Chapter 3, second part

Iczer felt like kicking herself, hard. Here she had been going to
pains NOT to try and get involved with the BGC 'characters', and here
was chance getting her involved with one of them anyway. Although she
had grave doubts if it was completely chance after what had happened
to her in the Ah! Megamisama Universe, since then she had been a lot
less inclined to believe in the operation of random events. At least
Priss's appearance had broken her out of that self-destructiveness she
had been sinking into, the surprise of hearing her announcing her name
had startled her back into reality. Now she could see that she had let
herself be shocked into that state by the girls death, but Iczer was
worried at how easily it had happened; she hadn't thought she was so
easy to upset.

Out of the corner of her eye she glanced at Priss. Now Iczer knew who
she was, she could see the similarities to the anime characterisation
she hadn't noticed before; hindsight is so wonderfully accurate. Brown
hair, athletic figure and walk, with an air of energy and driven
determination. Odd coloured eyes; brown with almost a tinge of red.
Her face was more drawn and pale than she had expected, then she
realised that it was very soon after the 'incidents' with Largo in the
anime; no wonder she still didn't look too good. Iczer wondered just
what she was going to say to her; she didn't think she'd believe the
truth, even if she told her. Worrying her more was the possibility
she'd be introduced to the rest of the Knight Sabers, for while she
felt she could keep Priss at bay with some half-truths and evasions,
she had no such confidence concerning Sylia, if she was half as
competent as she was portrayed. But she had to do _something_, it was
pretty obvious she couldn't go on as she had been, terrified though
she was at the thought of doing or saying something that would change
things so the Knight Sabers would be hurt or killed.

Iczer shivered, feeling the wet cold bite through her. She was glad
she wasn't in her original body, she'd have been a hypothermia case by
now. As it was, she felt chilled to the bone, and the feeling of
soaked, freezing clothes plastered against her skin was thoroughly
unpleasant. She could try and put out a forcefield that would protect
her and help warm her, if she cared to spend the energy, but didn't
think her new-found acquaintance would be reassured to see her
companion glowing blue. Damned if she did, frozen if she didn't. Like
her choices in life, action could hurt the Knight Sabers or innocent
people, inaction had already made her the cause of the death of one
young girl, even if it was only indirectly. It was times like this
that made her wish she was still curled up in a warm chair watching
anime, rather than being forced to live it. Part of her wished she'd
said no to Priss, she could have got herself home without help, and
probably faster. But she knew she couldn't really have refused. Even
with Iczer-2's nightly company, she was still missing human contact,
and she just wasn't up to denying it any more.

**********************************************************************
**

Priss watched the slender girl walking beside her shiver again. She
had to get her into the warm, this weather wasn't getting any better,
and she must be frozen. Come to that, she was feeling pretty cold
herself. Touching her arm, she indicated the way to her bike,
carefully leading them around the Boomer damage; the last thing she
wanted to do was to remind her of that, now she seemed to have
recovered a bit. At least the girl didn't seem to react to the sirens
they could hear in the distance.

"Here's my bike. Come on, I'll take us both somewhere warm!"

The girl grinned slightly at that, then looked embarrassed.
"Uh... I've never ridden one of these before..."

Priss smiled.
"It's not difficult. Just get on behind me, put your feet on those
rests and hold on about my waist, OK?"

The girl nodded, still looking a bit unsure, but doing as instructed.
Then Priss had to pull her arms tighter about her waist, she'd have
never had held on like that! "Its OK, hold on tight, I won't break!"

You'd think she was afraid to touch me, Priss thought as she slipped
her helmet on.

Iczer gripped tighter about Priss's waist. This was a situation she'd
never thought she'd get into! She hoped Priss would realise she had a
passenger, the way she'd seen her drive in the anime was not her idea
of a nice gentle bike ride, and she didn't feel very secure perched on
the back of a motorcycle like this. She pressed against Priss's back
as she started the engine, grateful for the relative warmth of the
back of her jacket after the biting wind. Her shivers weren't getting
much worse, but she still felt frozen. She hoped Iczer-2's body
couldn't get frostbite, her fingers were white, and felt like ice. She
made a note to be more careful next time; she really had no idea how
durable an Iczer was, against things like temperature. It would be
pretty stupid to die of cold after all we had been through. It was
difficult, though, trying to hold on to Priss without forgetting her
own strength and holding on too hard, with so little feeling in her
fingers. She hoped that wherever they were going, it wasn't too far.

**********************************************************************
**

Priss pressed the doorbell again, hoping Nene was in. She didn't want
to have to drive all the way to her own home with a soaking wet
passenger, especially since it was starting to snow. She wished the
weather was more appropriate to the time of year, but she couldn't do
anything about it but get inside away from it. Nene's place wasn't
that far from the Boomer rampage, and she'd said last night that she
wasn't doing anything tonight. What with this weather, she didn't
think she'd have gone out for fun, so it was worth trying. Damn this
snow anyway, why couldn't the weather be normal?

She looked back to where the girl was standing, arms about herself as
she tried without too much success to restrain her shivers, and smiled
reassuringly at her, then turned to glare again at the doorbell as
though it was a personal enemy. Come on, Nene, she thought, staring at
the still-closed door, you SAID you'd be in tonight, and your light is
on! What's the matter, too busy eating cake to answer your doorbell?

There was a sudden rattle as the door unlocked and opened, Nene's face
peering up at her, looking confused.

"Priss? What are you doing here...?"

Priss grinned in relief, and pushed the door a little, grateful for
the gust of warm air from inside. "I'll explain when we get inside,
OK? Its freezing out here!"

Nene blinked, startled, then looked at the strange girl standing
shivering by her door as Priss slipped an arm about her, pulling her
inside. 

"What...? Who... Priss, what is going on!!?"

Priss grinned, shooing Nene inside with her free hand as she started
to tug at her boots.

"Stop asking silly questions and help me get her out of those wet
clothes before she freezes to death, will you! Damn, some people are
so slow on the uptake."

Nene frowned, backing up reluctantly and about to take offence at
Priss's abruptness, when she took a closer look at the girl she was
still half- supporting, her eyes widening in surprise. The girl looked
frozen, shivering as her soaked clothes clung to her, a small pool of
water already forming on the wooden floor as it dripped from her thick
mane of hair. The girl smiled at Nene faintly.

"I'm sorry, I'm a bit wet..."

Nene forbore to comment on that; she'd seen dryer people in a swimming
pool. Instead she glanced  a quick question at Priss, who was
shrugging off her coat onto one of the hooks on the wall. Priss only
spared her a quick look of impatience, before turning to help the girl
take off her short boots, then pushed her into Nene's room.

"Shower, before she freezes to death!"

Nene blinked, about to protest again at the cavalier attitude Priss
was displaying to her in her own home, then decided to hold on until
after this stranger was seen to, satisfying herself for the moment
with a glare at Priss's back. She followed them into the bathroom,
pulling open the cupboard for clean warm towels as Priss started to
strip the visitor.

She sighed to herself, wishing Priss would sometimes explain herself
before starting on something; or even ask for help, she couldn't do
everything herself, even if she sometimes gave the impression she'd
like to. But then, if she did she wouldn't be the Priss Nene knew.
Putting the towels down carefully, she took the girls clothes as Priss
passed them on, hanging them up. The girl herself was still shivering,
and having trouble helping; not that Priss slapping her hands away in
impatience when she did try to help made it any easier for her! She
looked at the girl again as she realised how few clothes she'd been
passed; it was hardly the weather to be out in wearing just jeans and
a T-shirt, and the girl hadn't even been wearing a bra!

Leaning past the still-shivering girl, she gave her a quick smile of
encouragement as she turned the shower on for her.

"Here, get in. It will warm you up, you look like you need to!"

The girl smiled back, almost saying something, but then looking as if
she'd cut herself off, before nodding and getting in, quickly turning
the water up hot as she sighed happily. Nene gave her back a rather
more calculating look, wondering just _what_ she'd been about to say.
Interesting, what was Priss doing, and how did she get this way? She
nudged Priss, poking her in the direction of the living room, anxious
to get some details while the girl was busy warming herself in the
shower.

"Come on, Priss, tell! What's going on...?"

Priss grinned, looking for a moment into the bathroom, as if to make
certain the strange girl was still there, then lowered her voice as
she started to tell Nene what she'd seen.

**********************************************************************
****

"So, she was frozen, and I was pretty cold too, and you were so much
closer than my trailer that I thought I'd bring her here. I was sure
you wouldn't mind..."

Oh _thanks_ Priss, Nene thought. How typical. Still, I guess you could
hardly have just left her there, and it seems to have cheered you up
out of that depression, so at least some good has come out of it.
Mind, you always were a sucker for anyone who hated Boomers, and this
girl actually damaged one, from what you say. 

They were both distracted from Priss's story by the sound of the
shower being turned off. Turning, Nene saw the girl standing wrapping
a towel about herself, smiling at them rather shyly.

Priss grinned, and jumped up.
"Finished? Good!"

She grabbed a spare robe from the door, wrapping it about the girls
shoulders. "It's short, but better than nothing. Good job you're so
chunky, Nene, or it wouldn't fit her at all!"

Nene bristled immediately, her voice rising in self-defence.
"I am NOT chunky!! 

Priss grinned, and ignored Nene again, leaving her to fume as she
ushered the stranger back into the living room. Nene was so easy to
tease, almost a sitting target, but it was still fun...

**********************************************************************
**

Iczer cradled the mug of coffee Nene had given her between her hands,
grateful for the warmth it was passing into her fingers. Using her
sipping of the steaming liquid as a cover, she surreptitiously sneaked
glances around, particularly at Nene. Now circumstances had forced her
into their company, she had to admit to a burning curiosity about what
the Knight Sabers were really like here, and the excuse that she
hadn't really had any choice in the matter helped her feel less guilty
about violating her self-imposed constraints about meeting them. It
also helped to hide the embarrassment she was feeling about the way
they'd treated her; she was glad she'd been so anxious to get warm
again she hadn't been more upset at the time at being almost-forcibly
stripped by Priss.

Looking at Nene, she wondered again at the differences between real
people and anime representations of them. Nene was short, even by
Japanese standards, but certainly cute by any; it wasn't so much her
appearance but more the way she moved and talked that gave a bubbling,
puppy-like feeling to her that evoked those feelings. Although she
could see why someone like Priss could take such delight in teasing
her! She looked to be about 20- ish; probably not much younger than
Priss, although Priss's attitude gave her the feeling of someone a lot
older and more hardened.

Priss had been rather unfair about calling Nene chunky, she decided.
While it was true that she didn't have Priss's whipcord build, she
looked in pretty good shape, although the empty plate next to her
computer that she had hurriedly cleared away when she had thought
no-one was looking had a suspicious number of crumbs on it. Looks like
she does like cakes, she smiled to herself. Her borrowed robe wasn't
that bad a fit about the shoulders, although there wasn't much spare
room; probably a good job Iczer-2 doesn't have a very big bust, she
thought, or I'd be showing a lot more skin than I'd be happy about! It
was short on her, barely covering her to the knee, but the room was
warm. And it certainly felt a _lot_ better against her skin than her
soaked clothes had done. 

Shifting slightly in her seat, she took a large gulp of the coffee,
feeling its welcome heat burn down her throat. Sighing with pleasure,
she leaned back a little, looking at the two girls. Time to come up
with a story. Better try and keep it believable, both of them look
like they're dying with curiosity, Nene especially - she looks like
she'll explode if someone doesn't explain all this to her!

"I want to thank you both, Ms Romanova, Ms Asagiri, for helping me
like this. It's very kind of you both"

Priss smiled back, making a gesture of dismissal.

"Oh, that's quite all right, we were glad to, weren't we Nene?"

She smiled at the look Nene gave Priss before agreeing. Not now, Nene,
get mad at Priss about dragging me here later...! And you aren't
telling all the truth, are you Priss, you're dying to find out more
about me. I can almost taste your curiosity.

"Oh, of course! But please, you must tell us about yourself."

Thanks, Nene, Iczer thought. After you've been so kind, I can hardly
refuse, can I? As I'm sure you counted on, you aren't quite as
innocently cute as you look, are you? OK, here goes...

"Well, I'm a student. I'm over here on holiday, you see, from England"

Nene frowned slightly, leaning forward as she looked more interested.
"Really? What are you studying?"

Iczer thought for a moment, then grinned to herself. This one was
obvious, after all. "British history, 1950-90, at University"

Nene smiled slightly, and insincerely made a few comments about how
interesting that must be.

Priss didn't seem very interested in that, but she gave Iczer a
searching look.

"But why were you dressed like that? Surely you brought something more
suitable for the weather, you must have been freezing!" 

Iczer took a short breath.
"Well, you see, I was robbed soon after I got here. The only things I
had were in the bag I lost tonight, they took everything else,
including nearly all my money"

Nene looked puzzled at that. Iczer had a feeling she wasn't going to
get away with that simple an explanation.

"Robbed? That's awful! But surely you could go to the embassy, and get
help? Or to the police, they could send you there.

Out of the corner of her eye Iczer could see Priss tensing slightly,
obviously very interested in the reply. She took a long sip of her
coffee, gaining a little time. Fortunately this was a question she'd
anticipated.

"It's... embarrassing. You see, I wasn't supposed to be here, my
family refused to let me come. But I came anyway. But if I report to
the embassy, the first thing they will do is to contact my family, and
I don't want that! I'm trying to find some way to get home on my own."

Nene didn't seem very convinced; Iczer wasn't surprised, she could
have tossed a Boomer through some of the holes in her story so far.
Let's try and get her sympathy, maybe it will distract her.

"I had to come. It was because of my... a very close friend, you see.
I had to get over here to be with him, but my family objected."

This time she could sense it had worked better, Nene's face took on a
much more sympathetic look, her romantic inclinations tweaked by
Iczer's implied romance story. Priss still looked rather unbelieving,
but didn't seem to want to probe further. She could still sense the
deep interest in both of them, and realised she hadn't fully convinced
them. But she didn't want to make her story more complicated than she
had too, the more she embellished it the more likely she'd either
contradict herself or make a silly mistake they could easily check up
on.

She sighed, carefully putting her empty coffee mug down on the table.
"Thank you for your help. But I really should be going, I've imposed
on you long enough."

This time, Nene looked almost offended, and Iczer grinned inwardly as
she remembered how annoyed she'd been when Priss had first dragged her
here uninvited.

"Don't be silly! You can't go out in this weather, not in those wet
clothes! And you haven't even got a coat!"

Iczer smiled to herself at the sheer cuteness layered over Nene's
offer. No wonder people find it difficult to say no to her, she really
lays it on with a trowel. Does she realise she's doing it, or does it
come automatically?

"But I can't, I mean, you've been so kind already."

Priss smiled, and stretched her legs out.
"Nonsense! Hey, I'm going to ask Nene to put me up on her floor, I
don't want to drive home in this sort of snow either! Putting another
futon down won't be any trouble, will it Nene?"

Nene gave Priss a very quick, half-puzzled glance, then her face
cleared as she smiled, very cutely.

"See, it's no problem! At least stay the night, then in the morning
you can collect your things from the Police Station"

Iczer pretended not to notice the look Nene gave Priss, pretty certain
that normally Priss would have driven home in anything short of a full
blizzard, but wanted to keep an eye on her. Well, she didn't really
mind, Nene's room was a lot warmer than travelling back to her cold
apartment in wet clothes. Then she processed Nene's second remark.

"Police Station??"

Nene nodded, smiling.
"I'm sure they will have collected your bag when they cleared up after
the incident. If you go over tomorrow, you can claim it!"

Iczer gulped, suddenly looking worried. Priss smiled to herself,
looking more interested; she had been sure this girl had some reason
for avoiding the police, it would be interesting to hear her
explanation. She might even believe her, if it was good enough!

"Uh... will I have to show ID to get my things back? You see, that was
stolen as well, I don't have any way to identify myself."

Nene looked thoughtful, biting her lip gently.
"Hmmm, that's awkward. Well now... I think I can arrange something.
You see, I work in the computer department of ADPolice, if you like I
can arrange for you to pick up your stuff, you won't need ID."

Iczer smiled happily at Nene in thanks, but beneath her smile she was
less sanguine. She was certain Nene had an ulterior motive, maybe just
simple curiosity, but still, that was an _awfully_ helpful offer to
make a near- complete stranger on the spur of the moment.

"That's terribly kind of you, Nene! You don't have to, really!"

Nene smiled back, again subjecting Iczer to her cuteness.
"Don't be silly, it's no problem at all, I'd be happy to!"

Iczer was sure it wouldn't be, not for as accomplished hacker as Nene.
Whether it was _legal_ was another matter, but she wasn't really
worried about that right now, she had more pressing concerns.

"Well, in that case... thanks, I'd be very happy to take you up on
that offer!"

**********************************************************************
**

Priss looked at Nene as she loaded her arms with bedding, lowering her
voice so the girl in the other room couldn't hear her. "Well, do you
believe her story?"

Nene frowned, glancing for a moment at the main room, then, reassured
that they couldn't be overheard, shook her head slightly before
replying in a hushed whisper. "Not entirely. She seems nice enough,
but there are inconsistencies in what she says. I don't think she's
telling us everything, she's definitely hiding something. Probably
quite a lot. Some of the story is very convenient, like the lack of ID
and baggage. Too convenient."

Priss grinned like a fox, her own feelings confirmed.
"That's what I feel as well. There's something about her that doesn't
ring true, the way she talks, the way she acts... they don't add up.
But I don't think she's a runaway, like I first thought - or if she
is, she certainly isn't the normal sort. But I think she's running
away from something, or someone. The question is who or what?"

Nene tossed another futon onto the pile already weighing down Priss.
"You don't think she's a Boomer of some sort, do you? Maybe another
sexaroid?"

Priss pursed her lips, then shook her head firmly.
"She's certainly not a normal Boomer, I'd have noticed when we helped
her change. Even those normal looking models GENOM use for covert work
can't hide what they are when they're naked, not when you know what to
look for. And if she's a sexaroid, she doesn't look or act like the
way they're supposed to; her reactions are inconsistent; anyway, she'd
have to be a new design, she doesn't match up any of the specs Sylia
has. And what would a new design of Boomer be doing here, especially
one who speaks Japanese with a British accent? No, I think she's
human, even with those odd looks."

Nene stood for a moment, a pillow forgotten in one hand.
"Her looks are unusual, aren't they? But they do suit her, I wish I
had a figure like hers... What puzzles me most is her reactions;
sometimes she acts like someone so much older, but she doesn't look
over 18, if that."

"Yes... and I wonder now at her reaction after the Boomer fight. Do
you think that the girl who died was related or connected to her? She
seemed awfully upset, far more than I would have thought, after all it
wasn't her fault"

Nene thought about this for a moment. She wasn't quite so certain as
Priss that the girls reaction was so terribly abnormal, Priss
sometimes forgot how fragile most people were, her own toughness
causing her to underestimate the effect of events on them. And hanging
around with the Knight Sabers hadn't helped that any. She just didn't
know, the girl's reaction _did_ seem extreme, but that didn't
necessarily mean a connection between her and the dead girl. She
pushed the pillow onto Priss's pile, then finished her loading,
finally straightening up from the storage cupboard at last as she
rubbed the small of her back with her fist, face still lost in
thought. "Well, we can't just throw her out - not in weather like
this. Besides, she seems harmless enough, its just that she's a
puzzle."

Priss hmmmd, then smiled conspiratorially at Nene.
"Well, you like solving puzzles, don't you?"

Nene giggled softly, pushing Priss towards the door with one hand.
"You know very well I do! Oh, OK, I'll see what I can find out. But
tomorrow, some of us have to get into work at a reasonable hour!"

Priss allowed herself to be pushed, tossing the bedding slightly in
her arms to balance it better. "Just make sure you tell me what you
find out!"

Nene smiled as she ushered Priss out back into her living room, noting
with a mental sigh that Priss was hiding the effort of acting normally
with her not-fully-healed wound again. After all the horrors of the
recent past, it was good to see Priss come back out of the shell she'd
been hiding behind after Sylvie's and Anri's deaths. She just hoped
that the interest in this strange girl wouldn't turn obsessional,
she'd have to keep an eye on Priss and make sure that didn't happen.
Besides, she had to admit to a certain amount of curiosity herself.

**********************************************************************
**

The main room of Nene's apartment was dark, lit only by the tiny glows
on some of her computer equipment, which hardly illuminated the two
shapes huddled in blankets on the floor. Turning, her face hidden by
the darkness, Priss looked at the back of the young stranger, her eyes
narrowed in concentration as she listened to her soft breathing. Don't
think I'm not going to find out what you're hiding, Iczer, she
thought. There's something about you that just doesn't add up, and I'm
going to keep working at it until I find out just what it is!


End of Chapter 3