Nick looked out the window as the Tohoku Shinkansen continued to barrel its way through the countrylands, rocketing towards their next destination in Kurihara, Miyagi.
To his left, Kurumi was sleeping like a log, her right arm linked with Nick's as she dozed. To his right, Saki was gazing around the train, keeping her senses open for any sign of trouble that would approach on their way to Kurihara.
"So, Saki-chan, is everything all right?" Nick asked.
Saki nodded. "I don't sense any threats..."
Suddenly, Saki gasped. "Nick, what's that?"
Nick poked his head up to the window and saw someone dashing across the fields a ways from the train.
It was Aqua.
"What the heck is Aqua doing?" Nick wondered as the mysterious blue-haired Steel Angel waved happily to Nick before dashing off at speeds that would easily rival a certain famous hedgehog.
"Who was that, Nick?" Saki asked.
"To be honest, Saki-chan, I don't entirely know that myself," Nick answered. "All I really know is that her name's Aqua, she's a Steel Angel like you, and she's insanely powerful. We met her in Sendai right before we boarded the train. She wiped out a whole troop of police without so much as blinking, but she seemed really happy to meet us for some reason. I figure as long as that's one less renegade Steel Angel that's trying to kill me, I don't have any objections."
"I see..."
It was then that Nick noticed Saki's blush when the brown-haired Steel Angel gazed at Kurumi.
Being that he didn't want to freak Saki out, he decided not to push the issue, his thoughts focused solely on what they'd find in Kurihara.
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(Does one believe in destiny? One's belief can shape their destiny into anything they wish.)
S.P.D. Gold Ranger presents...
Steel Angel Kurumi: Mystery of the Purifiers
Story Created: March 7th, 2012
This Chapter: August 10th, 2012
Rated: T for Teen (for intimate scenes, sometimes intense violence, some harsh language, and Kurumi's general "bounciness")
Summary: They say third time's the charm. In the modern world, circa year 2012, the powerful Steel Angel Kurumi is awakened once more. Unlike the time when Nako Kagura had been Kurumi's master, the world now desperately needs the Steel Angels to prevent a disaster of unbelievable proportions. Nick Kelly, Kurumi's new master, is unwittingly dragged into a plot by the mysterious Neo Academia to use the Steel Angels to rule the world. The Mayans' prediction of 2012 being the end of the world may have been false, but Neo Academia's plot will indeed bring about a disastrous end to the world if left unchecked. Now, Nick and the Angels must get to the bottom of the mystery and save the world they hold dear...
Today's Episode: With Saki on their side, Nick and the Angels continue their journey towards Aomori. But during a stop in Kurihara to disrupt Neo Academia installations, Nick and Saki are separated from Kurumi in the midst of ancient ruins. And considering the strangeness of the event, coupled with the fact that something or someone may be watching them, Nick and Saki will have to rely on their wits to escape the mysterious ruins with their lives...
Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to Steel Angel Kurumi or its numerous spinoffs-slash-sidestories. That belongs to Pony Canyon and its subsidiaries. My character Nick Kelly IS mine, so no using him unless you have my permission.
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Episode 4: The Angels in Dire Peril! A Long, Strange Night in the Kurihara Ruins!
Needless to say, Bristow was not at all happy about the situation.
"This is getting worse and worse by the minute," Bristow growled. "I did not think that this little pink-haired dramatic tart would piss me off so badly..."
"P-permission to enter, sir?"
"Permission granted, Griffith," Bristow replied. Griffith slowly walked into the room.
"I assume you are still angry, sir?" Griffith asked.
"This is becoming costly, Griffith," Bristow admitted. "Our only lead on those Steel Angels and their own plans is dead, thanks to that traitor, Aqua is on the loose and completely out of our jurisdiction, and we're losing Steel Angels one by one because of Kurumi and her brat of a master."
"If I may make a suggestion, sir?"
"You may."
"I just got word from one of our field teams that they have acquired a pair of unactivated Steel Angels," Griffith explained. "The two of them were some of the last Angel frames that Ayanakouji completed before he died. Their logistics are unlike anything I have ever seen in a Steel Angel. Upgraded obedience circuits, enough room for two Angel Hearts each, stronger and more reinforced skeletons, the list goes on!"
Bristow thought for a few seconds. "Ayanakouji was always a pretentious fool, working on new Steel Angel frames even in his dying breaths. One wonders what he meant to do by creating so many frames. It's almost as if he was on to us..."
"Not to contradict you, sir, but it could be possible. We were formed only a year before Ayanakouji's death," Griffith responded. "Maybe he saw what we mean to do with this world, and he created more frames that would be much stronger than your average Steel Angel."
"If that's true, then he was more clever than I thought, and underestimating him was a foolish mistake," Bristow growled. "But no matter. I will not make the same mistakes that I did then. His final masterpieces will serve us well. Bring those two Angel frames to the mind chamber and prepare them."
"Yes, sir!"
Inside the 'mind chamber', as it was known to all who worked at Neo Academia, Griffith is seen strapping two Steel Angels to strange-looking machines. The first of the Angels looked about Saki's age, with short, light brown hair curled into a braid, bright blue eyes, and she was wearing a flight attendant's outfit.
The second Steel Angel was a little younger-looking than the first, with shorter hair that ran the gamut between brown and black, matching eyes, and she was wearing a school uniform.
"Are the Angels ready for mind tuning?" Bristow proclaimed, having just waltzed into the room.
"Yes, sir," Griffith replied. "If all goes well, this process will completely brainwash the Angels to do our bidding. It allows this by attacking the code that makes up their obedience circuits, scrambling said code and making them obey only us."
"Can this mind control be broken?" Bristow wondered.
"Only in a very specific way that the Kurumi prototype could never manage," Griffith answered. "This process is basically foolproof."
"Good. I don't want Kurumi or her wretched Mark II Heart interfering any longer," Bristow proclaimed. "Start the procedure."
Griffith flipped a couple switches on the control panel, and electricity began to surround the two Steel Angels for about a minute or two.
"All right, the Steel Angels are activated," Griffith proclaimed. "Beginning mind capture."
Griffith pressed a green button on the control panel, and both Angels suddenly began glowing with a bright green light. When the light subsided, they both opened their eyes and unstrapped themselves from the machines.
"Welcome, new Angels," Bristow stated. "Identify yourselves."
"Steel Angel Lynette, serial number B157," the light brown-haired Angel stated.
"Steel Angel Yoshika, serial number R582," the younger, brown-haired Angel stated.
Lynette looked over to her right, just now getting a good look at Yoshika. "Yoshika-chan, is that you?" Lynette asked. Yoshika looked up at Lynette, a large grin appearing on her face.
"LYNETTE!" Yoshika exclaimed, throwing herself at Lynette. "I missed you so much! It's been YEARS!"
Lynette just smiled and hugged Yoshika back. "I missed you, too, Yoshika-chan."
"Griffith, what happened?" Bristow whispered. "Did the process work or not?"
"Not to worry, sir," Griffith answered. "The computer says that the process was completely successful. The procedure doesn't affect their personality matrix, so they'll act like they normally would, but they won't be able to disobey us."
"Quite delicious," Bristow admitted. "Lynette and Yoshika, I have a mission for the both of you."
"What's up, Goggle Eyes?" Yoshika giggled.
"Yoshika-chan, don't tease him," Lynette chided.
"Reports have come in recently of a rogue Steel Angel and her master that is disrupting our plans," Bristow explained. "We have reason to believe they are on their way to this base. I want you two to intercept and destroy them both."
"Yes, SIR!" Yoshika exclaimed, throwing her right hand up in a mock salute.
"We have outfitted you with special flight technology so you can go anywhere you need to stop them. I have also modified your programming to allow you to link up with some of our more, shall we say, 'specialized' machines that we have at our bases. Now go, and do not disappoint me."
"We'll do our best, sir," Lynette replied, bowing slightly.
With that, silver wings unfolded from their backs and they took off through the hatch above them.
"This is too perfect," Bristow stated. "With their new technology against Kurumi's outdated frame and abilities, she will be no match for the two of them! Victory will soon be ours!"
Bristow began to laugh like a crazy man.
Because hey, when you get right down to it, that's exactly what most super villains are...
Meanwhile, in the skies above Aomori, Yoshika set her gaze on Lynette, her eyes sparkling.
Lynette knew what that sparkle meant. "Yoshika-chan, we're on a mission right now. Could you maybe..."
"But it's been YEEEEEEEEEEEARS, Lynette-chan..." Yoshika giggled, rubbing her face against Lynette's generous breasts. "I can't wait any longer..."
"That can be your incentive to reign in those urges until we finish our job," Lynette replied. "Behave now... get rewarded later, right?"
"Awwww... you're no fun," Yoshika groaned, pouting slightly.
Lynette knew she couldn't resist Yoshika's cute pouting, and she leaned in and kissed Yoshika passionately. Yoshika gasped slightly before returning the kiss in kind.
"There," Lynette giggled. "Will that hold you until we finish our assignment?"
Yoshika just flashed a thumbs up as they shot off through the skies.
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"YAY! We're finally here!" a now-awake Kurumi exclaimed as the Tohoku Shinkansen docked in Kurihara, Miyagi.
"It's so beautiful here," Saki noted.
"Kurihara has all kinds of natural beauty no matter what season it is," Nick explained. "Dad took me here on a vacation a couple years ago. It's really a sight to behold."
"So, where are we going first?" Kurumi wondered.
"Let's split up and look around," Nick replied. "We'll see if anyone here has seen anything strange lately."
As the group rallied through the city, they had no idea that someone was watching them from atop Mount Kurikoma.
"Oh, so this is what the boss man was telling me about?" the strange Steel Angel wondered. "Guess as long as I'm here, I can fulfill my duty."
The Steel Angel turned away, her kimono swishing in the mountain wind.
After about half an hour, everyone regrouped near the Shinkansen station.
"So, what do we have to report?" Kurumi asked in a valiant manner of speech.
"Everyone's been saying that some ancient ruins surfaced when the Tohoku earthquakes struck," Saki explained. "Lots of people are talking about strange phantoms that lurk through the ruins, preying on anyone who goes there."
"Even if it's just another silly ghost story, it seems like a good place to check out," Nick responded. "There's a good chance we'll get a lead, because I'm pretty sure there's a base here after reading the doctor's notes."
"Notes? What did you find?" Saki wondered.
Nick reached into his pocket and showed Saki the shorthand notes that the late Doctor Miyako Amagi had left for them back in Sendai. "One of their researchers turned against them and tried to help me and Kurumi-chan out in Sendai. Unfortunately, they captured her, but she left behind this set of notes, and it has detailed information about Neo Academia bases from Fukushima all the way to Aomori. Kurumi-chan and I are trying to find these bases on our way to Aomori in hopes of sabotaging their big world-ending plan."
"Guess it would be a good place to check out," Kurumi noted. "Let's all meet up back here tonight and we'll go check it out. I want to spend some quality time with my master!"
Nick's face immediately became a dark shade of red as he realized what Kurumi was saying.
The pink-haired Steel Angel noted the look on her master's face and shook him a couple times. "Oh, master, I didn't mean THAT, you silly! I just wanted to spend some time with you. I love you, but I won't force you into anything."
"S-sorry about my weird face, Kurumi-chan," Nick quipped. "I thought you were referring to something different and I suddenly had this bad flashback of when my parents gave me 'the talk'. Oh, god, was that embarrassing..."
Saki couldn't help but giggle at the strangely amusing sight.
As Nick and the Angels continued to make conversation, Lynette and Yoshika arrived in the city, soaring high in the sky to stay out of their sight.
"This the place?" Yoshika asked.
"Yeah," Lynette answered. "The base shouldn't be too far away, so we should probably go there now and prepare for their arrival."
"But Lynette, I wanna throw hands with those angels!" Yoshika exclaimed, clenching her fists tightly at the prospect of battle. "It's been god knows how long since I've had a good tussle!"
Lynette just shook her head. Despite Yoshika's young appearance (she appeared only ten or eleven years old), she was a very talented fighter, able to easily hold her own against some of Neo Academia's strongest creations. During a training simulation she had undertaken back at the original Academy, Yoshika had been set up against the most powerful Kongo unit that had even been built, and she had literally made scrap metal out of the automated ape robot.
"We don't even know if those two will be going by the base," Lynette chided.
"Then I say we go to the ruins and wait there!" Yoshika giggled. "That's where they're headed, right?"
Lynette gasped. "How do you know that?"
Yoshika tapped her right ear. "Super-sensitive hearing. I could hear them talking about it on our way here."
Lynette smiled. "Guess the doctor knew his stuff."
That night, Nick, Kurumi, and Saki had regrouped and set off to explore the mysterious Kurihara Ruins, a gaggle of old temple-like structures that had appeared not long after the Tohoku and Sendai earthquakes. Many Kurihara citizens believed that the ruins had been brought to the surface by the earthquakes.
"Okay, where should we start?" Kurumi asked.
"Why are you wondering where to start if you're about to meet your end?!" a new voice cut in.
"All right, who's the wise guy?!" Kurumi shouted, shifting into a fighting stance.
The area was silent for a few seconds until a bright pink beam of energy shot from the nearby shrubbery, catching Nick on the knee and making him collapse to the ground.
"Master!" Kurumi exclaimed, rushing to Nick's aid. Nick was clutching his wounded knee, which now had a rather nasty-looking gash etched into it.
Kurumi set her eyes on her newest opponent, a Steel Angel clad in a flowing green kimono with long red hair and piercing purple eyes. "Okay, lady, you have three seconds to plead your case before I come over there and stomp you into next millennium for hurting my master like that!" Kurumi growled.
"My name is Hanabi, and I'm here to take you back, you worthless little prototype," Hanabi shot back. "I don't care what condition you're in as long as I bring you back. Besides, even if I wreck you, we can always rebuild you."
"You know, you've got some nerve," Saki proclaimed, stepping over by Kurumi. "You want my sister, you're going to have to go through me first."
Hanabi smiled wickedly. "If that's how you want to play it..."
Hanabi wasted no time in drawing her sword and slashing viciously with it. The slash was so strong that it caused an invisible shockwave to shoot out and send Saki flying back a couple feet.
"Now for what I came to do," Hanabi stated, aiming her sword for Kurumi.
"Saki-chan! Take master and get him somewhere safe!" Kurumi exclaimed. "I can't fight this tart and let my master get caught in the crossfire!"
"What about you, Kurumi-chan?" Nick asked, still holding his wounded knee to keep himself from bleeding to death.
"I can handle her," Kurumi quipped. "I just don't want you to get hurt worse by accident, master."
Saki recovered from the surprise attack and hopped over to scoop Nick into her arms. "Give her one for me, sister."
"Acknowledged!" Kurumi giggled as Saki rushed away with Nick in her arms.
"Now where were we?" Kurumi growled, turning back to Hanabi.
"I think we were right about here!" Hanabi shouted, swinging her sword at Kurumi.
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Once Saki had retreated to a safe distance, she gently set Nick down so she could examine his wound.
"Does it still hurt?" Saki asked, not sure if Nick was still in pain. He didn't seem to be showing any expressions of pain.
"I don't think it's too bad, but it hurts like a bitch," Nick quipped, trying. "Who would have thought getting shot in the knee would be so damn painful?"
"Here, let me help," Saki replied, tearing off a small piece of her dress and wrapping it tightly around Nick's wound. "Is that better?"
"Much," Nick responded. "The pain's still there, but at least I can tolerate it now."
Nick looked out across the ruins that swept through this entire valley. "You think Kurumi-chan's okay?"
"My sister's strong," Saki replied. "She should be able to hold off that little creep."
"I was wondering something, Saki-chan," Nick stated. "Was Kurumi-chan created by Neo Academia?"
Saki shook her head. "Most of us, the Steel Angels, were created by the original Academy. They started out against us, but they eventually learned the error of their ways and helped us out. This Neo Academia is a different group."
"If that's right, how the heck are they sending other Steel Angels after us?" Nick wondered.
Saki closed her eyes in concentration, calling upon the data she possessed in her new frame. After a few seconds, her eyes pinged open. "When Doctor Ayanakouji, our creator, died of old age, many of the Angel frames he was working on until his death were taken when Neo Academia was formed. They must have refined the frames for their own purposes... that's all I've got."
Nick cast a careless glance to the sky, suddenly realizing something.
"Saki-chan? Are you in love with Kurumi?" Nick asked casually. He definitely didn't expect Saki's face to light up like a tomato. "Saki-chan, you okay?!"
Saki just sat there, her blush intensifying with each passing second.
Just then, Nick remembered when Kurumi had kissed Saki on the train to wake her up, then recalling when he'd accidentally kissed Kurumi in the underground caverns.
"It was when she kissed you, right?" Nick quipped, recalling his mother telling him that a Steel Angel would treat whoever awakened them as the most important person in the world. "Just like Kurumi-chan is with me?"
Saki slowly nodded.
"You're shaking like a leaf, Saki-chan," Nick noted. "Is everything all right?"
"You're honestly not freaked out that I'm in love with my own sister?" Saki wondered.
Nick shook his head. "Nah, that doesn't bother me. I'm a pretty open-minded person. It's just how my dad raised me. All that stuff about how people should love other people is, in my eyes, a bunch of home-grown crap. If two people love each other, it isn't really anyone's business who they're in love with."
Despite her large blush, Saki couldn't help but smile. You know, I just realized that Nick may as well be my brother... I didn't think we'd be so alike...
Meanwhile, behind some nearby rocks, Lynette and Yoshika were watching the two. "Hey, there's two of them," Yoshika noted. "Aw, but no Kurumi."
"The boss said to eliminate all three of them," Lynette replied. "As long as we can take these two out, we're on our way."
"I guess I can't link with that thing, can I?" Yoshika wondered, gesturing to something behind them.
"But I can," Lynette replied, walking up to the strange mechanical contraption.
Back over by Nick and Saki, Nick was attempting to stand up, knowing it would be tough with his wounded leg.
"Can you walk?" Saki asked.
"I should be okay," Nick replied, wrapping both of his arms around Saki to steady himself. "But we really should get out of here. I'm worried about Kurumi-chan..."
"You won't be going anywhere!"
Nick gazed over to the left, noticing that Lynette was standing by a rock face.
"Oh, just freakin' wonderful," Nick growled.
"This is as far as the two of you are going," Lynette proclaimed. "If it were up to me, I'd rather let the others handle you, but I have my orders, and I will not fail the boss!"
With that said, Lynette slammed her fist into the ground, causing a tremor to was over the entire nearby area. Saki held Nick tightly to keep him from falling and hurting his knee even worse.
Two ancient pillars rose up from both sides of Lynette, and the tremors stopped.
Nick and Saki stood there, ready for whatever they would have to fight.
After about two to three seconds of tense silence, a gigantic machine burrowed its way out from the ground, stylized like a venus flytrap. Four tentacle-like appendages also rose from the ground around the machine.
"What the heck?!" Nick exclaimed.
"Now we're gonna have some fun!" Lynette exclaimed as something on the body of the machine opened and Lynette threw herself back into it, linking with the machine like she had been programmed to do.
Once Lynette was linked with the flytrap machine, its tentacles began lashing out at random intervals, evidently following Lynette's commands.
"You need to get somewhere safe, Nick!" Saki exclaimed, defending against the onslaught of tentacles. "I'll handle this mutant flower thing!"
"Are you sure, Saki-chan?" Nick asked.
"I may not be as strong as my sister, but I can handle this," Saki responded. "Now go hide!"
Nick nodded and moved as quickly as he could to behind one of the rocks so Saki could go all-out.
"That's really kinda pointless," Lynette quipped. "These things aren't just limited to where I'm standing, you know!"
Saki looked back to where Nick had rushed off to, only to see a fifth tentacle rising from the ground right in front of him.
Saki blocked another tentacle lash and backflipped over to where Nick was just in time to swat the rogue appendage away from him.
"This is getting dangerous, isn't it?" Saki noted. "Those things can attack us from anywhere..."
"Can we try attacking from the sky?" Nick wondered.
As if it had been waiting for Nick to say that, Kyanwan, Kurumi's pet terrier dog and the only animal Steel Angel, bounded over to Saki, instantly transforming into its jetpack mode.
"Kurumi must have known we were in trouble," Saki realized.
"Yeah, those tremors probably rumbled through the whole area," Nick quipped.
Kyanwan rose into the air so Saki could stand up and link with the jetpack, its wings unfolding.
"You want to take this to the sky, huh?" Lynette proclaimed, one of the machine's tentacles lashing out and attempting to swat Saki out of the sky, but she easily dodged, proving that she was quite agile in the sky.
This trend would repeat for a while, the flytrap's tentacles attempting to knock Saki out of the air, only for her to dodge and eventually notice that each tentacle had a height limit, due to being linked to the machine.
After a while of this, Saki had figured out how to defeat the machine. The problem is, how do I go down for an attack without getting swatted away? Saki thought.
Before Saki could formulate a plan, she saw the tentacles retreating, only to watch them clamp onto the neck of the flytrap's head.
"What the...?" Saki wondered.
"Now eat this, you junk heap! Phase Transfer Cannon, FIRE!" Lynette shouted, and the flytrap's mouth opened only to unleash a gigantic, pulsing yellow energy beam.
Saki was surprised by the attack and didn't have time to dodge; the beam struck her full-on, doing serious damage and knocking her out of the sky.
Saki collided with the ground in a crumpled heap, Kyanwan detaching and becoming a dog again before rushing off, most likely to contact Kurumi.
"That was easier than I thought," Lynette giggled.
"I'm... I'm not done yet..." Saki growled, struggling to stand up. "It'll take more than that to beat me..."
"How are you still alive?!" Lynette shouted. "That should have finished you off, you obsolete piece of junk!"
"I might look the same, but I was built with a stronger frame than I was before," Saki stated. "I'm tougher than you think."
"Well, then, maybe one more will finish you off!" Lynette shouted as the flytrap charged up for another phase transfer cannon attack.
"SAKI!" Kurumi's voice echoed as the pink-haired Steel Angel herself appeared on the battle scene, still trading blows with Hanabi. "Are you all right?!"
"Focus on the battle and not the hired help, Kurumi!" Hanabi shouted, tossing her sword at Kurumi.
Kurumi ducked the flying sword and it continued on its flight... eventually piercing through the core of the flytrap machine.
"HEY!" Lynette shouted as she looked over at Hanabi. "What's your problem?! I almost fried these three!"
"L-Lynette?" Hanabi gasped. "Who activated you?!"
"None of your damn business!" Lynette shouted, the flytrap's head turning towards Hanabi even as explosions began to rock it.
"Get out of my way, Lynette," Hanabi growled.
"Fat chance!" Lynette proclaimed. "I have orders from Doctor Bristow himself, and a little upstart tart like you isn't going to get in my way! Now STAND DOWN."
"Forget it," Hanabi shot back. "You're not my superior."
"All right, then, you asked for it!" Lynette shouted, the flytrap firing another phase transfer cannon from its mouth that almost instantly destroyed Hanabi. When the blast cleared, nothing was left of Hanabi but her Angel Heart.
Lynette quickly dislodged herself from the flytrap machine so she could get a safe distance away as it exploded with much pageantry, its remains sinking back into the ground.
"You got lucky this time," Lynette growled. "But luck won't protect you forever. Yoshika, let's go! Assume a tactical retreat!"
Lynette's wings unfolded and she took off into the sky, Yoshika following closely behind.
Nick let out a heavy sigh when the battlefield was calm again. "Jeez... every time I turn around, more and more nutjobs keep popping out of friggin' nowhere..."
"Are you guys okay?" Kurumi asked, rushing over to help Nick to his feet.
"Yeah," Nick replied. "Saki took a hit, but she should be fine."
Just then, a rustling sound came from the nearby bushes. Nick almost immediately shifted into a fighting stance, but relaxed his guard when the stranger revealed herself as Aqua, a rogue Steel Angel created by Neo Academia. Despite her immense power and strange habits, she seemed to assert herself as an ally of Nick and Kurumi.
"Aqua? What are you doing here?" Nick wondered.
"I wanted to see how you guys were doing," Aqua answered. "But I had to hide when you guys started fighting. Didn't want to be found by those jerks."
"Did you really HAVE to hide, Aqua?" Nick wondered. "With the power you have, you should be able to wipe out ANY of those freaks!"
"A lot of the Angels they have were created for the sole purpose of keeping me in line, so they're all equipped with these little phase-whatever things that hinder my powers," Aqua explained. "They don't have to be rude, you know..."
Aqua suddenly smiled again; she had a very vibrant and bouncy personality not unlike Kurumi, and she rarely ever got angry. "So, where are you guys off to? Still on your little trip?"
"Pretty much," Kurumi giggled. "We stopped here in Kurihara to disrupt some Neo Academia installations on our way to Aomori."
"Oh, you're fighting the bad guys?" Aqua gasped. "So COOL!"
Nick couldn't help but smile at Aqua's charm. She was definitely something else.
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"So what happened?" Yoshika wondered as she and Lynette flew towards their next destination. "Why did we have to retreat?"
"Hanabi interfered," Lynette growled. "Apparently, she got into a fight with Kurumi and just before I could destroy Saki, that little tart screws up and destroys my machine!"
"Shouldn't Saki have been destroyed anyway?" Yoshika asked. "The Phase Transfer Cannon is the most powerful weapon we have! It shouldn't have taken more than one shot to vaporize that little pretender!"
"Apparently, she has a more reinforced frame than what our data suggested," Lynette answered. "But I won't underestimate them again."
"Well, is the 'thing' ready in Ōshū?" Yoshika asked. "I really wanna throw down with them now!"
Lynette giggled, having regained her good mood at the sight of her girlfriend gearing up for a battle.
"Yes, the 'thing' in Ōshū is ready," Lynette replied. "You'll have your shot at them when you get there."
"YES!" Yoshika shouted as Lynette used her wristwatch to contact Doctor Bristow.
"Report, Lynette," Bristow stated. "Have they been destroyed?"
"Unfortunately, no, commander," Lynette explained. "I had them on the ropes, but another rogue Angel interfered and destroyed my machine. Yoshika and I are on our way to Ōshū to intercept them. It seems they are following the Tohoku Shinkansen to Aomori."
"See to it," Bristow responded. "We must not allow them to stop our plans."
"Roger. Lynette out."
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On the next episode...
Hisako: Oh, this place is creeping me out!
Sayoko: Stay close to me, okay, sis? I don't want to deal with a bunch of cyborgs trying to kill us...
Hisako: Sis, I'm scared...
Sayoko: Don't worry, silly. I won't let any of those jerks touch you. We're twins, and that means we stick together through thick and thin, right?
Hisako: Of course, but you know how strong these 'Steel Angels' are, right?
Sayoko: Not like I can forget what I saw back there, but they won't catch us! I won't let them!
Hisako: I just don't want to lose you, sis...
Sayoko: You're not gonna lose me, you silly goose! You're my sister, and that means I'll protect you no matter what!
Nick: Next time on Steel Angel Kurumi: Mystery of the Purifiers, "Let's Escape This Scary Place! The Kelly Twins' Great Adventure!"
Sayoko: Try all you want, Angel freaks, you're not touching my sister!