Disclaimer: I don't own Nadesico or any of the characters appearing in the television anime series or manga. This fanfiction is meant purely to entertain. So please don't sue me, I'm not worth it. I openly admit that I don't own Nadesico, and I'm not trying to pass this off as a completely original story. Also, I don't own Golden Boy or Transformers, but I do use a few lines from both and a lot of mecha from Transformers, but I do own the characters Finn Saotome, Yumi Yoshino, Sanoske/Sakura Hashima, Mr. Noda, Mrs. Noda, and I think that's about it. If you want pictures of the mecha, don't hesitate to e-mail me at soundwave100@hotmail.com Thanks!
Act 11

Why No Peace?

Finn slowly opened his eyes, but saw only black around him. He turned his head to the right, but saw only black around him. He turned his head to the left, but saw only black around him. It was impossible to tell whether his eyes were simply refusing to cooperate or that black was the only thing about him. He couldn't see himself when he raised his hands to his face to rub the weariness from his eyes, nor did he feel any contact when he should have. There was nothing, not even himself, nothing. The peaceful sleep from which he awoke slipped away from him; he could not rest any longer. He wasn't particularly concerned or frightened at such an experience. It's not like it was the first time he'd woken up dead. Time passed, a few seconds, maybe hours or days, or maybe weeks, it was impossible to tell. It seemed like forever passed in the blink of an eye. In that same instant, there was a small prick of light before him. It was impossible to see by looking directly at it, it was so small. It was only by looking away from it did one notice the contrast between the blackness and the white. The pinprick grew slowly but steadily; swirling vortex of light swallowing the darkness, consuming it and bathing the universe in a bright white essence. Finn made no effort to stop the blackness from being swallowed into the white, nor did he make any effort to embrace it. To him it was just another thing, one more thing he'd lived to see. But wait, a thought struck him. Could he be dead? He wondered. This was nothing like his pervious visits with death. There was no cliff, no blue abyss, no lush green grass beneath his feet, no gentle breeze rustling through his hair. There was nothing, nothing but white. More time passed and Finn's frustration grew with each second that ticked by. He was there, he knew he was, but he wasn't. There was nothing. "What is it you want from me?" he tried to scream, to whom he did not know, but no voice escaped him. In reply, a vidwindow appeared in front of him. "Continue? Y/N" it read. He tried to touch the window, but found himself coming no closer, nor further, to the window. "Yes!" he tried to say. "Continue!" "Continue? Y/N" the window blinked at him. "I said continue!" "Continue? Y/N" "Why are you doing this to me?" he tried to say to no one in particular. "Am I dead?" "Input: Am I dead? Received," the window read. "Death is the naturally occurring state of non-living. To be not alive is to be dead." "So what does that make me?" "Input: So what does this make me? Received. Input irrelevant." Finn tried to smash his fist through the window. "I'm not in the mood for this," he said angrily. "Tell me who you are!" "Input Insufficient. Please revise." "I don't have time for this!" "Time. Time is irrelevant. Time has no meaning. Time is the simple chronological order of space, time has no driving force." "Useless!" "Useless. Useless, to be without use or purpose." "Shut up! Just shut up!" Finn swung at the window again and, surprisingly, connected with something. The window fizzled and split into thousands of smaller windows, which surrounding Finn in a narrow column stretching infinitely above and below him. "Why now? Why did it have to be now?" "Input irrelevant." the windows blinked at him. "I'd say it's pretty relevant!" had he a body he would have sunk to his knees. "A minute," he said quietly. "I just needed one more minute. "Minute: a minute is a unit of time." "I'm not in the mood for your games! Who are you? Why are you doing this to me?!" "What is it you want?" the window printed in very small font. Finn struggled to focus on the miniscule letters. "WHAT IS IT YOU WANT?" the windows said in giant letters, which swirled around him, encompassing him within a sphere of spinning windows. One window stayed stationary in front of him, the text blinking on its screen, while the others swirled around him and displayed memories from his life. He could only see them in quick glances and they were only visible for a faction of a second. "Why is this happening again?" Finn tried to shut his eyes, but found he could not do so; there were no eyes to close. "A deed once done cannot be undone," the window read. "What's that supposed to mean?" "Only you can truly think yourself. Now, you must think on your own," the window showed a lock. "Thanks a lot," he muttered and tried to reach the screen, but, of course, didn't make it. For a long time he just stared at the screen. There was no way to touch it, after all, what would he touch it with? "Idiot," came a voice; the windows stopped swirling and formed a large circle around him. Ruri's face appeared on the windows circling him. "So what do you suggest I do then?" Finn demanded. "Idiot." "Stop it. I don't need my own stupidity shoved down my throat." "Idiot," Finn remained silent. "Idiot, idiot, idiot, idiot, idiot." "Stop." "Idiot." "STOP!" "Idiot." "I said stop!" he shouted and tried to swing at the windows and Ruri fell silent. "Why are you doing this to me?" "Why not you?" "Why can't this all just end?" "Why should it end?" "Ruri.why?" "I can't tell you," she replied. "But I can collect the data for you." They were standing on the bridge of the Nadesico. Ruri sat in front of the computer terminal while Finn stood behind her. "Omoikane, search all libraries. Prepare complete analysis." "Searching," the window read. "Search finished. Results: 0" "What's that mean?" "Of all people," Ruri said gravely. "I thought you would understand." "I'm not sure what I know anymore," Finn sighed, staring at the floor. The bridge seemed unusually cold. The computers hummed away with an exceedingly high pitch that bothered Finn's ears. "Everything seems so.so unreal." "Exactly," Ruri said. "Hmm?" The bridge disappeared and everything returned to the endless white. The window showing the lock was still there and the other windows, which had shown Ruri's face, returned to flashing memories as they revolved around him. "Of all people, I thought you would understand," her voice echoed. "I'm not sure what I know anymore," Finn's voice followed. "Everything seems so.so unreal." Finn raised his hand, and it was there. "Exactly," he finished and placed his hand on the lock.

Don't Give Up So Easily

"My good Doctor," Akatsuki said. "How much time do we have?" "30 seconds," Doctor replied miserably. "Give or take." "The end always takes so long," Akatsuki shook his head. "We're talking loony bin here people," the author said. "Quiet, you're in the way of the spotlight." Finn's body convulsed violently, drawing everyone's attention away from nutbar boy. There was total silence as they stared and waited for any other signs of life. Finn convulsed again and coughed the blood out of his lungs. Slowly, he rolled himself back onto his stomach and looked around. He could make out people standing around him. Ahead of him he saw one of the jackhammers, pieces of novalite scattered around it. It wasn't far, five or six meters. With agonizing effort he grabbed onto the rock ahead of him and pulled himself forward a few inches. He stopped for a moment before crawling forward another few inches, slowly in the direction of the jackhammer. "Sir.?" Doctor asked in nervously. "Remarkable," Akatsuki grinned. "But he's not going to be the hero, not this time!" he ran forward and delivered a forceful kick into Finn's side, sending him rolling across the stone, a trail of blood following his path. "Saotome!" Ryoko called over to Finn, who lay on the ground, curled up in a ball as he regained the breath that had been knocked out of him by Akatsuki's kick. "You're not going to come back, not this time! I'm going to make sure you stay down, even if I have to tear you limb from limb!" Akatsuki said as he hauled Finn up by the neck and tossed him to the ground, sending him rolling another few feet. Finn's face was contorted in pain as he tried to regain himself, but Akatsuki kicked him again, sending him rolling across the rock until his back slammed hard against something. Finn clawed at the ground in search of some handhold he could use to drag himself away, but all he found were loose pieces of novalite. "Cut a wolf's head off and it still has the power to bite, isn't that what they say?" Akatsuki said as he stood over the barely living Finn. "We'll just have to see if that theory holds true." He grabbed one of the longer shards of novalite. It was sharp as any blade could be, cutting Akatsuki's fingers as he picked it up off the ground. "I always knew you weren't a coward," Finn said weakly. "Compliment accepted," Akatsuki said, holding the fragment in his hand, ready to deliver the final blow. "But you're still an idiot," Finn grinned slightly. He held the piece of novalite in one hand and pressed his other hand against the ground. Immediately, the ground began to shake, and white lines ripped their way across the exposed novalite, like computer circuits. Finn's body glowed and the lines of nanomachines was visible. "No.you.don't!" Akatsuki screamed as he swung the sharp stone down at Finn's neck. However, the stone cracked in two before it made contact. The familiar rippling waves of a distortion field encompassed Finn's body. Finn and the ground beneath them vanished and they all tumbled several metres down to the next layer of bedrock. The air around them glimmered sparked from the energy disturbances caused by such a large boson jump. "I don't believe it." However, their attention was diverted from the sparkling air around them to the sky above. There was a faint flicker of light that looked like a normal star, but it kept growing and growing. A massive inferno exploded above them and the sky lit up with fire. Millions of shooting stars ripped through the atmosphere as the novalite plain detonated from somewhere out in space. "It's over," Doctor sobbed, falling to the ground. "It's all over." "What are you blithering about?" Akatsuki demanded. "Again I've been cheated for the satisfaction of seeing him destroyed! Sacrificing himself to save the world. Such heroic nonsense." "They'll be on their way right now," Doctor continued to sob. "It's all over." "Start talking sense!" Akatsuki grabbed the snivelling little man by the collar and held him off the ground. "Who are 'they'?" "The UF, they'll be here any minute!" "Why would the UF be coming here? They're all trembling on the moons." "I tried to tell you, but you wouldn't listen. Saotome, everything he said, it was all false! The novalite wasn't going to explode and he knew it. He sent a data-link to an outside computer address, they were downloading all our files!" Akatsuki dropped the man to the ground. "He must have had some hacker break into our databases and copy the files. It's all over!" " 'Remember to feed the armadillo at dawn'," Akatsuki repeated. "Hoshino." a smile crept onto his face and he started to laugh. "And I never even saw it coming!" "I'll spent the rest of my life rotting in some cell," Doctor sobbed.

"Well played, Saotome, well played," Akatsuki shook his head and grabbed the sidearm off one of the guards, who were all staring in awe at the blazing sky. "But there was fatal flaw in your reasoning, my friend," he walked up behind Ryoko's chair, which lay toppled over on the bare rock, partially buried under a pile of stones. "Buried and helpless, life is good!" he said as he kicked it away and fired into its occupant. However, the bullet passed through nothing other than the fabric of the chair and out the other side, for it was empty. "You!" he grabbed Doctor again and hauled him off the ground. "I can suffer your snivelling, but not your incompetence!" quickly he dropped the man to the ground again, for the last time. Pulling the trigger ended the pitiful man's life. "A game of hide-and- seek, is it? Oh we'll have such fun! Come out, come out; time to play!" Akatsuki wandered around the remains of the small convoy, which lay about in a varied succession of condition. Some of the trucks had fallen undamaged and looked as though they had suffered no more than mere scratches. Others, however, looked were crushed and smashed beneath one another and boulders freed from the sudden disappearance of the surface that held him in place. Above, the sky was still afire as the tailed streaks of light shot across the sky. Akatsuki stopped at a truck that was still on its wheels and surveyed the area around him. "Where are you hiding, my pet?" "Sir?" one of the guards asked, finally snapping out of the trance the sky had put him under. "Sir, are you alright?" "Hmm?" Akatsuki turned his head and looked at the man. "Are you ok?" the guard repeated. "Shh," he raised his finger to his lips before pulling the trigger. "I'm hunting." The other guards seemed to be drawn back to reality by the sudden sound of a second shot. They all looked at each other before slowly backing away. They slipped behind a toppled truck and watched in frightened curiosity as Akatsuki wandered around the site muttering to himself. The site of Akatsuki in such a state was eerily fascinating, for they had never seen their employer in such a bizarre state before. He had the eyes of a rabid dog and the voice of a madman, slowly wandering around, the gun held loosely in his hand, muttering to himself quietly. "I don't know about you guys," one of them said. "But I'm outta here. This isn't in my contract." A few minutes later, Akatsuki heard the sudden start of a jeep's engine and saw the small vehicle speeding off across the barren wasteland. They hit a large stone, causing the jeep to bounce slightly off the ground before gravity regained its hold and brought it back down to earth. "Aw damnit," Ryoko grunted as her grip on the underside of the jeep slipped and she came out from under it, rolling helplessly across the hard rock. She tried to slide to a stop and press herself flat against the ground, but the damage had been done. "So glad you could stay, oh we'll have such fun!" Akatsuki said as he walked towards Ryoko, who quickly brought herself to her feet and bolted across the rock. "Run, fun, as fast as you can!" he said as he opened fire. Small sparks exploded off the ground as the bullets struck the rock Ryoko quickly put behind her in her dash. She finally threw herself behind one of the upturned trucks, only suffering a minor scratch as her arm brushed against a twisted piece of what had once been the trailer's siding. Akatsuki stopped firing, but she could hear his footsteps coming closer. "No where to run, no where to hide." Ryoko looked around for something she could use as a weapon. Fortunately, given her training, almost anything harder than a piece of Styrofoam would do. Normally she could have just bashed Akatsuki's face in with her fists, but since he had a gun that blew that plan out of the water. She grabbed a piece of the sheared metal and ripped it off the trailer's side with an ear splitting screech. Beating it flat into a flat strip, she picked up some of the smaller shards of metal off the ground, and ran out from behind her cover. Akatsuki fired at her, but she held the long strip in front of her as a shield. It was difficult for the longhaired psychopath to see exactly what was deflecting his bullets in the dim light and the moment he stopped firing there was a sudden pain in his cheek. He raised his fingers to his face felt a small stream of warm blood run down from just under his eye. There was another sharp pain, this time in his arm as something dug deeply into the flesh. Ryoko threw the last shard of metal at the confused Akatsuki before diving back behind the truck. It seemed to perturb him for a minute as he stared at the blood on his hands in the pale moonlight. Quickly, she scooped up the few more she could find and held them between her fingers. She had counted the number of shots Akatsuki had fired since he had first laid his hands on the gun. So far she counted six, which meant another eight to go. Only problem was trying to get those remaining bullets out of the way without having them come too close for comfort. There was only one alternative course of action to forcing Akatsuki to spend his remaining ammunition was to kill or disable him, which didn't seem too likely. He hardly flinched when the two shards had struck him. It was almost like he was immune to pain, that he was so far out of his mind that pain was no longer a factor. "Damnit, where's Saotome when I really need him?" Ryoko muttered as she felt along the ground for more shards. Akatsuki was getting close, she could hear the rock scrape beneath his feet as he meandered over. Finally, she found one last shard. Quickly, she waved her shield out from behind the truck but heard no shots fired at it. "Going for the old 'whites-of-their-eyes' routine eh? Clever bastard. Ok, here goes, I'll have to hit his hand with this." She looked at the shard in her hand, which glimmered in the moonlight. Akatsuki stopped as he came within a few metres of the truck. There was no noise coming from behind it and all appeared still. He slithered closer and rested his shoulder against the side of the truck and proceeded slowly forward, not even a scrape came from his boots as they slid across the bare rock. Suddenly, he jumped out and aimed at where Ryoko was and opened fire, but his bullets ricocheted off the truck's side and struck none of the flesh of his intended target. Just then, the rear door to the truck's trailer flew open and connected solidly with his body, sending him to the ground. There was a sudden pain in his right hand, causing him to drop the gun. He looked down and saw a thick metal shard struck through the back of his hand. He seemed to stare at it in curiosity for a few moments before pulling the shard through and dropping it to the ground. "Pain," he said quietly as he noticed Ryoko flying towards him. "Pain is my friend, allow me to introduce you to it!" He brought his foot and forced it into her rips, sending her crashing to the ground not far away. He picked up the gun with his left hand and took aim, but his grasp on the weapon lasted no more than a few seconds as Ryoko leapt from the ground and kicked it out of his hands. Wasting no time, she delivered a solid blow to his face with her knee, sending him back to the ground, blood spurting out of nose as the cartilage broke and blood vessels ruptured. However, this did not seem to sway him, for he rose to his feet again, his eyes searching the ground for the firearm. "Why do you persist?" he asked. "I could ask you the same thing," Ryoko heaved as she tried to regain her breath. Her eyes also scanned the ground for any sign of the gun. It wasn't so much that the fate of the battle rested on who had possession of the weapon, but it would definitely prove to be an asset to whoever did manage to gain control of it. She didn't find the gun, but did spot something of interest. It was too soon to launch another front against him; she was still recovering the wind that had been knocked out of her. The more time she could buy herself the stronger she'd be when they finally crossed swords once more. "It is all in vain," Akatsuki said after a few minutes. The smile on his face truly reflected the madness that had consumed him. "Shut your mouth!" Ryoko cried as she burst forward and drove her elbow into his chest, or tried to anyway. He caught it and, for a moment, they both stared at one another face-to-face. However, during Ryoko's momentary loss of concentration, Akatsuki slammed his fist into the side of her face and, while she recoiled from the blow, grabbed her by the hair and smashed her face into his knee. "I'm quite disappointed in you," Akatsuki said, standing over Ryoko, his foot crushing her chest into the rock. "I expected more from a trained soldier such as yourself. At least Saotome had some fight in him. You," he smirked. "You're nothing but a little girl." Ryoko cried out slightly as he forced more weight onto. "This will hardly be any fun at all." "Bite me," Ryoko spat, trying to wriggle out from under his foot, but it continued to crush her into the rock. "Struggle as much as you like, I enjoy it." She searched the ground for what she had seen earlier and spotted it, glistening in the moonlight. However, it was too far out of reach for her to make a grab for it. Akatsuki applied more pressure onto Ryoko's already aching chest. She quickly braced her feet against the side of the truck and pushed herself forward, causing Akatsuki to loose his balance and fall back into the trailer. She then grabbed the metal shard she had been eying, which Akatsuki had pulled from his hand not moments before, wheeled herself around, and tried to thrust it into his chest. Akatsuki saw the glistening metal blade streaking for his heart and he quickly grabbed Ryoko's wrist with his only operable hand, trying to prevent it from sinking through the layers of flesh and bone that protected the beating pump. "Take it!" Ryoko grunted as she pushed all her weight into forcing the shard forward. "Take it! You sickening piece of shit! I'm going to finish it right here and now!" They were deadlocked. Ryoko put all her strength into pushing the blade into Akatsuki's chest, where his unbeating heart of coal resided, and he, in turn, put all his strength into repelling it. There was a sudden flash of light to the side of the truck, which drew their attention away from trying to kill one another for a second. However, this second was all Akatsuki needed. During Ryoko's brief laps of concentration, he struck her in the face with his wounded hand. The distraction of the sudden force against her face caused her to lessen her weight against the blade, which was enough for Akatsuki to push her away. The shard skidded away into the night and it was at this time that Akatsuki finally laid eyes on gun. Ryoko also caught a glimpse of it and they both scrambled towards it. Akatsuki got to it first and aimed for her, but he was caught off-guard when Ryoko grabbed his wrist and pushed the gun's barrel away from her, but not by much. Even with two arms against one, Akatsuki still managed to slowly inch the barrel closer and closer in her direction. There were still six bullets left, and only one was needed to do the job. "First the Utopia Colony, then Saotome," he grunted. "And now, you. It's a pity you die so easily, or else I might have a sense of satisfaction!" There was a slow scratching noise, as though something were being dragged across the ground, but they paid no attention to it, they had bigger things to worry about. The gun shook slightly as both of them tried to force it towards the other. The gun suddenly went flying out of Akatsuki's grip and landed beside them. They both made a dive for it, but it was quickly picked up off the ground by another. Finn pulled himself off the ground and leaned against the side of the truck, holding the gun level with Akatsuki's eyes. Akatsuki made a desperate attempt to pull Ryoko in front of him as a shield, but she quickly wrenched his wounded arm behind his back and pushed his face into the rock. "You can't do this," Akatsuki wheezed as Ryoko forced her knee into his back. "It goes against everything you stand for." "You," Finn said weakly, but with enough strength to get the words out. "You destroyed everything I stand for. You destroyed my home, took away my life, used me as a tool in your twisted dreams of power. I have every right to pull the trigger." "You can't," Akatsuki wheezed again. "Please, mercy," his free hand dug into one of his pockets. "Finish him off, Saotome," Ryoko said, wrenching Akatsuki's arm further behind his back. "Do it now." "You.you who are without mercy now plead for it?" Finn's breathing grew heavy. "I thought you were made of sterner stuff." "Please," Akatsuki said, ripping the pendant from around his neck off and holding it in his hand. "You'd like me to say something like 'you're not worth it"," Finn said. "But I can't forgive you, not after everything you've done. I'd be doing the human race a favour to remove you from it." "Doesn't a condemned man get one last wish?" "Saotome, hurry up, pull the trigger," Ryoko said. "He's just stalling for time, you know that. Just get it over with." Finn hesitated. "Not that I'm making any promises here, but what would your dying wish be?" "Well, my first dying wish is to live," Akatsuki chuckled. "Not funny," Finn said, his finger slowly closing on the trigger. Akatsuki closed his fist tightly around the pendant and winced in pain as Ryoko pulled even harder on his already separating shoulder. "You know what my dying wish is?" he said with a smirk. "He's only using you, Saotome," Ryoko said threateningly. "He's exploiting your only weakness, your compassion. Finish him off." Finn bit his lip. "You've never killed in cold blood before," Akatsuki countered. "Speak," Finn said after a few moments. "My dying wish," Akatsuki said with a devious grin on his face. "Is the end of your life!" he tossed the pendant and the object from his pocket into Finn's face. Finn quickly pulled the trigger, but he knew it was too late. The glowing stone Akatsuki had thrown at him fell to the ground and his body went limp and his head struck the ground with a dull thud. "I guess I don't even have to ask what that is," Ryoko said, looking at the last glowing fragment of novalite. "A detonator hidden around his neck," Finn said as he picked up the pendant. He looked at it for a moment before tossing it away. "It's not much," he said, looking at the glowing stone. "But it's enough to do the job." "I suppose this is a bad time to say 'I told you'," Ryoko said as she let go of Akatsuki and kicked him. "I could jump it," Finn said, still looking at the glowing fragment of stone. "What's the 'but'?" Ryoko asked, reading his voice. "It's a one-way trip," there was no time to break it into two pieces, which meant that there wouldn't be anything left for the return trip. "So it's either one of us goes or be both go," Ryoko said. "It's not that simple," Finn said, his strength slowly fading. "He wanted to blow both of us up." "Gee, ya think?" Ryoko said with, her voice heavily laced with pissed sarcasm. "No, it's not that. He wanted it to be destroyed." "Aww crap," Ryoko said, all the pieces falling into place. "The jump computer." "Bingo, and we go back to where we started, maybe worse. So the choice is clear, looks like I've got." Ryoko struck him on the side of the face. "Are you insane?" "If it means saving humanity from." She struck him again. "I'm not talking giving your life for 'the greater good' or whatever you want to call it. That's crazy enough by itself." "Then what?" She struck him again. "Are you an idiot? If you're that stupid then go ahead and blow yourself up." "Ryoko, I'm." "Stop it! Just get it over with," she tried to hit him again but he caught her wrist. "Ryoko, listen to me," Finn said. "I don't expect you to understand. Hell, I don't even understand it, but I can't let it all be for nothing. I can't let him win. This is my chance to end this forever. Do you think I want to blow myself up? Do you think I want to leave you? Of course not, I hate it, but I can't let everything we've worked so hard for be in vain. It kills me to think what I have to do, but it has to be done. The fact is that it goes way beyond just you and me. If Akatsuki wins, we all lose, not just the two of us, everyone. Many more will suffer if I don't do this. " Ryoko stayed silent for a moment before raising her eyes to meet his. "Ryoko," he said, taking her hand in his. "I know I've never said it before, but I love you, you know I do. Nothing will ever change that." "The way you talk," she said with a smile. It was at this time that she realized how close their faces had drawn to one another. "Sao.Finn," their lips brushed together. Their lips touched one another's and they were drawn into a tearful kiss. The novalite beside them began to spark. "You know I love you too," she said in the quietest of voices they broke apart. She picked up the glowing stone and placed it in his hand. "You don't have much time. Go. Go before I return to my senses." She closed Finn's hand over the stone. Finn raised his closed fist slightly and looked at the beams of light that escaped between his fingers. However, before he concentrated on his jump point, there was a bright flash of light and a surprised cry from the other side of the truck. Ryoko reached for the gun, which lay not too far away from them, and rose to investigate. "You'd better get going, my guess is that you don't have much time left." Finn nodded and closed his eyes. The familiar glowing trails of nanomachine pathways throughout his body became visible. Ryoko crept around the corner. There was a figure lying on the ground not too far away. It was difficult to see in the dim light, but it was obvious it wasn't Doctor or one of the guards. She held the gun ready and crept forward a little closer. "Hey, Saotome? I think you might want to hang on a sec," she called when she saw Akito's dazed form lying there.

The Last Chapter

Finn could feel the familiar tingle as the bose particle energy circulated throughout his net of nanomachines and could feel himself begin the transdimensional fold when he heard Ryoko call to him. The novalite in his hand sparked and quivered as it came closer and closer to detonation, but he voided the jump and brought himself back from the edge between the layers of space. "Come on, get up!" he heard Ryoko say, which was followed by the sound of someone's feet scraping against the ground. "Saotome, I don't know what you were praying for, but I hope he has something to do with it." She deposited the dazed Akito in front of him. "Wakey wakey," she said, gently kicking him in the ribs. "I feel funky," he said, his eyes swirly. "Took you long enough," Finn said. "I want chicken, I want liver, meow mix meow mix please deliver," Akito babbled. "We don't have time for this." "Tenkawa!" Ryoko shouted. "Snap out of it!" she drove her fist into his face, not exceedingly hard, but enough to get the job done. "Did I make it?" Akito asked, rubbing his cheek. "I take it you found it," Finn said. "Yeah, Ruri knew what to do with the armadillo. We found out what to do next from your e-mail." "How many pieces is it in?" "Two, that's as much as I could get out of it," Akito replied, holding out his hand, which contained the two halves of the novalite fragment Finn had given him. "What happened here? What happened to you?" he asked, noticing Finn's less than perfect condition. "I'll tell you later. This is perfect," Akasuki's novalite sparked again and a small cloud of smoke exploded into Finn's face. "There's not much time though, I need you guys to listen to me. I need you to grab the jump computer from the lab trailer. Ryoko knows what I'm talking about." the novalite sparked again. "Hurry." Ryoko grabbed Akito by the arm with one hand and dragged him off and picked up the gun with her other, leaving Finn with the three pieces of novalite, one of which was almost at critical mass. "Damnit," Ryoko said, kicking the casing that housed the jump computer, which was bolted firmly to the floor. "Any ideas?" Akito asked. "One comes to mind. Get back," she drew the gun and opened fire at the base of the casing, where it connected with the steel anchors. However, her bullets simply bounced off the Plexiglas, leaving only tiny scratches where they had hit. "Damn, just like I thought." She was then struck with an idea. "Wait here a sec." She jumped over the side and made a run for one of the other trucks. "Hey, where are you going?" Akito called after her. "What am I supposed to do?" "Use your imagination!" Ryoko called back as she disappeared into one of truck trailers. It was pitch black inside and she felt alongside the walls of the upturned trailer for any sign of the light switch. After a few moments she stepped on something that crunched under her feet. She could feel the broken glass of the light tube beneath her feet. Following the power cord from the broken light along the floor she finally traced it back to its source and a switch. She flipped the switch, nothing happened. "Come on," she muttered in a frustrated voice. "Work!" she pounded the wall beside the switch and, amazingly enough, one of the lights that lined the roof of the trailer, which was now the floor, lit up. The trailer was filled entirely with overturned boxes, out of which bits and pieces of computers fell. The author snickers as he pulls Ryoko's strings. "Dance puppet, dance!" Ryoko burst out of the dimly lit trailer and made for the next one. Casting a glance over her shoulder she saw Akito trying to pry the jump computer off with a steel bar. She could have tried to explain to him what she was looking for but there wasn't any time for that. Judging from the rays of light that shot up from where Finn sat, it was surprising that they had lasted this long. The next trailer had only toppled onto its side and the light switch was easier to find. She hit it and the lights flickered to life. "Now this is what I'm talking about," she grinned as she opened one of the large lockers. "Come on!" every artery in Akito's neck and head looked about ready to burst as he tried to free the relatively small computer from the bolts. Something heavy crashed beside him. "Tenkawa, let's get to work," Ryoko said, holding jackhammer. Akito looked at the one she had dropped by his side and pulled it up. Ryoko stood on one side of the computer while Akito stood on the other. They both placed the ends of their instruments at the base of the casing, which was the thinnest and weakest part of the support structure. They looked at one another and nodded. Their tools hammered so violently against the structure that they both struggled to keep them focused on that one point. Ryoko's arms shook from the force of the jackhammer pounding away, but she held it as firmly as she could against the target. "Stop," she put turned off her jackhammer and signalled for Akito to do the same. "This isn't working," she said, looking closely at the damage they had inflicted, or rather lack there of. All they had succeeded in doing was putting a few dents in the support structure. "We should keep at it then," Akito said, firming his grip on his hammer. "Not enough time," Ryoko looked over to where Finn was. Light was no longer shining from the charged piece of novalite; it was flickering, which couldn't possibly be good. "What if we took it to this stuff?" Akito tapped on the Plexiglas casing. The gentle glow of the device along with the low humming it produced seemed to lull him into a trance. "We can't risk destroying it. I guess there's no choice, we'll have to move him. Come on," she said, jumping down. "Tenkawa, move it!" "Right," Akito snapped back to reality and followed. "How much time left?" Ryoko asked when they made it back to the now very weak Finn. "I'd give us a twenty seconds or less," Finn replied, struggling to stay alive. "We can't get that thing loose," Ryoko said, grabbing Finn under the arm and pulling him somewhat upright. "We're going to move you over to it." "Right," Finn winced as the sudden movement opened his wounds further. Ryoko acted as a crutch on one side while Akito did the same on the other. They walked/dragged Finn in the direction of the jump computer, his feet scraping and dragging across the bare rock as they went. "What are you planning to do with the computer anyway?" Ryoko asked. "Where are you going to take it? Couldn't we just chuck it after you jump the bomb away?" "I want to make sure." Finn coughed and small spurts of blood dripped from his mouth. "I want to make sure that thing's never seen again," he finally managed to say. "You sure you've got the strength for this?" Akito asked. "I could always jump it. Just tell me where." "Thanks for the offer, but I don't know if you could let go of the thing before you rematerialized. There's a very small window. Besides, the Captain would kill me if she ever found out," Finn said, trying to laugh. They set him down on the table beside the computer a few seconds later. If Finn was reading the cards right, they only had about ten seconds left. Ryoko took one of his hands and placed it on the glass casing. "You ready?" Finn nodded. "Then go on, get out of here before my better judgment gets a hold." Finn held the stones tightly in his free hand. His vision was somewhat blurry but he did manage to pick out the glistening of repressed tears in her eyes. "See you in a bit," he said. "If you're lucky," the one fragment of novalite had almost reached critical mass and let everyone know this by a loud crack. "What are you waiting for?" Ryoko asked as the glowing lines ran throughout Finn's body, but not much more than that happened. "I think," Finn tried to say, but the hole in his chest made it almost impossible for him to breath without a certain degree of aching pain. "I think I need a booster," the stone violently cracked again. "My IFS net's almost fried from all the jumping, I need a fresh network to give me a kick in the right direction." "No problem," Ryoko said, nudging Akito out of the way. "I've got your nanomachines right here. Just tell me what to do." "Put your right hand on mine and press down hard," "Like this?" she asked, pressing her palm against his hand. Before Finn or Ryoko could say anything more, he disappeared in a flash of light, leaving a small cloud of sparking energy where he had been. The jump computer also vanished. Off on the horizon there was a bright flash followed by a loud crack and rumble as the novalite detonated. Ryoko and Akito felt the sudden blast of air rock the trailer they stood on as the shockwave reached them. The blast was well over five hundred kilometres away, but the shock was still considerable. Reality didn't change, which meant Finn must have jumped in time. Time passed. Akito and Ryoko had righted two of the chairs and sat watching the glowing ball of the explosion's epicentre slowly fade away. The high concentration of bose particles in the area made their watches useless. Ryoko's counted a minute every ten seconds while Akito's ticked one second every couple of minutes. Akito didn't want to say anything, nor did he want to do anything. He looked at Ryoko from the corner of his eye but couldn't read her expression. It was one mixed with concern along with a sense of confidence, as though she knew Finn would reappear any second but there were doubts in the back of her mind that maybe something had gone wrong. He was also afraid of saying something stupid. Knowing Ryoko he might be liable for some pain if he made any kind of comment, reassuring or otherwise. "He'll be back," he finally said. "Uh huh," Ryoko nodded. Akito could detect the same feelings in her voice that he had read in her face. "I'm going to go and find a jeep or something, see if I can find anyway to get us out of here when he gets back," he said rising from his chair. "Uh huh," Ryoko said, her eyes fixed on the fading light on the horizon. Akito walked away in the direction of what looked like some kind of vehicle still on its wheels. He passed Akatsuki's body, the dead eyes staring lifelessly out at him as he passed. It wasn't what he would call a gruesome sight but it was definitely uncomfortable. He had a strange feeling that Akatsuki could suddenly jump up and make a run for Ryoko. 'Nah,' he thought. 'Saotome's the only one who can come back from the dead.' He didn't know what to classify Finn as anymore. In this world they had been best friends since university. It was an odd coincidence that the Mars Planetary University was renowned its restaurant business and criminal psychology programmes, and it only struck him that way at that moment. He remembered all the crazy he and Finn had managed to pull off, including scaling the walls of one of the campus dorms to watch the sunset over the city. 'Man, what a nutbar,' Akito said in retrospect. However, it was not only the sunset that he gained from that incident. After falling from the second story into a bush, he was discovered by a certain blue haired woman searching the grounds. Yurika had graduated from the military academy first in her class and had come in search of Akito. At first, his reaction was much the same as it had been in the original reality, but once Finn 'convinced' him that he'd never find anyone more loving than Yurika, it all rolled along quite nicely. A few minutes later, he found a truck that was still on its wheels and only had minor dents and dings. When he climbed inside the cab he found that the keys were still in the ignition and the fuel cells were almost at full charge. It didn't have an IFS terminal like most of the new vehicles on Mars did and the controls looked more like something you'd find in an aestivalis cockpit, not a truck cab. 'Hopefully Ryoko knows something about this,' he thought. Leaving the keys where they were, he ventured around back to see what the trailer held. When he opened the heavy doors he was buried in an avalanche of boxes. He swam to the surface and his head burst out of the wave of supplies. "Gah!" a heavy toolbox fell on his head. When he had recovered from his concussion, which fate had obviously sent to the wrong address, he opened a few boxes and sifted through them. It was difficult to tell what exactly he was pulling out of the box in the dim light, so he hauled a couple of them back to the cab and hit the lights. "Tenkawa!" came Ryoko's voice. "Get over here, now!" "I'm coming!" Akito called back, tripping over the boxes and onto the bare rock. He brought himself to his feet and scrambled over to where Ryoko was. He found her not in her chair, but on the ground. In her arms was Finn. "Is he alright?" "I don't think so," Ryoko replied. "I can't see shit in this light, but he's not conscious." Akito knew better than to ask whether or not Finn had a pulse, so he took one Finn's arms and gently lifted him off the ground. Ryoko grabbed the other arm and slung it across her shoulders. "Follow me," he said and they began to make their way to the truck Akito had found. They lifted Finn into the spacious cab and laid him across the seats. The lights had been left on and they could fully see the damage he had sustained. There was a baseball sized wound in Finn's chest. Blood seeped from the opened wound and was soaked up by his already blood saturated shirt. A small trail of blood dribbled from the corner of his mouth and ran down the side of his face. They could see the unsteady rise and fall of his chest, so they knew at the very least he was still alive. Unfortunately, neither of them really knew where to start. They had neither bandages nor disinfectant. "Get this out of the way," Ryoko said, brushing one of the boxes aside, sending it tumbling to the ground. "We've got to stop the bleeding." "No shit," Ryoko snapped. "Sorry, but I'm used to ripping people apart, not putting them back together." Finn's body convulsed in pain. "And my guess is that we don't have much time." "What about this?" Akito tore a long strip from his shirt. "No good. It's covered in dust, dirt, and who knows what else? The wound would just get infected." Ryoko looked around and noticed the box she had tossed away earlier. There was a long white strip leading away from where the box had hit. She looked at it and slowly climbed down to have a closer look. It was a long bandage roll that had escaped from the box, and more was inside. Quickly, she grabbed the rolls that remained in and jumped back into the cab. She set the bandage rolls down and dug through the other box, which yielded a mist-bottle of hydrogen peroxide that could be used to clean the wound. "Let's get to work." Ryoko took a strip of bandage and gently wiped the small pool of blood that had formed over the wound away. She then quickly sprayed it with disinfectant, which caused Finn to convulse again in pain. "It's a lot better than the alternative, Saotome, believe me." Akito lifted Finn's upper body a few centimetres off the seat so Ryoko could wrap the bandage around him. She unbuttoned Finn's shirt, slipped it off him, and wrapped the wound tightly and tried to keep pressure. Finn's breathing was erratic, his face was contorted, and he looked pale. He had lost a lot of blood, there was no doubt, but both Ryoko and Akito hoped that he still had enough in him to last a while. When they had finished, they gently sat Finn down in a seat. Blood could be seen soaking through the bandages on his chest and his back, but that was the best they could do for now. "Where's the closest colony?" Ryoko asked, taking the wheel. "Utopia's closest, but it's still bombed out. Our best chance is to make for New Wellington; it's only an hour or two further than Utopia." Akito replied. "New Wellington it is then," Ryoko said as she turned the ignition. Nothing happened. "Come on you." she pounded her fist against the dashboard and tried again, but still, nothing happened. She hit the hood release and jumped down to the ground. "Try it now!" she called to Akito, after fiddling with the engine components. Akito tried it and the truck sputtered for a second before dying. Ryoko kicked the side of the truck violently. "Try it again." Akito turned the key and the engine sputtered. "Come on, come on." but still, nothing happened. "Hold it," she said, climbing back into the cab. "This isn't working, something must have been knocked loose when the plain was jumped," she climbed up on top of the cab and surveyed the area in the dim light. It was difficult to see anything in any great detail, but it was painfully obvious that there wasn't anything else out there still on its wheels. All the trucks were either upturned or toppled over, and there weren't any more jeeps left from what she could see. She then spotted something blinking on the horizon. "See anything?" Akito asked from below. "Yeah, I see something," Ryoko said, noticing a faint light off in the distant sky. It was coming closer and they could hear the faint chop of its engines. "Tenkawa, I've got an idea," she said, climbing back down to the ground.

Hitch a Ride

Ryoko waved her flashlight in the air, trying to signal the approaching helicopter. After a few minutes the helicopter's signal lights flickered on and off in reply. It set down a few minutes later at the centre of the debris field. Ryoko wore a Nergal security officer's uniform she had taken from one of the dead guards. "Where's Chairman Akatsuki?" asked one of the men who piled out of the helicopter. "What happened here?" he wore a commander's uniform and had a gun at his hip. "Chairman Akatsuki's been killed, along with a few others in a gun battle," Ryoko said. "We don't have time for that now, we've got a wounded man here that needs immediate medical attention." "What happened to the novalite?" "Gone," Ryoko motioned upward to the sky, where fragments of the mineral burned up in the atmosphere. "There's nothing left here that I'd give a damn about, let's get out of here." "But what about the data, all the equipment?" "You can send someone around to pick up that scrap later, we don't have time to waste worrying about a few buckets." "That's right," Akito said coming forward. He wore the bloodstained white lab coat that had previously belonged to Doctor. "He needs more help than I can give him here." "Sir!" one of the other soldiers called. "I found him. I found Chairman Akatsuki." "How is he?" asked the commander. "He's dead, maybe a few hours. He's cold. Gunshot wound to the head's what got him." "I see," the commander said and turned to Ryoko. "Get your man out of here, we'll send in a few transports to clean this mess up." He turned back to one of his subordinates. "Classify everything here as top-secret. Copy any data from the lab computers before you destroy them." "Come on," Ryoko said to Akito as they picked Finn, who had a Nergal coat thrown over him, up off the ground and pulled him into the helicopter. "Where to?" the pilot asked when Ryoko they had finished securing Finn in the back. Blood was slowly seeping through the bandages and he was still unconscious. "A hospital, doesn't matter where. I think New Wellington's closest, head there," she said. "Hey Chief," the pilot said into his radio. "Got a few guys here who want to get to a hospital, that ok by you?" They looked out the window and the commander gave a thumbs-up. "Roger that. Strap yourselves in," "How long will it take to get there?" Ryoko asked, half tempted to toss the pilot out of the doors and fly there herself. Unfortunately, that would only rouse suspicion, which was the last thing they needed, other than maybe engine failure or a rouge meteor. "Shouldn't take us more than a few hours to get to New W." "I just hope he can hang on that long," Ryoko said to herself. It was some time later that Ryoko was nudged awake by the pilot. "We're coming in," he said. Ryoko opened her eyes and looked out the window. It was dark outside, but the glowing lights of a city shone below her. "NW Olympus Hospital, this is NS-204 requesting landing clearance. We've got a wounded man here, gunshot wound to the chest, have team meet us at landing-deck 3, over." "Landing permission granted, will have teams standing by, over," came the reply. They landed a few minutes later and Finn, who was very pale at this point, was taken inside. Ryoko and Akito ditched their disguises when they had gone beyond the view of the pilot and followed. However, they were forced to wait when he was wheeled into an operating room. "You think it's over?" Akito asked when they had been sitting for over an hour. "I hope so," Ryoko answered, ending their conversation. She knew perfectly well what he meant. 'Could it be over?' she asked herself. They had been through hell and back time and again with no end in sight, but now she couldn't think of who would want to interfere with their lives again. Akatsuki was gone, the novalite was destroyed, the jump computer was floating somewhere in subspace. 'What more could happen?' she was almost afraid to think that. The thought of some new band of nutbars coming after them again seemed so unlikely, but at the same time didn't look all that improbable. 'You always think it's over but someone always comes around to reopen the wounds.' The doors opened and a few nurses and surgeons filed out of the OR. "How's he doing?" Ryoko asked, walking up to one of the surgeons. "Are you Mrs. Saotome?" the surgeon asked. "How'd he know Finn's last name is Saotome?" Akito asked a puchuu. "Puchuu," the puchuu replied. Akito punched it in the face "Gah, my you shatter my teeth." "Pssst," the author whispers. "Think DNA database." "Where'd you come from?" asked Akito. "Gotta go!" the author dives into a dimensional rift. "I.er.not exactly." Ryoko's face turned red. "How is he?" "I'm sorry, we did everything we could to save him but he just lost too much blood," however, before Ryoko would react, someone whapped the surgeon on the back of the head with a fan. "What was that for?" "I told you to stop freaking people out. I'm sorry about him," the woman said addressing Ryoko. "Mr. Saotome's still in critical condition but he's alive. The bullet blew a hole through his chest and passed through one of his lungs. I don't know how he survived, but he's still hanging on. We've moved him to room A-3 in the observation ward if you want to see him. Visiting hours are over in half an hour though, so you'd better hurry up. Ryoko thanked the nurse, grabbed Akito, and made her way to the observation ward with only getting lost twice. They finally found the room and walked in without knocking. Finn lay in the hospital bed and looked like some kind of strange robotic experiment. There were electrodes attached all over him, IV lines going into his hands, and a tubes running down his nose. Beside him was a heart rate monitor and an iron lung, slowly forcing air in and out of his damaged lungs. She found an overwhelming need to touch him and she quickly grabbed his hand. It was cold and clammy, but she could definitely feel a steady pulse in his wrist. While a girl like Yurika probably would have wept in grief that her love was in such a state and in happiness because he was still alive, Ryoko just stood there with a smile on her face. "I don't know how you do it," she said to herself.

Two Weeks Later

Ryoko awoke to the sound of footsteps shuffling towards her. She lifted her head off the table she had been resting it on and peered into the darkness of the hospital room. She had 'persuaded' one of the nurses to give her a pass that allowed her to stick around after visiting hours. Fortunately, during the chaos the UF had been thrown into after the Antarctic base disaster they had forgotten to delete her off the payroll, so she was still being paid. Eventually they'd figure it out and she'd be forced to either go back to the military and prove to them that she was still alive or move on to something else, but for now she concentrated on getting some rest, but little relaxation. Akito had left the day after they had arrived at Olympus Hospital. Before he left the colony itself though he had seen the NW city government and arranged for some aid for the devastated Utopia Colony. Amazingly enough, no one in NW had heard that the Utopia Colony had been blown up. They figured that it had been some kind of power failure that prevented anyone from contacting the colony. It was truly amazing to find out how dense some people were. However, the colony did send Akito back with a few trucks loaded with food, water, clothing, and a small convoy of equipment that could be used to start clearing the debris and rebuilding the colony. The UF was still hiding on the lunar stations, so any military aid was still out of the question. She glanced at the clock that hung on the wall opposite Finn, which read half past three in the morning. He had yet to regain consciousness from his ordeal but considering what he went through he was in pretty good shape. "Who's there?" she asked, rubbing her eyes. Two more people shuffled into the room. Ryoko heard them whispering among themselves. One of them moved to Finn's bed and unplugged the equipment. He was able to breath on his own now, so the iron lung was only there as a precaution. They transferred Finn over to a mobile bed on wheels. "What are you doing?" Ryoko demanded, getting up. "Take her too," she heard a hushed voice and two of the shadows came closer. When they made a grab for her, Ryoko sent them both to the floor with broken noses. She stepped over them and made for to the third figure, who was trying to wheel Finn out the door. However, before she could grab him, one of the men on the floor grabbed her ankle, causing her to fall to the floor. She braced her hands against the floor and kicked the man in the face, but he still maintained his grip. "Forget about him for a second, help us get her," he said to the third figure. "What are you doing?" Ryoko demanded again, not really expecting an answer, kicking the second man in the face. This time his grip slipped and she was able to bring herself to her feet. The third man hit the light switch and the room burst into brightness of the florescent lights overhead. Ryoko, her eyes adjusted to the previous darkness of the room, was momentarily blinded by the sudden light. Her opponent closed in during his moment of weakness and smashed her head against the wall. Ryoko fell to the floor, a small dribble of blood making its way down from her forehead. Everything became very blurry and time seemed to pass slowly. She heard the voices of the men as the two of them picked themselves up. There was dull ache in her head, which was joined by a sudden pain in her stomach as someone rammed his foot into her. The world went black.

Ryoko could feel the heavy bumps and bounces as the van rolled across the Martian terrain. When she opened her eyes she saw nothing but black, and when she tried to speak she found her mouth covered. She was bound tightly to her seat. "She's awake," she heard a hushed voice ahead of her. "Just leave her alone, we'll deal with her when we get to the Citadel," came another voice, which she recognized from the past night. She struggled against the robe, which bound her hands behind her back, but it was an exercise of futility. 'At the very least,' she thought. 'I should take a look around." Her head was covered by a thick black bag. Being a fully trained soldier, this was an easy problem to solve. She braced the side of her head against the window dragged it down. She felt the bag slowly slide a little off her head. Repeating this over and over again, covered by the roar of the wind blasting outside the van, she was able to peer out from under the bag just enough to look around her. The bright sun poured into the heavily tinted windows. Outside was bare Martian soil that had yet to be cultivated. They were travelling across a flat plain and moved towards the foothills at the base of snow-covered mountains. They traveled alongside a river bringing fresh water down from the mountains. It was one of those views that ended up on postcards and travel brochures. Ryoko might have been inclined to think of it that way were she not tied up, blindfolded, gagged, and being taken to an undisclosed location out in the middle of nowhere. It was like Finn always took her out to war zones for dates or something. She took a look at the three men in the van with her. Up front sat two of them, with the third sitting behind them in the middle row, she and Finn occupied the third row bench. The three men wore strange white uniforms, as though they belonged to some kind of cult. All their hair was buzzed off, with the exception of a small tuft at the front. She looked at Finn, who still had IV line stuck in his wrist and tubes running through his nose. He was still in his little coma, sleep, daze, whatever you want to call it but was still alive. When they arrived, Ryoko quickly slipped the bag back over her head. She was grabbed rather roughly and tossed over someone's shoulder and it didn't sound as though Finn was being treated any more gently. She was taken inside some kind of structure. It was impossible to see exactly what, but from the creaking of wooden floorboards and the smell of sawdust she guessed it to be some kind of wooden cottage. She was placed in a seat and the blind was removed. The room she was in was dark, illuminated by a single light bulb hanging from a beam above its centre. It wasn't exactly what she would consider furnished, but it did have a small table, a few wooden chairs, and an old couch, which Finn occupied. The three men stood with their backs to her, facing a large chair that held a man in white robes. 'Not this again,' she sweatdropped. "Magistrate, we've brought him here as you requested," one of them said. "Well done," the Magistrate replied as he rose from his chair. "Well, young lady, we meet again," he said, touching Ryoko's face. Ryoko, in response, shook his hand off and glared back at him. "Why such hostility?" "Chyeah, right," Ryoko smirked. "You know damn well." "So she has touched the sacred stones as well?" one of the men asked. "It would appear so," the Magistrate looked at Finn. "Two of them, just as the prophecy foretold. The time of our ascension is close at hand indeed." 'Ooooooh boy,' Ryoko thought. 'Trapped with Captain Fruitloop again.' "You do realize the novalite's gone, right?" she asked. "My ears are deaf to your tongue," the Magistrate said. "Look," Ryoko said angrily. "I'm not in the mood for this crap. So cut the shit." "What do you mean?" one of the men asked. "Maybe it has something to do with the sacred stones," another suggested. "No-va-lite," Ryoko said slowly. "You know, rocks that go boom?" "You mean the sacred stones," the man said. "What do you mean their gone?" "Did you see the fireworks the other night? Kind of hard to miss, if you ask me." "Magistrate," one of the men said. "They claim the sacred stones are no more." Ryoko's eye twitched slightly. "I don't have time to play these games," she said, her blood boiling. "You understand English, right? You do? Good. Now stop blithering and explain to me what you want, I'm not in the mood for this bullshit." "They are very rude, aren't they?" the Magistrate said to the men. Ryoko reached for where her gun normally hung, but was disappointed to find it not in its usual place. "Please, sit down and calm yourself." Ryoko glared at the robed man in furious frustration before spinning the chair around and seating herself. "How very unwomanly." "Bite me," Ryoko snapped. "I take it that no introduction is required, you obviously have recovered your recollections from the other world." "You can skip that part. How about skipping to the part where you tell me what you want?" The Magistrate looked at Ryoko in curious contempt for a few minutes before answering. "Fire has rained down from the sky, the ice has been forced back by fire, and a man crosses from one world to another," he said.

'What's to stop me from stuffing his guy's head right up his ass?' Ryoko thought. She didn't notice any weapons in the small room and none of the men appeared to be armed, but knowing these whackos that didn't mean anything. It was unlikely that they had anymore of those handheld gravity blast cannons, but she wouldn't put it past them to be concealing some kind of weapon, whether it be a kind of Martian deathray or a sharp stick. The windowless room was somewhat intimidating. With no light entering, the room appeared to be very small and cramped. "I guess your warped objectives are still the same?" "Correct," the Magistrate nodded. "It was never our intent to have the hand destroyed, but our preparations have been altered to fit the current shape the cosmos have conformed. It was a major blow to our kind to have reality shift but our mission has not changed." "What gives you the right." "What right have you to throw us from our homes and burn them to the ground?!" he demanded angrily. "Humanity, humanity is a parasite, a disease, plague, an infestation. You," the old man pointed his bony finger at Ryoko. "You are an infectious pustule of the disease known as humanity! We will destroy you and all your kind. We will rid you from the furthest recesses of your hovels and cleanse the universe of the infection!" "And what crack-high told you this?" Ryoko asked contemptuously and the Magistrate and his men looked at her in shocked horror. "It is as the prophecy tells us, they are truly beings of evil and disbelief," one of them trembled as they backed away from her. It was as though they were afraid of catching some kind of disease from her, like common sense for starters. "So why exactly do you want to 'cleanse the universe'?" she asked. She figured at as long as she was there she might as well pick up a few tidbits about these people; it might prove useful later on. Besides, Finn might like to know when he woke up. It would be very educational. "Beware, Magistrate," the man warned. "she could be trying to poison your mind and cloud your fire of wisdom with the blackest rains of villainy." "I will take care, my son, do not worry," the Magistrate said and turned to Ryoko. "This world is corrupt, infected with gluttonous brutality and endless immoral dishonesty. You have ignored." "Hold it," Ryoko put her hand up and everyone looked at her as though she had just slit the Magistrate's throat. "I know the world isn't perfect. I think a lot of the shit that happens sucks and is fuelled by selfish desire and on and on, but you know what? You guys aren't any better. You're goals and ideals, 'cleansing humanity' and that bullshit, I'd say that's pretty damn selfish, oh wait, 'immoral dishonesty' and 'gluttonous brutality' I should say. I know I'm not much better than the rest of them, but look at you guys. Let's see, you wiped out thousands of unsuspecting and innocent people." "Innocent! Bah! There are no innocent. Every member of the human race is guilty of unspeakable crimes and they must pay for them!" "What gives you the right to decide the fate of the human race?" Ryoko shot back. "And don't give me this whole "voice" crap. I don't know what you guys have been smoking, but last time I checked, people were the own masters of their fate. Just because you believe something different doesn't give you the right to force your beliefs on everyone else. If you guys want to live out here in the middle of nowhere and refuse to bathe, go right ahead, I'm not stopping you, but you have no right to force your warped ideals on everyone else! How can you even call yourselves human beings?!" "We don't call, nor wish to call, ourselves human beings," the Magistrate replied calmly. "So what subspecies of primate do you prefer?" "We were once like you, mere human beings, poor lost beings who walked the Earth, no better than the rest of you." "You guys are more screwed up than I thought." "But we have transcended the level of mere 'human' and are the next and only evolutionary step! Do you know why we were banished from Earth? The human race was scared. You were scared of us. You know we're superior and you wanted to stop that. We heard the voice and began our ascension. The human race was scared, so they gave us a choice: leave or be locked away like animals, which would have been worse than death. It's a natural instinct you humans have, the need to feel superior to everything around you. You can't accept the truth so you cling to everything that makes you unfit for this universe!" Ryoko leapt from her chair and drove her fist into the Magistrate's jaw. "Shake that bullshit out of your head!" she grabbed him by the neck and gave the awestruck men a look that said 'back off'. "You-are-human, as much as I hate to admit it, you are part of the human race. You're pretty poor excuses of it, but you are. There's nothing superior about you other than your stupidity!" "Violence is always the human's way," the Magistrate choked. Ryoko threw him back into his chair. "You're too far gone to listen to reason," she said, crossing her arms. The Magistrate and the men stared at her in shock. "Don't get me wrong," she said after a few minutes had ticked by. "I'm not saying religion is shit, although I would hardly classify you bunch morons a 'religion'. I'm just trying to get it through your lead- plated skulls that you're no better than anyone else, for better or worse. So if you're going to kill me, do it now and get it over with because I'm getting pretty tired of being surrounded by you lunatics," she sat back down, her arms still crossed. "I am sorry, but we cannot do that, not in the fashion you so desire," the Magistrate said. "Oh joy," Ryoko heaved a sigh. "So what do you have planned? Some kind of human sacrifice or something?" "The prophecy tells us that two from your kind would emerge from the filth of your race. Originally it said that there would only be one, but in this world the text states two, a man and a woman. It tells us that these two would emerge as the pinnacle of your race, the highest forms you could hope to achieve. They would also serve as the only link between the human race and ours. They would be an intermediate species that is neither human nor ascended, but hopelessly caught in between. And it would be these two that would rise up to challenge us, a final test of our faith. We believe that you two are those challengers." "You think Saotome and I are part of some prophecy?" Ryoko smirked. "That is correct," the Magistrate said. "Both of you possess remarkable abilities, for human beings. Your companion, Finn Saotome, is an example of all the human race can aspire to become. His mental and physical abilities far surpass the greatest minds and athletes your race has ever produced." "So what's that make me?" "You are a female mirror-image of him. In peak mental and physical condition, you are the female equivalent to him. You two serve catalysts for one another. It is only the need produced by one that the other is able to tap into that hidden well of potential. It is what makes you two so remarkable," the Magistrate said. "And dangerous."

Awakening

Several more days had passed. Ryoko had been confined to a small room with no real means of escape. There were no windows to break through and the door was securely bolted shut. There was probably a way out, but she hadn't bothered to take the time to seriously look for one. There was no way she was going to bust out and leave Finn there, and it wouldn't be easy to haul him out of there unnoticed. So for the time being she stayed in the small room going over strategy and tactics for how she and Finn could make their escape. It was some time later that Ryoko heard the grate that covered the narrow ventilation duct gently removed. There was silence before a soft thud was heard and slow but steady footsteps moved in the direction of the small couch that had served as her bunk for the past few nights. It was impossible to tell what exactly was moving towards her in the blackness of the room. During the day, when some food and water was brought to her, a small electric lantern was placed in the middle of the floor and dimly illuminated the room. When the soft creaks of the figure's footsteps halted just beside the couch, Ryoko suddenly burst upright, grabbed him by the arm, and pinned him against the adjacent wall. She did all this with making little more than a soft creak in the floor, hardly enough to rouse suspicion from anyone who maybe outside the door. She quickly put her hand over the figure's mouth to prevent him from calling for help. "You say anything over a whisper and you'll consider yourself lucky if I only break your neck," she whispered. "Got it?" the figure mumbled some kind of affirmation and she slowly released her hand from his face. "Who are you?" "Jeez, I was going to tell you, but after being treated like this?" came a familiar voice. Even as a whisper it was unmistakable. "Why so rough?" "Saotome," Ryoko shook her head, even though Finn couldn't see her, and sat back down. "About time you woke up, it's almost been, what, three weeks?" "Sorry," Finn apologized. "But this was the first time they've let me out of their sight since they brought us here," he said, feeling his way to the couch and sat down beside her. "So how long have you been awake for anyway?" "About two weeks, not long after they operated," "So fill me in, what are you planning this time? I take it you pretended to be in a coma for the past two weeks for a reason? Let's see, making a deception that would bring you out here to the Successor's without them making any moves against us? Am I close?" "You're catching on," Finn replied. "You could have at least told me." "I had to keep it a secret, even from you. That way you wouldn't have anything to hide when they questioned you." "And.?" Ryoko pressed. "And I needed a little while to build up my strength," he heard Ryoko smirk in satisfaction. "You try having a baseball sized hole blown through your chest." He was breathing laboriously, but steadily. He was obviously in some discomfort but trying to hide it. Fortunately, the surgeons at the hospital had more or less stitched him back together, but it was a fragile balance. "So what have you found out?" "Not much really. They've had me next door for the past few days with someone watching me around the clock. The guy just left a few minutes ago for some reason. So they're keeping us both in the dark." "Why don't we just break out of here and go home? These guys don't seem to be armed, so it shouldn't be that hard to get out of here." "As much as I want to get out of here, we can't," Finn replied. "They'd just come after us again, or worse. Back at the Utopia Colony we found a stash of arms; I think they're planning something. If they had that many bombs inside the Utopia Colony it's more than likely that they have more in Iacon and all over the place." "And what's next?" Ryoko snapped back. "The UF tries to kill us because we know too much? Akatsuki's still alive? There's another novalite fragment out there? What's going to happen once we finish this? We've been fighting for a long time and I don't see things changing." "Ryoko." "Yeah, I know. We can't give up now. It's just that I'm getting pretty sick and tired of this. I'd rather be in a firefight in space in an aesti than running around blowing up rouge factions of crazed lunatics who seem to crawl out of the woodwork. At least before, when we were fighting the Jovians, we at least.I don't know, had a break every now and then. We knew what we were fighting for." "But we didn't know what we were fighting for," Finn said. "We were both tricked and lied to, duped into fighting a war under the false pretence that it was 'for all humanity'." "You're not helping." "But I know what you're getting at," he added quickly. A few minutes passed. "I've been thinking, maybe we're going about this the wrong way." "What's that supposed to mean?" "We've been fighting to resolve conflict. We fought the Jovians, the Division, the UF, the Akatsuki, and the Successors, but nothing's really changed. Maybe if we approached this from a different angle we might actually get somewhere instead of running around in ircles." "You don't mean negotiate, do you?" "It crossed my mind," Finn admitted. "So you just want to forgive and forget?" "I don't know," he replied, resting his head on the back of the couch and staring into the blackness of the room. "I can't forgive them for what they've done. I can't, but maybe we could meet them halfway, maybe work something out. Sounds stupid, I know. I can hardly believe I'm even saying this, but I just don't see us getting anywhere." "I know," she fumbled for his hand but finally found it. "I'm getting damn sick of it too, but these people, they're not interested in negotiations. You and I both know that trying to work something out would be in everyone's best interests, but with the Jovians it never worked, with the Division it never worked, and I'm pretty sure it wouldn't have worked with the UF or Akatsuki. As much as I hate to say this, you have to face these people at their level. It's the only way they understand. Besides, we're not exactly in the position to be making demands. Even if we could get them to agree to our terms, do you think the UF'll let them get away with it? Fighting them is the simplest solution." "And the simplest solutions are the best solutions," Finn finished. "You know I've never liked killing, but I've had to put that aside and concentrate on the larger picture. It's just that.this is getting ridiculous." "Well, you're going to have to get over it," Ryoko said firmly. "Like it or not, we've got a war to fight, and not fighting means surrendering, which means we loose. Do I even have to mention what that means?" "No, giving up isn't an option," he rose from the couch. "Besides, we've come too far to turn back now," he felt his way across the room in the direction of the tiny ventilation shaft that provided warmth for the small wooden cottage. "Hang on a sec," he pressed his ear against the bare wall. He could hear footsteps outside coming closer. There were also muffled voices. "What do you mean he's gone?" he heard someone ask. "He vanished, I left to find someone to relieve me, and when I came back he was gone." "Aren't you going?" Ryoko asked, getting up and making her way towards the place she had last heard Finn speak. The sound of the door's bolt being released could be heard, along with another all-too familiar sound of a gun being loaded. "How many are there?" "Three, one of them's armed," Finn said, still pressing his ear against the wall. "We can take them," Ryoko said cracking her knuckles. "Hang on a sec," Finn put his hand up to stop her, which was futile in the blackness of the room, but it was a force of habit. However, on its upward journey his hand connected with Ryoko's chest. "What's this? . eep." "Saotome," Ryoko said, gritting her teeth. "Wait!" he said in a hushed whisper, managing to catch her fist out of the air. Just then, the door burst open and a bright light poured into the dark room. Ryoko was about to make a run for the first man who entered but Finn held her back. "Don't act hostile." "Sinners, don't move!" the man holding the gun ordered, aiming the weapon in their direction. "I found him, he's in here." "Let's just try to work something out," Finn said in a hushed voice that only Ryoko could hear. "But." she tried to protest, but Finn added quickly. "If that doesn't work, we'll kick some ass. Let's just call that plan B for now." "Alright," Ryoko said reluctantly. "Don't fire," Finn said to the men and raised his hands. "We're not going to fight you." These words seemed to stun the men. They had been expecting some kind of resistance. They were, after all, the two spoken of in the prophecy. "Come with us," one of them said, stepping aside. The armed man stood ready to fire at a moment's notice, but didn't have to since Finn and Ryoko appeared to be cooperating. They were lead down a narrow and dimly lit hallway and into the same room Ryoko had 'talked' with the Magistrate. However, this time there were many more present. The Magistrate sat on his overly decorated throne, but Finn counted thirteen others sitting to the left of the old man, with armed men standing in the four corners of the room. "It seems there is no end to your trickery," the Magistrate said when Finn and Ryoko had been seated in two hard wooden chairs that were situated in front of two wooden tables situated beside one another. "You have deceived us for the last time." "Actually, I considered it a bit of a vacation," Finn said coolly. "I thought you didn't want to piss them off?" Ryoko nudged him. "But I apologize for deceiving you," he added quickly. "As you probably know, I'm not in the greatest shape at the moment." Behind them, men and women took their seats, and the small room felt overly crowded. The room fell into silence when the last seat was taken. "Can I ask what's going on here?" Finn asked when no one said anything. "I think it should be obvious to someone of your wicked intelligence," the Magistrate said. "Let the trial commence!"

Order in the Court

"Trail? On what charges?" Finn demanded, even though he knew it was useless. One of the men standing beside the Magistrate stepped forward carrying a scroll. "You are on trial facing the following charges," he said unrolling the scroll. "One count each of the wilful destruction of time and space. Five counts each of blasphemy against our faith and the voice. Two counts against Finn Saotome of directly hindering the voice's work. Two counts of assisting hindrance of the voice's work against Ryoko Subaru. Will the Magistrate render his verdict now?" "Wait a sec!" Finn bolted up out of his chair but was roughly pushed back by one of the armed guards. He winced as the guard's hand struck him in the chest and breathing became very difficult. "You alright?" Ryoko asked quietly. Finn nodded his reply, his face still contorted in pain. She was about to grab the guard's gun and stir up some action, but she remembered Finn's request to at least try and get out of this without killing.a lot. 'Here goes,' she thought. "Magistrate, that was completely unnecessary, you know my fellow defendant is injured and is in no condition for such brutal treatment. It also goes against all POW." "You are insects!" the Magistrate boomed. "To be studied and then disposed of." "I object to this bullshit," Finn said, still catching his breath. "We have the right to security of person during detainment and." "You have no rights here." "And this sure as hell isn't a jury of my peers," Finn finished, ignoring the Magistrate. There was a certain sense of a recurring pattern going on. "You are an inferior species and have nor deserve any rights. It is common throughout history that lower forms of life are not to be treated as equals," the Magistrate said. There was a term that described the atmosphere of the 'courtroom': creepy. Only the Magistrate seemed to be allowed to talk, with the occasional exception of the guards who were called on specifically, everyone else just stared forward in silence. Finn smirked at the Magistrate's last remark. "What are you laughing about?" "You guys think you're above humans? Then why are you justifying your actions with human history?" "Silence!" "No!" Finn said with as much force as he could muster. There was a collective gasp from the audience in response to Finn's defiance. "Magistrate, before I completely give up with you people at least permit me to speak freely in my own defence. I think that even 'superior' life forms such as yourselves can grant that." There was silence. "By refusing, you'd only be proving to everyone here that you truly are no better than human beings." The Magistrate seemed reluctant to grant such a request, but carefully chewed over Finn's words. "Permission granted." "Thank you," Finn looked at the group of thirteen that he perceived to be the jury of his kangaroo court. "I have just a few things to say here and I'd appreciate it if I was not interrupted." The Magistrate eyed him suspiciously, but Finn continued on before he could say anything. The ball was already in motion. "Magistrate, I respectively request that you answer this question. In your religion is there anything that specifies that you should not kill?" "Only." "Yes or no, please." "No." Finn's heart stopped for a moment. "Come again?" he asked bewilderedly. "No, there is nothing in the holy text that condemns death," 'Aww shiiiiiiiiiiiiit,' was the thought that ran through Finn's mind. He looked at Ryoko, who looked as confused as he did and simply shrugged. 'There goes that plan.' "I am not the one on trial," the Magistrate said. "I do not have to answer your questions." "Alright," this didn't seem to discourage Finn, but Ryoko knew that his main argument had just been thrown out the window. A thought came to mind. "So if I were to kill you and everyone here, that wouldn't conflict with your ideals?" "It would only prove your race's own infectious values of hatred and violence," the Magistrate said. "But you killed hundreds of thousands when you decided to 'purge' the Utopia Colony, so wouldn't that prove that you yourself are only human?" "I said before, I am not on trial, and I am not required to answer any of your foolish and poisonous questions!" "You said that the human race is too far gone to redeem itself because of things like wars, which bring death and destruction, but you're really not any better," Finn said. "By killing people you're proving that you are human." "We are above your kind!" the Magistrate said furiously, rising from his chair and beating the end of his staff against the wooden floor. "Getting angry? Gee, let me think, anger: a human emotion." "Silence!" "You're no better than anyone else," Finn continued. "You get angry, you kill, and I'm assuming you eat, breath, and sleep like the rest of us. Face it, you're only human." "I said silence, vile boy!" "I thought you were trying to be diplomatic?" Ryoko whispered. "I am," Finn replied. "That's it, we're screwed." "Magistrate," Finn said, turning his head back towards the insane old man. "It's obvious that I can't get you to change your beliefs. I mean, I wouldn't force anyone to change their belief system, it's only fair. But can I at least ask you to change your actions? You people can live out here in the mountains away from society if you want, God knows I'm not stopping you, but is it really necessary to slaughter billions of lives? Why can't you live out your lives here, undisturbed, away from everything you hate so much, and carry on?" 'It's like a drowning man trying to keep himself afloat by grabbing onto a bucket of lead,' was the thought running through Ryoko's mind. "What are you saying?" the Magistrate asked suspiciously. "I'm trying to say that we can try and co-exist. You guys stay here and leave us alone, and we'll stay in the colonies and leave you guys alone. What do you say?" Finn asked. He didn't really expect it to work, but he had to at least give it a try, give that one-in-a-million chance the opportunity to prove the odds wrong. "I say," the Magistrate said after a while had passed. Finn looked hopeful, but not expectant. "You are a fool." "But why? Why do so many have to die? It doesn't make any sense!" Finn protested. "You simple boy," the Magistrate shook his head. "You simple, simple boy." "I don't understand." "Of course you don't!" the Magistrate rose from his seat again. "You are a mere boy. How could you possibly understand beings that have ascended beyond your level? This world must be purged of the evil of man. Mars, Earth, its moon, and your insidious space colonies must all be cleansed from the poison that has saturated your very beings! You forced us from our homes, now it is time for us to force you from yours. But we will not make the same mistake; we will not give you the same opportunity you gave us. Your destruction will be total and outright! You have desecrated the pure universe that the voice provided its people with your wars, your destructive practices, your vile and disgusting values." "I only have one thing left to say," Finn said when the Magistrate's babblings died down. "Your original plan was to use the CCs, novalite, sacred stones, whatever, to blow up colonies. How do you plan on wiping humanity off the face of the universe now that it's gone?" "That, boy," the Magistrate said. "Is none of your concern." "Then why haven't you killed us off yet? If you have it all worked out then letting either of us live is a huge liability." "You two are the chosen ones." "Which means?" "It was you two who sent the call, which means that you are the ones who will initiate your own destruction. At first we interpreted this to mean by use of the sacred stones. However, since that is no longer a possibility, we have looked further into the meaning of the text. On closer inspection, we realized that the sacred stones were never to be used to destroy you, they were merely there as the final test. The text states that both the chosen ones would come from this party. You, Ryoko Subaru, came from the cannon of darkness at the party's arms. You were an instrumentation of the force the evil possessed. You, Finn Saotome, come from another branch of the wicked tree. The cunning intuitiveness of such an evil regime is shown through you." "Get to the point," Finn demanded. "The cunning would carry the two forward. It would bring them towards the point where we could make our presence known. However, it is only through the strength of the arms that you are able to persevere, and it is the arms that have the hands that are able to unlock the doors." "Oh shit." Ryoko began. "Nuclear weapons," Finn concluded. "You mean your going to nuke the colonies and then Earth?!" "That is correct," the Magistrate said. "How quick these vermin catch on. The arms hold the keys." Finn looked at Ryoko, a senior combat pilot who would undoubtedly know where and how nuclear weapons could be obtained. The UF was scattered and confused, it would be easy to take an understaffed base. All they needed were. "The missile codes." "You have the keys, Ryoko Subaru," the Magistrate pointed his finger at her. "If you think you can get anything out of me, you can bite my ass," Ryoko said. "You will tell us." "Hold it," Finn raised his hand, cutting the Magistrate off. "If you think you're going to threaten to kill me if she doesn't tell you anything, it's a waste of a bullet." "Why would we want to kill you?" the Magistrate asked. "There are things so much worse than death." The guard standing to Finn's left, the one who had pushed him back in his chair, drew his gun and fired a shot into Finn's left shoulder. "In order to realize our ambitions." Finn flew upright and, using his good arm, grabbed the guard by the arm and twisted it around his back, causing him to drop the gun to the floor. Ryoko picked the falling gun out of the air and aimed it in the direction of the Magistrate's head. "You're ambition has made you insane," Finn said. "I was really hoping that I didn't have to resort to this, but you've left me no choice." All the other guards drew their weapons and aimed for Finn and Ryoko. "Kill either of us and you'll never get what you want, you'd have to resort to the small arms you have stashed away. And that might be very difficult, taking out an entire race with a few bombs and a couple of machine guns." "So much for diplomacy," Ryoko mumbled. "You're shoulder ok?" "I think it passed right through, I'm alright." "Fire on me and neither of you will escape this place alive," the Magistrate said calmly, seeming perfectly comfortable with the idea of a gun being aimed at his head. "I thought you said you needed us alive?" "We cannot risk letting either of you go free, sacrifices are sometimes required. If you make any move against me, you will be brought down in less than a second." "As might you be if your loyal troops open fire. And since when did you plan on letting either of us go free?" the pain from Finn's shoulder was beginning to break through the numb feeling that had taken over when the bullet hit. He tightened his grip on the guard's arm and wrenched it back a little further. "Surely, you wouldn't want to risk hitting one of your own?" "It would be an honour to die in the name of the voice," the Magistrate said. "I just love dealing with people who can't be reasoned with," Finn mumbled and glanced around the room. There were six guards in total bearing weapons. Four of them stood in the corners of the room, one beside the Magistrate to Finn's right, and the one Finn restrained. "Got any ideas?" Ryoko whispered. "They're purely defensive," Finn replied in a hushed voice. "They won't fire unless we make the first move. So that scraps the idea of a reaction-based response." "What are you.?" "Please don't talk," Finn said, wrenching the man's arm back a little. He really didn't want to cause the man any more pain, but his brain cells unanimously passed a resolution authorizing the use of force to keep him silent. He turned back to Ryoko. "Maybe we should take him out while we have the chance?" Ryoko suggested, looking at the Magistrate. "We'd both die and some other nutcase would take over." "So we're screwed." "Pretty much."

Human Nature

"This is foolish!" the Magistrate said. "Submit now and die with the satisfaction of helping the voice." "That's exactly the way I don't want to go," Finn replied. The situation was tense. Over half an hour had gone by and everyone was still locked in the same position. The guards still stood firmly with their guns at them, Ryoko still aimed her gun at the Magistrate's head, Finn still restrained the guard, and the spectators still stared blankly forward, seemingly unaware of the conflict occurring around them. There was a sudden crack and the sound of a man crashing to the floor. "Ryoko?" "It wasn't me," Ryoko said. There was another crack and the man Finn held cried out. Finn brought the man to the floor and Ryoko knocked the table over, providing cover from the two guards in front of the Magistrate. The guard one of the corners behind them had already been shot and the other one looked around in confusion. The cracking noise wasn't the sound of a gun being fired, so no one opened fire on Finn and Ryoko. "Where'd you get hit?" Finn asked the man, still hanging onto his arm. "What are you trying to trick me into?" he asked. "I'm trying to see if you're alright!" Finn spun the man around and saw a small bloodstain on his right arm. "It looks like it passed right through, just barely more than a graze. You'll be alright." "Are you nuts or something?" Ryoko asked, peering over the table. There was another crack and another guard fell to the floor. "I really don't want anyone to die if they don't have to," Finn said, using his good hand and his teeth to tear a strip of his shirt off and clumsily, but securely, tied it around the man's arm. "I'm getting sick of all this death." Ryoko looked around the room. The spectators still sat staring forward and the sudden crack was heard again. "What the hell is going on here?" Finn left the bewildered man and looked in the direction of where the sounds were coming from. There were small bright spots in the wall that he hadn't noticed before. There was another crack and another bright spot appeared. "Hey," he nudged the man he had bandaged. "What time of day is it?" "Two in the afternoon," he replied. "Is it a sniper?" asked Ryoko. "I think so, probably shooting from one of the hills around here," "He must be using a heat scope to look inside and tipped ammo to break through." "Where the hell did he find that kind of firepower?" Finn ducked as a bullet grazed his cheek. "He missed me." "That's because he's not aiming at you," Ryoko said. "Only UF commandos have those kind of weapons, they're usually used in hostage incidents." "So a UF sniper is shooting at us?" Finn turned to the spectators, who still stared straight ahead, unmoving. "What's wrong with these people?" "They won't move until our triumph is secured," the wounded man said. "They are the selected few who will stay behind and rebuild the universe." "I don't need to know anymore than that. Does this building have a basement?" "Yes, it does." "Magistrate!" Finn shouted. "Get these people out of here and underground! They'll be safe down there." "Who are you to give orders to us?" the Magistrate boomed. "Listen gramps," Finn leapt over the table and grabbed the old man by the collar. "Unless you want everyone here to die, you will get them out of here and underground." "Why should vermin like you care about what happens to us? You are the enemy." "I don't like to see people die needlessly. Now MOVE!" "It goes against the prophecy." "I don't care about your 'prophecy'!" Finn shouted. "Listen, let's just cut the crap here for a sec.hold on." a thought struck him. "Hey, Saotome!" Ryoko said as she stood up. "I think it's stopped, all the armed guys are down." "Ryoko!" Finn tackled her and they were both sent crashing to the floor, causing Ryoko to drop the gun. "What are you doing?" she demanded and reached for the gun. Sawdust suddenly exploded out of the floor as shots hit between her and the gun. "Wait, Finn pinned her to the floor. "He's shooting at everyone with a gun's heat signature on them. He'll probably pick you off if he sees you." "Enough!" the Magistrate rose from his chair. Dropping his staff, he picked up the gun from one of the fallen guards and came around the other side of the table where Ryoko and Finn were. "I command you, cease this madness at once or I shall end both of your miserable lives!" "Are you crazy?" Finn answered. "I can't stop that sniper, the only way he'll stop shooting is if you." "I said stop your witchcraft at once! You have desecrated this holy temple with your evil ways, and I will tolerate no further contamination!" the Magistrate fired a shot into Finn's already wounded shoulder. "The blood of my kin has blessed this land, and now you come here to soil the sanctity of it these arrows of evil? I will not tolerate it! The only way to pay for the blood of my fallen kin is with yours! Our ideals, our purpose can be instrumented with you, but it can also be made truth without you! I bid thee farewell on your journey of your demise!" Finn looked at the gun a few feet away. It was too risky to make a grab for it with the sniper still in wait. 'Why doesn't he take out this guy? What's taking so long?' he thought. His chest ached and each breath was laboriously slow and painful. "What are you waiting for?" Finn asked, pulling himself upright. "You want to shoot me, so why not do it?" "I've waited a long time for this." "So why prolong your wait? You could be sitting there looking at my corpse right now if you wanted to." "You.you will die!" the Magistrate's hands shook. "A lot of people have wanted me dead," Finn went on. "So it would be quite an accomplishment to bring me down. A lot of people would probably be pretty jealous if they found out you finally managed to do what they couldn't." The Magistrate fired a shot, but his hands shook so badly that it simply grazed Finn's head, literally splitting hairs in two. "What do you have to say now?" Finn blinked a few times. "Scary!" the Magistrate shot at him again and Finn sidestepped the bullet. 'Where are you Mr. Sniper when I really need you?' the Magistrate continued to fire, but Finn continued to barely dodge the bullets by reading the trajectory of the gun's barrel. "Whoa!" he cried when he tripped over his own feet and landed on his back, hard. He could feel the wound in his back scream at him as he hit the floor. "You are a very fortunate man, Mr. Saotome," the Magistrate said, brining the gun level with Finn's face. "I'm out of bullets." "Actually," Finn said, his chest painfully heaving air in and out of his lungs. "By my count, you should have one more shot left." "Don't poison my mind with your filthy lies!" "If you're so convinced, then why not see for yourself?" Finn heaved. "I'm injured, defenceless, and weak. It shouldn't be too hard to pull the trigger." "I.I will kill you!" the Magistrate shouted. "Then do it, for crying out loud. Put me out of my misery, maybe then I could get some sleep for once," Finn said. Still no sniper shots. "You will die!" The Magistrate's hands shook so much that he nearly lost his grip on the gun. "You must die!" There was a long pause. "You can't do it, can you?" Finn concluded. "I can kill you, I will kill you!" "You little liar," Finn shook his head. "You can't kill anyone, can you? All this time you've had other people do your dirty work, while you kept your hands free of blood. You're afraid to carryout your threats because you don't want to soil yourself." "Lies!" "And that whole 'killing is ok' thing, that was all crap," Finn went on. "As long as someone else does it, that's fine, but you couldn't stand to have blood spilled on your hands directly." "It is not true! Ending your miserable existence in the name of the voice would be an honour!" "Then prove me wrong," Finn shut his eyes. A slow clicking noise could be heard as the Magistrate's finger slowly began to pull the trigger. There was a sudden, yet unfamiliar, crack and the sound of a body falling to the floor. Finn opened his eyes and saw the Magistrate's limp body laying in a pile on the floor. Looking slightly to his right, he saw the wounded man holding the smoking gun. The man looked at Finn with a confused, but relieved, look on his face. "Thanks," the man patted the strip Finn had tied around his arm. There was another sudden crack and the man slumped to the floor. A small trail of smoke rose from the man's chest, where the bullet had entered. Finn crawled over to him and rolled him onto his back. Ryoko knelt down beside him and looked at the wound. The bullet had hit his chest, very close to the heart. Blood was seeping through the wound and slowly dripping onto the floor. Finn wanted to ask if he was alright, but that seemed kind of redundant at this point. He helped the man up a little to rest his back against the overturned table. He was still alive, but he could tell that that could change any second. "Did the bullet come out?" Ryoko asked. "I don't think so," Finn said, taking a glance at where the man had fallen. "He's not in good shape, bleeding badly." "And we're out in the middle of nowhere to boot. If we could stop the bleeding he might last long enough for us to get him to a hospital, if there's one a few hours from here." "Don't give up on us now," Finn said to the man. "We'll get you some help, somehow." Even though he knew his words would probably never be made truthful, he felt that he should at least try and comfort him in some way. It was better than just leaving him there to die alone. "It's ok," the man said. "Really, it's ok." "I would hardly consider this even close to ok," Finn said. "What's your name?" "Tsukumo.Tsukumo Shiratori." "Shiratori?" Finn and Ryoko repeated. "What the hell are you doing here? When did your faction become part of Shokaract?" Finn asked. "They never told me where I came from," Shiratori barely said. "I was always brought up as a Successor. I never knew where I came from." "Don't worry, friend. We'll get you out of here." "You don't have to do that," he said weakly. "The Successors." he struggled to say. "Don't try to talk," Finn said, searching desperately for something to put on the bubbling wound in Shiratori's chet. "This has to be said," Shiratori went on. "The Successors.they're not as bad as you think. The Magistrate.he twisted their beliefs, made them hate, made them kill. Don't let them die.not because of him. Please, Saotome, Subaru, don't let it happen to them. Don't let them pay the price for his mistakes." Finn looked around at the people still sitting in the room. They were all still facing forward, not a muscle moving, nor an eye blinking. "I remember you two.from before. As soon as I heard your names this morning, I knew who you were." "The UF troops'll be here any second now," Ryoko said. "Chances are they'll kill everyone in this room, us included." "Listen to me," Shiratori grasped one of Finn's hands. "These are my family and friends. Yukina, she's there too. Saotome, Subaru, don't let anything happen to them." He convulsed in pain and hung onto life by a thread. "Please." He took a final breath before the seductive calling from the eternal sleep was too much to fight against. Finn shut his eyes, brimming with tears. "Damnit all!" he cried, driving his fist into the wood flooring. Shiratori had been the enemy twice; once in this world and once in the previous one, but in both cases he had risen above the hateful and destructive beliefs that he had been brought up by, and had saved both Finn and Ryoko's lives on more than one occasion. "I can't stand it any more!" he pounded his fist against the floor again in frustration. He then caught a wiff of something peculiar rising from Shiratori's body. He stared at the bullet wound for a moment before gently touching it with his fingers, which he then brought to his nose to smell. "Almonds." he wiped the blood on his shirt. "Cyanide. They didn't even give him a chance." "Finn," Ryoko looked at him with understanding pity. "I can't do this anymore," he said. "Well, as much as it sucks, you can't give up just yet. This place will be swarming in UF soldiers in a few seconds, minutes if we're lucky. Like it or not, this place is going to be a war zone." "Nu uh," Finn said. "Not this time, not again." He slipped his hands beneath the fallen Shiratori and, with an agonizing cry from his wounded shoulder, lifted him up off the floor. He then began to walk down the narrow space between the rows of seats, Shiratori's blood slowly dripping down and spatting on the floor as he passed. Ryoko stayed behind; this was Finn's fight, not hers. As he passed, the spectators slowly turned their heads and followed him with their eyes. Finn paused for a moment and caught Yukina's eyes, which were frightened and confused. However, before she could even utter so much as a cry, he continued on. He paused again for a moment when he reached the door and said: "You can stay here if you want, but that'll probably mean a lot more digging for me. It's your choice." He carried Shiratori outside and across the small village to a bright, grassy spot. He put him down for a moment and grabbed a shovel, which was propped up against one of the buildings, and began to dig.

The Final Battle

Finn gently patted the dirt over Shiratori's body and rose for a moment of silence. This was the last friend he intended to loose and the last life he intended to see end. He picked up two stones, a large flat one and a small one with a sharp tip at its end. Holding the flat stone firmly against the ground, he used the sharp tip of the other stone to slowly carved a few words into it. "Tsukumo Shiratori. A fallen friend and ally, and the last to die in my arms." The chopping sound of a helicopter exploded from over a hill. It hovered above the building Finn had come out of just a little while before. Finn didn't bother to look over and watch the soldiers slide down lines and form a circle around him. He heard their guns arm and their boots scrape across the ground as they slowly approached. The helicopter flew off again into the hills and they were soon surrounded by the soft noises of the Martian mountains. "Hands in the air!" came a voice from behind. Finn continued to stare at the fresh grave he had just finished. The wind blew the dust off the headstone and it sparkled in the bright sun. "I said hands in the air!" Finn remained motionless. "You have until the count of one to put your hands in the air! Three, two." "You don't need to fire at me," Finn said, slowly raising his arms above his head. "I am Lieutenant Finn Saotome of the high-mobile battleship Nadesico, or Detective Finn Saotome of the Utopia Colony Police, take your pick, I don't really care which." "You're Saotome?" the solider who appeared to be the group's commander asked. "He is wearing the clothes the hospital said he was in, sir," another added. "Detective," the commander said, lowering his weapon slightly. "Please hold out your hand." Finn did so and the commander turned to one of his subordinate officers, who immediately complied with the unspoken orders and pricked Finn's finger with a small pinlike device with a cord leading into a small palmpad. "He's the real deal, sir," he said, looking up from the DNA database programme. "Where is Pilot Subaru? Is she still with you? What's going on here?" the commander turned to his men. "Search the building." "Commander," Finn said, turning around to face the man. "I respectfully request that none of the people here be harmed in any way." Everyone stopped and stared at him. "Call it a friend's last request," he added, looking back at the grave. "Detective," the commander said, moving up beside him. "What happened here?" "There's no threat to neutralize, commander," Finn replied. "Your sniper has already taken care of that, and then some. You don't need to kill anyone." "You didn't answer my question." "I apologize," Finn said and related the past few weeks' events in their entirety, with the exception of a few somewhat questionable actions he had taken to deal with the novalite deposit and Akatsuki. "So you're saying that the head of the Shokaract is dead?" the commander asked when Finn had finished. The other soldiers still encircled him, but more out of curiosity than standing to attention in the presence of their commanding officer. "That's correct. Your sniper took him out, along with all the armed men in the room," Finn replied. "The last of his targets," he looked at the grave. "Was a friend of mine. He told me that the Successors were not originally hostile, that they're organization was manipulated by a man known as the Magistrate, who was sniped. Now that the driving force behind their aggressive and murderous intentions is gone, there is no need to kill anyone here." "Are you siding with the Successors?" "You crazy? They're all loonybins as far as I'm concerned, but that's not the point. The point is that without the Magistrate pulling their strings, they won't try and blow up any more colonies or military installations." "Do you honestly believe that your friend was telling the truth? It may be possible he told you those things just to buy his companions some time, perhaps.look, what I'm trying to say here is that he very well may have been lying to deceive you, to trick you into." "You can think that if you want," Finn interrupted. "But that doesn't change what happened here. Tell me, what were the orders you were given when you departed on this mission?" "We were ordered to neutralize all hostile threats in the vicinity and take control of this village." "Who gave you these orders?" "The Supreme Commander himself gave us our orders, but he didn't specify specifically. I decided to call in a sniper team to clear any preliminary threats before we stormed the village. I didn't want any of my men to be in any danger that they didn't have to be. My unit commander, Admiral Misumaru gave me tertiary orders that stated the bodies of Pilot Subaru and yourself were also to be recovered." "Well, I'm sorry to disappoint your unit commander, but I'd rather not go home in a body bag," Finn said. "So you were not given orders to kill everyone here?" "Not specifically," the commander replied uneasily. "It was an official briefing and." he trailed off. "The Supreme Commander wanted to make this sound like a recovery mission, not genocide," Finn finished. "I take my orders at face value, Detective. I was ordered to neutralize all hostile threats and secure the area, nothing more." "What will happen to the people here?" "We will detain them until all relevant information has been extracted. What happens after that is as much a mystery to me as it is to you." "Is it possible for all those that had nothing to do with Shokaract's attacks to remain here under observation?" "I wouldn't know, Detective," the commander said firmly. "I'm just a soldier carrying out my orders, and that's what I have to do now." He turned to his men. "Search the buildings and bring everyone to the main building here. Check for any traps, this area is potentially dangerous. Detective Saotome, where is Pilot Subaru?" "In the main building over there," Finn motioned. "Men, bring her out here. We'll have the chopper pick them up. Alright? Move!" "Yes, sir!" they said enthusiastically and moved off in pairs of two.

"One more question," Finn said as the commander was about to move off to search with his troops. "How'd you find us out here anyway?" "We received information from someone here on the surface. They hacked into the lunar base's communications system and broadcasted a text message on every channel. I guess whoever it was wanted to make sure that we got it. We also received information regarding Nergal's involvement. Why do you ask?" Finn looked at him. "Ok, stupid question." A little while later, Ryoko was lead to Finn, who lay on his back in the grass and stared at the Martian sky. He didn't look upset, or angry in any way, nor did he look relieved or content. In fact, he didn't look like anything. There was no expression on his face. It was as if his spirit had left his body and was off wandering somewhere else. "Finn ?" she asked, sitting down beside him. She didn't really expect an answer, but it was better than sitting there in total silence. A few minutes passed in an eerie kind of silence and she eventually caved and lay down beside him. The sky was it's usual redish-blue. There was nothing particularly fascinating about it; it was the same sky she'd always known on Mars. It was hard to believe that they had actually come this far. It was equally hard to believe what they had actually gone through to get there. To anyone else, it would have been impossible to tell what Finn was thinking about. Someone might even have thought Finn was dead based on his lack of movement, but Ryoko knew exactly what was running through his mind, and it was the same train of thought running down the rails in her mind as well. The author considers going on some long reflection of how Finn and Ryoko had come so far, but it's past 3 o'clock in the morning and his ass has become rooted to his chair from sitting there so long. So let's get on to the good stuff. Ryoko's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a helicopter's blades slicing through the air. A few moments later, she saw it burst out from behind and hill and circle wide over the small village. Finn continued to stare off into space, but Ryoko followed the helicopter with her eyes. It landed at the centre of the village a few moments later, kicking up a large cloud of dust as it touched down. Its blades continued to rotate, but the dust finally settled, and the commander made his way to where Finn and Ryoko lay on the ground. "That's the chopper that's going to take you two out of here," he said. Another helicopter came into view as it came out from behind the hills and made its way towards the village centre. It landed not far from the other helicopter, kicking up an equally blinding cloud of dust as it touched down. The commander left them and rushed over to meet the second team that piled out of the machine. Finn followed him with his eyes and watched as the second team formed two parallel lines perpendicular to the helicopter's main doors. A single man stepped down and onto the ground and proceeded down the invisible red carpet that had been lain out for him. From Finn's vantage point, he could see that the man was obviously a UF admiral, black hair and a black moustache, it all seemed vaguely familiar to him. He watched cautiously as the admiral approached, followed by troops as me walked towards the pair. "Greetings, Detective Saotome," he said. "And you too, Pilot Subaru. I'm glad to see you two made it. We weren't sure if we had made it in time, but I see that you appear relatively unharmed." Finn lifted his head off the grass and looked at the man. "I am Admiral Misumaru, commander of the third fleet, United Space Forces. We received tip that you might be around here and in need of some assistance." With great effort, Finn managed to pull himself upright. His whole body ached and he was beyond exhaustion, both mental and physical. He was at the point where his body had become accustomed to the pain resonating from his chest and his shoulder and the thought of resting seemed like an impossibility. "Hang on there," Ryoko said, grabbing hold of him as he was about to fall to the ground again. She swung his arm around her neck and held him up. "I apologize, sir. We've been fighting a long time." "For which the United Forces are very apologetic, I assure you," Admiral Misumaru said. "But there will be time to talk later. First thing's first, we're going to fly you both out of this dump and back to civilization. This time you won't have to worry about any unwanted intrusions, I promise you." "How did you find us out here?" Finn asked, not so much that he needed to know, but he wanted to make sure of his own assumptions. Admiral Misumaru cleared his throat and looked nervously around at the soldiers. "Would you men excuse us for a moment?" "Yes, sir," the commander said, giving a salute and walked away in the direction of the helicopters. "It was Ruri, wasn't it," Finn said. "That's correct. You must understand that I do not wish that piece of information to become public knowledge. It would be a public relations disaster, surely you understand." "I understand," Finn replied grimly. As much as he hated to admit it, the UF had saved his ass. But what was to stop him from sending 'accidental' and anonymous e-mail to the news stations? If word of this got out, if the public knew the truth behind the Successors, Nergal, and the UF, the UF's control would crumble. It was a very tempting thought, that the UF could finally be brought to justice for all the things they had done. "You must also understand that our actions here, specifically the request that you two be brought back alive, if possible, are a personal favour for my daughter. We originally had planned on bombing the village and everyone in it, but she requested that a small team be sent in to determine whether or not you were alive." "I understand, sir," Finn said, adding the sir to wash away any signs of what he had been concocting. "Pilot Subaru?" "Yes, sir. I understand," Ryoko said. "Sir, with permission, I request to leave the service." "Why would you want to do that? There is already a field promotion and honours ceremony planned for you, so why would you want to leave now? Not to mention you're service record.I don't think I even have to comment on your commendable efforts both prior and during this whole ordeal." Ryoko seemed to struggle with what she wanted to say. The truth being that she didn't know exactly what she wanted. She'd always planned on a career in the military ever since her father had taken her to the air base when she was only a few years of age. But everything she thought she had been fighting for all this time was a lie. She had been tricked and lied to, both here and before reality shifted. All her life, everything she thought she was fighting for was all false. She took a look around her. Even thought the village looked quiet and peaceful, it represented everything she wanted to erase from her life. All the death and deceit, she didn't want to further those lies anymore. She didn't want to be merely a cog in the machine again. "With all due respect, sir, I would like to pursue another path in life. I believe that recent events have caused me to alter my outlook on military service, and feel that I can no longer receive and follow orders without questioning them." She unpinned her pilot's wings and handed them over to the admiral, who looked at them with a unrestrained disappointment. "I'm sorry." "I understand," he said, tucking the pin into his pocket. "You will be sorely missed, Pilot. I wish you luck on whatever path you choose to follow." He looked at Finn. "You look as though you could use a little patching up." "I get that a lot," Finn said, still relying heavily on Ryoko to remain standing. 'Why is it that I'm always the one who gets shot?' he asked himself. "Well then, let's get you out of here. The sooner we leave, the sooner you can get home." Admiral Misumaru led them towards the helicopter he had arrived in. One of the pilots was loitering in the shade cast by the machine against the sun and opened the doors for them to board. "Excuse me, Admiral," Finn said as they were about to climb in. "What's going to happen to the people here? I told the commander of the team that arrived here first that their leader has been taken out, and that there is no longer any real threat of more attacks from them." He looked back at where he had buried Shiratori. "I also promised a friend that I wouldn't let anything happen to them." "Don't worry, we have no intention of harming them. We just want to get some information out of them, that's all. I won't have your promise broken." "Sir? Are we almost ready to take off?" the pilot asked before the admiral could say anything more. "Yes, we're almost ready." He turned to Finn and Ryoko. "Climb in." Ryoko climbed in first and helped Finn up. The engines were started up and the noise of the blades above them slowly began to grow. However, as Finn was climbing up, he barely heard a noise over the blades. He looked over and saw small holes explode out of the main building's side. But before he could do anything, the admiral pushed him up into his seat, climbed up, and closed the door. "Admiral," Finn said, his blood boiling. "I thought you said nothing was going to happen to them?" Admiral Misumaru looked at Finn for a moment as the helicopter slowly rose into the air and began to fly away. Finn looked behind them and watched as the building began to smoke and was soon enveloped in flames. In response to Finn's question, the admiral handed him a small folder and motioned for him to read its contents. "A war-game accident?!" "That's right," Admiral Misumaru said. "A trainer aircraft accidentally missed its target and hit an uninhabited town mock-up." Finn was about to protest when the admiral spoke again. "This is a favour on behalf of Yurika. You were transferred from the Olympus Hospital in New Wellington to a military hospital for closer observation." Ryoko looked ready to punch his lights out. "I would hate to have to tell her that you two were killed in a helicopter crash on your journey home." Finn grit his teeth and stared furiously at Admiral Misumaru's eyes. There wasn't anything he could do anymore. If he were to take action now, both he and Ryoko would probably end up in a ditch somewhere. Every part of his being told him to tear the man sitting across from him apart, but there was no way he could do that. It would only cause more pain and more suffering; it would only bring him closer to his own grave and would only cause Yurika anguish. He had failed to keep his promise to Shiratori. "You son of a bitch," Finn muttered as he sat back and helplessly stared at the small trail of smoke that was rising into the air until it slowly faded from sight. "I'm sorry," Admiral Misumaru said. "But we can't allow the Successors to survive. They have caused untold devastation and death. Surely you understand, you witnessed what happened at the Pole and saw the aftermath of the Utopia Colony disaster. Yurika told me fiancé was killed, my condolences, but don't you want to pay them back for what they did?" Finn continued to stare out the window. "That's just the point. The more we push, the harder they'll push back. If we don't give them a reason to fight, then there's little chance they will. Besides, I've already had my revenge." "And you don't feel satisfied?" "No, I don't." "So then you would want to make the Successors pay and satisfy your revenge," Admiral Misumaru concluded. "No! Stop twisting my words around. Look, revenge won't get anyone anywhere. We kill them, they'll kill us. We bomb them, they bomb us. It just goes back and forth like a frickin ping pong ball until everyone forgets what they're fighting for. No one wants to stop unless they get the last laugh, so it doesn't stop, not until one side exterminates the other," Finn turned to face the admiral. "But it's all pretty redundant now. They're dead, you've won, they lost." There was a slight pause. "Idiots," Finn muttered

Ruri's Logs

Today was my 18th birthday, or at least, that's what has been decided. Since I was born in a laboratory and raised under mysterious circumstances, I have no idea what my real date of birth is. The Tenkawas have decided that today, June 15th, will be the day we celebrate. This day holds special significance not because it has been dubbed my birthday, but because it was at this time six years ago, that I first joined the crew of the Nadesico, and participated in the greatest conflict ever known to man kind. Of course, there are only a handful of people who actually know that conflict even existed since Mr. Saotome destroyed the jump computer. As far as I know, only Mr. Tenkawa, the Captain, Lt. Saotome, and Miss. Subaru know what happened. I suppose that I shouldn't call her Captain anymore, due to the fact there isn't a ship to run nor a crew to command. I have taken to calling Mr. Tenkawa "Akito", primarily because he requested it. "I don't feel I warrant that kind if title from you," was what he said. The Captain also requested that I refer to her as Yurika, or at the very least as Mother, but Captain is the only name I have ever felt comfortable with. I don't expect anyone to understand, nor do I wish them to ponder my decision too any great extent. Lt. Saotome, however, does seem to comprehend why I have taken such a preference to calling Mrs. Yurika Tenkawa by her assigned rank in a reality that no longer exists. He is a strange man, Finn Saotome. During the party, the only thing that dampened his spirits was the arrival of the Captain's father, Admiral Misumaru. They spent the remainder of the evening exchanging suspicious glances. I know Lt. Saotome despises him for what he did to the Successors, but his hands are tied. I'm sure he's probably plotting some kind of coup to seize the reigns of power and bring him to justice, but his resolution never to kill again probably keeps his plans to the drawing board. He and Miss. Subaru are now living in a nearby apartment building in the rebuilt Utopia Colony. Mr. Saotome has returned to his job as a detective with the Utopia Colony Police. Two years ago, Miss. Subaru attended university and later applied to take the Martian Police Examinations. She passed with, as Lt. Saotome put it, "flying colours" and is currently working as an interrogation expert and S.W.A.T. team strategist with the police. I suppose old habits die hard. However, they appear to both be content with their lives. Mr. Saotome gave me an interesting gift during the celebration held at the restaurant this past evening. Akito and the Captain presented me with my usual preferences, more data to input into the Omoikane system I am currently developing. Miss. Subaru gave me a rather.unusual gift. It was a paintball gun equipped with an electric hopper, laser scope, and long-range sniper barrel. I am not used to strange customs such as celebratory events, but I appreciate the gesture. Miss Subaru stated that she would instruct me how to "kick ass". I will leave my feelings towards such instruction undisclosed at the present time. However, Lt. Saotome presented me with the most interesting gift; a small hardbound notebook. Inside the cover he scribbled "You'll find this very educational," I have taken to studying the world around me and recording my personal observations into this notebook, this being one such occasion since this is my first page of notes. I have yet to know for certain why Lt. Saotome kept a notebook in the previous reality. Surely with his sparkling mental health (although that could be heavily argued against) he has no need for a record of his observations. I have found observing him to be very educational. However, upon reading this first entry, I have noticed that I am straying considerably distant from my original intentions. The United Forces publicly released its reports from the 2196 Disaster Season, more commonly referred to as the Martian Big Bang. I have read it in its entirety and have a more detailed idea as to why Lt. Saotome resents the UF. According to the report, a small meteorite struck the Utopia Colony's centre and exploded on impact, creating a shockwave that destroyed nearly every structure in the colony. The tremor generated by the sudden force of the meteorite caused many of the underground gas lines to rupture, creating widespread fires, thereby furthering the destruction. The other colonies thought that there had simply been some kind of power failure that prevented them from contacting anyone within the colony. Even after a month had passed and there was still no word from Utopia, the other colonies still figured that it was a power failure. It wasn't until Akito boson jumped to the Antarctic to assist Lt. Saotome and Miss. Subaru that anyone actually heard what had happened. There were only 421 survivors of this disaster. More than 98% of the buildings within the colony were turned to rubble. As for the Antarctic installation, the UF has come up with an even more nauseating cause. There was a weapon's malfunction in one of the ordinance bays that caused a chain reaction of explosions that eventually cause the base's nuclear reactor to meltdown. It is truly amazing what some people can come up with to avoid looking stupid. However, the UF did admit that Nergal had secretly funded certain terrorist organizations with intentions of taking control of Mars and its colonies. But due to the fact that Akatsuki was later found dead at where the Antarctic used to be, there are very few people to prosecute. Only the high level executives were under investigation, and none of them were found guilty of treason after Nergal donated over three trillion credits to the UF. I will leave Lt. Saotome's reaction to that for later entry.

End of Act 11
The End
Omake!

"Wait a second, Finn," Ryoko said as they continued on their ride back home. "We don't want to end the fanfic this way, do we?" "Good call, let's do the Scoobie Doo ending!" replied Finn. The screen became fuzzy and the picture faded away.

Akatsuki sat tied to a chair while Finn and Ryoko stood facing him with their arms crossed. "It's time to find out who you really are," Finn said, stepping closer. He grabbed Akatsuki's chin and pulled off the mask. "It's Old Man Wuithers from the haunted amusement park!" "That's right!" the old man said. "And I would have gotten away with it if it weren't for you darn kids!"

The End (For real this time)