The Great Shipping Project...

That is when another comes into the taboo happening before me and makes her opinion on the matter PAINFULLY known to Asuka!

"Mother?" Asuka blinks, a hurt look on her face for having been swatted.

"Appologize to that girl Asuka!" the elder hisses to her daughter. "That was a VERY petty and spiteful thing you did there!"

"But I hate her, mother!" the young fiery red headed Pilot protests. "She's nothing but . . ."

"Oh for God's sake stifle it already!" Allan Quatermain shouts, cutting off any further vemonous words from Asuka, Pilot of Unit 02.

Allan

I must say old chap, I do not envy the task of raising this . . . .young teenage woman after having been absent for so long, locked away within Unit 02. Do dare say that it shall be an uphill battle, if she dares try to help with the wounds done upon this young woman's mind alone. Granted, before I met Inquirer's bunch I was of the same opinion about alientist (or psychologists as they call them nowadays),a bunch of charlatans hardly worth the bother. There are ones out there worth their salt, but I fear that a very competent one will be needed in order handle this . . . one. Better have him also be well funded for hazard pay, too, I would wager to keep him on the case.

"That young girl has as little to do with your First Child as Yui Akari over there!" I spit out, finally tired of it all. " Ikari's sister's spirit came from . . . elsewhere when the vessel for her soul was concocted, for God's sake! I don't pretend to understand it all but . . ."

Growling a little bit I take a breath and release.

"Appologize to her," I say in a soft voice, staring at her and waiting.

'Wha. . .," Asuka sputters, her mind still having trouble wrapping her mind around something. "You're saying Wonder Girl over there is . . .?"

Elrondir

"HER NAME IS REIKA!" Allan's voice bellows practically into Asuka's face, who's actually giving ground in fright. It's the glowing eyes and the smoke that is actually curling out of his nose that did it. Dragons in human form only do that when they are VERY ticked off (a condition that Asuka's insults have put Reika's adopted father in, I fear).

Ah yes, I do believe in some books out there it is said that there is nothing quiet like an Englishman with his blood up. Add in getting draconized and I believe you see the problem here is with Allan, I bet.

Well, before you start thinking badly of Allan let me assure you that it has more to do with the people we have to deal with. The whole bloody situation we have to deal with on this Neon Genesis world. Deep down we ALL were disgusted with how the very children who had to be used in order to defend mankind from the Angels were so misused and abused in turn. And the fact that the children Pilots had to have certain mental and emotional issues in order to use their EVA units only goes so far. I and the others have already stated the reasons why so I won't go over it again.

Besides, right after that outburst Allan came back to himself and is looking more than a bit embarrassed at having done that outburst thing. Asuka wasn't helping matters but his blowing up isn't either. It is what they call "a bad show" back where he's from, I do believe.

. . .

Still! Shit, even though we in the Military had to use children around Asuka's and Shinji's ages (fourteen/fifteen years old) they'd all been volunteers and we NEVER went and let their wound fester for so long!!

Sigh, this world is just too close to the Home worlds still under Company rule for comfort in a lot of ways for me!

That all said, the abuse done to Asuka has really done a number on her. It causes her to lash out at people in the most hurtful ways at times. We all know this but with Allan here . . . .he's very familiar with Rei's Asuka from tales told. Tales that had angered him. Seeing the same reported behavior right in front of him directed at his newly adopted daughter . . . intolerable! This is bringing out the worst in us, I fear!

"Uh Allan," I call out, walking over from where I' been standing and discussing things with little Rei I and the rest of the women. "I think we'd all be served better if you go over there and chill a bit, please?"

"I believe I shall at that," he says softly, a bit flustered but gathering himself as he walks away. I wave the others away for a moment as they come forward to either reprimend or console the Second Child. I honestly feel a need here for a little "chitchat".

"What the hell was that?" Asuka whispers, looking aghast.

"To be blunt," I answer slowly. "That was a very ticked off dragon in human form who just happens to be the very same one who's adopted the young girl who you used to know. She's changed a lot since last you saw her. Even changed her name as you might have heard . . . ."

I know that MY elfin ears are still ringing from it!

"Little advice," I finish, barely holding back a sneer creeping into my voice. "Lay off on Reika and the other Reis, old and young. Like Shinji, they'd gone through traumas like you've gone through in order to BE able to pilot Eva."

"And what would you know about me?" she snarls, turning hot and beligerant again. Looking down and glaring at me. "HOW could you know what I've been through?"

"By watching it on an anime called Neon Genesis Evangelion in my world," I begin, talking softly to where only she can here. I have decided to not pull my punches with this willful teen. "Oh I'm gonna be WAY out of line here for telling you about this, but! In one particular episode by a Japanese director named Hideaki Anno who'd been treated for depression earlier . . ."

I go on to basically outline her life in detail. Things that she's told nobody. Things that nobody but her should know of (http://en. wikipedia. org/wik i/Asuka_ Langley_ Soryu) . . . .including her relationship with Shinji Akari.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about!" Asuka sputters, trying to play it off. Only to be interrupted by me.

"If it was any more obvious then it would be tattooed on your forehead, human!" I hiss back. Sorry, that's the way one has to deal with the Second Child sometimes. No grounds given... Besides, I don't take crap from people if I do not have too if you have not already guessed. "Do NOT try to hide affairs of the heart from me as an elf . . . . it ain't happenin'."

Sigh, kind of hamming it up there with playing off the "all knowing, mysterious non-human" angle, but it works in stopping her in her tracks. Then again, it beats trying to sell her on the idea of all the learning I had in reading people, even BEFORE the elf thing. She blinks, looks at me. Looks over at Mr. Spock and Dr. McCoy, they've decided that the temper tantrum of fourteen year olds is no longer worthy of their attention. Instead, they've gone back to viewing a downloaded version of Captain Kirk's last wishes as seen and heard in that one TV episode: The Tholian Web. I know that because my ears recognize the dialog the recording is giving off. Asuka, however, is clueless to what is going on over there BUT it is enough to finally dawn upon her (fully). And for a change, she's decided not to yell and shout about it!

Hm, sometimes miracles DO happen. Then again, given the Angel over there named Astra . . . it fits.

"If . . . that shit over there is real," she begins slowly, laying it out for herself. "Then what I saw on TV late at night is real in . . . another reality but imaginary with mine? So . . . I'm an anime character?!"

"Yep," I smile slightly, taking a small, malicious delight in her discomfort. I fear that dear Asuka here never exactly was one of my favorite Neon Genesis characters, when she's acting the part of a spoiled, self centered brat!

Then at other times I had great sympathy for her, but still here is some business to attend to: "Hey, here's a picture of you from the series."

Only with great difficulty do I manage to not show a picture I'd stored on my PDA (for art commission research purposes for my hobby) that was either VERY non-complimentary or embarrassing. I settle for the one picture one sees if they ever look at the intros for the DVDs of the anime: a somewhat gung ho Asuka in EVA, ready for battle.

"My God!" she whispers in awe (supposedly in German, being that her anime counterpart in the habit of doing that in the TV series), the hair on the back of her head clearly standing up on end upon seeing it. "T- that's me!"

Yes, I suppose it would be strange seeing you likeness in anime but nothing truly strange. Hey, I've drawn a lot of requests for people's partners as anime characters in anime situations, both from back Home and a few locally on Terra Prime. However, this is different because this picture is a frame capture from the anime which reflects her life in some kind of mystical/magical way. People in this situation always feel some kind of weirdness because of it. Watching their own lives played out on TV as fiction isn't exactly good for one's . . .

Well, let us just say that unless you have a REALLY burning need you'd be better off not watching. Too creepy to say the least. Changed Chiana in a lot of ways when she watched Farscape and she only did that to understand that one version of her friend who'd harmed one of her analog sisters (long story).

That is the reason why Chiana had REALLY taken Rei aside and warned her about watching this anime which reflected her life. Hell, even a glimpse of a picture from the anime proper can be unnerving, as what Asuka just experienced. But all that said, I feel that it has put her in the right frame of mind for a bit of . . . much needed advice that I've been wanting to give her anime counterpart ever since I'd laid eyes upon. Nothing short of a miracle in a way and one this elf shall not waste. She is in a bad way and needs all the help she can get right now.

Sigh, and if I'm wrong I'd better duck because she's gonna come out swinging at me for what I'll say next. Still . . . I hope it may knock some sense into her enough to be more useful for MY group's goals for Reika's Quest to be successful. A bit of enlightened self (or group) interest mixed with my altruism, admit to this I do, but we might ALL profit from it.

We are going to need ALL the luck we can squeeze out of this little Angellic get together here. Seems that whatever else might have caused this Challenge to take place between this as of yet unknown Game 3 Author and the Offices of Order and Chaos seems to stem from some kind of tresspass upon the Author's realm in Game 3. Meaning that this Author is going to be out for blood (or a pound of altered flesh, considering what Scott Chen gets done to him so often) from what I gather from Astra the Angel over there!

Soon enough that last thought shall be prophetic indeed. But right now I'm dealing with right NOW!

Snapping off the picture, I look up at Asuka. She looks a bit pale, but at least she hasn't gone back to being catatonic. Little risk of that, but still I'm glad I didn't cause that.

If I had my way she'd be gone and getting therapy for all the stuff inside wrong with her. Her and Shinji Akari over there, but I don't have that damn choice, now do I?! Maybe this is wrong, but still . . .if this is manipulation at least it is to get the girl's mind in some kind of healthier way than what it is right now!!

Yes, my motives here for this conversation and my actions are rather multi-faceted, eh? Well, this whole mess is a multifaceted convoluted thing and so . . .the convoluted, multifaceted means I'm using. It helps Asuka in the end (either to get her together with the person she's interested in but too damn stubborn to admit or at least get her on the path to getting OVER with Shinji and onto something else).

But IF one main, driving motivation for me doing this attempted pairing is . . .I'm a damn elf. Elves are romantics at heart, you dig? Even after that outburst I feel that she should still have a shot. Both of them having a chance at a relationshi (AFTER they get their issues worked out in therapy, of course)...

Preferred Shinji/Rei parings myself but being these particular Shinji Akari's are genetically half brothers to both Rei (by design when being created in the test tube) and Reika (in the process of being "redone" into nearly identical genetic twin of Rei in the "denangelification" process, re: 62358) . . . . Eh, let us just say that I don't feel confortable with the idea of incest, you see?

"Now a few things before I go off and finish up with little Rei over there," I say softly, jerking my head back towards where the young blue haired girl stands. "Think on what you've done today and what you've seen. That and for Creator's sake TALK to your older sister over there to catch up on everything! You obviously aren't fully in the loop so go talk with your analog over there, Spaceship Pilot Asuka Ikari. She'll bring you up to speed!"

That and perhaps tell you of a possible future beyond EVA, with HERSELF as an example. Hear that the elder Asuka and Shinji REALLY like their calling, you know.

That and perhaps after Asuka's gets her jaw back from off the floor she'll go and try to chat things up with her older "sister" over their and find out how she managed to land "her" Shinji. Then, how long will it be before she tries to land "her" Shinji Akari . . .

I just hope that "her" Shinji is up to this! And I hope to Creator that both of them get some kind of therapy for their issues!

1. I won't know until way after the fact for a LONG time once this is said and done with the Quest, if EVER. Pray for the best, though....

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