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When Shinji opens his eyes, he finds himself in a verdant field that stretches far past the horizon. Truth be told, he was not sure what the subconscious of a 200' tall engine of destruction looked like, but he honestly expected something with a bit more barren rock…maybe some fire.

Tentatively walking, he looks around, still in the loose shirt and pants Hadsiel gave him, feeling bare feet crunching blades of grass. Well, this is nice, he thinks, I should fall asleep in my Eva more often.

"It's not 'your' Eva."

He stops in mid step, narrowing an eye in confusion. He turns, slowly, and finds something he was not honestly expecting in the Eva's subconscious.

Another person. A girl, more precisely.

She looks to be about his age, with short red hair and blue eyes and dressed in a school uniform. She has a cheerful expression on her face and even standing still seems to sway, and it is reassuring to Shinji to find that even in the depths of a killing machine's subconscious, he can find someone with a sunny outlook.

"Uh…hi," he says, awkwardly waving.

"Hey," the girl says, "I know, I know. It looks different. I could say I redecorated since the last time I sucked you in here, but last time was a wee bit more urgent."

"Last time…oh."

Shinji steps back, eyes wide.

"Oh! So, you're Unit 01?"

She nods, eyes closed and grinning.

"Okay. Riiiight," he says, looking around him, "So…let's go over that again. You're…"

"The core consciousness of Unit-01," she says with a wide smile, "You can call me Eva! And I'm here to help you."

He looks around, and turns back to her.

"Okay…how?"

And she responds by punching him in the face.

Neon Genesis Evangelion: Mother Issues, Chapter 7