Bubblegum Crisis Fan Fiction ❯ Of Knights and Ghosts: A BGC & Ghost in the Shell xover ❯ Chapter 4

Of Knights and Ghosts: A Bubblegum Crisis: Ghost in the Shell crossover.

Part Four

 

"We have to break through to F level," Sylia commanded, the silver armored Knight Saber leading the charge down the elevator shaft. Twin wings extended out from her back, thrusters flaring as they smoothly descended down the shaft.

 

Linna leapt smoothly, using cutting blades mounted on her green armor to slice through the doors to reveal the hallway beyond. Waiting a moment she let Priss go first, her blue armor's arm cannon ready to fire then they followed her out onto the glossy floor. "Where is their security?" Linna wondered aloud.

 

"Hopefully still on the far side with our distraction," Nene said a bit crossly. "Are you really looking forward to a fight?"

 

"Yes," Priss answered, sweeping the hall with her gun.

 

"Dumb question," Nene sighed.

 

"We're near our target," Sylia said to them firmly, "let's move."

 

Together they moved down the hall, Linna and Priss taking point. Nene stayed in the middle, the hacker maintaining her link with Genom's security systems, while Sylia took the rear, ready to deal with anyone coming from behind.

 

Once they reached the next elevator Nene followed the others down, running through the security protocols to help make sure their entrance was going to be a surprise. Using her knuckle-bomber Linna blasted the doors off then Nene softly squeaked out, "Oh shit."

 

"Yes!" Priss cheered, taking in the assembled security forces who looked almost as startled to see them standing there as they were to see them.

 

Switching to internal radio communications Sylia ordered, 'Break through, the labs we want are just beyond this section."

 

Priss didn't need an order, her first shots blasting guns out of their opponents hands even as she charged forward. Linna followed her in, blades lashing out at weapons even as she delivered precise blows to drop her foes. Priss fought more wildly but both sought not to hurt their enemies too badly, just to break through.

 

"Looks like we get to fight, partner," Linna murmured to Priss, a slight smile on her face as they battled on, side by side.

 

"Just like always," Priss agreed.

 

The black haired officer ducked, scrambling forward even as she slugged another Genom officer in the head. Nene blinked, watching the woman hit another security officer with a roundhouse as she wondered, 'What is going on?'

 

Looking right at Sylia the woman cried, "Rook! Rook rook rook, damn it!"

 

Just for a moment Sylia froze, taking in what the woman said then she overrode the communications of all the Knight Sabers. "Our original mission is canceled," she said as she grabbed the black haired woman, "this just became an extraction operation."

 

"What?!" Priss and Linna blurted out together.

 

"We have to get this woman and what she's carrying out of the tower," Sylia said coldly. Quietly she looked at the woman, "And you and I are going to have a talk later, Miss....?"

 

"Motoko," she answered crisply as they retreated back towards the elevator. She dropped her voice, "I'm glad I arranged that recognition phrase with you."

 

Sylia extended a blade to slap bullets out of the air, moving with a deadly sort of grace. "Considering I wasn't expecting you to be even here you're lucky you weren't shot," she said. They reached the open doors, "Up stairs or down?"

 

"Up," Motoko answered promptly, "they'll be expecting us to go down." The slim officer leapt out into the open shaft, grabbing at a ladder on the far side and climbing up smoothly even as she asked, "Coming?"

 

Off in the distance they heard a roar, and on the air there was the faintest trace of jet fuel. Genom security officers sudden broke to run away, scrambling wildly to get out of the area as fast as they possibly could.

 

"Boomer," Nene murmured, then squealed in surprise as she was bodily tossed into the shaft after Motoko.

 

"Follow her up to the roof," Sylia ordered as she turned to look down the now empty hall, "Linna, Priss and I will delay them then follow you both on up."

 

"We can handle a few boomers," Priss cut Nene's protests off, "but I bet if that lady gets hurt or killed we don't get paid."

 

Swearing under her breath Nene climbed up the shaft even as the other three Knight Sabers turned to face their foes. Two combat boomers, Doberman types, raced down the corridor at them, artificial flesh burning away to reveal bulky armor. The jaw slid downward, laser canon moving forward, glowing as it readied to fire.

 

Priss fired smoothly, one needle directly into the first one's mouth, the explosion taking out most of the head and in the process sending both of them crashing into a wall. "Nice," Linna murmured, even as two more came around a corner.

 

"We're just getting started," Sylia purred, blades at the ready.

 

Priss smiled slightly, "You got a plan?"

 

"We kill the boomers then go join Nene," Sylia answered, cutting down the first boomer that reached her with a almost unearthly skill.

 

"Short, simple and to the point," Linna announced, "I like it."

 

Nene winced as she heard more explosions coming from down below, idly wondering how much property damage her friends were doing, then shook her head as she puffed her way to follow the other woman to the top. 'I think I'm gonna die,' she whimpered, 'climbing this in a Hardsuit!' They reached the top of the shaft a few minutes later, though to Nene they felt like hours.

 

Motoko kicked out the panel with surprising strength then slipped out, standing atop the Genom tower and looking over the city of Megatokyo. She turned as Nene squeezed her Hardsuit covered body through the whole and smiled wryly, "You can tell your employer that I consider the mission accomplished and I'll pay her in a few days."

 

"Why do I have to tell her?" Nene blinked, standing up and trying to brush off the long smears of grease and oil on her suit.

 

Motoko silently pulled a small device out of her pack, slipping the harness on smoothly. She pressed a switch and there was a soft hiss as the eerily thin wings of her glider pack deployed. Before Nene could react she leapt, the breezes filling her wings and carrying her up into the night sky.

 

Racing forward Nene activated her scanners then gasped, Motoko shimmering faintly then simply disappearing from sight as she activated some form of cloak. "I should be able to scan through anything," she muttered, "how can she have better tech than the best military issue?"

 

Before Nene had too much time to think about it the top of the elevator shaft blew off, sending her ducking for cover. Priss, Linna and Sylia swarmed out, the battered and blackened Knight Sabers running towards her even as the sound of weapon's fire grew even closer. Running by her Priss bodily snatched Nene up as they went right over the edge of the roof, leg thrusters flaring to help slow their descent.

 

"I take it Motoko is already gone?" Sylia asked calmly as they plummeted.

 

"Yes," Nene squealed, "she'll pay you in a few days."

 

Laser fire streamed by them as they zigged and zagged, intentionally bouncing off of the side of the building itself to help make their course even more erratic. Priss tried to return fire as they fell, a few lucky hits lighting up the darkness with boomer explosions as she asked, "Think we'll be able to pull this off again?"

 

They reached ground level with a thump, racing off at high speed even as Linna commented, "They'll have to upgrade security after this."

 

"Mason is arrogant enough he might think he successfully drove us away," Sylia said, the group of four racing along the road past the guard station they had totaled getting in.

 

Around the bend and not that far from the Tower the Silky Doll van waited, Mackie running the engine nervously. "Is everyone all right?' the brown haired young man asked worriedly, helping them in, slamming the doors then taking off at a sedate pace.

 

"Yes," Nene pulled off her helm with a relieved sigh, "why aren't you hurrying?!"

 

"Security is more likely to notice a hurrying vehicle than one that's calmly obeying the traffic laws," Mackie pointed out calmly, though his knuckles were white on the wheel.

 

"There were a couple of mistakes we'll discuss later," Sylia said as she efficiently began to strip off her armor, "but overall good job."

 

"Praise from Sylia, who'd have thought?" Priss muttered,, slumping after stowing away her suit, Linna sitting beside her.

 

Linna hesitated, then let her hand come to rest on Priss', squeezing gently. "Now comes the hard part," she said, "collecting payment."

 

Epilogue: Three days later.

 

The Knight Saber waited at the pre-arranged meeting place, Sylia Stingray warily watching her surroundings. The rooftop was in a bad part of town, much of the buildings around it gone to rubble making it much harder to arrange a ambush.

 

The door to the roof opened and Motoko emerged, this time dressed in more casual street clothes. She was bare handed, and the sleek dress she wore didn't obviously have pockets. "Right on time," Sylia called, "now where is the rest of our payment?"

 

Motoko walked over to Sylia, smiling slightly. "I have it," she nodded, "if you're willing to take it in trade." With that she snapped her fingers....

 

... and a gust of wind nearly knocked Sylia off her feet even in the Hardsuit. From out of the clouds the combat craft descended, massive rotors mounted in each wing keeping it aloft, the alloy painted black to help in night operations.

 

Sylia braced herself for an attack even as she demanded, "What is this?" Looking it over she quickly realized there wasn't a pilot, it had descended by remote control.

 

"It started out as a military K-suit dropship," Motoko said to her calmly, "before certain unofficial and extra-governmental black projects got ahold of it. It's seen a lot of action and was going to be retired before I... diverted it to here." She gave Sylia a smile, "Even used I think it covers the remainder of what I owe?"

 

"I don't trust you," Sylia said flatly, "it's a trick."

 

Motoko just shrugged, "I'm well aware that you'll take it to a safe location and disassemble it. I couldn't arm it for you, but I'm certain someone of your resources can manage that." A smile, "Other than that, I wish you well."

 

"Aren't you concerned what I'll do with this?' Sylia asked as Motoko began to walk away, already plotting how to get it out to Raven's garage.

 

"You'll use it to go after Genom," Motoko paused in the doorway to the stairs, "and from what I've seen of those double-dealing bastards I can only wish you good hunting." And with that she was gone.

 

End

 

Notes: this started out as a idea on one of the Bubblegum Crisis discussion threads, where we were tossing around ideas about where Sylia Stingray got the Knightwing aircraft that appears about halfway through BGC. The idea of the 'wing being government issue germinated in my head a bit, then it occurred to me to tie it into Ghost in the Shell... I may or may not do a sequel to this, we'll see.