Hey all, Here is Part 3 of Alternate Life, if you read
the Prologue then the same stuff applies. Original
Fiction, Original Characters (They really are), and so
forth. Part 4 will be coming in two days
Enjoy
----------------
Alternate Life Part Three
"Okay all, let's try it again." says Jon as he resets
the parameters for the invasion drill, "I want a full
sweep of the complex this time." Mana enters in a new
set of parameters for the drill as Jon sets the start
points up for the computer invasion simulation, "Jon,
where do you want the start point to be this time?"
asks Mana. "Lets give them a surprise, set the
trigger for a ten second delay from the car lift shaft
on Level 7, the start point should be the parking
ramp." he replies. After all has been set, Mana gives
Jon a green light to start when ready. "Mana, start
in 3...2...1..." They both see all but two screens go
into a random display mode inside of the control room.
After the program has set everything up, the drill
begins with a ghost image appearing on the sub-complex
map. Once the little dots get at a certain point, the
base alarms for the sound, signaling that a secured
area has been breached somewhere. Next the computers
show an unauthorized entry into the system. Both Mana
and Jon continue to monitor the progress of the
recovery of both the base and computer from the remote
systems set up around the base. After about five
minutes have passed, Jon notices that there is
something extra going on with one of the Arrays,
"Mana, did you do the nice work on Nexarray 10?" he
asks. "I didn't use Nexarray 10 for this test, Why?"
she replies. "Because I am showing activity for it,
and I didn't use it either, but whatever is going on,
it sure looks real." "Jon, did we turn off the outer
defense by any chance?" "It may have gone down for a
few moments for a recovery verification." "Jon, check
it now, I am reading an unknown port on Board 6." Jon
changes the display to the first firewall of the
system. When the data has loaded, he sees that
something is currently connected to the same lines
being used for the drill, "Mana, run a quick check on
port 19, I don't remember connecting to it." Mana
does a quick check and sees it is not part of the
drill, "Jon, the port has been accessed from the
outside by an unknown location." "Mana, check the
array for what that port is being used for, quick."
She does as instructed and finds that someone is
trying to get into the schematics for the layout of
REISON, "Jon, someone has entered into the schematic
directory!" "Mana do what you can to deny access, I
will set up a feedback trace!" "Got it!" Jon also
places a call to the person closest to the room for
the outside lines, "Armitage, we have an emergency,
sever the computer from the outside lines now!" He
hears the sound of frantic typing as he continues the
trace for the intruder. "Jon, the firewall has been
shutdown, I can't block much longer!" yells Mana.
"Armitage, how is it coming?!" "Jon, I can't turn it
off, the login has been changed!" replies Armitage
over the phone. "Mana, I have an ID, how is the
block?!" "THEY GOT IN!!" "ARMITAGE, TERMINATE THE
ROUTER! NOW!!!" Jon hears the sound of gunfire over
the phone as Armitage terminates the connection the
quickest way she knows, "Done, I am reading a system
failure down here." replies Armitage.
After the system has been reset, Jon heads down to the
outside lines room to meet Armitage about the damage
to the router. 'I hope I can repair it...' As he
enters the room, he can already tell that the router
is a loss. "Why did you shoot it?" "You did say
terminate it." "And you couldn't just pull the plug?"
"Hey, have you seen the mess of wires in there?" "I
have, but if you don't have time to trace it, pull
them all. Well, you did act fast, that I can
respect." "Thanks." she replies sarcastically. Jon
turns and heads to his office where he plans on
ordering a new $600 router, 'DAMNIT!'
Two hours later, everyone has been gathered for the
results of the drills. "Okay all, I have taken a look
at the response times and will say that they are not
exactly up to good standards, but they are good enough
for now until we reconfigure the primary systems. It
was discovered today that we had a real invasion of
the computer system during the last drill where
someone got past the firewall and tried to gather data
on the layout of this facility. I have discovered the
identity of that system, it was done by MIrcle bank
1'. I would like to thank Armitage for her quick
response to the situation today by terminating the
router, though her method wasn't exactly the best
one." says Jon as he turns to Mana, "Mana, could you
update us on what will be done to prevent future
hacks?" "Yes I can. I have decided that for all
future drills, I will be setting up a ghost image in
the system so that anyone trying to gain access will
be directed to a terminated point instead. Our
current status for the outside lines is we have no
access. As soon as the router has been replaced, I
will be able to set up whatever is needed." she
replies. "Good, I look forward to the next report.
Once we have everything set up, Mana and I will begin
to make the necessary modifications to Blue Nexus."
- A L T E R N A T E L I F E -
Somewhere in an unknown location sits a person, this
person sits on the roof of a building, and appears to
be waiting for someone at the moment. On closer
inspection, the person appears to be a person in her
late teens to early twenties. 'Why am I doing this?
What purpose does it really serve to have power? I
should be helping REISON instead of fighting them...'
she closes her eyes and she continues to think. 'Jon
has had it lucky though, I despise him for that.
Maybe I should ask him for help though...he does seem
like a nice person, he could even release me from this
pain...and help provide for Tenkei.' Her thoughts are
finished as she hears the sound of someone approaching
her. "Lori, we were not able to hack into Blue Nexus
for the data required for the invasion." Replies a man
older then Lori. "What prevented it?" she asks.
"They physically severed the link before we could get
to the correct directory." "I want you to do
everything you can to get access, or at least find a
way to get inside." "Yes, ma'am." "Have you found
Tenkei yet?" "Yes, he is at your home right now
sleeping, I posted someone to keep an eye on him."
"Then I will be heading out, make sure you discover
the best location for the nukes to be placed as well."
"Understood."
- A L T E R N A T E L I F E -
"Mana, do we have a connection to SAT-OPS 126 yet?"
asks Jon. "Not yet, I am still reading an error on the
router's output bus." she replies over the phone. Two
days later, Jon has installed the new router and now
he and Mana are working on getting it to work right.
"Let me change the settings again for the bus, I may
have it wrong again." Jon replies as he starts
changing the port setting for the 23rd time that day,
"Okay, give it a try now." "Connecting to router,
connected. Connecting to SAT-OPS 126..." They both
wait a few moments as the system configures itself to
the outside ports again, "Still connecting...done, I
have a connection." "Finally. Now all we need to do
is re-sync the clocks for this place."
An hour later, after all has been reset back to
normal, Jon and Mana begin the reprogramming of Blue
Nexus. On Level 7, everyone else has gathered for a
memorial service for Ami's family. At the head of the
room, Nuku Nuku has begun to give the eulogy,
"Everyone, we have gathered here today to remember
Joe, Betty, and Caitlin Hamstruck. Three people that
had their lives taken before their time was up, and to
help Ami Hamstruck with her pain of losing people that
she loved so dear. These people were her family, a
family that lived life to the end. I know that their
memories will be carried with Ami for a long time
after this day has passed. Ami's family moved here
from the city of Hudson, Wisconsin. They moved here
to start a family, a family that was loved back with
just as much love as they gave. We will miss them,
just as much as Ami will, though, I feel she will miss
them the most. Ami, you may proceed with the honoring
of the dead." Ami stands up, wiping tears from her
eyes as she moves to the front of the room next to
Nuku. "Mother, father, sister, I am unsure if you can
here me right now, but I want you to know that you
were a good family to me, one that I will miss dearly.
I hope that you are happy where you are now, I know
many others here that will miss you as well. I will
not choose to seek revenge for your deaths, instead I
will let whatever happens happen, fate will do it's
job in whatever way it will. Goodbye, mom, dad, and
sis..." she turns and cries into Nuku's shoulder as
she is lead back to her spot next to Junta. "Ami, I
want you to know now that we will always be here for
you, Junta especially." says Nuku as she walks back to
the front, "Now, I would like us to bow our heads in
silence as we conclude this memorial service."
Everyone closes their eyes and bows their heads as the
service draws to a close. After a minute has passed,
all but Nuku, Junta, and Ami return to their normal
activities down in REISON. "Ami, I talked to Junta's
parents this morning, they have stated that they will
not be able to take you in at this time, but they have
agreed to let both you and Junta stay at my place for
a while until thing have gotten better. Jon and Rei
will be sleeping here for a while so that you both
don't have to sleep on the couch, I will be moving
into Rei's room as well." says Nuku. "Are you sure it
isn't a problem, Nuku?" asks Junta. "Very sure, you
both need some time together right now, and with the
upgrades being done here, it's the perfect way to keep
you both together." "Thanks...for helping out."
"Junta, Jon was right, you both are meant for each
other..." Junta produces a nice smile as Nuku heads
to the door, "I will leave you both alone so you may
talk in private, you know how to reach us until it's
time to go to the burial service..."
Nuku heads down to the control room to check up on
what is happening. Once she has arrived she sees that
everything has been taken offline for reprogramming.
"Nuku, you did a great job for the service. We turned
on the monitoring systems for that room so we would
not miss out on anything." says Jon as the screen in
front of him starts flickering with data. "Jon, are
you sure it's a good idea to take the defenses
offline?" she asks. "Nuku, I severed the links to the
arrays before turning off the defenses." replies Mana.
"But what if we have someone try to open the doors,
or have a fire?" "The critical systems will remain on,
we put a safe-guard in before upgrades started." "Then
I guess everything is fine, but how do we get out."
"The system will be up again before the service, I am
waiting for the compiler to finish now." replies Jon.
"I will be in my office then, call me when everything
is back on." "Nuku, just listen for the master alarm."
"Why?" "Because the sensors get restored last."
- A L T E R N A T E L I F E -
The next day, somewhere in the city, Lori is driving
to the next site that is supposed to hold a family
belonging to a member of REISON. Little does she
know, all the families have been moved to more secure
locations. "Tenkei, you know what to do, I will meet
you back at DAMNATION." The back door opens, then
closes a few moments later before she drives off. As
she rounds the corner, she places a call to DAMNATION,
"I want you to make sure Tenkei gets back safely."
She hangs up the phone and heads to the best spot to
watch the fireworks from. Once she has arrived, she
parks the car and walks to the spot on the hill she
comes to once in a while to think. 'Tenkei, he is so
young for this kind of work, why do I force this on
him? Have I become like my parents?' She hears the
sound of something exploding in the distance as she
turns her head and sees a fireball rising into the
sky. 'I hate doing this...'
- A L T E R N A T E L I F E -
After the burial service has ended, Ami and Junta walk
back to the car Jon is waiting in and climb in. "Ami,
you know that everyone wanted to attend this service,
but I had to pull a Yellow-4 after Junta's house was
blown up..." says Jon. "Jon, I understand. I don't
want others to suffer like I have this week." Ami
replies. "Junta, I will be dropping you off at your
house so that you may try to salvage anything that is
still intact, Ritsuko is there right now and will help
you out in any way needed." "Understood. What about
Ami?" he asks. "I will bring her back to base with
me."
After Junta has been dropped off, Jon and Ami head in
the direction of a park nearby. "Ami, I think it is
time for us to talk..." says Jon as he pulls into a
parking spot. "About what?" she asks. "Ami, I know
you love Junta a lot, but you need to open up a bit
more right now. Let's go for a walk." They both exit
the car and begin to walk to a hill. "Ami, you know
about Nuku, don't you." "No, not really." "Ami, I can
tell when you are trying to lie to me." "How?" "Ami, I
know how you feel right now, you don't need to hide
that from me, or the fact that you know about Nuku..."
"Jon..." "Ami...please, don't hide the pain..."
"Jon...I miss them. Why did they have to be
killed?.." "Ami...I know that you miss them, we all
will, but you will the most, just like Nuku stated...I
am partly responsible as well..." "Jon?.." "I could
have tried to protect everyone better...but because I
try to limit the knowledge of REISON's existence, they
died!" Jon slams a fist into a tree nearby. "Jon...I
don't blame you, and I don't want you to blame
yourself either..." "Ami....I need to sit for a short
while." They both find a bench and sit down. "Jon,
please don't do this..." "Ami...I'm sorry..." "Are you
worried about Nuku?" "I am...I don't know what to do."
He starts to shed a few tears as they both sit there.
"Jon...please don't do this to yourself, I know that
you are stronger then this." "Ami, I didn't want
anyone else to know how I feel really..." "Jon...I
didn't know..." "Ami, you are the only one that really
knows how I feel, I don't want Nuku to die." "I will
help you the same way you have helped me." "Thank you,
Ami..." They both pause for a few moments before she
starts to cry, "Jon, I want my family back." He wraps
an arm around her shoulder and pulls her closer to
him, "Ami, you just let it all out...I want to cry as
well...but you are hurting more right now..."
- A L T E R N A T E L I F E -
That evening, after Jon and Ami has come back,
everyone has gathered to watch some television at the
base. "About time they sent those supplies to
Cleveland." comments Ritsuko. "Why, doesn't Cleveland
have a stable health system?" asks Yohko. "Baka, they
don't have enough medical supplies." replies Asuka.
"Asuka, that's not really true, they lack the ability
to use the ones they still have, so they have better
ones coming in now." replies Ritsuko. "They have aid
coming as well, right?" asks Kaji. "Correct. The aid
will be teaching others how to use the supplies." she
replies. "Well, I don't see..." Jon stops talking as
the television starts to flicker some and a test
pattern replaces the news, then the image of an
announcer appears, "We interrupt this program to bring
you a special announcement. We have received word
that the city of Hudson, Wisconsin has been bombed by
military personal due to a system malfunction with the
military weapons systems outside of the city, we have
confirmed that the city was totally destroyed one hour
ago..." Jon quickly turns off the television as Ami
sheds a few tears, "Nuku, get her out of here, fast!"
"Yes Jon." Nuku hurries Ami out of the room while Jon
falls back into his spot in his chair, "This is not
good..." "Jon, what's going on?" asks Junta. "Junta,
Ami just lost the rest of her family, her grandfather
was living in Hudson. Also, this confirms that we are
being hunted down, I leaked a small amount of false
info stating that our families had been moved to
Hudson. But I didn't expect the city to be
destroyed..." replies Jon. "Jon, are we about to
die?" asks Junta. "I don't know..."
Out in the hallway, Nuku is doing her best to comfort
Ami as she cries many more tears. "Ami, we never
thought this would happen...Jon didn't want you to
suffer more..." "I know......but I can't take this
anymore..." "Ami, I want you to know that Jon is going
to do everything he can for you." "Thank you, Nuku..."
An hour later, everyone has headed out for the night
and the only two that remain are Rei and Jon down in
the sub-complex. "Brother, why is it we are being
hunted down?" asks Rei. " Because we are the ones
that are in DAMNATION's way right now." he replies.
"Then why don't we hunt them down? We have the
ability." "Because we would lose then." "Jon!" "Rei,
there is nothing we can do!" he collapses into a chair
nearby and begins to cry. "Jon, what is it you are
fearing right now?" "Rei, I don't want to lose Nuku in
this way. I don't want more people to die because of
us. I don't want Ami to be hurt anymore then she has
been..." "I think I understand..." "I see everything
falling apart here, and I hate it!" Jon's voice can
be heard echoing throughout the base.
"Jon...brother...father, you are doing the best you
can, you didn't know that everything would fall apart,
stop blaming yourself for all of this!" Rei leaves
the room and goes for some fresh air outside, leaving
Jon to think about everything. 'How can I protect
everyone when I can't even find the source of the
problem. How can I even do my job if I can't do what
is required...' he gets up and walks to the control
room where he begins doing a search for all possible
leads to DAMNATION's leader, when he changes his mind
and decides to search for Rei's parents instead. As
he is searching, he misses the message being displayed
on the monitor across from him. About an hour later,
Jon has tracked down many leads to their whereabouts
and decides to place a call to South America, "Hello,
I am searching for a Ms. Tammy Goldberg or a Mr. Tom
Goldberg, do you know if they are available? I can
hold." 'At least I can do my best to track down Rei's
parents...' Jon waits a few moments more before he
gets a reply, "Tammy Goldburg?" "Yes?" "Do you know
who this is?" "The voice sounds familiar..." "Jon
Lindquist, in Minneapolis." "Jon? Is it really you?"
"Yes." "My god, how are you?" "Doing good. And
yourself?" "We are good too." "Tammy, do you know why
I have called you?" "Does it concern Rei?" "Yes, we
have been searching for you two for a few years now.
Rei wishes to meet you both here if it's possible..."
"But we can't afford to leave right now." "Well, if
you need money, I can help with that part. I just
think you need to come see your daughter, and tell her
why you left her with my family..." "Jon...Okay, we
will come, I will send you the details for our flight
path soon, but lets keep this a surprise for now." "I
agree." "So how are your parents?" "They are good.
They moved out few years ago and my girlfriend moved
in with Rei and me. We have picked up where you left
off..." "Jon...your not serious..." "I am. But as of
late, I find that I am beginning to hate it, all the
killings we have done have helped some. But recently
one member here has lost her whole family...she is in
a lot of pain right now." "Jon, it comes with the job.
We decided that it was best to get out before Rei was
killed." "Well, Rei has taken her hits but lived each
time. I have always made sure of that." "You keep her
alive now, you hear?" "You have my word, and when you
send the details, use your coding methods, that way no
one will know about this, and I will give you a call
when I confirm everything." "Sounds good, bye." "Bye."
He ends the call moments before the door opens.
"Jon, I think you should take some time off for a
short while, you seem really stressed out right now."
says Rei. "Rei, have no fear, I will be fine, It's
just the recent events that have created a few
problems." he replies. "I hope so..."
- A L T E R N A T E L I F E -
At the house that normally holds OPERATIONS 0,
everyone seems to be turning in for the night. "Ami,
Junta, don't forget to just ask if you need anything,
I will be a few rooms down." says Nuku right before
she disappears from the room. "Hai, Nuku." replies
Junta before walking over to the bed where Ami
currently sits, "Ami, are you going to be all right?"
he asks. "I will be fine, I just want to go to
sleep..." "I can understand that. I will talk to you
in the morning then." They lay back onto the bed and
prepare to drift off to sleep.
At about 3:00h Junta is slightly awoken by the bed
moving, "Sister, go back to sleep..." he sheepishly
replies, but little does he know, it's not really his
sister but Ami getting ready to take a walk.
The next morning, Junta is just waking up. "NUKU
NUKU!" yells Junta as he sees something out of place.
"What is it?!" she calls from the end of the hallway.
"AMI IS GONE!" "WHAT?!"
- A L T E R N A T E L I F E -
A few hours later at REISON, everyone has been
gathered for an emergency meeting concerning Ami's
disappearance. "Okay all, everyone knows the
situation, Ami has disappeared as of last night, she
may be suicidal right now due to the recent events. I
want a full sweep of the city. You will all be paired
up into teams of two. Armitage and Kaji will take the
eastern and northeastern sections. Asuka and Shinji
will take Ami's favorite spots on the north end.
Junta and Nuku will take the northern and northwestern
sections. Karin and Ritsuko will take the inner city.
Kei and Yuri will take Ami's favorite spots on the
south end. Mana and Yohko will stay here and
coordinate. Misato and Nagisa will take the western
and southwestern sections. Shinji and Yui will take
the southern and southeastern sections. I will be a
runner for the whole city, if you find here and need
help, I will be the one to assist. Does everyone
understand?" "Hai." replies everyone as they head off
to their destinations. "Nuku, can you take the van
instead?" "I guess, why?" "I feel like just taking the
car is all..." "I...I understand." "Thanks..."
Now, a few hours later, Jon has arrived at the same
park he brought Ami to the day before. "Yohko, any
word yet?" asks Jon into the phone. "Sorry Jon, no
word yet..." is the reply he gets. "Understood, I
will be at Hamshire Park if I am needed." He ends the
call and walks in the direction of his favorite hill,
'How could I have let this happen...I should have been
more careful!..' He continues walking just as he
notices a person sitting in the same spot he usually
does, "Ami?" he calls out. "How did you find me?.."
"Pure luck." "Ohh..." Jon takes out his phone and
places a call back to base, "Yohko, I found her, call
off the search." He hangs up the phone and sits down
next to her, "You had us all worried...Why did you
run?" he quietly asks. "I just needed some time to
myself..." she replies in the same tone of voice.
"Ami...come here..." He reaches for her and gives her
a hug, "If you need some time alone, just tell us...I
thought you may have died. You can always depend on
us to help you out in whatever way needed." Ami nods
right before she sees someone that she has seen before
and gasps, "Jon, look!" He turns around and looks in
the direction Ami is pointing in. "Ami, I don't see
anything." "I saw this small boy that looks familiar,
like from one of those small pictures in your office
of that girl." "What? Can't be, Lori doesn't have a
son..."
- A L T E R N A T E L I F E -
Hours later, back at the base known as REISON, Jon and
Rei remain for the late night stay. "Rei, remember
that child that aided in the bombing of Yui's place?"
"Some, why?" "Ami has seem him." "Where?" "In the park
today, she saw him for a brief moment. Can you do me
a favor and find out what you can about Lori's past?"
"I will see what I can uncover." Rei heads down to
her office as Jon checks for a few messages in his
box, -You have one encoded message.- "I hope these
are the details I have been waiting for..."
Up on the surface, located in the suburbs, Yuri and
Kei have arrived at Yuri's house. Kei's place was
blown up due to the possibility of someone finding out
that she did not die. "Yuri, I need to get in there!
I gotta pee!" "Wait a moment!" "Yuri, you have two
options here. Either I go out here, or you let me
in." Yuri thinks for a few moments before unlocking
the door, allowing Kei to rush inside. "What took you
so long!" "Well, I do like privacy." "Yuri, if a
person has to go badly, its best to let them in."
"Whatever..."
"Asuka, why do I have to sleep with you?" "Because I
don't want to have you come and wake me up during the
night because you are lonely, baka." At the house of
Asuka Clemens, The two children are working out the
sleeping arrangements for the night. "Asuka, the bed
isn't big enough for both of us." "Yes it is, trust
me, I know my own bed." Shinji doesn't know whether
to trust her sly smile or not, but feels that if he
wants to get some sleep, it's best to listen, "Fine, I
will sleep with you on the bed..." "YEY!"
In the heart of the city, Ritsuko and Yui have just
arrived at Ritsuko's place for the night. "Welcome to
my home, Yui. The bathroom is on the left, spare room
on the right." "Thanks for taking me in, Ritsuko."
"Hey, I am not about to let you suffer. I had the
room too." "Well, I am sure that I could have found
another place..." "Nonsense, you can stay here as long
as needed, Yui."
At the house of Misato and Kaji, the members are
winding down from a long day, about ready to turn in.
"Misato, did you go shopping today?" asks Kaji. "No,
everything has been a mess as of late, so I have not
had time, sorry." Misato replies. "It's okay, I am
sure you will have a chance to tomorrow." "I promise
that I will do it tomorrow right after I drop off
Asuka, Shinji, and Yuri at school." They both climb
into bed, kiss goodnight, and head off to sleep.
Back in the city, two people are planning their night
out. "Nagisa, I hope you don't mind me studying
tonight for school tomorrow, I have just been too busy
as of late to study." says Mana as she sets a few
books on the kitchen table. "Go ahead Mana, you know
that I am used to it by now." replies Nagisa as she
enters her room to go to sleep, "Just don't make too
much noise, and if you stay up all night, be sure to
wake me at 6:00h." "Will do."
Back at the house of OPERATIONS 0, the final words are
being said for the night. "Ami, are you sure you will
be fine tonight, I can sleep on the couch if you
want." asks Nuku Nuku. "I will be fine, I just want
to go to sleep tonight..." replies Ami as she lies
down next to Junta. "Junta, Ami, sweet dreams, I will
be bringing you both to school tomorrow, I will talk
to the school about the situation we are under as
well, so don't worry. The only thing is I would like
you both up at 6:00h so that you will have plenty of
time to get ready. Okay?" "Okay, Nuku." both Ami and
Junta reply.
Somewhere in an unknown location in the city, the head
of DAMNATION is getting ready to put the night's plan
into effect. "Okay, here is the plan. Use Mircle
bank 2 to send a warning to REISON about our attacks,
this should distract them enough to allow us to move
the first warhead into position. If any of them die,
then all the better." says Lori to the members of
DAMNATION, "The attacks will start 15 minutes after
the warning is sent. Understood?" She sees everyone
nod as they head to their positions.
Five minutes later, Rei is awoken by the sound of her
terminal beeping in her office, "Wha?.." She allows
her eyes to focus a bit before she sees a priority
message displayed on the screen. -MEMBERS OF REISON,
YOU HAVE BEEN TARGETED FOR AN ATTACK BY Mircle. YOU
HAVE 15 MINUTES TO ALERT ALL AFFECTED MEMBERS
DISPLAYED ON THE MAP PROVIDED.- Rei sees that the
message just came and that the map has the location of
Asuka's, Ritsuko's, Kaji's, Mana's, and Yuri's places
listed on it. She immediately panics and puts a Code
Red-3 into effect, sounding the base alarm. Next she
looks up the number for Yuri and places the call.
Kei and Yuri are both awoken by the sound of the phone
ringing. Since Kei just falls back to sleep, Yuri
grabs for the phone and answers it, "Hello?.." she
sheepishly answers. "YURI, GET OUT OF THE HOUSE,
BOMB!!" yells Rei over the phone. "Say that again?"
"I said your house is about to blow up. GET OUT NOW!"
Yuri doesn't hear the last part as she grabs Kei and
rushes her out of the house fast. "Yuri, what are you
doing?.." "Kei, shut up. Just SHUT UP, AND MOVE!!"
They both get out of the house moments before a small
missile is launched.
Asuka hears the phone ring as she walks down the hall
to the table it sits on, "Hello, Clemens residence,
Asuka speaking." says Asuka into the phone. "Asuka,
its Rei. Possible bomb in your house, GET OUT!!"
replies Rei. Asuka drops the phone and runs back to
her room to wake Shinji, "Shinji, WAKE UP! We have to
get out!" "Wha?.. Asuka, let me sle..." Asuka
doesn't give up so easily, she sees that Shinji is
near the edge of the bed and gives him a push, causing
him to hit the floor hard. "Hey! What was that
for?!" "We have to get out of the house NOW!" They
both start running down the stairs and out the door as
they spot a launcher across the street.
With seven minutes left, Rei hears Jon enter has Rei
places a call to Misato and Kaji's place. "Rei, why
the Red-3?" "Read the message!" She points to the
screen as she gets a busy tone from the phone,
"DAMNIT, I can't get through to Kaji's. The phone
must be off the hook!" Jon finishes reading the
screen and takes his phone out to call home. "Rei,
you call Ritsuko and tell her to clear her place fast,
I will get Nuku to alert Kaji."
Ritsuko is startled awake as the phone begins to ring
next to her bed, "Hello?.." she replies. "Ritsuko,
wake Yui and get out of the apartment, clear your
neighbors as well, bomb." Ritsuko instantly is out of
bed and pulling Yui out of the apartment. "Ritsuko,
what's wrong?" asks Yui. "Bomb, my place, get out!"
They both run to the stairs as Ritsuko pulls the
alarm.
Mana is startled by the sound of the phone ringing
this late at night, but just so she doesn't wake her
roommate, she brings the phone outside and answers it,
"Hello?" "Mana, you and Nagisa need to get out of the
house fast, there is a bomb somewhere. You have very
little time!" says Rei over the phone right before
Mana runs in and drags Nagisa out of bed. "Mana, what
are..." "No time to explain, lets go!" They hurry out
of the house just as an object starts to come towards
them.
Nuku is awoken by the sound of her phone ringing,
"Hello, this is Nuku." "Nuku, you don't have much
time, get Misato and Kaji out of their house. You
have three minutes. BOMB!" Nuku quickly tosses the
phone aside and grabs her high powered rifle next to
her, along with a special canister used for sending
messages in the event backup is needed, along with a
sheet of paper and a pen. She quickly writes three
words down and shoves in into a tube as she runs out
the front door. Once she is in position, she fires
many rounds at her target and then fires the canister
as well. About a minute later, she hears the rumble
of other bombs going off as she sees a streak of light
slam into its target and the bright flash of something
blowing up. It isn't until a minutes later that she
sees a flare shot into the air to symbolize that
Misato and Kaji made it out safely.
- A L T E R N A T E L I F E -
"Wow, I am sorry for the rude awakenings tonight
everyone. We had a message sent here fifteen minutes
prior to the hits and did our best to alert you in
time." reports Jon as he looks around the room at
everyone who has been forced out of their homes this
night. "Jon, who sent the message?" asks Nuku. "The
message was sent here directly by Mircle as stated in
the report. I have asked that Rei contact our other
three remaining members to see if they can take some
of you in for the night, I know that you don't want to
sleep down here right now." Jon hears the door open
and turns to see Rei walk in and take a seat. "Rei,
How are the arrangements going?" "I have contacted
Armitage, Karin, and Yohko. They have agreed to take
in a few people for the night. I have made up the
assignments already as well. Kei, Mana, and Ritsuko
will stay with Armitage. Nagisa, Jon, and I will be
staying with Nuku, Ami, and Junta. Asuka, Shinji, and
Yui will stay with Karin. Misato, Kaji, and Yuri will
stay with Yohko. This is just until we are able to do
a salvage of everything tomorrow afternoon." "Good
job, Rei. Nuku, what about the news on the injuries
at Ritsuko's place?" "I called Tech 2 and had him find
out all he could for us on the extent of the injuries.
Tech 2 reported that one person is listed in
critical, two people are in good condition, and one
person suffered a concussion during evacuation, the
other 12 injuries were able to be treated on site."
"Good, we had no fatalities in the building." "At this
point, yes." "Then, I say we get out of here and get
some sleep, we have a long day tomorrow. I will place
a call to the school in the morning and tell them that
none of us will be going in. This meeting is
concluded."
- A L T E R N A T E L I F E -
Minutes later, Nagisa, Nuku, Rei, and Jon have arrived
back at the house to catch whatever sleep they can.
Once they are inside, they see that Junta and Ami are
still sleeping and decide to let them be as Nuku
closes the door so they don't get woken up. "Okay, I
think the best way to do this is to have Rei and
Nagisa sleep in Rei's room tonight, Nuku, you can take
the couch, and I will take the floor." "Jon, why is it
you have to get shafted? For once you get the couch."
says Nuku. "Nuku, I don't mind the floor." "I say
that for once I will sleep on the floor, you have had
a more hectic day then me. No exceptions!" "But..."
"Jon." "Brother." says Rei. Jon looks at Nagisa and
sees that she is ready to agree with the others.
"Dang, I got totally defeated..." "Jon, you suffer on
the floor enough as it is, it's my turn now."
- A L T E R N A T E L I F E -
The next morning, Ami, has awoken and begun to cook
breakfast for everyone after finding out no one will
be going to school today. As to why she is cooking
breakfast, she has thought about all that has happened
within the last week and thought about returning the
favor to her current housemates. After a half hour
has passed, she hears the sound of footsteps coming
from outside the kitchen as she brings the food over
to the table, just in time to see everyone else walk
into the kitchen, still sleepy from last night.
"Morning everyone. I hope you are hungry." calls Ami
from the table. "Ami?" replies Junta. "You have all
been so nice to me as of late that I thought I should
return the favor. I also placed calls to Armitage,
Karin, and Yohko and they will be doing the same thing
I am right now pretty soon for the people staying with
them." "Ami...I don't know what to say..." says Jon.
"You don't have to say anything, I wanted to do this
for all of you." "Well, I don't know about everyone
else, but I sure am hungry." says Nagisa as she walks
over to the table. "Come on in, I made enough for
all."
After everyone has been gathered back at the base, the
day's plan is laid in front of everyone. "Okay,
before we start, I just want to thank Ami, Armitage,
Karin, and Yohko for the meals they made for everyone
this morning, I am sure everyone has had enough to eat
as a result. Now, on to the salvage plan, I am going
to have everyone affected go to their houses to try
and recover anything they can. Yohko, Karin,
Armitage, and Nuku will stay here and prepare to
receive salvaged stuff. Rei and Ami will be on watch
here. Junta and I will be in the van for anything
that you can't get into a car. Otherwise Yui will
help Mana and Nagisa salvage what they can, Ritsuko
will go to her place and recover what she can and
assist Asuka with her salvage, and Misato and Kaji
will take their place as well as help Yuri out.
Everyone else is to assist with finding the location
of DAMNATION. You all know what to do, I will leave
you to it. Good luck"
Minutes later in the van, Jon and Junta have just left
the base. "Junta, do you think Ami is going to be
okay?" asks Jon once he has pulled into traffic.
"Well, I not sure, personally I think we all need a
vacation..." replies Junta as he pulls out a map.
"Junta, I couldn't agree with you more." Jon takes
out a sheet of paper and hands it to Junta, "Junta,
this is the place that we may all head to pretty soon
if things get worse. I want you to find this address
on the map so we can visit it next." "Umm...okay."
"Junta...I do have a question for you, what do you
think our chances of living another week are at this
point?" "Jon?" "I'm sorry...it's just that, I have a
really bad feeling about this situation." "I see..."
"Did you find the address yet, I know it's out in the
rural areas." Junta opens up the map and begins to
study it, "Umm...give me a few moments." He traces his
finger across the map until he comes to the right
point, "Found it." "Then lead the way..."
About an hour later, they have pulled into the
driveway of a small house. "Junta, this is the place
we will come to if things don't improve soon, you like
it?" "Jon, isn't this place a little small?" "What do
you expect for free, I asked a friend if they had a
place I could bring a few people to if needed, and
they said I could use their place." "I guess we can
all fit, if it's just for a short while..." They both
get out of the van and walk into the house to take a
look inside. As they enter, they see that it's a
little bigger then they thought, "Hmm...you think we
will have enough room now?" says Jon. "Heh...I think
so..." replies Junta. They both continue to stare at
the wide-open interior of the house as they walk down
the stairs to what may be considered a basement. "I
must say, this is very impressive. I wonder why this
person doesn't live here?" comments Junta. "Hmm...that
is a good question..." replies Jon.
After about an hours time, both Jon and Junta head out
of the house and head back to the van when Jon takes a
few moments to take in the view of the city, "Wow, you
get a good view from out here..." He waits a few
moments longer before he climbs in and drives back to
the city.
- A L T E R N A T E L I F E -
Back at REISON, Ami and Rei are using SAT-OPS 126 to
do another scan of the city, when Rei sees a message
pop up concerning the data she requested, "Ami, can
you run the name Goll through US ARC?" "Sure." Ami
enters in a few keystrokes as she sends the data to
the main screens, "I have some data concerning that
name. Goll is the last name of the German scientist
that did the assassination attempt on JFK back in
1963, born in the US, died in prison in 1990, the Goll
family moved out of the US in 1995 and came back in
2005, records stop at July 2005." "I have the data
already for after that time. The family was part of
the attacks a few years back, most of the family went
to prison, but one member disappeared before they were
able to be arrested, I am missing some data here, the
only other records I have are for Lori Goll concerning
college registration." "It looks like the missing data
is encoded, I think I know how to decode it too. I
have seen this method before." While Ami works on the
file, Rei goes back to the scans of the city.
An hour later, everyone has gathered in the dining
area for a special dinner. "Everyone, I am glad that
everything went well today. I hear that everyone was
able to grab some priceless things from the attacks
last night, and that we are ready to move everyone
down here when the time comes." announces Nuku Nuku,
"If everything goes as planned we have a small outing
planned for the next few days. Jon has the details on
that. But the reason we are here at this table
tonight is to just enjoy each others company and have
fun." "Nuku, What is on the menu for tonight's
dinner?" asks Jon. "Jon, I am not the one to ask
about that, I didn't help out with it, but Kei and
Shinji, our chefs, do know." Nuku addresses the two
members sitting off to her left, "What did you prepare
for us?" "Everyone. As a few of you know, the kitchen
was off limits for a while today so we could cook up
the surprise." says Kei. "Each time one of us left
the kitchen, we heard some of you talking about what
we were making. I heard pizza, potatoes, soup, and
burgers." says Shinji. "But, none of you were
correct, but pizza was close." "Here is a hint,
noodles." Everyone else begins to think about what it
could be, but only one person speaks up, "Is it
spaghetti?" asks Karin. "Good guess, you will get to
start the line for dinner, I made lots of it so take
as much as you want everyone." replies Shinji. "But
be sure to save room for dessert cause I made a nice
treat for you all." adds Kei.
Hours later, after everyone has finished eating, most
of REISON has turned in for the night, but the few
that remain up are either working on decoding stuff,
or taking a walk outside. For the few that have
chosen to walk, a few things are being revealed.
"Nuku, I think it's time we talked some..." says Jon
as they both walk along the riverfront, "I was given
some bad news recently concerning you." "Jon, what's
the matter?" "Nuku, Asst. Tech delivered some bad news
to me recently, it was about you..." he finds that he
is starting to become weak in the knees and sits down
on the closest bench, "Hunny, you have brain
cancer..." "Jon?.." He doesn't look at her as he
sheds a tear. She moves a little closer to him and
puts her arm around his waist, "Jon...please don't
cry, I don't think you really need to cry. We have
had a few years together now, and I have enjoyed them,
ever since I met you that day you lost track of Rei in
that store. You and I new that we had something
special then, and we still do, I don't want you to
feel sad..." "But I don't want to lose you like
this..." "Jon, do you remember what Yui said when she
joined us in the hot-tub?" He takes a few moments to
think about it before replying, "Yes, she wanted to
know if I was willing to sacrifice you for REISON."
"Well, you said that you were ready for that day, but
are you really ready to let me go if needed?" "But
that is different, I wouldn't be sacrificing you, you
would fade out..." Nuku raises her hand and slaps Jon
hard, "FOOL! As long as other remember me, I will
NEVER fade out!" Jon falls off the bench from the
blow, "Nuku?.." "Jon, I don't EVER want you to say
that again! You and Rei are my family, the only
family I have ever known!" She begins to shed tears as
she continues, "You are my only family...I love you
both. Hearing you talking about me fading away really
hurts deep down...as if you don't really care..."
"Nuku...I didn't mean it like that..." "Then what did
you mean?!" Jon gets back onto the bench and looks
into Nuku's eyes, "...I love you a lot, seeing you die
off something that can not be controlled hurts...I
DON'T WANT TO LOSE YOU!!" Everything seems to freeze
in place the moment Jon finishes. "Jon...I...I don't
want to die either...but if I do die, I want you to
know that you kept me happy while I was alive...even
with all the killings that we did..." "Nuku..."
"Jon...I know why you did it...I just wanted you to
know that I was happy." They both sit on the bench as
they cry and enjoy each other's company.
- A L T E R N A T E L I F E -
Little do Nuku and Jon know, they have had bugs
planted on them by Rei and Nagisa, the two girls sit
in Rei's office and listen to the conversation as Ami
walks in, "Rei, I found out bits of the missing info.
According to what I have gathered, a police report was
filed a few years ago concerning Lori, she was brought
to a hospital after she was found beaten and raped in
an alley. I am unsure what happened after that, but I
do have a feeling that she may have given birth since
I was not able to find any records stating she aborted
the fetus. I was also able to determine that she is
the daughter of the Beth and Larry Goll, the family
members that ended up in prison. The rest of the file
is too messed up to read." "Did you find any records
of a possible birth at all?" "No, but she could have
given birth outside of the hospital, she has the
knowledge to give birth on her own." "We would have
seen something proving that she had a child she did."
"One more thing, but I don't know if it helps any. I
did a bit of digging and found that she may have done
a rescue operation for a child about 9 months ago, she
was said to have been nearby when a factory blew up
during the same time period." "Rescue mission?" "I
can't get any more info on it." "Good job Ami."
After Jon and Nuku have returned back to the base, Rei
calls Jon to her office to go over all the data she
has found, "Jon, I had Ami assist me some in finding
out as much as I could about Lori. She is related to
the scientist that tried to kill JFK, parents are in
prison, and it's possible she has a child." reports
Rei. "Are you sure about the last one?" "No, all we
know is that she was raped a few years ago according
to a police report." "Raped?" "That is what Ami said."
Jon takes a few moments to take in the info and is
still confused on a few things, but sits Rei down now
and pulls out a sheet of paper, "Rei, thanks for the
info. Now, I have some good news for you. I found
your parents." Rei's face instantly lights up at the
news, "What?" "I found them, they are coming here
tomorrow to meet you at the airport, I guess that it
has been deemed safe for them to return once again for
a short stay." "Jon, thank you, thank you!" Rei gets
up and hugs Jon nice and tight. "You are welcome,
Rei. We leave here at 10:00h to meet the flight.
During that time, everyone else will be going to the
house that I took a look at today. I am going to put
this place on lockdown for a while. Until everything
has quieted down. Now, since I would like to get up
early tomorrow to load the remote systems into the
van, I will be going to sleep now." "I will join you
shortly, I just want to pick something nice to where
for tomorrow." They both hug each other and part for
the night, having no idea how much hell tomorrow will
bring them.
T O B E C O N T I N U E D . . .
----------------
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