This is the fifth part of the "delta" revision of Bubblegum Collision.
This part received some of the heaviest modifications, and therefore I
would really appreciate C&C on it. Thanks for your time, and for
reading this.
Note : Awakenings part Two should hit the list either late tonight or
tomorrow, depending on response from my prereaders.
Stormwalker presents...
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 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 to
her life? The very thought brought a chill to her heart. It
was... it was too much to ask of her.
A tear rolled down her cheek, falling with a slight splash
on the back of her hand. Her left hand... her artificial hand,
she reminded herself. For a moment, she stared at that hand, so
smoothly integrated with her natural self. It was a part of her
now... just like the anger, and the hatred. She had changed...
but how so? Closing her eyes, she asked herself, "What have I
become?"
*****************************************************************
Stormwalker <stormwalker@airmail.net> proudly presents...
Bubblegum Collision
A Bubblegum Crisis fanfiction by Douglas A. Reeves
*****************************************************************
Part Five - No Outlet
"This is not good," Sylia thought, reading through the data
from Nene's hardsuit. "Limited production of the 34-CX class 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 in mobility and firepower, even to the most lethal of
the boomer's weapons 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 increase
was good, as it would allow for better systems in the suits, 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 learned that Sylvie must die.
So much emotion was bound up in their history together--Largo,
and Priss with her stubborn determination not to be beaten;
Vision, the reluctant warrior; Nene, and her ultimate vindication
as both Knight Saber and 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 darkness that
shrouded her soul was strong, and the urge to hate was powerful.
Her very heart and soul fought against it, but she feared that 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. Of late, she had found herself increasingly in
agreement with her, but the thought of becoming like her
frightened her. She could see no way around it.
Another realization struck her then. "They are very much
alike," Linna's words 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 fate? The thought overpowered
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 Sylia 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 was quickly becoming
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. In a way, this was her new
family.
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 taken from
her, and she could not shake the fear that it would happen again.
The inevitability of loss tore at her heart, until finally she
summoned the courage to suppress it. This time, she had a
choice; she had the power to fight, and she would not allow it to
happen again.
* * * * * * * * *
Priss had just arrived at her trailer when the wind began to
pick up. Pausing for a moment before ascending the steps, she
looked at what she could see of the sky. "Nasty storm tonight,
looks like," she judged. Just as she turned back toward her
front door, the trailer 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 cut her off. "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 threatened.
"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're awake?" Christine looked over at her.
"The phone woke me. I picked it up, but you had already
answered."
"You look terrible," Priss told Sylia bluntly.
"Just tired," she tried t o 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 interrupted. "She'll blame you for it."
"Christine, you call Linna," Sylia suggested as she went to
get some coffee.
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.
* * * * * * * * *
"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 said as she walked in. Immediately going to
the hardsuit storage, she looked back to say something to Sylia.
It was at that moment that all hell broke loose.
A powerful explosion blew the building's north wall inward,
spraying debris through the room. Linna caught a glimpse of
something moving on the other side, then the roof collapsed.
"Sylia!" she shouted, trudging through the debris to reach
her. She was half buried under pieces of wall and ceiling, and
by the time Linna reached her she was barely breathing. "Sylia's
down!" she screamed over the howling storm.
"Hell!" Christine cursed 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 in through the helmet. "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."
"I'll try... it's going to be hard to hover in this storm,
though."
Just as they got the last piece of debris cleared, Linna
came back in. "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 roof fell,"
Linna said.
"Long gone by now, no doubt," Christine scowled, trying to
shield the unconscious Sylia from the wind and rain. About
forty-five seconds later, the KnightWing was directly overhead.
Mackie lowered a cable, and Priss carried Sylia up to him. "Go
she shouted as she dropped back through the hatch, and Mackie
flew out as fast as he could go.
When Priss landed 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 very loud banging at her door. Clambering
out of bed, she ran to the door and looked through the peephole.
Upon seeing the other Sabers, minus Sylia, dressed for battle,
she let them in. "Where's Sylia?" she asked, fearing the answer.
"Hurt. Bad," Priss informed. "They found us, Nene."
Nene was stunned. For a moment, she was silent, then her
shock turned to 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 cold.
"I said, she didn't do it," Priss's temper began to flare.
"Wait," Linna interrupted. "We don't h ave time for this.
We've got to decide what we're going to do now."
"GENOM crossed the line," Priss answered. "It's us or them
now... this is war."
Nene nodded her agreement immediately. Christine, too, felt
a grim determination overcome her. Linna was more hesitant, but
even she realized that it was the only way.
"Tonight it ends," Starblade said deliberately, and even
Nene had to agree.
***********
End Part Five