Each are owned by their respective companies, creators and are copyrighted by them. Any songs in here are owned by the people that created them as well. As for the second disclaimer, basically Gab and Xena are reincarnated into this future that is Neo Tokyo (Tokyo2) as Sylia and Priss… those not familiar with BGC will see a BIG change in the Gabrielle character (i.e.: if you've ever wondered what Gab would be like if she were aloof, stoic, tall, vindictive and mysterious, well here's the story for you.

Not too sure how long this story will be or take, but there is going to be a lot of history covered between Sylia and Priss, tons of flashbacks and interesting twists and turns of things to come so if you're patient and stick with, I hope that this will be something that you enjoy as much as I do. Dispersed through the story there will be little tags that say ["boomer" pic at: then the website] for any that are interested to know or see what stuff looks like from the anime.

Sex: eventually and it will be f/f so if it is illegal or just abhorrent to you, well … I guess you should find something else.

Violence: I'd rate it pretty high on the 'kick ass o'meter'.

*The song at the end of Chapter 3 is "Silence" By Sarah McLachlan.

Feedback: YES.. please that would be so nice! Laststarlite@yahoo.com.

Part 1

A flash of blinding white light pierced the desolate night, high atop an abandoned building of Tokyo2.

The flash didn't last long, for an all encompassing 'boom' soon followed it as yet another rouge was slain. In the haziness of smoldering, twisted metal, a silver figure could be seen, flanked by others in form fitting mech suits similar to herself; one of a royal metallic blue, the other a pale green. Huge rain drops pelted down upon the trio and glided over the slick metal of their suits. All shimmered and reflected the dying flames light of another rouge boomer taken out before it could hurt innocent civilians.

Boomers. Created to make ones life easier. An artificial life form born from the melding of biotechnology and mechtronics. Early units were originally designed to be used in outer space, but the adaptability as a weapon and menial labor proved too tempting for the Genom Corporation who commissioned Professor Stingray for the original design of his boomer space workers. Boomers would eventually become the driving force in the restoration of Tokyo2.

There were three catastrophes in Japan's history that virtually decimated the city. The first was the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, then the carpet bombing of Tokyo at the end of WWII, as with the later, Tokyo was reduced to nothing more than a smoldering pile of rubble. Yet Tokyo rebuilt itself from its ashes and began to flourish, becoming a major metropolitan area. Corporations, businesses and people flooded the city with a major population boom with the onset of new jobs. The city was flourishing. Its most notable corporation was Genom. It was slowly but steadily getting a broad clientele base and would burst onto the world market with a revolutionary technology to change the lives of people all over the globe. Unfortunately for Tokyo, it would suffer another great blow, as the Second Great Kanto Earthquake of 2032 virtually bisected the city in two, water flooding in and killing hundreds of thousands of people. The buildings, having not been retrofitted, crumbled like rice paper in a hurricane. As the death toll rose, the world watched on in horror as one of the leading worlds market crumbled due to something none of them could have expected could have planned for with their technology and genius; mother natures wrath.

As with any design, there are flaws. As soon as the smoke cleared over Tokyo, plans were put together by the Genom corporation to restore Tokyo and make it an even more grand metropolis than it had been before. Various type of boomer S-10 workers were produced to handle the clearing away of debris and garbage; but every now and again a problem would occur within the boomers cybertronic network. When such a problem occurred a boomer would essentially override it's original programming and go 'rogue'. With the earlier models it was a program that was fixed once the AI chip had been pulled and been replaced with a simple binary code to ensure that the worker would do exactly as it's program dictated. Unfortunately the older boomers were salvaged for parts and the AI units of their cybertronic network would be placed into the newer models, making it easier for them to regress and go rogue.

Rogue boomers were a threat to all around them, it scoured their original programming and made them do what they were programmed for in excess and making them go insane from the feedback loop they experienced, sometimes their madness would cost human life, which Genom would cover up. Unfortunately for the boomer industry, Professor Stingray died in the Second Kanto Earthquake, taking his improvements for the boomer models to his grave. Genom tried to employ Stingrays staff to help him but found them uncooperative and essentially could not be bought off. Most of Stingrays research fell into the fault running through Tokyo, fifty meters wide at it's largest point separating the city into east and west. Stingrays entire life, his blood, his work buried beneath tons of debris and rubble.

Boomers' going rogue was a truly rare occasion, but still, the police force in Tokyo could not handle them since they were biomechanoids. Having a durable exoskeleton over fiberoptics, which worked much like muscle, reinforced with malleable metal plating over the fiberoptics. Because of all the steel involved with the boomers and their excessive strength, regular weapons did not have the power to reach the boomers core and destroy it. The only way to really get rid of a boomer was to destroy its core, so the standard issued weapons of the police made their presence moot when trying to control a rogue boomer.

An ironic twist of fate was that even though the earthquake decimated the city, the earthquake didn't even crack the foundations of its most prominent building. Genom headquarters, a skyscraper like none other in the city, always dominating the skyline and never a building taller than it. Perhaps it was a testament to the power that Genom had achieved over the years, that it would escape unscathed from Mother Nature, that it was above those laws and always would be.

As the lead figure in her metallic silver suit stood watching over yet another example of Genoms influence, something caught her attention. It was just a brief flicker in her peripheral vision through the visor of her helmet, but it was enough.

"LOOK OUT!" She screamed and jumped, her boosters lifting her high into the air as she performed a flip to the outermost edge of the rooftop. The rest of her team did likewise and viewed their new target. It's monstrous human-like robotic face contorted and looking for all purposes like a rabid animal, was crouched on all fours, watching the three-suited woman.

Damn, why didn't the sensors alert us to its presence? The three stood warily, but ready for its attack if it happened.

"Sylia, I can't get a read on this thing." As soon as Amber spoke over the internal COM between the suits, the boomer attacked. Charging at Amber's blue suit. Amber had engaged her boosters, but not soon enough, the boomer caught her booted foot and she was flung back down into the ground, hard.

"AMBER!" Yuri, spurned into action by the boomers attack, flew at him and used her energy ribbons that were attached to her green suit's shoulders against the boomer.

The attack had no effect. Sylia charged the boomer, unsheathing her saber that was embedded in her armor clad fore arm and tried to do a lateral bisect. The boomer picked Amber up and threw her at Yuri and Sylia. They all flew across the rooftop and landed in a pile of arms and legs.

Sylia was the first to recover but found that she couldn't track the boomer's movements. In fact, her sensors were telling her that there were only three forms on the rooftop. The group's heavy breathing could be heard over the internal mike. Amber and Yuri cautiously got up, each taking a point and looking about, hoping that their eyes could search out the boomer.

Sylia felt more than heard the impact of the bomb going off and was once again flying through the air. It wasn't until she was up and about again that she heard the screams. The lower half of Amber's suit and body was gone. Yuri was by her side, screaming at her. Amber's lifeblood gushed out from the place where her hips once were.

"Oh god, oh god, oh god, OH GOD! AM-BER!" Sylia watched in silent horror as the metal beast descended from above, plunging a thick, metal rod through Yuri's suit, slamming it right through her chest. Yuri's head snapped back with the force of the blow, then her body fell limp sliding slowly down the rod to where it was embedded in the paved rooftop.

Sylia's eyes widened as the boomer charged her.

"NNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Sylia bolted upright in a bed, the sheets sticking to her sweaty form. Her breathing was ragged as she tried to calm her racing heart from the nightmare she had just awoken from. Or perhaps the nightmare was actually her life. As much as Sylia tried to deny it, her team was dead and with the devils luck she had survived disaster a second time.

Slipping out of the cool sheets, she headed to the bathroom of her hotel room. Flipping on the light, she turned on the faucet to the sink and doused her face with cool water. Raking her fingers over her skin, she observed her features from between her fingers. She could see that her once black, almost dark blue hair had turned silver white.

She had woken up in the hospital, Greta had finally intervened and pulled Sylia off the rooftop and sent an anonymous call to the newly established AD Police. They eventually had to call in the National Guard to put down the military boomer. What it was doing in Tokyo was anyone's guess.

When Sylia was finally able to get out of her bed to use the bathroom on her own (much to the consternation of the nurses) she found a brilliant shock of silver white hair going from her temple. Over the past few weeks her hair had gradually been changing color. Now she could barely see any of her original hair coloring left.

She dropped her hands and her hazel eyes, flecked with gold stared back at her, lifeless. She had come to the states almost immediately after getting out of the hospital, to bring her fallen team member's home. Amber had been a police officer on the LA police force before she had joined the Knight Sabers, had come under Sylia's employ. It had been hard to watch the most vibrant member of her team to be put into the ground, cut down in the prime of her life. But that's the way things were in Sylia's world. Nobody stayed around, they all eventually died.

Greta and Sylia parted ways when they put Yuri to rest next to her parents in her hometown of Peoria, Illinois. Yuri had been a special service agent with the U.S.S.D. before Sylia recruited her.

Sylia could still remember Greta as she gave her the envelope with the money for her services. Could still remember Greta's parting words, her expression colder than the light snow billowing around them. 'Who will morn for you Sylia? ' With that, she left Sylia to stare at the earthen mound where her comrade lay.

Sylia sighed and stood back from the mirror to observe the rest of her body. She took a long, good look at herself, shaking her head when she thought about the fact that she would be turning twenty six in less than a week and yet, she looked older. It wasn't so much her body or face, but more like the awareness she held in her eyes. 2035 and yet Genom gets richer of a city it's destroying… and another birthday gone by alone.

Sylia turned from the mirror and went back into the bedroom. She went to her bags and pulled out her compact laptop. Getting online, she scheduled a flight back to Japan for the morning.

Slipping back onto the bed she brought up the files for her designs of her new mech suits. Along with bringing her comrade's back home to rest, she also brought with her the new designs for her suits. Shortly after getting out of the hospital, she went to her lab and checked the wreckage of the suits. Analyzing each and every system, every circuit and every fiber cable to find what exactly went wrong. What she had found disturbed her greatly. She based her design of her suits for the Knight Sabers on her father's design for a boomer-human hybrid military bot. The only difference being that the suit was controlled and operated by a human host, it needed a humans brain waves in order for it to function, but it still had a boomer 'core'.

In her investigation, she discovered that the reason for the breakdown in the sensors was because she had originally based the design of the mech suits on her physical and mental type. Both Amber and Yuri were as far from Sylia in that respect as possible. The only things they truly had in common was their abilities with combat scenario's and that they all kept themselves toned, other than that they had nothing in common. The readings for their mental and physical bodies wouldn't correspond. Because of the difference in her brain wave patterns from theirs, it created a feedback loop, since the suits were interconnected they all lost their sensors and weren't prepared for the attack by the other rouge boomer.

Sylia's advanced mind watched as schematics flashed quickly across the screen, her idea's for the new suits quickly became a blur, going faster than any 'human' eye could track. In the dark solitude of a nondescript hotel, Sylia Stingray's cold mind formulated the future of her Knight Sabers, wondering where she could find people with the same body and brain waves as herself.

[ Rogue Boomer Pic at:

www.cs.mun.ca/~anime/afs/images/bgc/index/b11.jpg. ]

Chapter 1:

Beady blue eyes looked out from their hiding place amidst the rubble of the waterfront buildings. The eyes searched for some more prey, someone stupid enough to walk in front of the building she was at. It was her meal ticket; her gig at Hot Legs wasn't paying enough and besides that they paid her with a hot check the last time, she needed food and she needed it soon.

Ahh, that's the one! A feral grin broke out on the dirty face. She began to pace the one she had targeted. Her prey was a short, sandy blonde haired girl.

The girl looked about herself nervously as she quickened her pace, her corkscrew curls bouncing slightly with each twitch of her head left and right. That's it, come to mama…

She darted out between the buildings and snatched the girl's purse and ran as fast as her long legs would take her.

"HEY!" The girl took off after her purse-snatcher. As the thief seemed to get further away, the theif looked back as they were rounding a corner and the girl only caught a glimpse of smug blue eyes. As the girl rounded the corner of the same building she couldn't find the thief.

"Ahh god dammit!" The girl stomped about, pounding down the pavement and looking every which way. When she finally resolved herself to not finding anything she got really mad.

"GOD DAMN FUCKING BITCH!" She fumed and slowly began to walk her way up the street mumbling obscenities under her breath.

The thief looked on from a scaffolding between some buildings and smirked, thumbing her prize. Don't worry little girl, your donation goes to a far greater place… my stomach!

With that, she made her way down the scaffolding and walked through the waterfront barrio of District Three in Tokyo2. She tossed the purse into the water as she went and put the bills into the front of her dirty black jeans. Finding an inexpensive market she bought enough groceries to last the week and headed home.

Home was a relative term for her. Basically it was a trailer that faced the waterfront and had 'Priss' stenciled on the side of it. The trailer was so dirty looking that even the vagrants tended to stay away from it, and even if they had tried to gain access they would have run screaming from the inside. To say that Priss was a pig would be an understatement. There were so many things growing in her trailer that she could quite possibly have had the cure for the latest cancer, and it would be right under her nose…. well more like her foot.

The only respectable part of the place was her bedroom; it was pristine in its appearance by comparison to the refuge outside its door.

Priss opened the door to the trailer and was assaulted with the smell of stale beer, cigarette smoke and something that could only be described as 'corpse'. Wrinkling her nose slightly, she attempted to crack a window, but then gave up shortly knowing that it would be a futile attempt to get the damn thing open anyway.

Priss swept her arm across the table and scattered the old ramen and kimchi noodle bowls onto the floor so she could set her groceries down. Turning to her fridge she opened the door and flew back away from it because of the stench and the sight in front of her. Err; guess I should clean that out first. Grabbing a half empty bottle of cleaning solution and a couple of garbage bags, Priss began to clean out her fridge, gagging more than once when her finger slipped into a nondescript box of slimy goo.

Nearly two hours and four trashbags later, Priss was tossing everything out the door and into the dumpster across from her trailer. Sitting down heavily in her now clean trailer Priss couldn't help but think that she should probably clean up more often, especially when it came to food! Good thing I didn't buy anything perishable when I went to the store… Priss thought as the looked at her three bags of groceries. Opening the first one, she took out her prize and lovingly placed it inside her now clean refrigerator. Making sure that nothing else would touch her beer if she decided to throw it in there with it. She looked longingly at her brew of the gods and decided that she'd have one after she took a shower.

Stepping out of her dirty clothes, she padded naked to her itsy bitsy shower and drew in a big sigh of relief when she found it relatively decent. Her bathroom was the next most disgusting place; sometimes it was even worse than her fridge.

Turning on the shower, she stepped under the lukewarm spray and wetted down her chestnut colored hair. Grabbing a bar of soap, she trailed it over her dirty skin and washed away four days worth of filth. Priss wasn't proud of the way she lived but sometimes a girl had to do what a girl had to do. Putting the bar back into its holder she found her shampoo on the floor and soon was lathering her hair up. She snagged her fingers a couple of time while trying to massage her head and drag her fingers through her hair. She rinsed the shampoo out then quickly turned off the water and exited the shower, grabbing a towel as she dripped all the way to her bedroom.

After drying her body off, Priss found her Red leather pants and put them on, then began to dry her hair. She was looking for a hairbrush when a knock came at her door. Grabbing her handgun, she quietly went to the monitor by the fridge and clicked it on to see who it was. Her manager Jeff stood outside her door, giving furtive glances everywhere around him. Priss groaned, wondering what the slimy little shit could want.

Priss went to the door and yanked it open, shoving her gun in Jeff's face and feeling very self satisfied when Jeff's dopey brown eyes nearly rolled up into his head at the sight of the gun in his face. Priss grabbed his shirtfront and shook him a little, telling him to 'knock it off'. She roughly shoved him into a seat at her tinny little dinette.

"So ahh Priss, how have you been?" Priss arched a brow in his direction then dismissed him as she started to open up cupboards and found some decent bread she could use to make some sort of sandwich. If she could just find something to put on it, There you are! She grinned with her back turned to Jeff and began to make two sandwich's. She could hear him shifting around in his seat and a little twinkle got into her eyes. He's nervous… good.

Turning around, she came back and sat at the dinette with him and then stared long and hard into his beady little brown eyes. Shifting again slightly he cleared his throat.

"There's a gig tonight if you want it. The band members will be there I just need confirmation from you…." Priss put her head in her had and looked at him, seeming to be unfazed by what he had just said.

"I have the check for you already made-"

"Cash."

"What was that?"

"I said I want cash." Priss's voice had dropped a tone or two and if it could have been any colder, Jeff would have checked his family jewels just to make sure they hadn't been frozen off by her tone and look. Her tone brooked no argument.

"Well.. ahh.. yeah of course Priss anything for you." Jeff wasn't a fool. Priss was one of the hottest people that anyone could put into a club. She had great sex appeal and her voice was good, but unfortunately many of the clubs were changing owners quicker than Priss changed from her street clothes to her stage clothes, so she hadn't been getting as many gigs as they both would have liked.

Standing up, Jeff reached for his billfold and pulled out a couple of bills and handed them to Priss. Priss kept her eyes on Jeff and lifted a brow, Jeff nervously went back into his wallet and retrieved a couple more bills and gave them to Priss.

"The gig is at-" sooner than he knew what hit him, he was summarily out on Priss's doorstep with Priss's trailer door in his face and he could hear the telltale 'snick' of the lock engaging. Sighing, he turned and walked back the way he came.

Priss looked at the bills in her hand and grinned. Maybe today was her lucky day after all. Grabbing a beer from the fridge, she popped the top and took a long pull off of it as she threw herself half-hazardly into a seat.

"Oh YEAH, that's the stuff." She said happily and gave an indelicate belch. Things were looking up for her, what she didn't realize was that she would soon meet someone that would change her life forever.

~~

For the second time that week, Priss stood in her little hiding spot looking for a new target. There were only two things that Priss spent her money on, her bike and food. Almost always in that order. After doing the gig for Jeff, Priss had taken her bike to the local body shop and had some modifications done to it. Lately it had gotten a bit testy when it came to corners and that concerned Priss a bit. Her shiny, candy apple red racing bike was her pride and joy, going 250mph, Priss loved riding her bike and riding it fast. She tried to go out everyday, but sometimes she didn't have enough money to get fuel for her baby, so she'd have to wait a while.

Priss knew her bike was her one true vice, she really didn't like smoking too much so it was easy to cut that out of her diet when it came to a choice between it and her baby. The same thing went for booze; there was never a contest when faced with the choice of an empty alcoholic bliss, or the euphoria of the open road. But no matter what…. she still needed to eat! So there she was, waiting for some poor sap to come her way. That's when she saw her.

PAYDIRT! Priss grinned cockily as she took in the tall, refined woman, with the pale hair as she walked down the street. Oh honey, you don't belong down here, but your loss WILL be my gain! She paced her victim again and when she saw her chance, she took it.

Priss had just touched the purse when she found herself ass end on the ground, staring up at the prim woman. She was surprised for a second, then got angry. Bitch. She lunged at the woman who easily sidestepped her and swept her legs out from under her again. Priss didn't know martial arts, but she did know street fighting, so Priss scrambled to her feet and put all her anger into focusing on her opponent.

"You are of no consequence to me girl." The woman effectively dismissed her presence and started to walk again. Priss ran up to her and tried to grab the woman only to find herself in a chokehold.

"When I say someone is of no consequence, I mean it." The voice was chillingly calm and uninflected. Priss dislodged the woman and swung at her, barely missing her jaw. A brief flicker of amusement passed through the woman's lifeless eyes but was gone just as quickly before she did a couple of quick jabs and kicks. Sooner than Priss knew what had happened, she was on her back, this time clutching her ribs and trying to pull in lungfulls of air.

The woman stood above her for a second, as if contemplating something then threw down a few bills onto Priss's chest and walked away. As soon as Priss recovered she chased the woman, yelling as she went.

"Listen, I don't need your god damned-" Priss turned the corner to find that the woman was gone, "charity." Priss was stunned. That wasn't just some lady… that was a wolf in sheep's clothing. Feeling a little humbled by her experience. Priss turned and walked away, stuffing the money in her pocket as she left, never noticing the eyes that were watching her as she went home, licking her wounds.

~~

The strobe lights flared to life and a bass started to pound. Priss checked herself out in the mirror, adjusting her Blonde wig with a red streak in it. She smoothed her black vinyl miniskirt and adjusted her breasts a little inside her brown leather halter-top. Taking a deep breathe she strode onto the stage and a cheer went through the crowed at Hot Legs. Blinding white light back lighted Priss and her band, so no one could really get a good look at them, only seeing their silhouette.

The punk rock beat to her song "There's a Hurricane tonight" started to pulse through the speakers. Fog machines pumped the noxious carbon tasting gas into the air making everything hazy. Strobes of various colors and black lights flickered all over the stage and dance floor as the bass and drums set the tempo and the electric guitars. Priss caressed the microphone and brought it close to her mouth as she wetted her lips.

"Searching for the whereabouts of my interrupted dream,

Which kept running down the stormy highway,

Bitter spirits letting fly…

At my back with all the lies.

Big city, heart to heart,

Everyone's a lonely child lost in love,

Big city, day by day,

Tears only shake sleepless hearts."

The percussion and guitars got edgier and just as Priss was getting ready for her next verse she saw a flash of gold flecked hazel eyes and silver hair. Priss nearly missed her cue to begin the verse but quickly righted herself.

"Tonight hurricane,

I want hurricane,

To tell you 'I love you.'

Tonight hurricane,

Feel the hurricane,

Right on your bare face,

Feel the touch,

I want to touch,

Feel the touch,

Give me touch."

Priss was staring intently into those emotionless eyes and wondering just what was going through that woman's mind. She obviously didn't belong in the club, and yet she did somehow fit. Everyone there was lost in some way, and she seemed to have some of the same qualities as many of the people there. Priss even recognized some of the same expressions that she herself had when it came to wanting to appear aloof play across the woman's face that she had 'met' so briefly earlier.

"I cannot share the pain in your heart

With darting words that merely placate.

I want you to tell me what it is

That makes your eyes cloud over.

Tired of dancing in the tattered, broken night…

I waited anxiously for a little empty warmth.

Tonight hurricane,

I want Hurricane,

To tell you 'I love you'

Tonight hurricane,

I want hurricane,

To hold you once more…

Feel your touch,

Burning touch,

Give me touch."

The music ended all too quickly for Priss. The lights went out and she lost sight of the woman, when the lights came fully on the woman was gone. Priss didn't know why but she felt disappointed that the woman wasn't there.

Priss and her band finished the set after a few more songs and then eventually they were done. Priss went back to her dressing room. It was actually a store room, the manager was too cheap to give Priss and her guys a dressing room, so the guys let her go in there first to change so that she could have her privacy and then she'd let them in. Priss stored her costume and donned her red leather bikers pants, a black tank and her red leather coat. After she was done slipping on her boots, she said night to the boys and left to jump on her bike.

After putting on her helmet, she revved the engine and shot off through the darkened city streets. She could see Genom tower looming over the city, almost like the tower of babel. It was it's own little world and yet it controlled everything in it's shadow, even down to the lowliest cockroach.

A light drizzle started, but Priss didn't mind, she actually loved it when it rained, the city just seemed to change after a good down pour, like it was baptized or something. Priss came to a crashing halt when a worker boomer blocked her path and bumped her front tired. Priss cursed the boomer to hell and tried to straighten out the bike but to no avail. Her eyes widened at the upcoming divider that she had no doubt she would crash into.

All because of a fucking boomer! Priss hated boomers with a passion. A rogue boomer killed what was left of her family after the earthquake. Her brother was all she had left. It seemed ironic to her as she got closer and closer to the divider that it would be a boomer that would accidentally kill her. Priss shut her eyes tightly and expected to feel the impact but instead felt as if she was floating.

Jesus I must be dead if I feel like I'm floating. Priss opened her eyes to find herself staring into a candy apple red metal helmet. Then noticed that she was clutched lightly in a persons arms. Not a person, a person in a bright pink boomer suit. Okay, it's official; I have finally dived off the deep end! Priss looked about her and noticed the ground rushing up to meet them.

Oh fuck I'm dead! Priss clenched her eyes tightly and felt nothing, until she was unceremoniously dropped on the ground. Priss looked up at the red suited bot and saw it giving her a peace sign and heard a slight giggle from behind the helmet. Her attention was quickly drawn away from it when she heard and inhuman roar.

Forty yards away from then was a boomer, a rogue boomer. So it wasn't my fault that I was going to crash. Priss watched as a silver suited mech dropped from the sky and fought with the raging boomer. Priss had never seen anything so sleek and versatile in all her life. It did things that she didn't know were possible. The red one soon flashed passed her and was joining the fray. Priss could only sit there and watch in awe as two very feminine mech's double-teamed the boomer. Priss got unsteadily to her feet with her eyes riveted on the scene before her. Unfortunately it was not the wisest course of action. The boomer noticed her with its sensors then charged away from its attackers to go after Priss. Priss turned and started to run.

She didn't have to worry though, she was soon scooped up and flying high above the boomer, she looked and saw only her faint reflection in the silver-blue colored helmet. A bright burst of red and an explosion drew her attention to what was below her. The boomer had apparently been taken down by the bright red mech and she watched as it did a graceful back flip to a safe distance at least a hundred yards away from the explosion.

She and the silver suited one landed close to the red one and she saw that it was using a laser on the ground. By nature Priss wasn't really very curious, but this whole situation had her blown away, so she was really interested to know just what exactly the red one was doing to the ground.

The silver one must have known what she was thinking and placed a hand on her shoulder and shook its head while saying forcefully, "no." Then, without warning, it nodded its head and it was up and off into the air with the red one, their graceful forms flying through the darkened sky and out of sight. Priss stood there for a moment then quickly went to where the red one had just been. There, in big, bold letters and seared into the sidewalk were two words. Knight Sabers.

[Priss Pic at:

www.angelfire.com/anime2/sisbunny/images/priss1.gif. ]

Chapter 2:

The Knight Sabers flew through the air away from their victory over the rogue boomer. Sylia was pleased with the new design of the suit and how well her newest partner Nene had done.

Sylia motioned with her head to the building below that they were fast approaching and Nene gave a swift nod of her metallic red head as they flew down to the rooftop. They entered the building off to the right of a huge pool, the entrance was actually a service shoot that extended all the way down to the sublevels of the building where the launching pad for the suits were. Sylia walked away from the pad and entered the changing room with Nene following close behind.

Sylia slipped from her enhanced mech suit and turned to her newest parter. She noted that Nene was frowning slightly.

All in all her new designs had been flawless, she was quite lucky in being able to recruit Nene to join her. It did help a little that Sylia was paying Nene quite handsomely for helping her against boomers. Beyond that, Nene was blown away by the technology being used by the hard suits that Sylia had designed.

It was an accident really that Sylia and Nene had 'met'. Sylia had hacked into the AD Police files and thought that she had gone in undetected. Nene had been on duty at the time and going through some old files when she noticed that someone had tripped her security program and proceeded to trace the would be hacker. In the end Sylia had crashed the AD Polices mainframe, much to Nene's consternation. Sylia ended up pulling up Nene's own file from the police headquarters before she crashed the system, wanting to find out more about the person who was able to track her movements in the system. Sylia followed her around for two weeks, keeping her under surveillance. She was perfect.

Nene fit Sylia's body type to a tee, if what the AD Police files had on her was correct, or at least would be able to fit in a hard suit with minor modifications to it. All that Sylia had to find out was if her brain waves would match up. It turned out that in Nene's spare time she was a hacker for hire, which presented Sylia with the perfect opportunity to be able to get close to the girl setting the girl up, so that she would have to jack in with a VR head set in order to get into the system she was hired to crack. Sylia had waited and when Nene tripped her detection program she went in through Nene's own system and type corded her brain waves. Sylia was more than pleased to find that Nene was a ninety six percent match. All that was left for Sylia to do was recruit her.

That however took a bit more time. But when Nene was presented with the opportunity to learn from Sylia, with a generous monetary compensation, she agreed. This had been Nene's first real battle and she had done pretty well. She had spent many long days in the simulator trying to perfect the maneuvers that would be needed to pull off successful missions. One would think that all you had to do was suit up and move, but that simply wasn't so. Nene had to be fitted so that the synthetic fibers that formed the mold of the inside of the hard suit would be able to adjust for her own measurements instead of Sylia's. Both suits were form fitting, almost like a second skin to the women, allowing for less bulk but maximum maneuverability.

Although Sylia had given Nene an overview of just how the hard suits worked, she still wished that she could know more.

Nene learned that one should never try to breach Sylia's own systems. Not only had she been denied access using her best program, but also Sylia had made her face her in her hard suit to see how much she had learned. Nene earned two broken ribs and a bruised ego for having thought she should know more than Sylia deemed necessary.

Nene turned her head to look at Sylia, her corkscrew curls bouncing slightly.

"Is she the one you were looking for earlier." Nene's comment was met with an icy stare. She shivered slightly, being under those piercing hazel eyes could be discomforting sometimes and down right creepy too.

"Err, never mind." Nene stripped out of her pilot's suit and quickly grabbed her regular clothes to put on. A cool hand touched the skin on her naked shoulder and she shivered slightly again.

Sylia leaned in close to Nene, her lips a hairs breath away from her ear.

"You did excellent tonight Nene. You will be rewarded for your effort." Nene held her breath as Sylia moved away and out the door from the changing room. She breathed a sigh of relief at being away from Sylia's cold demeanor.

I hope that girl can hold her own with Sylia, she can be very persuasive when she wants to. With that thought, Nene finished changing and left to go back to her apartment and get ready for another day as a Knight Saber, and an AD Police officer.

~~

Sylia's nude form plunged into the heated water of her outside pool and began to do lazy laps. Her pool was next to the apartment she had, which was on top of the building she owned. The building extended a few meters beneath the city and housed her laboratory, in-home medical facility, and storage. At ground level was her own business, the Silky Doll, a designer lingerie store that she ran which provided her with extra spending money.

She really didn't need any extra money; both her parents had left her trusts, which kept her in the lifestyle with which she was accustomed to. It also helped finance her quest against Genom. Her hard suits were not by any means inexpensive; they far surpassed anything that Genom produced. Even Sylia's motorcycle was of her own design and was a mech itself. It could be used to enhance her hard suit or be used as extra shielding should a new military boomer come along. Mostly it was for recreation, but with anything Sylia had, she made sure that it was equipped with all the latest gadgetry that she had thought up everything from new armor to a form of stealth technology.

Besides Sylia's trust, her previous Knight Sabers and herself had been mercenaries for hire. Anything that went against Genom would do, but the price had to be right. There was always some modification or new design that Sylia had wanted to incorporate into her mech's and although her personal resources were vast, they were by no means endless.

Sylia ran through the battle in her mind as her sleek body continued to cut through the water with ease. It had been a good run for Nene. She wouldn't be as good as Amber or Yuri, but mainly she wanted Nene for the information she could provide from inside the AD Police. There was also the benefit of having another hacker on the team that understood machines the way she herself did. Yes, Nene would be an asset to her, and from what she could tell from the read outs, her suit was in complete sync with her.

She then started to think about the young woman. What was the bands name… oh yes, Priss and the Replicants. She must be Priss. Sylia grinned slightly at that. It wasn't a coincidence that she had been walking down by the waterfront that day, nor that she was at Hot Legs later that night. When Nene had complained about her purse being stolen Sylia had thought nothing of it, that was until the homing beacon she had had implanted into Nene´s money clip still showed as being active, and on the move.

Intrigued, Sylia had followed the homing beacon to the waterfront where a ratty trailer stood, with ´Priss´ spray painted on the side. While in her black leather motorcycle outfit, she had sat a good distance away astride her bike and watched the trailer through her tinted visor.

She watched as a nervous young man in a tacky suit approached the trailer and ended up with a gun pointed in his face. Sylia had to grin when that happened. She expected to see the man faint dead away, but was somewhat surprised when he was yanked inside the trailer. She waited and watched the trailer and saw the man get out again. Later on the young woman came out in a red leather biker's outfit, climbed upon her own bike and pealed away. Sylia ended up sneaking inside the trailer and searched around. She didn't find Nene's money clip, so pulled out her hand held tracker and found that it was on the move. The girl obviously had it on her so Sylia followed it all the way to the source.

She had sat outside Hot Legs and observed the people milling about outside and those who went in. She didn't much care for the music going on inside but upon going around the building, found the red bike that the woman had left on. Reaching inside her half-unzipped top, she pulled out another beacon and quickly placed it on the back panel of the bike, next to the taillight where it wouldn't be detected. She didn't know why she did it, but she was intrigued.

She followed the girl around for a while and then eventually decided to see if she could get the girl alone. She was amused when the girl tried to rob her, and even more so when the girl attempted to best her. The girl was near the right body type, but Sylia wasn't completely sure how to get the girls attention or even how to really approach her.

She had sat in the shadows between some buildings and watched the willful girl fly past her position and continue talking, as if she could possibly catch up to Sylia. She had to admit that the girl had guts. A little stupid but she definitely had spirit.

Sylia followed the girl back home and watched her until she left later that night and went to Hot Legs. Sylia decided to go in and watched the band warm up. She was surprised at the amount of people inside the hole in the wall club, but everything erupted when Priss had stepped on stage. Their eyes had met briefly during the song but her own COM had gone off and she had to leave. Nene had detected a boomer core wave that was off and had requested her assistance. It had ended up being a rogue boomer and they had saved Priss's life. Now Sylia wondered how she could test the young woman. There were ways that she could do it, people to pay that would have no qualms with performing what she needed, but she didn't really feel that that was necessary.

Sylia performed a flip in the pool and floated up to the surface. She listened to the vast nothingness that the water provided for her. She was weightless and without substance, something to just exists. Unfortunately that was all she really did, exist. She really had nobody in her life except her brother Makie and then there was Falcon, he was one of her fathers engineers and helped her create her first hard suit. He had been there and watched as she pushed her body to its utmost limits and nearly fell over the precipice, only to be pulled back when she had finally garnered the ability to control the suit and herself.

Sylia spent years perfecting her aloof manner, her face that was utterly without emotion. It was what made her unique, nobody could read her, not her brother nor Falcon. Both had known her all her life and even still, she was a mystery to both of them.

Sylia closed her eyes and let herself sink into the water, its warmth surrounded her like a blanket and she took a brief refuge in it before pulling herself up from the bottom and flashing up to the surface. She got out of the pool and put on her pale blue silk robe and padded through her apartment until she reached her computer room.

Reaching into the pocket of her robe, she pulled out a slim billfold and withdrew the social card from within. She stared at the picture and read the information on it, while typing it into the computer with one hand to scan social, military and district records for one Priscilla S. Asagiri.

Sylia watched as data flowed over the screen depicting everything that on paper made up Priscilla Asagiri. Ascertain clipping from a newspaper drew her attention. Interesting. She continued to grin and a small flicker of something passed through her eyes, it was just a brief flicked but if anyone had been able to notice they would have seen that Sylia had looked, if only for a brief moment, like that cat that had ate the canary.

Very interesting indeed.

~~

Priss hadn't been happy when she'd picked her beautiful bike up off the pavement. The person in the mech may have saved her but couldn't they have saved her bike as well? It was a royal pain in the ass for her to pick her baby off the ground and walk it to the nearest garage since it wouldn't start for her. The next thing that irked her was she couldn't find her damn social card. Her social card had been with her money chit but since she didn't have it she had to put the bike on the street for the night in the seedy neighborhood she was in.

Priss had thanked her lucky stares when she came back the next day with her money chit and found that the bike hadn't been tampered with, then again her baby had definitely seen better days. Priss wasn't really too surprised that her social card was missing, she was constantly misplacing it, but to not be with her credit chit was another thing entirely!

Having had enough of the silence of her trailer, Priss decided to take a walk in the well to do part of Tokyo. She liked to see what the rich considered 'fashionable'. Some of the things that were displayed made Priss want to laugh. They were just so ugly. God and people claim I have no fashion sense. Looks like a dog puked all over it's own shit, jesus and that's a purse too!

Priss was strolling down the upper part of District Three when she looked through the window of a shop and saw her. She was behind a woman, holding a black negligée up against her as they both looked in the mirror to see how it looked on the woman. Priss had to admit that if the woman looked half as good out of her clothes as she did in them, well she'd be making someone very happy if she bought the negligée.

Priss made a split second decision and entered the store. She went to the far side and looked at some of the underwear. Her eyes bulged when she saw how much it was going for. Shit if someone wants dental floss all they have to do is go to the store, and it sure as hell wouldn't cost about half a down payment on a house! She looked at things but was too afraid to touch. She could feel the eyes of some of the other women in the store boring holes into her back, but she didn't care. It wasn't their business what she was doing there anyway. Maybe she liked sexy clothes. Hell if Priss was half honest with herself she did like them. She just didn't have any use for them. All Priss needed were a few good pairs of jeans, her leather pants, a few tanks and she was good to go.

"Can I help you find anything?" A low, silky feminine voice asked from behind Priss. She turned and regarded the woman that had quite literally kicked her butt.

"I don't know, maybe you can." The woman stood there staring at Priss, a single eyebrow lifted in an inquiring look. Priss began to squirm from all the attention she was getting from the woman. It wasn't so much the woman as ... hell who was Priss kidding. It was the woman! Sure Priss wasn't like the rich women in the store, but this women's frigid glance and less than admiring once over set Priss on edge.

Shoving her hands into her right pocket, she drew out a couple of crumpled bills and shoved her hand in the woman's face.

"I don't take charity."

Sylia looked at the fist full of cash then back up into sapphire eyes.

"You don't take charity, yet you feel it is all right to steal. That seems to defeat the purpose." Her voice was cool, calm, collected and it sent a shiver down Priss's spine. Jesus, this woman is made of ice. It wasn't so much just the voice or her demeanor, but it was the way she presented herself. Her silver hair and pale skin only helped to enhance her coldness, her aloof mystique.

Priss felt foolish, standing there in a high-class store with a fist full of grubby bills shoved in this refined woman's face. She slowly retracted her hand and put the bills back in her pants. She wanted to flee, Priss hated to be nervous, and normally she was the one to make people that way. Priss was always controlled but with an edge of fire to her, but this woman made her feel like a novice in the game.

Priss started to back away and had turned around when she found herself pulled into a dressing room, a slender body pressed up against her backside.

"I can help you if you wanted. Make everything that you've wanted come true." The hot breath on her neck was like a caress, the hands lightly clasping her upper arms felt like an embrace. Priss was shocked for a moment, but then began to feel slightly aroused. It had been a long time for her, a long time since she'd been this close to another person. Felt another persons mouth so close to her skin, right near her pulse point where she loved to be sucked or nibbled on. This woman was beautiful and her body was pressed intimately up against Priss's backside, it really wasn't something that she could ignore.

Priss knew that she wasn't discriminating when it came to her partners. Hard cores, soft cores, she liked all the colors of the rainbow, some just more than most.

Shaking her head as if to clear it she turned around and took the woman's hands from her arms.

"I'm not a prostitute, and I'm not for sale." The woman chuckled mirthlessly and for the first time Priss felt something akin to fear being near this pale woman. What's her game?

"Who said anything about you being a prostitute?" Priss was slightly taken aback by this. Hadn't that been why she dragged her in here, why she had pressed up against her? This woman made no sense to her whatsoever.

"I-I don't understand." There was a slight upturn of lips, almost as if the woman wanted Priss to feel that way.

"Oh I do want you, and I want your body," Priss took a step back and ran into the mirror staring at the woman dumbfounded. "But I don't want you for the reasons your thinking. I'd like to hire you. If you do well, the rewards could benefit you most greatly. It will give you things that you haven't even admitted you wanted, not to another soul." The woman stepped forward, invading Priss's personal space for the second time in as many minutes.

She slipped her hand inside Priss's jacket, her fingers lightly brushing across her breast and then withdrawing to slowly trail up her chest and rest on her neck. The woman leaned closer still, her lips slightly grazing her cheek as it came to rest a hairsbreadth away from her delicate earlobe..

"Just call my name, and I'll be there." With that, she stepped away and exited the dressing room.

Priss slumped back against the mirror, all her energy having left the room along with the woman. Damn that was…. I don't know what that was but I'm getting the hell out of here!

Priss took a few ragged breaths and readied herself to leave. She stepped out of the dressing room and noticed that the woman was gone. Breathing a sigh of relief, she quickly exited the store and fled back to the sanity of her home.

She flew to the fridge and grabbed a beer out of it and took off her coat as she jumped onto a chair. She sat there chugging away when she noticed something fall out of the inside of her jacket. Wiping her mouth with the back of her hand she leaned down and picked up what looked to be a business card.

Silky Doll Clothing Store

Sylia Stingray Owner

Vid: 60-1658-2231

Priss stared at the card and turned it over. On the back in bold penmanship were three words. "Call my name."

Chapter 3:

Priss stared at the ceiling as she had done many times these past two weeks. Her trailer was dark and she lay atop the covers of her bed clad only in a small tank top and underwear. A heat wave had hit the city since it was the beginning of June and unfortunately for Priss, being by the waterfront in a trailer with no AC meant many muggy, sleepless nights. It didn't help that she kept on replaying her encounter with the woman at the lingerie store.

Sylia. Sylia Stingray. She's different, I wonder why she wanted me. Shit I've been wondering that this whole time. Exasperated, Priss sat up and put on her black jeans and boots before stepping out and getting on her bike.

Priss had had her baby back for two weeks now and had been riding it relentlessly, next to thinking about Sylia. It didn't really help much that most of her thinking time came when she was riding on her bike. She had missed her baby and the open road had beckoned to her like a seasoned lover. With the open road had come the wondering of just how Sylia had written 'call my name' on the back of the card. Had she been waiting for Priss? Did she expect to see Priss again?

Nothing made sense to her, she needed the solace of the pavement, the smell of smog and industrialization flooding her lungs as she went down HWY#5's turnpike.

Revving the engine, she shot off into the night. She had come close to calling the number on the card, but each time she had chickened out. Something about Sylia rubbed her the wrong way. Or maybe it rubbed you the right way. An internal voice supplied. Oh shut up! Shaking her head Priss pushed the bike harder and could feel the pressure of the wind rushing past her as she went faster on the bike.

Priss rode around for two hours then sat at the only 'beach' left in the city. It faced Genom Tower. A wave of anger washed over her just looking at the towering abomination.

"Priss, help me!" Kei's voice echoed down the alleyway where Priss had stalked off to. Her brother and her had just had a fight, but hearing the panic in his voice she turned and ran back through the alley to where she had left her brother.

Priss fingered the card in her pants pocket and looked around until she spotted what she was looking for. She walked to the Vid booth and slid a card in then dialed the number on the card. A machine picked up and Priss was tempted to hang up, but she didn't. As soon as the beep sounded she paused.

"Umm… Sylia-" She didn't get much further than that.

"Come back to the Silky Doll and go behind the building. There's a delivery entrance there. Go in and head for the elevator, it will take you to the top floor. I'll be waiting." The phone clicked dead silent and Priss replaced it on the hook.

The voice was the same as she remembered it, as it had haunted her.

~~

Priss parked her bike by the delivery entrance and went to the door. She was going to open it but the door swung open. Feeling slightly perturbed but determined Priss went through and found the elevator. As she approached it the doors opened for her. Feeling her confidence waver a bit, she stood there for a moment looking into the harshly illuminated interior of the cart.

Do it Priss. The alternate voice insisted, and for once she listened to it. Getting in she waited against the back as the doors 'whooshed' shut. The elevator proceeded up, it seemed like to took forever to reach it's destination but in reality it was only a few moments.

The doors whooshed open, the only illumination coming from the elevator and spreading into the darkened corridor it led to. Priss stepped off the elevator and proceeded down the hall, coming to a door which opened automatically. Priss stepped into a darkened room filled with furniture, a small amber glow emanated from a corner of the room.

Priss soon recognized it for the cherry on a cigarette. Priss walked closer to that single beam of brightness and stopped short. She watched in fascination as it moved towards lush lips which encompassed it and heard the inhale of breath, the tip growing brighter then growing dim once again compared to it's former brightness. She watched the two lips part as silky smoke pooled out and flowed up over sharp features and mingle with hair similar to the color of the smoke.

The cigarette was put out as a button was pressed. Blinds shifted and silvery moonlight flooded through the now exposed window, flooding the room and illuminating everything in a surreal pale blue glow.

Sylia sat in a chair, her fair legs crossed and peeking out from between the folds of a silk robe. Her hands rested gently on the arms of the chair, her silver hair billowing over her shoulders. She looked like a queen, sitting atop her thrown and looking down upon her subject, even though in reality she sat looking up at Priss who was but a few feet from her. Even so, Priss felt as if she should bow before this regal woman. It was a brief feeling, one that she shook off and ended up glaring at Sylia for making her feel that way.

That little quirk of her lips happened and Priss soon found herself face to face with Sylia Stingray. Priss gasped. She hadn't even seen her move, Sylia was that quick.

Tilting her head to the side in an inquisitive way, Sylia studied Priss's face. It was as if she were analyzing a problem and trying to find the answer. Finally she tilted her head back up and spoke.

"Are you ready?"

Priss was taken aback, this wasn't exactly the words she had thought Sylia would say. Maybe a 'what took you so long?' or perhaps 'you made me wait' that sounded more likely to have come from this aloof woman but Priss had never thought it would be 'are you ready?'

"Ready for what?"

Sylia slowly walked around Priss as if taking in her body or stalking her prey. Priss stood still and remained as calm as she could. Priss had always done the hunting, had always had prey, for the first time she knew that this person could best her in every way possible, and there was nothing she could do about it.

"To begin."

Priss was starting to get tired of these little sentences that made absolutely no sense.

"Look you were the one that gave me your card lady. Either give me an explanation or I'm out of here." Not getting any reaction, Priss turned on her heels and stalked towards the door she came from.

"You called me." That was enough to make Priss stop. Yes she had called, had said Sylia's name because she was intrigued, but she didn't come to be played with by some rich lady who found it fun to toy with others.

"Why'd you give me the card?" Priss's head was turned slightly, but she kept her body towards the door.

"I want you. What more do you need?" Priss turned around fully, getting angry. Sylia arched her perfect eyebrow and Priss finally blew. She stalked over to Sylia.

"Listen you monocromatic bitch, I want answers and I want them now! Either give them to me or I'll-"

"You'll what? We've already proven that you don't have what it takes to beat me. Perhaps you should leave." Sylia turned and it only spurned Priss more.

Priss lunged at Sylia only to find dead air. She turned and received a jab to the face. Her head snapped back slightly and it only served to fuel her anger. Priss would punch, kick and lash out at Sylia only to be punched and kicked back at, each one connecting with her and each one a little harder.

Priss was breathing heavy when her legs were swept out from under her. She lay dazed on the floor and briefly saw Sylia over her with a frown on her face.

"You aren't worthy." With that she turned around. Priss saw red before her eyes and grabbed the hem of Sylia's robe, yanking as hard as she could.

Sylia stumbled backwards and received a small knock to the head, she felt her robe coming loose but thought nothing of it, she would teach this little girl a lesson if it was the last thing she did.

The robe came fully off and all the Priss had to show for her momentary victory was a piece of cloth. Her eyes swept up as she took in the nude form of Sylia Stingray. She got a brief glance before Sylia was upon her.

Priss didn't even see the crescent kick coming. Soon Priss found herself knocked on her ass and pinned to the ground with Sylia above her, her fist poised to strike while the other clutched her throat.

Priss knew she was beaten. Swallowing what was left of her pride she closed her eyes tightly.

"I give." She whispered.

"What was that?"

"I said I give!" Priss screamed. She had never felt so utterly humiliated, especially being beaten by a rich bitch without any clothes on.

Sylia got up and retrieved her robe from the floor. After she had tightened the belt around her waist she put her hand in front of Priss. Priss stared at it for a moment before she clasped it with her own and let herself be helped to her feet.

"Come with me." Priss followed Sylia as they went into a bathroom. The harsh lights blinded her and she found herself blinking back tears. Sylia indicated for her to sit on the bench in front of the sink. She grabbed a little medkit and soon was using a little swab on Priss's face.

Priss winced as few times as she could. She had to admit that Sylia had gotten her pretty good.

"I can teach you how to fight back."

Priss was surprised by Sylia. They'd been there in silence for so long that she'd grown somewhat accustomed to it.

"Why would you do that?"

"Because if I'm right about you, I could use your services. Nothing is free so I'd expect that you'd want something in return." It was the longest sentence that Sylia had spoken and possibly the most clear.

"If I don't agree?"

"Then I will forget you ever exist." The silence hung thick in the air as Priss pondered this.

"If I say yes?"

"Then I promise that everything you have wanted will be fulfilled." Sylia locked eyes with Priss and Priss saw nothing but the truth coming from those hazel eyes.

What have you got to loose? The alternative voice asked. What indeed. Priss thought about the brief interactions she had had with Sylia. I have nothing to loose, I have nothing left. This thought saddened Priss. You still have your soul…. Priss thought about it for a few moments and took a good look at Sylia. I'll loose it after being around her. I'll become as dead as she is.

Aren't you already?

"I accept."

"Come with me then."

~~

Lights blossomed out of the darkness to encompass a room that seemed to be filled with medical equipment. Jesus what is this place?

Priss was led through the room to a stand near the back that had a 'ring' above it.

"Take off all your clothes." Priss slightly gaped at the woman, but seeing the serious expression on her face began to disrobe.

Standing completely nude in front of Sylia she was passed a black and white suit.

"Put it on."

Priss complied. It ended up being a little too big, Sylia stepped forward and pressed a tiny button on the inside of the wrist. Priss soon found the suit fitting to her like a second skin. She moved her arms and legs expecting to feel stiff but surprisingly she had great maneuverability.

Sylia came up and placed a few L.E.D's onto her neck and temples.

"Get up on the platform." Priss almost thought about being defiant. Almost, then she thought about her ass whooping from earlier and thought better of it.

"Stand still and don't move. I'll be right back." Sylia stepped into an alcove off to the side of the platform. A light soon shone from underneath Priss then the ring from above dropped down over her slowly. A faint green glow emanating from the concentric circles within the ring. The circles broke a part and passed over each other as they went up and down her body in the opposite direction, then switching course and crossing again.

"Hey what is-"

Sylia glared at Priss who quickly chose to be quiet. She stood there for what felt like an eternity and watched the emotions pass over Sylia's face as she watched whatever was coming over the screen in front of her.

Sylia turned off the machine and stepped out of the alcove to come over to Priss. She stared up at the young woman for what seemed like an interminable time finally saying, "You'll do."

"Change into your clothes. I'll show you to the guest quarters."

Sylia waited in a corner looking at another monitor as Priss changed. Sylia swiveled around at Priss's approach and walked away with Priss following close behind.

They walked back to the elevator and took it back up. Sylia led Priss back into the room where they had fought and then turned left to go down a shorter hall. There were four doors and Sylia took her to the first one on the right. She opened the door and turned on the light. Priss was stunned. Her whole entire trailer could easily have fit into the room two times over and still have extra space.

"This is the guest room. You will stay here for the night and tomorrow I will start to train you." Priss came out of her fog and looked over at Sylia.

"Hey I have a gig tomorrow night that I can't miss and-"

"Do you wish to train or not? Believe me when I say you are not unique."

Well why the fuck are you wasting your time on me?! But Priss refrained from blurting out that thought.

"Are you going to.. compensate me for the loss of money I'll get from not playing?" Sylia smirked somewhat and said in that silky voice of hers.

"Of course." They stood staring at each other then Sylia turned to leave, just before exiting she turned back for a brief moment.

"Pleasant dreams… Priscilla Asagiri."

Priss's jaw nearly dropped onto the floor as the door closed soundlessly.

How the fuck did she know that? Priss went over and sat on the bed and immediately fell into its plush embrace.

God I'm in heaven.

Priss undressed quickly and turned off the light then climbed under the cool sheets. She stared up at the ceiling for a little while, her eyes becoming heavier with each minute. Just before she went to sleep she had one last thought. Who the hell is Sylia Stingray?

~~

Sylia entered her room and headed for her large bathroom. Her silk robe slipped from her shoulders as she entered the shower and turned on the spray, feeling the icy prickles as the water gradually went from cold to hot. Dipping her head under the spray she let out a small sigh.

Priss. She would make an excellent member if her readings were correct. The girl was rough but with the right training given by Sylia, she would become a wonderful fighting machine. A machine. We're all machines aren't we. Toiling about trying to exist, going through our lives and existing but not living.

Images flashed through Sylia's mind at break neck speed.

Father. Boomer. Makie. Core. Fire. Galatia. Mother…….. PAIN!

Sylia squeezed her eyes shut and slammed her fist into the shower wall, going halfway through it and hitting the steel platting.

Everything dies, everything changes… and eventually, everything evolves. Do we have time enough to wait?

Sylia pulled herself from her morose thoughts and finished her shower as quickly as possible. Exiting the bathroom she went over to her bed which was partially a glow with moonlight. Her naked form slipped in between the cool sheets. She reached over and retrieved to ear pieces and put them in, then hit the play button imbedded in her night stand and let the old music of the twentieth century wash over her.

"Give me release

Witness me, I am outside

Give me Peace

Heaven holds a sense of wonder

And I wanted to believe

That I'd get caught up

When the rage in me subsides

Passion chokes the flower until she cries no more

Possessing all the beauty hungry still for more

Heaven holds a sense of wonder

And I wanted to believe that I'd get caught up

When the rage in me subsides

In this white wave

I am sinking

In this silence.."

The music played on but Sylia was already clutched in Morpheus's grasp and wouldn't hear the end of the song, which seemed prophetic since it would set the tone for Sylia's life in just a few short years.

Continued in Part 2...