"Younger sister? But how?" Shinji stared up at Sakura, his face numb with confusion. "You haven't aged at all, have you? Not even mentally. And the last thing you remember is starting this nightmare..."

Asuka stared through the glass at Shinji. Half of her was desperate to hold him in her arms. The other half wanted him to suffer like she had.

Misato and Ritsuko were silent as they watched the situation.

"Because fourteen years have passed since then, idiot Shinji," she said, as calmly as she could. Shinji stared at her in shock. "A... Asuka!" He jumped to his feet and pressed his hands against the glass, grinning like an idiot.

His grinning face, his ignorance at all the pain he'd caused, was all it took to send Asuka over the edge. She marched towards him, fists ready. "Am I glad to see you! I knew you were okay, Asuka!" "No thanks to you!" She slammed her fist into the glass, her hand throbbing in agony from the impact.

The glass had cracked.

"It's no use, I can't hold it in," she muttered. "I've kept it pent up all these years." She stood atop the wide metal base of the window, looking down on Shinji's shocked expression. "Are you finally realising what you've done?" "What are you talking about?" he mumbled. "Pent up rage and sadness," she spat back.

"What's that supposed to mean?" "It means I'm tired of missing your stupid face!" He looked up at her in horror. "Asuka, what happened to your eye?" "You won't even apologise, will you? What, don't you think this is your fault?!" "What happened is none of your business," she growled.

"Asuka, you say it's been fourteen years, but aside from the eyepatch, you look the same," the boy mumbled, his face streaked with silent panic. "Yeah, that's the Eva's curse," she muttered in disgust. "Curse?"

"I'm done with you." She stepped down from the base and started to walk out. "Hey, wait a second!" he called out desperately. "Asuka, you would know, right? Tell me! Where's Ayanami?!"

"Still focused on her, after everything that's happened..."

"No idea," she replied coldly. "No idea? But I saved her back then!" he screamed. "Why is she the only one you're worried about?! Can't you see what's happened?!" "Such a fuss over one person," she muttered. "Maybe the bitch is right." "One person means jack in this world right now." She shot a bitter glare at Misato's cold face. "Isn't that right, Captain Katsuragi?" The older woman's eyes shot across to meet her glare impassively, and Asuka stormed out. Shinji screamed her name, and she forced herself not to look back.

It didn't take long for Nerv to take him back.

"You said a single person didn't matter." Asuka glared at Misato as she stared into the sky, the detonator still in her hands, untriggered. "But still, when everyone's lives are at stake, you just couldn't fucking do it, could you?!"

The Wunder's captain turned around, tears flooding her face. "I... it's just... it's him. The real Shinji. I couldn't just... kill him, Asuka!" Shaking with rage, Asuka ran towards her and grabbed her throat in her hands. "You fucking hypocrite! You just killed us all! Why?! Because you don't want to feel guilty?!" She released Misato and turned around. "Fucking hell, you bitch, you're as bad as that brat!"

Misato coughed and glared at Asuka. "Could you have done it, Asuka?" Furious, Asuka turned back to look at the Captain. "If I get the chance, I'll kill him with my own bare hands! He's abandoned us twice now!" She marched out the doors, only to run into Mari. "Asuka, is Misato -" She gasped as Asuka crushed her neck.

"You stupid bitch," Asuka growled. "You let him get away." "It... was... Adam's... Vessel..." she croaked. "Wouldn't... stop... for... nothing..." Asuka released her. "Next time, don't make any mistakes. If we're lucky enough to have a next time."

Mari watched as Asuka left for her cabin. She sighed, then walked through the doors to see Misato, holding her face in her hands. "She won't be able to cope for much longer," Mari mumbled. "Things were getting better when Wren was around, but since he died, things have gotten even worse. Shinji coming back may have been the final straw." Misato looked up. "Do you think she'll still be able to pilot the Eva?" Mari looked down to the ruins of the deck. "Yeah. I think she'll pilot it even better now that she's like this." Misato numbly nodded. "Perhaps that's what we need right now."

Mari thought back to that conversation as she stood atop the Wunder's deck, the mangled bodies of 02 and 08 behind her. "We needed you to fight like that, Asuka. I'm sorry, but we need you like this." She turned around as Misato approached her. "So, Shinji's still a part of Seele's plan?" the tired woman sighed. "And we played right into their hands." Mari nodded. "It only stopped when I got him out of Unit 13. As long as he's alive, he's a danger." She looked up at the sky. "What do you think she'll do?"

Misato was silent.

The hatch blew off, high into the air, and Asuka looked down into the entry plug. Shinji was curled up on the bottom, completely silent. "Hey, brat Shinji, you didn't come help me," she said coldly. The boy curled up even more. "Still not even an apology, after nearly killing us all again." "All you do is think about yourself. You think shutting up is the answer."

She dropped from the entry plug and walked away. "No, I shouldn't leave him," she thought bitterly. "As long as he's still alive, Fifth Impact is a possibility. He needs to die. He doesn't look like he'll put up much resistance. I could strangle him. No, beating him would feel better. Or should I just snap his neck and be done with it?"

"There was a... complication. 03 was infected by an Angel, as you know. Shinji was ordered to destroy the Angel, even if that meant killing you. But... he couldn't. He would sooner let the Angel kill him than he would hurt you."

She sighed and turned around. Jumping into the entry plug, she saw that Shinji hadn't moved. Frustrated, she kicked him. "You're still acting like a baby! No matter how many years pass, you're still the same old annoying brat!" "But perhaps... you're all I have left."

It took several minutes for her to drag him out of the plug, and he still wouldn't move. She gave him a survival pack. "Here, put this on," she said as calmly as she could. Still, no response. He wouldn't even stand up without support. "Geez! You can at least stand up, can't you?!" She grabbed his lip and pulled on it, hard, hoping to elicit some kind of response.

She heard footsteps, and turned to see an Ayanami approaching them. A flash of guilt ran through Asuka as she saw the Ayanami's wide-eyed innocence. "Hey, you're that pilot," she said, trying to hide her feelings. "One from the original Ayanami batch, huh?" she muttered.

The Ayanami stared at her, silent and confused.

Asuka sighed, and pulled a survival device from the pack. Turning it on, she jumped up onto the entry plug to get a better reading. "The L containment field density is too strong for them to rescue us here," she sighed. She looked down at Shinji and the Ayanami. "Let's find a spot where the Lilin can come for us," she ordered, and leaped down. Shinji was still unresponsive, and she snatched his hand in frustration. "Come on!"

The Ayanami followed them as they made their way across the blood-red sand. Their journey was silent. There was nothing they could say to one another.