I will say these things in advance: I have absolutely no rights at NGE, but you should have already known that.

The story itself is basically a re-telling of the original storyline, but twisted into my way. While at the beginning there seem to be only few divigances, it will become more with each episode. The people, their motivations and the backgrounds are while holding true to the basic layout, changed at my imagination in many details, so canon-purists now are allowed to flame me.

NOTE: I hate both, the ending of the TV series, and how End of Evangelion turned out. So don't expect any of those outcomes.

This will be Shinji/Rei.

For all the work I put into this, I would like to get reviews. I will always try to respond to every review I get.

Note that this is the REVIVAL-Edition. Compared to the original from 2010, significant changes have been made, though the basic story is still the same. More about that at the end of the chapter.


Chapter 28: Lessons of the Past

This is most unusual, she thought, finding herself at the shore of a lake, having no memory how she had gotten there. She felt strange, burdened in a way. That, and she felt the warm air on her skin, meaning that she was pretty much naked.

Looking at her reflection in the water of the lake, Rei's eyes widened in surprise. It wasn't girl-Rei that greeted her. The Rei in the reflection was an adult woman - a really sexy-looking woman at that. That, and she had something very prominent: a very rounded belly that left no doubt that she was very pregnant.

"How is this possible?" she wondered. She was barren! She couldn't get pregnant!

"Never say never."

Looking up, she saw a Rei with wings of a butterfly emerge from the water. This one had the correct age but also was naked. She was confused, what was going on? Watching the butterfly-Rei, she couldn't put her confusion into words. Finally the other Rei spoke again.

"You never know what the future will bring. Your journey is still at the beginning. Only time will reveal all its secrets to you."

Then everything blurred around her.

"AHHHHH!" Rei screamed when a flash of pain went through her lower body. When everything cleared up, she was in a unusual position.

She was lying in some kind of hospital bed, wearing only a hospital gown. Her lower body was exposed and her legs were firmly secured in stirrups, spread apart as far as possible. She heard people around her, but was unable to see them as everything outside the bed was pitch black. But she knew what was happening right now, she was giving birth and it... "AHHHHHHHGGGG!" ...it hurt like hell.

Rei felt the contractions in her lower body and her teeth ground together in sheer pain. She NEEDED something to BITE on. NOW! She opened her mouth in another scream, when a unseen hand put something into her mouth. She tasted rubber. Someone had put a rubber ball, like one on these ball-gags, into her mouth. She didn't complain and bit down hard on it, her screams silenced by it.

Another contraction hit her, and...

...

Rei opened her eyes, only to be greeted by the sight of Shinji. Looking to the side, she saw the dawn over Tokyo-3 through the window. It had all been a dream. She was puzzled by this dream. Her inability to reproduce was inverted and mixed with a sexual flavor - most bizarre. But then again, she had accepted that dreams were rarely logical.

Carefully extracting herself from her boyfriend, she opened the window to air out the room, as the smell of sex was still prominent in the air. She didn't bother with dressing for now, since the only one who could see her was Shinji, who was expected to see it. She still felt the afterglow from their lovemaking, even after hours. It was something wonderful they did, and she hoped would do many times in the future. She had of course noticed the blanket that had covered them, meaning that someone had been in their room, and she knew who had the code for the front door.

"Oh..." Rei gasped a little when she finally registered how sore she felt between her legs. She knew she would be a bit tender there for a while and probably walk a little funny, but it had been worth it. Wearing a plugsuit also didn't seem a smart idea - hopefully she didn't have to wear one today.

Entering the bathroom in her birthday suit, she saw a different Rei than the one she usually saw in the mirror. This Rei looked more at peace with herself and... she looked a little more like an adult woman, despite not looking physically any different. But she also knew that thanks to sweat and... other body fluids, she was a sticky mess, not just on her lower body (don't ask), but she didn't regret a second of it.

A little later, Shinji was awakened by the whistling of the tea kettle.

He was disoriented for a second, before remembering what he and Rei had done last night. He felt that every second of it had been wonderful, but right now he also felt sticky from these activities. Surely Rei would have nothing against him taking a quick shower. In any case, he didn't want Misato to catch the smell. After all, no need to spill the beans to her.

Some minutes later, a showered and clothed Shinji found Rei in the kitchen, where she was busy with preparing a small breakfast. She was wearing her school uniform and looked quite refreshed. He had to acknowledge that her being able to do these kitchen-tasks would be seen as a wonder if one only remembered the Rei from half a year ago. Back then she had been like a plant during the winter. Now she had come to blossom, a beautiful person unfolding from the Rei that once was.

"Good morning, Rei," he greeted her joyfully, sitting down at the table.

"Hello, Shinji," she returned the greeting with a smile, setting a cup with tea before him on the table. "Breakfast will be ready in a few minutes."

Shinji knew he had to tell her this. "Uhm, Rei. I don't want to appear rude, but I better return home before Misato or Asuka wake up and notice that I'm missing. They won't let me hear the end of it if they find out that we spent the night together."

"Your concern is valid, but it is already too late for such caution," she said. "I noticed that someone had put a blanket over us while we slept. Only the Major knows the code for the front door."

"Oh gods..." Shinji held his face in his hands.

That was the worst case, now Misato would tease him to no end over him becoming a 'real man' and making Rei a 'true woman'. It would only become worse once the others got wind of it. Even though Asuka was nicer now and no longer an obnoxious bitch, she would also give off a number of smart comments. Being a teenager could be cruel sometimes, especially when it came to sex.

"Why are you concerned that others know about us having a sex life? Are you ashamed that we have had intercourse?" Rei wondered. She didn't fully understand his concern. While she did understand the need for privacy when they were in the act, the need for secrecy eluded her.

Shinji sighed. He should have known that Rei wouldn't understand what it would mean for them - a remnant of social awkwardness. "Don't say that. It was the most beautiful thing I've ever done, especially with an even more beautiful girl." Rei blushed a little. He continued, "But that's stuff that people don't want to be public knowledge... -sigh- Trust me, you will see soon enough why couples try to keep such stuff confidential."

Rei didn't really understand what Shinji meant with that last remark. However, she did feel that she would probably know soon enough.

Shinji sat down the cup after enjoying the tea. "I bet Misato will throw a big birthday party for me this evening. Big, because she also will want to celebrate my return."

"This sounds...nice." Shinji again mentioning his birthday made her wonder. When actually was her own, or at least the equivalent of it?


...two hours later, NERV...

"Shinji, you seem to have something on your mind. I can feel that you have trouble concentrating," Yui told her son over one of the screens in the entry plug.

"Mom, trust me, you don't want to know," Shinji said, not wanting to reveal that he was thinking about last night.

Today they had finished the internal repairs on Unit-01. Normally, they wouldn't have risked their pilot testing the unit, but Yui had assured them that the EVA was no longer hostile and that the S² wouldn't be an issue. So right now Shinji was busy with getting familiar with the different Unit-01. Easier said then done, since a lot of things about Unit-01 had changed.

Having his mother being like a ghost in the machine was perhaps the biggest change. Normally, these tests involved him feeling somewhat isolated. Now however, Yui seemed to make it her mission to keep up conversation, always having a communication window open.

At first she had tried to speak directly into his mind, but considering what other effects her changed state inside the core had caused, she felt that would be way too overwhelming for him.

Shinji had felt her presence before the change as something in the background, something that lightly touched his mind. However, when first synchronizing, he had suddenly been blasted with her presence from all sides, causing the control room to reduce the rate quickly. As it turned out, her presence now threatened to feel like they were one - something quite dangerous.

In the end Yui concentrated on pulling her presence away from surrounding her son, admitting it probably felt like he was drowning in her, and experimented with forming it into an avatar. Dr. Akagi was fascinated with what Yui did. The avatar was not corporeal - it was something purely made up of Yui's mental presence. While it held no actual presence on the physical level, to Shinji while being synched with the Evangelion it did feel like his mother was sitting together with him in the plug.

Of course there had been a few hic-ups at first. Shinji had told his mother that the avatar felt completely real to him, even though he knew it wasn't a physical object, didn't hinder his movements at all and was only visible on the scanners. Explaining that the avatar should not sit in his lap and she should not imagine it naked - he was trying really hard not to feel that - had been the difficult part.

Thankfully, they did manage to solve the problems. The avatar was now sitting behind Shinji - since it was no physical object it simply sat inside the seat module - its arms around him and its head on his shoulder. It now also felt like it was wearing a plugsuit. That way Yui was close, but not too close to cause discomfort. The avatar still conveyed her emotions and it did feel to her like she was really hugging her son.

Once the se problems had been overcome, it became surprisingly easy for Shinji to get used to how the EVA felt now.

It still was weird for the other personnel to see her on a screen like this, but it was only a matter of time before they would get used to it. Strangely enough, Dr. Akagi seemed a bit nervous about Yui's presence.

"Well, if it distracts you this much, talking about it can only help," Yui offered.

However, there were some things he didn't want to tell his mother, one being his love life. "Urgh, I don't want to talk about it, alright? It's really personal." He did remember what happened at the morning.

Misato had teased the hell out of him as soon as she was up. It had pretty much went as he had predicted. At least Rei had been spared this, although he suspected that she would be put through the gauntlet at school by the other girls right now. While Asuka hadn't said much at home, only grumbling that she didn't want to know what Misato and Mr. Kaji had done at night, he was sure that she couldn't hold her mouth shut. While he regretted nothing that he did with Rei, he could live without the gossip that now would surely follow.

"Oh, that means it has something to do with Rei," Yui added further. She knew that Rei was a good girl, and thus wholeheartedly approved their relationship. Unfortunately, like every parent, she sometimes got a little too curious, especially after being separated from her son for so long.

Shinji felt his nervousness skyrocketing and he couldn't prevent his memories of last night returning to the surface. Oh gods, not now! But it was too late when he could feel his mother's embarrassment, before she tightened up the thought filter. He blushed heavily.

Yui's picture looked embarrassed, too, although it was hard to tell with a line picture. "Oh dear... I... Please believe me I didn't want to do that!... I forgot to set the filter right..." She had seen more than she ever wanted to and felt ashamed that she had breached her son's privacy, even if it was an accident.

"Oh boy... now it is too late... OK, I'm concerned how the other girls will grill Rei at school," Shinji admitted. "Can we please change the topic?"

Yui had no trouble to feel that her son wanted this to be over. "All right... Since you mentioned school, I expect you to catch up for the lost month. No son of mine will have mediocre grades."

"Ahhh, don't remind me," he groaned. Misato had already told him the same; that the next few days would be filled with lots of catching up. There were some things you couldn't escape: death, taxes, and for teenagers, school.

"No buts, young man," Yui shot him down, feeling a bit hurt in the part of her that prided herself of her scientific mind. "Even your father, who isn't exactly a great role model, achieved his academic title the honest way, through hard work... That reminds me, what about him? Last I heard, he drank himself silly."

Shinji really didn't want to talk about his father, but he made an exception for his mother. "They put up a suicide watch. They say he is totally unlike himself, like an empty shell."

Yui sighed. "I hope he will stop feeling sorry for himself and accept that he has to work hard to regain my trust. I still can't believe what happened to him in all these years..."

"...it's not only you..." Shinji had disliked his father all his life. The idea that Gendo could change was a concept that he had trouble to grasp.

"Before I forget it, how is my brother doing? He seemed to have been a little disturbed by seeing me like this..." Yui remembered Kaldor's reaction too well. The man had looked as if he had seen a ghost. No big wonder, considering he had thought her dead for over ten years. She was concerned that he couldn't accept her like this.

"Uncle Kal? I think better than you think he did. He looked pretty excited when he finally managed to get a permanent apartment in town. He said the red tape in Tokyo-3 is the worst he's ever seen," Shinji told her. He was glad that his uncle had taken the news of his mother's strange return well enough.

"He wants to move here?" That was news to Yui.

"Yes. He said after all that happened, he would try to keep a closer eye on me. I guess he doesn't want to disappoint you." Shinji then thought about it. "Perhaps he'll also want to re-connect with you. Don't forget it's been a long time since he last saw you."

Yui felt proud of her brother and that he acted so much like a father for her son. "Kaldor, I'm so proud of you..."

Meanwhile in the control room, Misato watched the whole test. "Too bad that we can't hear a thing. You can say what you want, but his mother is sure insistent on their privacy."

Yui had deactivated the audio recorder. As long as they didn't open a direct comm-channel, they only had visuals. Misato had a good guess what this was about, but she wasn't mean enough to spread around news of Shinji's love life. After all, after all the crap she got from Ritsuko about her own relationship with Ryoji, she knew it wasn't fun to be at the receiving end.

"Maybe, but the numbers tell us a lot. Seems they're having a mother-son talk, and now he is able to concentrate better. The numbers look good," Ritsuko commented while reading he results. "You've had lots of fun last night? Hope you won't give us a Misato II. too soon."

"What Ryoji and I do is none of your business!" Misato growled. "Look into the mirror! At least I have a love life!"

"Why would I need one?" Of course that wasn't the truth. She had craved Gendo's attention for a long time. But now that this was over - and she wouldn't even dare to tell Yui, as the woman was in a huge mecha - she felt something was missing. While she knew the qualities in men, and therefore what she liked, the previous month hadn't been easy, due to a startling realization.

She had caught herself looking after several co-workers, now that she again was on the market. That on its own wouldn't be too unusual, as she was a woman with desires. However, she was disturbed that some of these co-workers had been female. She had even caught herself having... interesting thoughts about how well-built these women are.

She wondered why she did that. On the other hand, during college and university she hadn't had any eye for romance and afterward immersed herself in work before hooking up with Gendo. She had thought up to now that she knew her preferences, but maybe that wasn't fully the case?

What is the matter with me? she wondered. She hated to be so unsure of herself.


...afternoon, Unit-01 cage...

I wonder what Shinji's mother might want from me? Rei wondered while walking down the catwalk to the entry plug of Unit-01. She tried not to show he discomfort the plugsuit was causing her in her private area, knowing she was now paying the price for that wonderful night.

She had been about to walk to Unit-00 for some testing, when Lt. Ibuki had called her back, saying Yui Ikari first had something she wanted to talk with Rei about in absolute confidence, meaning inside the entry plug of Unit-01. Rei had been assured that it would be completely safe, since Yui was inviting her inside. Rei did have a feeling that Shinji's mother wanted to talk about her relationship with Shinji.

Truth to be told, her day had already been very stressful. Not because of school work - that one had always been easy for her. It was because of the girls at the school.

It had started from the first moment she had been in class. While many had thought her to be oblivious of the obvious for a long time and now only as a strange girl, she actually was very observant, noticing everything in her surroundings. It had become readily apparent that all of the girls, excluding Asuka, were giving her strange looks. It had continued with whispering and she had noticed Asuka making one small side comment. Otherwise the German girl was, apart from Mayumi who had only given her an interesting look, the only female in class who didn't react to her at all.

It was at the beginning of the lunch break when it had happened.

Before she had realized what was happening, her seat had been surrounded by at least a dozen girls, Mana and Hikari at the very front. It was then when the questions had started. Things like "You have really done it" or "How was he?" mixed with comments like "I always knew, the quiet ones...". She had barely acknowledged that she'd had intercourse, before it became even worse and with each question fired at her, she had blushed brighter until she was as red as a tomato.

Now she understood why Shinji had told her that things like these had to be kept quiet. The whole ordeal had been horribly embarrassing for her. She hadn't thought that Hikari and Mana could be so forceful when fishing for intimate details. No way she would EVER mention something like this to them again!

Entering the plug, she felt it moving into position, waited... and suddenly gasped!

All of a sudden it felt like an invisible woman was hugging her tightly while she got hit with the feeling of I'M SORRY! Thankfully, after a few moments it lessened, though she still easily felt shame, guilt and more apologies radiate from the presence Shinji's mother held in the plug. but the tight hug did not stop. It really confused Rei until a screen opened, Yui's face appearing.

"Rei, please believe me, I'm really sorry for what I did! That was a grave violation and I have no excuse!" Yui stopped when Rei held up a hand.

Rei needed a few moments to collect herself, finally understanding what this was about. "This... is about what happen during the last Angel attack, correct?"

If anything, Yui looked even guiltier. "I had no right to do this to you. I was still angry over what happened before and thoughtlessly violated the sanctity of your mind for something as trivial as checking if it's really you."

Truth to be told, Rei understood why Yui felt so guilty over this. Having even her innermost secrets laid bare had been extremely unpleasant to her. Not to speak of how she had been treated in order for her to not pilot. However, seeing Shinji's mother beating up herself over this thoughtless act quelled any anger. If anything, the woman was punishing herself more than anyone else could.

"It was a very unpleasant ordeal, yet I don't hold it against you." She now felt Yui's confusion. "You were hurt and angry. You honestly regret doing it, this is why I forgive you."

Yui was stunned for a moment. "This again shows me why Shinji loves you so much."

"I am not a vindictive person. It also does help that I can feel your honest regrets over your actions." No words were exchanged for a few moments while both of them relaxed and literally felt the understanding they came to. "However, you know everything about me?"

Yui understood why this concerned Rei. "I do not hold it against you. After all, you can't help who your parents are and I certainly won't tell anyone your secrets - not even Shinji."

Rei gulped. "Then you also know...?"

"That a small part of me is also in you? I knew way before that, just from my son's memories of your face. I was a little concerned about that for a while, but now I know there's so little of me making up your genome that it isn't incest. The thing you did get from me are my good looks," Yui explained.

Leaning back, Rei felt great relief wash over her that this would not be an issue. Yui's avatar was still holding her, only now instead of a tight hug, she was holding her like a mother would hold her daughter. To Rei that was a completely new feeling, as she had never had parents.

"Relax..." Yui told Rei, feeling what was on her mind, as it was broadcasted loud enough. "I always wanted a girl as well. While I know you will never think of my son as your brother, maybe you can call me mother? I know it's years before it will be official, but..."

Rei imagined herself, grown up and wearing a wedding gown while standing beside Shinji, understanding what Yui was talking about. "I do not know how to act having a mother..."

Yui gave Rei a gentle smile. "Sometimes in life there comes a time when you need to confide in someone you trust. I know as much as you love Shinji, there are some things you feel unable to talk with him about. The rest comes on its own."

Relaxing further, Rei had to admit that yes, there were some things she had been uncomfortable to ask Shinji about. Yui was the first adult woman who offered to listen and whom she could expect honest answers from. There were some things she did need advice on and perhaps that was a good start.

o

"I'm here as requested, Vice-Commander," Ritsuko said when entering his office. She was a little curious what this important matter was that he needed to discuss with her in person, forcing her to make Maya conduct the tests. He had made it mysterious enough.

"Dr. Akagi, what I am about to show you has been a well-guarded secret up to now. I asked you to come alone, because it involves you on a personal level," the Vice-Commander told her while locking the office door.

Ritsuko raised an eyebrow. What could involve her on a personal level? The Vice-Commander was speaking in riddles. "With all respect, I don't understand."

"I don't expect you to do so. But now that all secrets are being told, it is time to reveal a secret that has been held from you for years." He held up an optical disk. "This is the original security footage and it had been locked away by Commander Ikari years ago." He then inserted the disk into his computer, before turning the screen so that Ritsuko could watch everything.

"I warn you, what you are about to see will be shocking," he warned her.

Ritsuko now was concerned what it could be. Then the footage of something that happened years ago appeared on the screen.

-flashback, a little less than six years ago-

(Please note this flashback is for the readers. Ritsuko really only sees on the screen what a camera can record. She can't see the inner thoughts.)

Naoko Akagi leaned back in her seat in the newly finished command center of the geofront, as it had been a long day. Everything was going exactly as planned. Well, almost everything.

The MAGI were ready to go on-line, the geofront was almost finished and GEHIRN was working like a well-oiled machine. But there were problems as well. Unit-01 was as dead as a stone ever since the incident, making it totally useless. Unit-00 was fully functional, but for some reason they simply couldn't make it tick, either. Only Unit-02 was operational, and and that one was stored in Europe. Naoko didn't even want to imagine the accident that made this monster come to life - the reports had been bad enough - and it had cost them an irreplaceable scientist in form of Kyoko.

Naoko's thoughts went to her daughter.

Ritsuko showed many traits she liked: devoted to science, ambitious, diligent. And while she was friends with a woman that essentially was the extreme opposite of this ideal, it hadn't badly influenced her. Ritsuko was all left to her after the far too early death of her husband... And yet they didn't really get along anymore. Sure, they held much respect for each other and were always civil. But she wasn't blind and knew of the emotional rift that had formed between them.

She was proud of her daughter, and yet it pained her to admit that on a number of levels she had totally failed as a mother. Ritsuko followed her footsteps, and yet she didn't want to be like her. The act of dyeing her hair blond was the most obvious sign. For Naoko the meaning was clear: while Ritsuko still had feelings for her, she didn't want to come too close to her any longer.

On other fronts she felt distance as well.

Recently, Gendo had grown rather cold to her, often either seen with that... girl, or spending hours simply staring at Unit-01. Part of her still felt guilty that she'd tried to replace Yui in his heart, but she also knew Gendo would never give up on her. Once when looking at Unit-01, Naoko could have sworn its eyes had watched her, giving her nightmares of Yui getting back at her with Unit-01's big foot.

At that moment she noticed someone having entered the room. "What, who?" The she saw that it was Rei.

The child disturbed her. While she knew the need for a specially constructed person to aid the scenario, she was creeped out by this girl wearing Yui's face. Heaven only knew why Gendo had asked for Yui's genetic information to be added, especially the facial features. It also bewildered her why Gendo insisted on Rei I, the prototype which hadn't been aged to nine years like the other clones, being around like this, acting as if being a normal child.

"Ah, Rei. Is there something I can help you with?" she tried to ask as pleasant as possible, her uneasiness being barely concealed.

Rei stared, her eyes empty as usual. "No. I only got lost."

"Maybe I should help you to find your way then?" Naoko wanted Rei to be out of her hair as fast as possible. She felt unwell in her presence, because she reminded her of Yui, and thus made her feel guilty for being together with Gendo. And she didn't want to feel like that.

"No, I will find the way on my own."

"And how do you think you can do that?" Naoko asked her mockingly. Somehow even this tool Rei was still in some things like a child.

"Why should I tell you, old hag?" Rei's voice didn't change tone when saying this.

Naoko was taken aback at being insulted by Rei. "It is not nice to call someone an old hag."

"But aren't you an old hag?" Rei asked her in a way as if she was sure to already know the answer.

"Enough! I think I have to talk with Commander Ikari about your manners!" Naoko now was angered. This little brat dared to openly insult her. If not for the Commander's protection, she would give that blue-haired brat a spanking she would never forget.

Only now there seemed to be a small hint of surprise in the little girl's features. "But he calls you this all the time. The old hag goes on my nerves. I don't need the old hag any longer."

Naoko gasped when she heard this. Gendo called her this? And only the inability of a child to lie had brought this fact to her. Now all of a sudden it all made sense to her: Gendo's distance to her, the lack of tender moments with him recently, the cold demeanor he showed since Rei's activation. Gendo had only wanted her for her work. And now that everything was done...

Gendo had thrown her aside, no longer seeing any need for her, now that the work was done.

Rage filled her heart when her life of the past years revealed itself to be a lie. She needed something to vent her rage on. The fury of a woman who had discovered that she had been used like a tool needed to get released. And the best thing to vent her rage on was Rei. It happened too fast for Rei to react and the little girl felt her neck slowly being crushed by strong hands.

"You little..." Naoko hissed, a perverse part of her enjoying the look of sheer terror Rei was now giving her.

"You are replaceable, just like me!" Naoko squeezed the girl's neck until her body stopped struggling and went limp. Naoko's eyes widened and she let go of the body, which fell lifelessly to the ground. "No... What... what have I done?!"

She had always prided herself as being a woman that didn't lose it, who always followed the way of logic and thinking, who would never let the primitive animal inside herself let rule her. And now she had used her very own hands to murder a child. It didn't matter that Rei would be reborn, her mind right now had a meltdown, the sheer shock that she was capable of such a deed was overwhelming and sent her into panic.

"What have I done?! I've got blood on my hands!" she screamed in panic, before running to the railing, jumping over it. She fell down to the lower level, her head hitting the housing of one of the MAGI. Then she remained motionless on the floor, blood pooling around her.

Meanwhile on the upper level, something that looked like a bird made of blue light emerged from the body of the dead Rei. It hovered for a moment, before diving into the floor, vanishing from sight. The body then dissolved into LCL, leaving behind a puddle and some children's clothing.

On the lower level, Naoko suffered silently. Her suicide attempt hadn't been fully successful. She was still alive, only felt her life slowly draining away. But she heard footsteps and then cried out in pain, when suddenly she was put on a gurney. Forcing her eyes open, she was greeted with Gendo and some of the guards.

"Sir, she won't survive another hour, judging by sight," one of the men reported to the Commander.

"This is irrelevant. Prepare Unit-00 immediately, then insert her." Gendo then noticed her watching him. "Well, Naoko, you will do us one last favor. You always wondered why the prototype won't work. Well, it needs to absorb a non-pilot human mind. You will do the honor." He said this in a voice that was mocking her.

"Gendo...you damn pig... I hate you..." Her voice was weak, but full with venom.

"I do not care if you hate me." He turned to another guard, while Naoko was wheeled away. "Clean up this mess here. I have to be somewhere else. Rei II need to be properly prepared, now that she is the right age."

-back in the present-

Ritsuko said nothing when the screen went blank. She was unable to say anything. She had prided herself on being a very controlled woman, who would never ever fall into the cliche of the emotional woman. But right now many emotions boiled within her, while on the outside she had went numb.

The truth had unfolded in front of her and now everything made sense. Unit-00's attacks on the Commander, it stopping its rage when seeing her, its resentment of Rei until Rei started to grow distant to Gendo. It also painfully laid bare the fact that Gendo hadn't cared for her at all, since he had disposed of her mother in such a way. The truth that she had wasted herself for a man who didn't care for her at all hurt a lot.

Then there was the shock at learning what really had happened to her mother.

Ritsuko felt a barely suppressed anger. She wanted to walk to Gendo right away to strangle him. But this was nothing compared to the inner turmoil that she felt when trying to come to terms with it. The idea that Naoko Akagi had been forced into Unit-00, that she was still in there, trapped in this monster...

She looked accusingly to the Vice-Commander. "You knew of this..." Her growing anger was clear in her voice.

Fuyutsuki looked away. It was clear that he wasn't proud of this fact. "Yes... Ikari told me, only to show me how deep I already was in it. I never could have told you before, without signing my death sentence. But now that things have changed... I felt that I was obliged to reveal the truth to you. No one else will know of this, unless you want to reveal this."

As much as she wanted to, she felt unable to stay angry at him on a personal level But she hadn't processed everything yet. She felt like something was stuck in her neck, like someone who felt the floor disappearing under her feet. Saying nothing, she fled the office.

Kozo Fuyutsuki couldn't fault her for wanting to be alone, wondering if Dr. Akagi would now leave them for good in her anger.


...some time later...

The air in Ritsuko's office was heavy with smoke. Ritsuko was by now on her eleventh cigarette. She always smoked a lot when being in emotional turmoil or stress. She knew it would kill her one day as she already had a slightly heavy feeling in her lungs, but right now she didn't care. Her emotional distress was too great for caring at the moment.

She had went through her memory, and every moment of Gendo being nice to her now looked totally different in light of what she now knew. It painted a picture that scared her. Also, she didn't know if she could even face Unit-00, now that she knew its secret. The truth was hurting her. It was hurting her a lot. It made her wonder what her place now was within NERV. Why stay if the whole thing was made to collapse anyway, now that the government knew the truth about NERV?

She wasn't known to be emotional, but right now self-doubts and emptiness grew in her. Everything she had done over the last years now stood in question. Like her mother, she had only been a tool and she wondered if Gendo had planned to let her end like her mother, if not for the fact that the newer EVAs had fixed the flaw that made it necessary to put a human soul into it.

Part of her felt like an idiot. She knew the secret of Unit-02, yet she had not managed to puzzle together that the same rules would apply to Unit-00. Starting to feel sorry for herself again, she reached for cigarette number twelve, when...

"-ochht ochhot-"

Hearing coughing she looked to the door and saw Rei, who didn't seem to react well to the nicotine-flavored air. Ritsuko pushed the button to open the window, allowing the bad air to be let out. "Rei? What can I do for you?" she asked the girl. She felt a bad sense of dejà vu, feeling as if the scene from the security footage was repeating itself.

"I want to know what day my birthday is," Rei asked her. She had wondered about this the entire day and had concluded that Dr. Akagi would be most likely to know the answer.

Rei waited for Dr. Akagi to answer her. The doctor looked more emotional than usual, but Rei didn't think much of it.

Ritsuko tried to pull herself together. No way she would break down in front of Rei! Putting up an indifferent front, she acknowledged her request. "This would be the day when the first Rei was released from the tank and woke up." She did some quick search on her computer in the secure files. "Are the tests already done?"

"Yes, Unit-00 is reacting very well to me. Much better than in the past," Rei told her.

Truth to be told, she had found Unit-00 a bit perplexing today. When thinking about her conversation with Shinji's mother, Unit-00 had given her the impression of fear and then shame. Thinking about Yui had also steered Rei's thoughts to what had happened to the Commander, and suddenly Unit-00 seemed more than willing to help her out as much as possible. Truly perplexing.

Mother... Ritsuko knew, the rift between Rei and Gendo would please her mother and it seemed by now Naoko had accepted Rei as a victim of Gendo's scheming, like her, instead of disliking her anymore.

She then found what she was looking for. "Congratulations. You first woke up exactly six years ago, meaning that as of today, you are officially fifteen years old."

"I thank you, Dr. Akagi." Rei had a feeling that this wasn't a coincidence and more likely done on purpose by the Commander that her birthday was on the same day as Shinji's.

"Since we speak of this... Rei, do you remember what happened to your original body?" Ritsuko asked her. She needed to know if Rei actually remembered this incident, despite the fact that her memory backups only began a little over a year ago.

Rei blinked. She had never been asked about that. It actually was a mystery to herself, as she only knew that Rei I had somehow perished, thus leading her to occupy her current body. "There isn't any concrete memory of that existence. The little bits of memory I do have are in a haze. I only remember panic, great fear, extreme pain and then... darkness. I am sorry that I can not help you, Dr. Akagi."

"You don't have to be sorry." Ritsuko waited until Rei had closed the door behind herself, before letting out a small scream of helplessness, holding her head in her hands while leaning over her desk. Rei actually remembered being murdered, that was another piece in the mosaic. There was a time where she had hated that girl, and now she only felt really sorry for her.

All of it started to become too much for her.

How am I supposed to ever again come close to EVA-00? She is in there! And I never knew... We were both only pawns... sacrificial lambs.

She had prided herself for years that she was in charge of her destiny. That also was the reason why she had looked down on Rei, saw her only as Gendo's puppet. And now being confronted with the bitter truth that Gendo had played her like a puppet as well, that was too much for her.

"Mom... what has he done to us? ... I can't take it any longer!" Her rational, calm front crumbled away, revealing a woman in serious emotional distress. No longer caring, she openly started to cry. She cried for minutes, her eyes becoming bloodshot, until...

"Sempai?"

Looking up, Ritsuko saw Maya standing in the door. "Leave. Just leave me alone, Maya."

Maya Ibuki however didn't follow that order, and instead closed the door. "Sempai, what is wrong with you?" Normally, she would follow orders, but right now she knew that something was gravely wrong with Ritsuko Akagi and she did care for her superior.

"You can be a pest, Maya..." Right now Ritsuko didn't care any longer if she looked like a crybaby in front of her assistant. "I can't take any more. Too many gut punches! Today was the final straw... I'll quit!"

Maya looked scared and shocked at this display. She had always admired Dr. Akagi - among other reasons - as a woman who was shaken by nothing. To see her now like this, as a woman who had taken one hit too much, was very painful. It however also showed that Ritsuko was human and now she saw a woman who was hurt and thus couldn't think straight.

"Sempai, you can't quit!" Maya gasped.

"YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT I LEARNED TODAY!" she finally screamed to Maya, her self-pity replaced with anger.

Maya felt that it was stupid that she would do this, but it was clear that Dr. Akagi couldn't think straight right now. She held Ritsuko hard by the shoulders. "STOP IT!" Scared, Ritsuko fell silent. That the otherwise quiet and peaceful Maya Ibuki had raised her voice against her like this, was new. It did achieve something by shutting her up.

Seeing that this did it, Maya started to rant while her hard looks pieced Ritsuko's eyes. "Now listen! This is not the Dr. Akagi whom I adore as my Sempai. I don't know what you learned, but you can't quit. Countless lives depend on your work. Everyone counts on you! I count on you! You can't solve your problems by running away from your responsibility!"

Maya then let go of her, seeing the stunned look Ritsuko gave her. "I... I'm sorry... I don't know what came over me, I..."

"No... no apology needed." Ritsuko still tried to get over her surprise that Maya could be so aggressive. These harsh words however had managed to at least penetrate her wall of sorriness and she tried to get a hold on herself. "I won't hold this against you... And don't worry, I won't quit... Gods... Without you I would have..."

"Sempai. I don't know what happened, and it isn't my place to meddle with your personal life, but I can see that right now you can't think straight. I suggest you take some time off, so that you can deal with whatever is weighting on you. We all want you to be alright."

"You... you are too nice for your own good, Maya. You're better with people than I could ever be... And I think you are right..." Ristsuko stammered.

Ritsuko had never seen Maya as more than her assistant. It had never become fully clear to her that there is a true person with many sides, until now. Ritsuko still felt like going to pieces, and she also still felt like everything had turned against her, but at least this outburst had returned a little control to her. Enough to stop herself from doing something stupid.

"P-please don't say that. It is simply who I am..." Maya said, while needing to suppress some ideas of how being 'nice' with Ritsuko. Dirty girl! She's clearly in pain at the moment. You can't have thoughts like this right now.

However, she couldn't help it. She'd had fantasies like this for quite some time now, all of them involving Ritsuko - especially after that day at the hot springs and her seeing more than ever imagined. She had accepted that these fantasies would most likely stay just that, but she could at least hope, even if it was a useless longing.

Ritsuko took some deep breaths. "Thank you again... Never before was a verbal kick into the butt this sorely needed..."

Maya kept a straight face, but inside she again scolded herself when Ritsuko mentioned that particular body part.


...the next day...

"Well, it all looks good. We were finally able to repair all the damage. You wouldn't believe how trashed Trident had been - I'm talking about all the stuff that broke inside. We're lucky the computer core didn't get damaged, otherwise we could have scrapped it. After all, the core is Trident's heart and brain," Major Hanson reported to Mana's father while they both stood in Trident's hangar.

"Is the test flight today?" Mr. Kirishima asked, looking to where his daughter was standing.

Mana was wearing her flight suit minus the helm, looking a bit unsure while looking at Trident. This would be the first time she would be back in the cockpit ever since the incident with Bardiel that had almost cost her life. It was only natural that Mana would be a bit reluctant, despite the brave front she was trying to show. After all, a teenage girl had every right to be afraid after what had happened.

"No, that's tomorrow. I first want Mana to again get used sitting in there. She's a bit nervous you know," Hanson explained. "Although I think the AI needs her help as well."

Mr. Kirishima looked surprised. "Did the Angel alter Trident's AI in any way?"

"No, Sir, that's the strange thing. Everything is exactly as it should be, but the experience somehow... changed him. Artificial Intelligence is still a new field, so we are unsure about the precise mechanism. Right now he needs Mana to actually get through this himself," Hanson explained.

Shaking his head at what technology could produce, he turned to his daughter. "Mana, I know you've not exactly seen forward to this, your nightmares alone are proof of this."

Mana grimaced. After almost dying, she'd suffered from nightmares about this ordeal. While they were now only sporadically, it was a reminder that she would not get out of this unchanged. "Part of me wants to hide under my bed, but I know I have to do it. Frankly, I really want go on, but I can't help it."

Her father gently held her by the shoulders. "I know you are a strong girl, Mana. Most would have given up long ago. I might not like you getting into such danger, but I know by now that you feel it's your duty."

Mana blushed a little. "Oh, Daddy..." She felt it better to leave before her father would embarrass her more.

Walking up the stairs before entering the cockpit, she left the entry hatch open -after all she was nervous - and connected the cables to her gauntlets before sitting down in the pilot seat. "OK, so far I'm only feel a little uncomfortable."

"I think this feeling is mutual." the AI announced himself, the stylized eye appearing on a screen.

Mana leaned back, remembering his panicked screams when the Angel took over. "To be honest, I'm surprised the Angel didn't try to corrupt you."

Trident was silent for a few moments. "He felt I was not worth the effort."

That was news to Mana. "How do you mean?"

"He spoke to me and declared that since I'm just a human construct, I don't even have any worth as a hostage or being altered, since he already got my body."

Mana could have sworn that the AI had sounded hurt at being disregarded like that. "Yes, that must have hurt. Also must have been horrible to lose control over your own body... before..."

"Though I am not capable of feeling anything that could be regarded as pain..." Trident paused for a moment. "I was brought to the limits of my programming. Yet, it is possible I experienced something akin to... fear."

Mana really felt sorry for her friend, whose limited understanding of the world was by nature, and thus he couldn't process some things without help. "Come, tell me more about it. You know, sharing it with someone else does help to make you get better."

Even though Trident's AI did not have true sentience, the more they talked, the more he did come to terms with recent events. And maybe deep down, there was a digital equivalent to starting to feel better.


...at the same time...

In a holographic room, the full council of SEELE was debating the latest developments. There was much to talk about after recent events. The black monoliths were impersonal, as secrecy was the most important thing right now.

"How is the construction of the production models proceeding?" SEELE-09 asked.

"Everything is exactly in the timetable. No unplanned disturbances up to now, no shortages of parts. Currently, we expect to be done at the predicted date," SEELE-04 answered.

"Ikari's sudden stay in the hospital is suspicious. Right after the pilot was recovered, Ikari got hospitalized. Also, the reports from inside NERV seem to be too perfect, like someone is whitewashing them," SEELE-12 noted, suspicion in his voice.

"Ikari is none of our concern for the moment. We know of the exact nature of the final two rogue Angels and that NERV can expect heavy losses. The Vice-Commander will do as we tell him or feel the consequences," Keel, SEELE-01, waved it off.

"Still, the events inside NERV are suspicious," SEELE-08 reminded him.

"True. Perhaps more aggressive ways of obtaining information need to be used. We can't just put all our efforts of gathering information in one source. This will need further observation before a decision can be made," Keel acknowledged his concerns.

"What is our mole in the school reporting?" SEELE-07 asked SEELE-02.

"She reports that the pilots have mostly returned to their old self after the return of Unit-01's pilot. However, I have to remind you that our research shows she won't have much longer to live. The sample within her is growing unstable. We should accelerate her demise, now that we won't need her services for much longer anyway," SEELE-02 suggested.

"It is true that she has reached the end of her usefulness. We will cut off this loose end," Keel agreed. Essentially, he had just signed a death sentence as if it was an everyday occurrence.


...three days later, school...

It was a pretty normal school day.

Ever since the "release" of Shinji Ikari from "hospital" - which the official version was - his friends' mood had vastly improved. And with their mood getting better, everyone breathed in relief with the dark atmosphere being blown off. Everyone had returned to their normal selves. Of course Shinji hadn't returned to school yet. He was busy enough with catching up on the school stuff he had missed, and thus wasn't to be expected back until next Monday.

The pilots' lives also had returned to normal. Shinji's birthday party four days ago had been the best sign. It actually had been a double birthday party, since Rei had revealed that it was her birthday as well. Misato had used the occasion to declare it the big, fat party and it had been lots of fun. But now the normal day-to-day life had returned.

Right now it was in the middle of lunch break and Kensuke and Mayumi sat a little apart from the others. Mayumi however didn't seem to be hungry while Kensuke was busy with wolfing down his lunch. Finally, he noticed it. "May, is something wrong?" he asked, using the new nickname he had given her - of course after she agreed with it. "You look a little green."

"I don't feel so good..." she answered uneasy, while holding her hand flat on her stomach.

Truth to be told, she had felt like this ever since waking up at the morning - probably another bad shot, since the last time it had also started after waking up. If it went like last time, she would be as sick as a dog at the evening. It already had become worse over the course of the day thus it would all start again very soon, her feeling like shit and having numerous intimate meetings with the toilet bowl while parting with her lunch the wrong way.

Kensuke only then realized that he had acted like an insensitive jerk with eating his lunch in front of her, oblivious to how she was feeling. "Damn... believe me, I didn't want to hurt your feelings. How couldn't I see that you're not feeling well?"

"Don't be so hard on yourself..." Mayumi told him.

That was one of the reasons why she liked Kensuke. Sure, he was strange and the fascination he held for his hobbies was something she would probably never understand at all, but ever since they had become good friends, he had tried not to hurt her feelings, even if he sometimes went overboard with apologizing if he did it unintentionally.

Kensuke now understood. "Oops. Guess I'm still a little new with the idea of having a girl as a close friend. Sorry if I'm trying to be too careful."

While Mayumi had become more open during her time in Tokyo-3, she still was somewhat fragile, as if fearing that everything she had gained would be gone at the next moment. And despite them being close friends for quite some time now, it clearly was still new enough for both of them that they became unsure what to do from time to time.

"Don't worry about it..." It was hard to shake off habits that had grown over years. After being the outsider for her entire life, she needed time to slowly grow out of it. Of course, having her life fucked up by unseen people didn't help, either.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything personal..."

Looking up, they both saw Mana approaching them with a smile that made them blush. It was clear what she had implied with that. "It is nothing like that. We were only... talking," Mayumi tried to defend herself.

"Don't worry. Regardless what you've said, I don't think it's any of my business," Mana told her while sitting down beside them. "I might tease you two, but I don't think you'd be able to do something perverted. You Mayumi are far too proper for that and Kensuke is simply too nice for it, despite him acting like a hentai at times."

That broke the ice and Mayumi giggled while Kensuke looked a little offended at being called a part-time hentai, although he knew that for some time it had been true.

"All of us seem to be in better spirits ever since Shinji got released with good health," Mayumi remarked.

"Yep. Even the red-haired menace seems to have lightened up, and that means something," Kensuke added, looking to Asuka, who was busy with talking to Hikari right now. "Ehm, you won't tell her that I called her that?"

"I'm not that mean." Mana knew that while Asuka had become much more bearable and no longer possessed an ego the size of an Evangelion, she still had a low bullshit tolerance. Thus insulting her was one of the things that was guaranteed to make her really angry. "And Asuka might not be the nicest person, but she is trying."

Kensuke had nothing to add to this. He turned to Mayumi to ask her a question, but noticed that she had become pale. "May?"

"Kensuke, I..." She had felt strange all of a sudden and when she wanted to tell him something, a spike of pain shot though her, feeling as if her stomach was bursting. Her arms went around her mid-section in a useless attempt to contain the pain. "Ahhgg...That h.. -gasp-! Arrghhhhh..." Her entire stomach felt as if on fire. Falling to her knees she violently threw up, feeling it getting harder to stay awake when the pain flooded her senses.

"Oh my god!" Mana screamed in shock, when seeing that Mayumi's vomit was mixed with quite an amount of blood.

Mayumi felt her consciousness slipping away. She only knew that this probably would be a one-way ticket. Whatever had been done to her now came to take her with it. An end in pain. And I haven't found the courage to ask him out... Then everything went dark around her.

Mana's scream had meanwhile brought all other activity in the school yard to a halt. Many of the students were unsure what to do, but then one of the teachers ran to them. Seeing the pale Mayumi and the bloody mess she had vomited, he gasped. "I call the ambulance!" He then pulled out his cell phone and moved further back to call the ambulance.

Hikari was busy with adjusting Mayumi's position so that should she throw up again she wouldn't choke on her vomit, or on her own tongue. Rei, who had witnessed the whole thing, approached them and suddenly gasped. It was an odd sensation that spread within her, feeling in a way like she did when an Angel was near, only much stronger. With an Angel, it was only a small background noise, but now it felt like her inactive S² reacted to something, and that was clearly Mayumi. Touching her for a second, Rei pulled back her hand, whipping out her cell phone.

"Rei?" Hikari wondered.

"Something is definitely wrong with her that a normal hospital can not cure," she said cryptically, before speed-dialing to NERV HQ. "Pilot Ayanami here. This is an emergency. Preparation of the hospital for an emergency case. Code Blue, authority needed for re-direction of a civilian ambulance. Pull Dr. Akagi out of her leave, this is highest priority."

"Was zum Hölle ist hier los?" [What the hell is going on here?] Asuka wondered.

Rei was acting really strange. Why had she alerted the NERV hospital? A ruptured stomach wasn't something a civilian hospital couldn't fix as well. But she had long given up trying to understand this strange girl. Even now, Rei Ayanami was an enigma and Asuka felt that it was a waste of time to get out anything about her strange behavior.

She herself had other problems right now. The feeling that there was something different with her Unit-02 grew with each day.


...half an hour later...

Ritsuko Akagi didn't know yet what exactly had been done to this poor girl, but whoever did it hadn't cared for her well-being at all.

She had been called out of her leave, where she hadn't been able to find answers on the question on how to approach the situation with her mother, and got pushed into this whole mess. Their sensors were getting off the charts, and after they had put the girl under a scanner, Ritsuko had had gasped in horror and at once ordered an emergency surgery to save the girl's life. Her personal problems right now had to stay back for this emergency, although after this was done she would be still at square one.

Looking at the face of the girl on the surgery table, whose stomach they had cut open right now to remove the cause of the mortal danger to her, Ritsuko felt really sorry for her. To be so young and having to endure something this horrible. That, and the whole thing created questions that only this girl could answer. One way or another, the whole thing needed to be covered up.

Who does something like this? But she already had a good guess, considering the nature of the surgery.

"Careful..." Ritsuko said while removing the foreign object. "Cut through the growth carefully. We don't want to injure parts of her stomach."

Some tense minutes later, she sighed in relief. "I think the worst is now over." Looking at the vitals, she saw that the numbers were slowly returning into a safe area. "We just saved her life... Now let's carefully close her up again. After removing that thing, I think we owe her the best treatment possible and as little scars as possible."

Outside, everyone was waiting in silence for the result of the surgery. The children had pretty much collectively decided to end their school day to wait for news, while Shinji, who had been in the HQ already, had interrupted his training to join them. Misato looked to the other side of the room, seeing Mishuko Aida, one of the white-collars of NERV, trying to calm down his son Kensuke.

Misato had pulled some strings to allow the boy to stay. She knew it would be horrible for him to be sent away while his friend was in a critical surgery. Poor Kensuke looked like a nervous wreck, proof how much he cared for Mayumi. Misato wondered if it was a curse; just when they had managed to return to normality, the next crisis had struck them and someone could pay a high price.

Looking around, she also spotted Asuka. It again made Misato wonder a little why she was here, since she remotely remembered the other children mentioning that she didn't have much association with Mayumi. She guessed that while some months ago Asuka wouldn't have cared at all, she now didn't want to look like a jerk to the others. That, and maybe deep down she did care after all.

Misato again wondered what had been so special about Mayumi's condition that Rei had deemed it necessary for her to be treated here, with Ritsuko of all people as the leading doctor. But whatever Rei's reasons were, she was unwilling to tell them. However, it had to be something serious considering how Ritsuko had reacted after using the scanner.

Time seemed to slow down to a crawl, a hour feeling like a whole day.

Finally, the red light turned off and the door opened, revealing Ritsuko, followed by orderlies wheeling out a sleeping Mayumi. "She will be alright, although this had been a rescue at the last minute." She looked to Mr. Aida. "Mr. Aida, please escort your son to the room of the young lady. Although she won't be awake for some time, I think he wants to stay with her."

Misato waited until both of them were gone, before asking Ritsuko the important question. "OK, so what exactly was wrong with her?"

Ritsuko took a deep breath. "I better show you. It's complicated."

Following her, the group went into one of the rooms beside the surgery rooms, where they saw a small cylinder being attached to a machine. The cylinder was filled with LCL, and in it floated something that looked like a red, pulsating, organic sphere. It was partly overgrown with organic growth that reached out like a kraken. The worst however was, that this thing still seemed to be alive.

"Yuck! What's this thing? Looks like a tumor," Toji said in disgust while looking at this thing, before realizing what this could mean. "Don't tell me you removed that from her!"

"We did. It's what had almost killed her," Ritsuko stated and everyone, with exception of Rei, turned a little green. Ritsuko had a guess why Rei wasn't affected. "As to what it is... That essentially is a prototype S² organ, which we could install into an EVA. However, something like this was never made for a fully human body and it had started to grow at an uncontrolled rate - a little longer and it would have burst her open in a bloody display before releasing its energy in form of heat. Afterwards, not even dental records would have helped to identify the remaining ash pile."

Rei held back a small wince. The only reason she could hold an S² was that she actually wasn't fully human. Finally, Hikari asked the logical question. "But why would she have something like this inside herself?"

"Only one possibility, someone had used her body as a testbed for growing an S² by inserting the seed into a body. Only one faction could know this secret... SEELE. This means she has some sort of connection with them," Ritsuko concluded.

"Ritsu, you don't think she works for them!" Misato gasped. Mayumi looked like a really nice girl. She was unable to imagine her working for SEELE.

"I didn't say that she did it on her free will. Considering the how this thing had almost killed her, I guess she is a victim in this. I suspect that there is more behind this, but only she herself can tell us the whole story. That opens the problem how much we can actually tell her and her boyfriend, two civilians who shouldn't hold this dangerous knowledge... But she will have to carry an even bigger burden..."

"What burden?" Misato hated it when Ritsuko didn't say it outright.

"You see, SEELE has probably calculated her death through the S². They would know that we know if she turns up alive. So to keep her safe from assassination and blowing our cover, no one can know that she survived. For the rest of the world it must look like Mayumi Yamagishi... has died."

to be continued...

Next Chapter: Arael


Notes

At first I had not exactly been ethusiastic to write a chapter that's mostly more explanations, but then I did find the way how to make it more interesting while progressing the plot as well. It was difficult, but did pay off at the end.

This chapter not only brings the situation with Ritsuko to its peak, but also finally solves the Mayumi situation. Both of these threads had been going on for a while and I felt both needed serious advancement. Thus Ritsuko now knows and it is burdening her, yet the first hints appear that Maya might feel a bit more for her than thought at first. Mayumi meanwhile is now in good hands and no longer in direct danger.

There are serious changes here for Revival. The concept of Yui's avatar is totally new and will continue in subsequent chapters. The rest of the scene between Yui and Shinji is also massively improved. The scene with Rei and Yui is completely new. The scene with Trident and Mana is new.