Iczer-one Fan Fiction / Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction / Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ The Earth Child ❯ A Different Reality ( Chapter 9 )

The Earthchild

 

(An Iczer/Ranma/Sailor Moon Crossover)

 

Written by

Jim Robert Bader

 

Proofread by

Shiva Barnwell

 

(Inspired by the works of Rumiko Takahashi,

Naoko Takeuchi, Toshihiro Hirano, & Hitoshi Okuda,

with ideas and suggestions by TH Tiger and Johannes Huber)

 

 

 

 

 

“Rise and shine, sleepy-head, did you have a nice nap?”

 

“Oh yeah!” Sayoko stretched and yawned, looking as fresh as a newborn flower, “Catching nine winks in the regenerator always leaves me feeling fit, trim and ready to take on the whole world. Did I miss anything when I was out?”

 

“Nothing too significant,” Iczer One replied, giving her redheaded counterpart a wry glance as she added, “And did you sleep as well, my sister?”

 

“Sleep?” Iczer Two replied with a very strange grin on her mouth, and her hair seemed somewhat more tousled than usual, as if she had just tried to tangle with a cement mixer.

 

“Never mind,” Nagisa sniffed, unable to help grinning at the expense of the normally dour Iczer, “You guys can brag about your date some other time. Right now we need to pool our heads together and try to figure out what's behind these attacks by the Venomoids and whatever.”

 

“You have a valid point, Nagisa-san,” Iczer-Two relented, but try as she might she could not seem to remain sober for two minutes as she was positively glowing with energy, just as her partner had that unmistakable “cat who ate the canary” look about her, “We do need to determine if the strength of our enemies is sufficient to pose us a real threat. The discovery of this Iczer-type unit who calls herself Nova, and her counter part Iczer Robo, the one she named Omega…”

 

“Yes,” Iczer One agreed, “All very strange and very disturbing. I confess that the idea of another one of us going rogue is more unsettling than just the thought of Venomoid attacks crossing into our world from someplace else…”

 

“Not to mention the fact that this Nova claims that you are at least one of her parents,” Nagisa further pointed out with her own look of disquiet.

 

“Yeah, what's the deal about that anyway?” Sayoko eyed her partner with suspicion, “You haven't been fooling around behind my back, have you?”

 

“What?” Iczer Two blinked, “No way…I mean…I would never do that to you, Sayoko-chan…you are my reason for living, my heart, my soul and my partner…”

 

“Don't think you can sweet talk your way out of this,” Sayoko frowned, “I wanna know if this Nova chick comes from some other place where you might have fooled around, like…in another dimension…”

 

“That is a possibility,” Iczer One remarked, “Another world, another reality, possibly a whole new continuum where things happened differently than on our world, and if you never met Sayoko on that timeline, then it's possible that a part of your DNA was used to create your virtual daughter.”

 

“Eh?” Iczer Two exclaimed, but then she thought about it and said, “It…is possible…if we are dealing with a different reality, one where, perhaps, the Venomoids were triumphant and Big Gold…she whom I once called Mother…survived to create new terrors…”

 

“Hah!” Sayoko snorted, “I knew it!”

 

“Now that's a scary thought,” Nagisa winced, “If that had happened then it would have to mean…”

 

“That I failed in my mission on that timeline and no doubt was eliminated,” Iczer One said grimly, “Big Gold would then be free to manufacture new monsters and might even have the power to spread her evil to other worlds, just as Neos tried to do, and the Grey twins beyond that…”

 

“If this is true, then we face far worse terrors than even we could imagine,” Iczer Two grimly averred, “Even I cannot comprehend the depths of depravity to which Gold might go to extend her reach into this world. She might have nearly unlimited resources to draw upon, in which case we could be fighting an entire world and not just a few random opponents.”

 

“Then why haven't they attacked us in force?” Sayoko wondered.

 

“Possibly they can't…or maybe they do have limits to as how much force they can project into our world at the present time,” Nagisa suggested, “Or perhaps they've only just begun to test our defenses so that they can determine how much of an offensive force would be truly needed.”

 

“Yet another disturbing prospect,” Iczer One grimly summarized when Force Commander Sepia spoke up and said, “Protector! We have a new reading!”

 

“Say what?” Nagisa whirled around, “Another attack…already?”

 

“It's coming from Grid Epsilon, sector Nine-dash-two,” Cobalt reported as she too intruded on the meeting of the Iczers, “Situated in the Nerima Prefecture.”

 

“Nerima?” Iczer Two spoke up with alarm.

 

“But that's where…” Iczer One started to say when Nagisa finished for her, “Troi went to find Rhea…”

 

“In Nerima Prefecture?” Sayoko blinked, “But that would mean…”

 

“That they're after our niece…I mean…Sister, your daughter, my student,” Iczer Two said grimly, “No doubt they are attempting to eliminate her before she can fully synchronize with her new partner.”

 

“How strong is the reading this time?” Iczer One asked of the monitor attendants.

 

“Strong…very strong, Protector!” reported Sister Magenta, “We're detecting Iczer Robo level force…”

 

“Nova,” Iczer Two said grimly, “It has to be her…or someone very like her in any event. Either way, Rhea-chan and Troi won't be able to resist her without their Iczer Robos.”

 

“Iczer Robos Alpha and Theta are standing by and ready to receive you, Commander,” Sister Saffron reported, “Iczer Delta is still in its cradle but…Protector! Gamma-Theta has auto-launched and has merged into Subspace!”

 

“WHAT?” Iczer One said with alarm.

 

“But that's Rhea-chan's unit!” Nagisa declared.

 

“She summoned her Iczer?” Sayoko blinked her eyes, “But that mean…”

 

“Indeed,” Iczer Two replied, completely sober now and once more the grim and dour fighting unit that she had been created to be, “It means that she has taken her partner into her Robo…but can this Muku Dori be ready for such an experience?”

 

“Are you kidding?” Nagisa said, “I remember what it was like my first time and…we've got to get to our Robos right now! Rhea-chan will need our help!”

 

“Right,” her fellow warriors replied when all at once another monitor called out in alarm to divert their attention.

 

“Commander—Protector!” sister Chartreuse reported, “There are two more energy readings signifying crossover events…and they're both opening up right next to our location!”

 

“Confirm that,” Saffron remarked, “Iczer Robo-type energies are located at grid Alpha-one-oh-seven! Two of them, both measuring enormous energy levels…”

 

“A second attack wave?” Iczer-Two reacted, confirming her fears with a glance to her sister.

 

“This time they're not just probing our defenses,” Iczer One agreed, “They're launching a major assault. It seems that we will have to concentrate our efforts at home and hope for the best with Rhea-chan and our sister.”

 

“Oh lovely,” Sayoko growled, “This day just keeps getting better and better…”

 

“Rhea-chan,” Nagisa winced, but then mastered her impulse and growled, “Whoever is behind this…Gold or whatever…if they harm one hair of our daughter's head, there will be retribution!”

 

“Count on it,” Iczer One averred, exchanging another grim look with Iczer Two as the both of them nodded in full agreement.

 

“To our units!” Iczer Two called out, “And mobilize the Iczelion corps! All defenses at full alert, this is not a drill this time, people!”

 

“You don't have to tell me twice,” Sayoko averred, pausing only to add, “You really will use any excuse to get me naked, won't you?”

 

“As if I needed an excuse for that,” Iczer Two replied, then all four of them vanished, teleporting at once to their respective fighting units…

 

 

 

 

FIFTEEN MINUTES BEFORE THIS HAPPENS:

 

 

Muku cried out and charged her opponent, launching a series of punches and kicks that were precisely controlled and devastatingly effective…or at least they would have been had it not been for the fact that her opponent flowed out of the way of her attacks as if anticipating them to the very second.

 

“You're slowing down today, Muku-chan,” Sakura smiled, easily avoiding each attack while searching for an opening through which to mount a counter-offensive, “Don't tell me you're tiring out already?”

 

“Hah, you wish!” Muku grinned as she spun about and threw a kick that only missed its mark by centimeters, forcing Sakura to leap back and rebound with her feet against the nearest wall, pushing out as she somersaulted in the air to land behind Muku and from there throw her own series of kicks that immediately put the other girl on the defensive.

 

“Wow,” Yumi remarked, “They sure are going all out today. You'd almost think that they were trying to impress somebody…”

 

“I wonder who that could be?” noted Yui with a glance at an enraptured Rhea.

 

“Aw, they're not too bad,” Troi remarked, adding to herself (for humans, and that's taking into account who they've got for parents.) Then she, too, fetched an amused smirk as she saw the way Rhea was following every detail of the exchange, committing each facet to memory as though the friendly duel were a ballet being performed by champion prima donnas. In truth Troi suspected that her niece was less interested in the combat techniques than in other…facets of what she was seeing. There was a bright warmth glowing about Rhea's cheeks that made the younger girl seem almost giddy with delight as she watched her partner go all-out with her best friend in a no-nonsense, rough-and-tumble free sparring match in which both girls were pulling out all stops to try and out do one another.

 

The truth of the matter was that Troi herself found the lively athletics of both girls to be more than a little bit arousing. She was especially turned on by the auburn haired Sakura, who moved with precise control and a muted sense of barely contained power that leant her slender frame a vitality that Troi found incredibly appealing. How much like both of her parents this girl was…a real knock-off of the original mold, and entirely natural at everything she did. She was the kind of girl Troi would not have minded picking up for a date, especially to see what **other** sorts of athletic things the human girl could do with that near-perfect body!

 

Muku Dori herself was quite the study in grace and beauty, but as appealing as Troi found her, the effect she was having upon Rhea was a whole different level of physical and emotional arousal. It amused Troi in spite of a recurring jealous twinge over the matter, seeing how Synchronization was affecting her usually demure and overly shy niece. She recalled the way Rhea had acted when they were changing into their borrowed gi, and how breathless she was when contemplating a naked Muku Dori…

 

Rhea, meanwhile, was wondering if she was somehow malfunctioning or had acquired a latent toxin that had not been filtered out of her systems. How else to explain why she was having so much trouble breathing, or why he heart was beating so swiftly as she studied Muku's movements with an eye to more than just measuring her battle prowess? The sight of Muku was mesmerizing…and even more so as Rhea had sneaked a peak at the other girl while the latter had been upstairs dressing. She did not know why she had felt such a strong compulsion to spy upon her own partner, only that she wanted to see Muku in the all together…to memorize once more ever facet of her anatomy in astonishing detail. She colored as she remembered the yelp she had almost given when her Aunt Troi surprised her in the midst of this peep-show, then flushed an even deeper hue as she recalled enduring the naughty innuendo and comments directed to her at a whisper by the older and far more raunchy Iczer.

 

“Don't feel bad, little one,” Troi had softly chided, “It's perfectly natural that you should want to see what your partner looks like without any clothes on. Earth girls are certainly quite an eye-catching lot if you learn to appreciate their charms and understand just how to make them scream out your name on a bedside.”

 

“Ahhh…hah?” Rhea had responded at her most intelligible level.

 

“Of course there's nothing wrong with dating our own people,” Troi had continued, “But---C'thuwulf or human---it's pretty much the same. They have almost identical anatomies, after all, while we have a similar internal construction to our own makeup, all the better to help us bond with our partners.”

 

Rhea had felt an urge to melt right through the floor as her ears burned from shame, embarrassment and (most notably) at her lust for her own partner, a condition hardly helped by the brazen comments of her far less inhibited elder. Even now she could feel the heat of her excitement casting aside any thoughts of prudence or propriety as she wondered what it would be like to be that…intimate…with her Muku-chan…

 

The battle between friends shifted into high gear as Sakura and Muku squared off to do more than merely exchange rapid-fire kicks, punches and other conventional maneuvers, drawing on their internal chi levels to mount more powerful attacks and counter-defenses. One could see it in the way the currents of air shaped and flowed about their bodies, hardening and fortifying their limbs so that each blow had many times the force of a hammer, and each counter-thrust was like the parry of a sword stroke, and every punch that was deflected transferred the unspent force into waves that rolled out beyond the scope of their fight to be felt like strong vibrations to the watching observers, who sat along the sidelines.

 

“Oh!” Rhea remarked, surprised at the forces being harnessed by the two human warriors one of them her partner.

 

“Not too shabby,” Troi remarked, lounging about in her borrowed outfit and making it seem as if she were still wearing leathers, “You've trained `em pretty good, Boyo. Of course there's more to fighting than just being able to harness raw power. How good are they at doing mental and spiritual combat?”

 

“Oh, they're not too shabby on that level either,” Ranma winked, “Don't judge them just by their martial arts ability. I learned a lot from your sister about fortifying the spirit so your enemies can't touch you where it really counts, and I've tried to pass that along to my students.”

 

“Well then, maybe you might like to show me a few moves,” Troi smiled, then added coyly, “If it's all right with your wife, of course.”

 

“You think I'd trust my husband around a man-trap like you?” Ukyo smiled back, “But why don't we let the kids show what they know, then you and me can go a few rounds together…how about that?”

 

“Cool!” Troi leered, “But what makes you think your hubby here can trust you around me?”

 

“That is…a good point,” Ranma conceded with a reluctant smile, “You C'thuwulf do have your own ways of going about your business…”

 

“Hey, don't judge all C'thuwulf by my example,” Troi smiled, “They kind of broke the mold when they made me, and I'm a one-of-a-kind Iczer. Of course my niece here is something special, and if you want to test her you can see that she's a one-of-a-kind hybrid.”

 

“Fair enough,” Ranma said, then called out, “That's enough, you two! You're both warmed up enough from that little free spar, now let's see what our young guest here is made of.”

 

“Me?” Rhea asked, then when she saw Troi nod her was she got to her feet and said, “I am ready.”

 

“<Just be sure and take it easy,>” Troi sub-vocalized in a note of caution cautioned, “<You're dealing with humans, not Venomoids, different rules apply here.>”

 

“<I understand, Auntie,>” Rhea sub-vocalized , “<I will be careful.>”

 

Muku and Sakura stood apart and bowed to each other and to Ranma, then both turned their heads to examine the slender Rhea as she stepped into the middle of the practice floor. Muku was staring in wonder at the sight of the other girl, while Sakura was sizing her up as though trying to decide for herself whether to trust or even like the new arrival, murmuring at the last, “Okay…let's see what you've got, Goldie.”

 

“Not you two,” Ranma said, “You'll sit on the sidelines and watch while you catch your breath, but this warm-up round goes to Perm, if she's willing to test Rhea-san out.”

 

“I would be more than honored, Noble Uncle,” the purple haired girl said as she stood to her feet and then entered the practice area and took her place near the center.

 

“But…” Muku started to say.

 

“You'll both get your chance to spar with her in another moment,” Ranma said, “But I want someone fresh who doesn't have a stake in things to help decide how good Two's disciple is, and whether she really does know the Anything Goes system.” He exchanged formal bows with them, then stood back.

 

“But I want a crack at her anyway when this is done, Dad,” Sakura said as she and Muku retired to the sidelines, leaving Rhea and the purple haired Perm to square off together.

 

Perm bowed respectfully and said, “Though you defeated my brother and sister in battle, I bear you no ill will. If anything, you have my deepest respect, and so I will fight without restraint in honor of your formidable prowess.”

 

“Thank you,” Rhea replied, “I hope that we can both be friends. Muku-chan has much affection towards you, and I think you would be a worthy ally.” She mimicked Muku's gestures with Ranma and Perm.

 

“Then that is my hope as well,” Perm assumed a fighting crouch, “Shall we begin?”

 

“As you will,” Rhea replied, falling into a defensive stance with fists raised in readiness, “Whenever you command, Sensei.”

 

Ranma raised his hand and said, “Hajime!” and then the two combatants got started in earnest.

 

Rhea was cautious in approaching the other girl, but Perm launched an all-out attack, going from calm and focused to a leaping kick that almost took Rhea by surprise, save that she avoided it without almost thinking. Far from disconcerted by this, Perm twisted her body and reacted by bouncing off a wall and rebounding off the ceiling, kicking off and coming down like a shot with foot outstretched in order to catch Rhea from behind, knocking her sprawling.

 

Though surprised by the attack, and the unexpected agility of her opponent, Rhea again reacted without thinking, rolling to the side so that she did not get pinned between Perm's foot and the wooden flooring. She sprang to her feet and assumed a defensive crouch as Perm whirled upon her and lashed out with another kick, which Rhea deflected, only to find the other girl spun about in mid-air and used her other foot for a whip, which forced the Iczer to dart back in surprise, finding herself on the defensive.

 

“Wow, she's fast!” Yumi exclaimed.

 

“Yeah, but which one of them?” Ken asked, noticing how the girl named Rhea was actually holding her own but seemed to be holding back somehow, as if not fighting at her full potential.

 

Muku was noticing the same thing, somehow aware that Rhea was holding back and not going all out against Perm, who was more than fast and strong for one of her classmates, having the benefit of advanced Amazon training. Though Perm seemed to be on the offensive, in actuality she was having to work a lot harder to keep up than usual, and even against Sakura and Muku such frantic maneuvers were hardly called for. It was as if Perm herself knew that her opponent was only fighting at a fraction of her full strength, and yet the Amazon pride of the young Kuno would not permit her to use anything than her best in any fight with her. On the whole it truly was an amazing performance.

 

Of even more interest to Muku, however, was deciding just how much of her real strength this Rhea was holding back in reserve. Ducking and dodging the attacks of her purple-haired antagonist was just a way of gauging Perm's potential, and once the elvish girl had that much determined she was ready to mount a proper counter-offensive, going from defense to attack with a speed that left even Perm flat-footed. With a single blow to the solar plexus she drove Perm back away from her, staggering the other girl and taking some of the fight out of their battle. In two quick strokes with the edge of her hand she further humbled the other girl, staggering Perm back by several steps before the two of them separated to regain their bearings.

 

“You're good,” Perm said as she recovered from the triple assault, “But you're holding far too much back, and by rights I should feel insulted.”

 

“Not at all,” Rhea said, “You're even better than your sister, but if I go all out you could be injured.”

 

“Let me be the judge of how much I can take in a fight,” Perm replied, “The only way to become truly strong is to go all out against a stronger opponent, and until this time it has always been Muku-chan or Sakura.”

 

“Hey, what about me?” Yui spoke up, “Don't I could for something in this?”

 

“If I wanted to get lost somewhere with you, then I'd come to you for assistance,” Perm smiled, “But you're not really my type, so…I'll have to take a pass on that.”

 

“WHAT?” Yui half rose to her feet before Yumi put a hand on her arm to restrain her, “I don't have to take that from you! Let me in there and I'll show her what a fight really means, Sensei.”

 

“You all seem so eager to pick on the new girl,” Ranma sighed, giving a Troi a wry look before adding, “Your niece is really popular today. So…who do I pick next to spar with our newest guest?”

 

“I'll do it, Daddy,” Sakura said as she stood back to her feet, “I've been wanting to see how good she really is ever since I saw her take down Gel and Godai.”

 

“Go for it, Kid,” Ranma said, turning to Perm, “If that's all right with you. I know you've got a lot more left, but I'd hate to have to be the one to explain those bruises you took to your mother…”

 

“Hmph,” Perm half-smiled, “You may have a point about that, Uncle. I fear no man…nor whatever she is…but when it comes to my mother, only a fool dares trespass…or a man much more foolish than my siblings and father.”

 

“All right then,” Sakura declared as she moved out to the center of the dojo, “I'll be sure and leave enough for you to clean up afterwards, but if she's really that good, this ought to be an interesting match.”

 

“For me as well,” Rhea replied, “Muku considers you an equal, and that means that you are very special to her…and to me through her, Saotome-san.”

 

“Eh?” Sakura frowned, “You talk like the two you have been best buddies for quite a while now…what else has she been telling you about me?”

 

“AH…” Muku winced, not liking at all what that sounded like!

 

“I'm sorry,” Rhea replied, “I didn't mean to imply that Muku-chan's been…gossiping about you…”

 

“Save it!” Sakura raised her fists and glared at her new opponent, “I'll hear the truth after I beat it out of you. HAAAIII!!!”

 

“Hey, but I didn't---!” Ranma started to say when his daughter rushed forward to attack her new opponent, not even bothering going through the preliminaries before unleashing a hail of punches and kicks at a speed that went well beyond the normal definitions of “human.”

 

“Better give it up, Pop,” Tenma sighed, “Oneesama always picks her own times to fight, and this time she looks like she's spoiling for it worse than ever.”

 

“Impulsive and headstrong,” Ukyo sighed, “I wonder which side of the family she gets that from?”

 

“Maybe the both of you put together?” Troi proposed, watching the exchanges with more than casual interest as this Sakura was proving to be worth a closer study.

 

Rhea was surprised at being treated to a hailstorm of rapid attacks, most of which she either dodged or avoided, but quite a few came close enough to need actual blocking. Try as she might she could not grapple or get a hold of the other girl's wrists, nor turn her attacks against her, enduring a full-strength Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken with every blow striking at her with the force of a sledgehammer. It seemed as though Sakura threw a hundred punches in only a second, and her kicks came just as swiftly, alternating with high and low attacks that ranged the gamut of possible attack points.

 

Muku just stared in disbelief as Sakura launched an onslaught that was both savage and well controlled, forcing Rhea on the defensive for real this time as the reddish-gold haired warrior had to match her opponent's speed and counter the force of her chi-backed attacks. It actually seemed as if her best friend was trying to hurt the other girl rather than simply test her defenses.

 

“What's with her?” Yui asked, seeing her normal sparring partner fight as if she had a great grudge against this newcomer, and that was not at all like the normally affable opponent that Yui was used to fighting for a hobby.

 

“Good question,” Ken remarked, “Such hostility would lead one almost to suspect that she was trying to impress somebody, and I wonder who that could be?”

 

“Oh, you guys are so dense!” Yumi snorted, “Isn't it obvious by now? Sakura's fighting like that because she's jealous of the new girl.”

 

“Jealous?” Muku blinked, “Of Rhea?”

 

“Of you, Dummy,” Yumi snorted, “Don't you get it by now? Sakura-chan's your next best friend, after me, of course…and yet you let some new girl walk right into your life and now she's the only thing you can think or talk about. How do you think that makes us feel, being tossed over like an old retread?”

 

“What?” Muku started, “But I'd never…”

 

“Yeah, right,” Yumi huffed, “Good thing I'm an easy going type or I'd feel jealous, just like Sakura. After all, you're the one who pushes her harder in a fight than almost anybody, except Yui here, and if you wind up spending more time with someone else…well…she's bound to feel a bit miffed about being so neglected.”

 

“Neglected?” Muku blinked, “I'd never neglect…”

 

“Anyone?” Yumi replied, “Tell me that again when you take a good long look in the mirror sometime. You might be surprised with what you see when it comes to this new girl you're mooning over.”

 

“I am not mooning---!” Muku started to declare when a familiar sensation settled over her, a chill that ran along her spine and caused her battle senses to flare to full alarm status.

 

Troi felt it too, and reacted with a start, “WHAT? Here and now? What are those stupid Venomoids up to this time?”

 

“Hey---what the…?” Tenma declared as they all saw the world resolve into off-tone colors, discoloring as the air rippled all around them.

 

“What in the name of the Kami…?” Yui was on her feet and holding her umbrella at the ready.

 

Rhea and Sakura broke off their own duel as the former declared, “We're in subspace! But…why?”

 

“Subspace?” Sakura blinked, also noticing the changes in their surroundings.

 

“Everybody be on the alert!” Ranma declared.

 

“You don't have to say it twice, Sugar,” Ukyo rose up with battle spatula at the ready, “Looks like we've got company about to pay us a visit.”

 

Before anyone could ask what the meant by that the roof of the dojo was suddenly torn away like the lid to a huge box, and there---towering above everyone---was the intimidating sight of a fifteen meter tall giant robot looming over everyone with its cyclopean menace.

 

“What the hell?” Ken exclaimed.

 

“It's a giant robot…just like on TV!” Yumi declared

 

“Not like the TV kind, Kid,” Troi growled as she moved away from the wall and stood at the ready, “I smell a rat somewhere, so…everybody be ready!”

 

“A rat you say?” a new voice asked, one second before the armored form of Nova appeared, arms folded over her chest as she hovered in mid-air with her long cherry mane of hair flowing all about her, “Come now, Auntie, you can do better than that!”

 

“You!” Troi snarled, and all at once she was holding an energy sword in her hand, “What do you want here, Brat?”

 

“I'd think that was obvious,” Nova smiled, “I'm here to kill you…especially YOU, Cousin!”

 

“Who…is that?” Rhea blinked.

 

“You're asking me?” Sakura replied, looking a bit pale for all her effort not to show the same levels of fear as many of the others.

 

“Friend of yours, Sugar?” Ukyo asked.

 

“Hardly,” Troi snarled, “More like a bad blood relation. Better see to the kids, this is gonna get hairy!”

 

“More than you know,” Nova grinned, “Observe…all around you.”

 

“What…?” Ken started as he felt something move behind the walls of the dojo, moving to shelter Yumi as the walls formed hands and reached out to snare them.

 

“Demons!” Yui cried as she threw several ofudo strips at a demonic form that attempted to grab her.

 

“Careful!” Perm cried as she leaped away from another shadow form and stood in a defensive crouch near to Rhea and Sakura, “The walls not only have ears, but tentacles that seek to claim us!”

 

“Tentacles?” Tenma winced as he edged closer to his mother and father.

 

“Oh crap---Venomoids!” Troi cried, “Get everybody back, and don't let them touch you!”

 

“Good advice,” Ranma said, “Only question is…how?”

 

Ukyo lashed out at one creature and sliced its arms before it could get close to her and their son, crying, “EVERYBODY GET A WEAPON---that means YOU TOO, RANCHAN! Forget any talk about fighting unarmed…”

 

“You don't have to tell me twice,” her husband said as he snatched up a practice naginata and began spinning it around to lash out at shadows he only barely even saw forming all around them.

 

Rhea had her beam saber in hand before the nearest shadow could close in around them and was slicing through the middle of a creature that sought to corner Sakura. As the latter stood stunned at the near rescue, the young Iczer calmly said, “You had best claim hold of your baker's peel and make use of it if you want to defend yourself and the others.”

 

“How are you…?” Sakura asked as she stared at the beam saber, then got a hold of her emotions and said, “Right!” only to find her way cut off between herself and her chosen weapon.

 

Muku saw the problem and grabbed up the giant spatula that was presently resting in the space where Sakura normally sat by her side, moving forward in order to toss it at the other girl, only to sense a shadow manifesting in the space by her side, reaching to grapple her, and so she reacted on instinct, slicing upward with the edge of the peel at where a human neck would normally be, only to sever an eyeball-shaped head from its shoulders, much to her horror as she backed away with a terrified expression.

 

All at once that head burst apart and tentacles came shooting at her, coming within a few inches of actually touching her skin, only to stop short as a warmth pulsed from her arm, and all at once an invisible barrier prevented them from achieving their aim.

 

“WHAT?” Muku staggered backward in surprise, feeling the warmth coming from the bracelet that Rhea had insisted she continue to wear (against class policy that forbade ornamentation of any sort).

 

All at once she found Yumi cowering behind her, saying, “They can't seem to reach you…what is it that's keeping that thing back?”

 

“I…I don't…” Muku started to say when she reflexively extended her hand, pointing it at the creature, and---all at once---rays of light shot from the bracelet to strike the tentacle mass and cause them to disintegrate into burned out ashes.

 

“Holy Mother of Mayhem!” Tenma exclaimed as he stared at the smoldering ashes, then at the girl who wearing the bracelet.

 

“A C'thuwulf Force Bracelet, kid,” Troi smiled as she paused in the act of slicing through another Venomoid menace, “First, best line of defense when dealing with alien scum that wants to eat you.”

 

“Muku!” Sakura's voice called out, breaking Muku out of her daze as she belatedly remembered to toss the baker's peel her way. The young Chef caught it easily, then smiled, turning to face the creatures that had been threatening her and Rhea, “Now you'll see what it means to threaten a Saotome, you slimy bastards!”

 

Ukyo was already busy showing other enemies the business end of her baker's peel, but Troi was quicker in spotting other attackers and caught one on the end of her saber before it could drop on the cook's head from above.

 

“Easy there, Beautiful!” Troi warned while shaking the Venomoid clear of her saber, not even watching as the thing disintegrated to charcoal-like fragments, “Your kawaii husband would be awfully upset if you allowed one of these things to take you over.”

 

“Take us over?” Ranma said, “You mean…like possession?”

 

“I mean exactly what I said,” Troi turned in search of more enemies, but found---much to her amazement---that the rest of the kids had finished off their antagonists using the dojo's store of practice weapons.

 

“Everybody all right?” Ken asked, glancing around, “No one hurt?”

 

“No one,” Rhea declared firmly, “I have already scanned you…no one trace of Venomoid activity remains…there are no possessions, Auntie.”

 

“What a relief,” Troi breathed a sigh, only to frown as she heard the one named Nova laughing, “What's so funny to you, Squirt?”

 

“That was just too easy,” Nova said scornfully, “I told them they shouldn't have wasted a Venomoid attack squad on the likes of you. I'm all that's needed to polish you off, and these worthless humans, Auntie.”

 

With that Nova gestured, her hand forming a ball of energy that lashed out at Troi, who tried to deflect with her beam saber, only to be picked up and thrown to the far end of the dojo. So intense was the blast that everyone else was similarly thrown to the sides by the backwash, excluding only Muku, who was again protected by a strange energy field that rose up to surround her, and Rhea, who stood braced against the backwash.

 

“Damn!” Sakura growled as she recovered from having her back slammed into a practice dummy, “What was that? Didn't feel like a normal chi-burst…”

 

Rhea positioned herself at Muku's side and held her beam saber at the ready, “Careful…this one is like me…a powerful fighting unit, and she has an Iczer Robo to back her.”

 

“Iczer…Robo?” Muku blinked, staring at the humongous robot.

 

“Gah…” Troi staggered forward, her gi partially shredded off her body, her beam saber sputtering as though low on battery juice, “What the hell was that…?”

 

“You like it?” Nova beamed brightly, “I call it my Sanjiro beam…with it I can even take down an outmoded Iczer model like you, Auntie…like to try it again?”

 

“Outmoded?” Troi growled, “Are you calling me obsolete?”

 

“I'm calling you an old hag who needs to be taken back by the manufacturer,” Nova declared, “'Cause unlike you, I don't need to bond with a partner!”

 

“Say…what?” Rhea started, “Is…such a thing possible, Auntie?”

 

“No it ain't,” Troi sniffed, “You can't be a real Iczer if you don't have any need for a partner…”

 

“Then where is your partner?” Nova asked with a look of smug contentment.

 

“Eh…ah…” Troi faltered.

 

“That's what I thought!” Nova smiled, calling up an energy sword that burned twice as brightly as the one in Troi's hand, and with a single charging swipe she knocked both Iczer and sword to the side as though she were swatting a fly, leaving a Troi-shaped hole in passing, to which Nova sneered, “You're pathetic! Without a partner you don't have anywhere near the energy it would take to face me down, Old Timer!”

 

“Auntie!” Rhea cried out in dismay.

 

“We have to do something,” Muku looked around at the scattered forms of her best friends, “If we don't stop her somebody will get killed…”

 

“I know,” Rhea said grimly, “But there is only one thing that can stop her. Muku-chan…be ready…I am summoning up my other self, Gamma-Theta.”

 

“Your…what?” Muku blinked, only to react with a start as a glow filled the sky, visible through the space where the roof had been mere moments before.

 

All at once another giant form took shape beyond the damaged remains of the dojo, just as huge and ponderous as the one currently looming over their heads, only sleek and shiny with armor plates of red and gold coloration.

 

“All right now!” Nova grinned, “This is the fun I've been waiting for! Going to give me a good show, Cousin?”

 

“Count on it,” Rhea said grimly, leaping into the air, even as a spotlight fell over the place where Muku was standing. Before the other girl could so much as give a yelp she found herself being gripped in an invisible force screen and picked up like a rag doll, drawn to the shape of the newly arrived robot as Muku stared in dismay, seeing the ground diminish beneath her.

 

There was hardly any time for her to ask questions…all she knew was that there was a tingling sensation that flowed around the outside of her body, and then a warmth passing over her, as soothing as a nice hot bath. Muku opened her eyes and found herself inside some sort of capsule, one that was translucent on the outer plating, and---staring beyond this---she saw a weirdly discolored landscape as barren as it was uninviting. She opened her mouth to ask where she was and received her second shock, for what passed from her lungs was not air but some sort of low-viscosity fluid.

 

“WHAT?” she cried, not even seeing air bubbles escape her lips, “I'm…underwater…?”

 

“No,” Rhea's voice spoke inside her head, “You're inside Iczer Robo model Gamma-Theta, my other self. What you are breathing is a synthetic bio-amniotic fluid of C'thuwulf manufacture…it won't hurt you and it will sustain your body in perfect health. You can breathe normally and even talk, if you want, and it will protect you against any shocks or strains you might encounter.”

 

That was when Muku had her third astonishing discovery---and one that belied that reassurance---for as she glanced down to see the harness-like chair that she was resting in she discovered that her clothes were no where in evidence and that some sort of metal plating was covering certain key parts of her body.

 

“I'm…NAKED???” she gasped.

 

“It is necessary,” Rhea replied, “There is no need for outer garments when surrounded with bio-amniotic fluid, and clothing would just get in the way. Besides which, it is…required that you feel naturally at ease when you are in this state…it will help the process of Synchronization between us.”

 

“What are you talking about?” Muku cried, fighting against the urge to hold her breath underwater, and disturbed beyond imagining at the sensation of breathing and talking within liquid, “I don't know anything about…”

 

All at once the other robot loomed up menacingly, casually kicking against the remains of the dojo. It stood before them as tall as a large office building, yet formed like an armored figure of some sort, and from its war-like faceplate the voice of Nova called out, “NOW WE'RE ARE READY TO TEST THAT OLD-TYPE MODEL OF YOURS AND SEE HOW IT HOLDS UP BEFORE MY NEW AND IMPROVED ICZER OMEGA!!!”

 

“You call yourself an Iczer, and yet you fight for the cause of evil?” Rhea's voice challenged in reply, “What kind of a monster are you?”

 

“WHY DON'T YOU TEST ME AND FIND OUT FOR YOURSELF, COUSIN!”

 

“Why do you call me Cousin?” Rhea wondered, “What relationship is there between us?”

 

“WHY DON'T YOU ASK YOUR SENSEI, MY MOTHER, ICZER TWO?” the voice thundered back, “NOT THAT YOU'LL EVER GET THE CHANCE, OF COURSE, SINCE I AM ABOUT TO DESTROY YOU, ICZER FOUR!”

 

“My name is Kano Rhea,” the golden haired Iczer replied calmly, “And you will not defeat me, for I am linked with my Muku-chan, and together the two of us will defeat you…Cousin.”

 

“Say…what?” Muku gasped, more surprised than anyone else upon hearing this declaration…

 

 

 

Continued

 

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