Continued from last chapter…

"Crap! This sucks!" Asuka had just been informed of the new angel and was now getting ready to engage it. In a matter of 30 minutes, she was suited up and on board unit-02. She scanned the landscape for the angel. Whatever this new one was, it was certainly…alien; even by angel standards. It didn't really seem to have a complicated shape; in fact, it looked like it had the rough dimension of a cucumber with some weird nightmare mask for a face. Asuka charged head first at the creature, which quickly retaliated by shooting two razor sharp appendages at unit-02's arms; completely slicing them off. Asuka screamed in pain from inside. Back at NERV, everyone watched in horror as purple gunk shot out from unit-02's maimed body. "What are we going to do?" asked Ritsuko with alarm.

"I'll go," said Rei.

"Rei, are you sure?" asked Misato, "You don't even know if you can sync with unit-00."

"That's a curious thing to say, Major," said Ritsuko.

"That's not important right now," retorted Misato.

"It's fine. I'll do it, whatever it takes," said Rei. With that, she stole into a locker room and quickly returned in her plugsuit. "I'm ready." Soon, she was aboard unit-00. Surprisingly, she was able to synchronize, though her actual sync rate was admittedly lower than usual. Since the progressive knife didn't seem to work, Rei was given an N2 mine to shove at the angel's face. When she got to the surface, Rei found that Asuka had blindly charged at the angel again, causing her to become completely incapacitated. Rei gritted her teeth, tightly clenched the N2 mine in unit-00's palms, and charged at the angel. Once unit-00 made contact BOOM! The N2 mine detonated, but the angel continued moving unscathed, and to make matters worse; the blast had completely knocked unit-00 out of commission. Rei angrily slammed her fists against the side of the entry plug. She couldn't give up; she wouldn't give up! "C'mon! Move! Move! Move! Move, you piece of junk!" Rei desperately pulled at the controls, trying to get unit-00 to move. She pulled and pulled until her strength was exhausted and she could do nothing more but weep. She expected the angel would make short work of her, but unexpectedly she heard something. She opened her eyes to see that unit-00 had seemingly reactivated, but she wasn't controlling it anymore. She watched as her arm seemingly disappeared before her eyes. "Wha-what's happening to m-" Rei's sentence was left unfinished as the rest of her body disappeared. Unit-00 was now on a rampage. It violently tore at the angel, tearing it to shreds. Everyone at NERV watched slack jawed. This was even more intense than the unit-03 incident. Unit-00 smashed the core, but instead of destroying it completely, plunged it's fist deep inside and yanked a foreign object out. The angel fell silent; completely defeated. Misato attempted to reach Rei, but there was no response. She looked to check the vital signs of the pilot. To her surprise, there were no vital signs. Rei was gone.

Meanwhile, Rei found that her body had completely disappeared, but she was somehow still conscious.

"Rei?" said a voice.

"What? Ruby? Is that you?" asked Rei to the voice.

"Yeah. What's going on? I'm scared!"

"I don't know. My body's gone!"

"My body's gone too!"

"Hmmm…Ruby, have you been inside my body?"

"Yeah; that was kind of weird."

"Well, since my body was holding both of our souls, and my body's gone, then that must mean…"

"Our souls have no body!" finished Ruby.

"Correct, but since our souls our now separate, it may be possible for us to get our bodies back."

"But why was I in your body? Oh…wait. I died."

"Yes, so if you were to obtain a new AT field, it would be a different body than the one you had before. That would be weird."

"What do you mean when you say 'AT field'?"

"Well, I believe you called it 'aura.' Right now, our souls are without an 'aura' or 'AT field'."

"So, when we don't have aura, our bodies disappear?"

"Something like that, yes."

"But that doesn't make any sense. Where I come from, aura is what protects our bodies, and when we run out of aura, we can be hurt or killed."

"OK, can your aura come back even after it's run out?"

"Yes, if you wait a while, it will recharge."

"So your aura never goes away permanently; unless you die, of course."

"OK, so you're saying that our auras or AT fields or whatever are gone?"

"It looks that way, and I'm not sure how we'll get them back. What's the last thing you remember?"

"I remember being in unit-00, and we were fighting that angel, right?"

"Yes, I remember that too. I don't think we've gone anywhere."

"So, we're still in unit-00?"

"It seems so, and I feel a strange…sentience in here."

"A..sentience? That sounds scary."

"Yes…hmmm…I think I just figured something out. Ruby, I'm sorry, but I have to go away now."

"What? Rei, please don't leave me! I don't want to be alone!"

"Don't worry; if I'm right, you won't be alone for long."

"And if you're wrong?"

"Then I'll come back, and I'll keep you company while we're trapped in here forever. I'm sorry, I know this isn't fair, but I have to try to at least save you so…goodbye." With that, Rei was gone and Ruby was alone. Suddenly, with a loud SPLORCH! Ruby landed on the ground. She stood up and looked down at herself. She was naked and covered in LCL fluid…but she was back, and Rei was gone. She had sacrificed herself to save Ruby. Ruby sank to her knees and wept. She was startled by another loud, wet sound. With a thud, Rei Ayanami landed right next to Ruby.

"Rei, you're OK!" cried Ruby, quickly picking up her friend and embracing her.

"Yes," said Rei, "But we are both naked. We should really cover up."

"And wash up," said Ruby, laughing, "We stink!"

"Yes," laughed Rei, "Although, trekking back to NERV naked isn't very wise. We could get hurt if we're not careful."

"Any way we can call for help?"

"Not that I know of."

"Well, guess we'll just have to hike it on foot anyways."

"Yes; so let's get going." With that, Ruby and Rei began their trek back to NERV HQ.

Meanwhile…

"What happened to Rei?" asked Misato.

"It seems she was transformed into a state of pure consciousness," said Ritsuko.

"What the heck does that mean?"

"It means her soul is within unit-00, but her body is gone. However, it appears that there is another soul within unit-00 as well."

"Another soul?"

"Yes, and I can't figure out who's it could be."

"Is there anyway Rei will get her body back?" asked Blake.

"I'm not sure. We can try to get her out, but the last time we tried that, it didn't produce the desired results."

"Well, could you at least try?" asked Weiss, "I'm…sure it's what Ruby would have wanted."

"Yes," sighed Ritsuko, "But I'll need to retrieve unit-00 first. Wait…wha?"

"What's wrong?" asked Misato.

"The unknown soul has seemingly disappeared; Rei's soul is still…no wait; now her soul's gone too!"

"Wait a minute," said Weiss, "A soul just can't exist without the body, right?" Ritsuko stood in stunned silence.

"Ritsuko, can a soul live without the body?" asked Misato.

"Ah…um…well…"

"The soul can live without the body?"

"Um…maybe."

"How? How does that even work?!"

"Look, now is not the time. We need to find out what happened to Rei. It's possible that she got her body back, or…"

"Or what?"

"It's possible something else came out of unit-00. We need to go investigate."

"No, I'll go investigate, and after I get back, we're going to talk about the things you've been hiding from me!" With that, Misato marched off. Weiss, Blake and Yang all looked at each other.

"You…don't think," said Weiss.

"Don't you dare start," said Yang angrily, "Ruby is gone!"

"But she might have been in Rei," said Blake.

"Rei's in denial and so are you. It's time to face facts! We all saw the body. Ruby's dead!"

"Then how do you explain the memories?" asked Weiss.

"Ruby must have told those to her when we weren't around. She's gone to Rei's by herself, hasn't she?"

"Yes," said Blake, "But would Ruby really tell Rei about things like semblances?"

"Maybe not, but we did tell Misato, Shinji, and Asuka, right? She could have heard about it from one of them."

"That could be true," said Weiss, "But we don't know that for sure."

"So what if that other soul is Ruby? She's still gone!" With that, Yang began to pace around furiously. Weiss and Blake looked at each other, but didn't say anything further.

Misato combed the forest for unit-00 to see what had become of Rei. Several thoughts swam in her head. What was this about Rei transforming into a state of pure consciousness, and what was this other soul in unit-00? Misato finally came across unit-00, which had fallen silent. There didn't seem to be any sign of life around. Still, if Rei was really just a floating consciousness, then there would be no way to see her in the quiet stillness. Misato decided to call her name anyways. "Reeeeiiii!" Predictably there was no answer. Misato turned to unit-00, "Rei, are you in there?" Again, no answer. Misato sighed. How on earth do you talk to a ghost? Even if Rei was in there, there still was no way to be sure that she heard Misato's cries. Misato cracked her knuckles and decided to try a more aggressive approach. "Hey, you bucket of bolts! Is Rei inside you?"

"Captain, why are you yelling?" Misato spun around to find Ruby and Rei standing behind her. It had been Rei that had addressed her.

"Wha-Rei…and…Ruby? You're…alive. How? Why? When?"

"Please calm yourself," said Rei, "I have an explanation."

"OK, but…why are you two naked?"

"That's…a long story," said Ruby, blushing.

"You weren't doing anything…private, were you?"

"What? No!" cried Ruby.

"Alright alright; I believe you, but I assume you're going to need some clothes."

"Affirmative," said Rei.

"Well, I didn't bring any clothes with me, so we'll have to head back."

"Hmmm…my plugsuit should still be in the entry plug. I wonder if would fit Ruby."

"What? You want me to wear your plugsuit?" asked Ruby.

"Why not? I'm not going to piloting anymore."

"You can't be serious!"

"I'm afraid I am. It's not that I don't want to; it's that I'm simply incapable."

"How?"

"Like you said, it is a long story."

"Well, I don't think I'll be able to retrieve the entry plug from here," said Misato, "Unless…" She quickly grabbed a pager and spoke into it.

"Ritsuko?" she said.

"Yes," a voice answered.

"I've got Rei here. Could you eject the entry plug so I can get her plugsuit?"

"Sure; I assume Rei was able to regain physical form?"

"Uh…yeah," Boy, do you have a lot of explaining to do. Soon, the entry plug had been ejected and a ladder was lowered remotely from NERV HQ. Misato climbed up and retrieved Rei's plugsuit.

"Does it fit?" she asked Ruby.

"It's kind of tight, but it should work for now," said Ruby.

"OK, good. Now, I have several questions for both of you, but the biggest one on my mind is, how are you alive? We just buried you recently."

"I think I can answer that, but I think it would be best if Dr. Akagi were there with us," said Rei.

"Well, alright; it's a bit of a trek back to NERV, though. You up for it?"

"Yeah," said Ruby, "But I'm not sure what Rei's going to do once she gets there. She's still naked."

"Here," said Misato. She draped her coat over Rei, and Rei held the coat so as to cover her whole body.

"Thank you," said Rei.

"Don't mention it," said Misato. The group hiked back to NERV without another word. Once they got there, everyone's mouth fell open at the sight of a completely healthy Ruby Rose.

"This…can't be real," said Ritsuko, "Misato told me…you were dead!"

"How? How did this happen?" asked Blake. Weiss and Yang both stood in stunned silence. Asuka was nowhere to be found; presumably she was changing out of her plugsuit after her defeat at the hands of the angel.

"Everyone, please let me explain," said Rei, "A few days ago, Ruby Rose died. Shortly afterwards, I mysteriously took on her soul, and Ruby's consciousness became a part of me. Due to our memories combining, I mistakenly thought that this was my semblance. After my experience in the bowels of unit-00, I know this was not the case."

"What do you mean?" asked Ruby.

"Remember how I told you I felt some sort of sentience in unit-00? That sentience felt like…myself. I'm a bit fuzzy on the details, but I believe I've been an incomplete being this entire time. A fraction of my soul was being kept within unit-00; possibly so I could synchronize more easily. The rest of my soul was housed within my old body. When Ruby died, I somehow took on her soul to make myself more…complete.

"During the fight we just had, I achieved a 400% synch rate, which caused my AT field to collapse and my body to dissolve into LCL; releasing both mine and Ruby's souls."

"That certainly explains why I detected two souls in unit-00 when Rei disappeared," said Ritsuko.

"And how exactly do you know about this?" asked Misato bitterly.

"Please, I'd like to ask Dr. Akagi some questions of my own," said Rei, "…but first, allow me to finish. After my body was dissolved, I began to keenly feel the other half of myself. I decided to reach out and become a whole being again."

"How did you get your body back?" asked Misato.

"Hmm…I'm not entirely sure, and I'm not sure how Ruby managed to get a new body either. Do you have any ideas, Ruby?"

"Not a clue," replied the young huntress.

"Well, I'm pretty sure that this is Ruby, despite the different body."

"I guess we're kind of similar now."

"Now just hold on a second," said Ritsuko, "I'd like to ask Ruby something. What do you remember?"

"About what?" asked Ruby.

"About your life; I don't need all the details. Just tell me what you remember."

"Well, I remember my home on Patch, I remember Beacon, I remember Professor Ozpin…"

"This Ozpin; what does he look like?"

"Well, he has short, white hair; he wears glasses; his coat and pants are an emerald shade of green."

"Wow, Ruby; I didn't realize you had such a memory," said Weiss.

"But why does it matter what she remembers?" asked Yang.

"Because this isn't the first time someone has been extracted from an EVA unit like this," said Ritsuko.

"What do you mean?" asked Rei.

"Well, as you just found out, unit-00 contains-or contained- part of your soul. The other units also have a soul in them. Unit-01, for example, contains the soul of Yui Ikari, Shinji's mother."

"No way!" gasped Misato.

"The commander was devastated when his wife disappeared," Ritsuko continued, "So, he tried to get her back. What emerged from the core…" Ritsuko narrowed her eyes at Rei, "…was you."

"M-me?" stammered Rei, "I-I'm…Shinji's mother?"

"No," said Ritsuko coldly, "Shinji's mother is still trapped within unit-01. All you are is a worthless pile of meat and bones."

"Worthless?" repeated Rei with tears brimming in her eyes. Ruby shot an angry stare at Ritsuko. Everyone else shot her a similarly indignant glare. Ruby walked over and hugged Rei. "Don't ever let anyone tell you you're worthless," she said tearfully.

Rei afforded Ruby the faintest of smiles, "Thank you," she said softly.

"OK," said Misato, "But how did Shinji's mom get to be trapped in unit-01?"

"Contact experiment," replied Ritsuko, "She willfully allowed her AT field to be destroyed so her soul could be absorbed into the EVA. That way, she could synchronize more easily with her son."

"So it was for Shinji?"

"In essence, yes; same with Asuka's mother."

"Asuka's mom is in unit-02?" asked Weiss.

"Yes, although her contact experiment was not as…successful."

"What does that mean?" asked Misato.

"For whatever reason, only part of her soul was absorbed into unit-02. The experience…drove her insane." Now Yang's eyes burned a passionate shade of red.

"Do you know what happened to her after the experiment?" she asked.

"All I know is that she committed suicide shortly after the experiment," replied Ritsuko.

"She stopped acknowledging her own daughter," said Yang angrily, "She ignored her; only paying attention to a made-up doll. Asuka was devastated."

"Wonder how she'll feel once she finds out about this," said Misato bitterly.

"You wouldn't!" cried Ritsuko fearfully.

"Oh, yes I would!" snapped Misato, "I think she deserves to know what really happened to her mother!"

"There's no need," said a bitter voice. Everyone immediately noticed that Asuka had been standing there the whole time. Her lips were pursed and her eyes brimmed with hot, angry tears.

"A-asuka, I'm sorry," said Misato.

"It wasn't your fault," said Asuka, fighting to keep her voice even, "You didn't know." Misato couldn't come up with a response. Asuka's eyes narrowed at Ritsuko. "You," she said spitefully, "You were there. You watched everything happen." Asuka paused, clenching her fists and breathing heavily. "Did you know? Did you know that would happen?"

"There's no way I could have known," protested Ritsuko, "After all, Unit-01's contact experiment went as planned, and Shinji's mother now rests within her. Why wouldn't we assume that the same would happen with Asuka's mother?"

"OK, that's a good point," said Misato, "But why didn't you tell her? I mean, I can understand not telling her when it happened. She was probably too young to understand, but now she should be way past that."

"No, you're wrong," said Asuka softly, "I mean, you're right that I should be past this by now, but…I'm not. I…never really did get over my mother's death. I always wondered why she let me down like that. It's always kept me up at night." Asuka looked up at Ritsuko, her cheeks glowing red. "Even though I am mad, I am glad I know the truth now. Mama didn't betray me; her love was stolen from her." Asuka's teeth were set into a hard line. "…and it was stolen from me." Team RWBY looked at Asuka sorrowfully, while Rei and Misato only afforded Ritsuko cold stares.

"All of my questions have been answered," said Rei, "But I know there's still more you're not telling us."

"Let's go," said Misato coldly, "We're wasting our time here." Wordlessly, the group followed Misato out, leaving Ritsuko alone. On the way out, Rei and Ruby faced each other.

"I'm glad you're back," said Rei, choking back sobs.

"Me too," said Ruby. The two hugged, and Rei headed back for her apartment. Ruby turned her focus towards her team. "You believe it's me, right?"

Yang afforded a warm smile, "I believe it's you on the inside, and that's all that counts."

"I'm still trying to process how this all happened," said Weiss, "…but I'm glad to have you back." Blake only afforded a wordless nod.

The car ride home was uncannily quiet. Asuka was still mulling over everything she had heard about her mother, Misato was still bitter about all the secrets Ritsuko kept from her, and team RWBY was still trying to understand just how any of this was happening. Once they pulled in, Asuka turned to team RWBY. "Look, no offence, but I'd like to be left alone."

"We understand completely," said Weiss.

"Look, you all can do whatever you want," said Misato, "I'm going to be in my room. I don't want to be bothered." Team RWBY all looked at one another. Even though they were all still confused, none of them really had anything to say.

So, this chapter turned out to be much longer than I was expecting, so I split it into two parts. Also, can you say contrived? Because that's what this chapter is. (Ugh! Mistakes were definitely made.)