#i was just testing out short haired solaris

[icecreampizzer]

Sun-kissed commander of the stars

[mechwarrior-rose]

From one mercenary to another. 🏆💳💚

💛Tell me about your ride. Your beat up Marauder.

(From @wolf-among-mechs)

Everybody always wants to talk about the Clanner side of things. Sometimes a little merc chatter is good for the soul.

This one's a little longer, so I'm droppin' it under a cut for everyone's health and well-being.

🏆 - I talked a little about Bloodnames in a prior answer--that I wanted my shot at the Hall Bloodname, but I never got it, and that now the whole thing seems a mite silly to me. But I guess I could talk more about the mess surrounding that.

Aslanbek Hall was the progenitor of the name, and they were all right. Most of those Operation KLONDIKE folks had a few wild hairs--had to, to be part of somethin' so titanically ridiculous. But Aslanbek just seemed like a normal person. The real hero of that line, to me, is Bracelen Hall. He was a nutter for sure. Test piloted over a dozen 'Mech prototypes, nearly got his face blown off a couple times by poorly-designed ammo feeds and bad capacitors and such. Then he tested Prototype A, and that was it for him. He'd found his ride. Went back into active service in a Sun Bear developed from the Prototype A model and never looked back. Barely anyone else saw the beauty of the thing, but he turned that gangly medium 'Mech into a monster on the field. Wound up commandin' Theta Galaxy. He wrote about how it was short-sighted to reward the warrior alone for victory in battle, when it was also the machine the warrior used, the technicians who tended it, the scientists who created it, the merchants who supplied them, the laborers who manufactured the parts. Bracelen was a brawler trained in a couple of martial arts forms, and he likened a victory in battle to a good punch. The punch don't come from the hand, nor even from the arm and shoulder. A good punch comes from the earth itself. The body's just a conduit for it.

When I was desperately scrabblin' for a chance to prove myself, I had it all wrong. I wanted to show my individual prowess. Now, don't get me wrong, ain't nothin' lacking in my prowess. I'm as good a fighter as any. But that ain't what it's about. It's about takin' the momentum of all the others behind you, of the techs and administrative staff and barkeeps and toilet scrubbers, everyone who's ever pushed your life a little further forward with their effort, and applyin' that momentum against a single point. Can't nothin' stand up to that. I punch a 'Mech, it ain't budgin'. But if everyone punches that 'Mech through me, well, that sonofabitch is comin' down hard. If I'd gotten that Bloodname, I never would've figured it out. I would have peaked right there, or even worse, gotten into politics to advance my career or some-such nonsense.

💳 - This one's easy, and maybe that's because my mercenary career is only a few years old. I had hitched a ride with Pandora's Box headed rimward through Marik space. I'd only been gone from Solaris for about six months. They had a down-low garrison contract on Second Chance, and I was to pay my way by spendin' a month or so runnin' patrols with them. The colonel of the planetary militia, who held the contract, was the biggest pain in my ass I'd ever experienced. And that's countin' the mob bosses I pissed off when I swindled 'em on Solaris. Of course I caught his eye. An Ebon Jaguar done up in Solaris nonsense catches anyone's eye. He split his focus between tryin' to put Pandora's Box into debt so they'd have to fold into his militia and tryin' to wheedle me out of my ride. I finally had to threaten him physically. He'd never been off-world, never seen a real Clanner before me, so I played it up just like the holovids. Lifted his scrawny ass up against the wall and shouted every half-Russian insult I could come up with, includin' a few made up for the occasion, and informed him that I was prepared to challenge his entire command to a Trial of Annihilation if he ever spoke to me again. I think the man actually pissed his pants. The mercenary commander, Colonel Black, wasn't too happy with me for potentially disruptin' her already piss-poor relationship with him, but last I knew as I was boardin' my ride off-planet, he was eatin' out the palm of her hand, and I credit that to my sterling efforts.

💚 - Clan Techs generally know better than to complain about their superiors' piloting, at least to our faces. So the first time I experienced that was in the Genyosha. The damn techs had the gall to tell me to favor my direct-fire weapons over the LRMs because the launcher was hinky. Tellin' me! A Clan warrior! How to fight! I was fit to be tied. Reminded them that of course I already prefer shootin' straight at my enemy instead of relyin' on dishonorable indirect fire. Told them that, if there was a problem with my LRMs, it was with the substandard ammunition, not with the launcher. Told them if they thought they could do it better than me, well, hell, they could muster up and earn their way to MechWarrior status and show me proper--unless they had the guts to challenge me for my own 'Mech right then and there.

Over the course of the next six months, I learned that you can piss off your commander, you can piss off your lancemates, but you damn well better not piss off your techs. I finally bought them all a big damn fruit basket and took 'em out for drinks, and we buried the hatchet.

Now, on Solaris, techs mostly don't care how beat up you get. It's duel culture. What my head tech, Aisling, complained about most was me bangin' up the decorative additions to my ride. Well, hell, Aisling, don't put 'em in places where they're gonna brush up against the scenery, then!

💛 - I think there might have been some turnaround here. The Marauder belongs to the woman I'm huntin'. I'll tell you more about my ride, but I'll talk about hers first, since it's piqued your interest.

That Marauder is old as dirt. Hell, might even have been an SLDF -2R once upon a time. She sure claimed it was. But when she and I faced off, it had been refit and rebuilt all to hell. Had a standard -3R loadout. Didn't look like nothin' in the bay. Marauders are pretty enough. Got that quiet menace about 'em. You see 'em all over, so they kinda lose their impact after a while. But when she got behind those controls, that thing came to life. She was her own lead tech. She knew every bolt and bundle by heart. She'd piloted that beast since she was old enough to reach the pedals. She didn't have no fancy motive system control computer, no advanced neurohelmet, nothin'. She just knew how to use the controls in advance of the desired motion. Could track all the various centers of gravity of each part of her machine in real time. Felt like she was runnin' two seconds ahead of everyone else, myself included. And you'd see it in her gait outside of the cockpit, too. She'd walk up to the bar, and you'd swear there was somethin' familiar about her, until you realized you'd just seen those exact motions in the last live match that had been broadcast on the bar's tri-vid.

I digress. The question was about the machine, not the woman. Though maybe I'd argue that there's functionally no difference.

So about my ride. My Ebon Jaguar. I took it as isorla off some unfortunate Smoke Jag who was awfully proud of her brand-new ride. She practically begged me to take her as a bondswoman, at least so far as the boundaries of honor would allow, I think so she could get her ride back. Well, honey, you just didn't use her to her potential. Sorry to disappoint. So I had my new ride painted up in Delta blues and greys and took her on the road to the Inner Sphere. She's nowhere near as quick as the Shadow Cat I rode before, but with all this ranged punch, she don't need to be. My stable on Solaris gave her a nickname: "Razorclaw". Now if that ain't the most stupid, generic thing to call a Clan 'Mech, I don't know what is. I didn't used to feel like 'Mechs deserved nicknames. They're just equipment. But lately I've been gettin' sentimental, I guess. Been wonderin' what I ought to call her. I suppose I'll figure out a good one someday, probably five minutes before she gets shot out from under me.

Well, damned if I ain't been particularly long-winded today. I beg your indulgence of an old warrior's reminiscences.

[melyaliz]

Fiery Passion

Paid request: For a Kori (Starfire) and Virgin!OC. Takes place during the first comic of Red Hood and the Outlaws durning the Beach scene. Instead of Roy sleeping with Kori it’s an OC. 

Fandom:  DC / Red Hood and the Outlaws 

Pairing: Koriand'r x OC  Notes: Just for fun we decided to make the Read an OC have fire powers New Name: Sam Solaris Alias: Scorcher Powers: pyrokinesis, lava manipulation immunity to fire, flight you can figure out the rest But he’s HUMAN that’s the only thing condition my friend would like

All Masterlists @melyalizarchive

​Connect with me! AO3 / Instagram / Pinterest

DONATE or REQUEST

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Nerves, pushing through Sam’s body as he walked toward Jessica. This was it. This was his moment. 

He was going to talk to the girl of his dreams.

Fumbling with his hands he waved slightly, “Hey” it came out more like a croke than a word. Catching in his throat and dying there the sound rotting in the space between then.

Not that it would have mattered because the didn’t even acknowledge him. She knew he was there, their eyes had met for a moment, just long enough for him to see the slight eye roll. Turning she walked away as he was invisible. Disappearing in the sea of people. 

Gone.

Like his dreams, fading away as he opened his eyes in the morning.

The most beautiful girl he knew refused to know him. 

The most beautiful girl he had ever seen wouldn’t even spare a hello.

Which was why now here in the present moment he still couldn’t believe that he called the woman in front of him his friend. 

Woman. 

Starfire, Koriand'r, Princess of Tamaran.

Objectify one of the most beautiful woman who had ever graced this and any other planet.   

His high school crush and string of women after held nothing toward this true goddess in front of him. Standing in the string bikini splashing in the cool water of the Caribbean island the Outlaws were relaxing after pulling Roy Harper out of whatever craziness he had gotten himself into that day. 

Sam wasn’t stupid, he could see the millions of other people watching Kori as she enjoyed the water and sun that the beautiful day offered. Many standing with slack jaws as cool droplets of crystal clear water fell off her beautiful orange skin. 

She looked amazing. 

“I need a drink” Jason sighed rubbing his head.

“I could use a soda” Roy nodded in agreement getting up, “And maybe some more sunscreen I’m feeling a little crispy.” his best friend shook his head muttering something about gingers and the sun causing Sam to chuckle. 

“I’m good but you guys go ahead.” their teammate nodded closing his eyes for a moment just enjoying the warm rays that washed over him. Today was beautiful and he couldn’t get enough of it. 

He was just drifting off to sleep when something cut off the sun’s warmth shading him. Peeking through his lid he found Kori standing over him watching him. 

 She was playing with her wet locks shaking out some of the seawater letting the sun do the rest to dry her beautiful main.

“Enjoying the sun?” she asked sitting on the seat next to him closing her eyes throwing her head back to enjoy the rays as well. Like Sam, she fed off the warmth. While Sam’s powers of Fire came more within Kori’s were powered by the large ball of fire above the. She was like the Star that kept the earth alive. Bright and beautiful. 

And Sam felt so drawn to her, 

Not that he was kidding himself. He knew women like this beautiful goddess in front of him would NEVER go for guys like him. While since high school he had gotten more comfortable talking to women but he wasn’t as much of a fool to think one like the unearthly (quite literally) creature in front of him would ever want to be with a guy like him. 

“I wanted to thank you,” Kori finally said, “For having my back during our mission.”

Sam shrugged, “It’s no big deal.”

“I found your powers so fascinating.”

“M...mine?” 

“It was if you pull life from the earth itself. Lava heat. Bubbling and boiling.”

“While you burn bright like the Sun in the sky,” Sam added as more of a way to remind her how amazing she was. How could he not? She was a queen among peasants.

“Yes,” she nodded agreeing with that statement, “Would you like to have sex?” 

Sam chocked, total shock washing over his body as his brain did a total shutdown. “Ehhh What?” his face going hot as his powers. He wanted to pinch himself. Did the most beautiful woman of this or any other world just ask him to have sex? HIM? 

“Wouldn’t Jason or Roy be better suited for you? After all, haven’t they already slept with you?” He asked also wondering WHY he was suggesting this? Should he just go with this? But the thought of being with this angel was, so shocking he couldn’t think straight. 

Then there was that other matter.

He was a virgin. 

Could he really please her the way other, more experienced people could? 

Kori nodded at his comment before speaking, “Yes I have but the way you treat me, the way you look at me is different, others view me as a desirable sex object, you look at me like I’m a beautiful person. While our friends treat me with respect, you seem to treat me with admiration. My whole life I have been used for my body and gotten pleasure through sex, but that’s all it is meaningless and simple sex, yet when I’m around you I feel like there could be something much more than that.” 

“You say that but,” Sam looks out at the vast ocean again, finding his words, “I am not experienced with any woman. In fact, I have only heard that it’s said to be the greatest experience a human could ever have.” 

Kori leans forward her beautiful unearthly eyes glowing with excitement as they met his. As she leans forward Sam can see down her bikini getting a great view of her boobs, “I can not speak to the human experience but I want to experience you and only you.” 

The walk back to her room was quick silent. Both of them caught in their own thoughts. Thoughts that were quickly discarded as he kissed her for the first time behind the closed door. 

Her body was warm as he pressed upon her, hands exploring her exposed skin. Even though she had just gone swimming the heat of her body had nearly dried her. Her body temperature may have been too warm for some but for Sam, it felt amazing. 

She felt amazing. 

He feels onto the bed pulling off his own shirt as she untied her bikini top so he could get a full view of her boobs. Kori normally wore clothes that left little to the imagination when it came to the beautiful curves she had been blessed with. However, seeing her completely undress in front of him Sam felt his fingers itch to touch her. 

“I just want to make you feel good” Sam whispered sitting up taking her boobs in his hands rubbing his thumbs over her nipples. Tweaking and pulling the soft sensitive nubs causing Kori’s eyes to roll back letting out a soft moan. 

That sound, god it made him hard just hearing it.  

She slowly pulls off her top but he stops her “Let me take care of you.” he slowly takes it off his hands brushing against her boobs playing with her tits. Her head throwing back as he starts pulling at her nipples. His fingers heating up just a little warming them sending sparks of pleasure through her body.

To his excitement, she pushed closer to his hands humming with enjoyment melting into his touch. Leaning forward Sam took her nipple in his mouth letting his tounge run over the now hard nipple causing her to gasp out his name in a short beautiful breath. 

Testing his assumption Sam grazes his teeth around her nipple earning himself a low moan her body pushing forward again. She liked that. Trying to fight back a smile Sam let his teeth graze her again and again, just hard enough…

“Oh Harder” 

Never mind, she wanted it harder.

Sam nipped at her hard bud earning another gasp from her. Her fingers finding his hair pulling him closer to her. Her tits felt so soft and amazing between his hands in and his mouth he felt like he could get lost there. Enjoying the way she feels around him coupled with the sounds she was making.

Was this really happen? 

This beautiful body with curves that never ended, soft supple breasts that tasted warm and sweet like honey. He couldn’t get enough.

His right hand slowly curved from her breast down her waist. Fingers lightly grazing her body feeling every inch, every muscle, every dimple. Curving over her beautiful hips to where her body was only inches from his. With each nip and nibble, he made to her nipple her hips would jerk forward. 

Placing the flat of his hand against her crotch Sam sighed into her tit as she once again jerked forward, this time getting some pressure back as his fingers moved over her beautiful pussy. It was already warm and as he moved lower down felt how wet it was. 

He had done that. 

He had made this goddess hot and wet with his mouth and fingers.   

Her beautiful body seemed to melt like gold in a fire at his strokes. Fingers moving into her stroking her softly only to have to buck forward begging for more while her boobs pushed closer to his face, 

He swiped again across her pussy making her moan again body squirming around him with excitement and pleasure. Again and again and again. 

One finger moving it’s way into her soft pussy then again. His thumb pressing against her citrus. Her hips slowly moving up and down fucking his fingers as he continued rubbing her. 

“OH YES,” She cried pushing his head closer to her chest as she rode his fingers. His mouth losing it’s grip on her nipple just enjoying the feeling of her soft supple breasts around him as she moaned and writhed over his hand.   

“I need you now,” she said suddenly pushing Sam away letting his back hit the bed. He looked up at her, flushed from excitement as she reached down stroking his already very hard cock. Her beautiful red hair messed up. 

Sam groaned as she took his cock in her hand stroking him again admiring him. One more stork and Sam felt his own hips jerk forward at her soft warm touch. Her hands were so soft at the memory of her beautiful tits around his face making him pulse. 

Then he felt something warm and wet run across the base of his cock. Eyes jerking open he looked down to see Kori licking him once again. Eyes looking up at him with a mischievous smile. Her boobs rubbing against his balls just grazing them.

The feeling there was nothing like it.

“I… I…. oh Kori” he moaned a hand going up to his hair running his fingers through his locks trying to focus. Trying not to lose his control just yet. 

“Would you like to come?”  she asked before taking the tips of his cock in her mouth her warm lips softly moving over the shaft. 

“I’m going to soon but,” He was panting as he felt his balls throbbing, becoming full, “I want to come inside you.”

“I would like that also,” Kori admitted giving him one more beautiful lick before moving up above him straddling him rubbing her already wet pussy over him. The friction, anticipation, it was unlike anything Sam had ever felt. 

Her pussy was so soft and warm around his cock as she rode him. Hands-on either side of his head tits bouncing as she slid up and down. Both of them moaning at the beautiful feeling of the friction. Sam reached up grabbing her tits pulling at her nipples again making her moan and he felt her pussy pulse around him.

“Oh you feel so good” Kori moans, “Your hands, your cock.” she groans as she rides him harder and hard.

“I’m close” Sam mutters eyes rolling back slightly.

“Just let go my love.” Kori whispers, “I am as well, but my heat...”

“Just let go” Sam mimics her words, “I can take it, I want to feel you.”  

At her words, he feels his climax overcome him coming inside her. At the feeling of his throbbing cock, Kori’s body went hot under his hands lighting up the whole room as she literally glows like the star that she is. Buring hot, the sheets under her knees smoking slightly. But Sam just groans as he feels her come over him, taking her heat letting it wash over his whole body. 

Letting out a soft gasp she falls down next to him, “I have never… felt anything like that” she mutters slowly cuddling close to him enjoying the warmth that radiates from him. Sam chuckles still in awe at the beauty that is now next to him. Gently he kisses her forehead brushing back her hair from her face.

“May we do that again?” She asks looking up at him

“Right now?”

She laughs lightly shaking her head cuddling closer to him as he pulls a blanket up over them. “Just again, right now I am happy where I am.”

Sam smiled down at her as she slowly started to fall asleep, her beautiful body curved around his, “Me too” he says as he slowly follows her into dreamland.

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[lunar-lattice]

Solaris Caelum (7)

Kaworu cross-synchs with Unit 00 with vicious results.

Mirrors in reblogs.

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7. Ghost in the Machine

Months earlier...

Rei had been in the entry plug many a time before and in LCL many more times before this. This, however, was the first time she was syncing with her Evangelion. She couldn't name the feeling that buzzed along her skin, just that it made the mere idea as scary as an Angel attack. But the Commander demanded she do this so she daintily stepped into the plug and settled in the chair. She put her hands on the control yokes, squeezing them experimentally. She took a deep breath. The Commander assured her it would be okay so it would be okay. And if it wasn't, it was still okay. As she could be replaced.

The comm crackled to life and Dr. Akagi's voice filtered through, "Rei. We are beginning the activation test."

"Yes," she breathed.

Dr. Akagi turned to the techs, "Connect all main power supply circuits."

The machine buzzed to life around her. Even without being synced, Rei could feel the power. It would have made the hair on her arms stand on end if the plugsuit allowed it. She closed her eyes and tried to relax. Even with this feeling, she needed to relax. The Eva wouldn't accept her otherwise.

"Starting the activation system," one of the techs, Maya, said.

Rei ignored the feeling within her and opened herself to the Eva. It would be alright, no matter what.

A buzzing feeling raced along her skin and she was suddenly aware of the Eva. Her body was its body which was her body. She was aware of both the enclosed area of the Entry Plug and the wide space of the testing room. She used the eye that was not hers to look up at the window where the Commander and Dr. Akagi were standing. While the doctor was busy looking over the shoulder of Maya at her screen, the Commander looked at her. His face betrayed nothing.

HE. KILLED. US. IT'S HIS FAULT!

Without any fanfare, the connection was cut and she felt like she was falling. But something from within grabbed her tight and yanked her back into place. She didn't scream or cry but the feeling had returned tenfold as she was helpless to be taken for the ride as the Eva strained to escape its restraints. With a howl of tearing metal, it lurched forward out of them.

Distantly, she could hear Dr. Akagi and the techs furiously attempting to stop the berserk machine. The angry screaming of someone familiar blocked it out.

TRAPPED, WRONG, IN PIECES. MAKE THIS STOP!

Rei grabbed her head in a vice grip. Why wouldn't it stop!? The voice, the pain, the feeling of being trapped and used—

A voice cut through the din, "Stop the experiment. Cut the power."

A shudder ran through the machine as the cable was ejected. It jerked to a stop, shuddering still.

IT WAS HIM. KILL HIM TOO!

Eva Unit Zero jerked back to life like a puppet, its face surveying the room until it caught sight of the window and Commander Ikari standing there stoic. It let go of its head and launched its fist into the wall. The wall dented and the window cracked but stood firm. A very distinct feeling of frustration rushed through Rei and the Eva began to pummel the wall. Still, despite cracking and breaking, it stood firm.

The Eva made a muffled wail and it bent over, grabbing its head once more.

WHY CAN'T I? WHY CAN'T I?

WHY WON'T YOU DIE TOO?!

A new shudder ran through the machine and finally, Rei was pulled from the machine as the Entry Plug ejected. Her relief was short-lived as the Plug hit the ceiling hard and slid across with a horrendous squealing sound. Her head hit the back of the chair and pain exploded there. The LCL was suddenly clouded red.

With another jerk, it hit the wall, still shuddering as the rockets kept going. In a combat scenario, the Plug was designed to fly as far as it could from the danger and hit the ground much easier than it would now. Rei felt a horrible feeling, of knowing she would shortly be in more pain and could do nothing about it.

The air beneath her dropped and she went into free fall. But not for long and she hit the ground, a horrible snap coming from her arm. She cried out as it did.

It went silent. Horribly and utterly silent. There was no one with Rei except the pain. Still, she did not cry, gasping instead.

Then there was a voice outside. A cry of pain then the sound of the Entry Plug release squealing as it was turned. Finally, light flooded the Entry Plug. "Rei?" the Commander asked and he leaned inside the Plug.

There was a desperate edge to his voice Rei had never heard before, "Rei, are you alright?!"

She looked up, her neck flaring in pain at the movement. She couldn't quite meet his eyes but he looked truly concerned. A new feeling, something that soothed her pain, rushed through her. She nodded slowly.

"...I see," he said.

He turned away as the hospital personnel made it down to them. A glint of something by the Entry Plug caught Rei's eyes. The Commander's glasses? She had rarely seen him without them. Her curiosity outweighed her pain so she leaned over, grabbing the edge of them. Her body screamed in pain but she ignored it, leaning back in her chair and studying the glasses.

A long crack ran through them, no doubt because the extreme heat the Plug was giving off. Her plugsuit protected her from it but the Commander had no such thing. His gloves definitely would not have held against it. The feeling from before rushed through her, a soft feeling that muffled her pain. She cradled the glasses close to her with her good arm and did not let go of them, even as she was loaded onto the stretcher.

Rei was doing a lot of thinking as of late. Not that she didn't think before. Just she was thinking more and on things her old self would deem "unnecessary". Her old self would deem thinking on her first sync test as necessary. She had gone over it many times, pondering different things. The main one was the Commander's actions. It was the single most kind thing he had done for her...but after it, he never brought it up. Like it simply had not happened. Before she justified it as something painful for him, as sometimes thinking about pain brought one pain. Now...she wasn't so sure.

But that wasn't what she was thinking about. What she was thinking about was the fact Nagisa was having a unique sync test today, where he synced with all three Evas. He usually tested with 02, a fact that Asuka was obviously not happy with. But his sync rate with it was not great, hovering just above her own. So they were testing him with the other two, in case they liked him better.

And if something happened to her or Shinji.

The idea of harm coming to Shinji was not something she really liked to think about but it was something she thought about nonetheless. And now, she loathed to think of something happening to Asuka or Nagisa too. She barely knew Nagisa but...the idea that syncing with her Eva may harm him alarmed her. She'd have to warn him.

It was still early, too early for anyone to really be up, including Nagisa. But the idea nagged so she stood and began to get dressed.

When she left her apartment, the sun was barely coming up so the world was still in lavender tones. The hall was quiet and dim. Rei found she liked it as she walked down the hall to Nagisa's apartment. Once there, she knocked and waited.

A few minutes passed before he opened the door, blinking blearily at her. His silver hair stuck up every which way and his clothes were disheveled. He yawned, "Oh, hey, Rei. What are you doing here?"

"I wished to speak with you. It..." she paused, searching for a way to word it, "...brought me distress if I didn't right away."

"Is it important?" Kaworu asked.

"It is a matter of great importance to me,"

He stepped aside, "Then come on in. I'll make some tea."

She followed him into the kitchen and sat at the table as he made tea. His apartment wasn't decorated much more than hers but she could see a silver machine of sorts on the counter. He glanced over to her to ask her something then followed her gaze to it. He smiled, "Do you like music, Rei?"

"I haven't listened to it particularly. I do know Shinji likes it," she said back, studying the machine and trying to figure out how it played music.

He reached over and pressed a button, causing violin music to flood the kitchen. He smiled, "Listen to that while I make tea. I think you'll like it."

She closed her eyes as she listened to the music, violins striking a prominent position while flutes took up the background. Her worry was still there but it was like a footnote in a book. Important, yes, but at the back of her mind. The music eventually faded out on a final chord before silence reigned once more. She opened her eyes just as Kaworu set a cup of tea in front of her. He asked, "Did you like it?"

She nodded slightly, "It made me feel less worried."

Kaworu sat across from her, "It makes me feel calmer when I'm upset too,"

He took a sip of the tea so Rei did as well. She murmured, "This is nice too,"

He smiled at her, "Good to hear! Anyway, what was bothering you?"

Rei grimaced, enough so that Kaworu frowned. Seeing her emote was nearly alien and to such a degree...he was concerned. She began, "You will test with Units One and Zero today. The idea makes me...fear for you, Nagisa."

Kaworu's frown deepened, "You can call me Kaworu...but well...to fear for someone else is normal. But you fear...I'll get hurt?"

She nodded, "Unit Zero...went berserk on my first sync test. I fear the same will happen to you."

"Well, if it does, Dr. Akagi and the techs will be there just in case. Plus, they've probably thought of that already," Kaworu smiled softly at her.

It did little to soothe her worries. She knew why she feared it but she very well couldn't tell him. The fact the Evas had souls in them was very top secret so even alluding to it might get her in trouble. She dropped her gaze to her tea as she thought how to word it. She started slowly, "Unit Zero...is very temperamental. I don't think it will like change."

"I figured that much from what I've heard," he shrugged, "I'll just do what I've always been told to do. To open myself to her. What happens will happen."

Rei searched his face, wondering if perhaps he did know about the nature of the Eva. If he did, he was extremely casual about it. She nodded, "I suppose that is one way to look at it."

He smiled wider, "If you're so worried, you could come with. I think Shinji and Asuka were worried too. Maybe we can even go do something after."

Rei looked back at her tea. She said softly, "I'd like that."

"It's still for a few hours so you could go home," he paused, "Not that I wouldn't like for you to visit! I haven't really gotten to know you. I think we're very alike."

Rei tilted her head, almost birdlike, "Explain."

Kaworu simply smiled, "Just in looks, is all."

Asuka wasn't a fan of sync tests. Then again, she figured Dr. Akagi was the only one who was. Luckily today, she was not having any. But Kaworu was and she worried for him. Zero was unpredictable and she didn't trust it. Not to mention One's...track record. So she, along with Rei and Shinji, were here for moral support. All three hovered in the command room, out of the way but intent. Misato cast a glance over her shoulder at them, "You know you don't have to be here, right?"

Shinji cut in, "We want to make sure Kaworu is alright!"

Rei nodded to agree. Asuka stayed silent, her pride instead willing her to watch the screen of Kaworu sitting in Unit One's entry plug. She had her fears about it but they turned out unfounded. Kaworu could sync with it, just not very well. He could get her up and moving but his reaction time would be sluggish and nearly unusable. Misato's voice cut into her reverie, "How about you, Asuka?"

"Oh! Yeah, sure, same here," she shrugged, playing herself off as casual.

The smile playing upon Misato's lips showed she knew it wasn't. Instead she looked at the screen, "Who has little faith in who now?"

Asuka huffed and didn't answer. Shinji spoke up instead, "Well...it'll make us feel better, y'know? I do trust you and Dr. Akagi and everyone else..." he looked at the floor bashfully.

"I bet Ritsuko is happy to hear that," Misato commented.

Ritsuko herself did not comment but a soft smile crossed her face.

Asuka watched the screen again. Kaworu's sync rate only went up a point, something that was impressive in its own right. Unit One obviously had a preference and it was Shinji, whether he liked it or not. She wondered if the Unit could think for its own and what it was thinking about Kaworu. Was she only begrudgingly letting him sync? Or had she simply not gotten stubborn yet?

Her eyes drifted to Shinji who watched too. What would be his reaction to learning his mother was inside the war machine? Not that she would tell him any time soon but it was something to think about. Would he find comfort in the machine, as she had? Or would he resent the machine? Asuka trusted her unit with her life, just as she would her mother. Despite what happened to her mother after the contact experiment, whatever part of her mother was inside truly loved her. Maybe she should resent the Eva for taking her mother away from her. But then again, it wasn't like it had a choice in the matter. In some ways, even it was a victim.

She took attention when she heard Dr. Akagi instruct Kaworu to get out of Unit One as they were done and standby for Unit Zero. She found herself gnawing at her lip. Shinji must have picked it up as he whispered, "Asuka, are you worried?"

Asuka frowned, nearly rebuffing him. After a pause, she admitted, "Yes."

"It's alright. I have a bad feeling about it..." he turned to Rei, "No offense, I do know its your Eva."

Rei replied, "None taken. I understand."

They turned back to the screen, watching until they had the Units switched out and Kaworu inside Zero. Asuka did not trust that one. With Rei at the helm, it acted normal enough. But she knew it rebelled the first time she was inside. Not to mention the mystery of who was inside. She watched with rapt attention.

"Are you doing alright in there, Kaworu?" Dr. Akagi asked him through the speaker.

"Yes, Dr. Akagi," he answered smoothly.

The previous two Units were distant to him, something he didn't see changing with Zero. In fact, he did not see it changing at all until he got his own. With their souls active, he could not exert his Angelic influence over them and take control. Not that he would, as it would set off the Angel alert nearly immediately. So he simply sat there, letting himself sync with them normally.

Unit Two definitely did not let him sync as well as say, Asuka would. He did notice that after he befriended Asuka, his sync ration crawled up about ten points and was very slowly climbing, even slower than Rei. Still, progress was progress.

Unit One, however, seemed to only begrudgingly let him sync. His ratio was just enough to get her moving but he would be barely more than bait on the battlefield. He tried to radiate back gratefulness when he was in sync but little changed.

"Connect all main power circuits," Ritsuko commanded.

"Main power supply connected. Starting the activation system," Maya reported.

Inside the plug, the machine began to hum. Other than Maya counting backwards, the plug was silent. It was eerie.

"Proceed to the second stage of activation."

"Commencing Pilot connection."

"Commence phase two of synchronization."

"Everything looks like it's going well...," Shinji trailed off as he watched the window.

Asuka didn't respond, her eyes fixed on the Eva Unit.

"Proceed to third stage of activation,"

The Eva Unit came to life, looking up across the room. Other than that, it did not move.

"Time to absolute borderline. 0.9, 0.7, 0.5, 0.3…"

The computers began to wail and Maya jolted back and cried, "The pulses are flowing backward!"

Ritsuko took a glance at the Eva Unit that was already straining against its restraints then to Maya's computer. "Not again," she breathed.

The inside of the plug was flooded with red, making the LCL look uncomfortably like blood. The machine radiated a mix of terror and fury. It jabbed at Kaworu, as if trying to worm its way inside his head.

Images flashed in his mind. Rei sitting in class, staring out the window. Rei sitting in their group. Rei in Shinji's home. Rei in her white plugsuit.

Rei in a school outfit, eyes narrowed as she stood on the peak of the escalator.

IDENTIFY YOURSELF.

WHO ARE YOU?

UNKNOWN. DIFFERENT. FAMILIAR. ALIKE. ENEMY? FRIEND?

Kaworu gasped in surprise as the voice came from everywhere and inside his own mind. It was high and airy but a reverb behind it made it sound like a growling and cornered animal. And he knew what they said about a cornered animal: that was when they were at their most dangerous.

"I-I'm a friend," he murmured. Whatever this was...it felt in a way like Rei. Even so, he wasn't sure if it understood him at all. Or if it cared.

The machine shuddered, finally breaking from its restraints. It stumbled a few steps forward and shook its head back and forth, clawing at it as it did. It made a muffled wailing sound that chilled its watchers to their core. Ritsuko cried, "Eject the power cord!"

Maya complied then reported, "One minute until shutdown!"

Shinji was shaking like a leaf but couldn't find it in himself to move away. He said, "A minute can be a long time..."

The Eva stopped then slowly raised its head. It surveyed the room, catching sight of the window, repaired as if it hadn't smashed it up months prior. It approached, almost predatory.

Asuka grabbed Shinji's shoulder, "Shinji...let's...let's move back..."

But neither her nor Shinji nor Rei moved. They were stuck in place, helpless to watch as Unit Zero came mere feet away from the glass and mere feet away from them. It's single eye studied them each in turn but froze when it came to Rei. Everything was still.

WHY DO YOU GET TO LIVE WHILE I DIED?

WHYWHYWHYWHYWHYWHY!

It pulled back its arm and punched the glass, which bent inward and cracked but held. It wailed in frustration and punched again, the glass holding still but bending dangerously inward. "Rei!" Shinji cried and grabbed her shoulder. He pulled her back just as Unit Zero landed a third punch. Asuka staggered after them.

To their right, Ritsuko ordered, "Cut the connection. The pilot is suffering mental contamination. Eject the plug if you can afterward."

"Cut it? At this plug depth?" Maya asked, but nevertheless prepared to do so.

"Yes. The Eva's thoughts are passing into the pilot, rather than the other way around. Who knows the effects,"

Maya did as she was told, right as the Eva was going to land a fourth, and most likely final, punch at the window. It froze in place then staggered back, wailing and cradling its head. "Now eject the pilot!" Ritsuko cried.

Maya typed away, just for the computer to make a noise of error. "I can't! The Eva is rejecting it! 20 seconds to shutdown!"

"Hang in there..." Misato murmured, looking from the miserable Eva to the other three kids, who watched the spectacle. Rei watched it with her usually detached expression but her mouth was turned just slightly downward. Asuka and Shinji watched with wide eyes.

The Eva backed into a wall and, when finding nowhere to go, turned and began to bash its head into the wall.

"10 seconds!"

The Eva shuddered and slumped again the wall, clawing at it and wailing. It was the very picture of misery. Finally, it went still.

"Unit Zero has gone silent," Maya said quietly.

"Kaworu!" Shinji cried, bolting away from them.

His flight was stopped by Misato grabbing him around the midsection, "Shinji! It's no use! The crews will have to manually extract him!"

Shinji kicked a few times then slumped in defeat. "He should be alright..." Misato looked at Ritsuko, "Will he be alright?"

Ritsuko looked from her to the silent Eva Unit, "Most likely. A similar thing happened to Rei when she first attempted to activate the Unit. Her mental health when she came out was somewhat distressed but time away from the Unit calmed her."

Asuka still stared at the Eva. Even deactivated, it was a terrifying thing. She hoped Kaworu was alright.

"Dr. Akagi, where will they take him?" Asuka asked.

Ritsuko looked up from the screen, "I'll be looking over him for any sign of mental contamination. If he's clear, he can come home but if not, he'll be in the hospital."

"Where could we wait for him, if he's alright?"

A smile stole its way onto her face, "The hospital waiting room. I'll call you if he needs to stay."

Asuka nodded, "Alright, thank you," she turned to Shinji and Rei, "Let's go get something to eat then head on over there."

Misato let Shinji go and the three left. Misato herself looked at Ritsuko who had gone back to studying the terminal. Did she know why the machine went berserk? Misato had seen the recordings of the first incident and this one was eerily similar. Surely, this wasn't a mistake.

The trio had gone down to the NERV cafeteria to eat. Shinji had nearly insisted on them either going to the waiting room and forgoing eating or grabbing something from a vending machine. Asuka didn't have this and instead took them to the cafeteria. Still, the only one who appeared to be taking their time eating was Rei. Shinji had already polished off his chicken and rice and fidgeted with nervous energy. Asuka pushed around the last scraps of her food around. She hadn't really had an appetite but she forced herself to eat anyways. She suspected Shinji hadn't either but he did anyways. Probably because she insisted.

"I am finished. Shall we go?" Rei announced, pushing her bowl away from herself.

Shinji nearly leaped out of his seat, "Yes! Let's go!"

They disposed of their trash and started the walk to the hospital. Shinji broke the silence, "Rei...do you have any idea why your Eva did that?"

Rei was silent. Shinji nearly thought she wasn't going to answer before she said, "Dr. Akagi never told me a reason as to why it did that."

"But you were inside when it first did!"

"I know but I remember little."

Shinji slumped slightly, disappointed. Asuka cut in, "Of course, Dr. Akagi may know now."

"I hope they don't try to put either of us in it," Shinji sighed.

Asuka wondered if the original cross-synch test was a go still, in the light of this development. Sure, she was safe in 02 but Shinji was most likely going to be put into Rei's Eva. Asuka changed the subject slightly, "Perhaps Kaworu has an idea."

Once they got there, Kaworu was already waiting for them. "Kaworu!" Shinji cried, running up to him and embracing him. He seemed to realize what he had done because two seconds later, he detached and took a few steps backwards, his face red. Kaworu's was just as red. Asuka smirked at him. He pouted back.

He turned back to Shinji, "You three were going to wait for me?"

"Of course!" Shinji nodded, "What did Ritsuko say?"

"The effects of mental contamination faded as I waited to be retrieved. If they got me any sooner, I might have shown enough to make me stay."

"How do you feel though?" Asuka asked.

"Just shaken. This is probably the only case in which I'll say it but I'm glad the Entry Plug didn't eject," he nodded towards Rei, "It would have been like with Rei's first test."

"It was not pleasant," Rei said.

"Do you have any idea as to why the Eva did it?" Shinji asked.

Kaworu frowned, "I can't really explain it. All I can tell is the Unit didn't want me inside it."

He cast a quick knowing glance to Asuka then looked away. She made a note to ask him about it herself.

"Let's head on home...hey, let's all go to Misato's place! She'll probably be here for a while still!" Asuka suggested.

Kaworu sighed, "I do not envy her."

It was late when Kaworu and Rei went home. Kaworu cast a look at Asuka as he stood so Asuka picked up on it and said, "Hey, I'll walk you two out!"

She turned to Shinji, "Maybe you could clean up our plates?" she gestured to their plates from dinner on the table.

Ever dutiful, Shinji hopped up and began to do that. Asuka walked out with Kaworu and Rei. Once out, Asuka waved to Rei as she walked next door, "Night, Rei."

Kaworu nodded too, "Good night."

She nodded at them, "Night, Asuka...night, Kaworu," and disappeared into her apartment.

Asuka and Kaworu stayed there for a moment before Kaworu walked down the hall, the opposite way from his home. Asuka followed as he stepped into the elevator and they rode downwards. They walked out and Kaworu announced, "I've been still a little shaken so I figured we could take a walk. Shinji won't miss you?"

Asuka raised an eyebrow, "No...I'll tell him we took a walk."

Kaworu nodded and walked with her around the apartment and off the street. It was deserted. Still, he looked around then back at her. He smiled, "Thanks for coming with!"

Asuka nodded slowly. He smiled still but his voice dropped to a whisper, "I know why Unit Zero went berserk. Be subtle."

She raised an eyebrow, "Well, no problem..." she whispered back, "Why?"

Kaworu looked back down the street, "Nice night...clear."

He lead them around a turn into a park, devoid of people. He lead her to the swings and sat on one, his arms folded in his lap. Asuka followed, trying to not gnaw her lip in anxiety. Finally, he whispered, "I know who's inside…," he paused, "Not for sure but I have a good guess."

"Who?"

"Rei...or rather a piece of her."

Asuka frowned, making herself not cry out in surprise. Instead, she checked her memory for anything to back this up. Footage of her fight against the Sixteenth showed the Angel taking Rei's form. Zero going berserk in the cross-synch. A disturbing revelation came to her, "Like my mother," she breathed.

Kaworu nodded, "It's half of why she is the way she is."

Asuka pondered this, looking back at the starry sky and the moon. A wave of pity washed over her and she made no move to banish it. Kaworu said, as he stood, "I'm feeling better now. Shall we go back?"

She nodded and followed him out, still thinking of his revelation.

The day was nearing its end but Ritsuko's work was nowhere near over. Sadly, it wouldn't be over until this all was over. She grimaced as she rode the elevator up to the Commander's office.

She rang the buzzer at the door and the Commander's voice came through, "Enter."

She stepped through the door and stopped just before the desk. The Commander said in his nigh-always stoic voice, "Akagi, report on the sync test today."

For some reason, the Commander had wanted her to report in personally. Probably because he feared the events of the day would clash with his Scenario.

"We have found the Fourth can sync with Unit One as well as Unit Two. However, Zero went out of our control when he synced with it."

"Do you have an explanation?"

"The best one I have is simply Zero was not familiar with him so it reacted badly. It only cooperated with us after the first sync test with Rei. Its soul is...tempermental."

"Will it interfere with the Dummy Plug project?"

"We still have the full cross-synch planned in a few weeks, which is necessary for it. As such, we will possibly have to test the Third in Zero. I have planned to go on forward, as there were no damages to the pilots from today's incident. Do you advise otherwise?"

"Go on forward with that plan, Akagi. However, I'd appreciate it if you found a way to cut the power faster in the testing environment."

"Will do, sir."

"You are dismissed."

She stepped back out and took a sigh of relief. As of late, she was starting to dread her meetings with the Commander. She shook her head to clear her thoughts of him. Going back to work didn't sound as bad as it usually did.

[endeavorsreward]

This entire blog could be something entirely different

There are many upsides from having a tumblr that is hyper-focused on a single thing; I stay out of a long of nonsense, just kinda tending my garden here, and sometimes people come by and say nice things about the flowers.

The one downside is that it sorta gives the impression I only have one interest, or even just that because this is what I’ve decided to make with my free time, it’s indicative of what I think the “best” game is, or any of that business.

First off, the actual literal “best” game is Kentucky Route Zero. There’s no competition on that front. Ivalice is just important to me for a lot of personal reasons, and the writing of the Matsuno parts of the franchise appeal heavily to my interests and how I write stuff.

But I could’ve done this “novelization” project with another game, pretty easily - I even have a ton of files and notes for another game, how I��d fix and improve and even novelize it, I just decided the sheer labor involved in that didn’t offer the same reward for me.

But I’ve had a long day and I thought some people might be curious what I’d do with a different game, so here’s a test run I made some years ago, a small excerpt from an unfinished fic that sorta sat alongside my notes:

2. Fei Fong Wong

“Here.” Yui's gentle fingers slid along Fei's throat, a strangely intimate touch, and he tensed for a moment. But she pressed firmly, just to the side of his adam's apple, and smiled in reassurance. “This should do it. How does it feel?”

Fei brought his own fingers to his neck, and felt the light ribbing of the patch that she'd applied. “It's really stuck on there, yeah. You really don't think anyone will notice?”

She shook her head. She looked sly, confident – it was amazing that Fei had never really noticed this side of Citan's wife before, She had always been there, ubiquitous, the calming counterpart to the Doc's flights of whimsy, his mad projects. A brilliant chef, whom her husband was always teasing. Ever-patient, always ready with a bright laugh for her quiet daughter.

A warrior of Shevat.

“No, they won't see it. The color matches your skin pretty well.” He was sitting on a kitchen table in the quarters that Citan's family shared, a tastefully-appointed suite in the royal palace. Yui was a Sage's granddaughter, and she was an important figure, here—important enough that Shevat had traveled half the globe's length to retrieve her when she'd called, had collected up the survivors of Lahan without hesitation. “That said, I think we could do with applying a little make-up, to help conceal the seams.”

“Make-up?” Fei goggled. “Uh, Yui, I don't think...”

She tut-tutted him, playfully slapped his shoulder. “Don't be such a man, Fei, relax. I promise, Bart and Rico will never notice you're wearing it.”

His legs swung beneath the table, like a small boy's. He always felt like a child when Yui was scolding him. “Well... I mean, I guess... if it's necessary...”

She picked up some foundation from a nearby side table. “Now, remember. The transceiver has a very short range – it has to, or the signals would be detected. So you need to stay close to Elly, or to my husband, for it to work.”

“Right.” He nodded, and then winced as she began puffing his neck. “And I just speak under my breath, and they do the same with theirs, and we'll pick up each other on the earpiece?”

“And they'll be able to translate for you, without anyone noticing.”

“Wow.” He resisted the urge to touch it again, to pick at it. “Shevat's technology is incredible.” He shook his head. “Yui... I never could have imagined... when I was in Lahan...”

“Mm.” She crossed her arms. “Well, it's certainly true, Fei. Things are more advanced. I...” She frowned. “I wish we'd been able to share more with the people still on the ground below.” So many secrets, secrets all of them have kept. “But this isn't Shevite technology, Fei. Citan made this.”

“Oh! Well, that figures.” He chuckled. “Is there anything that the Doc can't do?”

She gave him a long look, and then spoke in a measured voice. “Yes.”

3. Lieutenant Elhaym Van Houten

It was before, during their first visit to Shevat, when she'd first seen it.

“No, I don't know why Queen Zephyr asked me to bring you down here...” Maria all but skipped wherever she walked. “I think she said it was Wiseman's idea.” Elly couldn't help but feel envious. Here, in Shevat, Maria was home. Even after all Maria had endured – the true fates of her parents, the origin of Siebzehn – Maria had a home, a place that welcomed her. Elly thought about what she'd left behind, and how much was unfinished...

“Maria?” Elly had stopped halfway down the stairs, and Maria had turned. “Do you know much about that man? Wiseman?”

She shook her head. “Only that the Queen trusts him. Why?”

It had been the escape from Zeboim. Wiseman's Gear holding back that... that thing, that red blur, that had attacked them. The Demon of Elru. The terror of Commander Ramsus. And they'd had to run, to leave him behind, because Stein had taken the girl, had taken Emeralda away from her... from them... When Stein took off, she'd begged them to go back for Wiseman, but the entrance to the dig site had collapsed.

Why had she feared for Wiseman so?

She had once again followed Maria as they headed further into the depths of the palace. She was unable to give Maria the answer. She'd wanted to save Wiseman for Fei, but also for herself. She'd wanted to ask Wiseman about Grahf.

And why Grahf had saved her life.

They reached prison block, and took a corner. A Shevite guard gave them a glance, and then nodded that they could pass.

Wiseman was safe and sound, as though it had never happened. He'd given Elly the briefest tilt of the head, and now he was gone, again, as if the whole thing was supposed to be funny.

“We're here.” Maria had stepped aside so that Elly could enter.

The room was giant, but many rooms were giant. It was built to house a Gear. But this Gear was...

“Ah!” Elly took a step back. It looked like Vierge, but of course it wasn't. In her heart, she knew exactly what it was. Knew why she felt warmth radiate from it, towards only her. It was almost as if it were singing...

“It's Sophia's.” Maria's voice was soft, gentle – Sophia's name was always spoken in that tone – but she looked confused. Elly just kept staring at the feather-like swoops from the Gear's hips, from its crest. What did those look like, to her? To Miang's gear, maybe? It had those wings. Or... “Elly? You okay?”

It's okay. Come join with me. Let's be again together, as we were... “No. No, I can't.” Elly pushed past Maria. “No, I'm sorry, I can't...”

And that had been it.

Now, on the eve of going back to Solaris, Elly found herself in that room again, sitting against the opposite wall from the giant machine, hugging her legs. She was dressed in her Gebler uniform, for the first time since the Thames. Since those days alone, on the shipwreck, with Fei. And this beautiful and horrible thing that had called to her, she was here again, with the same questions, the same doubts.

And more besides: there was that girl, that green-haired girl, who was upstairs right now scaring people. The feathers looked a bit like her Gear, too, was that it?

“I thought I'd find you down here.” Elly looked up to see the edge of a familiar red cape.

“Oh... Margie.”

“Wow.” Margie sat down beside her, looking up at the Omnigear. “This was... it was really hers?”

“Yes.” Elly, somehow, just knew.

“I can't even frame that in my mind. This is all so strange.” Margie breathed out. “But I had to see it.”

“Is it true?” Elly didn't look at her. “The painting? That Sophia... that she looks like...”

Margie clapped her hands on her knees. “Let's go back upstairs together. We never get to talk.”

“I...” Elly looked at the Gear, who seemed to be judging her. “Okay.” She accepted Margie's hand, and tried to convince herself that like Maria, she had a place where she belonged.

4. Emeralda Kasim

One of the only things that Emeralda had to call her own was a memory of candles. Kim had placed them on that confection one at a time, smiling and looking back at her, in her tube. Candles were a part of Kim, Kim-Kim or Fei's Kim, and so when the Bagboy was setting up candles, too, Emeralda found herself drawn to come see what he was doing.

Bagboy was Bagboy because he wore a big blue bag, with a bow on top. His hair was white, even though Emeralda remembered somehow that white was old. Emeralda remembered lots of things despite not knowing why, like what shoes were, or arms. When Emeralda rode her Gear she didn't have arms, but Emeralda could make herself have arms or no arms, so that was okay. She also remembered how to ride her Gear. But the bad men had helped her remember that part.

Bagboy set up his candles in a line, and Emeralda practiced counting them. Counting was hard when it wasn't data, like when you were fighting. Bagboy turned around, and Emeralda became a tree so that he wouldn't see her. Trees were green on top, like she was. Green – that's why Kim named her Emeralda!

Bagboy smiled, and he smiled a liiiittle bit like Kim, and that was nice. Bagboy wasn't so bad, like some of the others. Green-Man was green, like Emeralda's hair, but he was always mean-looking. Rat-man smelled funny, and One-Eye and other One-Eye didn't pay attention to her. The only ones that she liked besides Kim were the girl in the goggles, who was always nice, and the girl in the poofy hat, who everyone liked, and the other one that she forgot the name of, the one who was always bringing her candy. Oh! His name meant “house,” she remembered that part.

“I hope Emeralda doesn't come in.” Bagboy was still smiling. “Because I'd never be able to figure out if she was hiding.”

Emeralda laughed. Oops! Trees don't laugh!

“Gotcha.” Bagboy waved at her. “How are you doing today, Emeralda?”

“Bagboy tricked me.” Emeralda turned back into herself.

“Oh, Emeralda...” He shook his head slightly. “You should call me Billy. 'Bagboy' is okay, but Billy is my name.”

“Yes, Billy is Billy.” Why did she do that? She didn't know. It was hard to stop. None of these people were Kim. And Kim was Kim. So the rest were just not-Kim. But some of them were nice. So she should try to be nice, too.

“Thank you, Emeralda.” Pleased, Billy coaxed her a little closer. “Do you want to join me?”

“What is Billy doing with the candles?” She reached out, and gently ran her finger along one. Finally touching one. It wasn't Kim's candles, that she never got to touch.

“I'm lighting a candle for each one of us.” Billy fished in his “bag” – his cloak – for a matchbook. “Because we're going to do something dangerous tomorrow, and I want to pray for us to all come home safely together.”

Emeralda let her finger become a candle. But she didn't like that, so she stopped. “What is 'pray,' Billy?”

“Come sit with me.” Billy patted the deck floor next to him. “And we can do it together.”

Emeralda sat down. The floor was cold here in a side wing of the Yggdrasil's engine room, and so she made herself warmer. “Is Billy... Are you scared?”

Billy looked thoughful for a moment. “Yes. But to my surprise, Emeralda, I still have faith.”

“What is 'faith?'”

“That's an excellent question.” Billy began lighting the candles, one after another. “I used to be so sure that I knew the answer, and maybe I don't anymore. But I believe that we'll be okay, Emeralda. I trust our friends, and I have to trust myself.” His voice grew quiet. “And I trust my father.”

“Father.” Emeralda picked at her scarf. “Kim is Father.” People didn't seem to like when she called Kim as Kim, instead of Fei's Kim.

“And he'll keep us safe.” Billy placed his hand on her shoulder. “He promised. And if we don't have anything else to rely on, we have believing in the ones who care about us.”

“Care...” Emeralda ran this one through her mind for a bit. “I care... for Billy.”

Billy put his hands together in prayer. “Watching you grow in these few days, Emeralda... I can still believe there's a God looking out for us. And that's faith.”

5. Ricardo Banderas

Rico slid onto one of the stools at the bar in the Gun Room, and Old Maison put down his dishrag.

“Master Rico! Can I get you anything?” Maison proffered a bottle of strong Kislev whiskey from beneath the bar, but Rico shook his head. Then, after a moment, he glanced around to make sure that they were alone.

“You know.”

“Ah! Of course.” Maison placed a glass in front of Rico and filled it with milk. “Your secret, as always, is safe with me, sir.”

“Yeah.” Rico placed his hands around the glass. “So, I don't get it. You guys took back your country. Shouldn't some of you, y'know... be there?”

Maison smiled. “Ah, well. Miss Margie has spent most of these past two days meeting with representatives from Shevat, arranging aid for the rebuilding process, and strengthening ties between this country and Aveh and Nisan, based on the relationship both have to Sophia. And I know that the Young Master and Sigurd as well have both been making such inroads. Certainly, Solaris is a threat to all nations.”

Rico scratched at his forehead with one giant hand, and then sipped from the glass with a surprising gentleness. “I get those things as far as it goes, but...”

“Master Rico.” Maison gave Rico's hand a pat. “Remember the things that we once discussed?”

It had been the night before the move to liberate Aveh and Nisan. Rico had made a poor showing of himself during the planning meeting. Specifically, he'd thrown a table across the room, and had nearly broken Fei's arm when Fei had tried to restrain him and calm him down. The subject of how Kislev would factor into the upcoming military maneuvers had come up, and Rico had... well, he's not even sure what he'd reacted to.

Fei had suggested meeting with the Kaiser in secret and brokering a truce while Bart led the team that rescued Nisan and Sigurd and Maison the retaking of the capital. Bart had argued strenuously against allying with Kislev until Aveh was back under their control. Questions from both sides of the argument had been thrown at Elly regarding the complement of soldiers at the Gebler base in Bledavik, and Rico had finally just snapped.

Had he wanted to ally with Kislev? Or had he not wanted to?

In the end, Bart had gotten his way (as he always seemed to), and they'd moved to Nisan first. Rico had been unable to sleep, and Maison was at the bar, as he always was. Maison was a former royal knight and a veteran of battle – Rico had pegged him from the start as more than he looked. You didn't stay at the head of the pack in prison for that long without being able to judge someone's eyes. In the end, mad at everyone (and mostly at himself), it had been Maison that he'd gone to talk to.

“So, you raised him,” Rico had asked, and Maison had of course nodded proudly. “What's it like...” And he hadn't known how to ask it. His finger grazed the memento chain around his neck, just beneath the deactivated bomb collar that he still wore. The two sides of his life. “He was a kid, and he knew he was the prince?”

How long had Rico known? Did he know? Maybe he knew nothing at all. But there was a sick and sad feeling, a cold-burning fire, deep within him that probably always understood. And somehow, in that moment, Maison understood, as well. And so they'd talked, and it was as if Maison was a decade or more younger once again, calling the Young Master in from games to impart to him his duty. Possibly damning him, Maison sometimes feared, but in the end Bart had proven to be the same man as his father, the spirit that Maison had pledged to serve.

“The Young Master Bartholomew Fatima is no longer king,” Maison now said, “But he is still the leader of his people. And he established a suitable group of representatives to operate in his stead long enough to form a parliament, and in so doing, begin to reach across to Kislev. It will take time...” And Maison was smart enough here to say nothing of the Kaiser, “...But that time can only be bought if the world is safe from Solaris. There is nothing that he would desire more now than to be with his countrymen, from whom he's been separated for so long. But a leader's life is given up for those of his people.”

What had Kaiser Sigmund ever given up for his people? Rico could imagine very little. He seemed to have given up little even for his own family. And yet, he'd heard the stories of what happened at the Kislev front, when Id had demolished both sides, and Aveh had been ripe for the plucking. Sigmund had held off. It didn't match what little Rico knew about the bastard, and the thought of that ate up Rico's insides something awful. And so he drank milk to settle his stomach, and prepared to crack some heads together tomorrow, and hope it would one day lead to a life where he could understand even his own feelings, much less this strange and broken world he'd grown up in.

6. Midori Uzuki

“There are so many friends chu play with, now!” Chu-Chu danced around Midori and the other girl as they blinked at each other. “It's so nice when we all get chu meet each other!”

Midori looked at the strange girl, with her white hair and her red eyes, and thought of her own father.

“Well, good luck with that, Chu-Chu.” Fei had his hands in his pockets, and he was looking from one girl to the other. “I'm not sure that Primera and Midori will... um... have much to say to each other...”

Midori wasn't sure when she realized that she could understand what others thought, what they felt. It just seemed to happen, had happened for as long as she could remember. People's minds and hearts just opened to her, with so very little bidding. It was often too much for her, the knowledge of so many people, and in a crowded place like Shevat, it was all she could do not to collapse; so many days she spent instead just curled in her bed, trying to block them out. The only ones she could communicate with were of the Chu-Chu tribe – something in them matched what she herself had, and they could speak, instead of the onrush of noise that threatened to drown her.

When they'd gone to the surface, her father had built their home up high on a mountain, away from the village, to keep her safe, a blessed isolation. It was one of the only direct kindnesses he'd ever found time for, and she knew – she knew! - that somewhere within, part of him enjoyed the autonomy and high vantage point that their home provided.

No, her father was the hardest at all – if all secrets were thrust nakedly at her, if all things hidden were forced so violently into her mind and heart, then to have as a father the keeper of all secrets was the hardest of all to bear. His every motion concealed something else, and as much as she loved her father, sometimes he threatened to doom her completely.

And so now she was here, with this girl Primera, whose thoughts were plain without her voice to carry them, and she saw the way her father Jesiah had suffered for her, and how Billy had relied upon her when she could barely live herself, and she understood. She understood.

She took Primera's hand.

“See! It's so easy chu make friends!” Chu-Chu hopped up and down, clapping her hands.

7. Queen Zephyr

She looked at the man standing before the throne for as long as she could bear it, and then closed her eyes. “Recite for me again the details of the plan.”

The man adjusted his glasses. “Tomorrow, at the appointed hour, the Yggdrasil, helmed by Sigurd, will make a brief combative fly-by of the now-revealed Solaris. During this distraction, Siebzehn will use its graviton cannon to disrupt the weakened gate projected by Solaris, and will fly in for the drop-off. We will move in small units. Fei, Elly, and myself will travel together, and Jesiah will lead Bart, Billy, Rico, Emeralda, Chu-Chu, and Hammer in the second group. Our goal is to obtain enough information to initiate a full-scale assault. To that end, the three of us will attempt to gain access to the first class districts while Jesiah's team splits up at their entry point.”

Queen Zephyr nodded slowly. “Do you think that either you or Elhaym will be able to move about unmolested in the higher class districts?”

Citan frowned slightly. She knew that he knew what she was actually getting at. More than “will they be aware,” it was a question of “are you already expected.” She had been doing this very dance with this same man for many years now, and this was likely the end of it, no matter what happened.

The first time he had come, he had nearly killed them. The second, he had taken her champion away from them. The last, an infiltrator had followed on his heels. What bad tidings did “Citan Uzuki” now bring for Shevat?

“We believe that Elly is only listed as 'Missing in Action.' Her father is a powerful man, and Gebler can't bear the embarrassment.” Citan spoke nothing of himself. Nor did she expect him to.

“Go on.”

“When Jesiah's team divides, Hammer will attempt to map as much of Solaris as he can in the allotted time. Bart, Rico, and Chu-Chu will move as one, and Jessie will take his son and Emeralda separately. Bart's team will be responsible for troop sizes and placement, and Jessie will be assessing Solaris armaments and in-built defense systems, which have no doubt changed since we were last within its borders.” Which meant, the Queen knew, that Jesiah trusted his son to do that job without him—because Jesiah would no doubt be keeping an eye on Citan. She might have suggested the maneuver herself, if she did not understand Jessie so well. “If sabotage is possible without discovery, then we will engage, but the primary orders are reconnaissance only.”

“Am I to assume that the recall point has been established, then?” She leveled her gaze at him. “When last we all spoke, the extraction procedure had not been laid out.”

He met her eyes and held them. Would there even be an extraction? Or was Citan leading his friends in to die?

Queen Zephyr had lived for so long. She was so tired. And she had seen so much already. And so there was something particularly fascinating about this man, who was one of few whose actions she could never predict. He had been playing both sides, all sides, of this conflict for so long, that to reach these ending stages at last...

She had judged him long ago, when Yui had brought him into Shevat's fold, and she knew that he was at heart a good man. But it had been a long, long time since being a good man was enough.

She thought of the generations of good men that she had seen die, and she waited for him to answer, wondering who it was that would be lost this time.

[writerleo86]

Terravenger - Season 5: Part One - Episode 331 (Do Not Copy!)

   In the Training Room at the Midas Academy, someone walked to the left side of the room and faced Paige McCormack.

   "Are you my opponent?" asked Paige.

   The strong girl with pink hair named Circe Felis placed her hands on her waist as she said "Once I stepped out of the jet, I was approached by Lieutenant Sidney. I was to head to the Training Room at once for battle."

   She searched around and replied "But, it appears that my opponent in this fight... is you."

   Paige gave out a soft laugh and responded "This may be an interesting battle. A fight between the both of us."

   She rose her hands with her left hand as the front. And Paige told Circe "The two of us should give a good performance for our school."

   Circe stood ready to battle as well and implied "I am not opposed to a battle such as this."

Episode 331: ��The Beginners Arc -- The Fight Between Two Paigettes

   Meanwhile, the younger student Colby Fox laid on the gate behind the Midas Hospital as he was visited by an older student -- Jonny Griffin.

   Colby wore a white shirt with both sleeves rolled up and bright blue scrubs. His golden MAF badge was placed on the top left side of the chest area. He also had on a pair of white shoes. And he had on his reading glasses.

   The emotionless Jonny wore his black T-shirt, tight black pants, and black boots. And he had on his leathered black coat.

   Colby stared at the bright blue sky as he cried "It is stupid that I can't enter. I wanted to show everyone what I have at the exams."

   Jonny faced the other side as he had his hands inside the pockets of his coat.

   "I know it's dangerous," Colby continued. "But I wanted to be at that tournament. The superiors missed their chance with me."

   And Jonny told him "The Superiors didn't want the younger and novice guys like you to get seriously hurt. Understandable if you ask me."

   Colby turned to him and cried "You agree with this?"

   "My parents would have told Laura to back out if she entered," Jonny implied. "This is no game you're playing, Fox. I would know."

   "Wait!" cried Colby. "You've taken the exam before?"

   Jonny shook his head and answered "Third year. I went through some of the most gruesome tests. As the Commander said, this exam's not for amateurs. This is real."

   Then Colby lowered his head and Jonny told him "It was a different time. But I remember the screams from many students, especially the cocky ones. I was one of the cocky ones along with two of my friends. After the exam was over, I had to live with the results. One of my friends died from this while the other went insane."

   "It's that dangerous huh?" asked Colby.

   And Jonny faced Colby.

   "I'll go in your place if you want," said Jonny.

   "What?" questioned Colby. "You're going to take the exam again?"

   Jonny walked toward his friend and informed him "If it means a lot to you, I'll enter. It's no big deal to me."

   "But," Colby cried. "You can get killed in this. And I don't want that to happen. Not to you."

   "You'll thank me later," Jonny implied. "If you took this exam, your life would change, rather it was good or bad."

   And Jonny walked off as Colby slowly sat on the ground in fear.

   Jonny thought to himself "You're innocent Fox. You don't need to prove how good you are by taking this exam anyway."

   In the Training Room of the Academy, the two girls stared at each other as they were their battle stances.

   And the counselor Mercury told them "If there are no objections, you may begin... Circe Felis and Paige McCormack."

   Tai stood with the other students as he cried "Is this happenin' right now? Princess Paige's goin' against Pinkie?"

   "I guess so," Akari implied. "This is going to be good."

   Dilan shook his head and said "Circe Felis has the strength. But Paige uses speed when she strikes. This will be an interesting battle indeed."

   "I really don't know who to cheer for!" cried Clay. "They're both good!"

   "You have no idea about how great they are," Iris informed him. "Paige did not pick Circe to be part of our group only by her looks. It was about the strength and determination of Circe. These traits are what made the decision easy for Paige."

   "I know Paige's gonna have a hard time!" Tai implied. "Circe's a real powerhouse!"

   First, Paige pounced away from her place.

   "Circe specializes in close-range combat," She analyzed. "If I were to remain this far or even further, her destructive attacks will not touch me."

   And a smiling Circe thought to herself.

   "Paige is a better scout then I believed. She knows that I am a fighter that uses close range. She had no choice but to place some spaces between us."

   She shook her head and thought more.

   "But I have other ways to attack her now that I have trained myself more."

   And Circe punched the ground with her right fist. The area began to shake which made Paige flew from the ground. And Circe appeared in the air quickly.

   "I would like to learn how she fares when off the ground," thought Circe.

   Then she flew toward Paige as fire formed around her prepared right fist.

   "This girl?" Paige thought. "What is she planning?"

   And Circe threw her burning right fist forward to her opponent.

   When it reached her, Paige blew quickly to the right side of her as the hook punch from Circe missed.

   "I remember that move," thought Paige. "She calls it Phoenix's Wrath. Circe lunges forward and throws our her fist that is covered in fire. This is one of her many destructive techniques."

   Suddenly, Circe gave out a large grin as she struck the chest of her opponent with her Right Front Toe that also emitted fire.

   "By the gods!" cried Paige.

   And Paige crossed her arms forward which blocked a Left Hook Punch from Circe.

   "It looks like Circe has been training as well," Akari implied. "She added another blow with her Phoenix' Wrath attack."

   "That girl created a combo!" Tai cried.

   The impact of Circe's strike had pushed her to the other side. Paige soon released her right palm forward and blew out small balls of yellow energy toward her opponent.

   "Blossom Fire!" She called.

   The barrage of lightning floated around the watchful Circe. And every ball had formed into one large explosion.

   "Blossom Fire Solaris!" Paige continued.

   "Whoa!" yelled Akari. "What's that?"

   The explosion slowly faded into puffs of smoke. And Paige spotted her opponent Circe whose body was surrounded by a fiery pink light.

   "Paige had performed an attack that affects a small area," Iris implied. "And Circe countered the assault using a shield."

   "Circe's not dumb!" Clay responded. "She knew Paige would do somethin' like that!"

   "Paige isn't either!" Jade replied. "That girl's got somethin' else up her sleeve! She's always got her own bag of tricks!"

   After her barrier faded, Circe appeared behind her opponent from a flash. She soon flew in as she blew a powerful punch with her right fist that emitted fire.

   "Phoenix's Wrath!" She yelled.

   An excited Paige moved to the left side of her opponent. After she spun clockwise, Paige struck the right side of Circe's waist with her Left Leg. Then she placed both her hands forward which blew out a large ball of yellow energy as blue electricity gathered around her body. Circe hurried away from the projectile by flying to her right side. And Paige appeared before Circe as her hands remained forward.

   Once Paige waved her right hand in a crescent pattern, the ball of yellow energy curved back and shot the right shoulder of her opponent. Then Circe fell face down on the ground.

   And the announcer Mercury called "The winner of the match... is Paige McCormack!"

   After the match was over, a concerned Paige hurried to her teammate Circe and offered her right hand.

   "That was an attack I have never seen before," Circe implied. "You had used your ki to direct your projectile with ease. You truly deserved to win this challenge."

   Paige lowered down and informed her "This was actually taught to me by Cassidy."

   Iris replied "Of course! I remember that Cass is able to control the direction of her projectile."

   "Really?" Akari questioned. "Can Cassidy use a move like that?"

   Iris shook her head and answered "This was first done by Cassidy during one of my missions with her and Paige. I can confirm that Cass has that exact ability. She calls it the Hidden Lasso technique."

   "Far out!" yelled an excited Tai. "Paige can just miss on purpose and use that Lasso thing to trick her target. That's just so cool!"

   "Damn!" Clay replied. "Paige was one step ahead. She really got 'em down, even though Circe's strong as hell!"

   After Paige helped her up, Circe placed her left hand on her right shoulder as she gave out a relieved smile.

   "You will perform your best at the Armed Forces Exams," She claimed. "I know that for certain."

   Paige shook her head and told her friend "I will do just that. I will not only represent our school, the Midas Armed Forces. But I shall fight for our group -- the Paigettes -- as well."

   "Mitchell Wilcox!" called Mercury.

   A questioned Clay faced forward and the counselor Mercury ordered him "Step forward now, Mitchell Wilcox."

   Tai turned to Clay who stood by his right side and cheered "Guess yer next Pal!"

   After the last fighters stepped away, Clay walked toward the right side of the gym as each of his hands was on his waist.

   Once he reached his spot, Clay carefully looked around at his surroundings.

   "So?" He asked. "Who am I fightnin'?"

   And Mercury pointed his right finger at the door that was at the left side of the room. The door began to open. And everyone spotted the next warrior.

   "Well I'll be damned," said Tai.

   It was a male student with bright skin, brown eyes, and short dark hair. He wore a see-through shirt with long sleeves and black designs around each shoulder. He had a red warmer around each wrist and a blue half-moon printed on his left shoulder. He also wore white jeans, a black belt with a golden buckle shaped as a wolf's head, and black boots. And his golden MAF badge was placed on the left side of his chest.

   He stood before Clay and gave out a large smile to Tai.

   An excited Tai yelled "Wolf! Hi!"

   "Hey Tai!" The boy greeted. "How are you?"

   He stared at Tai once again and claimed "Looks like you had your fight already."

   "Yeah!" Tai informed him. "Against L.T. Sidney. I lost though."

   "Ah man!" The boy cried. "I wanted to go against you!"

   "Maybe next time!" yelled Tai. "I'll save the date!"

   "You better!" The boy told him. "I've been wanting to battle you forever! I want to see how strong you've gotten since last year!"

   He finally found Clay and called "Hey Clay!"

   "Black!" Clay informed him. "Guess we're next! Yer my opponent!"

   The boy shook his head and yelled "Then come at me with everything you've got, I guess!"

[disrepairhouse]

::Return - Chapter 20

Solaris.

Solaris was here.

He was going to destroy even this world.

She was going to have to watch yet another timeline be destroyed.

Everything she’d done, everything she’d tried to do, did none of it matter?  Was this a fate she couldn’t change?

Itara zoned back into reality as she felt someone violently shaking her shoulders, nearly tearing them off in the process.  She could hear the vague sounds of panic around her, but none of the words registered.  Not until the shaking stopped and a pair of sharp, blue eyes moved into her line of sight, glowing against the dark expression on the face they belonged to.

“Snap out of it.”  She blinked, attempting to focus on the eyes in front of her, though the falling sun remained a harsh glow in her peripheral.  “If you’re going to do something, do it now.”

What?

What could she possibly do now?

“I am not getting stuck in this world!”

This world?  She blinked. Her vision focused in on the familiar blue eyes, the red helmet, the long, blonde hair.  “Zero?”  His scowl only darkened but the glow behind him grew ever brighter and hotter.

“This is no time for your meltdowns!  You’re the only one who can do something about this, right?  So, do it.”

She jerked at the accusation but shook her head and closed her eyes to calm back down.  This wasn’t Solaris.  This was only an illusion created by the Phantom Ruby.  An illusion only she’s immune to.  She opened her eyes again and looked down at the prototype… and the long, white line blazing up her arm.  The burn stung and she had no idea what caused it, but she didn’t have time to worry about it, either.  She knew now that she could stop Infinite’s virtual realities.  It was time to find out just how much power the prototype could give her.  It was, quite possibly, exactly the time for one of her meltdowns.

With a slow release of her breath, she picked the prototype back up and looked up to Zero, only then noticing the group of mobians surrounding them, including Shadow.  She studied the panicked faces around her, all looking to her to save them, inwardly cringing at the attention.  She wasn’t a hero-type.  She didn’t want this kind of attention.  But she knew what needed to be done and focused on Zero, nodding, “Right.  You’re right, I’ll take care of this.  I know how.”

Zero watched her closely to make sure she meant it before standing back to his full height again as he’d been kneeling to reach her. “Then I suggest you hurry.”

She forced a grin and reminded him, “Time God.”  She shrugged her backpack off, holding it out to him, “it’ll weigh me down plus…” she looked around at the others and back to him, “things are about to get… explosive.”  He took the bag and crossed his arms again while she looked around at the group of mobians, studying their various expressions before centering on Knuckles, “I suggest you call the Resistance back.  Get them off the battlefield and as far from me as possible.”

“What?”

She reached for the prototype’s power again, pulling on far more of it than ever before.  Her eyes swapped colors, her crystals ran up her hands and spines, and both arms burst into flame as the area around her heated up further.  The mobians around them stepped back in shock and confusion, Zero taking his own step back to avoid the incoming explosion.  “Call the Resistance back.  If you wish them to remain intact.  I’ve never tested the full strength of this power before,” she warned before turning to face the far-off Robotnik and Infinite again. “The Egg Carrier will be nothing compared to this,” she tossed to Zero as she headed for the battlefield, drawing more power from the prototype in the process.

The field between them was swarmed with still-fighting Resistance members and Infinite’s copies.  Fire and lightning sparked and scorched the endless copies in a desperate attempt to fight until the bitter end.  Even with the blazing heat of the falling sun, a heat Itara could feel less and less as her own temperature exploded out, the Resistance did it’s best to make any sort of headway.  She watched with satisfaction as they slowly withdrew as she passed, however, on Knuckles’ command.   They would hopefully get out of range of the blast, but she couldn’t guarantee anything.

There was a point where it wouldn’t have concerned her. When she realized she wasn’t mortal and their plights weren’t her own.  She was immortal.  The daughter of a God.  What did she care about the mortals and their short, often wasted lives?  She was part of an eternal Sun God.  She had powers no one else did.  She could travel through time.  Rewrite history.  Forever change the future.  Fate was entirely in her hands and not even Sonic could stop her.

Except she hadn’t been unstoppable at all, had she? The one to teach her to use those powers, the one that introduced that immortality to her, had also been the one to break that illusion.  She died at the hands of that Sun God and she had to start over, without those powers, and relearn to live life.  Yet, even when she tried to stay out of the way of the world the second time through, he still shattered it all.  Even in another timeline, in another world, where he was still split, he was still in her way.  And now she would do anything necessary to stop him.

She looked up to find the doctor and his latest lacky, spotting them hovering far behind the battle lines, and took a deep breath. With a quick glance behind her, ensuring the Resistance was as far as possible and retreating, she locked the prototype in her grip and released the building energy.  The blast was massive.  The entire field of copies and the few Resistance fighters that had lagged behind the furthest were blown away, leaving only a several-mile-wide scorch mark where they once stood.  Even Robotnik and Infinite were blown back by the blistering heat and the Resistance that had moved back towards the hillsides took as much cover as possible behind nearby rock outcroppings, having been warned by Zero of the incoming attack.  The distant fires caused by the heat of the fake sun erupted with the intense heat of the explosion, the glowing orange turning hot white before vaporizing the trees they’d clung to.

The interruption and complete annihilation of an entire army drew the attention of the baffled and confused Robotnik and the confused and now furious Infinite.  Robotnik stared in shock at the scorched-black battleground and the tiny, crystallized hedgehog at the center of it but Infinite moved first to face her. She waited patiently as the black and white jackal darted back down to ground-level to meet her, his fury more evident in his body language than his hidden expression.

“What are you?” he fumed.

“A trembling child,” Itara mocked, melting into a shadow, allowing Infinite to zip straight through where she once stood in his attempted attack.  She materialized behind him, tilting her head, “You asked if this world could offer you a challenge, did you not?”  She spread her arms out and grinned, “Here I am.”  When he turned to face her again, she looked to the gem embedded in his chest, “I wonder if the creature powering that gem knows of its use?”  She met his gaze again and held a crystallized claw out to him, “I offer you this one opportunity, Infinite.  Join me, join a battle far greater than this world has to offer.  Find a new world of power you could never imagine.  Or fight me and pit your simple use of a power you don’t understand against the power of an immortal Time God.  Your choice.”

Infinite studied her for a mere moment before laughing harshly at the suggestion, “How about I personally send you to oblivion, instead?”

Itara put her arm back down and stared at him.  As he activated the Ruby’s power, glowing with the red energy of the gem, she shook her head and reached for the prototype’s power, fires wrapping up around her arms again as she stated darkly, “I am oblivion.”

Infinite’s first mistake was not realizing she was immune to the Phantom Ruby’s projections… but he that was not immune to her power. He summoned several dozens of copies to surround and attack her but Itara stood her ground and summoned her own, single, towering purple and black, glowing monster to wipe them out.  A complete fallout of creation-on-creation battle ensued.  Crystal Biters tore through Shadow copies.  Massive golems smashed fake Metal Sonics.  A Solaris-sized phoenix ripped and smoldered dozens of defenseless Chaos’.  Infinite floated further away from the battle and Itara was eventually forced to do the same to avoid being caught up in the battle.  But it was when he tried to attack her directly with a line of cannons that he finally truly realized what he was up against.

She stared up at the cannons, waiting until they fired before vanishing again.  Similarly, every beast she summoned to fight his vanished with her.  Duplicates all across the field bounced uselessly off the ground and slid past enemies that were no longer there.  Infinite’s eyes narrowed in confusion as he looked around for the missing hedgehog, eventually lowering back to the ground where she once stood, looking around in confusion, clearly on edge.

“Where did you go?!” he called out angrily, whipping around, not noticing his shadow shifting unnaturally beneath him.

“Your field of vision must be awful in that helmet,” her voice came, though he couldn’t tell from which direction as he jerked around, looking for her.  “I’m right here.”  His shadow shifted and warped below him, but it wasn’t until the hedgehog slowly materialized, consuming the jackal above her with fire, that he finally realized and darted away from the ground again.  He didn’t get far.  While Infinite was distracted by the fire that caught on his tail and zipped off, attempting to put as much distance between him and the hedgehog as possible, Itara summoned another massive, glowing creature to block his path. Though, this time, she took a note from his book and the great beast Iblis rose from the fires with a bellowing roar and knocked the panicked jackal back.  It vanished as quickly as it appeared, but it was enough.

Infinite crashed into the ground but as Itara cautiously approached, the world wavered and shifted around them.  She stopped short, hovering to avoid falling as the ground shook and slanted.  Infinite struggled back to his feet, putting distance between them again.  He took a short minute to regain his composure, shaking his head, before scowling back down at the green-eyed monster staring up at him.

“This is more than the prototype should be capable of,” he hissed, “How are you doing this?”

“Hundreds of years and dozens of timelines of practice,” Itara grinned up at him.

Infinite remained silent but shook his head again and looked up.  “No matter. This distraction was meaningless.  Whatever you are, you still failed to stop my plan.”  Behind them, the sun continued to descend on the world.  It was mere seconds from colliding with the earth and had already done immeasurable damage to the area around it, taking out several of the taller buildings in Metropolis.  It seemed impossible to stop.

But Itara only grinned wider.

“Did I?”

Infinite’s attention snapped back to her as she motioned towards the falling sun… and the far-off figure flying directly into it. “What?!”  Infinite looked back to question her, but she was gone and the remnants of a portal dissipated where she once stood.  He growled and cursed under his breath before taking off after the figure.

Itara jumped onto the back of a phoenix as soon as she exited the portal, commanding it to fly into the sun.  She could only go back a couple minutes and didn’t have much time before the sun would do irreparable damage to the world, luckily she only needed to make sure she had a head start on Infinite, hoping her minions would keep him at bay long enough for her to destroy the illusion again.  The gem sparked and flashed violently in her hand the closer she got, causing her to wince when the energy zapped through the gem and up her damaged arm.  The glowing white line from before burned furiously, but she tried to keep her focus off it.  The prototype was threatening to wrangle control from her and she had to fight to keep hold of the power.  But the closer to the falling sun she got, the more violently the gem reacted.  She started to wonder if it was even the prototype that the energy was reacting to.

The sun’s heat burned around her, but it was no different than standing beside Solaris.  Despite the blackened edges around her clothes and the white-hot metal buttons on her overalls, the sun’s heat didn’t much bother her.  However, what did distract her was the molten burning running up and down her arm.  It was hardly subtle to begin with and it worsened the more she tried to control the Phantom Ruby’s reality.  The air around her filled with a furious, sparking electricity that bounced off the prototype, causing the glow around it to waver and its response to give in and out. She could feel the phoenix beneath her gain and lose solidity, threatening to give out at any moment, but it was the sudden rush of power that finally broke her concentration.

Before she even knew what was happening, something – or someone, more likely – knocked her off the bird and attempted to grab the prototype from her.  The second they touched it, however, the backlash that had been threatening since entering the sun’s sphere exploded out in a powerful burst of flames and static electricity that ran through her entire body.  Molten lava ran through her blood as the foreign hand that still had a grasp on the prototype convulsed violently.  A horrid screech of pain tore through her ears, though whether it was her own or the other’s, she didn’t know.  All she knew was that it felt like her very soul was being ripped in half as her vision filled with a white-hot light she couldn’t block out, no matter how she tried.

The last thing she recalled before the blinding light finally faded to black was the prototype shattering to dust in her hand and a scream of agony filling her head.  She didn’t know what happened, or whether she succeeded or not, but as thousands of flashing images filled the darkness in her head, she decided she no longer cared. Her body was in unspeakable agony and thousands of timelines and possibilities were flashing through her head, threatening to crack it open.

Sonic and Elise in a wide, green field.  Mephiles speaking with Silver and Blaze in the lab. Iblis roaring through the molten lava of the volcano.  Metal Sonic’s initial creation.  RK, covered in vines, chasing after someone she couldn’t see.  A black and white jackal, defeated by Shadow.  Sonic and a small, blue humanoid robot traversing a dark hallway.  Robotnik and some strange, white-haired man.  Chaos rampaging through Station Square.  A massive, wolf-like, rabid Sonic running through the dark streets of Spagonia.  Tails Doll racing through a wide-open track.  Zero battling a less demented-looking Sigma in a rundown warehouse.

The scepter.

The flame.

The Phantom Ruby.

The Chaos Emeralds.

Super Sonic.

Several erased worlds.

And eventually, darkness.  Itara had never been so grateful to see nothing in her many lives. She wasn’t even sure she wanted to wake up again.  But for the time being, she would enjoy the numbness.

[lunar-lattice]

Solaris Caelum (9)

It’s time for a party the recipient didn’t ask for...but isn’t that all surprise parties?

Mirrors in reblogs.

< Previous x Next >

9. A Major Party

15 years ago, on September 13th 2000...

Just like that, the world had exploded into an orange cacophony of harsh light and sound. The wind and world and something else screamed. Across the destroyed Antarctic base, a man carried his daughter, weathering his own wounds and the collapsing world for her. There, he saw it; the last and only remaining emergency capsule. He propped his daughter against his shoulder and reached out, ignoring the pain that jolted through his nearly flayed arm to open it.

Behind him, the monster they awoke still wailed, its brilliant form illuminating the world through the gloom. Not much time left. He set his daughter into the capsule as gently as he could. Blood from his head wound dropped onto her cheek and she shuddered. She looked up at him, confusion on her face. "Father..." she whispered.

The shutting of the capsule prevented any more conversation. His mission done, the man collapsed onto the capsule and awaited the end.

Inside the capsule, his daughter didn't dare make a sound. The capsule rumbled then flipped over and over. She cried in surprise, "Father!"

The capsule eventually came to a stop, slowly bobbing. She sat up as much as she could, pressing the button to open the capsule. She flinched and held her side as she sat up.

The world was much darker than it had been but an orange gloom still settled over it. Before her, where the facility had been, twin pillars of light extended from the ocean and into the atmosphere. Whatever they belonged to still wailed. She clenched her side.

Now, Misato was getting dressed, the memories of that day swirling in her mind. Her fingers ghosted over her scar. It was best to move on...but difficult with the lasting reminder across her chest.

Outside, Tokyo-3 was in the midst of a thunderstorm. Inside Misato's apartment however, it was warm. Shinji rushed out of the hallway, passing a pair of towels to his friends, Toji and Kensuke. Toji took his, "Man, thanks Shinji! You really saved us from the rain!"

Shinji laughed nervously, "It's really nothing."

Kensuke looked around, "Where's Miss Misato?"

"Probably sleeping still. She's been working all night recently."

"Oh, right," Toji sat down, toweling his hair dry, "She has a really tough job."

"So let's keep it quiet so we won't wake her up," Kensuke put his finger in front of his mouth in a 'shh' gesture.

"What are you guys doing here?" Asuka poked her head into the kitchen.

"Shh!" Toji and Kensuke gestured to keep her quiet.

Shinji explained, ignoring them, "Taking shelter from the rain."

"Hmmm," she narrowed her eyes, "Alright" and disappeared back into the hallway.

"Hope Miss Misato didn't wake up," Toji said.

The door to Misato's room opened and she stepped out. "You're real good at jinxing us," Kensuke said.

He looked at Misato, "Sorry for disturbing you!"

She waved him off, "I was up already so it's alright. Welcome!"

She nodded to Shinji, "Remember, harmonics test tonight."

"Right."

"Asuka?"

"Got it!" she called from her room.

Misato looked back at them, "Rei and Kaworu probably know already but if you guys can pick them up before you leave if they're still home, that would be great."

Shinji nodded, "We can do that."

Misato smiled, "Thank you, you're such a dependable boy."

Shinji returned the smile. Beside him, Kensuke leaned forward, squinted and adjusted his glasses. He gasped and went straight, "Congratulations on your promotion!"

Toji looked confused but went straight too, "Yeah, congratulations!"

Shinji blinked, "What are you two talking about?"

Kensuke sighed, "On her jacket! Her pin is different! Misato's a major now!"

Misato chuckled, blushing slightly, "That's right. Thank you."

Kensuke beamed and bowed, "You're most welcome!" Toji followed suit, much deeper with his face fixed into a stoic respectful expression.

Misato laughed softly and nervously, "Well, see you guys later," and she beat a hasty retreat out the door.

"See you!" Toji and Kensuke called after her.

Shinji sighed, "I think she was a little embarrassed..."

"I don't see why!" Kensuke grinned, "It's quite the honor!"

"What going on out here?" Asuka asked, dressed in a large t-shirt and shorts, toweling off her hair.

"Misato's collar tab has two lines now instead of one. So she's been promoted from a captain to a major!" Kensuke said, gesturing to his own collar.

"Really? I wouldn't have noticed that,"

"Huh...I wonder when she was promoted," Shinji said.

"Must have been recently," Asuka said thoughtfully as she stopped beside him.

"Are you serious! You guys are pathetic!" Toji cried.

"You wouldn't have noticed either if not for Kensuke!" Asuka shot back.

Toji opened his mouth to refute her then closed it. "You may be right," he conceded.

"She's right," Kensuke said.

"Awww, shut it!" Toji punched him in the arm.

Kensuke winced and rubbed his arm. He turned back to the pilots and asked, "But you know what this means?"

"What?" they asked.

He grinned, "A party is in order!"

"You think Misato will like that?" Shinji asked.

"Oooh, can I invite Hikari?" Asuka asked, showing no attention to Shinji.

"Sure! We'll invite everyone! Us, Rei, Kaworu..."

"We could see if Ritsuko could come," Asuka paused, "Maybe even Kaji!"

The three continued to plan and Shinji sighed, his question forgotten by the trio. He hoped a party wouldn't be any issue. He didn't exactly want one himself...but he supposed spending time with his friends was never a bad thing. He'd deal with it.

As they left the apartment to gather the other two pilots, Kensuke asked, "Say, is Misato coming with you home?"

Shinji raised an eyebrow but answered anyways, "Probably not tonight. She finally got all the paperwork done from the last Angel. She's gonna drive us home though."

Kensuke sighed, "Alright...party tomorrow!" he cheered, his demeanor changing on a dime.

"Tomorrow!" Shinji cried, "That's a little early, huh?"

"And there's no chance of anyone spilling the secret!"

Shinji frowned. Toji sighed, "You can't get him off a subject once he's on it so don't even try," he turned to Kensuke, "And I suppose you will want me to help?"

"Of course!"

A little over an hour later, the group was in the middle of their sync test. Asuka sighed softly, fidgeting slightly in the plug. Her sync ratio was just above where it was last time, for good reason. Any sudden change in her ratio would set off suspicion. At first, she had done it deliberately but now it came easier than she expected. Perhaps her mother was in cahoots with her. She smiled at the thought.

"Asuka's ratio just shot up another two points," Ritsuko observed.

"But her and Rei are at the edge of the contamination zone. They might have reached their limit," Maya said.

Ritsuko looked over her shoulder, "Shinji can, however. Lower the graph depth another 0.3."

"Alright. What about Kaworu?"

Ritsuko looked over his graph. Their current setup with him was little more than shadow of what it would be when they had his Eva. It was a test plug loaded with the current data from his Unit. It did the job well enough but no doubt his score would change drastically when he got the real deal. "Keep him as he is," she said.

Kaworu felt weird inside the test plug. It was quiet and empty in a way Unit Two wasn't. Data was no substitute for a true Eva. As such, his general scores were low. What purpose it served to test him in his own plug anyways was unknown to him. Perhaps as a baseline? They usually followed up these tests with putting him in Unit Two and letting the others go home but not tonight. He didn't mind that too much.

Shinji felt conflicting feelings toward the entry plug. It was a place of pain and comfort. Pain such as white hot tentacles through his torso or the agonizing pain of a beam to his whole front. But comfort such as the quiet warm environment of the plug itself. The feeling was familiar in a way he couldn't pinpoint, like a memory from a time he couldn't consciously remember.

"He's almost nearly reached the contamination zone," Maya reported.

"And he's still getting these readings? Incredible," Ritsuko whistled softly at it, "Truly incredible."

Maya glanced up at her, "And his harmonics and sync rate are also catching up with Asuka's."

"It's almost as if he has a gift for piloting Eva," Ritsuko said, "And I'm not usually one to believe in that sort of thing."

"I doubt he'd be happy to hear that, since he doesn't like to do it…," Misato murmured.

She said it so no one would hear her but Ritsuko did, a frown flickering across her expression. She turned to the screen and pressed the comm button, "Good work you three. Shinji, you did well."

It didn't take long to unload the pilots. They each had a quick rinse from the adjoining room to where they exited then were lead back up to the monitoring room to see their results.

"All of you are always improving. Shinji here though, has gone up eight points since last test," Ritsuko explained.

"Really?"

Ritsuko nodded, "Data doesn't lie. You're improving the quickest behind Asuka who had a four point increase this time."

"Nice!" Asuka pumped her arm in the air, "I'm still in the lead though?"

"For the time being."

Asuka muffled the last dying cries of her past life that insisted that even this was a failure. "Good job," she patted Shinji's shoulder. The cries died in her mind.

"As for you two," Ritsuko turned to Rei and Kaworu, "Both of you are steadily improving and that is good as well. I'm hoping we see a nice increase when you have a chance in your actual Eva, Kaworu."

He nodded, "Am I to stay behind to test in Unit Two too?"

"Not tonight. I have a lot of data to get through."

Asuka tilted her head slightly, "You sound really busy, Doctor Akagi. Maybe you could take a break sometime?"

"That's very sweet of you to suggest but I always have so much work..." Ritsuko trailed off.

"She's right," Misato pointed out.

Ritsuko shrugged, "We'll have to see."

The pilots went to the locker room, the girls in theirs and the boys in theirs. Asuka dressed quickly and walked to Rei, who was just trying the knot on her dress. "Rei, we're having a party of Misato tomorrow. Wanna come? You've gotta keep it a secret thought!"

"A party?" she echoed.

"Mhm! Misato's promoted so we're having a surprise party tomorrow for her!"

Rei was quiet then nodded, "I'd like that and I am not busy. So I shall come."

"Sweet!" Asuka cheered, "Get there by eight since Misato should be home thirty minutes after."

"Now," she looked into the hallway, "We just gotta get Ritsuko and Kaji."

"I can inform Dr. Akagi as I have to go see her before I leave."

Asuka smiled, "Alright! See you then!" she left with a wave.

Rei slowly waved back and watched her leave. She was glad her upload was tonight rather than the next day. She could go to the Major's party as well as Dr. Akagi. The Doctor should be happy when Rei came to deliver the invitation. A small smile flickered upon her lips as she left the locker room. She felt...excited at the prospect of the doctor's reaction.

The trip to Terminal Dogma was ingrained in Rei's bones by now. She believed she could even do it in her sleep. She watched the elevator tick down as she rode it, nothing but the quiet hum of the machinery as her company. Down here, it was colder. Whether it was because the depth or the contents of it, she didn't know. Nor did she ask. All she was needed for down here was to perform her role.

She exited the elevator, following the dim hallway into a side room where she shed her clothes. Dr. Akagi appeared in the doorway, "Good, Rei. You're here on time."

Rei nodded and walked up to her, following her through the hallway until they reached a large circular room. Twisted machinery made up the ceiling and in the center was a tube. Off to the side was an archaic computer terminal. "Wait a moment," Dr. Akagi instructed her as she went over to it. She tapped a few keys, humming to herself.

"Dr Akagi," Rei said quietly.

"What is it, Rei?" she asked, not looking up.

"Asuka wanted me to inform you you've been invited to a party for Major Katsuragi's promotion."

Ritsuko looked at her, a perplexed expression on her face, "She wanted you to invite me?"

"She told me you and Mr. Kaji should come. I said I'd pass the message to you."

"Huh," her expression softened, "That's…kind of you."

She went back to her terminal, "Tell her I'll see if I can make it. No promises."

"I see."

"Anyway, I'm ready for you," she gestured to the tube.

Rei had been acting different, Ritsuko noted as Rei walked into the tube. The tube sealed itself and LCL flooded it, causing Rei to float off the floor. She inhaled and closed her eyes, letting herself float.

Ritsuko smiled softly. It wasn't a bad different. Perhaps Commander Ikari would find it a bad different but Rei still acted the part. Still, her behavior warmed the doctor to her.

"Thank you, Misato," Kaworu said from the back seat of Misato's car.

"It's no problem, Kaworu! I would have took Rei home too if she didn't have to stay behind," Misato replied as they drove home.

"I also heard you were promoted so congratulations!"

"I bet Shinji told you, huh?"

Shinji and Kaworu exchanged glances. "Yes," Shinji admitted.

Misato chuckled, "You guys are more excited about my promotion than I am…"

"Why aren't you?" Asuka asked.

Misato shrugged, "I mean, not much changes. I guess I do get paid more but that's about it. I still rank as one of the highest in NERV. So it doesn't seem as big a deal to me."

"It's a big honor though," Asuka said.

Misato sighed, "I don't know really how to explain it. Maybe it's different because I'm an adult."

Asuka shot a worried glance at the two in the back. Shinji piped up, "I think I understand. Being praised is nice but there's a lot of pressure."

Asuka shook her head, "You should just take the praise and be happy! They say, don't look a gift horse in the mouth."

Shinji frowned but said nothing. Kaworu cut in, "I suppose there's a healthy balance. Be happy for it but don't let it get to your head. But also don't let people's criticisms go to your head. Just do what makes you happy!"

"Sounds right. Try to not put too much stock in what people think of you," Misato finished.

The three went silent, mulling this over. Misato smiled, "You kids are more thoughtful than when I was your age...granted, this time when I was your age, I wasn't doing a lot of talking at all."

"Are you really sure Misato'll be happy?" Shinji asked the next day, in the afternoon as he watched her flit around, setting up her game console in the living room.

Asuka had roused him from bed and told him Toji and Kensuke were coming by early so they can set things up. And of course, Shinji was on cooking duty. He didn't mind that part, he minded the fact he was put on it without being asked. It seemed everyone was more excited for it than him, but he supposed at this point it was more an excuse to throw a party. He smiled softly. And for Misato, an excuse to drink.

Asuka shrugged, "Whatever her weird stance on being congratulated, everyone likes a party!"

"I guess you're right. Though, she'll probably take it as an excuse to drink," he said.

"There you go!" she beamed.

The door bell rang, "Oh that'll be them!" she said, going to the door.

She opened the door to reveal Kensuke and Toji accompanied by a man with glasses. She blinked, "Hello guys and...?"

Shinji appeared behind her, "Oh that's Goichi, Kensuke's brother!"

Goichi chuckled, "I had the day off and Kensuke insisted I must meet the Major...you must be Asuka."

Asuka gasped and put a hand to her chest, "Not another nerd!"

Goichi blinked and deadpanned, "I've heard things about you too but it wouldn't be polite for me to repeat them."

The two stared at each other, neither willing to give the other an inch. Kensuke broke the silence, "We haven't said anything bad about you. Goichi is just messing with you."

Goichi laughed, "Actually, all I've heard is pretty favorable. Might have seen you in action," he winked and gestured to Kensuke's camera, "Or maybe not. After all, having such footage would not be allowed."

Asuka grinned back, "You are right but it would be rather cool if you did see it."

She led the trio inside, gesturing for them to set their cargo on the table. "Isn't Misato not home for some time?" Shinji asked.

"Obviously! We want to be utterly prepared!" she said as she rooted through the bags, setting the groceries on the table.

"This didn't cost too much, did it?" Shinji asked Kensuke.

"Nah," he waved Shinji off, "I can already see you pulling out your NERV card to reimburse us so don't bother."

"Just leave some for me to take to Sakura," Toji commented, sitting at the table and cracking a can of soda, "She wanted to come but she still can't leave the hospital."

Shinji sat beside him, "Is she getting better though?"

Toji nodded, "They actually started her on physical therapy last week. Progress is slow but it's better than nothing," he smiled softly.

Shinji nodded, "I'll have to visit her again sometime with you…"

"I'd say bring everyone else but I wouldn't want her getting hurt with how excited she'd be," Toji joked.

"Shinji!" came Asuka's call from the kitchen.

He sighed and sat up, "Guess that's my cue."

The next person to arrive was Kaworu, a cake in hand. "A cake is customary for celebrations, is it not?" he asked sheepishly as Asuka ushered him in.

"I think it's more of a western thing but hey! You won't find me complaining!" Asuka eyed the cake. It was a simple white cake with 'Congratulations on your promotion!' written in purple icing.

"Did you make it yourself?" she asked.

Kaworu shook his head, "I wanted to try...but last time I tried to bake, I burnt it," he laughed softly.

A grin stole onto Asuka's face, "Hey, I bet Shinji knows how! He can teach you!"

He shot her an exasperated glance and went into the kitchen to set the cake down. Shinji was tending to a pan of pork. Kaworu set the cake on the table and walked over, "What are you making?"

Shinji jumped, "Oh! Kaworu! I'm making ramen er, actual ramen. Not the instant stuff."

Kaworu chuckled, "You think Misato will appreciate it?"

"Well," he trailed off, "I hope she finds it funny. And if she doesn't, I'll say it was Asuka's plan."

"Bold of you," he smiled, "How can I help?"

"Oh, you wanna help?" Shinji seemed surprised.

He nodded. "Oh, well you can cut the scallions," he gestured to the cutting board where a knife and a scallion, along with a bulb of garlic and a ginger root.

He began to cut it into small diagonal slices and asked, "Want me to cut these too?"

"I'd like that! But just crush the garlic."

Kaworu hummed as he worked. Shinji turned down the heat for the pork and set a lid onto it. Before he knew it, he was humming too. He asked, "What is that you're humming?"

Kaworu smiled at him, "Beethoven's 9th, Ode to Joy. Do you like it?"

"Oh! Yeah, I do like classical!" Shinji returned the smile.

"It's actually my favorite piece of music. Do you have a favorite?"

Shinji shook his head, "Not really, I've never thought about it. But I like a lot."

Kaworu nodded in agreement, "Good. Music is good. I'd say it's the pinnacle of your culture."

Shinji raised an eyebrow, "Japanese…?"

Kaworu chuckled, "Of all culture."

"I think you're right," he smiled before turning and beginning to make the sauce for the ramen.

Back in the living room, Asuka was ushering Rei and Hikari inside. She smiled, "Glad you two could come!"

Rei nodded, "I am glad. I also told Dr. Akagi."

Hikari smiled, "Of course, I'd come."

"Sweet, I told Kaji on my way out of NERV!"

Rei raised an eyebrow, "I thought Misato disliked Mr. Kaji?"

"Oh, Rei. Misato is just saying that. I think she still likes him!"

"What if you're wrong?"

Asuka winked, "I'm not wrong."

Hikari laughed softly, "I'd dare say you're turning into a right matchmaker, Asuka."

Asuka simply smiled and hushed her.

Time passed quickly and before anyone knew, it was nearly time for Misato to get home. Asuka had ushered everyone to be on alert. Shinji himself was jittery with nervous energy. The door opened and everyone tensed. Misato entered, yawning and taking off her hat. She didn't notice anything was wrong.

Kensuke lead the cry of, "Congratulations, Misato!"

Misato jumped, her hand flying for her gun. Then she froze and blinked. Then she blushed bright, "What are you—"

"It's a party! For you!" Asuka cried.

Misato blinked then fled for her room. Silence dominated the room. Goichi asked, "Did that go well?"

"Er," Kensuke mumbled.

Misato exited shortly after, having shed her work clothes for her casual clothes. "You guys...you did this?" she asked, stopping before the group.

Asuka pointed to Toji and Kensuke, "It was their idea!"

"Actually, it was mainly Kensuke's," Toji cut in.

Misato looked over them then stopped on Goichi, "You are?"

He bolted up, sticking his hand out, "Goichi Aida! Kensuke's brother! Er, Major!"

Misato took his hand, gingerly shaking it, "Nice to meet you…just call me Misato…"

He saluted her and sat back down. Shinji stood, "I'll go get the food put together."

"I'll come with," Misato followed him and groaned, "I need a drink..."

She took a beer out of the fridge, cracked it and drained half of it in one swallow. She glanced over at Shinji who was dutifully starting the noodles. "Do you need help?" she asked.

"Oh no!" he shook his head.

He paused, "Well, I do but I don't want to ask you. It is your party."

A mischievous look crossed Misato's face, "I'll go gather Kaworu. He's a reliable boy."

She stayed just long enough to savor the blush on Shinji's cheeks before she left for the living room. "Kaworu!" she cried, "I think Shinji needs some help so would you help him!"

She chuckled internally seeing Kaworu jump to attention, "Sure thing!" and walked past her into the kitchen.

She did, however, smile smugly as she sat at the table and sipped at her beer. She said, "Thank you all...this is really nice, if a surprise."

"I mean, it is supposed to be a surprise," Asuka pointed out.

Misato rolled her eyes, "You know what I mean."

"Anyway," Toji pointed to Kensuke, "Ken planned it all. We just helped."

"Exactly!" Kensuke bolted to his feet, "It was I! Kensuke Aida, the mastermind!"

Goichi chuckled softly at his antics. Misato dipped her head at Kensuke, "Then thank you, Aida."

"Awww, nah," Kensuke waved her off, "I was doing what anyone would have done!"

Misato nearly rolled her eyes again but let the boy have his fun. Kaworu came in, two bowls in hand and set one in front of Misato and the other to her right, where Shinji was sitting. "Ramen?" Misato asked.

"Homemade," Shinji commented, bringing more bowls and dishing them out, "I thought you'd like it better this way."

"When did our Shinji get so cheeky?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

Shinji used the excuse to get the rest of the bowls to retreat. Misato chuckled and pulled a bundle of noodles and pork from the bowl, bringing it to her mouth. It tasted...just as good as from a ramen stand. No...even better! Kaworu, having returned to give Kensuke and Toji a bowl grinned, "I think Misato likes it, Shinji."

"Judging by how she'd putting it away, I think that's an understatement," Asuka chuckled, digging into her own bowl which Shinji had just brought her.

"It's so good, Shinji!" Misato grinned between bites, "You've got an eye for this sort of thing!"

"You think?" he asked while he sat beside her.

Misato shook her head, "No. I know you do."

Shinji blushed furiously and instead found more of an interest in eating than continuing the conversation. Goichi chuckled, "She's right. Might have to have Kensuke invite you for dinner sometime so we can have this again."

"Don't do that," Kensuke warned, "He won't say no."

"Oh, Toji," Shinji looked up, "I made a container for Sakura too...if she can have it."

"Wow, man!" Toji grinned, "That's awfully kind of you! You should come visit her with me so you can give it to her yourself!"

"Uh...if you want..." Shinji trailed off.

They continued eating, everyone making conversation between themselves...that is, except for Shinji. Misato glanced over at him and said softly, "How are you doing?"

Shinji looked up at her, surprise in his face, "Oh..I'm alright. I guess. It's just a lot of people."

Asuka had just launched into an argument over how Toji and Kensuke should take Kaji's example and how they should be more like gentleman. Toji pointed out Kaji wasn't even there yet so what kind of gentleman was that? Asuka didn't seem to want to argue that. Hikari seemed exasperated, Goichi was watching it with a hint of bemusement and Kaworu was protesting that they shouldn't argue at Misato's party. Rei was quietly eating but keeping an eye on it. Shinji murmured to Misato, "Why must they be so noisy?"

"The noise is bothering you?" Misato asked softly.

Shinji nodded. Misato stood, "Here, let's take the bowls back and cut into that cake."

In the kitchen, Shinji asked her as he rinsed the bowls, "A promotion. So, that means that people have acknowledged your work?"

Misato nodded, busy opening the cake container and cutting it into equal slices, "Yeah, I suppose."

"That's why they're happy," he jerked his head in the direction of the living room, "But it doesn't make you happy."

"I mean, I am a little happy. And the celebration is nice...but that's not why I work at NERV."

Shinji tilted his head, "Then why do you work there?"

Misato glanced at him, seeing him regard her with genuine curiosity. The instinct to tell him a lie died on her tongue. She looked away, "It's long and complicated. I'll tell you someday."

Shinji frowned but nodded, "I think I understand. I think I'm ready to go back."

He sat back down by Kaworu when he returned, Asuka and the boys having migrated to the TV to play a fighting game. Asuka was trying to coax Rei into playing with them, "C'mon! It's more fun with more players! And Hikari won't play!"

Rei said softly, "I don't know anything of it though."

"We can teach you," Asuka said, offering her a controller.

Rei regarded it then took it with a cheer from Toji and Kensuke. "Why don't you want to play?" Shinji asked, "You had fun that one time."

Kaworu smiled, "I was waiting for you to return."

Shinji returned the smile with a faint blush on his cheeks. "What were you and Misato talking about, if I may ask?" Kaworu asked.

"Oh, just Misato didn't seem too happy with this. But she must be happy enough to let us have fun," he glanced at Misato sitting on the couch, watching the truly great task of the boys and Asuka teaching Rei the art of video games. Goichi seemed fidgety, with the Operations Director of NERV so close.

Kaworu chuckled, "I will admit this seems more like Kensuke just wanted an excuse for a party..." he paused and said thoughtfully, "But I suppose fun is important for us."

"Important?" Shinji raised an eyebrow.

"In a way, we're almost in a war," Kaworu explained, "Constant fighting and no fun would run us down."

Shinji nodded, "I see. That's why Misato sends us to school."

Kaworu smiled, "Same principle though I'd argue school isn't fun."

They sat back and watched as it seemed Rei was getting a hang of it, applying the same attitude towards real battle to play battle. Kensuke cried, "I can't believe it!" as Rei knocked him out.

"Say Kaworu," Shinji said, "You have an admirer at school, right?"

Kaworu raised an eyebrow but internally he tensed, "Mhm. I'm about due to respond back. The last letter was him telling me about himself. Not much."

"Do you know who it is?"

Kaworu tilted his head, considering Shinji's motivations for asking that. Did he want him to know or did he fear he already knew? Shinji was tense too and wouldn't meet his eye. "I suppose you're curious too?" he asked carefully.

Shinji jumped up, "Wh-who isn't?!"

Kaworu nodded, "I suppose you're right. And no. If I did, I'd like to think I'd go ask them myself."

Shinji relaxed, "Maybe they just need time before they do."

"That's what I think is the case."

The doorbell rang and Asuka jumped up, "That must be Kaji and Ritsuko!"

She went to the door and Rei mercilessly knocked her player character out. "Harsh," Kensuke commented.

Rei blinked at him, "She didn't pause."

Asuka opened the door to reveal Kaji and Ritsuko in casual wear. Kaji waved, "I came directly from HQ and me and Ritsuko just met on the way."

Misato eyed them with suspicion, "A likely story."

Ritsuko sighed, "You act like you're jealous."

"I am not!"

"Anyway!" Kaji stood up straight, "I'd like to offer my congratulations, Major Katsuragi. I guess I cant gripe at you anymore."

A faint blush spread across her face and behind her, the kids exchanged glances. Misato snapped, "And just what are you trying to say, you jerk?!"

Kaji grinned, hands on his hips, "You know how unprecedented it is for both the Commander and Vice Commander to be out of Japan together. That just shows how much trust they hold in you to hold down the fort while they're gone."

Shinji piped up, "Wait...my father's not here?"

Ritsuko shook her head, "Commander Ikari is at the South Pole right now."

If one saw the South Pole as it was right now, one might argue it wasn't even of this world anymore. The seas were a purple-red, the color of a bruise. Pillars of salt dotted the landscape where glaciers once were. Above, auroras danced, beautifully eerie. A fleet of ships cut through it, the largest having a long object tarped over and tied to it. From the deck, Commander Ikari and Fuyutski surveyed the land. It was silent, not even the wind existed here it seemed. It wasn't even as cold as it had once been, just the tiniest chill in the air. Fuyutski said, "The South Pole...a world of death where no life is permitted to exist. One may say it's no longer of this world. So should I simply call it Hell?"

"Nevertheless, we, mankind are here. We're living things and we're alive," Gendo replied.

The words were so familiar but if Fuyutski thought of who they reminded him of, his heart would hurt. "It's because we're under the protection of science," he pointed out.

"Science is the power of man."

Fuyutski gave the alien landscape another long glance, "That arrogance is what caused the tragedy of fifteen years ago, Second Impact. And this is the end result. This is a greater punishment than we deserved. It is truly the Dead Sea."

"Yet this is a world that has been purified, purged of its original sin," Gendo kept his flat facade but Fuyutski could hear the smile behind his words. The uncomfortable idea of Second Impact being merely a test trial lodged itself in his brain.

"I'd prefer a world where people live, no matter how stained with sin," he murmured.

Gendo did not respond so Fuyutski didn't even know if he had heard or not. Not that it would matter if he did.

Author's Note:

Here's another chapter that got cut in half because length, because together it was nearing ten thousand words! The first bit here with the party took up a lot of work so it gets its own chapter, a choice I'm happy with. Breaks up the action a bit. Also its fun sometimes to put a lot of characters in a room and play with 'em.