New Orleans
Sorceress Miko ran
through the streets of New Orleans, trying
desperately to avoid streetlights, car headlights and
even the dim, reflected lights filtering through the
windows of stores that had closed for the night. She
was doing her best not to be seen, although there was
little she could do to avoid being heard as
her feet slapped the footpath hard with each pounding
step.
She kept looking
over her shoulder as she ran; because she wasn't
running stealthily through the sleeping,
nearly-deserted city for fun - she was on the
run. For two weeks she had been chased by three
robots, each with powers equal to her own. As she had
fled to her various safe havens within the city -
homes of friends, servants and other allies with
power - she had been tracked down, her refuge
destroyed, and forced to flee again.
Most recently one of
the robots, the teleporting Jigenseisokuka Robo, had
discovered it could track her own attempts to
teleport and follow her wherever she fled, forcing
Sorceress Miko to continue on foot. She had nowhere
left to go and even if she did, she lacked the
strength to teleport there... and knew that
Jigenseisokuka Robo would find her regardless.
So she continued her
mad, desperate race through New Orleans, knowing that
at least one of the robots was not far behind her,
and turned, blindly, into a dark alleyway. She paused
for a moment to catch her breath and listened for the
distinctive clang! of the robot's heavy feet
striking the concrete behind her.
She heard nothing
other than her own deep, gasping breaths and tried to
relax. She leaned against the brick wall of the alley
and closed her eyes.
"You are
discovered, Sorceress Miko."
Miko heard the voice
but could not bring herself to open her eyes. It did
not belong to a friend, or even one of her lesser
enemies - it was the clear, hollow voice of
Jigenseisokuka Robo.
The robot moved
slightly and Miko could hear how close it was; it
stood inches away, at most.
"No..."
she groaned. "Why? Why are you trying to destroy
me? Your master is gone!"
"Doctor Nagura
Scott's orders remain," Jigenseisokuka Robo told
her. "You are to be destroyed. Ranma Robo is
approaching now to complete our assigned task."
Miko shook her head.
Why? she
wondered. I'm no saint, but I've done nothing bad
enough to deserve this! Two weeks of torture... but I
guess it will be over soon, once Ranma Robo does -
wait!
Sorceress Miko
slowly opened her eyes and looked up at the robot.
Jigenseisokuka Robo had a basically human shape, but
it was taller than most people, and its mechanical
body was fitted with wave-shaped protrusions at the
elbows, shoulders and knees. Beyond that, there was
almost no detail to note on the silver machine - but,
Sorceress Miko realised, it had never attacked her
directly.
In two weeks, all
Jigenseisokuka Robo had done was try to prevent her
teleportation, or used its own ability to teleport to
track her down and alert its companions. It never
tried to hurt her, or kill her, despite its stated
goal.
"Why don't you
kill me, robot?" she asked. "A big,
powerful robot like yourself against a fragile human?
You can't be so weak that you couldn't just snap me
in half."
"Correct,"
Jigenseisokuka Robo replied. "This body could
render your organic form inert within moments.
However, this is not in my specific programming. I am
designed to track and contain prey, unless
alternative options for termination are
unavailable."
"So if Ranma
Robo and Denshi Robo were destroyed, then you'd
kill me?" Miko laughed and started to stand.
"You sound like Coward Robo."
Jigenseisokuka Robo
tilted its head slightly to stare directly into
Sorceress Miko's face.
"I do what I am
programmed to do," it said simply. "How you
perceive my behaviour is irrelevant."
Sorceress Miko took
a step forward and poked Jigenseisokuka Robo in the
centre of its chest. The robot did not react, and
Miko smirked.
"Just as I
thought," she taunted. "You're too afraid
to fight me."
Calmly,
Jigenseisokuka Robo raised one hand and gently pushed
Miko away. She took a step back and smiled again.
"Why are you
smiling?" Jigenseisokuka Robo asked. "You
are trapped and your death is assured."
"I'm smiling,"
Miko replied, "because I can see something you
can't."
"My programming
is sufficient to warn me against turning my back to
you, Sorceress Miko," Jigenseisokuka Robo warned
her. "Deception is - "
"Alert
Beam!"
Jigenseisokuka
Robo's body shone brightly with blue raido energy
as soon as it heard the voice call out behind
it, but it did not react quickly enough. Even as the
robot rapidly faded from view, leaving behind only a
shimmering rain of blue light, it staggered forward
from the impact of the invisible but powerful energy
that had struck its back.
There was another
bright flash as the robot reappeared several feet
behind where it had been a moment earlier, placing it
behind its attacker and finally, with the robot out
of her way, Sorceress Miko could get a clear look at
her rescuer - as she had thought, it was Sato Senshi;
the man who had pursued her almost as doggedly as the
three robots sent to destroy her - only he wanted her
capture, not her death.
"Robo
Change!" the other figure cried as he
turned to confront Jigenseisokuka Robo.
For a moment, the
already dark alleyway seemed bathed in an even more
impenetrable darkness even as the circuitry embedded
beneath Senshi's skin began to glow. He looked down
at his body, which was covered only by the thin
fabric of his black, body-hugging robosuit, and saw
lights rushing along the circuits to certain points
where they shone even more brightly.
It was at these
points that thick, jagged pieces of silver metal
emerged from Senshi's skin and pierced the porous
robosuit to reform as a chestplate, gloves and boots.
As the last of the metal slid across Senshi's face
and head to form a thick helmet, he noticed that
Jigenseisokuka Robo's movements seemed incredibly
slow - then remembered that just as light seemed to
disappear during his transformation, time appeared to
slow.
When the helmet had
finished forming itself around Senshi's head he
stared at Jigenseisokuka Robo and shook his head.
"Give up,"
he told the robot. "No-one's killing Miko
tonight."
"Who are
you?" Jigenseisokuka Robo asked.
"I'm Black
Robo," Senshi replied, "and Sorceress Miko
is under my protection."
Jigenseisokuka Robo
stared blankly at the black-clad form before him.
"In a matter of
moments my companions will be here, and they will see
to your destruction," it said. "Any
attempts to use eternity energy in the
meantime will be futile."
Senshi shrugged and
calmly lifted his right arm, where Miko saw the bulky
Alert Bracer strapped to his wrist. He pointed it at
Jigenseisokuka Robo's chest and shouted "Alert
Beam!"
Another burst of
invisible energy washed over Jigenseisokuka Robo,
forcing it to stagger backwards.
"Control
Tonfas," Senshi whispered. Blue raido energy
appeared around both of his gloved hands as the
twin black-and-silver baton-like weapons appeared in
his hands. As he felt them take shape in his palms,
he wrapped his fingers tightly around their
protruding handles and pointed the shafts back toward
his elbows and stared at Jigenseisokuka Robo.
"What are you
waiting for?!" Miko cried. "Just destroy it
already!"
Senshi sighed.
Sei wants the
artificial intelligence chips from these things so he
can finish reconfiguring the Alert Bracers to filter
out outside control, Senshi thought. I don't
want to destroy it until I know I'm not going to
damage the chip.
Jigenseisokuka Robo
slowly began to approach Senshi, but its movements
were slow - it seemed to Senshi almost as if the
robot was being careful about getting too close. It
stopped moving forward when it was just beyond the
extended reach of Senshi's black staves.
"Heh."
Senshi brought his
hands together and connected his twin tonfas at the
ends nearest the handle to form a single, long bo
staff. In one quick, fluid movement he spun around
and swung the staff like a bat - its tip hit the side
of Jigenseisokuka Robo's face hard and caused the
robot to stumble into the alleyway's brick wall.
Senshi gripped the
staff near its centre and rushed forward before
Jigenseisokuka Robo could recover and assess its
situation. He drew the weapon back and charged at the
robot, which had finally started to glow again with raido
energy.
With all the
strength he could muster, Senshi pressed the tip of
his staff against the robot's chest and pushed. For a
moment, he thought that the robot's metal shell might
be too strong for him to penetrate - but, finally,
his staff went through. The weapon tore through
Jigenseisokuka Robo's internal components and emerged
from the robot's back, where sparks began to appear.
Senshi tightened his
grip on the staff and, as he tried his best to
concentrate, the shimmering blue raido energy that
had covered Jigenseisokuka Robo's body began to
disappear - but it didn't simply vanish; it appeared
to both Senshi and Sorceress Miko as if it was being
smothered by the darkness in the alleyway... a
darkness that seemed even more intense around Senshi.
Jigenseisokuka
Robo's limbs thrashed about violently as the last of
the raido energy vanished, but Senshi did
not let go of his staff. He pressed all of his weight
against it, keeping the robot pinned against the
wall, until its head slumped forward and it stopped
moving.
Slowly, Senshi
withdrew the staff and separated it into its separate
components. He took a deep breath and, as he released
it, the metal components of his armour and the
weapons in his hands disappeared.
"Are you
okay?" he asked Miko, without turning to face
her. He crouched beside Jigenseisokuka Robo and
examined its face - there was a deep gash where he
had struck it with his staff.
As Miko watched,
Senshi pressed his Alert Bracer against the opening
and said, once again: "Alert Beam!"
The invisible energy
forced the opening wider and wider, until almost all
of the left side of the robot's face had been torn
away, exposing its various components - and sitting
directly in the centre of its head was a small
microchip. Senshi reached inside and delicately
pulled it free of its housing, then stood and looked
back at Miko.
"I asked if you
were okay," he reminded her.
She stared at him
for a moment without responding. The last time she
had seen Senshi he had been badly hurt, impaled
through the stomach with a piece of metal while
protecting her from Tejina Robo - another robot
created by Doctor Nagura to capture her. She had
tended to his injuries as best she could, even using
her precious vial of ansuz fluid to help the
wounds heal more quickly.
Now, he seemed
completely different. Any sign of weakness she had
seen in the injured man were gone - standing in front
of her in his black robosuit, Senshi seemed to her to
be full of power. She couldn't keep her eyes from
glancing at the well-defined muscles she saw beneath
the tight-fitting fabric and letting her mind wander
until she remembered what had happened when she
confronted Senshi about her suspicions that he had
romantic feelings for her.
She blinked, shook
her head, and looked up at Senshi's face. Even that
seemed different - in place of his carefull-trimmed,
short hair and clean-shaven skin was long, almost
chin-length messy hair and several days worth of
facial hair growth.
"I'm...
fine," she said finally. "You're making a
habit of saving me from these things. Stop it."
She turned and
started to walk away, but Senshi rushed to catch up
to her. He took hold of her wrist and pulled her
back.
"Wait," he
told her. She did not struggle to free herself, but
she did not turn back to face him, either. "I
told you that I want to catch you, not see you dead.
That's why I saved you from the robot." He took
a deep breath and relaxed his hold on her wrist. She
gently drew her hand free but did not move away.
"I could take you in now, but without the EDD or
the Black Battalion to hold you I don't see any
point. You could just teleport away from anywhere I
could take you - my zuvaal energy was enough
to keep that robot from getting away, but I don't
like the idea of impaling you with my staff
to keep you locked up."
Miko calmly turned
around and looked at Senshi's face again. She had no
reason to care about him - the first time they
had met was eight weeks earlier, when he had taken
her to a cell on Science Island after she was
captured by the Black Battalion. After that he had
only stalked her - and saved her life - twice. All
she knew was that he wanted her in prison... but
still, she found herself drawn to him, and she knew
herself too well to accept that it was because she
found him physically attractive.
"The other
Robomen told me that a pixie delivered the eternity
shards they needed to escape from Doctor
Nagura's robot when he attacked two weeks ago,"
Senshi told her. "I'm determined to
take you in eventually, Miko, but I think that - and
saving my life - earn you at least one 'get out of
jail free' card.
"There are
still two robots looking for you," he reminded
her. "If I wasn't trying to keep an eye on you,
I might recommend you get yourself out of the
city."
Miko smirked.
"Thank you,
Senshi," she said. He glanced at her face and
saw that the pink-haired woman was pale and dark
rings had formed under her eyes. She was exhausted.
"I'd come up with some witty, scathing
remark, but..." She closed her eyes and took a
deep breath, then opened her eyes again. "Thank
you."
Senshi nodded.
"I need to get
that thing back to 'Hey, Pizza!'," he pointed at
Jigenseisokuka Robo. "I only have one set of
eyes - I can't keep watching you while I figure out
how I'm going to move it."
Miko understood.
"What time is
it?" she asked as Senshi turned away from her.
He lifted his Alert
Bracer and glanced at its LCD display, which showed
the time in clear green lights. "11:5 - arrrgh!"
Senshi fell to his
knees and placed his palms against both sides of his
head. He clenched his teeth and closed his eyes, but
Miko could see that even though he had stopped
shouting, he was in obvious pain; his breathing was
shallow, and he was slouching closer and closer to
the ground.
"What's
wrong?" she asked.
Senshi shook his
head and pulled his hands away. He carefully returned
to his feet and looked toward the end of the
alleyway. His back was still facing Miko as he saw a
figure he thought he recognised run past.
"Ikku...?"
he muttered. The man he saw hurry past the opening
ahead of him was clearly wearing a robosuit very much
like Senshi's, but red, and it seemed to have other
differences as well - buckles and straps across the
arms and torso, and thick black and grey fabric sewn
over the legs.
"Senshi!"
Miko snapped.
He looked at her
again for a brief moment and wondered whether he
should respond. He'd been experiencing headaches for
the previous thirteen days, always around midnight,
and they had been getting worse. The one he had
experienced an instant earlier was by far the worst,
but also the briefest. He thought that she might know
something about their cause, or how to stop them -
then thought that even if that were the case, he did
not want to reveal a potential vulnerability.
"Just go,"
he told her. He started to walk away, past the inert
robot lying against the alley wall. "I'm going
to see what Ikku's doing!"
He began to run, and
soon disappeared beyond the opening of the alleyway.
Miko carefully followed him to the street beyond and
peered around the corner. She could not see Senshi or
Ikku, until a sound from above caused her to
look up to the rooftop across the street.
Ikku was crouched at
the top of a fire escape which ran from the side of
the building and into the street below. Behind him
stalked a dark figure, clad in skintight black
clothing, with a pale purple glow around its wrists,
ankles and neck. She knew exactly what she was
looking at, and quickly turned away.
Calmly, she began to
concentrate and raido energy covered her
entire body. Within moments, she had disappeared,
leaving only a shower of blue mist behind her, which
disappeared as soon as its shimmering particles hit
the ground where she had been standing - but as her
body disappeared, she could not help but ask herself:
What have I
done...?
