Disclaimer: I do not own Evangelion, its characters, or other copyrights. This is a fanfiction story, written by a fan for the enjoyment of other fans. This makes me no money, or gives me any ownership rights, as much as I wish the opposite were true. Everything here is used in accordance with all fair use laws.

Forward

Why a remake?

Why does Hollywood insist on remakes? Have they run out of ideas? Why would I make a remake of a story I already finished? Have I run out of ideas?

No… I haven't. But there are a few reasons why one would want to do a remake of a story that was already completed.

Firstly, one could do a remake simply to explore another possible set of circumstances and see how the characters would react.

One could remake a story by taking out elements in the original that didn't work as well, or that took away from the overall point of the story.

One could remake a story simply to see if they could do it better this time.

Finally, and rarely, one could remake a story because someone else they respect said it should be remade a different way… someone who the author trusts the opinion of.

So which was it for me? All of the above. There were plenty of things that I did in the original Trading Places that should have been done differently. There were things that should have been focused on more, and things that should not have been touched on at all. Sub plots were explored that didn't directly relate to the events of the story until the very end… And then, they only exist to make a neat and tidy ending. I won't mention specifics; you already know what I'm talking about if you read the original.

All of it drew attention away from the true meat of the story… the trauma suffered by the two main characters, and how they got over it together. And that wasn't fully fleshed out and realistically looked at.

This remake seeks to undo all of the things I did wrong the first time around. It seeks to make a better story, one that lovers of hurt/comfort and angst fics can enjoy. It is no longer filled with sexual content, but with truly tender moments. Lime is not out of the question, but lemon content will be left out of this one. There are more than enough of such fics out there already, and there are plenty of authors that do it better than me.

I hope I have succeeded in making this a better version, and I hope you enjoy it. Thank you for reading, and if you find yourself unable to finish, then thank you for giving it a fair shake at least.

For Qitama

Prologue

The year is 2015… Mankind is the midst of a war for survival. Fifteen years ago, an event known as Second Impact shifted the axis of the earth and plunged the world into chaos. Signs and portents told of the coming of the messengers, and mankind responded by creating the war machines known as Evangelions.

But what were the Evangelions really? Did they have minds of their own? Souls perhaps? Only those in power within the organization that controlled them, called NERV, and its hidden benefactor, SEELE knew for certain.

But this is not a tale of giant mecha battles against biblical terrors… this is not the story of mankind's struggles… no… This is the story of a pair of young and beautiful girls who despite their differences secretly love each other. Each however, has her reasons for keeping that knowledge a secret from the other.

One of the girls isn't even fully human. Her name is Rei Ayanami. She is an artificial construct created by the merging of DNA from an angel and a human being. She was created with a purpose, and Rei knew well her purpose. The leader of NERV would one day use her to bridge the gap between the material world and the afterlife and bring back the woman he loved. For Rei, existence was next to meaningless; she felt nothing, she experienced nothing, her emotions were nearly dead, and apathy was a way of life for this exotic, azure-headed, crimson-eyed girl.

That changed shortly after the defeat of the sixth angel, Gaghiel. The Second Child of NERV had arrived. Even at first sight, Rei knew there was something about her that made her stand out. It wasn't the girl's red hair or exotic blue eyes. Her personality exuded enough confidence to make an entire Special Forces team rethink their own places in life. It was almost intoxicating, and for the first time, Rei truly felt something… but it was something she knew would always be denied her.

Rei had felt desire. She wanted to know what that level of confidence felt like, wanted to know what it was like to have such strong emotions. But Rei knew they were not hers to have… and so, Rei felt instead a shadow of another emotion… envy. In the end, Rei decided that this girl would be far too much of a distraction from her purpose.

So on that fateful day when Asuka Langely Sohryu announced to her that they should be friends, Rei responded in such a way that was sure to push the girl away from her; she told her she would only be her friend if she was ordered to do so. All at once, Rei sealed off that gateway by insuring that Asuka would never try to get close to her.

But Rei was wrong about that…

Asuka's debute battle against the twin angels of Israfel highlighted just what a weakness overconfidence could be. Her attempts later to fall into the plan to beat the angels with a precisely coordinated attack proved difficult as her partner, Shinji Ikari, could not keep up with her. Misato suggested that Rei try to synch with the young man, and the azure headed girl quickly proved that she could do so.

Asuka was flustered immediately by this situation. It made her try harder, swallow a bit of her pride, and reduce her speed to Shinji's level until Shinji trained hard enough to catch up.

But during that time, Asuka started to see the apathetic girl in a new light. She messed up a lot trying to get the synch right because she was suddenly uncomfortable training in front of her. Rei was always there to remind her that at any moment, she could replace her… and there was no way Asuka would allow that to happen. Towards the end, Asuka coaxed Shinji to heights of performance the boy didn't think he was capable of reaching. But this was less a means to an end, a more a way to try to impress Rei… to show her she had what it took.

The apathetic girl, of course, didn't respond to such displays of prowess. But part of Asuka was convinced there was a normal girl somewhere underneath that stoic exterior, and she really wanted to bring her out. For weeks after the battle with Israfel, Asuka tried to get Rei to open up, but Rei seemed to be purposefully avoiding such. Asuka saw it less as apathy and more for what it was. Rei was avoiding her purposefully because Asuka was, in fact, getting to the girl. But no matter how well Asuka played her role, she came to realize that there was only so much Rei could express.

This made the redhead sad… she knew there had to be something else stopping her, and she didn't doubt that Commander Ikari had something to do with it. After all, Rei was the Commander's favorite, though she was certainly the weakest of the Children in terms of piloting skill.

The day of the test in the simulation bodies, Asuka had made it her personal goal to learn just what it was that kept Rei so docile and apathetic towards life. She knew it couldn't have possibly been normal.

That day they had to test in the nude. Of course Asuka threatened Shinji with certain doom if he looked at her as they made their way to the simulation bodies. Rei on the other hand was so apathetic about everything that she simply walked to the bodies before the other two even left the shower stalls. Asuka couldn't help but see everything Rei had to offer, especially since she was kind enough to turn around and ask the other two if they were coming or not.

To Asuka, Rei represented a perfection she could never find in herself at her young age. Hints of motherly beauty along with bodily perfection Asuka only wished she had. Though she had filled out her form well, Asuka was still very thin and much of her charms were mostly understated. Rei was a full year younger than her and had a body that represented someone at least four years her senior.

After the embarrassment of the retrieval after the eleventh angel was destroyed, Asuka went home and thought about Rei. She knew something was wrong with her, and a small part of her was actually afraid that in order to truly learn how to talk to the girl… she may just have to become the girl.

She shuddered at that thought. Becoming like a doll was a nightmare scenario she never wanted to face. As she slept that night, she had no idea of the machinations happening elsewhere that would make her face that nightmare… and in doing so, expose the girl she secretly loved to one of her own….

Archdruid Sephiroth Presents

A Neon Genesis Evangelion Fanfiction Story

Trading Places: Von liebe und schmerz

(Of Love and Pain)

Last night was utter hell for Asuka. She hated the idea of having to be naked for a simulation test in the first place. Then an angel shows up, forcing the three pilots to be ejected into Lake Ashi. The retrieval crew was about as lecherous as she expected, and it took a previous 40 seconds before she was finally able to cover up.

She thought she heard something, but ignored it as she continued to lament over her horrid night.

Rei of course was absolutely carefree, but no one leered at her despite her obvious superiority in physical form compared to Asuka. Probably because being the commander's pet had its inherit advantages. Sometimes she wished he would take enough of a notice of her so that people would leave her alone, she was tired of the catcalls in the cages from the workers there.

Again, she thought she heard something but simply pulled the pillow over her head and tried to ignore it.

After everything was said and done, debriefing was about an hour longer than it needed to be. She was dead tired by the time she got home, and still felt more than just a little embarrassed. What didn't help was that Misato was going to be forced to fill out all kinds of paper work and oversee the repairs of the bridge in the wake of the attack, and that meant she and Shinji were on their own to get to class this morning, and…

"Wait…"

Asuka finally realized just what it was that she was hearing in between her thoughts. Shinji was trying to wake her up. She jumped up out of bed, noticing that class was about to start in a matter of minutes and did her best to rush her morning routine. Shinji didn't leave her any breakfast though he did make her bento as he always did.

So eine gottverdammte Scheisse! Ich kann nicht glauben, dass ich verschlafen habe!" she complained in German, bitching about sleeping in to the only person who could even hear her… herself. In 20 minutes she managed to quickly feed herself, get dressed and start running to school. (Goddamnit, fucking shit… I can't believe I overslept!)

She arrived nearly one hour late to class despite her best efforts. Asuka attempted to sneak to her seat without the sensei seeing her as he was still droning about pre-Second Impact Japan while looking out the window. However the moment she sat down, he turned and looked right at her.

"How nice of you to join us, Miss Sohryu," he said with only a slightest hint of anger in his voice. "Next time either call the main office and tell them you'll be late, or don't show up at all."

"Yes, Sensei," Asuka agreed. Already she could hear the rumor mill talking about her being late. This wasn't something she needed, and she knew it would be the start of a very bad day. She looked over towards Rei and noticed she was looking out the window… but she wasn't leaning on her hand this time. In fact… if Asuka didn't know better, she'd say that Rei had quickly turned to the window as soon as Asuka looked her way.

'Must be imagining things,' Asuka thought.

But Rei was looking on, and a small part of her was concerned.

'Pilot Sohryu is not having a good day,' she noted. 'This could cause issues. Her psychological profile indicates she could react violently to negative overstimulation.' Though Rei knew that was true of many humans, her observations of the red-head told her the situation was much more critical with her. She would have to watch the situation carefully.

'Why do you care?' said a voice in her mind.

I simply do.

Later

Outside, Asuka tried to enjoy the sunshine and was just about finished with her lunch. It was way too quiet... It seemed most of her admirers weren't trying to get closer to her today, and even her friend, Class Representative Hikari was apparently too busy to spend time with her. Sighing, she went to put her bento box away when her phone started ringing.

She picked it up, seeing the call was coming from NERV.

"This is Pilot Sohryu," Asuka replied immediately.

"Hey, Asuka," came the voice of Misato. "How are you holding up."

"Fine," Asuka said with perhaps a bit more of an edge that she wanted.

"That good huh? Well I hate to rain on your parade even more, but we need you and Rei to come into NERV directly after school."

"What?!" Asuka questioned. "Why?"

"Can't talk about it now, the line is not that secure. But it is important."

Asuka sighed. "Fine. I'll be there."

"Good, see you then." Misato hung up.

"Na klasse…" (Just perfect…)

Later

Asuka found out why she and Rei were called back to NERV that evening, and she wasn't pleased.

"We've been through this already!" Asuka complained as Doctor Akagi and Major Katsuragi finished the explanation. "We know the cross-synchronization experiments end in failure, or worse! One even ended badly as I recall!"

"I am forced to agree with Pilot Sohryu," Rei replied uncharacteristically voicing an opinion. But before Asuka could get her hopes up, her next words dashed them. "But, I will of course comply."

"You could get hurt," Asuka pointed out. "Even killed!"

"I can be replaced," Rei replied in deadpan, inwardly wondering why Asuka was suddenly taking an interest in her well-being.

Asuka however, was flabbergasted. What would possibly possess the girl to think she was simply replicable, like a broken circuit or other component?

"Oh, mien Gott, I can't believe you just said that," Asuka complained. "You're not some spare hose or wire, Rei… You are a human being!"

"Why do you care?" Rei challenged calmly, listening to her voice for clues.

Asuka frowned. "Look, just because we don't get along that well doesn't mean I want to see harm come to you."

"I see," Rei replied. But for a moment, Asuka almost saw something there… disappointment?

Rei was disappointed. Though she did her best to push Asuka away, a small part of her actually hoped she felt something for her still. 'I know it is something I can never have,' Rei thought, 'but even a hint of it would be better than nothing at all. I wish I could feel things the way she does.'

"In either case," Misato said, ending her thoughts, "get suited up and get ready."

Later

Several hours later, Asuka sat in the plug of Unit 00. It was about what she expected… she was having issues synchronizing with what was, in her opinion, an outdated unit. The smell was interesting to her though. The LCL smelled more like sandlewood, and a fresh open field… there were Rei-like smells there. But Asuka found herself also feeling like she was being watched by some unseen force, one that didn't particularly care for her.

"How are you holding up, Asuka?" came Misato's voice over the com-link.

"I feel like I'm being watched," Asuka replied. "Like something here doesn't want me here. It's making it hard to synch." Asuka frowned. "Mein Gott, are we done yet? I'm not sure how much more of this I can take!"

Rei meanwhile was suffering from similar feelings. She could smell the light perfumes Asuka normally wore to attract attention to herself, but then always bitterly complained about the same attention.

'Pilot Sohryu has always been a puzzle to me,' Rei thought. 'She does things to attract attention to herself, but then complains about the attention she receives. Is she looking for something in particular?' Then she remembered Asuka's protests at her insistence that she could be replaced. 'Am I the one she is trying to attract, despite all of the work I have done to keep her away? Why would she continue to persist like this?'

"How about you Rei?"

The Major's question tore her from her thoughts. She concentrated a moment on the feelings inside the plug, but suddenly found that she too felt as if she were being watched by something that didn't want her there.

"It appears I am suffering the same sensations as Pilot Sohryu," Rei explained. "There is a general feeling that I am being observed by something… malevolent."

"Malevolent?"

Before Rei could expand on the feeling she felt like something just took ahold of her. She gasped in surprise, and heard Asuka do the same at the same instant.

"Something's wrong!" Asuka yelled over the link. "I feel like something just grabbed me by the back!"

"I am experiencing the same," Rei replied.

Before Misato could question, Maya yelled out an update.

"Synchronization levels spiking!" she yelled. "Both children are around 70 now!"

"Asuka, Rei, listen to me," Misato began. "Try to back out of the synch if you can. Something's happening and we can't explain what it is yet."

"Working on it,"Asuka stated with a tinge of fear in her voice. Rei looked worriedly at the com window Asuka was in, realizing the fear was getting to her. Though Rei didn't feel it herself, she knew Asuka must be.

Another jolt was felt, this time both girls stiffened as if something just grabbed them by their spines. Rei gasped in pain and Asuka started screaming.

"Damn it! What's happening!" Misato yelled.

"Sychonizaiton ratio is climbing rapidly!" Maya reported. "Now at 120 and rising!"

"Over 100, that can't be good,"Misato whispered. "Eject the cords! Do it now!"

With a massive double boom, the umbilical plugs of both units slammed into the bottom of the test chamber.

"Separation complete," Shigeru replied. "Eva's have switched to internal power. Shut down in 60 seconds!"

Despite the synch-climb, both EVA's weren't moving. Suddenly the jaw restraints on both EVA's shattered as they cried out. Their bodies were still not moving.

"What's happening?!" Misato yelled. She'd seen EVAs go berserk before, but this was quite different.

"The EVAs seem to be experiencing some kind of paralysis," Makoto replied. "Nerve signals are not reaching the body and are all localized in the head. "

"Get us out!" Asuka and Rei yelled as one. It felt like something was trying to rip them out of their bodies. "It's killing us!"

Misato's heart jumped as she realized both of the girls spoke in unison.

"Synch score crossing 200!" Maya yelled.

"Damn it," Ritsuko yelled. "We have to stop this before they hit 300."

"What happens at 300?" Misato asked fearfully.

Ritsuko looked at her with a concerned look. "They suffer the same fate as Yui," she said flatly.

"30 seconds till shutdown!" Shigeru reported.

Misato gave the only order she knew would stop this. "We have no choice… Eject the Plugs, now!"

Makoto hit a sequence followed by punching his console. "Damn it! The EVA's are rejecting the command interface! We can't stop it!"

"10 seconds!" Shigeru yelled.

At this point both girls were screaming in agony, and very nearly in unison. Asuka pried her eyes open for a second, looking past the tears that poured out and saw, what appeared to be the inside of her own plug. Before she could ponder the meaning of this, darkness overtook her. Rei experienced the exact same thing, only it was her own EVA's plug she saw before everything went dark.

"Shutdown!" Shigeru reported. Both EVA's heads fell limp.

Misato and Ritusko ran into the cage, Misato opening Asuka's plug, and Ritsuko working on getting Rei's opened.

Asuka was completely unconscious. Misato took her pulse and was relieved to find there was still one.

"Let's get them to the medical ward," Ritsuko said as she grabbed her phone to call for gurneys.

Much Later

Rei was the first to awaken. She remembered hearing herself screaming and awoke with a start. She carefully sat up, trying hard not make herself light headed when she felt her hair begin to cascade over her shoulders. In the darkness of the room, she couldn't see anything.

"Strange," she whispered and realized immediately her voice was not her own. Knowing instantly that something was very wrong she got out of bed, only to fall to the floor as her balance completely shattered. Rei ignored the pain she felt in her joints from the impact and worked on standing back up.

If her hair was this long, it indicated she had been in a coma for at least a few years. Why was she still alive? She should have been replaced in accordance with Commander Ikari's scenario by now, and yet… here she was. And why was her voice so different, what could that mean? As she stood up she took a tentative step and nearly fell over again.

'Why do I have to relearn how to walk?´ she asked herself. 'Did I suffer some kind of cranial trauma?'

She entered the bathroom carefully and held onto the counter for support. Her eyes slammed shut the moment she turned on the light as it was far too bright. But this also confused her. Part of her angelic heritage granted her the ability to adjust to light levels very quickly, much faster than humans normally could. In fact, her angelic regeneration should have already gotten rid of the pain she was still feeling in her knees and back from the fall she took a few moments ago.

As her eyes finally adjusted to the light she opened them completely and was greeted with a sight she was not expecting. She wasn't herself at all…

Her hand rose up to touch the mane of red hair that framed her face. It was messy from the bed but beautiful despite it being the color she hated. Her hands slid down her frame, sliding over the hospital gown, and she paid attention to the shape. She had gotten smaller, and her blue eyes followed every curve of her new body.

'No wonder my balance was off,' she concluded. 'This is not my body… this is…'

Her eyes locked onto her face in the mirror. Rei was looking into the mirror… but Asuka was staring back at her.

"This," she whispered to herself, "was not part of the scenario…"

Many Rooms Away

Asuka woke up groggy. Her mind thought at first that she was dreaming as everything seemed to be viewed through a filter. Of course it was a very dark filter with the lights out. She could barely make out anything in the room.

Her head throbbed a little but strangely, it felt muted, as if it were only a suggestion of a headache.

"What's wrong with me," she whispered and immediately stopped. She just spoke in a voice that wasn't her own. Her hand rose up to her head and the tips of her hair. Her heart beat a little faster at the realization that her hair was much shorter than it should be. She didn't know what was wrong but she knew something terrible had happened.

She pinched herself and felt the pain, though muted. With her adrenaline up due to the fear, she felt a little more than she did before and was now convinced she was awake. She got out of bed quickly intending to go to the bathroom but instantly she took a misstep and fell to the floor with a thump.

"Ow," she whispered. "Why can't I walk?!" She carefully got back to her feet and made her way to the bathroom by holding onto things as she tried to train herself to find her balance again.

Everything felt wrong. She felt fuller in her body than she ever had before, but it felt alien to her. Finally grasping the counter she turned on the light only to be blinded by it. She closed her eyes and felt the pain subside quickly… far too quickly. Her eyes opened again and she found she could see. A gasp left her lips as she immediately wished she couldn't.

Red eyes stared back at her from the mirror. A mop of azure hair framed her face, messy from lying on the bed for what must have been a few hours. Her free hand ran though the silky strands and she watched how it moved.

"Too perfect… artificial," her fears told her. Even her eyes seemed glassy and unreal. Her feelings began to fade as the adrenaline began to subside and suddenly fear replaced her lack of emotions, gripping at her very soul as she realized she had suddenly become the thing she hated the most.

… a living doll.

It didn't matter that she was looking at Rei's body, or Rei's face, or that she knew if she'd only look down she'd see that perfect body again… no… all that mattered was the fact that she now felt what she knew Rei felt all the time…

… almost nothing. It was like being dead inside.

The realization of what had truly happened to her caused her to push away from the counter and into the wall behind her. Suddenly, the face in the mirror seemed even more manufactured as her mind ran away with her fear. Terror seeped into her veins as she watched her eyes being to swirl, transforming into a pair of 4-holed buttons. An evil giggle seemed to come from the mirror as she watched her mouth become twisted into a sewn on smile, and her hair seemed to thicken into strands of azure yarn right before her very eyes.

Asuka's eyes widened as the horror of what she was seeing continued to devolve. The doll seemed at that moment to speak to her, and she heard the voice… like a ghost from her past.

"Come little one… die with me…"

It was too much. She dropped out of sight of the mirror as gooseflesh ripped across her skin. She screamed in terror, crossing her arms over herself in an attempt to protect her fragile form. The lack of feeling seemed to drop away as cold terror filled her veins and again. She screamed out, breaking into crying at the end of each lung burning horrified sound.

Ritsuko was nearby in one of the other rooms when he heard the screaming. Without hesitation she ran into the room and saw who she thought was Rei against the wall in the bathroom screaming. From a girl who never showed fear, this was disorienting to the doctor.

"Rei what is it?" Ritsuko said as she quickly knelt next to the girl. She was suddenly taken aback as the azure headed girl clung to her and started bawling hard.

"What happened to me?!" she cried into the lab coat. "Why did this happen?!"

"What? Why did what happen?" Ritsuko asked, trying to get answers out of her, but all she had was confusion and her obvious terror.

"I did something… this is my punishment isn't it! It must be!"

Ritsuko looked down at her with an odd look. Rei never used contractions before. "Did something?" she asked trying to get some kind of clarification from the hysterical child.

"Forgive me please…" she whimpered. "Vater unser, der du bist im Himmel, geheiligt werde dein Name!"

Instantly recognizing the fact that Rei was suddenly reciting a catholic prayer in German, her world shattered like glass before a wrecking ball… This wasn't Rei at all, this was…

"Oh, my God," she whispered in her shock before finally asking tentatively, "… Asuka?"

"Doctor! Please! You have to help me! Mien Gott, this is a nightmare!"

Ritsuko held the former red head to her. "Try to calm down," Ritsuko coaxed. "There has got to be a logical explanation for this."

"Ich bin eine Marionette!" she cried out between tears. "Bitte Gott, hilf mir!" (I'm a doll! Please, God help me!)

"You're only going to hurt yourself on the floor," Ritsuko offered. "Come on… let's get you back to your bed where you can be warm and comfortable.

Asuka said nothing, simply nodding as she stood up with the doctor. Her eyes darted briefly towards the mirror, but the doll-like apparition was gone, replaced with Rei's face. Her eyes were even more red than normal, likely because of Asuka's crying.

Ritsuko carefully helped Asuka back into her room and back onto her bed. Asuka sat down pulling the covers and blanket around her once the bottle-blonde let her go.

"Feeling any better?"

"Ja..." she whispered tentatively. "A little. Doctor… what has happened to me?"

Ritsuko sighed. "Well the only obvious explanation is that you somehow ended up in Rei's body. I couldn't begin to tell you how that happened, not until I've done a lot more research."

Asuka nodded, accepting the explanation for now. She shivered a bit, remembering what she saw in the mirror, but tried to put it out of her mind. She knew how her brain can run away with her, so it must have been a simple combination of being half-asleep and the sudden shock of being in Rei's body. That brought on another question in her mind.

"Try to rest," Ritsuko said as Asuka started putting things together. "I'll be nearby. I have to check on your body."

"Do you… do you think Rei's in my body?" Asuka asked.

"This might sound kind of bad… but I hope so," Ritsuko replied. "The alternative of having both of you in the same brain is something I can't think about."

Asuka let the Doctor go. "I hope she's okay," she whispered.

Ritsuko found that odd considering she was sure they hated each other, but this was now the second time Asuka showed any interest in Rei's wellbeing in front of her. Ritsuko took another moment to make sure Asuka was comfortable.

"Rest now, I'll be back."

Asuka nodded and turned over on her side, curling into a ball under the covers.

Ritsuko pondered what had happened. She knew without a doubt it had something to do with the experiment, but how did it happen?

'A mystery for a later time,' Ritsuko told herself.

In the room where Asuka's body was taken after the incident Ritsuko entered and realized instantly that Rei was awake and she was likely in the bathroom. Ritsuko held her breath and walked to the doorway.

Sure enough, inside the bathroom Asuka's body was standing in front of the mirror wearing only a hospital gown and staring at herself. She seemed to be going over everything with a combination of clinical completeness and something that was not native to the girl… curiosity.

"Rei?" Ritsuko tentatively whispered. She watched the girl's head turn towards her, confirming in the doctor's mind that Rei's consciousness was in fact inside the body of Asuka Langely Sohryu.

"Doctor Akagi," she replied in deadpan. Hearing Asuka's voice speaking in such a manner was disorienting considering the sheer level of emotion the redhead normally puts in all of her words.

"Are you okay?" Ritsuko asked.

"I wish I could answer that," Rei replied honestly. "I feel very strange, everything around me seems sharper somehow."

"You should rest," Ritsuko offered. Rei as usual took it as an order and immediately, but carefully as she was still not used to the balance of Asuka's body yet, made her way into the main room. She laid down on the bed, pulling the covers over her.

"Do you need anything to help you sleep?" Ritsuko asked.

"Do you believe it will help?" Rei replied immediately. Ritsuko nodded. "Then yes."

Ritsuko gave her a sedative, remembering to cut back the dosage. She took it without complaint.

"Is Pilot Sohryu well?" Rei asked as she laid down.

Ritsuko paused a moment, finding it odd she would ask that. "No… she's not taking her current… situation well."

"I see," Rei replied. "Please take care of her."

Ritsuko was a little shocked to hear a request like that from the Commander's Doll. "Of course." She replied immediately.

Rei nodded and tried to sleep.

Ritsuko left the room quietly and looked at the clock, seeing it was only a little past midnight.

"I'm going to need Misato for this," she decided. "This is going to be a long day…."

Nun liebe Kinder gebt fein acht (Now, dear children pay attention)

ich bin die Stimme aus dem Kissen (I am the voice from the pillow)

ich hab euch etwas mitgebracht (I've brought you something)

hab es aus meiner Brust gerissen (have it cut from my chest)