Disclaimer: I do not own Evangelion. All characters and other affiliated material are owned by Gainax.
Kozo Fuyutski was happy to see that for once everything seemed to be on schedule. All of the new Evangelion units were supposed to arrive in just over 24 hours. However because of a lack of pilot talent, only one of those new units would be able to be immediately utilized, the Russian made unit 07. Its pilot was expected to arrive soon after the Evangelion, just in time for the new school year. The English unit 06 was to be modified with the remains of unit 02, in hopes that Asuka would have an easier time synching with it. The Chinese unit 05 was to remain on standby for the time being, in case of an emergency. Actually that course of action would only occur if Toji Suzahara refused to pilot again, or if Rei Ayanami failed to make a full recovery. The commander had also received a report of the possibility that the Japanese headquarters would be receiving a fourth, top secret Eva currently in development at an undisclosed location. But that would remain to be seen. Fuyutski looked down at his watch. It was almost time for his meeting with the 3rd child.
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Damon Robinson looked out the window to catch one last glimpse of San Francisco bay. This was it; he was now on his way to Japan, to real combat, no more sims. He didn't think that he had ever been so excited in his entire life. And on top of it all, he would be fighting alongside humanities new savior himself, Shinji Ikari. His father, a Christian minister, was probably just as excited at this fact as he was. Like many other devotees to the Christian faith, his father believed that Shinji Ikari was a new messiah. His dad thought Shinji was God's gift to the human race, God's chosen warrior to combat the evils that humans had brought about. Damon wasn't sure if he believed all of that, but he was glad to see his father so happy. After his mother passed away he had become depressed, but now seemed to find new happiness through his work as a minister. "If Shinji is some sort of new messiah what does that make me?" Damon wondered. "I guess that means that I'm an apostle." He smiled to himself. He expected to be a real aid in Shinji's fight. The third child had always seemed to be a cut above the rest of the Evangelion pilots, but Damon was ready to provide him with the expert backup he needed. Especially with his Evangelion, Unit X.
Damon hoped that things wouldn't be too awkward when he arrived. From what General Thompson had told him the Japanese had no idea that Unit X even existed. In fact only a handful of top American administrators knew of its existence either. Hell the People at the Nevada NERV institute hadn't even known. "Hopefully word of my arrival will reach Tokyo 3 before I do," Damon mused to himself, "All of this top secret stuff is so unnecessary." Damon knew that the reasons behind all of the red tape were valid though, even if he thought they were unlikely. The president and the rest of the white house were worried that a terrorist group might try to seize unit X if the information went public. And that, Damon knew, would be very, very, bad.
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Shinji Ikari entered the NERV headquarters feeling extremely happy. He had just finished spending the day hanging out with Toji Suzahara. He was so happy to see his old friend again after what had seemed like years. He was actually excited about the prospect of returning to school at this point. He couldn't wait for Kensuke to return to Tokyo 3. It would be just like old times. Life was so good right now. He even had a girlfriend! "Who would have thought?" Shinji chuckled to himself. He was even starting to get used to the media attention, although a lot of it was annoying. The really crazy part was some guy with a death wish had actually videotaped his last battle. Shinji whistled to himself. "Now that's committed journalism."
Shinji entered the elevator, and punched the button to head down to the commander's office. He watched the buttons light up as he continued to head downward, wondering what the commander had to tell him this time.
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Commander Fuyutski watched Shinji Ikari open his office door sheepishly and sit down at his desk. He smiled.
"Good afternoon Shinji."
"Good afternoon Commander Fuyutski."
"Shinji I'm going to get straight to the point. You fought an amazing battle the other day, and I am proud to have you piloting. However you were victorious in a very unorthodox way. I doubt that you will be able to win again in that fashion."
Shinji frowned.
"Yes sir, I know sir."
"Good. Because I do have an answer to the new threat of the Wraiths."
"Wraiths sir?"
"Yes, we have dubbed the new creatures Wraiths. A wraith is like a ghost. These creatures are like ghosts of humanity."
"Creatures? So there is likely to be more."
Fuyutski nodded.
"There will almost certainly be more. In fact it is likely that there will be 16 more."
"I see," Shinji said sadly.
"Indeed. This brings me to my next point. Shinji you may have noticed that your attacks didn't seem to be causing much harm to the creature. Did you notice this?"
Shinji thought for a moment.
"Yes I did."
"There is a reason for this. Shinji, when you battled the creature you felt as if you were in perfect control of your Eva, correct?"
"Correct."
"That is because unit 01's soul is now gone."
Shinji looked shocked even though he was trying hard to not show his feelings. "Mother…" Shinji thought to himself, "The dream makes sense now."
"Shinji you felt like you were in perfect control because you were literally sharing your soul with unit 01. I believe it is your physical evolution that has allowed you to do this. While having that level of control is good, it also has a drawback."
"Which is? I mean, Oh?" Shinji didn't want to sound disrespectful.
Fuyutski glared at him a moment before choosing to continue.
"Your Eva's abilities now also reflect your physical status. And I mean no disrespect when I say this, but you're not the strongest person I have ever seen."
"Oh…"
"This is also why you were struggling to activate your AT field. Think of it like driving a car: you used to drive an automatic, now you drive a stick."
Shinji had never driven either, but he understood what the commander was saying. Fuyutski could see the look of disappointment on the boy's face.
"However there is no reason to fear. I have designed a workout regime for you with the help of the medical staff. It also includes a special diet. You will be granted full access to the NERV weight room and other facilities. Also, you are to begin learning various martial arts styles, which will no doubt help you in battle. You see Shinji while piloting may be harder to do effectively now, you have also been given the opportunity to become far faster and stronger than the other pilots are capable of matching. You are very lucky to be given this chance to improve."
Shinji had a blank expression on his face.
" Wait,…What!?"
"Do I need to repeat myself?"
"Uh,… No sir."
"Good." You should also know that I am cutting your school electives so that you can concentrate on your training. You will now only attend your core subjects."
Shinji nodded. "Is he serious?" The third child could barely believe what he was hearing.
"Also, we are getting 3 new Eva units in tomorrow, along with 1 new pilot. I would like you to be here at noon to meet her. Is that understood?"
Shinji nodded again.
"Good, you are dismissed."
With that Shinji got up to leave. Soon after the third child had left the office, Fuyutski's telephone rang.
"This is Fuyutski."
The man on the other line was talking on a cellular phone and it was hard to hear him through the static.
"What was that?" Fuyutski questioned.
"I said, apparently the Americans have a surprise for us."
"What kind of surprise?"
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."
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Once Shinji Ikari arrived home, he still had a confused expression on his face. Asuka didn't seem to notice.
"Shinji guess what! There having a new Evangelion modified just for me!"
When she didn't get the response she had hoped for she looked at him strangely.
"Shinji? Is everything okay?"
"Uh ya, that's great Asuka."
"Yah it is…," she trailed off, "what did Fuyutski tell you?"
"Apparently I'm leaving school early to work out and learn martial arts."
She laughed at this until she noticed that Shinji still had that weird expression on his face.
"You're not joking are you?"
"Nope."
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Nishka Zalomai stepped off of her transport jet, and boarded a small bus that was to take her to the next plane. The new terminal was small, but that was fine for her. It was probably small because only special military personnel used this terminal, hence a lack of a need for large space. As she entered she could feel the air conditioning contrast the temperature outside. The only person in the terminal was a tall boy with brown hair and sunglasses holding a cardboard sign. It read "Nishka." She walked over to him with a sarcastic smile, the sign was hardly necessary, she knew where to go.
Damon Robinson was shocked at how pretty she was. In all the movies back home they always made Russian girls look ugly, probably backlash from the cold war, but Nishka Zalomai was definitely not ugly. She had long legs, coupled with blue eyes, long white blonde hair, and a perfect figure. He whistled.
"I hope you speak English cuz' I sure as hell don't speak Russian," He said with a friendly tone.
"Good morning to you to, Damon was it…?" She said with a questioning smirk.
"Why yes, yes it was."