"Sion, when's your birthday?" Dominique asks. "Birthday? Why?" "Come to
think of it." Kou says. "It was exactly one year ago today you fought off
that brawl in the bar." "So today's your first anniversary of being a
bouncer." Volt says. "Oh, well Happy Anniversary. Here, I got you this."
She holds up a silver pendant. "What is it?" "It's a present." Without
warning, the back window crashes in. "What the hell is the matter with you
jokers?! Let's go!" Amandine screams from downstairs.
Sion: "Get back Dominique."
Volt: "Thanks for the inspiration, boss."
Kou: They're making their move.
Fight
"Who the hell were those jackasses?" Amandine asks, spiting out the open window. "Who the hell cares?! They've got Dominique!" Amandine tsks under her breath at Sion's reaction. "They were from Mikado." Amandine looks up with mild interest then looks back down. "You're awfully well informed, Volt." Kou says. "Well let's bust in there then. "Hold on. I've got connections." Amandine grumbles something under her breath. "What was that, boss?" "Nothing." She says. "There's a train leaving for the station." "When?" "Half hour." "Good. Great. Let's go." Sion turns around. "You aren't going anywhere. I don't care what I have to do to keep you here, but you're staying." Amandine opens her mouth to say something, her eyes flaring. "I'm going with you." 'No, you're not." Sion punches Amandine out. "End of discussion." "You do realize that you just punched out the boss right?" Kou asks. "Yeah." "You do realize that we 're going to be fired right?" "Yeah." "Well, that settles it then. Let's go."
"There's one!" Volt points out. "There's a whole bunch of them." Kou says. "At the whistle, start bookin' for the train. Got it?" Fight "Get them off the train. Don't use guns. We're transporting rocket fuel. You got that Echidna?" "Looks like we've got some stowaways. Give it all you've got." "We're gonna freeze out here!" Kou yells. Where the hell's my backup? "Why don't you call the bar? See how Amandine's doing." Volt suggests. "I have a feeling that she's either A, unconscious on the floor, B, walking around with a bruise and threatening to fire us or C dangerously silent and angry." He picks up his com and dials Fate's number. It rings a couple times, then the message machine comes on. Instead of hearing her usual message, "Hi! This is Fate. I'm either wasted or not here, so leave your message after the beep." There was something else. "Guys? If you're my bouncers, the bar is crawling with MSFs! They're after me now. Don't come after me, I -" There were sounds of fighting then a click. The dial tone ran. "Oh, no! Not now! Please not now." "Oh sh-" "They've discovered us. We have to move to the front of the train." All three get up on the roof. Echidna waits with security guards. "You don't have a ticket. You're gonna have to pay, and this ride ain't cheap." She says. "So nice to see you again Echidna." "Volt? I thought I finished him off." "Well, this isn't the Volt you remember. Now it's your turn to take a trip to hell." He says to her. Kou says nothing. Fight "You'd be such a hottie if only you weren't trying to kick our butts all the time." "I'll finish you off. I'll show you the meaning of a woman's wrath the next time we meet!" Echidna jumps off the train into the ocean. Firepower is heard outside. "Leann?" More gunshots from a fighter jet. "Easy, easy! Be a little more gentle, woman!" No easement. something up front explodes. "If there's another attack, we can't take it! The brakes are down." A voice over the loudspeaker says. "Wh-what! This train is carrying rocket fuel! The whole thing is gonna explode!" "Rocket fuel?" "Yeah. The train is gonna explode." "If we don't get off of this train soon, we'll all be a lot warmer." "Can't get off if we don't have a key card." "What if we don't find a key card?" He shrugs in response. Search "I got it!" They move up the train. Once off, it explodes at the station. Which is heavily guarded by more MSFs Fight There is an air carrier port above the station. "How do we plan on getting all the way over there?" "We'll hitch a ride." "Oh what a WONDERFUL idea! Should we just walk up to them and say please?" Kou says. "We'll steal one." "This is insane!" All three land on one. "What the hell?" The soldiers are shocked. "We're the punks you're looking for." Fight Volt approaches the driver. "Hey." The man looks fearfully around. "Keep going that way." "Y-Yessir!" The man responds. "There she is! I just saw her!" Sion yells, pointing to a huge dome. "Hey driver, stop-" The driver is gone, along with the parachutes. "Volt!" Kou yells. "We're gonna crash." "But-" "Damn. Wish Amandine was here. She'd figure this out in a millisecond." "Well, that's too freaking bad, because she's kind of in a jail cell right now! " "What the hell do you mean by-" Crash "I swear, I could have nine lives and it still wouldn't be enough for this job!" "Shut up! I don't want them finding us." A cyberdog traced the sound and growled, sending the others on alert. Fight "We have to find the crystal dome. I know I saw Dominique in there." They reach it. Two people and a Black Panther are in the dome. One is Dominique, the other an unrecognizable blond man and an older gentleman. "Wong, secure Amandine's cell and take Dominique to the lab." The blond man says. "Is that necessary, sir? Please, both are your sisters." "Is that a challenge?" The old man takes a few steps back, raising his fists. "Master?" "That geezer's gonna fight him?" Kou asks. "In Eastern cultures, it is customary to repay one's master with death." He punches him in the stomach. Hard. He falls over. "It is a sign of respect. Goodbye master." Without sympathy, he breaks the old mans spine. "Master!" Sion yells and runs foreword. "Sion, I- I am sorry. I have failed. Mikado m-must be stopped. You must d-do it." He takes one last rasping breath, sputters and dies. "Master." He says, then stands up from his body. "What are you doing?! Whatever, I'll be taking Dominique back now." "No, I'm afraid I will be. She is my sister. I should thank you for protecting her. Is there any way I can repay you?" He asks. "You take me for a fool?" Sion asks. "Why, no. I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to leave." "No way!" The blond man sighs. "I'll have to dispose of you then. Do not say that I did not warn you." The panther takes a few steps foreword. Fight "I see. You have trained under Wong. No matter." He performs a vicious punch to Sion's stomach. "Ahh-" The other two bend to help him up. The man hits a button, which activates a trapdoor on the panel they are on.
Amandine "Ahh! God damn you Dauragon!" She tries to get up but realizes that she is bound to the wall. Attempts in breaking the metal only slightly loosen its hinges. She curses and tries again, but is interrupted. Echidna walks in. "Get me off of here now." Amandine says. "Sorry. I just have a message from the head of the cooperation, I am sure you know who he is." Amandine tsks and sighs. "Tell Dauragon I still hate him and believe he deserves to burn." "You haven't even heard the message. He wishes to kill you, but will give you a chance to fight. In other words, surrender your heir or die." Amandine laughs coldly. "He is afraid of me. Why doesn't he just tell me in person without sending his cabin girl?" The other woman remains silent at this. "Are you fighting for him? If that's the case he is one sorry coward. In fact, why don't you just let me go and fight me?" "Sorry. No can do." She responds. She turns to leave. "Come back here, bitch! I'm not through with you yet!" There is no response. "Dammit! One of these days I'm gonna learn how to think before I speak."
Kou "Damn.Smells like a sweat sock in here. Of all the places they could have thrown me!" Kou mutters. The com rings. This alerts a guard who steps in the cell. "Keep it down in there!" "Well excuse me!" Fight "Let's see, take out the guard, get into the uniform, then get Dominique." He mutters, checking the mission instruction. "It would be a good idea to save Amandine as well. God knows what happened to her."
Amandine "Maybe, if I take apart my wire ring, then free the jewel and use it as a knife I can get out of here. But dammit, I like this ring. I've had it as long as I can remember. Oh well, a small price to pay I guess." Blindly she pulls at a loose part of the ring. An odd design, the ring is made from a coiled wire with an aquamarine in the shape of an arrow pointing up at the top of it. Finally, she forms it into a chain like shape with a jagged point at one end. Using one hand, she hacks at the metal shackle. It takes a long time, but the iron finally gives way. "One hand free." It takes less time to loosen the other shackle. As soon as her arms are free, she grasps the broken cuffs. Holding on to the wall for support, she kicks foreword with both feet. The metal easily gives way. Now she hangs off of the wall using the four cuffs for support. Silently, she lands on both feet on the ground. Somehow, this alerts the guard outside. He is startled. "H-how? Y- you're just a girl!" Amandine laughs. "Why thank you! And you are just scum that could not be washed off the side of the building!" This makes him mad. "Oh you bitch! I don't have time to wait for the boss!" Fight "Why doesn't anyone like me?" She asks the unconscious guard, dusting off her hands. She heads for the door when something stops her. One of her bouncers perhaps? "Kou? Oh you idiot! I told you not to come after me!" "Amandine? Are you in there?" Amandine pitches her voice to sound helpless. "Kou? Is that you? Please help me! I can't move! They chained me to the wall!" She covered her mouth to keep from laughing. "I'm coming." Seconds later he walks in the room. "Huh?" She slaps him across the face. "You bonehead! I specifically told you not to come after me! I can't believe you could be so-" "Hold it! You have to expect me to save you. Besides don't you want to get out of here?" She turns her back to him. "No. As a matter of fact, I don't want to leave." "Why not?" She closes her eyes and smiles. "Because I have an old game of cat and mouse I want to finish with my stepbrother." "Cat and mouse?" "Yeah. I've been the mouse for a long time and I'm sick and fucking tired of it." "What?" Amandine shakes her head and laughs. "Don't ask." "What-" He asks in disbelief. "Don't ask. Do not ask." "You won't get anywhere if you wait in a cell." Amandine turns around. "I suppose you're right. I'll go with you I guess, but don't think I'm no longer pissed." "Deal." Both leave the prison area. "Get back!" Kou suddenly says to Amandine, shoving her behind an open door. "What the-" "Get back!" "Let's go." Mugetsu says leading a long line of SFs down the hall. "Follow them?" Kou asks. "That would be a good idea." Amandine responds, heading down the corridor. There is a small lounge at the end. Dominique lies on a lounge chair. Sion approaches Dominique, but Mugetsu puts him in a headlock. "How's my knight in shining armor?" He rasps. Sorry Sion, but I have to get Dominique while I still can. Kou starts towards her. Unfortunately his timing was bad. Volt grabs him from the collar. "Volt-It's me!" Ignoring him, he throws him across the room into Mugetsu's back. "Sion, I thought I told you to stay sharp." "Thanks Volt." "That hurt really, really bad Volt." Kou says, standing up. "You look pretty spiffy in that outfit Kou." Volt responds without apologizing. "Whatever. Looks like we have our team back. Amandine takes out a SF with a kick using both her feet. "Am I in this or not? Come on, let's party." Fight "Dominique!" Sion yells. He walks over to her, and she wakes up. "Sion?" "Always getting me in trouble. You had me worried." "This is the first time you've ever hugged me." "Not to interrupt, but can we save the love scene for later?" Kou asks. "Yeah. You should get Dominique out of here Kou. Amandine, go with them." "What the hell, man! Quit telling me what to do! I am staying, you don't understand, I have to!" "Come on, boss." Kou says, grabbing her shoulder and pulling her towards the rocket tower. "Let go, damn you!" She screams and throws his arm off her shoulder so hard, for the second time he flies across the room, landing hard against the wall. Amandine hyperventilates, and clenches her fists. "I didn't want to do that. I couldn't control myself that time. It was an accident." "She's stronger than Dauragon." Volt mutters. "Wait. Amandine? Amandine? You're her, aren't you? You're Master Mikado's daughter aren't you? I thought you had died." Amandine continues to breathe hard. "Yes. I'm sorry. I should have told you." Kou gets up. "Ow. That really hurt. Remind me why you hired us? You don't need us." Amandine laughs. "But I do." Sion steps foreword. "Mikado or not, you're still going with Kou." Amandine sighs deeply. "Must I give another demonstration of my strength? Come Sion, I don't want to kill any of you." She says. "I understand, but you should still get out of here." Amandine rolls her eyes. "I can take care of myself. You see what I can- you see what I can do. I can kill him. Easily, without harnessing my strength that is." She says. "How can you be so strong?" "How do you think? Bionoid technology of course." "Kou, I want to get out of here." Dominique says. "All right fine. Amandine, staying or leaving?" "Leaving." Sion answers for her. Amandine shakes her head and gives up. "Come on then. Let's go." Rocket Tower "Kou, do you think Sion will let me stay with him?" "Huh? Of course. Why would you ask?" "Because this is all my fault. The bar's in shambles because of me." She sobs. Amandine grimaces slightly. "It's no big deal Dominique. It won't be hard to fix." She says, gritting her teeth and clenching her fists. "Yeah right, but it really isn't the girl's fault. I like the window adjustment in the summer that is, heh." "Amandine, were you here before?" "Yes. A long time ago." "I thought I saw you here before, that's all." Amandine nods, slightly. "Yes, you were here. And you never came back out alive. Dammit, why doesn't anyone remember me? Why doesn't anyone remember her?" "Amandine, come on. We're at the bottom floor." The exit door is in sight. Kou hits the switch, and a robot comes into the area. It grabs Dominique with an extended hand and lifts her into the air. "Ow! Let go of me! I don't want to stay here! I'm going home with Sion!" She screams. "You have much to learn my lady." The robot responds. "God dammit! I don't want to do this. It's the only way I'll get to my stepbrother though, and save Dominique." Amandine takes a step foreword and takes a deep breath. "Hey! Aren't I the one he's after?" She asks. "I can't believe I just did that!" The robot puts Dominique to sleep and places her on the floor. It studies Amandine for a long moment. "You are Amandine Mikado, Master Dauragon's stepsister, correct?" It says mechanically. She nods. "There is instructions that Amandine Mikado is to be asked the following. If she answers "No", then she is to be terminated. "Do you surrender your heir?" She spits on the ground. "No way in hell!" "You are to be terminated." It takes a step towards her. "Yeah right! You'll have to get through us before you get anywhere near Dominique or Amandine!" Sion says, coming into the area. "Um- same here even though she almost killed me- Oh hell with it, it's my job!" Kou adds. "Same here." Volt responds. "And I'm here to kill Dauragon, don't care what ya'll say!" The robot looks thoughtful. "Four on one, those are acceptable odds." It says. Fight The four head into the elevator, but it already lands. Opening it reveals five or six PD-4 model robots. Dominique is conscious. She falls to her knees covering the sides of her face. To everyone's shock, her face appears to slide open, revealing a mechanism. "SION!" She screams, then her face slides back together. Getting up, she effortlessly takes out the six PD-4s. Then she falls back on her stomach, smoke hissing from her body. Mugetsu drops from the ceiling and picks her up. "You bastard, you're still alive?" He laughs "Of course! Now I must deliver the girl to Master Dauragon." He is back up again without any other words. "Fucking bastard pain in the ass." Amandine grumbles. "That was Dominique?" Sion asks in disbelief. Amandine sighs deeply. "Fifteen years ago, I had just turned seven, my father who as you all know is Master Mikado, adopted Dauragon and his sister Dominique. Unfortunately, Dominique was already diagnosed with a terminal illness." Her voice trailed off. "She lost the battle. Dauragon, in grief made her into a robot. Eight years later upon my father's death Dauragon who was five years older than me took charge of Mikado. But I was to head after he had for eight years. He tried to kill me eight years ago, but well, I escaped." She smiled a little then frowned. " Now I haven't the slightest idea what he wants to do with her. I'm sorry. I hope I helped." Sion stood up and took Amandine's shoulders. "You're lying!" She closed her eyes and shook her head in pity. "Sion, she needs you now. We have to save her." He nods but falls to his knees. "Now's not the time to get all emotional Sion. Come on, let's go." Kou says, helping him up. "How the hell are we going to get up to the Galleos?" Amandine asks. "I have connections." Kou responds. Seconds later there was an air carrier in the rocket launch site. "Who's gonna drive this thing?" Kou asks. "I'll do it." Amandine immediately volunteers. "We should be proud of Amandine! She's becoming more like a man every second. The next thing you know, she'll be drinking whiskey shots and referring to strangers as Slappy." Amandine laughs despite the situation. "Where the hell have you been? I already drink whiskey and the other day I said "What'll it be, Slappy?" Altitude dropped as the air carrier rose. "There it is!" Amandine screamed over the wind, pointing to the Galleos satellite. "I'm not through with you yet!" Mugetsu drops onto the carrier, missing his mask. "I'm here for the other girl! Surrender her or you all die!" Amandine put the carrier on auto -pilot then stood up. "Amandine, are you crazy! He'll kill you!" Kou yells. She smiles. "Trust me." She jumps over and heads towards Mugetsu. "Are you talking about me, you stubborn, psycho, pain in the ass?" She says, crossing her arms. "Come with me." Amandine rolled her eyes. "Whatever." She takes his arm and both heads for the Galleos.
Amandine
Amandine approaches the control room where Dauragon is. "Mugetsu, finish them off. She does not need any backup." He waves him off. The insane man obediently heads in the other direction. Amandine coughs loudly. He remains silent, typing something. "Hey asshole, you're the one who called me here. Now hurry the hell up so I can show you the new fighting game I learned to play. In simple terms, hurry the fuck up so I can kick your ass!" He laughs. "Reckless as always." "I've grown up. Burn in hell." "Have you? Can I still knock you unconscious with one punch?" Amandine laughs nervously, then punches a hole in the wall to prove her point, without flinching. She crosses her arms. "See a demonstration of the Galleos' power, sister?" she bends one knee. "You really thing I give a damn, maggot?" "Excuse me?" "Mag-got." She says slowly. "Do you need me to spell it? M-A-G-G-O-T." She says. He throws a heavy piece of metal at her, which she ducks to avoid. "Is that all you've got? Or do you need some of your bionoid freaks to help you?" She asks tauntingly. "I can't do this, no I can't! I can't do this, oh you fag!" He laughs. "So what have you been doing these eight years, sister?" She laughs as well. "Nothing really, avoiding the MSFs that you sent to kill me, changing my name every month or so, table dancing, fighting, smoking, daydreaming about murdering you.the list goes on and on." "Fight? I'll still defeat you, Amandine." "Just continue to taunt the mother fucker." "Yeah, yeah, that's what those thugs said to me before I sent them to hell, but don't you fret, I'll do the same to you in about five minutes." "I see your self esteem level has improved." "And I see that your modesty has gone down, and your arrogance and insanity went way up. I can't think of anything else much to say except for insults, so come on, and let's get this over with. Now." She adds, snapping her knuckles. Fight "I underestimated you. You have become much stronger. But," He adds laughing. "Still not quite strong enough." He attempts to knock her out with a vicious punch, which she dodged. Something then clicked in her mind. "You're wrong. This time I break the harness." Effortlessly, she picks him up, throwing him against the opposite side of the room. He slams into a wall, denting the metal. "Give it up, sweetie. You lose." She says innocently. "But I haven't lost yet." He twists her ankle so she collapses to the ground. "I have asked you to surrender your heir, Amandine. I would have let you live. But now, I have no choice as to kill you." He holds up the chain, about to ram it into her heart. "And you can, once you've made it through all three of us." He turns around. "Sion, Volt, Kou?" Amandine asks, standing up and shielding her eyes momentarily. "Why are you here? This is my problem." "Not just yours." Dauragon stands up. "Oh, careful. Your nose is bleeding." Amandine says mockingly. He punches her in the face hard. "So is yours." "What the hell is the matter with you? You call yourself a gentleman? Now Father wouldn't have liked to have seen that now would he?" She redeems herself quickly. "Like I said before. Let's party." Fight "You just don't give up, do you?" He laughs crazily. Amandine asks, wiping blood off of her face. "You see why I tried to kill you. None of you will live through this! I will not let you!" Fight Amandine dusts her hands off. "That was.fun." Sion steps foreword. "Kou, you take care of Amandine. We still have to save Dominique." She doesn't protest, instead she leans against a wall for support. "That took a lot out of you, didn't it?" She nods. "Damn.I own Mikado now. Don't know if that's good or bad." She mutters, nearly collapsing into the wall. "Do you need some help there?" Amandine shakes her head. "I'm fine.I think I'm fine." "Amandine, any idea how to get off of here? The satellite will crash if we don't get off soon!" "H-head to the back of the ship. It'll break off and head back to Earth." "Well, let's go then. Amandine, are you sure that you don't need any help?" "I'm fine." She uses the walls mainly for support and drags herself to the back. "That felt good. I've been fantasizing that for about I don't know.five years?" She laughs and grips a bar on the wall behind her. "Glad that's over."
Fate, the next evening "Get over here, all three of you." Amandine yells. "Yeah?" Kou asks, yawning. Amandine tosses blond hair out of her eyes. "Well, in gratitude of helping me, um, I, r." Her voice trails off. "Spit it out. It's getting late." "Oh, um, I'm giving you all a raise, heh, how's fifty an hour?" She asks. There is an awkward silence. "Amandine, did we ever mention that we love you?" Kou says. She laughs. "No, but please don't start. Go on, get back to work, closing time's only in an hour. By the way, don't bother with the shifts, I don't think you'll be doing much else tonight." She slides back behind the table and rests her chin on her elbows. All three go back upstairs. "Whoa." Kou says, still a bit stunned. "She's a good kid." Volt responds. "Kid? She'll kill you if you said that anywhere near her." Amandine opens the door for Dominique. "They're upstairs." She says gesturing to the banister. "Wouldn't you say that she's just a little tomboyish?" Sion adds. "That I'll admit." Kou says, still staring at her. The barmaid lights a cigarette and blows smoke rings into the air. She looks bored. "I just noticed that scar.wonder how she got it?" He says, mainly to himself. "Which one? The one near the bottom of her neck or the one on her ankle? The one on her ankle is from a construction accident with a crane, she told me that once." Dominique offers. "Thanks, but I was looking at the one on her chest." Towards the end of her throat was in fact a hook shaped scar. She traces it back and forth with her fingernail. "Uh- huh." He spaces out, continuing to stare at Amandine. Dominique shrugs and continues to talk with Sion. "All right, so Leann already called, I'm sticking with this assignment, I'm gonna be here awhile, I'm bored as all hell. Screw regulations, I'll go talk to her." He heads down the stairs. "Hey." She puts out her cigarette, raises her eyebrows, smiles and nods. "Yes?" ow. "What's up?" She shrugs. "Oh nothing, just sharing vapid conversation with my employee, smoking, drinking, what else is new?" "Vapid?" What the hell does that mean? "Say that again?" why am I suicidal suddenly? She laughs. "I'm bored as all hell." That helped "So, um. how'd you get that scar?" Amandine smiles at this. "It is the result of a severe knife injury. Any lower than where it is I wouldn't be talking to you today." Just a little deep. "Ten bucks he gets rejected before he can ask her out." Volt bets. "Ten bucks she accepts." Dominique responds. "Might as well give me the money now." He adds. All three watch from upstairs. Idle chatter follows for the next five minutes. Then Kou asks her something, she nods in response. He heads back upstairs. "Score, baby." "She actually accepted?" Sion asks. "Yeah. Whoa. Am I dreaming? Pinch me, somebody." "I'm closing!' Amandine yells from downstairs. "Volt, you owe me ten bucks." "Hey Amandine, by the way, where are we going Friday?" "Well, I don't know, there's a bar down the street." End
Fight
"Who the hell were those jackasses?" Amandine asks, spiting out the open window. "Who the hell cares?! They've got Dominique!" Amandine tsks under her breath at Sion's reaction. "They were from Mikado." Amandine looks up with mild interest then looks back down. "You're awfully well informed, Volt." Kou says. "Well let's bust in there then. "Hold on. I've got connections." Amandine grumbles something under her breath. "What was that, boss?" "Nothing." She says. "There's a train leaving for the station." "When?" "Half hour." "Good. Great. Let's go." Sion turns around. "You aren't going anywhere. I don't care what I have to do to keep you here, but you're staying." Amandine opens her mouth to say something, her eyes flaring. "I'm going with you." 'No, you're not." Sion punches Amandine out. "End of discussion." "You do realize that you just punched out the boss right?" Kou asks. "Yeah." "You do realize that we 're going to be fired right?" "Yeah." "Well, that settles it then. Let's go."
"There's one!" Volt points out. "There's a whole bunch of them." Kou says. "At the whistle, start bookin' for the train. Got it?" Fight "Get them off the train. Don't use guns. We're transporting rocket fuel. You got that Echidna?" "Looks like we've got some stowaways. Give it all you've got." "We're gonna freeze out here!" Kou yells. Where the hell's my backup? "Why don't you call the bar? See how Amandine's doing." Volt suggests. "I have a feeling that she's either A, unconscious on the floor, B, walking around with a bruise and threatening to fire us or C dangerously silent and angry." He picks up his com and dials Fate's number. It rings a couple times, then the message machine comes on. Instead of hearing her usual message, "Hi! This is Fate. I'm either wasted or not here, so leave your message after the beep." There was something else. "Guys? If you're my bouncers, the bar is crawling with MSFs! They're after me now. Don't come after me, I -" There were sounds of fighting then a click. The dial tone ran. "Oh, no! Not now! Please not now." "Oh sh-" "They've discovered us. We have to move to the front of the train." All three get up on the roof. Echidna waits with security guards. "You don't have a ticket. You're gonna have to pay, and this ride ain't cheap." She says. "So nice to see you again Echidna." "Volt? I thought I finished him off." "Well, this isn't the Volt you remember. Now it's your turn to take a trip to hell." He says to her. Kou says nothing. Fight "You'd be such a hottie if only you weren't trying to kick our butts all the time." "I'll finish you off. I'll show you the meaning of a woman's wrath the next time we meet!" Echidna jumps off the train into the ocean. Firepower is heard outside. "Leann?" More gunshots from a fighter jet. "Easy, easy! Be a little more gentle, woman!" No easement. something up front explodes. "If there's another attack, we can't take it! The brakes are down." A voice over the loudspeaker says. "Wh-what! This train is carrying rocket fuel! The whole thing is gonna explode!" "Rocket fuel?" "Yeah. The train is gonna explode." "If we don't get off of this train soon, we'll all be a lot warmer." "Can't get off if we don't have a key card." "What if we don't find a key card?" He shrugs in response. Search "I got it!" They move up the train. Once off, it explodes at the station. Which is heavily guarded by more MSFs Fight There is an air carrier port above the station. "How do we plan on getting all the way over there?" "We'll hitch a ride." "Oh what a WONDERFUL idea! Should we just walk up to them and say please?" Kou says. "We'll steal one." "This is insane!" All three land on one. "What the hell?" The soldiers are shocked. "We're the punks you're looking for." Fight Volt approaches the driver. "Hey." The man looks fearfully around. "Keep going that way." "Y-Yessir!" The man responds. "There she is! I just saw her!" Sion yells, pointing to a huge dome. "Hey driver, stop-" The driver is gone, along with the parachutes. "Volt!" Kou yells. "We're gonna crash." "But-" "Damn. Wish Amandine was here. She'd figure this out in a millisecond." "Well, that's too freaking bad, because she's kind of in a jail cell right now! " "What the hell do you mean by-" Crash "I swear, I could have nine lives and it still wouldn't be enough for this job!" "Shut up! I don't want them finding us." A cyberdog traced the sound and growled, sending the others on alert. Fight "We have to find the crystal dome. I know I saw Dominique in there." They reach it. Two people and a Black Panther are in the dome. One is Dominique, the other an unrecognizable blond man and an older gentleman. "Wong, secure Amandine's cell and take Dominique to the lab." The blond man says. "Is that necessary, sir? Please, both are your sisters." "Is that a challenge?" The old man takes a few steps back, raising his fists. "Master?" "That geezer's gonna fight him?" Kou asks. "In Eastern cultures, it is customary to repay one's master with death." He punches him in the stomach. Hard. He falls over. "It is a sign of respect. Goodbye master." Without sympathy, he breaks the old mans spine. "Master!" Sion yells and runs foreword. "Sion, I- I am sorry. I have failed. Mikado m-must be stopped. You must d-do it." He takes one last rasping breath, sputters and dies. "Master." He says, then stands up from his body. "What are you doing?! Whatever, I'll be taking Dominique back now." "No, I'm afraid I will be. She is my sister. I should thank you for protecting her. Is there any way I can repay you?" He asks. "You take me for a fool?" Sion asks. "Why, no. I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to leave." "No way!" The blond man sighs. "I'll have to dispose of you then. Do not say that I did not warn you." The panther takes a few steps foreword. Fight "I see. You have trained under Wong. No matter." He performs a vicious punch to Sion's stomach. "Ahh-" The other two bend to help him up. The man hits a button, which activates a trapdoor on the panel they are on.
Amandine "Ahh! God damn you Dauragon!" She tries to get up but realizes that she is bound to the wall. Attempts in breaking the metal only slightly loosen its hinges. She curses and tries again, but is interrupted. Echidna walks in. "Get me off of here now." Amandine says. "Sorry. I just have a message from the head of the cooperation, I am sure you know who he is." Amandine tsks and sighs. "Tell Dauragon I still hate him and believe he deserves to burn." "You haven't even heard the message. He wishes to kill you, but will give you a chance to fight. In other words, surrender your heir or die." Amandine laughs coldly. "He is afraid of me. Why doesn't he just tell me in person without sending his cabin girl?" The other woman remains silent at this. "Are you fighting for him? If that's the case he is one sorry coward. In fact, why don't you just let me go and fight me?" "Sorry. No can do." She responds. She turns to leave. "Come back here, bitch! I'm not through with you yet!" There is no response. "Dammit! One of these days I'm gonna learn how to think before I speak."
Kou "Damn.Smells like a sweat sock in here. Of all the places they could have thrown me!" Kou mutters. The com rings. This alerts a guard who steps in the cell. "Keep it down in there!" "Well excuse me!" Fight "Let's see, take out the guard, get into the uniform, then get Dominique." He mutters, checking the mission instruction. "It would be a good idea to save Amandine as well. God knows what happened to her."
Amandine "Maybe, if I take apart my wire ring, then free the jewel and use it as a knife I can get out of here. But dammit, I like this ring. I've had it as long as I can remember. Oh well, a small price to pay I guess." Blindly she pulls at a loose part of the ring. An odd design, the ring is made from a coiled wire with an aquamarine in the shape of an arrow pointing up at the top of it. Finally, she forms it into a chain like shape with a jagged point at one end. Using one hand, she hacks at the metal shackle. It takes a long time, but the iron finally gives way. "One hand free." It takes less time to loosen the other shackle. As soon as her arms are free, she grasps the broken cuffs. Holding on to the wall for support, she kicks foreword with both feet. The metal easily gives way. Now she hangs off of the wall using the four cuffs for support. Silently, she lands on both feet on the ground. Somehow, this alerts the guard outside. He is startled. "H-how? Y- you're just a girl!" Amandine laughs. "Why thank you! And you are just scum that could not be washed off the side of the building!" This makes him mad. "Oh you bitch! I don't have time to wait for the boss!" Fight "Why doesn't anyone like me?" She asks the unconscious guard, dusting off her hands. She heads for the door when something stops her. One of her bouncers perhaps? "Kou? Oh you idiot! I told you not to come after me!" "Amandine? Are you in there?" Amandine pitches her voice to sound helpless. "Kou? Is that you? Please help me! I can't move! They chained me to the wall!" She covered her mouth to keep from laughing. "I'm coming." Seconds later he walks in the room. "Huh?" She slaps him across the face. "You bonehead! I specifically told you not to come after me! I can't believe you could be so-" "Hold it! You have to expect me to save you. Besides don't you want to get out of here?" She turns her back to him. "No. As a matter of fact, I don't want to leave." "Why not?" She closes her eyes and smiles. "Because I have an old game of cat and mouse I want to finish with my stepbrother." "Cat and mouse?" "Yeah. I've been the mouse for a long time and I'm sick and fucking tired of it." "What?" Amandine shakes her head and laughs. "Don't ask." "What-" He asks in disbelief. "Don't ask. Do not ask." "You won't get anywhere if you wait in a cell." Amandine turns around. "I suppose you're right. I'll go with you I guess, but don't think I'm no longer pissed." "Deal." Both leave the prison area. "Get back!" Kou suddenly says to Amandine, shoving her behind an open door. "What the-" "Get back!" "Let's go." Mugetsu says leading a long line of SFs down the hall. "Follow them?" Kou asks. "That would be a good idea." Amandine responds, heading down the corridor. There is a small lounge at the end. Dominique lies on a lounge chair. Sion approaches Dominique, but Mugetsu puts him in a headlock. "How's my knight in shining armor?" He rasps. Sorry Sion, but I have to get Dominique while I still can. Kou starts towards her. Unfortunately his timing was bad. Volt grabs him from the collar. "Volt-It's me!" Ignoring him, he throws him across the room into Mugetsu's back. "Sion, I thought I told you to stay sharp." "Thanks Volt." "That hurt really, really bad Volt." Kou says, standing up. "You look pretty spiffy in that outfit Kou." Volt responds without apologizing. "Whatever. Looks like we have our team back. Amandine takes out a SF with a kick using both her feet. "Am I in this or not? Come on, let's party." Fight "Dominique!" Sion yells. He walks over to her, and she wakes up. "Sion?" "Always getting me in trouble. You had me worried." "This is the first time you've ever hugged me." "Not to interrupt, but can we save the love scene for later?" Kou asks. "Yeah. You should get Dominique out of here Kou. Amandine, go with them." "What the hell, man! Quit telling me what to do! I am staying, you don't understand, I have to!" "Come on, boss." Kou says, grabbing her shoulder and pulling her towards the rocket tower. "Let go, damn you!" She screams and throws his arm off her shoulder so hard, for the second time he flies across the room, landing hard against the wall. Amandine hyperventilates, and clenches her fists. "I didn't want to do that. I couldn't control myself that time. It was an accident." "She's stronger than Dauragon." Volt mutters. "Wait. Amandine? Amandine? You're her, aren't you? You're Master Mikado's daughter aren't you? I thought you had died." Amandine continues to breathe hard. "Yes. I'm sorry. I should have told you." Kou gets up. "Ow. That really hurt. Remind me why you hired us? You don't need us." Amandine laughs. "But I do." Sion steps foreword. "Mikado or not, you're still going with Kou." Amandine sighs deeply. "Must I give another demonstration of my strength? Come Sion, I don't want to kill any of you." She says. "I understand, but you should still get out of here." Amandine rolls her eyes. "I can take care of myself. You see what I can- you see what I can do. I can kill him. Easily, without harnessing my strength that is." She says. "How can you be so strong?" "How do you think? Bionoid technology of course." "Kou, I want to get out of here." Dominique says. "All right fine. Amandine, staying or leaving?" "Leaving." Sion answers for her. Amandine shakes her head and gives up. "Come on then. Let's go." Rocket Tower "Kou, do you think Sion will let me stay with him?" "Huh? Of course. Why would you ask?" "Because this is all my fault. The bar's in shambles because of me." She sobs. Amandine grimaces slightly. "It's no big deal Dominique. It won't be hard to fix." She says, gritting her teeth and clenching her fists. "Yeah right, but it really isn't the girl's fault. I like the window adjustment in the summer that is, heh." "Amandine, were you here before?" "Yes. A long time ago." "I thought I saw you here before, that's all." Amandine nods, slightly. "Yes, you were here. And you never came back out alive. Dammit, why doesn't anyone remember me? Why doesn't anyone remember her?" "Amandine, come on. We're at the bottom floor." The exit door is in sight. Kou hits the switch, and a robot comes into the area. It grabs Dominique with an extended hand and lifts her into the air. "Ow! Let go of me! I don't want to stay here! I'm going home with Sion!" She screams. "You have much to learn my lady." The robot responds. "God dammit! I don't want to do this. It's the only way I'll get to my stepbrother though, and save Dominique." Amandine takes a step foreword and takes a deep breath. "Hey! Aren't I the one he's after?" She asks. "I can't believe I just did that!" The robot puts Dominique to sleep and places her on the floor. It studies Amandine for a long moment. "You are Amandine Mikado, Master Dauragon's stepsister, correct?" It says mechanically. She nods. "There is instructions that Amandine Mikado is to be asked the following. If she answers "No", then she is to be terminated. "Do you surrender your heir?" She spits on the ground. "No way in hell!" "You are to be terminated." It takes a step towards her. "Yeah right! You'll have to get through us before you get anywhere near Dominique or Amandine!" Sion says, coming into the area. "Um- same here even though she almost killed me- Oh hell with it, it's my job!" Kou adds. "Same here." Volt responds. "And I'm here to kill Dauragon, don't care what ya'll say!" The robot looks thoughtful. "Four on one, those are acceptable odds." It says. Fight The four head into the elevator, but it already lands. Opening it reveals five or six PD-4 model robots. Dominique is conscious. She falls to her knees covering the sides of her face. To everyone's shock, her face appears to slide open, revealing a mechanism. "SION!" She screams, then her face slides back together. Getting up, she effortlessly takes out the six PD-4s. Then she falls back on her stomach, smoke hissing from her body. Mugetsu drops from the ceiling and picks her up. "You bastard, you're still alive?" He laughs "Of course! Now I must deliver the girl to Master Dauragon." He is back up again without any other words. "Fucking bastard pain in the ass." Amandine grumbles. "That was Dominique?" Sion asks in disbelief. Amandine sighs deeply. "Fifteen years ago, I had just turned seven, my father who as you all know is Master Mikado, adopted Dauragon and his sister Dominique. Unfortunately, Dominique was already diagnosed with a terminal illness." Her voice trailed off. "She lost the battle. Dauragon, in grief made her into a robot. Eight years later upon my father's death Dauragon who was five years older than me took charge of Mikado. But I was to head after he had for eight years. He tried to kill me eight years ago, but well, I escaped." She smiled a little then frowned. " Now I haven't the slightest idea what he wants to do with her. I'm sorry. I hope I helped." Sion stood up and took Amandine's shoulders. "You're lying!" She closed her eyes and shook her head in pity. "Sion, she needs you now. We have to save her." He nods but falls to his knees. "Now's not the time to get all emotional Sion. Come on, let's go." Kou says, helping him up. "How the hell are we going to get up to the Galleos?" Amandine asks. "I have connections." Kou responds. Seconds later there was an air carrier in the rocket launch site. "Who's gonna drive this thing?" Kou asks. "I'll do it." Amandine immediately volunteers. "We should be proud of Amandine! She's becoming more like a man every second. The next thing you know, she'll be drinking whiskey shots and referring to strangers as Slappy." Amandine laughs despite the situation. "Where the hell have you been? I already drink whiskey and the other day I said "What'll it be, Slappy?" Altitude dropped as the air carrier rose. "There it is!" Amandine screamed over the wind, pointing to the Galleos satellite. "I'm not through with you yet!" Mugetsu drops onto the carrier, missing his mask. "I'm here for the other girl! Surrender her or you all die!" Amandine put the carrier on auto -pilot then stood up. "Amandine, are you crazy! He'll kill you!" Kou yells. She smiles. "Trust me." She jumps over and heads towards Mugetsu. "Are you talking about me, you stubborn, psycho, pain in the ass?" She says, crossing her arms. "Come with me." Amandine rolled her eyes. "Whatever." She takes his arm and both heads for the Galleos.
Amandine
Amandine approaches the control room where Dauragon is. "Mugetsu, finish them off. She does not need any backup." He waves him off. The insane man obediently heads in the other direction. Amandine coughs loudly. He remains silent, typing something. "Hey asshole, you're the one who called me here. Now hurry the hell up so I can show you the new fighting game I learned to play. In simple terms, hurry the fuck up so I can kick your ass!" He laughs. "Reckless as always." "I've grown up. Burn in hell." "Have you? Can I still knock you unconscious with one punch?" Amandine laughs nervously, then punches a hole in the wall to prove her point, without flinching. She crosses her arms. "See a demonstration of the Galleos' power, sister?" she bends one knee. "You really thing I give a damn, maggot?" "Excuse me?" "Mag-got." She says slowly. "Do you need me to spell it? M-A-G-G-O-T." She says. He throws a heavy piece of metal at her, which she ducks to avoid. "Is that all you've got? Or do you need some of your bionoid freaks to help you?" She asks tauntingly. "I can't do this, no I can't! I can't do this, oh you fag!" He laughs. "So what have you been doing these eight years, sister?" She laughs as well. "Nothing really, avoiding the MSFs that you sent to kill me, changing my name every month or so, table dancing, fighting, smoking, daydreaming about murdering you.the list goes on and on." "Fight? I'll still defeat you, Amandine." "Just continue to taunt the mother fucker." "Yeah, yeah, that's what those thugs said to me before I sent them to hell, but don't you fret, I'll do the same to you in about five minutes." "I see your self esteem level has improved." "And I see that your modesty has gone down, and your arrogance and insanity went way up. I can't think of anything else much to say except for insults, so come on, and let's get this over with. Now." She adds, snapping her knuckles. Fight "I underestimated you. You have become much stronger. But," He adds laughing. "Still not quite strong enough." He attempts to knock her out with a vicious punch, which she dodged. Something then clicked in her mind. "You're wrong. This time I break the harness." Effortlessly, she picks him up, throwing him against the opposite side of the room. He slams into a wall, denting the metal. "Give it up, sweetie. You lose." She says innocently. "But I haven't lost yet." He twists her ankle so she collapses to the ground. "I have asked you to surrender your heir, Amandine. I would have let you live. But now, I have no choice as to kill you." He holds up the chain, about to ram it into her heart. "And you can, once you've made it through all three of us." He turns around. "Sion, Volt, Kou?" Amandine asks, standing up and shielding her eyes momentarily. "Why are you here? This is my problem." "Not just yours." Dauragon stands up. "Oh, careful. Your nose is bleeding." Amandine says mockingly. He punches her in the face hard. "So is yours." "What the hell is the matter with you? You call yourself a gentleman? Now Father wouldn't have liked to have seen that now would he?" She redeems herself quickly. "Like I said before. Let's party." Fight "You just don't give up, do you?" He laughs crazily. Amandine asks, wiping blood off of her face. "You see why I tried to kill you. None of you will live through this! I will not let you!" Fight Amandine dusts her hands off. "That was.fun." Sion steps foreword. "Kou, you take care of Amandine. We still have to save Dominique." She doesn't protest, instead she leans against a wall for support. "That took a lot out of you, didn't it?" She nods. "Damn.I own Mikado now. Don't know if that's good or bad." She mutters, nearly collapsing into the wall. "Do you need some help there?" Amandine shakes her head. "I'm fine.I think I'm fine." "Amandine, any idea how to get off of here? The satellite will crash if we don't get off soon!" "H-head to the back of the ship. It'll break off and head back to Earth." "Well, let's go then. Amandine, are you sure that you don't need any help?" "I'm fine." She uses the walls mainly for support and drags herself to the back. "That felt good. I've been fantasizing that for about I don't know.five years?" She laughs and grips a bar on the wall behind her. "Glad that's over."
Fate, the next evening "Get over here, all three of you." Amandine yells. "Yeah?" Kou asks, yawning. Amandine tosses blond hair out of her eyes. "Well, in gratitude of helping me, um, I, r." Her voice trails off. "Spit it out. It's getting late." "Oh, um, I'm giving you all a raise, heh, how's fifty an hour?" She asks. There is an awkward silence. "Amandine, did we ever mention that we love you?" Kou says. She laughs. "No, but please don't start. Go on, get back to work, closing time's only in an hour. By the way, don't bother with the shifts, I don't think you'll be doing much else tonight." She slides back behind the table and rests her chin on her elbows. All three go back upstairs. "Whoa." Kou says, still a bit stunned. "She's a good kid." Volt responds. "Kid? She'll kill you if you said that anywhere near her." Amandine opens the door for Dominique. "They're upstairs." She says gesturing to the banister. "Wouldn't you say that she's just a little tomboyish?" Sion adds. "That I'll admit." Kou says, still staring at her. The barmaid lights a cigarette and blows smoke rings into the air. She looks bored. "I just noticed that scar.wonder how she got it?" He says, mainly to himself. "Which one? The one near the bottom of her neck or the one on her ankle? The one on her ankle is from a construction accident with a crane, she told me that once." Dominique offers. "Thanks, but I was looking at the one on her chest." Towards the end of her throat was in fact a hook shaped scar. She traces it back and forth with her fingernail. "Uh- huh." He spaces out, continuing to stare at Amandine. Dominique shrugs and continues to talk with Sion. "All right, so Leann already called, I'm sticking with this assignment, I'm gonna be here awhile, I'm bored as all hell. Screw regulations, I'll go talk to her." He heads down the stairs. "Hey." She puts out her cigarette, raises her eyebrows, smiles and nods. "Yes?" ow. "What's up?" She shrugs. "Oh nothing, just sharing vapid conversation with my employee, smoking, drinking, what else is new?" "Vapid?" What the hell does that mean? "Say that again?" why am I suicidal suddenly? She laughs. "I'm bored as all hell." That helped "So, um. how'd you get that scar?" Amandine smiles at this. "It is the result of a severe knife injury. Any lower than where it is I wouldn't be talking to you today." Just a little deep. "Ten bucks he gets rejected before he can ask her out." Volt bets. "Ten bucks she accepts." Dominique responds. "Might as well give me the money now." He adds. All three watch from upstairs. Idle chatter follows for the next five minutes. Then Kou asks her something, she nods in response. He heads back upstairs. "Score, baby." "She actually accepted?" Sion asks. "Yeah. Whoa. Am I dreaming? Pinch me, somebody." "I'm closing!' Amandine yells from downstairs. "Volt, you owe me ten bucks." "Hey Amandine, by the way, where are we going Friday?" "Well, I don't know, there's a bar down the street." End