Aftermath: Part Two
Priss Asagiri smiled, her brown hair falling into her eyes as she looked into the mirror at her new image. "This is going to take some getting used to," she admitted. The black business suit hugged her slim frame but the tie was just slightly off.
"You look good," her aunt Natsumi grinned, reaching over to adjust the tie so that it hugged the neck a bit more securely. She wore a matching suit for the client meeting, the fact that the two were relatives clearly visible.
Together they walked out of the private office, heading down to the meeting room down the hall. The set of offices that the detective agency used were surprisingly opulent, with separate offices of all four of the original members. The carpets absorbed the sound of their footsteps, and the walls were hung with fine art prints.
"I'd love to know how you managed all this," Priss looked around her curiously.
"Yoriko happens to be as lucky in her investing as in everything else," Natsumi chuckled softly. "She got us into renewable energy sources," she explained, "right before the price of the stock went through the roof."
"Remind me to put my money into the pot," Priss said with a grin, "I've put aside a bit from working for Sylia."
"I'm looking forward to it," Natsumi pushed the meeting room doors open, the two heading inside. Aoi, Yoriko and Miyuki sat at the table, a large brown envelope sitting there on the tabletop.
"You do clean up pretty good, step-niece," Miyuki beamed at Priss, her long brown braid falling down her back.
"Not bad at all," Aoi laughed gently, while Yoriko smiled.
"Gee, thanks," Priss felt herself blushing slightly as she and her Aunt walked over to where the others were sitting.
"Here, this came for you today," Miyuki handed the official envelope over.
Priss recognized the licensing board symbol and tore open the side nervously. The papers fell out, and along with them an plastic sealed id card. "I passed," Priss grinned, holding up her private investigator's license jubilantly.
"I knew it," Natsumi clapped her on the shoulder, nearly knocking her over as the others offered their own congratulations.
"So who are we meeting?" Priss asked as they settled into their seats around the table.
"Me, actually," a familiar voice said as Sylia Stingray strode inside, Antonia Stark at her side. The black haired business woman looked Priss over admiringly, "I may faint."
"Don't you start," Priss said warningly. She looked over at Tony with a laugh, "Good luck putting up with her."
"I manage," Tony grinned, leaning on her cane. Brown hair fell into her eyes, her own business suit a simple gray color.
"So what do we owe the pleasure?" Natsumi asked.
"I'm here to offer you all a job, actually," Sylia said with a smile as she passed a contract over for Yoriko to look over.
"Well, well," Yoriko murmured before passing the contract on to the others. She looked up at Sylia, "You're offering us a substantial retainer, and in return you want us to hunt down rogue Boomers alongside the Knight Sabers?"
"Genom is discontinuing the manufacture of any Boomer designs that go rogue," Sylia said simply, "along with recalling those types. But it's going to take time before we can do that, and there likely will be more cases of Boomers going rogue."
"So the Knight Sabers stay on call," Natsumi nodded towards her niece, "while we use those Boomer Buster cannons you designed to back her up."
"We'll also be providing those cannons to the AD Police," Tony added, "so we'll have additional backup. It'll be a while before those weapons get into general use, so we'll have to be ready to take up the slack."
"Is it such a good idea to produce more of those guns?" Priss asked with a frown.
"Once something has been created it acquires a life of it's own," Sylia said regretfully. "It isn't that hard to extrapolate the design of the guns from the effects on the destroyed Boomers. They will be produced, it's just a choice of me or someone else doing it."
"Makes sense," Aoi admitted.
Priss hesitated then said, "Sylia, you know I'm in as a Knight Saber, but the others will have to decide for themselves."
Natsumi gave her niece a smile, then the members of the agency looked at Yoriko. She nodded firmly, and Miyuki turned to Sylia, "You've got yourself a deal."
"I'm glad," Sylia shook hands all around, then looked over at Priss. "Could you come up to the Tower in a hour or so? The others are meeting us there."
"No problem," Priss grinned, "I'm looking forward to it."
A short while later a sports car approached the Genom Tower, driven with a smooth style. "Thanks for giving me a ride," Nene smiled, her pinkish hair falling into her eyes.
"You're welcome," Akiko laughed softly, her brown hair blown back by the wind. She looked over at her lover with a smile, "So why do you think Sylia wants to see you all?"
"I'm not too sure," Nene frowned slightly. With a soft sigh she added, "I hope it's not to disband the Knight Sabers."
Akiko reached over to pat Nene's hand, the matching rings they wore glinting in the light. "Whatever happens," she said softly, "I'll be here to back you up."
"Thanks," Nene smiled. She tilted her head to the side, "It's going to be interesting in the AD Police from now on. Sylia's providing us with new weapons and I've heard she's helping redesign the old battle movers, too."
"Do you think you'll be going out into the field more?" Akiko asked curiously, keeping the worry out of her voice.
"No, I don't think so," Nene didn't notice Akiko's soft sigh of relief as she continued, "but I may try for advancement. Because of the Knight Sabers I needed to stay where I could get at the information that we needed the easiest."
"Chief Nene," Akiko offered with a grin, "I could see it."
"I wouldn't go that far," Nene said as they coasted into the parking lot of the Tower. They walked over to the lift, Nene using the access card that Sylia had issued her. Together they rode up silently, then exited on the executive level.
"Well, let's go," Akiko said as they strode down the hall. The meeting room door was open, and Nene found herself smiling as she took in the other two Knight Sabers standing by a long meeting table.
"Took you long enough," Priss offered, surprisingly dressed in a suit.
"Who are you," Nene gave her a look, "and what have you done with the real Priss?"
Priss laughed before saying dangerously, "Want me to prove I'm the real thing?"
"Break it up you two," Linna grinned. She nodded, "Hey, Akiko."
"Hello," Akiko smiled. She took a deep breath, "I hope that none of you mind that I came along with Nene?"
"If so then I'd be in trouble," Reika came in to walk over to where Linna stood.
"Couples," Priss rolled her eyes, "you're all attached to the hip."
"I resemble that remark," Sylia said, Tony standing right beside her.
"So what's going on?" Nene asked.
"I've got a bit of a present for you," Sylia smirked, "as well as wanting to explain the current situation. As I told Priss," she nodded to where Priss sat, "Genom is discontinuing manufacture of old-style Boomers and recalling them."
"That's a relief," Linna noted.
"However it will take time for these changes to go into effect, and there likely will be continued Boomer incidents." With a smile Sylia said, "We're still in business, ladies."
"So what's the gift?" Priss asked with a little grin.
"This," Tony passed three silvery briefcases over, one each to Priss, Nene and Linna according to the nametags attached.
Nene took her case, popping it open curiously, only to freeze. "Oh my," she murmured, looking at the armor components in surprise. It looked like pieces of her hardsuit, modified but...
"With some tinkering we figured out how to apply Tony's Iron-man tech to the hardsuits," Sylia said. "The cases have charging systems built in, you just have to plug them in."
"I'm impressed," Reika murmured softly. She looked up at Sylia, "I thought that you normally didn't like the Sabers doing solo actions?"
"Yes and no," Sylia said, "that, at least, is going to be changing."
Priss tilted her head to the side as she asked, "So you're giving us these suits, and the freedom to use them?"
"That's the idea," Sylia agreed. She looked around at them, meeting each of their eyes, "I trust you, and know that you won't abuse the gift I'm giving you."
Linna got up from her seat, moving over to Sylia's side. "Thank you," she said softly, "I'll do my best to use it well."
"We all will," Nene agreed.
"I'll try not to get into too much trouble," Priss agreed with a grin.
They stood there together as a group, four women with a lot of shared history between them. So different in many ways, they were people from different worlds who had come together fighting for a single cause. That had created a bond between them, and no matter what happened now, that bond would never be broken.
Mecha Wars: The End.
Mecha Wars: Author’s Notes
Well, twenty-six chapters is a pretty good run for what I had originally thought of as a series of mostly unconnected short crossovers with various characters. Thank you to everyone who sent me requests for characters to be featured, as well as commenting on how the story continued. Below are notes on the different series I've used...
Also, a few people have asked about Reika Chang. She first appeared in the original BGC OVA #7, where she fought the Knight Sabers in a crusade of vengeance against Genom. When she met Linna they developed an almost instant bond, and in the end Linna convinced Reika not to give up her life for the sake of vengeance.
Part One: Project A-ko
A-Ko=Eiko, B-ko=Biko, based on how the names were dealt with in the subtitled anime. I assume the spelling is based on how you’d likely pronounce those names.
In the story the line, “skin tight red and blue spandex” refers to the costume of Eiko’s probable father, the DC comics character Superman. Her mother is also very likely Wonder Woman. No, I’m not kidding...
Also, Biko’s father appears to be designed after the civilian identity of the Marvel comics superhero Iron Man, Tony Stark. He’s much less creative, though, which is why he depends so much on Biko’s genius at mecha design. I’ve decided that he’s related to Tony Stark as a brother or cousin, that’s why Biko calls Antonia Stark ‘cousin.’
So why did I do a x-over with Bubblegum Crisis? Well, both are near future series, and the timelines aren’t totally dissimilar. Graviton City may or may not be Tokyo in the Project A-ko movies, but I just assumed they were separate places for the purposes of the story.
I do have a fondness for Biko, which is why she’s the most competent one in the story. Of course, both she and Eiko get conned, but she’s the brightest of the two.
Part Two: Cat-girl Nuku Nuku
As the ads for the OVA series put it, “The touching tale of a boy, his cat... and a major military arms manufacturer.” Nuku Nuku is caught in the crossfire of one of the world’s worst custody battles, with Ryunosuke’s mad scientist father Kyasuke on one side and his arms manufacturer mother, Akiko, on the other.
Working for Akiko were her office ladies Kyouko and Arisa, who quite willingly broke out various arms and mecha belonging to Akiko to try and destroy Nuku Nuku. Of course Nuku Nuku found fighting them fun, and looked forward to their regular visits.
Ideally, Ryunosuke would like to see his parents happily together, but both adults seemed to derive more enjoyment trying to KILL each other on a regular basis. Toss in the hentai semi-evil android Eimi into the mix, and you have a recipe for regular explosions and property damage.
So why am I trying to pair up Akiko and Nene? Well I’ve always wanted to do an older woman/ younger girl couple, and I thought they might make an interesting pair.
Part Three: Angelic Layer
Here’s how I’ve fit Angelic Layer into the BGC timeline: it was very popular a few years before the big quake hit (2010?). During and after the recovery process, it fell out of favor except for a small group of die-hard fans, and by the 2030’s, it’s pretty much forgotten.
Misaki, Sai and Kaede are all over thirty years old in this fic and Hatoko is about twenty, give or take a few years. Why pair up Misaki and Hotoko? Well, if you read the manga or watch the anime, there’s a very odd chemistry between them. “Don’t lose to anyone but me,” Hotoko said to Misaki at one point, and it’s a promise that Misaki keeps. Sai and Kaede are always together in the anime, as well as the manga. Not to mention they’re such a cute couple, too.
I like the idea of Sylia considering them as back-up pilots for the hardsuits, a storyline I’ll be adding to later on. Linna will sort of become Sylia’s connection to them, because of her fondness for playing Angelic Layer. 'Saber Dolls' is a combination of Knight Sabers and Battle Dolls, something that the Angels are called in Japanese ads for Angelic Layer.
Part Four: Iron Man
I was inspired in part by the very cool female Iron Man who appeared in the Marvel Comics Mangaverse series. Visually, the KS suits and the Iron tech do look rather similar, though that may simply be a coincidence.
The back story is based on Tony Stark visiting Japan and working with Dr. Stingray, as well as their being friends. Their daughters, both small kids, became friends as well, and the younger Sylia may have had a crush on the older girl. Of course, sometime after the Starks returned to the U.S., Dr. Stingray was killed...
Meanwhile: You’re Under Arrest!
Natsumi Tsujimoto and Miyuki are such a cute couple, aren’t they? I’m assuming that the cast of You’re Under Arrest survived the big quake, and eventually left the police force. Going into private investigation, the pair of them, along with Yoriko and Aoi, have recently learned about Natsumi’s niece, Priss Asagiri.
I’m not the first to think that Priss and Natsumi might be related, by the way. Chris Davies did it in his stories, and I’m sure there were others. For the fans of my other stories, you can just assume that this is a continuation of my YUA story “Friends and Lovers.”
While I don't plan to continue "Mecha Wars" I am tempted to do a series on the YUA characters and Priss Asagiri. If I do it will be in mid 2004, with the tentative title of 'Going Private."
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