Kei was forced to shove those thoughts away when the roof began to
shake. Another explosion rocked the Plascrete beneath her feet, and cracks
began to appear. Kei had no idea what in the building that exploded, but she
did know that the roof wasn't long for staying together. The stairs were
out, as was the fire escape. There was only one alternative, and that was to
jump. Screwing up her courage and adjusting Yuri on her shoulder, Kei made a
dash for the edge. 

        The feeling of weightlessnes was exhilerating. Suspended in the air
above the now bright street, she saw several pumper trucks from Corix
Fire/Emergency Rescue Corps. Along with the long red hovertrucks were the
box-like white ambulances. Kei had the feeling she and Yuri were gonna need
one. She had no idea how her friend was faring, and midair wasn't the best
place to check. The Lovely Angels rapidly fell to the ground, gaining speed
at a frightening rate. Kei closed her eyes and waited for the impact. The
air tore at her as the two approached the pavement. 

        Without any preamble, Kei felt her downward motion stop. There
wasn't any pain at all. She opened her eyes and saw herself surrounded by
eight men in bulky firefighter's gear. each held before them a glowing
purple bar. She and Yuri were lying on a purple forcefield. Thank God for
state-of-the-art technology.

        The energy field instantly absorbed the momentum and energy of the
fall, and used that to reinforce the strength of the field. Three paramedics
tended to Yuri, while two rather handsome ones tended to Kei. She hid the
Bloody Card, intending to analyze the glowing substance later.

        || The Hunter replayed the audio samples of the two Ooman females as
it glared hatefully at the now destroyed building. The intense heat had
foced it to retreat a few rooftops, and lose track of the prey. The flames
made everything in that direction indeterminable from everything else. 

        The cut on its chest stung, but the Hunter ignored it. The wound
wasn't serious, and had already stopped bleeding, but the Hunter felt
burning shame at the sight of it. The Ooman had injured it, and escaped.
This was unforgivable. Utterly unforgivable. 

        The female had just become its primary target. The Hunter would not
stop until her skull adorned its trophy case. ||

[END CHAPTER 3]

Notes:

        Finally! I never intended for this chapter to get so big, or take so
long, but things happen.

        Anyway, I hope those of you on the FFML enjoy this. At this time, I
would like to thank my pre-readers, in no particular order:

        Mytzgreter
        Daniel Hanneld
        Starrngr
        Sebastien RENON
        David Johnston
        J. Austin Wilde (Damn, he writes good stuff) He helped revise
chapters one and two
        Arthur Edwards (MERCS! MERCS! YOU NEED 'EM, HE'S GOT 'EM!!!)
        Thomas Haus
        FFOrion (Anyone seen him lately?)
        Matt Johnston (Anyone seen him?)
        And to anyone else I may have missed. Without these people, this
'fic wouldn't be possible.

        Also, thanks to all those who read and responded to the first two
chapters. I really appreciate all your input.

        Okay, that's it for now. Chapter four is being drafted now.
        
        Thanks for reading, and I  hope you enjoy it.

Jed