Of Shadows and Dragons

by TheLastWaltz

Rating: T

Disclaimer: Neon Genesis Evangelion is the property of Hideaki Anno, Gainax, Studio Khara, et al. The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim, is the property of Todd Howard, Bethesda Gameworks, Zenimax Media Inc., et al. I'm not making any money off this fic, but if asked to remove this story, I will.


Chapter 3: Shinji and Rei Pt. 1

Shinji awoke to the damp smell of earth, the moist scent tickling his nose as he groggily pushed himself upwards into a kneeling position. As his eyes adjusted to the dim light, he saw that he was in a carved out room with walls of raw stone. The only things Shinji could see besides the nature of the room itself was a torch on the wall, a large door that appeared to be made of bronze, pair of bed rolls on the ground next to one another, and the form of his fellow pilot Rei Ayanami next to him, still unconscious. Reaching over to Rei, Shinji gently shook her awake.

"Ayanami!" Shinji hissed, as quietly as he could, hearing voices just outside of the door. Through the dim torch light, Shinji could see that Ayanami was apparently ill. Her hair, instead of its usual powder blue color, had now gone stark white. Groaning, the First Child slowly began to wake up. Blinking her eyes, and turning to face Shinji, he now saw that her eyes had gone white as well, completely devoid of their usual red coloration.

"Pilot Ikari…" Rei started, her voice in its usual monotone. "You seem unharmed. That is good." she concluded. Rising into a sitting position, Rei then attempted to stand, but found herself wobbling on her feet. Shinji swiftly stood and looped her arm around his neck and shoulder, helping her to her feet. Just then, the two of them heard the sound of the lock turning in the bronze door before it swung open. At the entrance stood two men in tattered clothes, who looked at Rei and Shinji rather dumbfounded. One of them was a tall red-haired man, and the other was slightly shorter, older, with a rather dirty looking beard.

"Who the hell are you two?" asked the shorter one, the smell of alcohol flowing off of him. "And what in Mara's name are you doing in my room?" he queried further, moving toward Shinji and Rei.

"Calm yourself, Degaine. Like you have anything worth stealing..." the tall one shot back, to which Degaine complied, grumbling. The tall one then stepped ahead of Degaine.

"My name is Garvey. I'm basically the leader of this place. I usually keep watch out front, and I never saw you two pass by. Mind telling me how you got here?" he asked, looking at both Rei and Shinji skeptically, noting the plugsuits they were still wearing.

"Ask 'em if they got any coin." Degaine muttered. Garvey sighed in response.

"Do they look like they're from around here? It doesn't even look like their clothes have pockets. If you can even call those things clothes." Garvey concluded, causing Shinji to look down at himself in slight embarrassment. "In any case," the red-haired Breton began again, "why don't you two just come out of Degaine's room at least?" he said, stepping out of the door, giving Degaine a light shove to get him out of the way as well, making room for Shinji and Rei to come into the main hall of the Warrens. "Fine, now take a seat by the fire." Garvey instructed, to which Shinji and Rei complied, Rei walking slowly, leaning on Shinji for support. Eventually, the pair settled in front of the fire, cross-legged as Degaine sat on Shinji's right, with Garvey remaining standing on the opposite side of the fire. "Now, tell your tale…" Garvey commanded, though with a much gentler tone than Shinji usually received from his father's brusque orders. Taking a deep breath, Shinji began the story of their encounter with the twelfth Angel, and how they had been brought to this new world. At the end of their tale, Degaine looked hard at both Shinji and Rei before turning to Garvey, scratching at his dirty, greasy beard.

"They're either mad or on skooma." Degaine stated, rolling his eyes. "Either way, I want no part of these whelps being here." he finished, snorting and shaking his head. Garvey side-eyed the two pilots before turning back to Garvey.

"Normally I'd agree." he began, scratching at his scalp, clearly agitated by their story, but entirely unsure of what to do about it. "But look at their clothes. Never seen garb like that before. It clearly ain't from around here. But I agree, I don't want any part of this." he said, before turning back to Shinji and Rei. "Sorry, but you can't stay here. This place is for the sick and the destitute. Not for children. If you can make your way to Riften, there's an orphanage there." he said, shrugging in apology. His expression was mildly contrite, but still hard enough to ensure there would be no misunderstandings. Shinji balled his hands into fists, but a gentle touch from Rei, along with a shake of her head calmed him enough to accept Garvey's decision.

"Fine." Shinji bit out, rising to his feet, Rei's arm around him once more, though this time she had less trouble standing than before. Degaine also stood, returning to his room briefly before shouting at the two of them.

"Catch!" Degaine called out, two bundles of dirty cloth flying through the air and hitting Shinji square in the face. He spluttered as Degaine cackled. "They ain't in great condition, but those cloaks should hide those funny clothes you got on until you get some proper wear." he grunted. "Now git." he shot in parting, as Garvey led the pair to the outer door of the Warrens. Opening the door, he lightly shoved Shinji and Rei outside into the cool dusk. The two of them squinted at the sudden assault of the rapidly mellowing light. Once their eyes adjusted, Shinji audibly gasped in shock, as Rei's eyes widened. They were standing in the midst of a city carved entirely of white stone. Ahead to their right was what appeared to be a mine entrance, with two armed individuals standing guard. To their left was a group of miners in white shirts and gray pants, working in front of what looked like a massive oven. One large individual seemed to act as the boss, with a large iron mace hanging from his belt. Tall and bulky, it was only when Shinji and Rei approached him that they saw he had green skin and what looked like tusks growing upward from his lower jaw. Noting their odd look, the orc growled and stepped forward to meet them.

"What're you two starin' at? Never seen an orc before?" he asked in a challenging tone, reaching out and grabbing the front of Shinji's plugsuit before unholstering his mace. Watching the scene play out, Garvey groaned and jogged over to help the two Children.

"Calm down, Mulush! They ain't from around here!" he yelled, waving his arms to get the big orc's attention.

"This ain't any of your business, gutter trash." Mulush growled at Garvey.

"Look at 'em close. They look like Akaviri." Garvey responded. "Their parents came to Skyrim for business, but were killed by orc bandits. Only natural they'd look at you sideways." Garvey elaborated, Shinji looking at him owlishly as Garvey pulled his story entirely out of his ass. Mulush blinked and stepped back, releasing Shinji and tossing him into the pool of water next to him with a grunt. "The one with the pale hair's his sister. Got some kind of rare illness." Garvey continued. "Just let 'em pass." he concluded as Shinji hauled himself out of the water, shivering.

"I ain't never seen clothes like that before. They wear crap like that in Akavir?" he asked, turning back to Garvey, who only shrugged.

"I know foreign customs about as well as I know the inside of Thonar's vault, Mulush. All's I know is that those kids been through a lot, and the faster they're on their way to Honorhall Orphanage the better." Mulush groaned and holstered his mace before turning to Shinji, who was now soaking wet and just wanted this conversation to be over as soon as possible.

"Keep your eyes to yourself from now on, brat. Not everyone is as understanding as I am, neither are they as lucky as you are to have Garvey come and bail you out." Mulush said with a barely tolerant growl, before his voice shifted to one that was more apologetic. "Also...not all orcs are the same as the ones who killed your parents. Condolences on your loss, and I apologize on behalf of the Orsimer." he said, turning his back to Shinji, now considering the matter closed. This time, Rei helped Shinji to his feet.

"Come along...Shinji." she quietly instructed, fastening her cloak around her before helping him to do the same. Once done, the pair of them made their way up the path towards the Markarth city gates. Stopping just shy of the corner, around the bend from the Silver-Blood Inn Garvey stopped Shinji and Rei as he glanced at the pair of guards manning the gate.

"Damn. We'll need a distraction." Garvey muttered, turning his head to look around for something he could use. Spotting Degaine back down the road they had just came from, Garvey hurriedly waved him over. Cursing his luck at being seen, Degaine trotted over.

"The hell you want, Garvey?" the drunken Breton asked, again scratching at his beard and crouching down next to them.

"We need to distract the guards so we can get the kids out of the city without being seen. How much mead have you had today?" the lanky Breton asked, looking to his right towards Degaine, who looked back up at him.

"Not as much as I'd like, but enough to…" Degaine trailed off, narrowing his eyes at Garvey. "Ten septims, you fucking backbiter." he spat, to which Garvey scowled.

"Five septims. I already have the ale."Garvey shot back, causing Degaine to scowl in response.

"Only five septims to get my ass kicked?" he asked incredulously. "I thought you kicked the skooma habit." he japed, causing Garvey to scowl before finally conceding.

"Fine, ten." he agreed tersely, before handing the already sauced Breton two bottles of ale. Uncorking the first one with reluctance, Degaine pressed the bottle to his lips and chugged it, followed shortly by the second bottle. Letting out a loud belch, Shinji could see Degaine already turning a sickly shade of green. Turning to face Shinji and Rei, Degaine offered one solitary piece of advice before rising on shaky legs.

"Never mix ale and mead…" he stated, before stumbling towards the market. His stomach churned with every step as he made his way towards Hogni Red-Arm's stall. Sweat began to bead on Degaine's forehead as he walked up to Hogni's stall. Inhaling deep through his nose, he felt his stomach convulse as he turned his head and let out a yellow-green jet of vomit all over the meat Hogni had on sale that day. Lifting his head and making eye contact with Hogni, Degaine wheezed before letting out a short sentence.

"Bloodiest beef in the Reach…" Degaine uttered with a small cackle, just before Hogni seized the axe to his right.

"GODS DAMN YOU, DEGAINE!" Hogni roared as the guards blitzed forward, knocking everyone in front of them out of their way as they rushed to keep Hogni from murdering Degaine in broad daylight. Lifting his axe high, Hogni was about to bring it down on Degaine's head, but luckily the guard was able to wrap his arms around Hogni's torso from behind, bodily hauling him away from his stall as the other guard seized Degaine by the back of his raggedy top and strong-armed him out of the market. As the chaos ensued, Garvey rushed towards the manhole in front of the gate and lifted it up, beckoning Shinji and Rei downwards into the dark. Needing no further encouragement, the two of them followed, dropping down into the sewers of Markarth. Once in the tunnels, Shinji turned to Garvey with a confused look.

"Why down here?" he asked. "Why couldn't we just use the door?" Shinji asked, as Garvey walked forward with Shinji and Rei in tow.

"Because there were guards on the other side of the door too. And the jarl is a deeply distrustful individual. Not to mention the damned Thalmor that patrol his palace. If he had gotten wind that a couple of Akaviri brats had found their way into Markarth without his knowing, he would have had you interrogated. That tale of yours would have done you no favors." he answered. "Luckily the sewers here are far less vast than those of other cities. It's twenty minutes from here to Left Hand Mine. Once we're there, you'll see which way not to go." he finished, lifting his torch high to illuminate their path. Garvey strode in front of them, making sure to take care of any skeevers that jumped out at the three of them. True to his word, twenty minutes later Garvey led them to a gated entrance to a side shaft dug out of a mine. Further down the mine's sloping hall, they could hear the ringing sound of picks on stone. Sticking his head out, Garvey saw the path was clear. Slapping Shinji on the back, he silently pointed up the slope towards the entrance. Shinji in turn waved Rei up towards the entrance. Nodding, Rei moved up alongside Shinji as Garvey sped up to regain his place in front of them. Holding the door open, Garvey took another look around. The sun had now almost entirely set as the lanky Breton waved Shinji and Rei forward. "Take the road to the right on the other side of that wall." he instructed, pointing beyond the stables. "There are plenty of signs along the road that'll lead you to Riften. Best of luck, and may the gods be with you." he said, darting back into the mine, closing the door behind him. Looking at one another, Shinji and Rei raised their hoods and darted off. Using the lengthening shadows to their advantage, the two of them clung to the walls until they reached the first bridge, crossing over quickly, pausing only to read the first of many signs.

"It says Riften is this way." Shinji said, pointing towards the right, as Rei nodded in response. Following the pebbled road leading south, the pair pressed onward, both of them wincing as the pebbles on the road dug sharply into their feet through the thin material of their plugsuits. As the sun descended further down the horizon, Rei and Shinji paused briefly to gaze up at the twin moons of Masser and Secunda in astonishment. "Rei…" Shinji whispered, his tone full of awe and amazement. Without tearing his eyes from the sky, Shinji could feel the light touch of her hand upon his shoulder.

"Fascinating…" she whispered in return. Hearing the underbrush shift around them, Rei's eyes darted back and forth, trying to find the source of the sound. Seeing nothing, Rei gripped Shinji's right shoulder a bit harder. "We should not stay here. Let us keep moving. We do not know what animals might be out here." she stated. Shinji shook his head to break his fixation on the twin stellar objects above him and nodded. The scrub shook again, and a tan-colored goat bounded out of the bushes. The animal stared at them for a moment before bleating and continuing on its way up the road. The two of them blinked almost in unison before continuing on their own path forward. After an hour of solid walking, Shinji dropped onto a large flat rock on the side of the road. Wincing, Shinji rubbed at his sore feet, picking pebbles out of the soles of his plugsuit and shuddering as a coldness he'd never felt before penetrated the suit. Drawing the cloak tighter around his body, Shinji got back to his feet, and looked over at Rei, who nodded wordlessly and took the seat he vacated, brushing stones from her own feet and massaging them to ease the soreness she too was accumulating. The pair of them took twenty minutes to rest before proceeding along the path.

After another two hours of walking, Shinji was gnawing on his lower lip in pain. He could feel his feet swelling within his plugsuit. Without the benefit of proper footwear, he could feel every speck and scratch on the road beneath him. More than that, he was thirsty, and so was Rei. Shinji's gut clenched at the mockery of the vast river next to the road they were on, yet not being able to drink from it in case it made them ill. They had been on the road for four hours as they came to the fork that led to Old Hroldan. Shinji started down the path towards the inn, but was held back by Rei's firm hand on his shoulder. "We can not, Ikari-kun. We have no money, and our attire would draw far too much attention. We do not even know how we will be received at the orphanage we are headed to." she stated firmly. "We must avoid undue encounters." she concluded. Hearing a distant rattling noise that was steadily growing closer, Rei tightened her grip on Shinji's cloak and hurled him into some dense vegetation at the side of the road, throwing herself in behind him. Flattening herself onto the ground, and motioning for Shinji to do the same, the pair waited with bated breath as the rattling sound grew nearer. After a few minutes, the source of the sound arrived. A Thalmor patrol made up of three Justiciars, flanked by four more elves in their gilded armors, two in the front and two in the back.

Rei and Shinji held their breaths as they took in the features of the Altmer, illuminated by the lantern light, mounted to a post at the fork in the road. Too far to discern the shade of their eyes, the gold color of their skin was easily visible, as was the overall aristocratic sternness of their features, and the aura of their menace practically palpable, even at a distance. The pair waited as the patrol paused for a moment at the crossroads before turning the way Shinji and Rei had already come, back towards Markarth. Once the Thalmor had passed beyond hearing range, the two Children hefted themselves off of the dirt with a mild grunt, brushing the dust off their cloaks. Stepping back onto the road, the pair resumed their trek eastward.

After another two hours, the moons were now at the midpoint of the sky, midnight on the path to Riften. As the air grew colder, a fog began to form in the narrow valley floor, thick enough to obscure his vision almost entirely.. Rather than run the risk of being separated by the fog, Shinji gripped Rei's hand and clung to the left wall, which formed the bottom of a sheer vertical cliff. A dim light began to pierce the fog, growing closer by the moment. The sound of voices and the clopping of horse's hooves on stone also penetrated the blanket of cold mist. With nowhere to properly hide, Shinji and Rei flattened themselves against the cliff base and raised the hoods of their cloaks. Unfortunately for them, their cloaks only hung down to their knees, and as the light finally fell upon their position, they were quickly exposed.

"Lower your hoods and reveal yourselves! Now!" demanded the extremely terse voice of a woman. Rei and Shinji stepped forward, lowering the hoods of their cloaks as directed, and stepping forward into the path of what they now saw to be a column of troops in red armor. The woman, sitting atop a horse, wearing something similar to the armor of a Roman officer blinked and drew back upon seeing Rei's and Shinji's faces. "Children? Who in the name of Kyne leaves children on the roads in the early hours of the morning in this damnable fog?!" she asked rhetorically before speaking to the pair of strays once more. "Who are you and how did you get here?" she asked, dismounting her horse with ease before striding towards the pair of them, Shinji swallowed his nerves and stepped forward to speak.

"We...we sailed from Akavir. Our parents were killed by orc bandits, and we were knocked unconscious. When we came to, we were in the Warrens under Markarth. Two of the people there, Degaine and Garvey…" at that, one of the soldiers snorted, clearly familiar with the two bums. "They told us to go to Riften. Honorhall Orphanage. They gave us these cloaks and took us to the city gate. Told us how to follow the road. The girl next to me is my sister, Rei." he finished. Rikke raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. Her hand flashed out and her sword practically flew from it's scabbard before lightly lifting the hem of Shinji's cloak away from his chest, revealing his plugsuit.

"Is this the fashion, then, in Akavir?" she queried. "I know the young are prone to telling fables, but yours is far too much to accept." she stated, turning her gaze to Rei. "And you, girl, is your tale the same, or will you at least do me the courtesy of being honest?" Rei looked down toward the ground for a moment in contemplation, then back up at Legate Rikke before answering.

"Ma'am, the truth of our tale would be far too strange to tell. In all likelihood, you would probably think us mad. Though I would normally not suggest such a thing, and yes, though my brother's tale is a fabrication. It would be far safer for all of us, to simply accept the lie." Rikke's lips compressed into a thin line.

"I'm sorry, but I can't do that." Rikke said quietly, turning to two of her largest soldiers. "Bind them, gag them, then toss them in the back of the carriage. We'll take them with us to Castle Dour." she ordered. Shinji and Rei turned to run, but the soldiers were far too fast. One seized each of them by the waist while another tied their wrists and covered their mouths. Then they were roughly tossed into the wooden carriage as yet another soldier clamped onto their shoulders and sat them upright. From the front, they could still hear Legate Rikke speaking. "Take them directly to the dungeon. General Tulius and I will question them, but do not breathe a word of this to the Thalmor. I will not have those damned elves torturing children in our city. Now move out!" she commanded. Shinji and Rei lurched backwards slightly as the wagon moved ahead at a steady pace. The two Children looked at one another, their eyes slightly downcast as they were now captives in an unfriendly world, riding towards an uncertain future.


A/N: Chapter Three at last! Sorry it took so long to get it out. Life, as always, gets in the way and sometimes it's hard to find time to work on the thing I love most. For those of you wondering, the first part of this fic is set in year 195 of the Fourth Era, six years before the events of the game. I want the kids to be of reasonably responsible age before stuff really starts to hit the fan. The next chapter will feature Misato and Kaji, before focusing on Asuka, and then Ritsuko. Thank you to everyone who's been reading and reviewing. You folks are awesome. Catch you on the flip side.