Disclaimer: all characters, mecha, events, etc. depicted here are the property of their creators. This is not a challenge of any sort to that ownership, so please don't sue me, I have no money!
Explanations:
-Notation: I will be using several types of narration in this fan fiction. It will be punctuated as "Speech", [Thought], and {Sending (using some form of mental communication.)} I will also use some of the Internet punctuations for emphasis, ranging from 'slight', through _medium_, *strong*, and SHOUTING!
Previously:
At the end of Iczelion Act 2, the enemy leader Chaos is not yet defeated, and the mystery of where the Iczels' creators (the Iczers) are is unresolved. In "my" timeline, it takes the Iczelions three years to finally destroy Chaos and his forces. After that, three of the Iczelions - Nami Shiina, Black Iczelion, Kiro, the Gold Iczelion, and Kawaii Kawaii, Silver Iczelion, decide to leave Earth and search for the Iczers. Nagisa Kai and her Iczel partner remain behind. Nagisa pursues her wrestling career, using a "noble alien warrior" character gimmick and becoming quite rich. In 2010, she marries, and in 2015, her son, Sean Kai, named for his grandfather, is born. Unfortunately, Brian, the father, becomes a vocal anti-GENOM protester and dies in a "mugging" in 2020. Sean is scanned by Iczel and proves to be able, as his mother is, to 'synchronize' with an Iczel to create Iczelion. Under the guise of preparing him for a pro wrestling career, Nagisa begins training Sean to succeed her as the defender of the Earth. Sean is, in fact, the main character of our story.
In early 2032, Nagisa Kai is injured while training in Germany and cannot return to MegaTokyo to continue stopping rogue Boomers. She phones Sean at home and arranges to introduce him to Iczel. Unfortunately, the introduction does not go well as Sean deduces that his seemingly independent life has been guided toward joining Iczel for years. Sean sends Iczel away, but not before she raises some points that eat at Sean's conscience. Sean goes to the Fitness Bee to speak to Linna, his current sensei, but she's busy. Sean spars with a training Boomer to pass the time and in his disturbed emotional state, first damages and then destroys it. Linna witnesses this and talks to Sean, but the way he phrases his 'moral question' makes Linna suspicious. She gives Sean some advice, which leads to Sean reconciling with Iczel.
In his first combat action as Iczelion, Sean engages and destroys a C-class Boomer that escaped an A.D. Police blockade. He meets Leon McNichol afterward and is mentioned in a report given to Nene, who shows it to Sylia. She deduces that Iczelion uses a force-field defense system and determines to watch for this new player.
In April, Sean has to break off a training session with Linna so she can take the day to cheer up her friend Irene Can (See BGC 2: Born To Kill.) Hearing Linna's cry of distress as the assassin Boomer tries to kill her, Sean works his way ahead of the chase and crashes his 'cycle into the Boomer, saving Irene's life. The Boomer tries again, but Linna flees with Irene while Sean distracts the killer machine. He himself is unable to break away to become Iczelion, and almost dies before Sylia arrives in her hardsuit in response to a call from Linna. The two note a mutual attraction, but write it off as stress reactions.
Later that night, Iczel detects the Knight Sabers on their way to the Kawasaki facility to kill the SuperBoomer. Sean follows as Iczelion, and interjects himself into the battle between Nene and an assassin Boomer. The SuperBoomer arrives, but is destroyed when its head armour is stripped away by the Knight Sabers and Sean drives two beam swords into its head and detonates them. Sylia, fascinated by the capabilities and compassion of the mystery warrior, tries to call him to them, but Sean flees, fearing she'll recognize his voice from earlier that night. The next morning, Sean and Linna see Irene onto a plane bound for Hong Kong, where she has relatives and should be safe from GENOM.
Two months later, Brian J. Mason lures the Knight Sabers into a trap at Wiz Laboratories with a fake job offer. Modified 55-C Boomers use chest-mounted sonic projectors to render the Sabers helpless. Sean, following the Sabers as Iczelion, uses his forcefield to damp out the sound, and destroys the Boomers. Sean and Sylia talk for the first (?) time as Iczelion and Knight Saber, neither knowing that they've been aquainted for years, through Mackie. One Boomer, only damaged, attacks Sean. He destroys it with a German Suplex, again raising Linna's suspicions, as she knows how much he likes that move. The next morning, she confronts him about it, but can't express her full knowledge without giving away her role as a Knight Saber. She remains suspicious, but can't prove anything.
* * * * *
In July, Sean is training as Iczelion when he notices a bike gang chasing a restored Griffon II on the highway. He has difficulties dicouraging them without hurting anyone, but finally scares them off, thereby saving J.B. Gibson and his fiancee Naomi. (This voids the events of BGC 4: Revenge Road.)
In mid-August, BGC 3 begins, and two BU-12-B Boomers are loosed in MegaTokyo. Sean engages them only to discover that their armour is highly heat-resistant, rendering his weapons ineffective. Nevertheless, he literally disarms the first Boomer by detonating a beam sword _inside_ its right arm railgun. The second still manages to trash Silky Doll and kill the A.D.P. K-11 battlesuit fighting it before dying at the hands of the A.D. Police.
The next evening, Iczel detects the Sabers headed for GENOM Tower, and Sean rushes ahead. Discovering two 'sonic cannon' model BU-55-C's waiting in ambush with Mason, he manages to disable them just before Sylia and Nene arrive. Mason's armour plate is identical to a BU-12-B's, so Sean is unable do do much in the Sylia/Mason battle. When Mason grabs Sylia, Sean tries to throw a beam sword into the 'sensor eye' of Mason's armour, but kills him instead when Mason opens his helmet to gloat over Sylia. Traumatized by his accidental act of murder, Sean passes out, and the Sabers bring him back to Sylia's penthouse.
The Sabers are hard put to it to bring Sean out of his depression, but Sylia finally manages it. Sean complains that he already knew most of the Sabers in their civilian ID's: Sylia and Mackie from Raven's Garage, Priss from her singing (though they'd never _met_ before), and Linna as his martial arts teacher. At a dinner that night, Sylia invites Sean to join the Knight Sabers, and he accepts.
Sean is put through his paces in Knight Saber ability assessments and training: first in the simulator (see BGC 8: Scoop Chase) and then in the team combat exercise at the Suvival Shot paintball facility. Sean reaches Level Seven on the simulator and responds to Sylia's sacrifice tactic in paintball with one of his own: self-sacrifice. By making a moving target of himself, he was shot, but distracted Sylia from Linna long enough that Linna could shoot the elder Stingray.
Sean suffers from guilt-induced nightmares about Mason, himself, and murder, but hangs in there, bolstered by the Sabers' moral support and by Sylia keeping him too busy to think about it most days.
In October, a program planted in Sylia's computer by the Skorpion 19 (see the BGC: Grand Mal manga or graphic novel from Dark Horse Comics) informs Sean by Email about Sylia's intellectual enhancement. He brings her to see the files, and she realizes this was triggered by her diary entries expressing growing affection for Sean. Near despair, she tells Sean about both her and Mackie's alteration and the 2031 episodes with the Skorpion. She's about to leave when Sean realizes he cares deeply for her, too. One thing leads to another, and the two - ahem - spend the night together.
The next morning, an apprehensive Sean is stunned when Sylia 'hears' him "sending" to Iczel. A few experiments acertain that Sean and Sylia are now mentally linked just as Sean and Iczel are. They discuss what it means to be a person - Sean having decided because of Iczel that 'human' shouldn't be the defining term. Sean states that in his opinion, the deciding factor is whether one can care about others.
Characters:
(1)Sean Kai, son of Nagisa and our main character. He's 17 years old, rather short, at only 5' 9" tall (and growing), has brown hair, brown eyes, and is well-built. He's good at wrestling and several martial arts, and his training and natural agility have combined to make him incredibly hard to hit - as long as he can dodge. He's also *very* strong-willed, to the point where he could win a staredown with either Priss or Sylia.
(1)Iczel (Normal Type), Nagisa's partner as an Iczelion and soon Sean's as well. A brief note on capabilities; the basic functions of each Iczelion are the same, including firing energy beams, creating force fields and beam swords, and the changing or concealing of the human's features to keep from being recognized. The 'higher functions' of an Iczelion partnership are determined by the partners, however: Sean's are, as yet, unknown.
(1)Priscilla (Priss) Asagiri, the lead singer of "Priss and the Replicants," a popular rock band. Also a secret member of the Knight Sabers, serving as the assault specialist. Sean has seen Priss sing, and idolizes her as a rebel and (though he won't admit this) as a sex symbol.
(1)Leon McNichol, the best detective in the A.D. Police and leader of their 'tactical response teams,' or 'Tac Squads' for short. He and Sean don't know each other, but have bumped elbows at Priss' concerts.
(1)Nene Romanova, at 19 one of the youngest computer/communications specialists in the A.D. Police - and made even more special by the fact that she serves the Knight Sabers in a similar way, albeit from a hardsuit and not from HQ. She doesn't know Sean either, but is the closest Knight Saber to his 17 years of age. Her perpetual 'cute and innocent' attitude is a nice balance for the grimness of the BGC series.
(1)Mackie Stingray, Sylia Stingray's teenage brother and a friend of Sean's ever since the two met at Raven's Garage in 2030. Mackie lost a bet to Sean and had to soup up Sean's prized motorcycle. Mackie is a technical assistant to the Knight Sabers and a bit of a lecher, but he has a secret that he may not be aware of... (see Sylia Stingray)
(1)Sylia Stingray, founder and leader of the Knight Sabers, inventor of their unique "hardsuit" combat armor, and daughter of the renowned Doctor Katsuhito Stingray, who invented Cyberdroids, the artificial humanoids now called "Boomers." Sylia always acts cold and distant, and there is good reason for this. In the BGC: Grand Mal comic series (Available from Dark Horse Comics,) it was revealed that, in order to counter the abuse that GENOM was certain to put his inventions to, Dr. Stingray used an experimental nanotech process on his two children, changing their brain structure biomechanically to give them hyperintelligence. Sylia sometimes wonders if she's even human anymore...
(1)Linna Yamazaki, an aerobics and martial arts teacher at the Fitness Bee, one of MegaTokyo's more successful health clubs. She's also the close combat specialist of the Knight Sabers, and is currently Sean's martial arts instructor, having been impressed by how well he did (before losing) in a match they fought in 2031.
David Gordon's (Email to: Iczel_prime@hotmail.com)
Bubblegum Crisis/Iczelion crossover:
Bubblegum Cris-Icz Part 3: Never the End!
Chapter 1: Devil & Angel's Kiss
It was 2:45 A.M., April 3rd, in MegaTokyo. Out in the suburbs, the only resident of the Kai household was thrashing in the grip of a nightmare. His covers had long ago been thrown around the room, and he would have been glad of it if awake, because he was drenched with sweat. For nearly ten minutes he thrashed and twisted, and then a sudden calm descended. Sean's expression changed from frightened to determined, then to angry. His hand twitched, then both his arms, and finally his sleeping face went slack, almost astonished. Finally, he awoke with a cry. "WAH! What the... Oh, another dream."
[It sure was a weird one, though,] he thought. [First, there was Brian J. Mason in his helmetless Powered Suit chasing me across a hellscape again, but when we got to the crater where he usually corners me, I finally got angry and I turned on him.] Sean chuckled. [I gave him the same kind of telling-off Sylia usually gives Priss for irresponsibility, but a lot louder and finishing with the statement that I had been aiming an accurate throw for his sensor array and I had asked him to surrender before the battle began, so if he'd either given up or kept his helmet shut, he'd be alive and well, so would he please PISS OFF!?! That's where the weirdness started. After that tirade, Mason and his suit looked like they were painted on cloth, like a curtain. I reached up to Mason's 'collar' and tore the curtain down (off nothing, of course) and there was this silhouette behind it. It was a guy, he had red eyes and blue hair, and he waved toward the sky. Two angels fell from heaven, and one tore off her wings to bandage the wounds of her companion, but the wounded one died anyway. The silhouette-guy laughs, lifts a hand, lowers it like a signal, and this column of fire from the sky came down in front of me and I couldn't see any more. Whew.]
Sean looked at the clock. [Yuck. Three A.M. Too early to do anything, but I'm wide awake. Hey, I'm not miserable! I'm usually so low after being reminded of Mason that I'd have to look up to see the basement! Maybe Priss had a point a week ago. "Sean," she told me, "he knew the risks when he chose to fight." Yeah, I guess that's it. It was his choice to fight, to open his helmet, and to start all the trouble in the first place. I'm sorry he did die, but I don't see it as my fault anymore.]
Sean's thoughts were interrupted by a 'sending'. {Sean? Do I really sense you, awake?}
Sean jumped, then answered. {I guess so, ... is that you, Sylia? I was expecting Iczel.}
Sylia, using the telepathic bond they had discovered after making love last October, 'sent' back, {I suppose even alien androids have to rest sometimes.}
{Yeah, but then what're you doing up at this ungodly hour? I was in bed and only woke up because of a really _weird_ dream. You 'sound' like you're dead on your feet. Ohhh... are you _still_ at Dr. Raven's working on the armour designs? That is the last time I leave you there for 'just another hour'. You're going to run yourself into the ground!}
{I apologize, Sean. I just have a _strong_ hunch that we're going to need upgrades, and soon. I'm just finishing the design for Priss' new suit, and once I put it into the assembly machines, I'll...}
{Ah-hah! I hear that hesitation! You want to stay and work on another suit! Well, you better hurry and get Priss' design into the factory, because I'm getting dressed and coming over there. Anything that isn't done by the time I arrive can wait until you've rested!}
{SEAN!}
*** ***
The next evening, Sean was riding the Western Highway on the restored Mackiecycle. Despite having been up for almost twenty hours running, he was in a pretty good mood. [I really shouldn't have carted Sylia back to the Silky Doll building on the Mackiecycle, but she didn't want to leave the workshop. She probably won't be too happy with me when she realizes I switched her 'stimulating' air freshener and music for 'relaxing' ones, but the way she practically passed out proves that she needed her rest. Once I got her home and into bed, it was almost five A.M., so I just headed down to the Fitness Bee and cleaned up around the building. The manager finally agreed I've worked off my debt for trashing Yellow, the Mannequin-type Sparring Boomer I wrecked back when I met Iczel, so that's a load off my back. And finally, I have some spare time to do what Priss loves and just enjoy the road on a _great_ bike!]
The flaming streak in the sky cut off Sean's musings. [Wha?! What on or above Earth is that!?] A 'sending' from Iczel called his attention.
{Sean! If I'm reading your position correctly, you are very near the projected crash site of an SDPC Orca shuttle! It's on a bad trajectory, it may explode on impact!}
{Oh, great. I survive Boomers only to get killed in a shuttle explosion?!? I don't suppose you're close enough to synchronize, Iczel?} he sent as he quickly turned the cycle onto a side road headed back toward the city.
{I am now!} Iczel sent proudly as she appeared in the garage of a deserted home. Sean gaped, then pulled into the driveway.
"*Charging Up!*" A moment later, after Sean and Iczel had become Iczelion, Sean asked, "how did you get here so quick, anyway?"
Any answer Iczel gave, audible or mental, was drowned out by the ROAR of the flaming shuttle passing overhead, something - diving? - out of the side of the doomed vehicle and passing out of sight to the northeast. A moment later, a wash of flame and a shockwave blew Sean off his feet. Fortunately, the Mackiecycle was inside the forcefield and sustained only minor dents. Sean, however, was curious about the projectile. {Iczel, that may have been an escape pod. It was probably too little too late, but there may be survivors in there. I'll check it out - you separate from me and go get a medical kit from the house, please?}
{OK, Sean. Be careful - you don't know what you'll find!}
An hour later, it was fully dark and Sean was considering abandoning the search. If he'd judged its direction correctly, the flying object should have landed near the Canyons' western tip, but he hadn't seen anything. There hadn't been any explosions from inside the Canyon, either, so Sean didn't think it had gone in there. {Okay, Iczel, I don't think I'm going to find anything tonight. I'll have to check the news tomorrow to see what the AD Police find. I-} "WHOA!"
Two young women had staggered onto the road, one tall and one short. Sean had no time to notice more because they had come onto the road directly in his path. Simultaneously braking and swerving, he slewed his bike around the pair and slowed to a halt. Not bothering to remove his cycle helmet, he ran back toward them. "Geez, are you all right? I almost hit both of you! Why'd you wander out into the road like that, anyway? I-" he cut off as he noticed the tall one was holding up her shorter companion, and the short one was bleeding, or at least bloody. "Oh man, never mind. I'd better get you to a hospital!"
The taller one looked up, alarmed, her eyes seeming to glow in the reflected lights of the Mackiecycle. "NO! No hospitals, please - we wouldn't be safe there. I can patch Anri up if we just have somewhere to rest."
Sean gave her a doubtful look, then kicked himself. [Idiot! You know what it's like to have secrets, and you'll find out what being hunted is like if GENOM ever finds out who you are! Help them now, and talk later when they have reason to trust you!]
"Ah - all right," he said, "I'll take you to a house in the suburbs and you can stay there for a while. I'm Sean, by the way. Sean Kai."
"My name is Sylvie, and my young friend here is Anri," the tall silver-haired woman replied.
By the time the two had gotten onto the Mackiecycle and Sean had carefully driven to his house, Sylvie had told Sean that they had been aboard a shuttle from Genaros Space Station, escaping a man who had essentially kept them as slaves. That part really got Sean's blood boiling, which luckily served as a distraction from how uncannily _attractive_ these two were. Having them squeezed behind him on a bike seat didn't help Sean ignore that either. He came to a decision as he pulled into his driveway. [I can't stay here with these two around. I'll hang around tonight just long enough to be sure that Anri is all right, then I'll go crash at Sylia's or Dr. Raven's. Tomorrow I'll see about getting these two an apartment.]
Sylvie almost scotched that idea. Apparently, his cool (albeit slightly flushed) and businesslike manner as he and Sylvie tended Anri's wounds had made her think of him as trustworthy, because she confided some more in him before he left.
"Anri and I," she began, "were two of five... people in the situation I described to you. All five of us on the station and thinking that there was no possible way to escape. Then someone sent us a message on the station, telling us how Kaufman, the station director, planned to smuggle something down to Earth for sale. We all studied space piloting, and we stole the shuttle that Kaufman's goods were in, but Nam, Meg, and Lou all... all died getting us to the shuttle. Anri was wounded too, and we barely escaped. I'm afraid Kaufman will send or hire people to bring us back or find what we took! If anyone finds out we're here..." Her pleading look tore at Sean's heart. He really ought to tell the other Sabers about this, it sounded important... but she seemed so afraid.
[I hope I don't regret this,] he thought as he came to a decision.
"Sylvie, I know a few things about mercenaries and the underworld. I'll look around and see if anything's up, and if you're nervous about me leaving, I swear to God that I will not tell anyone about how you came to me. As of right now, you two are - uh - friends of my mother come to stay in MegaTokyo for a while. How's that?" The look Sylvie gave him was pure relief, answering Sean's question quite well. Before he could lose himself in those deep brown eyes, Sean hurriedly turned away. "Um - I really should let you two have the house to yourselves tonight. I'll sleep at a friend's place and we can see about finding you your own apartment tomorrow." Giving himself no chance to change his mind - [what *is* it about Sylvie anyway?,] Sean thought - he gathered a week's worth of clothes and drove off to the Ladys 633 building.
*** ***
Fortunately, Sylia was too occupied at being annoyed with Sean to question his 'friends of my mom' story.
"I cannot _believe_ that you were so arrogant as to assume you knew more about my well-being than I did!" she stormed. "Who gave you permission to change my music and aroma settings, anyway?!"
"I think the way you almost passed out when I _did_ switch them proved me right about your well-being! It seemed to be a good test of your claims of being 'fine', at any rate. It was a lot less confrontational than my other option!"
"Which was?"
"Carry you out to the 'cycle and drive you home anyway. I could tell from your 'sending', let alone the hour, Sylia, you were exhausted! And you never answered my question, anyway. May I use the guest bedroom for a while?"
"You haven't explained _why_ you need to come here. I thought your house was quite large enough for three."
Sean blushed. "Ahem! Well - how can I say this - they are close enough to be family, but are _not_ related to me or Mother. They are also _extremely_ physically attractive, and..." Sylia's expression softened.
"...And so with your current adult awareness of them, you chose to remove yourself from temptation?" Sean nodded. "Sean, you seldom fail to amaze me. In love or not, there are any number of eighteen-year-old males who would jump at an opportunity like that. And, I might add, of those who would avoid it, there are even fewer who would tell their 'significant others' their reason for moving out. I'm very proud that you trust me that much, and of course you may use the guest bedroom."
Now Sean really felt like a heel. [But what are my options?] he thought. [Damned few, it seems. Hopefully I can find those two an apartment soon and end all this.]
Sylia continued speaking after a pause. "Actually, your timing may be fortunate. Fargo, our 'fixer', says he's concluding arrangements on a job for the Knight Sabers, so when we meet, you and I need to tell the others about our relationship and its serendipitous result."
Sean gulped. "Um, Sylia... we didn't exactly practice safe sex that night. Should we test for another - um - 'surprise'?"
Sylia smiled softly at her young lover. "Sean, both my and Mackie's 'altered' conditions may have changed our DNA. Mackie had a vasectomy as soon as he was mature, and I had my tubes tied long ago. Neither of us can have children."
"Oh. Whew! Sorry if you want a family, Sylia, but I don't think I'm ready for parenthood yet. After all, the kid _might_ turn out like me, and then he'd be the death of us both from what Mom said about my infancy!" Sylia couldn't contain a quiet laugh at Sean's joke.
*** ***
Several days later, Sean was driving Sylvie to Priss' trailer one afternoon, trying to forget her attractiveness by going over the intervening time in his memory.
[The meeting with the Knight Sabers was interesting in a number of ways, not all of them good. First we told Priss, Linna, and Nene about our relationship, and the reactions were varied, to say the least. Priss wanted *details,*] - he blushed at the mere memory - [Linna was completely stunned and then asked if we'd been drunk, and Nene, well, Nene was so happy and energetic that you'd think she was hyper! Of course, the claim about what _resulted_ from that night quieted everyone down fast. They wouldn't believe it until we demonstrated by having everyone split up to opposite ends of the building, and Sylia and I tell Linna and Priss, respectively, what the other party had said. Even Priss was stunned when we proved we really had a telepathic link. Once everyone was back together, Sylia moved on to our current 'job', and that really has me worried. Apparently two young ladies fled Genaros Station with a prototype Battlemover that has a synchro-capable battle computer! Even more, Iczel confirmed a few nights later that Anri and Sylvie are actually 33-S Boomers! I still think they qualify as 'people', and at least now I have a good idea of what that _thing_ that crashed out of the Orca shuttle was, but I'm stuck in a moral dilemma! Sylvie and Anri seem to be good people, and I swore an oath to them, but I'm part of the Knight Sabers too! What am I gonna DO?!?] He cut off that line of thought as he pulled up by 'The EmPriss', the trailer that served as home to Sean's favorite rock singer.
"Priss! I'm here, and I brought Sylvie!" Sean called.
Priss had heard about Sean's 'mother's friends' at the meeting and had been interested. Anri still wasn't well enough to travel, but Sylvie had expressed an interest in getting out and about. With some misgivings, Sean had introduced the sexaroid to the singer at Hot Legs, and they had hit it off instantly. Priss had asked Sean to bring Sylvie here today, mentioning a 'surprise'.
The rock singer came leaping out the trailer door and gave Sylvie a hug. Sean took two steps back to prevent similar treatment. [It isn't that I don't like her, but she's almost as sexy as Sylvie! ....AARGH! *What* am I *thinking*?!] Priss, meanwhile, had pulled Sylvie around the corner of her trailer, and what the silver-haired woman saw there made her gasp. Curiosity overcoming caution, Sean moved up next to the pair and saw a blue motorcycle that appeared to be a twin to Priss' own custom-tooled model.
"SURPRISE!" Priss yodeled. "I heard you didn't have any way to get around, but it wasn't until Sean told me how well you could handle _his_ cycle that I thought of this. Now we can get you a bike suit and helmet, and I can show you the joys of cycling!" She gave Sean a sly grin. "Maybe we can even get Sean to join us one of these times. They do say threesomes are more fun..."
Sean choked at Priss' sexual innuendo. [Oh, thanks *heaps,* Priss...]
Sylvie traded an evil grin with her newest friend. "Mm, I think that would be great! After all," she said, looking Sean in the eye, "I _do_ have to _thank_ him for letting us stay at his home... and leaving us our _privacy_..."
Sean was slowly backing up toward his bike while beating his naughty and inappropriate imagination down with a club to shut off the mental images the teasing evoked. [Oh, *god*, if any of that leaks through to Sylia, I'm dead! And I can't even _mention_ that in front of Sylvie!! I'd better get _out_ of here!] Priss grinned at the retreating young man and turned the screws one more time.
"Maybe we could just be his _sparring partners_ for a while, in private. After all, he is training for _wrestling_...."
Sean's blush showed through his helmet visor as he turned around, dashed to his bike, and drove quickly away from his two far-too-attractive friends. He stayed on the roads until both his hormones and his overactive imagination had calmed down, then drove to his house. [I ought to check in with Anri,] he mused. [Maybe I'll get lucky and Sylvie won't be there.] Somehow, he had never gotten around to finding the two their own lodging. He turned the corner onto his street just in time to see a blue bike heading for the Canyons in the light of a street lamp. [Huh, my luck's in! I mean, I like both Anri and Sylvie as 'people', but Anri is cute and a little down right now, while Sylvie just gets my blood rushing!]
As he walked up to his front door, Sean's mind suddenly made several connections that it should have made long ago. [Blood - 33-S Maintenance - Sylia mentioned - and Sylvie said she could take care of Anri if - OH, GOD, NO!] Tearing open the door, he dashed inside. A pale Anri looked up at him, alarmed. Sean didn't care at the moment - he was alarmed too!
"Anri, I've gotta make this quick, so here's the short version. I know you and Sylvie are sexaroids, and I don't care. You two are still people. But I just found out how you need to maintain yourselves, and if Sylvie's gonna do what I think she's gonna do, I've got to stop her before she does something really tragic. Did she tell you anything about _where_ she was going?"
Anri looked slightly stunned. "You - we're still people to you?"
[Damn,] Sean thought, [I forgot how much that news rocked Sylia! I'll be lucky if Anri's coherent at all!] "Anri! Yes, you two are still people, but I've _gotta_ stop Sylvie before she really hurts someone! _Where_ did she _go_?!" At that, Anri shook herself out of her shock.
"I - we stole a Battlemover up in space. We hid it in a sewer pipe in the west end of the Canyons, near where you met us."
"Oh, Anri, thank you!" Sean cried in relief. "I'll find some other way to get what you need, I promise!" he told her, turning and sprinting to his bike.
*** ***
Sylvie looked up at the D.D. Battlemover. She didn't like it, it frankly scared her the way she and the killing machine had seemed to become one during the flight down from the crashing shuttle. [But I can't put this off any longer,] she thought desperately. [Anri's not improving, and I _won't_ lose another friend for our freedom! I _have_ to get her the blood she needs, even if that means killing peop- humans.] Firming her resolve, she opened the canopy and climbed in.
*** ***
Sean was pulling up to the edge of the Canyons when he saw the hulking shape of the Battlemover coming over the far side. It sprang over a building on silenced jets and was gone to the north. [F##KING DAMN!] he thought. [Too late, and if I confront her as Iczelion I'll either prompt a fight to the finish or have to reveal my identity! Well, looks like this gets done the dangerous way then.] {Iczel! You nearby?}
{Always, Sean, whenever you need me.}
{Good! Can you track that Battlemover?}
{Yes. I have a lock on its power signature now. Shall we synchronize?}
{NO! I have to confront the pilot as Sean, or she'll panic! I'm helping a friend now, Iczel, not being a Knight Saber! Just lead me to the thing, quickly!}
Iczel, swallowing her surprise, gave directions as the Mackiecycle roared off in pursuit of a monster.
*** ***
Sylvie looked at the screens in the cockpit, grateful for the 'silent running' features of the D.D. Without them, she'd never have gotten this far without having to fight the A.D. Police. [I may have to kill so that Anri can live, but I don't want to do it any more than necessary.] The sensors had been running the parameters she had fed into them earlier, and from her position in an alleyway, they were now highlighting a car with two people in it, parked in a shadowed stretch of forested road, beside some sort of park. [All right. For you, Anri!] She rushed the Battlemover forward, driving one foot down onto - and *through* - the hood of the car to prevent escape. The young couple inside stared at her as she opened the canopy...
Sean, already close, heard the crash and veered toward it. He finally emerged to the sight of a vaguely humanoid form that topped sixteen feet tall, with one foot crushing the hood of a small car on the roadside. Not wasting any time, he arrowed the Mackiecycle toward them while howling,
"NOOO! DON'T YOU DARE!"
Sylvie, hearing an impossibly familiar shout, snapped the canopy shut and spun the D.D. around to face the voice. [It _is_ Sean!,] she thought incredulously. [But how- where- ]
Sean, seeing the Battlemover twist to face him, braked to a halt and kept talking, using his normal voice and trusting the D.D.'s sensors would let Sylvie hear him. "I know you must be desperate, but there _are_ other options. I can't discuss this in public, because I made you a promise, so can we take this somewhere- YOW!"
The D.D., at Sylvie's urging, had leaped across the intervening distance, snatched up Sean (cycle and all), and skimmed on silenced jets along the roadways. The hair-raising ride continued until they reached the edge of the Canyons, then dropped in, drifting on hissing jets to the bottom. Once inside a sewer mouth, the canopy hissed open.
"Sean?" Sylvie asked. "How on earth did you find me? I - what did you mean back there, w-what do you _know_?"
"Ahem." [Time for more creative interpretation of truth,] Sean thought. "Well, taking events in chronological order, I suspected several days ago that you and Anri might be sexaroids. It doesn't matter to me: you are both still people as far as I'm concerned, and good people at that. It wasn't until today, after you were teasing me back with Priss, that I remembered some of the rumours about certain sexaroids requiring human blood to stay alive. When I got home and confronted Anri about it, she told me about - well - this thing, and where you hid it. I got to the Canyons just in time to see you leave, so I went in the direction I saw you go, and - well, I lucked out!" He gave Sylvie a sheepish grin. "As to what I meant, there are a number of private clinics in MegaTokyo, each of which has a blood bank and sells it to private citizens who need blood for some reason. You didn't have the money to consider that on your own, and you didn't know that I knew - well, suspected - or how I felt, so I can understand why you felt this was your only option. I'm willing to pay for the blood supply, though, especially if it means you don't have to hurt anyone!" Sylvie, eyes and mouth wide open, just stared at him.
A moment later, she finally got the gist of what he'd told her, and she sprang out of the pilot's chair to hug Sean in a rib-cracking grip, crying and murmuring "thank you... _thank_ you..." over and over again. Sean finally squirmed away, red-faced and short of breath.
"Wow, you're strong! I could hardly breathe there! Um, anyway, I suppose we should go make a certain liquid purchase now, right?" Sylvie, wiping tears from her eyes, nodded. A moment later, she stiffened.
"But, Sean... how will we explain it when we keep coming back to buy blood?" Turning to his bike, he answered her over his shoulder.
"I thought of that on my way to the Canyon to intercept you. As soon as we walk in the clinic door, we are two medical students doing a thesis on blood plasma. We of course have to confirm our theories, meaning we need blood to experiment on, and..." Sean's voice trailed off as Sylvie hugged him from behind, fortunately with less force than last time.
"Thank you again, Sean. I don't know what I'd have done without you."
Sean suffered a brief vision of 'vampire in MegaTokyo!' headlines showing Sylvie with her head cut off and a stake through her heart. [I'm afraid I do. Brrr...] Shaking off his bad mood, Sean mounted the Mackiecycle as Sylvie pulled her blue bike out of hiding, and the two drove off together.
Explanations:
-Notation: I will be using several types of narration in this fan fiction. It will be punctuated as "Speech", [Thought], and {Sending (using some form of mental communication.)} I will also use some of the Internet punctuations for emphasis, ranging from 'slight', through _medium_, *strong*, and SHOUTING!
Previously:
At the end of Iczelion Act 2, the enemy leader Chaos is not yet defeated, and the mystery of where the Iczels' creators (the Iczers) are is unresolved. In "my" timeline, it takes the Iczelions three years to finally destroy Chaos and his forces. After that, three of the Iczelions - Nami Shiina, Black Iczelion, Kiro, the Gold Iczelion, and Kawaii Kawaii, Silver Iczelion, decide to leave Earth and search for the Iczers. Nagisa Kai and her Iczel partner remain behind. Nagisa pursues her wrestling career, using a "noble alien warrior" character gimmick and becoming quite rich. In 2010, she marries, and in 2015, her son, Sean Kai, named for his grandfather, is born. Unfortunately, Brian, the father, becomes a vocal anti-GENOM protester and dies in a "mugging" in 2020. Sean is scanned by Iczel and proves to be able, as his mother is, to 'synchronize' with an Iczel to create Iczelion. Under the guise of preparing him for a pro wrestling career, Nagisa begins training Sean to succeed her as the defender of the Earth. Sean is, in fact, the main character of our story.
In early 2032, Nagisa Kai is injured while training in Germany and cannot return to MegaTokyo to continue stopping rogue Boomers. She phones Sean at home and arranges to introduce him to Iczel. Unfortunately, the introduction does not go well as Sean deduces that his seemingly independent life has been guided toward joining Iczel for years. Sean sends Iczel away, but not before she raises some points that eat at Sean's conscience. Sean goes to the Fitness Bee to speak to Linna, his current sensei, but she's busy. Sean spars with a training Boomer to pass the time and in his disturbed emotional state, first damages and then destroys it. Linna witnesses this and talks to Sean, but the way he phrases his 'moral question' makes Linna suspicious. She gives Sean some advice, which leads to Sean reconciling with Iczel.
In his first combat action as Iczelion, Sean engages and destroys a C-class Boomer that escaped an A.D. Police blockade. He meets Leon McNichol afterward and is mentioned in a report given to Nene, who shows it to Sylia. She deduces that Iczelion uses a force-field defense system and determines to watch for this new player.
In April, Sean has to break off a training session with Linna so she can take the day to cheer up her friend Irene Can (See BGC 2: Born To Kill.) Hearing Linna's cry of distress as the assassin Boomer tries to kill her, Sean works his way ahead of the chase and crashes his 'cycle into the Boomer, saving Irene's life. The Boomer tries again, but Linna flees with Irene while Sean distracts the killer machine. He himself is unable to break away to become Iczelion, and almost dies before Sylia arrives in her hardsuit in response to a call from Linna. The two note a mutual attraction, but write it off as stress reactions.
Later that night, Iczel detects the Knight Sabers on their way to the Kawasaki facility to kill the SuperBoomer. Sean follows as Iczelion, and interjects himself into the battle between Nene and an assassin Boomer. The SuperBoomer arrives, but is destroyed when its head armour is stripped away by the Knight Sabers and Sean drives two beam swords into its head and detonates them. Sylia, fascinated by the capabilities and compassion of the mystery warrior, tries to call him to them, but Sean flees, fearing she'll recognize his voice from earlier that night. The next morning, Sean and Linna see Irene onto a plane bound for Hong Kong, where she has relatives and should be safe from GENOM.
Two months later, Brian J. Mason lures the Knight Sabers into a trap at Wiz Laboratories with a fake job offer. Modified 55-C Boomers use chest-mounted sonic projectors to render the Sabers helpless. Sean, following the Sabers as Iczelion, uses his forcefield to damp out the sound, and destroys the Boomers. Sean and Sylia talk for the first (?) time as Iczelion and Knight Saber, neither knowing that they've been aquainted for years, through Mackie. One Boomer, only damaged, attacks Sean. He destroys it with a German Suplex, again raising Linna's suspicions, as she knows how much he likes that move. The next morning, she confronts him about it, but can't express her full knowledge without giving away her role as a Knight Saber. She remains suspicious, but can't prove anything.
* * * * *
In July, Sean is training as Iczelion when he notices a bike gang chasing a restored Griffon II on the highway. He has difficulties dicouraging them without hurting anyone, but finally scares them off, thereby saving J.B. Gibson and his fiancee Naomi. (This voids the events of BGC 4: Revenge Road.)
In mid-August, BGC 3 begins, and two BU-12-B Boomers are loosed in MegaTokyo. Sean engages them only to discover that their armour is highly heat-resistant, rendering his weapons ineffective. Nevertheless, he literally disarms the first Boomer by detonating a beam sword _inside_ its right arm railgun. The second still manages to trash Silky Doll and kill the A.D.P. K-11 battlesuit fighting it before dying at the hands of the A.D. Police.
The next evening, Iczel detects the Sabers headed for GENOM Tower, and Sean rushes ahead. Discovering two 'sonic cannon' model BU-55-C's waiting in ambush with Mason, he manages to disable them just before Sylia and Nene arrive. Mason's armour plate is identical to a BU-12-B's, so Sean is unable do do much in the Sylia/Mason battle. When Mason grabs Sylia, Sean tries to throw a beam sword into the 'sensor eye' of Mason's armour, but kills him instead when Mason opens his helmet to gloat over Sylia. Traumatized by his accidental act of murder, Sean passes out, and the Sabers bring him back to Sylia's penthouse.
The Sabers are hard put to it to bring Sean out of his depression, but Sylia finally manages it. Sean complains that he already knew most of the Sabers in their civilian ID's: Sylia and Mackie from Raven's Garage, Priss from her singing (though they'd never _met_ before), and Linna as his martial arts teacher. At a dinner that night, Sylia invites Sean to join the Knight Sabers, and he accepts.
Sean is put through his paces in Knight Saber ability assessments and training: first in the simulator (see BGC 8: Scoop Chase) and then in the team combat exercise at the Suvival Shot paintball facility. Sean reaches Level Seven on the simulator and responds to Sylia's sacrifice tactic in paintball with one of his own: self-sacrifice. By making a moving target of himself, he was shot, but distracted Sylia from Linna long enough that Linna could shoot the elder Stingray.
Sean suffers from guilt-induced nightmares about Mason, himself, and murder, but hangs in there, bolstered by the Sabers' moral support and by Sylia keeping him too busy to think about it most days.
In October, a program planted in Sylia's computer by the Skorpion 19 (see the BGC: Grand Mal manga or graphic novel from Dark Horse Comics) informs Sean by Email about Sylia's intellectual enhancement. He brings her to see the files, and she realizes this was triggered by her diary entries expressing growing affection for Sean. Near despair, she tells Sean about both her and Mackie's alteration and the 2031 episodes with the Skorpion. She's about to leave when Sean realizes he cares deeply for her, too. One thing leads to another, and the two - ahem - spend the night together.
The next morning, an apprehensive Sean is stunned when Sylia 'hears' him "sending" to Iczel. A few experiments acertain that Sean and Sylia are now mentally linked just as Sean and Iczel are. They discuss what it means to be a person - Sean having decided because of Iczel that 'human' shouldn't be the defining term. Sean states that in his opinion, the deciding factor is whether one can care about others.
Characters:
(1)Sean Kai, son of Nagisa and our main character. He's 17 years old, rather short, at only 5' 9" tall (and growing), has brown hair, brown eyes, and is well-built. He's good at wrestling and several martial arts, and his training and natural agility have combined to make him incredibly hard to hit - as long as he can dodge. He's also *very* strong-willed, to the point where he could win a staredown with either Priss or Sylia.
(1)Iczel (Normal Type), Nagisa's partner as an Iczelion and soon Sean's as well. A brief note on capabilities; the basic functions of each Iczelion are the same, including firing energy beams, creating force fields and beam swords, and the changing or concealing of the human's features to keep from being recognized. The 'higher functions' of an Iczelion partnership are determined by the partners, however: Sean's are, as yet, unknown.
(1)Priscilla (Priss) Asagiri, the lead singer of "Priss and the Replicants," a popular rock band. Also a secret member of the Knight Sabers, serving as the assault specialist. Sean has seen Priss sing, and idolizes her as a rebel and (though he won't admit this) as a sex symbol.
(1)Leon McNichol, the best detective in the A.D. Police and leader of their 'tactical response teams,' or 'Tac Squads' for short. He and Sean don't know each other, but have bumped elbows at Priss' concerts.
(1)Nene Romanova, at 19 one of the youngest computer/communications specialists in the A.D. Police - and made even more special by the fact that she serves the Knight Sabers in a similar way, albeit from a hardsuit and not from HQ. She doesn't know Sean either, but is the closest Knight Saber to his 17 years of age. Her perpetual 'cute and innocent' attitude is a nice balance for the grimness of the BGC series.
(1)Mackie Stingray, Sylia Stingray's teenage brother and a friend of Sean's ever since the two met at Raven's Garage in 2030. Mackie lost a bet to Sean and had to soup up Sean's prized motorcycle. Mackie is a technical assistant to the Knight Sabers and a bit of a lecher, but he has a secret that he may not be aware of... (see Sylia Stingray)
(1)Sylia Stingray, founder and leader of the Knight Sabers, inventor of their unique "hardsuit" combat armor, and daughter of the renowned Doctor Katsuhito Stingray, who invented Cyberdroids, the artificial humanoids now called "Boomers." Sylia always acts cold and distant, and there is good reason for this. In the BGC: Grand Mal comic series (Available from Dark Horse Comics,) it was revealed that, in order to counter the abuse that GENOM was certain to put his inventions to, Dr. Stingray used an experimental nanotech process on his two children, changing their brain structure biomechanically to give them hyperintelligence. Sylia sometimes wonders if she's even human anymore...
(1)Linna Yamazaki, an aerobics and martial arts teacher at the Fitness Bee, one of MegaTokyo's more successful health clubs. She's also the close combat specialist of the Knight Sabers, and is currently Sean's martial arts instructor, having been impressed by how well he did (before losing) in a match they fought in 2031.
David Gordon's (Email to: Iczel_prime@hotmail.com)
Bubblegum Crisis/Iczelion crossover:
Bubblegum Cris-Icz Part 3: Never the End!
Chapter 1: Devil & Angel's Kiss
It was 2:45 A.M., April 3rd, in MegaTokyo. Out in the suburbs, the only resident of the Kai household was thrashing in the grip of a nightmare. His covers had long ago been thrown around the room, and he would have been glad of it if awake, because he was drenched with sweat. For nearly ten minutes he thrashed and twisted, and then a sudden calm descended. Sean's expression changed from frightened to determined, then to angry. His hand twitched, then both his arms, and finally his sleeping face went slack, almost astonished. Finally, he awoke with a cry. "WAH! What the... Oh, another dream."
[It sure was a weird one, though,] he thought. [First, there was Brian J. Mason in his helmetless Powered Suit chasing me across a hellscape again, but when we got to the crater where he usually corners me, I finally got angry and I turned on him.] Sean chuckled. [I gave him the same kind of telling-off Sylia usually gives Priss for irresponsibility, but a lot louder and finishing with the statement that I had been aiming an accurate throw for his sensor array and I had asked him to surrender before the battle began, so if he'd either given up or kept his helmet shut, he'd be alive and well, so would he please PISS OFF!?! That's where the weirdness started. After that tirade, Mason and his suit looked like they were painted on cloth, like a curtain. I reached up to Mason's 'collar' and tore the curtain down (off nothing, of course) and there was this silhouette behind it. It was a guy, he had red eyes and blue hair, and he waved toward the sky. Two angels fell from heaven, and one tore off her wings to bandage the wounds of her companion, but the wounded one died anyway. The silhouette-guy laughs, lifts a hand, lowers it like a signal, and this column of fire from the sky came down in front of me and I couldn't see any more. Whew.]
Sean looked at the clock. [Yuck. Three A.M. Too early to do anything, but I'm wide awake. Hey, I'm not miserable! I'm usually so low after being reminded of Mason that I'd have to look up to see the basement! Maybe Priss had a point a week ago. "Sean," she told me, "he knew the risks when he chose to fight." Yeah, I guess that's it. It was his choice to fight, to open his helmet, and to start all the trouble in the first place. I'm sorry he did die, but I don't see it as my fault anymore.]
Sean's thoughts were interrupted by a 'sending'. {Sean? Do I really sense you, awake?}
Sean jumped, then answered. {I guess so, ... is that you, Sylia? I was expecting Iczel.}
Sylia, using the telepathic bond they had discovered after making love last October, 'sent' back, {I suppose even alien androids have to rest sometimes.}
{Yeah, but then what're you doing up at this ungodly hour? I was in bed and only woke up because of a really _weird_ dream. You 'sound' like you're dead on your feet. Ohhh... are you _still_ at Dr. Raven's working on the armour designs? That is the last time I leave you there for 'just another hour'. You're going to run yourself into the ground!}
{I apologize, Sean. I just have a _strong_ hunch that we're going to need upgrades, and soon. I'm just finishing the design for Priss' new suit, and once I put it into the assembly machines, I'll...}
{Ah-hah! I hear that hesitation! You want to stay and work on another suit! Well, you better hurry and get Priss' design into the factory, because I'm getting dressed and coming over there. Anything that isn't done by the time I arrive can wait until you've rested!}
{SEAN!}
*** ***
The next evening, Sean was riding the Western Highway on the restored Mackiecycle. Despite having been up for almost twenty hours running, he was in a pretty good mood. [I really shouldn't have carted Sylia back to the Silky Doll building on the Mackiecycle, but she didn't want to leave the workshop. She probably won't be too happy with me when she realizes I switched her 'stimulating' air freshener and music for 'relaxing' ones, but the way she practically passed out proves that she needed her rest. Once I got her home and into bed, it was almost five A.M., so I just headed down to the Fitness Bee and cleaned up around the building. The manager finally agreed I've worked off my debt for trashing Yellow, the Mannequin-type Sparring Boomer I wrecked back when I met Iczel, so that's a load off my back. And finally, I have some spare time to do what Priss loves and just enjoy the road on a _great_ bike!]
The flaming streak in the sky cut off Sean's musings. [Wha?! What on or above Earth is that!?] A 'sending' from Iczel called his attention.
{Sean! If I'm reading your position correctly, you are very near the projected crash site of an SDPC Orca shuttle! It's on a bad trajectory, it may explode on impact!}
{Oh, great. I survive Boomers only to get killed in a shuttle explosion?!? I don't suppose you're close enough to synchronize, Iczel?} he sent as he quickly turned the cycle onto a side road headed back toward the city.
{I am now!} Iczel sent proudly as she appeared in the garage of a deserted home. Sean gaped, then pulled into the driveway.
"*Charging Up!*" A moment later, after Sean and Iczel had become Iczelion, Sean asked, "how did you get here so quick, anyway?"
Any answer Iczel gave, audible or mental, was drowned out by the ROAR of the flaming shuttle passing overhead, something - diving? - out of the side of the doomed vehicle and passing out of sight to the northeast. A moment later, a wash of flame and a shockwave blew Sean off his feet. Fortunately, the Mackiecycle was inside the forcefield and sustained only minor dents. Sean, however, was curious about the projectile. {Iczel, that may have been an escape pod. It was probably too little too late, but there may be survivors in there. I'll check it out - you separate from me and go get a medical kit from the house, please?}
{OK, Sean. Be careful - you don't know what you'll find!}
An hour later, it was fully dark and Sean was considering abandoning the search. If he'd judged its direction correctly, the flying object should have landed near the Canyons' western tip, but he hadn't seen anything. There hadn't been any explosions from inside the Canyon, either, so Sean didn't think it had gone in there. {Okay, Iczel, I don't think I'm going to find anything tonight. I'll have to check the news tomorrow to see what the AD Police find. I-} "WHOA!"
Two young women had staggered onto the road, one tall and one short. Sean had no time to notice more because they had come onto the road directly in his path. Simultaneously braking and swerving, he slewed his bike around the pair and slowed to a halt. Not bothering to remove his cycle helmet, he ran back toward them. "Geez, are you all right? I almost hit both of you! Why'd you wander out into the road like that, anyway? I-" he cut off as he noticed the tall one was holding up her shorter companion, and the short one was bleeding, or at least bloody. "Oh man, never mind. I'd better get you to a hospital!"
The taller one looked up, alarmed, her eyes seeming to glow in the reflected lights of the Mackiecycle. "NO! No hospitals, please - we wouldn't be safe there. I can patch Anri up if we just have somewhere to rest."
Sean gave her a doubtful look, then kicked himself. [Idiot! You know what it's like to have secrets, and you'll find out what being hunted is like if GENOM ever finds out who you are! Help them now, and talk later when they have reason to trust you!]
"Ah - all right," he said, "I'll take you to a house in the suburbs and you can stay there for a while. I'm Sean, by the way. Sean Kai."
"My name is Sylvie, and my young friend here is Anri," the tall silver-haired woman replied.
By the time the two had gotten onto the Mackiecycle and Sean had carefully driven to his house, Sylvie had told Sean that they had been aboard a shuttle from Genaros Space Station, escaping a man who had essentially kept them as slaves. That part really got Sean's blood boiling, which luckily served as a distraction from how uncannily _attractive_ these two were. Having them squeezed behind him on a bike seat didn't help Sean ignore that either. He came to a decision as he pulled into his driveway. [I can't stay here with these two around. I'll hang around tonight just long enough to be sure that Anri is all right, then I'll go crash at Sylia's or Dr. Raven's. Tomorrow I'll see about getting these two an apartment.]
Sylvie almost scotched that idea. Apparently, his cool (albeit slightly flushed) and businesslike manner as he and Sylvie tended Anri's wounds had made her think of him as trustworthy, because she confided some more in him before he left.
"Anri and I," she began, "were two of five... people in the situation I described to you. All five of us on the station and thinking that there was no possible way to escape. Then someone sent us a message on the station, telling us how Kaufman, the station director, planned to smuggle something down to Earth for sale. We all studied space piloting, and we stole the shuttle that Kaufman's goods were in, but Nam, Meg, and Lou all... all died getting us to the shuttle. Anri was wounded too, and we barely escaped. I'm afraid Kaufman will send or hire people to bring us back or find what we took! If anyone finds out we're here..." Her pleading look tore at Sean's heart. He really ought to tell the other Sabers about this, it sounded important... but she seemed so afraid.
[I hope I don't regret this,] he thought as he came to a decision.
"Sylvie, I know a few things about mercenaries and the underworld. I'll look around and see if anything's up, and if you're nervous about me leaving, I swear to God that I will not tell anyone about how you came to me. As of right now, you two are - uh - friends of my mother come to stay in MegaTokyo for a while. How's that?" The look Sylvie gave him was pure relief, answering Sean's question quite well. Before he could lose himself in those deep brown eyes, Sean hurriedly turned away. "Um - I really should let you two have the house to yourselves tonight. I'll sleep at a friend's place and we can see about finding you your own apartment tomorrow." Giving himself no chance to change his mind - [what *is* it about Sylvie anyway?,] Sean thought - he gathered a week's worth of clothes and drove off to the Ladys 633 building.
*** ***
Fortunately, Sylia was too occupied at being annoyed with Sean to question his 'friends of my mom' story.
"I cannot _believe_ that you were so arrogant as to assume you knew more about my well-being than I did!" she stormed. "Who gave you permission to change my music and aroma settings, anyway?!"
"I think the way you almost passed out when I _did_ switch them proved me right about your well-being! It seemed to be a good test of your claims of being 'fine', at any rate. It was a lot less confrontational than my other option!"
"Which was?"
"Carry you out to the 'cycle and drive you home anyway. I could tell from your 'sending', let alone the hour, Sylia, you were exhausted! And you never answered my question, anyway. May I use the guest bedroom for a while?"
"You haven't explained _why_ you need to come here. I thought your house was quite large enough for three."
Sean blushed. "Ahem! Well - how can I say this - they are close enough to be family, but are _not_ related to me or Mother. They are also _extremely_ physically attractive, and..." Sylia's expression softened.
"...And so with your current adult awareness of them, you chose to remove yourself from temptation?" Sean nodded. "Sean, you seldom fail to amaze me. In love or not, there are any number of eighteen-year-old males who would jump at an opportunity like that. And, I might add, of those who would avoid it, there are even fewer who would tell their 'significant others' their reason for moving out. I'm very proud that you trust me that much, and of course you may use the guest bedroom."
Now Sean really felt like a heel. [But what are my options?] he thought. [Damned few, it seems. Hopefully I can find those two an apartment soon and end all this.]
Sylia continued speaking after a pause. "Actually, your timing may be fortunate. Fargo, our 'fixer', says he's concluding arrangements on a job for the Knight Sabers, so when we meet, you and I need to tell the others about our relationship and its serendipitous result."
Sean gulped. "Um, Sylia... we didn't exactly practice safe sex that night. Should we test for another - um - 'surprise'?"
Sylia smiled softly at her young lover. "Sean, both my and Mackie's 'altered' conditions may have changed our DNA. Mackie had a vasectomy as soon as he was mature, and I had my tubes tied long ago. Neither of us can have children."
"Oh. Whew! Sorry if you want a family, Sylia, but I don't think I'm ready for parenthood yet. After all, the kid _might_ turn out like me, and then he'd be the death of us both from what Mom said about my infancy!" Sylia couldn't contain a quiet laugh at Sean's joke.
*** ***
Several days later, Sean was driving Sylvie to Priss' trailer one afternoon, trying to forget her attractiveness by going over the intervening time in his memory.
[The meeting with the Knight Sabers was interesting in a number of ways, not all of them good. First we told Priss, Linna, and Nene about our relationship, and the reactions were varied, to say the least. Priss wanted *details,*] - he blushed at the mere memory - [Linna was completely stunned and then asked if we'd been drunk, and Nene, well, Nene was so happy and energetic that you'd think she was hyper! Of course, the claim about what _resulted_ from that night quieted everyone down fast. They wouldn't believe it until we demonstrated by having everyone split up to opposite ends of the building, and Sylia and I tell Linna and Priss, respectively, what the other party had said. Even Priss was stunned when we proved we really had a telepathic link. Once everyone was back together, Sylia moved on to our current 'job', and that really has me worried. Apparently two young ladies fled Genaros Station with a prototype Battlemover that has a synchro-capable battle computer! Even more, Iczel confirmed a few nights later that Anri and Sylvie are actually 33-S Boomers! I still think they qualify as 'people', and at least now I have a good idea of what that _thing_ that crashed out of the Orca shuttle was, but I'm stuck in a moral dilemma! Sylvie and Anri seem to be good people, and I swore an oath to them, but I'm part of the Knight Sabers too! What am I gonna DO?!?] He cut off that line of thought as he pulled up by 'The EmPriss', the trailer that served as home to Sean's favorite rock singer.
"Priss! I'm here, and I brought Sylvie!" Sean called.
Priss had heard about Sean's 'mother's friends' at the meeting and had been interested. Anri still wasn't well enough to travel, but Sylvie had expressed an interest in getting out and about. With some misgivings, Sean had introduced the sexaroid to the singer at Hot Legs, and they had hit it off instantly. Priss had asked Sean to bring Sylvie here today, mentioning a 'surprise'.
The rock singer came leaping out the trailer door and gave Sylvie a hug. Sean took two steps back to prevent similar treatment. [It isn't that I don't like her, but she's almost as sexy as Sylvie! ....AARGH! *What* am I *thinking*?!] Priss, meanwhile, had pulled Sylvie around the corner of her trailer, and what the silver-haired woman saw there made her gasp. Curiosity overcoming caution, Sean moved up next to the pair and saw a blue motorcycle that appeared to be a twin to Priss' own custom-tooled model.
"SURPRISE!" Priss yodeled. "I heard you didn't have any way to get around, but it wasn't until Sean told me how well you could handle _his_ cycle that I thought of this. Now we can get you a bike suit and helmet, and I can show you the joys of cycling!" She gave Sean a sly grin. "Maybe we can even get Sean to join us one of these times. They do say threesomes are more fun..."
Sean choked at Priss' sexual innuendo. [Oh, thanks *heaps,* Priss...]
Sylvie traded an evil grin with her newest friend. "Mm, I think that would be great! After all," she said, looking Sean in the eye, "I _do_ have to _thank_ him for letting us stay at his home... and leaving us our _privacy_..."
Sean was slowly backing up toward his bike while beating his naughty and inappropriate imagination down with a club to shut off the mental images the teasing evoked. [Oh, *god*, if any of that leaks through to Sylia, I'm dead! And I can't even _mention_ that in front of Sylvie!! I'd better get _out_ of here!] Priss grinned at the retreating young man and turned the screws one more time.
"Maybe we could just be his _sparring partners_ for a while, in private. After all, he is training for _wrestling_...."
Sean's blush showed through his helmet visor as he turned around, dashed to his bike, and drove quickly away from his two far-too-attractive friends. He stayed on the roads until both his hormones and his overactive imagination had calmed down, then drove to his house. [I ought to check in with Anri,] he mused. [Maybe I'll get lucky and Sylvie won't be there.] Somehow, he had never gotten around to finding the two their own lodging. He turned the corner onto his street just in time to see a blue bike heading for the Canyons in the light of a street lamp. [Huh, my luck's in! I mean, I like both Anri and Sylvie as 'people', but Anri is cute and a little down right now, while Sylvie just gets my blood rushing!]
As he walked up to his front door, Sean's mind suddenly made several connections that it should have made long ago. [Blood - 33-S Maintenance - Sylia mentioned - and Sylvie said she could take care of Anri if - OH, GOD, NO!] Tearing open the door, he dashed inside. A pale Anri looked up at him, alarmed. Sean didn't care at the moment - he was alarmed too!
"Anri, I've gotta make this quick, so here's the short version. I know you and Sylvie are sexaroids, and I don't care. You two are still people. But I just found out how you need to maintain yourselves, and if Sylvie's gonna do what I think she's gonna do, I've got to stop her before she does something really tragic. Did she tell you anything about _where_ she was going?"
Anri looked slightly stunned. "You - we're still people to you?"
[Damn,] Sean thought, [I forgot how much that news rocked Sylia! I'll be lucky if Anri's coherent at all!] "Anri! Yes, you two are still people, but I've _gotta_ stop Sylvie before she really hurts someone! _Where_ did she _go_?!" At that, Anri shook herself out of her shock.
"I - we stole a Battlemover up in space. We hid it in a sewer pipe in the west end of the Canyons, near where you met us."
"Oh, Anri, thank you!" Sean cried in relief. "I'll find some other way to get what you need, I promise!" he told her, turning and sprinting to his bike.
*** ***
Sylvie looked up at the D.D. Battlemover. She didn't like it, it frankly scared her the way she and the killing machine had seemed to become one during the flight down from the crashing shuttle. [But I can't put this off any longer,] she thought desperately. [Anri's not improving, and I _won't_ lose another friend for our freedom! I _have_ to get her the blood she needs, even if that means killing peop- humans.] Firming her resolve, she opened the canopy and climbed in.
*** ***
Sean was pulling up to the edge of the Canyons when he saw the hulking shape of the Battlemover coming over the far side. It sprang over a building on silenced jets and was gone to the north. [F##KING DAMN!] he thought. [Too late, and if I confront her as Iczelion I'll either prompt a fight to the finish or have to reveal my identity! Well, looks like this gets done the dangerous way then.] {Iczel! You nearby?}
{Always, Sean, whenever you need me.}
{Good! Can you track that Battlemover?}
{Yes. I have a lock on its power signature now. Shall we synchronize?}
{NO! I have to confront the pilot as Sean, or she'll panic! I'm helping a friend now, Iczel, not being a Knight Saber! Just lead me to the thing, quickly!}
Iczel, swallowing her surprise, gave directions as the Mackiecycle roared off in pursuit of a monster.
*** ***
Sylvie looked at the screens in the cockpit, grateful for the 'silent running' features of the D.D. Without them, she'd never have gotten this far without having to fight the A.D. Police. [I may have to kill so that Anri can live, but I don't want to do it any more than necessary.] The sensors had been running the parameters she had fed into them earlier, and from her position in an alleyway, they were now highlighting a car with two people in it, parked in a shadowed stretch of forested road, beside some sort of park. [All right. For you, Anri!] She rushed the Battlemover forward, driving one foot down onto - and *through* - the hood of the car to prevent escape. The young couple inside stared at her as she opened the canopy...
Sean, already close, heard the crash and veered toward it. He finally emerged to the sight of a vaguely humanoid form that topped sixteen feet tall, with one foot crushing the hood of a small car on the roadside. Not wasting any time, he arrowed the Mackiecycle toward them while howling,
"NOOO! DON'T YOU DARE!"
Sylvie, hearing an impossibly familiar shout, snapped the canopy shut and spun the D.D. around to face the voice. [It _is_ Sean!,] she thought incredulously. [But how- where- ]
Sean, seeing the Battlemover twist to face him, braked to a halt and kept talking, using his normal voice and trusting the D.D.'s sensors would let Sylvie hear him. "I know you must be desperate, but there _are_ other options. I can't discuss this in public, because I made you a promise, so can we take this somewhere- YOW!"
The D.D., at Sylvie's urging, had leaped across the intervening distance, snatched up Sean (cycle and all), and skimmed on silenced jets along the roadways. The hair-raising ride continued until they reached the edge of the Canyons, then dropped in, drifting on hissing jets to the bottom. Once inside a sewer mouth, the canopy hissed open.
"Sean?" Sylvie asked. "How on earth did you find me? I - what did you mean back there, w-what do you _know_?"
"Ahem." [Time for more creative interpretation of truth,] Sean thought. "Well, taking events in chronological order, I suspected several days ago that you and Anri might be sexaroids. It doesn't matter to me: you are both still people as far as I'm concerned, and good people at that. It wasn't until today, after you were teasing me back with Priss, that I remembered some of the rumours about certain sexaroids requiring human blood to stay alive. When I got home and confronted Anri about it, she told me about - well - this thing, and where you hid it. I got to the Canyons just in time to see you leave, so I went in the direction I saw you go, and - well, I lucked out!" He gave Sylvie a sheepish grin. "As to what I meant, there are a number of private clinics in MegaTokyo, each of which has a blood bank and sells it to private citizens who need blood for some reason. You didn't have the money to consider that on your own, and you didn't know that I knew - well, suspected - or how I felt, so I can understand why you felt this was your only option. I'm willing to pay for the blood supply, though, especially if it means you don't have to hurt anyone!" Sylvie, eyes and mouth wide open, just stared at him.
A moment later, she finally got the gist of what he'd told her, and she sprang out of the pilot's chair to hug Sean in a rib-cracking grip, crying and murmuring "thank you... _thank_ you..." over and over again. Sean finally squirmed away, red-faced and short of breath.
"Wow, you're strong! I could hardly breathe there! Um, anyway, I suppose we should go make a certain liquid purchase now, right?" Sylvie, wiping tears from her eyes, nodded. A moment later, she stiffened.
"But, Sean... how will we explain it when we keep coming back to buy blood?" Turning to his bike, he answered her over his shoulder.
"I thought of that on my way to the Canyon to intercept you. As soon as we walk in the clinic door, we are two medical students doing a thesis on blood plasma. We of course have to confirm our theories, meaning we need blood to experiment on, and..." Sean's voice trailed off as Sylvie hugged him from behind, fortunately with less force than last time.
"Thank you again, Sean. I don't know what I'd have done without you."
Sean suffered a brief vision of 'vampire in MegaTokyo!' headlines showing Sylvie with her head cut off and a stake through her heart. [I'm afraid I do. Brrr...] Shaking off his bad mood, Sean mounted the Mackiecycle as Sylvie pulled her blue bike out of hiding, and the two drove off together.
