A quick note before I start- I am NOT one of those people who believe that Rei is some sort of a reincarnation of Shinji's mother. I AM one of those people who believe that Rei and Shinji make one of the cutest couples I have ever seen (particularly a few years in the future, as this will end up being). And I AM one of those people who really doesn't like Asuka very much- her or Gendo. There's not likely to be much nice stuff about them in any of my stories. That's a warning, Asuka fans!
If you're still reading, then read on:
She let Shinji hold her close until the waves of terror abated, and then a little longer. Her head was
resting against his chest; she could hear his heart beating, a rythmic and soothing sound. He stroked her
hair gently, and that, too, was a good thing.
"Are you okay, Rei?" he asked softly.
She took a deep breath. "I am frightened," she confessed.
"It'll be okay. You just gotta watch out for yourself. I'll watch out for you too, but I can't do it all the
time- you gotta be careful. You're just like the rest of us, now. You're playing for real."
His hands continued gently stroking her hair. She did not move. Playing for real- yes. It wasn't pretend
anymore, her life wasn't pretend. She wasn't safe anymore- but she was for real. That was a good
thought.
Then, with some reluctance, Rei lifted her head. "Gryffyn is calling," she said.
Shinji smiled. "Okay. Let's go feed him. I bet he'll be real happy to see you, Rei!"
Truer words were never spoken. The instant the ancient tree came into sight, a golden ball struck Rei in
the chest, almost bowling her over. Gryffyn clung to her with all four paws, wrapping his young wings
as far around her as he could, rubbing his head ecstatically against her neck. Croonings and short cries
burst from the young creature, unable to contain his happiness at the sight of Rei.
But he was no small burden, either- lying along her as he was, the gryphon's torso was slightly shorter
than hers. Despite Shinji's support, it only took a few moments for Rei to topple over- pulling the boy
and the gryphon with her.
All three ended up in a pile on the ground, laughing and happy. Rei buried her hands in Gryffyn's fur,
amazed at how much he had grown. Since she had first seen him- less than a month ago- he had almost
doubled in length. He was now as big as most large full-grown dogs- and his paws were still much too
big for him, and his feathers not full-grown.
Shinji sat up, still chuckling. Rei pushed Gryffyn back so that she could sit up too, though he stayed
sprawling across her lap.
"You did miss me, then," she smiled.
The gryphon drew his haunches up under him, wrapping his tail around his toes- like a cat sitting
primly. He coughed several times, almost as though he was clearing his throat, then looked up at Rei
and growled with his beak open. "Hrraaargh! Hrrraaayh!"
She looked at him oddly. He's never done anything like this before. What was he trying to do? Was
there something he wanted? Shinji was digging through his bag for the food; maybe that was it.
Gryffyn hissed, swallowed loudly, and looked at Shinji. "Sssss," he hissed, then took a deep breath and
let out an odd double hiss: "Hssssi-ssssii." He looked back to Rei, raising a feathered eyebrow- the
motion seemed clear and purposeful. Was he trying to speak?
Apparently so. The beast spread his wings, turning the tips inward. "Rrrrii-ffffn." He cocked an
eyebrow again, looking to Rei for approval.
"That's very good," she said, dazed. She had not imagined that Gryffyn would be capable of speech.
"You can understand me, Gryffyn?"
He opened his beak again, hissing "Hessssssss," and spraying her with spittle. Rei wiped her face
almost absently. "What is my name?"
"Hrraayh."
"Close. Keep trying. Say 'Rei', Gryffyn. 'Rei'."
"Hrayh. Ray. Ray. Rei."
"Good!" she smiled, and reached out to gently stroke Gryffyn's head. He tilted his head into the caress,
thrilled. "You're very clever."
"Hesss."
Shinji laughed. Amazement covered his face, too. Who would have thought that the little animal would
be so smart, would be learning to speak? He was also honoured, quietly, that it thought his name was
worth learning. "Here's his food." He passed Rei the container filled with gryphon-mix. Gryffyn's eyes
lit up. "Ffffft!" he hissed.
Rei held the container closed. "Say it right, Gryffyn. 'Food'."
A few minutes later, Gryffyn had come fairly close to mastering the word, and Rei let him have it. He
ate surprisingly neatly.
Shinji watched the gryphon. The small creature was almost unbearably cute. And- Rei seemed not to
notice that her leg was still draped over his, her cool skin making his tingle. Suddenly he wanted more
than anything to wrap his arms around her again, to feel her oh-so-female body against his. His mind
was filled with thoughts of kissing her.
Maybe it was just the fact that she had been so much more open over the last day or so- talking of these
things, these big important things that had been so secret, or seeing the way that she acted with
Gryffyn- he wasn't sure. It was true that he had always had a bit of an attraction to Rei, but he'd had so
much practise at keeping it to himself that it was almost automatic. But right now... he didn't know.
This was confusing.
Gryffyn neatly cleaned his beak after he finished eating, and preened a few of his chest feathers with its
sharp tip. Then, with a mischeivous grin, he pounced on Rei again, knocking her against Shinji.
She laughed, stroking the golden fur somewhat awkwardly while playful wings batted at her. Gryffyn
was croaking with happiness. After buffeting her head a few more times, he dropped down a little
lower and snuggled his feathered head between her breasts- evidently content to remain that way.
Shinji was very grateful. Rei was leaning almost all the way against him, using him as a backrest, her
body shaking with her quiet laughter. Nervously, he lifted a hand and let it rest on the hollow of her
waist. She quivered slightly in response to his touch- but did not indicate in any way that she wanted
him to take his hand away. The boy relaxed, relieved. That had to be a good sign.
The three sat in silence for several minutes, barely moving. The sun was shining down brightly, a
gentle breeze making its way down Itaikon Road, and the city peaceful about them. Overall, it was a
calm and sleepy afternoon.
A bird called, and Shinji jolted himself awake. A quick glance at his watch showed that only ten or
fifteen minutes had passed, for which he was glad. Rei's sleeping body was heavy against his, and a
reedy snore emerged from Gryffyn's beak. He hadn't really been asleep, but had dozed off, lulled by
the afternoon sun.
"Rei?" he said gently, to wake her, but she did not respond. "Rei?" he repeated, a bit louder. Still
nothing. He shook her gently.
Finally, with a few tiny moans, she awoke. "Hmm- what- oh... Shinji." Her voice was thick with sleep.
"I'm tired." Gryffyn, still snuggled up to her, lifted his birdlike head, looked about, and then laid it
back down, his bright eyes closing.
"You can't go to sleep here, Rei. It's not safe. C'mon, I'll take you back to your place. You can sleep
there."
"Want to sleep here," she muttered.
"Rei..."
She sighed. "I know." Pushing Gryffyn off, she tried to stand, and succeeded on the third attempt.
Shinji stood too, with some effort.
Gryffyn protested loudly, creeling at Rei and butting up against her leg. She looked down at him.
"What do you want?"
"Rei," he commanded imperiously, planting his paws firmly on the ground. It was easy apparent that he
wanted her to stay.
"I can't stay here, Gryffyn."
"Rei?" he pleaded.
She reached down to stroke his headfeathers. "You can come with me, if you want, Gryffyn."
"Hesss!" he agreed, jumping happily. Shinji had to smile.
"How's your leg?" he asked, hoping that she would need help once more.
She considered. "I may need your help again, Shinji."
The boy concealed a smile. He was having such a good day today! "Sure," he agreed, wrapping his arm
around her waist once more. It was beginning to feel like it belonged there. Her slender arm slipped
about his shoulders as before, and they began to walk. Gryffyn kept to Rei's heel with a mix of
happiness and tension- nervous at leaving this place where he had stayed for the last score of days, but
thrilled to be going elsewhere with his beloved mistress.
Rei bid Shinji farewell at her door, and collapsed upon her bed to sleep. Gryffyn, who had been rather
intimidated when entering the building, was sniffing about the room with cautious trepidition. The
place was dirty and dank, not at all to his liking, but at least it smelt like Rei. It was decidedly her lair,
if an unpleasant one.
"Rei," he said softly, trying the word out to himself. He liked words. He liked talking. He knew he'd
learn many more words, even if it took him a very long time. He'd be able to talk as easily as Rei and
the boy some day.
He leaped agilely up onto the big soft thing on which Rei lay. She blinked at him, but allowed him to
snuggle up to her.
Gryffyn was so happy! He loved Rei devotedly. Just the smell of her both relaxed and excited him.
And to be allowed to touch her, or to feel her hands touch him... it was wonderful. He'd never, ever let
anybody hurt her or be mean to her. She felt cold, so he draped his warm feathered wings over her to
lend her some of his heat. Oh, he loved her so much! He wanted to be just like this, forever and ever.
Shinji knocked on the door- once, twice, thrice- and opened it when there was no reply. "Rei?" he
called softly.
But it wasn't Rei who answered. "Hello, Shinshi," Gryffyn said from his perch atop the bed. He still
could not yet master the 'j' sound, but then again he'd only been speaking for two weeks.
"Hi, Gryffyn," he replied absently, kicking his shoes off and entering to dump his armful of notes onto
the desk. "So where's Rei?"
The gryphon shrugged with wings that seemed designed for the gesture. "No know. Here till sunhigh,
then bye bye."
"Oh." He nodded. She'd probably went down to NERV for something or other- he didn't know what
the hell they were doing to her; after all, there weren't any Angels left. Why should they need to train
more or anything? There was noone left to fight, not unless they pitted the Evas one against the other.
He shuddered. Now, there was a terrifying thought!
With his typical feline grace, Gryffyn poured himself from the bed and rubbed against Shinji's ankles,
almost knocking him over. "Bring food?"
Shinji laughed, defending himself. "What do you think I am, crazy? Of course I brought your food!"
He unslung the bag from his shoulder and took out the hefty plastic box that he'd taken to bringing
Gryffyn's mix over in.
The gryphon's beak gaped open in anticipation, and as soon as Shinji put the food down on the ground
he tore into it.
"You know, Gryffyn," Shinji said somewhat hesitantly, "Someday you're gonna have to start hunting
for yourself. I mean you're obviously a meateater, and I think you look fit enough to kill your own
food."
"Like your food," Gryffyn said pointedly, licking a few stray grains from the side of his beak.
"I mean it, Gryffyn. And you're gonna get a lot bigger yet, soon I won't be able to make enough food
to feed you!"
Gryffyn sighed heavily, awkwardly licking the last of the juices from the box. "Can hunt." He looked at
Shinji with sparkling eyes. "Rei no know I leave alone. Night; or Rei-gone. I leave and try hunt!" His
wings half-spread in excitement. "This sun, hunt scritch-scratch rrrat! Hunt, hunt, kill! Eat-eat good.
Frrst kill!" he creeled proudly.
The creature's happiness was contagious. Shinji squatted down to give him a rough hug. "That's very
good, Gryffyn! Wow! So now you don't need me to feed you any more!"
Gryffyn lightly nipped his leg. "Yes you do, Shinshi. I like your food!"
Then something happened which shattered Shinji's world.
A low, wailing siren rose, loud enough to be heard through the entire of Tokyo 3.
Shinji swore very viciously and rose to his feet. "Stay here, Gryffyn. Stay here! Don't leave Rei's den
until either me or her come back! Stay here!"
Gryffyn gave him a confused look, but drew his hindquarters under him, sitting pointedly. "I stay,
Shinshi."
"That's good. Now I have to go. Goodb- see you later." The young pilot left Rei's apartment and
headed straight for the nearest entrance to Nerv. Within ten minutes he had reached the center.
"What's going on?" he shouted at Ritsuko, who was there awaiting him. "I thought there weren't
supposed to be any more Angels!!!"
She yelled back, "Well, it seems we were wrong! Now go suit up, dammit!" Her usually stable form
was shaking with tension. "I don't believe this..." she muttered as he headed to the changerooms.
Shinji couldn't see either of the other pilots around, but he guessed that they must already be suited up
and probably in their Evas. He pulled on the familiar plugsuit with a twinge of apprehension. The
routine itself meant little to him any more- the fact that one or more of them would soon be risking
their lives once more had yet to be fully realised by him. He stood still as the suit sealed itself to his
body, shuddering slightly, and returned to the control center.
The sight of his father came as a shock to him. Commander Ikari had been present at very few of the
training sessions lately, for whatever reason. Hidden eyes turned to him when he stepped onto the
bridge. "Shinji, get in your Eva. We probably won't be using you- Eva Zero should be able to handle
the situation- but you'll need to be ready in case."
"Yes, sir," Shinji answered, feeling as overwhelmed as he always did in his father's presence. Misato
gave him an encouraging smile as he passed her.
"You'll do good, Shinji. It'll be fine."
Minutes later he was seated in the entry plug, the clear amber LCL filling his lungs with the smell of
blood. The small pictures appeared on the sides of his vision: Misato's determined face; a nervous-
looking Asuka; and Rei, appearing as calm as ever.
Outside, the blip on the map that represented the new Angel was moving steadily closer to Tokyo 3.
"Have we got a visual on it yet?" called Misato.
Aoba nodded and a view of the approaching Angel was placed up on one of the screens. It was fairly
small compared to some of the others, maybe half the height of an Eva standing upright. An odd
serpentine shape with four 'legs' and two 'arms' in the fashion of the centaurs of old legend, but not
nearly as anthropomorphic: its shape was smoothly streamlined, its colour a dark steely grey, and it had
no head, nor any real recognisable sensory receptors. Its limbs did not end in digits, rather in flat
appendages with no obvious purpose.
"Ugly," Aoba commented, accurately. The Angel did have a fluid grace to its movements, but other
than that, it was not beautiful.
"I'm sure Rei can handle it," Misato decided and raised her voice. "Eva launch!"
Rei slammed back into her seat as the Evangelion blasted towards the surface. It had been so long...
She was out, alone, with no backup. Grabbing a positron rifle from the nearby stand, she headed in the
Angel's direction. A direct frontal assault would give them an idea of its strengths.
And there it was. A jolt of fear ran through her but she stomped on it firmly. This was routine, she tried
to convince herself. They had killed a dozen of these things already; this one would be no different.
As soon as it was near enough, she fired a short burst at it. The energy-bullets ricocheted from a
momentarily visible AT Field, as was to be expected- and the Angel turned, quick as a snake, in her
direction.
On the screen, all in Nerv could see Unit 00 suddenly and inexplicably lift high into the air, then smash
forcibly down into the ground.
Pain lanced through her. Her side was crushed where she had landed on it. What the hell WAS that?
She dragged herself slowly to her feet, her teeth tightly clenched.
Misato's voice sounded in her ear. "Raise your AT Field, Rei! Now!"
Breath hissed through her teeth, Rei tried to muster the concentration necessary to do just that- but the
sheer terror rising from her stomach was too much. She gave a low whimper as it picked her up again,
not moving, and she felt herself rising up with nothing to stop another bone-breaking smash. "I can't!"
she moaned.
"REI!" Misato yelled, panicking. "Your AT Field! You have to!"
A crueller voice cut through hers. "Do it now," the Commander ordered coldy.
Rei whimpered again, paralysed with fear and pain. "I can't," she repeated. "I can't I can't I can't I
can't I CAN'T!"
Smash!
A soft, shuddering cry slipped from her, and she coughed up a mouthful of blood. The red liquid
swirled gently in the LCL, mixing in with it.
She heard Shinji's frantic voice. "Dammit, Misato, let me up there! It's gonna kill her!"
"No!" Rei whimpered. She glanced at the faces beside her, showing them her own lined in fear:
Misato's worry; Asuka's vague satisfaction (Bitch! her mind shouted); and Shinji's angry fear. Shinji
saw her looking at him and held her eyes.
"C'mon Rei, you can do it, I know!" he pleaded. She just stared at him, feeling her Eva being lifted for
the third time. Slowly, slowly... "Let me up there!" he shouted, looking away. "She needs help,
Misato!"
The fear was choking her, and she could not control it.
"Rei!" Shinji begged. "Please! You've done this before, Rei! Come on!"
"It's not a game," she gagged, "It's real, it's real, oh god..."
"MISATO!" Shinji's voice cracked on that yell.
"No, Shinji." This time it was Ikari's voice, his face on the viewscreen cold and hard. "We can't risk
Unit 01, you know that."
Unexpectedly, it was Asuka who spoke next. "Let me go then."
The Commander nodded slowly.
"Eva launch!"
Unit 02 arrived at the surface at the same time that Unit 00 did. It was shaken by the other Evangelion's
contact with the ground.
Rei's cry echoed through every speaker, throbbing with pain.
My first cliffhanger! Wow, I'm proud of myself. Review? Please? I love writing this, but I need to know that people out there enjoy reading it!!! I'm just selfish that way I guess...
If you're still reading, then read on:
She let Shinji hold her close until the waves of terror abated, and then a little longer. Her head was
resting against his chest; she could hear his heart beating, a rythmic and soothing sound. He stroked her
hair gently, and that, too, was a good thing.
"Are you okay, Rei?" he asked softly.
She took a deep breath. "I am frightened," she confessed.
"It'll be okay. You just gotta watch out for yourself. I'll watch out for you too, but I can't do it all the
time- you gotta be careful. You're just like the rest of us, now. You're playing for real."
His hands continued gently stroking her hair. She did not move. Playing for real- yes. It wasn't pretend
anymore, her life wasn't pretend. She wasn't safe anymore- but she was for real. That was a good
thought.
Then, with some reluctance, Rei lifted her head. "Gryffyn is calling," she said.
Shinji smiled. "Okay. Let's go feed him. I bet he'll be real happy to see you, Rei!"
Truer words were never spoken. The instant the ancient tree came into sight, a golden ball struck Rei in
the chest, almost bowling her over. Gryffyn clung to her with all four paws, wrapping his young wings
as far around her as he could, rubbing his head ecstatically against her neck. Croonings and short cries
burst from the young creature, unable to contain his happiness at the sight of Rei.
But he was no small burden, either- lying along her as he was, the gryphon's torso was slightly shorter
than hers. Despite Shinji's support, it only took a few moments for Rei to topple over- pulling the boy
and the gryphon with her.
All three ended up in a pile on the ground, laughing and happy. Rei buried her hands in Gryffyn's fur,
amazed at how much he had grown. Since she had first seen him- less than a month ago- he had almost
doubled in length. He was now as big as most large full-grown dogs- and his paws were still much too
big for him, and his feathers not full-grown.
Shinji sat up, still chuckling. Rei pushed Gryffyn back so that she could sit up too, though he stayed
sprawling across her lap.
"You did miss me, then," she smiled.
The gryphon drew his haunches up under him, wrapping his tail around his toes- like a cat sitting
primly. He coughed several times, almost as though he was clearing his throat, then looked up at Rei
and growled with his beak open. "Hrraaargh! Hrrraaayh!"
She looked at him oddly. He's never done anything like this before. What was he trying to do? Was
there something he wanted? Shinji was digging through his bag for the food; maybe that was it.
Gryffyn hissed, swallowed loudly, and looked at Shinji. "Sssss," he hissed, then took a deep breath and
let out an odd double hiss: "Hssssi-ssssii." He looked back to Rei, raising a feathered eyebrow- the
motion seemed clear and purposeful. Was he trying to speak?
Apparently so. The beast spread his wings, turning the tips inward. "Rrrrii-ffffn." He cocked an
eyebrow again, looking to Rei for approval.
"That's very good," she said, dazed. She had not imagined that Gryffyn would be capable of speech.
"You can understand me, Gryffyn?"
He opened his beak again, hissing "Hessssssss," and spraying her with spittle. Rei wiped her face
almost absently. "What is my name?"
"Hrraayh."
"Close. Keep trying. Say 'Rei', Gryffyn. 'Rei'."
"Hrayh. Ray. Ray. Rei."
"Good!" she smiled, and reached out to gently stroke Gryffyn's head. He tilted his head into the caress,
thrilled. "You're very clever."
"Hesss."
Shinji laughed. Amazement covered his face, too. Who would have thought that the little animal would
be so smart, would be learning to speak? He was also honoured, quietly, that it thought his name was
worth learning. "Here's his food." He passed Rei the container filled with gryphon-mix. Gryffyn's eyes
lit up. "Ffffft!" he hissed.
Rei held the container closed. "Say it right, Gryffyn. 'Food'."
A few minutes later, Gryffyn had come fairly close to mastering the word, and Rei let him have it. He
ate surprisingly neatly.
Shinji watched the gryphon. The small creature was almost unbearably cute. And- Rei seemed not to
notice that her leg was still draped over his, her cool skin making his tingle. Suddenly he wanted more
than anything to wrap his arms around her again, to feel her oh-so-female body against his. His mind
was filled with thoughts of kissing her.
Maybe it was just the fact that she had been so much more open over the last day or so- talking of these
things, these big important things that had been so secret, or seeing the way that she acted with
Gryffyn- he wasn't sure. It was true that he had always had a bit of an attraction to Rei, but he'd had so
much practise at keeping it to himself that it was almost automatic. But right now... he didn't know.
This was confusing.
Gryffyn neatly cleaned his beak after he finished eating, and preened a few of his chest feathers with its
sharp tip. Then, with a mischeivous grin, he pounced on Rei again, knocking her against Shinji.
She laughed, stroking the golden fur somewhat awkwardly while playful wings batted at her. Gryffyn
was croaking with happiness. After buffeting her head a few more times, he dropped down a little
lower and snuggled his feathered head between her breasts- evidently content to remain that way.
Shinji was very grateful. Rei was leaning almost all the way against him, using him as a backrest, her
body shaking with her quiet laughter. Nervously, he lifted a hand and let it rest on the hollow of her
waist. She quivered slightly in response to his touch- but did not indicate in any way that she wanted
him to take his hand away. The boy relaxed, relieved. That had to be a good sign.
The three sat in silence for several minutes, barely moving. The sun was shining down brightly, a
gentle breeze making its way down Itaikon Road, and the city peaceful about them. Overall, it was a
calm and sleepy afternoon.
A bird called, and Shinji jolted himself awake. A quick glance at his watch showed that only ten or
fifteen minutes had passed, for which he was glad. Rei's sleeping body was heavy against his, and a
reedy snore emerged from Gryffyn's beak. He hadn't really been asleep, but had dozed off, lulled by
the afternoon sun.
"Rei?" he said gently, to wake her, but she did not respond. "Rei?" he repeated, a bit louder. Still
nothing. He shook her gently.
Finally, with a few tiny moans, she awoke. "Hmm- what- oh... Shinji." Her voice was thick with sleep.
"I'm tired." Gryffyn, still snuggled up to her, lifted his birdlike head, looked about, and then laid it
back down, his bright eyes closing.
"You can't go to sleep here, Rei. It's not safe. C'mon, I'll take you back to your place. You can sleep
there."
"Want to sleep here," she muttered.
"Rei..."
She sighed. "I know." Pushing Gryffyn off, she tried to stand, and succeeded on the third attempt.
Shinji stood too, with some effort.
Gryffyn protested loudly, creeling at Rei and butting up against her leg. She looked down at him.
"What do you want?"
"Rei," he commanded imperiously, planting his paws firmly on the ground. It was easy apparent that he
wanted her to stay.
"I can't stay here, Gryffyn."
"Rei?" he pleaded.
She reached down to stroke his headfeathers. "You can come with me, if you want, Gryffyn."
"Hesss!" he agreed, jumping happily. Shinji had to smile.
"How's your leg?" he asked, hoping that she would need help once more.
She considered. "I may need your help again, Shinji."
The boy concealed a smile. He was having such a good day today! "Sure," he agreed, wrapping his arm
around her waist once more. It was beginning to feel like it belonged there. Her slender arm slipped
about his shoulders as before, and they began to walk. Gryffyn kept to Rei's heel with a mix of
happiness and tension- nervous at leaving this place where he had stayed for the last score of days, but
thrilled to be going elsewhere with his beloved mistress.
Rei bid Shinji farewell at her door, and collapsed upon her bed to sleep. Gryffyn, who had been rather
intimidated when entering the building, was sniffing about the room with cautious trepidition. The
place was dirty and dank, not at all to his liking, but at least it smelt like Rei. It was decidedly her lair,
if an unpleasant one.
"Rei," he said softly, trying the word out to himself. He liked words. He liked talking. He knew he'd
learn many more words, even if it took him a very long time. He'd be able to talk as easily as Rei and
the boy some day.
He leaped agilely up onto the big soft thing on which Rei lay. She blinked at him, but allowed him to
snuggle up to her.
Gryffyn was so happy! He loved Rei devotedly. Just the smell of her both relaxed and excited him.
And to be allowed to touch her, or to feel her hands touch him... it was wonderful. He'd never, ever let
anybody hurt her or be mean to her. She felt cold, so he draped his warm feathered wings over her to
lend her some of his heat. Oh, he loved her so much! He wanted to be just like this, forever and ever.
Shinji knocked on the door- once, twice, thrice- and opened it when there was no reply. "Rei?" he
called softly.
But it wasn't Rei who answered. "Hello, Shinshi," Gryffyn said from his perch atop the bed. He still
could not yet master the 'j' sound, but then again he'd only been speaking for two weeks.
"Hi, Gryffyn," he replied absently, kicking his shoes off and entering to dump his armful of notes onto
the desk. "So where's Rei?"
The gryphon shrugged with wings that seemed designed for the gesture. "No know. Here till sunhigh,
then bye bye."
"Oh." He nodded. She'd probably went down to NERV for something or other- he didn't know what
the hell they were doing to her; after all, there weren't any Angels left. Why should they need to train
more or anything? There was noone left to fight, not unless they pitted the Evas one against the other.
He shuddered. Now, there was a terrifying thought!
With his typical feline grace, Gryffyn poured himself from the bed and rubbed against Shinji's ankles,
almost knocking him over. "Bring food?"
Shinji laughed, defending himself. "What do you think I am, crazy? Of course I brought your food!"
He unslung the bag from his shoulder and took out the hefty plastic box that he'd taken to bringing
Gryffyn's mix over in.
The gryphon's beak gaped open in anticipation, and as soon as Shinji put the food down on the ground
he tore into it.
"You know, Gryffyn," Shinji said somewhat hesitantly, "Someday you're gonna have to start hunting
for yourself. I mean you're obviously a meateater, and I think you look fit enough to kill your own
food."
"Like your food," Gryffyn said pointedly, licking a few stray grains from the side of his beak.
"I mean it, Gryffyn. And you're gonna get a lot bigger yet, soon I won't be able to make enough food
to feed you!"
Gryffyn sighed heavily, awkwardly licking the last of the juices from the box. "Can hunt." He looked at
Shinji with sparkling eyes. "Rei no know I leave alone. Night; or Rei-gone. I leave and try hunt!" His
wings half-spread in excitement. "This sun, hunt scritch-scratch rrrat! Hunt, hunt, kill! Eat-eat good.
Frrst kill!" he creeled proudly.
The creature's happiness was contagious. Shinji squatted down to give him a rough hug. "That's very
good, Gryffyn! Wow! So now you don't need me to feed you any more!"
Gryffyn lightly nipped his leg. "Yes you do, Shinshi. I like your food!"
Then something happened which shattered Shinji's world.
A low, wailing siren rose, loud enough to be heard through the entire of Tokyo 3.
Shinji swore very viciously and rose to his feet. "Stay here, Gryffyn. Stay here! Don't leave Rei's den
until either me or her come back! Stay here!"
Gryffyn gave him a confused look, but drew his hindquarters under him, sitting pointedly. "I stay,
Shinshi."
"That's good. Now I have to go. Goodb- see you later." The young pilot left Rei's apartment and
headed straight for the nearest entrance to Nerv. Within ten minutes he had reached the center.
"What's going on?" he shouted at Ritsuko, who was there awaiting him. "I thought there weren't
supposed to be any more Angels!!!"
She yelled back, "Well, it seems we were wrong! Now go suit up, dammit!" Her usually stable form
was shaking with tension. "I don't believe this..." she muttered as he headed to the changerooms.
Shinji couldn't see either of the other pilots around, but he guessed that they must already be suited up
and probably in their Evas. He pulled on the familiar plugsuit with a twinge of apprehension. The
routine itself meant little to him any more- the fact that one or more of them would soon be risking
their lives once more had yet to be fully realised by him. He stood still as the suit sealed itself to his
body, shuddering slightly, and returned to the control center.
The sight of his father came as a shock to him. Commander Ikari had been present at very few of the
training sessions lately, for whatever reason. Hidden eyes turned to him when he stepped onto the
bridge. "Shinji, get in your Eva. We probably won't be using you- Eva Zero should be able to handle
the situation- but you'll need to be ready in case."
"Yes, sir," Shinji answered, feeling as overwhelmed as he always did in his father's presence. Misato
gave him an encouraging smile as he passed her.
"You'll do good, Shinji. It'll be fine."
Minutes later he was seated in the entry plug, the clear amber LCL filling his lungs with the smell of
blood. The small pictures appeared on the sides of his vision: Misato's determined face; a nervous-
looking Asuka; and Rei, appearing as calm as ever.
Outside, the blip on the map that represented the new Angel was moving steadily closer to Tokyo 3.
"Have we got a visual on it yet?" called Misato.
Aoba nodded and a view of the approaching Angel was placed up on one of the screens. It was fairly
small compared to some of the others, maybe half the height of an Eva standing upright. An odd
serpentine shape with four 'legs' and two 'arms' in the fashion of the centaurs of old legend, but not
nearly as anthropomorphic: its shape was smoothly streamlined, its colour a dark steely grey, and it had
no head, nor any real recognisable sensory receptors. Its limbs did not end in digits, rather in flat
appendages with no obvious purpose.
"Ugly," Aoba commented, accurately. The Angel did have a fluid grace to its movements, but other
than that, it was not beautiful.
"I'm sure Rei can handle it," Misato decided and raised her voice. "Eva launch!"
Rei slammed back into her seat as the Evangelion blasted towards the surface. It had been so long...
She was out, alone, with no backup. Grabbing a positron rifle from the nearby stand, she headed in the
Angel's direction. A direct frontal assault would give them an idea of its strengths.
And there it was. A jolt of fear ran through her but she stomped on it firmly. This was routine, she tried
to convince herself. They had killed a dozen of these things already; this one would be no different.
As soon as it was near enough, she fired a short burst at it. The energy-bullets ricocheted from a
momentarily visible AT Field, as was to be expected- and the Angel turned, quick as a snake, in her
direction.
On the screen, all in Nerv could see Unit 00 suddenly and inexplicably lift high into the air, then smash
forcibly down into the ground.
Pain lanced through her. Her side was crushed where she had landed on it. What the hell WAS that?
She dragged herself slowly to her feet, her teeth tightly clenched.
Misato's voice sounded in her ear. "Raise your AT Field, Rei! Now!"
Breath hissed through her teeth, Rei tried to muster the concentration necessary to do just that- but the
sheer terror rising from her stomach was too much. She gave a low whimper as it picked her up again,
not moving, and she felt herself rising up with nothing to stop another bone-breaking smash. "I can't!"
she moaned.
"REI!" Misato yelled, panicking. "Your AT Field! You have to!"
A crueller voice cut through hers. "Do it now," the Commander ordered coldy.
Rei whimpered again, paralysed with fear and pain. "I can't," she repeated. "I can't I can't I can't I
can't I CAN'T!"
Smash!
A soft, shuddering cry slipped from her, and she coughed up a mouthful of blood. The red liquid
swirled gently in the LCL, mixing in with it.
She heard Shinji's frantic voice. "Dammit, Misato, let me up there! It's gonna kill her!"
"No!" Rei whimpered. She glanced at the faces beside her, showing them her own lined in fear:
Misato's worry; Asuka's vague satisfaction (Bitch! her mind shouted); and Shinji's angry fear. Shinji
saw her looking at him and held her eyes.
"C'mon Rei, you can do it, I know!" he pleaded. She just stared at him, feeling her Eva being lifted for
the third time. Slowly, slowly... "Let me up there!" he shouted, looking away. "She needs help,
Misato!"
The fear was choking her, and she could not control it.
"Rei!" Shinji begged. "Please! You've done this before, Rei! Come on!"
"It's not a game," she gagged, "It's real, it's real, oh god..."
"MISATO!" Shinji's voice cracked on that yell.
"No, Shinji." This time it was Ikari's voice, his face on the viewscreen cold and hard. "We can't risk
Unit 01, you know that."
Unexpectedly, it was Asuka who spoke next. "Let me go then."
The Commander nodded slowly.
"Eva launch!"
Unit 02 arrived at the surface at the same time that Unit 00 did. It was shaken by the other Evangelion's
contact with the ground.
Rei's cry echoed through every speaker, throbbing with pain.
My first cliffhanger! Wow, I'm proud of myself. Review? Please? I love writing this, but I need to know that people out there enjoy reading it!!! I'm just selfish that way I guess...