Morning came too early the next day. Akane's eyes fought the inevitability of opening with the first rays of sun that hit her face as she slept. She sat up groggily, stretching out arms and muscles that were still stiff from the night before. From the day before. She felt as if she had been locked in a small box for an entire week. Tired hands swiped heavily over her face, fighting weak, tired eye muscles. She had not slept well at all last night. But sleep, once gone, left completely. Akane bolted out of bed and quickly dressed, closing her door gently behind her so as not to disrupt her still slumbering family. She relished the quiet of the morning, and quickly took advantage. It was too early even for Kasumi to be humming and cooking away in the kitchen.
The streets of Nerima were just as empty, although a handful of people were also up with the dawn, sweeping, straightening up the fronts of houses or businesses, or hustling off to early morning jobs. She liked to let her mind wander during her morning runs, wondering who was doing what, and why, what kinds of lives the people she didn't know led. She waved a hello to the old gray-haired lady who was wetting down the front steps of her house. A little early for her neighbor, but then, the days had been lengthening out as well. The woman raised her large ladle to return the greeting. Akane continued jogging in one direction while her mind went another. She didn't need to really see where she was going anymore; she knew her route well. She could just focus inward and enjoy the other sensations of running: her adrenaline pumping, the contrast of warm sun with the cooler breeze, the sounds of animals and people waking up. She ran by the canal, her eyes lazily following the water's opposing direction until it lost itself behind her peripheral vision and her eyes were drawn to a new tide further ahead. She ran by a few people on the street, noticing in particular, one figure sitting on the top railing of the fence in the far distance.
Ranma? No, too early for him. The thought came irritably. Not someone she necessarily wished to run into right now anyway. No, not Ranma... Too tall for his girl form, even for his male form. The woman wore dark clothing, and from the look of it, very well fitting clothes. Very feminine curves blended at this distance into long, black spiky hair. Akane squinted, her curiosity now too piqued not to focus on the stranger. The sun flashed brightly in her eyes as it rose in the eastern horizon. She looked away until her eyes adjusted to the change in lighting. When her gaze returned to the canal fence, there was no longer anybody there. Whoever it had been, she was now gone and forgotten, and the running continued.
Akane turned the corner that led back to the house, feeling her mood brighten like the oncoming day as she was hug-tackled by an always exuberant Iczel Blue.
"Good Morning Akane!" Iczel Blue jumped back away from her and settled itself to rocking back and forth impatiently on its heels. "Wanna practice today?"
"Um, okay." She smiled back, relenting to the Iczel's early morning wish, even though she was not sure at all what the Iczel had in store for her.
Akane wobbled around unsteadily on the thick high heels, unaccustomed to the shift in her center of gravity.
If Ranma or anybody way me like this, I'd never hear the end of it... Her arm remained outstretched beside her, ready to lean on the outside rear dojo wall in case her balance gave way. She now wore the white, high-necked long-sleeved bodysuit with a wide black bikini top and bottom, feeling even more naked now than she remembered in her dream. But now she was also donning light blue armor, large, but light, bulky metal pieces covering her shoulders and forearms, and thick boots covering her legs to the thigh. A large flat panel high on her back, connected to the shoulder guards, held two thinner metal attachments that were folded like insect wings. The final part, and the one Akane found most unsettling, was the small object that fit on the back of her head like a hat, two thick antennae like rabbit ears that jutted out from the sides. More particularly disturbing than the unfamiliar weight was the knowledge that this 'hat' was how she heard its voice continually in her mind.
"I don't see how this is effective armor," Akane whined as she stumbled and just barely caught hold of the wall behind the dojo in time. "My balance is totally thrown off, and it barely covers anything!" Akane groaned in frustration as she continued to struggle with just the effort of standing without falling. She had chosen this hiding spot in particular since it was the only place she could practice without any distractions. Or embarrassments. Ranma would have been worst of all. He could be either really mean or really nice, depending on his mood, but she knew him well enough to know that he would be relentlessly evil if he found her struggling with something that should be so simple. They would all be waking up soon, if not already. This knowledge did nothing to bolster her now shaky spirit. But she persisted, as she always did.
The plates work with Iczerio. They all create a force-field around you. It will minimize the impact of any shots you might take. Besides, I'm too short to cover you entirely. And anyway, you were never too good with balance. You should be working on it more.
The Iczel spoke so nonchalantly, she almost took the comment as a constructive criticism. Anger welled up, tensing every muscle she had, and realized all at once that it really only had been constructive criticism. Her balance never really had been all that high on her priorities.
"That really doesn't make me feel any better though." She sighed in defeat and returned to her task of just walking around.
Within what became a surprisingly short span of time of ten minutes later, Akane was now practicing careful jumps and flips in the battle suit, accustoming herself to its weight and cumbersome nature. In the distance, she heard the familiar sound of two men fighting quite heartily near the koi pond which lay in the center of the Tendo courtyard. It would be time to get ready for school soon. Now that she felt a little more in her own, she was reluctant to shed this new fun for the daily doldrums of school. But she made a mental note to stop soon regardless.
You're really doing well, Akane! Hey! You wanna try some weapons now?
"I don't think that's such a good idea." Reluctance and a wary eye reached out to survey the surrounding area. "We've had so much fixed and re-fixed here that I don't want to even risk destroying anything." Another rueful sigh escaped her lungs with the thought, turning into a grimace at the primary reason for the continual handyman problem. Ranma. She would show him what she was really capable of--she would show all of them. Invigorated by her new found determination, she thought better of any worries. "What can we try?"
There's always the saber and the force-field. Once you get those down, the rest is about the same. Besides, for the other stuff, you'll have me to help. Sis just wanted me to help you figure out your link to Iczerio. If you can always control that, you won't even need me anymore. The Iczel's voice seemed to drift away, regret mixing in with the pride.
Akane's heart went out to the little robot who now felt like a part of her.
"Even if I can get that far, I think I'd still like to fight with you."
Really? Hope welled up, tinged with doubt.
"Of course!" Akane laughed heartily. "Against some of the things I've seen, I'll take every advantage I can get, and you're a big one!" Suppressing a smile was impossible as the voice in her mind squealed delightfully in reply.
Yay! Okay! Let's get started! Saber's small. You can do that easy.
Akane stood uncertainly, unsure of where to begin. With no real belt, no 'saber', not even a handle, all she could do was give into the blank feeling she held. Was it supposed to appear out of thin air?
Sorry! Sorry! You pull the saber out of Iczerio.
"You mean, out of thin air." Akane's face fell flat, feeling a cold sweat beginning to form on her temple.
Like your hammers. It's the same thing.
"Really? But I'm not really sure how I get those anyway. I just do. They're handy." Akane's body tingled with the Iczel's grasp on the alien energy source, but it felt just out of her grasp, like a dream after waking, still remembered but fading with every waking moment. She brought up her hand in front of her face, feeling the swell of Iczerio start there as a warm, dry sensation. Her hand started to glow, and her fingers closed reflexively around the forming light, her body responding to the call to grasp Iczerio.
Don't try so hard. Me and Iczerio will help.
Akane was a bystander to her own actions, watching with a helpless wonder as the blue light swelled around her hand, then quickly stretched out to her left as it formed the sword of light she had seen in her dream.
Wooowwww, this feels really funny. I built the saber, but you keep trying to take it away from me. Everything's all tingly. Iczel Blue could feel Akane standing dead still, focusing on the Iczerio. Iczerio's robot counterpart relinquished control to its newfound partner.
Akane's eyes widened as she felt the connection made. The saber flickered in different colors as the power of Iczerio in her possession wavered and then adjusted to its new wielder. Her vision blurred for a second, then all her senses burst at the seams all at once with sensitivity. She could hear birds singing loudly from what had to have been a long distance, felt every bit of air around her, burning and tickling her skin at the same time, smells on the air telling her stories of what was being done in the neighborhood around her. She moved slowly, tentatively attuning herself to new heightened sensibilities.
You got it Akane.
Iczel Blue's voice seemed the only thing that was crystal clear to her. She could sense everything around her and knew exactly where it was, but everything hurt to be looked at. Colors were radiantly bright, air now even taking a noticeable sheen that affected her vision like a light mist. She swung the saber in front of her, expecting it to solidify in form, it's purpose now more certain in its use. She stepped into position and started the only forms she knew that involved use of a weapon.
She was proficient in kendo, enough to defend herself anyway, but was certainly not the master she realized she should be. Now that she would actually need to use this weapon on a regular basis, she hoped what learning she had would be enough. The circle continued, each movement leading into the next as she exaggerated some of the positions in this form, or undershooting them that way so she did not get caught up her armor. She transferred the saber to her left hand, surprising herself with the saber light's steadiness. It acted as if it were real steel, instead of strange light that seemed to defy all laws of physics, sticking together in its form instead of dissipating away into the morning air as all light should. She continued this for a while, enjoying the feel of the saber in her hands, the safe weight of the armor on her body, and her heightened awareness as she held onto the power of Iczerio.
"Subspace!" Iczer Liros spun to look in different directions, looking for the Void that dragged her there. She brought up her hand in front of her, the blue light of Iczerio balling and then quickly stretching out to materialize into her luminescent saber. Just in time, she saw the bright fiery ball head towards her, its own saber flashing. The two weapons collided with an explosion, Liros grunting under the pressure of the impact. The Void hovering above her was a large brown robot, almost twice her size, large plates fitting together like the shell of a crustacean, covering what she knew was a much softer, sponge-like interior. The Void dematerialized into a spark of lightning, lingering, beckoning the Iczer to follow.
"So be it." In the same blue light that had transported her here, she followed the Void, commencing a crazy chase of light, colors crashing periodically to attack each other. Iczer Liros stopped and materialized back on the triangular rock formation that were typical of this desert space.
"Time to end this." She thought darkly, a thought of Iczer 1 and the unguarded Cthuwulf ship floating at the edge of consciousness. The Void appeared on its own outcropping, bringing its own saber up, red light flashing menacingly in the brown surroundings. She withdrew her own weapon and crossed both arms over her chest, fists balled close together to her shoulders. She began to glow, enveloped in Iczerio, a fluctuating angry aura that rose like heat from different parts of her body. The Void charged, raising its saber high for the kill. She thrust out her fists, shooting out her focused energy.
"DIE!" The energy burst pierced through the body of the Void, spreading out from the wound like a cancer, tearing the living robotic warrior's armor apart piece by piece. By the time it had reached her, all that remained was ash and residue. She stepped back, a grimace spreading across her face. She had lost control, and it had made her careless. There were more efficient ways of killing a Void, and that was not one of them. And she was not sure what to do about the rising sense of vindication that her actions had brought. She tossed her head in a single, curt swing and cleared her mind. Distractions had no place here, and that is all that they were.
Why would a Void drag me here? It wasn't that strong; it couldn't have thought it could destroy me, could it? Voids were senseless killing machines, but hardly that stupid. It wouldn't have called her to follow it to fight if it really wanted to kill. But if it was only a decoy, a distraction while the real prey was captured and eliminated...
"Akane!" Crossing her right arm across her chest, she vanished from Subspace in a bolt of blue lightning.
Akane's early morning training now continued it's steady migration to the front of the dojo, taking advantage of Iczel Blue's more assertive nature. The katas continued, each movement now more precise and more self-assured as she grew accustomed to it. She didn't look to see if anyone was out in the garden or by the entrance of the house. She no longer cared. Totally caught up in her practice, she became absorbed in each movement, allowing herself to flow more freely to follow the mesmerizing blur of color that followed in the wake of motion of her weapon.
Nabiki watched silently as she sat at the table looking out from the house., Everyone was still in the process of getting ready for their day, Kasumi still cooking breakfast in the kitchen. She herself had been up extra early that morning (much to her chagrin) to finalize some business dealings before school. She fiddled absent-mindedly with the papers in front of her. While half her mind seethed in contempt for the unnatural situations her family was continuously thrown in, the other half, the half of her mind that governed her soul and her actions, contemplated. She tried to pick apart the problems, and possible resolutions, each time coming to unacceptable conclusions.
This is ridiculous. For this kind of thing you get whole governments, you get military powers, you get-- Nabiki sighed and dragged a cracker out of a bowl in front of her. It made a dry and tasteless path down her throat. You got people with ten-even twenty years of experience with fighting hostile forces from different places. You got people with guns, big guns, and lots of them. You didn't get a sixteen-year old martial artist whose most dangerous experiences involved volatile rivals for your fiancee and strange men who thought you were their bride-to-be.
That little Iczel thing had said
these things were out for revenge--for blood. That was never a
good thing. She only had to look at the damage Ryoga caused to
know the dangers of revenge. And this thing--Big Gold, or whatever,
threatened to be bigger than all of them. What they needed was
a veritable killing machine, something so unbelievably efficient
it was practically out one of those American science fiction movies.
Not, certainly, what she was watching out in the yard. Not a little
walking toaster that was more chipper than Kasumi. But how did
you explain this to people who were used to facing every challenge
in their lives head on? How did you tell them they were really
in over their heads? What was Akane dressed in anyway? And Ranma,
the idiot, was useless.
Poor Ranma. She couldn't help but feel a little sorry for him.
He has a good heart but not much in the logistics department.
He was a genius in the martial arts, but everywhere else, well,
she had to make money somehow.
And Akane, she had the brains, the common sense, and the ability to go as far as she needed, but her heart was always on her sleeve, and it seemed to drag her everywhere by it. And that damned over-chivalrous sense of right and wrong. That was what was the cause of this. Give the girl a sob story and she would follow you to the ends of the earth. And never mind that once she set her mind to anything, that was the end of that.
Those two would actually make a nice couple if they could ever get their acts together. Ugh. I'm turning into Daddy. Nabiki's mouth twisted into a wry smirk which quickly turned to disgust as she closed her mouth around another cracker. These crackers are disgusting. I should tell Kasumi to throw these things out.
Her only solution for now would be reconnaissance. If worst came to worst, at least she could help give Akane an edge, but where to start? This kind of information wasn't exactly available at the library.
A-hah! That's right! With that came a satisfied smile and another cracker. Yuck! Why do I keep eating these things? Nabiki for now decided to just continue to sit where she was, enjoy the nice early morning weather before school, and watch her sister practice in the yard.
Akane finally reached the end of her practice, trying to leave enough time to get ready. She was in no rush, however, to shed her armor, nor was Iczel Blue in a rush to leave her either. It apparently was happy in either form it took, and she enjoyed the feeling of power the extra height and protection the suit bestowed. She laughed in response to her happy mood, feeding off the infectious good humor the Iczel always seemed to radiate. She looked towards the house, and noticed her sister watching. Nabiki smiled and waved, and Akane returned the gesture. Everything that happened last night could be forgiven. It had been a stressful night for everybody. They would see soon enough that she was capable.
"This is going well I think." Akane laughed again, but quickly checked herself as the saber's light flickered in warning. She sighed. "Still have a long way to go, though." She straightened herself and continued to concentrate her hold on the alien energy.
She stumbled forward as her body froze and tightened, a jolt of electricity jumping through her. She dropped her hold on Iczerio, the saber dissipating as though it had never been. Then, just as quickly, the world returned to normal leaving the pair more confused than stunned.
Somebody's here.
Akane tensed and looked around at the Iczel's verbal confirmation of her fear. Nothing. There was no movement, no shift in her perception that she remembered from the previous times. Everything looked the way it should. The sun was still rising, bathed in the glow of natural light, not the unearthly glare that made her queasy.
"But I don't see anything." Akane stopped in her tracks and used Iczel Blue to ignite the saber that once again appeared in her hands. If something was indeed out there gunning for them, this was certainly not the time to be experimenting.
It's gone now. Iczerio says it was here before, but it's gone now. Iczel Blue sounded confused, echoing, it seemed, her own sentiment.
Nabiki also caught the mood, and called out to the pair.
"Heeyyy! Everything okay? You should be getting dressed for school soon! Breakfast's about ready anyway!" Nabiki stood and made her way over to them. "Good," She mumbled testily. "These crackers are still nasty."
Akane met her sister halfway with a bright smile. "Yeah, just a funny feeling I suppose. We're all still a little jumpy."
"We?" Nabiki looked around for any indication of another person, animal, anything, that might indicate need for a 'we'. In a thick beam of light, Nabiki watched her sister separate from the armor. All the metal pieces coming together to form the Iczel robot. She sighed. Figures.
Akane now only wore the white bodysuit, and blushed under Nabiki's judging eyes. Before she could react or disapprove, the camera was out and then gone back in her pocket.
"Nabiki! What are you doing?!"
"Despite your present marital status, you've still got quite the fan base, Sis. Even with a dangerous fiancee." Nabiki shrugged. Business was business after all. She was only supplying to a still very large, albeit underground, demand.
"Ranma?! Please! I don't even want to think about that jerk right now!" Okay, maybe not everything from last night could be forgiven. With that, Akane stalked off into the house, Iczel staring after her but not following. It looked up at Nabiki, then back at Akane, and obviously more confused now than it had been before. Then it disappeared into the clear sky. Nabiki, without another thought, made her way back to the house. She could get more pictures later, and there were always other cash cows to milk. Speaking of which, where was Ranma?
Akane turned and walked through the opening to the house, and felt her day darken as she heard once again the familiar sound of two men fighting quite heartily in the hallway. She stamped a black booted foot on the floor in irritation, trying to calm herself down. She had been in a good mood, dammit, and nothing was going to spoil it. Not even HIM.
"Good morning Akane." Kasumi came out from her kitchen alcove, skillfully balancing rice bowl and cups. "Breakfast is almost ready, abut you have time for a bath. I set it already."
"Thank you Kasumi." Akane turned into the hallway and stairs, meeting Ranma's surprised gaze and he perched precariously from the stairway banister. She watched him for a second, then blushed as she realized that he was staring at what she was wearing. His eyes met hers again, and this time they looked tired, and--guilty? Her anger softened and she wondered if she should say anything. With a better mood creeping back in, she decided against it.
Aaahhh, let him suffer a little. She sniffed loudly for his benefit, and raised her head to look down on him condescendingly. His face dropped, and he jumped to the floor to meet her. Satisfied, and struggling to hide the smile that showed it, Akane, in a show of great control, walked up the stairs stiffly to her waiting bath.
"Aka--"
"HAAAIIIIIYAAAHHH!" Genma's bare foot shot straight into Ranma's open chest, followed by the crash and splash of a bucket of water. With a surprised grunt, he went flying backwards into the sitting room, replaced by his Jusenkyo curse.
"Dammit Pop!" Ranma gasped in her brassy soprano as she sat up, shaking off now flaming red hair of excess water. Genma only shook his head sadly.
"Son, you shame me. You grow careless too easily." Genma bent down to speak to his son the girl. "The art is first and foremost in our lives, and you should not allow your fiancee to distract you from training. No matter how pretty she may look," he allowed an evil smile to spread across his wide face. "You must always focus on the fight."
"Shut up! That's not it!" With a clank and a somewhat smaller splash of water, Ranma knocked enough water from the upended bucket to reintroduce her father to his own curse and a growing bump on the head. Genma growled and ya-pa-pa-ed his retort. "I'm gonna go change back and clean this mess up." Ranma trudged towards the kitchen.
It had been lying in wait for
a while now, hoping to catch the Iczelion's human half separated
from the Iczel. But after some time, it started to grow restless.
It was not the waiting type. Attacking in the house would prove
useless. The shield around the house was bizarrely strong. It
would warn everyone of its presence. It needed action though,
not necessarily the results, although the results were usually
more often than not satisfactory after action had been sought.
But its order had been incredibly clear. It was too risky to test
the Iczelion, especially since they had synchronized so well on
their first joining. So it had to wait. And sit there it did,
behind a visual block field, beside the smaller empty building.
It wanted to leave. The Iczelion had been so close, but it could
do nothing. It fidgeted where it sat squatted.
It never saw the beam of light that came down and sliced through
it without a sound. The two halves fell with a heavy thud on the
shady ground, then disappeared with the tall standing figure behind
it, leaving nothing but the crackle of spent lightning.
The classes that morning had been mercilessly boring. Akane had spent the entire morning doodling and trying quietly to grasp Iczerio from her seat in her class. It hadn't worked, and she only every felt the flicker of the energy close by that she had so easily maintained at home. Just the effort it took to get that flicker, though, had made her woozy, and she had nearly fallen in the process. She had turned the near mishap into looking in her bag for a new pencil, but if anybody had noticed, they had not bothered to say anything. For that, at least, she was grateful.
Sitting now under one of the many trees on the outside campus of the high school, she wondered if it wasn't the classes that were boring her, but just her getting caught up in the whirlwind of recent events, and the discovery of her new ability. She picked at her food, not really hungry, her chopsticks more playing with the rice than trying to pick it up. Someone called her name, and she looked up to notice her friends waving in the distance. She raised her arm high and waved back. A sense of dread swept through her with the possibility of their approach. They continued walking their separate path away from her and she sighed, surprised she had been holding her breath. People had been keeping their distance today. She normally enjoyed the company, but right now, she just felt like being alone with her thoughts.
Everyone must know about yesterday by now. If not by general rumor, at least by general sale from Nabiki. She didn't really care. It wasn't exactly private knowledge. Even her family that morning had kept the morning chatter to a minimum. But there was still one person who would not leave her be...
"Yo, Akane." Ranma was dangling upside down from a nearby tree branch about five feet away, staring at her with an odd look on his face. She looked up slowly at him. She was no longer angry, and their walk to school had been pleasantly uneventful. They hadn't fought once. Of course, they hadn't spoken at all to each other either. But beggars couldn't be choosers. He tossed her something, and reflexively she snatched it out of the air. She blinked at what was in her hand.
Juice? She stared back up at him, completely perplexed. He just shrugged, and with one fluid motion, brought himself upright on his perch in the tree. When does he get this nice?
"You were the one that practically passed out in History." He started working on the food in his bento, pouching away the food in his cheek like a squirrel to talk. Akane couldn't help but see the humor in that and felt her mood lighten. "Just figured you could use it."
"Thanks." It was all she could get out at the moment. She opened the can in a gesture of good will and took a sip. Actually, it did kind of make her fell better. She took a compulsory bite of food and felt her appetite return every-so-slowly. Not much, but it's a start. She wondered with half a thought at what she was referring to. She dropped the line of thought. It wasn't important.
"By the way, you shouldn't try so hard to grab your ki, or whatever it is you were doing. Once you relax, it's a lot easier." He continued to munch his food, swallowing in large gulps.
"That's what Iczel Blue said." Akane still tried to remember the feeling she felt holding Iczerio. There had been no strain, no worry. Ranma was probably right. Wait a minute--
"Have you been watching me?" Her eyes shot daggers at him, her words all dangerous accusations. Not really, but she was feeling playful, and Ranma made as good a target as any.
"Huh? What? Me? No!" Ranma brought up his hands, waving chopsticks wildly to fend off the upcoming attack. He watched helplessly as Akane stood and stalked over menacingly, her look hardening as she approached. Dammit, we were doing so good today, too. He shut his eyes tightly, and waiting for the inevitable fall of the hammer. It never came. Instead, she laughed. He opened one eye experimentally.
"Stupid. Gotcha." She poked him on the knee, sending him crashing to the ground head first in a heavy heap.
"What the--Whaddja do that for?" He leapt to his feet in anger, but couldn't keep it as she stood there laughing at him. A brow wrinkled in anger quickly turned to uncomfortable easiness. She stepped closer to him, their bodies an inch apart, her face raised expectantly to meet his deep blue stare. He froze in anticipation. But of what? Her hand came up to his face slowly. He swallowed hard as every drop of blood in his body rushed to rest in his face. Her hovering hand shot past it to his head, pulling a dead leaf from the thick mess of black hair, also liberating other pieces of plant debris back into the air. She stepped back with a look of evil humor twinkling in a steady brown gaze, and released the leaf to the floor. With a laugh Akane let herself drop to the floor by her bag and collected her lunch. She looked to him with a wry smile, and pointed her chopsticks at him as he somehow regained his composure.
"What? You thought I was going to kiss you? Pervert." She couldn't keep back the chuckle. She was having way too much fun with this. No wonder Nabiki always picked on him.
"Who are you calling pervert? I'd rather eat your cooking than kiss you!" He propelled himself backwards and up to his branch seat, praying for a more normal color to return to his face.
"And you're a stalker."
"Would you knock it off?!"
"BIIIIIIIHHHHH!" She stuck out her tongue at him, enjoying a moment of high humor. "Dummy.
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