Disclaimer: all characters, mecha, events, etc. depicted here are the property of their creators. This is not a challenge of any sort to that ownership, so please don't sue me, I have no money!
Explanations:
-Notation: I will be using several types of narration in this fan fiction. It will be punctuated as "Speech", [Thought], and {Sending (using some form of mental communication.)} I will also use some of the Internet punctuations for emphasis, ranging from 'slight', through _medium_, *strong*, and SHOUTING!
Previously:
At the end of Iczelion Act 2, the enemy leader Chaos is not yet defeated, and the mystery of where the Iczels' creators (the Iczers) are is unresolved. In "my" timeline, it takes the Iczelions three years to finally destroy Chaos and his forces. After that, three of the Iczelions - Nami Shiina, the Black Iczelion, Kiro, the Gold Iczelion, and Kawaii Kawaii, the Silver Iczelion, decide to leave Earth and search for the Iczers. Nagisa Kai and her Iczel partner, Normal-Type, remain behind. Nagisa pursues her wrestling career, using a "noble alien warrior" character gimmick and becoming quite rich. In 2010, she marries, and in 2015, her son, Sean Kai, named for his grandfather, is born. Unfortunately, Brian, the father, becomes a vocal anti-GENOM protester and dies in a "mugging" in 2020. Sean is scanned by Iczel and proves to be able, as his mother is, to 'synchronize' with an Iczel to create Iczelion. Under the guise of preparing him for a pro wrestling career, Nagisa begins training Sean to succeed her as the defender of the Earth. Sean is, in fact, the main character of our story.
In early 2032, Nagisa Kai is injured while training in Germany and cannot return to MegaTokyo to continue stopping rogue Boomers. She phones Sean at home and arranges to introduce him to Iczel. Unfortunately, the introduction does not go well as Sean deduces that his seemingly independent life has been guided toward joining Iczel for years. Sean sends Iczel away, but not before she raises some points that eat at Sean's conscience. Sean goes to the Fitness Bee to speak to Linna, his current sensei, but she's busy. Sean spars with a training Boomer to pass the time and in his disturbed emotional state, first damages and then destroys it. Linna witnesses this and talks to Sean, but the way he phrases his 'moral question' makes Linna suspicious. She gives Sean some advice, which leads to Sean reconciling with Iczel.
In his first combat action as Iczelion, Sean engages and destroys a C-class Boomer that escaped an A.D. Police blockade. He meets Leon McNichol afterward and is mentioned in a report given to Nene, who shows it to Sylia. She deduces that Iczelion uses a force-field defense system and determines to watch for this new player.
In April, Sean has to break off a training session with Linna so she can take the day to cheer up her friend Irene Can (See BGC 2: Born To Kill.) Hearing Linna's cry of distress as the assassin Boomer tries to kill her, Sean works his way ahead of the chase and crashes his 'cycle into the Boomer, saving Irene's life. The Boomer tries again, but Linna flees with Irene while Sean distracts the killer machine. He himself is unable to break away to become Iczelion, and almost dies before Sylia arrives in her hardsuit in response to a call from Linna. The two note a mutual attraction, but write it off as stress reactions.
Later that night, Iczel detects the Knight Sabers on their way to the Kawasaki facility to kill the SuperBoomer. Sean follows as Iczelion, and interjects himself into the battle between Nene and an assassin Boomer. The SuperBoomer arrives, but is destroyed when its head armor is stripped away by the Knight Sabers and Sean drives two beam swords into its head and detonates them. Sylia, fascinated by the capabilities and compassion of the mystery warrior, tries to call him to them, but Sean flees, fearing she'll recognize his voice from earlier that night. The next morning, Sean and Linna see Irene onto a plane bound for Hong Kong, where she has relatives and should be safe from GENOM.
Two months later, Brian J. Mason lures the Knight Sabers into a trap at Wiz Laboratories with a fake job offer. Modified 55-C Boomers use chest-mounted sonic projectors to render the Sabers helpless. Sean, following the Sabers as Iczelion, uses his force field to damp out the sound, and destroys the Boomers. Sean and Sylia talk for the first (?) time as Iczelion and Knight Saber, neither knowing that they've been aquainted for years, through Mackie. One Boomer, only damaged, attacks Sean. He destroys it with a German Suplex, again raising Linna's suspicions, as she knows how much he likes that move. The next morning, she confronts him about it, but can't express her full knowledge without giving away her role as a Knight Saber. She remains suspicious, but can't prove anything.
* * * * *
In July, Sean is training as Iczelion when he notices a bike gang chasing a restored Griffon II on the highway. He has difficulties discouraging them without hurting anyone, but finally scares them off, thereby saving J.B. Gibson and his fiancee Naomi. (This voids the events of BGC 4: Revenge Road.)
In mid-August, BGC 3 begins, and two BU-12-B Boomers are loosed in MegaTokyo. Sean engages them only to discover that their armor is highly heat-resistant, rendering his weapons ineffective. Nevertheless, he literally disarms the first Boomer by detonating a beam sword _inside_ its right arm railgun. The second still manages to trash Silky Doll and kill the A.D.P. K-11 battlesuit fighting it before dying at the hands of the A.D. Police.
The next evening, Iczel detects the Sabers headed for GENOM Tower, and Sean rushes ahead. Discovering two 'sonic cannon' model BU-55-C's waiting in ambush with Mason, he manages to disable them just before Sylia and Nene arrive. Mason's armor plate is identical to a BU-12-B's, so Sean is unable to do much in the Sylia/Mason battle. When Mason grabs Sylia, Sean tries to throw a beam sword into the 'sensor eye' of Mason's armor, but kills him instead when Mason opens his helmet to gloat over Sylia. Traumatized by his act of manslaughter, Sean passes out, and the Sabers bring him back to Sylia's penthouse.
The Sabers are hard put to it to bring Sean out of his depression, but Sylia finally manages it. Sean complains that he already knew most of the Sabers in their civilian ID's: Sylia and Mackie from Raven's Garage, Priss from her singing (though they'd never _met_ before), and Linna as his martial arts teacher. That night, over dinner at the St. Regis Hotel, Sylia invites Sean to join the Knight Sabers, and he accepts.
Sean is put through his paces in Knight Saber ability assessments and training: first in the simulator (see BGC 8: Scoop Chase) and then in the team combat exercise at the Survival Shot paintball facility. Sean reaches Level Seven on the simulator and responds to Sylia's sacrifice tactic in paintball with one of his own: self-sacrifice. By making a moving target of himself, he'd been shot, but distracted Sylia from Linna long enough that Linna could shoot the elder Stingray.
Sean suffers from guilt-induced nightmares about Mason, himself, and murder, but hangs in there, bolstered by the Sabers' moral support and by Sylia keeping him too busy to think about it most days.
In October, a program planted in Sylia's computer by the Skorpion 19 (see the BGC: Grand Mal manga or graphic novel from Dark Horse Comics) informs Sean by E-mail about Sylia's intellectual enhancement. He brings her to see the files, and she realizes this was triggered by her diary entries expressing growing affection for Sean. Near despair, she tells Sean about both her and Mackie's alteration and the 2031 episodes with the Skorpion. She's about to leave when Sean realizes he cares deeply for her, too. One thing leads to another, and the two - ahem - spend the night together.
The next morning, an apprehensive Sean is stunned when Sylia 'hears' him "sending" to Iczel. A few experiments ascertain that Sean and Sylia are now mentally linked just as Sean and Iczel are. They discuss what it means to be a person - Sean having decided because of Iczel that 'human' shouldn't be the defining term. Sean states that in his opinion, the deciding factor is whether one can care about others.
* * * * *
In April 2033, Sean suffers what will later prove to be both his last nightmare about Mason and his first precognitive dream. Waking up at 3 a.m., Sean is surprised to find Sylia is _still_ working on the new armor and motoroid designs at Raven's Garage. He 'persuades' her to go home by turning off the music and aromatics she was using to stay awake. That evening, riding on the western highway, Sean is almost caught in the crash of an Orca space shuttle. Searching for survivors, he meets Sylvie and Anri, and in a fit of sympathy lets them stay at his home. Unable to ignore their attractiveness, he moves out to live in Sylia's guest room, swearing not to tell who Sylvie and Anri are after Sylvie confides in him.
After the Knight Sabers meet to discuss their next job, Sean finds himself sitting on the horns of a dilemma. He's found out that Sylvie and Anri are 33-S Boomers, and they may have the Battlemover that the Sabers are supposed to find. Almost too late, Sean remembers about 33-S's blood needs, and intervenes just in time to keep Sylvie from becoming the Vampire Murderer.
By the time Sylvie goes to GPCC, Sean still hasn't resolved his conflict of interest. He saves her from the first Boomers as Iczelion, but gives his identity away by accident. A second set of Boomers attack in the Canyon, and Leon arrives in his K-12 Armored Suit just after they're disposed of. Sean tries to talk his way around Leon, but Sylvie's wound bleeds her out, and the J-1 takes over, knocking Sean unconscious. He recovers just in time to save Sylia after she'd been grabbed by the D.D., and saves Sylvie's life by cutting her and her seat out of the Battlemover, severing the link between the two without killing Sylvie.
Sylia does not take well to not being told the 'extra facts' that Sean knew about his guests, and she suspends him from the Knight Sabers. Worse, by the time Sean and a repaired Sylvie return to his house, Anri is gone and the place is a wreck! Sylvie goes to stay with Linna, and over the next week Sean searches fruitlessly for Anri.
His searching is interrupted by the fake Knight Sabers' attack on a GENOM facility, complete with an Iczelion facsimile. Sylia shuts him out of the Sabers' response to this, so he goes to the Tinsel City Bank on his own. When the HyperBoomers reveal themselves, Sean is injured again, but manages to destroy his opponent. Sylia orders him not to intervene in their battle, so Sean leaves, but diverts to investigate Largo's satellite strike on the highway. He suffers system damage from getting caught in the fringes of a satellite strike, but pursues Largo and Anri to GENOM Tower anyway. Goaded into attacking too early by Largo's annihilation of GPCC, Sean's injuries are aggravated, and he can't save Anri when she throws herself between him and Largo. In shock from Anri's death, _and_ the revelation of Largo being Brian J. Mason, *and* the arrival of the HyperBoomers (meaning the Knight Sabers may have died), Sean can't put up an effective fight. Sylia arrives in the first of the new Motoroids, and Sean's will to fight returns. In a final confrontation, he uses a powered leaping kick to smash Largo's arm and shoulder, but dislocates his ankle doing it. The Knight Sabers arrive and fend off Largo's next satellite strike, Largo 'sends' to Sylia and is shocked when Sean replies the same way, and Leon shoots Largo off the edge of GENOM Tower. In the Knightwing, Sean swears to Sylia that he will tell her of any future information involving the Knight Sabers or their missions.
Bubblegum Cris-Icz: Characters
Sean Kai, son of Nagisa and our main character. He's 17 years old, rather short, at only 5' 9" tall (and growing), has brown hair, brown eyes, and is well-built. He's good at wrestling and several martial arts, and his training and natural agility have combined to make him incredibly hard to hit - as long as he can dodge. He's also *very* strong-willed, to the point where he could win a staredown with either Priss or Sylia.
Iczel (Normal Type), Nagisa's partner as an Iczelion and soon Sean's as well. A brief note on capabilities; the basic functions of each Iczelion are the same, including firing energy beams, creating force fields and beam swords, and the changing or concealing of the human's features to keep from being recognized. The 'higher functions' of an Iczelion partnership are determined by the partners, however: Sean's are, as yet, unknown.
Priscilla (Priss) Asagiri, the lead singer of "Priss and the Replicants," a popular rock band. Also a secret member of the Knight Sabers, serving as the assault specialist. Sean has seen Priss sing, and idolizes her as a rebel and (though he won't admit this) as a sex symbol.
Leon McNichol, the best detective in the A.D. Police and leader of their 'tactical response teams,' or 'Tac Squads' for short. He and Sean don't know each other, but have bumped elbows at Priss' concerts.
Nene Romanova, at 19 one of the youngest computer/communications specialists in the A.D. Police - and made even more special by the fact that she serves the Knight Sabers in a similar way, albeit from a hardsuit and not from HQ. She doesn't know Sean either, but is the closest Knight Saber to his 17 years of age. Her perpetual 'cute and innocent' attitude is a nice balance for the grimness of the BGC series.
Mackie Stingray, Sylia Stingray's teenage brother and a friend of Sean's ever since the two met at Raven's Garage in 2030. Mackie lost a bet to Sean and had to soup up Sean's prized motorcycle. Mackie is a technical assistant to the Knight Sabers and a bit of a lecher, but he has a secret that he may not be aware of... (see Sylia Stingray)
Sylia Stingray, founder and leader of the Knight Sabers, inventor of their unique "hardsuit" combat armor, and daughter of the renowned Doctor Katsuhito Stingray, who invented Cyberdroids, the artificial humanoids now called "Boomers." Sylia always acts cold and distant, and there is good reason for this. In the BGC: Grand Mal comic series (Available from Dark Horse Comics,) it was revealed that, in order to counter the abuse that GENOM was certain to put his inventions to, Dr. Stingray used an experimental nanotech process on his two children, changing their brain structure biomechanically to give them hyperintelligence. Sylia sometimes wonders if she's even human anymore...
Linna Yamazaki, an aerobics and martial arts teacher at the Fitness Bee, one of MegaTokyo's more successful health clubs. She's also the close combat specialist of the Knight Sabers, and is currently Sean's martial arts instructor, having been impressed by how well he did (before losing) in a match they fought in 2031.
Sylvie (later Liberte), a 33-S Boomer - a Sexaroid. This brown-haired, green-eyed knockout suceeds very well at her design objective of exuding sex appeal, but has had a hard life as a slave on Genaros Space Station before escaping to Earth. She made the attempt with four friends, all 33-S Boomers like herself - Nam, Meg, Lou, and the 'little sister' of the group, Anri, who was the only other one to reach the surface alive. Her sex appeal is enough to make Sean nervous if he's forced to be around her for any length of time.
David Gordon's (E-mail to: Laereth @ wiznet.ca)
Bubblegum Crisis/Iczelion crossover:
Bubblegum Cris-Icz 4: Say Yes!
Sean Kai stretched in his bed early one June morning. As the sun shone more light into the room, Sean cleared his mind of after-sleep fog by going over the events of the last two weeks.
[Hmm,] he thought, [let me see... I'll start just after Largo bit the big one. Iczel reminded me of Anri's last words, because they hinted that Anri and Sylvie might be falling for me, which was bad, because I'm in love with Sylia. When I went to Linna's apartment to talk to Sylvie and settle that, it was awkward because I let Anri die in GENOM Tower when Largo attacked us. Sylvie said I was one of the two people she cared most about after Anri's death, the other was Priss, and she hadn't decided whether she wanted to pursue a relationship with either of us. That was bad, too. I have Sylia, and Priss may be in love with Leon (snicker.) I found out that Largo didn't _just_ attack GPCC with his particle-beam satellites - he hit GENOM Towers all over the world, and thousands died. That was really, really bad. If I'd only known! Still, it's an ill wind that blows no one any good: GENOM's been too busy rebuilding to cause trouble, which means the ankle I dislocated kicking Largo's fist has had time to heal. I'm back on good terms with Sylia after apologizing - well, we both apologized - and swearing to tell her about future info affecting the Knight Sabers. That's very good, because she was not pleased to hear that Leon may have compromised my and Priss's civilian identities during that D.D. fiasco. That was bad, but the worried expression on Leon's face when Priss and I cornered him later was worth it. You'd have thought he was afraid we'd kill him! Anyway, Priss and I agreed with Leon that we'd be a sort of 'information exchange' - Sylia's idea - between the Sabers and the A.D.P., so they get the busts and we, unofficially, get to stop worrying about arrest. Leon swore an oath to Priss that he wouldn't tell about our identities - I thought it was me standing there for a second! And she jumped him and kissed him afterward! I am definitely gonna razz her about that. I mean, she got him in _public!_ Wow, she might really have it bad. That may be good or bad - we'll see. Sylvie asked Sylia about working in the shop - I mean Silky Doll - so she has a job now, something to do with herself. That's good, she was really bummed for at least a week after Anri died. That was... the day before yesterday. All that happened yesterday was the announcement of Vision's concert at the Tokyo Dome, so I guess my brain is officially up-to-date. Time to get up!]
Downstairs in his small kitchen, Sean was fixing pancakes for breakfast when the doorbell rang. Jogging to the door, Sean opened it to reveal a rushed-looking courier. The girl held up an envelope.
"Are you - " she checked her clipboard. "um, Sean Kai?"
"Yes, I am," Sean responded. "How may I help you?"
"Sign here, please; this envelope is for you."
"All right," and after a glance at the form, Sean scribbled his signature onto it. "What is it?"
"We offer confidential delivery, sir; I didn't look."
"Oh. I see. Well, have a nice day!" Sean called as the courier ran back to her truck. [Now what could this be?] he thought. [The only things that get sent by courier in this age of faxed newspapers are large items, which this is not, or stuff that has to be authenticated, so it has to be an original, not a computer copy. So what's this?] he mused, hefting the business-size envelope. Unable to contain his curiosity, he opened it and scanned the contents.
And sat dumbstruck for a full minute before looking again. [Yup, I was right.] Finally pulling his thoughts back into order, he 'sent' a message to Sylia.
{Sylia? Are you awake?}
{_Very_ recently,} her thought came back with overtones of a yawn. {So why are you calling me scarcely half an hour after dawn?}
{Umm... Is this a significant or important day, Sylia? Should I have remembered it for some reason?}
Sylia's reply was a bit annoyed. {Not that I know of, Sean: now why are you being so cryptic? Genius or not, I'm not fond of riddles this early in the morning.}
Sean paused for a moment. {Oh, it's nothing much: but _someone_ just sent me, by courier, one _front-row seat_ to Vision's upcoming concert, which I could only scalp for a few hundred _thousand_ yen if I tried, and a *Backstage Pass* to meet Vision and her band, which has my name and picture on it, so I can't scalp it, but if I could, I could retire in luxury! I thought _you_ sent them!}
Shock rippled from Sylia to Sean and back again along the link. {No, Sean. _I_ didn't send it.}
{Well, if _you_ didn't... Who *did?!?*}
Episode 1: Sisterly Vision
On Tuesday, two days later, Sean was sitting in the lounge at Raven's Garage, none the wiser about who had sent him the ticket and pass. He was none too happy about it, either. [This is nuts! I checked in with my usual radio and Interactive TV stations to see if I'd won a contest or something, but no luck there. Today, I talked Nene and Mackie into hacking into the courier firm's data to see if they had any information, but we had to use the computers here at Raven's because Sylia won't let her computer system be used for personal business. Still, the whiz kids managed the hack easily enough, but all we could get was the point of origin - the St. Regis Hotel. The @%#$ firm must keep most of their data on hard copy to preserve their - what's the word I'm looking for? Oh yeah, confidentiality. Still, the St. Regis makes sense - anyone staying _there_ would have the money to arrange these little prizes and never miss it. Problem is, the St. Regis also keeps secrets for its patrons. Heck,] he mused with a grin, [the rumors say that the concierge will arrange for - ah - 'paid companionship' if a guest asks! Can't let _that_ leak or it'll be all over the scandal rags by the next morning! So I'm at a dead end. Maybe I'll ask Priss - she knows more about detective stuff than me. Heck, maybe more than Sylia!] Sean stood to leave, then stopped as the radio formed the words "St. Regis Hotel."
The broadcaster continued. "So Vision's much-anticipated arrival comes in two days, and she'll be hosting a press conference at the St. Regis, where she'll also be staying. Rumors say she made her reservations by hard copy, no less, the papers arriving on the weekend, delivered to the manager himself! Virtual wink, folks, I wonder if she made any _special_ arrangements?"
The rest of the announcement faded into the background as Sean thought about what he'd heard. [All right, Vision could obviously get her hands on the ticket very easily... and it's a cinch she at least _knows_ about the backstage pass, the lead performer usually has to approve that sort of thing. So as the detective shows say, she had method and opportunity, so she's a suspect. But that leaves the question of motive: *why* would a superstar singer send _me_ a gift like this?]
He mulled it over for a while, and had no luck. [Well, better let it go for now.] He grinned. [I guess I'll have to ask her at the concert!]
*** ***
That evening, waiting at Sylia's apartment, he caught several flashes of amusement, and one of surprised dismay, from Sylia. He knew that she was meeting with Fargo about a job that night, but the 'flashes' of emotion across their mental link had to be intentional, a concession to his curiosity. [She's still a lot better at controlling 'leakage' than I am. I have more practice with telepathy stuff, but if I ever 'leaked' to Iczel, she didn't tell me.]
He grinned. [And on the subject of leakage...] He'd run into Linna at the Fitness Bee, and she'd been there _way_ later than her usual hours. Linna had asked Sean to get Sylia's help finding Sylvie new lodging - preferably private. Sean had asked about that last stipulation, and Linna had told him more than he really wanted to hear. [Apparently, the internal adjustments Sylvie made to herself using the GPCC data she stole gave her a degree of control over her pheromones. The problem is, it's not entirely _conscious_ control. Sylvie went to bed early last night, and her Model-11 brain is such a good emulation of a human's that Sylvie has dreams. Last night's must have been a good one, because the next thing _Linna_ knew, she was getting hot, in a non-temperature sense, over in the next room! She really doesn't need that, so if Sylia and I can't find a home for Sylvie fast, I'll see about moving in here again and let Sylvie stay at my place.]
Sean's mind drifted back to the job that Sylia was meeting Fargo about. [This will be my first job acting together with the Knight Sabers,] he thought. He didn't count the D.D. mission because he'd had to keep things from his friends, thanks to his vow to Sylvie and Anri. [I can't wait! Hmph, that's probably why Sylia let her feelings leak, so I wouldn't be totally on the dark. As I told her before, the woman cares, more than anyone else I know.]
Sylia returned home most of an hour later. Sean, bursting with curiosity, met her at the door to the apartment. "Run into traffic on the way back?," he asked.
Sylia smiled at him. "No, Sean, I had a pleasant drive, thank you. It _is_ close to half an hour's drive from here to the amusement park." One side of her mouth quirked higher as Sean came close to doing a double take.
"The amusement park? The one on the outskirts of the city? Why were you _there?_ I thought you usually met Fargo at that bar - what's it called, C'est La Vie!"
Sylia's smile didn't dim as she replied. "Yes, but Fargo varies our meetings occasionally to keep from being predictable. This was one of those times. We have been hired to bodyguard one Doctor Richard MacLaren, a researcher in the field of endoskeletal motive systems employed by the Gulf and Bradley corporation. He is in Japan working on a joint project with GENOM." Now Sylia did lose her smile. "Apparently someone with very powerful weaponry, like a Battlemover, is after him, and he wants us to protect him - discreetly, so even _he_ doesn't know who or where we are. I accepted the assignment, but bodyguarding someone associated with GENOM doesn't sit well with me."
Sean smiled at her. "Then here's a problem we can come to grips with and smile." In a few sentences, he outlined Linna's problem with Sylvie and her request to find the Sexaroid new housing.
Sylia covered her smile with one hand, but she still 'leaked' amusement. "Oh, my... I can understand why Linna wants her privacy back, then. The problem is, I'm not aware of any convenient housing openings in the near future, so our only option may be-"
Sean finished the sentence. "-to have her move back into my place and I can come back here for a while." Sylia stared, and Sean said, "I thought about it while I was waiting for you. The only other place I know of was the guest room here, and with her current feelings about being touched - or looked at - without permission, we might have been signing Mackie's death warrant. By the second or third time she caught the Mackster peeping, she'd probably mesmerize him into going to Priss and confessing about his last ten good gawks! That could be lethal!" Sylia stared at Sean for almost five seconds before her composure broke. A smile became giggles, which were then choked down into a fiendish grin. [Uh-oh,] Sean thought, [That's trouble...]
Sylia, having just entertained thoughts of bringing Sylvie in to put Mackie through various embarrassing consequences for his past voyeurism, blocked the inappropriate line of thought and came back to practical matters. "Ahem. On the subject of living quarters, Sean, you are quite correct. I - well - suspected you wouldn't mind the arrangement. We can call a meeting tomorrow, and inform everyone then. As to our assignment, Mr. MacLaren is staying his last week-and-a-half here in MegaTokyo at the St. Regis Hotel. My tentative plans are to have Linna and Nene pose as hotel staff - I can get the concierge's cooperation. I will see to electronic monitoring, and you and Priss will be on standby with her hardsuit and Iczel in case heavy backup becomes necessary. Our assignment ends when the ten days are up, and we start when he moves into the St. Regis the day after tomorrow." Sean nodded, and headed for the phone to contact the Sabers about meeting tomorrow - and to tell Sylvie and Linna about the new living arrangements.
*** ***
The meeting went smoothly enough, but Sean was tired most of the way through the morning rendezvous. [Sleeping in a new bed always goes badly the first night,] Sean thought. He was halfway out of the just-concluded meeting when Priss grabbed him by the arm.
"HEY! I called you at least three times! Earth to Genaros Sean, are you there?!" she yelled.
"WAH!! Okay, I hear you! Sorry, I didn't sleep well and I'm kinda spaced out. So what do you want from me?" Sean cried, rudely snapped out of his stupor.
"Well, you said Sylvie was going to your place today, right?"
"Yeah..."
"And we, I mean the Sabers, don't have to do anything until tomorrow, right? I mean, Sylia said she'd do the arranging today."
"Uh huh, so?"
"So come on! Sylvie is still really bummed out about Anri," Sean winced, but Priss was looking forward as she dragged Sean toward the elevator and didn't see it, "and we are gonna cheer her up by taking her to somewhere she's never seen before!" Sean thought about the likely choices under that heading, referenced it with Priss's usual recreation activities, and drew a blank.
"Uh, Priss - where are we going?"
"First, we're gonna pick up Sylvie from Linna's and help her move back into your place. Then we're going to the amusement park for an all-night trip, or until Sylvie gets tired of it, whichever comes first!"
[Uh-oh,] Sean thought, [Now I'm in for it...]
*** ***
Late that evening, at the amusement park, Sean was sitting on a bench watching Priss and Sylvie ride the roller coaster for the fourth time. [I was afraid of this,] Sean thought. [Sylvie learns really fast, and she acts so mature most of the time that I keep forgetting that she's been 'alive' for maybe five years at most. I don't mind roller coasters, but I had to bow out after the third run, and it doesn't look like Sylvie is slowing down at all. We could literally be here all night, like Priss said.] He looked up to see the girls getting off the ride, and finally deciding not to get right back in line for another turn. He pulled himself to his feet as they approached. "Well ladies, where to now?" he asked, showing an energy he didn't feel.
Sylvie was looking all around her like a child. "Hmm," she mused. "We've been on the ferris wheel, the roller coaster, and the funhouse: why don't we go to the midway and see the games? I've always heard that there are great games at the carnival!" Sean had to smile; Sylvie's enthusiasm was contagious.
Priss cried, "The games are this way! Come on!" as she ran off to their left. Sean smiled wider. [Maybe Sylvie isn't the only one with a child's enthusiasm here...] he thought as he followed her.
A short jog later, the three were at the end of an aisle of game stalls. Old standbys like dart-throwing, roulette, fish pond, shooting galleries, and knock-down-the-bottles were mixed in with video games, Skee-Ball, and VR skill games. Sylvie headed for one of the dart games, which had truly archaic stuffed animals for prizes. One in particular, a silver-furred teddy bear nearly four feet tall, seemed to have attracted her gaze like a magnet, and Priss cried "I'll get it!" as she paid the stall owner 200 Yen for a game. She was handed three darts to try to hit a small silver star in the middle of a set of other targets. Priss threw... and missed. Twice. Then three times. Now frowning, she paid again. And missed again, all three times. Now getting frustrated, she paid double for six darts. And still missed. She was just fishing in her pocket for more money when Sean grabbed her wrist. "Hey!" she yelled. "I said I'd get it!"
"Yeah," Sean answered, "but you can't have all the fun. It's my turn now," and he threw a glance at a giggling Sylvie as he finished in a lower voice, "and you've already cracked her up." Priss scowled and relented.
"Okay," she growled, "let's see how _you_ do, Mr. 'My-Aim-Needs-Work'!" Stepping aside, she prepared to crow gleefully at each miss.
*** ***
Sylvie carried her new giant silver teddy bear toward the parking lot as Priss argued with Sean behind her.
"I thought you said your aim stinks back at the Survival Shot!" Priss yelled.
Sean took care to keep his reply cool and even. "I never said my _aim_ was bad, Priss. I said my _shooting_ was bad, but that's because my total experience with - ahem - gun-like weapons goes back to 2032 at the earliest! My _throwing arm_ is excellent, thank you, and you've seen it in action often enough!" Looking up, he realized Sylvie had stopped. There were three big, beefy figures standing by their bikes. One was sitting on the Mackiecycle, while the other two were pacing the area. The thugs looked up, and saw the three friends.
"Oh, hi," the seated thug called. "Now listen, my two friends and I seem to have misplaced our rides, so we're gonna borrow yours. So you just hand over the keys nice and easy, and nobody gets-" he cracked his knuckles. The sound carried to the far corners of the lot. "-hurt."
Sean grinned. [Oh boy, pal, did you pick on the _wroonng_ trio!] He put his hand on Priss's arm as she fished in her pocket for her gun. She stared at him.
"Keep it in reserve, in case I get in over my head," he told her, and marched out to the thugs. The seated one held out his hand for keys, and Sean promptly spat in it and taunted, "I think you're not _man_ enough to handle _my_ cycle, asshole!" The seated thug exploded out towards Sean.
Hardly moving, Sean caught his right wrist in a lock and used the man's own momentum to send him face-first to the ground. The other two thugs stared for a second, before the one on Sean's left cried,
"Hey Rico, he thrashed Tony!"
"Shuddap, George! Beat him!" snarled Rico as he lunged. Sean tried not to laugh - the man might have been drunk for all the balance he showed. A sidestep and a shove later, Rico's altered course took him into the side of a car, where he sat down, sorting it all out. George lashed out, playing it smarter than his friends, punching instead of grabbing. Sean got into a defensive stance long enough to break George's rhythm, then bent down and scooped George's feet off the ground, resulting in the thug's head bouncing off the pavement. Sean turned around to check on the other two, to find that Priss had stepped on Tony's head to pin it to the ground, and Sylvie was holding Rico against the car he'd hit with one hand. Sean chuckled.
"Couldn't expect to get all the fun, now could I?" he asked. His two friends grinned at him. "Come on, let's go home."
*** ***
The next morning, Sean was in a room of a building adjacent to the St. Regis Hotel, passing the time while Sylia stood watch with him and Priss on the first day of their assignment.
"Uh-oh, he's a lech," Priss said as she watched the monitors. MacLaren was watching Nene's rear as she carried her tray of drinks away from his lawn chair, out by one of the Regis' three outdoor pools. "Better be careful he doesn't grab you, Nene." Sean sat back in a chair and closed his eyes; he'd been around Mackie enough to tell MacLaren was a lecher almost from the beginning. He opened his eyes again a moment later when Sylia asked,
"What is _he_ doing here?"
Priss got to the monitor just ahead of Sean and looked. "Where, Sylia? I don't see anyone we know," she said.
Sylia responded, in a vastly amused tone of voice, "Coffee shop, third floor." Sean looked at the indicated window and spotted Daley Wong and the Sabers' favorite A.D.P. officer, Leon McNichol, staring down at MacLaren. Daley seemed to be looking in the direction Nene had gone - [That could be trouble,] Sean thought.
"Hmm," he mused. "Looks like he and Daley are interested in MacLaren too. I _wonder_ why, since he's here on a _joint venture_ with _GENOM_..."
"Illegal Boomer construction, you mean?" Priss asked, but it was Sylia who answered.
"It wouldn't surprise me in the least. His field of expertise is endoskeletal motive systems, and a large mecha answering the description of one that attacked the G&B building some months ago struck at a GENOM research facility several nights ago. If he's on his own time now, GENOM will no longer be protecting him, so he hired us. I'd say he's finished his part of whatever project he's working on and is worried that the attackers will come after him and not the project."
Sean frowned. "Great. Leaving aside my personal feelings about all this, should we have given him more than that signal bracelet to track him with? It could be removed so easily."
Sylia shrugged. "That's all he would accept. We must respect the client's privacy!"
*** ***
Two more days went by, uneventful days that stretched Sean and Priss's patience with each other. Sylia remained imperturbable, as usual. Finally, as it grew dark, MacLaren phoned out for another prostitute. Sean 'sent' to Sylia to avoid disturbing the stir-crazy Priss. {Is he getting _another_ call girl?! Wow, three nights in a row! Well, either he's in better shape than I thought or...} He grinned as he let the thought trail off, knowing Sylia would ask about it.
Sure enough, she 'sent'; {Or what, Sean? Does this have any significance?}
Sean's grin threatened to take in his face as he replied. {Or his girls don't know their business as well as you do. I mean, _one_ night with you is enough to satisfy me, and I'm a lot younger and more fit than that geezer!} Sylia choked and turned red, and Sean tried not to laugh. Priss, now interested in what was happening, looked from Sylia to Sean.
"Alright, what's goin' on?" she demanded, staring pointedly at Sean. "What'd you say that I didn't hear!?" Sean regained control of his mirth, then replied.
"Oh, just noting that Sylia's better in bed than MacLaren's call girls."
Priss looked at Sean like a cat at a canary. "Oh, really? Know them professionally or personally, Sean?" Now it was Sean's turn to sputter and blush to his hairline, while Sylia and Priss grinned. Sylia's grin in particular held an element of 'serves you right!'
The merriment was cut short by a hushed broadcast from Linna. Nene was absent that night, having been roped by Leon into helping him dig for data on MacLaren.
"Sylia! Are you there?" Linna called. Her maid's uniform included a pen with a radio in it, and she was now speaking into it. "MacLaren has collapsed! There's something familiar about the girl he called in tonight: I'm going to follow her. The hotel bodyguards called the hospital, and an ambulance is on the way! Keep an eye on him! Linna out."
The three in the room stared at each other for a moment before Priss ran for the van (and her hardsuit) while Sean summoned Iczel, who cruised out of a dark corner of the room as if she'd been there all along, and merged into Iczelion. Barely two minutes later, the ambulance pulled up at the hotel doors. Sean watched from high overhead as two burly paramedics hauled MacLaren out on a stretcher. Then he saw a _second_ ambulance rushing toward the St. Regis.
{Sylia?} he sent. {Has the St. Regis called the hospital for anyone else besides MacLaren?}
The reply was not long in coming. The first ambulance was just pulling out of the driveway as Sylia sent: {No, Sean, Mr. MacLaren is the only emergency at the moment. Why?}
{Because I think-} the second ambulance entered the main driveway just as the first pulled out the side exit. {-there's another ambulance on its way. MegaTokyo General Hospital is about five minutes' drive from here, right?}
Sylia's reply came over the radio. "I see it now. Sean, Priss, pursue that first ambulance: if their route, or anything else, is out of the ordinary, get MacLaren out of there and detain the 'medics'."
"Got it, Sylia!" Priss cried, evidently excited at the idea of action. "Hey, over here!" she called to Sean from her rooftop. Sean dove to her, snatching her hardsuit by the waist in a maneuver he and Sylia practiced. The original idea was for one of the flyers to get one of the others out of harm's way fast, but it also worked for pursuit situations. Hardly burdened by the 75 kilograms of hardsuit thanks to Iczelion's tripled strength, Sean soared after the ambulance, staying close until one of the bodyguards was thrown out of the ambulance, unconscious.
"Think that qualifies as 'out of the ordinary?'" Priss asked sarcastically. Sean didn't bother to answer: he was already diving toward an intersection in front of the speeding van. The driver braked sharply as Sean landed himself and Priss in its path. As the van stopped, Priss pointed her right-arm laser at it and cried, "Out of the ambulance! Right now!"
A rumble to their right was their only warning. A twenty-foot tall mecha with four legs and a vague resemblance to a crab came *through* a warehouse wall to appear behind them, and both Sean and Priss lifted off in a hurry. Two ball turrets on the top of the mecha whirled to fire lasers at Sean, who defended with his field until he dropped behind the ambulance, and then at Priss, who dropped to the nearby bay and used her jet thrusters to kick up a huge cloud of spray. Sean sprang onto the bogus ambulance and fired his energy bolts at the mecha, first separately, then the large, double-arm bolt.
They left visible pits in the armor, but no more. [Geez, that stuff's *thick!*] Sean thought. [I could pierce it with a sustained beam to one place, but it's probably resistant to my beam swords, too!]
"Priss!" he called over the radio. "This bastard has really thick armor, try your railguns!"
"Way ahead of you! HERE I COME!" her voice echoed down from overhead, and even as the mecha chopped at the spray cloud with its lasers and a huge underslung autocannon, she dropped on it from the sky, firing all three railguns and landing next to the jutting spikes to take advantage of any damage they'd done.
She and Sean both stopped and stared as the spikes fell over, having failed to even penetrate enough to stick! Sean kicked back into motion as the mecha extended a tendril from its left front, aiming at Priss. "PRISS! LOOKOUT!"
She spun just as the tendril reached her. It paused as if startled for a second, then whipped around her neck and lifted her off the mecha's top. Sean manifested a beam sword and pitched it spinning at the middle section of the tendril, severing it and freeing Priss. He hovered near the mecha as Priss rolled to her feet and leaped away. "Are you all right?" he called.
"Just a bit breathless... WATCH OUT!" Sean spun around to see a second tendril, with its heavy sensor end, arcing straight at his face. It hit hard enough that he was out before he even started to fall.
"Shit!" Priss cursed. The damned tentacle had hit Sean so hard he'd spun around four times before crashing, and his faceplate was off, which meant he was probably totally unconscious. She charged at the mecha, firing her laser full-auto. [Gotta get under it,] she thought. [Maybe there's weak points near the side of that cannon.] Her barrage apparently caused enough confusion to cover her approach, as the mecha's return fire was spotty. Skidding in close to the cannon, she saw what looked like an ammo drum. Grinning, she aimed at it. [Take this,] she thought. Before she could fire, the tendril that had hit Sean curled in beneath the mecha and snared her left arm. [Oh, shit...]
From inside the Genki urban assault mecha, Irene Chang turned controls and whirled the armored woman around three times before lashing her into a wall. She laid still when Irene retracted the tendril. She then returned to her argument with Kou, the man sent by her grandfather to guard her and her sister Reika.
"Kou, we're *not* going to kill that man. I recognize his face: it's Sean Kai, the boy who rescued me!" She shivered as she thought back to that night over a year ago. Her fiancé, a researcher at GENOM, had been killed in what GENOM had called an accident. Irene had confronted GENOM exec Brian J. Mason about it at a speech and been pulled away by her friend Linna, but not before accusing Mason of killing her beloved. Linna had spent most of a day trying to cheer her up, but the effort had been wasted when a GENOM assassin Boomer had herded Irene out to the highway to kill her. It had been holding her in the air with one hand when Sean, one of Linna's martial arts students, had crashed his motorcycle into it, and then fought it to allow Irene and Linna to escape. He'd claimed to have been saved by a Knight Saber, and now here he was using a frankly unbelievable suit of battle armor to fight beside the Knight Sabers. [I have to _know_ what's going on,] she thought, then said, "I'm going to bring him back with us."
"WHAT?" Kou exploded. "We know next to nothing about him or his capabilities, and you..." she cut him off.
"_I_ trust him, Kou. He saved my life, and we were going to tell him some of our story anyway when we met him at the concert, thanks to that backstage pass we sent." She'd gotten a good laugh out of imagining Sean's expression when that package arrived. So had Vision - Reika Chang, her sister. She continued: "We can leave him wrapped in the tendril until we know what's going on, but we _are_ bringing him with us."
Kou sighed: [Miss Irene doesn't get stubborn about much,] he mused, [but when she does you have better luck begging the tide to go out than changing her mind. Oh, well...] He offered no further protest as Irene used the Genki's one operational tendril to scoop up the yellow-and-red figure, then coiled it tightly around his arms and torso. [Seems secure enough,] he thought. Returning to business, he guided the Genki off toward their warehouse hideout.
*** ***
Sean struggled back to consciousness against a pounding headache, an annoying immobility, and what felt like two tons of mush poured between him and alertness. As he came to, he realized that his holographic 'faceplate' was down again, and hurriedly brought it back online.
[That's it,] he thought, [I am getting some kind of mask to wear under Iczel when I'm in action. This is dangerous, showing my face to all and sundry every time I get KO'd.] As he tried to roll off his back, he noticed the source of his immobility. He was lying on top of the mecha that had beaten him, inside a warehouse somewhere, and its tendril was coiled around his arms and torso. {Oh, wonderful,} he sent to Iczel. {Can we do anything to get out of this?}
Iczel took a moment to reply. {Not with brute strength, Sean,} she reported, {but our 'outer', spherical, force field expands out from the 'inner' field when we activate it. Maybe...}
Sean got the idea just as a voice cried from one side, "Hey, his faceplate thing is on again! Somebody call -" Sean didn't waste any more time, concentrating on the image of a sphere expanding outward from his body. He was rewarded by the sound of wrenching metal as the tendril lost its grip on him and he quickly slid out of its coils. Dropping to the ground, he dropped a beam sword into his right hand and visibly built up power for an energy beam around his left fist. Turning slowly to look around, he noticed several people frozen in the act of reaching for guns, and an open door on the second floor of the warehouse. Turning to the nearest man, he ordered,
"All right. I want MacLaren and that's all. Someone bring him to me and I'm out of here." The man gave Sean a dark stare.
"Forget it! We need him if we're gonna get -"
Another man, short and squat, broke in. "Kumin! Shut up!"
Sean sighed. "Look, I've just been hired to safeguard MacLaren. I'm not here to arrest anyone, and I don't want to do harm if I don't have to. You can't stop me without the mecha there," and he nodded back toward the Battlemover, "so why don't you cut your losses and give MacLaren back? It'll save you a beating and me some trouble."
A quiet, female voice, vaguely familiar to Sean, cut in from above. "That's funny. I didn't think you'd have a problem fighting to save someone." Sean turned slowly to look at the balcony door. In the doorway stood a young woman, backlit by the room lights. She seemed familiar. The woman continued, "You didn't hesitate to fight that assassin Boomer to save me." Sean stared. It _couldn't_ be...
Seeing Sean's stance change from defensive to astonished, she continued. "Yes, Sean, it's me, Irene Can. Actually, my real name is Irene Chang, but I changed it because I didn't want anything to do with my family then. I came back with my sister Reika to get revenge for GENOM killing my fiancé." A young man came out behind Irene holding a rifle. "This is Kou, a bodyguard our grandfather sent with us. He and I were piloting the Genki there," and she pointed to the four-legged mecha, "when I - err - I hit you with the tendril and knocked you out. I recognized you and brought you back with us so I could ask you what's going on."
Sean's shoulders slumped. [Dammit, compromised *again*! Sylia's going to throw a fit!] He looked back up at Irene at the top of the stairs. "Irene, how does kidnapping a consulting researcher from another company fit into your revenge on GENOM? Oh, and by the way, I started working for the Knight Sabers after you left."
Irene glanced back into the room she'd just left. "MacLaren is from Gulf and Bradley, the corporation that arranged for the death of my parents. Right now, though, he's a bargaining chip. We'll ask for a personal meeting with Quincy to make our demands for the return of the designer of his new Frontline Morale Destroyer battle Boomer. We don't intend to harm MacLaren, Sean."
"Well, that's a relief." At the sound of a poorly oiled hinge, Sean turned around to see a girl in a revealing getup walk into the warehouse - and freeze at the sight of him. Irene jumped into the conversation before the newcomer spoke.
"Reika, this is -"
"-Iczelion, newest Knight Saber, acquaintance of Irene's, and current bodyguard to your kidnapping victim. We're just trying to talk out our differences." He turned to Irene. "You called her 'Reika'. I assume from what you said earlier that she's your sister?"
Irene giggled, seeming like her old innocent self for a moment. "That's not all. Sean, meet Reika Chang, known to the world as Vision. I'm her new backup singer." Sean sat down abruptly on the leg of the Genki.
Recovering, he muttered, "Well, now I know _why_ I got sent those tickets to the Vision concert." Reika's hearing was excellent, however, and she caught the statement.
"Irene," Vision asked, "do you mean that _this_ is your rescuer, Sean Kay?" Sean's head came up, then he shrugged, sighed and dropped the faceplate.
"Actually, the name is _Kai_, miss Vision. I have to admit, if someone had told me that _this_," and he waved at the Genki, the warehouse, and the men, "was the reason you'd started touring again, I'd have told them to go sober up somewhere." Sean, meanwhile, was thinking furiously. [OK, giving this bunch to the A.D. Police just went out the window. I don't think their revenge scheme is going to succeed, though - Sylia's mentioned that Quincy uses Boomer doubles almost constantly. Still, things just might work out.] Aloud, he said, "I _may_ have an idea about how we can resolve all this without fighting. Can I have a minute to think?"
"Sure," Irene replied. Sean crossed his arms and ducked his head.
{Sylia,} he sent, {this is Sean. Iczelion to Saber Prime, do you copy?} The reply was almost immediate.
{SEAN! I hear you, where are you? Priss said you were knocked out before she was, then you were gone when she came to! Give me your position, and we'll be there as soon as possible!}
{Easy, Sylia,} Sean replied. {I have a sore jaw, but I'm fine, and I'm currently negotiating with the kidnappers. You're never gonna believe this,} and in a short time he brought Sylia up to speed about the situation, MacLaren's project, and the Chang sisters' goal.
{-so you see, I was thinking. We were hired to keep MacLaren _safe,_ right? So if the Changs aren't really going to hurt him, we don't have a problem?}
Sylia's answer was tinged with annoyance and amusement. {I doubt a court would agree with your interpretation, Sean. It's lucky we operate under the table, isn't it?} It took Sean a moment to realize the implications of that statement. To the surprise of the watching Changs, he broke into a dazzling grin.
{You agree! It's all right, then?}
{Yes. Keep me informed of your location. Leon still has Nene occupied, Priss is recovering from a mild concussion, and I've lost contact with Linna. If the Changs have her, see if you can get her released. I'd prefer to be at full strength if a confrontation with GENOM is in the works.}
{OK, Sylia. Signing off.} Straightening up, he turned to the Changs.
"I'll probably take some heat from the boss for this, but I have a proposition. I accompany you wherever you take MacLaren, as an observer. What you do with Quincy is up to you, but I'll hold you to your statement that you won't hurt MacLaren. One way or another, you give up custody of MacLaren to me after you see Quincy. In exchange, I'll try to keep any of you from getting killed in the inevitable GENOM backstab. Good deal?" The sisters looked at each other and grinned.
"We agree," they chorused.
Sean smiled. "Yeah, you're in the same band all right. By the way, were you planning to keep me in the dark about the ticket and pass until the concert?" Sean's question went unanswered as the door squealed open again and a Chang guard led Linna in at gunpoint. Thinking fast, Sean put up his faceplate and murmured to Irene, "Linna doesn't know about me! She probably noticed your sister and followed her because of the family resemblance. Let's get her to promise not to tell the police and let her go."
Irene looked at Sean, startled, then nodded and turned to whisper to her sister. A moment later, Irene and Reika went down to speak to Linna, who shortly looked appalled at the thought of Irene killing for revenge. Linna seemed hesitant to leave until Sean gave her a quick high sign, then promised by her friendship with Irene not to tell the police. Kou seemed uncertain, but only shook his head and let Linna leave. After that, all there was for Sean to do was wait as Kou phoned Quincy to arrange the meeting to 'negotiate for MacLaren'. At about 7:00 in the evening, the group left for the GENOM proving grounds out in Tokyo Bay.
*** ***
Sean stood watching from his concealed position as Quincy strode forward and asked Reika and Irene what they wanted. The two of them took turns explaining how they wanted revenge, but neither woman fired her pistol despite Quincy's taunt that his ambitions were so extensive that he'd had little if any knowledge of the misery he'd inflicted on them, though he didn't regret it. Sean's heart lifted.
{I told you, Iczel, I *knew* they weren't killers!} Iczel had argued with Sean on the trip to the island about intervening, but Sean had resolved to let them settle the matter themselves. The discovery that Quincy was, as Sean had expected, a Boomer double had ended Iczel's worry but not the argument. Sean had been guiding Sylia, Priss, and Linna to him by 'sending', and they weren't far away. Now it seemed they might not be needed...
'Quincy' raised a hand, and the helicopter he'd arrived in bulged as an *enormous* Boomer clawed its way out of the aircraft. Sean had time for one quick cry - {Now, Sylia!} - as he burst out of the boat and swooped in at MacLaren. The man gawked, and Sean plucked him off the ground and flew towards a small artificial island some five hundred meters offshore. He was peripherally aware that Kou had drawn a pistol and shot the Quincy double. Sean dropped MacLaren on the small islet.
"I have to go back and help out, sir - you should be safe here," he said. Swooping off before MacLaren could protest, he headed back for the battle that had erupted between the Knight Sabers and Vision's 'Genki' Battlemover on one side and the huge Boomer on the other. The Boomer had snapped the Genki's one working tendril like a string and batted the Knight Sabers around. Just as Sean arrived, a building behind Linna exploded, wrenching a scream from his sensei.
Laughter echoed from the downed Quincy double. "Ha ha ha! Oh, the island is laced with booby traps. So don't try and hide behind any buildings!"
Sean blew its head to bits as he passed. "Shut up, Old Man."
Moments later, he'd found that GENOM had once again used their heat-resistant armor plate, meaning he couldn't really damage the monster Boomer with his standard weapons. Priss was patching into the Genki's sensors to keep it in the fight and Linna was just hauling herself to her feet. Sean sent, {Sylia! Any ideas?}
She paused for a moment before replying. {Not at the moment, Sean. If we could safely approach that thing I could use my vibroblades to open a gap in its armor to attack through, but it would swat us out of the air!}
Linna must have been thinking along the same lines, because she cried out, "Irene! Reika! Immobilize that thing!" The Genki lunged at its foe, no slower even after almost losing one leg to a claw smash from the Boomer. Grappling the Boomer in a weird approximation of a bearhug, the Genki wrapped its front legs around its foe and held on. Not wasting her opportunity, Sylia lunged forward, closely followed by Linna and Sean. Sylia cut a hole in the Boomer's rear armor, Linna hit the gap with a Knuckle Bomb, and Sean imbedded two beam swords in there, leaving them to detonate as the Sabers leaped away. Irene cried out over the radio.
"The Boomer just dug through to our powerplant! The Genki's going to blow!"
"Eject, you three! Get out, now!" Linna screamed. The back canopy of the Genki blew off, flying down the street as first Kou and then Reika flew out into the air, to be grabbed by Sylia and Priss and taken toward the islet where Sean had left MacLaren. Sean and Linna watched for Irene, but her seat didn't emerge. The monster Boomer had wrapped a claw around it and was holding it in place. Both Knight Sabers leaped into action. Sean summoned energy into one of his gravitic strikes and smashed at the Boomer's wrist as Linna pried at the fingers, trying to loosen them enough to free her friend.
"Save yourselves, you two! Leave me here!" cried Irene.
"Forget it," Sean grunted as he hammered the huge arm. "I didn't save you from that assassin Boomer just to let you die for revenge." The wrist finally crumpled and Sean grabbed Linna, who was holding Irene's seat, and flew for all he was worth.
When the Genki exploded, the shockwave not only wrecked the Boomer, it set off the bombs inside the proving ground. In seconds, the whole platform was a flaming ruin, but Sean had thrown up a force field to protect his passengers and they landed safely.
Leon, Daley, and Nene pulled up to the islet in a boat shortly thereafter, and to Sean's vast amusement ignored MacLaren's claims about the entire group kidnapping him. Instead, Leon arrested MacLaren for illegal Boomer construction, conspiracy to conceal it, and soliciting prostitutes.
Linna had a short talk with Irene and Reika about revenge and getting on with their lives, and both girls looked thoughtful. Then Leon escorted Reika, Irene, and Kou to their concert. Sean hurried to change so he could meet them there - he still had a seat and pass to enjoy!
*** ***
After the concert was over, Sean went backstage to see the sisters. Once they were sure they couldn't be overheard, Irene insisted on being brought up to date on Sean's story. He explained the relevant parts - leaving out the fact that his 'armor' was actually an alien artificial life form that could teleport. He also left out the identities of Sylia, Nene, and Priss - if Sylia or Linna wanted to tell the Changs, they could do it. It was the final question of the night, asked by Reika, that stuck in the memories of all three.
"Sean," she'd asked, "Why do you accept this life? I thought I did it for revenge, but Kou killed the chairman of G&B and I couldn't shoot Quincy even with all the awful things he was saying." Sean was silent for a moment as he thought it over. Finally, he replied,
"I think I do this to protect people. I lost my father when I was very young, so I didn't want to let anyone else lose someone if I could help it. I studied martial arts partially to become a wrestler like my mom, but underneath I knew it was to defend myself, or others, better. You might be the same, you know. You're not killers, you just didn't want to let anyone else's life get screwed up the way yours did. You only knew one way to stop the big corps from doing that, though." Irene looked pensive, Reika seemed doubtful. "Look, if the desire for revenge were _all_ that was driving you you'd have put a bullet through the double. You didn't! You had him there in front of you and you didn't fire! I think that means that, deep down, you know that you weren't acting to kill, but to prevent death. I think I'm right - whether you believe me or not is up to you." Reika's face had changed slightly, maybe a bit less skeptical. Sean shrugged. "So what will you do now?"
Reika and Irene looked at each other, and chorused "E. E. Smith?"
Sean was totally confused. "What?"
Irene answered. "My boyfriend used to read these science-fiction novels translated from English. E. E. Smith wrote about a group of secret agents who defended the weak and used a huge circus as cover to move from place to place. I joked with Reika that a rock band would do just as well."
Sean grinned. "So you'll make money off the band and rove around righting wrongs and making life hard on the corps? That's great! Remember to contact Linna and me when you come back to MegaTokyo! Knight Revengers, Go!"
Their laughter echoed into the night.
Explanations:
-Notation: I will be using several types of narration in this fan fiction. It will be punctuated as "Speech", [Thought], and {Sending (using some form of mental communication.)} I will also use some of the Internet punctuations for emphasis, ranging from 'slight', through _medium_, *strong*, and SHOUTING!
Previously:
At the end of Iczelion Act 2, the enemy leader Chaos is not yet defeated, and the mystery of where the Iczels' creators (the Iczers) are is unresolved. In "my" timeline, it takes the Iczelions three years to finally destroy Chaos and his forces. After that, three of the Iczelions - Nami Shiina, the Black Iczelion, Kiro, the Gold Iczelion, and Kawaii Kawaii, the Silver Iczelion, decide to leave Earth and search for the Iczers. Nagisa Kai and her Iczel partner, Normal-Type, remain behind. Nagisa pursues her wrestling career, using a "noble alien warrior" character gimmick and becoming quite rich. In 2010, she marries, and in 2015, her son, Sean Kai, named for his grandfather, is born. Unfortunately, Brian, the father, becomes a vocal anti-GENOM protester and dies in a "mugging" in 2020. Sean is scanned by Iczel and proves to be able, as his mother is, to 'synchronize' with an Iczel to create Iczelion. Under the guise of preparing him for a pro wrestling career, Nagisa begins training Sean to succeed her as the defender of the Earth. Sean is, in fact, the main character of our story.
In early 2032, Nagisa Kai is injured while training in Germany and cannot return to MegaTokyo to continue stopping rogue Boomers. She phones Sean at home and arranges to introduce him to Iczel. Unfortunately, the introduction does not go well as Sean deduces that his seemingly independent life has been guided toward joining Iczel for years. Sean sends Iczel away, but not before she raises some points that eat at Sean's conscience. Sean goes to the Fitness Bee to speak to Linna, his current sensei, but she's busy. Sean spars with a training Boomer to pass the time and in his disturbed emotional state, first damages and then destroys it. Linna witnesses this and talks to Sean, but the way he phrases his 'moral question' makes Linna suspicious. She gives Sean some advice, which leads to Sean reconciling with Iczel.
In his first combat action as Iczelion, Sean engages and destroys a C-class Boomer that escaped an A.D. Police blockade. He meets Leon McNichol afterward and is mentioned in a report given to Nene, who shows it to Sylia. She deduces that Iczelion uses a force-field defense system and determines to watch for this new player.
In April, Sean has to break off a training session with Linna so she can take the day to cheer up her friend Irene Can (See BGC 2: Born To Kill.) Hearing Linna's cry of distress as the assassin Boomer tries to kill her, Sean works his way ahead of the chase and crashes his 'cycle into the Boomer, saving Irene's life. The Boomer tries again, but Linna flees with Irene while Sean distracts the killer machine. He himself is unable to break away to become Iczelion, and almost dies before Sylia arrives in her hardsuit in response to a call from Linna. The two note a mutual attraction, but write it off as stress reactions.
Later that night, Iczel detects the Knight Sabers on their way to the Kawasaki facility to kill the SuperBoomer. Sean follows as Iczelion, and interjects himself into the battle between Nene and an assassin Boomer. The SuperBoomer arrives, but is destroyed when its head armor is stripped away by the Knight Sabers and Sean drives two beam swords into its head and detonates them. Sylia, fascinated by the capabilities and compassion of the mystery warrior, tries to call him to them, but Sean flees, fearing she'll recognize his voice from earlier that night. The next morning, Sean and Linna see Irene onto a plane bound for Hong Kong, where she has relatives and should be safe from GENOM.
Two months later, Brian J. Mason lures the Knight Sabers into a trap at Wiz Laboratories with a fake job offer. Modified 55-C Boomers use chest-mounted sonic projectors to render the Sabers helpless. Sean, following the Sabers as Iczelion, uses his force field to damp out the sound, and destroys the Boomers. Sean and Sylia talk for the first (?) time as Iczelion and Knight Saber, neither knowing that they've been aquainted for years, through Mackie. One Boomer, only damaged, attacks Sean. He destroys it with a German Suplex, again raising Linna's suspicions, as she knows how much he likes that move. The next morning, she confronts him about it, but can't express her full knowledge without giving away her role as a Knight Saber. She remains suspicious, but can't prove anything.
* * * * *
In July, Sean is training as Iczelion when he notices a bike gang chasing a restored Griffon II on the highway. He has difficulties discouraging them without hurting anyone, but finally scares them off, thereby saving J.B. Gibson and his fiancee Naomi. (This voids the events of BGC 4: Revenge Road.)
In mid-August, BGC 3 begins, and two BU-12-B Boomers are loosed in MegaTokyo. Sean engages them only to discover that their armor is highly heat-resistant, rendering his weapons ineffective. Nevertheless, he literally disarms the first Boomer by detonating a beam sword _inside_ its right arm railgun. The second still manages to trash Silky Doll and kill the A.D.P. K-11 battlesuit fighting it before dying at the hands of the A.D. Police.
The next evening, Iczel detects the Sabers headed for GENOM Tower, and Sean rushes ahead. Discovering two 'sonic cannon' model BU-55-C's waiting in ambush with Mason, he manages to disable them just before Sylia and Nene arrive. Mason's armor plate is identical to a BU-12-B's, so Sean is unable to do much in the Sylia/Mason battle. When Mason grabs Sylia, Sean tries to throw a beam sword into the 'sensor eye' of Mason's armor, but kills him instead when Mason opens his helmet to gloat over Sylia. Traumatized by his act of manslaughter, Sean passes out, and the Sabers bring him back to Sylia's penthouse.
The Sabers are hard put to it to bring Sean out of his depression, but Sylia finally manages it. Sean complains that he already knew most of the Sabers in their civilian ID's: Sylia and Mackie from Raven's Garage, Priss from her singing (though they'd never _met_ before), and Linna as his martial arts teacher. That night, over dinner at the St. Regis Hotel, Sylia invites Sean to join the Knight Sabers, and he accepts.
Sean is put through his paces in Knight Saber ability assessments and training: first in the simulator (see BGC 8: Scoop Chase) and then in the team combat exercise at the Survival Shot paintball facility. Sean reaches Level Seven on the simulator and responds to Sylia's sacrifice tactic in paintball with one of his own: self-sacrifice. By making a moving target of himself, he'd been shot, but distracted Sylia from Linna long enough that Linna could shoot the elder Stingray.
Sean suffers from guilt-induced nightmares about Mason, himself, and murder, but hangs in there, bolstered by the Sabers' moral support and by Sylia keeping him too busy to think about it most days.
In October, a program planted in Sylia's computer by the Skorpion 19 (see the BGC: Grand Mal manga or graphic novel from Dark Horse Comics) informs Sean by E-mail about Sylia's intellectual enhancement. He brings her to see the files, and she realizes this was triggered by her diary entries expressing growing affection for Sean. Near despair, she tells Sean about both her and Mackie's alteration and the 2031 episodes with the Skorpion. She's about to leave when Sean realizes he cares deeply for her, too. One thing leads to another, and the two - ahem - spend the night together.
The next morning, an apprehensive Sean is stunned when Sylia 'hears' him "sending" to Iczel. A few experiments ascertain that Sean and Sylia are now mentally linked just as Sean and Iczel are. They discuss what it means to be a person - Sean having decided because of Iczel that 'human' shouldn't be the defining term. Sean states that in his opinion, the deciding factor is whether one can care about others.
* * * * *
In April 2033, Sean suffers what will later prove to be both his last nightmare about Mason and his first precognitive dream. Waking up at 3 a.m., Sean is surprised to find Sylia is _still_ working on the new armor and motoroid designs at Raven's Garage. He 'persuades' her to go home by turning off the music and aromatics she was using to stay awake. That evening, riding on the western highway, Sean is almost caught in the crash of an Orca space shuttle. Searching for survivors, he meets Sylvie and Anri, and in a fit of sympathy lets them stay at his home. Unable to ignore their attractiveness, he moves out to live in Sylia's guest room, swearing not to tell who Sylvie and Anri are after Sylvie confides in him.
After the Knight Sabers meet to discuss their next job, Sean finds himself sitting on the horns of a dilemma. He's found out that Sylvie and Anri are 33-S Boomers, and they may have the Battlemover that the Sabers are supposed to find. Almost too late, Sean remembers about 33-S's blood needs, and intervenes just in time to keep Sylvie from becoming the Vampire Murderer.
By the time Sylvie goes to GPCC, Sean still hasn't resolved his conflict of interest. He saves her from the first Boomers as Iczelion, but gives his identity away by accident. A second set of Boomers attack in the Canyon, and Leon arrives in his K-12 Armored Suit just after they're disposed of. Sean tries to talk his way around Leon, but Sylvie's wound bleeds her out, and the J-1 takes over, knocking Sean unconscious. He recovers just in time to save Sylia after she'd been grabbed by the D.D., and saves Sylvie's life by cutting her and her seat out of the Battlemover, severing the link between the two without killing Sylvie.
Sylia does not take well to not being told the 'extra facts' that Sean knew about his guests, and she suspends him from the Knight Sabers. Worse, by the time Sean and a repaired Sylvie return to his house, Anri is gone and the place is a wreck! Sylvie goes to stay with Linna, and over the next week Sean searches fruitlessly for Anri.
His searching is interrupted by the fake Knight Sabers' attack on a GENOM facility, complete with an Iczelion facsimile. Sylia shuts him out of the Sabers' response to this, so he goes to the Tinsel City Bank on his own. When the HyperBoomers reveal themselves, Sean is injured again, but manages to destroy his opponent. Sylia orders him not to intervene in their battle, so Sean leaves, but diverts to investigate Largo's satellite strike on the highway. He suffers system damage from getting caught in the fringes of a satellite strike, but pursues Largo and Anri to GENOM Tower anyway. Goaded into attacking too early by Largo's annihilation of GPCC, Sean's injuries are aggravated, and he can't save Anri when she throws herself between him and Largo. In shock from Anri's death, _and_ the revelation of Largo being Brian J. Mason, *and* the arrival of the HyperBoomers (meaning the Knight Sabers may have died), Sean can't put up an effective fight. Sylia arrives in the first of the new Motoroids, and Sean's will to fight returns. In a final confrontation, he uses a powered leaping kick to smash Largo's arm and shoulder, but dislocates his ankle doing it. The Knight Sabers arrive and fend off Largo's next satellite strike, Largo 'sends' to Sylia and is shocked when Sean replies the same way, and Leon shoots Largo off the edge of GENOM Tower. In the Knightwing, Sean swears to Sylia that he will tell her of any future information involving the Knight Sabers or their missions.
Bubblegum Cris-Icz: Characters
Sean Kai, son of Nagisa and our main character. He's 17 years old, rather short, at only 5' 9" tall (and growing), has brown hair, brown eyes, and is well-built. He's good at wrestling and several martial arts, and his training and natural agility have combined to make him incredibly hard to hit - as long as he can dodge. He's also *very* strong-willed, to the point where he could win a staredown with either Priss or Sylia.
Iczel (Normal Type), Nagisa's partner as an Iczelion and soon Sean's as well. A brief note on capabilities; the basic functions of each Iczelion are the same, including firing energy beams, creating force fields and beam swords, and the changing or concealing of the human's features to keep from being recognized. The 'higher functions' of an Iczelion partnership are determined by the partners, however: Sean's are, as yet, unknown.
Priscilla (Priss) Asagiri, the lead singer of "Priss and the Replicants," a popular rock band. Also a secret member of the Knight Sabers, serving as the assault specialist. Sean has seen Priss sing, and idolizes her as a rebel and (though he won't admit this) as a sex symbol.
Leon McNichol, the best detective in the A.D. Police and leader of their 'tactical response teams,' or 'Tac Squads' for short. He and Sean don't know each other, but have bumped elbows at Priss' concerts.
Nene Romanova, at 19 one of the youngest computer/communications specialists in the A.D. Police - and made even more special by the fact that she serves the Knight Sabers in a similar way, albeit from a hardsuit and not from HQ. She doesn't know Sean either, but is the closest Knight Saber to his 17 years of age. Her perpetual 'cute and innocent' attitude is a nice balance for the grimness of the BGC series.
Mackie Stingray, Sylia Stingray's teenage brother and a friend of Sean's ever since the two met at Raven's Garage in 2030. Mackie lost a bet to Sean and had to soup up Sean's prized motorcycle. Mackie is a technical assistant to the Knight Sabers and a bit of a lecher, but he has a secret that he may not be aware of... (see Sylia Stingray)
Sylia Stingray, founder and leader of the Knight Sabers, inventor of their unique "hardsuit" combat armor, and daughter of the renowned Doctor Katsuhito Stingray, who invented Cyberdroids, the artificial humanoids now called "Boomers." Sylia always acts cold and distant, and there is good reason for this. In the BGC: Grand Mal comic series (Available from Dark Horse Comics,) it was revealed that, in order to counter the abuse that GENOM was certain to put his inventions to, Dr. Stingray used an experimental nanotech process on his two children, changing their brain structure biomechanically to give them hyperintelligence. Sylia sometimes wonders if she's even human anymore...
Linna Yamazaki, an aerobics and martial arts teacher at the Fitness Bee, one of MegaTokyo's more successful health clubs. She's also the close combat specialist of the Knight Sabers, and is currently Sean's martial arts instructor, having been impressed by how well he did (before losing) in a match they fought in 2031.
Sylvie (later Liberte), a 33-S Boomer - a Sexaroid. This brown-haired, green-eyed knockout suceeds very well at her design objective of exuding sex appeal, but has had a hard life as a slave on Genaros Space Station before escaping to Earth. She made the attempt with four friends, all 33-S Boomers like herself - Nam, Meg, Lou, and the 'little sister' of the group, Anri, who was the only other one to reach the surface alive. Her sex appeal is enough to make Sean nervous if he's forced to be around her for any length of time.
David Gordon's (E-mail to: Laereth @ wiznet.ca)
Bubblegum Crisis/Iczelion crossover:
Bubblegum Cris-Icz 4: Say Yes!
Sean Kai stretched in his bed early one June morning. As the sun shone more light into the room, Sean cleared his mind of after-sleep fog by going over the events of the last two weeks.
[Hmm,] he thought, [let me see... I'll start just after Largo bit the big one. Iczel reminded me of Anri's last words, because they hinted that Anri and Sylvie might be falling for me, which was bad, because I'm in love with Sylia. When I went to Linna's apartment to talk to Sylvie and settle that, it was awkward because I let Anri die in GENOM Tower when Largo attacked us. Sylvie said I was one of the two people she cared most about after Anri's death, the other was Priss, and she hadn't decided whether she wanted to pursue a relationship with either of us. That was bad, too. I have Sylia, and Priss may be in love with Leon (snicker.) I found out that Largo didn't _just_ attack GPCC with his particle-beam satellites - he hit GENOM Towers all over the world, and thousands died. That was really, really bad. If I'd only known! Still, it's an ill wind that blows no one any good: GENOM's been too busy rebuilding to cause trouble, which means the ankle I dislocated kicking Largo's fist has had time to heal. I'm back on good terms with Sylia after apologizing - well, we both apologized - and swearing to tell her about future info affecting the Knight Sabers. That's very good, because she was not pleased to hear that Leon may have compromised my and Priss's civilian identities during that D.D. fiasco. That was bad, but the worried expression on Leon's face when Priss and I cornered him later was worth it. You'd have thought he was afraid we'd kill him! Anyway, Priss and I agreed with Leon that we'd be a sort of 'information exchange' - Sylia's idea - between the Sabers and the A.D.P., so they get the busts and we, unofficially, get to stop worrying about arrest. Leon swore an oath to Priss that he wouldn't tell about our identities - I thought it was me standing there for a second! And she jumped him and kissed him afterward! I am definitely gonna razz her about that. I mean, she got him in _public!_ Wow, she might really have it bad. That may be good or bad - we'll see. Sylvie asked Sylia about working in the shop - I mean Silky Doll - so she has a job now, something to do with herself. That's good, she was really bummed for at least a week after Anri died. That was... the day before yesterday. All that happened yesterday was the announcement of Vision's concert at the Tokyo Dome, so I guess my brain is officially up-to-date. Time to get up!]
Downstairs in his small kitchen, Sean was fixing pancakes for breakfast when the doorbell rang. Jogging to the door, Sean opened it to reveal a rushed-looking courier. The girl held up an envelope.
"Are you - " she checked her clipboard. "um, Sean Kai?"
"Yes, I am," Sean responded. "How may I help you?"
"Sign here, please; this envelope is for you."
"All right," and after a glance at the form, Sean scribbled his signature onto it. "What is it?"
"We offer confidential delivery, sir; I didn't look."
"Oh. I see. Well, have a nice day!" Sean called as the courier ran back to her truck. [Now what could this be?] he thought. [The only things that get sent by courier in this age of faxed newspapers are large items, which this is not, or stuff that has to be authenticated, so it has to be an original, not a computer copy. So what's this?] he mused, hefting the business-size envelope. Unable to contain his curiosity, he opened it and scanned the contents.
And sat dumbstruck for a full minute before looking again. [Yup, I was right.] Finally pulling his thoughts back into order, he 'sent' a message to Sylia.
{Sylia? Are you awake?}
{_Very_ recently,} her thought came back with overtones of a yawn. {So why are you calling me scarcely half an hour after dawn?}
{Umm... Is this a significant or important day, Sylia? Should I have remembered it for some reason?}
Sylia's reply was a bit annoyed. {Not that I know of, Sean: now why are you being so cryptic? Genius or not, I'm not fond of riddles this early in the morning.}
Sean paused for a moment. {Oh, it's nothing much: but _someone_ just sent me, by courier, one _front-row seat_ to Vision's upcoming concert, which I could only scalp for a few hundred _thousand_ yen if I tried, and a *Backstage Pass* to meet Vision and her band, which has my name and picture on it, so I can't scalp it, but if I could, I could retire in luxury! I thought _you_ sent them!}
Shock rippled from Sylia to Sean and back again along the link. {No, Sean. _I_ didn't send it.}
{Well, if _you_ didn't... Who *did?!?*}
Episode 1: Sisterly Vision
On Tuesday, two days later, Sean was sitting in the lounge at Raven's Garage, none the wiser about who had sent him the ticket and pass. He was none too happy about it, either. [This is nuts! I checked in with my usual radio and Interactive TV stations to see if I'd won a contest or something, but no luck there. Today, I talked Nene and Mackie into hacking into the courier firm's data to see if they had any information, but we had to use the computers here at Raven's because Sylia won't let her computer system be used for personal business. Still, the whiz kids managed the hack easily enough, but all we could get was the point of origin - the St. Regis Hotel. The @%#$ firm must keep most of their data on hard copy to preserve their - what's the word I'm looking for? Oh yeah, confidentiality. Still, the St. Regis makes sense - anyone staying _there_ would have the money to arrange these little prizes and never miss it. Problem is, the St. Regis also keeps secrets for its patrons. Heck,] he mused with a grin, [the rumors say that the concierge will arrange for - ah - 'paid companionship' if a guest asks! Can't let _that_ leak or it'll be all over the scandal rags by the next morning! So I'm at a dead end. Maybe I'll ask Priss - she knows more about detective stuff than me. Heck, maybe more than Sylia!] Sean stood to leave, then stopped as the radio formed the words "St. Regis Hotel."
The broadcaster continued. "So Vision's much-anticipated arrival comes in two days, and she'll be hosting a press conference at the St. Regis, where she'll also be staying. Rumors say she made her reservations by hard copy, no less, the papers arriving on the weekend, delivered to the manager himself! Virtual wink, folks, I wonder if she made any _special_ arrangements?"
The rest of the announcement faded into the background as Sean thought about what he'd heard. [All right, Vision could obviously get her hands on the ticket very easily... and it's a cinch she at least _knows_ about the backstage pass, the lead performer usually has to approve that sort of thing. So as the detective shows say, she had method and opportunity, so she's a suspect. But that leaves the question of motive: *why* would a superstar singer send _me_ a gift like this?]
He mulled it over for a while, and had no luck. [Well, better let it go for now.] He grinned. [I guess I'll have to ask her at the concert!]
*** ***
That evening, waiting at Sylia's apartment, he caught several flashes of amusement, and one of surprised dismay, from Sylia. He knew that she was meeting with Fargo about a job that night, but the 'flashes' of emotion across their mental link had to be intentional, a concession to his curiosity. [She's still a lot better at controlling 'leakage' than I am. I have more practice with telepathy stuff, but if I ever 'leaked' to Iczel, she didn't tell me.]
He grinned. [And on the subject of leakage...] He'd run into Linna at the Fitness Bee, and she'd been there _way_ later than her usual hours. Linna had asked Sean to get Sylia's help finding Sylvie new lodging - preferably private. Sean had asked about that last stipulation, and Linna had told him more than he really wanted to hear. [Apparently, the internal adjustments Sylvie made to herself using the GPCC data she stole gave her a degree of control over her pheromones. The problem is, it's not entirely _conscious_ control. Sylvie went to bed early last night, and her Model-11 brain is such a good emulation of a human's that Sylvie has dreams. Last night's must have been a good one, because the next thing _Linna_ knew, she was getting hot, in a non-temperature sense, over in the next room! She really doesn't need that, so if Sylia and I can't find a home for Sylvie fast, I'll see about moving in here again and let Sylvie stay at my place.]
Sean's mind drifted back to the job that Sylia was meeting Fargo about. [This will be my first job acting together with the Knight Sabers,] he thought. He didn't count the D.D. mission because he'd had to keep things from his friends, thanks to his vow to Sylvie and Anri. [I can't wait! Hmph, that's probably why Sylia let her feelings leak, so I wouldn't be totally on the dark. As I told her before, the woman cares, more than anyone else I know.]
Sylia returned home most of an hour later. Sean, bursting with curiosity, met her at the door to the apartment. "Run into traffic on the way back?," he asked.
Sylia smiled at him. "No, Sean, I had a pleasant drive, thank you. It _is_ close to half an hour's drive from here to the amusement park." One side of her mouth quirked higher as Sean came close to doing a double take.
"The amusement park? The one on the outskirts of the city? Why were you _there?_ I thought you usually met Fargo at that bar - what's it called, C'est La Vie!"
Sylia's smile didn't dim as she replied. "Yes, but Fargo varies our meetings occasionally to keep from being predictable. This was one of those times. We have been hired to bodyguard one Doctor Richard MacLaren, a researcher in the field of endoskeletal motive systems employed by the Gulf and Bradley corporation. He is in Japan working on a joint project with GENOM." Now Sylia did lose her smile. "Apparently someone with very powerful weaponry, like a Battlemover, is after him, and he wants us to protect him - discreetly, so even _he_ doesn't know who or where we are. I accepted the assignment, but bodyguarding someone associated with GENOM doesn't sit well with me."
Sean smiled at her. "Then here's a problem we can come to grips with and smile." In a few sentences, he outlined Linna's problem with Sylvie and her request to find the Sexaroid new housing.
Sylia covered her smile with one hand, but she still 'leaked' amusement. "Oh, my... I can understand why Linna wants her privacy back, then. The problem is, I'm not aware of any convenient housing openings in the near future, so our only option may be-"
Sean finished the sentence. "-to have her move back into my place and I can come back here for a while." Sylia stared, and Sean said, "I thought about it while I was waiting for you. The only other place I know of was the guest room here, and with her current feelings about being touched - or looked at - without permission, we might have been signing Mackie's death warrant. By the second or third time she caught the Mackster peeping, she'd probably mesmerize him into going to Priss and confessing about his last ten good gawks! That could be lethal!" Sylia stared at Sean for almost five seconds before her composure broke. A smile became giggles, which were then choked down into a fiendish grin. [Uh-oh,] Sean thought, [That's trouble...]
Sylia, having just entertained thoughts of bringing Sylvie in to put Mackie through various embarrassing consequences for his past voyeurism, blocked the inappropriate line of thought and came back to practical matters. "Ahem. On the subject of living quarters, Sean, you are quite correct. I - well - suspected you wouldn't mind the arrangement. We can call a meeting tomorrow, and inform everyone then. As to our assignment, Mr. MacLaren is staying his last week-and-a-half here in MegaTokyo at the St. Regis Hotel. My tentative plans are to have Linna and Nene pose as hotel staff - I can get the concierge's cooperation. I will see to electronic monitoring, and you and Priss will be on standby with her hardsuit and Iczel in case heavy backup becomes necessary. Our assignment ends when the ten days are up, and we start when he moves into the St. Regis the day after tomorrow." Sean nodded, and headed for the phone to contact the Sabers about meeting tomorrow - and to tell Sylvie and Linna about the new living arrangements.
*** ***
The meeting went smoothly enough, but Sean was tired most of the way through the morning rendezvous. [Sleeping in a new bed always goes badly the first night,] Sean thought. He was halfway out of the just-concluded meeting when Priss grabbed him by the arm.
"HEY! I called you at least three times! Earth to Genaros Sean, are you there?!" she yelled.
"WAH!! Okay, I hear you! Sorry, I didn't sleep well and I'm kinda spaced out. So what do you want from me?" Sean cried, rudely snapped out of his stupor.
"Well, you said Sylvie was going to your place today, right?"
"Yeah..."
"And we, I mean the Sabers, don't have to do anything until tomorrow, right? I mean, Sylia said she'd do the arranging today."
"Uh huh, so?"
"So come on! Sylvie is still really bummed out about Anri," Sean winced, but Priss was looking forward as she dragged Sean toward the elevator and didn't see it, "and we are gonna cheer her up by taking her to somewhere she's never seen before!" Sean thought about the likely choices under that heading, referenced it with Priss's usual recreation activities, and drew a blank.
"Uh, Priss - where are we going?"
"First, we're gonna pick up Sylvie from Linna's and help her move back into your place. Then we're going to the amusement park for an all-night trip, or until Sylvie gets tired of it, whichever comes first!"
[Uh-oh,] Sean thought, [Now I'm in for it...]
*** ***
Late that evening, at the amusement park, Sean was sitting on a bench watching Priss and Sylvie ride the roller coaster for the fourth time. [I was afraid of this,] Sean thought. [Sylvie learns really fast, and she acts so mature most of the time that I keep forgetting that she's been 'alive' for maybe five years at most. I don't mind roller coasters, but I had to bow out after the third run, and it doesn't look like Sylvie is slowing down at all. We could literally be here all night, like Priss said.] He looked up to see the girls getting off the ride, and finally deciding not to get right back in line for another turn. He pulled himself to his feet as they approached. "Well ladies, where to now?" he asked, showing an energy he didn't feel.
Sylvie was looking all around her like a child. "Hmm," she mused. "We've been on the ferris wheel, the roller coaster, and the funhouse: why don't we go to the midway and see the games? I've always heard that there are great games at the carnival!" Sean had to smile; Sylvie's enthusiasm was contagious.
Priss cried, "The games are this way! Come on!" as she ran off to their left. Sean smiled wider. [Maybe Sylvie isn't the only one with a child's enthusiasm here...] he thought as he followed her.
A short jog later, the three were at the end of an aisle of game stalls. Old standbys like dart-throwing, roulette, fish pond, shooting galleries, and knock-down-the-bottles were mixed in with video games, Skee-Ball, and VR skill games. Sylvie headed for one of the dart games, which had truly archaic stuffed animals for prizes. One in particular, a silver-furred teddy bear nearly four feet tall, seemed to have attracted her gaze like a magnet, and Priss cried "I'll get it!" as she paid the stall owner 200 Yen for a game. She was handed three darts to try to hit a small silver star in the middle of a set of other targets. Priss threw... and missed. Twice. Then three times. Now frowning, she paid again. And missed again, all three times. Now getting frustrated, she paid double for six darts. And still missed. She was just fishing in her pocket for more money when Sean grabbed her wrist. "Hey!" she yelled. "I said I'd get it!"
"Yeah," Sean answered, "but you can't have all the fun. It's my turn now," and he threw a glance at a giggling Sylvie as he finished in a lower voice, "and you've already cracked her up." Priss scowled and relented.
"Okay," she growled, "let's see how _you_ do, Mr. 'My-Aim-Needs-Work'!" Stepping aside, she prepared to crow gleefully at each miss.
*** ***
Sylvie carried her new giant silver teddy bear toward the parking lot as Priss argued with Sean behind her.
"I thought you said your aim stinks back at the Survival Shot!" Priss yelled.
Sean took care to keep his reply cool and even. "I never said my _aim_ was bad, Priss. I said my _shooting_ was bad, but that's because my total experience with - ahem - gun-like weapons goes back to 2032 at the earliest! My _throwing arm_ is excellent, thank you, and you've seen it in action often enough!" Looking up, he realized Sylvie had stopped. There were three big, beefy figures standing by their bikes. One was sitting on the Mackiecycle, while the other two were pacing the area. The thugs looked up, and saw the three friends.
"Oh, hi," the seated thug called. "Now listen, my two friends and I seem to have misplaced our rides, so we're gonna borrow yours. So you just hand over the keys nice and easy, and nobody gets-" he cracked his knuckles. The sound carried to the far corners of the lot. "-hurt."
Sean grinned. [Oh boy, pal, did you pick on the _wroonng_ trio!] He put his hand on Priss's arm as she fished in her pocket for her gun. She stared at him.
"Keep it in reserve, in case I get in over my head," he told her, and marched out to the thugs. The seated one held out his hand for keys, and Sean promptly spat in it and taunted, "I think you're not _man_ enough to handle _my_ cycle, asshole!" The seated thug exploded out towards Sean.
Hardly moving, Sean caught his right wrist in a lock and used the man's own momentum to send him face-first to the ground. The other two thugs stared for a second, before the one on Sean's left cried,
"Hey Rico, he thrashed Tony!"
"Shuddap, George! Beat him!" snarled Rico as he lunged. Sean tried not to laugh - the man might have been drunk for all the balance he showed. A sidestep and a shove later, Rico's altered course took him into the side of a car, where he sat down, sorting it all out. George lashed out, playing it smarter than his friends, punching instead of grabbing. Sean got into a defensive stance long enough to break George's rhythm, then bent down and scooped George's feet off the ground, resulting in the thug's head bouncing off the pavement. Sean turned around to check on the other two, to find that Priss had stepped on Tony's head to pin it to the ground, and Sylvie was holding Rico against the car he'd hit with one hand. Sean chuckled.
"Couldn't expect to get all the fun, now could I?" he asked. His two friends grinned at him. "Come on, let's go home."
*** ***
The next morning, Sean was in a room of a building adjacent to the St. Regis Hotel, passing the time while Sylia stood watch with him and Priss on the first day of their assignment.
"Uh-oh, he's a lech," Priss said as she watched the monitors. MacLaren was watching Nene's rear as she carried her tray of drinks away from his lawn chair, out by one of the Regis' three outdoor pools. "Better be careful he doesn't grab you, Nene." Sean sat back in a chair and closed his eyes; he'd been around Mackie enough to tell MacLaren was a lecher almost from the beginning. He opened his eyes again a moment later when Sylia asked,
"What is _he_ doing here?"
Priss got to the monitor just ahead of Sean and looked. "Where, Sylia? I don't see anyone we know," she said.
Sylia responded, in a vastly amused tone of voice, "Coffee shop, third floor." Sean looked at the indicated window and spotted Daley Wong and the Sabers' favorite A.D.P. officer, Leon McNichol, staring down at MacLaren. Daley seemed to be looking in the direction Nene had gone - [That could be trouble,] Sean thought.
"Hmm," he mused. "Looks like he and Daley are interested in MacLaren too. I _wonder_ why, since he's here on a _joint venture_ with _GENOM_..."
"Illegal Boomer construction, you mean?" Priss asked, but it was Sylia who answered.
"It wouldn't surprise me in the least. His field of expertise is endoskeletal motive systems, and a large mecha answering the description of one that attacked the G&B building some months ago struck at a GENOM research facility several nights ago. If he's on his own time now, GENOM will no longer be protecting him, so he hired us. I'd say he's finished his part of whatever project he's working on and is worried that the attackers will come after him and not the project."
Sean frowned. "Great. Leaving aside my personal feelings about all this, should we have given him more than that signal bracelet to track him with? It could be removed so easily."
Sylia shrugged. "That's all he would accept. We must respect the client's privacy!"
*** ***
Two more days went by, uneventful days that stretched Sean and Priss's patience with each other. Sylia remained imperturbable, as usual. Finally, as it grew dark, MacLaren phoned out for another prostitute. Sean 'sent' to Sylia to avoid disturbing the stir-crazy Priss. {Is he getting _another_ call girl?! Wow, three nights in a row! Well, either he's in better shape than I thought or...} He grinned as he let the thought trail off, knowing Sylia would ask about it.
Sure enough, she 'sent'; {Or what, Sean? Does this have any significance?}
Sean's grin threatened to take in his face as he replied. {Or his girls don't know their business as well as you do. I mean, _one_ night with you is enough to satisfy me, and I'm a lot younger and more fit than that geezer!} Sylia choked and turned red, and Sean tried not to laugh. Priss, now interested in what was happening, looked from Sylia to Sean.
"Alright, what's goin' on?" she demanded, staring pointedly at Sean. "What'd you say that I didn't hear!?" Sean regained control of his mirth, then replied.
"Oh, just noting that Sylia's better in bed than MacLaren's call girls."
Priss looked at Sean like a cat at a canary. "Oh, really? Know them professionally or personally, Sean?" Now it was Sean's turn to sputter and blush to his hairline, while Sylia and Priss grinned. Sylia's grin in particular held an element of 'serves you right!'
The merriment was cut short by a hushed broadcast from Linna. Nene was absent that night, having been roped by Leon into helping him dig for data on MacLaren.
"Sylia! Are you there?" Linna called. Her maid's uniform included a pen with a radio in it, and she was now speaking into it. "MacLaren has collapsed! There's something familiar about the girl he called in tonight: I'm going to follow her. The hotel bodyguards called the hospital, and an ambulance is on the way! Keep an eye on him! Linna out."
The three in the room stared at each other for a moment before Priss ran for the van (and her hardsuit) while Sean summoned Iczel, who cruised out of a dark corner of the room as if she'd been there all along, and merged into Iczelion. Barely two minutes later, the ambulance pulled up at the hotel doors. Sean watched from high overhead as two burly paramedics hauled MacLaren out on a stretcher. Then he saw a _second_ ambulance rushing toward the St. Regis.
{Sylia?} he sent. {Has the St. Regis called the hospital for anyone else besides MacLaren?}
The reply was not long in coming. The first ambulance was just pulling out of the driveway as Sylia sent: {No, Sean, Mr. MacLaren is the only emergency at the moment. Why?}
{Because I think-} the second ambulance entered the main driveway just as the first pulled out the side exit. {-there's another ambulance on its way. MegaTokyo General Hospital is about five minutes' drive from here, right?}
Sylia's reply came over the radio. "I see it now. Sean, Priss, pursue that first ambulance: if their route, or anything else, is out of the ordinary, get MacLaren out of there and detain the 'medics'."
"Got it, Sylia!" Priss cried, evidently excited at the idea of action. "Hey, over here!" she called to Sean from her rooftop. Sean dove to her, snatching her hardsuit by the waist in a maneuver he and Sylia practiced. The original idea was for one of the flyers to get one of the others out of harm's way fast, but it also worked for pursuit situations. Hardly burdened by the 75 kilograms of hardsuit thanks to Iczelion's tripled strength, Sean soared after the ambulance, staying close until one of the bodyguards was thrown out of the ambulance, unconscious.
"Think that qualifies as 'out of the ordinary?'" Priss asked sarcastically. Sean didn't bother to answer: he was already diving toward an intersection in front of the speeding van. The driver braked sharply as Sean landed himself and Priss in its path. As the van stopped, Priss pointed her right-arm laser at it and cried, "Out of the ambulance! Right now!"
A rumble to their right was their only warning. A twenty-foot tall mecha with four legs and a vague resemblance to a crab came *through* a warehouse wall to appear behind them, and both Sean and Priss lifted off in a hurry. Two ball turrets on the top of the mecha whirled to fire lasers at Sean, who defended with his field until he dropped behind the ambulance, and then at Priss, who dropped to the nearby bay and used her jet thrusters to kick up a huge cloud of spray. Sean sprang onto the bogus ambulance and fired his energy bolts at the mecha, first separately, then the large, double-arm bolt.
They left visible pits in the armor, but no more. [Geez, that stuff's *thick!*] Sean thought. [I could pierce it with a sustained beam to one place, but it's probably resistant to my beam swords, too!]
"Priss!" he called over the radio. "This bastard has really thick armor, try your railguns!"
"Way ahead of you! HERE I COME!" her voice echoed down from overhead, and even as the mecha chopped at the spray cloud with its lasers and a huge underslung autocannon, she dropped on it from the sky, firing all three railguns and landing next to the jutting spikes to take advantage of any damage they'd done.
She and Sean both stopped and stared as the spikes fell over, having failed to even penetrate enough to stick! Sean kicked back into motion as the mecha extended a tendril from its left front, aiming at Priss. "PRISS! LOOKOUT!"
She spun just as the tendril reached her. It paused as if startled for a second, then whipped around her neck and lifted her off the mecha's top. Sean manifested a beam sword and pitched it spinning at the middle section of the tendril, severing it and freeing Priss. He hovered near the mecha as Priss rolled to her feet and leaped away. "Are you all right?" he called.
"Just a bit breathless... WATCH OUT!" Sean spun around to see a second tendril, with its heavy sensor end, arcing straight at his face. It hit hard enough that he was out before he even started to fall.
"Shit!" Priss cursed. The damned tentacle had hit Sean so hard he'd spun around four times before crashing, and his faceplate was off, which meant he was probably totally unconscious. She charged at the mecha, firing her laser full-auto. [Gotta get under it,] she thought. [Maybe there's weak points near the side of that cannon.] Her barrage apparently caused enough confusion to cover her approach, as the mecha's return fire was spotty. Skidding in close to the cannon, she saw what looked like an ammo drum. Grinning, she aimed at it. [Take this,] she thought. Before she could fire, the tendril that had hit Sean curled in beneath the mecha and snared her left arm. [Oh, shit...]
From inside the Genki urban assault mecha, Irene Chang turned controls and whirled the armored woman around three times before lashing her into a wall. She laid still when Irene retracted the tendril. She then returned to her argument with Kou, the man sent by her grandfather to guard her and her sister Reika.
"Kou, we're *not* going to kill that man. I recognize his face: it's Sean Kai, the boy who rescued me!" She shivered as she thought back to that night over a year ago. Her fiancé, a researcher at GENOM, had been killed in what GENOM had called an accident. Irene had confronted GENOM exec Brian J. Mason about it at a speech and been pulled away by her friend Linna, but not before accusing Mason of killing her beloved. Linna had spent most of a day trying to cheer her up, but the effort had been wasted when a GENOM assassin Boomer had herded Irene out to the highway to kill her. It had been holding her in the air with one hand when Sean, one of Linna's martial arts students, had crashed his motorcycle into it, and then fought it to allow Irene and Linna to escape. He'd claimed to have been saved by a Knight Saber, and now here he was using a frankly unbelievable suit of battle armor to fight beside the Knight Sabers. [I have to _know_ what's going on,] she thought, then said, "I'm going to bring him back with us."
"WHAT?" Kou exploded. "We know next to nothing about him or his capabilities, and you..." she cut him off.
"_I_ trust him, Kou. He saved my life, and we were going to tell him some of our story anyway when we met him at the concert, thanks to that backstage pass we sent." She'd gotten a good laugh out of imagining Sean's expression when that package arrived. So had Vision - Reika Chang, her sister. She continued: "We can leave him wrapped in the tendril until we know what's going on, but we _are_ bringing him with us."
Kou sighed: [Miss Irene doesn't get stubborn about much,] he mused, [but when she does you have better luck begging the tide to go out than changing her mind. Oh, well...] He offered no further protest as Irene used the Genki's one operational tendril to scoop up the yellow-and-red figure, then coiled it tightly around his arms and torso. [Seems secure enough,] he thought. Returning to business, he guided the Genki off toward their warehouse hideout.
*** ***
Sean struggled back to consciousness against a pounding headache, an annoying immobility, and what felt like two tons of mush poured between him and alertness. As he came to, he realized that his holographic 'faceplate' was down again, and hurriedly brought it back online.
[That's it,] he thought, [I am getting some kind of mask to wear under Iczel when I'm in action. This is dangerous, showing my face to all and sundry every time I get KO'd.] As he tried to roll off his back, he noticed the source of his immobility. He was lying on top of the mecha that had beaten him, inside a warehouse somewhere, and its tendril was coiled around his arms and torso. {Oh, wonderful,} he sent to Iczel. {Can we do anything to get out of this?}
Iczel took a moment to reply. {Not with brute strength, Sean,} she reported, {but our 'outer', spherical, force field expands out from the 'inner' field when we activate it. Maybe...}
Sean got the idea just as a voice cried from one side, "Hey, his faceplate thing is on again! Somebody call -" Sean didn't waste any more time, concentrating on the image of a sphere expanding outward from his body. He was rewarded by the sound of wrenching metal as the tendril lost its grip on him and he quickly slid out of its coils. Dropping to the ground, he dropped a beam sword into his right hand and visibly built up power for an energy beam around his left fist. Turning slowly to look around, he noticed several people frozen in the act of reaching for guns, and an open door on the second floor of the warehouse. Turning to the nearest man, he ordered,
"All right. I want MacLaren and that's all. Someone bring him to me and I'm out of here." The man gave Sean a dark stare.
"Forget it! We need him if we're gonna get -"
Another man, short and squat, broke in. "Kumin! Shut up!"
Sean sighed. "Look, I've just been hired to safeguard MacLaren. I'm not here to arrest anyone, and I don't want to do harm if I don't have to. You can't stop me without the mecha there," and he nodded back toward the Battlemover, "so why don't you cut your losses and give MacLaren back? It'll save you a beating and me some trouble."
A quiet, female voice, vaguely familiar to Sean, cut in from above. "That's funny. I didn't think you'd have a problem fighting to save someone." Sean turned slowly to look at the balcony door. In the doorway stood a young woman, backlit by the room lights. She seemed familiar. The woman continued, "You didn't hesitate to fight that assassin Boomer to save me." Sean stared. It _couldn't_ be...
Seeing Sean's stance change from defensive to astonished, she continued. "Yes, Sean, it's me, Irene Can. Actually, my real name is Irene Chang, but I changed it because I didn't want anything to do with my family then. I came back with my sister Reika to get revenge for GENOM killing my fiancé." A young man came out behind Irene holding a rifle. "This is Kou, a bodyguard our grandfather sent with us. He and I were piloting the Genki there," and she pointed to the four-legged mecha, "when I - err - I hit you with the tendril and knocked you out. I recognized you and brought you back with us so I could ask you what's going on."
Sean's shoulders slumped. [Dammit, compromised *again*! Sylia's going to throw a fit!] He looked back up at Irene at the top of the stairs. "Irene, how does kidnapping a consulting researcher from another company fit into your revenge on GENOM? Oh, and by the way, I started working for the Knight Sabers after you left."
Irene glanced back into the room she'd just left. "MacLaren is from Gulf and Bradley, the corporation that arranged for the death of my parents. Right now, though, he's a bargaining chip. We'll ask for a personal meeting with Quincy to make our demands for the return of the designer of his new Frontline Morale Destroyer battle Boomer. We don't intend to harm MacLaren, Sean."
"Well, that's a relief." At the sound of a poorly oiled hinge, Sean turned around to see a girl in a revealing getup walk into the warehouse - and freeze at the sight of him. Irene jumped into the conversation before the newcomer spoke.
"Reika, this is -"
"-Iczelion, newest Knight Saber, acquaintance of Irene's, and current bodyguard to your kidnapping victim. We're just trying to talk out our differences." He turned to Irene. "You called her 'Reika'. I assume from what you said earlier that she's your sister?"
Irene giggled, seeming like her old innocent self for a moment. "That's not all. Sean, meet Reika Chang, known to the world as Vision. I'm her new backup singer." Sean sat down abruptly on the leg of the Genki.
Recovering, he muttered, "Well, now I know _why_ I got sent those tickets to the Vision concert." Reika's hearing was excellent, however, and she caught the statement.
"Irene," Vision asked, "do you mean that _this_ is your rescuer, Sean Kay?" Sean's head came up, then he shrugged, sighed and dropped the faceplate.
"Actually, the name is _Kai_, miss Vision. I have to admit, if someone had told me that _this_," and he waved at the Genki, the warehouse, and the men, "was the reason you'd started touring again, I'd have told them to go sober up somewhere." Sean, meanwhile, was thinking furiously. [OK, giving this bunch to the A.D. Police just went out the window. I don't think their revenge scheme is going to succeed, though - Sylia's mentioned that Quincy uses Boomer doubles almost constantly. Still, things just might work out.] Aloud, he said, "I _may_ have an idea about how we can resolve all this without fighting. Can I have a minute to think?"
"Sure," Irene replied. Sean crossed his arms and ducked his head.
{Sylia,} he sent, {this is Sean. Iczelion to Saber Prime, do you copy?} The reply was almost immediate.
{SEAN! I hear you, where are you? Priss said you were knocked out before she was, then you were gone when she came to! Give me your position, and we'll be there as soon as possible!}
{Easy, Sylia,} Sean replied. {I have a sore jaw, but I'm fine, and I'm currently negotiating with the kidnappers. You're never gonna believe this,} and in a short time he brought Sylia up to speed about the situation, MacLaren's project, and the Chang sisters' goal.
{-so you see, I was thinking. We were hired to keep MacLaren _safe,_ right? So if the Changs aren't really going to hurt him, we don't have a problem?}
Sylia's answer was tinged with annoyance and amusement. {I doubt a court would agree with your interpretation, Sean. It's lucky we operate under the table, isn't it?} It took Sean a moment to realize the implications of that statement. To the surprise of the watching Changs, he broke into a dazzling grin.
{You agree! It's all right, then?}
{Yes. Keep me informed of your location. Leon still has Nene occupied, Priss is recovering from a mild concussion, and I've lost contact with Linna. If the Changs have her, see if you can get her released. I'd prefer to be at full strength if a confrontation with GENOM is in the works.}
{OK, Sylia. Signing off.} Straightening up, he turned to the Changs.
"I'll probably take some heat from the boss for this, but I have a proposition. I accompany you wherever you take MacLaren, as an observer. What you do with Quincy is up to you, but I'll hold you to your statement that you won't hurt MacLaren. One way or another, you give up custody of MacLaren to me after you see Quincy. In exchange, I'll try to keep any of you from getting killed in the inevitable GENOM backstab. Good deal?" The sisters looked at each other and grinned.
"We agree," they chorused.
Sean smiled. "Yeah, you're in the same band all right. By the way, were you planning to keep me in the dark about the ticket and pass until the concert?" Sean's question went unanswered as the door squealed open again and a Chang guard led Linna in at gunpoint. Thinking fast, Sean put up his faceplate and murmured to Irene, "Linna doesn't know about me! She probably noticed your sister and followed her because of the family resemblance. Let's get her to promise not to tell the police and let her go."
Irene looked at Sean, startled, then nodded and turned to whisper to her sister. A moment later, Irene and Reika went down to speak to Linna, who shortly looked appalled at the thought of Irene killing for revenge. Linna seemed hesitant to leave until Sean gave her a quick high sign, then promised by her friendship with Irene not to tell the police. Kou seemed uncertain, but only shook his head and let Linna leave. After that, all there was for Sean to do was wait as Kou phoned Quincy to arrange the meeting to 'negotiate for MacLaren'. At about 7:00 in the evening, the group left for the GENOM proving grounds out in Tokyo Bay.
*** ***
Sean stood watching from his concealed position as Quincy strode forward and asked Reika and Irene what they wanted. The two of them took turns explaining how they wanted revenge, but neither woman fired her pistol despite Quincy's taunt that his ambitions were so extensive that he'd had little if any knowledge of the misery he'd inflicted on them, though he didn't regret it. Sean's heart lifted.
{I told you, Iczel, I *knew* they weren't killers!} Iczel had argued with Sean on the trip to the island about intervening, but Sean had resolved to let them settle the matter themselves. The discovery that Quincy was, as Sean had expected, a Boomer double had ended Iczel's worry but not the argument. Sean had been guiding Sylia, Priss, and Linna to him by 'sending', and they weren't far away. Now it seemed they might not be needed...
'Quincy' raised a hand, and the helicopter he'd arrived in bulged as an *enormous* Boomer clawed its way out of the aircraft. Sean had time for one quick cry - {Now, Sylia!} - as he burst out of the boat and swooped in at MacLaren. The man gawked, and Sean plucked him off the ground and flew towards a small artificial island some five hundred meters offshore. He was peripherally aware that Kou had drawn a pistol and shot the Quincy double. Sean dropped MacLaren on the small islet.
"I have to go back and help out, sir - you should be safe here," he said. Swooping off before MacLaren could protest, he headed back for the battle that had erupted between the Knight Sabers and Vision's 'Genki' Battlemover on one side and the huge Boomer on the other. The Boomer had snapped the Genki's one working tendril like a string and batted the Knight Sabers around. Just as Sean arrived, a building behind Linna exploded, wrenching a scream from his sensei.
Laughter echoed from the downed Quincy double. "Ha ha ha! Oh, the island is laced with booby traps. So don't try and hide behind any buildings!"
Sean blew its head to bits as he passed. "Shut up, Old Man."
Moments later, he'd found that GENOM had once again used their heat-resistant armor plate, meaning he couldn't really damage the monster Boomer with his standard weapons. Priss was patching into the Genki's sensors to keep it in the fight and Linna was just hauling herself to her feet. Sean sent, {Sylia! Any ideas?}
She paused for a moment before replying. {Not at the moment, Sean. If we could safely approach that thing I could use my vibroblades to open a gap in its armor to attack through, but it would swat us out of the air!}
Linna must have been thinking along the same lines, because she cried out, "Irene! Reika! Immobilize that thing!" The Genki lunged at its foe, no slower even after almost losing one leg to a claw smash from the Boomer. Grappling the Boomer in a weird approximation of a bearhug, the Genki wrapped its front legs around its foe and held on. Not wasting her opportunity, Sylia lunged forward, closely followed by Linna and Sean. Sylia cut a hole in the Boomer's rear armor, Linna hit the gap with a Knuckle Bomb, and Sean imbedded two beam swords in there, leaving them to detonate as the Sabers leaped away. Irene cried out over the radio.
"The Boomer just dug through to our powerplant! The Genki's going to blow!"
"Eject, you three! Get out, now!" Linna screamed. The back canopy of the Genki blew off, flying down the street as first Kou and then Reika flew out into the air, to be grabbed by Sylia and Priss and taken toward the islet where Sean had left MacLaren. Sean and Linna watched for Irene, but her seat didn't emerge. The monster Boomer had wrapped a claw around it and was holding it in place. Both Knight Sabers leaped into action. Sean summoned energy into one of his gravitic strikes and smashed at the Boomer's wrist as Linna pried at the fingers, trying to loosen them enough to free her friend.
"Save yourselves, you two! Leave me here!" cried Irene.
"Forget it," Sean grunted as he hammered the huge arm. "I didn't save you from that assassin Boomer just to let you die for revenge." The wrist finally crumpled and Sean grabbed Linna, who was holding Irene's seat, and flew for all he was worth.
When the Genki exploded, the shockwave not only wrecked the Boomer, it set off the bombs inside the proving ground. In seconds, the whole platform was a flaming ruin, but Sean had thrown up a force field to protect his passengers and they landed safely.
Leon, Daley, and Nene pulled up to the islet in a boat shortly thereafter, and to Sean's vast amusement ignored MacLaren's claims about the entire group kidnapping him. Instead, Leon arrested MacLaren for illegal Boomer construction, conspiracy to conceal it, and soliciting prostitutes.
Linna had a short talk with Irene and Reika about revenge and getting on with their lives, and both girls looked thoughtful. Then Leon escorted Reika, Irene, and Kou to their concert. Sean hurried to change so he could meet them there - he still had a seat and pass to enjoy!
*** ***
After the concert was over, Sean went backstage to see the sisters. Once they were sure they couldn't be overheard, Irene insisted on being brought up to date on Sean's story. He explained the relevant parts - leaving out the fact that his 'armor' was actually an alien artificial life form that could teleport. He also left out the identities of Sylia, Nene, and Priss - if Sylia or Linna wanted to tell the Changs, they could do it. It was the final question of the night, asked by Reika, that stuck in the memories of all three.
"Sean," she'd asked, "Why do you accept this life? I thought I did it for revenge, but Kou killed the chairman of G&B and I couldn't shoot Quincy even with all the awful things he was saying." Sean was silent for a moment as he thought it over. Finally, he replied,
"I think I do this to protect people. I lost my father when I was very young, so I didn't want to let anyone else lose someone if I could help it. I studied martial arts partially to become a wrestler like my mom, but underneath I knew it was to defend myself, or others, better. You might be the same, you know. You're not killers, you just didn't want to let anyone else's life get screwed up the way yours did. You only knew one way to stop the big corps from doing that, though." Irene looked pensive, Reika seemed doubtful. "Look, if the desire for revenge were _all_ that was driving you you'd have put a bullet through the double. You didn't! You had him there in front of you and you didn't fire! I think that means that, deep down, you know that you weren't acting to kill, but to prevent death. I think I'm right - whether you believe me or not is up to you." Reika's face had changed slightly, maybe a bit less skeptical. Sean shrugged. "So what will you do now?"
Reika and Irene looked at each other, and chorused "E. E. Smith?"
Sean was totally confused. "What?"
Irene answered. "My boyfriend used to read these science-fiction novels translated from English. E. E. Smith wrote about a group of secret agents who defended the weak and used a huge circus as cover to move from place to place. I joked with Reika that a rock band would do just as well."
Sean grinned. "So you'll make money off the band and rove around righting wrongs and making life hard on the corps? That's great! Remember to contact Linna and me when you come back to MegaTokyo! Knight Revengers, Go!"
Their laughter echoed into the night.