They didn't know she existed? But how? They were laughing together just yesterday!
"Let me explain." Professor Aruno gave Otacross a nod and the latter waved his stick in the air again. A hologram appeared between them. "You see, thanks to the current crisis, not only has worlds began to merge, but the walls between the different timelines had begun to thin as well. That allowed me to pull you two away from yours."
"So it's not that the people were disappearing in our timeline, it's that you pulled us into the dimension that's already in crisis." Kimiko theorized. "And the black box you put us in is just to make transporting us here easier for you."
"Exactly." He turned to the other blonde. "You see, Eva. The Ban, Hiro, Ran, Jin and all the others that you see before you right now are from a different timeline. One where you don't exist in."
She felt her chest twist.
"The same goes for Kimiko. The Tenma, Tsurugi, Shindou, even the Fei and Wandaba, and the rest of Shinsei Inazuma Japan that are here right now-"
"Aren't the ones I know in my timeline." She crossed her arms. "Yeah. That was pretty clear. Fei and Wandaba are pretty surprising, but then again, they aren't warping beings like you are."
Hiro turned to the professor. "So then, Eva is from our world..."
"... While Kimiko is from ours." Tenma finished.
"One more question, professor." Kimiko raised her hand up, only continuing when he nodded. "Why do Eva and I look so much alike?"
Eva turned to stare at her again. Now that they were in a better lighting, she was able to see her features clearer. Their facial structures were very similar. Aside their outfits, the only things different about them were their eye colors. Hers were red, Kimiko's are purple. That, and Kimiko has pink streaks in her hair.
"It's interesting, isn't it?" He smiled. "You two are like parallel twins! Only you're from roughly two hundred years in the future, while she is, as of this moment, a year older than you! Isn't time just fascinating?"
"Sure..." If by 'fascinating', you mean 'confusing' then...
"Anyway, now that that's aside, shall I catch you both up to speed with what is currently happening?" Professor Aruno offered. "Ban, Hiro, Tenma, and the others can get on to doing what they were going to do before all this."
"Oh, right. We'll go on ahead then." Tenma waved at them with a smile. "Eva, Kimiko, when you're ready, we'd like to get to know you both better."
"And your timelines too!" Ban chimed in.
Kimiko waved and Eva gave them a nod. They walked off in separate directions.
~~~~~
"Whoa! It's alive! So cute!" Tenma, Shinsuke, Kariya, and Aoi watched as the tiny robot moved across the table.
"This is an LBX." Hiro explained.
"LBX..."
"This one's my favorite." He made it pose. "Ikaros Force!"
"Whoa!"
"So these LBXs are popular in Hiro's world?" Aoi asked.
"Yes, very popular." Ami and Kazu stood back as their rookie friend continue to rile them into their hobby.
"And that is?" Shinsuke pointed at the phone-like device he's holding.
"Ah," He showed them the front side. There were more buttons on it than on a regular phone. "This is a CCM. You use it to control the LBX."
"This looks super fun, Tenma!"
"Yeah!"
"Want to try?" As soon as he offered, a bunch of the other soccer players came and swarmed him.
Tenma got the controls last. "Um... Maybe like this...?" He pressed on a few buttons and Ikaros Force began to move unnaturally. It bounced around and did a twirl before falling off the table. "Ah! Uh... Sorry..."
Hiro chuckled. "It's fine..."
~~~~~
Later that night, they got a fire started a little ways away from the flying vehicles. As the LBX group were explaining a little more about their hobby, the two blonde girls returned from the forest.
"Ah! Eva! Kimiko!" Hiro called. He waved them over and urged them to sit by the fire along with them.
"Did Professor Aruno explain everything?" Fei asked.
Kimiko nodded. "Yeah. We both agreed to help you guys, though we aren't exactly sure how. I don't really play in the field, and Eva here is mainly a mechanic."
"Any help at all is appreciated!" Tenma smiled.
"But what's a mechanic?" Shinsuke asked.
"Aren't those the people who fix cars and stuff?" Kariya replied.
Eva smiled wryly. "Yeah. I'm that, but for LBXs."
"Do you battle?" Ban's eyes gleamed, a look she was all too familiar with.
"Occasionally. Twilight can't keep up to the Ikaros series, though, especially in terms of speed, so don't get your hopes up."
"When was the last time you battle?" It was Ran's turn to have shimmering eyes.
"When Vectors first attacked N City, I think...?"
"N City was attacked by who?!" Jessica panicked.
Eva slammed a palm over her mouth. "Oops... Sorry, I forgot that hasn't happened to you yet." She bit her lip, trying to think of how to explain. "Erm, see... In my timeline, a while after what happened on Paradise Satellite, there was a new threat with these black LBXs called Vector that could ghost... That is, it could take over other LBXs, like brainjacking, but instead of the cause being M-chips and master computers, it was just by a touch from the Vectors."
"You really are part of our group..." Kazu muttered, nodding to himself. "No one should've known we were part of that battle."
"Yeah, they'd know us from Artemis at best." Asuka agreed.
Ban, Ami, and Jin exchanged glances. Then, purple haired girl lifted her hand up. "Eva, do you mind if I ask you something? Just to know how much you know?"
"Go ahead."
"Where was Angra Visdas held and who were the finalists?"
"You mean the one held last year? It was held under Blue Cat's Café. Finalists were Ban and Jin, with Ban winning just because The Emperor had a CPU malfunction caused by Jin's unholy input speed."
"That happened?!" Ran asked, pulling a face at the black and white haired boy, who ignored her, and everyone else's, gaze. "As expected of the Split-Second Killer Emperor!"
"I don't think split-second killing his own LBX's CPU was part of the plan at the time." Yuuya chuckled.
"No comment."
"You have to comment, Jin. We're talking about you right now!" Seeing the boy's stubbornness, Jessica huffed. "Fine, then I'll ask the next question! Eva, out of all of us, who were you the closest with?"
A very classic Jessica-like question. She can't handle that right now. "I was uh..." She swallowed a little, trying not to look at the black and white haired boy that was sitting on the fallen tree trunk right beside her. "Erm... Can I not answer that?"
"It's alright, Eva." Kimiko patted her back. "The best stories are the ones that lack detail. Remember that."
"I... don't think that's right."
"Only because you haven't tried it, Kyou."
"Stop calling me that."
"Sorry. Force of habit."
"So by that nickname, I'm assuming you're close with Tsurugi." Hakuryuu smirked.
"And 100 points goes to the white dragon!" She mocked a host's voice. "Yeah, in my timeline, Kyousuke and I grew up together. Actually, I was kinda... the one who helped him become a SEED."
"Now that I'd like to hear more of."
"Sorry, Haku. Since I'm from the future, I don't think I should reveal too much."
"And that's what I want to hear about!" Fei cut in. "You're from 200 years in the future, but you're also childhood friends with Tsurugi?"
"The wonders of time travel, adoption, and circumstance."
"... You're not going to explain?"
"Nope!"
"Why?!"
Her grin widened. "Because it's so much funnier out of context!"