-11 YEARS EARLIER-
AUGUST 27th, 2004
TYRELL CORP HQ, LOS ANGELES
12:19pm:
The foul smell of diesel fuel entered the helicopter as its doors opened, letting both Kozo Fuyutsuki and Naoko Akagi out onto the helipad. Not even the strong wind being whirred down by the spinning helicopter blades was enough to push the wretched stench of burnt fuel away from their noses. This was Fuyutsuki's first time visiting the famed City of Angels, and he was already not impressed.
The skies had long since been permanently marred into a smudgy yellowed tone due the city's ever-increasing pollution, which had more than doubled since Second Impact. It also looked strikingly different than it did at the end of the 20th century.
Factories had become intertwined with the metropolitan area, meaning that a large residential building neighbored a large power plant spewing flames into the sky. Fuyutsuki was a little alarmed at the proximity of their flight route to these large waste releases, especially in what he considered an outdated mode of transportation they took there. Spinners had not yet been integrated into Los Angeles, but NERV was looking to change that soon enough with the help of Tyrell Corp.
"A good afternoon to the both of you! I take it you are here for the 12:30 meeting with Tyrell?" A guide spoke to them at the helipad.
"Yes, that's us. And please do let Tyrell know that we apologize for almost arriving late. We had encountered some bad weather upon landing at LAX-2 and had to wait for it to clear before making our way over."
As Naoko and the guide continued to talk for a short while, Fuyutsuki took in the view of modern Los Angeles. The city much more widespread than it was before the Second Impact, and had a similar neon-look to what had been planned for the Geo Front. He didn't know what he thought looked worse; the dense smog or the bleak city.
'The City of Angels... no longer a place of eternal sunshine. What a depressing sight.'
The helipad they landed on was at the very top of Tyrell Corp HQ. Like NERV HQ, it was pyramid-shaped. But unlike NERV, the top of this structure was flat to allow aircraft to land on them to drop off or pick up its visitors, and each side of the large building was surrounded by an additional two towers which were at a steep incline parallel to its shape.
And on top of all that, the headquarters consisted of two of these identical pyramid structures.
"Right this way, you two. Tyrell should be getting ready to meet with you shortly." The guide said, leading the way to the inside of the building.
12:28pm:
Fuyutsuki waited patiently along with Naoko at a dinner table for Tyrell to arrive, having himself a look around the modernistic interior design of the room they were in. This was to be his first meeting with the industry giant, and he was somewhat excited to meet the man. Although he knew of the corporation's shady dealings with both NERV and SEELE, Fuyutsuki's scientist side couldn't help but praise the man for his breakthrough scientific advancements.
In the post-Impact world, Tyrell was instrumental in aiding the struggling parts of the world recover. Like certain parts of Japan, most of the Californian coast had incorporated massive sea walls to keep coastal cities safe from another disastrous flood. Tyrell Corporation designed and constructed those sea walls, and even aided in the LA's new layout and reconstruction after the 'Impact Floods' destroyed a large percentage of the city.
Now, Tyrell was looking to advance human evolution, which he thought of as their biggest gift to the world thus far. Tyrell Corporation started off as a mega-corporation of the sciences, but Second Impact turned them into the heroes of the post-Impact world.
'But these Replicants... what exactly does Tyrell hope to accomplish with them?' Wondered Fuyutsuki. 'I understand NERV and SEELE's plans with the artificial humans, but I doubt Tyrell shares these ambitions. The man must want them for something else.'
"Hello. Would either of you care for a glass of fresh water?" A womanly voice asked in English from behind Fuyutsuki.
He turned around to find a very beautiful woman walking towards them, clad in a very fashionable and modern business attire he'd never seen the likes of before. The ex-professor found the woman very gorgeous, and was a little surprised at first glance.
"Erm- Yes puh-rease." He said in very slow and broken English. "My, um, apo-rogies. My Eng-rish is not very... um, good."
Fuyutsuki looked over at Naoko, who was much more familiar with the English language. She was about to speak to the other woman in order to help him out. But before she even got the chance to open her mouth-
"Ah, well would you prefer it if I spoke in your native language instead?" The woman asked in fluent Japanese.
Both Fuyutsuki and Naoko were quite amazed at how perfect her Japanese was. No accent was detectable, nor did she stumble on any of the words she had just said. On top of it all, she looked very much American and had no hints of any physical Asian traits on her face.
"Yes, thank you. That would be most helpful." He answered.
"I'm Rachael, Dr. Eldon Tyrell's personal assistant." She greeted, offering him a handshake.
"Kozo Fuyutsuki." He replied, returning the handshake. "And this is the brilliant Naoko Akagi, our very own head scientist at NERV."
Rachael shook Naoko's hand as well.
"It's a pleasure to meet you." She said to Rachael, who nodded with a kind smile.
"I'll be right back with your water."
Rachael walked off, leaving Fuyutsuki and Naoko alone on the table as they waited for Tyrell to initiate the meeting. Naoko heard a chuckle come from Fuyutsuki, who seemed to have found something slightly humorous about their interaction with the personal assistant.
"What?" She asked him.
"It's just that-" Fuyutsuki looked towards Rachael's direction. "-well, I guess I was not expecting her to speak Japanese so fluently. She doesn't look the slightest bit Asian to me..."
"I believe you'll find Rachael to be quite interesting, Mr. Fuyutsuki." A male voice said from the other end of the room.
Fuyutsuki knew that voice could only belong to one man, and stood from his chair to formally greet him. Naoko did the same, and nodded at the man as he approached the two NERV members.
"Dr. Eldon Tyrell, it's good to see you again. How are things here in LA?" Greeted Naoko.
"Very well, Dr. Akagi. Thank you for asking." He replied, having shortly after turned to greet Kozo. "It is an honor to finally be able to meet you, Mr. Fuyutsuki."
"No sir, the honor is mine. As a scientist myself, you have no idea what it means to meet such an important figure like you." Fuyutsuki replied.
Tyrell grinned, acknowledging the compliment, but not thinking about it too much. Eldon Tyrell was a very humble man, and focused more on his work than he did on the many compliments he'd receive for accomplishing everything he'd done in the years following Second Impact. He very often liked to change the subject when greatly complimented.
"It is my understanding that you were Yui Ikari's professor back in her University days." Tyrell stated. "Why, I'd argue that the honor truly is mine, Fuyutsuki. For that woman to have learned what she did, she must've been taught by a brilliant mind the likes of hers."
Fuyutsuki smiled, realizing that Yui must've previously talked about him to Tyrell, as the man already knew his name and his days as a professor at Kyoto University.
"Now, let us sit down and commence this meeting." Tyrell said as he went onto sit with the two.
They all sat on their respective chairs just as Rachael had come back with water for both of Tyrell's guests. After handing Fuyutsuki and Naoko their glasses, she bowed ever so slightly and made her way out once more.
"Thank you, Rachael." Said Fuyutsuki before she exited the room.
He didn't quite catch Tyrell grinning as he was taking a sip of his water, but once he looked up at him, he wondered what the man could possibly be smiling at.
"What seems to be amusing you, Dr. Tyrell?" Fuyutsuki asked.
"She is quite lifelike, is she not?"
Fuyutsuki was dumbfounded by his question, not entirely sure who he was referring to until he realized it was Rachael.
"You mean... your assistant?" He asked. "Well I mean, yes. Why wouldn't she be?"
Tyrell's grin only grew wider as Fuyutsuki remained completely lost as to what he might've meant. The latter looked over at Naoko, thinking that she might've been just as confused as he was. But even she seemed to know something that he wasn't in on.
"Is there something I should be aware of, Tyrell?" He asked.
"Come on now, Fuyutsuki. A sharp-minded man like you should know what I meant by 'lifelike'. Though, I do understand why you are not quite grasping what I have said. It means that our collective goal may just have been fully realized." Said Tyrell.
Fuyutsuki was still really confused.
"My apologies, but I'm still quite lost here. I don't quite understand why you would refer to her-" And then it hit him. "Y-You mean... she's- she's a Replicant?"
His eyes were now widened with utter amazement.
"You cannot be serious..."
"I do apologize for keeping you in the dark regarding Rachael, Fuyutsuki. It was simply a test. However, I do believe this to be a very good thing. You were not able to tell she was artificially born... it means they have the capacity be identical to naturally-born humans." Tyrell explained.
Something about that, although very impressive, was somewhat scary to Fuyutsuki. Just a year prior, he had witnessed the birth of a Replicant over at NERV HQ. But the difference between that one and a normal human being was night and day, with them having paler skin, strangely-colored hair and crimson eyes. But Rachael looked exactly like a human being. It made Fuyutsuki wonder just how far was too far to make them so identical to humans.
"So Rachael was in on it too?" He asked.
"Actually, no. She is not aware that she is not of natural birth." Said Tyrell.
"Hold on, she doesn't know?"
Tyrell shook his head.
"She is under the full impression that she has lived a full life, when in actuality she has only lived for about 7 months." He explained. "It is how you were not able to tell her from a normal human such as you and I."
"I don't understand, how can she not know what she is?"
Naoko decided to step in and explain exactly how it was that Rachael was oblivious to this fact.
"Our team back at NERV HQ recognized a strange obsession in the early Replicant prototypes. Being that they're emotionally inexperienced, due to never having a childhood, or even the proper experiences to base their personalities and emotions on, they become overwhelmed. The Replicants need to be mentally stable if they're expected to function like humans."
"So what is the solution to this problem?" Asked Fuyutsuki.
"We gift them the past." Explained Tyrell. "That way we create a cushion, of sorts. A pillow for their emotions. Consequently, we can control them better."
Fuyutsuki finally understood.
"Memories... you're talking about memories."
"Precisely." Tyrell said.
"The core we found inside Adam has some sort of 'absorption' property... it is very much linked to the psyche." Naoko added. "It can manipulate L.C.L too, so we've been able to use it to make copies of people's memories... real memories. We implant these memories into a still-developing Replicant, and they are born under the impression that they've lived a life full of experiences, lessons, traumas... you name it."
Another ingenious idea that blew Fuyutsuki's mind, leading him to assume it was none other than Tyrell's.
"And you thought all of this through, Dr. Tyrell?" He asked.
Tyrell shook his head once more.
"Yui is the one to thank for that concept. She has been studying Adam's core inside and out, and has been making more discoveries about it since. It is with the core that we are able to create their minds. Yui truly wields a bright mind."
Neither Fuyutsuki or Tyrell saw it, but Naoko was looking a little frustrated at Tyrell's comment.
"So are you meaning to tell me that all Replicants will be born thinking they're real people?" Fuyutsuki asked. "Will that not bring on problems in the foreseeable future?"
"Commerce is our goal here at Tyrell Corp. Our planned motto for the Replicant Series is 'More Human than Human'. Rachael is an experiment, nothing more. From here on out, every other Replicant will be taught of their true origin."
Fuyutsuki, still in awe at all the information he was just given, took another sip of his water. An artificial human had given him that cup. Artificial. It boggled his mind that he couldn't even tell that she was produced, and not born. Science had truly come a long way in the past few years. But it was also science that brought the Second Impact upon their world. Fuyutsuki wondered if this advancement would bring about another disaster.
"Now, I was meaning to bring a different matter up." Said Tyrell.
"What matter, sir?"
"The name 'Replicant'." Tyrell clarified. "It is too technical a term. I was hoping we could rename them, come up with something more appealing. More marketable. And seeing as how their first commercial distribution will be right here in Los Angeles, I have something in mind that I find will fit perfectly with the name of this city. A way to brand them as 'the purest of servants'."
Fuyutsuki and Naoko seemed intrigued.
"What exactly do you have in mind, Dr. Tyrell?" Naoko asked.
Tyrell grinned once more.
"Does the moniker 'Angel' pique either of your interests?"
NOVEMBER 14th, 2008
COMMAND CENTER, NERV HQ
11:27am:
'Four years to the day.' Thought Naoko, waiting atop the bridge of the newly-complete Command Center. 'Dr. Eldon Tyrell, if only you could lay your eyes on the MAGI. I wonder if you'd be proud of me... as proud as you always were with Yui.'
It had been four years since Naoko last saw either Yui Ikari or Eldon Tyrell. Both had died in the same year, just two months apart from each other.
Yui had gone missing during the contact experiment, having gotten so into her work on the core that it ironically became her undoing. Tyrell was devastated at the news, but he wouldn't have that much time left on earth himself. Tyrell Corp had continued developing their line of Angels, that of their newly-developed Nexus-6 models. But what they didn't account for was the questioning nature of the human mind.
One of Tyrell's servant Angels had begun questioning why they were to be the slaves. Over time, he became more mentally unstable. Eventually, he was pushed over the edge and brutally strangled Tyrell. Today marked four years since his death.
Two genius minds, gone because of their own work.
Since then, Naoko had been extremely fearful of falling the same way those two did; to become trapped by her own ambitions, and being killed by them.
'No, I won't share their fate. That won't happen to me.'
"Mother!"
Naoko was snapped out of her own thoughts and turned to find her daughter Ritsuko, who was about to enter the same field of work as her, arriving just a tad earlier than expected. The two hugged as they greeted one another.
"My, you're a here little earlier than you said you'd be!" Naoko said to her.
"You said the framework of the Command Center was finally finished, I just had to rush over here to see it."
Ritsuko looked around the impressively-sized Command Center, finding its layout to be quite futuristic for the time. She had been there once before, but at the time it was only still being built. Now it was complete and more breathtaking than ever.
"This place is like a maze! I almost got lost a few times." She said jokingly.
"Oh I've already sailed that boat, Rits. It gets better with time. I know my way around HQ better than my own home, at this point!"
The two shared a laugh, until something caught Ritsuko's eye.
"Oh wow, what's that?" She asked, pointing to three very peculiar-looking platforms below them.
Naoko figured her daughter would be interested in her newest creation. And she hoped for it too, because this was something she was very proud of herself for achieving, and something she'd hope would be able to garner her the respect that Yui always got from everyone else in NERV. But more specifically, she wanted it from one man she still had in her life.
"That there is the MAGI. The first personality transplant OS, and the first supercomputer of its kind." She explained. "MAGI Casper, MAGI Balthazar, and MAGI Melchior."
"So, basically three supercomputers?" Asked Ritsuko.
"Well, yes and no. They all interlink to form one Operating System, but these three MAGI all embody different sides of me. One is the scientist, the other the mother, and the last one the woman. These are the three 'me' that are at odds with each other." Naoko detailed.
Ritsuko smiled.
"So you've intentionally left a person's dilemma within the MAGI... that really is like you, mother."
Both mother and daughter stood there discussing the supercomputer. Ritsuko would ask questions about it while Naoko would explain exactly how it worked, and how she was even able to create the thing. It had been a really long time since they had such a good time together, and Ritsuko was reminded of what it was like to just simply have a good time with her mother.
They were never the closest to begin with, so this was a moment she was really cherishing.
"How are things going, Dr. Akagi?" A man asked.
"Good morning, Director Ikari!" Naoko said, immediately turning her attention to Gendo.
"I see you've finally brought in your daughter. Ritsuko, is it? It's been a while, you have grown quite a bit." Gendo said.
Ritsuko seemed to struggle to say anything back at first.
"Y-Yeah. Um, it's been while..."
Naoko then noticed that Gendo wasn't alone. With him, he had brought a young little girl who looked no older than 10. Though, she found the little girl's appearance to be most unusual. Her skin was pale, and her hair color was a pure baby blue. But she wasn't really bothered by it. Naoko was just kind of confused by whoever allowed this girl to dye her hair at such an early age.
"It seems you've brought your daughter as well, Ikari!" She said. "Why, isn't she just the cutest thing?"
Now something else had struck Naoko as unusual.
"You know, I was sure you had a son, Ikari. Is this his sister? Perhaps I've just never had the chance to meet her."
"Oh no, this child is not related to me. An acquaintance of mine had to leave for another part of the world, and no one was left to look after her. So I've taken her into my care until he is back." Said Gendo. "This is Rei Ayanami."
Naoko knelt down to Rei with a smile.
"Hello, Rei!"
But the child had a strange aura to her. Her eyes had a strange droning stare to them And upon closer look, Naoko could finally see that they were crimson-red. Not only that, but her face looked awfully familiar. Too familiar for her liking.
'No...'
Naoko had just made a terrifying realization.
'It can't be... she looks just like-'
"Anyway, we must get going now. Take care, you two." Gendo said as he tugged on Rei's hand. "Come on now, Rei."
Gendo walked away with the child as Naoko and Ritsuko just watched. Even though she wasn't fully sure of what was going on, Ritsuko could sense something had changed within her mother. She couldn't tell exactly what it was, but she had a feeling it was something dark. Something really ugly.
"Is everything alright, mother?"
Naoko took a few seconds to answer, and kept looking away from Ritsuko.
"Yes. Everything's... fine, Ritsuko. I-I have important work to do."
Then Naoko left.
Ritsuko felt betrayed once more. Somehow, after a moment of actual bonding with her mother, the first in a very long time, it was like they had gone back to square one. Something about this little girl really drove her mother down some strange path. It was like one personality had left, and another very different, much more sinister one had taken its place.
'When will we be a family again, mother?' She thought. 'Will you ever have time for me again?'
JUNE 27th, 2009
COMMAND CENTER, NERV HQ
8:23pm:
Naoko was exhausted.
Countless hours of programming hundreds of procedures and data into the MAGI somehow felt as if it had dragged on forever, yet flew by like it was nothing. Her increased caffeine and nicotine intake might've helped keep her sanity just a little through the entire process, but her body was just exhausted by now. She knew she'd have to call it a night soon.
But she wasn't just physically exhausted, she was suffering from emotional exhaustion too.
Another year had passed since the Command Center was completed and Ritsuko had joined NERV. Things were supposed to get better for Naoko. But it just didn't. She had expected her bond with Ritsuko to strengthen, but it had somehow dwindled instead. Naoko wasn't sure if it was better or worse than before.
And now here she was again, working all alone in a big empty room, mostly in the dark. She was feeling a little depressed.
'Why do I even try?' Naoko wondered. 'Who am I even doing this for? It's clearly not for myself... I don't think it has been for a long while now.'
She rubbed her eyes, feeling her concentration begin to fade. Now was the time to finally retire for the night, seeing as how her work would probably be affected by her ever-worsening need to bury herself in the comfort of her bed sheets.
'I'll be seeing you tomorrow, MAGI. Seems you're my only companion these days...'
Naoko turned around to head out of the Command Center, but was quite startled when she saw the young Rei standing completely still, and rather ominously at that. Apparently she had just been waiting there the whole time, and it caught Naoko by complete surprise.
"Goodness, Rei! You really gave me a good scare! Sorry about that, I didn't see you." She said to the little girl. "Is there anything I can help you with?"
"I lost my way." Said Rei.
"Is that so? My, it must've been scary traversing this big place all alone. Would you like to come with me? I'm sure I can find Director Ikari for you." Naoko offered. "Wait there, we have a phone right here. I can get him on the line for you."
As Naoko reached for the phone and began dialing in a number, Rei had a burning question inside of her. One that had been bothering her for a little while.
"Are you an old hag?" She finally asked.
Naoko was caught off-guard once again and turned around, completely shocked by the question.
"Excuse me?"
"An old hag... that is what you are, is it not?" She asked again.
Naoko was beyond annoyed now. She had just offered this little girl her help, and she was given an insult in return. She had never figured Rei to act like such a brat, especially having been raised by Gendo in the past year or so.
"That's... not a nice thing to call someone, Rei." She told the girl, trying to be as patient as she could.
"Are you not an old hag, then?"
But now Naoko had lost all patience that was left within her. She was still going to call Gendo, but would do everything in her power to make sure Rei got int trouble for her rude name-calling. Naoko knew that she was probably being irrationally angry, but at the moment she just didn't seem to care.
"Right, then! I'm just gonna get Ikari to have to scold you for-!"
"But he is the one who calls you that." Said Rei.
"Wh-What?"
"That's why I asked if you are an old hag... he is always calling you that around me." Rei said to her.
Naoko was shattered.
"No... no, he doesn't say that about me. You're just shifting the blame onto- you know what? I don't have time for this... I'm going to call-"
"But I am not lying. He is always saying that to me. 'She's an old hag.' 'That old hag is annoying.' 'That old hag never gives up.' 'That old hag is no use for me.' 'That old hag is a nuisance.'"
Suddenly, it was as if Naoko wasn't looking at Rei anymore. Yui had returned. And that pushed Naoko over the edge.
"'That old hag has served her purp-' Gck!"
"You little BITCH!" Naoko shouted hysterically in between sobs. "You think he cares any more about you than he does me? YOU'RE REPLACEABLE TOO! JUST LIKE ME! YOU'RE EVEN MORE REPLACEABLE THAN ME! HHH- YOU- HHH- YOU-!"
Naoko noticed Rei wasn't struggling anymore. The sound of her choking had stopped, and in its place a haunting silence overtook the Command Center.
She let go of her, and Rei dropped to the floor without any sign of consciousness. Naoko knew she had just done something unspeakable, and to a child, no less. A terrifying rage had built up inside her, and her hands now began to shake in fear of what she had done to the little girl.
"Oh... OH! N-NO!"
Rei wasn't moving.
"NO! NO! NONONONONONONO-"
JULY 5th, 2009
NAKAYAMA CEMETERY, TOKYO-2
2:21pm:
Ritsuko stared at her mother's tombstone for what felt like ages. There was no funeral service held for Naoko, as Ritsuko decided against it. She just wanted to spend one last moment with her mother, who was buried earlier that morning. Clad in all-black clothes, Ritsuko wasn't sure if she was mourning her or not. The tears in her cheeks had already dried, and the devastation was certainly present. But she didn't know what to think of her mother anymore.
Naoko had died by choice. A worker had gone inside the Command Center just the morning after, only to find an extremely traumatizing sight at the very bottom of the center. Naoko had jumped off of MAGI Melchior, her body having made hard impact on the edge of MAGI Balthazar before hitting the ground.
Her blood was everywhere, and the dark nature of her death haunted Ritsuko.
She had come to resent her mother in the past year. Working at NERV was supposed to bring the two closer again, but it only seemed to have done the opposite. Ritsuko felt kind of abandoned, and like her mother before her, withdrew into her work. She simply had no time left for cordial gatherings, or even personal time anymore.
And then Ritsuko received the news of her suicide.
'I'm such a fool...' She thought. 'I'm just going down that same path. I can't be like her, I won't be like her. Not in my lifetime.'
What bothered Ritsuko the most was that this suicide seemed to have come out of nowhere. Never had she seen her mother struggle with deep depression, or show any signs of suicidal thoughts. So it was very much out of character for Naoko to go out this way.
And then she did some snooping around at NERV.
The person who had found Naoko had said something about a second body in their first telling of the scene. But later on, that same person began stating that only Naoko's body was found. Ritsuko could tell something about this was off.
So she looked into it on her own. And eventually, she found the surveillance footage of the Command Center from that very night.
Ritsuko was horrified at what she saw. Not just her mother jumping to her death, but her attacking the 8 year-old Rei before doing so. And yet, just days later, she saw Rei walking around HQ alongside Director Ikari, like absolutely nothing had happened. She considered the possibility of the little girl having repressed such a traumatizing experience, but it just didn't add up. She made copies of the surveillance footage and re-watched it several times at home.
There was no way she was just seeing things. That was Rei in there with Naoko.
She had wanted to open another investigation on the death of her mother, but for some reason the police and justice system denied her that right. Ritsuko knew something very strange was happening behind the scenes.
Had Naoko's own work killed her, just as it had with Yui and Tyrell before? Or was it something else?
'MAGI Balthazar... her self as a scientist.'
Was it Ritsuko's resentment towards Naoko that depressed her to the point of leaping to her own demise?
'MAGI Casper... her self as a mother.'
Did Rei said something so vile that it sparked an underlying darkness within Naoko? Was this all Rei's fault?
'MAGI Melchior... her self as a woman.'
Ritsuko placed her flowers atop her mother's tombstone, ready to say goodbye to her for good. She didn't want to ever visit her again after this. In her mind, what happened already happened. And there was nothing she could do to bring her back. Crying would do nothing. She had a lot of work to do.
'I don't need the self as a woman. I'm not my mother...'
"Ritsuko..."
She immediately recognized Gendo's voice, and was surprised to see him there. No one was told about Naoko's tombstone location, though everyone knew about her death. But Ritsuko specifically asked for her privacy, so she wondered just how Gendo was able to know where to go, or how he knew she'd be there as well.
"Ikari." She said, a little stunned.
Then, rather uncharacteristically, Gendo fell to his knees, grabbing Ritsuko's hand in an act of desperation.
"You... you're the only one left." He said. "With Naoko gone now... you're the only one left. The only one who can support me, who can help me... please-"
Ritsuko was conflicted. Was this not what she wanted all along? Had she not dreamed of this moment for years and years? Obviously she wished it wasn't directly tied to the untimely death of her mother. But she felt a weakness inside her the moment he fell to his knees, the moment he was pleading to her, the moment where she felt truly valued for the first time in a really long time.
"-help me... just like your mother did."