All characters herein are owned by someone else, so don't bother blaming me
for their wackiness.


Family


        Out of breath.
        The Seele assassin ran faster and faster, but he couldn't seem to
get farther away from his pursuer.  For every step he took, the man behind
him took two.  It was only a matter of time before he was caught.
        'I was only doing my job!' he yelled to himself.  'He should know
that!  I didn't do anything wrong!  He was meddling in things and poking
his nose around in places that he shouldn't have been!'  Risking a glance
over his shoulder, he could see the man chasing him steadily approach.
Putting on a burst of speed, he suddenly realized where he might have a
chance of hiding and saving his own skin.
        He ran through a series of maze-like hallways, hoping to throw off
his pursuer.  After making one last turn, he stopped and looked around the
corner, trying to catch his breath and checking to see if he'd lost his
enemy.  When he saw the man round the corner he took off like a bat out of
hell.  He was now running faster than before, both fear and adrenaline
providing the extra kick he needed.
        He could feel the blood rushing in his ear, the pounding of his
heart, the ache of his over-used leg muscles.  He could tell that he was
starting to slow down and he knew what would happen to him if the other
person found him.  He would've liked to shudder at the thought, but he
didn't have the time or the energy to do so.  After risking a second glance
over his shoulder, only to confirm what he knew was true, that the other
man was still catching up to him, he tried to put on an extra burst of
speed, but his tired muscles screamed at him too much.
        In his haste to get away, he nearly ran past the door he needed.
Screeching to a halt, he quickly ducked inside and made a short visual
sweep of the room.  He indeed was in the proper place; the Eva cages.  The
three metal figures towered over him, even though his was on an umbilical
bridge, and the feeling was somewhat discomforting.  He shook his head to
clear it as he ran around, trying to find a place to hide.
        'There's no way he could follow me in here.  He didn't see me,' the
man reasoned.  But when he heard the whoosh of the door opening a second
time, he froze, not making a sound.  His heart had turned into ice, it
seemed.  He held his breath, trying to make himself as invisible as
possible.  He heard two quiet sounds, two clicks, and, risking a glance
around the crate he was cowering behind, he could see the man who'd been
chasing him place something in his pocket.  For some reason, seeing the
man's bare face was far more terrifying than just hearing the pounding of
his feet during the long chase.
        "I know you're in here," the man said, as calm as if he were
reading a book.  "Just come out in the open and it'll make everything
easier for the both of us."
        'Incredible!' the assassin thought to himself.  'He doesn't even
sound out of breath!,' and after double-checking what he saw, he added,
'He's not even breathing hard!  It's as if he didn't do any running at
all!'
        "If you don't come out now, it'll only prolong the inevitable," the
man said.  "And make things far worse for you."  The man starting walking
towards the crate, and assassin turned and ran in the opposite direction.
He realized too late that it put him in the middle of a platform that was
right in between the three Eva's.  Out in the open.
        When the man saw him, he didn't make any sounds.  He just walked up
to the assassin and stopped when he was two meters away.  Placing a hand in
his pocket, he opened his mouth to address the killer.
        "I am going to hurt you, very, very much," the man said, still in
calm tones, but the implication that he was going to do just that still
came across clearly.
        "But you can't hurt me!  I didn't do anything but follow orders!
You can understand that, can't you?"
        "Yes, I can.  But that doesn't change your fate any.  Best make
whatever prayers you want, for it will be the last thing you do on this
earth."  Still that calm tone, it was beginning to chip away at the killers
mental barrier.  He was starting to crack.
        "Y-you can't do this!  Seele won't let you hurt me!" he screamed at
the man, totally terrified.
        "You're right," the man said after a moment of consideration.  "I
won't kill you."  He paused and looked at each of the Eva's towering above
them both.  "They will."  And, with that, he turned on his heel and walked
out of the room.
        As the door closed behind him, he could hear the shrieking of metal
bonds being torn and the assassins own screams mixed together in some
primal song.
        Settling his glasses on his nose, Gendo Ikari walked back to his
office, Shinji's death avenged.

end

Cory Holmes
gholmes@rodeo.sd27.bc.ca