All are gone, all but one.
No contest, nowhere to run.
No more left, only one.
This is it, this is the countdown to extinction.

Megadeth - Countdown To Extinction

6th November 2015

Resistance Base – 1430 hours

Shinji opened his eyes. He looked out across the camp his father was taking him too. His first thoughts were that it wasn't much, there were a few tents set up and a small crowd of about thirty gathered together there waiting for them. A few of them he had seen in NERV a few times but most of the people were unfamiliar to him. There seemed to be a mix of people, though many of them appeared to be scientists, a small group looked like ex military and there were, of course, the few people he recognized from NERV.

He suddenly realized that he didn't want to be here, that he wanted to get out of the car they were in and just leave. All of them were looking at him like he was some sort of hero or saviour. He wasn't either of them, it was because of him that they had been forced into this place. He had killed all the Angels and allowed SEELE to carry out their invasion. How could they see him like this? He was a coward. He didn't have the right to be seen as anything else but that.

He turned and looked in the back of the car at Asuka, another victim of his. The nightmarish image of what she had done was still fresh in his mind. It had made him violently sick when he had seen it because he knew it was his fault. If he had been there, if he had got to her earlier it wouldn't have happened. He could still see every detail, her lifeless eyes, the way she pushed the blade into herself, the way she fell to the floor and then the way she looked up at him smiling and then apologizing.

He looked out among the crowd to see if he could spot anyone he knew. It came as some sort of a relief that Misato was not yet there to see him. When he was able to force the image of Asuka from his mind it was quickly replaced by that of Kaji being shot. Something else he could have prevented, something else that was his fault. Shinji felt like it may as well have been him who pulled the trigger. He didn't even know if Misato knew about it yet but even if she didn't know how could he face her knowing that? How could he tell her about it? She had loved Kaji, he was the father to her unborn child and because of Shinji's reluctance to act she had lost him.

The feeling inside him that he did not want to be there was growing stronger by the second. Right now he just wanted to get Asuka into whatever medical facility they had here and then leave. Or just go somewhere and wait for whatever it was that was in store for him. He couldn't help anyone, every time he tried he just ended up hurting them even more. He was beginning to feel like it would be better if he just wasn't here at all.

He stepped out of the vehicle and moved round to the back. He opened the door and began to lift Asuka out of the car. As he did so several people moved forward but were soon stopped by Gendo. He signalled to two of the people as Shinji looked around the crowd again. The people he signalled towards stepped forward as Gendo spoke to them.

"Take Sohryu to the medical facility we have here, keep her sedated for now but be ready to wake her up in a few days."

They nodded and moved towards Shinji. He could only watch as they took Asuka away and moved her towards one of the other buildings. Shinji turned and looked straight at his father and wondered what would happen next. Finally one of the men stepped forward, one of the ex-military looking people. He addressed both Gendo and Shinji.

"We lost Tokyo 3, we pulled out anyone we could from there but it was only a small gain, I'm afraid."

Gendo nodded, "It's alright. We didn't expect to keep Tokyo 3 anyway. At least we were able to recover some people. We must prepare our next move though, all of the Angels have now been defeated so SEELE will therefore be able to move with a greater force. "

"Understood. We were able to recover the layout for the GEHIRN Laboratories though. Hopefully this should prove useful."

GEHIRN...a name Shinji had not heard in a while. It was the name of the organization his mother had worked for. The organization which was responsible for the Angels and ultimately for the Evangelion serum. He had thought though, that GEHIRN stopped functioning after the Impact and all it's duties had been handed over to Marduk.

"Good work." Gendo then turned his attention to Shinji, "Shinji, please come with me. We have something to discuss."

Shinji nodded at his father's words and followed him into another small building. Most likely the command centre of the camp. There was a large circular table in the centre with a few seats around it. Scattered over the table were various maps and diagrams of the surrounding area.

"Sohryu should wake up in a few days, I will have someone show you to where she is so you may visit her when you wish. I will also have someone assign you your own quarters too."

"I see, so what happens now?"

Shinji wasn't really sure why he chose this of all questions to ask his father. In reality Shinji didn't want any part of what happened next. He just wanted to stay away from it all, to stay away and not hurt anyone any more.

"Now you have a choice Shinji. There is an old GEHIRN Laboratory near here, it's where your mother and Sohryu's mother used to work. It is the birth place of some of the Angels and where the Evangelion serum began its life. There are some documents hidden in there by us some time ago, for this exact moment. These are Documents regarding the Aliens genetic make up and prototypes for a virus to be used against them."

Gendo paused for a moment before continuing, "In an ideal situation I would have liked to send you with Sohryu and Rei as back up. However this is far from ideal. Rei is gone, Sohryu is in no condition for it and I'm sure you are having doubts yourself. NERV does not exist anymore, it has been destroyed. I am no longer the Director, I cannot command you to do this. I cannot assign this task to you. All I can do is ask for you to do this."

Shinji felt strange, his father had actually come before him and asked him for this. He had actually been given a choice, but for him it didn't really feel like a choice. If he said no? Then what? He would just go and wait to die, he would let down everyone else. Even though everything inside him was telling him that he would just end up hurting everyone and not be of any use to them...he wanted to help.

"I...will go there, but..."

He trailed off as someone else entered the command centre. Shinji went numb at the sight of her and, almost immediately, the memory of what had happened to Kaji returned to him. This was one of the moments he had not been looking forward to.

"Misato...I...I'm sorry."

She rushed forward to embrace him and stroked his hair gently. She was in shock that he was here, she had known he was still alive, she had known that he had returned but still seeing him there and in person was so different.

She heard him apologizing again, "Misato...I...he died because of me..."

She quickly moved to reassure him, "Shinji...It wasn't your fault he...he knew what he was getting into."

Shinji moved out of the embrace and looked at her, she looked so happy, so relieved to see him. He felt sick with guilt, how could she be happy to see him. After what he had done, he didn't deserve this. He spoke again, "Misato...I...I have to go, okay."

With those words he quickly left the building leaving a confused and upset Misato behind.

10th November 2015

Hospital Room – 1100 hours

"I need help Asuka...you're the only person who can help me."

He paused and sighed to himself before speaking again, his voice was quiet and weak. He could feel tears burning his eyes as he looked down at her and spoke. "I know this sounds stupid because you probably can't even hear me but I need you Asuka. I need you to wake up, to call me an idiot, to set me right."

He buried his head in his hands and broke down. "You're the only person who can do that. Please... just wake up..."

Shinji lifted his head and stared at her sleeping face and gently stroked her cheek. This was the first time he had seen her since arriving here. It had taken him this long just to build up the courage to leave his quarters and come here. He had been told that she might be waking up soon, he wanted to be there when she did. He wanted her to help him, it was probably selfish on his part but she was the only person he could turn too.

"You're the only person Asuka, the others...I can't face them."

He paused as he thought about what he was saying, his first thoughts were of Misato and how he had fled the other day.

"Misato scares me now, I can't face her after I let Kaji die...she said it wasn't my fault but it is my fault. I let him die, I could have prevented it just like I could have prevented Touji's death."

Another pause before he spoke again.

"Then there's my father, I can't face him either, not now...it's just too difficult. I hated him so much, I wanted to confront him and ask why he did what he did but I can't face him, I can't speak to him. I don't know what I'd do or say, all I can do is wait and do what he tells me. I'm pathetic, aren't I?"

He paused waiting, hoping for a response but there was nothing. He didn't know why he waited for a response, she wasn't awake, she couldn't hear his words. She was somewhere else, kept there by the sedatives that had been pumped into her system.

"I need you...I need to hear you tell me it isn't my fault. The others told me it wasn't but I can't believe them...I can only believe it when I hear you say it because I know you're the only one who treats me like I'm not a tool. Misato tries but she can't, she tries to mask it to not hurt me. I need to hear you saying it because then I know it'll be true..."

He paused for a moment before continuing, "Maybe I am being selfish though, I mean why should I expect you to help. It was my fault you were like this, I promised you I'd never leave you and then they took me. I never even attempted to escape...I was pathetic, I just sat there and waited because I had been promised something. So while I sat doing nothing again they took you, they tore you apart and I didn't even try to stop it. I was even told that you were going to be taken, I wanted to help but I didn't do anything. I just took their word for it that everything would be all right and now... because of me you're like this."

He paused again, he felt a burning behind his eyes but it soon subsided, he couldn't cry any more. He couldn't feel emotion any more, he had become numb to everything. The only thing he could feel was his own self pity.

"That's why I need you to wake up...I need you to tell me the truth, to tell me what is and isn't my fault. You're the only one who can help me, please Asuka...please wake up..."

Shinji placed a hand on her shoulder and shook her lightly, "Please...wake up...don't leave me like this."

He shook her again and got nothing before giving up and turning towards the door, as he did so he heard Asuka whimpering slightly. He turned around in shock and looked at her, her eyes were open narrowly and looking at him. She spoke, her voice barely above a whisper, "Shinji?"

He stood frozen to the spot looking at her, he didn't respond and Asuka didn't say anything else. For what seemed like an eternity he looked directly into her eyes. This had been what he wanted, he had wanted her to wake up, he had wanted her to speak again so he could tell her everything. So that she could help him. So why couldn't he say anything now?

Then it happened, he didn't know why he did it. It only reconfirmed in his mind that he was a coward. He turned away and went as quickly as he could from the hospital room leaving her behind. For so long he had wanted to be reunited with her, for so long he had wanted to speak with her, he had wanted her to wake up so she could help him and he had ran away from it.

The only thing he could think as he exited the room were the words, 'I'm fucked up.'

15th November 2015

Shinji's Quarters – 2000 hours

Asuka paused before entering the room. Her first thought was to just kick the door through and get to him that way but she decided against that course of action. It was a tempting idea though, at least it would have got his attention. She still didn't really know what she was going to say to him, just that she was angry with him. She was angry with him for running out on her when she woke up, because that was when she needed him the most.

Then she'd heard about how he had did the same to Misato a few days before that incident, how he ran away from her and avoided her since then, choosing to either visit Asuka or stay in his quarters. She sighed and knocked on the door lightly hoping that this wouldn't be difficult and that he would answer immediately. Unfortunately it was not going to be that easy and she had to knock again, this time slightly louder.

"Shinji it's me, open up, it's important."

She tried to sound as calm as possible, hoping that if he didn't know she was angry he'd open up and let her in and then...then she could let him know exactly how she felt. It wasn't so much him running away that annoyed her, in a strange way she could understand that. It was that he was avoiding both her and Misato all because he was under the impression that if he was near them he'd hurt them. It was completely pathetic, did he just think that by removing himself that'd make everything all right? Did he not realize that they, that she needed him? Did he not know or even care that it was because she wanted him there, to be there and hold her that caused her to break down and cry in front of Misato when he had ran away?

After receiving no response she reached into her pocket and pulled out the key she had been given by Gendo. She had really hoped it wouldn't have come to this, she felt like she was trespassing but it had to be done. She placed the key into the lock and stepped on through into his room, there he was sat in a chair facing away from the door. She could make out the top of his head and also the small headphone wires coming down from his ears.

"Shinji..."

No response from him, she switched the light on in the room and again no movement or a response from him. She moved across to the seat quickly, now slightly worried that he did not react to the light going on. The others hadn't mentioned the possibility that he could have tried to take his own life, it didn't seem like something Shinji would do. Still the possibility was there, she had...she didn't finish that line of thought choosing to focus on Shinji instead. She had pretty much disgusted herself by doing that and wanted to move away from it as soon as possible. She didn't even refer to her own actions any more, just calling it 'that incident'.

She moved around to the front of the chair Shinji was sitting in and noticed he was sleeping. She lightly shook him but it wasn't enough to wake him. Asuka then moved to the small music player sitting in Shinji's hand, she switched it on and promptly jacked the volume up to maximum. Shinji soon jolted awake and quickly threw his headphones to the floor and looked at Asuka.

"So, are you finally going to acknowledge me?"

He mumbled weakly, "Hello Asuka."

"Good. So you do still know my name, I was worried you might have forgotten who I was, or anyone else for that matter, what with the way you've been avoiding us all lately."

Shinji looked away from her towards the wall of his quarters, he didn't say anything either. This angered her, the fact that he couldn't even look at her or give her any form of an answer. She was tempted to grab hold of him and force him to look at her but didn't. Instead she questioned him further.

"So why have you been avoiding us Shinji?"

She received nothing so she asked him again, "Well Shinji, why have you been avoiding us? Why did you run from Misato when you arrived here? Why did you run from me when I woke up? Why have you locked yourself away in here to avoid us?"

He finally responded with a very weak sounding reply, "I haven't been avoiding you..."

"Bullshit, I'm not stupid Shinji. Misato told me what had happened, she told me about Kaji and how you were forced to kill Nagisa. She said how when she told you it wasn't your fault you decided to run from her and leave her there. Do you know how upset she was at that? She needed you Shinji, she's pregnant, the father to her child has been killed and you are so caught up in your self pitying world that you can't even face her."

"I…I don't deserve to..."

"And then there's me, I know about that too. I'm not hiding behind it any more Shinji, I waited for you. I fucking needed you to be there when you had been taken and I knew you would return but that didn't help me. I know what I did, and I did that to myself. I have you to thank yet again for saving my miserable fucking life and what happens? I wake up and you run away, you run away like a coward. You ran away because you feel guilty, you think that somehow it's your fault I ended up like that. You couldn't stand to see me knowing that, so instead of trying to take steps to help me, you ran away from it. You think that it's so I won't get hurt or that Misato or anyone else won't get hurt but really it's just so that you won't get hurt."

"That's not true, I do-"

"You do what? You do hurt other people or you do only care about yourself?"

"I-"

She cut him off before he could respond, "I'm fed up with the others walking on eggshells around you. They're being patient with you, Misato, Gendo, the others…they're being patient but I'm sick of being patient with you. You need to make a choice Shinji, you can either hide here and be that coward you think you are, you can hurt the people you already think you do by doing nothing. Or you can get up and do something to try to rectify this. I thought you wanted to get the truth, and help people, not to hide away and ignore them."

He leapt up from his seat and shouted back at her, "And what about you? You only joined NERV and worked with me to satisfy your own ego. You're just as bad as me, you claim you want to help people and that you wanted to expose this but it was only for your own pride and ego."

Asuka slapped him with as much force as she could, she immediately regretted it as pain shot up her own hand. She tried to hide it instead, focusing on shouting at Shinji, "How can you even say that, I waited for you Shinji. When no one else would, when every one else had given up hope I kept on searching. I risked my life to find you. Do think that was that was for my own ego?"

He didn't respond instead he backed down and sat in the seat again. "I might have joined NERV for those reasons, I might have kept working with you for those reasons, but I didn't start loving you because of my own ego."

She turned to leave the room but stopped at the doorway, "If you want to be a coward that's fine, you can stay here and wait to die but I'm not going to let that happen to me. I'm not going to wallow in my self pity or my bruised ego any longer. I'm going to do something about it. In a few days I'm going to be investigating the old GEHIRN Complex nearby and if you wish to join me then so be it. I'm giving you this option because I care about you. Until then...goodbye Shinji."

20th November 2015

GEHIRN Complex – 2230 hours

Shinji stood waiting at the entrance, his eyes focused on the GEHIRN insignia on either side of the doors. This was where she...this was where his mother had worked. This was where the serum flowing through his veins had been partly created and where the Angels had been created. Lying beyond these doors could have been the truth about his mother that he had so desperately wanted. With that in mind though he still didn't want to enter, he didn't want to be here yet something had compelled him too. Asuka's words rang through his mind, 'I didn't start loving you because of my own ego.' Maybe that was the reason he was here.

He switched off his flash light and waited for her to return, eventually she rounded the corner and moved up to the entrance. There she stood in front of him and spoke, "I looked around. There doesn't seem to be another way in. No other doors, no windows, aside from blowing a hole in one of the walls the only way to get in seems to be through this door."

Shinji nodded, "I see."

Now that she had returned, his urge to leave had come back with twice as much force. There wasn't really an explanation for it, he felt embarrassed by how he had acted in front of her. He wanted to apologize but he couldn't speak to her beyond basic words. Shinji just wished he could do this alone or not be here at all. He heard her sigh with annoyance but she said nothing more to him, he was testing her patience and he knew it, but he couldn't do anything about it.

Asuka turned towards the door and pushed it slightly, as expected it didn't open. She then withdrew a small lock pick from her jacket pocket and inserted it into the small lock on the door. After a few short moments they were in the darkened complex and one step closer to finding whatever secrets it had to hide.

Silently they moved their flash lights around trying to get a better idea of what was there. They found they were in a reception area. There was of course nothing there now but dust and cobwebs, making it look like something from a horror movie. They took a few steps forward and paused after hearing their steps echoing through the hallway.

Asuka whispered to him, "Maybe we should move a bit more quietly, I know there isn't another way in but that doesn't mean SEELE aren't already here. We've been caught out before by them, I'm not being caught out a third time."

Shinji didn't reply he only nodded before beginning to move forwards quietly. Asuka followed him, somewhat angry that he was being so unresponsive. He had been like this since they had set off, it was as if he was scared to say anything to her or like he didn't even want to be here. Did he think she couldn't have handled it herself, or that he had an obligation to be here?

She said nothing and continued following him until they came to the end of the corridor. There was only one door leading to a staircase going down further into the complex. This was how the complex had been described to them, a corridor up top with three basement levels. The laboratories they were looking for were on the second basement level. Slowly, they moved down the staircase towards their destination. As they moved Asuka felt something strange near her, as if there was something or some one nearby. She took a look around and saw nothing, but decided not to take any risks.

'Probably side effects...they said that I'd feel something strange when they gave me another shot of the serum. But that doesn't mean SEELE aren't nearby anyway.'

They moved onto the second basement level and stepped into another corridor. It was the same as the one above, darkened, abandoned and dusty. This one however, had more doors leading from it, hence more places to search. There wasn't that many, but the knowledge that most of these rooms would have been laboratories meant they would have to be thorough. What they had been looking for had been hidden, so that Keel or SEELE would not have been able to find it. Both of them moved into the first room they came across, it seemed like an old staff room.

Asuka commented on it as she walked around, "Seems they left some of the things here, the television and seating is here..."

Shinji barely muttered a response, this time Asuka didn't stop herself from commenting on him. "Shinji, why are you here?"

"To help you..."

"Is that the only reason? If so, then it's a poor one because you're not helping. You've barely said anything, you're just there. If you didn't want to be here then why did you come?"

Asuka was vaguely aware that her voice was raised but she didn't care any more. Shinji looked at her and tried to respond. After a while he did, his voice was also raised, "You asked me to come here, you said you wanted me here. What else was I supposed to do? So now I'm here and you're complaining."

A pause, as he gathered his breath.

"What am I supposed to do?" he screamed.

Asuka sighed, "No Shinji, I wanted you to want to be here. I wanted you to want to help. I didn't want you to feel like you were obligated or had to be here. I could have handled this by myself if you wanted to sit back there and do nothing. You're no use to me if you don't want to be here."

"So that's what this is about? How much use I am to you?"

"I didn't mean that, it's just..."

She stopped there before thinking about what she was going to say to him. If she said that would it help or make things worse? She had only found out about that after she had seen him a few days ago but it made her want him there even more.

"Look I know this is selfish of me but...the reason I wanted you here is because..."

She stopped again trying to figure out how to word this properly. She never mentioned something like this to people, she never admitted she needed some ones help before.

"My mother used to work in this complex just like yours did. It was around the time she died and I was sent back to Germany...I didn't want to face this alone..."

She moved towards him and buried her head into his shoulder, wrapping her arms around him, trying to hide the fact that she was crying from him. Shinji didn't really know how to respond to that, he felt selfish. She had been right, he was only concerned about himself getting hurt and not about other people. He hadn't thought about anything else but how it had affected him.

"Asuka, I..."

He trailed off as she started to speak again, her voice breaking up occasionally as she tried not to break down…"I haven't told anyone about what they did to me Shinji, they made me see things I didn't want to see...they fucked me up...they raped my mind...all I could do was fall apart. I thought I could handle it but I couldn't...and you saw what I did..."

"I know Asuka, I..."

He trailed off again, unable to say anything. Anything he thought about saying just sounded stupid. He felt tears rolling down his own cheeks as they both stood there in silence holding each other. He lifted up his head and spoke this time knowing what he wanted to say, "We'll find what we're looking for Asuka and then...we'll beat SEELE"

She looked up at him and fixed her eyes directly at his. They stood in silence for a few moments longer before leaning in and kissing each other. They just stood there kissing like they were the only two people in the world, like they didn't care about anything else but each other. Eventually they broke the kiss and Asuka smiled at him, not looking away from his eyes.

"That's what I wanted to hear."

They looked around a bit more before Shinji responded, "We should find what we're looking for and get out back to the base. We don't know how safe this place is, SEELE could still send people."

"Right, lets get moving into the laboratories then. I'll take one then you take the other one. We'll meet outside if we find something."

He nodded as they both moved into their respective destinations. Asuka stepped into the laboratory and looked around. There was nothing here except for lab tables and empty cabinets, she began moving around the room trying to see if there was anything. She moved towards one of the cabinets and found it to be locked. She withdrew her lock pick again and placed it into he lock on the cabinet and opened it.

Inside was a small lab jacket, she took it out and looked at it. There was a strange sense of familiarity to it. She turned it over in her hands and knelt transfixed on the name tag...this was...her mothers. It had been left here, she studied the tag again just to make sure.

'Kyoko Zeppelin Sohryu'

She opened it up and heard something clatter to the floor, it was a small case, a CD still inside it. She picked it up, there was something wrote on the top of it. As she read the writing she felt a sense of unease in her stomach.

'To Asuka...'

She didn't have any time to think about it as she heard the sound of gunfire from out in the corridor. Suddenly Shinji burst into the door carrying a similar CD Case in one hand and his hand gun in the other.

"Asuka…we need to go. SEELE found us."

She nodded and pocketed the CD she had found. She dropped the lab coat and withdrew her own gun and moved into the corridor following Shinji. Almost immediately they were ambushed by one of SEELE's agents. Asuka was ready for it and extended her A.T. Field sending the person flying backwards. She fired a shot into the person's chest, killing them instantly.

They stepped out into the stairwell only to find more agents of SEELE coming towards them. The Agents spotted them and fired shots at them. Asuka and Shinji quickly ducked back into the corridor narrowly avoiding the gunfire. Asuka pressed herself against the wall and fired back praying that she would hit one of them. She waited a few moments before hearing one of the people speaking.

"We have located Sohryu and Ikari and are attempting to bring them in now."

There was a pause before they spoke again.

"Okay understood, we will proceed as you wish."

That was her chance, Asuka spun around into the stairwell and aimed at where the voice was coming from. She held her breath as she walked up the darkened stairwell, Shinji following closely behind her. Eventually they got back up to where they had entered the complex. Not taking any chances they made their way down the corridor making sure to look all around them and stay as silent as possible.

A few moments later they were back outside the complex with no sign of anyone nearby, the outline of their own vehicle could be made out in the distance. Without thinking they quickly ran towards the vehicle and checked around before getting inside.

Asuka looked around before pulling away, "Too easy...what are they playing at?"

Shinji shook his head, "I don't know...we should get back as quickly as possible. I'm sure they'll want to know what happened here."

"Agreed lets-"

She was cut off as the complex they were just in erupted in a ball of flame. The two of them looked on as debris was sent flying everywhere. As they drove away the realization hit them, they could have been inside that. At any moment that could have happened but they were spared. Was it pure luck or something else?

21st November 2015

Asuka's Quarters

Asuka sat at the desk holding the CD in her hand. She studied the handwriting on it. It was only two words but the handwriting was so similar to her own. If this was indeed from her mother, Asuka wondered what was on it. It had been hidden away for her to find, no doubt her mother expected something to happen, so she' hid it, but it was just by quirk of chance that Asuka had found it. The other question was why was it hidden, what had her mother put on it that she only wanted Asuka to see?

Carefully she extracted the CD from it's case and placed it into the computer. She waited for something to load up, eventually a folder popped up containing one video file. Asuka stared at the title for a few moments, the title almost seemed to confirm one thing. Her mother knew she was going to die...the file was named 'Final Message.'

She opened the file and immediately a new screen popped up and began playing the video. Asuka recognized the location immediately, it was the laboratory she found the disc in. This was when the complex was still being used though, Asuka could see machines in the corners of the room and various lab instruments scattered around. The screen went in and out of focus for a few moments before settling on an image. A few moments later a red headed woman stepped into view of the camera and knelt in front of it.

She looked pale but was smiling, Asuka felt a mixture of sadness and fear as she began to recognize the woman.

"...Mother..."

Almost immediately after she whispered the word, Kyoko began speaking to the camera.

"Hello Asuka..."

She paused for a moment seemingly thinking of what to say, Asuka sat, her eyes transfixed on the image of her mother speaking to her. All she could remember of her mother was the memories of her in the hospital, everything else had been blocked from her mind. It was a sickening irony that the one memory Asuka wanted to block out of her mind she couldn't yet all the ones she wanted remained blocked.

"Asuka...if you're watching this video then Gendo was right and my worst fear has been realized. Hopefully by this time you will have come to understand what happened here and you will understand the task that has been planned out for you. I'm not sure what stage you are at or if it even went to plan. For all I know the person watching this could be Keel himself but I have faith in you Asuka. I have faith that whatever happens you will be able to overcome it, you are a strong child, strong and beautiful and I know that as an adult you will continue to be just that..."

Kyoko paused again as Asuka felt a lump in her throat, her eyes stinging as tears threatened. She blinked them away and continued watching as her mother spoke again.

"I wish I was there to tell you why we did what we have done, myself, Yui, Naoko...we thought we were doing it for the betterment of mankind but then...when we learnt it wasn't we had to do something. Except I couldn't...I had you Asuka. Naoko and Yui they had fathers for their kids and they were in positions of power...they could get away with it...I wanted to but I just couldn't...I was scared. So I tried to get out, your father...he had left so I told Keel I wanted out...he promised me safety and promised that you and I would be taken care of...I guess if you're watching this now then that turned out to be false and as cold as it sounds, Gendo's words were correct."

Again she paused to regain her composure.

"So I thought about it and I decided to leave this here for you to find. After this message is information on a virus, when we learnt what was to happen to me, Yui and Naoko agreed to create a virus that would attack the alien DNA. It was only to be a last resort, we didn't want to fight or kill but it was understood that we might have to. Hopefully if you have this then you should have Yui's part, Naoko's part was entrusted to her daughter. With all three parts you should be able to deal a significant blow to SEELE. The virus in essence is a machine, it's based on programmable nanomachines...currently we do not have the technology for this but in a few years it will be possible. The idea is that the nanomachines are inserted into one of the alien beings and it self replicates throughout them rendering them immobile...the infection will spread from being to being until an entire craft is infected and brought down...it works by attacking the unique alien organs that create the alien blood we know as LCL."

She paused for a few moments, glancing around the laboratory and then speaking again.

"I don't have long left but I want you to know Asuka that I never meant for you to grow up on your own...I only hope my death did not affect you too much and that...well I know this is maybe a bit sadistic but I only hope they allowed me to die quickly so that it did not hurt you too much. Please Asuka for the future of humanity use what you find here. This is my final gift to you, from mother to daughter...remember Asuka that wherever I am, I am always watching over you...I am always with you...I love you Asuka."

The screen cut to darkness as Asuka felt the tears rolling freely down her cheeks. She didn't make any noise however and just thought about the message her mother had just given her. This was the only thing she had left of her mother, a final gift to help her in her fight. Now she had a way to fight back, now they had some sort of hope.

She wiped her eyes only for them to be replaced with fresh tears with the thought of her mother. Asuka buried her head in her hands and sobbed loudly as her walls came crashing down, for so long she had wanted to hide away the memories of her mother. To get rid of that sickening irony that the only memory she had of her mother was of her inside the hospital room. Now she finally had something, she finally had a sense of closure. For the first time she didn't actually feel ashamed because she was crying, she felt like a weight had been lifted from her.

She stood up and wiped the tears from her eyes and spoke softly as she looked at the screen, 'I won't let you down mother.'

22nd November 2015

SEELE Bunker

Keel glanced down at the screen and then around the room at the rest of the committee members. He smiled pitifully as their dead bodies were taken away from the room. They were becoming nothing more then a constant headache to him. Talking about going against the scenario all the time, or asking what happened to their plans. They couldn't see the bigger picture, they were going to become gods over a brave new world.

He smirked as he corrected himself, he was going to become god of a new world and not them. He was perfectly willing to let them sit as the committee still and perhaps, if he was feeling generous, give them sections to look over, but their constant complaining meant there would have been significant problems later on. He needed to get rid of problems quickly before they could get any worse. There was now just one problem left to get rid of, the problem that was staring back at him on the screen...the problem of Gendo Ikari and the Evangelion's.

He had been complacent with them, maybe let them get away with a little too much. He should have had them killed when he had the chance, but it didn't matter. He would still catch up with them, there was little they could do besides hope and pray to an old god. Keel was the one with the power and resources now, sure Gendo had a few tricks...making sure his resistance was located somewhere his people could not get near was a stroke of genius...but they would not matter.

"Gendo Ikari...it has been a while."

"Keel...I have nothing to say to you."

"Well I have something to say to you old friend...I'm proposing we end this once and for all. I am offering a truce Gendo, you name your conditions and I'll name mine...you have one chance...if you do not take it then I will have you all hunted down and destroyed...meet us in Tokyo 3 eight days from now. I will send our conditions for meeting one hour from now."

One hour later

Resistance Command Centre

The five of them were gathered waiting for Keel to contact them again. At the head of the table was Gendo sat directly in front of the small screen, to his immediate right was Fuyutsuki, to his left Shinji. Seated next to Shinji was Asuka and opposite Asuka was Misato. Gendo had wanted them all to be present during Keel's communication, he wanted them all to hear the old man's words so they could plan their next move. There was a general sense of unease amongst all of them, none of them really knew what Keel's terms for meeting would be. Whatever they were they would work in his favour, they would have to be careful.

It was a few moments later when a sound rang out through the centre, signalling the incoming communication. Almost immediately Keel's face appeared on the screen, it still had that same sickening arrogant smile he had worn in their previous meetings.

"It seems I have an audience, apprehensive are we?"

"What are your terms?"

"Straight to the point, I see."

Keel paused for a moment, "Eight days from now I propose our two groups meet up to discuss terms for a peaceful solution to all of this. You will listen to these instructions carefully Ikari, failure to comply will result in a swift death for all involved. We will meet in a location marked on a map to be shown after this broadcast, you will send Agents Sohryu, Ikari and Katsuragi to this point. You may also send a number of your resistance to guard them. Once there I will discuss terms with them and them alone, is that understood?"

"Understood, we agree to your terms."

"I thought you would."

Without saying anything else, Keel's image disappeared from the screen only to be replaced by the map and marked location he promised. Gendo noted down the location on the map and turned to discuss what had happened, Shinji however, had different ideas.

"We're actually agreeing to this?"

Gendo nodded and folded his hands up in front of his face, "Yes Shinji we are, we have little choice. This camp only serves to protect us from alien invaders, by that time Keel will no doubt have amassed a small number of human slaves."

Shinji stood and responded his, voice rose slightly, "That doesn't mean we should have agreed, we have the virus details now, why are we even communicating with him?"

"Because the virus won't be ready until after that date, you know that." Asuka explained to him.

"You needn't worry about Katsuragi's life either Shinji, we will have her placed under special protection. Keel will have no objections and it is unlikely that even he will target a pregnant woman."

Shinji sat back down and felt Asuka's hand gripping his as he struggled to come to terms with what was happening. He didn't want to risk Misato's life like this, he knew nothing good could come of it and the others should have known this too. What if fighting broke out? She was hardly in a position to fight back. Everyone was looking at him waiting for him to say something, waiting for him to agree. He felt it was pointless, why would they need to wait for him, their minds were already made. He nodded anyway, "Fine, I'll agree to it but I want Misato guarded properly."

"She will be."

30th November 2015

Ruins of Tokyo 3

Shinji peered through the windscreen over at the small group getting out of the helicopter, to his left was the place he had once called home. The now derelict and ruined city of Tokyo 3, broken skyscrapers, crashed aircraft and piles of motor vehicles littered the landscape. What had once been a proud and vibrant city had now been laid to ruin in an event which had lasted all of eight days. The small group spread out as Shinji spotted Keel in the middle of them. Immediately he turned to Asuka, voicing his distaste for the situation.

"I don't trust this at all, Keel cannot be trusted. I don't know why my father even agreed to this."

Misato leaned in through the side window and responded, "Your father knows that, he has everything planned out should something go wrong."

"So he said but I still don't like it. Why would Keel agree to meet up here?"

"I don't know but he requested he meets with you and Asuka. Everything is going to be alright, don't worry about it."

"I'll try not to."

Shinji stepped out of the car quickly followed by Asuka. They moved in towards where Keel was waiting for them. The people surrounding Keel immediately aimed their weapons at the two of them but Keel raised his hands signalling them to lower the weapons.

"Shinji Ikari and Asuka Langley Sohryu, the three of us meet again."

Asuka shouted back at him, "What is it you want Keel? We don't want to fight we want to put an end to this."

"That's good because I'm here to offer just that. We can put an end to this peacefully without unnecessary bloodshed. We can offer you and your people sanctuary, a place to stay and live freely...we'll even let you take other people into your community. We just ask one thing."

Shinji didn't like the sound of it, he didn't want them to live under constant scrutiny, that would be just as bad as the way they were now. He wanted the colonization to stop, to cease for them to leave Earth.

"What would that be?"

Keel pointed past Asuka and Shinji, they turned and saw he was pointing a visibly shocked Misato. His words froze them to the spot, "We want her and the child she carries."

Shinji looked at him defiantly and responded, "That's not going to happen."

"That's a shame, In which case I guess you leave us no choice."

As soon as he finished speaking the first shot was fired, one of the men guarding Shinji fell to the ground. The scene descended into complete chaos as Asuka dragged Shinji towards the nearest cover.

Shinji shouted over the gunfire as he realized Asuka was taking him towards the vehicles, "Asuka, what are you doing?"

"We need to get back to the base!"

"We can't just leave it like this."

Shinji extended his A.T. Field to try to deflect some of the bullets only to find them going straight through. Asuka withdrew her gun and fired at the SEELE Agents moving towards them, she took down two of them before having to reload. Unable to reload before the remaining one got closer she launched herself at the Agent sending them both clattering to the floor.

Shinji stood up firing at more oncoming Agents taking them down with ease before feeling someone grabbing hold of him. He heard Misato's voice shouting at him, "Shinji we have to go come on."

"What about Asuka?"

Asuka shouted back as she fought off the other Agent.

"I'll be fine, get Misato back to the camp. I'll meet you there."

Shinji turned around just as another shot rang out, he threw himself to the floor trying to dodge it but felt it graze past his shoulder. Screaming out in pain he fired back at the Agent bringing them down and then got back up. He grabbed hold of Misato as they both made their way towards the waiting vehicle. Shinji helped Misato into the passenger side but when he withdrew his hand he looked down. He felt sick as he saw the blood tricking down his hand and even more so when he saw the same blood trickling down Misato's jacket.

"Misato, you're..."

She nodded, "I know Shinji...I'll be alright...please...just get us back."

She smiled at him but all he could do was stay frozen to the spot, he was unable to move. She wasn't alright, by the time they got back to the camp Misato would be...he didn't want to think about that. This was the woman who had been pretty much a mother to him for the last thirteen years. He couldn't let her die like this.

"I'm not going to let you die Misato, not here...not like this."

He quickly moved back around to the driver's side and started the car, just as he did so a huge green flash lit up the sky. It was immediately followed by several other green flashes, he looked up as the familiar roar of the alien crafts filled the area. He started up the engine as he saw Asuka running towards the vehicle, she dived into the back and shouted.

"I thought I told you to get out of here."

"I know but Misato...she's..."

He turned to look at her, nausea swept over him as he saw her lifeless body slumped forward.