"It's carving the city apart, looking for ... whatever that thing is." Misato awedly watched the carnage. Ramiel fired shot after shot, searching for whatever called out to the Angel. As the beam drew another box, dropping the center section into a hollow area, a blur lept from the fresh pit. Only a glint of silver behind a building gave the Captain any indication to the Eva's location.

"Damn, that was fast! Can we get a connection to her at all?" Misato wasn't scared for the moment, as Unit 01 was, once again, grounded.

Tapping away on their keyboards, the bridge bunnies seemed to be making it a contest. Hyuga won, "Y-es. Audio only, too far for instant video, of course."

"Man, that beam is toasty! Gotta watch it or it'll burn right through me." Asuka didn't know anyone could hear her. She flicked on the cloak and stepped from cover. The Angel did not fire. It could not detect her Eva. She took aim with the rifle. 'CLICK!' "I know I hit that safety!"

"Pilot Sohryu, this is Shinji. It won't fire when your cloak is active, because it knows the round would be in phase with the shield and hit it. You'lll also have to get in close with that. The phase-change happens as soon as you fire, but only lasts for a fraction of a second."

The stress she felt, coupled with her new found irritation, was starting to piss her off. "Any other crap you -care- to tell me about these -upgrades-, arscholch?" She only received static. "Hey, Third-Child! You'd better answer me or-"

"Just because you've simulated fighting in an Eva, doesn't mean you're ready for the hell of combat. Look at your target. Figure out a plan and do your best to..." His transmission was interrupted by the angry girl.

"I know how to fight a war, Baka! I've spent five years..." It was her turn to be interrupted, but by Misato.

"Asuka! Shut up and kill that Angel! Our data here suggests you have twenty minutes of power to cloak, fifteen if you fire several shots. MAKE. THEM. COUNT!" She had a look around the bridge. "Where did that coffee pot run off to?"

Surveying the area around the Angel, Asuka devised a simplistic attack. Cloak, run, reveal and fire, repeat. At least until it figures out how to find me. "Kaji, you're not going to like this. I need you to fulfill your original mission."

Cloaking again, she ran toward the shore facing New Jersey. Taking cover against a building, she deactivated the cloak. "Kaji!"

A tiny reflected light caught her attention. It was on the Jersey shoreline, across the water. "I can't exactly cross a bridge, Baka."

"Cloak and walk through beside a bridge. That way the pylons will conceal your position somewhat." He tried to sound hopeful.

Yet again, she cloaked the Eva. Walking along open ground was one thing, but the tiny ripples Liebkind made from the water reacting to the cloak were not a promising sign. Reaching the shore, she made her way behind the building he'd been near. "I'm on the other side of your building. I hope you have a fast way out of this scheise luecke."

Kneeling over and ejecting again, she handed over the case to Ryoji Kaji, who stood in the bucket of another repair truck. "Sure do. Just a little toy I keep for... dramatic exits. Good luck, Asuka." He lowered away before she could ponce on him for a hug. That was easy, for once.

As she went though reconnection, that was when a beam of energy sliced through the street between Kaji and his now-exposed get-away vehicle. It was an older, U.S. Marine, Joint Strike Fighter F-35. The engines were whining, waiting for him to arrive. "You're efforts only slow me down, Ramiel."

Asuka pushed the truck forward, creating a make-shift bridge for the former spy. He didn't waste any time climbing up and starting for the jet. The red giant stood, revealing itself to the Angel. "Hey, Arschloch! Come and get me!" Her heads up display indicated an energy buildup within the target. She hit the cloak button in time, but the sight of the shot still elicited a scream.

"Get us out of here!" The pilot of the jet barely waited for the spy to say even that, as he ignited the afterburner while still on the ground. They flew low and weaved around buildings, trying to mask their escape. Ramiel didn't fire at them. "Command, this is Charlie Sierra, we're out of the Angel's reach. Repeat, we're safe. Objective completed."

"What you can't see, you can't hit. My turn!" Sprinting south along the coast, she turned off the cloak. Sure enough, a beam lit up ahead of her. It was pulled back, trying to catch the Red Giant's head. Liebkind dropped down, using its momentum and mass to slide along the ground, avoiding a painful death. Turning now, the Eva lifted the rifle and aimed. The round disappeared, but to Asuka's dismay, reappeared in front of the Angel's A.T. field. Ver dammt!

Misato yelled over the radio, "Get in close and do it again!"

Hitting the switch before being shot again, Liebkind continued being impossibly illusive. Asuka moved Liebkind back a few blocks from the water way. Not a hell of a lot of time left, let's see how well you see, Ramiel. The invisible Red Giant sprinted towards the water way and jumped. After a few seconds of being airborne, Asuka was glad to hit ground, but not about the landing being visible from space.

Ramiel fired again, slicing a swath five city blocks long, at whatever had landed.

An alarm in the cockpit told the girl everything she feared, the cloak had drained the reserve energy. She would have to decloak soon, whether she wanted to, or not. The choice was made for her, as a final klaxon sounded. Ramiel fired once more, and once more, Liebkind sprinted as fast as an Evangelion could. She started to panic and Ramiel repeatedly fired. If I die, what was this all for? Some nearly useless stuff and a case! What the hoelle is going on here?!

Trying to duck around another building, Asuka was surprised by Ramiel's guess. A shot skimmed across Liebkind's left shoulder. Asuka felt as if her own shoulder had been cloven by an axe. She barely managed to dive behind more buildings and hit the cloak once more. I'm not gonna die because 'It's an order'! I choose when I die and for what. Fuck this, I'm gonna live!

"Unit 02 has been hit! Severe damage to the left shoulder. It seems the cloak has been damaged as well, the left arm is no longer hidden!" Maya cringed as she read from her screen. Glad I'm in here.

"Asuka! Can you hear me? Respond!" Misato waited to hear the girl's voice again.

Hyuga gazed at his screen in amazement, "Her synch ratio just jumped to ninety-seven percent, and it's climbing!"

"Must be due to the stress." Ritsuko sounded cold, but hopeful.

Shinji sat and listened to the radio. Stress on the pilot, and the refusal to die. Powerful combination with an Eva.

She heard a heartbeat; and another. "What? Where is that coming from? ... Who's there? Answer me!" '-ska .arl... I ...e som... for ..u-' A disconnected whisper echoed in her mind. "The hell?" 'I ..pe ... en...h.'

No one heard the Red Giant roar, but the bridge in Tokoyo-3 saw the Red Giant's left arm moving.

It slid around buildings, floated in midair long enough to avoid catching part of yet another beam.

Finally, Asuka turned off the cloak, emerging right before the Angel. Not savoring the moment, she peppered its core with ten direct hits. Ramiel lazily crashed onto the remains of New York, smoke pouring from the entry and exit wounds.