See disclaimers in the first part.


Part 4

Reika sat beside the bed and read through the doctor's report. Linna was 
healing at an
astonishing rate and he had added a high vitamin supplement to her IV to 
help the process along.
He had no explanation as to why she was healing so fast but his excitement 
told Reika better than
words that it was unusual. She watched the rise and fall of Linna's chest 
and wondered where the
others had disappeared to.

Her men had been searching the city but had had no luck in finding Nene, 
who had
apparently been taken from the hospital right after surgery. The rescue 
teams had found no trace
of human DNA in the remains of Lady 633, but that could simply be due to 
the heat of the fire.
She stood up and stretched before moving to the door.

"Nene?"

She froze as the whisper reached her and Reika turned to find Linna staring 
at her in
confusion. "Linna!"

"R-Reika? What's going on? Where am I?"







Sabishii unwrapped the bandage from around the new limb and reflected on the
bizarreness of the situation. She glanced at Sylia out of the corner of her 
eye. "So how are things
between you two these days?"

Sylia was startled by the question and somewhat angered by the smirk she 
could hear in
Sabishii's tone. "Great actually."

Sabishii nodded. "I bet. Bend your knee." She watched the metal joint bend 
smoothly and
nodded in satisfaction.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing."

Sylia frowned in irritation. "I don't know what you're implying, but Priss 
and I have
come to an agreement."

Sabishii pulled Sylia to her feet and braced her while she steadied 
herself. "Agreement,
huh?"

Sylia nodded sharply. "Yes. We're married." She slid out of the Sabishii's 
grasp and
reached for the cane lying nearby. "I'm going upstairs."

Sabishii made an effort to close her mouth and followed Sylia. "You got her 
to agree to
marry you?"

Pausing at the foot of the stairs, Sylia glared at Sabishii. "Not that it's 
any of your
business, but she asked me."

Sabishii stepped in behind Sylia, ready to catch her if she stumbled. "Wow. 
I didn't know
we had it in us."

Sylia whirled and Sabishii found herself pressed back over the stair rail, 
a hand wrapped
around her throat. "Now you listen to me. Whatever happened between us in 
the past is exactly
that: in the past. I am only going to say this once so pay attention. You 
and Priss are nothing
alike. She is not you and you are not her. You have no idea who she is now."

Letting her go, Sylia turned and climbed the stairs, leaving Sabishii 
gasping for breath.
She coughed roughly and muttered, "Yeah, but do you know who she is now?"







Priss stared at the ceiling above her as she tugged the blanket more firmly 
around herself.
<Somehow this is all too familiar.>

Arashi laughed. =Not quite as comfortable accommodations as Gensou are they?. =

<No kidding. How are the repairs coming?>

Arashi began to give her a run down of the various organs and their current 
states as Priss
shifted, trying to find a more comfortable position in the chair. The 
steady sound of power tools
could be heard through the floor below but Priss could still hear the 
steady throb of Nene's heart.
She watched the rise and fall of her friend's chest and spoke in a soft 
chafe. "Come on Nene.
Snap out of this will ya? I'm getting bored sitting here talking to myself."

Although Seiki had assured Priss that the coma Nene was in was not harming 
her, she
couldn't shake the uneasy feeling that was plaguing her. The distant sound 
of steps and cane
tapping across tile made her smile. <Sylia's pissed about something.>

Sylia swept through the door of the bedroom and Priss noted the flash of 
her eyes a
second before she realized that Sabishii was with her. "How's Nene?"

"As well as can be expected I'm afraid. They weren't as prepared for an 
attack as we
were." Priss shrugged. "Any idea what's going on? How about your man inside?"

Sylia's face grew still. "I can't make contact. I'm afraid that they've 
been discovered."

Sabishii cleared her throat. "I hate to interrupt but why don't you explain 
to Priss what's
going on while I go help Kuraki with the suits?"

Priss watched her clone leave and resisted the urge to stick her tongue out 
at the
retreating form. "What suits?"

Sylia sank into the other chair with a grateful sigh. "Kuraki had 
apparently begun
building a pair of hardsuits for her and Sabishii. They're far from ready 
but it's better than
nothing."

Nene stirred restlessly and Priss eased herself onto the bed beside her. 
"Nene?"

She opened her mouth to speak but only a rasp came out, making her scowl. 
<I'm here.>

Priss and Sylia were pleased to hear Nene again. <How are you doing?>

Nene raised her hands and ran them over herself before replaying. <Gee, 
Priss, my face is
burned and so's a lot of my hair. I can't see and from what Seiki is 
telling me, I now have a wide
selection of Genom's finest replacement organs. How do you think I'm doing?!>

Priss winced at the sharp rebuke and glanced at Sylia. "I'll shut up now."

Nene laughed suddenly and Priss frowned. <What is it?>

<Seiki just brought my eyes online, so to speak. I can see� through your 
eyes. Sylia, you
look tired.>

Sylia shrugged. <Been one of those days Nene. When does Seiki expect to 
have you back
on your feet again?>

Seiki paused in her work long enough to grumble, =Longer than it should. 
They didn't
give me the right stuff to work with in the hospital. And they were just a 
little too damned eager
to replace parts.=

<Take your time. Can we do anything in the meantime?>

Nene raised her hand and ran in through the remains of her hair. Anything 
not under her
helmet had burned and she winced at the coarse feel. <A haircut?> Her 
stomach rumbled. <And a
pizza?> She hesitated and then spoke quickly. <Where's Linna?>





Reika watched Linna polish off the bowl of soup in amazement. "Hard to 
believe that a
few hours ago you were almost dead."

Linna shrugged and wondered how much she should reveal. "Things happen 
sometimes
that you just don't expect. Have you had any word about Nene or the others?"

"No. I'm not sure how she was removed from the hospital but I don't think 
it was
Genom's doing. There were a lot of obvious boomers searching the hospital 
just as hard as the
police."

"Then at the least Sylia or Priss or both are still alive." Linna lay back 
against the pillows
and sighed. <Can you reach them yet?>

Inji had been tapping into the house systems, trying to bypass the jammer 
that was
blocking her. =Not yet. Still working through the layers.=

Almost as if she had heard the silent conversation, Reika handed Linna a 
sheet of paper
that charted what appeared to be some kind of signal. "I don't suppose that 
you'd care to explain
why the security system keeps picking up transmissions from this room would 
you?"

Linna grimaced and realized that she was going to have to explain a lot 
more than Sylia
would want.





Nene opened her eyes and blinked as the implants took a moment to adjust. 
She focused
on Priss and grinned. "Well I can't tell the difference."

Priss patted her hand and smiled. "Good. Kuraki says that she'll take a 
stab at fixing your
hair if you like."

"Funny." She spotted the ring a second later and gasped. "Priss!"

"What is it? Are you in pain?"

Nene shook her head and pointed to Priss' human hand. "That looks 
suspiciously like a
wedding ring."

Priss rubbed her thumb over the band and smiled. "You know you're right. It 
does,
doesn't it?"

"Priss."

"Well what do you want me to say Nene? Sylia and I got married the night 
before
everything went to hell."

Nene scowled at her and Priss winced. "I know you wanted to be there but I 
just felt that
we had to do it as soon as possible."

<Figures she'd find a way to slip out of a formal ceremony.>

Nene gasped as Linna's voice filled her head. <Linna! Are you all right? 
Where are you?
Why didn't you let us know that you were okay? Linna? Linna what's wrong?>

Priss laughed and meant it for the first time in hours. "Why don't you stop 
bombarding
her with questions and give her a chance to answer a few of them?"

Nene flushed. <Sorry honey. Go ahead.>

Linna's reply was laced with humor. <I was worried about you too. I'm with 
Reika.>

The flash of jealousy that raced across Nene's face made Priss start. <Uh oh.>

<Reika found me at the apartment and figured out that the hospital might 
not be such a
healthy place for me. I'm at one of the White Tiger hideouts.>

Priss cursed silently. <How long until you're mobile?>







Sylia was not happy. "You brought Dr. Juubei here and gave Leon an impulse
magnum?!"

Kuraki ignored her and connected the final circuit. "Would you rather I had 
left him there
without adequate firepower to stop the boomers? And Sabishii needed a hand 
with patching
everybody back together." She sealed the weapon and held it up. "One down 
four to go."

Frowning slightly at her words, Sylia decided to let it drop. Besides she 
had a point. "Is it
just me or are you speaking oddly?"

Kuraki grinned and Sylia was stunned. She had never seen such a look on her 
own face
and to see it now was startling. "I'm not you if that's what you mean."

"That's obvious."

They whirled, staring at Mackie in amazement. "Mackie!"

Kuraki resisted the urge to embrace him as Sylia was currently doing and 
instead held her
distance. Mackie was having none of it. He smiled ruefully at Kuraki and 
pulled her into his arms.
"I'm glad you're both all right. Taisei and Rihi told me what happened. I 
hopped a plane heading
this way and here I am."

"But what about Kyouki? What did you tell her?" Sylia's question was 
answered when
the young woman in question appeared behind Mackie.

"He told me to pack a bag." She smiled faintly, knowing how Sylia was going 
to react
thanks to Mackie.

The short blond hair made her features appear elfin and once again Sylia 
was struck by
how important it was not to forget that there was a razor sharp mind behind 
that face. "I see. It's
good to see you again but this situation is a little-."

"Dangerous? I know. Mackie told me." She looked at Kuraki with sudden 
interest. "He
told me everything. I'm Kyouki Fu- whoops! Still not used to that yet. 
Kyouki Stingray. You
must be Kuraki."

She stepped forward and held out her hand, catching Kuraki off guard. "Yes. 
I am."

Kyouki shrugged. "Don't worry. I don't expect you to trust me. That would 
be unwise for
a group that's managed to keep a great many secrets for so long." She 
turned to Mackie and her
expression softened indescribably. "Should I bring them in or are we still 
being social?"

Mackie laughed and shook his head. "No. Go ahead. That way Sylia can yell 
at me while
you're gone."

She left the garage and Sylia stared at Mackie, who seemed remarkably 
unperturbed at
her ire. "You've put her in danger."

Mackie didn't agree. "She would have been in more danger if she hadn't 
known what
was going on. She's my wife Sylia. Did you really think I wouldn't tell her?"

Sylia sank into a chair, her face pale. "No of course not. I'm sorry 
Mackie. It's been a
rough couple of days."

"I heard." Mackie took his coat off and tossed it over a stool. "But never 
fear, Mackie's
here!"

Kyouki returned with a metal attach� case and handed it to Mackie. "This 
should help
things until you're all back on your feet."

He opened the case and handed Sylia the unit. "Try it on."

The unit was a wide bracelet with a large yellow stone in the center of a 
series of metal
bands. Sylia slipped the bracelet over her wrist and Taisei immediately 
tied into the circuitry.

=Sensors online. Incredible! I can see! =

Mackie laughed at her enthusiasm. <Now can you move?> The bracelet 
unwrapped itself
from Sylia's wrist and formed six metal legs. The fine points clung to the 
cloth of her shirt and
the unit quickly made it's way up her arm and perched on her shoulder. 
Sylia looked at the single
glowing eye and grimaced. "This is going to take some getting used to."

Taisei shook herself slightly. To have a body, even in this limited way was 
amazing and
she studied her surroundings with interest. =Amazing! I never realized how 
wonderful it would
be to move around like this. = The jewel sparkled as Taisei bobbed up and 
down, testing her
range of motion.

Kuraki blinked as Mackie handed her a unit. "I don't understand."

Mackie's smile was sardonic. "I knew that you two wouldn't go far."

She clasped the bracelet on her wrist with studious intent, waiting for the 
sudden rush of
emotion to become more controllable before looking up at him. "Thank you." 
She watched Rihi
activate the unit. "I'm assuming that they contain scanners and sensors 
similar to Priss' arm?"

"Yes. Had the others had these they might have had some warning." He 
hesitated and
then continued. "They also allow the enclaves to sync up with these." 
Kyouki hit the button on
the garage doors and a truck backed in. Sylia noted absently that the 
delivery company was one
she owned as the driver unloaded four sealed crates. The driver then closed 
the doors and turned
to Sylia. "Nice to see you again Sylia."

Her confusion was obvious but Mackie didn't explain until he had keyed in 
the pass code
and unlocked the crates revealing their cargo.

  The boomers were dressed in street clothes and had the most realistic 
fa�ade she had
seen since the 33-S line. They were female in gender but nondescript, 
easily blending into the
populace. Mackie waited for anxiously for Sylia's reaction. Sylia realized 
what he had done and
was amazed. "This is incredible, Mackie." She glanced at the driver and 
smiled. "Setsu?"

"In the flesh, so to speak."

  "How do they interface?" Kuraki knelt next to one of the boomers to study 
it closer.

Mackie's smile was that of a proud parent. He scooped Taisei off of Sylia's 
shoulder and
set the unit around one of the boomer's wrists. Taisei sensed the 
connection possibilities
immediately.

The boomer's eyes opened and she slowly sat up. Taisei stood up and began 
to walk
around the room, getting a feel for this new form. She noted the armaments 
that the boomer
possessed and felt the artificial face curl into a smile. "An impressive 
array of weapons
Mackie." A low feminine voice spoke from the boomer

"The enclaves will need to sync to the mobile units before they can 
activate the
boomers." Mackie handed another device to Kuraki. "For Sabishii. I'm afraid 
I only brought the
four boomers with me."

Kuraki shrugged. "I'm sure I can throw something together."




Sabishii eyed the bracelet with suspicion. "I don't think so."

Kuraki rolled her eyes and pointed to her own wrist. "It doesn't hurt, 
Sabishii. You don't
even know it's there."

Sabishii looked at Kuraki's bare wrist and nodded. "I can see that." Kuraki 
glanced at her
wrist and then around her chair. <Rihi? Where are you?>

A tiny metallic chink drew their attention to the corner and they saw the 
small mobile
unit peeking under a cabinet. <What are you doing?>

=Have you seen what's under here? Didn't they ever clean this place? =

Kuraki snagged Rihi from the floor and held it over her wrist. "That's 
enough of that.
This is serious."

Rihi wrapped back around her wrist and sighed. =Fine, fine. What's your 
problem
Sabishii? =

"You mean besides the fact that it looks like a damn spider?"

"I didn't realize you were afraid of spiders Sabishii."

Sabishii grimaced. "I'm not, not really. Damn it! You know I hate things 
like this! Priss
isn't going to be too happy about this either." Actually she wasn't sure 
about that now.

"Let's face facts here. If the enclaves had been able to monitor their 
surroundings then
they might not have been caught off guard like this." Kuraki held up her 
wrist and looked at the
bracelet. "The others are unable to defend themselves at the moment. These 
mobile units will
allow the enclaves to stand guard so to speak. They will be able to scan 
for boomers, weapons
and to some extent, explosives."

"Maybe. But I still don't see why we need these. This isn't our fight."

Kuraki stared hard at Sabishii. "Isn't it?"

"Give me the damn thing."

Kiji resisted the urge to cheer. She connected with the unit and 
immediately understood
Rihi's enthusiasm.

Kuraki waited until Sabishii had put the bracelet on before filling her in 
on the rest.

Sabishii was outraged. "Boomer bodyguards? Are you out of your mind?"








They regrouped in the garage as Mackie, Kyoki and Setsu left in the truck 
on a parts run.
Sylia tilted her head towards the door. "I'll take Priss her bracelet."

"What bracelet?"

They turned to see Priss enter the garage, a worried look on her face. 
Sylia motioned her
closer and took her hand <What's wrong love?>

Priss grimaced. "Linna got in touch with Nene and me. She's hurt, but 
should be able to
move by tomorrow."

Since Sylia had to take that as good news, she knew there was more that 
wasn't so good.
"What else?"

         "She's with Reika Chan."

         Sylia stiffened imperceptibly. "Oh really? How did that happen?"

         "Apparently Reika found Linna and decided to move her somewhere 
safe. She's in a
White Tiger hideout somewhere."

         Sabishii scowled at this. "I thought Reika was out of the clan?"

         "No. She's still running it. We need to figure out how much to let 
Reika know. You can
bet she already knows a lot. Linna had to get her to drop a jammer around 
the place so that she
could contact us."

         "Use your discretion. Tell her what you feel you can trust her 
with. I'm assuming that
you're going to get her?"

Priss nodded and Sabishii snorted, taking in the tattered remains of her 
clothes. "Not
dressed like that." She glanced at Sylia. "Give Priss her new attachment 
and I'll see about finding
her something to wear."

Unamused by her remarks, Sylia handed the unit to Priss, who immediately 
put it on
without question.

Sabishii stared at Priss for a long moment and then shrugged. "Guess I was 
right." She
left without further comment and Priss sighed.

"She's not happy with me at the moment."

"I gathered that."

"She thinks I've abandoned my beliefs."

Kuraki stared at her curiously. "Have you?"

Priss raised her metal hand and flexed the fingers. "No. I don't think so. 
I just�  want to
survive."

Sylia slipped her arms around Priss and held her tightly. "There's nothing 
wrong with
that."

Mentally explaining the bracelet's function to Priss, Sylia pointed towards 
Taisei as she
came towards them from the store room.

Priss rolled her eyes. "Life size Barbie dolls." <Well you should be happy 
Arashi.
You've got a physical form to fool around with Taisei in.> "I suppose you 
guys think this is a
really great idea, huh?"

Taisei's nod was a mirror of Kuraki's and Sylia's, making Priss groaned. 
"Great. Now
there are three of you running around!"

Sabishii returned and Priss activated Arashi's boomer before they left to 
go fetch Linna,
leaving the clones and Sylia alone once again.

Kuraki stared hard at Sylia. "We'll help you with this, but on one condition."

Sylia said nothing, waiting.

"You have to finish what you started with the destruction of Genom's Delta 
Complex. No
more playing around."

"You don't understand. I've been-."

A sharp chopping motion from Kuraki stopped her in mid sentence. "No! You 
should
have finished this then! Instead you've hesitated and given them time to 
regroup."

Sylia found herself across the room and in Kuraki's face. "I had more 
important things to
deal with!"

"What could be more important than taking out Genom?!"

"Priss!" Sylia drew a shuddering breath and her voice quieted. "Priss is 
more important.
She needed me." Sylia turned away and motioned for Taisei to follow.  "She 
still does. And if
you don't realize that then," She looked at Sabishii, "I feel sorry for you."

The door clicked shut behind her and Taisei. Sabishii watched the slow 
smile spread
across her lover's face and sighed. "Okay, what the hell was that about?"

"Just making sure she's got her priorities in order."

Sabishii's eyes narrowed. "You are very bad girl."

Kuraki grinned and winked. "Yes I am. Going to spank me?"

Sabishii refrained from replying and went back to work on the hardsuits.





Kutsuu stepped into the cell and stared at the woman hanging naked in the 
center of the
metal room. She waited for the woman to raise her head and meet her eyes 
before speaking.
"Quincy's very disappointed in you my dear." Kutsuu moved closer and 
struck, an open handed
slap that made the prisoner's head reel as blood erupted around her mouth. 
"I'd question you but
there's nothing that he wants to know." Kutsuu signaled the boomer behind 
her and her
equipment was rolled in. "My orders with you are very specific." She 
gripped the ark brown hair
and yanked the woman's face up to stare into her eyes. "You die. In the 
most painful and horrible
way I can devise."

She reached beside her and selected a long curved scalpel from the tray. 
"This is all being
recorded you see, so let's give Quincy his money's worth."






Priss secured the cover housing the rail gun and glanced at Sabishii who 
was working on
the other suit beside her. "So what'd you say to Sylia to upset her?"

Sabishii shrugged. "Nothing really. I didn't realize that the Queen Bitch 
needed you to
fight her battles these days."

She never saw Priss move. Suddenly Sabishii was flat on her back as Priss 
crouched over
her. The flash of light along the razor edge of Priss' claws made 
Sabishii's heart lurch unsteadily
and she realized that she should have kept her mouth shut.

Priss traced her index finger across her captive's face and watched the 
crimson trail that
followed the blade. "I'm only going to say this once, so pay attention. 
Sylia is mine." She pressed
the point into a smooth cheek until she saw her clone wince. "Mine to love. 
Mine to protect. You
keep away from her, understand? If it's not boomer related then you have 
nothing to say to her
that she wants to hear."

"Get off me you crazy-." Sabishii froze as the metal hand dropped and five 
claws sank
into her shoulder. "Damn it! Let go!"

Priss tightened her grip, sinking the blades deeper. "You think you know 
how to get to
me, how to push my buttons�. You don't. So stop trying. What I was when you 
were made is no
more. She died. You know that because you felt it when it happened."

She had felt it. The pain had been excruciating but the feeling of loss had 
hurt even more.
Stray tears escaped and Sabishii cursed herself for the sign of weakness 
even as Priss' expression
softened.

         "Don't weep for me, little sister. All things change." She pulled 
her nails free and patted
Sabishii's cheek. "Truce?"

         Swallowing hard, Sabishii nodded. She was afraid not to.





Sabishii pushed the bedroom door closed and wondered how much she should tell
Kuraki.

She should have known better. Kuraki had seen the distress in Sabishii's 
eyes instantly
and she had only waited until they were alone before approaching her. 
"What's wrong?"

Tossing the covers back on the bed, Sabishii laid back against the pillows 
before
answering. "Just had some words with Priss."

"I take it that they weren't of a nice nature?"

"Well she sank her claws into me, so I'd say not." The outrage in Kuraki's 
face made her
grin. "It's okay, love. I deserved it."

"What on earth could you have done to deserve that?"

"I baited Sylia and Priss found out." I'll skip the part about the name 
calling.

"I was under the impression that Sylia could take care of herself."

Sabishii grimaced. "Well as Priss put it, Sylia is hers to protect."

Kuraki wasn't pleased to hear this. "I'm beginning to wonder if Sylia is 
with Priss by
choice now. Have you noticed the way she looks at Priss when she plans 
things now? As if she's
okaying it with her first?"

Sabishii studied the ceiling as she considered that. "Before I would have 
said that was
impossible but now� She� this'll sound crazy but I'm more Priss than she is."

"Maybe I should talk to Sylia."

An indelicate snort escaped Sabishii. "Be prepared to face Priss if you 
piss her off."




Laughter filled the garage the next morning as Sylia realized what Kuraki 
was concerned
about. "Priss isn't abusing me. Far from it."

"I'm disturbed with what I'm seeing Sylia. She seems to be controlling you."

Sylia secured the armored chest plate she was working on, her attention 
more on her
work than the conversation. "No, but in order for us to be together, we had 
to change the
dynamics of our relationship."

Recognizing double talk when she heard it, Kuraki pressed again. "So she 
bullies you
into things?"

Sylia finally realized that Kuraki was serious. "No. She asks only that I 
keep her
informed of situations that concern her and us as a couple."

"Uh huh. Doesn't that seem a little�. dominating?"

Tapping a wrench against the metal plate, Sylia considered that. "Yes. But 
then, consider
my� our� past actions. Can you blame her?"

"No, but then my Priss isn't growling at people."

Okay, point for her. "Priss has changed that's true, but I find myself 
quite enjoying the
results." Very, very much.

Kuraki was confused by Sylia's easy acceptance of this situation. "I just 
want to make
sure that you're all right." <Get me Taisei.>

Rihi did as instructed and Kuraki went straight to the point. <Has Priss 
hurt her?>

=Physically? No. Emotionally? Not since the whole cloning thing. You may not
understand what's keeping them together now, goodness knows that Arashi and 
I have wondered
at times, but Sylia is right where she wants to be.=

Kuraki shook her head as she considered Sylia. "So you like being a 
bottom?" That was
anathema to Kuraki and since she was Sylia's clone it should hold true for 
her, shouldn't it?

Growing impatient, Sylia snapped, "That was crude. But if you want to 
descend to that
level then allow me to inform you of just how happy I am with Priss."

She came up out of her chair and crowded Kuraki back against the desk. "I 
belong to
Priss, but what you fail to understand is that she belongs to me. She is my 
mate. She would die
for me� I would die for her. Everything begins and ends with her and as 
long as she's happy
then I'm happy and I don't care what I have to do�or who I have to kill to 
do that for her,
understand?" Sylia laughed harshly. "Probably not. That pale imitation 
you're bedding is a Priss
wanna-be. You couldn't even begin to handle the real thing."

The sound of slow clapping drew their attention to the doorway where Priss 
leaned
indolently. She straightened and held her arms open, a silent call that 
Sylia answered instantly by
hurrying into them. Priss buried her face in her wife's hair and inhaled 
the sweet scent as she tried
to get her pleased grin under control. She met Kuraki's eyes and chuckled. 
"I think that answers
your question, don't you?"

Kuraki was silent and Priss continued, "The suits are finished and we're 
ready to move.
Are you still going to help us?"









         "I didn't not just hear that� we have to bust into Genom HQ and 
rescue who?"

         Sylia ignored the incredulous outburst from Sabishii and turned 
back to the blueprints of
the main Genom building. "This data is two months old, so you should be 
prepared to run into
some changes. It's possible that the whole layout has changed as Genom 
began losing its
subsidiaries."

         Sabishii didn't like being ignored. "Can somebody give me one good 
reason why we are
bothering with this?"

         Sylia glared at her and opened her mouth to respond but 
surprisingly, Kuraki interrupted
her to reprimand Sabishii. "Because you wouldn't be standing here right now 
if it weren't for
her!"

         "Okay, now I'm confused." Linna and Nene silently echoed Priss' 
declaration, but
neither were willing to venture into the heated discussion that was taking 
place.

         Sylia tapped the screen, which was currently displaying a photo of 
the spy that had been
working for her since the beginning. "How do you think we knew where to 
send the new
motoroid and armor for you when you were facing Largo?"

         "I thought you just followed the explosions."

         Shaking her head ruefully, Sylia tapped the picture again. "No. We 
had our hands full
with both the boomers that were imitating us and the ones that were 
protecting the building. She
gave us the coordinates to where you were."

         Priss chuckled slightly and shot Sabishii a look. "I think that 
answers your question."

         Sabishii rolled her eyes and snapped, "You're just happy you don't 
have to go back into
the Big, Bad, Scary System!"

         They hadn't really explained why Priss was reluctant to enter the 
net again but Priss
wasn't angered by her accusation. "Perhaps, but that doesn't explain why 
you're not going in
either." She cocked her head to the side and studied the clone. "Nervous?"

         Sabishii clenched her fists and edged forward. "No! I just want to 
make sure you bring
my suit back in one piece!"









 From the journal of Pricilla Asagiri�.


         I never thought I'd be the kind of person to write in one of these 
things as my music has
always spoken for me in the past, but here I am. My music is dead. Or at 
least so deeply buried
that I can't find it.

         Anyway I figured that at least somebody should get this down, so 
that the truth will
survive. There's so many rumors and theories of why this happened that the 
real truth has been
buried along with the identities of the culprits. Our identities. The 
Knight Sabers. That's right,
this is our fault.

         Oh we didn't realize it at the time. We were celebrating our 
victory over Quincy and the
recovery of what was left of Sylia's father. We had won. We never realized 
that Quincy, besides
being a megalomaniacal madman, was also a sore loser.

         Mind you, it started small. The big things usually do. A signal 
into space. Or rather, the
lack of a signal into space. When the boomer run outpost on Jupiter failed 
to receive this signal it
launched all of its missiles.

         Now I know you're wondering, what's the big deal? The particle 
satellite weapons could
take them out before the even cleared Venus right? Wrong. They weren't 
heading toward earth.
They had been fired at the sun.

         Now I couldn't see what the problem was until Arashi 'explained' 
it to me and once she
had... well, I wish she hadn't. I would have been happier in ignorance.

         The upshot was this: Solar flares. Massive, massive flares, that 
no amount of shielding
man could devise would stop. The earth was about to be broiled and there 
wasn't a damn thing
we could do about it.

         Some people would try to out run them in space but there is even 
less protection out there
and they'd die so quickly that they would never realize their mistake. 
Every space station and
outpost would be incinerated and it was only a matter of time before they 
reached earth. Sylia,
Kuraki and Mackie did the brain thing and figured that we had less than a 
year. Seems like long
enough to figure out a way to stop it huh? It wasn't but then, that wasn't 
what we were planning
anyway.

         No, after much discussion (and some rather hostile shouting 
matches) it had been
decided that we would find a way to survive the coming holocaust. Not an 
easy task, even with
bodies reinforced with nanotechnology.

         The problem was that while the solar flares would pass within 
days, the effects would be
shaking the earth up for the next several hundred years. Okay, that's 
unclear. Sylia's tentative
guess was 1200 years. Minimum.

         At which point I asked why bother? We had a good run. Why try to 
cheat death of its
prize since we were the ones who triggered all this?

         Sylia got that patient look I hate and explained that since we had 
caused this then we
should try to help whatever remnants of society rebuild in the ruins of 
whatever was left.

         Sounds noble don't it?

         Yeah, right. That's what I thought too. Sylia's nobility only went 
so far and we both knew
it but I figured that if she did survive to come out on the other end of 
this then somebody had to
be around to make sure she played by the rules. Might as well be me.

The first thing to do was find a location to build a hiding place. It had 
to be deep and it
had to be stable. That left MegaTokyo way the hell out. After many boring 
hours of geological
scans, Sylia decided on the Black Forest area of Germany.

         Then the construction started. The boomer only workforce insured 
the secrecy of the
project and Sylia made a considerable dent in her fortune as the project 
progressed. Which was
just bizarre when you think about it. Business was going on more or less as 
usual around the
world. Having been informed of the coming event and the almost zero chance 
of survival, man
had decided to take the turtle approach.

         If we don't think about it, maybe it won't happen.

         Christ. I never knew denial that strong existed. And speaking of 
Christ� have mercy!
Every Johnny on the spot with a bible or vaguely religious text was 
promising survival if the
lemmings would only join them in their cult, church whatever. The end of 
the world was great
business for the religious.

         We just kept our heads down and concentrated on perfecting the 
cryogenic process. We'd
all be screwed if that failed. Redundancy system after redundancy system 
was devised. That was
me and Sabishii's job. Since we had the most medical knowledge, we were 
elected to learn even
more�.ugh.

         Not that we were the only ones with the idea of going underground. 
No, everybody was
digging holes to hide in at the end. But Sylia was so adamant about certain 
specifications that it
made me wonder if the others were wasting their time.


The Pit, as I came to call it, was getting deeper all the time and I 
wondered if we'd hit
magma before Sylia was satisfied. Then there was the weird concoction of 
cement she was having
everything lined with. I figured she knew what she was talking about and 
left her to it. I had my
own hands full.

I was preparing the Chosen. Those fortunate few that we had grabbed to 
freeze along
with us. Housed in the level above ours, they had been sedated to keep them 
calm. Sounds peachy
doesn't it? I was not happy with this decision but Sylia had convinced me 
that it was better for
them this way. If they knew that there might be a way to survive this then 
they would be begging
us to save everybody they knew and loved. And we just couldn't. We randomly 
chose 100 healthy
single men and women. No kids. I know, I know! We were playing God and I 
never felt more
guilty and sick than now. No wonder my music fled. I'd leave me too if I could.

With less than a month to go, we began to stock the Pit with anything we 
thought might
be useful. Nene and Linna collected information. About everything. I mean 
EVERYTHING. Not
taking the chance that the sum total of human knowledge to date would pass 
out of existence, they
made indestructible copies of everything. You never know when the wide 
screen version of Rocky
Horror Picture Show might come in handy, right?

In truth, I think Sylia gave them the task to take their minds off of the 
baby. Oh yeah! I
didn't tell you about that did I?

Well you see, in the aftermath of our victory, Nene and Linna got a little 
carried away
with the festivities and their enclaves, seeing no reason not to, helped 
them create a child. Yep,
Nene was pregnant. With a little girl, of course.

We were all excited by the news and I was having a blast teasing Linna 
about upcoming
fatherhood. It was a wonderful time and that should have warned me. That 
godamn itch at the
base of my neck started and I never had another peaceful night of sleep 
after. Sylia said I was
borrowing trouble, but I knew. The other shoe was about to drop.

And it did, but I didn't say I told you so. I think that was pretty good of 
me, don't you?

So here we were, with a pregnant woman on our hands that wasn't due to give 
birth until
after the flares�.. Can you say panic? I knew you could.

It would be impossible to cryogenically freeze Nene while she was pregnant. 
One or both
of them would be lost. So we did the unthinkable. We constructed a new 
enclave for the baby and
began to accelerate the pregnancy. The baby would be full term in just 
under seven months. Nene
was a rock through all this. Linna was a basket case. And not a damn thing 
I could tease her
about either.

Which brings me to today. This morning at 8:32 am, Nene Romanova gave birth 
to a
healthy 7 pound baby girl with me and Linna assisting. They named her 
Ayden. Only time will tell
what the effects of her having an enclave from that age will be.

I came above ground for a final look around and to write this. I'll be too 
busy to come up
again.

In three days we will enter the deepest levels of the Pit and go into our 
individual cryo
tubes. Mackie and his wife Kyouki. Sabishii and Kuraki. Nene, Linna and 
Ayden. Then Sylia and
finally, myself.  In a way, I'm glad for the coming sleep. I feel so tired, 
so overwhelmed by all this
that the oblivion of a thousand years of sleep seems like heaven.

The sun is setting and as I watch the colors blaze across the sky, I try to 
remind myself
that we have done all we can. We may have inadvertently started this chain 
of events but we were
going to do our damndest to salvage what we could. And if there is a higher 
being out there�
well� how about throwing a little luck our way? We sure could use it.

-Priscilla Asagiri, 2040







http://www.shehulk.net

'All the things I really like to do are either immoral, illegal or fattening.'
                                         - Alexander Woollcott

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