The Neon Knight Sabers
(A NGE / Oh My Goddess! / Sailor Moon / Tenchi Muyo / Ranma
One Half / Gunsmith Cats / El-Hazard / Bubblegum Crisis /
kitchen sink Crossover)
By Ammadeau
Roy.Fokker@UNSpacy.org
http://Ammadeau.tripod.com/fanfiction.htm
Note: Thanks out to my pre-readers Angus McSpon and Larry F.
Sorry it took me so long to revise this.
***
From his office high atop the Genom Pyramid, Katsuhiko
Jinnai could look down from his window to see the outside of the
lab where technicians were assembling his latest and greatest
creation, the Super Bug-Boomer. The 'tests' of the previous
models, thanks to the Knight Sabers, had shown several flaws in
his earlier design which he had hastened to correct. His only
irritation was due to one part which he had failed to obtain. Yet.
Jinnai might have been down in that lab, watching them
assemble his historic creation, if not for the fact that he was
currently on the phone with Chairman Quincy, who was
overseeing another branch of Genom in Europe. The call was
audio-only. For some reason, Quincy disliked talking face to face.
He even tended to keep his office dark.
There was another reason Jinnai wasn't down in the lab, but
he chose not to think about it at the moment.
"I am told you have failed in obtaining the item that we had
discussed," Quincy told him.
"A minor setback, trivial really. The Knight Sabers will
deliver our little black box back to the USSD and we'll simply take
it from them again. A flawless plan, if I do say so myself."
"As I recall, the last operation took a month to set up. The
USSD will be expecting someone to try something this time."
"That hardly matters. I put everything in place during the
confusion of the last attempt, as a backup. I knew that there was a
chance of failure for even my brilliant plan. By the time the USSD
realizes their little toy is gone, it will already be too late."
"I'll leave it to you then. Remember, there must be nothing
to connect this to Genom. I run a respectable company."
"Not to worry. I'll make sure there are no witnesses."
Jinnai hung up the phone and smiled as the sound of an
explosion drifted up to him. He picked up the phone again and
dialed a number.
"Hello? Yes, it's time. The lab should be clear now. Be
careful when you move the boomer. It's a delicate machine."
He hung up the phone once again, threw back his head, and
laughed.
Program 3: Boomer Troubles
Keiichi relaxed in the bath with a sigh. Rei and he had
started working on the Sana-boomer at a little after one AM. It
was now six in the morning. They weren't even close to finished,
but were currently at a stage in the operation where they could take
a much-needed break. His sister was probably in her private pool,
which for some reason she kept at near-body temperature.
Keiichi lay in a half-doze, and so was completely
unprepared when from the bathtub rose up a column of light, out of
which stepped a young girl around twelve years old, dressed in
white robes similar to those Belldandy had been wearing when she
had first arrived. She also had similar facial markings. Keiichi,
however, was a little too stunned at the moment to draw any
conclusions from this.
"Hope I got the right place this time," the girl said to herself
as she looked around. Then she noticed Keiichi, specifically that
he was naked. The fact that he was in the middle of a bath and she
had walked in on him never entered her mind. "Eeek!!! Hentai!!"
Keiichi never even saw the mallet that knocked him
unconscious and so missed the realization that he was in the
presence of yet another divine being. In this way, the goddess
Skuld had arrived at the Ayanami residence.
Rei had finished her swim a while ago and was now in
search of her brother. They had agreed to meet back at the lab ten
minutes ago and it was unlike him to be late. As she searched the
apartment, she wondered if it was time to call in Washu on this.
The short redhead was a bit unreliable, but she was a genius and
removing the black box from Sana while keeping her functional
was proving to be a more difficult task than Rei had originally
anticipated.
So she was a little surprised to see a strange short girl with
long black hair step out of the bathroom. She had on clothes
similar to what a Shinto priestess in training would wear and bore
marks on her face much like Belldandy's. There was a feeling
about her similar to the one that Rei got around the Goddess of the
Present, something she didn't quite understand.
The girl walked right up to the leader of the Knight Sabers
and asked, "You must be Rei Ayanami, right?"
Rei blinked. "Yes, who are you?"
"I'm Skuld, Goddess of the Future. My big sister
Belldandy called, saying that you were having problems with a
robot, so I'm here to help!"
It was hard even for Rei to not look highly dubious of this.
"Your sister attempted to repair some cellular phones, but
ended blowing them up instead."
Skuld nodded. "She's not very good with machines, since
they're _my_ sphere of influence. I've been repairing things for
hundreds of years now, so don't worry. There's nothing
mechanical that I can't fix!"
That was when Keiichi entered the hallway, clad only in a
towel, and absently rubbing a sizable bump on his head.
"Skuld," Rei said to the goddess, "this is my brother,
Keiichi."
"I knew it, ecchi!" Skuld once again drew her mallet to use
it in a way it wasn't intended for. The teenager managed to avoid a
game of whack-a-Keiichi this time, however.
Skuld marched confidently into the lab, carefully studying
all of the machines until she finally reached Sana lying on one of
the laboratory tables. She spent several minutes peering closely at
the patient and then the monitors before she spoke.
"So, where's the robot?"
Rei and Keiichi face-faulted.
"That's her right on the table!" Keiichi nearly shouted. He
was normally a calm and polite boy, but lack of sleep, being
repeatedly called a hentai despite the fact that she was the one that
spontaneously appeared while he'd been taking a nice bath, and not
to mention a mallet to the head, had pushed him over the edge.
"Well, Mr. Hentai--"
"That's Ayanami!"
"Whatever. The girl on the table isn't a robot. From what I
can determine, she's a bio-mechanical android of a type that I have
never seen before."
"She's a boomer," Rei informed the goddess.
"My field of expertise is really robots, but if you can give
me some information of these boomers, I'll see what I can do."
Rei hesitated for a bit before she punched up some detailed
schematics on a computer. She was reluctant to share this
information with a complete stranger, but Skuld had that same
indefinable quality of older sister that made one trust her almost
immediately. Besides, Rei was starting to doubt that she could
save Sana without help, and this pre-pubescent goddess seemed
somewhat more reliable than Washu.
Skuld sat herself down before it and started flipping
through the information faster than even the leader of the Knight
Sabers could follow.
"Oh, I get it now!" Skuld said finally, "This'll be a piece of
cake! Why don't you both wait outside and give me room to
work?"
"Don't tell me that you can fix her all by yourself?" Keiichi
asked dubiously. He doubted that a little girl could succeed where
her and his sister couldn't, even if she was a goddess.
"Of course not, ecchi. That's why I brought help!"
"That's Keiichi!"
Skuld ignored him, instead pulling out a metal ball that was
half white and half red. "I choose you, Banpei!"
There was a sudden cloud of smoke. When it cleared,
Skuld was dressed in a pink surgeon's outfit, while standing next to
her was a dumpy-looking robot dressed as a nurse.
"All right, we're ready to operate!"
Banpei beeped in agreement.
Keiichi and Rei sweat-dropped.
In another room of the apartment, Belldandy was beginning
to awaken. Most goddesses and gods didn't need to sleep, though
they usually did anyway. Belldandy was different since this was
the way she recharged her energy on Earth. She didn't actually
need to when the Yggdrasil system was operating properly as it
was at the moment, but it still made her feel nice and refreshed
anyway.
She smiled a bit as she looked around the room that Rei had
provided her. She was such a nice woman, letting her stay there on
short notice. Then she frowned a bit, thinking of Rei. The goddess
knew the woman's entire history and sympathized with all that she
had gone through. Belldandy decided to try and do something nice
for her in return soon.
Her eyes eventually settled on a table that was bare, all
except for the gift that Keiichi had given her. It was small and not
worth much money, but to the young goddess it was more precious
than any horde of treasure.
It was a small hologram projector that showed the image of
a bird singing. Its songs were meant to be both lullaby at night and
alarm clock in the morning. Sometimes it even sounded like the
bird was singing her name. More precious than the gift itself was
the fact that Keiichi had made it for her and her alone.
When Belldandy entered the kitchen with the intention of
making breakfast, she was surprised to find Rei and Keiichi
already there, sharing a pot of tea between them. Rei looked the
same as ever, though her eyes might have been a bit redder.
Keiichi looked like someone resigned to the fact that he wasn't
going to be able to sleep for a long time to come. Belldandy was
instantly worried, but not sure what she could do for him.
"Did you finish fixing Sana?" she asked.
"Your younger sister is working on her at the moment," Rei
told her. "She wished for us to remain outside so as to not get in
her way."
"Oh, you mean Skuld?" The teenage goddess had nearly
forgotten that she had called her mechanically-inclined sister for
help last night.
Belldandy noticed that Keiichi had frowned slightly and
rubbed his head a bit when she had mentioned her sister's name.
That was odd. Everyone liked Skuld. It was her older sister Urd
that people had trouble getting along with.
"Oh, just give me a minute and I'll have breakfast ready."
"You don't have to go through all that trouble for us
Belldandy."
"It's no trouble at all, Keiichi-san. I think I'll try making
scrambled eggs today."
All of Keiichi's protests vanished before the brilliance of
Belldandy's smile.
In yet another room, Ranko woke to a unfamiliar ceiling,
and nearly shouted in surprise and a little horror to find herself
wearing a frilly nightgown. Movement revealed her body to be
stiff, and covered in spots of dull pain. She felt worse than any
workout her old man had given her, closer to the aftereffects of a
major battle with the eternally lost boy.
It was as if the pain were a signal to remind Ranko of what
had happened last night. How she had stupidly disobeyed Rei's
orders just because the boomer had wounded her ego. She might
have finished off the monster in the end, but she had put herself
and the others at risk for no good reason. Maybe a year or two ago
Ranko wouldn't have even thought of those things, but she'd like to
think that she'd grown up a little during that time, especially after
joining the Knight Sabers.
Ranko honestly expected to get yelled at, even despite the
fact that Rei had never raised her voice to anyone. Instead, there
was Mihoshi saying how worried she had been, Rei gently helping
her out of her armor, and Ami carefully tending her wounds, acting
in some ways more like a mother than a doctor. She had even
heard Keiichi saying how he was going to be careful and pick the
smoothest route so Ranko wouldn't get jostled so much.
Ranko had never had so many people being concerned
about her welfare before, especially after totally screwing up like
she did. Kasumi and her mom perhaps, but they cared almost at a
distance. Ranko didn't feel close to them, not as she did with her
fellow Knight Sabers.
And Rei saying that if she ever disobeyed orders she'd be
off the team. Ranko knew enough about her boss to know that she
hadn't been bluffing. The redhead vowed to follow Rei's rules
from then on to the letter. She didn't want to lose what she had.
At roughly the same time and in another place in Mega-
Tokyo, Rally Vincent was doing her job. This time it was
investigating what was left of a Genom laboratory that had
mysteriously exploded last night. Her partner Alielle was busy
interviewing the guards who had been on duty at the time, all the
while complaining loudly over the fact that Genom didn't seem to
employ any female guards, while Rally poked around the lab for
anything of interest. So far, there was no sign of what had caused
the explosion and killed the dozen people that were working that
night. What they were actually working on, was of course, top
secret.
"There are some days I hate this job," she said to herself,
stifling a yawn, leaning against one of the ruined machines for
support. She blinked in surprise and nearly fell over when it tipped
right over. Rally smiled at the computer disk that it had
uncovered, and first glancing around to make sure no one was
looking, quickly slipped it into her pocket.
One of the top execs of Genom was making a press
announcement at the doors of the Genom Pryamid over the
'accident' that had occurred. Having spent over an hour completely
going over the site, Rally and Alielle only arrived near the end.
" . . . and our deepest condolences go out to all the families
of those who perished in last night's regrettable incident. They
will, of course, be provided for."
Alielle gasped in surprise when she saw who the exec was.
It should have been impossible for him to be there, but she could
not have forgotten his face, even if it had been ten years since she
had seen it last. She pushed people aside in a rush to get out of the
crowd. First the bugroms and now Jinnai himself. This had
suddenly gotten much too serious for her to handle alone. She had
some people she had to call.
Rally shouted after her partner, trying to follow her, but lost
her in the crowd. What had happened to her normally happy
partner to have such a fearful expression? It was completely unlike
her.
This all hadn't passed the notice of one Mr. Jinnai, though
he was a bit surprised to see a familiar face so soon. He turned to
an advanced boomer who stood guard near him and told her,
"Follow her. I want to know her every move."
Panther grinned. "Of course, Mr. Jinnai."
The cyber-boomer cleared the crowd in an impressive leap
and was soon in pursuit of her quarry.
Ranko was grinning as she exited the furo, though she had
felt a bit uncomfortable using Rei's bathroom with the chance that
someone might walk in on her. She was even more uncomfortable
that she had to use only cold water just in case.
Her spirits were high, even though her body felt like hell.
Still, everything but her hands was almost fully healed, and even
they weren't nearly as bad as they were last night.
"You should still be in bed, Ranko," Rei told her when the
redhead entered the kitchen. She, Keiichi, and Belldandy looked to
be just finishing breakfast.
"I'm fine, really," Ranko told her with a small laugh, "Heal
fast."
Rei stood and walked over to her. Ranko was a little put
off by the serious look those red eyes were giving him, temporarily
forgetting that Rei's eyes were almost always serious.
"Let me see your hands," Rei demanded. She wasn't a fully
qualified doctor like Ami, though she had learned a great deal of
first aid over the years.
Reluctantly, Ranko held her hands out to Rei, and blushed
faintly when the older woman took her hands in hers, examining
them closely. Maybe it was because Ranko's hands were overly
sensitive after being burned so badly, but Rei's touch was very...
soft, and smooth. Like the hands of someone who had never
worked a day in her life, but Ranko knew that this wasn't true of
Rei. In her hardsuit, those hands had ripped apart boomers.
If Rei noticed Ranko's blush, she gave no outward sign.
"You do heal exceptionally fast. Your hands should be fine in a
few days, however I have some lotion I want you to rub on your
hands and a pair of surgical gloves for you to wear. That should
speed up healing and prevent infection."
There were a few moments of silence after Rei let go of
Ranko's hands, then the redhead nervously dropped her hands to
her sides and said a bit shakily, "Thank you, Rei."
"My concern is for your ability to act as a Knight Saber,"
Rei told her. "I believe what we faced in Aqua City was only the
beginning of something larger, and I will need you operating at
your full capacity. Belldandy has left you some breakfast. Eat
while I fetch the lotion and gloves." With that, Rei left.
Ranko watched her go in surprise. She might have
followed after the blue-haired woman if Belldandy hadn't called to
her. "Don't you want breakfast, Ranko?"
Ranko reluctantly turned away and sat down at the table.
While Ranko ate her fill in silence, Keiichi helped
Belldandy with the dishes. She had told him that she could easily
do them alone, but he had insisted on helping. He didn't like the
idea of her doing all the work. Besides, he wanted to be near her
as often as possible. Belldandy didn't mind being near Keiichi
herself. It was the fact that Ranko was also there that she had a
problem with; but she said nothing about it.
Belldandy was staring at her hands as she washed, when
suddenly she shouted in surprise. "Why didn't I think of it before?
Ranko, I can use my powers to heal your wounds."
Ranko remembered the condition of the cell phones that
Belldandy had tried to fix and edged away a bit fearfully from the
goddess. "No, that's okay. I'll be all healed before you know it
anyway. No reason for you to go through so much trouble," Ranko
explained nervously.
Belldandy took a step towards Ranko, not seeming to
notice the apprehensive look in the redhead's eyes. "Why, it'll be
no trouble at all. Just give me you hands, it'll only take a minute."
"No!" Ranko shouted, hiding her hands behind her. "It's
not that I don't trust you Belldandy... I just don't want to
disappoint Rei. She seemed like she wanted to tend my hands
herself for some reason. Don't know why though. Didn't seem too
happy about it."
Belldandy nodded and took a step back while Ranko
breathed a sigh of relief. "She loves you all. All of the Knight
Sabers are like daughters to her, but she's unsure of how to express
her feelings, and that uncertainly makes her afraid of doing
something wrong. So she hides these feelings deep inside herself."
Keiichi turned to face his girlfriend in shock. Not only the
fact that she seemed to understand Rei as well as he did, but also
that Belldandy looked like she was about to cry. Acting on
instinct, he put a comforting arm around her waist. Almost
immediately, her sadness vanished.
They all were silent until Ranko finally managed to say,
"I... don't even know what to say to her now."
When Rei returned, Ranko studied her as the blue-haired
woman took care of her hands. Rei didn't even seem to notice her
intense gaze.
"Thank you," Ranko said suddenly as Rei finished. "I want
to thank you for everything you've ever done for me, Rei. For
taking care of me, watching out for me, for making me a Knight
Saber. Everything."
Ranko was surprised by the genuine smile that appeared on
the older woman's face. "You're welcome, Ranko."
Mihoshi and Ami dropped by Rei's apartment at the end of
their shifts. Both were concerned for Sana, though Ami did her
best not to show it. She knew from experience that worry wouldn't
help matters, but felt extremely frustrated that all of her medical
knowledge was basically worthless in this situation.
"Is Sana going to be okay?" Mihoshi begged Keiichi
immediately when he answered the door. Her eyes had gotten very
large and rivers of tears ran down her cheeks.
"Uhh..." was the best Keiichi could do, answering the door
for find this... thing staring back at him.
"It's okay, Mihoshi," Ami told her, seeing that Keiichi was
close to freaking out. "I'm sure Sana will be fine."
"Really?" Mihoshi asked, turning in Ami's direction.
The former Sailor Mercury had to take a step back from her
fellow Knight Saber, who was looking even scarier than a yoma at
the moment.
All of the Knight Sabers, along with Keiichi and
Belldandy, were waiting outside the laboratory when Skuld had
announced that she was almost finished. Rei sat patiently, arms
crossed. Ranko sat fiddling with the gloves she now wore and
occasionally glancing at Rei. Ami spent her time wondering what
was going on in the lab right then, and wondering why Ranko was
acting so oddly. Mihoshi spent the time intently studying the
manga she had brought with her. Belldandy and Keiichi served
everyone refreshments and spent the rest of their time holding
hands.
Finally, the door opened up a crack, and Skuld poked her
head out. "Big sister!" she shouted in glee, running right into the
arms of the older goddess, and incidentally knocking Keiichi on
the floor. Ami had to stifle laughter seeing this. She was sure that
had been purely intentional. From the look on Keiichi's face, he
knew that it hadn't been an accident either. Still, he stood up and
said nothing.
After a few moments spent in a joyful reunion, Belldandy
brought her sister to face the rest of them. "Skuld, you've already
met Rei and Keiichi. I'd like you to meet Mihoshi, Ami, and
Ranko."
"Pleased to --" was all Skuld could managed before
Mihoshi shouted gleefully and picked up the young goddess,
spinning her around the room.
"Wow, she's so cute!" Mihoshi declared, holding Skuld
close like a stuffed animal.
Skuld's head was spinning. "I think I'm going to be sick,"
she muttered to herself.
"Mihoshi!" Ami shouted, taking the young, and now dizzy,
goddess from the blonde's grasp and setting her back on her feet.
"Are you all right now?"
Skuld nodded, still feeling a bit light-headed. "Yes, thank
you, I'm Skuld. Pleased to meet you."
Ami smiled. "It's nice to meet you too, Skuld. I'm Ami.
Your sister tells us that you're a genius with anything mechanical.
Maybe you can help me with my scooter later. It hasn't been
running all that well." Ami knew that she could have taken it to
Washu, but after seeing the results of the redhead's other 'repairs,'
Ami thought it was much safer to use her scooter as is.
"Sure!" Skuld said with a big smile, always eager to prove
her talents.
"Hi there, kid," Ranko told her with a friendly wave.
"I am not a kid!" Skuld immediately shot back.
"Whatever," Ranko replied, not seeming particularly
concerned.
Skuld fumed, but before she could say or do anything,
Belldandy asked, "Did you fix Sana, Skuld?"
"Of course!" Skuld told her older sister. "I had come out
here to tell you that the operation was a complete success. I was
able to remove the black box without any harm coming to the
patient."
"May we see her now, Skuld?" Rei asked.
"Okay, you can come in now," the goddess of the Future
said. "But you must be quiet. The patient is sleeping." Skuld
even held her finger to her lips to illustrate, a gesture that Mihoshi
copied and nodded in understanding.
Soon they were all gathered around the small cot that Rei
sometimes used when she was too involved in her experiments to
use her normal bed. Sana looked much the same as they had seen
her last, though she was now wearing a pair of overalls. Her hair
was still tied up in the same double ponytail style, but everyone
immediately noticed that her once blonde hair was now red,
bordering on orange.
Skuld noticed everyone noticing and explained with a
nervous laugh. "Side-effect of the treatment, that's all. She's still
perfectly fine."
"Argh! I'm late for school!" Sana shouted suddenly, sitting
up and throwing off the covers. "Wait, who are all of you?"
Rei, being one of the few not shocked by the girl boomer's
sudden activity, answered her. "We are the ones who rescued you,
and want to help you live a normal life like any other child."
Now everyone was snapped out of their shock by what Rei
had said, or rather the deep emotion with which she had said it.
Ami had to wonder about their leader's own childhood. She
guessed that it hadn't been a happy, or at least a normal, one.
Sana nodded slowly, as if unsure how to take this.
"Allow me to introduce everyone. This is Ranko, Mihoshi,
Ami, Skuld, Belldandy, and my brother Keiichi. My name is Rei."
"Rei?" Sana repeated, seeming stunned at first, but then a
huge smile broke on her face. Most took a step back as she leapt
from her bed and threw her arms around Rei's neck, all the time
shouting, "Rei-kun! Rei-kun! Rei-kun! I love you!"
The previous shock had returned to the group ten-fold.
"How sweet!" Mihoshi commented, not shocked in the
least. "I didn't know little Sana would be so affectionate!"
"I think the pint-sized surgeon scrambled her programming
or something," Ranko muttered.
"Did not!" Skuld immediately shouted back. "If anything, I
made her better than before!"
"Then why does she think Rei is a guy?" Ranko shot back.
"You of all people--" Skuld started to say, but Belldandy
suddenly blocked her mouth with a hand.
"I'm sure that you did nothing wrong, Skuld," her older
sister told her. "There must be some other explanation for her
behavior."
"There is," Ami spoke, finally getting over her own
surprise. "The general told us that Sana was programmed using
old girls' anime. I seem to remember that in one of the shows there
was a guy named Rei whom the female lead was particularly
attached to. The name must have triggered some sort of
conditioned response in Sana."
Ami chose not to mention that the only reason she
remembered it was the fact that Usagi used to tease their friend and
fellow senshi Rei about it for a long time. Rei was much more
embarrassed by the sort of rumors that started as a result, however.
Ayanami herself was stunned. She had no idea how to
respond to the girl throwing so much affection at her. It oddly
reminded her of the way Asuka used to act around Kaji. She had
enough trouble dealing with Keiichi when he had become
somewhat affectionate, but Sana was a whole other order of
magnitude.
Suddenly, Sana stopped. She glanced around briefly and
said mostly to herself, "If Rei-kun is here, mamma must be here.
Rei-kun, where is mamma?"
Rei could only stare back. She still had no idea what to do
or what to say.
Sana started shaking her, tears beginning to form in her
eyes. "Where is she, Rei-kun? Rei-kun, tell me. Tell me please!"
The others could only watch, frozen with complete uncertainty as
the small girl began to sob. What could they do? This girl had no
mother, this was only something programmed into her.
Belldandy stepped forward and slowly wrapped her arms
around the sobbing girl. "Don't cry, Sana. Mamma is right here,"
she whispered gently.
Sana slowly turned around, her eyes wider and wider, until
she turned to face Belldandy, who was currently kneeling so she
could look at the girl eye to eye.
"Mamma!" Sana shouted, hugging Belldandy closely, tears
still flowing, but a smile on face now. "Do you love me,
mamma?"
For a few moments Belldandy only hugged the girl back in
silence. "Of course, Sana," she said finally as tears began to spill
from her own eyes. "Mamma will always love you."
Rei decided that she and Ami should be the ones to deliver
the black box to the USSD. Ranko was still in rough shape,
despite her protests to the contrary, and the situation was a bit too
delicate for Mihoshi.
They took the bus in their hardsuits again, though it didn't
seem to worry Ami as much as it had did last time. Actually, she
still felt uncomfortable, but had realized the futility of explaining
this to Rei.
Rei gave the box to the general, he forwarded the payment
to a named account, and they left. Easy as that.
Neither noticed the small explosion that had just occurred
where they had been five minutes ago as their bus drove away.
While Belldandy and Keiichi prepared lunch, and Skuld
poked around in Rei's workroom, Mihoshi was left to watch Sana.
Keiichi had thought it a bit dangerous to put anyone in the
somewhat clueless Knight Saber's care, but Belldandy was sure
they'd be fine.
Mihoshi stared somewhat nervously at Sana, unsure of
what to do. No one had ever trusted her alone with the care of
another person before, and she was painfully away of the total
klutz that she could sometimes be. Well, there was her partner
Kiyone, but that was more of a mutual thing. Well, actually she
had to admit that Kiyone had taken more care of her than she had
of Kiyone. But that was before...
"Hi, I'm Mihoshi!" she greeted the little girl with a smile
and wave. "I work for the Galaxy Pol... I mean, Ozaki Fitness."
Sana immediately stood and declared, "I'm Karata Sana,
age 14, and master of ... hey, haven't we already met before? You
sound familiar. I sometimes forget faces, but I never forget a
voice, but then if I did forget how would I know?"
"We have met," Mihoshi replied. "I helped save you from
those boomers."
"Really?" Sana asked, scratching her head in puzzlement.
"I don't remember. The last thing I remember before waking up
is..." Sana sat down and frowned in thought.
Mihoshi decided to do something when several minutes
passed in silence. But what to do? What did girls like to do?
What did she like to do as a girl? She immediately dismissed those
that couldn't be done on Earth. Belldandy didn't want Sana leaving
the apartment. Besides, Mihoshi had been temporarily banished to
Earth for things she didn't want to think about at the moment...
"Sana, let's watch some TV," Mihoshi told the girl. "Sailor
V is on."
"Yay! It's one of my favorite shows!" Sana enthused, and
immediately forgot what she had been thinking about.
They both made themselves comfortable on Rei's bed as
they watched anime on her TV. Mihoshi shared some of the
snacks she always kept handy. They even shouted out the
transformation phrases and attacks together. It was the beginning
of a beautiful friendship.
Keiichi had some unpleasant news when Rei and Ami
returned. "Sis, the USSD want to hire the Knight Sabers to get
back the black box again."
"What?" Ami shouted in surprise. "We just got back from
there."
"Yeah, apparently the black box was stolen right after you
left. Just received a message that the general is willing to pay the
same fee for the recovery of the box again."
Mihoshi and Sana lay on Rei's bed, sharing a manga.
Various toys and snacks lay scattered around them. Both were
talking animatedly about what was going on in the manga. Rei's
only reaction to this was one raised eyebrow.
"They bonded while you were gone," Belldandy explained
as she watched the pair. "They are kindred spirits in a sense. They
were quite active before, but I managed to repair all of the
damage."
Not sure how to respond to this, Rei simply nodded, and
lead Ami and Ranko to the kitchen where they could discuss their
current problems without so much noise.
Ranko was grinning. "I haven't even started to spend what
we made on the last job, and we already have another." She had
never cared that much about money, that is until she had to live on
her own and pay for everything herself. Training dummies and a
week's worth of groceries didn't come cheap.
Some of their fees went towards hardsuit maintenance and
other costs, like training all day at the paintball arena. Rei had also
convinced Ranko to keep part of her cut in a savings account for
something like college. Still, out of the original 10 million yen,
there was still plenty left for expenses. She had no idea what to do
with double that amount.
Rei frowned slightly. "I dislike repeating myself. I also
dislike the incompetence of the USSD in this matter. However, the
money would be useful. The problem now is finding the black
box. This time we have no leads."
"Something happened during my shift that might be
connected," Ami told them. "There was an explosion earlier today
in a Genom laboratory. It ended up killing everyone working there
and the cause of the explosion was never found. The really big
thing is Goto had Rally close the case only a few hours later,
declaring it an accident. I'm sure it was pressure from the higher
ups that made him do it."
"Rally?" Ranko said in surprise. "I think I know her. Ran
into her twice in two days. I was getting a bit worried that she had
found out I was a Knight Saber or something."
"Oh?" queried Ami in surprise.
"Yeah, I ran into her the first time when I went out to get
the food. Turns out that she's a big fan of my music. We talked
for a bit, though I was a bit nervous talking to an AD Police
officer, when all of the sudden this purple-haired girl jumps out of
the car and latches onto me!"
"That's just Alielle," Ami explained. "She does that to just
about every female she meets."
"You too, Ami?" Ranko asked with some surprise.
Ami nodded. "It didn't really bother me because I have a
friend who's overly affectionate sometimes, though not so extreme,
so I'm sort of used to it. I told Alielle firmly that I wasn't
interested and she stopped bothering me. Well, she only stopped
after the third time and she had found another girl who interested
her more, but it still worked. I don't envy Rally having her as a
partner though. I don't know why Goto just doesn't assign her to a
guy."
Ranko nodded, filing this information away for future use.
"The second time was during that whole deal in Aqua City last
night. After I... after I messed up, Rally showed up and helped me
to safety."
"Did she say or do anything that indicated she suspected
your true identity, or the identity of any of the other Knight
Sabers?" Rei asked.
Ranko thought for a moment, then shook her head. "She
didn't say or do anything like that."
"Good, then you should be able to ask her about the
incident earlier today without arousing suspicion," Rei told Ranko.
"I believe there is a connection between this incident and the theft
of the black box."
"Why me?" Ranko asked in surprise.
"Rally is likely to have information about this case not
contained in ADP records. For Ami to take a sudden interest in
this case would be suspicious. You can do so by simple curiosity
and not cause people to wonder."
Rei's stern expression was more convincing than her words.
Ranko knew that there was no way out of this.
"Rally," one of the other cops told her. "There's a call for
you."
Rally was not in the mood to answer the phone. She had
just finished yelling at the chief about the incident from this
morning being closed as an accident. Not that her yelling had done
much good against Goto. Easier to talk to a boomer.
Then there was that explosion at the USSD offices. They
were passing that off as weapons malfunction, but she smelled a
cover up. She was sure something had been stolen.
Then there was the disk she had found at the crime scene.
She supposed that she should have followed procedure and turned
it in as evidence, but she knew that they'd just wipe it and she'd
never find out what's on it. It was encrypted, but with the help of a
friend in the US, she had managed to decode it. It contained
nothing less than a portion of plans for a prototype super boomer.
Rally was convinced that it was this new boomer that they had
been building in the lab so late at night.
She was also convinced that the incident at the USSD was
connected to it somehow. She had no evidence for this, it was only
a hunch, but Rally was the kind of person whose hunches often
paid off. Goto was sticking her with paperwork though, so she
couldn't follow it up.
"Who is it?" Rally asked in irritation, not bothering to look
up.
"I don't know, some cute girl," the officer replied. "Said
her name was Ranko or something."
"Cute girl?" Alielle immediately stood up. "I'll answer it!"
"No you won't," Rally told her, forcing her partner back
into her seat. She still had to apologize for the last time Ranko had
'met' Alielle. "You sit here and keep working on these reports."
Alielle pouted, crossing her arms. "You just want to keep
all the cute girls to yourself."
"Rally speaking."
"Um, hi," Ranko said nervously, wishing again that she
hadn't mentioned that she had met the AD Police officer night
before last. She still had no idea what to say. "Look, I--"
"I wanted to apologize for the way my partner Alielle acted
two nights ago," Rally said suddenly, not realizing that she had just
cut the other girl off. "I kind of forgot at the time that she has a
habit of going after anything female. I should have stopped her, or
warned you, or something. It must have been a surprise to be
suddenly embraced by another girl."
*Not as much as you think,* Ranko thought. *Actually,
the problem was it was a bit too familiar.*
"Yeah," Ranko finally said. "But I still shouldn't have
panicked the way I did and drove off like that. I was calling you
up to apologize actually, and to see if you wanted to have lunch
together to make up for it. I can talk about music and you can talk
about your work. I've always wondered what its like to be in the
AD Police."
"Well, I'm overworked, underpaid, and use weapons older
than me," Rally told her with a smirk while coming to a decision at
the same time. She had so few friends in Mega-Tokyo as it was,
there wasn't harm in making another. "Sounds good. Where do
you want to eat?"
They decided on a time and place and said their good-byes.
Ranko was feeling a bit nervous about the whole thing,
preparing to pump a potential friend for information, so she arrived
at the caf� early, in order to give herself time to plan things out.
The only problem was Rally was already there.
They exchanged greetings and placed their orders, talking
about unimportant things, but it wasn't long before the topic of
conversation moved to the recent explosion at the Genom lab.
Ranko thought it was almost too easy, Rally seemed very eager to
talk about it.
"Now what's really suspicious," Rally started to explain
over desert, "is that a van was seen leaving from the loading dock
right next to the lab not five minutes after it had exploded. It's my
bet that whatever they had been working on in that lab survived the
blast and was carted away to some secret location to be finished.
Unfortunately, I have no idea where that van went after leaving
Genom. But I'm also sure that whole business with the USSD was
to cover a theft of some vital component to this project. Genom is
building a super boomer."
They spent a while arguing about who would pick up the
tab. Ranko wanted to ease her guilt at pumping Rally for
information, while Rally wanted to as an apology for the way her
partner had acted.
"All right, I'll let you pick this up," Rally finally said,
offering her hand, "If you get me in free to your next gig."
Ranko smiled and shook hands with the ADP officer. "It's
a deal."
Makoto looked over the city of Mega-Tokyo as the sun had
set. He had sworn never to come here, preferring the peaceful
country with his wife, his cat, and tinkering with the odd invention
or two. His time in El Hazard had given him enough adventure to
last a lifetime. He had come because of an old friend and an old
enemy, but he hadn't come alone.
Most people would have been startled when hands
suddenly wrapped around them and a head rested on their shoulder,
but Makoto only smiled, having become too used to his wife's odd
ways.
"I could find no sign of Jinnai or any Bugrom activity
anywhere," Ifurita whispered in his ear. "I didn't get too close to
the Genom Pryamid though. I didn't want to risk being detected."
"You did the right thing, as always," Makoto replied.
"We'll just have to wait until the meeting with Alielle. I only wish
that we could have reached Miz or Mr. Fujisawa, but no one knows
where they've gone to. I know you can match either of their
powers, but it would be nice to have the extra help."
"I agree. We don't know what sort of forces Jinnai could
have access to here. That he's here at all suggests that he somehow
managed to unlock the secrets of the Eye of God. You meet with
Alielle and I'll patrol the city once more. You can call me if you
need me. Ura will protect you until then, won't you Ura?"
"It's my job," the cat in question told the both of them.
"All right," Makoto said reluctantly. "Just be careful,
okay?"
Ifurita caressed his face affectionately. "Always, love."
Alielle was already waiting in the cafe by the time that
Makoto got there. She looked much the same as she had during
their reunion three years ago, except now she was obviously
extremely nervous about something. She was constantly taking
sips of her coffee as she glanced out the window, jumping when
Makoto took the seat opposite her.
"It's good to see you again, Alielle," he told her with a
smile, trying to set her at ease. There was once a time when he had
found her more annoying than anything else, but that was before he
had finally escaped El Hazard ten years go. She had proved herself
then.
"Likewise," Alliele replied absently, her eyes still
wandering all over the room.
Makoto glanced around. The cafe was nearly empty at this
time of night, he counted only three other patrons. The street
outside the big picture window was deserted. It was no real
surprise, with the hard time he had finding the place. It was almost
hidden away. "Is something wrong?"
Alielle turned to look at him, her eyes blazing. She
slammed down on coffee cup and practically shouted, "Jinnai is
here making bugrom-based boomers, probably to take over the
city, and you ask if something's wrong?!"
"Calm down," Makoto told her, noticing that the other
patrons were giving them odd looks. "Ifurita will be able to handle
anything that he can dish out."
Alielle shook her head, though she was calmer now. "I'm
not so sure about that. You don't know what these things can do.
The regular bug-boomers are like least ten times stronger than the
bugrom were, but the advanced ones are even worse. My partner
saw what just one did to Aqua City first-hand. What's left is telling
enough. It was completely destroyed. I don't like thinking about
what might have happened if the Knight Sabers hadn't been there
to stop it."
"Oh, so you have someone now?" Makoto asked her in a
sly voice, noticing the word 'partner.' He was trying to lighten the
mood. It was creepy for him to see Alielle acting deadly serious.
Alielle blushed immediately. "I wish it was something like
that. Rally is so strong, firm... but definitely not interested.
Believe me, I've tried. I just met this other girl though that I have
high hopes for. She's a bit young, but she's got red hair and... Hey,
you changed the subject on me!"
Makoto laughed to see her pout. "I just didn't like seeing
you so serious. It really isn't you, Alielle. Leave being serious to
me and Ifurita, okay?"
Alielle smiled and seemed to relax. "Yeah, well, I'm
usually not so serious. Being serious all the time would probably
give me one of those 'ulcer' things. But all the time today I felt like
I was being watched, like someone was observing my every move.
But maybe I'm just being paranoid."
Makoto nodded. "Yeah, I feel like that just being in the
same place as Jinnai again. I expect him to appear at any moment
and blame me for stubbing his toe or something."
Alielle laughed. "He does seem to think you're responsible
for everything that ever went wrong in his life."
"Feeling better now?" Makoto asked with a smile.
Alielle nodded.
"Good. Let's get out of here. I'll walk you home. We can
decide what to do about Jinnai and his bug-boomers on the way."
They were only a few blocks from Alielle's apartment when
a woman suddenly blocked their path. She had long blonde hair
that covered half of her face and was wearing what looked to be a
very stylized military inform.
There was something about her aggressive stance and her
smile that made Makoto immediately feel worried. He glanced
around at the narrow, deserted street they were on and sucked in a
breath. The perfect spot for an ambush.
With a smirk, Panther slowly sauntered over to them. She
ignored the man totally, concentrating on her target. The orders
had finally come down that this woman was too great a risk to be
left alive. It was strange that Mr. Jinnai had sounded so... reluctant
to give the order. He had never been squeamish about this sort of
thing before.
Acting on instinct, Alielle drew her pistol and fired. She
was disappointed, but not surprised, when the woman only flinched
slightly. Still, Alielle fired again and again, but her hands were
shaking so bad near the end of the clip that her final shots missed
even though it was nearly point-blank range. The gun fell from her
fingers when the boomer picked her up by the throat.
Panther frowned slightly at the struggling woman as she
applied pressure to the wind pipe, cutting off the girl's air. This
was all too boring, especially after wasting her day following this
girl around. Panther shrugged, thinking that it was better to just
get it over with. She tightened her grip.
Makoto had been stunned when the bullets had done
nothing. He had been surprised at just how tough boomers really
were. When she had started choking Alielle had snapped him out
of it, though. He needed to do something and now. Even if he
called Ifurita, there was no way that she could make it in time.
"Stop!" he shouted, but the boomer ignored him. He
reached out to try and pull her arm away, shocked when he felt...
something when they had made contact. It was like a dozen
conflicting feelings all mixed together, resulting in a terrible sense
of confusion. He wasn't the only one. The boomer immediately
dropped Alielle and turned to him in surprise.
"Run!" he shouted at Alielle, who was struggling to get
back her breath. She looked back at him uncertainly. "Just go!"
Alielle nodded quickly and sprinted off, while Makoto
turned to face the boomer.
Panther's frown deepened. She couldn't believe she had let
this man make her let her target escape, no matter what sort of trick
he could do. Eyes burning with hatred, she stalked up to him. He
would pay for interfering.
Makoto was too late to shout a warning as Ura sprang at the
boomer, who casually back-handed the cat into a nearby wall.
"Ura!" he shouted, a mix of sadness and anger, not even
realizing that the boomer was right next to him until she picked
him up by the shirt.
Matoko noticed the thing was smiling again, but it was
twisted one, her eyes burning with a sick humor. "I don't want to
waste any more time with you," she practically spat at him, before
tossing him high in the air.
Flying wasn't something new to Makoto, though he still
wasn't quite used to it. The flight in Ifurita's arms all the way to
Mega-Tokyo had left him in a near panic, even though he knew his
wife would never let him come to harm.
Falling, on the other hand, was an entirely different story.
With one last glance up at the sky, Panther was off in
pursuit of her target. She knew it had not gotten far.
Rei made a quick excuse to the others about needing to go
for a short walk before leaving the apartment behind, out into the
cool night air and dimly lit streets. So far, all of their searches to
find out where this super boomer could be built had turned up
nothing. Genom was being very careful this time. Rei knew of
someone who might have the answer she sought, however.
In a deserted alley right next to a junkyard, a woman sat on
a beaten up sofa, as if waiting for someone. Most of her features
were lost in the darkness, but she was tall with long dark hair and
an elegant cut to her clothes. Without a moment's hesitation, Rei
took the seat next to her.
"I'm impressed that you were able to save the boomer," the
woman said. "I would have guessed that you would have handed
her over to the USSD."
"Perhaps you don't know me as well as you think," Rei
replied in her normal neutral tone.
"Perhaps," the woman agreed, not sounding as if she cared
one way or the other, which seemed to be her normal tone.
After a few moments of silence, the woman spoke again.
"Your apartment has become crowded lately. So many visitors."
"We've been able to manage."
"I have a feeling that things are only going to get worse in
that respect from now on. I'd look towards finding more space if I
were you."
Rei nodded, mentally filing that away for later
consideration. This woman's advice was not to be disregarded.
"Would you happen to know of the location of a lab where Genom
could assemble a super boomer?"
"I might."
"What is your condition this time?"
The woman turned to face Rei now, her voice and eyes
serious. "The black box must be destroyed. It must not fall into
anyone's hands, not even the USSD. They have already proven
their inability to safe-guard it."
Rei nodded. "It will be, I give you my word." While the
money from the USSD would be useful, her first priority was to
destroy the super boomer. Besides, Rei knew that her informant
never made idle demands. If she said the black box had to be
destroyed, then it was essential to do so.
The woman leaned back to look up at the stars, letting her
long hair fall around her shoulders. She quickly explained the lab's
location and ways of getting information about its layout and
defenses.
Rei stood once again once the woman had fallen silent,
absently straightening out her clothes.
The woman faced her once again. She smiled slightly and
said, "Until next time, Rei."
Rei bowed slightly as the lights from a passing car washed
over them, revealing green hair, purple eyes. "Be well, Setsuna."
Ranko wandered the busy streets of Mega-Tokyo, looking
for a place to eat. She had intended to go out as a guy, but fate had
other ideas. After getting out of delivery duty, she left Rei's
apartment and arrived back at her trailer. Out of which had
stepped the male Ranma. Five minutes and the splash of a puddle
later, Ranko had returned.
Ranko was currently looking for a source of hot water and a
discreet place to change, not willing to go back to her trailer and
admit some sort of defeat. She caught the flash of purple hair as
she had just turned her head and immediately flattened herself
against a building. Could Shampoo have really found her in Mega-
Tokyo? She had managed to track her all the way to Japan from
China after all. But then she had already mistaken another girl for
the purple-haired Amazon before. Of course that had been more
than just the hair that was familiar.
Ranko carefully peered around the corner to see a purple-
haired woman who looked vaguely familiar being pursued by a
blonde. The purple one had reached a dead end and the blonde was
currently standing over her and cracking her knuckles. Sensing
something bad was about to happen, Ranko stepped into the alley
with them.
Panther's grin was back as she watched her target looking
up at her in fear. "I was going to make your death relatively
painless, but you had to cause me some trouble. Now I'm going to
beat you so badly that they'll have to check your DNA to identify
the body."
Panther threw her first punch and was surprised when a red
blur streaked before her eyes. She was even more surprised when
the only thing she hit was the building. She spun around to see a
young redhead holding her target in her arms. The girl had to be
another boomer, Panther reasoned, humans couldn't move that fast,
but then why was she opposing the will of Genom?
"Give the girl to me," Panther instructed. "It is my duty to
dispose of her."
"I don't really know what any of this is about," Ranko
admitted. "But I don't like the idea of someone getting 'disposed
of.'"
"I am a cyber-boomer, you have to obey me!" Panther
shouted. "It is the will of Genom."
The cyber-boomers were created as the bodyguards to
Quincy, and so normal boomers had to defer to them. She had
been left to watch over things here while the others were with their
master in Germany. That alone made her a bit more irritated than
usual, and Panther wasn't exactly calm even in the best of
circumstances.
"I only take orders from one person, and she isn't you!"
Ranko shot back, gently setting Alielle on the ground. "So I guess
you're just going to have to fight me for her."
"Very well," Panther replied with a smile. Fighting another
boomer, even an inferior model, would be much more interesting
than disposing of a mere human. Besides, this one had to be
defective. It was her duty to destroy it.
Neither noticed Alielle staring up at Ranko with something
akin to awe.
Makoto wasn't sure exactly when he stopped falling, he was
yelling too much to care, but he was thankful that instead of
smacking into the cold, hard street, a familiar pair of arms wrapped
around him.
"Ifurita," he breathed in relief.
Ifurita smiled at her husband. "You shouldn't go flying
without me. It's much too dangerous."
Makoto smirked. "If I didn't know you better, I'd say that
was a joke. But we don't have time for this. Alielle is the one who
is in real danger. A boomer is trying to kill her."
Ifurita nodded, suddenly all business. She picked up Ura
and together they went off in search of their friend.
They were shocked to find a redhead facing off against the
boomer.
"Shayla-Shayla is here too?" Makoto said in some surprise,
squinting to make out the three people from their perch on top of
the building.
Ifurita shook her head. "No, it isn't her. Another
Earthling."
"What?" Makoto shouted in panic. "Quick, we have to do
something! No normal human can stand up to a boomer!"
Ifurita was expressionless as she stared down at the two
combatants. "Things are not what they seem here."
Panther tried to strike first, going for a blow that would
have reduced the effectiveness of her opponent rather than ceasing
to function out-right. She wanted this fight to last a little while at
least. She hadn't expected her opponent to move quite so fast as
she did, and so the kick to the stomach really wasn't something she
had been expecting. It made her stagger, but caused no serious
damage. Still, she would not underestimate her opponent again.
Ranko was surprised and disappointed when the blonde
woman didn't go down with her first blow. Not even a normal
boomer could have taken a kick like that easily; this had to be an
advanced model.
Ranko's next thought was the wish that she had her suit
with her. Then she frowned. She had gotten a little too used to
fighting with it; she almost felt a part missing without it. She
shook her head. Nonsense. She had fought a boomer before she
had even gotten her hardsuit. She could do it again.
Panther felt a surge of glee when her sweep knocked the
other boomer to the ground, but was again disappointed when it
rolled away before she could bring her fist down on its skull. She
wondered why the other boomer had paused like that and also why
it hadn't burst out of its skin yet, but chalked all this up to it
malfunctioning. *The techs can sort out what was wrong after I
reduce it to scrap.*
Ranko nearly took a step away from the feral smile of her
opponent. She thought herself one the greatest martial artists in the
world, but did not like using her skills to cause pain and suffering.
People that so obviously did disgusted her. This boomer didn't
deserve Ranko holding anything back.
"Kashu Tenchin Amaguriken!" Ranko shouted and her fists
became a blur as she struck the boomer over and over again, a final
punch sending it flying into the wall, where it lay unmoving.
Head down, no one could see the build up of rage that was
happening to Panther, shown so clearly on her face. She was well
beyond angry that some common boomer, and a malfunctioning
one at that, could get the better of her so easily. That last attack
had hurt, and now she was through playing around.
Ranko's hopes were dashed when the boomer stood up
again, though she felt cheered by how slowly it was moving. Her
attack had done some damage at least. The thing's one uncovered
eye was horrible though. So cold and expressionless, as if it could
stare right through her. It reminded Ranko of Rei whenever she
was displeased with someone. It rooted her to the spot, like a
butterfly pinned to a board.
So Ranko was unprepared when Panther moved in like a
blur and struck herself, not as many or as often as Ranko had, but
each delivering much more power to it, punches that Ryoga even at
his best couldn't match. What was worse was her female form
didn't' have near the endurance that her male one had. Ranko hit
the ground hard, spitting out a wad of blood.
Panther wore a very satisfied smirk as she slowly walked
over to where he opponent had landed. That had almost made up
for the beating she had just taken. Almost. She noticed the blood
and raised a single eyebrow in half surprise, half amusement. Was
this girl human after all? In the end it didn't really matter to her,
but it was still surprising to find that humans were not as frail as
she had thought.
Ranko smiled suddenly as she wrapped her arms around the
surprised boomer's legs, knocking her to the ground and quickly
following up with an elbow to the back. This boomer hit harder
than Ryoga, but she had faced harder opponents than him and
come out on top.
Panther growled in anger as she managed to knock the girl
away and get back on her feet. No ordinary girl could be able to
hurt her like this, the redhead had to be some sort of cyborg, a mix
of woman and boomer.
Ranko was ready for the boomer when she charged again.
She blocked what looked like a simple chop with her arms, only to
scream in pain as the boomer's hand seemed to cut right into her
flesh like a sharp knife. The pain didn't make her loose her focus
however, and she was able to land a dozen or so chestnut punches
to the boomers stomach with her other arm, knocking it away, but
not off its feet.
Panther licked her lips as she watched the blood slowly drip
from the redhead's arm. This was the best fight she had in a long
time. Only the other Saber Dolls could ever match her before and
they weren't allowed to go all out against each other. The joy of
battle numbed her to the pain. The only thing she felt now was
eagerness for victory.
Ranko quickly ripped off some of her shirt and tied it
around her arm to stop the bleeding, the whole time ready for the
boomer to attack, though it strangely seemed patient now, standing
there waiting for Ranko to make the next move.
Ranko thought of one move that might be very effective in
this situation, though wasn't sure exactly how it would work
against a boomer. If it could end this match quickly though, it was
worth a try. Had to get the boomer angry though.
"I didn't know they made tomboy boomers!" Ranko
shouted. "You must be some kind of out-dated model all slow and
clunky like that. My fridge puts up a better fight that you do!"
Panther only blinked back at the girl in confusion.
Ranko frowned, it obviously wasn't working. "Whoever
designed you must have been blind! I've seen better looking
boomers without their skin! Bet you wear your hair like that
because the other half of your face is even uglier, though I don't
know how that's possible! But at least you have a personality to go
with that face!"
Panther ground her teeth in anger. How dare this girl make
fun of her appearance or her personality, she was designed by her
master himself.
Ranko grinned to see that she had scored a hit with that last
one, but still wasn't nearly enough. If this was going to work, she
needed the boomer to be really mad. "Are you sure you're
supposed to be a woman, star face? You look like some kind of
flat-chested, thick thighed girl man to me!" Then Ranko began to
sing, "You look like crap, you fake girl boomer. You're so homely
you only come out at night. You're ugly, ugly, ugly!"
"That's it!" Panther shouted as she charged, hands ready to
slice this irritating girl to ribbons.
Ranko had learned her lesson though, and was able to avoid
those deadly hands for the most part as she drew her opponent into
a tighter and tight spiral. She had to take a few minor hits to avoid
falling out of step, but it was worth it when she was finally done.
Panther leapt into the air, shouting wordlessly as she
brought both arms down, aiming for Ranko's head.
Ranko smirked as she brought her fist up and shouted,
"Hiryu Shoten Ha!"
A huge gust of wind suddenly swirled around the both of
them, ruffling Ranko's hair and sending Panther flying up and
away.
Ranko smiled as she glanced around to find no sign of the
boomer. That blast had been pretty powerful, could have sent half
way across Mega-Tokyo.
She had only a second's warning that caused her to glance
up, but it was too late. Panther had sprung from her hiding place
among the darkened buildings, aimed right for Ranko's chest. She
hit the girl feet first with the force of an express train, creating a
creator where she had knocked her to the ground.
Panther wasn't nearly done. The fun had worn off rather
quickly after that last little surprise. She struck the unmoving
redhead again and again, finally ending it by picking up the girl
and bodyslamming her to the ground, deepening the crater she had
already made.
Panther took a step back from the bloody mess and
considered what to do next. The girl was still alive somehow, but
she wouldn't be for long.
"Are we going to do something now?!" Makoto asked his
wife in a panic as the boomer moved closer and closer to the
downed girl. It was surprising what the redhead could do, but she
looked to be finished.
Ifurita moved to intercede, but stopped suddenly and
frowned. "I'm sensing something... something dangerous."
"Of course there's something dangerous, that girl is going
to be killed!" Makoto shouted, wondering if Ifurita still didn't
understand the concept of mortality.
"Not from the boomer. From the girl."
"From the girl?" Makoto repeated in surprise as he turned
to look down at what was happening below once again.
Ranko felt like hell. She compared to how she had felt last
night and this definitely came out worse. She tried to compare this
to any experiences in the past and this still came out worse. Of
course, she was experiencing this pain now, while the others were
just a memory.
Her body was a mess, sending her so many signals of pain
that it created a strange sort of numbness, but she knew that she'd
be lucky if she escape this one without permanent injury. Several
of her ribs broken, others bruised. Her left arm definitely was as
well, and her right didn't feel that good either. Her legs were like
two big bruises, though thankfully no bones broken there, though
she had twisted one of her ankles when the boomer had knocked
her down. Which one she wasn't sure.
What was worse was she could see the shadow of the
boomer coming closer and closer to her. Ranko couldn't believe it,
after all that she had been though in her life, to die like this, in
some back alley somewhere, downed by some nameless boomer
that she should have been able to defeat. She had gotten too soft
with the hard-suit, and now she was paying the price.
Worst of all was Ranko felt like she had failed everyone,
not just herself. Her pop, who, despite his selfish ways, had spent
a lifetime training her in martial arts. Rei, who had taken a kid
without direction and gave her a way to help people. Even the girl
she had just tried to rescue. She had failed them all.
And one other. Ranko could almost see her face in his
mind's eye as he reached out to it, the image becoming dimmer and
dimmer, the smile fading. A smile she would never see again.
Panther took a step back when the redhead began to glow
with a sickly green light. She had to wonder if this was a boomer
after all, and this was some terrible new weapon she hadn't yet
heard about.
The figure stood slowly, clutching her stomach with one
hand, though there was no sign on her face of whatever pain she
may be suffering. Her eyes were dead, her face slack. An aura of
depression hung about her that was nearly as eerie as the green
glow, which only grew brighter and brighter.
Panther could only stare as the free hand came up and
pointed at her, the girl suddenly shouting, "Shi Shi Hokodan!"
Panther didn't even notice that she had been sent flying
again as the hungry green flames ate away at her body. She
screamed as darkness overwhelmed her.
Ranko smiled slightly to see the boomer up in the sky,
streaking like a green comet, growing smaller and smaller. That is
until the pain hit her again, and again, coming in waves that
brought her to her knees. There was a lot of blood in her mouth
now and spots before her eyes. She thought that at least she had
saved the girl, but found no comfort in that. It only made her feel
empty. She would never see the others again.
"Akane," Ranko whispered, lying on the ground, her eyes
finally closing.
Ifurita knelt and examined the redhead while Makoto
attempted to calm the nearly hysterical Alielle. "The girl is alive,
but she requires immediate medical attention. I will take her to the
nearest hospital. You must get Alielle to her apartment quickly.
She should be safer there."
Makoto nodded and helped to lead Alielle away while
Ifurita gently picked Ranko up and took off towards the sky again.
Ami watched almost mesmerized as Rei methodically
paced up and down her bedroom, always traveling the same
distance, a small frown on her face.
Rei had come back from her walk renewed and was able to
locate the secret lab in the matter of minutes. It always seemed
when they needed to know something, Rei would go for a walk and
come back with just the answer they were looking for. Ami
thought that there was something a bit suspicious about that, but
didn't want to risk the trust Rei had placed in her by following her
or anything. Now it was time for the Knight Sabers to spring into
action. The only problem was one of their number was missing.
Ranko didn't answer her phone at her trailer, nor was she
responding to her pager. That was very unlike her. It could be
something innocent, but she could be in trouble. Either way, the
Knight Sabers didn't have time to spare. They had to destroy this
new boomer before it was finished. They hoped that it hadn't been
completed already.
"I could go in her place," Belldandy offered, not noticing
Keiichi's sudden look of horror. "I have fought with demons on
occasion."
Rei studied her closely, her red eyes making even the
goddess shrink back a bit. "You're too tall to fit into Ranko's hard-
suit and it would take too long to refit it to accommodate you.
Whatever powers you may possess as a goddess, I will not risk you
going out to face a boomer without one."
"I'll do it!" Sana said suddenly. "I'll teach that demon
boomer with my Cossack kung-fu!" Sana proceeded to give them
all a demonstration, twirling around the room like a top gone out of
control.
"No, I won't let you!" Belldandy shouted, wrapping her
arms around the girl boomer.
Embraced by a goddess, not even Sana could argue.
"I guess we'll just have to go out one short," Ami declared,
trying to sound optimistic, though inside she was a bit worried.
"And I'm sure that Ranko is just in the middle of eating or
something."
"Ranko can take care of herself," Rei stated, though
whether to reassure them or herself was unclear. "We will simply
have to do with without her."
"Okay," Keiichi said, standing up suddenly, "I'll get the
truck ready."
Belldandy was about to protest, but Rei cut her off, saying,
"We won't be taking the truck this time. The motoriods should be
more than sufficient transportation."
Keiichi frowned. His sister's overprotective instincts were
getting the better of her again. She occasionally seemed to forget
that he wasn't a child anymore that needed to be sheltered from the
dangers of the world. He knew that it was dangerous, but he wasn't
about to let his big sister go out there without backup and put
herself at even more risk than she already was.
"We both know that isn't true. If you go out in just the
motoriods, Genom is going to know about it almost immediately
and they'll throw every boomer they can in your way until the
super boomer is completed. You have to take the truck, and I have
to drive it," Keiichi told Rei firmly.
"All right," Rei agreed suddenly.
Keiichi blinked. She had never given in that easily before.
"Very well, I'm going with you," Belldandy said suddenly.
She realized that quickly that this was important to Keiichi and she
shouldn't even try to talk him out of if, not matter how dangerous it
is. But that didn't mean she was willing to let him march right into
danger unprotected.
"No, you can't!" Keiichi replied immediately.
"Why can't I, Keiichi?" she asked. "As a goddess, I've had
to face many dangers in the past. Besides, I want to be with you."
Keiichi realized that she had a point. He'd be in much more
danger that she would be, and it wasn't like he didn't want to be
with her either, but it was just that... with her there, he'd knew that
he would worry. Even if his head knew she was in no real danger,
that knowledge didn't quite reach his heart. And if he spent all his
time worrying about her, he might make a mistake, and if he did
make a mistake, then they really would be in danger.
Seized with a sudden inspiration, he told her, "Wait, you
can't go with me. You have to watch Sana."
Belldandy looked down at the girl who, suddenly sprang up
and said, "You don't have to worry about me, Mamma! If a
burglar snuck in here, I'd demonstrate my croquet technique I
learned from Komarrai!"
Sana decided to demonstrate this by chasing Mihoshi all
over the apartment with a croquet mallet she had found
somewhere. The blonde Knight Saber was all too eager to assist in
this demonstration by running around without looking where she
was going, knocking over things in the process.
After the teen-age goddess had finally chased after and
caught Sana before she could cause more damage, she had to agree
that Keiichi had a point. "All right, I do have to stay and watch
Sana," she told him as he began to smile. "Skuld can go with you."
"Big sister," Skuld whined, "I don't want to have to sit so
close to the hentai! I just know he'll try something perverted! He
looks like the type that goes after young girls."
"For the last time," Keiichi said through clenched teeth.
"My name is _Keiichi_ _Ayanmai_, not _Ecchi_ _Hentai_. And
you walked in on _me_ when I was taking a bath. Have you got
that?"
Skuld embraced Belldandy in fear. "Do you see, big sister?
I can't go with him, he'll be so mean to me!"
"Skuld?" Belldandy asked pleasantly.
Skuld looked up. "Yes, big sister?"
"Keiichi means a lot to me. Would you please watch out
for him, for my sake?"
Every protest or dodge Skuld could think of died on her
lips as she looked up into her sister's kind and caring eyes. "Oh, all
right," she finally said, reluctantly.
"Thank you, Skuld."
Skuld muttered under her breath as she let go of her sister
and walked over to Keiichi. "All right, let's get going," she told
him, not sounding pleased at all.
Keiichi had a feeling that it was going to be a long night.