They raced down to the street, and Mara whistled softly upon seeing Sylia's sports car sitting out there. "Nice," she admitted. Belldandy climbed into the back, leaving the front seats to Sylia and Mara. Sylia flashed her a greatful smile as she settled into the driver's seat before turning to ask Mara, "So who exactly is this Jacobson, anyway?" Mara settled into the passenger's side, taking the oportunity to flash Sylia a look at her upper thigh. "He's a maverick scientist who became convinced that certain mythic beings were real," she explained. "He made various attempts to prove it, but he was only met with ridicule by the mainstream scientific community," she sighed. Sylia squealed the tires as they accelerated away. She stayed focused on the road, "So to persue his theories, he went to Genom for assistance. But how did he manage to sell them on his radical ideas, anyway?" "He put the focus on the potential for controlling such beings," Mara sighed. She paused, adding thoughtfully, "I also got the impression that there was some significant pressure in his favor coming from upstairs, too." "Quincy," Sylia said, her fingers tightening on the wheel. More quietly, "How much trouble are we all in, if she grants him a wish?" "It won't happen," Belldandy stuck her head up between the seats. "A goddess won't grant a wish to someone who is unworthy," Mara quietly added, finishing sadly, "they'd die, first." A soft, painful sound came from Belldandy, and Sylia awkwardly reached backwards to gently pat her hand. "That won't happen," Sylia said, "I promise that we'll do everything we can to save her." Mara met Sylia's eyes, nodding. "We'll save her," she echoed. The Silky Doll truck bombed down the side streets, probably going much faster than was safe. Urd grinned, twisting the wheel, "Whoo-hoo!" Mackie cluched the dashboard, "Are you sure this is a shortcut?" "Of course I'm sure," Urd smiled. She paused, "Well, mostly sure." "I'll go back and see how things are going," Mackie volunteered. He carefully balanced as he made his way back, the vehicle twisting and turning wildly. Linna doned her armor silently, her expresion grim, looking almost incomplete without Belldandy standing nearby her. She looked up and smiled, "We nearly there?" "Assuming Urd doesn't crash the truck," Mackie sighed. Nene twisted around, trying to see Skuld kneeling behind her. "What are you doing to my suit?" Nene growled at her. "Trying to finish the upgrades," Skuld shot back, "though I hope we won't need them." "Upgrades?" Nene echoed. "I'm trying to tweak your systems so that you'll be able to pick up the energies we goddesses and demons use," Skuld explained patiently. "We might just need it, if things get bad and crazy in there," she sighed softly. Urd grinned out the window as Priss easily kept pace with them on her brand new bike. The hardsuit clad figure was low to the ground, cutting through the air like a bullet on her sleek, Skuld designed transport. "Have I told everybody yet that I really love this bike?" Priss' quite enthusiastic voice came over the radio. "Yes, you have," Urd laughed. "You're welcome," Skuld shouted from in back. They slowed, and gradually both the truck and Priss' cycle came to a stop a few blocks from Genom's Tokyo branch. "This is about as close as we should get," Mackie said to Urd quietly. They all got out of the truck, standing nearby to look at what was going on. The family of warehouses and office buildings was surrounded by a soft glow, even as a column of white light shot from the center of the facilities into the darkening skies. AD Police forces were scattered around the buildings, but strangely they couldn't seem to get any closer. "What's going on?" Linna asked quietly. "Some kind of mystical barrier," Urd frowned. Sylia's sports car came around the corner, coasting to a stop nearby. Sylia and Mara both leapt out, but Belldandy seemed to be having some trouble. Linna stepped forward to help, and received a greatful smile. Mara looked towards the buildings and began to swear softly. "Just about as bad as I thought," she growled softly. "And how much of this is your fault?" Skuld asked with a frown. "Some," Mara surprised her by admitting, "that's part of why I'm here to help." She squinted a bit, "That's one powerful mystic barrier." "It's certainly stopping the AD Police cold," Sylia noted. She looked at the three goddesses as well as Mara, "Any ideas on how to get through it?" "Maybe," Urd volunteered with a smile. Jacobson winced visibly, as he heard the goddess begin to cry. Hitomi gave him a sympathetic glance, but he completely ignored her. 'How could I have blinded myself so badly?' he thought, watching as Quincy continued to shock the crying figure. "Megumi?" Jacobson said quietly. The mechanic came forward, her expression visiblty angry. Not that anyone could blame her, considering that the goddess was being tortured in a chamber she had helped build. "What?" she asked him curtly. "Do you think you and Fairchild can rig one of our recon drones to find someone and deliver a message?" he asked. Fairchild exchanged a glance with Megumi, "Probably. Who?" "Mara, or the Knight Sabers," Jacobson answered calmly. There was a moment of nearly dead silence, then a smile stretched Megumi's features. "It'll take us five minutes, tops," she quickly promised him, grabbing Fairchild's hand in hers and heading for her work shop. "We've got to buy her some time," Hitomi murmured to Jacobson softly. "I know," he answered, and walked towards where Quincy sat. Jacobson cleared his throat, "Maybe you should give her a rest." "And why would I want to do that?" Quincy said, not turning away from gazing at the captive goddess. "To give her some time to consider her options," Jacobson said, trying to make his voice as cold as possible, "further pain, or granting your wish." At that, Quincy paused to look up at him thoughtfully. "A good point," he admitted. He looked at the goddess, "A little time." He moved his hand away from the shock control, but didn't choose to put it away. Urd and Belldandy stood bracketing the four Knight Sabers as they spoke, the words foreign but strangely beautiful. Light danced around the armored figures, then symbols began to appear on the hardsuits, patterns being etched into the very metal. They glowed brightly, flaring white, then simply faded away. "That ought to do it," Urd smiled. Sylia looked at the arm of her armor, her expression odd. "That felt interesting," she noted before asking, "With the modifications to the suits, this will get us through the barrier?" "It should," Belldandy nodded. Priss smiled at Urd, "Thanks." Mara looked away from them, and noticed Sylia giving her a sympathetic glance. "Are we all ready to go?" Sylia asked the others. A soft hum, and something dropped into the middle of the group. The recon drone hovered there, then a small video screen deployed from it. A man's face appeared, and Mara's eyes widened. "Jacobson," she blinked. "It you're seeing this, I assume you're either Mara or one of the Knight Sabers," Jacobson's recorded message said. "Quincy has captured a goddess, and she's being held in the sub-basement of the Tokyo branch," he paused, and blueprints came up on the screen, tracing a route into the building, concluding with, "please, rescue her." "Looks like we might just have some help inside," Nene said hopefully. "I won't be betting on it," Priss said wryly. "Let's go," Sylia said softly, and they were off. "Would somebody mind telling me why we can't get in there?" Leon growled. "Don't blow a gasket, Leon," Daley said. "The tech boys will figure out how to get us in soon," he reassured him. "Look who's here," Leon murmured, seeing the Knight Sabers bounding towards them. Oddly, four young women were jumping along with the armored figures, keeping up with them just fine. "This ought to be good," he smiled as they headed towards the barrier. The women leapt at the barrier, Leon held his breath... and they went right through it. He began to swear violently, even as Daley sweatdropped.
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