Bubblegum Collision

  A Bubblegum Crisis fanfiction by Douglas A. Reeves

Part Five - No Outlet

     Closing and locking her door behind her, Nene collapsed into a chair. 
Her mind was flooded with thoughts and emotions, and she felt lost.  Anger
and hatred wove their way into her soul, so familiar now that she found
them almost comforting...
     With that thought, her spirit rebelled.  "NO!" it seemed to shout out
from within her.  "Is that really what you want?"
     She had to admit that she did not.  On the other hand, the alternative
seemed equally frightening.  How could she forgive... how could she trust
the one who had introduced these things in her life?  The very thought
brought a chill to her heart.  Looking down at her left hand, she wondered,
"What have I become?"

                  * * * * * * * * *

     "This is not good," Sylia thought, reading through the data from
Nene's hardsuit.  "Limited production of the 34-CX has already begun.  We
are not ready for this."
     Calling up the data on the hardsuit improvements, she began to
compare them, element by element.  The hardsuits were still superior, even
to the most lethal of the boomer's weapon configurations, but the edge was
not enough.  Recently, they had often been outnumbered, sometimes as
much as three to one, and she was not comfortable with the prospects of
such a fight.  Searching her mind for ideas, looking for any improvements
that could be made, she came up empty.  A breakthrough innovation was
needed, and soon.
     Christine had given them her best technology, and it was indeed
impressive; still, it was not enough.  The power boost was good, as it would
allow for better systems in the hardsuits, but those systems did not exist yet. 
Time was short, and the sense of urgency pressed her on.
     Slowly, ideas began to assemble in her mind.
                  * * * * * * * * *
     Several hours later, she emerged from the databank room, exhausted. 
The computer had set to work, modifying the existing suits where it could
and constructing new ones where necessary.  Once she had verified that the
construction was in progress, she went to bed.
     Her sleep would not come easily.  In her weariness, her mental guard
dropped, and she was bombarded by images of the past.  The data unit, and
the knowledge it held, the death of her father, and the look in Mackie's eyes
when he learned of it.  More scenes followed, triumph and tragedy - The
battle with Mason high above the rest of the city; Priss's bravery and
Mackie's brilliance joining to save an angry man from his own creation; the
horror on Priss's face when she realized that Sylvie must die.  So much
emotion was bound up in their history together.  Largo, and Priss with her
stubborn determinaton not to be beaten.  Vision, the reluctant warrior. 
Nene, and her ultimate vindication as both a Knight Saber and an officer of
the AD Police.  Nene, and her suffering.  They had seen so much together,
and there was so much yet to be done; somehow, she felt as if the end of it
all was near.
                  * * * * * * * * *
     Nene had not slept easily either.  The darknes which enshrouded her
soul was strong, and the urge to hate was powerful.  Her very heart and soul
fought against it, but she feared it was a losing battle.  Hate was so easy,
and trust so difficult.  Sylia had called her strong, but she felt so weak in the
face of her pain.
     "Is this what I am doomed to be?" she asked herself.  She knew the
path she had started on very well, for she had seen it in another.  Priss, the
cynic, always doubting, always expecting the worst.  The thought of
becoming that frightened her, but she could see no way around it.    
     Suddenly, another realization struck her.  "They are very much
alike," Linna's voice echoed in her mind.  Was that to be her destiny as
well?  She had heard the saying; we often become that which we most hate. 
Was that her destiny?  The thought overwhelmed her, and she began to cry.  
                * * * * * * * * *
     Christine wandered into the construction chamber, watching with
fascination as the machines worked.  The most amazing thing, to her, was
how quick the process was - it had taken her days to build a single
battlesuit, but these hardsuits were constructed in a matter of hours.  She
marveled at the level of technology represented here.  Her corporation, for
all of its technological prowess, had barely approached this level, and she
found herself wondering if even Genom was this advanced.
     Probably not, she concluded.  Sylia was brilliant in ways she had
never seen, never even dreamed possible.  Every generation had its
spectacular minds, and she felt honored to be in the company of one.  The
fact that she was so kind made it that much more incredible.
     She had been shocked when they had beaten her, and now she began
to understand why.  Their skills were finely honed, their technology
cutting-edge, and their teamwork perfect.  The loyalty that bound them was
beyond question, and she found herself caught up in it.  This struck her as
odd - she had always been such a loner, all her life, and yet now she wanted
nothing more than to be a part of this team.
     With that realization, her heart froze.  The specter of death reared its
ugly head, reminding her of all she had lost.  Everyone she had ever loved,
ever cared for, had been lost to her, and she could not shake the sudden fear
that it would happen again.  The inevitability of loss tore at her heart, until
finally she summoned the courage to supress it.  This time, she had a
choice.  She would not allow it to happen again.
                  * * * * * * * * *
     Priss had just arrived at her hom when she was struck by an odd
feeling.  Suspicion arose within her suddenly, and she paused a moment
before going in.  In that moment, the place exploded.
                  * * * * * * * * *
     The phone rang, and Christine picked it up.  "Hello?"
     "That you, Christine?" Priss asked, out of breath.
     "Yeah, what happened?" she answered.  "You sound like-"
     "Shhh!" Priss interrupted her.  "They've found us.  I don't know
how..." her voice trailed off.
     "No." Christine answered firmly.
     "You'd better be telling me the truth," Priss warned.  "I'm on my
way."
     "Should I wake up Sylia?"
     "Not yet.  Wait  til I get there."
                  * * * * * * * * *
     Priss stormed into the room, glaring at Christine.  "Tell me again you
didn't betray us.  And tell me why I should believe you."
     "Believe her," Sylia interrupted as she walked into the room.  "I told
you I'd be watching her, and I have been."
     "You look terrible," Priss told her.
     "Just tired," she tried to smile.  "No time for that now... we need to
contact Nene.  She might be in danger."
     "I'll do it-" Christine started.
     "No, let me," Priss cut her off.  "She'll blame you for it."
     "Christine, you contact Linna," Sylia suggested.
     Christine nodded and went to make the call.
                  * * * * * * * * *
     "I'm on my way," Linna said, hanging up the phone and grabbing her
keys.  Thinking that her car might be sabotaged, she changed her mind and
called a cab.
                  * * * * * * * * *
     "Damn.  She's not answering her phone!" Priss yelled from the other
room."
     "We'll have to go get her, then," Sylia sighed.  "Get the suits ready."
     "If we wear them, we'll give her away," Christine commented.
     "Too late to worry about that now.  If they found Priss, we've
probably all been compromised anyway."
     It was almost ten minutes before Linna arrived.  "Good thing I live
close," she commented as she walked in.  Moving to the room where the
new hardsuits were waiting, she looked back to say something to Sylia.  At
that moment, all hell broke loose.
     The north wall of the building was blown inward, spraying debris
through the room.  Linna caught a glimpse of something on the other side
just before the celing collapsed.
     "Sylia!" she shouted, trudgnig through the debris to reach her.  She
was half-buried under pieces of wall and celing, and by the time Linna
reached her she was barely breathing.
     "Hell!" Christine shouted as she slipped into her hardsuit.  Running
through the door, with Priss right behind, she charged into the destroyed
room.  "Go get in your suit," she told Linna as she and Priss began
removing the debris, "We'll take care of Sylia."
     As Linna went to suit up, Priss looked at Christine.  "Where's
Mackie?" she asked.
     "I don't know..." Christine answered.  "I'll go find him."
     "No need," Mackie's voice came over the channel.  "I made for the
hangar as soon as I heard the explosion.  I'm bringing the KnightWing to
pick you up."
     "Thanks, Mackie," Priss answered.  "Quick as you can!  Sylia's in a
bad way."
     Just as they got the last piece of debris cleared, Linna entered the
room.  "How bad?" she asked.
     "She's still alive, but just barely," Christine answered.  "She might
make it if she gets help soon."
     "Come on, Mackie..." Priss thought... "Come on..."
     "I think I saw a boomer outside right before the ceiling fell," Linna
said.
     "Long gone by now, no doubt." said Christine.
     "Figures," Priss scowled.
     About forty-five seconds later, the KnightWing was directly
overhead.  Mackie lowered them a cable, and Priss carried Sylia up to him. 
"Go!" she shouted as she dropped back out the hatch, and Mackie flew out
as fast as he could go.  When Priss dropped back to the ground next to
Christine, Linna had left.  A second later, she reappeared holding Nene's
hardsuit.
     "Let's go," Priss said, and they took off.
                  * * * * * * * * *
     Nene awoke to a loud banging at her door.  Clambering out of bed,
she ran to the door and looked outside.  Seeing the other Sabers, minus
Sylia, dressed for battle, she immediately let them in.
     "Where's Sylia?" she asked.
     "Hurt.  Bad," Priss informed her.  "They found us, Nene."
     Nene registered shock first, then anger as her gaze rested on
Christine.
     "She didn't do it, Nene," Priss said firmly.
     "I'm sure she didn't," Nene answered, her voice as cold as ice.
     "I said, she didn't do it," Priss's temper started to flare.
     "Wait," Christine said.  "We don't have time for this, we've got to
decide what we're going to do now."
     "Genom crossed the line," Priss answered.  "This is war."
     Nene nodded her agreement immediately.  Christine, too felt a grim
determination overcome her.  Linna was more hesitant, but she realized that
it was the only way.
     "Tonight it ends," Starblade said deliberately, and even Nene had to
agree.

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END PART FIVE
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