A repost? Definitely. But something different this 
time. I've ironed out the bugs I saw. Took out 
some not needed characters. Revised the possible outcomes. 
Even got a better idea to do. But not to this 
fanfic. 
	C&C is welcome. Flames are to be ignored and 
extinguished. I've done my part, hope you people 
like this one better. ^_^ 
	Any questions can be directed to me. This is still a rough 
draft of the revision. I'm still going to have to look through it
all again sometime soon. This time, no major changes though. 

	

*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*
Once and Future Goddess
by: Radler
*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*


Chapter 5: A Time of Chaos


	"Who the hell are you?" the female in the blue 
hardsuit asked. 
	She smiled as she walked away without turning around, 
unmindful of  the slight fact that the 
woman in the blue hardsuit was aiming the motoroid's cannon 
at her back. "Just someone who knows what 
it's like to lose the people you care about. Don't mind me. 
Sorry for the trouble." 
	With that, the mysterious woman leapt high into the 
air and disappeared into the night.
	"Was she some new type boomer or something, Sylia?" 
Linna asked as she watched Priss cradle 
the sobbing 33-S Sylvie. 
	"Nene?"
	"She's human. Or, at least, she should be one, unless 
she's some sort of boomer who's able to mask 
her electromagnetic signatures. Other than the fact that 
she destroyed the battlemover, she's very human. Or 
so my sensors detect." 
	Sylia sighed, her mind literally awhirl with 
questions of, about and to the woman. But for now, 
they had other things to take care of. The recorders should 
shed some light on this new mystery. Or so she 
hoped it would.
	This city just seemed to like handing out surprises. 
And she did not like this one bit. 
	Sylia glanced at Priss, who was joyously enfolding 
the sexaroid in a fierce hug, mumbling soft 
curses at the sexaroid who was her friend. 
Funny how the world works. 
	Sylia smiled. Perhaps there was hope yet for Priss. 
	"Time to go home, ladies." 

===================

	Into the present. 
	Life was good. Well, as far as things were going 
right now for Leon. His sister had not done 
anything unspeakable or harangue him for his lateness or 
possibly his choice of clothes and work. Leon 
smiled inwardly, knowing full well that his sister had 
become the surrogate mother for the both of them 
when their parents had died early on. 
	How they managed not to get separated was beyond him. 
But somehow, they managed to get by 
until Kyoko managed to land a modeling job. It's been years 
since he'd seen his sister when she opted to 
move to Europe. He wondered how the times had changed his 
sister. 
	He glanced at his sister, trying to spot anything 
different about her. 
	"I can't believe that you could leer at me like that, 
Leon." chastised his sister. "I'd have thought 
you'd at least gotten rid of that habit." 
	Leon shrugged, adjusting his shades of coolness + 5. 
	"Well, there are some things that will always remain 
the same." Leon answered back. "Still, I'm 
really intrigued as to why you'd come back." 
	Kyoko sighed, debating what to say to her brother. He 
many not look it, but Leon had a knack for 
getting the truth out of anyone when they least expect. 
Right now, she could not risk getting her brother involved 
in this little crusade of hers. 
	She arched one delicate eyebrow, her eyes mirroring 
her disbelief. 
	"Does a sister need a reason to visit her only 
brother, Leon-chan?" she asked, half-amused. 
	Leon shook his head. 
	"Jeez. I was just asking." Leon replied, sounding 
hurt. 
	"Well, I'm just visiting you and closing an important 
deal with someone." 
	"Must be tough working all those jobs of yours." 
	Kyoko shrugged. 
	"Not really. You tend to get used to it after a 
while."
	Leon pretended to look at a brochure and began 
reading. 
	"Part-time actress. Even an amateur writer. Did quite 
a bit of other jobs as well." Leon looked at 
his sister. "Quite an accomplishment in such a short span 
of years, sis." 
	Kyoko smiled. 
	"Well, what can I say." 
	"Howz about letting me treat you to dinner." 
suggested Leon.
	"You sure you could afford me, brother dear?" she 
asked coyly.
	"Depends. Probably." 
	"ADPolice pays that well?" 
	"I guess you could say that. Well, considering the 
inherent danger in our line of work, it's the only way the 
government could actually hire anyone to fill in the 
ranks." 
	"You really shouldn't have joined ADP, Leon --" 
	"It's the only life I know, sis." Leon told her. 
"Besides its -- "   
	What Leon was about to say was drowned out by the 
explosions that ripped across the airport. 
Leon quickly grabbed his sister and began running towards 
the nearest exit. Already, he was having one of his 
feelings. 
	And these feelings normally translated into trouble. 
	BIG trouble. 
	*What now??* he thought. 
	Both of them ducked as a hail of bullets went their 
way. A number of people dropped to the 
ground, blood seeping from their wounds. Leon cursed 
inwardly. Of all the places for this to happen.
	The wall behind them exploded, sending the two 
tumbling away. 
	*SHIT!!! This is not good.* Leon thought. 
	"What else could go wrong?" he asked himself. 

===================

	In Hot Legs, the blue Knight Saber was not happy.
	Priss muttered a curse, damning boomers to hell and 
back for ruining another of her gigs. It was a 
wonder that the old man still let her perform considering 
the stuff she had to pull, one time or another. 
She quickly stripped the leather tank top and mini she had 
already put one and hurriedly put on her biker 
outfit. 
	She then scrawled a quick note and taped it on the 
mirror where Aisha, her band mate, could see it 
when she came in for her. She just prayed the manager 
wouldn't mind too much. Priss mentally reminded  
herself to be extra nice to him for the next few days. She 
still needed the job until she could finally close 
the deal with Mrs. Kusanagi. 
	So much for a nice, dull day. 

===================

	"What?!! Another emergency?!" Linna complained to 
herself as she quickly toweled herself dry. 
"Why the heck do those hunks of tin have to go crazy at a 
time like this?!!" She had a frigging date in an 
hour!
	Linna threw on some street clothes and hoped her date 
wouldn't mind too much for being late. 
	*Damn! And I was really looking forward to this 
date!* she wailed. *And the guy was just perfect 
for me?!! Aaaaahhhh!! I hate this job!*
	Linna looked suddenly thoughtful. *Okay. I don't hate 
it too much. After all, the money had been 
helpful at times.*
	With that, she jumped into her van and rode off for 
another hard day in the 'office'.

===================

	Ka-BOOOOM!!!
	Nene whipped her head around, expecting the worst.
	She was right. Two boomers walked into the newly made 
hole. One held a gatling in its right hand 
while the other opened its chest plates to reveal an array 
of heat lenses. 
	Nene froze as she watched.
	Time slowed.
	People ran away in slow motion. The boomer let out a 
snarl as it open fire with its heat cannon. 
	Then the screams. 
	Nene looked away, tears misting her eyes as she tried 
to tune out the agonized screams of the 
people caught up in the blast. She'd had long thought she 
was used to the screams by now. After all, 
working as dispatch for ADP more or less had her listening 
to the screams and curses of the field officers as they 
fought against boomers. 
	Being a witness to the carnage was another matter. 
	Kurumi was silent all throughout the incident. Eyes 
hard as ice as she bore witness to the carnage. 
She was practically quivering in anger. She had long since 
grown callused to such scenes. After all, the one she had 
lived through had been just as bad as the Second Kanto 
Quake. It still surprised her that so few 
remembered _that_ event ever happened.
	Then she saw the boomer open fire at the woman who 
had managed to survive the heat blast. 
	Her cries of pain echoed loudly across the now 
deserted area. So did the cry of the child she held 
in her arms. 
	Without another word, Kurumi leapt into action, 
moving at speeds that made her seem nothing 
more than a blur. Kurumi tore the ribbon from her hair, 
using it to snag of what remained of the stone pillar 
nearby. Kurumi heaved mightily as she threw the pillar 
straight towards the two boomers with all the power of a 
missile. 
	The boomers turned and opened fire, making short work 
of the projectile. 
	Wasting no time, Kurumi leapt into action, rushing 
forwards so fast that she looked nothing more 
than a blur to Nene's eyes. It looked like one moment she 
had been twenty feet away; the next, face to face 
with them.
	Both were quite surprised with what happened next. 
	Kurumi slid behind the two, lashing out at one of 
them with a spin kick. Her blow connected 
_hard_ on the first one, causing it to stagger into the 
wall behind it. Without missing a beat, Kurumi 
whipped around to face the other boomer, this time using 
her ribbon to slice away at the boomer's 
outstretched arm. The ribbon cut through the arm wit little 
difficulty. 
	The boomer reeled back, its systems trying to 
stabilize itself with the loss of the arm. Not letting it 
another chance, Kurumi smashed one chi powered fist into 
its skull, smashing it in and destroying the AI 
that was housed within its metal cranium.
	Kurumi then turned her attention to the first boomer 
which had already gotten up, its chest armor 
open. It began targeting the strange human, unsure of what 
to make of its assailant. It tried to find an 
explanation, its query found no answer. 
	The boomer snarled at her. 
	"Your move, tin can." 
	The boomer fired its heat cannon. Kurumi dodged the 
blast with pitiful ease. Seeing its attack 
failing utterly, the boomer opened its mouth to reveal the 
particle cannon within it. Kurumi merely smiled, 
waiting. 
	Attaining lock, the boomer began firing its cannon at 
multi-cycle phase, not caring at the strain it was putting 
on its weapon. The target dodged and dodged. Not once did 
the boomer's weapon touch the 
strange human. 
	It did not have long to be worried as Kurumi angled 
towards it.
	The boomer moved to intercept the fist, seeing how 
its partner had been so easily destroyed by the 
human. The fist went tore through the boomer's outstretched 
hand, continuing on until Kurumi had severed it completely 
from the shoulder joint. 
	Kurumi then used her ribbon and sliced the boomer's 
head into pieces. Its optical sensors saw a 
flash of red before its sensors went offline. 
	A few seconds later, it exploded. 

===================

	Nene Romanova watched in mute awe as her new friend 
tore two 55-Cs into so much scrap metal 
with ease. Not even Linna could do it any better than 
Kurumi had. And Linna had to have a hardsuit to do 
it!!
	She blinked, rubbing her eyes with her fists to clear 
her eyes of the improbability she had just 
witnessed. 
	It was impossible! No human was capable of beating 
weapons of mass destruction like they were 
nothing more than pieces of junk - not unless one was 
wearing a highly sophisticated power armor.  
	Nene blinked again, staring at the now widely 
smirking Kurumi. 
	Yet, it was. Somehow her new friend managed that.
	*Unless she's not human.* 
	"Che! I never thought killer androids could be this 
frail." Kurumi complained. "The stuff big sister 
makes use of for our sparring sessions were so much better 
and a damn lot more difficult to trash." Kurumi 
looked thoughtful for a moment. "Then again, they never 
tried to kill me before." Kurumi gave a shrug. 
	"You... you just took out two 55-Cs, Kurumi," Nene 
stated in a shocked voice. 
	"Your point?"
	"How did you do that???" Nene asked. 
	"Martial arts, of course!" she responded in her best 
cute voice.
	"...." 
	Kurumi smiled. "I know. Most people tend to react 
that way." She 
then grabbed Nene and took off for the nearest exit. 
	"Come on! Time to get lost." 
	"Can you teach me??" Nene asked suddenly.
	"I think I already said yes on that."

===================

	"Status?" Sylia queried. 
	"AD Police has set up barricades along the perimeter 
of the airport. Fire-fight within the complex is heavy. 
Reports indicate boomer strength to be around eight to ten. 
One group reported seeing an 
unknown type of boomer but had been cut off before they 
could get any visual confirmation." reported a 
woman with vibrant short green hair. 
	"Civilian casualties, Anri?" inquired Sylia.
	"Heavy. Casualties are expected to be in the 
thousands." 
	Sylia merely nodded, her expression neutral. Linna 
looked slightly green. Priss took it in the 
normal, stoic demeanor that seemed to belong to Sylia. 
	"Kami-sama! That many?!" Sylvie burst out.
	"The MegaTokyo Airport is one of the busiest in the 
world. It has a capacity to serve over half a 
million passengers in a given day. Still, you are right. 
This attack was provoked in order for us to show up. Of 
course, I had not expected Nene to be within the engagement 
area," Sylia responded. 
	"We got to get Nene out first! No telling what's 
happening to her right now," added Linna worriedly. 
	"Damn it! Why now?!!" Priss yelled, sounding 
extremely irritated. 
	"Do we have a fix on her coordinates, Sylvie?" Sylia 
asked.
	"I can't get a proper fix on it. The signal is 
erratic but from what I could get, it seems that she's 
moving out of the danger zone. Still..." 
	Sylia nodded. 
	"Itwould appear that we have to split up. I will take 
Linna with me and search for Nene. We'll 
take the eastern exit.  Priss. Sylvie. The two of you enter 
through the north gate and work your way towards 
the south. Hopefully, this way, we can triangulate Nene's 
location even with the interference and clean up whatever 
boomers are in the airport." Sylia stared at the two for a 
moment. "I want no heroics. Take them 
out. don't go for undue risks and take the motoroids with 
you. Mackie and Anri will stay with the Knight 
Wing and hover at an altitude of 1000 feet and await for 
our extraction signal. In case of trouble, you are to leave 
us if necessary." 
	Mackie smiled and gave a thumbs up from his position 
in the cockpit. Of course, he left it unsaid 
that he would disobey that last order.  
	"I'll prepare the medkit. Just in case," Anri 
announced as she looked meaningfully at Priss. 
	Everyone laughed until Priss let out a slightly 
aggrieved cry of irritation. 
	"ETA to target area: one minute, sis," Mackie 
announced. 

===================

	"Uh-oh." 
	"Now what?!!" Nene asked her partner. 
	Kurumi frantically looked around for any way out. 
Beating 55-Cs was one thing but even martial 
artists of her caliber would be hard-pressed to fight 
against battle-boomers like the ones that were blocking 
their escape route. 
	Well, not _that_ much. Not with the level of training 
she had undergone for the past years. But it 
did mean having to use more of her esoteric moves. 
Kurumi sighed. 
	Three BU-12Bs stood not too far from their position 
from within a stuffed-toy store. It really 
wasn't the best of all places to be hunkering about. But, 
considering that it was the only available place, it would 
do for the time being while they debated on what to do. 
	Kurumi knew she could get past them all if it was 
only herself she had to worry about. But she had 
Nene with her. To top it off, Nene had little expertise in 
martial arts or, if she had, not the type that would help 
in matters like these. 
	"Someone's gone to a lot of trouble, setting up this 
trap," Kurumi stated.
	"Huh?!" 
	"This is a trap, plain and simple. We've spotted 
what? Over twelve of these military models 
already. Someone wants to lure somebody in here badly if 
they wanted to stage an attack like this in so 
populated a place." Kurumi spat, damning boomers to hell 
and back. "It's a wonder the people hadn't 
pushed banning these things." 
	Nene shook her head. "They tried, but no one actually 
listens. They're too afraid. Genom holds too 
much power in MegaTokyo, if not the entire world, Kurumi. 
Even if the government did, it would mean 
having to ban every type of boomer and destroying the 
entire technology base for it, since it's the only way 
to ensure the ban works. Doing that would destroy the 
world's economy." 
	"Don't I know it," Kurumi shot back. "Still, we have 
to get out of here. Whoever is responsible for 
this seeming boomer rampage is waiting for someone to 
appear. They --" 
	Nene gasped. "The Knight Sabers!!" 
	Kurumi nodded. "Yep. You're right."
	Nene could hear her heart pounding madly in her 
chest. 
	A trap?! 
	No!! 
	She had to warn the others. 
	And fast.
	"We got to warn the Sabers then!" Nene whispered 
urgently. 
	Kurumi shook her head. "We can try, but I doubt we 
could find them in time." 
	"What do we do??" Nene asked, wondering where her 
fellow Sabers were right now. She silently 
prayed they were safe. Now, if she could only get to warn 
them!!
	"Five to one. Not exactly the odds I would care for. 
Still..." 
	"Wha-wha... what are you talking about, Kurumi???" 
Nene practically cried out loud. "Those are 
military model boomers. BU-12Bs!!! Not 55-Cs, which mainly 
serve as bodyguards!! These things have 
enough fire power to take on the Sabers on equal footing. 
Even if you managed to take on those two back 
there... you can't possibly -- " 
	"Nothing I can't handle" was the calm reply of Kurumi 
as she wrapped a long scarf around her 
face.
	Nene wondered where she got that. Still, no use 
worrying over that.  
	"Are you crazy?!! That's suicide!!" 
	Kurumi shook her head. "No, Nene-chan. It would take 
more than what these tin cans can dish out 
before they can even hope to touch me." She cocked her head 
slightly. "Besides, I've been in situations a lot 
worse than this so don't worry too much. We'll get out of 
here. Just leave everything to me." 
	With that, Kurumi thrust herself into battle once 
more.
	Man... err... Woman against machine. 
	"Prepare to become a pile of scrap, boomers!!" Kurumi 
cried out as she charged her enemies. 
	The boomers whirled around, weapons unloading a 
fierce barrage against their single opponent. 
	"Over here, you stupid excuse for a battle robot!!!" 
Kurumi taunted from her position, high above 
the five boomers.
	The boomers answered by firing their weapons upon the 
foolish human interloper.
	Nene could not help but wonder just how martial arts 
allowed you to tangle with boomers. Not 
even Linna could handle that old Assassin-type boomer that 
had killed Reika's little sister. 
	So how come Kurumi could? Martial arts? But how?
	Nene sighed. There were times when she picked up the 
craziest people for friends. This looked 
like one of those days. 
	The boomers were quite surprised when their sensors 
did not confirm the destruction of their 
target. Even more so when said target was a mere human. 
	The BU-12B was the most powerful of the mass-produced 
military boomer-types, other than the 
Doberman. Still, it was relatively easy to deal with unless 
encountered in huge numbers. Well, easy for the 
Knight Sabers anyway. Against the ADP, it was not something 
to think about. Not that ADP could be 
blamed for it. They did try their best. But their best was 
never good enough. 
	Still, even that did not seem to trouble the human 
who now stood atop the third floor railing. Of 
course, these boomers had yet to tangle with humans who 
could actually kick their metal asses. 
	Kurumi smiled as she commenced her attack. 
	The boomers fired. 
	Technology had risen by quite a bit since the days 
after the quake had destroyed most of Tokyo. 
More so with the development of boomer technology. It could 
be said that boomers were the current height 
of man's technological research. 
	And like any other technology, good things could be 
turned to bad, a problem that tended to cause 
quite a lot of chaos. But, then again, that's why the 
Knight Sabers existed. Or the ADP, for that matter.
	Still, technology had yet a looong way to go if they 
were to match the speeds martial artists were 
capable of attaining with the proper training and skill. In 
this case, the boomers couldn't even begin to 
understand why their weapons weren't even touching their 
target.
	This suited Kurumi just fine. After all, what they 
can't hit won't hurt her in any way.
	Still, she had to end this fast. No telling what 
might happen if she dallied. 
	Kurumi smirked as she began to power up. A brilliant 
green glow suffused her form as she 
manipulated her chi. This was the ultimate culmination of 
her training -- of anyone's training in the Art. 
Such was the power the human body could attain. 
	It was too bad few people had the patience to endure 
the necessary hardships along the way. 
Power was something gained through countless trials. 
	Time to acquaint these metal monsters with it. 
	"Anything-Goes Final Attack!! Rising Nova Crush!!!!" 
	Kurumi cupped both hands in front of her as she 
summoned her chi. A bright aquamarine ball 
popped into existence between her hands, crackling with 
restrained energy that begged to be released. 
	It had taken her quite a few years to really fully 
master the use of her chi. But, as she had often 
times told her friends, it was well worth the effort she 
put into it. After all, the battle that had started so many 
years ago had yet to end. 
	Nene watched, transfixed by the scene before her. The 
green sphere that developed around 
Kurumi's cupped hands, surged forwards, punching through 
the first boomer with relative ease. The sphere then 
struck� well� it hit the ground and just disappeared. 
	*What the heck?!!!* came Nene's confused thought.
	Even the boomers seemed confused, not bothering to 
fire on Kurumi who stood a few meters away. Suddenly, a 
huge pillar of luminescent green light came into existence 
all around the remaining 
boomers. Nene saw the boomers struggling. She wondered what 
could it be until she saw the boomers suddenly thrust high 
into the air. As it reached its apex, a small star bloomed 
into existence, obliterating the rest. It lasted mere 
moments, but for that brief moment, it felt like an 
eternity. 
	What happened would forever etch itself in Nene's 
memory. 
	Well, it would have� too bad she wouldn't be 
remembering it for long. 
	"Kurumi!! What you did... it's� IMPOSSIBLE!!!" Nene 
burst out. 
	Kurumi smiled wanly, feeling slightly drained. 
"Gomen, Nene-chan. I can't let you remember all 
this," she apologized as she took out a small bottle from 
somewhere. 
	Nene was puzzled. "What are you talking about?!! And� 
what's with the shampoo??" 
	Kurumi quickly poked Nene behind the neck where the 
sleep point was. Nene stared at Kurumi 
uncomprehendingly before she collapsed into Kurumi's 
waiting arms.
	*Lucky me, Shampoo-chan taught me a few tricks. 
Hopefully, the improved formula 110 would lock that portion 
of Nene's memory. I hope.* Kurumi said to herself as she 
carried Nene's unconscious 
form out of the airport and somewhere private for her to 
conduct her shampooing in private.
	*Now... if the formula would just work the way it was 
supposed to...*

===================
	
	"Ooohhhh... What happened?" 
	"Great! You're up! I was kinda worried for a while 
there. I thought you were killed or something," 
a voice beside her gushed out, hugging her rather tightly. 
	"Air... need... air...." 
	Kurumi backed away. "Errr... ah... sorry, Nene-chan! 
I _was_ kinda worried." 
	"What happened to me? I feel like someone used my 
head for a baseball..." 
	Kurumi was about to say something in response to 
Nene's question when one of the ADP officers 
approached the two.
	"Glad to see you're awake, Nene." 
	Nene looked up to see a smiling Daley Wong flashing 
her a thumbs-up sign.
	"Yeah... thanks. Did Leon...?" 
	Daley shook his head. 
	"This is not good," Nene told no one in particular.
	"You got that right. It's a kill zone out there. I'm 
not even sure if anyone is still alive in there." 
Daley commented, "I just hope Leon gets out of there." 
	"There... the airport is crawling with military 
boomers," warned Nene.
	Daley nodded. "Yeah. We know. Took out the first, 
third, and fifth K-12 battalions. The heavy 
armor groups just arrived to deal with the problem." 
	Daley's dubious voice conveyed a heck of a lot of 
what he thought of that idea. The heavy armor 
group used the newer K-14B class power armor - better 
armored, and armed with two 30mm chain guns 
and a two-shot mini rocket launcher. It looked a lot 
better, but even these types had trouble with 55-Cs 
during the boomer rampage not so long ago. 
	Against BU-12Bs... well... no one voiced out their 
worry over the people who were about to enter 
a boomer-infested area. None of their people could estimate 
the total number of boomers but, from the 
preliminary reports they've got from their people holding 
station above and inside the airport, there were quite a 
hefty number of 55-Cs not to mention the presence of BU-
12Bs. 
	Even a kid could divine that this incident was a trap 
whose jaws had just swung shut when the 
Sabers arrived on the scene a while ago.
	"I just hope the Knights Sabers would be okay," said 
Daley  quietly.
	"When did they arrive?" Nene queried.
	"They just arrived half an hour ago. They've cleared 
out a section by the north and south areas. 
Other than that..." Daley shrugged. 
	Remembering something, Daley asked, "Any of you know 
anything about that explosion in the 
south terminal exit?" 
	Kurumi shrugged. Nene just blinked. 
	"I take it none of you know anything about it?" 
	"Not really. All I know is that some sort of blast 
threw the both of us out by a good fifty meters. 
Both of us were rendered unconscious for some time. Nene 
was out a lot longer, though," answered 
Kurumi. "Lucky for us, no one was around to finish the 
job."
	Nene stared intently at her newfound friend for quite 
some time. Something about that question 
tickled a faint, ghostly memory in her. 
	"Something... I..." Nene began.
	"Huh? Ara! Nene-chan! Anything wrong?" Daley asked. 
	Nene shook her head. "I feel different somehow..." 
	Kurumi sucked her breath in. *Oh-oh!! I hope that 
damn formula works!!*
	Daley looked greatly concerned. "Hey! Someone call a 
paramedic!!" 
	Nene once more shook her head. "No. I'm okay. I 
just... well... feel..." 
	She paused. Daley and Kurumi waited, each fearing for 
the worst. 
	"I just.. well.. it's just that.. I feel..." Nene 
suddenly smiled. "It's just that I never felt my hair feel 
so good in so long a time.." she gushed out.
	Nene blinked, staring at the twitching forms on the 
pavement. 
	"Uh... hey!! Are you guys okay??"  

===================

	"Just how many of these are we supposed to be 
killing?" Linna asked nobody in particular as she 
finished downing another 55-C boomer. "That's the fifth� no 
make that the sixth one! Gods! Just how 
many are they?" complained Linna.
	"The place must be crawling with them," Priss 
quipped. "Not that I'd mind." 
	"You would!!" Linna shot back.
	"That does not sound good, Priss-san," Sylvie scolded 
while she took aim with her pulse rifle. 
	The pulse gatling rifle had been a recent invention 
of Sylia's. Because of its prohibitive weight, Sylia had 
been unable to make use of it in any of the suits and had 
thought of installing it on the new series motoroids Dr. 
Raven came up with. However, with Sylvie's arrival into 
their group, she simply had 
scrapped the plan and tried to lighten the rifle up for 
Sylvie to use. Being a boomer allowed her to carry a _lot_ 
more weight than any one of them - even with the myomer 
musculature. 
	The result had been a hardsuit with a superior set of 
weaponry. It would still take a while for all 
her upgrades to come into fruition but with Sylvie handling 
the heavy arms end of the team, it would 
certainly let Priss come out of any engagement relatively 
unhurt - as could be hoped for. 
	"At least Nene-chan finally got out of here." 
reminded Sylvie.
	Priss merely grunted a reply as she was busy trashing 
another 55-C boomer.
"Did you know this would happen??" Priss shot at Sylia. 
"That this damned mission of mercy 
would be a trap, Sylia?" 
	Their white-suited leader nodded. 
	Priss sighed, wishing Sylia would warn them about 
these things. Made it easier, rather than 
finding out too late and then subsequently learning that 
Sylia had actually known it would be one.
	Like that frigging Largo incident. God only knew what 
would have happened if that madman-
turned-boomer-supreme actually managed to get his hands on 
the OMS. Lucky for them Anri had managed 
to finally overcome the Largo's control over her. Of 
course, not before Largo destroyed a number of Genom 
Headquarters across the globe. 
	Not that Priss minded, since she hated Genom anyway. 
Still, the number of people that died in the 
particle-beam bombardment weighed heavily upon her. She 
still had nightmares about it. 
	"Well, looks like Genom wants us dead this time." 
Linna piped in. 
	"The risks of our job." Sylia answered, her voice 
clam and unwavering.  
	Priss snorted wondering, just how the heck Sylia 
could be so calm about trotting into a trap like 
the proverbial lambs for the slaughter.
	"I have a baaad feeling about this," Linna commented.
	"Obviously!!" Priss shot back, sarcastically. 
	"But, why this trap??" Sylvie asked. "Why did it have 
to happen here??" 
	"To make sure you attended this little get-together, 
my dear Knight Sabers." someone answered 
for her. 
	The four startled Knight Sabers whirled around to 
face a hulking silver boomer that towered over 
them by a good four feet. It was massive, larger than 
anything they had ever encountered before. Its red 
eyes glared at them as it stood there not a hundred meters 
away. 
	Sylia recognized the boomer from the preliminary 
reports on Genom's latest boomer research 
Fargo had given her: the prototype Dreadnought-class 
boomer. Designed to replace the somewhat unstable 
and violent Doberman model; its firing power rating was 
just above the DD. But the most dangerous thing 
about this new type was its techno-organic brain. For, 
unlike other boomer AIs, it had a near capacity for 
human thought. A little, but that was enough to make it all 
the more effective against its enemies. 
	A smart boomer. One that could fight without having 
to be limited to its battle programs. 
Dangerous... and effective. 
	All the more reason for Sylia to find some way of 
addressing this problem. She had expected it to 
be here, but she had hoped against it. The new generation 
suits had yet to be finished and even with the motoroids as 
support, it would take a miracle to stop this virtual 
machine of destruction even with the 
motoroids. 
	Sylia weighed her choices. A trap this had been from 
the start. That much had been obvious. 
Could it be that Genom had finally decided to get rid of 
them once and for all? 
	She mentally chided herself. Genom had always been 
trying to kill them. Not that they were 
successful at times. Still, they always came out of it 
alive. 
	Perhaps this time� 
	*No.* Sylia said to herself. *She will have her 
revenge.*
	Still�.
	Sylia was hesitant in fighting this boomer - hesitant 
in letting the others fight it, as well. 
Something about it screamed bloody murder in her head. 
	"Well?" the boomer asked, taunting them to move 
first.
	There was little she could do now save try and gain 
some valuable information on this new type. 
To do so would, of course, entailed having to take the 
boomer on with its silent challenge. 
	*No choice now.* Sylia thought. 
	"Knight Sabers... GO!!!" 

===================

	"Damn it!! Just how many of these things are there, 
Leon?" Kyoko whispered. 
	Leon shoulder his Earth Shaker Assault Pistol. It was 
tailor-made just for him by his old friend in 
the tech department. Swift had really outdone himself with 
it. Employing heavy slugs fired at hyper-
velocity speeds, it could punch through boomer's armor like 
a hot knife through butter. Better still, the gun 
had little to no recoil at all, making quite a useful 
weapon. One problem was its limited ammo space. It 
could only hold up to ten, high-explosive bullets which was 
murder to make and damned expensive too. 	
	Not that he minded. 
	The pistol had saved his neck countless times in the 
past few months. 
	"Whoever's orchestrating this has gone to a lot of 
trouble securing this many boomers." Leon 
noted.
	"The million dollar question is, why?" Kyoko asked. 
"These boomers don't act like they're on a 
rampage. They seem to be waiting for something."
	"Or someone. Make that a group of someones." 
corrected Leon.
	"Well, now that we've answered that question, how do 
you propose to get us out of here??" 
	"I dunno." 
 
===================

	"Priss, watch out!!" warned Linna.
	Priss dived down as a hail of laser fire went her 
way, followed by a deafening explosion behind 
her. Priss gaped, rolling away before a large section of 
the ceiling came down on her. Linna jetted 
forwards, firing her own cannon at the massive boomer; 
trying to give Priss time to get up. 
	Linna was quite surprised and impressed at the ease 
at which the boomer seemed to handle them 
all at once. Everything they tried ended up with them 
getting kicked around, their armor a testament to that 
fact. 
	Sylia mirrored Linna's own thoughts. Truly, Genom had 
indeed outdone themselves with this prototype. All the more 
reason that she re-design the newer hardsuits to adjust to 
the competition. Still, she was happy that Largo or Mason 
had not been around to make use of this weapon. 
	"There has _got_ to be a way to beat this God-
forsaken thing." raged Priss, firing her railgun to no 
avail. 
	"Sylvie!!" Priss cried out as she watch her friend 
tackle the boomer into the ground. True, Sylvie 
being a sexaroid and wearing a custom-designed hardsuit was 
exceptionally strong, perhaps strong enough to handle any 
boomer, but not this one. Or more to the point, she could 
have. 
	It stood up, one hand around Sylvie's neck, crushing 
it ever so slowly. 
	"Noooooooo!!!" 
	Priss ran towards her friend, screaming in rage. She 
ducked as the boomer's arm shot towards her. 
She quickly grabbed at the arm, hoping her timing was 
right. Contact was brief, but was enough for Priss to 
gain enough leverage to perform a double spin kick on the 
boomer's skull. 
	Twin explosions caused by the contact explosives on 
Priss's legs  made the boomer stagger 
backwards, releasing its victim. Linna and Sylia quickly 
took advantage of the situation and started pouring fire 
upon it. 
	"Die you bastard." Priss screamed.

===================

	"Geez!! This has got to be the largest pile of junk 
I've ever since in my life! And I thought mine 
was pretty impressive," Skuld remarked.
	"Well, considering how tight our funds are, we 
normally don't throw anything away. Even busted 
armor or equipment could yield useful spare parts." 
explained the techie. 
	Skuld nodded. "I guess." she conceded. 
	She spied a damaged power armor of to one side of the 
repair bay. Walking toward it, her mind 
literally danced with ideas on what she could do with it 
and the scrap-yard a few feet away. It had most of 
its armor panels removed. Even that did not deter Skuld 
from seeing that this one had certainly been 
through a lot. Her eyes scanned the armor, eyeing it this 
way and that while her mind began reconstructing 
the armor before it had been mangled to bits.
	"Someone must have been crazy to have fought against 
something obviously a _lot_ stronger," 
Skuld said. "Either the person who piloted this one was one 
crazy person or just an idiot." She analyzed her last 
remark. "Ummm... or maybe both."
	The tech winced, knowing all-too-well who the person 
had been.
	"Well, we're actually scrapping this one since its 
too heavily damaged to repair much less try to." 
	Skuld smiled. "Oh, okay," she began. "Where do I 
begin my work?" 
	The techie eyed the young woman. "You sure are pretty 
darn enthusiastic for this kinda job, kid." 
	"Well, you could say I love technology," she 
enthused.  
	The techie nodded. "Uh-huh. Okay, fine. Come with me 
and I'll show you where you can start." 
He turned around and eyed the young woman critically. 
"Although I would suggest using overalls, if you 
don't want to ruin your clothes." 
	Skuld blinked. She never paid any attention to her 
clothes since she mostly never got it too dirty. 
Well, if she did, she'd just cast a spell to clean it. Or 
Beldandy would coax her out of it to get it washed. 
	"Sure. Got any in my size?" 

===================
	
	Sylia cursed inwardly. The boomer was fast. It's 
response rating better than she expected. Even 
with the pounding it just took, the boomer was still 
standing and still good enough to hold its ground 
against them. If this kept up, they'd sure to lose. They 
had to finish this and fast. They can't possibly last much 
longer. 
	<Priss. Sylvie. > she called out to them using the 
comlink. <On my signal, close in as fast as you 
can. Linna, since you're closest to the motoroids, activate 
their self-destruct sequence. We'll bring it to you.>
	<No problem, Sylia.> answered Linna. *I hope this 
works.* she said to herself. 
	<Think this might work, Sylia?> Priss asked, somewhat 
dubiously. 
	After all, considering they've practically thrown 
everything but the kitchen sink against the thing, it was 
still functional and fully capable of handling them. Priss 
really hated that. She hoped Sylia would hurry up and 
finish the redesign on the suits -- provided they live 
through all this. 
	If she did, she promised herself to stop driving like 
a maniac for a week. 
	<Ready whenever you are, Sylia.> Priss told her.
	<I'm ready, Sylia-san.> came Sylvie's reply.
	Sylia watched as the boomer stood their, waiting. She 
could hardly belief the capabilities of this prototype 
boomer.
	She had to find a way� and fast. No telling what 
Genom may have planned. 
	<Now!!!> 
	Taking their cue, Priss and Sylvie charged forwards. 
Sylvie opened fire with her pulse rifle, 
pouring it on relentlessly as they neared their target. The 
boomer charged, its thick duralloy armor taking the brunt 
of the damage. It did not care. It's primary objective was 
to fight the Knight Sabers. 
	To test them and itself under combat. 
	It knew there would be another time to truly kill 
them. 
	Priss reached the boomer first, sidestepping around 
the swing and lashing out with a punch of her 
own. The boomer dodged aside. Priss blinked in surprise, 
cursing her inability to get a decent hit in. The boomer 
swung its leg at the Blue Saber, but found it blocked by 
the Silver One. 
	Sylvie pushed the boomer back as Priss unloaded a 
number of spikes pointblank. Sylia came in 
next, the blade gleaming on her arm. 
	<Push it back towards Linna.> she ordered. 
	Priss and Sylvie complied, closing in as well, not 
letting it use any of its range weaponry. Already, 
their suits bore the marks of just how efficient it used 
its weapons. Not that it was also quite good in hand to 
hand. 
	Priss, Sylvie and Sylia struck as one from three 
different sides, doing what damage they could as 
they lured it towards the fallen motoroids. A minute 
passed, the Knight Sabers continually pounding at the 
boomer. 
	Suddenly, the boomer lashed out against the three, 
through at playing at the defensive and began 
to dish out its own brand of punishment against the three. 
Sylia was the first to get hit by a close in laser blast. 
Sylia was thrown a couple of meters, her chest armor a 
smoking ruin. The hardsuit had thankfully absorbed most of 
the damage, but not without consequences. 
	<Sylia!!> a trio of voices called out in alarm. 
	Sylvie was next to fall, the boomer rushing towards 
her and pummeling her into the ground with a 
swift combination of punches and kicks that shattered her 
armor. Sylvie tried to stand, but found herself 
driven into the ground by a swift kick to the gut. 
	Priss sought to aid her fallen friend, rage 
empowering her. She danced around the boomer's 
attacks, missing them by mere millimeters at times. She 
broke through its defense by some miracle and 
stabbed it with her own blade, digging deep into its chest. 
	Priss sliced downwards, intent on cleaving the 
bastard in two for what it just did to her friends. 
Nutrient fluids spurted out from the 'wound.' Priss then 
drove the blade in deeper ,screaming for the boomer to just 
fuck up and die. 
	The boomer roared in pain, swatting its assailant 
aside as it staggered backwards, its system trying to 
stabilize itself. By some miracle, Priss managed to hit a 
vital area, causing an enormous amount of feedback and 
forcing it to shut down some of its primary systems. 
	Not good. 
	A green blur shot forwards, driving the boomer back 
with a complex combination of punches, kicks, low thrusts 
and the occasional ribbon swing. Priss, wanting a piece of 
the action, rushed forwards, 
suddenly feeling that they just _might_ win this time. 
Sylvie struggled to rise, pain shooting across her 
abused body. She saw Sylia standing up, albeit shakily, her 
chest armor non-existent, exposing fragile human flesh. 
	<Sylia??> she called out weakly. 
	<I'm fine. The others?> 
	Sylvie glanced at the other two. Linna and Priss were 
going all out against the boomer. Somehow, 
they were holding it off. 
	But for how long? 
	<How much time do we have?> Sylvie asked.
	<Two minutes. We have to get that boomer near the 
motoroids!!!>
	Sylvie forced herself to get up, willing the pain to 
cease. Her friends needed help to finish the 
accursed boomer already. Sylia struggled to regain her 
footing, but found the pain to be too much for her to 
stand for long. 
	Priss snarled, lashing out at her enemy with 
everything's she's got, her body shrugging off the 
blows the boomer landed upon her. Linna wove through the 
boomer's attacks, not once getting tagged by it. 
Perhaps it was skill or luck or both that got her close 
enough to knuckle-bomb the area Priss had damaged. 
	She knew she would not have been able to do that had 
it not been for whatever it was Priss had done. Linna was 
not stupid to even think for one moment that the boomer 
could not have successfully defended against her had it not 
been for its 'injuries' Priss had dished out moments ago. 
	Sylvie also saw this and pressed whatever advantage 
she had. Her own hardsuit bore more damage 
than the others� well� maybe expect for Priss. She 
attacked, letting loose with everything she's got. The 
boomer's formidable armor buckled under her onslaught, 
weakened by their former attack upon it. She was 
relieved to see that the boomer had actually a limit to 
what it could do. Not that it was any comfort to them to 
know this. 
	<One minute.> Sylia announced somewhat hoarsely. 
	All three Knight Sabers heard the strain upon Sylia's 
voice. It would seem that she had been hurt 
badly by the last attack. Still, they were all thankful to 
see her still alive. 
	"Let's finish this!!!" roared an enraged Priss, 
grabbing the now weakened boomer and whirling it 
around to allow her to get a decent kick against it. Linna 
followed up by cutting one of the boomer's arms, 
her revenge for what the boomer had done to her. Sylvie 
followed suit, firing her pulse gatling laser at high 
cycle, not caring what it did to the weapon. 
	Seeing their opponent finally laid low, all three 
pushed the boomer towards the fallen motoroids, 
firing their weapons at it as well -- just in case. No 
telling what the boomer could still do. 
	Three...
	They still kept pouring it on, not caring that the 
boomer had already reached the limits of its 
endurance. They kept on. Firing and firing. They just 
wanted it to die. 
	Two...
	They slowly backed away, not wanting to get hit by 
the explosion. 
	One...
	The Knight Sabers knelt around their fallen leader, 
checking to verify her condition. They all gave a sigh of 
relief to see Sylia alright. 
	Zero...
	They turned towards the boomer as it was engulfed by 
the blast. 
	"Good fucking riddance." muttered Priss. 
	The other Knight Sabers couldn't agree more. 
	
===================	
	
	Skuld happily hummed to herself as she went about her 
task in helping the techie assigned to her 
for the time being repair one of the newer K-14Bs that had 
been damaged quite some time ago. She'd never 
have believed that such an inefficient machine so obviously 
poorly designed and constructed be actually 
made to serve the public like this. Her Banpei Mark VI 
could have destroyed one of these things without 
really trying too hard. No wonder so many ADP officers die 
in the field. With such shoddy equipment to 
work with, it's a wonder ADP could even do its job right. 
	She promised herself that she would find some time to 
re-design the whole thing into something 
more appropriate. Yes. Definitely something worthwhile 
doing. After all, ADP deserved a break from what 
it had to put up for so long. 
	"You really like this kind of work, don't cha?" asked 
the techie. 
	"Yep." Skuld replied. She paused in her work to wipe 
the sweat on her forehead. "By the way, 
never did catch your name." 
	The techie smiled. "Yeah, well, never really was a 
social type of person. Besides, in this line of 
work, not even us technicians/engineers are safe these days 
in or out of our jobs." 
	Skuld shook her head. 
	"The name's Skuld." she re-introduced herself, 
holding out a slightly greased hand.
	The techie smiled a bit, looking strangely at the 
proffered hand then said, "What the hell. You get 
to live only once." He reached out with his own hand and 
shook Skuld's. "Colin Stryker. People tend to call me 
Stryker." 
	Skuld smiled. 
	"Pleased to meet you, Stryker." 
	Colin Stryker found himself laughing for the first 
time in the past few weeks. Having lost his own 
family to a boomer rampage not too long ago, he'd been 
sulking under here since. Mechanically doing his 
job while he let himself drown in utter misery. 
	Skuld joined in as well. 
	Stryker could not help but feel so... relaxed. Like a 
great weight had been removed from his 
shoulders. Perhaps it was. He smiled inwardly, glancing at 
the still chuckling Skuld. 
	Perhaps there really was a God in heaven... 

===================

	Two slightly charred-looking individuals staggered 
out of the ruins of the airport. Daley and a few other ADP 
officers rushed towards the two, surprised to actually see 
_anyone_ get out of their in one piece, much less alive. 
	He breathed a sigh of relief, happy to see that Leon 
had gotten out. He wondered about the woman 
who supported Leon though. The mysterious woman clutched 
some sort of long-barreled weapon that 
looked too much like a rocket launcher, only smaller. Much 
smaller. Perhaps a girlfriend? Daley quickly 
trashed that idea. After all, how many times a day did Leon 
ever so tried to entice Priss to a date? He 
wouldn't just drop her like that. Would he?? 
	"Nice to see you still in one piece, Leon." he 
remarked.
	Leon cracked a smile, adjusting his shades of 
coolness. How that accessory of his could have 
survived was beyond him. 
	Ah well...
	"Who's the lady?" he asked in conspiring tones, 
pointing at the woman who was being attended by 
one of the doctors; still clutching the wicked weapon to 
her. "New girlfriend?" 
	Leon blinked, the pain in his chest all but 
forgotten. 
	"Sorry to disappoint you. But no. She's not someone I 
would think of in such a way." Leon smiled. 
" 'sides, someone's liable to kill me if that ever 
happens." 
	Daley laughed at that. 
	"Did I miss anything?" Leon asked.
	His partner shrugged. 
	"Not really. Well, maybe that Nene and one other girl 
about Nene's age also managed to get out." 
	Leon suddenly grabbed Daley.
	"Did the girl look anything like this one?" he asked, 
fishing out a photocopy of the Chief's sister. 
	Daley took one look at the photo and nodded. 
	Leon sighed, slumping back; wiping his brows. 
	"I take it she's the one I've heard you were supposed 
to take care of?" he asked, a bit amused.
	"Yeah. Yeah. The Chief's sister. I can't believe I 
actually agreed to do this. I mean, I'm an ADP 
officer not some babysitter!!" Leon complained. 
	Daley put a comforting hand on his partner's 
shoulder.
	"Hey, it could have been worse." 

===================

	A lone figure sat behind a massive desk; 
contemplating the results of their tests. Already, the data 
they've gathered had been most impressive. Quite so that 
Chairman Quincy had given his go signal to start 
building the plant to mass produce the Dreadnought Class 
Boomer, now dubbed as the Type D-99. 
	The figure got up, moving towards the large window to 
stare at the buildings below. Moonlight 
washed away the shadows that hid the figure's face, 
revealing it to be a woman of surpassing beauty. There 
was nothing beautiful about the way her icy blue eyes 
stared outside. 
	She had long abandoned any scruples about killing. 
Long hardened to the basic fact of life. The 
real world was not ruled by democracy or truth or love for 
that matter. It was killed or be killed. The 
struggle of the strongest and of the best. Who came out on 
top would be the ones to dictate the rules. 
	She smiled, a cold, mirthless smile. 
	

to be continued....








*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*
       RADLER 
 Nikholas F. Toledo Zu 
*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*

Wings of my angel,
Shelter me in your faith.
In you, I find my soul.
In me, I find your love.
We are one, forever more. 

Personal Email Addy: makoto@smarqweb.com ; radler@tri-isys.com 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Nikholas F. Toledo Zu @ WWW: The Entertainment Capital of UP Village
Vector, Switch, Yebah, Rain Man, goo, Pervert, Scruples, Hollie, NomaD, 
 Blitz, Gee, Datzo, Jewel, elf, Radler, Pinball, Mayhem, Chaos, Father, 
 Attar and Llewe @ http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Flats/3145/mezza9.html 
Fanfiction Page @ http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Flats/3145/fanfics.html
-------------------------------------------------------------------------