Sitting at the edge of the city of Meridiana the complex burned
fiercely, the explosion having lit up the skyline. Debris rained down on
the water as a figure burst upwards with a splash, her soaked hat
falling into her face. The black clad Cyber Six looked around her wildly
before crying out, "Data Seven, where are you!?"
"Meor," a plaintive cry as the black panther paddled towards
her, Data Seven looking quite disgusted at being made to swim.
"Sorry partner," Cyber Six offered a smile.
The two black figures swam towards shore, thankfully a fair ways
away from all of the burning structures. The beach sands were dirty but
Cyber Six didn't really care, the soaked figure flopping down onto her
back to try to catch her breath.
"Mrow?" Data Seven inquired a few moments later, the black
figure looking down at Cyber Six with gently concern.
Cyber Six got up from the sand, her long black cape hanging
wetly down, her tight clothes clinging to her thin frame. Her body was
lit red and gold by the far off flames even as she mused, "So what do we
do now?"
Data Seven gave the cat equivalent of a sneeze, then the black
panther shook himself off, spraying Cyber Six with a spray of water.
"Mar," the cat said sheepishly.
"Lets go dry out," Cyber Six sighed.
They made their way down backroads to the city, Meridiana itself
still chaotic from the attack of the island monster. The skyline was
something from another era, the designs at least a century old, a place
that the modern age had simply forgotten about. Adrian Seidelman's
apartment building was just as they had left it, and after a careful
check they slipped inside.
"Here you go," Cyber Six grabbed a battered blanket from a
closet, smoothly laying it out on the floor for Data Seven to dry out
on. The cat gave her a slightly reproachful look then lay down, soon
falling fast asleep.
Cyber Six stripped her wet clothes off and hung them up before
collapsing onto the bed in her baggy pajamas. It only felt like she had
been sleeping a few minutes when the phone rang, tearing through the
near silence. Data Seven growled in the back of his throat, the panther
glaring at the phone then over towards the groggy Cyber Six.
"Yes?" Cyber Six answered, her voice husky with sleep.
"Ah," the school secretary's voice sounded confused, "could I
speak with Mr. Adrian Seidelman, please?"
Cyber Six blinked then coughed, quickly dropping her voice to
the right range. "Sorry," Adrian answered, "I'm not feeling so well."
"School is going to be closed today," the secretary replied
crisply, then with concern, "you certainly sounded odd."
"Managed to fall off one of the bridges into the water during
all the confusion yesterday," Adrian improvised, "I think I may be
coming down with a cold."
"If you need to take a extra day, just let us know," she
answered warmly.
"I'll do that," Adrian answered, chatting for a moment before
hanging up.
"Mrow," Data Seven sounded amused.
"Gah," Cyber Six sighed to herself softly, flopping back onto
her bed. Sunlight streamed in from the window and she covered her face
with her arm. Memory began to trickle back of everything that had
happened yesterday and she groaned. A certain memory popped into her
head and she sat right up, eyes wide.
"Mew?" Data Seven inquired.
"What have I done?" Cyber Six grabbed the sides of her head and
groaned.
She hadn't really been expecting to survive her battle yesterday
with Von Reichter, not facing off against the man in his own
headquarters. Before she went up there she had stopped in with Lucas,
talked to him to try and tie up what loose ends she could. What impulse
possessed her to go see Lori she didn't know, but she had worn the
glasses from her Adrian disguise, spelling out to her the truth of her
identity. Leaving the glasses behind she had left, off to face certain
death.
"The only problem is," Cyber Six sighed to herself aloud, "I
didn't die. And now Lori knows who I really am."
Of course Data Seven ignored that, having gone back to sleep.
Cyber Six stayed home that day, wrestling with what she had done and
what it might mean. Finally, as the twilight descended over the city,
she decided to go out.
"Grrr," Data Seven grumbled softly.
"I can't take you with me," Cyber Six said firmly, "they won't
let you in." Data Seven grumbled a bit but quieted as she added, "Why
not go see Julian? He'd be glad to see you're all right."
The two separated as they left, Data Seven moving across the
rooftops as well as Cyber Six could. Her cloak flowed around her as the
black clad woman leapt across the roofs, eventually dropping into a
familiar alley. She took a moment to prepare before walking forward,
receiving a warm smile from the woman watching the door.
Bones smiled slightly, "Welcome back, Cyber Six." The bouncer
was tough, a muscular black haired woman who had almost instantly
assessed the threat that Cyber Six represented. She didn't know what the
lady would do if she caused trouble, but Bones would find a way.
"Bones, good evening," Cyber Six tipped her head to the side as
she asked, "Has there been any trouble lately?"
"Nothing major," Bones drawled. "Have you ever thought about
coming here in your Adrian outfit?" she asked.
Cyber Six stopped, she was so surprised, "Why?"
Bones chuckled softly as she flashed a smile, "You'd look pretty
cute in it, I bet. Probably have to beat the girls off you with a
stick."
"I have enough trouble with the girl I have, thanks," Cyber Six
shot back over her shoulder as she headed inside.
"Welcome to Arisugawa's Locket," Merle beamed, the little
catgirl looking remarkably cute dressed up in a school girl's uniform.
"Hey Merle," a smiling Cyber Six removed her cape, folding it up
before passing it over to her with her hat. "So where's Hitomi this
evening?" she asked curiously, running her hand through her spikey black
hair.
"Studying for exams," the catgirl flicked her ears back cutely
as Merle continued, "Hitomi asked Juri for a few days off to prepare."
Cyber Six nodded to herself thoughtfully as she considered the
usual suspects, "Let me guess, Ami Mizuno's helping her study?"
Merle nodded, "Yup. She's in good hands."
"See you later," Cyber Six gave the girl a smile, moving through
the crowd. This wasn't the first time she had visited Arisugawa's
Locket, and she was familiar with the customs, more or less. The people
were odd, in a lot of ways, but there was always a warm welcome for
anyone in need. 'Well, any woman,' she corrected herself. She reached
the bar, smiling at the blue haired twins behind the bar.
Ryouko gave her a look through cat-like eyes as her long hair
bounced down her back. Then she frowned, taking in her customer's pale
face as she worriedly asked, "You need sustenance?"
"Yes, please," Cyber Six answered, gripping the counter with
white knuckles. She hated this, hated the need that had been engineered
in her by Von Reichter, but without it she would die. She was just glad
the resident mad scientist Washu could create the stuff.
Ryouko bent down behind the long bar, grabbing a vial of a green
glowing fluid then pouring it out in a thick mug. "Drink fast," Ryouko
said, pushing the drink towards Cyber Six.
Cyber Six took the glass and slugged it down, her face twisting
at the awful taste. She shuddered visibly, breath becoming raspy, but in
a few moments recovered. She pushed sweaty hair up out of her face and
gave Ryouko a weary smile, "Thanks."
"I'm glad Washu was able to artificially create that stuff,"
Minagi noted, the scarred twin wiping out a glass, "but you'd think Mom
could cure you, too."
Cyber Six just shrugged as she said, "She told me that she
could, but only by removing most of my enhancements." Her voice took on
a slightly bitter tone as she added, "With Jose still on the loose, I
can't do that."
Jose was Von Reichter's clone, a little boy who was the spitting
image of his father. But unlike a child he was as twisted as his old
man, driven to grasp power and seek advantage for himself. He wouldn't
grieve for Von Reichter, he'd merely see it as an opportunity to advance
himself.
"So how are things in Meridian now?" Minagi asked curiously,
pouring her a large glass of beer to wash the taste away.
Cyber Six took a long drink, savoring the taste. She puffed out
a breath before quietly admitting, "I think I may have done something
very stupid."
"Oh?" Ryouko leaned forward eagerly beside her sister.
Cyber Six rolled her eyes at the two of them, "You two are
terrible." She sipped some more of her beer before continuing, "Von
Reichter tried to destroy the city with a living bomb and I didn't think
I could survive stopping it."
"You figured you were on a kamikaze run," Minagi prompted her.
"Yeah," Cyber Six nodded. "There's been a student who's had a
bad crush on my Adrian identity, her name's Lori Anderson," she drank a
bit more, "and before I went to face Von Reichter, I revealed my secret
identity to her."
"Ouch," Ryouko chuckled softly at that, "and since you survived
this little adventure, you're going to have to deal with it."
Cyber Six nodded glumly, "I've got a few days, but I can't avoid
her forever."
"So what does this girl think of Cyber Six?" Minagi asked
curiously, Ryouko having moved to attend to a customer's order.
"Hates her guts," Cyber Six said with a sigh, "though I think it
was because she believed that Adrian and Cyber Six were having an
affair."
Minagi couldn't help it, she began to laugh. "Sorry," she wiped
at her eyes, "but it's quite the mental image, you trying to have an
affair with yourself."
"Fair enough," Cyber Six agreed.
"Good evening," the smooth voice came from just behind her.
Cyber Six turned around to see the tall, orange haired woman who gave
her a slight smile. "It's good to see you here again," Arisugawa Juri
said.
"Juri-san," Cyber Six said to the taller woman respectfully. She
smiled slightly, "We were just discussing my latest folly." She quietly
summarized the situation as a visibly amused looking Juri settled down
into a seat beside them.
Juri nodded slightly as Cyber Six finished. "Here's a question
for you," Juri asked her with a smile, "why do you think Lori was
attracted to Adrian?"
"Huh?" Cyber Six looked confused.
Ryouko smirked as she said to Juri, "You're wondering if Lori
might have been attracted to some of her feminine qualities, right?"
"I hadn't thought of that," Cyber Six admitted softly. She drank
a bit more beer, savoring the taste before saying, "I have to say I
wasn't exactly butch as Adrian. It's possible...."
"Not that I'm suggesting confessing your love to her," Juri
cautioned, "I'm sure Lori is feeling pretty confused right about now."
"Not to mention being confused myself," Cyber Six said with a
ghost of a smile.
Juri looked up, seeing two familiar figures walking in. She gave
Cyber Six an apologetic smile, "Excuse me."
Cyber Six watched Juri go greet her friends then turned back to
her nearly empty glass of beer. "Want a refill?" Minagi offered.
"No," Cyber Six shook her head as she got up from her seat.
"So have you decided what you're going to do?" Minagi asked.
"I'm going to talk to Lori," Cyber Six said softly, "after that
we'll see."
To be continued....
Authors Note: Cyber Six's visit to Arisugawa's Locket originally
appeared as a chapter in that story. However I've expanded on it as well
as added a section set before that episode began. The characters from
the Locket are Bones of , Merle and Hitomi from Escaflowne, Ami Mizuno
of Sailor Moon, Ryouko, Minagi and Washu of Tenchi Muyo and finally
Arisugawa Juri from Revolutionary Girl Utena.
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