Pins and needles

"Holy shit! Did you see that Coil work?" A whistle in the background. "Now that's what I call a bad ass motherfucker! Imagine the power it would have if we equipped it with a soldier's soul..."

"Agreed. The coil did surpass the limits on what we suspected it could achieve. I hear even the scientists are astounded."

"I told you it was worth the budget... and incredibly cheap too."

"Yes, you need to start the production of more. Get all the raw ma-"

"One step ahead of you, I've had it all ready since we were half way through the development of the first. However, I wanted to make sure this did not constrict anyone's plans."

"Indeed, and thank you for the consideration. We do not want to rush this. A building can take thousands of impacts, however, remove just one support and it comes crashing down."

"Hell yeah, that's how we work...N.O.V.A!"

"Calm down! We are not at the stage of where we can become more public, no rumours yet."

"Yeah, but it is exciting that all our hard work is starting to pay off."

"Yes, however, we will lay off battles for now. We'll use the aftermath and the world's changing opinion to our advantage. We almost wiped Hong Kong off the map which will stir up trouble, more so if NERV gets a lot of the blame."

"I'll get to work starting gossip in the U.N and on the internet. It won't be that powerful at the moment, but a snowball just needs to gain momentum down a mountain before it to becomes unstoppable."

"You all have your assignments, let's make it happen."

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Drake sat back in his seat as he finished replaying the events of the Coil for the sixth time. He looked at his assistants who were still floating in a state of awe and dread. What they had seen far surpassed anything that they could have even hoped to accomplish in their first test. The results were phenomenal and downright wrong; the potentials for this technology were almost God-like.

He pinched his nose as he thought of his family. He had built a weapon that could, and just did, take thousands of lives in an instant. He then considered the value of thousands, maybe even millions of lives the Coil took for the sake of his family. Would they have agreed that their three, small, glimmering lives were equal to the enormity of those who died?

Drake had become a scientist who focused on the betterment of humanity, not its destruction, not the building of monsters for use by human hands. Drake was never a firm believer in God; however, something inside of him told him that what he was dealing with was not something for mankind to meddle with. He felt dirtier than ever, he could barely look himself in the mirror. How would he face his family when the time came?

Drake shook his head and picked up a data pad. He needed to remove his mind from the questions and instead focus on the task at hand. He pressed the record button on the data pad and quickly began his documentation.

"This is Alex Christopher Drake, time is eighteen-twenty-six, fourth of June, twenty-twenty-one. Today we began the full test of Coil 03 as well as the stability of the faux Ouroboros bands or FOBs for short." Drake looked at some knobs on his console and changed them back to a previous value. "The Coil had a synchronised reading with the bands of a level of 46.228% and a bodily synchronisation of 77% exactly. As soon as the Coil was activated and commissioned with a task it went into an animal like rage. Despite this, it managed to proceed to its objective. It seemed to be trying to fight its orders, indicated by how it moved and dragged itself along."

Drake paused the recording and looked down as he tried to compose his next words. "We likened the movement to that of a child crying as it unhappily followed its parent. It was quite disturbing and may be corrected if given a more mature soul." Drake turned a few knobs again and moved the video forward a few minutes. "As expected, the Coil went through a level of metamorphosis; however, we still do not know why it did so and under what conditions. The Coil's mouth on its face was sealed by a thick layer of skin further on into the testing for reasons unknown. Professor Durandel, our psychologist, said it was a manifestation of the soul's previous instructions, a probable, physical manifestation of the words "lips sealed" but further investigation needs to be made for confirmation."

He looked at some print outs of the Coil and its ribs protruding from its chest. "The Coil managed to open out its ribs which vibrated in astounding levels to produce sounds that would be liken to an Evangelion's raw, however, this was just a precursor to things to come. The Coil made its way to Beijing after it destroyed the garrison in Hong Kong. It managed to get half way there before being intercepted by a full Brigade and an Evangelion that was noted to arrive a full day earlier than predicted."

Drake paused again as he looked through the battle.

"The Chinese liberation army fired a salvo of tank shells. The Coil miraculously managed to repel the bullets and slingshot them back with twice the power. My only guess is that it will automatically turn its flesh into a more elastic configuration when attacked by projectiles so they cannot pierce its skin. Evangelion Unit 03 even tried with its Assault rifle, the Coil managed to repel them but with much more difficulty." Next Drake picked up an image of the Coil with its ribs unfurled and with a blur around them. He wrote a quick note on them saying 'Sonic projector.'

"The Coil then retaliated with its own attack completely unknown to us. It was a type of attack using a high level of sonic vibrations so powerful that it sent the Evangelion flying at a speed of 209 miles per hour. After the attack the coil went through a boost of growth, thus enhancing all its features and capabilities by a third. It should also be noted that the Coil's mental state turned into a mixture of rage and longing. What this means is currently beyond us. The Coil seemed to be stronger than the Evangelion in outright strength, but we highly doubt that, what with all the monstrous footage we've seen. The Coil did manage to pin the Evangelion down and was about to lance off another sonic projector before it was hit with an N2 mine." Drake looked at a picture of the blast radius.

"The coil was unaffected by the attack and doubled its original strength. The Coil began its attack showing a surprising level of manoeuvrability and battle prowess. It was able to keep the Evangelion on its toes and even managed to start damaging it. The Coil eventually managed to catch the Evangelion by its legs before crushing them, showing an advanced level of strength. The Evangelion retaliated with 24 anti-matter spikes directly to the skull but the Coil either did not feel it, or ignored it because it began its sonic projector. However, due to its growth and boost in power, the ribs were longer and the muscles causing them to vibrate became stronger as well. We do not understand why the ribs glowed red hot when there was no actual heat being generated at the time."

Drake looked over at the next image and shook his head in disbelief.

"The Coil fired off its enhanced sonic projector, the resulting attack was negated by the A.T.. filed of the Evangelion. The area damage was so vast and powerful that it literally swept away any trace of human civilization from a truce diameter of eighty-five miles. The attacks created a sonic zone, or as the Chinese call it, 'Huanlule-dei-fong.' Soldiers, tanks, buildings, people, land markings, it was all blown away. At this point reports of Evangelion Unit 02 making its way to the battle were just coming through. The Coil renewed its attack on Unit 03 but with little success due to Unit 03's A.T. field. Evangelion Unit 02 attacked the Coil and shattered its cranium for a moment before it began repairing itself."

Drake looked at the last of the footage and shook his head. "A fight occurred between the Coil and Unit 02." A pause as he looked over the fight. "I can honestly say the Coil would not have lasted as long as it did if Unit 03 was not a hindrance to Unit 02. Unit 02 managed to land some devastating blows to the Coil much faster than the Coil could heal. The Coil's mouth on its face opened up and admitted a screech that seemed to delay Unit 02 but we do not know why. Note: please have the pilots reactions to the Coil investigated right away."

He paused at the image of the Coil growing. "The Coil went through another growth spurt and was now about five times the size of the Evangelions and with the possibility of incredible power. However..," he stopped at a freeze frame of Unit 01 coming down like a comet on the Coil's head. "Evangelion Unit 01, using a combination of momentum from its fall and its own strength, managed to liquefy the Coil's head with a single punch, instantly ending the Coil's life and synchronisation with the FOBs which self destructed," he shook his head with a weak smile. "Which was the only thing that went to plan in the entire operation," he said under his breath.

"To conclude my evaluation, the Coil exceeded all expectations. The only improvements that need to be made all rely on the selection of the soul. I suggest a more reliable and more mentally mature soul then what was used in the test. In addition, more funding for research is necessary," he finished putting down his data pad and leaned back.

Drake rubbed his face as he thought of the little girl. She had chestnut hair, beautiful blue eyes and the cutest smile second only to his own daughters. He had not managed to get to know her, but not because of the experiment. He did not know she was the test subject, mainly because he did not have enough time to delegate to her. Eventually she was chosen as a test subject. Why she was chosen escaped Drake's reach of understanding. "Fuck sake. She was just a child..," he whispered, fists clenched and a furious expression on his face.

Drake had to wonder if he was just as bad as the people who assigned her as the test subject. In fact, looking at the amount of work he put into the Coil and the eventual fate it would reach, he saw himself being more at fault. What kind of life would the girl have lead? How would she have matured? She could have become a doctor, a wife, a mother. What about his own child? Was she safe from being assigned? What about her future and how could he guarantee her existence?

Drake leaned forward, put his hands together and did the one thing he thought he would never do...

He prayed.

He prayed for her and not himself. He prayed to whatever God would listen. He prayed with tears in his eyes. He prayed for his mother, sister, father, brother, his wife, and most importantly, he prayed that his daughter would be safe.

"Oh God in heaven, please, please, if you truly exist, then please secure my child's safety. I swear to you now, if you at least deliver her I'll stop all of this, I'll sacrifice the life of myself as long as she's safe. I'm not sorry for never approaching you, but I am sorry that I could not at least give my child the chance to know your name. So I beg you-" He choked on a sob. "Please, allow her to be free of this, ple-" He stopped at a hand touching his shoulder.

It was James with a sorrowful expression and only a few words left his mouth. "Can I join you?" he almost pleaded. Drake could only nod as his colleague sat down beside him.

Together they prayed for their families, for justice to be done on earth and for the damnation of their souls to be just.

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China

Beijing

Chinese NERV Branch

Asuka sat in a chair, a jacket over her shoulders as she sat in her plug suit. She was mostly vacant in her attention to numerous complaints and outrage of the battle that had taken place a few hours ago. She mostly disregarded the letters as they were all complaints, none of them offered a solution to any of the needs of the Chinese people.

Asuka's mind was focused on the battle that had decimated Hong Kong for what would be decades to come. She was not shocked. She was never shocked about much anymore, least of all to do with warfare. After the angel wars, and even the Horizon event, she had pretty much seen all one really could see or imagine. She did feel slightly off guard by the level of strength the enemy Tacstra showed; it seemed to be more powerful than the average angel...

She frowned. How would one define an average angel...? She thought to herself before focusing back on what had transpired. She may have overestimated Toji, or perhaps she underestimated the Tacstra, either way she had screwed up. However, Asuka never played the 'what if' game. It was pointless to think about the 'ifs' and 'buts'. Events of the past were in the past, unchangeable; but predictions were something else altogether and were never one-hundred percent inevitable. This was their first, and hopefully last, battle with an enemy Tacstra. They may have won by chance but they came away with a huge wealth of knowledge.

She started writing her report to Ritsuko and Misato. She noted down the Tacstra's abilities and battle prowess in a document before checking it through.

#TACSTRA 01 OVERVIEW#

19:34

18 June 2021

Report regarding enemy Tacstra and possible techniques and methods in dealing with the target.

Measurements:

Height varies with growth advancement stages.

Default stage: 220 meters

1st advancement: 288 meters

2nd advancement: 360 meters

3rd advancement: 640 meters

It should be noted that the stages need to be verified as the Coil stayed in a type of crouch as soon as it reached its 1st advancement.

Weight: unspecified at this time.

The Tacstra seemed to be a composition of different body parts from an unknown number of creatures. It is suspected that it is a mixture of humans, animals, birds and marine life. Further investigation will need to be carried out.

The Coil seemed to be wearing a type of hockey mask at its first encounter in China, however, eye witnesses recall seeing the mask disintegrate just a few moments before the arrival of Evangelion Unit 03. This is believed to be some kind of restraint to the Tacstra's power that the enemy wanted to make sure to direct towards the Evangelion.

Reasoning:

It could be the Coil has a set amount of advancements and energy that is offered to it before it deactivates. As such the mask could be interpreted as a type of limiter to the amount of energy the Tacstra can use at a low power mode. This theory is supported by the Tacstra's subsequent advancements and its use of more energy than was probably needed to finish off Unit 03.

Another reason could be the level of control over the Tacstra is enhanced by the mask. The Tacstra did noticeable wide spread damage to enemy and allies alike with no concern or hesitation.

Bands: There were ten black bands on the enemy: two on each limb, one around the neck and one around the waist. The Bands themselves sucked in light particles to a minor degree but enough to be detected by sensors.

Use (Speculation): At this point we can only assume the bands were a form of energy intakes to power the enemy Tacstra, however; therein lies a contradiction as all the bands together do not draw in enough light to power 3 hearts, let alone such a powerful being.

The other use could be as a restraint like the Evangelion's own bindings; however, this also comes under a contradiction as the Tacstra seemed to fight without any restraint or care for any auxiliary damage and deaths it caused by its own forces.

It could be that the Tacstra was just a prototype and that the bands restraining powers were ineffective and may be altered in the future.

Defence: The Tacstra had high defensive capabilities and deflected all one-hundred and fifty 75mm tank shells back at the tanks with twice the power. It also completed this feat with Unit 03's assault rifle. The force managed caused damage to the Tacstra's head.

Weakness: Because of its fleshy body, the Tacstra can be penetrated but only by significantly high level piercing shells like the anti-matter spikes in the Evangelion's shoulder restraint. Piercing rounds should be used against any other Tacstra that do not have an armoured defence as almost all other forms of conventional weaponry seem to be useless.

Offence: The Tacstra is very powerful in combat. However, its physical strength is only truly equal to an Evangelion's once it gets to its third advancement. The Tacstra is wild in its attack and unpredictable, making it difficult to combat to an undisciplined pilot. The Tacstra has a high level of manoeuvrability. The Tacstra has been recorded to be faster than an Evangelion of a synch ratio over 80. Its third level may compare.

To deal with its speed, one would have to immobilise its legs or cause it loose balance and then pin it before taking it out.

The Tacstra has an ability to interfere with a pilot's motor skills with a subsonic screech that somehow penetrates the plug. This may actually be the hearing of the Eva and not the sound entering the plug at all. It can cause dizziness, vertigo, bad headaches and disorientation, though this can be shaken off as long as one keeps their synch level up as the Evangelion seems to shrug off the attack.

Finally, the most powerful attack ever seen to date that lies in the Tacstra's arsenal is its sonic attack that can, at advancement 1, knock an Evangelion flying in an eye blink. At advancement 2, the Tacstra has an amazing upgrade in that it has the ability to destroy over eighty miles of terrain with a single sonic wave. It was so powerful that it managed to slightly pass through Unit 03's A.T. field and strip it of armour and skin. Apart from the Lance of Longinus, it is the only force that has ever passed through an A.T. field.

The only known way to combat the attack is to have a higher synch ratio, ergo stronger A.T. field, and encapsulate it with an A.T. field (Theorised but not tested) or stop it before it can use the attack.

The attack seems to be initiated from its ribs which can sprout out and vibrate to an extent where it can be channelled into a very powerful force. The connection of the power increase has not been fully explored. The bone size does have an influence but further research is required.

The best way to stop this process is to break the ribs. Be wary, the vibrating ribs may be too powerful for direct interaction, it would be best to use long range Evangelion equipment.

The Tacstra was eventually defeated due to the joint co-operation of, Unit 03, Unit 01 and Unit 02. The remains were destroyed as the bands on its body self-destructed. Reasons for self-destruction are unknown; however, it may be a programmed action or a failure, like a meltdown. How the Tacstra works as a medium is unknown but further investigation is under way.

I am confident to say that the next confrontation will be much different.

I endeavour to:

Better train and prepare pilots for further battles against Tacstras and other threats.

Have the Evangelions better equipped.

Have a better understanding of the enemy.

Focus more on possible casualties from battle.

Be more willing to use more force when necessary.

Yours Faithfully.

A.

##CLASSIFICATION STAR##

##ISSUED BY ASUKA. LANGLEY. SORYU.##

##DISPLAYING DOCUMENTS TO UNDER RANKED PERSONNEL WILL RESULT IN OFFENDERS TERMINATION AND THE TERMINATION OF ALL INVOLVED##

Asuka sat back from the document and nodded at what she saw. She sent off before deleting the file and then purging the computer as well. She stood up and stretched. She needed a drink, a stiff drink. Not worrying about her attire, due to it being a NERV personnel facility who were used to her manner of dress, she left her office.

She took an elevator out of her office and down into the 5th floor where the canteen was. She glanced at the mirror in the elevator as she was taken down. She looked slightly worn out but still mostly presentable. She smirked as she checked her hair and made some quick changes here and there just before she made it to the 5th floor. She walked out with a condensing face to make sure everyone knew who the boss was.

She quickly saw the coffee machine and briskly set off towards it, but not before Shinji abruptly appeared in front of it and started considering his selection. She was not sure how she felt at the moment about Shinji. She was very pleased that he had actually piloted Evangelion Unit 01 and even beat the Tacstra, but that in itself was convoluted. The bastard just could not help being the centre of the spotlight; it made her feel unneeded and wasted. She felt scorn for him even now, as he poured himself a drink of green tea, she felt some kind of anger welling up inside her. There were more feelings rushing inside her and most of them surrounded what he did in battle, or what he did not do.

"So Shinji..," she began, folding her arms underneath her breasts before dismissing the action; she was in no mood for him to be talking to her chest and not her face. Shinji turned around with a wide eyed, slightly worried expression. She looked him over and noted the bandage around his head and signs of trauma to his collarbone. The growing coldness inside her calmed down a bit at the sight of his injuries.

"Y-Yeah?" he asked, glancing around the room for an escape.

"How was piloting Evangelion Unit 01?" she said with a subtle cheeriness that she knew he would interpret as bad. Not failing her predictions, Shinji looked even more nervous.

"It was not too bad, I was out of synch by a bit to what I remember," he glanced at his cup and tried to play it safe by drinking some. "How's Toji?" he asked, he had to change the subject or else he would be backed up into a corner very quickly.

"He's fine..." was her reply. She noted his relaxing posture and considered something she had discussed with Misato, very heatedly actually, and decided to put their agreement into effect. It was time Shinji faced up. In her opinion, this was the best time to do it. She would have to be cold, punctual and impacting. She was going to have to hurt Shinji but what had happened was beyond unacceptable and he needed to recognise it.

"Come with me, Ikari," she said in a serious tone that told Shinji he may be in for an earful.

Swallowing down some of the tea with a noticeable burning sensation going down his throat, Shinji followed Asuka with eyes fixed on her perfect behind. He was very happy her jacket only went so far down, the form fitting plug suit forced itself snugly between her cheeks, defining their roundness and individuality. Shinji made a funny face as he had to wonder how he got to the point where he started to think like a pervert. It was wrong, disrespectful and immature and Shinji deplored such traits present in others' personalities. After all, how depraved would one have to be; how lustful and undisciplined could a person be to become like that?

However, for a reason programmed into his Y chromosomes, he could not look away. He licked his lips a little. That's mine.

"In here," she said turning to him, thankfully not quickly enough to catch his eyes below her waist, let alone her neck. Shinji stepped into the strategy room and noted the white basic design of the interior and the considerable lighting placed around the room. In the centre of the room was a white digital table showing a map of the whole of China with red and blue forces meeting and pushing away from one another. "It's only a matter of time before the Chinese push them back and out. We still have to find out who did this," Asuka interjected into his observations.

Shinji turned to look at her as she leaned forward to look at the map before glancing to him. "Didn't you capture anyone, anyone who can tell you anything?" he asked slightly surprised at the heavy eyes Asuka was displaying. There was a lot of thought and consideration going on behind those eyes and Shinji felt it was more than the battle taking place.

She shook her head as she stood up straight. "Inside the clothes of all enemy soldiers is an I.V drip poised for insertion. We don't understand how it knows, but as soon as we capture a soldier, a huge overdose of Barbiturate is inserted into their bodies, killing them within minutes. Clever too, Barbiturate is something rarely used or produced so it's hard to have anti-agents on site to combat it as soon as it is injected," she replied almost offhandedly.

The room became silent apart from subtle hum from the table. Shinji knew something else was up but he was hesitant to ask as he was not sure if he wanted to know. His hand clenched and unclenched as he thought about it before realizing he may be avoiding the issue instead of facing it. I mustn't run, I mustn't run away. I mustn't run away, I-

"Shinji...do you realise how many people died today?" she asked slowly.

Shinji looked up with a confused expression and shook his head.

"So far...2.9 million people excluding the unconfirmed and missing," she filled him in. She ignored Shinji's gulp and continued, "I wanted to come here with the expectation with a maximum, the true maximum, of maybe 500,000 dead."

She placed her hands on the table and leaned forward. Normally Shinji would be admiring the beautiful arch in her back, however, right now, in this room, it was all becoming too emotional. This was the first glimpse of a different side of Asuka Shinji had not seen, with care and regret in her voice.

"My plan was perfect; I factored in everything. The Chinese forces, the enemy forces, the Tacstra, equipment, weather, battle formation, environment, battle length, intel and the destruction." She looked at him and stood back up straight. "I critically looked over my plan of the Evangelion, I counted on them to work together in order to defeat the Tacstra swiftly and abruptly. There was one thing I did not count on. One thing that I knew would be useless no matter how much was done," her eyes almost glowed in the light, a sapphire blue that demanded a fixed attention and nothing less. "I discounted the Shinji Ikari sitting on his ass while he knew people were going to die."

Shinji was shocked, so shocked that all he could do was stare in horror and confusion. "W-What...?" was all he could say as he felt like he had been crushed by an anvil. He was expecting a lot of harsh stuff out of Asuka but this was just...

"I discounted the...boy who would just watch and shout commands that was as effective as a fish struggling from its butcher. A boy who ignored the dangers of what was going to take place and the lives that would be lost." Her eyes were cold but her voice spoke with truth and not scorn, and that hurt the most. "A boy watching a puppy yelp as it is stabbed and its master just orders it to fight back. A boy who was known as the incredible Shinji: an asshole who liked to play dumb."

She moved to the table and pressed a few buttons and a display popped up showing hundreds of injured, blood covered men, women and children. Bones sticking out of joints, shrapnel digging into skin, blood fountaining from wounds, teeth and nails missing from children who did not realise the importance of such things. Cries of pain and tears for the dead.

It was horrible.

"This, Shinji, is what happens when you play your bullshit," she told him darkly as he stared in mind numbing sorrow and self-loathing. "Men and women picked up rifle and knife to defend themselves. They carried away their young and old, worked together to make their way across a death zone. They dug their bare feet into biting earth and clung to unforgiving steel that ripped into their hands which pooled blood. They did all this for their survival. And you know what...?" she asked.

Shinji just stared, fighting his pain and need to cry, for to cry would mean he was a victim, and Shinji Ikari was no victim.

"They were swept away by a blast that destroyed over 80 miles worth of lives that soared quickly over the one million mark. And how many thousands do you think could have been saved if you had just piloted it?" She asked nonchalantly.

Shinji began to sink to his knees. He was stopped as Asuka rushed over to him and held him up with the fiercest expression he had ever seen.

"Don't you dare drop to your knees. Don't you dare!" she screamed at his face. "You don't deserve to cry. You're not them Ikari. They used everything they had from the beginning. They didn't command others to fire and not do so themselves! They fought with everything they had and more, they earned a continued existence but that was snuffed out because you did not even have half the resolve to take responsibility until you had to save your own ass!" She let go of him and backed up away from him as he shook slightly with the building tension in his mind, body and soul.

"It's not my place to be hurt by your inaction. I understand the agreement we had Shinji, but you're not a machine or a monster. Shinji, it's exactly because you're none of those things that make your ignorance so unacceptable. I don't hate you for this Shinji, I'm just disappointed," she said finally looking away from him to the live feed of the people.

She pressed a few buttons and two screens came up, one with a face of a missing person, the other that of a dead body. "You did not take their lives but your inaction lead to their demise. As such, you will spend the rest of the day cross listing the missing with the dead as atonement for your inaction... Agreed?" She asked looking back at him, his eyes were so painful to look at as he stared at the live feed. He nodded simply. "I need to hear you, Shinji."

"Yes, Asuka," were his watery words.

"You're not allowed to cry Shinji, I've not lost respect for you. You still saved billions more lives. I will lose my respect for you if you do not keep the burden inside of you, on your shoulders," she softened her expression some as she began to leave.

She walked passed him and stopped; she steeled herself, turned around and placed a hand on his back. He let out a haggard breath before stopping himself at Asuka's hand tightening on his shirt. "I know what it is like. Me and Toji…" her voice was tight and Shinji forgot his own pain for a moment. "I can't tell you about it, it's too... But Toji, ask him sometime, he'll tell you the whole story."

Asuka let go and left, she did not look back as Shinji collapsed but held in his tears. His scream of anguish hurt her but it felt good knowing he would eventually overcome it. Shinji needed this, he could not do the whole "advisor" bullshit any more. He needed to wake up and recognise how important this was, or better coined by Toji, put your all into it or fuck off. It was a rough and immature way of putting it but it was also the best way for it to hit home.

She picked up her caller and sent Misato a message notifying her off what took place. She was not surprised when she was called back on a line that was officially meant to be used as an emergency line only. Misato often put official and her own personal priorities in the same category. The ear full that was about to come her way was going to be long and painful but it was damn worth it if it meant Shinji would be back in the fight.

"Baka Shinji…" she said softly.

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Martin yawned as he read a letter from the president. The man was sitting in his office with the lights on as the sun was not yet high enough for him to turn them off. He stood up and stretched and pulled at his tie before going to a drawer to pull out some files for reference.

Martin was known as the "Connection" or "Connector" to his colleagues due to his reputation as a type liaison for NERV. It was a running joke for he had no clearance to even enter NERV, yet he still did work for them when he was technically working for the government. The government had employed him from Germany after considerable contributions he had made to strengthen relations between the East and his homeland. Martin was looking to stay close to Asuka so when the job offer was made he could hardly refuse.

Martin was actually born in Austria but was raised in Germany. He had met Asuka a few times when they were little before she moved onto college way ahead of him. Her entry into college was for reasons unknown to him and even today, he could only chalk it up to an official statement to get her focusing on piloting earlier. He could also believe she had passed the preliminary exams for such a military career, but not because of their ease.

It was not until after third impact that he had met her again as she returned to Germany a hero and a legend. She worked very specifically in politics with strengthening trust in NERV and due to his similar political ambitions, they found themselves working together.

Not more than two years ago he had met a very respectable person and friend named Kensuke Aida who was adept at playing the ball and chain game of politicians and aristocrats. The U.N was now based in NERV. That meant all of the best politicians the world had to offer were right on his doorstep and could be on his case in moments if they detected any hint of perfidy.

It was tough. Which meant you had to be tougher, you had to crush competition or be subservient to them and Martin was rarely the latter unless a full conference was under way.

He found two sheets in the drawer with the files of Loroko Muritaka, an unknown. There was no data on him, just date of birth, name, and blood type. At first it was suspected that he was a sleeper agent planted by the H.I.C but this theory was later discredited after the Horizon event.

He wondered how well he would react with his new Evangelion whatever number it was. The boy had shown surprising potential, not enough to match Shinji or Asuka in their first synchronisation tests but enough to be an eye opener.

A knock on his door made him look up to find Jack Steinbeck and Kensuke entering the room. He was not so surprised to see Kensuke but to see Jack here was unusual. In fact, wasn't Jack supposed to be in China on investigation? "What's wrong?" he asked quickly.

Kensuke glanced at Jack's larger form as he stepped towards Martin. "You need to come with us, no questions, no arguments, just shut up and move," Kensuke instructed swiftly. Martin glanced over at Jack who had his face lowered and a hand to his ear as he listened to reports. Seeing how the situation may get bad for him if he did not cooperate, he simply nodded and walked towards Kensuke.

Kensuke, Jack and Martin left the room and made a brisk walk to the elevator. Martin noticed Jack and Kensuke looking down halls, through windows and dark corners, they did this to the point where he started to copy them as his anxiety increased. Thankfully he was more than prepared for a dreadful situation after the Horizon event.

They pressed for an elevator once they reached it and Jack placed a hand on his hip as he looked around before the elevator arrived. To Martin's surprise, Kensuke reached inside his coat and pulled out a silenced pistol. "What the fuck?" Martin whispered to which Kensuke ignored. The elevator arrived with Kensuke already aiming at the doors.

The doors parted and Kensuke made a quick and thorough scan before giving the all clear. Just as they were about to step into the elevator, Kensuke looked at his watch, grit his teeth, and stepped back. He told them to take the stairs to which Jack quickly agreed to as they moved away from the elevator.

They had walked slowly until Jack and Kensuke suddenly started running down the stairs as quickly as possible. Martin found himself jumping large numbers of steps and speeding along with the others. Thankfully they were on the fifth floor so it was not long to reach the bottom floor. They practically flew towards the exit and out the doors. Martin, in slight panic at the unknown situation, rushed towards the reinforced limousine before being yanked away by Jack. Kensuke smashed the driver's-side window of another car.

Martin checked around him and did not even register his own surprise as Kensuke unlocked the door and hotwired the car. Jack guided Martin towards the car and tossed him into the back seat before joining him. The car was not what Martin would personally have selected as means of transport for a man of his standing, yet he found himself ignoring minor things like that for the assurance of his life.

Martin hissed as he sat on a piece of broken glass. "Fucking shit…" he was jerked back as the car started and jolted forward away from the U.N offices. "Can you tell me what's going on now?" he asked angrily as he sat up to pull the piece of glass out of his rear.

Jack leaned over and clipped Martin's seat belt in before doing his own and handing him a pencil. "Shut the fuck up, bite this, close your eyes, and think of Asuka," he said swiftly before digging in his pocket for another pencil he handed to Kensuke.

"What?" he asked completely confused as he looked at the pencil in his hand.

"Just do it!" Kensuke said with slight difficulty as he talked around the pencil.

Kensuke rarely shouted at anyone. This was beyond anything that Martin could figure out. The instructions given to him by Jack sent nothing but dread running through his body. Were you supposed think of your loved ones when you were about to die?

He glanced over to Jack who was leaned forward, pencil in his mouth, eyes closed, body relaxed. He appeared to be thinking of his loved ones. Martin glanced back to the pencil in misery, knowing almost certainly something terribly life-threatening was about to happen. He swallowed; put the pencil in his mouth for a reason he did not understand and quickly began to think of Asuka.

He thought of the smile she gave him when he took her to the park, and the games they played when they were kids. He thought of their happy reunion, the dates and dinners with fine wine. He thought of the future, of Asuka running into his arms, of the two of them in a tender embrace, of marriage, of her and... Shinji?

He tensed as the fifteen storey office building was erased in an explosion of such force that it blasted away their own car that had almost made it a full mile away. The car was propelled off the road and into the forest, landing in the wet mud. The car was on its back, glass shattered, dents everywhere, missing three tires, the boot and roof gone. There was blood everywhere.

Nothing moved for a moment until a hand fell out of a window. As the sun made its grand appearance and began to heat the atmosphere, its golden rays fell on the scene of carnage.

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Authors notes:

This was three days late because of sending issues but that's it.

I really liked this chapter....not sure why. I did li9ke the whole making Shinji book up, we are getting really close to the turning point now.

Shouts outs:

Fraulein Kaname Langley: As stated above, I had some problems with getting the chapter to the editor and I was not going to upload it if it was not ready as quality is a big deal with my uploads nowadays. But at least I updated today.

LT-NightWarp: Short...I thought it was average as 12-14 pages is my average and anything lower being short and anything above 20 being long. The next two chapters will be filling more blanks than making new ones which is kind if what is needed at this point.

I enjoyed you liked the little glimpse of Kaji but there is such a huger meaning to it all...

As for the event of Toji, Asuka and pretty much everyone apart from Shinji, known as Horizon event, that will be the last chapter, chapter 15.

Nasar7: Sorry the lack of Shinji in recent chapters, I need to open up more territory for me to work with before a fling the reader into it and staying on Shinji's viewpoint for too long can be counter-productive.

You're not alone, I never like Ocs straight off the bat and exclusion of the main characters is a huge turn off for me in any form of fiction. The next will be longer because they have to be. That means more time so expect a later release date in early July.

(Gets oxygen tank and inhales at Daetor's review)

Daetor: Does the Coil have an A.T field....look up A.T field at Evageeks and once you understand the article you should get your answer.

The bands can not be reproduced but can be copied like the lance of longinus and the fake lances. I don't believe the Coil to be stringer than Evangelion as the Coil was up against Toji who's not really prepared and this chapter hints heavily that Asuka could have handled it if were not for the crippled unit 03.

The Coils are limited for a reason that has nothing to do with production.

If you look at the battle, in a way Toji did the right thing as he did not know if the Coil had a core so pure head damage should have done something. The bands are destructible but not physically so (That will be explained in next chapter.) Asuka saw the bands as unimportant and she was more focused on damaging the coil then chancing hitting equipment. She may have attacked them if she could have got Toji out of there.

The Coil would fall apart but death by a thousand stabs is not accurate, just think about what you already know about the Coil and parts of an answer for its durability and its regeneration will start to make sense. The bands can not be defined or measured with physical values.

IT does take time to put one together with a small team of like 50 and small budget. However, after the test of the prototype, Coil's will be high in demand and the production speed will be cut drastically but like I said, limitations imposed have nothing to do with production of the Coil.

No comment on what she saw, keeping this one very close to the chest. I will say this, watch end of Evangelion again. I have said I'll stay as accurate as possible so in that you should see hints and some...inconsistencies...?

unit 01' timing has always been superb and astounding to say the least. It's one of the few things that make Eva 01 and in effect Shinji, so great. Best example was when Asuka killed the angel in the volcano and began to fall to her doom to have Shinji come down and save her.

Asuka sense, lol, they'll be more of that later.

How long will it be...hmm never thought about it...we'll see I guess, it will be long, just not sure how very long it will be.

End shouts outs

Special thanks To my Beta reader for her wonderful and amazingly quick work that I must always applaud, great dedication and effort from her.

Next chapter will be on 9th July 2009. So you then and expect a longer chapter!

I posted this today because I'm getting a new game tomorrow and I'm going to see transformers at Imax so I'm really pumped for it and I wanted to start my day waking up to reviews! Lol, yes, all planned out. Don't be afraid to slightly stunt my day for constructive critisim because I always love it when I look at a review and it changes something in my work. Really helps.

So you guys in about 3 weeks!

You rule the world FrogBISCUITS!