Since someone asked, I'm reposting the first chapter.  I've added an 
additional scene to help establish part of the past.

BUBBLEGUM  RIFT

by

Damien Hailey
(But you may call me SAMAS)

Welcome Ladies, gentlemen, D-Bees, and Boomers to the first chapter.  As 
I 
said before, this is my first fanfic, so I'll probably rewrite it later, 
hopefully with the help of your comments.  

This is an alternate version of the story, just trying to try out 
different 
things.

This isn't really a self-insertion fic.  One of the characters does have 
my 
name and mind, and a close approximation of my face, but that's it.  
Otherwise, he's 100% fictional..... Okay, 80%.  Besides, I wouldn't last 
five days in either world!

Fine, DragonBard, it's me, happy?

Rifts is owned by Kevin Seimbieda.  Bubblegum Crisis is owned by (Insert 
name here) I don't own them and I'm broke, so don't even think of suing 
me.

We'll be going into dimensional travel this time, and we'll be running 
into 
the omnipresent Language Barrier. so here are a few guidelines:

" " Means Japanese
// //Means Another language (Dragonese, Trade 3, English/Trade 4, 
etc....)
** denotes thought.  { } around it means telepathic communication
[ ] Means X is talking, a dual discordant voice with a slight reverb (a 
'Soundwave' Accent, remember Transformers?) that can carry over sound, 
radio,
and cyberspace  simultaneously. If you've played Warcraft II or Dark 
Reign, 
it sounds like a Human Paladin or the Basic Imperium Unit Voice, 
respectively.


===============================================================================
[Central Africa, Bubblegum Crisis Earth, 18 years ago(or 19, depending 
on 
who's point of view)]

The village had been razed to the ground.  every man, woman and child 
had been
slaughtered.

//Waaaaaaaah!//

Okay, not every child.  If they _all_ had been, this story would've been 
_very_ short.

Hidden in an abandoned shed, half grown over with jungle vegetation, was 
a 
small bassinet.  Naturally, it contained a baby.  The bodies of the 
child's 
parents lay beside it, the parents having shielded the baby with their 
own 
bodies.  

A swirl of lights appeared inside the shed, and a creature stepped out.  
It 
was humanoid-shaped, with long, thin arms a little longer than its' 
legs.
Part of it's body was covered in metallic plates, and it wore a simple 
robe
and cloak.

It reached into the basket and pulled out the wailing baby.  it 
resembled a 
healthy black child, but had a small glow emenating from his forehead.  
His
head was shaved bald, except for a single long braid that began at the 
side 
of his head and winded down past his knees.  

The creature waved a hand over the baby's forehead, and the glow died 
out.  
It reached towards the body of the mother, and it's hand passed through 
her 
chest, rippling like the surface of water.  The hand came back holding a 
large blue crystal the size of a small football.  

//It seems like a waste of good power,//  The ceature spoke in a grating 
voice, //But I will honor your parent's request, child.  The power is 
yours,
but you are mine.//

*************************************************

[MegaTokyo, 2030]

"I won't let him take you."  

The young boy, about 13 years old, sat down on the bed were an older 
redheaded girl lay, sleeping fitfully.  Rivulets of sweat poured down 
her 
brow, and her breathing was shallow and ragged.  The boy turned her over 
onto 
her back, and wiped the sweat from her face with a cool cloth.  "I know 
he 
did this, so I have to leave you."  He reached his hand into the girl's 
chest, 
passing through her body like water.  He came back with a small ball of 
light 
that was slowly fading, but seemed to glow brighter just the same.  
Reaching 
into his own chest, he pulled out a large purple crystal that glowed 
faintly 
with an inner light.  The crystal absorbed the light, glowing brighter 
than 
before.  

"I'll return, but until then, I'll always be with you."  He laughed 
softly.
"That sounded stupid, I know.  But I do mean it.  I _will_ come back to 
you."
He broke the crystal in half, and inserted half of it back into the 
girl.  
Her breathing stopped for about three seconds, then returned, deeper and 
more
peaceful.  The boy stood and pulled out a large knife.  He cut off the 
braid
from the side of his head and placed it in the girl's hand.  "Goodbye, 
Oneechan."  He stepped into the window, and jumped out, vanishing as he 
started to fall.

One month later,  Nene Romanova decoded a message that changed her life 
forever.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 1

DarkFire Dawn

Intro:  "Apocalypse" By Wyclef Jean  (Owned by Sony Music Entertainment, 
inc.  Used without permission for nonprofit purposes.  I'm currently 
broke, 
and losing even more money.  Please don't sue me.)

Apocalypse

One Two, the Headline News just broke through

Apocalypse

Three Four soldier, a hundred horsemen at your door

Apocalypse

Five Six, ya wanted dead or alive, in the mix

Oui oui Y'all (x4)

Arrival of the Carnival, new beats I never recycle
While you lookin for samples you might get trampled
Suprise, hate, I'm back with lightning and thunder
I heard you oversaying I'm a one hit wonder
You dumb or something, I went with refugees to infinity
When I bill collect royalties from record companies
Sky gettin darker, sun gettin nearer
I turned an atheist to a God-fearing believer
The back of a building, your body's found by children
Playin Hide 'n-go-seek, what we found was you skeleton
In the back of a car, you spar with the wrong guards
You know my Empire Strike Back harder
Missiles launch.  War!  It's the day after ashes
Project cannons being launched at the palace
Visual revelation, Skywrote Apocalypse
Enemy pilots kamikaze into the Abyss

POW!
Apocalypse

One Two, the Headline News just broke through

Apocalypse

Three Four soldier, a hundred horsemen at you door

Apocalypse

Five Six, wanted dead or alive, in the mix

Oui oui Y'all (x4, fade out)



"Ha!  How's that for a welcome back party, Sylia?"  Priss laughed, 
removing 
her helmet and sitting in the KnightWing(tm)'s passenger bay.  "Three 
boomers 
up, three down!"

"And not a scratch on the armor!"  Linna added.  "We're in top form 
tonight!
When we get back, I'm taking everyone to dinner, I'm starved!"

"Great....."  Nene sighed.  It's been five years.......

"Nene, is something wrong?"  Sylia asked from the cockpit.  

"Wha...  Oh, nothing!"  Nene said, brightening up.  Why have I been 
thinking
about that this past month?  And why is it suddenly making me depressed? 
"Can we go to Scirocco?"

"Why,"  Priss teased, "so Sylia'll have to let your hardsuit out?"

"WHAT!!"

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

=Two months later=

"C'mon, Priss!  I wanna show you this cool place that just opened up!"  
Sho
tugged on Priss' arm, trying to drag her down the street.  It wasn't 
very
often she would visit since his mother died, and he always had someplace 
new
to haul her to.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!"  Priss grumbled.  At least Nene was with them, 
so
she wouldn't suffer alone.  Too bad she wasn't suffering, as the place 
Sho
was taking them to was a new arcade megaplex that put the Gamecenter to
shame.  

The building was huge, consisting of two buildings, each taking up the
entire block they were on.  The first part was the Arcade and a 
nightclub,
while the second side was a restaurant and Shopping center.  A third 
block
was the construction site of a hotel to be connected to the other parts.  
It
was reminiscent of the mega hotel-casinos of Las Vegas, but on a larger
scale.  

Suprisingly, the building wasn't owned by Genom.  Some new company just
showed up, put down the money for the property, and deployed the 
buildings
in no time.  They just flew in these giant vehicles that opened up into 
the
Pyramids, then they simply filled them up with whatever they needed.  
According to Sylia, the local construction companies were not too happy
about that.  The hotel was expected to arrive tomorrow.  Naturally, 
Sylia
asked Nene to check up on this new company, named Darkfire Industries.  
Nene
came back with very little, except for a series of recent property and
company acquisitions, none earlier than an month ago.  For Nene, this 
means
either some damn good security, or they didn't even exist a month ago. 
Either one meant something wrong.  

Inside, the Arcade was a firestorm of light, sound, and activity.  
Pillars 
throughout the interior contained extremely realistic holo-images 
ranging 
from dragons to high-tech robots and battlesuits in action.  Various 
games 
were everywhere, from classic games such as the ultra-flash Marvel vs. 
Capcom 
vs. SNK 2002,  to the brand-new exclusive Axis-5:  an interactive VR 
wargame 
set on a faraway world.  

Nene was awestruck.  "I'm in Heaven, and I haven't even died yet!"  She 
quickly ran over to a mech sim, leaving Priss to the tender mercies of a 
young child with sugar in his veins, which is to say, none.  Swiping her 
card
Through the slot, she put on a VR helmet and Dataglove.  Within moments, 
she 
was immersed in a 3-D battlefield, facing off against enemy forces 
attacking 
her convoy.

*****************************************

Above the arcade, in the darkened head office, two of the complex's 
managers 
were looking over the crowds.  The multitude of shadows concealed their 
identity, but each knew the other.

//You know, I've always wanted a place like this." The one by the window 
said.  
"The energy, the atmosphere......//

//The games you can play for free because you own the place.// The other 
chuckled from her desk.  Behind her, a pair of large eyes flashed in the 
low 
light, accompanied by a deep hiss.  //Although, I must admit, this is 
the 
best cover we've had so far.  Kind of like the Center job.// 

//Well, I can do without the pissed-off Imperial Legionnaires, thank you 
very much.// The first one retorted.  //It feels good to be back, 
doesn't 
it?//

//How should I know, I've never been here before in my life.// The 
female 
reached over behind her and scratched under the chin of the beast behind 
her.  
A low, soft clucking voiced it's pleasure.

//Too bad, MegaTokyo's a great city.// The male answered.  //I'm gonna 
check 
on the others and then go 'out'.//

//Can't hold it back anymore?// 

//I'm afraid not.// he grinned sadly, a soft blue glow growing in a 
newly-
revealed pair of fangs.  

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Knight Sabers stood over the shattered body of a Bu-12b Advanced 
battle 
boomer.  For those few to witness the Sabers in action, this was not an 
unusual thing.  If those lucky few could've heard the discussion between 
them, however, they would've noticed something was not right.

"So who the hell did this?"  Priss asked.  "Who could've beaten us to 
this 
thing?"  

"I have no idea."  Sylia replied.  "Something's not right...."

"Think someone's trying to show us up?"  Linna said, picking up what was 
left 
of the rouge boomer's left arm.  Whoever it was, they had mangled it 
pretty 
bad.  This thing looked almost chewed up.  "This is the third time this 
week!"

"Can you find anything, Nene?"

"Nothing yet, Sylia."  Nene said, scanning the area, looking at her 
feet, she 
noticed a clean sheet of paper.  "Wait, what's this?"  Picking up the 
paper, 
she read it to herself.  "It's in English!  It says, 'Don't look up'."  

Naturally, all four of them looked up.  Spraypainted on the ceiling was 
another message, also in English.  'We TOLD you not to look up!'  
Suddenly, a 
grenade rolled into their midst and exploded, a bright flash blinding 
them.  

"What the-"  Priss' curse was cut short as something bodychecked her 
into a 
wall.  As their vision cleared, the Knight Sabers found a large boomer 
among 
them.  The boomer had the appearance of a metal man encased in heavy 
armor.  
The right arm had a pair of foot-long blades extending over the wrist, 
while 
the other hand ended in a four-pronged claw surrounding a large gun 
barrel.

"Ambush!"  Sylia cried,  "It's a trap!"    Her suit's warning lights 
started 
flashing all over her helmet.  Turning, they jumped at the last second 
as a 
pair of missiles detonated on the ground under them.  "Linna, help 
Priss.  
Nene, stay close, and find whoever launched those at us!"

"Gotcha, Sylia!"  Linna leaped at the boomer attacking Priss, harpooning 
it 
with her Wire-daggers.   Before she could activate the electro-shock, 
however, 
The boomer turned around, grabbed the cords, and pulled, yanking her off 
her 
feet and into it's iron grip.  A powerbomb did nicely to reintroduce her 
to 
the concrete.  Priss used this time to get to her feet and counterattack 
using her wrist blades.  the attack forced the boomer away from Linna, 
who 
got back up and continued the attack.  The boomer's eyes flashed red, 
and 
twin beams lanced out, striking Priss in the shoulder.  It followed up 
with 
a punch that drove her back and gave it further room to deal with Linna.

***************************************

"Two incoming bogeys right above us!"  Nene cried,  "16 meters and 
closing!"

//LET'S GET READY TO RRRUUUUUMMMBLLLLLLE!!!!// Two battlesuits dropped 
from 
the rafters.  both were painted in a glossy black.  The first suit had 
red 
trim, and had a single amber sensor in the center of it's face.  The 
second 
one was leaner, with an ornate crest on the helmet and Blue-green trim.  
The 
red suit carried a rifle with a large magazine hooked up from the front, 
the 
blue had a larger gun with a sword hanging from a scabbard at the waist.  
The blue suit fired it's gun, a stream of hot plasma energy separating 
the 
Sabers.  The red suit went after Nene while Sylia faced the blue one.  

"So you must be the infamous Knight Sabers,"  Blue spoke in an odd 
accent, 
shouldering his gun and drawing the sword.  "May I have the honor of 
this 
dance?"  he said as he bowed, keeping his eyes on Sylia.  Red hadn't 
even 
bothered to speak, instead extending a blade from his right arm and 
going 
after Nene with a vengeance.  

While the red hardsuit frantically dodged her attacker, Sylia decided to 
take the initiative.  Extending her suit's own blades, she lunged at her 
opponent.  Blue parried with the sword and pushed her back, swiping at 
her 
legs with his foot.  Sylia flipped back and rushed forward again, 
crushing 
his block with a Knuckle Bomb to the arm.  Blue staggered back and 
ducked as 
Sylia's blade came searching for his head, losing part of the crest.  
"Who 
are you?  Why do you attack us?"   

The battle suit responded with a roundhouse to the gut.  "Sorry, but we 
can't 
tell you that right now."  He then continued with a lightning series of 
attacks that had Sylia fighting just to keep herself from getting 
skewered.

Nene ducked under yet another blade swipe.  No doubt about it, she was 
in 
trouble.  Her opponent's armor was too tough for her lasers to be very 
effective, and he moved too fast to use her Pulse-Strikers.  
Desperately, 
she lashed out with a kick, and actually connected.  Quickly, she raised 
both 
arms and rapidly fired shot after shot at the red battlesuit.  Not all 
of 
them hit, but it drove him back and gave her enough space to charge up 
the 
Pulse-Strikers.  Not hesitating, she released the EMP blast.  When she 
opened 
her eyes, the suit was nowhere to be seen.  

************************************

Priss ducked under the boomer's fist.  With a flick of her wrist, an 
energy 
sword popped out of her wrist, the blade crackling to life.  She 
immediately
slashed the boomer twice across the chest before the Combat Torch's 
power 
ran out.  Priss jumped back as Linna's Wire-Daggers shot forward, one 
finding 
it's way into the slash Priss had just opened up.  Linna quickly 
activated 
the charge, and the Cyberdroid dropped to it's knees as a few thousand 
volts 
found it's way into it's inner circuitry.  

Priss brought up her Spike-Shooters, preparing to make this boomer do a 
great 
impression of a pincushion, when it suddenly stood and leaped into the 
air.  
She just barely had enough time to dive out of the way as he came down 
right
where her head would've been.  It's eyes flashed bright red, and a 
second, 
smaller pair of arms folded out of it's body, under the main arms.  A 
hidden 
launcher popped up from it's left shoulder, and four tiny missiles shot 
out.  
Two each going after Priss and Linna.  

"Oh shit, MOVE!"  Both Knight Sabers jumped to avoid the missiles.  The 
boomer leaped after them, kicking Linna to the ground and grabbing 
Priss.  
Raising her above it's head, it's right arm extended, crashing her 
through 
the ceiling.  Pulling her back, it then cut off it's thrusters and 
piledrived 
her into the floor.  

"Priss!"  Linna threw out a single wire-dagger, stabbing the boomer in 
the 
eye.  Priss rolled painfully away and got back to her feet.  "How are we 
gonna beat this thing?"  

"I don't know, but get ready to move, I'm reading a huge energy buildup 
in 
it's arm!"  As if on cue, the boomer raised it's left arm.  The two 
Sabers 
jumped as a huge burst of plasma energy fired off.  They barely dove out 
of 
the way as another pair of micro-missiles streaked after them, blowing 
them 
off their feet.  "I'm getting tired of this!  What are we, Sabers or 
Sailors?  
Linna, move around him while I keep him busy!"  Linna ran behind a 
broken
-down power loader while Priss provided covering fire.  When she got 
behind 
the boomer, She quickly rushed in, ribbons twirling.  She barely made a 
few 
cuts before it tuned and belted her with a thruster-kick.  This opened 
it up
to a series of spikes from Priss.  The boomer threw it's right arm 
forward, 
extending it until it was a few inches in front of Priss' face.  The 
hand 
opened, and a wave of force slammed her into a pillar.  

***************************************

Nene looked around, scanning the building for any traces of the 
black/red 
battlesuit.  Suddenly, her arm was grabbed and twisted behind her back.  
Turning her head, she came face-to-sensor with the red-trimmed suit.

"Let go of me!"  Nene cried, trying to slip out of his hold.  

"Come on," Red replied, not letting up, "I'm just trying to get to know 
you a 
little better."

"Sorry, but you're not my type!"  Nene finally was able to position her 
free 
arm behind her.  praying silently, she launched a cord into an elbow 
joint.  
Within a few moments, she was able to access the other suit's targeting 
systems.  Dropping to one knee, she loosened his grip and messed up his 
balance enough to turn them around to face where the boomer was 
advancing on 
a stunned Linna.  

"Eat this you JERK!"  she cried as the activated a pair of launchers 
folded 
behind the battlesuit.  Both popped up and released a pair of canisters 
at 
the Boomer.  The canisters attached themselves to it, and exploded in 
three 
seconds.  The bombs damaged and stunned the boomer enough for Linna to 
recover and rejoin Priss.  

Red grabbed Nene again and slammed her into the ground.  His sword blade 
reextended, and he sliced off her cord.  "If you EVER do that again, 
I'll 
forget I'm not supposed to kill you!"  Raising his hand, an ultra-sticky 
sheet flew from nowhere out of his hand and wrapped her up against a 
large 
steel pipe.  "Now stay put like a good girl!"  He pressed the faceplate 
of 
his helmet against the cheek of hers, making an exaggerated kissing 
sound, 
then ran off, leaving her tied there.

************************************

Sylia slid through the doorway, palm lasers searching through the 
darkness.  
Abruptly, the blue-green trimmed battlesuit had broken off his attack, 
and 
was now switching to a 'Hide-and-Seek/Laser Tag' battle, slipping out of
the shadows, striking, and melting back into the darkness.  The other 
Sabers 
were fairing just as badly, if not worse;  Priss and Linna were just 
about 
even with the boomer they were double-teaming, but the red suit had 
trapped 
Nene in some sticky covering and left her there, saying he wasn't to 
kill 
her.  This night was getting strange.  

A sudden movement caused her to turn around, a laser blast lancing 
through 
the dark.  Sylia ducked and returned fire.  Blue jumped out of the way 
and 
unshouldered his Plasma cannon.  Sylia backed through the doorway as an 
entire section of the wall was slagged and melted away.  That was 
another 
thing.  no handheld weapon, not even of that size, she had heard of had 
THAT 
kind of power.  These three were not your run-of-the-mill mercenaries.  
Not 
even the Illegal Army had this kind of weaponry, and they were almost 
twice 
the size of this group.  The two suits exchanged laser fire for a few 
more 
seconds, then Blue disappeared once more.  Sylia took off after him, 
catching
him as he attempted to jump into the rafters.  The dark battlesuit 
turned 
it's plasma cannon at her, but she knocked it out of his hand.  Blue 
blasted 
the support beam out from under Sylia with his wrist laser, and dropped 
down
after her.  

Sylia leapt out of the way of a vicious chop and countered.  Blue 
parried and 
swung again.  Sylia extended her swordblades to parry the attack, then 
realized that she wasn't the target when he changed in mid-swing, his 
sword
slicing her right Lasersword in half.  Sylia backed off as an aircraft's 
searchlight swept through the nearby skylight.  In the distance, she 
picked 
up the sounds of approaching ADP sirens.  Blue turned and flew off 
through 
the skylight.  Sylia followed, and saw as he, the red suit, and the 
boomer 
climbed into a black, unmarked tiltrotor.  Two ADP Hornet aerodynes 
pursued,
but the red suit fired two missiles at them, damaging their lift fans, 
and
forcing them to land.  The craft turned, and shot off into the night.

********************************************

Sylia dropped inside as Priss and Linna were helping each other get up.
They limped over to Nene, who was still stuck.  

"GET ME OUT OF HERE!!!!" 

"Quiet already, Nene!"  Priss snapped.  "You're louder than the police
sirens!  Only you could get tied up in a fight!"  Reaching over to help 
pull
Nene out, she got her hand stuck on the carpet.  Priss tried to get 
herself 
free, but only became further entrapped.  Sylia tried slicing trough 
with
her remaining blade, but the blade also got stuck.  a moment later, the
carpet disappeared.  

"What was that stuff?"  Linna asked, touching the pipe Nene had been 
stuck
to.  "I can't see any trace of it!"

"We'll worry about that later,"  Sylia answered, "right now we had 
better
leave before ADPolice shows up!"

**************************************************

Inside the tiltrotor, The two battlesuits collapsed into a pair of 
chairs in
the passenger bay.  The blue-green suit removed his helmet, revealing
shoulder-length hair the same blue-green as the trim on his suit.  Most 
of
which was currently hanging in front of his face.

//Well that explains why your fighting stank so bad tonight!// The red
suit's pilot laughed.  His skin was much darker, and his hair was now 
cut
close to his scalp.  //You should've had the one I was playing with!//

//Shut up, Damien.  What did you do to her?// 

//Not much,// Damien replied, //I used a Carpet spell and stuck her to a
pipe.  I tell ya, she was too easy!//

//So why is your suit covered in laser burns?//

//You can tell?  X, status report!//

The battledroid's eyes flashed blue.  [ALL WEAPONS FUNCTIONAL.  MODERATE
DAMAGE TO FRONTAL AND REAR ARMOR, MODERATE ELECTRICAL DAMAGE TO MOTOR
SYSTEM.  ESTIMATED REPAIR TIME:  FOUR HOURS.]

//Man,// Damien whistled.  //Can he take a hit or what?  I saw you in
action, X.  You were getting pounded out there!  You even took two of my
fusion blocks, and you're still going!//

//And just how did he happen to get hit by our own weapons?// Turner 
asked.

//Hey, it wasn't my fault!// Damien protested.  //That red one shot a 
plug
into my armor and took over the firing system!  It was a lucky shot!//

//Ha!// Turner retorted.  //The only luck is the kind you make, boy.//

//Don't call me boy.  And you can actually say that after we pop through 
a
weird-ass Dimensional Vortex to my old training grounds, of all 
places!//

//Good point.  Lucky, how long 'til we get to the Factory?  My feet are
killing me!//

//Two minutes.//

//Good.  I'm looking forward to a long sleep after debriefing.//

//So what's planned for tomorrow?//

//Nothing after morning exercises.  Just be back by 2100 tomorrow.//

//Perfect!  I got some business to take care of since I was last here.//

//Fine, as long as it doesn't involve the use of fireballs!//

//Noting the fact that you said nothing about Carpets of Adhesion, 
lightning
bolts, or Sensory Deprivation spells, consider it done!//

//Oh, no.  None of that either!// Turner said.

//Okay, Okay!//

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

=The next day=

"Hey, Leon!"

"What's up, Daley?"

"I got the report on last night's incident!"  Daley called.  "Oooh, boy! 
Looks like things are getting a whole lot hotter in the old town!"  With
that, he slapped a thick folder down on Leon's desk. 

"Man, look at this!"  Leon whistled as he shuffled trough the photos 
taken
of the scene, "I thought that was just a battle boomer?"

"That's the bad part, Babe.  The boomer had been taken out earlier, but 
I
don't think the Knight Sabers had anything to do with it.  For one, they
were seen leaving the area, but they didn't leave their calling card.  
Two,
there was way too much collateral damage for it to be their handiwork.  
And
three, this is the clincher, a black tiltrotor aircraft left the area 
before
the Knight Sabers, we tried to give chase, but a battlesuit in the craft
shot down the pursuit choppers!"

Leon paused, thinking.  So far, the evidence was not pointing to 
anything
good for the city, or the Knight Sabers.  "Tell me this won't turn into 
some
ultratech gang-war or something!"  He moaned, head dropping into his 
hands.  

"Leon, are you okay?"  Nene asked as she stopped at his desk.  "You look
ill.  Maybe you should take the day off."

"That's my line."  Daley quipped,  "Next thing you know, you'll be 
trying to
chat him up!"

"I don't think I'm that desperate yet!"  Nene replied, scooping up the
report folder.  "Chief wants a copy of this, and _somebody_,"  with a 
glare
at Daley, "sneaked it off my desk!"  With that, she turned and left.

"Well, excuuuuse, me, Miss Thang!" Daley said in a voice that was too
fruity, even for him (you know the one, and apologies to anyone offended 
by
that.) and snapping his fingers.  Leon looked strangely at him, and they
both burst out laughing.  "Oh by the way," Daley continued, "Personnel 
says
they got a new applicant that they want you to see."

"Applicant?"  Leon asked, "Why do they want me to see him?"

******************************************

Back at her desk, Nene looked over the evidence photos and reports of 
the
battle.  Finally, her eyes came upon a shot of the red-trimmed suit that 
she
had fought as it fired a pair of missiles at the pursuit choppers. 
According to the reports, the missiles hit only the rotor blades; doing
minor damage to the frame, but forcing both to land.  She stared at the
picture, finally understanding what others must think when they see 
pictures
of her and the others in the news:  What kind of person lives under that
armor?  Is he a professional soldier, or does he have a life behind the
helmet?  Why did they attack?  Who do they work for?  

"Nene!"  Naoko called out, punctuated with a TWAK of her ruler.  "Focus 
yourself!"  Picking up the photo, she smiled.  "Ah, now I see!"  she 
teased,
The mystery of the armored rouge has captured the heart of the fair 
maiden.  
Will she adhere to duty, giving information and directions that could 
very 
well mean his downfall, or will she watch over her love from the 
shadows, 
protecting him, even though they may never meet face-to-face?"

"Stop it, Naoko!"  Nene cried defensively, grabbing the picture.  "It's 
nothing like that!  I have more self-control than to go pining over some 
armored renegade!  Not like those fanboys over in the Comp Lab......... 
or 
you!"  Grinning, she avoided the ruler, whipped one of her own out of 
her 
desk, and smacked Naoko on the tip of her nose, all in one motion.  

"Ow!  How did you do that?"

Nene looked at the ruler in her hand, semi-shocked.  "Oh, my....."  How 
in 
the Three Galaxies did I do THAT?  Idly, she wondered what the Three 
Galaxies were.  Another sudden movement from Naoko's direction caused 
her 
to instinctively(?) parry the incoming ruler yet again.  "What is it 
this 
time?"  She asked, annoyance showing through her amazement.

"There's someone here to see you down at the front desk.  Jeez, Nene, 
why 
are you so distracted all of a sudden?"

"Really?  Who is it?"

"How should I know?  It's some guy.  Kinda cute though."

"I wonder who it is...."

"Go find out, then!"  Naoko said, hustling her out the door.

********************************************



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