Bubblegum Crisis Fan Fiction ❯ Of Knights and Ghosts: A BGC & Ghost in the Shell xover ❯ Chapter 6

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

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

Sylia Stingray frowned as the slim business woman looked up at the tall soldier, his eyes replaced by cybernetics. He looked incredibly out of place in the Silky Doll lingere shop, a tall, muscular soldier with a buzzcut. "And you are?" the blue haired woman asked, looking at him warily.

"My name's Batou," he introduced himself, hesitating as he looked around the lingere shop, well aware of how badly he stood out. He sighed softly as he explained, "Motoko sent me."

Sylia's eyes widened slightly in alarm. She had known Motoko off and on for years, since they had worked together on a case. The military cyborg had deduced who the Knight Sabers were some years ago, and they had assisted each other on missions in and around the Megatokyo area.

"Come with me," Sylia ordered as she lead the way to the elevator, nodding to one of her employees to take over on the front desk. The soundproofed elevator hummed softly as they rose up into the apartments above the Silky Doll, opening soundlessly to reveal a simply decorated hall. She strode to the living room and gestured Batou to a seat as she said flatly, "You wouldn't be here if something hadn't happened."

"Yeah," Batou sighed, nodding as he began his tale.

Batou talked about a covert operation involving the Puppet Master, a super program with data manipulation abilities. At the same time Motoko was targeted by officials in the Japanese government over her killing a enemy agent, and in the end the government sold her out. Striking out on her own Motoko neutralized a rogue government operation to control the Puppet Master, but she appeared to die in the process.

Sylia's face had gone pale, the first emotion the young woman had shown. "Is she dead?" she had to ask, looking up with a dangerous look in her eyes.

Batou felt a mild surprise at the deadly gaze, realizing this woman was very dangerous. He got the feeling that if Motoko was dead, Stingray would soon be taking steps to deal with her killers. "No, she's alive," he swiftly reassured her. "We swapped her cyberbrain out of her body and into a backup," he added proudly, "then remote controlled her body for the death scene."

Sylia nodded, but her eyes were still concerned as she asked, "Then what?"

"Motoko realized that her former employer would probably figure out what happened," Batou explained, "to stay free she's going to go underground, deeply so."

"I see," Sylia murmured.

Batou reached into the pocket of his military style jacket, producing a small data stick. "She asked me to give this to you," he said seriously, "and to offer any help you might need."

Sylia took the stick, studing it as she murmured, "Thank you."

Batou rose with a surprising degree of grace, "If you'd like to let me out, I need to be back at base before someone notices I've been gone too long."

Sylia walked him back to the elevator, thanking him again before she sent him down into the store once more. Turning she hurried to one of her computers, carefully shutting down it's link to the network before loading up the data stick Not that Sylia seriously thought that Motoko would try to invade her systems, but it never hurt to be careful. The stick loaded up it's data and a video box opened up, revealing a familiar face.

Major Motoko Kusanagi had a slightly sad look on her face, her shimmering blue-black hair falling around a almost too youthful face. As a whole body cybernetic transplantee Motoko would never age, remaining at whatever appearance she decided on until she changed it. She was dressed in her uniform, but the high collar was loosened and her gear looked more rumpled than it would normally be.

"If you're seeing this," Motoko smiled fondly, "than that baboon Batou delived it. I'm sorry for inflicting him on the Silky Doll, and I don't even want to imagine how your poor customers reacted to him."

Sylia had to fight back a laugh at Motoko's twisted sense of humor. The woman had more than once made Sylia laugh aloud at some biting comment or witty observation, her eyes twinkling dangerously.

"Still," Motoko continued, "Batou may be unsubtle but he's a trustworthy man. You'd do worse to rely on him." She sat back, running a hand through her hair, "It's a few hours from my probable death, I think. If our little plan works I'll switch bodies and let the cops destroy my old one."

'How can she talk about this so calmly?' Sylia wondered.

Motoko flashed a smile, "It's pretty scary, honestly. But if I don't at least try to keep calm, things could go very badly wrong so...." She looked at the camera with a warm fondness, her eyes a little sad. "I don't know how soon I'll be able to contact you after this, love," she admitted. "I don't want to lead the army or worse to you, and I can't be certain they don't already know about our connection."

A faint blush colored Sylia Stingray's cheeks as she thought about their 'connection' as Motoko called it. After a long and wary dance of courtship they had begun a relationship, becoming partners of a sort. There were parts of each of their lives they couldn't share, but they still managed to find large amounts of time to spend together.

Motoko reached out as if to touch Sylia as she said intensely, "I will promise I'll be in touch as soon as I humanly can. I love you."

With that the message ended as Sylia blinked away a few tears. "I love you too," she murmured, sighing.

Jeena Malso paused as she toweled herself off, the tall woman looking in fondly as her lover worked away. Nene Romanova-Malso's hair had gone through several colors over the years, but now she had settled on a simple blonde. She remained petite and youthful looking but Jeena had finally accepted she was old enough to be in a relationship, no matter what computer alterations she had made.

"What?" Nene had to ask as she typed away.

"Just thinking how long I avoided you," Jeena admitted as she dried her hair, "thinking you were jail-bait."

Nene chuckled softly as she broke through another level of security. "I was determined," she said, "once I figured out you were the one for me."

Jeena laughed as she hugged her from behind, "You were relentless, you mean."

"That too," Nene agreed. She smiled as she cracked another level, "Okay, I'm into the ministry. What do you want me to look for?"

Jeena shook her head, mildly in awe of her lover's skills. " Motoko Kusanagi" she said, "anything on her current location or activities."

Nene began to use her custom search engines to sort data as she said, "You think she's in trouble?"

"She's supposed to be dead," Jeena admitted as she filled Nene in on the story that she had gotten from certain military contacts.

"She just let them shoot her?" Nene turned to look up at Jeena, her eyebrows raised disbelievingly, "No way in hell. You're right, something stinks about this."

"That's what I thought," Jeena agreed, then her eyes widened as something happened to the computer screen. "Nene, look...!"

THe search program and everything else had crashed, leaving a simple cursor on the screen. "How...?" Nene blinked, reaching towards the keyboard. Before she could do anything, however, a unusual message came up.

>Leave it alone.
>I'm fine.
>Will contact soon.
>Motoko K.

"Holy shit," Jeena breathed out. She looked at Nene, "Is it possible?"

"My system is supposed to be hack-proof," Nene made a face, "but if anyone could do it, it was Motoko."

It took nearly two weeks before she came in, a sleek looking businesswoman who only bore a surface resemblance to Motoko. She picked out several items then walked up to the counter, her hips swaying gently. "MIss Stingray," she said casually as she took off her sunglasses, "I'm impressed by your selection."

"Thank you," Sylia nodded, the two standing close enough that she could hear her whisper.

"Rook," Motoko murmured, the same code she had used on their first face to face meeting.

Sylia's mind raced as she said, "You're getting quite a few items, would you like home delivery?"

"Yes, please," Motoko grinned as she filled out the card with a address then gracefully left.

That evening Sylia nervously rang a doorbell in a high priced apartment building, not far from where Genom's former tower had stood. The door opened and a hand yanked her inside as she felt warm lips press against hers.

"I'm sorry," Motoko murmured as she smiled at her, "I just couldn't wait."

"Me too," Sylia sighed as she happily hugged her. She knew there were going to be complications going forward, that Motoko's new life might be even more complicated than her old life as a agent, but Sylia was content to be there at Motoko's side.

End.

Notes: This is based, roughtly, on the Ghost in the Shell manga series, rather than the movie and Stand Alone Complex. In the books she escapes government service and acquires some powerful internet related abilities, tho what they are exactly isn't explained.