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"Dialogues"

- Thoughts -

"Radio Talk"


Liability Note:

Evangelion, its characters and setting are the property of Hideaki Anno. Any brands, movies and series mentioned in this Fanfic are the property of their creators.


(*)


Chapter 18

When the purple giant returned inside the WILLE, Shinji couldn't deny that he was happy, he had managed to do something that everyone thought was impossible, he managed to defeat the enemy and save the city, he was taken out of his thoughts when the lid of the input plug was opened and one of the technicians appeared, when he looked at Shinji he smiled as he extended his hand.

Shinji got up from his seat and took the technician's hand to get a little help getting out, when he was out, Shinji was met by Misato smiling, she approached him and spoke.

"Well done Shinji."

Shinji was embarrassed, he wasn't used to receiving compliments, but he couldn't help but feel good, he finally did one good thing since his return, this was the first time he was happy to have piloted an EVA.


Wunder

Mari and Asuka were coming out of the showers, Mari was happy for Shinji's success, she didn't expect him to perform like this, she turned to Asuka and spoke smiling.

"Man, the puppy did really well."

Asuka nodded, she was feeling very confused about the whole thing, her mind was fighting a battle, part of it was happy that Shinji had defeated the enemy and part of it was upset that she was once again outclassed by "Invincible Shinji."

Mari looked at Asuka and raised an eyebrow. "What is it princess?"

Asuka shook her head and replied. "Nothing."

Mari knew something was wrong with Asuka, she looked around to see if they had the privacy she desired, upon seeing that they were alone, Mari stopped Asuka and looked her in the eye.

"Come on princess, I can see there is something bothering you." Mari looked at her seriously. "We've been fighting together for 14 years."

Asuka shook her head, she looked Mari in the eye and spoke boredly. "It's the fight."

Mari looked at Asuka with confusion.

Asuka continued annoyed. "We both couldn't defeat one of these things before, then along comes the invincible Shinji and succeeds on his first try ... How does he do it?"

Mari stared at Asuka, she knew her pride was strong.

"First he breaks my synchronization record, then he defeats an enemy who seemed to be indestructible." Asuka spoke as she looked down, Mari looked at her with pity.

"Princess ... I know being a pilot is everything to you, but you have to stop seeing things as a competition, I bet Shinji didn't defeat that thing to show he's the best, but to protect the people he loves." Mari spoke with a smile on her face.

Asuka knew that her pride prevented her from seeing things differently, she knew that her tantrum was irrational and childish, she raised her hand to her face and sighed.

"Plus, the cub is going back to Wunder with Misato, we both know full well that a lot of people are going to be boiling over that he piloted again, we have to give him what little support he gets." Mari spoke seriously still staring at Asuka.

Mari's words hit Asuka like a punch in the gut, she knew that many would not see this act of Shinji as a good thing, many still wanted him dead, she had to control her pride, Asuka nodded.

Mari smiled again and spoke with a mischievous smile. "So, what will be the reward the princess will give the puppy for his bravery?"

Asuka blushed at the insinuation and spoke as she turned and left, "Shut up pervert."

"At least I admit it." Mari rtorted as she walked back to Asuka's side.


WILLE's headquarters.

Shinji was outside the room waiting for Misato, he wanted to be with SDAT so he could destroy himself, his mind was focused on the battle, he was feeling a little confused about his performance, he would never expect that he could fight the way he did.

"Shinji."

Shinji didn't realize that Misato had already left the meeting and was standing next to him, he was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't even notice her coming out and calling him.

"Sorry Misato, I was distracted." Shinji spoke as he stood up and spoke clumsily.

"I could see, I called you about three times." Misato spoke smiling.

Shinji can't help but laugh.

"Let's go to Wunder." Misato spoke as he turned and started walking to the car, Shinji started walking beside him, he again went back to thinking about the fight and all, he hoped that helped some of his situation, he knew the road was long, but he was hoping to prove that he wasn't a murderer.


Wunder.

The bridge team was in the cafeteria having lunch, they were able to get back to their routine when the danger alert was removed, Koji Takao was sitting at one of the tables, his tranquility was broken when Sumire Nagara, Hideki Tama and Midori Kitakami sat next to him.

The battle was still the main subject of all the crew members, they were divided between those who thought Shinji's performance was spectacular, those who thought it was a risk to have put him back in an EVA and the vast majority were happy that they had a victory.

Midori looked at Koji and spoke cheerfully. "So old man, why the frown?"

Koji turned his face to her and spoke, he kept a neutral look on his face, he was thinking about the battle, and how Shinji had managed to defeat these new Mark.09 units.

"I was thinking about the battle, the kid really is good." Koji spoke as he took a sip of the juice he was drinking.

Tama cast a glance at Koji, he couldn't deny that he had been impressed with Shinji's abilities, but he still had a bit of trepidation about him.

Midori was eating her food and was thinking about her colleague's words, she was beginning to change her opinion about Shinji, after all the effort he was making to prove that he had no intention of ending the world.

Tama looked at Koji and spoke. "Do you think this changes anything?"

Koji faced him with a thoughtful look on his face. "I believe so, let's think about it, the boy had no obligation whatsoever to be doing this, he is doing everything within his power to be able to prove that he is not a monster."

Tama and the others stood looking at Koji, everyone was thinking about his words, the thing was that Shinji was being the subject of many conversations within Wunder, many were beginning to disbelieve the official reports about the Near-Third Impact, but some still saw him as the villain of the story.


When Shinji arrived at Wunder, Misato warned him that he was going back to the bridge, he followed the path to the dining hall site, hoping that he could meet up with his friends.

Mari and Asuka were on their way to lunch when they noticed Shinji, Mari signaled Asuka to be quiet as she started to walk silently behind Shinji, Asuka shook her head at Mari's attitude, but couldn't help but feel curious to see what Shinji's reaction would be.

Shinji was so lost in his world that he didn't notice Mari approaching, she, in a demonstration of skill, ran and jumped holding onto Shinji's back, slipping her legs around his waist and holding him with her arms.

Shinji was startled at first, but he could see the pink sleeves on the arm of the person holding him, making a great effort to stand up, Mari seeing that he had managed to hold her spoke up.

"Our hero is finally here!" Shouted Mari as she hugged Shinji from behind.

"Hey ... easy Mari." Shinji managed to speak, as he held Mari's arm to give her some support to stand upright.

Mari seeing his effort released him and stopped beside him, she put an arm around Shinji's shoulders and began to speak. "So, how did it go?"

Shinji looked at her confused and thought about her words, but soon realized what event she was talking about. "It was hard, that thing was really nimble."

Mari nodded and looked at Asuka who had joined her side, she saw an opportunity to tease Asuka.

"You know puppy, you were the first one who was able to defeat the new Mark.09, not even me or the princess could do that." Mari spoke smiling as she saw Asuka roll her eyes at the teasing, but she felt her anger rise for Mari bringing up this subject, but she had to control her pride.

"Never?" Shinji asked genuinely surprised.

"Yeah, that's all the guys talk about." Mari spoke as she saw Shinji's shocked face.

Shinji was left digesting Mari's words, he had really been surprised when she said that they had never defeated this kind of enemy, Shinji was lost in his world, but his reverie was cordoned off when Mari shouted.

"Hi blue! " Mari shouted to get the attention of Rei who was walking beside Sakura, when the pair approached them, Sakura turned smiling to Shinji and spoke.

"Shinji, all everyone is talking about is the battle." Sakura spoke excitedly to Shinji, he looked away and started scratching the back of his head in shame.

"How are you?" Rei asked Shinji.

"I'm fine Rei." Shinji replied smiling.

Asuka was looking at everything, she was still thinking about the battle, she looked to see Shinji, she doesn't know how, but somehow she could see a change in Shinji's look, for now his eyes showed a little life, he didn't have the faded look as before, seeing this state of mind in Shinji made all the envy and anger disappear.

The group walked to the cafeteria, when they got there, Shinji could feel the stares on him, he lowered his gaze and started walking together with his group to get a tray, the people around were looking with a mixture of fear and admiration.

Shinji served himself and sat down at a table, followed by his friends, Asuka sat in front of Shinji, as they ate, the two exchanged glances and small smiles, Asuka was grateful that Mari was chatting with Rei and Sakura.

As the days went by, Shinji continued to follow his training routine, feeling better every day, he was doing his best not to waste Mari and Asuka's time.

Again as he was leaving from another day of training, Shinji was walking next to Asuka, he was feeling tired, but he was happy about everything, many of the people were treating him like a part of the team, he still received threatening looks, but they were becoming rarer.

"So Asuka, do you want to eat something?" Shinji asked nervously to Asuka.

Asuka turned her head to him and looked at him with a serious look, but deep down she was smiling. "OK, let's eat."

Shinji accompanied her to the dining hall, as it was already dark and past dinner time, the dining hall was empty, few people were there.

Shinji and Asuka took the trays and their respective meals, they sat down and began to eat in silence, again they exchanged glances and smiles, Asuka seeing an opportunity, reached out and took Shinji's hand, he froze at the contact, but soon looked at her and smiled.

They don't know how long they stood there looking at each other fondly, but he noticed that Asuka's face and expressions changed, but she didn't let go of his hand, Shinji was about to ask why when he started to hear Mari's voice, he really started to think that Mari was following them.

When he turned around, both Shinji and Asuka were in shock when she entered the cafeteria accompanied by Rei, they were going to get their trays, Shinji was shocked when he saw a smile on Rei's face, she was genuinely happy.

He looked quickly at Asuka who kept her gaze on the pair who were preparing their dishes, she looked at Shinji again and spoke.

"I think Mari is trying something with Ayanami."

Shinji can't help but smile, he never imagined this, but he didn't care, he wanted Rei to be happy, and Mari seemed to be a nice and understanding person, he nodded as he saw the two sat down and began to eat and talk. He turned to Asuka and looked back into her blue eye.

Shinji was walking beside Asuka, they were walking back to their respective rooms, when they reached Asuka's room, he turned to her and spoke.

"It was a very good day." Shinji was nervous.

Asuka was nervous too, she was wondering if they had a date today? She looked at the floor and thought of an answer.

"Our meeting was good." Asuka spoke as she raised her gaze, she saw Shinji's shocked face, she let out a muffled laugh and continued. "You didn't think so?"

Shinji was still trying to reason, Asuka mentioned that they had a date, he smiled at her and replied confidently, but failed drastically. "It was good yes, I hope I can do it again."

Asuka smiled at him, swiped her card and opened her door, she walked in, but before she closed the door, she looked Shinji in the eye and spoke smiling. "Good evening ... Baka."

Shinji stood smiling facing the bedroom door, he let out a small laugh and walked back to his room.

When he entered the room and was in privacy, he began to think about his whole life, he thought about his awakening, about everything he had done until he arrived at this day.

Shinji still felt very depressed about everything, but he was starting to feel alive again, he took a shower and went to sleep.


Misato Katsuragi's office.

Misato was with Ritsuko in her office, they were discussing how the return and reinstallation of Unit 01 was going to go about getting Wunder back on the air and on its mission.

Misato was tired in her chair, Ritsuko took a small pad of papers and handed them to Misato who took them and started to read, these documents were the authorization for the new entry plugs to enter Wunder.

"So you've already built them?" Misato spoke as he raised his gaze to his friend.

"We can't waste any time." Ritsuko spoke as she lit a cigarette.

Misato looked again at the papers in his hands. "Will it really work?"

"I don't know, but if it works, it will change things for our side." Ritsuko spoke as she let out a cloud of smoke into the air.

Misato was thinking about Ritsuko's words, she again looked at the layout of the double input plug and sighed wearily.


The next morning, Shinji woke up and was getting ready to leave for another day of training when he opened the door and was greeted by Mari and Asuka, he looked at them confused.

"Good morning puppy." Mari spoke cheerfully.

"Good morning guys." Shinji spoke as he left the room.

"Misato wants to see us." Asuka spoke dismissively, she kept her hands in the pockets of her red jacket.

Shinji nodded and began to think about what Misato wanted, he started to follow Asuka and Mari through the corridors to get to the bridge.

When they arrived at the bridge and went to Misato's office, they saw that she was already waiting for them, she gestured for them to sit down and closed the door, inside was Ritsuko with Rei by her side, Mari and Rei exchanged smiles when they saw each other.

"So, I have called you here so that we can discuss a new type of training." Misato spoke as she looked at the faces of each of the occupants of the room, she pointed to Ritsuko.

Ritsuko took a control and pointed to the wall turning on a slide show, in this presentation, it showed technical details of the dual input plug.

"That's the idea, let's start training you in pairs." Ritsuko spoke as she lit a cigarette. "Our studies suggest that two pilots can fly a single EVA, two pilots can better judge a situation."

Asuka grimaced and spoke in disgust. "And why would that be good? We're handling it just fine the way it is."

Asuka was feeling strange, she didn't want anyone else flying her 02 unit, she had been very angry to learn that Mari had hijacked her unit and tried to fight the angel Zeruel, Asuka never forgave Mari for the damage done in the battle.

Ritsuko shook her head and swallowed her cigarette. "Two pilots showed an increase in EVA reflexes and strength, their response was better in every way."

Asuka kept a disgusted look on her face.

"There we go princess, it can't be that bad, I would love to pilot with the puppy." Smiling Mari spoke with a dreamy look, Asuka could see she was doing it to annoy, Asuka huffed and cast a bored look at Mari.

"But how will we do that?" Shinji asked confused.

"Simple, basic logic, we have two EVAS and four pilots." Misato spoke smiling. "Today the team has already installed the new input plugs, we will run a series of tests to determine which duo will be the best, and when we have that confirmation the duo will begin special training to adapt."

Shinji was thinking about it, he had done it before with Kaworu.

"So, everyone to the sync room." Misato ordered smiling.

The trip to the room where the new input plugs were located was quick, everyone went silently to the place, Asuka was thinking that this was bullshit, Mari was thinking about who her duo would be, Shinji and Rei were thinking about several things at the same time.

When the quartet arrived at the synchronization room, Maya stood up and walked over smiling. "Hi guys, go to the changing rooms, your plugsuits are already there, when you are ready I will pass on some instructions."

Mari turned and hurried to the locker rooms, followed by Rei and Asuka who had a scowl on her face, Shinji started to walk to the men's locker room when he heard Mari's voice, she was speaking loudly so precisely Shinji could hear from the other room. "Poor baby boy, he'll be alone in the next locker room."

Shinji only shook his head as he began to undress, he was facing a bench where his costume was already waiting for him.

"I think I'll call him to come here."

"Pervert." Asuka's voice came through the walls.

Shinji felt himself blushing at the image of the three naked women in his head, he quickly cleared this thought and finished putting on his costume, he walked to the water fountain and got a glass of water, when he was already drinking, Shinji didn't wait for Mari's next comment.

"Whoa, there won't be anything he hasn't seen before, you've said yourself that he's seen you naked before."

Shinji choked on the water and began to cough, just as he was getting his breath back, Shinji could hear Asuka's scream.

"Shut up Four Eyes!"

Shinji recovered and took a deep breath and left the locker room, he found Asuka blushing avoiding looking at him, Mari was smiling next to Rei who remained calm.

Maya was hiding a smile on her face, in fact she could hear everything that was going on, she took a deep breath and began to explain the details of the test.

"So it'll be like this, first we'll try with the duo Mari and Shinji and the other Asuka and Rei."

Asuka cast an incredulous look at Maya. "Am I going to have to pair up with the wonder girl?"

Maya turned around and spoke as firmly as possible. "Yes."

Mari at this point had an arm around Shinji's shoulders, she flashed a smile at Asuka who only huffed and turned to go towards the new entrance plugs.

Asuka approached the new entry plugs and poked her head inside to take a look, the new plugs were longer, inside had the seats, they resembled the control strap seats, one gang was in front of the other, both had the arm straps.

Asuka shook her head and entered, she sat on the first bench and waited for Rei who entered shortly thereafter, Rei sat in her seat and waited for the test to begin.

Mari was walking next to Shinji as she poked her head in and saw the designer of the new entry plugs and smiled mischievously.

"Puppy, I have a question for you." Mari asked as she looked at Shinji who stopped just behind her. "Will you want to be on top or bottom?"

Shinji realized what Mari was suggesting and began to blush, he wished he could strike back but it seemed that Mari knew how to leave anyone speechless.

Mari started laughing and shook her head. "Then I'm the one with the perverted mind, will you want the top accent or the bottom?" Mari concluded as she looked at Shinji.

Shinji shook his head to clear his mind, he looked at Mari and spoke clumsily "It doesn't matter."

Mari smiled at Shinji and entered the plug, Shinji entered soon after, seeing Mari sitting on the top seat, Shinji sat on the bottom one and waited for the test to begin.

Maya saw that everyone was already in their seats, she started typing on her keyboard to start the test, soon a hand appeared on her shoulder, Maya was startled by the touch and gave a little jump, she turned her head to see who it was.

"Hi Maya." Ritsuko spoke with a small smile on her face.

"Hello senpai." Maya greeted Ritsuko back.

Ritsuko sat down in a chair and asked. "How are things going?"

"I haven't started yet, I'm typing the commands now." Maya spoke as she turned around and started the sequence again, she typed for a few more seconds and the test began, she leaned into the microphone and spoke. "OK guys, concentrate like you always have."

The image of the four nodded.

As the test went on, but without the normal length, because they were just testing to see which duo would be the best, after an hour of testing, Ritsuko went to the microphone and spoke.

"Okay guys, you can leave and come to the control room."

Maya typed on her keyboard interrupting the test and waiting for the result to come out.

Everyone left, Asuka had a scowl on her face the whole time, this was due to having to share the plug with Rei.

Mari came out smiling as always, she stretched and spoke to Shinji who was standing next to her. "That was kind of fun."

Shinji nodded, it was strange to have someone else in the plug in, but it was a good experience, Asuka looked out of the corner of her eye Shinji talking to Mari, deep down Asuka wanted to share the plug with Shinji.

When the group arrived in the control room, they saw Ritsuko together with Maya, she stood up and stopped in front of the group.

"Okay, the result was as follows, the duo Shinji and Mari got an average synchronization of 42% and Asuka and Rei got 46%, not a good sign, let's switch the duos again and test.

Shinji nodded, he felt Mari's hand on his shoulder and she spoke. "A shame puppy, don't feel bad, it's normal not to be able to get there the first time."

Shinji blushed at the insinuation, but he decided to play along with Mari. "It happens."

Mari smiled when she saw that Shinji joined in the joke and started laughing.

Ritsuko shook her head at Mari and began to wonder when she would start growing up, but kept talking.

"The pair is now Shinji and Rei and the other is Mari and Asuka." Ritsuko spoke as she turned and went back to the console, Shinji walked over to Rei and pointed to the door.

Inside the entrance plug, Shinji sat on the top seat this time, he was looking at Rei's head that was just below his seat.

"So Rei, how are you?" Shinji asked to break the ice.

"I'm fine, how are you?" Rei spoke to Shinji, she had not yet turned her head.

"I'm fine too." Shinji replied, a silence reigned again in the plug, Shinji was about to ask one more thing, but was cut off by Rei.

"Ikari, what am I to you?" Rei asked, Shinji could feel a tension in her voice, Rei had thought about it a lot, when she found out her origin, she was a little resentful of talking to him, she believed that being a clone of her mother, he would be uncomfortable in her presence, but she wanted to be able to get close to Shinji, Rei didn't know why, but she always liked his presence.

Shinji didn't expect such a question, he began to think of an answer.

"What do you mean?" Shinji asked confused.

Rei shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Does knowing my background make you uncomfortable?"

Shinji began to realize what Rei was getting at, he was also feeling confused about her, he wanted to talk about it, Shinji began to think about the question, deep down he knew he didn't care, and the sound of having a sister was good for him, having a family that cares was good.

"No ... It doesn't make me uncomfortable now, when I found out I was, but after I thought better of it, I saw it wasn't a big deal, then I kind of liked it." Shinji replied with a smile.

Rei could feel a relief listening to his words, she was worried that Shinji didn't want to talk to her anymore because of his background, but hearing Shinji speak that he didn't care brought a state of calm to Rei, she smiled.

Shinji continued smiling. "After much thought, now answering your first question, I see you as my sister."

Rei's eyes widened as she heard this, she knew that genetically she could be said to be Shinji's sister, but knowing that Shinji considered her his sister brought a good feeling to her.

Shinji continued smiling. "And I think it's great to have a sister."

Rei felt her smile widen, she had already read in books and her studies about the concept of family, and now knowing that Shinji considered her family made Rei feel good inside, she was no longer empty.

In the plug next to her, Mari had opened an audio channel to listen to Rei's conversation with Shinji, she knew it was wrong to spy, but her curiosity always ended up overcoming reason.

"Oh!, isn't that cute princess?" Mari spoke smiling.

Asuka only shook her head, but Asuka was smiling too, she was relieved that Shinji considered Rei his sister and not something else.

"Okay, let's start now, same as before." Ritsuko spoke into the microphone

After this test, again the group was facing Ritsuko.

"It's still not good, but it has improved a little." Ritsuko spoke as she looked at her tablet with the results. "Mari and Asuka got an average of 49% and Shinji and Rei got 53%, let's switch the pairs for one last test and we'll be done."

The group was already starting to get tired, but everyone nodded.

"The duo to be tested now is Shinji and Asuka, the other is Mari and Rei." Ritsuko spoke as she turned and sat back down at her console.

Again everyone was in their plugs and were concentrating as hard as they could, Ritsuko was looking at the data on her screen, she was smoking a cigarette as she looked at the synchronization averages.

"Maya, I think we found the doubles." Ritsuko spoke as she let out a cloud of smoke, Maya approached and looked at the data agreeing with her head.

"So guys, the results were as follows, Shinji and Asuka averaged 78% and Rei and Mari got 75%, with this data I believe everyone should already know what their plug doubles will be." Ritsuko spoke with a small smile on her face.

Mari looked at Rei and smiled, she was very happy to know that she would be working with Rei, the same thought was going through Rei's head now.

Asuka tried to keep a neutral face, but knowing that she would be paired with Shinji had a good feeling in her, she was thinking about what they were now, for they had already shared two kisses, and the last one for Asuka had been very good, she blushed at the memory.

Shinji was thinking about how things would be, he was happy to be able to spend some time with Asuka, he wanted to be able to talk to her and clarify what they were to each other after the kisses they shared, he nodded and started to think about it, Asuka turned her head and looked at Shinji, she saw that he was looking thoughtful with a small smile on his face.

"All right, you guys can change." Ritsuko spoke professionally to the group.

"Good, I can't take any more LCL in my body." Asuka spoke as she turned and started walking to the locker room. Mari followed her and spoke. "What's the matter, I like the smell of LCL."

Shinji showered and changed, again waited for the girls outside the room, he could see Maya and Ritsuko working on the test results, he decided to keep quiet so as not to disturb them.

"I still don't find anything wrong with the smell of LCL." Mari came out and saw Shinji waiting for them.

"Hi puppy, kinda lonely there huh, It was the princess's fault that you can't join us." Mari spoke as she pointed to Asuka who blushed.

Shinji can't help but laugh at Mari's joke, he stood up and joined the group, they were about to leave when they heard Ritsuko's voice, they turned around as they heard Misato enter the room.

"Am I late?" Misato asked as she greeted the group.

Ritsuko started to stand up and motioned for Maya to do the same. "No, you're right on time, at least once in your life." She turned around and spoke smiling. "Maya, I have some news for you."

Misato wanted to strike back, but deep down she knew she wasn't the most punctual person, she decided to let that one go and stood by Shinji's side.

Maya turned her head and looked at Ritsuko, she had a slight confusion in her gaze.

Ritsuko took a small box she carried with her and an envelope with the WILLE's emblem and handed the envelope to Maya, everyone in the room was looking expectantly, Shinji recognized the box, it was the same one that had the Lieutenant's insignia on it when he entered WILLE.

Maya took it and the envelope, she had a confused look on her face, as she opened it and started to read, her face went from confusion to shock, Maya looked up to Ritsuko who was smiling.

Ritsuko approached Maya, opened the box and took the Captain's insignias and pinned them on Maya's uniform, she saluted her and spoke proudly.

"Congratulations Captain Ibuki"

Maya smiled and saluted back.

Misato approached Maya and spoke. "Congratulations Maya."

"Thank you ma'am, I won't let you down." Maya spoke trying to sound serious, but she was too happy to control her smile.

"I know you won't." Misato spoke smiling as she gave Maya a small hug, she turned away and left the room accompanied by Ritsuko.

Maya was about to say something when she was caught by Mari giving her a bear hug, as Maya let go she spoke happily. "Congratulations, we have to celebrate."

Shinji approached Maya and gave her a salute and spoke. "Congratulations Captain Ibuki."

Maya blushed at all the attention she was getting, she saluted back and spoke to Shinji. "Thank you, but you can call me Maya."

When the group congratulated Maya, they started to leave the room and were going to lunch.

Maya sat down at her console, she still couldn't believe she was promoted, she picked up the envelope and realized there was a small piece of paper inside, she took it and opened it, it had a note from Ritsuko that said.

Congratulations Maya, you deserve it, I am very proud of you.

Ritsuko Akagi

Maya could not hold back her tears of joy as she read Ritsuko's words, she had tried very hard to make her Senpai proud, and she had finally succeeded.


Somewhere in the red earth.

Sebastian was with his faithful soldier, he was on his way to what was left of Tokyo 3, they had been on the run for days, he believed the only place he could hide was at NERV headquarters.

"Sir, the fuel will run out soon." Number One spoke as he pointed to the marker, he was worried if they would have enough to reach Tokyo 3, Sebastian turned back and looked at the containers of extra fuel left, he did a quick head count and nodded.

"We have enough, it's going to be tight, but we'll get there, we'll get there in 10 hours or so. " Sebastian spoke as he settled into his seat, they were approaching Tokyo 3, they had already entered the territory of the old Japan, the VTOL was not very fast, so it was taking time to arrive.

After a few hours, Sebastian was already thinking about his life up to that point, how much he hated Shinji and everything he stood for, constantly berating himself for not killing him the second he saw him.

"Sir, we're going to have to land to put the last load of fuel in." Number one spoke as he began to descend.

Sebastian huffed, but he knew that the VTOL could not be fueled mid-flight, he nodded, when they were on the ground, Sebastian got out of the vehicle while his henchman fueled, he was looking at what was left of the Tokyo 3 suburb, it was now a collection of rubble and many gaps of infinity.

- If my grandfather had succeeded, this would never have been like this. - Sebastian thought somberly.

He began to hear the sound of something approaching, the sound was like a jet, he quickly began to look up to find the plane, what he saw made him shiver.

Number one had his rifle pointed at the fast approaching object, the white beast landed with a loud thud on the ground, making it seem as if a small earthquake had happened.

Number one was trembling, everyone could see that their weapons would have no effect against the white beast that had landed in front of them.

The serial production Eva bent down and faced Sebastian and Number one and flashed his sadistic smile, at both of them, they don't know how long they stared at each other, Sebastian could feel the adrenaline in his body, he had never been this close to an EVA like this before, especially this close to an EVA like these.

The mace-producing EVA raised his hand and stopped with his palm facing up in front of Sebastian, he was inviting them to come up, Sebastian with trembling legs climbed on the monster's hand and was soon joined by his henchman. The EVA closed its fist and soon took off towards the NERV headquarters.

The trip was quick, when they were at NERV's headquarters, the white giant took off again and disappeared from sight.

"Finally."

Sebastian turned around to see Gendo standing next to Fuyutsuki, he quickly pulled himself together and began to approach.

"But first, what makes you think you are welcome here?" Gendo spoke in his cold voice.

Sebastian stopped a few meters away from Gendo, it was no secret that they didn't like each other, but now he had to give in, after all NERV was the only place where he could hide and escape.

"I have your son to thank." Sebastian spoke with his voice full of venom.

"You only have your own incompetence to thank for that, you failed to accomplish a simple task." Gendo retorted coldly.


Somewhere in New London.

Kaji was looking around, always alert to any suspicion, after all in his line of work you can't be too careful, he was leaning against his car stopped at the side of the road, this is the same road where he had met Laura.

Kaji looked at his watch and saw that the meeting time was approaching, he began to think about what Laura wanted to talk about, he took a cigarette and began to think about life, the time he spent on the run, his time with Misato, having rescued Shinji.

He sighed as he thought that he wished his life could change, Kaji would like a life where he didn't have to run away, a life where he could sit somewhere and relax like a normal person.

His train of thought was broken when he started to hear the sound of an approaching vehicle, he quickly threw away his cigarette and started to look in the direction, he saw a car approaching, the same car as last time, again Kaji dropped out of sight.

As Laura approached, she parked the car and got out, she walked to Kaji's vehicle and looked inside, seeing that there was no one in it she started to look around, but her searches came to nothing, Laura again looked at her watch and saw that she had not been late.

"Hi Laura."

Laura was startled and gave a little jump when she turned around and saw Kaji smiling, she cast a bored look at him.

"So you wanted to talk to me?" Kaji asked informally with his original smile.

Laura still wanted to swear at him for scaring her, but decided to leave it for another time, she took a breath to calm herself and began to speak.

Kaji kept listening to everything intently, he kept thinking about Laura's proposal and paying attention to every word she said to him, after a few minutes of conversation, Laura concludes. "So, what do you think?"

Kaji looked her in the eye and began to speak. "Laura, I don't know that's too big."

Laura returned the look and spoke back. "But Kaji, you are the only one I trust for this, and you are more than capable of commanding WILLE."

Kaji can't deny that he liked hearing this, but this was a good proposal, he could have a more normal life, his mind brought the image of Misato and the possibility of being closer to her.

Kaji sighed as he lowered his head and looked at the ground, Laura seeing this, continued to speak.

"Also, you've uncovered Sebastian's entire scheme, imagine what you can do with unlimited resources." Laura was agitated, she was being pressured to give her nomination for the command of WILLE, her position as director of the UN gave her the right to nominate a person, but it would have to be approved by the council.

Kaji raised his gaze and spoke, he brought his most original smile and spoke calmly. "Can I give you the answer tomorrow?"

Laura was a little disappointed to leave without a final answer, but she was relieved that Kaji was thinking about it, she nodded to him.

"Okay, but think about it very carefully." Laura spoke as she started walking back to her car and got in, started it, but before she got out, she looked at Kaji and spoke again.

"It would be very nice Kaji, a person with your talent can't just wander around the world."

Kaji nodded, he couldn't deny that he was a good spy, he had gotten a lot of information from various people, he watched Laura's car drive away and disappear into the horizon, he went back to his car and started it.

Kaji, upon arriving at his hiding place, lay down on the couch and closed his eyes, he was debating the pros and cons of accepting the offer, he sighed as he accepted the fact that he would not sleep much this day.


Laura's Office - UN

The next day, Laura was in her office looking at the documents and her agenda for today, she was a little far away in her mind, Laura wondered if Kaji had thought about it and what his answer would be.

Laura turned on her computer and saw the tons of unread messages, she sighed and started working, after a few hours of paperwork, video calls with colony representatives and putting up with a lot of boring people, Laura raised her hands, covered her face and sighed tiredly, she had days when she just wanted to disappear and sleep all day, her thoughts were broken when her cell phone rang, she picked it up and saw that it was an unknown number.

"Hi?" Laura answered professionally as she stared wearily at her window.

"Hi Laura." Kaji spoke normally on the other end of the line.

Laura can't help but feel anxious, Kaji called after all, she adjusted herself in her chair. "So?"

"..."

Laura was confused by the silence on the other end of the line, she put her cell phone away to see if she had dropped the call or something, when she saw that the device was working properly, she put it to her ear again and waited.

"I accept." Kaji replied smiling, but he couldn't deny that he was anxious.

Laura smiled as she heard Kaji speaking, she restrained herself from screaming and spoke again.

"I'm glad you accepted."


Wunder

A group of four people were sitting in the cafeteria hall, they were discussing the current situation.

"I still can't believe it." One of the men spoke as he ate his food.

"What?" One of his friends spoke up.

"I can't believe this brat is one of us now." The man spoke again, he threw the spoon into the briefcase angrily.

"Me neither, look where we got to." The friend replied by shaking his head.

They stopped their conversation when they saw Shinji enter the room accompanied by Asuka, Mari, Sakura and Rei.

"This has to end, he will get what he deserves, but not today, we have to catch him off guard and alone." The man spoke as he cast a brutal glance at Shinji, all four looked at Shinji and agreed.

Shinji took his food and sat down with his friends, he looked at the group that stared at him menacingly, he worried, this still bothered him, but he was getting used to the stares of people who probably hated him, he concentrated on his food and the story Mari was telling.


Author's Notes: Please review, your critiques (Good or bad) are very important to me, you know that I take a lot into consideration what is said and it also gives me strength to continue this translation project, of course the translation will have problems, but hopefully it will be at satisfactory levels.

Don't forget to also like the Facebook page, search for "Calborghete" and locate a picture of Shinji and Asuka, on this page I will post updates and it will also be easier for you to contact me.

Well, see you next time.