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Catching Up With Gryphon

@LupinIII

Published in

Fan Fiction

· 1 year ago

Catching Up With Gryphon

[Altered Appleseed]

The day begins; Ben is seen climbing onto a suspiciously familiar and moderately enormous black motorcycle. With Jane's Addiction blaring in his ears, he goes roaring off into traffic. One could almost swear he's wearing some sort of uniform. As the camera pans back, it can be seen that he's in a very large city dominated by a vast arcology. The planet is Earth, or at least very Earthlike.

At the end of the song, he pulls into a parking slot, gets off the bike, and tosses the keys in the air as he walks away--in a closeup we can see the keys are marked "BAHAMODE". He climbs a set of stairs and enters a building. The building is marked "OLYMPUS POLICE DEPARTMENT".

Roll opening credits.

ACT I

Scene 1

Ben is at his desk, asleep, face-down, in a huge mass of paperwork. Deunan walks by and notices this, and, with a wicked grin, picks up a large hardback book entitled _Kicking Ass With UNIX 40.3_ from his desk, dropping it flat to the floor.

Ben: Yaaaaa! (He bolts upright, scattering paper everywhere.)

Deunan: Sleeping at work again, eh? For shame.

Ben: It's the damn paperwork, Deun'...knocks me right out. I mean...hell, why can't they computerize this like everything else?

Deunan: Guess it's their way of keeping us honest. (She smiles.)

Ben: I suppose. Thanks for waking me up, I guess. (He sighs, picking up his pen, as Deunan begins to leave.) Oh, hey, Deunan--where's Briareos?

Deunan: He took the day off. Something about tuning his targeting gear.

Ben: (snorts derisively) Yeah, right. He just wants to put off his range forms. Jerk. (He grins. So does Deunan. She waves and departs.) Hm. (He looks down at his paperwork again.) Angst! (His head hits the desk again.) Fade to black.

Scene 2.

His day's work done, Ben heads home. On the way into his apartment, he notices loud music coming from the one across the hall; taking out a key, he lets himself in to find Briareos listening to a very loud metal disc.

Ben: Yo! Bri! (He knocks on Briareos' head.)

Briareos: Huh who where? Oh, hi, Ben. (He turns down the stereo) What's up?

Ben: Not much, I-- (He pauses, recognizing the music.) Hey-- this is The Assistance, but I--waitasecond... (He fixes Briareos with a sardonic grin.) "Iron Man"?

Briareos: Great song. (He kicks back, his hands behind his head.) You were saying?

Ben: I was? Oh, yeah-- (he sits down) --I'm very disappointed in you.

Briareos: (looks surprised--you figure out how yourself) Me?

Ben: Yes, you. You skipped out of work today on some bogus cybertech thing to avoid doing your range forms until Monday.

Briareos: (attempting to seem innocent) I didn't! I really needed to get my gyrocompass realigned!

Ben: (triumphant) Aha! You told Deunan you had to get your targeting system tuned.

Briareos: I did? Oops. (He shrugs.) Oh well.

Ben: Oh well indeed. (He sits back.) You just better hope Deunan doesn't find out.

Deunan emerges from the kitchen.

Deunan: I know already. Here, have a drink. (She throws a can of Pepsi at Ben, but misjudges the force needed; it's going so fast when it hits him in the chest it almost blows him off the sofa.) Sorry. Depth perception's dogmeat with this damn patch.

Ben: No-- (coughs) --problem. I've had the experience myself. It sucks major amounts of wind. Deunan hops over the back of the other couch, opening a beer and handing one to Briareos.

Deunan: Anyway--I know all about how my dear Briareos skipped out on his paperwork today. (She grabs one of his "ears" and tweaks it.)

Briareos: Ow!

Deunan: And he's never going to do it again--are you? (She gives the "ear" a tug.)

Briareos: No! I swear! Never again! Now leggo!

Ben is almost on the floor with laughter at this point.

Briareos: What're you laughing at?! This is part of my anatomy she's trying to pull off here!

Ben: (manages to choke out) I wouldn't touch that line--

Briareos: (in a small voice) Help!

Fade to black on the three of them laughing.

Scene 3.

It's the weekend and Ben is out for a ride on his Garland; it's around six in the evening, so the shadows are lengthening. (It's early summer.) He seems a bit peeved, maybe it's running rough; also, he's listening to "Bringin' On the Heartbreak", and so may be a tad angstful. As he rides, he notices a police cordon around a rather damaged housing project--one he lived in when he first came here. He skids up and shows his badge.

Ben: ESWAT. What's going on here?

Random Cop: Some nutcase with a landmate is tearing the place apart. Says she's looking for someone named "Gryphon".

Ben's eyes go wide(r); he's not gone by that name for ages. Not since--

Ben: I'll handle it.

Cop: Sir, she's got a landmate and she knows how to use it. Maybe you should wait for armored backup, the 7th Tac is on their way--

Ben reaches down and hits a control on his bike; it transforms rapidly into a ~12' 'bot with a fully enclosed cockpit and heavy-looking armor.

Ben: I said I'll handle it.

Cop: Yes, sir!

Ben walks to the building and pauses for a second; inside the cockpit, we see him wipe some sweat from his forehead, take a couple of deep breaths, and try to stop his hands from trembling. We see a brief instant of flashback; it's from his point of view, him being shot in the chest by a very beautiful and very angry-looking red-haired woman. Then it passes; he shakes his head violently, pushes aside the hanging door, and enters the building.

He enters cautiously, unslinging a 25mm autorifle from the Garland's shoulder. The inside of the building is dark; the air is thick with dust. Sensors at full, Ben begins to search, slowly, carefully.

Alarms howl; he throws the machine aside as a flight of missiles scream by to blow something thoroughly up. Burst fire from a projected particle weapon accompanies it; six bolts of energy slam into the flooring, chasing him across the room as his surprisingly agile mecha tumbles across. He gets eyes on his target as he rolls the mecha to its feet; it's not a landmate, as he suspected it wasn't from the beginning. It's the one thing he didn't want to see, ever, at the other end of his autorifle--a #142-A WOW That's Black VR-052 Battler Cyclone with a shattered red heart painted on its right shoulder. Pointing an EP-37 Particle Beam Cannon at him.

Ben screams, ripping off a five-round burst and leaping the Garland out of the PBC's path of fire. Sparking impacts scatter across the Cyclone's chest as its shot bores right out of the building. The Garland tackles the Cyclone, the impact blasting the two of them right through the wall and starting the tape player going again. Music fills the Garland's cockpit. Ben is too busy to turn it off.

Ben: No! Don't do this! Not again, do you hear me?

The impact with the pavement disengages them and sends them tumbling in opposite directions; the Cyclone regains its feet first. Ben rolls his mecha away from another particle gun shot. The black Cyclone makes no reply to his screamed statement, just closes in mercilessly, as Ben rights his Garland. He jets up away from a third shot, perching on the roof of the half-ruined building to blast the Cyclone in the chest with a rolling burst that mangles one of the missile covers. (Not that it matters, they've all been fired anyway.) The Cyclone puts a shot into the building under Ben's feet; surprised, he eats asphalt and is momentarily stunned. The black Cyclone walks calmly over, levels the PBC, and prepares to fire as the Garland get s slowly to hands and knees.

Cyclone: (woman's voice): It's finally over...you bastard.

Ben: No! (Ben jumps the Garland up and over in a somersault, his jets howling; the Cyclone's pilot puts her last shot into the pavement.) You're out of ammo. Now can we discuss this rationally? Won't you even explain why you believe I could do such a thing, why you want me dead so much? You used to love me, or so I thought. (The Cyclone discards the empty EP-37 and draws a Gallant H-90 from its holster; the pilot makes no response.) WON'T YOU AT LEAST TELL ME WHY?!

The Cyclone notes the howl of the approaching ESWAT armored backup; reducd to a holdout weapon, the pilot takes the better part of valor. Firing a quick burst to keep Ben's head down, she fires her own thrusters, leaping a good fifty feet away. The Cyclone folds out as she kneels on landing; then, extracting herself, the CVR-clad pilot converts it fully back to motorcycle mode, mounts, and rides away.

Ben: Not this time--!

The Garland sets off after her at a dead sprint, then transforms smoothly and hits the road wide open. (The forgotten tape has gone on by this time to "Comin' Atcha Live".) The two cycles blaze through the streets. Despite the Garland's amazing street prowess, the Cyclone has a definite agility edge. The pilot uses this and her microjets to good advantage, and Ben is soon, despite his own skill, his cycle's abilities, and his siren and lights, far behind. The Cyclone darts into a side alley and, snap-transforming, vaults a wooden wall; a few seconds later, Ben slews his Garland around the corner and rams it right through the wall.

The Cyclone is nowhere to be seen.

Ben: (getting off the Garland) ArrrrrrrRRRRR--AAAAAAAAAA!!!!!

Thoroughly dejected, his primal scream of rage and frustration having taken something out of him, he gets back on the bike and rides home.

Fade to black on a slowly outpanning view of the city.

Scene 4.

Ben is slumped on his sofa; the lights are low and he looks very depressed. He puts something on the stereo and contemplates a photograph of a pretty red-haired woman (the one from the flashback) during the intro. When the words come in, he sings along, softly, to the photo.

Ben: Every time when I look in the mirror All these lines in my face gettin' clearer The past is gone It went by like dusk to dawn Isn't that the way Everybody's got their dues in life to pay I know Nobody knows Where it comes and where it goes I know 'N everybody's said You got to lose to know how it ends...

(He doubles over and a tear or two fall on the picture as it drops from his hand; then he recovers somewhat to continue.)

Half my life's on ghostwritten pages Livin' learned from fools and from sages You know it's true All the feelings come back to you Sing with me Sing for the year Sing for the laughter sing for the tear Sing with me Just for today Maybe tomorrow the Good Lord'll take you away

(He cries again during the solo, then violently recovers, tearing his glasses off and casting them aside, picking up the picture to beg of it plaintively:)

Sing with me Sing for the year Sing for the laughter sing for the tear Sing it with me Just for today Maybe tomorrow the Good Lord'll take you away

(He comes to bitter reality hard, throws the picture away from him, drops to the couch and upbraids himself angrily:)

Dream on Dream on Dream on Dream until your dream come true

He continues, getting angrier and louder, until the end of the "Dream on" section, including the screaming. He then flops face-down to the couch, spent, crying and not singing, for the rest of the song.

There is a loud knocking at his door; it becomes more and more insistent and then, forgetting her key, Deunan kicks in the door.

Deunan: What the--Ben? What's wrong?

Ben looks up, his face red and streaked; he hasn't stopped, nor does he show signs of doing so anytime soon.

Ben: (haltingly, he's still crying) Hi--D-Deunan...it's n- othing...h-having a b-bad day is all...

Deunan puts away her gun and, motioning him to make room, sits down on the couch beside him.

Deunan: We've been friends for a long time now, and I've never seen you like this. What's the matter?

Ben: You heard about the fight tonight?

Deunan: Yeah; some nut in a pirate landmate tearing up your old project--

Ben: Not a landmate. A Cyclone. Transforming motorcycle mecha unit. And its pilot was gunning for me. Ripping up the building was a calculated attempt at getting my attention, or maybe she thought I still lived there.

Deunan: But why?

Ben: Simple. She used to love me.

Deunan: What?!

Ben: Look, you and Briareos both know I'm not from the badside, originally. You've seen me regenerate from bullet wounds, you know I'm not a normal human. (Deunan nods.) I'm 382 years old. For 298 of those, I was very much in love...(he pauses, this isn't easy)...with a woman named Kei. And she with me, or so I thought.

Deunan: What happened?

Ben: I don't know. One day we were running a rescue op on a city under attack by Buma troops. I was running covert behind lines, mopping up in back of a school where there was a hostage situation, while Kei and her partner Yuri took the front. We were to meet in the middle of the building. I came around a corner and I could swear I saw myself running past; then I walked through a door and she shot me. I survived; I keep the scars deliberately, to remind me. (He indicates the earring he always wears.) This is hers. This is all I have left of her. (A series of racking sobs shakes his body; he fends Deunan away with a hand, composes himself, and continues.) For 66 years she's been tracking me. For the past seven I've lived here. She's chased me all over the cosmos, and nearly kills me every time she catches me. Remember when I told you I had an eyepatch for a while? She put out one my eyes with a vibro-shiv once. I regenerated it; sentiment aside, as you can attest, being blind on one side bites industrial strength wind.

Deunan: And you never found out why she doesn't believe you didn't do it?

Ben: No. She'll never tell me. I always ask, but...she'll...never--tell--me...why... (He breaks down again. Instinctively, Deunan takes him into an embrace, letting him cry on her shoulder.) No--(he tries to get away)--this--

Deunan: Shh. It's okay. Bri will understand. You just need a friend right now...

There is a long pause.

Ben: Deunan?

Deunan: Yeah?

Ben: She knows I still love her, even after everything she's done...I don't understand any of it--

Deunan: Shh. People are hard to figure out sometimes.

Ben: If she'd only tell me why...(the thought intensifies his sorrow, as such thoughts tend to, and he clings to Deunan desperately)...just...j-just hold me...

Which she does, gently, but with strength, as he cries himself to sleep. Presently, she falls asleep as well. At some point in the late evening, Briareos enters the apartment; he sees them together and nods, as promised, understanding perfectly. He of all people is very familiar with the concept of angst and needing someone to hold on to, and has no problems. (I suppose he trusts them implicitly as well, which always helps.) His instincts tell him something, and you don't live as long as he has by not trusting them; he goes to the window, surveys the city for some time, and then positions himself in an armchair near the door and, gun at the ready, drops into a light, alert sentry's sleep.

Fade to black. End of Act I.

ACT II

Scene 1

The sun pours through the windows in Ben's apartment. Ben awakens slowly, finds that Deunan is still asleep, and gently extracts himself, making his way unsteadily into the bathroom. There he splashes water on his face, towels it off, and returns to the living room, intending to sit down in the chair Briareos is currently seated in, since he hasn't noticed that the 'borg is there yet.

Briareos: Rough night?

Ben starts violently.

Ben: You almost scared me to death--don't do that!

Briareos: Sorry. (He looks around.) You must've been angsting pretty hardcore last night; what happened? Or don't you want to talk about it? I can understand--

Ben: No, it's ok...part of my past coiled back and bit me, is all. You want something to drink?

Briareos: (getting up) I'll get it--what d'you want?

Ben: Nothing for me, thanks.

Briareos: Okay... (He heads for the kitchen, pauses as he spots the photo where Ben threw it the night before; he picks it up and contemplates it.) Hmm...part of the problem?

Ben: All of it.

Deunan: (slowly awakening) Mmm...hm? Ben? Where--oh. Morning. (She sees Briareos.) Hi, Bri...how long have you been here?

Briareos: I was here all night. I came over to see where you were after I got back from the store, and saw the door kicked in, so I came in; it was pretty obvious what happened. I had a funny feeling about something, so I spent the night on guard by the door.

Deunan: Oh...sorry about your door, by the way.

Ben: It's no problem. Thank you...thanks a lot, more than I can ever say. Thanks for...for being there, when I needed someone.

Deunan has no ready reply as he gets up and goes back into the bathroom.

Briareos: What happened to him?

Deunan: (rising and stretching) It's a long story; he's hurt, he needed someone. I hope you understand.

Briareos: Of course. I've been there too often to grudge anyone else a helping hand when they need it. And I trust you. (he does his version of a grin.) Who'd've thought, though..."Deunan Knute, Empath."

Deunan: "Briareos Hecatonchires, Wiseass." (she stops smiling and glances at the bathroom door, behind which the shower is running.) I'm worried, Bri. He's really hurting.

Using dissolved-in flashbacks and an undershowing, silent view of Deunan's explanation and Briareos' reactions, we get the idea that Briareos has been briefed without sitting through the whole story again.

Briareos: The poor guy. (The shower stops; momentarily the door between the bathroom and Ben's room can be heard opening and closing.)

Deunan: Tell me about it. All this time we wondered why he never made friends easily, why he never had a girlfriend, why he was so distant sometimes; he's afraid of making friends. Look at what happened to him last time. Briareos: Wow. That's rough...what's he going to do?

The door from Ben's bedroom opens and he emerges in his black riding leathers, buckling one boot.

Deunan: What're you doing?

Ben: I'm going out to find her. I have to settle this once and for all.

Briareos: What? Are you crazy?

Ben: In all likelihood. (He recovers his glasses, cleans them, and puts them on.) Not that it matters. (He pulls on a glove.) This will only end one of two ways. Either she wins, and she kills me, or something happens to change her mind. I won't attack her. I'll defend myself, but I won't kill her. Part of me at least still loves her.

Deunan: That's suicidal! I'm coming with you.

Ben: No. You're not. This isn't your fight. I've inadvertently involved you too much as it is, with that stupid crying fit...I still thank you, and I still owe you, but stay out of this.

Deunan: (rising, angry) The hell you say! I'm your friend, goddammit! This is tearing you apart inside, you're not even thinking straight! Sit down. Calm down. Let us help you. Think!

Ben: You think. I don't have time. Either I'll be back tonight, or I won't be back.

He turns to go; Briareos rises as well.

Briareos: If you won't listen to Deunan, then listen to me. You can't just go roaring off like this. You're a professional. Act like one.

That gives Ben pause; he stops short for a second, squares his shoulders--

And leaves. Fade to black.

Scene 2.

Ben is riding downtown, pissed off and reckless, listening to music too loudly and cutting corners too closely. Zooming around one corner, he almost runs down an unconcerned-looking pedestrian who is absorbed in a small black book.

Ben: (bringing the Garland to a screeching halt) Hey! Watch where you're walking!

Pedestrian: (looking up and squinting a little) Gryphon?

Ben: (recognizing pedestrian with a start) Vaughn?!

Vaughn: (cheerily) Morning! How's life?

CUT TO a restaurant; Ben and Vaughn are in a booth talking.

Ben: I thought sure you'd be dead by now; you never took Omega-2, as I recall.

Vaughn: Yes, well; I'm not going to die until I'm good and ready, in a time and place of my choosing, and I haven't picked yet. What about you? Did you ever resolve your...problem?

Ben: No; in fact, she's in town right now, gunning for me. She thinks I'm some kind of great evil, I don't understand it--she won't even tell me what I've done. And try as I might I can't figure it out on my own. Anyway...I was out trying to find her, or waiting for her to find me, when I almost ran you down--which reminds me, what're you doing here? How'd you get here?

Vaughn: I walked. Do you know how long it takes to walk here from Androzani Minor? I've been trying to catch up with you for 66 years, this is the first time you've stopped someplace long enough for me to do it.

Ben: But why have you been trying to find me?

Vaughn: There was something I wanted to ask you...I can't remember what it was now...oh well, it'll come back if it was important. (he looks around.) This place is nice; you keeping busy?

Ben: Yeah; I blew into town seven years ago and decided to stay, so I got a job where I can use my skills and experience to advantage.

Vaughn: You're a cop.

Ben: ESWAT.

Vaughn: Nifty. You know many people here? Ben: A few; the guys from my squad, I guess, but we don't hang much...

Vaughn: Mundanes?

Ben: Very. The couple who live across the hall from me are cool, though--they're ESWATs, too. C'mon, I'll see if they're home and introduce you--they know about where I'm from and all. You'll like them.

Vaughn: But what about Kei?

Ben: It's been 66 years. She can wait. (He gets up, pays the check, and leaves; Vaughn shrugs and follows.)

Fade to black.

Scene 3.

Ben, Vaughn, Deunan, and Briareos are sitting around Ben's apartment, discussing what to do.

Ben: I'm glad Vaughn happened along and threw some posidealons at me; it was stupid of me to go rushing off like that. Yeah, yeah, I know, "I told you so," I know. Oh, by the way, this is Vaughn, he's an old friend of mine--

Vaughn: I'm not that old, I'm only a couple of years older than I am--

Deunan: What?

(Briareos cocks his head quizzically.)

Vaughn: Than he is. Gryph knows what I meant.

Ben: "Brian, I don't think we're big enough to fit through this doorway."

Vaughn: Oh hush.

Deunan: Ummm...right.

Briareos: How did you get here? That's something Ben's never bothered to explain.

Vaughn: I don't know how he got here...I walked.

(Deunan and Briareos look at each other, then at Vaughn, then at Ben, then at each other.)

Ben: (sighs) Never mind...I stole my VF, remember? Oh, no, you don't, you'd left by that point.

Vaughn: Oh yeah.

Deunan: (to Briareos) Ever feel like you woke up, got out of bed, and stepped into a dream? Maybe I went out and got drunk last night after all.

Briareos: If this is what one of your dreams is like, leave me out of them from now on, ok?

Ben: I know, it sounds weird...fuck it, it is weird...

Vaughn: Perfectly normal to me.

Everyone: Shut up, Vaughn.

Ben: Anyway, we have larger problems at the moment...I have to get into better fighting trim, because like it or not, I'm gonna have to fight her. I stand by what I said before, though--I won't kill her. If that means I die, so be it, I won't kill her. I can't.

Vaughn: I can understand that. I'm not a killer either. You know that.

Deunan: You'd let her kill you.

Ben: I never said that. I just think I can avoid either fate, dying or killing. There has to be another way.

Briareos: Still an optimist...

Ben: Always, Bri, always. It got me through this far. (He smiles.) Before I go out and try to resolve this, though, I have to be prepared. I have to do some repair work and tuning on the Garland, and load up some extra clips...maybe I should get the PPC back working again.

Vaughn: Why not use the Griffin armor?

Ben: Too many memories...besides, it didn't help me any in 2296. And it would take a flong time to put back together.

Briareos: I just had an awful thought...what if she's packing something heavier than a Cyclone?

Ben: I expect she does. So do I, but I hope to whatever forces control this universe that I don't have to use it. (The telephone rings.) What the hell--? (He answers--it's Kei.) Kei!

Kei: Yeah, it's me. Listen. I know where you live. If you don't want your...friends...to get hurt, meet me downtown tomorrow afternoon and we'll settle this once and for all. And keep your friends out of this. They don't know what you are, and I don't want to hurt them. Unlike you, I give a shit what happens to the other people around.

Ben: What?! What are you talking about? Just what am I anyway? Aren't you ever going to tell me what I've done?

Kei: The fountain. Noon. Show.

The screen goes blank. Ben hangs up and goes back to his seat slowly, flopping limply into it.

Ben: Damn damn damn damn damn fucking damn. ANGST!

Deunan: (checking her watch) Twenty-two hours; that enough time?

Ben: I suppose...come on, you guys can help me get ready, at least...I want you to stay out of it, like she said. She doesn't want to hurt you, but if you fuck with her, my guess is she will. She seems to think she's serving some kind of greater good in trying to kill me. Acceptable losses are a very important concept to a WWWA trouble consultant.

He gets up and goes out to the garage, pulling the tarp off his Garland, and, opening the toolbox, sets to work with the other three aiding him. The entire night passes, the stereo blaring and the work progressing, until finally, Ben feels the machine is ready for combat. The four of them go back upstairs and crash just before dawn, Ben's alarm set.

Fade to black on a view of his alarm clock.

Scene 4.

It's just before noon. Ben pulls up to the curb near the fountain downtown on his Garland. No one is around, which is odd in the extreme for noontime in Olympus. Ben is wearing CVR-3 body armor, black with electric blue accents and his Eight-Ball Squadron flash painted on the shoulder plate. (It's been a long time since he wore this armor, and he didn't see fit to repaint it.) Strapped to his leg is some sort of heavy pistol; full clips of ammo encircle his waist. He puts down a foot and looks around; the place is absolutely deserted. It's eerie.

His ears catch the sound of a motorcycle; it's an unmistakable noise, the sound made by a Cyclone engine running on liquid fuel with the fusion reactor running nonetheless (better acceleration). Moments later the black VR-052 screams around a corner fifty or so yards in front of him and fires off a couple of missiles from one of the fairing pods. Ben revs his own machine and gets moving, dodging the flight of missiles as he pulls the Garland's front wheel momentarily from the pavement.

He passes the black Cyclone as the Garland's front wheel touches down again; the Cyclone rams into a tight turn, trying to get behind him, but he converts it and leaps to the top of a nearby building as more missiles reach for him. Kei responds by transforming her mecha as well. The incoming missiles vape some of those incomprehensible thingies that are on building roofs.

Vaughn: Fans, air conditioners, um...that sort of thing. Just thought you'd like to know.

Ben jumps his Garland off the corner of the building in the ensuing fireballishness, plummeting into a dumpster.

Ben: Fuck!

He digs himself out of the dumpster as Kei jumps her Cyclone over the building and lands in the end of the alley, then hefts same dumpster and throws it at her. She blows it cruelly away with a pair of forearm missiles, then pegs Ben's mecha in the upper arm with the EP-37. Red lights blossom on his panel as he bashes through the nearest convenient wall into a building. Ben's status screens indicate the left arm in yellow; it's damaged, but according to the screens it'll still work. He unslings his 25mm as he realizes where he is...inside a department store...

Ben: Oh, wonderful. What next, McDonald's? (he smiles.) Actually, would that be all bad?

Kei comes blasting through the wall at this point; Ben heads for the other side of the store, moshing aside random aisles of things and taking time out to toss a large metal basket thing full of beach towels at the Cyclone, which, blinded, spins into the toy aisle. A small child looks up from busily pestering his mother to buy him a radio-controlled Bonaparte.

Child: Mommy! Can I get one of those too?

Mother: I don't know...it looks awfully expensive...

Kei gets to her feet and tears away towels and the like, snarling with extreme pissedoffishness, targets the fleeing Garland, and fires a nifty-looking burst that rakes across one of its legs. In its cockpit, the leg turns red on the status screen and a large warning flashes: "BALANCE NEGATIVE".

Ben: AAAAAARRRGGGHH! Fuck me with a #12 piledriver and 40 square feet of curare-dipped wrought iron cemetary fencing without lubrication!

The machine slams into the floor in a dignity-free manner, its weapon clattering into Housewares.

Kei: Got you now... (She closes in.)

Ben: (attempting to right his mecha without much success) Oh, shit. (He gets it turned over and brings its hands to its chest as though it were praying.)

Kei: Praying won't help you now. (She sights.)

Ben: Why, Kei, I'm surprised at you. You know I'm not a praying man.

The Garland's forearm missile pods pop open and he fires all four of the missiles. There are large and picturesque explosions around the Cyclone and a large portion of the left side of its chest and shoulder armor goes flying into Automotive. The Garland scrambles to its feet, recovers its weapon, and, bashing a hole into the wall, limps out into the street and is struck by a small four-treaded tank.

Leona: Hey, watch it, you!

Ben: Rrrgghh... (He blows off one of the tank's front treads.) Fuck off.

Leona: AAAAAAAA! BONAPARTE!

Again the Cyclone comes leaping out of the blue, again making its own door instead of using the perfectly good one Ben so obligingly provided it with. Ben flips his mecha onto its back and attempts to get up, then realizes that the lower part of its left leg is spinning lazily into the carport at the restaurant down the street.

Kei: Any more neat tricks?

Ben: Not unless you count dying a horrible death...gonna tell me why now?

Kei: You never give up, do you?

Ben: Learned it from you.

Kei has nothing more to say. She raises her EP-37 again. Ben's brow furrows with the effort it takes him not to close his eyes; he is determined to watch her kill him. Again. As she fires, though, they close. And open.

Ben: ?????

Vaughn has dropped down from somewhere and taken the shot that was meant for Ben's cockpit; his chest is smoking and his shirt is toast. It now appears that the state seal of Vermont is charred cotton.

Vaughn: She is mad at you, isn't she?

Kei: Get out of the way, Vaughn. I don't have any quarrel with you.

Vaughn: Morning, Kei, nice to see you again...how's life?

Kei: (raises the EP-37 a bit more) Vaughn, get out of my way.

Deunan, in a Guges-D landmate, and Briareos, in full combat armor, at this point begin dragging the incapacitated Garland away. Straight back, so Vaughn is always still in Kei's line of fire. A surprised look forms on Ben's face as he realizes that a) he's alive, b) he stands a good chance of staying that way, c) these three butted in when he told them to stay out, d) Vaughn is not wearing armor, and e) he still doesn't know what's wrong with Kei. Kei meanwhile has noted what's going on here and tries to put a shot past Vaughn, who blocks it with an unprotected hand. He notes with interest the fact that he is not immediately thereafter on his knees on the ground grabbing at a charred stump and screaming.

Vaughn: (looking at his hand) Interesting. Lemme know when you're done, Kei.

Kei attempts to jump over Vaughn and get Ben back in her line of fire. She is therefore quite surprised when Vaughn matches her leap and moshes her into the store again.

Vaughn: (peering concernedly into the faceplate of Kei's CVR) You are ok, aren't you, Kei?

Kei gets her feet under him and kicks him off. Across the street.

Vaughn: (getting up) Now that wasn't very nice. You must be really upset. Chill out. Have some M's. (He takes a brown bag out of his pocket; it drools brownness with multicolored streaks on his hand.) Oops, never mind, they seem to have melted. (He drops the mess.)

Kei is stalking across the street; she has dropped the EP-37, either broken or out of ammo, and is drawing her Gallant. The faceplate of her armor is open, her nose is bleeding, and she doesn't look at all pleased. Vaughn by now looks, for Vaughn, extremely upset, as he has caused her nose to bleed. Ben, Briareos, and Deunan have made good their escape. Kei puts the Gallant away, drops the pulped Cyclone from her back like so much junk (which it is at this point), pivots on her heel, and walks away growling. Vaughn follows.

Vaughn: If you don't mind my asking...

Kei: (whirling angrily) WHAT?!

Vaughn: Two things. One: why are you so mad at Gryphon?

Kei: You never saw the film, did you?

Vaughn: Not...don't watch much TV...

Kei: No...it was a holodisc. Footage from the securicam in the hallway at the Seventh Street School.

Vaughn: Ah. Ok...what was it?

Kei: It was him. The real him. The one he kept hidden from all of us. Even me.

Vaughn: (raises an eyebrow quizzically) So what's so bad about that?

Kei: Here. (She tosses him a small holodisc which was around her neck on a chain.) It tells the story a lot better than I can. Trust me...when you've seen that, you'll want to kill him yourself.

Vaughn: I sincerely doubt that...and I'm really sorry about your nose.

Kei: My nose doesn't matter...

Vaughn: Sure it does. It's bleeding. I did it. I feel bad.

Kei: At least you didn't break my heart.

She disappears into an alley. Vaughn shrugs and wanders off the other way, wondering where the hell Ben's apartment is again and realizing that he never got to question 2, which he can't remember anyway.

Fade to black.

Scene 5.

Ben is stretched out on the sofa in his apartment, a cold cloth on his head and his hand hanging into a bowl of water. A large glass is balanced on his chest and supported by his other hand. Most of him is covered by a very large blue blanket/sleeping bag kind o'thing. Deunan is sitting in a chair at the end of the sofa by his head, reading a copy of How To Kill magazine. Briareos is sitting in another chair at the other end of the sofa, looking out at the city. Vaughn is nowhere to be seen. It's dark.

Ben: Annnnnnnnnrrgggnnnnnnnnnffffffffuck...where's Vaughn?

Deunan: He's over at our apartment watching some disc...said he'd be back in a second. I think he's trying on some of Bri's shirts, too.

Ben: Oh...those won't fit too badly, now will they? Ker- hang... (He makes some weak gesture with his left hand, then winces and sticks it back in the water.)

The door opens (it's still broken) and Vaughn comes in, holding a holodisc in his hand and looking rather upset. He holds up the disc so it glitters in the light; Ben focuses on it. Stamped on the disc is "WDFWWWA40427^[XA". He's also wearing a tent, er, shirt, button up, tasteful striped pattern.

Ben: Hi, Vaughn...what's that?

Vaughn: A very big shirt. I can buy a T-shirt somewhere tomorrow, can't I?

Ben: No, the disc.

Vaughn: You don't know?

Ben: No...should I?

Vaughn: Uh...yes...I'd say it's vaguely important. It's bullshit, but it's vaguely important. (He sticks it into the player by the HTV and hits PLAY. Everyone is immediately treated to a neat, gory movie starring Ben as a psychotic murderer with an ElektroMax MkIII and a thing for small children. Basically, he mows a bunch of schoolchildren down as Kei comes around a corner, then takes a potshot at her, wounding her shoulder, before diving through the door. A second later he comes back through the door, looking confused, and Kei lets him have it in the chest, laying him out on the floor. Even hard-boiled Deunan can't watch parts of this. Ben is mortified. As it concludes he can think of only one thing to say.)

Ben: (in a low, Carlinesque tone) Fuuuuuck meeeee...

Deunan: I think I'm going to be sick.

Briareos: Lucky for me I can't do that anymore. God, that was gross!

Vaughn: No, I'm--never mind.

Ben: Everyone...I swear to you that was not me. I don't know how it was done, but I had nothing to do with it. The only time I appear in that entire film is when I come back through the door and she shoots me. I saw the other guy, whoever it was, run by me, and it confused the hell out of me--you saw how confused I looked.

Vaughn: Hmmm. I wasn't there...I believe I was checking out some nebulae at the time...

Deunan: No wonder she wants your balls on a tray.

Ben: That's what I love about you, Deunan...your fine command of the more refined points of our language. (He cradles his head in his hands.) Oh Christ.

Vaughn: Yes.

Briareos gets up and stands at the end of the couch; he reaches down and puts a hand on Ben's shoulder.

Briareos: I don't think that was you...

Deunan: Me either.

Vaughn: I've seen dopplegangers...

Everyone: ?!

Vaughn: Never mind...I don't think you did it either. I'm speaking English but not the same language again.

Ben: I still have that hat.

Deunan: No you don't...I threw it out.

Ben: WHAT?!

Briareos: She's kidding...I talked her out of it. We washed it. It's over on top of the fridge.

Ben: Wow...that was some kinda fucked up disc...I guess I know now why I was practically going to be executed at dawn...lucky for me someone on board didn't buy that disc...

Vaughn: Who was that?

Ben: Yuri...and Mughi, of course. Hey, anyone who gave him that many Oreos couldn't be that evil...(He tries a grin and fails miserably.)

Vaughn: THAT'S what I wanted to ask you! Where's Mughi?!

Ben: Still with Yuri, the last I knew...we keep in touch... (He pauses and looks momentarily both haunted and extremely guilty about something.)

Vaughn: Oh. Hmmm...have to look them up. Haven't talked with Mughi in a while. Still, this doesn't help our basic problem.

Deunan: Somehow, I don't think that woman can be reasoned with...she's over the edge. I've seen it before.

Briareos: You've been it before.

Deunan: Shut up!

Ben: So it's hopeless? I won't buy that...I have to try to find some way to refute this thing. Some way to prove I didn't do it.

Vaughn: Hmm...now the question is..."How?" Ben: The other me itself would be easy enough to fake, especially if you had access to, say BU-55c or later Boomers and a BioSculptTM tank...it's the proving that's the problem. Once Kei gets an idea into her head, that's it--and seeing what she thought was me mowing down all those kids must've put her through some severe hell. She's not going to listen to anything I say. So how the hell...?

The telephone rings. Ben looks particularly reluctant to answer it. After all, it's either Kei or his mother, neither of whom he wants to talk to right now. Vaughn reaches over and tabs it on; as Ben feared, it's Kei, pissed off and with tape on her nose.

Vaughn: Worcester Insane Asylum. I see you've taken care of your nose.

Kei: ...right...this isn't over yet. It's never going to be over, not until one of us is dead. Have you watched the disc yet?

Vaughn: Uh huh.

Kei: And?

Vaughn: Neat special effects, but the scripting was weak...overall I give it a 5.6. The guy who did Ben did a good job, though. Almost had me fooled for a second there...until he blew off that kid's head, the one that was hanging onto his leg. That kinda gave it away.

Kei: (looking shocked) You mean to tell me you believe him?

Vaughn: Ayup...oh, by the way, you owe me a shirt. Nononononono. Let me try that again. I don't think Ben would do that any more than I would. I'm amazed you were silly enough to believe it.

Kei: I was there, Vaughn. I saw it. There's no way it could be false. I tried for the longest time to convince myself it was faked, but there's just no way it could be...(she appears close to tears, then slams a largish lid over that pot of emotion and becomes cold and hard again.) No. There's no way. I'm sorry, Vaughn, but as much as I want to, there's no way I can believe he's innocent.

Vaughn: Do you need the disc...or can I stop paying attention to it?

Kei: Funny. Really fucking funny. Don't you understand how much it hurt me to find out what he really was? Dammit, I loved him once!

Vaughn: No, actually, I was serious. I'd rather not have people watching it, 'cause it's rather disgusting. And that last part was pretty obvious at the time. I've basically given it up, but that's no reason for you to.

Kei looks puzzled and recoils a bit from the screen, struck speechless for a moment. Then she recovers and continues.

Kei: Never mind that now. If you won't help me, then stand out of my way. I'm coming for him at midnight tonight, and God help anything that gets in my way. If you three don't want to get hurt, then I'd suggest you get away from the area by midnight.

Deunan: You bitch--glmmph--!

Briareos has wisely silenced his partner to keep her from escalating the situation further, using a time-honored, tried-and-true method--palming her face. She attempts to get free--yeah, right--and peers over his fingers to see what's going on.

Kei: I feel sorry for you all...you've been taken in just like I was. Well, I'm not falling for it any longer. I'll be there at midnight. If you are too, I won't be responsible for whatever happens to you.

Vaughn: I still haven't chosen yet. Nobody dies. I seem to be running out of friends over time. I don't want to lose Ben, or Briareos, or Deunan--or you...

Kei: Have it your way. (The phone goes dead.)

Vaughn: Have it my way??? Burger King??? Nonononono.

Deunan: (twisting free of Briareos) You jerk! Why didn't you let me tell her off? She needs some serious attitude adjustment.

Ben says nothing. He's got his face buried in his hand and isn't really doing a lot of anything right now. Vaughn cracks all his knuckles, his knee, his neck, both ankles, and his left big toe. Briareos spreads his hands wide, shrugs, and goes back to his place by the window, looking out at the city. Deunan sits back down and runs a friendly hand through Ben's annoyingly large hair. (It's not worth seven bucks. Even after 300 years.) Deunan: Don't worry...she's not going to win that easily...

Ben: No. You aren't getting involved. Pack up your stuff and get out. I don't want you getting hurt. I'm running out of friends fast too.

Briareos: Pack up? Get out? Leave you here to die? Fuck that. (He begins cleaning his 20mm.)

Vaughn: I'm not especially worried. Her weapons didn't seem to damage me. I didn't know I could do that. Unless she's carrying something heavier...

Ben gets painfully up from the sofa, stumbles into his room, and digs something out of the closet. When he returns, limping, he's wearing his battered CVR-3 again.

Deunan: Are you crazy? What do you think you're doing?

Ben: Leaving. If you won't...I will. When Kei gets here, tell her I left, so neener neener neener, now she's gotta find me again. Thpppppt. She won't hurt you. She may get pissed and blow the building out from under you, but she won't deliberately kill you.

Deunan: Leaving? Where will you go?

Ben: Dunno. I haven't been to Vulcan for a while...

Briareos: Don't joke around. We'll pull through this...we've been in tougher spots.

Ben: Yah, right. When?

Briareos: Um, well, um...okay, so we haven't. We can still handle it. We're the best.

Vaughn: "I'm the best there is at what I do. Trouble is, what I do isn't very nice."

Ben: Shut up. Stop quoting dufii.

Vaughn: Okay...anybody for a burger?

Deunan: (checking her watch) We've got time...if she comes when she said she would...

Ben: Don't worry about that, she was a 3WA trouble consultant. They're always on time.

Briareos: Here's a radical idea: Why don't we just not be here when she shows up?

Ben: Okay, wonderful idea. Then she'll just destroy the entire city looking for me. Brilliant idea. (He does an elaborate thumbs-up.)

Vaughn: Food?

Ben: Fine, okay. Let's go. (He takes off the CVR again and puts on his blue bathrobe.) Let's go.

Vaughn: Let's leave a note. Just in case she shows up before we get back.

Ben: Okay, fine. (He gets a pad and paper and writes, speaking as he does.) "Dear Kei. Went out for dinner. Back soon. Cold cuts in the fridge. Extra ammo in the third drawer on the left. Have fun. Ben & Co." There. Happy? (Vaughn nods and heads for the door. Ben shrugs and sticks the Post-It to the door as they leave.)

Fade to black. End of Act 2.

ACT III

Scene 1
Ben and company are heading into a Friendly's, chatting and almost managing to forget that at least one of them is probably going to die before the night is over. Ben is mulling over the menu when Vaughn shouts something and kicks his knees out from under him. A particle beam zips over his head, neatly charring off a bit of hair and blasting out a potted plant. Everyone screams and scatters, Deunan and Briareos duck and draw their hold-out weapons, and Vaughn stands in the middle of the room looking around. He spots Kei in one of the booths, covered behind the seat and firing over it, smiles, and waves.

Vaughn: Morning again, Kei, fancy meeting you here. Can I buy you a milkshake?

Kei: ?!!?!?!

She shrugs and fires a couple more times, each time nearly hitting Ben as he crawls rapidly toward the rear of the restaurant.

Ben: Why do I bother? Why why why why why? Deunan: Freeze! ESWAT! You're under arrest. Put down your weapon and come out with your hands on your head.

Kei puts a shot into the molding next to her head, setting off a fire alarm.

Briareos: Well, it was worth a shot, I suppose.

Vaughn: I suppose this means I don't get my burger now.

Kei breaks cover, running toward the rear after Ben, who is escaping out the back. She puts two shots into the doorframe as he gets outside; Deunan shouts a warning, then fires two shots at Kei as the latter tears the door open again. One shot clips her shoulder, making a rather unhappy camper of her.

Vaughn: Ow! Now why'd you have to go and do that, Deunan?

Deunan: Shut up! (She runs for the back, motioning for Briareos to do some cop thing they've got worked out in advance. He complies, heading out the front and running around the building. Vaughn looks confused for a moment, then walks toward the back, waving nonchanantly at mundanes cowering under tables and pausing to pick up Kei's discarded burger. She won't be needing it now, after all...she's too busy.)

Outside, Ben has stolen someone's motorcycle (poor them) and gone zooming off down the street. Kei follows suit, neatly body-checking a young man in red leathers off a really cool- looking street machine, revving it, and roaring off in a small lightning storm.

Kaneda: Hey! (He doesn't have the opportunity to say anything further, as Deunan and Briareos rather unconcernedly step on him running after the two bikes.)

Briareos is keeping up with the two cycles rather well; Deunan pauses to kick another kid off his bike, a rather crappy-looking blue thing with an off-center headlight, and roars off after Ben and Kei.

Tetsuo: Hey!

Vaughn walks by.

Vaughn: Don't worry, it'd just get you into trouble anyway. Trust me, you're better off without it.

Vaughn continues nonchalantly after the four others, figuring he'll catch up later. Doing mach speeds in the city is generally considered bad, after all, let alone warp.

The chase is, to say the least, interesting. Kei's machine vastly outperforms either Ben's or Deunan's, and, well, Briareos's too, I guess you could say. He almost catches her at one point, but misjudges his leap and goes rolling into some trash cans, to lie there for a while contemplating the inside of his head, at which point Vaughn helps him up and they continue on. Kei is, of course, still shooting at Ben the entire time the latter attempts to use his superior knowledge of the city to out maneuver her. He turns into a subway station, keeping himself kinda under control down the escalator and leaping out onto the tracks. Kei doesn't even hesitate to chase him. Deunan wonders briefly why she's doing this before following the both of them. Meanwhile, Briareos has commandeered a jeep and he and Vaughn are following above ground, using some kind of odd cyber-tracking thingamabob. As he enters another station, Ben sees an oncoming train; shouting something that sounds suspiciously like "FUUUUCK!", he manages to get his bike up onto the platform. Kei does the same. Deunan shouts something unintelligible as she's semi-blinded by the headlights of the train, but manages to duplicate the feat; the three cycles go up another escalator, scattering mundanes everywhere, and burst back out onto the street, where Deunan almost gets run over by Briareos in his jeep.

They eventually reach Olympus's airport; Ben utterly ignores airport security, bashing through the gate and zooming out across the runway. Kei is right after him and Deunan right after her. The jeep doesn't even notice the severe tire damage spikes which the cycles evaded, and Briareos runs the machine across the tarmac on sparking rims as Vaughn admires the trail they're leaving.

Just before Ben banks his cycle around a sharp corner into an alley between two hangars, Kei fires a couple more shots at him; one of them appears to connect and the bike goes over on its side, skidding into the side of one of the hangars with a resounding crash. Ben scrambles to his feet and runs erratically into the alley. Deunan grimly applies more throttle, desperate now to catch the red bike before Kei can do something really mean, like run Ben down with it.

As she clears the corner, she realizes she needn't've worried; both Ben and the other cycle are gone. The jeep skids to a halt by her a second or two later, slamming into the hangar as well. Briareos and Vaughn jump out as Deunan gets off her cycle.

Vaughn: Interesting. Where'd they go?

Deunan: I don't know...I think she hit him once or twice, though. Where the hell--

She is interrupted by the sound of turbine engines starting. A couple of seconds later, with a tremendous crashing roar, a fighter aircraft comes crashing out of the hangar to their right, utterly ignoring the puny corrugated aluminum door. It taxi es rapidly to the ramp, pivots with rudder, and sits for a moment as its engines heat up for takeoff. Vaughn immediately recognizes it. It's built a bit like an F-14, but for the larger engine sections, the odd bulges at the nose, and the huge booster jets on its back. Its black and white paint job is accented by blue striping. Under the cockpit window is a Robotech Defense Force logo; on its tailfins are painted WWWA symbols. "PILOT CMDR B HUTCHINS", the lettering under the RDF logo reads. An eight-ball is emblazoned on both wings and the number 1 on the side of the boosterpack.

Vaughn: Hmm. Didn't know he still had that.

Deunan: What the fuck--?

Briareos: I haven't seen anything like that in...well...a while. Reminds me of something I saw on TV once when I was a kid.

The VF-1FS Hyper Valkyrie powers up; Ben, in the cockpit, rams the throttle open and it blasts down the runway. As the gear clears the ground, it retracts, and the Valkyrie immediately shifts to Guardian mode, at which point Deunan falls on the ground and Briareos's jaw drops (?).

About then, another of the hangars makes a decent impression of an exploding structure as Kei blasts out of the roof in some form of hugemongous flying powered armor, somewhere approximating the size of the Valkyrie. To Briareos and Deunan, it's the biggest landmate they've ever seen. To Vaughn, it's a Gundam Mobile Suit.

Vaughn: Well, nothing to do now but sit back and watch the fireworks...

Kei raises her machine's right arm, which is holding a large rifle-like device, and as she gains altitude, sights in on the receding Valkyrie. Then she fires, and the Gundam's beam rifle taps the plasma in the central power reactor to make a nifty charged particle beam, which it then spits at the VF. Ben shouts something loud and obscure, pops the Valkyrie back into fighter mode, and dodges to the left, banking around in a very tight turn. His fingers tap a couple of triggers and missiles dro p from under his wings, corkscrewing picturesquely toward the Gundam. Kei blocks the missiles with her left arm shield as her beam rips apart a couple of blocks further into town.

Ben: Shit...I'm hosed...I wish I had an Alpha, just so I could Scott Bernard her for effect...

And so it goes, Ben dodging beam blasts and popping off shots with his GU-11 and head lasers, having run out of missiles rapidly. His Valkyrie could easily outdistance the Gundam, but Ben somehow doesn't think his patience will last as long as Kei's, and leaving will just prolong the situation. He wants it to end. Now. He slows and converts his Valkyrie fully to Battloid mode. He hovers fifty meters away, waiting.

Kei: You've decided to stop running?

Ben: Running? I'm not running...I'm waiting. (They hover at an impasse. Then Kei fires another blast, just as Ben breaks left and fires off a long burst from the GU-11. Kei's blast takes the Valkyrie low in the abdomen, doubling it over and knocking it to the ground, as Ben's burst tracks across the Gundam, destroying some armor and blowing the charging coils of the beam rifle to bits in a picturesque blue-white fireball.)

Kei: Good shot. Now I'll just have to dismember you. (She reaches back and draws the Gundam's beam saber, igniting it; the beam blade springs into crackling life.)

Ben: Oh, shit.

Vaughn: Oh, shit. He doesn't have a melee weapon, does he?

Deunan: How am I supposed to know?

Vaughn shrugs. Up above, Kei hits the thrusters hard, diving in on the grounded Valkyrie; Ben throws it aside and Kei buries her beam blade almost to the hilt in concrete. She rips it free as Ben gets his machine to its feet; the damage to the cent ral torso is nasty-looking, but not all that debilitating. Sirens approach in the distance. In the cockpit of his Valkyrie, Ben hurriedly studies the scans he has of the Gundam and checks with his own memory. He has an idea. Ducking left, he rams the throttle open and very suddenly gains a great deal of altitude. Guiding the Valk through a flip, he comes down behind the Gundam, which is already turning, and snags the other beam saber out of its socket on the Gundam's back.

Kei: And what're you going to do with that, beat me to death? You can't power it, idiot.

To accentuate her words, she slams her beam saber to its hilt in the Valkyrie's right side. The Valkyrie reacts by falling back, aiming its feet at her, and blasting the thrusters wide open, which effectively separates the two mecha, as well as sending them tumbling aimlessly in alternate directions. Ben gets unsteadily to his feet, checking the damage; power coupling damaged, parts of the drive train not responding... this would take a while to fix, assuming he survived. For now he turns his attention toward finding a way to convince the beam saber to work. The power linkage for the once-upon- a-time Valkyrie beam saber (the plan never came through) could be made to work...he wonders, out of the corner of his mind, if by some weird chance the connectors would match up and he'd be incredibly lucky.

The saber springs to life.

Kei's jaw drops.

Vaughn, Deunan, and Briareos cheer.

Ben throws his machine into a run and sabers clash. Buildings get hacked apart, mecha get kicked around, the fight carries all the way into downtown Olympus as both combatants use buildings for cover and fire the odd burst of ranged fire at each other, given the opportunity. At the foot of the arcology, with nowhere else to go and the ESWAT Armored Division all around them going "DARRG?!", the two face off for their final combat. Ben has lost all patience; he drives his machine forward for a final attack, screaming wildly. The point of his blade drives through the Gundam's shield, through its arm, and sinks deep into its chest as Kei's own weapon rips his left arm off at the shoulder. The Gundam staggers back, the beam saber dropping from the Valkyrie's hand as the arm holding that hand falls to the ground; the Gundam's own saber flickers, then goes out, and the machine crashes heavily to its back.

Kei sits in the cockpit of the Gundam, desperately trying to get the emergency ejection system back on line. All power is off and that's making life rather difficult for the electronics at the moment. Ben makes his machine get to its feet, unslings the GU-11 offhanded, and walks over to the Gundam, standing over it.

Kei: Well, what are you waiting for, you bastard? Kill me, get it over with! You've won. What more do you want?

Ben: I don't want anything. I'm not a murderer. I didn't do it. I'm not going to kill you. (He throws the GU-11 away.) I love you.

Kei: --! (Words cannot describe how wide her eyes are at this point in time.)

Ben turns his mecha around, picks up its arm, and walks away. Kei, meanwhile, gets the ejection system to work; the head and upper chest of the Gundam break away, convert to a small V/STOL aircraft, and pause a moment before pivoting and streaking a way into the upper atmosphere.

Fade to black on the wrecked Gundam.

Scene 2
In a hangar near the one which once housed the Valkyrie, Ben is working on it. He's reattached the arm and is now working on the main power couplings to the warp engines. Deunan enters the hangar and taps gently on the toolbox with a wrench.

Ben: (turning) Huh? Oh, hi, Deunan. What's up?

Deunan: Nothing much...I just got a call from HQ. They tell me air traffic picked up a high-atmospheric disturbance a while back. Like the exit of a transatmospheric rocket, only nothing ever came down.

Ben: Yeah...that was Kei leaving. I picked it up on the Valkyrie's sensor logs last night. She's left the system, probably because she's out of vacation time. I'll have time to get the Valk patched up and get the hell out of here before she comes back. (He finishes up what he was doing, closes the armored cover, and starts putting away his tools.) Make that, I had time to patch it up...now all I have to do is pack. (He looks around.) Where's Vaughn?

Deunan: I don't know. He said he was going for a walk last night...I didn't see him again.

Ben: Well, he's left too then...probably looking for Mughi...

Deunan: Who is this Mughi person?

Ben: A really great sofa.

Deunan: ?

Ben: Never mind.

CUT TO Scene 3
The cockpit of what appears to be a bright red Klingon Bird of Prey. Kei is sitting at the controls, tapping irritatedly on the dashboard with a pen. There is a brief flashback of Ben's last line to her. A light pops on up on the upper panel indicating that Airlock 1 has been opened. She rises, turning and drawing her sidearm as the cockpit door opens up and Vaughn steps through.

Kei: You!

Vaughn: Yes you! Stand--nonononono. Morning. Mughi about?

Kei: You...are very strange. (She puts away her gun.) I suppose you still believe him?

Vaughn: I think he made it pretty clear today that he's not the psychotic killer you think he is...you are after all still standing there...not one with the already polluted atmosphere of the planet Earth.

Kei: I know...I can't figure him...but then, the psychos are always the unpredictable ones.

Vaughn slaps his forehead.

Vaughn: Gaaah! By the way, the food synthesizer here can make milkshakes, can't it? Think I'll split a chocolate with Mughi.

Kei: He's not here. He's with Yuri on Yocha.

Vaughn: Damn. You have coordinates for Yocha?

Kei: On the chart.

Vaughn peruses the chart, scribbles some coordinates on the back of his hand, and turns, then turns back. Vaughn: I'm going now, then...it'll take me a little while to walk. See you later...and I just want you to think about something for a while...42. Nonononono, not that. Hang on, it'll come back to me. Oh, yes, I remember--think about what he told you. He meant it, you know.

Kei: How do you know that?

Vaughn: I know everything. I just don't know that I know everything all the time. (He leaves.)

Kei sits back down at the controls and begins tapping the open space on the board with the pen again. She appears lost in thought. Eventually, a single tear runs down her cheek and sparkles against the controls.

Fade to black.

Scene 4
Ben stands amid the wreckage of his life, packing his things into the storage compartments on his Valkyrie. He is very depressed, crying quietly, and moves with a dull resignation to his fate. Deunan walks over from a nearby building and leans on a n air intake.

Deunan: You don't have to go, you know.

Ben: (turning) Yes I do...I can't stay here now. I can't stay anywhere in this arm of the galaxy.

Deunan: But why? She backed down, she ran--

Ben: She retreated. She'll be back, and when she gets back I have to be gone. Besides, there's no way I can put my life here back together now. I've stayed too long already. It's time to move on and start over. (He slams the last compartment.) I hear Hoth is nice this time of year...

Deunan: I'll miss you...we'll both miss you. You're a good friend.

Ben: Thanks. It means a lot to me, more than you can know...and I wish I didn't have to go...but I do. (He smiles.) I think I gave her something to think about, though...who knows, maybe all this will be resolved soon.

Deunan: What's "soon" for you, though? I'm human, my life is short. You're immortal. Bri may be here when you come back...but chances are I won't.

Ben: I can't help that...I'm sorry. Sometimes I forget.

Deunan: It's okay. (There is a long silence.) So...I guess this is goodbye.

Ben: I guess. (He stands for a moment, then draws her into a hug; they stand, silent, for a long time, then separate. Deunan gives him a quick kiss and walks slowly away.)

Ben begins preflighting the Valkyrie, removing the Remove Before Flight tags, etc. Briareos has come outside and is watching him silently, arms crossed. When Ben turns to face him, he speaks.

Briareos: Deunan couldn't convince you to stay, eh?

Ben: I can't, Bri; you know I have to go as much as she does.

Briareos: I know. We'll miss you.

Ben: And I'll miss you. We had some good times, the three of us.

Briareos: Uh huh...like last year's Christmas party, when Deunan decided she was damn well going to beat your score at STUN Runner, no matter how many drinks it took?

Ben: Heh. Never STUN Run while drunk. (He grins; the two of them begin laughing, and don't stop for some time.) Briareos...there's something I want you to know, before I go.

Briareos: Yeah?

Ben: The other night...Deunan and I...we didn't--

Briareos: I know. I never doubted it.

Ben: Good. I just wanted you to hear it from me. From the outside, after all, our relationship looks...strange. Kinda reminds me of a girl I knew in high school--well, never mind.

Briareos: Strange is one word for it... (There is a long pause.) Well...I suppose this is it. (He extends a hand, which is shaken for some time.) Take care of yourself. I hope you can work this out.

Ben: I have hope, Bri...for the first time in years, I have hope. (He embraces the big 'borg, then releases him.) I'll be back. If it's at all within my power I'll be back.

Briareos: We'll be here.

Ben climbs into his Valkyrie, fires it up, taxies to the middle of the rather cratered street, and blasts away, vanishing into the sky. Briareos stands watching his vapor trail long after he's disappeared. Deunan joins him and they stand together as it starts to get dark.

Pull back slowly to a final view of the entire city in the gathering dark, then fade to black.

THE END

Storyboard by Benjamin D. Hutchins and Vaughn Gross

Animation by Your Mind

Scripted by Benjamin D. Hutchins and Vaughn Gross from an original story idea by Benjamin D. Hutchins

Appleseed, all characters and situations thereof, were created by Masamune Shirow, as were the Dominion characters and situations which made a brief cameo.

Various other characters and situations who had brief appearances in this work were created by Katsuhiro Otomo, Yoshiyuki Tomino, and the people who designed the mecha of Macross and Mospeada.