Disclaimer: See chapter 1.

'Thoughts'

"Speech"

'Inner Self'

Chapter 6: Love At First Start Up

LCL. There was always something about it that made him feel weird. Whether it was having to trust that it was giving him oxygen or not, or the fact that it was a breathable liquid, he didn't know. All he knew was that he was back inside the entry plug to Evangelion Unit 01.

Unit 01, however, had been changed, as Rei said it would be. The purple on the unit was a lot darker than before, and almost looked black. She was also right in another regard, this one looked a lot more like a monster than the last one, and that was saying a lot.

This Unit 01 had a larger 'horn' on its head, and had a few spikes similar to that on its head that were protruding from the shoulders, and the eyes, oh how they were unforgettable. They were the most terrifying eyes that Shinji had ever seen. They were of a red so dark, yet so bright, it looked almost as if they were made of blood.

The entire structure of Unit 01 had changed a little bit, and was even a bit taller than the last Unit 01, but there was something about this unit that unsettled him, though he didn't know what it was. Whatever it was that was giving him that feeling of unease that he had, and he hoped it wasn't as bad as he thought it could be, but he had no time to dwell on this, he had to concentrate on releasing the soul of his mother to the Evangelion.

'You must concentrate if you are really going to get her soul out of you, you know.'

'Yes, I do know, thank you, now shut up so I can concentrate.'

'Touchy, aren't we, Ikari?'

'Just shut up' he commanded, and his inner self did just that.

Eventually, after several hours of sitting within the plug, inside the inactivated Unit 01, he felt as if something had gone missing from him, as if he had just lost something that was a very deep part of him…it was the soul of his mother leaving his body for the body of the Eva.

"I feel…very sleepy" Shinji said to the command center through the open comm. line.

"That would be as a result of the soul of your mother going into the Eva. You can eject now, and we'll do the start up tomorrow" Ritsuko said.

"Alright" Shinji said, opening the entry plug, and then heading towards the locker room once he was off the catwalks inside the Eva cages.

"Ritsuko, I should probably drive Shinji home, it seems he won't be able to make it there without falling asleep" Misato said to Ritsuko.

"Alright, it's probably best if you keep him company too as he'll probably be very hungry when he wakes up, and I'm sure you want to spend some time with your lover" Ritsuko teased.

Misato would usually respond to that, but she couldn't deny it as word of their relationship had gotten around NERV.

"Hey, at least I have one" Misato teased back, and then headed towards the locker rooms, before Ritsuko could try to do something other than tease. She waited outside until a very tired looking Shinji stumbled out of the locker room.

"You alright Shinji?"

"Mostly. But I probably need a ride home, I'll never make there in my current condition."

"Ritsuko was just saying that. C'mon, I'll help you." Shinji didn't do anything to push her away as he knew he needed her help, though he probably wouldn't have pushed her away even if he was feeling better than he was at that moment.

After a little bit of difficulty, Misato got Shinji to the car, and inside of it. She then took off like a bat out of hell and managed to get them back to the apartment within 15 minutes of taking off from the NERV building.

Shinji willed himself to stay awake during the trip, and he and Misato somehow made it up the stairs and into their apartment, and they lay down on the couch, and his eyes closed as soon as he was down. Misato was in the same tired state for reasons that she couldn't explain, and they both slept for quite a while.

NERV Headquarters, Cockpit, Evangelion Unit 02

"Dr. Akagi, there is something wrong with this situation, something…feels…out of place"

"There is no situation, Rei. Maya, what's going on in there?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary. Might she be feeling the effects of the soul transfer?"

"No, she shouldn't be feeling those until after it has been completed."

'That's strange, but then again, she's not entirely human, so the effects may have started earlier than they did on Shinji…'

"Dr. Akagi, There's something going on in there!" one of the computer techs said.

Inside the Eva cages, Unit 02 started fighting against its restraints, and actually got an arm free from them.

"Get Rei out of there!" Ritsuko yelled.

"It won't respond!"

"Damn!" Ritsuko yelled. "Eject the umbilical cord!"

"Yes Ma'am!" When the umbilical cord was cut, the Eva had somehow broken free of the reinforced restraints, and was starting to move on its own.

"Show me the inside of the entry plug!" Ritsuko once again yelled. A few seconds later, the screen appeared and Rei was unconscious, and yet, the Eva was still moving.

'Damn, we'll just have to wait for a few minutes before it powers down' Ritsuko thought to herself while she said, "There's nothing we can do until it powers down, so be glad that it only has a five minute life on its batteries."

At that moment, it seemed as if the unit could hear what she just said, and ran forward to the wall that contained Central Dogma, and started beating on it, and somehow powered down before it was able to get through.

"Get her out of there! NOW!"