This fic is a little old, but I picked it up and started working on it again when I saw it was pretty straightforward. Cross over with Appleseed, but mostly an excuse to write the end of the world in war. You know, that kind of thing.
Motoko – they're coming.
Got it – look sharp.
As if I look any other way – Batou's voice was wry as he ducked under a slab of a fallen building, while the major hid herself in a crevice created by what he suspected was part of a roof and a bathtub. Not exactly a glamorous hiding spot, he thought, especially for her. But then, they'd both swallowed their pride so much…
His thoughts were interrupted by helicopter blades slicing through the air. And there they are, right on time! He said almost jovially over the comlink they'd established so long ago. With the world network on the fritz, they'd had to juryrig their own, and it was a pretty sweet deal, all things considered. A three mile range was nothing to sneeze at.
Batou – they're opening the hatches, get ready.
I know the drill, Batou reminded her almost gently.
There was no verbal reply, but Batou knew in his ghost that she'd heard and understood. She was nervous, though as always she hid it well. She had reason to be. They'd been having trouble with landwalkers lately – the kind of thing that the Major had had trouble beating on her own and without the assistance of a BFG, might not have managed at all. They were everywhere – sometimes manned, sometimes not.
The unmanned ones were easy – between the two of them they could hack and scramble the signal enough that the thing couldn't move. But the manned ones… well, he didn't relish the idea of having to re-repair his arm that was three times repaired already.
Unfortunately, he could tell already that these were manned – and not by rookies either. Crackling at the edge of his nerves, he knew Motoko saw it too. Damn, he said, should we scram?
Too late, she replied, these are birds.
Batou glanced up again without a movement, and cursed inwardly amidst his piece of the wreckage. They were flying – and someone that had enough control over a land walker to fly it like the two that were now slowly surveying the area was even more dangerous than one that could fight on the ground. Batou stayed very still as they began to look over the area, searching… searching… it was an obvious grid pattern, but he knew both he and the major were pinned. Shit, Major, you don't think-
They're looking for us, she confirmed, and he felt her take a metaphorical breath. Wait till they set eyes on one of us, then attack all out.
It was the best element of surprise they had. Batou waited, suddenly realizing that his hiding spot was better than hers. If the one with the big metal ears just looked to his ri-
"Deun-augh!"
He'd done it. Batou heard Motoko's gun fire off, and could almost see the snarl on her face as he heard her kick the cyborg away and dash under him – but he was already on top of the other land-walker, unable to see the occupant as he leapt onto it's back. It was dangerous, and the thing pitched like hell, but he grabbed a hold of the collar and managed to find the plug with a triumphant shout.
"Batou!" The major called, and he jumped just in time to avoid a hit, and then landed back on the walker with a clang. There was a small scream as he did, and suddenly the contraption pitched, sending him rolling to the ground. He snorted as he stood up though – knowing he'd managed to scramble the flight systems enough that the girl inside didn't really have a chance in hell of regaining control. Writing her off for the moment, he went to help Motoko, bounding up a slab of fallen rock to land beside her, facing the cyborg.
"Deunan!" it cried in alarm as the other land walker crashed, half turning.
Leg up? Motoko asked, and in the same moment, Batou squatted and held out his hands for her to step up.
In a flash, the major put her foot down, and Batou aided her lift to send her soaring up into the air and onto the cyborg's back.
Batou immediately backed away – mostly because the cyborg began to buck worse than anything he'd seen, even forcing the Major to slip her grip slightly – and he almost lost his own head when the bunny-eared thing swung its gun at him, a quick duck the only thing that saved him. There was the hiss of a released seal, but he was too busy trying to restrain the damn bot so the major could fry him to notice…until suddenly it stopped.
He looked up, sure that Motoko had finally plugged in and hit it hard, but had just enough time to swing his gun up as the cyborg leveled its gun at his face. Peering over, he realized that Motoko had only let go to get into a similar situation with a short, lithe brunette.
The cyborg clicked slightly as it looked him over with insectoid eyes. "Motoko Kusinagi and Batou of Tokyo section Nine, I presume?"
They both stiffened, but it was Motoko that replied first. "What do you want with us?"
The woman – Dunan it must have been – nodded to the cyborg, and they both lowered their weapons, dropping the trigger to show… friendliness? Batou frowned. "Well?" he asked, "You heard the lady."
One of them was about to speak, Batou heard the click of the cyborg's voice unit activating, but he was interrupted by a helicopter overhead, the noise drowning out just about everything. All of the fighters held their hands up against the small debris whipped up as the helicopter landed, and as the blades slowed the door opened, and an angel stepped out.
Well, that was an exaggeration, really, he thought, but damned if the woman who walked down the steps in black stilettos and a black lacey dress that looked like something the girls in Tokyo used to love – with a wide, white belt around her waist – belonged there in the battlefield. Oddly enough, the two they'd been fighting stood up straighter as she jumped the last step and walked over, smiling widely. "Dunan – Briarios, good job," she said happily, and peered up at Batou. "Are you Batou?" she asked.
If he'd had eyes, he would have blinked, and he knew Motoko was carrying out the action for him. "Uh… yeah," he said, reaching up and rubbing his neck with a confused frown at the girl in front of him. "That's me."
"Oh good – then this is Motoko?" She asked, nodding behind him to the major.
"How do you know us?" Motoko said, stepping away from Dunan to frown at the girl.
"Oh, we've been looking for you to for awhile," she said, smiling happily, "It's so good to meet you! I'm Hitomi, and we're all from Olympus. We're here to extend an offer to be on our team to both of you."
"Team?" Motoko said cautiously, eyes flicking to Batou.
"Mhmm," Hitmoi said, looking over them both. "I am the main recruiter for ESWAT, the elite police force of Olympus, the utopia of man."
I've been out of fandom so much, a review would be appreciated. Thanks for reading!