Chapter 3
---------


Iczer pulled the collar of her coat up against the wind, feeling a few 
errant drops of almost slushy rain patter against her. Her already low 
opinion of MegaTokyo wasn't being improved by the wintry weather it was 
currently enjoying. Frost or snow she could live with, but freezing rain 
and wind she'd always hated. Somehow, however, it seemed reasonable for 
this place. She sighed, and continued walking down the street, hoping 
absently for a coffee shop or something similar to give her an excuse to 
get out of the wind. She still hadn't any idea what to do about a job, and 
she didn't have funds to waste; after obtaining the cheapest apartment she 
could find, in the still-ruined area of MegaTokyo, she was nearly broke. 
She should be there now, at least it would be better that being out with 
the weather the way it was, but it wasn't a thrilling prospect. Anyway, 
she had a couple of job prospects to check out, both of them modelling 
jobs. She wasn't looking forward to it even if she did have no other 
options, she was pretty sure _what_ sort of modelling they entailed, and 
while neither she or Iczer-2 had any objections to posing nude, she was 
seriously worried about what the thoughts and emotions of the people 
watching her would do to her. It really didn't seem like the best of 
career moves for an empath who was still having trouble maintaining her 
shields, but it looked like either that or starve.

The alternative seemed to be finding some other 'means of support' in the 
'old' area of the city, the part never really fixed after the earthquake. 
The problem with that was that it was _not_ a nice area, and the sort of 
difficulties she'd run into on her own were the sort she'd much rather 
avoid. She couldn't go around beating up everyone who tried something on 
with her, eventually word would get around, and she didn't want to be 
noticed. Anyway, she had to sleep sometimes, and sooner or later someone 
would get her. No, that didn't seem practical. But what were the 
alternatives? She'd have to have a serious talk with Iczer-2 tonight, they 
needed to come up with some ideas. She'd never thought before her merge 
that having the body of a beautiful young girl would cause these sort of 
problems. She sighed again, her thoughts still circling randomly around 
her limited options, unable to make a decision on which seemed least 
unattractive. 

At least the weather was keeping the crowds down to a reasonable level. 
She'd never liked crowds even before her 'change', and the fact that she 
was now both an empath and not in her proper body made them even more of a 
strain. She wished she had more practice in keeping a mental shield up, 
but until she improved she was just going to have to suffer the splitting 
headaches she acquired after a while. She couldn't even take aspirin for 
them, she had no idea what they would do to her current body, and it 
wasn't worth the risk unless there was a real need. 

Her musings were suddenly shattered by the sound of a large explosion that 
sounded fairly near. Startled, she looked up, trying to locate the source, 
as the sound of police sirens started in the distance, rapidly growing 
nearer, wondering what on earth was happening? Her head turned as she 
tried to work it out, as a series of smaller explosions hurt her ears, 
followed by the chiming crash of breaking glass. The effect on the crowd 
around her was significant, though. The light traffic had cleared with 
miraculous speed, and the pedestrians were streaming away from the noise 
with a panicky desperation.

What could be causing all this, she wondered? Some sort of accident? But 
why are all the people running away like this, you'd think a few would try 
and look, some people always do...? The sirens got louder; it looked like 
whatever was happening was going to happen nearby. Curious, she started to 
walk slowly towards the nearest intersection, convinced that the 
disturbance was coming from around it.

Still trying to work it out, she reached the t-junction, looking up and 
down with interest. And froze. To her right was a bunch of police cars, 
blocking the street. ADPolice cars, behind which was a squad of heavily 
armed and armoured police. To her left was a scattering of civilians, 
running fast towards the cars, and behind them... big, mean and blue. A 
Boomer.
NOW she realised why everyone had been running _away_ from the noise. A 
Boomer rampage. Yet another fun-filled part of the joyous pageant of life 
in MegaTokyo. And she'd been stupid enough to walk right into it.  

************************************************************************

Even now, seeing the menacing advance of the Boomer, she stood frozen, 
watching as the remaining people ran towards her, passing her as they 
raced for the safety of the ADPolice barricade, a few sparing her scared, 
puzzled glances as she stood there, unable to fully convince herself this 
was real. 
She shook her head, as a growing sense of urgency from her partner woke 
her from her confused, almost shocked, state. Looking about, she started 
to turn to run back down the alley she had come from when the Boomer 
raised the huge gun it carried casually in one arm, stopping and bracing 
itself as it let loose a volley of rapid, heavy-calibre rounds at the 
surrounding buildings, shattering glass and cement and creating a deadly 
rain of fragments that sent her diving clear as a shower crashed to the 
ground behind where she had been standing.

She rolled, cursing as she nearly tripped on her hair, thankful that at 
least she'd tied it; loose, she'd have fallen flat on her face. Turning, 
she glared at the battle robot, which stood, small sensors protruding from 
its face and moving slowly, almost like the questing antennae of an insect
as it stared at the barricade with what she could have sworn was a 
calculating look. The police were standing prepared, and as she watched 
they fired, loud rattles of gunfire that made her wince and automatically 
try and cover her sensitive ears against the noise, as a hail of bullets 
pounded the Boomer, the impact making it stagger and fall back, dents 
appearing in its smooth metallic skin. Some heavier rounds actually seemed 
to penetrate its armour, as she saw smoke and fluids seep from a number of 
'wounds', but it didn't seem seriously damaged apart from one arm that 
hung limply.

She quickly looked around her. All the civilians but herself and a younger 
girl had managed to get safely behind the police during the distraction 
caused by the police fire. She wondered why the girl hadn't made it, then 
realised that by her movements it looked like she'd hurt her leg or ankle, 
she was cowering next to a pile of rubble left from the Boomers shots, 
obviously hoping she wouldn't be noticed. Iczer could relate to that 
feeling. 
Her own hope that either the Boomer would go away, or maybe get taken out 
by the police, faded into insignificance as it braced itself, then swept 
the barricade with a burst of heavy-calibre rounds, shattering the cars 
and sending armoured police staggering and falling back, crimson blood 
spraying from their shattered bodies and pooling in scarlet lakes on the 
dirty tarmac of the street. The Boomer opened its mouth in a gesture that, 
in a human, she would have said was a triumphant smirk, as the uninjured 
police dived for cover, trying to find new and safer positions from which 
to fire upon the rampaging machine. Slowly, to Iczer's growing horror, it 
turned to face her.

Iczer stared at the Boomer in front of her. Although battered by the 
previous assaults of the ADPolice, it was still a terrifyingly powerful 
combat machine. And she was in its way.
She tried to think, to move, but couldn't. She had already seen the 
horrible efficiency with which the Boomer treated armed and armoured 
police officers, and knew with a paralysing certainty that she was next, 
that this was real, not anime, and that this combat machine was going to 
kill her. She could see every dent and hole in its armour with merciless 
clarity, smelling the reek of lubricant and gunfire, her mind refusing to 
think past the instant in which she felt herself trapped in like a fly in 
amber.

The Boomer grinned at her. With a small part of her mind she knew it 
wasn't humour; the open mouth revealed the mechanism for the oral cannon 
it possessed. She tried to make herself dodge before it incinerated her, 
but it must have considered such an attack unnecessary, for instead of 
firing its undamaged arm snapped down into some of the scattered rubble, 
coming up with a short section of reinforcing bar from one of the damaged 
buildings. It hefted it, its arm swinging back into a throwing position. 

She watched, still unable to tear her eyes away, her heart pounding as 
inside her she felt a determination and anger grow. But not hers, this was 
coming from Iczer-2. In slow motion, the Boomers arm whipped forward, the 
broken steel rod launched straight at her chest - as she felt her body 
hurl her sideways, clear of its trajectory, Iczer-2 overriding her frozen 
muscles to throw them to safety. She grunted as she dived clear to one side, 
whipping upright from a roll to land in a crouch. She felt a satisfaction 
from her 'companion' as the shock finally broke her paralysis, a 
satisfaction which ceased abruptly as she heard a bubbling scream of agony 
from behind her.

She whirled round, not understanding, then understood all too well. 
Kneeling on the ground, hands pressed uselessly against a gash in her 
abdomen that spurted crimson, was the young girl. She looked up, eyes 
unseeing in a white face as she looked at the Boomer, her unspoken 
question of 'why?' beating against Iczer like a physical force, her pain a 
lash that sent jags of pain splintering through her empathic sense.

Oh God, she thought, that girl was behind me... when I dodged that rod 
went straight through _her_!!!

The shock left her feeling physically sick for a moment, then she felt 
Iczer-2 take more direct control of her, feeling a hard and brittle 
determination grow as she glared at the Boomer. The machine ignored her, 
turning again to the police as they started to fire at it again, not a 
solid broadside this time, but slower, steady fire that seemed designed to 
attract the Boomer away from the helpless civilians in its path. She 
crouched, running over to the injured girl, one eye on the Boomer as it 
ignored the bulk of the police weaponry, returning a burst of fire only 
when some minor damage was caused to it.

Shaking despite Iczer-2's control, she tried to help the girl up, but 
stopped immediately as another burst of pain sent a ragged flare of 
sympathetic fire through her empathic sense, and saw the gaping wound that 
was feeding the pool of blood under the girl. Looking back to check the 
Boomer was still uninterested in them, she ripped off her coat, pressing 
it against the wound in a futile attempt to staunch it as the cloth 
instantly turned crimson, trying to block off the transmitted pain enough 
to pick the girl up and carry her to cover.

Her ears caught the clatter of running boots. Whipping around, she 
realised as she turned that it couldn't be the Boomer; instead she saw 
that one of the police had broken from behind the barricade, and was 
running for them, looking like he intended to help them. With one part of 
her mind, Iczer grinned in ironic self-recrimination at the thought of him 
running out here to help _her_, as he skidded down beside them, his eyes 
meeting hers for an instant before looking down at the young girl bleeding 
her life away onto the concrete.

************************************************************************

Priss sat on her motorcycle as she watched the ADPolice try in vain to 
bring down the rogue Boomer. She winced as she heard one of the two girls 
trapped on the wrong side of the barricade scream as she was impaled on a 
metal rod hurled by the rampaging machine, but she knew that without her 
battlesuit there wasn't anything she could do to help.
She wasn't even sure why she'd stopped to watch, not willing to admit to 
the masochistic feelings that made her unable to tear herself away and 
ride to safety. It couldn't be the fact that Leon was directing the 
operation, of course, she knew she didn't have any feelings for him. 
Still, he and his men _were_ trying their best, it was just that their 
best wasn't very good... 
Again she cursed Largo; if it hadn't been for him, not only would Sylvie 
still be alive, but Priss would be fit and able to help right now. 
Growling under her breath, she moved her cycle back a bit, getting a 
better view but also able to move away fast if the Boomer broke through 
the police lines. She didn't have much faith in their ability to stop it, 
and there wasn't any point in getting herself caught by it when it broke 
through.

************************************************************************

The officer's attention was all on the injured girl, a small part of 
Iczer's mind admiring the way he could seemingly ignore the nearby Boomer,
as he tried to slide his arms under her to lift her.
Iczer winced in sympathy as the movement tore another cry of pain from the 
girl, fainter this time, as she helped him take the girl into his arms. 
With a grunt of effort, he stood up, carrying her, blood running down his 
combat dress as he turned. Iczer stood slowly from her crouch, then turned 
suddenly towards the Boomer as she realised the police fire had slackened 
off.
The Boomer was looking straight at them, not looking much more damaged 
than before. She looked at it, snarling,  as it took a few steps closer, 
its mouth opening again, slowly revealing the mouth cannon, almost as if 
wanting to let them appreciate that it was about to incinerate them.
With one hand, she yanked a long piece of reinforcing bar from the 
wreckage, as she motioned to the officer holding the girl to go. He looked 
at her for a second, as if unable to decide what to do, then she pushed 
him slightly, hissing "Go!" at him harshly, as she glided towards the 
Boomer, rod held in both hands like a staff. Behind her she heard the 
movement of feet, and she hoped he would get back safely. Meanwhile, she 
had a killer robot that was about to get a nasty surprise - her.

The Boomers mouth was now wide open, and again she felt time slow down 
around her, as she saw the faint tracery of energy flow across the 
mechanism as it prepared to fire. She grinned, and allowed Iczer-2 to take 
full control of their body. With an agility she knew she couldn't even 
approach yet, Iczer-2 leapt forward, the staff blurring even in her eyes 
as she smashed the end straight into the Boomers open mouth, dodging as an 
aborted blue beam of light snarled past her for a moment, uselessly 
impacting the pavement with an explosion of vaporised tarmac as the Boomer 
staggered back, half its jaw hanging off as the cannon disrupted in its 
mouth.

Iczer grinned savagely, sparing a momentary glance for the officer, who 
had nearly made the barricade line in a shambling run with the girl in his 
arms, then whipped her makeshift staff around and back, slamming it into 
the Boomers side and lifting it bodily off the ground as it was hurled 
sideways, landing heavily. She noted with detachment that although dented, 
it wasn't badly hurt. That wouldn't last.
Her intent to slice the Boomer into conveniently-sized fragments with her 
energy sword was, however, distracted by a loud throbbing whirr. Glancing 
up, she saw a one-man police helicopter hovering, a large multi-barelled 
gun tracking the Boomer in front of her. With a muffled 'Oh shit...' she 
dived backwards, as the chaingun opened fire, bracketing the staggered 
Boomer before targeting accurately, the rounds sending the robot staggering
back as they penetrated its armour, small explosions finalised by one huge
one, as the rampaging machine shattered with a deafening noise that sent 
splinters whining above her head.
She looked up, and almost cursed the pilot; that Boomer had been _hers_! 
then she sighed, as Iczer-2 slowly, almost reluctantly out of control of 
her body, realising that there were other things she'd been ignoring as
she heard the shouts of police, as she slowly turned and walked towards them.

Police gathered around, some going over to examine the wrecked Boomer, but 
she ignored them, brushing past them as she walked over to where the 
injured girl lay, a paramedic hovering helplessly next to her. She knelt 
down onto the ground, looking first at the still, pale face of the girl, 
then at the medic, hoping that somehow he would tell her the facts weren't 
what she knew them to be. He merely looked back at her, an expression of 
sadness and a small shake of his head confirming it; the girl was dead. 
 
She looked down, one hand touching the girls clothing as if to brush it 
back over the wound, then she jerked her hand back, standing jerkily, 
ignoring the noise and confusion which the attempts of the large policeman 
in charge hardly seemed to control, as she moved back, unable to tear her 
eyes away as she felt the guilt within her flood over her and take 
control. With a barely-muffled sob, she turned and ran blindly away from 
the scene, brushing aside the hands that tried to touch her or hold her 
back. She didn't see the tall girl on the powerful motorcycle, let along 
notice as she took her helmet off, holding it absently in her hands as she 
gazed after the running figure with a puzzled expression on her face.

**************************************************************************

Iczer stood looking out over the water, the freezing rain beating against 
her face, blurring the reflections of the lights on the river into a 
dripping daliesque kaleidoscope of light as she gripped the bridge 
railing.
She made no attempt to protect herself against the bitter cold, letting 
the wind whip the sleety rain against her, feeling the icy clamminess of 
her soaked clothes embracing her skin, hair a heavy sodden weight that 
pulled back against the muscles of her neck. 
She was glad of the cold, refusing to deny it by pushing it away with an 
energy field, letting its frozen honesty match her inner mood. If she 
hadn't been so obsessed with secrecy, protecting something that didn't 
mean anything, that girl would still be alive. Iczer-2's powers could have 
torn that Boomer apart with ease, and no-one would have got hurt, but 
instead...

She felt the anger and bitterness at herself burning inside her, letting 
it grow, wanting to feel it, treasuring it as it fed on itself, punishing 
her for what she had let happen. Deeper, she felt Iczer-2's presence, a 
mix of sadness and uncertainty, as if she wanted to hold her but was 
unsure if she should. She let the pain build, using it to form a barrier, 
not wanting sympathy yet, no matter how well-intentioned.

************************************************************************

Priss walked quickly through the rain, hands buried deep inside the 
pockets of her coat as she followed the girl. Something about her 
reactions had twitched her curiosity. Not that she had knelt to hold the 
dying victim; that was an all-too-often occurrence after a Boomer attack, 
someone holding a loved one who was no longer able to return the gesture. 
Nor was her running away afterwards, she had sympathy for someone who 
wanted to deny the savage, careless brutality with which a Boomer tore 
living people into bloody shreds. Sometimes she wished she was able to 
avoid the truth in the same way, but she had her responsibilities.
What intrigued her was the two occurring one after the other. Especially 
just when the ADPolice had been approaching the girl. That seemed to 
indicate a far more complex situation than simple fear or tragedy, and she 
wanted to find out more. It also gave her something to think about apart 
from all the recent deaths, but she wasn't ready to admit that yet, even 
to herself.

She shivered, pulling the collar of her coat up more closely, rivulets of 
cold water trickling down her neck. This wasn't a fit night for anyone to 
be out in, especially a young girl on her own who had left her coat at the 
Boomer incident. She was glad of her bike leathers, but wished she'd had 
time to get her bike; if nothing else, the warmth of its engine would have 
been welcome. So much for spring...
She speeded up a little, not wanting the girl to get too far ahead, but 
had to slow down again at a warning stab of pain from the stitches in her 
abdomen, reminding her that while the injury Anri had given her might have 
been fixed, it wasn't fully healed yet.

She stopped as she reached the start of a small bridge. Clearly visible in 
the pale glow of the streetlights was the girl she had been following, 
standing at the centre of the bridge, her hands clenched about the top of 
the protective railing. She was staring into space, her eyes blank as she 
looked out over the water, rain and slush dripping down her soaked 
clothing and hair.

Priss hesitated for a moment. She didn't think the girl was going to jump, 
her stance was all wrong; the way she was standing seemed to indicate an 
angry despair rather than suicide, but you never knew. And she didn't like 
the way she was disregarding the filthy weather, it did nothing to give 
her more confidence in the girls current mental stability. If she jumped 
in these conditions, there would be very little chance of recovering a 
body at all, let alone one still breathing.

Breathing in slowly to calm herself as much as possible, she started to 
walk towards the girl, slowing her pace and walking slowly and 
deliberately in what she hoped was a non-threatening manner. The girl took 
no notice of her whatsoever, still staring blindly out over the dark 
river, a fact which brought a flicker of annoyance to Priss; she may have 
been trying to be discrete, but she hated being ignored as much as ever.

She finally stopped a few feet away. By now she was certain the girl was 
deliberately ignoring her, a fact which started a slow burn of anger 
inside, which she tried to bring back under control, reminding herself 
that the girl was probably in shock after the Boomer attack, and would 
react badly to anger and its implied violence. 
Curiously she examined her; she knew it was rude, but if she was being 
ignored she could be annoying in return.

The girl was just standing there, wire-tense, her hands gripping the 
railing with a white-knuckled grip Priss was certain wasn't entirely due 
to the cold. Her thin clothes clung to her, outlining a slender, well 
muscled figure that made her wonder what the girl did. She had the 
appearance of a dancer or athlete, but her hair was way too long, hanging 
a good metre down her back, a soaked crimson mass that slowly dripped 
water onto the frozen ground. She didn't look that old, maybe around 18 or 
so, no makeup, and from the look of things no bra under that T-shirt. 
Priss wondered if she was a runaway of some sort, she certainly looked 
like one. There was something odd about her ears, too, although the thick 
hair was plastered wetly across them they didn't look quite right.

She couldn't understand how the girl was managing to cope with the 
weather; she was wearing leathers, and a coat and was still shivering, the 
girl was wearing only a thin T-shirt and jeans, and from the way they were 
plastered against her in this freezing wind she'd be better off naked, yet 
only the occasional shiver ran down her body. Must be still in shock. 
However, she couldn't just stand here and look at here, she had to get her 
talking.

"Hello."

The girl started slightly, making Priss wonder for a second if in fact she 
really hadn't noticed her standing staring at her, then very slowly turned 
to face Priss, her eyes blank and staring for a moment until they finally 
focused on her. She wondered for a moment; in the orange glow of the
streetlight, she could have sworn the girl's eyes were red.

"What do you want?"

"To help you."

The girl grimaced, one side of her lips curling up, but Priss had the 
feeling that the contempt wasn't aimed at her.

"I don't need help. Or deserve it. Please go away."

"Everyone needs help sometimes"

"Maybe they do, but that doesn't mean they ought to get it."

Priss wondered why the girl sounded so bitter. She was obviously blaming 
herself, but for what? How was this tied in with the Boomer rampage? There 
was more to this than met the eye, and now she had got interested, there 
was no way she was going to let go of it until she'd found out a lot more; 
especially since she was convinced it had _something_ to do with Boomers.

"Wouldn't you like to talk about it? Sometimes it helps"

The girl grinned, baring her teeth in a gesture that didn't have much 
humour in it, eyes glaring at Priss. She still seemed angry at something, 
but now was transferring some of her emotion at Priss.

"Why should I? I don't even know who you are!"

Priss smiled to herself. She'd passed the first hurdle, the girl had 
broken out of her introspection and was talking to her now. Now to reel 
her in a bit, and hopefully get out of this damned cold. 

"My name is Priss. Priss Asagiri."

This time the girl's reaction was one Priss wasn't expecting. She'd seen 
people react to her with interest if they recognised her name, sometimes
awe and excitement if they were fans of hers, sometimes with the contempt
of 'Oh God, it's a cheap singer', but this time she saw eyes open wide in
shock as the girl took a half step backwards, almost as if she was afraid
of her! Now why should she do that, especially when she was so angry. 
Mentally, she licked her lips; this was getting more interesting by the 
minute.

"You're... Priss? The singer??"

Priss smiled, and nodded, trying to look reassuring. Not the easiest of 
tasks for her with a stranger, especially when her instinctive reaction 
was to take control and push hard for more information, but she wasn't 
going to let a mystery like this get away from her that easily. She could
be just as subtle as anyone when she wanted to be, never mind Linna's and
Nene's taunts!

"Yes, that's right. Have you seen one of my shows?"

The girl startled Priss again by suddenly grinning with amusement.

"Uh... no, I haven't. But I heard some recordings of your singing; you're 
very good"

Priss tried not to scowl, not when she was getting through to her, but 
spared a moment to mentally curse people who made pirate tapes of her 
performances. Especially poor quality pirate tapes!

"Maybe you'd like to come to one some time? I'm a lot better in person"

"Come and see... ah, yes, I'd like to...but..."

Priss smiled at the girl. This uncertainty was a more normal sort of 
reaction, and certainly a lot more healthy. Now to get her out of this 
rain and somewhere where she could ask the questions she really wanted 
answering. And preferably get something hot to drink, the last thing she 
needed was a cold to affect her voice, and this girl was going to be 
suffering from exposure if she didn't get her inside soon. She reached out 
one hand, slowly, touching her on the arm, carefully making sure the 
gesture projected reassurance rather than a threat.

"Tell you what, why don't you come with me? We can get out of this rain 
and talk, OK?

The girl blinked, looking down at the hand on her arm in confusion, a very 
odd expression on her face, almost as if she couldn't understand what 
Priss meant, then her face cleared and she half-smiled back at Priss, head 
tilted slightly to one side as she sighed and gave a small shrug.

"I guess I may as well be miserable indoors as out here. Sure, why not."

Priss smiled inwardly in triumph at herself as she led the girl back 
across the bridge in the direction of her bike. Trying to shelter her face 
from the worst of the freezing rail slashing down, she didn't notice the 
finger-shaped indentations in the steel railing where the girl had been 
supporting herself...

************************************************************************

Iczer felt like kicking herself, hard. Here she had been going to pains 
NOT to try and get involved with the BGC 'characters', and here was chance 
getting her involved with one of them anyway. Although she had grave 
doubts if it was completely chance after what had happened to her in the 
Ah! Megamisama Universe, since then she had been a lot less inclined to 
believe in the operation of random events. At least Priss's appearance had 
broken her out of that self-destructiveness she had been sinking into, the 
surprise of hearing her announcing her name had startled her back into 
reality. Now she could see that she had let herself be shocked into that 
state by the girls death, but Iczer was worried at how easily it had 
happened; she hadn't thought she was so easy to upset.

Out of the corner of her eye she glanced at Priss. Now Iczer knew who she 
was, she could see the similarities to the anime characterisation she 
hadn't noticed before; hindsight is so wonderfully accurate. Brown hair, 
athletic figure and walk, with an air of energy and driven determination. 
Odd coloured eyes; brown with almost a tinge of red. Her face was more 
drawn and pale than she had expected, then she realised that it was very 
soon after the 'incidents' with Largo in the anime; no wonder she still 
didn't look too good.
Iczer wondered just what she was going to say to her; she didn't think 
she'd believe the truth, even if she told her. Worrying her more was the 
possibility she'd be introduced to the rest of the Knight Sabers, for 
while she felt she could keep Priss at bay with some half-truths and 
evasions, she had no such confidence concerning Sylia, if she was half as 
competent as she was portrayed. But she had to do _something_, it was 
pretty obvious she couldn't go on as she had been, terrified though she 
was at the thought of doing or saying something that would change things 
so the Knight Sabers would be hurt or killed.

Iczer shivered, feeling the wet cold bite through her. She was glad she 
wasn't in her original body, she'd have been a hypothermia case by now. As 
it was, she felt chilled to the bone, and the feeling of soaked, freezing 
clothes plastered against her skin was thoroughly unpleasant. She could 
try and put out a forcefield that would protect her and help warm her, if 
she cared to spend the energy, but didn't think her new-found acquaintance 
would be reassured to see her companion glowing blue. Damned if she did, 
frozen if she didn't. Like her choices in life, action could hurt the 
Knight Sabers or innocent people, inaction had already made her the cause 
of the death of one young girl, even if it was only indirectly. It was 
times like this that made her wish she was still curled up in a warm chair 
watching anime, rather than being forced to live it. 
Part of her wished she'd said no to Priss, she could have got herself home 
without help, and probably faster. But she knew she couldn't really have 
refused. Even with Iczer-2's nightly company, she was still missing human 
contact, and she just wasn't up to denying it any more.

************************************************************************

Priss watched the slender girl walking beside her shiver again. She had to 
get her into the warm, this weather wasn't getting any better, and she 
must be frozen. Come to that, she was feeling pretty cold herself. 
Touching her arm, she indicated the way to her bike, carefully leading 
them around the Boomer damage; the last thing she wanted to do was to 
remind her of that, now she seemed to have recovered a bit. At least the 
girl didn't seem to react to the sirens they could hear in the distance.

"Here's my bike. Come on, I'll take us both somewhere warm!"

The girl grinned slightly at that, then looked embarrassed.
"Uh... I've never ridden one of these before..."

Priss smiled.
"It's not difficult. Just get on behind me, put your feet on those rests 
and hold on about my waist, OK?"

The girl nodded, still looking a bit unsure, but doing as instructed. Then 
Priss had to pull her arms tighter about her waist, she'd have never had 
held on like that! 
"Its OK, hold on tight, I won't break!"

You'd think she was afraid to touch me, Priss thought as she slipped her 
helmet on.

Iczer gripped tighter about Priss's waist. This was a situation she'd 
never thought she'd get into! She hoped Priss would realise she had a 
passenger, the way she'd seen her drive in the anime was not her idea of a 
nice gentle bike ride, and she didn't feel very secure perched on the back 
of a motorcycle like this. She pressed against Priss's back as she started 
the engine, grateful for the relative warmth of the back of her jacket 
after the biting wind. Her shivers weren't getting much worse, but she 
still felt frozen. She hoped Iczer-2's body couldn't get frostbite, her 
fingers were white, and felt like ice. She made a note to be more careful 
next time; she really had no idea how durable an Iczer was, against things
like temperature. It would be pretty stupid to die of cold after all we had 
been through. It was difficult, though, trying to hold on to Priss without 
forgetting her own strength and holding on too hard, with so little 
feeling in her fingers. She hoped that wherever they were going, it wasn't 
too far.

************************************************************************

Priss pressed the doorbell again, hoping Nene was in. She didn't want to 
have to drive all the way to her own home with a soaking wet passenger, 
especially since it was starting to snow. She wished the weather was more 
appropriate to the time of year, but she couldn't do anything about it but 
get inside away from it. Nene's place wasn't that far from the Boomer 
rampage, and she'd said last night that she wasn't doing anything tonight. 
What with this weather, she didn't think she'd have gone out for fun, so 
it was worth trying. Damn this snow anyway, why couldn't the weather be 
normal?

She looked back to where the girl was standing, arms about herself as she 
tried without too much success to restrain her shivers, and smiled 
reassuringly at her, then turned to glare again at the doorbell as though 
it was a personal enemy.
Come on, Nene, she thought, staring at the still-closed door, you SAID 
you'd be in tonight, and your light is on! What's the matter, too busy 
eating cake to answer your doorbell?

There was a sudden rattle as the door unlocked and opened, Nene's face 
peering up at her, looking confused.

"Priss? What are you doing here...?"

Priss grinned in relief, and pushed the door a little, grateful for the 
gust of warm air from inside.
"I'll explain when we get inside, OK? Its freezing out here!"

Nene blinked, startled, then looked at the strange girl standing shivering 
by her door as Priss slipped an arm about her, pulling her inside. 

"What...? Who... Priss, what is going on!!?"

Priss grinned, shooing Nene inside with her free hand as she started to 
tug at her boots.

"Stop asking silly questions and help me get her out of those wet clothes 
before she freezes to death, will you! Damn, some people are so slow on 
the uptake."

Nene frowned, backing up reluctantly and about to take offence at Priss's 
abruptness, when she took a closer look at the girl she was still half-
supporting, her eyes widening in surprise. The girl looked frozen, 
shivering as her soaked clothes clung to her, a small pool of water 
already forming on the wooden floor as it dripped from her thick mane of 
hair. The girl smiled at Nene faintly.

"I'm sorry, I'm a bit wet..."

Nene forbore to comment on that; she'd seen dryer people in a swimming 
pool. Instead she glanced  a quick question at Priss, who was shrugging 
off her coat onto one of the hooks on the wall. Priss only spared her a 
quick look of impatience, before turning to help the girl take off her 
short boots, then pushed her into Nene's room.

"Shower, before she freezes to death!"

Nene blinked, about to protest again at the cavalier attitude Priss was 
displaying to her in her own home, then decided to hold on until after 
this stranger was seen to, satisfying herself for the moment with a glare 
at Priss's back. She followed them into the bathroom, pulling open the 
cupboard for clean warm towels as Priss started to strip the visitor.

She sighed to herself, wishing Priss would sometimes explain herself 
before starting on something; or even ask for help, she couldn't do 
everything herself, even if she sometimes gave the impression she'd like 
to. But then, if she did she wouldn't be the Priss Nene knew. Putting the 
towels down carefully, she took the girls clothes as Priss passed them on, 
hanging them up. The girl herself was still shivering, and having trouble 
helping; not that Priss slapping her hands away in impatience when she did 
try to help made it any easier for her! She looked at the girl again as 
she realised how few clothes she'd been passed; it was hardly the weather 
to be out in wearing just jeans and a T-shirt, and the girl hadn't even 
been wearing a bra!

Leaning past the still-shivering girl, she gave her a quick smile of 
encouragement as she turned the shower on for her.

"Here, get in. It will warm you up, you look like you need to!"

The girl smiled back, almost saying something, but then looking as if 
she'd cut herself off, before nodding and getting in, quickly turning the 
water up hot as she sighed happily. Nene gave her back a rather more 
calculating look, wondering just _what_ she'd been about to say. 
Interesting, what was Priss doing, and how did she get this way? She 
nudged Priss, poking her in the direction of the living room, anxious to 
get some details while the girl was busy warming herself in the shower.

"Come on, Priss, tell! What's going on...?"

Priss grinned, looking for a moment into the bathroom, as if to make 
certain the strange girl was still there, then lowered her voice as she 
started to tell Nene what she'd seen.

**************************************************************************

"So, she was frozen, and I was pretty cold too, and you were so much 
closer than my trailer that I thought I'd bring her here. I was sure you 
wouldn't mind..."

Oh _thanks_ Priss, Nene thought. How typical. Still, I guess you could 
hardly have just left her there, and it seems to have cheered you up out 
of that depression, so at least some good has come out of it. Mind, you 
always were a sucker for anyone who hated Boomers, and this girl actually 
damaged one, from what you say. 

They were both distracted from Priss's story by the sound of the shower 
being turned off. Turning, Nene saw the girl standing wrapping a towel 
about herself, smiling at them rather shyly.

Priss grinned, and jumped up.
"Finished? Good!"

She grabbed a spare robe from the door, wrapping it about the girls 
shoulders.
"It's short, but better than nothing. Good job you're so chunky, Nene, or 
it wouldn't fit her at all!"

Nene bristled immediately, her voice rising in self-defence.
"I am NOT chunky!! 

Priss grinned, and ignored Nene again, leaving her to fume as she ushered 
the stranger back into the living room. Nene was so easy to tease, almost 
a sitting target, but it was still fun...

************************************************************************

Iczer cradled the mug of coffee Nene had given her between her hands, 
grateful for the warmth it was passing into her fingers. Using her sipping 
of the steaming liquid as a cover, she surreptitiously sneaked glances 
around, particularly at Nene. Now circumstances had forced her into their 
company, she had to admit to a burning curiosity about what the Knight 
Sabers were really like here, and the excuse that she hadn't really had 
any choice in the matter helped her feel less guilty about violating her 
self-imposed constraints about meeting them. It also helped to hide the 
embarrassment she was feeling about the way they'd treated her; she was 
glad she'd been so anxious to get warm again she hadn't been more upset at 
the time at being almost-forcibly stripped by Priss.

Looking at Nene, she wondered again at the differences between real people 
and anime representations of them. Nene was short, even by Japanese 
standards, but certainly cute by any; it wasn't so much her appearance but 
more the way she moved and talked that gave a bubbling, puppy-like feeling 
to her that evoked those feelings. Although she could see why someone like 
Priss could take such delight in teasing her! She looked to be about 20-
ish; probably not much younger than Priss, although Priss's attitude gave 
her the feeling of someone a lot older and more hardened.

Priss had been rather unfair about calling Nene chunky, she decided. While 
it was true that she didn't have Priss's whipcord build, she looked in 
pretty good shape, although the empty plate next to her computer that she 
had hurriedly cleared away when she had thought no-one was looking had a 
suspicious number of crumbs on it. Looks like she does like cakes, she 
smiled to herself. Her borrowed robe wasn't that bad a fit about the 
shoulders, although there wasn't much spare room; probably a good job 
Iczer-2 doesn't have a very big bust, she thought, or I'd be showing a lot 
more skin than I'd be happy about! It was short on her, barely covering 
her to the knee, but the room was warm. And it certainly felt a _lot_ 
better against her skin than her soaked clothes had done. 

Shifting slightly in her seat, she took a large gulp of the coffee, 
feeling its welcome heat burn down her throat. Sighing with pleasure, she 
leaned back a little, looking at the two girls. Time to come up with a 
story. Better try and keep it believable, both of them look like they're 
dying with curiosity, Nene especially - she looks like she'll explode if 
someone doesn't explain all this to her!

"I want to thank you both, Ms Romanova, Ms Asagiri, for helping me like 
this. It's very kind of you both"

Priss smiled back, making a gesture of dismissal.

"Oh, that's quite all right, we were glad to, weren't we Nene?"

She smiled at the look Nene gave Priss before agreeing. Not now, Nene, get 
mad at Priss about dragging me here later...! And you aren't telling all 
the truth, are you Priss, you're dying to find out more about me. I can 
almost taste your curiosity.

"Oh, of course! But please, you must tell us about yourself."

Thanks, Nene, Iczer thought. After you've been so kind, I can hardly 
refuse, can I? As I'm sure you counted on, you aren't quite as innocently 
cute as you look, are you? OK, here goes...

"Well, I'm a student. I'm over here on holiday, you see, from England"

Nene frowned slightly, leaning forward as she looked more interested.
"Really? What are you studying?"

Iczer thought for a moment, then grinned to herself. This one was obvious, 
after all.
"British history, 1950-90, at University"

Nene smiled slightly, and insincerely made a few comments about how 
interesting that must be.

Priss didn't seem very interested in that, but she gave Iczer a searching 
look.

"But why were you dressed like that? Surely you brought something more 
suitable for the weather, you must have been freezing!" 

Iczer took a short breath.
"Well, you see, I was robbed soon after I got here. The only things I had 
were in the bag I lost tonight, they took everything else, including 
nearly all my money"

Nene looked puzzled at that. Iczer had a feeling she wasn't going to get 
away with that simple an explanation.

"Robbed? That's awful! But surely you could go to the embassy, and get 
help? Or to the police, they could send you there.

Out of the corner of her eye Iczer could see Priss tensing slightly, 
obviously very interested in the reply. She took a long sip of her coffee, 
gaining a little time. Fortunately this was a question she'd anticipated.

"It's... embarrassing. You see, I wasn't supposed to be here, my family 
refused to let me come. But I came anyway. But if I report to the embassy, 
the first thing they will do is to contact my family, and I don't want 
that! I'm trying to find some way to get home on my own."

Nene didn't seem very convinced; Iczer wasn't surprised, she could have 
tossed a Boomer through some of the holes in her story so far. Let's try 
and get her sympathy, maybe it will distract her.

"I had to come. It was because of my... a very close friend, you see. I 
had to get over here to be with him, but my family objected."

This time she could sense it had worked better, Nene's face took on a much 
more sympathetic look, her romantic inclinations tweaked by Iczer's 
implied romance story. Priss still looked rather unbelieving, but didn't 
seem to want to probe further. She could still sense the deep interest in 
both of them, and realised she hadn't fully convinced them. But she didn't 
want to make her story more complicated than she had too, the more she 
embellished it the more likely she'd either contradict herself or make a 
silly mistake they could easily check up on.

She sighed, carefully putting her empty coffee mug down on the table.
"Thank you for your help. But I really should be going, I've imposed on 
you long enough."

This time, Nene looked almost offended, and Iczer grinned inwardly as she 
remembered how annoyed she'd been when Priss had first dragged her here 
uninvited.

"Don't be silly! You can't go out in this weather, not in those wet 
clothes! And you haven't even got a coat!"

Iczer smiled to herself at the sheer cuteness layered over Nene's offer. 
No wonder people find it difficult to say no to her, she really lays it on 
with a trowel. Does she realise she's doing it, or does it come 
automatically?

"But I can't, I mean, you've been so kind already."

Priss smiled, and stretched her legs out.
"Nonsense! Hey, I'm going to ask Nene to put me up on her floor, I don't 
want to drive home in this sort of snow either! Putting another futon down 
won't be any trouble, will it Nene?"

Nene gave Priss a very quick, half-puzzled glance, then her face cleared 
as she smiled, very cutely.

"See, it's no problem! At least stay the night, then in the morning you 
can collect your things from the Police Station"

Iczer pretended not to notice the look Nene gave Priss, pretty certain 
that normally Priss would have driven home in anything short of a full 
blizzard, but wanted to keep an eye on her. Well, she didn't really mind, 
Nene's room was a lot warmer than travelling back to her cold apartment in 
wet clothes. Then she processed Nene's second remark.

"Police Station??"

Nene nodded, smiling.
"I'm sure they will have collected your bag when they cleared up after the 
incident. If you go over tomorrow, you can claim it!"

Iczer gulped, suddenly looking worried. Priss smiled to herself, looking 
more interested; she had been sure this girl had some reason for avoiding 
the police, it would be interesting to hear her explanation. She might 
even believe her, if it was good enough!

"Uh... will I have to show ID to get my things back? You see, that was 
stolen as well, I don't have any way to identify myself."

Nene looked thoughtful, biting her lip gently.
"Hmmm, that's awkward. Well now... I think I can arrange something. You 
see, I work in the computer department of ADPolice, if you like I can 
arrange for you to pick up your stuff, you won't need ID."

Iczer smiled happily at Nene in thanks, but beneath her smile she was less 
sanguine. She was certain Nene had an ulterior motive, maybe just simple 
curiosity, but still, that was an _awfully_ helpful offer to make a near-
complete stranger on the spur of the moment.

"That's terribly kind of you, Nene! You don't have to, really!"

Nene smiled back, again subjecting Iczer to her cuteness.
"Don't be silly, it's no problem at all, I'd be happy to!"

Iczer was sure it wouldn't be, not for as accomplished hacker as Nene. 
Whether it was _legal_ was another matter, but she wasn't really worried 
about that right now, she had more pressing concerns.

"Well, in that case... thanks, I'd be very happy to take you up on that 
offer!"

************************************************************************

Priss looked at Nene as she loaded her arms with bedding, lowering her 
voice so the girl in the other room couldn't hear her.
"Well, do you believe her story?"

Nene frowned, glancing for a moment at the main room, then, reassured that 
they couldn't be overheard, shook her head slightly before replying in a 
hushed whisper.
"Not entirely. She seems nice enough, but there are inconsistencies in 
what she says. I don't think she's telling us everything, she's definitely 
hiding something. Probably quite a lot. Some of the story is very 
convenient, like the lack of ID and baggage. Too convenient."

Priss grinned like a fox, her own feelings confirmed.
"That's what I feel as well. There's something about her that doesn't ring 
true, the way she talks, the way she acts... they don't add up. But I 
don't think she's a runaway, like I first thought - or if she is, she 
certainly isn't the normal sort. But I think she's running away from 
something, or someone. The question is who or what?"

Nene tossed another futon onto the pile already weighing down Priss.
"You don't think she's a Boomer of some sort, do you? Maybe another 
sexaroid?"

Priss pursed her lips, then shook her head firmly.
"She's certainly not a normal Boomer, I'd have noticed when we helped her 
change. Even those normal looking models GENOM use for covert work can't 
hide what they are when they're naked, not when you know what to look for. 
And if she's a sexaroid, she doesn't look or act like the way they're 
supposed to; her reactions are inconsistent; anyway, she'd have to be a 
new design, she doesn't match up any of the specs Sylia has. And what 
would a new design of Boomer be doing here, especially one who speaks 
Japanese with a British accent? No, I think she's human, even with those 
odd looks."

Nene stood for a moment, a pillow forgotten in one hand.
"Her looks are unusual, aren't they? But they do suit her, I wish I had a 
figure like hers... What puzzles me most is her reactions; sometimes she 
acts like someone so much older, but she doesn't look over 18, if that."

"Yes... and I wonder now at her reaction after the Boomer fight. Do you 
think that the girl who died was related or connected to her? She seemed 
awfully upset, far more than I would have thought, after all it wasn't her 
fault"

Nene thought about this for a moment. She wasn't quite so certain as Priss 
that the girls reaction was so terribly abnormal, Priss sometimes forgot 
how fragile most people were, her own toughness causing her to 
underestimate the effect of events on them. And hanging around with the 
Knight Sabers hadn't helped that any. She just didn't know, the girl's 
reaction _did_ seem extreme, but that didn't necessarily mean a connection 
between her and the dead girl. 
She pushed the pillow onto Priss's pile, then finished her loading, 
finally straightening up from the storage cupboard at last as she rubbed 
the small of her back with her fist, face still lost in thought.
"Well, we can't just throw her out - not in weather like this. Besides, 
she seems harmless enough, its just that she's a puzzle."

Priss hmmmd, then smiled conspiratorially at Nene.
"Well, you like solving puzzles, don't you?"

Nene giggled softly, pushing Priss towards the door with one hand.
"You know very well I do! Oh, OK, I'll see what I can find out. But 
tomorrow, some of us have to get into work at a reasonable hour!"

Priss allowed herself to be pushed, tossing the bedding slightly in her 
arms to balance it better.
"Just make sure you tell me what you find out!"

Nene smiled as she ushered Priss out back into her living room, noting 
with a mental sigh that Priss was hiding the effort of acting normally 
with her not-fully-healed wound again. After all the horrors of the recent 
past, it was good to see Priss come back out of the shell she'd been 
hiding behind after Sylvie's and Anri's deaths. She just hoped that the 
interest in this strange girl wouldn't turn obsessional, she'd have to 
keep an eye on Priss and make sure that didn't happen. Besides, she had to 
admit to a certain amount of curiosity herself.

************************************************************************

The main room of Nene's apartment was dark, lit only by the tiny glows on 
some of her computer equipment, which hardly illuminated the two shapes 
huddled in blankets on the floor.
Turning, her face hidden by the darkness, Priss looked at the back of the 
young stranger, her eyes narrowed in concentration as she listened to her 
soft breathing.
Don't think I'm not going to find out what you're hiding, Iczer, she 
thought. There's something about you that just doesn't add up, and I'm 
going to keep working at it until I find out just what it is!


End of Chapter 3