It's been about two months since I posted the last part, but I finally
tracked down and cornered my inspiration, and beat it senseless.  ^_-
Here's the result.  C&C greatly appreciated.  Oh, and if you need any of
the previous parts, let me know.  :)

				----------

BGC/WHO:  Slipt, part 9.

	Largo's words hung heavy in the cold night air.  "Bring me the
Time Lord's time capsule," he had said.  An impossible demand.
	The Doctor opened the door, and stepped out of the Knight Sabers'
van, frowning at Largo's back.  "And what if the Time Lord doesn't agree,
Chairman?" he answered, provoking a round of gasps.  "Chairman??" Sylia
wondered aloud.  "But *how*?"
	Largo answered, his face draining of expression for a moment.
"When the orbital laser hit me, I was disoriented.  I fell from the
pinnacle of the Tokyo Genom Tower, and my body was shattered irreparably."
Then he smiled cruelly at Sylia, visibly savoring her pained reaction.
"But my mind lived on, and yearned for revenge.  A new body was
constructed for me, similar to the last, yet different enough to give me
the necessary degree of anonymity I needed to ascend the ranks of Genom
once again."
	He turned to face the Doctor once more.  "Time Lord, you are no
match for me.  Your one weakness, your irrational sense of compassion,
shall cost you dearly."  His grip tightened around Linna's waist, and
there was an audible cracking sound.  "You *will* give me your time
capsule, or this one will die, very, very slowly."

	Ace tensed, and turned from Largo to the Doctor, who was standing
in front of the van, waiting.  Waiting, and weighing the lives in the
balance.
	The Doctor hesitated for a long moment...then silently nodded,
his shoulders slumping in defeat.  Largo smiled, and began to laugh.

				*	*	*

	The ride back to Raven's Garage was interminably long.

	Sylia kept her thoughts to herself, but she had no end of
unanswered questions.  "I still don't trust the Doctor," she thought with
a sigh, "but he's giving up a lot to help us.  Why?  He has to have a
motive.  Everyone has a motive.  Everyone..."
	She shook her head to clear it of the suddenly stirring memories.  
Memories of her father's death, and her brutal, bloody indoctrination into 
the real world.  Genom had been the harbringer of much good, she thought, 
but also of great evil.  Her own motives, she knew, were an earnest desire
for balance.  The continual balancing of good and evil, the eternal battle
of light and darkness.  The battle that would never end, even long after
the Knight Sabers had ceased to be.
	She took some comfort in the fact that her father hadn't put his 
years into Genom for nothing.  And even, in a perverse sort of way, she had 
Genom to thank for her almost familial ties with the other Sabers.

	Largo had refused to ride in the van.  He had said he would meet
them back at Raven's Garage, with Linna.  Ace didn't have much trouble
believing it, from what she knew of boomers.  And Largo wasn't human, she
was sure.  But the Doctor had to be planning something.  Why risk this
maniacal creature rampaging through time on behalf of one life?  Even on
behalf of all of them, though she wasn't so sure she would have the
courage to die for a lofty ideal.
	No, the Doctor was more cunning than perhaps Largo gave him credit
for, she concluded.
	Ace stared morosely at the road ahead, barely conscious of her
driving.  The van hit a bump in the road, bringing forth a chorus of soft
moans.  The same mournful fear gripped them all, for they all knew what
awaited them at the garage, and none were ready to face it.  These
vigilantes must have been active for some time, to have developed such
feelings for each other.  And now, their secret was as much as revealed.
	It just wasn't fair, she cried inwardly.
	The van rolled to a stop at a busy intersection.  Ace gave a
halfhearted, ironic bark of a laugh when she realized where she was.  The
AD Police building loomed overhead, though there was no sign of the damage
the boomers had caused only a few weeks ago.
	The light changed, and she sped away.

	The Doctor was at a unique disadvantage this time, facing an
adversary who not only understood the concept of time travel, but was
powerful enough to crush anyone who stood in his way, to get it.  Stopping
him would take a crazy scheme without a prayer of working, not a little
luck, and a miracle or three.
	"Ace," he whispered, his mind finally made up.  She grunted.
	"When we get back, give me your boom box from the TARDIS.  We'll
need it."
	She grinned impishly.  "I knew you had a--"  She paled, her
expression changing to one of horror.  "You aren't going to give him the
TARDIS!?"
	Not very long ago, they had foiled a plot by a race of pepperpot-
shaped cyborgs to steal a prototype Time Lord star manipulator, and her
1990's boom box had been atomized.  The Doctor had built her another,
including such handy gadgets as a spacetime scanner, among other things.
It was quite capable of tracking the movements of the TARDIS through the
space-time continuum.  Ace had realized that he meant to use it to do just
that.
	The Doctor continued without answering.  "Then hide in the TARDIS
until he lands," he said, and handed her a small, silver disc.  "Keep that
handy.  We won't be able to find you without it."
	Ace nodded mutely.
	The Doctor turned to gaze at the darkening city skyline, heaving a
barely audible sigh, and contemplated the enormity of what he was about to
do.  Even a noble Time Lord like himself was not immune to fear.

				*	*	*

	Only minutes later, Ace brought the van to a screeching halt in
front of Raven's Garage, and sighed at the extensive damage.  Raven had
apparently put up quite a fight before he scuttled, forced to leave the
Sabers to deal with Largo alone.  Laser blasts had blackened and even
melted the superstructure in places, but Ace could see scattered debris
from explosions in the parking lot around it as well.  But, there was no
sign of Largo now.
	She idled the engine and let the van crawl forward on the idle,
towards the shattered doors.  In the rear of the van, Mackie finally
spoke up.  "What a mess.  Damn, it'll cost us a fortune to rebuild."
There was apparently a viewscreen in the back to see outside.
	"Rebuild?"  Ace heard Sylia say.  "Rebuild??"  She nearly
screeched.  "No, not after this.  We're finished."
	For a few seconds, the intercom was silent again.  "Shit,"
muttered Ace under her breath.  "I think she lost it..."  "B-but Sylia,"
said Nene, the shock evident in her voice, "we can move to another--"
	"No," she interrupted.  "No.  Genom's found us, and we're not safe
any more.  We just can't go on.  I..."  Sylia hesitated.  "I can't go on,"
she croaked.
	Had Sylia finally snapped? Ace wondered nervously.  The pressure
of her profession, the loss of her arm, their discovery by Largo...it must
have finally broken her, Ace thought remorsefully.
	"It's not over yet," said the Doctor over the intercom, stifling
Ace's melancholy speculations.  "But it's going to get worse.  Much
worse.  You had all better be prepared for it."
	"Well spoken, Doctor," said a deep voice in the thick of the
gloom.  Slowly, the flickering headlights picked out a gleaming metal form
walking toward them.
	They all stepped out of the van together, as Largo continued.
"How touching, to see the ice lady finally crack," he said emotionlessly.
Sylia glared wordlessly at him.
	"Where's Linna?" growled Priss.  "You're not getting anything
until we see her."  Largo laughed once in derision, a hideous sound.
"Such loyalty."  He took a few, measured steps, and prodded at a still
form on the ground with his foot.
	Linna moaned softly.
	"Time Lord," he said flatly, meaning to finish the matter.  The
Doctor shook his head.  "What do you hope to accomplish with my TARDIS?"
	Largo harrumphed, and then smiled slowly.  "It's quite simple.
You--all of you--have a choice.  The Knight Sabers have outlived their
usefulness, and I intend to be rid of you forever.  Whether you live or
die is up to you."
	"How do you mean?" said Nene.  "What are you going to do to us??"
	"It is easily within my power to kill you where you stand," he
said.  "Like hell!" roared Priss, and raised her arm towards Largo, but a
flick of his hand sent her flying backwards in an explosion of superheated
air.  "SILENCE!  Fools..." he sneered.  "Realize when you are beaten.  I
mean to erase you from history, forever.  Oh, you will live out your
pathetic lives, but the Knight Sabers shall be no more."
	"That's...that's monstrous," Sylia whispered, without looking up.
"Life or death, and you shall choose, Sylia Stingray," he said.

	Something inside Sylia crumbled, as a single, overriding thought
suddenly rose up within her.  "He cannot take them away from me.  The
Sabers are all I have left!"  Without warning, she screamed.  "NO!"  And
in a blur of motion, she aimed and fired a hail of fletchettes at the
twisted creation named Largo.
	With a single wave of his arm, Largo swept the projectiles away,
exploding harmlessly in the air.  "How pitiful."
	Unsurprised at his invulerability, she collapsed, sobbing
audibly.  "Kill us," she whispered. "Let it end, then..."
	"What!?" shouted Priss and Nene in unison.  "Now, wait a minute--"
	Largo growled in hot anger, raising his arm menacingly.  "Fools!
Then die!" "Wait!" said the Doctor, before Largo could act.
	"I'll give you what you want," he said after another moment of
tense silence.  "Follow me," he murmured dejectedly.

	Not a word was uttered as the Doctor led all but a stricken Sylia
down a short corridor and into a lab filled with silent, inactive
equipment.  The familiar blue shape of the TARDIS rested in a far corner.
	Crossing the room, he produced a delicate key, and opened the
door.  Motioning the others to follow, he entered the chamber beyond.
	The group huddled together inside the cavernous, gothic chamber,
awed by the sight.  All but Largo, of course.  Meanwhile, Ace quietly
slipped into an adjoining corridor and hurried into the depths of the
TARDIS.
	The Doctor headed for the console in the midst of the room, and
began checking the controls.  "The TARDIS itself is semi-sentient, Largo,
I must warn you.  It'll take a while for it to grow accustomed to another
operator.  Oh, and I've had minor difficulties with the directional
guidance, so you might not always end up where or when you'd expect."
	"Irrelevant," Largo said.  "I have but a single use for the
machine.  Perhaps you think me arrogant, but I am not power mad.  One
world shall be enough."
	"Gee, that's reassuring," Mackie muttered in disgust.
	The Doctor looked up.  "It's ready.  The guidance controls are
easy enough to understand, I'm sure.  If you'll pardon me, I'll gather a
few belongings before I leave."  Largo nodded, waving him away, and began
to study the console hungrily.

	The Doctor followed in Ace's footsteps, leaving the others with
Largo while he made his final farewell.  Stopping at a closed, featureless
door much like many of the others in the present stretch of corridor, he
knocked softly.
	Ace opened the door, and beckoned him quickly inside.
	They sat.  "I'm sorry, Doctor," Ace murmured.
	"Oh, cheer up, Ace.  It'll work out.  Trust me, hmm?"  He smiled
cheekily, provoking a bit of sorrowful laughter in return.  "I know.  I
believe in you."
	He grinned at that.  "It's nice to know someone does, but I
wouldn't mind a little less excitement.  The Cybermen, for instance."  She
glared at him in mock disgust, trying to hide a smile.
	He gave her a quick hug.  "I'd better be going."  The Doctor took
the radio when she offered it.  "Just bring it back in one piece," she
warned playfully.  He winked back.  "Both of us," he said with a cheery
smile.

	The Doctor rejoined the others, and they slowly filed out of the
TARDIS, leaving Largo to his destiny.  A few, short moments later, a
wheezing, groaning sound filled the room, and the TARDIS shimmered and
vanished.
	"Now," said the Doctor, "begins the fight for our existence."

Damon Casale, damoo@universal-net.com
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