Otaku Reflected 

Episode Three, Eva Revolution 

Part Twelve 

A Superspy's Farewell 
Expanded version 

by Jared Ornstead 
  
=====

    Tokyo 3 was faring comparatively well, contrasted to the rest of 
Japan. 
    In part that was because the whole city was solid weapons and armor 
able to down anything large and fearsome, tanks, airplanes and what 
have you, to such a degree that it was worthless even trying. No one 
thought they could succeed. 
    The city's sole weak point, ground troops, was dealt with quite 
well by the Marduke Manufacturing combines that were secreted in the 
Geofront on Sylia's request. All those automated tanks, planes and what 
have you meeting unassisted ground troops made hash out of any 
attempted large scale assaults and the products of the secret boomer 
facility she had created tended to do worse things to the small group 
tactics than the more conventional war machines made of the big ones. 
    They'd tried nuking it from orbit and the recharged German type 
twelve laser mortars had shot the bombs down under guidance tracking 
supplied by the Magi supercomputers. 
    The invaders were *very* frustrated by Tokyo 3. 
    Naturally, all this successful resistance made it a haven of 
refugees as well. In a land divided by war and slaughter as bad as 
Japan had inflicted on those now invading her, this was no small solace 
to find a refuge that could not be taken, a stronghold that would not 
fall. The city swelled with all those fleeing the monsters-turned-men 
(or was that the other way around?) that had scattered most of the Self 
Defense Force to ruin, and were now paying back a debt of hatred than 
ran far more deep than many citizens realized. 
    Japanese pride was taking a real beating. 
    Of course, this kind of strike and counterstrike mentality fueled 
hatred than ran deeper and deeper until one side or both ceased to 
exist. Japan's Diet had authorized a *full* bio, chemical and nuclear 
strike on those countries invading her, and had hashed their countries' 
infrastructure and ability for supporting war as badly as they'd been 
struck themselves. It was a real bloodbath as Asia's powers, small and 
great, tore at each other like sharks in a feeding frenzy. Harm from 
the biological superweapons had yet to be tallied, but the toll there 
looked to be as great or more than all the others combined. 
    It was just getting started. 
    In all that carnage, the island of Tokyo 3 was still somewhat at 
peace. The biowarfare and chemical assaults made the upper city 
uninhabitable to most, but that had been a later stage play and the 
amount of refugees that had flooded it before then had been quite high. 
Most of the other two Tokyos, including much of the region round about 
had fled there when the invasions started. 
    They now lived peacefully in the undercity. 
    Nerv's great construction potential had turned inward. Filters and 
toxin scrubbers had always been in place on the air vents, the entire 
underground had the ability to be rendered clean room spotless on short 
notice. It was the largest bunker ever made and the people to build it 
had stinted on nothing, making it proof against every weapon type they 
could think of, to the best extent they could. 
    The minor fact that giant, alien robots crested those defenses from 
time to time hadn't meant the designers hadn't *tried*. It was often 
those attempts that gave the defenders breathing space enough to work 
up a solution to those same giant robots. 
    So the people now lived in peace, or relatively so. A new city had 
sprung up with the same zeal other timelines would apply to Graviton 
City or Macross. Being built mostly from scratch meant they made a 
whole lot more sense and were cleaner than sprawling city scapes that 
had grown up like so much underbrush. 
    They'd also seen to it that most folks lived within walking 
distance of their jobs, which made the huge rapid transit system almost 
empty when the theme parks were closed. And yes, there were theme 
parks. 
    Oh Holy Knight was probably the most popular. 
    Admittedly, the ability to crawl into a cockpit and recreate the 
famous battles of Sky Lord and his Thunder Knight was considerably more 
relaxing to the present state of their strained souls than taking a 
ride through a badly simulated haunted house, but then neither was that 
terribly unexpected. Most of the population would've gone all day every 
day wearing a bad copy of third generation plugsuits had the supply 
been forthcoming. 
    Sadly, it wasn't. Still, someone had leaked tapes of the brief 
ceremony where Rei had given Sky Lord ability to pilot her Knight and 
now most people with a sewing machine owned and wore either long 
dresses or attire fit to garb a Musketeer. There were a handful of 
Magical Girl short skirts and frilly costumes as well. 
    Hey, they coped as well they could. 
    A substantial majority also carried a sword, preferably a katana, 
with them wherever they could go and get away with it. Companies had 
sprung up making cheap knock offs, til the Laser Angels heard of it and 
quietly insisted that the quality be brought up a notch. Now most of 
the steel was alloyed with space age materials and the balance and edge 
so keen any Samurai from days gone by would've literally killed to 
possess one. 
    Practice swords were also in high demand as people learned to *use* 
those swords in dojos that had sprung up practically overnight. Anyone 
who had more than a white belt in Kendo could land an assistant teacher 
position the demand was so high. 
    Some masters carefully analyzed tapes of the way Jared walked and 
fought and heated debates sprang up comparing this and that, trying to 
ascertain what school he used and hopefully prove it was theirs. 
    They people needed heroes. They also had them. 
    Kensuke was up to no good in a pirate armada just now, but back in 
the Geofront he'd have to be dealing with military soldiers being fans 
of *him!* Not that they boy would object to it in any degree. Even 
without his own Knight the status of being a Lord able to pilot one 
would insure than he'd never have to pay for his meal in a restaurant 
again. And he was probably the least of all the pilots in that esteem. 
    Merely being among that company was enough to make a celebrity of 
someone. 
    Hikari Horaki was finding that to be true herself. Being a 
schoolmate, even a class rep (shock of all shocks) OVER the pilots had 
been a major feather in her cap. Now she could hardly keep track of all 
the girls trying to be her friends. Her father had even remarried and 
lately Hikari was somewhat at a loss what to do. The woman who was now 
her stepmother positively *doted* on her (and enjoyed the status of her 
new family terribly, as it made her the envy of countless others), and 
the housework that had been her previous joy had fallen to this 
stepmother, who was enthusiastic to do it. 
    Caring for her father and sisters had been a heavy burden, but 
Hikari wasn't sure she was glad to be rid of it. There was an emptiness 
now that hadn't been there before. So she had accepted when Maya had 
approached her and offered her an assistant slot at Nerv HQ fetching 
tea and otherwise caring for the extended staff there. 
    Her popularity shot through the roof when she did this. 
    Not used to others trying to bother her for autographs and things, 
Hikari had taken to spending more time within Nerv central (there was 
talk of renaming it to the Robot Defense Force, and altering other 
names as well. Like Aoba kept talking that Central Dogma was just too 
silly a name and Hyuga said it was non-genre, a comment that alone 
probably would kill the present title). Taking her seriousness with her 
studies into her new job, Hikari had started to study more of the 
working and procedures and had earned a slot taking care of the grunt 
work under the scientists and technicians who had been growing more 
Muscle Knights out of the severed bits cut off the Elemental Knights in 
the last battle. 
    Ritsuko'd made a hurried trip down to the basement scrapyard and 
now there came up from there a steady stream of truckloads of spare 
parts that they were building into new Knight chassis as swiftly as 
possible. There'd been something of a panic when the Knights had all 
phased out, but a note left behind by Washu-chan had soothed fears 
somewhat. 
    Now the Knights were back, and interface changes had been 
downloaded into the Nerv system, along with repair logs and other 
information about the upgrades. Not even Ritsuko understood half of it, 
but everyone knew that it worked. Thunder Knight was now the only one 
left with a male figure. All of the others had female proportions, and 
the armor gleamed with whole extra solidity that bested anything they 
could've done previous. 
    It had to, Washu made it. 
    Hikari put her tea tray down and took a break, leaning out over the 
lab railing where she could look down and *see* the Knights themselves 
arrayed in formation, awaiting the call to battle some evil foe. The 
girl chuckled. She'd had *girls* offer to sleep with her if they could 
see this in exchange, to say nothing of the other proposals. There was 
a forty year old multi millionaire who'd asked if she was interested in 
marriage. 
    Not with the likes of him, no. 
    She sighed and gazed down on the sight of Earth's Defenders, a 
force of Elemental Knights with a new reserve of Muscle Knights 
forming. The first Archer was slated to appear in less than a week now, 
and *that* was due substantial fanfare. 
    Even with Jared's prediction that losses would be high, the rolls 
of expert volunteers to staff every aspect of the Archer series was 
astounding. A military branch had sprung up *crammed* with eager 
volunteers to pilot those. And the Locksley Project, staffed with the 
personnel from the former corporate inventors of the now defunct Jet 
Alone, were staying two shifts in their labs redesigning the Archers 
for human pilots. 
    Nobody among them was arguing over Jared's assertion that he was 
the Second Greatest Scientific Genius in the Universe, even in 
training. That work he'd done was some impressive stuff by all 
accounts. 
    People were calling it the defense science of the new millennia. 
    There were also toys springing up, available in every size, shape 
or variety about the Knights, Archers, and their pilots. Hyuga and Aoba 
owned the rights to the company making most of them. In fact they owned 
the first Complete Bridge Crew set with the extra-popular Nerv Command 
Center playset. 
    They had it in a display case on the actual bridge. 
    Hikari giggled to herself. Yes, it was a job. It was also a fad 
that looked to never stop so long as there were developments to base 
new products on. The Magical Soldier Cutie Emerald line was going to be 
so popular that Barbie was going to be a forgotten name. It was almost 
funny, looking at things that way. She knew that Misato was supposed to 
be Cutie Emerald's civilian ID, but especially with her close 
perspective Hikari knew that was preposterous. 
    They were nothing alike. 
    Sure, Misato disappeared so that Cutie Emerald could appear. Okay, 
there were certain base similarities, like they were both female, 
approximately the same height (heels made that last debatable), and 
they both had great figures. But that was just too much of a joke to 
ask that folks believe they were the same person! I mean... they had 
different color hair! 
    Still, if Sky Lord wanted them to do the bait and switch routine 
she was sure they'd go on doing it, whatever the reason. 
    A movement in the closed and quiet room behind her caused Hikari to 
turn. She'd been cleaning up after a late night party by the lab folks. 
They'd finally gotten the alterations to the interface to test right, 
and were a step closer to being able to duplicate it in the next Knight 
series. 
    Of which they were, of course, going to be making ALOT! 
    The little brown haired girl, former classmate to the pilots before 
the schools closed down (and there was talk of restarting those again 
soon), looked around the empty lab with curiosity. The scientists and 
techs were all resting up for a busy day tomorrow, she should be the 
only one there, getting it cleaned up for their hard day of work the 
next morning. But she had *definitely* heard something moving about. 
    That was when a neo-penguin with a green cock-comb jumped to the 
height of her chest, landing on a desk. Hikari looked at it. They were 
popular pets now, and the supply was doing nothing to meet the demand 
for them. Perhaps some scientist had been able to afford one (they 
certainly had the salary!) and had forgotten and left it here after 
work. Hikari read its name tag. 
    Pan Pan. 
    He was standing on an empty Little Caeser's Pizza box, the double 
kind. 
    The girl was just wondering who to call about this, as the penguin 
cocked its head to one side and considered her. The former class rep 
practically jumped out of her skin when it spoke! 
    "Hikari, do you want to rejoin your teammates among the Gemstone 
Girls and fight for Love and Justice? As Magical Soldier Cutie Onyx you 
can help save the universe!" 
    *Crash!* 
    The girl fell down in a dead faint. 
    Washu giggled and recalled the pet carrier a final time. Then she 
repented of that not nearly fun enough thought and gave the computer a 
command to load it a *third* time! With a sentai series *this* sentai 
there was no reason to confine it to mere humans! 
    This was fun!!! 

    Asuka cornered Jared, having somehow divined that he'd gone to the 
Eva carrier. A light touch on a remote she carried and the ship's 
speakers lit up with the music he'd played earlier using heroic methods 
(and a few superspy toys). 
    Only *his* words were edited out, while *she* sang, smoozing up to 
him and giving a pull to loosen the collar of her dress. Jared 
sweatdropped, pinned to the wall as she sang back to him the words from 
hours ago. 

** 
"The night we met I knew I, needed you so. 
And if I had the chance I'd, never let you go. 
So won't you stay and love me? 
I'll make you so proud of me. 
We'll make 'em turn their heads, every place we go." 

(And here an angelic chorus joined back in, this time altered in pitch 
to female tones) 
"So won't you please? (be mine, take your lady) 
Let me be your lady? (your one, and only lady) 
Say you'll be my darling. (be mine, take your lady) 
I'm your lady love! (your one, and only lady)" 

    Asuka had a strap fall off her shoulder and Jared was sweating 
bullets. Emergency hormone overrides had their limits, and she was 
pressing his. While the BRAIN knew she could be terribly hurtful and 
dangerous, the glands saw tender flesh. 
    Acting with horrifying amounts of will, he screwed his eyes shut. 

"So won't you please? (be mine, take your lady) 
Let me be your lady? (your one, and only lady) 
Say you'll be my darling. (be mine, take your lady) 
I'm your lady love! (your one, and only lady)" 

    As the chorus continued he found he'd accidentally pulled the thin 
sheet metal of the wall open in little chunks. He used those as 
handholds to scramble up to the low ceiling of the tiny service room. 
    Asuka gazed at him with smoldering eyes and moistened lips. 

"I'll make you happy, baby, just wait and see. 
For every kiss you give me, I'll give you three. 
Oh, since the day I say you 
I have been waiting for you. 
You know I will look for you, till eternity." 

    The ceiling tile he was currently clinging to bent under his 
weight, dangling Jared all too dangerously close to the threat still 
standing slightly off to one side on the floor below him. 
    Asuka was still there with delight in her eyes, more cloth in her 
hands and less on her body all the time. It was somewhat analogous to a 
pit trap with crocodiles and he the only bait, adapted for the fact 
that crocodiles were less dangerous. 
    Eyes still closed tight, he felt rather than heard the other 
shoulder strap loosen. One of those 'walking over your grave' feelings. 

"So won't you please? (be mine, take your lady) 
Let me be your lady? (your one, and only lady) 
Say you'll be my darling. (be mine, take your lady) 
I'm your lady love! (your one, and only lady)" 

    Praying desperately for deliverance from sin, Jared experienced one 
of those awful, horrifying moments when he realized that this time he 
was on his own, and he was about to fall into the literal clutches of 
someone with Kodachi-like persistence, Shampoo's affection, and 
Akane-esk threat levels. 
    The ceiling plate came loose. 
    He fell. 
    Something *soft* caught him, and warm, and... 
    His brain stopped working. 

"So won't you please? (be mine, take your lady) 
Let me be your lady? (your one, and only lady) 
Say you'll be my darling. (be mine, take your lady) 
I'm your lady love! (your one, and only lady)" 
** 

    An alert sounded, and Jared almost wept with relief. 
    Asuka grumbled something unladylike, then realized. "Hey! Now we 
get to go into battle together!" A zipping sound was heard, and he 
opened his eyes. Oh! *closed* that was the sound of something zipping 
*closed!* He nearly fainted with relief. 
    Asuka was still clutching at him, hauling at his arm. "C'mon! My 
Blaze Knight is the only one handy. We'll pilot it together!" 
    Jared was too busy confirmation to himself 'There is a God' to 
resist her. 
    Then she'd enthusiastically hauled him into the launch prep chamber 
and in a firm and businesslike manner tossed him a set of clothes. 
"C'mon, you'll have to change into that. A change was made to the Blaze 
Knight's piloting system, based on the new designs. Third generation 
plugsuits won't interface with it anymore, you'll have to wear my spare 
one. It's a fourth generation design." 
    Now she unzipped her dress again. 
    He squawked. 
    What he shouldn't have done, or at least paid more attention to, 
was the fact that his flailing to escape behind a rack of clothes and 
thus avoid immediate and imminent view of her pale yet tender flesh had 
somehow activated the controls of the emergency broadcast system inside 
the Yamato. A system that was sadly one way. Of course this was not the 
only way messages were sent onboard ship. It lacked any sort of privacy 
since the entire fleet could hear what was being sent though it. Which 
basically meant the whole crew of the pirate navy could hear what was 
about to be said... 
    "Hurry up and take off your clothes, Darling!" 

    "Yes." Genma grinned into the receiver, nodding and looking at the 
bales of cash the messenger had previously piled up on his desk. "Yes, 
I've already given the order, under the highest priority. You will see 
results shortly." 
    The old fat martial artist hung up the phone, and headed to a fast 
courier jet. He had to get to Israel in a hurry. There was important 
goings on about to go on there. 
    Tradition demanded he attend. 

    "Hurry up and take off your clothes, Darling!" 
    At this point, silence returned to the bridge. Fear and panic were 
still in the air over their star pilot suddenly going missing just when 
a high-priority message sent him a call, but something about the way 
Asuka said those words over the emergency com system made even Misato 
pause. Of course they could only hear what happened next. The rest of 
this scene got painted entirely by their imaginations. 

    Asuka had decided to drag Jared inside with her Knight as a sort of 
co-pilot. Had she thought about it a bit, she might have realized that 
she could have just handed over control of her Knight to him but her 
pride would never let her even consider such a thing. She was a Knight 
pilot after all. THE pilot of Blaze Knight in fact. Good thing she 
bought along an extra set of synchro suit and neural bands to help 
Jared synchronize with Unit 02. Too bad they were designed for a girl. 
    "Look, I don't think I can get into this." 
    "Why not?" 
    "Well... for one thing I think it's too tight." 
    "Yah, but it'll stretch to accommodate you. I thought you already 
knew that." 
    "Yah, but... look, it's not as if I get up every morning with 
delight in my eyes over the prospect of shoving myself into something 
so feminine. Heroes don't do that!" 
    "Will you quit worrying and get in there? We were meant to do this 
together. Now we've only got a few minutes, and I HAVE to have you 
teach me the things that you know, else I'll *never* learn to do them! 
So hurry up or I'll just have to be doing it alone and take you in my 
hand!" 
    "Okay, okay!" He began to grunt with difficulty as he tried to fit 
into the slender fourth generation plugsuit. It fit, but not very well. 
He was having to work hard at it, which mean he would pause to take 
deep breaths every few moments before wrestling with the difficult 
cloth again. 
    Asuka, who was finding her own fabric tricky and far too difficult 
for her taste, began to breath a little heavier, giving out little 
grunts as she fought herself into the suit. As she got to the waist of 
the uniform, she began to work even harder, calling. "Race ya!" 
    Jared was still fitting on the first leg of the over-tight garment. 
"Huh? No fair! You gave yourself a head start before I got ready!" 
    "I had to." Asuka broke off as she grunted, slipping the tight 
fabric on further. "Guys are famous for doing this faster than girls!" 
    This was true. Guys did generally change clothes faster than women. 
But normally they didn't wear anything so tight! Jared just grunted as 
he stretched the tough cloth with his muscles in order to get his 
second leg in. 
    "I still don't think it was fair for you to start without me." 
    "Do you want to do this or don't you? We haven't got long before 
they..." *grunt* "come searching for us. We've got to do this now or 
they'll mess up our chance!" 
    Shuffling, heavy breathing punctuated with grunts as they both 
wrestled with fabric. 
    Jared gasped as he reached the waist and his hands slipped on the 
skirted tassel. "Ack! Give me suction any day!" He pled, feeling how 
far superior were the suits that went on like circus tents and then 
became skin tight through a rapid vacuum seal. 
    Asuka gasped with satisfaction as she closed the suit over her 
chest, the task finally over. She stood up and incidentally hit the 
broadcast cut off just after shouting to Jared. 
    "Come with me!" 

    On the bridge, Nodoka was dancing around waving victory fans. 
    Misato cried. 
    Kensuke and Toji had a whole new perspective on their friend. 
    Several people had fainted. Others looked like they were going to. 
Nodoka began to comfort the grieving Misato and promise her access to 
her son as well, already planning for mistresses and crib space for 
extra grandbabies by the score. HER son was too manly not to have a 
harem to make Kind David proud! 
    Misato jumped in 'Righteous Declaration' pose to proclaim at a 
shout that she would get Jared no matter how much sex it required or 
what perverted things he wanted to do to her young and beautiful body. 
    Jared felt oddly threatened for no discernible reason. 
    Thunder rolled in the not far distance. 

    Jared was one, solid blush when Asuka finally hauled him into the 
chamber where Washu had thoughtfully returned her Knight. Lipstick 
covered his face and he was quietly resolving *never* to ride an 
elevator again. Thankfully the fourth generation plugsuits were even 
harder to get out of than in, and that had eliminated the touchy feely 
stuff thanks to the nigh-impregnable feel of the heavily armored 
fabric. 
    Asuka was busy putting on her third coat of lipstick, preparatory 
to smooching it off again, and so took little to no notice of the 
changes to her Muscle Knight and Blaze Knight to be. Which was fine, as 
Jared had no explanation for them as yet. 
    The redhaired German girl was privately thinking that somehow 
Jared's *hair* had acquired a blush, and giggled inwardly. This was all 
too easy! He was just wrapped around her little finger! Who would have 
thought that a female lead had a job so easy? 
    Jared at least had enough mental faculties left to think in German 
when she'd tossed him in to the entry system. She'd not even noticed 
herself how altered it was from the earlier entry plug design. 
    Fortunately, piloting distracted her from smooching. 
    A little bit. 

    "Muscle Knight ready for combat!" Asuka's voice came over the 
bridge speakers. 
    Misato was off in a corner scowling and trying to pull apart 
furniture while hampered by being SD in throwing her tizzy fit. 
    "That's fine, Muscle Knight." Leon casually answered the speakers, 
holding down the role of control while Nodoka was busy draping party 
streamers in the midst of dancing with victory fans. "But it was not 
for combat we summoned you. In fact we didn't mean to call you at all. 
An alert was sounded because Nerv's commander, Genma Saotome, gave an 
emergency high-priority summons for the Sky Lord. We weren't planning 
to have a Muscle Knight respond to this, as it goes beyond your flight 
range." 
    Jared's voice and image appeared on the command screens, standing 
behind the pilot chair where Asuka was sitting. He'd tried cleaning off 
the lipstick and now just looked red, like an Indian with a sunburn 
running a high fever by firelight, only he didn't flicker. 
    "It's time to have this Royal Knight upgraded. If I'd been thinking 
before I'd have had us stop earlier to salvage that kill my grandfather 
Yosho made. How far away are we from the sunken body?" 
    Leon shot a cool and confident look over to a bridge crewman, who 
responded. "Arr! The sunken treasure be east by southeast o' here. I've 
got it pinned on me treasure map. We've not hoisted much sail ere we 
sent 'er to the briny deep. If they're of a mood to go diving, they'll 
be hoisting up a few choice doubloons in buckets afore long!" 
    Leon turned back to face the screen, not even ruffling his cool. 
"You're within range of slain dark angel. Go ahead and commence 
retrieval operation." He cracked a grin. "But as its likely going to 
exhaust you to get those new S2 organs and crystal powers, I'll call a 
Knight Wing transport to carry you both to Jared's destination once 
you're finished." 
    "Roger!" Both pilots cried, cutting out. 

    "How are we going to do this?" Asuka asked, gripping her controls 
tightly. "I mean, I already figured out that we'll use the AT Field to 
fly overhead, then probably use it again to continue to operate while 
we're underwater." Suddenly her eyes moistened, looking back at Jared. 
"But as much as I've tried I've never done *either* of those things! 
The best I can make an AT Field do is form a shield." 
    She blushed. 
    "Well, and pull roses out of nowhere. But *that's* got no combat 
use!" 
    Jared shrugged cheerfully, back in a familiar element. "You never 
know. I once threw feathers at people. It worked. Another guy I know 
about makes a career out of helping to defeat evil villains by tossing 
roses at them. At least you don't have to do battle in a tux." 
    There was a red ribbon tied on his arm, above the blue, green and 
yellow ones. 
    "A tux would show less leg. You can practically see my *panties* in 
this!" Asuka got a hold of her magic girl skirt and lifted it to 
demonstrate this weakness. "See?" 
    Jared's face was redder than his hair, but was focused on the mecha 
controls. "Yes, I understand. But Cutie Sapphire, the *frilly* costume 
was meant for outside the mecha, not inside one." 
    Asuka frowned at her skirt in distress. "Yeah, but the plugsuits 
were wrong. I'm sorry I ever made you get into that one. How was *I* to 
know Washu had redesigned the pilot's compartment behind our backs?" 
    Jared shrugged, looking around display screens and a functional 
command chamber that as many points for style as *he* did for dashingly 
breaking up plots. "You couldn't, but I wouldn't let it bother you. At 
least we're no longer breathing alien blood to synchronize." 
    Asuka looked sick. "That stuff was *blood*? ALIEN blood?" She said 
a few unkind words in German, looking like she might be ill any moment. 
    "Gross, isn't it?" He confirmed unnecessarily. He was happy that 
disgustingly tight plugsuit had proved no longer needed. He was back in 
his third generation one, while the tattered scraps of the fourth he'd 
worn had yielded to the lightsaber function of his Nerd Toy, and were 
crumpled in a trash bin on the Yamato. "But don't worry about that. 
You'll feel alot better once you've eaten one. Prepare to launch!" 
    He gave the order so crisply she almost didn't get sick. 
    Jared blinked, scratching his head in surprise. "Wow, whaddya know? 
Washu included airsickness bags in this? Cool!" 

    Jared controlled the Knight from the pilot's command seat, while 
Asuka spent much of the trip curled up in a ball behind him. They had 
indeed flown down to the sea floor to get the body of the aquatic angel 
resting there. Asuka had almost killed their synchronization as the 
feelings of tearing apart huge gobs of dark angel flesh with their 
mecha's teeth and then swallowing the chunks whole were relayed with 
startling clarity. 
    "Giving birth couldn't be any more gross than this." The girl 
muttered. 
    Jared went on happily ignoring her. 
    "Will this still be Blaze Knight?" The girl summoned enough to ask 
him. "I mean, we *are* getting water powers here, right?" 
    Jared had enough tenderness to kindly answer. "Nothing matters so 
much as the crystal you give yourself, Asuka. Thunder Knight hasn't yet 
fought a dark angel with electrical attacks. That crystal came about 
entirely because of my will. We're about to get a fire crystal the same 
way, just as soon as I load this S2 organ." 
    Feeling the swallowing motions, Asuka Urped and was nearly ill 
again. When she again felt the nerve to face him, she found they were 
forming huge ice crystals around the dark angel's body and were about 
to float it to the surface. 
    "Why?" She murmured, looking green. 
    Jared was done teasing her, responding simply. "There's a better 
than even chance that the corpse alone would provide sufficient alien 
protein to teach other Knights how to form the crystals based on its 
template. There's a huge iceberg just off Tokyo 3 where we froze the 
remnants of the last warrior to attack there, hoping just such a thing 
might work to give this and later Knights the ability to duplicate its 
force screen crystal, which is among the most valuable of them." 
    "Why this one? It wasn't so tough, was it?" The girl really had no 
idea how terrible and close, not to mention costly, this fight would've 
been ordinarily. 
    Jared continued to focus on his work. "You were busy filling barf 
bags, but we've got two crystals on Blaze Knight now. Fire is obviously 
our mainstay, and looks to be quite a good attack mechanism. Water does 
two things that I can see thus far; One, is we swim like a fish, better 
than most marine mammals actually, and you're right, I don't see much 
use for that in ordinary combat. But then it might. Always better to 
have things and not need than to need and not have. If we lure things 
into water because we're comfortable there we could possibly get an 
environment advantage over some foes. Needs to be considered. The other 
is that our life support battery got extended to the infinite." 
    "Huh?" She was still feeling too sick to be thinking clearly. 
    Jared chuckled. "You've studied these things more than most. You 
know the normal life systems they installed in the Knight series are 
limited to available power, and only a few hours even on maximum 
duration standby. With the Water crystal we've just gained, I can feel 
the life support cycle self regenerating. If we build a plugsuit to 
take advantage of that, we could fly around in space or spend weeks 
inside a Knight, never worrying about failure of nutrients or air. The 
corpse of this enemy might not allow super attacks or defenses, but it 
sure expands a Knight's operating theater very comfortably indeed. By 
overlooking small advantages like that you can get yourself killed. So 
we'll save it, and hope the other Knights can profit by tasting this." 
    "Urp." Asuka's hand went over her mouth and her cheeks expanded, 
but she didn't go diving for another bag. 
    They surfaced on the slope of a huge ice berg that contained the 
bulk of the dark angel's corpse. A fleet cruiser approached and shot a 
harpoon into the ice, beginning to tow the berg toward Japan. 
    "How did we form the ice, anyway?" Asuka finally felt well enough 
to ask, recovering swiftly now the gross part was over. 
    Jared shrugged, relinquishing the pilot seat. "We don't have the 
Frost crystal, but we can do almost the same with a right focus to the 
AT Field. We could do Lightning if a combat called for it, just 
remember that our defense and flight are all tapping from that same 
source right now. Do too much not covered by our crystals and something 
may get through." The boy waved her to take command once more. "Not 
that conventional arms give us much to worry about. Blaze Knight is 
every bit as strong as most Elemental level Knights, and much more 
powerful than that one alien who was literally walking through the 
worst the UN could throw that way." 
    The redhaired girl shuddered as she took the seat. "Yah, just 
promise me one thing." 
    He lifted an eyebrow. "Oh? What is that?" 
    Asuka acknowledged Leon's signal they were ready to rendezvous with 
the Knight Wing transport, saying to Jared as she finished. "Promise 
me, if we kill people we don't have to eat them." 
    The superspy laughed. "Deal." 

    The transport released them close to target, as the nation was 
presently one entire war zone. This being only Asuka's second flight, 
they crashed down more than landed, coming to rest on a hill in the 
middle of a city. 
    "Where are we?" 
    "I think we're standing in the Dome of the Rock." 
    Asuka looked around. "I don't see it." 
    Jared sighed. "Yes, but you've got to remember we are currently a 
hundred feet tall. We're standing *in* it, you know, like a mud 
puddle?" 
    Asuka had her Knight look down at its feet, just *after* shifting 
its weight enough to cause the last wall to tumble and the last support 
to collapse. "Oh." She said sheepishly. 
    Jared shrugged. "Well, the Jews said God would handle getting rid 
of it. And God frequently uses mortal agents." He smirked at Asuka. 
"So, is this your first time being an instrument in his hands?" 
    Asuka shook a little bit, then wailed. "The Arabs are going to try 
and KILL me!!" 
    "Yes, but you shouldn't let that worry you." The boy soothed. 
"Either they, or the Jews, are going to die in this fight, and the Lord 
has plans for the Jews." He shook his head. "They are a covenant 
people, after all. So don't worry about the Arabs. It was they who 
picked this fight, and the Lord has a habit of fighting the wars of 
Israel Himself. So it's not like we have much to worry about." 
    "I don't see any heavenly lightnings about." Asuka snapped, 
terrified. 
    He caused the hand of Blaze Knight to lift and blast the 
countryside with a stroke of electricity that caused an entire Arab 
tank battalion to detonate fuel and ammunition stores in a terrific 
burst of shrapnel. Then he swept terrific bolts of fire across soviet 
armored divisions visible from this height and vantage point, and 
finally finished off a swarm of hostile aircraft with micro bursts of 
lightning and mopped up infantry with a sheet of blazing fire. 
    Asuka was goggling. 
    "Oh ye of little faith." 
    Seeing the horizon now clear of enemies, Jared marched their Blaze 
Knight off to the airport, humming a hymn under his breath. 
    Asuka stopped him, gathering some wits about her. "Hold it!" The 
Knight stopped moving. "We're here now, and the Arabs hate us, right?" 
    "Well, yah." Jared admitted. 
    "So I'm not just going to wait for them to figure out my home 
address and send their terror squads after me! I have better things to 
do than wonder each time I get in the tub if there's going to be a bomb 
rigged to the hot water faucet! If they're our enemies, let's be 
THEIRS! Look, I think I see fighting going on over there. We're 
*going!*" The redhaired girl insisted, then snapped. "And sing that 
song aloud!" 
    She triggered external speakers at high volume. 
    Jared happily went full throated voice. 

** 
"Hope of Israel, Zion's army, Children of the promised day 
See, the Chieftain signals onward, and the battle's in array! 

Hope of Israel, rise in might! 
With the sword of Truth and Right! 
Sound the war cry "Watch and pray!" 
Vanquish every foe today! 

See, the foe in countless numbers, marshaled in the ranks of sin 
Hope of Israel, on to battle, and the victory we must win! 

Hope of Israel, rise in might! 
With the sword of Truth and Right! 
Sound the war cry "Watch and pray!" 
Vanquish every foe today! 

Strike for Zion! Down with error! Flash the sword into the foe! 
Every blow defeats a foeman, every step we conquering go! 

Hope of Israel, rise in might! 
With the sword of Truth and Right! 
Sound the war cry "Watch and pray!" 
Vanquish every foe today! 

Soon the battle will be over, every foe of truth be down. 
Onward, onward men of Zion; Thy reward the victor's crown! 

Hope of Israel, rise in might! 
With the sword of Truth and Right! 
Sound the war cry "Watch and pray!" 
Vanquish every foe today!" 
** 

    Israel was a small country. Asuka had, by the first verse flown to 
it's northern edge, or where the fighting had pushed it back to, and 
was gleefully inflicting vast carnage on the enemy. Weapons capable of 
visiting harm on gigantic aliens were turned toward tanks, artillery 
and armor, sweeping them like a scythe from the field. 
    By the end of the third verse the battle had turned utterly in 
Jewish favor, and by the conclusion there was hardly a soviet or Arab 
unit left on the field larger than a single man well into hiding. 
    But Asuka wasn't satisfied. 
    "Sing another!" She shouted, piloting their Eva down the battle 
lines on the east. 
    Jared obediently dipped into his memorized songs and produced. 

** 
"Shall the youth of Zion falter, 
in defending truth and right? 
While the enemy assaileth, 
shall we shrink or shun the fight? 

NO! 

True to the faith, that our parents have cherished 
True to the truth for which martyrs have perished 
To God's command! 
Soul, Heart and Hand! 
Faithful and true we will ever stand! 
  

While we know the powers of darkness 
seek to thwart the work of God. 
Shall the children of the promise 
Cease to grasp the iron rod? 

NO! 

True to the faith, that our parents have cherished 
True to the truth for which martyrs have perished 
To God's command! 
Soul, Heart and Hand! 
Faithful and true we will ever stand! 
  

We will work out our salvation 
We will cleave unto the truth 
We will watch and pray and labor 
with the fervent zeal of youth! 

YES! 

True to the faith, that our parents have cherished 
True to the truth for which martyrs have perished 
To God's command! 
Soul, Heart and Hand! 
Faithful and true we will ever stand! 
  

We will strive to be found worthy 
Of the kingdom of our Lord 
With the faithful ones redeemed 
who have loved and kept and his word. 

YES! 

True to the faith, that our parents have cherished 
True to the truth for which martyrs have perished 
To God's command! 
Soul, Heart and Hand! 
Faithful and true we will ever stand!" 
** 

    With that much longer song Asuka had used her recent experience in 
blowing up armored divisions to stay flying and clear the entire east 
and southern borders and the ones that had pierced within. 
    Granted it was an imperfect solution, as they'd missed troops and 
stuff. Still, it was every bit as dramatic as the hand of God sweeping 
their foes from the battlefield. Victory, so long an unattainable 
dream, was in their grasp. 
    "What's that iron rod bit?" Asuka was breathing heavily. 
    "Symbolism. The iron rod is the word of God, leading a sure course 
to salvation. It's scriptural, picture a bannister or a railing you 
follow over troubled paths and know that iron is immovable and you have 
the image right. There's a hymn about that too, if you like." 
    "You have anything about blowing up terrorists so they don't burn 
wives and murder children as they try to assassinate you?" 
    "I just sang it." 
    "Oh." 
    They marched on, returning to Jerusalem. 
    The siege of Israel was at least momentarily over. 

    Genma met him at the airport, while Asuka continued to guard the 
site in her Eva. A pair of orthodox Jewish gentlemen stood with him, 
and Genma stood in similar attire. Jared went to meet them wearing his 
blue plugsuit with white jacket and overtones, pausing to snag a coupla 
pomegranates from a vendor on the way, tossing the man a stream of 
bright coins to pay. 
    Jared came to a stop before the trio of old men, striking a 
confident pose while peeling back the skin on his first pomegranate - 
he'd not eaten much at the lunch at Leon's place. "So," he asked. 
"What's so important it brings us all together here on a Wednesday 
night?" Privately, he noted the moon was still full. Man, had that 
little time passed since he'd fought Gendo? Sure seemed like more. This 
assignment was really keeping him busy! 
    Genma smiled in a way that guaranteed he was up to something. He 
extended a package held under one arm to Jared, the latter noted that 
it was a set of black attire like might fit a Jewish boy his age. 
    He tilted his head suspiciously. "You're not planning anything 
weird tonight, are you? I've already got a religion, thank you." 
    Genma's smug smile turned into a scowl. "Foolish boy! Have I taught 
you nothing?! Show a little respect for your elders! Tonight, you will 
behave yourself as a Jew!" 
    Jared scowled right back at him, then gathered himself to say 
calmly. "I have nothing but respect for the Jews. But I have *never* 
claimed decent through the line of Judah, and I don't intend to start 
now. My lineage is through Ephraim, son of Joseph, who was sold by his 
brothers into slavery in Egypt." 
    This statement rocked the old men. 
    "Th... that can't be!" One of them rocked out. "Ephraim... but that 
is one of the..." 
    Genma was shouting. "Don't be stupid, boy! That line was lost! 
Ephraim was one of the Lost Ten Tribes, boy! Don't try and kid your 
father!" 
    The pilot buffed his fingernails and popped a pomegranate seed, 
chewing slightly as he said. "The Lord always knew where we were. We 
were not lost to him. Besides, why would I try and kid? There's too 
much that you'd never believe. But then; In Israel, in order to be a 
realist, you must believe in miracles." 
    "David Ben-Gurion." One of the older men identified the quote, 
nodding as he did. 
    Jared smiled at him, liking the older fellow. He seemed nice, which 
made the boy immediately wonder what he was doing in Genma's company. 
"The wisdom of the wise and the experience of the ages are perpetuated 
by quotations." 
    "Benjamin Disraeli." Identified the other old man, nodding 
approvingly. 
    They said something that had Jared *totally* lost. 
    "Huh?" 
    Genma smirked. "So, boy. Don't speak Hebrew?" 
    "Not yet." Jared eyed him darkly. 
    The older Saotome pulled himself up to his full height, looking 
down at Jared with triumph on his mind, presenting the package of 
clothes again. "Here, boy. It would be a bad idea for you to go where 
we're going dressed as you are." 
    "I like the armor value. This is a battlefield still, you know." 
    Genma straightened his glasses. "Boy, we're going to a very 
traditional ceremony tonight. It's necessary to seal our relations with 
this important country, and we'll be getting new pilots in the bargain. 
It may seem strange to you, but every aspect of tonight is vital! You 
cannot go wearing blue, as that is the color of the priesthood." 
    Jared pushed past Genma, getting tired of him. Heading toward a 
jeep and saying as he went. "Well, it's fortunate that I hold the holy 
priesthood then. Not just the priesthood of Aaron either, but I have 
been ordained to be an elder in the priesthood after the order of 
Melkezidek." 
    This had the three old men staggering. "But... but..." 
    Jared turned back to face them, saying. "Yes, I know the higher 
priesthood was lost when Moses came down from the mountain and smashed 
the original two tablets, leaving the house of Israel ever since his 
death with only the lesser law and the lower priesthood to govern them. 
But then again, what God takes away God can restore, can't he?" 
    "Coming?" He asked, climbing into the jeep. 
    The three old men scrambled to follow. 

    When they got to the house where the negotiations were being held, 
there were all sorts of traditional things going on that Jared had no 
clue over, so had to swallow his pride and mostly do as he was 
directed. 
    They were offered refreshment, which Genma refused. For *Genma* not 
to eat, it HAD to be poisoned, or otherwise undesirable. Jared didn't 
touch a crumb of it either. Then the Jewish men who'd been waiting for 
them got into discussion with Genma, leaving Jared pretty much to his 
own devices. 
    He saw the ten pilots. Sylia, Vision, the rest of the Knight 
Sabers, *and* his Laser Angels... He would've gone to talk with them 
but they each gave off those subtle signs that they weren't allowed to 
speak for mysterious and unguessable reasons. Probably tradition, given 
their environment. Jared was at a loss to explain why they'd gotten 
themselves into this deal this way, but these were his friends and all 
universally smart and capable women. If they wanted to join Nerv this 
way, they had reasons. 
    The superspy sat down and was composing himself for a long 
meditation when one of the men who seemed to be representing the girls 
on this hiring contract turned to him and said the first words the 
redhaired boy understood since he'd gotten there. 
    "Three cows." 
    Inwardly, Jared struggled. He had a quirk that enabled him to find 
movie quotes for the oddest things. He responded, never thinking that 
*anyone* would take him seriously. But it was all coming out of Genma's 
pocketbook anyway, and if they wanted to negotiate in livestock then he 
could at least play along. Adopting a sly grin, he said. "Three cows is 
many, but *not enough* for these fair ones. I will pay eight cows... 
except, each is worth *ten* cows, if she is worth a hoof!" He feigned a 
grave nod. "I will bring them in the morning. Is this agreeable?" 
    Everyone was so slack-jawed they were unable to believe this. 
    The girls were fit to be tied with their glee. 
    "Agreeable." The old man mumbled. 
    One of the old guys produced a document with a very ornate border 
on it, putting a small stack of them before the confused son of Genma, 
who looked at the top one of them. 
    "Why is this document in Hebrew?" 
    *smack!* "Foolish Boy! Because we're in Israel!" 
    "What *is* it??" Jared asked, still confused. 
    Genma was suddenly shifty, leaning close to Jared to say in low 
tones. "All it does, boy, is spell out the rules and guarantees that 
will protect them while this contract lasts! This!" The old martial 
artist stabbed down a finger on the document. "Says you will provide 
them with food, clothing and necessities. This!" He pointed to another 
clause. "Says that if they're ever taken captive you will redeem them." 

    The martial artist turned Jew leaned close enough to Jared their 
noses were almost touching, his voice threatening. "You *will* redeem 
them, won't you, boy?" 
    He nodded. "Yah." Who wouldn't? 
    One of the other Jewish gentlemen interjected. "That part is 
usually left out of most modern... contracts." He concluded, looking at 
Genma, then back to Jared. "But in this case it was felt it was 
appropriate, as well as traditional." 
    Jared was missing an amazing amount of hints going on. 
    Genma pressed the boy with further information so he couldn't pause 
to examine what clues he *was* picking up. He waved airily over the 
rest of the paper. "The rest of this describes what they can expect of 
their living arrangements." Genma's eyes got gleams of a cunning sort 
in them, and he said. "You'll thank me, boy, that I convinced them to 
let you be considered a scholar in this. That man," he indicated one of 
the Jews negotiating for the girls' side. "Wanted to have you listed in 
their contracts as independently wealthy." 
    Genma shook his head, crying tears as he held one hand on Jared's 
shoulder and made a fist of the other. "Oh, son! The horrors your 
father saves you from!" 
    "Okay. So why do I gotta sign it?" 
    "Because they'll be reporting directly to you! That's why. Would 
you rather they take orders from me? We can arrange it..." Genma began 
to reach for the pen. The entire flock of girls went stiff in terror. 
    Jared beat him to it. "No! I'd just as soon be their tie to 
authority, after all." He gave Meg a surreptitious glance. She could 
read this. She returned him a very slight nod, then he signed all the 
pages with a glad heart, thinking this was covered. 
    The sigh of relief was audible, and came from all the girls. The 
adults looked pleased. Genma had the largest grin he'd ever seen on 
him. The older Saotome clapped his hands together. "Well! That's taken 
care of. Oh, boy." Genma leaned close, putting an arm around Jared's 
shoulders. "I forgot. On the way here I was going to pick up something 
for you to give them to... sortuv cement this exchange. But I got 
distracted, and..." 
    Jared's face acquired the sort of scowl of a person forced to deal 
with Genma. "Are you trying to ask me for money?" 
    "Not for me, boy. Them!" Genma backed off as if the very nature of 
the suggestion offended his refined and honest sensibilities. "There's 
ancient tradition in these lands. You don't think they go into 
contracts haphazardly, do you? There's a gift given at these times so 
they'll know they're not mar... mar*ching* to their dooms! Think of it 
as a down-payment, son!" 
    Jared could *swear* some of the other old guys were hiding smiles 
in those beards of theirs. One of them felt the need and instructed 
him. "The value of the gift is a reflection of your status, and will be 
considered an actual extension of yourself. It will indirectly 
establish your authority over them whenever you are away." 
    Another old man nodded, adding his help. "A link from a gold chain 
was anciently one of the gifts of choice. Gold and silver coins were 
also used, and could be fashioned into jewelry for her to wear." 
    Jared's head was spinning, there was unfamiliar environment, a 
language barrier, and all sorts of things throwing him off here. "A 
gift, huh?" 
    All of the men nodded. 
    Rolling his eyes, Jared zipped open the Auxiliary Light Urban 
Survival Pack (worn on the *opposite* side of the Standard Light Urban) 
and reached an arm in. That turned out to be insufficient and he 
plunged in up to the shoulder. Soon his head was twisted so only his 
neck stayed out while he rummaged around inside the pouch, muttering. 
"I know I left it in here *somewhere*... Aha!" 
    He emerged holding in one hand the female version of the One True 
Watch that he'd worn when necessity constrained him. Due to the needs 
of that scenario, back in the Ranma universe, it had been necessary not 
only to have a female version, but to establish significant variance 
over the male one. The result was not only lighter and more delicate in 
its design but was made out of a platinum-iridium alloy that threw off 
tiny rainbows whenever the sun struck it, instead of black plastic. 
This model was also decorated with pretty chips of diamond, sapphire 
and emerald that served as the keyboard for input - but certainly 
didn't look like one. 
    A trigger command to the microfactories within the Auxiliary Light 
Urban, and soon he had ten identical copies, and the original returned 
to the confines of the pouch. 
    "Would these do?" 
    The girls practically mobbed him. But stayed, by dint of some 
inner, female strength, still just long enough to accept these presents 
with delight, then remain still afterwards. 
    Everyone looked pleased. 
    Genma shoved a decanter into Jared's arms. "Pour them each a drink, 
lad. Then we can feast!" 
    Some looming horror or danger signal made Jared pause. 
    One of the old men instructed him. "Now it's *their* part of this 
ritual, young one. If they drink, they are agreed. You are keeping us 
all in suspense." 
    Jared shrugged and poured. 
    The contents of each cup vanished almost as soon as they were 
filled. Lou almost spilled hers in her haste to get it to her lips and 
drained, because she was last. 
    The Prime Minister of Israel, who had served as negotiator and 
father-figure for the ten girls in this little ceremony, couldn't 
resist and shouted. "Thou shalt this day be my son-in-law!" 
    "Mazel-Tov!!" Cried all the other Jews present. 
    The decanter fell from Jared's fingers with a crash. 

    "but..." 
    "Technically, boy, once you've been through that you're already 
married. There's no ceremony more binding outside the temple." 
    One of the old rabbis who'd witnessed this nodded. "Yes. If you 
should die before the marriage is consummated then these girls will 
each be known as a "virgin who is a widow" and will always be 
considered to have a special sort of sadness." 
    "...but..." 
    Genma slapped him on the back heartily. "Only a disobedient or a 
rebellious son would marry a woman of his own choice, boy! Now you'll 
get to build a place for them to live, and *I* say when you're done!" 
Genma had a nasty smile. "Which means I have sole control over when you 
go to pick up your brides and consummate your marriages, boy. If you 
behave, then maybe in a year or so..." 
    Jared fainted. 

    Asuka picked him up and together they flew back to the fleet. 
    Jared couldn't say a *word* the whole time, out of surprise. 
    His watch beeped three times. 
    He was almost relieved. 

    They stood on the deck of the super battleship that had once been 
the command carrier Over The Rainbow. Jared was shucking his plugsuit 
and had mysteriously donned underneath it a set of green tunic and 
tights. 
    "What are you doing, Jay-chan?" Misato asked, her hands clasped 
together before her breasts in fear. 
    She was speaking for the whole audience he'd gained. 
    Jared sighed, leaving was *always* so hard! Well... no, he had to 
include the times when he barely survived to breakout point. They were 
*less* hard, obviously, than letting go of dear friends was. 
    Though escaping some situations was perhaps worth it. 
    He met their eyes and sighed again. "I'm sorry, but my life is not 
my own. I've been called elsewhere, and I have to go." He pulled out of 
his Operations Pack a long sword and smiled wistfully at it, musing 
aloud. "Man, how long has it been since I've worn a *straight* sword?" 
    He put the katana back in the pack and belted the rapier on, to the 
accompaniment of Nodoka's wet sounding sobs. He was trying hard not to 
wince at her reaction. 
    "Where are you going, Darling?" Asuka was confused. He'd told her 
to land and so she immediately had, but now he was acting so strangely. 
    Jared sighed very deeply, then produced a piece of paper to hand 
her. It said what had to be known, and would give them more detail 
later than he had time for. He told them the gist of it now. "My name 
is Jared, but I am the Interdimensional Superspy Adventurer known as 
Skysaber. I was not originally of clan Saotome, but was adopted 
officially into it when on my first assignment. Since then the Agency I 
work for has mostly allowed me to retain it, arranging back history to 
support the ID when I'm working." He gave a grave and serious look to 
Nodoka. "That means that you recall my being born to you, and all 
evidence is in place to support that, but the history was actually 
ghosted in. I don't pretend to know all the details behind it. But I 
prefer to act as though it really happened. The affection is always 
real in any case. I try to return it." 
    He turned partly away, dealing with a set of pouches and boots he 
was donning, a pile of discarded Nerv equipment was growing behind him. 
"I am sent to worlds in peril. It's my job to save them when no one 
else can." He swept the deck with his gaze. "I have not yet failed, but 
I'm the sort of person that forms deep emotional attachments while 
doing it. Believe me when I say it's always hard to go." 
    "We're NOT letting you!!" Came the united chorus of friends and 
family. 
    Jared laughed, though sadly. "Sorry. You could guard me with every 
Knight, put us all in a locked room, put the room in an egg, put the 
egg in a duck, put the duck in a box, and put the box on the bottom of 
the deep blue sea. I'd just fade out. Nothing Washu could do could keep 
me when I was done there. I'd rather enjoy the last few moments I had 
with you than spend them fighting to stay." 
    Tears had sprouted from hundreds of eyes. 
    Sniffles came even over the military comm channels. 
    Jared went on talking as he bolted on the chest plate of a set of 
ancient armor. "The best thing I can say is that where I'm going they 
need me just as badly as you did when I arrived. That's the way it 
works. I'm never sent where I'm not needed, and demand must be great 
because I'm never allowed to stay for very long. The communique told me 
that you all have the skill now, and the resolve and power also, to 
save this planet yourselves. I don't get to stay around any longer than 
that. Sorry." 
    He meant it, too. He *cared* about these people. 
    Three women glomped him: Asuka, Misato and his mom. He returned 
their hugs with his own genuine affection. 
    "Wh... where will you go?" Asuka pled, tears blotting out her 
voice. 
    This seemed to be his day for sighing. "I don't know that. I only 
know I was directed to garb myself in this manner, that the identity I 
was going to be enjoying was that of Victor Inverse, younger brother 
(adopted) of the two greatest sorceresses that ever lived, and somewhat 
henpecked hero afraid of his two elder sisters." 
    The superspy smiled sadly. "I'll have to arrange the nickname 
Jared, but I believe the power set I'll be enjoying is that of a 
magical genius able to take alot of lumps." 
    Suddenly it was discerned that the redhaired boy was becoming 
translucent. Light could be seen coming through him from the other 
side. The hold of the women holding him tightened, but there was 
nothing they could do. 
    He tried to put on a brave front. 
    "Hey, I've finally pegged where in the series we are, and who *I* 
am." Jared smiled reassuringly to the others, cocking his head 
confidently to one side as he slowly faded. "I'm the Mysterious Hero 
Who Helped Shape Everyone's Lives Before The Series Began." 
    He gave a delightfully nonchalant shrug. "That means we haven't 
even started filming yet. This was all background to shape you all into 
heroes yourselves and set the stage for triumphs of your own." He gave 
a salute to them all, as it was obvious he was now going to fade for 
good. "Good luck my friends. Go forth with virtue, strive in 
righteousness, return with honor." 
    Jared gave one last smile before starting to physically vanish. 
"Never do anything you wouldn't want to have on camera, my beloved 
friends." With an effort of will trying to suppress his own feelings to 
be brave for them, he sang. 

** 
"Think of me 
Think of me fondly, 
when we've said 
goodbye. 

Remember me 
Once in a while, 
please promise me 
you'll try. 

When you find, 
that once again you long, 
to take your heart back 
and be free 

If you ever find a moment, 
spare a thought for me. 

We never said our love was evergreen 
or as unchanging as the sea 
But if you can still remember 
stop and think of me. 

Think of all the things 
we've shared and seen 
Don't think about the things 
that might have been. 

Think of me, 
think of me waking 
silent and 
resigned. 

Imagine me 
trying too hard 
to put you from 
my mind. 

Recall those days, 
look back on all those times 
Think of the things we'll never do 
There may never be a day when I don't think of you." 
** 

    Jared finished fading away and vanished. 
    Asuka growled through her tears. "If he thinks this is over with, 
he's got another thing coming." 
    There came a multitude of agreeing nods. 
  
  

The End, for now. 

(Don't worry folks, that astute of you will have noticed that the end 
of this doesn't match up with the beginning of Skysaber's Choice. There 
is a reason for this, I'm not done here yet. We're only about halfway 
there, enough for the intermission to come next. I couldn't still go on 
calling it Eva Revolution if I didn't intend to come back here, right? 
Parts of the return are already written.) 

Next Up - A Magic Interlude 
  

Author's Notes: 
  

    Hi There! 

    No, it's just me, the author. Many of you have asked questions, 
launched criticisms, whatever. Perhaps now's the time to answer them 
all. 
    Firstly, I've been criticized about my SI character being unusually 
peppy, upbeat, happy and all that. Many have called him flawless like 
that was a terrible mistake. I want to answer by telling you to sod 
off. I know all the dark, introspective and serious works win the 
awards. Famous comedians, amazingly famous people like Cary Grant and 
Bob Hope are jaw-droppingly short on acting awards, in spite of their 
being more famous and better remembered than the actors who got them. 
    Let me explain why I don't write dark. You see, my own life is as 
dark or darker than any fiction you've put up on this web. We start 
with a real-life Genma so casual about destroying the lives of others 
you literally cannot believe it's true, not until he does it to you. 
Then he'll get you to drop your guard and he'll do it again. The man is 
evil, a child abuser, a generally rotten guy, a liar without limits, 
yet smooth enough to get away with it more than once. Hurting others is 
recreation for him, he enjoys it. He privately arranges all he can. 
That guy is my father. 
    The Genma-relation is harder to miss as he was bald since he was 
19. (clutches own hair in fright). 
    We go on to other things. I am an amazingly people-oriented person. 
The death of my youngest brother literally threw me into catatonia for 
years. Spending years recovering I landed in an abbreviated marriage 
that lasted until I was holding my son, born with water on the brain 
and a complex heart condition - either of which could be fixed, 
together were beyond medical science - dying in my arms while my father 
in law threatened my life with all the venom that it is possible for 
man to summon. 
    We'll ignore the life of poverty, go on past the degradation and 
abuse, and land with the sun-sensetivity. A small thing you say? Not 
so. A small thing grown large and frightful? Yes. Lots of people 
sunburn. Not many sunburn through long sleeves, a hat, SPF 36 and a 
cloudy day under cover. Second-degree sunburns are a mere matter of 
fact for me. Most people have never heard of them. It seems unreal to 
most that the flesh can crack and blister, leaking clear fluid over 
what is only an hour or three under a not particularly sunny day. 
    Perhaps that very sensitivity, surreal to most, was what led me to 
have skin cancer before age twenty. I now have my fifth tumor, just 
down at the base of my neck. Oh, BTW, my father is a self-proclaimed 
millionaire and no, I've never been able to afford treatment. For this 
or any other thing. Things like the strong indicators that the family 
history of heart disease has probably not skipped me, that attacks 
leave me weak and trembling on my bed sometimes, unable to move, 
hearing my heartbeat thud irregularly in every part of my body, 
wondering if I'll die. 
    This describes why I try to be so happy. 
    You see, I've had my fill of misery, and have only to dip my cup in 
for a refill when I need it. I have no need of darkfics. I feel 
genuinely sorry for the bad that happens in them. I know what bad feels 
like. But then, I also know the answer. 
    Personal suffering has never been any great deal for me. How could 
it be? There's so much of it. I remember stuffing myself into a 
battered cargo carrier, contorting in between the nooks and cracks 
between boxes so my ex-wife could make a move between cities without 
worrying about the extra passenger space - she'd packed without making 
any room for me, only recalling that when it was time to get in the 
car. 
    Yeah, horrible. Sure, it was probably insane. But insanity is a 
great release sometimes, just remember that it doesn't solve any 
problems. 
    No, the answer is this: You can't often control the circumstances 
life throws at you, the only thing you can control is yourself. When 
confronted with horror you can do one of a *very* few things. You can 
retreat, burying yourself in something, or, if it is truly awful, 
inside yourself. Making efforts to make the horror go away is another 
thing, but not always allowed. You have to trust me on this, sometimes 
nothing you can do will make the horror go away. Real life is like 
that. There have been prison camps before this, you know. 
    The last, and only universally effective, thing is to counter it 
inside yourself. The only effective counter for darkness is light. You 
will have to learn to seek it, to find it, to bring it close to you and 
gather parts of it into yourself. Light can be niceness, kindness to 
others, hope, a bright outlook. When you are miserable it may seem like 
the last thing on your mind to want to help or support another, but it 
works. And you feel better too. 
    As for all the above stuff, I don't worry about it. Kasumi has the 
right idea. Cheer in spite of problems. It may sound awful when heaped 
together, but when spread out over a life it's really not so bad. I 
even learned from it. Besides, there's equal good. For instance, I 
*REALLY* like beef bowls, which makes up for alot if you look at it 
right. 
    ^_^ 
  
  

(starts singing from Come Come Ye Saints) 

"And should we die, before our journey's though 
Happy Day! All is well. 

We then are free, from toil and sorrow too. 
With the Just, we shall dwell."