Evangelion and their characters are owned by GAINAX yah di yah di yah... etc, etc...

Anyone else is mine (Duh!)

Warning: Strong language, violence, etc (pretty much typical of my stuff)

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CHAPTER 2: THESE SIGHTLESS EYES

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78 A.R

New Eden… a town inhabited by close to two hundred souls. Built on the very battleground of the war against the heavens and the epicentre of the world-ending calamity known as 3rd Impact.

The current home of two individuals at the very centre of the event as it occurred.

"Shinji you piece of scum-sucking perverted wimp!!!!!"

Also the site of numerous ass-kickings, readily dispensed by one feisty redhead.

"Come back here and take it like a man!!!"

BLAM!

Of course, this only became a regular occurrence since the aforementioned redhead and a young boy name Shinji started staying with the Elders Hikari and Touji Suzuhara.

"Oh stop whimpering like a little girl! I only shot you in the foot by mistake!!!"

Also, it had recently become considerably louder than usual around there, much to the displeasure of some of the local inhabitants.

Shinji glared angrily at Asuka as he lay back on the bed as Hikari bandaged his foot.

"You didn't have to shoot me in the first place!"

Asuka stood nearby, arms crossed and looked down at Shinji with a displeased look on her face. Touji and Kazuaki also stood in the room, both of them looking down pathetically at the two ex-Evangelion pilots. The two older men looked fairly similar standing next to each other, but this wasn't surprising since one was the grandfather, whilst the other was the grandson.

"Look! Just be glad I didn't hit you in a vital spot ok?!"

Touji, having aged quite significantly in the same why Hikari had. Wore the face of a man who had seen much in his life. As well as having whitening hair, Touji seemed to have developed a bit of a gut in his elderly days, though he was still in decent shape. He was also marginally bigger, in terms of bulk, than Shinji remembered him, though still smaller than Kazuaki.

"Who's smart idea was it to give Asuka a gun in the first place?" asked Kazuaki, who despite confirmation by both his grandparents, still found it hard to believe that these… brats… before him were the famous 2nd and 3rd children.

Sighing, Hikari confessed, "Sorry… I thought it would be good to give them both something to which to protect themselves with…"

"Hey!" shouted Asuka, "Don't talk of me like I'm some freaking threat to society!"

Touji almost growled "Dammit Asuka! Hikari only gave you that gun because she was worried about your safety… that's the way things are nowadays… but she didn't expect you to go and shoot Shinji!"

As quickly as her anger had flared, Touji's words were enough to strike something in Asuka. She looked down guilty, knowing that they were right, she was a fool… she had again allowed her instincts to control her… and because of that… she had hurt Shinji… whether intentional or not… In fact, she could have killed him.

"I… I'm… sorry…"

At this point everyone one in the room remained silent. If this had been back in the old days, they would have been probably all stunned by her admission, or Touji might have made a smart-ass comment which would have got him into trouble with both Asuka and Hikari. Thankfully however, white hair was not the only thing that marked Touji as an Elder. For experience throughout the years had taught him valuable lessons of life… giving him an insight on the nature of people.

"Asuka" calmly spoke Touji, "You have to understand… both me and Hikari have seen enough people we care about die in this wasteland… we don't need someone to get shot by some stupid irresponsible mistake…"

"Yes…" she replied, "I… understand…"

"Don't worry Asuka… Shinji will be alright… luckily the bullet didn't strike any bones… he'll be back on his feet in no time…" said Hikari.

Asuka attempted to smile, but it came out a little meek.

"I'm alright Asuka… and I'm sorry about walking in on you when you were changing…" Shinji too offered a weak smile.

"Ah… no wonder she shot you, I'm surprise she didn't…" Touji to say managed before a flying wooden bowl, thrown with practised skill by one Hikari Suzuhara, struck him on the forehead. Hey, just because he was wiser doesn't mean he wasn't still Touji.

This quickly brought smile back to Asuka's face "Some things… never change…"

79 A.R
The region once known as Germany

Screams of terror reverberated across the valley as the first of the mechaniod walkers and heavily armoured troops descended from the mountain slops. The air was filled with the cries from the engines of the Assault VTOLs, the first flying craft that many had ever seen. Explosions rocked the ground as rocket and missiles showered the once-peaceful sizeable town of Petra. The local inhabitants faced a hopeless battle, but a handful of brave souls counter-attacked with small-arms and molotovs. Yet, being out-gunned, out-numbered, out-manoeuvred, they were quickly annihilated.

Greg Roland clutched his daughter in firmly in his arms as he ran through the streets alongside with his wife. Bullet's tore into the flanks of the large abandon buildings, some of them catching a few unfortunate locals who were also attempting to flee from what was clearly a massacre.

He cursed the world in general for having again to flee for his life. Away from people who would harm him. But this time, his wife and child were too at stake.

Valerie was crying as they run from street to street, in an effort to escape their pursuers. Valerie, his daughter… only twelve and already had to see her best friends cut down by automatic gunfire.

'Who were these bastards?!' Greg thought angrily, 'Remnants of the governments!?' He had already ruled out raiders, for they were too well armed, too efficient, and had access to technology long lost.

As he ran along, Greg came up to a corner, but abruptly stopped in his tracks, just before one of soldiers came around the corner. The man gasped in surprise as Greg, with unerring accuracy, smashed a hunting knife right above his neck, one of the few areas not covered by heavy armour. The man gurgled futilely, not understand how Greg knew he was coming around the corner, especially since he saw Greg's eyes were milky white, without an iris… quite rightly suggesting that Greg was in fact blind.

Greg wasted no time with picking up the dead man's assault rifle with a free hand and gestured his wife to follow. He knew exactly where he wanted to go. He was one of those few who carried important knowledge from the pre-3rd Impact days. For Greg Roland… currently in his seventies, was the last survivor of what was once the German NERV branch.

Greg wasn't even born Greg Roland, nor was he born blind. As with many of the more elderly survivors, he had no real clue of his past, his memory highly fragmented, with the exception of his general knowledge. His so-called-blindness too, was a direct result of 3rd Impact. He had picked his new name at random, from a list of people he'd found. Yet, no matter what his past was, he had a new life now.

'There!' he recognised several landmarks and buildings, despite their poor conditions.

Upon closer inspection however, Greg was horrified to find the entrance to the sewer blocked by several tonnes of rubble. There was however a small opening through which a small person could crawl through.

"Greg?" his wife looked up at him questioningly.

Greg turned to face his wife and then back at the hole. Suddenly, he dropped Valerie on her feet and held her shoulders firmly with his hands.

"Val… listen to me… I want you to crawl through this hole here and find a side corridor on your left… follow it and you will find a dead end. However, look for a brick that sticks out a little and try to remove it… underneath that you will find a code panel. Are you following me so far?"

Valerie wiped her tears off with her forearm, and looked up. As with her father, her eyes were milky white and iris-less. Yet, she seemed to gaze up and him and nodded.

"Good… enter the code 'Sanctuary' and a door will open… It's an old… shelter… I want you to get inside and close the door and stay there until we join you ok?"

Valerie seemed to hesitate, but knew better than to argue with her father. Her mother gave her an encouraging smile and helped clear some of the sharper-looking rocks out of the way. Looking straight at her father and then towards her mother, Valerie had no choice but do what she was told, she crawled into the hole and shuffled along the sewer trying to find the side corridor.

Greg sat down on the ground where he was standing and was promptly joined by his wife. He truly had only one major regret in his life, a knowledge so ingrained into him that he could not forget. Sometime in his past, he had failed someone, someone who was once very important to him. But there was nothing he could do about that anymore…

"We're not going to make it are we?" she asked sombrely. Greg shook his head as he hugged her, "No… they're coming around the corner as we speak… thermal sensors I'd imagine… but Val' be fine… they can't reach her in there…"

"Hmmm…" a tear slid down her cheeks, not bother to ask what that meant. For like many of those living in this era, she knew nothing of the arcane technology of the old world.

Valerie crept further into the tunnels, but despite the darkness she wasn't having any problems with sight. Eventually she found the side corridor her father had talked and was about to follow it when she heard the rapid crackling of Assault Rifles.

"Father…!? Mother!!!?" she exclaimed.

Then she understood.

"Fa…ther…"

85 A.R.
Region once known as Japan
Two kilometres west of New Eden

"Father!!!!" Valerie snapped awake from her dream covered in sweat.

The young woman clutched her face and clawed at her hair. She was exhaling rapidly, with heavy breaths and continued to sob softly in the darkness of the night.

Slowly, but surely, she begun to calm down, realising that it had been a nightmare. A dream of events that took place many years before, but ones which she could never forget.

Valerie's hand instinctively reached out for her rifle. Her fingers touching the cool composite casing which covered the oversized weapon. Bringing the weapon into her arms, she embraced the gun, in a tender nostalgic sort of way. To others, this may have seemed rather strange, or downright freaky. But for the young woman, who's final link to her past lay in this 'object'. The act was a way of reaffirming her promise to herself and her parents.

Finally, after a few minutes, she raised her head. Noting that the sun was raising, slowly illuminating the town in the valley from her camp.

She could already 'see' the various inhabitants as they awoke themselves to the beginning of a new day.

Quickly packing up her few possessions, Valerie started her way down the mountainside.

Finally, after years of travel and wondering… she would have her answers.

Several kilometres away, a large figure strode across the landscape, searching… tracking… hunting… It was relentless, it was emotionless, and it would not stop until it had accomplished its objectives.

Seven mechanical eyes blinked sequentially as the large figure rammed through a ruined wall without breaking a step.

From a distance, a smaller yet still relatively large cloaked figure glazed at the trail of devastation left behind by the unholy metal Daemon. It watched as a cloud of dust was thrown into the air as the Daemon crashed through another building, demolishing the structure with ease.

The metal creature was looking for something, that much the figure could tell… but what?

Asuka yawned audibly as she stepped out of the armaments building that had been her home for almost eight years. Much has changed since she first arrived. New Eden had grown into a considerably large community, with at almost a thousand inhabitants. Though it's borders grew, as it's largest and strongest structure, the armaments building was still at the core of the 'city'.

Both her body and mind had been subject to many changes during the last few years. She had grown into a tall stunning woman. At the biological age of between twenty and twenty-one, Asuka was now one of the smartest and skilled fighters of their community. Many regarded her with awe for she possessed much of the lost knowledge, whilst others simply feared her.

Even Kazuaki, who had recently assumed the role of New Eden's 'Lawkeeper', thought twice than to challenge her in direct hand-to-hand combat.

On the mental side, Asuka had matured much throughout the years, though her spirit never dampened, not even one bit. She did however realise after a while, that certain memories were missing from her mind, she found herself unable to remember certain time periods in her life. It was by no means unusual, but it frustrated her to ends. When asked, Shinji reminded her that he was never told of her past, so he was unable to help her in that area.

Feeling frustrated, but knowing better than to continue pestering her friends. Asuka eventually became more and more obsessed with her missing past, and diverted her time in becoming what she self-titled an Archaeo-Technologist. A hunter of relics, lost technology and knowledge. Her ultimate goal, obviously, was to find records of her childhood.

Always the pessimist, Shinji pointed out that even if she did find some sort of record, it would be in form of an electronic database that would no-doubt be classified and gated by encryption or security barriers.

Not having anything particularly better to do, Shinji often joined her in such 'expeditions', the two spending days out of contact with anyone else. They were rewarded with the discovery of several small gun caches, which was always useful for the town.

But it was not what Asuka was looking for. Eventually, they came upon more valuable relics, such as a working datapad, one of the latest models to be developed back in 2015 A.D. The kind Asuka knew Section 2 agents used to carry around. The device allowed them to survey surrounding areas and record the Post-3rd Impact landscape. The datapad also allowed Asuka to download or access data from computers or terminals, which were otherwise too damaged. Occasionally, even hack their way in with the help of the ICE-breaker conveniently provided with the datapad.

Replacement parts for old machinery were always on demand, which meant that more than often Asuka and Shinji would be paid quite a sum by towns folks or trading caravans for some of the items they recovered. 'Payment' normally consisted of various goods, and metal pull rings, which were currently, the most common currency being used throughout the land.

"Shinji!" the redhead called.

"What is it?" said Shinji as he stepped out of the building Shinji on the other hand, had grown into a hard-looking man, perhaps not as rough as his father, but still without the same innocent and almost feminine-look from his childhood. Not only did he hold the highest record for confirmed 'Defuncts' in the latest raider attacks, but his name was also spreading around about his near-zealousness at protecting New Eden. Not that this was something Shinji was proud off… "Idiot! You've forgotten haven't you?" It was obvious to Asuka that Shinji wasn't particularly skilled or the type that enjoyed fighting, but he could be more dangerous than she could ever be if placed in certain situations. There was that time when a group of Raiders managed to break through the defensive cordon, having previously launched a feint attack on the other side of town. It was Shinji who rallied the defenders and led the following hunt with cold efficiency. Not one of attackers made it out of the town borders alive. "Forgotten what?" Ever since that incident, only the most suicidal of raiders had ever even considered attacking New Eden. Obviously this was one of the primary reasons why New Eden grew in considerable size as it did, attracting refugees from all around. People looking to settle somewhere they could be protected from the harshness of the wasteland. "Where we have to go today!" "Oh! Of course… right…"

Not long after, Shinji and Asuka found themselves standing before a grave marker on the outskirts of town.

A grave to the past.

It was not the same marker clumsily erected by Shinji all those years back, but a newer one, one sculpted by some of the finest artisans in New Eden.

Around it, were hundreds of other similar markers, ones placed by other 3rd Impact survivors to mourn the loss of their loved ones. Yet this central marker was the largest and most predominant, for it paid respects to all whom Shinji and Asuka knew.

Surely, the two had lost no more than other survivors had. Yet as Touji and Hikari have pointed out, other survivors were not famous Evangelion pilots who fought for the survival of humanity.

Misato's Cross, was affixed at the centre of the monument. Held tightly into place by metal clamps to deter grave robbers.

Personally, Shinji thought that this was a bit much, that a simple marker such as the one he had once built would have done. But people needed a symbol, something that would withstand the tests of time and made sure that future generations would remember.

Every year, on the same day, they would come here and pay their respects. Running their fingers over the names of those they had known.

Contrary to Asuka's wishes, Shinji had demanded that his father's name be place on the marker too. It was one of a few things, which he was entirely intractable about and wouldn't settle for a 'No'. Asuka eventually conceded, but she herself would never pay respects for the man, whom she had only known as the heartless bastards that everyone saw him as. Shinji however, despite everything, could not hate his father. In fact, he'd forgiven him along time ago, or so he claimed.

Asuka wasn't quite sure she believed that fact that Shinji _could_ ever forgave his father, in her opinion he was only deluding himself. Though she couldn't be sure of it. After all, mankind had been merged into a single entity temporarily… so was it possible that they came to some sort of understanding? Maybe… but unlikely. Every 3rd Impact survivor she'd ever met had terribly fragmented memory of that fateful day and of their life before it. So it was impossible that Shinji would be the only one to remember things so clearly… wasn't it?

All of a sudden, both of them caught the sound of loose rocks rolling down a nearby hill. Simultaneously, they drew their pistols, ready to nail anyone stupid enough to ambush them.

"You can put those away…" came a voice from behind some shrubs. A blond woman with sunglasses and an overcoat, who seemed a few years younger than them stepped out into plain view with her arms raised, and with a small smile of her face. What stunned Shinji and Asuka however was the fact that she was carrying with her the largest rifle they had ever seen. Well… discounting Eva-scaled weaponry that is.

Seeing that neither the man or red-head would lower their weapons, the woman sighed and took of her shades. This time, neither could suppress a surprised gasp when they saw the woman's eyes.

"Yes, yes… I'm blind. Yes… I get that a lot. Look, if I'd wanted to kill you two, I could have done so kilometres away" she pointed out. "But…" mentioned Asuka, "You're blind." "So? Just because I'm blind it doesn't mean I can't see." "Well… actually… yes… it does…" The woman buried her face in the palm of her hands in frustration. It was the same wherever she went, always… they always made her prove it. "Listen, I haven't got time for this… Are you Shinji Ikari and Asuka Langley Sohryu?" By now Asuka had already detected a hint of German accent from the woman before her, and wondered exactly how far had she travelled to find them. "Maybe we are, maybe we're not." "Give it up, you're not a good liar… I am Valerie Roland, the last descendent of what you knew as the German NERV branch and I am here for some answers" she declared bluntly. "The German NERV branch?!" exclaimed Asuka, "What do you know of it?!" Valerie motioned towards their weapons and crossed her arms, suggesting that she would not say anymore until they withdrew their weapons. Hesitantly, both Asuka and Shinji returned their pistols in their holsters. The young blond woman nodded, and then replied "As I said, I am the last descendent… but I know very little of the old ones, save what information I managed to gather from old records." "What is it you want from us?" asked Shinji. "I need to know what is this…" she said, holding up a device not unlike an old palm pilot, yet it seemed to complex and sturdily built to be passed off as one.

Asuka carefully approached her, still quite weary of a girl who claims she is blind yet has so far demonstrated to that she was still quite capable of the act of 'seeing'. She took the device out of Valerie's hand and examined it. Having spent the last few years scavenging old tech had given her valuable insight, and combined with pre-Impact knowledge this made Asuka one of the few people still alive who could identify the purpose of the device.

After a few minutes of silence, Asuka looked up again. "It looks like a override port… an electronic key of sorts… for what I have no idea. It seems to be more than that though… a data matrix possibly. But the fuel cells it uses are totally burnt out, so we won't be able to find out what it contains until we either find new fuels cells of the same type, or rig a power source to it. I'd actually suggest the first option 'cause this thing looks more advance than anything I've dealt with, and I can't guarantee I won't fuck it up if I open it."

"I see…" Valerie looked downwards, seemingly a little disappointed.

"What else are you here for?" asked Asuka.

Valerie looked up, eyebrows raised.

"I don't…"

"Don't give that crap" Asuka interrupted, "You don't travel all the way from Germany to Japan without a damned good reason… Spit it out!"

Valerie stare a Asuka for a while, assessing whether or not she should trust her, but then she reached into her overcoat and brought out what seemed like a badge which had been ripped off some sort of uniform.

On it was a symbol, which neither of the ex-Eva pilots had ever expected to see again.

"Much of Europe was under their complete control when I left. No doubt they would have expanded by now. But after the initial blitz several years ago they have spent more time consolidating their gains than conquering new territory."

After they had met at the marker site, they decided that further discussion might follow through better with something fresh to drink and out of the scorching hot sun.

All along the way, Asuka had regarded Valerie with an awkward distrust. Not only because of the very nature of the younger woman, but there was something else too… something which she couldn't place her finger on.

"No one was able to stand in their way. Not against armoured troops carrying weapons more advance than anything anyone had ever seen. Even the Elders back there were surprised by their use of energy weapons. Yet what frightened people the most were the metal Daemons."

"Metal Daemons?" asked Asuka.

"That's what they're most commonly thought as… but the Elders and people like us who have experience with pre-impact tech know them better as combat mechanoids, robots, drones or as SEELE calls them; 'Pacification Bots'. Whatever you want to call it… it's still all the same in the end… nothing but a machine built for murder."

"Ok? Question… SEELE are the bastards behind the attack on NERV just before 3rd Impact, that much we knew from when we'd had our souls mashed together in a collective. None of us can remember much about them in detail I'll give you that," Asuka pointed out, "but we still know that they wanted the control 3rd Impact… not survive it."

"Yes, I were puzzled about that initially too. But my investigations revealed that not all of the higher-ranking SEELE members wanted the same thing. It was mainly the core group that planned to control instrumentality. Several internal factions however, didn't find forced evolution to their taste, so instead, they sought a means to not only survive 3rd Impact, but also reclaim the world after sterilisation. It's clear though that they planned in the eventuality of failure and in turn the presence of survivors. Which also explains their advance technology and well-equipped troops."

Asuka regarded her with suspicion, find things a little too convenient for her taste, "And how exactly did you find out all this? I'm pretty sure they don't give out manifestos stating their plans and origins."

Valerie seemed to be hesitant in answering her, but eventually spoke up.

"SEELE squad leaders don't have very high pain tolerance." She said, leaving it at that.

Neither Asuka or Shinji had any problems understanding the implications of her words, both knew better that most people the requirements occasional for distasteful method in war.

"Anyway, there are several SEELE resistance groups which sprung up here and there, but none of them managed to make much of a difference. I was part of one such group until we came across this device. I lost many good people trying to get this thing out of Europe so it must be damned important…"

"Then… why did you seek us out? How did you know about us in the first place?"

"I had already come across old references to other NERV branches across the world, but then I met a old traveller… he was originally from around here I believe. He told me of how several years ago, a boy and girl were 'returned' only recently… if you consider that even in Europe no one had been 'returned' for more than three decades this was something worth investigating. Besides, I was travelling eastwards to get as far away from Europe as possible and eventually I learned of your names from trading caravans. That's when I realised who you were…"

"Evangelion Pilots… you knew from the German branch's records."

"Yes."

"So you thought that we might be able to tell you what this device was…" understood Asuka.

"And you also thought of us as possible allies against SEELE" added Shinji.

"Yes."

"And what exactly do you expect to achieve?" asked Shinji.

"Pardon?" Valerie was taken slightly aback by the directness of the question.

"What do you expect to achieve? You may not have yet realised this but it's not like we actually have our Evangelions anymore…"

"I…" Valerie looked slight lost for words, "I had hoped…"

Asuka leaned forth, her elbows on the table, "I hate to say this, but Shinji has a point… If we had our Evangelions then things would be different, but seeing that we don't, then I don't see what we can do against an army of fully trained soldiers equipped with weapons which weren't even used back pre-Impact."

"But there must be something that you can do! We can't just let them take over the world… It was they who well near destroyed it in the first place!"

There it was, Asuka noted. Such anger… it wasn't righteous... it was personal…

The three sat in the bar in mute silence. Each pondering the possibilities that the future might hold for them.

Valerie felt utterly foolish… years of travel… for nothing. It could not end like this. She stood up and got ready to depart.

"Very well, if you cannot help me… then I will leave."

"Huh? What? Wait… where are you going to go?" asked Shinji.

"I… will go back…"

"But you can't fight them!"

"Why not?! At least I won't be sitting around here on my ass, hiding half way across the world until their armies reach even here."

Asuka stood up and glare at her, offended by the remark, "I resent that…"

Valerie, dropped her gaze, suddenly reminded that the pair in front of her had already given to the world more than their share. "I'm sorry, I was out of line… you two have already fought a war for humanity once already… I have no right to ask you to do it again."

However, just as she was about to leave. Shinji spoke up, "It's not a matter of whether or not we will help you Valerie… It's a matter of how. If you can tell us how we can stand a chance against SEELE then I'm sure we would be glad to help."

Asuka stared at Shinji, half-confused and half-annoyed at the same time. 'He's doing it again…' Asuka thought, 'He's taking control, making decision for both of us and he doesn't even realise it'. Asuka had no desire to participate in what was in her mind a clearly futile struggle.

At that point, Kazuaki decided this was the time to burst in, looking quite worried.

"Great! There you are! I've been looking everywhere for you two!"

"What is it?" Asuka groaned, the last thing she needed was more on her mind. Maybe she could get rid of some frustration by causing some mass destruction later on. Of course she wasn't quite expecting what was to come next.

"We've got a BIG problem…"

Not long after, they were taken by Kazuaki to one of the town's sentry outpost. But they didn't even need to climb on to realised that something was approach. A cloud of dust rose from the distance, coupled with the sound of heavy thuds, as if marking the footsteps of some giant being.

It didn't take long for Asuka to put two and two together.

"Friend of yours is it?" she turned to face Valerie.

The blind young woman seemed to gaze out into the direction of the cloud for a few seconds, squinting.

"It's a Pacification bot alright… must have been sent after me to recovered the device… the damned thing followed me all the way here?"

"You can see it?" Kazuaki looked at her wide-eyed.

"I can tell you the serial numbers on its armour plates"

"How…" he was about to ask.

"Haven't got time for that" she interrupted, slinging her rifle off her shoulders.

She rested it's barrel on the wall of the outpost to support the weapon. There was a clasp on the barrel that Valerie made sure was press backwards on the other side of the wall. Swiftly retrieving a particularly heavy and large looking round from inside her overcoat, Valerie dropped it into the catch and slid it smoothly into the firing chamber.

"How thick's the armour on that thing?" asked Asuka.

Valerie remained silent, angling her rifle for a clear shot at the forehead of the machine, still a few kilometres away. Then softly, she replied "It varies… but the thickest parts can be 6 to 8 inches thick of solid carbon steel."

"And you think you can penetrate that from this distance?! Are you insane?" protested Asuka.

"With a Uranium depleted round… yes, I can."

The others were silenced by her words, more or less hoping that she was right. After what seemed like hours, but had been in fact only minutes, Valerie pulled the trigger. The rifle was awfully loud, but not as much as Shinji and Asuka had expected.

Although at such a distance they could not see any visible effects on the target, they could however see the effects it had on Valerie. The recoil was powerful enough to push her back slightly, even when it had been braced. Asuka was surprised that the woman had managed to hold the rifle down in the first place. Upon closer inspection, the redhead noticed that the clasp at the end of the barrel has dispersed much of the force on to the wall, small cracks had appeared on the reinforced concrete.

"Shit!" Valerie cried in pain, but it was obvious that that wasn't the only thing she was cursing about.

"What?! What happened?!" asked Shinji.

Resting the rifle against the wall, Valerie nursed her shoulder, which no doubt was now black and blue from the bruising. By the way she was accepting the pain, it was quite probable that this happened quite often with this weapon.

"It fucking stumbled!"

"It did what?!"

"It stumbled just as I fired!"

"What?! So you missed?!"

"Oh I hit it alright…! I nearly tore off it's right arm… but the damn thing's still coming and it knows I'm here for sure now…"

"So what are you waiting for?! Shoot it again!" demanded Kazuaki.

"I would sure love to do that… But Uranium depleted rounds aren't exactly found in very corner guns 'n ammo store you know…I normally fire .50 Cal rounds from this thing and they aren't going to do diddly squat against that thing…"

"You're saying that was your last one?" asked Shinji.

"You mean were totally screwed…" stated Kazuaki.

"Instead of telling us just how screwed we are. Might I suggest for you to evacuate the townspeople? The damned thing's gonna tear through this town looking for me, no matter what… Next I'd pull out anything you got heavier than those pea-shooters you go on you right now."

Shinji and Kazuaki suddenly looked nervously at each other, then turned to face Asuka. The woman in question had a wide blissful grin on her face. Always the one with an affinity to heavy weapons, Asuka's collection was quite extensive, especially when one considers she, along with Shinji, were the ones who found many of NERV's pre-Impact weapons cache.

"Right then, Shinji, Asuka, you going and pick up the heavy firepower. 'You' on the other hand are coming with me…" Kazuaki indicated to Valerie.

"Me?" Valerie looked puzzled.

"Yeah you, you're gonna tell me every thing I need ta know 'bout that thing!"

One of the most distinctive features of New Eden was the presence of a central warning system. Reminiscent of the Tokyo-3 Angel sirens. Normally, this would be used to warn of incoming raider attacks or a major dust storm. But in this case, it allowed the majority of the population of New Eden to be evacuated quickly and efficiently to a nearby forest. Those who remained were all carrying substantial firepower. Of course, the most heavily equipped was Asuka, who was hauling around a heavy support weapon of some sort. Shinji, who was needed to carry the weapon's heavy ammunition, wondered how such a thin framed person as Asuka could carry it, let alone withstand the recoil.

"So…" said Shinji as he sat, leaning back against a battered wall, "… even after the end of the world… we're still fighting…"

Asuka was crouched nearby, her support weapon resting idly on her shoulder, ready at hand. She regarded Shinji with slight distaste, even after all these years there were still traces of the old whiny Shinji, which sprung up once in a while. "Quit whinging… it's unbecoming for an Eva pilot veteran."

"You say that like it actually matters in this world…"

"Of course it does!" the red-head snarled, "Even if most people don't care, you still know who you are, what you did… and why you did it. History makes us what we are!"

"I know _that_ better than anyone" Shinji muttered under his breath.

"What was that?!"

"I… Nothing…"

"Typical… Hey, you know… I was thinking… and I was wondering how do you suppose SEELE managed to survive 3rd Impact this unscathed…? At least that's the impression I get from what Valerie said."

"No… you're right. It sounds as if they managed to hide away or something…"

"Hide? From 3rd Impact… if that were possible… would that mean that there is someone else who could have done the same?"

"Who knows? If you don't mind, I rather concentrate on our current problem first." Shinji crept over to the side of the ruined two-story building. Asuka understood what he meant and promptly refrained from any further idle chatter. Silence prevailed in the town of New Eden, save from the regular thumping of heavy footfalls coming in from the distance. After some time, the Pacification bot strode down the alleyway, one that made a perfect site for an ambush.

Valerie had been right when she said that she'd managed to tear off half the cursed thing's arm, were it not for a few dangling motive fibres bundles, the Bot's left arm would have fallen off long ago. Asuka watched as a couple of other heavy weapons teams moved into position on the rooftops. Bracing her support weapon on a pile of rubble, she begun to line up her sights with her target. Yet, by chance or carelessness, the Bot detected something and bolted that very second.

"SHIT! FIRE! FIRE!!" screamed Asuka in disbelief, not quite understanding how something that large and bulky could move that fast. The only reason their Evas were as fast and agile as they were was because they were biomechanical.

Within seconds a massive hail of bullets cascaded down into the alleyway. Had it been a human target, there was little doubt that it would have survived the first few seconds. Yet, virtually all the rounds rebounded of the metal creature's heavily armoured shell. A few managed to strike joints and weak points but failed in general to make any significant damage.

The bot swung its torso around as it run towards cover and immediately a burst of incandescent light spewed forth from its left forearm. The large energy bolt struck the side of a building a passed straight through. Several cried of agony suggested that several men had been caught by the blast.

Surprised by the sudden retaliation, several of the weapons team retreated in horror, muttering nonsensical comments about 'Black magic' or 'Daemonic creatures'.

"Bloody hell! Get back here you cowards!" shouted Asuka as she fed her weapon a new ammo chain, "It's only a frigging energy weapon! It's not magic!"

But it was too be not avail, most of the weapons team quickly made off without a second thought. Shinji could not blame them, the great majority of the world's current population have never seen advance machinery, let alone energy weapons. Asuka on the other hand, was more pissed-off than Shinji had seen in quite a while. Though at the same time, she was more alive than he'd seen her in years. Perhaps it was the challenge, perhaps it was the knowledge that she was fighting against SEELE or maybe…

With a cry of rage, Asuka hefted the weapon and opened fire again. Her shots tearing massive gashes into the side of the building ruins the Pacification Bot had taken settler in. Asuka barely heard the sound of clashing metal as the rounds impacted against the armour, mostly deafened by the roar of her own weapon.

Another bolt of plasma tore through the floor underneath her feet, screaming past only a few meters from striking flesh. Asuka was thrown off her feet, a storm of rumble and debris battered her form.

"Asuka!" shouted Shinji in surprise. Without thinking of the consequences, Shinji primed a grenade and threw it down the alley in the general direction of the bot. The explosion ripped through the flank of the buildings, collapsing entire sections and threw up a heavy cloud of dust. Rushing over to Asuka, Shinji checked on her worriedly.

Fortunately, her heavy overcoat had taken much of the blunt and protected her from most of the flying debris. With a cough and curse she was already back on her feet. Yet within seconds, both ex-eva pilots stared in wide-eyed horror as following another explosion, a massive metallic form burst through the cloud. Time seemed to almost slow down, enabling the two humans to see their mechanical guest more up front that they would have liked.

The Pacification bot landed heavily on the roof, cracking the concrete floor and almost crashing through under the tremendous weight.

"How the fuck!?" swore a more than stunned Asuka, instinctively backing away from the killing machine.

The artificial construct slowly rose its head, blinking it's remaining five undamaged eyes. Asuka could now see the extent of the damage they had manage to wrought on the creature. Dents pocketed the thing's hide, evidence of from the hail of heavy weapons. Its left arm had been now thoroughly severed, probably torn off by Shinji's grenade. Some armour plate had been torn off, internal cabling spilling out from it like from some mortally wounded animal. Yet, despite all this, it was not only still moving, but managed to jump onto the roof of a two-story building.

All of a sudden, Shinji appeared behind Asuka and grabbed her by the waist. Faster than she could protest, Shinji dragged her over to the other side of the building, allow her back on her feet at the edge.

"Jump to the other building!" he practically ordered her.

"What!?" she looked down at gap, they weren't on a very tall building but it still wasn't the kind of height you'd want to fall from. Without another word, Shinji grabbed her arm and swung her around, the momentum forcing her to go along and leapt onto the roof of the nearby building, screaming curses at Shinji all the way across.

At the same time the Pacification bot glanced down at the two small objects that had rolled between its legs, it's damaged internal memory taking longer than normally required to make a positive identification.

Shinji allowed himself to back up a little, and then ran for his life. Just as he leap from the edge, a massive explosion threw him off balance and the next thing he noticed was hard concrete rushing up to meet him. The young man landed heavily on the roof of the other building, crying out as he slammed painfully into hard surface. Behind him, the force of the blast caused the already weakened structure of the building to buckle and promptly collapsed. The Pacification bot was swiftly swallowed up by the crumbling mass of concrete and twisted metal beams, disappearing completely from view. As the dust settled, Shinji managed to pick himself up and hobble over to where Asuka was sitting. "Asuka… are you alright?" asked Shinji, seeing that she had her gaze lowered. "Idiot!" she replied with angry smack on the head as soon as he got into striking distance. "Don't you dare do that again… What were you thinking! You… you…". "I'm sor…" he started, but immediately stopped himself when he noticed her glaring. It didn't take long for her eyes to soften however, and despite the fact that his head was still ringing from both the explosion and Asuka's blow, Shinji knew exactly why she was so angry. Not because he had forced her to jump, but that he himself had jumped only in the last moment. You don't live with Asuka for several years without gaining a certain understanding of her.

"Come on… let's get out of here…" he said with a smile.

Unfortunately, Asuka had landed badly after she was forced to jump, but other than a sprained ankle she was in good health. Because of this, Shinji had to help carry her down the fire escape of the building, though it didn't take them very long though to get to the bottom.

Standing before the huge mound of rubble, the two watched as the dust continued to settle. Shinji glanced around him, the devastation was comparable to some of the damage caused by Angel attacks. He found no trace of the other weapons teams however. Whether this meant that they were all dead or that they'd all run away he wasn't sure.

"I wonder…" Asuka spoke up to no one in particular.

"What?" asked Shinji.

"Why haven't they sent these things all over the world?"

"What do you mean?"

"SEELE… they're consolidating in Europe… with machine like these they wouldn't need too, and in fact it would be wiser to press their advantage. Unless…"

"Unless…" Shinji knew Asuka had already come up with a conclusion.

"Unless they were being held back… by someone or something…"

"That someone being other possible survivors?"

"Maybe…"

A sudden crash shook them out of contemplation, the two whirled around only to find to their horror, that the Pacification bot had managed to force its way out from underneath the ruins of the building. Shinji was about to run when he remembered Asuka's sprained ankle, knowing that she would never make it in time. He watched in despair as the metal Daemon rose from it's temporary grave and took aim with it's weapon.

Then it fired.

Or at least it would have, if it were not for a razor-sharp claw the size of Shinji's head burying itself into the side of the robot's 'skull'. Not even the thick armour could have saved the machine from the force that was behind that claw.

Slowly, but surely the Pacification bot tilted more and more, then finally fell over unimpressively with little more than a few sizzling sparks from the gapping hole in it's head.

Shinji and Asuka promptly shifted their attention to what the claw was in turn attached to, which apparently turned out to be a large creature, only slightly smaller than the Pacification bot, that vaguely looked like…

An Angel.