1:5

The pain was more intense than anything else he'd felt over the span of his, 
admittedly, short life. It's one thing to know that broken bones and such 
will 
hurt, and quite another to experience the pain yourself. 

Frankly, it sucked. 

The young man's eyes were wide, muscles taut and straining against something 
that just plain _wasn't_ there. He couldn't hear anything because of the 
blood 
rushing through his head with a sound you'd get sitting under a relatively 
low 
bridge in the center of any metropolis, during rush hour. Almost all 
preception 
seemed to focus on the intense pain coming from his right forearm and hand, 
with what little there was left keeping itself occupied by taking in useless 
details. Like the smell of the LCL in his nostrils, the feeling of gentle 
pressure on his skin...

And the pain muted from 'hot-spikes-being-used-to-pry-your-arm-apart' to 
something slightly less intensive.

Eyes came back into focus, and the chest heaved in taking a breath that had 
been long overdue ever since the scream.

Pupils contracted as a smallish glow coming from the viewscreen intensified, 
drawing attention like a penlight during an eye-examination would. 

The clawed arm clamed over the viewscreen, and somehow, over what felt like 
his 
own head. The pain. The glow coming from something that looked like a barrel 
in 
the middle of the monstrous 'palm' across his field of view. Somehow he could 

_feel_ the heat on his face. 

Exactly what he had wanted to avoid, because he damn well knew that if this 
happened then that was _it_. Over. Schluss. Finito. No more continues my 
friend. _His_ mother was safe, at home or at work, not bothered by things 
beyond taking care of his sister or getting annoyed by her husband... this 
was 
the truth he knew, the truth the knowing of which was about on par with 
removing the safety net during a trapeze act, when the acrobats were in full 
swing and one had just slipped before he could make the switch.

The truth that would condemn this world... 

"No!"

Which was not an option. Ever since he'd taken it upon himself to do this, 
he'd 
known that defeat was not an option. He had to win. Had to. It wasn't a 
choice, 
it wasn't an option, it wasn't something that was open for debate. 

Loss was death, not only to him but to everyone else. 

His left fist clenched, and he could feel that the EVA mirrored the motion. 
Crude, but it would have to do. It was an odd clarity, some detached corner 
of 
his mind noted, that came with the pain. It wasn't the _how_, he now knew, 
not 
the concept at all... the concept was needed alright, but the _intent_ was 
the 
key, just like with moving his own body. 

Right now, however, he could hardly think at all, so he had to be crude about 

it.

'Just follow my lead,' he seemed to say.

"I will _not_ lose!"

And he rocked to the side in the pilot's seat, shutting his eyes as if to 
block 
out the pain, as his fist struck the side of his head.

* * *

>From the outside, it looked like this:

The Evangelion's massive fist crashed into said mecha's head, the exaggerated 

armouring on the knuckles leading. Armour met armour, and in the end the 
weakened helmet lost that particular contest, cracking and shattering as the 
seals holding the upper part down broke and gave. 

The Unit's head, free of the pressure of the Shito's hand for a moment, 
slipped 
downwards as the whole EVA let itself fall to the ground, coming down in a 
more 
or less controlled heap on its right side, back against the remains of the 
building it had been slammed into. 

The Shito's left palm erupted in a flash of blinding light as a lance of 
energy 
vaporised the armour that had encased the Evangelion's head just a moment 
ago.

Several jaws hit bedrock. Figuratively speaking.

* * *

The viewpoint swiveled to the right, surroundings a blur with the speed of 
the 
motion. Eyes flickered, and a decision was made with the intent clear, the 
course of action that would lead to that intent's completion less so but 
still 
defined enough for the interface.

This happened in less time than it takes a person to blink, and Shinji could 
feel the disconcerting sensation of holding something in his left hand, yet 
knowing that _his_ left hand was empty. Dual sensory imput was a bitch to 
figure, but the pain that radiated out from the left side of his head was a 
motivator as good as no other when it came to learning how to deal with it.

'Note. That was _not_ something I want to repeat anytime soon. Ow.'

The EVA lashed out with a double kick that caught the Shito in the abdomen, 
slightly below the core, and sent it staggering backwards, giving Shinji a 
moment to actually get Unit 01 back on its feet. The prog knife in the EVA's 
left hand was held with the blade down, as it had been in the right.

"Now would be the time to say - fortunately, I am not right handed." the 
pilot 
grunted through his teeth, still slightly wobbly in perception. "No such 
luck."

Heavy, thudding footfalls echoed in the dark canyons of Tokyo-3 as the purple 

and green Evangelion threw itself forward, left arm low and across the chest, 

crippled right arm shielding the unarmoured, gray-fleshed head. A good thing 
too, because the Shito wasn't quite as defenseless as it appeared. The swing 
of 
a spindly arm was deflected, Shinji's eyes stinging from the tears the pain 
of 
using the EVA's right forearm to block it caused him, even with the dampened 
feedback.

It was a good decision through, and the hulking purple and green giant braced 

against the blow and brought the progressive knife around in a vicious, 
backhanded arc towards the enemy; one that would lead the glowing, humming 
blade through the Shito's core.

The hexagonal pattern that sprung up in the air, directly in front of the 
Shito, hadn't really been counted upon.

The sound of a blade snapping in half was almost as ugly, in this situation, 
as 
that of a breaking arm.

* * *

"An AT Field?!" Misato exclaimed.

"So, the Shito have them too." Ritsuko's voice was amazingly calm, given the 
situation. "As long as the field is active, he won't be able to reach it."

On the main screen, Unit 01 crashed into the AT Field, right elbow leading. 
Shinji's scream bore as much frustration at the ineffectiveness of the action 

with it as it did pain from the feedback. The left arm, still holding what 
was 
left of the progressive knife, slammed into the field moments later... and 
again... and again.

"Shinji! What are you doing?!" asked Misato. "You can't hurt it like that!"

"I'm trying to saturate the goddamn thing so I can get through!" replied Unit 

01's pilot, voice strained. The pounding continued like a metronome, armoured 

fist coming against AT Field time and time again. "But I'll settle for 
keeping 
it on the defensive right now."

"He's right on that account," Ritsuko noted. "It seems to be too busy keeping 

up the Field to attack. Shinji! You have to nullify the field before you can 
harm it! The EVA can deploy an AT Field as well, and that should do the 
trick!" 

"How in hell am I supposed to do _that_?!"

"Concentrate! You need to try and concentrate on expanding yourself!"

"I'm having enough problems with moving this thing to have anything left to 
spare! _You_ try to get your thoughts to be even vaguely coherent after you 
get 
your arm broken and see how well you can focus! Any _other_ brilliant ideas 
before the big lug realizes he can do... _that_! OH SHIT!"

* * *


Shinji just barely managed to get the EVA to duck before another of the 
Shito's 
energy lances speared past him, catching one of the shoulder pauldrons and 
blowing it to kingdom come.

'Okay, there's a flaw there somewhere, besides the fact that the thing's slow 

in making combat decisions. It's just a matter of finding it... before I get 
my 
ass fried.'

He caught himself, or rather, the Evangelion did, in a crouch with the left 
hand flat on the ground in front of the body. Then he had the EVA push off 
and 
to the side as another blast made a neat furrow in the concrete and the 
ground 
below in the place he'd been crouched. 

"Need time. Let's see if this thing is as much a high-mobility weapon as 
advertised." Shinji mumbled, vaulting over the wall of buildings on his left 
as 
the Shito continued to track him and let off the occasional shot. He hunkered 

down, trying to stay as much under cover as possible.

"Misato, I think I have an idea! I need a weapon! The fine art of fistcuffs 
isn't going to help me with this one."

"Left of you, a little over half a kilometer. The big building with the 
flashing red light on top." the answer came with little hesitation.

"Gotcha. Hope to the heavens this works." 

He could see it, a bit off in the distance, the light flashing. The 
Evangelion 
moved, Shinji finding it easier to put himself in the state of mind that let 
him command the giant. The Shito fired again, the beam missing his EVA by a 
few 
meters and blowing another building apart instead. 

Then he was there, not daring to slow down but going into a skid instead, 
letting the friction bleed of his speed as he passed the building. That had 
been the idea, at least, but unfortunately he'd misjudged and Unit 01 slammed 

into the depot's side. 

"Well, that's one way of stopping I don't reccommend," Shinji grunted shakily 

as he regained his balance, and the Evangelion raised itself from it's half-
sprawl half-crouch. 

His eyes scanned the contents of the now open sided building, he reached out, 

felt Unit 01's hand close on the weapon he'd chosen, and rolled aside again 
as 
the depot was hit. Apparently it was more sturdy than the average building, 
since it was still standing afterwards. 

Shinji fell back, bringing the depot between himself and the Shito, leaned 
out 
a little to let his left arm come up - what looked like an EVA scale Glock 
clutched in it - and took aim. Then he ducked again before he got hit and 
called out:

"Okay, you have a ridiculously expensive war machine with electronics that 
look 
like they cost more than a small country's upkeep for a year and you _forget_ 

to put in something that gets a crosshair fire-assist up on the HUD?! Who's 
bright idea was _that_?! Skip it! How many shots in this thing?"

"Twenty rounds." answered Misato's voice.

He took a few deep breaths, grimacing at the LCL, the dull ache of his right 
arm and head, the creeping sensation of fatigue, and acted.

* * *

"What are you doing?!" Misato shouted as the Evangelion stepped from around 
the 
depot, hesitated for an instant... and ran. Its remaining pauldron was nearly 

sheared off as Shinji managed to avoid another incoming energy lance and 
strafed a building with said pauldron in the process, causing it to hang 
awkwardly, bent back and half-crushed by the impact.

The EVA brought up its left arm and snapped off a shot, the bullet from the 
monster sized handgun going wide and hitting the building next to the Shito. 
The next one clipped it on the arm, making the creature rear back. The third 
one, fired a moment later, would have struck the leg if the hexagonal pattern 

of the Shito's AT Field hadn't sprung up and deflected the shot. 

The EVA stopped firing, and ran full tilt for its attacker.

"It can either attack or defend, not both at once!" said Shinji. "Or it takes 
a 
second or two to switch over every time at least! Since some genius didn't 
think about fire-assist, I need to get close enough not to need to aim!" 

Another lance lashed out then, and Unit 01 barely managed to duck aside in 
time, nearly overbalancing again, but now it was close enough. 

* * *


Shinji brought up the gun, sighted the target, and fired. And kept firing.

The first shot sailed past, going high, but the second struck the bony 'mask' 

that had been the Shito's head before it was pushed aside by the current one 
after having been damaged by the N2 strike. The next struck lower, actually 
scuffing the core and making the creature flinch... its 'eyes' glowed and 
Shinji knew that he was going too fast to just sidestep like he had before, 
so 
he did the only other thing he could think of. He jumped. 

Another furrow was left in the street where the Shito's energy lance had 
struck, but the Evangelion wasn't there anymore. 

It was an odd feeling for Shinji. He'd always prided himself on his self 
control, but this sensation - the tail end of an immense adrenaline high, the 

stress, the odd dual sensory input that relayed a brief weightlessness... a 
sense of detachment came over him as he played out what he knew would be his 
last card. That he no longer felt the pain in his right arm, instead of which 

there was now a sense of pinpricks all over his skin, and everything seemed 
to 
be slightly delayed, were both signs he knew were anything but good. 

It was all he could do to focus on the target, slightly below him and rapidly 

approaching - the jump had been a low one. He used the right arm as a brace, 
setting the barrel in the crook of the elbow, and emptied the clip.

The stacatto sounded like thunder, shots ringing out so fast that it was 
nearly 
one constant sound rather than a fast succession of rapports. This time his 
aim 
was better, despite the motion and awkwardness of the position. The Shito was 

rocked back by the impacts, chips of the white bone-like substance that 
covered 
its shoulders, head and made up the bracing of the core flying as the bullets 

struck home. Red shards were clipped from the core's side by one shot, then 
another, and another... and then the Evangelion's armoured knees slammed into 

the black mass that made up most of the Shito's body. 

Two giants, one black and white, the other purple and green, were rocked by 
the 
impact. The former fell, crashing down onto its back, with the latter's knees 

planted in its abdomen. 

Shinji shouted out, an incoherent scream, as he made the Evangelion bring 
it's 
left arm down, pressed the muzzle of the gun to the Shito's core, and pulled 
the trigger...

Only to have the gun explode in his hand as the hexagonal pattern of the AT 
Field asserted itself right in front of the muzzle.

Eyes wide with momentary incomprehension, then with dread, the pilot of Unit 
01 
felt something begin to build, press against his chest and head, the force 
increasing at an alarming rate... 

* * *

"The Shito's unfolding its AT Field again!" Maya's voice said in a frantic 
tone.

On the screen, the EVA stiffened like a person touching a live-wire before 
being flung back by a muscle spasm... 

"...no." said Misato. "Shinji! Watch out!"

* * *

Tick.

Hopelessness. 

He'd gambled and lost...

Fear.

He'd failed them, failed them all... failed himself.

Self-loathing.
    
He could have done it differently. He could have been prepared more than he'd 

been.

Anger.

A primal feeling directed at the thing before him.

An odd sense permeating his limbs.

A spike of pain that lanced through him, and the sound of something breaking 
could be heard. 

His right arm was on fire.

Determination. 

'Never surrender.'

His right arm was ice.

Tock.

* * *

"Right wrist is restored!" Hyuga's gasp rang out, cutting through the dread 
of 
the command bridge as the tech himself stared at both the image on screen and 

the status displays in sheer disbelief.

"Sync ratio spike! EVA 01 is unfolding its... no! The Evangelion's AT Field 
is 
focusing!" Maya informed, eyes wide.

"What in the name of God...?!" Misato whispered as the view-screen showed 
Unit 
01 punching downwards at the Shito.

The Evangelion's right fist struck the hexagonal pattern of an AT Field right 

above the core... then the armoured gauntlet shattered at the first and 
second 
knuckles, the pattern parted before it. Fragments of the crimson core erupted 

upwards, and from the camera feed within the plug, on Shinji's screen, the 
occupants of the bridge saw that it looked as if someone had slammed a sharp 
spike right through the middle. 

"Energy fluctuation from the Shito! It's going to...!"

The screen went white.

"...self-destruct." Maya finished, lamely.

There was silence, and the compensators came back online. The white dimmed 
down, flickered...

"...hey... Sato-chan..." said a gasping, weary voice over the speakers. "...I 

think... I figured out... the AT Field thing."

On screen, at the edge of a rubble-strewn, charred crater, a blackened and 
burned looking EVA 01 was sprawled, arms akimbo, half-embedded in what 
remained 
of a building that had been half-consumed by the explosion. The Evangelion's 
umbilical cord just... _stopped_ after going a few meters away from the 
giant's 
back, the remains lying against the crater's edge opposite the Evangelion.

A glint of something metallic descended, spinning wildly, and embedding 
itself 
in the ground in front of the EVA... the remaining, half-attached pauldron 
had 
been blown off and upwards by the explosion it seemed. It wasn't much more 
than 
a charred and twisted piece of metal now, half buried in the scorched ground.

Unit 01's mouth, the bottom still in what was left of the helmet's jaw guard, 

the top grayed flesh and actual teeth, was open as the head was laid back. 
Two 
wide, unearthly emerald eyes looked out from the gray flesh, primary and 
secondary pupils wide.

Looking at the stars.




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