I almost wonder if I'm rushing this a bit, since I have yet to
receive any comments on part four and have received only one on part
three. Still, once I got this deeply into the story, I just couldn't
stop writing, so here it is.
Bubblegum Collision
A Bubblegum Crisis fanfic by Douglas A. Reeves
AUTHOR'S NOTE : In this story, which is set in early 2035, I am assuming
that the events described in Bubblegum Crash (which I have not seen, and have
little desire to, really) never happened.
PART FIVE - No Outlet
Closing and locking her door behind her, Nene collapsed into a chair. Her
mind was flooded with thoughts and emotions, and she felt lost. Anger and
hatred wove their way into her soul, so familiar now that she found them
almost comforting...
With that thought, her spirit rebelled. "NO!" it seemed to shout out within
her. "Is that really what you want?"
She had to admit that she did not. On the other hand, the alternative
seemed equally frightening. How could she forgive... how could she trust the
one who had introduced these things into her life? The very thought brought a
chill to her heart. Looking down at her left hand, she wondered, "What have I
become?"
* * * * * * * * *
"This is not good," Sylia thought, reading through the data from Nene's
hardsuit. "Limited production of the 34-CX has already begun. We are not
ready for this."
Calling up the data on the hardsuit improvements, she began to compare
them, element by element. The hardsuits were still superior, even to the most
lethal of the new boomer's weapon configurations, but the edge was not
enough. Recently, they had often been outnumbered, sometimes as much as
three to one, and she was not comfortable with the prospects of such a fight.
Searching her mind for ideas, looking for any improvements that could be
made, she came up empty. A breakthrough innovation was needed, and soon.
Christine had given them her best technology, and it was indeed
impressive; still, it was not enough. The power boost was good, as it would
allow for better systems in the hardsuits, but those systems did not exist yet.
Time was short, and the sense of urgency pressed her on.
Slowly, ideas began to assemble in her mind.
* * * * * * * * *
Several hours later, she emerged from the databank room, exhausted. The
computer had set to work, modifying the existing suits where it could and
constructing new ones where necessary. Once she had verified that
construction was in progress, she went to bed.
Her sleep would not come easily. In her weariness, her mental guard
dropped, and she was bombarded by images of the past. The data unit, and the
knowledge it held, the death of her father, the look in Mackie's eyes when he
had learned the truth. More scenes followed, triumph and tragedy - The battle
with Mason high above the rest of the city, Priss's bravery and Mackie's
brilliance joining to save an angry man from his own creation, the horror on
Priss's face when she realized that Sylvie must die. So much emotion was
bound up in their history together, and there was still more. Largo, and Priss
with her stubborn determination not to be beaten. Vision, the reluctant warrior.
Nene, and her ultimate vindication as both a Knight Saber and an officer of the
AD Police. Nene, and her suffering. They had seen so much together, and
there was so much yet to be done; somehow, she felt as if the end of it all was
near.
* * * * * * * * *
Nene had not slept easily either. The darkness which enshrouded her soul
was strong, and the urge to hate was powerful. Her very heart and sould
fought against it, but she feared it was a losing battle. Hate was so easy, and
trust so difficult. Sylia had called her strong, but she felt so weak in the face
of her pain.
"Is this what I am doomed to be?" she asked herself. She knew the path
she had started on very well, for she had seen it in another. Priss, the cynic,
always doubting, always expecting the worst. The thought of becoming that
frightened her, but she could see no way around it.
Suddenly, another realization struck her. "They are very much alike,"
Linna's voice echoed in her mind. Was that to be her destiny as well? She
had heard the saying; we often become that which we most hate. Was that her
destiny? The thought overwhelmed her, and she began to cry.
* * * * * * * * *
Christine wandered into the construction chamber, watching with
fascination as the machines worked. The most amazing thing, to her, was how
quick the process was - it had taken her days to build a single battlesuit, but
these hardsuits were constructed in a matter of hours. She marveled at the
level of technology represented here. Her corporation, for all of its
technological prowess, had barely approached this level, and she found herself
wondering if even Genom was this advanced.
Probably not, she concluded. Sylia was brilliant in ways she had never
seen, never dreamed possible. Every generation had its spectacular minds, and
she felt honored to be in the company of one. The fact that she was so kind
made it that much more incredible.
She had been shocked when they had beaten her, and now she began to
understand why. Their skills were finely honed, their technology cutting-edge,
and their teamwork perfect. The loyalty that bound them was beyond question,
and she found herself caught up in it. This struck her as odd - she had always
been such a loner, all her life, and yet now she wanted nothing more than to
remain with a team.
With that realization, her heart froze. The specter of death reared its ugly
head, reminding her of all she had lost. Everyone she had ever loved, ever
cared for, had been lost to her, and she could not shake the sudden fear that it
would happen again. The inevitability of loss tore at her heart, until finally she
summoned the courage to supress it. This time, she had a choice. She would
not allow it to happen again.
* * * * * * * * *
Priss had just arrived at her home when she was struck by an odd feeling.
Suspicion arose within her suddenly, and she paused a moment before going in.
In that second, the place exploded.
* * * * * * * * *
The phone rang, and Christine picked it up. "Hello?"
"That you, Christine?" Priss asked, out of breath.
"Yeah, what happened?" he answered. "You sound like-"
"Shhh!" Priss interrupted her. "They've found us. I don't know how..."
her voice trailed off.
"No," Christine answered firmly.
"You'd better be telling me the truth," Priss warned. "I'm on my way."
"Should I wake up Sylia?"
"Not yet. Wait til I get there."
* * * * * * * * *
Priss stormed into the room, looking directly at Christine. "Tell me again
you didn't betray us. And tell me why I should believe you."
"Believe her," Sylia interrupted as she walked into the room. "I told you
I'd be watching her, and I have been."
"You look terrible," Priss told her.
"Just tired," she tried to smile. "No time for that now... we need
to contact Nene. She might be in danger."
"I'll do it-" Christine started.
"No, let me," Priss said. "She'll blame you for it."
"Christine, you contact Linna," Sylia suggested.
Christine nodded and went to make the call.
* * * * * * * * *
"I'm on my way," Linna said, hanging up the phone and grabbing her keys.
The possibility that her car might be sabotaged occurred to her, so she changed
her mind and called a cab.
* * * * * * * * *
"Damn. She's not answering her phone!" Priss yelled from the other room.
"We'll have to go get her, then," Sylia sighed. "Get ready to suit up when
Linna arrives."
"If we wear our suits, we'll give her away," Christine commented.
"Too late to worry about that now. If they found Priss, we've probably all
been compromised anyway."
It was almost ten minutes before Linna arrived. "Good thing I live close,"
she commented as she walked in. Moving to the room where the new
hardsuits were waiting, she looked back to say something to Sylia. At that
very second, all hell broke loose.
The north wall of the building was blown inward, spraying debris through
the room. Linna caught a glimpse of something on the other side just before
the ceiling collapsed.
"Sylia!" she shouted, trudging through the debris to reach her. She was
half-buried under pieces of the ceiling, and by the time Linna reached her she
was barely breathing.
"Hell!" Christine shouted as she slipped into her hardsuit. Running
through the door, with Priss right behind, she charged into the destroyed room.
"Go get in your suit," she told Linna as she and Priss began removing the
debris, "We'll take care of Sylia."
As Linna went to suit up, Priss looked at Christine. "Where's Mackie?"
she asked.
"I don't know..." Christine answered. "I'll find him."
"No need," Mackie's voice came over the channel. "I made for the hangar
as soon as I heard the explosion. I'm bringing the KnightWing to pick you
up."
"Thanks, Mackie," Priss answered. "Quick as you can! Sylia's in a bad
way."
Just as they got the last piece of debris cleared, Linna entered the room.
"How bad?" she asked.
"She's still alive, but just barely," Christine answered. "She'll
probably be ok if she gets help soon."
"Come on, Mackie," Priss thought. "Come on..."
"I think I saw a boomer outside right before the ceiling fell," Linna said.
"If it's like the one that hit my place, it's long gone by now," Christine
answered.
"Figures," Priss scowled.
About a 45 seconds later, the KnightWing was directly overhead. Mackie
lowered them a cable, and Priss carried Sylia up to him. "Go!" she shouted as
she dropped back out the hatch, and Mackie flew out as fast as he could go.
Using her jump unit to slow the descent, Priss landed right next to Christine.
Linna had left, but she reappeared a few seconds later holding Nene's hardsuit.
"Let's go," Priss said, and they took off.
* * * * * * * * *
Nene awoke to a loud banging on her door. Clambering out of bed, she
ran to the door and looked through the peephole. Seeing the other Sabers,
minus Sylia, dressed for battle, she immediately let them in.
"Where's Sylia?" she asked.
"Hurt. Bad," Priss informed her. "They found us, Nene."
Nene registered shock first, then anger as her gaze rested on Christine.
"She didn't do it, Nene," Priss said firmly.
"I'm sure she didn't," Nene answered, her voice as cold as ice.
"I said, she didn't do it," Priss's temper started to flare.
"Wait," Christine said. "We don't have time for this; we've got to decide
what we're going to do now."
"Genom crossed the line," Priss answered. "This is war."
Nene nodded her agreement immediately. Christine, too, felt a grim
determination overcome her. Linna was more hesitant, but she realized that it
was the only way.
"Tonight it ends," Starblade said deliberately, and even Nene had to agree.
END PART FIVE
--------------------------------------------------------
Stormwalker <temporarily at pingley@post.cis.smu.edu>
"Chaos is a good thing"
--------------------------------------------------------