Campaign:NGA/logs/03

Time passes....and you guys manage to keep yourselves from tearing each other's faces off with your varying amounts of adolescent rage. Finally, labor day comes, and after it, the first day of school. Some of you may be feeling more exhilarated than others. And...it seems you have an escort this morning. The two section 2 agents who escorted Ai and Tony to the base are knocking at your door in the morning. "Hey, hey! Wake up, kids!", man that guy sure is loud and likes to talk. Yes, they're knocking. They're not even using the doorbell.

Ai Yamashiro checks the hour on her cellphone, is it ALREADY time? and the Pidgey was level 95 too!

Anthony Hartman falls out of bed and grabs some clothes out of his pile.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK SLAM SLAM SLAM SLAM SLAM SLAM SLAM SLAM "HEY, OPEN THE DOOR OR WE'LL BREAK IT DOWN!!!!!"

Ai Yamashiro NOW she's angry, her screams could pierce the heavens themselves "WE'RE GOING, CUT IT OUT!"

James Arroyo opens the door

James Arroyo is already dressed and had breakfast. He's been excited.

James Arroyo is in standard wear, which means jeans, white sneakers, some sort of T-Shirt and his white NERV hoodie.

Anthony Hartman is wearing a shirt that he put on backwards in his stupor and some jeans.

Jane Shepard is already dressed, and sitting in a corner. She's wearing jeans and whatever shirt she grabbed first, probably some T-Shirt with NERV's logo on it.

"C'mon now, this is a dress inspection!", the woman chirps in...why the hell do they wear their sunglasses indoors, anyways? The man and woman step over objects. The man ends up finding Anthony first. "Oh, come on, man...have some self-respect. At least wear that thing properly.", the woman is busy standing between Jane and James....she's grinning faintly. "Oh...come on, you two. Don't you have anything a little less....nerdy?"

James Arroyo "?"

Jane Shepard stares blankly at her.

Ai Yamashiro quickly walks from her room towards the door after waving goodbye to her Pidgey, already dressed with comfortable clothing, her usual tanktop and short jeans "Why are you taking us to school anyway, we can take care of ourselves"

Anthony Hartman looks down and notices the tag's on the wrong side before turning it back frontways.

"You're going to a NERV school! Wear something else! Be rebellious! Try to fit in!"

James Arroyo stifles a laugh.

Jane Shepard tilts her head. "But those two goals are mutually exclusive."

Ai Yamashiro uses this chance to grab a few loafs of sliced bread, she had time for a bath but not breakfast, curse these people "You heard the woman, go get changed, gimme time to eat something"

Jane Shepard says "This clothing meets the dress code. There is no need to change."

"Go take a shower or something, nerd.", the man says to Anthony after a bit of thought. He then looks upstairs..at least Ai seems put together. The woman will answer. "We've been asked to get you guys ready. That's all there is to it. Now...I know this might be hard for you two...but go find something without NERV logos on them. I'm not letting you guys get beat up your first day in school."

James Arroyo takes off his hoodie. He's wearing a black t-shirt underneath. ...It's got a prominent red NERV fig leaf.

Ai Yamashiro chuckles at the last remark, after eating something she'll get her bag ready.

James Arroyo looks down at his chest, and frowns slightly, before stripping that off as well.

Anthony Hartman walks off towards the shower muttering something that really isn't words.

James Arroyo is left in a thin white tanktop meant as underwear, not clothing proper.

James Arroyo scratches his head, before retreating to his room, passing Ai.

Jane Shepard walks to her bedroom, stripping off her T-shirt on the way. She grabs a simple plain black shirt and puts it on as she walks back downstairs.

Anthony Hartman takes a quick shower before toweling off and throwing his wrinkled clothes back on.

James Arroyo "Uh... Anthony? Can I borrow something from you?"

Anthony Hartman "zwha now?"

Ai Yamashiro waits for the others resting on the couch, she'll get whatever breadcrumbs might have gotten to her otherwise white tanktop and go back to her DS, just a few more EVs!

James Arroyo "All my stuff is NERV. I get a in house discount, so I only bought stuff from there..."

Anthony Hartman "Oh, yeah. Sure. Go ahead."

Anthony Hartman staggers off towards the door.

James Arroyo follows.

Anthony Hartman "Ok, here you go."

Anthony Hartman grabs some clothes off the top of the pile and tosses them to James.

Ai Yamashiro hums quietly, perking up her head occasionally to check if the others are ready.

James Arroyo "Actually, I kind of had something in mind."

The two agents wait, looking impatient. They talk amongst themselves. "These kids are pathetic." "Oh? I think they're kinda cute" "Yeah, but in that pathetic, nerdy way." "Everyone who didn't grow up during the disaster is spoiled, of course they're pathetic."

Anthony Hartman "Oh, well then feel free to dig through there then."

James Arroyo comes down wearing a white buttoned shirt, the top few buttons left undone, the bottom not tucked in. It's from Anthony's suit and oddly, it works.

The woman turns and assesses Jane. "Hmm...", then looks at Ai..."Mm....", and then exasperatedly exclaims "It's like you two aren't even TRYING to impress any boys...", When the boys finally come down, the man crosses his arms in front of his chest. "Well, I guess that's al we can expect from you nerds. Come on, we're supposed to make sure you actually get your asses to school. Come on, we'll miss the subway if we delay any further."

Jane Shepard glances at Ai, then stares blankly at the woman.

Ai Yamashiro "I don't care about your opinion, keep it to yourself" she gives her a smile as she gets up

James Arroyo follows the Section 2 agents.

Anthony Hartman follows, half asleep.

Ai Yamashiro walks along, double checking everything on the way.

Jane Shepard goes with them. She is mildly annoyed with how they're treating her.

You guys are dragged onto the subway. It's filled with people just getting off their shifts. They're understandably tired-looking. You guys are guided a few blocks down...towards a large, fenced-in compound with a large building. The gates have a big NERV symbol on them. They're also open today. "Well... time to throw you brats to the dogs, then.", the man pulls out two cigarettes, lights both, hands one to the woman, and they stand there, probably waiting for you to enter. Enter without them, no less. Since they're smoking and right above their heads there's a sign saying THIS IS A GUN-FREE DRUG-FREE ZONE

Jane Shepard walks in. She isn't sure what to expect, but her training has prepared her for anything.

Ai Yamashiro walks after Jane, turning back to bitch back "I thought section 2 agents were supposed to do her job without whining to minors about it, real mature of you guys" oh yeah, she's a smug one

Anthony Hartman hesitates a bit before walking in.

There's a large central building. That's probably where you're supposed to be. If you look at the time, well...you've got about half an hour to figure out where the hell you're supposed to be.

James Arroyo pats Anthony on the shoulder then passes him, heading towards the entrance.

Jane Shepard has thankfully read the handbooks and pamphlets, and so has a general idea of where the office is. That seems like the natural place to go, if she doesn't know her homeroom.

Inside the central building..what appears to be a few frustrated-looking NERV staff are milling about...and outside a door down a hallway to the left...a bunch of students boredly ignoring each other for the most part while the few social ones look disappointed. Most look bored. One guy, a tall, kind of dumpy fellow with glasses and a pony tail exclaims. "Why the hell did they ship us all the way here if they're just going to lock us out of the classroom!?"

Ai Yamashiro has not bothered to read them, at all. "Where to now?" she'll ask the group of pilots in general

The office, by the way, is empty.

Jane Shepard narrows her gaze. Annoying. The only visible staff would probably be the scientists milling about, looking very tired, drinking coffee and lamenting their fates.

Jane Shepard walks up to one of the NERV staff. "Direct me to where I am required."

"That classroom where everyone's sitting, an Indian woman will reply. Your homeroom teacher is late, which is why everyone's locked out.", at that point, the adult's cell phones ring...they all listen...and let out a collective groan. They then ignore you guys. "Alright, rock paper scissors to see who has to deal with them...", and they proceed to throw down. A tall, rail-thin man with blonde hair and glasses ends up losing and looks heartbroken about it. He walks past Jane, reaches into his pocket, and unlocks the door with a key. "Alright, alright, everyone in."

Jane Shepard walks in, and sits in a corner.

Anthony Hartman walks in and grabs a seat towards the back.

Ai Yamashiro raises an eyebrow, this place is full of weirdos, she'll sit by one of the windows so that she can look outside.

James Arroyo takes a seat in the middle.

The classroom, for its part, is nice. The walls are bare, but at least the desks have built-in computer terminals. They even use your NERV IDs, though there's a small warning that pops up about confidential information being inaccessible from here. "Alright. I'll give you students a while to register yourselves NERV accounts on your terminals. In the meantime, would anyone like to introduce themselves to the class?"

Jane Shepard registers herself on her desk terminal.

Anthony Hartman registers then tools around a bit on his terminal.

James Arroyo figures out his terminal in between glancing around. He's never seen this many kids in the same place!

...Anthony's already registered. He'll receive a message telling him such.

Ai Yamashiro types the corresponding, long as fuck ID, she'll Romanize her name for the sake of simplicity as well

And...if nobody else is going to introduce themselves, a girl whose figure edges on chubby rises, with piercing green eyes and a big smile, risking potential embarrassment. "Hi, my name's Estelle Bouchard, and I'm very glad to meet all of you!", she stands a bit longer, looking around expectantly...is that all? And....finally seats herself. The teacher isn't even looking at you guys. "Great, someone else now. It's important for you guys to build relationships. Or something."

Jane Shepard has no intention of introducing herself to the class, and little interest in the other students. She stares blankly off to the side.

James Arroyo claps for Estelle politely.

Nobody seems to be too eager to introduce themselves. It's probably up to you pilots.

Ai Yamashiro likewise does not give a fuck

James Arroyo stands up.

James Arroyo "Hi, I'm James Arroyo. I was homeschooled so this is new to me, but I look forward to it!" he smiles.

James will get a small, enthusiastic clap from Estelle!

James Arroyo smiles and sits.

James Arroyo turns his head to look at Anthony, and subtly motions for him to give it a go.

....silence greets the classroom. "Well, I mean, if you guys don't want to introduce yourselves, we can start with lessons right now. I'm sure you'll all love psychology as much as I -LOVE- teaching it."

Jane Shepard knows psychology like the back of her hand. At least, she knows it from the patient side.

Ai Yamashiro is okay with this, she'll give the lady a reaction image if she could do that

Anthony Hartman just kind of drifts off.

Someone else stands up. A monstrously tall and broad guy, with shaggy hair. "I'm Carlos. My dad works as an engineer in Nevada.", he sits back down.

A guy with black-framed glasses and a misshapen 'fro stands up next. "Lucas. Mom's a psychologist with NERV.", he sits.

An Asian girl lets out a big, exasperated sigh. "Cammy. I don't want to be here."

None of the others seem to be paying attention or care about introducing themselves or delaying class.

"Right, well if none of you are going to play along...let's go ahead and start with the introductory material.", and so the teacher begins his lesson. It's....boring. You're writing down definitions.

Jane Shepard doesn't write anything down. If she can't remember it, it will be in the textbook.

The next class is biology, and it's much the same. Then.........LUNCH. You guys don't know where the eating facilities here are.

James Arroyo accosts the teacher as class ends. "Sir, I was wondering where the cafeteria is."

Ai Yamashiro notes down quick definitions in Japanese, but she mostly spends the time doodling things. With class over, she'll put on her bored face and ask poor Anthony "This is terrible, are all schools this bad here?"

The physics teacher, an Indian man who you're sure you've seen on the bridge once or twice, shrugs. "No idea. This place isn't like, fully built."

James Arroyo "Who might know?"

Anthony Hartman "If you mean how dull it is, then yeah."

"We weren't even told that we were doing this until last week. Seeing as how there's no staff, you're probably on your own."

James Arroyo "Hey, thanks anyway."

James Arroyo retreats to track down Anthony Jane and Ai.

Meanwhile, far down the hall, a black girl who's quite literally wearing goth loli and a very small, slight girl with brown hair are both wailing. "What's this!? UNDER CONSTRUCTION!? What are we going to eat!?"

Jane Shepard stands up. She is very hungry.

Ai Yamashiro sighs "Japan was dull, but this is somehow worse" she'll look around "Where's the lun- Oh, wonderful"

Jane Shepard says "If there is no cafeteria, we can simply order food to be delivered."

James Arroyo "!"

Almost stereotypically, a very fat classmate reaches into his bag and eats a granola bar. A student standing near him watches..." Man, you could've sold that thing for like five bucks."

Ai Yamashiro wonders if this is allowed at all, but she does not honestly care "Then let's"

Lucas never left the classroom. A few others are in there with him, wasting their time by browsing the internet.

James Arroyo gets on his terminal and looks up local delivery places.

James Arroyo "What do we want to eat?"

Jane Shepard shrugs.

Ai Yamashiro "Whatever, just make sure the place is close by" rather than head to her terminal, she'll look over James' shoulder

James Arroyo "Pizza? Chinese? ...It's mostly Pizza and Chinese."

Jane Shepard says "Order Pizza. It will be easier to eat."

James Arroyo "Alright."

James Arroyo addresses those who are still in the class.

James Arroyo "Hey, we're going to order pizza, anyone want anything?"

Ai Yamashiro "There's not much variety, get what-" she resists the urge to facepalm, goddammit James, why are you so fucking nice.

You guys end up with a crowd of people and a whole bunch of five dollar bills after the ensuing panic.

Ai Yamashiro shrugs in disappointment "...you better have taken notes, because I don't know what they wanted, and I don't care enough to remember"

James's policy is a wise one. Because as soon as someone brings up toppings, you get a few responses, including orders for ridiculous toppings, allergies, and a Japanese student other than Ai asking an important question: "Do they have mayo and corn?" The entire class retches and acquiesces to James's wisdom at that point.

James Arroyo makes the call.

Ai Yamashiro escapes from this madness and sits down by her desk, now let's see what's going on at 2ch right now

Jane Shepard sits on her desk, waiting.

Ai Yamashiro opens several boards at once and starts skimming the various threads "<Moe shit, shipperfaggotry, pornography... Cosplay thread!> she'll look at various pictures of people dressing up in all manners of silly costumes.

James Arroyo strikes up a conversation, "Hey, ...Lucas?, I know the school is new, but is everyone from a different district?"

Anthony Hartman wastes time looking up random articles on Wikipedia.

Ai Yamashiro is surprised at how people not only managed to get Touhou cosplay costumes right, but they also put underage girls in them making it look even better, maybe she could give a Flandre costume a whirl one of these days.

Jane Shepard keeps her distance from the other students.

Ai has someone watching over her shoulder. James asks Lucas a question. Lucas shrugs his shoulders. "Don't know...but judging by the condition this school is in...don't you think this is a bit suspicious?"

James Arroyo "How do you mean?"

"I mean who opens up a bunch of private schools for students of a world-spanning organization and then only accepts 14-year-olds, and puts them into incomplete schools with a bunch of teachers who were probably taken from their labs?"

James Arroyo "Oh, that."

James Arroyo "Yeah, I guess that is pretty suspicious."

James Arroyo "I'm going to be 15 in November though."

Ai Yamashiro is surprised at something she found, she wonders out loud in a language pretty much no one else could understand"<Eeeh? How did these Prismrivers get their instruments to float?>"

"I mean...there's rumors out there that NERV is up to some dirty stuff, right?", Ai speaks Japanese. Two students at once reply back in Japanese. One who's RIGHT BEHIND HER, the other who's lounging some distance away. "You're Japanese?"

James Arroyo gives a Lucas a look that translates to '?'

Ai Yamashiro glances to the side and then looks behind herself with a raised eyebrow "Like duh, can't you tell?"

"You haven't heard? I mean, there's rumors that their research has something to do with extraterrestrial DNA or something like that...the newspapers were all abuzz about first contact or something like that right before the disaster, you know...it probably got lost or covered up."

The two people speaking Japanese, one, the black girl in frilly dress, and the other, a Japanese male lounging in a seat, look at Ai. The male gives a shrug. The girl speaks nervously. "Didn't want to presume.", she'll say, looking a bit nervous like she's forgotten to hide her power level, and steps backwards a bit.

"James, right? I'll hook you up with some interesting websites you can read up on...if you want."

James Arroyo nods. "You got me curious."

James is about to enter a world of poorly-designed websites with terrible images, MIDI files, and multiple accusations of people being SHEEPLE.

Ai Yamashiro rests her elbow on her desk, and addresses the two kids, her tone confident and perhaps a bit smug "It's surprising there's so many of us here. You're with NERV too, correct?"

James Arroyo James curiously peruses the websites.

The girl kind of half-nods. "My parents work at the base in Tokyo-2.", the male? He grins leans forward. "I think we all are."

The Asian girl who'd said she didn't want to be here earlier, who is seated near Jane, since it's in a corner, speaks to Jane: "Saw you and your friends with the suits at the gate. What's your story?"

Anthony Hartman slumps over and sleeps at his desk.

James feels, after reading these sites, that he may lose SAN if he continues. Also, they're going to take a LOT of reading.

Jane Shepard looks at the girl.

Ai Yamashiro turns back to the terminal to type out a 'wwwww' response to one of the posts as she talks "I was in Tokyo-3, they probably want everyone important on this side of the world after that"

Jane Shepard says "I do not understand the question."

James Arroyo writes down some of the links. He's going to ask dad about it next time they have dinner.

The Japanese male laughs. Loudly. "I bet!" Probably enough to wake up Tony. The weeaboo girl leans towards Ai. "He's kind of creepy, isn't he?"

The Asian girl grunts. "You guys some kind of delinquents let out of juvie or something?"

Jane Shepard stares at the girl for a moment. "I have never been to... 'juvie'."

Ai Yamashiro will look up and down at the cosplaying girl "Your dress is pretty, but it's not much better" subtle, biting.

The girl looks like Ai has just crushed her world. She'll sit down. Jane's 'friend' continues speaking. "Then what..are you guys special or something? Rich?"

Jane Shepard considers how to answer for a moment. She hasn't been given orders on how to handle this situation.

Jane Shepard says "I do not believe you are cleared for that information."

Tony gets at least four post-its on his back. one of which has a penis, and the others have NERD, FAGGOT, and MEXICAN DICK SMURF written upon them.

Ai Yamashiro stares at her in silence, disappointed that she is weak and not worthy of attention. She'll go back to lurking.

Cammy, the girl talking to Jane, looks half-pissed, half-dumbfounded. "Whatever.", she turns away from Jane.

At that point, a lost-looking deliveryman marches in. "Uhm...I have pizza here.", he'll say. You guys don't know it, but Security just shook this guy down hard. The pizzas all look a bit wrecked.

James Arroyo "Here!"

James Arroyo walks up to him and retrieves the pizzas. He payed over the phone with his card, but gives him some of the collected cash as a tip

Jane Shepard 's stomach growls.

There's also a few slices missing. The deliveryman walks off before you guys can shake him down or find out that the suits stole some slices.

Anthony Hartman wakes up from all the noise.

James Arroyo has his hands full with the pizzas. "Hey can you guys help me put these desks together?"

There's a post-it on Tony's forehead.

Greeting his eyes, there is a drawing of a hairy penis.

Ai Yamashiro "Hurry up James!" she's been tapping the table impatiently, she is definitely pissed at seeing that there are slices missing, oh those suits are going to get it later.

Ai Yamashiro "Anthony, help with the tables, wake up!"

Jane Shepard helps get the desks together.

Anthony Hartman gets up and starts moving tables.

Ai Yamashiro does not help

People help of their own volition. Pizza's on the line. Some of the more unruly ones try to sneak slices without helping. It gets... a bit chaotic.

Jane Shepard takes four slices.

James Arroyo is harried, but places the boxes down on the desks.

James Arroyo helps himself to a slice.

Ai Yamashiro will help herself to a box and leave it next to her, she'll start taking slices and eating as she keeps lurking

Anthony Hartman grabs a couple slices before heading back to his desk.

Jane Shepard eats with, as usual, terrible table manners.

Time passes....the day goes by...and finally, you guys are released to the world. What is everyone doing now?

Jane Shepard thinks for a moment. She has been advised by the Operations Director to get a 'hobby'. Even if she thinks its useless, she isn't going to go against an order.Ai Yamashiro will check out the existing clubs, maybe there's something worth her time in there

The building is not exactly, you know...complete. And there's no mention of clubs. The vast majority of students exit. Because there's nothing to do here.

Ai Yamashiro gets started on the walk back home, or rather the walk back to the train that takes her home, or whatever happens to be the case

Anthony Hartman starts heading home as well. Maybe he can finally get some peace and quiet.

Jane Shepard leaves school. She's going to have to find a hobby on her own, it seems.

James Arroyo follows along.

Oh, you'll get home alright. And when you get there and check your schedules for tomorrow....you have something called "leadership training day" tomorrow. This week the schedule's all warped. Afterwards, it'll be standard for all Tuesdays and Thursdays. Best get used to whatever the hell tomorrow holds.

Jane Shepard thinks for a moment. She really doesn't know where to start.

Ai Yamashiro grabs a can of NERV brand Cola as soon as she's home and leans back on the couch, letting out an "Aaaaaaahhhh" that would remind you of a drunk woman drinking beer.

James Arroyo changes into sweat pants and his tank top, and joins Ai with a cola.

Ai Yamashiro "It's going to be a long year" she'll say, absent minded

Jane Shepard sits on the couch.

Anthony Hartman grabs one of his books and sits in one of the chairs.

Jane Shepard says "The year is going to be the same length as all others."

Anthony Hartman "Could be worse, I suppose."

Ai Yamashiro rolls her eyes "You need a book on figures of speech"

Jane Shepard shrugs.

James Arroyo "..."

Jane Shepard says "I've been ordered to find a hobby."

James Arroyo "Any ideas?"

Jane Shepard shrugs.

Anthony Hartman "You can borrow one of my books if you want."

Ai Yamashiro sips from her cola "We talked about this, my offer stands"

Jane Shepard thinks for a moment. "Then I will try the video games, I suppose."

Anthony Hartman shrugs and goes back to reading.

Ai Yamashiro smirks "Good, there's a wide variety to try, perhaps we could dust off the Sixty Four that James got for us."

Ai Yamashiro gives James a wink

James Arroyo smiles.

James Arroyo "When I got it, they told me this one was good."

James Arroyo retrieves Mario Party.

Ai Yamashiro squeezes the console as if it were a teddy bear, a look of pure nerd glee on her face

Jane Shepard sighs. She's got a bad feeling about this.

Ai Yamashiro seriouses up before giving Jane a look "Just... don't break the controller or anything"

Jane Shepard says "I will endeavor not to."

Ai Yamashiro nods to her, then looks at Ant "Anthony, are you joining in?"

Ai Yamashiro slots the cartridge in "I'll explain the controls as soon as we get started, it's rather easy~"

By the way, you guys are now greeted with what a 30 year old console looks like on modern, ultrahigh definition televisions. Especially the N64. Jagged edges and warped resolutions abound. "ITS ME, MARAO. WHAOHWHOWHOWHOAH", also, the audio looks like it's suffered a bit. And the colors are off. And the music seems to be going backwards. And there's strange graphical glitches unrelated to the scaling. It's...playable, though. The more fragile among you are probably going to have nightmares.

Ai Yamashiro is all starry eyed "It's... like a museum piece"

Anthony Hartman "Sure, why not?"

Anthony Hartman walks over and grabs a controller.

Jane Shepard holds the controller awkwardly, trying to figure out how to best handle it.

Ai Yamashiro explains how to use the controllers, the basic functionality of the buttons, and that the 3D stick is your friend because the arrow buttons suck

This thing looks barely playable, if you can even stand the eerie music and the eye-hurting glitches. Ai seems unaffected, though. Miraculously.

James Arroyo grabs another controller.

Anthony Hartman eyes start to water.

Ai Yamashiro "We'll start with the simplest map, and these are the characters, select one with the cursor" she goes for badass Bowser

Jane Shepard picks Peach at random.

James Arroyo selects the big monkey.

Anthony Hartman picks the green guy.

Ai Yamashiro "And with that done, let's begin. This is how it works, it's a board game with a series of minigames thrown in, many of these are team games, others are free for all." she keeps explaining as she takes the first turn and gets the ball, or the dice, rolling.

The game goes on....and Anthony's weegee power wins him the game! Meanwhile, everyone's eyes hurt. badly.

Jane Shepard says "Maybe video games aren't for me..."

Anthony Hartman "That was kind of fun! But was it supposed to look like that?"

Ai Yamashiro Once the game is over, she starts to feel the strain on her eyes, she holds her head "I... perhaps this console won't do us too well after all"

The game then, in mid-victory screen, begins to degrade graphically, as it zooms into Luigi's red-eyed face, with what sounds like sinister squealing and laughing and nonsensical backwards speech. The console smells like burning.

Jane Shepard says "I think it's on fire."

Ai Yamashiro "...Yeah, that's probably the case, god damn this old tech."

James Arroyo is not so mildly intimidated by WEEGEE

Ai Yamashiro gets the ancient sixty four out of the table "We hardly knew ye..."

Ai Yamashiro "I'll place it in a stand in my room."

Jane Shepard is silent for a moment. "I guess we need to get a new console."

Ai Yamashiro is back, and has changed back to her usual clothing "No, we can use our PCs for this as well."

Ai Yamashiro folds her arms and presses an index finger to her lips "Perhaps a shooter would do, they are quite popular"

The next day: School. Is.......awkward. This time, you're greeted by a few hapless people you've seen working on evas before. "So, it seems like your teacher has run out on us. So...anyways, there's some uniforms inside. Yeah, they're funny, but they measure biometrics and crap. We've got basketballs and toy guns and like, a track. I'm supposed to make sure you guys push yourselves without dying. Figure something out. Your grade is given depending on how well you perform on biweekly fitness tests. Don't screw it up."

The suits you guys wear are plugsuits. Proper ones.

James Arroyo heads into the locker room to change.

Ai Yamashiro is one of the first to get changed, already knowing how to make plugsuits work, and glad that they've got the good ones here.

Jane Shepard finds somewhere to change and expertly puts on her plugsuit.

Most of the students slack off once in their suits or complain about how they look. A few immediately bolt towards the airsoft guns, cheap springloaders, and immediately start pegging each other mercilessly, running around the gym.

Anthony Hartman goes off to change into his plugsuit.

Jane Shepard isn't good at running, and has no idea how to use a basketball. She picks up one of the airsoft guns and looks at it.

Ai Yamashiro snorts, children, she'll pick up a gun as well

James Arroyo decides to give the track a try.

It looks easy enough to use. Has a clip with like twelve rounds, and there's plenty of spare clips. You pull back the slide to cock it. You engage in what seems to be...an escalating battle. Everyone begins to pick up guns and things start getting chaotic.

Jane Shepard will put her full military training to use. BOOM HEADSHOT

James runs. A few people join him out there, preferring to stay the hell away from the gunfight. Jane shoots someone in the head. A girl holds her cheek, which now has a small welt. "Hey, watch the face! You could've put my eye out!", it's nice outside, either way. Quiet. Mostly, two girls, Estelle, and another girl whose name you don't know watch James and Carlos run. James is much faster.

Jane Shepard says "These weapons aren't very effective."

Anthony Hartman "They're just toys."

Ai Yamashiro runs around, from cover to cover, trying to tag everyone in the chest at least once.

Jane gets shot in the back of the head.

Jane Shepard turns around to see who shot her.

From underneath the bleachers, the dumpy, complaining guy you saw yesterday morning is sniping. Glorious cowardice

Jane Shepard knows how to deal with snipers. CLOSE TO MELEE.

Ai Yamashiro takes this chance to strike the coward, caught in the crossfire.

Jane Shepard runs at the guy, serpentine to avoid shots.

Ai Yamashiro will try to get a second shot at Jane as the fool discards her weapon to... oh shit, the guy is going to get killed.

Jane and Ai happen upon the coward, going on either side of the bleachers. "Alright, alright! You got me! Show mercy, please.", Jane charges...."Aaaaaahhhh!", he screeches in a humorous manner, especially because of his size, and curls up into a ball.

Jane Shepard empties her clip into him at point-blank range.

"Ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow! Stop it, goddammit, you got me!"

Anthony Hartman sighs at this and just walks around the track for a bit.

Tony walks around the track. Estelle waves her hand from where she sits with another girl. "You can do it! Run faster!", she'll encourage.

Ai Yamashiro has tagged every target except for Jane "Hey Jane" she cocks the fake gun and aims at her "You and me, hell or heaven, let's rock."

Jane Shepard says "Target still active." She grabs him by the collar and pulls him up.

Jane Shepard notices Ai, moves to use the coward as cover.

Ai Yamashiro "Stop, dammit, he's already beaten!" she'll fire a warning shot to her chest, it hits the poor guy

This poor student doesn't look like he's willing to fight. "Hey! Calm the hell down!", and..well, he's spared a facepunch. Instead, he's a human shield.

Jane Shepard grabs the coward's gun and returns fire at Ai.

James Arroyo Continues running. Shits easy.

Carlos seems to keep pace with James for all of five seconds before he trips. Seems he's clumsy for his size. He'll get back up, unfazed, and keep going at his own pace. Tony, to his credit, if he takes it easy, will be able to jog convincingly in the pleasant weather and not tire himself out too badly.

Ai and Jane exchange fire! ....Jane is a much better shot than Ai. It's easy to see who wins this one.

Ai Yamashiro crouches to get a better shot against her covered target, for her efforts she gets a faceful of defeat

.....by the end of the day, you all are pretty worn out, and a mountain of students are defeated by Jane.

---

Later....a scene with Anthony...

A routine synch test. In the real thing. There's machines that can roughly gauge it...and even a dubious-working apparatus that claims to detect AT Fields on the fly, but nothing's more accurate that sticking someone in their intended machine. Particularly Anthony. Tests are underway. The entry plug fills with orange liquid and descends...everything is dark, and then...the screen turns on. You get to see the paneling in front of you. No instructions are being given. Your body feels..numb. Nothing else is happening, though. "We're not launching you. Just sit tight...", the entry plug warms up gently after a while. Soon, it feels like you're comfortably in nothingness, if it weren't for the seat and the controls in front of you. "Feel anything?", sounds like Dr. Garcia. She's usually not present for these things. Thompson usually handles the synch tests.

Anthony Hartman "Everything feels a bit numb. Nothing unusual though."

"It should feel that way. Synchronization is on the neural level. You're feeling the locking mechanisms set in place.", you hear a male talking in the background, but it's unintelligible. "Feel anything now?"

Anthony Hartman "Just more of the same. Bit warmer though"

"Bit...warmer..", sounds like she's not facing the microphone. "Okay, Tony. Are you good with your AT Field? I need you to perform a delicate operation..don't spread it until I've said so." "Oh...I hope you don't mind me calling you Tony..."

Anthony Hartman "No, that's fine."

"So do you think you're up to spreading your AT Field, but -very- thinly? I need you to give me the bare minimum."

Anthony Hartman "Ok. I'll try."

Anthony Hartman starts spreading his AT field.

"Just a moment...and...whenever you're ready..", he starts early, but if it had an effect, you're not sure.

The AT Field's deployment is a bit much. They weren't ready. You hear a mechanical tearing, and simultaneously, the LCL grows much warmer, slightly warmer than your own body, and the feeling returns. You might feel like the liquid is a bit more viscous. "Oh, no!!!", Dr. Garcia will say. "Just sit tight, alright?"

Anthony Hartman "What happened?"

You hear a lot of fussing in the background. "You gave too much...I think you vaporized the containment system...or that's what they're saying."

Anthony Hartman "That's...really bad, isn't it?"

The LCL grows warmer, yet. More viscous. "We've got extra hangar space. Will you do us a favor and try to CAREFULLY move to the empty part of the hangar to the right of unit 03?", the pressure inside seems to be growing. One might interpret it as being... stuffy.

Anthony Hartman "I'll...um...try. It's getting a bit difficult to think in here."

It is getting difficult to think. But easier to move, surprisingly. The unit responds like it was your own body. The LCL grows warmer, still. Viscosity is to the point where it feels like a mantle resting upon your shoulders..but it's hard to feel it, when the eva moves like your own body...

Anthony Hartman starts moving the EVA to the empty spot in the hangar.

Anthony Hartman "This feels really weird."

"Okay, move it into position so the legs and shoulders line up with the locks. We've gotten enough data for today.", it seems simple enough. Turn around, back up to the locks, align yourself with the emergency elevator launching system...it's getting warmer and harder to think... and as you move... the world seems to fade around you...

"Synch Ratio is reaching critical levels...", Thompson has been monitoring an instrument that's been giving extraordinarily high readings. "Oh God, stop it, he's still in there!", Anthony can hear voices, as if they were very distant and far away, as if a highway, or the sea gently droned out over it....you feel...warm. Safe. Held, as if in your mother's arms, or your lover's, lips gently brushing against your ear, whispering an incomprehensible, alien lullaby.

Outside the world of the plug, there is a full red alert, machinery is being torn everywhere. The blood of technicians runs on the walls...there is screaming. People all over the base scramble, brought to attention not by the alarm, but by the piercing shriek of inhuman rage that rattles the walls.

The next time Tony's thoughts will be coherent will be days later, in a hospital bed. Roused by the sounds of an incessant beeping from some instrument.

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.

Anthony Hartman "Ugh."

God damn, it's annoying.

Anthony Hartman reaches for what he thinks is an alarm.

Anthony manages to both rip out the IV drip from his arm, but also disconnect a ton of electrodes from his arm. The machine gives off a genuine, rapid-beeping alarm that draws Dr. Chen. "Oh....oh! You're awake.", he'll march in. "We need to reattach those.", he'll start on doing that.

Anthony Hartman "Ow. What? Why am I here?" "I'm not cleared to tell you. I'll notify someone who is.", Chen reattaches everything...checks his arm to make sure nothing's out of place...and then leaves. You get Thompson. Who closes the door. Then locks the door and pushes a tray in the way of it. He looks...unusually serious today, compared to the slacker's demeanor he usually gives.

Anthony Hartman tries to sit up a bit. "What happened?"

He inhales...then exhales. Then reaches into his coat. "I'm gonna smoke, you want one?", he looks at the kid with jade-green eyes. Is he joking?

Anthony Hartman "Should you be doing that in here?"

"Who gives a fuck, right?", he continues to look at Tony, cigarette box outstretched.

Anthony Hartman "No thanks."

Box goes straight to his mouth. He yanks one out with his lips, pulls out a silvered NERV-logo lighter, lights his cigarette, takes a drag...then another one, and finally speaks. "You know how I mentioned these things were cyborgs, right? And how they don't move without user input?"

Anthony Hartman "I think so."

"What if I told you that sometimes, they do move on their own?"

Anthony Hartman "What?!"

"Only when users are in the cockpit, though. And only once before. And only with your unit.", he waits for Anthony to respond.

Anthony Hartman looks surprised, confused, and scared at the same time. "Isn't...isn't that something I should've been told beforehand?"

"The problem's been fixed. Permanently, this time. You were our test run on the upgraded ejection and disengagement system, as well as power locks. Worked without a hitch.", he seems to be pretty nonchalant about the danger.

Anthony Hartman "That's good I suppose."

Anthony Hartman seems irritated at being used as a test subject without being told beforehand.

"We only lost a few people, and the damage was minimal, I assure you. These things happen. Dr. Garcia wants me to let you know that if you have any problems or need to talk...to see her. You're cleared to leave this room any time you want.", Thompson rises, lets the cigarette fall to the floor, where he stamps it out. "Oh, and...the official story is that it was a machinery malfunction. Let's keep it that way. Otherwise, people might hold this against you."

Anthony Hartman "Wait. Right before I blacked out, it felt like someone else was there in the plug. What exactly are the EVAs anyway?"

Thompson stops to consider the question Anthony poses. "Man-made cybernetic machines. Like I said."

The doctor shrugs. "Anyways, that's strange. Talk to Dr. Garcia if you think it's worth following up on. But...be careful around her. She's known to treat everyone and everything like test subjects. If you don't think you need to be drugged up...I'd avoid her. Off the record, of course.", Thompson turns and leaves, unless Anthony stops him.

Anthony Hartman "I see."

Anthony Hartman just stares at his sheets for awhile.

On the bright side, Anthony did have all sorts of wonderful dreams while he was asleep. Constant, persistent dreams, if he tries hard enough to remember, about a girl. A girl who loves him unconditionally, despite everything else in the world. He'll be having a lot more of these dreams in the future.

End session.