Iczer-one Fan Fiction / Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction / Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ The Earth Child ❯ When Seconds Count ( Chapter 22 )

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)

 

 

 

 

 

“Here you are, just like we promised,” noted Kawai as they materialized near to the Furinkan campus, “Your high school awaits, and there is just enough time for you to get to your classes.”

 

“Gee, thanks,” Yumi grinned, “You guys are better than a taxi service, which is more than I can say for Fire-breath here, who can't go ten feet without relying on her seeing-eye ravens.”

 

“Laugh all you can,” Yui grunted, “But you'll be facing just as many questions when you get to your home as I will, and I don't even want to think about having to explain what we were doing last night instead of our homework.”

 

“Aw, you always turn yours in late anyway,” Yumi teased, “The teachers are used to it.” She turned back to the Iczelions beside them and said, “I can't believe an Idol singer like you moonlights as an armored knight working with a secret outfit like this…”

 

“We all have our private secrets and masks that we hide from the world,” Kiiro responded with a friendly smile, “After all, your parents were helping to save the planet along before we acquired our armor…”

 

“If anyone here should be collecting autographs, it's us,” Kawai noted, “Nagisa used to have such a crush on Sailor Moon that some of us teased her about her sexual orientation…and then Iczer One showed up and confirmed those suspicions.”

 

“Yeah, and now it's like she's been a muff-diver all her life,” Kiiro softly chuckled, “Not that such things are unusual when you live among the C'thuwulf as long as she has…”

 

All at once she glanced down at her bracelet, which began glowing the same time as Kawai's, causing both Iczelions to stare at them with mutually concerned expressions.

 

“What is it?” Yumi asked, “Is something wrong?”

 

“Apparently so,” Kawai said as she touched her bracelet and said, “Kawai here, go ahead.”

 

“Kawai, we have movement on your location, just a quarter click away from your position,” responded the voice of Sister Saffron, one of the monitors back at Gamora base, “It's a full fledged attack, and it's being centered on Rhea and her partner!”

 

“What, again?” Kiiro asked, “Don't these guys ever give it a rest?”

 

“I guess that's why we call them the bad guys,” Kawai noted, “They have no respect for propriety or a personal life.”

 

“Guess that means we go back into action,” Kiiro sniffed, and then she raised her arms and cried, “CHARGING UP!”

 

“Charging up!” Kawai echoed at a more even tone of voice, than then---right before the eyes of the two astonished Senshi, they transformed as their armor appeared and attached itself to their (momentarily) nude bodies, flashing as synthetic skin filled the space between the armored sections, transforming them once more into the Silver and Gold Iczelion warriors.

 

“Whoah!” Yumi exclaimed, grateful that they were standing in an area with low visibility from the level of the school campus, “That must really be a show stopper for your stage act, but we have something similar to that in our arsenal, right Yui-chan?”

 

“What, now?” Yui asked.

 

“C'mon, it's between friends here,” Yumi grinned as she raised her hand and cried, “MERCURY STAR POWER TRANSFORMATION!”

 

Yui just sighed and raised her own hand, “MARS POWER TRANSFORMATION!”

 

The two Iczelions blinked their eyes as a weird kind of nimbus energy surrounded the two teenaged girls, and then they saw their counterparts briefly go nude before their outer garb was transformed into their Sailor Fuku costumes. The girls even fell into rehearsed stances, like action figures posed before a photographer, with Yumi declaring herself, “SAILOR HERMES!” while Yui just clapped her hands and became two people, one of whom called herself, “SAILOR DEIMOS!” while the other one echoed, “SAILOR PHOBOS!” and struck matching poses that emphasized their twin status.

 

“Wow,” Kiiro remarked, “You girls do that every time you go into action?”

 

“It helps set the mood for when we need to fight Youma,” Yumi---that is, Sailor Hermes---replied, “Of course I give a boost to Yui-chan here by helping to trigger her Twins curse. The great thing is we're protected by a kind of glamour that keeps regular people from spotting and identifying us, which is real handy when you want to preserve a secret identity from our classmates.”

 

“Let's just get this over with,” Yui One---or rather, Sailor Deimos---declared.

 

“Standing around and missing the action just isn't our style,” Yui Two---Sailor Phobos---echoed.

 

“Fine by us,” Kawai noted, rising up from the ground as she went into flight mode, “Just follow our lead and try to stay out of trouble.”

 

“After all,” Kiiro replied as she, too, rose into the air to follow her partner, “We do this sort of thing for a living.”

 

“Hey, what are we, limp sushi?” Sailor Hermes turned to her companions and said, “What say we show these old-timers how we fight the enemies of the Moon Kingdom, partners?”

 

“I'm for hanging back and letting them take the brunt of the action,” Sailor Deimos remarked.

 

“They can be the ones to get battered around while we study the enemy and learn their techniques,” Sailor Phobos added, “For once let somebody else take the brunt of the initial charge instead of us.”

 

“You guys are no fun at all,” Sailor Hermes sniffed, “Where's your pride in the Sailor Senshi?”

 

“On my list of priorities, slightly behind getting our butt kicked before we even know who we're fighting,” Deimos retorted.

 

“Still, she has a point,” Phobos argued, “I never like sitting on the sidelines when there's a fight going on, and I know you don't like it either, sister.”

 

“Who cares?” Hermes retorted, “We're falling behind while you argue about it. Let's just go in there and do our thing, right?”

 

“Check,” both versions of Yui replied as the three of them took off at a leaping stride, vaulting over walls and buildings in their effort to catch up with the two Iczelions, who even then were “scoping out” the opposition.

 

“What the hell is that?” Kiiro asked as she and her partner stared at a warrior robot that stood easily on a level with the legendary Gojira.

 

“Some new kind of Mecha armor, obviously,” Kawai deduced, “Only much larger than an Iczer Robo.”

 

“I'll sure say it is!” Kiiro blanched, “It looks like a sumo when compared to a middle school judo expert!”

 

“I'm making it at over a hundred and fifty meters!” Kawai sounded unusually disturbed as she said this, her natural calm sorely tested by the sheer size and scale of the monster, “That's well beyond the recommended size threshold for an Iczer Robo…but it's internal mass and constitution suggest that it is a lot more than just another enemy Mecha.”

 

“Kawai, I'm making out a detailed scan of its internal construction,” a voice echoed in her ears, “Whoever made it wasn't even concerned about shielding it against scans…that thing is like a living bomb set to go off if someone activates the trigger!”

 

“What?” Kawai blanched.

 

“I am confirming that analysis,” an almost identical voice registered in Kiiro's ears, “The enemy is packing a tremendous amount of ambient energy, but every center is keyed to maximum at a level that will inevitably cause major power ruptures all across the board, resulting in catastrophic failure that could have an effect roughly one thousand times as great as a thermonuclear warhead.”

 

“In other words someone has over-clocked it to make it exceed design specifications?” Kawai asked.

 

“But why in the hell would anyone do that?” Kiiro blanched, “If that thing is nothing more than a walking time-bomb…”

 

“It could be set here as a trap to lure the Iczers to attack it in their Iczer Robos,” the voice in her ear replied, “It will explode anyway when the power within it builds to a critical level, taking out a good sized chunk of the island of Honshu itself, or---at the very least---vaporizing everything within a fifty kilometer radius.”

 

“But why?” Kawai asked, “That would hardly penetrate the shielding that surrounds Gamora base…”

 

“Yeah, but it'll wipe out everything else in the whole Tokyo area!” Kiiro blanched, “This thing is a literal monster, designed to wipe out the Iczers!”

 

“Affirmative,” her inboard computer confirmed, “We are talking about a no-win scenario here…on the one hand the Iczers could ignore the threat, in which case humanity suffers…”

 

“No likelihood of that,” Kawai noted, “They would risk their lives to protect the people of this planet, just as we would do in their place.”

 

“But how the hell do we fight it?” Kiiro asked, “Our Iczelions don't have enough power to match this kind of a monster!”

 

“That is correct,” Gold Iczelion replied, “Not even the combined energies of a full squadron of Iczelions can match the power readings that we are making out from this enemy unit.”

 

“But that's no reason to say die,” Kawai said grimly, “Gamora may be my new home, but I have family still living in Tokyo, including my parents!”

 

“I haven't even spoken with mine since I went on to become an Idol singer,” Kiiro sniffed, “But I'm with you entirely…we can't let the destruction of Tokyo happen!”

 

“We need Nami's assistance for this,” Kawai decided, “And any other Iczelions not presently engaged in other matters. Silver unit…open a channel.”

 

“As you wish, Kawai,” Silver Iczelion answered, already relaying the emergency signal to Black Iczelion's coded channel…

 

 

 

 

“Really?” said Reiko (or was it Meiko?) Kino, one of the twin pair of perky golden-haired teenagers who had earlier presented themselves as Sailors Io and Europa, but who had transformed into a matched set of unusually tall and very pretty girls, the kind who would raise the interest level of just about anyone who found the fair sex attractive, “You work for a group of aliens who live in an underground city on this planet?”

 

“Ah…” Nami wondered how in the name of all sanity she had let that little tidbit slip through, but Rini seemed to trust her friends and valued their opinion enough to directly answer a question about where she had been to the previous evening. Bad enough to be slinking about on school grounds with children less than half her own age like some perverted debutante out to rob the cradle (and never mind that she had just spent the night with one of these girls in question) but to have security blown like this, and in such a casual manner…it made her feel positively amateurish!

 

“Yeah, it was incredible,” Rini replied, “Like Crystal Tokyo, only right here and right now! Of course the aliens aren't really invaders, more like guests of the world governments who share a part of their super-advanced technology, and---get this---they're all women!”

 

“You mean like…totally?” asked an excited looking mint-haired girl named Karma Meion, who---like the twins themselves---had a secret that made her something more than the unusually slender and whip-like young girl that she appeared, “No men at all?”

 

“Nope,” Rini assured her incredulous friends, “They reproduce artificially by splicing together the genetic code of two women, just like your parents somehow did when they had you, Karma. They didn't even have to use a Jusenkyo curse your Dad did, Kino-chan.”

 

“No Jusenkyo curse?” Reiko asked in surprise.

 

“They don't need any men in the picture?” Meiko added, “But doesn't that get…kinda boring?”

 

“Anything but,” Nami felt prompted to say, “After a while of living there you hardly even notice they're gone, and in a woman-only society things tend to work out just the same as if there were two genders.”

 

“I find that part hard to believe,” Karma replied, “Surely a society of women wouldn't make the same mistakes that guys do all the time?”

 

“You would be surprised about that,” Nami chuckled, “But…on the whole, it is a rather regimented society…in so much as that it promotes personal freedom but still maintains a very close social dynamic. I wouldn't call it Socialist or any other form of Earth politics like that, but it probably comes the closest to that Marxist ideal---never realized in true Marxism---of each person being assigned according to her needs and recognized for her personal talents.”

 

“And this has been going on for how long?” Karma skeptically asked.

 

“Ten years on Earth,” Nami replied, “Many thousands of years back on the C'thuwulf homeworld.”

 

“Wow,” Reiko marveled, “They must be pretty advanced if they made it all the way out here from their homeworld.”

 

“Of course they're advanced, Silly,” Meiko chided her twin, “You think people could come from another planet by hitchhiking their way here?”

 

“Let's…not go there, shall we, girls?” Nami smiled, knowing these young things would not get the reference, “Instead let's concentrate on you not telling anyone about the C'thuwulf or anything else that Rini shares with you about her visit. I know you would do well not to divulge their existence to the public at large..."

 

“Are you kidding?” Rini smiled, “We all know how to keep a secret here.”

 

“We grew up with secrets in our homes,” Reiko explained.

 

“Our parents have secret identities, you know,” Meiko added, “And we'd hardly blab about that.”

 

“Still, you should expect that we would wish to confide in them about your hidden society,” Karma noted, “It may prevent future…misunderstandings between your adopted people and the Senshi.”

 

“Yeah, that goes without saying,” Rini turned to Nami, “And I think I know my folks well enough that they'll probably come prying about you guys, in which case…I don't know what I should tell them.”

 

“Why tell them anything?” a new voice intruded on their private conversation, and Nami whirled in time to see a pair of women wearing black outfits, one of them holding up an ominous-looking pen-like device with a cheerful, “Watch the birdie, ladies!”

 

Nami hastily averted her eyes, knowing full well what the flash of light would mean, but there was no time to take any special steps on behalf of her teenaged companions. They were caught full-in-the-face by the Neuralizer, a highly advanced piece of alien technology whose basic intention was to erase memories and leave one in a highly suggestible state for several critical seconds. Nami personally hated the things, even though she understood their effectiveness and the security needs that mandated their existence.

 

“Now then,” the woman---who was also wearing black shades---calmly set her device back into a pocket of her lapel, “We're with the Department of Hazardous Materials, Department Six. Nothing special happened here, or the previous evening. You went to spend the night at a friends and went straight to school from there with nothing exceptional occurring in the…”

 

“Excuse me,” Rini interrupted the woman in mid-sentence, “But are you on drugs or something? I know where I was last night, and nobody else here but Nami was with me.”

 

Agent Q blinked her eyes from behind her special neural protective shades and seemed momentarily at a loss for words. At her side, Agent D, took up the slack by asking, “You…remember?”

 

“Why?” Karma asked, “Did you think we were supposed to forget or something? And who are you people anyway…?”

 

Nami was no less taken aback by that declaration than the two agents, “You remember? The Neuralizer didn't affect you?”

 

“Affect us?” Reiko asked.

 

“In what way?” Meiko seconded.

 

“Oh…I get it!” Rini declared, “I know who you guys are…Mom and Dad mentioned you one time! You're those guys who go around covering up weird stuff so the public never gets know about it! Well, tough cookies for you…we're immune to your little toy there, so why don't you beat off before I get mad and start Moon Dusting your hides!”

 

“Agents D and Q,” Nami spoke up, “It's been a while…too bad it hasn't been longer.”

 

“Agent N?” D asked hesitantly, “Is that you?”

 

“I haven't been called that in years,” Nami sniffed, “I quit the organization a long time ago, and you both know that!”

 

“That's right,” Q recovered her poise, “You call yourself the Black Iczelion these days. Well, no one quits the agency, we just consider you to be taking some extended leave time.”

 

“Like I didn't explain to you before that my mission these days is to help integrate the C'thuwulf into the mainstream public through means that don't involve erasing any trace of their existence?” Nami huffed, “You're worse than S.H.A.D.O. or SHEILD ever were, and at least they have a valid mission to protect the public.”

 

“That's our mission too, even if you've happened to forget it,” Q pointed out, “But the public isn't ready to know the extent of alien penetration in our society…and I do take it that these are young ladies of unusual parentage…?”

 

“What, you don't have a file on their parents?” Nami asked.

 

“Actually, we do,” Q replied, “But nothing in their files suggested that they had this level of neurological resistance.”

 

“Oh…we've had…special protection added to our natural charms,” Karma replied, “You think you're the first ones who ever tried to mind-wash us?”

 

“Hmmm…good point,” Q noted, “I think I'd better take this one up with headquarters…”

 

Nami pointed her hand at the ground before the feet of the two dark-clad women and kicked up a blast that gouged a very small crater out of the soil, roughly a foot in diameter.

 

“Let's not, shall we?” Nami said rather pleasantly, “I'm much prefer if we keep this among ourselves, better off for all concerned parties, don't you agree?”

 

D turned to her senior partner and said, “Gotta admit, she does have a pretty convincing argument there, Q.”

 

“Maybe so,” Q said levelly, “But I've faced a lot worse things in my time than a Neural Phase Pulse Blast…especially when those things have safety locks to prevent them from being used on real, non-contaminated, baseline humans…”

 

“Who says you two pass for baseline human?” Nami asked with a pleasant smile of her own, keeping her bracelet trained on the two agents.

 

All at once the bracelet pulsed, causing D to jump slightly from a case of nervy tension, but Q quirked an eyebrow and said, “I think you'd better answer that, it looks like an emergency call from the way it's pulsing.”

 

“It is,” Nami ignored the agents and touched her bracelet, “Nami here, go ahead.”

 

“Nami---drop whatever you're doing, and get over here quick!” came Kawai's unusually emotional summons, “We're facing a real big one this time, and we'll need every unit we can muster to contain this!”

 

“I'm on it,” Nami replied, turning to nod to the two agents, “We'll continue this another time, after I go stomp on whoever is plaguing the Earth this early in the morning.”

 

“Count on it, N,” Q replied, “Just remember, once an Agent, always an Agent.”

 

“Hmph,” Nami frowned, just before she vanished into a pixilated halo.

 

“She can teleport too?” Reiko marveled.

 

“What a talented lady!” Meiko agreed.

 

“Oh yeah,” Rini said with an enigmatic smile, “Very…talented, no doubt about that.”

 

“Hmph,” Q said as she turned away, “And a creature of habit, by the looks of things.”

 

“Huh?” D asked, “What's that supposed to mean?”

 

“Never mind, Slick,” Q chuckled, “Some things you're better off not knowing about. Besides, we'll probably next have to get called on to handle whatever hot spot she's `ported off to, now that we're about done sanitizing this zone, present company exempted, ladies.”

 

The four Senshi girls waited until they were alone again, then Rini asked, “What the heck was that all about?”

 

“I don't really know,” Karma replied, “But somehow I think we haven't seen the last of those two, or whatever department they work for…”

 

“Oh, probably some ultra-secret agency of people whose identities have been totally erased, working to protect humanity from exposure to hostile aliens from all over the galaxy,” Reiko shrugged.

 

“Really?” Meiko asked.

 

“Well, maybe not,” Reiko shrugged with a smile, “But you gotta admit, it sounded pretty good, might even be worth doing up as a movie.”

 

“Yeah, right,” Rini scoffed, “Like anybody'd pay money to hear a lame-o story like that. C'mon guys, let's get to class, real life's calling, and our homeroom teacher won't buy anybody's story if it means being late again to classes.”

 

“Yeah, I know what you mean there,” Reiko agreed.

 

“Youma and alien monsters are one thing, but Fujisawa-sensei is something else again,” Meiko agreed with wholehearted enthusiasm.

 

“On that we can completely agree,” Karma noted as the curious quartet left the shelter of the equipment yard and headed off to the main school building, off to adventures of their own that are not immediately relevant to the telling of this story…

 

 

 

 

“Eh?” Muku said as she looked up and up at the seeming never-ending size of the thing, easily reckoning it to be more than half again as tall as an Iczer Robo.

 

“It's enormous,” Rhea said in awe, “But…how can such a thing be? At that size, the power level needed to operate…”

 

“You simpleton!” Gel taunted with a chilling laugh, “Holokhan isn't just a new type of Mecha, he's a whole new revolutionary development in Bio-Mechanical warfare! He's here to utterly crush and annihilate you underfoot, you annoying wind-up doll! And that goes double for you, Senzenen!”

 

“I don't believe it,” Muku exclaimed, “Even you can't be this over-the-top! Bringing something like that to our school, where all our classmates could get hurt…?”

 

“Like I care about you pathetic weakling mortals!” Gel snapped, “You're not fit to ground into powder beneath my heels! I'll destroy you all in the glorious name of my Master, Big Gold, and then we will go on to conquer the entire universe!”

 

“That's it, Gel,” Muku declared, “You've finally flipped and gone over the edge…”

 

“No,” Rhea replied, “This is not your friend speaking…it may look like her and sound like her, but this is not the Kuno Gel that I have recorded from your memories. This evil is different, more callous and brutal by far, and utterly lacking in either humanity or compassion. She has only borrowed the semblance of your friend…”

 

“She's not my friend!” Muku insisted.

 

“No, but she is a childhood playmate turned bitter enemy because of her mingled envy and desire for you,” Rhea countered.

 

“Huh?” Muku blanched, “Not her too?!?”

 

“Is there some reason why she should not desire you…and hate herself for it?” Rhea asked, “But this is not her speaking…I recognize this evil now…it's mark is recorded in my own memories from the time before my birthing…this is Cross, the sister to Chaos, one of the Grey twins who plagued the Earth in the days before the C'thuwulf settled here!”

 

“So…you think you have guessed my little secret, eh?” Gel---or rather the woman who looked and sounded like Gel---sneered back, “Aren't you the clever one? Well, you haven't even begun to suspect the true depths of my master's great plans! Behold the terrifying power of Holokhan---!”

 

“Holokhan?” Muku responded, “Give me a break! That sounds like some kind of silly Bandai toy, like those programs they show to children in the mornings…!”

 

“More than that,” a male voice said calmly in her ears, “This unit was designed to be deliberately defective…all of the restraining devices have been removed, turning it into a giant walking bomb ready to go off.”

 

“What?” Muku asked, belatedly recognizing the voice as belonging to her Iczelion Six-Nine unit.

 

“Of course, that makes perfect sense,” Rhea reacted as if she, too, had heard the Iczelion's voice, “You've created this thing to serve as a giant explosive…”

 

“Correct,” the figure posing as Gel replied, “All the better to destroy you all! Go ahead, summon your toy, Holokhan will crush both you and your Iczer Robo, and then your partner will live long enough to see the destruction of this part of her home planet…”

 

“What?” Muku was shocked by this callous declaration.

 

Just then a familiar trio of fuku-clad Senshi came rushing upon the scene, only to halt in their tracks when they got a full look at the towering mass that was the monstrous robot. Sailor Hermes was the first to say, “What in the name of Gatchaman is that?”

 

“Trouble,” replied Sailor Deimos.

 

“I think we're going to need a lot more Senshi for this,” Sailor Phobos sagely counseled.

 

“Witness the power of Holokhan unleashed!” the false Gel announced, even as the massive samurai-like visor on the walking armored nightmare began glowing, and then a beam of ruby fire shot from its faceplate to strike at a distant target, instantly kicking up a tremendous blast from the Tokyo region. Of course, as it turned to direct its beam in a lateral arc one of its huge legs brushed against the nearby school building itself and collapsed that portion of Furinkan, as casually as one might do the same thing to an anthill.

 

“HEY!” Sailor Hermes protested, “That's my homeroom you just wrecked, you big bozo!”

 

“And you are actually complaining about that?” Deimos asked with a skeptical arched eyebrow.

 

“At least it saves us having to stand out in the hallway with a pair of buckets,” Phobos pragmatically reasoned.

 

“But someone could get hurt in all of that!” Hermes belatedly stared at the rubble, hearing the cries of fear and panic coming from the building, “We'd better do something about that!”

 

“Right,” both versions of Yui agreed, and the trio turned to the urgency of rescue and away from the more daunting problem of the robot, not having seen Muku hovering overhead, no less dismayed at the act of wanton destruction.

 

“Unforgivable,” Rhea declared in mingled shock and outrage, “You care nothing at all for the lives you waste and the property you destroy!”

 

“What does a wind-up toy like you know about property?” the purple haired cyborg before them sneered, “You pretend to be human, and yet you are the creation of science and technology! Your pretense at being half-human sickens me…I will erase the flaw that you represent from existence!”

 

The lashes that extended from the fake Gel's hands snapped out towards Rhea, but this time they did not even touch her but were instead rebounded off an invisible force-globe that seemed to spring up from out of nowhere to surround her.

 

“What?” the fake Gel reacted.

 

“You understand nothing, Cyborg,” Rhea replied, “Merely changing your outer appearance doesn't impress nor deceive me…you have usurped the life of the real Kuno Gel and brought this horror to her world, knowing full well that the real Gel would never be so dismissive of the lives of others.”

 

“Interesting,” the one posing as Godai smirked, “She sees through your disguise, little sister. Could it be that there is a brain to go with the face of this particular angel?”

 

“You are no better than she is, Chaos!” Rhea retorted, with hardly a downward sweep to her eyes, “Kuno Godai, for all his haughtiness, is a man of principle and honor who would never resort to the sort of shameful tactics the both of you are wielding. Even mind controlled he is far more human than you could ever be, which means that you are only using his likeness to disguise yourself, but I am fooled no longer. I know the horror of what you represent, and it sickens me to see the both of you polluting this planet with your very presence!”

 

“You dare to judge us?” the false Gel sneered angrily, “You Biochemical facsimile? Holokhan, destroy her!”

 

The visor of the giant flashed fire once again, but this time it met and was repelled by the same globe of force, which briefly became illuminated, surrounding the defiant Rhea.

 

At about this time the Iczelion corps showed up, not just the three units whom Muku had encountered before but a whole battalion, almost a hundred armored women floating about in near-identical (if color-variant) sets of powered armor.

 

“Rhea-chan, we are here!” a familiar voice in blue armor reported, and as Muku turned to look she saw a blue armored figure with a mane of white hair (of a very different luster than the silvery haired Troi) leading the assault team.

 

“Rhea-chan!” another familiar voice broke in, this time from the Silver Iczelion known as Kawai, “The monster robot is actually a bomb meant to destroy you and everything in the Tokyo region…it's a trap that the enemy is seeking to use to destroy all the Iczers in one colossal attack!”

 

“What?” Muku cried, “A bomb? You mean…it's nuclear?”

 

“Worse than that,” the Gold Iczelion known as Kiiro replied, “It's an Iczerio-bomb…far more powerful and devastating than a Nuke, and set to kill everyone in Japan if it builds up a sufficient charge of ambient energies.”

 

“You mean if this thing overheats due to combat stress it will explode?” the Black Iczelion known as Nami reacted.

 

“It's already entering the red zone and will soon experience a catastrophic cascade reaction!” Kiiro reported, “There's power enough contained there to level a blast in the million gigaton range…”

 

“That's powerful enough to take out half of Honshu,” Kawaii translated, “And the damage it would do to Earth's biosphere alone…”

 

“That is truly a hideous perversion of Iczer technology,” the first speaker in the blue armor remarked, “Gold has outdone herself this time for sure…”

 

“Stay back, Force Leader!” Rhea suddenly ordered, “Erect a level five containment field over the entire school campus!”

 

“Understood,” the Blue Iczelion replied, “All units disperse and assume a Niven Ring formation!”

 

“We copy that, Blue Leader,” another voice replied, “We'll use our Graviton projectors to create a force strong enough to resist even a Nuke, but that won't do any good to the poor souls who get trapped within its circumference.”

 

“It cannot be helped,” the Blue Iczelion replied as the armored warriors moved out to assume a kilometer-wide circle about the monster, “We may have to sacrifice a few for the sake of the many!”

 

“What?” Muku reacted, belatedly placing the leader as the woman named Cobalt, “But if that thing goes off…”

 

“Don't worry, Muku-chan,” Rhea said calmly, “I won't allow any more innocents to suffer for Gold's evil.”

 

“A mighty tall order to promise that, Rhea-chan,” Cobalt replied, “But are you certain that you can deliver?”

 

“Just do it…Sir!” Rhea added as if in afterthought, “Surround the area and prevent this monster from destroying the city! I will deal with it myself directly!”

 

“You?” Gel---or rather Cross---sneered in disbelief, “I think not! Holokhan, destroy these annoying pests---NOW!”

 

The visor of the giant began glowing once again, but so did the robot body itself, surrounding it with a powerful red aura that began to threaten to ignite the whole area, save that the Iczelion corps flew off to assume a ring-like formation to surround the giant creature and contain its deadly field of flame within a force screen that these units created between themselves in the next second.

 

“What?” Godai---or rather Chaos---said scornfully, “Do they think that a pitiful gravity force field is going to contain the power of Holokhan?”

 

“Maybe not forever,” Rhea replied, “But long enough for Muku-chan and me to destroy you!”

 

“It will never happen!” Cross gestured towards the levitating Bioroid and her partner, “Swat these insects down and teach them to mind their place, Holokhan!”

 

The giant extended its hand and knelt down in an attempt to try and grab the diminutive speck that was Rhea, but all at once her form vanished into the hazy silhouette that marked her spot-teleportation, and then a second later the air shimmered about them and the massive form of Iczer Gamma-Theta appeared, even as Muku felt herself being teleported with Rhea, to wind up nude once again and fully immersed in the Bio-amniotic breathable fluid of the middle chest-capsule.

 

“And now,” Rhea said in her mind and ear with a deceptively calm manner, “You will witness the true power of an Iczer!”

 

The outer space around their hull shifted to gray monotones, and as the lumbering giant began to straighten up the levitating forms of Chaos and Cross manifested, still wearing their Kuno guises but now quite obviously a mere imitation of the Gel and Godai she knew.

 

“WHAT?” Chaos reacted in astonishment, “You've managed to transport us into Subspace…in spite of the inhibitors we've installed in Holokhan to prevent this?”

 

“This is not Subspace,” Rhea replied, “I've taken you beyond Subspace to the Gray Void of Shadows. There is nothing here for you to destroy but yourselves, you who have destroyed many worlds in your insane past rampages! I know full well that you intended to blow yourselves up in order to destroy us, but now that will never happen! You cannot draw my parents into this battle by threatening the world they have sworn to protect!”

 

“You insolent harpy!” Cross cried, “You think that you can thwart our plans by doing this?”

 

“I do,” Rhea replied, “For I am sworn to be your enemy and the protector of my world and people…both the Earth and C'thuwulf!

 

“Bold words,” Chaos remarked, “Can you back them up?”

 

The massive giant began to swing a club-like arm their way, but Gamma Theta blocked the maneuver and countered with an outward palm thrust to the chest plate that staggered the giant backwards as though the colossus was momentarily winded.

 

“I can…and I must!” Rhea declared defiantly, “For I am a child of my mother's planet, and humanity is precious to me. I would sooner die than see you blemish one square centimeter of my mother's world, but more than this, I would destroy you both before I allow you to corrupt and bring harm to the people my Muku-chan cares about! They are humanity, and they are precious to me, and no one---not even Gel or Godai---deserves the fate that you would impose upon my people!"

 

“A pretty speech,” Cross sneered, “Holokhan…destroy them!”

 

The giant began to straighten out once more, but Rhea struck first by causing Gamma-Theta to lash out from a standing position with a straight roundhouse kick that was flawlessly executed. Rhea followed this by spinning about in mid-air and lashing out with the other leg, which staggered the giant even further and created more space between them. Muku could feel the movement as though her own let had just come up on its own will to perform the casual maneuver, backed by the force of her own chi as she almost automatically gave a kiai, the kind that she might use when breaking bricks with one hand.

 

The double-kick was powerful but the giant easily recovered, lumbering back up to its full height as it roared, then balled its fists and rocketed forward with a downward pounding strike…only to have its fist be intercepted by Muku-s hand---NO---by Gamma Theta's hand (for one movement seemed identical with the other). The other hand was in motion in time to catch the second fist aimed towards her, but her other hand snapped up to catch the fist and contain it. The giant then tried to exert the pressure of its ponderous size and mass as it pressed down against them, but Muku easily held and resisted the attempts of this particular bully, hardly straining at all as the force of her emotions gave her the strength to ignore the exertions of her gigantic opponent.

 

“What?” Chaos cried, “Impossible! There is no way you can resist us!”

 

“Your pathetic unit cannot be capable of this level of power output!” Cross insisted.

 

“Size doesn't matter!” Rhea angrily declared, “It is what you do with it that counts! The heart and the mind are but two forms of the same thing, and they rule over the body by the synthesis of our will…just as Muku and I are joined as one! We are humanity's champions, and far more than the likes of you can begin to comprehend!”

 

“Rhea-chan?” Muku blinked her eyes at this declaration.

 

“I love humanity as I love Muku-chan with all my heart and being,” Rhea continued, “We are as one spirit joined together in a union that you who sneer at life could never understand! I am as one with my love as I am determined to see your evil banished from our world forever! You've made a tragic mistake in underestimating the power of our union…and now you will learn the folly of your presumption!”

 

And---upon hearing this---Muku felt something in her heart go out to Rhea, a feeling of overwhelming appreciation and joy at discovering someone whose thoughts and emotions so accurately reflected her own that they could almost have been her own words being hurled at the taunting pair, who were a LOT more over-the-top than the nefarious Kunos with whom she was always striking sparks. These emotions rose up from within her as she felt Rhea's emotions reach out and connect with her through the conveyance of the Iczer Robo.

 

“What do you know about humanity, you freakish cross-breed?” Cross sneered in contempt.

 

“She's not a freak!” Muku automatically snapped, “Rhea-chan is more human than you! She's more human than anybody…she's…she's…my friend!”

 

“Your friend?” Chaos scoffed, “You hardly even know her!”

 

“I know her better than you!” Muku shot back, “I know she's my friend, and I won't let you insult her…or hurt her either!”

 

“Muku-chan,” Rhea murmured back before her resolve firmed once again, “We are united in one purpose, and combined our energies vastly exceed your estimation!”

 

“We will see about that,” Chaos sneered, turning to the enemy robot and commanding it, “Destroy them now!”

 

Muku felt as well as saw the massive build up of energies inside the enemy robot as it tried to exert all of its power into their destruction, but rather than fear the impending blast that she knew was forthcoming she instead felt her own anger increasing as the realization hit her of just what had been intended back there at Furinkan, the total annihilation of everything and everyone for kilometers in all directions! Her friends, her family, the C'thuwulf themselves…all were being targeted for ruthless extermination by the creature behind all of this, who had made her recent life an endless stream of intrusions and discord, only to make the incredible mistake of masking their latest evil behind the faces of the two biggest pains-in-her-rear that she had previously known…the pair who had made her mornings an endless stream of challenge matches and social disruptions!

 

Such feelings were like throwing kerosene on an already lit fire, and as her anger intensified so too did the sense of Rhea's closeness, as though her new friend were almost within reach of her hands. She felt the caress of Rhea's warmth and vitality as it nurtured her own fires and gave her the strength to become something extraordinary…not Muku alone, nor even Rhea, but both of them joined together in one thought, one purpose. The power at their disposal was enormous, but so too was the sense of joy they each felt at the union of two parts, and with this came a sense of invincibility, the knowledge that nothing in the universe could stand against them, and that the pathetic giant monster was TOAST before the power of their union!

 

Gamma Theta began to glow from within with the light of their pooled spiritual energies, and then the power within them all but exploded as Rhea drove her fury up into the behemoth, driving Holokhan back relentlessly as though their relative sizes had been reversed, and once the monster had begun to give ground she redoubled her efforts, shoving the enemy back before bringing both hands down and forming an beam saber the length of a full-grown redwood, which same she drove upward, slicing into the monster before driving the beam through the center of its hulking chest, triggering the final stage of its catastrophic internal cascade, the accumulated effect of a million tiny micro-explosions.

 

The result was an unimaginably powerful blast that turned reality inside out and caused everything to turn momentarily black and white to Muku's perspective, even when the cabin shell around her turned opaque to shield her from the worst of the detonation. Everything turned briefly white as the mind recoiled in dismay at the force of the holocaust unleashed by the blast, and for an indeterminable interval she lost awareness of everything external to her self-contained protective bio-shell. Only Rhea was real to her, a presence felt without need of being physically visible, her vibrant spirit more palpably near to her touch than touch itself as their union gave comfort and a sense of continuity. The only reality of Muku's world was the cry of defiance that Rhea gave to the forces that might have otherwise destroyed them, and the sense that they had prevailed against an unspeakable monster.

 

When at last the space around them reverted to something semi-comprehensible once again, their Iczer Robo was standing in the midst of an inferno that did not seem to touch their armored hull in even the lightest sense. They surveyed their surroundings for several grim moments before Rhea drew them away from the place of absolute devastation, appearing again in normal space where they found the pair of Cross and Chaos hovering above Furinkan, the dastardly pair having managed to phase away at the last instant and thus escape the fate of their doomed Mecha.

 

To say the least, the two imposters (who still wore the outer semblance of Gel and Godai) were less than pleased to see Gamma Theta once again, Cross being the more expressive in her disbelief, crying out, “IMPOSSIBLE! You could not have survived that explosion!”

 

Rhea was still too angry to answer the challenge in words, teleporting out of her control seat to manifest in the air directly before Cross. And energy lance was in her hand and one instant later she moved beyond the place where Cross had been levitating. The cyborg hung paralyzed in space for yet one instant more before crying out, “HOW---HOW CAN SHE BE THIS POWER---?”

 

And then Muku saw the woman's body split down the middle into two halves, these parts exploding much like Holokhan itself a second later as Rhea turned to confront the remaining cyborg, two energy lances now at the ready.

 

“Incredible…” the figure (who still looked so much like Godai that---were it not for the fact that he was hovering in mid-air---Muku would have had trouble believing that he was anyone else) declared in tacit dismay, “Where are you drawing your strength? The girl alone could not be the source for so much power!"

 

“You understand nothing about the forces that lay at the disposal of an Iczer, you monster!” Rhea coldly declared, “Nor does your evil master, who toys with forces well beyond her comprehension!”

 

“Cross was right,” Chaos declared, “You talk too much for an Iczer.”

 

Rhea began to move before Chaos had even completed his sentence, her twin lances lashing out in a blinding double-blur that caught and intercepted a number of force-blasts being directed her way from previously unseen assailants. Muku felt the attack as though it were happening to her even as she watched in dismay, seeing Rhea hurl her energy lances in a double-side toss that sent them flying to either side, striking a number of armored robotic forms that had appeared to flank her from seeming no where. Muku watched as the lances tore through the double ranks of the enemy robots, then gasped as she sensed Godai rushing forward with an energy blade of his own in both hands. A weaponless Rhea seemed to confront him as he sought to take advantage of her seemingly disarmed state, but when he thought he had her dead to rights she suddenly flashed with a third weapon in her hands and struck back with twice the speed and fury.

 

What followed was a classic samurai pose, such as often could be witnesses in many a movie or manga. Two warriors hovered motionless in the air with swords lowered in the completion of two well executed strikes, their faces smooth and impassive, giving no indication of which of them had just become the victor.

 

Then Rhea winced slightly, her lovely face taking on the strain of apparent injury, and Muku felt her heart almost stop as she sensed the slight pain in the side of her companion. But then Godai straightened out, turned slowly around and stared at Rhea before raising his energy blade, which dissolved mere seconds later.

 

“Well played indeed, my lovely Angel,” the male cyborg replied, right before he convulsed in mid-bow, his body spasming in reflexive muscle tension before he exploded altogether, becoming a cloud of self-incinerating flesh and metal that sprayed the air before being carried off on the winds of his own ashes.

 

“It's done,” Rhea said, then she lost her blade and altitude, her energy levels dropping once more as she began to descend towards the ground, her body reflexively going into self-regeneration mode, conserving power by diminishing unnecessary output.

 

“Rhea-chan!” Muku cried, all but willing herself forward as she found herself teleported from Gamma Theta's chest capsule, appearing on the ground in her faux-school uniform just as Rhea collapsed to the ground beside her.

 

“I'm…all right,” Rhea assured her as Muku threw her arms around the other girl and hugged her tightly, a gesture that brought a faintly wondrous smile to the fallen Iczer.

 

“No you're not,” Muku said almost fiercely, “Don't try to lie to me, I felt you get hurt there…”

 

“But you saw the other fellow,” Rhea attempted in weak humor, “I am sorry to concern you…I know that it was careless of me to let him get so close in his attack, but it only feels as though he cut much deeper than he did, and my body will repair itself within a few hours.”

 

“Really?” Muku asked, “After all…you did so much…”

 

“It was nothing, really,” Rhea smiled, resting her head on Muku's shoulder, “I was too angry to worry about that, but nothing is more important to me than your safety, Muku-chan…yours and the people you care about…the people of Nerima.”

 

“Huh?” Muku asked, feeling…very odd as she held the other girl's slender shoulders between her arms while hearing that simple declaration.

 

“I must return to my regeneration chamber for now, but I will return shortly to rejoin you and see how you manage with your school day,” Rhea gently pushed away from Muku, her smile becoming more intense as they made eye contact, “What matters is that you are safe for now, and Gold has expended yet more wasted energy in that attack, which means that we may have a brief period of rest before the next attack comes our way.”

 

“Are you…sure about that?” Muku asked.

 

“As certain as I can be,” Rhea replied, “But our enemies have no respect for propriety or place, so…it is possible that I may be mistaken…”

 

“Mistaken…like they were about you?” Muku asked with a slight hesitation, “And…what about Gel…and Godai? Are they…?”

 

“That wasn't them, Muku-chan,” Rhea replied, “I could tell by the way that they moved, the manner in which they fought. They may have borrowed the outward forms of your rivals, complete with their knowledge of combat, but…there were subtle differences that I could tell which made me realize who they actually were…otherwise I would not have fought with all my fury to destroy them. Taking a human life is against my very nature, but they were not human, nor were they ever truly to begin with.”

 

“But…where are the real Gel and Godai?” Muku asked, only to see Rhea lose her smile and glance down in regret.

 

“With Gold…there can be no doubt of that,” she said sadly, “My fault for leaving them exposed to danger…I owe my apology to both them, their parents and your friend, their sister.”

 

“A little late for self-recriminations, little lady,” a new voice said as the pair looked up to see the armored form of Cobalt beside them, along with several other Iczelion-armored ladies, “Learn from your mistakes so as not to repeat them…and no one could have anticipated the ruthlessness which was displayed here.”

 

“Our enemy is truly without mercy, humanity or compassion,” Nami added in grim commentary, “But at least we were able to get some civilians spirited away before they could come to any harm here.”

 

“Muku-chan,” the more familiar form of a fuku-clad Yumi said softly, “Are you both all right? Is it really over for now?”

 

“It had better be,” one of a pair of near-identical fuku-clad Yui's remarked, “We'd have a hard time explaining this one to our teachers as it is…and we have…casualties because of that giant foot kicking in the side of the building.”

 

“How many were hurt?” Muku automatically asked.

 

“Not too many…fortunately,” Kiiro replied.

 

“But considering the nature of the battle that was waged here, it is amazing that there were not more injuries than those unfortunate enough to be caught in the rubble,” Kawai said softly.

 

“Hey, this is Nerima,” Yumi shrugged, “Mindless destruction and property damage is nothing new here…but, strangely enough, hardly anyone ever seems to gets badly hurt in the wreckage.”

 

“We did what we could to save as many as we were able…” Yui/Deimos added.

 

“But a lot of it was just dumb luck and survival reflex on the part of our classmates,” Yui/Phobos concluded with a slight shrug of her shoulders.

 

“Such interesting people,” Cobalt remarked, then said, “Rhea-chan, you must come with us now, your parents will have a fit if I don't get you promptly to your regenerator.”

 

“Yes Auntie…I mean…Force Commander,” Rhea replied, turning to Muku with another tentative smile, “I'll be back soon, Muku-chan, I promise. You be well until next I see you.”

 

“Uh…sure,” Muku replied, staring once more into the luminous eyes of her companion, only to see her vanish a moment later, along with her Iczer Robo and the Iczelion corps itself.

 

“Well,” Sailor Hermes said after a brief pause in which she and the others remaining behind could take stock of the sudden quiet of their surroundings, “What's the story with you and Rhea-chan, Muku-chan? Are you a confirmed item yet?”

 

“An item?” Muku blinked.

 

“Don't play dumb with us,” Deimos warned.

 

“You were making lovey-dovey eyes with her right now, admit it!” Phobos practically radiated sparks with this declaration.

 

“Huh, what?” Muku made a placating gesture, “Now wait…you don't understand…it wasn't like…”

 

“Wasn't like what?” Hermes asked, “You think we don't have eyes or something? C'mon, spill already! What's she really like in bed?”

 

“What?” Muku was shocked by the question, “How would I know about that? You got it all wrong, I…”

 

“Yes?” Deimos asked pointedly.

 

“We're waiting,” Phobos crossly seconded.

 

“I…” Muku hesitated, the vision of Rhea floating into her mind unbidden, with all the complex attendant feelings that confused her whenever the Bioroid was near, “I…I…I don't really know…”

 

“You don't really know?” Hermes blinked her eyes in faint disbelief.

 

“Come on,” Deimos huffed.

 

“You either like the girl or you don't,” Phobos seconded, “So…which is it?”

 

“I…” Muku started to say, only to hesitate again, surprised at herself as a wellspring of new emotions rose up within her, but before she could form a coherent statement the four of them were suddenly confronted by an entirely new challenge.

 

“What are you girls doing hanging around out here in the middle of an evacuation…you delinquents?” a familiar stern voice assailed them.

 

Both Muku and her Senshi friends collectively winced at that then turned and as one chorused, “Yes, Hinako-sensei!”

 

“Do not `yes Hinako-sensei' me, you slackers,” Vice-Principal Hinako Ninomiya replied, “The school is closed for the day, you four are the last students yet to either be sent home or to the infirmary, so…what are you doing hanging around here? You should report at once to your parents!”

 

“We were just leaving,” Hermes cheerfully replied before stage whispering to the others, “Let's go guys, before she gets the wrong idea and decides she needs a recharge.”

 

“Yeah, no fooling,” Muku agreed at once, not relishing the thought of going home to face her parents and having to form an explanation for the events of the past twenty four hours.

 

“Giant monsters and Youma are one thing,” Deimos added.

 

“…But Vice-Principal Hinako…scary!” Phobos concluded with no little irony in her voice, to which her companions all nodded in tacit consensus.

 

“Hey, wait a minute,” Hermes said as she shifted back into her regular civilian guise as Mizuno Yumi, “You guys notice we're one short of a full hand here?”

 

“Eh?” Deimos asked, before she and Phobos shifted back together into the form of Hibiki Yui, “What do you mean?”

 

“I mean Sakura-chan, dummy,” Yumi sniffed, “Whenever there's a problem on school grounds, no matter how big, she's usually the first one to jump into the fray with no thought of fear or hesitation.”

 

“Say, that's right,” Muku said as she turned a worried eye towards the school grounds and murmuring, “Sakura-chan…where are you?”

 

“Sakura-chan?” Yui bristled slightly, but tactfully decided not to pursue the matter any further…at least for the present…

 

 

 

Continued

 

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