A/N: Wow! Another review explosion! Even through 59 chapters, you guys still stick with me! Well I've decided I'm not going to hold back any longer. No I don't mean there'll be lemons. What won't be held back any longer is the identity of the Eighth Child, thus the name of the chapter. Here we go!
"You should've seen me! I was rocking up there in space while you were sitting on your ass on Earth hoping you would get some without Misato on watch!" Zack was wasting no time that morning bragging about his space victory over the 6th Black Angel. Everyone minus Rei was sitting at the table talking about the events of the past few days. Unfortunately, he was now teasing Asuka, which she did not like at all.
"What are you implying pervert?" shot back Asuka.
"Read between the lines college brat," said Zack.
Asuka's eyes narrowed, as she was already very angry, "Do you want to die quickly and painfully? Or slow and painfully?"
"Alright, that's enough," snapped Misato. "Just got back and you two are already fighting. If you two really want to fight, I demand that you wait until after the activation test today."
"Activation test?" asked Shinji.
"Yes. Today we're going to have the Eighth Child activate EVA Unit 07," replied Misato, "and just in case we have another incident like the 13th Angel, I want all of you to be ready to go immediately."
"Who is the Eighth Child Misato?" asked Asuka, "I wanna know!"
Misato crossed her arms, "Sorry. No can tell. You'll find out after the successful activation of the EVA."
The result was a simultaneous groan from everyone in the room. Misato's face brightened up as she continued, "But the good news, is that after the activation of Unit 07, Ritsuko is going to officially release Rei from the hospital!"
"Wow, that's great Misato," said Shinji. Luckily he didn't see the "humph" from Asuka. Since he didn't see it, he decided to break the silence. "Oh yeah, there's something I wanted to tell you Misato, and everyone here."
"That what, Wondergirl's your new girlfriend?" retorted Asuka who wasn't looking very happy.
"Whoa, that was harsh," put in Zack.
"What about me? What about all we've been through?" yelled Asuka. "You're throwing all that away just like that."
Shinji now got freaked out, but Zack defended him. "All Asuka, before you completely annihilate Shinji, let him speak first. Unlike Nazi Germany, Japan has democracy, and they believe in innocence till proven guilty." Everyone had pretty much assumed Asuka had jumped the gun. Hopefully they were right though.
"Fine," resigned Asuka, "but speak now!"
"I had a talk with Rei…"
"AND?"
"Asuka, let him finish before you decide to pummel him," interjected Misato.
Shinji continued, "and we've come to an understanding. I acknowledge her as my sister, and she sees me as her brother."
"WHAT?" everyone else said.
"Well, she has my DNA in her, so that makes her somewhat related to me," said Shinji trying to lower the confusion in the confused, "otherwise that would just be wrong on many levels."
"I see" Zack replied in amusement. "So right now we have a pair of Ikaris. All we need to do now, is get Asuka and Shinji married, and presto, three of a kind. Which happens to beat pairs in poker too."
"Idiot! Why didn't you say that in the first place?" yelled an angry Asuka, "you got me mad over nothing."
"Then don't be mad Asuka," said Ivana putting a hand on her shoulder, "he tried to tell you the truth. But unfortunately you jumped the gun."
Asuka sighed and rested her head in her hands. Suddenly she spoke, "Everyone except Shinji, leave now. I got something I want to say, and it's for Shinji's ears only. So out!"
"Fine. I don't wanna stay around with you anyways bitch," shot back Zack as he prepped to leave. "I'm going to NERV to see my princess. Good luck with yours Shinji."
"Fine, I'll go too," retorted Misato. "But remember to be at NERV by 4:00pm for the activation tests." Now her and Zack were gone.
"Behave you two," said Ivana as she got her shoes on. "We have plans for three Ikaris, not four. Four of a kind is an even better hand, but not in our case."
"Okay…" wondered Shinji aloud, "what was it you needed to tell me, and that the others could not be around to hear it?"
Asuka finally raised her head, " I just wanted to say that…"
"Sat that?"
"I'm sorry."
"What?" Shinji was surprised from Asuka's remark, err apology.
"Look I said it alright!" she was getting flustered again, "what I did was wrong and I needed to apologize for it!"
"I understand Asuka, calm down," said Shinji. He assumed that Asuka still had an inflated perspective of herself and to salvage her pride, she needed to apologize without the others present, "I forgive you. I understand that there is to some extent a rivalry between you and Rei. And I know you don't like Rei that much, with our relationship making her seem even more of a threat to you. But I want you to know that Rei does not despise you at all. In fact, I don't think there is anyone out there she hates, except maybe my father somewhat after what he tried to do with her."
Asuka brought her hands to her mouth. From Shinji's eyes, it appeared she was trying to hold in a laugh. She held it in for a few seconds before bursting out laughing. "When you… think about it…" she said between fits of laughter, "it's kinda funny!"
"I see," Shinji started to stand up.
"Sit right back down," ordered Asuka. I have something I want to give you. Once Shinji obeyed, she stood up. She walked around the table till she was standing behind Shinji. As Shinji began to roll his head back with curiosity as to what Asuka was doing. To his surprise Asuka leaned back the chair, with him still on it and planted her lips on his.
To a third person's view, they would see Asuka standing behind Shinji while leaning his chair back and kissing him with her face inverted to his. This third view came from Pen-Pen, who had originally come out of his icebox. However, the sight of Asuka kissing Shinji immediately told the warm-water penguin to wait until the fiery redhead had stopped locking lips with the brown-haired boy. The penguin quietly retreated back to his box.
The two continued to kiss for a few more seconds before breaking it off. "Wow, where did you get that idea from Asuka? That was awesome!" commented Shinji.
"Ah, I saw that in another Second Impact era movie," replied Asuka, "and I've always wanted to try that myself." She sat in Shinji's lap. "Consider yourself lucky Third Child."
And thus the Second and Third Children continued to make out.
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NERV HQ
"So that's what happened? Interesting."
"Yup. And now the Commander's been told to take a few days off." Ritsuko had just finished telling Misato her version of the story that hadn't been told by Shinji and Asuka about the commander's fight with their gym teacher.
"So what's Mr. Thunder being charged with?" asked Misato.
"From what I know, he's being charged with many counts of assault, attempted murder, attempted assault with a weapon, drug possession for the purpose of trafficking, assaulting an officer. And I bet there's going to be more, but the investigation is still ongoing," said Ritsuko.
"Ah," sighed Misato, "but then again, I'm glad that bastard is now behind bars. And it's funny that Commander Ikari actually stooped to do it himself. I always thought it would be Casanova or Ivana would just crack and fight."
Ritsuko chuckled, "Goes to show life can still surprise you at times."
"By the way, I have another question. Is Rei ready to be released from the hospital?"
Ritsuko took a puff of her cigarette before answering, "After the stunt she pulled yesterday. I think she's more than ready to go home. A few things you need to know though." She took another puff, "Number one is that she will not have the same powers she once had, but you knew that. Two is that she's still physically very weak. It will be a little while longer before she can return. I'll have an exercise program she can use to get back in decent shape. And number three is her outer appearance. It will begin to change within a few days or so. I don't know exactly how much she'll change, but once the process is finished, she'll look like a female version of Shinji."
"I see," concluded Misato who was now looking at Rei's medical chart.
"Now I have a question for you," Are the kids going to be ready for the activation tests later today?"
"I believe they will be," answered Misato, "but I'm a little worried about Shinji though. This brings back memories of the 13th Angel indeed."
"It's risky indeed," confessed Ritsuko, "but it's a wall we have to climb over eventually. Once we activate it once. It will be easier and easier in the future."
"Yeah," the Major sighed. A thought then hit her, "Hey do you know whom the Eighth Child is? I've heard lots of hype, but no one has said who."
"I sure do," said the doctor. She went over to her computer and typed in a few commands. She then motioned for Misato to come over, "Come and see."
Misato got out of her chair and walked over to where Ritsuko was sitting. She gazed at the image the computer was showing and gasped. "That's the Eighth Child?"
"That was the best overall choice of the ones we had," said Ritsuko, "and we only want the best to pilot the Evangelions. We even have the plugsuit ready."
"Ah, so it's all set then."
"Exactly."
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Elsewhere
"So Nebuchadnezzar lost too?"
"It is unfortunate indeed, but alas it will not stop us from accomplishing our goals."
Five people were sitting in a conference room. They were all of different heights and body shapes, but the thing that that all had in common was that they were all wearing black coats with hoods to cover their faces. The medium sized speaker who had a young adult male's tone had finished answering the question coming from the largest speaker.
"So now what will we do?" asked a third speaker, whose tone was that of a young adult female, "I'm sure Keel will not be happy about another failure."
"He is already in our grip," answered the second shortest speaker, who had a voice of an elderly man, "What's to stop us from telling the world where he is hiding?"
"Indeed, which is why he will continue to obey us," answered the young male. "I doubt he wants to live again. His life has been hell since the beginning, and we're giving him the perfect chance to end it. So he had best obey us."
"Which brings us back to our original question, which one will fight the EVA children next?" asked the tall one.
"Oh I know!" interjected the shortest one, who's voice was similar to a young boy's voice, "What about my special project?" He lifted a hand. In response, the room was given a visual. What they saw was a person, a male likely about fourteen or fifteen, floating in what looked like a tank of an unknown substance. "He's come a long way since we rescued him from imminent death. And we all know he'd want another crack at them. A certain someone especially."
"As we can see though, his injuries have not yet fully healed," said the woman, "I question whether or not he is still capable of piloting Unit 10."
"Mentally, he can do it. Physically, is still undetermined," replied the child. He faced the medium sized man, "Master, I wish for your permission to begin the preparations to unleash Project V upon the world."
"Permission will be granted, but not until I decide whether he is medically fit for combat. But I assure you, Gendo Ikari and his band of brats will eventually face the Russian Reaper."
After a good laugh all around, the five figures eventually vanished except for the smallest of the five. He walked up to the tank to observe his patient. "Ah, I can sense your thoughts young one," he said to no one apparently, "but save your strength. You will need it for when the time comes. Then you can take your revenge on her, and destroy everything she holds dear, like how she once held you in the same regard and betrayed you in the end."
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EVA Test lab
Fuyutski was in the middle of a break he was taking. Well it wasn't really much of a break, due to the fact that he had left his paperwork for a while to take an examination of the repaired Unit 07.
He remembered the serious damage it had taken when a SEELE operative had managed to hijack it. And that it took Shinji tapping into unknown wells of power to disable the giant yellow machine of destruction. Now looking back at it, it had changed quite a bit. Gendo had decided a new colour was in order for Unit 07, lest it remind Shinji of that fateful battle he had fought. It was now primarily orange, with yellow being the secondary colour. It looked very similar to the Unit 02 model designed by Germany, as also was the Unit 05 model made in Canada.
Later today, he would oversee this EVA's activation. It would have been Commander Ikari doing this, but the doctors said he should avoid work for a few days to nurse the injuries he had suffered while trying to relive his glory days fighting some school brute. Should it be successful, and then another EVA pilot could be added to their current lineup, and just one short of matching the EVA Series.
The only thing preventing this from happening now, was time. The activation was scheduled for four o'clock. And it just passed noon now. A part of him wanted to just snooze until the test was ready, but that would mean the paperwork would not be completed.
With a grunt and a sigh, Kozou Fuyutski returned to his office.
4 hours later
"Okay kids, you know the drill,": ordered Misato. "We're going to begin conducting the activation test now. The reason you're here on standby, is that we're activating the EVA using the S2 Engine, and I hope I don't need to tell you why."
"Why Misato?" asked Zack.
The Major took a deep breath before answering, "Let's just say there's risks involved. I thought you already knew that."
"No I didn't actually," retorted the Sixth Child, "Now I wonder what important info I missed."
"Anyways, should there be no accidents, and this EVA either activates or not at all, you seven will be dismissed for the day. Clear?"
"Yes ma'am!" the pilots reported in unison.
"Good." Misato, always in fine form when in a battle-ready situation, whipped out her cell phone, and paged the test lab. A few seconds passed before she spoke, "Yes. They're good to go. Commence the activation of Unit 07 when you're ready."
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From a third person's view, one could only see the shadow of a person. Another shadow comes into view. "Are you ready?" asked a voice that belonged to Ritsuko. One shadow extends an arm. "Good. These are the A-10 neural clips you will be using to link with the EVA. Just remember to open your mind once you're inside. That's the best piece of advice I can give to you from the outside perspective. And another thing, it will feel a little strange at first, but you'll get used to it. Now go, and good luck."
The second shadow, reaches out and apparently puts on the accessory. It then walks away, presumably to where Unit 07 awaited its pilot.
Ritsuko then walked back into the test room where Fuyutski awaited, "How are the kids doing?" she asked.
"They're doing well, and Shinji as expected is a little on edge," was the Sub-Commander's reply.
"Commander," called Maya, "upon your orders, we'll commence the activation."
"Okay. Open up a window to the pilot." In front of him, a window opened up, providing a visual of the inside of the entry plug. "Are you ready?" When he got the nod from the subject, he continued, "Good. Alright, commence the activation."
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EVA Cages
"So, anyone want to make any bets on whom the pilot is?" asked Zack who was bored and looking for something to do.
"What's the point?" inquired Shinji. "We don't even have the vaguest idea as to who the pilot is!"
"For all we know, this pilot could be from anywhere," said Toji.
"Well obviously, this pilot knows Japanese mate," put in Elly. "Heck, when I went to NERV in Australia, they taught me Japanese."
"Otherwise you'd be just another monolingual bimbo!" said Asuka.
"Hey I didn't get the 'talk' at least," chirped Elly, "Only naughty kids get the talk!"
"Shut up you pink headed bitch! At least I got someone like Misato who gives a damn about my well being!" shot back Asuka, "You're likely gonna lose 'it' before me!"
"Would the two of you just shut up?" boomed Ivana in a rather threatening voice.
"Well now that you've joined the conversation," started Zack, "do ya hope that the pilot is from Russia, and then the two of you could plot to turn Japan into a communist country?"
"If you wish to live past tonight, you'll never say that again," retorted Ivana. If one looked closely, they would have seen a flash of pain in her eyes. But luckily for her, nobody saw this brief feeling.
"Hey listen," Shinji suddenly said changing the subject.
They could hear the activation process somewhat. They didn't really understand what the technicians were saying as the activation process was commencing. But judging from the tone of those on the other side, it must be going as planned, as nobody was in a panic. To Shinji, this was all sounding like good news, as he had no interest whatsoever to have to fight another EVA with a pilot trapped inside.
However, what he heard next was one of the best things he had ever learned in his life, "Borderline in 1.5, 1.4, 1.2, 0.9, 0.8, 0.6, 0.5, 0.3, 0.1," then he heard a sound from the computer before a technician said, "Unit 07 is now activated."
"Woohoo!" shouted Zack, "We don't have to fight today! WOOT!"
Misato then came in on the com, "Yup, that's right. No fighting today. And also no fighting when we get home too. Come to the briefing room to meet the new pilot."
The kids got out of their EVAs, returned to their change rooms, got themselves cleaned up and dressed in near record time to show up in the briefing room.
Misato then entered the room, "Ah, you all decided to show up."
"Okay, come clean," said Asuka, "Who's the Eighth Child?"
"Very well," replied the Major. She turned to look behind her through the doorway opposite to the ones the kids had come in, "You can come on out now."
And thus, the person in question had emerged, the veil of mystery and ignorance finally unveiled. The sight of the person in question surprised everyone, especially Asuka and Toji's, whose jaws dropped. A girl with brown hair tied into two ponytails, and an average build for a girl of about fifteen years old.
"No way!" said a surprised Toji.
"Hikari? You're the Eighth Child?" asked Asuka.
"Yes I am," answered Hikari, "If anyone can keep these guys in line, it's me!" she finished with a wave of confidence.
A/N: Well, this may not be my best work, but at least the identity of the Eighth Child is revealed! Hikari Horaki! Let's give her a warm welcome into the EVA lineup. And the cloaked people are up to something too, as they plan to unleash a deadly weapon upon the world. Who is the Russian Reaper? I don't even know! Now that's scary indeed.
Until 61, be cool!