Iczer-one Fan Fiction / Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction / Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ The Earth Child ❯ Classmates ( Chapter 31 )

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)

 

 

 

 

 

“You sent for me, Mother?”

 

“Yes,” Big Gold replied, “I have an important assignment for you, Neos…you are to lead an assault upon the worldship of the C'thuwulf that will consist of a sizeable detachment of Geas, Voids and Venomoid assault pods. The attack will begin in a matter of twelve earth hours…”

 

“An assault on the mothership?” Neos Gold remarked, “That is a bold plan, but are we prepared to penetrate their defenses?”

 

“You won't have to penetrate them,” Gold replied, “That is the beauty of my plan. You are to lure the bulk of their defensive forces into an exact position that I will detail to you, and once they are in the right location I will spring the true trap that I have planned for these upstarts.”

 

“An ambush…designed to neutralize a sizeable portion of the enemy's forces?” Neos spoke in open admiration of the scheme, “How diabolically treacherous…I salute you, Mother.”

 

“It won't matter if you can capture or kill the majority of their forces,” Gold assured her, “The point of the operation is to weaken their defenses upon the Earth, where I intend to launch the true assault against Gamora base itself. Feel free to do whatever you like to any Iczelions or Iczers who fall into your snare, but those who survive will find that they no longer have a terrestrial base worth defending…and then the world ship will be next. Victory will be mine at last, and then the Earth itself shall suffer!”

 

“But who is to lead this primary assault if I am away making sport with the Iczelions?” Neos wondered.

 

“My new lieutenants, of course,” Gold smiled as she inclined her head to indicate the pair who now stood off to one side looking grim and determined, “May I present do you the new Grey and Cross…formerly known as the human whelps named Gel and Godai Kuno. They will be my sword to penetrate the shielding that defends the C'thuwulf city.”

 

Neos saw the pair so indicated and nodded slowly, sensing the sheer power hidden beneath the seemingly harmless exterior of the two human pawns, and suddenly she was smiling as well as she tasted impending victory, the sweet, delicious knowledge that the Iczers would be doomed, and with them the pathetic humans whom they sheltered. It was, in a word, a perfect plan for which humanity would be doomed, and all beneath the very noses of those annoying Iczers, including the recent traitors, Atros and Nova.

 

(Let us see you counteract this assault, Iczer One and Troi…your days are finally numbered,) Neos mused as Big Gold's citadel began to ring with the daunting echo of malevolent laughter…

 

 

 

 

Perm stared at her schoolpad and frowned, wondering about this ominous chill which she felt running down her back. She had been greatly concerned about her missing brother and sister and could not shake the dread that she might not see them again in anything like the condition that she remembered. An enemy of such vast cruelty and evil had them within her possession, and there was no telling just how far the corruption might spread under such a baleful influence.

 

She did not exactly hold it against Muku and the others that they did not share her degree of concern. After all, Perm would be the first one to admit that her siblings were unpopular with their fellow classmates, and it was not difficult to understand why. Gel---her twin---had a very abrasive personality, while Godai took a little too much after their father, being at once obnoxious and self-centered. Perm knew that---were they not her immediate kin---she herself might have difficulty working up much sympathy for their absence…but, in all truth, Gel was like the missing half of her own personality, and Godai---for all his brashness---was her older brother, her Oniisan. She could not abandon family, nor could she disavow the good years that they had shared together as well as the bad. She had to get them back somehow or she knew her parents would suffer grievously from their losses…

 

And yet still she found that her mind could not keep from traveling back to Muku, who seemed somehow a changed person from the brash and cocky girl that she had been all through their childhood. Muku had become somewhat more mature in her behavior, almost as if she had a sense more of responsibility for the life she affected, the people who were drawn to her natural charisma. Perm was as yet uncertain that the change was for the better, but she was willing to hold out for the benefit of the doubt, having no small degree of private admiration for their resident skating champion and all-around ingenue martial artist.

 

Muku was sitting in her usual spot near the middle window isle of their classroom, Yumi sitting beside her and acting like her usual busybody self. Sakura was sitting behind Yumi acting subdued and reserved as if having a lot on her mind and not feeling inclined to share her private concerns. And Perm? She was sitting next to Sakura, the both of them regarding Muku with private stares that held out a lot of conflicted emotions. It was a fairly standard arrangement in their classroom, but tainted by the sense that things were changing all around them, the absent seat formerly occupied by Gel being a noticeable absence of which Perm was all too well aware.

 

“So come on and tell me,” Yumi was softly insisting at that particular moment, taking advantage of the teacher's momentary inattention while he was writing something on the blackboard, “What happened with you and Rhea-chan last night? Don't you want to tell me?”

 

“Nothing happened last night,” Muku was saying in mild exasperation, risking calling attention from the teacher as her voice tended to arch in mid-sentence, “Get of my case, Yumi-chan…I'm trying to study…”

 

Perm privately wondered where Muku's pet guardian angel was about on this particular morning. There was no sense of a lurking presence, no hidden shape hovering in the trees near to the window, not even a feeling of the fiery-gold haired Iczer being within the immediate periphery of Perm's somewhat heightened chi senses. She could not quite believe that the alien elf-girl had totally abandoned her “darling Muku,” not with the threat hanging over everyone's collective heads by the same force which had done such extensive damage to the school building a few days back. Surely this Rhea Kano had not given up in her pursuit of the somewhat clueless Muku, Perm doubted that she herself would be that lucky. Unfair competition was easy to resent, even if there was reason to personally respect and even admire her as both a warrior and a protector.

 

Muku was looking a bit uneasy, though whether it was about her missing girlfriend or from other reasons not so obvious was difficult to determine. That Yumi was not helping things by pestering Muku with questions was far more obvious…to everyone but Yumi. It was the curious inclusion of Yui Hibiki---who rarely showed up for classes at all due to her family's directional problem---that added a heightened bit of tension to Perm's sensitive and alert perspective.

 

There was something uneasy, almost fragile about the way Yui was sitting by herself while eyeing everyone with an edgy sense of distance…like she was even more of an outsider to their little group than was normally the case…that most drew Perm's attention regarding this most peculiar of classmates. It was as if the major players of the Muku fan club society (otherwise known as fellow travelers and martial arts students) were being drawn together for some strange purpose of destiny, as though the stage were being set for some dramatic scene of their ongoing life-adventure. Perm hoped that this was not the prelude to yet another giant robot assault upon their homeroom (there had been enough of those to last a full week) yet she could not shake the sense that something interesting was indeed about to take place. Yui's uneasiness, Sakura's introspective continence, Yumi's overly exuberant curiosity, it all fit into some larger more elaborate pattern.

 

But what was the piece that she also sensed was missing?

 

And then it occurred to Perm that she was restricting the scope of her vision to only take in the female members of their martial arts society. There was one other active player whom she had neglected to take into account, but now that she thought to include him she could see yet another important element of the drama that she sensed was unfolding. Ken Tofu was sitting off by himself and not acting quite as annoyingly self-satisfied as to what Perm was normally accustomed. If anything he seemed to be deep in thought on some other matter besides the lecture that their teacher was giving, and there was a decided lack of attention being paid towards Sakura, whom he normally delighted in irritating with his presence. Sakura was also rather pointedly NOT looking at him, as if the two iinazuke were intent on avoiding one another. This was singularly curious in and of itself as no matter what else those two might be doing they usually could not help being involved in some way with one another.

 

What was she missing in all of this? Perm normally schooled herself as a very good observer, but this time out the tension level in the room gave few clues as to the exact nature of that tension. Sakura was not looking at Ken, was even projecting a rather chilly air to the space between them as though he had done something to seriously irritate her…or rather, something more severe than his usual pranks and methods of drawing her attention. Ken---even more strangely---did not seem to mind that he was being pointedly ignored by his own fiancée. If anything it seemed as if he had someone else on his mind, as though he had been seeing someone else in a romantic sense and in full view and knowledge of Sakura.

 

Which was odd considering that Perm already knew about Sakura's strange attraction towards that pointy-eared Biker-chick named Troi. Indeed, she had been aware of Troi's interest in Sakura back when they were in the dojo together and the white haired alien girl had been openly flirting with both Sakura and her mother. The odds were that something had gone down between Troi and Sakura, something for which Saotome had evidently been unprepared to prevent from happening, so---logically speaking---if anyone had a reason to be jealous and angry, it was Ken towards Sakura, not the other way around…

 

Which was interesting for entirely different reasons. Perm wondered if the field around Muku was steadily drying up as each of the potential rivals were drawn away in different directions. Yui and Sakura both had unexpressed desires that they were barely even aware about, but Perm knew where her own feelings lay in the matter, and as such had kept her peace as the last thing which she wanted to do was come across as some infatuated fool like Godai, her own brother! Gel had her own feelings of longing and resentment towards Muku but never did have a clue as to their real nature. Perm was determined to be as much unlike them as she could, but mostly because she did not need to have her heart be broken by rejection since Muku herself seemed so painfully unaware of just how popular she was among her fellow students.

 

Perm decided to turn at least a portion of her attention back towards their teacher even though the man had such a boring stage presence that he drained whatever life there might be found in the subject matter being covered. Perm already knew the material anyway and did not need to listen much to keep up, but there was always the chance that she might be called upon to answer a question, and with her mind on the continuing soap opera that was the daily cycle of life around Muku it was far too easy to become overly distracted.

 

What a pity they had been forced to move into temporary classrooms while their homeroom itself was under repairs, along with a whole wing of the main building. Perm would have liked to have counted the dots on the walls to break up the monotony, but even that mindless pleasure was denied her, so instead she alternated with taking notes on her note-pad and actually wondering if the teacher himself had taken lessons on being so boring. It was almost enough to make one welcome an attack by alien monsters if only to get through the next hour without being bored to death. In fact the only productive thing that Perm could think about doing was to mentally catalogue and go over the various martial arts maneuvers that comprised her Wu-Shu arsenal, which combined with her father's Kendo and Nampo lessons, plus Uncle Ranma's various styles of Aerial Kempo, that combined to form an impressive inventory of “Anything Goes” maneuvers, some of which she would probably be called upon to use if they really did come under an attack in the next few minutes…

 

Wait one minute…what was that? Perm sat up as her senses registered a powerful presence that was approaching from the hallway. She gaped in awe as the teacher was interrupted in his lessons, called off to the side to speak with someone who was out of Perm's line-of-sight yet who felt familiar in a highly disturbing manner. The teacher accepted a sheaf of paper and read it, then nodded affirmation and urged the party to whom he was speaking to enter the classroom.

 

As she did this he turned to his students and said, “Class…we have a new foreign exchange student who is beginning her first day as a part of this classroom, so let's give a big Kangei Suru to…” he paused to glance at the paper before reading aloud, “Miss Kano Rhea, former resident of Tokyo's Ninth District…”

 

At the mention of the name Muku sat bolt upright, even as the other members of their close-knit band reacted with varying degrees of surprise and consternation. It occurred to Perm that the appropriate setting should have called upon Muku to either be drinking or to have something in her mouth that would be violently expelled about this point. That alone diminished the full impact of having the slender reddish-gold haired elf-girl walking pleasantly into the room wearing a school uniform whose green coloration set off a play against her hair quite nicely. Large eyes and pointed ears aside, wearing an outfit such as that made her seem somewhat more…conventional (though that might be too strong a word to describe the actual effect she secretly reckoned). To be certain those classmates who had not seen or met Rhea before sat up and paid attention, the boys mostly to ogle her exotic looks, the girls (mostly) to glare resentfully at the latest competition (all save those, of course, who would rate themselves as competition for Muku).

 

Rhea smiled brightly and immediately gazed with open fondness in Muku's direction, causing Senzenen to color abruptly with embarrassment at having been singled out in such a forward manner. Yumi looked from Rhea to Muku and back again with surprise even as Sakura and Yui both gripped their desks in a telltale manner. Muku herself only gawped, as if having Rhea for a new classmate had been numbered among the last thing that she had expected.

 

It seemed that the teacher was oblivious to these goings on (of course) right beneath his nose and quite innocently assigned Rhea to sit down at the desk normally reserved for Gel, which put her only two lanes down from Muku. Yumi interrupted the teacher and suggested that she trade places with Rhea so that the “new girl” could sit closer to the window. She hastily cleared out of her seat and offered the position to Rhea, who smiled as she accepted the offer, sitting down next to Muku with as much enthusiasm as if she were being offered box seats at a major concert. Muku did not look particularly comfortable as she squirmed a bit in her own desk chair, all too aware that the eyes of their fellow students were upon them.

 

“Excuse me, Perm-chan,” Yumi asked politely as she paused before the purple haired Kuno's desk, “I hope you won't mind since Gel's not here…”

 

Perm waved the point aside, “Take her seat, I'm sure she wouldn't protest too much,” she said on behalf of her absent twin, knowing full well that Gel would have raised holy hell at the idea of anyone even touching what she considered to be her territorial space. At least Yumi had been tactful enough to ask before sitting down rather than just assuming---as others might---that Gel's departure was a near-permanent condition.

 

Perm took another moment to study the effect the beautiful elf-girl had on those sitting nearest to her. Yui and Sakura were scowling, Ken was arching both eyebrows in speculative interest, and Yumi was all but busting at the seams with a desire to ask the questions that surely everyone else was considering at the moment. Her mere presence changed the working dynamic in the entire room, adding an element of color and excitement, a whiff of the exotic and forbidden even to those who knew nothing about her actual nature and origins.

 

It was interesting to see the effect Rhea had upon Muku herself, the dark-haired Senzenen eyeing her golden-haired “partner” with something halfway between curiosity and vexation. Clearly not all was well in paradise with those two, though Perm doubted that Rhea herself knew just what sort of a spot she had put Muku into, and how this might affect the natural flow of their future relations. In a way her presence made a kind of sense, like the natural next evolutionary stage to being incorporated into Muku's life as a permanent fixture, but before matters could proceed any further with those two it was obvious that some issues had to be resolved, not least of which was Muku's own comfort level in being so involved with another woman.

 

In a very odd way this made Perm feel a measure of sympathy for her nominal rival, knowing full well that it could be her feelings that might be at risk were she this open and brazen about her affections. If she had approached Muku in open petition that their friendship might be carried to another level she had a pretty fair sense of how the other girl might have reacted. It was the same reasoning that had held both Yui and Sakura silent all these months when they had been in low-intensity conflict with one another. Far easier to challenge the other girls to a series of martial arts challenge matches in which they pit their skills together and indirectly resolved questions of who had the strongest claim to be a potential suitor. By such means they had managed to discourage other would-be rivals among their schoolmates, but now an outsider had sailed right in through the proverbial front gates and made further progress than the rest of them combined simply by being such an innocent and by not taking any of Muku's avoidance as a reason to give up early in her endeavors. In a way that made Rhea the bravest one of all of them, and the most likely to be subjected to the pain of possible rejection.

 

At last the teacher wound down enough in his lecture that Yumi felt bold enough to ask, “Hey, Rhea-chan…are you gonna be a student here from now on in this class?”

 

“Yes,” the alien girl managed to make the word sound almost musical as she added, “My parents made the arrangements to enroll me yesterday, so I'm starting a bit late in the semester, but I hope to fully accepted as one of you for the remainder of the term.”

 

“Well, isn't that just peachy,” Sakura murmured half-to-herself while Yui's scowl threatened to bring both of her eyebrows into one continuous pencil line.

 

Muku seemed reluctant to say anything, but at last she asked, “Did you know they were going to do this?”

 

“No, it was as much a surprise for me as anyone,” Rhea said brightly, “But this way we can be together nearly all the time, Muku-chan, isn't that nice?”

 

Muku's expression was a remarkably dubious one as she murmured in reply, “Oh yeah…just terrific…”

 

Indeed, Perm silently mused, trouble in paradise indeed, which left her wondering what this might imply for the future, and whether Rhea Kano had any sense of the impending discord that threatened to loom over the shores of her happy, blissful state of self-contentment, and whether Perm had any obligation to try and warn her since she did not bear the elf-girl any actual ill-will.

 

And after all…even rivals owed some token of courtesy towards one another…

 

 

 

 

Tenma hopped the fence and ran the several blocks to the other end of the Furinkan Financial district before lightly dropping into the yard to pay respects to Cologne, the owner and proprietor of a popular teashop known as the Ginseng. He straightened up as he saw the withered old matron and called out to her brightly, “Hey, Baba! You'll never guess what I've been studying for the past month or so! You've gotta come see this!”

 

Cologne---former matriarch of the Joketsuzoku Amazons, looked up from polishing her chinaware as she saw the young boy dropping into her rear garden area and smiled in warm greeting. Since coming to live in Japan she had founded the tea shop as a means of staying close to the action, even though her great-granddaughter had warned her off from “meddling” directly in the affairs of her family, and since marrying a man of whom the Matriarch did not strictly approve, she had become a rather lonely figure desperate for novelty and gossip, and willing to play friendly matron to the people who frequented her establishment. It was with some joy that she often found herself becoming involved with members of the younger generation, who were not as prone to misjudge her for some trivial “past indiscretions,” and she always enjoyed the periodic visits of this young son of one of the most exemplary men whom Cologne had ever known, including her first and second husbands.(Not to mention third, fifth, seventh, and thirteenth…)

 

“Well now,” Cologne slyly regarded the brash young son of one whom she often thought of as her “other apprentice,” sensing a change in the boy's aura that suggested many new and interesting things that might attract the notice of even a jaded old Matron as herself, “What is this, young Master? Has your father been teaching you a new trick of which I was not aware?”

 

“No, Pop didn't teach me this one,” Tenma grinned broadly, “A friend of mine taught this to me. Just watch and I'll show you!”

 

Fifteen minutes later a much-impressed Cologne whistled appreciatively as the boy concluded his performance, “Well now, young Master…a Master indeed you seem to have become. And how is it that you perform this…Noh puppetry did you call it?”

 

“Yeah,” Tenma agreed as he lowered the Chinese dolls that he had been manipulating as if on invisible strings and set them back where they had been resting about the tea shop beforehand, “It's kind of like moving stuff with your mind, but it's got a lot to do with story telling and drama, and you kind of have to have a feel for weaving the energy patterns in your surroundings, but I figure you'd know a lot more about stuff like that.”

 

“Indeed,” Cologne sagely noted, “But it is all but unheard of to find one as young as you who can master such a difficult concept. You have once again confirmed my firm conviction that your father's gifts have been passed on to you in full measure. I thank you for entertaining me with this fine talent…and you say you have been trained to incorporate this…weaving…into a capable martial art system?”

 

“Yeah, but it ain't as powerful here as it is in the Subspace field where I was trained,” Tenma replied, “There I can make up stuff out of my mind and make it feel as real as I want it…”

 

“Now that does interest me a good deal,” Cologne remarked, “This…friend of yours, the one who taught you…she has the ability to traverse the space between worlds, to enter and leave this…subspace as you call it?”

 

“Yep,” Tenma replied, “Her name is Fiber, and she used to be a bad guy, but she turned good when she saw just how bad her side could get. Turns out she used to be a regular human lady before the bad guys turned her into what she is today, a Bioroid, which is kind of like an android, only living.”

 

“Curioser and Curioser,” Cologne softly mused, “Why don't you explain it all to me from the beginning, young master.”

 

So Tenma did just that, giving a terse account of all that had occurred from the time that the Iczers showed up at the dojo to the attack that drew them into subspace, and then him waking up alone in the strange gray pseudo-world where reality was malleable and his will and imagination could be forged into a deadly weapon. He outlined the circumstances under which he and Fiber had met, then the strange friendship they had formed together, leading up to her consenting to train him, then concluding with the decision to return to the real world so that Tenma could at last be reunited with his parents.

 

“Fascinating,” Cologne remarked when she had time to sit tea, sit back and reflect on all that she had just heart, “So…you haven't had time as yet to show your parents what you can do?”

 

“Not yet,” Tenma replied, “But when Pop sees what I can do he's gonna be so surprised…!”

 

“That would be a given,” Cologne set down her tea and examined the earnest young man with a knowing expression, “I'm curious, though, that you should believe that you have been gone for a month while in real time it seems only a matter of days have passed in your absence…more curious because your parents did not appear to notice that you were absent. Indeed, your mother expressed surprise, you say, as if she had just seen a version of you go rushing off towards school just before your arrival?”

 

“Yeah,” Tenma paused before asking, “You think maybe I'm back in the right reality? Fiber said that there's lots of possible alternate worlds existing side-by-side each other, and some are so close alike that you'd never even know you crossed over.”

 

“That is a possibility not to be discounted,” Cologne conceded, more and more impressed with how readily the young man seemed to grasp concepts that were beyond the scope of even some elders, “Perhaps there is another version of you running around in the neighborhood, in which case it might not be wise for one of you to cross paths with the other.”

 

“You think so, Baba?” Tenma asked quizzically, “Gee…that could get to be a mess, huh? I mean, I wouldn't want to be messing things up for the me who lives here…I mean…if this ain't the here that I'm from…did that make sense to you?”

 

“I'll try and pretend that it does,” Cologne hid a smile at the boy's understandable confusion, “On the other hand…there is another possibility which you may wish to consider…namely that you are in the right world and time, but that there may be a different version of you who is not all that he appears to be.”

 

“Huh?” Tenma blinked, “What makes you say that?”

 

“Just a feeling I have,” Cologne replied, “And when you get to be my age you learn to trust your feelings. I saw another version of you running home from school just the other day, and---curiously enough---this version of you went around the block instead of stopping in to pay your usual visit. I was sufficiently piqued about this to investigate further…and I had the oddest sense when I saw this other you that he was not entirely…right somehow. I can't put it into concrete words, but I think that you may have to look this other you up after all to determine if he is the genuine article.”

 

“You mean…he might be a fake?” Tenma went pale, “Oh no…Fiber warned me about something like this. She said her old boss has servants who can copy themselves into regular people…doppelgangers, I think she called them…”

 

“Indeed?” Cologne's gaze sharpened, “Substitutions who look and sound like the people whom they imitate…yet inside they are something altogether alien. My great-great granddaughter, Perm, was in a few days ago and confided in me about how her brother and sister were taken and replaced with such substitutes. This is most alarming indeed…it could mean that the same ones responsible for their absence have arranged for your own substitution, young Master.”

 

“Holy Kami!” Tenma straightened up, “We am I gonna do about this, Baba? If there's been another me running around all this time…”

 

“The question is what will WE do, Son of Saotome,” Cologne replied, picking up her staff with a look of determination, “It seems that I will be closing up early and disappointing my usual customers, but this matter is far more urgent. I swore to my great-granddaughter that I would not interfere in the affairs of her family unless it were a matter of life and death, but with my great-great-grandchildren imperiled I have no choice at all in the matter, and if this other version of you can provide even a clue as to where they have gone…”

 

“So where do we find this fake me?” Tenma growled, outraged at the thought that someone else might have been sleeping in his bed, playing with his things and messing around with his family and friends, making who knew what kind of trouble for everyone whom Tenma cared about.

 

“Where else does one find a convincing substitute but to look in the place where you would be in his place?” Cologne answered, “Your school will make an excellent starting point, and when we find this miscreant…”

 

“POW!” Tenma mimicked a fist-to-palm gesture, “We let him have it, right Baba?”

 

“After we ask him the question,” Cologne advised, “But if he gives us any trouble…well…you already know that I can be **very** persuasive…”

 

 

 

 

“I'm coming!” a voice frantically called out through the door of the comfortable townhouse in the Jubaan district, one moment before there came a loud, “WHOOOP!” followed promptly by a crashing noise as a body went colliding with a hall closet, followed by a hat-rack falling and a number of other items spilling out from a haphazard storage.

 

Seconds after this the door flew open and a bright and cheerful blonde woman with two long odango-like ponytails framing a face of ageless beauty said a merry, “Hi guys! What are you doing here on this side of town?”

 

The women gathered on her porch just smiled indulgently at their nominal leader, then the one named Rei said, “Same old Usagi…some things just never change…”

 

“Hello, Riceball-head,” the tall blonde woman in man's dress said politely, “Have you got a moment to spend with your old friends?”

 

“Of course I do, Haruka-chan,” Usagi chided, “I've always got time for you. What's up? Why are you being so formal?”

 

“We have a matter that needs to be discussed,” said the beautiful green-haired Michiru with her usual ladylike demeanor, “It's about our children, and we think it's very important.”

 

“Huh?” Usagi asked, “Rini and the others? What are they up to this time?”

 

“That's just the thing that we would like to find out,” said the blue-black haired Doctor Ami Mizuno, “We've each tried asking our daughters, but they tend to be evasive in giving their answers, even my little Yumi, who isn't exactly the most close-lipped person that I could name at the moment…”

 

“Our kids just say that they've been getting into some new kind of extra-curricular activity, like a sporting event or something like that,” said the towering amazon known as Makoto Kino, “But it's like all the other kids are attending the same events at the exact same time…”

 

“Yeah,” said Minako Aino-Kino, “It's downright uncanny, and we're all starting to see a common pattern.”

 

“A pattern?” Usagi asked as she ushered her friends into her house, “What, like you think they're keeping secrets from us or something?”

 

“Figure it out for yourself, Bunny-rabbit,” Rei affectionately chided, “They've been staying out late and coming back home at all kinds of odd hours. Remember when we used to do things like that behind the backs of our parents?”

 

“In other words,” Haruka concluded, “We think they're mixed up in some new kind of Senshi business.”

 

“Senshi business?” Usagi asked as she sat down at the tea-table in her living room, offering some crackers and tea that she had already set out in advance of this impromptu meeting, “You mean there's a new enemy and they haven't thought to tell us about it?”

 

“That is exactly what we think is going on,” Ami replied, “A new kind of enemy, and one that they have felt compelled to tackle on their own without bothering to consult us.”

 

“We know that Reiko and Meiko have been getting into fights in and around their schools,” Makoto revealed as she sat down next to her wife, Minako, “And there's plenty of evidence of some major high-level damage to property both there and at an arcade in the Furinkan area, but no witnesses can give a halfway believable account for how they got damaged, like someone went to the trouble of covering it up or something.”

 

“Making people forget and causing immediate repairs to be effected are sure signs that our old friends from the MIB have been in the area,” Michiru noted.

 

“But they know their neuralizer pens won't work on us Senshi,” Haruka further noted, “Which means that whatever happened, Karma and the others would definitely know all about it.”

 

“And they haven't felt like confiding in any of us,” Minako concluded, “Which means that it's some kind of personal affair, one they don't feel like sharing with their own parents.”

 

“I see,” Usagi remarked as she thought this over, “Now that you mention it, Rini has been acting a bit odd lately…almost like the way she was acting that time that she was carrying on that secret affair with Helios, back when we tangled with the Dark Moon Circus.”

 

“How odd do you mean?” Makoto asked.

 

“Real odd,” Usagi covered her mouth and gasped, “Like…she had a new boyfriend…and maybe one who's been coming onto her without either me or Mamoru-chan being any the wiser!”

 

“So you see?” Rei pointed out, “And get this…me and Ryoga-kun got visited recently by his outer-space cousin, Inspector P, and he spills the beans to us that Yui and her friends have gotten mixed up into some kind alien invasion that hasn't even been mentioned by the local papers.”

 

“Hardly surprising with MIB on the job,” Ami pointed out.

 

“So you see why we're all so worried now, Riceball head?” Haruka asked, “That's why we need to pool our resources and get to the bottom of this right away.”

 

“We were hoping to confront our children and see if one or more of them might be persuaded to confide in us,” Michiru added, “Which you can do if you compel Rini and the others to attend a Senshi council.”

 

“Of course I'll do whatever I can to help out, guys,” Usagi replied, “But the kids are at school and Mamoru is out of town on business, and this is kind of short notice and everything. Um…what about Setsuna and Hotaru?”

 

“As far as we know their daughter isn't involved in any of this,” Ami responded.

 

“But that could change rapidly if we don't do something to nip this in the but right away,” Minako added, “So what about it, Usagi-chan? Will you convene a council?”

 

“All right,” Usagi said, “I will…how about in the great hall just after the end of classes?”

 

“That should prove more than sufficient,” Michiru nodded, glancing at Haruka and adding, “And it will be good to finally get the truth from Karma over what she's been doing that's been making her act so elusive.”

 

“She'd better not be seeing anyone I wouldn't approve of without my permission,” Haruka scowled, “I wouldn't want some…guy to think he could take advantage of our little girl like that…”

 

“Oh, Haruka-chan,” Michiru chided, “Just because she may have had sex is no reason to fly off the handle…and remember what you were like when you were her age?”

 

“A little too well,” Haruka winced, “Why do you think I'm so worried?”

 

“So,” Usagi stood up, “I'll get the Council meeting ready. Who's going to deliver the news to the kids?”

 

“Not to worry,” Rei winked, “I've got my better half and my other self already on the job, she'll be passing the word around just as soon as I give her the signal…”

 

 

 

 

At that precise moment, across town and just outside of the Furinkan campus, another identical Rei was sneezing up a storm, only to halt and rub her nose with a sourly voiced, “Stupid hayfever…”

 

“Are you sure that's all it is, Rei-chan?” her husband asked in some concern.

 

“Yes, I'm sure of it,” Rei attempted to reassure him, “Probably my other half giving me the none-too-subtle hint that Usagi's approved our little plan and wants us to gather our kids together.”

 

“Oh,” Ryoga replied, then paused before adding, “Do you think we may find out who the guy is that she's been seeing lately? The one who made her stay out late last night?”

 

“Calm down, Tiger,” Rei tried to reassure him, “You're starting to sound like an overprotective father.”

 

“And how can you be an overprotective dad these days?” Ryoga reasoned back, “Somebody broke my little girl's heart, and if I find out who he is, I'm going to make sure he knows what it means to mess with a Hibiki.”

 

“I'm sure if anyone's face needs rearranging that our little Yui will be able to do it by herself,” Rei patted her husband on the shoulder, “Let's just sit back and wait until they recess for lunch, then we can tell both Yui and Yumi that they're wanted for a Senshi council. That ought to shake them up enough to get them to spill the beans about what they've been up to.”

 

“All right,” Ryoga shrugged his shoulders to help relieve some of the stress he was feeling, “But if it turns out to be Kuno Godai, I won't be held responsible…”

 

“You won't have to be,” Rei assured him, “If it comes to that, then I'll kick his ass all the way back to his pretty-boy mansion.”

 

“Hmmm,” Ryoga mused, “It might be kinder if I did it, you really know where to kick a man to make it hurt.”

 

“Of course, Silly,” Rei smirked, “I've been married to you for the last eighteen years, and I've had plenty of practice.”

 

“Yeah, I know I…huh?” Ryoga blinked, shielded his eyes, then pointed towards the roof of the main school building, “Am I imagining it, Rei-chan…or does it seem to you like there's somebody up there near the clock tower.”

 

“Huh?” Rei shielded her own eyes in order to look, then she replied, “Hey, you're right…they look like…statues or robots or something…but what the hell are they doing up there?”

 

“I don't know,” Ryoga frowned, “But somehow I don't think that they're the new school mascots…”

 

 

 

 

It was approaching the lunch hour and high above Furinkan High a gathering of Iczelion robots was convened for a special “war-council” session, held exclusively by the three Iczelions currently assigned to partner with their respective human pilots, those pilots being the ones who were partnered with Iczers.

 

One of them---the green hued Iczelion (currently assigned to Saotome Sakura)---was humming to itself in an bioelectronic singsong that could only be followed by others of its kind. To the human ears it might seem like a shrill form of low-pitched static, but to the other Iczelions it sounded more like, “This is most distressing news. The Defender has elected to assign one of our order to serve as the companion to the new human partner of Atros.”

 

“An Iczelion…assigned to a MALE Terran?” the orange-hued Iczelion (currently assigned to one Yui Hibiki) responded, “Such a thing has never happened before, it is hardly conceivable that a man would have the ability to bond with an Iczer, let alone an Iczelion Robo-unit.”

 

“Inconceivable and yet it has occurred,” the third Iczelion---Unit Sixty-Nine (currently assigned to serve and protect Muku Dori Senzenen)---remarked in dry observation, “Obviously there will have to be modifications to the basic design, but the unit is being grown even as we process this new data.”

 

“These are very strange times within which we have been called to live,” the Green Iczelion remarked, “Things are changing even as we make this analysis, and who knows where this war between Gold and our masters will lead us?”

 

“We can only wait and see,” the Orange Iczelion replied, “And until they call upon us, our duty is but to observe and report these events as they transpire.”

 

“Easy to say,” Unit Sixty-Nine remarked, “Much harder to put into practice. In fact, I…one moment! Incoming transmission. I believe we are about to be greeted by our new brother Iczelion unit.”

 

One moment later a shimmering outline of light arrived, and then a blue-hued armored figure addressed the other three Iczelion robots, “This is Unit Seventy-two reporting in, assigned to shadow-watch subject designate Tofu Ken. This unit is online and ready for action.”

 

The other three Iczelions immediately sized up this late-arrival, noticing subtle changes in the basic form and function of this new armor, most notably the size, which was at least ten to fifteen centimeters taller than any of the other units present. In a wholly artificial way they each gave this new arrival the equivalent of a dubious expression.

 

“You are bonded to a male-type partner?” the green Unit 70 wondered.

 

“Human males have different external plumbing and anatomical construction,” the blue unit replied in tones that sounded almost defiantly human, “My pattern was adjusted to accommodate these requirements.”

 

“But you have not yet been introduced to your new partner,” the orange-colored Unit 71 noted with a faint hint of distaste, “Until you bond and actuate with his genetic pattern you are not fully on line and ready for combat.”

 

“This unit has been syncretized specifically to fit his genetic pattern,” Unit 72 said testily, “All that is required will be formal activation and we will form a fully functioning Iczelion combat unit.”

 

“We have no doubt that your abilities have been matched to your mission requirements,” Unit 69 said in tones which were more placating, “But does Ken-unit know that you have been assigned to him and will respond if called?”

 

“Not yet,” Unit 72 replied with a bit more hesitation in its voice, “But this unit intends to rectify this as soon as Subject Ken is free to access. This unit will continue to depend on your expertise to alert us all should there be a crisis requiring full integration.”

 

“Then we are all subject to the whims of the fates,” Unit 70 remarked in a somewhat more conciliatory tone of modulation, “Because the timing of the next assault will be at the discretion of the enemy and not our own choosing.”

 

“We have but to wait for battle and it will come to us,” Unit 71 agreed, “Just be ready to pull your weight when the time comes to give battle.”

 

“That is my function and design,” Unit 72 agreed, “In which case I will yield to your experience in prior dealings with the enemy, Sixty-Nine unit.”

 

“I fear that prior experience will do little to prepare us for…” Unit 69 began to relate when he stopped and began processing new information, then related, “The school lunch period is beginning. Our human partners are being released from their classes to attend to fuel consumption.”

 

“Then let us all listen in and probe to see if we may be of any further assistance to our partners,” Unit 70 agreed as all four units---even 72---amplified their sensory collectors and began to focus upon the specific portion of the school yard onto which their human counterparts were presently located, moving off from the main building in order to consume their lunch together and away from the prying ears of their fellow students…

 

 

 

 

“…Look,” Yumi was saying as a matter of course, “I'm just saying that you should feel free to confide in us, your friends, if you have anything that you'd like to ask about being a student here at Furinkan, anything at all, it won't be any problem.”

 

“Thank you,” Rhea replied, “You are most helpful. In truth there are many things about this place which puzzle me greatly, but I was hoping that I could turn to you, Muku-chan, for any immediate answers.”

 

“Ah…no problem with me,” Muku replied, “If you want to ask Yumi, or Yui or anyone else anything you like, feel free to do so. It's not like I own the place or get better grades than they do…”

 

“Oh, don't be modest,” Sakura remarked coolly, “I'm sure your **friend** here just wants any excuse that she can find to spend more time with you…anything for a partner, right Yui?”

 

“Huh?” the other girl asked with a somewhat distracted air about her, “Oh…um…yeah…I guess. A partner…heh…don't know what to do with or without one of those…”

 

“Hah?” Muku blinked, glancing at her other friends, “What are you two talking about?”

 

“That is what I would like to know,” Perm mused, “It would seem that you are not the only one here who has been keeping secrets from others, Muku-san.”

 

“Secrets?” Muku repeated.

 

“You know,” Yumi chided, “About the Iczers and you being the co-pilot to one of those giant robot thingies of theirs. You don't need to keep any of that away from the rest of us, Muku-chan, Sakura and Yui both know first hand what it's like to ride in one of those big buggers.”

 

“You do?” Muku repeated.

 

Both Sakura and Yui favored Yumi with matching tart expressions as the former responded, “Well…that is something I have been intending to bring up. You see…ah…well…that is…”

 

“That you are on more-than-familiar terms with that silver haired Troi?” Perm deduced for her, “And she has coopted you into helping her to pilot her huge mecha?”

 

“Whaa-aat?” Muku reacted, turning to stare in amazement at her friend, “Sakura-chan?”

 

“You didn't know?” Yumi blinked as Sakura flinched slightly, “She and that Troi girl are a definite item. I caught them lounging about the onsen exchanging backrubs the other day, and those C'thuwulf guys say that its because of her that Troi's Iczer-Robo is sporting a new Spatula strapped across its huge back.”

 

“Sakura-chan?” Muku halted in mid-step to stare at her other best friend, “You and…Troi?”

 

“Well…it's not like that…I mean…not what you…ah…that is…” Sakura fidgeted slightly.

 

“You're fucking her, okay?” Yui snapped indelicately at the other girl, “Just because it embarrasses you is no reason to get all hyper and flustered…”

 

“Huh?” Sakura frowned, “You're a fine one to talk! What about you and that maniac, Nova? Don't tell me you were just holding hands while you were traveling all over the place inside her Iczer-Robo!”

 

“Wait a minute!” Muku protested, turning to Yui, “I thought you'd been kidnapped by that redhead…?”

 

“I was kidnapped!” Yui insisted, “That hussy grabbed me out of the school bathroom and before I knew it I was stuck in one of those capsules stark naked with tubes all over my body!”

 

“Yeah, for the next six or seven hours,” Yumi noted, “Trust the Hibiki curse to get the both of you lost in one of those robots, and don't try to kid me that all you two did was play sight-see…”

 

“It wasn't like that!” Yui protested, only to pause before adding, “Um…mostly…”

 

“I see,” mused Perm, “Then perhaps you might clarify something that has been puzzling me…exactly what sort of relationship is implied by the word `Partner?'”

 

“Oh, that's easy,” Yumi explained, “It means that they're each soul-bonded to an Iczer.”

 

“Soul…bonded?” Muku had a creeping hunch that her worst suspicions were about to be confirmed.

 

“Yes,” Rhea explained for her, “It is much like with us…and the reason why I am always aware of you no matter where you are or what you are doing, Muku-chan. Our souls have been linked together and where one of us ends the other becomes her extension.”

 

“Yeah, but the way the C'thuwulf explained it to me made it sound more like you guys were married,” Yumi added.

 

“MARRIED?” Muku, Sakura and Yui all cried together.

 

“Hush,” Perm urged, “Keep your voice down. There may be a few parties at the far end of the track field who did not hear you just declare that.”

 

“Married?” Yui seemed flustered, “To that---that…that…no way!”

 

“No formal vows were exchanged on my end either,” Sakura replied, “But…Troi did explain that we are…kind of stuck with one another…” her tone dwindled off as she turned to look off into the distance.

 

“Let me see if I understand you properly,” Ken spoke up so suddenly that Sakura nearly jumped out of her skin from surprise, “An Iczer finds a human with whom they are well-matched on a psychic and biophysical level…and they form a bond together that is both spiritual and physical? And they call this process Synchronization?”

 

“Don't do that!” Sakura whipped out her spatula and threatened to use it, “Give me some warning before you sneak up on me, you…you two-timing pervert!”

 

“Now wait a moment, Sakura-chan,” Ken raised his hands in a disarming manner, “You were the one who cheated on me first by bonding with that…Troi, as she calls herself, right?”

 

“Ah…” Sakura lowered her spatula a bit as she thought some more about it.

 

“And don't tell me you haven't been sleeping with her behind my back,” Ken persisted with a knowing, accusatory expression.

 

“Ah—well…I wouldn't call it `sleeping' per se…” Sakura hastily amended.

 

“So, when I bonded with Atros last night, and I talked with her to get to know more about her,” Ken persisted, “It was with the plain understanding that I was an innocent being drawn into this world that you've already been immersed in for days. Atros has only recently been purged of the brainwashing that was inflicted on her by their enemies, which means that she was in a highly fragile state of mind when you called her a `Thieving Bitch'…”

 

“Ah…” Sakura winced, “I…might have been a bit hasty when I said that…”

 

“Well, I didn't cheat on you, but you've gone a lot farther than me with your cute alien hottie,” Ken pointed out, “So…which of us here has the better reason to be jealous and angry?”

 

“Wait a minute!” Muku turned to Sakura, “You've…been having…sex…with Troi?”

 

“What do you know?” Yumi smiled, “You've finally figured it out.”

 

“And you…” Muku turned an equally incredulous look upon Yui, “…you slept with a girl who kidnapped you and used you like a spare part in her giant robot?”

 

“We didn't sleep!” Yui protested, then winced, “But…um…well…we did kind of…but it was mostly her doing it to me!”

 

“And I am certain that you were kicking and screaming about it all the way,” Perm said dryly.

 

“They are synchronized, Muku-chan,” Rhea explained, “Sister Grey explained to me that a device used in Nova's Iczer Robo to attempt to bridge the Biorhythm disparity between the both of them somehow malfunctioned and instead adjusted Nova's internal Bio-signature to recalibrate her so that she Synchronized with your friend Yui.”

 

“What?” Muku turned to her own partner, “Can't they fix that?”

 

“Fix it?” Rhea blinked before understanding, “Oh…ah…no, not quite. They don't think that the process is reversible, at least…not without doing considerable traumatic damage to Nova. There is indeed a psychic bond linking the both of them together…they are…partners for life, for better or for worse. I'm sorry…but I am afraid you two are…as the humans say…stuck with one another.”

 

“Welcome to the club,” Ken remarked as he noticed how Yui flinched at that statement, “Seems like all four of us are in the same boat. Sister Grey was pretty insistent that I should get used to the idea that I'm pretty much stuck with her granddaughter…or she's stuck with me, whichever way you'd care to look at it…”

 

“So sorry am I if that has proven to be a burden for you,” yet another unexpected voice said as Atros stepped out from the concealment of some nearby bushes.

 

“Ah…I didn't mean it to sound like…” Ken hastily started to say when he saw the black-haired Iczer raise her hand and smile in a disarming manner.

 

“I know,” she said with complete understanding in her expression, “And I think the term you intended to use was…that we are---for better or worse---stuck with one another.”

 

“You…?” Muku saw the other Iczer standing there in street clothing, then turned to Rhea with a questioning expression.

 

“Muku-chan,” Rhea replied, “This is my sister, Kano Atros. Tofu Ken is her partner…”

 

“I'm glad that you are charitable enough to acknowledge our kinship, Sister,” Atros said, turning to Muku, “I know you remember me from when I attacked you in that dress shop…I never did have the opportunity to make amends with you for my rude behavior. Suffice that I am not the same Iczer that you remember, and I ask that you find it in your heart to forgive what I was, that I might have the chance to prove to you that I am sincerely remorseful for my bad conduct, including my ill-conceived attempt on your life, my Sister.”

 

“I've already forgiven you, Atros,” Rhea replied, “And I know Muku-chan will in time understand and forgive, isn't that right, Muku-chan?”

 

“Ah…well…I…” Muku hesitated.

 

“Oh, give her time,” Yumi said, “Muku-chan's a very forgiving person when you get to know her. I'm sure a little thing like you attempting to horribly murder us all after sticking one of those lightsaber things through her girlfriend won't put a permanent halt to any future chances of friendship between us.”

 

“Why should it?” Perm remarked, “That sort of thing is par for the course around Nerima…”

 

“Hey wait! Time out!” Muku pleaded, “How did all of this happen anyway? You guys…my friends, all that's happened over the last week or so…this war you guys brought with you!” she turned to Atros and then Rhea, “This all started because of you! How come everything is going crazy all around me?”

 

“Muku-chan?” Rhea sounded surprised at the outburst.

 

“I DON'T UNDERSTAND ANYTHING THAT'S GOING ON AROUND HERE!” Muku protested, “How did you guys get drawn into all this? Because of ME? Was it because you're my friends that you're going through all of this with me? HOW DID ALL OF THIS HAPPEN???”

 

“Why ask why?” Atros wondered, “You could drive yourself mad asking such a question.”

 

“I think it may too late for that,” Perm remarked, “I fear friend Muku may be approaching the limits of her forbearance.”

 

“Muku-chan,” Rhea said, “Your emotions…they feel so confused…have I done something to offend you?”

 

“Maybe,” Muku scowled, then impulsively she reached out and grabbed the Iczer by a wrist, “Come with me, and don't any of the rest of you dare try to follow me! This is between me and my so-called `girlfriend!'”

 

It was a confused and much disturbed Rhea who allowed herself to be drawn away while the rest of their small band stood around and watched them leave together. Sakura was the first to break her silence with a nonplussed, “What was that all about?”

 

“Trouble in paradise,” Perm sighed, “The storm has finally broken, but will it spell and end or a new beginning? I fear that is a question to which even the Gods must stand in silence…”

 

 

 

Continued.

 

Comments/Criticisms/Crisis Management between Partners: shadowmane@msn.com