Here's chapter 5... it's worth the wait, I assure you.
Chapter 6 is on the way. Take a day to digest Ch.5 first.
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Interface - A Ranma 1/2 / Matrix Fanfic Crossover
Chapter Five
Authored by XStylus (Troy Alan Williams)
Begun on: 10-25-99
Released to RAAC on: N/A
Revisions made on: N/A
Special thanks to prereader Kevin D. Hammel
Please see Chapter One for disclaimers, all of which
apply to this chapter and all forthcoming chapters
unless otherwise noted.
Got comments? Let's hear em'!
Please visit www.sofaspud.org and send comments to XStylus.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ranma and Akane quietly entered a small apartment
and prepared for their meeting with a person who, from what
they were told, had traveled all the way across the Pacific
Ocean just to meet them.
The apartment was incredibly tiny, as were most
apartments in Japan. It consisted of no more than three rooms,
one almost too small to even be considered a room, yet served
as a kitchen, the second being the dining room, and the third
being a modest bedroom.
"Hello, Ranma. Have a seat." the oracle greeted. "Akane,
could you wait outside, sweetie? I'll see you in a moment." the
oracle lit up a cigarette as she patiently waited for Akane to
leave, allowing a private conversation between herself and the
questionable child sitting before her.
"Uhm... I'm..."
"No need for introductions, Ranma. I know all about you. I
had a nice long trip across the Pacific just so I could meet you.
I don't do that for just any stranger, you know." she sat down
opposite of her. "Nice clothes."
"They're not quite my usual style." Ranma replied. "What
should I call you?"
"Grandma sounds appropriate."
"I'm sorry...?" Ranma questioned.
"Eh... maybe it's a little early for that." the oracle
mused. "So tell me, son, how's life?" the Oracle asked.
Ranma flinched. "How'd you know I was a-..."
"Don't ask questions, dear. Just accept. Cookie?" she
offered Ranma a tray of freshly baked cookies.
"Thanks..." Ranma sighed, then ate the cookie in her
hurried eat-now-cuz'-you-might-not-get-to-later style. "Life is
hell."
The oracle laughed. "Heh, heh... yes, that it can be. Was it
any better here?"
"At least in here I was a guy..."
"But son, you aren't a guy."
Ranma flinched again, then glared at her.
"If the matrix hadn't existed and if all was right with the
world, do you know what you'd be doing right now?" the
Oracle asked.
"I'd probably be at home training with Akane."
"Heh. Bridal training, maybe... tea ceremony training,
maybe..." she chuckled. "You'd have been raised a wonderful,
beautiful girl and you wouldn't have given it a second
thought."
"Well I -wasn't-, so I try not to give it ANY thought."
Ranma grumbled.
The oracle flicked some ash off her cigarette as she
assessed Ranma's appearance.
"If only I had a daughter like you." she added. " I'd have
made sure you were brought up right and got set up with a
loving husband."
"Hey now...! Do you mind?!" Ranma yelled.
"Heh, heh... you're no fun." The oracle chuckled. "Son, I
don't think you know how close something like that came to
being a reality. The only reason you were a boy was because
of the matrix."
"Should I be upset or happy about that?" Ranma muttered.
"Eh... none of it matters anymore, really..." she took
another puff of her cigarette. "...except when it comes to
Akane."
"What about her?" Ranma asked.
"Well... what about her?"
"I... I -do- love her."
"Why did you stutter?"
"I... I... I..." Ranma flustered.
"Calm down, I'm only kidding. Just trying to give that gray
stuff between your ears some exercise." she puffed her
cigarette some more. "But still... she's your last tie to your life
in the matrix. Your family, your Art, your life... it's all gone
except for her, am I right?"
Ranma thought carefully about her words. "Yeah..."
"What does Morpheus and the gang think of your
relationship?"
"Well... they don't seem to mind. They kinda think I'm
lucky."
"So you're saying they approve?" the oracle asked.
"Hmm. They should know better."
"Excuse me?!" Ranma raged. "I don't care for your
opinion! I love her, and I don't want to lose her! I'll... I-I'll
just have to accept life as a... l-le-lesbi-..."
"Whoaaaa, don't go there son. That's not at all what I
meant."
"Then what DID you mean?" Ranma inquired.
"You'll understand later." the oracle answered. "What
you really want is to keep a piece of your life from the
matrix." she took yet another puff of her cigarette. "You don't
always get what you want, you know."
"You're starting to sound like a certain pesky old ghoul I
used to know..." Ranma remarked.
"I'm not the only oracle, son." The oracle gave a sly smile
which quickly faded. "As I was saying... Neither of you would
openly admit your love back when you were in the matrix, yet
here you are, both women no less, willing to charge blindly
forward together."
"Damn right!"
"Notice I said 'blindly', son. You better watch where you're
going."
"Is there anything wrong with..."
"With Ranma Saotome and Akane Tendo being in love?
Nope, nothing wrong with that. That was their destiny in the
matrix. But... those two lives died... or -should have- died
when you left the matrix."
"What do you mean?"
"You haven't let go, Ranma. The ship is sinking, and you're
using Akane as a life raft."
Ranma took a moment to let her words set in. He was
unsure of how to respond, until he thought of Akane's own
water 'problem'.
"Akane doesn't know how to swim."
"Precisely my point." The oracle muttered.
"Then what's keeping me afloat?" Ranma inquired.
"What makes you think she's jumped the ship yet?"
The oracle placed her cigarette in an ashtray. It was still
burning, but it was still at full length as if it had just been lit.
~~~
"We have a problem."
The head agent turned his attention to his scientific peer
who was sitting at a small workstation, wearing a dark gray
lab coat.
"The AI mind has developed an anomaly. We will have to
restart from scratch." the scientist informed.
"Explain." the head agent demanded.
"The companion mind linked with it has an incompatibility
which has transferred to the AI mind. Mister Hibiki apparently
has navigation difficulty within the matrix."
"That's your problem to fix. Besides, the AI mind won't be
in the matrix. It'll only be used in the outside."
"The anomaly will cause the AI mind to also have
navigational problems on the outside as well."
"WHAT?!" the head agent shouted in a rare display of
anger. "Damn you, we have invested too much time in this!
The bioelectronic defense systems have already synchronized
with the body! Find a way to work around this 'problem'!"
"Indeed, there is always another option..." the scientist said
with a cunning smile.
~~~
"C'mon in, sweetie. Sit wherever you like." The Oracle
instructed. Akane obeyed the request accordingly. Ranma was
patiently waiting outside as Akane began her session.
"What exactly am I doing here?" Akane asked.
"No real reason. Morpheus just thinks that it's important
that I talk with some of his crew now and then. I care for them
like children, you know."
"Oh really now...? Does that mean you're going to start
calling me 'daughter'?" Akane pessimistically asked.
"Heh, heh... I'm nobody's mother, sweetie. Grandmother,
perhaps." She poured herself a cup of coffee while Akane
contemplated her words. "I think 'sweetie' will do you for
now."
"I'll bet you got pet names for everyone else too..." Akane
mused.
"Just you." The oracle grinned. "So... what shall we talk
about?"
"Hey, you're the Oracle. You tell me."
"Hmm... good point. Alright then, how does it feel?"
"How does what feel?"
"You decide." A cheshire-cat grin formed on her face.
"I don't get it..." Akane's frustration was slowly building.
"Think of something."
"Think of what?!" Akane raged. "How does -what- feel?
How does it feel to have lost everything? To lose my family?
To love a girl? Huh? Gimmie a hint!"
"You just gave yourself quite a few." The Oracle calmly
sipped her coffee, unfazed by Akane's fit of rage. "Have you
always been so quick tempered?"
Akane flinched, then scowled.
"Dear me... Yes, yes I can see you are." she shook her head
sympathetically. "Please continue. Try the last one. That
oughta' be gooooood."
"Which one...? 'How does it feel to love Ranma'?"
"No... how does it feel to love a -girl-? Nice dodge
though."
"Ranma's not a girl!"
"Yes he is."
"No she's NOT!"
"You called him a 'she'." The Oracle observed.
"You called her a 'he'!" Akane retorted.
"So I did. You can't say that I threw you off then." she took
yet another sip of her coffee. "Plus, you just called him a her."
"But-... awwww damn you!!!"
"Gotcha." the oracle chuckled. "Tell me, sweetie... do you
think you'll work it out?"
"There's nothing to work out! I love HIM!"
"Of course you do. Unfortunately 'he' is dead. Want a
cookie?" she said so matter-of-factly, smiling as she offered
her guest a tray of cookies.
"Wha-...?! No, I do NOT want a cookie, you old hag!"
The oracle chuckled.
"What's so funny?!"
"'Old hag'... I like it."
"It -wasn't- a complement!"
"I know." the oracle smiled.
"Wait, back up the truck... DEAD? What do you mean?!
She's standing right outside in the hall!"
"Do you mean the girl I was talking to just a moment ago?
I'm talking about the young man you knew in the matrix."
"They're the same person!"
"Indeed they are."
Akane sighed. "You're not making any sense."
The oracle took yet another sip of her coffee. "You've
heard the rule 'You can't take it with you', right?"
"Yeah..."
"You've been caught cheating, sweetie."
"Excuse me?"
"Ranma and Akane are gone." she took another sip of her
savory coffee. "You two took your emotional baggage with
you, and that's where you cheated. You still love him, and
because of that you are having trouble letting go of your life
from the matrix."
"I don't HAVE to let go."
"No, you don't. The captain of the Titanic sure didn't..."
"Huh?" Akane gave a confused look.
"Don't die with the sinking ship, sweetie."
Akane took a moment to ponder the Oracle's words.
"I don't know how to swim." Akane muttered.
"That's because you were angry at anyone who tried to
teach you." The oracle replied. "Sink or swim, Akane. Curb
that rage of yours, and I'll bet you'll find someone who's still
willing."
The oracle set down her cup of coffee that she had been
nursing sips from for the length of the conversation. Akane
hardly noticed that it was still filled to the brim.
~~~
"We have your first assignment."
"I'm ready."
Two agents stood face to face with each other, both
wearing the attire fitting to their occupation. The younger put
on a discrete earpiece, donned a pair of sunglasses, and
adjusted his yellow and black bandanna.
The older agent removed a thirty-eight caliber automatic
from inside his vest, slammed a full cartridge into it, and aimed
it squarely at his apprentice's forehead.
"My colleagues question my idea of inviting someone like
you into the ranks." the agent muttered.
The agent spun the gun so that the handle was in an
offering position to the understandably nervous trainee.
"You'll need this. This weapon was made custom, since you
have some... ...limitations that we do not. Regardless, you
must first prove yourself capable of the job. Complete your
assignment successfully, and the job is yours." the agent
explained.
"That won't be necessary." The trainee refused the pistol.
"Yes, it will. It's required for your assignment."
"What IS my assignment?" the trainee questioned.
"Your assignment is to use this gun."
"On... on Ranma?! I'm a martial artist, not a marksman!"
Ryoga exclaimed.
"You are a secret service agent. This weapon is your badge,
and your job requires that you carry and use it. Do so, or I'll
find someone who will."
After a moment of contemplation, Ryoga reluctantly
accepted the gun and placed it in his vest.
"Wise decision, Agent Hibiki. You will be working with
Agent Jones and Agent Williams. I recommend you get
going."
"Aren't they going to escort me?"
"You are to provide your own transportation."
"Uh..." the trainee big-sweated. "I might need a little bit of
help getting there."
"I don't believe that will be necessary."
"Where am I going anyway?"
"If I tell you, there -will- be a problem. Just head for
somewhere. You'll get there in time."
~~~
"There's some people I want you to meet."
"Where are you taking us?" Morpheus questioned. His
question was quickly answered as they found themselves
standing at the doors of Nerima's frequent epicenter of chaos.
"Home..." a homesickness entranced Akane muttered as
she stood outside the gates to the Tendo Dojo and residence.
"No. This is NOT home." Morpheus sternly rebuked.
"We're leaving. NOW."
"Wait! I was going to introduce you to everybody!" Ranma
took off her sunglasses, allowing her eyes to accent her words.
"Can't you get them out too?"
Morpheus remained rock firm. "We can't simply go about
releasing anyone we feel like. You have to let them go."
"I've had enough of people telling me to 'let go'!" Ranma
shouted, venting some repressed anger. "I'm going to go see
them! They'll at least be glad to know I'm okay..."
"Ranma, listen to me... all it's going to do is make both
them AND you hurt more when you have to say goodbye to
them, not to mention the dan-"
"Shut up, okay?! Just shut up." Ranma gritted, cutting
Morpheus' speech short. Akane proceeded through the
entrance gate, followed by Ranma.
Morpheus was not pleased.
"...Hello?" muttered a kind voice standing just outside the
household. "Oh! Father, we have guests!"
"Dammit to hell...!" Morpheus gritted. He stayed out of
view just outside the gate, but in a position where he could
observe.
"Kasumi! It's me!" Akane yelled. She took off her
sunglasses, revealing the tears shed for her joyful reunion.
"Hey pops! C'mon out, ya' old freak!" Ranma shouted
jokingly.
"Shit." Morpheus cursed.
Nabiki joined Kasumi outside a moment later.
"Is that... Ranma?" Nabiki questioned. "Ha! Check this out
everybody, Ranma here actually grew some fashion sense!
Love what you did with the hair."
"Aw come ON, Nabiki!" Ranma whined.
"Oh my, Akane! When did you start dressing like that?"
Kasumi gently inquired.
"Yeah, really. You've -got- to tell me where you got that
from." Nabiki added.
"Uhh, well..." Akane bigsweated.
A split second later, an elated Soun and Genma whisked
past the two girls, tearfully shouting their child's name as they
hurried toward their children.
"Akane!" "Ranma!"
"Dad!" "Pop!"
-Click.- -Click.-
~~~
I would like to thank you for reading 'Interface'.
It would be greatly appreciated if you would take
a moment to send a comment or two to myself (XStylus)
telling me what you liked or disliked, or any potential
errors or typos.
The archive to this fanfic, as well as my email address,
can be found at www.sofaspud.org.
Thanks for reading!