Chapter 54: AWOL

At the South Neo-Tokyo Police Department, there were not many people at the station. Most of the officers were on patrol duty and it seemed to be a mild active day. Nami was at her desk doing both paperwork and talking on the phone. Jotting down a couple of notes from a phone caller, she hanged up and looked at what she wrote down on her notepad.

'Been a lot of calls today-argh,' she thought hearing the phone ring again. Sighing softly, she flipped to the next page on her notepad and picked up the phone.

"Hello. SNT Police Department. How can I help you?" the secretary said lying back in her chair as the words came out automatically.

[Hello. This is Major Misato Katsuragi from NERV. May I speak to Chief Yogosami please?] she said catching Nami by surprise a little. The secretary quickly adjusted herself before answering.

[Just a second Major. I'll transfer your call] she said and punched in the extension number to the Chief's office. Placing the phone in its slot, the call transferred and his phone rang. Nami kept her finger down on the transfer button and glanced at the window view to his office. Seeing him working on paperwork, she waited for Ryu to pick up his phone. Once he did, she picked up her phone. Covering the bottom end of the phone with her hand, she listened in.

"Chief Yogosami speaking," Ryu said a little tired.

[Hello Chief. This is Major Misato Katsuragi from NERV]

"Hello Major. Congratulations on the promotion. What can I do for you?" he said. Adjusting himself, he felt a little more awake. Especially from getting a phone call from the place that gave him a headache.

[Thanks. Could you put out a manhunt for one of our employees?]

"Uhh…we can. Mind telling me why?"

[He has injured a couple of workers and escaped from the base]

"Mental case?"

[Yes]

"I see," Ryu said getting out a notepad and pen. "Would this employee be hard to identify?"

[No. He is well known.]

"Okay. If I can have the basic information about the employee, then I can let my patrolling units be on the lookout."

[Great] Misato said sounding a little relieved.

"What is the employee's name?"

[Shinji Ikari] she said. Both Ryu's and Nami's eyes widen. They stared at their desk processing what they heard. He cleared his throat.

"I'm sorry…you said Shinji Ikari?"

[Yes Chief.]

"The Eva pilot?"

[Mmm-hmm.]

"Who has schizophrenia and lives in the middle of a grass field?"

[Looks like you got all the info already there. You must know him well] Misato stated feeling less edgy.

"The crew here knows him well…uh…what exactly is his mental status at now, if I may ask?"

[Our head scientist's last brain scan of him showed that he is borderline stage 5]

'…shit…' the Chief thought feeling a headache brewing. He heard a sharp gasp in the next room. Glancing, he saw Nami had a hand on the speaker part of her phone. Though he knew she was an eavesdropper, he ignored it and tried to grasp what was being told to him.

"…I am assuming that is almost the worst phase of the mental disorder?"

[Yes. That is correct.]

"…alright. We'll look for him. What can you tell me about when and where…" he said trying to get more information. The more details he could get, the more it could help him and his team search and find the male pilot. After the phone call, the Chief put down the phone that felt like an iron ball. Leaning back into his chair, he let out a groan and rubbed his hands over his face. He heard someone moving from one room toward his. Knowing who, the person knocked on his office door.

"Come in," he said without looking at the door. He heard it open and heels clicking on the floor. Hearing the person sit down, he removed his hands from his eyes and looked at his secretary.

"You look like you heard a train wreck," he said trying to lighten the atmosphere.

"You look like you have aged a decade," she said with a small smirk.

"At least we are on the same page."

"Are you going to send our officers to get him?"

"Honestly, I would rather not. Given the factors of his mental stage, capabilities, and demeanor, that would be giving a death wish to any of them," he said rubbing his temples.

"Who is out on patrol now?" he asked watching Nami get up and looked at the officer board outside of the room.

"About half of the force here."

"How about Rayne?"

"She is out on patrol too," she said walking back and sitting down. "Are you going to tell her?"

"About what we heard on the phone…yes."

"Yes?! Are you nuts?!" Nami stated surprised.

"Whoa whoa, calm down. There is a reason why," Ryu said getting up and turning toward the window with the blinds down and parted. "She is expecting him to call her."

"Expecting? You mean like a date?"

"Not quite. For the past several days, she has been in her rut of wondering what she is. Before, she has stated that she doesn't know much about her child life. I had Jack do a bit of digging to find something; however, he didn't find much. Anything from about six years old to her birth is blacked out from her history record. It is similar to the pilot's records that are in public records."

"Yeah, I know that…wait a minute. You think she asked him to find out?"

"It is possible. Do you remember how Rayne acted the past couple of days?"

"Hmm…" the secretary said closing her eyes to think and remember. Opening her eyes, she looked at the back of the police chief.

"She wasn't moping and was rather pleased about something."

"I thought the same though it is only a hunch," he said pulling some blinds down and looking out at the city.

"How are you going to tell her without spilling the beans? She is going to be in danger if you order her to find and obtain the pilot."

"She is a tough cookie."

"No one can predict a schizo person's motives, actions, or movements."

"…" he said turning around and sitting back in his chair. He let his head lightly hit his desk and sighed loudly.

"How about waiting for a bit. I know NERV's agents are pretty mobile and quick to do their job. The Major probably informed them already. If we don't hear anything by evening, then make the call," Nami suggested.

"That sounds fair," he said lifting up his head to look at the secretary. Looking at the clock, it would be a couple of hours before evening would hit. As time passed and the evening hit, there was no call from NERV. Looking up at the time, Ryu looked at his office phone. Picking it up, he dialed the extension to the dispatcher.

[Yes Chief?]

"Dispatch a call to Officer Hymity."

[Roger Chief] the dispatcher said.

Roaming around down a street block, the young female officer was scanning for the general activity. While doing this, she was trying to keep her anxiety down. Though she did remember the male pilot say in the near future, she was fretting about how soon that would be. It has only been a couple of days since that evening that they have talked. However, waiting for the phone call that she didn't know when it would occur stretched her patience a bit.

The police car's phone system started buzzing. Looking around her, the traffic on the street was light. Turning to the curb, she slowed to a stop. Hitting the call button, she put it on loudspeaker.

"Officer Hymity here."

[Evening Rayne. Chief here.]

"What's up Chief?"

[We have a new lost person case that has taken priority.]

"…okay…" she asked a bit confused. "Isn't there a team to handle those cases?"

[Yes. There is. Only this one comes with a manhunt of a NERV employee] he said making her ears pick up.

"A NERV employee? Someone cracked?"

[He was already…just more so now] he said. The words made her widen her eyes thinking of who it was instantly.

'No…he can't…he was going to show me…wait, wait, wait…I need more information before jumping to conclusions…just calm down,' she thought quickly easing her murderous grip on the door rest and steering wheel. Breathing deeply, she didn't notice her grave expression as she stared at the center dashboard of the vehicle.

"…who is the employee Chief?"

[The Eva pilot, Shinji Ikari] he said flatly. He heard Rayne breathing heavily but slowly.

"…what…what is t-the reason?" she stated trying to calm down.

[His mental state is at borderline stage 5. He was seen knocking out a couple of security guards. NERV wants him detained and brought back to their HQ…uh…Rayne?] he asked as he heard her start to hyperventilate a little. There was some moving on the line and Nami took the phone.

[Listen Rayne…find him quickly. I know this is hard. The sooner you apprehend him, the safer everyone will be. We haven't told any other officer yet. It will be just you against NERV's Section-2 agen-]

The line went dead when Rayne smashed the end call button with a harsh grunt and a fist. Her emotions were boiling with her teeth clenching tightly against each other. Hands were shaking in fists. Blood pumped through her veins as her heart was beating faster. A vein was pulsating on her temple as she got madder.

'NERV pushed him…they pushed him to the edge…they had to. He already had the disorder from the beginning and now…they accelerated it,' she thought angrily.

'I'll never forgive any of them…I won't let them—' her thought was cut off by her cell phone ringing. Blinking, she got it out and looked at the caller.

"…!?" Rayne said seeing the name on the caller ID. All the emotional charge she had was replaced with wonder and hope. Shaking still, she slowly hit the accept button. Placing the mobile next to her ear, she tried calming down despite the buildup of anxiety.

"H-Hello…Shinji?"

[Good evening Miss Rayne. How are you?] the male pilot said calmly. He heard her breath slowly as he walked.

[Are you alright Miss Rayne?]

"Yes yes…I was a little upset before you called. I'm recovering now."

[That is good to hear] he stated.

She started to hear mumbling in the background and voices that weren't his. Ignoring the flashback of the pawn shop and the information that the Chief and secretary told her, she shook her head side to side.

'I don't care. It isn't important right now,' she thought not noticing a figure in the distance walking in her direction.

"Anyway…what can I do for you?" she asked feeling her anxiety building up faster.

[Are you available today?]

"Y-Y-Yes, I am."

[That is good to hear. I am available as well. Would you care to go to your birth place now or later?]

"…!" she said holding her breath from hearing what he asked. "NOW!"

[Miss Rayne?] he asked continuing to walk forward and adjusting something that he put on his head. The evil voice's cackle sounded muffled.

"Sorry. Just a bit over excited to find out where I came from."

[Understandable.]

"Where are you?" she asked when she heard three distinct knocks at her driver door. Turning, she jumped from being startled. A dark silhouette was looking in from the driver window.

"…!?" she said feeling her insides tighten from the sudden materialization. Not able to determine who the person was, she saw it was wearing a ball cap. Turning on a cabin light in the patrol car, she saw it was the male pilot. Looking closer, her heartbeat started increasing.

He had dark circles around his eyes. It made them look like they sank a bit. The sclera of his eyes looked a couple of shades darker than the normal white. His irises seemed to have flickers of red amongst the dark magenta. It looked unnatural as the red was slowly fading in and out in different places of the iris. Even through the car window, his aura felt worse than before. It was murkier, colder, and intense. It almost felt as if she was staring at someone on the edge before going mad. Hearing the cell phone beep of the call ending, she noticed that he was in his civilian attire with a light jacket.

Watching him remove his cell phone, he slowly stepped back from the driver door. The male pilot's figure dropped back to being a dark silhouette; however, the color's of his eyes were piercing through the darkness of the evening. Feeling her gut tell her to stay in the car, she shook her head harshly. Unbuckling her seatbelt, she unlocked the car door. Opening it, she saw that there was still light outside. The surroundings were a little bit more in detail than seeing through the car window. Stepping out, the female officer saw him bow a little to her.

"My apologies for startling you Miss—," Shinji started to say when Rayne embraced him. He kept his body still and his hands at his side. The evil voice let out a monstrous growl that ended with deep and slow-motioned giggle. Feeling itself disappear, his black and red tint view of the world went static until he saw everything in color. It brought back all the bombardment from before. The male voices were blaring vileness at him. They all stopped from realizing where they were.

'…' all the male voices said feeling the young female officer embrace and giving pleased smiles.

'…' Rana said puffing out her cheeks. She stepped out of being merged with the Third Child. Taking a step or two back, she crossed her arms over her chest. Tapping her foot on the ground, she looked at the woman with irritation.

"…Miss Rayne. What is wrong?" he asked seeing her slowly calming down yet still holding him.

"I heard that you have been put on a manhunt list," she asked quietly.

"Given my situation and mental health…I assume I would be eventually," he said quietly back. She slowly let go of him and took a step back. Rana immediately walked behind him and embraced him. Staring irritated at the officer, she felt the other voices slowly merge out of him. They were giggling uncontrollably at intolerable volumes and gave shark smiles.

About to force him to embrace the young officer again, a loud explosion sounded nearby. Rana jumped from being startled. Looking to her left, she took a sharp breath intake and held him tighter. Glancing to his left as well, he saw Shonj fall to the ground with half his head blown off. Glancing at the officer quickly, she was looking to right with a searching face despite shivering a bit.

"…" he said glancing to see the dark clone rush to another voice and shove a sawed off shotgun into its mouth. Pulling the trigger, the voice's head exploded like a watermelon.

"…p-po-p-pop-pppppppppppppp-POP-GO( !$^$EeeeSSSssss#$&! #%THERRRRRREEEEEEJJJJJEEEEECCCTTTTTT!" the evil Ikari raged with satisfaction.

Knowing what the clone was doing to the others, Shinji slowly felt in control again. A series of consecutive gunfire was heard along with death screams. The male pilot looked back at Rayne choosing not to look at the dying figure of Sno at his feet. Rayne blinked and looked back at him in confusion. Strangely, his eyes looked clearer. His eyes didn't look sunken in and his sclera was back to the normal white.

"Is something there?" she asked. In his peripheral vision, he saw the figure of the dark clone stand right next to him. Its face was contorted as it looked down. Pointing the boom stick down at the dying teen voice, the triggered was pulled.

"I believe I saw…" the male pilot stated as the shotgun blasted next to him. It made him blink as the evil voice laughed hysterically. It pumped the shotgun and repeated the gunfire till the teen voice was a splatter of holes and mince meat. Blood and body parts shot and stained him and the evil voice. Rana had turned away and gagged behind him from the sight and the fear that the dark clone produced.

"…a cat go by," he said as he saw the evil voice continue his rampage and screaming like a Banshee. It took the Third Child all of his willpower and concentration to not flinch at the loud shrilling and gunfire deafening his ears. Staring straight, he read the officer's lips to know what she was saying.

"I have been order to find and apprehend you. NERV wants you back at their base," she said looking down a little. The atmosphere felt colder than before. Feeling a cold breeze go by, she treated it as part of the weather. She didn't see or hear the evil voice hovering near her with an inhuman grin.

"I see. That would make showing you where you were born a bit difficult."

"Yes…yes it would," she said rubbing her arm then looked at him.

"What would you like to do Miss Rayne?" he said as normally as possible.

He felt like he was yelling at her but his hearing was a bit deaf from the point-blank gunfire. The young officer walked forward and got close to him. Looking at him dead in the eye, she wanted to know if he could mentally take her where she wanted to go. She watched his pupils slowly shrink and expand like a lethargic jelly-fish then stop holding their shape. A ghost feeling passed through her making her shiver and blink. In a split second, she saw two Ikaris. One had the dark magenta eyes that was stoically looking at her. The other one was the monstrously evil version.

"…!?" Rayne said feeling instantly scared from seeing it again. The dark clone stood behind him and was looking over his left shoulder. A crooked insane grin stretched its mouth with a blood splattered face. Blinking again from feeling the apprehension grow, there was only the one male pilot standing in front of her. Clinching her hands into fists to control the fear that rose in her, she spoke.

"Take me to where I was born," she said quietly.

"Very well," he said with a stepped back and a bowed.

"…it…iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii…BeGiNs!" the dark clone said shaking uncontrollably till he pointed the shotgun under his chin. Giving a wild look at the male pilot, he waited. Just as the officer turned around, the evil voice pulled the trigger resulting in a bright flash and the sound blast of the shotgun. Shinji closed his eyes feeling bits and pieces hit him.

"…" the Third Child said opening his eyes. His senses felt stable for now.

Rayne walked to the patrol car and opened the driver side door. About to sit, she saw the male pilot walking away. About to open her mouth and call him, he stopped. Looking over his shoulder, he shook his head side to side. Blinking, she looked back at the car then to what was inside.

'GPS, computer, engine's CPU, car unit, car ID number…' she thought looking all around her. 'All can be traced and tracked.'

Reaching into the cubby between the seats, she grabbed an extra clip for her firearm. Looking at herself in uniform, she removed all the body electronics and equipment on her. Placing it in the compartment between the seats, she took off her jacket. Placing it underneath the car seat, she took another look at herself. The young officer had combat boots on, dark blue camos on, and a short length t-shirt that exposed her stomach.

Remembering a hoodie that was stashed in the trunk, she closed all the doors and went behind the car. Opening the trunk and getting the jacket out, Rayne put it on and zipped it up to the top of her stomach. Removing the police belt, she removed the firearm and its holster. Clipping it onto her pants belt behind her, the hoodie was long enough for her to conceal it. Placing the belt in the trunk and looking at everything, she seemed set. Hitting the lock button twice on the car key remote, it locked and armed the alarm.

Placing the keys in a small hidden compartment in the trunk, she double checked herself. Feeling ready, she closed the trunk. Walking away from it, she turned to the male pilot and flinched a little. Despite seeing his figure with a jacket and ball cap, his eyes went back to being darker. Crimson was fading in and out of both irises again. Pushing down the apprehension, she walked toward him and stopped near him.

"I'm ready," Rayne said and saw him bow a little.

"Very well. Please follow me Miss Rayne," he said calmly. Turning toward the alleyway, she followed him as he walked forward.

Misato was in a conference room with a few members of Section-2 agents. All dressed in black suits with the signature ear piece, shoulder garment, and sunglasses. She briefed them on the mission and who the target was. Each agent flinched a little bit with one asking if they were capturing the male pilot. She indicated that a team would search Ikari's home as well as continue the manhunt for the pilot. Asking for any questions from the Section-2 members, they all stayed silent.

"Remember. The mission is to only retrieve all S-DAT cassettes especially the black one. If there is anything else that seems important to take, give a call. Do not leave any impression that home was entered. Is that understood?" she ordered.

"Yes Major," all the agents there said.

"I will let you pick which members you want on either team. You are dismissed."

Nodding, they slowly left the room. Being alone, Misato let out a sigh and looked at the digital photograph on the table. It was the bird's eye view of the Third Child's home and grass field. It still looked isolated from society and depressing. She shivered at the memory of going there the first time. When Ritsuko had visited his home, she didn't say anything was wrong with it. The Major had never told anyone what she saw there. She heard footsteps enter the room making her come out of her stupor.

"Oh…it's you," she said with a small frown still sitting down.

"Hey, no reason to frown," Kaji said with a smile.

"What do you want?" she asked crossing her arms over her chest.

"Stopping by to see how you are and what plans you have?"

"Other than the small operation to recover items from the Third Child's home, it is none that concern you."

"Ooo, so cold," he said with a small laugh. "Do you think that the operation will be fruitful?"

"Satellite readings indicate that there is no one in the house as well as no heat reading in the field surrounding it. The police are assisting in the manhunt for the Third Child."

"Looks like you did your research and planning. Mind if I give you a little tip?"

"…" she said narrowing her eyes at him. "What could you possibly give to help?"

"Well, that is for you to decide if you think it is useful."

"…why help me?"

"What is wrong helping an old friend?" he said innocently. She looked to the side away from him then sighed.

"Fine. What tip do you have?" she asked looking back. Pulling something out, he extend his hand to her with a disc. She looked at it and slowly grabbed it.

"What is in it?" she asked a bit curious. He walked next to her and put an arm around her shoulder. About to punch him, his expression was not playful. It was rather focused on the digital image.

"About two decades ago, SEELE withheld a large amount of information from both the public and NERV about a project. It dealt with experimentations with Angel blood and bio-matter. This was during the time that the Eva project was in creation," he said quietly and pointed at the house.

"Experimentations…what kind of experiments?" she whispered in surprise.

"They used a variety of organisms…insects…animals…mammals…and humans," he said making a big circle around the house.

"Testing humans?! That would shut down SEELE if they were found doing experiments on people!?" she whispered while nodding and pointing to locations around the house.

"Indeed. However, all test subjects died…except two," he said looking at her with a serious face.

"What were the subjects?" she asked turning toward him a little alarmed from his serious demeanor.

"An unknown human test subject and a test tube human," he said pointing his finger down at the house then pointed in a direction that head toward mountain ranges.

"...!?" she gasped a little bit looking back down at the holographic map. "A test tube human!? They grew a human as well!? What happened to them?"

"All records of the experimentation and what happened afterwards were all burned. Operations of it were shutdown, abandon, and sealed away. However, I was able to get bits and pieces of information on the reports of SEELE's agents. All of what I found is on that disc," he said.

"Really?" Misato said looking at the disc with some wonder and curiosity. Looking back at him and opening her mouth to ask him something, he kissed her. Taken by surprise, she backed away breaking it.

"W-What was that for!?" she asked a little red in the face. He went back to his sly smile and looked at her with one eye closed.

"Just letting you know that I'm still thinking of you. Gotta run. Bye," he said with a grin and walked out of the room.

"Hey! Get back here," she said standing up. After seeing him leave, she clenched her hands together in frustration still red in the face. Feeling the disc in her hand, it distracted her. Calming down, she looked closely at it. It didn't have a title on it.

'…' she thought wondering why he would give it to her. Not coming up with anything, she blinked and looked at the other side. It was blank as well.

'Human experimentations and Angels huh?'