Demi-Children

Prologue

Yui Ikari was in a bar, drunk. While this in itself was not unusual, the fact that the man sitting across from her was not her husband, but a white haired man with a blue coat, was. Well, not so surprising to those who knew some of Gendo's less savory habits, but that isn't important right now. What was important was the fact that Yui Ikari committed one single act of indiscretion during her marriage, and in doing so, either damned or saved the world, depending on who you ask.

Two weeks later, the nature of the world was changed when the members of the Katsuragi Expedition impaled the being known as 'Adam' with the Lance of Longinus.

As Misato Katsuragi sat in the escape pod her father placed her in, the nature of her body was altered. After all, one can't expect to stay near the disintegrating body of a powerful demon without some effects.

It would be three years before she spoke another word and two more before she learned to ignore the things she had begun to see.

2005

It was a common observation that Shinji Ikari was a strange child. After all, he often seemed to act as someone who had a great deal of life experience, rather than the five year old child he was. In addition, he didn't have normal parents like all the other children. After his mother had died under 'mysterious circumstances,' his father had dropped him off at the small town's train station with directions to an uncle's home.

That uncle had been dead for three years. Young Shinji was then taken to a local orphanage, which failed to contact the man who had taken up the name Gendo Ikari, though not through any lack of effort on their part. The only response they ever received was a message from his secretary, saying "Mr. Ikari is a very busy man, and cannot be bothered with such trivial matters."

The demeanor of the child made finding friends difficult, and in 2007, a year after his arrival, he had only the most casual acquaintances.

Incidentally, the boy was also the only one to survive without a scratch after the orphanage blew up in 2008. While some would view this as a miracle, there were others in town who believed that the boy was responsible, and a single man with brown hair that knew what had actually happened. He broke into the hospital the boy was kept at, leaving tattoos that looked like padlocks on the back, forehead, and palms of the child.

Only the marks on the hands were visible.

2010

"Get back here you little bastard!"

'Why am I the only one who ever gets chased around like this?' wondered a ten year old Shinji Ikari.

After the explosion at the orphanage, the quality of the town had gone straight to hell (literally). Though few were actually aware of their presence, Demons had been moving around in this shit-hole town for the past two years. There were a few who believed that since Shinji had been unscathed in the incident, he was responsible; so he'd grown accustomed to running and being beaten. However, this was the first time anyone had ever come after him with a knife.

Unfortunately, the resulting panic from this unexpected situation meant that he forgot that the alley he turned into was a dead-end.

"Got you now you little fuck!" The man who had followed Shinji was obese, old, and probably drunk, given the swagger in his step. "You're gonna pay for what you did, yes you will!" The man placed his knife against the shaking child's neck. "You killed my daughter with that little show you put on a couple of years ago; and now you're gonna pay!" The drunkard slashed the child's neck, and then drew his arm back and stabbed him in the heart.

As Shinji's eyes rolled back in his head, he heard a voice. "Do you want to live? Or would you prefer to die here in the back of this alley?"

Unable to speak, the child could only think 'YES! I want to LIVE!'

The thought was enough of an answer to the voice, and the padlock tattoos on his palms opened as if a key had been turned. Black lines began to spread away from them, climbing his arms up to his shoulders. And, for the first time in two years, the mark on his forehead was visible.

The trembling boy rose, and his wounds began to heal. Once his vocal cords had knitted themselves back together, he spoke in a raspy voice far different than the high pitched one expected of a child his age. "I… refuse to… take the blame… for something that was… not done by my will… nor will I deny that I there is a debt owed by my family. But…" and here his voice turned truly demonic. "You chose to blame a little child, who had no hand in what happened, for her death. So now you will die instead."

As the child's normally grey eyes flashed a dark blue, he forced his right arm through the man's heart.

Two years later, Shinji had changed very much. He had learned how to consciously open the locks on his hands, which he'd learned held back his demonic power.

'Damned useful too,' thought the boy. 'I can't suppress my power worth shit.'

Rarely bothering to show up for his school classes, Shinji Ikari was generally considered a delinquent. It didn't matter that the people he fought were always the ones that started it, there just wasn't anyone in the town who considered the kid worth giving a damn about. The only people he would deliberately start a fight with were usually abusing someone else.

Hearing someone say, "Things like you don't deserve to live in this world!" Shinji ran into an alley.

Three guys, probably in high school, were kicking the body of a little girl on the ground. Well this will not end well.

For them.

"What the hell do you think you're doing!?" Had the young men looked away from their task, one of them might have gotten away. Instead, they failed to notice the young boy until a tattooed arm slammed against the back of the big one's head.

"Who the fuck-" The second one was silenced as Shinji's other fist was violently introduced to his stomach.

Placing his foot on the now kneeling man's shoulder, Shinji allowed the man's face to become better acquainted with the ground as he jumped to kick the last one in the face. As the last one was slammed against the wall, Shinji kneeled down to check the girl. "You all right?"

The child seemed surprised that another person could see her, though her wounds were already healing. Now it was Shinji's turn to be surprised, though he was able to suppress it. 'She must be like me…' "You have anywhere to go?"

"No… But I'll be fine. I've been alone a long time."

'I guess she really is like me.' "My apartment isn't far from here. You have a place to stay?"

The girl looked at him in disbelief. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

After collecting the students' wallets, Shinji spoke again. "My name's Shinji. Who're you?"

For the first time since he saw her, the girl smiled. "I'm Alice."

Actual Chapter

Over the next couple of years, the two developed a strong bond, which eventually evolved into a demon blood contract. Shinji had now taken Alice in as if she was a sister, and she in turn thought of him as an elder brother. From Alice, Shinji learned to control many more of his demonic powers, as well as the politics of the demonic plane, Makai. While Shinji and Alice both felt that balance between the factions of Law and Chaos would be better for everyone, they did not want to grow involved. However, this did not stop them from doing whatever they could so they would be able to defend themselves.

However, their dysfunctional but happy life crashed down around them when Shinji received the first contact from Gendo Ikari in ten years. A piece of paper, with a single word written on it, 'Come.' Not 'please' or 'sorry', just 'Come.' Though Shinji had intended to ignore the letter and carry on with his life, Alice convinced him to go.

"He might be dying. Do you really want to risk not being the one to make that happen?"

So now, a fourteen year old boy in a black trench coat who looked sixteen was standing in front of a phone next to a seemingly twelve year old pale girl in a blue dress. "You feel it too, don't you Alice?"

"Yeah, this whole town is soaked with demonic energy. I can't even tell where it's coming from." Had any normal human been observing, they would only have heard what Shinji was saying, and thought he was talking to himself. Normies couldn't see full demons like Alice.

Sure that there was going to be a major fight, Shinji opened the seal on his hands, though because of his sleeves, gloves, and long bangs, there was no indicator he had done anything other than the spike in his demonic energy.

With his senses somewhat sharper than they had been, he was able to sense the same presence Alice had turned toward. The two children saw a girl in a school uniform standing in the street. She didn't look normal, but that was the status quo the other two had grown accustomed to. Her skin had almost no color, and her hair was a light blue. But the thing that drew Shinji's attention was her eyes. A blood red that seemed to be giving off a slight glow.

'She isn't giving off enough energy to be the same one we were feeling, but if she's working with it…' Shinji's thoughts on the girl were cut short as she disappeared. "Alice…"

"I know Shinji. That wasn't the actual being that we just saw, only a projection."

Both Shinji and Alice froze for a moment just before they heard it. Footsteps of a giant were drawing near. As they turned, a green behemoth came from behind a building, surrounded by UN VTOLs.

Alice spoke her concerns. "There's no way we can fight something like this." Fighting a team of Dominions or even Thrones would be preferable to the thing before them.

"Running would be the wise thing to do." Was the response.

With a speed enhancing spell from Alice and Shinji's innate physical ability unlocked, they turned and ran as fast as they could. While Alice was focusing on keeping her Sukukaja active, Shinji had enough free space in his mind to think. 'But how is the conventional military even able to make an effort against that thing? Normal people can't see demons, no matter what they do to the things around them, but they're able to fire on it.'

The pair hadn't been running for long when a car came screeching around a corner in their path.

As she saw two children jump over her incoming car, Misato Katsuragi was currently wondering how that they did it, and if that was actually the kid from the file. Turning the car around, she drove after the kids. Accelerating to match the speed they were running at, Misato was unable to suppress her surprise at the fact that the car was moving 40 km/h. However, all she actually did was roll down the window and shout "Get in!"

Gesturing for the girl to go first, Shinji allowed Alice to scramble through the window before jumping onto the roof of the car, then swinging through after her.

The woman inside looked at the pair carefully, then offered a weak "I'm sorry" followed by "were you waiting long?"

As Shinji rubbed his forehead in a way that allowed his padlock to be seen through his bangs, Misato wondered where the boy had gotten a tattoo before he said "I hate the big city."

Misato looked at him like he was insane (GUILTY!), while Alice just laughed from the backseat.

Meanwhile, Gendo Ikari and Kozo Fuyutsuki were receiving some disturbing information as the JSSDF Generals bitched about not being able to hurt the Angel.

Lt. Maya Ibuki's face was displayed on a screen where only Ikari and his Sub-Commander would be able to see and hear her. "The Magi have detected two powerful readings moving away from the Angel."

Fearing even the slightest deviation in the precious 'Scenario,' the Commander of NERV immediately asked. "Is it a Blue Pattern?"

"No sir, the Magi are having trouble getting any kind of a reading at all. They're almost smothered by the energy given off by the Angel, and what we do have seems to be fluctuating between Orange, Red, and Black." The respective patterns for Evas, Pilots, and the type of pattern that had only been recorded from Lilith.

"Catalogue all information available on those two, and track it if possible."

"Yes sir."

"Will this pose a problem, Ikari?"

"No. Now, we should wait for them to use their last resort."

They didn't have much time to wait, as the JSSDF ordered the use of an N2 Mine on the Angel.

"Pretty lights…"

Despite the fact that Shinji and Alice did not have the protection of sunglasses as Misato did, all three had been staring at the explosion. Alice, for the reason she already stated; Misato, to observe the effect it would have on the Angel; and Shinji, in rage at the incompetency the military was displaying.

'How many people just lost their homes and jobs because of that? They could have done the same amount of damage to that thing with any single one of the army's Devil Summoners, and they wouldn't have needed to do so much reconstruction.'

The two highest members of NERV were currently enduring the gloating of the JSSDF.

"Are you two okay?" Shinji was somewhat shocked at the statement from the woman who was now climbing out the window. Saying 'two' meant she was able to see Alice.

Responding for the pair, Alice responded "We've both been worse."

At that comment, Shinji's thoughts grew somewhat cynical. 'Yeah, getting tossed around a little is nothing compared to having your throat slashed and heart pierced.' Once he'd followed the other two out the window, he looked at the condition the car was now in. "Well, first thing's first."

Assuming that Shinji was going to return the car to it's proper position relative to the ground, Misato braced herself against the roof of the vehicle before shouting "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!" as Shinji walked to the other side. However, her tirade was cut short as the two elevated wheels of the car were slowly lowered back to the ground.

The boy on the other side of the car simply turned to her with a slight grin on his face. "Should we try and get this thing running, or would you prefer I just carry you the rest of the way?"

Misato regained her composure, thanking the boy and then deciding to forget she'd seen anything. "Oh yeah, who's she?" Pointing her thumb over at Alice. "I was just told to pick you up."

Thinking that the truth wouldn't be a good idea, Shinji came up with a lie on the spot. "That's Alice, my adopted sister. We weren't expecting so much excitement." 'Well, it's not a TOTAL lie…"

"It's fine." 'Though it might make things at the base a little more complicated.'

Unfortunately, the car was no longer functioning properly. "Do you know how to get this running Miss Katsuragi?"

Shinji did not like the look in Misato's eyes as she looked at the nearby garage.

Gendo Ikari was now looking at the screen displaying that the Angel was still active.

His elderly companion commented "As we suspected, it's regenerating."

The glasses wearing man replied "Without that ability, it wouldn't be a practical autonomous invasion weapon."

"Yes, it's even updated its operational parameters." The Sub-Commander was referring to the fact that the Angel had not allowed any more aircraft to get near it. "It should resume its attack soon."

Misato disconnected the phone she had been speaking on. 'This stinks. I just got this car fixed and now it's a total wreck… 33 more payments to go… Plus the cost of repairs!'

"Miss Misato?" Shinji was ignored as Misato continued thinking.

'And look! My favorite dress is ruined… Ruined! And I looked so good in it…"

"Excuse me, Misato?" Alice was more successful in attempting to gain the woman's attention.

"Ah, what is it Alice?"

The smaller girl gestured to the other contents of the backseat. "These batteries. Isn't that illegal?"

A small vein bulged on Misato's forehead before replying. "Oh, um, well, don't worry about it. It's an emergency and we needed a working car, right?" The woman was clearly thinking very fast in an effort to justify stealing the batteries. "And I am a government official after all, so everything's going to be perfectly fine, okay? Ok!"

"But… did we really need so many?" Was the almost innocent sounding reply.

"She's right Misato; I don't think anyone will believe that excuse."

"Oh, you two aren't any fun."

"And I expected you to be a little more mature than th-AHH!" Shinji was cut off as Misato started swerving.

They eventually arrived in what appeared to be an underground parking garage, at least until their space started to move. 'This place must have a lot of money flowing into it for stuff like this.'

"So, is this where Gendo Ikari works?" Alice asked.

Shinji clenched his leather clad fist as Misato cheerfully replied "Yep. This is NERV; a secret organization controlled by the U.N." Turning to Shinji, she asked "Don't you know what your father does?"

He had to restrain himself from opening the lock on his forehead at her comment. His reply was in a very low voice. "I haven't spoken with that man in years, and he has no right to the title 'Father' or the name 'Ikari.' Don't call him by either in my presence."

Misato couldn't help but envy the boy; at least he knew exactly how he felt about his father. She on the other hand, wasn't sure if she loved or hated hers.

"Well, welcome to the Geofront. It's our secret headquarters, and the key to rebuilding our world. A fortress to protect all of mankind."

Shinji couldn't help but acknowledge the voice this time. 'No place for things like us then, eh?'

'Perhaps...'

"We're turning command of the operation over to you. Prove NERV is capable."

The commander of the aforementioned group simply said "Yes, sir" without a hint of emotion.

"The target is still stationary" reported Lt. Maya Ibuki.

Her fellow technician Makoto Hyuga continued on, "Our current intercept capability is only 7.5%."

Without looking at his subordinates, the bearded man asked, "And what of the other two readings?"

"We lost track of them after they dropped the N2; the last scan indicated that they were approaching our location."

"What are you planning to do Ikari?" asked his second in command.

The commander adjusted his orange sunglasses before replying, "Activate Unit One."

"Activate it? But we have no pilot."

As the platform he was standing on began to lower, he said "A spare has just been delivered."

'I just hope you can convince the boy to do this. And that the boy can win."

"We've been through here before."

"What makes you say that Shinji?" The young man just pointed ahead to where Alice was modifying a NERV logo with a can of black spray-paint. Where it had once said 'God is in his heaven, all is right with the world', it now said 'God is in his heaven, we're fucked.' It looked like it would have taken a few minutes. "Oh."

"I say we let Alice lead us around now. Your sense of direction obviously sucks, and honestly mine is only marginally better." Usually if Shinji got lost, he'd just knock down walls until he found himself in a place he recognized.

The young girl directed them towards an elevator, which opened to reveal a blond woman clad in a swimsuit.

"You're late, Captain. Don't you realize that we're short on both time and manpower?"

The bodacious captain replied, "Um, sorry Rits…"

The dye-job just sighed before turning to the only male present. "So, is this the boy?"

The captain responded "Yep! According to the Marduk Report, he's the third child."

The scientist then turned to the young girl standing next to the young man in question. "And who is she?"

"Her name is Alice. She's my sister." 'The only two people we've met since we arrived have been able to see Alice. This can't be a coincidence, can it?'

Akagi sighed in annoyance before turning back to the captain. "Misato, I shouldn't have to remind you about security protocols, now why didn't you just drop this girl in a shelter?" Though she was whispering, anger was clearly evident in her voice.

However, she wasn't quite quiet enough, as Shinji said, "If this place has security poor enough for an escorted twelve year old girl to be seen as a threat, I have to wonder where the tax-payers money went." Actually, it would be very normal to fear Alice, but the two women before him didn't know that they should be afraid of her.

Instead of making an effort to defend NERV, the 'good' doctor simply sighed, telling them to get into the elevator.

A few minutes later, the group had left the elevator in favor of a boat ride down a river of coolant. "So, how's Unit One coming?"

"It's currently undergoing refrigeration using the B-Type equipment." The doctor appeared to have calmed down since first seeing Alice, who was doing very well at pretending to be an innocent twelve year old kid.

"But will it really work? I mean, it never has before, right?"

"The probability of activation is point zero-zero-zero-zero-zero-zero-zero-zero-zero-nine. We just call it the oh nine system."

"Does that mean it doesn't work?"

"Don't be insulting. It's 'oh nine', as in 'oni.'" The two silent 'children' just looked at each other and grinned.

"Well, I suppose it's a little late to say 'Sorry it doesn't work.'"

They eventually found themselves in a pitch black room, with the door shut behind them. Well, a normal person wouldn't be able to see, but Shinji and Alice weren't exactly normal. As such, they weren't taken by surprise when the lights revealed a giant purple head.

Of course, in such a situation you have to say "What the fuck?" whether you were unaware, or if you, like Shinji, were already aware of its presence.

"This is Evangelion Unit Zero One. The ultimate humanoid fighting weapon, and the last hope of humanity."

Shinji answered the doctor with another question, though it wasn't directed at her, but instead the man standing in an observation room above the head. "So, this thing is what you've been working on?"

"Correct. It's been a long time." The man's voice was still just as cold as the last time they met.

"Well, I guess I might be here because you're dying, but if that had been the case, the card would have said 'Rejoice.' So, is this part of some twelve step program?"

The elder man ignored Shinji, saying "We're moving out."

"Moving out? But Unit Zero is still in cryo-stasis! Wait, you're going to use Unit One!?"

Ritsuko responded in a deadpan voice. "That's correct, Misato."

"But Rei can't do it yet, can she? We don't have a Pilot!"

"We've just received one." Was the cold response.

"You're serious."

The doctor turned towards the Third Child. "Shinji Ikari, you will pilot it."

"Are you crazy! Even Rei Ayanami took seven months to synchronize with her Eva! There's no way he can do it!"

"He just has to sit in the seat Misato. We aren't expecting anything more than that."

"One hundred million yen."

"What?"

Shinji pulled out a cigarette and took a drag before repeating, "One hundred million yen. That is my price for this."

"Fine, I'll write you a check later." Was the response given by Nerv Central's Commander.

"I want cash."

"You're lucky I'm even considering giving you anything for this. I'm your father, and you Will do as I comma-" Hearing his statement, Shinji moved faster than any eyes in the room save Alice's and his own were able to see. Alice saw Shinji jump to the top of the horn on the giant head, using it as a platform to jump to the observation window.

The others merely knew that one second Shinji was standing on the catwalk, and the next, he had his fist through the observation room's bullet-proof Plexiglas and wrapped around the Commander's neck.

'And he did it with only the first level of the seal open. A year ago, he would have only just made that at level two.'

"You don't get to call yourself that. You denied the title of 'father' years ago; don't try to appeal to me by using it." He released the man, using his legs to push himself away from the window and landing on the catwalk. "I'm waiting for your answer."

The man above addressed a terminal on his right. "Rei, our spare is unusable. You will do it again."

Down below, the Project-E Chairwoman began shouting orders. "Reconfigure Unit One for Rei, then activate!"

'What the hell are you doing!? Can't you feel the kind of power that thing has? Pretend to submit to his will, then take its power and leave!"

'I'm not like you. I refuse to whore myself out to gain power.'

While she didn't agree with the demon within Shinji's reasons, Alice did believe that he should pilot it. She ran forward and grabbed his arm. "What do you think you're doing!?"

He looked down at her. "He wants someone to do a job. I named a price, he refused to pay it, so he'll find someone else. Surely there's someone else here."

"Damnit, Shinji. You are not going to throw away humanity just for the sake of a pissing match with him!"

As Alice finished her shouting, the doors Shinji had been moving towards opened, revealing a young girl wrapped in bandages.

"See Alice? They have someone else who can do it. You saw her, just as I did. If she can't win, then it's their own fault for making such poor decisions." 'I shouldn't get involved with this. There's no reason for me to. But, why hasn't this girl regenerated yet?'

However, as Shinji reached the doors, another attack by the Angel shook the room, causing the wounded girl to fall off her gurney. 'Don't get yourself involved.'

Another strike knocked a steal beam loose from the ceiling, directly above the girl. Without stopping to think, Shinji allowed the second level of his seal to open, causing lines similar to those on his arms to form all over his body. He found himself ready to knock the beam away with his arms raised, but the beam never reached him. Instead, it was knocked away by the raised arm of the Eva, coincidently right through the damaged barrier, inches away from the NERV commander's head.

'So, you're sentient after all,' thought Shinji, 'Well, you certainly know how to start a negotiation.'

Looking up and revealing the markings that had spread across his face, all over his body in fact, he said "I'll do it."

Above, Gendo smirked.

A few minutes later, Shinji was sitting inside the steel tube inserted into the Eva's back. As he enjoyed the enhancement to his sensing ability given by the A10 clips, he found himself wondering, 'Is this what it's like for Alice?' until the metal tube began to fill with an orange sludge.

"What the hell is this!?"

In the command center, Ristuko responded, "Relax, it's called LCL. It'll help you sync with the Eva, and it's highly oxygenated, so you'll have no problems breathing."

Shinji struggled to keep the frown off his face as he inhaled the foul smelling liquid. 'Tasting blood is one thing, but now I'm breathing something that looks and smells like a hybrid between it and piss.'

(Insert obligatory techno-babble from bridge bunnies)

"How's his sync ratio holding?" Asked the fake blonde.

"It's holding steady at 66.6% ma'am."

"All systems are operational. Evangelion, ready for launch."

As the head of NERV Operations, it fell to Misato to give the final order. "Eva launch!"

Shinji showed no sign of discomfort as the G-forces began to put pressure on him. Soon enough, the Eva came to a stop on the surface, facing the Angel.

He could here Akagi's voice coming from the command center. "Just try to focus on walking for now."

Hearing this, he replied "Fuck walking!" Relying on instinct, he gave the Eva a mental command to advance on the Angel, which it did by jumping over it, flipping around to face the Angel's back. Following the same tactic he had previously employed against a Dominion, Shinji ordered the Eva to charge the enemy's back with a flying kick.

However, unlike Dominions, the Angel Sachiel was capable of manipulating Absolute Territory. EVA-01's kick fell short and fell to the ground. Before the Eva could disentangle itself from the cord attached to it, the Angel reached down and grabbed it by the arms. It squeezed humanity's defender's arms, eventually twisting them until they broke.

"GGGGGAAAAAAAGGGGGHHHHH!"

From underground, Dr. Akagi attempted to reassure Shinji. "Don't worry; it's not your real arm."

Inside the Eva, Shinji held his arms up to display his arms, which were bent at the same location as the Eva's had been broken. "That's fucking easy for you to say when it ISN'T YOU GETTING THE HELL BEATEN OUT OF YOU!"

Shinji could feel pressure on his head as the Eva was lifted by its helmet in Sachiel's hand. A spear of energy materialized, extending from the Angel's elbow as an extension of the forearm. The energy began to repeatedly extend itself, slamming into the right eye of the Eva. After a few strikes, the Angel blasted completely through the Eva's head, knocking into the line of buildings at the end of the street. Inside the entry plug, Shinji had a hole in his head at the exact same location.