Episode 1: The Third Child

Spring City, Colorado, August 5, 2017 A.D

Erika Langford stepped out of the train as it made it to its destination. The train station was empty and quiet, too quiet.

"Your attention please, this is an urgent warning" declared the announcer throughout the station. "As of 24 hours today, a special state of emergency has been declared for the entire city as well as the state itself. All residents must quickly and calmly evacuate to their designated shelters".

Erika went to a nearby phone booth and attempted to make a call. The phone was dead silent.

"We repeat, a special state of emergency is has been declared".

"All the phones are dead, and the trains aren't working either" Erika said to herself. "What now?"

She walk out of the station to get a view of the city, it was surprisingly empty as well. There was no traffic and no crowds, just utter silence as the winds blew across the city. She then took a seat on a bench and took out an envelope.

"Shelter" she thought to herself. "Please tell me that this isn't some sort of planned terrorist attack or something".

She opens it to reveal the letter that came with it. It was from her father, military commander Gerald Langford.

"Father" Erika thought to herself. "What could he possibly want from me?".

She also pulled out another letter with a photo. It was of a dark skinned woman in her early 30s, with long black hair and bright red lipstick. She's supposedly the one that was going to pick her up.

All the sudden, she saw a jet zooming into the city, where it all the sudden fired 2 cruise missiles.

"Missiles? In the city?!" Erika yelled. "What's going on?!".

The ground shook as explosions appeared behind her. She turned around and that's when it appeared. It was a giant creature with a white skull like face. His chest was covered in a spiked, bone like semi armor with a red sphere in the middle. He had a huge dark body with long claws. His eyes were bright yellow, bringing a eerie feeling as it looked at the city.

"My god..." Erika trembled. "What is that?!".

She tries to run away from the incoming explosions. The monster walked towards the city, and it wasn't going to stop. More fighter jets came in to fire at it, but it was no use. It kept on advancing.

All the sudden, a sports car appeared and stopped right in front of Erika. It was a red Renault Alpine. As the doors opened, a black haired woman with sunglasses and a red jacket was revealed to be driving the car. It was Susan Whitehall, the one who was supposed to pick her up.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Erika!" She shouted. "Quickly, Hop in!".

Erika entered and put her luggage inside the car. Susan then started the car and went driving full speed. More explosions were heard from afar.

"W-what happened?" Erika asked Susan. "What was that thing?!"

"That thing you just saw was a Fallen Angel" Susan explained.

"An Angel?" Erika asked. "How is that even an angel?".

"A harbinger of the apocalypse" she explained. "The creature was reported to have unexpectedly appeared down south, I still can't believe it passed the defenses and came to the City this fast!".

Erika looked back as more explosions were coming their way.

"Ms. Whitehall..."

"Don't look back!" Susan yelled as she stepped on the gas pedal.

Erika started to hold her seatbelt tight as Susan started going over a 100 miles per hour. While that was happening, more explosions were following from behind. Yet, no damage was done to the creature. Passing through debris and jumps, they managed to outrun the danger but their ride was left damaged. Susan maintained calm while Erika was panicking for the moment.

"You all right?" Susan asked Erika.

"Y-yeah, all ok Ms. Whitehall" she answered.

"By the way, you can call me Susan" stated Whitehall.

They drove away from the city and headed into the secluded forest area. As they passed through the woods, they stopped at security entrance, where a giant mountain laid behind it.

"This is the Cheyenne Mountain Complex" Erika thought as she looked at it.

Susan showed her identification to the security guard, he then let her in and the metal doors opened. They drove straight through a tunnel that lead to an underground facility right underneath the city. It had a build in highway that the car could drive on. From afar, Erika could see a black pyramid like base nearby.

"I almost forgot, here's your ID card" Whitehall remembered as she showed her the card. It had a picture of her with a bar code. There was also a logo next to it, a blue leaf with the words: NERV; God's in his heaven, and all is right in the world.

"Ms. Whit-Susan, what's NERV?" Erika asked.

"NERV is a special secret agency, funded by the United Nations, that's dedicated to destroying the Angels" Major Whitehall explained. "This is one of its many headquarters located around the world".

They stop at the tall building, where Susan parks the car within the building. They get off and proceed to head down.

"I work here as the captain of tactical operations" she explained. " Dr. Ackerman is the head of the technical division, and your father is the commander of the agency".

"Father" Erika thought.

"Susan" she asked. "Why did my father sent me here?".

"I actually don't know" Susan responded. "Perhaps you should ask him personally".

"Like that's going to work" Erika muttered.

"You don't get along with your father, don't you?".

The young girl just looked down as she asked her. As they went down the building, Erika couldn't help to thing that Susan was lost. She kept on looking at the given map and she looked nervous.

"We're lost, aren't we?" she asked.

"Of course not!" Susan responded.

"Yep, we're lost".

"Captain Whitehall" ordered a voice from behind. "You're late".

It was a woman in a lab coat with short brown hair, appearing to be in her mid/late 30s.

"You were so late that they sent me and the others to go find you!" She yelled at Susan.

"Well sorry! I still can't memorize the locations on this piece of crap that you call a map!" Whitehall yelled back at her.

"Very well then, I see that you brought the third child here as ordered" the lady commented.

"Third Child?" Erika thought.

"Erika, this Dr. Hilda Ackerman, the head of NERV's technical division and supervisor of project E".

"Please to meet you" Dr. Ackerman said as she shook the child's hand.

Erika simply nodded as they shook hands.

"Let's go then, we don't have much time" the doctor ordered as she took the elevator. "We have to show something before you see your father, Erika".

The three then head down and go through another passage that supposedly lead to a giant hangar.

"What's the statistics on the Angel?" Asked Captain Whitehall.

"Standard weapons seem to have no effect on the beast" said a voice in the hangar.

It was a female scientist with black hair, she appeared to be in her early 30s.

I predict that even if we used an N2 bomb, there still wouldn't be much of a change" she added.

"But I say that using one wouldn't be such a bad idea either" said another voice.

It was a male scientist with glasses and a goatee. He seemed to be around his mid 30s,

"Do you really want to test that in a city full of people?" The woman questioned.

"Corman and Murasame, would both of you stop bickering and get back to work?" Ordered Dr. Ackerman. "Is Unit-02 ready?"

"100% ready to launch" said Dr. Murasame. "Just hope the pilot's also ready".

"Alright then, let's get to work then"

The lights in the hangar turned. Erika then found herself face to face with a giant robotic head. She gasped at its sight. It had a white and blue coloring around its face and 2 red horns on the top of its head.

"Is this....a robot?" She asked.

"What you're looking at is the ultimate humanoid weapon system of the century" Ackerman explained. "Code name: Evangelion".

"Evangelion" Erika thought to herself. "So this is my father's work".

"This one here is unit-02, the first production model" Dr. Corman added. "Now all it needs is a pilot".

"Who's the pilot then?" Erika asked.

"You are" exclaimed a booming voice from afar. They all turned around to find a person standing from a platform not so far away from the hangar. It was Gerald Langford, the commander of NERV USA, Erika's father.

"Father!" Shouted Erika.

"It's been a while, my daughter" the commander responded.

"Sir, you can't be serious?!" Exclaimed Susan.

"She's the Third Child chosen by the Marduk Institute, one of the 3 children chosen to pilot the Eva" he explained. "She has to do it".

"But sir!" Shouted captain Whitehall. She has no training!".

"We have no choice" he explained.

"All right then, Erika" Dr. Ackerman ordered. "Let's get going".

The girl was making fists as she glared at her father. Memories from her past started resurfacing back to her mind. Painful memories.

"8 years" she muttered.

The commander stood there in silence.

"You abandoned me in a foreign country for 8 years!" she yelled out loud. "Now you say you want to see me, and what for? To pilot a giant machine and fight a monster?" I don't even know how to pilot it!".

"There isn't much of a choice" he stated. "You're the only one who can do it".

"The hell with it!" She shouted back at him.

The commander grudges as he hears his own daughter say those words. Another man then appears behind him. An African American who appeared a bit older than the commander. He was Deputy-Commander Robert Chandler.

"The Angel is advancing towards the inner part of the city, we have to stop it" he explained. "Is the third child ready?".

"Get the first child here, he'll be piloting Unit-02" Langford ordered.

"But last I heard, he's still recovering from the battle with the previous Angel!" Exclaimed Dr. Ackerman.

"Recovering?" Erika though as she heard her father.

"We have no other option, get him here" the commander ordered once more.

Rumbling could be heard from the top of the city, the monster was approaching.

"Whats the stats on the first child?" Questioned Chandler.

"His injuries a still heavy" explained Ackerman. "He's got a broken arm and slow responses within his head. It could affect his coordination when piloting".

"Is his condition that terrible?" Erika began thinking as she heard Dr. Ackerman. "I can't believe it".

Another explosion was heard, causing tremors within the entire facility.

"What's taking them so long?!" Shouted Chandler.

"There's no choice left" third child began to realize. "I can't run away anymore. Either I let the injured one pilot, or I take action to end this disaster before it begins".

Erika then quickly made up her mind.

"I'll do it!"

"What?" Questioned Whitehall.

I'll pilot the damn robot!" Erika yelled at her father.

The commander smirked as he heard his daughter.

"Then Start the preparations!" ordered Deputy-Commander Chandler.

"All right Erika, let's get you inside" said Ackerman as she took her to get ready.

"I mustn't run away" she muttered to herself. "Never again".