AN: Here is part 1 of a new BGC 2032/2033 based fic that I'm working on. I think its going to be four, maybe five short chapters... but we will see. Oh, and of course, I don't own any of the characters in this fic. Then again, I wonder how long before the rights for the original characters become public property at this rate? ;)

Bubblegum Crisis 2036

Shadow of Lies

Part I

By Analogk37

22 year old Nene Romanova sat alone in the waiting room. Not that she wanted to be alone, but she just couldn't stand to look anymore. Her tired eyelids closed for just a moment and the horrifying slideshow of images started anew in her mind. Green eyes fired open again, this time her body starting to shake once more. She clutched herself to try and vainly subdue her reaction, her breathing short and ragged.

"Why? Why did they do this? Why now?"

Sure, she knew they were playing a dangerous game as mercenaries. After five years she wasn't as naïve as she once had been. And all those years, she had seen much in the way of violence and killing. Mason, Largo, Quincy… they had all been involved in some very personal bouts of vengeance with the Knight Sabers. And yet, Nene had always felt that they were still fighting 'evil', that the Knight Sabers had a just cause and purpose. But recently, some doubts had crept into her ideals.

And some of those recent doubts began to swell in Nene's heart as she thought back just a few weeks ago when Priss had invited her backstage at "Hot Legs". The invitation was so out of place for Priss that Nene had done a triple take at the e-mail when she read it. But after the meeting, after Priss told her she had some concerns and that she wanted Nene to do some behind the scenes checking on Sylia's activities on this latest job involving the "Shadow Weapons" corporation, she began to understand just why.

"I've got a bad feeling about this." Priss' words of warning to Nene rang loud in her memory now.

"Priss… oh god…" Nene ran both hands through disheveled red hair, resisting a lingering urge to heave up the remains of her dinner. The sudden sound of footsteps in the hospital hallway shot her nerves even more, causing the young woman to immediately scan the waiting room for an emergency exit.

"Nene? Nene, its just me," Linna's reassuring voice reached across the room as she saw the panic in Nene's eyes.

"Thank god," she sighed out, her shoulders collapsing.

Linna walked over and sat down next to her teammate, putting her arm around her for added comfort. She started to say that it was going to be okay… except the words wouldn't come out of Linna's mouth. She couldn't say it because she didn't believe it either. Not after what they had seen tonight.

They sat together in silence for a while, words not finding their way to describe the thoughts they both struggled with. For minutes they stayed that way, until Nene interrupted their introspections for just a brief moment.

"Did Sylia say anything else to you, Linna?"

Linna slid her arm off Nene and clasped her hands together tightly in her lap. "No, not yet."

"Linna, do you think its safe to go back to our apartments? Even our jobs?"

Linna bowed her head. She knew the answer, and she was sure Nene knew the answer too. But it was the next question that was so tough for all of them now. "What do we do now? They know who we are…"

"We'll discuss that back at the Silky Doll," Sylia answered for them from the waiting room doorway, startling both Linna and Nene in the process.

"Sylia," they replied in unison, both voices wavering, unsure.

"We should go back now. There's nothing more we can do here."

"But Priss…" Linna started, her tone hurt, worried.

"She's not awake yet, but her condition has stabilized. The doctor says her recovery prognosis looks favorable."

"But what kind of recovery? God, she's almost unrecognizable!!!" Linna stood up, venting.

A broken sob from Nene halted her tirade. "Nene, oh, I'm sorry…"

"… it's… it's okay…" Nene lied tersely.

"I understand your both upset, but we have to keep the future in mind now. You'll have to trust me when I say we need to regroup now, back at the shop." Sylia spoke coolly.

Linna looked ready to argue some more, but a quick glance down at Nene halted those thoughts. She nodded her agreement towards Sylia, who then paused for Nene to reply.

Misty green eyes rose up towards Sylia. Nene blinked back the worry for a moment and pursed her lips, nodding her understanding as well.

"Okay then. Let's leave as we came, separately, no less than fifteen minutes apart."

A short huff preceded a shorter comment. "Like it will do us any good," Linna parried, Priss-like.

"Linna, I understand your concern," Sylia tried to reason, but was cut off by another tirade from the upset Saber.

"Damnit Sylia! They know who we are!"

"We only know that they have our names, not our faces and not our identities… not yet anyway," Sylia sternly rebutted, folding her arms across her chest. "And I had Priss brought to this clinic because, as I mentioned before, I have arrangements here that make it a very safe place for us in situations just like this. Now, I suggest we finish this discussion back at the store," she ordered, more than asked, her tone rising as she spoke.

Linna stared at her feet, clinching her fists. Finally she threw her head back and let out a deep sigh. "Okay, back at the store."

"Good. I'm heading back now. Be safe and remember not to communicate unless absolutely necessary on the way to the store." With that, Sylia turned and strode out of the waiting room.

Once out of earshot of Sylia, Linna walked over to one of the two windows and looked outside. "Sometimes I just don't understand her… how she can be so cold."

Nene heard the words without hearing them. Her mind was still trapped on the stark images that Linna had unknowingly dredged up in her memory. Nene continued to outwardly stare at the floor until Linna finally waved a hand in front of her face. Nene blushed slightly, realizing that her friend had been talking to the furniture for a few minutes.

"Still in there Nene?" Linna chided with a small smile.

A tired "yeah" was all she could muster.

Immediately a frown replaced the smile and Linna was kneeling down in front of Nene. She took a hold of the ADP officer's hands with her own and gave them a reassuring squeeze. "Listen Nene, we'll make it through this somehow. I'm not giving up on Priss just yet. You know as well as I do that she's a fighter. Besides, Sylia will come up with a plan, and we'll all be back on our feet in no time."

The reassurance at least temporarily worked on the red-haired woman. "You didn't sound so sure a few minutes ago," Nene chided in return.

"Yeah, I know. It's just… I know Priss will make it. But I just wish Sylia would show a little more concern sometimes."

Sylia's name triggered another worrisome thought. "Linna, about Sylia…"

"Yeah, I know she can be a bitch…"

"No, it's not that," Nene corrected. "It was something Priss asked me to do a few weeks ago. When this new job involving 'Shadow Weapons' started, Priss said that something didn't feel right with the way Sylia was involving us. She couldn't put a finger on it, but she had a hunch that something was different this time."

"Yeah, but you know how paranoid Priss can be sometimes," Linna defended.

"I know, but some inconsistencies came up when I did some digging. I talked to Priss and she was going to check up on a couple of leads. This morning, she left me a message saying she had found something and wanted to talk with Sylia."

"So, what are you saying?" Linna asked.

"I don't know. It was just a feeling that Priss had. I never got to really find out what was going on, other than just some transactions that didn't add up and wound up being untraceable."

Linna put on hand on her chin, turning around and walking back towards the window. "I don't pretend to know everything Sylia does and why, but I know I trust Priss' instincts."

"She isn't wrong very often," Nene agreed, before coming back to the present. "So what could have happened today? How could this have happened to her?"

They both lost themselves in momentary reflection. Linna was the first to break out. "I don't know, but I'm going to see Sylia and find out. Are you going to be okay if I leave first?" Linna asked.

Nene took a deep breath before answering. "Yeah, I think so. I'll just be a few minutes behind you."

"Okay." Linna padded towards the hallway and paused at the door. "Be safe, okay?"

"I will," Nene affirmed, managing a smile at her friend.

Linna smiled in return before leaving for her car in the garage.

That officially left Nene to herself. She glanced at her watch, marking the time. She gave herself ten minutes, more than enough time she thought. Before she left, she had one thing she still owed Priss. Leaving the waiting room, Nene walked down the hallway and into the intensive care wing of the private facility. Room two was just to the left. Her hand touched the door handle lightly, her body initially resisting the urge to open it. She knew what was waiting for her on the other side. But still, she had to at least follow through on her promise.

The door opened with a click, and immediately the beeping sounds of machines and ventilators filled her eardrums. Her eyes traced the tubing and wires to the center of the room… and to Priss. However, if the room didn't say P.Asagiri on the outside, one wouldn't be able to recognize her in her current state.

Nene walked to her side and gripped a cold hand lightly. There was no response from the woman lying on the bed. Nene's gaze drifted into Priss' face and immediately memories of earlier in the evening came rushing back… memories of finding Priss in worse shape than ever… even after the battle with Largo. Back then she was able to walk away from the fight. This time, she wasn't so lucky. None of them were.

Work had kept her busy from the first cup of coffee in the morning. A stack of overdue paperwork that had to be closed out by the end of the day made sure of that. Thus, when she finally got to her scooter by 19:00, she had only started to shift mental gears back to Priss and Sylia. After a bite to eat, she was already on her way to the shop when Sylia called in the alert.

Sylia had told them that Priss had gone off on her own again, investigating a Shadow Weapons lab, and was in trouble. Nothing new about that… except the circumstances were a little more personal for Nene. Nene even asked if Priss had talked to Sylia earlier. Sylia had replied that she was supposed to meet with her at lunch but Priss had called at the last minute saying something had come up and she'd have to talk later. Nene had made a mental note to follow up with Priss after they bailed her out of trouble.

They were all in armor and on their way within ten minutes of the alert. But by the time they arrived at the site, an underground facility that could best be described as a laboratory supply graveyard , it was too late.

Nene had a very bad feeling by the fact it was so quiet when they arrived. Usually any battles with Priss were so loud over half of Tokyo knew what was happening, including the ADP, TV crews and the military. But not this time. The entry doors were unlocked, not even the first door was unhinged. The staircases leading to the lower levels were clear. It wasn't until they flew into the darkened lab that any signs of trouble were evident.

The images burned in the back of her mind now. The large broken flasks, the overturned and smashed crates. Wiring, tubing and junk strewn about from wall to wall. The huge dents, ruts, and scratches everywhere showing evidence of a colossal struggle. And then the blood stains. But those images weren't the worst. What came next was much more horrifying…

Nene could still hear Linna's voice ringing loud in her ears. "What the hell? Priss? PRISS!!! Sylia, Nene, over here!!!" Nene had one eye on her scanners and one eye ahead in her visor until the red, blue, and crimson mangled mess came into view in the center of the now open space. The only thought that would come into her mind was that Priss was dead. There was no way she could still be alive.

Very little of her outer armor was still on her body. The rest of the blue and red chunks were strewn about all over the room. Her helmet was torn off, her face bruised, bloody and almost unrecognizable. Eyelids swollen shut, hair a bloody, tattered mess, but then her scanners gave a bit of good news. "She… she's still alive!" Nene shouted.

Linna had leaned over to scoop up her body when Sylia stopped her. "Careful, check for broken bones before moving her."

Nene almost didn't need her scanners to tell her what was broken. Blood seemed to flow out of every remaining inner joint of the destroyed hardsuit. Arms and legs were twisted at unnatural angles. But, her torso seemed to be fairly intact, almost as if someone wasn't just trying to kill Priss, but torture her as well. It was then that Linna noticed the writing on the crate behind them. "Wha… what is… sylia… SYLIA!!!" she had screamed, pointing.

At top was inscribed "Knight Sabers", just like Nene had left their signature many times before. But below it was the part that had immediately rolled her stomach. Crimson letters stained the wood crate. But it was the source of the 'ink', the trail of splattered, dried blood from Priss' body, which was the most sickening part to Nene. Her very blood formed the letters that spelled out certain, familiar names…

Sylia

Nene

Linna

Priss

…with a punctuated bloody line crossed through the last name on the list.

To be continued…