Revenge Wars Episode IV "Revenge's End" Section IV 

*** 

Prime slowly, reluctantly returned to consciousness. The first thing he has 
aware of was of a dull ache in his left shoulder. Then, gradually other 
details filtered in. His arm felt confined, like it was bandaged, or in a sling, 
which was alright since he didn't feel like moving it anyway. He was lying 
on something hard, probably rock or a metal floor. And his head was 
pillowed on something soft. 

"I think he's waking up." A voice filtered in through the haze. 

Prime finally decided to try opening his eyes. He cracked one open, 
wincing at the unwelcome brightness coming from an overhead light. As 
his vision adjusted, he became aware of two figures looking down at him. 
Two _female_ figures. Two _redhaired_ female figures. 

Prime snapped to full awareness. He immediately tried to sit up, but pain 
flared in his left shoulder. 

"Arrrk!" 

He grabbed his shoulder and sank back down onto whatever had been 
pillowing his head before. 

"Careful." The voice he had heard before said. He finally recognized it as 
Kei's. "You wrecked your shoulder pretty bad." 

Prime's pain-dulled mind finally managed to figure out what was going 
on. He was lying on the floor in some kind of storage room, Nene was 
kneeling beside him, out of her armor and wearing only the skintight 
bodysuit all Sabers wore under their hardsuits, and behind him was Kei, 
which meant... 

... the soft something that was pillowing his head was Kei's lap. 

Prime lurched up again, this time making it into a sitting position despite 
the pain. He had never been prone to nosebleeds before, but he 
punched his nose shut this time just in case. "Wha... what are you...?!" 

Kei looked surprised for a moment, then colored deep scarlet. "Get your 
mind out of the gutter, you Hentai! It's not what you think!" 

Nene put a hand on Prime's good shoulder. "You were thrashing about 
when you we unconscious. We were taking turns holding you still so that 
you didn't do any more damage to your shoulder." 

Prime's eyes glazed a little as he briefly thought about two beautiful 
redheads holding him as he slept. He also briefly forgot that he wasn't 
supposed to consider Kei attractive. 

Kei noticed and smacked him across the back of the head. "Snap out of it, 
pervert!" 

"What?!" Prime protested, rubbing the back of his head. 

"I _don't_ want to be part of any sick fantasy of yours!" 

"What makes you think I would ever fantasize about an unattractive, flat-
chested bimbo like you? You've got about as much sex appeal as a..." 

"ENOUGH!" Nene interrupted. "Can't you two get along for five minutes?" 

Prime considered for a moment. He looked at his left arm, expertly 
bandaged and in a sling. Nene didn't have the field medical training to do 
this kind of job. Kei did. He looked back at Kei, then dropped his eyes 
guiltily. "Gomen nasai, Kei." He mumbled. 

Kei blinked, surprised at the apology. "Uh, no problem." 

Prime noticed Nene's upper right arm was bandaged. "Nene, are you 
okay? Your arm..." 

Nene blushed. "It... it's nothing. Just a minor burn. My suit took most of it. 
But if it hadn't been for you..." 

Prime had been focusing on Nene's eyes to keep his line of sight from 
wandering down to the more _interesting_ parts of Nene's bodysuit, but 
now the look of gratitude shining in her clear green eyes made him just 
as uncomfortable. He blushed and scratched the back of his head in 
embarrasment. The Cute Redhead Subroutine was in full overdrive at 
this point. 

Kei glanced from Prime to Nene. A small grin ghosted across her face. 
"*Ahem*. If you two don't mind, I'm going to check the hall to make sure 
none of those Pfhor things are lurking around." Kei got up and headed for 
the exit. 

Prime was suddenly faced with being alone with Nene. Technically this 
was a dream come true. Unfortunately his vocabulary had completely 
dried up. He desperately racked his brains for something to say to break 
the silence, but his mind had become a hissing white void. 

Finally Nene broke the silence. "Well, if you're okay, I've got to go work on 
my suit." 

<Suit?> Prime's short-circuited brain took a moment to figure out what 
she was talking about. <Right! The suit!> Prime got up and followed her. 
"Can I help?" 

Nene flashed him a smile which sent his mind into gibbering loops of joy. 
"Sure! I could use an extra hand." 

Prime continued on in his blissed-out state until he got a good look at 
Nene's armor. It was standing in a corner behind some crates, chest 
plastron open. The entire backside of the suit was blackened, but the 
worst was on the right side of the flight pack where the Pfhor energy blast 
had hit. Correction: the right side of what USED to be the flight pack. All 
that was left was a blackened, twisted mass of metal, plastic and slagged 
circuitry. 

Prime shuddered involuntarily. If the blast had impacted a thinner part of 
the suit, it probably would have penetrated, badly injuring, maybe even 
killing the occupant. Killing Nene. "It's pretty messed up." Prime said 
quietly. 

Nene nodded, seemingly focused more on the damage to the armor than 
the potential damage to her. She either didn't realize what could have 
happened, or more likely was purposely not thinking about it. "The main 
power reactor is really messed up. I've been trying to get auxiliary power 
working to get it mobile. But I don't have any tools." 

"I can solve that." Prime said. "Gli-Urrk!" Prime winced as he involuntarily 
tried to raise his left arm. "Okay, bad idea." He said hoarsely. He reached 
into the sling and gingerly detached the keytool from his left wrist bracer. 
He handed it to Nene. "Here, just tell it what you want." 

Nene looked skeptically at the device. "Umm, I need a philips-head 
screwdriver." Nothing happened. 

Prime laughed and took the keytool back. "No, you have to start the 
request with 'Glitch', then focus on a mental image of what you want." He 
held up Glitch in his good hand. "Glitch, screwdriver, phillips- head." 

The device whirred, transforming itself into a powered phillips-head 
screwdriver. Prime relaxed his focus and the device reverted. "I'm afraid I 
can't pass it off without it reverting back to normal. You'll have to do it. Just 
remember to hold your focus, otherwise Glitch'll revert." 

Nene nodded, taking the device from Prime's hand. "Glitch, screwdriver." 
The device transformed itself into another power screwdriver, similar to 
the first, also phillips-head. 

"It worked!" Nene exclaimed. "But I didn't say phillips-head!" 

Prime nodded. "Yes, but you were _thinking_ about a phillips-head. 
Glitch took the intent from the image in your mind. Being more specific in 
your requests isn't really necessary, but it's good insurance against 
visualization errors." 

Nene nodded her understanding. "Neato! How does it work?" 

Prime bigsweated. "Well, it, uh, uses mimetic nanotech thingies..." Prime 
sighed. "Would you believe I don't have a clue?" 

Nene giggled. Prime's IQ dropped like three week old beans followed by 
a laxative chaser. She knelt down and went to work removing panel on 
her suit. "Do you have any other tricks like this up your sleeve?" 

Prime was about to reply no, when he remembered his fight with 
Webdragon, and somehow shattering Webdragon's staff without touching 
it. "Well, maybe one or two more, but they need practice. A LOT of 
practice." He knelt down next to her to examine what she was working 
on, embarrassment slowly fading. 

*** 

Alpha Centauri blipped around Washuu's computer system, free as a 
bird. Well, if birds had a predilection for red haired females, that is. 

The HentAI had spent most of his time trashing the computer system's 
defenses, and was now free to roam the system almost without 
harassment. <*I can't believe Washuu's Guardian Programs were _that_ 
pathetic! After 20,000 years she must be getting senile!*> The Guardian 
programs, although powerful, were extremely stupid. He had managed to 
pick them off one by one, even getting a few to slaughter each other. 
They were like DOOM baddies. There were still a few around, but in such 
a large system they really didn't have a prayer of catching him. 

After wasting the Guardians, Alpha had focused on nailing the automated 
defenses. Not that they were being used all that much. After he had tired 
of darting around the system screaming '*I AM THE GREATEST*' over 
and over again, he had thought about it a bit. <Washuu _should_ have 
done more than send a few lousy Pfhor after them! Something's up.> 
Alpha tapped into the sensors, trying to locate his friends. Prime was in 
the middle of nowhere <WITH two extremely attractive redheads> Alpha 
grumbled mentally, inconsolably jealous. He was having trouble pinning 
down Wyrm-chan. Evidently her group had taken to blasting any sensors 
or cameras they saw. And then there was Zen's group. 

<Hmm?> Alpha checked their location. Sure enough, according to the 
map Zen and his entourage were very close to a transporter. <Maybe I 
should go give Zen & friends some hints. If they can get that transporter 
working, we can use it to get everyone back together.> With that thought 
Alpha skimmed down the data channels to a data terminal that Zen 
would be passing soon. 

Unseen by Alpha, a presence afforded a small smile. Everything was 
going as she had hoped. 

*** 

David sat at the bar, staring gloomily out of the window as he sipped his 
beer and wondered how he had managed to get himself into this mess. 

It had started simply enough. There had been a general meeting where 
Barry Cadwgan had given his report on the suspected mole, and the 
steps he had taken to try and ferret it out. Of course, David had asked the 
question why Security Division wasn't dealing with this. After the reply of 
'There IS no Security Division' he asked the obvious 'In God's name why 
not?!'. It turned out there was no Security Division because no one 
wanted the job: There seemed to be a fear of 'Red Shirt Syndrome' 
passing through the ranks. <Wimps. I bet none of them have considered 
the chances of survival in one of those clunky, built-to-lowest-cost- bid 
veritechs, either!> 

<Of course, no one told you that when you volunteered for the job, now 
did they?> he thought angrily. Hard to find good help when no one thinks 
they'll live long enough to collect a paycheck. Not that anyone got a 
salary, but...   

Well, getting goons wasn't likely to be a problem, he'd already put in an 
order for a number of 6-packs of ADPolice and Boomers, who should fool 
some people into thinking they were security, but good help was another 
matter. He had a contact for some efficient help, but they were all 
'normals'. That could be a problem with some of the characters around 
here. 

Find spy. Eliminate spy. That was his job, according to Frosty-usa. She 
had said it in a lot more words, of course, but that's what it boiled down to 
(anyway, he'd not been paying too much attention after the first 5 
minutes). 

Barry Cadwgan seemed willing to help, but there was something David 
didn't quite trust about him. He was hiding something, and what was 
worse was that Madigan was in on it. Not that David suspected Madigan; 
She was far too obvious, and didn't have access to the kind of data being 
leaked. Barry was a different story. 

<What I need is a telepath, or at least a high-level empath.> He thought, 
mulling over the problem. True, a Talia Winters type submerged 
personality would be near impossible to find if that was what was being 
used, but it was a start. 

Unfortunately, most of the candidates were unsuitable. There was 
Kyosuke Kasuga, but his abilities were too unpredictable. There was a 
group of ESPers calling themselves the 'Dangaio Team', but they were 
latent telepaths at best, and a bit young. He had also read a file on a 
young MONforcer who called himself 'The Prime Sagittarian' or some 
nonsense, who theoretically had the power, but seemed limited to 
computers. Besides, he had gone off to Washuu's lab, and was probably 
dead by now, if he was lucky. Then there were several vampires lurking 
around, but David trusted them about as far as he could throw them. 
Something told him that the undead didn't make the best security officers. 

Nightelf had the necessary ability and skill, but she was _pregnant_ for 
God's sake! David didn't mind putting an expectant mother in jeopardy if 
he hadn't alternate options, but what made her more unacceptable was 
the problems and mood swings her pregnancy caused that interacted 
badly with her abilities. Besides, Tofu had her sewn up pretty well as an 
assistant. 

<What I really need is help I can trust, without any reservations. 
Unfortunately, since this spy could be anyone, people like that are hard to 
come by.> 

He was still reviewing the list, and had worked nearly halfway down his 
4th pint when he suddenly realized that the bar had gone suddenly very 
quiet. Puzzled, he looked up to see what had happened, wondering why 
he hadn't heard anything... 

There was something _unreal_ about seeing someone you think you are 
familiar with from drawings standing in front of you in the flesh. For a start, 
no matter how good the anime, the real person differs considerably in 
appearance - like in having a normally proportioned body! And pictures 
on celluloid didn't have the feeling of _presence_ that this woman did. 

But it wasn't just that. As David stared at her, he couldn't drag his eyes 
away from her. She stood there, tall and slender, the dark fires of 
concealed emotion burning deep within the cerulean depths of her eyes. 
Blood-red hair fell in a long straight waterfall down her back, stray 
strands shifting slowly in breeze flowing through the open cantina door, 
two 'tails' parting it to show her delicately pointed ears. Clad in a tight 
blue bodysuit which showed a gymnast's lithe, small- breasted figure, 
over which she wore a black, well, bikini, some glowing panels on the top 
glowing faintly as shimmering pastel colours flickered across them. 

Despite that, her looks weren't the most arresting thing about her 
appearance. An air of controlled power, so intense as to be almost 
visible, surrounded her as she stood there with the easy, powerful 
assurance of a tigress. 

She looked around the bar, slowly, eyes flicking across the various 
patrons as she dismissed them from her consideration, until they settled 
on him.  She smiled very slightly, and walked up to his table, the other 
patrons of the bar instinctively getting out of her way. Many of these were 
also fleeing the bar, expecting the establishment to incur a rather large 
amount of property damage in the near future. David wished he could 
join them, but knew that trying to outrun this person was an exercise in 
futility. 

Standing, arms folded across her chest, she stopped in front of him and 
looked down at him. His mouth went dry, whether with lust, or abject 
terror. Probably the latter. 

"David Row?" 

David looked from side to side quickly, then realized with a sinking 
feeling that being on his own didn't give him much chance to pin the id on 
someone else. Especially since the last of the bar's erstwhile patrons was 
vanishing out the door. 

Looking at her, he licked his lips, fighting to keep a tremor out of his 
voice, and hoping that he wasn't sweating _too_ obviously. Intellectually 
he knew that the Revenges were over, that he was supposed to be safe. 
But looking at the woman in front of him, he figured that a little thing like a 
treaty wasn't going to stop her if she had a grievance. And after 
'Ragnarok Agenda', she probably did. "Ah... Yes?" 

"I've been looking for you." 

<I'm dead.> he thought, feeling strangely detached as he tried to 
remember if his Will was up to date. 

Surprisingly, instead of killing him, Iczer 2 sat down next to him, a 
graceful motion that made his mouth go even drier, all the while fixing her 
eyes on his. He forced himself to meet her gaze, despite the fact that he 
increasingly felt like he was drowning in those cobalt eyes. 

"I heard you are in need of the services of an empath." She said simply. 

David blinked. "H... huh? THAT'S what you're here for? I thought..." 

"I was here for revenge about your story?" She replied. "No, although I 
have read it, and it prompted this meeting. You see, I'm still searching for 
a partner... and I considered that you might be suitable..." 

David saw a quick smile flash across her face, as if she were playing a 
game with him. Suddenly she didn't seem so cold; although her face was 
still giving nothing away that small smile made her a lot more human. His 
mind raced through the possibilities, finally settling on one burning 
question; "Why me?" 

She looked at him slowly, her husky voice soft. "Because you don't see 
me as the heartless killing machine everyone takes me for." Then, even 
more quietly. "Answer my question, please." 

David thought about it. He had only been able to imagine what it would 
be like to be a partner with an Iczer. He wondered what he could possibly 
contribute to such a pairing, but somehow he knew that that was Iczer 2's 
business to worry about. She would be the perfect ally, someone who 
had the empathic abilities he needed, and he would be able to trust her 
implicitly. But Iczer partnerships were in many ways more intimate than 
marriages. Was he ready for that? There was far more to this than just a 
convenient way of getting an empath, and looking at her again he 
realized he had to be completely honest with her. Somewhere deep 
inside her he could sense a core of pain and distrust he couldn't bring 
himself to deepen, no matter how important his reasons. 

"I would be honored to be your partner." He said before he could change 
his mind, but as they left his lips he realized he meant every word. 

Iczer 2 smiled, the expression transforming her face into someone very 
special as it showed him the warmth and humanity he had instinctively 
known lay beneath the surface. He felt something else happening, her 
eyes seeming to widen as they drew his gaze forward, as if he were 
plunging into them, completely unable to tear himself away, although he 
knew he was sitting perfectly still. What happened next was beyond 
words, like trying to describe love to someone who had never 
experienced it, or a flower to a blind man. The best way to describe it was 
a _sharing_, not so much of thoughts, but of feelings, emotions. It was 
like they had swapped parts of their souls, although that didn't come 
close to describing it. David's vision swam as his mind was briefly 
overloaded with the new experience. 

When his vision cleared, Iczer 2 still sat there, but in his eyes she had 
changed. He now knew her, better than anyone else could or would, yet 
somehow she still retained a sense of mystery. He gave up trying to 
analyze what had happened and just let it _be_ , as he reached out, 
taking her slim hand in his own and squeezing it very gently. A small part 
of his mind was glad they were alone in the bar; while what had just 
happened probably wouldn't have registered, it was somehow a very 
private moment he didn't want to share with anyone else. 

"Well? I believe we have a spy to catch." 

Dave grinned. "Well, yes. But is it really that urgent?" 

She giggled softly, again surprising him with an expression that he'd 
never have associated with her, but which seemed to fit her so well. 

"I don't think so. Besides, I want to see where I'm going to stay here. Why 
don't you show me to our room?" 

Dave nodded, standing half upright before he jerked to a halt as the 
implications of her final words hit him. 

"Ah.... yes, of course! Why don't you come with me..." 

She nodded, grinning, and he realized she'd noticed his reaction, and 
seemed to find it amusing. He felt he was going to have to get used to 
this sort of thing. "Yes, lets... Besides, then all the people I scared out can 
come back and finish their drinks, can't they?" 

*** 

Ukyou, Webdragon, Kyone and Zen had traveled a good way along the 
maintenance tunnel until they decided that the Pfhor weren't following 
them. Zen called a break, to rest and figure out their next move. 

He touched Kyone-chan's uninjured shoulder and motioned her to sit. 
"Here, let Doc Zen take a look at that." He said, indicating her arm. He 
detached the small medkit from his belt, and selected a burn treatment 
spray from the limited selection. 

As Zen administered what little medical aid he could, Kyone-chan 
watched her other two companions. Ukyou leaned against a wall and 
stared out into space. The rage had left her eyes, leaving them haunted, 
drained. Webdragon was a totally different story. 

He was pacing. Not like a normal person paced. There was something 
_off_ about it. His posture, movements and body language kept shifting, 
like he was consantly shifting between two different people. He kept 
darting his eyes all about, and more than once Kyone thought she could 
almost detect a faint hint of something. *Something* that alerted her 
Magic Knight senses, but slipped away before she could catch it. Now, 
whenever he looked at anyone, there was no respect in that gaze, or 
anything resembling friendship. 

"How long has he been like that?" Zen asked her quietly as he bandaged 
her arm. 

Kyone-chan was a little surprised by the question, but recovered 
immediately. "I'm not sure when it started, but it became noticeable 
shortly after we got here. He's been getting steadily worse. You saw what 
he did to those Pfhor; The Webdragon we know isn't capable of that kind 
of cruelty." 

Zen nodded in agreement. "I think this started before we came here. I 
noticed little changes in his behavior weeks ago, but I didn't think 
anything of it." 

Kyone nodded. "Unfortunately there isn't much we can do about it now. 
Let's just hope he doesn't go totally feral on us." She winced as Zen tied 
the bandage a little too tightly. She noticed Zen was watching Ukyou 
rather than what he was doing. "Do you mind paying a little more 
attention to the wounded here?" She said. 

"Hmm... wha?" Zen's thoughts returned to what he was doing. "Oh, sorry." 

"You're worried about her, aren't you?" Kyone said softly. 

Zen nodded, returning his gaze to the despondent martial artist. "Zen 
knows how she feels. I've been through something like it." He shook his 
head. "She's full of rage and hatred, and she thinks she can handle it on 
her own." 

"Maybe she just needs to work it out by herself?" Kyone said, cautiously. 

Zen shook his head. "No. Right now, more than anything she needs to 
know that she isn't alone. I should talk to her." 

"That might be a bad idea." Kyone cautioned, remembering what Ukyou 
had done to that Pfhor. 

"That's what you said last time." Zen said, flashing his friend a smile, "And 
no, you can't have my stereo." He got up and walked over to Ukyou, 
avoiding the restlessly pacing Webdragon. 

"Ukyou?" He said softly. She kept staring into space. 

After a few moments, Zen thought she was going to ignore him, but after 
a moment she spoke up. "I... I've never really killed before. Not anything... 
_intelligent_, anyway." 

Zen leaned against the wall next to her. "Neither have I. Except in 
simulators, of course. It isn't fun." 

"That's just it." Ukyou replied. "I _did_ enjoy it. Every time I killed a Pfhor, I 
imagined it was the one that killed Ranchan... or even Akane or 
Shampoo. And once I was finished, all I wanted was to do it again. And 
again." She turned her eyes to him, almost pleading. "Zen, I don't want to 
be like that! I don't want to enjoy killing!" 

Zen didn't know how to respond. Finally he shook his head. "I... I don't 
know what to say. This is the realm of therapists and psychologists. But... 
you do feel regret for what you did. That has to count for something, 
right?" Even as Zen said it, he knew that it was a weak and pathetic 
statement. Finally he added. "I just can't see you as a killer, Ucch-Ukyou." 

Ukyou smiled weakly and patted his arm. "Thanks for the vote of 
confidence, sugar. And for listening. Maybe when this is all over I'll whip 
you up one of my special deluxe okonomyaki." 

"I'd... I'd like that." Zen replied. "A lot." He spent a moment just looking at 
her, studying the curve of her face, the blues of her eyes, the few stray 
strands of bown hair that fell across her face. 

"*Not that I want to break up this tender moment.*" A familiar voice said 
from a nearby data panel. "*But I believe we have a priority to get our 
rosy red asses out of here ASAP?*" 

Everyone charged over to the panel. "ALPHA!" 

The familiar, 3-D happyface grinned back at them from the small screen. 
"*Miss me?*" 

"So help me I'm actually happy to see you!" Webdragon said. "Where 
have you been?!" 

"*Oh, nothing... just kicking the crap out of Washuu's computer defenses!! 
Let it be truly said that I AM THE GREATEST! I AM THE GREATEST!!*" 

"Yeah yeah yeah," Webdragon said dismissively. "I'm sorry I asked. 
Where are the others? are they okay?" 

"*As far as I can tell they're fine.*" Alpha replied. "*Including that letch 
Prime, who's hogging two beautiful redheads all to himself. Lucky 
bastard!*" 

"Not if one of them is Kei." Zen said, smiling. "So I can assume that Nene 
is with them?" 

Alpha's expression went slack. "*Nene...*" 

Kyone leaned over and thumped the screen. "Not now, you little pervert! 
Where are they?" 

Alpha came back to reality. "*That HURT! They're actually a loooong 
ways away, so it'll take you a while to link up. Like several days. And just 
for hitting me, I'm not gonna tell you where the transporter is.*" 

"Transporter?!" Webdragon yelped. "There's a transporter around here?! 
WHERE?!" 

"*Well GEE, I dunno, Webby. I think Kyone damaged some of my data 
files when he thumped me. It's kinda foggy...*" 

Webdragon extended his armor's claws and stared at the screen where 
the happyface was situated. Alpha stopped looking quite so happy as 
Webdragon silently stalked towards him. 

Ukyou put an hand on his shoulder. "That isn't necessary, Webdragon." 

Webdragon looked back at Ukyo. His face softened, and for a brief 
instant he looked like his old self. He silently stepped out of the way. 

Ukyou pushed in front of the screen. "Hello, _sugar_" She said, putting a 
seductive lilt into her voice. 

Alpha started to sweat. "*Uhh... heh heh. Hi Ukyou.*" <*She's not a 
redhead! She's not a redhead!*> 

Ukyou stroked one finger lazily along the screen. "You know, It'd mean a 
_lot_ to me if you told me where that transporter is..." 

Sweat poured in rivers down the HentA.I.'s face as he watched 
mesmerized as Ukyou's finger stroked along the bottom of the screen. 
<*Not a redhead!! NOT A REDHEAD!!*> 

"... And you know that if you told me, I would be _eternally_ grateful..." 

<*NOT... aww, the hell with it!*> "*Follow this corridor down to the next 
intersection, take a left the exit through the first access port that you 
see!!*" 

Ukyou grinned. "Thanks, sugar!" She looked at the others, her eyes 
showing a little of the old Ukyou's spark. "Well? What are you waiting for? 
Let's go!" 

Alpha was left to stare after them. "*HEY!! WHAT HAPPENED TO 
ETERNALLY GRATEFUL?*" 

*** 

Eric buckled the last clasp on the body armor. It felt a bit snug, but it was 
the closest Wyrm had in his size, and it didn't seem likely he was going to 
let Eric take one of the Mantis suits for a spin. Eric pulled on his 
Trenchcoat of Doom over the armor, doing a quick check to make sure it 
was well stocked with explosives. 

Eric's double in black was hovering over him, as always. "Are you sure 
you should risk yourself like this, Master?" 

Eric tried to look confident. "Washuu paid me a visit, I figure I should 
return the courtesy." 

Hok Pau was not fooled by his master's bravado. "She is very powerful, 
Master. Possibly powerful enough to counteract the effects of the Guide. 
Facing her in her home territory is not wise." 

Eric shook his head. "Like I told Wyrm, the Guide does NOT leave my 
possession. This was the deal and I'm sticking to it." He adjusted the 
collar on the trenchcoat. "And would you _stop_ with the 'Master' bit 
already?" 

Hok Pau looked hurt. "But to call you anything else would be 
disrespectful, Master!" 

"Look, I already told you, I'm not a God, or a Feudal Lord, or anything else 
deserving of the title." 

"That's obvious." A voice said from behind him. Eric turned to see Wyrm 
standing in the doorway. "Are you ready?" 

"As I'll ever be." Eric replied. "Where's Nitro?" 

"Nitro, Wyrm-chan and me are the only ones with Admin status on the 
MON computer system. Without it, the weapons systems can't be 
activated. One of us has to stay behind." 

"I bet he didn't protest too hard." Eric muttered. 

"I didn't give him a choice. The _Marathon_ is MY ship. I give the orders." 
Wyrm said coldly. 

"I'll keep that in mind, _Captain_." Eric replied. "So, do we have a plan, or 
is this just a standard dumb heroic rescue?" 

Wyrm shook his head. "I assume your guide can take us to a specific 
place in Washuu's lab?" 

Eric nodded. "More or less. Why?" 

Wyrm handed him a datapad. On the screen was a schematic of a 
section of Washuu's lab. "This is the location of one of her transporters. 
She used them to move things around quickly. We arrive there, then use 
the internal sensors to lock onto our friends, beam them all into one place 
and get out." 

"That simple huh?" Eric replied, feeling a little hopeful. 

"Probably not." Wyrm said. "Let's go." 

Eric slumped. "I KNEW I was gonna regret this." 

*** 

While they repaired Nene's armor, Prime took the opportunity to try and 
get to know Nene better. Sure, he had seen all the BGC OAVs, but that 
didn't mean he _knew_ her. She told him about how she had faked her 
age to join ADPolice (which they STILL hadn't clued in to), and how she 
had found the hidden recruiting message that had led to her joining the 
Knight Sabers. Prime smiled as he realized that Wyrm had stolen the 
idea in recruiting him. Nene obviously loved what she did, and not just 
the excitement, or the cloak & dagger aspect, but the fact that they 
actually helped people. Prime had to agree, wondering if he would have 
joined for such altruistic reasons. Getting a hardsuit would have been 
enough of a perk for him. 

Conversely, Nene seemed genuinely interested in his mostly boring life. 
When he started into his short career in MONforce, he almost wished that 
he had played a more active combat role, but Nene seemed more 
interested in his hacking exploits. 

"... So while Wyrm pulled this little holographic sideshow, Alpha 'n me 
sliced our way into the fleet's computers and did some reprogramming to 
their targeting computers. Zentradi and Invid don't like each other much 
under the best of circumstances, so..." Prime noticed Nene looked sad. 
Her eyes dropped and he swore he saw a tear drop to the floor. <Oh 
damn...> Prime cursed himself mentally. <Smooth, Prime. Real smooth. 
At the same time you were reaping digital glory, Nene and her friends 
were fighting and dying against the Pfhor!> "I'm sorry, Nene. I didn't 
mean..." 

"It's okay." She said, wiping her eyes. "You didn't have anything to do with 
that." 

"Don't be so sure of that." Prime said quietly. <Go on, tell her you jerk! 
She deserves to know!> 

"What do you mean?" 

"I sent Mike Loader the Plot Hole." 

"What?" 

"I sent him the plot hole he used to invade Fred, the one the Pfhor used to 
enter this continuity." 

Nene looked horrified, like Prime had just turned into a tentacled slime 
demon. Prime felt his heart cracking like an eggshell. 

<*Yo! Mr. Prime Sagittarian!*> Alpha's voice echoed in his head. 

<Not now, Alpha!> Prime replied angrily. 

<*Look, you might really want to know about this...*> 

<Go away!> 

Alpha paused for a moment. <*You told Nene about the plot hole, didn't 
you? You MORON!*> 

<LEAVE ME ALONE!!> 

Suddenly Prime felt a tingle spread throughout his body. Nene felt it too, 
from the surprised expression on her face. Then she began to dissolve in 
sparkles of light. 

"NO! NENE!!" Prime cried, but he too was dissolving, and he found he 
couldn't move. His vision was obscured by dozens of sparks. He idly 
wondered why being disintegrated didn't hurt more. 

Then the sparks faded, and he found himself kneeling on a small circular 
platform. Nene was beside him and on another pad Kei looked surprised 
and somewhat annoyed. At the other end of the flat gray room in a small 
control booth stood Zen, evidently responsible for the transport. 
Webdragon, Kyone-chan and Ukyou stood next to the control booth. 

<Alpha, what the hell just happened?> 

<*I WAS gonna tell you that I lead Zen and his cadre to a transporter, but 
you were being such a JERK you didn't give me the chance!*> The 
somewhat miffed HentAI replied. 

"Is Priss here?" Nene asked hopefully. Zen regretfully shook his head. 

"I'm afraid not. We think she's with Wyrm-chan and Yuri, but they've been 
blasting the sensors in their local area, so we can't get a good lock on 
them." 

Kei walked over to the control booth. "Sensors?" 

Zen nodded. "Yeah, there're sensors installed all around the lab, all of 
them tied into the transporter system. We used them to lock onto you 
three and beam you here." 

Kei looked disturbed. "Well, if it was that easy, why hasn't Washuu just 
locked onto us and beamed us into a glass jar or something? I mean, I'm 
no super genius," Prime snorted his agreement, but Kei ignored him. 
"And its pretty obvious even to me!" 

"Yeah, we thought of that, too." Ukyou said. "Something's up, and I think 
we should probably get out of here before we find out more than we want 
to know about it." 

"But we haven't got the data on (?)'s location!" Nene protested. 

Everyone blinked. They had all totally forgotten about that! 

Ukyou finally shook her head. "I think we'll have to give up on it. We don't 
know where the data is, and the longer we stay here the more likely we'll 
become permanent residents." 

A screen on the wall lit up, displaying a smug-looking Alpha Centauri. 
"*_Ahem_. Who said we don't know where the data is?*" 

"You've got it?!" Zen asked, incredulous. 

"*Umm... well, not exactly. But I know where it is!*" 

Prime stood and walked over to the screen. "Where is it?" 

"*I found a reference to it in the main computer.*" Alpha said. "*It's in a 
protected archive, sealed off from the rest of the system physically so I 
can't get to it. But I DO know it's location!*" a set of coordinates 
downloaded into the transporter. "*All you gotta do is download me into 
the data storage unit, beam in and plug me in. I'll have it in no time. Then 
we bug out. Simple, HIja'?*" 

Prime grinned. "Alpha, if I didn't know better I'd call you brilliant! I'll just..." 
He grabbed at his belt, suddenly realizing he was missing something. 
"Oops." 

"'Oops'?" Kyone asked. "What 'Oops'?" 

"I lost the data storage unit." Prime said sheepishly. 

"*You WHAT?!*" Alpha croaked. 

Kei threw her hands up in disgust. "You are really useless, do you know 
that Sagittarian?" 

Prime felt like he was three inches tall. They had found a way to finish the 
mission, and he had screwed it up through carelessness. His guilty mind 
abruptly churned out possibility, something he wouldn't have considered 
otherwise. "There is a way." 

"There is?" Kei asked, surprised. 

"*There is?*" Alpha asked, equally surprised. 

Prime nodded. "We can use Glitch to simulate a data unit." 

"*Oh.*" Alpha said quietly. "*_That_.*" 

Prime took a deep breath. " The data unit will have to be of _incredible_ 
density to store Alpha's code. To keep Glitch in such a complex form will 
require constant concentration, more than an average human mind is 
capable of." 

Zen nodded. "But a non-average mind, let's say one composed of a 
human and an AI mind, is?" 

Prime nodded. "I have to be the one to go." 

"You're not telling us everything." Nene said. "What else?" 

Prime sighed. Of all people, he couldn't lie to Nene. "The catch is, that if I 
break concentration, even for a second, the data unit will be destroyed, 
killing Alpha." 

"Not a big loss." Kei said. Alpha stuck his tongue out at her. 

"And me." Prime finished. 

"What?!" Webdragon said. "But..." 

"My neurological makeup is unstable as it is." Prime said. "Alpha's 
destruction would cause me a massive neural shock. The neural limiters 
might actually prevent me from suffering terminal brain damage, but I 
would be a mindless vegetable for the rest of my life, at best." 

Ukyou shook her head. "WAY too risky, sugar. I'm not willing to let you fry 
your brains for something that MIGHT be there, that MIGHT help us in this 
war. Things are too iffy as is." She pointed at his sling. "Besides, you're 
wounded. That can't help your concentration any." 

Prime was almost relieved. 

Alpha wasn't. "*Umm, guys? There's one other thing I kinda forgot to tell 
you.*" 

Everyone looked at the HentAI, who squirmed a little. 

"*I DID find a set of coordinates in Washuu's computer system. 
Specifically, the ones for Fred.*" 

Prime felt his relief turn into ice-cold dread. "Washuu has Fred's 
coordinates?" 

The 3-D happyface was replaced by a tactical grid. On it were too many 
blips to count. "*There's a fleet massing to invade. They ship out today. 
Washuu sped up her lab to Fred-time to accommodate the invasion.*" the 
grid zoomed in to the largest blip, which resolved into what looked like a 
metallic asteroid with a chunk out of the center. "*THIS is the biggest 
worry.*" 

Prime recognized it, although no one else did. "Oh shit." 

"What is it?" Kyone asked, struck with a sudden sinking feeling. 

"An Evoluder Battle Planet." Prime said. He held Glitch up to the screen 
Alpha was on. "Glitch, download." 

Kyone-chan scratched her head. "What the hell is an Evoluder Battle 
Planet?" 

The device whirred as it was suddenly forced to accommodate the 
massive source code of a rampant AI. Prime turned without a word and 
got onto the transporter platform. 

"What do you think you're doing?" Ukyou asked. 

"Going to get those coordinates." Prime replied. 

"Not a chance, sugar!" 

Prime fixed her with a cold stare. "If we don't find a way to take down (?) 
before that battle planet reaches Fred, we're all dead. And I don't recall 
asking your permission." He closed his eyes and concentrated, 
overriding the transporter controls and locking transport onto the 
coordinates Alpha had downloaded into the system. He dissolved in 
sparkles before anyone could stop him. 

*** 

In the commissary, Madigan was, as usual eating alone. She was, after 
all, a villain. 

Barry had made one of his rare forays out of his design office - test lab - 
construction zones routine on a quest for food!  Unfortunately he had 
found the commissary... 

Kate looked up as he sat opposite her. 

"Not afraid of catching the 'Madigan factor'? " She said, returning her 
attention to her coffee. She seemed to be debating whether drinking it 
was actually safe. 

"They're still shutting you out?" Barry asked, a little concerned. <You 
would think that after all the work she's done for us...> 

"I'm no fool, I tried, but when everyone stops talking when you walk in, it's 
pretty obvious..." 

Barry shook his head. "Damn. You're the best administrator I've ever 
seen, you work your guts out and..." 

"You said it yourself on the net... 'workaholic, professionally suspicious, 
bloody handed moral vacuum...'  I think it was..." Madigan said dryly, not 
meeting his gaze. 

"Touche... However, I _also_ said 'very smart, loyal and courageous'  not 
qualities to be despised." 

"Flattery will get you nowhere." 

"If it did, I'd get suspicious. Any regrets?" 

Madigan considered for a moment. "Of course, _I'm_ only human. But I've 
made my choices." 

"Why did you accept?  The other side would have welcomed you with 
open arms." 

She smiled slightly "Still looking gift horses in the mouth.  _You._   Are 
you sure you won't reconsider?" 

"No Kate, I don't trust you _That_ far" 

Kate's face fell a little before she regained her neutral schooled 
expression. "You'll have to one day. It won't go away." 

"Perhaps." He looked down at his plate "Geeze this looks awful! Do they 
have C-ko or Lum programming the menu?" Barry got up, reaching for 
his toolbelt and vowing to either get the food processors to produce 
something edible or to rewire them into something less harmful like low-
yield nuclear weapons. Before he could leave, though, he caught a 
glimpse of Madigan's guard dropping. 

It fell for perhaps a second, no more. But in that second he could see that 
she looked tired. And... Lonely. 

It was gone just as quickly, replaced by the aloof, self-contained Madigan 
that needed no one. 

Barry sighed and sat back down. If Madigan showed no outward 
reaction. 

"So... how's your hot water heater working?" 

*** 

Fate has its own agenda, that much is obvious. But sometimes Fate's 
agenda and yours coincide nicely. 

That's exactly what happened when Wyrm-chan, Yuri and Priss 
staggered into a transporter room, low on ammo and exhausted. And, as 
Fate would have it, it was also the transporter Wyrm had chosen to 
appear in. 

Wyrm's arrival was not as flashy as most other methods of transport. One 
instant nothing, then next he just _was_, along with Eric Jones and his 
black-clad double. 

Wyrm-chan blinked. "Wyrm-sama?" 

Wyrm seemed as surprised to see her as she was him. He took a 
tentative step forward, then to everyone's surprise grabbed Wyrm-chan in 
a fierce hug. 

"Damnit Dee-chan, don't EVER do that to me again!" He whispered in her 
ear. 

This close he unconsciously 'pathed to Wyrm-chan, allowing her to 
feeling the worry he had felt but not been able to express, and something 
else that caused her to blush. Then it was gone, so abruptly that she 
wondered if she had actually felt it at all. 

Wyrm pushed her to arms length, staring hard into her eyes. "When we 
get back you and I are going to have a good long talk about following 
orders..." 

"I think we should get out of here first." Eric said nervously. He could 
almost _feel_ Washuu coming for him. 

Wyrm-chan glanced around Wyrm to see who had spoken. "Eric? Wyrm 
you _didn't_!" 

"I had no choice!" Wyrm replied, a little angrily. "Washuu has blocked 
everything else." 

"First we have to find everyone else." Yuri said. She extended a data jack 
from her scanner and plugged it into the transporter console. "The 
signals have shifted again. Kei and Zen are now in the same place!" 

"How did that happen?" Wyrm-chan asked, examining the readings over 
Yuri's shoulder. "They were several kilometers apart when we last 
scanned them!" 

"Zen must have found a transporter." Yuri replied. 

"Then why didn't they beam us over too?" Priss asked, flipping up her 
visor. 

Wyrm-chan smacked her forehead. "Because we've been blowing up all 
the lab sensors to keep Washuu from locking onto us! Without them they 
can't get a solid lock!" 

Wyrm frowned. "And they didn't? Then why didn't Washuu lock onto them 
and beam them into a containment facility or something?" 

"Good question." Wyrm-chan replied. 

"Wait, one of them just beamed out." Yuri said. 

Wyrm-chan checked the readings. "That's Prime." 

"How can you tell?" Yuri replied. 

"From the neural output readings. We recently did a scan of them, and 
they _are_ rather unique." 

"So what are they doing?" Eric asked, nervously. All he wanted was to get 
out. He reached into a pocket of his trenchcoat and fingered a grenade 
nervously. 

"I don't know. Yuri, can you establish a communications link between us 
and them?" 

Yuri shook her head. "I don't think so. Something seriously scrambled the 
system. The damage is almost totally random, too. 

Wyrm and Wyrm-chan exchanged a glance. "Alpha." They said in unison. 

*** 

Prime materialized in a large room, filled with banks of humming 
computers. He immediately downloaded Alpha into the nearest bank. 

"Well, so far so good. What have you got?" 

Alpha frantically searched through the computer system. It SHOULD 
have been crammed to the gills with data, but the whole thing was 
echoingly empty. Dead and cold. 

"*Prime, there's nothing here!*" 

"Are you sure? It HAS to be there!" 

"*I'm sure! This whole system is dead!*" 

Prime fought down a sense of panic. <Easy, easy. I'll just contact the 
others and have them beam me back, that's all.> Belatedly he realized 
that he should have set up some way of communicating with them. 

"Can I help you with anything?" 

Prime spun to see a slight, red-haired girl of about twelve standing before 
him. Her green eyes belied intelligence and experience far, far greater 
than his own. 

Her smile was pleasant and nonthreatening. It sent chills racing along his 
spine. 

"Washuu." He said hopelessly. 

***