Bubblegum Crisis Post 2040 Fanfic Series

Bubblegum Crisis Post 2040 File 1: Dominant Species

Part 5: Blood Trails

Chapter 56: Kamikaze

by P. Kristen Enos (bgcpost2040@aol.com)

* * * * *

A Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040 English Dub Version Fanfic. All rights belong to AIC, ADV Films and the other creative powers that be. I just want credit for writing the story. Contains spoilers! Rated PG13. Yuri warning! Nothing in here should be a shock if you've watched the episodes and paid attention. All I'm doing is filling in the gaps with my own interpretation of events! Special thanks to Greenegret for betaing!

* * * * *

"I knew you had a secret set of hardsuits stashed somewhere!" Nene exclaimed in relief and excitement once she looked at the display of the four ready suits near the wall.

Sylia broke out into a grim smile as she pressed some buttons on the wall panel. There was a hum and as one, each of the suits bent forward and opened to allow their respective owners to climb in for occupancy.

"They're actually functional prototypes," Sylia quickly explained. "After Galatea, I decided to tinker with more design options. I didn't like how much time and preparation the Galatea versions required so I decided to see if I could make similar versions that were pre-formed like your first set of hardsuits. It'll be a tight wiggle to get into them, and yes, you'd still be naked, but these could be deployed remotely as well as by yourself. I'm just grateful that I never allowed Sylvie in here or she would have destroyed them as well."

"So how functional are these?" Priss asked as she started to take off her clothes, dumping them on the nearby examination table.

"They should be one hundred percent but I haven't run a full diagnostic test on all of them. I didn't finish them because I eventually decided to take the leap of faith that perhaps the Knight Sabers could finally retire after all. My suit is the only one that I've thoroughly checked and know is fine. But since the suits are all custom-fitted neither one of you can wear it."

As she took off her own clothes, Nene frowned at the way Sylia still pressed her hand against her side. "Sylia, are you going to go out too?"

Sylia flashed a reassuring smile and said, "I couldn't wiggle into this version in my current condition, much less fight in one."

"So it'll be just me and Nene?" Priss muttered as she approached her suit. She suddenly faltered in her step as her eyes widened due to some internal reaction.

Sylia frowned and opened her mouth to speak but then she was cut off by Mackey's voice over the intercom.

"We've found her!" he announced. "She's still on the main highway within the city. At the speed she's going and with traffic, we calculated that it'll be another twenty-five minutes before she gets to Reika's. If you dispatch within the next five minutes, you'll stop her in plenty of time. You'll also be outside of the city limits so you should have free reign to do what you have to."

"Genom's also found her too and are tracking her by satellite!" Nigel's voice added. "I just intercepted a deployment order for Sylvie's sisters by helicopter!"

"Thanks! And keep us posted of anything new!" Sylia yelled back to the receiving microphones. She then frowned as she mulled the situation. "Damn! That's four to two odds now! One to one is risky enough. Looks like I'm going to have to join you after all."

"So then you are going to wear your hardsuit?" Nene nervously asked, even sounding a little hopeful in her voice. She had already started to squeeze into her own combat armor as she got ready.

With a sly smile, she shook her head. "There are other things I can do to help even the odds!" She pushed other codes into the control panel, which caused humming to be heard as the door to one of the adjacent rooms slid open expectantly. "A hardsuit would actually get in the way this time. -- Priss, I want you to deploy first. Nene and I will catch up with you."

A look of hesitancy and fear broke out on the singer's face, a reaction that even Nene noticed.

"But - " Priss stared at the hardsuit before her. Her face clearly showed that she was trying to fight down some internal panic growing within her.

Sylia looked at her firmly and said, "You have the best lead right now to stop Sylvie before anyone else arrives. So it'll still be a one to one fight. Just keep in mind that you're doing this for Linna! And for Sylvie. Don't you think she'd want you to stop her if you could? And we'll be keeping an eye on you."

"Priss, you can do it!" Nene insisted frantically, realizing her support was needed as well. "Linna and the real Sylvie are counting on you!"

Priss stared at the ready suit before her and swallowed. Then she closed her eyes, took a deep breath and reopened her eyes with a determined expression. Even though she went through the motions of getting into her suit, her face clearly showed the haunted look of a woman facing her own execution.

"Nene, make certain Priss launches fine!" Sylia ordered, as she discarded her robe and walked towards the waiting room. "You'll have to do it from the launch tube in the pit. When she's gone, wait for me there. I should only take five minutes!"

* * * * *

Do I fight for control? Or do I just let go and trust my body as I normally do? But isn't that how I froze the last time?

Priss's mind frantically raced through its monologue as she felt herself sail through the air. She ran through every conceivable option and didn't trust the outcomes of any of them. The fight with the construction boomers also replayed in her mind, creating more panic and uncertainty as to how she was to approach this impending battle.

Sylvie said the key was for Priss to remind herself that she was human.

But doesn't any kind of emotion qualify as being human? Boomers don't experience panic or fear or doubts. Boomers don't fight because they're motivated by the horror of innocent lives being killed, or by the fierce desire to protect a loved one. And boomers don't function with the constant fear that their own bodies could betray them at any moment. So what the hell was the key to breaking Galatea's unconscious control?!

But sentient boomers do feel emotion. You know that, Priss. There is no difference so stop trying to fight and just accept who you really are!

Priss's heart beat so hard that it felt like it was trying to burst not only out of her body but the hardsuit as well.

"Priss, take a deep breath and focus!" Nigel's voice firmly and calmly coached her through the comm-link. "You need your full concentration to confront Sylvie. Don't give her an advantage over you!"

"Ri-Right, Nigel," Priss responded with a deep breath and a swallow as she bounced off another rooftop.

She knew she had to get her act together. Despite what Sylia said, she knew she had no backup this time. It was all or nothing.

Just as that thought settled in her mind, she looked down at the long stretch of countryside before her, critically eyeing the road. Then she saw the familiar figure on the extremely familiar vehicle.

"I see her!" she reported back through the comm-link.

"Go for it!" Nigel said. "Nene and Sylia should be there in three minutes. Genom is also in the air. They should be arriving around the same time!"

"Got it!"

Priss took a final breath and adjusted her thrusters to change her trajectory a bit so she that could line herself up with Sylvie's travel path.

Wearing a simple dress with the skirt hiked up around her hips in the complete lack of boomer moedsty, Sylvie was hunched over the machine, her white hair flying like a banner in the wind. She glanced back at the figure hovering in the sky behind her, showing that she acknowledged the other's presence as well, but made no move other than to speed up.

When Sylvie reached a stretch of the hillside road that was finally clear of other vehicles, Priss lunged in for the attack. The Knight Saber dive-bombed with precise accuracy, nailing Sylvie with a tackle. The collision sent the two of them and the motorcycle skidding across the asphalt surface, through the guardrails and down the hill-side into the forest below.

Priss's arm-lock around Sylvie's waist gave her a split second advantage in the mad tumble. Before they finished their roll, she pulled her arm back to land a knuckle-bomb enhanced punch, and felt it freeze again.

Taking advantage of the hesitancy, Sylvie slammed her elbow into Priss's chest, knocking the Knight Saber flying into the nearby tree.

"PRISS! Are you okay?!" Mackey blurted after hearing the sound of the second collision.

Priss scrambled to her feet as she tried to focus through the impact of the hit. "I'm fine! The suit absorbed it but I'm still a bit rattled." She noticed that her arm was still locked in its attack position.

The Knight Saber then looked up to find Sylvie charging at her. The boomer suffered superficial damage from the crash. Her dress was torn and her artificial skin ripped from the upper right side of her face, revealing the glistening metal skull with the white eye in its socket.

The sight shocked Priss, finally dispelling any lingering doubts in her mind of what Sylvie truly was, the kind that stayed until you saw certain things for yourself. Unfortunately, it was a split second reaction that gave Sylvie the opening she needed.

The boomer fully tackled the Knight Saber, sending them both crashing through the already damaged tree, tumbling into the clearing beyond. Sylvie had one arm locked around Priss's neck as she rabbit-punched her in the side.

Priss tried to punch back with her free arm and found that it also froze into a neutral and helpless position.

SHIT! she thought frantically as she felt her panic attack come back in full force.

Then she felt herself block everything out. Nigel and Mackey's frantic words through the comm-link, the rattling pounding that her hardsuit and body were taking, and the sheer helplessness of her situation. She wanted to shut down and run away -- just like before.

But then a voice made its way through the chaos. The distinct words that were repeated in a hauntingly familiar voice. Priss couldn't tell if she actually heard it through her ears or if it was a mental connection of some sort.

It was Sylvie, repeating over and over, "Please kill me, Priss!"

-- End Chapter 56 --

For those of you interested in the more "behind the scenes" perspective with some spoilers and teasers as well as be on notification of updates, go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BGCPost2040