Other Fan Fiction ❯ Cybersix: Revelations and Aftermath ❯ Chapter 1

Cybersix: Revelations and Aftermath: Part One

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 www.coolcatstudio.com, 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.