Don't forget to like the page on Facebook, the direct link can be found on my Fanfiction profile page, or if you prefer search for "Calborghete" and locate an image of Shinji and Asuka. On this page I will post updates and it will also be easier for you to contact me.


"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 21 - A Simple Hug

Rei was standing in a dark room, she turned her head and began to look around for some information, being unable to see anything but black, Rei began to feel her breathing quicken with anxiety, she began to walk to locate herself.

"It's no use." A mysterious voice spoke in the background.

Rei stopped and began to look around for the voice.

"Who are you?" Rei asked hoping to make the owner of the voice appear, she could feel the effects of fear in her body.

"Why do you want to know?" Again the voice sounded on the scene, it was completely devoid of emotions and spoke softly.

Rei frowned as he began to recognize the voice, it was soft and feminine, Rei again turned to search for the mysterious voice.

"Come out!" Rei shouted into nothingness.

By an irony of fate, Rei felt a presence behind her, she turned around and felt her eyes widen, in front of her stood a person, not just anyone, but herself.

Rei doesn't know how long she stared at herself, the other Rei just stared, she was wearing the Tokyo 3 school uniform and was standing like a statue in front of Rei.

"I remember you" Rei spoke as she stepped back a bit "You were the one I saw when I was inside the LCL plug at NERV"

She only received a nod of confirmation from the other Rei.

"What do you want?" Rei asked in his monotone voice.

The other Rei just stood there staring, she lowered her gaze and spoke calmly.

"I want him to be happy."

Rei looked at her with confusion, she was not able to understand what was going on, the other Rei continued. "I am the one he was trying to save, or at least a part of her, now I can feel that I am almost complete."

At this moment Rei lowered her gaze and things began to make sense in her head, she began to remember the questions that Shinji had asked her right after she had kidnapped him from Wunder, Rei had always wondered why those questions, at least now some of her questions began to get answers.

"Why are you here?" Rei asked the identical figure in front of him.

"I am here to help you." Her double part replied still maintaining the soft, monotone tone.

Rei only looked down in confusion, she didn't know how she could be helped. "How?"

"Don't you wish you could remember?" Rei's clone asked. "Of being able to help him?"

Rei knew that her heart yearned to help Shinji, she knew that he was not well mentally, that he was only keeping everything to himself, that even his closeness to Asuka was not making him open up and reveal his pains so that they could help him.

"I am worried about him." Rei spoke as she shrugged her shoulders. "But I don't know how I could help."

At this moment, The Rei clone flashed her a smile, the same smile she flashed Shinji in the victory against the angel where she served as a shield. "You will know when the time comes."

Rei only shook her head in confusion, she was not being able to understand anything that was happening. "But how would I know, and who are you? You said it's almost complete?"

"You'll know everything when the time comes, but we have to take it easy." Rei's clone spoke calmly.

Rei was about to ask what she meant when she felt a twinge of pain in her head, she reached down and grabbed the sides of her head, the pain was so intense she thought she would break her teeth.

Rei was now lowered screaming in pain at the feet of her clone who just stood there looking at Rei's fallen form at her feet.

Just as it started, the pain simply vanished, Rei lay on the ground, still holding her head, she gasped fiercely regaining her breath, she had tears in her eyes from the experience.

"Why? ... Why did you do this to me?" Rei asked still lying on the ground recovering.

"Because it is necessary." The clone replied monotonously.

"But why?!" Rei shouted as her stood up.

"The transfer will be uncomfortable." The clone continued coldly.

"But what will happen to me?" Rei spoke as her approached the clone.

"Nothing, you will remain you." The clone replied keeping her steely gaze on Rei.

Rei only stared back at her, she was starting to get scared of the whole thing, she wanted to leave.

"Time to wake up Rei." The clone spoke monotonously.

Rei looked around as the world began to dissolve, she began to feel that her body was changing, she could feel that there was something involving her shoulders.

Rei opened her eyes and looked around, she first realized that she was not in her room, memories of the dream began to flood her mind, she wondered if the experience was real or not, but she would leave that for later.

Rei again began to wonder where she was, she focused her eyes on concentration and soon remembered the night with Mari, she had invited her to watch a movie, Rei soon felt her cheeks flush as she remembered leaning her head on Mari's shoulder and possibly falling asleep.

Rei lifted her head gently and looked around, she could see Mari's hand resting on her shoulder, Rei let out a small smile as she remembered the comfort Mari had given her, soon she saw that Mari started to move and removed her hand, Rei followed the movement and saw Mari stretching her arms.

"Good morning Blue." Mari spoke as she stretched out her arms.

"Good morning Mari, did I wake you up?" Rei asked as he sat down on the couch and looked at her face, she was without her glasses and her hair was a mess.

Mari looked at her and reached for her glasses, as she firmed them on her face, she looked at Rei and spoke smiling. "No, the truth is, I had been awake for a few minutes already."

Rei looked around trying to process everything Mari had said, she was still waking up, Rei got up and looked around, she could see Asuka still sleeping in her bed on the bunk.

Mari stood up, she was already fully awake and in her 100% mood.

"Shall we get something to eat?" Mari asked cheerfully as she grabbed a comb and went to the mirror to fix her hair.

Rei watched Mari get ready and thought about the night she had had a great time with her.

Mari was looking at herself in the mirror and noticed Rei's look on her, she turned around with a smile on her face and asked. "What is it Blue?"

Rei was removed from her reverie and took a few steps forward, she approached Mari and awkwardly hugged her.

Mari stiffened at Rei's sudden contact, she hadn't expected this attitude, but soon hugged Rei back and felt her cheeks blush.

"Thank you." Rei spoke as he felt Mari had hugged him back.

"For what Blue?" Mari asked enjoying the moment, she had her eyes closed just enjoying the moment.

"For the evening, I had a great time." Rei spoke as she released the hug and looked down at the floor in shame.

Mari smiled from ear to ear and spoke. "You're welcome, we'll do it again next time, but now I need to wake the sleeping beast."

Mari quickly turned away from Rei and went toward Asuka who was fast asleep, approached the bed and with her finger began to poke Asuka's face.

Mari kept poking Asuka's face for about ten seconds until she started hearing some groans of frustration, Asuka said some things in German that Mari judged to be curses, Asuka was never a creature of the day.

"What do you want four eyes?" Asuka growled as she opened her eyes and saw Mari's face, Asuka did not have a good night's sleep, again nightmares flooded her mind and she could only sleep a few hours.

"It's morning already, get your lazy ass out of bed, I'll give you five minutes to get ready, because we still have to wake up your boyfriend." Mari spoke as she smiled and turned back to Rei who was standing in the doorway.

Asuka can't help but blush at Mari's mention of Shinji, but she soon reminded herself that she would have to talk to him about what was bothering her, she knew it had to be the graffiti on her door.

Asuka started to get out of bed slowly, she went to the bathroom, when she came out, she saw that Mari was talking to Rei about the movie they must have watched, she changed and went to the door, but before she left, she grabbed her red jacket.


Shinji's room.

- It will never be one of us. -

- Die. -

- Aberration. -

- Assassin. -

Shinji opened his eyes panting heavily, he looked around and saw himself in his room realized that again the nightmares tortured him at night, Shinji closed his eyes and calmed his trembling body.

He sighed and got up, went to the bathroom to relieve himself, went back to his room and looked at his watch, seeing that he still had a few minutes before the day started, he put on his uniform and was looking at himself in the mirror, his reflection was starting to show the signs of lack of sleep, his eyes were tired and had dark circles under his eyes, he threw some water on his face to wake up completely.

Shinji stood for a while looking at the water going down the sink drain, his thoughts brought him back to thinking about his guilt, he began to remember the day of the third impact, the fourth impact and all the lives he had ruined.

"Stop." Shinji whispered to himself, he was desperately struggling with his mind to push these thoughts out of his head, but his efforts were being in vain.

Soon he was thinking about Asuka, he knew that she knew something was wrong with him and it would only be a matter of time before he would be confronted, the truth was that Shinji didn't want to involve Asuka, she had already been through too much and he wasn't going to flood her with his problems.

CAMPAIGN.

Shinji jumped when he heard the bell to his room, he looked at himself again and tried to pull himself together as best he could, he adjusted his uniform and went towards the door, when he opened it, on the other side were Asuka, Rei and Mari.

"Hi puppy." Mari greeted him with her usual spirit, she noticed Shinji's dark circles under his eyes and tired posture.

"Good morning Baka." Asuka spoke as she moved closer and placed a soft kiss on Shinji's lips, she entwined her fingers in his hand, she still felt awkward about this whole interaction, but deep down she was enjoying it.

Shinji at this moment felt the weight of his guilt easing a little, the truth was that Asuka was being a pillar of support for Shinji, her determination was his life force, he caught himself thinking many times that he didn't know if he could go on without Asuka, even they didn't talk much about it, but she was very important to him.

"Oh! ... That's not cute, Blue?" Mari spoke with ball eyes seeing the scene in front of her.

Asuka and Shinji were blushing deeply at Mari's teasing, Shinji looked at Asuka who had a teasing look on her face, she turned and looked at Mari and spoke firmly.

"Jealous four-eyes?" Asuka asked innocently.

Now it was Mari's turn to be speechless, she saw Shinji and Rei letting out a small laugh, Mari looked back at Asuka with a look that clearly said war was declared.

She raised her hands in defeat and spoke. "No, I'm just thinking and doing the math on how long it will be before we have babies running around Wunder."

Asuka blushed heavily and was speechless at Mari's teasing, Asuka didn't know how she could formulate answers so quickly, Mari's winning look was irritating her more, so as not to prolong the silence, Asuka resorted to her standard answers.

"Fuck you four-eyes." Asuka growled at Mari who only stared at her more intensely.

"Can I borrow the puppy?" Mari replied smiling.

Asuka gripped Shinji's hand tighter and pulled him toward the cafeteria path, Mari just looked at Rei who kept a cheerful expression on her face, both of them also started their way to the cafeteria.


UN - New London.

"What the fuck!?" Misato let out a muffled cry at the ceremony of the new WILLE commander, she and Ritsuko were there for a celebratory breakfast.

"What is it Katsuragi?" Kaji approached the pair, he was wearing his new WILLE commander outfit.

Misato stared at him with a look of shock on her face, she was not expecting Kaji to become her boss, Misato believed this was just a rumor.

Seeing her friend's look of shock, Ritsuko took the floor. "Congratulations commander."

Kaji only nodded to her, he was still looking at Misato who was pulling himself together.

"That must be a nightmare." Misato whined.

"I assure you it's not." Kaji spoke as he lifted a cup of coffee in front of Misato, who picked it up and took a sip gently, Misato couldn't deny that she missed drinking her morning brew, but she knew she had to control her drinking.

"We haven't had our dinner yet." Kaji continued speaking in his confident, carefree voice.

Misato blushed softly at Kaji's cheap flattery, but deep down her heart yearned for him, but knew she could not give in to him so easily.

"At least you shaved the damn beard." Misato spoke to change the focus of the conversation, she reached out and grabbed a small croissant that was on the table and ate it to divert Kaji's attention, Misato was casting furtive glances at him who looked great in uniform.

Kaji smiled as he saw Misato's discomfort, he turned to Ritsuko and they both started talking about whatever was on their minds, with Kaji teasing Misato from time to time.

"If you don't stop, I will report you for sexual harassment." Misato spoke as she chewed her food, she knew that Kaji would not stop irritating her.

As the morning passed, Kaji managed to get away from the crowd congratulating him on his post, and saw Misato looking at Wunder at the back of town, he slowly approached her and stopped beside her.

"So, thinking about what?" Kaji asked nonchalantly.

"It's none of your business." Misato tried to sound strong, but deep down his mind was thinking about the future, now with Wunder becoming operational again, soon they would be back at war.

"Come on Katsuragi, I know you have a lot on your mind." Kaji turned so that he could face Misato.

Misato looked at him and let out a sigh, then crossed her arms and stared at the horizon. "I'm worried."

Kaji looked at her and just waited for her to continue in her time.

"Soon we will return to war and ..." Misato started to speak, but stopped. "It may sound silly, but I don't want Shinji in this."

"Why?" Kaji asked naturally.

"That boy has already suffered too much ... He ... He is being strong Kaji, but I can see that it is not so, I keep asking myself when I am in my room how I can help him, but I never come to any conclusion." Misato spoke still keeping his eyes on the horizon. "And now that we have a bunch of delinquents on board."

Misato stopped and turned to look at Kaji. "You know about that?"

Kaji only nodded, he had already been in office for a week or so, this day was only a symbolic ceremony for his inauguration, he was already working with the council.

Misato bit her lips and continued. "I dream the times he is hurt in some way by these people, I had them install a security camera in front of his door to catch if it happens again, it made me very angry Kaji."

"I see, you want to help Shinji?" Kaji asked already knowing the answer, he received a small nod.

"Be there for him when he needs you, push the fuck button when the time comes, even if you don't have to say anything, just be there for him when he needs you ... Sometimes you don't have to say anything." Kaji began to speak, he realized he had Misato's full attention so he continued. "I know you still blame yourself for everything, since Shinji's return."

Misato shuddered at the memory of confused Shinji on the Wunder bridge when they took him to her, she didn't know why she had treated Shinji so coldly at the time, she deeply regretted for what she had done.

"The truth is Katsuragi, Shinji is a strong boy ... Or rather a strong man ... Anyone in his place would have blown their brains out long ago, I just hope he can hold out a little longer." Kaji spoke as he turned his gaze to Wunder on the horizon.

Misato looked at him confused, "Why?"

Kaji turned and looked around, seeing that he had the privacy he wanted, he gestured for Misato to come closer, when she got close he whispered to her.

"I am formulating a plan of attack against NERV."


Wunder

Asuka was again training with Shinji, she was in fighting position waiting for Shinji's strikes, Asuka seeing his indecision decided to give him a small chance to attack, lowering her guard for him to attack her.

Shinji was afraid to make a move, he knew Asuka's fighting skills, he knew she was planning something by lowering her guard, he had an attack strategy, but was afraid to put it into practice.

With a quick movement, Shinji tried to grab one of Asuka's arms to immobilize her, Asuka easily blocked him and counterattacked, causing Shinji to fall to the ground.

"Again Baka." Asuka spoke as she turned and walked away from Shinji who was standing up, Shinji could feel that she was starting to get uncomfortable with the whole thing.

"Remember what I told you, always keep your support foot protected." Asuka spoke confidently as she got into position and waited for Shinji's next move.

Mari was sitting in a chair watching Asuka and Shinji training, she had a thoughtful look on her face, her mind was focused on the night she had spent with Rei, even though she woke up with a sore back this was one of the best nights she had ever had and judging by the look on Rei's face, she had enjoyed it too.

"Damn it Baka! What did I say!" Asuka shouted annoyed as she saw Shinji on the ground again.

"Sorry." Shinji timidly replied.

Mari smiled a little as she saw the scene, she was happy that Asuka was finally involved with someone and had her feelings returned, by the way, these fourteen years have not been easy, they had to fight against many things, both external enemy and the rumors that arose when they both got closer.

Mari let out a laugh as she remembered when everyone thought that she and Asuka were a couple, but the truth was that Mari always thought Asuka was a beautiful woman, as beautiful as a princess, but to her, Asuka is like her younger sister.

"Again!"

Mari shook her head and stood up, she approached the tatami where Asuka and Shinji were training, she approached Shinji and spoke in his ear, Asuka raised an eyebrow thoughtfully at the scene in front of her.

"Her weak point is her defense leg, when you try to attack, she will block you as usual, she uses her support leg to knock you down and not to support herself." Mari winked at Shinji as she walked away and sat back down on the bench.

Asuka stared at Mari who had a smug look on her face, she turned her attention back to Shinji, Asuka arrogantly positioned herself and waited for the attack.

Shinji thought about Mari's words and let them sink in, he again positioned himself and thought of a strategy, after a few seconds, Shinji stepped forward and tried to hold Asuka's shoulders to unbalance her.

Asuka seeing that Shinji was trying to knock her down, raised her leg and tried to strike him, she put her leg in the middle of Shinji's and tried to rotate her body to knock him down, he realizing this, remembered Mari's words, seeing that Asuka was only with one leg for support, quickly raised her support leg and attacked.

Asuka seeing Shinji's move, tried to defend herself, but the move had already been made, they both fell to the ground and Asuka tried to mount Shinji to give an immobilization, but Shinji had fallen on top of her, he quickly moved and pinned one of her arms with his leg and held the other with his arm.

Asuka stopped moving as she saw Shinji's fist just inches from her face, seeing that it was motionless, Asuka shook her head in disbelief as she saw that Shinji had managed to beat her.

"Alright Baka, looks like four-eyes gave you a tip." Asuka spoke as she turned her head and looked at Mari who was innocently staring at the ceiling, she noticed Shinji letting go of her and standing up, he offered his hand to her who accepted it.

"Don't let that victory go to your hollow head." Asuka spoke arrogantly as she stood up. "Again."

Shinji was tired due to the lack of sleep, his body was feeling the effect of the nights of nightmares and all his guilt, he was seriously thinking about talking to Sakura about it, maybe giving her some medicine to help her sleep.

His mind quickly recalled the nights he had spent with Asuka, how well he had slept with her, those nights were the best, no nightmares, no guilt, no nothing, just rest to prepare him for another day.

"Hey! Wake up Baka." Asuka shouted to get the attention of Shinji who shook his head and got into position.

Asuka looked at Shinji analyzing him, she was seeing that he was clearly tired and his movements were slow, this was making Asuka clearly irritated, she didn't want to have to press Shinji to ask him if he was okay, to know what was bothering him so much, she gritted her teeth in annoyance, Asuka lowered her hands and looked Shinji in the eyes and spoke. "Shinji ... What's going on."

ALARM.

"Everyone to battle stations level one, all pilots report to the EVAS hangar immediately."

"Shit!" Asuka huffed in frustration, she was getting very frustrated that she wasn't being able to talk to Shinji, she was beginning to think that some greater force was toying with her.


Wunder - Bridge

Misato rushed into the command bridge, alarms were sounding in all directions.

"Status?" Misato ordered coldly.

"We have confirmation of two targets approaching rapidly, one from the south and one from the north." Hyuga reported clearly anxious.

Misato tightened the protective bar that kept her from falling, she began to think about the situation.

"Defense report!" Ordered Ritsuko as she joined Misato's side, she was panting, clearly she ran until she reached the bridge.

"We have Wunder's guns at 100% and the EVAS are OK." Shigeru reported from his post.

Misato turned to her friend and asked professionally. "Ritsuko, can Wunder fight?"

Ritsuko only nodded, she wasn't liking how things were going, Wunder's S2 moto was already operational and Misato had that look on her face.

"Misato, are you thinking of putting Wunder on the air again?" Ritsuko only received Misato's back, she didn't need to answer.

"That's crazy, we don't even know if it's okay." Ritsuko began to argue with her old friend.

"It worked the first time." Misato replied still without turning around, still keeping his tone cold.

"Misato, it was too dangerous to do that the first time, no one would try a second time blindly." Ritsuko was wide-eyed.

"Let's take off!" Misato ordered to the bridge.

Everyone stopped and turned to Misato, they had a look of shock on their faces.

Koji only gave a small smile and shook his head.

"You heard me, take off!" Misato again ordered, putting more force into his voice.

Everyone turned around at their posts and began their preparations.

"Turning on N2 reactors." Sumire Nagara spoke from her post, her voice was clearly anxious.

"Green guidance systems." Hyuga reported.

"Positive feedback." Hideki Tama reported.

"Dock, release moorings." Shigeru ordered over the radio.

"N2 reactors with positive spin and at 102% capacity" Nagara reported to Misato.

Misato was still standing with her arms crossed looking forward, she was thoughtful about everything, but they wouldn't have the luxury of waiting to test Wunder again, she would have to fight.

"Power successfully transferred, system 100% online." Ritsuko spoke without turning to Misato. "Are you sure about this Misato?"

Misato only slowly turned his head to Ritsuko and nodded.

"Pendulums at 100% capacity, all green, only the activation of the main engine is missing." Ritsuko reported uncertain of what she was doing.

The moment the Wunder's main engine was activated, everyone had a 360° view of their surroundings, they could see the movement of the dock workers moving away as the mighty Wunder began to move away to make room for takeoff.


Kaji's Office - WILLE HQ

Kaji was sitting at his desk, he was getting ready to go to one of the shelters, he got up and went towards the window, he could see all the movement of people going to their proper shelters and raised his eyes to the docks, he could see Wunder starting to move, he cracked a small smile.

"Sir, the place is already waiting for you." An anxious man spoke as he entered the office.

Kaji only nodded, he was still looking at the Wunder starting to move away, he could see that Misato was disregarding the safety recommendation to wait for the tests, by the way Wunder had not only installed back the unit 01, they had put something else together.

"I hope it works." Kaji spoke as he turned and walked away from the window and toward the clearly anxious sergeant.


Wunder.

Misato looked around and saw that they already had the necessary distance to take off, she looked at her friend and ordered.

" Take off!"

The mighty Wunder began to rise, meter after meter it rose higher on its way to the heavens.

"System all in order, sustainment field having green return." Hyuga spoke from his post.

"Altitude 300 feet." Koji spoke as he pushed a few buttons.

The people on the docks stood in amazement as Wunder soared, his wings stretching out over them, they all looked on in wonder as the white aureole opened up below to give him the support he needed.

Misato seeing that all was well, let out a sigh of relief to see that they had not exploded, but she had little time to celebrate the first flight after the crash, they had to fight and stop the enemy from destroying the new London.

Misato picked up his radio and talked to the EVAS.

"Pilots, status?" Misato spoke coldly.

"Unit 02 all set." Asuka spoke confidently as always.

"Unit 08 all set." Misato looked at the radio a little confused, it was Rei who spoke instead of Mari, but she shook that thought off and ordered. "We'll leave them on the coast, move in to intercept the target coming from the north, we'll take the one from the south."

"Right." Asuka's uncertain voice is heard over the radio, they had not yet been informed of Wunder's takeoff.


Evangelion Unit 02

"We will leave them on the coast, move forward to intercept the target coming from the north, we will take the one from the south." Misato orders coldly to them.

Asuka looks at Shinji below her, both had a confused look on their faces, they didn't know how they were going to defeat the other enemy coming from the south.

"Right." Asuka replies confused, but now was not the time for confusion, but for concentration.

Asuka was trying to concentrate, but she was frustrated, her head was going back all the time on Shinji's downcast look, she shook her head and concentrated again, Asuka never said this to anyone, but whenever she entered her EVA she felt protected, she felt welcomed.

Shinji was in the seat below, he could feel a presence in the entrance plug, it was similar to the one he felt in Eva 01, again he caught himself thinking about Fuyutsuki's words, was the process the same with Unit 02?

"What is it Baka? ... I can feel that you are thinking." Asuka asked as she sat up better in her chair.

"Nothing, just concentrating on the battle." Shinji spoke as confidently as possible, but he knew very well that this was partially true, he never felt prepared before any battle.

As they trained, they could briefly feel sensations that were coming from the other, Asuka could feel some fear and indecision coming from him, Shinji could feel pride and determination.

Everyone's thoughts were cut short when the floodgates opened just below the EVAS, everyone's eyes widened when they saw that they were a few hundred meters above the ground.

"Are we flying?" Shinji asked aloud.

"I guess so." Asuka replied keeping her shock in check.

"Alright pilots, the EVAS can jump from this height, intercept the target and destroy the enemy." Misato ordered professionally.

They nodded.

"Batteries have been placed in the side straps of the EVAS, so you will have about eight to twelve minutes of power." Ritsuko completed Misato's lines.

"Good." Asuka spoke proudly.

"EVAS LAUNCH!" Misato ordered, both EVAS let go and began their fall towards the ground, both made the movements in the fall to fall as smoothly as possible.

Both EVAS landed in the coastal area in a loud thud, soon both were on their feet and heading towards the approaching enemy, Shinji had marked on the display the location where they were directed for interception.

Misato looked down and saw the two Evas running towards the north, she let out a sigh and turned to the technicians on the bridge.

"Come on, we have to finish off the enemy." Ordered Misato as soon as they saw that Wunder started to turn and head towards the enemy coming from the south.

As they approached, their sensors showed what kind of enemy they would face, ahead of them were a set of Mark.04 units, there were at least six units, they were approaching like a missile towards the city, Wunder positioned himself in front of them.

"As soon as you get within range, open fire with everything we have." Misato ordered as he saw the dots that signaled the enemy.

"Right." Tama shouted, he started typing on his console preparing the weapons, he could see the status on his monitor, outside, all of Wunder's main cannons came to life and pointed at the marked location.

"In range ma'am!" Shouted Tama.

Misato adjusted his posture and ordered. "Fire!"

Wunder began firing his cannons, the shots were thrown directly in front of the target.

The Mark.04 units were going full speed ahead, their input plugs were with dummy systems, they were efficient, but they were no substitute for a real pilot.

When the first shots came, they hit two units that exploded into two energy crosses that were left behind, the other units felt the blows and started moving randomly to dodge the oncoming rain of shots.

On Wunder's bridge, they could see that two units were destroyed, Misato kept ordering them to fire at will with everything.


At the same moment, both Evas units were exchanging blows with a Mark 09 Unit that was trying to go through and destroy the city as per their orders.

"These units are very boring." Mari shouted as she punched her enemy in the head.

"Look out!. " Rei shouted as he lifted EVA's leg and blocked the kick the enemy was trying to deliver.

Eva unit 8 was landing some punches and kicks on the enemy, while unit 02 was doing the same, but the agility of the enemy made it very difficult to hit the weak points.

"What the heck!" Asuka shouted. "Die motherfucker!"

Shinji was thinking about how to pierce Mark 09's powerful defense, every blow they dealt was easily blocked by the enemy's progressive knife.

"Asuka, hold his waist, so Mari can finish him off." Shinji turned and spoke his idea to Asuka.

Asuka looked with disgust at the idea, her pride was speaking, she was the one who was supposed to finish off the enemy.

Mari ordered her EVA to step aside to have some time to breathe and think about something, she looked at Rei and spoke wearily. "Blue ... Any ideas?"

Rei looked down and began to think of something, she raised her head saw unit 02 attacking the enemy with everything they had, again they exchanged punches and kicks, sparks jumped when their knives met.


The Wunder had already managed to destroy four enemy units, the weapons had enough power to penetrate their AT fields, but these units were moving too fast and were forcing the Wunder to fly in a way in which it was not designed.

The Wunder was turning on its axis clockwise, the crew was already suffering the effects of these maneuvers, the teams were not having time to adjust as another wave was coming again.

"Where are they?" Misato ordered as he braced himself to withstand the G-force of the spins.

"They're trying to surround us!" Shigeru shouted.

"Stop spinning, let's match their movements, wait for them to attack. " Ritsuko shouted.

The mighty Wunder stopped and stood motionless in the middle of the sky, they could see the enemy units moving to confuse them, they stood still waiting for them to attack so they could react.

Seeing that the target was motionless, the Mark.04 units stopped their run and fired toward Wunder, with a loud shout, they began their journey toward Wunder.

Misato seeing that the enemy fell into Ritsuko's trap, ordered Wunder to attack.

Again they attacked with everything, Wunder's systems predicted the Mark.04's small attack movements and started firing, one by one the shots penetrated the AT fields and destroyed the enemy.

When they were all destroyed, shouts of euphoria went up from the team, they were celebrating the victory and the baptism of Wunder.

Misato let out a sigh of relief and pulled himself together, but the battle was not yet won.

"We will assist units 02 and 08." Ordered Misato, soon everyone was back in their seats and Wunder began the drive back to New London.

Misato picked up the radio and started talking to the EVAS. "Pilots, status."

"We're not making it!" Mari shouted back, the agitation could be felt with her words.

Misato shook hands and ordered them to go full speed ahead.


Again the pilots were trying to attack, the Mark 09 was managing to block any attack, sparks were flying when their blades collided.

Asuka can see when Mari launched her EVA towards Mark 09 and managed to hit his shoulder with the knife, making the enemy stagger, Asuka seeing the opportunity, launched herself also tried to penetrate the enemy's core.

Unit Mark 09 was with one hand holding EVA 08's hand in place, preventing him from removing the knife to deliver another blow, and with the other hand he was holding EVA 02's hand.

"Come on damn it." Asuka ordered her EVA to use all her strength.

The Mark 09 unit began to growl, using all the power it had, it kicked EVA 08 in the abdomen and landed a powerful punch to EVA 02's face, causing both units to go backwards.

The Mark 09 unit removed Mari's knife that was stuck in his shoulder, he adjusted himself and held the knives, one in each hand.

"Shit." Mari whispered as she saw that she had lost her gun, Asuka was thinking the same thing.

Asuka was about to make an all-or-nothing attack when she heard Misato's voice on the radio.

"Pilots get down!"

Doing as they were ordered, both EVAS ducked down to watch the rain of shots that engulfed Mark 09.

After a series of shots, seeing the enemy stunned, Shinji ordered unit 02 to move forward, Asuka looked on in shock that Shinji had taken control without her permission, but saw that he moved closer and landed a punch to the enemy's face, seeing that it worked, he took the knife from the enemy's hands and penetrated his core with all the force he had.

Mari seeing the opportunity, picked up the knife that had fallen to the ground and did the same as Shinji, both EVAS were piercing the enemy in hopes of destroying him.

Shinji could feel that the knife had gone all the way into the enemy core, his sensors detected a surge of energy coming from Mark 09, he remembered the last time this happened and shouted. "Stand back!"

Mari heard this and understood, but Rei spoke before her. "The core!"

Mari ordered her EVA to move away, the same happened with Shinji next to her, as they were both running, they felt the immense explosion that Mark 09 made as its core collapsed.


Misato was in Wunder, she saw the explosion and felt the anxiety rise, she desperately wanted to know the status of the pilots, since the explosion had damaged the sensors. The only thing she could see was the huge red cross that the Mark 09 left behind.

After a few seconds of waiting that felt like hours, Asuka's voice sounded over the radio. "This is unit 02, we're good."

"Same here." Mari spoke up to complete.

Misato let out a sigh of relief, she didn't hear the rest of the message for the euphoria of her crew, everyone was happy for the victory, they were happy to know that the mighty Wunder was in the air again.


After the battle, the Wunder landed back at the docks in New London, the pilots went through their routine post-battle checks and were going to get something to eat, as the battle had left everyone exhausted.

Mari again was chattering about her and Rei's accomplishments, making Rei blush at the series of compliments she was receiving, Asuka was thinking about the evening she would spend with Shinji, after all she had given him a mission, to find out what was bothering her Baka.

"Hey Baka." Asuka called out to Shinji.

Shinji was thinking about the battle, the way it all ended, he still couldn't understand how the Mark 09s were so powerful, but his train of thought was broken with Asuka's call.

"What is it?" Shinji asked innocently.

Asuka seeing this, saw the opportunity she wanted, she opened her hand and slapped the back of Shinji's head.

"Ouch!" Shinji was rubbing his head where he was hit by Asuka, he raised his gaze with confusion his face, he was clearly asking with his eyes why?

"That's for using my unit 02 without permission." Asuka replied with false indignation, then flashed him a genuine smile and spoke. "But ... you didn't do bad for a Baka."

Shinji couldn't help but smile at Asuka's compliment, he raised his hand and took Asuka's hand and squeezed it lightly, they both looked at each other and blushed slightly.

Mari was walking next to Rei telling how amazing everything was, she looked at Rei who was focusing on something else, Mari shut up and turned her head just in time to see Shinji and Asuka looking at each other and smiling, she can't deny that she was controlling herself not to tease the couple next to her.

Asuka found it strange that it was unusually quiet, she turned her head to the side and saw Mari's ball gaze and Rei's small smile, her blush increased.

"What?" Asuka asked blushing with a tomato.


Shinji was in his room, the rest of the day passed with nothing else happening, Misato had come by and congratulated the group on the day's victory, the group had lunch with her in the conference room for privacy, Misato told them about Kaji and everything that had happened on the bridge.

Mari told about the moment between Shinji and Asuka in the hallway, they had to put up with an attack of provocations from Mari and Misato, Asuka retorted by telling that she caught the two sleeping together on the couch in the room, this information caught Misato off guard, but liked to know for future provocations, the rest of lunch was playing fun conversation, everyone forgot the stress of the war and everything else, at that moment they were just a group of people having a fun lunch.

At the end of the day, Shinji was in his room, he was lying looking at the ceiling thinking about his life, he kept reviewing the battle and the lunch he had, he gave a slight smile as he remembered the provocations.

But this moment was short-lived, his mind again took him to places he didn't want to go, guilt about the third and fourth impact and all he had a right to, he closed his eyes and tried to concentrate on the good memories.

CAMPAIGN

Shinji's mental battle was broken when the doorbell rang, he stood up and went to his door and opened it, Asuka was on the other side, she had her most serious face on her face and with her hands inside the pocket of her red jacket, Shinji swallowed hard at the sight and began to wonder what he must have done wrong for her to be with that face.

Asuka simply entered Shinji's room and looked around, as always it was spotless and well organized, she turned around keeping a straight face, Shinji took courage and asked.

"Hi Asuka." Shinji spoke shyly, he scolded himself for not having thought of a better line. "What is the reason for the visit? "

Asuka sank her scowl even deeper and spoke seriously. "I should have a reason to visit my boyfriend?"

Shinji recognized that she was right. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" Asuka replied seriously, she wasn't really mad at Shinji, she was just making fun of him, she was loving watching him squirm in anxiety to try to figure out what was wrong.

Shinji felt his hands shaking, he began to stammer an inaudible response, his reasoning was broken with Asuka's laughter, he looked at her confused, when Asuka got control of herself, she raised her gaze and spoke cheerfully. "Easy Baka, just kidding, it's really nice to see you like this."

Shinji let out a sigh of relief, he saw Asuka remove her jacket and throw herself on his bed, he calmly walked over and lay down beside her.

Asuka seeing that Shinji was lying down, she adjusted herself and laid her head on his shoulder, she purred in satisfaction when Shinji lifted his hand and started stroking her head, she muted her lips, lifted her head and gave Shinji's lips a soft kiss.

"Do you trust me?" Asuka asked as she watched Shinji's eyes.

Shinji looked back at her and replied. "Yes."

"Then why don't you tell me what's bothering you so much? " Asuka asked still keeping her steely gaze on Shinji, she could feel his body tense underneath her.

"You don't have anything." Shinji lied, he didn't want to waste Asuka's time with his problems.

Asuka intensified her gaze and spoke seriously. "Listen here Shinji Ikari."

Shinji was startled as the way Asuka spoke his name, he began to feel that he was in trouble.

"I can see that you are acting strange, I can see in your eyes that you haven't slept in a few days, I am not just a doll that stays by your side, I want you to trust me, to know that I can help you." Asuka spoke seriously as she sat up in bed and faced Shinji with a fierce look.

Shinji knew there would be no escape, he took a deep breath and began to speak.

"I'm not being able to handle everything." Shinji began to speak, Asuka was listening intently. "Not the thing about having to help WILLE or having to pilot again, but the whole thing with the third impact." Shinji stopped as he felt tears running down his cheeks, his voice breaking every moment he spoke a word.

"Every time I look at someone ... I remember what I did ... Even when I look at you." Asuka raised an eyebrow. "I see your eye and remember that damn day ... I should have done more, should have tried." Shinji paused as he wiped his face. "After almost losing you, came the third fucking impact."

"How can I live with that? How?" Shinji at this moment stood up and went to the wall, he couldn't look at Asuka right now. "When I woke up ... I wasn't understanding anything ... Misato was cold to me, I swear I thought it was my father standing there that day ... then I find out that I had ended it all, I finally thought I was doing some good for the world at that time, but no, I did the opposite." Shinji was speaking with tears running freely down his face.

"And what do I do? I went out at the first opportunity and almost fucked up again, and I still caused Kaworu's death." Asuka raised an eyebrow upon hearing that name, they didn't know the whereabouts of the fifth son when the world went to space. "Back then, he was the only one who was nice and explained all that shit to me."

"When he showed me the world, I almost jumped, it was a short time before I threw myself off where we were standing." Asuka's eyes widened at Shinji's confession. "I was so desperate to fix everything ... He told me we could fix it, that's all I heard ... I was so desperate ..." Shinji stopped to wipe his face, he turned and looked at Asuka who was listening to everything intently.

"I asked Sakura how the world was ... Ten million people were left ... Ten!" Shinji shouted as tears again came back. "That guy was right, I'm a monster Asuka, no matter what I do, you can't fix this! You don't know what it's like Asuka, every time I close my fucking eyes, I see the faces of everyone I've ruined! This is killing me!. "

Asuka at this point stood up and hugged him, she was seeing how this whole thing was affecting Shinji, she couldn't imagine what the burden he was carrying must be like, she didn't know how she was supposed to help, so she did the only thing she had in her head, she remembered the times at the beginning of the war, where the world was in chaos and she had no one else, that's when Mari came along, she did just that.

A simple hug.

Asuka stood there, just hugging Shinji as he cried on her shoulder, after a few minutes, Shinji spoke still holding Asuka.

"I don't know what I would have done without your support, and especially yours, my head still tells me I don't deserve this. " Shinji spoke as he hugged Asuka tighter, the gesture was copied by Asuka, she could feel her eyes wanting to cry.

After Shinji calmed down, Asuka broke the embrace and looked directly into his eyes. "I want you to listen to me well Shinji, you are not a monster ... You made a lot of mistakes, yes, but I can see that you learned from them, all this shit was a domino effect ... At first I got it into my head that you were to blame for everything, but deep down I knew you weren't, I was very dumb for believing that. "

Asuka blushed at the confession to Shinji, she knew that only opening up a little would help him, she seeing that she had his attention continued. "Now we are here, you swore yourself you would help us didn't you?" Receiving a nod from Shinji. "We need you to be 100%, I need you by my side and I want you to know that we are on your side, all of us ... Especially me." Asuka spoke as she planted a kiss on Shinji's lips.

Seeing Shinji's gaze on her eye patch, Asuka snorted, and in a single motion, removed it revealing her covered eye, Shinji's eyes widened at seeing this, he already knew about Asuka's angelic contamination, Sakura let it slip and made him swear not to tell her.

"Asuka, can't this hurt you?" Shinji asked with full concern.

"Yes you can, I can go without only for short periods, but I want you to know one thing ... Only a few people have seen me like this and only people I really trust, do you get my point now?" Asuka asked with a small smile on her face.

Shinji still had his gaze locked on Asuka's covered eye, he nodded to her.

"It looks awful doesn't it? Just like her." Asuka lowered her gaze in shame, she felt Shinji's hand lift her face and look into her eyes, her covered eye was the same shade as Rei's eyes, a bright red.

"No, you still look beautiful, and always will." Shinji spoke as he kissed Asuka, she closed her eyes and hugged Shinji, when she broke the kiss, again reattached the eye patch and took his hand.

"Are we going to sleep?" Asuka asked with a smile on her face.

Shinji nodded and went back to bed, he pulled the covers up and lay down, Asuka lay next to him and quickly hugged him putting her head on his chest, she squeezed Shinji like a teddy bear, but Shinji's next action she didn't expect.

Shinji put his head to Asuka's ear and spoke, his voice was calm, she knew they would get a good night's sleep tonight, Asuka could feel that a huge weight had left Shinji's shoulders, he only said one word.

"Thank you."


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.