1Jo And Maria

A man in a white lab coat stood over his unconscious patient, writing on a piece of paper attached to a clipboard.. "Hmmmm. This is quite uncanny" he pondered looking over his notes. "Since finding her under that pile of rubble her vital stats have almost returned to normal. Still I believe a few more tests are in her best interest...just to be safe...". The man removed the paper from the clipboard and slid it in a folder at the foot of the bed. He briskly walked out of the room.

A few hours later he returned to the over excitement of one of his colleagues. "Dr. Johns, you are not going to believe this!. I ran the tests and they came back normal of course, but your patient has made an unprecedented comeback." "You don't say?" "Yes, in fact, you can check on her yourself. She's awake". Surprised, the Doctor walked down to room 203 where a young nameless woman sat on her bed. "How are you feeling?" he asked while pulling out a stethoscope. " Wh...who are you?" "My name is Dr. Johns and you are a patient in my hospital. You were found in a pile of crushed rocks and debris about two weeks ago. Tell me...do you remember anything?". The woman looked down as if searching for something she couldn't find. " I..." "Take your time. The last thing I need is for you to go into a state of anxiety. She sat for a few minutes in silence. Finally it all came back to her. "Sei...I remember coming to help Sei at RAPT headquarters. My cybot and I...Jango...We did what we were supposed to... there was an explosion and the sound of the building falling in on itself...I called for her but she didn't answer..." The woman looked the doctor straight in his eyes. "Where is Sei? What did you do to her?" "Calm down...I'm not aware of any patients here by the name of Sei, but I'll put out the word and see what comes back. Right now I want you to rest Ms...Um..." "Jo. My name is Jo." She flung off her bed covers and hopped out of bed. " Jo, I suggest you.." "I have to go find Sei and the others and the last thing you're going to do is stand in my way" She pushed past the doctor and headed for the chair were some clothes were folded neatly in a plastic bag. A smile parted her lips. She reached in the bag and felt a sharp pain in her mind. " I wouldn't do that if I were you". Jo turned to see Dr. Johns holding some small device in his hand. He pointed it at her. "Don't test my patience! This is an initiative device meant specifically to control and manipulative brain waves and thought patterns. See this button here?" He pressed it. Jo's eyes widened and she fell to her knees clutching her head.

On the shore of a distant island...

"It's really a shame you know...so perfect...where did she come from?" "I don't know but we better call the police or something. She might be a murder victim." " My dad said something about the scientists working on a mind control device...He said regular people aren't strong enough for it so they need a special kind of person. Maybe she tried it and died. "Yeah you might be right...Hey, let's get something to eat!". The two boys laughed, hopped on their bikes, and rode off. The so called murder victim laid there. Motionless. Eventually after several hours she began to stir. Her eyes opening slowly. She sat up. "Where..." Her memories came back in a flood. She stood and surveyed the area . She noticed several pillars of smoke just over a hill a few miles in the distance and walked towards it. She didn't notice the lack of animals in the area nor the complete lack of chirping crickets. She was intent on reaching whatever it was over the hill.

She finally made it. It looked like some sort of factory. The place was silent as a grave as she walked onto its' premises. Out of the dark she heard a strange noise. It sounded like something was in pain. She stood on guard but not before long she was knocked to the ground by force. Quickly she jumped and tried to counter whatever it was, but it was too quick. It grabbed her leg and threw her to the ground. It stood, towering over her. It looked like an experiment gone horribly wrong. It leaned in closer to her face. "Maria..." it wheezed. It was holding a small device in its grotesquely misshapen hand. Its finger pressed a button in the center. Maria struggled against it but soon felt a crippling throbbing in her head. She fell limp. She could feel the creature dragging her across the ground. It stopped when it reached a metal door. She listened for the right moment to make her move. The creature pressed in a code and as the door clicked she hit it in the back of the leg with her foot. It cried out and released its' grip on her. Maria tried to make a run for it but she felt the pain in her head again causing her to collapse to the ground. She felt like her brain was splitting itself right down the middle. Through the pain she head a voice. "Excellent! It would appear they are linked. Good work. Bring her inside and I will tell Dr. Johns on the mainland the good news." The creature obeyed and once again began dragging Maria. "No...not again..." she thought

Back in the Hospital

"Don't do this" demanded Jo. She was losing patience for this man and his games. Dr. Johns walked over to Jo and kneeled beside her. He lifted her chin with his finger. "You are part of a larger program than you know. Get dressed. I'm going to give you a little tour" He stood and walked out of the room. Jo waited for him to close the door behind him. Seconds later a chair flew threw the window. Jo grabbed the bag and ran to the window. She stopped dead in her tracks. She was a few stories from the ground. A fall like that would probably hurt her and break several bones. She stepped back to the middle of the room. Dr. Johns bursted into the room. "STOP!. What are you doing?" Jo ran and jumped through the window. She closed her eyes and within seconds he fell face first onto something soft, moist, and a little gritty. She sat up and wiped the stuff off of her face. "What is this?". It was indescribable, but she was thankful it saved her life. She rolled off of the pile and ran into a nearby alley. She changed into her old clothes. She felt the anger rise as she realized they took her guns.

Jo wandered about for several days avoiding the police. Occasionally she would feel a strange prickling pain in her brain often followed by sirens. Jo knew It had something to do with the weird device Dr. Johns flaunted in front of her and she figured that she better stay out of its' range. She couldn't find a single trace of the other girls, Leo, or Kyouhei. One afternoon she was sitting on a bench in the city park when she had a flash come through her mind. There was someone close to her. She knew this feeling. She stood up in time to see a small convoy of armored trucks come to a stop at the stop light. She ran towards them. The feeling of recognition was becoming stronger and stronger the closer she got. The light turned green and the trucks slowly turned down the street. Jo increased her speed and managed to jump onto the back of the last truck. She broke the glass window and unlatched the door letting herself in. She closed the door and kneeled down against one of the walls, and waited.

About half an hour later she felt the truck come to a stop. Not long after she heard the truck doors open and close and footsteps approaching the back of the vehicle. She closed her eyes trying to visualize what was about to happen.

"Hey boss, you're not going to believe this but..." " What is it?" "Um...it's best if you come take a look". A stout, short man hobbled over to see what the fuss was about. He wiped sweat off of his brow with a handkerchief. He looked in the back of the truck. "What in the devils name..." Jo popped her eyes open and punched them man square in the face. He reeled backwards. She jumped out of the truck and kicked the other worker on the side of the face. The feeling was stronger than ever. She ran to another truck and ducked down to avoid being seen by other workers. She looked around her and saw that she was in a warehouse of sorts. Once the area was clear, she opened the door. She was taken aback to see her old arch nemesis bound and gagged. "Maria?". Her eyes slowly opened. She moved as if she had been drugged. Jo ripped off the gag and loosened the ropes that held her. "Hey!" Jo turned to see a man behind her. She kicked him in the stomach. She grabbed Maria and slung her over her shoulder and made a hasty escape. "That was too easy" she thought.

Days Later in the Shibuya District

Jo and Maria sat at a table eating noodles. Maria had told Jo how she ended up on some island after fighting the cybots so Meg and her could escape. While imprisoned by the scientists there, she learned of a new project they were creating. They made it seem like the human experiments they did before paled in comparison to these. She escaped of course, but took a nasty fall off a cliff when the cybot she hijacked started to malfunction. She then ended up on a shore somewhere. Jo grew even more concerned about Sei, Ami and Meg after learning about these experiments.. After much discussion, Jo and Maria decided it was best to lay low and find a means of supporting themselves. Jo decided to speak with an old business associate of hers and in exchange for taking on side jobs and missions, Maria and her would be granted a place to stay and eat until the smoke blew over. This was a foreign concept to Maria, as she was use to fighting solo. She agreed though...however reluctantly.