Title: Eternal Recurrence
Author: the.Merines
Started: 12.08.06 20:09
Finished: 12.14.06 10:32

Pre-note: Begins during episode 11, just after Matarael's attack. AU.

Italicized means thought.

---

On a rather hot Tokyo-3 afternoon, the city of Tokyo-3 was completely silent. There was no traffic, pedestrian or motorized. The self-sufficient underground colony and NERV's headquarters, the Geofront, was also experiencing unprecedented quiet.

By now the staff had determined that an act of sabotage had simultaneously cut off all three of the city's power supplies, which was supposed to be impossible. Using an old diesel generator, all three Evangelion units had been started, their pilots seated inside the entry plugs.

Halted directly above the EVA's position was the eighth Angel, its spider-like body held close to the surface. It leaked a powerful acid down into the access tunnel, slowly yet surely burrowing a tunnel into the Geofront.

A haphazard plan was devised by the Second Children after their initial setback. With the First Children sent to retrieve the dropped palette gun, the Second Children utilized EVA-02's body and AT Field to dissuade the enemy's attack.

The weapon was retrieved and passed to EVA-01, who immediately opened fire the moment EVA-02 was out of harm's way. Up until this point, their plan had gone flawlessly. However, the Third had forgotten to extend his own AT Field to counter the defensive field of the enemy. The shots he fired bounced harmlessly down.

A blast of acid caught Unit 01's foot, which sent it falling to the bottom of the access tunnel, where it landed on EVA-00. The Second Children was left alone, weaponless, and running out of power.

At this point the Angel was defeated. The First Children claimed to have seen something come down out of the sky and strike down the target, resulting in its annihilation. Due to the fact that all of NERV's sensors were down because of the power outage, her report could not be verified.

In any case, disaster was averted.

-from the debriefing record log of Fuyutsuki Kouzou

Ikari Gendo, commander of NERV, looked up from the computer screen. Though the frown on his face was perpetual and everlasting, the Vice Commander sensed his superior's dissatisfaction. He shrugged his shoulders. "As the report states, the Angel was defeated by an unknown force. We have no records because of the massive blackout."

"Surely some information could be accumulated from somewhere to at least give us an idea," Ikari's gruff voice stated as he leaned back in his chair. "The two of us will be raked over the hot coals by the old men if we don't present a reason for this… miscalculation." Fuyutsuki grinned.

"It's unusual to see you so powerless." Ikari didn't respond, which only caused Kouzou's grin to widen. "We're already procuring data from Tokyo-2, the Fuchu UN headquarters, Matsushiro, and any spy satellites to which we're given access. The answer will be found in time." Ikari sighed.

"Certainly, the Committee won't be pleased by that kind of answer."

"Oh? Is that anxiety I sense in your inflection?"

"Give me a break, professor. Listening to those old men complain is nothing but annoying. I've got better things to do than be talked down to by them. Well, in any case, please use all available resources to find this solution. However, the sabotage remains as top priority."

"It shouldn't be difficult. After all, you and I both know that Angels can only be destroyed by…" Fuyutsuki's voice trailed off as Ikari raised a hand.

"Are you suggesting we have a rogue Evangelion in Tokyo-3? One which was not developed by NERV?" The former professor shrugged again. Ikari stood and adjusted his glasses. "I'd rather tell the Committee that aliens from space killed the Angel. It's unfathomable."

"Yet… It is the only perceivable answer."

…

Chapter 01: The calamitous Error must be first Recognized by the One who created It

…

On a rather rainy afternoon, Ayanami Rei sat alone on her bed. She was reading a thick book, despite the fact that the artificial lighting in her apartment was too dim, causing undue strain on her eyes. She didn't mind, though; reading was action Commander Ikari had suggested when she asked how to most easily pass the time. She had been excused from school once again, though the reasoning behind it was a mystery to her.

"You don't need to attend today," the Commander had said. Therefore, she did not. She had asked if they could share dinner, but he replied that he was too busy. She acknowledged that fact. It had been her who was the only person to witness whatever it was that had defeated the ninth Angel. NERV's staff was busy figuring out exactly what had happened.

Rei was neither intrigued nor bored by the book. It was a work of fiction, and she didn't feel any need to invest too much into the deep understanding of such things. Her cell phone blared its ring through her apartment and was quickly grabbed up by Ayanami. The caller ID read 'Second Children.' Rei breathed an almost unnoticeable sigh and waited patiently for the phone to cease its noisemaking.

A moment afterwards, the 'voicemail' sound prompted her to listen. She did so, and the grating voice of the Second Children filled her ear.

"Hey, Wonder Girl! Although it's against my personal wishes, you should come over to Misato's place tonight. She got promoted, and those stooges from class put together a surprise party for her. You can come over and sit like a stone while Shinji fawns over you; how's that sound? Someone as weird and anti-social as you probably won't come, so I don't know why I'm wasting my time!"

Rei deleted the message immediately.

'That girl…'

Back to her reading she went.

Rei didn't notice the knocking at first. It took a moment for her eyes to refocus after staring at the book's pages for so long- what turned out to be six hours. She stood slowly and set the book down, then straightened out a crease in her uniform's bottom. The knocking continued until she opened the creaky door. As she did, a number of envelopes fell out of her overstuffed mail slot onto the floor. Her gaze fell to them, and she noticed a second pair of shoes on the opposite side of the door from hers.

The blue-haired girl looked up slowly. A boy stood before her. She guessed that he was vaguely the same age as her and approximately the same height as Soryu. He wore the same school uniform as Ikari, though it was dripping wet and clinging to his thin frame. His wire-frame glasses were speckled with drops of rain, but it was the eyes behind them that Ayanami Rei focused on. In a passive way, she realized that it was odd that this boy had red eyes. They were quite a bit darker than hers, almost like blood which had been split and overflowed with oxygen. His face was unfamiliar but had a harder edge to it than the soft face of Ikari.

"Are you Ayanami Rei?" he asked quietly, drops of water rolling down his face. She continued to stare at him, and he did the same. Eventually, she nodded stiffly. The odd boy's eyes softened considerably. Rei felt surprise as he grabbed her hands in his own. "Everything… all of this is thanks to you." Further inside her apartment, Rei's cell rang once again. The boy drew in a deep breath, then exhaled. "That must be Commander Ikari." He immediately let go of her hands as she went to retrieve her cell phone.

Sure enough, it was the Commander. "Yes?" she asked in her usual tone. Her focus shifted once again to the boy in her doorway after the Commander spoke to her.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"Tell him my name is Kiyokawa Motomu," the boy quickly responded.

"Kiyokawa Motomu," Rei repeated. As she spoke the name, it seemed oddly familiar to her, but she couldn't remember from where. Though she did not realize it, she was experiencing the feeling known as déjà vu.

"Please tell him that I will explain everything at his earliest convenience," the boy named Motomu stated.

"He would like to explain everything at your earliest convenience," Rei repeated once more. She received her instructions from the Commander before ending the call. "Commander Ikari stated that I shall escort you to headquarters tomorrow morning, to meet him at eight a.m. Tonight you are not to leave this apartment or my supervision. Also be aware that I am under constant surveillance by armed guards, and that a sniper has been put into place should you attempt to harm me."

"I see. Er… please excuse me…" he said, betraying his embarrassment. "I'd hoped the Commander would be available tonight. I'm sorry for this intrusion." He gingerly stepped into her apartment and took off his shoes. The boy shivered suddenly as the door swung shut behind him; though it was warm enough outside for the rain not to bother him, the air conditioned apartment affected his soaking wet body. He bowed deeply and said, "I'm very sorry, but may I use your shower and a towel?"

Rei silently went to her closet and pulled out a towel, which Motomu graciously accepted. "Well… I apologize for this inconvenience… I did not expect that kind of reaction from the Commander…"

"It is no inconvenience. Orders are orders." A small hint of a smile on his face, he nodded.

"So then… Where is…?" Rei raised an arm and pointed in the direction of her bathroom. "Thanks… sorry…" The boy took off his glasses and placed them on her dresser's top before disappearing into the bathroom. Ayanami stared, as the sound of running water filled the quiet apartment, at her dresser. For whatever reason, the two pairs of glasses sitting there garnered her attention. Without any hidden intention, she dried off the boy's glasses and returned them to their origin.

She returned to her reading, though she was interrupted once more a few minutes later as the boy stuck his head out of the bathroom's barely-open door. "Um…" he sheepishly stuttered. "I don't really have a change of clothes… I'll catch cold if I put on that wet uniform again…"

"I have several clean uniforms," she stated blandly, not looking away from her book.

"But they're girl's uniforms… right?"

"Of course."

"Er, no… That'd be too embarrassing… Could you… maybe… contact Ikari Shinji on my behalf…?" There was an unperceivable change in Ayanami's eyes. "I'm imposing on you again… Nevermind, if I catch cold, I'll still live…" However, there was already a cell phone in Rei's hand.

"Ikari-kun, there is a situation. I require one of your school uniforms to be delivered to my apartment as soon as possible." Her eyes looked towards Motomu's head as Shinji talked. "He wishes to know the reason."

"Tell him it's nothing… 'weird,'" he quickly responded, before pausing as she repeated the message. "Tell him an old friend was caught in the rain." She did so. After a moment she set the phone down. "So, is he coming?"

"Yes, though he was thoroughly confused." Motomu sighed.

"I guess it was unavoidable… All I'm doing is apologizing, while at the same time causing more trouble for you…"

"It is no trouble." In the bathroom, Motomu curled up beneath the towel and tried to conserve his body heat. "Who are you?"

"Huh?"

"Who are you?" she flatly repeated. "You asked that I tell Ikari-kun that you are an old friend. I do not remember you."

"Oh, that… sorry… I didn't know how else to explain it… From my perspective, you really are an old friend… but it's as you said: you have no reason to remember me."

"I don't understand," she replied after a moment.

"In the simplest sense, I'm from the future." Rei considered the fact for a long time. "I'll explain everything tomorrow when we meet with the Commander." He knew, though, that he would not be able to explain absolutely everything, but he hoped his knowledge would suffice. It seemed like forever to Motomu before Shinji knocked on the apartment's door.

"A-ayanami… here." Motomu smiled a little, trying to make a special mental note of Ikari's voice. "Um, this is kind of strange…" Rei made no response. "Well then, I guess I'll be going. I'll see you tomorrow?" However, the metal door was already swinging shut. Motomu listened as Rei's footsteps came closer and closer to the bathroom. He opened the door a crack and held out a hand.

Rei hesitated for a moment as the hand waited for the uniform, noticing the numerous small scars covering the skin.

---

Motomu awoke with the sunrise, which wasn't surprising to him in the least. He had barely slept at all the previous night, sitting on the cold floor with his back against the hard walls of the apartment. However, he was in no place to complain. The boy was surprise, though, when Ayanami Rei awoke mere moments after his eyes had opened.

"Good morning," he quietly greeted.

She didn't greet him back. He sat, unmoving, as she prepared herself for the day, averting his eyes when appropriate.

The walk to the Geofront entrance was uneventful and hushed. The pair was greeted by two armed NERV agents as they entered the Geofront surface gates and was tailed by them until the office of Commander Ikari had been reached. Motomu sighed deeply and tried to clear his mind before the "interrogation" began. He was surprised when Rei placed a hand on his shoulder. He looked at her with a muted shock in his eyes, then nodded and entered the Commander's office.

"Oh, all of you…" he whispered. He immediately recognized all of the people in the room, even though he had never met a single one of them besides Rei. Commander Ikari stood from his desk, with his Vice Commander to his right. In front of and to the left of the desk were the head of Project E, Dr. Akagi Ritsuko, and the tactical operations manager, Major Katsuragi Misato. "Good morning," he nervously said.

"You're Kiyokawa-kun?" Misato asked, her voice trying to sound friendly. He nodded. "I'm sure you realize that we have a lot of questions for you."

"Of course. I'll do my best to explain what I can," Motomu stated with forced strength. Rei had found her way to a dark corner of the office, taking away the only source of comfort Motomu had.

"Foremost, you are the pilot of the rogue Evangelion unit which destroyed the ninth Angel. Am I correct?" Ikari asked austerely.

"I'm no rogue… but, yes, I pilot the EVA that defeated that Angel."

"You say that you are not a rogue," Akagi stated smoothly. "However, at the same time you admit to piloting an EVA. It is a unit that we have no record of, with no idea of whom you take orders from. How can you say that you are not a rogue? Even given the possibility that someone other than NERV had the ability to create an EVA, the monetary resources alone would rule out any country not already involved with NERV. It's impossible."

"Yes, it's just as you say."

"Then what?" Misato asked quickly. "You didn't appear out of thin air." Motomu couldn't help but smile just a little.

"Well, about that…" he sheepishly chuckled.

"So your unit was built by NERV?" Akagi calmly queried.

"Probably… it's more accurate to say that it is currently being built by NERV…" The entire room became silent as the adults were too confused to ask another question just yet. "Well, hey… with a name like 'Unit 04'… there had to be something weird about it, ya know?" He laughed a bit, nervously, as the confusion mounted.

"He is from the future," Rei said in the silence. "Therefore, his EVA must also be from the future." The adults all turned to face Rei.

"How would you know such a thing, Rei?" the Commander asked, a hint of his frustration shining through his cold façade.

"He told me."

End of chapter 01.

Author's note: So, another of my little projects. A couple language notes: though you may think Motomu is a Shinji-clone because he apologizes a lot… Well, it's really hard to write the different styles of Japanese (casual, formal, polite, etc)… Foreigners are all taught to speak in a very polite way. Also, here's the explanation of the Unit 04 joke. Unit 00 is zerogoki; 01 is shogoki; 02, nigoki. There are two words for the number four in Japanese, shi and yon. Shi is also the word for death (different kanji of course, but the pronunciation is the same). Things usually aren't numbered with shi because it is unlucky.

Therefore, Unit 04 is shigoki, or the unit of death. Motomu's joke "something had to be weird, ya know?" makes reference to this. I may or may not continue writing this, since I'm currently wrapped up in about five other stories, but I wanted to get this idea written down and out of my head.