"Asuka, 06 just broke through the last defensive line, it has a clear shot at Lilith!" Asuka swore. "Alright, I'm moving, just leave it to me!" The Mark.06 was visible in the distance, walking over the ruins of a tank company, the Spear of Cassius in it's hand. "Shit, you have to stop it now, Asuka! Mark.07's been sighted, it's on it's way here!" "I know, Misato! Let me handle it!"

"Alright, you creep, time to die already." EVA-02 leapt at 06, tackling it to the ground. Asuka yelled in fury as she plunged her progressive knife towards it's face. Before she could strike, she was lifted into the air by a kick from 07. "You stupid bitch, I'll kill you!" She shoved her shoulder into 07's chest, knocking it to the ground, and this time the prog knife struck home, slicing through 07's head. She turned the Eva over and tore out the entry plug, crushing it in her hands. What remained of the Ayanami inside spilled out onto the ground. "Asuka, 09's been sighted heading towards Lilith with 01, you have to finish this now!"

Asuka quickly spun around to face 06 again. She froze as she saw it raising the Spear of Cassius. In a split second, the spear flew through the air into 02's face, and Asuka screamed as she felt the spear pierce her eye, crack bone, and tear through flesh, her hand shooting up in a vain effort to protect her left eye.

02 collapsed, and Asuka continued screaming as she felt the spear being pulled out. She continued screaming for what seemed like an eternity, until she slowly recovered enough to think. "Pull... yourself... together... Asuka... it's the Eva... that's hurt... not... not you..." She pulled her hand away from her face. It was covered in blood. Breathing rapidly, she closed her right eye, and everything went dark. She screamed and shot up in her bed, gulping down breaths, her skin slick with sweat.

"Oh god... I..." the image of the young girl's remains hitting the ground with a wet slap flashed in her mind, and she threw up.

"Thank you," said the quiet voice on the phone.

"You didn't give me any choice, you bitch!" Asuka yelled, her voice filling the small cabin. "Why didn't any of you just stop?!" She reached for her eyepatch, and noticed that her hand had been covering her empty eye socket the entire time. She got up and opened the door to see Mari on the other side. "Asuka, are-" Mari staggered back as Asuka smashed her fist into her stomach. "I'm not in the fucking mood! You and Misato and all the rest can just fuck off!"

Mari watched as Asuka stormed down the deck. "Don't worry, Asuka," she whispered. "You aren't the only one with guilt." She stepped into Asuka's room, noting the lack of any non-essentials. "That girl needs help," she thought. "I hope my plan worked."

She looked up as Misato entered the room, her face wracked with worry. "What happened?! Where's Asuka?!" "Nightmare. She's fine, she just went to get some fresh air or something." Misato sighed. "You're wrong. She isn't fine. What was the nightmare about?" Mari looked at the deck. "The Ayanami series." Misato was silent for a moment. "It never got any easier killing them," she mumbled. "Rei... the one I commanded against the Angels... she was strange, but she was still Human... with people she loved. The ones we killed must have been the same." Mari sighed. "Well, this is war."

Asuka found Wren outside his cabin, staring into the night sky. "You couldn't sleep either, huh?" He looked up, surprised to see her. "No, no I couldn't." She stood next to him, leaning on the railing. "What was it for you?" He silently stared out over the blood red sea for a moment, then sighed and looked down. "A few months ago, twenty firefighters went down with a submarine. One of them was... well, he was a real asshole. He always ran his mouth, and I think he especially hated me. I never found out why he was like that. Maybe we just misunderstood each other. Maybe we could have even been friends. But now, I'll never know. I can only think, maybe..."

He turned to Asuka. "What about you?" Asuka sighed. "There was a girl I knew before Third Impact. She was the first Eva pilot. I always thought she just acted superior to everyone. I really hated her guts. Then, she... she was gone after Third Impact. Then, I found out she was one of a series of clones that Nerv produced to pilot Evas. I guess she hadn't been a bitch... she just had no idea how to interact with people." She looked down. "I guess the other clones were the same as her. And I... I killed them. I just... oh god, I killed them..."

Wren looked at her horrified face with pity. "Look... I don't know much about Nerv or these clones, but it seems to me that Nerv are the ones to blame for their deaths. They sent them out there to fight and die. They didn't give you any choice." Asuka turned away from him. "Yeah, I guess you're right... but it doesn't... I just can't..."

"It's just... thank you for the help today," Shinji said as he looked up at Asuka.

"Does daddy's boy actually... care about me?" Asuka thought as she stared out at the night sky, illuminated by the blue glow of Tokyo-3. "Though it's always been normal for me to be alone..." she whispered, "though being alone shouldn't bother me... I want someone to... care about me." She sighed, left her bed and headed for Shinji's room.

She looked up at Wren. "Can I sleep with you tonight? Not like that, I just... I just don't want to be alone anymore... please." Wren was taken aback, then nodded. "Sure, alright. But... why me?" Asuka was silent for a moment. "Because... I feel like everyone else hates me."

Mari watched them go inside. "Looks like it's working. She's finally getting help." She smiled, and headed back to her cabin.

They lay in the bed together, Wren trying to give Asuka as much space as possible. "So," he whispered, "you don't want me to call you ma'am, so what can I call you?" Asuka was silent for a few moments. "Asuka. You can call me Asuka." "Alright, Asuka. You can call me Wren."

Asuka thought for a few minutes, embarrassed. "Wren... hold me. Please." "O-okay..." he moved forwards, placing his arms around her waist. She moved back, her spine against his chest. "I just want to know that I'm not alone," she whispered. "You aren't. You need anything, I'm here, Asuka." "Wren... I... thank you."

"If I have a nightmare, promise me you'll wake me up." Wren frowned. "I heard that it's better to let them play out." "I don't care. Promise me. Please." "I promise."