Bubblegum Crisis Fan Fiction ❯ Of Knights and Ghosts: A BGC & Ghost in the Shell xover ❯ Chapter 2

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

Part Two

 

"Aaahhh!" Priss Asagiri angrily cried as she charged, leading with a swift kick then the sandy brown haired woman following up with a short hard punch. The skimpy leotard she wore clung to her athletic body, the blue cloth soaked with sweat from the previous bouts.

Linna smiled as she gracefully ducked beneath the kick, the black haired woman back-pedaling to dodge the punch, then returning to the attack. Priss didn't bring skill or finesse to fighting, what she brought was pure, driven rage. That could be a powerful weapon, letting her smash her way through most kinds of defenses, but right here and now it was going to be a liability.

 

"Would you hold still....?!" Priss swung out angrily, and Linna was ready.

 

Smoothly Linna caught the other woman's forearm, turning slightly even as she slipped behind Priss, pulling the arm back painfully. Slapping her other hand on the middle of Priss' back Linna said to the now weakly struggling woman, "In this position I can dislocate your arm, and popping it back with be very painful."

 

Priss froze for a moment, then very reluctantly said, "I give."

 

Linna let Priss go, wisely stepping back to give Priss a moment to recover. "Do you want to keep going?" she asked, taking on a guard position.

 

"No thank you," Priss shook her head tiredly, "I think you've kicked my ass enough for one day." She sighed, "Remind me not to irritate you."

 

"Oh, I thought you did pretty well," Linna flashed a smile.

 

"Gee, thanks," Priss scowled. She looked up to the control room of the training center that they were standing in, "Sylia, did you get enough data yet?"

 

Sylia Stingray touched a few screens, studying the information recorded in the small room as well as the specially made leotards. "Thank you, yes," she answered coolly, "this should help me improve the flexibility of both your suits."

 

Priss eagerly led the way out of the room, part of a hidden facility beneath Raven's Garage, and Linna chuckled softly. "So eager to get away from me?" she asked curiously, finding her gaze following Priss' walk.

 

"I don't much like losing," Priss said honestly as she led the way towards the cramped change room and showers.

 

"If it helps any," Linna said as she began to strip her sweaty clothes off, "I'd have a much harder time doing something like that to you in our hardsuits."

 

"Yeah," Priss paused a moment, standing there topless, "you still giving lessons?"

 

Linna nearly made a rude suggestion, a bit distracted by the view, but restrained herself. "If you want to do some sparring I'm willing," she said seriously.

 

"I'd like that," Priss flashed a smile, wiggling a bit to get the bottoms off.

 

Up in the control room Sylia was smoothly slipping data disks away into a folder as she said, "Nene, you really need to take a turn, too."

 

Nene sighed, her pink hair drooping, "Do I have to?"

 

Sylia kept her expression grave, "You may need to defend yourself in your hardsuit, as well it would help me prepare for your suit upgrades."

 

Nene brightened a bit at the idea of a upgrade, then drooped again at the idea of sparring. "Could I fight against Mackie, maybe?" she offered.

 

Sylia's lips twitched up just slightly, "Do you really want to give Mackie the chance to get his hands on you?"

 

"Urk," Nene made a face. "All right, I guess I pick Linna," she sighed.

 

"Wise choice," Sylia agreed.

 

A few minutes later a damp Linna and Priss walked into another back room in the garage where Sylia and Nene were waiting along with Mackie Stingray. The young man's brown hair was messy and a thick smudge of grease marked his cheek, clearly he had been working on something mechanical earlier.

 

"I'm still working on helping Doctor Raven get the bugs out of the Motoslaves," Mackie reported, "the basic systems are a go, but the AI is still buggy."

 

"AI?" Priss scowled, "I don't much like the sound of that."

"A non-adaptive, purpose driven AI," Sylia said crisply, "designed to assist us in the field."

 

"I'll try to lend a hand," Nene eagerly said to Mackie, "if it's a programming fault, I should be able to find it."

 

"Thanks," Mackie smiled back.

 

Linna shook her head slightly, muttering, "Little miss cyberpunk is at it again."

 

"Hey!" Nene protested.

 

"If you're done playing?" Sylia raised an eyebrow. Once everyone quieted down she continued, "We have business to discuss, another job."

 

Priss' eyes narrowed slightly as she drawled out, "Well, well, I've been waiting to take my hardsuit out again."

 

Linna smiled wryly at the other woman's eagerness, "I could use the money."

 

"What are we going up against?" Nene asked, "Who's hiring us?"

 

"Genom," Sylia said with a dangerous chill, "and our patron chooses to remain anonymous." She smiled slightly at their frowns, "The first half of our fee has already been deposited, the rest on completion of the job."

 

"You're taking a gamble that they'll pay up," Mackie offered nervously.

 

"Hey, I'd do a job against Genom for free," Priss said dryly.

 

"Speak for yourself," Linna grumbled.

 

"The individual covered their tracks well in contacting us," Sylia said calmly, "but I'm confident I can track them down if needed."

 

"I'll help too," Nene offered cheerfully. "So what's the target?"

 

"The Genom tower," Sylia said seriously, "the research wing, specifically."

 

"The Tower?!" Linna blurted.

 

Sylia kept her face carefully blank as she said, "I wouldn't take the job unless I thought we'd be able to do it." With that she turned, "I'll meet you all back at the Silky Doll tomorrow at 20:00 hours, to review our strategy."

 

"We're dead," Nene moaned.

 

"Sylia will figure out how to do it," Mackie said confidently then sighed, "somehow." He followed Sylia out, hurrying a bit to catch up with her.

 

Linna looked over at Priss thoughtfully, "You've known Sylia longer than any of us, do you think she can do it?"

 

Priss smiled slightly, almost as if she had been reminded of something. "She's surprised me before," Priss shrugged, "yeah, I think she'll figure out how we can do it."

 

Nene nodded, but her expression was still troubled. "I'd better get to work on my computer," she said thoughtfully as she headed to where her bike was parked, "we'll need the best interior schematics I can get."

 

Priss and Linna followed her out to the parking area, the one woman striding over to her bike. "Hey Priss," Linna called from her car, "do you want to try some sparring tonight?"

 

Priss paused, helmet in her hands. She smiled slowly and asked, "What kind of sparring did you have in mind?"

 

"Stop by my place," Linna looked impish, "and find out."

 

"I'll do that," Priss drawled.

 

To be continued....