We all know that between eps. 5 and 6 Priss gave Anri the datadisc and that Anri somehow started helping Largo out with his evil plans. What I've been wondering is how it all went down. "Silver Tears" is how I imagine it played out. This is my first non-Yumeko story and the first one I've written in third-person since the murder mystery I wrote when I was 12! Still, I hope you like what you see, and many thanks to Andy Skuse for helping me make a few tweaks to it. Written over two days in June 2008.

"Silver Tears"

Written by Amanda Stair

Anri couldn't keep herself from looking at the clock.

Five more minutes had passed. Then another three. Six.

The clock now read 2:03 AM. And Sylvie still wasn't home.

She tucked several strands of her green hair behind her ears, exhausted. She should have been resting, should have been conserving her strength. It was because of her that her friend was going out on these missions for her, because she had gotten lazy during the escape and let herself get injured. Had she just watched her back, just gone along with the plan they'd so carefully laid out, neither she nor Sylvie would be in this situation. They could have been free.

But nooo, I had to get hurt. And now people have to die so I can stay alive. And the news is calling Sylvie a vampire. She's not a vampire! She's just trying to help! What else can she do? She's not about to let me die. Meg, and Lou, and Nam… They were enough. They gave their lives so we could be free.

But this wasn't what freedom was supposed to be like. Caged up in a one-room apartment while her friend searched for the life-sustaining fluid that coursed through her veins even as she wondered where she was… This wasn't freedom. But that was why Sylvie was in search of the datadisc, so no one else would have to die. Anri would be able to be fixed; she wouldn't have to stay in the apartment anymore. She and Sylvie would be able to go out together, see what life, what freedom, truly had to offer two girls who, until a month ago, had been nothing more than love dolls for fat cats who didn't give a damn about anything but their own immediate gratification.

Sylvie, where are you? At least call me and let me know you're all right.

Anri wrapped her arms around her legs and drew them close, resisting the urge to close her eyes and drop off to sleep. This was the same drill she had performed almost every other day for the past month: waiting and worrying. Time would pass, and she would start to wonder if Sylvie had been caught. Just when she was certain Sylvie would never come home, she would walk in the door with a smile on her face, assuring her everything was ok. She would give her a transfusion, and every time, make the same promise.

"We'll be free soon. Just a little bit longer, and we'll be truly free."

This time was the same, Anri assured herself. Even if she was in search of the datadisc this time instead of blood, it was the same. Sylvie knew how to take care of herself. She was much more sure of herself, much more streetwise than Anri, even if Anri herself wasn't quite sure what that meant. But Anri was sure of one thing: even if Sylvie had the freedom to go outside the apartment and traverse the city, that didn't mean she was any freer than Anri. She was still duty-bound to help her in any and every way she could.

Anri depended on Sylvie for everything. She had no choice. And Sylvie gladly gave her everything she needed. But, even so…it meant people had to die, and she felt horrible about it. But after tonight, after Sylvie found the datadisc, things would be okay. She was sure of it. No one else would have to die, and they could live happily ever after, just like in fairy tales.

Ah, here I am, thinking the same things over and over. I'm so silly.

She looked at the clock again. 2:09 AM.

She hung her head and sighed.

And then, the door to the apartment opened, slowly.

Anri lifted up her head, a smile starting to form on her lips, dry from being licked in worry so much. Sylvie was home! She was okay!

…No! This wasn't Sylvie! Who was this? The girl standing at the door, this was not Sylvie at all. She was about the same height, but wore red biking leathers with a blue shirt peeking out from behind it. She had brown hair, with a cowlick on top and two strands sitting in front of her ears. Her red-rimmed eyes told Anri that something wasn't right.

"…Who are you?" Anri asked, although she was certain she already knew the answer. Sylvie had told her about a girl she had started hanging out with, someone who loved motorcycles and food and had a band. A girl who had a fiery spirit and seemed to know loss all too well. A girl whom Sylvie had said she would bring to meet her as soon as they had the datadisc in hand and she was fixed.

"I'm Priss," the girl said slowly, trying not to choke up with emotion. "Are you Anri?"

"Y-yes," she replied, gripping her knees tighter. "Where's Sylvie?"

"Sylvie's…"

Priss cast her eyes down, closing them as she forced herself to confess the irrefutable truth. "Sylvie's dead. …I'm sorry."

Anri tried to gasp, but her voice caught in her throat. Her eyes welled up with tears; her chest tightened up, growing heavy. No…she was lying. Priss had to be lying. Why would she say something so horrible? She bowed her head, trying to absorb this information, feeling a pair of hands rest on her shoulders as Priss tried to offer her comfort.

"She's not dead… She's not dead," Anri repeated to herself, tears running down her cheeks, head still bowed. She clasped her hands together. "S-she told me we would get through this together! She told me!"

Priss felt the tears well up in her own eyes, still sore from the crying she had already done earlier. She sighed and pulled something out from her motorcycle jacket. She'd promised Sylvie she would do this one thing for her.

"Sylvie told me…to make sure you got this," she whispered, handing a thin piece of grey plastic to Anri. "She said you would know what to do with it."

Anri took a glance at it, confused at first, but as she read the text on the disc, she burst out in tears. This was it. This was what Sylvie had died for. This was the datadisc that held her salvation.

"She did it. She really…did it," she sobbed. "Oh Sylvie…!"

Priss sniffled. There was no way she could tell Anri that she was the one who had to shoot Sylvie, that she knew about the D.D. and the two of them being the culprits behind the vampire murders. At the same time, she didn't know what Anri knew. But, she knew the less she said, the better.

Anri looked up at Priss, disc in hand. All she knew about Priss was what Sylvie had told her about her. As far as she knew, she was just a friend.

"What happened to her?" Anri asked.

"She was shot," Priss said in a low voice. It was the truth, if only half of it. "I tried to help her, but there was nothing I could do. She gave me that disc and told me you'd be here, and to make sure you got it."

Anri wiped a tear from her cheek. "Did she suffer?"

"No."

She started to cry again. "What do I do? She was all I had! What am I supposed to do now? She never told me what I was supposed to do if something happened! I don't have anybody anymore! I'm all alone! Alone!!"

Priss pressed her lips together, not sure what to say. She remembered Sylvie's dying words, as she asked her why she'd done it.

"Sylvie…said she wanted to be free," she said, voice hoarse. "I'd think she'd want you to be free too. Right?"

"What?" Anri looked up at her. "Y-yes…"

"I don't know what she meant by that, but I'm sure you do. You can't be free here, not in Tokyo. You need to get out of town, start over. This town will chew you up and spit you out. I know Sylvie cared for you. She would want the best for you."

"Y-yes…she would."

"Get as far away as you can. Anywhere but here. This place is a shithole. It's not for someone like you. Sylvie wouldn't want you to stay here, would she?"

"N-no, but…" She wiped at her eyes again. "I don't think I could leave without her. I can't."

"You have to." Priss sat on the bed and put her arms around the small girl. "Sylvie would kill me if I didn't make sure you were ok. And I'm telling you now, this town isn't right for you. You'll be better off if you just get the hell out and don't look back."

"Don't look back…" she repeated, closing her eyes.

Sylvie had said much the same thing after the escape, after they'd escaped from the wreckage of the Orca-IV shuttle and settled into their apartment. Anri had cried for Lou, Meg, and Nam, cried upon the realization of what they would have to do to keep her alive. Murder people? Was this what they had escaped for, just to become murderers?

"We can't go back, you hear?" she'd said sternly. "They died to give us this chance! We have a chance to live freely here! We'll only have to do this until I can find something that will fix you! I'm not going to let you die, ok?" Her voice became gentle, her hand caressing Anri's cheek. "I'll take care of you. We'll live free enough for all of them. Let's make them proud."

Anri sniffled, hearing Sylvie's words echo in her mind. They were all gone now, and just as Sylvie had said, she would now have to live free enough for everyone. She had to make sure their efforts weren't all in vain. And if she didn't make sure to live freely, Sylvie's own efforts, and the people she had killed, their deaths would have been in vain as well. Her friend's efforts would have been for nothing.

"How do I do it?" she asked Priss, who had by now gotten up and was standing at the door.

"You'll have to figure that out yourself," she said. She turned her head and offered Anri a sad smile. "Take care, alright?"

"…I'll…" She swallowed hard and nodded, looking down at the disc in her hands. "I'll do my best, Priss. Thank you."

Priss shut the door behind her, leaving Anri alone in the apartment.

The girl looked at the disc again, feeling emotion threaten to overwhelm her. She had been alone before, but now, knowing that Sylvie would never come home… For the first time, she was truly on her own.

She wiped the tears from her eyes with her arm, forcing herself to stop. Sylvie wouldn't want her to cry. She would tell her to be strong. There had always been risks to what she did. She had known there was a chance Anri would be left alone, but at least she had made sure Anri had gotten the disc.

"No one else will die now," she swore. "I can fix myself now. No one else needs to be involved in this anymore. Sylvie…I'll…I'll be strong for you. I'll be strong for Meg, Nam, and Lou too. I'll show everybody that I'm free…"

The clock read 7:24 AM as Anri went through what little clothing she had and put it into a small bag. This wasn't how it was supposed to be at all. Sylvie had promised her they would get through this together, and now she was gone. She had broken that promise, and of the original group of five who had sworn to escape together, to be free together, Anri was the only one remaining. Nam had made them promise that they would live free enough for all of them, and now, with Anri the sole survivor, she could feel the weight of that promise bear down on her shoulders. But somehow, Priss' words had given her strength.

She was right. She had to get out of town and start over. No one would be able to link her to the vampire murders or to the crashed shuttle from Genaros. She could live a peaceful life.

In one drawer, she found a black top, and pressed it to her face, taking in the scent that still lingered on it.

It still smells like Sylvie.

She tucked it away into the bag with her own clothes, swearing inside never to wash it. She would always want that smell nearby. It was the closest thing to Sylvie that she had.

Her eyes caught something sitting at the end of the bed. An envelope. She couldn't recall it being there before, but did notice it was laying where Priss had been sitting earlier. Picking it up, she opened the flap and pulled out its contents.

It was a train ticket.

"When did she…?" She looked up from the ticket and took another glance at the bed. She didn't recall Priss having anything other than the disc. She took a long stare at the train ticket, mixed emotions building up inside her. The thought of leaving town scared her, but now that she at least had a means to do so, she felt a little more at ease.

Hoisting the bag over her shoulder, Anri took one last look around the apartment. There wasn't a lot she could take with her besides the clothes she was bringing. On the other hand, she didn't feel like anything else there was hers, anyway.

Yes. It was for the best. Just start over, and the new life in front of her would be hers for the taking. No one would be able to stop her.

Anri opened the door to leave, and almost instantly bumped into someone who had apparently been waiting.

"Oof!"

She opened her eyes and found herself staring into a black and white suit. Looking up meekly, a pair of grey eyes greeted her, a lock of silver hair dangling between them.

"Hello, Anri," the man said.

She began to stammer. This wasn't a face she had seen since before the escape. "L…Largo-sama!" she gasped, taking a step back. "I…I wasn't…"

"Expecting me? I know, I apologize." He looked forlorn. "I heard about what happened to Sylvie. Things just haven't been going as you planned."

"No." She wiped away a tear that had chosen that moment to spring up in her eye. "I am leaving town. Too much has happened."

"So you are running away?" he queried.

"No! I'm not running! I'm…" She gulped and reflected. Leaving town, leaving everything behind… It did seem an awful lot like she was running away. She shook her head, denying that fact to herself. "Sylvie would want me to be safe. I can't be safe here."

"Where do you intend to go, then, that you'll be safe?" Largo asked.

"I don't know. Just…anywhere."

"My dear Anri. You don't know the first thing about taking care of yourself. Sylvie did all of that for you. I agree that she would want you to be safe, but by yourself, in a city you're not familiar with, there are lots of people willing to take advantage of you. And if it comes out that you're the culprit behind the so-called 'vampire' murders, or that you're a Boomer…" He smirked. "Well, you know what happens to Boomers who kill."

"I know," she said in a shaky voice. "But I have a way out." She held up the train ticket for him to see.

"The train?" He let out a laugh that slapped Anri like a cold wind. "You think that will help you? The AD Police may be inept, but even they will soon learn who was aboard that shuttle, and that there is still one missing Boomer. And, with the pressure on them to find the 'vampire' murderer, they are not going to stop until they find you."

Anri looked down at the ticket again, tears welling in the corners of her eyes as she realized he was right. It was worthless.

"I can help you, you know. That is, if you want my help."

"Your help? Thanks, but I don't…"

"Are you sure? Don't you want to avenge Sylvie's death?"

That caught Anri's attention. "Avenge?"

"She was shot down in cold blood, Anri. The Knight Sabers intercepted her while she was trying to come home to you. She was only trying to help you, and they killed her anyway."

"The Knight Sabers?" She thought for a moment. "They kill Boomers, but…but we're not the kind they kill."

"Is that so? They considered her a rogue Boomer and killed her before she could have a chance to defend herself. Yes, she killed people, but she was only doing it for you. All for you. Their lives were worth yours, but those bitches didn't care. They didn't see her the same way you and I do. All they saw was a machine in need of stopping."

"But…but she wasn't a machine!" Anri cried out in protest. "She was my friend! My lover! She was everything to me!"

"Yes. And they took her away from you."

The bag slipped off of Anri's shoulder, falling to the ground as she quaked in anger. The Knight Sabers. It was all their fault. If they had minded their own business and focused on combat-type Boomers like they were supposed to, none of this would have happened. It didn't matter that it was Sylvie's last outing, didn't matter that she had the disc in hand that would keep her from having to kill any more people. The Knight Sabers killed her anyway.

"They didn't care at all," she droned to herself. "Oh Sylvie…If I hadn't gotten hurt, you wouldn't have had to go out, and they wouldn't have killed you. It's my fault…"

"No, Anri." Largo put his hands on her shoulders. "It's not your fault. It's their fault. They took her away from you. Your dear Sylvie. But it'll be all right now. I can help you exact your revenge on them. I can help you dole out the pain that they have given to you. But I need your help first."

"My help?"

"Yes. Lend me your help, and I will lend you mine."

"What are you going to do?"

Largo sneered. "I intend to show the world that Boomers have more right to be in this world than humans do, that Boomers are not just commodities to be traded and sold. We are living, breathing, thinking, feeling beings, are we not? Do we not deserve the same rights that they enjoy?"

Anri's eyes lit up. "Yes…"

"You agree with me, then?"

"Yes."

"Will you help me, Anri?"

"Yes, Largo-sama! I will help you!"

Largo lifted one hand from her shoulder and moved it to her cheek, caressing it. "No need for formalities. Just Largo will do. After all, we are equals."

Anri cleared her throat. "Oh, um, yes, L…Largo."

"Now then, shall we get going?"

After Anri locked up the apartment, she and Largo headed downstairs and outside to a waiting limousine. Largo got in first, followed by Anri, who shut the door just as the vehicle pulled away.

"Once we do this, Anri," Largo said, "then you will be free."

"Yes…" she sighed wistfully. "Free…"

Priss' words were long forgotten. Instead, in Anri's head were images of the Knight Sabers gunning down her beloved Sylvie in cold blood. She had never imagined herself as one to want revenge, and couldn't wait to see what Largo had in mind. Still, if Sylvie needn't have died, then she wanted to make sure her killers suffered just as she was suffering.

First, this, for Sylvie's sake. Then I'll be free. I'll surely be free.

Next to her, Largo smirked, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye. Everything was going smoothly now. As long as she did what she was told, without question, in only a short matter of time, he would be ruler of the world. But first things first…

He had to get rid of the Knight Sabers…