Author's notes:
Sorry for taking a little longer then usual to come up with the fourth chapter of this story of mine, but it is the longer chapter I've written so far, at least for this particular story of mine. It also was a very difficult chapter to write for the reasons other then its length, and the fact that I got no reviews for the previous chapter of this story of mine didn't help either… So, if you are reading this story of mine, I would like to let you know that I will very much appreciate it if you review this chapter of this story of mine. Even negative/critical reviews are better then none, because getting no reviews for the chapter makes me wonder if anyone really read it through.
HuntedBU-55C Combat Boomer ran through the maze of Tinsel City's narrow streets, trying to shake off two Fire-Bee Minichoppers that pursued him; with his mouth-mounted laser not yet recharged, the boomer was all but helpless against aerial vehicles.
"Steady!"
But turning another corner, the boomer found himself in front of an ADP squad…
"Fire!"
…And almost immediately, half-dozen heavy railgun shells stuck the boomer's body, blowing the powerful machine backwards where it remained lying still.
"Detective Leon McNichol reporting, the last rogue boomer has been dealt with."
'Good job, Detective Leon McNichol.'
Detective Leon McNichol put away his radio and cast another look at the "rogue" boomer he just destroyed. He was experienced enough to see the signs that indicated that this wasn't a normal case of boomers going rogue, though GENOM would almost certainly explain it as such. At most they'd just find some fall guy to hold responsible for illegally releasing combat boomers on the streets of MegaTokyo, but they probably wouldn't even bother.
"What are they are up to?" Leon muttered under his breath, casting an angry glance at GENOM Tower, which was looming over the rest of MegaTokyo.
This time, all three of them couldn't help feeling nervous, and it showed as the elevator took them to the level 100 of GENOM Tower. They weren't rather unceremoniously ordered to come here just to make a report, the fact that become all too clear to them when they entered Chairman Quincy's office and saw an unassuming lavender-haired businesswoman who quietly stood somewhat to side from Chairman Quincy's desk. The woman was none other but Kate Madigan, Vice-President of Information and Chairman Quincy's unofficial right-hand woman after the death of Brian J. Mason. Very few things happened in GENOM without her knowledge, and they immediately realized that Chairman Quincy must have already received exhaustive information about the latest events from the source he would clearly consider as much more trustworthy then them. And they were right.
"Not only did you let a rogue V-type Boomer escape," Chairman Quincy began without any formalities the moment the three of them approached his desk, "But your rash thinking also cost GENOM BU-33-CX2 and Information Control Centre Number Three, not to mention four BU-55C Combat Boomers."
The loss of four BU-55C Combat Boomers was a trivial matter, but BU-33-CX2 would be extremely difficult to replace: it will take months to obtain another abbreviated version of a Black Box from USSD, and the boomer's final assembling will take weeks, and since GENOM and USSD technologies were never meant to work well together, it will probably involve quite a few work accidents as well.
As if this loss was not enough, Information Control Centre Number Three that worked on shielding the boomers Director Kakuzawa sent after the rogue BU-07V from A.D. Police's radars was devastated in a particularly brutal hacker attack: the centre's entire equipment was internally burned by some powerful virus, and while it could be replaced with relative ease, it all came down to a significant financial loss. The hacker's identity and location was impossible to determine, since it was impossible to extract any information from the centre's ruined equipment, which couldn't even be used for component parts, but many blamed the mercenary group known as Knight Sabers for this attack, since they were known for coming on A.D. Police's aid on numerous occasions in the past.
"Regardless," Chairman Quincy continued meanwhile, "I want to know what is being done in order to exterminate the rogue BU-07V. So… what is it?"
Though Chairman Quincy spoke no names, his eyes were firmly fixed on Director Kakuzawa, the man in charge of Project V, which was a clear indication of where he put the blame and responsibility for the latest events.
"Mr. Chairman," Director Kakuzawa tried his best to make his voice sound confident as he spoke, "By my orders, over two dozen disguised BU-55C Combat Boomers are searching for BU-07V throughout entire MegaTokyo. As soon as they find it, they…"
"No, they don't." Kate's voice was cold as steel as she interrupted Director Kakuzawa's speech.
"Nani?!"
"Due to your past mistakes, I took to monitoring your activities very carefully since the last incident. This particular order of yours was canceled for obvious reasons before anyone foolish enough even began executing it."
"You don't…"
Director Kakuzawa went quiet in time before too many words escaped his mouth, as he realized that Kate had every right she needed to cancel his orders. Being in charge of one of GENOM's major projects placed him in position where he got too used to people doing his every biding over the months, and now he almost forgot that these were GENOM's two highest ranking executives he was talking to.
"Do you realize the position you have almost put GENOM into?" Chairman Quincy's anger seemed to be only growing as he continued to glare at Director Kakuzawa, "The amount of public damage and civilian casualties such an operation would have resulted in would have gotten GENOM blamed for intentionally releasing a large number of combat boomers into streets of MegaTokyo, or would have put the safety of one of our primary products under question if we claim it was a mass case of boomers going rogue, either of which would have had a devastating effect on our sales. For the future, think matters through before making rash decisions. Now… Do any of you have any other bright solutions of this problem?"
Chairman Quincy didn't really expect any reasonable suggestions as he glanced over three men who stood before his desk: Director Kakuzawa and his two chief researchers. And for a good reason too: with the loss of BU-33-CX2, GENOM's own means of tracking and destroying the rogue BU-07V without causing major public damage and numerous civilian casualties were exhausted. However, when his glance ran over Director Kakuzawa's son, Yuu Kakuzawa, he was surprised to see the young man smiling confidently.
"Mr. Chairman," Yuu spoke as soon as he caught Chairman Quincy's eye, "In my research of various side abilities of V-type Boomers, I've recently stumbled upon a very interesting fact: apparently, all V-type Boomers have ability to sense each other over a certain distance, which we haven't determined precisely yet. With that being so, I have an unexpected proposal: why don't we use BU-01V for finding and exterminating BU-07V? With both of them being nearly indistinguishable from human beings, the whole operation is likely to go entirely unnoticed, let alone get linked to GENOM."
"Hm, interesting," as Yuu rightly stated, Chairman Quincy found this proposal rather unexpected indeed, "But can BU-01V perform this job?"
"Mr. Chairman, while BU-07V displayed a certain aversion towards combat we weren't able to correct despite all our efforts, BU-01V passed all combat tests excellently. I am fully confident in its ability to deal with the rogue BU-07V."
"Very well then. I leave all the necessary arrangements to you. You are dismissed. And… Good job, Kakuzawa."
Though Chairman Quincy addressed him by his surname, it was plain that his last words were meant for the son, not the father.
Chairman Quincy just sat there for some time after Director Kakuzawa and his two chief researchers exited his office, seemingly deep in thought, before he finally turned in his chair to look at the dark corner of his office; Chairman Quincy's office was illuminated that some parts of it were left in shadows, seemingly by accident, but in fact, on purpose. And now, as if on cue, a blonde man with barely noticeable stubble stepped out of one of such shadows. He looked to be somewhere in his middle or perhaps late twenties, and as if noticeable stubble wasn't enough, he was dressed in cheap business suit; in most other companies such complete disregard to appearance would mark the man as some low-level employee, a lowest ranking executive at the most, but in GENOM it actually meant that the man's position was important enough that he didn't have to care about personal appearance.
"So, I take it I am not longer needed, eh?" The man asked as he met Chairman Quincy's gaze.
"Wrong," Chairman Quincy waited for a few seconds to keep the man wondering about the unexpected reply for a while, before farther elaborating on this matter, "Kakuzawa junior's plan was rather interesting, but he didn't take one important factor into account. Like his father, he doesn't seem to fully realize that V-type Boomers, despite their nearly-human appearance and A.I. on nearly the same level as the human brain, are still nothing but machines built by our hands, the machines made to fight and to kill. And thus, their "state of mind" and "combat training" they give so much attention to are far less important comparing to the extent to which their abilities are developed. The basic combat tactics is among the first things we load into their brains, the main purpose of all this "combat training" is to reveal how well they took it. And in regard of their "state of mind"… As I said, all V-type Boomers were made to fight and to kill, and that's what they'll do when to comes down to it. And BU-01V… Lucy is but a prototype, and as all the prototypes, it has its flaws: BU-01V's Vectors reach for only half a distance BU-07V's do. The moment BU-07V starts fighting seriously, BU-01V will be no more."
"But if it is so hopeless, why did you approve using BU-01V to find and destroy BU-07V?" The man asked.
"Because it will serve to make your job easier in the end," was Chairman Quincy's reply, "Kate, please explain it to him."
"Very well," Kate, who until now seemed to pay no attention to the conversion, turned to the man and said, "We understand that even your people will have difficulties searching for BU-07V all over the MegaTokyo. However, with BU-01V under our control, at least for the time being, we will be able to track it through OMS; the moment BU-01V will locate BU-07V, I will inform you about its location, and you, in turn, will transfer this information to your people. Just make sure you have them on stand-by; we do not know how long will BU-01V last against BU-07V."
"Okay, I got it."
"And one more thing," Chairman Quincy added before the man left, "We can't entirely dismiss there chance that there will still be two V-type Boomers at the scene when your people arrive there. Should this be the case… I have no farther need for BU-01V when I already have far more advanced models under development. You will make certain there aren't ANY V-type Boomers running amuck in MegaTokyo, have I made myself clear?"
"Perfectly, Mr. Chairman," The man replied, bowing to Chairman Quincy before he left.
Meanwhile, as Director Kakuzawa, his son Yuu and Director Kakuzawa's other chief scientist, Doctor Kurama took the elevator that would take the down from level 100, the elder Kakuzawa cast a somewhat disapproving glance at his son, whose face was still graced with a self-satisfied smile.
"I hope you didn't forget where your loyalty lies," the elder Kakuzawa said finally, still looking at his son disapprovingly.
But the younger Kakuzawa's smile grew only wider as he spoke, ""Why, father, how could your worthless son forget to whom he owes his turbulent career in GENOM?! You wound me!"
Kurama, who stood somewhat aside from the two, did the only thing a reasonable man could do in this situation: he pretended that he didn't hear the brief exchange between the father and his son.
As one of Director Kakuzawa's chief scientists, Kurama knew too well that Director Kakuzawa only sought only to better his situation within the company regardless of what it would take or what harm it would do to the company, and his latest orders were a good example: Director Kakuzawa wasn't as stupid as not to realize the possible consequences of releasing a large number of combat boomers into the streets of MegaTokyo, but he believed that the blow one of GENOM's main products and all of GENOM's department related to production and sales of BU-55C would suffer in the result would only better his own situation by increasing the importance of Project V he was in charge of.
Kurama himself had a certain amount of disdain for GENOM internal policy, and tried to stay away as much as he could, and therefore, choose neither report some of Director Kakuzawa's doubtful activities he witnessed, nor to take part in them. But as unsubtle, sometimes to the point of overconfidence and open foolishness, as Director Kakuzawa often was about his doubtful activities, Kurama had no doubt that Chairman Quincy knew of them well enough, meaning that Director Kakuzawa wouldn't likely live longer then he was useful for Quincy and GENOM.
"But then again, doesn't the same apply to all of us?" Kurama asked himself gloomily, "Both humans… And boomers."
"And the final matter regarding this incident…"
"One more, Kate?" Chairman Quincy asked, as he turned around in his chair to look at his unofficial right-hand woman.
"Yes, Mr. Chairman," Kate said, as she took out a remote console and turned on the screen on one of the Chairman Quincy's office's walls.
The screen displayed a black battlesuit standing against the background of MegaTokyo at night. Next scene: the look up to the battlesuit as it points one of its arms at the screen. "I'm sorry." The screen goes black.
"These are the last footages from BU-33-CX2 made just before its destruction that we managed to recover through OMS. As you can see, this is a G-1 GENOM Battlesuit, used exclusively by GENOM personal. I personally made sure that none of these battlesuits were illegally sold or made it to the black market."
"Did you manage to find out the pilot's identity?"
"Even though I don't have an undeniable proof, all the signs point at Mr. Kurama, who was in charge of BU-07V's development." A pause. "Should I terminate him?"
"In charge of BU-07's development, eh? Interesting… No, I may still have a use for him. But do warn him against making more stupid things, Kate. I'd hate having to kill him now, when there is still so much work to do on Project V."
"Mr. Kurama, I would like to have a word with you."
Caught off-guard, Kurama turned away from his car and saw a lavender-haired businesswoman he had seen earlier, Kate Madigan. He didn't hear her approaching him, and this only made him even more nervous: his cool could only go so far.
"Yes, Madigan-dono?"
"Mr. Kurama," Kate's voice was cold to the point of being completely unemotional as her icy light-blue eyes met Kurama's, "I am fully aware of your off-job activities last night, and needless to say, Chairman Quincy was not pleased to learn about them."
"With all respect, I do not know what you are talking about, Madigan-dono," though Kurama tried his best to keep his voice calm, the nervousness in it was plain to anybody with the amount of experience Kate had, and Kate didn't miss it.
"We both know what I am talking about too well, Mr. Kurama. Consider this your one and only warning: all the responsibilities for BU-07V were taken from you. You are not entitled to get involved in any operations concerning BU-07V any longer. If you try to do something like what you did last night again, you will be fired."
Kate didn't need to elaborate on the true implications on this threat; Kurama knew that he was involved in one of GENOM's high-secrecy projects, and fully realized that he would never be allowed to take the knowledge he had beyond GENOM.
Kate, on her part, studied Kurama's face for a few seconds before continuing, "You do have something to live for, don't you?" The question was rhetorical, and Kate continued before Kurama could answer it . "If it is so, I advise you to consider BU-07V a sacrifice, a failed project that has to be terminated so that others can live. Have I made myself clear?"
"Yes," was the only thing Kurama could say in reply, as he nodded slightly; back then he hadn't thought the day he would regret making that particular arrangement will ever come, but now he wondered if he had truly done the right thing.
It was already a late morning when Nana finally dared to come out of her hideout in one of abandoned buildings. Though the distant sounds of a combat going on ceased a while ago, Nana passed the remnants of the night without even a wink of sleep; although she felt drained by the latest events, she didn't dare to go to sleep when she knew that more combat boomers could come after her any minute, even though her hiding place seemed to be safe enough at the moment. But then again, her exhaustion was of a mental kind, and Nana knew that she could go without sleep for several days if she had to. Like all her other abilities, this one was tested and tested until it developed to what seemed to be its limit.
By the time Nana came out to the street where A.D. Police made their stand against boomers, the bodies and the most pieces of destroyed vehicles had already been taken away, but still the signs of damage on the street and some nearby buildings and numerous patches of blood made what had happened in here a few hours ago obvious even to someone as inexperienced as Nana. It was a bloody battle. Although increased access to more advanced weaponry allowed A.D. Police to fight on more or less equal terms with somewhat outdated BU-55C Combat Boomers even when the situation wasn't deemed to be serious enough to warrant the use of K-suits, ADP officers still paid high price for every boomer they brought down.
The exact details were of course lost to Nana, but she clearly understood one thing: the combat boomers who came after her were dead, and it was clear that some humans were killed as well. And even though she wasn't the one to perform the act, Nana knew that everything that happened last night was her fault, and it hurt her more then any flesh wound her pursuers could inflict upon her.
"It looks like I did a bad thing after all," Nana thought sadly, as she stood in the middle of the street, "Perhaps, it would be better for everybody if I just returned back. Except that… They didn't try to take me back, did they? They tried to… to kill me! But why? Why would humans who created me want my death now? Is it just because I am not like others, because I don't want to kill? Am I so useless to you just because of it?"
But suddenly she remembered the last message her Papa left to her, "There is nothing more I can do for you. You must flee from here as soon as possible."
He cared for her! He always did, as she could see even when things were hard. As far as Nana knew, he was the only person to do so. She just hoped that he wouldn't get in trouble because of it.
"Foolish Papa," Nana thought sadly, "Doesn't he realize that he doesn't have to get in trouble because of me? After all, I am only a boomer…"
But at the same time Nana knew that the blame was mostly on her, after all, she could choose not to proceed with Papa's instructions. But what was done was done, and Nana guessed that she just had to make the best out of it now. Papa never said anything about them seeing each other again, but perhaps, just perhaps, if she is a good girl, Papa will come after her someday.
"Except that I don't really know how to be good," Nana though, feeling desperation slowly seizing her, "I thought that doing what Papa told me to would be a good thing, but it turned out to be very bad, and now people died because of me. So, what should I do now?"
The last instructions her Papa left her told her to leave Japan and move to China, European Union, or USA, and try to mingle with humans without revealing her origin or abilities to anyone, but they turned out to be rather unhelpful: Nana simply didn't know of the places Papa was talking about! All she knew that she was currently in a place called "MegaTokyo", and this was as much as she knew about her surroundings.
Nana sighed. She wasn't getting anywhere by just standing there and thinking about it.
As yesterday, Nana quickly lost track of how long she was walking in no particular direction, but at least now, she didn't feel as though she was all but alone in this huge city. Despite it being the poorest and least populated part of MegaTokyo, during the daytime even its streets were filled with pedestrians, not to mention far more numerous cars and occasional bikes.
In a way, it was a good opportunity for Nana to try to learn something about this world, if only she wasn't hopelessly lost in all this chaos. But finally, Nana gathered her courage and decided to address one of many humans who were walking by her…
"Ano…" Some teenager with his ear-phones on just went on; from the look of things he didn't even hear Nana. "Excuse me…" A middle-aged man in cheap business suit just walked past her, without bothering to spare Nana even a glance. "I… Ow!" Some man in dark raincoat and shades never bothered to walk around Nana, instead he roughly shoved her off as he made his way, knocking her down to the asphalted street. "Don't stand in my way, stupid brat!"
"I'm sorry…" Nana mouthed, but the man was already gone, without bothering to give her another glance.
Nana let out a small sigh. She knew that trying to communicate with humans for the first time wouldn't be easy, but she didn't expect it to be like this.
After a few seconds of sitting on the asphalted street, Nana finally got up. She wasn't really hurt, at least not physically, but while she was used to the physical pain, being treated like this was completely new experience to Nana. She decided that she positively didn't like it.
As she shook off dust from her dress, Nana couldn't help letting out another sigh; the dress that was so beautiful a mere day ago now definitely wasn't in its best shape. Not only it was now rather dirty, but numerous tears spotted it too; having a building collapse under its wearer was certainly among the things the dress wasn't made for.
"Why did it HAD to happen just after I dressed up for the first time?" Nana asked herself, though she felt as though she knew the answer: the humans who created her weren't going to let her go so easily, "Well, at least my bruises are gone."
It was true: the relatively light injuries she received from that fall were all but gone now, thanks to her increased metabolism rate. Nana knew that if she was human, she probably wouldn't get away with this fall so easily, so perhaps she should be glad she wasn't one. Then again, if she was human, she probably wouldn't be in this situation in the first place…
Humans… The ones she owned her life to… And also the ones who wanted to take it now…
For the next half a minute or so Nana just absently watched as they walked past her; at this moment, the barrier between her and them seemed almost as substantial as it was back when she was in the laboratory room with a bulletproof glass wall separating her from her peers. She just didn't know how to behave around them, and because of it, couldn't help feeling that she didn't really fit into their society, no matter how much she wanted to. She used to think if she would just be polite everything will be alright, but now it looked like it wasn't going to be the case. Perhaps, just perhaps, basing her opinion about the human race on just how her Papa treated her wasn't the wisest thing to do…
"Hey… Um… Are you alright?"
"Huh?"
Nana was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't notice as one particular human, a young man in his late teens came up to her, leaning to her so that their faces were on more or less the same level, at least not until he spoke.
"Um… I saw what has happened, sorry that it happened to you. Are you alright?"
Nana blinked a couple of times as she looked at him for a few seconds before replying; after the treatment she received earlier, not to mention everything she went through in the laboratory, she could barely believe that a human was speaking to her not only kindly, but also as though she was his equal.
"Yeah, I'm OK… Thank you."
For the next few seconds there was an uncomfortable silence between them, as Nana was desperately thinking of what to say, while the young man couldn't help looking at her clothes: torn and dirty dress and even more dirty shoes. The girl's only other possession seemed to be an equally dirty brown bag that was slung over her chest; and from the way the girl looked, nobody would be able to guess the contents of this bag. In short, the girl definitely looked like somebody from a very poor family, or perhaps even homeless.
"Perhaps I could… No!" The young man shook his head, as if this would help to banish unwanted thoughts.
He has always had a soft spot for young girls in distress ever since his little sister was killed in one of the first rogue boomer incidents years ago, but even so, he realized that he couldn't go around helping complete strangers, even by doing something as trivial as treating them to a lunch, when he and his cousin had to work so hard to make a living and pay for their studies. And speaking of work, that was where he was going to be late to if he didn't hurry up…
"I'm sorry, I gotta go," the young man said, breaking the silence.
Nana just followed him with her eyes as he ran off, with a happy smile upon her face. The young man would never know how much these few kind words meant for a young boomer girl.
Attracting more then a few glances, Nana happily skipped through the streets of MegaTokyo; the little details like bright-colored neon signs she could see here and there, or occasional beautiful car flashing by, once again commanded the young boomer girl's attention. Somebody showed care for her, and that was all she needed at the moment. Only much later she realized, that the young man could probably help her with telling about the places Papa was talking about, or explaining what these papers Papa called "money" were good for.
Nana stopped, as her previously happy mood was somewhat darkened by this realization. A quick glance upwards told Nana that it was already getting dark, and she made no real progress in proceeding with Papa's instructions. The time simply flew, and if she didn't want to spend another night without any sleep, she'd better start looking for a safe place to sleep. She just hoped that…
But Nana's hopes for at least a little peace were broken the very next moment, as she suddenly felt a familiar presence in her mind.
"No way! They didn't…"
'Oh, but they did! And I've always been looking forward to… killing you!'
With her eyes widened with horror, Nana could only blindly stare ahead, attracting glances passer-bys; she couldn't believe that she will have to fight Her, the only person beside Papa that was always there throughout her short life. From the emotions and far more rarely – brief thoughts they occasionally exchanged through their mental link, Nana knew that Lucy was nothing like her, and yet, they were still two of the kind. And now, on top of all they have already done, the humans wanted her… older sister, for the lack of better word, to kill her?
But then an image of a battered street came up in her mind, with blood and remnants of destroyed vehicles all over it. Even though they may not have known it, but these humans fought and died for her, and if it was not for them, she would probably be dead now. And then another image came up in her mind, that of a young man who saw her for the first time, yet seemed to genuinely care about her.
"Um… I saw what has happened, sorry that it happened to you. Are you alright?"
No, she wouldn't allow the last night's events to happen again; all these humans didn't deserve to be involved in her problems. She couldn't hide from Lucy, and therefore, there was no real point in trying to run away from her, but there was one thing she could do: she could face Lucy at the battlefield of her choosing, where it would be just between two of them.
Although it was still only early evening, there already was quite a crowd in Hot Legs night club; the particular female singer and her band that were going to be giving a performance right now were very popular, and the crowd literary roared when the loudspeakers announced: "And now, Priss and Replicants present: Kizudarake no WILD!"
kudakechitta kanashimi no PURIZUMU
gin no shizuku ga hohoemi nurasu yo
RAITO no umi oyogu daremo ga
itami wo kakaete
Midnight Dreamin'
zawameku machi no NOIZU ga
kioku no DOA itazura ni tataite mo
jikan no SUPI-DO ni nado
maketeitakunai kara
Teardrops yuuki ni ima kaete
hashiridasu Born to be wild heart
ame ni utare hagareta MU-BI- POSUTA-
Hero ga yami ni juukou wo mukete'ru
samishisa ni nagasarenai
Soul ga hoshii yo
Midnight Flyin'
daremo ga ai wo sagashite
mienai kabe norikoete-yuku no sa
kizutsuku koto wo oboete
hontou no yasashisa shiru no sa
Never mind kizudarake no tsubasa de
tobitatsu yo Born to be wild heart
daremo ga ai wo sagashite
mienai kabe norikoete-yuku no sa
kizutsuku koto wo oboete
hontou no yasashisa shiru no sa
Never mind kizudarake no tsubasa de
tobitatsu yo Born to be wild heart
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Silver droplets from the shattered prism
Of sadness drench my smile.
Those who swim in the sea of light
Embrace their pain.
Midnight Dreamin'
Though the noise of the bustling city
May sneak up and knock on the door of my memory,
I don't want to be defeated
By the speed of time…
Therefore, I will now change these teardrops into courage
And run off, because I was born to be wild heart.
On a peeled-off movie poster, pelted by rain,
The hero aims his gun at the darkness.
I want a soul that won't be swept away
By loneliness.
Midnight Flyin'
Everyone overcomes unseen walls
In the search for love.
Remember the times you were hurt
And you will come to know true tenderness.
Never mind. I shall learn to fly with wings that are
Weak and scarred, because I was born to be wild heart.
In the search for love,
Everyone overcomes unseen walls.
Remember the times you were hurt
And you will come to know true tenderness.
Never mind. I shall learn to fly with wings that are
Weak and scarred, because I was born to be wild heart.
Once the song ended, a blonde man somewhere in his late twenties who sat in the club's equivalent of VIP lounge, turned his eyes away from the beautiful female singer to look at his female companion, a beautiful strictly-dressed businesswoman with raven-black hair; normally somebody like her would have looked out-of-place in one of the seediest parts of MegaTokyo, but her cold demeanor somehow made her fit any place or situation.
"You see, I told you it was it was a pretty good place." The man said, smiling to his female companion, who, however, clearly didn't share his mirth.
"Well, as I told you earlier, I am not really into Rock 'n' Roll."
"Oh! I thought you would like this place anyway. Well, if you don't like it, I know of…"
"And I thought you had some business for me," the woman's cold remark cut the man off in the middle of the sentence, "I you do, get on with it. Otherwise, I am taking my leave."
"Alright, alright, you made your point," the smile was immediately gone from the man's face, replaced by a more serious expression, "I need you to find and kill someone."
The man slid two pictures across the table, and the woman looked at them, and with a barely noticeable surprise saw that the pictures depicted two teenage girls: the first looked to be around fifteen, the second – a little older, perhaps around eighteen or nineteen. With only a hint of surprise in her eyes, the woman raised her gaze to meet that of the man.
"I'm sure you don't expect us to perform assassination missions for GENOM," the woman said coldly, and after a short pause asked, "What are they?"
"Perceptive as ever," the man commented with a humorless grin, "You are right on target here, these two are not humans. These are GENOM's latest boomer models, with bodies similar to those of BU-33S: organic skin, artificial blood and muscles, and exoskeleton structure that is nearly similar to that of humans. Nothing short of in-depth medical diagnostics will reveal their true origin. But unlike BU-33S, these two are designed for combat: although they lack any built-in armor or conventional weapons, their strength, reflexes and senses are vastly superior to those of humans. And not only that, all their vital systems are protected by a powerful exoskeleton, making them very difficult to kill, and an increased metabolism rate allows them to quickly recover from any non-lethal injuries."
"Impressive, but even so, their physical capabilities would be nothing comparing to what BU-33C are capable of," the woman commented, and then asked, "I assume there is something else?"
"Oh, yes. Both of them possess so-called "Vector System", which is GENOM's most recent development. It allows them to manifest transparent and nearly-invisible "arms" called "Vectors": fast as light, guided with a thought, and capable of inflicting tremendous damage. The purpose for which it initially develops isn't that of a weapon, but it can be used as such with a deadly effectiveness."
The woman raised a single eyebrow as she looked at the man skeptically.
"You know, this sounds like it came from some old second-rate anime."
"But I assure you, it is true. Take a look at this."
The man passed a pocket PC with a particular video loaded into it to a woman, and for the next half a minute or so, she watched the mentioned video with a stony expression: it wasn't often that you could see heavily-armored BU-55C Combat Boomers cut into pieces by some invisible force as though they were made of paper. It was only another half a minute after the video ended when the woman spoke again.
"If this video is true…"
"It is."
"What have you done?"
"Not me. I am not in Research and Development Department, you know, nobody asks my opinion when decisions such as this are made. Anyway, these two went rogue and fled the research laboratory, and now GENOM needs you to destroy them."
"GENOM now directly comes to us to take care of their rogue boomers?"
If it wasn't for the gravity of the situation, the woman would refuse this job on spot; just so that Quincy didn't get any funny ideas about Knight Sabers becoming GENOM's unofficial branch company.
"Well, GENOM would usually leave this matter to A.D. Police, or perhaps even took care of it personally, but the truth is that neither A.D. Police nor even GENOM itself have any means of destroying them without causing major public damage. Perhaps, we don't have any means of destroying them at all. The payment is a hundred million yen, fifty million yen for each of them, you are to present their remains as the proof. The alternative is to allow two combat boomers of a new type, made to kill and without any warm feelings towards humans, to roam freely around MegaTokyo, undistinguished from human being and with an ability to kill without getting suspected."
The woman didn't reply, but from her expression the man could tell that she takes the job; for her, the alternative was not an alternative at all.
"What will make your job easier is that GENOM believes that they may be going to fight each other, apparently, they have no warm feelings towards each other either. GENOM is currently trying to discern their location, and once they do it, I will contact you and give you their position data. I hope you will be ready by then. And… This may help you." The man took his pocket PC back, and instead passed a CD to the woman. "This contains some addition information about these two and their abilities, it's not much, but this is all we can provide… Make sure you come back safely, Sylia."
With that being said, the man stood up and left the night club. The woman named Sylia waited for a few more minutes before following suit. On her way out of the night club, she took out her cell phone and dialed a certain number… And at the same moment, back in the night club, a beautiful female singer who was just about to start another song felt her left earring vibrating: it was Knight Sabers full alert.
As usual, they gathered in the hangar, where their hardsuits and Knight Sabers' various vehicles were held. The four women that made a mercenary group known as Knight Sabers already had their softsuits on, and their resident mechanic and pilot stood leaning upon Knight Saber Trailer's door; considering this mission's danger level, Sylia decided that potential extra support in form of motorslaves would be more important then secrecy this time.
"Alright, it's time for the final briefing," Sylia said, drawing her fellow Knight Sabers' attention to a large screen on one of the hangar's walls, which turned on at her command, showing faces of their two targets along with some very generalized data on them.
Target #1: BU-01V "Lucy"
Distinguishing features: red hair and eyes, otherwise undistinguishable from human being short of in-depth medical diagnostics; physically appears to be around 20 years of age
Danger level: High
Threat range: 2 meters
Target #2: BU-07V "Nana"
Distinguishing features: pink hair and eyes, otherwise undistinguishable from human being short of in-depth medical diagnostics; physically appears to be around 15 years of age
Danger level: Very High
Threat range: 4 meters
"Both targets are combat boomers of a new type, and both are extremely deadly in their respective threat ranges: they attack with transparent and nearly-invisible "arms", which are capable of cutting through nearly any matter with relative ease, including your hardsuits. They lack any built-in armor, but they are very difficult to disable or destroy, and they are capable of stopping or deflecting most conventional ammunition; use your laser cannons and avoid getting into their threat range. This particularly goes to you, Nene, and to you, Priss. Nene, the known data about the targets has been loaded into your hardsuit's tactical computer, while this is not enough to formulate any kind of tactics against them, you can try to consult your tactical computer for details like making sure you say out of targets' threat range. The overall battle plan is as follow: Linna and Piss, you are to take the first target down as soon as possible, while Nene and I will engage the second target, then you are to come on our aid if we are unable to take the second target down on our own. Needless to say, our tactics may have to change according to the situation, and I trust you will be ready for everything. And now… Knight Sabers, to battle!"
In one of the farthest parts of Tinsel City, far away from any centers of activity, a girl stood atop a skeleton of a building at the long-abandoned construction site. The light breeze stroking her short pink hair was an unfamiliar and rather pleasant feeling, but the girl didn't allow it distract her, as she focused her attention at the young woman who stood at a few meters away from her. The young woman had long bright red hair that flew away in the breeze, and she was dressed in dark blue jumpsuit, something a pilot or maybe a biker could wear.
"Oneesan…"
"Imouto…" there was a hint of mockery in the young woman's voice as she addressed her "little sister", "You know, back in that laboratory, forced to kill all those pathetic BU-55C over and over, I was really looking forward to this moment… The moment I finally meet you in person… The moment I finally get to fight someone who is almost my equal!"
A quick step brought the young woman into two meters range from the girl: it was the start.
Author's notes:
If you read this chapter through (and I do hope that at least some people will read it through, and perhaps even review it), you probably noticed some inconsistencies when it comes to timeline in this chapter. To clarify the things: the scene when Leon and his squad take down the last BU-55C takes place at night some time after the previous chapter, the scenes in GENOM Tower take place in the afternoon of the following day, with the scene between Kate and Kurama taking place in the late afternoon when Kurama leaves work. After that, the time goes back to the morning to briefly describe Nana's day; the scenes in Hot Legs night club and Lady663 building's hangar (Knight Sabers' base of operation, owned by Sylia) fit that timeline, roughly taking place between Nana and Lucy detecting each other and their meeting at the abandoned construction site in Tinsel City.
Also, yes, I know that the scene that briefly described Nana's day was very poorly written, but unfortunately, this is the best I was able to come up with. The scenes I write the best are action/adventure scenes, and unfortunately, writing the scenes about everyday life or romance/drama scenes is a very big challenge for me. I can only hope that I will improve my writing skills in this field sooner or later…
Oh, and I would also like to note, that Sylia's comment about Vectors doesn't reflect my view towards Elfen Lied (which I view as the very best anime I have ever seen) in general or Vectors in particular; but imagine a Near-Future Tech scientist's reaction when he or she hears about Vectors as they were described in Elfen Lied.
And finally, I would like to once again remind you, that I would very much appreciate it if at least some people will review this chapter of this story of mine. I enjoy writing this story of mine very much, but nevertheless, writing this chapter of it was very difficult when I received no feedback whatsoever for the previous chapter of it. Even if you don't like some things about this story of mine, don't be afraid to openly state it; even negative/critical reviews are better then none in my opinion.