B.R.T. 16.17 - Not a baby.

 ***

Here she came, here it came, the awful thing that wasn't Tsugaru,
streams of nasty violet stuff drooling from its fanged teeth, its 
glowing eyes.  Closer and closer, with its jagged knife...

...and then it was standing in front of the catapult fitted to UltOp's
absurdly well-appointed trailer...the armed and powered-up catapult,
with pressure needles quivering at 10000 psi, with only a feather fall
on a pushbutton remaining to send anything slamming into the trailer's
heavily armored end door...the pushbutton on a console behind her
back.  She had the monster right where she wanted it...

...unfortunately, Screamy was right next to it. Not good...

And then the thing that was not Tsugaru began to smile wickedly.

"What do you have behind your back, little girl...?"

Slowly, calmly, it raised its pistol.  And then...

"I know!" screamed Screamy. "I know what she's hi'ing!"

"SCREAMY!"  screamed Cathodythe.  He was going to ruin ev-

The vile puppet-thing turned toward Screamy. 

"Prease don' be mad, San'a," said Screamy, hesitant, quiet, but
unstoppable in his innocence.  The poor dumb kid. 

"I won't be mad," said the monstrous thing, full of specious warmth.

It was no good.  Screamy still didn't get it. He was too little, he couldn't
really accept that Tsugaru had been destroyed, that this thing wasn't her.
When he finally understood, if he ever did, it would be too late...but the
girl had a terrifying thought that it wouldn't be over, not nearly...

"What is it, Screamy?" cooed the demonic thing.

"It's..."  Screamy trailed off.   There was a note of...regret?

"...it's a button!"

And then Cathy suddenly hit the floor, shoved down, out of the line
of fire, by Screamy, as he dove past her and slammed the button.
With a muffled roar, quicker than the eye, the catapult shot out, 
propelled the body that was Tsugaru straight through the door, 
breaking, shattering.  Then it was done, and the body of Tsugaru
lay like a battered rag doll on the ground, surrounded by shattered
steel and stained in spattered violet...still, and silent. 

The vile White Serpent stared, shocked, at the tiny wreck...

...and UltOp opened his eyes.

The children had done it!  The menace was gone from the trailer!
And that meant it was time for action...crippled or not, the Magyar
mechanoid had a few tricks left...up his sleeves, you might say...

In the trailer, wreathed in drifting dust and steam, Screamy helped
his friend to her feet. She looked in the youngster's eyes, and
saw the tears in them. 

"I tol' you, gobo'," said Screamy, with a sadness that didn't
belong to a child, "I'm no' a baby." 

 ***