A chill ran through her as she felt the coldness of the floor tiles beneath her bare feet. As she walked down the long corridor, the heavy smell of disinfectant filled her nostrils, it was a smell that made her sick to her stomach. It was a smell that was very familiar to her, one that brought back a thousand memories. Asuka shivered and continued making her way down the corridor.

She couldn't remember how long she had been walking for, it seemed like it had been forever, yet the corridor didn't seem to have an end. It just stretched on and on eventually plunging into darkness. She carried on walking, curiosity urging her to continue. She didn't take any notice of the doors on either side, only noticing that each one was identical and had some sort of indistinguishable writing next to them. It didn't matter though, all she wanted to know was what was at the end, just wanting to know where the corridor led to.

She was vaguely aware of a faint beeping noise in the distance, like the sound of an EKG Machine. As she continued moving the sound grew louder and louder. This must be it, she thought to herself. She must be reaching her destination now, she must be close to whatever it was she was trying to find.

Finally she could see something coming into view. As she got closer she noticed the machine noise had changed, it was no longer the steady beep but now the dull thud of what seemed to be a heart beat. The object came more and more distinguishable and she saw that it was a young girl in a yellow sundress. She had long flowing red hair and was clutching a small teddy bear.

Asuka felt a strange sense of dread as she approached the small girl, she couldn't have been much older than eight. What was she doing alone in a place like this? She knelt down beside her, "Excuse me, what are you doing here. A little girl like you shouldn't be alone in a place like this."

The girl replied back forcefully, "I'm not a little girl, my mama told me so. I'm here to visit her but she won't talk to me."

The little girl's mother, is that why Asuka was walking down here? Was that it? She couldn't remember why she was here or even how she had gotten here. That must have been it though, she was investigating something and it led her here. She smiled at the child and spoke again, "Could you please show me where your mama is, I'd like to see her."

"Are you Asuka?"

Asuka felt a sharp pang in her stomach, almost like it was alerting her to leave, but she didn't. She ignored it and nodded, "Yes that's right. How did you know?"

"The doctors said mama was asking for you, are you here to make her better again?"

Asuka nodded smiling, "Yes, yes I am."

The girl smiled and nodded and began to run down the corridor, Asuka called for her to wait up but it was to no avail. She stood up and followed her down the corridor, she stopped just as she got to the end but the little girl had vanished. Asuka heard a door closing but couldn't see any that had closed. She examined the writing next to each one, most of it just seemed to be gibberish except for one name plate. There was a patients name on this, Asuka wiped away the dirt on it and read the name out in her mind.

"K. Zeppelin. Sohryu"

Asuka stepped back, her eyes wide with shock. She told herself it wasn't possible, that it was just a sick joke or something. She stepped back, feeling nauseous and trying to catch her breath. Just as she turned she found herself face to face with the little girl again, the girl spoke.

"What are you waiting for? Mama is waiting for you."

"I…I…what is this?" Asuka stammered out.

The girl didn't reply, instead she ran past Asuka into the room. Asuka stood and faced the door way. It was dark inside and she couldn't see the girl or anything else in there. She took a deep breath and stepped inside only to find nothing there. The door closed behind her leaving her in total darkness.

A woman's voice echoed around the room, "That's the one, she's the one who stands there and laughs at you, Asuka…"

Asuka walked forward and whispered, "Mama?"

The voice echoed around the room again, "There she is, it's her fault, she's to blame for this, Asuka."

Asuka screamed out "No, please don't say this…not again."

"It's her fault we're like this."

"No, it's not my fault, please I just didn't want you to leave me."

"Die with me."

Those three words echoed around the room repeatedly, each time though it got louder almost as if they were being repeated. Asuka put her hands over her ears but could still hear them.

"No, please I don't want this."

"Please, die with me Asuka…we can be together again."

"No…I won't I don't want to die…"

Asuka looked up and there was a faint light shining, she could she a figure hanging from a rope. She shut her eyes tightly and screamed out, "No, I don't want this, stop this now!"

30th September 2015

Asuka's Residence – 0415 hours

Asuka's eyes shot open as she lurched forward in her bed, her body covered in a cold sweat. She felt a nauseous feeling rising through her as she quickly dashed into the bathroom, just making it in time to throw up the contents of her stomach into the toilet bowl. She wiped her mouth, flushed the contents away and moved over to the sink to wash her face.

Her face was pale and gaunt, this had been the fifth night in a row she had had the same nightmare. Each night it had been identical, it was beginning to haunt her. She had lost so much sleep over it, she was sure she was beginning to go insane.

"Stupid Shinji, if he was here it wouldn't…"

She felt tears rolling down her cheeks as she thought of Shinji, this moment had been the same each of the past five nights as well. She wanted him to be there so much, to hold her, to comfort her but it was impossible. He was gone and she was alone. What was the old saying she had once heard? 'Live Together, Die Alone?'

It seemed pretty apt now. They had both lived together, albeit not for a long time, and with the way things were going she was going to die alone. If it wasn't from an Angel, Asuka felt she was going to suffer the same fate as her mother. She shuddered with the thought of it.

'No…I'm not going to do that, I'm not that bad, I just need to focus. Focus on this other stuff. Shinji will return I know it, he always does, I don't need him down here. I'm Asuka Langley Sohryu for crying out loud, I can't let this affect me. So I had a nightmare about my mother, I'm under pressure its normal I just need to block it out. That's what I've done all my life, blocked it out. To let it show, that's weakness, I can't be weak that's not who I am. I have a duty to do, I must beat the Angels, I must protect Misato.'

NERV Offices – 1145 hours

Asuka sat, a look of fierce determination on her face. She was not going to be beaten this time. She had made her mind up. It was a new dawning for her, a time for change. She had let her guard down. Allowed people inside those walls and she had learnt from her mistake, she wasn't going to allow it to happen again. This time she was going to be tougher and firmer.

Of course, this wasn't exactly going to plan. Being tougher and firmer wasn't exactly an easy job when dealing with Misato Katsuragi. She looked across at Rei who had, so far, stayed out of the entire confrontation.

"Look Misato, I know what you're thinking but I know what I'm doing. I will be fine."

"You can't just go in there Asuka, its suicide. I want Shinji back just as much as you do but-"

Asuka quickly cut her off, "I'm not doing this to get Shinji back Misato, I'm doing this to find out what they're hiding from us. I'm sick of being made a fool of by SEELE and if I can uncover or find something there it will aid me in taking them down."

"What do you mean 'you taking them down'? You can't be thinking of taking on SEELE by yourself."

"Why wouldn't I Misato? Look around you. I can't get you involved because of your pregnancy. Ayanami, no offence, but this isn't your battle and besides which you're the only one of us left if something does happen to me."

Rei looked over curiously. She had stayed out of the argument between Asuka and Katsuragi so far, thinking it much better to just get on with her work or to at least pretend to. "What do you mean by I'm the only one left?"

"Are you stupid or something? You'll be the only one with the Evangelion serum inside you left if something happens. You can't come because if we're both captured then there will be no one left to stop the Angels or SEELE."

As soon as the words left her mouth she realized she might have been a bit harsh on Ayanami, but she knew it was for the best. She didn't want to get Katsuragi or Ayanami involved now. This was her battle and no one else's. It was about her, Asuka Langley Sohryu, trying to prove herself.

Misato sighed, realizing she wasn't going to talk Asuka out of it, "Fine then, but on one condition. I'm coming with you…"

Asuka opened her mouth to retort but was cut off almost immediately, "…I'm still your immediate superior in NERV, don't you forget that. You might not want to go there to find Shinji but I do. I'm not a part of the Evangelion Project either so you can't use that excuse."

Asuka glared at her superior, she knew she had lost this round but still wasn't ready to give up, "Fine but you're not breaking into the complex with me, you're staying out in the car connected to me by a headset. I'm not risking your baby for this, this is something I want to do."

"That's fine with me, there is another condition though."

"What is this condition?"

"Seeing as Ayanami is meant to be protecting me I want her nearby, just in case something does go wrong."

"What? I already said abo-" Asuka exclaimed but was interrupted almost immediately.

"She won't be joining you on infiltrating the base, but I want her nearby. If anything does happen to you she can probably get you out quickly. Do you understand?"

Asuka sighed, trying very hard not to lose her temper. Hadn't she just told them both why she wanted to do this alone? Shouldn't that have been enough? She replied back, "I don't have a choice, do I?"

Misato grinned and nodded, "You're learning pretty quickly how I do things around here."

SEELE Crash Site – 1230 hours

Asuka slowed the car down and looked around the area. She could have sworn this was the same place. In fact, she was certain it was the same area. Even if it wasn't, she should have been able to see something. She brought the car to a halt and clutched the steering wheel tightly. She whispered to herself, "Damn it, beaten again, this isn't fair…"

Misato looked around curiously, unsure of why Asuka had stopped the car. She was under the impression that there would be something here. All she could see was an empty area. No traces of anything anywhere. She turned to Asuka and questioned her, "Asuka why have we stopped here? I thought we were going to..."

Asuka replied, her voice raised, "This is it, this is where it was but it's gone. "

"Gone? What do you mean gone? Maybe you made a mistake."

Asuka quickly snapped back. "I didn't make a mistake Katsuragi, this is it! This is where it was, this was done on purpose. They're fucking with us, they wanted us to find it and then come back when it was gone."

Misato reached out a hand to try to console Asuka, but Asuka merely swiped it away and faced towards the window. She could see Asuka shaking slightly with anger, she sat silent for a moment not really sure what to say to her. She never really thought about just how hard this must be for Asuka, everything was falling apart for her. First Shinji had gone, she had nearly been killed, then the incident with Marduk and now this.

"Asuka look, this isn't your fault. We know how SEELE operates, we should have expected this. They've always been one step ahead, but we'll catch them."

Asuka quickly wiped her eyes, just to ensure Misato wouldn't see the tears that had formed. So much for what she had told herself this morning, so much for going back to not showing emotion. She thought about what Misato had said though, it did make sense, she shouldn't get worked up over it. When she and Ayanami were there previously, they were probably spotted, so SEELE would have wanted to complete whatever it wanted to do pretty quickly and move on before they came back. It was just unfortunate timing, that was all.

Asuka smiled and turned around from looking through the window to face Misato again, "You're right, they were probably expecting us to return and have probably moved on. We should have known they would do this. We were just a little slow that's all."

Misato nodded, "Right, so what's our next move?"

Asuka thought about it for a moment and then the idea hit her. She replied back, uttering only one word, "Marduk."

Misato looked around taking a while to respond, she was slightly confused as to just what Asuka meant, "Marduk? I thought that case had been closed and was a mistake. I didn't think we would be investigating it further."

"No, that was only because I hadn't made the connection yet. During the press conference where Nagisa miraculously reappeared, Kaji was there with me. He informed me that SEELE was funding Marduk. The two companies are connected somehow and I believe that we'll find something if we investigate them."

"You're talking about taking on a huge global organization here, Asuka."

Asuka smiled arrogantly, "I know, but if we're going to save the world we need to take big risks. That's why you won't be accompanying me on the field when I investigate. I want you to stay at NERV."

"Asuka, I-"

Asuka quickly cut her off, "Before you start, I know you don't want me doing this alone. Don't worry I'm not that stupid." Asuka picked up the radio receiver in the car, "Wondergirl, you still there?"

There was no response from the other side. Asuka pressed the radio receiver again, "Ayanami that means you, are you still there?"

"Yes."

"Good. Listen, how do you feel about investigating Marduk? What can you tell me about them?"

"Aside from what you already know not much else. I was aware that Keel was involved with them some how but it was unimportant to Director Ikari."

"Okay, we will gather up what we know for now and then plan our move from there."

"Okay, there is one thing Sohryu…"

"Go ahead."

"This area is unsafe. Someone is nearby, but I do not know where. We should leave now."

Asuka looked around the area. She couldn't see anyone either, but she too got the sense that she was being watched. She began to move the car when she felt immense pain in her head, almost as if it was being torn open. She screamed out and brought her hand up to her head. Misato acted quickly, withdrawing her gun and also looking around. She couldn't see anyone so she turned her attention to Asuka, who seemed to be a bit better but had gone slightly pale.

"Asuka, are you alright?"

Asuka nodded, "Yeah…I'm fine just…I haven't been getting much sleep so I've been getting headaches. It's nothing."

3rd October 2015

NERV Offices – 1400 hours

Asuka looked down at the stack of paper in front of her and groaned. Although she supposed she only had herself to blame for it. After all, she had been the one to suggest they take the full brunt of the investigation into Marduk. The reports came from a variety of sources that both she and Katsuragi had been able to collect over the past few nights.

This of course meant that Asuka had once again missed out on another few nights of sleep. Although sleeping wasn't exactly something she wanted to do right now. She had, however, been able to sneak a quick nap in Katsuragi's office while both Misato and Ayanami were there. Luckily there had been no nightmares. She didn't want to admit it, but the knowledge that both Katsuragi and Ayanami were near was probably to thank for that.

She only wished it would have lasted a bit longer, but she was awoken by the force of Misato hitting her with several folders she had collected from Kaji and his investigation into Marduk. Ayanami hadn't found anything yet, but that was because Asuka had asked her to deal with Director Ikari and find out what she could from him. Asuka smiled slightly when she thought of the trouble Ayanami must be having right now. Although she didn't know Director Ikari that well, from the way he treat Shinji and the way he acted before she assumed he probably wasn't an easy person to deal with.

'Okay, so maybe it was a bit immature, but it's a slight bit of revenge for what we've been through. Besides, if anyone can deal with that guy it's probably her.'

Asuka was actually surprised Ikari hadn't immediately halted the investigation. She would have continued it regardless, but if Ikari didn't want them to investigate and find his own son she didn't think there would have been a chance in hell of letting them investigate a big company like this.

Asuka looked at the various files on the desk and moved to one side, the ones donated by Kaji. That was another surprise to her, that Kaji was willing to hand over the information like he had. Of course she knew he was a good person, he being her guardian all those years ago proved that, but she knew he was a person who liked to keep his secrets close to himself. Maybe he was just as desperate as the rest of them were to stop SEELE.

'Of course this probably isn't everything he had on them, but it's still something.'

She turned her attention to the other files she had found, mostly reports from various sites on the Internet and previous un-investigated cases. There was a whole collection of theories on Marduk itself, some of them downright idiotic and bizarre whilst some actually made sense. Asuka wondered if some of the people who wrote them perhaps knew more than they let on.

'Head of Marduk is actually an alien appointed to run the organization to prepare for an invasion by an Alien Empire. This alien is not alone however, there are many more appointed throughout the worlds governments and have key positions of power in the U.N. and in organizations throughout the world. Most of the world's key technological advances have been in part thanks to acquired alien technology.

The aliens will attack by sending alien slaves through inter-dimensional gateways to weaken the human population. These gateways will be opened once a teleportation experiment, which has been rigged to fail, begins. First we will be flooded by the Alien Wildlife weakening off most of the complex housing the experiment then they will send in the Alien Slaves.

They will then appear in force and take over Earth. This process has been planned to take only a matter of hours. When they appear the U.N. will simply hand over Earth….'

Asuka smiled as she read the theory, wondering if the guy who wrote it had ever considered becoming a writer for video games or movies. She was almost believing it right up until it mentioned teleportation experiments. She already knew that was not how it would happen. It would be brute force from these invaders.

She prepared to move to the next theory when, much to her annoyance, the phone in the office began to ring. She sighed and picked it up. However, before she got a chance to speak the person on the other end came though. The person seemed to be using some sort of voice distortion. "Agent Sohryu?"

"Who is this?"

"A friend. You want to find Shinji Ikari, correct?"

"How do you know about that?"

"I'm the one asking questions here, yes or no?"

"Yes, who are you?"

"Meet me at the Marduk Institute headquarters at twenty three hundred hours four days from now. Understand?"

"Wait how do you...?"

Asuka cursed as the phone line went dead. She looked down at the number she had written while the person was on the phone. Whoever that person was, they didn't seem to go to great lengths to hide their identity. Using this, she could trace the owner and user of that phone. There was of course the problem of finding someone to do that task. There was no one within NERV she could really trust with it.

She thought for a moment and smiled when she thought of the one person who might be able to help her.

Kensuke's Residence – 1730 hours

Asuka pulled up outside the apartment block. It had been quite some time since she was last here. Probably around the time of Touji's death. Just looking at the apartment block sent a chill down her spine. Slowly, she got out of the car and headed towards the door. There was a brief moment of hesitation before she knocked, but she decided to get it over and done with. She knocked on the door and waited a moment. After receiving no response she knocked again only to hear someone behind her.

"Agent Sohryu?"

She turned and found Kensuke stepping out of a car and heading towards the door. He stepped up and unlocked the door.

"What are you doing here? It's unsafe."

"What do you mean?"

"I can't explain here, get inside."

He opened the door and stepped in, she quickly followed him. His appearance surprised her somewhat. He was wearing a full suit and looked much less like the stereotypical geek he did a few months ago, but now slightly more like a normal person. She turned to face him, a surprised look on her face. He smiled slightly.

"I know what you're thinking. This is why it's unsafe around here, shortly after Touji's accident..."

He paused for a moment. The subject of the accident was still a tough one for him. It was for anyone.

"Shortly after the incident a person from the Marduk Institute approached me. They offered me a job there. At first I was hesitant, but then I heard a bit more about it. They wanted me to work on the network administration and security systems in there, something I'm a bit of an expert at and besides, the pay was really good."

"So you took the job?"

"Correct. At first I didn't really think about it, and then I saw you and Shinji on the security cameras one day. I knew it wasn't a day trip, so I did a bit of digging and found out the reasons why you were there. Nagisa, the head of Marduk had gone missing."

"Except for the fact that…"

"He wasn't really missing, I saw the press conference and I saw them denying NERV ever being there. So I did a bit more digging. I found a few interesting things around there, bugs and cameras. Whoever installed them is a bit of an amateur, but the technology goes back to the Marduk Institute. "

Asuka looked on, surprised she hadn't expected this when she arrived. But now the whole Marduk mystery was widening up. She didn't say anything but allowed Kensuke to continue.

"So I thought of something, whoever hired me knew about Touji and they knew about you and Shinji. They were expecting you to come here and that's why they bugged the area, what I don't understand is why."

"That's what I'm trying to find out."

"So you are here about Marduk."

"Sort of, is this room bugged?"

"Don't worry, I was able to knock all of them out. Like I said, whoever set them up was an amateur. They had an awful range and were barely even able to pick up anything anyway."

"Okay, so we're safe now."

He nodded, "Right, now we are."

"Okay, good. We were able to link SEELE to Marduk, so we're trying to find out what we can on Marduk. We think the reason they had us investigate Nagisa's disappearance was simply to get a hold of Shinji."

"Makes sense."

"So earlier today I was sitting in my office, when I get a phone call from someone. This person was, as you would say an 'amateur', they didn't even hide their phone number. I can't really trust anyone inside NERV right now and I need a trace ran on the number."

"I can handle that, what exactly is it you need?"

"The owner and where they called from."

Kensuke nodded and took the sheet of paper Asuka was holding from her. He quickly made his way over to his computer and began the process. A few minutes later he turned around to Asuka and spoke again.

"This might take a while, that alright with you?"

Asuka nodded and waited for him to continue. He turned back around to the computer and entered the number she had given him. It was a quick and easy process, or at least that's what it seemed like. Within a matter of seconds he was reporting the details.

"Right, that took a shorter time than I thought. Unfortunately, there is a problem."

Asuka sighed, there was always a problem these days it seemed, "Go ahead."

"Well I was able to get the location, but not the owner. Whoever it is probably knew we'd try this so already took steps to prevent it."

"Okay, so what was the location?"

Kensuke replied almost immediately, "It was from within NERV. Whoever was using that cell phone was calling you from the NERV Headquarters. Could have been another agent."

Asuka smiled, it was just as she expected, this was exactly why she couldn't get this done inside NERV. "Right, that's all I needed to know, thank you Kensuke."

He nodded, "Not a problem, I won't pry into the details because I know you're not going to tell me but whatever it is you're doing, be careful."

"You don't need to worry about me."

Kensuke nodded and watched as she turned and exited the apartment. Almost immediately after she closed the door his own cell phone began to ring. He answered and spoke into it.

"Yes, she just left. As expected there were no problems."

He paused to allow the other person time to speak.

"She doesn't suspect a thing, all she knows is where the phone call was made. She trusts us anyway."

He paused again before questioning the other person.

"You ensure this will help her and Shinji though?"

"..."

"Good."

7th October 2015

Marduk Institute – 2300 hours

Asuka stepped out into the darkened alleyway. This had to have been the place the person who contacted her meant. It was right next to the main building, yet just hidden well enough to not be spotted. She leaned against the wall and brushed her hair back. She looked around towards the front of the building and squinted slightly, trying to see if anyone was approaching. The pounding rain running down her face and down the street obscured her vision somewhat.

She silently wished that whoever had contacted her would hurry up and make their presence known now. She didn't anticipate the weather being this bad and if they were indeed going to be infiltrating Marduk she didn't need to be dragged down by her clothes being soaked through.

She took another quick look round and just as she finished, her cell phone began to vibrate quietly in her pocket. She cursed silently and took it out, looking at the caller I.D. Much to her surprise it was the same number that had contacted her. She pressed to answer it and spoke quietly into the phone.

"Okay, I'm here. What now?"

"At the end of the street there is a parked limousine with the engine and lights turned off. The doors, however, are open. Walk to the end of the street and get into it."

Almost immediately after the voice finished speaking the phone line went dead. Asuka stepped out of the alleyway, conscious that what she was about to do could be the biggest mistake she had ever made in her life. She kept on telling herself that it was a stupid idea, that even she shouldn't be taking a risk like this. For all she knew, someone from SEELE could be here, ready for her. She could be walking into a huge trap, yet something pushed her on. A subconscious desire to find out the truth, to get some pride back and to get back that which was dear to her.

She turned back onto the street and pulled her jacket hood up again to try to shield her from the rain. She got to the end of the street, there it was just like the person had said, a parked black limousine. Nothing too unusual for this end of the city. Limousines were often spotted going back and forth due to it being the major business sector. This was where those who had money, power or both in Tokyo 3 came. A fitting area for one of the world's biggest organizations.

As she approached the limousine, the door opened slightly. She paused, expecting someone to step out. When no one did she cautiously approached it. As she stopped to look inside she heard the same voice she had heard on the phone just minutes ago.

"Agent Sohryu, get inside quickly. Our time is limited."

She removed her hood and got inside the darkened limousine, closing the door behind her. She was only in darkness for a matter of moments before the main light came on and she found herself sitting only a meter or two away from Gendo Ikari. She looked on, trying to hide her shock and anger at the man. Sitting next to him was Ayanami, she was wearing a dark black bodysuit and had a bag next to her.

"What...What is this?"

Gendo smiled arrogantly and answered her question, "This is where it all begins to end Sohryu. I must apologize for leading you on like this, I would have preferred to call you into my office in NERV and explain this there. However, SEELE has now infiltrated NERV and have appointed several agents. Luckily, we were able to send in someone of our own. Someone they would never suspect..."

Asuka didn't care what the man had to say, right now her previous thought that this was a mistake had just been confirmed in her head. All she wanted to do now was go home, get changed and go to bed. "Why have you called me here?"

"As you might have already found out, I am not working with SEELE. In fact, much the contrary, I want to stop them from completing their scenario. I was able to construct my own plan to achieve this, as you might have guessed it involved using you, Shinji and Rei as the recipients of the Evangelion Serum. However, due to unforeseen circumstances I have had to alter that."

"So what, now that we know who you are you're just going to ask us instead of manipulating us, is that it?"

"In a sense. A few days ago Rei came to me asking about Marduk and SEELE's relationship. She told me that you were investigating them because of recent events and because of information passed down by Ryoji Kaji."

Asuka nodded, "That is correct."

"We received more information from Kaji yesterday that Marduk's miracle vaccine may not be as it seems. I want you and Rei to get into the facility. I have provided appropriate weaponry and equipment to get you inside. There are laboratories on the lower levels, I want you to gather what you can from them."

Asuka didn't know what to think, was Gendo being serious, was he really going to aid them or was this just another false truth? "Why do you want us to do this, why the sudden rush?"

"SEELE is getting desperate. They are trying to advance their schedule and bring a colonization ship here earlier than expected, regardless of whether or not the Angels are defeated. I also believe that the key to finding my son is within those labs."

Asuka looked him in the eyes, still unsure of if he was being serious with this. It all seemed so sudden, this person who had stayed hidden all that time. Had only operated in secrecy was now willing to help her infiltrate this organization. There had to be something more, another motive perhaps, it just seemed a bit too sudden.

"What about SEELE, they aren't exactly going to let us in through the front door?"

"I know, that's why I had Kaji 'borrow' a little something of theirs. Rei, hand her one of the weapons."

Rei nodded and reached into the large bag, pulling out a small handgun not too dissimilar to the standard issue NERV Handgun. She handed it to Asuka who looked at it with a look of confusion on her face. "It's a handgun? This is it?"

Gendo nodded, "Correct, it's a handgun. However, they are loaded with special issue ammo. A protective measure for SEELE, something that they and Marduk have been developing for some time. The ammunition for those guns has been developed from an alien alloy found some time ago. It is the same alien alloy that flowed through Agent Carter's veins. It has been created from what was thought to be a weapon. Keel named the 'weapon' the Lance of Longinus. This is due to its so called 'divine' property to pass directly through any A.T. Field of any strength."

Asuka smiled slightly, this should definitely even the playing field then. "Okay, so all you want us to do is get into the facility, find what we can in the labs and get out of there. Sounds easy enough."

Gendo nodded, "Don't get ahead of yourself, Sohryu. SEELE and Keel are clever, they will be expecting it. That's why I had Shinji's friend Kensuke assigned to a job there. He's been watching over certain sections and reporting back to me. He is also responsible for the block wide power outage that will occur in five minutes."

Laboratories – 2330 hours

Ayanami and Asuka continued down the corridor, moving as slowly and quietly as they could. In the distance Asuka could make out the faint red emergency lights guiding them towards their destination. So far so good she thought to herself, but it was a bit too easy. Hadn't Director Ikari told them that SEELE would be expecting something like this? Why wasn't anyone trying to stop them? Or were they all preoccupied with the power outage and searching different areas?

Nonetheless they had to press on. They were so close now, she was so close to redeeming herself. To proving that she didn't need anyone's help, to regaining some of that lost pride and to regain Shinji. They edged closer now, it was only a matter of meters away, her heart rate began to speed up as she reached out for the door handle. They both paused before opening the door, trying to listen for anything. Asuka turned to Ayanami, "You hear anything?"

Rei shook her head, "Nothing, its safe."

"Good, let's go then."

She opened the door and stepped through into the laboratory. The laboratory was slightly better lit due to the higher number of emergency lights, although it was also much larger than Asuka had anticipated. In the dark red glow she could make out various chambers lined up, all of then cylindrical and placed next to each other, set out almost like supermarket aisles. At the far end she could make out a small circular file rack and what appeared to be a hospital operating table.

Beside her, she spotted Rei looking in one of the tanks curiously. She walked up near her, taking a look for herself. She almost dropped her gun in shock. Inside the tank was a fully grown human being, or at least that was what it looked like. A girl around seventeen years of age, her eyes shut and long hair flowing in the LCL. Asuka turned to Ayanami, barely able to say anything.

"What...What is this?"

"A cloning room, these are empty vessels waiting for a soul to take charge of them."

Asuka looked on in horror, "Clones? You mean SEELE is cloning people?"

"Yes."

Rei said it so bluntly, almost as if the idea didn't even faze her. In fact, the way she was looking at the tank, it was almost as if she felt sorry for the person inside or had some sort of connection to that person. Asuka shrugged the thought away, it was just her mind playing tricks on her. It was a huge shock seeing this, it would faze anyone, Ayanami just wasn't letting it show.

They moved up the aisle of tanks, Asuka glancing in each one as they passed. The people inside varied in age from baby all the way up to early twenties, both male and female. It was like SEELE was just growing humans. The idea of it made Asuka sick to her stomach. These weren't people, they were just dolls that had a mind. It was worse than the colonization to her.

What surprised her the most though was how Ayanami seemed to be so unfazed by the whole thing. As if she expected it or had seem it before. Everything here it was beyond anything Asuka had seen, she didn't scare easily but the thought that SEELE and Marduk were doing something like this terrified her. Why wouldn't it have the same effect on Rei, surely this should be just as high a priority as everything else. She continued following her until the end of the section and looked out among the small lab area.

Ayanami stopped up ahead and looked around before moving towards the file rack, she withdrew one of the folders and stuffed it inside her bag. Asuka eyed her curiously questioning what she was doing, "Ayanami aren't they going to notice if we take these?"

"Yes, but we need some sort of proof. Besides, it won't matter much, this is not a high priority section for them."

Asuka nodded and looked at the rack herself. With a morbid curiosity she began looking at the names on it and then one of them caught her eye. She reached towards the folder, her eyes wide with shock. Sure enough her eyes weren't playing tricks on her, the folder, the scans, the reports, each one of them named, and dated.

'Kasturagi, Misato'

She reached to put the folder in her jacket when she looked up. Ayanami seemed focused on something at the other end of the room. Asuka looked around quickly. Had it been a set up, no that can't be it why would she have been set up like this, what would it achieve?

Ayanami whispered, "This was a trap, they were expecting us."

Those were the last words Asuka heard before collapsing to the floor.

Unknown Location

When she awoke she found herself lying in a different area. She slowly opened her eyes, to find the hot sun beating down upon her. How long had she been out for? Where had she been taken and why? The last thing she remembered was discovering Misato's file in that lab and then being knocked out by something. More to the point where was Ayanami? Had she been captured as well?

She looked around the immediate area. She was in some sort of coastal area, she was outside but she herself was locked in a large cage like some sort of animal. Asuka tried to stand but was brought back to the floor again by some sort of chains keeping her held down. In front of her was a huge screen. However, there was nothing on it just yet.

"Agent Asuka Langley Sohryu, it's good to see you're awake."

She looked around for where the voice had come from. She watched as a woman walked into view above her and near the screen. She saw next to her a small building and could vaguely make out the form of someone else at the doorway.

"Welcome to our little facility Asuka. We will overlook your little trespass into our headquarters. First of all let me explain just where you are. We're currently on an island a couple of hundred miles offshore of Japan. This is where we conduct the research on our vaccines."

Asuka felt humiliated, it had been a trap and her and Ayanami had walked straight into it. Why couldn't she have seen it coming? And now, once again she was unable to do anything, all she could do was try to give some sort of vocal resistance, "What do you want from me?"

"That's pretty simple Asuka, you're here because we needed a subject to test a new course of treatment on. First of all, let us learn a bit more about you, it will make the process a lot easier. How old were you when your mother died Asuka?"

Asuka glared at her, wanting to tear the woman apart for asking that. She couldn't do anything though instead she opted to just reply. "I don't know what business it is of yours but I was eight."

"I see. And tell me Asuka, how exactly did your mother die?"

Asuka closed her eyes, the memory of that incident coming back to her. She shouted back at the woman, "Why are you doing this? You already know how, if you're going to kill me go ahead and do it."

"Fine, I was hoping we would be able to make this easier but you leave me no choice. The inject we gave you prior to you waking up should be taking effect now anyway, if you'll turn your attention towards the screen."

Asuka tried to turn away but found herself unable to. Something was compelling her, forcing her to look. The screen suddenly flickered into life, at first it just showed a black screen. Suddenly text from various languages began to scroll by, English, German, Japanese none of it made any sense though. The text, it was just gibberish, though now and then Asuka felt an immense pain shoot through her skull. She looked up at the screen and screamed out loud at what she saw. The images, they were all from her. Each one from her mind. She screamed out.

"No! Get out my head!"

More images flashed by. As the pain intensified, she tried her hardest to turn away but was unable to. The images weren't just on the screen anymore, they were inside her mind. They were in front of her, all around her, tearing her apart.

"No, stop it, stop raping my mind. Please stop."

October 1996

GEHIRN Hospital Wing

"It's so tragic."

The other nurse shook her head, "I know, she doesn't even recognize her own daughter anymore. The doctors said she's already attempted suicide, I can't imagine the effect it's having on her daughter."

"Her father hasn't even visited either, they say that it was he who shot her and left her like this after some argument."

"It must be so horrible for the daughter, she's only eight years of age. She just comes along and looks at her mother through the window. She doesn't cry or say anything, she just looks in at her mother and that doll."

Asuka ignored the nurses as they walked past her, they didn't know anything. They said her mama was in a bad state, but it wasn't true. Her mother was strong, just like she was. She was fine, everything would be alright, they didn't need anyone. From inside she could hear her mother talking to that doll.

Asuka hated dolls, she had never liked them, and now her mother had chosen one over her. She hated it, she hated the way it had taken her mother from her.

"Look at that girl out there Asuka, she wants to take you away from me. She wants you to die so that I'll have nothing. Your father ran off, he abandoned us. Our work colleagues betrayed us, we only wanted to help."

The words cut through her like a knife, she tried to ignore them but every night they were there. Haunting her when she slept. Her mama didn't even know her anymore.

GEHIRN Hospital Wing – Three Weeks Later

Asuka ran up the hospital corridor towards her mother's room. She had done it, she had been chosen to help at GEHIRN. She was going to be a real scientist just like her mother. She got to the door and began shouting excitedly.

"Mama, they want me to help them. They chose me out of all the others, they told me I was special."

Her hand reached out for the door knob as she was still shouting excitedly. The shouting stopped when she entered the room though. It was only met with complete silence, she walked forward whispering, "Mama?"

She looked down and saw a small trickle of red liquid. She looked up and saw her mother hanging from the ceiling of the hospital room. Asuka felt a tear rolling down her cheek as she began to sob.

7th October 2015

Unknown Location

Asuka was screaming out and sobbing at this point, at the memories of her mother. She didn't care anymore who could hear her. She didn't care that she was crying, that she looked weak.

"Why...why are you doing this, why are you showing me this?"

"It won't be much longer now Asuka, in fact we have a treat for you."

September 1996

GEHIRN Laboratories

"I don't want any part of this anymore, Ikari. I'll be leaving tomorrow, I'll be taking my daughter to America."

Kyoko turned around from him angrily. He merely stood behind her and watched her move back towards the small computer. He tried once again to persuade her.

"If you leave you'll only make it worse, SEELE won't forgive you. Keel will most likely try to kill both you and your daughter."

"Keels already promised us our freedom, as long as we don't speak of the project we will be safe."

"Do you really believe that? Do you really believe Keel will just let you and your daughter go free after all the effort he put into gaining you both? How can you trust him?"

Kyoko stood up and turned off the computer monitor snapping back at Gendo, "I trust him because if it wasn't for Keel I wouldn't have a daughter right now. She's all I have Gendo, what sort of future does she have with Gehirn? I want her to have a normal life, I can't do this."

"So you're just going to turn around and leave knowing what they're planning here? We can change that, Yui is already attempting to make modifications."

Kyoko moved past him and spoke softly, "Then I wish her the best of luck, but I can't do this. For Asuka's sake, she already doesn't have a father. I don't want her to grow up without a mother as well."

7th October 2015

Unknown Location

The barrage continued, it was no longer just the images of her mother, or the hanging dolls. Now they were moving rapidly and had moved onto something else. Asuka tried to shut her eyes but she could still see them. Each image flashed before her quickly, each one only a split second but each one stuck out.

... A hanging doll...

Shinji...

Her mother...

..Touji's death...

Her being stabbed by Zereul...

Shinji being taken from her...

"No stop this, please stop it."

The images didn't stop, they continued rolling past.

...First meeting with Shinji...

She screamed out again, "Why are you showing me this?"

...The events on the Over The Rainbow...

"Please stop this!"

...Shinji being captured by Leliel...

Suddenly the images stopped, the woman at the front looked around frantically and looked up smiling.

"Well it looks like your friends found us."

A loud noise tore through the sky as Asuka screamed out. She watched on as the woman projected an A.T. Field to try to deflect the bullet. The woman smiled arrogantly as she shouted back at the attacker. A person in a black helicopter circling nearby.

"How does it feel to know you came all this way for...?"

Her face changed to a look of immense pain and shock as another bullet was fired, this time tearing through her A.T. Field like it was nothing. The woman dropped to the floor as Asuka tried to take a look at the person who had apparently saved her from all this. Before she could see anything else she passed out from the pain.