[Episode 3001] [Episode 3001]Bast!: I'm sorry that this installment is overlong. I could have made this episode (much) smaller but I wanted to do a lot of 'worldbuilding' to maximize the options of potential future authors. I hope you don't mind.... Bryan
Ranma, the others, and the Knight Of Duty appeared in the middle of a desert in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night....
The gaijin introduced himself: "I'm Porter, the Knight Of Duty. You six are the last survivors of your universe." he reported succintly.
"Oh, my!" gasped Kasumi in shock....
***
Somewhere in Asgard, a beautiful young brown-haired goddess sneezed....
"Gesundheit!" said the young, dark-haired man who was with her, smiling.
He had leared the word some time ago from the firey-tempered Valkyrie with long, aurburn hair who wore two odd-shaped red barrettes in her hair even when she wore her crimson, form-fitting suit of gleaming armor trimmed in a bit of green and mostly black with a matching helmet and a sword that looked like a giant segmented knife....
***
"So what's the good news?" Ranma asked glumly with a smirk on his face.
"I'll get right to the point...are all of you up for some payback?" asked Porter tentatively.
"Against the renegade Continuaa Knights and their mad crusade to destory the multiverse, no
doubt." surmised Cologne in a profound, enigmatic manner.
"M-hmm....Right now, you're asking yourselves: 'How can poor little us stand up to a powerful band of zealots capable of destoying a universe?'" added Porter with a bit of drama.
"Shampoo agree with Porter-san." concurred the blue-haired Amazon. "But combat skill of Airen, Shampoo, and other no match for crazy, cosmos-wrecking Continuaa. We powerless, yes?"
"On top of that, Shampoo, Ranma, and I have a little problem with cold water." interjected Mousse in a morose tone, adjusting his glasses on his face.
"What kind of...problem?" echoed Porter inquisitively.
Tofu explained at length: "When splashed with cold water, Shampoo becomes a cat, Ranma changes into a young, red-headed girl, and Mousse transforms into a duck."
That's ridiculous! thought Porter to himself. "I find that hard to believe." he stated flatly, skeptical.
"Well, if you had some cold and hot water around, we'd show ya'. Problem is, I got this thing about cats that's very bad if any are near me...." Ranma explained sheepishly with a bit of a smile, scratching the back of his head....
Porter supressed the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose in consternation. Why am I not surpised at all of this?! What a group of misfits this bunch is!...At least these guys are upfront and forthright about what they told me....Why not?...May as well press onward.... "You three are in luck...I can help you three especially with your problems as we'll as increase the combat abilities of all six of you....But there is a price that must be paid beforehand--it's rather steep but you won't be physically or mentally harmed. Also, all six of you must agree to the assistance I am offering....Otherwise, I am outta here and you can fend for yourselves...."
Ranma crossed his arms over his chest. "In the middle of a desert in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night....Riiight, how noble of you...." he mused sardonically.
"Take it or leave it." added Porter in an abrupt, terse manner.
The six survivors looked amonst themselves in silence for a few moments....Their eyes met one another as unspoken consent was given. As one, in unison, they all turned toward Porter and noded once in a slow, reverent manner.
Porter grinned broadly, "That's the spirit! Gimme a minute here," he added. Secured to his waist was a non-descript belt with a purple, felt-like drawstring pouch with yellow, ornate cursive script embroidered on it. He removed the pouch, crouched down, opened the pouch, and pulled out, one at a time, six polished, multicolored, golf ball-sized spheres and placed them on the ground in a line at regularly spaced intervals. When he was done, he stood up again and re-secured the pouch to its place on his belt on his waist. "Last chance...anybody want out?" he asked tersely.
The six Nerimans shook their heads in a somewhat hurried fashion, not knowing what to expect....
Insert...
Dramatic...
Pause...
Here....
Thank you....
(^_^)
"Iczels...AWAKE!" Porter exclaimed triumphantly....
The six Nerimans started in unison at an amazing sight: Instantly, the six spheres grew to the size of beach balls and opened up to reveal six rotund, multi-chromatic robot-like entities....
Porter explained further: "These are fifth-generation Iczels Units, a sentient, intelligent kind of combat armor with offensive, defensive, environmental, areonautical, and interdimensional capabilities--"
"Aerowhat?" asked Ranma, bewildered.
"They fly like a bird." elaborated Porter before continuing: "For the Iczel's partner, it's a combination weapon, armor, spacesuit, spacecraft, and interdimensional conduit all rolled into one package."
"Partner...what mean you that?" chirped Shampoo inquisitively.
"The Iczels are semi-organic symbiotes." Porter continued, To fufill the purpose they were created for, they bond...literally and permanently...with the host partner--giving the partner--in your cases--superhuman abilites to fight the forces of evil for the cause of good...or in this case, to avenge the deaths of an untold number of sentient beings who used to inhabit the universe you came from. There's the added bonus of stopping the Continuaa from wrecking their deadly havoc on other universes in other dimensions."
Ranma whistled slowly in awe....what he and the others would face would make his run-ins with Saffron, Herb, and Taro look like a minor verbal disagreement! He looked to his left and right at the others, then at Porter. "Looks like we're ready, what's next?"
"Brace yourselves....The bonding process is not harmful physically or mentally but you are going
to feel weird in body and mind for the next few minutes....Iczels...BOND!" Porter exclaimed triumphantly....
All of a sudden, all six Iczels pounced the partner of their choosing...dissolving, dissappearing into the torsos of the six Nerimans....
***
(Insert two-minute montage of short, pertinent sequences culled from Ranma 1/2, Iczer 1, Iczer 3, and Iczelion here. Thank you) (^_^)
***
"Whoa..." Ranma moaned as the waves of imagery that passed through his mind abated. He shook his head to clear out the feelings of vertigo he had. "Definitely E ticket." he quiped weakly, staggering on feet a little. Looking around, he saw the others visibly struggle not to be seen falling down....
"I'm impressed!" noted Porter, awestruck. "I'd figure you'd all be passed out on the ground from the shock of the bonding process for several minutes....I was....Anyway, each Iczel Unit has now permanently bonded with each of your bodies at the quantuum level--so you never have to worry about losing your Iczel Unit."
The Nerimans chuckled at Porter's little quip....
"You three ready for the water test?" asked Porter expectantly.
Shampoo, Ranma, and Mousse nodded hesitantly....
Porter reached into the pouch and pulled out, one at a time, a small pint-sized Thermos(R)Nissan, and tossed them at the three transformationally cursed Nerimans--which they aptly caught without a problem.
Ranma was noticeably aprehensive, frowning slightly at the small container in his hand....
"Bottoms up, everybody....Trust me Ranma, it'll be A-OK." Porter was simply all smiles....
In unison, Shampoo, Ranma and Mousse opened their Thermos(R)es and doused themselves....
NOTHING HAPPEND!!!...
"Aiya! Shampoo no cat. Why?" cried the surprised Amazon inquisitively, wide-eyed with amazement.
"It's simple really...the quantuum-level Iczel bonding overrode you three's tranformational curses. You won't change--" Porter began....
"--unless we want to, right?" Ranma-chan finished inquisitvely.
Porter blinked twice quickly. Yup, he became a she....Clothes don't fit her well, though. "My, you catch on quick....Ranma, you'd be a natural leader."
Ranma sighed inwardly....
She knew 'the writing was on the wall'....
Just a matter of time now....
"So for us three, our common problem is now under control--dry or wet?" she surmised hopefully. She and the others weren't freed from their Jusenkyo transformational curses--but they were given the means to control it at their own individual discretion...she hoped....
"Right. Now I'll show you how to make your Iczel Units appear and disappear. It's quite
simple, really....Iczel SUMMON!" exclaimed Porter triumphantly.
For a moment, Porter became a sillouhette of swirling blue, red, and green glowing energy. When it disappeared, he wore a futuristic-looking, form-fitting armored suit painted in a plaid pattern of drab, earthy hued red and green. On top of his head was perched a small, rather flourescent blue skullcap with thin bands of matching green and red encircling it near the bottom edge. On top of it, was a small fixed antenna canted rakishly aft, colored flourecent blue and tipped with a small sphere colored in matching green and red.
"Ugh! Shampoo say Porter-san wear bad color scheme." noted the Amazon pointedly.
"Hear now! I'll have you know one of my forefathers wore these colors on the field of battle fighting for the freedom of his homeland many, many, MANY years ago." explained Porter in an offended tone. "This is my way of paying tribute to his sacrifice."
Chastized, Shampoo apologized: "Shampoo sorry to offend Porter-San. Please continue."
"Now...you six do likewise as I have." directed Porter authoritatively.
(cue dramatic buildup music)
"Iczel SUMMON!" exclaimed Ranma-chan victoriously.
"Iczel SUMMON!" exclaimed Shampoo victoriously.
"Iczel SUMMON!" exclaimed Mousse victoriously.
"Iczel SUMMON!" exclaimed Kasumi victoriously.
"Iczel SUMMON!" exclaimed Tofu victoriously.
"Iczel SUMMON!" exclaimed Cologne victoriously.
(cue suitably heroic sounding transformation music)
<Stock Henshin Footage - Feel free to use it verbatim for future installments in this thread! (^_^) >
For a moment, Ranma-chan became a sillouhette of swirling black energy flecked with glowing, red energy like the 'snow' that apears on TV when a station is off-the-air. When it disappeared, she wore a futuristic-looking, form-fitting armored suit painted black with red trim. On top of her head was perched a black skullcap with a thin band of red around it near the edge. It had two small fixed antennas--both canted rakishly aft, colored red and each one tipped with a small, black-colored sphere. Both antennas were positioned right above Ranma-chan's ears.
(If Ranma is male, use the following:
For a moment, Ranma became a sillouhette of swirling, glowing red energy flecked with black energy like the 'snow' that apears on TV when a station is off-the-air. When it disappeared, he wore a futuristic-looking, form-fitting armored suit painted red with black trim. On top of his head was perched a red skullcap with a thin band of black around it near the edge. It had two small fixed antennas--both canted rakishly aft, colored black and each one tipped with a small, red-colored sphere. Both antennas were positioned right above Ranma's ears.)
For a moment, Shampoo became a sillouhette of swirling, glowing medium violet-red and misty rose energy. When it disappeared, she wore a futuristic-looking, form-fitting armored suit painted medium violet-red with misty rose trim. On top of her head was perched a medium violet-red skullcap with a thin band of misty rose around it near the edge. It had two small fixed antennas--both canted rakishly aft, colored misty rose and each one tipped with a small, medium violet-red-colored sphere. Both antennas were positioned right above Shampoo's ears.
For a moment, Mouse became a sillouhette of swirling, glowing white and midnight blue energy. When it disappeared, he wore a futuristic-looking, form-fitting armored suit painted white with midnight blue trim. On top of his head was perched a small white skullcap with a thin band of midnight blue around it near the edge. It had a small fixed antenna on top canted rakishly aft, colored midnight blue and tipped with a small, white-colored sphere.
For a moment, Kasumi became a sillouhette of swirling, glowing medium cyan and yellow energy. When it disappeared, she wore a futuristic-looking, form-fitting armored suit painted medium cyan with yellow trim. On top of her head was perched a medium cyan skullcap with a thin band of yellow around it near the edge. It had a small fixed antenna on top canted rakishly aft, colored yellow and tipped with a small, medium cyan-colored sphere.
For a moment, Tofu became a sillouhette of swirling, glowing seagreen and sienna energy. When it disappeared, he wore a futuristic-looking, form-fitting armored suit painted seagreen with sienna trim. On top of his head was perched a small seagreen skullcap with a thin band of sienna around it near the edge. It had a small fixed antenna on top canted rakishly aft, colored seagreen and tipped with a small, sienna-colored sphere.
For a moment, Cologne became a sillouhette of swirling, glowing dark orange and dark green energy. When it disappeared, she wore a futuristic-looking, form-fitting armored suit painted dark orange with dark green trim. On top of her head was perched a dark orange skullcap with a thin band of dark green around it near the edge. It had a small fixed antenna on top canted rakishly aft, colored dark orange and tipped with a small, dark green-colored sphere.
</Stock Henshin Footage>
For Mousse and Tofu, everything was all blurry. Naturally, they both took off their glasses...
...and experienced the glorious wonder that is unaided, uncorrected 20/20 vision....
"I can see clearly, now." both men unknowingly choroused in unison.
"Reminds me of an old song I heard a long while back." Porter wisecracked with a smile. He allowed the Nerimans some time to fully comprehend their newly transformed state. Something tells me this bunch will utterly smash the Continuaa Knight dominion once they get ahold of them.... He beamed proudly as he watch them interact with each other....
"Great-Grandmother, how Shampoo look you?" asked the Amazon, twirling around for Cologne to see.
"You are quite a sight, Great-Granddaughter...beautiful...and deadly!..." replied the white-haired matriarch in ominous contentment.
"Kasumi, you are a vision of beauty...you wear those colors quite well." complimented Tofu with nary a stutter or hint of shyness.
"Why thank you, Tofu-sensei." replied the homemaker-turned-warrior with a smile. "You look quite dashing in those colors you're wearing."
"Well Mousse, with the situation we're in, I can't call you 'Duck-Boy' anymore...it just wouldn't be professional." concluded Ranma-chan seriously.
"Uh, thanks, Ranma." replied Mousse contentedly. He would miss the rivalry he once had with Ranma as he and the others faced an uncertain future filled with EXREMELY powerful enemies....
"Hey Cologne, I appoint you as second-in-command of our group...my replacement should something happen to me and I am unable to command anymore." explained Ranma-chan gravely.
Cologne suppressed a Hush child, don't say such things!!! and replied evenly: "Understood." This was war and she would strive to be the ever dutiful officer/soldier...even at her extremely advanced age....
"Heads up, Ranma!" Porter alerted, tossing the red-haired girl a small wooden box about two inches in length, width, and height...which she caught out of the air one-handed--a feat that rather impressed the Knight Of Duty.
"What's in the box?" Ranma-chan asked.
"Your HyperPouches." Porter explained for everybody else's benefit as Ranma-chan began distributing the HyperPouches to the others. "You each get one and only one of them--so don't lose 'em. They look flimsy and couldn't carry much but they are indestructable and have a limitless amout of space inside to store your stuff. To use them, you simply open them up, drop something in and close it or reach down inside, and pull out whatever it is you wanted that is stored inside your HyperPouch. The HyperPouches are infinitely elastic so you could concievebly store this whole planet in one if you wanted....They'll never weigh more than a pound or two at most--even with the aforementioned planet inside one of them. Each HyperPouch initially come stocked with a seven-day supply of MREs and canned water, a first aid-kit, a compass, and some other things that are contingency backups for the corresponding things your individual Iczel Units can provide for you."
"Such as?..." asked Ranma-chan
"A 'built-in' telepathic comm network amongst yourselves whether you are transformed or not. It works just like radio--only much more powerful. It can only be hampered by massive solid objects or somebody going so far over the horizion on a planet, the contact signal is lost."
"Anything else?" prompted Ranma-chan.
"You each have a HyperComp stored in your own HyperPouch with all sorts of information stored inside of it. They are the size of a laptop computer, have a renewable power supply so they don't need an external power source, and come PACKED with info...including your HyperPouch Inventory List. If you need to, your Iczel Unit can access your HyperComp directly and relay the results to your mind directly--transformed or not.
"Our Iczels can talk to us?" asked Ranma-chan disbelievingly.
"I did say earlier they were sentient." remonstrated Porter gently. Indeed, ther was a lot of info for them to absorb and remember in such a short time. "They're like an extra six members of your group at times. For instance, since the Iczels never get tired or need sleep, you could all instruct you Iczel Units to 'stand watch' while all six of you got some shuteye whether you were transformed or not."
"That's incredible!" remarked Tofu with awe and wonder.
"Um, excuse me, Porter-san." interrupted Kasumi meekly.
"What is it, Kasumi?" asked Porter warmly, smiling at her.
"What about...erm...uh...well...you know...." stammered the ex-homemaker, blushing....
Porter was direct, but used a measure of decorum when answering Kasumi's 'question': "Let's put it this way: In your transformed state, your Iczel Unit can take care of the waste management duties for you or you can do it yourself using items available in your HyperPouch....It's your call. Speaking of HyperPouch, see the small box and the loop attached to the Iczel Unit on your waist?" Porter pointed to the relavent location on his Iczel Unit where his HyperPouch was secured to his waist. The others quickly located the corresponding spots on their own Iczel Units. "Use a Lark's Head knot to secure your HyperPouch to the loop. Don't wory about the drawstring breaking--it's infinitely elastic like the HyperPouch itself is. If you decide to go aloft or go somplace where you don't want your HyperPouch getting snagged on something, just open the little box, suff your HyperPouch inside, and close it. Your Iczel Unit unlocks the box whenever you touch it to open it and locks it when you close it back and let it go--simple, no muss, no fuss, no key to lose, no combination to remember...."
"Please excuse Shampoo for interrupt, what ' Lark's Head Knot'?" asked the Amazon, puzzled.
Porter steepleed the fingers of both hands in front of him at chin-level, as if to impart a bit of sage advice to Shampoo. "Ah, my azure-haired battlemaiden, only your HyperComp can tell you the proper answer." Porter addressed the Amazon in a formal, respectfal, yet fascetious manner. Time to start showing some initiative and self-reliance now, people....
Ranma-chan closed her eyes for a second or two--accessing her HyperComp via her Iczel. "I'll show you how to tie one a bit later, Shampoo. So how do we detransform back to our normal selves?" she asked Porter.
"Just say...'Iczel'...and then...'RETURN!'" Porter answered helpfully.
The Amazon voiced her immediate befuddlement: "Aiya! Shampoo confuse now! Transform phrase has 2 word and detransform has 4. Inconsistent! Bad design like colors on Porter-san's Iczel--again forgive Shampoo now for insult like before. Shampoo know no way of wording objection better--again please forgive Shampoo."
"That's quite alright, Shampoo, you are forgiven." began Porter, smiling warmly at the Amazon which put her at ease. "One last thing, inside your HyperPouch you'll find a special belt to wear to secure the HyperPouch on your person when in your detransformed state. It has the loop and box on the side just like your Iczels have--only the box has a simple snap to keep it close. To make up for it, you can make it look like any kind of belt you want before you pull it out of the HyperPouch--and before you ask, this belt is 100% removable--just don't lose it. when you transform, the belt is stored back inside the HyperPouch and the HyperPouch is secured to the side of your Iczel Unit like I showed you earlier. When you detransform, the process is reversed and is accompanied by the release of multicolored Iczel transformational energy....I think that's everything you need to know for now....Any final questions?"
"Do we have to say the transformation and detransformation phrases to toggle our Iczel powers?" asked Ranma-chan concernedly. We may be in a situation where it may be unwise or impossible to do so."
"That depends on how closely attuned you are to your Iczel Unit." answered Porter. "Since you six are just starting out, you have to say the phrases."
"Do we have to shout the phrases out? I feel like a Magical Girl when I do that!" exclaimed Ranma-chan glumly.
"No," Porter stated tersely....
Porter's Iczel Unit instantly threw up a sound dampening field to save his hearing from permanent damage...even total loss! The sound waves buffeted his body, nearly sweeping him off his feet...but thanks to his Iczel Unit, Porter stood tall before the Iczel-enhanced men and women before him....
The ground quaked for a moment beneath everybodys' feet....
"As long as your Iczel Unit can decode the vibrations of your vocal cords into the proper phrases, you can say them as loudly or softly as you want." explained Porter in an upbeat fashion.
The ground quaked again for a moment when all the Nerimans fell down in an exasperated, disorganized heap....
"I'm not sure the visible release of Iczel transformation energy can be suppressed or not." added Porter, unsure of whether his just-uttered statement was right or wrong. Seing the Nerimans pick themselves up off the ground and rub the dust off their gleaming suits of Iczel armor as best they could, he added jauntily: "I'm off--back on the Continuaa trail again while you six improve your combat skills with the help of your Iczel Units in preparation for the final showdown against the Continuaa Knights....Goodbye."
For a moment, Porter became a sillouhette of swirling blue, red, and green glowing energy. When it disappeared, he was gone....
Note to authors contributing to this thread: please tag your episodes as 'Iczel Combat Team Nerima:' until there are 3-4 of them are posted so that the shorthand 'ICTN:' can be used after that. Thank you for your consideration, Bryan.
After a night of well-deserved slumber on the desert floor snug and comfortable inside their Iczel Units...
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(Posted Thu, 21 Nov 2002 11:21)
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