Stormwalker <stormwalker@airmail.net> presents...

                 Bubblegum Collision

  A Bubblegum Crisis fanfiction by Douglas A. Reeves

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 from 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 in
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 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 the 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, and the look in Mackie's eyes when he learned of it. 
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. 
Largo, and Priss with her stubborn determinaton 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 darknes which
enshrouded her soul was strong, and the urge to hate was
powerful.  Her very heart and soul 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 even 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
be a part of this 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 hom when she was struck by an
odd feeling.  Suspicion arose within her suddenly, and she paused
a moment before going in.  In that moment, the place exploded.

                  * * * * * * * * *

     The phone rang, and Christine picked it up.  "Hello?"     
     "That you, Christine?" Priss asked, out of breath.    
     "Yeah, what happened?" she 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, glaring 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 bluntly.
     "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 cut her off.  "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.  Thinking that her car might be sabotaged, 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 the
suits ready."
     "If we wear them, 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 moment, 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 celing collapsed.
     "Sylia!" she shouted, trudgnig through the debris to reach
her.  She was half-buried under pieces of wall and celing, 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 go 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 might make it 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.
     "Long gone by now, no doubt." said Christine.
     "Figures," Priss scowled.
     About forty-five 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.  When Priss dropped
back to the ground next to Christine, Linna had left.  A second
later, she reappeared holding Nene's hardsuit.
     "Let's go," Priss said, and they took off.

                  * * * * * * * * *

     Nene awoke to a loud banging at her door.  Clambering out of
bed, she ran to the door and looked outside.  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
****************
-- 
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Stormwalker <stormwalker@airmail.net> and <stormer@utdallas.edu>
Computer Science student and Anime fanfic writer (sometimes, anyway)
Storm Warnings - http://web2.airmail.net/a0011387/
"As a matter of fact, I do think I'm Batman, Miss Asagiri."
		     - Batman, "BGC/Batman : Darkest Knights" (draft)
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