Co-Written by Oddball, NeonExists, and Mimic. Edited by Oddball and NeonExists.

Red text; Asuka's POV

Green text; Danya's POV

Blue text; Shinji's POV

Purple text; Misc.

6:25 PM - January 20th, 2016 - A beach in San Francisco

The girl was simply just leaning against a rusted and damaged railing, her mind dwelling on the events that had transpired just a few weeks back... the world had- well, mostly returned to normalcy. About 5 billion had returned from Instrumentality, which was enough to keep the world running- yet nobody she knew had returned yet. No Hikari, Misato- and Rei. She was... discontent, to say the least. She hadn't got closure with any of them, especially Rei...

She couldn't help but feel a bit miserable as she stared off into the crimson sea- watching it rise and fall. She had been such an asshat to Rei, and she wanted to apologize for taking out her own self-hatred on someone else. Grimacing, she continued to look out– her right eye, the one damaged in her ruthless battle with the MP Evangelions, began to sting. Asuka squeezed her stinging eye shut, her hand moving up to the damaged eye. It felt like a bee was repeatedly stinging her, over and over.

As for what she was wearing, it was pretty simple. Just some coat she found and her damaged Plugsuit underneath. Its left arm was missing, it was slashed open in random places, and the buttons on the Plugsuit's wrists randomly jammed.

The boy was still rattled from the events that had come to pass. It was somewhat biblical. He could hardly come to terms with it. All that effort to prevent the supposed apocalypse had only brought itself upon humanity. It was baffling how the species would conspire against itself to such a manner that it would bring doom upon all the world

He wishes he could go back and make things right. But he had neither the courage nor the desire to return to Anchorage, Alaska. There, he waited, and waited, and waited for his beloved to return. But she didn't, no matter how much he prayed. For the first time, even since he was baptized, his faith was shattered. Why had God forsaken them? Was this truly the beginning of the end times?

As he drove his four wheeler alongside the beach, he heard a thud under the hood of his car. He stopped just a few meters from Asuka. He got out and assessed the damage of the car before swearing in some foreign language. Apparently his engine has called it quits.

Hearing a light thud behind her- she turns around, seeing a car slowly come to a halt behind here. A blonde steps out, as she was taking a step- though, seeing his face makes her freeze... something about him. Something about him seemed familiar. Like she had seen him before, but only a glance, or as if she had seen his face in a crowd. Had she seen him before…? The thoughts about Human Instrumentality and Third Impact quickly moved to the back of her mind, her focus now on the familiar boy.

She walks over cautiously, slightly intrigued by how he looked like someone she recognized. Her Plugsuit's thick, rubber soles make light taps against the concrete overhang near the beach they were on. She looks at him, her face showing slight concern and confusion.

"...You need any help?"

She asked, still looking at his face. She couldn't stop trying to piece together why he seemed so familiar... she tapped her foot as she waited for his reply, looking around.

"If you can help." He spoke in a foreign accent as he examined the damage done to the hood. He wondered if she had any experience fixing cars. Now that he got a good look at her face, she too seemed quite familiar, but he had his suspicions.

"From the look of your suit, I can guess that you're a fellow pilot, yes?" He guessed as he grabbed one of the tools out to try and repair it.

"Alright, then. Let's see…"

She said, looking at the damage. She was pretty sure Kaji had taught her something about cars... her memory was hazy, though. She scratches her head a bit before looking back to Danya... piloting. So he was an Evangelion pilot? Surprising... though, thinking about piloting definitely had negative connotations, at least for her. Memories of the horrors that happened to her while she was piloting sent chills far up her spine. She gives Danya a stern look.

" Was. "

She was still looking at his face, trying to figure out who he was... she didn't say anything- on the off chance that they were just some random person that looked familiar... she quickly returns to looking at the engine, inspecting it...

Indeed, Danya was very much a pilot like her, and he too witnessed many horrors during his piloting. But his iron grip of self preservation was steadfast thanks to his savior complex, until the day she died. He could easily tell the look on Asuka's face was that of a face that signified that she had seen more than enough.

"No need to elaborate. I saw the whole thing unfold before me. It didn't take long for me to realize that this whole godforsaken war was rigged against us before we were even born."

It was an insult how everything ended up the way it did. He wouldn't be surprised if humanity was the real enemy, and the angels were sent to halt their plans for Instrumentation.

Asuka looked at Danya as he spoke... he was right. According to her fairly hazy memories of others' minds during Instrumentality, the whole thing was just an elaborate plan from every party to cause the Third Impact and Human Instrumentality.

"... Yeah. Looking back on it, it feels like everyone was trying to backstab us…"

She said, sighing before looking back at him. He didn't have the little headset that helped the pilot connect to their Eva, though, they didn't really matter now. She didn't really even know why she was wearing hers. She still looked at him- deciding to speak up... he seemed familiar, and her curiosity was beginning to eat at her...

"...Hey, do I know you from somewhere?"

Danya was flabbergasted at how Machiavellian the whole situation was. It made him wonder why he was born in this first place if he was destined to partake in a lost cause. It all seemed like a cruel angel's thesis from the start.

"Those who don't value the lives of fellow men often don't value their own."

He sighed. The engine was in shambles. It was taking them more effort to try and repair it or a repair kit if they could find one.

"That's what I've wondered. I was stationed in Anchorage, Alaska. But I'm from Khabarovsk, Russia. Where are you from?"

Asuka nodded in agreement to Danya's statement... but besides that, she still couldn't get her mind off of everything that happened during the Third Impact. She, Rei, and Shinji were all led along– like animals to a slaughterhouse. Asuka clenches her left fist, before looking back to Danya and answering his question.

"I'm from Germany. Can't exactly remember what city."

She said, spinning the wrench around in her hands, leaning against Danya's vehicle before looking at him, deciding to ask him another question. She continued to try and piece together her memory to find out how she knew his face. This was confusing, to say the least.

"Maybe we should just get a mechanic or something. The engine's definitely busted..."

Danya too was still shocked from the events that occurred. He often reflected back on it so he could just try and make sense of what he had gone through, and piece together the past like a jigsaw puzzle, so he could get the bigger picture in the hopes it would provide him a sense of solace.

"Tokyo-3… Japan..." Danya said. Just then he remembered what he saw in Instrumentality. Asuka shoving Shinji to the floor, calling him pathetic in spite of everything she saw of him; Shinji shouting to Asuka, begging her not to abandon him when he was at the end of his rope. The moment she rejected him was the moment his mind snapped in half. It pained him to remember that he had to endure such mistreatment.

"By any chance, you wouldn't happen to know who Asuka is, would you?" He asked as he too clenched his fist. "What I wouldn't do to give her a piece of my fucking mind..."

And then, she managed to remember. Danya; the apparent test pilot for a prototype Evangelion Unit- she'd heard about it from Kaji, sometime before the Third Impact. She didn't pay it much mind– who cared about another throwaway boy pilot? From her perspective, he'd probably be just as unremarkable as idiot Shinji.

And then, he asked if she knew Asuka and that he wanted to give her a piece of his mind... Uh oh. Asuka quickly freezes up, looking as the boy clenches his fist. She could tell that something was up. She took a moment to consider. She wasn't particularly in the mood for conflict, but she didn't want to lie, either.

"...I am Asuka."

She said bluntly, staring Danya down. She was preparing for her to suddenly swing and begin a fight... her fight or flight instincts began to go off, and it was pretty obvious that she was beginning to tense up.

In that moment, Danya froze up, and it wasn't long before he dropped the wrench onto the ground. At first he thought he misheard her, but as soon as he gained ahold of himself, his anger for her reached a boiling point.

Just then, before Asuka could even react, Danya slapped her in the face so hard it left a minor bruise, the same way she slapped Shinji upon first meeting him. He was absolutely furious.

"Nemetskaya molodaya skhyulka! Moi predki srazhalis' i pogibli v Stalingradskoy bitve, chtoby takiye zhalkiye fashistskiye otbrosy chelovecheskoy zhizni, kak vy, nikogda ne rodilis'!" He cursed to her in Russian.

Her facial expression shifts to one of sternness as he drops his wrench, preparing for the worst as he suddenly shifts forward. She swings her arms up in an attempt to defend herself, but before her arms manage to get in-between her face and Danya's hand, she'd already been slapped. She held her face for a second, a large red mark being left on it... she listened to him speak in Russian, only understanding that he called her 'fascist scum'. That made her furious– of course someone like him would insult her country. Her face heats up, getting red as she swings back, going for a direct punch to his nose. She was pretty strong, so if it actually hit, it'd hurt like hell. She'd begin cursing him out in German, absolutely furious.

"DUMMER VERDAMMTER! WHAT THE HELL DID I EVEN DO?!"

She barked, holding her face in frustration. What the fuck was that for?! She hadn't done jack shit and yet he got furious. She resisted the urge to hit him again, but managed to control herself as she looked at Danya, teeth bared.

Danya was equally as furious, for personal reasons that he refused to share with her at the moment, given his unbridled disgust for her and her mistreatment against Shinji Ikari, who reminded him of a certain someone he loved even unto death. He too, barred his teeth.

"Do you have the slightest idea of the enormity of the consequences of your actions? Have you any idea what it's like to be Shinji? If you did, you wouldn't have acted like an arrogant, narcissistic, derogatory hypocrite! If I ever see you interact with Shinji, I will personally hunt you down to the ends of the earth!" He threatened before he kicked aside the toolbox and grabbed his belongings in a duffel bag from the car. He was going to try and look for a place to say by himself. Just before he did though, he said the exact same words Asuka did to Shinji one night.

"You make me want to puke…"

She listened in violence. So he did that because of Shinji- she HATED him. With every single cell- every fiber in her body. Quickly grabbing him by the collar of his shirt - or whatever garment he was wearing as one, she sneered. Her face showed disgust- like she'd seen something so repulsive that it nearly made her puke.

"So you're telling you're defending that bastard?! You don't even KNOW me or Shinji! You don't know what the hell he did to me!"

She said- anger dripping from her voice. She knew that she'd mistreated Shinji, but in her mind, what that fucking devil did to her was FAR, FAR worse than anything she could ever do to him. She hated that he was so much like her. She drops Danya, just staring him down silently.

Indeed, Danya did this because of Shinji. He also knew what he did to her as well. Considering everything that he had been through, it was no surprise to Danya that he ended up doing what he did, but he had a feeling that Asuka's hatred for him blinded her to see everything that he was forced to undergo. It was unjustified, but understandable nonetheless.

"Of course I'm defending him. I saw what he went through, and I'd willingly give my life for him. And if you don't like it you can kiss my ass goodbye." He said to her.

The irony was that in Danya's mind, what Asuka did to Shinji was worse, as it accumulated to what he had become. In a manner of speaking, his own hatred for Asuka blinded him to notice everything she was forced to undergo. He never saw what she went through during his instrumentation phase, because his own trauma clouded his clarity.

Danya mumbled something under his breath in his language as he walked off.

—

EVANGELION: WESTSIDE STORY

Episode 1:

"Where the Streets Have No Name"

—

The Next Day - 7:42 PM, a random ramen shop.

It was later in the day now, and the girl was simply eating some garlic ramen- no meat, just broth and noodles. She was reminiscing on what had happened all throughout the Third Impact, bringing her hand up to her own face and feeling the mark on her face. It was beginning to bruise now, and even lightly running her hand across it stung like a thousand bees- stupid fucking Russian douchebag... she'd show him once she ever saw him. Asuka groaned before continuing to eat her ramen.

In a way, Danya reminded her of herself- well, her old self. Who knows how many slaps she had delivered in her time as an Evangelion pilot. And not to mention the venom dripping from his voice- it reminded her of how she used to be, before all... this happened. She eventually finishes her ramen, placing her fork down and leaning back before spotting something- or someone.

In a funny way, Asuka's old self reminded Danya of his current self. His disgust for Asuka's belligerent nature fueled his own vengeful desires. Nevertheless, he had to remind himself of the promise he made to his brother. To not make other people suffer for his own personal hatred.

He was getting hungry. All the ramen stores were closed due to shortage of staff. The only one that was open was the one Asuka was at. He was hesitant at first, but his curiosity got the better of him, and he sat down a couple feet away from her.

The girl was simply sitting down, before turning her head and spotting Danya. Her pupils dilated before she quickly flipped the hood of her jacket up, and continued to eat her food. Though, some of Asuka's bright orange hair was visible - a slight clue that whoever was sitting just feet away from Danya wasn't just some random survivor of the Third Impact.

She occasionally looked back to see if he'd left yet- making it quick to make sure he didn't see her. She wasn't scared- she just didn't want to think about him. She didn't even want to give the fucker a chance. The bastard was defending Shinji- and from what she knew, Danya knew what horrors he committed to her.

He was defending Shinji, because after everything he had been through, it was no surprise what he did to Asuka. A boy that the world abandoned was desperate for affection by whatever means he could, even that which he did.

The way Danya saw it, Asuka was blaming Shinji too harshly. The only horror he committed her to was within the confines of the hospital room.

"What I want to know is why you acted like a nevynosimaya suka to everyone." He said to the hooded Asuka.

Of course she got recognized. She scowls- she didn't want to deal with him. To have to remember every agonizing moment of what happened to her... it made her sick. And anyways, why would he know? For all she knew, he was just gonna use it as an excuse to tear into her more.

"...Why should I tell you? You're just gonna use it as an excuse to tell me off again because you can't get over your crush on Shinji."

She remarked- voice laced with venom. She felt bad for being rude to Shinji, yeah, but he deserved it! He was all bite and no bark, and she could never forgive him for what he'd done. She clenched her fist, standing up.

"Why should I even tell you?"

Danya would know because at one point in time, he was just like Shinji. Not to mention he heavily resembled someone in his life he swore to protect. Now that he thought about it, Asuka too reminded him of someone he swore to protect, and failed. Seeing her like this, is this why he hated Asuka?

"Do you truly know what it's like to be Shinji?"

Even still, Danya couldn't help but feel disgusted upon seeing her. He couldn't help but blame Asuka for pushing Shinji to the breaking point. From his point of view, if Asuka had not been a bully to him, the Third Impact would never have occurred. He knew there were other factors at play, but his vengeance was focused on Asuka.

"..."

The real reason she hated Shinji so much - the reason she was such an intolerable person, especially to him, was because of the fact that she saw herself in Shinji. Her struggles, their touch starvation- Shinji was going through nearly the same things as she was. He was essentially the only one even communicating with her. Rei and Misato were dead, Hikari was nowhere to be seen, and even Shinji had run off… she needed to tell someone. She felt as if she'd been bottling things up for so long… and so, she spoke up.

"... sort of."

She leans over a bit, looking away.

In a manner of speaking. Danya too saw himself within Shinji.

"You're not the only one." He said as he sipped from his ramen bowl. He barely had any Japanese food. He wished he made it in time to warn them. The taste brought a sense of failure to his tongue.

Asuka remained pretty silent, finishing off her food. Way back then, she hated herself, and, well, since Shinji was so similar to her, she projected her self-hatred onto him. She looks over to Danya, her gaze slightly blank- though, there was a bit of regret behind her eyes.

She stops tapping her fingers, just looking around the restaurant. She could feel a pit in her stomach grow a bit...

Danya knew not to make others suffer for his own problems, but in all honesty, it was way harder than it sounded, especially since he never had any parental figures since he was young.

"If it's not too much to ask…what did he do to you?" He questioned.

Asuka grimaced, looking down at the table. Seeing that motherfucker just- ugh. She felt disgusting... She looked down, azure eyes occasionally looking at him. Looking away, she was slightly teary eyed- though, she didn't want Danya to see that... for some reason, she felt compelled to tell him- probably because she hadn't talked to anybody about what had happened during the Third Impact, since everybody she knew was nowhere to be seen. Not even looking at him, she began to speak. She didn't know whether to be furious or miserable about the situation.

"That idiot, he…"

She hesitated.

"When I was… comatose, he decided to jerk off over me."

Her body quivered a bit. Her voice wasn't stern and assertive, like it usually was- it was passive now. Like she was some scared kid who'd gotten lost somewhere. Memories of what he did filled her mind. Asuka clutches her head a bit. She felt a mix of negative emotions. Trauma, fear, absolute spite towards Shinji.

Danya suddenly paused upon hearing that, and nearly choked on his ramen. It took him a number of moments to process what she had just said. He sighed, as if he had obtained a slight understanding of why Asuka hated him all the more, and to be honest, he couldn't blame her. Even then…

"After seeing everything he went through, I'm not surprised." He said.

In his eyes, Danya understood why he'd do that, especially after being forced to kill his only true friend who turned out to be a gaslighter. Just when you think you hit rock bottom, there's always a deeper point. It was one big psychological domino effect, which all accumulated to him losing his mind and accidentally causing the Third Impact. He could never blame him for that. He could never blame him for anything.

Of course he wasn't. Of course. Danya was Shinji's number one baloney pony rider, after all… She hated feeling so disgusting. Like she was worthless and just a tool to be used by Shinji. Her eyes are basically nailed to the table below, her breathing a bit instead. Of course, she partially blamed herself, but what Shinji did was unforgivable in her eyes, even with his unstable mental condition at the time.

She taps her fingers on the table. Thinking about all this was like reopening wounds- and the fact that Danya didn't even seem angry at Shinji was like dousing them in salt. She curls up her fists a bit, taking a deep breath.

In that moment in the hospital scene, she practically was a tool, as Shinji had virtually exhausted every single other method of trying to gain affection. In the eyes of Danya, what Shinji did was forgivable. But when Asuka rejected Shinji while he was begging for someone; anyone not to abandon him, just moments before the Third Impact, in his eyes, he saw that as unforgivable, as it could've very well have been the final attempt to prevent Shinji from snapping. He couldn't tell if what he saw was a real time event, or a part of Shinji's consciousness. The skepticism of the nature of that event was partially what kept Danya from hurting Asuka further on their first encounter.

"What happened to you?"

"... What do you mean?"

She asked. The reason why she didn't give Shinji a chance was because he was going to use her. She was going to be nothing more than a puppet to him- something to just release his anguish on. She looked around bleakly, her eyes softening. Just remembering exhausted her, but talking about it? She hated it. It was absolutely miserable, having to remember every horrible, vivid memory of the Third Impact.

She felt slight remorse for being such a prick to Shinji, but it was evenly balanced with her hatred for the boy because of what he did to her. She felt... conflicted on what to do. She continued tapping her fingers on the counter, face still scrunched up.

It was understandable, feeling like a doll to exert yourself unto. Asuka had a hatred for dolls, given her past. He also couldn't blame Shinji for being at the end of his rope. He was so desperate for affection he was willing to do anything to prevent himself from losing his mind. If Asuka didn't want to be used…Danya couldn't help but fixate himself on the possibility that the scenario could've ended up differently, and prevented the whole thing. That was his problem; his fixation with trying to mend what has come to pass. What really frustrated him was not that Asuka didn't give Shinji a chance, but because she wasn't willing to show any empathy.

Humans are complex creatures, but they also tend to make things more complicated than they actually needed to be. It's inconceivable, how everything that could go wrong, had gone wrong, in one of the worst ways possible.

"It was only a moment…but during instrumentality I could've sworn I saw a woman…in a noose…"

She continued tapping, just... thinking about everything. Until, she heard Danya say that he saw... a woman in a noose. Her mother, probably. Asuka looks at Danya, eyes filled with sorrow- her face a sorrowful frown. She hated being so vulnerable, even after everything.

Hunching over the table, she tried not to cry. She hated thinking of what happened to her mother. It sickened her... how she slowly spiraled until reaching her breaking point- even attempting to get her to join her in her suicide. She hated remembering it– it was like she constantly had to, and not to mention her second death against the MPEs. She begins speaking, voice laced with all sorts of emotion.

"That was…"

She trailed off for a bit.

"my mom."

Danya could tell that he had touched upon a topic that struck a nerve so deep it caused her to show herself in a new stature; one of vulnerability rather than pride.

The answer she said had hit him like a freight train. Never in a million years would he have thought that. It started to make sense to him. She was a complete wreck, but at the same time did a very good job at hiding it, which all things considered was not a good thing.

He sat closer and placed his hand on her shoulder as a gesture of comfort. He didn't know what to say. He too lost both his parents to the riots of Moscow. The only difference was the only loved one he saw taking their own life, was his own little brother; Nikolai.

Asuka appreciated the gesture, though it didn't help too much... remembering these memories hurt, but slowly, she began to wade the pain away. She couldn't change the past. The best she could do was lament upon it. She frowned, before managing to bring herself together. She sits up, throwing the disposable bowl and chopsticks away by just tossing them into the trash.

She gave Danya an uneasy glance- she couldn't tell whether to trust him. On one hand, he was one of the few people who'd shown a shred of care for her, but on the other hand- she hated Shinji, and, well, him defending the bitch made it hard for her to really be too chummy with him.

"Maybe we're not so different." He mumbled, loud enough for her to hear it. After he finished eating his bowl of ramen and tossed it aside, he stood up and adjusted his jacket.

"If you're still looking, I have a place where you can stay. It's big enough." He said to her.

"...Maybe."

She said, slightly loudly. Her face was still pretty grim... she disliked feeling this way, but at this point, she'd have to if she wanted to progress any further. She looked to Danya as he said that he had a place to stay... an appealing offer considering the fact that her apartment had been mangled during the Third Impact- raided by Japanese defense forces right before Eva-02 was detected under the lake.

"...Sure."

She said, walking outside. She gazed at the split head of Lilith. Was that... Rei? She pondered... she hoped not. The thing had the exact same facial structure she did... Asuka's face scrunches up before she looks back to Danya.

Danya grabbed his bag and walked out as he gazed at the other half of the Lillith, it's lone eye peering to them from over the horizon to the south. The thing still brought him shivers. They walked from the Ramen bar to Danya's place.

All the while, they passed by many places where people of all sorts were picking up the pieces of where the Third Impact had left them. Some of the stores had been ransacked while others had been left abandoned. It was surreal, how everything happened.

Eventually, they reached a destination where they were near a baseball field. Next to it was a yellow bus tucked away within a hillside, which Danya had taken the time to turn it into a makeshift home. It wasn't much. Just two separate beds on a floor with a bunsen burner, some canned food and a collection of belongings. But it was a shelter nonetheless.

Asuka walked in, sighing and sitting down on an old chair- barely managing to hold her weight. She looks out past the hills, still being able to make out Lilith's eye. It felt like it was staring. Judging her for what she did from afar... Asuka grimaced, before turning around in her seat and looking around. The place was pretty small and disheveled, but it was liveable. At least it was bigger than most apartments in Japan…

Near the side of Danya's makeshift bed, he had a small collection of cassette tapes and a cassette player, just like Shinji. He also had himself a couple of belongings such as a rosary, a cigar box with trinkets and photographs, and a peculiar book, a Bible.

He sat up from his position as he picked up from his book, which was in Russian, and read from it. His faith, albeit fractured, was one of the only things that kept his sanity in check, and from losing his hope in the world. Though his faith in fellow man had withered almost entirely. As of now, Asuka was the only one he trusted. After all, who could he trust after everything he had fought for was sabotaged from the beginning? He mumbled a prayer to himself.

Asuka slightly tuned out Danya's reading - all she could really focus on was Lilith, looming in the distance. That couldn't be Rei, could it? She hoped not... she'd never forgive herself if she realized that she was partially leading to the death of Rei. She brought a hand up to the window of the bus, caressing it lightly as she continued staring down the behemoth that was split in half, mumbling something under her breath.

"...I'm sorry."

She mumbled. It wouldn't fix anything. She wanted to apologize. To Rei, to everybody she'd been such an ass to in the last year. Though, now... she didn't know if she'd ever get that chance. Asuka's posture was slightly hunched, her face showing uneasiness.

Danya turned to look at Asuka who was peering out the window of the bus to the head of the behemoth that lay upon the horizon. He could tell that something about its ominous glare struck a nerve with Asuka in such a manner that it virtually pulverized her. He couldn't help but sigh. Perhaps he was wrong about her. Maybe she really has changed. But now…now what?

He got up and decided to duct tape a cloth over the windows which had the Behemoth Rei staring into them, to break Asuka out of her trance. "Dinner?" He asked. It was a long walk from the ramen bar to the Bus.

Asuka suddenly breaks out of her trance by the cloth covering the window. Not caring to undo it, she sighs before turning to face Danya, giving him a solemn look before answering herself.

"...Sure. I'm gonna go outside for a second..."

She says, quickly grabbing a random coat lying around on the bus and sliding it off. Before Danya could even respond, Asuka was outside. She walks out, getting a good view of the behemoth. Her left arm- the bandaged one, and the lack of an eye under her eye patch on her right eye stung- a permanent reminder of what happened just a few weeks back.

She looked at Rei. She had to find a way to fix this... she couldn't live with herself if she didn't. The lack of closure was slowly eating away at her. If she stayed like this for long enough... she'd probably go insane. But how would she even manage that? Well... the short answer was that she couldn't. People could only return from Instrumentality if they visualized themselves, and for most people she knew... they probably wouldn't, considering that Instrumentality was basically a perfect world.

She'd say sorry- but at this point, it wouldn't have any effects. No amount of repent could fix the damage done... Asuka sighs, and sits down on the metal steps leading up to the bus... she sometimes regrets leaving Instrumentality.

At this point, there was no doubt about it. Danya knew there and then that there was more to Asuka than meets the eye. What he saw in instrumentality was but a fraction of the bigger picture. He wondered, if he could get Asuka to talk, maybe she would open up to him. But…after everything that's happened, it would be a massive undertaking given their fate.

In the brief moments he saw their memories in Instrumentality, he knew who the villain was; Gendo. That heartless bastard. A man who sacrificed the world and his own begotten son to achieve a delusion in the form of so-called "forced evolution" which if anything sounded like a complete misnomer given the state of Instrumentality.

To some, Instrumentality was a perfect world. But to others, such as Shinji and Danya, it wasn't. In their case, there was nothing but an empty sea. What was there to be found in nothing? But the most hurtful…the most insulting…part of Instrumentality…was Adeline…she never came back, no matter how hard Danya wished she would…

He cooked some canned potato soup on the bunsen burner and served it. "Dinner's ready." He said to her, just as he would to Nikolai.

Though, maybe there was a chance of Rei being here... right before her 'reconciliation' with Shinji, she'd seen a figure standing on the water- LCL? She didn't know nor did she care to find out. All she knew is that she was Rei... maybe she was here somewhere. Or, maybe, her mind was playing tricks on her. At this point, she couldn't really tell anymore.

Right as her mind begins to dwell on what could've been- that perfect reality she saw during Instrumentality- her mind's immediately ripped out of it by Danya calling out to her. Dinner's ready. Right. Quickly walking back in, she gave one last look to the remains of Lilith. The Sun wasn't peering over the horizon now, only some light left. She walks in, grabs the food and looks at it. She devours it pretty quickly, then cleans whatever silverware/bowls she used to eat the soup.

"...Thanks, Danya."

She said, pretty emptily before sitting down and looking at her bandages. It was probably time to take them off... She slowly unravels the bandages, revealing that her wound had pretty much healed by now. A massive, unkept scar runs down the middle of her hand and up to her elbow. It's dark, too... her arm still felt weak. Slowly, she began taking the bandages off on her head. Scars lined it, obviously. Before she took off the bandaging that included the bandage, she looked to Danya for a split second. She takes off the bandages, revealing what was probably a pretty weird sight for Danya. Her right eye had no iris- no pupil. Just white... She looked at Danya, slowly getting up. Her face looked.. partially relieved that she wasn't going to die from her injuries, or scabbing, or anything like that.

"...Do you have anything to change into?"

She was still in her Plugsuit. Luckily, it did have a feature where it could remain completely sterile for months even with contact using... some weird NERV tech.

As far as Danya could tell, he might've well been imagining things as well as he saw a figure standing on the red ocean as soon as he resurfaced weeks ago. There, on the beach of Anchorage, he waited for Adeline, Captain Tyler, Lucas, anyone to return. But none of them did.

Unlike Asuka, Danya liked to take his time when eating. In doing so, it was a reminder that whatever happened, he was still alive and breathing. It was easy to forget how commodities become a blessing in such a catastrophe.

"Unfortunately I don't have any clothes. But there's a second-hand store down the hill a few blocks North of here. And there's also a shower and toilet in the locker rooms near the baseball field." He said to her.

"Alright. I'll just wear my plugsuit for a while, then... it sterilizes itself."

She says, slowly getting up, stretching, and walking over to where the showers were. Quickly walking to the girls' shower room, she barricaded the door by pushing a locker in front of it in case someone tried to come in. She takes off her Plugsuit, turning on the shower. Feeling the ice cold water hit her skin was refreshing. A reminder that she was actually here, and a small amount of relief from the humidity out.

She quickly washes herself up, drying off before sliding back in the Plugsuit, and pressing a button on her wrist and causing it to become skin-tight around her body (except for her left arm because there wasn't any Plugsuit there). She walks up to the locker, moving it away from the door and walking out, feeling... refreshed, slightly.

Danya takes his turn and walks to the lockers down the hill near the baseball field and soaks himself. For a while he sat on the concrete floor, lost in his own thoughts. He loved being in a shower, as the noises from the water would help him drown out the bad thoughts that came running back to him. For a moment he had peace. All the while he also prayed.

After he came out of the shower in a change of clothes, he walked back to the bus and sat upon a chair. The sun had begun to set across the water, giving it a unique color. "Asuka, I probably haven't told you my name. But it's Danya. Danya Aloyoshenka." He replied.

"There's something I must know. But you don't have to answer." He said. "All things considered, could the Third Impact have been prevented? Or was it inevitable?"

Asuka looks at Danya as he says his name, nodding to confirm that she heard his name. As he begins to ask if the Third Impact could've been prevented, she looks to the side... remembering it all stung deep, but she wanted to at least give him a slight answer.

Before she speaks, she remembers the fight with the MP Evangelions... the Beginning of the End, so to speak. She could remember herself screaming from anger and determination at those bastards- the screeching of metal as she dismantled them all... temporarily. She looks away from Danya as she answers, an uneasy look on her face as she spoke.

"... I don't know. Maybe if I'd been less of an ass to Shinji, we could've stopped it."

To hear Asuka admit the fault within her actions brought a sense of closure for Danya. He paused for a minute to reflect on what she said. Now that he thought about it, he didn't hate her for who she was, but because of what she did. It was an old saying that stuck with him, 'Love the sinner, hate the sin'. But in the case of the Third Impact, it was hard to forgive those who conspired against them all, including SEELE.

It wasn't necessarily Asuka's fault that he hated her, but it was because of a number of other reasons that were personal to him, that he had yet to reveal. Adeline. It was her. Ever since the moment she died in his arms, Asuka had been like a doppelgänger.

"Is Shinji going to be alright?" He asked her.

She began wondering - why did Danya defend Shinji so much? She and Shinji had never seen Danya once, and Asuka only figured out about him through one of Misato's drunken rants where she was yelling about how NERV-U (Nerv USA) were going to fuck it all up. Quickie deciding to ask, she looked at Danya with a slightly puzzled expression on her face.

"...I think so. But, I want to know something, Danya... why do you defend Shinji so much? I don't think he's even heard of you before."

Now that was the real question wasn't it? Because after all, Danya had seen but a brief moment of him, where Shinji's insanity reached its breaking point. He witnessed his memories faintly, but it was enough to give him an idea of how dysfunctional his life turned out to be.

Danya slowly slumped over, hesitant to answer, as he was afraid that Asuka would berate him for showing weakness just as he was bullied relentlessly for his own.

"Because I made the same promise to my little brother before he killed himself…" He revealed.

It made him shudder and heart tensed up inside him. Though time had passed, the memory was still burned into his mind. Why did those good for nothing bullies have to drive him over the edge?

She bit her tongue as he spoke... similarity. The same reason she hated Shinji (because he was similar to herself) was the same reason Danya defended him with his life (because he had a similar promise to his little brother). Asuka gives a glance to Danya... her face showed slight care for him.

And there were more similarities. They both had family members who'd committed suicide. She looks at him... it's almost like he was an alternate version of herself. If she'd taken the opposite path, it seems... she didn't know how to react, so she stayed silent, trying to formulate a response... she eventually speaks up.

"...I guess... we're not so different."

Upon hearing that, it made Danya smile a bit. He could relate to Asuka, even though he disagreed with her coping methods. The main difference was how she possessed an inferiority complex, while Danya possessed a savior complex. To think that two people with different similar personalities could end up gaining differently complexes stemming from the same trauma…it befuddled him.

He yawned as the sun went down over the horizon. He crawled under the covers of his bed which lay on one side of the bus while Asuka's bed lay on the other. "Goodnight Asuka." He said to her as he listened to his walkman. "Sleep well."

Seeing Danya smile made her smile, too. It was a bit more subtle than Danya's though... she was also surprised how the two had experienced at least slightly the same trauma yet ended up being nothing alike. Though, his trauma was probably different in a few ways than hers. Thinking about it stung, but she was slowly managing to cope with it without burying it deep within... for once. She looks at Danya after he tells her goodnight.

"G'night, Danya."

She flashes him one more smile, this time, it was pretty easy to see. Notably, it was... different. It wasn't a cocky or smug smirk- it wasn't forced- it was genuine. She seemed at least slightly genuinely happy. She slowly lies down on her back, pulling her blanket up to her mid-chest. She takes her hair clips out, placing them on the counter next to her before slowly falling asleep.

Perhaps the reasons they ended up so unalike was rooted deeper within their upbringing, before their lives took a turn for the worst, especially when they both lost their parents. Each of them were forced to fend for themselves, but unlike Asuka, Danya had his little brother, Nikolai to look after, which gave him a sense of responsibility, which ultimately turned into a savior complex. Now that he thought about it, if things turned out differently for him, he could've ended up just like Asuka. Ironic.