Chapter 56: Discovery and Collapse, Pt. 1
On the outer boundaries of Neo-Tokyo, two black sedans slowly drove onto a gravel road leading into a grass field. The people inside looked around to see all the plants grow to the same height and were evenly cut. Ignoring the oddity, the two cars continued riding forward. Seeing a small two story building in the distance, the driver was instructed to kill the headlights. Continuing, the leader saw something down the road.
"Stop," he said. As both cars slowed to a halt, the leader instructed to shut off the vehicle. Pointing and informing the other occupants in the other one, there was an unmarked black van parked further down the road.
"Who are they?" the driver asked.
"…damn it…" the leader stated recognizing the vehicle. He touched his ear piece.
"Major. SEELE is here. Course of action?"
[What?! SEELE!?…damn it. Are their agents out and about?] Misato asked surprised.
"Negative. There is no visual of personnel."
[Roger. Proceed with caution while continuing the operation]
"Roger," the Section-2 agent replied then made a hand gesture. All the agents in the both sedans came out. Staying crouched behind the car doors, they pulled out their firearms. Immediately, gunfire from the back of the house sounded.
"Stay down!" the leader shouted. Returning fire, he lowered his head as more shots were fired from somewhere near the house. Looking around, none of his men got shot as sounds of bullets hitting the sedans rang in the air.
"Major. We are taking fire from SEELE agents," the leader commented shooting a couple of rounds.
[How many are there?] Misato asked tense.
"Unknown. There is only one van in sight. Probably the same number as us or more."
[Just a moment] she said. Turning to Makoto, he looked up on satellite imaging of the area around the Third Child's home. Using infrared, there was total of 14 heat sources. Six of them were behind the house.
[You have six hostiles behind the house. We must get those items first. Use any means to get it. That is from the Commander]
"Roger," the leader said letting go of his ear piece. "Code Black! Code Black!"
With the operation code sounded, the Section-2 agents adjusted their tactics to kill. A couple of agents from the other car spotted two SEELE operatives climbing the steps while leaning on the wall. Opening fire, both enemies received a hail storm of bullets that only nicked them due to the steep angle. Reaching the top step, the SEELE agents quickly exposed themselves before dropping to the floor platform. Just as they hit the floor, one of their operatives gasped from the field below.
[Keep moving. Get inside and grab the S-DAT discs] the SEELE leader stated through the head piece as return fire sounded. He continued to stay in the fields waiting for his chance to head into the house. His orders were to eliminate all obstacles to achieve the mission.
Two Section-2 agents moved into the field on the left side of the house. Slowly walking through, they saw a bright flare of fire pointing at the sedans. Seeing where one enemy was, they opened a short burst of consecutive shots. They heard the hostile operative gasp and croaked to the ground. Suddenly, two return fires occurred with one behind the home and one from the patio above.
"No! Get down!" the SEELE agent on the entrance platform shouted to his comrade. Hearing sharp cry from the enemy below, his team member was shot in the side of the head. The fire came from where the NERV operatives' cars were. Turning his head quickly, he ignored seeing the dead man slowly slide down the wall. Seeing the front door, he crawled towards it.
The Section-2 operatives heard one of their agents get picked off. The leader swore under his breath and sent two other agents to the right side of the house. They were able to kill two SEELE agents afterwards that were sneaking through the field toward them. The remaining four stayed behind the sedans. Scouting the view in front of them, they waited training the guns forward. Suddenly, a dark figure sprinted up the steps. Firing at it, many small fireworks sounded as the bullets hit the metal stairs.
The SEELE leader dropped to the patio floor without getting any of his limbs shot. Feeling the adrenaline pumping through his veins, he looked to his right. His remaining agent was lock picking the front door. Rolling over to be covered by the house wall, he got into a kneeling position. Checking his magazine, he still had a good amount left.
"We are the only ones left on this operation. We can't fail now," he stated firmly loading the ammo clip back in. The other agent nodded and continued working the lock on the door.
Rapid footsteps were heard behind and down the stairs. Peering around quickly, the SEELE leader open fired on the two Section-2 agents. Able to pick off one, the other opened fired and shot his shoulder. Veering back to the floor, he switched hands and trained his pistol at the staircase. Waiting, the Section-2 operative shot out from the view quickly. Diving to the floor, both agents blasted at each other.
A couple of bullets rattled each other's body; however, the NERV operative got a fatal shot on the leader. Struggling to train his firearm at the remaining SEELE agent, the man picked the lock on the front door. Immediately going inside, the NERV operative heard the door slam and the lock engaged. Dropping his pistol, he coughed and tried not moving too much.
'Where is it?! Where is that stupid disc!?' the SEELE agent thought rushing through the home looking in the dark. His search was cut short hearing running footsteps stop at the front door. Looking for a place to hide, he slid under the bed and lied prone. Training his pistol at the entrance door, he thought about unloading then stopped. Composing himself, he waited.
"Stay with him and be our back-up in case anything happens," the Section-2 leader stated quietly.
"Roger," the agent said and tended to the wounded comrade with bullet holes. He saw his lead stand up and walk to were the remaining agents were.
"Major. Where is the remaining hostile?" he asked touching his ear piece.
[…it looks like he is at the bed]
"Roger," the leader said.
Turning to the other three agents, he whispered where to shoot. They nodded their head. Two operatives timed their kicks and double hit the front door. It burst opened with a loud bang. Four handguns poked forward from the door frame and fired a short burst of bullets at the bed. Retracting and away from the door opening, they heard no movement inside.
"Reload. Fire at the area under the bed," he ordered quietly. Quickly changing to a full magazine, the other agents did so as well. When the lead said zero from the countdown, the four turned back in and blasted their guns again. From the small fires of their pistols, they started to see red shooting out and oozing from under the bed. The lead halted their fire.
"Major. We have destroyed the enemy and occupied the home."
[Good work. What are the damages?] Misato asked hoping that it wasn't too bad.
"Two down. One wounded."
[…damn it…] she stated grimacing on the other line.
"Continue with the search Major?"
[Affirmative. Continue as planned. I will send in a clean-up crew.]
"Roger," he said. After explaining the plans to the remaining Section-2 agents, the four started getting to work. Turning on the lights, they began to open and turn over ever inch in the home. While they were busy at work, they didn't notice a ghost image reflecting in a window. It giggled with dark mirth and malice as it continued to watch.
'…happy days…Happy(#%$^$ddddddddddd-d-d-d-d-d-d-a-a-a-a-a-yyyyyyssssssss…happy days… Happy&*%^$^$ddddddddddd…' it voiced in its head over and over again while humming. Slowly fading away, its humming got quieter and quieter to nothing.
Back in the northeast section, Rayne continued to follow Shinji. It had been at least ten minutes walking through the town till they reached the beginning of what looked like heavy vegetation. There weren't any lights to see where they were going except for the moonlight. Stepping on dirt, no pathway or treaded area was felt on the ground.
'…I don't remember this…I don't recall this forestry back when I was growing up here,' Rayne thought perplexed while looking around lost. Seeing him continue to walk, she followed still keeping more than an arm's length distance away from him.
Looking around, she saw large objects in the background. Unable to identify them, they had the appearance of building structures. Turning her attention back to him, he still hasn't said anything to her. So far, the male pilot hasn't had an episode or show signs of stalling. As much as she wanted to converse and ask him questions, she kept quiet. What happened with the agent and events before kept her from talking. The trust that she once had towards him was replaced with caution and apprehension.
Looking up ahead, there seemed to be a clearing. Much plant life in the area was either removed or destroyed. The smoothed over area was about the size of half a single story home. The building objects in the background became clearer to see. They were definitely abandoned and neglected based on the cracks, broken windows, and structural damage. There were a couple of glowing beads inside indicating that wild life had taken refuge in them.
'Wonder how long those buildings have been abandon,' Rayne thought seeing Shinji walk forward to the center of the clearing. Following him, he stopped and slowly turned his head to the right. A flashlight turned on followed by running footsteps.
"Halt!" a man shouted from a far. Both saw a silhouette coming from the vegetation to their right. Getting closer, they could identify him being in a ranger outfit. The flashlight was attached to the assault rifle in his hands as he jogged to them.
"This area is off-limits to citizens. Leave now!" he stated firmly.
'…something is off…' Rayne thought about to say something when the male pilot spoke first.
"Excuse us sir. But we didn't see-" Shinji stated calmly when the man pointed the rifle muzzle in front of his face.
"I don't care of your excuses. You will leave now or I will shoot you for trespassing in a restrictive area."
"Very…WeLl sssiiiirrrrr…If$%#&YoU$%&$iNsIsT," Shinji replied normally till it became a deranged and distorted tone.
"…?!" the ranger said blinking in surprise hearing the boy produce static and glitch noises while speaking.
Instantly going under the weapon, the male pilot grabbed it and violently kicked one of the man's knees. The strike caused him to lose his footing a little and kneel to the ground. Keeping his grip on the rifle, the ranger tried getting up. He was prevented when the teen boy slugged him hard in the nose. Still holding onto his rifle, he grimaced feeling blood flowing out of his nose. Quickly, the male pilot did a quick lunging side kick into the man's chest.
The blow was hard enough to knock the wind out of him. Letting go of the assault rifle, he held his nose while being on a hand and knees. Looking up, the Third Child swung the butt end of his rifle at the side of his head. The blow made a dull thud sound as he fell to the ground. Hitting gravel, he was knocked out cold.
'…what is he going to do with it?' Rayne thought immediately seeing that he had the rifle. Shinji slowly turned around and looked back the officer. She looked back and forth between the down ranger and the weapon in his hands. Despite not feeling a strong murky atmosphere from him, she didn't feel safe and reached behind her for her firearm.
"If you are interested Miss Rayne, this man is another SEELE agent," the male pilot said turning the safety on for the rifle. Placing it on the ground nearby the unconscious man, he stood straight looking back at her.
"…I see…" she said nodding her head and watched him cautiously.
The Third Child turned to his right and walked a little forward. Stopping, he kneeled down and started to dust off the gravel on the ground. Rayne let go of her grip on her pistol and walked to the side. Looking down, an emergency entry hatch started revealing itself. Kneeling down, she aided in brushing the gravel away.
There was a logo on that hatch that had a faded strange symbol figure. It looked like a featureless mask with an equilateral triangle pointing down. A line split the shape down the middle of it. Overlapping it was a column of eyes with three on the left side of the triangle and four on the other side. Uncovering more gravel nearby, there was a plastic box with a red light blinking.
Shinji got out one of the SEELE cards and pulled the cover back. Below the pulsating crimson bulb was a card slot. Inserting the plastic, the light turned to a solid green. Mechanisms sounded as handles from the door popped open. Moving to the handles, he turned both inward at the same time. Hearing the lock mechanism open, the male pilot pulled and slowly got the hatch open. A short suction of air sounded followed by gravel falling into the manhole.
'This keeps getting eerier and weirder,' Rayne said feeling goosebumps run down her arms and legs. Peering down the manhole, it was pitch black. The only thing that showed a way down was the ladder that was attached to the inside wall of the vertical tunnel. Stale air and a scent of old blood hit her nose making her back away a little.
"Shall I go first or you Miss Rayne?" he said blinking slowly and feeling his right eye twitch.
"What's at the end of the ladder?" she asked.
"A platform."
"To what?"
"An underground lab."
"An underground lab?" she repeated while blinking in surprise. She was about to ask him more when he popped his neck from quick violent spasms.
"…" he answered and blinked slowly. The officer pressed her lips together and pushing down the apprehension.
"…you go ahead first."
"Very well," he said bowing a little and started shaking uncontrollably for a couple of seconds. "PlEaSe…ClOsE…tHe…HaTcH…aFtErWaRdS."
"…" Rayne said slowly nodding her head and watching him carefully. He went to the ladder and started descending down.
"Wait…Shinji?"
"…" he said stopping. Only his head was exposed. He looked up with his eyes only and blinked at her. The expression on his face didn't look comforting.
"How do you know where this is? Have you been here before?"
"…" he said blinking slowly again. Looking down at the ladder, he descended without responding.
"H-Hey!?" Rayne said seeing him gone in the darkness. Remembering the flashlight attachment on the ranger's gun, she went to the rifle quickly. Cursing, the light was screwed onto the frame of the weapon. Standing up, she went to the manhole and looked down. Sounds of footsteps below were barely heard.
"…" Rayne stated swallowing down the butterflies in her stomach and preparing herself.
Slowly, she started going down the manhole. Gripping the inner handles of the hatch, the door started slowly closing on its own. Going down a few steps, the hatch completely shut. The locking mechanism sounded and echoed loudly throughout the vertical tunnel. When the sound died down, she started descending down into the darkness.
The illumination was zero without any light. She couldn't see the ladder in front of her face as she kept going down. After a short amount of time, she made contact with a platform. Putting her other foot down, Rayne held onto the ladder and looked around. Everything was still pitch black. Feeling uneasy, she flinched seeing dark magenta eyes pierce through the darkness nearby.
"S-Shinji?" she said quietly and heard her voice echoed a little.
"Yes Miss Rayne?" Shinji said blinking. His voice echoed a lot giving her the sense that they were in something the size of a warehouse.
"Where are we?"
"We are on the top level of the underground laboratory."
"Top level? How far down does it go?"
"There are three levels: TOP, mIdDlE, and…g…r…o…u…n…d…" the male pilot stated with different voice changes.
The sounds from speaking echoed louder and bounded off a lot of walls. Glancing around in the darkness, nothing stirred or came alive. It was very cold in here almost like it was an abandoned cave, buried deep in a mountain. She turned back and didn't see his eyes. Footsteps started walking away from her.
"H-Hey! Wait up!" she whispered and quickly walked in the direction of the shoe steps. Extending her hand, she felt his jacket and grabbed a small part of it as they continued walking. Both seemed to be walking down a wide corridor.
"How can you see in the dark?"
"I can-can-cAn-CANnot," Shinji said softly despite changing voices again. "I am walking based on the layout I saw and memorized from a terminal at NERV."
"I find that hard to believe," Rayne said but got closer to him. She mimicked his movements and felt the metal floor change from a solid to grating. Their shoes hitting it made a different sound and gave both the feeling that there was a deep pit below them. Shinji heard an evil and menacing giggle somewhere from far down below that started to crescendo.
"BeLiEvE-wHaT-yOu-WaNt," he said in distortion and continuing. They came to a slow stop.
"T-h-e-r-e-a-r-e-s-t-e-p-s heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeerrrreeeeeeeeee," Shinji said fidgeting in place until he got control of his limbs back. Both felt a guard rail on each side and descended. Only their footsteps were heard in the open space that was still covered with darkness.
"Hey Shinji?"
"…y…E…s?"
"Why are you doing this for me?" she asked quietly. She felt paranoid and trepidation about her surroundings as they continued to descend the unseen stairs. The stale air and old blood was getting stronger.
"It's…it's…it's-BeCaUsE…yes…bEcAuSe you ASKED-STATED-VOICED…about WaNtInG tooooooo!#%*know…wHeRe-WhErE-WHERE!…you came from," he stated in a chaotic and disordered fashioned. The dark clone's presence was a lot closer as everything he was stepping or touching was wet and slippery. A loud booming sound was echoing in his head and throughout the underground laboratory.
"…just…" she said carefully feeling he was getting worse the further they were going down. Telling herself to keep pushing a little more, Rayne felt they were close to something.
"…just because I asked?"
"Yes."
Both reached a small platform which had another pair of stairs going down. He was about to turn into it when he was held at his shoulders with two hands. Stopping, he then felt Rayne hug him from behind. Placing her left cheek next to his head above his right ear, she was mildly trembling. The other voices immediately merged with him and fought over who was going to take his sense of touch, nervous system, movements, memory blockage, and behavior.
"Miss Rayne?" he asked quietly feeling his voices take away the sensation of being touched. He heard a monstrous cackle that sounded like it was being drowned around him. Scanning with his eyes, there was nothing around. However, the demented voice felt closer. He heard it chomping an army of its teeth.
"…thank you," she whispered next to his ear.
"…" Shinji said and looked down the stairs to see the dark clone's eyes pierce through the darkness.
"GIVE-GIVE!-GI-GI…g…i…v…e…heh…aha…HEEeeeeeRrRrRr $^ $% #$"it shrilled from down the stairs and instantly stood in front of him. Shinji blinked seeing the black-red eyes bore into his feeling the voice's nose touching his.
"…AHA…HAHAHA…h…o…p…e…DeSpAiR…f…a…i…t…h…AgOnY…c…O…m…F…o…R…t…RAGE…HATE…SPITE…ANGUISH-PAIN-SUFFERING-LIBERATION-DAMNATION!"the dark clone screamed with its mouth opening inhumanly wide. Vile breath and aura spilled out of it.
"…" the male pilot said slowly blinking.
'Very well sir,' he thought and bowed internally.
"…hehehe…" it said leaning back and going over the hand railing of the stairs.
"…heh-heh-heeeeeeeeeeeeee…" the dark clone continued to giggle uncontrollably as it fell.
"…hahaha…Haa #$^ $^ha…ahahaha…" it cackled and impacted the ground. Hearing many bones breaking, blood shot out of its mouth. It created static noise before laughing louder.
"HAHAHA! HAHAHA! HAHAHA! HAHAHA!"the evil voice laughed out loud. It murderously turned its head toward the open space on the lab's ground level. It saw something there that made it turn back to look up the stairs. Seeing a pair of dark magenta eyes look down at it, many mouth slits opened all over its body.
"$^ ^&$HAH^…#$^)*#$AHA^…#$&($%^&HEEEEEEEE^# $&$^*$%!" it shrilled through much chaotic static, distortion, and screaming.
After searching and overturning the Third Child's home, the Section-2 agents found everything they needed except the black tape disc. The leader touched his ear piece. Misato had went back to her office to finish more paperwork. Her office phone rang.
"Major Katsuragi," Misato said hearing the lead of the Section-2 agents call.
[We got everything we need Major except the black disc tape. We have combed through the apartment and ripped open areas to see if there were hidden ones. Unfortunately, we were unable to find it]
"…" she replied sighing and rubbing her temples. "Alright. Gather what you have. Status with the clean-up team before heading back to base. They should be there in five."
[Roger]
"…" she said.
Putting the phone down, she rubbed her face feeling the stress wear her down. Shaking her head, she continued with the paperwork that was on her desk. After a short amount of time, she leaned back in her chair in relief. Documents and reports from various things were finally done: the Angel operation, the manhunt, the results from both, the logic program that Ritsuko was cracking, the home raid on the Third Child's home, SEELE and their agents being involved, and the couple of Section-2 agents killed. After what seemed like an office punishment from the amount of paperwork needed to be done, the Major felt able to leave her post for a bit. Putting things where they should be, she left NERV to go home for the remainder of the day.
'…god…that was way too much,' Misato thought yawning while driving home. When the long drive home ended, she dragged her feet all the way to her apartment.
'ahhh…home at last…for the time being,' she thought sliding her card at the door reader. It made an unlock sound and she opened the door. A familiar scent of her dwelling came making her feel relaxed.
"I'm home," the lavender haired woman stated. Seeing that both roommates' shoes were near the front door, she walked to the living room. Rounding the corner, she heard and saw the TV on. A redhead slowly rose from the couch and the person looked at her.
"Misato? You are home," Asuka stated the slowly went back down on the couch. She heard her guardian walk behind the back rest.
"Hey there Asuka. What are you watching?"
"Some boring talk show," the teen stated lying down on the couch on her side.
"Yeah? That is nice," the Major said walking toward her room. After changing her cloths and coming back out with more relaxed attire, she heard a refrigerator door open. Going into the kitchen, Pen-Pen waddled out of his small refrigerator. Seeing his owner, he headed toward her.
"Wark-wa wark (Hey toots. Working later than usual?)" the warm penguin stated. She bent down and gave him a hug.
"Hi Pen-Pen. Sorry for not being home at my usual time. There has been a lot of work to do."
"War…war-wa wark (Dang…you humans work too hard.)"
"Have you been fed?" Misato asked and saw him nod. "That's good. Do you know where Rei went?"
"…" Pen-Pen answered tilting his head to the side and thought about it. Lifting his fins a little and shrugging his small shoulders, he shook his head side to side. He saw her smile and ruffle his hair a little.
"That's okay. I'll ask Asuka," his owner stated then stood up. Watching her leave the kitchen and head toward the TV, he heard that it was on. He waddled over to see what was on as well.
"Have you seen Rei?" Misato asked the Second Child.
"Wondergirl is on the balcony."
"Outside at this hour? Doing what?"
"I don't know," the redhead said and started changing the TV to different channels.
Misato blinked then walked toward the hallway to get to the balcony door. Once there, she moved the blinds a little. The Major saw the First Child sitting in a chair and staring at the sky. In contrast to the late night darkness, it showed how pale the blue-haired teen skin tone was. Opening the door slowly, she saw Ayanami look at her.
"Hey there Rei," Misato stated with a tired tone and a smile. She always tried to be cheery around both female pilots to get them to relax. Knowing how to get Asuka to smile, Rei was still difficult to figure out. The First Child rarely expressed anything to her so it was sort of challenge the Major was determined to win.
"Evening Major," Ayanami stated with a blink.
"Enjoying the late night air?"
"Yes and no," she stated then looked back at the night.
"Have you and Asuka eaten already?"
"No."
"Ah, okay. Say, how about we order out? I know a killer place that is great!"
"…okay," the First Child stated looking back at the Major. The older female smiled at first then faltered a little when the teen continued to hold a stoic expression.
"W-Well…don't stay out here too long," Misato stated and went back into the house.
'…both of them seem a bit down…I wouldn't blame them from what happened earlier,' she thought as she headed toward her home phone. After making the order through the phone, she put it back in the cradle.
'…it has been a while since Shinji was discharged…today is Friday…that would usually be his visiting day…he would have been here by now…doing the evening cleaning, cooking, and his usual butler things,' Misato thought when something came to mind.
'I wonder.'
She glanced at Asuka. The red-head was still lying on her side on the couch. However, Pen-Pen was sitting next to her head. Looking at the TV channel, there was a scene that showed a butler talking to a noble daughter. Unable to see the Second Child's face, the channel didn't change as the show continued.
Moving to the balcony door again, the adult female moved a couple of blinds. The First Child had brought her knees to her chest while sitting. Continuing to stare at the late evening sky, she placed her chin on top of her knees and wrapped her arms around her thighs. Staring at the ground, she appeared to be just breathing. Despite the stoic demeanor she had, Misato felt that the First Child was the most worried about the male pilot.
"…" the Major thought walking back to the living room. Despite wanting to brighten up the mood, she felt no energy to do so. Feeling a little gloomy, she shook her head.
'Once he is found and brought back to us, everything will be okay,' Misato thought and forced herself to be satisfied with that answer. 'I just need to have time and patience despite the circumstances.'
Remembering what Kaji gave to her, she decided to find out what was on it. Heading to her room, she opened and closed her door. Getting out her portable laptop, she turned it on. Looking at the time, she had several minutes before the takeout came to her apartment door. As the computer was loading, she was looking at the small disc feeling her curiosity build. The device indicated that it was ready and was on its main screen.
'Alright. Let's see what is in this puppy,' Misato thought opening the disc compartment. Inserting the disc, she closed the compartment and heard the CD whirred to life inside. Going to a quick link on the desktop, a window opened up to the computer drivers and other media. Seeing the unknown CD icon, she double clicked on it. The window refreshed to show a few files that were on the compact disc.
'Hmm…let's see. This one…E.B.M.O. project?…I guess I'll start through this first,' she thought and opened the file up.
It didn't take her long before she became engrossed with the file's contents. Its inhumane scientific research and experimentation was disturbing. SEELE didn't seem to care what they experimented on as long as a subject could give their hypothesis some ground. The number of subjects of living beings was many and all of them died in painfully ways.
'Good god…what is SEELE really?' Misato thought feeling disgusted. Wondering why they would do something like this, she reached the end of the file's content. Backing up, she opened the next one. It showed less information, but it regarded about something of subjects' outcome.
'Huh?…two subjects lived? Who are they?' she thought deep diving.
After a couple of minutes of reading, the research unit and the location that conducted the experiments on the subjects ended abruptly. There was no further entry except the last one. It indicated that the researchers attempted to test the subject's psychological resistance to different forms of stimulation. Scrolling down the file, there was nothing left. Backing out, she saw the next file had a photo media extension.
'Pictures? Might be who the research team was or the subjects…' she thought failing to hear the apartment door bell ring.
"Hmm…she looks like a regular adult citizen. The photo isn't too clear," Misato muttered to herself squinting at the picture.
"Hmm…it might be possible to get MAGI to clear up the photo's haze and blurriness…there is another photo," she said double-clicking on the next media file.
"Misato! The door!" Asuka called out. Not hearing anything of a response, she got up from the couch.
"Honestly…so lazy and forgetful," the redhead muttered going to the front door. Opening it, she saw the delivery person for the takeout.
"Hi! Could you put them on the table? Thank you!" Asuka said in a cheery voice.
The delivery guy complied with a smile. Seeing that the Major hadn't come out yet made her frown. He indicated that the food was already paid for over the phone and took his leave. After closing the front door, she headed back to the living room.
"Misato! Are you asleep or something!?" Asuka called out again heading to the adult's room. She heard soft footsteps coming to her right and stopped. The First Child round the corner from the balcony hallway.
"…" Rei said with a glance then went toward the restroom.
"…" Asuka said watching the First Child walk to the bathroom. Once it was closed, she continued toward the Major's room.
"Oh my god…she is just a small child…those sick bastards," Misato commented. The photo was clear and showed a small kid that looked scared.
"…what a strange and rare color…who had that type of-?" Misato thought crossing her arms over her chest and thinking. It was interrupted by her door sliding open. Turning her head to the right, it was the Second Child.
"Oh, hey Asuka. What's up?"
"Food is here."
"Really? Already? That was quick," she said getting up.
"What are you doing?" Asuka asked entering and saw a picture on the laptop. Getting closer, it had a picture of a small female child.
"Who is this squirt?"
"Oh, just doing some report reading. It had this child in it."
"Are you trying to figure out who this person is?"
"Yep," Misato said then heard soft footsteps stop at her door. It was the First Child.
"Hey Rei. Finally decided to come back inside?"
"Yes…it was getting colder outside," the First Child said noticing a picture on the laptop. Walking closer, she looked at the photo. Tilting her head, nothing of a recollection was coming to her.
"Who is this Major?"
"That is what I'm…trying to…" Misato began trailing off looking at Ayanami. Blinking, she glanced back at the child then back at Rei. The thought of Shinji came along with the police footage. Her mind made a screeching halt.
"…!?" Misato stated feeling that the pieces suddenly came together at once in her mind. However, the gravity of what she figured out almost scared her stiff.
"…oh dear god…" she whispered with her eyes opening wide.
"…?" both female pilots said seeing the Major frantically search for her cell phone. Finding it, she searched through her contact list and called a number. The teens looked at each other with awareness that something was wrong. Misato was starting to sweat with fear in her face and breathing quickly.
[Yes Major?] the Section-2 lead agent answered her call.
"How many men can you scramble right now?" she spoke in a rushed controlled tone.
[Depends. How many do you need?]
"Same number as this evening's operation."
[We can scramble eight. Mind telling me what this is about?]