"After the Crisis"

Priss was sitting on the terrace of her penthouse suite with a pencil and notepad waiting for ideas for new songs to come to her. She looks out over the city and is drawn to the bright orange light of the rising sun. Images begin to pour into her head and she has to close her eyes trying to slow everything down. This is not working she thought to herself; it would have been better to try writing a new album in New York. She was hoping that after all of this time she would be better equipped to deal with all of her memories but it seems they would still just hit her like a flood leaving her with nothing for her mind to hold on to. She put the notepad down and stood up ready to greet another day, after another sleepless night. She pauses at the doorway and goes back and picks up the notebook and looks to see what she had written last. Just one word stared back at her from the page, �Leon.� Without thinking she tosses the notebook across the room and into the wastebasket and heads to take a shower.

Macky comes out of the bedroom to hear the shower running and wonders if Priss actually got any sleep the night before. As he walks into the kitchen of the penthouse he walks into a small wastebasket, causing a notebook to fall out. He opens the cover and sees the only thing written there is Leon. He closes it back up and places it back into the wastebasket; somehow he did not think it was an accident that Priss put it there. He walked into the kitchen and decided to cook Priss breakfast and then he could focus on trying to get Nene to talk to him.

�

Miles away, Sylia is watching Nigel toss clothes into a duffle bag. �I know that I asked you to go into the city and check on Macky but I did not mean you needed to leave immediately!�

�What do you want me to do Sylia?� he asked with some frustration in his voice. �You kept me up all night telling me how worried you were about him and how you were not going to feel any better until you knew someone was there to look after him. So, I get up and start packing and now you don�t want me to leave.�

She wanted to insist that she was not being crazy, just that she needed to tell him something important but the frustration in his voice stopped her in her tracks. This was not the time to tell him that she would be having their baby; not when they were both upset over this whole thing with Macky. �I guess I�m being a little dramatic,� she replied softly. Then she wrapped her arms around him and gave him a passionate kiss. This time apart could be good for us, she thought to herself. Then she walked away and began planning how she would tell Nigel and Macky the good news when they returned.

�

Later that day, after working on the few songs she had finished in the recording studio. A limo brings Priss and Macky back to the hotel. As they sat in the car, she finds herself wondering if Macky was always this quiet; if so he would definitely be the polar opposite of Nene. She looked out the window as they made their way back to the city and saw the new AD Police headquarters down one of the streets, she could not stop herself from thinking back on the incident with the notebook and what it all really meant. Did she really want Leon back? Would he even take her back?

Her train of thought was cut off as the limo stopped in front of the hotel and she noticed Nigel standing out front. Macky noticed him as well and Priss observed a look on his face that was a mixture of apprehension and excitement. �I hope he is not here to drag me off back to the country,� he whispers; more to himself than to Priss.

She feels the need to reassure him and tells him, �Don�t worry about it. I�ll get out first and see what�s going on.� She stepped from the car and Nigel remained standing there with a face like stone. She could not read his expression, though really she had never been able to read Nigel, and he made no move to approach them. �Are you here to collect Macky?� she asked. �No, just check on him.� He replied.

She could not help the small smile that came to her face. She should have known that even if Sylia and Nigel were an item that he was not the type to barge in and do her bidding. �Well, come on up,� she tossed back and then she continued on her way into the hotel. Macky followed right behind her and Nigel caught up to them at the elevator. As they entered the room, she offered Nigel a beer and they sat on one of the plush sofas drinking in a comfortable silence. Macky was the only one who seemed at unease as he sat across from them with a strange expression on his face.

Once again Priss found herself seeking to comfort Macky by breaking the silence so she turned to Nigel and asked, �So, How is Sylia?�

�Pretty pissed at you,� he stated in a matter of fact tone. �Though I must say I don�t really share the same feelings.� Macky and Priss both looked a little surprised, so he continued by saying, �I know Macky needed to get away; Hell, so have I."

Priss let out a small laugh and said, �Feel free to hang around here as much as you want. I�m sure that Macky would enjoy your company more than mine.� She then walked towards the terrace, stopping just long enough to pluck her notebook from the trash. She closed the french doors behind her, leaving Nigel and Macky alone. As she sat down on the terrace again she began humming a tune in an attempt to clear her mind. She sat there watching the city buzz around beneath her and suddenly flashed back to falling towards the Earth, how she had seen the green and blue change and become a plethora of colors and shapes as she fell faster and faster towards the Earth. She closed her eyes and let her head fall back against the wall and then put the pen in her hand to paper and began to write without even looking at what she put down on the paper.

When she stopped minutes later her hand was cramping and she was a little scared to look down and see what she had written. She closed the cover without even looking and placed it down at her sides. Her manager had pressured her today, she only had written three songs for this new album and he was wanting to bring in a songwriter. She had flatly refused telling him that she would not recrd someone else�s music under any circumstances. In turn he gave her a deadline, she had only a few weeks to get the rest of the songs written or she would be forced to record whatever he brought her. She had been pissed and she could tell from the smug look on the guy�s face he considered it impossible for her to crank out all the songs she needed. She hated to admit that he may be right. With a sigh she stood up and walked back into the main room to find Nigel still sipping his beer on the sofa.

Without thinking she asked, �Want to go for a ride Nigel?� It had been way too long since she had been out on her bike and she desperately needed to clear her head. She was not sure why she had asked but she was pretty sure that he would decline.

She reached for her jacket and helmet as she heard him say, �Yeah, sure.� His voice was gruff and montone as usual but the response still surprised her. When she cast a glance over at Macky she could tell he was a little surprised as well.

�Well, I have a couple of bikes parked in the garage of this place,� she said with a smile. �Feel free to ride one of mine if you think you can handle it.� Nigel actually seemed to smile at that comment though you would have to have been watching pretty closely to see it. �No one on this Earth can make you a bike as powerful as I used to, I think I can handle it,� he tossed back. As he stood up he looked at Macky and said, �You had better stay inside.� Macky just nodded and continued to look back and forth between Nigel and Priss with a nagging suspicion.

After they walked out Macky went out onto the terrace hoping that he would be able to see the two of them ride off. There was something about the way Priss and Nigel were responding to each other that was nagging at him. He remembered being in the garage with Nigel before and when Priss would stop by he got the impression she was trying to get Nigel to open up. At the time he had thought it was a futile effort that no one seemed to break Nigel�s composure. Even after the years in the country house with Nigel and Sylia he was unsure if he ever smiled or really laughed; even in private with Sylia. A few seconds later he sees the two bikes accelerate out of the hotel�s garage and wondered if he was just being paranoid.

As Priss and Nigel hit the highways, Priss found herself restraining herself from accelerating as fast as she could go. It seemed like it had been forever since she had felt the wind at her back in this way and wished she had the road to herself. Then she looked over and saw Nigel on the bike beside her, but she didn�t see Nigel�s face she saw Leon McNichol. She looked away quickly and sighed. She guessed there was no place she could really put her memories behind her, not even on the open road.

After a while they came to a rest area along the side of the road and she pulled off to take a break, with Nigel following behind her. As they parked and removed their helmets she looked around and saw all of the lights of the city surrounding her. Not even particularly to Nigel she found herself saying, �Even when I was in New York, I constantly thought about this place. Good experiences and bad this city just kept calling to me.�

�I think it is the same for me,� Nigel commented quietly. �I have been in that country house with Sylia and I keep wondering what it is happening here.� Priss was surprised to hear Nigel opening up. She wondered if he had ever spoken to Sylia about how he felt. From the moment that she had discovered that there was something between the two of them she had always been curious as to what the two of them were like behind closed doors. Did he open up to her in ways he never had to anyone else?

She leaned back and stretched as she looked at all the lights around them. Suddenly she felt lips on hers and the distinct feeling of five o�clock shadow scratching against her face as Nigel moved his lips over hers, coaxing them apart. As she felt his tongue slide over her lips and into her mouth her eyes drifted closed and then she sees Leon�s face in her mind. She abruptly pushes him away and they are both left staring at each other gasping for breath. A mocking laugh escapes Priss and she looks away shaking her head. �There was a time that I would have given anything for this, but not anymore.� She then looked back at him and saw genuine surprise plastered on his face. �Go home and tell Sylia how you feel, you and I would never work.� Then she put her helmet back on and took off towards the hotel.

When she came back in she was surprised to see Macky sitting on the sofa as if he were waiting on her to return. �Did Nigel come back with you?� he asked. �No,� She replied and then discarded her jacket and helmet beside the door. �Did something happen?� he asked. She looked at him in surprise. What was that question about?

�No,� she continued. �I just wanted to come home.� Then she walked away and back out onto the terrace. �Did Macky suspect that Nigel had tried to kiss her?� she thought to herself.

�

Across the city, there is a government scientist sitting in a lab poring over his most recently acquired treasure; the collected research of Dr. Stingray. He smiles as he reads the papers and thinks to himself, �Prohibiting Boomer technology is a big mistake, it leaves us vulnerable to the rest of the world. I will show NeoTokyo just how important a weapon Boomers can become.�

�

Sylia wakes up from a nightmare and grabs for Nigel beside her, to find the bed empty. �That�s right,� she thought to herself. �He is in Tokyo checking on Macky.� The sunlight is beginning to pour into the room and she decides to go ahead and get out of bed. It felt so strange to her that Nigel would not be in bed beside her, but hopefully he will be able to convince Macky to come home soon. She could scarcely believe it had already been two weeks since he had left.

She walks downstairs to start making herself breakfast and turns on the television to break the eirie silence of the house. It is on one of those 24 hour news stations and there are various figures on the stage discussing Boomer technology. One political pundit that she had previously noted as being staunchly against Boomers was now stating that he approved of the application of Boomer technology in certain areas. He cites that Boomers were necessary in restoring the city after the big earthquake. The other commentators then immediately bring up the destruction caused by the Boomer Revolution. As they begin to argue, she snorts with disgust and turns the television off. When will these scientists learn that as soon as you mass produce Boomers again, everything will start all over again.

�

Nene is leaving the AD Police headquarters and heading the usual diner where she meets Linna for their evening meal. She finds herself thinking about Macky and wondering if he is safe. She had spoken to Sylia earlier that afternoon and learned that Nigel had come into the city to keep an eye on him. Though it had made her feel a little better she would not truly stop worrying about him until he was back in the country with Sylia. She wonders if going and talking to Priss directly would make any difference. Maybe it would be more helpful if she could talk Linna into going with her.

Later after they had finished their meal and were sipping their drinks, Nene brought up Macky. �So, don�t you think that it has been long enough for Macky to be in the city. I think Priss should be encouraging him to go home.� �Why should she?� Linna asked. �Macky already agreed to return when she leaves the city.� Nene sighed, she should have realized that it would be this way. Ever since Priss took off for the first time there had been something noticably different about Linna. Linna always defended Priss to everyone else and never wanted to hear that Priss was in the wrong. Why did she expect that this time would have been any different?

�Why are you taking her side?� Nene asked. Then without allowing Linna the chance to respond she blurted out, �Are you still in love with her?� She barely stopped to register the shock on Linna�s face before her anger took hold and she continued,�You know if you really love her so damn much you might as well confess because Priss must be a lesbian if she threw away a great guy like Leon.� Then she stood up and fished some money out of her purse; tossing it on the table and then walking away in a huff.

To Be Continued. . .

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