This is in two parts so that people with small mail
browsers don't have them crash.

Apologies to all the people whom I told that Part 3 
would be the final part.  The plot got away from me,
and this is now *4* parts.  Gomen.  Part 4 will be
done as soon as possible.

Thanks to Richard, Sebastian, Nick, Ed, Rod, and
Chris for prereading this.  EXTRA-special thanks to
Zen for line-by-line C&Cing as I wrote it.

And of course, thanks to all of the authors who I
ended up namechecking, in one way or another, 
throughout this fic.  It wasn't meant to get this
bad, honest.



Won't Get Fooled Again

by Sean Gaffney

See Part One for copyright information.  Suffice it to say most of these 
characters are not mine.


Part Three:  Who Are You

     Shasti opened her eyes slowly, trying to hold on to the images in 
her head.  Unfortunately, the more she thought about them, the more they 
slipped away, until with a groan of frustration she realised that she 
had once _again_ forgotten what she was dreaming about.
     Letting out a small sigh, she looked around the spacious room.  She 
had been given a guest room in the palace, and was currently occupying a 
four-poster bed that was big enough for four people, eight if they were 
friendly.  Not that that would ever happen in a place like this.  
*People don't get _that_ friendly in Oz,* she reminded herself.
     She'd been here for three days now, trying to recover from her 
recent operation.  The first night, she had been panicked about falling 
asleep, convinced she would have another nightmare.  However, when sleep 
finally came, she found that the dreams she had were actually very 
pleasant.  At least she presumed they were.  Every time she woke up, 
trying to remember what she had dreamt about, the images faded away, 
until she was left with nothing more than a vague feeling that they were 
happy.
     On the other hand, she could still recall her nightmare with brutal 
clarity.  It came back to her again as she changed, putting on one of 
the long, flowing gowns that Glinda had loaned her.  At least this one 
didn't have a corset, but the echoes of her nightmare still flicked 
through her head.  Even worse, she'd agreed to go on a picnic today, 
though she doubted that a butter knife would do much damage to the metal 
gentleman she'd be eating with.
     Having finally managed to get herself looking like she belonged in 
Oz, more or less, Shasti opened the door.  This proved to be a mistake, 
as almost immediately a long, insect-like creature fell into the room.
     Shasti sighed.  Despite the fact that being in Oz was supposed to 
be restful, there were still annoyances in her life.  The largest of 
them was just getting up, brushing imaginary dust off of his coat-tails.
     "Good morning, Professor Wogglebug.  How nice of you to drop in," 
Shasti said dryly.
     Wogglebug looked at her blankly, then suddenly burst out laughing.  
"I see!" he chortled.  "You were making a joke!  Very nice play-on-words 
there, Miss Shasti.  It's a shame you can't truly appreciate it the same 
way that I can."
     "Of course not.  After all, I haven't been thoroughly educated."  
Shasti rolled her eyes.  Wogglebug was a harmless nuisance, but a 
nuisance nonetheless.  He seemed fascinated with her history, and had 
been following her ever since they'd met.
     "So how are you feeling today, Miss Shasti?  Any new feelings or 
emotions?  I could examine you if I like - I am a Highly Magnified -- "
     Shasti wasn't in a very good mood to begin with, and the bug was 
doing nothing to alleviate it.  She turned on him.  "Look, I feel the 
same as I have since I got here, which is fine.  If I stop feeling fine, 
I'll let you know.  In the meantime, and pardon me for being impolite, 
take your woggle and bug off!"
     Wogglebug seemed to have been rendered speechless.  It was only 
temporary, however.  "Of course, Miss Shasti.  But be sure to see me if 
you feel anything new happening to you!"
     Shasti clenched her fists and nodded.
     Wogglebug bowed deeply and went on his way, muttering to himself 
and drawing figures in the air.
     Shasti tried to regain a bit of good humour.  Despite what she'd 
told Wogglebug, she wasn't feeling good.  In fact, the last thing she 
wanted to do was go on a picnic.  She'd tried to see Glinda yesterday to 
discuss her situation, but Glinda had been busy elsewhere.
     Walking along to the grand staircase, she managed once again to 
slip and almost fall.  Glinda had mentioned that they were magic stairs, 
but Shasti couldn't shake the feeling that her feet were supposed to be 
going downwards.
     She smiled when she arrived at the bottom of the steps, seeing Tik-
Tok carrying a large picnic basket, not really realising that he looked 
a little silly.  Tik-Tok was one of the people she got along best with 
in Oz, mostly because he allowed her to keep her own counsel, unlike 
Wogglebug.  She appreciated that, as she had been doing some serious 
thinking these past three days.
     "Good mor-ning, Miss Shas-ti.  I've heard that you want to 
post-pone our pic-nic."
     Shasti blinked.  "You did?  From whom?"
     "Glin-da in-formed me that her book said that you would be com-ing 
to see her this mor-ning, and that I should wait un-til la-ter to have 
our pic-nic."
     *That book again,* Shasti thought, her eyes narrowing.  Glinda had 
a book that told her what was happening and would be happening in Oz.  
Unfortunately, this meant that every time Shasti tried to do something 
spontaneous, someone would be there to help her, saying that Glinda's 
book had told them she'd be doing whatever it was she was doing.
     Truth to tell, she _had_ been thinking of postponing the picnic to 
see if she could get in to see Glinda.  She didn't like to be told what 
to do, though.  For a moment, she considered rebelling and going on the 
picnic anyway, but then realised that Glinda would probably know that 
would happen as well.  Finally, she just sighed.
     "Yeah, all right, I'll go and see her.  We can have the picnic 
afterwards, okay, Tik-Tok?"
     Tik-Tok nodded.  "I have noth-ing else sched-uled for the day, so I 
shall wait here for your re-turn."
     "All right, if that's what you want.  Make sure you don't wind 
down."
     "I had my-self ful-ly wound up this mor-ning in an-tic-i-pa-tion of 
our meal, Miss Shas-ti."
     Shasti nodded, smiled at Tik-Tok once more, and then went off in 
search of Glinda.
     Glinda had her own set of rooms for when she stayed at the Palace, 
taking up the entire South wing.  Towards this end of the palace, the 
walls tended to get a little less emerald green than the others, 
possibly as Glinda had a hand in the decoration.
     Shasti raised a hand to knock on the door, but quickly found it 
opening of its own accord.  "Come in!" a cheerful voice replied.
     Shasti found Glinda sitting in an incredibly large chair, reading 
from her book.  *Probably rehearsing her lines so she can sound 
realistic when she talks to me,* Shasti thought sarcastically.  
Nevertheless, she curtsied deeply, knowing in some primal way that 
showing disrespect to Glinda would definitely be a _wrong_ thing to do.
     "Um...Glinda, I was wondering if I could talk to you for a few 
minutes."  Shasti was uncertain how to go about expressing her doubts.  
She'd normally talk to Deirdre, but that wasn't an option.  So Glinda 
would have to do.
     Glinda smiled brightly.  "Of course, Shasti, come right in!  Have a 
seat!"  The servants that had been unobtrusively bustling around the 
room suddenly vanished, leaving the two women alone.
     Shasti sat down, still fairly uncomfortable.  It wasn't so much the 
fact that Glinda was incredibly powerful, although that was part of it; 
it was the fact that she was so _happy_ all the time.  Glinda seemed to 
exist in a perpetual state of cheerfulness, the kind Shasti had only 
ever seen before on heavy drug users.  If she didn't know better, she'd 
swear that Glinda had been frolicking in the poppies a few too many 
times.
     Then she remembered the reason she had come here.  Steeling 
herself, she looked Glinda straight in the eye.
     "Glinda, why am I here?  What am I supposed to be doing?  I mean, I 
know I have to recover from my operation and being fully human and all 
that, but I can't see exactly how to go about it.  Everyone said that Oz 
would be the perfect place for me to recuperate.  I still haven't been 
able to understand why."  There was a whining tone to her voice that 
made Shasti cringe, but she kept going; this was the culmination of 
three days of worry coming out of her.
     Glinda listened to her rant smiling and nodding.  After Shasti had 
wound down, she got up and moved over to tend to some plants, talking 
over her shoulder to Shasti as she did so.
     "The primary reason you are here is to recover your sanity, Shasti.  
Your mind was not ready for the changes you have been through, which are 
both physical and psychological.  The reason for your breakdowns was 
mostly physical.  You no longer have thousands of tiny little machines 
regulating your body functions and nerve impulses; instead you have the 
one great big machine we all do; the brain.  Your own mind is fighting 
itself, trying to rebel and do things as it used to."
     Shasti was surprised.  Usually Glinda, in addition to her constant 
cheeriness, gave the impression of being not slightly out of touch with 
reality.  While talking to Shasti, however, Glinda seemed to be direct 
and to the point, and Shasti realised how serious this really was.
     Glinda turned back towards Shasti, coming over to take her hand.  
"This is a very different place from the world you come from, or the 
world of the Long family.  Here we have peace.  And I don't just mean a 
lack of war or evil.  I mean that Oz is a place of total tranquillity.  
This is good, for it enables your mind to relax, and stop fighting 
itself."
     Shasti frowned.  'What about when I have to leave?"
     A crease appeared on Glinda's forehead.  "How can I explain this?  
I know!  Your mind, here in Oz, is learning how to behave itself.  It is 
getting used to this state of mind as your normal one.  By the time you 
go back to your own world, your mind should have 'gotten used to' 
sanity, enabling you to function normally."
     The idea of gradually sinking into a state of sanity disturbed 
Shasti somewhat, but it did answer her question.  "I see.  Thank you, 
Glinda, you've helped me a lot -- "
     Glinda continued as if Shasti had not even spoken.  "Then there is 
the other, more important reason why they chose Oz for you to 
recuperate."
     About to stand up, Shasti had to shift her weight awkwardly to 
avoid falling.  "What?"
     Glinda smiled again.  "Shasti, think about your childhood."
     "I didn't have a childhood," Shasti replied automatically.
     "Precisely," Glinda replied, a touch of sadness coming to her eyes.  
"The organisation that created you did not create a human being; they 
created a thing, an agent to use in the furtherance of their goals.  You 
surpassed everyone's expectations, Shasti, and became human, in your 
soul if nothing else.  And now you are human in body as well."
     Getting up, Glinda took Shasti's hand, leading her to the window 
looking out over the South End of the palace.  In the distance, Shasti 
could see various homes and gardens, as well as a path made of yellow 
brick wending its way towards the land of Glinda's people.
     Glinda continued to speak to her.  "A childhood is one of the most 
important aspects of human life.  It gives you socialisation skills, it 
fosters imagination, it prepares you for the wonders of being a grownup.  
You were never allowed to go through that stage, Shasti, and that is 
what we are trying to give to you here.  Tell me, where are you going 
after this?"
     Shasti was so caught up in Glinda's words that she had to think for 
a few moments.  "Um, I was going on a picnic with Tik-Tok..."
     "A very good idea.  Don't be afraid to have fun, though.  You've 
been walking around here for the past three days on eggshells, afraid 
that you'll do something wrong.  Don't worry about that.  Think of this 
as being the chance to do things you've never been able to do before.  
You could go swimming in the river, or have Tik-Tok show you around the 
caves to the north of here.  This is your chance to do whatever you 
want.  Don't waste it."
     Shasti looked at Glinda for a moment, then back out to the view 
from the window.  Childhood.  The idea was a little silly; after all, 
she had physically and mentally been a grownup for years.  Besides, how 
much would the addition of a few days playing really add to her well-
being?
     Suddenly she remembered an incident from a few years ago.  A tickle 
fight that had broken out among a few agents.  Shasti had at first been 
completely puzzled as to the purpose it served, but had let her social 
personality take over and started to join in.  Unfortunately, as the 
tickling intensified, her mind had interpreted it as an attack, which 
automatically brought up the warrior personality.  One broken arm later, 
Deirdre was left apologising to everyone while Shasti sat in the corner 
of the room, everyone avoiding her.
     Now she was one mind, just Shasti.  Moreover, that mind was still 
unused to being human.  She remembered hitting Cory in the hallway 
heading for the ship.  She could lose control again like that.
     She turned back to Glinda.  "What sort of fun would you suggest?"
     Glinda's smile twitched cutely.  "You're supposed to come up with 
them yourself, Shasti.  Find out what you think is fun.  Do it.  Let 
your own mind develop."
     Shasti wasn't all too certain how much fun she could come up with 
on her own, but didn't want to say anything about it.  Instead she just 
smiled.  "All right, I'll give it a try.  Thank you, Glinda."
     "Anytime, anytime!"  Glinda was back to being her usual flighty 
self, and accidentally knocked over a flowerpot.  Shasti beat a quick 
retreat.
     She headed back towards the main hallway with thoughts whirring 
through her head.  Fun.  Childhood breeds imagination.  She'd need 
something like that.  Moreover, this was the best opportunity to let her 
mind heal itself.  Stop worrying, enjoy the time spent here.
     For no matter how much she tried to relax here, she knew she'd have 
to leave soon.  Jimmy was back.  Shasti didn't know how, as she'd seen 
his body lying dead at her feet, but he was back.  It was her fault for 
running away before she'd made sure of his death.  And now all of 3WA 
was paying for her mistake.
     She'd get better.  Then Jimmy would die.  She'd killed him once, 
she could kill him again.

***

     Jimmy Daltreys lined the walls.  At least thirty of them, floating 
serenely in a liquid solution Asuka recognised from when the trainees 
had been shown the cloning process.  She slowly walked along, looking at 
each one in turn, scarcely daring to believe that she was actually 
seeing this.
     What made it even worse was that the Jimmy clones turned to stare 
at her as she passed by.  They seemed to have a vague intelligence about 
them.  It wasn't anything near sentience...in fact, the glassy-eyed 
smile each of them presented looked far from intelligent.  It was just a 
readiness.  Each of these bodies was waiting here, ready to be called 
upon in case they were needed by Jimmy Daltrey.
     It was a rarity that Asuka found herself unable to speak.  Her jaw 
was hanging open, her brain unable to comprehend what she was seeing.  
It couldn't last, though, and she quickly found her voice once 
again.
     "I CAN'T _BELIEVE_ THIS!!!"  She turned to Rei.  "This creep is 
actually...um...what have you found?"
     Asuka had assumed that Rei had been gawping at the bodies along 
with her.  Instead, Rei had walked over to what appeared to be an old-
fashioned computer, and was busy trying to coax information from it.  
Unfortunately, the computer was proving to be stubborn, as the screen 
remained black.  Rei's eyebrows were coming together, her equivalent of 
fury.  "The computer isn't acknowledging me."
     Puzzled, Asuka tried it.  Nothing.  "You turned it on, right?"
     Rei looked genuinely puzzled.  "What?"
     Despite the environment, Asuka actually managed to giggle.  "I 
can't believe that for once, I know more than you do!  This is an old 
keyboard and terminal computer.  You can't even jack in or anything, you 
just switch it on."
     Doing so, Asuka quickly got to a command prompt and started 
searching for files that could tell them more.  Rei noticed that 
Asuka was getting somewhere where she couldn't, shrugged, and moved over 
to the clones.  
     Asuka was secretly loving this.  She'd discovered the uses of these 
types of computers since she joined the 3WA.  Dataplugs and information 
uploads gave her headaches, and so she turned to keyboard computers as 
an alternative.  Even though there were only a couple of them in the 
3WA, there was never any problem getting logged in; most of the agents 
and trainees preferred to go with the state-of-the-art cyberware, and 
regarded the old computers as little more than toys.  Asuka had quickly 
discovered that these toys, however, could be just as useful as the 
Central Computer's databanks; and even more so in some circumstances.
     This one seemed to have a simple enough file system.  There were 
only three directories, each taking up a large amount of memory.  
*Lessee...* she thought, *here's one called Jimmy, that'll probably have 
the stuff we need...ooh, a directory on Shasti as well!  Betcha _that_ 
has the missing information from those uploads!*
     Asuka was getting more excited now, as she discovered what seemed 
to be the answer to their prayers.  *And...um...Rei.  Rei?*  Asuka 
paused for a moment, staring back at the computer.  "Rei, is there 
anyone else in the 3WA with your name?"
     Rei had been examining the controls that went with the tanks; she 
came back over to the computer.  Looking at the directories elicited a 
gasp from her.  Asuka blinked, and felt tempted to clean out her ears to 
make sure she'd heard correctly.  "It _is_ you, isn't it?  Why would 
Jimmy have a directory on you?"
     Rei seemed to be having difficulty looking Asuka in the eye; in 
fact, she was even flushing red.  *Good God, I've done her more good 
than I thought!* Asuka mused.
     Rei finally answered, "I...Jimmy did a lot of my training before we 
were partners.  That's probably why I'm in there.  Why don't you look at 
the files on Shasti?"
     Asuka's eyes narrowed; she'd been given the run-around enough times 
in the past day or two to know Rei was hiding something.  Still, their 
mission was more important, though Asuka resolved to look at it later.
"OK, let's see what we've got."  She typed quickly, bringing up the 
files on Shasti.

***

     Jimmy whistled as he walked down the hall towards the main computer 
area.  Things were going rather well, despite the setback the loss of 
the Angels had caused.  The entire base was being evacuated at 
Jimmy's order, due to terrorist activities.  Half the agents were 
gone, already at the new base of operations he'd chosen.  Rei and Asuka 
were trying to get at Shasti one way, while Bast was trying another.  
One of them should be good enough to flush Shasti out of her little 
hiding place.  Then he'd be able to move on to Phase Two.
     Cory was busy getting ready to send out a hypersonic signal to the 
various 3WA agents.  An improvement on the one he'd used during his last 
fight with Shasti, this would effectively give him a fighting force of 
about 150 agents.  All the people who'd gotten a physical in the past 
year would be affected.
     He ruminated on his failure during their last fight.  He'd let 
himself become too cocky, showing up in the open like that.  It was 
lucky that he'd been prepared with a clone body, or things would have 
ended right there.  He'd also allowed himself to be distracted by the 
Dirty Pair.  He'd been amused when he realised that a few of the agents 
he'd mindwiped were their friends, and had let the fight progress until 
Kei and Yuri had to kill all of them.  While it had been emotionally 
satisfying, it was another example of poor planning.
      Still, he had learned from his mistakes.  This new scheme was far 
more elaborate, but the goal was single-minded:  revenge on Shasti.  It 
had gotten to the point where he didn't even remember why he had started 
to hate her, or even care why.  He just knew that his life would not be 
complete until she lay dead at his feet.
      Everything he had done recently was a means to that end.  Even 
Cory, much as she would like to think otherwise.  The other Cory Emerson 
had gotten very close to Shasti when they were at 3WA.  A clone of her 
had at first merely been a convenience, as her disappearance would have 
been hard to explain.  But then when the clone came out of the tank, it 
had proven to be...very different from the moral, prudish little 
journalist.  This Cory was power hungry, and knew exactly what to do to 
achieve those ends.  
     He'd learned this when she showed up in his office one night, 
supposedly to discuss the final version of the "story" she had been 
working on.  He hadn't been willing to give in to her on a few points, 
so she quickly started trying to persuade him.  Jimmy had always been 
too busy attempting to gain more power to bother with sex.  Anyway, 
sleeping his way to the top wasn't his style.  It was certainly Cory's, 
though, and after that night she had become his on-again, off-again 
mistress, whenever she could take a break from her journalistic career, 
and later her talk show.
     So, with Cory taking care of the other agents, and Rei and Bast 
taking care of ferreting out Shasti, that left only one loose end that 
Jimmy had to take care of.  And this loose end was one he was going to 
take extreme pleasure in cutting himself.
     Entering the main computer area, he quickly sat down on one of the 
reclining chairs and jacked himself into a terminal.  Quickly he found 
himself floating in cyberspace, with high-tech computer grids and the 
like in the background.  He merely spun around in slow circles, waiting.  
He didn't have to announce himself.
     Sure enough, after a few moments, a large digital "happy face" 
popped into the air beside him.  Jimmy grimaced; this was a quirk of the 
Central Computer's he'd always found childish.  Considering the amount 
of power it had, it should act like a grown-up.
     None of this showed on his face, of course.  Instead, he gave his 
usual lopsided grin and waved at the CC.  "Hi there!" he chirped.  He 
could feel the happiness wash through him, knowing what he was about to 
do.
     The Central Computer's smiley face was in an absolutely flat line 
today.  "Hello there, Jimmy.  What can I do for you?"
     For the past year or so, the Central Computer and Jimmy had been 
playing a little game between them.  Each of them knew that the other 
wanted him dead, but that wasn't the object.  The object was to make 
death inevitable, and totally inescapable.  They had never discussed 
this, of course, but each knew it to be true.  Rei was the major battle 
between them, a battle Jimmy knew he had won.  Now it was time for the 
endgame, no more lies.
     "I've come here to kill you."  Jimmy quickly stopped himself from 
sneering; it would make him look like a villain.  "Things have gotten 
far enough.  Rei is mine, and Shasti will soon be dead.  The 3WA doesn't 
even listen to you anymore.  I win."
     For almost a minute there was silence, as Jimmy waited for the 
Central Computer's reaction.  When it came, he was rather surprised.
     "Go ahead, then.  Kill me."
     This momentarily flustered Jimmy.  He hated it when situations 
didn't go as he planned.  He had expected anger.  "Don't think you can 
try to weasel your way out of this one."
     The happy face blinked.  "As you have already told me, I can't.  
There's nothing more here for me to do, and I don't think I'd want to 
try.  I presume you're not going to destroy the entire system."
     Jimmy smiled.  This was more like it.  "Of course not.  I'm not 
interested in the chaos that would cause.  In fact, you'll be helping me 
a lot in my final battle."
     "Is that what you're calling it now?" the Central Computer said 
dryly.
     Jimmy ignored it and went on, not letting anything interrupt his 
good mood.  "No, I'm referring to your sentience.  Rather closely 
guarded secret, isn't it?  No one knows what makes you a real thinking 
being.  Or at least, no one did.  I've been doing some research on you 
for the past few years, and -- "
     "You have the virus with you, I hope.  I'd hate to have to wait 
here while you ran and got it."  The Central Computer's voice sounded 
tired.  If it had been an actual insult, Jimmy would have taken it with 
equanimity.  But it was clear that the CC was only going through the 
motions of putting up a fight.  Perhaps it realised that it had never 
stood a chance of winning against someone of Jimmy's calibre.
     Jimmy smiled one last time.  "I have to go now.  You understand, I 
hope."
     The smiley face turned, and seemed to stare directly into Jimmy's 
eyes for a moment.  "Yes, Jimmy.  I understand you perfectly."
     Jimmy's smile slipped for a moment, then he quickly turned away and 
stepped out of this virtual world.  Unjacking, he got out the software 
he'd carefully programmed, plugged it into one of the terminals, and 
ran it.
     The effect took some time to produce.  Jimmy had needed to have 
someone develop a new map of the Central Computer's architecture.  He 
wanted to degrade the network so the CC's sentience would slip away like 
grains of sand through fingers, but the main functions would still work.  
Jimmy was not all that upset at the slow speed, he wanted to savour 
this.
     Sure enough, after about thirty seconds the lights on one of the 
consoles began to flicker.  The room seemed to dim for a moment, and a 
babble of voices resounded through the speakers.
     Then suddenly there was a high-pitched whine, sounding uncannily 
like a scream.  It resounded through every outlet through the 3WA.  
Every single agent still on the planet paused, listening to the sound.  
It lasted for over two minutes, getting louder and louder.
     Just as suddenly as it began, it stopped.  The lights flickered 
back to normal, and the room looked exactly the same.  Jimmy quickly 
rejacked into the computer, to double-check, but it was merely a 
formality.  He knew.  He'd known the instant he heard that scream.  It 
was perhaps the most wonderful sound he'd ever heard in his life.
     Getting off the couch, he took one last look around the room.  
Lights flashed, devices pinged, it looked for all the world like one of 
the busiest places on the planet.
     But to Jimmy, it had never seemed more empty.
     Chuckling to himself, Jimmy walked back to his office, softly 
singing an old twentieth-century tune to himself.
     ~Daisy, daisy...~

***

     Asuka had thought that nothing more could possibly have shocked 
her.  The information she found in this old computer, however, was 
almost too much for her to bear.  It was bad enough when she had 
realised that the head of 3WA was corrupt.  She could deal with Jimmy in 
a singular sense.  But this...the files showed that the corruption in 
3WA began long before Jimmy was even created.
     She pored through the information, soaking all of it up.  Shasti's 
creation, and the problems that plagued her throughout her entire life.  
Asuka had to try to avoid feeling pity for Shasti.  She had lived 
through some really bad times, and still managed to survive.  *She's 
still a murderer, though, whether it was forced on her or not,* Asuka 
reminded herself.
     The files on Jimmy were even more enlightening, and sometimes 
terrifying.  He had been created before Shasti had gone rogue, back when 
she was considered to be a success.  When she snapped, the Jimmy project 
was supposed to have been abandoned, at the orders of Director Ayoob.  
But for some reason the project continued, this time in secret.
     This led to more troubles.  Jimmy couldn't have the same social 
acclimatisation that Shasti had, and also lacked a friend like Deirdre.  
He ended up having a brilliant mind for tactics, but it was tempered by 
his own personality, whose unpredictability led to disasters.  It was 
clear right off the bat that he could not be a 3WA agent, and they tried 
to bury him in management and hope no one would notice.
     Reading this, Asuka wasn't certain if the 3WA were totally corrupt 
or just morons.  Giving Jimmy a position where he could use his skills, 
warped though they may be, was just asking for trouble.  Sure enough, he 
began to rise through the ranks incredibly quickly.
     This last piece of information puzzled Asuka.  There was no way 
that he could possibly have done this by himself.  He must have had 
help.  Asuka wondered if there was another mole, still within the 
organisation, who they would have to watch out for.
     After a while, the point of view of the files changed, and it 
became apparent that Jimmy was now conducting his own research.  Asuka 
had finally gotten to a point where she refused to be surprised, so she 
just continued to read, an apprehensive look crossing her face.
     This was too easy.  They weren't supposed to be able to merely 
stroll up to a computer and find all the answers they'd been looking 
for.  It was like the villain in those movies who explained his entire 
plan to the hero at the climax.  It left Asuka feeling as if she was 
missing something.
     She decided to take a short break from the files, and walked over 
to Rei, who had taken off the front of the machine that appeared to 
control the clones' environment and was now crawling around inside of 
it.  "Any luck?" Asuka asked.
     Rei slid out from under the panel.  "In a way.  There is a way to 
effectively kill the clones, but it will take time.  It seems there was 
a device that would have given all the clones a quick, painless death, 
but it was disabled.  Jimmy must not have wanted that to happen."
     Asuka blinked.  "You know, I think that's the biggest speech I've 
ever heard you say.  Nice job."  She grinned and then turned back to the 
clones.  "So what _can_ we do about them?"
     "We have to disable them individually."
     Asuka gaped at Rei.  "You talk like we're just shutting them off.  
What you're saying is we have to smash each tank and then kill them."
     Rei looked up at Asuka.  "Yes."
     Asuka glanced up at the tanks, looking a little ill.  Each of the 
Jimmy clones gazed back at her, smiling a empty-headed smile.  The 
effect was extremely unnerving.
     "Well...let's divide it up.  You do the first five, while I look 
through the computer some more to see if there's anything quicker.  Then 
we'll switch.  Okay?"
     Rei nodded, and without a word turned to the first tube.  Removing 
her pistol, she shot at the glass five times, cracking it until it 
finally broke.  A viscous fluid poured from the tank, covering the 
floor on that end of the room.  The clone fell forwards onto the floor, 
not even seeming to notice.  Rei walked up to it and put another shot 
into its head.  Asuka looked at all of this with horror.  _She'd_ have 
to do this as well?  How could Rei be so casual about it all?
     Looking back at Asuka, Rei said, "You'd better get back to the 
computer, before the room gets soaked.  And...try to find a quicker way 
to do this.  Please."  Her voice sounded tighter than usual.
     Asuka nodded, feeling much better.  So Rei wasn't completely 
unaffected by it all.  She sat down at the computer and went back to 
work, trying to find a reference in the cloning files to any process to 
get rid of them.
     She tore through the remaining files on the Jimmy clones.  The 
information they needed seemed to be eluding her.  Then she noticed that 
one of the files was cross-referenced with the Rei directory.  It was a 
file on Jimmy's split personalities.  Which was odd, as Asuka hadn't 
noticed he'd had any.  Another question found with no answer 
forthcoming, she thought sourly.
     She looked back at Rei for a moment, then quickly opened up the new 
link and started reading.
     After a while she knew that she should stop.  She knew that she 
should just shut the computer off, get out her gun, help Rei kill the 
other clones, and forget this ever happened.  But she couldn't stop 
clicking open files, almost mechanically, one after the other.
     Rei was a bioroid.  Just like Jimmy, just like Shasti.  A third.  
Shasti had been created at the behest of the 3WA higher-ups.  Jimmy was 
a secret project, unconnected with 3WA's leaders.  Rei had only 2 
creators, Jimmy and the Central Computer.  Both of them taking an equal 
interest in her upbringing, almost like parents.  No, thought Asuka as 
she thought of her own family, like competing parents.
     She noticed the precautions they'd taken with her.  Using the 
information they'd gotten from Shasti and Jimmy's creation, they were 
able to get her intelligence to the point where a split personality was 
not necessary.  Unfortunately Rei, like Shasti, lacked the emotions 
necessary to a good agent.  If they'd wanted a robot, they could have 
just built one.  They wanted to create life.
     So they'd decided to take a page from Shasti's training and find 
her a partner.  Someone who could help her discover her emotions, draw 
them out to the point where she could function as a 'perfect' agent.  
Jimmy had been the one who'd made the suggestion; an agent who had 
almost been let go because of 'personality problems', but one who would 
fit Rei perfectly.
     Soryuu Asuka Langley.
     Asuka stared at the screen for a moment, the white text blinking at 
her.
     Soryuu Asuka Langley.
     The Central Computer had run some simulations, and agreed that they 
would be the best pairing.
     Soryuu Asuka Langley.
     Both Jimmy and the Central Computer agreed that for this to work, 
there would need to be some preliminary work done.  Jimmy said he would 
take care of it, that he could combine the training with memory erasure 
and ensure that the project was not compromised.
     Behind her, she heard the sound of smashing glass and the soft 
'squish' of exploding heads stop.  Steps walking over to her.  The steps 
of Rei Ayanami, the Third Child of this process, who had been assigned 
to be a partner to --
     Asuka suddenly snapped out of her near-fugue state.  Spinning 
around in her chair, she backhanded Rei across the face, following it up 
with a kick to the midsection that sent Rei flying across the room, to 
land on a pile of corpses.  Asuka got up out of the chair, noting 
absentmindedly that there were tears running down her cheeks.
     "You betrayed me!  You bitch!  I can't believe I ever started to 
like you!"  Asuka let out all the rage that she normally held back, all 
of the pain and anger she dealt with every day.  Rei was starting to get 
up, but Asuka hit her again, sending her sprawling.
     Rei, for her part, looked incredibly guilty.  If she had been 
confused, or even surprised, Asuka might have been ready to stop and 
listen.  It was that expression of shame on her face, the fact that she 
knew, she KNEW -- 
     Asuka screamed again, a cry of nearly incoherent fury.  She went to 
hit Rei again, but this time the other agent was ready for her, grabbing 
her arm and pulling her round so that her arms were held behind her 
back.  Asuka dropped to the ground, taking Rei with her as a result, and 
managed to get out of the hold, spinning around.  Unfortunately, it was 
her turn to fall across another body, ending up on her back in a mess of 
liquid goop and blood.
     The Jimmy clones.  At that moment, staring at the corpse - no, the 
THING in front of her, the focus of Asuka's rage changed.  She got up 
and began to stalk towards the door.  Rei took a defensive position, 
ready for almost anything, but Asuka ignored her until she got to the 
door.
     Spinning around, she delivered one final retort.  "I'm going to go 
find Jimmy and kill him.  Then I'm going to find the Central Computer 
and try to kill IT.  And after that, you'd better pray to whatever gods 
you can make up, because I _will_ be coming after you."
     She gave a humourless grin and ran out of the room.  She quickly 
retraced her steps towards 3WA proper, up towards Jimmy.  Her anger 
focused itself into a cold, hard, lump in her chest.  She didn't need to 
stop and try to remember which way they came; she was running entirely 
on instinct.
     All she needed to do was to focus on Jimmy, and how she would kill 
him.

***

     Rei stared at the doorway that Asuka had just run out of.  For a 
moment, her face appeared to twist itself, and she took two steps 
towards the door.
     Then she looked back into the room, at the tanks and the bodies.  
At the remaining Jimmy Daltreys that still lived.
     She took out her gun again, and slapped in a fresh charge.  
Her first shot took out the computer in an explosion of sparks and 
metal.  Then she turned back to the tanks, firing faster and faster.
     The only three who knew her well would have been extremely 
surprised at the expression of panic and despair on her face.

***

     Cory stood in Jimmy's office, watching him pace back and forth.  
Informing him of her latest failures had not been very pleasant, and she 
stood by the desk awaiting his reaction.
     To her surprise, he began to chuckle.  "Do you find something funny 
about this?" she asked.
     Jimmy turned to her, grinning.  "I do, in an ironic sort of way.  
Think about it.  Of the top agents that 3WA has produced in the past few 
years, almost all of them have gone over to the other side.  Shasti, 
Deirdre, the Angels, and now Jamie and Bridget.  I should have just 
hunted down the top five percent of 3WA and killed them all while I had 
the chance."
     Suddenly Jimmy frowned, a thought coming to his mind.  "Speaking of 
which...they would have made a try for him."
     Cory furrowed her brow.  "Who?"
     "The other Jamie.  Zen.  Our resident sexchanger.  I'll have to ask 
the Centr...no, I guess I won't be doing that."  Jimmy went over to his 
desk and sorted through some papers.  Cory had wondered why he didn't 
just use a computer or implant, but Jimmy just seemed to genuinely love 
paper.  He quickly leafed through a list.  "Not on here.  Thought so."
     Cory suddenly felt herself getting angry again.  "They got him as 
well?"
     "They probably got him first.  The Angels were always close to him.  
This annoys me, I was hoping to use him to kill the Angels."  he turned 
back towards Cory, favouring her with a hard glare.  Despite herself, 
she swallowed hard.
     "Now, I've been very nice in allowing you to take care of these 
little details for me.  It doesn't seem to have worked.  Now, I still 
want your help, of course.  However, from now on, _I_ will be making the 
major decisions.  Do I make myself clear?"
     Cory started to protest.  "Now hang on!  I'd like to have seen 
anyone else -- "
     Suddenly Jimmy was across the room and grabbing her by the throat.  
She found herself lifted up against the wall, Jimmy's hand around her 
windpipe.  She tried to draw in a breath and found that she couldn't.
     Jimmy's eyes seemed to glitter as he looked at her.  He grinned.  
"Let's try that again.  Do I make myself absolutely, one hundred percent 
_CRYSTAL_ clear?"
     Being unable to talk, Cory merely nodded, feeling herself get a 
little dizzy.  She was relieved when Jimmy suddenly lowered his arm, 
leaving her sucking in air in an attempt to breathe normally again.
     Jimmy turned and began to pace back and forth between his desk and 
the door to his office.
     "This whole operation is very, very carefully planned, Cory.  It 
has a margin for error, but not a large one.  Do you know why?"
     Cory did, but shook her head.  With Jimmy currently in an unstable 
frame of mind, it would be best to just go along with him at the moment.
     "Because I have been dealing with betrayal.  Deirdre betrayed me, 
allowing herself to be seduced by that witch.  The Angels went over to 
the other side.  The Central Computer and Doctor Akagi are both dead.  
Nobody seems to want to be on _my_ side."  He turned back towards Cory.  
"It is getting very difficult for me to be able to trust people, Cory.  
I want to, I do.  But it's hard.  Can I trust you, Cory?  Will you stand 
with me?"
     Cory remained tense.  Jimmy seemed to be in a very paranoid mood 
right now.  Any answer she gave now could be dangerous.  She tried to 
think how best to frame her reply.
     She was interrupted by the door to the office exploding into shards 
of wood.  Before the dust cleared, a shape moved through it, firing into 
the wall.  Cory flattened herself against the floor, trying to see where 
the attack was coming from.
     Suddenly she recognised Asuka through the haze.  The agent seemed 
to be in the grip of a cold fury.  Looking around, Cory noticed Jimmy 
staring at Asuka from behind his desk, seemingly aghast.
     Cory saw Asuka raise her gun again, and realised what would happen.  
She screamed for Jimmy to duck and threw herself across the room, 
hitting Asuka across the waist just as she fired.  From the side, she 
heard Jimmy let out a scream of pain.
     Suddenly Cory found herself gripped by her own rage.  She had 
thrown Asuka against the side of the wall, momentarily stunning her.  
She took advantage of her disorientation to grab Asuka's pistol.  
Getting up, she prepared to blast the agent into ashes...
     But was stopped, a hand reaching out to move the gun.  Shocked, she 
saw Jimmy standing there before her.  He had a hand to the side of his 
head, and Asuka noted with disgust that his ear seemed to be missing.  
Despite this, he was lucid enough to get up and take Asuka's gun from 
her.  Walking over to the agent, who was beginning to come to, he 
viciously smashed the gun against her head, knocking her out once again, 
bleeding slightly from the gash Jimmy had just left.
     Even then Jimmy didn't seem to be finished.  He took a few steps 
back and then turned to fire, hitting Asuka on her right side just below 
the chest.  Firing once more, he hit the inside of her left thigh, her 
body twitching as the bolt of energy tore through it.
     Cory was not what one would call a sane and friendly person, but 
even she was taken aback by Jimmy's ruthlessness.  She started to ask 
him about his actions when he slumped against the desk, holding himself 
up with one hand.  "First aid," he croaked.
     Cory ran over to the medikit in the back of the office, and got out 
some pads that would temporarily numb the affected area.  After getting 
Jimmy so he could once again stand up, they turned back towards Asuka, 
who still lay unconscious, bleeding from three wounds.
     "Why didn't you want me to kill her?"  Cory asked.
     Jimmy turned, a manic grin on his face.  "She's the latest, Cory.  
The latest betrayal.  Oh, I would have had to kill her anyway, but 
that's not the point.  Everyone's abandoning me.  I can't kill her.  She 
won't get off that easily.  No, I need to make a statement.  A statement 
to anyone that thinks they can get away with switching sides.  She is 
that statement."
     Cory attempted to figure out Jimmy's paranoid logic, then gave up.  
"What do you mean?"
     Jimmy began to chuckle.  He went to his desk and picked up a fancy 
letter opener, in the shape of a dagger.  The chuckle turned into a 
high-pitched giggle.
     Brandishing the letter opener like a weapon, he stalked towards 
Asuka, his laughter growing louder.

***

     "Remind me again why we're still here?"
     Cory Emerson was not in the best of moods.  She and Lazarus had 
gotten the call to return to Gay Deceiver and abort the mission, but 
Lazarus had refused to go back.  He just said that they weren't finished 
here, and then clammed up.
     Since then they had searched what seemed to be all of Pacifica, 
finding a tidbit of information here and there.  About four hours ago, 
there had been a flurry of activity, and Lazarus and Cory had been 
forced to hide until the chaos moved past them.  Since then, however, 
the entire headquarters had seemed deserted.
     Lazarus wasn't all that surprised by this.  "They're abandoning 
this place.  We know too much about it.  I gather Jimmy has a new HQ 
arranged somewhere, and they're all headed out there."
     Cory frowned.  She had noticed something odd about the agents who 
walked past.  "Did you notice the look on the faces of the people we 
saw?"
     Lazarus frowned.  "They seemed normal enough to me."
     "Exactly," Cory said.  "I would have expected them to all be 
zombies or brainwashed or something.  But they looked as if it was just 
another mission."
     "Perhaps it is, to them," Lazarus mused.
     This brought Cory up short.  "What?"
     Instead of answering, Lazarus moved quickly towards another door.  
"I think this is what we've been looking for," he said.
     Cory looked around her in disbelief.  "The Central Computer?  Isn't 
that sort of like sticking your head in the lion's mouth?"
     "From what I've heard, I'm not exactly convinced that the Central 
Computer is on Jimmy's side."
     "Yeah, but that doesn't convince me that it's on our side either.  
I've dealt with this thing before, and I don't trust it further than I 
can throw it."
     "It doesn't matter anyway, as Jimmy effectively destroyed the 
Central Computer's mind about half an hour ago."  The voice came from a 
darkened corner of the room.
     Cory and Lazarus spun around, but whoever had spoken had already 
emerged, his hands held high above his head.  "Please don't kill me.  It 
would, quite frankly, be rather embarrassing considering the trouble 
I've been through."
     Lazarus took his finger off the trigger of his gun, though he kept 
it pointed at the newcomer.  "Why shouldn't I shoot you?" he asked.
     "Because I'm no danger to you at all.  And I'm surrendering.  In 
addition, I know enough about this whole situation to give you a big 
advantage in the battle I now suspect is inevitable."  Suddenly, he 
stuck one of his hands out in front of him.  "Sebastian Weinberg, 
Executive Assistant to Jimmy Daltrey."
     Cory laughed shortly.  "Ah, well, that makes it clear.  Please 
forgive us for having doubted you."  She then marched up and poked him 
in the chest.  "You're going to have to do a little better than that."
     The reaction to her gesture surprised her somewhat.  Bast paled, 
and looked as if she'd just shot him in the chest.  She stared at her 
finger.  "Did I acquire some new superpower?" she muttered to herself.
     After a moment, Bast managed to calm himself down.  "I'm sorry.  
You see...um...you are aware that you have a double here, cloned from 
you, right?"  The look on Cory's face told him all he needed to know.  
"I see you are.  Anyway, she's been around here a few times, 
considering, and has managed to make her presence felt.  I'm...um...I'm 
sure you're totally different, Miss Emerson, but you see why I might be 
a little wary at first."
     Cory was momentarily taken aback.  "Why am I here?  I thought this 
clone was busy being a corporate whore."
     Bast began to look even more uncomfortable.  "Can I tell you later?  
We really don't have all that much time."
     Glaring, Cory relented.  Lazarus decided to take up their end of 
the interrogation.  "Let's try this again.  Why are you doing all of 
this?"
     Bast sighed.  "Believe it or not, not all of the people here at 3WA 
are psychotic and evil.  Most of the agents are just trying to do their 
jobs, me included.  Unfortunately, Jimmy does not seem to have the 3WA's 
interests at heart.  In fact, to be blunt, our leader is a raving 
maniac.  However, he's an incredibly intelligent, cunning raving maniac.  
He's managed to pass himself off as a brilliant leader with a few 
quirks.  Most of the agents don't deal with him day-to-day, and simply 
accept it."
     Cory began to get a cold feeling in the pit of her stomach.  "So 
the reason that the agents we saw bugging out just now looked normal..."
     "Was that they were," Bast finished for her.  "Most of 3WA has no 
idea what's actually going on.  They've just been fed this story about 
evil clones wiping out our best agents and trying to destroy the 
universe."
     Cory began to feel upset.  "Why couldn't he just have brainwashed 
everyone?"
     This time it was Bast's turn to glare.  "Would you have preferred 
that?"  Then he realised why she was upset.  "Look, I'm sorry.  I know 
this would have been easier if you could have thought of the enemy as 
being irredeemably evil.  But it doesn't work that way.  Jimmy tried 
mindwiping a few agents to do his bidding when you were last here.  It 
didn't worked, and almost got him killed.  He learns from his mistakes.  
When you have a force as well-trained as the 3WA, and you feed them the 
right disinformation, why bother brainwashing?"
     Lazarus was also looking grim.  "You wanted to think of this in 
terms of black and white, Cory, but no war is ever that simple.  And 
this has become a war.  Jimmy has seen to that."
     He turned back to Bast.  'You realise this makes it that much 
harder to trust you."
     Bast shrugged.  "You don't have to.  Quite frankly, you can take me 
and shove me in a cell until this is over if you like.  But you'd be 
making a mistake.  I can help you.  Jimmy, for some reason, considered 
me a confidante, and I know a great deal about his plans.  Admittedly, I 
don't know everything, but I consider that to be more Jimmy's general 
megalomania than any suspicion he may have of me.  All I ask is that you 
don't leave me here."  The haunted look returned to Bast's eyes.  
"Please."
     Lazarus frowned, and looked to be ready to refuse, when Cory 
interrupted him.  "What harm can it do?  Worst case scenario, he turns 
out to be a fake, we knock him out, stick him in a cell, and let him 
snarl at us."
     "Worst case scenario, he manages to escape and kill us, then 
reports back to Daltrey." Lazarus added tartly.  Turning back to Bast, 
he continued.  "What will Mister Daltrey think when he realises that 
you've disappeared?"
     Bast coughed, and looked a little wary.  "That's the slightly 
unbelievable part of my story.  You see, Jimmy called me into his office 
earlier today.  He needed to get some information about all of you, to 
find out about his enemies.  He wanted me to infiltrate your ranks.  He 
suggested I pretend to give myself up by claiming he was crazy."
     Noting the looks of complete disbelief on Cory and Lazarus' faces, 
Bast said, "Hey, I couldn't make something like that up!  I know it 
sounds really bad, but...I was planning on doing it anyway.  When Jimmy 
explained it to me I thought he'd found out, and was trying to toy with 
me before killing me.  Hell, for all I know he still might be.  Do you 
people have good doctors?"
     Lazarus nodded.
     "Then I'd really appreciate it if they took a look at me if you 
take me back.  I don't want to have some program in my head that I don't 
know about come back to haunt me."
     Bast sighed.  "Look, either I'm one of the most truly Machiavellian 
people in the entire world, or I'm telling the truth.  It's dangerous 
enough becoming a double agent.  I don't want to be a triple one."
     Lazarus looked at Cory, who shrugged.  "We didn't really get much 
here but speculation.  Hilda's gonna be mad at you for staying behind 
anyway.  Wouldn't you rather have something to show for it?"
     That seemed to convince Lazarus.  He still kept his stance guarded, 
but lowered the gun.  "All right.  Let's start this mutual level of 
trust right now.  Why is the Central Computer 'dead', as you put it?"
     Bast sighed, seeming to relax a little.  "Can we move out of here?  
Every second spent at 3WA while Jimmy is still here is dangerous.  
Incredibly so."
     Lazarus nodded, and they headed out into the halls.  He was about 
to give the signal to Gay to come pick them up, when suddenly the sounds 
of running footsteps came down the hall.  All three of them immediately 
slipped back into the computer room, readying themselves for the 
impending attack.
     The attack turned out to be a 3WA agent with light blue, almost
white hair and pale skin, dressed in the traditional bikini.  She was 
tearing down the hall, not even noticing them as they passed.  Her eyes 
appeared to be red, as if she'd been crying recently.  The total 
impression given was an woman in complete and total panic.
     Lazarus and Cory looked at each other, slightly amused.  "I guess 
she missed the last call to ship out," Lazarus said.
     Their laughter stopped when they turned to Bast, who had turned 
white as a sheet.  He stared back up the corridor in complete and total 
disbelief.
     "I think things have just gotten worse, if that's even possible." 
he whispered.

***

     Rei remembered her childhood.
     She remembered being brought online, and staring at the blank faces 
around her, waiting to be told what to do.  She remembered meeting Jimmy 
Daltrey, and the training she received from him.  Jimmy telling her 
all about his secret plans, and the part she would play in them.  
     She remembered the dreams, when the Central Computer would come to 
her while she slept and remind her that she should never trust Daltrey, 
no matter how much she wanted to.
     She remembered feeling an emptiness within her, and how Jimmy and 
the Central Computer were both concerned about it.  Stunted emotions, 
they had said.  The Central Computer had recommended a partner, but 
Jimmy reminded it what had happened with Shasti.  Through the 
discussion, Rei had stood at attention, her mind searching for a way to 
fill that emptiness, and finding none.
     She remembered meeting Asuka, and the training they both endured.  
Coming closer, learning to rely on each other.  Feeling different around 
Asuka, a sense that the young woman was teaching her, as well as the two 
of them learning together.
     She remembered the screams that would echo from the room as Jimmy 
and the Central Computer wiped Asuka's mind to ensure secrecy.  She had 
watched this placidly, the emptiness within her feeling larger.
     She remembered yesterday's official meeting, where Jimmy had 
'introduced' her to Asuka, claiming that they had been selected to be a 
perfect 3WA team.  Rei had reacted the way Jimmy had asked her to, 
and had shown no signs that she recognised Asuka.  
     Afterwards, Jimmy had told her the she might have to kill Asuka in 
order to complete the mission.  Rei had agreed, but the feeling of
emptiness inside her had grown stronger, almost overwhelming her with 
its intensity.  
     For the past day, she and Asuka had worked together, trying to 
ferret out information on Shasti and later, as their objectives had 
changed, on Jimmy.  Asuka had made it a personal goal to get her to show 
some emotion, to smile and laugh.  Asuka herself appeared to be composed 
entirely of such emotions, showing very little of the reserve that Rei 
used to define herself.
     And all through this the hollowness within her had gotten larger 
and larger.  When she had smiled at Asuka, she had felt a throbbing 
pain.  When she'd laughed at something Asuka had said, the pain had 
increased.  Even though she knew that this was the goal of the 
experiment, this was what the Central Computer had wanted to happen, it 
had still hurt.
     Now, as she ran up the corridor towards Jimmy's office, the pain 
was making it difficult for her to see clearly.  The massacre of the 
Jimmy clones, Asuka's attacking her and screaming about being 
betrayed...all of these events pressed in on Rei, making her almost 
faint with pain.  She could feel tears running down her face, but knew 
that they were from the pain, not from any emotion she might feel.  She 
had never felt more empty than she did right now.
     Rounding the corner, she noticed that Jimmy's outer office had been 
entirely destroyed, indicating that Asuka had already been through here.  
Rei advanced through the rubble and peered into the inner office, 
leaning on the door to prevent herself from falling over.
     At first, the office appeared to be entirely deserted.  For a 
moment Rei feared that Jimmy had captured Asuka and taken her with him 
to the new base of operations.  Then she heard a movement to her right.  
She turned, expecting the worst.
     Asuka was there, spread eagled against the wall.  A dagger-like 
object pierced one hand, holding it in place.  A pair of scissors had 
been driven through the other hand.  Her feet were pinned by what 
appeared to be fountain pens, ink mixing with blood as it trickled.  
There ware also two other major wounds, one in her side and the other in 
her left thigh.  She raised her head, and Rei could see that she also 
had a gash there.  Her eyes filled with tears.  "Rei..." she managed to 
croak.
     Rei stood rooted to the spot, too shocked to move.  "As...Asuka?"
     Asuka's eyes pleaded with her.  "H...help me..."
     And then Rei fell back as the pain consumed her, flowing through 
her veins like a raging flood.
     "NNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!"

***

     Bast felt his blood chill when he first heard the scream.  They had 
followed as quickly as they could, but it seemed that they were too 
late.  And yet...that had not been a scream of despair.  It had sounded 
more like a person in agonising pain.  For a moment Bast had a horrible 
vision of arriving in the office only to see Jimmy standing over Rei's 
corpse, moving the gun up towards him.
     When they arrived, however, the office appeared to be empty aside 
from Rei.  She was crumpled on the floor in a foetal position, 
writhing and clutching her head as though in agony.  Bast went to her 
side, attempting to see if she'd been shot, but she seemed to be 
uninjured.  Her eyes were wide open, and her mouth voiced a silent 
scream.
     "Oh, my God..."
     Bast turned around to find the source of the voice, just in time to 
see Cory stumble over to the edge of the office and throw up.  He looked 
over towards Lazarus, who was looking very subdued.  Then he saw her.
     He barely managed to restrain his own nausea.  Seeing Asuka pinned 
to the wall like some exotic butterfly drove home the true extent of 
Jimmy's insanity.  Temporarily abandoning Rei for the moment, he walked 
over to Lazarus.
     "She can't have been there for very long.  I'd say only about 
twenty minutes," Bast whispered.
     Lazarus frowned, going over to examine her.  "Nevertheless, she's 
lost a lot of blood.  Too much.  Look at her, she's been shot in the 
side and the thigh, has a head wound, as well as the more obvious 
wounds.  I'm trying to think how to get her down without causing more 
damage."
     Bast thought for a few seconds.  He noticed Asuka still appeared to 
be conscious, muttering to herself in German.  *Calling for her mother, 
poor girl,* he thought.  He pounded his hand against the wall in 
frustration, and heard a hollow thump.  Blinking, he examined the wall 
more closely.
     "We're in luck, if you can call it that.  That section of wall is 
made of plastic fibreboard.  We can cut it down, and use it as a 
makeshift stretcher while we get her to a hospital."
     Lazarus nodded.  "Cory?" he said softly.
     A sob was the only answer.
     "Cory, I need you here."  Bast noticed that Lazarus' face had 
softened, and he seemed to almost regret disturbing her.
     From the corner, Cory waved a hand in their direction.  "I know, I 
know," she hiccuped.  "Just...give me a second."  After a few moments, 
she got up and stumbled towards them, wiping her face.  "What can we 
do?"
     "Help me cut around the wall so that we can move her with the least 
chance of more blood loss.  Also we need to find some sort of first-aid 
kit.  Her head wound doesn't seem that bad, though we should keep her 
awake.  The wound on her left side is more troubling.  I can't tell how 
deep it is, but that's where the major blood loss is coming from.  
Believe it or not, the impalement wounds are the least of her problems."
     Cory nodded, and began to look around for some sort of cutting 
instrument.
     "I think there's a gun you could adjust the settings on in my old o
office.  Try to see if it survived the damage," Bast said.
     "Thanks," Cory said, and quickly ran out of the room.  Bast looked 
after her with a worried expression.  He then turned back towards Asuka, 
but before he could add anything something slammed into him from behind, 
sending him crashing into the remains of Jimmy's desk.
     He tried to roll with the blow and get back up, but in another 
second hands were around his neck, slowly cutting off his air.  He 
frantically tried to throw them off, but couldn't get anywhere.  
Finally, in one last desperate burst of energy, he managed to throw his 
attacker back across the room before falling back down, gasping for air 
and massaging his throat.
     Looking up, Bast found himself staring at an enraged and tearful 
Rei.  Lazarus held her in a strong armlock, but still she struggled to 
escape, her expression one of fury...The sight of such strong 
emotion...indeed, any emotion on her face sent Bast into a momentary 
stupor, and he stood there while she screamed at him.
     "You bastard!  You knew this would happen!  You set us up!"
     Bast stared at Rei, trying to figure out why she was suddenly 
acting this way.  A look at Lazarus' face, however, showed him he should 
respond to her accusations.
     "I was trying to help you.  But there wasn't much I could do, not 
without calling attention to myself."  He was starting to stammer, 
trying to figure out a way he could put it.  "I tried to do what I 
could, I gave you the information you needed to..."
     Rei cut him off again.  Her voice was so choked with emotion, he 
had trouble making out her words.  "You set it all up!  You KNEW how 
Asuka would react!  You must have known!  And now she's...and I'm..."
     Suddenly Rei seemed to collapse, and Lazarus had to take her in 
both arms to keep her from falling to the floor.  She began to cry, with 
heavy, choking sobs.
     Lazarus looked back towards Bast.  Cory, who had just come back and 
caught the end of the scene, glanced over at him too.
     Bast felt the situation running away from him.  He had known this 
was going to be difficult, but this was getting ridiculous.  Rei an 
emotional wreck?  *Rei*, of all people?
     Aloud, all he said was, "I did not want any of this to happen.  You 
have to believe me."
     Equally calmly, Lazarus replied, "But did you arrange it so it 
could happen?"
     Sebastian got up slowly from the floor.  "No.  But I did know that 
it could."
     For a few moments, no one bothered to say anything.  The only sound 
to be heard was Asuka's low muttering.  Finally Cory moved over to Asuka 
and began cutting through the wall section, talking to her softly 
to try and keep her awake.  Lazarus set Rei down in a corner, where she 
continued to sob, and began to search for a first-aid kit.  Bast sat 
back down in the wreckage and put his head in his hands.
     After ensuring Rei would not try to attack Bast again, Lazarus 
sighed and touched a point near his neck.
     "Gay, come find us."

***

     Cory sat down limply against the inside wall of Gay Deceiver.  
There weren't any seats available.  Asuka was spread out over the back 
seat area, which had been set up for her, and Zeb and Deety were up 
front.  Maureen was next to Asuka, prepping her for emergency surgery.  
Rei was with Lazarus and the twins in one of the bathrooms, while Bast 
occupied the other, being watched by Minerva and Deirdre.
     For a moment, Cory considered asking why a ship this small had two 
huge bathrooms in it, but then decided against it.  She was too tired.  
Not just sleepy tired, but bone tired.  She wanted to go back home, curl 
up on her couch and scream for the next month.  She did _not_ want to 
go back to Boondock and help plan the next phase of this operation.  She 
did not want to listen as everyone decided the best way to kill the 
clone who had ruined her life and had apparently scared Bast to death.  
She did not want to watch as more and more people came back from these 
missions dead or comatose or crippled.
     *It was just as bad the first time,* she thought morosely.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


(note:  continued in Post B. ^_^)

--SG