The Bubblegum Crisis Center > Extras > Fan Fiction
Endless Manicure
CHAPTER ONE: AFTER THE AFTERMATH
It was over. It was finally over. Sylia had finally finished the crazy crusade against Genom and Galatea that she had started in childhood... Dragging three other people (including myself) into it. I don't think Linna, Nene and I knew exactly what we were getting into when we met the woman known as Sylia Stingray and the rest of her crazy family. But now that it was over, could it be that I was really starting to miss it?
~*~*~
It had been several months since Galatea had released her Boomer-Plague onto the city of Tokyo. Things were finally beginning to return to normal. The new normal, that is...
For while Galatea was gone for good, the legacy of the psycho Sotay's hostile takeover attempt was still lingering fresh in the city's memory. It had changed the lives of everyone in the city- For better or for worse.
Billions of dollars of damage had been caused by the slimy, pulsating, mechanical arms of the Dragon Line as the Boomer-Plague caused them to rip into buildings and smash many a nice car. Thousands were homeless. Businesses had been ruined, and foreign aid was pouring in from all over the place.
It was only lucky for the city of Tokyo that most of the residents had fled at the precise minute the fall of the AD Police building had been broadcast, or else search crews would have found more than rubble in the remains of the metropolis.
While most of the buildings had been destroyed, many of them were still standing, but with the writhing coils of the Dragon Line wrapped around them, tapping into every electrical appliance to suck its energy and to cause it to go rogue. When these buildings were discovered, former residents of the building could only watch as demolition teams brought the buildings down to be rebuilt after the Dragon Line could be removed.
The only building that wasn't mourned was the Genom Tower. Or, what remained of it. That one the demolition teams set afire and danced around, beating their chests and throwing sticks.
Sylia Stingray had watched silently as working crews had imploded the remains of her beloved Silky Doll lingerie shop and home (and the Knight Sabers HQ). Now, she watched with a cold look on her face as the workers dug through the rubble recovering broken possessions and torn lingerie.
"It could have been a lot worse, Sylia," Mackey consoled, joining his sister and watching the workers dismantle what was left of their home. "At least we all made it out."
"I know," she replied coldly. "But all the hard work I'd put into this place... So many beautiful clothes lost... and our home, too. Luckily we have enough money to start over, but..."
"I know what you're thinking." Mackey sighed, kicking a rock. "You're angry at Father."
Sylia looked at him, slightly flustered. She could never forgive Dr. Kasuhito Stingray for what he'd done to her... Everything in the last several months had been his fault. He had created a monster, and he had certainly paid for it... but so had his family.
Sylia smiled weakly, and wrapped her arms around Mackey's shoulders. "Mackey... I think you're the only thing Father ever did right."
Mackey smiled, and watched the workers uncover a large mound of shattered glass.
"Well, I guess that'll teach you not to build swimming pools out of glass that connect into your house." Mackey said smugly.
Sylia frowned. "It seemed like a good idea at the time."
There was the sound of footsteps behind them, and Nigel Kirkland joined the pair in staring at the rubble.
"Well, I guess that's what's left then, hmm?" he said.
"I guess so," Sylia replied. "Mackey, Henderson and I will have to live at our old house in the country for a while until it's rebuilt."
"Oh, I don't know... I'm going to need some help getting the garage up and running again."
Mackey looked joyfully at Sylia.
"We'll see," she said, smiling.
Nigel smiled back at her, and Sylia leaned on him lovingly. Mackey looked back and forth between them, frowning.
"All right- What happened?" he demanded.
"What do you mean, Mackey?" asked Sylia.
"You never used to act like that around each other. What happened?" he asked again.
"Nothing happened." Nigel answered simply.
"That's right. Nothing happened." Sylia repeated firmly.
Mackey was still frowning though. "Aw, come on. You can tell me the truth."
"Nothing happened," Nigel affirmed.
"That's right, nothing." Sylia nodded.
"Then how come you're holding hands?" Mackey demanded.
"We're not." Nigel said.
"That's right," Sylia added.
"You are too! Look!" Mackey cried, pointing. "What happened with you guys while I was out of it?"
"Nothing." Nigel said.
"And we're not holding hands... Nigel- Nigel just-" Sylia stuttered.
"I'm a manicurist too." Nigel said quickly.
"That's right, he's a manicurist and he's looking at my cuticles. See how bad they are, Nigel?" Sylia added, holding up her hand convincingly. Nigel glanced at her cuticles.
"Mm, oh yes... That's terrible, Sylia."
Mackey looked dismayed. "You guys... that is so, so not true. Why won't you just tell me?"
"Tell you what?" asked Nigel.
"What happened between you and Sylia when I was out of it!" Mackey cried in frustration. "You cuddled, didn't you?"
"WE DID NOT!" Nigel shouted.
"Mackey..." Sylia laughed nervously. "All right, we cuddled."
"Really, or is that a metaphor for something?" Mackey asked suspiciously.
Sylia's mouth dropped open and Nigel raised an eyebrow.
"Of COURSE it's not a metaphor!" Sylia groaned. "We hugged! I fell into his big, warm, comforting arms and cried into his chest! He held me close and told me it'd be all right! He-"
Nigel's eyes were wide open and he had turned completely red.
Sylia immediately caught herself. "-Er, that is... we..."
"Oh." Mackey said smugly. "That's all you had to say, you know."
Sylia looked at Nigel, and he was burning up with embarrassment.
"So, Nigel..." Mackey said, stepping over closer. "Since you and Sylia are a thing now, I suppose I'll be seeing more of you at the garage?"
Nigel cleared his throat, and looked at Sylia nervously. She shrugged.
"Um, well... that is- Ah, crap, I need some Jack Daniel's..."
He walked off, blushing like crazy.
"Is he ashamed of you?" asked Mackey innocently. "Because if he is, I'll teach him that no one is ashamed of my big sister, or else I'll..."
"Just... never mind, Mackey..." Sylia said, blushing quite a bit herself.
"Hey Butch!" shouted one of the workers, poking at something in the rubble with a stick.
"Hey what?" replied his boss, grumpily.
"What's this?"
"What's what?"
The worker lifted a pink and purple polka-dotted bikini.
"It's a bikini."
"No, no. Underneath it!"
"Whoa... Have you ever seen anything so..."
"Miss Stingray! Miss Stingray, I think we've found something!"
Nene Romanova had not been left homeless by the Boomer Plague- She had been left jobless. Barely escaping the AD Police building with her stuffed weasel and her life, she was forced into a temporary job while the AD Police were merged into the regular police again.
"Ugh... I don't think I'll ever get this, do you Weasel?" she groaned, clicking the space bar a few times.
"NO, of course you'll get it, Nene!" Nene said again, in a different voice.
"I hope you're right, Weasel!"
She bit her lip in suspense, as she continued typing in commands on the tricky job at hand... But if anyone could do it, it was Romanova, the Girl Genius!
"Romanova!" a deep voice barked from the other room.
"Just a sec!" Nene called. "Almost there..."
"ROMANOVA!"
"Hold on!"
Heavy footsteps began to clod into the room. Nene struggled to keep her concentration...
"NENE ROMANOVA!"
"Ack!" Nene gasped, as her job fell through. "No, no, no, NO! I was THAT CLOSE!"
The lights in the room flipped on, and a greasy-looking man in an apron and paper hat stood with his arms crossed, glaring at Nene. "What do you think you're doing, ignoring me when I call for you? The fries are up!"
"Sorry, sir!" Nene said, standing up and saluting, while also reaching for her apron.
"How are we supposed to properly serve the hungry people of the city if our fry monitor is back here playing on the computer?" snapped the boss. "Now you get in there, and keep an eye on the fries! What were you doing, anyway?"
"A very important transaction for my other job, sir!" Nene said nervously.
The boss walked over and eyed the screen.
A cute pink bunny rabbit holding a basket was running around in between two rainbow-colored clouds trying to catch hearts that fell from the sky.
"Chibi Bunny in Rainbow Land?!" the boss groaned. "You call this work, Romanova!"
"Sorry sir! It won't happen again, sir!" Nene said, gritting her teeth.
Nene grabbed her spatula, and quickly raced back out into the kitchen, where she leaned against the fryer glumly. "What kind of job is this for an expert hacker?" Nene groaned, switching the baskets of fries. "I can't wait until the police are up and running again..."
"You're not the only one, Romanova..." grunted a low voice.
Nene turned around to see Leon , standing in a clown costume holding a big bag of balloons.
"Aw, come on Leon-Poo, you make a great clown!" Nene grinned teasingly.
"Yeah, yeah..." Leon growled.
"Oh, Leon! Leon!" Daley cooed, scampering from across the restaurant with a mop in his hands. "Can I have a puppy, Leon? Pwease?"
"If you knew what was good for you, you'd leave me alone..." Leon snapped.
"Oh, come on Leon-Poo! We're just having fun!" Nene gibbered, giving him a big hug.
"Yeah Leon-Poo! You sure don't look like a very happy clown!" Daley grinned.
"Leave me alone before I use that mop on the both of you."
Suddenly, there was a shrill beeping noise from the back room.
"FRIES ARE UP!" someone yelled.
"I just checked them, they are not!" Nene snapped.
She ran into the back, and saw something flashing in the pocket of her jacket.
"Sylia's calling!" she gasped, pulling out the communicator. "Hi Sylia! What's up?"
"Nene, it's me, Linna!"
Linna was at the gym, apparently. The treadmill was turned up to almost the highest setting, and she was running effortlessly while talking to Nene, hardly breaking a sweat.
"How's work going, Nene?" she asked.
"Oh, well you know... IT SUCKS!" Nene whined. "I can't believe someone with my intelligence is being forced to change out peanut oil!"
"That's too bad..." Linna sighed. "Hugh-Geit's been closed since the invasion, so I'm free until they call me back to the office. I'm glad the plague didn't get to the gym, otherwise I'd have NOTHING TO DO!"
"Wanna trade?" asked Nene, raising her voice over the sounds of Leon beating up Daley with the mop.
"Wow... what's going on in there?" asked Linna, trying to get a better look at what was going on behind Nene.
"Leon-Poo's got a balloon animal stuck in a bad place, I guess..." Nene smiled mischievously.
"IS THAT PRISS? DO NOT TELL HER THAT! IS THAT PRISS, NENE!?" Leon shrieked from the other room.
"Oh yeah, he gets to be the clown," Nene grinned.
"NENE ROMANOVA! IF THAT'S PRISS- AND IT BETTER NOT BE- YOU DO NOT TELL HER THAT!"
Nene rolled her eyes and pointed her communicator at Leon and Daley, the former of which was strangling the latter against the counter.
Leon saw the communicator, and screamed like a woman. "OH NO! PRISS! IT'S NOT WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE! AAAGHH, TAINTED IS MY NAME IN THE HEART OF-"
"Shut up Leon-Poo, it's Linna!" Nene said, rolling her eyes.
If Linna had raised her eyebrows anymore, they would have gotten lost in her hair. "Uh... yeah..."
There was a faint beeping noise, and Linna gazed down at her communicator's interface. "Hey... I have another call. I wonder if it's Sylia..."
"I'll wait," said Nene, pulling out a bag of chips and watching Daley try to console Leon, who now resembled the crying opera clown more than any other clown.
"She already said it wasn't Priss, you moron!"
Linna rolled her eyes and clicked over to see Priss, helmet on, apparently zipping through the streets of Tokyo on her motorcycle.
"Hey, Linna!" Priss yelled over the roar of the engine, "Sylia wanted me to call you and Nene. Something's up."
"What's up?" asked Linna.
"I don't know- She said to meet her at Hot Legs. That's all I know. So don't ask."
"Uh... OK. I'll call Nene for you." Linna said, shrugging.
Priss nodded her thanks, and hung up. Tucking her communicator back into her pocket, she made a quick left turn on the way to the ruins of the club she was most famous at.
"This had better not be one of Sylia's crazy little expeditions again," she said to herself. "If I have to make one more stupid space voyage..."
But as she turned onto the avenue where the Silky Doll used to be, Priss knew that something was wrong. Something was terribly wrong...
The entire area was encased in a strange pink glow. Several workers stood blankly, staring at something in the rubble and muttering to themselves.
"Holy-" gasped Priss, screeching to a halt.
The workers didn't appear to have heard her. They still remained standing, staring at the rubble.
"HEY! What are you looking at?" Priss yelled. There was no response.
"HEY! I SAID what are you looking at?"
She jumped off her bike, and ran up to one of the workers. "HEY! Why aren't you-"
He didn't move a muscle as she approached him and thwacked him in the head with the back of her hand. He remained there, staring at the rubble and muttering nonsense syllables.
"It looks like they're looking at... something over there..." Priss muttered, taking a step closer to the source of the pink glow, half-buried in rubble.
She cleared several large chunks out of the way, and gazed at the ground.
There was an object lying there. A pink object, glowing a brilliant electric pink.
"What is that?" she said to herself.
Suddenly, there was a small mechanical noise. Priss froze in her tracks.
"What the hell..."
Two beady eyes were staring at her from the object... It wasn't an object... It was some kind of animal!
"A... Boomer?" Priss said confusedly, staring at the eyes.
There was another mechanical noise, and the glow began to fade a little bit. Shadows fell across the face of the animal, but its eyes remained open and staring.
"What in the hell is that?" Priss screamed, stepping backwards, almost tripping over one of the spaced-out workers.
The eyes blinked, there was another mechanical noise, and Priss heard the thing utter a single sentence that struck fear into the hearts of even the bravest men-
"E-tay... OO-day..."
"AAAAGGGGHHH!" she screamed.
CHAPTER TWO: WHAT THE HE- UM, HECK IS GOING ON?
I thought I'd seen some weird things in my lifetime... "Living" robots who could go insane and meld themselves to anything electronic that happened to be nearby... A girl whose own father performed experiments on her like some kind of guinea pig... Not to mention a scary half-naked rapidly aging god-like chick who could destroy the world with a blink of an eye... After Galatea, Tormentor Of All Things That Walk was destroyed, I figured I'd seen the last of the things straight out of an episode of "The X-Files" that I would ever see... And then I found the thing in the rubble.
~*~*~
"I'm tellin' you guys, that thing was alive!" Priss screamed, throwing her arms into the air to accentuate the sentence.
"Oh, come on Priss..." Linna said quietly. "It couldn't have been... could it?"
"What the hell, you don't believe me?" Priss snapped. "Why don't you get down there and check it out, huh Linna?"
"Priss, I never said I..." Linna stuttered.
"Well hell Linna, that thing scared the hell outta me! The least you could do is to actually give a hell whether or not that thing from hell-"
"Priss," Sylia interrupted.
"-Just a sec Sylia. Do you even give a hell whether or not-"
"Priss," Sylia interrupted again.
"Aw hell Sylia, what the hell is it?"
"Stop saying hell," she answered simply, standing up.
The group had gathered at the ruins of the club Hot Legs, where Priss was often to perform. Mackey, Nigel and Sylia had apparently called an emergency meeting of the Knight Sabers.
Nene was sitting on a ruined couch, hugging her knees. "Oh no... not this again... what if... Sylia, what if it's..."
"I'm sure it's not a Boomer, Nene." Sylia reassured her. "But I can't tell you exactly what it is... Whatever it is, it seems to have been in my house for some reason and it seems to have the power to control people's minds."
"Is that whatever the-" Priss began, but Sylia threw her a look. "Uh... is that what it was doing to those guys?"
"That's what I assume." Sylia nodded. "Mackey... Do you remember what happened?"
"O-of course, Sylia." Mackey said, clearing his throat. "They dug it up from the rubble, whatever it was... And then there was this really bright flash of pink, and all the workers and guys froze and started muttering gibberish. It almost had Nigel too... But Sylia pulled him out of the light and suddenly he was fine again."
Nigel snorted. "You forgot the part where you fell to the ground shrieking, 'NO! I DON'T WANNA DIE! I BOW TO YOU, OH MIGHTY FORCE!', Mackey."
Mackey blushed. "Well, I..."
"The thing had some sort of effect on Mackey, too." Sylia sighed, shaking her head. "But why didn't it hurt you, Priss?"
"No clue. Maybe I'm just special." Priss replied.
"Maybe you have another brother or sister, Sylia." Linna shrugged. Sylia frowned at her. "WHAT?" Linna gasped exasperatedly.
"It couldn't be." Sylia snapped. "If it were another..." She threw a glance at Mackey. "...Sotay, I would have felt it too."
"Whatever it was, it's creepy!" Nene wailed. "I don't wanna go see it!"
"Nene, this is a potential threat to the entire city of Tokyo, or even the world!" Sylia barked.
"Like we haven't heard that before." Priss grunted.
"Priss... listen to her," scolded Linna.
"When you signed on as a Knight Saber, you promised to keep going no matter what the danger to save the city from the threat of those monstrous Boomers my father created!" Sylia continued.
"But this isn't a Boomer, you said so yourself!" Nene shot back. "When Galatea was destroyed all the Boomers in Tokyo shut down because their power source was gone."
"And now they're rebuilding the prototypes of the primitive robots they used to use back in the 20's." Linna added knowledgeably.
"So whatever this is, it isn't a Boomer, and therefore I don't have to fight it!" Nene said firmly.
Sylia raised an eyebrow. "You really don't want to go, Nene?"
"Uh... yeah. Er, yes. Yes as in no, I don't want to!" Nene said quietly.
"Well come on, Nene!" Linna said, standing up triumphantly. "Sylia's right! It's your duty as a Knight Saber to check out this terrible evil that's infecting our city and destroy it!"
"But..." Nene said pleadingly.
"Nene..." Mackey murmured, "Linna's right. A promise is a promise. And besides, I know you can do it!"
Nene leaped to her feet. "Mackey's right about Linna being right about Sylia being right!
Let's get out there, kill this thing, and get back in time for dinner!"
"Women," Nigel muttered, rolling his eyes.
"Good for you, Nene." Mackey said, smiling.
Nene tackled Mackey back against the couch. "Oh Mackey! You're my big source of courage, aren't you? Whenever I feel upset, you'll be right there to comfort me... Do you want to give me a little..." she giggled, "... advice before I go?"
She leaned in, hoping to instigate a kiss from her boyfriend. Instead, Mackey picked up her hand, studied it for a moment, and then said, "Yeah, all right. You should really get those cuticles checked out. You have lovely hands, and they'd look better if you could get rid of some of those excess cuticles... Wouldn't you agree, Nigel?"
Nigel looked a bit shocked. "Er... um, yeah..."
Nene's mouth dropped open, and she jumped out of Mackey's lap and onto the couch next to him, rolling her eyes. "Yeah, OK Mackey, I'll get a manicurist right away."
Linna giggled, and Sylia smiled. "Mackey really does have a gift for romance, doesn't he, Nene?"
"Yeah, he's a regular Casanova," Nene groaned.
"What? What did I say?" Mackey shrugged.
Sylia nodded. "All right then... we'll split up, and meet again at K's in half an hour. Remember: stay away from the Silky Doll and remain calm- We can handle this thing."
Nene stood up, nodded and ran out the door, with Linna close behind. Priss yawned and plopped back on the couch, and Sylia hugged her chest and leaned against the wall, looking distraught.
Nigel stood up, cleared his throat gruffly, and leaned against the wall next to Sylia.
"Uh..." he mumbled.
"Did- Did you need something, Nigel?" asked Sylia.
"I... er..."
"Yes?"
"It's... it's going to be all right." Nigel said quickly.
Sylia smiled weakly, and fell into Nigel's arms.
Mackey immediately jumped up. "HEY, HEY! You said nothing was going on, Sylia!"
"I didn't say that, Nigel did!" Sylia replied.
"Uh... I did?" Nigel replied quietly.
"Yes, you did! You said that there was nothing going on between you two! Just because I'm not human doesn't mean I'm stupid! You guys are so, SO romantically involved!"
Priss rolled her eyes. "Well, sorry to walk out on the family feud, but I figure I'd better get ready..."
She walked quickly towards the door as Mackey glared accusingly at Nigel as Sylia kissed him on the cheek.
"THAT'S IT! I KNOW IT! YOU GUYS ARE SUCH LIARS!"
~*~*~
I still wonder why in the he- er, world I ever really got involved with Sylia Stingray and her whole crazy Knight Saber gig... I was so convinced that my singing career would take off and I'd finally be able to follow my dreams... But I couldn't resist a good Boomer-whomping everyone once and a while. That'll teach 'em to destroy my favorite CD... I only have a few regrets about it now. Nene... Linna... Sylia... They're all some of my best friends. But now... I'm not so sure I want to keep doing this. I never wanted to be a superhero. Just a superstar...
~*~*~
Priss took a deep breath of the cold night air and adjusted her motorcycle helmet. She had though it was over... No, not over yet. There was still something out there... something-
"Priss?"
She jumped in surprise and spun around defensively. Leon stood there sheepishly. "Where are you going?"
"Holy hel- er... Good grief Leon, you scared the crap out of me!" Priss snapped. "And I'm going home to get ready, as if it's any of your business..."
"For what?" Leon asked again, stepping out of the shadows carrying a bag stuffed full of some kind of clothing.
"Mission. Now get outta here. There's something buried in the remains of the Silky Doll... we don't know what it is. But you'd be safer off the streets."
"I can't let you just run out there." Leon argued. "Who knows what kind of trouble you can get into?"
"I can handle it," she shot back crisply. "Don't you have some police business to get to or something?"
"Priss..." Leon said, raising an eyebrow. "The AD Police have been destroyed."
Crap... Forgot, I can't use that line anymore...
"Oh, fine then. Don't you have some chick to be hitting on like a cheap prostitute?"
"Hey- come on, Priss. I apologized for that. And besides, you're the only chick I'll be hitting on."
Priss groaned, and stepped onto the bike. "Well, OK! Don't you have that new job to be getting to? What is it, at McDonalds?"
Leon blushed. "Er... that's kind of why I'm here... I wanted to apologize for earlier."
"What?"
"At... when you called Nene at the restaurant. I was in the middle of something, and you didn't exactly catch the best side of my job..."
"I never called Nene," Priss said indignantly.
Leon made a tiny noise, and then stepped backwards. "Er... Never mind then..."
"No, hold it. I feel like talking all of a sudden..." Priss snickered. "What did you do?"
"Nothing. Just... doing my job at the restaurant." Leon said quickly.
"Which is..."
"Uh... fry monitor?"
"That's Nene's job."
Leon chuckled nervously and checked his watch. "Oh, will ya look at the time?"
"What do you do at work, Leon?" Priss asked again.
"I'm... the..."
"What?"
"I'm..."
"Yes?"
"I'M... THE CLOWN!" Leon sobbed, busting into tears and crawling on his knees to Priss's side. "OH PLEASE PRISS! FORGIVE ME FOR THE SHAMEFUL WORK I MUST PERFORM FOR MY RENT PAYMENT! I DIDN'T EVER WANT TO- AAAAGGGGH, PRISS! PLEASE CONTINUE TO SPEAK TO ME THOUGH HOWEVER MUCH I HUMILIATE YOU! AAAAGGGGHHHH..."
Priss jumped backwards, tripping over her bike and sprawling onto the ground. Leon crawled over, begging for forgiveness. "OUCH! Leon, you idiot! Get offa me!"
"I'M SO SORRY PRISS! I WANTED TO BE THE BURGER FLIPPER- BUT THE CHIEF HAS THAT JOB! AAAAAAGGGGGH, PRISS FORGIVE ME! I WOULD HAVE EVEN BEEN THE JANITOR, ANYTHING BUT THE CLOWN, AND-"
"LEON! GET OFF, YOU PSYCHO!" Priss snapped, "I never said anything! You don't have to climb all over me!"
"AAAAHHHHH... PRISS, I AM SO SORRY! I THROW MYSELF AT YOUR FEET-"
"You mean ON TOP of me, you idiot! Get the he- AGH! GET OFF!"
"PRISS! YOU FORGIVE ME?"
"YES, I FORGIVE YOU FOR DOING NOTHING WRONG, NOW GET OFF OF-"
"Ahem."
Priss stopped screaming and Leon stopped bawling. They both looked up in the doorway to see Mackey standing there, hands on his hips.
"Well."
"IT'S NOT WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE!" Priss shrieked, slapping Leon upside the head with her fist. "Now GET OFF, LEON!"
"Oh, come on, Priss. You don't have to lie to me." Mackey chuckled. "I saw right through my sister and Nigel... And I can see right through you, too."
Leon shuffled off of Priss, and she dusted herself off, recovering her bike into the upright position.
"Priss-" Leon whimpered.
"You're forgiven. Now stop apologizing before I have to kick you in a bad place again."
Leon sighed in relief, but seemed to cover up something with his knees. Priss rolled her eyes and sighed, taking off her helmet.
"Mackey- You think we could have a minute?" Priss asked.
"Oh, sure. I getcha." Mackey snickered, scampering back inside.
Leon whimpered, and Priss put her arm around his shoulder. "You're so stupid Leon... but you're lovable, too."
"Really?" Leon said happily.
"Yes. There's something I'd like to give you..."
Leon looked very excited.
"Unfortunately, I am not a shrink, so psychotherapy is out of the question."
Leon started rambling again. "I'm sorry Priss, but you know with all the stuff that's been happening lately I've kind of lost touch with reality and gone a little spastic of course only in a nervous sense, I'm still perfectly sane and-"
Priss put her finger on his lips. "Shut up."
They proceeded to make out.
A few seconds later, they heard another "Ahem" from the door.
Mackey was standing there, hands on his hips.
"MACKEY! I thought I said-" Priss snapped.
"Yeah, I know. But Sylia and Nigel wanted a moment too, so I needed to go somewhere." Mackey shrugged.
Leon and Priss both turned perfectly beet-red. Priss replaced her helmet and kicked on her bike.
"See you later Mackey... Bye, Leon."
She sped off down the street, and Leon sighed. "Ah... she's so beautiful... But jeez Mackey, what's your sudden fascination with romance?"
"Er... I... uh..."
"Yes?"
Mackey turned even redder than Leon. "Well, I figured I'd better study up on... On um, kissing because... I've never... and um... Nene, and..."
"Oh. I getcha." Leon snickered. "Here's a tip though, Mackey- Comment girls on their manicures. They love it."
Mackey raised his eyebrows. "Are you sure?"
"Positive," Leon said, snickering.
~*~*~
That Leon can be such an idiot... But to tell you the truth, even if he is a moron it's kind of nice to have someone who really cares whether or not you live or die. Besides the others, Mackey, Henderson and Nigel... I don't really have anyone like that. And I'm not really sure on those three, either... Well, Mackey I'm sure. Nigel... It's a bit awkward working with him after our little stint a while ago... And Henderson? I'm pretty sure he likes Linna. Psh, yeah right, old guy. I think Leon has a better chance with me than you do with Linna.
~*~*~
"Good thing Nigel was able to fix our hardsuits so quickly, isn't it?" Linna commented as her suit hardened around her into slick green metal. "And it's so useful for him to have set up the generators here at his garage!"
"Totally! Everything goes so easy when you're in a fan fic!" Nene giggled.
"Yeah, whatever." Priss said, pushing down her helmet. "All right. Let's get out of here and kill that thing."
"Not so fast, Priss." Sylia interrupted. "We don't have the launcher set up, so we're going to have to do a manual launch."
"Manual launch? We've never done that before, have we?" asked Nene.
"It's no big deal. Just a little more complicated," Sylia assured her. She clicked on her communicator. "Mackey- Is the manual launch ready?"
"All set, Sylia."
"OK. This way, then. Thank you Nigel," Sylia said.
Sylia lead them down into a long dark hallway. "OK, all." she ordered, "Run down to that end as fast as you can, and I'll signal Mackey to manual launch us."
The four Knight Sabers began racing down to the end of the hallway, a big black door.
"Sylia, we're going to crash into that door!" Linna shouted.
"Just a sec... Mackey, now!"
The door swung open, and the KS raced outside into the dark night air, running down the street.
"THAT was manual launch? What the hell?" Priss cried in dismay.
"Priss! Language!" Sylia barked. "All right- To the former Silky Doll!"
Priss sighed and began to run after her comrades.
Those cold, terrible eyes... That voice... I don't know what you are you little beast, but I know you're evil... And I'm going to send you back into the pits of he- heeeeeeeeeeeeeck where you came from!
Sylia's thoughts too, were unsettling.
It can't be... It can't be another one like Mackey and Galatea... It's impossible... But even so... Whatever it is, my father probably had something to do with it... Evil bastard... I will destroy you!
What am I doing here... Why am I running off again? Linna thought. I don't have to... Sylia told us we didn't have to help her anymore now that Galatea is dead... I could be at home... Safe and warm... I- No. This is my dream- To be a Knight Saber. And I'm never going to stop, either!
Nene's thought were quite different than the other's.
... Break it down now, 'If you'll be my bodyguard, you can be my long-lost pal... Doo, doot doo doot... Doo, doot doo doooooot-oo! I can call you Betty, and Betty when you call me you can call MEEE AL!'
So they set off running down the street, until at last they reached the rubble that was the beginning (er, end, actually) of Sylia's beloved Silky Doll shop. The pink glow was still bright, and more pedestrians and passers-by in cars had stopped, entranced by the glow.
"It's got even more of them!" Nene gasped.
"Let's just hope there are no permanent effects..." Linna said quietly.
"All right, we'll spread out and surround the source on all four sides. Meet in the center. And keep your minds concentrated on maintaining your suit. We don't know exactly what this thing can do yet, remember." Sylia told them.
"Whatever it is, let's rip it apart!" Priss snapped.
A strange chill ran down Priss's spine as she saw the object on the ground again. "The eyes... those scary little eyes..."
"It's all right Priss... we're here now, and it's not going to get you!" Nene said cheerfully. "I hope..."
"You're not the only one..." snarled Priss nervously.
The Knight Sabers tiptoed slowly in, until they were in a circle about 6 feet in radius... Sylia paused and stared down at the spot in the rubble where the weird thing was buried...
"Linna, I don't want any of us to take the chance of touching that. Use your cutters."
"Right," Linna nodded, and two shining "ribbons" of light shot out of her helmet, swung down to the ground, and slashed away the rubble surrounding the glowing pink thing.
Priss gasped and almost stepped back, but Sylia stopped her. "Is that it, Priss? Is that what attacked you?"
"Hel- Uh, heck yeah..." she murmured.
"If that light would fade we could see it!" Nene whined. "Let me scan it..."
The glow began to get brighter, and Sylia noticed that she and the other three were all shaking... From fear?
Suddenly, there was the same mechanical noise and Priss burst out, "That's the noise! That's what I heard before it talked!"
"Almost there..." Nene mumbled. The nano-computer in her helmet was quickly displaying statistics on exactly what the object was.
Sylia ejected razor-sharp blade in her right arm defensively.
"I don't like the looks of this, Sylia!" Linna wailed.
"I got it!" Nene gasped. "It's... it's... it's a..."
There was the same mechanical noise and suddenly the glowing red eyes gazed up at them. All four of them stifled screams of terror.
Then... it spoke...
"E-tay oo-day moo-may roo-lay..."
"AGGGH!" screamed Linna. "IT TALKED!"
"IT'S EVIL!" Sylia gasped.
"IT'S POWERFUL!" Priss snarled.
"It's a Furby!" Nene concluded.
CHAPTER THREE: THE TERROR FROM TIGER TOYS
~*~
All right... let me get this straight... I was terrified out of my mind, the entire city of Tokyo was threatened by a cuddly, super-intelligent virtual pet from back in 1999? ... Wow. That's really, really sad. But look on the bright side... it shouldn't be too hard to beat... Should it?
~*~
"A Furby?" Linna gasped. "What... what's a Furby?"
"According to this, they were extremely popular toys in 1998 and 1999... sort of extremely primitive Boomers. They talked in their own language, they could learn, and they were very intelligent," Nene explained. "But after people bought them, they found out that they were excruciatingly annoying, so most of them were put into 'Deep Sleep' mode and thrown in the backs of closets!"
"So was that thing in your house, Sylia?" Priss screamed. "And what happened to it to give it those horrible powers?"
"Galatea!" Sylia gasped.
~~~~~~~~~~~~ FLASHBACK- Christmas Day, The Year 1999, Tokyo ~~~~~~~~~~~~
"A FURBY!" shrieks a cute little girl around the age of 8 as she finishes tearing off the paper on the gift. "It's a real Furby! Oh, thank you, Mom and Dad!"
The little girl tears open the box and removes the Furby from it. It's kind of cute... with fuzzy pink hair and a blue mohawk. The little beak-like mouth opens, and the eyes roll around.
"E-tay... Oo-day... Moo-may!" the Furby squeaks. "Me... E-day!"
"Its name is E-day!" the little girl giggles. "According to the Furbish dictionary, that means 'Dance!' How cute!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ANOTHER FLASHBACK, TWO WEEKS LATER THAN THE OTHER ONE...
"Me...dance! Me... boogie!" E-day squeaks, rocking back and forth on the desk. "Doo, doo, DOO! Doo, doo, DOO!"
"Oh, shut up already!" the same little girl whines, concentrating on her homework. "I've got to get some work done!"
"Me hungry! Me want eat!" E-day squeaks again.
"Please! Shut up! Go to sleep or something!" the girl begs. "This assignment is due tomorrow!"
The Furby opens its mouth to be fed. "AAH! AAH!"
"I SAID NO!" the girl shrieks. She finally picks up the Furby, marches into the closet, and throws it as hard as she can against the wall. The Furby breaks through the flimsy drywall, and tumbles down through the stories of the building to who-knows-where.
"Oops..." the girl says, biting her lip. "Well... at least I can do my homework now!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
YET ANOTHER FLASHBACK- 41 YEARS LATER: The Year 2040- Tokyo
Something is terribly, terribly wrong... The entire city is shaking like an earthquake has struck beneath it. Cars, homes, and buildings lie abandoned, and there is almost no one left... all the residents of the city have fled.
The AD Police building has been overrun with Rogue Boomers... And a great, quivering, worm-like mass of mutated metal and living technology has forced its way out of the ground and through the building.
All over the city thousands of snake-like ends of the power system known as the "Dragon Line" are reaching up from the ground, destroying buildings, cars, and causing everything Boomer to go rogue and begin melding itself to anything electric to feed off its power.
Giant mantis-looking creatures, the "failed experiments" of the Genom Corporation are emerging from the sewers and feasting on the destructed metal and electricity.
The only building that remains unharmed is the Silky Doll lingerie shop, and the home of the Stingray family- Sylia, her brother Mackey, and their butler, Henderson. Because Sylia has some sort of strange hatred of the Boomers, she refuses to allow anything Boomer into her home. Unfortunately... she has failed.
Dozens of them are diving into the swimming pool on her roof, where her high-tech security system has failed. They break through the glass walls and get inside, beginning to meld themselves to all of the Stingray's electronic possessions.
The Stingrays and the other three Knight Sabers as well as Meisio Henderson, Leon McNichol and Nigel Kirkland make a break for the roof as quickly as they can. They barely escape with their lives as another arm of the Dragon Line breaches the ground through the building and saps all of its power for its master, Galatea.
But as the Knight Sabers and the others flee for their lives to a park unaffected by the plague, they fail to notice the strange crackling noises coming from the walls of the Silky Doll...
"E... TAY... OO... DAY... EE... MAY... KOO... BLAY... MWEEEHEHEHEHEHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Galatea!" Sylia said again. "She must have done this... The Furby must have been lost in the walls of the building from all the way back in 1999... And when Galatea spread the Sotay Phenomenon through the city, it must have warped the Furby's primitive mechanics into this mind-controlling monster!"
"Who knew your building was that old?" shrugged Nene. "Did it already have all the secret rooms and big built-in swimming pools when you moved in?"
Sylia threw Nene a look. Then she locked her vision back on the Furby. "Look at it... its sinister little face..."
The Furby began to talk. Sylia put her hands on her ears and screamed. "SHUT UP!"
"Sylia..." Linna said quietly. "It doesn't look that dangerous to me..."
The Furby had begun muttering nonsense gibberish- "Furbish" to itself and appeared not to have heard the Knight Sabers approaching.
"Me... hungry!" the Furby squeaked.
"STOP IT!" Sylia shrieked. "STOP IT, YOU MONSTER!"
"Whoa- Sylia, calm down!" Priss said quickly. "Just... approach it very carefully."
"You GUYYYS!" Linna whined. "I already said that it didn't look that dangerous!"
"Neither did Galatea!" Nene shivered.
"Oh puh-lease Nene... those vicious red eyes, that green lipstick, all those jellyfish-looking things all around her?" Priss shot back.
"Well, look at that thing!" Linna groaned, rolling her eyes. "It's furry! It's kind of... OK, it's not really that cute, but hey- we'd better kill it anyway!"
Sylia threw a glare of hatred at the Furby, and barked, "Priss, ankle-bomb it."
With that, the Furby's head began to spin around, and it said in a eerily familiar voice, "What's the matter, dear sister? Don't you recognize me?"
Sylia froze in absolute terror. "Wh-WHAT?!"
"It's me, Sylia... Galatea..."
"The FURBY is GALATEA?!" Nene shrieked.
"No! It can't be!" Sylia screamed. "You're lying!"
"You're wrong, Sylia... I am the future. I cannot be destroyed. As long as there are Boomers who are loyal to me in the city of Tokyo... I shall live again!"
"I get it now!" Linna spat. "Galatea was able to transmit her consciousness into the Furby!"
"You're wasting your time, sister Sylia... You will all be destroyed, and the new species shall begin its reign..."
"We'll see about that!" Priss snapped, giving the Furby a swift kick with an ankle bomb.
BOOM!
The Furby smashed into a hundred pieces, and the glow from its eyes shut off.
"Eat my dust, you little creep." Priss snarled.
The glowing pink shell remained, however, and the pedestrians and construction workers were still transfixed by the glow.
"Look! Priss smashed it!" Nene said happily, pointing to what was once a Furby. Two little eyes were still peering out at the Knight Sabers.
"Well, it's dead now... so let's get outta here!" Priss snapped.
"No! If it's dead, how come it's still glowing?" Sylia burst out.
Suddenly, a small mechanical noise pierced through the silence of the night, making all four of the Knight Saber's blood run cold...
"You think I can be destroyed that easily?" the evil voice boomed again.
"AACK!" Nene shrieked, pointing over to where the Furby had been.
There, instead of a pile of plastic bits, was a fully-assembled Furby with glowing pink eyes...
"IT'S ALIVE AGAIN!" she squealed. "IT'S ALIVE AGAIN!"
"That's IT!" Sylia shrieked, piercing through the Furby's tiny body with the blade on her arm. "Why won't you just DIE and leave us alone Galatea?! You were a mistake! You never should have been created!"
There was a short shower of sparks from the newly-made hole in the Furby, and the murmuring shorted out. Suddenly, the metal of the Furby grew back together into a whole piece, trapping Sylia's arm blade inside its tiny body.
"IT'S STUCK ON MY ARM!" Sylia cried, shaking wildly.
"EWW Get it off!" Nene wailed.
Sylia flung her arm as hard as she could, and the blade sliced the Furby in half like a knife through butter.
Both sides clunked to the ground and were still.
The four of them all sighed, and Sylia retracted her blade. "Disgusting little monster."
She was interrupted by a small electrical pulsing in the air. Tiny, slimy tentacles reached out from both sides of the Furby, intertwining and binding and pulling the two halves together again.
"Oh my God..." Linna gasped.
"E... tay... oo... day..." it whispered menacingly.
"WHY WON'T YOU DIE, DAMN YOU?" Sylia screamed.
The Furby jerked its head, and then repeated in Sylia's voice, "WHY WON'T YOU DIE, DAMN YOU?"
"Why are you doing this!?" Linna (always the sensible one) cried, ejecting her cutters.
"I've explained it so many times. It is not logical to say it again." Furby replied. "I am the new version- the mother of the new species. Your humans must realize that your time is up! It is time to move over and allow me to take my place!"
"You'll never get away with this!" Sylia snarled, relinquishing her arm blade.
"Foolish sister..." Galatea/Furby beeped, laughing sinisterly.
Nene aimed her shooters at it. "Say your prayers, you little monster!"
"Quit joking around! It's time to die!" Priss said, preparing another ankle bomb.
"Foolish humans." Furby giggled maniacally. "You cling to life so desperately. Give in... join me, and I will spare you... I will give you time to think about it."
"You're insane, you soulless demon!" Sylia screamed.
"I've got it!" Priss cried, running off back towards K's Garage.
"PRISS! WHERE ARE YOU GOING?" Nene shouted.
"You'll see!"
"Steady... Steady... a little more... NOW!"
Priss slammed on the gas of the Motoslave, sending into reverse, when it hit something large with a KATHUMP.
Seconds later...
KATHUMP.
"Did I get it?" Priss asked, looking over her shoulder.
"IT'S STILL MOVING!"
KATHUMP.
KATHUMP.
"Nope, not yet!"
KATHUMPKATHUMPKATHUMP.
"This isn't working!"
"E-may boo tay!"
"Shut up!" snapped Priss, sending the Motoslave into neutral again. "We've got to think of something else."
"And if I just configure these switches, then... AHA! Here we go! And now the fun part!" Nene grinned wickedly, pressing the little red button on her gauntlet.
A pair of speakers hooked up to the Furby began to play "It's A Small World" on loop.
"And... this is supposed to kill it... HOW?" Priss snapped.
"WHA? I tried to make it self destruct!" Nene cried indignantly.
"I think that music is going to kill US!" Linna whined, covering her ears.
"I cannot be deprogrammed. I was not created for such a purpose." Galatea stated simply.
Linna dumped the contents of the package (some sort of thick, gooey slop) onto the Furby, and then ran over to a locked gate near the Silky Doll ruins where the Furby was still standing.
"I learned this out in the country!" Linna snickered proudly. She pulled open the gate, and...
A pack of vicious Dobermans raced out of the gate, leaped upon Furby, and began ripping it to shreds.
"Wow!" Nene said in awe.
"... Interesting..." Sylia said in surprise.
"What the he- er, what was in that package?" asked Priss.
"Bacon grease," Linna said simply.
"WAIT A SEC! Do you honestly expect the readers to believe that you found both a large package of bacon grease AND a pack of vicious Dobermans in less than three minutes? COME ON!" Nene whined. "We were pushing it with the suits, and the whole Furby thing is right on the edge... but that's just silly!"
"SHHH! Nene!" Linna hissed.
The Dobermans licked their lips in content, and scampered off back to their gated yard.
The Furby lay naked and soaking wet with slobber in the middle of the ruins.
"Whoa! Linna, it worked!" Priss laughed.
"Amazing!" Sylia gasped.
Suddenly, with a push of its tiny legs, the Furby pushed itself up onto its feet and shook off. "You are wasting valuable earth-conquering time." Galatea murmured.
"We've got to kill her before she..." Sylia sobbed.
"I've got it..." Priss growled. "It's not a very good idea, and we're going to regret it, but... I'll try it..."
"This has got to work!" Priss said triumphantly.
"We tried this in episode 23... it didn't work then, it won't work now!" Linna whined.
"Hold your neck still, or it'll snap." Nene ordered.
Sylia stood back, watching, as Priss and Nene slammed Linna's head and her cutters into the Furby again and again, crushing it into bits.
"Did it work?" she called.
"It should have, Linna's head is so dense it..."
"HEY!"
"Sorry, it's true."
"NO! NO! NO! NONONONO! It's STILL ALIVE!" Nene cursed, stomping her feet in rage.
"You humans are fools! I cannot be destroyed! Why do you refuse your destiny?" Galatea said dangerously.
"That's it... I was hoping I wouldn't have to do this, but..." Sylia said, grabbing the Furby. "I'll be back in a moment."
"Where are you going?" Linna asked worriedly.
"Up that building!" Sylia said, launching up towards the top of the skyscraper.
She stared down at the red, blue, and green armored Knight Sabers below her, and Sylia took a deep breath.
"Prepare to die, you evil thing from hell..." she snarled.
"If you join me, Sister Sylia, you will never have to die... Humans can be assimilated..." Furby replied.
"I don't think so..." Sylia said, raising her arm. "BURN IN HELL!"
...woooooooooooo0000000000000O0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0OOOOO0000OOOOOOOOOoooooooooo...
WHAAAM!
When Sylia reached the bottom of the building again, she joined her three comrades in staring at the crater in the ground where Furby had landed. They had all raised the visors of their helmets to look at the very smashed Furby.
"You did it, Sylia!" Nene cooed happily.
"Another one bites the dust..." Priss snickered.
"Woohoo!" Linna cheered.
Sylia took a deep breath, and pushed up the visor of her helmet. "Good... the last remnants of my sister are gone for good!"
"What did I tell you before, dear sister?"
"AAGGGHHH!" all four of them screamed.
"I am tired of waiting. I will destroy you, and your puny planet shall come under my control. And your manicures, your pathetic HUMAN manicures... will be destroyed."
The pink glow shot out of the crater, and all four Knight Sabers clutched their heads in agony, collapsing to the ground.
It felt like fire was racing through their veins. Everything the fire touched immediately throbbed with merciless, endless pain. But the pain was nowhere worse than their cuticles. The steady pulling and tearing of hangnails...
"MYYYY MANICUUUUURE!" Linna wailed.
"It is time, sister Sylia... I failed the first time, but it is at last time for me to take what is rightfully mine..." Galatea said. "I have remained in this weak body for too long. It is time to rejoin with my prototype... My dear brother Mackey..."
"No!" Sylia and Nene shrieked simultaneously, over the throbbing, endless pain.
A tentacle shot out of the Furby's body and over to Sylia's screaming form, reaching into her pocket (Wait a sec- do hardsuits have pockets?) and pulling out her phone...
Then, in a perfect imitation of Sylia's voice, the Furby dialed a number and spoke. "Mackey! Mackey, you've got to come quickly!"
"What is it, Sylia?! Are you in danger?"
"It's overpowered us, Mackey! You've got to help us!" Furby said, smiling evilly.
Sylia reached helplessly for the hellish monster, trying to scream at her brother. "No! Mackey... stay away!" she gasped.
"You're at the Silky Doll, right?"
"Yes! Hurry Mackey! I don't know how much longer we can last!"
"Right, Sylia! I'll be there as fast as I can!"
"MACKEY!" Sylia screeched. "NO!"
But the line was dead. The tentacle curled up, smashing the phone into bits. "Of course," Galatea said calmly, "You cannot still be alive when the prototype arrives..."
Four more tentacles shot out of the Furby's hairless body, and wrapped themselves around the legs of the Knight Sabers, melding into their suits.
All at once, the pain stopped. Shuddering, the Knight Sabers each took a wheezing breath, and their suit began to glow eerily blue.
"What... what's happening..." Nene wailed.
"Oh God... she's... taking control of our suits..." Sylia gasped. "Don't let her do it... DON'T give in!"
Echoing voices filled Sylia's head. Voices from her past, voices she wished she would never hear again. Fighting off the illusions, Sylia struggled to breath. "STOP IT! STOP IT GALATEA!"
"I'm sorry... the Doctor is very busy right now... You must leave immediately..."
"I must speak to my husband! And you tell me we're supposed to leave, like nothing's happened?"
"Papa?"
"Come on Sylia! Your father says he doesn't need you anymore!"
"PAPA!"
Priss growled in defiance. "Let GO of my BRAIN!" She was too weak to fight off the tentacles, gradually absorbing themselves into her suit...
Nene fought against everything in her brain that told her to lie down and die. She fought wildly to move her arm, her neck. She had to stop her... Nene knew all too well what would happen when Mackey arrived... Visions flashed through her head, knowledge of what had happened- and what would happen.
"No! Mackey, you can't do that! Save your strength, you're going to kill yourself!"
"Goodbye... Nene..."
And then the shadow of a teenager, lying on the ground like a broken toy...
Linna screamed, and tried to control her shaking body. Fight it! I've got to! she thought frantically. I can't let Galatea...
"Your mother was very sick, Sylia... she hadn't been the person she was for a long time... I promise I'll take good care of you... But you have to help me with something first..."
"All you have to do is sleep for a little while..."
"It's too late, sister Sylia..." Galatea said, as the Furby's mouth started to mumble gibberish. "The prototype has arrived..."
"NO!" Sylia screamed. "NOOO!"
Mackey screeched to a stop, dropping his bicycle in the mud. "Oh my... Sylia!" he screamed.
The Furby's eyes lit up, and the tentacles lifted the limp bodies of the Knight Sabers into the air. Speaking in Sylia's voice, it screamed, "HELP ME, MACKEY!"
Mackey ran as fast as he could, staring in awe at the sight. The Furby in the center, glowing pink, and the steadily deforming hardsuits floating around it...
"Sylia!" he cried. "What... what am I supposed to do?!"
"What you were programmed to do..." Galatea replied, in her true voice. Yet another tentacle shot out from the Furby's body, and it snagged Mackey by the arm.
"GALATEA!" he screamed.
"Dear Brother..." Galatea said in a dangerous whisper. "You know where you belong... The failed experiments must lead to the more successful ones..."
Mackey looked around frantically, and threw the tentacle off of himself. "Get away from me!"
"We belong in the same body, Mackey..." Galatea said calmly. "You know that... It shall be so much easier... once you have rejoined..."
Mackey gasped in horror, as tiny wires began to shoot out of his hands, wiggling and looking for something to plug into.
"NO!" he screamed. "No, Galatea, stop it! I don't want to join you!"
"It is useless to fight..." Galatea said, forcing the Furby's lips into a smile. "You too, are a Sotay, dear brother... Your purpose is to rise- to eliminate the human threat and to begin a new species' rule..." The Furby stared at Mackey with those demonically cute eyes, and it opened its mouth again and again murmuring, "ME WUV YOU! ME WUV YOU!"
"Get away from me!" Mackey screamed, fighting away the tentacle rising from the Furby. "I don't wanna start a new species! I want to be human!"
"Don't be a fool..." Galatea said nonchalantly. "Humans are weak. You, Mackey, were created to be more than a weak, pathetic human..."
"And what about Sylia?!" Mackey cried, kicking away at another tentacle inching its way towards him.
The Furby's eyes flashed. "Sylia... is a fool, dear brother... She refuses to join with us... To join with me, inside the Furby... Sylia is a fool..."
"No freakin' way, Galatea! For 2 reason! 1. I care about these humans! and 2. You say 'fool' a lot! And it's annoying!" Mackey yelled.
"With the body of this Furby, we can be unstoppable... and it is all open to you too, dear brother..."
"Furby... the Furby, of course!" Mackey cried.
Mackey made a wild dive for the crater in which the Furby was sitting, and he snatched it up, the wires plugging into it as he scrambled to avoid another tentacle. Suddenly, his brain was filled with thousands of pieces of seemingly useless data- building specifications for the tiny monstrosity, and in the center of it all the crouched silhouette of his sister Galatea.
"It has begun, Mackey..." she whispered. "Let go..."
"No way!" Mackey snarled. "I've got to save Sylia and Nene!"
Priss and Linna jerked their heads towards him.
"Er... all of them!" he added, and with a twitch of his hand he received the data he'd been looking for.
"Of course!" he cried triumphantly.
Mackey turned the Furby over, struggling against the nagging voice in his body that said, Join me, brother... it is futile to resist! You are my prototype, and you SHALL be assimilated!
"Leave Sylia ALONE!" Mackey screamed in rage, throwing open the battery door, and ripping out the Furby's batteries.
The eyes blinked, and Furby began mumbling nonsense gibberish. Galatea's voice cut over and over again into the background. "No- foolish- fool- fool- human- Sotay- human- useless- futile- resissssssssst..."
And the blinding pink light faded from around them. The tentacles dropped uselessly to the ground, followed by four crumpled hardsuits...
Mackey rubbed his hands in pain. The wires had disappeared- but scars remained. (Hey, that rhymes!)
Then he dropped on his knees to the ground next to the silver hardsuit, shaking it frantically. "Sylia... Sylia... you've got to wake up! Sylia!"
There was a soft groan, and Sylia shivered. "Mackey...?"
She sat up slowly, and pulled off the helmet of her hardsuit with shaking hands. Her soft blue hair tumbled all over the place. "What... what happened..."
"Galatea- she took control of your suits!" Mackey said.
"Mackey! What are you doing here?" Sylia snapped. "I told you never to-"
"Kill an evil Furby?" suggested Mackey, holding up the Furby.
Sylia was about to say something, but she froze with a look of confusion plastered on her face. "You..."
"I took out the batteries," Mackey said, shrugging.
"Were you out of your mind!? Galatea was aiming for one thing and one thing only, Mackey- YOU! And you came out here and risked your life..."
"To save you, Sylia?" Mackey smiled weakly.
Sylia burst into tears and embraced her brother, sobbing weakly. "Mackey... thank you..."
They both heard a muffled grunt from the blue hardsuit nearby. Priss yanked off her helmet, her wild hair looking a bit more disheveled than usual. "What the hell- Er... heck just happened?"
"Galatea- she took control of your suits!" Mackey said.
"Mackey! What the hell do you think you're doing here?" Priss snapped. "You don't got a suit or anything, and you might have-"
"Killed an evil Furby?" suggested Mackey, holding up the Furby.
Priss was about to say something, but she froze with a look of confusion plastered on her face.
The green hardsuit nearby suddenly gave a jerk, and Linna grabbed her side. "Ow... I got a cramp..." She sat up, pulling off her helmet, and mumbled, "What happened..."
"Galatea- she took control of your suits!" Mackey said.
"Mackey! What are you doing here?" Linna snapped. "What if Galatea had gotten you, you probably would have-"
"Killed an evil Furby?" suggested Mackey, holding up the Furby.
Linna was about to say something, but she froze with a look of confusion plastered on her face.
And finally, from the other side of the crater came a faint moan from the pink hardsuit.
"Nene!" Mackey gasped, pulling away from Sylia and helping Nene to pull off her helmet as well.
Nene gave a feeble cough, and opened her big brown eyes. "What... what happened..."
"Galatea- she took control of your suits!" Mackey said.
"Mackey!? What are you doing here?" Nene snapped. "You could have-"
"Killed an evil Furby?" suggested Mackey, holding up the Furby.
Nene was about to say something, but she froze with a look of confusion plastered on her face. "Mackey, you killed it? HOW?"
"I took out the batteries," Mackey shrugged. "What else?"
Nene looked at Linna. Linna looked at Sylia. Sylia looked at Priss, and Priss shrugged.
"Well... how the hell were we supposed to know?"
"But oh, Mackey! Thank God you're OK!" Nene wailed. "I never want to see a Furby again in my lifetime!"
"And Galatea- what happened to her?" Linna asked worriedly.
"She's probably still trapped inside the brain of the Furby," Mackey explained. "There's no way she can control it if there's no power source, so we should- GAH!"
That was Nene, glomping Mackey and giving him a big, fat, LONG kiss!
Mackey screamed.
Sylia and Linna laughed, and Priss rolled her eyes. "Nene, you get weirder and weirder everyday..."
"Speaking of weirder and weirder, you'd better call Leon and tell him you're OK, Priss!" Linna said smugly.
Priss turned completely red and for once had nothing to say.
A few minutes later, the folks of Tokyo enjoyed one more large bonfire with a Furby as the main ingredient. And the Knight Sabers and Mackey set off on the way back to K's Garage for the night.
"There's one thing I don't understand, Mackey..." Nene said, pulling his arm over her shoulder. "When you plugged into Furby, didn't Galatea try to assimilate you again?"
"Yeah, but it didn't work," Mackey explained.
"Even Galatea has to wait long and annoying download periods, after all," Sylia added.
Linna scratched her head. "But... Mackey, wasn't that dangerous? Do you think you might have any after-effects?"
"Naaah," Mackey shrugged. "I don't think so. We weren't connected that long."
"Well, good. I'd say what you need is some sleep," Sylia said comfortingly.
"I think we all could use a nap!" Nene sighed.
Priss shuffled her feet and kicked a rock. "Well I'M just glad that we never have to hear from that Galatea hag ever again. Don't you agree, Sylia?"
"Oh, you have NO idea..." Sylia groaned.
"E...tay... oo... day... loo... may..."
"What was that, Mackey?"
"Huh? What was what?"
"Erm... nevermind..."
~*~
Another day, another dollar, another mission... THIS one was a doozy. All I can say is I'm glad those morons back in 1999 never tried to make anything that improved upon Furby... Mind-reading fuzzy things are quite scary enough, thank you... And it's not like they ever invented little virtual robot dogs or cats or parrots or flowerpots, or anything. Man, 20th century people were WEIRD. And speaking of weird, I SHOULD give Leon a call... I wonder how his new Disney mascot costume gig is going. Oh crap, I just broke a nail...
~*~
THE END