UNEXPECTED LIVES

by Gunman

Disclaimer: I don't own EVA, the characters, or the series.

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"Why, Shinji?" the sour looking commander asked. "Why have you come back?"

"Because...because I'm the pilot of Unit 01!" the young boy shouted.

That was how it started. A single, simple phrase that started me down a path to the most unusual relationship in the history of...well, pretty much the world.

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Asuka and Rei had been defeated by the Angel of Might and after the unfortunate scrap with the out of control 13th Angel/Eva 03, Shinji had refused to pilot again.

But after seeing his friends in trouble, and losing, he reconsidered and went back to pilot his Unit 01 against the advancing enemy.

The Angel exploded into the NERV command center, face-to-face with it's enemies, the technicians of NERV.

"Oh, god!" Maya Ibuki gasped as the Angel loomed over them, moving ever closer to the group.

Shigure Aoba just froze.

Motoko Hyuga felt his glasses fogging up.

Ritsuko Akagi was lucky she didn't have anything to drink in the last hour.

And Misato Katsuragi actually gained a new perspective at what Shinji and the others went through facing a live Angel face-to-face.

The Angel opened its mouth, but before it could do anything, the side wall exploded open as the purple horned head of Evangelion Unit 01 entered the room.

"SHINJI!" Misato shouted in shock as the Eva grabbed the Angel and yanked hard, pulling it back towards the Eva cages with him.

"That was Shinji, wasn't it?" Maya asked as the Eva/Angel battle sent shockwaves through all of the underground base.

"Has to be. Nothing else could get that Eva moving." Misato finally breathed.

"DAMN YOU!" Shinji shouted as he grappled with the invading monster, throwing it into the wall of the Eva cages as Gendo just watched with unflinching eyes and face.

The roar of the Eva was the last thing that Gendo heard as the Angel suddenly forced Unit 01 back against the catwalk that Gendo was standing on, leaving a fierce impression with him in it.

Shinji knew none of this as he shifted his controls forward and pushed the Angel back into Central Dogma. He kept pushing, trying to force the Angel outside to fight him without getting Misato and the others hurt. He was halfway outside the hole the Angel had made, when the Angel retaliated and head butted the purple Eva back into the command deck.

Unit 01 went flying backwards and crashed into the bridge. The impact was forceful enough to send the group tumbling back to the ground.

However, in the case of Maya Ibuki, the young computer tech went tumbling forward, right off the bridge, and landing square on Unit 01's left shoulder.

"AAAHHH!" she screamed as she landed on it.

The scream was enough for Shinji to notice.

"What? Lieutenant Ibuki?"

The Angel stepped back into Central Dogma and growled.

Shinji reacted, drawing his Progressive Knife from his right shoulder pylon and throwing it at the Angel's face.

The blade slammed into the Angel's forehead, causing it to stumble back.

Unfortunately, it's core was nowhere near it's head.

It's left paper arm lashed out and wrapped around Unit 01's outstretched right arm, pulling it up from the bridge and easing it to the large hole.

Fortunately, Shinji hadn't forgot about Maya.

He pressed the emergency release button inside his entry plug and popped it open.

Granted that this is a very dangerous thing to do in the middle of a battle, just like with the 4th Angel, but unlike that time, Shinji acted on his own.

Since he couldn't grab Maya and put her down safely, he popped the entry plug and shouted, "Maya, get in now!"

The frightened lieutenant somehow found the strength to move her muscles and practically leaped into the white entry plug.

Her first thought, however, was on the LCL.

Oh, god! It smells like blood! She thought as the door to the plug closed behind her. Is this what Shinji and the others have to endure every time they pilot? And do synch tests? It's everywhere! How do they stand the smell?

However, her companion's voice made her snap back to reality.

"Lt. Ibuki, are you alright?"

"Uh..yeah, Shinji. I--I'm fine." she said, suddenly feeling as if she was going to throw up.

"Just breath normally. You'll get used to it." he said as he went back to piloting.

Maya settled behind Shinji as the display activated and showed the Angel pulling the Prog Knife out of it's forehead with it's other arm before lashing it to wrap around Shinji's neck.

It yanked hard and tossed Shinji across the Geofront, landing him next to the lake.

"Argh!" Shinji groaned as he gripped the controls tighter.

"Ouch!" Maya groaned. Then something hit her. I felt that? I actually felt that.

Shinji moved the controls again and got to his feet. The Angel yanked again and threw him and his passenger into the pyramid of the Geofront.

It recoiled it's arms and then attacked once again, sending them to slice at Unit 01's arms.

Shinji threw out his hand to stop the razor like paper arms, the Angel's weapon slicing through the Eva's armor and severing it.

"ARGH!" Shinji and Maya shouted, both feeling the pain for Unit 01's arm being cut off.

Maya was curled up in a ball behind Shinji, holding her arm in pain. Shinji, however, was used to such pain and shrugged it off. Suddenly, the systems went dead. The cockpit went black, but the Eva was still moving.

Shinji vaguely remembered the last time this had happened.

Berserker.

A blood-curdling roar sounded throughout the Geofront as Eva grabbed the Angel's paper-like arms with his other hand, yanked hard on it, pulling the Angel flush against him. It grabbed as much of the Angel's offending arm as it could and pulled hard as it placed his foot against the Angel's chest and pushed off with it. The Angel went flying, its arm staying with Unit 01.

Eva placed the Angel's arm where it's severed one was. Immediately the paper arms took shape, warping and twisting until it had effectively become it's new arm.

Eva roared again as it leaped from its sitting position and jumped on the Angel. It forced the enemy down and started beating it with it's fists. When it was sure the Angel was stunned, the Eva opened it's jaw and dove into the creature.

Those who were watching the Eva 'feed' on the Angel lost their lunch. Only Misato and Ritsuko were able to hold their stomachs.

"What's going on, Ritz?" Misato asked.

"Unit 01! It's...it's eating the Angel's S2 Engine! It's integrating it into it's body." the blond scientist explained as she checked her computer laptop again. "No...NO!"

"What? What's wrong?"

"The synch rate is at 400"

"Is that good or bad? Shinji's never gone that high before!"

"I don't think Shinji's in command of Eva anymore."

"You mean...berserker?"

"I'm afraid so."

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The events that followed were little more than clean up, after Unit 01 lapsed back into normal mode. The only problem was...Shinji and Maya were gone.

"What do you mean they're gone?" Misato nearly screamed.

"Just what I said. Unit 01 achieved 400 synch ratio when it at the Angel's S2 Engine. As a result, both Shinji and Maya have...well let me show you." Ritsuko said as she punched up the internal camera for Unit 01's entry plug.

What Misato saw frightened her. Shinji and Maya were gone, but his plug suit and her uniform were still there, floating in the LCL.

"Where are they?" Misato asked.

"If I'm right, and I'm sure I am...they're still in the entry plug. The high synch ratio has somehow transformed them both into LCL, that's why we can't see them."

"They've Become LCL?" she asked incredulously.

"Unfortunately."

"Can you turn them back?"

Ritsuko paused, lowering her head as she became deep in thought. She lifted her head and looked at Misato.

"Maybe."

"Maybe?"

"Yes. Maybe."

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It had been thirty days since Shinji and Maya had been absorbed into Unit 01. NERV had done everything it could to try and re-materialize the pair.

It had been a tense month. Their best pilot was trapped inside his own machine with one of their top computer techs. If an Angel were to attack now, their chance of success in defeating it was slim. Asuka's performances had been less than inspiring, and Rei wasn't much better.

Not like Shinji.

Ritsuko and her team had been working double almost triple shifts trying to get back the pair.

Their final attempt had failed, and all they got was Shinji's blue and white plugsuit and Maya's uniform. While Ritsuko was upset, Misato was furious.

"WHAT GOOD IS ALL YOUR SCIENCE IF YOU CAN'T GIVE ME BACK MY FAMILY!" she screamed as she turned back to Eva-01. "GIVE ME BACK MY SHINJI!"

She started crying into the plugsuit as Eva suddenly started gurgling. A sound that almost resembled an upset stomach emanated from the biomechanical weapon, as behind her, two bodies were almost literally flushed out.

Misato turned around to see a buck-naked Shinji Ikari and Maya Ibuki lying on the cold walkway next to her. Everyone, from the additional computer techs to Gendo Ikari himself was shocked. They were both naked and unconscious, and practically wrapped in each others arms. Their lower regions were not touching, but their arms and legs were intertwined.

Misato's sadness melted away as she saw that Shinji was returned, and replaced with jealously at the nearly intimate embrace the young female tech had the pilot in.

"Stop that!" Misato shouted, pulling the naked Shinji away from Maya as she tossed the female techs LCL soaked uniform over her exposed parts.

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Authors Notes:

This is my second Shinji/Maya story, which will definitely have a second chapter later in the future.

Also, if you couldn't tell from the summery, Shinji will get Maya pregnant in an unusual way. Care to guess HOW that's going to happen?

Furthermore, I'm sorry if this seems a little rushed. I was up all night and I'm trying to get this written before I pass out.

Read and Review.

Merry Christmas.

And now...

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OMAKE!

"SIR! Situation is critical!" Maya Ibuki shouted. "Unit 00 has lost both arms and it's right leg is damaged! Unit 02 has sever head trauma and the pilot is unconscious! Unit 01 is still standing but it's got half it's stomach blown out! And the Angel is still advancing!"

Gendo Ikari looked like he always did. Grim.

"We need another pilot." he said.

"But Toji is still in the hospital. He's worse than Rei was when she got injured. He can't pilot!" Misato Katsuragi shouted.

"Unit 03 is waiting in the launch bay. It's been upgraded and shielded against any possible Angel influence. We just need a pilot." Ritsuko Akagi said.

Just then, the doors to the command center opened up. Standing in the doorway, was their savior. Dressed in a black and white plugsuit, he stood ready to do his job. The bridge crew looked on in awe as they noticed the determined glint in his eyes.

"Alright then," Misato said to the pilot. "Unit 03's waiting for you. Shinji needs help. Get going."

The pilot nodded.

"Good luck, Pen-Pen."

"WARK!" the warm water fowl cried out as he waddled off to the black EVA to rescue his food-giver.