Chapter Three: Winter Blues.
10:00PM, December 21, 2033AD.
AD POLICE Headquarters, Mega-Tokyo.
"Morning!" Leon McNichol cheerfully called out as he barged into the office, then nod to a rotund, balding African man. "You wanted to see me, Kaicho?"
"Good morning Leon-Kicho" Ellis Toodou, chief of AD Police, nodded then gazed at the tall police officer who was standing in front of him. "I'm hearing some positive things from upstairs. What happened in area 3 last night?"
"A small victory for AD POLICE that's what," Leon gloats, then folds his arms when Toodou gave him a look. "All right, All right...I'll cut the crap. The culprit of last night's rampage was a Bu 55C combat boomer. It was a standard model. No modifications and no alteration to its wetware. It was definitely a standard model, sir. We were able to put the bastard down by using a pair of K-11s and a trap sir."
"Mm," Ellis nods, then leaned back. "I hear you used a rather large caliber weapon to do that. A sniper rifle, as I recall?"
"Hai, we did," Leon replied "We used a pair Barrett M82B2 "Bee-Too" .50 Caliber Browning Anti-Boomer Sniper Rifles, sir. Given the fact that we've been receiving complaints from that area I thought it was prudent to do so."
"You needn't explain that to me," Ellis sighs, then smiles. "Well done, Leon-Kichou. Now go down to forensics and find out why that boomer was on a rampage. After that, I want you to find a suitable trainer for a Katsumi; preferably a seasoned forward trooper. Understood?"
"Will do," Leon smiled, then strode out of the office with a smile on his face. Ellis's smile broadened. It was very rare the he and Leon saw eye to eye on things. When it did, it brought the tension between the two of them down a notch or two.
12:00PM. GENOM Tower, Brian Mason's office.
"You're sure about this data, D?" A tall thin, executive said as he leafed through the file folder.
"It is one hundred percent accurate, Mr. Mason." D calmly replied, then gazed at the folder the Chairman's special assistant was holding. "Our data indicates the 55C in last nights rampage was indeed taken down by AD POLICE's First Mobile Force. It seems that they were able to put several shots..."
"Yes, yes," Brian Mason nods, then sighs. "I've already seen the papers and how they're praising McGovern's-san's prowess as a fine marksman. I'd hate to see her get her hands on one of Sambogong's toys. I'm quite surprised that AD POLICE even has a pair of those archaic anti-boomer sniper rifles with them. See if we can have the Diet to lean on AD POLICE's superiors to...limit...the usage of such weaponry."
"Hai, I'll have it done right away," D nodded, then blinked when he hummed. "Is there anything else, sir?"
"It seems A 55C is not fit for this affair anymore," He mused, then nodded. "We should use a stronger opponent. Any suggestions, D?"
"A battle boomer." D hummed, then nods. "Preferably an anti-personnel battle boomer. Or...the Bu-12b light battle boomer."
"Use the anti-personnel battle boomer first," Brian suggests, then put the file folder down. "I believe we have a few...prototypes that are ready for a few trial runs. You know which ones I'm talking about. If they put those down...use the Bu-12b battle boomer. Understood?"
"Hai," D nods, then turns to leave. "Now if you will excuse me."
Brian nodded, not noticing the black tomcat staring down at him.
* * *
Toratotaka Tower, the House Patriarch's office.
Yoshio gazed intently at Brian's image. A look of disgust was on the House Patriarch's face. Megumi was standing next to the House Patriarch. She had a more...reserved expression. Standing on the other side was Nozomi Kiyokawa; the Chief Security Officer.
"Megumi," Yoshio mused, still gazing at the screen. "How capable are the new prototypes...the Bu 10X?"
"Very capable I'm afraid," Megumi hummed, then sighed. "The FIO's tell me that the prototypes are well armed and armored. They each has 20mm vulcan cannon and a MicroVec rail cannon."
"The Rail gun won't do much against armored targets," The green haired CSO murmured, then sighed. "Still it can be deadly to the tactical troopers. As can that 20mm Vulcan gun...and that's with non AP rounds, too."
Yoshio said nothing, then turned away from them.
"Well?" Megumi softly inquired, them blinked when Yoshio shook his head. "What is it, Yoshio?"
"Megumi, I want you to contact Dee," Yoshio murmured, then sighs. "Find out when those things are scheduled to be released. Those prototypes do not leave the GENOM Tower, understood?"
"Should we have Sylia-san take those out?" Nozomi offered.
"No," Yoshio shakes his head, then smiles. "Lets leave Muffin out of this one. Have one of our teams take them out. Preferably a KM team, okay."
"Hai," Nozomi nods, grinned and strode out of Yoshio's office
* * *
1:00PM December 21, 2033AD.
Imperial Hotel. Mega-Tokyo, Japan.
"Kiddy-san!" A short brunette cried out as she ran after her comrade. The dusky skinned, emerald-haired AD Police tactical officer stormed through the hotel's restaurant. She ignored the younger officers cry to stop, to leave Katsumi-san alone and that they should return to headquarters. Kiddy didn't want to go back! Oh no! Not until she gave that...that woman a piece of her mind. Kiddy stormed up to where Katsumi sat and slammed both of her hands on the table. "Kiddy-san! Dame! Dame yo!"
"Quiet, Yuki." Kiddy growled at the brunette, then turned to Katsumi who was trying to eat her meal.
"Hello, Sergeant Phenil," Katsumi quietly hummed, then looked up at the dusky skinned officer. "What can I do for you?"
"How?!" Kiddy grumbled, then glared at the dark-haired woman. "How can you just sit here?! You've got talent! You can fight those monsters!"
"Kiddy-saaan!" Yuki cried, then tugged at Kiddy's arm. "Lets go! We're making a scene."
"I won't." Katsumi hissed, then glared Kiddy who ignored Yuki. "I won't fight them."
"Nani?!" Kiddy blurted, then leaned forward. "What did you say?! You won't fight them?!"
"Hai," Katsumi murmured, then glared at Kiddy for disrupting her meal "I won't. Don't you have something to do? Other than harass -me-?!"
That was it! Kiddy stormed around the table. She seized Katsumi by the arms and got nose to nose with Miss Liquer.
"Listen, you stuck up bitch," Kiddy rumbled, ignoring Yuki's protestations to stop. "Every day...more and more of our boys die. You know why? Because we're ill equipped to deal with the primary threat to society. Forget about the boomers. The Lucifer Hawk are the ones we have to fight. Because if they invade...its all over."
Strangely, that reminded Katsumi of the frantic discussion Dan had with Belldandy. For the first time she wondered if he was doing all right. She also wondered if he learned of his purpose. Should she call?
"I...invade?" Katsumi uttered.
"Yeah," Kiddy nodded. "Now...are you gonna get off of your butt and help us or not?!"
"I don't have to hear this!" Katsumi cried.
"Pardon me, officer," A quiet, yet cold voice called out. Kiddy looked away from Katsumi to see a young woman in a business suit gazing at her. Although she just looked like another manager to Kiddy, Katsumi knew it was Sylia in disguise. "But I think you're disturbing our guests. Could you please take this discussion elsewhere?"
"Ah screw it." Kiddy grumbled, gazed at Kastumi for a moment, then stormed off with Yuki hot on her heals.
Katsumi let out a noisy breath, mentally thanked Sylia for the save, then gazed out the window. She didn't feel like eating, not after being accosted by an AD POLICE officer. What was with that woman, Kiddy, anyway? Why did Kiddy insist that she, Katsumi, insist that she joined AD POLICE's elite group, AMP, that very moment. She didn't want to fight the Lucifer Hawk. Nor did she want to fight Boomers! She didn't -want- to fight anything right now! All she wanted to
do is think, damn it!
She wanted to determine what was right for her...and humanity. The only way she could do that was to weigh her options and sift through the facts. That is the only thing she wanted to do at the moment.
Nothing more, nothing less.
She had to. She just had to. The fate of humanity and the Earth was in Katsumi's hands. She had to make the right choice.
She then wondered what Dan was up to...and if he was facing a similar dilemma.
Katsumi signaled for a waiter. She had a phone call to make.
* * *
Dan sat in his bedroom, feeling upset about things. A box of tissues was on the end table. A thick printout sat on the nightstand. Dan sighed softly, gazed at an application for a T'n'T ID, then looked out the window. So far, he had several ideas on how to stop a mass invasion from Nemesis. All of then included working for Toratotaka. The problem was that he didn't have the urge to send this application in.
Dan was thinking about his home. Again. He was upset that he didn't have a chance to say goodbye to his ken. The mourning frustrated his need to implement these plans. Or at least try to talk with someone about them. The plans had to wait, however. He needed to face the fact, face reality that -this- earth was his home now.
Just then, the phone on the nightstand rang. He put the application down on the nightstand.
Dan blinked, wondered who was calling, then picked up the receiver from its cradle.
"Hello?" Dan asked, ignoring the video screen that just sprang to life. "Wisner residence."
There was a chuckle, which made Dan cock an eyebrow.
"Hello, Dan," She replied. "I'm Katsumi Liquer. Look at the phone, I'm sure you'll see my face on the screen."
Dan jolted, then looked at the videophone to see Katsumi grinning at him.
"Er," Dan said dumbly. "Hi?"
"Hello there," She nodded, then smiled apologetically. "You look out of sorts. Have I called you at a bad time?"
"Sort of," Dan replied. "But I don't mind the call. Gives me someone to talk to."
"Glad to here it." Katsumi nodded, then gazed at him. "Are you free tonight?"
"Well..." Dan thoughtfully began, then looked up as the door opened. It was Edith. "Hold on Katsumi. Hi, what's up?"
"Hello, Dan," Edith nodded, then gazed at the mess. "Our team's gonna leave for Tokyo for a night on the town. You want to come with us? You look like you need someone to talk to."
"Well," Dan muttered, then nodded at the monitor. "Katsumi just asked if I was
free for tonight."
"Really?" Edith asked, then smiled. "We could invite her. No wait...that would make it hard for Oba-sama. Hmm. I know! We could have dinner at her hotel, then hang out at the Tower."
"Okay." Dan nodded at the idea, then gazed at Katsumi. "What time would you like to meet?"
"Seven?" Katsumi suggested hesitantly, then waited for Dan to relay that information to Edith. She brightened when he said that was fine. "All right. See you there. I'm sure if you ask them, you're friends will know where I'm staying. See you then."
"Yeah." Dan nodded, then waved. "See you then."
"Ja." She nodded, then cut the link.
"Yeah," Dan said, then put the receiver down. He turned to Edith. "Can we really make it by seven?"
"We've got plenty of time." Edith nodded, then shrugged. "If we start getting ready now, that is."
"Okay," Dan sighed, looked around, then looked back at her. "Just let me get cleaned up first."
"Okay," Edith smiles, then noticed the form on the nightstand. She walked over and picked it up. "An application to Toratotaka?"
"Hmmm?" Dan blinked, gazed at her, then shrugged. "Yeah. I thought it would be the best way to stop the so-called invasion."
"It's a wise decision" Edith mused, then blinked when he sighed. "What's wrong?"
"I'm worried. They may put me in a leadership position." Dan uttered, then shook his head. "I don't think I can lead anything if I tried."
"Why?" She sighed, then gazed at him. "Why say that about yourself? You have a tremendous amount of energy. You could put that to good use, Dan."
"I'm not a good leader." Dan sighed. "I always manage to screw up during those situations."
"People learn from mistakes, Dan." She smiled, then crossed her arms. "By learning, they grow. That's something Toratotaka wants us to do; to grow professionally as well emotionally. If you have a fear of the rigors and responsibilities of leadership then this is the best place for you to break that fear."
"Er..." Dan uttered whiled scratching his cheek.
"Don't give up!" Edith said excitedly, then gave him the victory sign. "You can do it, love! Now get dressed, I'll FAX this to the Toratotaka Tower in Nerima in the mean time."
Dan smiled wanly, then gave her a thumbs up. Edith grinned, then left the room.
"Well," Dan sighed, shrugged. "Better get dressed for a night on the town."
* * *
Imperial Hotel, Mega-Tokyo. Later...
Katsumi Liquer sat in the hotel's bar, a flute of spring water in her hand. She took a sip, looked back at the bar's entrance, then looked at her wrist to see what time it was. It was fifteen minutes after seven and began to wonder where he was. At that very moment, Dan walked into the bar then with a puzzled expression on his face. Katsumi sighed, then flagged him over to the little table that she was sitting at.
"Hi, Katsumi," Dan said lamely. "Sorry if I'm a bit late."
"Good evening, Dan," Katsumi smiled, then took another sip of her water. "As for being late...I was kinda' getting worried that you might have stood me up. What was the problem?"
"Traffic." Dan scowled, then sighed. "The cab that I was in had to take a detour. Apparently there's another 'rogue boomer' incident. Fortunately it isn't in this district."
"Oh," Katsumi sighed, then nodded. "Well, at least you're safe and sound."
"Yeah," Dan nodded, then gazed at her. "So...How are you holding up?"
"Me?" Katsumi sighed, then looked across the room. "I'm...okay. I guess. I've learned a few things about myself. But...nothing in my life has really changed. I'm just the same old secretary..."
Dan nodded at that.
"Who's destiny..." Katsumi murmured, then rested her chin in the palm of her hand. "Is to fight the Lucifer Hawk. Not that I want to, mind you. My mother and father may have made a living fighting them. But I'm not so sure I would want to do so."
"I see," Dan sighed, then nodded. "Sounds like we're in the same boat, you and I."
"Eh?" Katsumi uttered.
"My job," Dan nods. "Is to prevent a mass invasion from Nemesis."
"Whoa," Katsumi gaped. "That's a big job. Are you up to it?"
"Yeah," Dan nodded. "I want to. But I don't feel up to it right now. I've lost everything. I've lost my family, my home, my job, my life and most importantly my world."
"So I've heard," Katsumi murmured, then gazed at him. "It hurts, doesn't it?"
"It certainly does." Dan nodded.
"But," She said while holding up a finger. "At least your alive and well. You should be thankful for that. I know I would be, if I were in you're shoes."
"Really?" Dan asked.
"Yeah." Katsumi grinned. "I'm quite thankful to be alive. I'm also enjoying life to the fullest. How are you going to handle them, by the way?"
"I can't take on Nemesis all by myself," Dan sighs, then shrugged. "The easiest way is to join Toratotaka. I've already sent in the application. Hopefully they'll take me."
"I see." Katsumi nodded "I wish you good luck."
"Thanks." Dan nodded. "So how are you holding up?"
"Me?" Katsumi murmured. "All right I guess. I'm kinda in demand at the moment. Toratotaka wants me to be a part of a new department. Sylia wants me in her mercenary team. If that wasn't enough, Captain Cheyenne of Tac squad Seven wants me to join ADP's ultimate secret...the AMP."
"Yep. Definitely in demand." Dan nodded, then glanced about the room. As he did so, he spotted GMT-1 in a nearby booth. They seemed to be having a having a merry conversation. Elinor and Edith glanced back, smiled at Dan, then turned back to the conversation. Dan sighed, then gazed back at Katsumi, who was grinning broadly at Dan.
"Oh my," She hummed. "Do you have a thing for tall, imposing women, Dan?"
"What of it?" Dan shrugged. Katsumi grinned teasingly at him. Just then Katsumi noticed a trio of T'n'T office ladies walking towards them. The first was taller than Katsumi, had long slender limbs and had tangerine colored hair done up in French curls. The woman on her right was shorter, had long, calf length wavy blonde hair. The woman to her right was about as tall as Katsumi, had vibrant-pink hair and blue eyes.
"Well," She said, then nodded towards the trio. "If you like them...I was wondering if you like tall, slender blondes as well?"
"Huh?" Dan uttered, then blinked as the blonde stepped up to their table. "Yes, may I help you?"
"Are you Daniel Frederick Wisner?" The blonde inquired.
"That would be me." Dan nodded at the blonde, then blinked when Katsumi politely excused herself so she could use the woman's rest room. "Who may you be?"
"Juri Arikagawa," The blonde nodded. "To my right is Usagi Tendou. To my left is her older sister, Utena Tendou. We're from EPR&I. We would like to come to Toratotaka tower in Nerima. Our team would like to talk to you about...the Lucifer Hawk."
"Ah," Dan nodded. "I suspect this is about my quest?"
"Mostly," Juri admitted to Dan, then folded her arms across her chest. "But it also about a first class entity from Nemesis. Our sources say he's going to make his move...tonight."
"Whose the target?" Dan asked.
"You 'date' of course, Daniel." Juri sighed. "We believe he's going tempt her with an offer of his own."
"You know," Usagi chimed. "It kinda funny. These guys pop in and out an' trash everything. They're supposed to be the superior ones, but this guy seems a little off. He has poor timing. We figure Katsumi's gonna make her decision soon."
"Nah," Utena shook her head. "I have to disagree with you on that one, Usagi-chan. His timing is right on the money. I think he's a little desperate."
"I agree with Utena." Juri nods.
"Do you know what he wants?" Dan asked.
"Good question." Juri grinned, then nods. "We do know, from a previous encounter with another entity, that she's a key, of some sort. A key to what we don't know. We'll have to wait until he shows himself."
"Demo," Usagi hummed thoughtfully. "Isn't there the possibility that he may want to kill her?"
"Hai, Usagi," Juri nodded to her, then frowned. "There is. That's why we've asked GMT-10 to help us out with the task at hand."
"A guardsman team?" Usagi blinks, beams, then nods. "There should be no problem then. They're good at close quarters combat."
"Un." Utena nods in agreement, then gazes at Dan to explain things. "Elizabeth Peabody's team has rented a suite two stories above Katsumi's room. That way they'll be the first ones on the spot and can act if things get hairy."
"Un." Juri nodded, then gazed at back at Dan. "They'll be monitoring the situation and will act if the entity tries to kill our abduct Katsumi. They'll also maintain contact with our office in Nerima to keep us informed of their progress."
"Okay." Dan nodded. "Would you like me to come with you now?"
"No," Juri shook her head. "We're expecting the entity in two and a half hours."
"What if he shows up before then?" Dan asked. "Like say in the middle of dinner."
"I'll be close by." Utena smiles, then shook her head. "So there's nothing to worry about."
"Aw," Usagi groused. "I wanted to watch over them."
"Lets go, Usagi." Juri sighed, then turned away from the table. "We'll see you later, Daniel."
"Have a nice evening." Usagi called out.
"Yeah." Dan nodded to her, then blinked when a GS-R waitress boomer approached the table. "Hello, may I help you?"
"Sumimasen," The waitress boomer said "But I'm afraid I have some bad news for you."
"Eh?" Dan blinked.
"Sumimasen," A brassy voice quietly rang out in the bathroom. Katsumi Liquer blinked, then looked away from the washbasin to see a dusky skinned woman with graying-blonde hair grinning broadly at her. The older woman was dressed in a red blazer, red slacks, red pumps and a black bodysuit. Standing next to her was a tall, slender silver haired younger woman who seemed to be protecting the older woman. Katsumi gaped at the duo. "But, do I know you from somewhere,
Miss?"
"Shachou Cornes?" Katsumi blinked, then beamed. "What are you doing in Mega-Tokyo?"
"Hello, Katsumi," Cleopatra Diana Cornes nodded, then gazed at Katsumi. "Please don't call me that, though. I'm not the chairwoman and owner of the Cornes group any more, remember?"
"Hai. I do," Katsumi sighed at that, then reflected on her four-year stint in the Cornes group's Pacific Branch. Those were good times. Sadly, it was all ended when the Chairwoman and the shareholders decided to sell their stocks to Megacorp, GENOM and Gulf Bradley two years ago. The Cornes conglomerate, an entity that had lasted for more than fifty years, just couldn't compete with the younger, brash mega-corporations. "It was good while it lasted, though."
"That it was," Cleopatra nodded, then leaned up against the wall. Katsumi gazed at her for a moment, then took a paper towel from a dispenser and began to dry her hands. "Thankfully, I'm still young enough to stand on my two feet and work for forward thinking company like Toratotaka. So what are you up to, young lady?"
"Personally?" Katsumi murmured thoughtfully, then smiled wanly at the elegant woman. "I think...I think I'm making a new friend."
"Oh?" Cleopatra asked.
"Yeah," Katsumi nods, then deposited the paper towel in a nearby waist basket. "His name's Dan Wisner. Kind of unsure of himself, but other than that, he's a nice guy."
"I've heard of him," The older woman smiles. "I hope you become good friends."
"Thanks." Katsumi grinned, then sighs. "Professionally, I think I'm at a crossroads now. I have a well paying job at home. I work in a secretary pool for Airwolf Industries' home office in Oahu. But now...I've been offered some tantalizing, if not dangerous, jobs. I'm not so sure I want to either three. All of them entail...facing those entities. It's a tough choice either way, if you know what I mean."
"Un," Cleopatra nods, then pushed away from the wall. She walked up to Katsumi and took her left hand into hers. "I do know what you mean, Katsumi. I was at the crossroads once. I was young, carefree and full of energy. I treated my line of work frivolously. Life was nothing but one big party to me. Oh sure I save a few lives, and rebuilt a couple of them to boot. Then the Bio-war happened. I grew up pretty quickly during that time. I had to make tough decisions in order to do THE RIGHT THING. Which I did, of course. Dozens of refugees infected with AGH got first-rate treatment from our side. Hell I even went down there myself. Nearly lost my life, too."
"My...god." Katsumi uttered, then gazed at her. "Did you fight back?"
"When necessary." Cleopatra sighed, then grinned. "You'll be happy to note that I'm still working...for Toratotaka, no less. Have my own department, too. Your looking at the Senior Matriarch for Disaster Analysis and Relief. We're the ones that initiates and enforces directive six, Katsumi."
"SM-DA&R?" Katsumi hummed, then smiled as the older woman let go of her. "That's fitting. I hope you make Obaa-sama proud, Cornes-san."
"As if she isn't proud of me already." Cleopatra sighs, then clapped her right hand on Katsumi's left shoulder. "Its time to make her proud of you, dear. Do THE RIGHT THING. Oh and ah, Katsumi?"
"Yeah?" She replied.
"You can call me Cleopatra." Cleopatra grinned. "Or Cleo if you wish."
"Un," Katsumi smiled. "Thanks for the pep talk, Cleopatra."
"Ganbatte." Cleo smiled at the younger woman, then turned to the silver haired woman. "Lets go, Swen. I have a doctor's appointment to keep."
"I'll be there in a moment Cleo," Swen nods to Cleopatra, then watches her go. She turns to Katsumi with a somber expression on her face. "You're a friend of hers, right?"
"We are," Katsumi nods, then gazes at Swen. "Why do you ask?"
"Cleo..." Swen murmured. "Cleo...doesn't have much time left."
"Eh?!" Katsumi uttered. "What do you mean?"
"During our stint in Africa," Swen grimaced, then moaned. "Cleo was poisoned. Poisoned with...AGH. The parties who were waging war with that shit...didn't like her interference. First they tried to kill her outright. Then...someone darted her."
"N...Nani?" Katsumi uttered, then gulped back a block of air. "How...how much time does she have?"
"A year." Swen sighed, then wanly grinned. "But don't worry. Hopefully she'll take it easy from here on in."
"Kami......sama." Katsumi croaked.
"Gomen nasai." Swen uttered quietly, then bowed to Katsumi with hooded eyes. "Excuse me."
Swen then left the bathroom.
"Soo na..." Katsumi uttered as tears welled up in her eyes. "This...just can't be."
A short time later, Katsumi returned to the table. To Dan, it seemed that Katsumi was pre-occupied with something.
"Hi," Dan nodded as she sat down, the gazed at her when she sniffled. "Is something wrong, Katsumi?"
"I'm...not feeling very well at the moment." Katsumi murmured, then wiped a tear from her eye. "I just...I mean I...Ah, Damn it. I'm sorry Dan, I just...I just need to be alone for a little while. Can we try this some other time?"
"Sure." Dan nodded to Katsumi, then blinked when she got up. Katsumi rounded the table to where he was sitting. Sadly smiling, she leaned forward and pecked on the cheek.
"Arigato," She murmured in his ear, then straightened herself. Dan stared up at her and she tried to grin through the tears. "You're a good man, Daniel-kun. I wish all my boyfriends were like you. Hell, I wish I would have had you for a boyfriend instead of all of them."
"Er. Thanks." Dan uttered dumbly, then blinked when she patted his shoulder.
"Sayonara." She murmured, pivoted on her heels then quickly left the bar. Dan blinked, then rested his chin in the palm of his left hand. He wondered what that was all about, but gave up that train of thought when he sensed someone was walking up to him. He looked up and saw Edith smiling pleasantly at him.
"What?" Dan asked.
"It seems your 'date' has other things on her mind," Edith nods, then glanced at him. "Would you like to spend the rest of the time with us? Or do you need to be alone?"
"Nah," Dan smiled at her, then got up from the table. "I don't mind your company. So long as I get to be close to the both of you, that is. But I can't stay long. I've been told that the entity is making its move."
"We've heard," Edith nodded, then lead him to GMT-1's table. Dan sat down opposite of Karen and Lucy, then blinked when Elinor slipped up to him. She pecked him on the cheek, then straightened herself as Edith sat on Dan's left."We're ready and willing to lend a helping hand, but Otou-sama tells us that there's more than enough security protecting Katsumi. But that doesn't mean we -won't- lend our services if things get messy."
"I see." Dan nods at that, then blinked when another GS-R waitress boomer walked up to them.
"Sumimasen, minna." The waitress boomer bows, then straightened up. "Your booth is ready now."
"All right!" Edith grins, stood up, then stretched her arms. "Chow time."
"Lets go lasses," Elinor sighed as Dan and she stood up. She then jabs a thumb at Dan. "We wouldn't want to make Dan late for his first night on the job, right?"
"Hai!" They chimed.
* * *
9:15PM, Nerima, the Tower.
Dan, GMT-1 and the small contingent from EPR&I walked into a medium sized room filled with computer terminals, field intelligence officers, both boomer and organic alike, a junior official and her superior, the supervisory field intelligence officer. Noticing their arrival, a junior official left her own terminal to great them.
"Good evening, minna," The junior official said in a falsetto voice. Dan gazed at her as she walked up to them. She was a petite young woman with alabaster skin, amber colored eyes and long, slivery straight hair. She was dressed in a T'n'T office lady uniform. "Welcome to Nerima. We've been keeping an eye on the situation that your group is concerned about. Fortunately, there is nothing to report as of yet."
Juri smiled slightly at the junior official. The others nodded to the young woman, while Dan looked rather perplexed. She seemed familiar to him, but couldn't figure out why.
"Thank you, Hoshino-san," Juri nods to the silver haired woman, then smiles when the SFIO left her desk and walked up to the group. Dan noted that this woman was as short as Hoshino-san, had straight, brown hair and brown eyes. She was casually dressed in a light sweater and an ankle length skirt.
"Good evening, you're just in time," The short woman nods, then gestures to the room, herself then to Hoshino-san. "Welcome to Nerima, Dan. I'm Megumi Mikihara; the SFIO for the eastern Eurasian division. This is my assistant. Ruri Hoshino. Please call me Megumi, by the way."
"Good evening, Miss Mikihara," Dan nodded to her, then gazes at Ruri. "A good evening to you too, Miss Hoshino."
"A pleasure," Ruri hummed, then nods. "You may call me Ruri if you like."
"Okay," Dan meekly nodded, then sighs when she broke away from the group. Dan turned to the SFIO with a question on his face. "So, Megumi, what now?"
"We wait for the monstrous bastard to show," Megumi scowled, then sighs after seeing Usagi and Angela Hirosaki, Utena's fiancée and EPR&I's computer expert, gape at her. "Sumimasen, I didn't mean to startle you with that outburst. Demo, this...thing...has tempted a woman near and dear to our hearts."
"You mean...Oka-sama?" Usagi asked hesitantly.
"Eh?" Megumi blinked, then shook her head. "Oh no, Usagi-chan. He didn't approach Rei Ijuin. However, he did try to convince Akiko Misumaru, co-owner of Ariel Industries, to influence her scientists to put flaws into the BuTT-44C;our new medium security defense cyberdroid. This would lessen its capabilities; even make it a capable target for say a 55C. In return, he wouldn't have his Earth bound allies leak to the press that she's a first generation 33S."
"Extortion?" Utena and Dan hummed.
"Surprising." Juri murmured, then nods. "Though tactically sound. Do this for us or we'll cause a scandal that will ruin your life forever. What's our counter?"
"We already know who his associates are." Megumi sighs, then shook her head. "We're severing those links as we speak. SIAT team 23M is doing it by the way."
"Um, Megumi-san?" Dan uttered, then sighed when she turned to him. "But I have a few questions. How do you know of his associates? How would they know of her problem? What do you mean by earth bound allies?"
"Very good questions." Megumi smiled, then folds her arms. "Firstly; we observed one of them make the offer. He was in Akiko-san's office to oversee the deal. Secondly; His associates are earth bound allies who have turned to the dark side of Nemesis. These fellows are human-Lucifer hawk hybrids, not to mention powerful businessmen."
"Who have their own spy network, so to speak." Dan sighs, then gazes at Megumi. "What would those sharks get in return?"
"Those sharks," The SFIO frowns, then nods. "Will most likely get a small piece of the pie when the mass invasion does indeed occur."
"This isn't like you, Megumi-san," Juri stared at the SFIO. "You seem very tense about today's events. Usually you're more...how can I put it..."
"Dispassionate?" Megumi suggested, then deflates. "Gomen, minna. Its just that...Akiko is a close friend of mine."
"I see," Dan nods after looking around, then walks up to a young man gazing at a monitor. The monitor was split into four frames. Each had an image of a Knight Saber on them. "Looks like we're not the only ones who are on edge."
"Un." The FIO nods, then glances at him. "Sylia-sama has a right to be, though, Daniel-kun."
"True," Dan nods at that statement, then blinks when a bird like shape flies by in the lower right frame. "Hwha?"
"Don't be alarmed," The young man smiled, then nods to Elinor and Edith who passed by them. "That's just one of GMT-10s own aniimorph spies. Odds are it's afalcon, Elizabeth Amy Peabody loves falcons."
"Elizabeth Amy Peabody?" Dan wondered out loud, then blinked when he noticed Elinor crooking a finger at him. He turned "Excuse me, please."
"Un," The male FIO nods, then hums as he watched Dan go. "Kawaii-so."
"What is it?" Dan asked when he reached Elinor and Edith.
"Amy's team is about ready." Elinor stated then gestured to the monitor that had four women who were preparing for battle. "Come closer and you'll see how our teams operate, Dan."
Dan nods and stands with Edith and Elinor. He noted that GMT-10 was dressed in form hugging, dark bodysuits and had clear visors perched in their hair. The commander and the interrogator had standard SPG-23 automatic rifles; the only addition was a pair of silencers and photon shotgun rounds. Normal rounds are ineffective against the Lucifer Hawk. The technical specialist had a SPG-210 sub-machinegun, also silenced. Finally the heavy weapons expert had a SPG-30 ;a squad automatic weapon that had a 20 mm launcher slung under its barrel.
"The equipment is standard for this sort of operation." Edith grins, then folded her arms. "Their weapons will consist of silenced, SMGs and automatic rifles. Since they'll be facing a class one entity, they'll probably use a capture grenade to slow it down, then use a combination of magic and high energy, anti-armor rounds to finish him off."
"I hope it'll be enough to stop him." Dan muses, then unconsciously blushes when a five foot ten blue-haired bombshell wearing a pair of wire rimmed glasses came into view. Standing next to her was a five foot ten knockout that had straight, thigh length black hair. Both were looking in the animorph spy's direction. Elinor noticed the reaction, then share a sympathetic smile.
"It will," Edith nods, then smiles at him. "With luck, they'll be able to stop that blighter with minimum to no casualties."
Dan nodded.
* * *
Sylia sat behind a solar collector on the roof of the thirty-story apartment building. From her vantage point, she had a clear view of Katsumi's suite on the 23rd floor of the Imperial Hotel. Katsumi was currently lounging in a reclining chair, not doing a thing and looking miserable. Sylia didn't know what her problem was, but she could find out later.
She glanced up, then located Nene and Linna who had taken their positions on the roof above Katsumi's suite. They were crouching next to one of the hotels communications arrays. Sylia was just about to ask if they found the access panels when Nene engaged the link.
"Four," Nene spoke up. "This is Three."
"Go ahead, Three." Sylia softly replied.
"We're all set here, four." Nene reported cheerfully. "I have physical access to the telecom lines."
"Very good, Three." Sylia replied calmly "All right. One and Three: standby and stay alert. That monster may show up at any moment."
"Roger!" Nene and Linna chimed and Sylia cut the link. She turned her attention back to the window, then opened up the link again. "Two, what's your status?"
"All clear here, four." Priss reported tersely. "Starting to get antsy out here though."
"I'm sorry, Three," Sylia sighs, then glanced in Priss's direction. "But you're going to have to wait a little bit longer until the entity makes his move."
"Yeah, yeah," Priss grumbled. Sylia sighed inwardly, cut the link then gazed back at Katsumi's apartment. Just then, a falcon winged by and then flapped it wings to gain altitude.
"A falcon?" Sylia Stingray wondered to herself, then hums as she watched the bird climb up into the night. "Interesting. Looks like we're not the only ones keeping an eye on Katsumi."
"Its here, four!" Priss cried out. This caused Sylia to look back to see Katsumi go for her short sword and scramble away from a hideously shaped creature. As soon as Katsumi stopped scrambling the creature gestured to itself.
"Damn!" Sylia uttered, then opened up a general link. "One prepare for combat, I'll be joining you. Two stay her and snipe. Three...gain access to the buildings security systems."
"Roger!" They cried and Sylia leapt of into the night. She crossed the chasm between the two buildings and landed next to Linna. Priss, meanwhile, aimed her B.B 2000 at entities head. At that same moment, Nene hacked into the computer and took control of the 23rd floor's security cameras. Meanwhile Linna and Sylia took their positions next to an emergency exit door.
* * *
"Who are you and what do you want with me!?" Katsumi Liquer bellows, then leans into a clumsy fighting stance. "Tell me!"
*Do not be alarmed at my presence, Katsumi-sama.* The entity spoke to her, then gestured to itself with what appeared to be its right arm. *I am not here to harm you!* I am unlike that fool that tried to kill you several days ago.*
"How can I be so sure of that?" Katsumi inquired, still not feeling safe with a monster in her room. "You haven't answered my last question, though. I'll say it a gain. What do you want with me?"
*I'll tell you...*
* * *
"Battle stations, minna." Megumi cried out, then noticed the contingent from EPR&I striding up to her desk. She smiles, then turns to the silver haired junior offical. "Put it on the main holo-screen, Ruri. Then frame it so we can use all of the animorphs in her room. Then get us audio too, okay?"
"Hai, Megumi-sempai," Ruri nodded without gazing at her, then ran her finger over the keyboard. "holo-screen coming on line...now."
A big, crystal clear image of Katsumi's apartment appeared in front of the desks. The image flickered, then was divided into quarters. The first was a fisheye view of the room, the second and third were a view of the entity and Katsumi, the last one was a view of the suites front door.
"Data indicates that this is a class one entity." Ruri reported to the room, which was already abuzz with activity. "Quite powerful, yet he should be easily contained if GMT-10 acts quickly."
"Ugh." Utena said with a lopsided grin, then gazed back at the Hawk. "This ones rather ugly. At least the last one Katsumi fought had some symmetry to it."
"This is no time for jokes, Utena." Angela chided her fiancée.
"I know, Angie, I know." Utena Tendou admits, then blinks when the audio kicked in. "Quiet, minna. The bastard is about to speak."
*I will tell you,* The Lucifer Hawk hummed. *I will tell you, Katsumi-sama, why I've come to you.*
"Hmmph." Dan uttered to himself. "Rather polite fellow isn't he?"
*It is about your father,* It intoned, the gestured to itself with its misshapen arm. *It is he and his associates who almost gave us a bountiful supply of food and other resources.*
"Otou-sama?" Katsumi utters as her fighting sttance slackens. Katsumi falls silent, then looks at the Lucifer Hawk standing before him. "What do you know of him?"
At that very moment, Megumi bolted up from desk. A look of shock was on her face.
(Elizabeth!)She cried over the OMS II link.
(We see it, older sister!) Elizabeth stated firmly, then sighs as she and her team slipped the visors over their eyes. (Do not worry. Anne, Leslie, Ursula and I will put a stop to this!)
(Arigato.) Megumi sighs, then cuts the link.
*I know a great deal of your father," It intoned, then gestures for her to come forward. *If you wish to learn about him...you need to come here so we I can forge a psychic link.*
"A link?" Katsumi hummed, then nods to. "So be it."
"Shit." Dan uttered to himself, then blinked when he noticed GMT-10 fade away from view. "Wha? Where did they go?"
"They're going to work," Edith shrugs, then smiles. "Boy, with the staff of this hotel be surprised. They'll think the place is haunted."
"Not to mention passersby." Elinor nodded, then smiled as the door to their suite opened and shut two seconds later. "There they go. Gabatte GMT-10."
"Hai, Ganbatte." Edith nods.
* * *
Elizabeth ran quickly down the hall, trying not to run into the patrons of the hotel. She found a staircase, crossed over to it, and slammed her back against the wall. Elizabeth sighed, then slammed the door open. Anne quickly ran down the stairway, followed by Elizabeth who kept the door open long enough for Leslie and Ursula to reach it.
(She's down two floors, minna.) Elizabeth called out. (As is the entity. Can you sense him, Anne?)
(Most definitely.) Anne nods, then seethed. (Bakayaro is fouling up the whole place with its dark energy! I'm sure even Chikage-Imotouchan can sense it from the Spiral!)
(Relax!) Elizabeth barked, then sighs when they reached the 24th floor and continued to climb down flight of stairs. (Sorry for yelling, Raye. However, do you think you can save all that emotion for battle?)
(Yeah,) Anne nodded, then groaned when they reached the 23rd floor. (Ugh. He's very close. South by southwest.)
(Okay Leslie,) Elizabeth asked. (Which way do we go?)
(Right,) Leslie called out, cradled her SMG, then toggled the safety off. (Then turn south at the first intersection. Ready, minna?)
(Hai! Iko!) They bellowed, then burst into the hallway. They turned right, sprinted, then turned at the intersection. They sprinted again, then came to the first door on the south wall. Leslie tried the doorknob, which was unlocked. The quietly slipped inside, then halted when they noticed that the Lucifer Hawk had Katsumi in its clutches.
(Too late,) Elizabeth murmured, then blinks when a light green circle formed around Katsumi's feet. Katsumi's short sword spun around then shot straight at the beast. It yowled in pain when the blade struck its body. (Or maybe not! Places everyone! Anne? A fire spell, please?)
(Hai!) The rest of the team cried, their forms vaporing into view. They took places on either side of the room and trained their weapons on the creature. The Lucifer Hawk released Katsumi who looked like she had made up her mind about something.
"Get down," Elizabeth bellows, then fires the first volley after Katsumi ducks and rolls to retrieve her short sword. Leslie and Ursula provided cover fire as she ducked behind the couch. The Lucifer Hawk took a few steps back as the photon shotgun rounds tore into his flesh. At that very moment Anne concentrates, then sucked in some air as tendrils of fire snaked down her arm.
The mana coalesced in her palm as the Lucifer Hawk lashed out at Leslie and Ursula with a gravity bolt. They dodge the blast in the nick of time. Sensing that they were in danger, Anne pointed her palm at the creature.
"Fire Arrow!" She bellowed and a bolt of thermal energy shot out from her hand. The bolt of thermal energy slammed into the Entities' right shoulder, causing a gout of blood to spray the wall.
*Enough!* The Lucifer Hawk bellowed. It then bounded upwards, landed right next to a very surprised Katsumi, then seized the woman into his arms. *My apologies for this interruption. We will go elsewhere, Katsumi-sama.*
He then levitated up into the air and passed through the ceiling.
"Shit!" Leslie bellowed, then turned to Anne. "Is he?"
(No...) Anne grinned, then waved the team out. (He's falling straight into Aunt Sylia's hands. Lets use the emergency exit.)
* * *
Linna leapt up and drove a Knuckle Bomber into the Entities back. A gout of blood and organic material erupted from the wound. He lost his grip and Katsumi fell from his arm. Only to be caught by Sylia who landed safely on the roof of the 23rd floor.
"Daijobu?" Sylia asked as Katsumi feet touched the roof. Katsumi retched, then shuddered.
"No," She murmurs, then retches again. "Feel sick. Nauseous."
She then passed out and slumped to the ground. Sylia sighed then cradled Katsumi into her arms.
"Look out!" Sylia yelled as the monster release a gavity wave at Linna. Sylia grabbed Katsumi and jetted away. Linna whirled away in the knick of time, but the gravity wave sent her whips flying. She growled, then smiled when a bolt of liquid mercury tore off the beings left arm. Linna turned to see Priss, who was disobeying orders again, and nodded gratefully to the singer.
*You dare!* It bellowed, glaring at them all. *You dare interrupt our meeting!*
Just then, GMT-10 burst onto the scene and took a defensive position around Katsumi and Sylia. Seeing that he was wounded, Elizabeth and Anne share a look, then nodded in agreement. It was time to finish this guy off. After giving the signal to lay down some cover fire, Anne and Elizabeth stood up from their position and hoped that the suppressive fire would draw his attention. It did. They sighed, slung their weapons over their shoulder and prepared to finish this battle once and for all.
Elizabeth and Anne held their left arm, with their palm out, up in the air. The closed their eyes, concentrated and frigid water vapor coalesced into their palms. They fixed the creature with an icy stare then pointed their palms at the wounded entity.
"Glacial Freeze!" Elizabeth and Anne cried and twin cones of frigid water and vapor washed over the creature. All but the creature's head was encased in a block of ice. Seeing that he was trapped, Ursula and Leslie trained their weapons on the doomed creature.
"N...no," The entity rumbled, then tried to break free. "You can not defeat me this way."
"Fire at will!" Elizabeth barked, her breath turned into small clouds of vapor as she hefted her SBG-29. She and Anne ducked, rolled and aimed their weapons as Ursula and Leslie fired the first volley. The salvos slammed home and tore through the monster's flesh. It was doing a great deal of damage but the ice was slowing the rounds down.
"Not good enough!" Elizabeth cried, then looked at Katsumi who was unconscious. "Damn it all. Okay, time to finish this. Ursula and I will finish him off. Sylia-san, get your team clear! We're going to turn up the heat!"
"Right!" Sylia blurted, then jetted up into the night. "To our former position, minna. Make haste."
The others did indeed make haste as Elizabeth activates her OMS II link.
(Ursula?) She intones, then nods. (Take cover, then use you're your 20mm launcher. We'll finish him off that way.)
(Way ahead of you, Amy!) Ursula grinned dangerously, gets behind a air-conditioning unit, then takes aim. (Ready and waiting!)
(Fire!) Elizabeth Amy Peabody bellows, then gestures for everyone else to fall back. (Everyone else, cease-fire and find shelter!)
The others scamper and found shelter behind a pair of air conditioning units. Ursula fired six 20mm rounds into the exposed parts of the Lucifer Hawk's abdomen and torso. But these were delayed explosives, so the caps didn't touch off for five seconds or more. When they did...the entity exploded in a gory fireball. Moments later a large, blinding beam of light streaked up into the sky. When the beam faded, everyone stands, then breathes a sigh of relief.
"Its over," Leslie said, then brushes herself off.
"For now," Elizabeth nodded, then looks a little beat. "That was a little to close for comfort. We almost lost Katsumi."
"True," Anne sighs, then jabs a thumb in the direction of the T'n'T Tower. "Lets go, minna. I'm sure Rally's staff will make an inquiry about tonight's outing."
They nodded, then fade away from view.
* * *
Sylia gently laid Katsumi down on the rooftop. Seeing this, Linna keyed up her intercom.
"How is she four?" Linna quietly asked after the Knight Sabers landed on a nearby rooftop.
"She's fallen unconscious, but I think she'll be all right," Sylia sighs, then glances around. She tries to stifle a laugh but fails to do so. "Well, this is rather coincidental."
"Nani?" Linna uttered.
"We're standing on the ABCB building, one." Nene piped up, then nodded. "Don't you remember? The conditions of our current job says that if Katsumi is to be extracted from the hotel we should bring her to ABCB building and await further instructions from our employer."
"Correct," a voice quietly called out over their speakers. The Knight Sabers turned, then gape when a young woman faded into view. She had shaggy, purple hair and blue eyes. She was dressed in black and a white cape with red crosses. "Well done, Knight Sabers."
"Who the heck are you?" Nene inquired as the girl walked up to them.
"Chikage Hirosaki," Chikage said casually, then checked Katsumi's pulse then temperature with the back of her hand. She sighs, then nods "Mmm. She's feeling a little under the weather. It would be best to wait a little while to move her back to the Spiral. Unfortunately we have little time. T'n'Ts latest foray to stop the Entities will undoubtedly get AD POLICE's attention."
"We could help." Sylia offered. "We have a...mode of transport that would be to your liking."
"Thank you." Chikage nods.
* * *
"The first class entity has been terminated," Ruri announced, then glanced at her terminal. "Katsumi-san is in the Knight Sabers custody as we speak."
"Wow," Dan grins, then turned to Elinor who had an expression of satisfaction on her face. "Is every encounter with the Lucifer Hawk like that?"
"No," Elinor murmured, then shook her head. "We have defeated them in the past, of course. Its just that we haven't always gotten there in time. We may be cyber bio-droids, but that doesn't mean we don't err. We do. It's what makes us human."
"I see," Dan nods at that, then blinked when Elinor's lip quivered. A tear welled up in her eye, then rolled down her cheek. Concerned, Dan laid his right hand on her arm. She smiled sadly at him, then took his hand into hers.
"I'll be fine," She murmured, then sighs as she looks away from him. "I was just...thinking about my mother. She was a Guardsmen, just like I am now. She died in the Second Kanto quake. She was trying to prevent an Entity from disturbing the spirit of the Earth. Legend says that if he awakes, a great catastrophe will occur. She...she erred. She focused most of her energy protecting Fuyuka, who was more than capable of handling herself, that...she wasn't able to stop the Entity. Because of that...more than a million people died from an earthquake that registered 7.9 on the Richter scale. I...I'm afraid I may do the same thing."
"Elinor..." Dan breathed, then cupped her left cheek. "Elinor, look at me."
She turned to face him, then blinked when he smiled at her.
"I want you to listen to me," Dan said, then grinned when she nodded at him. "There's a saying that's very...relevant to this very topic."
"What saying may that be?" She asked.
"'Those who fail to learn from history are bound to repeat it'." Dan hummed, then looked down at his feet. "I don't know who said it, but if you learn from your mother's mistake...and do the job that you're supposed to do...then I think you'll do all right, Elinor."
Elinor Wylie blinked, then nodded thoughtfully at his advice.
"Couldn't have said it better myself," Edith grins, then nodded. "I've been trying to tell her that for some time now. Now she'll have to listen to the both of us, love."
"Guess so," Dan nods, then gazes at them "So what now. Head back to Oshika?"
"We can't," Elinor sighs, then gazed at him. "Last train out to Oshika left twenty minutes ago, Dan."
"True," Edith nods, thinks for a moment, turns to Elinor, then looks at Dan. "Why don't we take him to the Heartbeat Club. What do you say? Want to meet a few more of our sisters, love?"
"Sure..." Dan sighs, then wonders. "What is Heartbeat anyway?"
"It's a private club for Sexaroids who live in Mega-Tokyo," Edith nods, thinks for a bit. "I might as well notify Candy that you've been invited. She is the owner of an all girl affair after all."
"Would I be thrown out?" Dan wonders.
"If you come in uninvited...yes." Elinor nods, then smiles. "But since we've invited you it would be a problem. We're just notifying her since its rare for a human male to walk into the club."
"I see," Dan nods, then smiles. "Fair enough."
End chapter three
10:00PM, December 21, 2033AD.
AD POLICE Headquarters, Mega-Tokyo.
"Morning!" Leon McNichol cheerfully called out as he barged into the office, then nod to a rotund, balding African man. "You wanted to see me, Kaicho?"
"Good morning Leon-Kicho" Ellis Toodou, chief of AD Police, nodded then gazed at the tall police officer who was standing in front of him. "I'm hearing some positive things from upstairs. What happened in area 3 last night?"
"A small victory for AD POLICE that's what," Leon gloats, then folds his arms when Toodou gave him a look. "All right, All right...I'll cut the crap. The culprit of last night's rampage was a Bu 55C combat boomer. It was a standard model. No modifications and no alteration to its wetware. It was definitely a standard model, sir. We were able to put the bastard down by using a pair of K-11s and a trap sir."
"Mm," Ellis nods, then leaned back. "I hear you used a rather large caliber weapon to do that. A sniper rifle, as I recall?"
"Hai, we did," Leon replied "We used a pair Barrett M82B2 "Bee-Too" .50 Caliber Browning Anti-Boomer Sniper Rifles, sir. Given the fact that we've been receiving complaints from that area I thought it was prudent to do so."
"You needn't explain that to me," Ellis sighs, then smiles. "Well done, Leon-Kichou. Now go down to forensics and find out why that boomer was on a rampage. After that, I want you to find a suitable trainer for a Katsumi; preferably a seasoned forward trooper. Understood?"
"Will do," Leon smiled, then strode out of the office with a smile on his face. Ellis's smile broadened. It was very rare the he and Leon saw eye to eye on things. When it did, it brought the tension between the two of them down a notch or two.
12:00PM. GENOM Tower, Brian Mason's office.
"You're sure about this data, D?" A tall thin, executive said as he leafed through the file folder.
"It is one hundred percent accurate, Mr. Mason." D calmly replied, then gazed at the folder the Chairman's special assistant was holding. "Our data indicates the 55C in last nights rampage was indeed taken down by AD POLICE's First Mobile Force. It seems that they were able to put several shots..."
"Yes, yes," Brian Mason nods, then sighs. "I've already seen the papers and how they're praising McGovern's-san's prowess as a fine marksman. I'd hate to see her get her hands on one of Sambogong's toys. I'm quite surprised that AD POLICE even has a pair of those archaic anti-boomer sniper rifles with them. See if we can have the Diet to lean on AD POLICE's superiors to...limit...the usage of such weaponry."
"Hai, I'll have it done right away," D nodded, then blinked when he hummed. "Is there anything else, sir?"
"It seems A 55C is not fit for this affair anymore," He mused, then nodded. "We should use a stronger opponent. Any suggestions, D?"
"A battle boomer." D hummed, then nods. "Preferably an anti-personnel battle boomer. Or...the Bu-12b light battle boomer."
"Use the anti-personnel battle boomer first," Brian suggests, then put the file folder down. "I believe we have a few...prototypes that are ready for a few trial runs. You know which ones I'm talking about. If they put those down...use the Bu-12b battle boomer. Understood?"
"Hai," D nods, then turns to leave. "Now if you will excuse me."
Brian nodded, not noticing the black tomcat staring down at him.
* * *
Toratotaka Tower, the House Patriarch's office.
Yoshio gazed intently at Brian's image. A look of disgust was on the House Patriarch's face. Megumi was standing next to the House Patriarch. She had a more...reserved expression. Standing on the other side was Nozomi Kiyokawa; the Chief Security Officer.
"Megumi," Yoshio mused, still gazing at the screen. "How capable are the new prototypes...the Bu 10X?"
"Very capable I'm afraid," Megumi hummed, then sighed. "The FIO's tell me that the prototypes are well armed and armored. They each has 20mm vulcan cannon and a MicroVec rail cannon."
"The Rail gun won't do much against armored targets," The green haired CSO murmured, then sighed. "Still it can be deadly to the tactical troopers. As can that 20mm Vulcan gun...and that's with non AP rounds, too."
Yoshio said nothing, then turned away from them.
"Well?" Megumi softly inquired, them blinked when Yoshio shook his head. "What is it, Yoshio?"
"Megumi, I want you to contact Dee," Yoshio murmured, then sighs. "Find out when those things are scheduled to be released. Those prototypes do not leave the GENOM Tower, understood?"
"Should we have Sylia-san take those out?" Nozomi offered.
"No," Yoshio shakes his head, then smiles. "Lets leave Muffin out of this one. Have one of our teams take them out. Preferably a KM team, okay."
"Hai," Nozomi nods, grinned and strode out of Yoshio's office
* * *
1:00PM December 21, 2033AD.
Imperial Hotel. Mega-Tokyo, Japan.
"Kiddy-san!" A short brunette cried out as she ran after her comrade. The dusky skinned, emerald-haired AD Police tactical officer stormed through the hotel's restaurant. She ignored the younger officers cry to stop, to leave Katsumi-san alone and that they should return to headquarters. Kiddy didn't want to go back! Oh no! Not until she gave that...that woman a piece of her mind. Kiddy stormed up to where Katsumi sat and slammed both of her hands on the table. "Kiddy-san! Dame! Dame yo!"
"Quiet, Yuki." Kiddy growled at the brunette, then turned to Katsumi who was trying to eat her meal.
"Hello, Sergeant Phenil," Katsumi quietly hummed, then looked up at the dusky skinned officer. "What can I do for you?"
"How?!" Kiddy grumbled, then glared at the dark-haired woman. "How can you just sit here?! You've got talent! You can fight those monsters!"
"Kiddy-saaan!" Yuki cried, then tugged at Kiddy's arm. "Lets go! We're making a scene."
"I won't." Katsumi hissed, then glared Kiddy who ignored Yuki. "I won't fight them."
"Nani?!" Kiddy blurted, then leaned forward. "What did you say?! You won't fight them?!"
"Hai," Katsumi murmured, then glared at Kiddy for disrupting her meal "I won't. Don't you have something to do? Other than harass -me-?!"
That was it! Kiddy stormed around the table. She seized Katsumi by the arms and got nose to nose with Miss Liquer.
"Listen, you stuck up bitch," Kiddy rumbled, ignoring Yuki's protestations to stop. "Every day...more and more of our boys die. You know why? Because we're ill equipped to deal with the primary threat to society. Forget about the boomers. The Lucifer Hawk are the ones we have to fight. Because if they invade...its all over."
Strangely, that reminded Katsumi of the frantic discussion Dan had with Belldandy. For the first time she wondered if he was doing all right. She also wondered if he learned of his purpose. Should she call?
"I...invade?" Katsumi uttered.
"Yeah," Kiddy nodded. "Now...are you gonna get off of your butt and help us or not?!"
"I don't have to hear this!" Katsumi cried.
"Pardon me, officer," A quiet, yet cold voice called out. Kiddy looked away from Katsumi to see a young woman in a business suit gazing at her. Although she just looked like another manager to Kiddy, Katsumi knew it was Sylia in disguise. "But I think you're disturbing our guests. Could you please take this discussion elsewhere?"
"Ah screw it." Kiddy grumbled, gazed at Kastumi for a moment, then stormed off with Yuki hot on her heals.
Katsumi let out a noisy breath, mentally thanked Sylia for the save, then gazed out the window. She didn't feel like eating, not after being accosted by an AD POLICE officer. What was with that woman, Kiddy, anyway? Why did Kiddy insist that she, Katsumi, insist that she joined AD POLICE's elite group, AMP, that very moment. She didn't want to fight the Lucifer Hawk. Nor did she want to fight Boomers! She didn't -want- to fight anything right now! All she wanted to
do is think, damn it!
She wanted to determine what was right for her...and humanity. The only way she could do that was to weigh her options and sift through the facts. That is the only thing she wanted to do at the moment.
Nothing more, nothing less.
She had to. She just had to. The fate of humanity and the Earth was in Katsumi's hands. She had to make the right choice.
She then wondered what Dan was up to...and if he was facing a similar dilemma.
Katsumi signaled for a waiter. She had a phone call to make.
* * *
Dan sat in his bedroom, feeling upset about things. A box of tissues was on the end table. A thick printout sat on the nightstand. Dan sighed softly, gazed at an application for a T'n'T ID, then looked out the window. So far, he had several ideas on how to stop a mass invasion from Nemesis. All of then included working for Toratotaka. The problem was that he didn't have the urge to send this application in.
Dan was thinking about his home. Again. He was upset that he didn't have a chance to say goodbye to his ken. The mourning frustrated his need to implement these plans. Or at least try to talk with someone about them. The plans had to wait, however. He needed to face the fact, face reality that -this- earth was his home now.
Just then, the phone on the nightstand rang. He put the application down on the nightstand.
Dan blinked, wondered who was calling, then picked up the receiver from its cradle.
"Hello?" Dan asked, ignoring the video screen that just sprang to life. "Wisner residence."
There was a chuckle, which made Dan cock an eyebrow.
"Hello, Dan," She replied. "I'm Katsumi Liquer. Look at the phone, I'm sure you'll see my face on the screen."
Dan jolted, then looked at the videophone to see Katsumi grinning at him.
"Er," Dan said dumbly. "Hi?"
"Hello there," She nodded, then smiled apologetically. "You look out of sorts. Have I called you at a bad time?"
"Sort of," Dan replied. "But I don't mind the call. Gives me someone to talk to."
"Glad to here it." Katsumi nodded, then gazed at him. "Are you free tonight?"
"Well..." Dan thoughtfully began, then looked up as the door opened. It was Edith. "Hold on Katsumi. Hi, what's up?"
"Hello, Dan," Edith nodded, then gazed at the mess. "Our team's gonna leave for Tokyo for a night on the town. You want to come with us? You look like you need someone to talk to."
"Well," Dan muttered, then nodded at the monitor. "Katsumi just asked if I was
free for tonight."
"Really?" Edith asked, then smiled. "We could invite her. No wait...that would make it hard for Oba-sama. Hmm. I know! We could have dinner at her hotel, then hang out at the Tower."
"Okay." Dan nodded at the idea, then gazed at Katsumi. "What time would you like to meet?"
"Seven?" Katsumi suggested hesitantly, then waited for Dan to relay that information to Edith. She brightened when he said that was fine. "All right. See you there. I'm sure if you ask them, you're friends will know where I'm staying. See you then."
"Yeah." Dan nodded, then waved. "See you then."
"Ja." She nodded, then cut the link.
"Yeah," Dan said, then put the receiver down. He turned to Edith. "Can we really make it by seven?"
"We've got plenty of time." Edith nodded, then shrugged. "If we start getting ready now, that is."
"Okay," Dan sighed, looked around, then looked back at her. "Just let me get cleaned up first."
"Okay," Edith smiles, then noticed the form on the nightstand. She walked over and picked it up. "An application to Toratotaka?"
"Hmmm?" Dan blinked, gazed at her, then shrugged. "Yeah. I thought it would be the best way to stop the so-called invasion."
"It's a wise decision" Edith mused, then blinked when he sighed. "What's wrong?"
"I'm worried. They may put me in a leadership position." Dan uttered, then shook his head. "I don't think I can lead anything if I tried."
"Why?" She sighed, then gazed at him. "Why say that about yourself? You have a tremendous amount of energy. You could put that to good use, Dan."
"I'm not a good leader." Dan sighed. "I always manage to screw up during those situations."
"People learn from mistakes, Dan." She smiled, then crossed her arms. "By learning, they grow. That's something Toratotaka wants us to do; to grow professionally as well emotionally. If you have a fear of the rigors and responsibilities of leadership then this is the best place for you to break that fear."
"Er..." Dan uttered whiled scratching his cheek.
"Don't give up!" Edith said excitedly, then gave him the victory sign. "You can do it, love! Now get dressed, I'll FAX this to the Toratotaka Tower in Nerima in the mean time."
Dan smiled wanly, then gave her a thumbs up. Edith grinned, then left the room.
"Well," Dan sighed, shrugged. "Better get dressed for a night on the town."
* * *
Imperial Hotel, Mega-Tokyo. Later...
Katsumi Liquer sat in the hotel's bar, a flute of spring water in her hand. She took a sip, looked back at the bar's entrance, then looked at her wrist to see what time it was. It was fifteen minutes after seven and began to wonder where he was. At that very moment, Dan walked into the bar then with a puzzled expression on his face. Katsumi sighed, then flagged him over to the little table that she was sitting at.
"Hi, Katsumi," Dan said lamely. "Sorry if I'm a bit late."
"Good evening, Dan," Katsumi smiled, then took another sip of her water. "As for being late...I was kinda' getting worried that you might have stood me up. What was the problem?"
"Traffic." Dan scowled, then sighed. "The cab that I was in had to take a detour. Apparently there's another 'rogue boomer' incident. Fortunately it isn't in this district."
"Oh," Katsumi sighed, then nodded. "Well, at least you're safe and sound."
"Yeah," Dan nodded, then gazed at her. "So...How are you holding up?"
"Me?" Katsumi sighed, then looked across the room. "I'm...okay. I guess. I've learned a few things about myself. But...nothing in my life has really changed. I'm just the same old secretary..."
Dan nodded at that.
"Who's destiny..." Katsumi murmured, then rested her chin in the palm of her hand. "Is to fight the Lucifer Hawk. Not that I want to, mind you. My mother and father may have made a living fighting them. But I'm not so sure I would want to do so."
"I see," Dan sighed, then nodded. "Sounds like we're in the same boat, you and I."
"Eh?" Katsumi uttered.
"My job," Dan nods. "Is to prevent a mass invasion from Nemesis."
"Whoa," Katsumi gaped. "That's a big job. Are you up to it?"
"Yeah," Dan nodded. "I want to. But I don't feel up to it right now. I've lost everything. I've lost my family, my home, my job, my life and most importantly my world."
"So I've heard," Katsumi murmured, then gazed at him. "It hurts, doesn't it?"
"It certainly does." Dan nodded.
"But," She said while holding up a finger. "At least your alive and well. You should be thankful for that. I know I would be, if I were in you're shoes."
"Really?" Dan asked.
"Yeah." Katsumi grinned. "I'm quite thankful to be alive. I'm also enjoying life to the fullest. How are you going to handle them, by the way?"
"I can't take on Nemesis all by myself," Dan sighs, then shrugged. "The easiest way is to join Toratotaka. I've already sent in the application. Hopefully they'll take me."
"I see." Katsumi nodded "I wish you good luck."
"Thanks." Dan nodded. "So how are you holding up?"
"Me?" Katsumi murmured. "All right I guess. I'm kinda in demand at the moment. Toratotaka wants me to be a part of a new department. Sylia wants me in her mercenary team. If that wasn't enough, Captain Cheyenne of Tac squad Seven wants me to join ADP's ultimate secret...the AMP."
"Yep. Definitely in demand." Dan nodded, then glanced about the room. As he did so, he spotted GMT-1 in a nearby booth. They seemed to be having a having a merry conversation. Elinor and Edith glanced back, smiled at Dan, then turned back to the conversation. Dan sighed, then gazed back at Katsumi, who was grinning broadly at Dan.
"Oh my," She hummed. "Do you have a thing for tall, imposing women, Dan?"
"What of it?" Dan shrugged. Katsumi grinned teasingly at him. Just then Katsumi noticed a trio of T'n'T office ladies walking towards them. The first was taller than Katsumi, had long slender limbs and had tangerine colored hair done up in French curls. The woman on her right was shorter, had long, calf length wavy blonde hair. The woman to her right was about as tall as Katsumi, had vibrant-pink hair and blue eyes.
"Well," She said, then nodded towards the trio. "If you like them...I was wondering if you like tall, slender blondes as well?"
"Huh?" Dan uttered, then blinked as the blonde stepped up to their table. "Yes, may I help you?"
"Are you Daniel Frederick Wisner?" The blonde inquired.
"That would be me." Dan nodded at the blonde, then blinked when Katsumi politely excused herself so she could use the woman's rest room. "Who may you be?"
"Juri Arikagawa," The blonde nodded. "To my right is Usagi Tendou. To my left is her older sister, Utena Tendou. We're from EPR&I. We would like to come to Toratotaka tower in Nerima. Our team would like to talk to you about...the Lucifer Hawk."
"Ah," Dan nodded. "I suspect this is about my quest?"
"Mostly," Juri admitted to Dan, then folded her arms across her chest. "But it also about a first class entity from Nemesis. Our sources say he's going to make his move...tonight."
"Whose the target?" Dan asked.
"You 'date' of course, Daniel." Juri sighed. "We believe he's going tempt her with an offer of his own."
"You know," Usagi chimed. "It kinda funny. These guys pop in and out an' trash everything. They're supposed to be the superior ones, but this guy seems a little off. He has poor timing. We figure Katsumi's gonna make her decision soon."
"Nah," Utena shook her head. "I have to disagree with you on that one, Usagi-chan. His timing is right on the money. I think he's a little desperate."
"I agree with Utena." Juri nods.
"Do you know what he wants?" Dan asked.
"Good question." Juri grinned, then nods. "We do know, from a previous encounter with another entity, that she's a key, of some sort. A key to what we don't know. We'll have to wait until he shows himself."
"Demo," Usagi hummed thoughtfully. "Isn't there the possibility that he may want to kill her?"
"Hai, Usagi," Juri nodded to her, then frowned. "There is. That's why we've asked GMT-10 to help us out with the task at hand."
"A guardsman team?" Usagi blinks, beams, then nods. "There should be no problem then. They're good at close quarters combat."
"Un." Utena nods in agreement, then gazes at Dan to explain things. "Elizabeth Peabody's team has rented a suite two stories above Katsumi's room. That way they'll be the first ones on the spot and can act if things get hairy."
"Un." Juri nodded, then gazed at back at Dan. "They'll be monitoring the situation and will act if the entity tries to kill our abduct Katsumi. They'll also maintain contact with our office in Nerima to keep us informed of their progress."
"Okay." Dan nodded. "Would you like me to come with you now?"
"No," Juri shook her head. "We're expecting the entity in two and a half hours."
"What if he shows up before then?" Dan asked. "Like say in the middle of dinner."
"I'll be close by." Utena smiles, then shook her head. "So there's nothing to worry about."
"Aw," Usagi groused. "I wanted to watch over them."
"Lets go, Usagi." Juri sighed, then turned away from the table. "We'll see you later, Daniel."
"Have a nice evening." Usagi called out.
"Yeah." Dan nodded to her, then blinked when a GS-R waitress boomer approached the table. "Hello, may I help you?"
"Sumimasen," The waitress boomer said "But I'm afraid I have some bad news for you."
"Eh?" Dan blinked.
"Sumimasen," A brassy voice quietly rang out in the bathroom. Katsumi Liquer blinked, then looked away from the washbasin to see a dusky skinned woman with graying-blonde hair grinning broadly at her. The older woman was dressed in a red blazer, red slacks, red pumps and a black bodysuit. Standing next to her was a tall, slender silver haired younger woman who seemed to be protecting the older woman. Katsumi gaped at the duo. "But, do I know you from somewhere,
Miss?"
"Shachou Cornes?" Katsumi blinked, then beamed. "What are you doing in Mega-Tokyo?"
"Hello, Katsumi," Cleopatra Diana Cornes nodded, then gazed at Katsumi. "Please don't call me that, though. I'm not the chairwoman and owner of the Cornes group any more, remember?"
"Hai. I do," Katsumi sighed at that, then reflected on her four-year stint in the Cornes group's Pacific Branch. Those were good times. Sadly, it was all ended when the Chairwoman and the shareholders decided to sell their stocks to Megacorp, GENOM and Gulf Bradley two years ago. The Cornes conglomerate, an entity that had lasted for more than fifty years, just couldn't compete with the younger, brash mega-corporations. "It was good while it lasted, though."
"That it was," Cleopatra nodded, then leaned up against the wall. Katsumi gazed at her for a moment, then took a paper towel from a dispenser and began to dry her hands. "Thankfully, I'm still young enough to stand on my two feet and work for forward thinking company like Toratotaka. So what are you up to, young lady?"
"Personally?" Katsumi murmured thoughtfully, then smiled wanly at the elegant woman. "I think...I think I'm making a new friend."
"Oh?" Cleopatra asked.
"Yeah," Katsumi nods, then deposited the paper towel in a nearby waist basket. "His name's Dan Wisner. Kind of unsure of himself, but other than that, he's a nice guy."
"I've heard of him," The older woman smiles. "I hope you become good friends."
"Thanks." Katsumi grinned, then sighs. "Professionally, I think I'm at a crossroads now. I have a well paying job at home. I work in a secretary pool for Airwolf Industries' home office in Oahu. But now...I've been offered some tantalizing, if not dangerous, jobs. I'm not so sure I want to either three. All of them entail...facing those entities. It's a tough choice either way, if you know what I mean."
"Un," Cleopatra nods, then pushed away from the wall. She walked up to Katsumi and took her left hand into hers. "I do know what you mean, Katsumi. I was at the crossroads once. I was young, carefree and full of energy. I treated my line of work frivolously. Life was nothing but one big party to me. Oh sure I save a few lives, and rebuilt a couple of them to boot. Then the Bio-war happened. I grew up pretty quickly during that time. I had to make tough decisions in order to do THE RIGHT THING. Which I did, of course. Dozens of refugees infected with AGH got first-rate treatment from our side. Hell I even went down there myself. Nearly lost my life, too."
"My...god." Katsumi uttered, then gazed at her. "Did you fight back?"
"When necessary." Cleopatra sighed, then grinned. "You'll be happy to note that I'm still working...for Toratotaka, no less. Have my own department, too. Your looking at the Senior Matriarch for Disaster Analysis and Relief. We're the ones that initiates and enforces directive six, Katsumi."
"SM-DA&R?" Katsumi hummed, then smiled as the older woman let go of her. "That's fitting. I hope you make Obaa-sama proud, Cornes-san."
"As if she isn't proud of me already." Cleopatra sighs, then clapped her right hand on Katsumi's left shoulder. "Its time to make her proud of you, dear. Do THE RIGHT THING. Oh and ah, Katsumi?"
"Yeah?" She replied.
"You can call me Cleopatra." Cleopatra grinned. "Or Cleo if you wish."
"Un," Katsumi smiled. "Thanks for the pep talk, Cleopatra."
"Ganbatte." Cleo smiled at the younger woman, then turned to the silver haired woman. "Lets go, Swen. I have a doctor's appointment to keep."
"I'll be there in a moment Cleo," Swen nods to Cleopatra, then watches her go. She turns to Katsumi with a somber expression on her face. "You're a friend of hers, right?"
"We are," Katsumi nods, then gazes at Swen. "Why do you ask?"
"Cleo..." Swen murmured. "Cleo...doesn't have much time left."
"Eh?!" Katsumi uttered. "What do you mean?"
"During our stint in Africa," Swen grimaced, then moaned. "Cleo was poisoned. Poisoned with...AGH. The parties who were waging war with that shit...didn't like her interference. First they tried to kill her outright. Then...someone darted her."
"N...Nani?" Katsumi uttered, then gulped back a block of air. "How...how much time does she have?"
"A year." Swen sighed, then wanly grinned. "But don't worry. Hopefully she'll take it easy from here on in."
"Kami......sama." Katsumi croaked.
"Gomen nasai." Swen uttered quietly, then bowed to Katsumi with hooded eyes. "Excuse me."
Swen then left the bathroom.
"Soo na..." Katsumi uttered as tears welled up in her eyes. "This...just can't be."
A short time later, Katsumi returned to the table. To Dan, it seemed that Katsumi was pre-occupied with something.
"Hi," Dan nodded as she sat down, the gazed at her when she sniffled. "Is something wrong, Katsumi?"
"I'm...not feeling very well at the moment." Katsumi murmured, then wiped a tear from her eye. "I just...I mean I...Ah, Damn it. I'm sorry Dan, I just...I just need to be alone for a little while. Can we try this some other time?"
"Sure." Dan nodded to Katsumi, then blinked when she got up. Katsumi rounded the table to where he was sitting. Sadly smiling, she leaned forward and pecked on the cheek.
"Arigato," She murmured in his ear, then straightened herself. Dan stared up at her and she tried to grin through the tears. "You're a good man, Daniel-kun. I wish all my boyfriends were like you. Hell, I wish I would have had you for a boyfriend instead of all of them."
"Er. Thanks." Dan uttered dumbly, then blinked when she patted his shoulder.
"Sayonara." She murmured, pivoted on her heels then quickly left the bar. Dan blinked, then rested his chin in the palm of his left hand. He wondered what that was all about, but gave up that train of thought when he sensed someone was walking up to him. He looked up and saw Edith smiling pleasantly at him.
"What?" Dan asked.
"It seems your 'date' has other things on her mind," Edith nods, then glanced at him. "Would you like to spend the rest of the time with us? Or do you need to be alone?"
"Nah," Dan smiled at her, then got up from the table. "I don't mind your company. So long as I get to be close to the both of you, that is. But I can't stay long. I've been told that the entity is making its move."
"We've heard," Edith nodded, then lead him to GMT-1's table. Dan sat down opposite of Karen and Lucy, then blinked when Elinor slipped up to him. She pecked him on the cheek, then straightened herself as Edith sat on Dan's left."We're ready and willing to lend a helping hand, but Otou-sama tells us that there's more than enough security protecting Katsumi. But that doesn't mean we -won't- lend our services if things get messy."
"I see." Dan nods at that, then blinked when another GS-R waitress boomer walked up to them.
"Sumimasen, minna." The waitress boomer bows, then straightened up. "Your booth is ready now."
"All right!" Edith grins, stood up, then stretched her arms. "Chow time."
"Lets go lasses," Elinor sighed as Dan and she stood up. She then jabs a thumb at Dan. "We wouldn't want to make Dan late for his first night on the job, right?"
"Hai!" They chimed.
* * *
9:15PM, Nerima, the Tower.
Dan, GMT-1 and the small contingent from EPR&I walked into a medium sized room filled with computer terminals, field intelligence officers, both boomer and organic alike, a junior official and her superior, the supervisory field intelligence officer. Noticing their arrival, a junior official left her own terminal to great them.
"Good evening, minna," The junior official said in a falsetto voice. Dan gazed at her as she walked up to them. She was a petite young woman with alabaster skin, amber colored eyes and long, slivery straight hair. She was dressed in a T'n'T office lady uniform. "Welcome to Nerima. We've been keeping an eye on the situation that your group is concerned about. Fortunately, there is nothing to report as of yet."
Juri smiled slightly at the junior official. The others nodded to the young woman, while Dan looked rather perplexed. She seemed familiar to him, but couldn't figure out why.
"Thank you, Hoshino-san," Juri nods to the silver haired woman, then smiles when the SFIO left her desk and walked up to the group. Dan noted that this woman was as short as Hoshino-san, had straight, brown hair and brown eyes. She was casually dressed in a light sweater and an ankle length skirt.
"Good evening, you're just in time," The short woman nods, then gestures to the room, herself then to Hoshino-san. "Welcome to Nerima, Dan. I'm Megumi Mikihara; the SFIO for the eastern Eurasian division. This is my assistant. Ruri Hoshino. Please call me Megumi, by the way."
"Good evening, Miss Mikihara," Dan nodded to her, then gazes at Ruri. "A good evening to you too, Miss Hoshino."
"A pleasure," Ruri hummed, then nods. "You may call me Ruri if you like."
"Okay," Dan meekly nodded, then sighs when she broke away from the group. Dan turned to the SFIO with a question on his face. "So, Megumi, what now?"
"We wait for the monstrous bastard to show," Megumi scowled, then sighs after seeing Usagi and Angela Hirosaki, Utena's fiancée and EPR&I's computer expert, gape at her. "Sumimasen, I didn't mean to startle you with that outburst. Demo, this...thing...has tempted a woman near and dear to our hearts."
"You mean...Oka-sama?" Usagi asked hesitantly.
"Eh?" Megumi blinked, then shook her head. "Oh no, Usagi-chan. He didn't approach Rei Ijuin. However, he did try to convince Akiko Misumaru, co-owner of Ariel Industries, to influence her scientists to put flaws into the BuTT-44C;our new medium security defense cyberdroid. This would lessen its capabilities; even make it a capable target for say a 55C. In return, he wouldn't have his Earth bound allies leak to the press that she's a first generation 33S."
"Extortion?" Utena and Dan hummed.
"Surprising." Juri murmured, then nods. "Though tactically sound. Do this for us or we'll cause a scandal that will ruin your life forever. What's our counter?"
"We already know who his associates are." Megumi sighs, then shook her head. "We're severing those links as we speak. SIAT team 23M is doing it by the way."
"Um, Megumi-san?" Dan uttered, then sighed when she turned to him. "But I have a few questions. How do you know of his associates? How would they know of her problem? What do you mean by earth bound allies?"
"Very good questions." Megumi smiled, then folds her arms. "Firstly; we observed one of them make the offer. He was in Akiko-san's office to oversee the deal. Secondly; His associates are earth bound allies who have turned to the dark side of Nemesis. These fellows are human-Lucifer hawk hybrids, not to mention powerful businessmen."
"Who have their own spy network, so to speak." Dan sighs, then gazes at Megumi. "What would those sharks get in return?"
"Those sharks," The SFIO frowns, then nods. "Will most likely get a small piece of the pie when the mass invasion does indeed occur."
"This isn't like you, Megumi-san," Juri stared at the SFIO. "You seem very tense about today's events. Usually you're more...how can I put it..."
"Dispassionate?" Megumi suggested, then deflates. "Gomen, minna. Its just that...Akiko is a close friend of mine."
"I see," Dan nods after looking around, then walks up to a young man gazing at a monitor. The monitor was split into four frames. Each had an image of a Knight Saber on them. "Looks like we're not the only ones who are on edge."
"Un." The FIO nods, then glances at him. "Sylia-sama has a right to be, though, Daniel-kun."
"True," Dan nods at that statement, then blinks when a bird like shape flies by in the lower right frame. "Hwha?"
"Don't be alarmed," The young man smiled, then nods to Elinor and Edith who passed by them. "That's just one of GMT-10s own aniimorph spies. Odds are it's afalcon, Elizabeth Amy Peabody loves falcons."
"Elizabeth Amy Peabody?" Dan wondered out loud, then blinked when he noticed Elinor crooking a finger at him. He turned "Excuse me, please."
"Un," The male FIO nods, then hums as he watched Dan go. "Kawaii-so."
"What is it?" Dan asked when he reached Elinor and Edith.
"Amy's team is about ready." Elinor stated then gestured to the monitor that had four women who were preparing for battle. "Come closer and you'll see how our teams operate, Dan."
Dan nods and stands with Edith and Elinor. He noted that GMT-10 was dressed in form hugging, dark bodysuits and had clear visors perched in their hair. The commander and the interrogator had standard SPG-23 automatic rifles; the only addition was a pair of silencers and photon shotgun rounds. Normal rounds are ineffective against the Lucifer Hawk. The technical specialist had a SPG-210 sub-machinegun, also silenced. Finally the heavy weapons expert had a SPG-30 ;a squad automatic weapon that had a 20 mm launcher slung under its barrel.
"The equipment is standard for this sort of operation." Edith grins, then folded her arms. "Their weapons will consist of silenced, SMGs and automatic rifles. Since they'll be facing a class one entity, they'll probably use a capture grenade to slow it down, then use a combination of magic and high energy, anti-armor rounds to finish him off."
"I hope it'll be enough to stop him." Dan muses, then unconsciously blushes when a five foot ten blue-haired bombshell wearing a pair of wire rimmed glasses came into view. Standing next to her was a five foot ten knockout that had straight, thigh length black hair. Both were looking in the animorph spy's direction. Elinor noticed the reaction, then share a sympathetic smile.
"It will," Edith nods, then smiles at him. "With luck, they'll be able to stop that blighter with minimum to no casualties."
Dan nodded.
* * *
Sylia sat behind a solar collector on the roof of the thirty-story apartment building. From her vantage point, she had a clear view of Katsumi's suite on the 23rd floor of the Imperial Hotel. Katsumi was currently lounging in a reclining chair, not doing a thing and looking miserable. Sylia didn't know what her problem was, but she could find out later.
She glanced up, then located Nene and Linna who had taken their positions on the roof above Katsumi's suite. They were crouching next to one of the hotels communications arrays. Sylia was just about to ask if they found the access panels when Nene engaged the link.
"Four," Nene spoke up. "This is Three."
"Go ahead, Three." Sylia softly replied.
"We're all set here, four." Nene reported cheerfully. "I have physical access to the telecom lines."
"Very good, Three." Sylia replied calmly "All right. One and Three: standby and stay alert. That monster may show up at any moment."
"Roger!" Nene and Linna chimed and Sylia cut the link. She turned her attention back to the window, then opened up the link again. "Two, what's your status?"
"All clear here, four." Priss reported tersely. "Starting to get antsy out here though."
"I'm sorry, Three," Sylia sighs, then glanced in Priss's direction. "But you're going to have to wait a little bit longer until the entity makes his move."
"Yeah, yeah," Priss grumbled. Sylia sighed inwardly, cut the link then gazed back at Katsumi's apartment. Just then, a falcon winged by and then flapped it wings to gain altitude.
"A falcon?" Sylia Stingray wondered to herself, then hums as she watched the bird climb up into the night. "Interesting. Looks like we're not the only ones keeping an eye on Katsumi."
"Its here, four!" Priss cried out. This caused Sylia to look back to see Katsumi go for her short sword and scramble away from a hideously shaped creature. As soon as Katsumi stopped scrambling the creature gestured to itself.
"Damn!" Sylia uttered, then opened up a general link. "One prepare for combat, I'll be joining you. Two stay her and snipe. Three...gain access to the buildings security systems."
"Roger!" They cried and Sylia leapt of into the night. She crossed the chasm between the two buildings and landed next to Linna. Priss, meanwhile, aimed her B.B 2000 at entities head. At that same moment, Nene hacked into the computer and took control of the 23rd floor's security cameras. Meanwhile Linna and Sylia took their positions next to an emergency exit door.
* * *
"Who are you and what do you want with me!?" Katsumi Liquer bellows, then leans into a clumsy fighting stance. "Tell me!"
*Do not be alarmed at my presence, Katsumi-sama.* The entity spoke to her, then gestured to itself with what appeared to be its right arm. *I am not here to harm you!* I am unlike that fool that tried to kill you several days ago.*
"How can I be so sure of that?" Katsumi inquired, still not feeling safe with a monster in her room. "You haven't answered my last question, though. I'll say it a gain. What do you want with me?"
*I'll tell you...*
* * *
"Battle stations, minna." Megumi cried out, then noticed the contingent from EPR&I striding up to her desk. She smiles, then turns to the silver haired junior offical. "Put it on the main holo-screen, Ruri. Then frame it so we can use all of the animorphs in her room. Then get us audio too, okay?"
"Hai, Megumi-sempai," Ruri nodded without gazing at her, then ran her finger over the keyboard. "holo-screen coming on line...now."
A big, crystal clear image of Katsumi's apartment appeared in front of the desks. The image flickered, then was divided into quarters. The first was a fisheye view of the room, the second and third were a view of the entity and Katsumi, the last one was a view of the suites front door.
"Data indicates that this is a class one entity." Ruri reported to the room, which was already abuzz with activity. "Quite powerful, yet he should be easily contained if GMT-10 acts quickly."
"Ugh." Utena said with a lopsided grin, then gazed back at the Hawk. "This ones rather ugly. At least the last one Katsumi fought had some symmetry to it."
"This is no time for jokes, Utena." Angela chided her fiancée.
"I know, Angie, I know." Utena Tendou admits, then blinks when the audio kicked in. "Quiet, minna. The bastard is about to speak."
*I will tell you,* The Lucifer Hawk hummed. *I will tell you, Katsumi-sama, why I've come to you.*
"Hmmph." Dan uttered to himself. "Rather polite fellow isn't he?"
*It is about your father,* It intoned, the gestured to itself with its misshapen arm. *It is he and his associates who almost gave us a bountiful supply of food and other resources.*
"Otou-sama?" Katsumi utters as her fighting sttance slackens. Katsumi falls silent, then looks at the Lucifer Hawk standing before him. "What do you know of him?"
At that very moment, Megumi bolted up from desk. A look of shock was on her face.
(Elizabeth!)She cried over the OMS II link.
(We see it, older sister!) Elizabeth stated firmly, then sighs as she and her team slipped the visors over their eyes. (Do not worry. Anne, Leslie, Ursula and I will put a stop to this!)
(Arigato.) Megumi sighs, then cuts the link.
*I know a great deal of your father," It intoned, then gestures for her to come forward. *If you wish to learn about him...you need to come here so we I can forge a psychic link.*
"A link?" Katsumi hummed, then nods to. "So be it."
"Shit." Dan uttered to himself, then blinked when he noticed GMT-10 fade away from view. "Wha? Where did they go?"
"They're going to work," Edith shrugs, then smiles. "Boy, with the staff of this hotel be surprised. They'll think the place is haunted."
"Not to mention passersby." Elinor nodded, then smiled as the door to their suite opened and shut two seconds later. "There they go. Gabatte GMT-10."
"Hai, Ganbatte." Edith nods.
* * *
Elizabeth ran quickly down the hall, trying not to run into the patrons of the hotel. She found a staircase, crossed over to it, and slammed her back against the wall. Elizabeth sighed, then slammed the door open. Anne quickly ran down the stairway, followed by Elizabeth who kept the door open long enough for Leslie and Ursula to reach it.
(She's down two floors, minna.) Elizabeth called out. (As is the entity. Can you sense him, Anne?)
(Most definitely.) Anne nods, then seethed. (Bakayaro is fouling up the whole place with its dark energy! I'm sure even Chikage-Imotouchan can sense it from the Spiral!)
(Relax!) Elizabeth barked, then sighs when they reached the 24th floor and continued to climb down flight of stairs. (Sorry for yelling, Raye. However, do you think you can save all that emotion for battle?)
(Yeah,) Anne nodded, then groaned when they reached the 23rd floor. (Ugh. He's very close. South by southwest.)
(Okay Leslie,) Elizabeth asked. (Which way do we go?)
(Right,) Leslie called out, cradled her SMG, then toggled the safety off. (Then turn south at the first intersection. Ready, minna?)
(Hai! Iko!) They bellowed, then burst into the hallway. They turned right, sprinted, then turned at the intersection. They sprinted again, then came to the first door on the south wall. Leslie tried the doorknob, which was unlocked. The quietly slipped inside, then halted when they noticed that the Lucifer Hawk had Katsumi in its clutches.
(Too late,) Elizabeth murmured, then blinks when a light green circle formed around Katsumi's feet. Katsumi's short sword spun around then shot straight at the beast. It yowled in pain when the blade struck its body. (Or maybe not! Places everyone! Anne? A fire spell, please?)
(Hai!) The rest of the team cried, their forms vaporing into view. They took places on either side of the room and trained their weapons on the creature. The Lucifer Hawk released Katsumi who looked like she had made up her mind about something.
"Get down," Elizabeth bellows, then fires the first volley after Katsumi ducks and rolls to retrieve her short sword. Leslie and Ursula provided cover fire as she ducked behind the couch. The Lucifer Hawk took a few steps back as the photon shotgun rounds tore into his flesh. At that very moment Anne concentrates, then sucked in some air as tendrils of fire snaked down her arm.
The mana coalesced in her palm as the Lucifer Hawk lashed out at Leslie and Ursula with a gravity bolt. They dodge the blast in the nick of time. Sensing that they were in danger, Anne pointed her palm at the creature.
"Fire Arrow!" She bellowed and a bolt of thermal energy shot out from her hand. The bolt of thermal energy slammed into the Entities' right shoulder, causing a gout of blood to spray the wall.
*Enough!* The Lucifer Hawk bellowed. It then bounded upwards, landed right next to a very surprised Katsumi, then seized the woman into his arms. *My apologies for this interruption. We will go elsewhere, Katsumi-sama.*
He then levitated up into the air and passed through the ceiling.
"Shit!" Leslie bellowed, then turned to Anne. "Is he?"
(No...) Anne grinned, then waved the team out. (He's falling straight into Aunt Sylia's hands. Lets use the emergency exit.)
* * *
Linna leapt up and drove a Knuckle Bomber into the Entities back. A gout of blood and organic material erupted from the wound. He lost his grip and Katsumi fell from his arm. Only to be caught by Sylia who landed safely on the roof of the 23rd floor.
"Daijobu?" Sylia asked as Katsumi feet touched the roof. Katsumi retched, then shuddered.
"No," She murmurs, then retches again. "Feel sick. Nauseous."
She then passed out and slumped to the ground. Sylia sighed then cradled Katsumi into her arms.
"Look out!" Sylia yelled as the monster release a gavity wave at Linna. Sylia grabbed Katsumi and jetted away. Linna whirled away in the knick of time, but the gravity wave sent her whips flying. She growled, then smiled when a bolt of liquid mercury tore off the beings left arm. Linna turned to see Priss, who was disobeying orders again, and nodded gratefully to the singer.
*You dare!* It bellowed, glaring at them all. *You dare interrupt our meeting!*
Just then, GMT-10 burst onto the scene and took a defensive position around Katsumi and Sylia. Seeing that he was wounded, Elizabeth and Anne share a look, then nodded in agreement. It was time to finish this guy off. After giving the signal to lay down some cover fire, Anne and Elizabeth stood up from their position and hoped that the suppressive fire would draw his attention. It did. They sighed, slung their weapons over their shoulder and prepared to finish this battle once and for all.
Elizabeth and Anne held their left arm, with their palm out, up in the air. The closed their eyes, concentrated and frigid water vapor coalesced into their palms. They fixed the creature with an icy stare then pointed their palms at the wounded entity.
"Glacial Freeze!" Elizabeth and Anne cried and twin cones of frigid water and vapor washed over the creature. All but the creature's head was encased in a block of ice. Seeing that he was trapped, Ursula and Leslie trained their weapons on the doomed creature.
"N...no," The entity rumbled, then tried to break free. "You can not defeat me this way."
"Fire at will!" Elizabeth barked, her breath turned into small clouds of vapor as she hefted her SBG-29. She and Anne ducked, rolled and aimed their weapons as Ursula and Leslie fired the first volley. The salvos slammed home and tore through the monster's flesh. It was doing a great deal of damage but the ice was slowing the rounds down.
"Not good enough!" Elizabeth cried, then looked at Katsumi who was unconscious. "Damn it all. Okay, time to finish this. Ursula and I will finish him off. Sylia-san, get your team clear! We're going to turn up the heat!"
"Right!" Sylia blurted, then jetted up into the night. "To our former position, minna. Make haste."
The others did indeed make haste as Elizabeth activates her OMS II link.
(Ursula?) She intones, then nods. (Take cover, then use you're your 20mm launcher. We'll finish him off that way.)
(Way ahead of you, Amy!) Ursula grinned dangerously, gets behind a air-conditioning unit, then takes aim. (Ready and waiting!)
(Fire!) Elizabeth Amy Peabody bellows, then gestures for everyone else to fall back. (Everyone else, cease-fire and find shelter!)
The others scamper and found shelter behind a pair of air conditioning units. Ursula fired six 20mm rounds into the exposed parts of the Lucifer Hawk's abdomen and torso. But these were delayed explosives, so the caps didn't touch off for five seconds or more. When they did...the entity exploded in a gory fireball. Moments later a large, blinding beam of light streaked up into the sky. When the beam faded, everyone stands, then breathes a sigh of relief.
"Its over," Leslie said, then brushes herself off.
"For now," Elizabeth nodded, then looks a little beat. "That was a little to close for comfort. We almost lost Katsumi."
"True," Anne sighs, then jabs a thumb in the direction of the T'n'T Tower. "Lets go, minna. I'm sure Rally's staff will make an inquiry about tonight's outing."
They nodded, then fade away from view.
* * *
Sylia gently laid Katsumi down on the rooftop. Seeing this, Linna keyed up her intercom.
"How is she four?" Linna quietly asked after the Knight Sabers landed on a nearby rooftop.
"She's fallen unconscious, but I think she'll be all right," Sylia sighs, then glances around. She tries to stifle a laugh but fails to do so. "Well, this is rather coincidental."
"Nani?" Linna uttered.
"We're standing on the ABCB building, one." Nene piped up, then nodded. "Don't you remember? The conditions of our current job says that if Katsumi is to be extracted from the hotel we should bring her to ABCB building and await further instructions from our employer."
"Correct," a voice quietly called out over their speakers. The Knight Sabers turned, then gape when a young woman faded into view. She had shaggy, purple hair and blue eyes. She was dressed in black and a white cape with red crosses. "Well done, Knight Sabers."
"Who the heck are you?" Nene inquired as the girl walked up to them.
"Chikage Hirosaki," Chikage said casually, then checked Katsumi's pulse then temperature with the back of her hand. She sighs, then nods "Mmm. She's feeling a little under the weather. It would be best to wait a little while to move her back to the Spiral. Unfortunately we have little time. T'n'Ts latest foray to stop the Entities will undoubtedly get AD POLICE's attention."
"We could help." Sylia offered. "We have a...mode of transport that would be to your liking."
"Thank you." Chikage nods.
* * *
"The first class entity has been terminated," Ruri announced, then glanced at her terminal. "Katsumi-san is in the Knight Sabers custody as we speak."
"Wow," Dan grins, then turned to Elinor who had an expression of satisfaction on her face. "Is every encounter with the Lucifer Hawk like that?"
"No," Elinor murmured, then shook her head. "We have defeated them in the past, of course. Its just that we haven't always gotten there in time. We may be cyber bio-droids, but that doesn't mean we don't err. We do. It's what makes us human."
"I see," Dan nods at that, then blinked when Elinor's lip quivered. A tear welled up in her eye, then rolled down her cheek. Concerned, Dan laid his right hand on her arm. She smiled sadly at him, then took his hand into hers.
"I'll be fine," She murmured, then sighs as she looks away from him. "I was just...thinking about my mother. She was a Guardsmen, just like I am now. She died in the Second Kanto quake. She was trying to prevent an Entity from disturbing the spirit of the Earth. Legend says that if he awakes, a great catastrophe will occur. She...she erred. She focused most of her energy protecting Fuyuka, who was more than capable of handling herself, that...she wasn't able to stop the Entity. Because of that...more than a million people died from an earthquake that registered 7.9 on the Richter scale. I...I'm afraid I may do the same thing."
"Elinor..." Dan breathed, then cupped her left cheek. "Elinor, look at me."
She turned to face him, then blinked when he smiled at her.
"I want you to listen to me," Dan said, then grinned when she nodded at him. "There's a saying that's very...relevant to this very topic."
"What saying may that be?" She asked.
"'Those who fail to learn from history are bound to repeat it'." Dan hummed, then looked down at his feet. "I don't know who said it, but if you learn from your mother's mistake...and do the job that you're supposed to do...then I think you'll do all right, Elinor."
Elinor Wylie blinked, then nodded thoughtfully at his advice.
"Couldn't have said it better myself," Edith grins, then nodded. "I've been trying to tell her that for some time now. Now she'll have to listen to the both of us, love."
"Guess so," Dan nods, then gazes at them "So what now. Head back to Oshika?"
"We can't," Elinor sighs, then gazed at him. "Last train out to Oshika left twenty minutes ago, Dan."
"True," Edith nods, thinks for a moment, turns to Elinor, then looks at Dan. "Why don't we take him to the Heartbeat Club. What do you say? Want to meet a few more of our sisters, love?"
"Sure..." Dan sighs, then wonders. "What is Heartbeat anyway?"
"It's a private club for Sexaroids who live in Mega-Tokyo," Edith nods, thinks for a bit. "I might as well notify Candy that you've been invited. She is the owner of an all girl affair after all."
"Would I be thrown out?" Dan wonders.
"If you come in uninvited...yes." Elinor nods, then smiles. "But since we've invited you it would be a problem. We're just notifying her since its rare for a human male to walk into the club."
"I see," Dan nods, then smiles. "Fair enough."
End chapter three