Pointy Muses Fic 15 - You break it, you bought it

[Deadborder]

Pointy Muses Fic

Chapter Fifteen - You break it, you bought it

By Rick R.

*****

"So tell us, in your own words, what happened miss..." The PKB officer started.

"Stroemer." Tasch replied. "That, like the famous Gilvader pilot guy. But not like him, 'cause I ain't related to him at all, despite the fact that everyone asks me that."

Tasch, like the rest of the team, had been politely asked to go with the PKB to answer some questions about the situation they had been found in. The Members of the PKB had been surprised, to say the least, to discover the four of them, surrounded by a good number of destroyed or disabled Zoids, a situation that clearly warranted further investigation. When it became apparent that they had caught a large number of NUBG Members, including their apparent leader, things became even more important.

The officer glanced up at her. "Ms Stroemer."

"Ah heck, please call me Tasch."

"Certainly, Tasch." He continued. "So what exactly happened when you learned about Ms O'Bannon's kidnapping?"

"Well, we realised that we had to help her, an' we figured that the best way to help her was to take part in the battle that the NUBG wanted." She began. "The idea was that they'd give her back if we went along with them."

"And you felt you could trust them on this matter?"

"Yeah, I did."

The officer raised an eyebrow. "Even in light of your team's history with the NUBG?" He asked.

"Well yeah." She nodded. "'cause I figured that they'd do it 'cause it didn’t make any sense for them not to."

He furrowed his brow. "Can you explain?"

"Well sure." Tasch cheerily replied. "Y'see, they’ve attacked us each time so they can have a battle with us. An' they want a battle with us so they can sell it to their viewers fer lots of money. So I figured that if they had been as silly as to kidnap Rose, then they'd have to be wantin' to get somehtin' out of it. So then it wouldn’t have made any sense fer them to do somehtin' other then put us in the battle that they'd said that they would put us in, 'cause they wouldn't get anything out of doin' anything else with us."

"I see..." He began.

"I mean, heck, we didn't want to go along with it but we did because it was fer Rose's sake." Tasch continued. "'cause we couldn't think of any other way to get her back other then to go along with them."

"Of course." He paused. "And did you contact anyone outside of your team about this battle?"

"Heck no." Tasch continued. "'cause NUBG had told us not too, an' it seemed like the best way to handle things."

"Of course." He nodded. "So how about that Energy Liger then? Did you contact the pilot?"

"Well, we ain't got no idea who she is, so we weren't gonna contact her." Tasch continued. "But I kinda knew that she was gonna turn up, which is one of the reasons that I was happy to go along with things."

"You knew about it?"

"Oh yeah." Tasch nodded. "Y'see, that Liger, she's been involved in two of our four previous battles with the NUBG. Well, one of them weren't a battle, but that first time that the NUBG attacked us. She attacked them there, then ran off. An' she also attacked someone else after one of our battles, but weren't directly involved in it."

"And you knew this all along?"

"Well, I had to kinda piece it together, and that weren't easy." She continued. "But I figured it out after a bit."

"And you didn't tell anyone else?"

"Well, I figured that she wanted her privacy, given the way she runs off each time." Tasch finished. "So yeah."

"I see." He finished. "You keep referring to the pilot as being female. Do oyu know who it is?"

"Nope."

"So why do you keep doing such?" He asked.

"Well, I figure that it could be a guy or a girl." She explained. "So I said it was a her."

*****

"Mister Chesterton." The officer began. "Can I ask why you didn't immediately contact the PKB or some other agency when you learned that Ms O'Bannon had been kidnapped?"

Stephen sat back and scratched the small beard he'd accumulated over the last few days as he considered matters. "I guess it was for a number of reasons." He explained. "Mainly it was out of surprise, however."

"Do go on."

"The NUBG had never tied this sort of thing on us before." He continued. "So far its all been Zoid-on-Zoid violence. They've never gone after us as people, more of after us as a Zoid team. They've never directly attacked us, rather wanting to have one of their inane 'no rules' battles."

"But this time they had directly threatened a Member of your team." The officer added.

"Exactly. They had basically snatched her off the street in broad daylight. Now we were surprised by that, to say the least. And, more importantly, we were more then just a bit frightened that they'd decided to take things in this direction." He explained.

"You hadn't expected them to do sorting like this then."

"Not at all." Stephen answered. "It was an escalation of conflict that took things in an entirely new direction. That's why we went along with them, because we were afraid that they were a lot more dangerous or desperate than we'd initially thought, neither of which was a pleasant idea."

"But there's more too it then that, correct?" He offered. "Like why you didn't contact the PKB or anyone else."

"They had our confidential contact information." Stephen growled. "And they had just taken a Member of our team and threatened her health if we didn't play along. Frankly, we were scared of what else they might do to us. We were worried that they were watching our every move, and we didn't want to risk making things any worse for Rose then they already were."

"Do you think they would have harmed her?"

"The thing is, I agree with Rose. The NUBG are stupid." Stephen shook his head. "They'd already made one very stupid move in kidnapping her, and I didn't want to run the risk of them making another one. And since they're stupid people with military hardware, I was more then a little apprehensive."

"Understandably such."

"In fact, when they sent a Shadow Fox to greet us, it just proved everything I'd thought." He continued. "They had a Zoid that could have been watching us all along, and could have... I dunno, done anything if we'd made a move they didn't like."

"Of course. Now do you know what other Zoids they used to escort you to the arena?"

"Well, someone was jamming us, so that could be the Spiner or the Dimetrodon, or even a sight-unseen Gator." He offered. "Beyond that, I really can't say."

"And how many people did you see in the arena proper?"

"At least half a dozen guards." Stephen recalled. "Although there could have been more... I dunno, I wasn't really watching their faces. And then there were all the various NUBG pilots that we fought.

"So you'd say, what, seventeen pilots total?"

"Assuming that the Matrix Dragon had its full crew, then yes." Stephen nodded. "Like I said, I didn't see any other Zoids, and it’s not normally NUBG style to put more then one pilot in a Zoid, save for a Fuzor. The Killerdome had to be manned, and the Matrix Dragon went down over the wall, so they're the only ones I knew could have gotten away."

"You took a very big risk with using the tactical missiles on smaller Zoids there." The officer interjected. "You were aware that you could have seriously injured or killed some of the crew?"

"I was aware of that, and I did it anyway." Stephen replied, a determined tone in his voice. "They would have happily done the same to us in that situation, and I know that their pilots had no issues with shooting to kill. But it’s more then that." He sighed. "I was willing to do whatever it took to get my team out of this situation. I didn't want to get anyone hurt, but I was more then willing to take a chance."

"I see." He finished. "And if you had the option, would you have attacked that Shadow Fox when it came to meet you?"

"No." He shook his head. "It may have helped me to feel better, but it wouldn't have helped Rose at all."

*****

Rose tried not to look at the officer in the room, simply so he wouldn't see just how uncomfortable she was feeling. She didn't want to admit that she’d been scared stupid during that whole affair with the NUBG. She didn't want to admit that she'd almost wet her pants in terror when the gun was pressed into her back. She didn't want to admit how terrified she was that they were going to torture, rape or kill her just to make a point.

"Ms O'Bannon." The female officer began. "Could you explain to me exactly what happened?"

"Sure." She began. "I, uh, I was standing at the bus stop, minding my own business and the guy walked up to me and pressed a gun into my back." She shook her head. "He told me to go along with him, and I agreed; I wasn't about to do anything that was going to get me killed."

"You did the right thing." The officer replied. "Nobody is going to fault you for that."

Yeah, except Vi would have just spin-kicked him to next week or something like that, she thought. And he'd have been beaten to a bloody pulp if he'd tried it on... she shuddered. "Sure." She nodded.

"And what happened then?" The officer continued.

"They, um, marched me into a car. It had tinted windows, so I couldn't really see where we were going." Rose admitted. "I didn't see much of anything until I arrived in the NUBG base, where they marched me down to a holding cell."

"Did you get a good look at your assailant?"

Rose shook her head. "He had dark glasses, wore a dark suit and a dark hat. I didn't see much of his face... he kept his collar up a lot. Um,, her looked to be a bit older, maybe mid-late thirties." She shook her head. "And he had black hair."

"Did you hear any names?" She asked.

"Um... they called each other Wyoming and Texas. That's probably not their real names, right?"

"Probably not, no." The officer shook her head. "But its a start. So what happened after that?"

"They, uh, they locked me in a cell in the NUBG headquarters." Rose explained. "They didn't tie me up or anything, though. And they gave me regulator meals and stuff."

"Did anyone tell you what was going on?"

"There was one woman who tried to reassure me or something like that. I didn't see her face and she didn't give me a name, but she seemed to be supporting or helping me. While she didn’t free me or anything, she told me that I was relatively safe and that she'd make sure that nothing happened."

"Interesting. But she never identified herself?"

"No." Rose admitted.

"Understandable. So how long were you there?"

"I figure it was a couple of days." She continued. "I was told that I would be taking part in a battle, and that I would be using my Zoid. After a while, they shipped me out to that arena, where I waited until I was handed over to the team and, um, well, the battle started."

"I see. And we know what happened from there."

"I wish I could tell you more." Rose replied. "I didn't see anything going either way."

"That's fine." The officer finished. "Take your time."

*****

“Hey, could I get a cup of water?” Neil asked.

“Certainly.” The officer replied. He reached down, and handed Neil a bottle of water.

“Close enough, thanks.” Neil finished, then took a sip.

"So Mister Notbob, can you explain what your part in all this was?"

"Cannon-fodder." Neil replied with a grin.

"I'm sorry?"

"I took shots, basically." He explained. "Or, if you like, the NUBG guys were shooting at me while I was concentrating on running and hiding and keeping myself alive. You know those guys don’t try to avoid shooting the cockpit or the like, right?"

"We're well aware of that."

"Well put yourself in a Gunsniper then." Neil continued. "They're not exactly the most heavily armoured Zoids, and most everything those guys were packing was enough to kill me dead."

"We know that you participated in the battle." The Officer cut him off. "But we'd like to know what else you did."

"Like what?"

"Well..." he paused. "Well, what did you want to do when the NUBG made their demands?"

"Me?" Neil asked. "I didn't want to participate, simply because I knew those guys would pull a swift one on us and try to kill us dead or the like. And I knew that the odds of my getting killed or maimed were looking rather good all of a sudden."

"What I mean is, were you involved with the decision to take part in the battle."

"Sort of." He admitted. "I didn’t want to be a part of it at all."

"So you were opposed to it."

"I was opposed to our taking part in it." Neil explained. "That doesn't mean I didn't willingly participate in it."

"But you still participated in it."

"Oh yeah." Neil nodded. "I wasn't about to leave Rose out to dry and save my own skin. I may be a coward, but I'm a coward with a sense of responsibility."

"I see." He paused. "And the Energy Liger, what can you tell me about it?"

"Only that I was scared out of my wits when it appeared." He admitted. "My Zoid was already banged up to all hell. I didn't want to be eaten by some nasty biting cat."

"But it didn't attack you."

"Yeah, and I’m thankful for that at least twice daily." Neil stated. "To an Energy Liger, a Gunsniper looks nicely snack sized."

"So you have no idea who the pilot is, though."

"Not at all." Neil shook his head,. "But if I ever meet him, I'll buy him a beer."

"Obviously, given what he did for you."

"That and I want to stay on his good side." Neil finished. "Because, you know... a guy drops out of the sky in a huge biting cat and tears up a dozen Zoids for no apparent reason other then they can. That's a guy you don't want to get pissed off at you."

*****

"Back off, pig!" A voice called out over a PA system. "We ain't gonna back down! You ain't gonna take us!" A volley of fire rippled out form the abandoned construction site, blasting into the largely deserted street. The PKB's Arosaurers and Gorheks took a step back, letting the evacuated buildings and abandoned cars take the brunt of the fire.

"Yeah, baby, yeah!" A second voice called out. "We're the NUBG! We ain't gonna roll over and die!" Another volley of fire served to punctuate the statement, as well as tear up more real estate.

"Damn it." One Arosaurer pilot muttered. "Looks like they’re going all survivalist nutcase on us."

"Wonderful." Another guy called back. "You know that the city council is going to love us for this."

"City Council can go stuff themselves." PKB chief Mal Loup began over the communicator. "What's the situation down there?"

"Thanks for that, cheif." He replied. "Okay, we've got the PKB headquarters building surrounded. There's still a number of guys inside; we can't say how many, but its a fair few. They've barricaded the entrances and have Zoids guarding the main one; we've got a Command Wolf LC, a cannon-equipped Heldigunner and a Dibison on the door, which is making approaching them very hard, to say the least. And, of course, everything's far too packed in for an air strike, which the city council would go spare over anyway."

"I hear you." Mal replied. "Hold your ground. I am on my way, ETA five and a half minutes."

"Roger that." He called back. "We'll hold until then and will not attempt to engage." His Zoid ducked back behind the building, eyeing the other Members of his squad. Their Arosaurers and Gorheks held back, content to let the NUBG pilots fire several more rounds off and waste ammo. After a minute, they petered off, clearly realising that the PKB pilots weren't going to come out and face them in the open.

"Ah, what's the matter, piggie?" one pilot called out. "You afraid of getting hurt? Or is it that you're afraid of facing a real man?"

"Yeah, you gonna hide?" Another one called out. "You gonna stay there and hide, or ya gonna run home to mummy?"

"Come on... come on out and we'll show ya just what the NUBG can do. That is... unless yer afraid of us!"

None of the Members of the PKB squad replied, instead standing their ground and waiting patiently. They were rewarded minutes later by a low, rhythmical thumping noise. The noise grew closer, like gigantic footfalls of some unimaginably large beast. A loud roar filled the air around the arena, like something calling out a challenge.

But the PKB pilots weren’t afraid. "That's the chief." One guy began. "Now we'll show 'em."

Mal Loup's silver and blue Gojulas Giga simply stepped out into the road, facing the NUBG arena and the blockade in front of it. "This is the PKB!" He called out. "Power down your Zoids and come out with your hands up! This is your final warning!"

"Go to hell, piggie!" Somebody called back. The Command Wolf opened fire on the Giga, the Heldigunner and Dibison joining it a moment later. The Giga stood its ground, however, not even reacting to the shots. Instead, its Energy Shield flared to life, surrounding the Zoid with a brilliant blue barrier. The shots slammed into the shield, rounds exploding harmlessly and energy beams dissipating.

"I warned you!" He called back. "All units, open fire!" The Giga's shield dispersed as the Zoid lunged forwards, the twin silver Buster Cannons on its back firing on the enemy position. Around it, the other PKB Zoids stepped out form cover, pouring their own fire into the enemy barricade. The Buster shots struck home first, the barrier disintegrating in a spectacular ball of fire and debris while blasting into the NUBG Zoids, sending them reeling back. Additional shots poured in, further hammering the Zoids and bearing them down.

"Cease fire!" Mal called out, the PKB units around him stopping. He glanced over the enemy line; all there Zoids were down, the barricade was a pile of smoking debris and the front doors to the NUBG arena were blasted wide open. "Able squad, you're with me. We’re heading on in! And get someone down here to round up those pilots."

The Giga charged forwards, letting out a bellowing roar as it headed into the building. A squad of Arosaurers and Gorheks charged in behind it, staying under the cover of the huge Zoid. Immediately inside the door was a large downwards ramp; built to accommodate Zoids, the Giga could easily fit through it. Glancing down, Mal saw a sign on the wall indicating that the main arena was straight ahead. "All right, follow me in!" Ahead of them loomed a pair of massive metal doors, the last line of defence before the arena proper. Activating its shield again, the Giga simply crashed straight into them, smashing them aside.

"They're here!" Somebody called out in panic. "Open fire!"

A Buster Tortoise rocked on its stubby legs as its massive Particle Cannon fired, the shot streaking straight at the Giga at near point-blank range. The shot hit the shield and dissipated, the shield flickering underneath the force of the blow then shutting off.

"His shield is down!" The Tortoise's pilot called out. "Take him - aaah!" He was cut off by a loud crashing noise as the Giga charged forwards, slamming its foot down on the smaller Zoid's back. The Tortoise’s legs collapsed under their weight, then the Zoid simply crumpled, the huge particle cannon crushed beyond recognition.

"Get him! Get him!" Somebody shouted out in what sounded like blind panic. Several shots slammed into the Giga's neck and face, doing nothing more then marring the paint. The attacker, a red Sabre Tiger, charged forwards, lunging at the larger Zoid with its fangs bared to strike. It didn't get a chance, the Giga instead grabbing it in mid leap with its powerful claws. The massive Zoid roared, then wrapped its mouth around the Tiger's neck, snapping it shut. There was a tortured sound of metal being wrenched apart as the Sabre Tiger roared, then gurgled and went limp.

The Giga tossed it aside as a Barrigator opened fire on it with the twin beam cannons on its back. Hissing, the enemy Zoid backed off before being hammered in the side by a volley of shots form an Arosaurer. A Guysack joined it, only to be struck in the flank by a volley of Rockets form a Gorheks. The blasts tore several of the legs free from the Zoid's side, while the force of the blow flipped it over, sending it crashing to the ground in a tangled mess of limbs.

A shot from the other side of the arena managed to cut into the Giga's side, actually damaging the armour. The Zoid turned to face its attacker, a lone Diloforce that was hissing angrily at it, its neck frill extended. The Giga roared back, turning towards the impudent machine that had dared challenge it. The Diloforce seemed to shrink back, before its pilot simply leapt out of the seat and began running. Momentarily confused, the Diloforce was struck down by a hail of fire from an Arosaurer before it could respond.

Another pair of shots hit the Giga's back, not doing anything more then striking the armour but certainly getting his attention. Glancing behind him, he could see his attacker; a Shadow Fox armed with a CP-04 on its back. Before the Zoid could fire again, the Giga's tail swung at it,. smashing into its side. The force of the blow threw the Zoid across the arena, slamming it into the far wall, the CP-04 snapping off it. A second blow smashed into its body, crushing its structure.

"Wait!" A voice called out. Mal turned to the sound of it, seeing a lone Raysaurer standing by one of rhe arena gates, its cockpit open. The pilot was standing up, his hands in the air. "I, um, we surrender! Just... don't hurt us, please?"

"All right then." Mal snarled. "All units, stand down. And get us a couple of prisoner wagons in here... as well as some Gustavs." He glanced around at the devastated arena. "We got a lot of work to do here."

*****

[Deadborder]

"Well, how's it going?" The officer asked as he stepped into the room. Jack Hindle was already there, watching an interview in progress through the window.

"Some of them are surprisingly cooperative." He replied. "Some of them aren't."

"Oh?"

"Just look." He indicated to the room where a young woman was sitting with a pair of PKB officers. She was short and slender, with limp black hair and too much makeup. She sported numerous pericings and was dressed in the sort of deliberately ragged clothes Hindle saw everyday, the 'standard' wear for someone trying to be 'different'. She also sported a black eye and had an icepack around her hand. "And before you say anything, she got those when her Zoid was destroyed. She was in the Dimetrodon."

"Let's not mess around here." One of the officers in the room began. "We found you climbing out of the cockpit of an NUBG Zoid. And if we test it, we'll find your fingerprints and your DNA all over it. And we’re stripping its Black Box even now to check the records." He smiled. "So you're not going to get anywhere by playing innocent."

"Screw you, pig." She replied.

He shook his head. "We've got you on using a Zoid without a licence and participating in an unsanctioned battle. Those two are enough to put you away for a good time. You're also up as an accessory to kidnapping, which isn't going to help matters. To make it wose, Ms... Magro, you have a considerable record to begin with. Destruction of property, obstruction, vandalism, breaking and entering, assaulting PKB officers-"

"That was all peaceful protests, you facist pig." She replied. "I'm not the criminal here, you are."

"I hardly call smashing a window with a chair and then hitting a riot officer with it peaceful."

"You're all tools of the capitalist state!" She called out. "You're oppressing us so at the end of the day your bosses can get their money from the ZBC and the arms companies. This entertainment of yours is a joke, its mush that you use to keep the people happy so they wont realise how badly you're ripping them off! We're not terrorists or criminals, we're activists, but you’ve skewed the legal system so bad that we won't be anything!"

"This isn't helping-"

"Free the NUBG!" She called out. "Free the NUBG! Free the NUBG!"

Hindle shook his head. "She's been one of the worst. Most of them just refuse to talk."

"That bad?"

"Pretty much." He nodded. "Of the pilots we captured, most of them have pre-existing criminal records. Only three of them had Zoid licences, and a fourth one had his revoked. He is, in fact, a former ZBC pilot who was apparently disqualified. And one actually has a current licence." A beep cut him off. "Hold on." He picked up a phone and grunted a few replies.

"What's up, chief?" The Officer asked.

"We've got a visitor with us." He replied. "Someone from the ZBC has just come down to help identify our suspects." It was no surprise; the ZBC was more hen just a sports management company. It had to handle and supervise military grade weapons systems and their use by members of the civilian population. Their job was to regulate that, and prevent pilots from using their Zoids for anything but what was appropriate - chiefly Zoid battles. They worked hand-in-glove with the PKB to help deal with Zoid-related crimes.

The officer nodded. "So how are the others going?"

"We picked up a good number of technical staff which has helped matters. We also seized a number of recordings of the battle which, along with the Black Box data form the Zoids, should clear everything up over who was where. And, of course, there's their apparent boss."

"You know him?"

"He's nothing too major, or so we thought." He said as he handed over a file. "Michael Heywood, underground magazine magnate and former student activist." He began. "He's never had a proper job in his life, and has been bought up on sexual harassment charges several times. But there's nothing that suggested he'd end up running an illegal Zoid battle organisation and certainly nothing that suggested that he'd resort to kidnapping."

The officer looked over his file. "He quit his first job after one day?"

"He claimed unfair Woking conditions." Hindle replied. "Which were, by the way, that he had to work an eight-hour day."

"Nice."

"And that's what bothers me." Hindle continued. "He doesn't strike me as having the brains for this sort of thing. Sure he could dream up matches and the like but... run the NUBG? I dint think so. Yet what we've got suggests that he's the big boss."

"Who knows."

"That Energy Liger is still an issue." Hindle muttered. "Comparing information form different data sources, it would appear that the Zoid arrived in the arena well before we got the tip-off about the battle going on. So I don't think that the two are related... which makes me wonder who tipped us off."

"Stromer seems to think the Liger's pilot is a woman. Or at least, that’s what I think she said. Its hard to tell." The officer replied as a buzz from the door cut him off.

"Come in." Hindle began.

The door opened, a woman in her early thirties entering. She had shoulder length red hair, green eyes, and was dressed in a sharply-cut black and grey suit. "Elissa Claybourne, ZBC." She began. "The PKB asked for someone to come down here and look over some of the people you bought in."

"Jack Hindle." He replied. "Thanks for coming down so quickly."

She shook her head. "I want to see the NUBG wrapped up just as much as you do, Mister Hindle."

"Jack, please."

"Sure." She smiled. "So how can I help you?"

"Basically, I want you to tell us if any of the guys we pulled in are know to your people; if any of them are legit ZBC members or known to you any other way."

"Anything to help out. What have you got?"

"If you want to take a seat?" He offered, indicating to a chair in front of a computer terminal. As she sat, he bought up a screen showing a mugshot of one of the pilots. "These are the NUBG people we bought in from the arena. Basically, we're hoping you can confirm the status of some of them."

"Certainly." She replied as she scrolled through the files. "I can't say that I recognise most of them, but there are a few that come up." She stopped on one screen. "This guy, Brock Hartford, was in the ZBC but dropped out at about the same time as this whole mess started. There was an unsubstantiated witness statement that said that he had gone over the NUBG, but that's about it. It would appear that it was true."

She pressed a few more buttons. "This one, Karen Hilderbrand, was in the ZBC but quit for personal reasons. She dropped out of site, and we lost track of her, but we never imagined that she'd end up in the NUBG." She shook her head. "Especially not piloting a brand new, top-of-the-line Zoid."

Another screen came up, then another. "These two, Julian Hatchett and Shane Adams are real pieces. Shane used to be in the ZBC and had worked up a fair number of fines and was heading for an official disqualification before he quit. We knew he was active in NUBG, but nobody could ever track him down. Julian Hatchett was turned down for a Zoid licence because of his violent past. Again, it’s no surprise. We knew that those two were near the top of the NUBG pile."

"It seems like they've got a lot of people who couldn't make it in the ZBC."

"That’s what it would appear." She added. Before a pilot could get a Zoid licence, they had to take a series of tests to determine if it was safe to let them pilot a Zoid. Besides obvious tests of coordination and ability, there were psychological assessments as well to determine if someone was mentally suitable. The last thing the ZBC wanted were black-obsessed trenchcoat-wearing maniacs wandering the streets with military grade hardware. Unfortunately it seemed that those people were the bread and butter to the NUBG.

"We'll send you down all we have on those who have records with the ZBC." She finished as she stood.

"Thanks for your time, Ms Claybourne." Jack replied.

"Not at all." She finished. "Thanks for letting me help shut these guys down." She glanced back at the screen. "The sooner we can be rid of these sorts of maniacs, the better."

*****

Ron McGonnagle watched the situation as it unfolded on the TV News, getting a live feed from a helicopter flying over the scene. He could clearly see the construction site that housed the NUBG's headquarters, as well as the thick plume of black smoke billowing out form within it and the squadrons of PKB Zoids surrounding it. In the last few minutes a number of prisoner transport vehicles had arrived around the arena, suggesting to him that things were all over for the NUBG.

This was a development that he was far from happy with. He knew that the NUBG's sudden demise would cause him a lot of problems. If Heywood had been caught - and while there were no reports to that effect, it was a distinct possibility - he could easily be implicated in a lot of their fair from savoury businesses. If Heywood talked, then the PKB would have enough on him to lock him away for a few decades, a prospect that McGonnagle did not relish.

As soon as he'd heard the reports of the big raid on the arena yesterday afternoon, he'd gone hard to work destroying every shred of evidence that he could think of that would link him to the NUBG. He'd trashed hundreds of computer files, then gone to great lengths to physically destroy any backup disks or the like that the data could be recovered from. He'd also destroyed a large amount of paperwork, burning as much of it as he could. His vast collection of NUBG battles on disk had also been destroyed, crushed along with everything else.

He'd gone to great lengths to destroy his phone as well, just so they couldn't link him to Heywood. He’d shoved it in a blender, then thrown out both the phone and the blender just to make sure.

Now that he was back in the office, he was going over everything he kept there just to make sure that there was noting at all that could be used as evidence to connect him to the NUBG. He'd already spent hours going over every last file on his office computer, and was now going over the paperwork in his office just to make sure. He wasn't going to take any chances at all.

"Hey Ron." A voice began, interrupting his desperate search through the filing cabinets. Looking up, he could see Elissa Claybourne standing in the door to his office. "You're working hard, for once."

He grimaced at her comments; he and Elissa had always had a somewhat adversarial relationship at work. He didn't like the fact that she had been promoted past him for being a former Zoid pilot, something that he thought shouldn’t factor into her office life. But then he didn’t like Zoid pilots in general, which hadn't helped matters. That she was still popular and often did public work for the ZBC, despite not having been an active competitor for years, only made things worse for him.

"Well, its a buys time of year, what with the finals and all that coming up." He grunted out. "I've got a lot to do."

"Take it easy today." She replied dismissively. "Everyone else is."

He'd noticed that there'd been an almost party-like atmosphere over the office so far today, likely form the news that the biggest threat to the organisation - as well as their only rival - had apparently just been destroyed. It wasn't something he liked; he personally was far from happy at the news, but at the same time, he had to play along that it was a good thing.

He'd liked working with the NUBG. True, it had helped line his pockets, something that he couldn't argue with, but it was more then just that. It had been exciting to do sorting illegal, to go against the law and do what was considered to be 'wrong'. He'd liked being Heywood's informant, liked the danger and the risk and the excitement. It was, to his mind, what being a spy was all about - big risks, bit thrills and big payoffs.

Now he was in real trouble.

"I'd love to but, you know, I have lots of work to do here." He snapped. "You know, work, what we're meant to be doing."

Elissa seemed to ignore him for the moment. "You heard that, amongst others, they caught those tow NUBG guys who had been doing all those raids?" She began. "Including the initial attack on that team which started everything off."

"You mean the Dark Spiner and Hailsturm Liger?" He asked. "They got them?"

"Hailsturm?" She asked. "What the hell?"

"You know, the blue and gold Liger with the Electric generators." He explained.

"That’s a Liger Zero X." She shook her head.

"I thought it was called a Hailsturm, and the red one was the X."

"No, ita a fan-created name." She continued. "Somebody started it and it got out of control from there. It’s chiefly used in bad movies, which explains its popularity amongst idiot fanboys."

"Oh." He replied, a little dejected at the comparison.

"Anyway, apparently the PKB is trying to pump them and every other NUBG pilot they caught for as much info as possible so thy can completely close down the NUBG." She continued. "So hopefully they'll also be able to find and plug that leak within our office." She smiled in a way that made him wonder if she knew more then she was letting on. "Wouldn't that be nice?"

"Yes, yes it would." He finished.

She nodded. "Well, I'll leave you to it then. But we're having drinks after work if you’re interested."

"Thanks." He muttered, waiting for her to leave before getting back to work.

A few minutes later, his mobile rang. He picked it up, but couldn't recognise the number that it was displaying for the caller. Curious, he furrowed his brow and he picked it up. "Ron McGonnagle here."

"Good to hear from you, Ron." The female voice on the other end began. It was a smooth, almost seductive tone.

"Can I ask who this is?" He replied calmly.

"Let's just say that I'm... a friend of a mutual acquaintance of ours." She continued, sounding very pleased with herself. "An acquaintance that has recently found himself on hard times."

He instantly knew what she meant. "Lady, you have the wrong number. I'm not interested-"

"I wouldn't be so hasty to hang up on me, Mister McConngagle." She continued. "You see, I know all about your past. I know all about what you did for our mutual friend. And I know that you aided and abetted in a kidnapping. That's a serious criminal charge, Mister McGonnagle. One that could you get you in a lot of trouble."

He could feel sweat pouring down his brow. "What... what do you want?" He asked.

"Your cooperation." She replied.

"I can't do it. Its way too risky. Everyone already suspects something-"

"Wouldn't it be better that there is a risk of you being caught then it being a definite fact, Mister McGonangle?" She continued. "Wouldn't you prefer to remain working for us then end up behind bars? After all, I know that there are a lot of people who would be... eager to meet you."

"All right." He gasped. "What do you want?"

"For now?" She paused. "Nothing. But I do want you to stay on as our man in the NUBG. I will ask you for information, and you will supply it to us. In turn, I will keep you out of jail. Doesn't that seem fair?"

"Yes, yes it does." he managed.

"Very good." She finished. "Bye!" The line went dead.

Ron swallowed loudly, then mopped his brow. Glancing over his pile of loose files again, he began to think about his options. The problem was, he didn’t see that he had any.

*****

Rachel closed the mobile phone and smiled to herself. She considered that McGonnagle, for all his faults, was still a useful asset. Having a contact high up in the PKB's hierarchy would definitely be a bonus, and one that she could more tightly control moreso. The fact that she had McGonnagle wrapped around her finger even though he had never met her in person was quite enjoyable to her. He had no idea of who was manipulating him, while she knew all that he needed. Perfect.

In many ways, she preferred this approach. Heywood's ham-fisted style had cost him the organisation that she'd worked so hard to run, the one that she’d spent so much time and effort on keeping viable. He'd created NUBG, certainly, but she'd been doing all the work, transforming it form a bunch of sweaty idiots filming on handicams to the criminal enterprise it had, until recently, been. She had been upset to see it destroyed, certainly. Its uses weren’t at an end, and there were a lot of people who she still could have used. Heywood, of course, wasn't one of them. His usefulness was largely limited to making an arse of himself and keeping attention off her, something that she liked.

Of course, she wasn't one to dwell in the past. Move on, adopt, adapt and improve. The NUBG was done for; there was no denying it. Its remaining base had been taken, and by her estimate three-quarters of its people were now in custody, including almost all their pilots. What annoyed her was that most of the pilots that she'd wanted to remain were amongst them. Still, she could deal with that later.

For now, she had work to do. The NUBG had left behind a powerful legacy, one that she wished to exploit for her own ends.

She stepped into a darkened room, standing in the middle of a semicircle composed of several dozen monitors. One by one, the screens came to life, each displaying the head and shoulders of an individual. She couldn't see their faces, but she already knew who they all were. It was an eclectic collection of figures, one that would not normally make much sense to be working together. Such was the brilliance of what she had done for the NUBG in creating such a diverse alliance of people. There were businessmen, arms dealers, nobles, media moguls, military officers and activists, all of whom had been drawn in to the NUBG.

All of whom she now controlled.

Her face was hidden from them just as theirs was form her, the difference however was that none of them knew who she was. This was another advantage, one that she intended to exploit to its fullest. "Gentlemen." She began. "I thank you all for coming here so quickly, given the situation. I wish to discuss with you the future of the NUBG, and what it means to you."

"As has been clear, the NUBG has suffered a series of severe, probably fatal seatbacks in the last twenty-four hours. We have lost our arena, our leader and the majority of our people. Yet the organisation itself, the core of its being, still survives."

"The PKB is investigating the NUBG, trying to find where the money came from. Obviously, there is the risk that they will eventually return to you, our valued backers. This is something we obviously want to prevent at all costs." She paused, then smiled to herself, almost relishing what she was about to do.

"I can understand that your immediate urge will be to pull out of NUBG. It’s understandable; given the situation. However, I urge you not to. Not just because I believe the NUBG has a chance to survive and rebuild, but for your own protection." And now came the part she had practiced. "At the moment the PKB are searching for anything that could track the NUBG's backers. Anything. Any sudden financial moves you make could be traced by them. If you were to withdraw from the NUBG, then people will notice."

She smiled confidently. "So, in order to maintain your secrecy, I implore you to remain with us. Keep the money flow as you have kept it for the last few years, and nobody will notice."

What she didn't add was that anyone who suddenly backed out would definitely, receive a visit from the PKB. In fact, she hopped someone would, just to teach the others an object lesson.

"With your help, and some patience, I'm sure that we can all pull through this. The NUBG has been wounded, yes, but I know that it can recover... with your assistance, of course."

*****

[Deadborder]

Jack Hindle entered the room, a confident smile on his face for once. While he had been content to hold back so far and watch the other interviews, this was ons that he had wanted to do himself. They'd held off on doing it until they had taken the NUBG headquarters just so they'd have enough on this guy to nail him for good.

Michael Heywood sat in the room, grinning smugly. He was slumped in his chair, his beer gut sticking out even more, his baseball cap perched jauntily on top of his head. Despite the severity of the situation, he seemed to be rather happy, as if he knew something that nobody else did. Next to him was a sharp-faced lawyer, an odious man in a suit that Jack took an instant disliking to.

"Mister Heywood." Jack began as he took a seat. "You were apprehended by the PKB while inside the arena. There's forensic evidence to place you on site during the battle. A witness has matched your voice to both the voice of the announcer for the battle and the voice that delivered the original ransom demand. And we have a slew of other suspects who will gladly point the finger at you." He looked over ad Michael. "Now the easiest thing to do would be to save us some time and simply confess to everything. The evidence is pretty irrefutable."

"I deny everything, Inspector Hindle." Heywood replied with a smirk. "I'm just a simple bystander who was in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"You're telling me that you were inside an abandoned arena that was being used by the NUBG for an illegal battle purely by chance? What is it, you were just visiting?"

"I was taking a drive through the countryside and I saw the arena in the distance. Curious, decided to pop in for a look around, I was on the verge of leaving when your Storm troopers barged on in and arrested me." He put a hand up. "Now I am willing to admit that I was trespassing on private property, and I will happily take any penalties that it may entail."

"You were driving through the desert in a black limousine?" Hindle asked.

"Is there a law against it?" Heywood replied. "Certainly I didn't know there was. Last I heard, I could drive any car through the desert if I wanted too."

"And then would you know why the starter on your Limousine had been disabled?" Hindle continued. "Someone had deliberately disabled your car, which meant that you couldn't leave. They had cut the lines."

This seemed to catch him by surprise. He blinked for a moment, before continuing. "Well, that NUBG is supposed to be full of criminal types. Maybe somebody did it for a joke." He glanced at his lawyer. "Certainly I can't see why they would otherwise. And if I was a Member of this NUBG, well, who else would have done it?"

"Who else indeed." Hindle commented.

"Now I'm willing to put my hand up to the charges of trespassing." He continued. "It’s a fair cop, and I will admit that I am in the wrong there." He smiled. “Now, by my watch, it’s been nearly forty-eight hours since you apprehended me. Which means that you'll have to let me go soon unless you've got something concrete on me."

Hindle sighed. "You're paying top dollar for that lawyer, right?"

"Mister Howe is one of the best in all of the city." He replied. the lawyer nodding in agreement.

"So can I ask how you're planning to pay for his services?" He continued.

"You can check my finances." Heywood replied, smugly. "You’ll see that, despite being a struggling magazine writer, I'm doing adequately."

"Well, the thing is, Mister Heywood, that we have checked your account." Hindle explained.

"See?"

"And we found that it was empty."

Heywood sat upright. "What?" He shouted out.

"Your personal account was emptied out three days ago, which would be at some point after you kidnapped Ms O'Bannon." Hindle continued. "Not only that, but records we've found in the NUBG Arena indicate that all their funds were liquidated at the same time. As a result, the NUBG doesn't have a single cent to its name, and neither do you."

"But... but..." He stammered, then glanced at his lawyer, a socked look on his face. "But..."

"From where we're sitting, it looks to me like you engineered this outrageous act to destroy the NUBG from within, then make off with all the money yourself as soon as it looked bad. That way, you'd get to retire rich and infamous and living off the ill-gotten gains of all your employees." Hindle explained. "And all your employees would cop it when we hauled it in. Unfortunately for you, someone else took it upon himself to sabotage your car so you'd get caught and he'd get away with the loot."

"That's... that's insane!" He called out. "I never took any money out of any of those accounts."

"It’s all down here if you want to take a look." Hindle slid a list of documents towards Heywood. "As far as I can tell, you deliberately destroyed NUBG because you knew that we'd hunt them down after this. Kidnapping is too severe an offence for us to overlook, Mister Heywood."

Sweat ran down his forehead as he read over the financial reports. "But... but i would never deostry the NUBG." He began. "I... I created it."

"So you admit that you're a part of the NUBG then?" Hindle began.

"I think that my client and I need a quick word, Inspector." Howe finally spoke up.

"Take all the time you need." Hindle replied as he stood. "And just call when you're ready."

He left the room, stepping into the control booth. Glancing through the window, he looked at the pair of them taking. Heywood was a mixture of livid rage and fear as he began to realise that not only was he caught, but that someone else had done the dirty on him. Howe, on the other hand, looked rather unimpressed, especially given that the man who was meant to be paying him was clearly unable to do such.

"I think we've got him." Hindle commented to himself, and smiled.

*****

It had taken some hours for the PKB to finish processing the team's witness statements and all the evidence they given in person. Between the four of them, the Members of the Broken Chairs figured that they'd given enough info to put away the NUBG pilots - and their boss - for good. The PKB were still pouring over their Zoids, both for their Black Box data and physical examinations of damage dealt, but it seemed that their involvement in this investigation was over for now.

With the apparent end of the NUBG, it felt like a great weight had been lifted from their shoulders. From what they’d gathered, almost all of the organisation’s Zoids were destroyed, disabled or in PKB custody. Their main headquarters had been captured, along with their leadership and the vast majority of their people. In essence, there was nothing left of them. Sure, there might be a handful of Zoids and pilots running around, but they were disorganised and would be on the run.

The PKB had assigned a team to watch them just in case something happened, but it seemed to be inconsequential and, more to the point, somewhat redundant. As Neil observed, the remaining NUBG Members were more liable to be running and hiding then trying any sort of crazy revenge attacks, especially now that they had the PKB's full force bearing down on them. He’d added that not even NUBG's Members were that stupid, something that even Rose had agreed with.

So they'd decided instead to go out and have a bit of fun. As it was already late in the day, they'd headed to the one pub near their place that they'd been to on their first night together as a team, the one where they'd first decided to work together. It was a friendly place, it had a nice atmosphere, it held pleasant memories and, probably the most importantly overall, the burgers there were great.

"So, near as I can figure, this whole 'kidnap me and use me for the ultimate revenge trip' thing was a random, spur of the moment decision." Rose commented after taking a bite of her burger. "And it kind of backfired on them."

"Naw, I'd say it worked out fine." Neil quipped as he lifted a chip from her plate. "You see, the idea was to get revenge on us by completely dismantling their organisation. It should have been obvious form day one that's what they were planning."

"Y'all reckon?" Tasch asked.

"Oh yeah." Neil nodded. "You see, the goal was to show us what they were capable of by destroying their organisation. That way we'd be afraid of them because they'd prove how badarse they were. Anyone who is willing to go to those lengths to prove a point must be hardcore. And sure as hell, they proved it." He smirked. "We'll never, ever, mess with NUBG again."

"Yeah, you’re right." Tasch commuted. "They did prove their point... cause I don't think we're ever gonna have to fight 'em again." She nodded. "'cause, what with them being sorta broken up and all, they're not going to be a threat."

"Exactly." Stephen spoke up. "And that alone makes all we've been through worth it."

"That's surprisingly civil of you." Rose commented.

"I mean it." He explained. "Their being shut down isn't just a benefit to us. It means that nobody will ever have to go through what we did again. They're no longer a threat to anyone at all."

"But..." Tasch spoke up. "What if someone tries to re-from them?" She began. "Like they come back as the Neo-NUBG or something like that... y'know, they come back an' try to attack again... like its a sequel or something."

"I see..." Neil began.

"'cept, like a sequel, they can't get all the original people back, so it's not as good." She nodded. "An' then they're not as capable. 'cause they try to do all the same stuff again only a little bigger, but it ends up lookin' real bad. So, the Neo-NUBG, while it'd be a bad thing, thy wouldn't be quite so dangerous and stuff. "

"An amusing idea, Tasch." Neil smirked. "I'm sure it can be the direct to video sequel to the crappy movie based on our life story."

"That wouldn't be too bad." Rose commented. "I mean, if thy cast me well."

"Yeah, but they’d really play up the romance thing." He continued. "Um, not that there was any." He shook his head. "And probably get Tasch a love interest too, and I'd have to be the plucky and funny buddy who buys it half way to spur you on. Great." He took another chip from Rose's plate. "Still, the moneys would be good."

"Speaking of moneys..." Rose spoke up. "What are we doing from here?"

"Sorry?" Neil asked.

"All our Zoids are severely banged up and, more to the point, the PKB are still holding them as evidence. We're meant to have a next round battle in a few days but, as I see it, it's not like we're going to be in any fit state to participate in it."

"Yeah... I ain't had a good chance to look at 'em, but, well, our Zoids are kinda a mess right now." Tasch agreed. "I mean, heck, my Redler can't fly, an' that’s some of the least of our worries."

"So what so you suggest we do?" Neil asked, glancing at Stephen.

He shook his head. "Sadly, I have to agree with Tasch on matters. We're not in any state to take part in the next round. Even if we did have access to them, we don't have the time to get our Zodis back together and, frankly, I'm exhausted. Neil, Tasch and I pulled an all-nighter to get them back in shape, and then we went through what’s the hardest battle of your career."

"What are you saying?" Rose asked. "We should drop out?"

He nodded solemnly. "I don’t want to force you too, though. I want to know what you all think."

"It’s a big step." Neil began. "But I'm afraid I must agree. I'm buggered, and I know that we’re not going to achieve much. We could run in there, sure, but we'd get smacked down in half finished Zoids, and not achieve a thing."

"Yeah, well, I gotta agree." Tasch added. "I jus' don't think we can get ourselves into a state where we can be effective. Our Zoids, well, they’re kinda bust now."

Rose glanced around the table. "When we started this team, I was very pushy, very arrogant. I’ll admit that much." She started. "I wanted just to be the best we could and to win everything, simply so it'd make me look good. I'll admit that there was some family pressure but, well, a lot of it was me."

She put her hands up. "We've done incredibly well this year." She continued. "For a rookie team, we've managed to get a long way. Reaching the semis is better then most first time teams ever do. Reaching the finals would have been great."

Rose smiled. "But we need to be realistic. You guys, well, you've been through a lot for me. And I thank you for that." She swallowed. "I, uh, I was going to actually suggest this myself. After all that, well, I’m tired, I'm still a little stressed and I'm a touch nervy. I really don't think that I'd be any good to anyone now."

"I understand." Stephen nodded. "In fact, of all of us, you’ve had it the worst."

"Well... I kinda do feel guilty about it. After all, I got us all into this mess to start with." She sighed. "I shouldn't have listened to Ariel..."

"Don't blame yourself, Rose." Neil said. "Its not like you knew what was going on. And you couldn't have expected anyone to have pulled a move that dumb."

"Sure." She nodded.

"So it settles. First thing tomorrow morning, we tell the ZBC we're pulling out. I'm sure they'll be accommodating, given the circumstances." He concluded.

"And tell you what, as a way to make it up to ya all, let me at least buy a round of drinks." Rose added. "Its the least I can do. Same again?"

She collected the orders, walking over to the bar. She could feel a little disappointed at the situation, but at the same time she knew that it needed to be done. It wasn't a heroic end to the season, but it was one where they got to leave with their heads up and say that they’d at least tried. And besides, how many other people can say they fought the NUBG at three-on-one and won?

Reaching the bar, she placed her order and waited as the barman fumbled around. "Hey." A voice behind her began, grabbing her attention. She turned around, only to come face to face with a pair of narrow violet eyes.

"Uh, Jill.." She began. "Good to see you again."

"Yeah." Jull replied, with a grin. "And you too..."

"So, um, how have you been?" She asked.

Jill glanced off into the distance for a moment, then looked back. "Pretty busy, yeah. Up to... stuff. You?"

"Same, really." Rose nodded. "You know, stuff."

"Hmm..." She looked away again. "Yeah, I heard you had an interesting time the other day. A little bit of a battle... and then, next thing you know, there's Zoids on the street and stuff. Funny that."

"Yeah, werll... umm..." Rose replied.

"Say, is that your team out there?" Jill cut her off. "I've been wanting to meet them for ages."

"Jill, I-" Rose began, but the other woman didn't reply. She instead strode past Rose, heading out to the table. Rose glanced around, then grabbed their drinks and headed out after her. "Ah hell. This isn't what I need right now..."

She caught up with the other woman just as Jill reached the table. "Sooo... this is the Broken Chairs team, huh?" Jill began. "Pleased to meet you all."

"Uh, forgive me for asking this..." Neil spoke up. "But who the hell are you?"

"Wait a moment." Stephen interjected. "You're Jill Constantine, aren't you? You went from rookie to champion in just a single year."

"Yeah, that's me." She replied with a grin that made her look like she was about to bite. "You guys sound like an interesting team... and you’ve got some degree of success. I mean, quarters in your rookie year is something you can be proud of. A lotta guys try it but, well, they just don't measure up."

"Well thanks." Tasch added with a nod.

"Yeah, well." Jill continued as Rose approached. "But then, with my family, I should have expected it." She grinned. "After all, I have a sister that did almost as well as I did in her first year."

"Jill I-" Rose began.

"So I figured my other sib would handle things better."

"Other sibling?" Neil glanced around, then noted Jill's eyes. "Hey Tasch, she's Nyxian, right?"

"Well, I guess, yeah." Tasch added. "Why do y'all ask?"

"Well, she said sibling and-"

"Heck, I ain’t never seen her before." Tasch shook her head. "Well, save fer that one time when she was buying liger parts. But I didn’t know who she was then."

"Her?" Jill shook her head. "Hell no. We don't have anything in common besides country of origin."

"Uh, Jill?" Rose began.

"What I mean to say is Rose here." She grabbed Rose puttign an arm around her shoulder. "My baby sis. Well, half-sister. Which means that Violet is my other sister."

"Half sister?" Stephen asked.

"Jill-" Rose again tried to interject.

"Same father." Jill continued casually. "He had a fling with a Nyxian pilot before he ever met Rose's mum. I was the result, but he didn’t know for some time. So there you go."

"And you pilot an Energy Liger, which makes sense." Tasch finished. "Seign as Rose an' Violet use Liger Zeros, an' they're related. Heck, Energy Liger's like LZ's bigger half brother, really, bein' based on the same Wild Zoid an' stuff."

"Yeah.. you did, didn't you?" Stephen continued. "In fact you were famous for being about the only person to ever use one in competition."

Jill cocked her head for a moment. "Yeah, I did." She shrugged. "So?"

"Well, there was that Energy Liger that was following us around." Neil observed.

"An' you were buyin' a whole buncha Energy Liger parts when I saw you." Tasch added. "The sorta stuff you'd need to replace if you were usin' it actively a lot. Them Ligers, they’re maintenance hogs."

"Well, maybe." Jill cocked her head. "I do like a good fight... and I didn't ever like those underground battle types."

"You... you were watching out for me?" Rose asked. "You were protecting me from the NUBG? That's... really nice of you Jill. Thanks."

Jill turned back to her sister. "Oh that?" She began. "I was just seeing a chance to sink my fangs into those clowns. I didn't even know it was you." She shrugged. "There you go."

Rose almost sagged at the reply. "Gee, thanks, Jill." She finished.

"Anytime." Jill beamed. "Just a pity those clowns are out of action now... I might need a new hobby." She considered matters.

"Well, y'all could always go back to Zoid battles." Tasch spoke up. "I mean, seeing as you were a singles champ, you could try bein' on a team."

"I don't think that'd work." Rose muttered. "Jill never did play well with others."

“Should we be encouraging her?” Neil added, glancing at her. “I mean... She doesn’t exactly strike me as-”

“Shut it, Neil.” Stephen cut him off.

“Shutting it.” he replied.

“Yeah...” Jill finished. “That would work. Yeah...” She grinned again. “Great idea. I love it.”

“Thanks.” Tasch finished.

“Well, I guess I’ll be off then. I’ve got a team to build.” She smiled. “See you all next year in the arena.” She turned and walked off.

“See ya!” Tasch waved at her.

“Well that was weird.” Neil finally spoke up.

“No, that was my sister.” Rose added.

“I see why you never mentioned her.” Neil continued.

“Neil!”

“No, he’s right.” Rose shook her head. “What am I meant to say, meet my sister the madwoman?”

“Well, it could work.” Tasch spoke up.

“I tell you what.” Neil continued. “That’s what I expected out of a Nyxian. Kinda scary, possibly crazy. Nothing like you, Tasch.”

“I try.” She replied dismissively.

“So...” Rose continued. “We’re still going for it next year then?”

“I see no reason why not.” Stephen shook his head. “We’ve got a lot more experience under our belts. We’ve got a far batter idea of what we’re doing. We’re a lot better set up and we know the competition. And, as a bonus, we won’t have NUBG gunning for us.”

“Amen to that.” Neil finished. “So I’m all for it.”

“Same here.” Tasch nodded. “I wanna give it another shot, this time without any badness tryin’ to get at us.”

“So then.” Rose raised her glass. “To next season then.”

“To next season.” They all replied, then took a drink.

Rose looked over the table at her friends, the people who she had worked and lived with for the last six months. She considered all that they’d been through and all that they’d achieved. Not bad, really, she thought to herself. Not bad at all.

*****

So that’s about the end of it, Siske. Tasch wrote later that evening. We’re staying together as a team, and entering the competition again next year. I figure that it’s been a very wild year, and not at all like what I’d expected. Well, that is, I hadn’t expected to end up fighting NUBG at all, or have somebody following us and hoping that we’d fight NUBG just so they could also fight NUBG. So it’s all kinda strange.

I’m going back home for a holiday during the off-season. I want to catch up with mum and dad, as well as have a little holiday as such. I know that your job needs you to travel a lot, but it’d be nice if I could say hi to you in person if you got the chance, what with us having not seen each other in ages and all that.

Rose is also going back to spend some time with her family, but I think that’s partway because they have a beachfront holiday house and she wants to spend some time relaxing there. It sounds like a neat idea, even if It’s not something I would do (The sun’s just way too bright there, and I like the pebbly rocky beaches like we get back home still). She says she also wanted to talk to her family about Jill, but I don’t know why. Everyone seemed to think that Jill was strange, but I thought she was pretty neat.

Stephen says he’s going to have a holiday as well. He’s pretty happy about what happened, even though we did quit the competition and all that. Its kind of odd, as I’d expected him to be really angry like he always is. He says that he’s a lot more mellow then he used to be, and that beating up the NUBG guys like that was kind of cathartic for him. So I guess that’s all okay then. Not sure where he’s heading for now, but I’m sure that he’ll have a decent time.

Neil says he’s going to bum around here or maybe go see some touristy places near the city, but he has no plans. That’s kind of okay, and something I like. He seems to be happy to just go where he wants and see what happens, which is actually quite cool. He says he’s determined to come back and do better next season, and he says he’ll try not to get trashed as much. That’s weird, as he got knocked out less times then Rose.

Anyways, I’d best be off as I got stuff to do. All my love, and I hope to see you later.

Tasch.

She sent the e-mail, then sat back in her chair looking over the computer screen. “Yeah.” She thought. “Its been a pretty cool year.”

*****

Author’s Notes:

This is the end of the first part of PMF. There will be some more, but it’ll be a while coming. For now, I’m going to sit back and maybe concentrate on some other things. But the Broken Chairs will be back. Really.

Special thanks go to Zogster for conceptual ideas and story help, as well as figuring out where a number of the characters were heading. Thanks also to Tilly for serving as an Evil Editor and a lot of other ideas and concepts that worked out well. Also Also thanks go to Rantanian and Orange for some criticism, advice and Ego Stroking, as well as assistant Evil Editor Duties.

There may yet be an Ego Stroking “Author’s Commentary” to come where I explain things and try to describe how it all worked out. In the meantime, if you can figure out all the references hidden in the story, you get a cookie.

Rick R, March 2006

I want a black Redler, dammit.

[Orange]

Neat way to wrap everything up! I was expecting a lot less excitement there, but you sure did deliver.

So, when's the direct-to-video sequel?