[Ranma][NGE][HPL][AMG][Fusion][Fanfic] Sic Semper Morituri Chapter 9:
Revelations Aren't Victories
Disclaimer:
I do not own any of the characters from Ranma 1/2, Neon Genesis Evangelion,
Ah My Goddess, or the Lovecraft Cycle involved in these stories. And I'll
put them back when I've finished with them.
C&C is welcome, thiat is the reason I'm posting these stories. MSTs are
welcome
E-mail: dan_s.comments@worldnet.att.net
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(These are the revised versions)
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(These are the original versions)
What has gone before:
About Book 11, Akane and Soun Tendo throw Ranma out of the house,
Nabiki, in the guise of a wish, follows him. They meet EVA pilots Shinji
Ikari, Rei Ayanami, Asuka Soryu Langley and Jeffery Davis.
The Pilots and the EVAs board the CVB-43 Coral Sea to sail to Tokyo,
the Great Old Ones Chaugnar Faugn and Rhan-Tegoth escape, are captured, then
killed. Another Angel is killed by Asuka and Jeff in Unit 02's entry plug.
With the arrival in Tokyo of all six pilots, the battle against the
school `mafia` goes entirely the pilots' way, with the assistance of the
U.S. military, they are arrested, leaving Nabiki and her allies in complete
control. The new housemates settle in, with quite a few rough spots for all
concerned. The worst is between Ranma and Jeff, although Jeff has no
problem with Ranko, Ranma's female form.
Ranma decides to face his fears and nightmares directly. Something
defends Misato's group from a rat-thing. Ranma's incredible hair growth
surprises Nabiki, Jeff, and Ritsuko. Photos of Nabiki and their popularity
surprises her completely.
We fight rather to keep something alive than in the expectation that
anything will triumph.
Thomas S. Eliot - Francis Herbert Bradley
Chapter 9: Revelations Aren't Victories
Ranma walked along the fence to school, with Nabiki and Raccoon walking
along behind him. Rei arrived, looked at the trio and said nothing. Asuka
and Shinji arrived, Asuka shook her head in disgust and said nothing.
That's new, Ranma thought as he walked along.
"So, Asuka are you training Shinji in dreams?" Nabiki asked.
Ranma noticed Shinji cringed slightly at the mention.
"I don't discuss the training of students," Asuka said firmly,
"Besides, it was that or strangle him, and who wants to do the paperwork."
"Thanks," Shinji managed to sound sarcastic.
"So who's training you, Saotome?" Nabiki asked, "I've noticed no more
screaming fits and thrown shoes."
Ranma nearly lost his footing, barely avoiding a fall into the drainage
ditch.
"Well, I'm training Ranko," Raccoon supplied, "It doesn't take a genius
to work out the rest."
"Oh?" Nabiki asked.
"Of course," Raccoon replied, "She's not interested in me, that's
obvious, she's _really_ not
interested in Toji. And unlike Langley and Captain K, she's not hung up on
Kaji."
"What are you talking about?" Ranma asked.
Raccoon sighed, "SHE'S IN LOVE WITH _YOU_,
_YOU_SELF-ABSORBED_JACKASS_!_"
Raccoon jumped off the
fence, "I don't know why I even bother," and stormed off.
"Well, he is right," Nabiki said, "Nobody loves you like Ranko does."
She started laughing,
nearly
losing her balance.
"You know Saotome," Asuka began, "It's good to see you help him let his
emotions out, he
hasn't been
that angry in a looong time." Asuka turned her attention to Rei and Shinji,
who were walking side
by
side. "Not like that Wondergirl!" she arranged them arm-in-arm, "Like
that." She took up Shinji's
other
arm, "Now left right, left right, your _other_ left! Your _OTHER_ left!!
Left right, left right. See
much better." They marched away, Asuka calling a cadence in German.
Ranma watched Nabiki jump down from the fence, she was laughing at him
again, and hiding it
badly,
"You'd better start treating Ranko better, or he may beat you up." She was
laughing as she walked
after
the trio.
"Why me?" Ranma asked as he started walking along the fence after them.
----------------------------------------
"Boss?" Hiroko approached Nabiki and Ranma as they entered the school
yard, "You asked me
to tell you
if he gave me some more pictures. Well, I've already got a few nibbles
about these, but I
remembered what
you said." Hiroko handed over the negatives.
Ranma's squawk was nearly as loud as Nabiki's. Remember Nabiki, there
are such things as
double
exposures! she reminded herself. Nearly every picture was Ranma _and_
Ranko. One or two
were Ranko and
Jeff. Nothing risque, about as racy as they got was Ranko with her gi
pulled open and the T-shirt
underneath exposed. There were even a few pictures of Misato and Gendo.
"How did he -?! I never thought -?! When -?!"
Nabiki's hand covered Ranma's mouth, to keep his stammering from
distracting her. "These are
fine,
the prices are as noted," Nabiki told Hiroko, her factor nodded and charged
off to earn her boss
money.
Nabiki turned to Ranma, fixing him with a glare as she removed her hand,
"Just when, how, and
why, did you
arrange _those_ pictures, after all the whining I had to sit through about
_me_ taking your picture?"
Nabiki asked as sweetly as she could.
Ranma cringed, a loud click interrupted his defense or escape.
"Perfect!" Jeff called, as he rewound his camera and walked away.
"Can we kill him first?" Ranma asked desperately, hoping to deflect her
anger.
"I can kill him anytime." She poked Ranma in the chest with each
question, "How? Where?
When?
Why?"
Ranma smiled, realized his charm wouldn't work, "During training, he
asked Ranko if she'd
agree to
take some pictures, told me what they were for, charity. Well, Ranko
agreed, he asked `her` to ask
Ranma.
Well, the next day, Ranko told him that Ranma insisted all the pictures
would be of both of them. I
thought that would end it. I really did." Ranma stood still, tried to
smile, failed. Closed his eyes,
and calmly awaited his execution. I mustn't run away, I mustn't run away!
he thought, She'll just be
madder when she caught me anyway.
He opened one eye to stare at Nabiki, peering at him very closely,
"Only you, Saotome, could
be that
stupid. Nobody else could come up with as feeble-minded an explanation as
that one, so it must be
the
truth."
Ranma decided surviving the next few minutes was worth taking a few
insults.
"How did he get those pictures?" Nabiki asked sweetly.
Why can't the Angels attack right now? Ranma thought, "Well, Ranko
posed for the three with
Jeff, and
that one alone, I don't know how he got the others. Spy camera maybe?"
"He used a spy camera, to get pictures of Ranma _with_ Ranko?" Nabiki
let the question hang
in the
air. "At the same time, in the same place?"
"I guess," Ranma admitted, and was very relieved when Nabiki turned on
her heel to stalk after
their
roommate. Better you than me Raccoon, Ranma thought as he hailed Kenta and
Seisuke, two boys
in the
karate club, who'd expressed an interest in really mastering martial arts.
----------------------------------------
Nabiki waved to Hiroko, who sat under a tree, surrounded by customers.
She noted that the
bodyguard
was keeping the crowd composed. He nodded to Nabiki once, then continued
his job. Nabiki's
prey was
elsewhere.
Part of the crowd Nabiki had expected to find around Hiroko, were
surrounding Davis, who sat
at the
lunch tables. No Raccoon here, she thought, Too serious. Kensuke, Toji,
and few of the weirdos
from the
occult and photography clubs, a few other marginal people. She noted with
satisfaction that there
were
boys and girls in the group, he didn't show any favoritism, and was
delivering a stern lecture to
these
`eyes and ears`. Most were staring fearfully at the typed sheets he'd
passed out.
I'll find out about that later, she thought as she closed to
eavesdropping range.
"As I said, look for anything unusual," Davis told them.
"But you've got contradictory things here," Kensuke pointed out,
"Increase in animal activity,
_decrease_ in animal activity, strange new construction, building or
structures being removed . . .
well,
how are we supposed to find out these things?"
"I expect you to keep your eyes and ears open," Davis replied, "Look
around your usual haunts.
Remember, you are not combat troops. Use your experience to see what others
might miss. If old
lady
Yamashima always buys a few daikon and starts buying five bags full, if
little 4-year-old Sakura
Aoi
starts delivering stacks of books on Quantum Physics to a derelict, report
it." He nodded to
Nabiki,
who'd taken one of the sheets, and was looking it over.
"Initially you'll get a lot of false trails, false alarms. Don't worry
about it. Not everything
will be heralded by demons rampaging through the streets. Sometimes, it may
start as innocuously
as being
called to the principal's office, and you end up walking across a bone pile
90 meters tall, that has
been
accumulating unknown for 300 years."
Nabiki noted that if he'd meant to scare them, he'd done it. A few
were considering putting the
paper back and walking away, or running away at their best speed. What
stopped them, were the
photos he
laid out, evidently for them to take. Most were of the EVAs, some in
combat, some just sitting or
standing, that and the other Leica he'd mentioned. Kensuke was practically
drooling over the
possibility
of borrowing that camera.
"So remember, if you see something unusual, no matter how trivial,
report it to Tendo-san or
myself,
or Hiroko-san. Get good details, where, when, unusual sounds, smells,
impressions, anything and
everything is important." He paused, "And don't try to be a hero, most of
the things you'll be facing
will be regular humans. However, the dirty little secret about those
`Angels` is: most are not
native to
this planet, they have to be invited. Think of the mind of a person who
would _call_ one of those
things."
Even Nabiki shuddered at that thought, she obviously wasn't the only
one who reasoned that
those
things woke up and charged in.
"As for the critters themselves, don't assume you can talk, reason or
bribe your way out. This
was
_their_ planet for a long time," he told them, "They see us as usurpers."
"It's ours now," Toji replied, got some support from the others.
"How would you feel, if you went on a vacation and found some_thing_
had moved in and was
redecorating," Davis replied, "You would get rid of them, wouldn't you?"
"You mean that Goldilocks story is based on them?" a girl from the
Chemistry club asked.
"Not exactly, Matsuda-san, but close enough for our purposes, if you
remember that bears eat
_anything_."
The group dispersed, taking the pictures and the camera with them.
Nabiki walked up, "This is
pretty
mundane stuff, habits of animals, patterns of weather, buildings, noises,
smells."
"If we wait for someone to report flying monsters or huge footprints,
it is already too late,"
Davis
replied, "Better to catch the small stuff early. No one reports it, for
obvious reasons, but when
Hitler
went into Poland, the Germans had to commit not only the Lightning War part
of their army, but
most of
their heavy siege guns off the western defenses as well. The French and
British could have lunged
into
Berlin before the Wehrmacht could have disentangled itself, they could have
chopped off the
snake's head
and left Germany intact, instead of in the middle of a devastated region it
may take a generation to
fully
rebuild."
"So you hit early?" Nabiki asked.
"And burn them out while it's just people and a few minor creatures."
"Kind of ruthless, isn't it," Nabiki asked, she'd always thought _she_
was ruthless.
"Not for war. In war, you hit now and kill a few, or you hit later and
kill a lot, after they've
killed a bunch of _your's_." He collected the rest of the papers and a few
other things and headed
inside.
Nabiki read over the very prosaic descriptions of things to look out
for, it read like a Literature
lecture, Boring. She was very suspicious that anyone would know enough to
make such a list,
complete, but
shorn of all the danger.
----------------------------------------
Queries and Repose
As the entire class headed outside for lunch, "Hey, Langley!" Jeff
hailed his fellow pilot in
German,
she stopped, waited for him.
"I thought you were eating lunch with Wondergirl," Asuka replied in
German, as they changed
to
outside shoes. A custom neither understood, but acquiesced to.
"She asked to spend today alone, possibly with my chessboard, amazing
isn't it?"
"Do you always have to pick-up strays?" Asuka asked disgustedly, as
they headed outside.
"We picked up you." He ducked under her half-hearted punch, "Seriously,
I would like your
analysis of
our happy, little group."
"Nabiki only likes you for your camera," Asuka replied, picking out a
shady spot to eat her
lunch.
"And the pile of money she thinks I have, tell me something I don't
know." Jeff sat down next to
her,
noted the look of disgust when she opened her Misato-prepared lunch. He
exchanged boxes
without asking,
he'd made the lunches this morning.
Asuka watched his pained expression, as he tasted Misato's `cooking`,
"Since you're buying the
information, General Tembris's command that first year, that's what it
reminds me of."
"Not good." Jeff managed to choke down more of the `food`, "We damn
near lost the war right
off the
bat."
Asuka nodded.
"As for the people, Ranma reminds me of Canver, that hulking barbarian
from the northlands,
you
remember him? Powerful, dumb, but not stupid," she said selecting another
morsel, "Shinji and
Rei are
dual robots, they do what they're told, by anybody." She frowned, "You
haven't changed. You've
already
got your intelligence service up and running in what, two weeks?
Counterintelligence and
assassination
bureaus are, how far behind?"
"I don't think they're practical right now, I just don't have the
operatives or the troops, but I am
making inquiries."
"Kavon's unofficial chief of intelligence for how many years?" she
smirked at that, who were
really
the `experienced veterans` around here.
"Eighteen in dreams, but who's counting. What about you, following in
the Meliorist's
footsteps?
Recruiting fighters, knights, men-at-arms? Hikari is a good choice, with
her you get Toji. Kensuke
wouldn't be worth a moldy bucket of yak milk in a real fight."
"You seemed able to use that rotten yak milk," Asuka laughed at the
memory. "El Nureenen
was
_furious_! I laughed so hard I fell off my horse. 'Who has done this foul
thing?!'" Asuka giggled at
the
memory. "No, I don't think we'll be getting any help here, we're on our
own, I wouldn't push most
of our
colleagues too far."
"You were serious about them being Tembris's people." Jeff felt the
bottom dropping out of the
world.
"Misato is a slob, personally and militarily, Gendo's a creepy,
know-it-all martinet, Ritsuko
isn't
much better." She angrily stabbed at her lunch, "Do you know how many we
lost in the first four
months to
the stupid mistakes they made? Six _thousand_!_ Six thousand knights and
squires because the
camps
weren't tidy, because patrols weren't organized, because of mismanagement of
intelligence assets?
Why do
you think The Meliorist had no trouble allying her five squadrons to _your_
crazy idea? Pike and
longbows
in the hands of `refuse`, indeed. El Nureenen deserved to get killed right
then and there. If we'd
had
half those lost knights, it would have ended that day!" Asuka told him
angrily, "You know that as
well as
I do."
Jeff nodded, Asuka looked around, wondering who'd seen or overheard her
outburst. "Look,
I've met
those two. Misato was with Kaji in Germany. Gendo was there once or twice,
after the war,
poking his
nose into everything, everywhere, lording his new authority over everyone."
She smiled nastily,
"Like
when you were assigned to be Inspector General."
"I knew the hows and whys a Roman camp was set up, that's all," Jeff
countered, "How many
fewer did
we lose to disease and infection that second summer."
"_I_ didn't disagree. As I remember, I supported you, on several
occasions. But Gendo is,
how you
were thought of." She finished her lunch, noted Jeff still battling through
Misato's `cooking`.
Stubborn, she thought.
"What about the EVAs, you've been with them the longest, except perhaps
Rei, and I don't know
if she
has the perspective."
"It's hard to qualify and quantify, a lot of the things you've pointed
out, I became aware of. I
half-suspected them before, but, well I always bought or captured my
warhorses, usually from
you."
He nodded. "Great, leaving it for me to ferret it out." Jeff
complained, "Why should here be
any
different?"
Asuka chuckled at his hangdog expression.
A shadow fell over both of them, Nabiki stared down at them, "What are
you two conspiring
about? So
grim and then laughing."
"I could not believe Misato's cooking was this bad," Jeff said.
"I bet him 500 yen he couldn't finish it, two more bites and I think
we'll call it a draw," Asuka
stared at Jeff, who managed two more bites, then handed the box back. "I'll
give the rest to Ranma,
see
which of you is really tougher."
"You hate him don't you." Jeff stood as she did, Asuka stuck her tongue
out at him and left.
"Seriously, what were you two talking about?" Nabiki asked, obviously
interested.
"The war, what happened, how it affects what we are doing now."
"Oh," Nabiki said, disappointed.
----------------------------------------
Shinji was certain he was being watched as he practiced, the school's
auditorium was empty
and he
liked the acoustics. The rows of empty chairs didn't seem to mind the
impromptu recital. The
cello did
what he told it, made the music he wanted to hear. Sometimes it was Western
Classical, other
times he
adapted traditional songs, although he had to pluck the strings to make
music for a koto or samisen
sound
right. A guitar might not be a bad accompaniment, he thought, but he
treasured the time alone. No
one
bothered him, he didn't have to worry about Asuka barging in to demand her
favorite pieces, or
Saotome
telling him playing an instrument was dumb. Or Misato, who would start
remembering where
she'd heard a
song, or what it reminded her of, or what she thought the music 'meant'.
It was hard work, sometimes he wished he had the courage to play some
of the pieces he'd
written, in
front of an audience. He wasn't good enough to score for a whole orchestra.
However, he could
for the
cello, Asuka's and Ayanami's violins, maybe Raccoon's guitar, bagpipes were
too loud, but as a
private
joke he'd studied their range too, and written a piece. He didn't even know
if it was playable, and
he
didn't have the courage to show it to Raccoon, but that wasn't the point.
This is what I wanted to do, he thought, I never wanted to fight, not
anything or anybody. If the
Angels gave up and went home, that would be fine with me. Music doesn't
fight back, and it
_does_ come
naturally. Maybe the only thing in my life that does.
----------------------------------------
Rei heard the faint click of a camera, caught a glimpse of suit coat as
she turned, she hoped it
didn't disturb Shinji-kun. She thought she was the only one who would sneak
into the auditorium to
play.
She could play at her apartment, but it never sounded as good there as
it did here. And her
playing
had never sounded as good as Shinji-kun's, which was why she didn't resent
the usurpation of `her`
place,
playing here. It was different from her style, he was different than he
usually was. She wondered
why
nobody else stopped to listen, to simply enjoy the soft music.
Rei had to admit, the Second was a better violinist than she was. But
she must have action and
motion and great crescendoes, Rei thought, I prefer the quieter,
contemplative pieces, so does
Shinji-kun.
She sat unseen, on the floor, concealed between the seats of the
auditorium, and let the music
take
her wherever it wanted. Eyes closed, she could let the world go by if
necessary, only the nagging
thought
that she'd never told Shinji-kun she liked his playing, interfered.
----------------------------------------
Cooking Surprises
Jeff walked through Ritsuko's kitchen, sniffed the dinner he was
preparing. The notes are
blending,
he thought with satisfaction, The only disappointment is - the vegetables,
they aren't adding as
much as
they should. Stir fry? No, he thought, It won't give the right effect.
Ginger! he realized, Okay, the sugar crystallized or fresh? He
sniffed, let the sounds blend in
his
mind, and tried to determine which would result in the better mingling.
"That smells great," Nabiki came in the kitchen, from the dining room,
where the others waited.
"It
was my turn, you know."
"I don't mind," he told her.
"What were you humming?"
"Humming? Oh, nothing, just something to help me concentrate." He
sliced the vegetables and
put
them and the sugared ginger in some water.
"I've never seen anyone do that before," Nabiki commented.
"It is a simple infusion, like making tea. Except without the heat."
A sniff, Now the tones are
blended properly. "Another perfect meal," he told her.
----------------------------------------
"This is delicious," Dr. Akagi said.
"I wonder how much my services as cook would be worth to the Captain?
A room of my own,
some EVA
training time? Hmm?" Jeff asked.
"Don't forget your friends," Nabiki snuggled up beside him, making calf
eyes.
"Friends should never get in the way of profits," Jeff said gravely.
Ranma snorted at this, but didn't slow down shoveling down dinner.
"If you made a bunch of potstickers out of cement - " Nabiki watched
Ranma, "Would he even
notice?"
Ranma, `safe` behind the wall of cats, frowned at them both, but didn't
pause.
"A meal is a symphony, tastes, textures all coalescing and contrasting
to form a whole greater
than
the sum of its parts," Jeff explained.
"Like that tune you were humming," Nabiki said, trying to change the
subject. Smiled
knowingly at
him.
"Perhaps," Jeff replied noncommitally, "I just wish he'd slow down
enough to actually taste the
food.
At the speed he's eating, he could eat Misato's food and not notice or mind
it."
----------------------------------------
They were in the dojo again, in dreams.
"No, your hand goes on top, make me take the weight." Raccoon was
showing Ranko the
weirdest hold in
history. "Then step, and step." He matched her pace and step off. "No,
you walk normally, I have
to
match you."
"You actually had to learn ta let a girl hold your arm?" It was the
most ridiculous thing Ranma
had
ever heard of.
"It was all part of a Ballroom Dancing class. Remember Harvard was
trying to turn out
gentlemen. I
not only had to take the class, I had to pass. Etiquette is merely a set of
rules, it helps if both sides
know what to expect."
"I still think it's stupid, but I have to learn it," Ranko admitted.
She was glad Raccoon didn't
argue, although the smile implied he knew `she'd` be teaching Ranma. And
isn't that weird?
"Okay, the next lesson, cosmetics and application." Raccoon led her to
a bench with it's end
against
the wall.
"Do we have to do this?" Ranko whined, "I really don't see how learning
this girly stuff helps
me
fight."
"Sit on the bench, back straight. Okay close your eyes, take as deep a
breath as you can, and
hold
it, now throw your shoulders back, as far as you can. Now, open your eyes
and look down."
Ranko straddled the bench, then did as ordered, looked at her breasts,
"What does that prove?"
Raccoon sat down, straddling the bench about half a meter away. "You
_are_ a girl. I know
this
comes as a big shock, but it is the truth." Raccoon slid a few centimeters
closer. "Now I can
cook." He
slid a little closer.
Ranko flattened herself against the wall. She hadn't noticed before,
but while she'd had her
eyes
closed, he'd `moved` the pillars in closer, trapping her between them, and
him. He slid closer.
Ranko
was afraid, This can't be happening. She struggled to get her breathing
under control.
"I can measure you, cut out the fabric, and make a dress, a very good
one."
What kind of gibberish is he spouting? she wondered if he'd gone
insane, she'd been afraid of
the
dream where `she'd` seduced him. Now it seems as if he'd drawn her here, to
rape her. He kept
getting
closer, ratcheting up the fear, bit by bit.
"And use make up, and style hair."
She realized legs spread, breasts heaving was _not_ the signal she
should be sending in this
situation. She should have pushed him back immediately, but she was too
frightened now, I can't
fight
him, not here, not yet.
"And I am a man, do you agree?"
"Yes," she squeaked, Just do it and get it over with! She had accepted
his help because she had
felt
helpless, now she was totally at his mercy. She had mistakenly thought
she'd seen the worst, now
she was
at the mercy of a greater nightmare than anything she ever considered.
Ranma or Ranko could beat
him up
in the Waking World, and he'd have days and weeks in dreams to pay her back
in full, doing
whatever he
wanted to either or both, until he finally broke her.
"So what is this idiot nonsense about `girly` things and `manly`
things?" Something about
Raccoon's
tone had changed, slightly.
She looked at him, he was mere centimeters from her face, staring into
her eyes. "I . . . I guess .
. . "
"You are afraid." It was obviously a statement.
"Yes." She turned away, ashamed.
"Of me? For what?" There was no sympathy in his voice, he was angry,
and wanted an answer.
"That you were . . . going to . . . "
He slid to the far end of the bench, his embarrassment covered by his
need to reassure her, "I
would
never do that. I was trying to frighten you, for what I made you think, I
apologize. I thought you
needed to remember, I _do_ all the `girly` things you and Ranma have
mentioned. None of it has
any effect
on my manhood, why should it affect anyone elses?"
"I guess it doesn't," she admitted, "It's just that . . . " I don't
want to tell him, I don't want
him to know, to laugh at me, to have him tease me about it, like Nabiki
does, she sighed, realized
she had
no choice, "I had a dream, a nightmare, involving you." Ranko told him the
dream, all of it, and
was
ashamed. She expected laughter, jokes, something.
"So you seduced me to hurt Ranma?" he asked quietly.
She nodded.
"Then why did you ask me to train you?"
"Because you aren't afraid of those things! You aren't afraid of
anything!" she shouted back,
squirmed under his gaze. She felt like a bug.
"Ranko, please come sit over here." He tapped the bench beside him, "It
is a request, you are
free to
refuse. It will have no effect whatsoever on your continuing to train."
She glanced around, then nervously sat next to him. She was petrified
again, when he leaned
close,
but he only touched his forehead to hers.
"There is absolutely nothing wrong with being afraid. I told Shinji,
I'll tell you, fear is a
warning that you are in danger or about to be hurt. The technical term is
inferential information,
it's a
guess based on instinct and half-remembered things. It isn't silly, it
isn't `unmanly`, or any other
such
nonsense, it's just a message that something is not right, look around,
think about what's going on."
He
smiled at her, "Okay?"
"Yeah, okay." She smiled back, "I bet you think I'm being a dumb girl."
He sat back, "Ranko, someday I'll tell you a little about how I met
Captain Katsuragi and
Commander
Ikari, and you are going to conclude, for my being here - with them, that I
am the stupidest thing on
God's green Earth," he paused, "And you'd be right. But I don't have to
tell _you_ about duty, do
I?" He
waited for her to shake her head before he lifted the make-up case. "And
let me tell you something
about
fear. Our Mister Saotome announces 'I'm a guy!' until most of us want to
yell back, 'We got it the
first
hundred times, SHUT UP!' The conclusion? He's the only one not convinced."
Ranko shuddered at that, wanted to protest, but saw the lesson within.
Then she looked at the
case,
"Let me guess, I can say no, but the lessons end, right?" she asked.
"Of course not, we go on to the next lesson, I let one of the
nightmares in, and let you confront
it.
But since you don't need my help, you face it alone."
Ranko blanched, "Okay, sensei, what's in mind?" She smiled nervously as
Raccoon pulled out
the paints
and powders and brushes and pencils. He started in to work, having her move
this way or that.
Purse her
lips, relax or tighten certain facial muscles, all the while explaining
correct use, various nuances
and
effects of color and shade. Ranko stood it in good grace, until he was
finished, because he never
let her
conjure a mirror to let her see what he was doing to her.
"Now imaging walking into class tomorrow, and giving Toji a sloppy, wet
kiss, looking like
that,"
Raccoon told her as the mirror formed.
She didn't have to repress an involuntary shudder, when she saw what
was in the mirror looking
back,
she screamed and jumped 10 meters.
"So you like it?" he asked, grinning at her obvious trauma.
Ranko walked back and stared at the mirror, what she saw wasn't
hideous, but had been totally
unexpected. "That's me?" She examined the streaks of gray in her now dull,
red hair, the deep
crows-feet
at her eyes and mouth, the deep lines across her forehead, blotchy
complexion in places, sallow in
others.
She looked like a woman who lived a very hard and unforgiving life, she was
maybe late forties or
early
fifties. "That's crazy, can you change me back?"
"You want to be young and beautiful, and sexy again?"
That stopped her, Ranma had never been vain about how Ranko looked, she
was beautiful,
everybody and
his brother told `her` that. To lose it so thoroughly, and then to want it
back . . .. "You can do this
in the real world?" she asked.
"Waking World," he corrected, "Yes, I was in the Harvard Theater
Company for five years, I
can do
make up, sew costumes, paint sets, stage fights, run and repair the
electrical and lighting systems.
'Hey
Davis! It's broke, crawl in there and fix it!'" he added disgustedly.
"Why? Are you planning to
give
Toji a good scare? A fight scene?"
"Naw, yeah, maybe something like that, naw something different, just
asking," Ranko paused,
"What's
next, more make up?"
"No, fears. I've felt some of them out there. From what you told me,
I think we push things
ahead
on that front. I picked one out, I'll bring it in, I want you to deal with
it, I'll stay to back you up,
initially. But in the end, it is your problem, the solution has to be yours
as well."
Ranko swallowed and nodded, she wasn't happy about going head-to-head
with a nightmare this
early in
her training.
"It isn't weak, but it seems strangely, I guess gentle is the best
word." Raccoon gestured, and a
small white cat with black feet appeared and looked around.
It mewed piteously, then looked up at the rafter Ranko was hanging
from, and mewed again.
"Ranko get down here!" Raccoon ordered as he picked up the cat, holding
it tightly, so it
couldn't
escape.
"Nononononononononononono!" Ranko suddenly realized the rafter had
vanished, and the floor
was coming
towards her, she'd run when her feet touched down.
"Ranko STOP!" She heard and felt the compulsion he'd used on Ranma,
she froze involuntarily.
"Now SIT DOWN!"
She sat of her own free will, facing the ca ca ca ca cat. It was
already trying to escape
Raccoon's
grip.
"You calm down too!" he told the cat. It subsided, staring at Ranko,
and continuing to make
plaintive mews.
"I know you are afraid of cats, but I want you to consider why you are
afraid of this cat in
particular. I think it's trying to be friendly, it hasn't used its claws on
me, it seems clean and free
of disease. Why is this cat separate from your general fear of cats?"
Ranko didn't know, but she was _especially_ afraid of this cat. She
shook her head.
"Very well." A cage materialized around the cat, "Sit as close to the
cat as you can, for as long
as
you can."
"Where are you going?" Ranko said desperately.
"I have an appointment."
"What about the dojo?" she stared at the cat pleadingly staring at her,
"What about the cage?"
"You want them to continue?"
"YES!"
"Then hold them yourself. It's easier to maintain something than
create it, all you have to do is
believe it will continue." He tipped his hat and vanished.
Ranko believed as hard as she could, in the dojo, in the cage. She sat
less than two meters
away
from the cat, it kept reaching through the bars and mewing, as if being
distant from Ranko was
unpleasant
or painful.
Ranko finally had to stand up and hide behind a pillar, or out of sheer
terror, she would have
thrown
up all over the floor.
----------------------------------------
Ranma opened his eyes, looked around the darkened bedroom. He hadn't
told anyone, but since
he
fought Nyogtha, his night vision had gotten better, a lot better, like being
able to read in a
pitch-black
room better. He looked over at Raccoon who was standing next to his closet,
completely dressed:
suit and
tie, walking stick. He silently closed his closet and headed out. Ranma
slipped out of his bed and
decided to follow him.
Raccoon got his boots and hat from the entryway, slipped out on to the
balcony, and started
climbing
to the roof. Ranma hopped up on the railings, saw Raccoon struggling over
the parapet of the roof.
He
walked over several balconies, and jumped up to the roof, hiding behind a
chimney once he'd
arrived there.
He glanced around it, looked at the entire roof, there was no one else up
there!
I saw him go over the edge to get up here, Ranma started searching the
area, And mine was the
only
real hiding place! His search found nothing, not even footprints in the
gravel, Raccoon, yeah that's
it.
He climbed back into Dr. Akagi's apartment. He saw the `crenelation` they
called it. Alternating
short
and tall cats, arranged in a wall around his place at the table. Bits of
ceramic, cloth, glass and
metal,
he could smash all of them with barely any effort, but what they looked like
made him afraid of
even
touching them.
What do you expect, they'll come to life and attack you? he asked
himself. He hadn't considered
that
there actually was a technique, to combat phobias. Nabiki and Raccoon only
talked about it right
in front
of you, why would you know it exists? He picked the smallest, least
realistic cat piece, only the
color
and the collar that read 'NEKO-CHAN' made it a cat, it could have been a
panda bear without the
collar.
He carefully picked it up, What did you expect?! he cursed his own fear,
That it would come to
life? He
carefully set it aside, and reached for the largest. It was terribly
realistic, Terrible is a good
word.
His trembling hand inched closer, he was ready to snatch it away at the
least sign of danger or
movement,
his gut rumbled its displeasure as his tension rose. His breathing was
faster now, his heart beat
was
racing, If I faint, he thought, No one will see.
He closed his hand on its neck, if it came to life now, he could
strangle it, or break it's neck.
More like throw it away, and run screaming from the room, he admitted. But
it hadn't moved,
hadn't gotten
warmer, or furry, or meowed. He moved it to the center of the line of cats.
When he released it,
he felt
like he'd just run a dozen marathons, his knees almost collapsed beneath
him, he was exhausted.
He also
noticed, to his shock and shame, he'd wet himself. But I _did_ it, he
thought triumphantly, as
triumphantly as his condition allowed. He sighed, no one else was awake,
he'd rinse out his shorts
and
get a clean pair. Then I am going to come back here, and rearrange these
statues, he thought, Then I
am
going to sleep for a week. He hadn't felt this tired and shaky since he
fought Nyogtha.
----------------------------------------
First Cthonian Attack
Rei sat upright in her bed, she didn't want to. With all her might,
she was trying to break free,
to
call for help, or to escape. It was too difficult, they were making it too
difficult, she could feel
them
making it too difficult. The walls were closing in, horrible things lurked
in every shadow, things
that
would appear if she spoke, or moved. She hugged her legs closer to her, and
tried to hold on.
Voices
whispered that she could escape, by telling what she knew, revealing it now
would only save time.
They
would win eventually. The runes on the walls could not save her, she could
see they were dark,
adding to
her feelings of hopelessness.
She felt ashamed that she might reveal what she knew, before they
destroyed her. She did not
want to
betray what had been confided to her, what she knew, it would be wrong, but
they were strong.
Individually she was stronger, but they came as a group, fought together,
burrowing into her mind,
poisoning her personality, weakening her resolve. She felt it slipping
away, if she could only cry
out,
the Commander would hear, and send help. She knew she was watched,
monitored every day and
minute of her
life, she accepted it. She lived within her own mind most of the time, but
now that was being
violated by
her enemies. When they violated her last stronghold, they would have the
means to attack the
others,
Commander Ikari, the pilots, Maya. She balled her fists in frustration, she
had to hold out, to do
something to attract the attention of those who watched continuously.
She felt their strength fade, their grip slacken, then she screamed. A
howl of boiling agony, she
felt their pain, and reveled in it, even as she screamed in mirror anguish.
They should die for what
they
had planned. Galvanized, she leapt out of the bed, and staggered to the
door. The pain was
weakening, as
the link dissolved. She threw the door open, and looked down.
Two of them, massive worms nearly 15 meters long, with tentacled
mouths, dissolved under the
shifting
streams of two columns of water. A third, some 25 meters long, writhed
sinuously, caught by some
unseen
force, even as she had been. She could still faintly hear the howls of
death coming from the pair
that
crumbled away, and the sheer terror from the third. It knew it was next,
pounding on the walls of
its own
mind, just as she had. To order its body to escape the exact fate it had
planned for her, revelation
of
all it knew, followed by its destruction. Rei had no sympathy, they had
touched her mind before,
they
looked on the entire human race as mere food stocks. The third refused to
surrender, locking its
secrets
away. Thus, preventing it from warning its brethren of the method of this
ambush and murder.
Now it
screamed audibly, the water hadn't touched it, something else was killing
it. Tearing it apart,
stripping
it down to its core, to sift through its secrets at leisure. She wondered
if the EVAs did the same,
felt
the same. It began falling to gray powder, chunks falling in the mud.
Rei turned away. She hated these things, for what they had tried to
do, for what they planned to
do,
but their torture was beyond her ability to accept. A few moments later, it
was over, all three
were
dissolved. She was safe, saved, help would be arriving soon. The Commander
would be arriving
soon, she
would have to provide him with an account of what had happened. She stared
down as the water
columns from
the hydrants reduced and disappeared. Her vision through darkness was one
of the many things
that set her
apart. She would report what she saw, accurately. She stared at the scene
for a moment, shook
her head
in disbelief, and it was gone. She wondered if she had been hallucinating.
As the first NERV
Security
and Technical Services arrived, to secure her and examine the corpses, she
returned to her
apartment, to
get dressed and await the Commander. He would need to know everything she
saw, or even
thought she saw.
----------------------------------------
Ranma felt too shaky and exhausted to stay awake, but his victory over
the cat statues made his
mind
race too much for him to sleep. He lay in bed, meditated on what he had
done, what he'd learned
and what
it enabled him to accomplish. Maybe Nab-chan and Raccoon aren't so stupid,
wanting me to learn
stuff. He
heard the bedroom door open and close.
Ranma opened an eye, as Jeff quietly took off his coat and hat.
"You're wet."
Jeff touched the coat as he hung it up, "Not as much as others."
Ranma froze, wondering what the other boy knew.
"Not very, it must be something in the local water. I decided that
since everyone else was
talking
about you and water, I would try some experiments. Nothing really happened,
so don't worry
about being a
pilot, one has nothing to do with the other."
"Look Raccoon!" Ranma hissed, "I didn't ask for this. I can't control
it."
"It's not that bad." Jeff climbed into the top bunk, "You could turn
into an alligator, or a banana
slug, or just a banana. Or you could really be Ranko, stuck turning into
Ranma. That would be a
curse."
Ranma growled at the other boy, he just didn't understand the torment
that Ranma went through,
how
horrible the curse was. Ranma didn't see Jeff examining the back and front
of his hand, opening
and
closing it, wondering what had changed, and when.
----------------------------------------
Dream of Fire
Misato enjoyed the fit and feel of the plugsuit. It showed off every
curve to perfection, she
wondered if Nabiki and Asuka, who were running in front of her, knew how
good they all looked.
Probably
not, they're just kids. She also enjoyed the feel of the material sliding
over her skin and that it was
tight enough that she didn't bounce as she ran flat out.
The fire behind them was still closing, the pilots were all running at
their best speed, the fire
ever faster . . . No, she realized, Not all the pilots, Davis and Rei were
off to one side, drawing off
the bulk of the fire, taunting it, teasing it, somehow holding it off, even
while they held its attention,
"Here I am!" they shouted between cries in other languages that drove the
fire back.
Ranma and Nabiki vanished, safely beyond the fire's reach, then the
fire cut off that exit, Misato
and Shinji halted, Asuka dove through the flames to safety, a moment later,
Rei followed her.
Misato
glanced around, Davis held out a hand, soliciting her help.
She drew the pistol from her shoulder holster, and smoothly shot the
boy, as Shinji called for
her to
help him. The shot meant to kill, didn't. Davis went down in a scream of
anger, pain and betrayal.
The
fire rushed towards him, like a pack of vultures or jackals, ripping at his
flesh, searing and
scorching.
Misato ignored the screams, and pushed Shinji to safety, then left as well.
The flesh charred from
the
bones, the stench of roast pork was her last image as she moved to safety,
to other the pilots.
Asuka had
a strange expression on her face as she raised a strange polearm, and ran
Misato through, spilling
her
guts all over the floor. Rei seemed to approve, Shinji looked disappointed.
----------------------------------------
Captain Katsuragi screamed and threw off the sweat soaked sheets.
Asuka opened the door to Misato's room. Misato froze, the girl had the
exact same odd
expression.
"Not you too," Asuka glared for a moment then returned to her own room
to go back to sleep.
Where had _that_ come from? Misato knew that when she faced a tactical
or strategic decision,
her
mind would play out dozens, if not hundreds of scenarios in her dreams, with
her mind as a
detached
observer, watching the outcome of the plan, and all the permutations. Being
able to use this ability
gave
her a reputation as a tactical genius. That dream had a feeling of a
memory, something that had
occurred,
something she'd already done. "But what?" Misato said quietly, "And why?"
----------------------------------------
Nabiki savored the end of another school day and felt ambivalent about
being refused EVA
testing, as
she walked into the apartment she shared with Ritsuko-sensei, Ranma-kun and
Roku-kun, Boy had
that ever
blown all out of expectations. She didn't announce herself. Ranma and the
Doctor were at late
testing
with Asuka, Shinji and Rei. Dr. Akagi had dismissed her and Jeff, after it
was confirmed their
sync rates
were the two lowest of all six pilots. Jeff had simply wandered off, while
she had caught a ride
home
with a NERV car. She was surprised to see her roommate already home,
sitting on the upper bunk
wearing
shorts and a T-shirt, That looked like they'd been slept in, she thought.
It amazed her that the boy
who
insisted on wearing a three-piece suit to school, and kept it clean no
matter what happened around
him,
managed to look instantly rumpled in anything else he wore.
She was about to hail him, when she saw he was crying, a large book
clutched to his chest. No
sobs,
no sounds, just head bowed, occasional tears rolling down his face, his eyes
squeezed shut. She
hadn't
made enough noise to attract his attention. She retreated to the living
room, then thought better of
it,
and went to the kitchen. Sitting out of sight on the floor. She removed
her ever-present notebook,
and
quickly sketched the description of the book she'd seen him holding, and a
note to investigate it
later.
----------------------------------------
The little man looked at the gutted cat. Toodles had been an old cat,
he rationalized, he'd tried
to
make his pet's passing as painless as possible. SEELE was offering enough
money to retire on, he
could
always get another cat.
The gate opened, powered by the lifeforce of the animal, he'd been told
a child would be better,
but
he hadn't been able to find one quickly. The huge bear of a man stepped
through, leading his
followers.
The little man was practically dancing with glee, "General Tembris, I
am so pleased to finally
meet
you. I think we can assist each other."
The General regarded his Waking World counterpart with undisguised
contempt, which the
little man
seemed to miss completely.
----------------------------------------
Ranma laid on the table in the medical lab, at least they'd left him a
towel to cover himself.
They
had released Shinji, Asuka and Rei to go home, he had to stay behind. He'd
watched Maya and
Nancy using
calipers and tape measurers to measure everything, from his skull dimensions
to the arch of his
teeth.
Finally they had reached his feet, measuring from the heel to the arch, to
the big toe. It isn't as
painful as the range of motion experiment they did on him and her, a few
days ago: 'How far can
you move
yourself, how far can you move without pain.' Or as embarrassing, they
needed DNA samples,
Nancy, Lt.
Thompson, had gotten that. He'd protested, and been told Shinji had been
similarly sampled, and
so had
Davis. Then they turned her into a girl, and took other samples, by
scraping inside her, very
gently.
Ranma wasn't sure how anything could embarrass him after those two
experiences.
"Well, Mr. Saotome, we're all done with that part of the experiment,"
Nancy told him.
"Can I leave?" Ranma eagerly asked.
"I'm afraid not," Ritsuko entered with a cart with two large metal cans
on it, "That's only the
first
part of the experiment. This part might actually interest you."
I don't see how, Ranma didn't say.
Ritsuko took a small bottle out of the metal can, it had an eyedropper
in it, "This is normal
saline
solution, completely harmless. Think of it as artificial tears. Open your
eyes, hold your lower lids
down."
Ranma did as ordered, he still flinched as the cold liquid hit his
eyes. He blinked, shook his
head.
He took the wash cloth she offered to blot his face.
"That wasn't so bad?" Ritsuko asked, Ranma glared at her. "Well that
was cold water, and it
had no
effect."
"I'm cured!?" he asked delightedly.
"No, I'm sorry, but cold liquids have no effect on your eyes. I
wouldn't recommend trying to
deflect
liquids that way, but, open you mouth."
Ranma did, tasted the icy cold salty water.
"You might simply swallow the liquid, as long as you know it's safe,"
Ritsuko told Ranma,
"Evidently
cold liquids _inside_ you have no effect either."
Well, that's something, Ranma thought, "What if it isn't safe?"
"Don't let it hit you, you're going to hate this next part," Ritsuko
told him.
----------------------------------------
The Meliorist stalked through the Dreamlands palace of Kuranes, in
Celephais. None of the
knights
wanted to face her rage. She composed herself as she let the seneschal
announce her to the King
and
Court.
"The Meliorist, Asuka Soryu Langley, General of the Red Dragons, Lion
of Celephais, King's
Medal for
Valor, Ulthar Gold Sunburst . . . "
She let the list of awards and honors wash over the court. She locked
eyes with King Kuranes,
he
knew she needed the time to calm down, and it also gave lie to the slurs
that had made her so
angry.
"And the Pilot of EVA Unit 02," the seneschal gave her a slight smile,
they were aware of
things
occurring in the Waking World.
"You are welcome here," the King said, gestured her forward.
"My thanks, your Highness. Blessings on this place, and all who dwell
and deal here in peace
and
honesty. Now I must ask, where is that one who has rarely dealt in peace or
honesty?"
"General Tembris's allegations have been investigated, and _again_
found without merit," the
King
assured her, "Walk with me," he commanded.
She nodded and followed, the court murmured at the closeness of the
bond.
"Your knighthood was never in any danger, there was no need for you to
respond, although
you'll
probably pass the courier actually carrying the summons, on your way back.
But he has vanished,"
the King
laughed, "Understandable, considering both you and the Dragon are after his
head, he must have
gone into
hiding.
The Meliorist nodded, "I am willing to get my vengeance second-hand,
please sire, don't risk
your
guards or knights bringing him in for a challenge, as long as you understand
that if the dragons
catch him
beyond the River Cities, they won't hesitate either."
The King agreed, they walked in silence for a while, "So what are you
doing in the Waking
World?"
"Fighting and training mostly," the Meliorist told him, "It isn't
easy."
----------------------------------------
Admiral Simson's Edge
The house in Kyoto was small by American standards, but his daughter
and her husband loved
it. His
instinct as a father, was to send both of them back to the United States,
and safety. But his instincts
as a military man, told him that he needed them close, but not too close.
Besides, if he didn't win
this
war, there might be no safe place left on this planet, maybe not in all
Creation.
"Father, mother," the frail, flame-haired woman greeted him and his
wife, his second daughter.
Polio
and rheumatic fever had sapped the strength the little girl had once had,
she would give him no
grandchildren, not here anyway. It pained him to know that four healthy,
happy children heard
tales of
their seafaring grandfather, and they could never meet. Neither the
Admiral, nor his wife, were
Dreamers.
"Admiral," the small swarthy man approached, offered his hand, which
the Admiral shook.
When the
Admiral had met the man a few years earlier, a mere Army Air Corp Captain,
he'd never
understood how such
an `unhandsome` man had so quickly and completely captured his daughter's
heart.
"I'm not in civvies for my health, Lieutenant - "
"Daddy!" she said in the tone of disgusted daughters the world over,
"If you walked in without
any
shirt, I'd expect to see 'Admiral' and your three stars tattooed on your
chest. Besides, it _is_
business, we called you, remember?"
He nodded. The unlikely pair had courted for an indecently short time,
and married. Less than
a
year and a half ago, he'd learned why, and nearly made his daughter a widow.
The man had asked
a very
simple question about Asuka Soryu Langley, while the British were putting
together an operation to
get her
and Unit 02 away from what was left of the Germans, and the approaching
Russians. An operation
so secret,
that almost no one knew about it, except the British who carried it out, the
American officers who
debriefed Anna Alice, and his son-in-law, who was Stateside inspecting
radial engines for the
Army Air
Force, and therefore shouldn't have had the slightest inkling.
Under arrest, and under truth serum, the then-Major revealed a lot more
than how he knew.
Enough to
reveal that he was an invaluable asset, the Admiral had covered up the
arrest and the interrogation
as war
jitters, a funny coincidence. Like the poor crossword puzzle maker arrested
for putting 'Overlord'
and
'Utah' in one of his puzzles prior to D-day at Normandy.
The four people moved into the drawing room, closed the door. This
room had no windows, no
entry or
exit of any kind, except the one door. Only a locked desk, and a table with
three chairs stood in the
room, not even a mouse could sit in that room undetected. The man, a Lt.
Colonel looking after
supplies
for the Occupation now, pulled a map from a hidden drawer in his desk, and
put it on the table that
dominated the room. Everyone sat or stood around it. The Admiral had never
understood why this
man
wasn't in cartography school, he hand-drew the finest maps the Admiral had
ever seen, and two
other people
agreed with him. They had the wisdom to make him their chief cartographer.
"The Meliorist left about two days ago, the Dragon took her directly to
Ulthar and then to
Celephais." He indicated the locations on the map, a map of a land far
`realer` to the younger pair
than
the Waking World, "General Tembris has been making noise again about casting
her out of the
knightly
orders, 'Expunging her stain on our good name!' A fair number of German
knights are getting that
kind of
persecution, but after Tembris's failed assassination attempt, he's trying
to make sure she can't
bring
charges against _him_."
"Why doesn't somebody just kill him, and get it over with?" the Admiral
asked.
"There are rumors that is exactly what the Dragon had planned. Except
the day he returned, he
got a
report from a spy, and he took off within the hour. I've never seen him
that shaken up, and nobody
knows
why, or will admit to knowing."
"What do you mean, Anthony?" his wife, Susan, asked her son-in-law,
"Are they keeping it a
secret, or
hiding their ignorance."
"My best guess, mother," his daughter told them, "Is whatever the
report was, it only made
sense to
the Dragon, and he swore everyone else to secrecy, without revealing what he
knew, or what it
meant. The
Dragon often plays things close to the vest. Even Alwyk and Altara didn't
know, and none of the
other
dragons could keep up with him. He outpaced all of them by the time he was,
feet-wet? Over the
ocean."
"Yes, that's the phrase," the Admiral admitted, "What course?" he
looked closely at the map.
"Assuming he didn't outrun his pursuers, and change course when he was
out of sight." Anthony
drew
his finger across the map, "He could be headed for Sarkomand or Inganok, but
I'd guess the Plateau
of
Leng. If I was going way out on a limb, the Valley of Spiders, or the
Prehistoric Monastery, would
be my
guess."
"Why there?" the Admiral had to accept that these places were as real
and pivotal in this war,
as any
place he could go and touch, and possibly, just as deadly.
"If I didn't want someone going somewhere, those would be on the top of
my list."
The Admiral sat, considered, there was almost nothing he could do.
There was absolutely
nothing he
could do without revealing this intelligence source, and neither of these
two would act to betray
their
patrons on either side of the divide. "I thought you said the Dragon
confronted the Spider-God,
and beat
him."
"No sir, I said he met with him, exactly what happened is unknown. The
Dragon is sensitive to
his
troops' feelings about dealing with the Great Old Ones, even if he could
have eaten that one alive.
He
may growl and bluster, but he tries to make everyone believe it's an act,
how a dragon is
_supposed_ to
act, not the real him." Anthony stared at the map, considering something,
"He also could have
headed into
the Eastern Blank lands, or to another star. No one knows."
"Anything else?" the Admiral asked.
"Tyler and Carey send their love, James announced that 'No vessel of
that size could ever be
constructed, I'm too old for fairytales,' he's going through that phase,"
his daughter told her father.
"And Bea got her commission," Anthony told him, "Lieutenant of Horse
Artillery."
"Following in her grandfather's footsteps," Susan teased him, "She's
probably filled with barely
workable ideas of how to do things better."
The Admiral blushed at that, he was a maverick too, came up through the
ranks. He
remembered the
90-day wonders who ate, drank, and slept the manual, and their horror when
he didn't. Chiefs, and
ex-Chiefs knew better. "Other than that?"
"No," his daughter told him.
----------------------------------------
Shinji walked among the temples and small shops, down a dirt road that
had wandered through
the
forests and hills. It was like a bonsai garden, enlarged to human scale.
"And I spent all that time
just
riding the train, around this place and around." He smiled at that. He'd
been shocked the first time
he'd seen Rei waiting for him with a picnic lunch, and the train out of
service.
He blushed at the thought of their first `date`. The two of them
enjoying the lunch under the
cherry
trees, saying nothing, later she'd wanted to see how the locomotive worked.
They'd spent hours
lighting a
coal fire, and getting up enough steam to actually get the train moving.
Then they got filthy
recoaling
the tender.
It had been a lot of fun. He wondered why she wasn't here. Probably
doing something for my
father,
he thought. He was vaguely surprised that he hadn't populated the villages
and towns he'd passed
through.
There were animals, birds and bugs, the shops were stocked, the streets
clean and the buildings
repaired,
but never any people. No. I came here to _hide_ from people. If I put
people in here, they'd be
mean to
me. He walked on, examining his handiwork, and feeling absurdly pleased by
it. It was _his_,
he'd
created it, all of it. As odd as it was, it all seemed to work.
----------------------------------------
"Are we done?" Ranko asked Ritsuko. They'd been in the medical lab for
hours and hours, it
seemed
like days, and days, and days.
"Aside from the measurements of your female form, yes," Ritsuko told
her enthusiastically.
Why didn't you just say 'no'? Ranko wondered.
"At least you know the temperature that activates and deactivates your
curse."
I only had to sit here while you dripped water on me for three hours,
Ranko thought, "Of course
I'll
always know the temperature of water coming at me."
"At least you know the amount that creates the change," Ritsuko said
defensively.
"Doc, I wouldn't know half a millimeter - "
"Milliliter."
"Whatever, except it isn't much." Ranko couldn't manage to gather any
enthusiasm over this,
sitting
almost naked in a lab for hours. The hope of a cure held out, and ripped
away with almost no
concern for
his feelings.
"Ranma, these experiments are important. They'll help us discover the
nature of your curse."
When you find a cure, then I'll be enthusiastic, Ranko noted the return
of Maya and Nancy, and
their
measuring tools, "I'll let you do this, and I don't complain." She was
tired, hungry, and these exams
did
nothing she understood, and they went on for hours. Hours she could be
practicing, hours she
didn't have
to be stuck as a girl.
----------------------------------------
Ritsuko sat in her lab and looked over the data. She had bolted and
locked the door, she didn't
want anyone walking in on her. She didn't like lying to Ranma, but she
could never tell him the
truth.
I'm using you for my salvation, and I may have to deny you what you think is
yours, she thought that
would
go over well. The synthesis from his and `her` blood samples was five times
more effective than
any
extract she'd ever tested. The pain went away faster, and the loss of
mental acuity was almost
unnoticeable.
She looked at the violet liquid, she was glad his blood was the key
element. She could imagine
the
protests if his or `her` gametes had been the key. She knew he was growing
more comfortable with
the
transformation, and she knew she had the Commander's orders not to actually
research a cure, none
of that
made her feel any better about her activities.
But when it came down to his comfort, versus her survival, the choice
was obvious. She could
try to
make the other aspects of his life more pleasant. She just wished she had
enough faith in him and
his
honor, to let him make the decision, she suspected how he'd decide.
"Still, I cannot take the chance," she said as she made the injection,
the pain was a sharp stab,
and
over in seconds, instead of a dull, screaming agony that lasted nearly an
hour. The results would
last
for nearly a week, instead of a day or two. During that time, she'd have to
watch Ranma go through
the
uncertainty of his or her day, that pain never seemed to go away.
----------------------------------------
Hiroko looked up at the apartment window, the lights were still on,
she'd seen Dr. Agaki and
Saotome-san drive into the lot in her car. Hiroko had walked by the door to
Akagi-sensei's
apartment,
enjoyed the delicious smells coming from within. She'd stood there a few
moments, wondering
what it must
be like, to be with them, trading insults, but still affectionate, eating
the cooking she smelled,
sleeping together, sharing a bathroom. Then her nerve failed before she
could so much as knock on
the
door, so she slunk away in shame, both from having come here, and for having
turned away without
doing
what she'd come here for. She hadn't planned to profess her love, like in a
bad shojo story. The
boss
would never tolerate such cowardice, not in one that close to her. But she,
at least, wanted to see
her
boss's home.
Considering Nabiki-san had seen her apartment already, it seemed
strange she barely knew
where her
boss lived.
I am going to get in so much trouble! she thought of her family's
reaction to her sneaking away,
They
probably think I'm seeing a boy, . . . or worse. Her mother had been
suspicious of the groceries
she'd
been bringing home. She'd explained she'd gotten a job with NERV, Kamis
only know what they
think I'm
doing!
"You should have gone up."
The voice made Hiroko jump. She turned around to face Rei, "You
frightened me."
"You should have gone in," Rei repeated, her expression never changed.
Most of the people in class, in all of Ayanami-san's classes, thought
she was creepy. But since
the
other pilots had arrived, she was different around them.
"She'd - I'd never, I couldn't - "
"Why?" Rei interrupted her stammering denials.
"I'm a girl, so is she," Hiroko told Rei.
"And?" Rei asked, as if it wasn't perfectly obvious.
"I don't want her as a . . . well you know, and she loves Saotome-san,
and Raccoon-san is
always with
her, so I . . . "
Rei took one step, was now inches from Hiroko's face, stared into her
eyes with those red eyes.
"And?" she sounded slightly miffed.
Hiroko had no answer, she looked away, hung her head.
"Then you will die lonely," Rei told her, eliciting a flash of anger
from Hiroko. Rei continued
in a
softer tone, "There is a problem. There is a solution. Work through the
fear."
Hiroko nodded, anything to get away from the strange girl. She watched
Rei standing there,
staring
at her, as she retreated. She did wonder why Rei was outside the boss's
apartment, Instead of
Shinji-san's.
----------------------------------------
They were in the dojo, in dreams again. This time Ranko had formed it
and was waiting for
Raccoon.
Her sense of conquest and control vanished as the lessons began again.
Raccoon had a firm grip on the cat, as Ranko edged toward it, she
reached out a hand. Raccoon
had
assured her that the cat wouldn't hurt her. She wondered if that was due to
his AT field, or the
cat's
nature, or both.
"Stop," Raccoon ordered.
Ranko was glad to follow that order, the cat mewed quietly, Ranko still
had the impression that
it
was disappointed in him. Raccoon reformed the cage and put the cat inside.
It seemed to take this
treatment with resignation.
"I could have done it," Ranko told him.
"Not when you were going from white to purple and back, with each
step," he replied, "It took a
long
time to get your fear, it will take some time to unlearn it."
"What do you know about dating?" Ranko asked. Secretly pleased she'd
thrown her mentor for
a loop.
"A bit, are you asking for yourself, or Ranma?" he smiled at her.
Ranko wanted to pound that smile down his throat, "Both, I guess. What
should a girl expect,
what
should a guy do?"
"Too bad you can't use the curse everybody talks about," Raccoon
lamented, "You'd be the one
person
who could really explain it, to both sides."
Ranko shook her head at that, the idea of actually using the curse that
way, gave her the creeps,
it
would make her, him, a real pervert. She could charm people, girls mostly
as Ranma, guys and
some girls
as Ranko, but it wasn't the same.
"I guess you could find out what interests the other partner, find
things that you both like, do
them. Shinji and Rei just sit together quietly, I can only guess what
Misato and Kaji do, I don't
think
it's talking.
That was one the great mysteries around NERV, both denied they were
doing anything, except
Kaji would
disappear and Misato would come home very late. Ranma hadn't considered the
problem
important enough to
follow either of them at night, to see what really happened.
"Typically, there's a place in public where some privacy can be
expected, a play, a movie, a
dance,
you'd be a good dancer. Then dinner or a snack, and then, who knows."
"That's not very helpful," Ranko lamented.
"Take him to a fencing match, or a gymnastics meet," Raccoon suggested,
"Just remember not to
let him
challenge the participants."
"Him, who?" Ranko asked.
"Never mind," Raccoon smiled at her again, "There's one thing I do need
to talk to you about."
An
image of an anthropomorphic winged ant appeared.
"Byakhee," Ranko hissed, then blinked, How did I know that?!
"Nyogtha and Rhan Tegoth knew," Raccoon explained, "You're going to
have to accept that
their
knowledge is part of you. The battles we'll be in, will require you bring
everything to the table, no
matter how uncomfortable it is. No matter how icky, frightened or confused
it makes you feel."
Is he talking about the Great Old One's in my head, or the curse? Ranko
wondered, Or both. "I
won't
do spells, that's too horrible," she rubbed her chest, remembering the
feeling of Ranma having his
heart
crushed inside his chest.
"You'll still need to know what it feels like, and how to counter it,"
Raccoon retorted, "Unless
you've got another answer?"
"No, not really," Ranko admitted. I've got to find one.
----------------------------------------
Captain Ramsey was waiting for the Admiral as he and his wife boarded
the plane back for
Tokyo.
"Pleasant trip, Admiral?" his flag Captain asked.
"Family is very important," he replied.
"You look worried, sir."
"Just something new I have to worry about," he replied as he climbed
the stairs to the plane,
"And
after a few hours and a good meal, you're reminded that the rest of the
world doesn't know about
the war
being fought under their noses."
"Yes, sir."
Simson didn't like holding things back, but his children would never
trust or cooperate with
anyone
except him, and there were things he and Ramsey shared he'd never mention to
others. All of it
compartmentalized and secret, even from his superiors, who often had no need
or desire to really
know.
----------------------------------------
School Mafia
Nabiki and Jeff were walking home after school when the limousine
pulled in front of them, and
a
second car pulled in behind. Nabiki tensed, not knowing what to expect.
Several men with guns
got out of
the car, followed by an older, gray-haired man climbing out of the limo.
"I believe you will come with us," the old man said. Nodding
meaningfully at the armed men
surrounding them, none had drawn their weapons, but that was a mere
formality.
Nabiki glanced at Jeff, who shrugged, surrender now gave a chance of
survival later. Security
wasn't
doing anything. Jeff offered his arm, which Nabiki took. "You have a plan?"
she asked in German,
as she
climbed into the limo.
"Staying alive," he replied in German, as he climbed in behind her.
That's _really_ helpful, she considered, as the old man climbed into
the limousine after them,
and
closed the door.
"You are in no danger," the old man assured them.
He didn't say _yet_, Nabiki considered that understood, hopefully Ranma
or one of the others
saw what
happened, and reported it. Jeff's calm demeanor infuriated her, armed men
had just kidnaped them,
and he
acted like they were on a Sunday drive with old friends.
----------------------------------------
Old Misha had been selected for this assignment because of his
political reliability, and his
long
experience in the Dreamlands. An adventurer and spell caster, it was
assumed, that of all the
agents
State Security had in the Dreamlands, Misha was the best teacher for the
young pilots of the new
Ogromniys.
He'd never expected the byakhee to have descended in such numbers, to
overpower the guard
force and
spirit the five fledgling Dreamers away. He'd made pursuit of course, a
flying crystal sailing ship,
with
a picked crew. With moonraker sails, as fast as the wind, he'd once proudly
claimed. Now, that
was the
problem. Time and again, the byakhees' spells would snatch the wind from
the ship's sails, and he
would
lose time breaking the spells. They would pull a little farther away with
each attempt, and they
had
others waiting to take up the burdens, so Misha pursued a nearly tireless
enemy across Cerenarian
Sea
dodging the grazing Cloudbeasts and other avian troubles.
"There, sir," the lookout pointed to the speck of darkness against the
clouds and blue sky, that
for
almost two hours, only his sharp eyes had been able to pick out.
Misha studied the seemingly endless clouds for what had so troubled the
young sky sailor.
"Bozhei
moi!" he breathed, "That's pursuing us?"
"Yes, sir. It will overtake us in three hours," the lookout reported.
"How soon will our quarry make landfall?" Misha demanded of the
navigator.
"Ten hours, unless they land at the Nameless Rock, then three, three
and a half," the
academician
turned skyfarer told him.
"If that dragon overtakes us before we can reach the pilots . . . Iron
Felix and Dzerzhinskiy
Square
will be the least of our worries," Misha admitted.
"He would still try to interrogate a pile of dragon shit, just to be
thorough," the navigator, an
analyst for State Security in the Waking World agreed.
"Sir, wouldn't it have descended? To come after us?" the lookout
asked, dragons were rarely
enough
seen, rumors about them were vastly more common. "Perhaps we could bribe
it, somehow."
That earned him chuckles from the more senior crew.
Misha gave him a grandfatherly smile, "What exactly would we offer? A
king's ransom in
rubies. A
truck load of gold? Perhaps a dozen nubile virgins? Dream your dreams, but
remember even here,
there is
reality."
The young man returned to the crow's-nest to avoid further laughter,
Misha was left with the
problem
of what to do, even if the dragon didn't attack, did he have enough men to
snatch back the pilots
from the
byakhee? Worse yet, if they sold them to the Moonbeasts, they'd be facing
an entire army. He
almost
wished the dragon would catch him first.
----------------------------------------
Admiral Simson had just returned from Kyoto when he got the news that
sent him running into
General
Tomlinson's office, commander of one of the U.S. Army's Armored divisions.
"You don't have to tell me," Tomlinson said, "The FUBENS(2) screwed the
pooch, again. Let
Tendo and
Davis get snatched right off the street. One of their school chums actually
called it in, he even got
pictures of the cars and the kidnappers. My recon people are processing the
film now."
Simson visibly relaxed, "I keep forgetting, we do have some competent
people around here."
"Considering the security arrangements, I wouldn't get my hopes up,"
Tomlinson joked, "Have
you
considered letting the Army, or the Marines," he said the last with mock
distaste, "See to their
security?"
"I can see that: surround each pilot with a company of Marines.
Supposedly they need to keep a
`common touch`, at least that's what that headshrinker Fuyutsuki says.
Unfortunately, Dr. Samuels
agrees
with him."
"Paul," the General began, "Your experience with security is limited to
guarding ships in port,
or
battle groups at sea. Leave the arrangements to someone with a little
experience." Tomlinson had
been an
M.P., before transferring to Armor, and never looking back. Until now.
"Throw the Army a bone, you mean," Simson smiled at that.
"Oh, I'll let your Marines play too, have to be ecumenical about this,
or we'll have Marines
having
crying jags all over the place, might scare the locals. Besides, I wouldn't
mind Marine Corps
close air
support if things get sticky, not to mention help from those oversized
bathtub toys you've got
floating in
the harbor."
"Okay, what do you propose?"
"Let's get Tokyo P.D. in here, to identify who these jokers are. Then
I send a few Chaffees and
Sherman Flame tanks, to real politely ask them to explain what they're
doing. I could use a
company of
your best sharpshooters while you're at it."
"Done, what about later?"
"Let's worry about later, later," Tomlinson picked up the phone and
began issuing orders.
----------------------------------------
The Scholarly Dragon's speed had carried him through the Dreamland's
skies, until he had
overtaken
and passed the crystalline air-sailer, he didn't have time to trifle with
them. Or the hordes of
byakhee
he passed through. They were wise enough to simply make a hole, and let him
through. He saw
what they
were carrying, he could have attempted a rescue, but that wouldn't have
dealt with the real
problem.
There ahead, dozens of the Moonbeasts' cumbersome slave aerial-ships,
from their base on the
Nameless
Rock. He'd heard a Dreamer had cleaned this place out, with an army of
ghouls and nightgaunts.
Too bad
they hadn't held it, he thought, as the ships deployed their 'anti-dragon'
weapons. He laughed, the
systems _were_ very good, and clever, which is why every dragon in the Red
Dragons practiced
against them.
Always compare yourself to the best, he thought as he gained altitude, and
swung wide to attack
from
behind, Then you know if you're any good. He would let them do most of the
work, after all, all he
had to
do was prevent the transfer. Once the byakhee realized their clients were
too busy dying to pay
them,
they would become far more amenable. "Surrender or die," he rumbled to
himself, and watched
the first net
pass near him, he caught it, and quickly accelerated to foul the sails of
the lead ship.
This is always a good game, he thought, The arrogant against the
clever. He also reminded
himself
that those two appellations could quickly reverse themselves, if he wasn't
careful.
----------------------------------------
Nabiki was not pleased about how vulnerable she felt. Despite the lack
of armed men in the
car, she
knew they were only a moment away. Despite Ranma's fervent belief that
Martial Arts trumped
any weapon
yet known to man, she was not so delusional. That the one person she
expected to be shooting
flames and
tossing cars around to protect her and himself, was sitting watching the
scenery, and discussing the
Japanese tea ceremony with their chief kidnapper, didn't fill her with warm,
soothing thoughts. On
the
other hand, having Ranma raise a fuss and get shot, would have been worse,
she reminded herself,
tried to
remain calm and collected, or at least appear to be.
They arrived at a large house with a traditional wood and stone fence
around it. Trees grew
behind,
giving the impression that the top of the fence was an immense bonsai
garden. The lawn was
neatly kept,
it hardly looked like the place a group of kidnappers, or murderers would
use. The man,
surrounded by
large bodyguards, at the end of the driveway dispelled that illusion.
The old man gestured for them to get out of the car. Neither of them
were frisked, the first
mistake
she'd seen them make.
Or maybe they don't expect us to be armed or dangerous, Nabiki hoped,
all they needed was a
few
mistakes on the bad guys' part, and a little luck. And a miracle or two,
she added.
"Mr. Shimurata," Jeff bowed, "I was wondering when you'd ask us over. I
must apologize for
our
rudeness in not bringing a welcoming gift."
Terrific, Nabiki thought, as she straightened up from her bow, He's in
`Kuno-mode` again.
"You disrupted our operations," the man said, trying to get the
conversation back on rational
ground,
"Operations that would have been very beneficial to Japan."
"May I?" Jeff asked her, she considered deeply, nodded, let her
subordinate field the question.
It
also confused the yakuza, That's the only people they could be. 'An
American deferring to a
Japanese
girl?' she could almost hear them asking themselves.
"The destruction of Japan would not have served your interests, not in
the long-term," Jeff
began.
"So you killed not only your schoolmates, but their families as well?"
oyabun Shimurata was
aghast.
Nabiki was more so.
Jeff shrugged, "Treason is treason, your country and mine have similar
penalties. There were
better
ways to deal with your concerns."
Nabiki's blood ran cold, He said 'Killed'! I only wanted them
arrested, gotten out of the way.
But
they're dead! And he's acting like this is all a tea party! He must have
known what was going to
happen!
Why didn't he tell me? I could have found another way. Nabiki glanced down
at her shoes, to hide
her
expression, she'd tuned out the `discussion` between the other two, she'd
caused people to die, she
as
much as killed them. Why hadn't anyone told her this?
She felt Jeff take her arm and lead her towards a small table.
"Does she have a voice?" the question penetrated Nabiki's
consciousness.
"Actually, I'm a ventriloquist's dummy," Jeff said with all
seriousness. The oyabun nearly
cracked a
smile.
"Only your chosen surrogates, were disrupted," Nabiki commented. "My
associate has already
arranged,
tutoring and study sheets," she added, "But there will be no more theft of
answer sheets. Photos
and
betting are still very profitable. More so now, with the pilots at the
school. I think we can
continue
to do business."
The oyabun asked, "Why should I agree?"
Jeff looked at Nabiki, she nodded, "I can offer a gift, a demonstration
of what friendship will
benefit you, honored sir."
Nabiki noted the interest on the oyabun's face, swiftly and skillfully
hidden, but it had been
there.
"I think we should offer him a _powerful_ example," she told Jeff, who
nodded.
"Your wife suffers from polio," Jeff said, "I can cure her."
Nabiki barely kept a straight face, the oyabun was shocked. He
realized he'd lost the
advantage, but
he still held some cards.
"How do you know this?!" he demanded.
"Research," Nabiki said quietly, "Do you agree to accept?" Raccoon, I
hope you know what
you're
doing.
The man sneered.
He thinks we're lying! Nabiki thought, Well, time to educate you. "Do
you agree to let us gift
you?"
The man nodded, he was staring daggers at the two youths. Nabiki was
beginning to realize
what a
dangerous game she was playing. If it didn't work, even if the man hadn't
intended to kill them
before,
he was considering it now. She also couldn't get away from the idea that
the dethroned `mafia` had
been
killed, how many, were they just taken out and shot? And why had she not
heard any of this? Not
from
Davis, not from Ritsuko, not from anyone at school?
The woman was brought out in her walker. Nabiki noted she was a pretty
woman, careworn,
but from the
way she and her husband look at each other . . . If this works, we've got
him, she thought, If this
doesn't, we're dead. Why doesn't that worry me more?
Jeff stood, bowed, "I apologize in advance for your discomfort," he
explained, "The nerves
will all
report in, what is normal sensation, you aren't used to, and it will be very
distressing."
She looked to her husband, who nodded, she agreed.
Nabiki noticed the tension in the oyabun and his gunmen's faces, as she
moved up to Jeff's side,
as
he knelt to touch the older woman's feet.
Nabiki expected fireworks, a bright glow, something. Instead the woman
cried out and stood
straight
up. Nabiki's shock wasn't too great to keep her from catching her, before
she could topple, She's
wobbly,
Nabiki thought while supporting the oyabun's wife, But she is able to remain
upright, Nabiki and
the woman
remained that way for at least a minute, the woman sobbing hysterically.
Nabiki motioned the
stunned men
forward. The oyabun took his wife back in the house. Nabiki stared in
shock at Jeff, who seemed
to be
unable to stand up himself. Okay, it's real, she hadn't been absolutely
certain until now, she wasn't
sure what to do next. She had proof, and a totally inappropriate setting to
begin demanding
answers and
explanations. She had to stay cool, nonchalant, and in control, At least on
the surface, she admitted
to
herself, I'll browbeat the answers out of you when we get home! she silently
vowed.
"Listen," Jeff told her, "Ground vibrations too."
She heard odd sounds, "Those are tanks," she said, and looked around,
"And there are snipers
on some
of the roofs. I think we've better tell them we're all right, _before_ they
start shooting," she told
the
old man, and the gunman who were all realizing how outnumbered they were.
"Good plan." Jeff still seemed unable to stand.
The old man quickly led her to the gate, she opened it just before a
very large American soldier
knocked.
"Miss Tendo? Are you all right?" the man lowered his hand, gazed
inside, to plan how and
where to
assault, to rescue the two pilots, if necessary.
Nabiki noted the small tanks not quite aiming their guns at the gate,
and the tank commanders
leaning
on their machineguns, with the air of men who could wait forever, Waiting to
attack, or fall back,
Nabiki
thought, It's all the same to them. "We're just fine, making some new
friends. You are our
friends?" she
asked the old man, who wisely nodded, "Thank you for caring," she told the
soldier, "We'll be out
in a few
moments. We will need a ride back." She closed the door before the man
could reply, turned to
the older
man, she now realized he was the oyabun's majordomo, and possibly the
woman's father or
grandfather, "They
worry so, the dears."
The man seemed as shocked as his boss had been, she realized he was
thinking he was dealing
with two
sorcerers, not one. Nabiki was realizing that in Nerima, she made up for a
lack of offensive power
by
bluff and guile, but here, she could call down Hell, Death and Destruction
beyond the dreams of
any of the
martial artists, for real. She frankly wanted to go back to the old system,
it was more
responsibility
than she wanted, she held lives in the balance, the lives of people she
didn't even know. And she
was
terribly uncomfortable with that.
Nabiki returned to the table, helped herself to some of the tea. The
warmth kept her from
shivering,
and her grip on the cup gave her something else to focus on.
Jeff clumsily ambled over, sat next to her.
"What did you do?" she asked in German.
"Magic," Jeff admitted in German, "Transference healing."
She was amazed, "So you weren't lying when you told Ritsuko in St.
Louis, you are a wizard."
"No, I wasn't, I don't lie," Jeff admitted.
Nabiki knew _that_ could easily be a lie, If it's true . . . she
abandoned the speculation, it led
down too many dark paths.
----------------------------------------
Misha wasn't sure what the Hell was going on, so he ordered the sky
ship to turn into the wind
to
slow down, while they shortened sail. The lookout had reported the byakhee
had slowed and were
milling
about. Something else was going on, on the far side of them, but he
couldn't see through the mass.
"We could strike while they are distracted," the navigator told him,
both knew he was joking,
but the
byakhee had lost interest in them as well, as they closed in slowly.
"Be ready for anything," Misha ordered. What worried him the most, was
that they would put
on a
sudden burst of speed while he had many of his ship's sails furled. He
didn't like when his
enemies did
the unexpected.
----------------------------------------
The Dragon was having a fine time. Two of the Moonbeasts' ships were
on fire, and a
half-dozen were
fleeing back to the Nameless Rock, to escape or summon reinforcements. Only
a few stalwarts
were still
trying to make the pick up, probably they had paid earnest money, or
whatever, to the byakhee or
whoever
had summoned them. And people think Dragons and Scotsmen are cheapskates!
the Dragon
thought, "There
comes a time to cut your losses and run!" he bellowed at them in their own
language.
The Moonbeasts may have wanted to keep fighting, but their slaves had
other ideas, like
survival.
Moonbeasts began dropping from all the remaining ships, and the few that
weren't tangled together,
broke
away and fled.
Neither Saotome would approve, the Dragon turned his attention to the
byakhee, now that
_they_ were
caught between two forces, instead of himself and the Russian captain being
trapped. I shouldn't
have to
eat more than half of them to get them to be reasonable. Byakhee were a
special treat, like fugu to
humans, a lovely tingle all the way down, but without any risk of paralysis,
and the dragons made
sure the
byakhee knew it.
----------------------------------------
The oyabun returns to the table where both Nabiki and Jeff are sipping
tea. Jeff pours him a
cup,
while the oyabun explains his doctor has pronounced his wife cured. He is
having trouble
processing it
all.
"Does this indicate the benefits of a partnership?" Nabiki asks,
setting her tea aside, and staring
at the man.
"Would you be willing to heal my daughter as well?" the man asks
hopefully.
"I apologize," Jeff bows, "There is a limit to how many times I can
perform the rite in a given
time
period. However, if you should consider an appropriate cultural outing, and
dinner, on Sunday, I
should
be able to deliver on my promise."
The man bows low, "The school is yours, is there anything you need of
me."
"Excuse us," Nabiki says, takes Jeff a small distance away. "We have
to ask for something,
something
big, or he'll lose face," she tells him in German, "Just follow my lead."
They return to the table, "I and my associate may need to 'expedite'
things through customs, and
through the bureaucracy, your expertise in such matters would be greatly
appreciated."
He bows and agrees. "I fear your friends are becoming impatient.
Please go, with my thanks,
and
humble apologies for having treated you poorly."
Laying it on a little thick, Nabiki thinks, Well his wife and daughter
returned to health by one,
and
a couple of companies of tanks and sharpshooters called off by the other.
Maybe he _isn't_
overreacting.
Nabiki is not at ease with that thought, and the implications.
The two are escorted back to the gate. The soldiers are still there,
still waiting, the two pilots
are led through the curious soldiers to a command car, that takes a place in
the center of a convoy
back
to Dr. Akagi's apartment. The soldiers make them lie down on the floor, so
a sniper can't get a
clean
shot at them. Nabiki isn't happy about that, either. She glares at the
accepting expression on Jeff's
face, a few inches from her own.
"Why didn't you tell me about the deaths? Did you know?" she asks as
they ride back to the
apartment.
"I knew."
"Did they get a trial, did they get any due process?" Nabiki demanded
over the noise, "Or were
they
just dragged out into the street and shot?"
"They received a swift trial, you are assuming the investigations
weren't ongoing at the time of
your
intervention. You've seen the incomplete sections of headquarters."
She nods.
"This isn't all about you, Miss Tendo. There are tests that have not
been done, there is data that
wasn't transferred to NERV Massachusetts and NERV Bristol. Information that
might have saved
some of the
British pilots lost to Unit 03, it might have saved one or both of the
American pilots. What penalty
is
the appropriate levy for murder? If things had happened differently, what
is the punishment for
Omnicide,
the death of all?"
Nabiki moves away from Jeff, she feels very cold. She could appreciate
his chutzpah, they
need
intelligence from many sources, and even criminals realize that you can't do
business if you're
dead. But
the idea that people would die because of what they, what she, had done,
even if they deserved it,
made
her nauseous.
She'd been amazed by the magic, and his overtness in using it. Now she
wants nothing to do
with him,
his easy condemnation of those who'd opposed them. The ready acceptance of
death in this world.
----------------------------------------
"Here they come!" the lookout shouted.
Misha stood behind an immense harpoon. Several of the crew who were
aircraft pilots in the
Waking
World had appreciated the skill of the battle, now the byakhee were
approaching slowly, the few
carrying
the pilots were in front. The huge creature circled lazily behind them.
If they drop them, what then? Misha wondered, the much reduced force
could still overwhelm
his crew.
"Stand ready, but stand easy," Misha ordered as the ant-like monsters
dropped one, then another
dazed
pilot on the ship's deck, then dove for the sea far below. Once all five
were aboard, the byakhee
seemed
to be reassessing the situation, they could outwait the dragon.
"Go home!" it ordered in tradespeech, the lingua franca of the
Dreamland. The message was
quickly
translated, the byakhee fled. The dragon turned his attention to the ship
and crew, "That goes for
you as
well. Idiots, bringing such, here! _FOOLS_!_!_" it roared the last, the
entire ship moved from the
force.
Misha hadn't lived this long arguing with angry dragons, "Set course
for Ulthar! Get the pilots
below!"
"The steps!" the dragon corrected, "Do not bring them here again! Or
you will suffer!"
Misha nodded, "Yes, Comrade Dragon." He bowed to the scowling brute,
frankly he thought it
was a
good idea, as they were taken below decks for dry clothes and a hot meal.
At least until they
learned to
conceal themselves from even this monster.
----------------------------------------
Secret Techniques
Ranko looked at Nabiki, who'd just drenched her hand, "Akagi-sensei was
right, 24�C is the
lower
threshold," she said happily, "Next time don't bet against me."
Ranko growled at her, as she preceded Nabiki out of Akagi-sensei's
kitchen. Nabiki had just
gotten
home, and was immediately picking on her, again.
"Hello, Ranko-san," Davis entered the apartment, and started removing
his boots.
Ranko noted Nabiki slipped past her and shied away from him, They must
have had another
fight, she
thought.
He walked to the dining room table, and carefully spread out dozens of
pieces of paper. "We
need a
different table, so we don't have to close up our homework for dinner."
Something had been bothering Ranma for several days, ever since _he_
had been defeated in
dreams.
"Uh, Raccoon, do you have some time?"
"Sure," he looked up and smiled at her.
She relaxed a bit, the smile was no where near what Toji, or even
Shinji, gave her on a regular
basis, and nothing like Nabiki's smile. "What Ranma did that first fight,
he said," she stopped, the
stricken look on Raccoon's face worried her, "Doing something like it in
dreams. Do you think you
could -
"
"Auugh!" Raccoon screamed, looked at the ceiling, "Can't you give me a
break?! What do you
think
I've been doing for the past few weeks?" he gestured at the papers. He
sighed, "Why do you think
I've
been researching?"
Ranko retreated into the kitchen, as Raccoon grimaced and hit his head
on the table a few times.
She
and Nabiki were looking over the counter into the dining room. "I was just
asking."
----------------------------------------
The GRU man looked at the motley collection of concrete and sheet metal
huts, high in the Ural
Mountains, the twin, parallel rail lines running through it. Compared with
the bustle of the
shipyards
trying to prepare naval vessels as carriers, the last major supply depot
between Moscow and the
facility,
was nearly abandoned. If he'd been human, he would have felt like
screaming. As it was, he
looked at the
laborers: convicts mostly, or ex-Wehrmacht; and searched for a way to get
them to do their jobs in
more
than a half-hearted fashion. Might as well wish that none of this was
necessary, he looked over the
sullen, frightened eyes of these people, he could understand why many
considered humans little
different
from cattle. He'd seen more intelligence and drive from things he'd eaten,
than what he saw here,
looking
at him, Especially one.
"We simply need more workers, Comrade Colonel," the Major commanding
this rabble
wheedled. It was
clear he thought of himself as much a convict as those working for him, and
took as little pride in
himself and his command.
"I see a large number of men idle, I see the perimeter is not guarded,
I see large amount of
valuable
State property left out in the open to rust. That is what I see, Comrade
Major."
The little man paled and began dry washing his hands.
The stench of fear from this fool sickened the GRU man, he wondered if
killing and eating him
on the
spot would motivate the others. The stomach upset from so much grease might
actually be worth it.
An
alarm interrupted his considerations, suddenly the little man beside him
came to furious life.
"That stupid Cossack! Jumping at nothing again!" he bustled off to
vent his fear and anger on a
junior officer.
The GRU man was not so sanguine, his hearing and eyesight were much
better, and
complacency did not
blind him. "Everyone to alert stations! Issue rifles and ammunition to
anyone able to fight!"
"Comrade Colonel!" the Major was shocked, "Some of these men are
criminals. Some are
Germans!"
The GRU man was concentrating on one point in the sky, and what
occupied it, "They are all
humans,
and if they want to live, they'll stand and fight!"
The rest of the crowd watched the dim shapes getting bigger as the
alarm was taken up. Not
crabs,
nor scorpions, nor bats, but a weird mixture of all three.
Mi-Go! the GRU man thought, wished for some real weapons instead of the
rifle a sergeant
handed him.
"Flamethrowers, or at least incendiary ammunition or tracers?!"
The sergeant shook his head sadly, then went to arm the others.
"Aim for their weapons first," the GRU man shouted, "Their bodies are
resistant to bullets, their
machines aren't!" It might not do any good, it might save all of their
lives. He noted with
satisfaction
that none of the dreadful convicts, or the frightful Germans, was pointing
his weapon anywhere but
skyward. A few light machine guns on the perimeter were already opening up.
Twenty times their number, or a few flamethrowers, he thought, and
wondered how the
Americans and
Japanese dealt with such things.
----------------------------------------
The GRU `man` looked over his devastated command. Convicts, misfits
and Germans, he
shook his head,
The unwanted. "You!" he pointed to a man, he didn't care who or what he was
before, he'd led
three
counterattacks personally, and not from the very front, like the poor
Cossack lieutenant, who was
carefully added to the heap of corpses, or none at all, like their Major,
whom they had thrown in a
lime
pit already.
"Do you speak Russian?" he demanded, the man tried to stand, he waved
him back down, A
proud one.
"Can you not answer a simple question without saluting?"
"Yes, I mean no, sir. I speak good Russian," the man told him.
"Gestapo, SS Trooper?" the GRU man asked.
"Alpine Division," the man said tightly. Still proud of what that
meant.
"Well, Captain, you are now a spy for the GRU, and a loyal servant of
the Rodina, do you have
any
problem with that?" Stalin can only kill me _once_, he thought as he
surveyed the other prisoners
and
workers, no one seemed to resent the man's promotion, in fact they all
seemed to think 'Better you
than
me.'
"Is my job to kill these things?" the man asked. There had been no
reason to bury the enemy.
They
moldered away within moments of death, leaving a putrid stench in the air,
that not even the
mountain
winds could scour away.
"Indirectly, I want a report on the reasons why this camp, which is a
linchpin in the Rodina's
attempt to destroy these things, could not be defended from a small raiding
party." He raised his
voice,
"Other commands have had to fight off hundreds of these things, and they
succeeded." He left out
the last
two attacks had cost nearly six battalions of tanks and almost an entire
motor rifle division, losses
they
could ill-afford. "If there are simple things to fix, part of your cover is
to fix them," he told the
man, who had already collected his cadre, Germans, Ukrainians, a few
`politicals`, another
Cossack.
He let the man nod, then told the entire camp, "If any of you wondered
why you are out here,
instead
of in the pleasant climes of Siberia," he let them laugh at that, "Somebody
thought you could do the
job.
You are still prisoners, but would you rather be prisoners," he gestured to
where a makeshift
flamethrower
had incinerated the Mi-Go's only vehicle, "Or mulch?"
"What are your orders?" the man said.
"What is your name?" the GRU man demanded.
The man smiled, "Piotr Ramius."
"East Prussian?" the GRU man knew a fair number of Lithuanians had fled
to Germany to
escape Stalin,
well this one was back. "My first order is see to the wounded and the dead,
get the defenses
reestablished, they may come back. _I_ am going to find a radio and get
some reinforcements up
here." He
raised his voice again, "Then I'm going to find something to drink in this
shithole!"
More laughter, after that battle, he suspected everyone wanted to get
drunk. He headed off to
the
radio shed, he wondered what they had wanted. They seemed to concentrate on
the construction
material.
Since the Mi-Go were intelligent and logical, they must have attacked what
they thought was
important.
Like the Germans bombing electrical plants, because that's where they were
weak, and the
Americans
attacking `vital` industries and the British enemy morale, because that's
what they were afraid of.
He
was going to have to look at where they were vulnerable and what were the
Mi-Go's
vulnerabilities, Unless
they were trying to _steal_ cement and rebar, nails and wood? That made no
sense.
----------------------------------------
"He still follows," the skyship's lookout reported.
"The byakhee?" Misha saw the coastline and the Enchanted Wood
approaching.
"He ate them all, I think he knew I was watching." The lookout climbed
out of the crow's-nest.
Misha noted the lookout was looking fairly green, as cruel as many of
the `monsters` were,
Misha knew
what real monsters looked like. "He was playing with his food?" Misha asked
mildly, and was
amused that
the lookout rushed to the rail and threw up. The Seven Hundred Steps, then
to safer dreams, he'd
make the
recommendation himself. With that monster taking such a personal interest,
the pilots just weren't
safe.
----------------------------------------
The rushing wind tore at her skin and hair, the smoke from the stack
made her cough. Rei
wasn't
quite sure how she should react. She had been 'visiting' Shinji-kun in his
dreams lately. It allowed
them to be alone together, without the others interfering.
Shinji-kun had wanted to be `adventurous`, so they were sitting _atop_
the train as it raced
along.
It made eating impossible, and talking difficult. She wasn't certain if she
should be frightened, she
knew Shinji-kun wouldn't _intentionally_ hurt her, but was he in control, as
much as he
thought/hoped he
was?
She sat next to him, holding his hand, he enjoyed it, and it gave her
something else to focus on,
rather than focus on the wind, smoke and speed. He smiled at her. She let
the wind ruffle her hair,
brush her skin. She didn't like it too much, but she enjoyed being with
Shinji-kun, doing something
more
risky.
"I think we cannot eat lunch up here," she managed over the noise of
the rails and engine.
He nodded, the train slowed it's breakneck pace, the wind shifted,
blowing the smoke away.
They were
still covered in soot, but that was a nuance that hadn't been there before.
She wondered how much
was the
Second's training and how much was his natural talent. She felt some
jealousy at that. The Second
was
not a good teacher, she was too harsh. But Shinji-kun was a natural
Dreamer, the same way he
was a
natural pilot. That thought worried her.
"How about now?" Shinji-kun asked her.
She nodded, brushed the soot off her hands and the basket of food, and
began carefully setting
out
the lunch. It had been a successful pattern, she'd wanted to do something
different from her
ordinary
life. However, everyone else stayed away from her. Until recently.
Shinji-kun took a wet cloth
and
dabbed gently at the soot on her face. She wanted to stop him, but she
dind't wnat to send him
away, or
make herself unwelcome here.
She was still learning to set limits on the others' interaction with
her. Some was fine, even
delightful. Too much, and she wanted to do _anything_ to drive them away,
even Shinji-kun.
Finding the
mix, and more importantly the signals to tell them to go, was proving more
difficult than anything
she'd
ever done.
----------------------------------------
Opening Moves
Rei studied the board. After a week of watching Jeff playing chess,
and then several days of
her
playing against him, she was playing a slower, more contemplative game.
School was over for the
week, Dr.
Akagi was collating the test results, she had until this evening.
"You are playing differently," she told Roku-kun. She had at least six
possible moves, all of
which
were traps which would tear open and destroy her carefully constructed
defense. She tried to
ignore the
other pilots and a few of their circle members as she played, it was
extremely difficult.
She stared at the situation on the board, to ignore that she was again
the center of rapt attention.
Even the Second was staring at her and the board. Is the discomfort part of
the greater game? To
disrupt
my concentration? she glanced at Roku-kun as his eyes scanned the board.
Whatever she did, did
he have a
counter ready? The others were silent, watching, waiting. She nearly
smiled at that, the Second
was
almost bursting to shout out advice, suggestions, warnings, but the
`etiquette` of the game precluded
that. Nabiki had dragged the Fourth's female form back by her pigtail, with
a hand clamped over
the
Fourth's mouth, to watch the game. Nabiki and the Second had then glared
the rest into silence.
She decided on her move, made it, he made his move almost as a reflex,
the Second gasped.
"Sorry," Asuka apologized quietly.
It was not a move she'd been expecting and she had to pause,
concentrate on the board. While
_I_
study the board, he studies it, so he can seem to instantly react to my
move, to further distract me.
She'd won the game on Thursday, and after school on Friday, but this
was different. She
surveyed the
board, the traps were still there. She couldn't see what he was doing,
other than luring her into a
series of ambushes that would destroy her force, for little loss to his own.
She looked at the Second, "Asuka, what do you suggest?" By asking for
advice, she was
admitting
defeat. She couldn't see another alternative.
"Resign, mate in six," the Second said grimly.
Rei couldn't imagine surrender at this point, I still have almost
two-thirds of my forces. Yet she
is so sure. Rei wondered if the Second was trying to make her lose, but she
had seen Asuka in her
'analytical' mode. In that posture, Rei and the others could trust Asuka to
be factual, if not always
polite. Rei set her king down, indicating surrender.
"Thank you," she told Roku-kun. She couldn't think of anything else to
say.
"You will accompany us on Sunday, won't you?" he asked in return.
She had not considered it, neither Dr. Akagi nor the Commander had told
her of anything
requiring her
attention, Dr. Akagi and her staff were going as chaperones. The outing was
with Shinji-kun, and
all the
other pilots. The last part was the cause of her hesitation, she could see
the necessity of Shinji-kun
placating the Second, they lived together, and once placated, she would be
quiet for a while. She
could
not see the reasoning behind including the Fourth in on a trip to hear a
concert, he would announce
it was
girly or boring, or some other nonsense. And if forced, he would set out to
ruin everyone elses'
enjoyment, as he did in so many other things.
"If my duties allow," she said, collecting the pieces . . . to _her_
chessboard. That also was
new,
something that was hers, not issued, not borrowed, abandoned or neglected.
The owner had
transferred its
title to her. She carefully put it away.
"Wait a minute, Wondergirl," the Second demanded, "Aren't you going to
give someone else a
chance."
Rei stood, put a serious demeanor on, "No," and walked off to the
general laughter of the pilots,
even the Second chuckled. Their circles were mystified by the reaction.
----------------------------------------
Ranko was in a poor mood when she arrived at back at Dr. Akagi's
apartment.
"Problems?" Raccoon asked, "Dodging Toji again?"
Ranko nodded, Ranma was still stuck as Ranko for until Sunday. Unless
NERV required
Ranma. Toji had
located, her, after the chess game, and Asuka and Nabiki had seemed bound
and determined to
embarrass
Ranko as much as possible.
"I think I have a solution to one problem, and a problem I don't think
you know you have,"
Raccoon
told her, "There is a martial art technique you don't know, or you haven't
shown me you know."
"What is that?" she asked, she didn't believe Raccoon could know a
martial arts technique she
didn't.
Raccoon stood, opened the closet, pushing the coats aside, "Actually I
noticed this a while ago,
but
you were too skittish to test this. If you please."
Ranko noticed Nabiki had wandered in, to see the latest loony Raccoon
idea. She walked into
the
small area Raccoon had cleared, Raccoon squeezed in in front of her. She
was nervous about that.
She
glanced over at Nabiki sitting at the dining room table, staring at them.
"Assume there is a wall, instead of this opening, how would you fight
someone?"
Now that it was fighting, she ignored the close physical contact
between them. She tried a
punch,
kick, the coats and the close quarters hindered her a lot. She tried to
shove him away, the coats
pushed
him back at her, he tumbled at her feet.
"I think I proved my point." He crawled out, stood, and offered his
hand.
"I'm confused," Ranko said, walking out behind him.
"I watched you and Tendo-san fight, and realized you have a minimum
range, if someone gets
within
about three-quarters of a meter, you stop punching or kicking them. Instead
you do a sweep or
throw. If
you are out in the open, where you both prefer to fight, so you can jump
around, that's fine. But - "
he
gestured at the closet.
"In a phone booth, or a shower stall," Nabiki added.
Ranko shuddered at the idea of Toji catching her in a shower stall,
alone. While Raccoon was
wrong,
Ranko could have pummeled him unconscious, but it would have taken a longer
time than Ranko
was
comfortable with, and Toji might have fallen _on_ her, not in front of her.
"Try this, put your fists just below and on either side of the hollow
of your throat. Now strike
using your elbow. Now make an uppercut using your elbow."
Ranko practiced the moves, it was clumsy, but she could adapt many of
her strikes to this
method.
"Now if you can jump up, but not side to side, use your elbow to attack
the collarbone. This
gives
you a strike about 30 centimeters long, no more someone getting too close."
It was hardly a `new` technique, but it was an important variation, she
tried kicks, using her
knee
or upper leg. Very useful. "Okay, what's the price?" She knew Raccoon
never gave anything
away, you had
to earn it.
"Just the way to put Toji off, hopefully for good," Raccoon told her,
"One kiss, in front of the
whole class."
IS HE CRAZY?! Ranko shuddered at the thought of kissing Toji, ever, "I
ain't doin' it, no way!
Pick
something else! No way am I kissing Toji!"
"Who said one word about Toji?" Raccoon asked.
Nabiki instantly burst out laughing, then Ranko realized what Raccoon
was proposing.
"It was your idea, you asked me about staging a fight." Raccoon kept
having to raise his voice
over
Nabiki's increasing laughter. "Why not a love scene?"
Ranko blushed pure crimson, This time, Raccoon doesn't have the
faintest idea what he's
asking! She
expected Nabiki-chan to laugh her head off about it, what she didn't expect,
was Raccoon's
reaction.
"Tendo-san, if you do not have something constructive to offer, SHUT
YOUR MOUTH!" he
angrily shouted
at her. She glared at him, he stared back.
Ranko wanted to leave the room, she hated being the subject of
Nabiki-chan's glare or
Raccoon's
stare. She swore she saw a fly caught between them, fall screaming to the
ground in flames.
Nabiki looked away first, "Okay. I'll behave."
"I was not demanding anything, I was suggesting a course of action. If
you think you could
convince
Ranma to kiss you, then go ahead and do that." He glared at Nabiki who
started chuckling at that,
she
fell silent. "We don't have to do anything tomorrow, think about it, come
up with a course of
action you
are comfortable with." He looked at Nabiki, "I'm going to go practice on
the roof, before
`Biki-chan does
herself an injury from not laughing."
Nabiki kept a straight face until Raccoon closed the door behind him.
Then her laughter nearly
knocked her out of her chair. "One kiss and all your frogs become princes!"
Ranko frowned at her, it was a good plan. Toji was afraid of Raccoon,
if Ranko started
`chasing`
Raccoon, was Raccoon's girlfriend, Toji would leave her alone. So would the
other girls, they'd
quit
thinking she was poaching on _their_ boyfriends, they'd all leave her alone
too. The other pilots
would
recognize it for what it was, an attempt to put off Toji. Although Asuka
would never let him live it
down, But was that any different from how she acted about Ranko and Toji
right now?
Nabiki was still laughing too hard to be of any use, except as a
noisemaker.
She knew he was offering it as a game, an acting scene, of no
importance, to him. Except it did
mean
something, it meant something to Ranma. He didn't want to encourage his
girl side, he also didn't
like
how it would make him feel. `She` liked the way Raccoon treated `her`, as a
friend and student,
always
friendly and patient, but equally proper and respectful, never romantic.
He'd seen Shinji looking at
Ranko _that_way_, even though he knew who Ranko really was, and he and Rei
seemed to enjoy
each other's
company. Raccoon didn't mean anything by this, he was just trying to help.
----------------------------------------
Sunday Concert
"I don't want to go," Ritsuko heard Ranma say. The invitation, by a
`group of business men` to
the
Philharmonic on Sunday, had been eagerly received by most of the pilots.
With one notable
exception.
Nabiki was building up to a counterattack.
"You don't have to come," Davis walked out of the bathroom, hair
combed, teeth brushed. "We
cannot
expect you to." He adjusted his tie.
"That's right," Ranma said.
"Expect him to - what?" Nabiki asked.
"Behave like a civilized man, we cannot expect him to do something he
does not want to. Just
because
everybody else will enjoy it, just because it's the thing a man would do,"
Davis told Nabiki, "So
don't
force him."
"What are you saying?" Ranma demanded. "What does listening to music
have to do with being
a man?"
"Accompanying your friends, accepting that they might want to do
something you don't," Davis
said,
"And _not_ spoiling their good time."
"You're right, we can't expect him to just sit and enjoy that we're
enjoying the music." Nabiki
nodded. "Very wise," she added, "Bye, Saotome."
Lt. Thompson stood with Ritsuko and Maya, "I thought you were kidding
about those three."
"All right, I'll go!" Ranma said, giving up on the issue.
"Oh, good for you," Davis said, patting his shoulder.
Ritsuko and Maya hid their smiles, Lt. Thompson just shook her head,
"Do we have time to
have them do
that with Captain Katsuragi?"
"Unfortunately no," Ritsuko admitted, she adjusted her dress, noted
that her two assistants were
well-dressed, neither in a uniform, just three attractive women, and that
Ranma headed back into
his room
to change into better clothes.
Shinji, Rei and Asuka arrived, followed almost immediately by Hikari,
Toji and Hiroko. No
Kaji and
no Misato, despite the invitation specifically inviting them.
Ritsuko was disgusted, she suspected what Misato and Kaji were doing,
despite their vehement
denials.
She'd expected them to bow out, so she let Nabiki invite Hiroko, and let
Asuka invite Hikari and
Toji.
She suspected Shinji and Hikari had forced Asuka to include him. She'd been
tempted to include
the
Commander as a chaperone, most of the tests run today could have been run
without his presence,
and
although she didn't like Rei, she knew the Commander's presence would please
her. She also
suspected he'd
be better able to keep Saotome in line, Tendo and Davis sometimes went too
far when they did it.
She led
the group to the limousines, the businessmen had provided the limos, the
U.S. Military had
provided the
drivers, and the escorts.
----------------------------------------
"Handel, Mozart, Verde," Asuka sat in the car, almost chirping with
glee, "If the orchestra is
any
good, this will be great."
"I look forward to the violin solo," Rei commented.
"Oh, I forgot, Wondergirl," Asuka continued, "You play the violin too.
So, Spineless, your
cello, we
just need one more for a proper quartet." She stared pointedly at Davis.
"Guitar or bagpipes
doesn't
work."
"I'll play the guitar with a bow then, and there _are_ pieces for those
four instruments," Jeff told
her.
"So are you my date, or Ice Princess's?" Asuka asked.
"I wasn't aware this was a date," Jeff replied, "If it was, we would
have needed an artillery
division to get Toji-san and Saotome-san to accompany us."
"What does she see in him anyway?" Asuka wondered.
"Well Shinji's a nice guy, and quieter than the rest of us," Jeff
replied.
"Ice Princess, not Wondergirl, you goof!" Asuka shouted.
"I thought you were talking about Hikari."
Shinji and Rei smiled at the banter.
----------------------------------------
Nabiki was uncomfortable, which for her, was almost unheard of. Here
she was, in a
limousine,
sitting next to Ranma, on what could only be a date. Part of her
nervousness was her traveling
companions: Hikari and Toji, and Nancy Thompson. Toji was ambivalent about
the whole concert
idea, but he
was willing to go, with Shinji's and Hikari's urging, he was behaving
himself. Unlike Ranma, who
was
nervously fidgeting. Nabiki and Hikari had nothing to say to each other.
Hikari had been elevated
from
open joke to real leadership by Nabiki and the pilots, but it was clear to
Nabiki, she wanted the
top
spot, and wouldn't tolerate Nabiki-style `antics`. Leaving out that those
`antics` would keep her
and her
austerity alive, when they found something.
And the top spot is mine! Nabiki thought.
She also realized that this wasn't the place to settle things. She
wished Raccoon or Hiroko had
accompanied her, but Asuka had been firm, her group was 'Musicians all, and
only', and Nabiki
had thought
being alone with Ranma was all right, then Akagi-sensei dragged Hiroko away
to ride with her.
Leaving
this, the only combination left. Then Lt. Thompson had squeezed in next to
Toji, incidently pushing
him
against Hikari, neither complained.
Why couldn't she have sat over here? Nabiki wondered, thinking about
being pressed up against
Ranma .
. . but she hadn't offered the seat, had been vaguely glad when the woman
had chosen the seat she
had.
Why isn't the universe doing what I want? she silently asked, Better
question: Why aren't I?
All
she had to do was slide over a little, but she couldn't make herself do it.
It wasn't Hikari's
presence,
the girl wouldn't gossip and wouldn't blackmail her. It couldn't be Lt.
Thompson, from what
Nabiki had
overheard, and she believed it, the Army nurse had gotten medical 'samples'
from all three of the
boys.
She wouldn't have anything to say if Nabiki slid over and held hands with
Ranma
So why aren't I doing it? she asked herself, They practically handed
you a perfect opportunity,
and
you _sit_ there, like an addled schoolgirl!
----------------------------------------
The pilots, their guests and their chaperones arrived at the orchestra
hall. Nabiki noted the
oyabun
was waiting with his wife, And several other members of the organization,
Nabiki thought the men
were too
old and distinguished to be gunmen or mere functionaries.
Nabiki bowed, "Shimurata-san. I am pleased beyond words you could
arrange this for us."
She ignored
the shock of the others.
He bowed low, introduced the members of his syndicate. They all wanted
to know that despite
some
hard feelings towards the pilots now, in the past, and possibly in the
future, "You are welcome
here,
honored guests, and honored sons and daughters of Japan." The men bowed.
"Thank you," Ritsuko said, "That is welcome news." The NERV group
bowed in turn.
"Davis-san, could you help me collect my daughter. She wasn't pleased
about coming here,"
the oyabun
explained.
Nabiki wanted to follow them, but it had fallen to her to make the
introductions.
The `business` men were shocked when Jeff, oyabun Shimurata, and his
daughter walked in.
The girl
seemed as astonished, leaning heavily on her father. She was shocked about
meeting all the EVA
pilots.
She shook hands and got autographs from all six, even Rei.
Nabiki also noted the Boston Red Sox cap on her head, I know how she
got that, Nabiki thought,
she
also thought she looked a lot like Akane, Or mother. Nabiki hadn't known
their grandmother's
maiden name,
she felt a chill, Could this girl be my grandmother in the `Nerima World`?
"I heard you played baseball with the Navy on the carrier!" the girl
chirped.
Better personality, Nabiki thought, Like mother.
"Please respect their enjoyment of the concert," the oyabun's wife
commented, the girl nodded,
fell
silent.
The group took their seats. Nabiki sat next to Ranma, she noted
Roku-kun sat next to her, then
Asuka, Shinji and Rei. Nabiki hadn't expected the pilots to all sit
together. Ranma, trapped
against the
wall, shifted uneasily.
Then the concert started. Nabiki let herself enjoy the music, between
the pieces she heard an
animated discussion among the four musician-pilots, then silence as the
concert restarted. She
even heard
Rei speaking occasionally, usually a statement, simple and to the point.
----------------------------------------
Hiroko sat in the second row with Hikari, Toji and the chaperones.
She'd not expected the
pilots to
all sit together. She understood that they, well some of them, knew music,
but the boss evidently
wanted
to trap Ranma, so Hiroko sat behind him, to complete the trap. If she
couldn't be with her, she
could at
least support her. The three chaperones were spread out, one, Maya, between
her and Toji, Lt.
Thompson on
the far side of Hikari, and Dr. Akagi with their `distinguished hosts`.
Hiroko knew they were yakuza, Even they couldn't stand against the
boss. Although she wasn't
happy
about _how_ the boss had managed that, she didn't want to know. She didn't
use it on trivial
opponents,
Hikari's continued existence made that evident. The school mafia had
sabotaged NERV, however
slightly,
these yakuza must have moved in and been brought to heel.
----------------------------------------
The intermission was a welcome break for Ranma. Nabiki and Jeff had to
restrain him from
jumping
over the back of the chair. He headed out into the lobby, into a
smoke-filled room. Nabiki hadn't
considered that with no smoking in the theater, everyone smoked like a
chimney in the lobby,
including
Akagi-sensei and the yakuza, and some Marine and Army minders.
Ranma didn't find anything to eat, and the smoke probably ruined his
appetite.
During the second half, Nabiki watched Ranma actually allow himself to
relax and feel the
rhythm of
the music, she was a little put off that he was making small movement of his
hands and feet.
`Translating` it into martial arts, she thought, At least getting him
to go to the next concert won't
be so difficult.
----------------------------------------
"I could eat a whole cow!" Ranma announced as they trooped out of the
concert hall.
"Me too!" the girl, Mirei, announced.
The same name as my grandmother, Nabiki was getting worried about this,
The timing and the
age are
about right. She didn't remember her grandmother, she died before her
mother.
"Well, it will be entertaining to see you two try," Shimurata told
them.
"Don't challenge them," Ritsuko warned, "I've seen them eat. Three
cows a piece is about
right."
"Ha!" Asuka announced, "You won't beat me Saotome!"
"Are they always so, combative?" one of Shimurata's allies asked.
"We've managed to prevent them from spilling each other's blood," Nancy
told them very
seriously.
The yakuza were shocked.
The ride over to the restaurant was quieter. Ranma and Mirei were
talking about softball.
Nabiki
noted that the wife was a bit unsteady on her feet, and tired easily,
although she tried to be an ideal
hostess. Ranma's discussion of martial arts impressed Mirei. Ranma seemed
to open up to her.
Nabiki noted the subjects that interested him, and what he closed up
on.
----------------------------------------
Hiroko had enjoyed the music, this time she'd managed to get to Nabiki,
Ranma and Mirei, and
with
Maya, had gotten in one limo, while Hikari and Toji were with Dr. Akagi and
their `hosts`. She
noted that
Ranma was ignoring the boss, talking sports with Mirei instead. How blind
can he be?!
She hoped the restaurant was interesting, and that she'd get the nerve
to talk to the boss.
----------------------------------------
By the time they arrived at the restaurant, the musicians were
dissecting the concert, rating the
various musicians, the direction of the orchestra. Nabiki glanced at
Ritsuko and smiled. Asuka
was
keeping a low noise level, even Shinji and Rei were in the conversation,
giving as good as they
got.
Nabiki felt a little isolated. Ranma was talking sports/athletics; Rei,
Shinji, Asuka and Raccoon
were
discussing music; Ritsuko was talking parenting with Maya and the
Shimuratas. She stayed close
to Ranma,
and managed not to sound like a complete idea when she tried to participate.
The meal was served.
"Steak!" Asuka called, "I thought you weren't allowed to have steaks."
"Of course," Nabiki said, "I heard they fed them beer and massaged them
before they served
them up."
"Maybe that's what Kaji had in mind," Jeff said. Earning a glare from
Asuka.
"That would be very expensive. Who'd pay for that?" the oldest yakuza
man said.
"There will be people who would pay," Jeff added, "For tender enough
steaks. Where are they
doing
this?"
"Kobe," she told them.
----------------------------------------
Toji squared off against Ranma in speed eating, polishing off five
bowls of rice. Toji never
had a
chance. Ranma sat back and poured a cup of tea while he waited for Toji to
catch up, then tossed
his last
morsel, and the last bite from Toji's bowl, in his mouth. Much to Hikari's
and the Nabiki's disgust.
Hiroko still found she was too tongue-tied to do more than nod, besides
sports and music didn't
interest
her as it did the others. It was painful to watch the boss struggle to try
to be part of the
conversation. Hiroko cursed her own fear, and noted Rei periodically looked
pointedly at her,
then
rejoined her own conversation.
Why can't I just talk to her? Hiroko asked herself, Because you don't
know what she's interested
in,
besides photography, business and Ranma, and you haven't bothered to find
out.
----------------------------------------
Ritsuko noted that Ranma won the eating contest, although Davis and
Asuka weren't far behind.
She
was worried that they had many different varieties of vegetables and rice
dishes for Rei. Rei's
dislike
for meat was not well-known. The girl nearly packed away as much as the
other three, she
obviously
enjoyed the variety, and that she was part of the conversations. Even Asuka
occasionally queried
her.
Ritsuko found the parents were a good source of knowledge, their oldest
and middle sons were
killed
in the Pacific War. She remembered that Professor Fuyutsuki had wanted to
keep the Children in
contact
with normal people, normal situations. The Navy had told her who these
people really were, but
getting
the kids out on a Sunday was worth the risk. Considering the number of
discreetly armed U.S.
Military,
she doubted anyone would be foolish enough to try anything. She did wonder
about the links
between Nabiki
and Davis and these people, the Navy had told her not to worry about it.
They could have scarcely
told me
something to make me _more_ worried, she thought.
----------------------------------------
The reporter thought he'd gotten a perfect spot to take the
photographs. He even had one of the
weird pilots looking straight at him. NERV consorting with criminals, with
the tacit acceptance of
the
U.S. Occupation. It was an incredible scoop, no one would believe it. They
might try to suppress
this,
but there were governments who'd pay good money for the pictures, even if
the newspapers
wouldn't run the
story.
----------------------------------------
Gambit Refused
Fuyutsuki was meeting with the Committee. He noted that the monolith
numbered 12 was
missing. None
of the committee seemed to want to acknowledge the lack, or the asymmetry of
their formation.
Fuyutsuki
listened to the old men pontificate.
He smiled at that, Most are younger than you, but Ikari's appellation
fit. Old women would be
better, they were so terrified of their almighty plan going off the rails if
someone sneezed at the
wrong
time. They thought he was unaware of the source of their power, and their
goals.
As dark as our plans are, they don't compare with the ends you hope to
achieve, he despised
them, for
both their cowardice, and their attitude 'Some have to be sacrificed to
serve the greater good.'
They
never put their necks on the line, it was always others who did the
sacrificing.
"That concludes this meeting," Monolith 01, probably Kehl ordered,
before Fuyutsuki could
bring up
half the items he needed to speak to them about. The other monoliths faded,
Monolith 01 remained,
"You
are being insolent, the work must continue."
"I was considering a report that the Dead Sea Scrolls are a forgery,
perpetrated by the
Americans,"
Fuyutsuki countered, Davis had him and Gendo going for nearly ten minutes
with this story, it was
time to
share the misery.
Kehl's continued silence encouraged him, "Supposedly General Patton
passed through Middle
East under
official censure. We should check with the Americans, see if they retain
the originals, or the truth
of
the reports. It is curious he was killed in a traffic accident so soon
after hostilities ended."
Fuyutsuki knew of the wild leaps of logic and conspiracy the Committee
jumped to on thinner
evidence than
this.
"Thank you, Professor, we will look into this." The Monolith faded.
Fuyutsuki stood and
stretched,
these sessions always felt like hand-to-hand combat.
Gendo was waiting for him outside, "They'll be chasing their tails over
that for a month."
Fuyutsuki was glad his friend approved, and was concerned they didn't
bring up his absence,
again,
"Since there's nothing to it, they'll look even harder. They denied the
increases we requested, and
access to the data. Thought suggesting that their holy guidebook was a
clever forgery, was
adequate
recompense."
Gendo nodded, "The Occupation forces will take up the slack in the
Children's security,
reducing the
chances the Committee will be able to observe them at all times. We may be
able to accelerate the
process, without the Committee knowing why."
"Are the Children ready for that?" Fuyutsuki was uneasy about the idea
of changing the plan so
radically.
"We only need six, we have ten. A few casualties will only strengthen
their resolve, make them
more
suitable."
Fuyutsuki nodded. If the Children or the Americans ever find out,
they'll have our heads on a
platter.
----------------------------------------
"I'll get you all tickets when my team wins the Championship," Mirei
told all the pilots as they
left
the restaurant.
Nabiki thought she was going to explode, it had been a long time since
she'd eaten like that.
The yakuza had not realized the pilots could put away food like that.
The superb quality
helped,
Nabiki thought, Asuka and Shinji must have been stocking up.
"Why don't we do this next week?" Jeff suggested to the pilots, "Get
together to study," he
smirked
at Asuka and Shinji, "Get you three a decent meal."
"I'd like that," Shinji said, glanced at Rei.
"Just so you don't think you can monopolize all the cooking," Asuka
shot back.
"Is there anything you two don't argue about?" Mirei asked
incredulously.
Asuka and Jeff stared at each other, "NO!" they shouted in tandem, then
broke out laughing.
Mirei shook her head, whispered something to Ranma, who nodded sagely,
or disgustedly.
The group broke up, Nancy went with Shinji, Asuka and Rei. Maya and
Ritsuko squeezed into
the other
limo with Ranma, Nabiki and Davis. Nabiki made sure she sat between the two
boys.
"So, do you have a new girlfriend?" Nabiki asked.
"No," Ranma replied.
"Easy Tendo, she was just excited about meeting the pilots, all the
pilots, and someone who
was
interested in the things she was," Jeff added.
"She wasn't the only one," Maya commented, "I've never seen Rei so
animated, I think she was
actually
arguing with Asuka."
"More of a polite disagreement," Ritsuko corrected her, "But it was
surprising."
"And Shinji," Ranma said, "Never knew he had it in him."
"Everyone fights when they're backed into a corner," Nabiki didn't like
being left out of the
conversation _again_.
"It wasn't like that," Maya missed Nabiki's irritated tone.
----------------------------------------
The cavern is dark, they need no light, and no voice to deliberate
these decisions. Consensus is
approaching. The splinters have either joined one of the major divisions,
or lay torn apart in the
middle
of the council floor. The God has ended, Long live the God.
That accepted, the divisions must now deal with their differences.
Others still require servants,
and despite the reverence of serving the One Above, the lesser Others would
accept service.
The young, enraptured prophet had drawn a different conclusion: the God
was dead, but had not
remained that way. The disagreements over the legitimacy of this belief
fueled the debate. The
young one
is skilled in manipulation of the elders, the assessment is simple enough,
the shaman and followers
would
investigate the dreams, discern the truth of them, determine if the Great
Old One was awake, was
in need
of their service.
All consider the proposal. Then there is consensus. Some agree
because the plan is wise,
others to
get rid of a clever and troubling upstart, many other reasons. The
important point is consensus had
been
reached, and the shaman and followers would now have to journey where the
dreams lead.
The perils of such a journey paled in comparison of what would come
after. None knew how
they would
react to the loss of this dream, still worse, what would happen if the
dreams were true?
----------------------------------------
They'd dropped Maya off at her apartment before returning home. Now
Nabiki noted that
Akagi-sensei
was showering in the bathroom, and Ranma had gone to the roof to do his
evening practice. "I
want to
learn how to do that," she told Roku-kun, "Whatever the cost I'll pay it."
"A laudable desire, but this isn't something you can pick up
overnight," Roku-kun replied.
"I'll study, you'll find me a good student," she assured him.
He seemed to be considering, "There are a few questions I have, the
most obvious is, why?"
Nabiki was nonplused, she didn't have an answer, "Doesn't everybody?"
"No," he replied, "Most people act like Mister Saotome, trying to stay
as far away from it as
possible. Your answer is no answer, so I shall try a couple of easier
questions. First, why should
I
trust you? Apart from the fact that our countries were recently at war, I
know next to nothing about
you."
"You said you'd read my biography," Nabiki told him, she wondered why
she hadn't bothered to
do the
same, read hers, his, and all the others. She expected a response, all she
got was a flat stare that
wouldn't have looked out of place on Rei. Not even a raised eyebrow as the
silence dragged on,
not a
smirk.
"The second is, just how stupid do you think I am?"
That caught Nabiki by surprise.
"I have seen the way you treat Saotome, the way you treat Langley, the
rest. Your desperate
need for
power and control. Since you obviously don't know how to properly use the
power you do have,
why would I
give you more? Your anger taints your every move, your every act, your
every word. I can
practically
smell it, like gangrene. I don't know who or what you're angry with or at,
and I don't care why.
Until
you can deal with it, no real mage will give you the time of day, except out
of pity."
"Is that why you've been helping me?!" Nabiki was furious, "Out of
pity! Poor, helpless little
girl
can only get by with a big strong gaijin!"
"I needed you to further my designs. Evidently I have more faith in
your potential than you do."
Nabiki hated being patronized, "Maybe I should tell Akagi-sensei why we
got that invitation.
Or
maybe Gendo?"
"Do as you think best," he told her calmly, tipped his hat, and left
for a walk.
Nabiki closed her eyes, Oh, Nabiki, you really blew it, why am I
_still_ so angry? I'll never
see my
family again . . . and I still want to hurt them for what they did. And I'm
taking it out on Ranma,
and
Asuka, and everybody else. Soun didn't throw me out of the house, my home,
I left. I didn't get
dragged
here kicking and screaming, I didn't think about what I was getting into.
She sighed, looked around
the
place, she was also afraid. Of all the pilots, she was the only one who
hadn't piloted, she was the
only
one who hadn't been in combat with one of those things. She _assumed_ they
held her in contempt
because
of that, she _assumed_ . . . she assumed wrong, Shinji wanted to never pilot
again, it disturbed
Ranma,
Roku-kun treated it as giri, a duty he didn't ask for, Asuka and Rei were
the only ones who actually
were
eager about it, and both would be just as happy if _only_ they had to do it.
If anything, they're
relieved
or jealous I haven't, she thought.
She didn't want to admit it, but her anger was clouding her judgement.
She'd lashed out when
thwarted, instead of taking her usual, subtler route to solve problems, and
she hadn't examined the
effects of her lashing out. People had died, she hadn't pulled the trigger,
I aimed the killers at
them.
I should have suspected, but they made me angry. So I took it out on
someone who had what I
wanted. If
I'd wheedled and cajoled, cried and begged, I would have gotten what I
wanted. Or at least
something
other than a flat 'no'.
She looked around and wondered how else she could screw things up
tonight.
----------------------------------------
Jeff heard the two people approaching. He'd almost expected this,
considering the troubles he'd
been
having lately, "I don't see how you could tell me to trust him, he thinks
with his muscles. You're
asking
a lot, to trust our ultimate plan on someone we barely know."
The gray-haired man wearing the uniform of a Navy Master Chief spoke
first, "He'll be a strong
Dreamer, stronger even than you and Miss Langley."
"He can help you, if you let him," the silver-haired woman in the
uniform of a WAC sergeant
told him,
"We ran the divinations, 12 times, each, using 5 different methods. 99.6%
chance it's only him, `15
nines` he's the only one in Japan."
"Terrific," Jeff commented, No emotion, they're just being factual.
"I've already started training
him."
"Accelerate it as much as you dare," the man told him as they dropped
away.
Jeff shrugged inwardly, disasters never came singly. At least the
question of Miss Tendo was
solved.
She wasn't the enemy, at least not intentionally, but she'd never be a
useful ally either. The best he
could hope for, was she wouldn't be too large a hindrance. If she told
Gendo about her suspicious,
considering what Rei must have reported, it wouldn't be _me_ Gendo would be
going after.
(2) FUBENS: Fouled Up Beyond Even NERV Standards, NERV security, especially
the pilots'
bodyguards.
Partially due to incompetence, partially due to their constant jokes about
the Office of Naval
Intelligence (ONI) [Ogre in Japanese]. Not a term of endearment.
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