Erika stood like a deer in headlights, unsure of what to do next. She had just entered Kenichiro Murasame's room, snooping around objects without permission. The first child glared at her with the same frozen eye contact he had been maintaining. He had a towel draped around his neck and was wearing what seemed to be a dry-fit tank top and shorts.
"The crane" he speaks.
"Huh?" Erika reacts, not understanding what he is referring to.
"Put it back where it was," He orders.
Erika gazes on her hands and realizes she still has his origami crane. She then gently places it back on the top of the drawer.
"Why are you in my room?" he questions while maintaining his glare.
"Your ID card, Ackerman forgot to give it to you yesterday," Erika explains.
"You could have left it at the table, back in the living room," He tells her.
"I didn't know if anyone was home, " She rebuts. "The door just opened after I rang".
"Could you please make my room then?" He asks.
Erika left it there and got out of his room. She could still feel the sterility and coldness of this home. It felt similar to that of the labs at NERV.
Moments later, Kenichiro would come out of his room, wearing athletic wear.
"I'm going out to train," He told her while he walked towards the door. "You may join me if you want".
Soon, Erika and Ken made their way out of his home.
The two pilots headed towards a park that featured open tracks to run and a small exercise area nearby.
"So...what do you do outside of school?" asked Erika.
"I train," he simply responds. "Running, martial arts, simulation rounds, everything needed to combat the Angels".
"That's all?" She comments.
"As in?" Kenichiro questions as he stretches.
"As in that's all you do?" Erika suggests.
"As pilots, we must prepare our mind and body for combat," He explains as he begins to start his round across the park.
Seeking to know more, the third child starts to run with him.
She could see the determination in his eyes, focused like a bird of prey.
Soon, Erika started to pull more muscle into her running, as the first child began to run faster than she could keep up.
"Can I ask you a question?" he asks as the third child approaches.
"Yeah?'" She responds between breaths.
"How does it feel?" He brings up. "How did it feel piloting Unit-02?".
When Erika hears those words, she loses focus. She thinks back to the tension of her first combat with an Angel and the chaos of the second attack.
"Frustrating" She utters. "I feel afraid".
"Afraid of what?" he continues asking.
"Afraid of dying," She explains while catching her breath. "It's nerve-wracking".
"Not even with your father at the helm?" He adds.
"No" she responds. "I can't trust him".
Ken then stopped running, Erika noticed it as she looked behind her. He gives her a confused look.
"Then why even bother piloting the Evangelion?" He points out.
"What?" Erika asks back.
"He's our commander" He starts talking. "He knows what's best. How can you not trust him?".
"Being our commander doesn't change anything about him" Erika claps back. "You wouldn't understand."
"Then why do you fight?" Kenichiro keeps questioning. 'Why didn't you leave or reject his orders?"
"That's none of your business" the third child asserts, irritated by his questioning.
The tension between these two pilots felt like knives cutting through to reveal what lay inside them. Erika and Kenichiro wanted to understand each other but instead found more barriers between themselves.
"Word of advice, trust NERV" He explains. "If you can't trust the commander, why even bother piloting".
As he was done speaking, the first child started running again. This time, Erika stood still, shocked by his audacity to say such things.
"What could he mean by that?" She began poundering. "And what gives him the right for all of that crap?!".
The Next Day, NERV Hangars...
Evangelion Unit-01 was preparing for its reactivation. Its silver-colored armor shone brightly as it powered up. Its head featured a horn, and its face was painted red with white and gray at the bottom. Kenichiro Murasame was ready to pilot once more. Erika was also at the reactivation, observing from afar. She watched as the first child, clad in a black and blue plugsuit, stepped inside the entry plug.
"First connection online" announced Miller. "Commencing synchronization".
Unit 01's eyes light up bright yellow.
"Unit-01 has been activated, no errors have been shown, "Lieutenant Edwards stated from the control bay.
"Kenichiro, everything all right in there?" The commander asked him.
"All good, sir" the first child responds.
"That's good to hear" He smirks.
Erika began to observe the way Commander Langford talked to him.
"He's having a conversation...with him?" Her mind began to churn. Resentment began to build up inside her as she kept observing how the commander treated the first child. All of a sudden, sub-commander Chandler stepped into the room.
"Sir, an unidentified flying object was spotted over the Colorado deserts; it's the 7th angel," he exclaimed. "Should we prepare units 01 and 02?"
"Negative" Dr. Ackerman interjects. "Unit 01 needs more time to calibrate, I suggest unit 02 be deployed".
"So be it" accepts the commander. "Get Unit 02 ready to launch".
He then turned his eyes towards his daughter.
"What are you waiting for soldier? Get moving!" He barked.
"Yes, sir" muttered Erika.
She got inside unit-02 and was launched towards the outskirts of the city.
In the desert...
Unit 02 was equipped with an assault rifle from the previous battle as she looked for the target. The Colorado desert felt hollow as the winds growled from across the area. In the skies, a storm expanded all over its surroundings, shooting thunderbolts at every corner.
"Where's the angel? All I see is a thunderstorm," asked the third child.
"What are we looking at here?" Susan began questioning her team.
"We're detecting a heat signal," Lt. Miller informs her. "It's coming from within the storm."
The screens then showed a large blue blob glowing from within the storm.
"Erika, that thunderstorm IS the angel" Whitehall explained. "It's hidden inside it".
"Approaching target then" she states to her superiors.
Erika ran Unit 02 toward the storm, which was now engulfing the desert in gusts of winds and dark skies. As she got closer, the third child noticed a bright red light shining in one particular cloud.
"The core" She guessed upon spotting it.
Unit 02 pulled the trigger and started firing at the light. It was futile; the A.T. field was blocking the shots. Erika then went underneath the storm and saw what was inside. The angel was a crystal-like being with a giant core inside it.
"Energy signatures are being detected near the target!" Exclaimed Lt. Edwards "They're rising at high numbers!".
"Captain, I think the angel is preparing to strike!",
As Unit 02 got closer and closer, the inside was getting brighter and brighter. Lighting started cracking around her. Bolts shot down at the ground like firecrackers.
Erika! Get out of there, now!" Yelled the captain.
But it was too late, a lightning bolt struck Unit 02. It sent an electric charge that shook the entire evangelion offline.
"I can't move!" She panics. "Susan, I lost power! I-
A giant heat ray then shot from the inside of the angel. Unit-02 was thrown to the ground, as the beam of light began to burn across its armor plating.
All Erika could do was scream in pain, as she felt the burning heat of Angel pierce through her body. It was like fire, burning hellfire.