Iczer-one Fan Fiction / Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction / Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ The Earth Child ❯ No Need for Giant Robots ( Chapter 10 )

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)

 

 

 

 

 

It was a fairly nice evening when Tojiro Mifune chose to take his dog for a walk near the park regions of the old city, nice and quiet with a low volume of traffic and hardly a soul to be seen on the streets this close to the time of the latest Kazane episode, a favorite family show growing in popularity of late, especially with his wife and daughter.

 

Tojiro did not really watch the ongoing series about a luckless teenaged girl seeking romance and adventure, but he knew enough about it from his wife and daughter not to quibble about the finer points of absurdity that he found hard to reconcile in either the plot or the makeup of the personality of the major characters, deciding that there were just something about the show that appealed to the “empowerment” element of having unusual abilities far beyond those of a salaryman or corporate employee. Such simple diversions were harmless for the masses, and for people like himself, who had so little power over his own life that he would often do the household chores without complaining.

 

In truth he liked spending what time he could by himself, and strolling through the park, especially around sunset when the park was just beginning to empty out from the afternoon crowds as people returned to their homes and retired for the day, which was a pity in Tojiro's eyes as the sunset hour was especially lovely seen from the prominence of the shrine at Cherry Blossom hill. Of course the open fields were a perfect place to let Sanjiro off his leash so he could romp and play and get the exercise he never could in the cramped yard of their apartment, so Tojiro headed that way, thinking he might be able to find some peace and quiet in the open air, away from the problems of the office and the homefront. That was his ideal of a leisurely existence, just doing some time on the way to retirement and a well-earned break from the hassles of a nine-to-five existence.

 

Of course Toshiro was aware that there were problems in the world, but nothing he needed to worry about, certainly nothing that he could affect in any significant way, and so he tended to pay such larger matters no great attention. After all, strange and unusual things were what happened to somebody else, not an average man like himself trying to live a quiet life and an ordinary existence…

 

Sanjiro started barking, backing up instead of moving forward and then giving a low whine as if he were detecting something that was very alarming. Tojiro was about to ask his pet what was the matter when he felt a curious vibration rumbling in the air all around him. He started to look up when he felt the weight of something invisible pressing down against his shoulders. Tojiro stooped under the presence of that weight, straining to remain upright, as though gravity had just increased all around him. As he contemplated the impossibility of that thought, reckoning that he had watched one too many sci-fi programs in his youth, he started to feel the mass of something ponderously heavy moving overhead.

 

Then the weight left him suddenly, as unexpected as it had come over him in the first place. Tojiro straightened up and looked, expecting to see…something…only to see nothing at all moving overhead. He blinked his eyes and thought about checking his prescription glasses when a shadowy image appeared…just briefly…as though refracted by the light and only just visible at a certain angle…a large and ponderous shape…roughly humanoid, like a an armored figure impossibly huge and incredibly massive, like one of those giant robot Mecha you only saw in anime or kids shows like Dynaman. It was gone far too quickly for him to be certain that he had even seen it in the first place, and yet some instinct warned him not to doubt its existence, as though the shadow of death itself had hovered near to his head and passed him by, as though he were too insignificant for it to pay him much attention.

 

Strangely enough, Tojiro was almost insulted at the thought of this, and yet he was just as grateful to turn around and leave that area than risk finding out if it had just been the product of too much imagination. Sanjiro was just as eager to flee the area, he noted, as the dog tugged on his leash to urge his master to make haste, something Tojiro hardly needed as the sense of urgency was like a warning sense of danger. He did not know what that giant Mecha was up to at the moment, but he doubted that he would want to know, and besides which it fell into that category of “things that went over his head” in a quite literal sense of the concept.

 

Overhead the unseen and invisible Mecha in question, called an “Iczer Robo” in the C'thuwulf lexicon, was indeed paying no heed to the hapless salaryman, its pilot and co-pilot being primarily concerned with matters of a more immediate and defensive nature. It came to slow “park” in the air roughly one hundred meters above the ground while its pilot paused to take stock of their position.

 

“Central Command,” she relayed, “This is Iczer Alpha. We have moved into position on grid Nine, no contact with the enemy at present.”

 

“Confirm Command, this is Iczer Beta,” came the accompanying reply, “Moving into position on grid five, no contact with the enemy at present.”

 

“Acknowledged,” came Lieutenant Commander Sepia's reply, “We read you at your present locations…confirmed acquisition of the target area. Whoever the intruders are, you're almost sitting right on top of them, Units Alpha and Beta.”

 

“No change in enemy signature,” came Force Leader Cobalt's affirmation, “They're either with you now or in some point of concealment. Recommend maximum caution be advised for all units. The enemy is cunning and deceitful, and the moment you lower your guard…”

 

“Acknowledged Central,” Iczer Two reported from the command capsule of her two-person Iczer Robo, murmuring on a sub-vocal channel, “Looks like we're to sit tight and let the enemy make the next move, eh Sister?'

 

“I don't like it any better than you, Two,” Iczer One responded, “But it seems that would be the best approach for dealing with this particular type of enemy. Be mindful that our suspicions---if confirmed---will mean that extra precautions should be taken when approaching…”

 

“If you mean to imply by that will I have any qualms about facing She whom I once foolishly called my mother,” Iczer Two said with a grim, humorless smile, “Then I assure you that I will not hesitate to do what is right and necessary. I stand united with you, Oneechan, and I will never betray you or allow Big Gold to assert any claim against my loyalties…”

 

“I know you won't Sister,” Iczer One said calmly, “Just as I know that you would never do anything to jeopardize Sayoko. I am only saying that we may be up against a foe as cunning and deadly as any other we have ever faced…”

 

“Would you two knock it off with the chatter already?” Sayoko complained from the central chest capsule, “We already know that Two won't turn on account of the enemy, because I won't let anyone else get inside her head but me! Just let Gold try and strong arm my honey, I'll give her what for!”

 

This time Iczer Two's smile was genuine as she replied, “I know you would, Darling, and I pity anyone who would be foolish enough to brook your righteous wrath. I am only saying that we should all be cautious…”

 

“But not too cautious,” Nagisa pointed out, “Aren't you the one who's always saying that playing it too cautious gets you dead just as quick as being reckless?”

 

“No, that was actually something Troi said to me once,” Two corrected, “I'm more the one who said that there is a fine line between timidity and caution, or recklessness and bravado…”

 

“Either way,” Iczer One remarked, “Let's all be careful and see what sort of mischief the enemy has planned for us, and why they seem to be avoiding us at the moment.”

 

“Maybe they're not really in hiding,” Nagisa considered, “Maybe they really are right here but invisible to normal detection…”

 

“You mean maybe some kind of stealth mode or something?” Sayoko asked, “Like what we use to avoid being seen at ground level?”

 

“It is at least a conceivable possibility,” Iczer Two said thoughtfully, “Or maybe…”

 

All at once a discoloration pattern flowed around the landscape surrounding the two Iczers, and though they were separated by a full kilometer, still they managed to wind up in roughly the same place, standing atop a weird environment that stretched off as far as the eye could see in all directions.

 

“We're in Subspace!” Iczer One needlessly reported.

 

“That was going to be my second choice,” Iczer Two noted grimly, “I think we now know how the enemy was able to avoid our visual detection.”

 

“No fooling,” Sayoko responded, “So…where are the bad guys?”

 

“My guess is they'll be showing their hand at any moment,” Nagisa warned, “So we'd better be ready for a sneak…”

 

“LOOK OUT!” Iczer One cried out, then followed her own advice by firing her Robo's engines to move them out of the way as a savage blast of energy fried the spot where they had been standing.

 

Iczer Two fought hard to move her massive unit out of the way, even as a pair of solid projectiles pierced the space where she and Sayoko had been hovering mere instants before, two huge harpoon-like spikes that were as long as rail cars, but infinitely more deadly.

 

“Nagisa-san,” Iczer Two declared as she righted herself after some aerial gymnastics that allowed her to put distance between her unit and her attacker, “You should have been an Oracle!”

 

“Is that a fancy way of saying that I should have kept my mouth shut?” Nagisa wondered.

 

“Got it in one!” Sayoko affirmed, only to stare out the translucent bubble canopy of her chest-cavity capsule and blink, “Who the heck are those bozos who just attacked us? They look like…”

 

“Giant monsters,” Iczer One confirmed, “I make four of them, only the readings show that they use the same technology as an Iczer Robo.”

 

“So much for theory,” Iczer Two grimly noted, “I think hypothesis just moved up thesis.”

 

“Yeah, no fooling,” Nagisa duly noted.

 

“SO,” a booming voice rang out over the no-person's combat zone that separated the two Iczer Robos from the four armored shapes that dominated the subspace field before them, “YOU ANTICIPATED OUR OPENING MOVES…BUT SUCH EVASIONS WILL NOT AVAIL YOU WHEN THE TRUE BATTLE IS ENJOINED, ICZER-TRASH!”

 

“That voice!” Iczer Two reacted, “I know I've heard it before…somewhere…”

 

“Friend of yours?” Sayoko asked.

 

“Hardly,” Iczer Two replied, “I…think that I killed her on our last encounter.”

 

“You think?” Nagisa asked, slightly appalled.

 

“SO, YOU REMEMBER YOUR TREACHERY FROM BEFORE, DO YOU?” a mountainous armored shape rumbled.

 

“Actually, I believe that treachery was your tactic of choice,” Iczer Two replied, “You tried to ambush me with a sneak attack, futile though it was. I only returned the favor.”

 

“Sister,” Iczer One inquired, “Do you know who your attacker is?”

 

“I believe so,” Iczer Two affirmed, “Golem, wasn't it? One of the four defective Bioroids who served under Neos Gold, in point of fact, their self-described leader…”

 

“YOU ARE THE ONE WHO IS DEFECTIVE!” came the immediate response to this, “YOU WILL CEASE TO EXIST AFTER THIS ENCOUNTER! WE, THE FOUR SISTERS OF THE COMET, SHALL DESTROY YOU UTTERLY AND THOSE PATHETIC HUMANS YOU CALL YOUR PARTNERS!”

 

“Hey,” Sayoko declared, “Let's not get personal here. Aren't you the guys who launched that sneak attack against the Earth a few years back?”

 

“Fifteen years to be exact,” Iczer One replied, “Though I was only a part of that conflict near the end. As I recall it, you and Troi handled most of the fighting that time around, Sister.”

 

“Mostly the half-pint,” Iczer Two replied, “A pity she isn't here with us, she would appreciate the reunion.”

 

Another of the giant enemy monsters rang forth with an angry voice, “ENOUGH OF THIS BANTER! GIVE THE ORDER FOR US TO KILL THEM NOW, GOLEM! I ITCH TO TEST OUT MY MANDIBLES AGAINST THE ARMORED FLESH OF AN ICZER!”

 

“PATIENCE, INSECT,” the one described as Golem declared, “OUR ORDERS ARE TO TAKE OUR TIME AND DEAL WITH THEM STEP BY STEP UNTIL THEY ARE HUMBLED…”

 

“Geez, who writes your dialogue?” Sayoko winced, “You sound like refugees from Gatchaman! What do you think this is? The Power Rangers?”

 

“SILENCE, YOU CUR!” yet another of the monstrous shapes demanded, “OR I WILL SILENCE YOU NOW, ORDERS OR NO ORDERS!”

 

“Try it and you'll be taking a one-way trip back to the scrap heap, Bigro,” Iczer Two said grimly, “You four weaklings have no business challenging us to a major battle. Subspace is our natural environment, and here you fight on our turf against two fully empowered Iczers.”

 

“AH, BUT WE HAVE BEEN ARMED TO MATCH YOU ARMOR FOR ARMOR,” the fourth of these giant figures (the one that looked a bit like huge golden doll), “AND WHEN YOU SEE WHAT WE ARE CAPABLE OF DOING TO YOU NOW, YOU WILL NOT BE SO QUICK TO DISMISS THE FOUR SISTERS.”

 

“This is getting boring already,” Nagisa sniffed (not an easy thing to do when submerged in breathable fluid), “Are you going to make the first move or leave it to us to start kicking your sorry butts back to whatever junkyard you were fished out of?”

 

“Easy, Nagisa-chan,” Iczer One cautioned, “We don't really know what they can do just yet…”

 

“But she does have a good point, your partner,” Iczer Two softly mused, “Standing around exchanging barbs just isn't my style these days, not since I stopped calling myself one of the bad guys. I say we take them on and let the dice roll as they must.”

 

“Somebody do something!” Sayoko insisted, “I'm gonna go nuts in here if I have to hear any more of this crappy boasting!”

 

“YOU WISH TO KNOW YOUR END NOW?” the one named Golem declared, “VERY WELL, WE SHALL BEGIN THIS WITH A BANG, AS YOU EARTHERS PUT IT.”

 

All at once the ground beneath the two Iczers exploded upwards, and to the mutual amazement of both Iczers and partners the two giant robots found themselves ensnared by fibrous cords the size of cables, immobilizing them both before either sister could take evasive action.

 

“Kuso!” Iczer One declared, using a Japanese cuss-word to express her vexation.

 

“These fibers…they're stronger than they look!” Iczer Two growled as she fought to free her Beta unit.

 

“OF COURSE,” the armored doll opposing them replied, “WHY ELSE DO YOU THINK THAT I AM KNOWN AS FIBER? YOU LEFT YOURSELVES OPEN TO ATTACK BY HESITATING, SO DO NOT COMPLAIN TO ME IF YOU ARE NOT INCAPABLE OF TAKING EVASIVE ACTIONS.”

 

“WHICH MAKES IT EASIER FOR THE REST OF US TO USE YOU FOR TARGET PRACTICE!” said the one named Insect, aiming her giant pincers at the two Iczers before spitting out a pair of rocket-launched projectiles.

 

“Oh shit!” Sayoko declared as she saw the projectiles arrowing straight towards her position…

 

 

 

 

“GAA!” Troi declared as she heaved a heavy wooden beam off of her body, “Anybody get the number of that Star Destroyer? What the hell did she hit me with? Felt solid, like a freight train…”

 

“Is everyone all right?” Ranma asked as he and the others crawled out from under the wreckage, helping Ukyo and the others who had escaped the worst of the collapsing dojo.

 

“I think so, Dad,” Sakura said as she helped her brother to his feet, then turned and did the same for Yumi, “Nobody seems to be badly hurt…I guess we got lucky on that score…”

 

“…All things else being taken into consideration,” Ken noted, favoring one shoulder, “I'd consider suing the offending party, but somehow I don't think that our attacker is the sort to care too much about collateral damage.”

 

“Like that Rhea is any better?” Yui asked, looking around now that their safety had been assured, “And where the heck is this place? Doesn't look too much like our Nerima…”

 

“No, you are wrong,” Perm declared, “It is exactly the same as our Nerima…but see the discoloration effect? It is as though the landscape is no more substantial than a cardboard movie set. Those buildings have an insubstantial quality about them, and even the dojo itself feels less than genuine, as though it had been replaced with a facsimile model.”

 

“Have you been playing with your sister's Chem set?” Yumi asked in disbelief, “What do you mean facsimile model? You think it's made of paper mache or something?”

 

“No, she's right,” Tenma declared as he gave an experimental kick at one beam, “It looks real, but there's something that ain't quite right about it…you know what I mean, Pop?”

 

“Not really,” Ranma declared, “But I'm more than willing to take your word on it, Son.”

 

“But where are Muku and Rhea?” Ukyo asked.

 

“Up there,” Troi nodded, drawing their attention towards the looming shadow that they had somehow managed not to notice until that second, “Inside Iczer Robo unit Gamma Theta, about to go one-on-one with my so-called niece, Miss Sugar-and-Spice, Nova!”

 

As young and old martial artists collectively heaved a gasp at the sight of a one-hundred-and-seventy meter tall armored Mecha---facing off with a different make and model of the same type---at that very moment, Muku herself was trying to take stock of an impossible situation, being submerged in some type of breathable fluid while stark naked and strapped down inside of a harness of some sort, peering out through the transparent shell of a pod-like capsule located inside the armored chest of the aforementioned Unit Gamma Theta.

 

“How's that again?” Muku was saying in tones of stark disbelief, “I'm you're WHAT?”

 

“My partner,” she heard Rhea's voice inside her head as though the two of them had an in-built cellular phone line between them, “The other part of a team that includes my other self, Gamma Theta. You are the heart and soul of my Robo, and through the link that has grown between us, we shall overcome our enemies…”

 

“The link between us?” Muku blanched, “What am I here? Some kind of goddamned battery unit? What the hell have you done to me, and where are my clothes?”

 

The mocking laughter of Nova could be heard across the intervening open space separating them from the enemy Iczer, “SOME PARTNER YOU'VE CHOSEN! SHE SOUNDS SO PATHETIC! WHERE ARE YOU CLOTHES YOU ASK? NEXT YOU'LL BE WANTING TO KNOW WHERE YOU LEFT YOUR STUPID HOUSE KEYS!”

 

“You leave her alone!” Rhea snapped with surprising heat, “Muku-chan's never been inside of an Iczer Robo before…it's not like I had any time to prepare her…”

 

“NOR DO I INTEND TO GIVE YOU TIME TO SORT THINGS OUT,” Nova sneered, “I INTEND TO PROVE TO YOU THE SUPERIORITY OF MY OMEGA OVER YOU AND YOUR ANTIQUATED GAMMA THETA! THIS MARKS OUR FIRST AND LAST MEETING, COUSIN, AND IT'S WHERE I CONSIGN THE BOTH OF YOU TO THE SCRAP HEAP!”

 

“Say what?” Muku bristled, finding the sound of the other girl's voice to be even more annoying than her unclothed status.

 

“Be ready, Muku-chan!” Rhea warned, right before the enemy began to build up a tremendous charge of energy, which same she unleashed their way, causing Muku to automatically raise her arms and flinch in a defensive manner.

 

To her amazement the Iczer Robo itself raised his colossal arms and copied her gesture, raising some sort of invisible shield that caught and deflected the blast, which nonetheless hit hard enough to stagger their huge robotic form by several decameters.

 

“NOT BAD,” Nova remarked as the energy field surrounding Iczer Omega continued to intensify, “BUT LET'S SEE YOU BLOCK THIS ATTACK!”

 

A far more potent energy blast shot from the outstretched fists of the enemy Iczer Robo, splitting apart mid-way and arching at several sharply curving angles to strike in four separate places that caused the invisible shield to crackle and spark all around unit Gamma Theta.

 

“OWWW!” Muku cried as she felt sparks rise about her arms, almost exactly matching the places that had been struck by the spillover effect of that last blast, even as the remaining energy of the blast continued to play out all around the Iczer's defenses.

 

“I'm sorry,” Rhea replied, “I failed to dampen out some of the feedback. I wasn't prepared for her attack having that much kinetic energy…”

 

“ENOUGH TO LOWER THE STRENGTH OF YOUR SHIELDING,” Nova declared, rushing forward, “THE BETTER TO DO---THIS!!!”

 

Muku blinked her eyes in amazement as she saw the impossibly huge Iczer Omega charge forward with the speed of a human opponent and suddenly a fist shot forward, aimed at the armored faceplate of their unit. Rhea reacted just in time to bend their Iczer Robo out of the way, but this left her open to a second punch, which Nova threw, aimed at the chest compartment and a terrified Muku!

 

“NO!” she cried as she tried to lift her arms to deflect the attack, but once again the unit Gamma Theta complied with her instinctive maneuver by reaching up with one hand to grip the enemy robot's wrist within its gauntlet.

 

“Let us see how you like this one---COUSIN!” Rhea declared even as the giant robot moved to throw the enemy robot over hip in a classic jiu-jitsu maneuver, only to belatedly see the remains of the dojo standing in the way of its collapsing hulk.

 

“NOOO!” Muku cried, terrified beyond words as she saw the tiny forms attempting to scramble out of the way.

 

“OH HELL!” Troi cried as she, too, realized that she and her companions would never make it out from under Iczer Gamma in time, so she did the best she could to gather them all up in her arms and force a spot-teleportation.

 

The effort taxed her even more than she would have guessed as they manifested again only a short distance away from the crash zone, just in time to see the falling robot shape come down on what had been left standing of both restaurant and dojo.

 

“My place!” Ukyo shouted in dismay, “Our home!”

 

“Is everybody here and all right?” Ranma cried, being the first to regain his bearings.

 

“Oh yeah,” Yumi winced, “Just terrific…but I think I left my lunch back there, Uncle…”

 

“Head count, people!” Sakura snapped to attention, “Yui, Ken, Perm?”

 

“All here, I think,” her fiancée duly noted, “Were you worried?”

 

“Of course not,” Sakura sniffed, “I knew I wouldn't get that lucky. But where's…my little brother?”

 

“Tenma?” Ukyo reacted, looking around frantically for her son, “TEN-CHAN…???”

 

“It's okay,” Ranma gestured, noting a figure picking his way past the wreckage, “He made it out in time ahead of us, just like his Old Man.”

 

“If you mean to imply the Saotome Survival reflex,” Perm remarked, “I can well attest to its effectiveness.”

 

“Tell me about it,” Yui grimaced.

 

“Tenma?” Ukyo turned and hugged her son as he came within arms reach, “You're all right…thank the Kami!”

 

“Aw Mom,” Tenma reacted with embarrassment as his mother crushed him to her bosom, “I'm not a baby…I'm all right, honest!”

 

“You're luckier than you know, Kid,” Troi ruffled the boy's hair, then paused to turn her attention back towards the battle, “Only thing is…we were all just a little too lucky that time. Whoever that so-called niece of mine is, she's definitely gonna be paying for that one!”

 

During this interval, the fallen Iczer Gamma had recovered in time to roll back to its feet, whirling about like an enraged samurai and declaring, “YOU THINK YOU CAN MAKE A FOOL OUT OF ME? NO ONE DOES THAT TO ICZER GAMMA AND LIVES…!”

 

“Please desist in your efforts,” Rhea called out, “You almost hurt those humans and my sister…”

 

“LIKE I GIVE A RATS ASS ABOUT A BUNCH OF STUPID HUMANS!” Nova declared, raising her arms and once again summoning up her power, “I'M BLOWING YOU AWAY RIGHT HERE AND NOW, COUSIN! SAY GOODBYE TO YOUR ROBO AND YOUR PARTNER!”

 

“Stupid humans?” Muku barely had time to recover from her relief at learning that her friends were still alive, but hearing that comment caused her anger to flare up as she cried out, “Who the FUCK are you calling a stupid human, you…Maniac!!!”

 

The blast that Nova unleashed this time was far more intense than the previous two salvos, only this time it met a far stronger energy field that easily absorbed the blast without any residual effect to either Gamma Sigma or its two pilots.

 

“Muku-chan?” Rhea murmured in amazement at feeling the intensifying surge of Iczerio energy that was pouring out from her partner, fortifying her unit.

 

“Oh hell!” Troi cried as she sensed the energy wash sweeping towards them like a wave of inferno, and only by hastily summoning up an energy field to protect herself and those surrounding her was she able to avoid anyone being fried to a crisp within an eyeblink.

 

“I'm not taking any more of your stupid crap, whoever the hell you are!” Muku continued, “HOW DARE you nearly crush my friends and sensei then dismiss what you did so casually? What kind of an inhuman monster are you?”

 

“A BIOROID, JUST THE SAME AS YOUR SO-CALLED PARTNER,” Nova responded.

 

“A…Bioroid?” Muku repeated, surprise taking some of the fire out of her anger.

 

“MORE PRECISELY, A COMBAT MODEL, DESIGNED TO FIGHT AND TO KILL, THE SAME AS ME!” Nova thunderously declared, “ONLY NOT LIKE ME BECAUSE SHE RELIES ON HAVING A STUPID PARTNER FOR A SOURCE OF ICZERIO ENERGIES, WHEREAS I GET ALL OF MY POWER DIRECTLY FROM MY ICZER ROBO ITSELF!”

 

“What?” Rhea reacted, “Is such a thing…possible?”

 

“No partner?” Troi similarly reacted, “That's flat out crazy! What the heck is she using instead, Eveready batteries?”

 

“NOT ONLY POSSIBLE, BUT REAL!” Nova declared, “TAKE A GOOD HARD LOOK AT MY ICZER GAMMA'S CHEST CAPSULE…DO YOU SEE WHAT IS THERE?”

 

Rhea hastily adjusted her sensory relays then examined the enemy Iczer for a moment before declaring, “A Void? You're using a Void instead of a Partner?”

 

“A Void?” Muku blinked, “What's that?”

 

“A Void?” Troi blinked, “Now I know she's crazy! A Void isn't like having a real partner! It's just a stupid drone, useful as a mobile combat unit but hardly capable of generating energy levels like this!”

 

“THAT'S BECAUSE YOU'RE THINKING CONVENTIONALLY, AUNTIE!” Nova responded as though she had heard Troi's comment, “THIS VOID IS MORE ALIVE THAN YOU KNOW, AND IT WAS ESPECIALLY DESIGNED FOR ME BY MY ALL-POWERFUL GRANDMOTHER.”

 

“All powerful…grandmother?” Troi blanched, “No way…”

 

“YES WAY,” Nova declared, “AND TO PROVE MY POINT I WILL NOW RELEASE MY TRUE POWER AGAINST YOU, COUSIN!”

 

Once again Muku saw the energy field rise up to surround the enemy giant robot, blazing like a super-intense battle aura like the fires of a great inferno about to be unleashed upon them.

 

“What do we do?” Muku asked aloud, dismay fanning out the residual flames of her former anger.

 

“Be ready,” Rhea replied, “I will do the work, you must be strong for me and keep channeling more power.”

 

“But---I don't know how to do that?” Muku wailed in desperation.

 

“Think like you did before,” Rhea urged, “Back when you believed that she was about to destroy Sakura-san and the others.”

 

“Destroy…Sakura?” Muku blinked, then saw the fires build up all around Nova, congealing into an object that was almost as tall as the Iczer Robo itself, only fashioned in the likeness of a sword. The giant Iczer Omega gripped the hilt of this sword in both gauntleted hands and held it at the ready.

 

“NOW WE'RE COOKING!” Nova crowed as she held aloft the blazing sword as if preparing to use it, “GET READY TO FRY, COUSIN!”

 

“Holy swords, Batman,” Troi faintly murmured, “Who does this Nova chick think she is, Voltron?”

 

“Close enough,” Ranma numbly agreed, “Only…I thought you guys fought with lightsabers, or something…”

 

“Tell her!” Troi pointed, “She's the one violating patent rights!”

 

Rhea fell back into a defensive crouch and said, “I think she definitely has a complex similar to your friend, Godai…”

 

“He's not my friend,” Muku countered, “And what the heck do we do this time? Duck?”

 

“Not practical,” Rhea declared, “Hold on…I am going to attempt to catch it.”

 

“SAY WHAT???” Muku cried, even as she saw the sword coming right at them and had the instinctive inclination to dodge to the side, exactly as she would do when fighting Godai.

 

However this time the robot did not copy her movements but instead brought both hands into play, catching the descending sword between the flats of two armored palms and halting its downward trajectory as though trapped between two vice-grips.

 

“You have erred this time, Cousin,” Rhea declared resolutely.

 

“WRONG!” Nova countered, “I'M NOT THE ONE WHO JUST FUCKED UP, YOU DID, COUSIN!”

“Eh what?” Rhea reacted with a start as the sword unleashed a massive energy discharge that traveled down both arms into the body of Gamma Theta, causing both Iczer and Muku to cry out in dismay, feeling the surge of an incredible feedback pouring over them both and sending lancing pain along down both arms and torso. It felt as though a series of knives were running down their arms and shoulders, and then all at once the pain intensified down from her right shoulder, even as the grip on Nova's sword slipped, allowing the Iczer Omega to press down with an actual thrust into Gamma Theta's shoulder.

 

Both Rhea and Muku cried out in mutual pain as their Iczer Robo staggered backwards, sword partially imbedded in its shoulder. Troi saw this and cried, out, “I'm coming for you, Niece!”

 

“Um…” Ukyo spoke up, taking a better look at their silver-haired rescuer and saying, “Are you sure that's such a good idea, Sugar?”

 

“Huh?” Troi glanced down, belatedly realizing that her borrowed gi had been rent and torn in some rather **interesting** places, which promoted her to say, “Oh…”

 

“As my mother would say, Aiyaa,” Perm winced.

 

“What's happening with Muku?” Ken asked.

 

“I don't know what it is,” Sakura said grimly, “But it doesn't look good…”

 

“We've got to help her somehow!” Yui declared.

 

“Oh yeah?” Yumi blanched, “Like…how?”

 

“Whatever it is,” Ranma frowned, “We'd better do it fast.”

 

“No time for modesty,” Troi shrugged, “Guard the fort here, big guy…” and with that she launched herself into the air and streaking towards the triumphant Iczer Omega, who was just then yanking out her sword in order to prepare it for another swing at her opponent.

 

“She flies?” Sakura blinked in amazement.

 

“Obviously,” Ken remarked, “There's more to the lady than we even suspected.”

 

“You don't know the half of it, Kid,” Ranma nodded matter-of-factly.

 

“AND NOW, COUSIN, WE END THIS!” Nova declared, drawing back for a vicious swing.

 

In spite of her pain, Rhea was still conscious enough to contemplate the inevitable, the looming sense of failure overwhelming her as her injuries were far too disabling to continue the fight, at which thought she murmured softly, “Muku-chan…I'm sorry…I have…failed you…”

 

“Hey there!” Troi suddenly flew up into the space between them and the rival Iczer Robo, “Don't give up just yet, Rhea-chan! This isn't how we do things in this family, after all…we Iczers always rally back from the edge of defeat, just like I know you will!”

 

“YOU AGAIN?” Nova flared, “HOW ANNOYING! PREPARE TO MEET YOUR FATE EVEN SOONER THAN I HAD PLANNED FOR YOU, AUNTIE!”

 

All at once Troi was hovering just before the enemy Iczer's face visor, heedless of the amount of bare flesh that was presently exposed in her ruined gi, revealing her magnificently well sculpted figure to partial view.

 

“I think you and me are gonna have to have a long chat about this `aunt' stuff,” Troi sniffed, “But one thing I do know for an absolute fact is that you're the one who's gonna be taking the fall here.”

 

“ARE YOU THREATENING ME, AUNTIE?” Nova flared, “YOU FORGET THAT INSIDE THIS ICZER ROBO I AM IMMUNE TO ANYTHING YOU COULD EVEN TRY TO DO AGAINST ME!”

 

“Oh, I'll just bet you think you're on top of everything, Hot Stuff,” Troi smirked, “But you're wrong if you think a stupid void makes you the equal to an Iczer with a partner. Take it from me, there's no substitution when it comes to bonding with a human.”

 

“WHAT GOOD DOES HAVING A PARTNER DO BUT MAKE YOU WEAK AND VULNERABLE?” Nova sniffed, “LOOK AT THE PATHETIC SHOWING MY COUSIN'S PET HUMAN HAS DISPLAYED SO FAR…I'M BETTER OFF WITHOUT A WEAKLING LIKE HER AS MY ANCHOR!"

 

“You hear that, Kid?” Troi called over her shoulder, “She thinks you're weak and pathetic. You gonna take that from the likes of her?”

 

“E-Eh?” Muku lifted her eyes, fighting against the pain to stare with grit teeth at the hovering silver-haired Iczer.

 

“SHE NOT ONLY WILL TAKE IT,” Nova sneered, “BUT YOU'VE JUST GIVEN ME THE PERFECT MEANS BY WHICH I CAN PROVE WHAT A MISTAKE IT IS BONDING WITH A HUMAN PARTNER!”

 

Once again Iczer Omega started to glow, only this time it generated a different type of energy, one that caught Muku's eyes and caused her to stare in both wonder and horror.

 

All at once she saw herself standing amid the remains of a ruined building, wondering how she had gotten there, and only belatedly recognizing certain key features that made her realize that she was in her own house. Everything was different, though, old and musty, as though no one had been living there for a very long time, leaving the place exposed to the elements through the ruined ceiling and the absence of one wall. Muku started to ask aloud where she was, only to stop and see her mother and father standing to one side and smiling at her in a benevolent manner.

 

“Mom?” she gasped, “Dad? W-what happened…?”

 

No sooner was the question asked but then something horrible began to happen. Her parents started to violently shake, and then their skin began to tear and peal away, rupturing internally as something burst forth from beneath their flesh, hideous shapes that she belatedly recognized as Venomoids emerging from the ruins of her parents.

 

Muku screamed and started to back away, only to feel hands seizing hold of her body. She fought them off and whirled around, only to see Sakura, Yumi and Yui standing there…only it was not her three best friends but rather more Venomoids appearing from the ruptured flesh of their bodies, tentacles and clawed appendages menacing and vicious!

 

“No!” Muku cried, edging away from both her friends and her former parents, “Get away from me! Don't tough me!”

 

“Muku-chan…” one of the hideous creatures mentally called out, “Come join us, Muku-chan…we are waiting for you…become one of us and live forever…”

 

“NO!” Muku cried, forcing her way through the ruins of a wall and rushing out onto the street just beyond the gardens surrounding her house. There Muku froze again as she saw more of the horrible Venomoid shapes prowling the streets like Zombies from the “Living Dead” series, hideous wrecks of what had been human beings and spreading out to engulf whole neighborhoods under the tide of their infection.

 

“You see…the whole world looks just like us?” the Venomoid that had taken the place of Sakura declared, “You can't escape or resist us…and soon you will be one of us…”

 

“NO!” Muku cried out, gripping her hands to fight against a shaking terror

 

But then Rhea's voice intruded on the horrible nightmare, “Be calm…this isn't real, Muku-chan. This is what the Venomoids mean to make happen if we don't rid the world of them altogether.”

 

“Huh?” Muku uncovered her eyes, “It isn't…real…?”

 

“OH, IT'S REAL ENOUGH ALL RIGHT,” Nova's voice blared loudly in her head, “AND IT'S WHAT WE'LL DO TO EVERYBODY, EVENTUALLY…ALTHOUGH IF YOU'RE A GOOD LITTLE GIRL, I MIGHT CONSENT TO SPARING YOUR FRIENDS AND LETTING THE VENOMOID HAVE THEM.”

 

“That's…what will happen to my friends…my family?” Muku turned slowly around, then saw that the zombie-like figures surrounding her had slowed to a crawl, nearly no-motion. Though hideous to look upon, Muku deduced that they were not fully real but some kind of mental illusion.

 

“That's it,” Rhea spoke encouragingly, resisting her own pain, “What you're seeing has not yet happened, but it is what she and others like her will do if we don't stop them at the source…at the ones who would spread their evil over the whole planet…”

 

“This…is what they mean to do to my family…my friends?” Muku declared, then all at once she felt her anger flare up gain into a full-fledge sense of outrage, “HOW COULD YOU! WHAT KIND OF A MONSTER WOULD DO THIS TO OTHER PEOPLE???”

 

“EH?” Nova reacted, “YOU'RE RESISTING ME? BUT…HOW…?”

 

Troi sensed the sudden upsurge in Iczelion levels as Muku's fighting spirit came to the fore, surprising even Rhea with the intensity of righteous fury unleashed by her partner. All at once that energy flowed into Gamma Theta, cutting off the sense of pain as self-repair functions were initiated within its biorganic structure. The giant Robot straightened up and fully faced its antagonist, and when Nova belatedly started to swing her sword forward it only caused the ocular visor points on the map to flare up brightly, and then Gamma Theta surged forward to intercept the arms that held the humongous broadsword.

 

“HOW DARE YOU!” Nova cried with a growing sense of alarm, “HOW…HOW CAN YOU BE DOING THIS…TO ME…?”

 

“Hey,” Troi smiled, “Shit happens.”

 

Muku's rage-induced fury caused her to ignore all other considerations as she twisted both of the wrists that she was gripping with a single hand, causing no end of pain to Nova through her link with the Iczer Omega, then all at once a giant foot lashed forward and Gamma Theta kicked Omega in the chest, doubling the other robot over as the shock was transferred to the controlling Iczer. A second kick picked it up and knocked Omega sprawling.

 

Muku cried out a massive “ki” generated burst that caused her own capsule to vibrate in time with her outrage, and without pausing to think of what she was doing she drew her hands together and shaped a ball of chi-energies between her fingers, compressing an incredible amount of energy into the sphere, then unleashing it at Omega as the latter started to get back up again, a force so terrifying that it caused those witnessing the whole affair to duck low behind cover and make the most of their present situation.

 

It was like a wave of intensive energies that lanced out at the enemy Robot as Muku released her pent up fury with the cry of, “YOU WON'T HURT MY FAMILY OR ANYONE ELSE EVER AGAIN!!!” and drove the Iczer Omega back on its heels until it collided with a major building and collapsed on top of it several hundred meters from when it had been standing. Iczer Gamma Sigma remained where it had been in position, arms still raised as Muku panted within her liquid environment, her anger not yet fully spent as she eyed the fallen robot with an intensity that would have been frightening to behold had anyone been able to see her face at that precise moment.

 

“Whoah,” Sakura said at last, breaking the silence maintained by those half-hidden behind the rubble.

 

“Yeah,” her father murmured, “My thoughts exactly.”

 

Nova sat where she was in stunned disbelief as her mind tried to comprehend the impossible, her Iczer Omega so badly damaged that its chest cavity was hollowed out from within and all systems registering massive power failures that would surely lead to an explosion at any second. It was not until Troi appeared directly before her faceplate cabin that she visibly reacted, and only after Troi said, “And that's why you need a human partner. By the way, I'd get out of there if I were you, not that I'd expect you to listen to my opinion…niece.”

 

Strangely enough, Nova did, snarling as she teleported herself to safety, just instants before the Iczer Omega went up like the mother of all firecrackers, leaving a mushroom cloud in its place while Troi heeded her own advice and got the hell away from the blast radius.

 

“Uh oh,” Ukyo said.

 

“Everybody BRACE FOR COVER!” Ranma cried as he and the rest of the (present) non-combatants ducked down again, just as the hurricane-force winds kicked up by said blast washed over the area.

 

Troi reappeared beside Iczer Gamma Theta and said, “Congratulations, Kids, on your first official mission as partners. That was a hell of a wallop you packed there, Muku-chan. I had a feeling you'd come through if she got you angry.”

 

Muku slowly calmed down from her intensely aroused state, glanced at the half-nude floating woman hovering beside her compartment, then at the swath of destruction she had just unleashed in one terrifyingly large chi-burst, and promptly fainted, going to black from a combination of dismay and exhaustion.

 

“MUKU-CHAN!!!” Rhea reacted, sensing the thoughts of her partner fade out on her with such alarming suddenness that her fears were automatically triggered.

 

“She'll be all right, Niece,” Troi replied, “She just needs some rest and some convalescence. She's just had one hell of a ride for the day…and the same goes for you. I think it's best if we get you both back to the cradle quick time.”

 

Rhea acknowledged this even as the world resumed its normalcy, Subspace releasing them with the death of the enemy Iczer Robo and the retreat of its pilot. She then triggered the “return” function of her own unit and faded out from the spot before any inconvenient citizens could look up to see the robotic giant standing in their midst…or at lest see it for long enough not to think it had been an illusion.

 

Ranma and his family, plus students, all found themselves crouched behind the quite intact wall of a nearby building with the rest of the neighborhood looking very much as it had been before the melee had occurred.

 

“What the hell?” Yui was the first to acknowledge.

 

“Everything's back to normal,” Ken remarked with a nonplussed expression.

 

“Including the restaurant and dojo,” Perm observed as she peered from around the corner.

 

“You're kidding!” Yumi peered around to confirm this observation for herself.

 

“My place, our home!” Ukyo cried, “It's all better! We're not homeless!”

 

“That's a relief,” Ranma heaved a sigh, “I thought our insurance carrier would commit seppuku after the last time.”

 

“Told ya that stuff wasn't real,” Tenma sniffed, “It was all some kind of fancy illusion.”

 

“An illusion?” Sakura frowned, “I don't think so…”

 

“Close enough between illusion and reality that we came perilously close to meeting our end,” Yui duly noted.

 

“You're all kind of right about that,” said Troi, who appeared hovering overhead in her ruined outfit, “That was Subspace, a pocket dimension that exists in a Virtual Void that we C'thuwulf sometimes use to fight our battles. Nothing that happens there is real, except when it happens to us. The buildings you see are just shadows…but---fortunately enough---some shadows have substance and can kill, like your weapons in the dojo.”

 

“Eh?” Ukyo felt behind her back and discovered that her baker's peel was no longer where she left it. Sakura made the same discovery, even as Yui was missing her umbrella.

 

“Oh, don't worry about your stuff,” Troi hastily added, “It's back where you left it in the dojo, along with my stuff…um…which reminds me,” she glanced down at her body, “Sorry about this…I guess I kind of owe for the gi…”

 

“Aw, that's nothing that don't happen all the time around here,” Ranma smiled, only to wince as his wife smacked him along the side of the head, “Ow! What'd you do that for?”

 

“For getting a free peep show, you hentai,” Ukyo growled.

 

“Eh?” Ken took a really hard look at the floating woman and saw how much of her ample assets were…showing…or would have continued to do so if not for Sakura firmly placing a hand over his face.

 

“But what about Muku?” Yumi asked, not bothering to hide the fact that she was admiring the floating Iczer's rather substantial semi-nude body.

 

“Oh, she'll be all right,” Troi said, rather belatedly covering over her privates, if only for a residual sense of modesty's sake, “Rhea-chan took her home to rest…you'll be seeing her soon enough once she's fully recovered.”

 

“Fully…recovered?” Sakura cautiously repeated.

 

“How are you doing that?” Tenma asked, being the first one to ask the obvious question, “I mean…you can fly?”

 

“Like a bird, Kid,” Troi winked, “Just one of my many talents.”

 

“I can just imagine what some of the rest of them are,” Yui grumbled, but by mutual consent the group decided to postpone any further questions until they could get back to the dojo and change, class being out of session by the mutual consent of both sensei and students, though the demands for further explanation would most certainly be forthcoming…

 

 

 

Continued

 

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