"You can't run away!" exclaimed Erika's mother jokingly as she chased her down the meadows. "I'm gonna catch you!"
"Then chase me, momma!" Erika shouted back. "Catch me if you can!'.
She was about 6 years old as she ran down the flower meadows, playing with her mother. All of a sudden, unit-02 appeared right in front of her. Its neon yellow eyes turned into organic red pupils.
"YOU CAN'T RUN AWAY"
Erika then woke up on a white bed in a white room.
"I must be in the hospital," she thought."It was all just a dream".
She gets up and walks towards the corridors.
She looks towards the windows and spots the damage from last night. The memories started coming back. The pain, rage, and explosions return to her mind.
"I can't believe I did all of that damage," she says, looking down at the city.
She turns to a nearby television, paying attention to the news of what happened yesterday.
"The massive explosions scene from yesterday has gotten many citizens questioning the U.S. government over what happened during last night's incident," A reporter brings up on TV. "Many reports see two giants fighting over the area, but it has yet to be confirmed what happened last night".
"Not a single mention of Eva or the monster," she notices.
"You survived, third child," a voice from behind calls out.
Erika turned around and saw a boy covered in bandages around his head and arm. He had dark hair with two blocks and bangs. He had a cast on his left arm.
Erika then realizes who this boy is.
"Are you the other pilot?" Erika asks.
He just stood there and nodded.
"Kenichiro" calls out a lady from behind.
It was one of the doctors from the hangar, Dr. Miura.
"I've been looking all over for you, where have you been?" She questions him.
The doctor then turned to look at Langford.
"You're one of the doctors from NERV," Erika points out.
"I'm glad to see that you're alright," she tells her. "The captain's going to pick you up".
"My father...he's not coming?" Erika asks in response.
"I'm sorry, but none of us have seen him outside of NERV". She responds.
Erika's fist clenches, as she glances down to the floor.
He's not coming," Was the thought that ran through her head."He doesn't care about me, like always".
The doctor and first child then left the hospital.
"I'm glad to see you're alright," Called a familiar voice,
Erika turns and sees Captain Whitehall coming behind her.
"I came to escort you to your private quarters," She explains. "HQ had it all set for you".
"Cool" Erika coldly responds.
"Hey, are you sure you're okay living on your own?" Whitehall inquires.
"It's alright" Erika explained. "I'm used to living alone. I never had a roommate back at my boarding school, and I don't think my father wants me around".
"If you want to, we can get-
"It's Fine"
"Erika, I can-
"I said it's fine!" Erika yells at Susan. "It's none of your business".
"Hey, what's with the attitude?" Susan questions.
"Look, don't you have enough to worry about?" Erika fires back. "I said I'll be fine".
Susan gives Erika a stern look.
"Alright then, I'll fix that personality of yours," she assures her while pulling out her phone and dialing a number.
"What are you doing?"Erika asks.
"Hello? Hilda? It's me, Susan," she calls. "It's about Erika, she's going to live with me in my condo".
"What?!"
"Sure! She's alright with it anyways, so just get approval from HQ and it will be ok!" She finished off.
"Why do I have to live with you?!" Erika questioned. "Who are you to decide over me?!".
"Who am I?" Susan questions her with a look. "I'm your commanding officer and your current guardian, so you do what I tell and you follow it, GOT IT?!".
Erika's eyes widened upon hearing her state that fact.
After that, they went full speed ahead as Susan drove away from the hospital.
"Ha! It looks like today we're going to have a party!" Susan exclaims.
"What's there to party about?" Erika asks in a grumpy mood.
"My new housemate, of course," the captain responded with joy.
"Not in the mood," she simply shrugs off.
"Well, what's got you all sulky now?"
Erika just simply stares out into the highway.
Susan then came up with an idea.
"Hey, how about a small detour on the way, ok?" She asks the moody 15-year-old girl.
"Alright," said Erika.
They stopped near one of the mountains of Mt. Cheyenne.
"What are we doing here?" She asks the captain.
"You'll see" the captain assures her while glancing at her clock.
All of a sudden, buildings started rising from the city grounds. Huge skyscrapers rose and started appearing in the view.
"This is Spring City. Most of its buildings were lowered down for protection during the angel attack," Whitehall explains to Erika. "The city you defended".
Erika looks at the beauty of the city.
She looked at the buildings in awe, but then thought back at what the news reports had brought up. The Damages, the people affected by it, and just the amount of wreckage she left. Not to mention, her attitude before saving the city.
"But I wasn't as heroic as you make it sound" she coldly stated. "I didn't even want to do it at first".
"But you did well," Susan told her. "Maybe you just need to have more confidence in yourself."
"More confidence," she thought.
Erika started to tear up as she heard those words.
"Hey, what's the matter?" The captain asked her as she tried comforting her. "Did I say something wrong?".
"N-no! I just got sunlight in my eyes!" Erika assures her.
Moments later, they drove down into the city and parked near an apartment complex.
They got up to the 12th floor, where Susan's apartment was located.
"Susan?" Erika asks as she steps into her new home.
"Yeah?"
"Thanks...for letting me live with you".
"No problem!" She assures her. "Just set up your stuff in one of the empty rooms down the hallway".
While looking for her room, Erika found the captain's apartment to be quite a mess.
There were a bunch of boxes in the living room with who knows what inside. Most of the living room was unorganized.
The 15-year-old looked back at the captain with an unsure look.
"I know, it's a mess," she said in an annoyed mood. "But I'm sure the both of us will have this clean in no time".
After unpacking, they went to eat dinner in the kitchen. Her fridge was filled with fruits and vegetables, as well as a package of Corona bottles and a bunch of frozen food in the fridge. The only options left to eat were a microwaved pizza with some broccoli on the side.
"Ahh, nothing better than a drink to end the day!" Susan exclaimed as she drank from a bottle.
The third child just sat at the table, eating the meal.
"Well, what do you think?" The captain asks Erika, referring to the food.
"Well...the taste is a bit different than I imagined" she affirms with a confused look.
"What? haven't you eaten pizza before in your life?" Whitehall jokes.
"The private school had regular meals, and I'm pretty sure they were cooked," Erika brings up.
"Hey, I may not know how to cook, but at least be grateful that you're being fed," Susan told her.
"It's better than nothing", the Third child looks through as she bites the microwaved meal.
After the meal, they went on to decide who would do the chores through a good old game of rock, paper, and scissors.
"Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!" They shout in unison.
Susan wins since rock beats scissors.
"Alright, it's settled then" the captain confirms. "You'll do most of the chores from Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday while I'll do the rest the other days".
"But...why do I have to clean the toilets?" Erika questions in disgust.
"Because I said so, I'm your commanding officer after all" she reaffirms. "Now go take a bath, it's getting late".
"What?"
"You heard me!" Susan orders. "As your commanding officer and guardian, I have to show discipline towards you".
"B-but-"
"No buts, take a bath, "she continues.
"Discipline my ass," Erika mutters as she headed toward the bathroom.
As she opened the door, a big penguin appeared with a towel on its neck. It looked like a Fiordland penguin with yellow eye stripes and a crest. It had a collar with the number "02" written on it. Erika yelped as she saw him coming out.
"S-Susan! You're not gonna believe this but there's a"
The penguin walked past her and into the kitchen, entering through a small fridge.
"That's Ozzie, he's a genetically cloned penguin," the captain explains as she drinks from her can. "Another little addition to our little family".
"Little family?"
"We're all living here together, don't we?" Susan sarcastically quips.
Erika couldn't tell if she was drunk or not, but the sense of being part of a family hadn't come to her mind for ages.
"Well...yeah, I suppose we are," she mutters.
After taking a shower. The third child went to sleep in her new room. Skimming through her backpack, she pulled out an old digital audio recorder and started playing tracks.
The tunes in there were mostly from the late 80s and the 90s, but some were also from the 70s and late 60s. The song being played right now is Fly Me to the Moon by Frank Sinatra.
Erika then started falling asleep, only to deal with the same nightmare she experienced in the hospital. The only difference was that the Evangelion stood right before her.
"You mustn't run away," she heard it say. "You mustn't".
The third child could only worry about what's yet to come from this starting point in her new life as the pilot of the destructive Evangelion.
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