Well, it's about f---ing time I got this done.  After a month or so of
speculation, here is the Bubblegum Crisis/Predator crossover.  

Warning:  There may be a bit of OOC and it is fairly long.
Also, a concept from my BGC lemon "Confessions" is used here.

BTW, if anyone knows of a BGC fanfic page, please tell me.  I would like
to post this on the WWW.

Let me get the disclaimers out of the way:

BUBBLEGUM CRISIS is from Keniichi Sonoda, Artmic, Youmex,
AnimEigo, and perhaps others.

PREDATOR is from 20th Century Fox.

All other characters are of my creation and cannot be used
without my permission.

Okay, now that we have that out of that way, let's start.  BTW, this
contains scenes of violence.  If this offends you, please don't go any
further.

Oh yeah, let's not forget about these:
(Character thoughts will be displayed in these.)
<<Anything the Predator says will be in these>>
[Any notes from me will be in these.]
*****---scene changes

Here we go...
***********************************************************
BUBBLEGUM CRISIS/PREDATOR:
WINDS OF BLOOD
by Vermilion

Prologue
In the year 2035, Genom is still at work, doing what it does best.
As usual, the AD Police are on the job, working hard as they can.
This year, there is a major heat wave going on.  The weather has 
become too hot--literally--to handle.  Things in Mega Tokyo go from
bad to worse and it's not going to get better.  It seems that a visitor
from the heavens has arrived and is on safari.  Guess who's the 
hunted....

We start the story with Leon and Daley driving to a recent
incident.....
******

(Damn, it's hot out.)

Leon McNichol turned the air conditioning dial on high and laid 
back.  It was heat that he--or anybody else in Mega Tokyo-- had
never experienced.  This heat just started recently, temperatures 
were passing 100 degrees each day.  And even now, near dusk, it
was still in the high 80s.  It was heat that kept many people indoors.
But not everyone stayed inside.

"Man," Leon said to his long-time partner Daley, "can't these people
just stay inside and keep cool like everyone else?"  He was fanning 
himself with his tank top, despite the AC.

"We do have some wackos in this town," was Daley's response.  
"Maybe we'll go to a pool or something after we deal with this 
incident."

"Um, sure, whatever."  (Jeez, can't this guy take a hint?)

"We're here."  Daley stopped the car and they stepped out nearly
fainting from the heat.  They weren't alone though, other AD Police 
officers had arrived before them.  They were all standing around.

"What happened here?" Leon asked an officer while noticing that
the building in front of him had a large hole seemingly blown out
of the side.

"Some guys and their boomers decided to sharpen their skills on 
civilians.  We got here a few minutes after we got word of this.
We forced them inside this building and then we heard some screaming.
There was an explosion and then silence."

"Were any of our guys in there?"

"No."

"Did anyone see anybody leave the place?"

"No.  Nobody saw anything."

"Hmm..hey Daley, c'mon let's check this place out."  Leon walked
inside the building with Daley close behind.  They walked up a 
flight of stairs and along a hallway to a door.  Leon kicked the 

door open, gun drawn, and the sight that greeted the officers 
was unexpected, to say the least.  (What the hell....?)

The blast hole was facing them directly, but that wasn't what captured
their attention.  When they looked over the area, they saw the humans
and their boomers lying around the room, chopped to pieces.  Some 
had their chests blown out, some had their heads removed, others
just couldn't be identified.

Leon walked over to a human carcass and visually investigated it.
(Hmm....no blast powder or shrapnel.  The wound is fused and
cauterized.  What in the world could have done this?)

"Leon!  Take a look at this."

Leon went over to where Daley was standing.  Daley was looking at 
the ceiling.  Leon stared at that direction and saw nothing he had 
ever seen in all his years in the AD Police.  There was a human body

hanging upside down without its head.  "What happened to this guy?"

Daley looked at a nearby wall and saw the stream of dried blood on it.
He turned his attention to the hanging body and quickly put two and two
together.  "My guess is that whoever killed this guy somehow dragged 
him up there.  But I don't see any rope or a ladder anywhere."

"Plus, this guy weighed, I'd say, about 180 or 190 pounds.  It would 
take someone with great strength to drag him up there."

"What now?"

"Let's get a forensics team here.  Make sure no one disturbs 
anything here."
******

The city of Mega Tokyo was a city of wonder, even in a sea of
blue, red, yellow, and orange.  There was constant conflict here,
which meant many choices of Prey to choose from.  Like these four 
humans here.  They seem to be having no trouble besting their 
Prey, one of those weird things--boomers, that's what the humans
called them.  These four were definitely worth watching.

The boomer turned around and began to fire.  Linna easily dodged
the shots and counterattacked with her ribbons, slicing the boomer's 
arm.  As the boomer reeled back, Priss used this opportunity to fire
several pin darts into its chest.  However, the boomer kept fighting 
back, firing back at all four targets, but missing every time.  
As the shots ceased, Sylia and Nene used this advantage to fire 
their own rounds into the boomer.  Finally, it fell to the ground 
and shut down.

"Man," Nene said, "that's a tough boomer."

"Yeah," Linna responded.  "It's taking a lot more effort to take them 
down."

"Yes," Sylia interjected, "life here has become rougher since Genom 
upgraded their boomers.  It's not as easy as it was 2 years ago to 
down a rouge boomer."

"I say," Priss shouted, "we just do away with boomers for good.  
They're nothing more than...huh?"  It was at this moment she heard
something, like growling or hissing.  She looked up to the top of a
building and saw some kind of shadow.  It appeared to be watching her
and the others.  (What is that?)  She took her helmet off thinking it
could be the heat causing her to hallucinate.  Suddenly, as soon as
it appeared, the shadow was gone.

"Priss," Linna asked, "what's wrong?"

"Huh?  Oh...er...nothing.  Let's go."  Priss put her helmet back
on and along with other Knight Sabers, vanished into the night 
leaving the carcass behind.

These four...perhaps they were the Prey worthy of hunting.  Now
maybe this safari will turn out to be good one after all.
*****

SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A.

The doors of the Police Department slid open and allowed a man to 
walk in.  This man, a detective, stood about 6 feet one inch with 
short brown hair.  He was wearing jeans, a shirt, and the symbolic
trench coat.  He was your typical detective save for the left hand, 
which was a cybernetic implant--a recent American invention--that
looked like the hand of a Terminator endoskeleton.  Rumors are 
plenty as to the origin of the hand, but only the detective knows
and he's not telling.

"Rob!"

The detective turned to face the officer who shouted his name.  
He was dressed in a typical San Diego police uniform.  "Hey Scott,"
the detective replied with a half-smile.  "What's happening?"

"Nothing much.  Oh yeah, the chief wants to see you in his office.
He says something about you transferring."

"All right, thanks, Scott."

"No prob.  Hey, gotta run.  See ya." Scott walked off to begin a 
patrol.  Rob watched as he left the building.  (Just like his brother
John.)  Turning back to the matter at hand, Rob proceeded to a door
which read:

			JERRY McKENZIE
			S.D. POLICE CHIEF

He opened the door and saw Jerry sitting at his desk.  Jerry McKenzie
was an aging man in his sixties with, surprisingly, a full head of 
hair, albeit gray.  "Aah, Detective Rax, glad you're here."

"So what's up, Jer?  Anything about my transfer?"

"So, Officer Somersted told you, eh?"

"Kind of."

"Oh.  Well, I talked to the chief of the AD Police in Mega Tokyo.
They'll let you transfer over there until the killer is caught."

Rob only smiled at hearing this.  (Yes!)

"Oh Rob, one last thing.  I would suggest dressing lightly."

"Why?"

"All of Japan is experiencing a heat wave.  It hits 100 degrees
there daily.  So pack light, if you get my drift.  You leave tonight
for Mega Tokyo.  Good luck, Rob."
*****

The next day, Leon, Daley, and Nene were at the airport standing
near a gate.

"Someone tell me why we're here," Leon asked with much sarcasm.

Daley knew this answer, "We're here because we're supposed to pick 
up a man named Robert Rax.  He's a detective from the States who 
asked to transfer here when word of these strange killings reached 
the U.S."

Leon's next question was, "Why would he want to come here?"

This was Nene's to answer, "He thinks he can help us find the killer.
Right now, we have no clues on who or what is doing the killings.
Maybe he can find something we're overlooking."

Another Leon question, "Okay, but how will we know when this 
Rax guy shows up?"

Daley took this one, "His left hand is a cybernetic implant, an
invention the Americans are proud of.  Hey, there he is."

At the gate's entrance stood a man wearing jean shorts, tank top,
and a pair of shades which totally covered his eyes.  He was carrying
a military bag and was looking around with a look of confusion, at
least judging by how fast he was turning his head.  This was when 
three people approached him.

"Are you Robert Rax?" Leon asked.

"Yes," Rob replied, "but you can call me Rob.  Are you with the 
AD Police?  I'm supposed to meet some members here."

"Well, you found them.  I'm Leon McNichol and this is my 
partner Daley Wong, and this is a dispatcher, Nene Romanova."

"Hello Daley.  Hi there, Nene.  It's nice to meet all of you."

Nene's watch beeped.  "Hey guys, I gotta go.  I've got some things
to do."

"Oh," Leon replied.  "Okay then."  Nene ran off with Leon noticing
she was leaving in a bit of a hurry.  (What's the big hurry?  
Ah, anyways...)  "All right Rob, I'll give you a quick tour of Mega
Tokyo."

"Sure.  But then let's get to business."

Hearing this statement reminded Daley of something.  "Hey Leon, 
Rob, I have to go, too.  I'm supposed to meet someone down the 
street."

"Okay," Leon's reply was, "Besides, you're off duty.  Nothing wrong
with that."  Daley was gone before Leon finished his sentence. "Well,
let's go, detective."
*****

Leon and Rob had stopped at a convenience store during the "tour".  
The heat was more intense than before.  This late afternoon 
temperature of 105 degrees was too much for anyone of Mega Tokyo,
even police officers.

Leon stepped out of the car.  "Hey Rob, I'm going to get some 
brews.  I'll be back in a bit."

"Um, all right."  As Leon went inside, Rob caught a glimpse of a
motorcycle parked nearby.  It was an usual looking cycle indeed.
He had never seen anything like it back in the States.  This demanded
a closer look.  He got out of the car to check out this weird 
contraption.  He was amazed by how well built it was.  (Whoever
created this must be a genius.  This would put Harleys to shame.)

"You like it?"

Rob quickly forwarded his attention towards the woman who said
that.  She was of average height for a woman her age, maybe 22 or so.
She had brown hair and was wearing a red jumpsuit with the first
two buttons undone.

"Yeah...nice bike."

"Thanks.  Say, you're that new guy, Rob, right?"

"Uh, yeah.  How do you know about me?"

"Leon's in there flapping his gums about having some American
for a partner.  He said the guy has a metal hand, like yours.  So I
assumed you're the one."

"Well, I guess so."

"Why are you here?"

"I heard about the killings going on here.  I want to find out who's
responsible for the slayings.  The killer is eluding the AD Police, so 
I figured some American know-how will help here."

"Eluding the AD Police?  Hmph, that's not hard."

"Huh?"

"Oh, nothing.  Look, could you let me go?  I've got better things to
do than talk with cops."

Rob took a few steps back to allow the woman to get on her bike and 
take off making Rob inhale the exhaust.

*cough, cough*  "Fucking...."

"Hey, Rob."

Rob turned over to Leon's direction.  Leon had stepped out of the
store just in time to see the woman take off.  He walked over to 
Rob and handed the detective a beer.

Across the street, on a rooftop, someone else was watching these
events.  These humans were interesting to say the least.  Cops, they
were called.  This deserved more observation.  Right now, the one 
called "Rob" was speaking.

"What the hell was her problem?"

The other human ,"Leon", replied.  "I see you met Priss."

"Priss?"

"The one on the bike.  She was my sweetheart until...."

"Sweetheart?  Man, you've got problems.  Until when, may I ask?"

"Until she told me she was a....."

"A what?"

"Never mind.  Let's get over to HQ.  We've got a job to do."

The humans sped off to this "HQ", whatever it was.  Things are 
getting interesting indeed.  Perhaps these two will be as much 
a challenge to hunt as those four armored ones.  Looks like this 
trip to Earth will be profitable after all.
*****

A few hours later, at her apartment, Linna was lying down, wondering 
about what's been happening recently.  The killings, the decapitated
bodies, what does it all mean?  Who's doing this and why?

"Hi, Linna.  I'm home."

Nene had returned home.  She had moved in with Linna about a year
ago, after certain, uh, "interesting" events took place [Read 
"Confessions" to find out, but be warned, it's hentai--Verm].  
As the year went by, their relationship had blossomed considerably.

"Hey there.  Why so late?"

"Oh, I wanted to find out about some guy we picked up."

"Oh?  Who?"

Nene climbed on the couch, on her hands on knees on top of Linna.
"His name's Rob and he's from America.  He's heard about all these
killings that have been happening and decided to come here."

"Really?"

"Yup.  And you what else?  I found out that before he was a detective,
he may have been involved in something big."

"Do you know what that 'something' is?"

"Well, all records on him from '27 to '31 are classified.  The code
on that stuff was something I've never seen before."

"So....what'd you do?"

Nene beamed when she said, "I was able to break that code.  But
I can't tell you what is in that file unless..."

Linna raised an eyebrow.  "Unless...?"

"Unless you kiss me first."  She gently falls on Linna.

"Oh, alright."  Linna embraced Nene and they were about to kiss when
the phone rang.

"I'll get it," a very frustrated Nene replied.  She picked up the phone 
and talked for a few minutes before hanging up.  "That was Sylia.
Looks like we got another case.  Let's go."

"Uh, sure."  (Talk about mood swings.)  Linna got up off the couch
and left, with Nene by her side, to meet up with Sylia.
*****

Night has fallen in Mega Tokyo and even that hasn't helped in 
subduing the heat.  It was still in the eighties and Leon and Rob 
knew that it wouldn't get much cooler.  Like the past few nights,
the car's AC was on high.  It provided a little relief, but not enough
to make a serious impact.

"So Leon," Rob, who was now back in his trademark detective clothes,
asked, "tell me what's going on, would ya?"

"Well," Leon answered a bit harshly, "before we arrived, Daley got
his unit and left for an incident.  That was two hours ago.  No one 
has heard anything from him since.  We're gonna see what's going on
with him.  We're going to the area near the airport, that's where he 
was going.  Got it?"

"Yeah."  he looked out the window and saw several AD Police cars and
a van parked a short distance ahead.  "Hey, is that where they are?"

"Yep.  Let's check it out."  The car had stopped a few yards from the 
other vehicles and the officers stepped out.  As they approached the
vehicles, they noticed that the adjacent building had its door bashed
in.  Rob and Leon walked into the building--an old garage--and saw
what had been happening these past few days.  This time, though,
it was the officers who were mutilated beyond recognition.  Wading
through the blood and bodies, the bewildered cops noticed one body
in particular.  This officer had a hand severed as well as his head
removed.  This dead officer would have been just another officer KIA
if Leon hadn't noticed the tie lying by the person.  He turned away
when he realized who it was.  (Daley...)  Rob, disgusted from what 
he saw, walked outside.

Once outside, Rob's mind was bombarded with thoughts.  (The way
those officers were killed, it was just like...no, it can't be.  Not
them..please God, don't let it be one of them...huh?)  He looked up
and noticed a shadowlike figure apparently staring back at him.  
(What the hell is that?)  The figure then dashed from rooftop to
rooftop with the greatest of ease.  Rob began to run at top speed
in order to keep up with it, but he tired out shortly thereafter 
allowing the being to escape.  (Shit!  He got away.)  As he 
was catching his breath, he saw four figures in the sky, flying
in the same direction as the figure went.  (Now..*huff*..what?)
After what seemed like forever, to catch his breath, Rob resumed
his pursuit.

In another part of town, the rogue boomers and the Knight Sabers
had evolved their battle into a modern day shoot-out.  Bullets flew
in every direction.  But the Sabers' shots were nearly dead accurate,
destroying every boomer save one.  That one happened to scatter 
shots everywhere, with one hitting Priss in the helmet, shattering it.
This gave the boomer time escape, along with the fact that the other
Knight Sabers came to Priss' aid.

Priss dropped to one knee and threw off what was left of her helmet.
"Son of a bitch!  That one's mine!"  She got up, threw Nene aside,
and flew off to catch the fleeing boomer.

"Priss!  Wait!" Nene shouted.  "Damn, one of these days, that
attitude's gonna get her killed."

Priss was now skimming along the ground following the tracks the 
boomer left behind.  During which time, she noticed the streets were
deserted.  (Where is everyone?  They're probably inside because of 
that guy that's supposedly killing people.  Huh, what's that?)  She 
saw something that surprised even her.  It was the boomer that shot
her.  It was lying face down in a pool of its own "blood".  Priss 
stared wide-eyed at the "dead" boomer.  (What happened here?)  
Just then, a loud hissing, like the type she heard last night, was 
heard and it was coming from where the boomer was lying.  Suddenly,
as if it was magic, a monstrous figure appeared.  It looked like it was 
somewhere between seven and eight feet tall and wearing what appeared
to be a body mesh.  Its wrists, shoulders, and legs from the knees down
were protected by some sort of armor.  It wore some sort of weird 
mask which concealed its true identity except for the black strands,
which Priss assumed was hair, protruding from it.  In one hand was
a spear weapon which was stained yellow on one end.  (So that's
how the boomer died.  But what the fuck is that thing?)  As Priss was
thinking this, the monster put away its spear.  and looked at her.  
(What's it doing?)  The shoulder cannon popped up and three 
red circles gleamed on Priss' arm.  Priss raised her firing arm up, 
but it was too late, the hunter fired a shot hitting her in the 
shoulder, severing her arm and spraying, metal, flesh, and blood 
everywhere.  Priss let out a cry of agony louder than any scream 
she ever emitted.  Holding what was left of her arm, Priss entered
a world of pain in which she wanted to escape from.  The hunter 
obliged by unsheathing its wrist knives and charged Priss stabbing
her in the stomach and lifting her in the air.

The detective heard what sounded like a woman screaming and it 
sounded close.  Rob drew out his gun, which looked like a cross 
between a pistol and a shotgun, and ran toward the source of the 
scream.  When he arrived, what he saw froze him.  He a human-
like being tearing into a human body.  He became even more 
frightened when he saw the human's face.  (It's....it's that Priss 
girl.)  The hunter raised its arms into the air, claiming victory 
over the Prey.  Noticing Rob, the hunter stared directly at him.  
Seeing that this human wasn't a threat--yet--, it went back to work.
It ripped Priss' head and spine from her body and put it on its
belt as effortlessly as putting a quarter in one's pocket.  Suddenly,
a shot rang out.  The monster looked at the human who was pointing
his gun in its direction.  However, this was not the time to hunt him.
That will come later.  For now, the hunter pushed a few buttons 
on its wrist, turned back into a shadow, and ran off.

The remaining Knight Sabers had arrived a few moments later, 
somehow not noticing Rob, for their backs were to him.  But he 
didn't really seem to notice, he was too busy reliving the moments 
before.  (It's them....they're back.  I though I'd never seem them 
again after Costa Rica.)

Meanwhile, the Sabers had already noticed the remains of their 
comrade and, needless to say, were taken completely aghast.

"Oh, my God," Nene exclaimed, "Priss!"

Linna could only reply with, "How could this have happened?"

With no emotion in her voice, Sylia responded, "I don't know.  
Whoever did this cut through her suit.  What on this Earth could
have done this?"

The Sabers heard someone, "I know."  They turned around to
see who said that.  "You must those 'Knight Sabers' Leon told
me about.  I'm Detective Robert Rax of the San Diego Police
on assignment with the AD Police.  What you're up against
is something not of...."  Bright red and blue lights flashed 
in the distance.  Rob looked that way and saw that it was Leon.
When he turned back, the Knight Sabers were gone.  
*****

At their secret hideout, the Knight Sabers were still in shock
over Priss' death.  Sylia, still in her hardsuit and holding her 
helmet, was talking to Mackie.

"Where's Priss?" Mackie asked.

Sylia only replied with, "Priss.......is dead."

"What?  What happened?"

"She got her head cut off.  Just like the rest of them."

As this was happening, Linna and Nene were sitting on a
bench, still in their hardsuits also minus helmets.  Linna was 
holding her head while Nene tried to comfort her.

"Linna, there was nothing you could have done.  There was
 nothing anyone could have done.  Look, if you had been there, you
probably would have been killed too."

"I guess.....but how could.....?"

"I don't know.  I do know that we should remember Priss for what
she meant to us.  Hey, remember when we went over to her place
just before she was supposed to start recording her songs?"

Linna looked up and cracked a half-smile.  "Yeah, I remember that.
I remember we got so drunk that we ended up telling her about
us."

"And remember what her reaction was?  I can still see that look on her
face."

"Oh yeah.  The three of us ended up making....."

"Nene," Sylia's voice echoed across the room disrupting the
flashback.  Nene and Linna were startled when they heard
her, "do you know anything about that guy we saw?"

Nene faced Sylia with a look of seriousness.  "Yes, I do.  His name
is Robert William Rax, a detective from San Diego, in the United 
States.  He transferred here when he found out about all the killings
that are going on here.  But there's more to him than that.  There 
was a file on him dated from 2027 to 2031 that was classified.  When
I cracked the code, I found out that it was his military record."

"So, he was a soldier?"

"Yes.  Oh, here's something you might be interested in.  He was 
involved in the Costa Rica incident of 2031."

"I remember hearing about that," Linna interjected.  "That was when
the Americans sent some soldiers to wipe out some guerrillas, wasn't
it?"

"Yup," Nene answered giving Linna a wink.  "If you recall, the soldiers
were wiped out, killed in the same technique as the victims here.  
There were only two survivors out of thirty men.  Our detective friend
is, without a doubt, one of them.  I think he knows what's going on
here."

"Very well," Sylia said, "let's find this guy.  And be careful, the one 
who killed Priss is out there also."
*****

Back at AD Police headquarters, Rob looked at his watch while 
facing a window.  (11 PM and it's still hotter than hell out there.
Perfect weather for hunting, isn't it?)  He was so busy in his 
thoughts that he wasn't even aware of his surroundings until
a tap on his shoulder snapped him back into reality.  He quickly
turned his head to see that Leon was the one who tapped him.

"Hey," Leon said taking a step back, "what's wrong with you?  You've
been acting pretty squirrely lately.  What's the deal?"

Rob looked out into the city, which to him was now a hunting ground.
"What's the report on Daley's squad?"

Leon, still wondering about Rob's sudden attitude switch, replied, "It's
just like before, bodies gutted, heads and spines removed....and a lot
of blood.  When forensics investigated the area, they came across
some spent shells, but only a few, a handful at most."

"They were taken by surprise.  They never knew what hit them."

Leon noticed Rob clenching his fist.  "You know something, don't
you?  What is it?"

"Priss..."

"Huh?  Priss?"

"That's the dead Knight Saber that was lying on the ground when
you found me.  I saw her face, before she got her head torn off."

Leon looked away not letting Rob see the grief on his face. 

"I also saw who did it.  It's out there looking for those other 
Knight Sabers probably....and maybe for me as well.....and it's not 
a man or a boomer."  Rob started to walk out of the room but  before
 exiting, he stopped to look at Leon and said, "It's gonna kill us all."

Leon faulted at hearing this.  (What did he mean by that?)  Figuring
that he'd better stop Rob from doing anything stupid, he followed the
detective.
*****

Normally the late night life in Mega Tokyo is bustling about town,
but now, due to the killer lurking about town, they are nowhere to be
seen.  The Knight Sabers knew this even before they flew about 
Chinatown.

"Wow," said Nene, "I've never seen Chinatown this dead in all my life."

Sylia replied with, "That's because of whoever is removing heads.  No
one wants to be the next victim."

"I agree with that," Linna exclaimed.  It was then the threesome saw
bright lights in the distance.  "Hey, could that be them?"

"Yes," Sylia mentioned.  "I knew he couldn't resist the offer I gave
him." 

"And what was that offer?"

"I called and told him that we knew of his military file and that if
he didn't want us to leak it out to the public, he was to meet us here.
I know it's bit out of character for me, but we've got a desperate
situation here."

Rob and Leon stepped out of the car and walked over to the Knight
Sabers.

"So," Rob asked, "you're here."

>From the hissing heard a moment after, it was apparent that someone
else was there.

As he was looking around, Leon said, "Sounds like our friend is here."

As they were looking for the creature, Nene had walked down an alley
with Linna on one side.  They only saw empty alley.  They looked at 
each other in confusion.

"I thought this was where it came from," Linna claimed.

"Yeah, I thought so too." 

<<Linna.  Nene.>>  That was Sylia and she was behind them.
As they turned around, they saw a shadow running toward them with
what looked like two silvery knives growing from its hand.  Nene and
Linna tried to stop it, but before they could, the camouflaged hunter
had ran past, impaling Nene with the knives.  Blood from the attack
splattered on Linna's helmet blinding her and causing her to fall on
her ass.  When Linna removed her helmet, she saw only a large blood
stain where her friend stood only moments before.  All she could 
do on seeing this was let out a scream.

Sylia, Leon, and Rob heard the scream and ran toward the alley where
it came from.  When they arrive, they were shocked to find Linna 
on her knees crying her eyes out.  Rob and Leon noticed the blood
and a trail of it and followed it while Sylia stayed to see what was
wrong with Linna.

The blood trail went to another abandoned street.  The officers noticed
that by the side of a building is where it ended.  Just then, Rob felt 
something drop on the back of his neck.  He felt where the drop 
had landed and saw that it was blood.  He already knew what had 
happened, but looked up anyway.  On the edge of a fire escape
was the remains of Nene, hanging upside down without her head.
"Leon," Rob shouted, "you better get your ass over here. You may 
want to see this."  Leon ran to where Rob was standing and stared 
drop jaw at the carcass.

"Holy shit," he said, "it got another one."

"Yeah.  Just like I thought it would."

"What?  Wait a sec here, you know what's going on, don't you?
You know who's doing this.  Tell me or else there will be more 
dead people hanging like this.  Who the hell is doing this and why?"
*****

Linna continued to cry uncontrollably.  She didn't need anyone to tell 
her Nene was dead, she already knew.
 
Sylia was concerned, she had never seen Linna like this before.  
Why was she crying over Nene when she didn't over Priss?  Sylia
knew she had to get Linna to talk to her, that was the only way.  
Using her rarely used motherly voice, Sylia asked Linna, "What
happened?  Where's Nene?"

Linna looked at Sylia with tears streaking down her cheeks and
with reddened eyes.  "Nene...<sob> was standing right there and then 
we heard it...but it <sob> sounded like you."

"Like me?"

"Yes.  We turned around and the next thing I knew.......<sob>
she was gone."  Linna resumed crying.  Feeling her motherly instincts
kick in, she hugged Linna in hopes of calming her down.  (What a time
for this to happen.)
*****

"Okay Leon, you want the truth?  You got it.  What we're up against
is a creature of extraterrestrial origins."

"Come again?"

"A fucking alien.  A hunter, a predator.  It comes here to Earth during
times of heat and conflict, like right now.  It hunts humans for their
skulls.  It only hunts the worthiest of game and this time, it's chosen
the Knight Sabers and us."

"Wait a sec, how do you know so much about these 'predators'?"

"Because I fought one before.  Do you remember the Costa Rica
incident of 2031?"

"Yeah.  A bunch of American soldiers went down there to wipe out
guerrillas if memory serves me right.  Only they never came out."

"Right.  I was one of thirty soldiers sent down there.  After we 
wiped out the guerrillas, we started on our way out of that jungle. 
During the trek, we realized that one by one we were being 
exterminated.  Thinking it was a sniper or something, we tried 
to stop whoever was killing us.  However, our trap failed and 
ultimately the only ones left of the troop was myself and my friend
John Somersted.  We saw it as it killed one of the soldiers.  It was
huge, like something out of our worst nightmares.  We fired at it
for who knows what reason.  It then went after us.  It wounded John
severely and pinned me by my left hand against a tree.  I tried to
struggle out, but it was too strong.  It shattered every bone in my 
hand like twigs and it was going for the kill when suddenly, its own
head was gone."

"How?"

"John used his machete to cut its head off while it was preoccupied
with me.  After that, we were flown to a hospital.  I had this implant 
put in to replace my hand."  Rob bowed his head.  "John died from
his injuries a few days later."

"Interesting story, but I don't think we could do that again.  You 
know what they're like, what do we do in order to defeat it?"

"I don't know much.  All I know is that they are armed with weaponry
like I've never seen before.  They can also turn invisible, the ultimate
camouflage, and they only go after armed humans.  You should have 
seen this when you investigated the first few slayings."

"Come to think of it, I did notice it.  The first victims were
criminals, though, so I really didn't give a rip about it."

"It also believes in a fair fight.  If one were to disarm themselves,
it will do the same.  They are honor bound."

A loud thump was heard like something landing in the street.  Leon and 
Rob looked over to see that the noise was caused by the hunter, now
fully visible.  The two readied their guns.

Leon was in awe over his first look at the hunter. (That is one ugly
motherfucker.....what the..?)  He saw the heads on its belt and 
became frightened.  (Daley, Priss, and.....Nene???  SHE was 
a Knight Saber?  Don't have time to wonder about that.)  He 
and Rob started to fire completely oblivious to the fact that
the 1 AM sky was clouding up....
*****
[If I were to have BGM here, it would probably be the remix of 
"The Freshmen" by The Verve Pipe.  I don't quite know why.--Verm]

Linna was still crying when she opened herself up to Sylia.
"I loved her."

Unsure of what that meant, Sylia replied with, "Huh?"

"Nene.  I loved her more than anything.  I really loved her."

Softly, Sylia answered, "I know you did.  I knew all about your 
relationship with her, Nene told me.  She told me that you two
were almost inseparable, going everywhere and doing everything
together.  You were the perfect couple, despite the obvious 
differences."

"Huh?  You knew?"

"Yes, and since I know your secret, I think I should tell you mine."

"Wha...?"

"The truth is I have always loved you, Nene, and Priss.  You three
were the children I could never have and when you were around, I 
felt like the mother I can never be.  Although I don't show it, I also
feel saddened from the loss of Priss and Nene."

Linna stopped crying and smiled.  "Thanks for the words.  It's nice
to know someone else shares my pain."  

Gunshots rang out form nearby.  Quickly, Sylia and Linna got
up and dashed to where the shots came from.
*****
  
Leon had taken the first shot at the hunter, but it was avoided easily.
Rob fired a shot of his own almost immediately afterward.

The hunter avoided the second shot just as easily.  These humans 
are a waste of hunting time.  Those other humans, the armored ones,
must be hunted first then these two later.  Wanting to end this useless
melee, the hunter grabbed and lifted a streetpole and threw it at
the two cops.  Rob avoided the pole, but Leon could not.  It hit him
in the chest and slammed him into a wall.  

The remaining Knight Sabers had joined the fray just after Leon 
was hit.  This was their first look at the murderer of their
fellow Sabers.  They were briefly taken aghast by the sheer size
and build of the monster.  

"It's about time you two showed up," Rob shouted.  "Now could one of 
you help with this?"  He was trying to get the pole off Leon.  Sylia
went over and helped Rob take the pole off Leon, who was moaning
in pain.

"How is he?"  Sylia asked.

Rob replied with, "He's alive, but he's busted up pretty bad.  We
need to get him out of here."

Here they were.  All of the Prey in one spot and preoccupied 
with their injured friend.  Now is the time to end this hunt.  It 
pushed a few buttons on its wrist to go invisible just as a brief 
light rain fell taking all five beings by surprise.  The rain was not 
only a welcome from the endless heat, but a help to the humans.
It shorted out the wrist gauntlet rendering the hunter unable
to go invisible.

Rob caught a glimpse of this and knew this was the time to strike it.
"We gotta kill it now," he shouted to the others, "or it will kill us."

"Right," Sylia agreed.  "Linna, get Leon out of here.  Rob and I will
deal with that thing."

"But Sylia..."

"Go!  Get out of here."  Sylia's sudden harsh voice scared Linna into
doing as ordered.  She carefully picked Leon up and walked him away
but not before turning around to see the action.

Sylia and Rob walked to opposite sides of the hunter surrounding it.
The hunter knew what they were doing.  This was going to be quite an
exciting game indeed.  However, even a hunter couldn't take them out 
at once.  They needed to be taken care of one at a time.  It ran at Rob 
first, but before he could do anything, he got a foot in the stomach
knocking the wind out of him.  He fell to the ground coughing and
gasping for air.

Sylia, out of the corner of her eye, noticed Linna and Leon were still
in the vicinity.  "Go," she shouted to them.  "I told you to go, now get
away."  This time, the two didn't turn around to see anymore and did
what they were told to do.  

When they were gone, Sylia faced the predator, now armed with
a weird disk weapon.  (What is that?)  The hunter threw the disk
at her.  Sylia tried to destroy the disk with her firepower, but to
no avail.  The disk continued its course cutting Sylia in half through
the stomach sending her top half flying into the air leaving a bloody
entrail.  

Rob regained his form in time to see this.  His peripheral vision saw
Linna and Leon in the distance.  He shouted to them, "She's dead.
She was cut in half."  This was all he had to say as they finally 
disappeared.  While the hunter went to claim Sylia's head as a prize,
Rob stood up, took out a sheath and put it down.  He then threw his
gun down and took off his coat and shirt.  He picked up the sheath
and pulled out a machete.  Swallowing his pride, he got the hunter's
attention.  "Hey you!  Yeah, you motherfucker.  You want the heads?
Huh, do you?  You sick psycho bastard.  Come and get me!"   The 
hunter stopped, turned its head to face Rob, put its disk away, and 
unsheathed the spear.  It then turned completely around to face Rob.
*****

Linna carried Leon slowly but safely underneath a makeshift tent.
She sat Leon down and felt his chest.  Leon winced at the slightest
touch.

"Your ribs are broken," Linna said to Leon.  "You need to get
to a hospital."

"No," Leon replied. "He'll....follow us.....and....kill us....before 
we...get...there."

"I guess so.  I wonder how Rob is doing."

In the distance, "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!"

Leon lowered his head, "I guess...that...answers...that question."

"I guess we're the only ones left to stop it.  But how?"

Leon shook his head.  Suddenly, he remembered something.
"Rob....said some...thing...about...it...."

"What?"

"It....only attacks....armed.....humans.  If you....take...your 
armor....off...you....could still...."

"No I won't.  It'll kill me instantly."

Leon shook his head again.  "No....it's...a....fair...fighter.
If you.....fight...unarmed....it will do.....the....same..."

Although Linna didn't want to acknowledge it, she knew it was
the only option left.  It was the last hope of defeating this hunter.
If that fails......

Leon got up and stumbled out into the street.  Looking at this watch,
it was now near 3 AM.  He looked around to find a sign of the 
hunter, but saw none.  He turned to face Linna.

"He's nowhere to be...."  A blast to the side of the head stopped
Leon's talking as well as his life.  Linna ran out of the tent to the 
fallen body.  She saw the gaping hole on the side of Leon's head.
She knew, she knew it was all up to her now.  She was the only
one left to kill this monster.  And speaking of which, the monster
dropped down behind her.

<<Knight...Saber....>>  

Taking Leon's advice, which was right for once, she removed
her armor piece by piece until she was only in her undersuit.
"I'm not armed now.  You wouldn't kill an unarmed person
now would you?"

Seeing this happen, the hunter, who was now wearing Sylia's head
on its belt and Rob's metal hand on its neck, stepped back.  It dropped
the disk and spear weapons.  It pulled a few wires from the cannon,
removed it, and dropped it to the ground.  It then pulled wires from
its helmet with some sort of steam flowing from them.  With that done,
the hunter removed the helmet revealing its true identity.  The face 
redefined the word ugly with its sickly colors and the four "tusks" 
sticking out from the corners of its mouth.  

Linna nearly threw up upon seeing this.  (Now I know why it
wears that mask.  If I was that ugly, I'd wear it too.)

The hunter let out a roar before side-stepping to the left.  Linna
got into a fighting stance preparing for anything. She was just 
getting into her stance when the creature attacked with a punch to
the face making Linna reel backwards.  She had no time to recover
from the first blow when she felt the hunter backhand her several times,
each one feeling like she was being hit with a baseball bat.  The final
blow was a kick that sent her flying into a pane of glass shattering it.
Linna fell to the ground in sheer pain.  She could feel the blood 
flowing down from her lips and nose as well as the glass shards 
in her back.  If that wasn't enough, now the predator had grabbed 
Linna by the undersuit.  It had it wrist knives ready to collect this 
Prey's head.  

However, the hunter somehow neglected to notice that Linna had 
grabbed a pointed glass shard in her hand and was squeezing it 
tightly ingnoring the pain that it was causing to her hand.
"Hey," she said in soft anger, "you want trophies, right?"

The predator looked at her in wonder.

"Well, here you go!"  She jabbed the shard into the hunter's
eye causing it to let go of her.  As it was holding its face in pain,
Linna, completely ignoring the pain of her face and back, ran as 
far as her weakened condition would allow her. She ran only a few
hundred yards before dropping to her knees but not before picking
something up along the way.

The hunter pulled the shard from its eye--what was left of it--and 
threw it to the ground followed by a small puddle of green blood.
It looked around before noticing a figure a few yards away.  It started
to move toward the figure with a desire to kill first and foremost.
This Prey had done well, for a human of course.   Her head will
for sure become the front display on its trophy case.  As it approached
the Prey, it clenched its fists, both of them emitting popping noises.
Noises which Linna could hear.

<<You've got....problems.>>

Upon hearing this, Linna knew she had to react now or she would die.
She turned around--with amazing quickness despite her condition--and
plunged the disk she picked up into the hunter's stomach.  However, it
was able to sink its wrist knives into Linna's shoulder.  Ignoring all
the pain searing throughout her body, she pushed the disk deeper into
its stomach making neon green blood fly in several directions.  The 
hunter let out a loud scream consisting of agony and disbelief.  How in
the world could this human have outsmarted a hunter?  When so many
couldn't, this one did. How was this possible?

Linna pulled the disk out with it pulling the knives out of her 
shoulder.  The hunter fell to the ground, twitched for a few seconds,
and lied perfectly still.  Linna smiled inwardly for the pain would 
not allow her to on the outside.  She had done it, she stopped the 
killer's spree.  But there was a heavy price to pay for it.  Priss, 
Sylia, and most of all, Nene had paied with their lives.  In addition,
Leon and that detective also died in this thing's "safari".  All of 
this, in addition to the pain, made Linna fall to the ground and 
black out but not before she heard something, like a vehicle....
*****

Linna awoke to a new surrounding and realized she lying on a bed.
The pain had left her and she could feel that her nose and shoulder
were bandaged.

"Hey Linna, it's about time you woke up.  It's 3 in the afternoon.
How long were you going to sleep?"

Linna looked at who said that and was relieved when she saw
the person.  (Mackie.  I thought I'd never be glad to see him.
But....what happened?  How did he...?)  "Mackie..."

"Yes?"

"What's going on?  What happened?  The last thing I remember is
blacking out. Next thing I know, I'm here."

"Allow me to explain.  Before you three left, Sylia told me that you
were going into Chinatown and to standby just in case.  Well, hours 
passed and none of you called in.  I became worried, so I went down 
there to see what had happened.  When I arrived, I saw you on the 
ground along with something else."

"The hunter.  That's what was killing everyone, an alien hunter.  It
killed the others and Leon and Rob."

"I know, I saw the heads it was carrying.  Anyway, I got you on the 
van and doctored you.  I'm surprised the glass didn't sever your
spine.  You really lucked out on that.  Also, your nose was broken
and there were two deep puncture wounds on your shoulder.  All your
wounds will heal in time, but you won't be able to hold anything 
heavier than a pistol in your hand again."

"Thanks.  By the way, how were you able to patch me up like you
did?"

"When I was in Germany, I took first aid classes.  I figured they 
would make me more useful to you guys."

Linna smiled at this.  "Well, they did.  Wait a sec, what about that
thing's body?  If Genom gets a hold of it....."

"Oh, don't worry about that.  I thought about that so I burned the body
along with the weapons.  There's nothing left of it except ashes."

"Thanks again."

"You're welcome."  Mackie started out of the room but stopped 
just as he opened the door.  "Oh yeah, I set up a television in the 
corner.  The remote is on the table over by where you're laying."

"Okay."  Mackie closed the door.  Seeing she had nothing better
to do, Linna turned the TV on. It was a news story, something about
the AD Police.  She turned the volume up:

"Earlier this morning, AD Police rushed to the secene of a fire and
were shocked to find the bodies of Inspector Leon McNichol and
Detective Robert Rax lying nearby.  McNichol apparently died of a 
gunshot to the head while Rax died of a massive stab wound.  
Additonally, other bodies, believed to be those of the famed Knight
Sabers, were also found in the area.  However, they were mutilated
beyond recognition, so any chance to identify them will be 
impossible....." *click*  

Linna turned the TV off and layed back wondering what will happen
now.  After she heals and is back to full health, she figures, is try 
to start a new life.  The predator had destroyed her old one.  A new
life will help her forget about what had just happened.  Then again....
Linna didn't know for sure.  She would have to wait and see what will
unfold.  Losing her friends and love was a major tragedy indeed, but
she felt she could overcome this, just likewhen she lost her parents 
in the Kanto quake of 10 years ago.  It will just take a little time.  
Time heals all wounds, but will it heal these wounds?  It was a 
lot for Linna to think about, but right now, she could only 
think about resting.  She shut her eyes and quickly went to sleep.
********************************************************
Whew!  This fic is done.  Please give me an Email about this
fic:

dupontr@river.it.gvsu.edu

Put "Winds of Blood" in the subject line, please.    

Thanks for reading.

Vermilion,
The servant of the goddesses
Linna and Jupiter

"Call me the American nightmare, 
Call me the American dream."
---Rob Zombie and Howard Stern "The Great American Nightmare"
from the "Private Parts" soundtrack