Crimes Past: Part One

[blueinkedpalm.livejournal.com]

Broken up for structural/post limit purposes. I apologise for the tardiness. It's still the fifteenth somewhere, right?

Thanks to scarab_dynasty for her brilliant betaing.

Fandom: Burn Up Excess (anime)
Rating: Light R (the odd naughty word, violence)
A/N: Set post-Excess; crosses over with the main events in W. The minor references to Morocco are taken from canon. Dubbed canon and some Anglicisms (particularly the Western name order used in the dub) are used. Please alert me to any glaring errors I may have made about Japanese names and culture. Concrit and feedback are much appreciated.
Extended A/N plus quick-and-dirty fandom guide (note: may contain spoilers)
Prompt: 34. Courage is the price that life exacts for granting peace. The soul that knows it not, knows no release from little things; knows not the livid loneliness of fear.--Amelia Earhart.
Summary: Welcome to Neo Tokyo, where women kick arse and men want to be women. Team Warrior faces the consequences of past corruption and an unsolved crime.


--

Prologue: A Past Revealed

The golden field of flowers stretches as far as a child’s eye can see beneath a bright blue sky; in the centre of it sit two children looking as shamelessly endearing as a cheap Hallmark card.

“Now hold still.” The flower is carefully threaded through the girl’s fingers, its golden colour highlighted on pink hair.

“But I don’t want to be a fairy princess!”

“Don’t be silly, Pan.” She finishes carefully weaving it through his hair and nods approvingly at her work. “Now you look nice.”

“I don’t like yellow!” The boy shakes his head as though hoping the blooms will fall out of their own accord. “You be the fairy princess next time.”

“But it’s no fun if I can’t see how cute you look.” Her lower lip wobbles slightly. “And you have pink hair, and I already am a fairy.” The flimsy pair of fabric wings affixed to her back flutter as she moves, the silver glitter on them catching the sunlight. She reaches down to pick up a pink bunny from the ground; it might once have been a pretty toy, but its stomach has been ripped open to reveal haphazardly-laid-out circuits and a speaker. “Bunny thinks you look cute, don’t you, my little bunny?”

“Yes. Bunny…thinks…you…look…cute,” the mechanical voice repeats as the girl manipulates its innards; the boy’s eyes widen in fear as he edges away from it.

--

Scene One: The Visitor. In the Reception Area of Police Town.

“I’m looking for Nanvel Candlestick, please,” Pan Midgard said to the blonde woman seated at a desk.

“Ba-da-dum, bada-ding...” Music emanated from the headphones in her ears, under the noise of what one could only assume she thought of as singing.

“Excuse me. I’m looking for Nanvel Candlestick.”

“Dee-dee dah, here on the range…”

“Excuse me!” He placed his hands firmly down on the desk. “I’m a…” He paused, struggling to define himself; he was neither victim nor criminal. “…client here, and I need your attention!”

“Mmm-hmm, I’m the sexiest girl…”

“I need Nanvel Candlestick’s office!”

“La-la-la-la, bi-do, yowl!”

“I’m from InfoTech Corporation,” he said, a flush of anger starting to reach his face. “Take those things off your head and listen to me!” Infuriated, he reached out and forcibly removed the headphones from her ears. “I didn’t come here to get messed around by a secretary!”

“I’m not a secretary.” She jumped to her feet in a single smooth movement, her eyes glittering. “And I want my headphones back.”

They were gone from his hand as she ripped them away before he could respond; he stared in shock at her, as though she were a shark, or a tiger.

“I’m Officer Rio Kinezono,” she said, stalking towards him as he took several nervous paces backwards. Her right fist was clenched in barely-restrained rage. “Who did you say you wanted again? The arresting officer?”

“No! I…” Her fist came towards him; he fell to one side as it brushed the top of his head, falling to his knees. “I only…”

“What? Wanted to do an investigative report on police brutality?” She was going to hit him again; oh shit what have I done now…

“Rio!” a second female voice yelled. “Stop!”

“Did you see what he did?” She pulled him up from the ground, taking his neck in a stranglehold as black spots began to form in front of his eyes.

“Rio!” The second voice sounded too distant through the pain. “Put him down. Now.”

In response to the firm tones, the iron hand around his neck relaxed its grip, and he fell back clutching his throat. “I…I…”

“I’m Miyuki,” the second woman said. “Officer Miyuki. What were you trying to do?”

“Nothing worse than she did to me!”

He caught Rio’s twitch towards him, restrained by the other woman’s hand on her arm.

“I mean. I’m looking for Miss Nanvel Candlestick. If you tell her I’m Pan Midgard she’ll want to see me.”

“Nanvel doesn’t see all that many people. Especially during work hours,” Miyuki said. “What do you want?”

“I have some…information for her. And this was the only way I could find her.” He swallowed, struggling to speak his next words. “I’m truly sorry for the…incident.”

Miyuki frowned. “I’ll pass on the message. On second thoughts, Rio will, and she’ll calm down while she’s doing it. I’ll stay here.”

“Hey!”

“Rio. Calm down.”

“Yeah, yeah. If my headphones are broken he’s paying for them.” She replaced the items in her ears, starting to sing again as she made her way out of the door.

“Wait there.” Miyuki pointed to a chair. “And give me your details; I need to feed them into the computer.”

She obviously wasn’t going to give him a choice in the matter; continuing to massage his sore throat, Pan complied.

--

“Nanvel, you can’t,” Rio said. “The guy’s a total creep!”

“He used to be my only friend.” Her face was alight with a kind of maternal glow only usually seen when she gazed at her newest mechanical creations. “Of course I’m going to see him.”

Rio sighed irritably; bar overpowering and stunning her, it was nearly impossible to stop Nanvel once she had made her mind up on something. “While you’re on the job?”

Nanvel smiled, and tugged lightly at Rio’s headphones. “Are you doing anything with these?”

“It’s Anna’s first single since her marriage. And divorce. Which he tried to rip away from me.”

“The…divorce?” Nanvel asked bemusedly.

“No, my headphones!”

“Rio.” Her friend gave her an indulgent smile. “You’ve already beaten him up once.”

“Wait until he gives me another excuse,” she muttered.

--

“Pan!” She flung her arms around him in a tight hug. “It’s been years. How are you?”

“She’s so going to suffocate him,” Rio muttered.

Nanvel finally released him, and stepped back to look at his red face.

“I…” He coughed. “I’m fine.”

“Good.” She smiled beatifically at him. “First you can apologise to Rio, and then we can talk about everything we’ve done since your parents moved house. Won’t that be nice?”

Pan cast Rio a nervous glance. “I, uh…”

“Rio’s one of my best friends. Don’t worry. She doesn’t bite. She prefers to kick.” Pulling on Pan’s arm, she dragged him over to Rio. “Both of you? Say it.”

Pan was the first to speak. “I am truly sorry for any inconvenience I may have caused you, Miss Rio.”

To his shock, Rio grinned. “Hey. Good enough for me. Sorry about your neck.”

“No problem. I’ll send you my surgery bill.”

“Then that’s settled.” Nanvel stepped between them. “Pan, do you want to come down and see my new baby?”

“…Baby?”

“Nanvel.” Miyuki walked over to join them. “He’s a civilian…”

“He’s an old friend. I think it’s about time for my lunch break, don’t you?”

“I’ll get Yuji to update the personnel files,” Miyuki said resignedly. “Just don’t break him; you know how much the cleaners charge for bloodstains.”

Pan swallowed; somehow this was turning out far more difficult than he had expected.

“He’s very much in the design stage,” Nanvel explained as she pulled him along by his elbow. “But he’s still a cutie.”

The lunatic known as Rio was following alongside them, Pan noticed miserably. “Who?”

“My baby. Weren’t you listening?”

“Her latest machine. Some kind of giant killer robot, I guess,” Rio explained.

“…Oh. I thought you worked in the control centre of Police Town?”

“I do.” Nanvel took a left turn, leading the way down a steep flight of steps. “Below it, anyway. Lilica takes care of the control centre itself.”

“One of your friends?”

Nanvel took a small device from her pocket and pressed a button on it, causing a large door to slowly slide open. “Yes. If you like I’ll even introduce you.”

“That would be wonderful. I work in the same sort of area these days.”

It looked like nobody had bothered to clean the dusty room for decades; gadgets and design sketches littered the floor, across which Rio and Nanvel confidently stepped while Pan tried to keep out of the way of the more intimidating-looking pieces.

Nanvel tapped a few keys on an ancient-looking computer. “InfoTech?” she asked, looking over the results of Miyuki’s interview. “I heard they weren’t doing so well since the Neo Tokyo Tower incident. Not that it was exactly a fault how they programmed the systems…”

“No, we’re doing fine. We’re, um, diversifying and finding new ways of doing business in the modern millennium…” He stopped as a loud whirring noise came from somewhere behind them. “What is that?”

“My big baby Beano,” Nanvel said fondly as the sound increased in volume.

“What is…he?” Pan stared around anxiously, and whimpered in shock as he saw the huge robot advancing towards them, steam emanating from its vast stomach.

“Coffee maker,” Nanvel explained. “Also adaptable for use as a battle robot, but he tends to confuse the waiter function with the attack function.”

“Black. Or. White?” the robot asked in stentorian tones, rolling itself towards Pan and surrounding him in a cloud of steam.

“Black,” Rio said cheerfully as Pan collapsed in a dead faint.

--

Scene Two: Reunion II. Inside a Bar of Ill Repute.

Mama took a long sip of the pink beverage before her. Life was good, for the time being; escaped from prison in the confusion and personnel rearrangements following the Neo Tokyo Tower disaster, with just enough undiscovered stash to get the Akemi bar up and running in one of Neo Tokyo’s seediest districts, events had turned out far better than she had hoped when they’d all received a second prison sentence.

“Another drink, Mama-san?” her newest member of staff inquired, bobbing enthusiastically on high heels and holding a precariously swinging tray. Zitara was another refugee from the Neo Tokyo disaster; a victim of the new administration’s attempts to end police corruption, she had been forced to make a living elsewhere.

“I’ll take a Fairy Freeze,” Mama said, keeping a close eye on Zitara’s technique as she mixed it. “Hold the vodka.”

Zitara watched anxiously as her boss took a sip. “Is it satisfactory, Mama-san?”

“Yeah, it’ll do. Needs a bit more flavour, though.” Zitara’s stuffed cleavage was already off-centre, Mama noticed; she’d have to alert her to it. She reached out an arm to discreetly grab her wrist, but was distracted halfway by the door slamming open.

Chi-Mama was there, of course, her bulk blocking the way for the four silhouettes who had appeared.

“Trust me. You people don’t want any trouble here,” she said, slamming a hefty fist into her left hand. “No offence, but you don’t look like our type.”

“That’s funny,” the central figure, feminine in outline with a briefcase in her hand, said. “We don’t want any trouble either. I’m just here to talk.” She gestured to the three larger figures surrounding her. “My people can ensure that happens.”

Mama had frozen in place at the first sound of her voice.

“Do you know who they are, Mama-san?” Zitara’s babbling whisper pierced her shock, and she stood up.

“Let her in, Chi-Mama,” she said, hoping she didn’t sound as uncertain as she felt. “Her bodyguards can stay outside.”

“Very well.” The woman nodded. “Clotho, Lachesis, Atropos? Out.”

“I see you still haven’t lost your taste for ancient mythology,” Mama noted.

“As you haven’t lost yours for frivolities.” The woman smiled. “How are you, Brock? It’s been a long time.”

“They call me Mama these days.” She gestured to the seat opposite her. “Why don’t you sit down, Serenity? I’m sure we don’t need a private discussion.”

“They call me the Chief these days.” Ignoring the eyes on her, she walked to the indicated stool and perched on the edge of it. “I feel it has a better ring to it. Dear Mother had such tacky taste in names.”

“Serenity Starbrez Hayashi,” Mama noted. “I never thought it was tacky at all.”

“Yes. You’d have given anything to be me, wouldn’t you, little brother? But we didn’t come to hash over old memories. I came to make you a deal.”

“What sort of deal?”

The Chief placed her briefcase on the table between them. “This is the greatest invention of the century for people…on our side of the law, shall I say.”

Mama nodded, resisting the temptation to have her sister immediately open the case. “I see. And why now?”

“For the sake of our not-so-dearly departed parents. Father would have preferred me as his son and heir; Mother always favoured you. And in the end, I achieved more than he ever dreamed while you mouldered away with your freakish friends…”

Mama saw the twitches around her resulting from Serenity’s last words, and raised a hand to indicate restraint for the time being.

“I took care of Mother until the end while you were gun-running in Colombia,” she said. “Your frequent absences disappointed Father, I think.”

“After Mother left him over you. I refused to be his unpaid secretary in a stationery business going nowhere.”

“And look where you are now. Begging your younger sister for help in a transgender bar.” Mama laughed, and first Zitara and then the rest of the bar joined in.

“I am not begging.” The Chief’s tone silenced the laughter. “Your duty will be to sell samples.” She tapped the briefcase once, and picked it up, standing. “The price is fixed at eighty thousand yen. The value is…more than worth it. Your cut is ten percent. My people will arrange for you to be granted merchandise.”

“Or maybe we can just send your merchandise, whatever it is, off to the police!” Doris interrupted, red-cheeked and drunk.

The Chief smiled. “I know your record. Brock Hayashi and gang, two convictions for robbery, escaped following the Neo Tokyo Tower disaster. You are currently off the prison records due to a mysterious computer—error. However, prisons keep paper documentation they examine when necessary; do you want them to hunt down the necessary papers?” She smiled, and once again the bar’s attention was quietly fixed on her. “I thought not. Is that all?”

“I always was a better woman than you, Serenity.” Mama, still seated, allowed her lips to curve into a smile. “None of us will tip off the police.” She could not guarantee the actions of the patrons the same way she could her gang, but it was a safe enough bet that those presently here would support her. “But we will not participate in your scheme.”

“Then I cannot guarantee your safety,” the Chief said. “I’ve done a lot to get this chance. I only thought I might spare my brother from it. After all…” She leaned down to Mama’s face to whisper to her. “You did spare me the responsibility of caring for the old bat.”

Three things happened in quick succession.

Firstly, Mama rose to her feet and slapped her sister across the face.

Secondly, Zitara let out a squeal as the Chief’s briefcase fell on her foot.

Thirdly, Clotho, Lachesis and Atropos burst into the bar, in no particular order.

“Stop!” Chi-Mama yelled.

There were various crashing noises as patrons either tried to escape under the tables or join in the brawl.

The Chief, a thin line of blood leaking from her mouth, turned back to her sibling, wiping her hand across her face.

“Don’t say that about Mother!” Mama shouted, forming her hand into a fist as she strode towards the Chief.

“Old bat,” Serenity repeated, taking a fighting stance. “You still want to prove who makes the better woman?”

Zitara, diving under the bar for safety, saw the siblings launch at each other, using every dirty trick in the book to engage in a catfight more vicious than any she’d seen before. Chi-Mama was busy with the three bodyguards, with the aid of one or two patrons holding them off from reaching their employer while Doris performed an impromptu cheerleading dance.

Mama grabbed the Chief’s plait, her long fingernails tangling in it, pulling the other woman’s head to the side. The Chief responded by scrabbling to grasp whatever of Mama she could, namely, her blouse, ripping the yellow fabric as she struggled to break the hold. The Chief’s hair finally sprang free, the hairtie pulled from it as the strands of her plait unwound, tangling around her face. She sprang forward, raking her fingernails across Mama’s cheek.

“Ah. Cute little bodyguards.” Chi-Mama gripped one of the three between her heavy hands (probably Clotho; she looked like the youngest); Zitara wasn’t sure that the woman counted as little by any normal standards, but next to Chi-Mama most people appeared undersized. “I’m almost reminded of Stephanie.” She added a quick grope before throwing the bodyguard across the room, and whirled to face the other two.

Mama, her blouse ripped open and leaking padding, struck back at her sister, lashing out with a high heel to send the woman skidding backwards and tripping over her own briefcase.

Zitara pressed herself further into her spot as the case skidded towards her, hitting the bar hard and one of its fastenings crashing open.

She cautiously reached out a hand to draw it closer to her. Mama had acted like she might have known what was in there, but stealing it might just be helpful… Working quickly, she forced the remaining combination locks open with the aid of a corkscrew knocked to the floor, and finally opened it a crack.

She couldn’t believe what she was seeing.

A gunshot rang out, and shocked by the noise Zitara slammed down the lid of the case again, cowering further under her shelter.

“We are leaving. Now.” The Chief’s hard voice belied the state of her torn clothing and her slightly-shaking hand holding the gun which had just torn a hole in the wall, but pointed at Mama it was a more than sufficient threat. “You’ll see what happens to my enemies soon.”

Lachesis and Atropos, impossibly poised as though flying through the air, froze in their uncomfortable positions as their employer backed towards them.

“Clotho. Get up,” the Chief commanded; the third bodyguard pushed her way out of the press of patrons and took up the briefcase without protest from Zitara. The three bodyguards took up a second elaborate pose around their employer, dignified and isolated against the diverse background of the bar’s patrons.

“Goodbye, Serenity,” Mama said. “Don’t let the door hit you in the arse on the way out, all that.”

Doris sighed loudly as the four of them finally disappeared. “I know them!” she exclaimed. “Word on the streets is they’re the number one gang.”

“Of course we’ve all heard of them,” Mama snapped, tucking her padding back into her cleavage.

“I haven’t,” Gloria contributed.

“Isn’t that just special,” Chi-Mama growled. “What do we do about her, chief?”

“Nothing yet,” Mama said, her glance taking in the entire population of her bar. “We keep this quiet. And when Serenity makes her move we’ll be ready.”

“I…I know something about her.” Zitara stood up, anxiously threading her hair back into position. “That briefcase. Did you know what was in it?”

“Do you?” Mama asked.

“Yes. But…” Zitara looked around at the crowd. “I don’t know if…”

“Cherry, Diane? Take over,” Mama commanded. “And serve a round for everyone on the house!”

“Now tell me,” Mama said to Zitara in a low voice as the rest of the bar settled back down to their drinking. “What do you know about my sister’s criminal career?”

Scene Three: The Show. Neo Tokyo Square, Under the Bright Spring Sun.

Maya Jingu’s breathing grew heavier as she contemplated the hard length of it.

“Er, it’s one of the most advanced designs,” the store attendant commented. “One hundred and eighty a minute. Usually marketed to men…”

“I can take it. Let me have a go.” A small bead of saliva appeared at the corner of her mouth.

“Uh, okay…”

--

Meanwhile, in Police Town…

Steam rose in the air.

Maroon to pink, pink to blue, three little yellow ones all in a row…

Nanvel kept a fixed smile on her face as she applied her soldering iron to the circuit board, and an ear equally fixed on the conversation. It wasn’t, of course, that she couldn’t understand what was said—she was perfectly able to comprehend at least ninety percent of it—it was that she simply didn’t wish to participate. She could very well be gracious over her best friend (two of her best friends, she reminded herself) jabbering enthusiastically about the encryption protocols and (discreetly, of course) the recently-expanded capabilities of the Police Town computer network.

Of course it was nice they seemed to get along. From a distance they might even have passed for siblings, sitting with their heads together in front of the screen and every few seconds shoving the other aside to type in a fragment of coding. Of course they weren’t; she’d met Lilica’s parents once, at an awards ceremony for excellence in invention. It was just that…just that they seemed to have more to say to each other than to her (not surprising, she supposed; they were experts in the same area).

“So you use the new Hoare-Cartesian search protocols?”

“Just when we need it.” Lilica shrugged, but the casual gesture couldn’t hide the smirk at the corner of her mouth. “It comes in handy when the usual algorithms can’t find anything useful.”

“Wow, I’m impressed,” Pan said. “I guess you have a great implementation.”

“It’s still not a very tidy protocol,” Lilica said thoughtfully. “Knobby and knarly.”

“I know the Gates-Jobs implementation ran into all sorts of problems.” Pan laughed. “Looks like you’re better than that.”

“Mmm.” Lilica brought the screen back to the main Police Town area. “What do you think about—”

A sudden beep sounded from a speaker, repeating itself urgently.

“Hang on.” Lilica reached for her headset. “Lilica speaking; how are you?”

“Officer Ami Miyahara speaking. Someone transferred me to you; there’s an emergency!”

--

The annual Krupp-Kajitsu gun show in Neo Tokyo Square was a forest of brilliantly coloured tents interspersed with open-air stalls. Several police were stationed around the area, carefully monitoring safety, but the noises from the gun aficionados seemed largely cheerful.

“Officer Jingu just entered the Hoshito Rifle stall,” a female officer commented to her male colleague. “Should we warn them?”

Her partner laughed. “You’re still trying to win your bet with Misato, aren’t you?”

She shrugged. “I do, after all, stand to win three thousand yen if she gets banned from this one as well.”

“Wait.” Her colleague held up a hand, tilting his head towards the north-western corner of the square. “Hear anything funny?”

A length of coloured material flapped up in the air, and the sounds of spectators and target practice seemed to have grown suddenly louder.

She grabbed his arm to pull him along with her in her determined stride. “Let’s see.”

--

“Er…miss? Did you hear that?” the salesman asked his one customer; the explosion had seemed a little louder than the usual sputterings of target practice and general enthusiasm.

She looked up from her eager examination of the rifle. “Hear what?”

The normal sounds of the crowd seemed to be growing louder, and then someone screamed.

The woman finally looked at him, smiling. “Can I borrow this?” she asked, stroking her hands over the barrel in a particularly unnerving way.

“Ah—no. No!”

“Okay.” She reached inside her shoulder pad and pulled out a small pistol.

He quickly raised his hands in the air, backing away towards a shelf of rifles. “Take what you want. Please don’t shoot me!”

She stared at him. “Have you done anything?”

“Nothing!”

“Are you sure?” she asked, looking slightly disappointed.

“Yes!” he cried.

A beeping noise sounded from a card tucked into her belt; lowering the pistol, she brought the flashing rectangle to her ear.

“Maya! Lilica here. You need to be at the Fuji-Hotama intersection of the square, stat!” the salesman heard a female voice cry from the card.

“Do I get to shoot?”

“Yes. Neutralise the terrorist and protect the innocent.”

“Score!”

Another gun seemed to magically appear from her clothing, and she ran out.

The salesman reached a hand to his forehead, discovered it was coated with sweat, and then began packing up his stock as quickly as possible as more screams began to echo through the air.

--

Scene Four: Chimera Attack. Inside a Dark Building of Obscure Location.

“Set screens to full view.” The Chief stood in front of the two large viewscreens, watching them blink into life. “Clotho. Give me the status update on Goat Body.”

“Successfully infiltrated the Krupp-Kajitsu gun show and has commenced attack.” The bodyguard’s voice rang out from a speaker on the right. “Do you want sound as well as visual feedback?”

“No. Get sound feed on Lion Head,” the Chief commanded. “Status of Police Town input, Lachesis?”

“We were unable to gain access to the central aspects of the Police Town camera system, but we retain limited visual feedback. Locating Lion Head as we speak,” she said.

The left-hand screen displayed what appeared to be an ordinary day in Police Town, showing vehicles entering the main area as the police on duty carefully checked the drivers’ identities. Two officers in a large van drove to the checkpoint, and one of the gatekeepers walked towards them.

“Hey, Naoko, Hideki. You okay, Naoko? You look kind of pale, want an aspirin or something?”

“Our identification,” Naoko said flatly, shoving the cards at her. “We are going to the central holding bay.”

She drew back as if struck. “Naoko! You sure you’re okay? You sound kinda mad at me.”

“Let us pass,” Naoko repeated in the same flat tone.

“What’d I do to you?” She took the cards anyway, running them through the device she carried. “You’re looking at me like you can’t even see me—both of you, I can see that. What happened?”

Naoko paused. “I’m sorry. We had a hard patrol,” she said after an uncomfortably long pause, holding out her hand for the identification. “We can talk later. I promise.”

The duty officer handed the cards back to her, and the van drove on.

“Atropos, how did you manage to pick that pair?” the Chief said sharply.

“I apologise I could not foresee a relationship with the duty officer, Chief. The technicians were slow in getting the override across—but such will not be required in future.”

“Camera feedback expected to cut in three minutes. Attack scheduled to commence in ninety seconds,” Lachesis said.

“Very well. Progress,” the Chief said.

“Retaliation has commenced against Goat Body,” Clotho’s voice broke in. “Identified as Officer Jingu. Previously instrumental in the events culminating in the defeat of Cerberus.”

The right-hand screen showed the attack, their pawn’s progress across the Neo Tokyo Square.

“Instruct him to concentrate on her.”

--

Maya grinned as she fired off a few shots towards the grey-furred thing—he was probably human in origin, but something had happened to make him look like some sort of mythological hybrid; in any case it didn’t look like Maki would have to apologise for her this time—and ducked behind the brownstone wall of Hotama Street before he could retaliate.

Ami and a male officer she didn’t know were attempting to help citizens to safety while Maya turned her attention—and her fire—at the attacker.

She heard a scream, and looked to see who had been hurt.

Bricks flew around her; she grunted as she flung herself out of the way. A bomb? Damn, if she’d only brought her really big guns along it would’ve been great…

Another scream, and still more of the wall fell. The grey thing held something to his lips, she saw, and then a third shattering cry hit the wall.

Sonar weapon. Not bad, but pretty damn easy…

She ran out from the non-existent shelter provided by the wall, moving to dodge the terrorist’s weapon. The citizens appeared to have evacuated from the area, aside from a group of camera-wielding reporters in the distance; she wouldn’t have to hold back.

A scream impacted close to her, the sound scything through the air like a laser beam; she felt its wave on the back of her legs, and flung herself forward. Her left hand hit the ground hard as the gun jolted away from it, but she was aiming with her right. Five shots scattered around the creature as it moved inhumanly fast on hoofed feet. She rolled again as it launched its return fire.

It paused, taking in a deep breath, and she fired straight at it while she still could, bullets slamming into its chest.

Which gleamed through the blood, sharp metal innards and whirring machinery beating a dire tattoo.

And it quickly fired again. Not as strongly this time, Maya could tell. It only shoved her back against a building, gasping for breath with pain shooting through her chest. She wasn’t shattered like the bricks. Yet.

--

An Upper Floor, Police Town.

“I didn’t even buy it, Miyuki. I just don’t know what’s happening to me.”

“Fiscal responsibility?”

Rio punched her lightly on the shoulder. “As if. A couple of low-rent collectors threatened they’d break my legs the other day.”

“And you…?”

“I just handed them over to the police. It’s not right for thugs to threaten a poor little policewoman.” Rio smiled brightly. “I only broke one arm.”

“Still slipping?”

“Yeah, yeah. He was coming at me with a baseball bat with the other two behind me, I didn’t have time to think of a better idea.”

Miyuki laughed. “If I didn’t know you better I’d swear you were starting to sound mature. Are you going to be able to pay the debts?”

“I’ll get to it,” Rio said hastily. “You want to do lunch today?”

“My treat. I’m not Chisato, but you know you should try to keep ahead with your repayment schedule…” Miyuki raised a hand to her mouth. “I’m sorry. I can’t believe I forgot for a second, like she was still...”

“It’s all right.” Rio didn’t look at her. “I guess she—we’re not going to spend all our lives missing her, we couldn’t, I haven’t…”

Her friend cautiously put a hand around her shoulders. “Rio. It’s okay,” she said firmly. “The most we can do for her memory is live.”

“It’s not,” Rio said. “Not all I could have.” She shook her head. “Let’s go get some noodles, Miyuki. I’m starved.”

--

“Lion Head camera feed will cut out in the next ten seconds,” Lachesis said dispassionately. “Trajectory has been calculated for the main parking station.”

--

“Do you think Maya can handle it alone, Maki?” Lilica said into her headset.

“I’ve just sent Yuji out as backup,” Maki replied crisply.

“Did he take my Super Anti-Mutant Laser?” Nanvel asked, seated next to Lilica and watching the images of the fight flashing across the screen. Behind them, Pan sat in the corner with his back turned, ignoring them as best he could by inscribing something on his palmtop.

“He did. Lilica, what are your calculated odds?”

“She’s slightly faster, and smarter. Fifty-eight to forty-two in her favour. And he’s not even trying to take civilians down with him,” Lilica said thoughtfully. “Kind of…strange.”

“Yes. He won’t achieve anything—unless this was what he wanted all along.”

“And another thing. I’m getting all this off news footage. Someone’s cut out the security cameras.”

“Someone plans. Place all patrolling units on yellow alert.”

“Done.”

--

“Camera input out of range.”

--

Interlude: The Misdeeds Of Siblings.

“Are we ready, everyone?”

“I am.”

“Do we have to wear these uniforms? Mine pinches in places you don’t wanna know about.”

“That’s because you got yours from Doris’ fetish kit, moron.”

“There is nothing wrong with my fetish kit.”

“Yeah, if you’re built like a short pineapple.”

“And I had to do the paint job by myself. Nobody gives me any credit.”

“Shut up, Cherry.”

“You are such a complete cow, Vicky.”

“I liked the firemen uniforms better. Can we be firemen again?”

“The police know about that, dolt. You want to get caught again?”

“Please could you move a bit? I need to see the screen.”

“Do you know how crowded it is in here?”

“Shut up! Chi-Mama’s in. Zitara, are you ready?”

“Almost.”

“Can’t someone open a window for fresh air?”

“I said shut up, Diane.”

“Hey! You just put a ladder in my tights!”

“Is someone groping me?”

“Shut. Up.”

“Yeah, in your dreams.”

“I’m in. You have a half-hour window before the security reactivates.”

“Finally.”

“Chi-Mama. Commence.”

--

“Aaaargh! My poor old heart!”

--

Scene Five: Chimera Attack, Continued. Parking Bay 001, Police Town.

The van ground to a halt. The passengers in its front didn’t look at each other as blood started to drip from their eyes and mouths, and collapsed soundlessly as the van split open behind them.

--

A Corridor, Floor Six, Police Town.

Her Warrior card beeped.

“Oh, the sweet, sweet sound of soon-to-materialise disposable income.”

“Attention, all officers. Attention, all officers,” the speaker on the wall blared. “Riot Squad report to headquarters. All other officers to designated safety areas. I repeat, all other officers to designated safety areas.”

“I guess we’ll have to have lunch another time,” Miyuki said. “Good luck, Rio.”

“It’s no big deal,” Rio replied. She grinned, starting to race down the hallway. “Put it on me next time!” she called as her friend disappeared behind a descending security wall.

--

Meanwhile, Neo Tokyo Square…

Maya flung herself into the building as another scream rattled the air. She hit the floor hard, scraping the ground with hands and knees and moving away from the door.

The wall behind her shook, curving inwards as another shock rippled through the air; she forced herself to stand, running towards the metal lift.

She could hear rumbling, like an earthquake, and see cracks starting to appear in the walls. It struck her to wonder how Maki’d manage to get out of this budgetary responsibility before she dashed to the elevator, searching for shelter inside its metal walls. The scream still echoed (and she hoped the civilians had evacuated this place, too; she wouldn’t be able to do much to protect them here), and she slammed her fist into the control panel. The doors closed around her, and as it ascended she could hear more ominous noises of collapse.

Now, if she only had enough time…

She raised her gun to the elevator’s ceiling.

--

Return to: Police Town. Inside the Chief’s Office.

The lift spilled its two passengers onto her carpet.

“We’re ready to go,” Lilica said, raising her right hand in a salute. “Lockdown proceeding right on target.”

“Good.” Maki called up a camera image on her screen. “Rio’s on her way. The Riot Squad is ready to back her up. Lilica, monitor the situation.”

“Why did you want us here, Maki?” Nanvel asked, seating herself next to Lilica.

“It’s slightly more secure, and the old Police Chief left a few override codes you’ll find useful.”

“But Lilica’s office will be fine, right?”

“Yes. It’s in lockdown like the rest of the building. Now.” She turned to Lilica, not seeing Nanvel’s relieved sigh. “Where is Rio?”

“Headed towards Corridor Five-B. Right on target for bogey. And we have five members of the Riot Squad ready to back her up.”

Maki smiled grimly. “It’s showtime.”

--

The gunfire ahead was what first alerted Rio to the invader. She had her truncheon in hand; she ducked behind a barricade, watching for her first glimpse of them.

And then she heard a scream cut short, and a short burst of gunfire, and ran towards that.

She didn’t see the claw marks in the ceiling at first, or the Riot Squad members lying bleeding on the ground, or the dislodged ventilation covering and light fitting. What she saw was the hulking figure, naked bar for a loincloth, releasing a roar that raised hairs on her body in an involuntary cue from the hindbrain, and gleaming claws that flashed through the air.

“Hey, you? You’re under arrest!”

She leaped at him. The claws shot through the air and she frantically twisted to avoid being skewered. Half of her truncheon fell to the ground, as neatly severed as a piece of cake.

Or flesh.

Get him away from the wounded. Or dead, as she didn’t want to think.

“So we’re playing hardball, buddy? I can deal with that.”

Rio landed neatly on her feet, and tilted her head back towards the corridor. “Coming?”

She kicked at the half of her truncheon lying on the ground, and grabbed it from the air, gesturing with both sharpened halves.

“Showtime.”

It’s happened again. I will not allow this.

He dived at her, and she ducked behind the barricade as he hacked through it, whispering “Medics to the corridor” into her card.

--

Neo Tokyo Square. Inside a Shattering Elevator.

Maya pulled herself from the hole she had shot in the elevator’s ceiling, and held her gun in her teeth as she pulled herself up the last of the shaft as the walls cracked around her.

Easy. Damn easy.

The metal scraped her hands painfully, and the gun was harsh in her mouth, but she flung herself from the shaft through to the garden area on the roof.

Soil shifted around her as she flung herself towards the edge.

One bullet left. She’d make it count.

She aimed, and fired, just as another scream pierced through the air and the bricks slid apart under her feet.

The scream cut off. The creature raised a hand to its mouth, bemused at the cracked and ruined thing hanging limply from it.

Stopped him in one shot. Too easy. Too late.

She fell.

--

Return to Police Town, Redux.

He was bigger than she was and still, as she wasn‘t going to admit she worried, slightly faster.

Rio struck with the sharpened edge of the broken truncheon across his chest, and smelled rotting breath as she came close to his mouth. His teeth were sharpened and discoloured, and his eyes were a burning yellow as he snarled at her. She jumped back, hitting the ground before getting up again, taunting him to follow her as she ran.

His mane of off-yellow hair flew around him as he attacked, and he let out another roar.

“Here.”

Rio dived down as he drove his claws into the wall, and reached inside her pocket.

“How about a breath mint, ugly?”

The small things thrown at him seemed to distract him for a moment, and she deepened the cut, driving the sharp edge of the metal across his breast. More blood, oddly silvery in colour, oozed from it, and he gave an aggrieved yell as he returned to the chase.

His claws scored across her shoulder as she leaped back, red staining her shirt and a sudden shock of pain rushing through her.

He’s worse, anyway, she thought as she backed away, dodging rather than attacking, not trusting herself to succeed in a full-on attack.

And then the red seemed to flow away, replaced by silver crossing over the wound.

..Shit.

--

Neo Tokyo Square. Clinging Fiercely, Suspended in Air.

Maya held the bottom of the ladder firmly in both hands as she swung off Yuji’s helicopter.

“I brought you a new gun, too!” he yelled. “You want it?”

“Pass it down—and let me down too!” she called back. “I’m gonna finish the job.”

The rope with its cargo dangled before her; she snatched the gun, supporting herself with one hand as Yuji took her to the ground.

“It’s over.” She pointed the weapon at the attacker, who smashed one hooflike fist into a wall. “Come quietly or come dead.”

It—he, from the voice?—yelled something incoherent, and raced towards her.

Maya knocked him over the head with the gun’s barrel, and bent to pick up her second gun.

“Interesting use of the Super Anti-Mutant Laser,” Yuji called.

“Damnit!” Maya’s hands eagerly explored the gun. “I wanted to shoot him, he didn’t give me the chance!”

“Maya?” Yuji tilted the helicopter to point at the mutant’s body. “I don’t think that’s…necessary any more…”

He convulsed, and the holes she had torn in his flesh with the bullet expanded, the silvered machinery placed inside him working to destroy.

--

Police Town. Again, in Battle.

His claws scored holes through a metal wall as Rio ducked again.

Even lockdown wouldn’t stop him, she thought wildly as the claws smashed open a window.

“Rio! You need to get him away from this area! There are officers behind the double doors to your left!” she heard Lilica say.

“Working on it!” she yelled back as the claws sheared over the top of her head. “Just…working on it!”

She twisted to put her back to the doors, and landed a kick at him, straight on the groin.

He didn’t even seem to notice. A massive hand grasped her ankle with a grip like a bear trap, and threw her against the wall. She struggled to get up as he advanced towards her, throwing herself back down as he launched another fierce attack.

“Still can’t catch me!” Rio taunted, but it was worse than useless, because the claws ripped into her other shoulder and smashed open a window as she tried to dodge.

Strategy… she tried to think, but there was nothing coming to the forefront of her mind to help her defeat something like this.

Jackalhead had her helpless once, she remembered. And here she was again with an enemy she couldn’t seem to fight.

With another roar, the invader finished smashing the window glass; Rio felt shards falling on her as she struggled to keep pace with him.

She’d won then, she reminded herself.

She raised the truncheon halves, feinted with one towards his shoulder, and then slashed the second across his neck.

No sound came out as he opened his mouth, but she could see machinery working inside him again, working to bind the gap together.

He reached for her suddenly, too fast for her to dodge this time, and threw her out of the fifth-floor window.

--

Inside the Chief’s Office, in a State of Confusion.

“Rio!” Lilica gasped. “Maki, she’s gone out of the window!”

Maki paled.

“The readings show she’s fallen to the ground,” Lilica continued. “The comm’s destroyed!”

“Rio,” was all Maki muttered. She leaned over Lilica, typing her own calculations. “I can’t get the camera link. Get a medical team down there immediately.”

“Done,” Lilica said shakily. “Maki, five floors…”

“Do you think I don’t know that?” Maki said sharply. “Get the Riot Squad ready. Warn the officers.”

“Maki, it’s breaking in!” Nanvel said from her table. “Oh, no…”

--

Rio pulled herself up to the window ledge, inch by inch. She had heard her communicator shatter on the grass below, but she had fallen only a storey, grasping the fourth floor windowledge with her fingernails and levering herself up.

She took off her vest, wrapped her hand in it, and smashed the window open, racing to rejoin the fight.

She’d defeat him. She had to.

--

“Bullets don’t hurt him enough,” Maki muttered. “Rio. What can we do?”

--

She ran, taking the steps three and four at a time, to the fifth floor where she’d left him, racing through his trail of devastation.

There was a safe room. In lockdown. Its metal walls split open. She could still hear groans, and saw the people it had contained.

The officers’ uniforms were red. The enemy seemed to have left.

And in the corner, Miyuki, blood leaking from her head and chest.

No. Not this.

Chisato’s glasses had fallen from her, she remembered. Miyuki’s still rested on her head, one lens blinded by her own blood.

“Rio,” she said faintly. “I thought you’d come.”

“Don’t talk!” Rio told her. “They’ll get a med squad here soon. I promise.”

“It’s okay, Rio.” She even managed to smile under the lines of blood. “You’re going to win this one.”

“No.” Rio put her arms around her friend, as though holding her would stop her slipping away. “I don’t care what happens, you can’t die…”

“You already…saved me,” Miyuki said. “Once before. It’s enough. Go save…save the others. And be care…” She seemed to choke on the words, and Rio leaned forward to listen to the whisper. “Careful, Rio…”

The body convulsed and lay still.

Rio shouted in wordless fury.

He would die.

--

“Maki, it’s Rio! She made it!”

“Good.” Relief crossed Maki’s face, and then was replaced by her usual stern command. “Set up as many walls as you can to delay bogey.”

--

She let out another cry as she leaped to him, driving the blow with all the rage she possessed. It was he who wasn’t quite fast enough as she struck the side of his head, on the pressure point with Miyuki’s truncheon; he roared at that, and leaped to where she wasn’t to try to fight back. Rio ducked against one of the walls, and let him rip his claws through that; she drove her legs up into his stomach, then flipped back to land on her feet.

“Attack me again!” she yelled at him. “Try someone who can fight for a change!”

He dived for her, and she let him blunt his claws on another security door. They were weaving towards central storage, she knew, where machines rather than people were protected; she’d draw him somewhere where there was no way he’d harm anyone else and give Miyuki her murderer.

And then he spoke for the first time.

“Don’t tell me we managed to kill one of your little friends—again,” he said, the rotting meat smell roiling from his mouth with the words. “Aren’t you dogs unlucky?”

“I’ll kill you!” Rio screamed. She ripped a loose shard of metal from a wall he had torn, and drove it at him.

He batted her off easily with a claw.

“You may kill me. In fact, I think you will.”

“Then die already!” She came at him again, the truncheon in hand, and was thrown back through the ripped wall.

“You will kill me,” he repeated serenely. “But you will never kill us. For we are Legion.”

It was as though an alien presence disappeared from those fever-gold eyes, for he roared again as they lit up in savagery, and then Rio rolled across the floor as the claws slashed across where here leg had been.

She was thrown back against the next wall, which opened for her and then shut just as he caught up, and was ripped to shreds as he passed through.

She dived at him, scoring a quick hit to his neck, again; the machinery in him at least seemed to hesitate from that, and then he was on her.

--

“She’s nearing the Central Climate Unit!” Lilica said. “Maki, should we stop her?”

The camera feed showed the room filled with rapidly spinning fans and other complex machinery, generating energy that helped control the temperatures of Police Town.

Maki hesitated. “No,” she said finally. “Let them in.”

--

The door behind her slid open as she backed away, and Rio saw the chasm below her.

Huge metal fans suspended from various heights spun, their blades hidden in motion, and other complex pieces of machinery also helped crank out the power that kept Police Town functional.

The invader lashed at her, and she had no choice but to leap into the gap.

The wind buffeted her, and it felt like flying as the fan’s breeze carried her upwards. She felt the currents of air around her, and manoeuvred her body to take advantage of it, carried safely away.

“Coming?” she yelled to him. “Bet you can’t do this!”

She somersaulted in the air, and flung the metal shard she still clutched at him, as hard as she could.

He growled as it embedded itself in his stomach, and then leaped down.

The room shook. He landed, hard and easily, in a space between the whirring fans, and Rio lost control, whirling up towards the ceiling and towards the blades of a particularly fast-spinning fan.

--

“Oh no…” Lilica commented.

“Shut it down now!” Maki yelled.

“I don’t have to.”

On the screen, they saw Rio’s hands hit the centre of it, and she propelled herself downwards, her shirt sleeves billowing around her as she flew straight for the invader.

--

Her feet hit his head just before she flipped away from him. “I said die,” she yelled, and launched at herself at him again, throwing herself at his legs to upset his balance and push him into the spinning blades.

He lurched from there, blood visible at his sides, still standing; Rio readied herself for another rush.

Miyuki. This one’s for you.

“Legion,” he repeated. “We are legion, officer. You’ll never be free of us.”

And it was her turn to be almost flung into the fan’s blades; she threw herself underneath, feeling the fast-moving air cutting in to her.

A roar, and another dodge to avoid being spitted on those claws.

You are an officer of the law.

The words, prompted by the invader’s taunt, seemed to float into her mind.

“Die!” she yelled again, striking out with Miyuki’s truncheon at its head, and nearly sending him staggering into another fan.

You are an officer of the law. If you do not understand this, then you are not fit to avenge Chisato.

Maki’s words echoed in her mind, and she lost concentration long enough to let him rip into her right shoulder a second time.

“I am fit!” she cried, and leaped to clutch to another fan’s stem.

He leaped after her, and sliced it through. She fell backwards, against some other piece of machinery.

The claws shattered that as she dodged behind some other vital machine, a large one; it was torn apart rapidly as he roared again.

You are an officer of the law.

“I arrest you,” she yelled, “under suspicion of murder and terrorism! You have the right to remain silent, you have the right to a lawyer, you have the right not to resist arrest…”

He dived at her, and she ducked to one side.

A fan was in his way.

It ripped him apart from the front this time, tearing flesh to ribbons and sending red flying. Rio could hear the scrape of metal hitting metal as one machine destroyed another.

She stepped forward, and pulled him from the fan. He—whatever he was—seemed vaguely active, though it seemed much of him had been destroyed.

Rio took Miyuki’s communicator from her belt.

“Medics to Central Climate Room,” she said.

“…Legion,” the body said one more time, and then his eyes ran with blood. The machinery inside lurched to a halt, and then it all was still.

Rio watched it in case of any unpleasant surprises, and then sat down to rest against what remained of a size-five control unit.

“Rio. You did it.” Maki’s voice came from Miyuki’s communicator. “Believe me. You are more than fit.”

She flicked it off, and waited for the medics to arrive.

--

Part Two.