[Ranma][NGE][HPL][AMG][Fusion][Fanfic] Sic Semper Morituri Chapter 10:
Dream Education
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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.
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Chapter 10: Dream Education
Author's Note: Hyphenated names are Mind-Body
What is life? A madness.
What is life? An illusion, a shadow, a story.
And the greatest good is little enough: for all life is a dream,
and dreams themselves are only dreams.
Pedro Calderon de la Barca - Life is a Dream, act II, l. 1195
The Boxer - Paul Simon
I am just a poor boy
Jeff found himself trudging along in the rain. The red silk shirt
and black pants plastered to his voluptuous form told him immediately,
things had changed. He turned around and faced a panda that seemed as
stunned by events as he was.
"Okay pal, you can go quietly, or I can hurt you. Your choice." He
hoped the tone made things clear.
It did, the bear took a step back and held out a warding hand, as if
to say 'Don't hit me.' It paused, located a pair of spectacles hanging
off an ear, and put them on its face with a single hand.
Only one person used that one-handed gesture. Jeff couldn't believe
his luck, true to form, all bad.
He, actually she, extended a hand, "Gendo Ikari, pleased to meet you.
I'm Jeffrey Davis."
The panda's jaw dropped to a painfully-unnatural degree.
"Somebody is trying to be amusing, I assume that this is a dream
something is sending, and we have to run to the end and figure out how to
get out."
Gendo-Panda considered deeply, then nodded, he plucked at his fur.
"I assume that your curse works the same way they say mine does. We
find some hot water, and a set of rain gear. Then we figure out what kind
of mess we're in."
Gendo-Panda nodded, he could hardly effectively argue in his present
form.
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Though my story's seldom told;
Ranma stood atop the building in the pouring rain. He hadn't changed
genders, so he knew this was a dream. However, none of the tricks he'd
learned seemed to have any effect, so he was stuck.
Down on the street, a girl, followed by a ball of black fog,
confronted what was clearly a demon, she was alone. He could hardly let
that happen, so despite the short, chunky body he'd found himself in, he
climbed down the fire escape to assist.
He was glad he did, the girl had been joined by a boy, who had a
stone statue following him. He could clearly see both the boy and girl
were dark-haired European types, he wondered what he looked like in this
dream.
The demon's attention was so fixed on the quartet, it never noticed
Ranma. He launched a furious assault, or what would have been a furious
assault, if the stupid body he was in had any strength or speed. It
didn't, but the blows with the small cane he'd been carrying had at least
a partial effect of drawing the monster's entire attention down on him.
Fortunately, the fog and the statue took advantage, and pounded the thing
from the other direction. The demon expired under the combined assault,
which was fine with Ranma, he couldn't have run away, this body didn't
have any decent stamina either.
"Davis!" the girl approached and yelled at him, "What could possibly
have possessed you to do something so completely and utterly stupid?"
"Rita," the boy soothed, "It was his first time out with us, you can
hardly blame him for being excited. Besides everything worked out."
"Yeah," Ranma wasn't sure why they were speaking Japanese, but he
didn't like getting yelled at by a girl, "Everything worked out." Davis,
did she call _me_, Davis?
The girl marched up to him, knelt on one knee, so they were face to
face. From the fury of her expression, he suspected he should run away,
but he doubted this stupid body was up to it.
She grabbed him with both arms, the force of the hug nearly crushed
the life out of him. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," the girl told
him, "I didn't mean to say all those things. I was wrong, you don't have
to prove anything, not to me, not anymore. Okay?"
"Okay," he managed. Frankly, if he didn't agree, she could snap him
in two, and he was very uncomfortable with a pretty girl crying in front
of him, he'd agree to anything to get that to stop. He must have said the
right thing, she released him, tousled his soaking wet hair.
"You know, you've really helped her control her emotions," the boy
said, "This is positively non-expressive." His humor was short lived
"What's your problem? Jealous? Just because he did his job! And
you - "
"Shouldn't we get out of here?" Ranma-Jeff asked, the fog and the
statue had consumed the demon corpse, a lot like how the EVAs did, but he
knew someone had seen or heard the fight.
"He's right," the girl, Rita, said, "Come on Henry, let's get out of
here."
"That's why he's the boss," the boy, Henry, said.
"He may be the boss," Rita faced Ranma-Jeff, "But if you try and
order me around, it's going to take more than your magic to save you, Mr.
Davis, sir."
This girl is as crazy as Asuka, no worse. _Magic_!_ Ranma-Jeff
thought as he walked along, he'd heard Nabiki muttering something about
'Raccoon's tricks' he hadn't thought it was actual magic, not in the
Waking World at least. He shuddered, to be free of the curse was one
thing, to have to be a wizard to be free of it . . . I'd rather be stuck
the rest of my life as a girl! With that _extremely_ unpleasant thought,
he hurried to catch up with the other two.
Mages. Is that what, he gulped, All three of us are? This was
turning into a real nightmare.
----------------------------------------
I have squandered my resistance for a pocketful of mumbles,
Pale skin, blue hair, Misato instantly recognized the body she wore,
and the city of Boston, in April of 1945. Being stuck as Rei, or Kontan
[Secret] as they had called her on this mission, had its advantages. She
stood atop a telephone pole, and watched the trio pass below. The ones
who had destroyed the original operation, the operation that would have
eliminated the need for NERV, the EVAs, and would have put all the false
gods back to sleep for a million years. Made it child's play to locate
their sleeping forms, and murder them in their `beds`. She was back in
the past, getting another chance to do it right this time. She'd use her
less threatening form to get close to them. Rei's unnatural strength plus
Misato's Army training, she'd kill all three of them this time, before
they destroyed the operation, not just that stupid meddling kid too late
to save things.
----------------------------------------
Still, a man hears what he wants to hear
Rei felt the warm cobblestones under her cheek, at least she thought
they were cobblestones, the fog around her was so thick she couldn't see
her hand in front of her face. The high wind was unusual, wind normally
destroyed fog, but the wind-driven cold damp penetrated her heavy
clothing, chilling her badly. And whatever she had caught her knee on was
beginning to chafe.
"Relax, General." She heard a voice to her right, "We'll be clear
soon. Don't be so impatient, Asuka!" the voice beside her chided.
Asuka? Rei had had many strange dreams, but no one had ever accused
her of being the Second Children before! The idea of hot cobblestones
tickled something in her memory. She reached out and touched the horns
she had her leg wrapped around. There were more, an entire, regular row
of them. She remembered two such rows of horns, on the back of a DRAGON!
The dragon that had taken her to Shinji-kun's dreamscape, the one who so
terrified her. She was lying atop it, as Asuka?! She put her head back
down and decided to await events. If she was flying, getting off was not
an option, and screams of terror, didn't seem to be coming. She couldn't
think straight and her mind and emotions were in such turmoil she thought
she might throw up, all over the dragon, which would be worse, which . .
.. This was clearly a dream, but how and why she dreamt it, she did not
know.
The dragon and its, his?, two passengers broke free of the cloud
cover, followed by dozens of other dragons, all with one or two riders.
It was a majestic sight, the scales glinting in the sun, all colors of the
rainbow. Even the light-eating black of her steed seemed opalescent at
this range. Their formation flying would have done any air force in the
Waking World proud. Every dragon was covered by at least two others. She
vaguely recognized the pair that acted as her steed's `wingmen`. But she
couldn't clearly remember where or when she had seen them, the memory
remained just out of `reach.`. The warm sun and the dry air drove the
chill from her. Still the dragons climbed, the air was getting thin. She
breathed deeply and rapidly to compensate as the dragons leveled off. The
woman beside her sat up. Brown-haired, brown-eyed, with a gaze more
appropriate to the Second Children or the Commander than the timorous face
it was on, "Now we earn our pay." She pulled a pair of binoculars and
started scanning the area.
Rei-Asuka located a similar pair in a case riding on her hip, and
started looking around, if for no other reason but to block out the sight
of what she was riding on. Then she spotted the Shantaks, horse-headed
birds of immense size, nearly a hundred of them. She'd only seen that
many at once, one time in her life, it wasn't a pleasant memory. Nothing
had ever effaced the terror of that day, it had also been the first time
she'd seen dragons. Then she remembered, it was THIS dragon, and his two
`wingmen` she'd seen that day. There were too many coincidences mounting.
"There!" she pointed, her companion swung around.
"Right where you said they'd be, you ole' Dragon," the woman said.
"It helps to have good spies, Anna," the dragon told them, he dipped
his wings and pointed his head at the target. Riders all over the
formation waved spears with pennants on them to signify acknowledgment.
The entire formation turned and climbed.
"Beware of the Hun in the Sun," the woman, Anna, joked as she
prepared her long spear for combat.
Rei-Asuka glanced around, found a nagitana with an axe blade,
strapped against the dragon's flank. She freed it and duplicated Anna's
posture. Evidently the riders would keep the dragons back clear of
attackers.
Rei-Asuka was overwhelmed by the memories, the Commander had traveled
deep into the Forbidden Lands of the Dreamlands, to a hidden temple, with
her and hundreds of SEELE and NERV Dreamer-soldiers. They had found an
artifact or scroll of great importance, and as they made their way back to
civilization, they had been harried by attackers for a week. Until they'd
been driven into an ambush. The Shantaks dropped rocks into any formation
of men, while Moonbeasts and the men of Leng had attacked from all sides.
The Commander had ordered the troops to take what they could and scatter,
she'd been separated from him. She had to search for him for a month
before she found him, suffering from his infected wounds. She'd treated
them and gotten him to the River Cities, many others had died, and they'd
lost whatever the Commander had come here for. Most striking was the trio
of dragons that had cut the path out for those who had escaped: ice,
darkness, claws, teeth and tails had torn the Moonbeasts, Shantaks and
their slaves apart with an unthinkable savagery. They had acted like
maddened wild animals, but with an active intelligence, nothing stupid
could be that vicious, it required an active and creative mind.
Now I am back here, I can direct the forces, I can rescue the
Commander. I know what happened! she thought, "Anna, they are supporting
a ground force."
The woman looked at her, "How do you know that? I thought I was
Chief of Scouts."
"I . . . ," she knew she could tell her the truth, perhaps she would
be believed, from Anna's expression, she would not be discounted out of
hand. "I remember it. That sounds strange to me as well."
Anna stared at her, Rei-Asuka couldn't read the woman's face, she
hoped she was weighing her disbelief against her friendship with Asuka.
"Hey, she says there's a ground force down there too," Anna called.
"Yes I know," the dragon replied, "I spotted them too."
Rei-Asuka felt herself going faint, it couldn't be, it just couldn't.
It was too wonderful.
----------------------------------------
And disregards the rest.
Nabiki looked at the architecture, it was clearly not Japanese.
She'd caught her own reflection, she appeared to be a younger Asuka
Langley. So she probably was in Germany, during the war. The sandbags
and taped windows were another clue. She looked at the young people
carrying books as they walked around her as she rubbernecked. Passing on,
as if classes and exams were more important than the possibility of
instant death by a passing fighter plane or bombing raid.
"Asuka! Asuka!" another girl, about twelve, ran towards her, "Asuka,
I am so glad to see you."
Nabiki was concerned, she had no idea who this girl was. Evidently
her face showed it.
"I know this is going to sound strange, but I'm Maya. Maybe you've
never met me," she said desperately.
Nabiki was relieved and frightened at the same time, "Ibuki Maya,
Akagi-sensei's assistant." She let the other girl smile, then dropped the
other shoe, "I'm Tendo Nabiki, not Asuka."
Nabiki-Asuka thought Maya was ready to faint, "But where are we? Why
are we here? How do we get home?"
Air-raid sirens sounded, and the students, she guessed they were,
started scattering.
"You there!" an older man, a teacher probably, demanded, "Have you
been assigned a shelter?"
"No, sir." Nabiki-Asuka looked at Maya, "Neither of us."
"Come with me!" he limped off with an air that said Nabiki-Asuka and
Maya wouldn't dream of doing anything except follow him. Neither lagged
behind.
There are no Angels attacking, I hope someone else keeps whoever away
from us. If they don't, I don't know what to do, Nabiki-Asuka thought as
they climbed down into the bomb shelter. The frightened people gazed back
at her, she felt Maya take her hand, it was trembling. Fair enough, so is
mine, she thought.
----------------------------------------
Such are promises: all lies and jest.
Asuka was surprised when Commander Fuyutsuki stuck his head into this
strange bedroom. "Nabiki, there is a family meeting," he told her before
he withdrew.
She stood up from the bed she'd been sitting on, stared at the face
in the mirror, Tendo looked back at her, a much older Nabiki. "Okay, this
is weird," she said, accepting the unreality for the moment, dreams were
like that. She was still in a school uniform, so she went to the closet.
She felt a little strange going through Tendo's clothes, felt even worse
when she found only one decent piece, a kimono, she wouldn't wear the rest
on a bet. She'd never known Tendo's taste in clothes mirrored Misato's,
tacky shirts and shorts. Now she had to remember how you wore one of
those silly costumes. You put part of it on, then wrapped yourself up
like a Christmas present with the rest. "All I need is a bow in my hair,"
she said.
----------------------------------------
Asuka-Nabiki didn't recognize the two girls who waited near the table
downstairs. The taller, and presumable older one, wore a house dress and
apron, the younger wore a gi, and Asuka-Nabiki noticed, she hadn't
bothered to bathe after exercising.
"I don't see why we have to be married without our consent!" the
younger one announced.
And people call _me_ loud, Asuka-Nabiki thought, she'd gotten the
kimono on, and thought she looked rather fetching, maybe she should
mention that to Tendo, that she could actually look like a girl that might
catch Saotome's eye, if she tried. Asuka-Nabiki smiled at that.
"Now, Nabiki," the older one told her gently, "Don't tease Akane."
Asuka-Nabiki felt a tinge of nostalgia, the girl reminded her of her
mother, when her mother had cared about her, before the accident. She
bowed and took a place between the two of them.
Well, if this is Tendo's future, I can blackmail _her_ with the
information, Asuka-Nabiki thought, Arranged marriage, huh, talk about
primitive.
Commander Fuyutsuki told them that his friend was coming from China
with his son, to marry one of them.
"No way am I marrying him!" Akane shouted.
I hate to agree, Gendo's son, I am never marrying Spineless, she kept
to herself, Unless he grew up as yummy as Kaji. Naw, he'd have to have
grown a spine, that would _never_ happen.
There was a knock on the door, the older sister stood up to get the
door. Asuka-Nabiki wished someone would tell her the girl's name. The
girl stumbled back, nearly fainting. A panda followed her in, with a body
over its shoulder.
Akane jumped to the attack, Asuka-Nabiki moved the other way, to
flank the creature, get the person away from it. Akane raised the table
to strike the panda, it parried the blow, but Asuka-Nabiki had time to get
the girl it was carrying, away from the panda. She recognized Misato,
except she was a lot younger, maybe the age Asuka-Nabiki appeared to be.
The panda growled at her, Asuka-Nabiki pulled Misato into the kitchen, and
awaited the creature's advance with a butcher knife and a cleaver.
Not much of a weapon, but better than nothing, Asuka-Nabiki thought,
she didn't like Misato very much, but letting her get killed was going too
far.
The panda yanked open the curtain at the kitchen entry, saw
Asuka-Nabiki interposing herself between it and Misato, and pulled the
curtain closed. Asuka-Nabiki was sure the creature had been laughing at
her. She didn't find anything the least bit funny about the entire
episode.
"Nabiki-chan," Commander Fuyutsuki called to her, "Please bring Ranma
out, and some hot water."
Oh this is going to be one of _those_ dreams, Asuka-Nabiki thought.
"Okay." She lit the stove and started heating a kettle. Misato stirred
slightly as Asuka-Nabiki carried her to sit next to the panda, who was
sitting calmly at the table. Commander Fuyutsuki poured the kettle on the
panda, he transformed into a fat, ugly, bald slob in a dirty gi.
The transformation of Misato was far more interesting.
_KAJI_!_!_ Asuka-Nabiki kept her joy suppressed, until she had noted
the hostility of Akane, and the ambivalence of the older one, Kasumi. "I
will carry out the duty and honor of our house and family." Asuka-Nabiki
bowed formally, This is going to be such a good dream! We're the same
age, and - she stopped and considered what a nightmare it would be if
Kaji was Misato as a girl, and only Kaji when he was a boy. Quit
dithering! Raccoon keeps a thermos around, it won't be hard to do the
same!
Kaji stirred, opened his eyes, looked around. "Nabiki?" he said
muzzily.
"You can call me Asuka," she smiled broadly, "When can you get a
priest here?" she thought she was joking. Commander Fuyutsuki let loose a
torrent of tears that made her wonder if he was really an Angel, a water
Angel. The fat slob cried with less water volume, but no less emotion. I
thought Japanese were reserved and dignified! she thought as she carried a
still woozy Kaji away from the deluge of cold water.
"Asuka?" Kaji asked.
She hugged him tightly, "We can be properly married, it's just a
dream so play along." I can show you what a real woman is like. "And
don't worry about old Captain Katsuragi, you turn into her when you get
wet."
Kaji seemed to be having trouble dealing with the new reality, she
took advantage by snuggling close to him.
"Perverts!" Akane told them.
"Jealous!" Asuka-Nabiki shot back, and was rewarded by Akane stomping
off, and the sounds of screams and lots of building material being
destroyed in the dojo. Asuka-Nabiki signed, she knew this couldn't last,
but she could enjoy the moment, and lay a better foundation for their
relationship in the Waking World.
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When I left my home and my family, I was no more than a boy
Shinji walked across the field, packed earth, no plants, no insect
sounds. No wind stirred his hair. He knew the place was dead, nothing
lived here. At the same time he was aware that there was potential here.
Potential of life, potential of growth, vast and untapped. He knew what
he wanted to do here, but he didn't know what he was supposed to do here.
DUEL.
It wasn't a sound to be heard, or a thought sent, it was a concept
that suddenly came to the forefront of his mind. Battle one on one, for
honor, for some point of contention, for the correctness of a position.
He didn't understand, and was frightened, the others weren't here, there
was no help for him. No one to advise him, no one to fight at his side.
Images of a dozen dreams flashed before him, and the certainty that
all the other pilots were occupied, so was the senior staff of NERV,
including his father, and would remain so until he either won or lost.
Buildings began springing up all around him, weird twisted things
that bent the eye in uncomfortable ways. Tall ones that parted the
clouds, short ones that enclosed wide fields for sports or outdoor
assemblies. Hundreds and thousands in between. Temples, libraries,
industrial parks, bazaars, everything that a city needed to function, all
built as stone piled on stone in eye twisting angles, murals and carvings
of things that were clearly not human as adornments. Wide boulevards with
under and overpasses to speed commerce, narrower lanes for the denizens to
travel on, foot? Open areas of leprous plants and hideous, giant fungi,
but strangely a part of the twisted city, Parks, he guessed. He thought
about the signs `Keep off the poison mushrooms.` He smiled at that,
feeling better, then feeling worse.
Shinji felt sick looking at these buildings, but he was beginning to
realize the essence of the duel, and was growing in confidence as he set
out to explore this odd city. His opponent was giving him every
opportunity, fair enough, considering his unseen opponent was setting the
rules about who won or lost, and how.
----------------------------------------
in the company of strangers
"Are you sure about this?" Jeff-Ranma asked Gendo-Genma, as they
trudged along, he'd also deployed his AT field to further increase their
rain protection. It was a pitiful thing, barely able to withstand the
rain, but any added protection was welcome.
"I'm not sure, I just have a strong suspicion," Gendo-Genma replied
as he consulted the map he'd found in his clothes. The route was clearly
marked. What the destination was, remained a mystery.
"Do you have any idea why we are here, aside from learning Saotome's
origin and history?" Gendo-Genma asked.
"Not in 1992 we won't," Jeff-Ranma replied, "Take a look at the
headline on that newspaper. Something mixed up a bunch of pieces, and set
us in them. Depending on which of our enemies did this, it will be more
or less real. So far it points to something that has a good understanding
of the human condition."
"And how would you know that?" Gendo-Genma asked angrily.
"I'm a _HISTORY_ major, read between the lines and you can see the
patterns these creatures leave," Jeff-Ranma replied, then stopped.
Gendo-Genma nearly ran into him.
"How did you know to stop here?" Gendo-Genma demanded, then read the
sign, "Tendo? Indiscriminate Grappling?"
"Do we go in or run away?" Jeff-Ranma asked, then followed
Gendo-Genma inside.
"Shouldn't we have gone around back?" Jeff-Ranma referred to the sign
asking challengers to go around.
"Could you beat Tendo, or Saotome?" Gendo-Genma asked.
"Do they have to survive?" Jeff-Ranma asked, uncomfortable that the
only link he had with his home was Gendo Ikari. He followed Gendo-Genma
up to the house, onto the deck. The two exchanged worried glances, then
Gendo-Genma knocked.
The door opened, Misato looked at them, except she was much younger
than normal.
Nineteen, maybe twenty, Jeff-Ranma thought.
"Father, they're here," Misato called back and smiled engagingly.
Gendo-Genma and Jeff-Ranma exchanged worried looks as they were
invited in. They removed their rain gear and muddy shoes before they
entered the house proper. A young Ritsuko in a kimono, sat next to a
teen-aged Maya in a gi, at a table in the center of the house, Maya glared
at both of them with real hatred.
The tall man with the long hair and moustache hugged Gendo-Genma with
all evidence of real and warm friendship, which shocked the icy Commander
to his core. "Saotome, so good to see you." He hugged him again, then
turned to Jeff-Ranma, "And young Ranma." The hug made Jeff-Ranma's ribs
groan. "I am so glad to see you!"
Jeff-Ranma thought the man looked on the verge of tears, and he'd
never seen Gendo look as completely frightened as he looked now.
The father of the house introduced Misato as Kasumi, aged 19, she
smiled, Ritsuko as Nabiki, aged 17, Jeff-Ranma was embarrassed by the way
she was checking him out, and Maya, as Akane aged 16, she looked ready to
tear off his head and spit down his neck.
While it was amusing to see Maya with such an expression of abject
and absolute hatred stamped on her face, Jeff-Ranma wasn't happy it was
all directed at him.
"My daughters, pick one to join our schools and lines together," the
man told them, "The one you choose will be heir to the School of
Indiscriminate Grappling."
The three women began arguing, from his expression, Gendo-Genma
wasn't going to be any help. Jeff-Ranma wondered how marriage went with
Indiscriminate Grappling, except in the most obvious way.
"Before any decision is made, I need to show you all something,"
Jeff-Ranma stood, bowed, I think I know why Saotome has amnesia, if even
half of this is accurate, I'd pound my head on something until _I_ forgot
all of this. He returned with some cold water, and a kettle of hot water.
"We are accursed." The water, cold, then hot, triggered, then reversed
the transformations of both of them. All four of the Tendos fell silent.
Gendo-Genma and Jeff-Ranma waited for the others to decide what would
happen.
"Oh, Akane wants him!" Kasumi-Misato told them.
"There's no way I'd marry that pervert!" Akane-Maya said.
"Excuse me," Gendo-Genma said in his usual tone, bringing the
argument to a halt, "Such a decision should not be made in haste." He
stared at each of them until they looked away, "My - Ranma will have to
prove that he can fulfill the obligations, before any decision can be
made."
Jeff-Ranma caught the gleam in Gendo-Genma's eye, The bastard must
have heard about what Ranma did, he wants to see it himself. Well two can
play that game! "Tendo-sensei, my father has taught me, but he has not
taught me to teach. Teaching students will be required, if I am to
inherit your dojo and reputation. I believe both of us can remember
enough rookie mistakes, so you can instruct us in the proper way of
instructing." He bowed to hide his smile at Gendo's discomfort.
The elder Tendo considered, "A wisdom exceeding his youth," he made
it sound pompous. "Agreed."
Gendo-Genma's expression told Jeff-Ranma he'd better sleep very
lightly for the next few nights.
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running scared. Laying low,
Ranma-Jeff climbed the stairs to the dorm, he'd only seen it once,
but he thought he remembered. The debriefing after the mission had been
more thorough than any he'd been through at NERV. That worried him, but
if this _was_ Raccoon's past, it explained a lot. He was trying to
remember the name of Raccoon's roommate as he entered the dorm room. No
one else was there, he took off and hung up the coat, then the tie. He
decided to shower and get some sleep, he didn't want to go to college, but
fighting those monsters . . . if he was back in his own body, it might
have been a challenge. Stuck with only Raccoon's strength and reflexes as
a twelve-year-old, it was suicide. The walking stick had to be the key,
he'd caught the others glancing at it enviously. Maybe it has enough magic
I can hit things with it, and I won't have to use spells I don't know
anyway. he closed his eyes and went to sleep.
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seeking out the poorer quarters where the ragged people go.
Misato-Rei had checked in with the project, it seemed very strange
seeing Gendo, and the way he acted towards her, when she had acted like
Rei usually did, Gendo had been concerned. Seeing herself was a bigger
shock, she seemed so much happier, more confident, this project would have
none of the risk of the EVAs, her past self had hope that Misato now
lacked.
She was disturbed by the way her younger self treated Rei, almost as
the Commander's messenger, an annoying spy to be replied to and gotten rid
of, as quickly as possible. She hated being treated that way, and
wondered why Rei never complained. She quickly learned that _everyone_
treated her the same way, she was an adjunct to the Commander, a walking
message drop at best, not a person.
The Commander had approved of her mission to hunt down and eliminate
the interlopers, he'd suggested she be extremely careful. Misato-Rei had
gone to the small armory they had, mostly American weapons purchased
locally. She'd gotten a small handgun, she would have preferred a rifle,
but she needed to conceal it. Better to get close with a lesser weapon,
than risk detection with a more powerful one.
She had no need to do the exhaustive detective work she'd done before
to track down some of these kids' haunts, she remembered them. All she
had to do was ensconce herself in place, and wait. This time they would
have no advanced warning, she'd simply act. She tried to channel the
anger appropriately, but the need for revenge on the `Angels` and their
allies kept bubbling up. She'd kill them this time, she'd kill _all_
three of them.
----------------------------------------
Looking for the places only they would know.
Rei-Asuka watched the dragon formation wheel behind her and the
Dragon. "We'll make a pass on the Shantaks, then drop down and deal with
the ground forces," the Dragon rumbled.
Rei-Asuka could only nod, the Dragon seemed to be able to understand
this.
"You okay?" the woman, Anna, asked her.
"I, I remember the battle, fighting on the ground against Moonbeasts
and men of Leng," Rei-Asuka explained.
Anna nodded, it seemed to accept this without question. It struck
Rei-Asuka as odd that anyone would be so accepting. Perhaps they have
worked together so long, they fully trust one another. The formation
dropped at a steep angle, Anna kept silent, Rei-Asuka also hushed herself,
though she wanted to scream at the uncontrolled fall towards these huge
enemies.
The dragons changed to a line abreast formation, their riders lying
flat to reduce drag. The Shantaks were still unaware, she could see the
riders directing them, men of Leng. The range shrank from a handful of
kilometers to a few dozen meters, then the dragons discharged their breath
weapons, ice, flame, lightning, darkness, acid, every lethal agency
Rei-Asuka had ever seen. The few surviving Shantaks flew away shrieking,
many dumped their riders to gain speed. The dragons closed to range of
claw and fang, if a Shantak tried to attack a dragon, the riders killed
it, or kept it occupied until another dragon could kill it.
The slaughter was terrible, although the dragons were outnumbered
better that two to one, they killed without losing a single member of
their force. Some were wounded, riders were crushed, but the dragons
never wavered.
With the battle well in hand, the Dragon she rode on, dropped back
into the clouds, something the Shantaks had failed to do, they'd sought
height as protection. The two wingmen disengaged and followed, as did two
or three of the wounded. Down through the cold damp of the clouds. She
lay down to keep away the deadly chill.
"Batten down," she felt the dragon rumble, "I need your eyes."
By feel, Rei-Asuka found the straps to the straps that had held the
polearm in place. She had it buckled in before they broke through the
underside of the clouds. Then she pulled out her binoculars, they were
almost unnecessary, she knew where the battle would be joined.
"Southwest, over that ridge," she told them.
"It's a diversion, but we'll hit it anyway," the Dragon replied,
dropping low, skimming the trees, the Moonbeasts and their allies wouldn't
know they were coming, until they were right on top of them.
This time I can save you, she watched with equanimity, as the six
dragons closed on the enemy. She heard the faint rumbles within, she'd
discounted them before, now she knew they were the terrible breath weapons
being readied.
Ice, fire, darkness played over the diversion, hundreds died and
their location was revealed to NERV, then they were over the NERV/SEELE
forces. Rei-Asuka caught the flash of blue hair, wherever `she` was, the
Commander wouldn't be far away. She saw the terror in her own eyes, as
death flew overhead, killing the enemy before her and the enemy behind,
but leaving her untouched. It was an image she'd never forgotten.
The real attack force was ten times as large as she remembered it,
perhaps because it had spread out to catch stragglers and escapees in the
original battle. Here, the tight formations only made slaughter easier.
Again the breath weapons led things off. A long sinuous pass, spraying
great areas, before climbing back into the sky.
"Crossbows," Anna told her, pulling a light bow from her pack,
uncapping the quiver at her belt.
Rei-Asuka pulled her own bow, the heads of the crossbow bolts glowed
a faint, healthy blue, Enchanted against our enemies.
"Now things get interesting," Anna smiled at her, like the Second
Children's smile in battle, "I love dancing."
Rei-Asuka hadn't the faintest idea what she was talking about. The
dragon landed in the scattered groups and tore into them, Rei-Asuka
carefully aimed and fired at anyone aiming a missile weapon at the Dragon,
it was difficult with this huge creature leaping, rolling and bouncing
around. She understood why the uncomfortable intertwining of legs and
horns, she stayed attached even when the creature was upside down.
----------------------------------------
I come looking for a job, but I get no offers,
The sirens sounded 'All Clear', and for the first time, the tension
in the bomb shelter reduced.
"Let's see if they left us anything?" one of the students joked, a
few others laughed, but most simply filed out.
Nabiki-Asuka was glad Maya stayed near her, she needed a friend right
now, someone who knew who she really was.
"What do we do?" Maya asked.
"From everyone speaking German, I guess we're in Germany, how old do
I, does Asuka look?"
"About twelve, but they're speaking Japanese, not German," Maya said.
"Maya, you're speaking German, perfectly, just like me."
"You're speaking Japanese."
"Okay, let's shelve that, what was Asuka doing when she was twelve?"
"Attending University, and the Institute, NERV Berlin in effect."
Maya considered, "Unless the Russians are a lot closer, in 1945 with the
Russians closing in, she disappeared, and didn't reappear until she and
Unit 02 were in British custody."
Why didn't I study any history? Nabiki-Asuka thought, the minutia of
the War in Europe had never interested her, now her life depended on it.
"The Battle of Berlin occurred in March of 1944, I guess that's where
and when we are," Maya told her, "I just don't know."
Terrific, Nabiki-Asuka thought, "Well, let's find out who you really
are." Nabiki-Asuka started going through the bag Maya had with her.
"Anna Alice, you're a pilot too, you've got Institute entry cards, and
travel documents." Nabiki-Asuka considered, "Lets head over to this
Institute, find out what they have to say."
Maya-Anna nodded.
----------------------------------------
just a come-on from the whores
"Perverts," Akane said to Asuka-Nabiki and Kaji as they held hands
and walked.
"Maybe I should tell her what I have planned for you on our wedding
night," Asuka-Nabiki purred to Kaji, who blushed, "Let her know what a
real pervert thinks about you."
All the color drained from Akane's face.
Stupid little girl, Asuka-Nabiki thought, How does she think she came
into this world? Spontaneous generation? A virgin birth? Men and women
act this way. She was glad that Kaji was going along with this. They
could have a lot of fun, almost like a private vacation.
"I hate BOYS!" Akane shouted as she raised her bookbag like a weapon,
and charged into the schoolyard.
"I grew out of that phase when I was 10," Asuka-Nabiki told Kaji.
"Be fair, Asuka-chan," Kaji remonstrated, "What do you think of most
of the men and boys here?"
"Yeah," Asuka-Nabiki admitted, "Maybe she is right. What is that
noise?" The pair saw several student athletes sailing up into the air,
the pair exchanged a glance and charged.
----------------------------------------
there were times when I was so lonesome I took some comfort there.
Gendo-Panda sipped his tea, it was too much trouble always changing,
and the fur hid the bruises until they faded, he decided not to play shogi
with Soun, he cheated, badly. Gendo quickly discovered how to beat him
easily. If this is a variation of Saotome's and Tendo's history, it
explains their odd behavior.
"I told you, 'I fight my own battles!'" Akane-Maya was yelling as the
high-schoolers returned home.
Kasumi-Misato smiled as she refilled his tea, and set down a plate of
snacks. She poured a bit of tea on him, so he'd be human when the others
arrived. She politely but firmly slapped his hand when he reached for one
of the snacks. He glared at her, took one, daring her to interfere.
"It is acceptable," he intoned in his most threatening timbre.
The tone that could cause even American Generals and Admirals to
quail in fear, only earned a delighted sigh and a smile. The idea of
`Misato` providing food, even entire meals, that weren't merely edible,
but delicious, keeping the house spotless, was equally jarring. Gendo
knew the jokes about using Captain Katsuragi's cooking against the
`Angels`, wasn't really a joke: a particularly potent batch of `curry` had
been used on a minor minion. It had worked, but the amount required and
the application technique made it impractical to use as a weapon.
Jeff-Ranma walked in with Nabiki-Ritsuko on his arm. That too was
jarring. Jeff-Ranma had a huge stack of books. He set them in from to
Gendo-Genma. "Somebody has a sense of humor, a very weird sense of humor.
I hope you can still read English."
Gendo frowned, then one of the titles caught his eye, "'Call of
_CTHULHU'_!_!_!_" Gendo was more than shocked.
"The rest of the books are like that," Jeff-Ranma told him, then
dropped a paperback on the table.
Dropping a basket of scorpions wouldn't have had Gendo scrambling
back out of the way as fast as the title of that book had. "A
NECRONOMICON!" In paperback! Gendo hadn't hit that note since Yui died.
"_ARE_YOU_COMPLETELY_INSANE_?_!_!_"
"That's beside the point. It's a little about the mythos, but mostly
it's Sumerian and Babylonian mythology. It's not real, just a joke."
Jeff-Ranma smiled at Gendo-Genma's discomfort, "The stories are more
accurate. I thought that if whoever sent us here wanted us to get access
to this information, then I had to wonder 'Why?'"
Gendo-Genma shook his head, he had no answers to these question,
"What about the other denizens of this place?"
"He outsmarted Kuno," Nabiki-Ritsuko said admiringly. Gendo-Genma
felt like gagging, seeing his chief scientist with the vapid expression of
a love-struck schoolgirl on her face.
Jeff-Ranma smiled back at her, with the same look of mindless
contentment, "It should get the pressure off Akane, dealing with him
permanently may take more effort. The lessons in teaching are more a
threat to life and limb."
Both of them winced at that. The lessons were punishing, although
the knowledge was useful.
Gendo-Genma doubted he or Jeff-Ranma would be drawn into a battle
here, the inmates were so unstable, it was child's play to convince one to
fight another. The place was a powder keg.
Gendo-Genma returned to the table and began reading through the stack
of books, Lovecraft, sounds like a jewelry company, or a porno shop.
----------------------------------------
Now the years are rolling by me,
Rei-Asuka watched and listened to the deliberations of her fate
silently, unmoving. Rei-Asuka knew they were called the Forbidden Lands
for a good reason, she had not known it was a knight's job to keep people
from entering. That she had `led` a major force into the Forbidden Lands,
and out, was a serious matter. King Kuranes himself was listening to the
testimony. The only thing that had shocked Rei-Asuka, was that her
counsel had changed from one of the Dragon's wingmen, to the precise old
man she'd met in Zais. Perhaps I should have accepted his offer of a
tour, Rei-Asuka thought, she also knew that the real Asuka would have been
shouting about injustice or stupidity, or something right now. Rei-Asuka
had already decided her unfamiliarity with those around her mandated her
silence. She also suspected a respectful silence would be more effective
than a screaming fit.
The only truly frightening time came when one of the witnesses
against her shouted something about dying before dishonoring knighthood.
The Dragon, actually, the Scholarly Dragon, commented 'That could easily
be arranged.' King Kuranes had demanded they act in a civilized manner,
and that the knight apologize for the slur, this hearing was to determine
if any crime had occurred, and where to fix the blame. The Scholarly
Dragon had claimed the blame for the orders himself, she could hardly be
held fully accountable for actions taken under orders, and against the
enemies of Celephais and the River Cities. The argument was partially
discounted, but Rei-Asuka found the loyalty between a knight and a dragon
very strange. In the Waking World, the Second Children seemed to bring
out the worst in everyone. Here she was beloved, it confused Rei-Asuka.
The deliberations finished, and Rei-Asuka was remanded into the Red
Dragon's custody, but she was not to leave the area, on her honor.
She had, of course, agreed. When they tried to return to the camp
they had pitched outside the city proper, a group of knights blocked their
path. Rei-Asuka expected a fight.
"You must think we've lost all sense of hospitality," one of the
knights, a woman, told them. She looked them over, "I was at El
Nureenen's fortress when he fell, watching the battle from the walls."
She bowed, "The debt we owe can never be properly repaid, even if you are
removed from the rolls, which the King will never allow, you will have a
place of honor at our tables."
"Feeding dragons is an expensive proposition," her advocate, Alwyk,
warned the group.
Another knight laughed, "Ah, a challenge! We could hardly refuse now
could we?"
The knights led them through the city's widest boulevards, the
Scholarly Dragon would not have fit through the smaller ones. They
arrived at the knights' quarter, the entire force of dragons and men that
had been part of the strike was assembled here. Rei-Asuka had asked their
forgiveness, but she really wanted to rest. They were obviously
disappointed, but understood, taking her to a room in one of the mansions.
A female attendant drew a bath, had soft robes for her when she finished.
Rei-Asuka was embarrassed by the attention, the near reverence showed her.
She slept for an hour and woke, changed into the clothes that had been
laid out for her, tight riding breeches and a white silk shirt. She was
especially intrigued by the dragon design embroidered on the loose-fitting
shirt. The stitching was so tiny, the colors so vibrant, the dragon head
and neck with a long mane of red hair, Like the Second's own, Rei-Asuka
thought. She was beginning to understand some of the Second Children's
`arrogance`, it wasn't, she _was_ a combat veteran and leader, and a
well-respected one. Rei-Asuka found she liked being treated like this,
she was used to being feared or ignored, being respected and deferred to
was a wholly new experience.
Her reverie was cut short when she was suddenly enclosed by almost a
dozen jet-black telephone poles.
"Langley, are you all right?" the Dragon asked.
She suddenly realized they were fingers, the Dragon's fingers. The
touch was soft, the embrace was warm, in temperature and feeling, "I don't
know."
"The King has to hold these hearings, it's the law," the huge
creature tried to comfort her, his friend. "Your knighthood is in no
danger, at most he might demand a vigil or an ordeal. If Tembris really
pushes, he might demand a gauntlet." The huge creature snickered at that,
"The knights and squires around here might go for that, if we could
convince them to do it barehanded. Most would love to be able to boast
they touched, or were close to the Meliorist, the invincible Asuka Soryu
Langley, the true scion of Teutonic Knighthood."
She turned to face him, that maw that could swallow a whole horse, "I
am not afraid for myself."
The huge creature's expression softened, "Langley, you can't keep
blaming yourself for that. You did what was necessary, and I, did what
_had_ to be done. I survived. Whatever is on the outside, I'm still me
inside."
Rei-Asuka nodded.
"You should go out there, let the knight lionize you a bit." The
Dragon smiled, "Since you've keep complaining that we never let you play
catch anymore, we'll have a big game later. We have enough dragons and
people." A claw that could eviscerate a main battle tank brushed of few
strands of hair out of her face, "Feel better?"
"Yes," Rei-Asuka said. The Dragon withdrew.
Rei-Asuka considered her situation.
"So you come all the way here, and can't spare a moment for your old
teacher?" a middle-aged man chided her from the door to her room.
"I'm sorry, I - " she began.
"You didn't want your dishonor tainting your old teacher." He laid
his hands on her shoulders, squeezing them gently, "My reputation can
stand a little tainting, from my most determined apprentice."
She nodded, accepting the hug from the older man. It was very
uncomfortable, all these people touching her, all these friends of the
Second Children, all these people and things who knew and cared about her,
loved her in their own ways.
"I know hot pincers and branding irons would never pry how you are
feeling out of you, how is he." The man nodded to where the Dragon had
been, "He said you are still guilty about it, and are still punishing
yourself."
Rei-Asuka wasn't sure what to say, "He said there is nothing wrong."
"You two are the same," the man shook his head sadly, "You'd take a
deathblow, and act like it's only a flesh wound until the job is done.
You'll both pay a price for that. There are people who'll help you, if
you only let them."
Rei-Asuka nodded, she wondered if the same advice applied to her.
----------------------------------------
I am older than I once was, but younger than I'll be.
Nabiki-Asuka and Maya-Anna passed the guards and proceeded to the
Institute's main EVA labs. A man who, except for his neatly groomed hair
and walrus moustache, was practically a poster for mad scientists, hailed
them. "So, you come back so soon, yes?"
Nabiki-Asuka wasn't sure how you could speak German, with a thick
German accent. "Yes, teacher."
"Oh, teacher is it?" the man feigned shock, "Fallen behind in your
physics homework, and you start calling Dr. Schikelgrubber, 'Teacher'?
And Anna, what is your excuse? Did you finally persuade Asuka to let you
have a chance piloting the EVA?"
Maya-Anna looked shocked, "No sir," she stammered.
"There was a raid near the University."
"Ah, you didn't come to see an old man, you came to see that the EVA
was all right," the man chuckled, "Come with me. I think you worry too
much, unless the British use their subpen busters, or their ggreg
guided-bomb, they'll never make it through the concrete and steel over our
heads."
They entered a bay filled with something like L.C.L., except it was
brown, not black, and didn't smell as bad as L.C.L..
"I'll develop a connective fluid that doesn't look and smell - "
"And taste," Nabiki-Asuka interrupted.
"Yes, and taste like excrement, eventually. Would you prefer
pumpernickel, or strudel, or peppermint schnapps?" he chuckled. "See, all
safe and sound. Like I said, you worry too much. You waste your time
with math and Physics, you should study engineering, get your degree,
become my assistant. Whether we win or lose this war, we'll need people
to maintain these."
"I want to be a pilot," Nabiki-Asuka remembered Asuka's oft-repeated
refrain.
"You can't do both? HA! A pilot would be a perfect assistant. Only
an idiot wouldn't take advantage of it," the man ushered them out of the
bay, away from the smell. "Asuka, you shouldn't turn your nose up at
something, just because someone you hate does it too."
Nabiki-Asuka had no answer for that, But it is a useful insight.
"Doctor, what do you know about the Japanese project?" Nabiki-Asuka
asked.
"Bah!" the man said, "So you heard about Ikari and Fuyutsuki's little
undertaking, yes undertaking, a good word for it, five dead pilots so far,
and only one success." He shook his head, "They have two Units and only
one pilot. Ikari is no scientist, no engineer, and Fuyutsuki is a Doctor
of Psychology, not even a psychiatrist. They'll never match what we've
done here," he assured them.
That explains Asuka's contempt, and no mention of Dr. Akagi?
Nabiki-Asuka thought.
----------------------------------------
They left the Institute to go back to the University. There was no
damage there, but Nabiki-Asuka had to develop a plan to figure out how to
discover what she was expected to do, what classes she had to take, where
she had to eat, where to sleep. She thought Germans would have a schedule
for things, Now, now, Nab-chan, don't make assumptions she chided herself.
She and Maya-Anna headed for administration.
"`Anna` you don't believe I'm taking classes, okay?" Nabiki-Asuka
told her.
"I guess," Maya-Anna said, perplexed.
Nabiki-Asuka sighed, "Just play along," Nabiki-Asuka told her. She
wondered if it was going to be easy or hard. Asuka graduated in 1946, in
1944 she was a sophomore or junior, What was math or physics at that
level?
----------------------------------------
That's not unusual.
Asuka-Nabiki watched Akane charge into the middle of the pack with
another shout of 'I hate boys.' Both Asuka-Nabiki and Kaji winced at
people being thrown every which way.
"Should we intervene?" she asked, with her arm firmly holding Kaji's.
"On which side?" Kaji asked.
Asuka-Nabiki had to admit _she_ wasn't sure. The idiot with the wood
samurai sword concerned her. Kaji was no martial artist, he could fight,
but not like that. Genma had given a him beating, stolen his food, just
this morning. Asuka-Nabiki already had a plan for dealing with him, she
idly wondered how accurate a representation of Ranma's and Tendo's history
this was. The time of 1992 and the insane characters made it impossible,
it had to be a parody, and a crude one. The same way that the people
currently receiving a lethal beating at Akane's hands, would be getting up
with bandages on their injuries in a few minutes, or if anything
interesting happened.
She was glad she'd kept the thermos. She could imagine how the
hormone-addled morons would react to Misato. She already had plans to get
Kaji a second thermos, she had discovered that a near thimbleful seemed
enough, but even at that rate, the 2-liter thermos was a third empty just
from the walk to school. That worried her.
The crowds seemed amazed that `Nabiki` had not only a boyfriend, but
a fiance! Asuka-Nabiki would ask Kaji later if he minded being `rented`
to provide some money for their near-destitute hosts.
The swordsman, Kuno, gave Kaji his deepest sympathies for being
attached to the vampiric mercenary. Asuka-Nabiki discovered that she
could kick a 6-foot moron clear over the school building. Kaji was
shocked.
"When in Rome," she said defensively. She quickly learned from her
factors, versions of Hiroko, that she had assaulted her best customer.
Now Asuka-Nabiki had to wrack her brains about how Nabiki had run her
operations in the `Real` World. She also had the way to get back to
Kuno's good graces. If `Ranma` wasn't engaged to _her_, he'd have to be
engaged to Akane, honor demanded it. She didn't want him screwing things
up, Asuka-Nabiki thought, No wonder she's so arrogant, facing morons like
this. She'd never survive at University.
----------------------------------------
No, it isn't strange,
Shinji climbed out of the sewer, for the previous `week` of his
exploration, he'd felt a growing amusement from his `opponent`, as he
looked into everything, the infrastructure, the detail level of the city
constructed, etc.
He had mapped the city, seen how it was layed out, details of the
construction, he had learned a little about the expected denizens. They
would either swim or fly, there were no stairs or elevators, an anteroom
at nearly every floor, open shafts that reached up through the buildings,
nearly to the sky.
Shinji had also drawn the designs for his answer to this challenge.
He found his confidence in creating small things had increased. He
smiled, he'd need Asuka and Raccoon if he wanted to actually build the
place in reality. But in dreams, he could create the entire city with his
mind, he'd done this before, without understanding it. With Asuka's
lessons, he understood the process, at least partially. Creating the
drawings and models had been tests for the larger, more complicated
structures that would follow.
He wanted the city to be a perfect example: he had a mix of
industrial, offices, residential, gardens and temples. Places to be with
other people, places to be alone. His work would be done soon.
He kept expecting his opponent to `cheat`, send something to snatch
away his notes, plans, models and drawings. But it never happened. His
opponent was `playing it straight.` It would win or lose, on the merits
of its efforts, and his.
Shinji missed the others, even Asuka's and Ranma's insults. But he
knew they were depending on him, even if they didn't know it.
He felt very tired, he'd never worked so hard in his life: looking,
thinking, planning. He wished Rei were with him. He wanted some
companionship, and he wanted someone to look out for him while he rested.
He wasn't sure he fully trusted his opponent, and the loneliness was
beginning to bother him.
----------------------------------------
After changes upon changes, we are more or less the same.
Ryoga wasn't used to being upside down, held by a force he couldn't
see, or break out of. "If you had any honor, you'd let me go. Fight me
like a true Martial Artist!"
Ranma knelt down to look at his face.
----------------------------------------
Jeff-Ranma angrily considered the 'Lost Boy', and his ruthless attack
on the Tendo home. "When you first attacked me, when I first defeated
you. I made the conditions of any rematch quite clear. The living
quarters were off-limits, as were Nabiki and Kasumi, the others could
fight their own battles," Jeff-Ranma ignored another demand for release.
"That let you attack me at school, or on the way, and in the dojo. You
could also come to the door like a civilized human being, and demand a
challenge, focus on the work demand for a moment. You gave your _word_,
as a Martial Artist, that you would abide by that arrangement."
"Coward! Let me go!" Ryoga shouted.
Jeff-Ranma removed a pair of bolt-cutters from his pack. "Since I
can't trust your word, let alone your word of honor, you've made it
necessary for me to take other steps, permanent steps." He knelt down to
look at the shocked 'Lost Boy', "What's really sad, is that Akane was
actually sweet on you, I was hoping something would develop there, but
when you hurt Kasumi . . . Now I think she wants to boil you alive,
slowly. There's something funny about that."
"You're going to kill me?" Ryoga asked, horrified at the prospect.
"Oh, hardly. I need as many people praying that Kasumi pulls through
as possible. I suggest, after I'm done, you start visiting temples, and
offering prayers. What will happen to you if she dies? Well," Jeff-Ranma
stood up, he had no intention of facing a murder charge, but this idiot
didn't know that, "This is what I do for injuring her."
----------------------------------------
Jeff-Ranma returned with the bags of groceries, he put them away
before he went to see Kasumi-Misato.
"I hope you killed him," Akane-Maya told him, her anger on a
slow-boil today.
"Akane," Kasumi-Misato rebuked her.
"He won't be back for a long while," Jeff-Ranma felt bad about the
bandages on Kasumi-Misato's head, and how tired she looked. Akane-Maya
and Nabiki-Ritsuko had kept her awake, in case of concussion. As he sat
at her bedside, earning a dirty look from Akane-Maya, she put a hand on
his leg
"Please promise me - "
"I didn't kill him. I just sent him away, and made sure he wouldn't
be returning soon." He had to force himself not to freeze when `Misato`
touched him. He had to remind himself it was really Nabiki's sister, not
the captain of NERV. The idea of her being a beautiful, gentle woman, and
an excellent housewife disturbed both him and Gendo, about the only thing
the pair shared.
"Don't worry, I got the groceries, I'll fix dinner."
"You don't think I can cook!?" Akane-Maya angrily accused.
"I think your sister might need to get up, and I'll bet she'd rather
have her sister help her, rather than her future husband or
brother-in-law." He glanced pointedly at the bathroom.
Kasumi-Misato giggled at Akane-Maya's distress, and that `Ranma-kun`
had once again avoided an argument with Akane.
"Don't let Nabiki attack you in the kitchen!" Kasumi-Misato warned,
giggled.
"I'll sneak in here and give you equal time," he whispered, amusing
Kasumi-Misato and infuriating Akane-Maya.
Jeff-Ranma enjoyed being `ambushed` by Nabiki-Ritsuko, usually a hug
or a kiss. He wasn't sure he'd ever be able to look at Ritsuko, or Nabiki
for that matter, quite the same again.
"So how are the study guides selling?" he asked just before the
middle Tendo daughter grabbed him.
"You certainly spoil the mood," she grumped. "They're selling well,
flying off the shelves. With the calendars, shoot, we should be able to
get the house replumbed. Get a decent water heater and furo. Maybe big
enough for two." She put her arms around his waist, rested her head on his
shoulder.
"What's the story with that doctor anyway?" Jeff-Ranma asked.
Nabiki-Ritsuko sighed, but it didn't cause her to loosen her grip one
bit.
----------------------------------------
After changes we are more or less the same.
Ranma-Jeff was up at 6:00 A.M., doing katas. His roommate had
arrived sometime during the night. If he had to fight, he could at least
train this body how. After about half-an-hour, he was tired of the
clumsiness of the body he was stuck in, trying to teach it all the moves
he needed to use. He took a break and explored the room, found the sword
stand: two cavalry sabers and two claymores. He smiled as he removed the
claymores and began practicing, duplicating the moves he watched Raccoon
doing on the roof, `back` in Tokyo.
It was as if the muscles suddenly switched on, the moves came
smoothly, the transitions came automatically. The changing balance didn't
effect him as he expected, the body expected and compensated
automatically.
This is more like it! he thought, enjoying the ease of movement he
was more used to. It was nothing like his normal level of ability, but it
was a lot better than the clumsiness using his techniques.
"You should wait until Fencing class," Sergeant Malkowitz said from
his bed.
Fencing _class_, Ranma-Jeff thought, He took classes in fighting?
"Der Sweez fencing master is supposed to be taking on all
challengers," Malkowitz said it with such contempt, Ranma-Jeff wondered if
the `Sweez` was very bad, or more likely, very, very good, perhaps
unbeatable.
Until now, Ranma-Jeff liked what he was hearing.
"But he doesn't use claymores. You'd better practice with the saber
and the foil, unless you want to try the epee?"
"Thanks," Ranma-Jeff resheathed the claymores, and removed the
sabers, again, the muscles seemed to know what to do. The movements came
easily. Ranma-Jeff wondered if he should take one of these with him on
the evening demon hunts. Then his eyes fell on the black and silver cane.
Could that be it? he wondered, That _is_ a weapon. He didn't know why, if
it _was_ a magic weapon, Raccoon didn't carry it anymore, instead of a
much larger brass and dark wood piece.
Maybe because he limps, needs a real cane, Ranma-Jeff picked up the
cane, duplicated the saber's movements and felt, right, moving that way.
Ranma-Jeff was satisfied, he had a weapon to use against his enemies
now, those demons would no longer hurt anyone, if he could help it.
"I know your patrols are important," Malkowitz told him, "But I can't
cover for you forever. You've got to take some time to study."
"This is important," Ranma-Jeff said.
"I know, but you've got some big tests coming up. If you don't
hurry, the war will be over before you graduate. With us and the Russkis
closing in on Germany, that only leaves Japan. Once we firestorm the
country from end to end, the war will be over. The only place anybody
will speak Japanese, is in Hell."
Ranma-Jeff bristled at that, he definitely didn't want to point out
the man was speaking Japanese now. He also didn't like the implication of
genocide of the Japanese people, the total annihilation of the population,
discussed so casually. Ranma would have to ask Raccoon about where
Malkowitz had served in the war, and why he didn't act that way when the
pilots had been together in this room, almost two years from now.
Ranma-Jeff didn't want to think about it.
----------------------------------------
Then I'm laying out my winter clothes
Rei had thought Asuka was strange and brusque, now she was certain
she was _insane_!_ This is her favorite game?! Rei-Asuka thought, as she
sailed through the air, some 3000 meters above the ground, with only the
caprice of dragons to keep her from plummeting into the ground. `Catch`
involved a number of dragons, a much smaller of humans, and two goals some
50 meters across. Like the American game of basketball, you weren't
allowed to hold or carry the ball while moving horizontally, but letting
it slide over your serpentine body wasn't holding it, neither was flipping
it into the air with wings or tail. The major difference was that this
game was played in three dimensions. 'Out of bounds' was less than 500
meters, or more than 5000 meters. A few dragons patrolled the upper
reaches, a much larger number patrolled the lower section, they would
catch anyone who slipped through, she'd been assured that it was a grave
dishonor for the dragons to have to involve the 'line judges', unless the
two dragons knocked each other unconscious. That did nothing to make her
feel more secure.
The Scholarly Dragon was down below, that was the only thing that
kept her from screaming. The huge monster seemed to care deeply for the
Second Children, Like attracts like, she couldn't help thinking, even as
she thought how unfair the comparison was, the Second made her and Shinji
monstrously uncomfortable, but that didn't make _her_ a monster. Her
silence seemed a spur to the dragons, inciting wilder, more last second
catches. The dragons were scored individually, although there were
`teams` of dragons and humans, who cooperated. The teams were the wildest
daredevils and the highest scorers.
Because of her reputation, and her silence, she was an extremely
popular `ball`. After intercepting a catch or throw, they joked that if
the Scholarly Dragon was playing, they'd never get close. She couldn't
figure out how a person could evade a dragon, or affect things.
One dragon in particular had been staying close, 'stealing' her on
passes. Now he passed her from neck to the tail, she'd slide down the
length of his body, then he'd flip her forward to start the process again.
He'd been climbing as high as he could, approaching the out-of-bounds
upper limit. Suddenly the creature gripped her firmly in its claw. It
dove straight down, the referees above and below made sure no lateral
motion occurred. As he dropped near the goal, he extended a wing tip and
began spinning rapidly. As the dragon neared the level of the goal, he
released her. She'd built up a tremendous speed, none of the goal tenders
could intercept her as she sped through the ten-meter wide `special` goal.
She wondered if any of the dragons _could_ catch her as she began
dropping. One of the silver dragons caught her carefully as she arced to
the ground. She kept silent, but she was shocked that even the wild
Second Children found this enjoyable, let alone a chosen activity. She
wasn't sure whether she wanted to faint or throw up. She didn't protest,
so she was carried to the nearest upper corner of the game area, and
tossed back into the mix. She wondered when the game would be over.
----------------------------------------
and wishing I was gone.
Nabiki-Asuka couldn't believe her ears. Analytic and Algebraic
Topology of Infinitely Differentiable non-Euclidian . . . at that point
her brain started running out her ears. What truly frightened her, was
opening her, Asuka's, notebook. She'd already solved all the problems,
derived the equations the teacher was struggling through, and written the
word BORING! underlined five times, on the bottom of the page.
Nabiki-Asuka was completely lost, she had no idea that mathematics
could do these things, completely without any regard to any numbers. She
hoped the other classes weren't like this, hoped it was some kind of
parody or joke. Where people would stand around arguing about what the
word 'is' actually meant. She prayed this was a dream, and not a real
exchange, if Asuka ever found out she flunked a whole semester because of
Nabiki, she doubted even her martial arts would save her.
----------------------------------------
Going home
Asuka-Nabiki congratulated herself, she'd extorted 5000 yen a week
`dating expenses`, and every weekday kendo lessons for herself and Kaji
from Kuno. `Ranma` needed to learn the proper use of the sword from the
beginning, since he thought weapons of any kind were dumb, and she to
convince her father that she too could be a martial artist and worthy
heir, so they'd have less reason to force Akane on `Ranma`. Kuno had
spouted no less than six haikus on the duty of a true samurai, and four
that despite her previous dishonorable actions, she too bent to the honor
of love. Asuka-Nabiki had never wanted to pound anyone _SO_BADLY_ in her
life, but doing so would have messed up the deal, and made her look
immature to Kaji. Kuno could wait.
She also wondered how Genma had liked the laxative she'd mixed into
the cookies last night. Most of them had only gotten one, or at most two,
and had been a little loose this morning. Genma had eaten 26.
Asuka-Nabiki had enjoyed watching Kaji and Kaji-Misato kick the old
panda around the yard, then Asuka-Nabiki had the lovely opportunity of
beating the crap out of Genma herself, literally. Kasumi wouldn't even
let him back into the house until he finished `dribbling`. Asuka-Nabiki
smiled at that, It served the old bully right, he wants to act like an
animal, he'll be treated as an animal.
Kuno is the next test, Asuka-Nabiki thought, she and Kaji had been
working on Kuno, trying to convince him to call off the Hentai Squad.
"Tendo-san," Kuno offered the bunch of roses to Akane as she entered.
Akane braced for the fight she was expecting. Kuno only bowed, told
her she looked lovely, and walked away.
Asuka-Nabiki let out a sigh, she immediately charged Kuno when she
saw him waffling, considering leaping back to sweep Akane off her feet.
"Don't," she hissed to him, dragging him away, "This will take time!"
"But I must truly profess my love to . . . AIIIIE!" Kuno said as
Asuka-Nabiki tightened her grip and twisted his arm.
"Do you know nothing of girls?" Asuka-Nabiki asked, "Ranma and my
love is not yet the basis of marriage. A sword is not forged in a single
day!"
She kept from throwing up, as Kuno spouted haikus about love and
swords.
That's an image I don't really need to think about, Asuka-Nabiki
thought, He's cute, but he's the exact opposite of Ranma, too intense. At
least Kaji doesn't act like that. Thank _GOD_!_
----------------------------------------
where the New York City winters aren't bleeding me,
Shinji was exhausted, but he still had work to do. The sewers, the
streets, even a few of the buildings were in place. It wasn't the
instantaneous appearance his opponent had used. But he was no Great Old
One, he built bit by bit, and he was tired. One of the first buildings
he'd created was a hotel. He had made it out of ordinary materials, only
when it worked did he try strange materials he could imagine but didn't
exist. Glass like steel, a building that was a living tree, a few other
things that were more art than science.
The hotel, his normal building, was furnished like the hotel they met
Asuka in, in Boston, but with a few Japanese amenities. As he was soaking
in this large furo, he considered the ridiculousness of bathing in a
dream, but then he realized whatever he needed to do to win . . . he
smiled at that, Asuka might be pleased with his 'Anything for victory'
attitude. But he didn't like losing any more than any of the other
pilots, he hated being ridiculed, but he could escape into his own mind.
Here, like the EVA cockpit, he had no place to retreat to. So he would
fight, by any means necessary or available.
He yawned as the heat relaxed him, right now, resting and planning
the next step was how he would win. He was disappointed, only a
half-dozen square blocks of buildings for the dozens of square miles of
water lines, sewer lines, telephone cables, etc. But he wasn't sure how
much time he had.
He shook his head. He needed to relax, recover his strength to
complete the work tomorrow or over a few days. He wondered if the others
were `fighting` as he was, each with their own specialties. He wondered
if the battles were as esoteric as this one. He smiled, Maybe not
Ranma's. But Tendo-san making money, Asuka solving science equations, and
so on.
He hadn't the faintest idea what Ayanami-san was doing. He was a
little ashamed that he had no idea what she liked to do on her own, she'd
always done what _he_ wanted to do. He'd been happy about someone
actually doing that, so he hadn't considered he was forcing _her_, maybe
to do things she didn't want to do. He shook himself again. There was
nothing to do about that _here_, except resolve to let her decide what
they did next time he found her in his dreamscape. He hoped she wasn't
offended that he hadn't thought of it before.
----------------------------------------
leading me,
The fencing class was fairly basic, although it did include a whole
series of moves and techniques Ranma-Jeff had never seen. He disdained
weapons, once someone took them away, you were helpless. He quickly saw
the student here wouldn't have given him a decent workout. He realized
from the saber to the cane, if you applied a weapon's technique to
anything of that approximate shape and style, and you learned enough of
them, anything could be an improvised weapon with only a small reduction
in effectiveness.
The warm up and a little sparring showed him all the rules, his
classmates chalked up a misstep or illegal action to his 'enthusiasm for
the match.' He quickly mastered when, where and how you hit.
Then the master and his students walked in. They appraised the
entire class with a sneer, until they came to him.
"They let children in now, perhaps I should take this one on and you
can put your defeat down to youth." The man had some gray in his hair, so
he had to be the teacher's assistant or his best longtime student.
Ranma-Jeff could feel the best way to deal with this chump, "Unless
you're his best, quit wasting my time. I came for a match, I can get
practice anytime." Not the best etiquette, Ranma-Jeff saw the
disapproving smirks on his fellow students' faces, But he started it.
The man went rigid, "You want a match little boy? I will show you
how a master fences." He put on his mask and stalked to the arena they
called a strip.
Ranma-Jeff knew he was at a disadvantage, he was a little more than
half the man's height, and he still had some unfamiliarity with the foil
the man chose. That made Ranma-Jeff feel a little better, his dodging
could be put to best effect and he could practically hide all his target
areas behind the sword's handguard.
They saluted and began. Ranma-Jeff knew that if he could dive and
roll, it would end the fight instantly, but that wasn't allowed. His
dodging skill wasn't the complete protection it would have been in his own
body, but attached with the parries, he was well-defended.
"An unorthodox style, I - "
"Can't handle it?" Ranma-Jeff was also mastering a more subtle insult
style, his own hit too hard, and tried to overpower an enemy. More like
fencing, Raccoon and Asuka would let an enemy commit, then use their own
force against them at a critical point. It worked too, the man was livid
behind his mask.
The man charged, realized he'd walked into Ranma-Jeff's reach and . .
. "Touch is good!" the referee called. Ranma-Jeff smiled at the foil bent
nearly double touching the bigger man's heart. His blade was pointing
nearly a yard away from him.
Both withdrew to their start points. The man clearly didn't want to
make that mistake again. Ranma-Jeff knew he'd take the match, and his
opponent, much more seriously. This time Ranma-Jeff attacked. He felt
constricted, like he did piloting the EVA, he couldn't unleash himself
fully, both because of the constraints of the form, and his body not being
up to it. The speed and precision of his attack, though, was almost what
he hoped for. He drove his opponent clear off the back end of the strip.
He didn't know the rules for that, so he quickly backed to his starting
position.
Ranma-Jeff could see the man was more than angry, he was furious. If
he gets crazy, I do what I have to, Ranma-Jeff decided.
The man advanced carefully, but Ranma-Jeff could see the stiffness of
his form. He had the choice of playing with him, to make him explode, or
using the stiffness to win.
Making people explode hasn't done too well lately, he thought, Don't
get overconfident, just beat him and get it over with!
"The touch is good!" the ref announced. Ranma-Jeff wasn't sure if
that ended the match, but the man stripping off his mask and throwing it
across the room before stalking out made it clear _he_ thought it was
over.
"Easiest foil match I ever judged," the ref commented while the other
students closed in to offer their congratulations. Ranma-Jeff didn't know
how one-sided his victory had been, his right-of-way, the traditional
method of judging foil matches, had never been threatened.
Ranma-Jeff accepted the accolades eagerly. He liked winning,
preferred it. He also had a little more respect for his roommate, he was
good with a sword, his cane, any long thin, preferably sharp, object.
Since Ranma apparently didn't use weapons, Raccoon must figure
there's nothing I can teach him, Ranma-Jeff considered, And he'd never let
Ranma teach . . . , he smiled at his own cleverness, But Ranko owes him a
lot, and is another person.
---------------------------
To go home.
The dance was not what she had expected. Very somber, elegant,
almost regimented, Rei-Asuka was very grateful for the last. She
collected the names, and danced as the others did, although not very well.
She was surprised when the King took his spot on her dance-card and waited
his turn. All this was very new to her. The disturbance brought her back
to the experience did she have.
"So, should I thank you for rescuing my servants?" the elegant man in
the Egyptian garb, including the two-part crown, approached, no one barred
his way.
The angry murmurs of the Knights and the dragons indicated they were
aware something was amiss. She could feel what this man-thing was, as it
headed through the crowd straight towards her.
"It is customary to give ones name," the man who was Asuka's mentor
interposed himself.
"I have so many," the man said, "Which should I use. How about king
of kings?"
"How about slave of highest slaves," the Dragon slowly meandered
over, the creature seemed slightly put out by the huge creature's
approach, "Or would you prefer Malignant Tripod?"
"One with more wisdom would be careful," the man, it was either a
Great Old One or an Outer God, Rei-Asuka was sure.
"I've eaten more fearsome things than you." The Dragon yawned,
stretched, incidentally showing the claws that rivaled katanas in length
and sharpness, and a mouth full of teeth. From the smallest the size of a
carving knife, to the carnassial shearing teeth, where the molars would be
on a herbivore.
Those could bite through an EVA's limb, Rei-Asuka realized.
"I came to tell the most honorable Knight, that her master has
fallen," the man told Rei-Asuka.
The Commander is dead?! Rei-Asuka felt despair, then she realized
that this creature was unaware of the change. "I have no master,"
Rei-Asuka tried to sound like Asuka, it was a poor attempt.
"So one of your slaves blew his brains out," the Dragon said, "Soon
the other will fall as well."
"God will restore the world," the King announced.
"The so-called king speaks," the man sneered, "Do you refer to the
little gods of the Dreamlands, or the pitiful little god of the
Canaanites? He was not present when I came on the scene."
"He probably had something more important to attend to,
Nyarlathotep," the Dragon said, "Or you decided not to see Him."
Rei-Asuka recognized the creature now, and knew it was among the
strongest of the Outer Gods, why did it have an interest in the Second
Children?
"If we are telling names, should I tell them what _you_ truly are?"
Nyarlathotep asked the Dragon.
"You don't have the wit to know what I am, oh Mightiest of Azathoth's
slaves. Considering your master, you must conjecture that you are the
only thing in the universe that thinks. I assure you, you aren't."
"Be polite," Rei-Asuka advised the Dragon, "He does think." She
ignored the guffaws of the knights and other guests, "I thank you for the
information, I'm afraid I have a dancing partner."
Nyarlathotep concealed the flash of anger, "I came in peace, and I
have only been insulted."
"Where do you usually go to be insulted?" Alwyk asked.
"We should be allies, your enemies are our enemies. How many of you
have lost a clutch of eggs to them?" Nyarlathotep asked in a wounded tone.
"Not as many as you would kill," Alwyk shot back, "There is a great
difference between being pillaged, and being punished. You and your kin
deserved your fate."
"Peace old friend," the Dragon told him, "To be angered by something
that is merely a pile of vomit and rancid chicken soup is unseemly. Have
you considered honest work? As sour as you are, you could do well making
pickles."
Rei-Asuka laughed at that, earning a glare from the Soul and
Messenger of the Outer Gods.
"You would be better served not to sneer at your betters,"
Nyarlathotep warned.
"Don't you have enough enemies?" the Dragon asked, "How many of your
own kith and kin want you dead? You would do well to not make any more
unnecessary enemies."
"Is that a threat?" Nyarlathotep asked sarcastically.
"You mighty Trivialities are so thin-skinned, not everything applies
to you," Alwyk said.
"I think you'd better go," King Kuranes told him.
"Oh, I merely want to thank my unwitting servants for helping me
recover my property," Nyarlathotep told them, smiling, "Only humans would
participate, even expedite their destruction so eagerly. You have my
thanks." The creature vanished.
"This changes everything!" Tembris bustled over, "To serve such a
creature dishonors us all, and endangers all of us."
"The creature wanted to make trouble, when the Moonbeasts betrayed
his aim of stealing what the tomb-robbers stole," Altara approached
Rei-Asuka, glaring at Tembris.
Tembris thought to brush the old woman aside, then remembered what
she really was.
"You also assume we let the humans keep what they had stolen," the
Dragon told them, "There are subtler ways than a military assault, some of
us can do both. Others can do neither," the Dragon chuckled as Tembris
stormed away. "Remind me why I haven't eaten him."
"You're on a moron-free diet," Anna approached, replacing something
in the sleeves of her dress, "That's why you let the other one go as
well."
----------------------------------------
In the clearing stands a boxer,
Nabiki-Asuka met Maya-Anna in the cafeteria, unlike the open rooms
with long tables she had expected, there were many booths and smaller
square tables, almost no noise, even the noise of silverware was muted.
"Do you understand any of this?" Nabiki-Asuka asked Maya-Anna in a
near panic.
Maya-Anna stared, "Maybe sempai might, I can barely recognize the
overall concepts. If she can do this, she should be working with Dr.
Akagi," Maya-Anna told her.
Nabiki-Asuka thought the same, physics had been worse, even the
history class was at the limits of her knowledge. She had no idea what to
do, except muddle through the classes and learn as much as she could about
the EVAs from Doctor Schikelgrubber. Maybe that was the advantage, Ikari
and Fuyutsuki, even Dr. Akagi were tight-lipped about the mechanics of the
EVAs, the problem was she barely knew the questions to ask.
Would Maya help me without `sempai` looking over her shoulder?
Nabiki-Asuka wondered.
----------------------------------------
and a fighter by his trade
Asuka-Nabiki looked at the new opponent, a boy who claimed to know
Ranma. Kaji had fortunately made himself scarce, this clown was
completely out of his class, all Kaji would do is get killed. Asuka had a
lot more experience dealing with powerful opponents, with inadequate
means, than the idiots around here did. She approached the boy.
"Where is Ranma hiding?" he demanded of the crowd, who were already
scattering.
"Please don't hurt me," Asuka-Nabiki said in her most simpering tone.
He paused, stared at her, and his brain began to fog over, she was
showing as much skin as her school uniform allowed.
I feel like that slut Misato, Asuka-Nabiki thought, But she taught me
this, so . . . "A big, strong, handsome man like you, couldn't be afraid
of little girl like me." I hope Kaji appreciates this, I think I'm going
to be sick. I'm glad Tendo doesn't act like this. She walked closer, his
nose started to bleed.
Just hang on Asuka, put his head underwater and drown him, she was
backing him away towards a fountain.
Before she had to close in and kiss him, or knee him in the groin, he
fell in. Asuka-Nabiki grabbed the sputtering pig, she quickly changed
plans. "Oh KAWAIII!" she held the pig against the exposed part of her
breasts, it fainted instantly. "I'm never going to get the blood stains
out of this dress." She repeatedly hit the pig's skull with the edge of
her heaviest school book. She considered simply killing the pig, then she
saw Kuno, and had a much more fiendish idea, it would also deflect Kuno's
pursuit of 'his plum-haired goddess'. All she needed now was, Yes,
there's Kaji.
"Kuno-sempai," she almost hated doing this, "I have the gravest
news."
"The fool who attacked our hallowed place of learning?" Kuno intoned.
"Right here."She showed him the pig, she could see his disbelief,
"You've heard of the sorcerer Circe?"
If he knew or not, Kuno would never admit ignorance.
Asuka-Nabiki set the unconscious pig-boy down and poured some of the
hot water from her thermos, to return him to his natural state. She saw
Kuno shy away, now to lay the trap. "I'm afraid that isn't the gravest
news. While this one," she kicked Ryoga, "Kept Ranma busy, the sorcerer
herself was looking for you. Vengeance for wrongs done by your parents."
She watched Kuno look around nervously, she continued, "Your
Plum-haired goddess would not permit this."
"Ah, the tender bravery of true love," Kuno allowed a tear of joy to
roll down his face.
"She saved your life, at a terrible cost to herself. The sorcerer
has her, and to torment both you and my beloved Ranma," she allowed
herself a tear of her own, "She cursed my beloved Ranma to take the face
and form of your beloved." She splashed Kaji, who became Kaji-Misato.
"Oh the horror, and fiendishness of this curse!" She shook her fist at
the sky.
"Nay, Tendo Nabiki." Kuno offered the thermos to Kaji-Misato who
quickly returned to being Kaji. "The vengeance of the Blue Thunder shall
be swift and sure."
"I fear not," Asuka-Nabiki said, "I don't know where the sorcerer may
be hiding. Planning her next attack, I will be vigilant, but it may not
be enough to return your plum-haired goddess to your side, where she
belongs." Asuka-Nabiki could see Kaji's skin crawling, but she had to
play this out. "This one may know, if he truly is a man, and not a pig."
"What price do you put on him?" Kuno said warily.
"Kuno Tatewaki-san," Asuka-Nabiki said sternly, "Even I can see the
true love blossoming between you two. All I desire, is when you force the
sorcerer to release your plum-haired goddess, you force her to release her
foul curse on my treasured Ranma." She bowed, low and formally.
"I have spoken and thought less of you, in the past." Kuno laid his
hands on her shoulders, spoke gently to her, "I see the power of true love
can redeem even as mercenary a soul as yours." He looked at Kaji, "You
are truly favored by heaven."
"Thanks," Kaji managed.
Asuka-Nabiki bade her farewells to Kuno, who was already planning
ways to extract the location of the 'foul sorcerer's lair' from his
henchman.
"That should take care of things," Asuka-Nabiki told Kaji as she
walked him home, "Now he knows about the curse, and with luck, he'll quit
chasing you."
"I don't know what to say," Kaji had been horrified by the lengths
Kuno had gone to to pursue his 'plum-haired goddess'.
"Say you'll marry me," Asuka-Nabiki smiled at him.
----------------------------------------
And he carries the reminders of every glove that laid him down
Shinji watched the building form around the skeleton of girders and
pipe, This is getting easier. The experimental buildings were more tiring
and difficult, regular buildings were easier. Still, he refused to eschew
the odd, the experimental and the weird, just because they were so
difficult. It was like music, sometimes you had to try something, and
keep doing it until you were good at it.
He was glad of Asuka's lessons, although he'd never admit that to
her, he smiled at that. Asuka was arguable the strictest teacher he'd
ever know, nothing was ever good enough, but at the same time, she'd never
let him quit trying. 'NO IT ISN'T GOOD ENOUGH! KEEP TRYING, don't assume
you can achieve perfection. Even I'M not perfect, BUT I'M A LOT BETTER
THAN YOU ARE!' He wondered if she'd meant to make him competitive, that
she was so much better that he was.
He thought about that, unlike Misato and his father . . . and
Saotome-san, she never crushed his spirit. She dragged him from one
achievement to another, never letting him pause to savor the victory. He
wondered why she was in such a hurry, then he stopped, the building was
finished, and he realized _THIS_ was the reason.
"Would she be proud of me," then he laughed, "What!? Only 30 square
miles! You could have done 60!" He missed the others, how long had he
been here? It seemed like weeks or months. The sun never rose, it never
got dark. He was never hungry, and he slept only when he was tired.
"I need to build some restaurants," he said, then thought of the
strangest design he could, hanging gardens, crystalline bridges over
waterfalls. He began sketching the design in the dust, "No, that looks
too much like a spider."
----------------------------------------
or cut him till he cried out
Misato-Rei couldn't imagine where they'd gone, she remembered the
almost daily meetings at this coffee house. They hadn't met here tonight,
she wondered where they were. She considered intentionally getting close
to them. Rei was a cute, odd, little girl, maybe they wouldn't react to
her. All I have to do is get close.
She was glad to be back where the enemies were clear-cut, everyone
outside the project here was the enemy. It struck her as strange, that
they were in an enemy country to save the human race. It didn't hurt her
a bit that the occasional random side-effect harassed these people,
although it did attract those lousy kids.
----------------------------------------
in his anger and his shame,
Ranma-Jeff thrust the walking stick home. The creature twitched and
collapsed. For the first time on as long as he could remember, he'd won,
won clearly, decisively, against an opponent who was trying to kill him.
_He'd_ won, not the EVA. As he watched the demonic corpse disintegrate in
smoke, he felt strangely empty. He knew what the creature would do if
left to its own devices, it was little different than the `Angels`. At
least it wasn't a person, he realized he wasn't a killer, maybe the
`Angels`, but nothing else.
"We got the other ones," Henry ran up, "I still wish we knew where
these things were coming from."
"Wasn't our genius going to do a weighted average based on their
speed and appearance site?" Rita announced.
So that's what that map was! Ranma-Jeff thought, "This way."
----------------------------------------
"I am leaving, I am leaving."
Misato-Rei watched in horror as the boy pointed right towards the
headquarters. She knew the most delicate experiment of the entire series
was taking place. If they disturbed that, everything would be for
nothing. _AGAIN_!_
----------------------------------------
but the fighter still remains.
Nabiki-Asuka shook her head. The Professor was explaining about
their enemies, "They are quantum mechanical macroscopic creatures."
Nabiki-Asuka hadn't the faintest idea what that had to do with
anything, or what it meant. If Asuka understood, Nabiki would have to
beat her up until she explained it. "I don't understand."
"Their wave function extends far beyond their surface."
Which tells me precisely nothing, she thought.
"They tunnel through our universe, rather than move normally, like
electrons," Professor Schikelgrubber explained. "The AT field an EVA
produces, forces them to operate by Newtonian laws within its influence.
If the AT field is strong enough. The AT field may explain why fists may
have a greater effect than gunfire. Although, 10 times virtually nothing,
is still virtually nothing."
I just can't wait to tell Ranma that, Nabiki-Asuka thought
sarcastically.
----------------------------------------
Nabiki-Asuka entered her apartment at the University. A grim man in
a Luftwaffe Oberst's uniform [Air Force Colonel] waited before the door.
He was fidgeting with his briefcase, as if working up the courage to
knock.
"Miss Langley," the man straightened up, saluted, "I am glad you have
returned. I'm afraid I have bad news for Miss Alice."
"She's inside," Nabiki-Asuka said, opened the door to a scene of
Maya-Anna struggling through Nabiki-Asuka's homework.
The man stood at attention, "Miss Alice," he began once Nabiki-Asuka
had sat next to her friend. "I regret to inform you that your brother,
Gunther, was killed yesterday. He was leading a group against the bomber
stream," the man paused, "When he was attacked by an entire enemy
squadron, he caused them severe casualties, but did not survive."
The man took Maya-Anna's look of incomprehension wrong, "I'm afraid
this had been confirmed."
"Thank you," Maya-Anna said quietly.
"I apologize for being the bearer of such news, and I . . . " the
man's carefully prepared speech faltered, "There are no words to comfort
your loss, he was a good friend, a good squadron mate. He will be
missed." He opened the briefcase, "The rest of his personal effects will
be sent here. His will insisted this be sent to you in the event of his
death, 'When he couldn't protect the hope of the World anymore.'" He set
a metal strongbox down amid the homework papers, "In accordance with his
wishes, I have not opened it. His personal effect did not include a key."
"I have the key," Maya-Anna said quietly, "I thank you for telling me
in person. I, I think I'd like to be alone for a while."
"Of course," the man clicked his heels, turned about and left.
Nabiki-Asuka closed the door behind him. "What was that all about?"
"I have no idea," Maya-Anna admitted, fishing the odd key out of her
baggage. It fit perfectly. Inside, wrapped in a half-dozen silk
handkerchiefs, was a silver ring with a large black stone in a gold
setting, it fit Maya-Anna's index finger perfectly.
The other item concerned Nabiki-Asuka, a pistol and two clips of
ammunition. It was small enough to be readily concealable. "What the
heck is this about?"
Maya-Anna stared at it as if it was a poisonous snake, and shook her
head.
----------------------------------------
Family
Nabiki-Ritsuko grunted, bore down, "Ranma, _THIS_IS_ALL_YOUR_FAULT_!_
I'll kill you for this!"
"You're doing fine," Jeff-Ranma counseled, "This isn't as hard as I
thought."
To forestall the comment from Nabiki-Ritsuko, "Purple is a good color
for you. Just remember to push."
"_I_AM_PUSHING_!_!_" she shrieked at him and tightened her grip on
his hands as the contraction peaked. Then launched into a string of
comments about his parents, breeding and other habits.
He half-listened to them.
The OBGyn who was monitoring the progress of the delivery nodded,
"Everything is going just fine."
Jeff-Ranma nodded, she'd taken him aside some months ago to inform
him that she'd never met any new mother as anxious about the delivery as
Nabiki. Anything to keep her mind off it, she approved of his antics.
"I can see the head," she told them.
"I told you you could do it. Just push," Jeff-Ranma told her.
Nabiki-Ritsuko answered him by tightening her grip until his bones
creaked. "Next time it's your turn!"
"Okay, you're on. You probably won't be as good a coach though. You
know you're beautiful, don't you?" he kissed her forehead in response.
She growled at him and continued to push.
----------------------------------------
The cry of a child changed everything, Nabiki-Ritsuko released her
grip on his hands and carefully took the baby from the doctor, cradling it
gently. "He's so tiny," Nabiki-Ritsuko said.
"She's beautiful, like her mother," Jeff-Ranma said.
"She?" Nabiki-Ritsuko said in a small voice, "Kawori."
"She," the doctor confirmed, raised an eyebrow at Jeff-Ranma.
"I'm a magician," he smiled under the mask, looked down at his wife
of three years, and their first child. "Compared to miracles, I'm an
amateur."
"We need to clean her up, and weigh her, and you need to get some
rest," the doctor had said once the after birth was taken care of.
"May I?" Jeff-Ranma asked the orderly who was preparing to push the
bed to the room. The man nodded. Jeff-Ranma smiled at that, husbands
didn't attend their children's births. The HELL this one wouldn't, he
remembered the livestock and a few human births he'd been present at,
assisting his aunt when she was a midwife, he wasn't going to be absent at
the birth of his first child. Having one yourself, talk about sympathy
pains, he smiled at the thought.
As he wheeled her through the hall, the orderly watching to make
certain he made no mistakes, Jeff-Ranma spotted Gendo. The man
practically had his nose pressed against the glass. Jeff-Ranma made a
moose antler at him, a signal the child was musume, a girl. Gendo turned
to Nodoka to announce the news.
Jeff-Ranma shook his head. _That_ had been a transformation. The
arrival of Nodoka, who looked like a cross between Rei and Shinji, Gendo,
now legally his name, had changed almost overnight. He'd told her that
the pair of them had been fighting ancient demons, a paraphrase of what
NERV was doing, and as a result of their successes, both of them were
accursed. When she brought up the contract, Jeff-Ranma had flatly told
her if she even _thought_ she'd carry it out, he'd disown _her_!_ She'd
proclaimed the contract fulfilled, and told everyone she was taking her
husband off to get reacquainted.
"I'm so tired," Nabiki-Ritsuko told him as they transferred her onto
the hospital bed. "I'm all puffy and bloated."
He knelt and kissed her gently, "I think you're as beautiful as the
day I married you."
"You are such a liar," she smiled at him.
"You need rest, I've got to go defuse the nuts before I let them come
see you, and they won't until you're rested."
She nodded and closed her eyes.
----------------------------------------
Jeff-Ranma walked into the waiting room, Gendo and Nodoka stood with
Soun. Akane-Maya shifted uncomfortably. Kasumi-Misato took Tofu-sensei's
hand.
"She's just tired, she and our new daughter are doing just fine."
Amid the shouts of joy and deluge of tears, Soun advanced and pounded
him happily on the shoulder.
Jeff-Ranma glanced through the glass partition at Kuno and Shampoo,
Boy was that a weird story, who were in the other room, looking after the
kids, their four, Kasumi and Tofu's one, Gendo and Nodoka's two. She
hugged Kuno to within an inch of his life.
What kept running through Jeff-Ranma's mind, over the accolade and
cries of joy, was what he and Gendo had discussed after Gendo-Genma
returned from his sojourn with his wife. That there was no 'solution' to
this trap, they were being held here, allowed to get as much happiness as
they could, then it would all be snatched away.
----------------------------------------
Honor and Duty
Ranma-Jeff had entered the building, and was horrified by what he'd
found. The demon was the size of an EVA, he wondered how Davis had
defeated the thing. Probably didn't let them summon it in the first
place, he thought as Rita's cloud and Henry's statue hurled bolts of
energy at the thing. He looked at the corpses, it looked like NERV
uniforms some of them were wearing. He thought he saw Gendo, or at least
most of him, in one of the emissions of glowing fluid that illuminated the
area.
Ranma-Jeff headed towards the center of the corpses, picking his way
carefully over the ghastly flooring, to see if anyone had survived, and
what else they had summoned.
----------------------------------------
Misato-Rei moved through the killing grounds, she was too late
_again_!_ This time was worse, the huge, black dragon had killed the
demon that was currently lashing around, before it could kill all her
colleagues, only the boy had died. This time they'd killed the project,
everybody. They'd pay dearly. The boy was in her sights, her finger
tightened on the trigger. The blast of lightning was unexpected.
----------------------------------------
Ranma-Jeff looked at the corpse the bomb had produced. He never seen
a demon using a gun, it looked a little like Rei, but it had escaped the
big demon, it had to be a demon.
I wonder what that says about Rei? Ranma-Jeff wondered. The other
thing that frightened him was the 'bag of tricks' literally, he carried.
Bombs, amulets, charms, other things, he'd thought Davis was a mage, it
seemed he just had a collection of magic items. He wasn't sure whether
that made him feel better or worse. He approached the hole surrounded by
a pair of glowing circles. He looked down into the hole to see where it
led.
----------------------------------------
The three of them crashed through the door, scaring Sergeant
Malkowitz.
"What's the heaviest weapon you can get?" Ranma-Jeff demanded as he
went through the small `weapons` locker. He realized he didn't have the
faintest idea what he was looking for and at.
"It's a vampire, we should use a stake," Rita told them.
"You know someone with a wooden copy of the Eiffel Tower?" Henry
demanded, on the edge of hysteria.
"Well," Malkowitz interjected, "There's the thing your friend
Montgomery wanted you to test."
"Huh?" Ranma-Jeff said.
"He made it in Antioch, to retake his guardianship of the Oracle at
Delphi from the Nazis," Malkowitz pulled out a large rectangular canvas
bag. It was covered with Greek and Christian symbols, a note taped to it,
clearly instructions, was written in Chinese. So none of them could read
it.
"He didn't leave a manual did he?" Henry asked.
"Wait a second!" Rita demanded, "Guardian? You know the Python of
Delphi? Why do I get the feeling at St. Peter's, people would recognize
you, and ask why you were talking with the old guy in the funny hat?!"
Ranma-Jeff ignored her as he looked at the block inside the bag.
There were metal rods, wooden splinters and vials of water surrounding two
metal cans. "What the heck is all this?" He looked for any clues.
"Supposedly its water from the fain in Jerusalem, pieces of the True
Cross, and the rods have elements of the nails from the Cross. All driven
by nine pounds of torpex," Malkowitz told them.
"Sort of a sanctified satchel charge," Henry said, "Count three and
throw."
"What kind of an idiot are you?" Malkowitz handed them a plunger and
a spool of wire, "Set it, and remotely detonate it."
"Let's go," Ranma-Jeff put the satchel on his shoulder. He was
petrified at the thought of facing that thing again, but he also knew it
would eat the entire city if it got loose. I have to do this! I can't
run away, Ranma-Jeff thought as they rushed back to the site.
----------------------------------------
Friends
Rei-Asuka almost smiled when the sentence was read. Five days'
solitary vigil in the tower, she could understand that Asuka would be
hard-pressed for such a penalty. For her, being alone with only her
thoughts was no problem.
Or so she'd thought. She'd been tortured by concerns where
Shinji-kun was, what were the others doing, did they need her help, was
she neglectful 'enjoying' this sojourn into the Second's history while the
others might be fighting, and dying, alone, unaided? She was practically
in tears when they opened the door on the fifth day, leading her out for
her final interview with the King. More than anything, she wanted to
check on the others.
The old man, one of her `wingmen`, Alwyk, she remembered, waited.
"That is the nature of this tower." He wrapped a warm cloak around her,
"The others await below."
Her heart soared, then crashed as she remembered it was the others of
'here and now', not the ones she had been thinking of. She nodded and
accompanied him, she felt very small, and very cold.
----------------------------------------
Wisdom and Answers
Nabiki-Asuka sat in Unit 02's entry plug, whatever this stuff was, it
was a lot less unpleasant than L.C.L..
"Thirty-five percent," Dr. Schikelgrubber told her over the command
radio, "That's the best you've ever done. Have you been doing the
exercises I gave you?"
"Yes," Thirty-five? Asuka usually averages at least 100! I've never
seen her as low as 80! Nabiki-Asuka was thinking about all the things
she'd learned, mainly she wondered why Dr. Akagi never mentioned any of
them. "So Doctor, you were saying about the EVAs, they were combat
machines."
"Yes, little Asuka," his tone implying 'Asuka-chan', "There is a
great darkness coming."
"The Communists?" Nabiki-Asuka was glad she remembered at least that
much of History class, although it had been the 1947 version.
"No, nothing human. These machines were built by the ancients, and
something else helped them, something far cleverer than we are. That's
why we need the L.C.L., the pilots, and all the special gear. When the
ancients won the war, they turned their machines off, mothballed them, and
buried them. Good preservative, anaerobic conditions and - "
"So you need all this gear to keep them running after all that time?"
Nabiki-Asuka asked.
"No, we need all the folderol, to operate them while their still
off."
Nabiki-Asuka was thunderstruck, If the EVAs can do all this while
they're switched off! "What can they do when they're switched on?!"
Nabiki-Asuka had trouble keeping her voice level.
"We don't know, at the very least, they should be able to operate
autonomously, without external power or a pilot. Or they may need a
person to act as their volition, but the entry plug will be unnecessary, a
person might merge with them, directing them in combat, then step out
afterwards. The possibility that they'd have to be trusted to follow
orders once activated is one reason it hasn't been investigated," the
scientist chuckled, "Can you imagine one of these rampaging across the
countryside?" He laughed out loud.
Nabiki-Asuka found nothing to laugh about. But because she'd been
lied to about the EVAs, however unintentionally, and the magnitude of
their enemies. She'd never expected this, I've _got_ to start paying
attention, she thought, To everything. If a tank jury-rigged to operate
without being 'on' could defeat all it's enemies, what would happen when
it switched on? What would happen to the pilot inside? 'They're alive,
anyone can see that,' Roku-kun had told her, 'The EVA is life,' Rei had
mentioned, 'It feels like it's occupied,' Shinji had said her. She'd felt
it herself, maybe not a thinking creature like a human, but a mind able to
plan and make agreements, and discriminate between people it liked and
didn't.
Unit 02 didn't feel like Unit 01, whatever 'occupied' it was very
different. Nabiki-Asuka wondered if Asuka's inability to link with the
other EVAs would prevent her from feeling that difference. Only Rei and
Roku-kun could sync with all the EVAs, Did they know? Why didn't they
tell us? She realized these thoughts were spiraling into paranoia. The
`adults`, to use Asuka's phrase and tone, claimed to know everything, she
was just told that they were covering up for their ignorance. It isn't a
mad plot to kill us all, it's just a stupid excuse to save face.
"I'm sorry I upset you, your sync rate dropped ten points, it almost
back now," Dr. Schikelgrubber told her, "I don't think we should talk
about the EVAs anymore."
"Okay," Nabiki-Asuka was relieved, she wanted to know more, but these
revelations she could only take in small doses.
"How did school go today . . . Okay," the scientist began, "That was
a 15-point drop, does your chewing gum lose its flavor on the bedpost
overnight?"
----------------------------------------
Nabiki-Asuka didn't know if she should discuss what she'd learned
with Maya-Anna, or keep it to herself, until she could talk it over with
her fellow pilots. Neither of the two options was very attractive. The
two know-it-alls, and possibly Rei would tell her 'It took you that long
to figure it all out?!' She stopped that thought, let out a breath, I
_AM_ letting my anger interfere with my judgement, she hated being laughed
at, or not taken seriously, but none of the Pilot-experts, would actually
laugh at her ignorance. Rei would quietly welcome her into the inner
circle of those who knew, and the other two would then point out a few
dozen corollaries she hadn't considered yet. She frowned all the way back
to the dorm room Maya-Anna was sharing with her.
She liked being in control, nearly as much as Ranma did, she'd taken
a big step out in the world. And she resented that the world didn't treat
her as she thought it ought to due to her previous triumphs. Except the
real world didn't own her anything, and regraded all her triumphs as
tawdry, trivial things that didn't measure up against the real
accomplishments of others. And the real world plays by much harsher
rules, people might be personal enemies, but they won't tolerate
mistreatment beyond a certain level. 'I despise what you say, but will
defend to the death your right to say it', some American politician said
that, she thought, it applied.
Asuka hated 'Wondergirl', but seemed to go out of her way to match
her up with Shinji, she was contemptuous of Ranma, because she thought he
was going to get killed, just like Roku-kun. She hadn't managed to get
both of the college students to turn on her, but she doubted it would be
pleasant if they did.
Nabiki-Asuka entered the room, glanced over at the book shelves. She
remembered all the books in boxes Asuka had, Nabiki had mistakenly thought
they were all school books, here there were books on Medicine,
Engineering, Literature, History and Military Strategy. Nabiki-Asuka
noted the two copies of Achtung Panzer! one autographed by every major
German General and a few Italian ones, Probably the Generals Asuka looks
up to. The second was worn, annotated and had notes scribbled in the
margins.
That too had been a blow to Nabiki's ego, she wasn't the smartest or
the cleverest, she wasn't even close. She wasn't the master manipulator,
or the most ingenious, or the best at what she did, used to do. She
wondered if that had been what had fueled Ranma's behavior, she didn't
like what it said about her. She noted Maya-Anna was sound asleep, with
her face in a book, the next day's homework spread on the table.
Nabiki-Asuka wondered if she'd finished it, or if the analyst had been as
stumped as Nabiki-Asuka had been. Why is that girl taking Junior High
Classes? She could _teach_ at the Junior High!
Nabiki-Asuka covered Maya-Anna with a blanket, and crawled into her
own bed. The other advantage of the German-made ersatz L.C.L. was that it
washed out immediately. She was definitely going to steal the recipes, at
least for testing purposes, she hated stinking for hours after climbing
out of the plug, no matter how many showers she took.
----------------------------------------
Love
"If you send a beam of light through a beam splitter," Professor
Nabiki 'Asuka' Tendo, told the student in the lecture hall, "Then send one
part of the beam to one end of the universe and the other part to the
other end. Then you do something evil to one beam, the other will react
_at_ the_same_instant_ as if you'd done the same to it. The translation
of what Einstein called this, is 'Spooky Action at a distance'. Because
it violated his postulate that nothing could move faster than the speed of
light."
Asuka-Nabiki looked over the shocked face of the students in the
Introduction to Physics class at Tokyo University. "That's enough for
today."
She endured the 'stand, bow, sit,' she'd hoped that at college they'd
outgrow it. The students murmured to each other.
Kuno came forward, "I had never considered what a storyteller you
are." He'd gotten over that she 'brought home the rice', his inheritance
meant neither really had to work, but both did, part-time at what they
loved.
"I have to make the subject interesting," she replied, smiled at her
husband, "How did you slip away?"
"Sasuke and Konatsu decided to take _all_ the children and 'talk
shop'. I allowed it."
"How magnanimous of you," she teased, he blushed slightly. She
realized he wasn't her ideal choice, but he'd been the only one to offer
sympathy when she had caught Kaji with Ukyo, and Kaji hadn't been kissing
Ukyo's face. Then they'd traveled all the way to China, to find a
pregnant Shampoo, of course the baby was Kaji's, so was Ukyo's.
She'd repaid Kuno's help and support by standing with him against his
father, and getting decent treatment for his sister, in Germany, where
proper psychiatric counseling, drugs and surgery were available and had
helped her. Asuka-Nabiki had also gotten Kuno to avail himself of the
first, 'to make sure it was safe for your sister.' It hadn't changed him
outwardly, but now he was a harmless eccentric, instead of a raving
lunatic. All in all, it wasn't a bad life.
"How is the tidy Akane doing?"
Kuno laughed at that, "'My ankles are swollen, but I can still
teach!' I stood with Kasumi and Konatsu that she should rest, I believe
that you are correct, she is frightened of being a mother."
She nodded, "So, what do you have in mind?"
"A love hotel, ropes, whips and chains," Kuno said, studying the
ceiling tiles.
"Oh!" Asuka-Nabiki said delightedly, "I get to tie you up."
"Yes, Mistress," Kuno said with feigned diffidence. He bowed low.
Both knew the evening wasn't going to be anything like that.
----------------------------------------
Genesis
Shinji rushed around, as he had for the previous week, checking
lights, making sure the plumbing worked, etc. Until he was satisfied with
the results. He took the elevator to the top floor of the tallest
building in the city, and the observation deck there.
He looked out over the city, his city, skyscrapers poking out of the
forested green, wide boulevards with over or undercrossings for
pedestrians, rail lines to all the various districts. Everything worked,
at least everything he'd checked worked.
"This is my challenge!" he called to the wind, silently praying he
hadn't forgotten anything. There was a pause . . . it seemed to go on
forever. . ..
The light vanished from the original, alien city. Then from his
challenge. He was alone again, a flat featureless plane. He looked
around, listened for any hint.
There was none, he woke suddenly, looked around his room, "I lost,"
he said, "My best wasn't good enough." He pulled the covers around him,
at the sudden chill, and wondered what his failure had cost them, how he
and his friends would suffer because he couldn't beat an opponent without
their help. He couldn't do anything alone, he wasn't anything, alone. He
wondered if he should tell them.
----------------------------------------
Devastation
'Damn!' Ranma heard from the bunk above him, and something hitting a
pillow repeatedly.
"Raccoon?" Ranma asked, "are you all right?" Frankly, he was glad to
be awake and out of that dream. The explosive had worked, he hoped
_never_ to see that creature. Even Angels were better, they were
dangerous and deadly, without being hostile. That thing had cursed as it
died, about eating the entire Eastern Seaboard, Whatever that is? Ranma
thought.
"No."
Ranma waited for more, Raccoon always talked too much.
As the silence continued, Ranma climbed out of bed, stood beside the
upper bunk. He looked at his roommate, who had buried his face in the
pillow, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," came the muffled answer.
He sounds more like me, Ranma smiled at that, then got concerned, If
that was an attack, what did they throw at him, and the others? "You want
to talk about it?"
Raccoon raised his head up, Ranma was shocked that his unflappable
roommate was crying, "Leave - me - alone."
Ranma sat down on his bed. For once _he_wanted_ to talk, Raccoon
didn't. Raccoon wouldn't talk to Ranma about something like that, Ranma
waited until he thought Raccoon was asleep, had cried himself to sleep.
Then he headed for the bathroom, and nearly collided with Nabiki, who had
her head wrapped in a cold towel.
Ranma poured some cold water on his head, then dried her hair. "You
look terrible."
Nabiki stared at her with bloodshot eyes, "Saotome, shut up."
Ranko retreated, she was beginning to wonder how bad a mess the
others had gone through.
----------------------------------------
Ruin
From the Diary of Ayami Hiroko
I saw the pilots arrive, in one big clump, which was unusual, the
boss looked terrible, so did the others. Ayanami and Ikari paired off,
and went inside immediately. The boss didn't want to talk, about
anything, and kept glancing at Asuka, Asuka kept glancing at her. Then
they'd turn away, no glares, no insults. Weird!
Davis stared at the 'middle distance', seeing nothing. Ranma was,
well subdued for him, the way he was looking around, he actually looked
like he was worried about the others. No, he was probably just keeping
his neck limber.
There was none of the usual insults or banter. In one way it was
pleasant, the rest of the class didn't have to expect war to break out in
our midst. But the smarter ones also realized that one of the things that
had saved us, was the pilots were naturally combative. Take away that,
and the Angels might win.
The ghost played last night, the noise still gives me the shivers,
'Like a thousand tortured souls,' Kensuke called it. But it sounded happy
at the same time. I told the boss, she grumped it was just someone
playing bagpipes, like the Navy said.
Funny, after last night, I would have expected the boss to be happy.
Ranma had actually behaved himself. She should be happy, not beaten like
she is, like they all are.
Was there a battle? A battle we'll never find out about?
----------------------------------------
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