Apologies are offered in advance to the creator of Neon Genesis 
Evangelion and the members of Fear Factory in particular.  Apologies 
are also offered to anime fans in general, for indulging my antics. 

Ozzfest '99 in a week!  It's gonna be coolcoolcool! 

[chunk.]
[whirrrrrrrrr....]
*youarenowexperiencingpitchsegregation...*
*interauralphaseduetomomentaryamplitudedisparity...*
Please Stand By.

Presenting an Evangelion songfic by Rustdragon...

((((((R E S U R R E C T I O N))))))

[The camera fades in, soaring between the towers of Tokyo-3 as though 
attached to the bottom of a helicopter.  Our point of view sweeps lazily 
across the lights of the fantastic city, slowly brightening as the 
brilliant fire of sunset begins to fade.  It is the birth of a million 
tiny fires.  They chip away at the edges of the darkness, and tell the 
little child in all of us "You are not alone."  The camera swings out 
around a building and focusses on one of these tiny fires, the light 
from a single apartment.  We move toward it, and as it grows larger, the 
silence of night is broken by the boisterous laughter of Misato Katsuragi.]

"Woohoo!  Go, Asuka!"

[The view shifts to the inside of the apartment, lit and cheery.  As the 
camera pans across the living room full of guests, we understand the 
reason for this cheer.  An enormous pyramid of carefully stacked beer 
cans glistens on the table.  Light ripples momentarily across it, and 
there is an audible *ping*!  Well, at least we understand the reason for 
-Misato's- cheer.  The assembled guests are applauding, scoffing, and 
yelling comments as Asuka brandishes the microphone of the battered 
karaoke machine.  Kahji displays his usual crooked grin, and claps.]

"Well done, Asuka!  I'm not up on my German bands though, what are they 
called again?  Rammstein?"

[Asuka preens at Kahji's praise, ignoring the mock gagging noises from 
Shinji and Touji in the corner.]

"Thanks, Kahji!  That song was called "Kuss Mich", would you like me to 
tell you what it means?

[She batted her eyelashes at him.  Kahji raised an eyebrow at this, and 
made a graceful escape as usual.  He understood a lot more German than 
Asuka thought, and knew just what she had in mind, too.]

"Thanks, but it'll have to wait.  I promised Katsuragi I'd get some more 
beer from the fridge, and you never know what she'll do if it takes too 
long!  Why don't you sing something else?"

[Giving her an amiable smile, Kahji made for the kitchen, passing by the 
already sloshed Misato as she leaned over the table, brandishing her 
can of beer at a baffled Rei.  The poor girl hadn't exactly had much 
experience in dealing with drunken friends, and Misato was her commanding 
officer to boot.  Dr. Ritsuko Ikagi sat next to Rei, watching the 
proceedings with amusement, but ready to intervene if her friend did 
anything -too- stupid.  Asuka threw down the microphone and stormed out 
of the room, muttering to herself under her breath.  Misato shrugged, 
and turned back to the quiet form of Ayanami that sat neatly across the 
table from her.]

"Ya see, its like thissh.... ya gotta be more aggressive!" 

[Rei's eyes remained downcast.  Misato sighed dramatically, rolling her 
eyes.]

"Look, do ya like him or not?"

"I..."

"Geez!  Look at him!"

[Misato gestured at Shinji over in the corner.  Touji was relating an 
incredibly exaggerated story of some kind, full of sweeping gestures 
and sound effects.  His only audience seemed to be Pen Pen.  Shinji sat 
with his back leaning against the wall, idly watching Touji, but his 
eyes were far away.  Misato leaned across the table and drew Rei down 
towards her, lowering her voice into a darkly serious whisper.]

"Ya gotta get his atTENshun, ya unnerstand?  Ya think guys are some 
kind a' mind readers or sumthin?  Naw, they're oblivio- (hic), 
oblivio- (hic), uhhhh, not that bright.  HEY KAHJI!  You gonna take all 
day with that beer?"

[Misato returned to her lecture, ignoring the wrinkle of confusion on 
Rei's forehead.]

"Now that ish a case in point exactly.  Here..."

[Misato swayed to her feet, and towed a protesting Rei to the karaoke 
machine.  Abandoning her for a moment to the eyes of everyone assembled, 
Misato lurched over, dimming the apartment lights to almost dark.  The 
moon had risen an hour or so ago, and a flood of silver illuminated the 
still Rei as she stood by the window.  Fortunately it was not quite 
enough to reveal the faint blush that had risen hotly on her face.  
Misato tottered back to her, and managed to hold onto her arm just long 
enough to whisper in her ear.]

"Noooo problem, ya see?  Now's your chansh!  Sing sumthin, it'll be 
great, trust me!"

[Misato turned and proclaimed to the room.]

"HEY!!!  Everybody jusht.... shut yer faces!  Rei's gonna sing!"

[Silence fell, and Rei felt the heat on her face increase.  She hadn't 
known such a thing was possible.  She opened her mouth to refuse, but as 
she did so caught Shinji's eyes glimmering faintly in the darkness where 
he sat.  Rei turned abruptly and began flipping through the CD's, her 
eyes not seeing them and her thoughts a turmoil.  All of her life she had 
been as unobtrusive as possible.  Having to work closely with other 
pilots had, for the first time, made this difficult, and for the first 
time she questioned her reasons.  Surviving?  Or maybe just...hiding?  
In the space of an instant, Rei made up her mind.  If she was going to 
stop hiding, now was the time to do it.  Maybe Shinji might even... 
Rei's mouth firmed, and she flipped back through the discs, looking for 
one she had noticed earlier.  Shinji had borrowed it for a few days from 
one of his friends, and she still remembered most of the words.  Finding 
it, she handed the disc to Kahji, who had emerged from the kitchen as 
soon as Asuka had left the room.  He eyed it in surprise.]

"This one?"

[Rei nodded.]

"Track nine, please."

[Kahji shrugged, and popped in the disc, cuing up the song.  He sat down 
beside Misato, hoping to keep her from shouting encouragement or doing 
anything else to embarrass Rei further.  He wasn't sure why Rei had 
chosen to be assertive all of a sudden, but he wished her well.  Over 
the sound of wind and faint mechanical noises, the clean humming chords 
began.  Soft and haunting, Rei began to sing...]

Consumed with memories...
that preceded today...
Given a chance to bereave...
life that's slipping away...

[She held the note cleanly, as the thunder slammed in.  It faded once 
more, and her voice was still clear as she tore the next verse from the 
bottom of the floor.  It was stark, raw with grief and a long sadness 
that gnawed at the heart.]

Suffered through tragedy...
of my slow decay...
Deceptive tendencies...
dragged my soul away...  

[The guitar and drums roared, exploding in a whirling maelstrom of 
sound.  Above the whirlwind, Rei's voice soared.]

All that I know...
there was no God for me...
force that shatters all...
absence of mortality...

[She nearly choked on the "absence" line, but came back strong, holding 
her own as the chorus erupted from her throat.]

Revive... all my fears...
Revive... wasted tears...
Revive... void within...
Revive... once again...

[This was it!  She was doing it!  Rei exulted inside, and gave the next 
verse the strength of her honesty.  Every small glance, every smile 
Shinji had ever given her, every accidental touch, and every glimmer of 
hope went into it.  Rei had never begged for anything in her life, but 
something in side of her did.  Please, make him understand!  Her knees 
were shaking.]

Forsaken by destiny...
Forsaken by my own mind...
I must remove my skin...
to see belief in your eyes...

All that I know...
there was no God for me...
force that shatters all...
absence of humanity...

[In a fiery whirl of distortion, Rei's soul sang with triumph.  She 
could do it!  She could move,she could change!  From despair, from 
numbness, to hope!  Raising her head proudly, she slowly extended a 
hand in Shinji's direction as she slammed the chorus home.]

Revive... all my fears...
Revive... wasted tears...
Revive... void within...
Revive... once again...

[Change.  Rebirth.  Resurrection.  
She poured her soul into the last lines.]

Reach for the sky...
touch the sky...
revive a hope...
for mankind...

[As she held that last clear impossible note, a tear of joy slid down 
Rei's pale cheek.  The song faded, the last notes of the strings echoed 
and died.  Rei looked up to see Shinji standing in front of her as she 
drew a shaky breath.  Her knees buckled, and Shinji quickly held her up, 
putting an arm around her shoulders to support her.]

"Rei, are you..."

[He saw the tears, and she saw in his eyes the faint inkling of 
understanding.  With a sob of joy, she flung her arms around him, 
hugging him fiercely to her as she wept.  He hesitated, but finally 
encircled her with his own arms as sobs racked her small frame.  Yes, 
he was finally beginning to understand...]

(((End.)))
------------------------------------------------
Author's Notes:
I've obviously taken some liberties with Evangelion and its characters.  
Also, I owe an apology to Steve Pardue; it wasn't until I finished 
writing and looked back that I realized the basic outline of the fic is 
a lot like "Misato's Christmas".  Since that is my favorite out of the few 
Eva fics I have read, I guess it was sitting in the back of my head.  
Imitation -is- the sincerest form of flattery, and I think this one still 
has its differences.  (Rationalize, rationalize... ^_^)

If you know less German than Asuka, Kahji or I to get the joke about the 
Rammstein song, "Kuss Mich" translates as "Kiss Me".  Beware the clutches 
of Asuka Langley Sorhyu.

And why this song?  Well, "Resurrection" is one of my two favorite songs off
of the "Obsolete" LP, "Descent" being the other.  It's a song about hope,
about triumph over oppression, and that while we all must struggle, none of
us will ever be alone...

Mike