April 15th, 2224
Building 38, Mega City Police District
7:00 P.M.

Standing on the bottom step, Michiru rocked back and forth, glancing back at the stairs in silent debate of just leaving. Sighing, she turned away and walked further into the dark room. "Hello?" she called out tentatively, but her voice seemed to be out of place here - as if it didn't fit.

Coming to a stop, Michiru began to turn around when she was lightly slapped across the cheek. As she tried to cover, the same fiendish hand came flying out at her again, popping her other cheek. Falling to the ground, she looked up at Silouette standing over here. " .... You should have heard that coming ...." she said in her neutral voice.

Getting to her feet, Michiru rubbed her red cheeks. "That's not fair!" she said. Silouette stood there silently, then punched out at Michiru, forcing the girl to stumble backwards to avoid it. "H-hey!" she cried out.

"..." Silouette took a casual step forward as Michiru fought to regain her balance, then sent a weak punch at her head. Michiru turned her head, but was caught with a smart pop to her cheek by Silouette's other hand. "Focus."

Michiru hesitantly threw a punch at Silouette's chest area only to have the quiet Asian woman slap her hand aside with little effort. Silouette returned the favor with two quick pops to Michiru's cheeks. "Ow!" cried out Michiru.

"Your defense is non-existant," Silouette said plainly. "You will lose a fight."

"How do I fix it then?" Michiru asked, rubbing her red cheeks again.

Silouette reached out and adjusted Michiru's body stance, bringing her arms up in a defensive stance. She leaned her head forward so their faces were only a few inches apart. "This position is basic." Taking Michiru's arm, she moved it back and forth in a sweeping motion. "This will allow deflection of basic attacks."

"Okay...got it!" Michiru said after a moment. "Bring it!" Silouette stood there passively, then suddenly whipped out a quick jab at Michiru, forcing her to sweep block her. Before the girl could properly recover, another jab was sent in, causing Michiru to do a more desperate return sweep block. By the time Silouette's third attack came moving in, she caught Michiru square in the chest with a loud pop.

"You must maintain balance," Silouette instructed. She moved back to Michiru and reached down to her legs, straightening them. "Maintain balance like this," she told her as she worked. "It will allow faster movement."

Silouette walked back over in front of Michiru and sent three more quick jabs at her. This time Michiru managed to maintain her balance while sweeping her attacks aside and managed to do it without falling. Breaking into a smile, Michiru said, "I did it!"

"Again," Silouette said firmly.

"Again?" Michiru asked.

"Until it's perfect."

Outside Mega City
8:30 P.M.

After they had gotten seven miles outside of the city limits and the various residential areas around the city, they were in the wooded areas surrounding the metropolis. Slowing the car down ever so slightly, Wienidgo turned and drove them straight off the highway onto the fields of grass on either side and began to drive away from the road altogether.

"Is this the right way?" Cole asked Wiendigo as the road became just another obstacle on the distance horizon.

"I don't like backseat drivers," Wiendigo said cooly, turning to look at Katrina next to him. "How much further?"

Unfolding the instructions Slasher had written down, Katrina glanced down at them. "It's still some ways out. We have a ways to go."

"Good. Hang on, kiddies," Wiendigo told them, mashing down the gas on the car. The tiny car sputtered in protest, then hurried along the fields. As they drove along, Katrina leaned to lean against the passenger door and stared at some woods to their right. Wiendigo glanced at her in the dark, then looked back at the road. "What's wrong girl?"

Katrina paused, glancing to her left at Wiendigo. She brushed back some of her red hair. "Oh, nothing. I was just looking at the forest. Its John's land," she told him. Glancing at her quietly, Wiendigo said nothing as he looked ahead again.

Cole leaned forward in his seat. "You think Snipe's still mad at me?" he asked Katrina as he glanced over her shoulder at the forest.

Katrina glanced at him, looking confused. "Why would he be angry with you?" she asked him. "He helped you a few days ago."

"I know," Cole said, waving his hand in the air. "But after everything that happened, I just figured he might not like me anymore."

"I don't like you very much," Wiendigo said. Cole and Katrina glanced at him and he shrugged. "Well, I don't."

Katrina glanced back at Cole. "I'm pretty sure he's not mad at you, Cole," she told him softly, then turned to look back at the window.

"You've been pretty quiet lately, Kat," Cole commented, glancing at the back of her head. "IS everything okay?"

Katrina turned her head slighly to the left, but not enough to meet eye contact with Cole. She paused, her eyes drifting over to Wiendigo, who had his head tilted in her direction again. He cleared his throat. "She's fine," Wiendigo told Cole.

Blinking his eyes, Cole leaned back in the seat and propped his hands against the back of his head. "Okay..." he muttered under his breath.

"What was that?" Wiendigo demanded.

"Nothing," Cole said quietly.

"Good." Wiendigo kept driving in silence for a moment, then added, "I thought as much."

Time continued to pass in silence as the three of them focused on separate things. Wiendigo kept his eyes on the path ahead, occassionally glancing at Katrina, while Katrina herself glanced out the passenger window at the various objects they were passed, turning every now and then to look at Cole in her rearview mirror. And Cole was sitting in the back with his eyes closed, pretending to be asleep.

"So, Wiendigo..." Cole finally said, his eyes still closed as he sat in the backseat. "How long have you been doing this sort of thing?"

"Before you were created," Wiendigo told him as he drove along.

"You're not one to talk very much, are you?" Cole asked him.

"I'm not," Wiendigo agreed. This began another long bout of silence as the three of them continued to sit there with nothing to say. Finally, Wiendigo turned to look at Katrina again. "How much further?" he asked her again.

Katrina stirred from her trance, turning to look from the window down at the map. "Um ..." she began, looking up at the area around them, then back at the map. "Do you know how many miles we've traveled?"

"Twenty-four," Wiendigo said.

"Alright ..." Katrina began, moving her finger along the map. "We should be coming up on a tiny area of humans - families of diggers in the area."

"Diggers?" Cole asked.

"There are a lot of ruins in this area. A hundred years ago, Mega City spanned more distance than this - it was a combination of Mega City and current down Vesperaton. Some people are paid to go through the ruins to see what they can find," Katrina answered him. "Since they're out here for a long time - usually from other parts of the world - they bring their families with them."

"I think I see it now," Wiendigo said as he slowed the car down. Up ahead were several houses and buildings set up. While they didn't look fancy or even the type of structure that would be long-lasting, it was obviously a little settlement.

"We shouldn't let them see us," Katrina suggested to Wiendigo. Giving a faint grunt, Wiendigo turned the car away from the settlement and drove a few hundred yards over to some rocks. Bringing the vehicle to a stop, Wiendigo turned it off then looked at Katrina as if waiting for further information. "Oh..." she said, glancing at the instructions. "It should be about six miles west of here."

"Then we walk. Becareful and keep your eyes open for traps. We don't know what kind of traps or security this Death Star has set up," Wiendigo told them as he opened the door, stepping outside. "And since this is an old Hunter base, we need to be even more cautious."

As Katrina opened her door, she stepped out and reached under the seat to remove her sabre. Placing it on a belt around her waist, she turned as Cole pulled himself out of the back seat. "Are you ready, Cole?" she asked, her tone of voice sounding a little worried.

"Yes ... why do you ask?" Cole questioned.

"... we're likely going to run into Blue when we enter the base," Katrina began, glancing at the ground.

"I'm not going to kill her," Cole cut in before she could say anything else.

Glancing up at him, Katrina smiled. "I know how you feel about her, Cole. I'll help you in anyway I can to get her back. Maybe we can talk her out of working for this fake Death Star."

Cole paused, then smiled back. "Thank you, Kat. You're a good friend."

"It's what I'm here for, Cole," Katrina told him, patting his arm. She began to move ahead with Wiendigo, who had already begun to set off for the base and leave them behind as they talked.

After they had walked along for three hundred yards, Wiendigo turned back to Cole. "I left my katana in the seat. Go back and get it," he told Cole.

Cole paused, blinking a few times as he looked at Wiendigo. "Are you serious?" he asked.

Wiendigo looked at him flatly. "Do I look like I'm making a joke right now? Because you need more work on punchlines."

Cole sighed. "Fine, hold on while I go get it," he muttered. He turned back around and made his way back to the car, leaving Wiendigo and Katrina alone.

Wiendigo looked at Katrina. "You're emotions are clouding your judgment," he told her.

"Excuse me?" Katrina asked, glancing at Wiendigo in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

Shifting as he stood there, Wiendigo pointed at Katrina. "Your feelings for that boy there is going to get you in trouble," he said.

"What are you talking about?" Katrina asked, crossing her arms as she turned away from him slightly.

"I don't know what's going on in that pretty head of yours," Wiendigo said as he stood there, "but this Blue is dangerous. You aren't going to just get them back together as if nothing happened."

"Why not?" Katrina demanded, looking a little angry as she turned to look back at Wiendigo.

"Because your feelings are still clouded about him," Wiendigo told her. Katrina opened her mouth to say something, but just turned away instead. "It's obvious, girl. Not to him, but it's obvious."

"I ... guess I don't know what I should think," Katrina admitted finally, looking at Wiendigo. "I never knew how Cole felt until it was too late. He told me he loved me, but then he went offline and Atheos took me..."

Cole came walking back with the katana, handing it over to Wiendigo. Taking it, Wiendigo turned to look at Cole. "I forgot my communicate device in the car. Go get it," he told Cole.

"What?" Cole asked incredulously, staring at Wiendigo. "You're kidding me."

"No punchline here, boy, but I have plenty of punches if you don't go get it," Wiendigo told him.

"Fine..." Cole muttered as he ran back off to the car.

"Go on," Wiendigo told Katrina as Cole was out of hearing distance.

Katrina shifted, watching Cole leaving, then looked back at Wiendigo. "I never realized how he felt about me until he sustained heavy damage. He told me he loved me, then went offline."

"How overly dramatic," Wiendigo commented.

"Before I could do anything, Atheos had taken me," Katrina said, turning to look in the direction of the car. "They brought him back online, but by then, Atheos had manipulated my mind to do his bidding. It was Cole who brought me back from the brink and held me as I cried."

"So what went wrong to this lovely engagement?" Wiendigo asked.

"I was starting something with Junior at the time. And I couldn't return Cole's feelings to him," Katrina said.

"Ah. Loyality to the current man," Wiendigo noted. "And now it seems to me you're having the 'what ifs' and wondering if you should have taken Cole when you had the chance."

"I don't know what I want," Katrina said.

"He's in love with this Blue chick," Wiendigo told her. "Clear as day. At least to him it is. And it's clear that you're just riding on the what ifs. You're just frantically wondering if you made a mistake going with Junior."

"So what do I do?" Katrina asked.

"Get over it," Wiendigo said. "Plain and simple." By that time Cole had returned with the communication device. Reaching over and taking it from Cole's hand, Wiendigo pocketed it. "Alright, let's go," he told them, waving his hand.

"You're welcome..." Cole muttered under his breath. He glanced over at Katrina. "What did you talk about?"

"Nothing much. Just some things," Katrina said.

9:05 P.M.

Behind him Cole came stumbling up and kicking around some dirt. "Sorry," he whispered to Wiendigo as he settled into a crouched position next to him. "What is it?"

Katrina bent down on the other side of Wiendigo, quiet as a cat. "I think there's two of them," she told Wiendigo.

"Three, actually," Wiendigo responded.

"Three what?" Cole asked, lifting his head to look around. It looked completely dark and barren out here except for all the rocks.

"Three reploids up ahead," Katrina answered.

"Most likely guarding something," Wiendigo noted.

"Like the entrance to the base?" Katrina theorized.

"I don't see any reploids," Cole muttered as he strained his neck. Wiendigo shook his head, then waved Katrina to go around to the left. He glanced at Cole, shook his head, then continued to move along in the dark.

One of the reploid guards passed by back and forth. He paused, turning around when he could have sworn he heard something, only to find a hand pressed against his mouth and nose. Wiendigo leaned in real close so that their noses were touching. "Shhh," Wiendigo said, then hit the reploid in the back of the head. As the reploid fell to the ground unconscious, he grabbed him and dragged him back behind the rock.

Cole moved up beside him as soon as he was done. "Where's the other two?" he asked Wiendigo cautiously.

"Katrina's gotten them already," Wiendigo told him as he reached down and tied the reploid up. He then took away his communication device. "Lets go." The two of them got up and hurried over to where Katrina was standing. She appeared to be staring off to some of the rocks off to the side. "Found the entrance?" Wiendigo asked her as he approached.

"No..." Katrina said, her voice barely above a whisper. "It's..." she began, then turned her head away and covered her face with her hand.

Wiendigo stepped up further and looked over her shoulder at the bodies of two human childred. They had both been stabbed to death in the back. He silently stared, but Cole could pick up the sound of teeth grinding.

Cole reached over and put his hand on Katrina's shoulder. "It'll be okay, Kat. We'll get DS for this," he promised her.

Katrina nodded her head several times, taking deep breaths as she stopped her silent crying. She wiped at her eyes, refusing to look at the bodies. "The monster..." she muttered with anger.

"Lets go," Wiendigo told them, moving past the bodies to another set of rocks that had been piled on one of another. Reaching out, he grabbed the top block and tossed it aside, then used his foot to slide the other rocks out of the way.

"What is it?" Cole asked as he moved over, glancing down at the ground to see a metal hatch. "Oh. The entrance."

Reaching down, Wiendigo grabbed the hatch and began to pull. With a loud groan, the hatch opened up and revealed a ladder going down into the darkness. "A strange way to enter a base," Wiendigo noted.

"It's most likely an emergency exit," Katrina said softly, still shaking a little.

"Of course. The rest of the base would be buried still," Wiendigo said with a nod. When Cole stepped forward to go in first, he reached out his arm to stop him. Shaking his head, Wiendigo moved ahead and grabbed the first rung of the ladder. Lowering himself down, Wiendigo climbed down fifteen feet before hitting the floor. It was completely dark here, so he scanned the darkness quietly. Reaching out behind him, he pressed in a red button and the lights turned on. He was standing in a small tunnel that stretched on in either direction. After seeing it was clear, he looked up. "Come on," he ordered.

As soon as Cole and Katrina had reached the tunnel, Wiendigo began to move forward down one of the paths. The three of them walked ahead until they reached a sealed door that appeared to need a passcode to enter.

"I can handle this," Cole told the two of them. He stepped forward, then reared back and punched the steel door, denting it. Focusing on the extra strength the government had given him, he punched the door again and again until it finally collapsed inward. This also set off the alarms. "Damn..." Cole muttered, glancing back at the two of them. "I didn't know!"

"Forget it," Wiendigo said under his breath, stepping over the broken door into the hanger. "They'll have guards flooding in here in a minute. We'll split up and look for the President that way." He pointed over at a side door in the hanger. "You two go that way. I'll take the main hallway."

Katrina stepped forward, glancing at Wiendigo in concern. "But that'll put you directly in their path."

"I know," Wiendigo told them, glancing at her. "I'm the bait. Now go." He pushed her and Cole toward the door, then walked calmly toward the main hallway door.

Cole glanced at Wiendigo once, then hurried over to the side door. Opening it, he gestured for Katrina to move in, then stepped in and closed the door.

Slasher's Secret Sewer Lab
9:20 P.M.

Leaning back in his seat, Slasher rubbed his eyes. "This can only mean one thing..." he muttered to himself quietly.

"And what's that?" Wind asked from behind Slasher.

Jerking around in his chair, Slasher stared at Wind in surprise which quickly melted to an ironic sort of acceptance look. "How long have you been there?" he asked.

"Long enough," Wind reponsed as he wheeled his chair over beside Slasher, staring at the results. "So what does all this gibberish mean?"

Slasher rubbed his hands together, staring at the monitor, then looked back at Wind. "It means that literally every cell in your body is made up of plasma based energy. The very core of your being seems to be energy."

"What does that mean?" Wind asked slowly, staring at his own charts.

"My thoughts exactly," Ariel piped up as she walked up behind the two. Wind and Slasher both jerked in their seats, then sighed as they realized who it was. "Jumpy, boys," Ariel told them.

"I do have a hypothesis," Slasher began. "But I can't be 100% sure about it, yet."

Wind rubbed his hands together, then looked at Slasher plainly. "You only use the word hypothesis when you're pretty much sure that your theory is right. That means you're pretty damn sure what this data means."

"I am," Slasher admitted, leaning back in his seat. "A while back I scanned hyperspace pretty thoroughly with my sensors. I was pretty fascinated by it. As everyone knows, hyperspace is made up of very dangerous energy and plasma. If a person falls into hyperspace without the proper shielding of a ship, they'll be torn apart."

"I know this very well," Wind told him. "I fell into hyperspace decades ago."

"Right. When you were a reploid, you were launched into hyperspace by Sigma. And when we found you again, you had become something else - you were organic and all your celluar damage, such as the eye, were repaired," Slasher said, gesturing at the eye. "And as far as visuals, you are organic. But, like I said, your cells are energy. You're living plasma energy, Wind."

"Isn't all cells energy to some point?" Ariel asked as she leaned against the console.

"Granted. But this is the same energy as hyperspace itself," Slasher told them. Both of them sat there while they let the information sink in.

"So you're saying I absorbed lots of the energy like a battery?" Wind asked finally.

"No. I'm saying I think you are that energy," Slasher told him. His golden eyes studied both of their reaction as they tried to grasp that idea. "Here's how my theory goes. When reploid Death Star fell into hyperspace, something happened - something I can't explain, but when the waves of energy washed over him, it was like a new life was born - the hyperspace plasma energy itself. And since it needed something to base it's specs on, it used Death Star - it read his memory, his powers, his build - everything. But it couldn't copy a metallic body, so it made an organic one instead.

"This organic being basically used Death Star as a blueprint to give itself life," Slasher went on. "That was you, I believe." Wind and Ariel sat there very still and quiet. Leaning back in his seat, Slasher gave them a moment to process the information.

"... so what you're saying ... is that I am this energy...and I used Death Star ... to make myself," Wind said slowly, as if struggling to chew on the words. "That I'm just... some wild hyperspace energy ...something."

"You're a lifeform," Slasher said. "And you are who you are. You are who you have always been. Yourself."

Ariel squeezed his shoulder. "I told you I would love you no matter who you were," she told him. Wind reached up and took her hand, squeezing it as he sat there.

"There's something else I discovered while studying your scans," Slasher said, whirling around in his seat.

"Another bombshell?" Wind asked sarcastically.

"This one packs a punch. When you copied Death Star's data, you didn't incorporate a normal aging process, since reploids don't age. Basically, your cells aren't breaking down," Slasher told him.

"Meaning?"

"Meaning that if you aren't blown up, cut up, shot, burned, ground up, beaten to a bloody pulp, or have some other unpleasant fatal blows struck to you ... you don't age," Slasher said.

Wind's lip twitched a little. "Wow. Just what I always wanted," he said in a bit of sarcasm.

"Great. Because here's one more little fascinating tidbit," Slasher said. He glanced at both of them. "And this one is the kicker. You are fully functional ... to have kids."

Ancient Maverick Hunter Base
9:30 P.M.

"Actually..." came a familiar voice from behind the reploids. As they began to part, Wiendigo spotted Death Star walking slowly forward. "I think you took too damn long."

"Wow. So you know I was coming. Should I be impressed?" Wiendigo asked sarcastically.

Death Star shrugged. "Your two spies aren't very good material. They caused a lot of silly trouble here. But I knew if I put up with them long enough that you would show up."

Wiendigo glanced as the reploids began to fan a circle around him. He turned his head back to look at Death Star. "Well, here I am. But I don't have time just yet to make good on my promise to kill you."

Death Star smirked, his one eye focusing on Wiendigo. "It seems some what poetic to have the two of us on opposite ends again."

"I find it rather old," Wiendigo said. Just then he snapped to the side and smashed his elbow into one of the reploid's faces.

"Then lets do a new dance," Death Star told him as he watched the reploid fall to the ground in pain. "You're here to distract me while your other allies find the President. I'll just deal with them first." He turned and began to walk away.

Wiendigo took several steps forward when the thirty or so reploids in front of him moved in to stop him. "... you should move," he told them bluntly. When they didn't, he reached behind him and pulled out the katana from his coat and spun, slashing an arm off a reploid. As they rushed in, Wiendigo leaped straight up and grabbed a crane overhead to help move cargo into the hanger.

Swinging on the crane over the other reploid's heads, Wiendigo swung himself up onto it. As the reploids opened fire up at the crane, he dived off onto the ground, rolling as he stabbed a reploid in the gut as he moved. Slashing his katana out, he cut three more reploids in half as he got to his feet. The other reploids were already turning around to fire at him, but he just knocked the blasts aside with his sword.

Three of the reploids came rushing in to get into close quarters combat with him. Wiendigo counted slightly in his head, then ducked low as one punched at him. He brought his katana up into their chest, twisting as he cut off some of their motor connections, then kicked him off his katana. Spinning low, he slashed out backwards behind him at the second reploid moving in, removing his legs so the reploid went spinning wildly into the air as he crashed on the ground. As he stood up, the third reploid punched him hard in the face. Wiendigo returned the favor and punched the reploid across the hanger.

The remaining reploids opened fire while he was dispatching the third reploid, hoping to catch him off guard at this point. As the first few shots impacted against his chest armor, Wiendigo ran quickly to the side to where some broken tanks were. Running along the side of the tank, Wiendigo kicked off and impaled one reploid with his katana, flipped up off of him as he ripped the katana out and brought it down on another reploid, cleaving him in half. He then slashed to his right and dispatched two more reploids.

Now standing in the midsts of the reploids, Wiendigo forced them to turn their weapons inward at each other as they opened fire. He jumped straight up into the air as they mowed each down and he landed on the ground as their bodies surrounded him. A few of the smarter ones who were still standing moved in at this point, bringing their own sabres to bare on him.

Turning as the reploids slashed down around him, Wiendigo stepped to the side to avoid the slash and quickly elbow one of them in the jaw, breaking it off and sending him tumbling to the ground. Two more of the reploids came running up, slashing down at him, so he brought his katana up to parry both of their sabres. Raising his other hand, he released several energy blasts directly into their chests at close range and sent them falling to the ground in pieces.

Wiendigo stood there as he glanced over the remains of the first wave of reploids. He turned arond to see the doors opening from the main hall and another wave of reploids coming in. Stepping back to the shadows of the hanger, he vanished from sight into them.

Coming to a stop where the hallway split into two paths, one leading toward what appeared to be living quarters and the other the training rooms, they both glanced at each other. "I don't think the training area would lead to the brig, unless we can find a way through them," Katrina told him.

"I don't think it's a good idea to go through the living quarters," Cole commented. "It could lead to fighting.

"... I don't think we have much of a choice in the matter now," Katrina said slowly as she glanced down the hallway at dozens upon dozens of reploids exitting their rooms.

"Come on, we need to hurry," Cole urged, reaching down to grab at Katrina's arm. However, she pulled away as she studied something. "What is it?" he asked. "We need to go!"

Katrina studied the layout of the hallway, then reached into her belt pouches. "I borrowed one of Slasher's explosives. I'll stay behind and blow up the hallway while you continue into the training room."

"I'll stay with you. It's not a good idea to split up right now," Cole told her.

"I can handle this," Katrina assured him as she studied the hall layout. "If Wiendigo is distracting the main force and we both stay here dealing with these reploids, then no one is rescuing the president. You have to go on. Besides, I can deal with this."

Cole hesitated, then nodded. "Alright. But be safe," he told her as he left. Katrina watched him go, then turned back to the hallway. They were already heading her way, but hadn't seemed to quite notice her yet.

Glancing up at some pipes, Katrina activated her sabre and jammed it into the wall until it was tightly secured. Taking a deep breath, she placed a foot on the hilt of the sabre and used it to stand on while she placed her explosives on the pipes. Setting it in place, she firmly attachd it to the pipes when she heard the shouts of the reploids who had finally seen her.

Quickly activating the automatic timer, she saw it had a countdown of one minute on it. Realizing that would be too long and the reploids would just get out, she quickly hopped back to the floor and ripped her sabre out of the wall. Holding it in front of her, she stared as the reploids hurried toward her.

The first reploid, overconfident of his abilities compared to a human female, just lunged at her with a fist. Katrina stepped back, then swung her sabre around to remove his arm from him. She quickly brought her fist around to impact into the reploid's face, sending him falling to the ground as the second reploid jumped over him. The second reploid quickly fired his blaster at her at close range, but she used the sabre's energy blade to deflect it away from her. She jammed the sabre directly into the blaster's openining, forcing the blaster to overload and blow up the reploid's arm as it sent him flying back.

The third reploid took the quick route and slammed her against the wall of the hallway, leaving both of them just under the pipes. Wincing in pain, Katrina couldn't free her sabre arm from the reploid's grip. It grinned at her with a sadistic look as it reached it's other hand toward her throat. "I'm going to snap your pretty little neck," it told her. Taking a deep breath, Katrina freed her left hand and focused one of Ariel's techniques into it. Pressing the palm of her hand against the reploid's face, she unleashed a holy blast into him, taking off his head.

Sliding down to the ground, Katrina took several breaths, trying to steady herself as she looked at the headless reploid. Before she could react, three more reploids had come running up with sabres of their own. They all slashed down at her, so she rolled to the side, then brought her sabre around to cut off one's sword arm. The other two pushed their useless comrade aside and slashed down at Katrina, who brought up her sabre to deflect. Struggling against their strength, Katrina was forced to the ground. Realizing they were about to over power her, she raised her left hand and hit one of them in the chest with a holy blast. This lessened the pressure against her sabre, so she shoved forward, knocking the last one off balance. Getting to her feet, Katrina spun and slashed off the last reploid's arm.

Physically exhausted from using the holy energy, Katrina looked on dismay as another wave of reploids were coming down the hallway. Having been counting in her head, she realized she had to stall them for another fifteen seconds before the explosives would go off.

Taking one of the fallen reploid's sabres, she reactivated it and tossed it through the air at the incoming reploids, forcing them to stop and roll under it. She then pulled out her hand blaster and fired at the sabre's energy unit, causing it to explode over them and knock them into the ground.

Obviously damaged, the reploids struggled to their feet even after the sabre exploded. Dashing forward, Katrina knocked one of the head with the hilt of her sabre, then stabbed another one in the hand. "Stay down," she warned, her voice shaken. Lifting her head, she realized the time was up so she began to dash forward back into the hallway leading to the training room even as the explosives went off and the entire place came down around her.

His eyes trailed over to a set of metal stairs that led to a metal catwalk over the huge room, leading into the adjacent wall. Hoping they were important, he began to run towards them when he heard an explosion ni the distance. Sliding to a stop, Cole hesitated as he glanced back the way he came.

That moment of hesitation cost him as the various side rooms to the training area opened up and reploids began to pour into the room. Tensing up, Cole aimed his mini-guns and opened fire on them, shooting them in the legs and sending them collapsing to the ground. However, more began to come in and fire at him, hitting him in the arms and chest, forcing Cole to retreat backwards.

Flipping up onto a metal box, Cole fired his weapons at some more reploids running into the room, knocking them clean off their feets and onto the ground. He then jumped behind the box as the return fire came in, using it as a shield. He waited for their fire to die down, then aimed his arm over the box and opened fire again, hitting more reploids as they approached his position.

Ducking back down as the return fire came, Cole waited, then kicked the box from behind him, sending it sliding straight at five reploids and smashing them against the wall. He rushed forward and opened fire on six more reploids sneaking around the side, tearing through their armor and leaving them to collapse on the ground.

Three more reploids who had been ducking inside one of the side rooms leaned out and opened fire, forcing Cole to dive backwards to avoid the shots. He aimed his arm in their direction and shot a few plasma shots at the door, blowing it off it's hinges and sending it crashing on the hiding reploids.

Some of the previously shot reploids had begun to recover when they suddenly stopped. One of them was holding his comm. link in disbelief, but finally gestured for the reploids to retreat. Standing completely up, Cole glanced around in confusion when he heard someone stepping in behind him. Turning around, Cole's heart skipped a beat ... if he had one.

"Hello, lover," Blue said.

So far his plan had been working fairly well. By making Death Star think Wiendigo was playing the bait and distraction, he had sent him looking for the others. This would allow Wiendigo the time he needed to find the President, grab him, and slip out with him. Then he could return to pull out Cole, Kat, Roadkill, and Ratshoot.

Hearing approaching footsteps, Wiendigo jumped up as the reploids came rounding the corner of the hallway. They ran on down the hallway, never noticing Wiendigo hanging on to some pipes above them. Dropping back to the ground, Wiendigo quickly manuevered his way toward the science labs. Figuring they would be near the brig, he would use them as a safer way to bypass the command center.

As he reached the lab areas, he was mildly surprised to see they were being used. A few reploids were standing around as he arrived, so Wiendigo kept to the shadows as he glanced in through the glass windows.

Death Star came into view of the lab, holding a pill bottle. Wiendigo recognized it as the same pill bottle that he had been holding back in Siberia. Yelling something at the reploids, Death Star dismissed them. As they exited the science lab, they passed within feet of the crouched Wiendigo as they went on their way.

Lifting himself back up to watch, Wiendigo watched Death Star open the bottle of pills and take another one. He quickly screwed the lid shut and slammed it down on a table, walking out of the science lab through the back. Probably using it to make his way to the brig like Wiendigo himself had planned.

Sliding in through the doors, Wiendigo approached the table and reached out, grabbing the pill bottle. As he opened it, he blinked in surprise to see it was full of chip implants. "What the hell...?" he muttered to himself. Shoving the bottle into his coat pocket, Wiendigo began to move through the back paths that Death Star had taken.

Up ahead he saw Death Star walking up onto a metal catwalk, then taking it back in the general direction of the training rooms. Wiendigo waited until he had passed, then he moved out, glancing at one of the sign markers indicating the direction of the brig was the opposite direction.

He quickly moved toward the brig.

"I just bet you have," Blue replied in a sarcastic tone. "Been looking for me this entire time I'm sure."

"We need to talk, Blue. ... this isn't right. Killing humans isn't the way to go," Cole told her, stepping forward.

Raising an energy blade at him, Blue narrowed her eyes. "Oh, killing humans isn't right? But killing reploids is, Cole? Killing your own kind is just fine, I suppose?" she asked him harshly.

"You can't win this war by killing all the humans," Cole said, coming to a stop when he saw the blade. "It's wrong."

"What's wrong, Cole, is the humans starting the war with us for no reason other than to kill us all. And now that we're winning, you want to spare them all? Or maybe you just want to spare her," Blue said icily.

"That's not true, Blue, I..." Cole began when Blue gave a short laugh, cutting him off.

"You know what? I actually let myself think I could love you, Cole. I thought to myself, 'Hey, what he's saying doesn't sound so bad. Romance. Love.' But if all you wanted was a good fuck, then I could have given you that without my heart," she told him harshly.

Colephantus shut off the motorcycle. They had just left together from Wind's bachelor party and he had taken her back to Building 38, where the Alternate Unit resided.

"That fast enough?" he asked her, glancing back at her.

"Mmm. Just right," Blue told him, unwrapping her arms from around him as he stepped off the motorcycle. He reached up and helped her off the motorcycle.

"I guess you don't do that romance stuff, do you?" Cole asked her.

"Romance?" Blue asked, pausing as she glanced at Cole carefully. "I guess I've never had the time for it."

Cole reached over, still holding her hand as he lifted her off her feet and into his arms. "Now that you're on the team, you have plenty of time."

Blue blinked in surprised, then giggled despite herself. "Is that right?" she asked seductively.

"Yes," Cole told her as he walked toward the building. He brought out a rose he had taken from the party, holding it up to her. "You might even like it. And settle down a bit," he told her, a grin playing out across his face.

Blue reached out, taking the rose from him. "I don't know.... Do you think you can tame me, Mister?" she asked him challeningly.

"I could damn well try," Cole said as he moved inside the building. He walked up the stairs to the rooms, sliding open his door with his foot. Inside there were candles everywhere and rose petals on his bed. "I've been doing some thinking," he told her as he walked inside. Blue looked around the room in utter shock and surprise.

"About...what?" she managed to say as she took it all in.

"About you. Did you think that I was still drooping about Katrina?" he asked her. "Nope. I've given up on her. It just wasn't meant to be." He leaned over, laying her gently on the bed. "But you ... You amaze me in multiple ways."

"Oh really?" Blue asked, leaning forward a little on the bed. She seemed to be hanging onto every word Cole said.

"Really." Cole snapped his fingrs and the candles instantly lit around them. "So I decided." Blue glanced at the candles, then looked at Cole with a smile on her face. "I decided I would discover why you intrigue me so much. No matter what."

"Well, I think I like the sound of that," Blue said as she leaned up toward Cole. "A lot," she added lustifully.

Cole smiled. "Good." They began to make love then, their bodies moving together in an amazing connection. It went deeper than just sex. It went to the heart.

"It wasn't just a good fuck, Blue. You know that. I love you," Cole insisted, pounding on his chest. "I want you."

Blue laughed, wiping at her eyes once despite the lack of apparant tears. "That's not what you said later."

"That wasn't about you..." Cole began lamely.

"It wasn't? You said all the reploids could die for all you cared, as long as she lived..." Blue shouted.

"I wasn't thinking..."

"No, you weren't thinking with your head. You were thinking with your damn heart, Cole. With your love for her," Blue screamed.

The rain was pounding around them. Standing there were Death Star and one pissed off Wind who had come looking for DS after his daughter, Katrina, had gone missing. It seemed that Death Star was the one who had taken her and made the startling revelation to everyone, including Colephantus and Blue.

"Are you going to hurt her?" Cole asked.

"Of course not. Pretty soon this war is going to get real nasty. Katrina is safer with me. And, besides, it'll ensure you all stay out of this war," Death Star said, looking at the Wind. "On either side." Wind narrowed his eyes at him.

Colephantus looked at Death Star, then slid out of the way of Wind, letting him have access to attack Death Star. Death Star watched him carefully as the rain pelted them all in the face. "You will leave her alone," Cole ordered. "You will put her on a shuttle off this planet."

"You think the girl will leave? I think not. I might not know her like you all, but her record is clear. She'll join the human cause in the end. And what then, Cole? You fight her? Kill her? Let her kill you?" Death Star demanded.

"Let her kill me," Cole told him.

Death Star snorted. "And every other reploid?" he asked.

Cole nodded silently. "Cole!" Blue said in a shocked voice, her eyes widening. He glanced at her with a sorrowful look, then looked away.

"I didn't mean I'd let her kill you!" Cole shouted. "I... I wasn't thinking when I answered him."

"Don't give me that," Blue said harshly. "I'm not leaving here to join you, Cole. And I'm not letting you get to the President."

"Blue..." Cole said, stepping forward. She raised the plasma blade up at his throat. "I have to rescue him. And I want you to come with me."

"No."

"Blue..." Cole repeated.

"Talking time is over, Cole. Since you've been gone, I've moved on. And I'm putting you down here. You won't rescue the President," Blue told him, diving forward with her plasma blade. Cole quickly grabbed at her arm, trying to stop her, but she had already brought her free hand around to smash her fist into his jaw. Cole stumbled backwards, caught off guard as Blue jump kicked him in the face. Falling onto the floor, Cole rolled onto his feet. He threw two quick punches at her head, but she easily dodged and slammed her fist into his chin, sending him falling back. "You'll never win fighting like that, Cole ... you have to fight to kill to win!" she told him.

Taking several steps forward, Blue reared back to impale the weapon straight into his brain when a hand grabbed her arm, jerking her back and tossing her through the air into a wall. Bouncing off the wall, Blue hit the ground hard. Getting to her feet, she looked up to see Katrina.

"You're not going to kill him..." Katrina told her.

"Oh look, it's the human whore," Blue said nastily. "Come to save your man?"

Katrina glanced at Cole as he got to his feet. "You go on and save the president. I'll stop her."

Taking deep breaths, Cole held out his hand. "I won't..."

Katrina grabbed his hand, looking at him. "I won't kill her, Cole. I know how much you love her. I'll bring her back to you in one piece, I promise. But only you have the strength needed to break President McCabe out of the brig. I can't do it."

Cole stood there a moment, obviously torn, then stepped back toward the metal stairs. "I love you, Blue." And with that, he ran up the stairs and across the metal catwalk, leaving the two women behind.

Opening the door, Cole hurried across the metal catwalk, now finding himself in a strange industrialized room. Pausing, he realized he was in a private armory where the built the weapons the hunters used. Glancing around, he hurried onward when suddenly a fist slammed into his face, sending him falling onto the catwalk. He looked up.

"Well, Cole...we meet again," Death Star said standing over him. "And this time I'm gonna kill you."

"Yes, it is," Blue said as she looked over Kat. "For you."

"You're hurt. You don't realize he's here to help you just as much as the president," Katrina insisted. "Can't you give this all up to be with him?"

Colephantus glanced at Blue. "Blue .... if you had a choice between ending the war for a reploid victory or saving me... which would you choose?"

Blue stood there, unable to answer, then looked away.

"No, I can't," Blue told her. "My love for my people is greater than any one person. Even Cole."

"But ... don't you see? What's the point in saving the world ... if you can't have the one you love with you?" Katrina said. "What's the point in being in a world if you can't have them with you?"

"It's selfish to save a loved one over the world," Blue snapped back.

"No. I think it's true love when you're willing to risk everything just to save them," Katrina told her gently. "And I think you really love Cole."

"What makes you say that?" Blue asked, tilting her head back.

"Just now ... you said 'even Cole' when referring to love. You really do love him," Katrina pointed out.

Blue stood there silently, then a sneer played across her face. "And you love him. And he loves you. But that doesn't mean a damn thing, bitch," she snarled. Running forward, Blue punched Katrina in the face, sending the redhaired woman falling back onto the ground.

Laying on the ground, Katrina shook her head, trying to clear it as Blue ran up and kicked her in the ribs hard enough to crack one. Wincing in pain, Kat rolled backwards to get to her feet as Blue zoomed in for another attack - a punch at her head. Bending to the side, Katrina grabbed her extended arm and brought her leg up to kick Blue in the head, sending her stumbling backwards.

Running forward, Katrina jumped up and kicked Blue in the head, sending her falling against the wall. "I won't kill you ... for him," Katrina told her. She punched at Blue, who grabbed her arm and slammed her hand into Kat's face, then yanked her in close and kneed her in the stomach.

"Too bad I'm going to kill you," Blue whispered to Katrina as she was bent over. Uppercutting Katrina in the head, Blue sent the other woman falling backwards onto the ground. Activating her plasma blade, she rushed forward and tried to impale Katrina in the stomach with it.

Rolling to the side, Katrina let Blue drive her plasma blade into the ground, the kicked her in the head to send her off balance. Twirling around, Katrina kicked her again in the head, sending Blue falling to the ground. Reaching back to her belt, Kat activated her sabre as Blue ripped the blade out of the ground and stood back up.

Rushing forward, Blue slashed down at Katrina, who parried the blow easily and punched Blue back in the face. Blue stepped back, then swiped at Katrina's arm, cutting it clean along the surface, then turned and used her free hand to punch Katrina in the stomach.

Falling back, Katrina winced in pain, but brought up her sabre to meet another swing attack by Blue. Straining, Katrina stepped to the side to let Blue fall off balance and slashed her along the arm - not deep enough to server it, but enough to wound it. Blue glanced at the wound, then at her. "You're not playing for real blood. You're going to die for that."

Blue rushed forward and tried to impale Katrina, but the girl stepped to the side and kicked Blue's arm upward, then punched her in the side. As Blue staggered, Katrina spun and kicked Blue in the side of the head, sending her stumbling away. Hurrying forward, Katrina swung at Blue's leg, hoping to clip it, but Blue jumped up, landing on the ground, then punched Katrina in the head quickly, then slashed at her face. Pulling back, Katrina avoided the slash, then ducked and stabbed, clipping Blue's leg and nicking it.

Moving away, Blue winced in pain, but then moved forward and kicked at Katrina's head again. Ducking low to avoid it, Katrina came up only to receive a punch in the head from Blue who predicted the counter. Stumbling away, Katrina didn't even see the second punch coming in when it nailed her straight in the side of the head, sending her falling against the wall. Blue then dashed forward, trying to impale Katrina with the blade, but as the girl moved out the way, Blue stabbed into the wall.

Katrina spun her sabre around at Blue, but stopped from decapitating her. Frowning, Katrina kicked Blue in the stomach. "Stop this, Blue!" she tried to reason with her. Ripping her blade from the wall, Blue slashed out at Katrina, cutting her across the chest and causing red blood to fall down.

"Never," Blue hissed. She dashed forward, stabbing at Katrina's face, who ducked low, grabbed Blue's arm and then punched her in the face with the hilt of her sabre. Determination flowing through her, Katrina punched her in the face again and again with the hilt until Blue shook her arm free and punched Katrina hard across the face, sending her falling to the ground.

Pushing herself up, Katrina could feel her face already swelling from Blue's hits. She turned around to face Blue even as Blue's boot smashed into the side of her head and sent her painfully falling to the ground. Laying there in agony, Katrina heard Blue approaching, but waited until Blue was directly over her to kick up into the groin area. Getting to her feet, Katrina punched Blue backwards against the wall, then dashed forward before she could recover and stabbed her lightly in the arm.

The two women panted, staring at each other. "This isn't the way," Katrina insisted, breathing heavily.

"Go to... hell bitch..." Blue said, then headbutted Katrina in the face, causing her to stumble backwards. Blue pulled herself away from the wall and punched at Kat, who ducked it and returned the favor with a punch to the stomach. Both of them stepped back, re-evaulated the other, then moved forward.

Blue punched high while Katrina went low again and punched her hard in the chest with an upward thrust of her fist, causing Blue to shift backwards and up off the ground. Turning, Katrina then brought her fist down on Blue's chest again and smashed her into the floor. Bringing her sabre to bare, Katrina pressed it against Blue's throat. "Listen... to me... he loves... you..." she said. Blue stared at her angerily, then her muscles relaxed.

"I see..." Blue said sullenly.

Katrina pulled the sabre away, deactivating it. "Lets go to him. You two need to be reunited...enough of this fighting...please..." she pleaded. She reached her hand down to Blue.

Staring at her for a moment, Blue reached up and grabbed her hand, pulling herself up. "Maybe he does love me...." she began, then suddenly drove her plasma blade straight through Katrina's stomach, twisting it. Katrina's eyes opened wide in pain and her mouth opened in agony. Blue ripped the blade out of Katrina's stomach, letting her fall to the ground as blood gushed out of the wound. "But I like to know I'm the only girl," Blue finished.