Chapter Two:  Do You Believe in Magic... 

	Priss pulled Bert into his apartment, locked the door behind her
and shouted, "ARE YOU FUCKING NUTS!" 
	Bert, who had been slowly recovering from Nene's affections, was
brought violently back to reality by that. "Uh?  What are you talking
about Priss?" 
	Priss was slowly getting red as she looked into his face, it was
as if he didn't know what...It slowly dawned on her that he really didn't
know.  "Bert.  Why did you give that ring to Nene?" 
	"Well the ring serves several purposes," he replied.  "The first,
and most important, being that if I am _ever_ pulled to another dimension
again, I can home in on it and come back.  The second is that it will
provide her some personal protection.  The ring will project a small field
of force if a bullet, or some type of projectile, is shot at her.  It will
also deflect most of the impact of any energy weapon, something I felt she
should have." 
	Sitting down in his recliner, Bert continued, "The only drawback
is that it needs to be exposed to light to recharge itself.  Neither
Twister or myself could figure out any other way to power it." 
	Priss shook her head, "But why make it out of diamond?" 
	Bert looked at Priss, wondering what she was getting at.  "Well,
it was a readily available material, all of the crystalline structures on
those armbands and the boxes are diamond.  Besides, as Darlene, she took
some time to design it, thinking that Nene would like something that
looked pretty.  From her reaction I think she was right." 
	Sitting down in front of him, she took hold of his head and looked
into his eyes, "Bert.  Do you know what a _diamond_ ring means?" 
	He looked puzzled, "What does..."  Bert trailed off as he
remembered, in _this_ dimension, diamond was not as easy to get a hold of. 
Come to think of it, it wasn't easy to get a hold of in Twister's
dimension either.  That was when he remembered the traditional usage of a
diamond ring, and he started to shake a bit. 
	"Oh no!"  Getting up suddenly and shaking off Priss, he leaped for
the door and tried to open it.  Being locked, he started fumbling around,
allowing the brown haired singer to catch up with him.  A small smile
started to twitch at the sides of her mouth. 
	She turned him around, "Forget it little brother. She's now your
fiancee."  Grinning Priss then started to rub it in, "At least you won't
have to look for a band, I'll do it for free."  He groaned at her words as
Priss' grin threatened to become a full fledged gloat.  "It seems Darlene
was right, you do need looking after." 
	Bert didn't reply. 

THE NEXT DAY... 

	Naoko couldn't help but stare at the huge diamond that Nene wore. 
	She had been a little surprised at how overly excited that her
friend had been that morning, and had noticed the new ring that she had
been wearing.  Asking about the large, slightly purple diamond, Naoko
learned that Bert had surprised her with it the night before.  Talk about
things being totally unexpected! 
	Shaking her head, Naoko admired the stone.  It was about two
centimetres long, one centimetre wide, and half a centimetre thick.  The
setting the stone was sitting in was a pair of intertwined gold dragons,
wonderfully detailed and seeming almost alive.  Moreover, the stone was a
purple diamond, a _very_ rare type of diamond.  She knew Nene's boyfriend
was some type of high-priced engineer, but she never imagined that he
could be _that_ rich. 
	"So, are you going to marry him?", Naoko asked. 
	Nene smiled happily.  "Of course!  I've been waiting for him to
ask me, and it's finally happened!"  Her thoughts strayed to what marriage
would be like, and the children she wanted to have.  She realized that she
might have to drop out of missions now and then, but it would be worth it.
Nene's eyes shone with excitement as she looked at the ring. "I'm going to
make extra sure he's happy once we're married." 
	Naoko shook her head, realizing that she'd have to cover for Nene
over the next little while.  Obviously she was so caught up in thinking
about the future that she wasn't really paying attention to her work.  It
was a bit surprising, after all; it was hard to believe the ever so
innocent redhead was going to get married. 

***

	Leon walked into the archery range, going over to the locker and
getting his bow.  He smiled to himself as he considered the fact that he
was using such an ancient weapon in an age where an ADP officer's survival
depended on high tech weaponry.  Somehow, Bert's infatuation with Europe's
chivalric age had spread to himself, and he now enjoyed being able to hit
the target.  Although it wasn't too different from holding a gun and
firing it, Leon had found that he needed more skill to get an arrow to hit
the target, and that provided a lot more satisfaction than just being
quick on the draw. 
	Going over to the range, he saw that Sylvie, Priss and Bert were
in adjacent lanes.  Leon noticed that, as usual, Sylvie was out for fun
while Bert and Priss were trying to outdo each other.  He still hadn't
figured out why they felt the need to argue, compete, and generally annoy
each other. Shaking his head, he took the lane next to Bert. 
	"Congratulations Bert, I saw the ring you gave to Nene last
night," Leon said as he sent his target down the range. 
	Bert's arrow went wild, hitting the floor halfway down as he
started to get a little green.  He didn't want to think about his
accidental engagement.  Neither did Bert want to think about how excited
his red headed girlfriend was.  The very thought of marriage, and the
responsibilities that went with it, scared the hell out of him.  The big
problem for him was that he couldn't tell Nene it was all a mistake. 
Disappointing her was something else that Bert did not want to
contemplate. 
	Priss smirked from where she was.  She and Leon had been getting
along better for the past few months, especially since he had decided to
stop trying to ask her out on dates.  Priss wasn't sure what had finally
gotten through to him, but she was glad.  Leon turned out to be a good
friend, once you got past his obsession for trying to go out with anything
that wore a skirt.  "Well, I already told him I'm going to sing at the
wedding." 
	Bert's next arrow also went wild. 
	"Would you two mind?"  Bert said irritably, "I'm _trying_ to
relax.  Reminding me that I'm now engaged is _not_ helping."  Grumbling a
bit, he recalled the target. Pulling the arrows out and placing them in
the quiver, he wondered how long Priss would bug him about this.  Knowing
her, probably for the rest of his life.  Bert then thought of the perfect
way to get Priss back, and, since she had called him little brother... 
	Grinning a bit, he turned to the brown haired officer, "Sorry
Leon.  It's just that my _Elder_ sister has been bugging me about it all
day.  Isn't that so Sylvie?" 
	Sylvie giggled getting the idea, "Yep!  Apparently Priss is trying
for a new record in 'How does one annoy _Younger_ brother?" 
	Priss looked at the two of them, "Hey!  I'm not _that_ old." 
	"You're the one that keeps calling me _little_ brother."  He
grinned, "You know, you'd look a lot younger, and a lot cuter if you wore
a frilled dress once in a while..."  Chuckling, he started to turn towards
his office. It was the last thing he remembered for a while. 
	Priss had taken the opportunity to deliver an uppercut that
knocked Bert out. 

***

	Hollister pondered the information that Doc had given him the
night before.  He hated Bert, but Doc was right, he had to look at the
long term view.  If Ikagawashii was correct, then this...being...could
help them with several projects currently underway, providing there was
sufficient motivation.  He looked through the file on his desk, examining
the stills of those people who consistently went into the archery range. 
Of these, there were five people whom he was known to be friends with. 

The first picture was of Sylvie: 

	The sexaroid they had captured before.  According to his
information, she was consistently in the company of the person in the
second picture... 

Priss Asagiri: 

	A minor singer with a strong following.  She had several
reputations, and a past that was in some ways as mysterious as that of
Bert's.  It was known that she liked to fight, loved weapons, and was
friends with at least two people from ADP, one of whom had tried to date
her several times... 

Leon McNichol: 

	Currently an Inspector with ADP.  He had a reputation for being
very officious, very law abiding, but was also known to have
a...strange... relationship with people wearing various types of powered
armour.  He had been reprimanded several times for letting the Knight
Sabers, and specifically SkyKnight, go when he had been ordered to detain
them.  There was also the time he was brought in for emergency surgery by
a black armoured figure.  He was known to get most of his information from
a young woman within the ADP... 

Nene Romanova: 

	She was a bit of a mystery.  She wasn't a fighter, nor was she
violent.  Her reputation for various types of chocolates and sweets was
legend, even among 'doughnut loving' police officers. She was highly
intelligent, with unknown, but extremely good sources of information.  It
seemed as though she was Bert's girlfriend.  However, if his supposed age
was accurate, it was very possible that she was his daughter or
grand-daughter.  She was also known to have a love-hate relationship with
a former aerobics instructor and stock market expert... 

Linna Yamazaki: 

	Here was another mystery.  She was known to be a friend of Bert's,
an able dancer, and a practitioner of the martial arts.  Records indicated
that she knew quite a bit about the stock market and how to make it work
for her.  There was also an indication that she handled more money than
was officially reported.  When in the club, she usually talked to... 

Anri: 

	Although she now had a last name, and a history, he knew she was a
sexaroid.  However, things had changed the most for her since they tried
to operate on Anri and Sylvie.  According to records, not only was she the
one of the clubs managers, but also a skilled helper and nurse at a local
clinic.  Still, she wasn't of much military use considering that she
didn't have any weapons enhancements. 




	Beside these pictures were individual photos of the six armoured
individuals collectively known as the Knight Sabers, five of which were
women.  Although he wasn't able to confirm it, he suspected that Bert was
the one who formed the Knight Sabers, a covert group of operatives who
were technically a mercenary organization.  If the assumption was that he
created these groups, an assumption that made too much sense once the
pieces were put together, then these six people were possibly the start of
a new team of covert operatives. 
	Looking them over, he picked up Nene's picture. 
	"If we had the right incentive..." 

***

	The main computer room in Sylia's building now had several piles
of output folders spread out. 
	Sylia sat up in her chair, sipping tea from a cup placed beside
her keyboard.  Getting up, she stretched, looking at the mess she had
created.  The leader of the Knight Sabers had to smile; it was usually
Bert that made a mess like this, but the disk contained some fascinating
files, technical specifications, plans, and weapons.  Some of which were
very...advanced. 
	As an example of that, on the main screen was the picture of an
amazing super computer system.  She knew that optical based technologies
were theoretically possible, but to have plans of a complete system,
including all the chips, was something that she had not imagined could be
contained on such a small disk.  And that was one of the smaller files. 
	Sylia looked at the screen, with a bit of wry amusement.  At the
moment the system would be impractical, if not impossible to build.  While
it was interesting, and she might be able to develop a similar system
based upon the pictures, notes, data, and technical specifications, it
would take an incredible manufacturing setup to produce the current
system. 
	Shaking her head, she wondered _where_ they found enough pure,
flawless, diamond to build the original machine. 

***

	Bert slowly opened his eyes to view the ceiling of his office. 
	"I take it you're feeling better Bert?"  a voice chuckled. 
	Groaning a bit, Bert sat up, and swung his feet to the floor. 
"Yeah,"  he winced, "Although my head feels like if it fell off.  What hit
me?" 
	Leon continued to chuckle as he handed his friend a mug of tea.
"Priss.  Who else." 
	Bert took a long pull from the mug, rolling his jaw slightly as
the pain of Priss' punch entered his brain.  It wasn't the first time that
she had been angry enough to hit him or smash him against something, but
it was the first time she had knocked him out.  He put his cup down and
started to rub his jaw.  "So, where are the tornado twins?" 
	"Sylvie took Priss up to the lounge to try and get her to calm
down."  Leon looked at his friend for a moment. "Tell me something.  Why
do you keep trying to annoy her?" 
	Bert shook his head and went back to sipping his tea. "Force of
habit I suppose.  We've sort of gotten used to trying to find things to
annoy each other with.  The more annoying the better."  He looked up at
the brown haired police inspector, "So, how long was I out?" 
	"About fifteen minutes."  Leon grew serious, "Do you have some
time at the moment Bert?  I need some advice and to warn you about an
incident that happened near here last night." 
	"Sure Leon."  He chuckled silently to himself.  For the past few
months, since his business opened to the public, Leon had been visiting
and telling him all sorts of interesting information.  Small tidbits
which, unknown to the ADP officer, helped him out with his SkyKnight
duties and functions.  Bert had reciprocated, offering some advice and
some technical help now and then.  It was a good easy relationship with
both of them relaxing more than anything else. 
	"Well, during the past few months, new weapons have been showing
up in the international marketplace.  According to some...reliable
information, these devices originate from here in Japan."  Leon started to
pace, seeming agitated. "Some of the information coming to us isn't good. 
Whoever they are, they've brought back the DD Battlemover." 
	Bert jerked suddenly, spilling his tea.  Leon was talking about
the group that had one person who had become the bane of his existence. 
He was talking about Hollister, the one who had hurt Nene and Priss,
tortured him, planned to enslave Sylvie and Anri, and was responsible for
the most inhuman weapons and devices ever created by man.  Bert and the
rest of the Sabers had seen the plans for the new Battlemover, and it had
been sickening to say the least.  The inhuman bastards had designed the
thing to either drive a human pilot crazy or to condemn a sexaroid pilot
to slavery. 
	Leon looked at Bert, "Yeah, the same device that almost destroyed
Mega- Tokyo a while back.  This version of the armour is...more insidious
to say the least.  According to our counterparts in Korea, the thing is
utterly inhuman." 
	Bert paled, knowing what the plans were.  Given what Leon just
said, and the fact that most beings did not consider boomers people, he
could just imagine what the Korean version of ADP had found.  He silently
cursed himself.  It was bad enough that Hollister was a constant torn in
his side, but he had forgotten the organization that backed him.  Given
what Leon just said, Hollister was now the least of his concerns.  Despite
the fact that Bert wanted to kill him, the bastard would be needed to get
information on these people.  "What...did they find Leon?" 
	"You don't want to know Bert.  You _really_ do not want to know." 

***

	Hollister looked at the picture of the red headed girl. Of all the
possible targets, she was the most likely to bring Bert to them.  This
would mean capturing her, despite the complications that could cause with
the ADP.  "Well Doc, what do you think of the plan?" 
	Doctor Ikagawashii looked at his copy of the file, and sat
pondering the advisability of procuring this young woman.  If they did get
a hold of her, it was possible that she would have the same abilities as
those of Bert.  It would be too dangerous to simply kidnap her and bring
her to their main facility.  He thought a bit at the supposed abilities
from the movies he had reviewed that morning, as well as the tapes of what
had happened.  Doc reviewed what he had learned. 

One: 

	The light sabers differed.  This was to be expected as each Jedi
designed their own Sabers to suit their individual personalities and hand
grips. 

Two: 

	He had mentioned his teacher, and the quote exactly matched those
from the movie. 

Three: 

	The lightsaber had presented the same impossibility as that of the
film, that of deflecting a laser blast. 

Four: 

	Bert's physical conditioning was similar to that of the movie's
Luke Skywalker. 

	He glanced at the intensive, yet scanty psychological profile that
they had put together from the little available information.  Three
hundred pages, which boiled down to the fact that he was a chivalric
person.  Bert was more than willing to put himself into danger for others,
and would frequently seem to go out of the way to rescue people.  He had
to be an innovative engineer who tinkered circuits together out of
available materials, which meant at some time he learned spitball
engineering.  His combat skills and weapons of preference were ancient,
being bows and arrows, swords, or bare hands, indicating an honourable
disposition and a preference to battle with a personal edge.  No one was
sure if it was because he liked to see someone bleeding up close, or
because he wanted to remind himself of the human factor.  The latter was
most likely, given that however practical he might be, Bert steadfastly
refused to kill if he didn't have to. 
	Doc then thought of the energy that changed his clothing and
caused the saber to seemingly appear.  He shuddered, as there were only
two real explanations for it; either a highly controlled, highly accurate
teleportation technique, something that would have to be centuries ahead
of their own technology, or control of the mysterious 'Force', which he
apparently had access to. 
	It would be a dangerous gambit.  If the girl had even minimal
training in the abilities of the Force, and the possibility existed, then
she would be as dangerous as Bert. They could not keep her awake, since
the Jedi were able to find their friends though feeling them.  There was
also the strong possibility of some psychic abilities.  He thought of that
for a second.  The Jedi's powers were similar to what Terrans would call
psychic abilities. Admittedly psychic abilities on a scale never before
recorded, but psychic abilities none-the-less.  If they kept the girl
sedated then he should not be able to detect her. 
	"It's possible,"  Doc stated, "but it will require a lot more
planning.  Are you sure that the surveillance team will be able to give us
her entire schedule?" 
	"Yes."  Hollister replied.  "They are to watch her, and where she
goes for the next two weeks.  That should give us enough time to come up
with something.  I'm already arranging for two safe-houses for whenever we
are ready to go.  What I want to know is, given what you told me last
night, is there any way to hold him?" 
	"We'd have to keep him drugged to prevent his escaping and this
might be a problem.  The drugs that would keep him complacent and the
truth drugs are not completely compatible."  The white headed scientist
commented. "Despite the fact that he looks and acts human, there is also
the strong possibility that his physiology may act unusually with the
drugs.  We have to be extremely careful about this, and make certain that
_we_ have control of his lightsaber." 
	The smile on Hollister's face was not pretty to look at.  "Count
on it Doc, count on it." 

***

	The underground chamber, which was a large darkened area, was as
silent and as deathly still as a tomb.  What little light there was had
several strange items under them. Items which seemed familiar, yet
unusual.  Prominently featured were three unusual vehicles, one that
looked something like a motorcycle without wheels, another that looked
somewhat like a car, and a very strange one that resembled a type of
aeroplane.  Another set of lights along one wall displayed a series of
armour suits, each in an individual glass cylinder, and their designs and
appearances was unusual to say the least. 
	An elevator opened and a red-headed man stormed out, walking to
the lab area.  Unhappy, angry, and filling the air with a number of
scathing remarks, Bert pushed open the door and almost slammed it behind
him.  He was responsible for the hurt a lot of people suffered.  Him.  No
one else deserved the blame.  Moving to one of the highly adjustable
tables, Bert tried to get his mind on putting together the armour suit
lying on top of it. 
	He soon gave up. 
	Looking down at what was supposed to be his latest hardsuit
design, he snarled with disgust.  It wouldn't matter what he built, what
he came up with, the new DD Battlemover removed the options of retrieving
the pilot alive.  Taking a piece of the unoffending armour plate, he threw
it against the far wall of the lab with some self- hatred at what he had
failed to do. 
	Bert sat down, wondering what the hell he was going to do.  He had
spent so much time redesigning the team's suits, adjusting them to each
person's particular preferences and abilities, that he forgotten what they
were facing...Bert now realized how hard a job Sylia really had.  Not only
did she keep the team going, get assignments, and ensure their safety, but
she also had to keep the overall picture in mind. 
	Bert had concentrated so hard on Hollister that he had lost sight
of what they were really facing. 
	He recognized that his problem with what was happening was part of
his over inflated feelings of responsibility.  If Bert had been successful
in removing Hollister and his group, shutting down where ever the bastards
were selling, designing, and building these new weapons, the people
trapped inside the DD's would still have their freedom.  He couldn't
imagine a worse crime against humanity that removing a person's right to
be who and what they were. 
	"What the hell can I do?"  he snarled to himself as he looked out
the lab window into the rest of his underground complex.  "No matter what,
people like that will still be around."  Somewhere in the back of his
mind, a voice whispered seductively that it didn't have to be that way,
that he could somehow fix things by putting on his suit and simply
blasting people out of existence. 
	Bert got up quickly and started to pace.  He had to come up with a
new plan of attack, something that would end Hollister's operation once
and for all. 
	"Be not so angry, my student.  Go, calm your mind and your heart
and then will your answer be." a voice said, coming from near one of the
larger laboratory tables. 
	Bert spun, recognizing the voice but not really wanting to listen
to it at the moment.  On the chair behind the table was a short figure
wearing an outfit similar to the peasants clothes from ancient Japan.  He
held a small irregular cane in front to him and his pointed ears twitched
with some amusement. 
	"Oh shut up Yoda!"  he exclaimed to the solid looking apparition,
one of the fortunate, or in this case unfortunate, side effects of the
Wild Magic that Darlene had accidentally blasted him with.  While the
little guy offered a lot of good advice, he wasn't really there, at least
not in the sense of being a real person.  'Yoda' was a part of his mind,
given life by Bert's own needs and emotions.  "In case you didn't notice,
designing hardsuits and the associated equipment helps me to relax. 
	Yoda hopped down to the floor and walked around the table. 
"Troubled you are by things that could not be helped.  A Jedi must learn,
to his regret, that he cannot solve every problem.  A Jedi can only do
what he can to aid those of the light."  He pointed to a seat over on one
side of the room.  "Quiet yourself and understand that what has happened
is done.  You may change the future as it is unformed, but you may not
change the past." 
	Bert took a seat and growled irritable at himself.  He had learned
the hard way that it wasn't always wise to argue with this part of
himself.  His mind tended to make what Yoda wanted to do a reality, at
least for him and any other person who was magic sensitive.  "So what
_should_ I do? It's my fault that people were used in those damn machines.
If I had come up with some way to get rid of those... inhuman... 
bastards, that armour would not be out there now.  Unfortunately, with one
already being in use, there are probably more out there, and that means
that people will be able to copy the thing." 
	Yoda shook his head, "Built this place, you have."  He waved his
staff at the entire complex, "The time comes when it will be needed, but
calm you must be.  You must at terms be with your limitations."
	Bert got up suddenly and walked towards the door, "I suppose, but
then again, I have a hell of a lot of limitations, and I don't intend to
let any more people get hurt."  He went into the elevator followed by the
pint sized midget and pressed the button for the entrance to his
recreation centre. 

***

	On the second floor, behind the closed door of a private exercise
room, Linna concentrated on the movements of the two red-headed figures in
front of her.  She had marveled at the grace and ease with which the two
girls moved.  It was like watching the ocean; a smooth, unbroken rhythm of
blocks and blows, strike and counter-strike which spoke of a large amount
of skill and training.  The pig- tailed girl was obviously better, more at
ease while her sister, Darlene, was on the defensive more often than not. 
	Of course, the _very_ high leaping that they were able to do was
what interested her at the moment. 
	Linna had looked at several of the visual and audio files that
were in the box, seeing attacks that at first glance did not make sense. 
Fists moving faster than the eye could easily see, fireballs being fired,
and diamond-like shields. The section on avoidance moves was uncannily
eerie. It seemed as if they could sense an attack before it had truly
begun, before the opponent gave a single muscular indication. 
	Knowing that most of this was well beyond her current, and quite
possibly future, abilities, she decided to start with something that
seemed relatively simple. 
	There was a knock on the door to the room, and Bert's voice wafted
in.  "Linna?  It's me, can I come in?" 
	"Sure, come on in." 
	He opened the door and stepped in followed by a short, pointed
eared companion.  Linna rubbed her eyes, thinking that somehow her vision
had been affected by the magic of the crystal.  She couldn't really be
seeing what looked like a combination martial arts master and alien being
rolled into one.  As Bert closed the door behind him, she sat down,
looking up and continually rubbing her eyes. 
	Bert looked at her with some concern, "Are you all right?" 
	Still covering her eyes, she said, "Bert.  Please tell me there
isn't some sort of alien midget next to you." 
	Bert started, somewhat warily at that statement.  "You can see
someone besides me?" 
	Yoda looked at her, his face crinkling with a small smile, "See me
she does, student will she be." 
	She looked at the small being who had made that comment and said,
"Student?  What do you mean by student?" 
	Bert looked uncomfortable as he slowly asked, "Linna, when my
armour arrived, what _exactly_ did you hear?" 

***

	Sylvie looked at Priss in a resigned manner. 
	She had finally gotten her to calm down, and, after a couple of
drinks, had gotten Priss to open up a bit about what was really bothering
her. 
	As usual, Priss was worrying about Bert's welfare and how his
being engaged would affect everyone.  It wasn't that she did not want Bert
to get married, but she didn't think it was the smartest idea in the
world, given that he and Nene had been going over a somewhat rocky stretch
in their relationship.  Bert was uneasy about doing anything to hurt
people, and although he loved the red-headed ADP officer, he tended to
stay away from deeper commitments until pushed. 
	Priss knew her little brother well enough to realize that their
outside activities was the main reason for his worry; he felt that Nene
should have a more stable relationship than with the combat-hardened war
machine that he had become.  She also knew the other, unmentioned, reason
that he tended to avoid relationships.  It was that he missed his
_original_ home, which was years and dimensions away. 
	"I _know_ he'll screw this up if we don't keep an eye on him." she
stated gruffly to her companion, "He's too damn shy for his own good." 
	Sylvie sighed as she looked at the brown haired singer sitting
across from her in the private booth.  Ever since she had arrived with
Anri, Priss had made her part of her family.  Originally, she supposed it
was because their personalities were similar, uncannily alike in so many
ways. The feelings between them had grown deeper however, from close
friends to being virtually sisters.  For the first time in her life,
Sylvie was treated as a real person instead of a machine, and she
cherished that. 
	That was why she loved Priss and didn't like seeing her friend
hurt. 
	Of course, the same could be said for the rest of the team.  Given
that Sylvie didn't really have a lot of friends, or a chance at a normal
life, she had taken every opportunity she could to spend with the few
friends she _did_ have.  Broken down, it was limited to basically Anri and
her fellow Knight Sabers.  Like Priss, she was loyal to their small
family, and worried about how the others, especially Priss, were doing,
but wasn't as pushy as her brown haired friend.  Sylvie kept thinking that
the singer would be better off if she would quit worrying about Bert. 
	"Bert will be, Priss.  You can't take care of him forever you
know." 
	"I know Sylvie, but he can be such an idiot at times. Give him
something to design or engineer and he'll spend days without getting some
rest.  Try and get him to talk about his personal feelings and he runs." 
She sipped the fruit and vitamin concoction, wishing that Bert allowed
alcohol on the premises.  "You know as well as I do that he'll hide if he
thinks he's making a mistake." 
	Sylvie smiled at that.  It was an accurate, if understated, view
of Bert's personal life.  He didn't make friends easily, and he tended to
shy away from most people. Wondering about that, she realized that almost
all of the people who made up the Knight Sabers were loners. 
	Sylia was a scientist who avoided chances to make friends, feeling
her duty towards people for the perversion of her fathers work was to
protect the public from its misuse. 
	Bert was originally from another dimension, somewhat afraid of his
feelings, and had a tendency to get lost in a laboratory or hardsuit
research. 
	Priss' past was too full of pain from losing people to opposing
gangs and boomers, something which hardened her heart against wanting to
be close to anyone. 
	Sylvie herself was afraid of getting close to people in case they
found out the truth about her. 
	The only two exceptions to this rule were Nene, whose personality
made almost instant friends of anyone, and Linna, who at least tried to
make friends. 
	She wondered if any of them would ever be free of the past. 

***

	Bert sat down against a wall as Yoda chuckled at the expression on
Linna's face.  She seemed to be taking it well, considering that she had
just been told that she could potentially perform magic.  Bert, however,
did not, could not take it as well.  While he had become more used to the
concept of magic, he still couldn't really stand how it defied the orderly
running of a universe.  After his experiences with Akane's exploding
cookies, not to mention Professor Kitamura's testing techniques, he was
weary of anyone having magical abilities.  His own magical powers and
abilities sometimes unnerved him, but Bert had gradually come to accept
them. 
	After all, his powers did not exactly have him casting spells, or
at least not many spells. 
	For some reason, his own abilities were rather limited. Whether or
not it was fortunate or unfortunate was up for debate, but it did bring up
some interesting, though somewhat unanswerable, questions.  He knew that
his abilities stemmed from the magical blast that he was hit with, but why
were _his_ particular abilities a seeming combination of psionics and
magic? 
	He went over the points in his mind of what he could do: 

One: 

	Revising and redesigning his suits with a lot of concentration. 

Two: 

	Making them repair and recharge themselves somewhat. 

Three: 

	Having them come and go from him at will. 

Four: 

	He was able to detect electromagnetic fields within a fifty metre
radius if he concentrated on detecting them. 

Five: 

	He was able to levitate some items if he maintained concentration. 

Six: 

	He was intuitively able to grasp the concepts of magic, something
he did not really understand. 

Seven: 

	He had faster and better reflexes. 

Eight: 

	He could heal himself after a fashion, although it took time. 

Nine: 

	If he concentrated, was able to form the magic field into a semi-
solid object within 2 metres of himself. 

	He looked up at the small figure who was quietly waiting for Linna
to come back to reality. 
	The major difference in his powers, and sometimes the major pain,
was the fact that his mind had created 'Yoda'. It was a representation of
the best of himself, his conscience, his humility, his willingness to
learn.  Yoda had once lived only in his mind, until he had decided that
Bert was ready to begin learning more; that he had grown calm and stable
enough to be able to really begin to handle his new abilities.  There were
times that he suspected that Yoda knew more than his mind did.  This was
supported by the fact that he came up with things that Bert had never
experienced, and didn't know some things that he had experienced.  The
little fellow was a questionable enigma, one that none of the magic
experts he had come in contact with could explain. 
	Linna looked at Yoda, then looked at the small magical box that
was still in front of her.  Her eyes opened wide. If she was able to do
something like that, was able to make something magical even if it wasn't
powerful or big, she would be happy.  Magic seemed like it was a lot of
fun to do. 
	"I would like to be your student Sensei."  she said humbly, bowing
low in an ancient formal bow, as she was already on her knees.  "What
shall I need to do?" 
	"Be yourself child.  When you have recovered yourself will we
begin." 
	Bert just groaned. 

***

Hitomi

Ichinohei Hitomi
Hitomi@terminal.autobahn.mb.ca
http://204.112.189.3/~hitomi
"The beginings of wisdom is the ability to always ask questions."