Synopsis: The Origin of Team Girl

Eile Chica is standing outside Johnny Rockets cafe on the Sixteenth Street Mall waiting for her online role-playing game partner to show up. She's never meet the player behind White-Lion; she doesn't even know her name. Yet just after New Year's Day she received an email asking her to meet. However, she's been waiting almost three-quarters of an hour with no luck. She finally decides White-Lion is a no-show and is about to walk away when she hears someone call out, "Braveheart?" Braveheart was the name of her character.

She turns around and sees a young girl, mustard-blond, blue-eyed, hourglass figure, with glasses, wearing dirty, disheveled clothes and wrapped in a blanket, staring at her. She looks like she hasn't had a bath in days. Eile assumes she's a homeless person. She steps towards her, asking if she's Braveheart. Eile confirms it, and the girl seems to almost faint from relief. She replies that she's White-Lion. For Eile it's an awkward moment. She wasn't sure what to expect, but she doesn't want to get mixed-up with a homeless person who might be crazy. Still, she seems harmless enough.

She asks if they can go inside; she's cold. Eile agrees and they find an empty booth. Eile sees her looking at the other people eating and she seems to almost drool. Eile asks if she would like something to eat. Again she almost seems to faint from relief and says yes. She eats like she's starving. She not only eats her own meal, but half of Eile's.

While they eat they talk. She introduces herself as Sonne Hiver, remarking that her friends call her Sunny. Though she tries to maintain a casual air, Eile can see she's nervous, even frightened. At one point, the crash of plates in the kitchen sends her diving under the table, and she only tentatively resumes her seat. She tries to laugh it off, and Eile pretends it didn't happen. She's now convinced Sunny is crazy and wants to get away from her as soon as possible. That doesn't gel with her experiences while role-playing with her, but even then she did seem somewhat eccentric.

After they finish, Eile pays the bill and they leave. It's clear to her that Sunny is hoping Eile will stay with her longer, maybe even invite her back to her house, but she just wants to get away. The look on Sunny's face, one of desperate, hopeless pleading, is heart wrenching, but Eile steels herself to walk away. As she does she hears a commotion behind her. Something tries to compel her to ignore it, but finally she turns to look. A half-dozen thugs are struggling with Sunny, trying to drag her away. Sunny is screaming for help, but everyone else around them is ignoring her. Again, something tries to compel Eile to also ignore it and walk away, but then Sunny makes eye contact and shrieks, "Braveheart, help me!" That breaks the spell. Eile yells for the men to let her go as she sprints towards them. Two of them try to head her off and Eile uses her boxing skill to subdue them. Sunny smashes the face of one with a glass pitcher and kicks another in the shins. The last two pull guns, but Sunny clobbers one with a tray while Eile throws a chair at the other. Sunny then grabs Eile's hand and pulls her into an alley.

They run over to the next block and up the street a ways before they realize they aren't being followed. They then duck into the entrance of a business building. Once again, Eile feels a compulsion to abandon Sunny and walk away, but it is weak and easily overcome by her anger. She demands to know what's going on. Sunny will tell her, but only if they get away first. Eile wants to call the police, but Sunny refuses, saying she doesn't know who to trust. So Eile relents and offers to take her home. Though Eile arrived by light rail, she hails a cab and directs it to an address in Aurora.

The thugs regroup and return to their hideout. They are confronted by their leader, who can't believe two young girls beat them off. Nonetheless, he directs them to search for them and not come back until they've found them. He then reports to a woman in a back office. She is upset at his failure, but is mystified by how the other girl was unaffected by her mental manipulation. She is also disturbed that she can no longer perceive Sunny. He assures her he will find them, and she indicates he had better if he wishes to retain a whole skin.

Back at her tiny town home, Eile lets Sunny take a shower while she collects her clothes. She decides to pitch them, being as they are too ragged and dirty to salvage, and she fears they may be contaminated with lice or fleas. She gives Sunny a robe that she can't quite close all the way. The sight of Sunny's ample cleavage, plus that of her thighs and her shapely legs, gives Eile strange sensations which disturb her. Nonetheless, over tea and sandwiches (which Sunny devours), Sunny tells her story:

She was born and raised in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He memories of her childhood are all perfectly normal, but as she looks back on them now, she notices certain things that were somewhat strange. Such as, her parents never worked or did anything that seemed like work, yet they never lacked for money or denied Sunny anything because they couldn't afford it. At the same time, they didn't live in luxury either. Also, they never let her do anything that would require her to be away from them at night or for longer than a day, such as summer camp or sleeping over, but they always found some other way to give her the same experience, such as camping trips and overnight parties at fancy hotels. Perhaps the oddest thing of all was that they never attended any kind of function together. Whether it be PTA meetings, parent-teacher conferences, Sunny's plays or recitals, what have you, one parent attended while they other stayed home. When necessary, the attending parent brought a video camera to record the event, and afterwards the tape would be replayed for the other parent who stayed home. But Sunny enjoyed that as much as the event itself, so she learned to accept it.

Otherwise, her childhood was fairly normal, what with games, neighborhood parties, school, singing and dancing lessons, learning the violin and piano, and self-defense classes. Weekends and summers were filled with adventure: trips to national parks and monuments, big cities, and family recreational centers; camping trips to wilder and more remote places as she got older, river rafting, hiking, horseback riding, and bicycle tours; summer stock, plays and recitals, and concerts; shopping sprees, salon visits, and just bumming around. As she got older, she started spending more time with friends. She hates to admit it now, but at that time she considered her parents uncool and disdained their past activities as kids stuff. But secretly she still enjoyed their increasingly rare outings together.

Things changed very suddenly. One Saturday morning she kissed her parents goodbye and left to spend the day with her friends. That evening when she came home, her parents were gone, vanished. Black suited men in black vans soon showed up and whisked her away. None of them would tell her what happened or even speak to her beyond simple instructions. They took her to a safe house to sleep over, then the next day they took her across the state to West Lafayette, to live with her aunt. She wasn't really her aunt, just a family friend, but it made little difference. The woman kept her at home virtually all the time. She home schooled her and wouldn't let her go out at night or on weekends. The only time they left was to go shopping or make occasional trips to the doctor or dentist. The first two years were lonely and boring, but she persevered.

The only unusual thing that occurred was that occasionally her aunt received a mysterious visitor, a massive woman who spoke to her in private. Sunny saw her arrive one time from her bedroom window. She could hear them talking, but she never saw the woman after that. Her aunt denied that anyone visited. Sunny tried to break in on them one time, but while she heard her through the door, the woman vanished before Sunny could open it. Another time she spied through the door keyhole. She saw the woman, but after a few seconds she turned at stared right at Sunny, locking eyes with her. The next thing she knew, Sunny woke up in her bed. Her aunt tried to tell her she dreamed it, but she knew better. Even so, she never saw or heard the woman again.

After she received her GED, she enrolled in Purdue University as a general science major. Though she lived with her aunt, she was allowed to go to campus on her own. She made new friends, but she still wasn't allowed to go out after dark. Her only consolation was the online role-playing game Otherworld. After she completed her homework, she played for hours at night and on the weekends. It satisfied her craving for adventure and allowed her to interact with other people. The highpoint of this time was when she met and befriended Braveheart.

On the day of her last finals for her first semester of her third year, she came home and found her aunt murdered. She tried to call the police, but the phone was dead. Before she could decide what to do, the men in black suits driving black vans showed up and took her away. Just outside of town, however, they were ambushed by armed men. They killed all the men in black and took her captive. When the car she was in stopped for gas, however, she insisted on going to the bathroom. Inside she found cleaning solution and other chemicals. She used them to create a diversion and escaped. She made it to a diner and hid out in an isolated booth to think. She was frightened and had no idea where to turn. She didn't know how to contact the government and she didn't know who else to trust. Then she thought of Braveheart. All she knew about the character's player was that he/she lived in Denver, but after almost four months of play she believed he/she was a good person and would help her. So she decided to try to find him/her.

She used her credit card to buy a bus ticket to Chicago. Then she took out a large cash advance and threw away the card. She bought another ticket to Denver, and managed to evade the people watching the bus terminal and get on a bus. It took two days to reach Denver. During that time she was almost recaptured several times. She began to suspect the people after her were somehow tracing her through her cash. When she arrived in Denver, she gave the rest of her cash away to a homeless person and exchanged clothes with another. She then disappeared into the homeless community.

For two weeks she lived as a homeless girl. She avoided shelters for fear of being caught, and instead panhandled for change to buy soup and slept outside. Finally the day after New Year's she got the chance to send a message to Braveheart, asking him/her to meet her on the Sixteenth Street Mall. She thought Eile might be Braveheart, but she was too scared and uncertain to approach her until it looked like she would leave. Then she called out her "name" in desperation. The rest Eile knows.

By the time Sunny finishes, it is evening and they had switched to wine. Eile doesn't know what to make of the story. It sounds like a paranoid delusion, but the men who tried to snatch Sunny were not hallucinations. Eile again suggests they call the police, but Sunny again refuses, afraid the people after her might have corrupted the police. Eile doesn't want to get involved, but she can't just make Sunny leave. Besides, if Sunny is telling the truth, she needs help desperately. The fact that she thought she could trust her makes her feel good about herself, something she hadn't felt in almost a year. She also feels a longing for companionship, which she also hasn't had in a long time. On top of all that, she believed Sunny had become a close friend while they played Otherworld, so she finally decides she cannot turn her back on Sunny. She offers to let Sunny stay as long as she needs to, at least until they can figure out how to get her out of this mess. Eile gives Sunny a long tee-shirt and a pair of panties to wear, and they have dinner. Eile wants to go out the next day and buy Sunny some clothes. Eile has a guest room, but she uses it for storage, so for tonight she lets Sunny share her bed. She feels awkward doing so for some reason. It feels to her like the closeness of Sunny's body is titillating. This disturbs her, but she manages to go to sleep. However, she has erotic dreams concerning Sunny, and when she wakes up at one point she realizes her body has responded to the erotic stimulation.

The leader of the gang reports to the woman that he has discovered the other girl used a credit card at the restaurant. She used the same card to pay for a cab, and he has the address. The woman instructs him to get his gang ready, but not to move until she gives the word.

In the morning, Eile wakes up groggy. She undresses and heads for the bathroom to take a shower. There she surprises Sunny coming out of the shower. Eile retreats, throws on a robe, and escapes downstairs, mortified. Sunny comes down later, a bit sheepish, but she offers to make breakfast. Eile isn't sure what bothers her more, that she and Sunny saw each other naked, or that she liked what she saw and was turned on by it. However, coffee and Sunny's easy-going manner puts at her at ease. After showering and dressing, she gives Sunny a huge coat to wear and they go out shopping. She buys Sunny several outfits plus underwear, one of which Sunny puts on. At lunch, Eile explains that she works as a freelance graphic designer. She makes enough to get by, but not a whole lot, so this shopping spree aside, they have to be careful with money. Sunny asks about her life, but Eile sidesteps the question for now. Eile realizes she feels very comfortable with Sunny, despite her initial misgivings. She also thinks of their day together as a date, which brings back her anxiety over her growing attraction to Sunny.

When they get back to Eile's home, they are caught by the gang and hustled into a van, but in the city they manage to jump out and escape in heavy traffic. They hide out in an alley. Eile realizes they can't go home, but she has no money, so she has no idea where else to go. Sunny remembers one of the few refuges she found while hiding out, a mission run by a Lutheran pastor named John Sjauken. She takes Eile there. The pastor remembers her and agrees to hide the girls. He gives them a meal and a place to sleep. The room only has one bed, but Eile steels herself to share it with Sunny.

The woman is furious with the gang leader over losing the girls again, but she will give him one final chance; the stakes are too high to start over with someone else. He states that his men are already combing to district, but since they know Sunny had been hiding out among the homeless, they are also checking all the missions, large or small, in case she may go back to one. The woman admonishes him that time is running out. If he cannot get Sunny soon, she will get away for good. At which point, she won't have any further use for him.

Eile wakes up after another erotic dream to find her and Sunny embracing. Startled, she jumps out of bed and is amazed that Sunny keeps on sleeping. She hears talking out in the hallway. She opens the door a crack and sees Sjauken talking with a woman hidden in the shadows. His words lead her to believe he is in league with Sunny's pursuers. She awakens Sunny and they slip out the window, taking the blanket with them. They find shelter of sorts in an alley and settle in to pass the night. It's cold, so the girls huddle together for warmth. Her feelings overwhelm her and Eile kisses Sunny. Sunny seems pleased and they kiss again. Eile then stops, but doesn't want to leave her, so they cuddle. Sunny sings Eile a lullaby and as Eile drifts off to sleep, she feels Sunny kiss her on the forehead.

The gang leader meets with his lieutenants, one of which informs him the girls were seen going into a Lutheran mission run by an old pastor. He sends his men to go there and pick them up.

The girls wake up at dawn, uncertain what to do or where to go. They are attacked by members of the gang, but suddenly a massive woman appears. She beats them off with a walking stick while the girls help. Sunny recognizes her as the woman who visited her aunt. She introduces herself as Medb hErenn, and she takes the girls to a diner to get warm and something to eat. While there, she explains what is going on.

Before Sunny was born, her parents had been special agents for the government. As a result, they made many enemies. When her mother became pregnant, they retired so that Sunny could have a normal childhood. However, their enemies continued to search for them. That was why they never attended functions together. That way, if one was captured or killed, the other could still get Sunny safely away. However, one found them and tried to kill them that day they disappeared. To protect Sunny they fled, leading the enemy away. Medb got them into protective custody while she arranged for the government to get Sunny away. She then kept an eye on Sunny for two years before deciding she was safe. However, that same enemy found her and tried to kidnap her to force her parents to surrender. Medb has been looking for her ever since. She tracked her to Denver, figuring she would come looking for Braveheart, but then she disappeared. So she put the word out to her contacts and associates to be on the look out. One was Pastor Sjauken. He had alerted Medb that he had Sunny safe, and Medb had come to get her to safety, but she and Eile fled before she could make contact. Now that she has them, she plans to take them to a safe house until she can arrange to get Sunny out of the country.

The gang leader is with the woman when he gets a call telling him the girls left with a massive woman. He orders them to follow.

Medb takes the girls to the house and admonishes them not to leave. She does, however, show them an emergency escape exit just in case.

The leader gets a call that the girls were placed in an apartment and the woman left. He orders his gang to assemble for an assault.

The girls shower and change clothes, and have something to eat. The house is well-stocked with DVDs, but they decide to talk about what happened in the alley. They are too nervous to discuss their feelings, so they tiptoe around the issue, but their feelings overwhelm them again and they kiss. They are about to embrace when the gang breaks into the house. Fortunately the door and windows are fairly strong, giving the girls a chance to escape. Eile sends Sunny down the exit, then locks it off so no one can follow. She cuts the power and heads for the kitchen to get a knife. She is caught by having a bag thrown over her head and her hands manacled behind her back. She is then taken out, pushed into a vehicle, and taken away.

Medb arrives to find the apartment a shambles. Sunny appears and tells her what Eile did. Sunny demands they go rescue her. Medb refuses, saying she's sorry, but Eile obviously knew what she was doing. Sunny's safety is all important, and so she doesn't die in vain Sunny needs to get away. Sunny tries to run but Medb cuts her off. She states that even if she wanted to rescue Eile, she has no idea where she has been taken and they cannot take the time to look for her. That's when Sunny reveals that she found the tracking device Medb planted on her, and she put it in Eile's clothes instead. Amazed, Medb goes out to the van and activates a computer. The screen shows Eile's location. Medb then agrees to rescue Eile.

Eile is taken to a warehouse and secured to a chair. When the bag is removed, the woman realizes she isn't Sunny and kills the gang leader. She then orders Eile killed. Before the man can do so, Sunny appears. Distracted, the men do not see Medb enter from another direction and attack them. Moving faster than Eile can follow, she kills the gang members she can reach while Sunny releases Eile. The girls try to escape, but are cut off by the remaining gang members. Medb goes after the woman, but she moves as fast as Medb and both dodges and knocks the massive woman off her feet. She then transforms into a beautiful but horrific figure armed with a large scythe. At that sight, the remaining gang members flee, but the girls remain.

The woman attacks Medb, who can barely keep away from her. Sunny finds a long metal pole and tosses it to Medb. When Medb catches it, she goes on the offensive. The two women are evenly matched as far as speed, strength, and skill are concerned, and the battle rages back and forth as each tries to gain the upper hand. They fight at normal speed, however, since their mutual magical abilities cancel themselves out. Even so, their fight resembles a beautifully choreographed dance, and they tirelessly chase each other around the warehouse. In time, however, it becomes clear Medb is the better fighter as she drives the woman back. Finally she disarms her, knocks her onto her back, and impales her with the pole.

But she doesn't die. Her body tries to dissolve into a black mist, but she is held in place by the pole. Medb forces her to agree to leave the girls alone. She uses torture to make the woman repeat her vow over and over again until she repeats Medb's exact words. At that point Medb pulls the pole free. She dissolves into a cloud that coalesces into a magpie and flies out an open window, screeching its head off. When she rejoins the girl, Medb asks Sunny how she knew cold iron would defeat a Fomorian. Sunny professes ignorance of what Medb is talking about. When Eile asks, Medb explains that the Fomorians are an ancient race that predated Mankind. They used to rule the world, but are now in hiding, asleep in the deep places of the earth. Some day, however, they will awaken to reclaim their rightful place, when the stars are right. Meanwhile, some Fomorians have remained awake to prepare for that day, or to pursue their own agendas. The woman is one of these. Her name is Ceithlenn, and many centuries ago she had been the wife of Balor of the Baleful Eye, a terrible Fomorian king. She is now Medb's bitterest enemy, but while she is treacherous and deceitful, she has honor and will not break her word. That was why Medb insisted that her promise be worded exactly.

Medb takes the girls back to Eile's house. With Ceithlenn neutralized, Medb offers to reunite Sunny with her parents the next day at the Denver Zoo. She then leaves. Eile clears out the guest room so Sunny can sleep there. Sunny is clearly disappointed, but Eile believes Sunny will be leaving with her parents and she doesn't want to start anything they cannot finish. However, she has a fitful night as her feelings war within her.

The next day, the Girls go to the zoo and Sunny meets her parents. Eile is surprised to find they are both women. Medb explains Sunny's conception, but swears Eile to secrecy. Sunny introduces Eile to her parents. Medb announces that Sunny cannot go with her parents. Eile offers to let her stay with her. Medb takes her parents away, and parents and daughter separately grieve.

Eile takes Sunny home. They have dinner, and afterward over wine they finally discuss their feelings. Eile tells Sunny she believes she loves her. Sunny is pleased and tells Eile she loves her. An awkward silence falls as they wonder what to do, when Eile grabs Sunny, kisses her, and they fall on the ground. They give into their mutual passion and make love. Afterwards, Sunny claims that only now have their lives truly begun, and Eile feels it is true.