Nihao!

	Authors notes and other fun stuff are at the end of this one. C&C is 
always welcomed. 

Jusenkyo Guide

Jusenkyo Productions Proudly Presents
A Bubblegum Crisis Fan Fiction
I Know

	The letter was simple; it had arrived with the afternoon post in a 
brown envelope bearing no other address other than the one it was 
addressed to.

	Sylia Stingray
	Lady's 633 Building
	MegaTokyo

	The letter, when opened by Sylia, had no greeting, no signature, only 
an address, a time, and one line. 

	'I know.'

	Sylia Stingray, caretaker of the Stingray legacy, leader of the 
mercenary outfit know as the Knight Sabers, and known by friends and 
associates as the most cold hearted people on the planet, sat down hard, 
shaking.

	'How could anyone have found out? I covered all the tracks, I buried 
everything, how could someone found out, and most importantly, who?' she 
thought.

	The letter itself offered no clues as to its origins. Nene's search had 
found that no one registered the letter, the mailboomer didn't have a 
record of delivering it to the Silky Doll that afternoon. It was as if 
it had materialized in the mailbox before Mackie picked it up.

The night before the time mentioned in the letter, Sylia called the 
others together.

	"I don't like it Sylia, sounds like a trap to me," Priss said.

	Linna and Nene nodded in agreement. "You shouldn't go, or at lest not 
without your suit, and us" Linna said.

	Sylia sighed; she had been over this time and time again in her mind, 
considering each angle that she could think of. Now her time was up, her 
last hope that the others could come up with something exhausted, she 
had simply run out of time.

	Wearily, Sylia passed a hand over her eyes, trying to stem off the 
fatigue, "I'm sorry, I will have to meet whoever it is, alone."

The others tried to raise protest, objecting to her decision, but part 
of being the leader is knowing when to override and take control by 
yourself.

	"It's a mute point, I will meet with him, and, AND" Sylia said, raising 
her voice to be heard over the others, "Until I return, Priss will be in 
charge. If something happens to me, continue to work out of Raven's. I 
will try to foster the image that I was using boomers to help me. Now 
good night ladies."

	Nene stood up with tears in her eyes. 'Trust Nene to be emotional," 
Sylia thought.

	Instead of crying, or hysterically demanding Sylia to stay, Nene 
surprised Sylia by saying, "Good luck Sylia, we'll see you tomorrow 
night."

	'Maybe there's some hope for her after all,' Sylia thought as the 
others echoed Nene's words and left her alone.

	The address was a warehouse, one of the older ones that still lined the 
docks of Yokohama. The time was 5 am in the morning. 

	Inside, alone, and without her suit, Sylia Stingray waited for the 
person who had figured it all out. After five minutes of waiting, a man 
in a wheelchair joined her.

	Old, that's what Sylia's first impression was of him, old and worn out. 
He once had been an extremely handsome man, but time had taken its toll 
on him. As he moved into the one working light, Sylia was surprised to 
note something else about him. 

It was in the way he moved, the way he held himself unconsciously, Linna 
held herself the same way. This old man before her had at one time been 
a martial arts master. It showed in his still graceful movements, a hint 
of power that was held in check. Here was another warrior.

	Then he spoke, "Stingray san ohayo gozaimasu." His Japanese was 
flawless.

	"Good morning," Sylia responded in English that was just as good.

	The old man smiled for a split second. "Japanese or English?" he 
inquired.
	"Japanese," Sylia said.

	The old man bowed slightly, "As you wish, I am glad to see you here, 
and without your armor and friends."

	Sylia braced herself; she sent a silent goodbye to her brother and the 
rest of the Knight Sabers.

"There is no need to be worried, I am not here to kill you, or demand 
that you do something in exchange for me silence," he said. 

	"Then why have you called me here then?" Sylia asked.

	The old man sighed just a bit, "Let me tell you a story," he started.

	"A story?" Sylia asked, "You drag me out of bed and threaten to blow my 
cover for a story?"

	The old man glared at her, "Yes young lady, a story, I'm old enough now 
for some of that elderly respect, but I can still wipe the floor with 
you, wheelchair or not. Now as an old friend of mine was so fond of 
saying, shut up and sit down."

	Sylia complied; siting down on the floor as the old man began his tale.

	"You were easy to find you know," he said, "But then I knew where to 
look. We are not all that different you and I. So let me tell you a 
story. There was once a boy who lost his parents when he was very young. 
Like you he lost them to crime, and like you he swore revenge. He 
trained himself to become the best, and the smartest. Finally when the 
time came, he donned armor of his own," the old man paused for a second.

	"Like you, he took on a partner who had the same drive as he did. They 
fought crime for many years, and for all that he cared for his partner, 
he remained alone. His partner grew up and left and her had a new one. 
This one was darker, colder than the last. The young man's drive for 
revenge rivaled his partners. Finally he was, " the old man choked for a 
second, "He was killed by the worst mad man this world has ever seen.

	After that, he became an automan, all he could do is put on that armor 
every night and go out. He became brittle, and even when he got a new 
partner, he still didn't trust, still was alone, and it broke him." The 
old man pasted a hand over his face, as if to wave away memories. 

	"He healed and put on his armor again of course, but something was not 
right, he had been beaten, and even though his partner, his family, 
tried to help him, he refused. He had learned his lesson, to open up 
would to be hurt and no one would ever hurt him again. Not even the 
wedding of his best friend could shake him from the icy darkness which 
he clothed himself. After many years, after his partner left him, his 
best friend disappearing after a disaster, and his last family dying, he 
finally realized that her was alone and there was nothing he could do." 
He stopped and looked at Sylia, "Don't make that same mistake, even he 
realized in the end that vengeance is an empty thing if you have no one 
else. I suggest you think about that Miss. Stingray. Like I said, you 
and I are not that different, but you are young enough to change, and 
you have friends who would be willing to help."

	"I� will think about what you have said sir," Sylia said.

	The old man snorted in amusement, "No doubt. Tell me Miss. Stingray, do 
you keep a museum? A collection of artifacts from your adventures?"

	"No, why?"

	"It helps to remember why to fight sometimes, and why there are 
sacrifices that are too big to make." He handed her a wrapped bundle, 
"Here's something to start with."

	With that, he turned his chair and started to wheel away.

	"Sir!" Sylia called after him, "May I know your name?"

	The old man stopped for a second, "I am a fellow knight," was all he 
said. Then he was gone.

	That night, Sylia called the others together, not for a briefing, not 
to tell them about a new job, but just because.

	After dinner, and an edited tale of what happened, Linna asked Sylia, 
"A fellow knight? That's what he said?"

	"Yes," Sylia replied.

	A new section had been added to the Knight Sabers HQ, it was small now, 
but there was room for expansion. Standing in the center was a dummy; it 
was wearing a cape and cowl that was a gift from another dark knight.

End

Authors notes
This was written in the space of two hours and conceived during biology 
after I read Frozen Knights by M Productions. (Good fan fic BTW, I 
suggest you check it out.) It did start me thinking about how close in 
personality and history the two knights are.  Besides Frozen Knights, 
this was also inspired by The Dark Knight Returns, A Death in the 
Family, and The Wedding Album. Bubblegum Crisis is owned by AnimEigo and 
the 'Fellow Knight' is from DC Comics. Please don't sue me.

In case you're wondering, my next fic, as soon as I have some free time, 
will be a Ah! My Goddess fan fic that touches on a few other anime. Its 
called Life Line. Coming soon to an FFML near you!

Ja!
JG


Here sir we come to famous training ground of accursed springs
--------------------------------------------------------------
|Guide of the training grounds|Ranma 1/2, Tenchi Muyo, BGC,  |
|of accursed springs, 8th     |AMG, Tank Police, Gall Force, |
|Disciple of Eriond, and proud|YUA, GitS, ADP, Evangelion    |
| member of the SkAS          |Project A-ko, UY, VPM, BGC!   |
---------http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/6549 ----------------|
|Akane, Linna, Washu, Nene,   |Nene showed Mackie just how   |
|Skuld, Belldandy, Kiyone     |much she knew. Winter Blossoms|
---------------------------Jusenkyo---------------------------


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