eins.

[stupidshinji]

[ It takes awhile, getting used to light again, when the last thing Asuka remembers is a dark sky and an even darker sea, sand beneath her back and a wide-eyed Shinji staring at her. But she doesn't awaken to his face, but rather a slew of unfamiliar ones, coming and going, coming and going. She blinks a few times, sits up and instinctively presses a hand to her forehead. Dizzy. She gives herself a few more minutes before trying to rise. Everything is unsteady. Everything is unfamiliar.

She already hates it.

Once she's (relatively) certain of her footing, she hobbles upright, loose bandages wound around her head and arms shifting. Tries to ascertain where she's been taken. She opens her mouth to speak, but no words come out. Her throat feels hoarse. Everything is still fresh in her mind. Unit 02...

Her attention is immediately drawn to the bright ring in the corner of the room, and without even thinking, she steps through it. The world disappears in a flash, replaced by a bustling city. She should be surprised, but isn't. Too tired to care. Dully, her one good eye crawls to the friendly sign posted in front of her. ]

Mac Anu, huh?

[ Answers. That's what she needs. So the next unfortunate soul is getting tripped from behind with an insistent boot shoved into their back as soon as they hit the ground. ]

Hey, you. You're going to answer a few questions for me, got it?

[ She sounds like she means business. Probably not a good idea to argue. ]

Comments

[stupidshinji]

A game?

[ Sorry, Takeshi, but Asuka's more than a little distracted by hearing that, so she doesn't bother listening to the rest. ]

What do you mean, a game? Like a video game? Because that's...

[ ...freakin' crazy. Not that she hadn't seen some crazy things in her time, but she's still skeptical. ]

[lookslikemomo]

Not true? Impossible? Unbelievable? Crazy? Yeah, it's all that. But it's kind of true.

[nnnghgkjg this is so uncomfortable. he's just going to try and wriggle his way out from under her boot while trying to explain.]

See, it's kind of like a super advanced virtual reality thing. Mac Anu- The World works kind of like a game, but we're actually living in it. We get sleepy and hungry and tired. We level up, too! Especially if we participate in quests and events.

[stupidshinji]

[ No dice, amigo. You're not going anywhere until you get the green light from the lady in red, who's side-eyeing all this information hard. Can you blame her, though? She kind of, sort of just died, and woke up to this. ]

"Super advanced reality thing". [ Man, you've really got a way with words. Cue eyeroll. ] Right. So, basically a MMO, from the looks of things.

[lookslikemomo]

[but but but :(]

Yes. Exactly.

Can I, uh, can I get up now? Please?

[stupidshinji]

Hmph.

[ But nothin', mister. But she actually feels kind of sorry for how pathetic you are, so freedom is yours, though she's still hovering close by like a particularly persistent gnat. Or wasp, considering she looks a lot nastier than a gnat. ]

Guess your story's the same as mine, then. Kidnapped out of nowhere to this cheap Chinese knockoff.

[lookslikemomo]

[yessss freedom at last! takeshi slowly gets up and stretches and tries to check if nothing's broken- nope, everything's fine.]

Pretty much everyone you meet here, really. Except the NPCs. You can tell if someone's an NPC if they... don't really answer your question.

[pause.] Kidnap's too strong a word, though. Misplaced, maybe?

[stupidshinji]

I'd call this a step beyond misplacement, honestly.

[ But Asuka doesn't seem up to arguing that particular point, so she just shrugs, glancing obstinately away. Muttering under her breath: ]

At least it's better than what I left behind.

[lookslikemomo]

It's still better than kidnapping!

[so much better than kidnapping. or being chased by gay yakuza members. let's not go into that.]

[stupidshinji]

[ Having difficulty coming up with anything worse than gay yakuza, yeah. ]

Hmph. Aren't we cheery?

[ Asuka eyes him up and down, some of the ferocity fading from her expression. ]

What's your name, kid?

[lookslikemomo]

[there really isn't anything worse...]

Kid..? I'm probably years older than you, you know. [he is twenty...]