Bubble Gum HYTE (Fan-fic)
Source: Bubble Gum Crisis/Crash
Author: LV426
Chapter 14: Name
The truck slowed to a stop in front of the ADP parking garage, just as the guard in front of it had instructed. The guard was walking toward the driver window the moment it stopped moving, the same moment it was rolling down. "What'cha got here, Sir?" the guard asked.
"Just a delivery for you boys," the driver replied. He had known he was going to be questioned, but especially for what he was being paid for this delivery, he could deal with that.
"May I see you paper's Sir?" The guard remained very official, despite the driver's laidbackness of the situation.
"Of course, officer," came the much more rigid reply. Aware that the guard probably had a gun aimed at him already, but not terrifically concerned, he opened his glove compartment and retrieved several documents. In the same fluid motion, he shut the compartment again as he handed them over the guard outside his window. "Here ya go."
He watched as the guard thumbed through the various document, aware of how ridiculous it was to need this much paper work to deliver something that was apparently ordered here, but he also knew the ADP knew what they were doing. If they decided they needed this much work, then they would have it. He got no further in this thought before the guard handed him his papers back. "It all looks in order, Sir. Mind if I have a look inside?"
"Of course not."
With a grunt, the officer turned and walked to the trailer. Once the door was open, he peered into the back to find a few crates. Not quite satisfied, he stepped within, his flashlight already moving around. The smaller crates were already open and inside there was nothing more significant then a few burned out cigarettes and used up six-pack of chocolate drink. There was one bigger one, though. This one was sealed and looked big enough to fit a man inside. He looked at the label, comparing it to the authorization numbers he had made a point to burn into his mind from the documents he had been handed. They matched perfectly. But why send something this big to forensics? A very disgusting idea came to his mind, and he stiffened.
In the next minute, he was back at his booth and making a call to forensics. "Hello? This is Mr. Bently on the vehicle enterence level, were you expecting a shipment today? Code 043X672D2CH? Oh, ok, then. Just making sure, you know how it is. Yes, its here and it will be sent up to you as soon as possible. Bye!" He hung up the phone and returned to the driver's window.
"Is… anything wrong?" the driver asked, a little alarmed at the mannerisms of the guard.
"No, Sir. Just made sure of it. You're cleared to make your delivery. Just follow the signs."
"Thank you." The driver rolled up his window again as he watched the guard nod and return to his booth. "Well that was different. Wonder what's back there…"
* * *
Sylia stopped right in front of what was once the main enterance of the building, putting an arm out as a signal for the others to follow her lead. "Before we go inside, there are two points to bring up. First, this place is a lot bigger then it looks. There are several floors downward as well as up, so we will have to split up."
"Alright, so you'll take Nene and I'll take, Linna, right?" Priss returned rather board. "Come on, Linna. The sooner we get in there, the sooner we might know who the hell's ass to kick."
Sylia shook her head. "No Priss. The teams will be you and me as one team. Linna and Nene will be the other."
Priss looked at Sylia. "What? Nene won't be much help to Linna if they get into trouble, you know."
"Excuse me?!?!? I'll have you know, miss anger-management-case, that I can fight right along side with anyone and help out!" Nene put her hands on her waist, her glare practically visible through the helmet.
"Yeah, yeah, Nene."
"Please, both of you…" It was Sylia who spoke this time. Her tone of voice, usually confident, had taken an alarming turn of uncertainty. "Lets just go."
After a moment of silence, it was Priss who finally caved. "Yeah, ok. Linna, take good care of the cyberpunk."
"And as for the second point, nobody let your guards down. I doubt we will run into anything, but you can not be too sure."
"Of course, Sylia. Me and Linna here will always be on our guard, and ready to eliminate any boomer who gets in our way!" Nene posed in heroic stances as she spoke.
Despite herself, Sylia couldn't help but smile at her teammate's antics. She nodded her approval. "You two will cover the upper floors. Priss and I will take the below ground levels. Good luck, you two."
"You too, Sylia," Linna piped in, her voice a little lower.
Accepting with a nod, Sylia turned and began to stride into the building, Priss walking resolutely to her left. Linna didn't move right away. Her mind was on how hard this had to be for Sylia. After all, her father had died here. All thoughts of this kind were gone in a split second, though as Nene clapped a hand on her shoulder. "Come, on, Linna! Lets go!" she spoke cheerfully.
With a nod, Linna stepped after her. "Alright, Nene. Lead the way."
* * *
As the red Knight Saber strolled confidently inside, Astis watched the green one follow her. He stepped out slowly from his place in a nearby wreck of a building, trying to figure out what he had just scene. He had turned on his internal radio fairly certain that a legend like the Knight Sabers would have scrambled their signals so no one could listen in, yet to his delight, he had been wrong. He heard the one who was their leader split up the team and send each part on their way. Yet, this troubled him. It was her and her alone he had heard. Everyone else came through as nothing more then radio static. Why could he hear her radio?
A thought made his eyes widen. "Could she have known? Could she have known I was here watching?" He stepped toward the building, "If she knew she was being followed, why didn't she confront? Something isn't right here, not at all."
Yet this wasn't the only thing to bother him about what he had just witnessed. Of the four women there, he had the first names of three of them: Priss, Nene, and Linna. Nene meant nothing to him. However, Priss and Linna were both names very familiar to him. The young woman in the bandana who had interviewed him for the Knight Sabers had introduced herself as Linna Yamazaki. "Could she be the same one? Could that scared young girl been in fact one of the Knight Sabers? But how? How could such a creature be the destroyer Armstrong makes her out to be?"
And then there was the other name: Priss. The woman who had sung with Vision and later he had saved in the hospital was named Priscilla Asagiri. Linna had told him during the interview that they were friends. "If this is the same Linna, could this also be the same Priss?" He shook his head. "There's just no way," he concluded to himself, but he knew he was lying. He could not deny the evidence before him and though it wasn't impossible for these to be two completely different people, the odds of it were hardly worth considering.
"I have to find out," Astis spoke out loud to himself as he broke into a run. "Damn anything I have been told by anyone, I have to find out for myself just who these four vigilantes really are!"
* * *
Without the lights, any building would seem devoid of life, but as Linna looked from one wall to the next, she felt the stillness and weight of the air through her helmet, as if the building's death could crush the life out of her too. Looking out the window didn't help, either. They were now on the third floor: just high enough for the view to remind her how truly descimated the area was with the view, but too low to be anywhere near the end of their search.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a hand on her shoulder and a familiar voice speaking. "Linna? Are you ok?"
Linna nodded. "Yeah, just… this place gives me the creeps, I guess," she answered. After a moment, she added, "As well as everything else as of late."
Nene nodded. "I know what you mean," she added solemnly. Her tone of voice quickly turned to concern. "When you… you were with that… that machine… he didn't hurt you, did he?"
Linna shook her head, a vague smile on her face. "Actually, he was what a gentleman should be. But that has been bugging me too." She turned to look at Nene. "He seemed so… human. It was hard to keep in mind I was dealing with a boomer."
"But, how can that be?"
"That's why it bothers me."
Silence took over for a moment or two before Nene spoke up again. "Hey, lets make a point to find out when we are done here. But for now, we need to know about the boomer we are hunting."
Linna nodded, a sense of relief rolling over her. "Alright. And Nene? Thanks for listening."
"What are friends for? Well besides to beat the crap out of the boomers trying to kill you." Linna could practically see the grin from behind Nene's faceplate. Without another word, they moved on to continue their search.
* * *
Sylia moved along methodically looking through each part of the building, silently cursing the media for not trying to get into the building like they would have should this have happened anywhere else. If she could have seen the room on the TV before they went, they wouldn't have to look everywhere. Still, she chose going downward… it just did not seem likely that they would find what they were looking for in one of the above floor rooms.
Priss, on the other hand, really didn't care where she was going. She just wanted to get in, find the lab the demented freak was using this time, and get whatever leads it might have. However, she could never do this on her own. Sylia was the one more used to this techno-stuff, and she knew if she rushed ahead, she might miss something. "Hmm, one tech expert on each team, maybe you do know what your doing…" she mused to herself.
Sylia ignored this for the time being. She did her best to ignore a lot of things, including childhood memories this place dredged up. She couldn't let herself mull in a past that for now would do no more then haunt her. Still, she could feel the memories in the back of her mind, and it took a lot to keep them from her active mind. All she could do was focus ahead with all of her will and to her methodical search of each lab. It was this dedication that left her oblivious to alert displayed in a corner of her heads-up display.
Priss, not forcing the same level of concentration, froze a moment as she saw the same warning on her display. The replay of enhanced audio told her all she needed to know… faint footsteps coming in their direction. "Sylia! We've got company!" she announced, her spike shooters already swinging around to ready position. "Sylia? Come on!"
Sylia blinked, this last cry from her companion drawing her out of her morbid state of studying to keep her memories at bay: at last she saw the warning Priss had in her own display. It didn't take her as long to realize why as it did to see it in the first place. "Hold on, Priss."
"Like hell I am! Whoever is coming BETTER have a good reason for following us here!"
"He will tell us. I'm sure of that."
"And how can YOU be so sure?!?"
"Because I know who it is."
Priss was silent for a moment. "WHAT?!?!?"
Sylia nodded. "Don't have time to explain. He will be here too soon. Holster those things now," she continued, "I don't want to scare him away before we have a chance to talk."
* * *
Astis slowed his pace. With heat-vision active, he could tell the footprints he had been following were getting warmer… he was getting closer. "More importantly," he thought to himself, "they are slowing down." Part of him wanted to forget all this and go back to his little apartment and attempt to belong among humanity again, but he knew it was possible till this was over. He still owed the Hou Bang for his freedom, locking him into this situation.
But still, he couldn't help but wonder… what if he was right about the Knight Sabers? If this Priss was indeed the same one, then perhaps she would hesitate to kill since she owed him her life, but that was one of many questions on his mind. "What about the two Linnas being the same one? She wasn't anyone's enemy, so why would Armstrong tell me she was?" Still, that depended on the if, but the more he thought about it, the more it made sense. "It would be one hell of a coincidence if the Knight Sabers had a member named Linna as well as a different contact also named Linna… too much of a coincidence."
He stopped letting his mind wander as he saw the two Sabers he had been chasing standing in the corridor ahead: the silver and blue ones. The silver one stood in the center silently while the blue was behind and a little to the side. She also had a hand poised, as if to say if Astis did anything funny, he would regret it fast.
He watched them a moment, but they didn't move in on him. If anything, it seemed they were waiting for him. "Astis?!?!? YOU'RE the one following us?" a very familiar voice blurted out over his radio system.
"Of course he is, Priss," came the voice of the leader through the same channel. "He has been following us since we left his apartment," the silver Saber turned her head to face Astis, "haven't you?"
Astis couldn't speak. He had been right and this was the same Priss. The leader had also known he was following and done nothing about it. If she wanted, she could have had the team attack as soon as they were close to the building. No one would have cared about an old relic that was falling apart anyway, crime scene or no. So why did she wait to act at all till now, when she only had half of her team?
"And you never told us?!?" Priss asked, rather angered.
Sylia shook her head. "It doesn't matter."
"The hell it doesn't!"
Sylia stepped away from her fuming partner and toward Astis. "Well, now. I suppose we both have a great deal of questions for each other."
"Yes, but I must insist on the first one: The Linna you spoke of, is she the same one you sent to talk to me before?"
"Fair question, but I will leave it to her to answer. What I want to know is why you were following us. Rather odd behavior for a boomer to take."
Astis froze. He couldn't let them know about Armstrong, not when he apparently was an enemy of theirs. Still, he had to come up with something.
"Your under orders to co-operate, Astis. I suggest you tell me what drove you to follow us like this!" Sylia's order was firm, made all the more so as two large guns flipped around Priss' shoulders, her hands slipping into the trigger positions.
Astis sighed, knowing from what Armstrong had told him that if they decided to attack, he would have no chance, especially since he didn't know where the other two were. "Very well, a friend of mine warned me about you. Told me you were dangerous to our kind."
* * *
Nene and Linna continued their search, but neither concentrated fully on the task, not since the conversation several stories below had begun. "Dangerous to their kind? How dare he!" Nene huffed. "Those ones were dangerous to our kind first!"
"Why would he say that?" Linna asked herself as much as her indignant friend.
"Maybe he doesn't know what he's talking about."
"Shhh!" Linna put a hand up to further hush Nene. "I may have to ask him." As she spoke, she gave her hardsuit the command to open her communication signal beyond the hardsuits.
* * *
"A friend told you to spy on us?" Priss gasped.
"Our kind?" Sylia echoed, her voice shaky. She had only heard one person ever speak like that before, and he had been talking to her. He had called both himself and her better than humans, and wished to destroy them all for the next wave of beings to control this planet: for boomers to do it all. Still, he was dead, wasn't he? She had destroyed him herself shortly before going to Germany. She turned her attention on Astis again. "Astis, who is this friend of yours?" Sylia watched him intently, but there was no response from the boomer, only a confused blink, as if the uncertainty she could not keep from her voice had shocked him from any reasonable response. "Please… I need to know his name. Who is this friend?" This time, her tone was composed as always.
"I cant turn on a friend like that," Astis finally replied, almost apologetically. "He seemed wary of you."
"STOW it, metalhead!" Priss bellowed. "You were told to co-operate with us, so start!"
"But my friend wouldn't have anything to do with this."
"Maybe not, but I need to be sure," Sylia responded.
"What's wrong, Sylia?" Linna asked over the radio.
"Probably nothing, but I cant take the chance…" Sylia responded. "Not if it could be him," she finished in her thoughts.
"Ms. Yamazaki… so you are here," Astis responded. "You are one of the Knight Sabers… but, how could you be?"
Linna only responded after a moment. "I don't understand what you mean."
"How can you be one of our worst enemies? You're just not the kind." He went silent a moment, contemplating this. He would have known if she was acting back when they first met, but what he had seen was not anger or disgust. What he had seen was fear at first. Though she remained shaken through the whole confrontation, he had also glimpsed something else… compassion, perhaps. Finally, he spoke again, his voice clear, but unable to keep out the disbelief. "Why would he lie to me about you? This whole evening has gone against everything he said about you all."
"No one could tell you that without knowing who it was," Sylia prodded. She didn't hide the sympathy in her voice, but she wasn't about to let the opportunity slip away.
"I'm sorry, but I just can't do that. He is the reason I'm free in the first place."
"The hell you cant," Priss started.
"Priss, please," Linna interrupted almost gently.
"If he isn't helping, he's as much the problem as anything!"
"Priss!" Sylia prompted, her tone actually silencing the rocker.
"Astis," Linna piped in, knowing she may not get another chance with the temper of her friend there directly, "We wont stop you from asking him, but before you go, I have a question for you myself."
"What would that be, Ms. Yamazaki?"
"Do you trust me?"
Astis was silent a moment. "Why does that matter?"
"Please, just answer me."
Astis considered a moment what he would say. Finally he nodded, though he knew Linna could not see it from several stories above. "Yes. After meeting you in person, I trust you."
"The please, let Sylia know who your friend is. I know her, and she wouldn't hurt anyone that wasn't absolutely necessary. She just wants to be thorough, that's all.
Astis froze a moment. Linna put her full trust in Sylia, but could he also do the same. "Can you give me your word, that if he has nothing to do with this, he wont be harmed in any way?" This time, the question was of Sylia as much as of Linna.
"Yes. Believe it or not, we're not as evil as your friend made us out to be," Sylia replied, feeling the need to add that last part.
Astis nodded. "I will hold you to your word on Ms. Yamazaki's behalf."
"Very well."
"His name is Armstrong."
"Hmm, why does that name sound familiar?" piped in Nene.
"That will be your question to answer when we get back," Sylia responded. She then turned to Astis. "Thank you, Astis."
"Why does this mean so much to you?"
"A long story that I still pray is over."
"Can you explain?"
Sylia stopped a moment. Not even her team mates knew the whole story between her and the person they knew once as Mason, and then again as Largo. None of them had asked, so she didn't think to tell them. Still, Astis deserved some kind of explanation for coming clean. "Do you know of a boomer named Largo?"
Astis shook his head.
"He has cost us a lot, personally and physically. He is insane and sees us as the main thing from starting a new world. I just need to be sure he isn't coming back this time." Her tone was depressed, as if this hope seemed far away in her mind.
"I see," Astis managed to speak out.
"While its nice to reminess, I suggest we get back our search!" Priss interrupted. "That killing machine out there wont catch itself!"
"Your right, sorry," Sylia responded. She turned to Astis. "Thank you again, but you probably best get back home now, both to ask your friend, and to talk to Kou."
Astis nodded, half glad for an excuse to get out of this forsaken place, and half needing to get the closure of talking to Armstrong himself about this. "Very well, I will contact you later, through our mutual friend."
"Farewell."
"Bye-bye!" Nene piped in, her tone suggesting of a school girl with arms flailing everywhere excitedly.
"Bye, Astis," Linna added, more sobered then her friend, but still meaning well.
"Till then," was all Astis said before he turned around and walked back up to the stairway, moving back toward the city, and his own residence.
* * *
Through eyes in the form of video cameras and ears in the form of nearby radio receivers, Brian had watched and listened to the conversation that had just taken place. "So you would give your friend's name to the enemy, Astis? That's a pity. I expected more loyalty for someone that saved you from the oppression of their kind then that." He released a virtual sigh that might have been noticed by some as a small waver in some obscure internet radio station. "Still, I suppose that was unavoidable. Your too human to see around the emotions and into what they stand for."
He considered the entire conversation, replaying it for himself. Had he had a face, a quiet smile would have crept across it. "And besides, if Sylia knows, then it will make my task that much more enjoyable."
Source: Bubble Gum Crisis/Crash
Author: LV426
Chapter 14: Name
The truck slowed to a stop in front of the ADP parking garage, just as the guard in front of it had instructed. The guard was walking toward the driver window the moment it stopped moving, the same moment it was rolling down. "What'cha got here, Sir?" the guard asked.
"Just a delivery for you boys," the driver replied. He had known he was going to be questioned, but especially for what he was being paid for this delivery, he could deal with that.
"May I see you paper's Sir?" The guard remained very official, despite the driver's laidbackness of the situation.
"Of course, officer," came the much more rigid reply. Aware that the guard probably had a gun aimed at him already, but not terrifically concerned, he opened his glove compartment and retrieved several documents. In the same fluid motion, he shut the compartment again as he handed them over the guard outside his window. "Here ya go."
He watched as the guard thumbed through the various document, aware of how ridiculous it was to need this much paper work to deliver something that was apparently ordered here, but he also knew the ADP knew what they were doing. If they decided they needed this much work, then they would have it. He got no further in this thought before the guard handed him his papers back. "It all looks in order, Sir. Mind if I have a look inside?"
"Of course not."
With a grunt, the officer turned and walked to the trailer. Once the door was open, he peered into the back to find a few crates. Not quite satisfied, he stepped within, his flashlight already moving around. The smaller crates were already open and inside there was nothing more significant then a few burned out cigarettes and used up six-pack of chocolate drink. There was one bigger one, though. This one was sealed and looked big enough to fit a man inside. He looked at the label, comparing it to the authorization numbers he had made a point to burn into his mind from the documents he had been handed. They matched perfectly. But why send something this big to forensics? A very disgusting idea came to his mind, and he stiffened.
In the next minute, he was back at his booth and making a call to forensics. "Hello? This is Mr. Bently on the vehicle enterence level, were you expecting a shipment today? Code 043X672D2CH? Oh, ok, then. Just making sure, you know how it is. Yes, its here and it will be sent up to you as soon as possible. Bye!" He hung up the phone and returned to the driver's window.
"Is… anything wrong?" the driver asked, a little alarmed at the mannerisms of the guard.
"No, Sir. Just made sure of it. You're cleared to make your delivery. Just follow the signs."
"Thank you." The driver rolled up his window again as he watched the guard nod and return to his booth. "Well that was different. Wonder what's back there…"
* * *
Sylia stopped right in front of what was once the main enterance of the building, putting an arm out as a signal for the others to follow her lead. "Before we go inside, there are two points to bring up. First, this place is a lot bigger then it looks. There are several floors downward as well as up, so we will have to split up."
"Alright, so you'll take Nene and I'll take, Linna, right?" Priss returned rather board. "Come on, Linna. The sooner we get in there, the sooner we might know who the hell's ass to kick."
Sylia shook her head. "No Priss. The teams will be you and me as one team. Linna and Nene will be the other."
Priss looked at Sylia. "What? Nene won't be much help to Linna if they get into trouble, you know."
"Excuse me?!?!? I'll have you know, miss anger-management-case, that I can fight right along side with anyone and help out!" Nene put her hands on her waist, her glare practically visible through the helmet.
"Yeah, yeah, Nene."
"Please, both of you…" It was Sylia who spoke this time. Her tone of voice, usually confident, had taken an alarming turn of uncertainty. "Lets just go."
After a moment of silence, it was Priss who finally caved. "Yeah, ok. Linna, take good care of the cyberpunk."
"And as for the second point, nobody let your guards down. I doubt we will run into anything, but you can not be too sure."
"Of course, Sylia. Me and Linna here will always be on our guard, and ready to eliminate any boomer who gets in our way!" Nene posed in heroic stances as she spoke.
Despite herself, Sylia couldn't help but smile at her teammate's antics. She nodded her approval. "You two will cover the upper floors. Priss and I will take the below ground levels. Good luck, you two."
"You too, Sylia," Linna piped in, her voice a little lower.
Accepting with a nod, Sylia turned and began to stride into the building, Priss walking resolutely to her left. Linna didn't move right away. Her mind was on how hard this had to be for Sylia. After all, her father had died here. All thoughts of this kind were gone in a split second, though as Nene clapped a hand on her shoulder. "Come, on, Linna! Lets go!" she spoke cheerfully.
With a nod, Linna stepped after her. "Alright, Nene. Lead the way."
* * *
As the red Knight Saber strolled confidently inside, Astis watched the green one follow her. He stepped out slowly from his place in a nearby wreck of a building, trying to figure out what he had just scene. He had turned on his internal radio fairly certain that a legend like the Knight Sabers would have scrambled their signals so no one could listen in, yet to his delight, he had been wrong. He heard the one who was their leader split up the team and send each part on their way. Yet, this troubled him. It was her and her alone he had heard. Everyone else came through as nothing more then radio static. Why could he hear her radio?
A thought made his eyes widen. "Could she have known? Could she have known I was here watching?" He stepped toward the building, "If she knew she was being followed, why didn't she confront? Something isn't right here, not at all."
Yet this wasn't the only thing to bother him about what he had just witnessed. Of the four women there, he had the first names of three of them: Priss, Nene, and Linna. Nene meant nothing to him. However, Priss and Linna were both names very familiar to him. The young woman in the bandana who had interviewed him for the Knight Sabers had introduced herself as Linna Yamazaki. "Could she be the same one? Could that scared young girl been in fact one of the Knight Sabers? But how? How could such a creature be the destroyer Armstrong makes her out to be?"
And then there was the other name: Priss. The woman who had sung with Vision and later he had saved in the hospital was named Priscilla Asagiri. Linna had told him during the interview that they were friends. "If this is the same Linna, could this also be the same Priss?" He shook his head. "There's just no way," he concluded to himself, but he knew he was lying. He could not deny the evidence before him and though it wasn't impossible for these to be two completely different people, the odds of it were hardly worth considering.
"I have to find out," Astis spoke out loud to himself as he broke into a run. "Damn anything I have been told by anyone, I have to find out for myself just who these four vigilantes really are!"
* * *
Without the lights, any building would seem devoid of life, but as Linna looked from one wall to the next, she felt the stillness and weight of the air through her helmet, as if the building's death could crush the life out of her too. Looking out the window didn't help, either. They were now on the third floor: just high enough for the view to remind her how truly descimated the area was with the view, but too low to be anywhere near the end of their search.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a hand on her shoulder and a familiar voice speaking. "Linna? Are you ok?"
Linna nodded. "Yeah, just… this place gives me the creeps, I guess," she answered. After a moment, she added, "As well as everything else as of late."
Nene nodded. "I know what you mean," she added solemnly. Her tone of voice quickly turned to concern. "When you… you were with that… that machine… he didn't hurt you, did he?"
Linna shook her head, a vague smile on her face. "Actually, he was what a gentleman should be. But that has been bugging me too." She turned to look at Nene. "He seemed so… human. It was hard to keep in mind I was dealing with a boomer."
"But, how can that be?"
"That's why it bothers me."
Silence took over for a moment or two before Nene spoke up again. "Hey, lets make a point to find out when we are done here. But for now, we need to know about the boomer we are hunting."
Linna nodded, a sense of relief rolling over her. "Alright. And Nene? Thanks for listening."
"What are friends for? Well besides to beat the crap out of the boomers trying to kill you." Linna could practically see the grin from behind Nene's faceplate. Without another word, they moved on to continue their search.
* * *
Sylia moved along methodically looking through each part of the building, silently cursing the media for not trying to get into the building like they would have should this have happened anywhere else. If she could have seen the room on the TV before they went, they wouldn't have to look everywhere. Still, she chose going downward… it just did not seem likely that they would find what they were looking for in one of the above floor rooms.
Priss, on the other hand, really didn't care where she was going. She just wanted to get in, find the lab the demented freak was using this time, and get whatever leads it might have. However, she could never do this on her own. Sylia was the one more used to this techno-stuff, and she knew if she rushed ahead, she might miss something. "Hmm, one tech expert on each team, maybe you do know what your doing…" she mused to herself.
Sylia ignored this for the time being. She did her best to ignore a lot of things, including childhood memories this place dredged up. She couldn't let herself mull in a past that for now would do no more then haunt her. Still, she could feel the memories in the back of her mind, and it took a lot to keep them from her active mind. All she could do was focus ahead with all of her will and to her methodical search of each lab. It was this dedication that left her oblivious to alert displayed in a corner of her heads-up display.
Priss, not forcing the same level of concentration, froze a moment as she saw the same warning on her display. The replay of enhanced audio told her all she needed to know… faint footsteps coming in their direction. "Sylia! We've got company!" she announced, her spike shooters already swinging around to ready position. "Sylia? Come on!"
Sylia blinked, this last cry from her companion drawing her out of her morbid state of studying to keep her memories at bay: at last she saw the warning Priss had in her own display. It didn't take her as long to realize why as it did to see it in the first place. "Hold on, Priss."
"Like hell I am! Whoever is coming BETTER have a good reason for following us here!"
"He will tell us. I'm sure of that."
"And how can YOU be so sure?!?"
"Because I know who it is."
Priss was silent for a moment. "WHAT?!?!?"
Sylia nodded. "Don't have time to explain. He will be here too soon. Holster those things now," she continued, "I don't want to scare him away before we have a chance to talk."
* * *
Astis slowed his pace. With heat-vision active, he could tell the footprints he had been following were getting warmer… he was getting closer. "More importantly," he thought to himself, "they are slowing down." Part of him wanted to forget all this and go back to his little apartment and attempt to belong among humanity again, but he knew it was possible till this was over. He still owed the Hou Bang for his freedom, locking him into this situation.
But still, he couldn't help but wonder… what if he was right about the Knight Sabers? If this Priss was indeed the same one, then perhaps she would hesitate to kill since she owed him her life, but that was one of many questions on his mind. "What about the two Linnas being the same one? She wasn't anyone's enemy, so why would Armstrong tell me she was?" Still, that depended on the if, but the more he thought about it, the more it made sense. "It would be one hell of a coincidence if the Knight Sabers had a member named Linna as well as a different contact also named Linna… too much of a coincidence."
He stopped letting his mind wander as he saw the two Sabers he had been chasing standing in the corridor ahead: the silver and blue ones. The silver one stood in the center silently while the blue was behind and a little to the side. She also had a hand poised, as if to say if Astis did anything funny, he would regret it fast.
He watched them a moment, but they didn't move in on him. If anything, it seemed they were waiting for him. "Astis?!?!? YOU'RE the one following us?" a very familiar voice blurted out over his radio system.
"Of course he is, Priss," came the voice of the leader through the same channel. "He has been following us since we left his apartment," the silver Saber turned her head to face Astis, "haven't you?"
Astis couldn't speak. He had been right and this was the same Priss. The leader had also known he was following and done nothing about it. If she wanted, she could have had the team attack as soon as they were close to the building. No one would have cared about an old relic that was falling apart anyway, crime scene or no. So why did she wait to act at all till now, when she only had half of her team?
"And you never told us?!?" Priss asked, rather angered.
Sylia shook her head. "It doesn't matter."
"The hell it doesn't!"
Sylia stepped away from her fuming partner and toward Astis. "Well, now. I suppose we both have a great deal of questions for each other."
"Yes, but I must insist on the first one: The Linna you spoke of, is she the same one you sent to talk to me before?"
"Fair question, but I will leave it to her to answer. What I want to know is why you were following us. Rather odd behavior for a boomer to take."
Astis froze. He couldn't let them know about Armstrong, not when he apparently was an enemy of theirs. Still, he had to come up with something.
"Your under orders to co-operate, Astis. I suggest you tell me what drove you to follow us like this!" Sylia's order was firm, made all the more so as two large guns flipped around Priss' shoulders, her hands slipping into the trigger positions.
Astis sighed, knowing from what Armstrong had told him that if they decided to attack, he would have no chance, especially since he didn't know where the other two were. "Very well, a friend of mine warned me about you. Told me you were dangerous to our kind."
* * *
Nene and Linna continued their search, but neither concentrated fully on the task, not since the conversation several stories below had begun. "Dangerous to their kind? How dare he!" Nene huffed. "Those ones were dangerous to our kind first!"
"Why would he say that?" Linna asked herself as much as her indignant friend.
"Maybe he doesn't know what he's talking about."
"Shhh!" Linna put a hand up to further hush Nene. "I may have to ask him." As she spoke, she gave her hardsuit the command to open her communication signal beyond the hardsuits.
* * *
"A friend told you to spy on us?" Priss gasped.
"Our kind?" Sylia echoed, her voice shaky. She had only heard one person ever speak like that before, and he had been talking to her. He had called both himself and her better than humans, and wished to destroy them all for the next wave of beings to control this planet: for boomers to do it all. Still, he was dead, wasn't he? She had destroyed him herself shortly before going to Germany. She turned her attention on Astis again. "Astis, who is this friend of yours?" Sylia watched him intently, but there was no response from the boomer, only a confused blink, as if the uncertainty she could not keep from her voice had shocked him from any reasonable response. "Please… I need to know his name. Who is this friend?" This time, her tone was composed as always.
"I cant turn on a friend like that," Astis finally replied, almost apologetically. "He seemed wary of you."
"STOW it, metalhead!" Priss bellowed. "You were told to co-operate with us, so start!"
"But my friend wouldn't have anything to do with this."
"Maybe not, but I need to be sure," Sylia responded.
"What's wrong, Sylia?" Linna asked over the radio.
"Probably nothing, but I cant take the chance…" Sylia responded. "Not if it could be him," she finished in her thoughts.
"Ms. Yamazaki… so you are here," Astis responded. "You are one of the Knight Sabers… but, how could you be?"
Linna only responded after a moment. "I don't understand what you mean."
"How can you be one of our worst enemies? You're just not the kind." He went silent a moment, contemplating this. He would have known if she was acting back when they first met, but what he had seen was not anger or disgust. What he had seen was fear at first. Though she remained shaken through the whole confrontation, he had also glimpsed something else… compassion, perhaps. Finally, he spoke again, his voice clear, but unable to keep out the disbelief. "Why would he lie to me about you? This whole evening has gone against everything he said about you all."
"No one could tell you that without knowing who it was," Sylia prodded. She didn't hide the sympathy in her voice, but she wasn't about to let the opportunity slip away.
"I'm sorry, but I just can't do that. He is the reason I'm free in the first place."
"The hell you cant," Priss started.
"Priss, please," Linna interrupted almost gently.
"If he isn't helping, he's as much the problem as anything!"
"Priss!" Sylia prompted, her tone actually silencing the rocker.
"Astis," Linna piped in, knowing she may not get another chance with the temper of her friend there directly, "We wont stop you from asking him, but before you go, I have a question for you myself."
"What would that be, Ms. Yamazaki?"
"Do you trust me?"
Astis was silent a moment. "Why does that matter?"
"Please, just answer me."
Astis considered a moment what he would say. Finally he nodded, though he knew Linna could not see it from several stories above. "Yes. After meeting you in person, I trust you."
"The please, let Sylia know who your friend is. I know her, and she wouldn't hurt anyone that wasn't absolutely necessary. She just wants to be thorough, that's all.
Astis froze a moment. Linna put her full trust in Sylia, but could he also do the same. "Can you give me your word, that if he has nothing to do with this, he wont be harmed in any way?" This time, the question was of Sylia as much as of Linna.
"Yes. Believe it or not, we're not as evil as your friend made us out to be," Sylia replied, feeling the need to add that last part.
Astis nodded. "I will hold you to your word on Ms. Yamazaki's behalf."
"Very well."
"His name is Armstrong."
"Hmm, why does that name sound familiar?" piped in Nene.
"That will be your question to answer when we get back," Sylia responded. She then turned to Astis. "Thank you, Astis."
"Why does this mean so much to you?"
"A long story that I still pray is over."
"Can you explain?"
Sylia stopped a moment. Not even her team mates knew the whole story between her and the person they knew once as Mason, and then again as Largo. None of them had asked, so she didn't think to tell them. Still, Astis deserved some kind of explanation for coming clean. "Do you know of a boomer named Largo?"
Astis shook his head.
"He has cost us a lot, personally and physically. He is insane and sees us as the main thing from starting a new world. I just need to be sure he isn't coming back this time." Her tone was depressed, as if this hope seemed far away in her mind.
"I see," Astis managed to speak out.
"While its nice to reminess, I suggest we get back our search!" Priss interrupted. "That killing machine out there wont catch itself!"
"Your right, sorry," Sylia responded. She turned to Astis. "Thank you again, but you probably best get back home now, both to ask your friend, and to talk to Kou."
Astis nodded, half glad for an excuse to get out of this forsaken place, and half needing to get the closure of talking to Armstrong himself about this. "Very well, I will contact you later, through our mutual friend."
"Farewell."
"Bye-bye!" Nene piped in, her tone suggesting of a school girl with arms flailing everywhere excitedly.
"Bye, Astis," Linna added, more sobered then her friend, but still meaning well.
"Till then," was all Astis said before he turned around and walked back up to the stairway, moving back toward the city, and his own residence.
* * *
Through eyes in the form of video cameras and ears in the form of nearby radio receivers, Brian had watched and listened to the conversation that had just taken place. "So you would give your friend's name to the enemy, Astis? That's a pity. I expected more loyalty for someone that saved you from the oppression of their kind then that." He released a virtual sigh that might have been noticed by some as a small waver in some obscure internet radio station. "Still, I suppose that was unavoidable. Your too human to see around the emotions and into what they stand for."
He considered the entire conversation, replaying it for himself. Had he had a face, a quiet smile would have crept across it. "And besides, if Sylia knows, then it will make my task that much more enjoyable."