Neon Genesis Evangelion: Red Moon Rising

Disclaimer: I do not own anything. In fact, I'm renting this shirt. All rights to Evangelion belong to GAINAX and Hideaki Anno.

Prologue

Yui Ikari sighed as she slowly slipped into the plugsuit, the new rubber squeaking with each tug as it was forced to conform to Yui's body. Today was the last day she would see her son. Slowly, anger started to well up from deep within and she swore violently before slamming her fist into the metal lockers. The massive dent was proof of the rage that had burnt itself out.

"Damnit...this isn't fair to Shinji...or Gendo" she whispered softly as she cradled her injured hand. A few trickles of blood oozed down and splattered onto the floor. Their soft splats were audible in the changing room. Whilst everyone thought that today was going to be a routine experiment, Yui knew differently. Unit 01 was different to the other Evangelion's. Born of Lilith's flesh, it would only accept male pilot's. For they were of Adam and possessed his attributes.

All others were absorbed into the Core. There had already been evidence of this in Germany, but to a different degree.

An early version, the plug-suit was far bulkier due to all the sensor packages attached. They relayed information to the data banks which observed the activation process. Each movement had a sensor package dig into her skin and she winced as she raised her hands. Licking off the blood, Yui picked the gloves up off the seat and slipped her hands into them. Attaching them to the zips at the end of the arms of the plugsuit, she zipped it up and looked around the locker room and felt stinging in her eyes.

Sighing sadly, Yui brushed a few tears away and stood, zipping up the back of the plugsuit as she ascended to her feet. Fingers trembling with nervousness as they hovered over the pressurisation button, Yui brought all of her determination to bear and slammed her thumb down upon the button. Moments later and the plugsuit was pressurised flush against her skin.

Stepping out of the changing room, she smiled in delight as Shinji tottered up to her from the waiting seat outside. Bending down, she gently lifted him up and placed a soft kiss on his hairline. A shadow seemed to loom over her and she felt her husband's arm wrap around her waist as they both gazed down at Shinji. "Must he live in this hell?" Gendo whispered into Yui's ear, a look of love on his face.

Turning to Gendo, she locked her eyes with his and smiled. "He will not merely live in it, Gendo. He will rule it. I can feel it."

Unnoticed to her or Shinji, a dark look flickered across Gendo's eyes for but a moment before life bloomed once more in their cold depths. "It's time, Yui" he stated. Embracing her once more, he nodded to the walkway which led to the Entry Plug and from there, the Evangelion.

Nodding, Yui kissed Gendo briefly and hugged Shinji to herself firmly, trying to imbue him with all the love she had. "I love you, Shinji. Never forget that!" she stated. Slowly bending, she released him and smiled. Taking a deep breath, Yui proceeded down the walkway, tears trickling down her visage.

======== Time Shift: One Year Later ========

Shinji smiled happily as he ducked into his room with his prize. In his hands was a small book. A Pre-Second Impact fiction novel, the idea had interested Shinji ever since his father had abandoned him at his teachers residence nine months ago. It had only been a few weeks ago that Shinji had managed to deal with the self-doubt and anger plaguing his mind.

Flashback

Shinji sat away from all the other children and under the shade of a large tree. Watching them all, he felt a faint sneer emerge upon his face. "Idiots. Running around like headless chicken" he muttered. Withdrawing a book from his bag, he set to reading it and losing himself within the story. But before he could do that, he heard the sound of someone walking toward him. Looking up irritably, he sighed as he saw the school secretary looking at him. "May I help you?" Shinji inquired, having had manners drilled into him early on.

The secretary had only started the day before and had brown hair which reached down to her shoulders. Her eyes were kind and filled with love but also a deep sadness that seemed to draw you in deeper.

Walking to stand next to him, the secretary turned her eyes towards the children playing on the equipment. "Such foolish children. You've noticed it too, haven't you Shinji?" she inquired with a faint smirk. Seeing him numbly nod, she continued. "I've watched you Shinji. You're like I am. Different. And you rationalise this difference was what caused your father to abandon you, don't you?"

Clenching his fist to withhold the anger and the shame that bubbled up as her words hit home, all he could do was nod jerkily.

"Your father feared you, Shinji. You represent his failures and so he abandoned you" she stated, her voice lowering an octave.

Sniffling, Shinji buried his head in his hands and wept, book cast aside.

"Stop crying, Shinji. You have a unique oppurtunity before you. Instead of growing up as your father wants you to...beaten down and lacking self-confidence, you can create yourself. Free from bias or prejudices. But first, abandon the memory of your father. And embrace your gift"

Smiling, the secretary nodded at Shinji before walking away and back towards the school.

Yui grinned to herself before turning the corner and vanishing, her energy expended.

End Flashback

Shinji had taken those words to heart. It hadn't taken long to disassociate himself from his Father. He was no longer his Gendo Ikari's son, but Yui Ikari's son. Shinji could often recall his mother's face and the love he felt from her, even if only rarely. Since then, he had gained an emotional freedom. The day after he had abandoned Gendo Ikari as his father, he had thrown himself into his second love. Books. He could easily imagine the worlds described within, even if he could only read the smaller, milder books.

And still a thought raged through his mind, dominant above all other thoughts.

Who Am I?

======== Time Shift: 9 Years Later ========

Shinji dropped the phone and winced as it struck the pavement a glancing blow. The sharp sound of plastic shattering made him cringe. It wasn't so much the noise itself but that it was eerily silent. That, and it had been a sharp, fast noise. Pulling the few scraps of paper from his pocket, he unfolded them with a flick of his wrist and sighed. The first was a letter from his father. All it had on it was "Come" and he had obeyed. It had to do with the other information contained within the envelope. An ID Card with the NERV logo and a picture of a voluptuous woman.

"Really...she expects me to be impressed? Has she completely forgotten the internet and Playboy?" he asked aloud, as if expecting an answer. Tossing the photo away, Shinji balled the letter from his father up and tossed it into a garbage can some seven feet distant. Hearing the faint sound of explosions, Shinji turned with a smile on his face. A kilometre away, he saw five VTOL's flying backwards. And then the Angel stepped into view.

Gulping nervously as the Angel seemed to levitate and fly towards him, it batted a VTOL out of the air as it landed with a thunderous crunch. The VTOL careened wildly into a building above Shinji and detonated, spewing fire and concrete over his area along with a rain of glass shards. Jogging backwards, he barely made it away as a steel girder slammed into the pavement where he had just been standing, impaling itself at least three feet. That would've sucked Shinji thought dryly. Hearing the scream of breaks, he turned and blinked as a car skidded towards him.

Watching it slow down, Shinji estimated that it'd gently bump him. As if to prove him right, the car gently bumped him and caused Shinji to flail his arms due to his centre of gravity being upset. "Get in, kid!" a voice yelled from inside. Bending down to peek inside, he nodded as he saw the same woman that had been in the picture. Serenely sitting down into the seat, he closed his door and smiled. "Ready. Are you going to go?" he inquired. Moments later, he was crushed into his seat as the G-Forces from Misato's driving assaulted him.

"The hell was that green thing?" Shinji inquired, watching it as they sped away from it and towards the centre of the city.

"We call it an Angel" Misato replied with an edge clearly evident to her voice as she concentrated on the road.

"You call a giant alien that destroys everything and is ugly as sin...an Angel?" Shinji asked in disbelief, finally having turned from the Angel to stare at Misato with one eyebrow raised. Seeing her nod at his question, Shinji sat back and looked out the window, admiring the scenery as they sped past at what he'd say was Mach 1.

"Oh, do you have your ID Card and papers? I've got some information for you" Misato inquired, head swivelling to both watch the road and the UN Forces who were trying desperately to kill the green beast.

Shinji reached into his duffel bag and withdrew the heavily blacked out document's and also withdrew the ID Card he had slipped into his pocket. Passing them over to her, Shinji chuckled wryly as she struggled with looking at the document's, ID Card and watching the road.

"In the dashboard compartment there's a guide book. Feel free to read it" Misato stated as she continued to watch the road, wincing each time a VTOL was annihilated which seemed to be in direct opposition to Shinji's smile.

Reaching into the compartment, Shinji raised an eyebrow at the Heckler and Koch pistol before withdrawing the guidebook, his finger trailing over the butt of the pistol almost wantonly. Closing the compartment, Shinji idly leafed through the book as he kept an eye on the angel. "Miss Katsuragi, why are all the VTOL's flying off?" Shinji inquired, eying the Angel warily as it just stood there.

Grabbing a pair of binoculars from under her seat, Misato watched as they disengaged from the Angel and seemed to scream across the sky, abandoning the angel. "What are they...unless they...GET DOWN!" she screamed. Throwing herself on top of Shinji to protect him, he barely glimpsed the Angel before the N2 Mine detonated.

"Cool" he whispered as a new star was born where the Angel was. Rising up from the earth like a god, it glowed with a malevolent fury that demanded obedience. Crap, shockwave Shinji managed to think. Loosening up so no bones were shattered by the wall of energy, he waited for the wave to hit them.

Slamming into the car with all the fury of a demon, it rocked the vehicle for a moment before lifting it up and ploughing it directly into the concrete barrier. Shinji winced as he felt glass shards fall into his hair before he opened his eyes. Blushing as he felt Misato's breasts rub into his back, he slowly sat up and forced Misato off him. Looking out the shattered window and at the devastation that had occurred from the N2 Mine detonation. And grinned.

Slowly descending into the Geo-Front, Shinji let out an impressed whistle at the massive expanse of land hidden underneath Tokyo-3. It seemed picturesque, almost a New Eden of sorts. Chuckling softly at the thought, he blinked in confusion as he felt a building pressure in his head. Nothing painful but certainly irritating. And the closer they got to the pyramid, the worse it was getting.

Sighing as the light was cut off as the car-train descended under the earth, Shinji winced at a particularly painful throb in his head before focusing his mind. Both he and Misato had been silent as each had been wrapped up in their own thoughts concerning their situation. Arriving at the parking bay, Misato gunned the engine and sped away into the depths of NERV, a blast-door sealing shut behind them.

Exiting the car, Shinji left his bag in the car as Misato was clearly hurrying and the duffel would only slow him down. Jogging to keep up with Misato, Shinji was momentarily glad that he had taken up walking as a hobby before he was overwhelmed by the sheer technological might of the NERV.

For a few minutes, Shinji followed Misato unwaveringly before he frowned. "You're lost, aren't you?" he demanded, leaning against the wall stubbornly as Misato rounded on him.

"I'm not lost. I'm...just taking the scenic route, yeah!" she exclaimed with false cheer and a vein twitching in her forehead.

"Bullshit. You're lost and too proud to ask for help" he shot back. Walking past her, he pointed to the elevator's they had walked past twice. "Could these help?" Shinji asked, sarcasm bleeding from every pore.

"And why didn't you tell me about those before?" Misato demanded as she stalked forward and stabbed the 'down' button.

"You're the adult. You should know" he replied and smirked wickedly at Misato, enjoying riling her up. Tense silence reigned between the two of them and was only interrupted by the ding of the elevator arriving. Entering the box quickly and gesturing for Shinji to follow her. Misato stabbed the button that would take them to the floor where the Evangelion Cages resided.

Doctor Ritsuko Akagi was suitably impressed when she saw Misato leading the Third Child toward the Eva Cage. "Congratulations are in order, Misato. You made it here in time" Ritsuko stated, a sly smirk on her lips as she watched the fuming Operations Commander stab numbers into the code-locked keypad.

"No thanks to the Third Child!" she spat out, glaring at the bored-looking Shinji. Her ire had only increased by an order of magnitude as he had successfully lead her to the Eva Cages, falling back only as they approached the cages. But her pride would not allow her to credit her arrival to Shinji.

"Actually Ma'am, I was the reason Miss Misato got here at all. She missed the elevator's twice and seemed to believe seven lefts made a right" he stated, face having morphed into an angelic expression of innocence.

Gnashing her teeth, Misato actually growled at the Third Child as Ritsuko laughed.

"You've got a point, Mr Ikari. Misato's been working here for weeks and hasn't been able to memorise the layout" Ritsuko stated, eyes dancing with merriment as she saw Misato was closed to snapping.

"This place is fairly logical" Shinji responded with a shrug, chuckling at his own inside joke. Blinking as the door hissed open to reveal a rectangle of darkness, he turned to Misato and raised an eyebrow. "You expect me to walk blindly into a dark room with you pissed at me?" he inquired, incredulous. "I'll follow you and the good Doctor in" he stated, glaring at Misato. Shrugging, Ritsuko walked in and vanished.

"You had better watch your tone, Mr Ikari! I won't tolerate insubordination" she warned before stomping in.

"God I love being me" Shinji announced before stepping into the dark room.

"It's...purple" Shinji stated, looking at the head of Evangelion Unit 01. The light's had suddenly been brought up as soon as the door behind him had shut and before him had been the massive head of the Evangelion, empty eye-slits seeming to glare at him.

"This is mankind's last hope. The all purpose fighting cybernetic construct known as Evangelion: Unit 01" Ritsuko informed him, pride radiating from her as she beheld the behemoth.

"It's also purple" Shinji pointed out, clearly annoyed over the colouring. "It looks more like a float for Mardi Gras than an android!" he stated, disbelief creeping into his voice.

"Greetings, Shinji" came a voice from on high. Looking up, he locked eyes with his father and nodded.

"Hello, Gendo. To what purpose have you called me here?" he inquired, no emotion in his voice at all.

For a moment, Gendo felt nervousness him spine at Shinji's words. He hadn't called him father or any other familial word. Instead, he had been called Gendo, as if he were but an acquaintance. "You are here because I have a use for you" he stated coldly. Inwardly, he was worrying due to the fact that if Shinji felt nothing for him, it would make manipulating the boy all the more difficult.

Taking up the helm of the conversation, Ritsuko turned to Shinji. "Shinji Ikari, we have need of you. This Evangelion need's a pilot and based upon the Marduk Report, you are the only one available at this present time" she stated, looking at Shinji as if examining him.

Turning his gaze from the Evangelion to Ritsuko, he quirked an eyebrow. "No. I refuse. I was called here and ripped from my studies to pilot a PURPLE robot against an enemy with whom I have no quarrel" he stated, folding his arms to signify his stubbornness.

Is that so, you little bastard? We'll see about that, Gendo thought to himself as a small sneer quirked his lips. Activating a comm-link directly to the infirmary, he spoke. "Rei. The spare is unusable. You will pilot Unit 01" he stated, voice showing no emotion as he heard Rei gasp in pain.

"Y-yes Sir" she stated breathlessly, clearly still in pain.

"Configure the Entry Plug to synchronise with the First Child" Gendo demanded. Immediately, technician's leapt to work. Hearing a door hiss open, Shinji turned and spotted Rei being rushed towards the Evangelion by a team of medical staff.

"So is this it, Gendo? If I don't pilot, you'll condemn an innocent to death? I thought you were above blackmail" Shinji demanded, fixing Gendo with a cold stare which promised much pain.

"Yes, that is correct Shinji" Gendo stated, returning the glare with as much venom as he could muster.

"Fine, I'll pilot it" Shinji stated, acquiescing to his own morals. Feeling the steel rattle with the force of a mighty explosion, Shinji glanced up and saw a few steel girder's heading directly for him and the injured girl. Moving fast, he lunged and ripped Rei from the bed, spinning in the air so he landed with Rei under him.

Rei let out a scream as pain wracked her frail body from the movement and she whimpered, one crimson eye open to stare at he who would cause such pain to her. Her crimson eyes locking with Shinji's, she was stunned to see the utter rage contained within the peaceful orbs. Feeling herself lifted slowly by the Commander's son, she bit back another scream as a rib scraped her lung.

Shinji glared at his father after passing Rei off to the medical staff, fist clenched tight by his side. "Let's get this over with" Shinji demanded, turning and walking towards the doctor.

"Prep the entry plug for insertion" Ritsuko demanded before hurrying to the Command Centre in Misato's wake.

ASASASASASASASAS

Shinji relaxed into the padded pilot seat of the Entry Plug. Hearing the top clang shut, he nodded as he felt the plug being lifted and inserted into the Evangelion.

"Inject the LCL in ten seconds" Ritsuko stated, leaning over Lieutenant Maya Ibuki's console, fingers flashing across the keyboard rapidly. Nodding to Misato, she turned her attention back to the comm-screen.

Feeling something slosh around his feet, Shinji looked down and blanched. "What the hell are you doing? Trying to drown me?!" he demanded, warily looking at the strange liquid filling the plug.

"Don't be a coward, Shinji. That's LCL. It helps to absorb impacts and amplify your synchronisation to Unit 01. It's also highly oxygenated, so you can breathe it" Misato snapped, glaring at the fourteen year old pilot.

Taking a deep breath of LCL as it passed his mouth, Shinji wrinkled his nose at the taste before shrugging. "Alright. What kind of offensive and defensive weapon systems does the Evangelion have?" he inquired, shifting attention to glare at Misato.

"You mean aside from the several thousand tons of reinforced armour?" Ritsuko asked dryly, eyebrows raised in amusement.

"Yes. Anything besides the polymer armour would be just grand" he sniped back, clearly annoyed.

"Well...you have a Progressive Knife and an AT Field which is basically a two-dimensional barrier formed by your mind" she stated.

Grinning wickedly, Shinji nodded. "Okay, I can use that. Cheers"

Closing his eyes, Shinji began to slow his breathing as his own mind sought out that of the Evangelion's. Locating it, a subtle grin flickered across his face as he found a being of rage and capable of endless destruction. Detected, Shinji could only hope the being did not bring it's titanic power to bear upon his own fragile self. Instead, he felt a tendril of thought worm it's way into his mind.

Greetings, Shinji Ikari

Shinji paled at the alien thought. The Evangelion was a sentient being!

Uh...greetings to you as well, Unit 01.

Do not be nervous, Shinji. I have no desire to hurt you. Only those who would dare harm me or seek to enslave me. There is one in the Command Centre who sought to enslave me.

Who?

The Commander, Gendo Ikari. Allow me my revenge upon him and I shall work with you.

Well...that's good then. I do not desire vengeance. He's all yours.

Thankyou, Shinji Ikari. Then let us fight against this Angel and slay it so all may fear us!

Wincing at the Evangelion's mental bellow, he allowed himself to sink deep into the Evangelion, easily picturing himself as the Evangelion. He imagined he could feel the weight of the armour plating holding him down. He could feel the Evangelion's mind merging with his and he grinned as he felt all of the primal rage and strength at his command.

ASASASASASASASAS

"Doctor, I think you should see this" Maya stated as she poured over the information flood from Unit 01. Slowly walking over, she glanced at the sync percentage before grinning wickedly.

"A 70% Sync Rate on his first try. That's amazing!" she shouted, eyes wide with shock.

"That little bastard managed 70%?! Rei only approached 40% after months of training!" Misato shouted, hurrying over to see this for herself.

Above them all, Gendo grinned even as a trickle of fear worked it's way through him. "I didn't expect my son to have such a high Sync percentage. This only bodes well for us" Gendo stated, eyes locked on the visage of his son who sat calmly in the entry plug, eyes closed.

"Indeed. But there is a risk of mental contamination when the Evangelion goes berserk" Sub-Commander Kozou Fuyutski warned as he mentally apologized to Yui for submitting her son to the hell of Evangelion piloting.

"An acceptable risk" Gendo replied coldly, his tone clearly brooking no argument.

Down on the command deck, Misato was shouting orders and the crew leapt to it.

"Shinji seemed to help Rei of his own volition. Considering how much of a prick he was, I didn't expect that" Misato confided to Ritsuko, glaring at the Pilot in the Entry Plug.

"All the psychological evaluations we received before-hand were deemed useless. They contradicted too much to be of any actual use. We're in unknown waters, Misato. And here there be dragons" Ritsuko finished as she felt a cold, leaden feeling settle in her stomach as she recalled all the experiment's with Evangelion Unit 01. It was a monster, plain and simple. And she stared at Shinji, she knew that only a monster could tame it.

A/N: Well...my first chapter of my story! I hope you enjoy. This won't be an amazing Shinji story. He merely has a psychological condition. He's still complex and a social...pariah, but I hope you like him. I do.