The Neon Knight Sabers
(A NGE / Oh My Goddess! / Sailor Moon / Tenchi Muyo / Ranma 
One Half / Gunsmith Cats / El-Hazard / Bubblegum Crisis / 
kitchen sink Crossover)
By Ammadeau
Roy.Fokker@UNSpacy.org
http://Ammadeau.tripod.com/fanfiction.htm

Note:  Thanks out to my pre-readers Angus McSpon and Larry F.  
Sorry it took me so long to revise this.

***

	From his office high atop the Genom Pyramid, Katsuhiko 
Jinnai could look down from his window to see the outside of the 
lab where technicians were assembling his latest and greatest 
creation, the Super Bug-Boomer.  The 'tests' of the previous 
models, thanks to the Knight Sabers, had shown several flaws in 
his earlier design which he had hastened to correct.  His only 
irritation was due to one part which he had failed to obtain.  Yet.
	Jinnai might have been down in that lab, watching them 
assemble his historic creation, if not for the fact that he was 
currently on the phone with Chairman Quincy, who was overseeing 
another branch of Genom in Europe. The call was audio-only.  For 
some reason, Quincy disliked talking face to face.  He even tended 
to keep his office dark.
	There was another reason Jinnai wasn't down in the lab, but 
he chose not to think about it at the moment.
	"I am told you have failed in obtaining the item that we had 
discussed," Quincy told him.
	"A minor setback, trivial really.  The Knight Sabers will 
deliver our little black box back to the USSD and we'll simply take 
it from them again.  A flawless plan, if I do say so myself."
	"As I recall, the last operation took a month to set up.  The 
USSD will be expecting someone to try something this time."
	"That hardly matters.  I put everything in place during the 
confusion of the last attempt, as a backup.  I knew that there was a 
chance of failure for even my brilliant plan.  By the time the USSD 
realizes their little toy is gone, it will already be too late."
	"I'll leave it to you then.  Remember, there must be nothing 
to connect this to Genom.  I run a respectable company."
	"Not to worry.   I'll make sure there are no witnesses."
	Jinnai hung up the phone and smiled as the sound of an 
explosion drifted up to him.  He picked up the phone again and 
dialed a number.
	"Hello?  Yes, it's time.  The lab should be clear now.  Be 
careful when you move the boomer.  It's a delicate machine."
	He hung up the phone once again, threw back his head, and 
laughed.

Program 3:  Boomer Troubles

	Keiichi relaxed in the bath with a sigh.  Rei and he had 
started working on the Sana-boomer at a little after one AM.  It 
was now six in the morning.  They weren't even close to finished, 
but were currently at a stage in the operation where they could take 
a much-needed break.  His sister was probably in her private pool, 
which for some reason she kept at near-body temperature.
	Keiichi lay in a half-doze, and so was completely 
unprepared when from the bathtub rose up a column of light, out of 
which stepped a young girl around twelve years old, dressed in 
white robes similar to those Belldandy had been wearing when she 
had first arrived.  She also had similar facial markings.  Keiichi, 
however, was a little too stunned at the moment to draw any 
conclusions from this.
	"Hope I got the right place this time," the girl said to herself 
as she looked around.  Then she noticed Keiichi, specifically that 
he was naked.  The fact that he was in the middle of a bath and she 
had walked in on him never entered her mind.  "Eeek!!! Hentai!!"
	Keiichi never even saw the mallet that knocked him 
unconscious and so missed the realization that he was in the 
presence of yet another divine being.  In this way, the goddess 
Skuld had arrived at the Ayanami residence.

	Rei had finished her swim a while ago and was now in 
search of her brother.  They had agreed to meet back at the lab ten 
minutes ago and it was unlike him to be late.  As she searched the 
apartment, she wondered if it was time to call in Washu on this.  
The short redhead was a bit unreliable, but she was a genius and 
removing the black box from Sana while keeping her functional 
was proving to be a more difficult task than Rei had originally 
anticipated.
	So she was a little surprised to see a strange short girl with 
long black hair step out of the bathroom.  She had on clothes 
similar to what a Shinto priestess in training would wear and bore 
marks on her face much like Belldandy's. There was a feeling about 
her similar to the one that Rei got around the Goddess of the 
Present, something she didn't quite understand.
	The girl walked right up to the leader of the Knight Sabers 
and asked, "You must be Rei Ayanami, right?"
	Rei blinked.  "Yes, who are you?"
	"I'm Skuld, Goddess of the Future.  My big sister Belldandy 
called, saying that you were having problems with a robot, so I'm 
here to help!"
	It was hard even for Rei to not look highly dubious of this.
	"Your sister attempted to repair some cellular phones, but 
ended blowing them up instead."
	Skuld nodded.  "She's not very good with machines, since 
they're _my_ sphere of influence.  I've been repairing things for 
hundreds of years now, so don't worry.  There's nothing mechanical 
that I can't fix!"
	That was when Keiichi entered the hallway, clad only in a 
towel, and absently rubbing a sizable bump on his head.
	"Skuld," Rei said to the goddess, "this is my brother, 
Keiichi."
	"I knew it, ecchi!"  Skuld once again drew her mallet to use 
it in a way it wasn't intended for.  The teenager managed to avoid a 
game of whack-a-Keiichi this time, however.

	Skuld marched confidently into the lab, carefully studying 
all of the machines until she finally reached Sana lying on one of 
the laboratory tables.  She spent several minutes peering closely at 
the patient and then the monitors before she spoke.
	"So, where's the robot?"
	Rei and Keiichi face-faulted.
	"That's her right on the table!" Keiichi nearly shouted.  He 
was normally a calm and polite boy, but lack of sleep, being 
repeatedly called a hentai despite the fact that she was the one that 
spontaneously appeared while he'd been taking a nice bath, and not 
to mention a mallet to the head, had pushed him over the edge.
	"Well, Mr. Hentai--"
	"That's Ayanami!"
	"Whatever.  The girl on the table isn't a robot.  From what I 
can determine, she's a bio-mechanical android of a type that I have 
never seen before."
	"She's a boomer," Rei informed the goddess.
	"My field of expertise is really robots, but if you can give 
me some information of these boomers, I'll see what I can do."
	Rei hesitated for a bit before she punched up some detailed 
schematics on a computer.  She was reluctant to share this 
information with a complete stranger, but Skuld had that same 
indefinable quality of older sister that made one trust her almost 
immediately.  Besides, Rei was starting to doubt that she could 
save Sana without help, and this pre-pubescent goddess seemed 
somewhat more reliable than Washu.
	Skuld sat herself down before it and started flipping 
through the information faster than even the leader of the Knight 
Sabers could follow.
	"Oh, I get it now!" Skuld said finally, "This'll be a piece of 
cake!  Why don't you both wait outside and give me room to 
work?"
	"Don't tell me that you can fix her all by yourself?"  Keiichi 
asked dubiously.  He doubted that a little girl could succeed where 
her and his sister couldn't, even if she was a goddess.
	"Of course not, ecchi.  That's why I brought help!"
	"That's Keiichi!"
	Skuld ignored him, instead pulling out a metal ball that was 
half white and half red.  "I choose you, Banpei!"
	There was a sudden cloud of smoke.  When it cleared, 
Skuld was dressed in a pink surgeon's outfit, while standing next to 
her was a dumpy-looking robot dressed as a nurse.
	"All right, we're ready to operate!"
	Banpei beeped in agreement.
	Keiichi and Rei sweat-dropped.

	In another room of the apartment, Belldandy was beginning 
to awaken.  Most goddesses and gods didn't need to sleep, though 
they usually did anyway.  Belldandy was different since this was 
the way she recharged her energy on Earth.  She didn't actually 
need to when the Yggdrasil system was operating properly as it 
was at the moment, but it still made her feel nice and refreshed 
anyway.
	She smiled a bit as she looked around the room that Rei had 
provided her.  She was such a nice woman, letting her stay there on 
short notice.  Then she frowned a bit, thinking of Rei.  The goddess 
knew the woman's entire history and sympathized with all that she 
had gone through.  Belldandy decided to try and do something nice 
for her in return soon.
	Her eyes eventually settled on a table that was bare, all 
except for the gift that Keiichi had given her.  It was small and not 
worth much money, but to the young goddess it was more precious 
than any horde of treasure.
	It was a small hologram projector that showed the image of 
a bird singing.  Its songs were meant to be both lullaby at night and 
alarm clock in the morning.  Sometimes it even sounded like the 
bird was singing her name.  More precious than the gift itself was 
the fact that Keiichi had made it for her and her alone.  

	When Belldandy entered the kitchen with the intention of 
making breakfast, she was surprised to find Rei and Keiichi already 
there, sharing a pot of tea between them.  Rei looked the same as 
ever, though her eyes might have been a bit redder.  Keiichi looked 
like someone resigned to the fact that he wasn't going to be able to 
sleep for a long time to come.  Belldandy was instantly worried, 
but not sure what she could do for him.
	"Did you finish fixing Sana?" she asked.
	"Your younger sister is working on her at the moment," Rei 
told her.  "She wished for us to remain outside so as to not get in 
her way."
	"Oh, you mean Skuld?"   The teenage goddess had nearly 
forgotten that she had called her mechanically-inclined sister for 
help last night.
	Belldandy noticed that Keiichi had frowned slightly and 
rubbed his head a bit when she had mentioned her sister's name.  
That was odd.  Everyone liked Skuld.  It was her older sister Urd 
that people had trouble getting along with.
	"Oh, just give me a minute and I'll have breakfast ready."
	"You don't have to go through all that trouble for us 
Belldandy."
	"It's no trouble at all, Keiichi-san.  I think I'll try making 
scrambled eggs today."
	All of Keiichi's protests vanished before the brilliance of 
Belldandy's smile.

	In yet another room, Ranko woke to a unfamiliar ceiling, 
and nearly shouted in surprise and a little horror to find herself 
wearing a frilly nightgown.  Movement revealed her body to be 
stiff, and covered in spots of dull pain.  She felt worse than any 
workout her old man had given her, closer to the aftereffects of a 
major battle with the eternally lost boy.
	It was as if the pain were a signal to remind Ranko of what 
had happened last night.  How she had stupidly disobeyed Rei's 
orders just because the boomer had wounded her ego.  She might 
have finished off the monster in the end, but she had put herself 
and the others at risk for no good reason.  Maybe a year or two ago 
Ranko wouldn't have even thought of those things, but she'd like to 
think that she'd grown up a little during that time, especially after 
joining the Knight Sabers.
	Ranko honestly expected to get yelled at, even despite the 
fact that Rei had never raised her voice to anyone.  Instead, there 
was Mihoshi saying how worried she had been, Rei gently helping 
her out of her armor, and Ami carefully tending her wounds, acting 
in some ways more like a mother than a doctor.  She had even 
heard Keiichi saying how he was going to be careful and pick the 
smoothest route so Ranko wouldn't get jostled so much.
	Ranko had never had so many people being concerned 
about her welfare before, especially after totally screwing up like 
she did.  Kasumi and her mom perhaps, but they cared almost at a 
distance.  Ranko didn't feel close to them, not as she did with her 
fellow Knight Sabers.
	And Rei saying that if she ever disobeyed orders she'd be 
off the team.  Ranko knew enough about her boss to know that she 
hadn't been bluffing.  The redhead vowed to follow Rei's rules 
from then on to the letter.  She didn't want to lose what she had.

	At roughly the same time and in another place in Mega-
Tokyo, Rally Vincent was doing her job.  This time it was 
investigating what was left of a Genom laboratory that had 
mysteriously exploded last night.  Her partner Alielle was busy 
interviewing the guards who had been on duty at the time, all the 
while complaining loudly over the fact that Genom didn't seem to 
employ any female guards, while Rally poked around the lab for 
anything of interest.  So far, there was no sign of what had caused 
the explosion and killed the dozen people that were working that 
night.  What they were actually working on, was of course, top 
secret.
	"There are some days I hate this job," she said to herself, 
stifling a yawn, leaning against one of the ruined machines for 
support.  She blinked in surprise and nearly fell over when it tipped 
right over.  Rally smiled at the computer disk that it had uncovered, 
and first glancing around to make sure no one was looking, quickly 
slipped it into her pocket.
	One of the top execs of Genom was making a press 
announcement at the doors of the Genom Pryamid over the 
'accident' that had occurred.  Having spent over an hour completely 
going over the site, Rally and Alielle only arrived near the end.
	" . . . and our deepest condolences go out to all the families 
of those who perished in last night's regrettable incident.  They 
will, of course, be provided for."
	Alielle gasped in surprise when she saw who the exec was.  
It should have been impossible for him to be there, but she could 
not have forgotten his face, even if it had been ten years since she 
had seen it last.  She pushed people aside in a rush to get out of the 
crowd.  First the bugroms and now Jinnai himself.  This had 
suddenly gotten much too serious for her to handle alone.  She had 
some people she had to call.
	Rally shouted after her partner, trying to follow her, but lost 
her in the crowd.  What had happened to her normally happy 
partner to have such a fearful expression?  It was completely unlike 
her.
	This all hadn't passed the notice of one Mr. Jinnai, though 
he was a bit surprised to see a familiar face so soon.  He turned to 
an advanced boomer who stood guard near him and told her, 
"Follow her.  I want to know her every move."
	Panther grinned.  "Of course, Mr. Jinnai."
	The cyber-boomer cleared the crowd in an impressive leap 
and was soon in pursuit of her quarry.

	Ranko was grinning as she exited the furo, though she had 
felt a bit uncomfortable using Rei's bathroom with the chance that 
someone might walk in on her.  She was even more uncomfortable 
that she had to use only cold water just in case.
	Her spirits were high, even though her body felt like hell.  
Still, everything but her hands was almost fully healed, and even 
they weren't nearly as bad as they were last night.
	"You should still be in bed, Ranko," Rei told her when the 
redhead entered the kitchen.  She, Keiichi, and Belldandy looked to 
be just finishing breakfast.
	"I'm fine, really," Ranko told her with a small laugh, "Heal 
fast."
	Rei stood and walked over to her.  Ranko was a little put 
off by the serious look those red eyes were giving him, temporarily 
forgetting that Rei's eyes were almost always serious.
	"Let me see your hands," Rei demanded.  She wasn't a fully 
qualified doctor like Ami, though she had learned a great deal of 
first aid over the years.
	Reluctantly, Ranko held her hands out to Rei, and blushed 
faintly when the older woman took her hands in hers, examining 
them closely.  Maybe it was because Ranko's hands were overly 
sensitive after being burned so badly, but Rei's touch was very... 
soft, and smooth.  Like the hands of someone who had never 
worked a day in her life, but Ranko knew that this wasn't true of 
Rei.  In her hardsuit, those hands had ripped apart boomers.
	If Rei noticed Ranko's blush, she gave no outward sign.  
"You do heal exceptionally fast.  Your hands should be fine in a 
few days, however I have some lotion I want you to rub on your 
hands and a pair of surgical gloves for you to wear.  That should 
speed up healing and prevent infection."
	There were a few moments of silence after Rei let go of 
Ranko's hands, then the redhead nervously dropped her hands to 
her sides and said a bit shakily, "Thank you, Rei."
	"My concern is for your ability to act as a Knight Saber," 
Rei told her.  "I believe what we faced in Aqua City was only the 
beginning of something larger, and I will need you operating at 
your full capacity.  Belldandy has left you some breakfast.  Eat 
while I fetch the lotion and gloves."  With that, Rei left.
	Ranko watched her go in surprise.  She might have 
followed after the blue-haired woman if Belldandy hadn't called to 
her.  "Don't you want breakfast, Ranko?"
	Ranko reluctantly turned away and sat down at the table.

	While Ranko ate her fill in silence, Keiichi helped 
Belldandy with the dishes.  She had told him that she could easily 
do them alone, but he had insisted on helping.  He didn't like the 
idea of her doing all the work.  Besides, he wanted to be near her as 
often as possible.  Belldandy didn't mind being near Keiichi 
herself.  It was the fact that Ranko was also there that she had a 
problem with; but she said nothing about it.
	Belldandy was staring at her hands as she washed, when 
suddenly she shouted in surprise.  "Why didn't I think of it before?  
Ranko, I can use my powers to heal your wounds."
	Ranko remembered the condition of the cell phones that 
Belldandy had tried to fix and edged away a bit fearfully from the 
goddess.  "No, that's okay.  I'll be all healed before you know it 
anyway.  No reason for you to go through so much trouble," Ranko 
explained nervously.
	Belldandy took a step towards Ranko, not seeming to notice 
the apprehensive look in the redhead's eyes.  "Why, it'll be no 
trouble at all.  Just give me you hands, it'll only take a minute."
	"No!" Ranko shouted, hiding her hands behind her.  "It's 
not that I don't trust you Belldandy...  I just don't want to disappoint 
Rei.  She seemed like she wanted to tend my hands herself for 
some reason.  Don't know why though.  Didn't seem too happy 
about it."
	Belldandy nodded and took a step back while Ranko 
breathed a sigh of relief.  "She loves you all.  All of the Knight 
Sabers are like daughters to her, but she's unsure of how to express 
her feelings, and that uncertainly makes her afraid of doing 
something wrong.  So she hides these feelings deep inside herself."
	Keiichi turned to face his girlfriend in shock.  Not only the 
fact that she seemed to understand Rei as well as he did, but also 
that Belldandy looked like she was about to cry.  Acting on 
instinct, he put a comforting arm around her waist.  Almost 
immediately, her sadness vanished.
	They all were silent until Ranko finally managed to say, 
"I... don't even know what to say to her now."
	When Rei returned, Ranko studied her as the blue-haired 
woman took care of her hands.  Rei didn't even seem to notice her 
intense gaze.
	"Thank you," Ranko said suddenly as Rei finished.  "I want 
to thank you for everything you've ever done for me, Rei.  For 
taking care of me, watching out for me, for making me a Knight 
Saber.  Everything."
	Ranko was surprised by the genuine smile that appeared on 
the older woman's face.  "You're welcome, Ranko."

	Mihoshi and Ami dropped by Rei's apartment at the end of 
their shifts.  Both were concerned for Sana, though Ami did her 
best not to show it.  She knew from experience that worry wouldn't 
help matters, but felt extremely frustrated that all of her medical 
knowledge was basically worthless in this situation.
	"Is Sana going to be okay?" Mihoshi begged Keiichi 
immediately when he answered the door.  Her eyes had gotten very 
large and rivers of tears ran down her cheeks.
	"Uhh..." was the best Keiichi could do, answering the door 
for find this... thing staring back at him.
	"It's okay, Mihoshi," Ami told her, seeing that Keiichi was 
close to freaking out.  "I'm sure Sana will be fine."
	"Really?" Mihoshi asked, turning in Ami's direction.
	The former Sailor Mercury had to take a step back from her 
fellow Knight Saber, who was looking even scarier than a yoma at 
the moment.

	All of the Knight Sabers, along with Keiichi and Belldandy, 
were waiting outside the laboratory when Skuld had announced 
that she was almost finished.  Rei sat patiently, arms crossed.  
Ranko sat fiddling with the gloves she now wore and occasionally 
glancing at Rei.  Ami spent her time wondering what was going on 
in the lab right then, and wondering why Ranko was acting so 
oddly.  Mihoshi spent the time intently studying the manga she had 
brought with her.  Belldandy and Keiichi served everyone 
refreshments and spent the rest of their time holding hands.
	Finally, the door opened up a crack, and Skuld poked her 
head out.  "Big sister!" she shouted in glee, running right into the 
arms of the older goddess, and incidentally knocking Keiichi on the 
floor.  Ami had to stifle laughter seeing this.  She was sure that had 
been purely intentional.  From the look on Keiichi's face, he knew 
that it hadn't been an accident either.  Still, he stood up and said 
nothing.
	After a few moments spent in a joyful reunion, Belldandy 
brought her sister to face the rest of them.  "Skuld, you've already 
met Rei and Keiichi.  I'd like you to meet Mihoshi, Ami, and 
Ranko."
	"Pleased to --" was all Skuld could managed before 
Mihoshi shouted gleefully and picked up the young goddess, 
spinning her around the room.
	"Wow, she's so cute!" Mihoshi declared, holding Skuld 
close like a stuffed animal.
	Skuld's head was spinning.  "I think I'm going to be sick," 
she muttered to herself.
	"Mihoshi!" Ami shouted, taking the young, and now dizzy, 
goddess from the blonde's grasp and setting her back on her feet.  
"Are you all right now?"
	Skuld nodded, still feeling a bit light-headed.  "Yes, thank 
you, I'm Skuld.  Pleased to meet you."
	Ami smiled.  "It's nice to meet you too, Skuld.  I'm Ami.  
Your sister tells us that you're a genius with anything mechanical.  
Maybe you can help me with my scooter later.  It hasn't been 
running all that well."  Ami knew that she could have taken it to 
Washu, but after seeing the results of the redhead's other 'repairs,' 
Ami thought it was much safer to use her scooter as is.
	"Sure!" Skuld said with a big smile, always eager to prove 
her talents.
	"Hi there, kid," Ranko told her with a friendly wave.
	"I am not a kid!" Skuld immediately shot back.
	"Whatever," Ranko replied, not seeming particularly 
concerned.
	Skuld fumed, but before she could say or do anything, 
Belldandy asked, "Did you fix Sana, Skuld?"
	"Of course!" Skuld told her older sister.  "I had come out 
here to tell you that the operation was a complete success.  I was 
able to remove the black box without any harm coming to the 
patient."
	"May we see her now, Skuld?" Rei asked.
	"Okay, you can come in now," the goddess of the Future 
said.  "But you must be quiet.  The patient is sleeping."  Skuld even 
held her finger to her lips to illustrate, a gesture that Mihoshi 
copied and nodded in understanding.
	Soon they were all gathered around the small cot that Rei 
sometimes used when she was too involved in her experiments to 
use her normal bed.  Sana looked much the same as they had seen 
her last, though she was now wearing a pair of overalls.  Her hair 
was still tied up in the same double ponytail style, but everyone 
immediately noticed that her once blonde hair was now red, 
bordering on orange.
	Skuld noticed everyone noticing and explained with a 
nervous laugh.  "Side-effect of the treatment, that's all.  She's still 
perfectly fine."
	"Argh!  I'm late for school!" Sana shouted suddenly, sitting 
up and throwing off the covers.  "Wait, who are all of you?"
	Rei, being one of the few not shocked by the girl boomer's 
sudden activity, answered her.  "We are the ones who rescued you, 
and want to help you live a normal life like any other child."
	Now everyone was snapped out of their shock by what Rei 
had said, or rather the deep emotion with which she had said it.  
Ami had to wonder about their leader's own childhood.  She 
guessed that it hadn't been a happy, or at least a normal, one.
	Sana nodded slowly, as if unsure how to take this.
	"Allow me to introduce everyone.  This is Ranko, Mihoshi, 
Ami, Skuld, Belldandy, and my brother Keiichi.  My name is Rei."
	"Rei?" Sana repeated, seeming stunned at first, but then a 
huge smile broke on her face.  Most took a step back as she leapt 
from her bed and threw her arms around Rei's neck, all the time 
shouting, "Rei-kun! Rei-kun!  Rei-kun!  I love you!"
	The previous shock had returned to the group ten-fold.
	"How sweet!" Mihoshi commented, not shocked in the 
least.  "I didn't know little Sana would be so affectionate!"
	"I think the pint-sized surgeon scrambled her programming 
or something," Ranko muttered.
	"Did not!" Skuld immediately shouted back.  "If anything, I 
made her better than before!"
	"Then why does she think Rei is a guy?" Ranko shot back.
	"You of all people--" Skuld started to say, but Belldandy 
suddenly blocked her mouth with a hand.
	"I'm sure that you did nothing wrong, Skuld," her older 
sister told her.  "There must be some other explanation for her 
behavior."
	"There is," Ami spoke, finally getting over her own 
surprise.  "The general told us that Sana was programmed using old 
girls' anime.  I seem to remember that in one of the shows there 
was a guy named Rei whom the female lead was particularly 
attached to.   The name must have triggered some sort of 
conditioned response in Sana."
	Ami chose not to mention that the only reason she 
remembered it was the fact that Usagi used to tease their friend and 
fellow senshi Rei about it for a long time.  Rei was much more 
embarrassed by the sort of rumors that started as a result, however.
	Ayanami herself was stunned.  She had no idea how to 
respond to the girl throwing so much affection at her.  It oddly 
reminded her of the way Asuka used to act around Kaji.  She had 
enough trouble dealing with Keiichi when he had become 
somewhat affectionate, but Sana was a whole other order of 
magnitude.
	Suddenly, Sana stopped.  She glanced around briefly and 
said mostly to herself, "If Rei-kun is here, mamma must be here.  
Rei-kun, where is mamma?"
	Rei could only stare back.  She still had no idea what to do 
or what to say.
	Sana started shaking her, tears beginning to form in her 
eyes.  "Where is she, Rei-kun?  Rei-kun, tell me.  Tell me please!"
The others could only watch, frozen with complete uncertainty as 
the small girl began to sob.  What could they do?  This girl had no 
mother, this was only something programmed into her.
	Belldandy stepped forward and slowly wrapped her arms 
around the sobbing girl.  "Don't cry, Sana.  Mamma is right here," 
she whispered gently.
	Sana slowly turned around, her eyes wider and wider, until 
she turned to face Belldandy, who was currently kneeling so she 
could look at the girl eye to eye.
	"Mamma!" Sana shouted, hugging Belldandy closely, tears 
still flowing, but a smile on face now.  "Do you love me, mamma?"
	For a few moments Belldandy only hugged the girl back in 
silence.  "Of course, Sana," she said finally as tears began to spill 
from her own eyes.  "Mamma will always love you."

	Rei decided that she and Ami should be the ones to deliver 
the black box to the USSD.  Ranko was still in rough shape, 
despite her protests to the contrary, and the situation was a bit too 
delicate for Mihoshi.
	They took the bus in their hardsuits again, though it didn't 
seem to worry Ami as much as it had did last time.  Actually, she 
still felt uncomfortable, but had realized the futility of explaining 
this to Rei.
	Rei gave the box to the general, he forwarded the payment 
to a named account, and they left.  Easy as that.
	Neither noticed the small explosion that had just occurred 
where they had been five minutes ago as their bus drove away.

	While Belldandy and Keiichi prepared lunch, and Skuld 
poked around in Rei's workroom, Mihoshi was left to watch Sana.  
Keiichi had thought it a bit dangerous to put anyone in the 
somewhat clueless Knight Saber's care, but Belldandy was sure 
they'd be fine.
	Mihoshi stared somewhat nervously at Sana, unsure of 
what to do.  No one had ever trusted her alone with the care of 
another person before, and she was painfully away of the total klutz 
that she could sometimes be.  Well, there was her partner Kiyone, 
but that was more of a mutual thing.  Well, actually she had to 
admit that Kiyone had taken more care of her than she had of 
Kiyone.  But that was before...
	"Hi, I'm Mihoshi!" she greeted the little girl with a smile 
and wave.  "I work for the Galaxy Pol... I mean, Ozaki Fitness."
	Sana immediately stood and declared, "I'm Karata Sana, 
age 14, and master of ... hey, haven't we already met before?  You 
sound familiar.  I sometimes forget faces, but I never forget a 
voice, but then if I did forget how would I know?"
	"We have met," Mihoshi replied.  "I helped save you from 
those boomers."
	"Really?" Sana asked, scratching her head in puzzlement.  
"I don't remember.  The last thing I remember before waking up 
is..."  Sana sat down and frowned in thought.
	Mihoshi decided to do something when several minutes 
passed in silence.  But what to do?  What did girls like to do?  
What did she like to do as a girl?  She immediately dismissed those 
that couldn't be done on Earth.  Belldandy didn't want Sana leaving 
the apartment.  Besides, Mihoshi had been temporarily banished to 
Earth for things she didn't want to think about at the moment...
	"Sana, let's watch some TV," Mihoshi told the girl.  "Sailor 
V is on."
	"Yay!  It's one of my favorite shows!" Sana enthused, and 
immediately forgot what she had been thinking about.
	They both made themselves comfortable on Rei's bed as 
they watched anime on her TV.  Mihoshi shared some of the 
snacks she always kept handy.  They even shouted out the 
transformation phrases and attacks together.  It was the beginning 
of a beautiful friendship.

	Keiichi had some unpleasant news when Rei and Ami 
returned.  "Sis, the USSD want to hire the Knight Sabers to get 
back the black box again."
	"What?" Ami shouted in surprise.  "We just got back from 
there."
	"Yeah, apparently the black box was stolen right after you 
left.  Just received a message that the general is willing to pay the 
same fee for the recovery of the box again."
	Mihoshi and Sana lay on Rei's bed, sharing a manga.  
Various toys and snacks lay scattered around them.  Both were 
talking animatedly about what was going on in the manga.  Rei's 
only reaction to this was one raised eyebrow.
	"They bonded while you were gone," Belldandy explained 
as she watched the pair.  "They are kindred spirits in a sense.  They 
were quite active before, but I managed to repair all of the 
damage."
	Not sure how to respond to this, Rei simply nodded, and 
lead Ami and Ranko to the kitchen where they could discuss their 
current problems without so much noise.
	Ranko was grinning.  "I haven't even started to spend what 
we made on the last job, and we already have another."  She had 
never cared that much about money, that is until she had to live on 
her own and pay for everything herself.  Training dummies and a 
week's worth of groceries didn't come cheap.
	Some of their fees went towards hardsuit maintenance and 
other costs, like training all day at the paintball arena.  Rei had also 
convinced Ranko to keep part of her cut in a savings account for 
something like college.  Still, out of the original 10 million yen, 
there was still plenty left for expenses.  She had no idea what to do 
with double that amount.
	Rei frowned slightly.  "I dislike repeating myself.  I also 
dislike the incompetence of the USSD in this matter.  However, the 
money would be useful.  The problem now is finding the black 
box.  This time we have no leads."
	"Something happened during my shift that might be 
connected," Ami told them.  "There was an explosion earlier today 
in a Genom laboratory.  It ended up killing everyone working there 
and the cause of the explosion was never found.  The really big 
thing is Goto had Rally close the case only a few hours later, 
declaring it an accident.  I'm sure it was pressure from the higher 
ups that made him do it."
	"Rally?" Ranko said in surprise.  "I think I know her.  Ran 
into her twice in two days.  I was getting a bit worried that she had 
found out I was a Knight Saber or something."
	"Oh?" queried Ami in surprise.
	"Yeah, I ran into her the first time when I went out to get 
the food.  Turns out that she's a big fan of my music.  We talked for 
a bit, though I was a bit nervous talking to an AD Police officer, 
when all of the sudden this purple-haired girl jumps out of the car 
and latches onto me!"
	"That's just Alielle," Ami explained.  "She does that to just 
about every female she meets."
	"You too, Ami?" Ranko asked with some surprise.
	Ami nodded.  "It didn't really bother me because I have a 
friend who's overly affectionate sometimes, though not so extreme, 
so I'm sort of used to it.  I told Alielle firmly that I wasn't interested 
and she stopped bothering me.  Well, she only stopped after the 
third time and she had found another girl who interested her more, 
but it still worked.  I don't envy Rally having her as a partner 
though.  I don't know why Goto just doesn't assign her to a guy."
	Ranko nodded, filing this information away for future use.  
"The second time was during that whole deal in Aqua City last 
night.  After I... after I messed up, Rally showed up and helped me 
to safety."
	"Did she say or do anything that indicated she suspected 
your true identity, or the identity of any of the other Knight 
Sabers?" Rei asked.
	Ranko thought for a moment, then shook her head.  "She 
didn't say or do anything like that."
	"Good, then you should be able to ask her about the 
incident earlier today without arousing suspicion," Rei told Ranko.  
"I believe there is a connection between this incident and the theft 
of the black box."
	"Why me?" Ranko asked in surprise.
	"Rally is likely to have information about this case not 
contained in ADP records.  For Ami to take a sudden interest in 
this case would be suspicious.  You can do so by simple curiosity 
and not cause people to wonder."
	Rei's stern expression was more convincing than her words.  
Ranko knew that there was no way out of this.

	"Rally," one of the other cops told her.  "There's a call for 
you."
	Rally was not in the mood to answer the phone.  She had 
just finished yelling at the chief about the incident from this 
morning being closed as an accident.  Not that her yelling had done 
much good against Goto.  Easier to talk to a boomer.
	Then there was that explosion at the USSD offices.  They 
were passing that off as weapons malfunction, but she smelled a 
cover up.  She was sure something had been stolen.
	Then there was the disk she had found at the crime scene.  
She supposed that she should have followed procedure and turned 
it in as evidence, but she knew that they'd just wipe it and she'd 
never find out what's on it.  It was encrypted, but with the help of a 
friend in the US, she had managed to decode it.  It contained 
nothing less than a portion of plans for a prototype super boomer.  
Rally was convinced that it was this new boomer that they had 
been building in the lab so late at night.
	She was also convinced that the incident at the USSD was 
connected to it somehow.  She had no evidence for this, it was only 
a hunch, but Rally was the kind of person whose hunches often 
paid off.  Goto was sticking her with paperwork though, so she 
couldn't follow it up.
	"Who is it?" Rally asked in irritation, not bothering to look 
up.
	"I don't know, some cute girl," the officer replied.  "Said 
her name was Ranko or something."
	"Cute girl?" Alielle immediately stood up.  "I'll answer it!"
	"No you won't," Rally told her, forcing her partner back 
into her seat.  She still had to apologize for the last time Ranko had 
'met' Alielle.  "You sit here and keep working on these reports."
	Alielle pouted, crossing her arms.  "You just want to keep 
all the cute girls to yourself."

	"Rally speaking."
	"Um, hi," Ranko said nervously, wishing again that she 
hadn't mentioned that she had met the AD Police officer night 
before last.  She still had no idea what to say.  "Look, I--"
	"I wanted to apologize for the way my partner Alielle acted 
two nights ago," Rally said suddenly, not realizing that she had just 
cut the other girl off.  "I kind of forgot at the time that she has a 
habit of going after anything female.  I should have stopped her, or 
warned you, or something.  It must have been a surprise to be 
suddenly embraced by another girl."
	*Not as much as you think,* Ranko thought.  *Actually, the 
problem was it was a bit too familiar.*
	"Yeah," Ranko finally said.  "But I still shouldn't have 
panicked the way I did and drove off like that.  I was calling you up 
to apologize actually, and to see if you wanted to have lunch 
together to make up for it.  I can talk about music and you can talk 
about your work.  I've always wondered what its like to be in the 
AD Police."
	"Well, I'm overworked, underpaid, and use weapons older 
than me," Rally told her with a smirk while coming to a decision at 
the same time.  She had so few friends in Mega-Tokyo as it was, 
there wasn't harm in making another.  "Sounds good.  Where do 
you want to eat?"
	They decided on a time and place and said their good-byes.

	Ranko was feeling a bit nervous about the whole thing, 
preparing to pump a potential friend for information, so she arrived 
at the café early, in order to give herself time to plan things out.  
The only problem was Rally was already there.
	They exchanged greetings and placed their orders, talking 
about unimportant things, but it wasn't long before the topic of 
conversation moved to the recent explosion at the Genom lab.  
Ranko thought it was almost too easy, Rally seemed very eager to 
talk about it.
	"Now what's really suspicious," Rally started to explain 
over desert, "is that a van was seen leaving from the loading dock 
right next to the lab not five minutes after it had exploded.  It's my 
bet that whatever they had been working on in that lab survived the 
blast and was carted away to some secret location to be finished.  
Unfortunately, I have no idea where that van went after leaving 
Genom.  But I'm also sure that whole business with the USSD was 
to cover a theft of some vital component to this project.  Genom is 
building a super boomer."
	They spent a while arguing about who would pick up the 
tab.  Ranko wanted to ease her guilt at pumping Rally for 
information, while Rally wanted to as an apology for the way her 
partner had acted.
	"All right, I'll let you pick this up," Rally finally said, 
offering her hand, "If you get me in free to your next gig."
	Ranko smiled and shook hands with the ADP officer.  "It's 
a deal."

	Makoto looked over the city of Mega-Tokyo as the sun had 
set.  He had sworn never to come here, preferring the peaceful 
country with his wife, his cat, and tinkering with the odd invention 
or two.  His time in El Hazard had given him enough adventure to 
last a lifetime.  He had come because of an old friend and an old 
enemy, but he hadn't come alone.
	Most people would have been startled when hands suddenly 
wrapped around them and a head rested on their shoulder, but 
Makoto only smiled, having become too used to his wife's odd 
ways.
	"I could find no sign of Jinnai or any Bugrom activity 
anywhere," Ifurita whispered in his ear.  "I didn't get too close to 
the Genom Pryamid though.  I didn't want to risk being detected."
	"You did the right thing, as always," Makoto replied.  
"We'll just have to wait until the meeting with Alielle.  I only wish 
that we could have reached Miz or Mr. Fujisawa, but no one knows 
where they've gone to.  I know you can match either of their 
powers, but it would be nice to have the extra help."
	"I agree.  We don't know what sort of forces Jinnai could 
have access to here.  That he's here at all suggests that he somehow 
managed to unlock the secrets of the Eye of God.  You meet with 
Alielle and I'll patrol the city once more.  You can call me if you 
need me.  Ura will protect you until then, won't you Ura?"
	"It's my job," the cat in question told the both of them.
	"All right," Makoto said reluctantly.  "Just be careful, 
okay?"
	Ifurita caressed his face affectionately.  "Always, love."

	Alielle was already waiting in the cafe by the time that 
Makoto got there.  She looked much the same as she had during 
their reunion three years ago, except now she was obviously 
extremely nervous about something.  She was constantly taking 
sips of her coffee as she glanced out the window, jumping when 
Makoto took the seat opposite her.
	"It's good to see you again, Alielle," he told her with a 
smile, trying to set her at ease.  There was once a time when he had 
found her more annoying than anything else, but that was before he 
had finally escaped El Hazard ten years go.  She had proved herself 
then.
	"Likewise," Alliele replied absently, her eyes still 
wandering all over the room.
	Makoto glanced around.  The cafe was nearly empty at this 
time of night, he counted only three other patrons.  The street 
outside the big picture window was deserted.  It was no real 
surprise, with the hard time he had finding the place.  It was almost 
hidden away.  "Is something wrong?"
	Alielle turned to look at him, her eyes blazing.  She 
slammed down on coffee cup and practically shouted, "Jinnai is 
here making bugrom-based boomers, probably to take over the 
city, and you ask if something's wrong?!"
	"Calm down," Makoto told her, noticing that the other 
patrons were giving them odd looks. "Ifurita will be able to handle 
anything that he can dish out."
	Alielle shook her head, though she was calmer now.  "I'm 
not so sure about that.  You don't know what these things can do.  
The regular bug-boomers are like least ten times stronger than the 
bugrom were, but the advanced ones are even worse.  My partner 
saw what just one did to Aqua City first-hand.  What's left is telling 
enough.  It was completely destroyed.  I don't like thinking about 
what might have happened if the Knight Sabers hadn't been there 
to stop it."
	"Oh, so you have someone now?" Makoto asked her in a sly 
voice, noticing the word 'partner.'  He was trying to lighten the 
mood.  It was creepy for him to see Alielle acting deadly serious.
	Alielle blushed immediately.  "I wish it was something like 
that.  Rally is so strong, firm... but definitely not interested.  
Believe me, I've tried.  I just met this other girl though that I have 
high hopes for.  She's a bit young, but she's got red hair and...  Hey, 
you changed the subject on me!"
	Makoto laughed to see her pout.  "I just didn't like seeing 
you so serious.  It really isn't you, Alielle.  Leave being serious to 
me and Ifurita, okay?"
	Alielle smiled and seemed to relax.  "Yeah, well, I'm 
usually not so serious.  Being serious all the time would probably 
give me one of those 'ulcer' things.  But all the time today I felt like 
I was being watched, like someone was observing my every move.  
But maybe I'm just being paranoid."
	Makoto nodded.  "Yeah, I feel like that just being in the 
same place as Jinnai again.  I expect him to appear at any moment 
and blame me for stubbing his toe or something."
	Alielle laughed.  "He does seem to think you're responsible 
for everything that ever went wrong in his life."
	"Feeling better now?" Makoto asked with a smile.
	Alielle nodded.
	"Good.  Let's get out of here.  I'll walk you home.  We can 
decide what to do about Jinnai and his bug-boomers on the way."

	They were only a few blocks from Alielle's apartment when 
a woman suddenly blocked their path.  She had long blonde hair 
that covered half of her face and was wearing what looked to be a 
very stylized military inform.
	There was something about her aggressive stance and her 
smile that made Makoto immediately feel worried.  He glanced 
around at the narrow, deserted street they were on and sucked in a 
breath.  The perfect spot for an ambush.
	With a smirk, Panther slowly sauntered over to them.  She 
ignored the man totally, concentrating on her target.  The orders 
had finally come down that this woman was too great a risk to be 
left alive.  It was strange that Mr. Jinnai had sounded so... reluctant 
to give the order.  He had never been squeamish about this sort of 
thing before.
	Acting on instinct, Alielle drew her pistol and fired.  She 
was disappointed, but not surprised, when the woman only flinched 
slightly.  Still, Alielle fired again and again, but her hands were 
shaking so bad near the end of the clip that her final shots missed 
even though it was nearly point-blank range.  The gun fell from her 
fingers when the boomer picked her up by the throat.
	Panther frowned slightly at the struggling woman as she 
applied pressure to the wind pipe, cutting off the girl's air.  This 
was all too boring, especially after wasting her day following this 
girl around.  Panther shrugged, thinking that it was better to just get 
it over with.  She tightened her grip.
	Makoto had been stunned when the bullets had done 
nothing.  He had been surprised at just how tough boomers really 
were.  When she had started choking Alielle had snapped him out 
of it, though.  He needed to do something and now.  Even if he 
called Ifurita, there was no way that she could make it in time.
	"Stop!" he shouted, but the boomer ignored him.  He 
reached out to try and pull her arm away, shocked when he felt... 
something when they had made contact.  It was like a dozen 
conflicting feelings all mixed together, resulting in a terrible sense 
of confusion.  He wasn't the only one.  The boomer immediately 
dropped Alielle and turned to him in surprise.
	"Run!" he shouted at Alielle, who was struggling to get 
back her breath.  She looked back at him uncertainly.  "Just go!"
	Alielle nodded quickly and sprinted off, while Makoto 
turned to face the boomer.
	Panther's frown deepened.  She couldn't believe she had let 
this man make her let her target escape, no matter what sort of trick 
he could do.  Eyes burning with hatred, she stalked up to him.  He 
would pay for interfering.
	Makoto was too late to shout a warning as Ura sprang at the 
boomer, who casually back-handed the cat into a nearby wall.
	"Ura!" he shouted, a mix of sadness and anger, not even 
realizing that the boomer was right next to him until she picked 
him up by the shirt.
	Matoko noticed the thing was smiling again, but it was 
twisted one, her eyes burning with a sick humor.  "I don't want to 
waste any more time with you," she practically spat at him, before 
tossing him high in the air.
	Flying wasn't something new to Makoto, though he still 
wasn't quite used to it.  The flight in Ifurita's arms all the way to 
Mega-Tokyo had left him in a near panic, even though he knew his 
wife would never let him come to harm.
	Falling, on the other hand, was an entirely different story.
	With one last glance up at the sky, Panther was off in 
pursuit of her target.  She knew it had not gotten far.

	Rei made a quick excuse to the others about needing to go 
for a short walk before leaving the apartment behind, out into the 
cool night air and dimly lit streets.  So far, all of their searches to 
find out where this super boomer could be built had turned up 
nothing.  Genom was being very careful this time.  Rei knew of 
someone who might have the answer she sought, however.
	In a deserted alley right next to a junkyard, a woman sat on 
a beaten up sofa, as if waiting for someone.  Most of her features 
were lost in the darkness, but she was tall with long dark hair and 
an elegant cut to her clothes.  Without a moment's hesitation, Rei 
took the seat next to her.
	"I'm impressed that you were able to save the boomer," the 
woman said.  "I would have guessed that you would have handed 
her over to the USSD."
	"Perhaps you don't know me as well as you think," Rei 
replied in her normal neutral tone.
	"Perhaps," the woman agreed, not sounding as if she cared 
one way or the other, which seemed to be her normal tone.
	After a few moments of silence, the woman spoke again.  
"Your apartment has become crowded lately.  So many visitors."
	"We've been able to manage."
	"I have a feeling that things are only going to get worse in 
that respect from now on.  I'd look towards finding more space if I 
were you."
	Rei nodded, mentally filing that away for later 
consideration.  This woman's advice was not to be disregarded.  
"Would you happen to know of the location of a lab where Genom 
could assemble a super boomer?"
	"I might."
	"What is your condition this time?"
	The woman turned to face Rei now, her voice and eyes 
serious.  "The black box must be destroyed.  It must not fall into 
anyone's hands, not even the USSD.  They have already proven 
their inability to safe-guard it."
	Rei nodded.  "It will be, I give you my word."  While the 
money from the USSD would be useful, her first priority was to 
destroy the super boomer.  Besides, Rei knew that her informant 
never made idle demands.  If she said the black box had to be 
destroyed, then it was essential to do so.
	The woman leaned back to look up at the stars, letting her 
long hair fall around her shoulders.  She quickly explained the lab's 
location and ways of getting information about its layout and 
defenses.
	Rei stood once again once the woman had fallen silent, 
absently straightening out her clothes.
	The woman faced her once again.  She smiled slightly and 
said, "Until next time, Rei."
	Rei bowed slightly as the lights from a passing car washed 
over them, revealing green hair, purple eyes.  "Be well, Setsuna."

	Ranko wandered the busy streets of Mega-Tokyo, looking 
for a place to eat.  She had intended to go out as a guy, but fate had 
other ideas.  After getting out of delivery duty, she left Rei's 
apartment and arrived back at her trailer.  Out of which had 
stepped the male Ranma.  Five minutes and the splash of a puddle 
later, Ranko had returned.
	Ranko was currently looking for a source of hot water and a 
discreet place to change, not willing to go back to her trailer and 
admit some sort of defeat.  She caught the flash of purple hair as 
she had just turned her head and immediately flattened herself 
against a building.  Could Shampoo have really found her in Mega-
Tokyo?  She had managed to track her all the way to Japan from 
China after all.  But then she had already mistaken another girl for 
the purple-haired Amazon before.  Of course that had been more 
than just the hair that was familiar.
	Ranko carefully peered around the corner to see a purple-
haired woman who looked vaguely familiar being pursued by a 
blonde.  The purple one had reached a dead end and the blonde was 
currently standing over her and cracking her knuckles.  Sensing 
something bad was about to happen, Ranko stepped into the alley 
with them.
	Panther's grin was back as she watched her target looking 
up at her in fear.  "I was going to make your death relatively 
painless, but you had to cause me some trouble.  Now I'm going to 
beat you so badly that they'll have to check your DNA to identify 
the body."
	Panther threw her first punch and was surprised when a red 
blur streaked before her eyes.  She was even more surprised when 
the only thing she hit was the building.  She spun around to see a 
young redhead holding her target in her arms.  The girl had to be 
another boomer, Panther reasoned, humans couldn't move that fast, 
but then why was she opposing the will of Genom?
	"Give the girl to me," Panther instructed.  "It is my duty to 
dispose of her."
	"I don't really know what any of this is about," Ranko 
admitted.  "But I don't like the idea of someone getting 'disposed 
of.'"
	"I am a cyber-boomer, you have to obey me!" Panther 
shouted.  "It is the will of Genom."
	The cyber-boomers were created as the bodyguards to 
Quincy, and so normal boomers had to defer to them.  She had 
been left to watch over things here while the others were with their 
master in Germany.  That alone made her a bit more irritated than 
usual, and Panther wasn't exactly calm even in the best of 
circumstances.
	"I only take orders from one person, and she isn't you!" 
Ranko shot back, gently setting Alielle on the ground.  "So I guess 
you're just going to have to fight me for her."
	"Very well," Panther replied with a smile.  Fighting another 
boomer, even an inferior model, would be much more interesting 
than disposing of a mere human.  Besides, this one had to be 
defective.  It was her duty to destroy it.
	Neither noticed Alielle staring up at Ranko with something 
akin to awe.

	Makoto wasn't sure exactly when he stopped falling, he was 
yelling too much to care, but he was thankful that instead of 
smacking into the cold, hard street, a familiar pair of arms wrapped 
around him.
	"Ifurita," he breathed in relief.
	Ifurita smiled at her husband.  "You shouldn't go flying 
without me.  It's much too dangerous."
	Makoto smirked.  "If I didn't know you better, I'd say that 
was a joke.  But we don't have time for this.  Alielle is the one who 
is in real danger.  A boomer is trying to kill her."
	Ifurita nodded, suddenly all business.  She picked up Ura 
and together they went off in search of their friend.
	They were shocked to find a redhead facing off against the 
boomer.
	"Shayla-Shayla is here too?" Makoto said in some surprise, 
squinting to make out the three people from their perch on top of 
the building.
	Ifurita shook her head.  "No, it isn't her.  Another 
Earthling."
	"What?" Makoto shouted in panic.  "Quick, we have to do 
something!  No normal human can stand up to a boomer!"
	Ifurita was expressionless as she stared down at the two 
combatants.  "Things are not what they seem here."

	Panther tried to strike first, going for a blow that would 
have reduced the effectiveness of her opponent rather than ceasing 
to function out-right.  She wanted this fight to last a little while at 
least.  She hadn't expected her opponent to move quite so fast as 
she did, and so the kick to the stomach really wasn't something she 
had been expecting.  It made her stagger, but caused no serious 
damage.  Still, she would not underestimate her opponent again.
	Ranko was surprised and disappointed when the blonde 
woman didn't go down with her first blow.  Not even a normal 
boomer could have taken a kick like that easily; this had to be an 
advanced model.
	Ranko's next thought was the wish that she had her suit 
with her.  Then she frowned.  She had gotten a little too used to 
fighting with it; she almost felt a part missing without it.  She 
shook her head.  Nonsense.  She had fought a boomer before she 
had even gotten her hardsuit.  She could do it again.
	Panther felt a surge of glee when her sweep knocked the 
other boomer to the ground, but was again disappointed when it 
rolled away before she could bring her fist down on its skull.  She 
wondered why the other boomer had paused like that and also why 
it hadn't burst out of its skin yet, but chalked all this up to it 
malfunctioning.  *The techs can sort out what was wrong after I 
reduce it to scrap.*
	Ranko nearly took a step away from the feral smile of her 
opponent.  She thought herself one the greatest martial artists in the 
world, but did not like using her skills to cause pain and suffering.  
People that so obviously did disgusted her.  This boomer didn't 
deserve Ranko holding anything back.
	"Kashu Tenchin Amaguriken!" Ranko shouted and her fists 
became a blur as she struck the boomer over and over again, a final 
punch sending it flying into the wall, where it lay unmoving.
	Head down, no one could see the build up of rage that was 
happening to Panther, shown so clearly on her face.  She was well 
beyond angry that some common boomer, and a malfunctioning 
one at that, could get the better of her so easily.  That last attack 
had hurt, and now she was through playing around.
	Ranko's hopes were dashed when the boomer stood up 
again, though she felt cheered by how slowly it was moving.  Her 
attack had done some damage at least.  The thing's one uncovered 
eye was horrible though.  So cold and expressionless, as if it could 
stare right through her.  It reminded Ranko of Rei whenever she 
was displeased with someone.  It rooted her to the spot, like a 
butterfly pinned to a board.
	So Ranko was unprepared when Panther moved in like a 
blur and struck herself, not as many or as often as Ranko had, but 
each delivering much more power to it, punches that Ryoga even at 
his best couldn't match. What was worse was her female form 
didn't' have near the endurance that her male one had.  Ranko hit 
the ground hard, spitting out a wad of blood.
	Panther wore a very satisfied smirk as she slowly walked 
over to where he opponent had landed.  That had almost made up 
for the beating she had just taken.  Almost.  She noticed the blood 
and raised a single eyebrow in half surprise, half amusement.  Was 
this girl human after all?  In the end it didn't really matter to her, 
but it was still surprising to find that humans were not as frail as 
she had thought.

	Ranko smiled suddenly as she wrapped her arms around the 
surprised boomer's legs, knocking her to the ground and quickly 
following up with an elbow to the back.  This boomer hit harder 
than Ryoga, but she had faced harder opponents than him and 
come out on top.
	Panther growled in anger as she managed to knock the girl 
away and get back on her feet.  No ordinary girl could be able to 
hurt her like this, the redhead had to be some sort of cyborg, a mix 
of woman and boomer.
	Ranko was ready for the boomer when she charged again.  
She blocked what looked like a simple chop with her arms, only to 
scream in pain as the boomer's hand seemed to cut right into her 
flesh like a sharp knife.  The pain didn't make her loose her focus 
however, and she was able to land a dozen or so chestnut punches 
to the boomers stomach with her other arm, knocking it away, but 
not off its feet.
	Panther licked her lips as she watched the blood slowly drip 
from the redhead's arm.  This was the best fight she had in a long 
time.  Only the other Saber Dolls could ever match her before and 
they weren't allowed to go all out against each other.  The joy of 
battle numbed her to the pain.  The only thing she felt now was 
eagerness for victory.
	Ranko quickly ripped off some of her shirt and tied it 
around her arm to stop the bleeding, the whole time ready for the 
boomer to attack, though it strangely seemed patient now, standing 
there waiting for Ranko to make the next move.
	Ranko thought of one move that might be very effective in 
this situation, though wasn't sure exactly how it would work 
against a boomer.  If it could end this match quickly though, it was 
worth a try.  Had to get the boomer angry though.
	"I didn't know they made tomboy boomers!" Ranko 
shouted.  "You must be some kind of out-dated model all slow and 
clunky like that.  My fridge puts up a better fight that you do!"
	Panther only blinked back at the girl in confusion.
	Ranko frowned, it obviously wasn't working.  "Whoever 
designed you must have been blind!  I've seen better looking 
boomers without their skin!  Bet you wear your hair like that 
because the other half of your face is even uglier, though I don't 
know how that's possible!  But at least you have a personality to go 
with that face!"
	Panther ground her teeth in anger.  How dare this girl make 
fun of her appearance or her personality, she was designed by her 
master himself.
	Ranko grinned to see that she had scored a hit with that last 
one, but still wasn't nearly enough.  If this was going to work, she 
needed the boomer to be really mad.  "Are you sure you're 
supposed to be a woman, star face?  You look like some kind of 
flat-chested, thick thighed girl man to me!"  Then Ranko began to 
sing, "You look like crap, you fake girl boomer.  You're so homely 
you only come out at night.  You're ugly, ugly, ugly!"
	"That's it!" Panther shouted as she charged, hands ready to 
slice this irritating girl to ribbons.
	Ranko had learned her lesson though, and was able to avoid 
those deadly hands for the most part as she drew her opponent into 
a tighter and tight spiral.  She had to take a few minor hits to avoid 
falling out of step, but it was worth it when she was finally done.
	Panther leapt into the air, shouting wordlessly as she 
brought both arms down, aiming for Ranko's head.
	Ranko smirked as she brought her fist up and shouted, 
"Hiryu Shoten Ha!"
	A huge gust of wind suddenly swirled around the both of 
them, ruffling Ranko's hair and sending Panther flying up and 
away.
	Ranko smiled as she glanced around to find no sign of the 
boomer.  That blast had been pretty powerful, could have sent half 
way across Mega-Tokyo.
	She had only a second's warning that caused her to glance 
up, but it was too late.  Panther had sprung from her hiding place 
among the darkened buildings, aimed right for Ranko's chest.  She 
hit the girl feet first with the force of an express train, creating a 
creator where she had knocked her to the ground.
	Panther wasn't nearly done.  The fun had worn off rather 
quickly after that last little surprise.  She struck the unmoving 
redhead again and again, finally ending it by picking up the girl and 
bodyslamming her to the ground, deepening the crater she had 
already made.
	Panther took a step back from the bloody mess and 
considered what to do next.  The girl was still alive somehow, but 
she wouldn't be for long.

	"Are we going to do something now?!" Makoto asked his 
wife in a panic as the boomer moved closer and closer to the 
downed girl.  It was surprising what the redhead could do, but she 
looked to be finished.
	Ifurita moved to intercede, but stopped suddenly and 
frowned.  "I'm sensing something... something dangerous."
	"Of course there's something dangerous, that girl is going to 
be killed!"  Makoto shouted, wondering if Ifurita still didn't 
understand the concept of mortality.
	"Not from the boomer.  From the girl."
	"From the girl?" Makoto repeated in surprise as he turned 
to look down at what was happening below once again.

	Ranko felt like hell.  She compared to how she had felt last 
night and this definitely came out worse.  She tried to compare this 
to any experiences in the past and this still came out worse.  Of 
course, she was experiencing this pain now, while the others were 
just a memory.
	Her body was a mess, sending her so many signals of pain 
that it created a strange sort of numbness, but she knew that she'd 
be lucky if she escape this one without permanent injury.  Several 
of her ribs broken, others bruised.  Her left arm definitely was as 
well, and her right didn't feel that good either.  Her legs were like 
two big bruises, though thankfully no bones broken there, though 
she had twisted one of her ankles when the boomer had knocked 
her down.  Which one she wasn't sure.
	What was worse was she could see the shadow of the 
boomer coming closer and closer to her.  Ranko couldn't believe it, 
after all that she had been though in her life, to die like this, in 
some back alley somewhere, downed by some nameless boomer 
that she should have been able to defeat.  She had gotten too soft 
with the hard-suit, and now she was paying the price.
	Worst of all was Ranko felt like she had failed everyone, 
not just herself.  Her pop, who, despite his selfish ways, had spent 
a lifetime training her in martial arts.  Rei, who had taken a kid 
without direction and gave her a way to help people.  Even the girl 
she had just tried to rescue.  She had failed them all.
	And one other.  Ranko could almost see her face in his 
mind's eye as he reached out to it, the image becoming dimmer and 
dimmer, the smile fading.  A smile she would never see again.

	Panther took a step back when the redhead began to glow 
with a sickly green light.  She had to wonder if this was a boomer 
after all, and this was some terrible new weapon she hadn't yet 
heard about.
	The figure stood slowly, clutching her stomach with one 
hand, though there was no sign on her face of whatever pain she 
may be suffering.  Her eyes were dead, her face slack.  An aura of 
depression hung about her that was nearly as eerie as the green 
glow, which only grew brighter and brighter.
	Panther could only stare as the free hand came up and 
pointed at her, the girl suddenly shouting, "Shi Shi Hokodan!"
	Panther didn't even notice that she had been sent flying 
again as the hungry green flames ate away at her body.  She 
screamed as darkness overwhelmed her.

	Ranko smiled slightly to see the boomer up in the sky, 
streaking like a green comet, growing smaller and smaller.  That is 
until the pain hit her again, and again, coming in waves that 
brought her to her knees.  There was a lot of blood in her mouth 
now and spots before her eyes. She thought that at least she had 
saved the girl, but found no comfort in that.  It only made her feel 
empty.  She would never see the others again.
	"Akane," Ranko whispered, lying on the ground, her eyes 
finally closing.

	Ifurita knelt and examined the redhead while Makoto 
attempted to calm the nearly hysterical Alielle.  "The girl is alive, 
but she requires immediate medical attention.  I will take her to the 
nearest hospital.  You must get Alielle to her apartment quickly.  
She should be safer there."
	Makoto nodded and helped to lead Alielle away while 
Ifurita gently picked Ranko up and took off towards the sky again.

	Ami watched almost mesmerized as Rei methodically 
paced up and down her bedroom, always traveling the same 
distance, a small frown on her face.
	Rei had come back from her walk renewed and was able to 
locate the secret lab in the matter of minutes.  It always seemed 
when they needed to know something, Rei would go for a walk and 
come back with just the answer they were looking for.  Ami 
thought that there was something a bit suspicious about that, but 
didn't want to risk the trust Rei had placed in her by following her 
or anything.  Now it was time for the Knight Sabers to spring into 
action.  The only problem was one of their number was missing.
	Ranko didn't answer her phone at her trailer, nor was she 
responding to her pager.  That was very unlike her.  It could be 
something innocent, but she could be in trouble.  Either way, the 
Knight Sabers didn't have time to spare.  They had to destroy this 
new boomer before it was finished.  They hoped that it hadn't been 
completed already.
	"I could go in her place," Belldandy offered, not noticing 
Keiichi's sudden look of horror.  "I have fought with demons on 
occasion."
	Rei studied her closely, her red eyes making even the 
goddess shrink back a bit.  "You're too tall to fit into Ranko's hard-
suit and it would take too long to refit it to accommodate you.  
Whatever powers you may possess as a goddess, I will not risk you 
going out to face a boomer without one."
	"I'll do it!" Sana said suddenly.  "I'll teach that demon 
boomer with my Cossack kung-fu!"  Sana proceeded to give them 
all a demonstration, twirling around the room like a top gone out of 
control.
	"No, I won't let you!" Belldandy shouted, wrapping her 
arms around the girl boomer.
	Embraced by a goddess, not even Sana could argue.
	"I guess we'll just have to go out one short," Ami declared, 
trying to sound optimistic, though inside she was a bit worried.  
"And I'm sure that Ranko is just in the middle of eating or 
something."
	"Ranko can take care of herself," Rei stated, though 
whether to reassure them or herself was unclear.  "We will simply 
have to do with without her."
	"Okay," Keiichi said, standing up suddenly, "I'll get the 
truck ready."
	Belldandy was about to protest, but Rei cut her off, saying, 
"We won't be taking the truck this time.  The motoriods should be 
more than sufficient transportation."
	Keiichi frowned.  His sister's overprotective instincts were 
getting the better of her again.  She occasionally seemed to forget 
that he wasn't a child anymore that needed to be sheltered from the 
dangers of the world.  He knew that it was dangerous, but he wasn't 
about to let his big sister go out there without backup and put 
herself at even more risk than she already was.
	"We both know that isn't true.  If you go out in just the 
motoriods, Genom is going to know about it almost immediately 
and they'll throw every boomer they can in your way until the super 
boomer is completed.  You have to take the truck, and I have to 
drive it," Keiichi told Rei firmly.
	"All right," Rei agreed suddenly.
	Keiichi blinked.  She had never given in that easily before.
	"Very well, I'm going with you," Belldandy said suddenly.  
She realized that quickly that this was important to Keiichi and she 
shouldn't even try to talk him out of if, not matter how dangerous it 
is.  But that didn't mean she was willing to let him march right into 
danger unprotected.
	"No, you can't!" Keiichi replied immediately.
	"Why can't I, Keiichi?" she asked.  "As a goddess, I've had 
to face many dangers in the past.  Besides, I want to be with you."
	Keiichi realized that she had a point.  He'd be in much more 
danger that she would be, and it wasn't like he didn't want to be 
with her either, but it was just that...  with her there, he'd knew that 
he would worry.  Even if his head knew she was in no real danger, 
that knowledge didn't quite reach his heart.  And if he spent all his 
time worrying about her, he might make a mistake, and if he did 
make a mistake, then they really would be in danger.
	Seized with a sudden inspiration, he told her, "Wait, you 
can't go with me.  You have to watch Sana."
	Belldandy looked down at the girl who, suddenly sprang up 
and said, "You don't have to worry about me, Mamma!  If a burglar 
snuck in here, I'd demonstrate my croquet technique I learned from 
Komarrai!"
	Sana decided to demonstrate this by chasing Mihoshi all 
over the apartment with a croquet mallet she had found 
somewhere.  The blonde Knight Saber was all too eager to assist in 
this demonstration by running around without looking where she 
was going, knocking over things in the process.
	After the teen-age goddess had finally chased after and 
caught Sana before she could cause more damage, she had to agree 
that Keiichi had a point.  "All right, I do have to stay and watch 
Sana," she told him as he began to smile.  "Skuld can go with you."
	"Big sister," Skuld whined, "I don't want to have to sit so 
close to the hentai!  I just know he'll try something perverted!  He 
looks like the type that goes after young girls."
	"For the last time," Keiichi said through clenched teeth.  
"My name is _Keiichi_ _Ayanmai_, not _Ecchi_ _Hentai_.  And 
you walked in on _me_ when I was taking a bath.  Have you got 
that?"
	Skuld embraced Belldandy in fear.  "Do you see, big sister?  
I can't go with him, he'll be so mean to me!"
	"Skuld?" Belldandy asked pleasantly.
	Skuld looked up.  "Yes, big sister?"
	"Keiichi means a lot to me.  Would you please watch out 
for him, for my sake?"
	Every protest or dodge Skuld could think of died on her lips 
as she looked up into her sister's kind and caring eyes.  "Oh, all 
right," she finally said, reluctantly.
	"Thank you, Skuld."
	Skuld muttered under her breath as she let go of her sister 
and walked over to Keiichi.  "All right, let's get going," she told 
him, not sounding pleased at all.
	Keiichi had a feeling that it was going to be a long night.