"What was that surprise the idiot Zero mentioned...?" Asuka spent the entire afternoon pondering that question.
Zero quietly told Shinji what he planned to do later and the theory he had come up with.
"I sensed a soul inside Unit-02 before, too. Putting that together with what we saw in Asuka's memories last night..."
"I think it might be like what happened with your mother."
"Maybe Asuka's mother's soul is inside Unit-02."
"In that case, you're probably right, Zero."
"I hope Asuka gets to see her mother again, just like I did."
"All right, let's take her to the Eva Hangar after school."
"But before that, I need a good nap..."
Zero sat on the windowsill, lowered his head, and fell asleep.
"Snore... snore..."
"Just how much does this idiot hate class...?" Asuka covered her ears against his snoring.
"You get used to it..." Shinji had already become immune to Zero's snores.
When school finally ended, Zero woke up groggily.
"Sleeping in a bed is still more comfortable..."
He opened his eyes to find two angry faces right in front of his.
"We weren't comfortable either..." Shinji complained to Zero, his face full of resentment.
Looking at Shinji and Asuka, whose nerves had been worn thin by his snoring, Zero gave an awkward smile.
"Ahem. Time to deliver Asuka's surprise. Let's go."
"So, what kind of surprise would be in the Eva Hangar?" Asuka asked Zero in confusion after Shinji brought her there.
The red Unit-02 stood before them.
"I suggest you stand in front of Unit-02's head."
Once they stood in front of Unit-02's head, Zero told Shinji to take out the glasses and transform.
"Hey, hey, hey! Aren't you afraid someone will find out?"
Zero pursed his lips. "Forgot to tell you. That old bastard-the Commander-found out yesterday."
"So at least for now, nobody in this base is going to pay attention to Shinji transforming." With that, Shinji put on the Ultra Glasses.
After a flash of light, a human-sized Zero appeared.
Looking at Zero's physique, Asuka couldn't resist reaching out to touch him.
"Ah! What are you doing?!" Zero protested as she felt him up.
"Feels pretty nice. Your chest feels armored, and you're warm, too." Asuka found touching him quite pleasant.
"All right, all right. Time for your surprise."
"Close your eyes, then clear your mind."
"I'm warning you. If you dare do anything to me..."
"Don't get any weird ideas," Zero shot back. He was twenty thousand years too early for anything involving romance.
Asuka closed her eyes and cleared her mind.
Zero placed his hand against Unit-02's head, made the necessary adjustments, then took Asuka's hand.
"Now, let's start the experiment!"
Meanwhile, a bruised and battered Gendo Ikari was staring at the monitor, watching what was happening in the Eva Hangar.
He knew the truth about Unit-02.
He saw Asuka suddenly collapse to the floor, then Zero disappeared in a flash of light.
Gendo Ikari didn't want to think about what kind of ability that was.
"All right, open your eyes. Your surprise is here."
Asuka opened her eyes and found herself in a pure white space.
"Asuka..." Just as Asuka stood there in a daze, a voice abruptly pulled her back to her senses.
There's no mistaking it... That's...
Mom's voice!
Asuka saw the figure of her mother, Kyoko.
"Mom!" At that moment, Asuka shed her tough exterior and ran toward her mother in tears.
Kyoko opened her arms to embrace Asuka, too.
But Asuka passed straight through her.
"Why?!" Asuka's spirits sank.
"I'm sorry, Asuka... Right now, I'm only a soul..."
"I'm sorry, Asuka... I'm so sorry for everything these past years..." Tears fell from Kyoko's eyes, too.
Back then, an accident had occurred during Kyoko's experiment with Unit-02. The part of her soul that made her a mother had been absorbed into Unit-02, driving her insane.
Not only had she treated Asuka as a burden, but she had also wanted to take her along in death. In the end, she had hanged herself in front of Asuka.
After her death, her soul should have dissipated, but somehow, what remained of it had returned to Unit-02, making her soul whole again.
She couldn't remember exactly what had happened. All she remembered was a voice saying, "Asuka is waiting for you in the future."
Only after her soul became whole did she remember everything she had done to Asuka over the years.
She regretted it every moment.
"Actually, I've been inside Unit-02 all along..."
"So you've been protecting me all these years, Mom." Learning this dissolved most of Asuka's resentment.
She finally understood that her mother hadn't hated her because she wasn't good enough.
"Ahem. Sorry to interrupt, but I have a few questions."
Zero stepped in front of Kyoko with a serious expression and began asking.
"Ma'am, could you tell me why your soul is inside Unit-02?"
After Kyoko told him the truth, Zero swallowed the criticism that had been on the tip of his tongue.
"By the way, how should I address you?"
"I'm Ultraman Zero, from the M78 Nebula..."
"Could you tell me why you would do this?" Kyoko was curious. Why would any living being help someone else for no reason?
"Because I'm an Ultraman," Zero blurted out.
"Ultraman?" What a reassuring name.
"Thank you."
"You two don't just owe me thanks. You should thank him, too."
Zero pushed Shinji's phantom form forward.
"Thank him. He figured out that your soul was inside Unit-02, because his situation is much like your daughter's."
Shinji had wanted to protest, but after seeing Zero's doting grin and getting a pat on the backside, he fell silent.
Kyoko walked up to Shinji and Zero and bowed.
"Please look after my daughter from now on. Especially you, Shinji."
"Huh? Me?" Shinji didn't understand at first, but when he saw Zero snickering beside him, he instantly blushed.
Asuka's face turned as red as a big apple.
"I don't need these two idiots looking after me! Especially that idiot Shinji..."
Asuka and Kyoko continued catching up, telling each other how much they had missed one another, until Zero began flickering.
"Ah, sorry... I'm running out of energy..."
Asuka looked at Kyoko, reluctant to leave.
"Mom, I'll come visit you often..."
"All right. I'll be waiting. Goodbye for now, Asuka."
The white space began to fade, and Asuka's consciousness returned to her body.
She hugged Unit-02 and began to sob. "Mom..."
Shinji quietly patted Asuka's back to comfort her.
After Asuka stopped crying, she said to Zero and Shinji in a very soft voice, "Thank you..."
"Hey! Say that again. Didn't catch it." The rabbit-eared Zero deliberately egged her on.
"I said, thank you, you two idiots!"
"Why drag me into this? I wasn't the one who made you say it again!"
Watching the two fool around, Gendo Ikari stepped away from the monitor.
His confidence that Zero could resurrect his wife had grown a little stronger.
Before leaving, Asuka also recalled a hazy memory.
In front of her mother's grave, a gentle voice had spoken to her.
"Don't cry, Asuka. Your mother is waiting for you in the future."
"Who was that...?" Asuka couldn't remember at all.
The next morning, while Zero was teaching Shinji to cook a new dish, he suddenly heard someone calling to him through telepathy.
It was an incredibly familiar voice.
"Zero! It's me! I'm here! I'm right downstairs!"
Shinji ran to the window and looked down. He saw a middle-aged man in a coat, looking weathered by life, waving up at him.
Zero shouted joyfully:
"Hikari!"
Before you continue