets a proper result.
"While rare among Reality Warpers, the possibility of being afflicted by amnesia is still a possibility. However, it is relatively easy to treat through the simple act of channeling Flames of Creation into the body of the afflicted Warper in a fashion similar to jumpstarting a car, in turn restoring the memories of said individual.
Shinji could only answer with "I'm just going on record saying like hell I'll let you hook jumpstart cables to me." as Strasberg responds "No need, we just need to place a hand on any part of your body like your shoulder, and we can do this thing."
Mana then turns to her lover and says in a concerned tone "I know you have no idea who we are right now, but we need you to trust us. Trust me."
If there was one thing that was still apart of Shinji outside of the Warper's secret that he had been ignoring due to his lessened state, it was that he was still a sucker for a woman in need. Finally relenting, he simply goes "What other choice do I have?", gesturing the other three to begin the process with Keita and Strasberg each manning a shoulder while Mana opted for a more intimate place: the heart. The trio then close their eyes and begin channeling their Flames of Creation into the third child's body, causing him to temporarily glow with a blue aura for a quick minute as it all begins coming back to him. Unfortunately, a squad of Squash Droid grunts had managed to locate the GARD and we're making their way to the entrance as Shinji was quick to react by tearing them apart with his sword with his memories completely restored. Strasberg simply asks "Uh, how you feeling, dude?" as Unit-01's pilot answers "To be honest, even better than I was before I fought the Angel. Speaking of which, did we win?"
Keita answers "We'll explain later. Right now, we should probably go help the others with those robots."
The four then rush out into the battle with the TRI-DENT trio mentally kicking themselves in the ass while thinking "why didn't we try that in the first place?".
Back to the brunt of the battle, Unit-02 was busy grappling with the Angel's 2nd form while preparing to stab at its now exposed core while Bishops was waiting for just the right moment to make it look like the EVA had done its job while the remaining Knights of Ryujin continued to push back the invading robots with relative ease until the Gourdians unleashed their most desperate move: an orbital strike using the ships they had in orbit. Things were looking fairly from until Wynn, Lyna and Eria managed to gain a decent position to unleash a trinity attack of the second most powerful spell known to Lina Inverse herself: a technique they proudly called the "Lightstorm Dragon Slave", shooting it into the air and striking multiple supply ships in the process. As they were preparing for some return fire, the distinct look of explosions could be seen, ones not exactly caused by them. The remaining team members still in the fight quickly managed to pick up a familiar energy signature: one that they were more than happy to have back in action as Shinji was quickly getting to work helping to destroy the remaining craft using the same Tranzector he used during the altered canon of episode 5. Having just torn his way through his second supply ship and was going for the big game of the main destroyer. Aftly dodging the second Lightstorm Dragon Slave which took out one of the destroyer escorts before making his way to the partial hangar bay on the ship's underside, using the dragon head to spew flames until being pushed out by a new Squash Droid variant: a larger more heavily armored bipedal unit around 3/4 the size of Shinji's Megatron aptly named "Category: Golem". Being pushed out of the hangar alongside the new mechanical menace, the third child quickly adapted to further space combat by quickly avoiding beam fire from the Squash Droid menace as it unleashed its weapon salvo wildly due to not being built for extraterrestrial combat. The damage being done to the destroyer was beginning to amass as missed shot after missed shot, some of which even hitting a few of the remaining craft still part of the invasion. Shinji managed to grab the Squash Droid before ramming it into the starboard external weapons of the destroyer and punched out its energy core before escaping the proceeding explosion. All that was left was a few ships, but before Shinji could up his mechanical body count, the last destroyer escort was cut in half and destroyed. The culprit: Bishops with his own Vector Prime Tranzector. Seeing each other in action, Bishops was the first to ask a question while finishing off one of the remaining cargo ships by going "How'd you get your memories back?" before Shinji answers "I'll explain later. So I guess you're feeling better now, huh?".
Bishops can only respond with "To be honest, no. And with everything that's gone down today, it didn't help at all." as the duo proceeded to return to good old terra firma and do some damage control of the situation involving the robots.
(P.O.V. Shift: Gendo)
Worthless piles of junk, I knew that they wouldn't be able to get the job done. And to throw gasoline on to the fire, not only did the boy manage to have his memories restored, but now it seems he's stronger than ever. Lorenz and I were in the middle of another call with this "Gourdar" oaf as he gives the report on the battle.
"Unfortunately the first wave of your invasionary forces was sadly trounced at the hands of the Knights of Ryujin. They're growing stronger with each passing day, and soon they might figure out that your army is in leagues with us." as the Squash wearing incel responds "And eventually take the fight to me, I am more than aware of the situation."
I throw in a recent revelation by stating "But are you aware that your technology is currently in the hands of our universe's United Nations to develop countermeasures in the event your men decide to try another invasion attempt?" before the gourd based buffoon answers "A setback, but nothing we can't handle."
Lorenz then asks "How so?" as the oaf gives his answer.
"Right now, I've got Dr. Frog actively working on upgrading all current Squash Droid models to have their power levels at least doubled. In the meantime, while we amass enough of these newer models to put towards the next dispatch of the Subjugation Fleet can be sent your way, perhaps we can give you a means of disposing of the Knights of Ryujin's heaviest hitter."
Out of curiosity, Lorenz asks "What do you have in mind?" before Gourdar revealed some files that actually caught my eye. Perhaps this alliance was worth something after all.
(P.O.V. Shift: Shinji)
Oh god, today was a day. I don't know what kind of day to call it, but it was a day for sure. So I guess Bishops has a Metsu Emerald now thanks to the Crystal Squadron and the he made sure that only the U.N and JDSF were able to collect robot parts from the battle to help develop new weapons that can help us in the fight against not just the Angels, but whoever sent those bots should they even think of trying again. Anyways, I was sitting with Mana, Strasberg and Keita on top of the school, just chilling after a long ass day when something kinda starts bugging me. I turn to the guys and ask "You know, I gotta ask why you two were willing to use your Flames of Creation to kickstart my memory. Mana I can kinda get, but you guys only really have the excuse of us being on the same team."
Strasberg was first to answer by going "Well for starters, you saved our asses during the whole Dr. Destructo business. And you're important to Mana. And if you're important to Mana well...you're important to us." before Keita adds "Totally, man. You stick your neck out for us, so it's only fair we do the same for you. Doesn't hurt that we've been becoming more like friends over time."
Mana then pulls me in to plant one on the ol' lips before adding "You affect more people for the better than you think you do, never forget that." and it gets me to thinking: maybe learning about all the multiverse stuff, Reality Warpers, and all the other crap wasn't really all that bad after all. But if there was ever one thing that I could ever take away from everything that's happened so far, it's that when it comes to trying to stick to canon, I don't give a fuuuuuuuck!
(Track Change: that one song used for Rick and Morty's season one finale credits, I forget the name)
Roll the credits! Roll the credits, go! First arc done! That was the "Gathering" arc, or whatever the fuck we're calling it!
(Yeah, we're just gonna keep that song playing for this episode's ending theme)
(Post Credits Generic P.O.V. Shift)
Toji and Kensuke were making their way to their favorite convenience store, hoping that it hadn't been too roughed up during the invasion the morning after the battle before heading to Shinji's to get him for homeroom. As far as they had seen so far, it only seemed that damage around town was minimal for the most part with some mid-range collateral damage being scattered across certain areas. Thankfully, it was nothing that couldn't be replaced as the U.N. and JDSF had offered to help in reconstruction and even replacing items lost during the mechanized menace's attack. As they had reached their destination, they were met with the presence of a young girl no older than they were if by beyond a few years. However, this girl wasn't exactly a welcome site as both Knights of Ryujin members could easily sense the bad vibes coming off of her before she opened her mouth, simply saying "My masterr would like to have a word with your master."
Current List of Power Levels:
Desmond Bishops (me): 2,355,000/108,330,000(Max Safe Kaio Ken: x46)/117,750,000(Base Super Spiral)/ 500,000,000 (Unicron Trilogy Vector Prime Tranzector)
Shinji Ikari: 110,000/990,000(Max Safe Kaio Ken: x9)/100 (lost memories)/131,000 (memories restored)/1,179,000 (memories restored Max Safe Kaio Ken: x9)/300,000,000 (Transmetal 2 Megatron Tranzector) (Warper Status: LV. 5)
Mana Kirishima: 7500 (Warper Status: LV. 4)
Musashi Lee Strasberg: 7450 (Warper Status: LV.4)
Keita Asari: 7300 (Warper Status: LV. 4)
Rei Ayanami (Rei III): 27,100* (Warper Status: LV. 4)
Toji Suzuhara: 100,000/900,000(Max Safe Kaio Ken: x9) (Warper Status: LV. 5)
Kensuke Aida: 99,500/895,500(Max Safe Kaio Ken: x9) (Warper Status: LV. 5)
Sakura Suzuhara: 99,000/891,000(Max Safe Kaio Ken: x9) (Warper Status: LV. 5)
Hikari Horaki: 5.2
Misato Katsuragi: 5
Wynn Miyabi: 405,800/1,500,000 (Lightstorm Dragon Slave) (Warper Status: LV. 5)
Eria Aoi: 405,000/ 1,500,000 (Lightstorm Dragon Slave) (Warper Status: LV. 5)
Lyna Hikari: 404,000/ 1,500,000 (Lightstorm Dragon Slave) (Warper Status: LV. 5)
Asuka Langley Sohryu: 41,100*
Mari Illustrious Makinami: 39,900*
Ryoji Kaji: 6
Pen Pen: 3.25
Shigiru Aoba: 4
Maya Ibuki: 4
Mokoto Hyuga: 3
Ritsuko Akagi: 4
Jessabelle Musashi: 355,000 (Warper Status: LV. 5)
Fuytsuki Kozo: 3
Gendo Ikari: 210,500 (Warper Status: LV. 5)
Keel Lorenz: 261,000 (Warper Status: LV. 5)
Ami (Earth Dimension SJ-12639706): 230,000/3,220,000 (Max Safe Kaio Ken=x14) (Warper Status: LV. 5)
Kaworu Nagisa: 80,700 (Warper Satus: LV: 3)
Johnny "Gourdar the Never Ending" 2x4 (Earth Dimension EEE- Sigma-1451-B): 25,000
Dr. Frog (Earth Dimension LOSE-1018-Tau): 3,500,000/120,000,000 (Battle Suit MK.2 Overclock)
EVA Unit-02: 3,000,000 (Synch Rate: 50%)
EVA Provisional Unit-05: 2,500,000 (Synch Rate: 50%)
"Extistential Angel": 40,000,000 (Form 1)/200,000,000 (Form 2)
Squash Droid Commando: 30,000 each (x500)
Squash Droid Elite Commando: 50,000 each (x100)
Category "Ogre" Squash Droid: 100,000 each (x25)
Category "Dragon" Squash Droid: 250,000 each (x10)
Category "Golem" Squash Droid: 400,000 (x1)
(Author's Notes: Finally done with this arc! Yeah, this is the end of the "Gathering" arc, and things are only gonna get more action packed from here on out. I wanna thank those of you who've stuck with me so far, I know my upload speed can be pretty inconsistent, but it means a lot that you guys are willing to put up with it like you have so far. These things take time, and I do have a bit of a life beyond here, DeviantART and the internet in general, so if you could be willing to keep that in mind, that would be awesome.
So, Bishops has a Metsu Emerald now, and with what I have planned, things are gonna get just a bit more difficult from here on put. Next time, we start the "NERV/Angel War" arc, but not in the way you'd expect. Episode 9's altered canon will show up in the background, but the main plot will be influenced by certain events in the multiverse (if you've been keeping up with Yoshi3000's "Fusionfall Infinite", you know what). Until then, DSX62415, out.)