Neon Genesis Evangelion: The Enlightening Music

I do not own N.G.E., Gainax, or the parties that are involved in the making of the anime and manga.

Chapter.4

Did this really happen?

Around 5:30 am, Tokyo-3's inhabitants were getting up and headed off for work. The city's immigrant population was no different, where many of them have to head off for jobs that are soul crushing, but at the same time, providing much needed cash to support their families. Although city elections were taking place today, many of the city's inhabitants didn't really care. Many felt their votes account for nothing, and they're right, especially when the MAGI worked behind the scenes and do the decision making for the civil servants and local politicians.

Four weeks have passed since the Mt. Asra incident and the pilots started to catch up on their work at school. Even Asuka's Japanese started to improve, though she still can't write for shit. But on one day, things started normal, but ended up being a weird day, no Angels, no fighting, just a normal blackout.

It was a Tuesday, around 7:35 am; Shinji and Asuka left their apartment and were joined by Dante at the elevator. They went down and in order to get to school on time, they caught the bus. They boarded, and discovered it took the 'scenic route' to school where Shinji got his first glance at the barrios.

"Is it me, or are we heading for the villas miserias," Asuka asked incredulously.

Dante replied, "It…seems so. Just hope we get to school," both he and Asuka were right, there were Latinos everywhere; even the signs were in Spanish or in Portuguese.

Shinji felt some culture shock; he'd never been to this area. Even Toji and Kensuke, who live near the downtown area, had never been here before. As they were on the bus, some of the Latinos got on in order to get to work, while conversing in Spanish and Portuguese. Outside the bus's windows, the Children saw vendors were selling savory food and fresh fruit on the streets, stores playing loud rhythmic music in order to advertise either electronics or CD's, and retail stores selling clothes to their Latin clientele. Many of the Latinos in Japan immigrated from Peru, Argentina, Chile, and Brasil; in effect created nationalistic tensions. However, over the years, many of the Latinos banded together to create organizations for fight for equal working conditions and wages.

After taking the scenic route, they somehow arrived just in time for the bell to ring. The morning went on as usual with classes like Intermediate Algebra, English, World History, and Japanese History. When lunch came, Shinji sat with Toji and Kensuke on the roof while Asuka, Hikari, and Dante remained in the classroom. After lunch, classes continued with physical education (swimming), and computer courses. When homeroom came around to signal the end of the day, all the lights went off and communication between cell-phones and via the internet ceased, and within milliseconds, the whole class groaned collectively when the A/C went dead.

'What the hell, I was just chatting with Angela! Work you piece of shit,' Asuka exclaimed to herself and shook the laptop. She then noticed Kensuke trying to access the internet through other means, and Dante threw down his cell-phone and muttered Merda.

"I guess…that's it for today class. Hikari would you please," the teacher said and signaled Hikari to properly dismiss the class.

"Stand up. Bow. Dismissed." The got up collectively and left. The Children headed out and braced for the unending summer heat.

"Jesus," Dante observed, "Even the traffic lights are out."

"I can see that, now all we have to figure out is how to get to NERV without getting run over," Asuka bluntly said and right away, Rei started searching her school bag for the NERV safety instruction manual.

This prompted the other three to search their bags as well. They pulled out their emergency manuals in order to determine the safest way to NERV.

"Hmm, if we take the main road from school to our right, we should arrive at headquarters within an hour," Rei said as she read her manual.

But Asuka disagreed, "Forget it First Child! That road right now is heavily used and cuts straight into downtown. We'll be killed just by walking."

"How about we head for the neighborhoods to our left and use those streets to head for NERV," Shinji suggested which Asuka quickly shot down, "Idiot, it will take nearly two hours to get to headquarters!"

Dante disagreed, "But going that way, we can avoid the streets where there's the likely hood of car accidents."

"I agree, going through the neighborhoods is the safer option," Rei voiced her opinion. Asuka, noticing she'd been out voiced and out voted, conceded and agreed to the idea; but insisted that she would be the team leader. With the power out, the Children couldn't use their phones to contact NERV; and while they were having problems on the surface, personnel in NERV were frantic.

"It's no use, auxiliary circuit is down sir," Aoba stated.

Fuyutski was shocked from what he heard, "That can't be! What percentage of circuits is still functioning," he asked NERV's tech support.

"Only 1.2% percent of them: nine circuits starting from No. 2567!" One of the techs shouted in response.

"Transfer all the power to the MAGI and Central Dogma!" Fuyutski ordered.

Aoba was hesitant to follow through, "But…that could interfere with our life support."

"Do it! We need the MAGI!" Fuyutski ordered, that voiced everyone's desperation.

(Back on the surface)

"Damn it, taking the neighborhood route is gonna make this even more nerve-racking," Asuka voiced her frustration.

"Well at least we'll be safer," Dante muttered but she heard anyway, "Oh yeah, safer and walking around the neighborhoods for another two hours just to avoid imaginary car accidents! Great use of logic," Asuka sarcastically said.

" Si queres irte, andate! Yo no te voy a parar! We'll head to NERV and tell Misato what happened to your sorry ass," Dante retorted back.

"Arschloch," Asuka insulted when she pieced together the Spanish and Japanese retort.

"Puttana," Dante insulted back. At this point, Rei stoically lead the group to NERV.

(Back at NERV)

With the help of the techs, Ritsuko and Maya were able to search the cause of the blackout in NERV's sub-corridors. But something was bothering Ritsuko:

"Its suspicious how the power went out as it did; because if the backup generators didn't kick in, then something is off here."

Elsewhere in NERV, in a stuck elevator to be exact, Misato said the same thing to Kaji while she tried to contact Central Dogma with the elevator's emergency phone.

"Why would you think so," Kaji asked.

"There are three backup circuits, it's impossible for all of them to fail simultaneously," Misato stated that hinted confusion of their current predicament.

"So if the circuits failed, then it could mean that somebody did this on purpose," Kaji stated and wondered about other possibilities.

"Sabotage," Misato muttered, "Well, at least we're lucky at the moment," Kaji said, interrupting Misato's thought processes while stretching his arms.

"How are we lucky," Misato asked, half annoyed and half suspected that Kaji may indeed suffer from a mental disorder (that should explain a lot).

"No news of an Angel attack," Kaji said resting himself on the elevator's wall, "Yeah that would really suck," Misato said in a semi-sarcastic way.

(Back in Tokyo-3)

"Shit," Asuka exclaimed when a car almost ran her over on the sidewalk's edge, "People are acting stupid right now!"

"Tu vuoi l'acqua," Dante asked Asuka, "What, oh...sure whatever," Asuka mumbled. Dante entered a Latino store and after a few moments, came back out with four water bottles.

"Here guys," he gave the three to his fellow pilots. Rei and Shinji expressed their gratitude, even Asuka, although it was her usual obligatory 'thanks.' They continued to walk for another ten minutes in silence, leaving each other with their own thoughts. Especially Shinji who dared to break the silence asked the deceivingly simple question, "Guys why are fighting Angels?"

"Huh, why are you asking that now," Asuka asked, kind of surprised that Shinji would ask that at this time.

Shinji continued to voice his thoughts, "Well Angels are messengers of God. So why are we fighting them?"

"Are you stupid, they attacked us! When someone attacks you don't sit back and take it! You defend yourself!"

(4:30pm)

Traffic was terrible, the heat was punishing (with overcast of thunderclouds), and they still had another 30 minutes of walking before they reached NERV. So to get to NERV quickly, they hitched a ride in an area of safe traffic. They still used the neighborhood route, but now passed apartment buildings with low income families. Whether they were Japanese or not, living conditions for the proletariat were the same. Rei lived in a similar setting, but her building was mostly abandoned and Shinji grew up in a middle class neighborhood back in Kyoto so being there was…a novelty. It sparked his curiosity, but he subtly showed it.

They noticed children playing in the streets and ally ways, and only stop when cars like their's passed through. While they made good time, they noticed the scent of wet earth permeating the air. It started to rain.

"Yes! Oh god yes! It's raining," Asuka rejoiced as the rain fell. Dante joined her in jubilation. Rei closed her eyes and was content with the refreshing droplets, but remained stoic while Shinji enjoyed the rain falling on his face. The truck stopped at a store, the truck driver said he can't take them to NERV but he assured the children that they're no more than five minutes away from the facility.

"Gracias por el viaje," Dante expressed his gratitude to their driver, who immigrated to Japan from Peru.

"De nada," the man said and drove off, "Ten cuidado muchachos," the man yelled and was out of sight when he turned a corner.

(Back in NERV's sub-corridors)

Ritsuko and Maya were able to find their way to the backup circuits with nothing but flashlights and a handful of NERV tech personnel to guide them in the darkness. What they found was nothing short of shocking…

"What the hell," Ritsuko exclaimed quietly, "Maya take a look," Maya made her way to her superior.

"Jesus! This explains why the backup power didn't kick in," May said, just as surprised as Ritsuko, "All of the circuit breakers were turned off with an electronic timer."

Ritsuko nodded in reply, "But we can't dwell on who caused the blackout. Our main priority is to get the power back." They began working on bringing life back to the city, but all of them had one question in mind: How could NERV have been infiltrated so easily?

Misato however was still in the elevator with Kaji. Both were stifled from the stagnate air and increasing heat. Both sat on opposite ends of the elevator, deep in thought on what could be happening on the outside.

'God I hope the kids are all right! And what if an Angel does come and we can't do shit about it? What if…calm down girl. You're not helping yourself, just…stay calm,' but even with her self-pep talk, she struggled to do so.

She glanced at Kaji who hadn't tried to flirt with her for a while. Instead he was listening to his iPod, to contemplate the situation he's in. He caught her glance and attempted to start a conversation.

"Care to listen," he offered his right ear-bud; "No thanks, I'm fine right now," Misato refused, Kaji shrugged and went back to listening to his unknown music. Misato moved uneasily in her spot, she desperately needed to use the restroom.

Back at Central Command, Fuyutski and Commander Ikari stood at their usual positions, appeared to look stoic over uncertainty, but Gendo had his feet in a bucket of water and the sub-commander uttered one complaint that encompassed everyone in Central Dogma, "It's hot."

"Yes, yes it is," Gendo stoically agreed with his chin resting on his folded hands contemplating the exact same thing.

(Back in Tokyo-3)

Although the driver told the kids the NERV facility was five minutes away, the kids still had a fifteen minute walk.

"God that damn driver lied to us," Asuka muttered, "What did you expect, the driver had work to do and…he thought we were gonna take the bus," Dante said.

"Oh please, what crazy ass bus is gonna take us to NERV? As we've seen, no one's moving," Asuka said frustrated and pointed to the traffic to emphasize her point, "So let's keep walking. I mean…we're doing well so far and we haven't gotten hurt yet," Shinji said, unsure whether or not to keep walking.

Asuka looked him in the eye, "Hell no. I'd rather sit in a non-moving bus than continue walking. I mean my feet hurt for god sake," she whined as she brushed a strand of her now wet hair from the corner of her left eye.

"Why are you complaining," Dante now annoyed with Asuka's whining, "We both walk a lot back home; how is this any different?"

"Well at least back home, the trains and the infrastructure work properly," Asuka pointed to the traffic and the complete black out for the entire city, "We're basically fucked," while she stated the obvious.

They were all frustrated from both the long trek to NERV and Asuka's less than helpful attitude. The Children continued to walk in the direction of traffic, until they encountered a bus, which was good since the rain fell a little harder. They got on and spotted Makoto Hyuga.

"Hyuga, what are you doing here," Shinji asked and wiped the excess water off his face, "Shouldn't you be at NERV?"

"And what's with the dry-cleaning," Asuka noticed him with a bag of clothes.

Hyuga chuckled, "Hehehehe, uh well, as you can see the power's out. And I've been having trouble contacting Central Dogma. Could any of you get through?"

All four shook their heads in a resounding no.

"This is bad, the power should've come back already," Hyuga said with worry, "The worst-case scenario is that an Angel could attack, and have no warning time to prepare."

This filled the children with a new sense of dread, three of the four never thought that far ahead, "Well, if an Angel does attack, Tokyo-2 could send an airborne messenger to alert us ahead of time. So far, none have appeared."

The three pilots and Hyuga were kind of surprised by her calm demeanor and deduction the situation, but then Shinji, of all times asked, "Isn't this Misato's dry-cleaning?"

"Huh oh uh…," Hyuga struggled to find an explanation.

"Damn, that woman is lazy," Asuka, Shinji, and Dante said in unison. They looked at each other and sighed at the ridiculous situation they're in. As the bus continued to drive in traffic, the television screens in the bus blared on, ''Showers today will signal for the upcoming weather for the next two weeks. Continuous on and off rain in the mountainous regions. Average temperature for the next week will be mid 70's to the low 90's. Humidity will average around 82% and average wind speed will be 23 mph.''

(Back at NERV)

Thanks to Ritsuko, Maya, and the technicians, power returned to the facility.

Meanwhile, Misato and Kaji were in elevator with their own problems, "Please, work you piece of shit! I have to go to the bathroom," Misato yelled, desperate for release while standing on Kaji's shoulders who supported her.

Kaji couldn't believe their situation, as if it was some bad sitcom, "Hey don't look at my panties," she yelled at him, "I'm not," he grumbled. Then suddenly, the power came back on, the elevator shook, started moving and both stumbled and fell on each other.

The door opened, with Ritsuko, Maya and the techs at the doorway and saw Misato and Kaji in the 69 position, giving the WRONG impression to their co-workers.

Ritsuko rubbed the temples of her forehead and Maya uttered, "Sex fiends."

(Back in Tokyo-3)

The power slowly returned to the city, although certain areas were still blacked out. But the one thing that certainly came back was the traffic lights. Slowly and surely, the traffic began to flow more freely again. Although, it still took the Children and Hyuga 10 agonizing minutes to get to NERV. The rain poured more heavily outside, the people that came in were mostly NERV personnel. The last of the civilian passengers were dropped off in the city's financial sector. The bus continued its way to a tunnel that led to the underground facility. The inside of the bus smelled of wet people with the musky scent of sweat and rain water. The floor of the bus was a death hazard; one misstep can lead to injury. After a few moments, the bus parked and the passengers slowly got out, much to the relief to everyone the power was back…with A/C.

The Children were the last to get off, "YESS! WE MADE IT," Asuka shouted with raised arms.

The other three pilots were also glad they got to NERV in one piece, Hyuga was also glad to arrive unscathed and with the dry-cleaning completely dry. After a hellish afternoon, the Children headed for Central Dogma for their daily synchronization test, however, due to the concerns of the power outage, Ritsuko decided to postpone the testing until Thursday. Rei was complacent, but the other three were frustrated and angry, after all the effort in trying to get to the facility in piece, and not being able to do the job they are required to do, that sucked.

The Children headed home, as usual, Shinji rode with Misato while Asuka and Dante rode the train home. Rei was dropped off at her dilapidated apartment by Section-2 agents. However, the Children in general were still in a state of amazement that today of all days where the conditions were primed for an Angel attack when the city's infrastructure was potentially crippled by a mole…nothing happened.

(Somewhere in Downtown Tokyo-3)

Somewhere in downtown, around 9:55 pm, the mole and his contact were conversing on the day's events, "Well I must say...excellent job. NERV will most likely hire new tech personnel and enforce security protocols after today's events," unknown contact from Japan's Ministry of the Interior said.

The mole then said, "It had to be done. And what better way to send spies into NERV than under a blackout," with the sense of satisfaction of doing something good, "And disrupting their communication with the outside world was the cherry on top."

"Indeed," the agent stuffed the flash-drive into the mole's left hand, "Take care," he then walked into the crowded streets of Tokyo-3 as another passerby.

Now the mole, alone, began to contemplate his next move.

(Apartment building: 10:09pm)

Full power came back to the city. Since coming home, the kids and Misato had nothing to do except to eat dinner (Shinji cooked) and playing cards. However, when it was 7:30 the kids got bored, so they did whatever homework they had under candle-light. When the power came back, they rejoiced, especially Asuka.

"FINALLY! It's great to have the lights back," for once, no one disagreed with her.

Before the Children retired to their bedrooms Misato said there will be a new program to have them take up self-defense classes after school, along with synchronization tests. The three groaned, but inwardly, the Euros found this exciting, learning some martial arts to pass time and now more able to kick ass. Shinji noticed their subtle glee, but he didn't want to do it, 'But if I have to do it...then I got no choice...again,' he then looked at his colleagues who mumbled in their native languages of German and Italian, 'Must be nice to be bilingual or whatever...that way I...' he then shook his head, 'Forget it...that wouldn't work anyway.' He put that thought out of his mind and went to bed, followed by Asuka and Dante returned to his apartment.

Misato retired to her bedroom, but instead of sleeping, she reviewed the report about the probable causes of the blackout and looked at a list from Section-2 about the possible moles in NERV. And to her surprise, Ryoji Kaji's name popped up, but she dismissed it entirely and put his name under the implausible column.

(12:01am)

Shinji got up to use the restroom. After a few moments, he flushed and headed for the patio, the smell of wet Earth permeated the air and the refreshing scent of water enveloped his body. The blackout and the surprising lack of Angels still ate at him, it was a perfect day for a disaster...but other than the backed up streets, nothing spectacular occurred.

"Whatever happened today, I'm glad nothing happened...for once a regular day," he said quietly and stayed at the patio, until he went back to bed. Only Misato was awake, until she turned in half and hour later.

Author's Note: The title came from the 21 Grams soundtrack. I felt that this chapter was easier to write than the previous three I've posted. Does that mean I've found my groove? Fuck no. As long as I can get my ideas down on ink, I'm a happy man. I'm editing my first three chapters, they'll be posted soon.

Edited: September 15, 2011