Dollhouse

"Mama! Mama, look at me! I'm coming, Mama!"

Little Asuka couldn't be happier with with herself. Today, she had received the greatest news a child like her could dream of: the adults told her that she will become an Evangelion pilot! A protector of humanity, a pilot to a machine going to fight fearsome monsters… and Asuka was now one of them!

It stung a bit to learn that she was the Second Child, but the First had already been secretly training in Japan for a while now. Asuka couldn't begrudge someone who didn't know her; it wasn't like they stepped in and took her spot. Still, now that she actually is a pilot, she has a chance!

There was no way her mother could ignore this!

"Mama, I'm an Eva pilot now! Isn't that so cool! Come see me, Mama!"

Her Mama spent each passing day cooked up in the hospital room, talking fervently to a doll sitting on her lap. She called it Asuka, but it wasn't her, it couldn't be; that Asuka had black button eyes and crazy frilly hair stitched to perfection by hand; that ugly yellow dress was something the real Asuka would never wear, not even for her Momma.

It was an ugly doll, but her mama was so focused on that cursed thing. Her momma ignored her daughter for that unmoving, unfeeling, unresponsive object that incensed Asuka so.

Well, that thing would not bother Asuka anymore. There was no way Mama could ignore her daughter now. Asuka was a big girl, a pilot; even the scientists were proud of her. Her Mama was one of those scientists, so now that Asuka was seen by them, she had to see her. Even if it was just as an experiment, she had to see!

Time skipped a moment, and Little Asuka had reached the end of a hospital hallway. Ordinarily, her Father would be talking to a nurse for something longer than a minute, which only caused Asuka to view them with disdain. Sometimes, those two would sneak off to do adult things Asuka wasn't supposed to know about. But she did. She was a smart child.

Who cared about him, anyway? The nurse wasn't her Mama. Her Mama was inside that door! The closed door!

"There we go!" Asuka reached for it with her tiny hands. "Come on, Mama! I can't reach it, open it for me, Mama!"

As if by fate, the door opened by itself. Little Asuka tried to peer inside, only for her line of sight to become bloody red.

The only thing she could make out in this crimson vision was a dark outline of a woman, floating from the floor.

In the real world, Asuka woke up to blinding, flashing lights.

She had tried to open her eyes, tried to get away from an awful dream that had haunted her for all these years, but she was too weak. Always too weak. Asuka could hardly recall how she got here. Her chest hurt for some reason, and a cruel taunt was at the back of her mind, threatening. The lights soon became glazed, and Asuka's body forced her back into her slumber.

The girl couldn't make out her surroundings. Nor the voices calling for her. Or really, much of anything for that matter.

So, Asuka remained completely unaware of how she was being wheeled into NERV's Hospital by a trained professional crew. They were accompanied by Shinji Ikari, currently dressed as Spider-Man, who had gotten off the phone talking to his Guardian.

"The Sub-Commander said she cleared it." Spider-Man said. "She should also be here by now!"

Sure enough, Sub-Commander Misato Katsuragi was waiting by the entrance. She yelled for the crew.

"Get her in! I don't want a second wasted right now!"

She allowed the crew inside, joining Spider-Man's side as the medical crew continued directing Asuka to one of the emergency rooms. Everyone cleared their way for the Second Child, for they knew her to be one of the brave souls who fought inside the Evangelions against the Angels. She had saved all of their lives on more than one occasion.

They were not aware that she had also been the dreaded Venom, who not too long ago threatened to supplant Spider-Man as the protector of the city. Her fall had started long ago, and she paid the price for it with abandonment and loss of will. None of these things mattered to Asuka's Guardian and fellow roommate; for them, she was their companion, who needed help as as soon as possible.

Once the crew made sure Asuka was secure in one of the rooms, Spider-Man and Misato waited outside. With no one to see them, they let themselves crumble right then, about Asuka's situation, about their responsibilities, about the horrible little scenarios they had invented in their heads.

"It's fucked up…" Misato managed to say. "So fucked up, and we didn't even notice…"

"It's just a bullet wound." Shinji dared to say. "She should be safe, right? NERV has the resources to lodge it out?"

Logically, he knew NERV had some of the best staff on hand for this sort of thing. It was their job to protect the pilots from whatever dangers were posed against them. But he had seen the way Asuka paled in that alleyway, the blood dripping from the hole as she succumbed to sleep. The image would stay with him, as much as the fear the sleep will become permanent.

"Yeah, we do." Misato was sure to remind him. "She should be fine. She should be… fine…"

Her voice trailed off as she blinked some tears away. Of all the ways tonight had gone wrong, there was no way Misato could have predicted an Angel having possessed Asuka for a month without her knowing. It was simply inconceivable how much she screwed up and couldn't show her weakness.

"It wasn't your fault…" Shinji said, not having the same reservations as his guardian as his own tears broke. "No one could have known.'

"I should have. It was my job to keep watch over all of you and I let you both down…"

"You haven't. Not yet. She still has a chance."

He was desperate to believe it was true; he hoped it was, the alternative would be so much worse, and he wouldn't know how to deal with another death on his conscience, not if there was a way to stop it.

"It's out of our hands now." Misato sighed. "I had nightmares that started out like this. One of my charges in a hospital bed… only it was you lying in there."

Spider-Man flinched at it. "Oh."

"Maybe it was one lucky shot, or a fight went wrong. I don't remember much other than you were hurt and I wasn't able to do anything… it came true, only it's Asuka… this is horrible…"

Shinji wanted to say something. He could have said something. Asuka's going to make it. She's going to be okay. We're going to be okay. Let's wait… and wait… But he couldn't say the words. They felt wrong coming from his lips, when he caused much of the distress Misato was going through.

Misato grimaced, having realized the pressure she had given to her own ward just now. She couldn't stop her worry from pouring out, but Shinji was probably beating himself up for this as much as she was. She could have said something to assuage him, but it would have felt like a lie from her.

The two of them decided to settle back into silence. They waited for a long, terrible moment in their lives. Bardiel had started this nightmare with his escape, and now Misato and Shinji had no choice but to see this through to the end.

Eventually, the creak of the door informed the pair that their time had come. A doctor came out looking haggard. He hadn't been expecting patients today, and it showed.

"We have the patient stabilized." The doctor said. "You are allowed to come in."

The doctor took the worried visitors to see what became of the Second Child. Asuka was lying on a bed, a breathing system having been put over her nose, and being pumped with water into her lungs. Shinji recognized another person in the room, Nurse Mana Kirishima, when she glanced both of them.

"Oh?" Mana was clearly surprised. "You're here so soon?"

"We made it as soon as we could." Misato said. "How is she doing?"

"Not well. She's lost a lot of blood" Mana shook her head. "We've been able to resuscitate her, but we'll need to supply her with a blood transfusion soon."

"Is there anything we can do?"

"As a matter of fact, yes." The doctor looked over the file in his hand. "Asuka's file says her blood type is O. We need someone who has a matching sample."

Shinji's eyes widened at the information. He gave Misato a glance, who seemed just as unsure as he was.

"I have that type." Spider-Man told the doctors. "But, I don't think it's a good idea…"

"Your genetic compatibility is certainly an issue." The doctor nodded. "However, we don't have enough time."

Misato stepped in. "Hold on, how do we know the blood won't cause any side effects?"

"We're going off of previous examinations. There's hardly any noticeable abnormalities in his blood. If Soryuu doesn't get anything, we might lose her."

They were playing with fire now. Shinji's DNA had been changed by a genetically altered spider, one that had been grafted with Lilith's own Angelic DNA by HERZ in their experiments. If Asuka gets the blood and winds up changing…

She'd still be alive, at least. Time was running out, pushing Shinji into his decision.

"Okay then." He nodded. "Let's do it."

The doctor didn't waste any time. He set up the transfusion equipment, connecting a syringe to the blood bag, handing the syringe over to Mana. She then punctured the syringe's needle inside Shinji's arm. It took her some difficulty to get it in there.

"Geez, the skin's thick." Mana smiled. "Then again, I guess I wouldn't expect anything less from Spider-Man."

"Being bitten by a genetically altered spider does that sort of thing." He nodded. "As you do."

It wasn't really that funny, but Mana gave him a polite chuckle, which Shinji took as a minor victory for himself. The operation, in truth, only lasted a couple of minutes, but Shinji could feel each minute being stretched to eternity. Any moment he expected Asuka to explode or become some sort of mutant and attack everyone else. But evidently, nothing of the sort happened. The blood was successfully transfused into Asuka, who was still in a deep sleep.

"When do you think she's going to wake up?" Misato asked. "We're concerned…"

"At least a day or two." The doctor responded. "Soryuu will need time to rest while we work things out, but she will be fine."

"Right." Misato turned to Spider-Man. "You need to head out now."

"What do you- Oh, right. The Angel." Spider-Man remembered. "Are you going to stay with her?"

"I will, or as much as I can given the situation." Misato confirmed. "You're needed out there, and fast. Every second that freak's free, we're closer to getting annihilated."

Spider-Man didn't need to be told twice. He opened the window and launched a web.

"No one else is going to die on my watch. Take care of her."

As the wind blowed into the room, and Spider-Man swung away, Asuka's body was disturbed. She could feel the world around her, but was unable to see it, only a spiral that came with her tumbling down further… and further… back to a place she once called home…

"You're a dummy if you think YOU'RE the best pilot!"

"I am the best pilot! Not my fault you can't keep up with the best of the best."

"You stinkin' jerk! I'm better."

"No! I AM!"

"Nuh uh, you're a mean German."

"As opposed to a lazy AMERICAN!"

A pair of children had been arguing like this for hours. Asuka Langley Soryuu and Marie Vincennes were Evangelion Pilots. They were also barely past toddlers, with the maturity and grace that comes with that, so naturally they turned their spats into a competition from their first meeting.

"We work hard as much as you do." Marie said. "You invented the Geo-Map, but we have the best tech."

"Best at everything, that's what you always say." Asuka grinned. "But how does your Eva compare to mine? Nothing! Nada!"

"At least it's coming in black and cool."

"Mine is red and yellow. It actually looks heroic compared to your hunk of junk!"

"You take that back!"

"NUH UH!"

The scientists monitoring the test plugs thought it would be a good idea to pit their pilots against each other in an effort to increase their synch ratio scores. The plan had been successful, but came at the cost of their already thin tolerance for annoying, bratty children sinking even lower than dirt.

Perhaps this punishment was to be expected when using children for war.

"My synch ratio is at 33 percent tops!"

"I can make it past 40!"

"No way! You're lying!"

"I'm not a liar like you!"

"GRRRRRRRRRR…"

"Settle down." One of the scientists said. "I do not think we need to be so concerned with your ratios, which have been increasing so far on both of your accounts. Right now, we should extend our support to another pilot joining us this session. He will be joining you from now on."

Another test plug was lowered into the field. The girls could see through the screens a small boy, with startling red eyes and silver, gray hair, smiling as if he were waiting for them. There were stars in Marie's eyes the moment she gazed upon him.

"Hey cutie! I'm Marie Vincennes, pleased to meet you!"

The boy laughed. "I am pleased to meet you as well, Miss Vincennes. I am Nagisa Kaworu, although I'd rather you refer to me by my first name."

"Buddy, I'll call you whatever you want. You're so pretty!"

"I have been told that." Kaworu then turned to the other girl. "And who might you be?"

Asuka crossed her arms petulantly. "Asuka Langley Soryuu. Best pilot in the base. Remember that when you're comparing us."

"Oh, I certainly believe you." Kaworu laughed again. "Why don't we compare our scores now?"

They sat still for another hour. Asuka focused on her mind, being confident that she truly is the best one in the base. Marie was close, but even she still had a lot to catch up on! Asuka had no clue about where this weird boy stood, though. He was so… enigmatic. Like he knew something she didn't.

Which was impossible. She was Asuka Langley Soryuu, and she knew everything!

Yet he carried himself with such confidence that Asuka could believe he would beat her. Not that he was going to. After a while, the scientists analyzed the results.

"The results are in." One scientist said. "Incredible. Nagisa is the best one here, at 60 percent!"

The girls had mixed reactions to the news. For her part, Marie was in awe of this amazing fact.

"Oh wow, that is amazing! Did you get any special training before this? Maybe you could come over to Nevada. I'd like to show you around some time!"

"I'll see if I can fit it into my schedule. I am rather busy after all."

"Awww, that's too bad!" Marie puckered her lips and pouted. "Won't you do something for kitty?"

Kaworu waved her off and laughed, inadvertently triggering a whole conversation between them. Asuka, however.… she was bewildered. How could some random boy she had no clue about surpass her this quickly? What was his end goal? Would he replace her if they wanted?

She wasn't just threatened. In the time to come, Asuka would come to know hate very well.

For example, Asuka knew she hated that unfamiliar ceiling with every fiber of her being.

It didn't matter if she spent more time outside of a hospital than out; it drove her crazy any time she woke up to that blasted ceiling. That hatred had to subside for the moment, as the first thing Asuka felt was a dull pain in her chest. She led her hand to clutch the spot, just to check if it was real.

Feeling such pains was hardly unusual for a pilot; fighting in an Evangelion meant Asuka was accustomed to feeling left over phantom pains from their fights. She could vividly remember the heat of the spider Angel's acid, or how numb her shoulders felt after Zeruel's arms pierced her Eva's actual arms. She didn't like it, but Asuka accepted it as part of the job. Risk was her business.

Truly, the difference between those and now was the bandage. It was drippy and red, and Asuka only realized that the risk she took was the wrong move. What happened the other night was real, and all sorts of terrified, furious feelings started bubbling to the surface, and…

Misato was there.

Asuka spent so much of last night focused on beating Shinji or mulling over Rei, that she forgot about her supposed Guardian. Here she was, the Sub-Commander of NERV asleep while sitting on a chair. It was clear she hadn't brushed her hair in a while, and the dark circles around her eyes indicated that she hadn't had time for sleeping either.

Why Misato was here, Asuka was unsure of. Her throat hurt too much from the incident to speak as of now, so she decided to wait for Misato to wake up. Asuka had a feeling that yelling would be much too troublesome anyway.

Eventually, the sunlight's glare hit Misato's eyes, which then fluttered awake. She made a glance at Asuka, to which Misato gave her a forced, sad smile.

"Hey Asuka."

Misato looked like she had aged several years as she stared her down. She was clearly guilty for whatever reason. Asuka didn't need guilt, let alone sympathy, from her.

"Misato…" She coughed while sneering at her Guardian. "Let me guess… You come to gloat…"

Misato flinched. Of course she would. Nobody wanted to be reminded of their failures.

"No. I came to see if you were okay. That Angel… we're still looking for it. Ritsuko said it's possible you might have had some mental contamination from prolonged contact. We're keeping you here in the mean time."

Mental contamination?

That rotten bastard of an Angel did far worse than that! He promised her all sorts of things, wishes, dreams, and companionship, and all Asuka had to show for it was nearly dying because he abandoned her to the cops! Bardiel laughed behind her back, just like all the others, and it drove Asuka insane!

"I shouldn't have trusted that damn thing." Asuka admitted. "From now on, I won't trust anybody. No ones reliable."

"Asuka…"

"You're delighting in my failure, aren't you? That's the only reason why you would come here."

"I'm not doing that with you, Asuka. I'm not-" Misato pinched the crook of her nose to collect herself. "What happened to you was awful. That thing manipulated you into doing horrendous things and we didn't notice it for a month. It's our fault."

"He didn't have control! It was me, I had the power, I got what I wanted; he didn't have anything on… me…"

Her voice broke at that. Asuka couldn't deny it to herself any more than she can deny being a pilot. Bardiel played her for a chump, but she was the idiot that got suckered by the monster. She relinquished any right to a high ground by now. All she was good at was piloting.

"Do whatever you want. I don't care."

Misato shook her head and frowned at her.

"I'm sorry."

Asuka blinked. "What?"

"I spent so much time and focus on Shinji that I left you to deal with loss on your own. That was uncalled for, and I should have done something about this long ago."

Asuka bit her lip. Where was Misato going with this? There had to be a but somewhere in this. There was always a but.

"I can't in good conscience leave you be right now." The other shoe dropped. "We're going to get you help. Effectively immediately, you're off the roster."

Fury welled up in Asuka. She would have lunged at Misato if it weren't for the devices strapped to her.

"No… no you can't do that to me!"

"I can, and I will. We failed you before, but what you did… it was too far. I know I can't be the one to help you, but we're working on a schedule with a therapist, or as close we've got to one. You're going to talk to her, and she'll listen. In the mean time, you're going to stay here until you've recovered."

Asuka couldn't control it any longer. With as much as she could muster, she went on to yell.

"FUCK YOU! YOU STOP ME, I HATE YOU!"

Her heart monitor was beating sharply. Misato turned away from her ward.

"I know. But this is the only choice I have. We don't know the full effects of the Angel's mental contamination, and we decided you were better on stand-by than out on the field."

"BULLSHIT! You're… bullshitting me…"

She had trouble breathing. God, it hurt so much.

"I'll be sure to check up on you again later. I have a meeting to get to right now."

With that, Misato started to walk out of the room. Asuka, even in her sorry state, would not be satisfied unless a question had been answered.

"What about Shinji?"

"Hm?"

"That idiot, why isn't he here if you're all so regretful?"

"He's out there trying to find the Angel." Something came to Misato. "Did you let him loose?"

Asuka rolled her eyes.

"No I didn't. One night, I was upside down a building and he was wearing me. I don't even know how he escaped. Bardiel never told me."

Misato nodded. "I believe you."

Then she was gone. Asuka thrashed about in her bed, or as much as she allowed herself to. Her anger burned through her drowsiness, spilling into…

Into…

Crying. She was crying.

"I hate you… I hate you all… I hate… hate…"

She hadn't cried like this since she was a kid. But Asuka wasn't a kid now, she couldn't be. Not after all this time. Not after…

"Kaji." She said his name like it was a poison. "I let go of you, but I still feel like a kid…"

THWIP!

Asuka launched another web across the room. One among many, many other webs that would disintegrate within an hour. The constant testing left a mess of her quarters. Asuka supposed the clean up crew would take care of it later.

For now, she smirked at her triumph. The web shooters worked exactly as intended, using a compound to recreate the webbing effect Spider-Man had, even down to the way it dissolved after an hour. Perhaps this was the method in which the faker was able to use, the method that the people look up at the sky towards him as he swung through the air.

Asuka put away the web shooters from her wrists, placing them inside of a compartment, along with a pair of spider-themed tracer units. She built them one day, purely out of boredom, and was surprised at how they had actually worked. It made keeping track of her uniforms a lot easier, as well as being able to find Kaji at most times.

Not that she was stalking him. No, that would be the work of drooling, idiotic little girls, and she's too mature for that.

"Now is my chance… yes, before the big day…"

Misato would be arriving for a formal inspection, as well as signing the paperwork to allow Unit 02 into Japanese waters. Whatever. Asuka's only concern was how Misato might have the gumption to steal Kaji away from her once she arrived. Even if Misato had taken care of her before, Asuka didn't trust her anywhere near Kaji!

The years definitely allowed Asuka to fill out the yellow Sunday dress. The color contrasted with her red hair and clips on it, allowing a stunning Asuka to set the stage as a more confident woman. No one would be able to doubt her now, not even that pathetic Marie or disgusting little boys who ogle at her frame.

She marched down a hallway to head upstairs. Ryoji Kaji, that rugged, handsome devil of a man who had taken care of her all these years; he would ordinarily spend his afternoon lying until the night sky came. This time, Asuka would accompany him. She would make him see what he was missing this whole time.

This time, Asuka would make him hers.

She was so caught up in her thoughts that she barely noticed how she bumped into a familiar, thoroughly annoying boy. Kaworu Nagisa, never one to take things personally, simply smiled.

"Oh hello, Asuka." He said. "I did not notice you here. How are you this fine evening?"

"Beat it, Kaworu." Asuka stared him down. "I'm out to get me a real man. He is everything you're not. He's, brave, unselfish, handsome, and he takes what he wants!"

Kaworu raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?"

"That's right! He's way better than a certain spineless tool I know, who lets the entire damn world pass by."

He laughed. Of course he would, his very existence was made to mock her.

"I suppose what constitutes a real man or woman depends on the eye of the beholder. I prefer to think of such things as a spectrum with a lot of room to breathe."

Asuka smirked. "You would say that wouldn't you?"

"I can't convince you to believe that." Kaworu shrugged. "At least, no more than I have a chance to stop you from going to see Kaji."

"Oh ho? Is someone jealous?"

"More akin to pity. You're going to get your heart broken."

That made her eye twitch

"What would a moron like you know about that!?"

"He still waits for the river he wishes to cross. For a man who believes there is a gulf between men and women, that is not something to dismiss. You are not that river, and never will be."

The bluntness caused Asuka to be taken aback. She should have struck him there, but she was too stunned to try. All the while, Kaworu kept that smile on his face. That infuriating, smug, horrible smile made Asuka tremble in envy and anger.

"Oh I see!" Asuka grinned, attempting a recover. She leaned her face closer to his own. "I bet you want me, don't you? You're getting in my way for Kaji to get to me!"

Kaworu didn't even break a sweat. "There is another river I long for, although I'm afraid that he does not know me."

It took her a second to understand what he meant. When she did, Asuka scoffed.

"Well, if that's what makes you happy, go ahead. I'm not going to throw away my shot.

Asuka brushed past him. Like she had said, what does someone like him know about these things? Kaji was a man, and Nagisa was too cowardly to open himself up to some other boy.

She ignored the winds chaffing, how it blew her dress to her ankles. As far she was concerned, that helped her case towards Kaji. Not even the night's cloudy sky couldn't hide him from her sight as he laid on the ground, next to a couple of jet planes. Asuka took her place next to him.

"Hello, Kaji~"

Kaji didn't look at her. "Hello Asuka."

"Are you busy? Do you mind having a bit of company out tonight?"

"Go right ahead."

Asuka ignored the bile at seemingly being ignored. Instead, she yawned.

"I guess we'll be in Japan by this time tomorrow. Misato said she'd pick me up by lunch." She closed her eyes. "Oh, Misato was the person who was in Germany before you, Kaji. I don't like her much, though. She's just so affected in the way she lives."

Kaji continued to stare off into space. Asuka was annoyed.

"So I guess this will be good bye for a while. That's so boring."

"Oh, I'm sure you'll make lots of new boyfriends once you get to Japan, Asuka. And let's not forget the Third Child is a boy too."

"I'm not interested in children." Asuka rolled to the side, getting on top of him. "You're the only one I love, Kaji."

He still didn't look at her. "Well, that's quite an honor."

Her hands shook. She got desperate.

"I mean it, Kaji." She begged. "If it's with you, all that stuff is totally okay… kissing and what's after that then!"

"Asuka, you're still a child." Kaji shook his head. "Those things can wait until you have grown up a little."

"Aw, but why?! Can't you see I've already grown up?" She unbuttoned her shirt a little. "I have grown up! JUST LOOK AT ME, KAJI, PLEASE LOOK AT ME!"

Kaji finally looked at her. However, she was dismayed when his eyes weren't those of a lover than a parent. It only infuriated her more when Kaji ran a hand over her cheek, softly, gently… not at all possessive the way she wished for…

"I can't. Not in the way you want." Kaji said sadly. "It was never meant to be."

She snapped then. Asuka picked herself up from him and ran from him, not even bothering to look back or yell at him. She had not cried the entire time. She had not.

She had… not…

Asuka will start a session today.

It had been a week inside the hospital. While she recovered enough to move, there was still some blood work that needed to be done for a week or two. She still couldn't believe that, all the people she had to receive a transfusion from, it had to be Shinji. She wondered what Shinji was thinking, or if that was another way he would mess with her, make her dependent on him.

"The Invincible Spider-Man saves the day again!" She said. "He's a hero, she's a zero! A martyr without a cause, who saves people so long as they love him!"

She would know plenty about that, wouldn't she?

Maybe her annoyance was from getting stuck in this room. The white unchanging mornings started to feel stagnant, like she was losing her mind if she spent a moment longer staring at that GODDAMN CEILING. She was ready to burst at any moment.

So instead of staying in her room, she went to check the time.

1:00 PM

An hour until her appointment came. Asuka supposed she had enough time to stretch her legs.

She started walking through the hospital. Thankfully, the bandages on her chest weren't visible thanks to her hospital gown, so no one would be able to gawk at her. Asuka turned towards the window, and saw the city.

There was a surprise emptiness at the view. There was traffic, there were people, but the sun made them muted, blobs to the human eye. Asuka felt disappointed, somehow. As Venom, she would swing through the city and be able to feel the breeze on her frame, the people looking up in fear and awe at her. They didn't look at her, but they looked at her.

Asuka could have been out there, right now, if she wasn't so stupid.

She hated being stupid.

The sound of rolling wheels caught her attention. Asuka let out a small gasp when she saw a crew taking a patient somewhere. He had been brutally beaten, with a broken nose and a cast around the neck and barely breathed. There was a nagging, disturbing sense of familiarity for Asuka.

"Oh dear, there he goes again…" One of the nurses said. "It's horrific, really. Another Venom victim."

"Huh?" Asuka raised an eyebrow. "Venom? What does she have to do with this?"

The nurse trembled at the question.

"She left him in that state. We brought several guys in last week; they barely survived an attack from Venom. We've had so many victims with similar stories that we had to open a whole wing devoted to treating them."

A whole wing? Asuka was surprised at how many she had broken in the time she was Venom. She had been active for a month, but the criminals all blurred together in her head.

"I hope Spider-Man was able to stop her." The nurse said. "I heard Venom was last seen in a warehouse but escaped. She's horrible…"

"You hate Venom, but trust Spider-Man?" Asuka asked. "That's pretty strange. Don't they both beat people up?"

"Not like this. Spider-Man never left them like this… it's horrible…"

It was probably a bad idea, but Asuka decided to take a gamble.

"There's more here, right?" She asked. "Show me."

The nurse gave her an odd look. "You might not like what you see… but alright then…"

Asuka insisted on it, so in the end, she was taken by the nurse to the wing. The hospital was never a place of warmth for Asuka, with its cold, sterile, white environments making it easy to lose her mind. It reminded her of bad memories she'd rather forget.

But this part felt like a nightmare.

Several bodies laid on beds unconscious, moaning while being hooked up to machines to keep them alive for a while longer. Others had these long, far off gazes resembling an emotion akin to despair. Peering into one of the rooms, there was a man being visited by his family. His wife and brother held onto him for dear life, trying to make sure he didn't disappear into the nether.

"I'm so scared, baby. I'm so scared…"

"I know, dear, I know. We're here."

Asuka tried not to let it get to her. They were scum, trash; they deserved to get attacked this way because they were willing to steal or cheat others out of what they deserved. That was what they were here for; it was punishment. Yet even as she told herself this, she didn't turn away from that sight. It felt wrong to see a criminal being comforted like that. He didn't deserve that.

He didn't deserve it.

Asuka refused to connect the dots on that thought, instead looking into another room.

She found no comfort in this sight either. It was another man; much like the others, he was completely covered in casts and bandages, but he didn't even have the decency to cry out or moan. He was unconscious, and judging from vital signs he was extremely weak.

Asuka felt the need to throw up. He wasn't dead, not yet, but he was so close, and if he died… The worst part was that no one was inside to comfort him. No one came to mourn him. He was alone.

"I'm sorry you had to see that." The nurse sniffed. "God, Venom is a monster… What awful human being could have done this?!"

"… I need to go." Asuka said. "Could you point me in this direction?"

The nurse was kind enough to direct her to an office. It was far off from the general patient wings, a small enough office that it was easily missable. Asuka stopped herself. What did she hope to gain from this? Misato said she needed help, but Asuka had already made up her mind on not saying anything. No one would help her, especially not some stranger.

… Still, Misato would complain. Maybe Asuka could tell this therapist off and leave.

As such, she carefully knocked on the door.

"Come in."

Asuka had to think twice upon hearing her voice. She opened the door and found one of the bridge crew sitting in a chair. Ibuki… Maya Ibuki, that was her name; she was sitting in a chair, holding a notepad.

"Aren't you one of the technicians?" Asuka gave her an odd look. "You're my therapist?"

"I'm surprised you remembered." Maya admitted. "Yeah, I man the bridge with Hyuuga and Aoba. I actually volunteered. It was so short notice that anyone who could help was off in another country."

"… so you were always into it or…?"

"My passion is in computer engineering." Maya explained. "However, I did get a degree in psychology as a back-up job in case that didn't pan out. My mom insisted, since she didn't think I would get the job. I proved her wrong.

"… this is stupid." Asuka said. "I mean, what am I getting into? I can't just spill my feelings like this to anyone."

"We could work out way up to that, but Misato ordered us both for this. You're not going to get back in the Evangelion unless we make a breakthrough."

"Why should I care about being in an Eva? You have better pilots."

"Better to have many on hand than to rely on one to save the day."

"Okay, but then why should I care about what you think?"

"What I think doesn't really matter." Maya shook her head. "This will be all about you. We're going to work this out together, but I plan on being completely impartial while you sort out your feelings. Your conclusions will be your own."

Asuka stood at the door, contemplating her options. On the one hand, she didn't want to do any of this; being open was never her strongest suit. On the other hand, she might throw up if she sat around staring at the ceiling for another hour.

So, reluctantly, Asuka sat down on the couch.

"Okay… Where do we start?"

"Wherever you like. Childhood, your piloting, anywhere."

Shinji Ikari pressed one of the piano keys, letting the note drag for a minute.

He was alone in the music room, sitting where Kaworu Nagisa was on the day of the last Angel attack. It had been a month, but Shinji could remember the haunting melody Kaworu played; Kaworu's rendition of Ode to Joy oozed with his pent-up emotions, squished up into a song that pierced Shinji's heart like an arrow.

If he had known that would be the last time he saw Kaworu again, Shinji would have tried harder to reach out to him, to stop him before he sacrificed himself.

That boy had a noble heart, no matter what others said; He was an Angel, but Shinji Kaworu Nagisa was one of the bravest people he had ever known. That Kaworu was forced into his role by his Father and SEELE, that he kept those secrets to himself even as he hurt himself, it made Shinji sad over not knowing, yet even more proud of Kaworu for helping him the way he did.

Kaworu may have been as scared as he was, but he took the pain with a smile and went to battle even when everyone else lost their way. He sacrificed himself for everyone, and he was gone. Shinji would never see him again.

He touched another key, and blinked away tears forming in his eyes.

"Why couldn't you have lived?" Shinji said. "Why did it have to be you or the world? You deserve to have lived as much as everyone else."

He had told Kaworu to live as happily as he could, across the various universes. Kaworu told him to be the best Shinji he could be in this world now. Shinji had no way of knowing whether Kaworu would keep his promise. He couldn't peer into other universes like the Angels could.

Shaking his head at those thoughts, Shinji tried to focus on the present. Two weeks had passed since Bardiel escaped Asuka's body. In spite of his and NERV's best efforts, they were unable to find him anywhere, and it didn't help Tokyo-3 was insanely big. It had already been difficult to find Inumaru, and that required finding a power source he was using. How were they able to locate an Angel who's AT Field was so weak?

There was some comfort, however. The fact they weren't dead yet proved Bardiel couldn't or wouldn't enter the Geo-Front to get to Lilith. It did, however, make Bardiel unpredictable. No one liked it when Angels were unpredictable, for they tended to cause the most damage.

"Are you alright, Shinji?"

It was then that Shinji remembered that Rei Ayanami was still in school. She still had a bandage over her nose, from the night that Asuka hit her. Nobody had talked about it since, but they still felt the ramifications all the same. Shinji patted the seat next to him, and Rei decided to take the spot.

"I'm doing fine, Rei." Shinji frowned. "Just… reminiscing."

"I see." Rei nodded. "What were you remembering?"

"… Kaworu." He admitted. "He played this piano before the Angel came, you know? The last one, I mean. I was looking for him to find answers, ready to confront him and demand answers as to why he lied to me. Instead he was… broken… we just talked instead."

Rei was curious. "You were aware he was an Angel before that point?"

"I did. I asked him for help trying to kill the Thirteenth Angel before it could go on a rampage, but things went wrong. It wasn't on purpose, though. Kaworu thought he could handle it himself. But he didn't, and couldn't." He lowered his face. "We could have prevented so much, if we had stuck together, if he had told me."

"You truly cared for him."

"He was a good friend…" Shinji smiled, although it didn't reach his eyes. "I could trust him."

Rei noticed the way he trembled. There was more to what Shinji thought of Kaworu.

"Was there more to this? Did he tell you anything."

Shinji's face fell. He then let out a sigh.

"He told me he loved me.

That caused Rei to raise her eyebrows.

"Just before he died, Kaworu told me most things about himself. He was an Angel who could see into other universes, and he's met me on a lot of them. He was in love with me in those, but tended to die before anything ever came of it. He sacrificed himself so many times, and even with the last Angel, it was for me. I don't know if I can handle someone else dying for me."

"… I sense a certain dissatisfaction in your voice." Rei realized. "Did you want something more with him?"

He frowned, scratching the back of his head. Shinji gave it some honest thought.

"Maybe… I don't know. I wanted to know him more than I did… to tell you the truth, I never thought of boys like that before, but Kaworu… I don't think I would have minded, but… am I feeling this way because I feel guilty, confusing my own feelings? Or am I seeing Mayumi where he wasn't before… I guess I'm scared that if I looked too deep and found nothing, I'd be disrespecting both of them, somehow."

"I do not believe that to be the case." Rei spoke up then. "Nagisa cared for your happiness. I saw in the way he stared at you, and kept to your side. Simultaneously, you admitted to trusting him, even knowing his origins, and respected his choices even to the end. If that is not love, then perhaps I have much more to learn."

That made a lot of sense to Shinji. Kaworu believed their names were written in the book of life, and deep down, Shinji knew it to be true. But Kaworu also told him to be the best man he could. To do that, Shinji had to honor Kaworu and Mayumi by not denying his feelings.

"Maybe we could have had something… maybe not. But knowing him was worth it." He decided that should be his truth. "I'll be brave for him."

"I wish I had known him better." Rei frowned softly. "Something about his presence… repulsed me."

That made Shinji curious. "Did it? Was it something he did?"

"Nothing specific. He never personally wronged me. However, the moment I laid my eyes on him, I felt a strange connection between us… one that I loathed. I am sure he would have said we were the same, but it wasn't true."

Shinji pondered what this could have meant. "Maybe it's the Angel DNA you shared? Kaworu was made from Adam, and you from Lilith. You weren't supposed to meet." He blinked. "Not that you're just a clone, well-"

"I am a man-made entity." Rei nodded. "I do not think it wrong to admit that it was my purpose to be a copy of Lilith and Yui Ikari."

He placed a hand on her shoulder. "Rei, you are more than a copy. You know that."

"I do. You and your friends have treated me well. I know how much I am valued. It means so much to me because so much of my life was spent with the knowledge that I could be replaced at any time. I had not considered there were ways I was irreplaceable, and in that sense I am happy to have met you.

She looked down, guiltily.

"It is a shame, then, that the first Rei never had a chance to find out…"

That's right… the Rei in front of him was the second Ayanami. The first one perished long ago, by Dr. Naoko Akagi's hands.

"Do you remember anything about her?" He dare to ask. "Or, I guess, your life as her?"

"She was a vindictive child. The first Rei knew her place in things, but wanted the Commander's approval more than anything. She was jealous of anyone else that threatened her position as his precious one. That was why she went after Naoko Akagi the way she did."

That caught Shinji's attention. "Did she?"

"The first Rei had heard the Commander call the older Akagi an old hag. She then repeated it to Naoko, to prove that she was worthless to the plan. She did not expect Akagi to have killed her for it… nor did she ask for her soul to be trapped inside of Unit 00."

"Wait what?! I thought Unit 01 was the only one…"

"No, Shinji. All of the Evangelions have souls inside of them. That is how they are able to function. Unit 01 has your mother's soul. Unit 00 has the previous version of me. Unit 02…"

"That has Asuka's mother, doesn't it?"

"Yes. No." Rei shook her head. "It is a complicated matter, and I do not want to discuss it at this time."

"That's okay." Shinji looked up. "I wonder how Asuka would feel if she found out about this… have you visited her at all?"

"I have not. And to tell you the truth, I do not know if I want to see her again."

That was that. Discussion ceased as they continued sitting in the music room. Later on, Shinji would begin another patrol trying to find Bardiel, while Rei would go up to her room and fall asleep, as she did in recent weeks.

"I don't care about being a pilot."

Maya blinked from that, turning away from her notepad. "Really? I thought that was your dream?"

"No. That was something they drilled into me as a kid." Asuka sighed. "To tell you the truth, I don't know what I want to be when I grow up."

"I'm sure there are plenty of things you could do in the future, given your intelligence. There's always something to learn."

"I graduated from college already. I know physics like the back of my hand. The only reason I even get bad grades anymore is because my Japanese isn't the best. Why do any of the pilots even go to school to begin with?"

"So that you'd all be in one place to keep track of you all… and to give some of you a type of normalcy."

"Being in school made me stand out more." Asuka sighed. "I don't know what to do with my life. Everything I could be doing has been taken from me by this damned organization."

"Very true."

Asuka was caught off guard. "You actually agree?"

"It's unfair what we put you guys through. You are children, you should be worried about much less important things than Angels trying to kill you or what comes after a war. It's going to be difficult readjusting when you've basically been set up for this your entire life."

Maya put the notepad away and crossed her arms.

"I can't give you anything you won't accept, but maybe if we work through this together, we might be able to reach some answers."

… Huh. Hearing someone agree with her for once actually did make Asuka feel better. She nodded at Maya, as she laid herself on the couch.

"What changed your mind on Eva?" Maya asked. "You've never stated a desire to move away from that in the reports, so I'm curious."

"… Lots of things. Stupid things. Stupid Marie, stupid Shinji, stupid Kaworu…"

"Nagisa? What did he do?"

Asuka growled while shaking her head.

"He was there. He was there and I hated him. That idiot was always ahead of me, in the scores, in the praise, and I never had a chance of getting ahead of him. NERV only cared about who had the highest scores, and they chose him."

"So, their lack of approval impacted you?"

"I was their doll, and I hated that."

"I see… if you don't mind me asking, why do you hate dolls so much?"

"They're cute things. Sweet things. You play with them; they never leave; they don't trouble anyone by having opinions or being human… they're creepy, gross and disgusting, and I don't want to be anything like them. I don't want to be under anyone's mercy."

"You want to be treated as an adult."

"Don't you?"

Maya shrugged. "There are days I want to be a teenager. I'd be nice not having to pay taxes."

"Escaping responsibility. What a grown-up thing to do."

"Grown-ups can be hypocritical on a lot of things." Maya chuckled. "So, if I understand this right, because you weren't treated as their best pilot, it made it easier to see what NERV was… doing to you, I suppose?"

"Yeah. Yeah, that's right. I was training for it all my life, but being outdone showed how little they actually cared. They were ready to play with another, better doll. Although I guess it wasn't just that. There was also Spider-Man."

"Spider-Man? What about him?"

"While I was busy being a bird trapped in a cage, I saw reports of Spider-Man. I didn't think he was real, to be honest. He seemed like a massive hoax, a practical joke. But someone like him… who could jump around and swing on webs under his own power, with no one forcing him to do anything… It was like he lived in his own amazing fantasy, and… it challenged me. I had to reach his heights somehow, and for a while that was enough to stave me off. The turning point was Kaji."

Maya flinched a bit. "Kaji? What did he do?"

"I used to have a crush on him." Asuka blushed. "I don't anymore, not after that embarrassing night. Ironically, it was the one I hated most who helped me see the light…"

In her room, away from prying eyes, Asuka allowed herself to cry.

Even since she was a child, Asuka had sworn that she would never let tears fall again. Not publicly at least. She had spent a long time putting herself out there as brave, proud and strong, a pilot to be feared, not a doll, not a doll not a DOLL!

But Kaji came and shattered her into several hundred tiny pieces once again.

The webbing around the room acted as a cocoon, even if someone did peer inside the room, they would not be able to gaze upon Asuka's resting form. She was bitter, and angry, and sad and all sorts of things that came with rejection. She wanted him to look at her, and not once did he give her what she wanted.

That would have been the end of the story, once upon a time. She would have tried again, and again, and again, to no avail, until her life came tumbling down. However, at this time and place, someone was there to make a small, but notable difference.

A knock came from the door, disturbing Asuka.

"Asuka?"

Kaworu. Asuka got up from her bed and opened the door to find him there.

"Go away. I don't want you here."

"Are you sure?' Kaworu frowned. "You have been crying."

"I'm not. Even if I was, I certainly wouldn't need help from you! Leave!"

"I do not find it wise to bear the burden by yourself."

Asuka placed her hands on her hips while glaring at him.

"Why should I give a shit about anything you say, hm? You think you have all the answers?"

"Most things, yes."

"Guess what, buster? I don't need anything from YOU!"

She went to slap him, but he moved out of the way of the attack. He frowned at her.

"You are hurt."

"GO AWAY!" She screamed at him. "I DON'T WANT YOU TO BE ANYWHERE NEAR ME!"

Asuka tried to shut the door, but Kaworu blocked it with one of his hands. Asuka didn't think much of his strength at the time. Maybe she should have.

"Not while you're like this. Please, Asuka-"

"SHUT UP! JUST SHUT UP! SHU- ECK!"

She had been caught in some of the webs she had made before. It was fortunate no one else was there at the time to see that embarrassing failure. Kaworu kept a grip without doing anything else, while Asuka thrashed about. Eventually, she started crying again.

"I'm a big girl…" She spoke. "I'm a big girl, but he still sees me as just a kid. I could see it on his face. I'm just a doll."

"He did not see you like that at all." Kaworu said. "He saw you for who you are."

"LIKE HELL, YOU DON'T KNOW WHO I AM!"

"A very passionate girl that is frequently misunderstood by everyone else. Sometimes, even by myself."

Asuka flinched towards him.

"Why do you care? You're the special pilot! Everyone sees just how good you are at Eva piloting. You should be pleased that I'm a loser compared to you!"

"Even if I were a competitive man, I do not see the point of relishing in my opponent's defeats. Not while they are hurting. Trust me when I say, I do not believe myself fortunate. My fate is to die on the battlefield. There is no life for me anywhere else."

That shocked Asuka enough to snap out of her stupor.

"Bullshit… No one's going to die!"

"Even you cannot be so naive to think the war against Angels would be a pleasant one, without casualties? We are soldiers, Asuka. One of us will be cut down, one way or another."

"Not if I can help it, not if any of us can help it!" Asuka shouted. "There's no way, not when we're the best!"

"We cannot help what we can't control." Kaworu's lip quivered. "My father is a monster of a man. I do not wish to return to him; yet I have no choice but to listen. I am as much a doll to him as we are all to NERV."

Doll… A pang of guilt came through Asuka then…

"You a doll? How…?"

"We are more alike than you know." Kaworu smiled. "Do not worry. Asuka. This moment with Kaji will pass like a leaf through the wind. You will move on, as he will. To bury pain is childish, but if you have an open heart full of love… who knows what might happen?"

"..."

"You are more than this. Even if you never saw me as a friend, I do consider you a valued one."

"…"

Kaworu stepped out of the room."I will leave you to your dreams. No one should ever see you cry."

He left her there. After a few more minutes, the webs began to dissolve and Asuka was left pondering for the rest of the night.

"The experience exhausted me… but he was right." Asuka said. "I let go of Kaji, that I knew what to do, but of all people, it took Idiot Shinji to make me realize I could do more even on my own." She bitterly chuckled. "Look how that turned out. I nearly killed him."

"You seemed to have been keeping it together for those months until the last Angel attack." Maya said. "What made it easier before then?"

"Knowing I didn't have to be the best at piloting was a start. That I just had to keep focus on what's around me rather than just myself. Sure, the stooges were idiots, but I liked them sometimes. Hikari was pretty good, even if I sometimes forgot her. Rei was even better, once we realized how much we had in common."

"Did you now?"

"Bred for piloting, treated like dirt, had nothing else beyond Eva; She could be stiff and oblivious, but that was part of her charm. She was like a mystery."

"I'll say, my buddies at the Bridge often took shots guessing what her story was."

"Nothing they thought of would be crazier than what Rei's actual backstory is."

They both laughed at this. It wasn't funny, but it helped break the tension to an extent. Then, Asuka recovered enough to admit something.

"… I hated losing, you know."

"Hm?"

"Lose, lose, lose, lose. That's all I did for the past few months here. Misato ranted about Spider-Man, Rei got hurt and I couldn't see her, and everyone kept their precious, dirty secrets and I felt like furniture in the background. Hell, I don't buy the story that Kaji was transferred one day without anyone knowing. Misato was too grouchy to be just that."

Wasn't that the truth, Maya thought right then.

"When Kaworu died and revealed himself as an Angel… it felt like he had been playing a joke on me the whole time. Like, was he laughing at me when he gave me that advice? When he was all concerned about Shinji being trapped in the Eva? It made no sense."

"Why did you think he was laughing at you?"

"That's all everyone did. We get into soap opera bullshit and then laugh about it as it was happening. Rei knew Shinji was Spider-Man. She was probably laughing at me, too. Bardiel, that Angel may have been a freak, but he actually understood me. He gave me power! But even he threw me away… I have nothing left."

"Is that what you think?"

Asuka raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you going to say they weren't?"

"I don't think you would believe me if I did." Maya sighed. "I hope you don't mind, but may I tell you a story? It's a little personal, so I'd rather you not tell anyone."

Asuka nodded, wondering what Maya was going to say.

"Believe it or not, I was a bit like you back in high school. Hot tempered, passionate, proud. I was on top of the world back then. My parents didn't mind me that much; In fact, they were plenty supportive enough of my dreams, even if they pushed me towards therapy than computers. Heck, they even let me date girls."

That threw Asuka for a loop.

"You're a lesbian?" She blinked. "Wait right, you're dating the doctor, of course you are. Stupid."

"Haha, I think we have moments of forgetting." Maya chuckled. "I thought they were fine with me being a lesbian… turns out, that wasn't exactly true. Oh, sure, they tolerated it, but that was because they thought I would grow out of it eventually. As high school came to an end, they realized they had a problem child on their hands, especially when they had to deal with my girlfriend."

When Maya spoke of her, her face grew forlorn.

"My girlfriend at the time, I won't say her name due to privacy, I thought she was pretty cool. She was the only one that could match my temper, and I was drawn to that for most of my time in school. When we got together, it was the two of us against the world, side by side, and that led to some… problems. When my parents pointed out she was a bad influence, I lashed out at them. I hated the suggestion that my love was invalid and that she was a scumbag not worth anything. Then a bad situation escalated so badly that almost got me killed… I realized that they were half right, and cut my girlfriend off. I don't know where she is now, but that part of my life was over."

Maya had to let out a deep sigh after delivering this story. The way she spoke of it, Asuka wondered how much it actually was over, or if there was more lingering guilt over what happened.

"So… what's the story there?" Asuka remained confused. "Your parents were right, and that's it? You caved in and accepted it?"

"Not really." Maya made sure to note. "As soon as I made it to college, I also cut my parents out of my life. They disagreed not just because that girl was bad for me, but becayse any girlfriend was bad at all. I had to get out of that space, and it's been for the better. I haven't seen them since."

"Okay, but what was the point? Why are you telling me this?"

"Because, Asuka, I know what it's like to get caught up in bad stuff and feel like you can't get out. The difference between me then and you now is that then I didn't have anyone else to help me and it took an extreme turn to see my girlfriend for who she was. Right now, you're lucky to have people who are truly, genuinely sorry about leaving you alone, and want to make things right. But it's a two-way street. You need to step up and apologize first."

"What do you mean? I was the one wronged here!"

"You were wronged first. But you've done some bad things too. Do you honestly think Rei likes being called a doll any more than you do? Don't you understand you've been treating everyone else the same way you thought NERV treated you? Suzuhara was also possessed by that Angel; do you think he wouldn't understand at all? Do you truly think Shinji and Kaworu hated you so much that they would leave you to die?"

Asuka's eyes widened in horror. She did know about all of that, thanks to Bardiel, and it made her so much worse. Rei had no idea what she did to upset Asuka. Asuka knew what she had done to her, and it was a worse blow. The realization sent a shiver down her spine.

"Our time is up." Maya pointed at the clock. "Think about what I said. Hopefully we can make more progress next time."

"… maybe…"

Asuka got up from the couch and went for the door. She had a lot to think about, a lot…

But first, she turned back towards Maya.

"Thank you. For listening."

Maya nodded back. "No problem."

Gradually, she accepted Maya's help.

It was slow, definitely not easy, but after that first day, Asuka was a bird that sung. She made steady progress on her physical and mental recovery. She was able to wear actual clothes again, for starters, instead of the drab hospital gowns, and the doctors made it clear the blood was stabilizing in her system. Ritsuko would sometimes come in and examine her brain, checking to see if she had damage from Bardiel's influence.

Misato visited her frequently. They hardly talked, but Asuka didn't hate her anymore. There was awkwardness in their steps, but something was coming forth. Shinji was still searching for Bardiel, so he hadn't found the time. He did at least make her food, which Asuka appreciated because it was better than the stupid crap from the hospital.

Rei… never came. Asuka didn't begrudge her for it; she knew what she had done, but she couldn't face her yet. Asuka needed time first.

Time she did get. Maya never pushed, nor did she let Asuka go unabated. She listened, and asked questions that allowed Asuka to consider her own answers. That gave Asuka the courage to be more open with her, and it led to great progress. Maya suspected there was a greater reason for Asuka's hatred of dolls, and her need to be noticed, but she trusted Asuka to answer that in her own time.

The sessions went so well that, in two more weeks' time, Asuka was surprised to receive a paper slip.

"Good news, Asuka." Maya smiled. "You've been cleared for piloting."

Asuka paused to look at the slip. It didn't seem real to her.

"Really?"

"You've been a good patient and the mental contamination proved to be minimal at best." Maya frowned. "What's wrong?"

"… Do you think I have a chance?"

"At what?"

"Surviving? Out in the real world, I mean? I've been trained as a pilot my whole life. I'm smart, I graduated, but I don't know how I'm going to get through life when everyone else is either behind me or too far ahead. What if I peaked too early and there's nowhere to go…?"

"To tell you the truth, I don't know that answer myself." Maya admitted. "The real world could grind you up for something you did or didn't do. In that case, the best thing we can do is find support where we can, and… well, just keep going. Facing reality is hard but worth a try, at least that's what I think."

"… Thanks…" Asuka looked down. "Can we keep these going?"

"Hm?"

"These sessions. I'll admit, it's weird to talk about this stuff unfiltered, but… it's nice to be able to."

Maya smiled at that. "No problem. I can always make an appointment for you if you need it."

They shook their hands on that. For once, everything seemed to be looking up for the Second Child. Maya had truly been a help to her, and Asuka was ready to keep on living. She definitely had a lot of apologies to make, at least.

"Hold up, one more thing." Maya pulled something from her pocket. "There's something we uncovered a while back and I think you might want it."

She handed Asuka an audio cassette. Asuka carefully inspected it, giving Maya a curious look.

"From what I'm told, this is from Nagisa." Maya explained. "We found this in his room with a note saying to deliver it to you."

Kaworu's tape? He made recordings? Asuka's hands shook a bit upon realizing that she was holding this tape; that she had the only piece of his life meant specifically for her…

"I don't know…" Asuka shook her head. "I really don't know, Ibuki."

"That's quite alright."

Then came a blaring, loud alarm sound. Maya and Asuka knew what it was.

"An Angel alarm? This quickly?" Maya frowned. "Asuka, I know you were cleared, but-"

"I should go." Asuka said. She handed the tape back and sighed. "You can hand it to me when I'm done."

Maya nodded reluctantly as they ran off together. She knew Asuka could take care of herself, but another Angel fight so soon after her recovery… Maya wasn't sure this was going to be good for Asuka…

Of all the Angels they faced so far, Arael was one of the most haunting NERV had seen yet.

A flying bird-like creature that glowed white circled around Earth's orbit. It had been theorized that the Angel hatched from an egg on the moon, much like Sahaquiel before it. NERV had been quick to determine that Arael was simply too far above for a conventional attack.

Even so, Commander Fuyutski felt comfortable sending Evangelion Units 02 and 00 into the battlefield. Asuka and Rei were sitting ducks, and they knew it, but the hope was for the Angel to come in and swipe at them from just a look at their blasphemous forms. Spider-Man, surprisingly, was ordered perched on a rooftop not too far from the Evangelions.

"Wait, why am I here and not in an Eva?" Shinji was grateful he didn't need to get inside Unit 01, but he still had questions. "I thought Unit 01 had been repaired?"

"We'd rather not risk all our best Eva on this assault." Fuyutski explained through the ear comm. "We have no idea how the Angel works, and if it has an attack, then Spider-Man may be needed to save our pilots."

Shinji had a suspicion that wasn't the only reason. However, with no actual reason to fight him on the issue, he had to sit here and wait.

"Got it. So I monitor Rei and Asuka then?"

"Correct. Rip them out of the Entry Plug if you have to."

Inside Central Dogma, Marie Vincennes was getting restless. While she had known she wouldn't get into too many battles, if any at all, the fact that they let Asuka in so soon after she was cleared was a bit absurd. She turned to the Commander.

"Not to knock Asuka, but I think I would have been able to do the job just fine."

"Maybe so, but she has more experience." Fuyutski stated. "You're here as back-up."

"What about Suzuhara, shouldn't he be here as another pilot?"

"He quit after what happened on his first sortie. If anything, you're lucky."

Marie kept silent, while Misato stared at the Angel up the screen. Arael floated in space, doing nothing. When an Angel did nothing, that was when things were at their most tense. She remembered how Ramiel also floated and did nothing, yet immediately blasted Unit 01 the moment it came to the surface. That nearly killed Shinji, and now Asuka and Rei were in a similar situation.

A very selfish, stray thought from Misato hoped that Asuka wasn't the one attacked when the situation came to it.

"Still nothing." Ritsuko said. "None of our weapons will be able to penetrate that thing."

Misato turned towards her, trying to keep professional. "Maybe we could try Operation Yashima again?"

"Negative." Ritsuko shook her head. "Not only do we not have the Positronic Rifle, but that was a once in a lifetime plan. We definitely don't have enough time to prepare it, nor does it have the range to hit the Angel above."

"Damn." Misato glared at the screen. "Then we're helpless."

Maya kept her eyes on the readings. She had to, if she wanted to ensure the safety of the pilots.

'Please don't get hurt out there…'

Inside Unit 02, Asuka meddled around with the controls.

Fiddling with them was easier than having to face the monitors on her end. She was being watched by the personnel at NERV, and for once it gave her an odd sense of shame. Asuka couldn't look at anyone the same; Maya understood, but the others knew about her stint as Venom. Might that have colored their impressions of her? Did she deserve better?

The question became especially impertinent when it came to Rei. Asuka could see Rei's comm link was open, although Rei herself did not talk or answer her. It was on mute at the moment.

Asuka could easily turn it off and talk to her. Maya gave her the go ahead, and Rei was the most affected by her. She had to do it.

"…"

But what if Rei wasn't willing to talk? Would she be able to accept the apology, even if it was sincere? Asuka had betrayed her and Shinji; that had to carry a consequence. She reached out towards the button.

"…"

Her hand moved away from the button, Asuka's face falling as it did. The bangs in her hair covered her eyes.

"… I'm sorry, Rei…"

In her cowardice, however, Asuka failed to notice the way Rei's eyes widened and her lips curled. Even that private admission, done only with her lips, seemed to have satisfied her.

"Okay then…" Asuka said, turning back to the Bridge monitor. "So what's the status on the Angel?"

"So far we haven't discovered anything wrong." Ritsuko said. "The Angel is just sitting there out there and… Wait, we're detecting an energy pattern coming towards-"

A bright light enveloped the plug instantly. Asuka looked around and found herself terrified at the incursion.

"What the-?!" She shouted. "How did it get in here?"

"HOLD ON, ASUKA, GET OUT OF THERE!" Maya's voice came from the bridge. "THE ANGEL'S PROJECTING A LIGHT INTO YOUR LOCATION, YOU HAVE TO MOVE NOW-"

Asuka tried to move using the controls, but they wouldn't budge.

"It's not working! Nothing is working!"

"We can't eject the plug! The light is blocking it!"

The light was getting brighter inside the plug. It was also becoming more clear that Asuka was the target, with the way she became more highlighted.

"Move you stupid doll, move, move, move- AAAAAAAUUUGGHHHHH!"

HORROR!

ANGUISH!

LONELINESS!

Curiosity…

A bright, burning, thunderous pain flowed everywhere in her head. Asuka clutched it to try to make it go away, but it didn't work. All it did was dig deeper into her head, like worms burrowing into the ground.

It got so bad that Asuka even failed to notice Rei's voice coming from the comm.

"Asuka! Asuka, can you hear me? Tell me how to help you, please!"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"

It hurt… it hurt so much… Soon, Asuka's sense of reality disappeared…

As she woke up inside a dark void.

"!"

The first thing she noticed was that she wasn't in her pilot suit. Instead, Asuka felt a large, heavy, yet tight dress around her body, one that limited her movement. It felt as though her cheeks were painted on, and her hands…

Asuka looked down and saw her hands were not her own. They were gloved, with her thumb separate from the fused four fingers in her hand.

"What is this?" She screamed. "Where am I? WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME?!"

The place was a dream. Everything was a haze, a creepy, distorted lens that prevented the world from making sense. Even when Asuka took a step, it only changed the colors of the void, not creating a rational environment. She was stuck in a maze that seemed to have no end. Reality was meaningless.

Who are you?

Who am I?

What are you doing here?

Why are we here?

To know

To understand

To become

More

"What the-!?"

Asuka turned around and found herself trapped in a hall of mirrors. In front of her was… herself. She could see now that she had bright red coloring around her cheeks; a sundress not too dissimilar to the one she used when she tried to seduce Kaji, along with an ugly bowtie and buttons where her eyes should be.

"Gah! GET AWAY FROM ME!"

It only became more horrifying when she looked in the other mirrors. Instead of herself, as she is now, they were her normal self, wearing the school uniform.

"What are you…" She called out to them. "WHAT ARE YOU?!"

One Asuka spoke. "Hi! I'm Asuka! Charmed huh?"

That wasn't her voice coming from her. That was Marie's voice, that was not her own, so why was it coming out of that body?!

"That's right, Third Child!" Another Asuka spoke, this time with Misato's own exuberant voice coming out of it. "Spider-Man clearly needed a similar level degree of intelligence if he wanted to operate on the field he does."

"I'm Asuka Langely Soryuu, the designated pilot of Unit 02." This Asuka had Rei's voice. "I thought we would get to know each other. Pilots have to stick together you know. Let's be friends!"

"No… no, it can't be! Those aren't me! THOSE AREN'T ME!"

Asuka tried to run from the mirrors, only she went further into the hall to find more and more mirrors. They showed her as a child, as a pilot, as herself on normal days, as Venom, but not her right now, and the voices kept taunting and laughing at her.

Whatever this place was, it was a nightmare, a disaster for her from beginning to end.

"I DON'T WANT TO LOSE MYSELF, I DON'T, I DON'T-"

die with me asuka

An imperceptible voice came through. Asuka realized she was in a familiar hospital hallway, a disembodied ghost from it all. A red headed little girl ran through the corridor, eager and excited.

"Momma, I'm an Eva pilot now! Isn't that so cool! Come see me, Momma!"

"NO DON'T!"

She couldn't hear her here. Memories do not have the benefit of hindsight to be steered any other way. The hospital doors opened as Asuka ran, moans and screams coming from them.

Don't hurt me!

The freaks not Spider-Man! She can't be; she's too crazy!"

I'm sorry, stop piling on us!"

Please… don't kill me…

Her dolls were screaming for her, but Asuka was unable to give them the justice they deserved. Eventually, the little girl reached the door, waiting for someone.

"There we go! Come on, Momma! I can't reach it, open it for me, Momma!"

"DON'T! DON'T GO THROUGH THE DOOR!"

But it was too late. Far too late.

Little Asuka opened the door, and at first it was all red… then the vision cleared and Asuka could see what she had spent years trying to block.

The body was never floating off the floor. It was hanging.

A strawberry blond woman had her neck snapped from a noose. A doll lied on the floor next to her. One with a yellow sundress, red hair and buttons for eyes.

"Momma… mutter, please…"

Little Asuka stood there, frozen in time. The real Asuka was also unable to look away from the scene. She backed away from the body.

"Wait… that wasn't what she looked like… what wasn't what it…"

However, her back pressed against a wall. There was no door anymore.

die with me asuka.

Kyoko Zeppelin Soryuu was cruel. Asuka knew that long before she had the maturity to think for herself. The door shut behind Asuka, who was now trapped in this room, in this void, with a rotting corpse and the doll.

"No.. no…"

There was a window outside. Instead of a void, a giant eye watched her.

What drives you? What keeps you in this moment? Who are you?

It was then that Asuka screamed.

All in the Geo-Front were horrified at the sight in front of them.

Misato and Maya in particular were one in the fear for their charge. For Misato, it was another situation where Asuka was in peril and she had no way to save her; For Maya, the possibility that Asuka may never recover from this event after all the progress had made her heart break.

Even Marie was terrified at what was happening. "You can get her out of there, right?! Please, somebody do something!"

"We can't the mental contamination became too great!" Makoto said. "The plug is still jammed!"

"Damn it!" Shigeru said. "I hate everyone in this room for allowing this monstrosity!"

"I agree, it's gone on long enough." Fuyutski piped in. "Spider-Man, do whatever it takes to rescue the pilot. Ayanami, get the lance from the basement and throw it at the Angel as fast as you can."

Without a word, Rei rushed her Eva as fast as it could down towards one of the shafts in the city. Meanwhile, Spider-Man jumped from the rooftop and swung towards Unit 02.

"Hang on, Asuka!" Shinji said. "We're gonna get you out as fast as we can!"

He reached the neck of Unit 02 and began to pull on the plug something fierce. Although he was in the line of the light, it seemed whatever the Angel was doing was focused more on Asuka than on him.

All the more reason for Spider-Man to move faster. It wasn't a problem for him to rip apart the plug with his barehands. It was, however, deeply troubling that the moment Spider-Man peeked inside, he was able to see what the Angel was doing to Asuka.

"AAAAAHHHHH STOP! MOMMA, STOP PLEASE!"

A shivering Asuka, trying to cover herself against a being that was invading her mind, was a nightmare for most anyone. For Shinji, it was a reminder of his failure, and he needed to rectify it as best as he could.

"Just hang on! We're out of here!"

Spider-Man launched a web at Asuka, pulling her to him from her seat. He then carried Asuka by the waist, and together swung away from the Eva. The beam began to shift its range, however, from the Eva to the general direction of the fleeing humans.

The beam turned red. Suddenly, everywhere it touched began to explode, including several buildings as Spider-Man kept swinging with suka.

"Oh crap." Spider-Man said. "Rei, you better hurry up now! I got an Angel's beam of thought invasion coming after me!"

"I am working on it."

Spider-Man dodged another swipe of the beam, swinging underneath a tunnel, which ultimately collapsed an entire subsection of the city and its vehicles to the ground. Shinji hoped they had insurance.

"I think its aim is getting better, hurry!"

Sure enough, Unit 00 came out of one of the shafts. Rei carefully held the Lance of Longinus in Unit 00's hands, and readied it for an attack.

On the bridge, Makoto himself was confused. "Wait, we had THAT the whole time?!"

"I guess we do, dumbass." Shigeru said. "Maybe you should have paid more attention."

Not wasting a single moment of breath, Rei furiously threw the Lance into the sky at maximum strength. After a few more minutes, Bridge Crew were able to see the Lance pierce Arael, stabbing the Angel straight into the moon, where it promptly bled to death and exploded into its cross-formation.

"Angel has been… defeated." Ritsuko said carefully. "We won."

"Indeed." Fuyutski frowned grimly. "Another Angel dead. Only one more to go."

Misato turned and glared at her Commander. "You knew this would happen, didn't you?"

"It is certainly a tragedy that something like this would befall our pilots." Fuyutski answered. "We should pray for our lucky stars that the Lance of Longinus was enough to defeat the Angel and that our pilots were saved from further contamination… or death. It will be difficult to explain to the Committee, but I believe our resources were used effectively."

Misato was not convinced by this answer, but bit her tongue. It wasn't time yet.

After a couple of hours, Unit 00 settled down near the wreckage of a building. Rei jumped out of the plug and ran towards Spider-Man and Asuka, who were just up ahead. Seeing Asuka in such a vulnerable state, crying while in a fetal position made Rei worry.

"She's not responsive." Shinji told Rei. "Give her a moment."

They waited for several minutes. Eventually, Asuka sniffed, not even bothering to look at them.

"I'm sorry… both of you…"

Rei had a pained look on her face. "Asuka…"

"No, don't say my name like that! I know what I did to you. What I did to all of you. My pride wouldn't let me admit, but what I did was terrible and I'm sorry and I don't know how to make it right."

Spider-Man shook his head. "It doesn't matter, now. It's okay."

"No! It does matter! I wanted to be the best so I could have been noticed by Mama! By anyone! But I pushed away anyone that got close and I was wrong… Kaworu came close and now he's dead and I made things worse with everyone and I trusted an alien parasite over my actual friends! I'm so sorry… I'm sorry…"

Rei placed a hand on Asuka's shoulder. She chose not to move away.

"What happened was…" Rei tried to keep her composure. "Not all your fault…"

"It was!" Asuka shouted. "Bardiel told me everything, even about you… and yet I still did it knowing that. I'm so fucked up…"

Rei froze at that.

"You're the last person I should have done that too" Asuka continued. "You're not a doll, or anyone's plaything. You and Shinji, you're the bestest friends I've ever known and I hurt you… I'm sorry…"

Asuka turned to Shinji. "He loved you, you know? Kaworu, I mean. He talked about a river he wanted to cross once, and almost the moment we met in the arcade, I knew it was you that he was after. Somehow. I guess I wished he saw me that way… or that someone would see me that way. It's not an excuse. I'm just sorry…"

For a while, neither Shinji nor Rei knew what to say. They let Asuka pour her heart out due to the Angel's horrific treatment of her. It was a violation of the mind, worse than what Bardael had done. There did not seem to be a way forward, until eventually, Spider-Man did come up with an answer.

"Kaworu did love me, yeah. But you know what else?" Shinji said. "He cared deeply about everyone, including yours. If I knew him a tenth as much as he knew me, he would have wanted you to be happy, no matter the circumstances."

"… I don't know if I deserve to be…"

"It is not about what you deserve. It's about what you need." Rei said. "We will be here, no matter what you do."

"You don't have to…"

"I do." Rei nodded. "I saw you were trying to apologize on the comms. I do forgive you for what you did."

Asuka sniffed. "I have… a whole apology tour to do…"

"We will cross that bridge when we get to it. But first, we need to return home."

Rei and Shinji took Asuka by the shoulders, and made the walk to base. By the time they got there, Misato came up to them and hugged Asuka close to her chest. Maya and soon others came out, while Marie stood by the sidelines, uncertain of how to proceed…

Marie Vincennes thought she knew what she was getting into when she entered Japan.

She heard of the battles; she had even seen some of them by video. By all accounts, being a NERV pilot felt like a standard Mecha show, just with some really weird aliens, even by those standards. Nothing great, nothing bad, but she could work with it.

Now though? She was haunted.

Asuka was never her favorite person, but she didn't deserve to get mind raped the way she did. It was made worse with the implication that these kinds of things happened constantly. The Commander was willing to send these pilots to uncertain doom against Lovecraftian creatures that could destroy their minds, and had the coldness to do it.

That was what NERV command was about, and it made her scared. In a way, it made her relieved that she was never an active pilot. Marie didn't know if she would have died to an Angel or been heavily injured by a berserk Eva.

It at least made her petty theft seem much easier to pull off.

"Stop right there, cat burglar!" Said a cop that pulled a gun on her. "You bring that back now!"

The Black Cat's usual grin didn't reach her eyes this time, but there was still a bit of glee in her voice. "You want it? Come and get it!"

Black Cat threw the bag of jewels at the cops, who then proceeded to fire on her. Black Cat had already mastered the moves to escape, a jump along a signpost there, then a jump on a balcony, then a quick hook shot to another building, and she was home free. All she had now were cop cars following her moves across rooftops, but they never did.

One cop car crossed a black cat, and then a fire hydrant burst and stopped the car in its tracks. Another win for the Black Cat luck powers.

"I wish Spider-Man was out here. He at least makes things fun." Marie frowned. "Bet he's still with Asuka and Rei. Maybe I should tell him my identity. He could give me a few chases… nah."

He would probably insist on her returning the loot, and who needs that headache?

So instead, she swung through the night, unaware of a black goo hiding out in the sewers.

Bardiel was patient. He did not want to be found, so he wasn't found, and he was waiting for the right person with the right power to finally get his revenge. Bardiel learned his lesson well: powerless teenagers, no matter how much he cultivated them, would never be enough. He needed true power.

Wouldn't you know it, the Black Cat had the right amount of luck and agility for him.

So he slithered, readying his next plan…

Misato brought Asuka back home.

Maya had promised to make another appointment next week, but for now, Asuka was finally ready to return to the apartment. Shinji was on another night of patrol looking for Bardiel, while Rei was busy with a synch test, so that left Asuka and Misato by themselves.

"I swear I had the card somewhere… Aha!" Misato pulled it from her pocket. "Here."

She swiped the card, and the door opened by itself. Misato went inside, taking a glance back at Asuka.

"Well, you coming or what?"

Asuka gave her a small smile. She stepped a foot inside.

"… I am home."

It felt different when she said it this time. Misato returned her smile with one of her own.

"Welcome home."

A few moments later and they began to eat left overs Shinji made. Asuka was grateful, because while she was happy to be back… well, Misato's cooking was awful and Asuka wasn't in the mood to die again.

She ate it very quickly. Asuka hadn't had a meal the whole day, and she was tired from the testing Ritsuko put her through. The dinner was silent, as both were trying to think of words to say to the other. Asuka wiped some food from her mouth.

"…"

"…"

"Hey."

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry too." Misato sighed. "From now on, I'm going to look after you as much as Shinji."

"No I get it. He's Spider-Man. In some ways, he does need more attention than I do in, and I respect that."

"You're both growing kids, and you need guidance. I haven't been very good at that in a long time. Now, we're going to work through this together. We're going to make it work. You didn't deserve me lashing out the way I did, so I won't do it."

"Right…"

Misato got up from her chair and placed a hand over Asuka's shoulder. She then kissed Asuka's forehead.

"Good night roomie. Gonna have a busy day tomorrow. You still need to do your chores."

Asuka groaned. "Uggghh, can't we save that?"

"Nope! You need to learn how to be responsible."

After a brief argument between the two, they decided to settle in for the night.

Asuka went to her bedroom. It was, perhaps rightly, exactly as she left it; the bed was unmade and the floor had all her dirty clothes lying around. Asuka realized that with Bardiel she could instantly change clothes, so she ended up neglecting her room in the process.

"Okay, so that's going to make things difficult." She said. "Where's the damn thing…?"

Rummaging through the clothes, Asuka found what she was looking for: a cassette tape player. She pulled out the audio tape that Maya had given her from her pocket. Kaworu's last words were contained in it, and Asuka felt that she had to listen to it.

"Here goes nothing, I guess."

She inserted the tape inside. After the beaten up thing finally worked, she started hearing Kaworu's soothing voice.

"Asuka? I know things have been difficult lately and I'm sorry about that."

Her heart skipped a beat.

"I think I know what you're feeling."

She clicked it off. Too soon.

"I don't think I'll be able to listen to you right now. Not yet." Asuka determined. She then yawned. "Maybe tomorrow… good night."

She closed her eyes and fell asleep.

"Come to your mama's arms, Asuka."

"Haha, okay Momma."

The memory was a haze. When Asuka awoke, she would not remember this dream. But in this space, Asuka was at peace. Kyoko looked at her beautiful daughter, and the smile she had fell a bit.

"… You are a very special girl, Asuka."

"I know, Momma, I know."

"Good. I want you to remember that. I am going to go to a test tomorrow. An Evangelion test. I am positive I made the right calculations needed to come back, but I do not know what will become of me. But no matter what, I want you to know that I love you, and that I never wanted to leave."

"Okay, Mama." Little Asuka tilted her head. "Why did you need to go, though?"

"It is what is expected of me. I had dreamed my whole life to make a break through in science." Kyoko frowned. "I do not think it will be worth it."

"Anything you do is worth it, Mama! I believe in you!"

"Heh… I love you so much, my little Tochter…" Kyoko rubbed her daughter's head. "I will always be proud of you, Asuka…"

Asuka felt a little sweaty.

She didn't remember the dream she had. She never remembered her dreams. But something about tonight felt perfect, as if she achieved some sort of peace that she never had before. Asuka brought a hand up her face to wipe some sweat off.

It was after that train of thought that Asuka noticed some of her sweat drops were falling… upwards?

She turned her head up-

She saw her bed.

She looked around herself-

She was on the ceiling, stuck to it through her hands and feet.

"Holy… holy shit…!" Asuka grinned. "This is spectacular!"

Author's Notes:

Yes I am aware that Shinji has a different blood type and Asuka wore a different set of clothes when she went to seduce Kaji. We can chalk that up to artistic license for this fic, eh?

I didn't want the mind rape in this fic to be a good thing. It would have been easy to have Asuka "get better" from this experience, but that only sent her into a further spiral in the show, and in this case, I wanted to show Asuka recovering, doing as best as she can given the circumstances… only for that thing to attack and make things worse, before they got better. Arael was one of the worst Angels (in terms of impact on the characters) in the series, and while here Asuka gets better, Arael is still a bad thing.

Which leads into the ending… yes, this is going where you think it is. I'll save my thoughts on it for the next chapter, but needless to say Asuka isn't going to be falling behind soon.

Now for reviews:

RealRemainder: My thinking was that even if she didn't know Asuka, I think most adults would panic a little bit when they hear a parent/guardian slapped a kid across the face. The nurse is actually Mana. Her story has yet to be revealed yet, so have a little patience.

Truenofan86: Yeah, this arc was written partly as an apology for not using Asuka as well as I could have. I hope this and the next chapter excite you!

Author0fntent: She's apologized to Shinji and Rei for now. Next time, let's see who else gets the apologies.

SuperiorSuperman: In Shinji's defense, Asuka's crossed some lines so he's allowed to be a little self righteous in that scene.

Guest, May 20: Aspects of it do at least. Next time, "Asuka Langley Soryuu: The Origin"

Next time, "Asuka Langley Soryuu: The Origin"

Omake:

"The Cringe Ikari Chronciles 2: Dirt" by GainaxVel3o

Shinji was doing his usual morning routine of striding through the school hallways like he owned the place. The overwhelming confidence he got from Bardiel was good for him, as even the students took notice and moved away when he made his stride. no one could stop him now.

"Hold on, bastard two o'clock."

Before Shinji could divert himself, he collided with Tsuyoshi Kotei, who spilled his food tray all over Shinji's clothes.

"Oops!" Kotei smirked. "Looks like somebody wasn't paying attention."

Shinji wiped the food from his jacket. "Kotei…"

"Don't give me that sass." Kotei pointed at Shinji's clothes. "You're in violation of the school rules every day you come like this. We knew you were a delinquent, but just because you scared the teachers doesn't mean you scared me, Cringey Ikari!"

With that, Kotei marched off with a smug grin, a hearty laugh, and a skip in his step. Shinji turned around and glared at him from behind.

"Wow man, you're gonna let that guy go?" Bardiel said. "He called us cringe even though he's cringe!"

"Oh don't worry about it, Bardiel." Shinji grinned. "I'm gonna put some dirt in his eye.'

Later, on that same day, Kotei went to open his locker.

"Cringey Ikari, haha, I should have used that one years ago." Kotei undid the lock. "Stupid old bastard deserves it for stealing Mayumi from- WHOAAAH!"

To his shock, Kotei became covered in a pile of sand. He was unable to stop himself from falling to the floor, his clothes and books ruined from this mean spirited prank. The students who looked on starting to laugh didn't help him much.

"WHAT THE SHIT!" Kotei yelled. "WHO DID THIS?!"

"I don't know man, I just thought it was funny." One student said. "You kinda had it coming since you messed with Ikari's style."

That student went to undo his lock, when he got buried in a pile of sand. Soon, all the lockers burst open to reveal the sand. Any responsible teacher would have asked after the fact who, why and how they caused this mess.

On the school rooftop, the answers were as followed: Sunako Shiraishi, who did this because Shinji asked her to, and did it shoving her sand everywhere in the school ventilation system and locker rooms; She and Shinji fist bumped after this petty plan.

"That was great." Sunako laughed. "That's what Kotei gets for ruining Rai's swords club."

"He really can be an ass, thanks!" Shinji smugly grinned. "Is the Sinister Six podcast tonight?"

"Yup. Same time as normal. Catch you later!"

Sunako turned back to a sandstorm, and escaped. Bardiel had his doubts.

"Do we have to? Come on, those guys are boring!"

"It's fun sometimes. I like watching old movies." Shinji shrugged. "At least we get to see Shin Godzilla for free."

"Goddamn right. Hideaki Anno's a genius!"