The war went badly. While Christine was a capable
leader, we were simply no match for the number of boomers
being thrown at us. More people paid the price for our
weakness with each day.
There would be no escape. All means of leaving the
city had been long since cut off, and the stranglehold they
held on it grew steadily tighter. This would be a fight to
the death.
It was clear, now; we had nothing to lose. We could
fight and hope to live, or die in the inevitable slaughter.
There was no choice to be made.
Oddly enough, it was at this point that we found a
glimmer of hope.
************************************************************
Stormwalker <stormwalker@airmail.net> presents :
Bubblegum Collapse
A Bubblegum Crisis fanfiction by Douglas A. Reeves
************************************************************
Part Four - Revelations
"I had suspected that myself," Nene nodded. "But I
thought we had destroyed it."
"So did I," Sylia admitted. "Still, the sudden unity of
strategy displayed by the boomers cannot be explained
otherwise."
Nene nodded quietly. "It does explain things, doesn't
it?"
Sylia sighed, overwhelmed by the magnitude of this
realization. "The Overmind Control System. If we can find
it, we can end this debacle. If we cannot, the world is
doomed."
"I will find it," Nene whispered vehemently. "I have
to."
* * * * * * * * *
"Leon?"
"Yes, Priss?" he glanced over at her, careful to keep an
eye on the road.
"We can't win, can we?" she asked, seeming oddly calm
for someone who was talking about her own death.
He thought for a second, forcing himself to look at the
inevitable, then shook his head sadly. "No, we can't. Not
unless something changes."
She nodded, and was silent for a long moment. The
decision had been haunting her, denying her rest. It was
time to settle it. "I should go back."
He blinked, caught off guard by the abruptness of the
statement.
"If we're all going to die anyway, I want do die
fighting," she continued, her voice resolute.
He knew the feeling well. In truth, he had been
stunned when she had walked away from the Knight Sabers to
begin with. The kind of pain it would take to shatter her
resolve... he hoped he would never know. In any case, she
had decided to move on.
He certainly could not stop her, and he would not even
try. "Please... be careful," was all that he could ask.
She looked back at him, even now realizing how much she
meant to him... and he to her. "I will... I promise."
* * * * * * * * *
"Priss!" Nene shouted, "You're back!"
"Yes, I'm back." Priss smiled for the first time since
Linna's death. She had forgotten just how much the Knight
Sabers meant to her.
"Welcome back, Priss," Christine looked up, trying to
hide the flicker of hope in her eyes.
"Hello," Priss responded, noticing that flicker, and
sighed. "I'm not taking it back, Chris. You're the
leader."
Christine nodded, swallowing her disappointment. "I...
understand. Anyway, it is good to have you back. We have
missed you."
"I've missed me, too."
* * * * * * * * *
The redesign of Mackie's hardsuit was the most pleasant
task Sylia had taken on of late. Priss's return brought her
suit back into action, making the inclusion of the Gauss
cannon in Mackie's suit impractical. The weapon was better
suited to her than him, anyway. In its place went the
standard laser and a sword much like the one Sylia herself
had once wielded. It had served her well, and she hoped
that it would do the same for him.
Every fear that she felt for her Knight Sabers was
doubly true for Mackie. Her only remaining blood family, he
was precious to her like no other could ever be. Brilliant
in his own way, irrepressible, and with a heart of gold
despite his youthful "curiosity", he never ceased to
surprise her.
Memories came to her, brought on by her worries. The
look on his face when he had learned about their father's
death. Another, similar look, many years later, when he had
learned the reasons why. The concern he had shown for them
when they went to battle, and the little ways in which he
had helped. The Highway Star, his masterpiece, and the
selflessness with which he had let Priss ride it to save
Gibson from his own mad creation. His courageous stand with
Nene, staring in the face of death as they fought to save AD
Police headquarters, and the amazing skill he had displayed
in so doing. Indeed, there was much more to him than most
people would give him credit for. She did not want to lose
him, and she worried.
Pushing those thoughts to the back of her mind, she
turned to more positive ponderings. The return of Priss
made the Knight Sabers a viable fighting force again, and it
was quite likely that their strength would be tested soon
and often in the days to come. Each second that they could
purchase made their ultimate task easier.
In the end, though, it would matter little. The weight
of the world rested on the shoulders of Nene. If she could
find the Overmind, and if they could destroy it, the
effectiveness of the boomer armies all over the world would
be drastically reduced. They could be beaten. If not, then
all was lost. Until then, all they could do was try to
preserve as many lives as they could.
Nene believed that she could do it. Sylia wished she
could share her optimism.
* * * * * * * * *
"I'm not going to be able to do much while I'm tracing
this transmission," Nene cautioned. "You all are on your
own."
"We'll manage," Christine smirked, trying to keep some
shred of optimism. "Knight Sabers, sanjo!"
The enemy this time numbered about fifteen. An odd
mixture of combat classes, they were coordinating their
forces well. Too well.
Nevertheless, the Knight Sabers drove their attacks
home. With a savage cry, Christine charged first into the
fray. Extending the short blade from her left arm, she
punched it through the armor of the leading boomer, and
sparks flew. A sudden twist of her arm tore the weapon
through the cyberdroid's neck, and it burst into flame and
collapsed. An explosion behind her registered the entrance
of Priss into the battle, and she could see Mackie neatly
carve up a 55-C with his sword.
Instinct told her to duck, and just as she did a
powerful laser blast seared the air over her head. Turning,
she fired her pulse cannon, and the 34-CX reeled. A second
shot crushed its midsection, and it collapsed. To her left
two more were coming, and she readied her web.
"I've got them," Priss cut in, and a burst of
hypersonic flechettes tore through the first of the pair. A
HEAP round quickly eliminated the second, and Christine
could hear the satisfaction in Priss's voice when she said,
"That's six."
"Nine to go," Christine pointed out nervously, "How's
it going, Nene?"
"Working on it... locking onto the signal now... got
it... what!? It just cut off!"
Suddenly, the boomers all hesitated for a second.
Their strings cut, the puppets were disoriented. Just as
they had been about to unleash a devastating counter-assault,
they seemed to lose all of their coordination.
"Press the attack!" Christine yelled. "They're
confused!"
"Right!" Mackie answered first, firing his arm laser at
a nearby Bu-12. At first, it seemed to have no effect
against the boomer's armor, but after a few seconds a shot
punched through and the boomer flared.
"Beginning jamming sequence," Nene called, frustration
evident in her tone. "Fifteen seconds to burn-through."
"All right, let's take it to them!" Priss yelled
ecstatically as she tossed aside the smoking hulk of a 55-C.
Checking the charge on her pulse cannon, Christine
grinned.
* * * * * * * * *
"What happened out there?" Christine asked.
"Someone noticed my tap on the signal and cut it off,"
Nene scowled. "It was definitely the OMS... as soon as the
signal shut down they seemed to fall apart."
"I thought boomers were supposed to be able to
coordinate in a single battle, though?" Mackie pointed out.
"They can... but these weren't." explained Sylia.
"They were depending on commands from a remote site, and the
jamming prevented them from regrouping before they were
destroyed."
"They won't make that mistake again," said Priss.
"No doubt," Sylia agreed. "The OMS is well used to
coordinate strategy, but tactics are best left to the
boomers themselves. Our adversary, whoever he may be, will
learn that, I am sure." "If his ego doesn't get in the
way," her mind added.
"Which means we won't get that easy of a trace again,
either," Nene sighed.
Sylia nodded. "Probably not. What did we learn?"
"It was a very strong signal... somewhere in Japan,
most likely. Couldn't get any more than that, though."
"We shall keep trying, then."
* * * * * * * * *
Sylia sat in her databank room, considering the problem
at hand. If the wielder of OMS could detect when Nene
latched on to his signal, he would simply shut it down to
avoid a trace. She had to prevent that somehow.
This last time they had made it easy. It was quite
possible that the OMS operator himself had not detected the
tap, but rather that one of the many boomers present had
done so. The 34-CX class had relatively advanced
communications equipment, and might be capable of such a
feat.
Nene could make them invisible to boomers for a few
seconds... but a few seconds was not long enough. Also, the
energy required to cloak them all prevented the use of her
other systems.
Perhaps if she only had to cloak herself...
* * * * * * * * *
"Any free AD Police units, please respond... we are
under attack... cannot hold long. Repeat, HQ is under
attack..." Leon's desperate call broke through the static on
the channel.
"Damn," Priss whispered, then looked up at Sylia,
concern in her eyes. "I"m going."
Sylia nodded, "Very well."
"Not alone, though," Christine broke in as she entered
the room. "We all go."
Priss smiled slightly, trying to supress her fears.
"Thanks."
AD Police headquarters was hardly recognizable as such.
The tower itself was badly damaged, with several of the
surrounding buildings levelled. Burned out hulks of cars
were scattered in the streets, providing cover for boomer
and human alike. The streets around the building had been
torn up, fashioned into makeshift trenches behind which the
AD Police tried to fight off the assault.
The situation was desperate already. Hundreds of
boomers formed an invincible phalanx, and the barrage of
artillery from specially-fitted 34-CX types in the back rank
rained down behind the ADP lines.
Priss worried... she could not see Leon from the air.
It was probably because he was under some form of cover, but
she still was concerned. He had to be out there, somewhere.
Christine leaned over to look out as well, and surveyed
the battle zone. Dropping in without getting hit was not
going to be easy, and she was not sure they could do any good
once they got there.
"Sylia, we need some cover fire," she said. "Drop
away."
"Affirm," Sylia answered as she opened the release and
the four Knight Sabers dropped into the battle. Activating
the missile racks, she fired all the weapons at once. The
rockets crashed into the boomers' battle line, devastating t
he front rank, but still more came up behind them. The
smoke cleared, and the Knight Sabers had joined the battle.
"Here we go!" Christine called out as her feet hit the
ground. "Watch yourselves!"
Even as they hit the street, they immediately became
the boomers' primary targets. In response to the let-up in
fire, the AD Police began their own barrage, and another
rank of boomers fell. It was scarcely a dent in their army,
though.
"Jamming active!" Nene cried. "Ten seconds!"
"Ten... damn!" Christine thought, then ordered. "Hit
anything that looks like its giving orders!"
Priss didn't respond, but she took the command to
heart. Firing two shells at a boomer that fit the
description, she watched with satisfaction as it blew up.
Mackie, too, took advantage of the little time they
were given. Picking out one of the more heavily-armed
machines, he quickly dispatched it and created a gap in the
boomers' artillery. Two more stepped into its place.
"Burn-through," Nene warned.
"This is bad," Christine thought, even as she destroyed
yet another boomer. "We can't win this fight."
Priss was having the same thought. If they stood and
fought here, against an entire army of boomers, they had no
chance at all... but she could not abandon a friend again.
Leon had given her the courage to fight again, and she would
not leave him to die.
Suddenly, Leon's voice cut through on the comm system.
"Knight Sabers, this is a losing battle... get yourselves
out while you can."
"Go on, Christine... get them out of here," Priss
agreed.
"What about you?!" Christine protested. "We can't
leave you!"
"Just go!" she cried, looking over her shoulder and
finally seeing him--he was looking at her, too. "I'm not
leaving!"
"Priss!" Christine shouted, but realized that she could
not convince her. "All right," she bit into her lower lip
hard, "Nene, Mackie, let's get out of here."
Numbly, as if disbelieving, the three of them
retreated. Falling back behind the AD Police lines, they
called Sylia to pick them up. Still, Christine watched
Priss down at the front lines, not wanting to see, but
unable to tear her eyes away.
Priss simply would not let them kill her... not yet.
Fighting across the battle line, working her way through the
melee that was now ensuing atop the ADP barricades, she
managed to make her way to Leon.
He looked up at her, with the faceplate raised on her
helmet, and they exchanged one last glance... a look which
brought a flood of memories to both of them. He could swear
that he saw a tear in her eye before she lowered the visor
and turned back to the battle.
It was then that the boomers broke through. All the
anger Priss had restrained her entire life tore a savage cry
from the depths of her soul, and she threw herself into the
fight. Five... ten boomers fell at her feet before they got
to her, and even then she took down two more before she
fell.
Death was merciful to her, and quick; she never felt
the blow that severed her spinal cord. Leon saw it, and
fired the last of his ammunition into the boomer that killed
her, then he too was cut down.
Christine stood atop the Tower in shock. Priss was
dead. Alive one second, and gone the next. No cry of pain,
no last words, no long, drawn out goodbye. She had died a
warrior, as she had lived. She closed her eyes, trying to
block out the image, and failing. She would never forget.
Turning to Nene, she pulled her close, needing someone to
hold on to. Nene returned the embrace, as they each
sought a refuge from despair. There they stood until the
KnightWing came overhead, picked them up, and bore them
away.
* * * * * * * * *
The AD Police were destroyed that day, almost to a man.
Priss's and Leon's bodies lay within meters of each other,
among hundreds of others on the battlefield. She had
gotten her wish... to die fighting.
Christine was numb. The way it had happened... she
could not bring herself to believe that Priss was really
gone. The sight of her, overwhelmed by a surging tide of
android soldiers, fighting to the very last, was burned in
her memory; still, she could not convince herself that it
was over. Yet another friend lost.
She wondered what they could do now. With the AD Police
out of the way, the boomers could concentrate their full
attentions on the annoying little mercenary band. Even with
Priss, it would have been a losing battle. Without her, it
was hopeless.
* * *
Mackie tried to ignore the pain... they had no time for
it. Soon enough, they would each have their turn to die, he
realized. He had best be ready for his.
Still... Priss was dead. Gone. If his sister had been
the heart of the Knight Sabers, Priss had been their soul. A
void was left which none could fill, and she would be sorely
missed.
* * *
Sylia cried in solitude. She had known this day would
come... had tried to prepare for it, but there was no
preparation for this kind of pain. She could only endure,
and try to fend of the despair which gripped her soul. The
answer was plain to her now, and she had to prepare for the
sacrifice.
Sacrifice... she hoped that it would be the right word.
Sacrifice meant that something had been gained. Otherwise,
it was simply suicide, and she did not want to consider that
possibility.
* * *
Nene knew the answer, too, and she envied the others
their part. Her emotions were gone. Fear, and anger, and
joy, and sorrow, and love, and hate... she had lost them
all. Perhaps it was better this way. Maybe it would make
the bitter pill she had coming easier to swallow.
Maybe. Somehow, she doubted it.
**************
END PART FOUR