Love You To Death

by speed killz

Can love between two people be so strong that one cannot exist without the other? Jo exists only to fight and to protect Meg. Meg only wants Jo to be safe. Angst, Fighting, and of course, Meg and Jo love. Rated M for future chapters.

7. Part IV: A Chaste Goodbye

Love You To Death

Chapter Four

Part IV: A Chaste Goodbye

Jo awoke slowly. She grimaced in pain; her head was groggy and it hurt, throat extremely dry. It was sore too. Probably from yelling. Her cheek felt inflamed and bruised. Probably looked terrible too. Her nose was sore. It was difficult to breathe through. Her shin was killing her; keeping it still helped only marginally.

Her thoughts turned to Meg, and she slowly turned her head to look at the girl beside her. Jo was caught off guard when her eyes met Meg`s wide open blue orbs.

"M-Meg..." Jo's voice was a whisper; it hurt to talk too loud, and her voice was filled with guilt.

"Are you okay Jo?" Meg asked quietly. Jo wondered at the tone of her voice. It was missing something...

"Forget about me, I'm fine. Are...are you okay?" Jo asked.

Meg said nothing. She rolled over onto her back, and stared at the ceiling.

"Meg?"

No answer.

"I'm sorry." Jo's voice was broken, full of hurt.

No answer. Meg closed her eyes.

Jo laid there, wishing she could understand what was happening. She thought she knew, but she didn't want to accept it. Facing the truth would hurt. Hurt a lot more than any bullet wound.

Jo felt the all-too-familiar feeling of tears welling up in the corners of her eyes, and she hated herself for it. She had never felt this way, ever in her life. Now...pain and sadness were all she had been feeling recently.

Jo threw her legs over the edge of the bed, ignoring the pain in her leg. She willed her old self to come back as she sat up, wincing. She pushed herself off the bed into a precarious standing position, and when she was sure of her balance, limped away.

The old familiar anger surged through her with each painful step of her injured leg. With each step she put more pressure on it until the bone was protesting as painfully as she could handle without passing out. She missed this anger; the bloodlust boiling inside her. She wanted more.

"Sei!" Jo hollered. She coughed as her voice weakened.

"Sei!" She called out again, limping down the hallway. A second later, and Sei rounded the corner in front of her, a concerned look on her face.

"What? What's wrong, Jo? Is Meg okay? Are you alright?"

Jo clenched her jaw, feeling her teeth grind together. "I don't know if she's fine. She won't talk to me!"

Sei's eyes widened. "Why in the world would she not talk to you?" She asked, uncomprehending. Jo shrugged, throat too sore to talk.

Sei ducked under Jo's arm, and helped take the weight off her leg. Jo wanted to resist; she didn't. She needed Sei.

"You need water, from the sound of it. Come sit down in the kitchen. We can talk there."

Jo nodded wordlessly, moving slowly down the rest of the hall. At the end, she moved the few steps over to the table, and sat down, sighing. Sei placed a hand on her shoulder, and squeezed it gently.

"Just water?" She asked softly. Jo nodded. Sei let go, and moved toward the bullet-riddled cupboard. Courtesy of Jo's enraged, blind firing. Sei opened it, and stared at the several shattered glasses with a look of distaste, then selected an intact one. She closed the door on the mess, shaking her head. Turning on the tap, the trailer's on-board pump hummed softly in the background. Sei filled the cup, and shut off the tap, bringing it over and setting it in front of Jo.

Jo stared at the cup for a minute, before reaching out and slowly picking it up. She took a drink, eyes open and staring off unfocused into space. Jo was lost in thought, Sei knew, and whatever they were, they were heavy thoughts. Sei sat down across from Jo.

"So Meg wouldn't talk to you?" Sei said gently, trying to initiate conversation.

Jo's dark red eyes narrowed in obvious anger. "No, she wouldn't." Jo said, anger poisoning every word.

Sei was a bit unsettled at her tone. This was so unlike Jo. It was a tone reserved for issuing commands that preceded the certain death of whoever had put Meg in danger. It was dark, dangerous, and foreboding.

"Why not?" Sei asked, hiding her discomfort.

Jo's head lowered slightly, and her glare fell upon the table. At least, Sei thought, that was the direction Jo was looking. Whether she was seeing was a different matter entirely.

"I don't know." Jo said. She took another drink of water, and Sei didn't miss her white-knuckled grip on the glass. Nor the way it trembled slightly in her hand.

"You just up and left then?"

Jo nodded. "There was nothing I could do. The way she ignored me...hurt."

Sei nodded sympathetically. "I'm sorry Jo."

Jo turned her angry gaze to Sei, and bared her teeth viciously.

"Who were they?" She asked, not caring that Sei's eyes widened in shock at her behavior.

"Tell me who!" Jo said, standing up. "I'll kill every single one of them!"

Sei stood as well, knowing her leader status would be useless in controlling Jo if she didn't exhibit authority and power.

"Calm down!" Sei ordered harshly, wondering if Jo would get violent with her.

"Tell me who they are!" Jo yelled. "They hurt Meg! They're the reason Meg won't talk to me! She doesn't trust me anymore because of them! She has no faith in my ability to protect her!"

Sei felt her heart breaking for the emotional girl in front of her, but there was nothing she could do.

"I don't know who they are, Jo!" Sei said forcefully, trying to get Jo back in line.

"The hell you don't!" Jo screamed, back-handing the half full glass of water off the table. It flew across the room and smashed into the wall. Sei flinched as Jo raised her fist.

"You know who they are, and I want you to fucking tell me!"

"Don't you talk to me like that!" Sei yelled back, anger flaring up. "I'm in charge here. Put your fist down, NOW!"

Jo growled, and raised it higher. Instantly, Sei lashed out, kicking Jo in the broken leg hard. Jo immediately cried out in pain, falling down to the floor. Another swift movement brought Sei's closed fist into the side of Jo's head, knocking her flat on her back on the tiled floor.

Breathing hard, Sei curbed her anger, and glared down at Jo.

"I hope you've come to your senses." Sei said coldly. "I will not tolerate aggression from anyone."

Jo said nothing, crying openly on the floor. Sei wiped a trickle of blood from her bruised knuckle, and turned away. She stopped short when she saw Amy in the hallway, staring back at them with wide eyes. She was clutching her backpack tight, trying not to tremble.

Sei instantly regretted her outburst, but knew that regret would solve nothing.

"I'm sorry you had to see that, Amy." She said. "But everything is fine now."

Without waiting for a response, Sei walked past her, and entered her room. She shut and locked the door behind her.

Amy looked at Jo curled up into a ball on the floor, crying. Obviously from physical pain, but it was clear that there was emotional pain too. Slowly, still holding her backpack tight to her chest, she walked over to Jo.

"Are you okay Jo?" Amy asked softly, kneeling down on the floor.

Jo, clutching her knees to her chest, looked up at Amy. Tears were streaming down her cheeks, and there was a small cut on the left side of her face, near the temple.

Slowly, the red-eyed warrior shook her head. "I'm not okay." She whispered, her voice breaking.

"What's wrong?" Amy asked innocently. She didn't fully comprehend everything she had seen and heard, but it was clear something was wrong.

Jo lowered her forehead to her knees, and squeezed her eyes closed in a futile attempt at stopping the tears.

"Everything." Was her whispered reply.

Sei locked the door with a quiet click, then walked over to her bed. She sat down on it heavily, and dropped her face into her hands. She tried to calm her breathing, which was shaky. She took a few deep breaths until her heartrate returned to normal.

'Bailan is behind this. I'm sure of it!' She thought. 'If they are...who do I choose? My subordinates...no, my friends? Or the well-structured, family organization that will be my home, my business, my empire?' Sei raised her head and looked into the ornate mirror that sat across from her. She stared at her reflection, contemplating what she should do. Being a leader wasn't easy, and there were a lot of difficult decisions. She had always gone through life making decisions based firstly, on what was right and wrong according to her personal beliefs, and secondly, whether the benefits outweighed the disadvantages. This was something not nearly so black and white. She couldn't fit this into her formula, and come out with an answer that pleased herself, and everyone she knew. There was no way. She couldn't make this decision...

Her eyes hardened. She had to. She had to make a decision. Inaction would be a betrayal to both her family AND her friends, whereas a decision now would result in only one betrayal.

Sei let herself fall back onto the bed, and she stared at the ceiling. She was tired. Mentally, and physically, she was exhausted. She never expected life to be easy, but then again, she never expected something like this. If it was found that Bailan was behind the attack, then it would be clear that they intended to do away with Jo. Perhaps even Meg. Would Sei stand by and let that happen? If she fought against them, would they turn on her?

So many questions. No answers. It felt like they were fighting a losing battle, with no hope in sight. Now they were fighting amongst themselves, emotions getting the best of them. Of all of them. Sei knew she could have chosen a much more appropriate course of action. But it was necessary. Sei could not afford to show weakness in front of anyone. She had tried to solve the situation diplomatically. She would not tolerate further insubordination. She had to show that she was fit to be the leader, through physical prowess. Violence was the language Jo understood best, after all. Sei would be an unfit leader if she had let Jo get away with what she did. Her ability to command would be called into question. Her total control over her unit would have vanished. She could not let that happen.

Mind racing with a thousand thoughts, Sei drifted off into an uneasy slumber.

Meg bit her lip when she heard the yelling. She couldn't make out the words, but she could hear Jo screaming. Sei's forceful voice seemed to be ineffective against the hot-blooded warrior as Jo retaliated with more screaming.

`What the hell are they fighting about?' Meg thought, pulling the white sheet off her lap. She had to use her right arm; her left arm was shot through with pain and wouldn't move.

Slowly, she sat up. She swung her legs over the edge of the bed, and placed her bare feet on the carpeted floor.

Standing shakily, she pulled her left arm across her stomach, holding it there. She winced as she felt bits of skin pulling and tearing in her shoulder; moments later warm trickles of blood began to show through the light bandaging, staining the pure white over-sized T-shirt she was clothed in.

Ignoring the pain, she felt her heart ache slightly as she heard Jo's screaming voice once more. She padded quietly across the carpeted floor, and reached out to pull open the half-closed door wide enough to slip through. As she let go of her injured left arm to open the door, her arm swung down, tearing even more partially healed skin.

Meg bit her lip, breathing heavily. A small moan escaped her gritted teeth, and her eyes fell to the hot blood seeping from her wound. It was slowly staining the bandaging and the shirt in an ever-widening circle.

Sei's commanding voice reached her ears, and Meg wondered what she was saying. Meg took a second to let the pain fade a bit, before using her right arm to hold her left securely against her body once more. She used her foot to nudge open the door. Down the hall she could hear footsteps, then Sei talking softly.

Meg moved through the door and walked down the hall. She had heard Jo yelling from the kitchen. She would probably still be there.

Meg rounded the corner. Her eyes widened as she saw Amy kneeling on the floor in front of a curled up Jo, and she rushed over, injured arm forgotten.

"W-What happened?" Meg asked, her voice panicked. She dropped down beside Amy, as the young girl looked up at her.

"Jo got mad at Sei, and Sei kicked her in the leg, then backhanded her across the face." Amy said. The tone of her voice made it clear that she felt she was betraying Sei by speaking of the act.

Meg felt her heartbeat quicken, and anger coursed through her as she thought of Sei deliberately targeting Jo's injured body.

"Jo didn't deserve that!" Meg shouted. Amy flinched away from the angry red-head.

"Whether she did or not, this is what happened."

Meg ground her teeth together. "Stupid Sei..." She muttered.

Amy was silent as Meg gently slipped her arm under Jo's neck and shoulders, gently pulling her up into a seating position. Jo offered no resistence, and Meg sat down beside her. She pulled the crying girl into a hug and ran her fingers through Jo's hair.

"Everything will be okay, Jo. I promise." Meg whispered in her ear. "I'm here for you."

Jo, her left shoulder against Meg's chest, her head on Meg's shoulder, slowly lifted her head to look at her.

"Why wouldn't you talk to me?" She whispered. Meg didn't look at her. She pulled Jo tighter to her body, and stared at the floor as her left arm dangled uselessly -and painfully - by her side. Her right hand continued its trail through her hair, trying to calm and soothe her. Neither of them noticed Amy slip away.

"I was ashamed...and scared." Meg whispered. Jo's eyes widened. "Ashamed? And scared of what?"

"I was ashamed that I couldn't be of more help. It seemed like my fault that you got so badly hurt. I tried to get to the armory, but they caught up to me as I was frantically fumbling with the locked door. If you didn't have to protect me, you would have been in a much better position to sh-"

Meg was cut off as she felt Jo's lips against her throat. Jo kissed her softly once, twice, before licking her throat softly. "None of that was any fault of yours." She whispered. "I'm just sorry I couldn't protect you more."

Meg shook her head, more of a protest, but also to get rid of the shivers running down her spine. "You protected me just fine. I'm alive, aren't I?"

Meg couldn't see Jo's dark red eyes narrow in anger. "Only because they left you alive."

Meg was about to speak, but Jo cut her off. "What were you afraid of?"

Meg was quiet for a moment, before speaking. "So many things. Afraid that you hated me. Afraid that you would be sick of getting hurt for my sake, afraid that you secretly wanted me to just go away so you wouldn't get hurt anymore." Meg was nearly in tears when she was done speaking. "I was scared to death that you wouldn't be okay, that you would be..."

Jo snuggled closer to Meg, her lips pressed against Meg's throat. Slowly, Meg felt her smile.

"Meg, I will never hate you, no matter what. I will always get hurt for you, willingly. I will take a thousand more bullets for you. I never want you to go away. The closer you are to me, the better I feel."

Meg sniffled, but couldn't hold back her tears. Silently, they slid down her cheeks.

Jo could hear Meg's heartbeat increase, and she knew Meg was crying. The shuddery breathing was evidence enough.

"And I promise you Meg, I will never die. I will not leave this world before you, to leave you alone and defenseless with no one to hold you and protect you from the evil in this world. I will protect you forever, no matter what it takes."

Meg closed her eyes as Jo's lips pressed against her throat once more.

They were silent for a few moments, until Jo stopped kissing her.

"You lost your trust in me, didn't you?" Jo asked softly.

Meg tightened her grip on Jo, and shook her head. "Never!" She said. "Why do you think I did?"

Jo's voice was subdued. "I let you get hurt. I promised you I would never do that. You don't think I can protect you anymore, do you?"

"You're only human, Jo." Meg answered quietly. "I knew there was a limit to what you could do, and I knew one day I would get seriously hurt. I stuck with it because I care about you. Care about you more than anything, you know that. I'm not as strong as you, but that's because you protect me so well. I was ready to get hurt-get killed, even-, for you. I don't expect you to be able to do everything. You aren't a machine. You're human, Jo. Nothing will change that. You're very good at what you do, but you have your limits like everyone else."

Jo was quiet for a long time. Neither of them said anything for what felt like an eternity. Meg's tears slowly stopped. They dried on her cheeks. Still neither of them spoke. Meg closed her eyes, and felt herself starting to fall asleep, when Jo's quiet voice reached her ears.

"Never leave me Meg. I need you too much."

Meg smiled softly, and she once more petted Jo's head. "I'm not going anywhere. I'll be with you until the end."

Jo kissed her throat once more. "The end?" She asked. "That is another human concept that I fear I do not understand. Actually, to be honest, I do not understand 'the end' in terms of ending this life, and continuing after death has come."

"Do you think there is life after death?" Meg asked, wincing at how cliched and stupid it sounded.

"To me, it does not make sense, nor is there any basis to assume there is. Yet...I hope there is. One lifetime with you is not nearly enough."

Meg laughed softly, but was touched by Jo's words. "What would your ideal afterlife be like?" Meg asked. "What is your kind of heaven?"

Jo hummed softly. "A perpetual Valhalla, I think the Vikings had it right. Fighting endlessly against an onslaught of foes, fighting for a day that seems to never come."

Meg laughed. "No, you just want the valkyrie servants that come with the glory." She teased. "Beautiful winged women to serve you after you've had your seat in the golden hall."

Jo was quiet for a second, before speaking softly. "Winged women? Aren't they angels? The only angel I would want is you. You're my beautiful angel, and I love you so much."

Jo pulled away, then reached up and gently took Meg's face in her hands, pulling her close to kiss her on the lips. Meg responded instantly, slipping her good arm around Jo's neck and threading her fingers through Jo's silvery, red-tipped hair.

Jo slowly broke the kiss, and Meg protested with a soft whine. Jo smirked, and pulled away.

"Maybe the kitchen floor isn't the best place." She whispered. Meg agreed, and stood slowly, wary of her arm. She reached down, and help Jo stand, staying close so Jo could lean most of her weight on Meg's shoulder, and keep it off her injured leg.

"Let's go back to the room." Jo said softly. Meg nodded, and slowly they began making their way to the room.

When they entered, Jo caught Meg's gaze turn longingly to the shower.

"Good idea." Jo said. "Can your shoulder handle it, though?"

Meg shrugged. "Wound or no, nothing will keep me from a nice shower." She said, determination in her voice. Jo chuckled, and they began to slowly make their way into the bathroom.

Meg stepped onto the cold tile, and immediately began trying to undress herself. Jo laughed at her one-handed attempts, then stepped closer.

"Allow me." She whispered softly. Meg stopped struggling, relaxing as Jo gently grabbed the hem of her shirt, lifting it up and over her head. Meg shook out her hair, her red lengths flowing down her back.

"I need a little more help, Jo." Meg whispered, stepping closer and pushing out her bra-clad chest. "I can't take this off either!"

Jo smiled, and reached around to Meg's back, her fingers finding the clasp. She expertly undid it, and let it fall to the floor as Meg took the opportunity to kiss and suck on Jo's throat.

Jo closed her eyes, enjoying the feelings coursing through her, but was quickly distracted as she realized they were once again standing in the middle of the bathroom. She opened her eyes, and stepped away from Meg, utilizing the last of her self-control. She really wanted to ravage Meg, but for now...

Meg pouted, but responded to Jo's stern pointing. She turned, and walked toward the shower, turning it on.

"Needs to warm up." She said quietly. Jo smirked. Like clockwork. Could set her watch to that girl. Jo slid up behind Meg, and slipped her fingers into the waistband of her panties. Meg giggled, and looked back over her shoulder. She straightened up, and leaned back into Jo as she slowly wiggled her hips.

"Mmm Jo...undress me...please?"

Jo slowly pushed her panties down, until Meg reached down and slipped them off all the way. They hit the floor unnoticed as Jo slipped her arms around Meg's body. Jo's right arm went around Meg's stomach, pulling the girl tight against her body, while her left caressed her slender throat, tilting her head back and revealing her neck to Jo's hungry lips.

Meg moaned softly, reaching behind with her good arm to cup Jo's ass and pull her closer.

Jo's right hand slid lower, and Meg arched her back, pressing her hips into Jo's touch. Jo smirked, and stopped, earning a protesting moan from Meg.

"Get in the shower, Meg." Jo whispered in her ear. Meg hummed softly, before pulling away from Jo.

"Oh fine." Meg said, grabbing Jo's hand. "Come on, I'll wash you up real nice."

Jo smirked, then let go of her hand. She began to undress herself as calmly as she could, despite her racing heart. When all of her clothes were removed, Jo took Meg's hand once more.

Jo let herself be slowly led into the shower, Meg mindful of her injured leg. As she stepped into the torrent of hot water, she felt the tension of the last twenty-four hours fade slowly from her muscles. She closed her eyes and moved so that she was directly under the shower head, the water beating down on her. It was so relaxing, so peaceful...

She was surprised when she felt Meg's lips press against her own, yet she was unyielding in the kiss. She pressed back, fighting for dominance with the energetic red-head. She felt Meg's arm come around her waist, and Jo stepped closer, pressing their wet naked bodies together.

"Jo, you're so beautiful. Did you know that?" Meg asked, breaking the kiss long enough to trail kisses across her cheek and down her throat.

"Only you would think I am beautiful." Jo replied, stroking Meg's cheek.

"What do you mean by that?"

Jo shrugged, and looked away. "I know I'm not like those girls in the fashion magazines you look at." She said. She continued on even as Meg's mouth opened to protest. "I don't have the long,, flowing dark hair, or the bright blue eyes, I don't dress the best, and I certainly don't have..." Her eyes lowered to her chest, and Meg shook her head.

"You're beautiful, but you aren't too smart Jo." Meg said. Jo looked back up at her, confusion in her eyes.

"You know none of that stuff matters to me, right?" Meg asked. "I think you're so much more beautiful than any of those girls. A thousand times more. You're unique, every single bit of you. Your gorgeous silver hair is to die for, and your eyes are sexy, seductive, and...well...all of you is just so hot that sometimes I can barely control myself." Meg said softly.

Jo's eyes widened, and she studied her blushing red-haired friend carefully. "I thought for sure you would be more attracted to someone like yourself, though." Jo said.

"An' why do you think that?"

Jo shrugged once more. "Amazingly pretty, voluptuous curves everywhere, stunning personality. You're so lovable, its astounding someone hasn't come to take you away while I wasn't looking."

Meg had to laugh at that. "Well, not for lack of trying, Jo! Every time they do though, you just kick their ass until they wish they had never laid eyes on me!"

Jo smiled. "I need to protect what is mine, after all."

Meg hummed, clearly pleased at being called Jo's, and snuggled closer to her silver-haired warrior.

"Jo, sometimes you're so sweet and cute, you make me sick." Meg teased, sticking her tongue out and sliding it across Jo's chest up to her collarbone. She stopped there, and began teasing Jo with her teeth, tongue, and lips.

Jo grinned, and tried to ignore the arousal flooding through her body.

"Meg." Jo said. "What do you think you're doing?" She asked, trying to sound stern but failing.

Meg giggled. "Cleaning you. We're in the shower after all, and I won't stop until every inch of you is clean."

Jo leaned her head back against the shower wall and let the water fall onto her face and throat like a warm rain as she contemplated whether or not to resist. Meg's mouth moved lower, down to one of her breasts now, her hot tongue sliding wetly over her already-erect nipple. Jo stifled a moan of pleasure, and decided that it would be better if she could make Meg hold off just a little bit longer.

Mind made up, Jo straightened up, and ran her fingers through Meg's damp hair. She tangled her fingers in her hair, and gently tugged Meg away from her chest.

Meg looked up at her naughtily, licking her lips. "Mmm Jo, I love it when my hair is pulled...Won't you pull it harder?" She asked, running her good hand down her body to between her legs.

Jo's eyes widened, and she hurriedly extracted her hand from Meg's hair.

"Meg, try to control yourself." Jo said, reaching up and grabbing a bottle of body wash. Meg licked her lips, smirking naughtily.

"Mm but I don't wanna." She said, giggling. Jo ignored her, and squeezed some body wash into her hand.

"Well try." Jo said, putting the bottle back on the narrow shelf and rubbing the soap onto her arm. Meg looked up at Jo, then held her good palm up in the air, an innocent look on her face.

"I can't do it with one arm." She said.

Jo smiled, and once again took the bottle from the shelf. She squeezed some out into Meg's hand, and before she had even finished putting the bottle back, Meg attacked her, giggling.

Meg pressed the soapy hand against Jo's chest, her right hand sliding all over her breast as her mouth quickly found the other. Jo let herself be pushed against the shower wall, and closed her eyes as she felt Meg's warm tongue flicking over her nipple, her other being gently teased by Meg's hand.

"You're such a liar." Jo moaned, hands coming up to entangle in her hair once more. Meg hummed softly, letting her hand slide down Jo's body and around her hip to grope her once more.

"Won't you punish me?" Meg asked, looking up at Jo.

Jo looked down at her, a smile spreading slowly across her face. "You're a very very naughty girl, Meg. Maybe I should punish you."

Meg straightened up, kissing up Jo's body. "Mmm you should." She said. She was about to kiss Jo on the lips, when Jo reached up and pressed a finger to Meg's lips.

"Consider this punishment." Jo said cheekily, turning away and continuing with her shower.

Meg glared at Jo's back, then sighed. "You know as well as I do, that wasn't what I was talking about." She pouted.

Jo laughed. "I know. That's what makes it great."

"If you say so." Meg muttered, sliding closer to get her head under the hot shower spray.

"Shampoo me?" Meg asked. Jo obliged, turning around and squirting a few drops of shampoo onto Meg's wet hair. She then proceeded to run both of her hands through Meg's hair, and Meg slowly leaned forward until her forehead was against Jo's chest.

"That feels nice, Jo." Meg said softly. Jo smiled, saying nothing.

A few minutes passed in silence, before Jo reluctantly withdrew her fingers from Meg's soapy hair.

"All done." She announced, before starting on her own.

Meg smiled, and leaned forward again to rinse her hair, her one good hand running through her hair to make sure she got it all.

"How's your shoulder?" Jo asked, stepping closer to rinse her hair out.

Meg shrugged. "It kind of hurts, but nothing I can't handle." She said. "And your leg? It seems far more serious than my wound."

Jo shrugged. "Hurts when I put pressure on it, but other than that, it's an inconvenience." She said.

Meg smiled, and kissed Jo's shoulder. "You're so strong, Jo."

Jo began washing Meg, running her hands all over her body as she gently scrubbed at her skin.

"You are too, Meg. Moreso than you think." She said quietly.

Meg said nothing; she closed her eyes and enjoyed Jo's touch on her body.

All too soon, Jo was done. Meg opened her eyes to look at Jo, and smiled at the toned girl.

"All done?" Meg asked.

Jo nodded. "Time to get out." She said. She grabbed Meg around the waist, and pulled her close. At first, Meg thought she wanted a kiss, but her eyes widened and that thought immediately fled her mind as Jo cranked the tap to cold, holding her tightly.

A second later, and the water stream turned ice cold. Meg shrieked as the water rained down on her, sending shivers down her body.

"JO, YOU'RE SUCH A JERK!" She yelled, struggling to get free. Jo laughed, but didn't let go.

"JO I FREAKING HATE YOU, LET ME GO! How does this not bother you?" Meg said, trying to lean away from as much of the water as she could.

Jo chuckled, then shut off the water. Meg glared at her, then winced when one last icy droplet fell onto her nose.

"Meanie." Meg said.

Jo smiled, and let her go as Meg opened the shower door.

"It wasn't that bad." Jo said, her fingers trailind down Meg's arm to take hold of her jerked her hand away, glaring at Jo.

"No." She said. She shivered as the relatively cold air hit her skin. The water droplets began to evaporate off her skin, leaving her further chilled.

Goosebumps popped up on Jo's skin, but she otherwise showed no other reaction to the cold.

"You know, if you gradually adjust the temperature of the water down from warm to cold, as your body adjusts to it, it isn't nearly as cold when you get out." Jo said.

Meg shrugged, still pretending to be mad at Jo. "I don't care, I just get out." She said.

Jo said nothing, she merely observed Meg's attitude carefully.

"Are you mad at me?" Jo asked, wrapping a towel around her wet, naked body. Meg said nothing, but copied Jo's movements. Or tried to. It was impossible with one arm. She merely held the towel to her chest, and let Jo watch her bare backside sway back and forth as she left the bathroom.

Jo followed Meg out of the bathroom, and into the bedroom.

"It was just a joke, Meg." Jo said.

Meg smiled, knowing Jo couldn't see it. She quickly let it fade from her face as she turned to sit on the bed, avoiding Jo's gaze.

Jo sat down on the bed beside her, and reached out to tilt Meg's head up to look her in the eye. That was when Meg pounced, leaning forward and pushing Jo back with her good arm. Jo's eyes widened as she fell back onto the bed, and Meg straddled her, careful not to hit her injured leg.

"You're in trouble, Jo." Meg whispered, her wet hair falling down around her face as she leaned down within inches of Jo. Jo's dark red eyes betrayed only her desire for Meg, as she raised an eyebrow. "Am I now?" She asked.

Supporting herself with her good arm, Meg slowly leaned down further until her lips were barely touching Jo's.

"Yeah, you are." She whispered. Jo reached up, and tucked Meg's wet hair behind her ear, before sliding her hand to the back of her neck and pulling her into a kiss. Immediately, Meg felt Jo yield with a partially open mouth, and Meg forced her tongue inside. Jo's warm tongue slid past her own, and and their lips pressed together tightly, hungrily. Meg felt Jo`s fingertips sliding lightly up her legs, and across her hips. Jo`s hands found her back, and Meg arched her back, hips pressing against Jo as she was tickled slightly. She giggled, and broke the kiss to look Jo in the eye.

"That tickles." She whispered. Jo smiled. "It's cute when you giggle." She replied. Meg blushed, and leaned in for another kiss, when Jo stopped her with a finger to her lips.

"We need to change your bandage first." Jo said. Meg hesitated, then nodded. She kissed Jo's fingertip, then slowly moved off the girl. She sat down on the bed beside Jo, completely naked. The bandage was soaked, and stained dark with blood.

Jo sat up, and reached forward, gently finding the edges of the tape and peeling it off her wet skin. The adhesive was weakened by the hot water, and came off easily. The bandage, however, was a little tougher. Jo peeled it away slowly, not wanting to hurt Meg as bits of healing skin shifted, pulled and ripped. Meg winced, and Jo shushed her soothingly.

"This isn't one of those bandages that you can just rip off quick to avoid the pain." Jo said. "Doing that can cause more harm to the wound." Meg nodded, as the last of the bandage pulled free. Jo got up, and disposed of it in the garbage can beside the bed, before retrieving the first aid kit. She sat down on the bed, and opened it. She grabbed tweezers, and a cotton ball. She handed a small bottle of antiseptic to Meg, and instructed her to hold it firmly while she pressed down and twisted off the child-proof cap. Gripping the cotton ball with the tweezers, she dipped it into the antiseptic, and then gently dabbed at Meg's wound with it.

"It may sting a little, but be a tough girl, and I'll give you a treat later." Jo said. Meg nodded, not speaking as Jo continued her work. A few minutes later, and Jo was done with that. She inspected the wound very carefully, and noted a few signs of healing; namely, the regeneration of healthy tissue. It was minimal progression, but would get faster with time. Jo couldn't really do much else now that it was clean, so she prepared to rebandage it.

It only took a minute or so, and Jo gave Meg a quick peck on the cheek as she patted the last piece of tape in place.

"It looks okay, minimal healing is taking place. I think you ripped most of what had healed, you need to be easier on your arm." Jo said. "If you keep setting back the healing process, you're going to scar."

Meg frowned. "Only you can pull off scars and make it look sexy, Jo. I would look terrible!"

Jo smirked, then set the first aid kit aside on the floor. She didn't respond; she wasted no time in pushing Meg on her back and climbing on top of her.

"You will always be beautiful, no matter what." Jo said, running her hand through Meg's damp hair. Meg closed her eyes and nuzzled her face into Jo's hand as it cupped her cheek.

"You're so good to me Jo." Meg whispered. "I love you."

Jo smiled, and kissed Meg's forehead. "I love you too." She whispered. She continued her trail of kisses to her cheek, then down her neck. She crossed over and lightly kissed Meg's wounded shoulder, before moving down. Jo kissed her chest, licking the water droplets from her sweet-smelling skin. Meg moaned quietly when Jo's warm tongue slid across her chest, teasing her already perky nipples with warm breath, and soft lips.

"Mm Jo..."

Jo loved the sound of Meg moaning her name, and she gently bit Meg's tight stomach in approval. Meg's hips twitched in response, and Jo kissed her soft skin. Her nose touched Meg's hip as her lips inched lower, and she inhaled deeply. Meg smelled so good. So, so good...

Jo looked up, and smirked in satisfaction when she saw Meg's eyes closed, head tilted back. Her hand was running through her hair, pushing it back, before falling to her chest to gently knead her breast.

Jo lowered her head, and slid lower. Meg's legs were already slightly apart, her hips quivering in anticipation of Jo's hot tongue. Jo positioned herself comfortably between her legs, and Meg spread them a bit wider to accomodate her. Jo slipped her arms around Meg's thighs, and held onto her hips as she lowered her mouth to Meg's tantalizing skin. Meg moaned loudly, and Jo began lapping slowly and lightly between her legs.

The taste was unique, something she had never experienced before. It certainly wasn't bad; in it's own way it was rather addicting. The better Jo made Meg feel, the wetter she became.

Jo flicked her tongue over Meg's engorged clit, before sucking on it gently. Meg gasped before she could control herself, and Jo could feel her tensing up.

"Mmmnn Jo, I've never felt anything so good before..." Meg breathed, hand sliding down her body to entangle her fingers in Jo's hair. Jo loved the feeling of Meg's fingers tightening in her hair, gently pressing her face closer, her hips bucking uncontrollably as Meg moaned her name.

Jo began to slowly kiss her way back up Meg's body, her warm, wet tongue tracing a teasing path back to Meg's throat. Meg arched her back, pressing her body into Jo's tongue. Jo reached Meg's lips, and Meg kissed her hard, licking her lips as she tasted herself on Jo. Her blue eyes were dark with desire, and her heart was beating fast. The blood pounded through her veins, as she thought briefly of forcing Jo down and ravaging her body.

Meg smirked as she decided that was exactly what she was going to do. Meg kissed Jo hard, then slipped her good arm around her shoulders. She then pulled Jo down to her side, and rolled over, switching their positions. Jo looked up at her with dark red eyes, licking her lips.

Meg grinned, and grabbed Jo's wrists. She pinned Jo's wrists above her head, holding them tight as she lowered her lips to Jo's dark skin. Meg's teeth nipped her throat, her collarbone, anywhere her teeth could find, treating the warrior much more roughly than she had been treated. Jo gasped, and moaned as she felt Meg's teeth break the skin of her shoulder, drawing blood. Meg slowly licked up the warm liquid, before kissing a trail back up to Jo's throat. She closed her eyes, and gently nuzzled Jo's throat with her nose.

"Mmm Jo, you're so delicious...I wanna lick and suck every single part of you."

Jo felt desire heating every part of her body, and she ached for Meg's touch all over her body.

"Please do." Jo whispered. Meg grinned naughtily, before gently nipping Jo's earlobe. She then slowly kissed a trail down Jo's throat, stopping for a moment to suck gently on her soft skin where her throat met her collarbone.

"God Jo, you're so hot." She whispered, her lips pressed against Jo's flushed skin. Meg let go of her wrists, and slid her hand slowly down Jo's arm, her nails digging harshly into her skin. Jo bit her lip, and closed her eyes, moaning softly.

"Moan for me Jo." Meg said, digging her nails in deeper. Jo clenched her teeth together, but a second later, a whisper escaped her lips.

"What was that, Jo?" Meg asked.

"Harder." Jo begged. Meg smiled, and gently slid a fingertip down Jo's chest. It was almost ticklish, and Jo moaned. "Tease." She breathed. Meg slowed, and traced lazy circles with her fingertips around Jo's waist and hips, across her stomach and around her toned thighs.

Just when Jo couldn't stand the near-ticklish teasing any longer, Meg dug her nails into her skin, and slowly clawed a ragged trail from her right hip, up across her stomach. This time, when Meg lifted her hand away, there was blood on her fingertips. Smiling innocently, she slowly licked the blood off her fingers.

"You taste good, Jo." Meg whispered. She lowered her head, and slowly slid her tongue across the red scratches, soothing the marks, and tasting the slightest hint of blood among the lightly muscled stomach. "So damn good..." Her voice was smooth, sultry, nearly purring with satisfaction and pleasure.

Jo's breath was coming faster now, the teasing proving too much for her.

"Please, Meg..." She begged, her voice full of desire. "Make me yours."

Meg slowly kissed down her stomach, raw desire controlling her every move.

"I would love nothing more." She whispered.

Long into the night they traded kisses and caresses, the moans of passion filling the room as they repeatedly proved their love for each other. Neither stopped til the other was exhausted, and when they were done, they fell asleep in each others arms, not letting go even in their deepest sleep.

Jo awoke slowly, a smile on her face as she remembered last night. It was truly amazing, the way Meg had made her feel. Special, loved, cared for, unlike anything she had ever felt before. Meg had worshipped her body many times over last night, and Jo hoped she had adequately returned the favor.

She groaned quietly, stretching. She was careful not to disturb the still-sleeping girl next to her. She slowly turned onto her side, and watched the red headed girl sleep peacefully beside her. She was so beautiful. Everything about her was perfect, and Jo couldn't ask for more.

Smiling, Jo reached out and gently stroked Meg's cheek. Her thumb slid softly across her cheek, and her fingers caught a few stray strands of her hair. If it were possible, Jo thought, she was even more in love with the girl than before. She never wanted to be away from her.

Meg's breathing slowly deepened, and increased slightly in pace. A few minutes later, and a soft moan preceded the opening of her beautiful bright blue eyes. They quickly closed as Meg yawned, then opened again to focus on Jo.

"Good morning love." Meg said softly. Jo smiled, unable to look away from her gaze.

"Morning. How did you sleep?"

Meg yawned again, then scooted closer and pressed herself up against Jo, nuzzling into her warmth. "Slept good with you here. You?"

Jo wrapped an arm around her and held her close. "The same."

They were silent for another ten minutes; Jo listened to Meg's breathing, and Meg listened to Jo's heartbeat. Meg was almost lulled back to sleep by the sound of her beating heart, but was pulled back to consciousness by Jo's gentle movement.

"Mmmn what are you doing, Jo?"

Jo slowly worked her way out of bed, and stood,stretching. She yawned as well, then bent over and tucked the blankets tight around Meg.

"I'm thirsty, I want water." She said. "Want me to bring you anything? Drink? Food?"

Meg thought about it for a moment, then shrugged. "Water is fine." She said. Jo nodded, and turned away. She was about to walk out the door, when Meg stopped her once more.

"And Jo?"

"Yes Meg?" Jo asked, turning around.

"Cover up." Meg said, the jealousy evident in her voice. "I don't want anyone looking at you."

Jo smiled, and bent down. She picked up a shirt off the floor, and pulled it over her head. She ran a hand through her ruffled hair, and placed her other hand on her jutted out hip.

"How's this?"

Meg eyed the shirt that ended mid-thigh, then nodded. "You're good."

Jo smirked, and turned around, padding out on bare feet. Meg stared at the door where she had disappeared, then closed her eyes and snuggled into the warm blankets. She inhaled deeply, the scent of Jo comforting her and pulling her slowly back to sleep.

The man bore an arrogant expression upon his rough features, as his dull brown eyes surveyed the eight men he was in charge of. Four men lined one wall of the chopper, four more along the other wall. They were currently airborne and flying toward their target.

"Today, we have a task. It is rather simple and straightforward, but that is no reason to be lax. We will find and eliminate Jo, Bailan's lead mercenary."

There were dissenting murmurs from the men, and the leader slammed the butt of his rifle against the wall of the helicopter.

"Shut up! She's only human. She's a girl. Yes, she is skilled. Yes, she has killed a lot of men and women. But as her reputation grows, so does her strength. She will cast fear into your hearts, and doubt into your mind. She will make you doubt your abilities. Your ability to take aim and shoot at another human. This is all something we have done before. Do not let her reputation instill fear and doubt in you!"

The men fell silent as they contemplated their leaders words.

"She is also highly skilled with her war machine. Flanking us are six highly skilled pilots in high quality machines. When they have destroyed her cybot, she will come out bearing arms, fighting like a caged animal. We will move in at that point, and neutralize the target. Leave all others alive. Do not, under any circumstances, direct fire toward Sei, nor Amy. These orders are very explicit, as you have been briefed. I trust you have all committed the photographs to memory. Failure to follow these rules of engagement will result in death."

"What about her partner?" One soldier asked. "There weren't many details regarding her."

The leader grinned savagely.

"I would like to say, shoot to kill. However, this is not the case. Ideally, we are looking to capture and detain her. Our higher ups have their uses for her. If capture is not possible- remember, even with Jo dead, we can expect heavy resistance from the rest of them, and we are ordered not to engage them under any circumstances-, then shoot to maim."

There was a uniform agreement and salute. The man stroked his chin slowly, surveying his team.

"Make no mistake. Bailan's best WILL die today. It is up to you to make that happen. If the mission is deemed a failure on any part of yours, you will be killed. Better to die in battle, than to die a coward. Fight your hardest. Your life depends on it."

The commander sat down on the bench, and the sound of metal snapping together was the only sound that echoed throughout the bay.

"We will reach our target in twenty-five minutes, gentlemen. In a few short minutes, I will go over the general battle plan with you, and with the pilots via radio comm."

Jo sipped from her glass of chocolate milk, as Meg snuggled up close to her. They were both laying in bed. Meg had downed her water as soon as she had gotten it, while Jo continued to slowly drink her chocolate milk.

"What's the weather like outside?" Meg asked. "We should go for a walk later."

Jo was silent for a moment, then leaned down and kissed Meg's head.

"It's overcast. Going to rain today." She said quietly.

Meg hummed softly, acknowledging Jo's words, but not replying to them. They were silent for a few minutes, before Meg spoke.

"You don't want to go for a walk in the rain." It was a statement, not a question.

Jo was quiet for a long moment as she slowly took another sip from her cup.

"You know that I prefer less dreary weather." She said carefully.

"You never explained why."

Silence once more.

"You don't need to if you don't want to. I don't need to know why, I'm comfortable just knowing that you don't."

Meg looked up at Jo, and found that she was staring into space, silent, brooding.

"Jo?"

Jo's dark eyes flicked to Meg's worrying blue ones, and for once they didn't soften when they met Meg's blue orbs. It was proof that Jo was looking, but not seeing. She was lost in time, one of her countless memories.

"I never really liked the rain, but I never hated it. It was one of those reminders that, when I was soaking wet, it was because I had nowhere to go to get out of it. It annoyed me. I didn't like it."

Meg was silent. Her eyes widened as she saw Jo's brow crease, anger taking over her pretty features.

"Then that day, it was raining hard. I didn't want to go out in it, but you insisted. I told you no, so you went out by yourself. I watched you laugh and run around for half an hour, having the best time of your life. Watching you calmed me. I fell asleep not too long after that, and when I woke up, it was dark. It was pouring rain, a strong rainfall that made me panic. I couldn't see through the rain. I couldn't see you. The rain was cold, uninviting, and I couldn't find you. Couldn't..."

Jo's breaths were rapid and shallow, and Meg was scared. This was the first time she had ever seen Jo like this. It was the first time she had heard about anything like this.

"Jo, what's wrong?"

Meg could feel Jo trembling against her, and she didn't know what to do.

"Jo, it's fine, I'm right here. Are you okay?"

Jo couldn't seem to hear her. Her eyes narrowed further, and her lips pulled back in a soundless snarl to reveal her sharp white teeth. Meg was taken aback, but reached out and touched Jo's face.

"J-Jo?"

"I was so scared that you had abandoned me. I didn't know what to do. It felt like it was going to rain forever, and you left me. You left me. You left, and I...I didn't know where you were. I was scared. I wanted you back. I cried."

Meg felt tears forming in her eyes, but she paid them no heed, leaning forward and kissing Jo on the lips.

"I'm right here." She said. "I never left. I came back."

Jo blinked, then refocused her gaze on Meg. Her pupils dilated, and she blinked again.

"You did come back. Hours later, long after I had cried myself out, I heard your giggles through the rain. Seconds later, you materialized in the darkness. You ducked under the old wooden roof, and sat down beside me. You hugged me, and told me how much fun you had playing in the rain. I was glad you couldn't see how worked up I had gotten. I was glad you hadn't abandoned me."

"Oh, Jo, my love. I would never leave you. Not for anything or anyone." Meg said. She kissed Jo again, and patted her on the head.

"The rain is a beautiful thing. Sad, yes. But beautiful. It reminds me of you. That's why I love it so much."

Jo looked at her. "How so?"

"It's...comfortable...familiar. Beautiful, just like you. It has so many secrets, yet is absolutely flawless."

Jo stared at her silently, then looked away.

"I don't like the feeling of rain on my skin." She whispered. "I don't think I ever will."

Meg was silent, thinking of Jo.

"Why would you think I would abandon you?" She asked.

Jo shrugged. "I don't know. Because I was different. Because you felt like it. So many reasons that made sense at the time. I don't remember them all now."

Meg stared at Jo's profile. "Does the rain bring up those bad memories?"

Jo nodded slowly. "Sometimes...the rain wakes me at night. It's hard to sleep. When I do sleep, I dream. Of losing you. Losing you in a rainy maze. I can't find you. I call out your name, but my voice is swallowed by the hissing rain. You never hear me, and I never see you again. I can never find you. Alone, once again, left to cry in the rain."

Meg wondered if Jo's voice had been breaking toward the end, but figured it was best not to pry.

"I'm sorry Jo. I'll never leave you."

Jo stood, looking down at Meg. "I know you won't." She said. Meg smiled up at her, then got out of bed. Jo tossed some clothes onto the bed as Meg stood, stretching her good arm over her head.

"Get dressed, let's see what we can make of what's left of the day." Jo said. Meg nodded, and then hesitated. "Help me?" She asked cutely. "It's hard with only one arm."

Jo nodded. "Of course." She said. She moved forward and picked up the shirt. She brought it up as she gazed at Meg, and for the first time that morning, she got a real good look at the naked, messy-haired redhead looking up at her innocently. Jo closed the distance between them swiftly, taking Meg into her arms. The shirt hit the floor as their lips met, and was forgotten by both of them within seconds.

000.

"The strategy will be as follows. The six cybots will engage first. The objective is to draw Jo out of the trailer that she and the gang occupies, and get her away from them. She will no doubt respond with her cybot, so that lets us kill another bird with that stone. Not only is she separated from the pack, but we will swiftly destroy her cybot. With that taken care of, the pilots will have pulled her into a deserted district of downtown. Lots of buildings, offering height and concealment advantage. We cannot lose. If her team happens to show up before we are done, exercise extreme caution when firing."

The soldiers responded with a strict salute, and the commander nodded slowly. "Ten minutes until contact. Check final weapon loadout."
A clamoring as weapons were inspected, then reinspected. Everything and everyone was in place and ready to go.

000.

Jo stared out the window, watching the rain fall. It was falling pretty hard; it looked cold. It didn`t seem like a light, warm inviting rain at all. The sky was dark with heavy clouds; it would be raining for a while.

"Glaring at the rain won't make it go away, Jo." Meg said. Jo didn't look at her, gaze fixed on the raindrops streaking down the glass.

"It makes me uneasy." She said. "Even from inside the trailer, I can feel the cold."

Meg didn't know what to say. She looked out the window, but saw only the quiet rain. It tugged at her; she wanted to run outside and play in it like she used to. Although she would have settled for a romantic walk.

"Jo, the rain won't hurt you." Meg said, teasingly. Jo looked at her, and smiled.

"Are you sure about that?" She asked.

Meg nodded. "I'm sure."

Jo nodded, then got up. "I'm going to go change." She said. "This rain is foreboding. I do not like it."

Jo disappeared down the hall, and Meg continued straightening up the kitchen.

Meg had already changed into a pair of tight-fitting jeans, and a black shirt. Jo, however, had remained in nothing but panties and a shirt, so it was understandable that she was feeling a bit uneasy and exposed.

Meg walked over to the trailer door, and slowly opened it. The hiss of rain reached her ears, and she smiled absent-mindedly. Inhaling deeply, she closed her eyes as the scent of cold rain flooded through her. Cold air rolled in, and raised goosebumps on her exposed skin, but it didn't bother her. She took a few steps out, and although she was sheltered from the rain by the roof of the trailer, it didn't stop the spray of mist from hitting her skin. She raised her eyes to the sky, and let herself get lost in thought of days long past.

Jo leaned against the doorframe, and watched Meg stare up into the cloudy, rainy sky. What was fascinating up there, Jo would never know. She was merely content to watch Meg.

She felt much more secure in this dark environment with her red jacket on, scarf tight around her throat. The weight of her guns on her hips was comforting. It felt right.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a tap on her shoulder, and she turned to come face to face with Sei.

"Yes, Sei?" She asked.

Sei watched Meg as she spoke. "Since the last attack we have expanded our surveillance systems. And now we are picking up seven approaching airborne vehicles." She said. "Get Meg inside, and get into Django. They are still a few miles out, but they are coming in this direction and we can afford no mistakes."

Jo nodded, and instantly bolted down the steps. She stopped at Meg's side, catching the girl's attention.

"Enemies are approaching, Meg. Come inside."

Meg nodded, and turned around, trotting toward the trailer door. She took one last look over her shoulder toward the rainy skies, then stepped into the trailer. Jo hauled herself in behind her, and slammed the door shut. She locked it up behind her.

Meg started jogging toward the armory, as the trailer roared to life. Sei wasn't taking any chances either, choosing to have the trailer running and warmed up if and when the enemy attacked.

Meg stopped at the door to the armory, and quickly keyed in the password. The electronic lock disengaged with a quiet click, but before she could open the door, a hand on her shoulder stopped her.

She looked up, and felt herself being turned around. Jo pushed her against the door, and stared deep into her eyes.

"I love you Meg. Be careful. Stay out of harm's way." She said, her voice low. She barely let Meg reciprocate her feelings, before hugging her tight and pressing their lips together fiercely. The kiss was short, but passionate. When it was over, Jo took off toward Django, not looking back.

Meg figured the strategy would play out much like last time. Jo would fight with Django, and Sei would keep the trailer moving while Amy, herself, and Leo provided support for Jo.

Her thoughts were reinforced when Leo and Amy came through the door of the armory. Meg wasted no time in taking control of the situation.

"Leo, you're going to be the heavy hitter again. You're good with them, so load yourself up with whatever you feel like. We're going to be lending Jo support. Grab yourself a wireless two-way radio from the wall too. Amy, grab two radios, one for yourself and one for Sei. I know she has communication to the entire trailer and Django with the trailer communications system, but this way we are all on the same frequency. Also, bring her this."

Meg picked up a Glock sidearm, and inserted a magazine into the handle. She didn't rack the slide, she didn't want Amy running with a loaded weapon. She handed the gun and the two radios to Amy, and told her to get a move on. Amy nodded, and ran out of the room. Leo had clipped his radio to his belt, and was browsing the weapons.

"I'll meet you topside, Leo." Meg said, slinging two belts of ammo over her shoulder, and picking up the M-60 with the bipod attachment. She walked out of the armory, and headed down the hall toward the access ladders that led to the roof. She slung the weapon across her back, and climbed the ladder. She pushed open the access hatch, and climbed out. The rain was falling steadily, and she couldn't stop the smile from spreading across her face at the feel of cool drops on her skin. She quickly set up her gun on the bipod, and fed one belt of ammunition through it. She racked the slide, and the gun was ready to go. She quickly climbed back down the access ladder, and jogged back toward the armory, shaking drops of water from herself. She would feel safer with a sidearm, in case they were breached again, and she still needed her Anti-Tank Rifle.

She passed Leo in the hall, who carried a loaded RPG on his shoulder, and another rocket propelled grenade in his hand. He flashed her a confident grin, and she smiled back at him.

Once more in the armory, she surveyed the hand held weapons. She was fond of the one she had given to Sei, although truthfully she had only fired it twice, under the direction of Jo. The guns like Jo carried, the big Desert Eagles, they had too much power for her. She couldn't hold them straight, resulting in terrible aim, and had never fired one for fear of having the gun rip out of her hands.

She quickly settled on Walther P90 handgun, and loaded the magazine with rounds as quickly as she could. Once it was full, she slid it into the gun, then cocked it. She flicked the safety on, and put the gun in the waistband of her pants, in the small of her back. She swiftly loaded another magazine for it, and that went into her back pocket. She then picked up her ATR, and grabbed three magazines for it. Loading them as well, she stuffed one into the gun, and the other two found their way into her pockets.

On her way out, she grabbed her cowboy hat that was hanging on the wall, and put it on her head. She tilted it down a bit, then grinned.

Jo swiftly ran through the startup procedure for Django, and was glad to hear the turbos come online as a soft yet persistent hiss at engine idle. She couldn't wait to hear them roar at full throttle.

"All seven enemies still inbound...radar indicated that they have shifted formation. Six are leading in standard cybot formation, while one craft is hanging back from the rest." Sei's voice reported.

Django's imaging system came online, and approximate speeds and distances were given for each of the enemies displayed on the map. Jo cast a quick glance at it, before switching displays. The map disappeared, and Django's stats came up. There were readouts for each engine's temperature, RPM, and load, as well as RPM for each turbo, and a temperature display. Beside each was a boost gauge indicating each turbos' function. There was exhaust temperature, oil and coolant temperature and quality gauges, and hydraulic pressure indicators. Her fuel gauge read full. Nearly all of these would fluctuate as demand on the craft changed throughout the battle. Jo once again changed the screens output. Next up was a list of her loadout, and ammunition count. Django was leaving the bay with the standard handguns, and the rounds she held in the gun as well as on the craft was displayed. It updated in realtime as every shot was fired.

Jo thumbed the communications button, and her radio cracked and buzzed.

"How long until you open the bay doors? Are you going to wait until they are on top of us, opening fire?" Jo asked. She released the button, and Sei's voice came back. "Standby for hatch opening in thirty seconds."

Jo nodded, and slowly slid the engine throttle sliders to maximum. The engine speeds of all three engines quickly rose, and Jo switched back to her craft stats display to watch everything in realtime. The engine's RPM counters rotated around the dial until they pointed straight up; the turbos reached a maximum of 120 pounds of boost each. Engine temperature, oil temperature, exhaust temperature, they all began to rise. The turbos reached a piercing whistle, and it was music to Jo's ears.

Just then, the hydraulic whine of the bay doors opening reached Jo's ears, and she gripped the controls tightly as rain began falling on the cockpit glass.

"Fifteen seconds until you're deployed." Sei said. Jo switched to radar. The six enemies were four miles out, and closing fast.

"Time to stretch my legs." Jo said to herself, as her craft was propelled from the trailer. She landed upright, and she immediately put Django through it's paces.

The bay doors began closing, as the trailer's engine began revving up.

"Good luck Jo." Sei said. "We'll be helping you as best we can."

Sei put the two-way radio down, and jerked on her seatbelt. It locked reassuringly, and she inhaled slowly. She held her breath for a moment, then exhaled.

"Okay, time to do this." She said. She picked up the two-way radio, and pressed the button.

"Amy, Leo, Meg, hold on. We're moving out."

She set the radio down, and pressed the clutch. She shifted into first, and popped the air brakes. With a hiss and a groan of metal, the hefty trailer began rolling forward. Sei slowly let out the clutch, giving the engine some throttle as she did so. She reached over, and shut off the hydraulic throttle control. When engaged, it automatically raised engine speed to make the hydraulics that operated the bay doors open faster and easier. The engine was now under her control, and she pulled away from where they had been parked for the last week, accelerating hard.

"Contact in approximately ten seconds." Sei heard Meg's voice say over the two-way. Sei turned the trailer, letting her gunners face the incoming enemy threat.

A few seconds later, and she heard Meg opening fire with the M-60. Sei smiled, as she glanced down at the digital map that told her where Django was in relation to her vehicle. Meg was growing into an excellent young fighter, of that she was sure.

Sei double-clutched through the gears, riding the engine hard. If she were easier on the throttle, she would be inside the rev-matching shift zone for clutchless shifts, but precision wasn't the name of the game today. She had to make tracks, and she had to be hard on the throttle to do so.

Hair blowing in the wind, rain blurring her vision, Meg pulled her cowboy hat onto her head tighter, not wanting it to get blown away. All six of the cybots had swarmed Jo, trying to overwhelm her with sheer numbers. Meg didn't think that was very nice, and squeezed the trigger on her M-60 with a vengeance.

"Meg, get ready with your rifle. If I make a hit with one of these rockets, I want you to finish off the target with your rifle." Leo's voice came through the two-way radio. He was only fifteen feet away from her, but the roar of the wind, rain, and sounds of combat and gunfire made it too difficult to yell to each other.

"Ten-four." Meg said. She released the handle of her M-60, and the smoking barrel fell silent. She wrapped her right hand around the pistol-grip of the rifle, and slid her finger into the trigger guard. She looked through the scope, and sighted the group of cybots swarming around Django.

A second later, and a wave of heat washed over her as Leo fired an RPG. It streaked toward the cybots with a slightly wavering path, but Leo proved to be accurate as the grenade slammed into the side of a black cybot. It exploded with bright colors, contrasting sharply with the dark smoke that immediately began to leak from the craft. It began slowing, unable to keep up with the rest of the cybots, and Meg let her scope wander over it. She sighted for the cockpit, and took a deep breath. She slowly exhaled as she pulled gently on the trigger.

The rifle exploded with a deafening bang, and a half second later, the cybot she had aimed for exploded in a shower of hot metal, detonating ammunition, and burning fuel. She grinned, and racked the slide, reloading.

Jo felt the explosion rock Django, and she heard Sei congratulating Meg over the two-way radio. Jo grinned, and accelerated down the bare streets, forcing her craft to top speed as fast as she could. The airborne units gave chase, and Jo wondered idly how Leo had fared on making Django fly. She decided to ask.

"Hey, Leo, did you ever get Django to fly?" Jo asked, releasing the comms button as a few rounds dinged off Django's armor. She whirled Django around, and slammed the craft to a stop as she took aim with both of her guns.

Immediately a hail of gunfire from the six cybots fell down upon her, but Jo paid no attention to it. Django's targeting system swiftly centered on the closest cybot, and Jo squeezed the triggers as fast as she could.

Django's guns went off loudly, and four bullets found their place in the cybot before the cybot leaned to the side and abandoned the head-on charge. It swooped away, circling around for another pass.

The other four cybots slowed to a stop in mid-air, concentrating their fire down upon Jo.

"Yeah, press the button located on the right controller. It should be accessible with your pinky. That reroutes the booster jets to face straight down. The best I could do was give you a straight up jump, with decent hangtime. Use the boost pedal to activate. Press again to reroute to normal horizontal thrust."

Jo quickly pressed the switch, then slammed her foot down on the booster pedal. Django launched into the air, Jo pressed firmly into her seat. She released the boost pedal after a second, and the momentum carried her straight up into the middle of the swarm of cybots.

She levelled off in the air facing one of the surprised pilots, and she smirked at him. She stuck the guns out to either side of her, and rapidly pulled the triggers. Never breaking eye contact with the slow-reacting pilot in front of her, her smirk grew as dual explosions rocked her craft. She had fired multiple shells into the cockpits of two cybots, instantly killing the pilots and destroying the crafts.

As Django fell back to the pavement below, only three of the six cybots remained. Immediately, one of them broke formation, and fled south. Jo paid no attention to that one; she would chase it down later when she was finished with the two facing her.

One fell to the pavement, and produced another machine gun, weilding two. The other stayed in the air, obviously trying to distract Jo with multiple levels of incoming fire.

Jo laughed, and took off, accelerating Django to top speed. She raced through the streets, wanting to see if the pilots could keep up. The heavy rain pounded on, relentless.

Meg grimaced as Jo took off out of their range. Sei had turned down a side street to try to loop back around and follow her, but until they reached higher speeds, Django was much faster.

"Sei, keep an eye on that radar. I want to know where that other cybot went." She said. "It was carrying something weird, too."

"It's nearly out of radar range, and still moving away." Sei's voice came back over the two-way. "I'll keep you posted on its movement."

The engine revved as Sei shifted gears, then dropped to a lower pitch as she engaged the clutch, accelerating hard.

Jo concentrated her fire on the cybot chasing her; it was giving her the most problems. It was attacking with a high rate of fire; the other cybot was following in the air but didn't seem to be attacking.

Jo took off into the air, aiming her guns down at the grounded cybot. As she passed in front of the airborne cybot, she was blinded by a strong red light. She grimaced, and released the boost pedal. Django stopped accelerating upward, and began falling back toward the ground. Warning sensors went off in the cockpit as bullets slammed into her, penetrating some of the weaker spots on the craft. She ignored them, and turned her guns toward the airborne following craft. It wasn't shooting at her, and that blinding red light was suspicious...

Her eyes widened as she realized what was happening.

"Sei, where is that other cybot?" Jo yelled, targeting it and firing as quickly as she could. The craft was nimble though, and evaded most of her fire. It began to drop back, out of her range but still within visual sight of her.

"Jo, it's out of radar range. I think it retreated."

Jo growled. "I don't think it has! Was it carrying anything? I didn't notice at the time..."

"Meg says it looked weird, like it was carrying something, why? What are you so worked up about?"

Jo grimaced as more rounds slammed into her cybot. She boosted backward, bringing her guns down to target the attacker.

"I'm being targeted by a laser designator."

"Fuck."

Jo said nothing, concentrating on the job at hand. Finally, her rounds seemed to have an effect, and the right arm of the attacking cybot exploded. Down to one weapon, the cybot pressed doggedly on, getting closer to make more use of its automatic weapon.

"You guys are beginning to piss me off!" Jo yelled, slamming both joysticks forward. She had been skidding backward, trying to fight off the attacking cybots while fleeing, but it wasn't working. So she slammed both joysticks forward, and brought her foot down on the boost pedal. Django decelerated hard, then, after a quick moment of inertia, rocketed forward under full boost. The chasing cybot had no time to react, and Jo lowered Django's shoulder into the hit. They collided head-on, Jo leading with her left shoulder and firing with the gun in her right hand. Her reinforced cybot cut through the enemy, smashing it to pieces. Django shuddered violently, and a warning went off signaling structural damage to Django's right arm. Jo ignored it, as the wreckage of the enemy collided into a building. The building collapsed, burying the broken, twisted heap of metal.

Jo turned, and set her sights on the laser designating cybot. Sure enough, it had a rifle in it's hand, but instead of firing bullets, it was firing a barely noticeable laser, which he had been targeting Django with for well over two minutes.

"Jo, we have confirmed missle launch!"

Jo cursed, and pressed the comms button. "How many, and what kind?"

"Four laser-guided anti-tank missles. They shouldn't be too much of a bother for you. That's what the cybot who fled launched. But..."

Jo targeted the last remaining cybot, and opened fire.

"But?" She asked. "Come on Sei, this isn't the moment to be building suspense. Just tell me."

"A missle launch has been confirmed by a warship off the coast. Estimated arrival is four minutes. In less than one hundred and twenty seconds, it will be travelling nearly a thousand kilometers an hour. The target is you."

"The hell is it, an ICBM?" She asked. "This is fucking rediculous."

"Not an Inter-Continental Ballistic Missle." She said. "Of that, we are sure. Amy is running a check to see who is doing patrols in that area of the coast, and will return with a list of arms they will be carrying. We will cross-reference that data with what we know about the missle and get back to you."

Jo ground her teeth together in anger, gripping the controls tighter. She wanted support from Meg and Leo, but she couldn't go near them. She had to pull Django away from the pursuing trailer so that they wouldn't get caught by the approaching missle.

"Stop pursuing me, Sei." Jo instructed.

"What? Why? We need to lend you support to get that targeting laser off of you." She said.

Jo shook her head. "I don't know what they launched, but it's going to be big if they launched it off a warship. I don't want you caught in the blast radius."

"But Jo, w-"

Jo shook her head, and overrode the communications. "It's too late for me. Stop chasing me. Or you will be killed too."

There was silence, and Jo focused on the last remaining cybot. They had obviously given the most important job to the most skilled pilot. She could barely get a lock on the damn thing, much less hit it.

"Incoming anti-tank missles." Sei informed, her voice dead. "They will reach you in thirty-five seconds."

Jo whirled her craft around, and looked toward the horizon in the direction the enemy had fled. A few seconds later, and she caught a glint on the horizon. She brought her guns up, and targeted them calmly. She wasn't even worried about the cybot behind her. He wouldn't shoot her. His only job was to keep that laser on her.

Low on ammo, Jo squeezed off three careful shots. It was clear she missed when there were no explosions on the horizon. Too far away. She patiently waited, heart thudding in her chest. Blood pulsed through the veins in her throat; she could feel the pressure near her temple.

When she could start to make out four individual specks, she started firing again. She missed again, however, getting frustrated.

"I can't fucking hit these things!" She yelled, whirling on the cybot behind her.

"Now you die!" She unleashed a torrent of gunfire upon him, but he skillfully evaded her shots. He was extremely light; he had discarded all weight as well as his ammo and rifle when it came time to employ the laser designator, and now Jo was having trouble hitting him.

Aware that missles were streaking toward her at an alarming rate, Jo felt panic coursing through her for the first time since she could remember.

"Why won't you just die?" She screamed, boosting closer to her target. He once again flitted away, out of her range, zigzagging left and right to avoid her gunfire.

Meg saw the missles approaching, and she turned her M-60 to the skies.

"Leo, we only have one shot at this!" She called out. "Sei, pull us in line with their trajectory!"

Slowly, the trailer began to come around until it was facing the missles head on.

"Use your fastest firing weapon, Leo." She instructed, hurriedly loading a new belt into her gun.

"They are low on the horizon, and well within our range. Just don't shoot them when they get too close, or we will be taken out!"

Their barrels pointed to the sky, and Meg held her breath, waiting as they roared closer.

"Ready...steady...FIIIRE!"

She squeezed the trigger on her gun, and directed the fiery red tracer rounds toward the incoming missles. Leo aimed an assault rifle in their direction, holding the trigger down.

Meg's rapid fire impacted the lead missle, and it exploded instantly, taking out the one flying directly behind it. Two more were inbound, and Leo's rounds found their mark; one more exploded harmlessly in the distance.

"Cease fire!" Meg cried, ducking down as the sub-sonic missle streaked by about sixty feet above their heads. They turned around, watching the missle fly toward its target. Jo.

Meg immediately dropped the M-60, and picked up the Anti-Tank Rifle. This, more than anything, was why she wanted the trailer in line with the missles flight path. The target was getting smaller, but it wasn't moving left or right.

She sighted through the scope, and inhaled. She found her target, and gently pulled the trigger as she exhaled. The rifle jerked in her hands as she expected it to. She compensated for the recoil, her aim straight and true.

She held her breath. A second later, she was rewarded with a deafening explosion. The last missle fragmented brightly in the dismal, rainy sky, no longer a threat to Jo.

"Jo, the four missles launched by the cybot are no longer a threat. I repeat, threat eliminated. In one minute, forty seconds, the missle launched by the warship will be upon you. Hurry up and destroy the designator, then get the hell out of there!"

Jo was glad that she didn't have to worry about the incoming missles anymore. She needed to relax. She had just under two minutes to get this done. She breathed deeply, and thought about her situation. Running would not help. He would follow, targeting her the entire way. It was obvious he intended to die as well. The target needed to be painted by the laser all the way until the missle impacted the intended target. It was a GPS system. If he simply pointed it at Jo, turned on the GPS, then took off, Jo could leave the spot the missle last got coordinates from, and the plan would fail. If Jo moved, the laser had to follow, informing the missle about the change in location of the target. She needed to actively pursue this target. Make him back-pedal, and hopefully, screw up.

She aggressively boosted toward the cybot, closing the distance between them as quickly as she could.

"Sei, update me every ten seconds on how much time I have left."

"Forty-seven seconds." Sei responded.

Jo cursed as the cybot smoothly boosted to the left, sliding around Jo and getting behind her. Jo turned Django as harshly as she could, boosting toward the target as quickly as she could. She brought her guns up, and fired once. The shell bounced harmlessly off the armor plating. Jo cursed.

"Forty seconds."

The cybot boosted away from her very quickly, and Jo struggled to keep up. She only had eight shots left. The situation was getting desperate. Sweat was forming on her forehead. She took aim, and fired again. Another miss. She chased him down, closing the distance. For a split second, the laser blinded her, throwing her into a rage as she realized the odds were stacked against her so rediculously, that she wondered if she would be alive in the next minute. Her hope was starting to dissipate.

"Thirty seconds. Jo, finish it! There's no time left!"

Jo swallowed dryly. She had seven shots left, thirty seconds, and no hope of taking out this infuriating target. What the hell was she supposed to do...?

Jo strafed to the right, bringing her guns up once more and squeezing off two shots. One bullet nicked the laser designating rifle, and Jo felt a spark of hope. She fired three more times, but the pilot had recovered, and they were all misses.

"Twenty seconds...Jo, we're pulling back, out of the blast zone. It's a Commodore series missle, quite a hefty payload. A surface impact will result in lethal damage for ten to fifteen blocks in each direction, a devastating blast zone, levelling everything, with non-lethal, life-threatening damage beyond that for another eight hundred feet. God speed, Jo. I hope you make it out alive."

Jo felt her heart sink into despair. She felt tears in her eyes, as she thought of Meg. The situation was so hopeless. What the hell could she do? Anger coursed through her at the realization that there was nothing she could do. Nothi-

Her eyes widened, eyes darkening as she realized that the cybot, backing away from her, had backed straight into a building. Her lethal instincts took over as she realized this was her only chance. As the cybot came to a complete stop, Jo took aim. Right before the pilot could extract himself from the mess, Jo fired her last two shots. The bullets streaked through the air, and sliced right through the connecting joint of the arm that held the laser designator. The arm, rifle, and pieces of metal fell to the ground, the laser skidding across the asphalt before coming to a stop pointing at the side of the building. There was a split second where neither pilot moved, then, as if by unspoken agreement, they ignored each other. This area was a kill zone, and neither pilot wanted to be in it.

Jo turned, and forced her craft to full boost, trying to get as far away as possible from where ground zero was less than ten seconds away from being created. Jo gritted her teeth, running a mental countdown in her mind as she sped down the abandoned streets. Over the noise of Django, she could hear a quiet whistling. Similar to her turbo, but yet, quite different. It steadily grew louder. Just when Jo thought she was going to go deaf, the whistling stopped. For a split second, there was nothing. Then, a flash of light from behind her illuminated everything in front of her. Still she pressed on.

The shock wave was next, slamming into Django from behind with a brutality that Jo had never felt before. The cybot was lifted fully off the ground, hurtling forward. Jo was pressed back into the pilots seat as she accelerated swiftly. The ride ended as roughly as it had begun, dropping Django to the pavement. The cybot skidded across the pavement, tumbling end over end, crumpling and twisting until the craft came to a rest on its back. The cockpit glass was spiderwebbed with cracks from the impact, but not shattered. It had fourteen layers of polycarbonate lamination, and each layer was composed of over two hundred individual layers, only microns thick. In the silence, the raindrops falling on it seemed to be almost too loud. Jo had been knocked around roughly despite her harness, and was dizzy when she opened her eyes. Her vision was blurred, and she couldn't hear anything. A second later, a wave of heat passed over Django, raising the internal temperature by at least thirty degrees in a split second. It was accompanied by a roar so loud that Jo was quickly redeafened. The heat stole the breath from her lungs, and some small logical part of her brain realized that she had been very close to the epicentre of the explosion. Gasping for breath, she clawed for the hatch release. As her fingers found the metal latch, she quickly pulled away, yelping. It was too hot to touch. Inhaling through her nose, she smelled acrid smoke. Electronics were burning. The air was filled with the smell of plastic melting. Coughing, blood sprayed from her throat in a mist, coating her left wrist. She could feel a warm wetness from her ears, and when she reached up to investigate, her fingertips came away bloody as well. She moaned, and tried to inhale again. She once again choked on the air, unable to get enough oxygen from it. Ignoring the pain searing through her hand, she grabbed the cockpit release, and pulled it toward her. It was jammed. She pulled on it as hard as she could, but it wouldn't budge. Eventually, the pain and exertion got to her, and she released it, breathing hard. She inhaled deeply, starving for air. Vision swimming, she pulled out one of her guns. Unable to see, she pointed it in the direction of the jammed latch. She pulled the trigger four times, then reholstered her gun. She leaned in close, straining her eyes to see in the burning, smoke-filled cabin. The latch looked like it had been busted off, and she pushed hard against the glass. Slowly, ever so slowly, the rubber weather-stripping gave away, the hatch opening up on tortured hinges. Heated, yet fresh, wet air filled the cabin, sweeping away the choking smoke. A few more breaths, and Jo's tender lungs slowly began to take in oxygen again. She undid the latch on the seat restraint, and pushed the roll bar out of her way.

She wiped blood from her face, and slowly climbed from the wreckage of Django. When she pulled herself out, she tried to stand, but her legs were shaking and too weak. She collapsed, and rolled down the wreckage of Django. She fell off the machine, and fell eight feet to the broken asphalt below. She landed painfully on a jutted chunk, crying out in pain as she felt one of her ribs break. Her breath was coming in shallow gasps now, as pain seared through her. She squeezed her eyes closed, shaking her head. She could hear the roaring of fire, the groaning of hot, stressed metal. Above that, she could hear the faint sound of chopper blades beating the air. She slowly stood, and walked away from the wreckage of Django, disoriented and confused. She clutched her side, feeling the broken bone move beneath her hand. Ignoring it as best she could, she slowly walked away from the burning chunk of metal. She had no idea if the fuel tanks had ruptured or not, or what was fueling the blaze, but she didn't want to be around in case anything exploded.

The sound of a helicopter grew stronger, and Jo looked up to see a helicopter approaching in the distance. Jo didn't think it would be friendly, so she hurriedly scanned the broken, burning landscape for anything that would conceal her effectively.

Her eyes landed on a section of road that had buckled up from the explosion, and she scampered over to it as quickly as her injuries would allow. The asphalt had lifted completely off its packed gravel base, chunks of it still holding together. She got down on her hands and knees, and crawled under the buckling asphalt. Dirt and sand was kicked up as she crawled forward, and she breathed it in through her nose. She ignored it though, and made sure she was completely underneath the asphalt. It wasn't the best hiding place, nor was it the safest, if one of these slabs decided to fold and collapse, but it would have to do. She left herself relax, laying on her uninjured side, and tried to calm her labored breathing. Her side was killing her, and her body ached all over. She wanted to just lay here, in the relative coolness, the hissing rain lulling her into a stupor, and close her eyes...just...rest for a moment...

A bang brought her back to consciousness. She also heard a loud whomping sound. Her disorientation took a moment to fade, and then she realized that a chopper had landed nearby. She had heard the sliding door being opened, banging against the door-stops at the end of its track. She heard distant shouts, a commander ordering his men. She couldn't have passed out for more than a minute; the fire was still roaring and there was an unbearable heat in the air. She guessed that was the chopper she had seen in the air.

Struggling to stay conscious, Jo didn't bother to peek around the corner of the asphalt to see how many men there were. It didn't matter. One lonely man could easily kill her now. The fact that there were more than one meant nothing to her. She couldn't hear the words over the sound of the helicopter idling, but she could make out a strong, commanding voice. The commander was issuing orders. Probably to find her.

Eyes closed, senses overloaded with pain, Jo's hearing wavered in and out. She briefly wondered where Sei and the others were, then realized that they were probably very far away. They had said they were retreating. Jo herself had even recommended it...

Suddenly, a roar, then the hiss of air brakes. Tires squealed to a stop, and Jo could feel vibration through the asphalt. Gunfire erupted almost immediately.

"Find Jo!" Sei's voice commanded. "She can't be far if those soldiers are here! Go, go go!"

Jo heard footsteps slamming closer to her position, and she figured there was a high chance it was friendly.

"H-here!" She cried out, her voice dry and weak. "In here!"

The footsteps stopped, and Jo cried out once more. The heavy footfalls continued once more, hurriedly stomping over. A second later, and Leo's face filled her vision.

"Jo!" He cried. "Are you okay? I'm surprised you lived!"

Jo shook her head, coughing. "I'm not done yet." She warned. She reached out, and Leo obliged, reaching in and gently pulling her out from under the road surface.

"Good hiding place." He said,surveying her. "Now, you need to get aboard the trailer while we finish off the bad guys."

Jo shook her head, and slowly stood determinedly. "I'll finish them." She said, strongly.

Leo shook his head. "I don't know about that. They seem pretty determined to kill you, and it looks like they almost suceeded. They aren't returning fire upon myself, Sei, Meg, nor Amy."

"Amy is out there?" Jo asked, confused. "Why? She's just a little tech girl."

Leo chuckled, supporting her thin frame easily as they walked toward the trailer. It was between them and the enemy, protecting them from gunfire.

"She was the first one out when the trailer stopped." He said. "Little Glock in her hand, firing wildly. I don't think she hit a single thing before the clip ran out and Sei grabbed her up."

Jo grinned, swallowing dryly. The metallic taste of blood was in her mouth, but she ignored it.

"Where's Meg?" Jo asked. She turned and fell against the trailer wall, breathing shallowly to avoid hurting her broken rib. She wanted to rest for a second. She was sore, soaked, and dirty.

"Out front, exchanging gunfire with the rest of them." Leo said.

Jo's eyes hardened, and she pushed herself away from the trailer wall, all thoughts of rest forgotten.

"Meg shouldn't be out there. It's too dangerous." Jo said. Her holsters opened up as her fingers brushed against her gun handles. She pulled them out, already cocked.

"Jo, wait, you're too injured!" Leo said, reaching out and putting his hand on Jo's shoulder.

Jo whirled around, her blood red eyes wild with anger. She leveled one of her guns at Leo, and growled violently.

"I appreciate your help, but I've warned you about Meg. Don't make her your business. She isn't."

Jo wasted no time pulling away from the speechless man, taking measured steps toward the front of the trailer. She rounded the front end, and saw Sei with a rifle pressed against her right shoulder, sighting through the scope. Amy was behind her, peeking out around her hips.

Meg was down on one knee to the right of Sei, gun held in both hands. She had it pointed in the same direction.

Jo grimaced, and took a deep breath. She winced as she felt her rib pushed aside, but ignored it as best she could.

"Sei, get Meg and Amy inside the trailer." She commanded, brandishing both of her guns with a flourish as she pointed them in the same direction as the other girls.

"Jo, you're oka-"

"GO!" Jo said forcefully, cutting off Meg. She didn't look at the girl, but strode forward purposely.

"It is clear that someone wants Sei to be spared. They are taking cover and not returning fire. I, on the other hand, am a different story. Get inside. I'll clean up here."

Sei didn't miss the accusing tone to Jo's voice, but there was nothing she could do right now. She slowly lowered her left arm, and tapped Amy twice, indicating for her to slowly move backward. Amy did so, and Sei followed, weapon pointed in the direction of the soldiers in case they changed their mind. When they were safely around the corner, Meg stood up, backing up as well.

"Jo, let me fight with you."

Jo turned her head to look at Meg, and the bared teeth were all the answer she needed.

"It isn't safe. Don't argue with me." She growled.

"But Jo!"

Jo ignored her, walking forward into the open.

"Come fight me!" She yelled, slowly spreading her arms apart to encompass a larger area with her two barrels.

Immediately, two soldiers stood up, rifles at the ready. They were on opposing sides, but Jo's guns were faster. Jo found her targets, and squeezed off four shots. Soundlessly, they flopped to the ground as quickly as they had risen. Another black armor-clad soldier stepped around a pile of rubble directly in front of her, firing off a shot in her direction. Jo quickly turned her body to the side, minimizing her profile as the bullet sliced through the air near her head. She brought her left arm up, and fired a shell straight into his head. He too flopped to the ground lifelessly.

Jo's face was expressionless, her mind blank as she scanned around for more threats.

Meg peeked around the edge of the trailer, gun in her hand. Her heart was beating so hard she thought it would leap from her chest. Jo was in a really vulnerable position right now, and the hiding soldiers didn't help matters. So far, Jo was faster on aquiring targets and pulling the trigger, but that was merely luck. And it could run out any time.

Another soldier stood up from behind a waist high concrete slab and opened fire. Jo whirled around to shoot, but a bullet impacted her left thigh. Instantly, she fell to her knees, cursing as blood began pumping out of the wound.

She fired off two shots, but the soldier ducked back behind cover. To her left, another enemy stepped out, firing off a burst of rounds before ducking back behind cover. The hastily aimed rounds skittered across the pavement, missing Jo by a few feet as her guns swung around to point at the already hidden attacker. Breathing heavily, Jo tried to stand but found she couldn't. Grimacing, she looked around, watching for the slightest of movement that would indicate an attack. Although, she now knew the location of two enemies.

Suddenly, Jo heard movement behind her. Panic gripped her as she wondered if an enemy had swept around the side unnoticed and was coming up behind her. Turning around as quickly as she could, her eyes widened as she saw Meg dashing toward her, gun drawn.

"Meg, no!" Jo cried. Meg ignored her, and Jo wasted no time turning back to the direction she was sure gunfire would be coming from.

Sure enough, her eyes caught a soldier pointing his gun at her, and fear rippled through her as she realized she didn't have enough time to react. His gun opened fire, and Jo braced herself for impact, squeezing her eyes closed. The hit she was expecting never came; Meg impacted her left shoulder, pushing her over harshly as she threw herself in the opposite direction. Jo slammed into the ground, her rib protesting painfully as bullets zipped over her head. She groaned, opening her eyes to see Meg laying on her side a few feet away, squeezing off round after round from her gun. The soldier was hit by at least four bullets, and hit the ground, quite dead.

Another one stepped out, taking aim at Jo on the ground. Jo's fear-filled eyes looked despairingly at the enemy, sure that her luck had run out. This would be the killing shot.

She distantly heard Meg curse; a soft grunt, then the sound of shoes impacting asphalt. Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, she saw another soldier appear. Not with a weapon, but with a face of anger, pointing at the attacking soldier.

"Stop! Don't kill the other girl! We need her alive!"

The enemy, riding on a battle high, never heard the words as he squeezed his trigger. The fully automatic gun jerked in his hands, discharging round after round in Jo's direction.

Jo heard Meg screaming her name, but she couldn't tear her eyes away from the muzzle flash that erupted from the gun. This was it. Hot rounds would slam into her, tearing her apart and finally killing her.

Suddenly, Meg was filling her vision, blocking her view of the assaulting soldier. Adrenaline spiked through Jo's bloodstream, and her heartrate skyrocketed as she realized Meg was putting herself in front of the attacking soldier's bullets. Disbelief numbing her senses, she watched as Meg's body jerked with each impact, one tearing clean through her shoulder and out the back. The exit wound immediately flooded with blood, as Meg's tortured scream filled the air. Her body hit the ground inches from Jo, and Jo leaned over as Meg rolled onto her back, coughing. Jo could hear the enemies shouting at each other, but she couldn't hear the words. They didn't matter anyway.

Hands shaking, Jo reached out and touched Meg's cheek.

"You idiot." Jo whispered. Disbelief colored her tone. "What did I tell you? I told you to stay away!" Her voice grew louder, fear making it tremble as she took in the damage. Meg's black shirt was becoming soaked with blood, warm and sticky as it coated Meg's skin. Jo's mind was racing as she realized the extent of the damage. Meg had been shot in her left shoulder, no doubt tearing through the previous bullet wound and causing a great deal of pain. A bullet had pierced her chest, and another one had struck her in the stomach. Blood was quickly pooling on the dirty ground around them. Meg's breathing was rapid, light, and a slight whine emanated from her clenched jaw as she struggled to hold back an agonized scream. The terror was plain on her face as her wide blue eyes stared into Jo's.

"Jo...Jo. I'm scared." She whispered, tears forming in her eyes. Jo clenched her teeth together, unwilling to believe what was happening. Her hands clenched into fists, wishing there was an enemy she could fight that would make all of this better.

"Meg, I'm so sorry. If I had..." Jo trailed off, unable to speak as tears filled her eyes and her chest became heavy.

Meg began crying hard, terror taking over as she fully realized she was dying. Her body shook with shuddering sobs.

"Jo, I'm so scared, I don't want to die!" She gasped, reaching up with her right arm and slipping it around Jo's neck. She pulled Jo close, hugging her as sobs wracked her body.

"I don't want to leave you. I need you Jo!" She said. "Jo, help me!" She begged. "It...it's getting hard to breathe..please...please don't let me die Jo!"

Jo held Meg tightly, her own grieving sobs making it hard to speak. Tears streamed unchecked down her cheeks, eyes squeezed shut as she held a trembling, terrified Meg as tight as she could.

"Jo, I'm afraid to die." Meg whispered. "I'm afraid to go away and be without you."

Jo pulled away, and gently wiped the tears from Meg's cheeks. Her fingers left bloody streaks on Meg's face.

"Meg, listen to me. Wherever you're going when you die, I'll be there, waiting for you. You will never be without me." Jo whispered, staring into Meg's terrified blue eyes.

"Trust me, Meg. This angel loves you, in life and death. I never left your side in life, and I'll be by your side in death. A love like ours cannot be broken by death. I will always be with you. I promise. I love you to death."

Jo leaned down, and kissed Meg's lips softly. She could taste the blood on her lips. Her own heartbeat was racing in comparison with Meg's slowing one. Meg held her tightly, although her grip was slowly weakening, bit by bit.

Jo kissed her softly, passionately, listening to her heartbeat slow. A few more seconds, and Meg would no longer be in this world.

Jo slipped her right hand into Meg's, intertwining their fingers. Meg's fingers twitched, then closed on Jo's hand, holding on as tightly as she could. Jo brought her left hand up, gun in her hand, and pressed the cold barrel to her temple.

Meg slowly stopped responding to the kiss. The strength faded from her grip on Jo's hand. Her heart beat once more, then was silent.

Eyes squeezed shut, her heart breaking, Jo pulled the trigger. The gunshot echoed painfully in the ears of those left standing in the pouring rain.

A/N: Reviews, comments, criticism, all appreciated. Thank you for reading my fic. I am planning out another Burst Angel fanfic, if you are interested in reading more from me.