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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.


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Chapter 23 - Wunder.

Rei opened her eyes softly, she didn't know where she was, the only thing she could see was nothing, turning her head gently in all directions and again nothing, closing her eyes again, she concentrated on her last memories, she remembered lying in her bed, a strong pain pulsed in her head, she stood up when she heard the bell of her room.

Images of Mari popped into her mind, Rei remembered telling her about the visions, the look of concern on Mari's face as she began to feel a lot of pain, Rei allowed herself to give a small smile, she was happy to know that Mari cared about her, Rei could feel her heart beating stronger at the image of Mari.

"So." A mysterious voice came up in the background, Rei abruptly opened her eyes and stood up, she knew who owned that voice.

"I didn't know that, this person is very important? " Images of Mari came into her mind.

Rei blinked, she realized that it seemed she had no control over her own thoughts.

"What are you afraid of Rei?" Again the other's voice came up.

Rei felt her breathing start to increase, she was constantly thinking about this.

"I ... I'm afraid I can't stay with them." Rei replied to nothing, again image of Mari popped into her mind.

"From others? Or hers?" The other Rei spoke almost as a whisper.

Rei lowered her gaze to the words, still not sure how she felt about Mari, but she knew she was very happy and comfortable when she was around her.

"Is that love?" Rei wondered as she looked down at her own hands, she felt tears streaming down her face.

"That's something you have to find out." The other Rei spoke as she stepped out of the shadows and appeared in front of Rei, she was dressed now in her white plugsuit.

Rei took a step back as she faced the other Rei's form, she was very frightened by everything, the other threw a small smile. "Are you afraid of me?"

Rei was taking small steps away gently, she only nodded in response.

The other Rei only lowered her gaze, her intention was not to make Rei scared, but she knew that the transfer would not be easy. "Sorry, that was not my intention."

Rei stopped as she realized that she could not run away. "What do you want from me?"

"Same as before, I want you to know the truth." The other Rei spoke in her monotone voice.

"Help me?" Rei felt the anger rising inside her, her mind remembered the moments before she blacked out, the pain she was feeling, it felt like her head would explode. "You are doing the opposite!"

Rei's little outburst seemed to have no effect on the other, she stood still staring at Rei with a steely gaze.

"Sorry, but there is no other way, the transfer is difficult." The other Rei spoke as she approached, her feet barely touching the ground.

Rei tried to move away, but felt her back hit something, she turned her head and saw no wall, by the time her vision returned to the other, she was a few meters away.

Standing less than a meter away from Rei, the other looked into her eyes, again she felt a twinge of pain, she fell to the ground holding her head, she gritted her teeth hard to try to endure.

"Please stop." Rei moaned on the floor, she was begging the other to stop, but it seemed that her plea was not being heard, the other only stared at Rei's form on the floor, she was feeling sorry for her, but she knew this was necessary, she had to remember.


Misato rushed into the infirmary followed by Ritsuko, they ran when they heard that Rei had been rushed to the infirmary, deep down Misato could feel the same worry she felt in her NERV days.

As they hurriedly entered the place, they ignored the others throwing greetings at her, turning to the beds, Misato could see the doctors and nurses working in Rei. Ritsuko passed Mari who was standing a few meters away, she was watching everything, but the difference was in her gaze, Misato stopped as she looked at her, her gaze showed shock, concern and fear.

Ritsuko joined the medical team, she began to work together with the team so they could stabilize Rei, the medical equipment began to give her the information, Rei's heart was racing and her mental functions were running full throttle, checking her eyes, Ritsuko noticed little reaction.

Misato stopped next to Mari who was making a huge effort not to collapse, she constantly looked at her hands, her head was very agitated, memories of minutes ago came into her mind, memories of Rei screaming in pain and cowering on the floor of the room were not leaving her head, the five minutes of waiting seemed like hours to Mari.

Misato noticed Mari starting to let out small sobs, she looked at her and Misato could see all her concern, Mari's hands were shaking and Misato could see it was close to the edge, Misato knew Mari had feelings for Rei, but didn't know they were already at this level, she raised her hand to say something, but Mari turned and left.

Misato knew she couldn't help in the infirmary, but she could do something for Mari, she had never seen this girl like this before, turning and leaving too, it wasn't long before Misato found Mari sitting on the floor hugging her knees tightly and crying.

Misato came over and sat down on the floor next to Mari and gently put her arms around her giving her a small hug, which was soon returned, Mari held Misato tight and let herself cry.

"Please ... Please Misato ... What's happening to her?" Mari asked still crying on Misato's shoulder.

Misato was feeling very helpless, she didn't like that feeling, she decided to throw the clichéd answer to these situations. "I don't know, but they will help her, they will find out what happened."

Mari tightened her embrace more. "Please ... Help her, I never asked you for anything ... But help her."

"We will, I promise Mari." Misato replied as she stroked Mari's back, Misato looked up as she heard hurried footsteps approaching, she saw Shinji and Asuka appearing.

The couple was told when looking for Misato, Asuka was going to report the situation she went through with Shinji at lunch when they got the news about Rei's incident.

Shinji had concern visible on his face, he knew something was wrong with her, but he wasn't expecting it to be so serious, seeing Misato sitting on the floor hugging Mari who was crying, Shinji realized that the situation was serious, he turned his head, picked up and looked at Asuka beside him, quickly Asuka took Shinji's hand.


"Please stop!" Rei shouted as she felt another twinge of pain, the other still standing still like a statue.

Rei was holding her head tightly, images started to appear in her mind, images of a little girl, she looked just like her, blue hair and red eyes, she was standing next to the commander.

"I didn't know you had a daughter Ikari."

"That's the daughter of a friend of mine."

Rei began to think about many things. - What is it? Who is she? -

The other Rei flashed a small smile as she saw that Rei was already beginning to remember. - All this pain and suffering will be worth it Rei. -

Rei began to remember, she saw a child responding to an adult, Rei judged that the people were not liking the child's answers.

"Did you get lost honey?"

"No, you old woman."

Images of a child standing facing a scientist, Rei recognized the location, there was the NERV command center, the woman had Akagi written on her badge, but she was not Sub-Commander Ritsuko.

Images of another place popped into Rei's head, she found herself standing in front of a window, the place looked like a school from the books she was reading, she noticed a person approaching her, this person was Shinji Ikari.

"I made it for you Ayanami, as I know you don't eat meat, this one is specially made for you."

Memories and feelings ran through Rei's head, she was now understanding, these were the memories of the other, now Rei understood what she meant by remembering, she was so focused on the memories and emotions that the pain was disregarded.

Rei closed her eyes and saw herself in an entry plug, she was dressed in a similar outfit to the other, Rei turned her head and saw an opening in the entry plug, Shinji appeared and was clearly calling out to her.

"Never say goodbye, that's very sad."

"You could start by smiling."

Rei opened her eyes as she felt tears streaming down her face, new images flashed through her head, she was inside her EVA, in her hands was Shinji's SDAT player, in the EVA's hands was an N2 missile.

"I'll do it so he doesn't have to fly it again."

Rei stopped as he realized, she was in a dark place and was naked.

"Ayanami, hold my hand!"

Rei found herself being pulled along by Shinji, she began to wonder if this was the moment where he had said he had saved her?

"Thank you Ayanami, for helping me with my father."

Rei opened her eyes and looked around, she realized that the pain had stopped, nothing else was happening, raising her head, she met her gaze with the other Rei, confused and tired from the whole experience.

"What was all that about?" Rei asked as she stood up, she now remembered a lot she hadn't experienced, feelings she had never explored.

"Now you are complete." The other spoke as she smiled.

"Complete?" Rei asked confused.

"Yes, you are now a single person, a person who has had a life." The other replied as she began to walk away.

"Wait! ... Who are you?" Rei asked as she saw the other's form moving away.

"You can now answer that question." The other spoke as she disappeared into the darkness.

Rei thought about the words, but a single name popped into her mind.

"Lilith." Rei whispered into the darkness as her felt her body becoming heavy and her vision diminishing.


Ritsuko looked at the monitors in front of her, she could see Rei's vital signs stabilizing, her heartbeat had returned to normal, her blood pressure had dropped, and her mental signs had normalized.

Alarms began to stop sounding as everything normalized, Ritsuko let out a sigh as she saw that everything seemed to have calmed down, but she looked at Rei in confusion, she didn't know if it had been her actions or something else that had helped.

The medical team along with Ritsuko put all kinds of medications into the strokes that were in Rei's delicate arms, she hoped Rei would wake up soon to tell her what had happened, she nodded to the team at work.

"Sakura?" Ritsuko called out wearily, removing her gloves and mask she saw Sakura approaching.

"I want 24 hour surveillance." Ritsuko spoke as she began to walk away, she was wondering what could have caused this, she remembered being told that Mari was with Rei at the time of the outbreak.

"Yes ma'am." Sakura spoke equally shocked and tired, she hoped her friend would get better soon.

Ritsuko was leaving the medical room when she saw everyone waiting for news, Asuka and Shinji were sitting together, Mari had already calmed down and was sitting on one of the benches with a lost look on her face, beside her was Misato, she still had an arm over Mari's shoulders.

Everyone stood up at the sight of Ritsuko, Mari looked at her anxiously.

"She's stabilized." Ritsuko replied as she grabbed a cigarette, she completely ignored that she was in the medical ward.

Everyone let out a sigh of relief.

"Is she going to be okay?" Shinji asked with concern.

Ritsuko released a cloud of smoke, she scrunched up an eyebrow. "I don't know Shinji ... I don't know what happened, do any of you have any information?"

Everyone shook their heads, Mari stood still, she was debating whether to talk about the conversation seconds before Rei went into outburst.

Ritsuko raised her eyebrows at Mari, she recognized that look.

"She ... Seconds before she cried out in pain." Mari began to speak, everyone in the room turned to her. "She said she had seen herself."

Everyone looked with confusion at Mari who hugged her arms as she had to remember.

"When did it start, she told you?" Misato asked hoping she could understand everything that was happening, Ritsuko wondered if it was an effect of the new medication.

Mari nodded her head. "She mentioned that she started at NERV, that when she was on an LCL tube, another Rei appeared in front of her." Mari raised her gaze and caught everyone looking confused and thoughtful. "The pain started when the other told her that she would show the truth."

"Really?" Asuka asked confused.

Mari only nodded.

"Why didn't Rei tell you before?" Ritsuko spoke as she picked up a small notebook and took note of everything Mari was saying.

"Rei was afraid they would think she was a monster ... She didn't want us to take her away from us." Mari felt her voice wanting to break, but she managed to hold back her emotions.

Everyone in the room looked down, they were feeling sorry for Rei, they would never have pushed her away, especially now that they were together.

Ritsuko nodded. - This model looks very much like the one from that time -

"Can I see her?" Mari asked anxiously.

Ritsuko nodded and took Mari to where Rei was standing.

Mari pulled a chair to the side of the bed, as she sat down and took Rei's hand, Mari just stared at her.

Ritsuko only let out a small smile and turned to leave, she gave Misato a small slap on the shoulder and Misato promptly turned and left.

Shinji and Asuka stayed in the room, neither of them said anything. As time passed Asuka was sleeping in a chair, Mari seeing this turned to Shinji and spoke. "Why don't you take the princess to her room?"

Shinji was on the other side of the bed, he was also holding Rei's hand, he lowered his gaze and spoke. "I want to stay, Rei was always waiting for me to wake up when I stayed in the hospital."

Mari gave a small smile. "She's awesome."

Shinji seeing this asked. "Mari, why don't you tell her how you feel?"

Mari looked at him expressionlessly, lowering her gaze she replied. "I'm afraid of opening up and not being reciprocated."

Shinji looked at her, smiled and remembered when he declared himself to Asuka, he was terrified. "But at least she will know."

Shinji saw that Mari was listening to everything intently. "Even if it's unrequited, it's better than leaving it locked in your chest."

Mari nodded and spoke with a smile. "Wow, who knew Shinji would be giving love advice."

Shinji let out a small laugh. "But you're right." Mari continued. "Go rest puppy."

Shinji was about to protest, but Mari held up her hand. "Don't worry, if she wakes up, I'll call you, regardless of the time."

Shinji nodded, he stood up and put his hand on Mari's shoulder who responded with a smile. "Thank you."

Shinji approached Asuka and shook her gently, Shinji gave a small laugh as he saw her mumbling in German.

"What is it Baka?" Asuka asked sleepily.

"Let's go to the bedroom, I bet the bed is more comfortable than a bench." Shinji replied as he gave his hand to Asuka who took it and stood up.

"Good evening princess." Mari spoke as she saw Asuka staggering out, she only received a wave of her hand.

Mari seeing that she was now alone, gently squeezed Rei's hand, laying her head on her thigh, Mari closed her eyes and let herself sleep.


Shinji felt Asuka lay her head on his shoulder, he didn't even realize he had taken Asuka straight to his room instead of taking her to her room, but it was too late, Shinji could see that she was very tired and sleeping with Asuka by his side had given him the best nights sleep of his life.

Pulling the covers up and working on automatic mode, Asuka lay down on Shinji's bed, snuggled on his chest and slept soundly.

Shinji saw Asuka sleeping and came to the conclusion that she must be very tired, hugging her gently Shinji closed his eyes and slept.


Misato was sitting at a table in a fancy restaurant, she was thinking about everything that had happened today and was thankful that Kaji had asked her out, today was a very stressful day.

"What's the matter Katsuragi, the place isn't up to your standards?" Kaji asked smiling as he took a sip of his soda, by the way he knew about Misato's drinking problem and didn't want to make her go back to her old habits, he was surprised that Misato only took soda, she was serious about not drinking anymore, Kaji was very proud of her.

Misato lifted her gaze and spoke without grace. "No, not at all, I was thinking about Rei, that girl gave us quite a scare today."

Kaji only shook his head. "I'm glad she's better."

"How are things going at WILLE?" Misato asked to change the subject.

"They're fine, but let's talk about other things, we only talk about work when we're together." Kaji replied pretending to be bored.

Misato let out a small laugh, true she thought, but soon her thoughts went to the kiss Kaji had given her earlier in the day, blushing at the memory, Misato looked away, something Kaji noticed and smiled.

"Ritsuko must think I'm a tremendous slut." Misato spoke as she lay on Kaji's bare chest, they were holding the fingers of their hands intertwined.

"Why? It's not a crime to give in to your carnal instincts." Kaji replied as he stroked Misato's hair.

Misato can't help but laugh at Kaji's words. "Since when did you become a philosopher?"

"When I took the job." Kaji spoke as he stroked Misato's hair, he could feel her satisfaction from the way she was relaxed. "Speaking pretty helps me with the bureaucrats."

"Bureaucrats." Misato whispered as she took a long breath. "Ritsuko is pissed at you."

"Why?" Kaji asked innocently, but deep down he deduced that it must be the S2 engine in the Wunder.

"Isn't it kind of obvious? She's pissed about the whole S2 engine thing." Misato replied still without looking at Kaji's face.

Kaji let out a small laugh. "Who ordered a certain person not to respect the safety guidelines? "

"Ouch!" Kaji spoke as he felt Misato pinching the skin of his chest.

After a few minutes, Misato raised her head, looked Kaji in the eye and remembered one thing, she wanted to know the progress of the attack plan against NERV, Kaji noticing Misato's look already knowing exactly what she had in mind.

"You know I can't tell you." Kaji spoke with his arrogant smile as he returned Misato's gaze, he knows she wouldn't be happy until she knew something.

Misato narrowed his gaze at Kaji. "Then you will never touch this perfect body again."

Kaji let out a laugh. "OK, how can I refuse a blackmail like that? " Misato can't help but let out a laugh.

"The plan is moving along, we are thinking of a strategy to get past NERV's defenses." Kaji started to speak, but was interrupted by Misato.

"But we have Wunder back, and the pilots are already getting the hang of killing these Mark 09s." Misato started talking frantically, she was wanting to finish off NERV, Gendo and finally be able to start readjusting what was left of the world.

Kaji looked up and gave a long sigh. "The problem is that our information shows that they have another type of defense ... It's an EVA, but more powerful than the Mark 09 model itself."

Misato can't help but feel a shiver run through her body, her mind was working to swallow this news, they could barely fight off a Mark 09.

"The only thing we know so far is that its color is white and its head is strange." Kaji spoke somberly.


The dawn had already come and Mari kept her personal vow to stay by Rei's side until she woke up, she woke up from time to time hoping to find the intense red eyes looking at her in confusion, Mari giggled a little at the thought of her fantasy, but her gaze soon dropped as she saw Rei's closed eyes. Giving a sad and defeated sigh, Mari again laid her head on Rei's thigh and closed her eyes, soon sleep overcame her and Mari entered the world of dreams.

Rei slightly began to feel her consciousness returning to her body, her mind was clouded with all the information Lilith had given her, too many memories and emotions were flooding her head.

Opening her eyes slowly looking up at the ceiling, Rei can't help but feel her mind working to put all the pieces together, she thought about how she had gotten to the hospital.

- How did I get here? ... I was in my room, my head hurt really bad and I ended up on the floor. - Memories of Mari began to appear in Rei's mind. - Mari, she was with me... She helped me? She was worried about me. - Rei gave a small smile as he remembered Mari's concern, and how she was wanting to take him to the infirmary.

Rei tried to lift her head, but felt her body tired and suffering from the effort, a small attempt to lift her head caused small pains to come, giving up, Rei again looked up at the ceiling and began to think about Mari, how she was always trying hard to make her smile, make her feel good and especially, all her efforts to make her feel at home.

- Is this love? - Rei thought as she gave a small smile, she was sure she was feeling something, and this feeling she liked, again Rei tried to lift her head, trying harder this time, she managed to look around, Rei couldn't help but look and smile at Mari's form sleeping on her leg and holding her hand, Rei could feel Mari's small caresses. - That settles why my leg is numb. -

Swinging her leg gently, Rei gave a small laugh as the way Mari's head swung gently with the small movement, seeing that Mari was waking up, her stopped the movement, Rei waited patiently.

Mari was in a dreamless world, she was too worried about Rei to relax to the point of dreaming, she was thankful that she didn't have nightmares, feeling her head moving Mari gradually woke up, gently squeezing Rei's hand, Mari lifted her head and looked at her watch, it marked four o'clock in the morning, giving a sleepy sigh, Mari hadn't realized that Rei was looking at her with her dull expression.

Turning her head slightly, Mari froze when she saw Rei's intense red eyes staring at her, it seemed as if Rei was looking into her soul, opening and closing her mouth like a fish, Mari was without reaction, she was afraid that this was a dream.

"Hi Mari." Rei replied with a small smile on her face.

Mari, grinning from ear to ear and with tears in her eyes, jumped on Rei and gave her the tightest hug she could manage.

"Blue! ... " Mari cried into Rei's shoulder, feeling Rei's arms around her waist. "Please don't ever scare me like that again."

Rei smiled as she felt all the concern Mari was giving her, her new memories were showing her a new view of her feelings.

Mari doesn't know how long she held Rei, she was afraid to let go of Rei and see that she was still in her coma, pulling away slowly, Mari took a good look at Rei's eyes to make sure they were open and alive.

Rei seeing how distressed Mari was, raised her hands gently, took one of Mari's hands and squeezed gently, looked into her eyes. "Mari, I am fine."

With tears streaming down her face, Mari squeezed Rei's hand tighter and shook her head. "No blue, you scared me."

Speaking between sniffles, Mari was making a great effort to keep the tears under control, but some were escaping. "When I saw you on the floor, screaming in pain ... I thought you were going to die."

Mari raised her hand to cover her eyes as she held back her crying, she didn't know how she was going to do in case Rei had died. Rei looked at her happily, the last time someone had looked at her like this and cried for her was when Shinji had saved her in the battle against Ramiel, remembering Shinji's advice, Rei waited for Mari to pull herself together and look at her again.

Mari looked at Rei's face and couldn't help but analyze her beautiful face when she saw that smile, he was shy, but beautiful in Mari's eyes, losing control over her body, Mari approached Rei, holding the sides of her head, Mari slowly brought her head closer to her target, Rei was looking at everything intently, her mind was longing for this since she studied about kissing in the books she read.

- Do I want this? Do I want Mari to kiss me? - This question crossed Rei's mind, she knew the answer, her body knew the answer.

- What am I doing? Does she want to? I do. - Mari thought as she came closer.

Inches away from touching, Mari stopped her advance and hesitated, Rei was waiting for the contact, she was anxious to know, to finally be able to put an end to her feelings for Mari, to finally have the answer to the question she so longed for in her mind.

Rei in a bold move, tilted her head to close the small space between the two, making his lips stick to Mari's, as he felt the softness of her lips, the kiss was simple and delicate, but both girls felt a whirlwind of emotions.

Mari was more than happy to have kissed Rei, but her mind was screaming at her to stop, she didn't know if Rei was in the same line as her, already Rei's head, finally had the answer to her question.

She was in love with Mari.

Walking away, Mari looked down, she felt her cheeks blush from the kiss she shared with Rei, but in the back of her mind, something was bothering her, she slowly stood up and walked away.

Rei was looking confused to see Mari walking away, her mind was a whirlwind of things, new and unexplored feelings, but one was standing out, the feeling of fear and emptiness, the fear of losing someone very important.

Seeing that Mari was about to leave the room, Rei raised her hand and spoke gently. "Mari please!"

Mari turned around, but kept her eyes lowered, Mari didn't know why she was feeling this way, she had finally gotten the kiss she wanted so badly, but her mind was bombarding her with guilt, a guilt of having pushed Rei, the fear of her being afraid and confused to stay by Rei side.

"Please Mari, don't go." Rei spoke pleadingly, she received a small nod, but before she could approach again, Mari spoke despondently.

"I'll let her know you're awake." Mari spoke as she left the room, Rei could feel her tears streaming down her face, the kiss she had given Mari had been spectacular regarding her own feelings, Rei had finally felt that she had found the same thing that Shinji had with Asuka, but seeing the downcast look on Mari's face, Rei cried as she thought that her feelings would never be reciprocated.

"I'm back ... Blue." Mari spoke as she walked back into the room and saw Rei's downcast look and her tears, Rei tried to wipe her face quickly, but Mari had been able to tell that she had cried, that image was heartbreaking.

Rei lowered her gaze to the bed as the nurse approached her, lifting her gaze as best she could, Rei waited for the questions.

"So Miss Ayanami, how are you feeling?" The nurse asked politely as she began to check her vital signs.

"I'm feeling fine, my body is sore, but nothing big." Rei replied professionally.

"OK, I'll let the sub-commander know." The nurse smiled at Rei as she turned to leave, but before she opened the door she turned and asked. "Would you like something to eat?"

Rei looked up and paid attention to her body, she didn't feel hungry so she politely declined, the nurse gave a nod and left the room.

Mari walked to the side of the bed and sat down, she was embarrassed to talk to Rei after what she had done, her guilt was killing her.

"I'm sorry blue." Mari whispered, Rei had to concentrate to listen.

"Why?" Rei replied timidly, Rei mind working to figure out what Mari did to be excused.

Mari faced her for the first time since the kissing incident, she looked at Rei for a few seconds. "For the kiss."

Rei stared at her confused, how could she feel guilty for kissing her? Did Mari think I didn't like it?

"But ... It was very nice." Rei replied blushing, Mari raised her head and looked up with small shock on her face.


Ritsuko's Room - Wunder

Ritsuko was sound asleep in her bed, her mind was in the dream worlds, but a shrill sound began to penetrate her mind, grumbling that she had only been asleep for two hours, Ritsuko raised her hand and picked up the phone wanting to throw it against the wall.

"Hello" Ritsuko spoke with a tired voice, after all her evening had been hectic, with Misato on a date, Ritsuko had invited Maya to her quarters.

On the other end of the line, the nurse spoke professionally. "Sorry to wake you up ma'am, but as per your orders, patient Ayanami has just woken up."

Ritsuko nodded, she couldn't complain were her orders after all. "Okay, thanks sergeant, I'm coming down." Ritsuko spoke as she hung up the phone and dropped her head on her pillow and let out a sigh of annoyance.

Getting up and putting on her uniform, Ritsuko took a sip of water to clear her mind, feeling aroused enough, Ritsuko headed towards the infirmary, the night shifts were quiet, crossing paths with few people along the way.

Arriving at her destination, the place was practically empty, Rei had been placed in a private room, even though she didn't have the same discrimination episodes that Shinji had Ritsuko didn't want to give luck to bad luck, entering the room, Rei was sitting with Mari next to her, both had a strange look on their faces, she ignored the fact and approached the bed.

"Hello Rei, so you gave us quite a scare." Ritsuko spoke professionally as she looked at the monitors showing her health.

"Sorry for the inconvenience." Rei spoke delicately as he felt embarrassed.

"It's okay, the important thing is that we made it." Ritsuko spoke as she received the tablet with more information from the nurse who stopped beside her. "Now that we are all happy, could you tell me what happened?"

Rei visibly cringed, she was still afraid to tell about her encounter with Lilith, Rei was afraid of being seen as an enemy again.

Mari gently took Rei hand and spoke as calmly as possible, she knew Rei was afraid of being pushed away. "It's okay Rei, you can tell."

Seeing Mari's look, Rei turned to Ritsuko who had a determined look on her face, she spent a few hours thinking about the information Mari revealed, giving a small sigh. "It started a few days after I picked up Shinji, I was on the LCL cylinder for maintenance at NERV."

She waited to tell about her encounter with Lilith for the end, first she told the whole experience and Ritsuko gave her a fierce look, shaking her head to the side she started to speak.

"Rei, you should have told me sooner." Ritsuko spoke calmly, but one could feel the intensity in her voice, only lowered her gaze in shame. "Anything else?"

Rei simply nodded, Mari gave her a shocked look.

"I remember everything." Rei spoke calmly and gently.

Ritsuko only quirked an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"I remember everything, from my moments as a child, from Shinji asking me to smile after a battle, to his rescue." Rei replied as he lowered his gaze to his hands on the bed.

Ritsuko was confused, she was trying to look for a plausible explanation for this, but soon she remembered Rei's description, saying that the other wanted to show her the truth.

"Rei, who was that other one?" Ritsuko asked already knowing the answer.

"I don't know, when she met with me she didn't speak to me, but whenever I think about it only one name comes to mind." Rei replied monotonously.

"And what would that be?" Ritsuko dreaded the answer, but didn't let it show.

"Lilith." Rei replied with a downward glance, she didn't want to have to face the looks of people judging her.

Ritsuko only nodded, her heart was racing, her thoughts were racing like the wind, she knew about Gendo's plan, but until now she judged that Lilith was trapped. "Why?"

"She told me that I was now a single being, that I had the right to have my own life and that these memories belonged to me." Rei replied as he felt Mari's hand land on Rei shoulder.

"Ok, let's see now, I'll order some tests to see if you are 100%, know what are these memories you have now ..." Ritsuko spoke as she typed on the tablet asking for tests.

Mari was digesting everything, now Rei was 'complete', she could see the sad look on Rei's face, deep down she wanted to hug her and never let go, but the guilt for kissing her was still there, but knowing Rei liked it helped her a little, now her friend needed support and she would give it.

"Rei, I want to know everything." Ritsuko began to speak, her scientist side had managed to cut through any sign of fatigue, turning to leave she spoke again in sub-commander mode. "Rei, from now on any discomfort I want to be informed, anything" Emphasizing the last part, Ritsuko knowing Rei was an obedient person in the hierarchy concluded. "That is an order."

Receiving a nod from Rei, Ritsuko left the hospital ward discharging Rei to leave the hospital, as there was no reason to keep her there, morning had come, Mari as a faithful friend was by her side, they were going to breakfast.

Before leaving, Shinji and Asuka stopped by to see how she was giving Rei a strong hug, Shinji cried at seeing her well.

"I'm fine brother." Rei hugged Shinji back. "Shinji ... Thank you."

Shinji turned away confused, he wasn't sure why he was being thanked, Rei signaled for the group to sit down, as he told the whole story, Rei could see the shocked looks on Shinji and Asuka's faces.

"So ... you remember everything?" Asuka asked confused, she received a nod of confirmation, Shinji again hugged her, receiving a jealous look from Asuka.


The next morning

It had been a week since the incident with Rei, she was ordered to rest during this period, she was receiving regular visits from everyone, Rei was feeling great with all the attention she was getting, but one thing was making her head a living hell, that thing was the kiss she had shared with Mari and her feelings for her.

Rei sat on her bed and began to debate this internally, the truth was that Mari couldn't get out of her head, she was dying to repeat the kiss she had shared with her friend and again enjoy all the excitement she had experienced, thinking determinedly, Rei got up and went towards her door, she had to talk to Mari, she had to put her feelings out there, even if it wasn't reciprocated, Mari had to know, her heart had to open up.

Mari was in her room alone, Asuka was going to the EVAS cages, the information that Shinji had given her and her curiosity were on edge, she had to know if it was true, Mari was lying down holding her knees close to her chest, the kiss she had given Rei and the guilt she was feeling was too much for her, her fear was that her feelings would not be reciprocated, Mari thought she had scared Rei.

"How stupid of me!" Mari spoke in a bored voice as she squeezed her legs even tighter.

CAMPAIGN.

Mari was almost feeling tears wanting to come out when she heard the doorbell to her room, pulling herself together as best she could and stood up, Mari walked to the door, as she opened it, her eyes widened when she saw Rei standing on the other side, she had an uncomfortable look on her face, soon concerns came to Mari's face. - Is she having another episode? -

"Hi Mari, can I talk to you?" Rei spoke shyly, she held her own arm to try to control her anxiety.

Mari looked at her and felt helpless, she blamed herself again for seeing Rei this way, knowing that this was the after-effects of the kiss, Mari hoped for the worst.

Assenting for Rei to enter the room, she walked calmly to the couch and sat down, she waited for Mari to do the same, in uncomfortable silence arose in the room, none of the girls were brave enough to speak.

Mari was the one who took the initiative and spoke first. "So blue ... Are you better?"

"Yes, thank you for asking." Rei replied monotonously.

After another silence, Rei took a deep breath and again remembered the reason for Rei visit, remembering the scenes from the books he was reading, he decided to start talking.

"Mari ... I don't know how I can say this, but I will try." Rei began to speak, her anxiety could be felt, Mari felt more nervous with every second, raising her head Rei looked Mari in the eyes and began to speak.

"You are a special person to me ... Since my arrival you have never treated me badly or discriminated against me ... At first I knew nothing about myself, I thought I was a monster and incomplete ... But ... you helped me." Rei paused for breath, Mari's mind was in a complete outburst.

- My God, is she proposing? - Mari thought frantically.

"I didn't know the meaning of these feelings, the books helped, but ... I still couldn't understand... The truth was that I always felt good around you... You make me happy... And this experience helped me to see something, besides making me remember my past, it brought me a little experience with feelings that I couldn't understand" Rei took a deep breath, the delicate part was coming. "Last week, I was afraid I was going to die ... When I lay on the floor ... I thought about everything I might lose and the events after I woke up only helped me come to a conclusion."

Mari was petrified on the spot, she was listening attentively to everything, she couldn't believe her ears, tears were wanting to come out.

Rei began to tremble with nervousness, she clasped her hands together and continued, now there was no turning back, in a bold move Rei began to approach Mari slowly and totally in control of her feelings. "After we kissed ... I have never felt happier in my life" Rei began to push Mari's form to lie down on the small couch, getting almost totally on top of Mari, Rei gently and with trembling hands held the sides of Mari's head, Rei was taking courage to speak the end.

Mari was totally at Rei's mercy, as she lay waiting for her final action, her mind was racing. - My God, was she really going to do this? Is she going to kiss me, possess me? My God the suspense is killing me! Do something for the love of God, Rei! -

"... I ... I ... I love you Mari." Rei spoke as he closed the space between them and kissed Mari's lips, this kiss was different, again another explosion of feelings, this kiss was more intense than the other.

The moment Rei spoke those three words, Mari couldn't hold back her tears, closing her eyes and letting the tears come out as she kissed her, Rei interrupted the kiss and pulled away, standing still looking at the scene in front of her, her head immediately blaming herself for revealing and kissing Mari, but she had to ask.

"Why are you crying?" Rei asked clearly anxious, she was afraid of losing her friendship with Mari and being rejected.

Mari began to laugh as she cried, she opened her eyes and spoke smiling, "It's just that no one has ever told me this before ..."

Rei felt as if the weight of the world had been lifted from her shoulders, feeling Mari's hands snaking up her arms and grabbing her delicate neck, with a small tug, Mari again took Rei's lips, this kiss was more passionate, hugging Rei tightly in her arms, Rei had the answer her mind craved, returning the kiss and letting her mind flow and enjoy the moment.

Asuka was in the EVAS cage, she was facing the form of unit 02, closing her eyes and controlling her emotions, she looked around to see if she was alone.

"Then Shinji told me about unit 01, the how his mother's soul was always there ..." Asuka stopped when she thought she was talking to herself. "But he told me that and I remembered you ... Is it true? ... Give me a sign." Asuka looked at the standing red giant, intently waiting for any movement. "Anything."

NOTHING

"Let's go anything." Asuka pleaded, she could feel tears beginning to form in her eyes.

NOTHING

"Come on damn it!" Asuka screamed as she felt the anger of having her hopes lost.

As if fate decided to act, the four eyes of Unit 02 lit up and stared at her.

Asuka took a step back in shock, her mind was agitated.

"So it's true, all true!" Asuka screamed as she began to cry in front of her EVA, all the blame for her mother abandoning her came with a rock and a well punch to the stomach, holding the side of her head Asuka turned around and walked out of the cages and straight to Shinji's room.

As Asuka had left, again EVA 02 shut down and returned to a state of hibernation.


Shinji was in his room, he had just taken a shower and was dressed for bed, he was pensive, Asuka's gaze was strange in his vision, but knowing his girlfriend's volatile temperament, he decided to let her have her space, Shinji was getting ready for bed when he heard his door open, almost as if ironically Asuka entered the room in search of her safe spot.

He didn't have time to turn around when two arms held him, he soon noticed the red sleeves and strawberry shampoo, but that was nothing, his only focus was that Asuka was crying, holding his arms to give her the slightest comfort, he turned around and hugged Asuka letting her cry into his chest.

"It's true Shinji ... She's there ... All this time she was there." Asuka spoke between sobs as she buried her face in Shinji's chest, all he could do was hug her.


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.