1

Transformations

"Alright, everybody!"

Four Keronians all turned their heads to a fifth standing at the front of the meeting room. All had extremely bored or exasperated looks on their faces save for one indigo tadpole.

"So, I was building Gunpla the other day…" the green Keronian at the front of the room began.

"Just get on with it, Keroro!" the red Keronian growled, arms folded over his chest.

"Fine, fine. Chill out, Giroro." Pause. Then,

"Have any of you heard of the concept of reincarnation?"

"Does this have anything to do with the invasion?" the indigo Keronian- whose name was Tamama- sighed, for once losing faith in Keroro.

"Yes, it does. Kururu!"

The yellow Keronian chuckled and heaved himself out of his seat to stand beside Keroro, who turned on the projector behind him.

"Keronian technology has only recently proved the theory of reincarnation to be true," Kururu began. "A special gun has been made- which I helped with- where, given that it is aimed and shot at a person, said person will reassume the physicality- in both appearance and ability- of their past life. Though only available to high-ranking Keronian government officials at the present, it is scheduled to be released to platoons in the Keron army in a week.

"After hearing about this, our very own Taicho Keroro pre-ordered one of these guns. We are going to become our past lives!"

Keroro puffed out his chest in pride. "I can't wait to see what I was in a past life."

"Gunso-san was probably something noble and strong!" Tamama gushed.

Giroro let out an enormous snort. "I highly doubt that."

"So where and when are we doing this?" Dororo- the final Keronian- asked.

"Wait. When did you get here?" Keroro asked.

As tears began to stream down Dororo's face, Kururu answered, "as soon as the gun gets here. And we're doing it by the underground pool- one of us may have previously been a fish."

A week and a half later, the Keronians proceeded to wind their way through the secret base to the underground pool, Keroro proudly carrying the Second Life gun- as it had been christened- in his arms. When they arrived at the pool, however, they found Natsumi Hinata in a bathing suit, lounging on a pool chair.

"What the heck are you guys doing?" she said, annoyance lacing her tone.

"This," Keroro began in an 'I'm-so-much-more-amazing-and-important-than-you' voice, "Is the Second Life gun. It reverses reincarnation."

"So it returns you to your previous life?"

"Well, only the physicality of your past persona," Kururu corrected.

"Shut up, creep," Natsumi shot at him, and then returned her attention to Keroro. "Are you an idiot? Don't answer that, we all know the truth. Anyway, you could totally turn into something ridiculous. I bet in your past life you were a squirrel or something."

"Hey!"

Natsumi rolled her eyes. "Just saying." Then she got up from the lounge chair, walked herself over to the edge of the pool, and executed a perfect swan dive into the water. As she popped back to the surface, she called, "Just don't bother me."

The Keronians looked at each other in surprise- well, save for Giroro, who was lingering on Natsumi's beautiful dive. Each of the others was thinking along the same lines. Natsumi never simply ignored an invasion plan. She always tried to end it some way or another, which usually involved the platoon getting beaten into a pulp.

After a minute, Keroro shrugged and passed the gun to Kururu. "I'm first, since I'm the leader."

"Whatever you say, Taicho," Kururu muttered sarcastically, and then took aim. When he fired, a ball of yellow energy built at the mouth of the gun, and once it grew to the size of a baseball- which took about twenty seconds- the ball released and crashed into Keroro.

Smoke suddenly bubbled out of nothing, and when it cleared a fat gray squirrel sat where Keroro had been merely seconds ago. "What the heck?!" the squirrel yelled.

In the pool, Natsumi smugly said, "Called it."

"Why am I a squirrel?" The past-life Keroro said.

"Beats me. You're more lazy than a squirrel, so it baffles me too," Kururu commented.

Keroro scurried over to the corner to sulk.

"Me next, me next!" Tamama shouted, then skidded in front of the gun.

This time it took a bit longer, and when the smoke cleared a dark green Keronian stood in Tamama's place.

"If I remember your family pictures correctly, you just turned into your great-great-great grandfather," Kururu stated.

Tamama seemed like he didn't know what to make of this, but reluctantly took the gun, which Kururu was offering to him, and aimed at the yellow Keronian, then hesitated.

"Push the red button," Kururu said, exasperated.

Tamama did so, and thirty seconds later Kururu was a much brighter, almost neon yellow Keronian with a computer mouse symbol on his forehead.

"No way," a now mentally recovered- but still squirrel- Keroro gasped. "You're Miroro, the creator of the basis of all Keronian technology to date!"

Kururu gave a smug grin before saying, "Next we have Giroro, and then we're done."

"What about me?!" Dororo sobbed.

Kururu took the gun again, aimed at Giroro, and fired. At the exact moment the ball of energy began to form, Natsumi dragged herself out of the pool, rubbing water out of her eyes. "Where's the darn towel?" she muttered, crossing between Giroro and the Second Life gun just as the ball released.

"Natsumi! NO!" Giroro yelled, his eyes turning bright blue-green as he watched the ball of yellow light rush towards his love. Everything turned to slow motion, and yet he wasn't able to reach her fast enough. The smoke surrounded her, and the thirty seconds he had to wait before it cleared was agonizing.

When the smoke did clear, everyone gasped.

The woman collapsed on the floor looked to be around sixteen or seventeen, the same age as Natsumi. A halo of curly brown hair surrounded her lovely face, and a light gray eyeshadow coated her closed eyelids. The rest of her body was accentuated by a bright blue dress and corset.

"Natsumi…?" Giroro said in hesitation.

"Well, this is getting interesting," Kururu commented with a slight grin. "It seems as if Natsumi Hinata was once Miss Christine Daaé."

"From the Phantom of the Opera?" Tamama questioned in disbelief.

Kururu nodded, and then turned his attention to Giroro, who was rushing to kneel by Natsumi's side. "I believe it is our dear corporal's turn."

Before Giroro was even able to comprehend what was happening, Kururu took aim with the Second Life gun and fired.

The smoke surrounded him, and it increased in intensity for the next minute and a half.

"Why is it taking so long?" Tamama asked impatiently.

"The more complex the genetic structure of the organism, the longer it takes to turn into your past life persona," Kururu explained. "Turning into a person with your amount of genetic structure takes only a few seconds. Turning into someone or something with a less complicated genetic structure happens almost instantaneously. But if your past life persona has a more complex genetic structure, it takes at least a few minutes- as Giroro's transformation is doing as we speak."

"But what could Giroro-kun be turning into?" Dororo questioned. "What has a more complex genetic structure than a Keronian?"

For once he was not ignored. An almost evil grin came over Kururu's face as he uttered the answer.

"A human."

And at that moment, the smoke cleared to reveal a tall, dark-haired young man with his back to the Keronians, still knelt worriedly over the limp form of Natsumi.

"Giroro-senpai…?" Tamama questioned.

An angry face whirled around to meet them. "Will you shut up?!" the man yelled. "Why did you transform me when Natsumi's like this?!" He then whirled back around and gently shook the now brunette girl.

And the others did 'shut up'.

Because, for a brief second, they had glimpsed a white half-mask on their comrade's face.