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.
She carried a backpack and carry-on luggage with her as she looked around for anyone at the station.
"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 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 terrorist attack".
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. Her name is Susan Whitehall.
All of a 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 an eerie feeling as he 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 of a 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 explains as she steps on the gas pedal. "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 starts to hold her seatbelt tight as Susan went over 100 miles per hour. While that's happening, more explosions followed from behind. Yet, no damage was done to the creature.
Passing through debris and jumps, they manage to outrun the danger but their ride suffers damage. Susan holds calm while Erika just clutches onto her backpack.
"You all right?" Susan asks.
"Y-yeah" she stutters. "All good".
"By the way, you can call me Susan" Whitehall clarifies.
They drive away from the city and head into a secluded forest area. As they passed through the woods, they stop by the security entrance, where a giant mountain lay behind it.
Susan showed her identification to the security guard, he then let her in and the metal doors opened.
"This is the Cheyenne Mountain Complex" She explains as they drive straight through a tunnel. "One of many US military bases that are owned by NERV".
"NERV?" Erika wonders.
The tunnel led to an underground facility right underneath the city. It had a build the 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 inquires as she looks over the card.
"A secret agency, funded by the United Nations, that's dedicated to destroying the Angels" 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. " While Dr. Ackerman is the head of the technical division, and your father is the commander of the agency".
"Father," Erika thought as looked around the whole facility.
She's heard stories of her father as a military commander, a highly decorated military commander, but she never imagined that he would be put in charge of a secret organization such as this, let alone combat the monsters known as Angels.
"Susan," she asked. "Why did my father send me here?".
"I don't know" Susan responded. "Perhaps you should ask him personally".
"Like that's going to work" Erika mutters.
"You don't get along with your father, don't you?" The captain infers as they go down the elevator
The young girl just looked down as she asked her. As they went down the building, the doors opened to reveal a series of corridors.
After walking numerous times, Erika could sense Susan getting frustrated. She kept on looking at the map of the place back and forth as they went from place to place.
"We're lost, aren't we?" Erika bluntly asks.
"Wha-Of course not!" Susan reaffirms her. "We're getting close...I think".
"Yep, we're lost".
"Captain Whitehall" a voice from behind booms. "You're late".
It was a woman in a lab coat with short brown hair, appearing to be in her mid/late 30s.
"You are so late that they had to send me and the others to go find you!" She yells while approaching the captain.
"Well sorry! I still can't memorize the locations on this piece of crap that you call a map!" Whitehall retorts.
"Very well then, I see that you brought the third child here as ordered" the lady comments.
"Third Child?" Erika thought.
"Erika, this is Dr. Hilda Ackerman, the head of NERV's technical division and supervisor of project E".
"Please to meet you," Dr. Ackerman said as she shakes 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 leads to a giant hangar.
"What's the statistics on the Angel?" Asks Captain Whitehall.
"Standard weapons seem to not affect the beast," says 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 adds while scanning through a tablet.
"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 want to test that in a city full of people?" The woman questions her colleague.
"Corman and Sumire, would both of you stop bickering and get back to work?" Ordered Dr. Ackerman. "Is Unit-02 ready?"
"100% ready to launch," Dr. Sumire affirms. "Just hope the pilot's also ready".
"Alright then, let's get to work then" Dr. Ackerman asserts as the lights in the hangar turn on.
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 asks while inspecting its head.
"What you're looking at is the ultimate humanoid weapon system of the century" Ackerman explained. "Code name: Evangelion".
"Evangelion" Erika thought to herself as her head made contact with it.
The metal ran cold through her skin upon touch.
"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?" Erika inquires as she let go of Evangelion's head.
"You are" a booming voice from afar states.
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, Erika's father.
He wore a dark green service dress uniform, decorated with his orders, medals, and insignias.
"Father" mutters Erika as she looks up.
The commander responds looking down at her. He doesn't say a word.
"Sir, you can't be serious?!" Susan questions him.
"She's the Third Child chosen by the Marduk Institute, one of the 3 children chosen to pilot the Eva" The commander explains. "She has to do it".
"But sir!" the Captain objects. "She has no training!".
"We have no choice" Commander Langford affirms.
"All right then, Erika" Dr. Ackerman goes along. "Let's get going".
The girl was making fists as she glared at her father.
"8 years" she mutters.
The commander stood there in silence.
"You abandoned me in a foreign country for 8 years!" she yells out. "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" His voice booms down to her. "You're the only one who can do it".
"The hell with it!" She shouts back. "
The commander grudges as he hears his child fight back.
Another man in a military uniform 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 explains to the people in the facility. "Is the third child ready?".
"Get the first child here, he'll be piloting Unit-02 instead" Langford ordered.
"Last I heard, he's still recovering from the battle with the previous Angel" Dr. Ackerman protests back. "He's not in the condition to pilot".
"We have no other option since our last chance here won't follow orders as told" the commander sternly explains while looking down at Erika.
Rumbling could be heard from the top of the city, the monster was approaching.
"What's the stats on the first child?" The deputy commander inquires to Ackerman.
"His injuries a still heavy" explains Ackerman. "He's got a broken arm and is still unconscious. It could affect his coordination when piloting".
"Is his condition that terrible?" Erika began to wonder as she heard Dr. Ackerman.
Another explosion is heard, causing tremors within the entire facility.
"What's taking them so long?!" Shouts Chandler.
"There's no choice left" the third child began to realize.
She looks back at the Evangelion, then at her father. She grins her teeth and her hands turn into fists, only to finally make her choice.
"I'll do it!" she shouts.
"What?" Questions Whitehall.
The whole room stops as they hear the third child's choice.
I'll pilot the damn robot!" Erika yelled at her father.
The commander smirked as he hear his daughter finally go with his order.
"Start the preparations!" orders the Deputy Commander.
"Let's get you inside," said Ackerman as she took her to get ready.
"I mustn't run away" she mutters to herself. "Not today".