*****Dallas, US-0700hours, March 16, 2047 (Alternate)*****
"Intel on the phaser says it's 97 percent complete and will be ready
by tomarrow." Nene sat across from herself at the daily meeting, she had
disliked the younger version of herself. It reminded her of a time long
past...
"Nene?" Sylia looked at the younger double.
"I've created some arm bands we can use to keep us within our
timeframe. They will allow us to return to the the exact moment we left."
Nene held up a small watch-like object. "We can use them to return to
this time, phase again, and when we end up in the right place, simply
deactivate and destroy the arm bands. I've even used information from our
now-outdated hardsuits to create this." She pressed a button on the side
of the small band. A box on it flashed red. "Yellow is for our universe.
Red is for this universe. Green will be for another universe. Since it is
concievable for us to not get to the right place on the first try, this
is going to help determine where you are. You can do anything you want
when it's green, but when it's yellow or red, try not to do anything in
case you mess up the timeline."
"We don't know what will happen if you do something that prevents
this timeline from actually occuring." Sylia leaned back. "Vision?"
"We have a total of 1419 fighters now that Seatle and Miami have
joined us."
"That should be enough for an all-out attack on Largo's HQ. He's
still hurting from not having Atlantis and all the boomers we destroyed
there." Linna added.
"Alright." Sylia leaned forward. "We attack at this time tomarrow.
There's no going back." She looked around the table. "If anyone wants to
get off this ride, now's the time."
The rest of the Knight Sabers nodded, both Sylia's own and Vision's.
*****Atlantis-1432hours, March 16, 2047 (Alternate)*****
Boomer A-002 looked around at the debris the Knight Sabers had
caused. Lights had been dimmed to an incredibly low level. Shields were
needed to make sure Atlantis didn't flood and they ate up almost all of
the power.
It turned back toward it's monitor. The false information about
Atlantis had been intercepted. The Knight Sabers would believe it would
remain unoperable for less time than it would. They would be completely
online in less than five hours. The Knight Sabers wouldn't know what hit
them...
A-002 leaned back. The war was not going well for the humans, but it
would all change soon...
*****???*****
"Seatle and Miami have joined with Dallas. Along with Berlin, and a
dozen fighters from Megatokyo and Johannesburg."
"And our operative within their orginization?"
"They know nothing about her."
"Good, see to it that it stays that way. Prepare the forces, we will
be needed soon."
"Yes sir."
"Go then." Soon, everything would be as it was. The day of the
boomer was ending. It was all a matter of time.
*****Dallas, US-0630hours, March 17, 2047 (Alternate)*****
This was Sylia's 12th day on this world. Hopefully, it would be her
last. She looked at the people swarming around her. The Knight Sabers.
Would it have been better if it were this way? More of a power, less of
an orginization? What would have happened if she had recruited six people
instead of three? Or nine? Or twelve? Would the Knight Sabers be looked
upon as an underground orginization, like the mob?
Or would the Knight Sabers become something else, something of a
savior group? Would Sylia become the White Knight, poised to save the
world from the clutches of Genom? She thought of the last "White Knight"
she had known, back in 2031. Priss' friend. She remembered what happened
to him, and didn't find the idea appealing.
"Move out!" She ordered. They took off.
*****Atlantis-0645hours, March 17, 2047 (Alternate)*****
"But Sir..." A-002 pleaded.
"A-002, you were one of my first," Largo leaned back in his chair,
"and I trust you. I realize that transferring the boomers will require
tremendous resources on your part, but protecting the headquarters is the
first priority. We will finish repairs on Atlantis later."
"Yes sir." A-002 finally yielded.
"Do the Knight Sabers have the false information?"
"Charlie-341 sent it out yesterday. They intercepted, they believe
repairs on Atlantis will take longer than it actually will, even with the
boomers diverted, we will be fully operational again in less than five
hours."
"Good work, A-002. The humans will be destroyed once and for all.
Make sure to send the boomers." Largo terminated the connection.
A-002 sat for a while to calculate this new information. Finally it
turned around and flipped a switch. "All D, M, 33-C and 34-C boomers are
to report to headquarters to fight the Knight Sabers. Repeat all D, M,
33..."
***Largo's Headquarters-0658hours, March17, 2047 (Alternate)***
Sylia closed her eyes. She didn't feel certain of something. There
were just too many factors to figure in. While she had learned much of
the English language, and almost all of the officers also spoke Japanese,
Sylia thought of the chances of there being a communication gap...
She shook her head. A trivial thing to worry about. The chances of
that happening are nearly impossible...
Vision's group was holding off the southern perimeter of the city,
Priss' group from the west. Sylia had the luxury of attacking from the
north, where there would be less opposition due to the water.
She turned to Linna. With Priss leading one of the other groups,
Linna was the only one Sylia counted on as her first in command. "Give
the order." She whispered. Linna nodded solemnly, as if someone had just
died.
***Largo's Headquarters-0716hours, March17, 2047 (Alternate)***
Sylia's blade sliced through a 34-C. On her normal plane of
existance, these things would be both new and challenging. With this suit
and the information she now had, the boomers were neither.
"Sylia!" Priss' voice came in with a panic, something Priss usually
didn't have. "Sylia! Reinforcements."
"What?!?!" Sylia was so surprised she hung in mid-air for a second.
She saw her forcefield fizzle in front of her as a boomer blast damaged
it. She flew to a safe distance before continuing her conversation.
"That's impossible. We have barely been fighting for a quarter of an
hour."
"I know. I think they're from Atlantis."
"Atlantis? They aren't even back online yet."
"Looks like we intercepted some wrong information." Vision's voice
cut in, sounding almost happy. Of course, this could only help whatever
Vision was planning, since it was obvious she didn't accept Sylia as a
leader.
"Somebody set us up."
"Priss, it sounds as if yuor accusing me of something..." Vision's
voice came in with glee.
"Well, on whose watch was that info intercepted?"
"Enough." Sylia said. "We'll have to retreat for n-"
Sylia was interrupted by barrage of machine gun fire. She flew east
as fast as she could, keeping close to the ground. She halted suddenly,
almost slamming into the leg of a M class. She looked around, she was
surrounded.
She turned to fly back the way she came, only to be blocked by a
trio of D classes.
"Sylia?" Priss' voice came in over the radio.
"Get everyone out of here, NOW! That's an order." She landed and
surveyed her enemies, a total of two M classes, nine D classes, and at
least a dozen C classes of the 33 and 34 type. Her sword slid back out of
it's sheath.
The boomers moved in on her. The silence was incredibly errie. At
least the boomers on her world would gloat when they were about to make a
kill.
Sylia activated her shielding. It wouldn't survive more than a few
laser hits, but it would buy her some time.
"Sylia!" The alternate Linna's voice cackled as her form shimmered
into view. "Hold on. Help is..."
The boomers all opened fire on this new adversary.
"NO!" Sylia screamed as the rockets, lasers and bullets all hit
Linna. She had just decloaked, there was no way she could have gotten her
shields up...
A dozen other fighters decloaked and started opening fire on the
boomers. Sylia ran over to Linna's body, forgetting about her boosters.
"Linna..." She whispered as she bent down and cradled Linna's head
in her arms. Linna's helmet was completely gone, her hardsuit had been
reduced to small strips of sparking rags, and her softsuit was red with
blood.
"Sylia." Sylia could barely hear her voice. Linna was struggling to
hold on a few more seconds. A fighter till the end...
"S-sylia...It doesn't matter...what Vision s-says. We gotta stop
these things i-if we're going to live..." Linna's voice became more and
more pained with each passing word. "If things are g-going to be...the
way they used to..."
*****Dallas-1400hours, March18, 2047 (Alternate)*****
Vision stood before a groups of thousands. The largest she had seen
since the war. She cleared her throat. "Back in 32, I recieved word that
my sister had been killed. I heard it was from a boomer. I became so...so
charged with hatred, that I decided that there was nothing left to do but
kill the man who had inadvertantly killed my sister." She paused for a
moment.
"That man was Quincy, the leader of Genom Corporation. While
pretending to tour Megatokyo as a chance to get close to Quincy, I met a
young woman named Linna Yamazaki. And even though I felt I had lost
because my assassination of Quincy failed, I won. I won because I had
gained a friend. When I became part of the Knight Sabers, she showed me
the ropes. She was always there for me when I needed her, in good times
and bad."
"And...When Sylia died, and I became leader of the Knight Sabers,
she not only became the person that I trusted my life to, but the person
that many of us have come to depend on. She has fought at our sides,
sacrificed for the good of all, and will forever live in our hearts..."
Vision stepped down from the podium.
To everyone's surprise, Sylia moved toward the podium.
"What are you doing?" Vision asked in a low tone. "You have no
right..."
"I have every right." Sylia said loud enough that Vision was sure at
least half of everyone there heard.
Sylia stepped up. "I can't say that I was exactly friends with this
Linna. I hadn't even known she existed two weeks ago." Sylia paused.
"What I can say is that I knew Linna Yamazaki perhaps better than anyone
else here."
"I found Linna sitting inside a darkened theatre, crying softly to
herself because she had been turned down for a play. And as I watched
that young girl, she turned herself from tears to happiness again in the
span of five minutes. I was so intrigued that I walked in and talked to
her."
"Considering she came from the streets, and that she had been left
alone after her parents had died, she was surprisingly outgoing. She
confided in a total stranger what had happened to her. Fifteen minutes
later she concluded our conversation by saying 'I'm sorry but I have to
go now, I hear there is a job opening at a little shop down the street.'"
Sylia paused to look at the still living Linna. She was smiling and
nodding, although she had tears running down her face.
Sylia turned back to the rest. "I was so impressed by the way she
picked herself up...The way she walked with her head tall out of the
theatre, that I caught up to her outside and told her my story. I told
her I could provide her with some food and some money if she would come
with me. She was so trusting that she did, something I am very glad
for...She became my second Knight Saber."
"Now, I can't say I know for certain what she was like to the rest
of you, but I knew I could always count on her to be there. I knew that I
could count on her to the end, no matter what the situation...And in a
way, that is exactly what happened.....She saved my life." She quickly
retreated from the podium, finding herself crying.
She hadn't cried since her father had died...Since the day she had
recieved the data disk. It was so strange. In a way, she didn't even know
this Linna that well. Who was even to say that those events took place in
this timeline, and yet, she felt as if she had lost a part of herself...