Hello everyone, Calborghete here, how are you all? Here's another chapter for you.
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So without further ado, read on.
"Dialogues"
- Thoughts -
"Radio Talk"
"Self-talk."
Responsibility note:
Evangelion, its characters and setting are the property of Hideaki Anno. Any brands, films and series mentioned in this fanfic are the property of their creators.
(*)
Chapter 06.
Error.
"Start again at step fourteen, try to skip the initial systems." Ritsuko spoke next to Maya as she received the data from unit 01, her cigarette in her hands, she was getting frustrated that unit 01 wasn't responding to any commands.
"Rei was able to activate unit 01 in the past, why not now? Has she lost her touch?" Maya said as she read the lines of code, she couldn't understand anything that was happening.
Ritsuko nodded at this, letting out a long sigh as she scratched her head thinking of a solution, Rei had a good synchronization rate on the simulators, she shouldn't be having this much trouble with unit 01.
"Rei is fit, it must be something in the system, is it the modifications we made to Wunder?"
Maya heard this, she thought about it, but it wouldn't be a serious problem, crossing her arms over her chest she spoke.
"No, even so the systems kept working, I don't understand why, it seems that her s2 motor died."
"No, there's still some activity going on, the core is rejecting Rei, it seems she's getting more demanding." Said Ritsuko somberly when she learned the real reasons this was happening, Yui was preventing the unit from accepting Rei, her scientist side screaming to find Shinji, but she couldn't talk about it.
Maya looked at her when she recognized that look, she could understand some of Ritsuko's faces and it made her indignant.
"What are you hiding from me Senpai?"
"Nothing Maya." Answered the doctor dryly, looking into Maya's eyes, she smoked her cigarette.
He let out a breath as he made it clear that he had not accepted this answer, speaking with slight anger.
"Do you know what I admired most about you senpai?" Maya began as she looked into Ritsuko's eyes, she could see that she had her superior's full attention, so she continued.
"You've never hidden anything from me, even in the worst of times I've always kept your secrets, so please tell me what's going on?"
Ritsuko smiled as she heard this, she had never had anything against Maya, she had always been a person of incredible character, taking a long drag on her cigarette she began to talk a little more about unit 01.
"It won't activate."
Maya nodded, she wanted to answer more, but decided to leave it for later, calmly listening to her superior and mentor.
"Unit 01 will only work with Shinji, so all this will be a complete waste of time."
Maya frowned when she heard this, and looked around to see how it could be possible. Ritsuko continued her more technical speech.
"It seems that the EVAS cores have a certain affinity with their pilots, so once they accept people, no one else can use them." The doctor concluded calmly, she had missed the point about the souls in the cores, Maya wasn't going to accept that fact.
"So we've been wasting time here for days?" Maya said with some indignation, she shook her head sideways as she learned about everything she had tried to do to make the unit work.
"All is not lost, I'm trying to find a way for the hubs to accept other pilots, but so far nothing is working, we'll find a solution soon." Said the doctor as he smoked more of his cigarette.
Maya looked at her as she realized that there were still things she hadn't told her, but she decided to let it go, calmly touching her face as she thought about the current situation.
"So to use unit 01 we have to find Shinji?"
"That's pretty much it." Ritsuko says with amusement in her voice as she stubs out her spent cigarette.
Maya nodded at that, then she thought of the boy who was missing, she felt the weight of guilt at having doubted his character, she still remembered when she heard that he was piloting unit 13 that day, she felt a strong anger take over her body at having gone down the wrong path.
"That's the irony of fate, isn't it?" She asked as she looked at the screen showing Rei's face thoughtfully trying to connect to the unit.
"Ironic what?" said the doctor as she approached the control screen and typed in a few commands, but she herself knew that this would fail, so she calmly picked up the microphone.
"All right Rei, let's start again."
"Yes ma'am." Rei's delicate voice came out of the systems, and she slowly returned to her pensive face.
"If we hadn't lost Shinji, now we'd have another EVA up and running, our lives would be a lot easier." Maya said as she received the system error codes again.
"We haven't lost him, he's the one who ran away from us." Said the doctor, laughing without emotion.
Maya laughed when she heard this answer, then she thought of that day in particular, and with another long sigh she crossed her arms over her chest.
"I don't know, now we've got a useless unit and who knows where Shinji is."
"Not useless, just not functional." Ritsuko spoke as she tried to look at the codes on the screen, she noticed a strange movement on Rei's face, his face had a deep look, as if his mind wasn't there, she quickly turned and ordered Maya.
"How's the pilot's telemetry?"
Maya quickly looked at the screen, she could see the dark look on Rei's face, she could see that her mind was far away at that moment, with a few digits on the console she opened the information.
"Her mind is racing!"
"Activate the emergency shutdown!" The doctor ordered as she ran to the microphone.
"Rei can you hear me!" But she didn't get the answer she wanted, Rei slowly slipping out of her seat. Maya wasted no time in starting the necessary commands.
"EVA not responding! She could have a stroke if her pressure rises any higher!"
"Damn it!" Ritsuko shouted as she began typing heavily on the keyboard beside her, she could see the diagnoses being sent, every moment it seemed more likely that Rei would have a mental breakdown.
(*)
A few minutes earlier.
Rei was sitting inside unit 01, she was doing everything she could to synchronize and activate the unit, but everything she did was failing completely and her failures were starting to get frustrating.
At Wunder she was able to maintain a slight activity in unit 01, her fear of shutting down was constant, she had to try to synchronize, why couldn't she now? It was starting to get very frustrating.
With her eyes closed, she struggled to stay focused, to use all her experience to activate, then images of mistakes appeared in front of her, and she let out a long sigh as she failed again.
Staying in the darkness again, she thought of the presence she felt inside unit 01, even in Wunder's time she felt this small presence in the back of her mind, it was welcoming, but now it was dark, it seemed angry and that made Rei afraid, more afraid than being inside unit 00.
"Alright Rei, let's start again." Ritsuko's voice flooded the darkness, Rei opened her eyes knowing that she and Maya were doing their best.
"Yes ma'am." Rei's delicate voice flooded the systems, slowly she returned to her thoughtful face, she used all her willpower to manage to synchronize, she felt the presence struggling to open up to her, calmly she began to think in the hope of being able to unite.
-"Unit 01, why aren't you accepting me anymore?" thought Rei as she felt the presence getting irritated with her attempts, then she thought of Shinji, could she do something about it? With her eyes still closed, she began to think of Shinji, and a small smile appeared on her face at the memory of her friend, the person who had taught her that life wasn't just about following orders.
-"I know I'm not Shinji, but he was my friend." Rei began to speak mentally, then the presence began to move, Rei felt that this was the way, so she continued.
-"I know that the people around me have hurt you, but I didn't want any of it, you can feel that I'm telling the truth so please, help me to synchronize with you." Rei waited for the presence, she could feel that it was becoming more and more present around her, she felt that it was achieving something, she tried to concentrate, but a strange sensation took hold of her, it was like a pressure on the back of her neck.
Putting her hand to her head, she thought it was just a migraine, but she felt stranger with each passing moment, she had never felt anything like this before, starting to get scared she thought about calling for help, but her hands started to get even heavier.
Rolling further down the chair, she slowly lost consciousness, then the darkness taking over her mind, she felt light, lighter than any other form she had ever experienced.
"Where... where am I?" Said the girl as she felt herself lying on the smooth floor.
"You told me I could see if you were telling the truth, so let's see." A female voice said, Rei turned around to look for the source, but saw nothing.
"You said you were my son's friend, that you didn't want any part of this." The voice spoke again, Rei felt her strength growing stronger, calmly she stood up looking around, but she couldn't see anything.
"Who are you?"
Finally materializing on the spot, Rei's eyes widened when he saw a woman approaching, and he took a few steps back when he felt his feet on the green grass.
"So you're her, Rei Ayanami?" Yui spoke as she put her hands inside her white coat, her face had a serious look, she could see that Rei was afraid and that was completely understandable, finally calming down she spoke sadly, having already known Rei from old NERV records.
"I'm sorry for your life, I never thought he'd be capable of doing something like this."
Rei finally nodded, she began to calm down with the company of this woman, somehow she felt she could trust, finally knowing the reason for this overprotection the unit had with Shinji.
"You must be Shinji's mother."
Yui smiled as her son's name was uttered. Calmly she approached the sea view, she didn't worry about time, in this world time was different.
"Yes, or at least I was."
Rei looked at her with surprise, but approached her, looking at the blue sea, it was strange to see it in its original color, but he let himself see the beauty.
"Now, after everything, I wonder why I did it." Yui began, Rei looked at her and waited for the answers, calmly Yui continued to speak.
"I always thought the best for humanity, after the discovery of the angels I was panicked and afraid that it would be the end of the human race, because of that I didn't even think about my son." Yui spoke with an emotional voice, Rei felt sorry for the woman, but she wanted to know a few things.
Feeling a tear fall down her cheek, she quickly wiped it away, focused her face on Rei, she could see that the albino had doubts on her face.
"I can see you want some answers about yourself."
Rei lowered his gaze as he felt the urge to know, Yui took a deep breath as he remembered what he had seen in the NERV files he had broken into.
"If it doesn't bother you, I'd like to know." Rei spoke with restrained anxiety, but Yui understood.
"When I was absorbed, my husband... my husband tried to bring me back." Yui spoke with disgust at the thought of what her husband had done, Rei didn't deserve it.
"What do you know?"
"I know I'm synthetic, but you've never gotten any more information." Rei said dejectedly as she thought about it. "I only know that my original DNA was mixed with Lilith's, so I have to have LCL in my system."
"He took my DNA... So you're kind of my daughter." She wanted to have other children, but in the more traditional way, and then she saw the downcast look on the woman's face next to her.
"Sorry if that was rude, but I like the idea of having a daughter, I'm glad it's you, you've always tried to look after Shinji, even if you didn't know it." Yui said as she smiled at Rei.
He smiled when he heard this, she spoke with restrained happiness, but her face had a shy smile.
"So I'm Shinji's sister? He's my family?"
Yui noticed that smile, she felt happy that Shinji had people to support him.
"Yes, he's your family."
Rei smiled at this, she was lost in thought, Yui took a good look at the face of the young woman in front of her, she soon began to lose her smile as she learned about the more serious subject at the moment. Rei noticed this and soon her face became more serious.
"Why can't I synchronize with EVA?"
"I won't allow it." Yui spoke with a somber face, Rei was afraid of Yui's gaze.
Calming down a little, Yui spoke in a depressed voice, letting out a sigh as she continued.
"I gave my body and soul for this unit to work, I allowed my son to synchronize because I thought he could get closer to his father, but look what happened, he only got hurt." Yui spoke angrily, but fate had shown him how Gendo was acting.
"That's why I'll never allow anyone else to pilot unit 01 except my son and since he's no longer around, I think it's the ideal destination."
Rei looked at her sadly, knowing exactly what she was talking about.
"Shinji was hurt, but he gained other things with EVA."
Yui looked at her, knowing how he felt around his friends, some of whom she had met in person, especially Mari and Asuka.
"Kyoko's daughter doesn't seem to be willing to help."
Rei looked down as she remembered Asuka, she clenched her hands as she remembered the redhead with whom she had an enmity, but she could feel Asuka's feelings, Mari had always told her that Asuka had never forgotten Shinji.
"She's too proud to talk, but everyone can see that she misses him."
"Stubborn like her mother." Yui said quietly, but a small smile appeared on her face as she remembered her friend.
"Mari seems to be doing a good job of looking after her."
"Yes, Mari has always cared for everyone, but she has many moments of sadness, I wish I could help." Rei spoke up when he heard that Mari had secrets and Yui looked at her in a way that seemed as if she would know about it.
"Mari needs confidence to open up, I can see that in her."
Rei could see that Yui wasn't going to reveal anything about Mari, so the mood turned somber again. Yui took a deep breath about what she was going to reveal about the angels, knowing that she had to be straightforward in a case like this.
"Rei... I called you here to talk about the angels."
"Angels?" The woman answered calmly, but she tensed as she thought about it. Yui took a deep breath and began to say everything she knew.
"The angels came the first time for our work with the cores, the angels didn't like being offended by our work." Yui said, remembering the beginning of his work.
"But weren't the cores created as an engine for the EVAS?" Rei asked timidly.
"Yes, but their driving force is basically angelic, so the angels came to punish us for playing God, or something... in short, our work with the EVAs is what brought about the war against the angels."
"But we're at peace now." Rei asked doubtfully, nothing indicated that they were at war now.
Yui explained as she focused her eyes on the horizon, she knew what would follow now, she calmly spoke what she was feeling with the EVA.
"The problem is that the cores were closed, the work of that bitch Akagi has awakened the angels again, and they don't like being disrespected."
"So? Activating the EVAs again is bringing in the angels?" Rei spoke fearfully.
Yui looked down as she thought about it and spoke sadly.
"Unfortunately yes."
"We're at war again." She didn't want the world to end, especially now that she had her own life.
"Yes." Yui said dejectedly.
"What can we do to stop this?" Rei spoke with fear, fear for all those she had approached.
"Nothing." Yui said dejectedly as she realized that fate was repeating itself, then looked at Rei to see her with a dejected look on her face.
"Then please let me pilot unit 01." The girl pleaded.
"No." Yui said as she turned and pulled Rei into a tight hug, she wished she could help more, Rei didn't move a muscle with the physical contact.
"I can't allow anyone else in my family to suffer because of this, I know Shinji will come back somehow, I won't allow my children to suffer because of people's mistakes."
"But what about Shinji?" Rei asked as he thought of his brother and newest family member.
Yui knew that he would return to flying for the people he loved, they would have to have a talk when the day came, she didn't want to let him fly, but unfortunately she would.
"Leave him to me."
"But I'm not even your daughter." Rei said dejectedly at the thought of Shinji flying again, Yui squeezed her tighter.
"The loss would be minimal."
"You may not have come in the traditional way, but you're my daughter now and I'll protect you somehow." Yui said smiling as she hugged Rei tighter, but she knew she would have to give the girl back, so she said sadly.
"You have to go back, they'll want to know what happened, tell them what I told you, but don't say anything about me."
Rei looked at her doubtfully, but Yui was quicker to respond.
"I don't want them to know about my involvement now, please."
"I see." The girl said as she felt Yui's arms release her, slowly she felt her body getting heavier, but before she left completely, she heard one more sentence.
"Take care of Shinji."
(*)
Slowly Rei opened her eyes, turning her head sideways she realized that she was in the hospital wing of WILLE, feeling a pain in her head with the thoughts that arose.
"You're awake." A cheerful voice sounded from his side, turning his head to the side, Rei could see Sakura approaching with a smile on her face, soon she approached the bed and picked up the papers about her health.
Blinking as she put her thoughts in order, she quickly asked.
"What happened?"
Sakura approached the bed, took out her flashlight and checked the girl's vital signs, smiling when she saw that things were going well.
"You suffered a minor accident during the activation of unit 01, you've been asleep for at least twelve hours, you almost had a stroke, but everything is fine now." Sakura was pleased to see that Rei's health was in order.
"I see." Rei spoke as she became calmer, then she remembered her conversation with Yui and the return of the angels, and felt a shiver run down her back as she thought about it.
"I need to see Commander Katsuragi!"
Sakura felt surprised by this request, Rei still had to rest to fully recover from the accident, she looked at her calmly.
"Calm down, you still have to recover!"
Rei wanted to talk to her as soon as possible, this information was vitally important, so she looked at Sakura as she pleaded with her eyes.
"Please! Call her here, I have something important to report!"
Sakura looked at her doubtfully, but judging by Rei's behavior she knew it would be serious, but she was afraid to call Misato, she didn't like wasting time on things that weren't really important.
"Rei I don't know, Misato is a very busy person."
"I understand, but this is important! She'll understand!"
Sakura took a deep breath, but she nodded as she began to move away, going to the wall to pick up the communicator. She felt her hands shaking as she typed in the command that led to Misato's office, she was still afraid of the woman who had once commanded her at Wunder.
"Yes." Misato's voice flooded the device, Sakura quickly stiffened at this, taking a deep breath as she spoke formally.
"Sorry to disturb you, Commander, but pilot Ayanami has just woken up and requests your presence."
Misato sighed when she heard this, not out of anger or anything else, but out of relief, but Sakura didn't take it that way, she was afraid.
"I see, I'm going down right now." Misato spoke calmly, Sakura was surprised by this, but let it pass, she nodded as she spoke still formally.
"Yes ma'am, I'll let her know you're coming." Sakura said as she hung up the line. She touched her face as she wiped away the sweat that was dripping down.
"She's on her way down, I hope this information is relevant, because Misato doesn't like to waste time." Said the doctor fearfully, she still remembered what Misato was like at Wunder.
"It will be, the information is important." Rei said seriously as she remembered every detail she had received from Yui. Sakura looked at her seriously and calmly asked.
"What's so important?"
Rei looked at her with his intense red eyes, she wondered if she would tell him what she had learned inside unit 01, then memories of the times in villa 03 flashed through her mind, of how the Suzuhara family had been so good to her, but she could reveal this information.
Sakura seemed to sense Rei's fear, and she slowly spoke calmly and confidently.
"You know you can trust me Rei, I won't tell anyone, I swear."
Rei took a deep breath as she made her decision, her voice low.
"Please don't tell anyone about this..." Rei said as she saw Sakura approach her bed, looking around as she spoke.
"EVA spoke to me."
Sakura's eyes widened when she heard this, and she spoke with her hand over her mouth. Rei continued to talk about what had happened.
"He told me that we have to get ready, the angels are coming back."
Sakura's face drained of color when she heard this, and she looked around as she thought about how this could be wrong, but nothing came to mind that could overcome Rei's argument.
"That... that's impossible, we killed them fourteen years ago."
"I thought that, but EVA told me that they haven't been completely defeated, and they're going to come back, so we have to get ready." Rei said as he felt his hands trembling with the anxiety of having battles again.
"My God... I... I don't know what to say right now." She remembered when she was wounded in the first battle against the angels, she remembered all the days she spent in the shelters thinking she was going to die at any second, Rei looked at her when she saw the small despair in her friend's eyes.
"Please calm down."
Sakura looked at her with wide eyes and quickly spoke.
"Calm down! How can I calm down? We're at war again!"
"That's why I didn't want to tell you, but please don't tell anyone about it, Misato might disapprove." Rei said seriously when she saw Sakura's state, she regretted having said that.
When Sakura heard Misato's name, she slowly calmed down, she was a lieutenant and had to act like one. After a few breaths, she calmed down, then her eyes fell on Rei and she spoke more calmly.
"At least we have our pilots to save us, don't we?"
Rei thought about it, they only had two pilots who could fight, she was crushed to learn that Yui would never allow her to pilot unit 01 and this left her upset and feeling inadequate.
Soon the sound of doors opening caught their attention, she looked back to see Misato walking in next to Ritsuko, they both had serious looks on their faces, they walked slowly closer to the bed, Misato held onto the bars as she looked at Rei lying on the bed.
"I'm glad you're awake." Misato said, trying to sound happy, but her voice was cold. Rei nodded, then looked at Sakura as she wanted some privacy.
"I'll leave you now." The doctor said as she slowly closed the curtains, Misato looked at Rei again as she thought about what was so important that she wanted to talk about right after waking up.
"When I tried to synchronize with unit 01, my mind somehow synchronized with the unit, it spoke to me." Rei said as he looked down.
"Did he talk to you?" Ritsuko asked curiously, Misato looked at her calmly, knowing that Rei would never waste her time, so she waited.
"Yes, she told me about things that I think would be of interest to you." Rei said, feeling that anxiety again.
"What did she say?" Misato asked as she began to feel some fear in her body.
"She showed me that the angels are coming back and it's our fault." Rei spoke as calmly as possible. Misato and Ritsuko exchanged a suspicious glance.
"Angels coming back? That's impossible, EVA must have lied to you." Ritsuko said skeptically, but deep down she wondered if it was really possible.
"No, she explained everything to me, she told me that our work in reactivating the cores insulted the angels who survived and they are coming back to purify the earth." Rei summarized the entire conversation he had with Yui, leaving aside Yui's request to remain anonymous.
"The cores? We've always used them and why are they only offended now?" Ritsuko thought back to the past, Wunder's engine came from the power of the EVAs, so why didn't they come before?" Ritsuko rambled as she thought, it all didn't make sense.
Misato looked at Rei's face for any sign that this information wasn't true or was just her imagination, but she couldn't see anything.
"I think we should look into the possibility."
"That's what EVA told me, and she didn't seem to be lying." Rei spoke calmly and anxiously.
"I believe they spoke the truth, if... they really existed." Ritsuko spoke calmly, but deep down she knew the true nature of the EVAs.
"I know what I saw, ma'am." Rei said a little angrily when she heard that she might be making it all up, and Ritsuko looked at her with strong disdain.
"Calm down Rei, I believe you, now rest." Misato spoke calmly, but thinking back over everything she had heard from Rei, she could see that the girl wasn't lying, and the possibility of the angels returning was a real problem.
Rei looked at her and could see that Misato had believed her, so she spoke more calmly.
"I understand ma'am, I'm going to rest and think, maybe I can remember more."
"Do that, but think about your recovery first." Misato spoke with a shadow of a smile on her face, but her mind screaming in fear of the angels returning, looking at Ritsuko saying she wanted her in her office.
With that said, she was slowly left alone in the hospital. Sakura returned to the woman's side, having managed to overhear part of the conversation.
"So did she believe it?"
Rei looked down as she thought about it, she knew that Yui had told her the truth.
"I hope so, I don't want the angels to appear without us being prepared, I want to be able to protect the people I love."
(*)
"The return of the angels... That's all there is to it." Misato said as she sat down in her chair, putting her hands to her face as she felt the weight of these words.
Lighting a cigarette, Ritsuko spoke dismissively.
"Rei must have been mistaken, she must have thought that EVA spoke to her, but it could just be a hallucination."
Misato looked at her with slight anger, even if that was possible.
"When the Magis analyzed the Dead Sea manuscripts, they said that some parts couldn't be translated, it could be that Rei may have had a real experience, we have to take that into account... did the activation of the EVAs bring the war?"
Taking a drag from her cigarette, Ritsuko spoke with amusement.
"Even so, why only now? The EVAs have been activated for seven years, why haven't the angels returned? Why only now?" Said the blonde laughing as she smoked her cigarette. A thought crossed her mind at that moment, but she kept it quiet.
"Did they ignore it because the third impact had happened?" Misato spoke with fear, the world was different before.
Ritsuko stopped her cigarette on the way to her mouth when she heard this, Misato seemed to be thinking the same thing as her, a shiver ran down her spine at the possibility.
"I don't know, what if it's true? We have to prepare." Misato spoke with determination, she crossed her arms over her chest and spoke coldly.
"We only have two EVAs, unit 01 only works with Shinji and we don't know where he is."
"Misato, even if it's true, we don't know where he is, and even then, we don't know when they'll come back, if they do." Ritsuko spoke wisely, but she herself was considering the possibility of a new war.
"If it's true, we've condemned the world to yet another war, the archives didn't say anything about that, did they?" Misato asked Ritsuko intensely.
"The Magis have records of everything, they said it was a slight possibility that our actions had aroused the wrath of the angels in the first war, but never a concrete possibility." Akagi spoke thoughtfully as she hid the fact that it was more than a slight possibility from the Magis' records.
"So you kept this from me!" Misato spoke with anger and betrayal.
"I didn't hide it, I just thought it wasn't a real possibility." Said the blonde as she defended herself.
"We've used less than that to start operations in the past! You may have started this war Ritsuko!" Misato replied angrily.
"I didn't know!" Akagi shouted, his eyes wide.
"I thought it wasn't our fault in the first angel war! I never thought that the EVAs' research was what caused all that! I thought it was SEELE's doing." The woman explained further, then pointed her finger at Misato as she spoke more calmly.
"I really thought it would be beneficial for humanity to continue the research of the original E project, I never imagined that the first war was our fault, I thought it was just a cheap superstition."
"We're going to bring the world into chaos again, we're going to have to make the girls fight in this war because humanity wants to play God... After Shinji fixed all this, after everything we've lost, we're going to do it again." Misato spoke to herself as she looked down, she felt as if she had been betrayed by her friend, Ritsuko looked at her sadly, she really had gone too far in her ambitions.
"I'm really sorry Misato."
"Now that's worthless, the world is full of good intentions, we have to get ready." Misato said as she looked hard at her friend who had helped her lead the world into the cursed land, sat down in the chair and picked up some papers.
"You're dismissed Doctor Akagi, I hope we can work a miracle again."
Ritsuko turned as she left, leaving Misato alone in her living room. Angrily, she put down her papers and put her hands to her face.
He picked up the phone and dialed his home number, and it didn't take long for Mari to answer.
"Hey boss, miss us?"
"Mari, now is not the time for that, take Asuka and come to WILLE." Misato spoke calmly, but her voice was cold, just like in the days of Wunder, and without even letting her answer, she hung up the phone as she looked at the photo again.
"Damn."
(*)
"Did the perfect one have a vision? What information." Asuka said with sarcasm and amusement, she didn't believe anything else.
"I bet you don't know about the nature of EVAs, princess." Mari spoke seriously, in front of her stood Misato and Ritsuko, they all looked at her, especially Ritsuko, the pilots weren't supposed to know that.
Mari smiled when she saw this and quickly began to speak, using all her wiles to her advantage.
"Come on, do you really want me to believe that EVAs are just humanoid machines? For God's sake, you don't have to be a genius to see there's more behind these 'machines'."
Ritsuko sighed as she heard this, Mari was being very inconvenient with information she wasn't supposed to know. Misato looked at her pilots when she heard that Mari was right, she hadn't believed it herself when she heard, but now was not the time.
"So girls, even if this information doesn't come to anything, I want everyone in the simulators to keep their fighting skills in shape, we're going to program the simulations to get harder, I want to be prepared if they come back."
"That won't be a problem for me, I like being inside LCL and I can't see myself working for anyone else." Mari said as she looked at her nails, Misato snapped her gaze to Asuka and Rei.
"Anyone who doesn't want to can say so, there will be no punishment or retaliation of any kind."
"And leave all the glory to the four eyes and the perfect one? No way, I'm in." Asuka spoke as she cast an arrogant glance at Mari who didn't even care, then she looked at Rei beside her, she knew what had happened to unit 01, she felt angry that she was using Shinji's unit.
"And why is she here? As far as we know unit 01 rejected her."
"They all need to be in shape." Misato spoke coldly as she focused her eyes on Asuka who wisely kept her mouth shut, then she looked at Rei and spoke.
"I know you're without your EVA Rei, but I'd like you to get in shape for the ride."
"I understand, I'll do my best." The girl replied as she looked at Asuka, her eyes showing a strong intensity as she revealed that she was not afraid of the redhead, Asuka felt a strong anger at this challenge.
"If blue hasn't managed to activate unit 01, then we'll need the cub." Mari said, thinking that it would be a good time to use this to get Shinji to join the conversation. Misato inhaled when she heard that.
"Yes, only he will be able to pilot unit 01, but we don't know where he is, I've already ordered session two to increase their search efforts." Said the woman sadly as she looked at a photo on her desk showing the three pilots together on their visit to the shrine.
(*)
"I don't think that's a good idea, Shinji." Kaworu spoke angrily as he felt the sensation again, the Lilin were getting on his nerves, in front of him was Shinji getting his things to go to Tokyo 03.
"I have to do this, I have to see for myself." Said the man as he picked up the keys to his motorcycle, Kaworu looked at him with restrained sadness, he was struggling to keep his angelic part under control.
"I know you disagree, but I really hope you understand my side." Shinji says as he leaves the small apartment, leaving Kaworu behind.
Kaworu looked at the now-closed door, clenched his fists and began to feel the urge to kill all the Lilin, but for Shinji's sake he would deny this primal part of himself. Knowing that his brothers were returning, he quickly thought of going back to the place where he had hidden Unit 13, he would need it to fight.
"Fucking Lilins!"
(*)
Slowly Shinji approached Tokyo 03, looking at the horizon he could see the fortress city getting bigger and bigger, it was as if it had never changed, he turned onto the shoulder of the road, Shinji recognized this spot, calmly he parked and removed his helmet, this was exactly where Misato had 'baptized' him when he arrived in the city, it was to be a happy memory.
Getting off his bike, Shinji calmly lit a cigarette as he walked towards the parapet of the road, his eyes were on the city and he could see the buildings that could slip into the large structure to protect the homes, in the background he could see people walking, working, enjoying their new lives, it didn't even seem like he had saved everyone when he reversed the third impact.
He knew he couldn't waste any time, taking a long drag he stubbed out his badly smoked cigarette as he got back on his bike, he could feel the adrenaline taking over his body, why was he going back to this city that had only given him nightmares? Why was he doing this? That was the thought that hammered at the back of his mind with every kilometer he approached.
Finally stopping, Shinji looked at the entrance to WILLE, and could see the workers entering to do their jobs, Shinji wondered if they even knew what had happened more than fourteen years ago, but he didn't know that himself, calmly he got off the bike, he knew it was only a matter of time before they showed up, angrily he started to smoke.
The hours passed and Shinji waited, slowly the sun went down and the people began to return home, but his eyes didn't leave the main entrance, they would surely leave that way, cigarette by cigarette he waited, but soon his eyes were graced by their images, this wasn't what he expected, but that's what happened, he closed his eyes as he felt the memories flooding his mind, the good times, the bad times, the times in the cursed land.
He took a deep breath to clear his mind of all the harm his memories could give him, he threw his cigarette away, he had to do this, he had to show them that they had condemned the world to a new war, why had they done it? He would find out.
Misato was tired, the approaching war was making her older by the second. Beside her, Mari and Asuka were chatting about something of no real value, but for her it was actually a good thing, it reminded her of old times.
"I told you, Knights of the Zodiac is better than Dragon Ball." Mari smiled, she liked to spend her free time watching anime.
"My egg." Asuka said without really caring, but she wasn't going to agree with Mari on anything, she just wanted to go home and get something to eat.
Misato wanted to laugh at the conversation, but her mind wouldn't allow it, so she looked forward when she felt her body freezing, Mari stopped when she saw Asuka freezing next to Misato.
"What?" She asked smiling, but when she saw where Misato and Asuka's gazes were, her smile died.
"Shi... Shinji?" Misato said in disbelief.
Shinji was looking Misato in the eye, his body wanted to run, but he had to show her what a mistake they had made.
"Where have you been?" Mari asked as she recovered first, Shinji looked at the woman, she could see he wasn't happy at all.
"That way." The man answered harshly, Asuka clenched her hands as she felt this, ready to scream and break up with Shinji for staying away so long, but Shinji spoke first, his voice was one of complete anger, but his voice was controlled.
"It's been seven years since I reversed third impact, I was able to give people a life, a future that didn't depend on VAS, I sacrificed everything I could that day."
"What are you talking about?" Misato said fearfully, but deep down she could understand where the conversation was going. Shinji looked at her with betrayal.
"Why have you done this? Why have you aroused the wrath of the angels again? Is it such a desire to go back to the way things were before?" Shinji asked, struggling to keep his voice and body under control.
"What do you mean Shinji?" Mari asked, but she herself wondered how he knew these things, but he didn't answer. Misato quickly tried to remedy and control the situation, there were too many people around and she couldn't let the information about the angels leak out to the local population and another thing, she had to keep Shinji close to her, she couldn't let him disappear again.
"Look Shinji, let's talk, I bet you're upset about everything that's happened, but let's talk somewhere safer."
Shinji focused his eyes on the woman he once thought would be his family.
"Upset? You know, I was upset when a string on my cello broke, I was upset when the rice burned... I was upset when I realized I was alone in this world... if upset means that, how do I feel now? Well, I don't know."
Misato felt her heart burst with that sentence, she could see that he was very annoyed to be coming to this city, soon Shinji turned around and headed towards his motorcycle, Asuka was surprised by the lack of fear on Shinji's face, he didn't even care about her presence, he was frowning heavily, she tried to walk towards him, the source of all her sadness and anger.
"Look here, you little brat!" But something held her back, turning her head to the side, she could see Mari with one hand on her shoulder, her gaze showing that this was not the time for that to happen, with a jerk she started walking towards Shinji, she still owed him a punch in the face.
"Come back here, brat! We still have a lot to talk about!"
Shinji slowly got on his bike and left, taking a last look back he could see Asuka heading towards him, many memories with her came back to his mind, a solitary tear ran down his cheek, quickly he left leaving Misato, Asuka and Mari behind, all with a sad look on their faces.
Asuka looked at the motorcycle getting further and further away, clenching her fist in anger she cursed, she was so close to being able to talk to him.
"You stupid brat!... Come back!"
Author's Notes: Hello Calborghete people here, we finally have chapter 06, I hope everyone liked it, as always be sure to follow it and save it in your favorites so you don't miss any more future updates.
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