(Prestory Note:  I've decided that, for the sake of my own sanity, as well
as that of my worthy editor, I will *not* try to get part five of this
story done for Hallowe'en.  Part Four of Serena and Luna *will* be coming
out tomorrow, however.)

				Apotheosis:

			      A New Story Of

			     Bubblegum Crisis


Chapter Four

	The term `Hellgate', which Aethan had used to describe the pillar
of flames that lay some distance to the north of the astral space that was
analogous to Nene's apartment complex, seemed rather appropriate.  /Does
that really lead to hell?/ she asked him.

	*That depends on one's definitions of hell, Nene,* he murmured.
The red orbs that were his eyes in the astral plane didn't move from the
image.

	/Why can't we hear anything?/

	*We're too far away, Nene.  If we were closer, be assured that
we'd hear the sounds of souls writhing in eternal torment and all that
sort of thing.  But we're not in range.*

	He stood there, staring at the pillar of flame for a long moment,
then shook his head.  *I have to investigate this.  Stay here.*

	His body rose up into the air, and he began to fly towards the
flame.  Nene watched him go, rather frightened by all of this.

	"You should be."

	Nene whirled around to see a woman standing on the edge of the
building.  She had very dark hair, mildly pale skin, and was wearing a
white toga.

	/Who ... who are you?/

	"A more interesting question than you know.  Suffice to say, as
Aethan DeGales to you, so I to him.  At one point."

	/Have you come to help him train me?/

	"No.  I have come to try and save his soul."

	/Huh?/

	"That Hellgate, there.  It causes you fear?"

	/Yeah .../

	"It frightens him even more, and he does not know why.  But I
know.  It frightens him because he brought it into being."

	/WHAT?!/

	"Nearly forty years ago, Aethan DeGales made a grievous mistake
which he has spent all that time trying to atone for, unknowingly ...
because he does not know what he has done.  That gate to the netherworlds
is one of the consequences of his mistake, and he already senses this, 
instinctively.  And his first reflex is to flee.  That he has not already 
done so is a tribute to his spirit."

	The woman walked over to Nene, until she was standing within arm's
reach.  "You must not let him flee, Nene Romanova.  He *must* correct this
anomaly, or the other great consequence of his mistake -- the warping of
his soul, such that his astral body possesses the appearance of a monster
-- will consume him, utterly."

	She turned away, and began to float off.

	/Wait!  Are you one of the Crystal Tokyo Society members?/

	"No.  But they and I have a number of common interests."  She
paused, and turned back to look at Nene.  "One of which is the protection
of those we love.  Beware."

	/Beware of what?/

	$Who are you talking to?$

	Nene whirled around again, to look up at an obviously female
boomer with fully articulated mechanical wings jutting out of its -- or
maybe her -- back.

	"Beware of them.  They are incapable of perceiving me in any way, 
but you have no such protection."

	$Who and what are you?$ the Boomer figure demanded.

	/I might ask the same of you,/ Nene replied.  Aethan had mentioned
Genom having "adepts" in its arsenal ... this was obviously one of them.

	$You might, but I'm under no compulsion to answer!  Now tell me
who you are, and what you are doing in astral space!$

	/So you don't have to answer me, but I'm supposed to answer you?  
Forget it!/ Nene replied scornfully.

	$But you see, little girl, you ARE under a compulsion to answer
me ...$ the Boomer-adept hissed.

	All around Nene, the materials of the rooftop began to twist and
form into semi-humanoid shapes.  Shapes that glowed with red eyes.

	$Now, if you do not answer me, I shall set these spirits loose upon 
you, to tear out your essence bit by bit.  Tell me who you are, child, for
this is Genom's domain, and all who dwell here must answer to its laws.$

	*Doubtless the spirits in yon Hellgate would be much amused to learn
that,* Aethan commented from where he was standing on the edge of the building.

	From the startled gasp that came from the Boomer-adept, Nene could
tell that the woman also saw Aethan as a dark, foreboding figure.  But she
soon rallied her courage.  $You do not belong here, Aethan DeGales, known
among the councils of the wise as the Gray --$

	*Do not call me that.*
	
	$Leave at once!$  Several of the same sort of beings that surrounded 
Nene rose up around him.  $Or face the consequences.$

	Aethan seemed to be examining the "spirits" carefully.  *Tell me,
bondswoman, does the Tower truly have so many adepts that it can afford to
have one terrify novices, while that is still a-burning?* He punctuated his
query with a head jerk in the direction of the pillar of flame.

	$We have that situation under control,$ the Boomer-adept replied,
in such a way as to suggest that it was an automatic, rehearsed response.
Then she shook her head violently.  $Who are you calling a bondswoman?!$

	*Would you prefer wageslave?*

	The Boomer-adept shrieked, and gestured violently.  The spirits, even
the ones encircling Nene, converged rapidly around Aethan, surging towards
him like the waves of the ocean ...

	... and were broken on the rock of obsidian darkness brought into 
being by a single, harsh sounding word from Aethan's mouth.  As each of them
disintegrated into a fine mist, the Boomer-adept shrieked in agony.

	*That's the disadvantage of using a spirit to do one's works, and
taking over their wills entirely -- one accepts the burden of their deaths.
Those who cannot endure such should not call things up, CHILD.*

	$Y-you will PAY for this!$ the adept shrieked, her form seeming to
bleed electricity.

	*Doubtless.  But I shall not be brought to accounts by you or by any
servant of Genom.  For there is a secret that I know.*

	*It concerns Chairman Quincy.*
	
	*If I am slain by a servant, knowing or unknowing, of Genom, with
my last breath I shall scream the secret onto the astral, where it shall
weave itself into the minds of all in MegaTokyo.  They shall not know how
they know it, but they shall know.  The secret will be out.  This be my
curse on the house of Genom.*

	The adept was silent for a long time.  $You .. you are bluffing.$
	
	Aethan's eyes flashed.  *I.  NEVER.  BLUFF.*

	Slowly, the adept turned, and began to flap her wings, taking her
away from the building, towards the Tower.

	*Yet another learns that it is wise not to trifle with the
Retribution of Aethan DeGales ...* he murmured, turning to Nene.  *We must
return to the physical, immediately.*

	/W-why?  I mean, did you find out what you needed to about the
Hellgate?/

	*No.  I was unable to approach it, and I sensed that you were in
danger, so I returned at once.*

	The strangest thing was, it seemed perfectly reasonable as an
explanation.  Why, then, did he avoid looking at her when he gave it?

	They sank through the building until they reached Nene's
apartment, Aethan holding her hand (so cold!  so cold!) to prevent her
from shooting down into the bedrock.

	/Where's my body?/ she asked, not seeing it.

	*You can never see your physical body when you are astrally
projected, Nene.  The reasons should be obvious.*

	/Well they aren't!/

	*Because the essence of your being is no longer inhabiting your
husk, and it is therefore so much vegetative matter!  Satisfied?*

	Nene recoiled from his sudden anger.  /Uh ... okay.  How do I get
back into --/

	*JUST THINK YOURSELF INSIDE!  THAT'S ALL!  OTHINN UND DONAR, GIRL,
HAVE YOU LEARNED *NOTHING* FROM THIS LESSON?*

	/STOP YELLING AT ME!/ Nene exploded, and her vision went black.

	She was back in her body.  She was lying on her side, and she
could feel a small trail of drool dangling from her mouth.  Nene rolled up
into a seated position.

	Aethan was in a crouch, his hands steepled in front of his face.
Somehow, he seemed even paler than he had when he had begun ... or maybe
that was just Nene's mind, reflecting the unearthly pallor of his astral
self.

	"Pack your bags.  I want to be out of here by sundown," he said
abruptly.

	"What?"

	"Nene, there is a Hellgate about to open some miles north of here
in a few days.  Before then, I want, to use a certain phrase for
which I have a great deal of affection, to get the hell out of Dodge.  I
presume you'll come with me."

	"You're just going to run?" Nene gasped.  She was just a little
surprised that the woman in white had been so correct in guessing his
reactions.

	"Of course.  When that thing blows, monsters that make Dante's
Inferno look like a pleasant roll in the grass will be swarming through
this city.  I want to be far, far away when it happens."

	"And screw the rest of us?"  Nene bit out, angrily.

	"I've said you can come with ..."

	"Fuck that!" Nene shouted.  "You plan on throwing in the towel,
without even trying to prevent that horror from happening!  Where I come
from, there's a word for that:  cowardice!"

	"Nene ..." Aethan began, warningly.

	"So I can come with you?  Big deal!  What about the other 200
million people in MegaTokyo?  What about my friends?  I think they're
worth fighting for!  I ..."  Her voice dropped to an angry whisper.  "I
think they're worth *dying* for."

	He stared at her, stunned, unblinking, for nearly a minute.  "You
mean it ..." he murmured.  "You would willingly lay down your life, simply
so that millions of people who will never know about your sacrifice, and
who wouldn't care if they did know, will go on living."

	"*I* would know," Nene answered defiantly.

	He bent his head for a moment.  Then he lifted it up, and looked
at her with new expression on his face.  Somewhere between respect, and
shame, and ... envy.  "It will not be easy," he said quietly.

	"Nothing worth doing ever is."

	"We will do a physical reconnaissance this evening.  There are
certain things we will need ... I will provide you with a list, and places
that I suspect you can find them."

	"Wait a minute.  I'm doing the shopping?  What will *you* be doing
while I'm scurrying around MegaTokyo?"

	"I will be taking a nap.  Because I am exhausted."  He rose up,
and producing a pen and a pad of paper, began to scribble the "shopping
list".  Wordlessly, he handed it to her.  "Would you mind if I crashed in
your room?" Aethan asked as she scanned it.

	"Uh ... go ahead."  She turned to go.

	"Nene-san."

	She turned back, a little startled at the renewed honorific.

	He was looking at her sorrowfully.  "I was wrong to yell at you.
I apologize."  And he bowed, deeply.

				*   *   *

	As Nene rode the elevator back up to her apartment, she wondered
why exactly Aethan was going to need "two iron rods, 1 inch diameter, 2
and one half feet long".  They were HEAVY, and it had taken most of the
afternoon to find them.

	She stepped out of the elevator and turned towards her apartment.

	"Hey," said Linna Yamazaki, "been getting groceries, Nene?"

	Linna was leaning against the wall beside Nene's apartment,
impatiently tapping a laser disc case against her hip.

	"Uh ... yeah!  Groceries!" Nene replied, hoping like heck that the
rods wouldn't clang against each other in the bag.  "What can I do for
you, Linna?"

	"Well, about a week ago you made some noise about being on a diet,
and I said something about supplementing it with an exercise program,
remember?"  Linna held up the disk.  "Sixteen Steps to Slimmer You.
Hottest aerobic workout vid out there.  I was starting to think you
must've gone off for the weekend without telling anybody ..."

	"Gee!  Thanks, Linna!"  Nene replied, awkwardly grabbing the disk.
"Well, I'll let you know if it works out!"  She started to open the door.

	"What, aren't you gonna invite me in for coffee?"

	"Uh ... I'm all out!  Really sorry!"

	"You?  Out of coffee?  You just bought groceries.  Nene, is
something wrong?"

	"No," Nene lied.  "Nothing is wrong.  But ... I just don't wanna
violate Rule Nine any more than we already have."

	Linna blinked.  "Rule Nine?!  "We don't know each other when we're
not on a job?"  Get serious!  Something is wrong, isn't it?" she said in
an accusatory tone.

	"No!  I just told you that ..."

	Suddenly, a rather wicked grin blossomed on Linna's face.  "Why,
Nene ... you little devil.  You've got a man in your apartment, don't
you?!"

	"NO!!!" Nene protested.  <I'm relatively certain he's an inhuman
monster, not a man,> she told her conscience, <so I'm not lying.>

	"Come off it, Nene, you don't think I'm gonna rat you out to Sylia
for violating Rule Ten, do you?  Wait a minute ... it IS a man, right?  No
.. the idea of you and another woman ... way too surreal ..."  Linna
shook her head violently for a moment while Nene turned beet red.

	"Okay, Nene, open the door.  If it's not a man, you've got no
reason to hide anything from me, right?"

	"But ..."

	"I'm not going anywhere until we get this settled."

	With a hopeless, mortified expression, Nene turned to unlock her
door.  She didn't even bother trying to slip in and slam the door shut
before Linna could enter ... the older woman was so much faster that it
would have been a pointless exercise.

	Nene set the "groceries" on the counter by the sink, marched to
her bedroom door, and threw it open, wordlessly gesturing for Linna to
take a look.

	Linna looked in silence.  Finally, she turned to Nene.  "Your
room's an AWFUL mess ..." she drawled.

	Nene turned to look herself, blinking.  There was nobody in her
bed.  The covers were exactly as she'd left them.  In short, no evidence
existed that anyone had ever slept there within the last little while.

	<I don't believe it,> Nene thought, stunned.  <He sent me off on a
fool's errand while he slipped out!  Coward!>

	At that moment, Aethan stepped out of the bathroom, dripping wet,
naked except for a small towel tied loosely around his waist.

	Aethan stared at Linna.  Linna stared at Aethan.  Nene stared at
Aethan.  Aethan slowly changed his focus to stare at Nene.  Linna slowly
turned to stare at Nene, as well.

	And smiled wickedly.  "Niiiiiiiiice ..." she murmured.

	"Ano ..." Aethan said in a much more clumsy Japanese accent than
was his norm.  "I am ... very, very sorry ..."

	"Don't be!  I was just worried that Nene-chan here was getting
involved with the wrong sort of man," Linna said.  She looked him up and
down.  "Not too handsome, fortunately," she murmured.

	"Well ... well, Linna, now that you've embarrassed both me and
Mister ... uh ..." Nene wracked her brain to remember his last name, fully
realizing as she did how Linna would take this.

	"I guess I'll be going.  My work here is done!"  Linna ambled over
to the door leading to the hallway.  She turned back to look at them.
"Mr. Goodbar, enjoy ... your visit to Japan," she said, pausing just long
enough to suggest that there was something else she might have said.

	Then she was gone.  They heard a few hysterical laughs from the
hallway.  Nene, who was once more beet red, turned to look at Aethan.
"Decided to take a shower, huh?" she asked, very quietly.

	"I ... felt the need for cleansing," Aethan replied.  "Close
exposure to darkest evil, and all that."

	"I see."

	"And I didn't hear you come in, so ..."

	"Right.  You're ruining my reputation, I hope you realize that."

	He smiled nervously.  "There are worse things, you know ..."

	"Get dressed."

				*   *   *

	They walked northward in silence, for a good fifteen minutes,
before Nene decided to start asking questions again.

	"You called that woman an adept.  What exactly does that mean?"

	"An adept is one who does not possess all the abilities of the
true magician, like you or I.  That one has the astral abilities, as well
as conjuration -- the ability to command spirits.  That's rare.  You would
do well to beware of her."

	"Believe me, I will."

	"You will have to deal with many such as her -- adepts who are
jealous of the power of a true will-worker.  They may possess wisdom and
knowledge which you do not, however, and you may be able to learn from
them ... from time to time."

	"What about the other magicians in the world?  Can you give me any
introductions?"

	He was silent for a long moment.  "According to a reasonably
reliable source, there are no more.  You and I are the last."

	"Say WHAT?"

	"I said, you and I are the only true magicians in the world.
There are a plethora of adepts, and others ..."

	"What `others'?  And where are you getting this from?"

	"From those who assigned me to deal with you, Nene.  And as for
the others ..."  He trailed off, then shook his head.  "Perhaps the
simplest way to discuss them is to call them by a name I first encountered
fifty years ago -- Shinma.  Creatures that are at once both god and 
demon."

	"Like ... vampires?"

	He paused momentarily.  "Indeed.  Very like vampyres.  But the
term can also apply to creatures which are akin to the fairies of Celtic
and German Europe -- and to others.  To be shinma is, in many ways, the
antithesis of the path of the magician.  These creatures *are* magic,
while we *use* magic.  To them, to do miraculous or horrible things is the
same as breathing.  To us, it is a struggle."  Aethan paused again.  "It
is said that most of the truly powerful shinma are sealed away in an
eternal sleep, awaiting a day when they will be freed by some apocalyptic
tragedy, to rule the world, no doubt."

	"And do you believe this?"

	"No.  I think many of the most powerful of these beings are out,
living peaceful lives in the best way they know how."  He smiled sadly.
"Or trying, at any rate."

	With his next step, Aethan doubled over in agony, and let out a
hollow scream.

	"What's wrong?!" Nene cried ... and then she realized exactly what
was wrong.  The air itself seemed to be alive with a dark power.  It burnt
with foul energies that stank of pure evil.

	"Where ... are ... we?" Aethan gasped.

	Nene pulled out the street map, and checked her surroundings.
"According to this, we've just come into a district of old Tokyo called
.. Nerima."

				*   *   *

	Nerima.

	The name meant nothing to him, and yet it was still somewhat
naggingly familiar.  As though he'd heard something about it once,
something about ... he couldn't remember.

	"I have to go on alone," he murmured.  "From here on in, it will
be too dangerous for you!"

	"But ..."

	"I am fine," he lied, pulling himself to stand up.  "And consider,
Nene:  if *I* was that afflicted by coming into the area of the physical
world that corresponds to the Hellgate, consider how you would be
affected by it."

	"But!"

	"But naught!  Stay here!  Do NOT follow me!"

	Aethan walked into the district, and every step was torture.  All
his instincts screamed for him to flee this place, with or without Nene,
and never return.

	But one of the elements that separated humanity from the other
members of the animal kingdom was the ability to ignore one's instinct for
self preservation in pursuit of a goal.  If Aethan allowed himself to
flee, he knew that the creatures of the Abyss would burst upon this
unprepared city.

	So he continued, walking against the wind.

	It was unsurprising that the district was deserted.  All the
buildings seemed to have been condemned some time ago, but Genom's usually
prompt team of demolition men had not yet gotten to it.

	Aethan pulled the shaft of iron from the bag, and held it aloft.

	The iron bent, as though twisted by some vast press, to point at
an abandoned restaurant.  The Cat Cafe, or something like that.

	Aethan walked towards the restaurant, and his own occult senses
confirmed what the iron had indicated:  that the malign force increased as
one approached it.  This, then, was the center, the nexus of the Hellgate.

	He walked across a strange depression in the road -- something
vastly heavy had once rested there -- and arrived in front of the door.
He reached for the handle.

	It twisted into a mouth, and tried to bite his hand.  With an iron
grip, he seized the mouth, holding it shut, and forced the door open.

	Aethan stepped into the restaurant.  There was a strange, greenish
glow coming from the kitchen.

	He took a step towards it ... and found that he could not move.
"I can't ..." he whispered, agonize.  "I'm sorry!  It is too much to
ask!"

	"You have to," his own voice answered.

	Aethan twisted to look towards a table to his left.

	He was sitting there, dressed in white robes.

	And Aethan knew.

	"It was me, wasn't it?" he whispered.  "*I* did this, somehow."

	"You did," his mirror image replied, nodding.  "Well, you are not
completely to blame.  You did not bring the vimogorge to this plane.
This," he gestured around him, "was the result of your efforts to seal it
away."

	"Why?" Aethan demanded.  "How could I make such a mistake, and why
don't I remember it?!"

	"Grief, Aethan.  When the time came to cast the spell, the circle
of magicians that you led didn't have enough power to complete it.  But
you, in your grief and anger over what the vimogorge had done, were so
determined to finish it, that you sliced away a part of your soul to keep
the spell functioning, forever.  That's me, Aethan.  The part of your soul
which held your grief ... and so much of your humanity, as well.  Do you
not remember?"

	Aethan shook his head.  "But what about the vimogorge?  The
binding should have kept it sealed away for all time!"

	"Nothing lasts forever, Aethan.  The creature is starved to the
point of death, but it cannot die while the binding persists, and so the
Hellgate that will open when it dies remains closed ... and it rages,
producing the horrible psychic pollution that has made this ward a
wasteland."

	Aethan bent his head.  "If I take you back into myself, the
binding will be weakened, won't it?"

	"Yes.  It will burst within a few days if you do that."

	"But I can improve on the binding to prevent that, and seal
away the thing's emanations, as well!" Aethan thought aloud.

	"How can you do that if you can't even bear to come into its
presence?"

	Aethan turned to look at his twin.  "It's the darkness in me,
isn't it?" he asked, rhetorically.  "It keeps me from getting too close.
I need the light.  I need to bring you back into me."

	The double nodded.

	"But if I do that ... whatever happened all those years ago ... I
will remember it as though it had just occurred."

	"Yes."

	They were both silent for a long moment.

	"It won't be easy," Aethan sighed.

	"When is anything that's worth doing?" the other Aethan asked.

	Aethan extended his hand.  "Come to me, myself."

	The other Aethan rose up, and walked to where Aethan stood.  He
reached out his hand.

	For a fraction of a second, they touched.

	And then the other Aethan was gone, and Aethan remembered.

	Madeline.

	The blade.

	The struggle with the vimogorge.

	Kasumi.

	Michael.

	All the glory and all the pain of those handful of days in 1996
roared through his memory in a single moment.

	When he regained his senses, he was kneeling on the floor.
Slowly, he came to his feet.

	His trenchcoat had turned gray.

	The agony of walking through the Hellgate's physical analogue was
gone.  It was painful, but not beyond his ability to endure.

	For a moment, he considered walking into the Nekohanten's kitchen,
to take a look at the binding ... but he'd been there when it was made,
and Aethan felt no urge to visit it before it was necessary.

	He walked out of the restaurant, heading directly for a spot along
the street that led past it.  There was nothing to suggest that there was
anything unusual about this spot from a physical perspective.  But Aethan,
his memories restored, would have been able to pick it out of a thousand
like it in the city.

	He knelt, and touched it.

	Involuntarily, the words came.
	
		"Through these fields of destruction,
		Baptisms of fire,
		I've witnessed your suffering,
		As the battle raged higher.
		And though they did hurt me so bad
		In the fear and alarm
		You did not desert me, my brother in arms ..."

	The song that he'd sung once before, in this place, as he cradled
the shattered, dying body of Michael Gideon.

	His brother in arms.

	Whom he had forgotten for nearly forty years.

	Aethan began to cry.

				*   *   *

	He'd come out of the restaurant, walked over to a certain place in
the street, knelt down, whispered some words that she hadn't been able to
make out, and now ...

	Now he was quietly sobbing.

	She came up behind him, slowly.  "Aethan?" she asked.

	He said nothing for a moment.  "Didn't I tell you not to follow
me?" he asked suddenly, not looking at her.

	"Yes ... but I've never been really good at following orders,"
Nene admitted.

	He nodded, and turned to her.  His cheeks were wet with tears.
But he smiled through them.  And it was a gentle smile, totally unlike the
sardonic, cynical grins he had favored her with before.

	"You questioned my orders.  Good.  That's the beginning of wisdom.
ONLY the beginning, though.  Come.  Let's leave this place."

	They continued north.  She didn't ask about the sudden change in
the colour of his trenchcoat, because she wasn't sure she wanted to know.
He gave her an edited account of what had occured in the restaurant,
focusing on the fact that he had been given an explanation of the way to
fix the problem, and the power with which to do it.  As they stepped out
of the region that was affected by the Hellgate (she could tell because
she could suddenly breathe a little easier again), they both noticed the
large sign that said "Future Site of Genom Research Facility #55862".

	Aethan walked up to the sign, and examined the picture of the
facility.  "Interesting," he said mildly.  "When this thing is built, it
will cover that entire district."

	And then his eyes went wide.  "Oh, NO," he whispered.

	"What?" Nene asked.  "What's wrong?"

	"Even if I can seal the thing away," Aethan said, as though he
were thinking aloud rather than replying to Nene, "when they demolish the
building to make way for that monstrosity, they'll disturb the wards, and
there'll be nothing left to stop it."

	"What?!  What do you mean?"

	He turned to Nene with a hopeless expression on his face.  "I
mean that there's *nothing* I can do, Nene.  If I fix the problem with the
Hellgate, in a few weeks it'll blow open regardless because Genom will
disturb it.  But if I leave it alone, it will blow open in a few days!
It's a no-win situation!"

	"Then what are we going to do?!"

	He looked down at the ground.  "There's only one thing to do.
Somehow, I have to kill the thing behind the Hellgate."  He lifted his
eyes once more.  "And I can't do it alone."

	"Just tell me what I can do to help," Nene said enthusiastically.

	He walked over to her, and lay his hands on her shoulders.  "Nene,
there is one specific thing which you can do to help me, right now."

	"What?"

	"You can help me get in touch with Ms. Stingray.  I need to hire
the Knight Sabres."

			     To Be Continued.

Authors Notes

	A short indication of who's who in astral space --

	* * indicates speech by Aethan (or emphasis ...)
	/ / indicates speech by Nene.
	$ $ indicates speech by Kate Madigan.
	" " indicates speech by Madeline.

	The characters and world of Bubblegum Crisis were created by
Kenichi Sonoda, Toshimichi Suzuki, and others, and brought to North 
America by AnimEigo.  Aethan DeGales was created by Chris Davies.  The
preceding story, while incorporating aspects of motion pictures held
under copyright by others, is copyright 1996 by Chris Davies.

	Nobody Sue Me Okay?

Chris Davies, Advocate for Darkness, Part-Time Champion of Light.
"I am not a very nice person anymore." - Rand al'Thor, "Crown of Swords"
http://www.ualberta.ca/~cdavies/hmpage.html