Well, here is the next section of Bubblegum Ragnarok.
Its in two parts, to try and get around mailer file size problems.

C&C much appreciated!
The usual disclaimers apply...

Dave Row
davidrow@ryoohki.demon.co.uk

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Bubblegum Ragnarok 
------------------

Chapter 4 (first section)
---------

Iczer woke slowly, the first thing attracting her attention was the
quiet patter of feet, followed by the soft hum of a power supply.
Turning her head in the direction of the noise, she opened one eye,
gazing blearily out onto the world, as she watched Nene seat herself
in front of her computer, her motions showing the very careful manner
of someone who is trying not to make too much noise and wake sleeping
people - as usual in such cases, with a complete lack of success. Ugh,
she thought, managing to get her other eyelid open as she
surreptitiously watched. Pink _and_ fluffy nightie? Nene, with hair
like yours, pink is _not_ a colour you should wear! She hurriedly
pushed back the thought of how cute, and, yes, sexy Nene looked in it.
No, she definitely wasn't chunky...

Curiously, she watched as Nene typed quietly, wishing she could see
what was coming up on the screen, but unable to see it past Nene's
back. Well, there was an easy way to find out. Yawning, she sat up,
the sheet falling back from her as she ran a hand through her unruly
mane of hair, smiling over at Nene. She was interested to see Nene
jerk slightly as she heard the yawn and movement behind her, wondering
just _what_ Nene had been up to? Her sensitive ears heard a rapid few
clicks, and she added the mental note that it seemed to be something
she didn't want to share; she was certain that had been Nene covering
up what she had been doing before anyone could make it out.

"Good morning, Nene."

Nene turned around in her chair, smiling back, then yawned as Iczer's
second, even bigger yawn set her off too. She giggled softly. "Don't
_do_ that! You're making me wish I could sleep in too!"

Iczer glanced over to where Priss lay, slightly worried that their
conversation, although quiet, would wake her. However, judging by the
way Priss lay sprawled out, breathing none-too-quietly through her
wide- open mouth, they could make much more of a disturbance than this
without disturbing her! Nevertheless, Nene gestured towards the
kitchen, and she nodded, gathering her blanket around her as she
padded across as softly as she could, letting Nene close the door
behind them.

"Thanks, Iczer, I didn't want to wake her. What with her singing, she
keeps rather odd hours, you see.2

"That's OK, Nene, I understand. I suppose you have to get to work?"

Nene nodded, bending down and getting some milk from the refrigerator.
"I'm afraid so. Lucky it didn't snow much last night after all, I
won't be delayed getting in. Can I get you anything for breakfast?"

Iczer smiled her thanks.
"Just coffee, please, if it isn't too much trouble?"

Nene smiled back; Iczer shuddered slightly as she realised that her
personality was nearly as bubbly as last night, even at this hour of
the morning. "Of course it isn't"

As she spoke she was already getting out cups, pouring what seemed to
Iczer to be a huge volume of chocolate into her own. Iczer didn't
comment; with her coffee addiction, who was she to question Nene being
a chocaholic?

She carefully cleared away some of the things from last night, making
some space for them at the table. She was slightly surprised at how
small Nene's apartment was, after all with the money from the Sabers
plus her salary she must have been pretty well off, and she wondered
what Nene did with it. Mind, compared to the place she had rented it
was spacious, not to mention far nicer.

Nene put the two cups on the table, gesturing to Iczer to sit, as she
dragged out a chair for herself. For a minute, neither of them spoke
as they sipped at their respective drinks, the Iczer put her cup down,
looking seriously at Nene.

"Did you mean what you said last night, about helping me get my stuff
back?"

Nene took another sip of her chocolate, looking at Iczer over the top
of her cup. "Of course I did! It isn't really any problem. Look, come
over to HQ this afternoon, I'll have everything arranged. Ask Priss
for directions when she wakes up, if you need them."

Iczer smiled her thanks, looking relieved; while the things in the bag
were, of course, replaceable, she was reluctant to lose the things
she'd been given. And right now, any money she could save on
replacements was needed badly. Looking at Nene smiling, managing to
look cute and bubbly even while drinking at breakfast, she wondered
how many people underestimated Nene because of that. Quite a few, she
suspected; she mustn't be one of them, she was certain Nene would be
trying to find out more about her, and wasn't sure what she'd think
when she found there simply weren't any records on her to access!

She concentrated again on her drink, as she wondered why she'd slept
undisturbed last night. She had thought Iczer-2 would have wanted to
talk about what had happened, but instead all she could sense was a
feeling of reassurance. Maybe she'd decided to let her get a good
nights rest; ironically, after complaining so far about not getting
enough sleep, she missed that nightly meeting very badly. Still, there
was always tonight.

Nene finished her chocolate, getting up as she moved over to the sink
to put it down. Iczer looked up, draining hers and putting it next to
Nene's as she got up to join her.

"Can I help clean up?"

Nene smiled and shook her head.
"It's only two cups, it'll only take a moment."

Even as she spoke she was running the tap, but as she reached for the
cups she managed to knock one off the counter. Seeing it fall, Iczer
reacted without thinking, her hand flashing out to catch it before it
had fallen far. Standing, she carefully put it back, then realised
with a start that Nene was staring wide-eyed at her hand.

Nene shook herself, blushing slightly.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to stare! Thanks for catching it..."

Iczer blinked, finally realising what was the matter, as Nene
continued.

"Priss told me about yesterday, but I never realised - you're so fast,
I've never seen _anyone_ react like that!"

Iczer flushed faintly herself.
"I didn't mean to startle you, I just saw it fall and grabbed it. I've
always been fast, I guess, I don't really think about it."

Nene shook her head, rinsing the cups off.
"That's OK, at least it saved me a cup!"

Turning, she smiled cheerily.
"Well, I have to get ready and go off to work! Don't let Priss sleep
in _too_ late, will you?"

Iczer grinned.
"I won't. Will it be OK to use the shower after you're done?"

"Of course! Your things should be dry by now, too, I hope."

Iczer hoped so too, she didn't exactly have anything else to wear if
they weren't, and even if Nene offered to lend her something it wasn't
going to fit.

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

Nene weaved her way through the packed ADPolice office as she headed
for her desk, smiling at them as some of her colleagues waved good
morning to her. She took her jacket off, placing it meticulously on
the hanger next to her desk, as she settled down in front of her
computer, switching it on with a cheerful smile. She was always _so_
much happier when she was working on a computer. She quickly let the
system go through her immediate workload, frowning slightly as she
worked out how to finish the first batch off quickly so she could get
to work on finding out more about Iczer. Also to arrange for her to
pick up her things, she reminded herself, as she quickly flicked
through the items recovered from last nights Boomer rampage; yes, that
looked promising, a large bag still unclaimed. Absently tapping the
end of a pencil against her teeth, she settled down, fingers tapping
the keyboard in a quick flurry of motion, already keen to get started
on the interesting possibilities of the problem of discovering who or
what Iczer _really_ was, and what she was doing here...

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

Iczer stayed in the shower a long time, letting the hot water run down
her body after she finished washing, not thinking, just feeling its
heat soak into her with pleasure. In a fuzzy way she found it a
pleasant surprise to find that these sort of sensations felt must more
pleasurable, more intense in her current body. And enjoying the shower
stopped her from having to worry about what she was going to have to
do with herself, at least while it lasted. At last she realised she
had to stop, reluctantly turning the shower off as she grabbed a
couple of towels, wrapping one about her as she ran her fingers
through her hair, wringing the bulk of the water into the shower
cubicle before wrapping another towel around it loosely to stop it
dripping. She's have to ask Priss if she knew if Nene used a drier,
her hair took far too long to dry on its own.

She was happy to find that her clothes had dried overnight. Grabbing
them, she tossed them over one arm as she opened the door to the
living area, her other hand keeping the towel wrapped around her hair
in place. Stepping out of the bathroom, she noticed Priss sitting up,
watching her. Smiling a greeting, she walked over.

"Good morning, Priss."

Priss looked rumpled, and barely awake, as she growled a reply.

"'morning..."

Iczer grinned inwardly. It was nice to see that there were people who
were even worse in the morning than she was; she didn't think she'd
approve of the Knight Sabers if they were _all_ morning people like
Nene!

"I'm afraid Nene has already left for work."

Priss rubbed her eyes as she staggered to her feet, clutching her
blanket as she headed for the bathroom. "Good for her."

Iczer grinned behind Priss's back, sitting carefully as she put her
clothes down next to her, listening with more than a little amusement
at the noises Priss made as she stumbled around the bathroom.

Priss wasn't much faster than she had been; by the time she emerged,
looking at least moderately human (if still not really fully awake)
she had finished drying, and dressed. Her hair was still wet, but it
would dry. She looked over at Priss, then looked away as she grabbed
her clothes, pulling them on with an annoyance that seemed to be aimed
at the time of day in general rather than the unfortunate items of
clothing. It must still be early by her standards, she supposed.

Finally, Priss shrugged into the last of her things, and looked over
at Iczer with a calculating expression on her face. Iczer started to
worry about that; she hoped she didn't talk in her sleep, that _would_
lead to an interesting (not to mention incriminating) conversation.

"Tell me, Iczer, what are you going to do about getting home? Or
supporting yourself here while you get things sorted out?"

Iczer tried, hopefully successfully, to hide the surprise she felt.
Now what was Priss getting at?

"I ... haven't really made any plans... I've been looking for work for
the last few days, but without any papers or anything it's a bit
difficult."

Priss was still looking at her with that same calculating expression,
and she was starting to get more worried about what it meant.

"Well now. You're in pretty good shape, aren't you? You work out a
lot?"

Iczer looked puzzled at this; after shoving her in the shower last
night Priss obviously knew what she looked like, so why this question?

"Well, yes, I do? Why...?"

"I have a fried who's been looking for an assistant for a while. She
teaches fitness classes, aerobics, that sort of thing. Maybe you'd
like to meet her, if you're up to it I'm sure you could some to some
suitable arrangement."

Iczer restrained herself, barely, from showing the surprise she felt.
Fitness...? Oh, she must mean Linna! Who else could it be? But why
does she want to help me so much, we only met last night. Somehow she
couldn't bring herself to believe it was her dazzling personality, she
was _certain_ inside that Priss had an ulterior motive. The only thing
that made sense was that Priss wanted to keep track of her for some
unknown reason, and that itself worried her. But she couldn't sense
any feeling of malice from Priss, just a burning interest.

"Why that's very kind, Priss. But I don't want to be such trouble, I'm
sure I can find something..."

"Don't be silly, it's no trouble! She's been looking for a while, and
hasn't found anyone. It's not easy to find someone fit enough to
handle the job, not with all the idle types around this city."

Iczer looked back at Priss, trying to push behind that
ever-so-innocent expression of helpfulness Priss currently had
plastered across her face, but still couldn't sense anything that
seemed dangerous. She decided she didn't really have much choice; what
Priss had described certainly seemed the best job she'd seen since she
arrived, and if the price was that the Knight Sabers would be keeping
an eye on her it seemed a price worth paying. Anyway, just working for
one of the Sabers couldn't cause any harm, could it? It wasn't as if
it would get her involved with them, or anything. She was determined
on one thing; she was NOT going to get involved in fighting killer
robots with a band of female mercenaries in high-heeled battlesuits!

"That's awfully kind of you, Priss, I'd love to meet your friend."

Priss smiled back in a manner that reminded Iczer of a cat who'd just
spotted a nice fat mouse that couldn't get away from it. She hoped she
wasn't doing something silly, but when it came down to it she didn't
really have much choice. She still wondered what seemed to have Priss
so interested in her, but guessed she would just have to wait and see.

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

Iczer brushed the sweat-matted hair back from her face, panting softly
as she looked at Linna again, and hoping that at last she'd get a
chance to rest. She couldn't believe the workout she'd just been put
through; if nothing else she was impressed with the fitness of her
current body. Unfortunately her enhanced strength didn't help that
much with aerobic exercises, which was mostly what Linna had been
testing her with, and she felt like she was swimming in perspiration,
her borrowed leotard dark and wet. Fortunately Linna didn't look in
better shape, but she suspected that the dark-haired girl would fall
over before she'd admit she couldn't do any more testing.

"Well? What next?"

Linna grinned back, adjusting her sweatband.
"That's enough, I think! It's nice finding someone I can work out with
this much, I've missed having a good partner"

Iczer smiled, partly at the complimentary words but far more at the
realisation that at _last_ she could rest!

"So how did I do?"

Linna chuckled, tossing Iczer a towel as she grabbed another for
herself to wipe her face with. "Very good! If you're still interested,
the helpers job's yours"

Iczer grabbed the flying towel with an easy gesture, shrugging it
across her shoulders as she gratefully wiped her forehead. "Of course
I am! Uh... did Priss mention though, about payment...?"

"Oh, the need to be paid in cash? That won't be a problem, I'm happy
with that. I can easily arrange it with the owners, after all it's me
you'll be working for."

Iczer smiled, in thanks and relief. She suddenly realised how much
she'd been counting on getting this job from Linna, all the possible
alternatives were, well, unattractive at best. And surely just working
for one of them wouldn't be likely to affect the Knight Sabres work or
operations in any way, would it? So it was quite safe...

"When would you like me to start?"

"Tomorrow, if you can. We'll need a few days to get you familiar with
the routines, and how I go about things, and the sooner we start the
sooner you can help me properly. Meet me here at, mmm, 8.30am, then we
can go through some things before my first class"

Iczer winced inwardly at the start time. God, what an hour for a
respectable alien killing construct to be up and active... especially
when she was getting so little sleep. Still, the was by far the best
job she was going to get offered, so she'd just have to buy an alarm
clock. Nodding, she tossed the damp hair back over her shoulders as
she slowly wiped off, wrinkling her nose in distaste at the way she
smelt right now.

"That's fine. Ah, if we've finished... showers? I need one."

Linna chuckled, indicating the door with a nod of her head.
"That way! We both need one after that!

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

Iczer ran the brush through her damp hair, wincing occasionally as it
caught on a snarl. Still, it felt good to have clean hair.

Linna smiled at her.
"I did wonder why you kept your hair so long, I find it gets in the
way if I let mine grow to anything much more than it is now. But it's
so lovely, I can see why you did."

Iczer blushed at the compliment, covering her embarrassment in her
careful brushwork. "Ah... thank you, Linna. But yours looks nice, it's
just that I don't think short hair suits me. And, well, it does cover
my ears."

Linna hmmmd, looking over with a deceptively casual glance.
"Yes... are you worried about them? I would have thought it was simple
enough to have cosmetic surgery to fix them?"

Iczer stopped her brushing, startled by a sharp mental poke of *don't
you _dare_* from her partner.

"No! I mean, no, why should I, I'm not ashamed of them? Why should I
change them?"

Linna adjusted her own hairband, carefully not meeting Iczer's rather
angry stare as she fiddled with it. "Well... its just that in Japan,
many people consider such features, uhhh, lower-class, or tasteless."

Iczer scowled, as she turned away, finishing her own hair. Linna's
rather tactless words had at last explained why she'd received some of
those odd looks recently. "Well, they're what I was born with! So I'm
not going to get them bobbed or something just to pander to local
taste!"

"Hey, its OK! Don't get upset over it!"

Iczer sighed, as she put her brush down, adjusting her hair so it fell
neatly down her back, letting the silken feel of it caress her fingers
as she got her flash of anger under control. She mustn't upset Linna,
she didn't want to lose that job.

"I'm sorry, Linna. I guess I'm just a little stressed right now."

Linna smiled back at her, a trace of embarrassment at the response
she'd caused still in her voice. "That's OK, I understand. Well, it's
nearly lunchtime, and I was going to meet up with Priss. Would you
like to join us?"

Iczer smiled, about to reply that she'd love to, then suddenly 
remembered her current finances (or rather her lack of them), and bit
her lip in embarrassment.

"Ah, I'd really love to, but..."

Unfortunately, her attempted smile to indicate 'I'd really love to but
I have other arrangements, I'm sure you understand, another time' was
ruined by the loud rumble of protest from her stomach. She blushed,
while Linna giggled at the sound. 

"Come on, you really sound like you need something! My treat."

Iczer grinned back, unable not to respond to Linna's carefree 
cheerfulness.
"OK, that would be great. Thanks!"

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

Priss looked over at Linna as Iczer walked away from them, headed out
to the nearest subway.

"Well, what do you think?"

Linna raised her eyebrows at Priss, recognising that particular tone
of voice, if not the reason for it.

"About her? She's OK, seems a bit shy, but she should do a good job.
Why, what aren't you telling me about her?"

Priss grinned, deliberately keeping Linna waiting while she took
another sip of coffee.

"Oh, nothing much. Just that ... there's something odd about her, she
intrigues me. As long as you'll be working with her, maybe you could
keep an eye on her for me?"

Linna looked more curious, and a bit troubled.

"This isn't... business that should concern Sylia, is it? If so..."

Priss shook her head adamantly.

"No, I'm certain it isn't! It's just she interests me, there as too
many things that don't fit. Anyway, there isn't any need to bother
Sylia, not with all that's been hapenning. Besides, she isn't the only
one of us capable of looking into something, is she?"

Linna looked out of the window, thoughtful.

"Well, OK, but you have to tell me the full story later, OK? And
promise me, you'll tell Sylia if it sems necessary."

Because if you don't, _I_ will! She added silently to herself. Your
judgement hasn't been too hot recently, Priss, and I don't want you
going off half-cocked again!

Priss nodded in agreement, a small smile on her face. That didn't
reassure Linna in the slightest.

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**


End of Chapter 4 (first section)