Interface - A Ranma 1/2 / Matrix Fanfic Crossover
Chapter Six
Authored by XStylus (Troy Alan Williams)
Begun on: 10-25-99
Released to RAAC on: 6-15-2000
Revisions made on: N/A
Special thanks to prereader Kevin D. Hammel,
and to the patient members of the FFML.
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.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"What was that?!" Ryoga questioned. "Gunshots...? In
Tokyo?!"
Ryoga, the boy with the navigational skills of a chia pet,
had been wandering the streets aimlessly when he had heard
the gunshots. Like a revelation, he realized -where- the
gunshots were coming from.
Ryoga may not have been any good at reading maps or
directions, but he had no trouble homing in on sound.
~~~
The unanticipated click of a trigger was an experience that
Morpheus was all too familiar of. It created a horrible feeling
of uneasiness, the first time always being most traumatic. It
tended to jolt the mind into slow motion in which, during that
moment, every second elapsed a lifetime. Such was the case
for Ranma and Akane, this being their first time.
0.1 seconds: First bullet impacts Genma Saotome in the
back of his head with precision accuracy.
0.7 seconds. Morpheus looks for the origin of the
gunshot as he starts to reach for his gun.
1.4 seconds. Second bullet impacts Soun Tendo in the
same location.
2.0 seconds. Genma and Soun slowly stumble downward,
their bodies previously obstructing Morpheus' view. As they
fall, their assailants become within perfect view.
In those two seconds, two lives elapsed and expired.
Where Kasumi and Nabiki stood were now two agents, their
guns still smoking from their most recent use.
"NOOOOOO!!!" Akane crumbled to her knees.
"DAAAAAAD!!!" Ranma's high pitched voice echoed
through Nerima at a deafening level in unison with Akane's
cry.
"Get down!" Morpheus shouted, his powerful forty-five
caliber leveled straight for the two assailants.
-KLACK.- -Thwop.-
-KLACK.- -Splurch.-
"What the-...?!" Morpheus gaped as the two agents
collapsed. "I hit?!"
"Holy hell!!!" Ranma watched in stunning horror as the
two agents dematerialized out of their host's bodies and
reverted to their previous forms.
"NO! Kasumi! Nabiki!" Akane shrieked as she watched her
sisters appear in the agents' place. She rushed over to her
fallen siblings, as did Ranma.
"WHY, DAMMIT?!" Ranma yelled to Morpheus.
Morpheus took off his dark glasses and stroked a hand
down his sweat soaked face. Some of that sweat started to mix
with tears.
"I tried-..." his mouth trembled as he whispered. "I tried to
warn you..." His voice grew vastly louder. "Mother fucking
damn you, I TRIED!"
"Why did-... what did they ever-... how could-..." Ranma
mumbled in bewildered devastation.
Morpheus threw his gun in frustration, then withdrew his
cell-phone and crushed the speed-dial button.
"O-operator...?" Tank's voice nervously muttered over the
phone.
"Get... us... out of here." Morpheus gritted.
"You're not going anywhere." a new voice said from
behind. The newcomer cautiously walked through the gate, his
gun leveled at Morpheus' motionlessly petrified back.
"A restaurant shop, two blocks south and one block east."
Tank informed. "By the way, your new 'friend' is alone, and
human. You can take 'em." He quickly disconnected.
"Keep facing forward. You make a move and you're
cheese, understand me?!" the man ordered.
"Who are you?" Morpheus calmly asked, his back still
turned to the man in question.
"Ryoga...?" Ranma queried.
"Nice clothes, Ranma. It matches the blood on your hands,
you murderer!" Ryoga shouted.
Ranma turned red with rage. "Why you-... do you actually
THINK that I'd-..."
"Un-for-giveable." Ryoga interrupted, stressing every
syllable. He leveled his gun at Ranma. "You have NO heart.
NONE, you disgraceful COWARD!" -Click.-
0.1 seconds. Predicting the outcome of Ryoga's rage,
Akane makes a dive to push Ranma out of the line of fire.
0.5 seconds. Ryoga fires at Ranma.
0.7 seconds. Shot hits Akane through the upper left torso.
Her fall is more damaging than the shot as her head hits the
ground hard, rendering her unconscious in a growing bath of
blood next to her siblings.
"AKANE!" Ranma and Ryoga both yelled.
"Run, Ranma!" Morpheus yelled.
"I... h-how did... I s-sh-shot-... Did I j-just..." Ryoga
flustered. "I didn't... d-did I?"
Ranma took advantage of the distraction and headed for
cover indoors, but not before grabbing the guns left by the two
agents which were at Kasumi and Nabiki's feet. Morpheus,
taking advantage of Ryoga's distraction, turned around and
charged at Ryoga.
"Mistake!" Ryoga sneered. "SHI SHI HOKODAN!"
The resounding crash of emotion given concussional form
knocked Morpheus back, crashing through a wall and landing
right beside where Ranma was taking cover. Morpheus dropped the
cell-phone in his hand, its screen and sliding keyflip breaking
as it crashed to the floor.
-Riiiiiiiing...- It still worked.
Ranma picked up the phone. "H-hello?"
"Ranma...? Ranma are you there? Use your gun, dammit!
Take down that bastard and get everyone outta' there!" Tank's
voice yelled, muffled by the phone's severe damage.
"But... but..."
"...are you there? Ranma? Ranma?! Say something!"
"I'm a MARTIAL ARTIST, DAMMIT!" Ranma threw both
guns across the room.
"NO! Jesus Ch-..." Tank paused for a moment and sighed.
"There's a phone at a restaurant two blocks south and one
block east. Get there... preferably ALIVE. -Ka-clik-"
On a quick surge of adrenaline and rage, Ranma chucked
the phone and made a lunge toward her unconscious love.
Ryoga wouldn't have it.
"Keep your filthy hands OFF her, bitch!" Ryoga raged as
he fired a glancing shot.
Ranma wisely reconsidered. Rather than remain target
practice, she retreated back inside. Ryoga had made it clear
that he wasn't going to permit her any opportunity of getting
near her.
"R-ranma..." Morpheus moaned. "Just go... quickly. Leave
me..."
Ranma glanced outside at Akane, then at Morpheus.
"Come out, coward!" Ryoga yelled.
Had Ryoga not been using a gun, Ranma would have
gladly obliged. For a moment, she gave consideration to
a suicide strike, but Ryoga would gun her down before she
could make a move. As painfully horrific as the scenario
became, the time came to cut her losses.
On this day, Ryoga would finally win a fight
against Ranma.
"Forgive me, Akane..." Ranma mumbled. "I'll be back for
you... I swear it!"
Ranma, running on adrenaline and crushed confidence,
picked up Morpheus and carried him out the back exit.
"I'm sorry..." Ranma muttered, a chant she repeated all the
way to the extraction point.
~~~
Ryoga clutched his earpiece and shouted into it. "Agent
Hibiki requesting emergency medical, Tendo dojo. Quickly!"
He rushed over to Akane and looked over her injuries.
"Akane, bless your misguided heart, why did you do
that?! Oh god... please be alive..." Ryoga felt for a pulse..
...and found one. "Thank heavens!"
The whine of an ambulance howl heralded its arrival. The
medical team quickly rushed through the entrance.
"God in heavens, what the hell happened here?! A war?"
An EMT asked.
"Over here!" Ryoga shouted. "She's still alive!"
The EMT crew loaded the unconscious Akane onto a
stretcher and carried her to the ambulance just as two agents
pulled up in a black Ford Crown Victoria. They hastily got out
of the car and flanked Ryoga.
"Mister Hibiki, you were given specific orders." Agent
Jones bluntly said.
"Specific my ass!" Ryoga retorted. "I wasn't told squat!"
"I want an explanation." Agent Williams calmly muttered.
"Your explanation is THIS!" Ryoga pointed his weapon
right in the agent's face. "I use it ONE time and I nearly
killed someone I care for! You can have it 'cuz I don't
want it!"
Ryoga threw the gun on the ground and headed for the
ambulance.
"Where are you going?" Agent Jones asked.
"I'm going with Akane!" Ryoga answered, still full of
anger.
Another man got out of the agent's car. The man was
wearing a dark gray lab coat.
Ryoga recognized the scientist. "Hey... weren't you the guy
who cured my-..."
"You can thank me later. Go with Agent Williams and
Agent Jones." the scientist instructed. "I shall accompany the
ambulance."
Ryoga didn't like the strange smile he saw on the
agent's face.
~~~
Ranma was laying on her bed staring at the ceiling and
contemplating her thoughts. From merely looking at her, one
would see an entranced young woman. When merely looking
at a person one could usually see what was on that person's
mind. Not so with Ranma, but one could still take guess and
have a half chance at being right.
-Knock- -Knock-
Ranma gave no answer.
-Knock- -Knock- -Knock-.
Silence.
"Ranma..." Morpheus' voice bellowed from behind the
door. "Can I come in?"
Still more silence. After several moments of it, Morpheus
entered. He shut the door behind him, and sat at the foot of
Ranma's bed.
Thus began a duel of silence. Morpheus sat for ten whole
minutes simply staring at Ranma. If this was how Ranma
wanted to play, Morpheus was up for it.
It would be Ranma who would cave in first, being the
second battle she'd lost today. "What are you going to do with
me?"
"Nothing."
Ranma sat up. "Nothing?"
"I find that life has a way of giving its own punishment."
Morpheus insightfully answered.
"Ain't that the hard truth..." Ranma agreed.
"Your concern for whether we'll be able to rescue Akane,
for one. I'm sure you're punishing yourself more than I ever
could..."
"Did you find where they took her?" Ranma asked with
concern.
Morpheus nodded. "They have her at local hospital under
heavy guard. Neo and Trinity are planning a rescue right
now."
"Let's do it." Ranma muttered as she sat up. "I'm ready
whenever they are."
Morpheus shook his head. "They can handle it. They're
good at rescues. I would know." Morpheus' reassurance was
followed with a glare. "Besides, we need to have a little chat,
you and I."
~~~
A large bead of sweat dripped down Ryoga's forehead
as he sat in a rather uncomfortable chair at the agent field
office waiting to receive his reprimand. He looked around the
office's decor as a distraction, yet found it almost as
depressing as his situation.
"I must say that I'm disappointed, Mr. Hibiki. You let
them escape."
The head agent rubbed his chin for dramatic effect. He
knew it would add an effective element of pressure on Ryoga.
"I did what I could." Ryoga rebuked. "At least I
rescued Akane."
"Hmm. I think that I understand my colleague's logic
now." the agent mused. "You let your emotions sway your
judgement. That is a critical flaw."
"What do you mean?" Ryoga questioned.
"If you couldn't capture them, you were to kill them."
the agent answered. "That order included Akane."
"K-k-kill Ak-..." Ryoga nervously flustered. "F-
fortunately it didn't come to that."
"Fortunately?!" the agent questioned, his neutral
expression becoming quite aggressive. "The next time you see
them, I expect you to -eliminate- them. Understood?!"
"Y-y-yes sir!"
"Very well." The agent's expression returned to it's
usual poker faced look. "Ms. Tendo is being treated at Tokyo
General Hospital. You have been assigned to guard her room.
Should her friends show up, I expect you to not make the same
mistake twice. Get going. You're already late."
~~~
Ranma felt disconcerted as she stood in the blank
whiteness of the construct. It's sheer nothingness gave her no
landmark to go from, no direction to home on. No south, no
north, no east, no west. She wondered if this was how Ryoga
felt whenever he got lost.
"Okay... so why did you want to talk in here?" Ranma
inquired, hoping that the construct would create a setting of
some sort soon.
"I might need visual aids." Morpheus answered. "You
might not like what I'm going to show you though."
Ranma sighed.
"Always understand, Ranma, that there is a reason
behind everything I will ever ask of you. I'm sure you
understand now that I wasn't refusing your reunion to be an
asshole."
Ranma remained silent.
"Let's not play that silent game again, Ranma." Morpheus
chided. "I know it's hard, but you MUST let it all go. You are
no help to us if you carry your emotional baggage with you
like an anchor."
Ranma bit her lip.
"Do you have any friends?" Morpheus asked.
Ranma nodded.
"If you care for them at all, you'll stay away from them."
Morpheus advised. "The further away you are from them, the
less likely that an agent will decide to use their body."
"But... what about-..."
"There are no buts about it." Morpheus interrupted.
"Knowing that your friends are alive and looking for you hurts
a lot less than knowing your friends are dead because you
looked for them."
"You mean, if we hadn't gone to see them-..."
"It's a lesson I learned the hard way too, Ranma, one that I
hoped I could spare you. Eventually I had to learn to face what
happened. Unfortunately, so do you." He whipped out his
cell-phone from his pocket and spoke into it. "Tank, load it."
~~~
"...Where am I? Why's it so dark in here?" Akane looked
around the room she was in and found only darkness. She
could make out one silhouette standing nearby, but it was far
too dark to tell who it was.
"You're recovering from surgery. Just relax." a voice
answered.
"SURGERY?!"
"You were shot, Ms. Tendo." the unfamiliar voice spoke
again, as the man possessing turned on a dim light allowing
Akane to at least see who she was speaking to. "However, I'm
pleased to inform you that you're recovering quite nicely."
"Who are you?" Akane asked.
"Why, I'm your doctor, of course!" The man grinned as he
dusted off his dark gray lab coat.
Akane cringed and bit her lip.
"So... How's life outside of our humble paradise, hmm?"
The doctor sarcastically questioned with a devilish grin.
Akane gasped. "How do you know about the-...!"
The doctor grinned wider as he intercepted Akane's
question. "The interface protocols and many other portions of
this matrix were designed by me, Ms. Tendo. No-one knows
how the matrix works better than I do. Please, answer my
question. I'd like to know what people think of my work."
"It's horrible..." Akane answered. "Utterly horrible... and
now you tell me that you're responsible for it?!"
The scientist laughed. "I'm afraid I can't take -all- the
credit, but I represent a significant part indeed."
"WHY DID YOU KILL MY FAMILY?!" Akane screamed.
"Now let's set the record straight, young lady..." the
scientist's tone became a scolding one. "That wasn't me, that
was the agents. That's an entirely different operation from my
own, and I had no part in their programming. Besides, I'd like
to think that my field is a little less anal..."
"I don't care! You're all BUTCHERS to me!" Akane
shouted.
"That hurts, Ms. Tendo. It really does." the man
appeared visibly shaken. After a moment, he recomposed
himself and sighed. "I suppose that's alright though.
Answer me this; Were they really your family?"
"Yes-... er, No-... I mean-... DAMMIT, they were people I
CARED for! Isn't that close enough?!"
"Intriguing." the scientist mused. "Understandably, you
have every right to be angry, Ms. Tendo. I encourage you to
vent your fury if it makes you feel better, but let's give your
anger a proper target, shall we?"
"I already GOT a target... and I'm looking straight at 'em!"
Akane fought with the restraints keeping her chained to the
bed.
"Please don't overexert yourself. You could make your
wounds worse. Regardless of what you may think, I do care
about the well being of my patients." the scientist's comments
bordered on sincerity and sarcasm.
"Dammit... dammit, dammit, dammit! Why'd Ryoga shoot
me?!" Akane tearfully questioned as she relented her struggle.
"He was aiming for Ms. Saotome, I believe."
"Why was he shooting at EITHER of us?! I'll never forgive
him!" As Akane vented her rage, it was replaced with concern.
"Oh no... Ranma! Where's Ranma?!"
"Ms. Saotome and Morpheus fled before we arrived." the
scientist answered.
Akane exhaled in relief. "At least-... at least she's safe."
"Hmm. Doesn't it upset you that they left you behind?"
"Wha-...? No... there had to have been a reason.
They'll come back for me! Ranma will make sure of it!"
"Are you sure?" the scientist gave an evil grin. "They
saw you on the ground in a bloody mess and abandoned you.
Think about it, Akane. -Ranma- left you for dead."
"No!" Akane shouted in Ranma's defense. "Ranma would
never leave me like that!"
"How can you be so certain?" The scientist questioned.
"Your mere presence here is proof enough."
"No...! NO!" Akane once again thrashed on the
restraints holding her to the bed.
"Perfect." the scientist whispered to himself as he grabbed
a needle out of a small case and filled it with a silvery serum.
"DAMN YOU, RANMA! WHY?!" Akane screamed in horrific anguish
as the scientist injected her neck with the serum.
"That's a good girl. Don't hold back, let it all out." he
muttered as he removed the depleted needle. "There we go.
Everything will be just fine, Akane. Now... I think you need an
outlet for your anguish, and I have just the thing."
~~~
"Shut it off." Morpheus bitterly gritted. At his command,
the simulation terminated. Ranma cringed as the world of the
construct around her became a white void of nothingness once
again.
"Was that-..." Ranma meekly inquired.
"What you saw was my wife, my daughter, and my brother
on the day I came to visit them to say goodbye." Morpheus
finished. "Killing them wasn't the sort of goodbye I had in
mind. I had no choice after the agents possessed their bodies."
"They-... they did that intentionally?! But why-... why did
they-..."
"Apparently you've never heard of psychological warfare."
Morpheus answered. "I'll give them this much... it almost
worked. The thought that I killed my own family haunted me
for years, Ranma."
Morpheus took off his sunglasses to wipe the tears from his
eyes. Ranma stared in awe as she watched him do so. In all the
years she had been taught how men don't cry, she hardly
expected Morpheus to display such an emotion. In a strange
way, it comforted her.
"I thought you learned to deal with it." Ranma muttered.
"That doesn't make it hurt any less." Morpheus
answered. "In time, I came to realize that it wasn't I who
killed them. The agents did the moment they possessed their
bodies."
"How did you deal with it?"
"I faced it head on. I spent hours, sometimes days in
this simulation. Sometimes I would freeze it and hug my
lifeless wife and daughter, other times I would take a full
arsenal along and made pencils out of the agents they
became..." more tears dripped down Morpheus' cheek. "...but
one thing I did not do was break. I refused. I... would... not...
be... broken."
"That doesn't sound helpful at all!" Ranma muttered. "I
don't want to be in here a few weeks from now pumping lead
into Kasumi or Nabiki!" she shuddered as that idea crossed
her mind briefly.
"I'll tell you what did help, Ranma." Morpheus added. "I
let go."
"You 'let go'?" Ranma questioned with objection. "Ha! Yeah,
like that's the answer to everything! How can you expect me to
simply LET GO of my family?!"
Morpheus sighed. "You can let go and take control of life,
or you can hold on and die with it."
Ranma gave Morpheus a frigid glare.
"One of the ways I got through it was to start a new family.
That family is everyone on this ship. I protect and care for
everyone in it, including you and Akane." Morpheus donned
his glasses once again. "You're in for a long walk ahead,
young lady. The start of your path lies right over there."
Ranma looked over to the area where Morpheus motioned
her attention to. In that area was the entrance to the Tendo
Dojo with simulated versions of Akane, Ranma, and
Morpheus standing right outside just as before.
"When you reach the end of your path, your family will be
waiting." Morpheus reassured. "I promise you."
"Which family? Yours or mine?" Ranma asked.
"That depends on which family you consider yourself a part
of." Morpheus answered.
"Don't make me do this... please..."
"I'm not making you do anything, Ranma. I can only show
you the path. It's up to you to walk it." Morpheus preached.
~~~
Trinity and Neo arrived at Tokyo general hospital
without too much commotion. Although several nearby guards
did take curious notice to several bulges underneath Neo's
trench coat and Trinity's jacket, they all wisely decided not to
pursue the matter. The bulges were subtle enough to not draw
too much attention, even though the items that were creating
the bulges were designed to create a great deal of attention.
"Excuse me..."
Trinity and Neo shuddered as they looked at the man
calling their attention who looked just a tiny bit too much like
an agent. They simply stared at the man as if nothing was
wrong, their sunglasses hiding their true expression.
"I was wondering if you could tell me where Tokyo
General Hospital is." the man inquired.
Trinity and Neo exchanged a curious glance.
"You're there." Trinity said, pointing to the entrance which
stood right behind the man.
"Oh! So sorry... thank you so much." the man quickly
proceeded inside.
Neo and Trinity exchanged another puzzled glance,
shrugged, then resumed their task.
"C'mon. Akane's in room 710." Neo muttered as he and
Trinity proceeded inside. Once inside, they headed straight for
the elevators which were across the hall from the front desk
where the man was asking the clerk for directions once again
As Trinity pushed the button and waited for the elevator, Neo
was distracted by the conversation he was overhearing.
"...you'll find Ms. Tendo in room 710. Take the elevator
behind you to the seventh floor and make a left." the clerk
answered to the directionally challenged man.
Trinity and Neo glanced at each other and froze.
-Ding!- As the elevator doors opened, the dark suited man
walked past Trinity and Neo onto the elevator.
"Are you getting on?" the man inquired as he kindly held
the elevator for them.
Trinity and Neo blankly stared at the man. After a moment,
they gingerly stepped onto the elevator.
~~~
"Freeze it." Ranma said. At her command, the simulation
of Ranma and Akane's reunion at the Tendo dojo halted just
moments after Ryoga fired a warning shot at Ranma as she
made an attempt to rescue Akane.
"What's wrong, Ranma?" Morpheus inquired.
Ranma ignored Morpheus as she walked over to the bodies
of Soun and her father.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Tendo." Ranma whispered to the man she
might one day have called a father-in-law. She then looked at
the balding man beside him and rubbed her hand across her
fake father's wound. "Pop, I-... I forgive you... for everything."
Not sparing another moment, Ranma gently walked over to
a blood drenched Kasumi and Nabiki.
"Nabiki, regardless of how you were, nothing you could
ever do would deserve you this. I'm-... I'm so very sorry for
dragging you into my mess. I would give all the money in the
world if it would make things right for you." Several of
Ranma's tears fell from her soft cheek onto Nabiki's mortal
wound as she knelt down and rubbed her clean hand across it.
"And Kasumi, I... I couldn't be more sorry. You gave
so much to me... to everyone, and yet you asked for nothing in
return." Ranma's lip trembled. "A while after I first met you I
looked up to you as-... well... as my mother. I swear upon my
own name that I'll find a way to honor you."
Ranma continued to the fallen Akane, who was also
drenched in blood, but from a much less severe wound.
"My Akane..." Ranma sobbed as she grasped her limp body
in her arms. "...you crazy tomboy... why did you have to dive
in front of-... in front of..." Ranma paused for a moment as she
made a strong attempt at preventing herself from breaking into
a fit of sobbing.
"I'm so sorry I couldn't protect you! I'm so sorry to...
...to have... ...to have left you... " As Ranma finally allowed
a few tears to escape, what followed was an action which, for
Ranma, was far too overdue.
She cried, and she cried hard. All inhibitions about the
act of crying shattered as she hugged Akane's limp body tightly,
her tears trailing a path to Akane's shoulder.
Finally, she wiped away her final tears as she recomposed
herself, sealing away her emotions with ice. She stood ramrod
straight to face her new mortal enemy, the person to whom she
would show no weakness or mercy, the soul she refused to forgive.
Slowly, she trudged over to that person and clasped
both of her blood soaked hands on their shoulder, pulled their
face closer to her own, and in a move that would make any amazon
(including Cologne and Shampoo) shudder, gave a lifeless kiss
on the cheek to signify an undying promise to see that person
dead... ...or die trying.
An eerie calm washed over her as she retrieved both of the
guns that had been thrown across the room during the
simulation. She calmly sighed as she leveled the first weapon
at the person in question, her eyes reflecting the epitome of
cold emptiness.
-KLACK!- "Die."
-KLACK!- "Please die."
-KLACK!- "I want you to die."
-KLACK!- "You have to die."
-KLACK!- "Why won't you just... ...die?"
She didn't raise her voice once, nor show the slightest hint
of emotion. Her target offered no resistance and no reaction.
Several holes appeared in her target, yet remained defiantly
standing. She threw the first gun across the room and leveled
the second one at her target.
"Ranma! What are you doing?!" Morpheus shouted.
Ranma, a tranced look on her face, silently fired a shot at
her target. Another shot. The rage stored up in her was
smoldering, begging for release from her icy containment.
Another shot. A glint of it shone to her surface. Another.
Another. Another.
"Ranma! Get a hold of yourself!"
Her teeth were starting to grind. Another. Each
forthcoming shot had the conflicting effect of comforting her
while at the same time fueling her rage further. Another.
Another. Click. The ammo chamber was empty, yet she
continued to pull the trigger anyway. Click. Click. Click.
Click. Click. Each click progressed her frustration a level
further.
-Click-. To Ranma, it sounded more like -snap-.
"AAAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!" Ranma screamed
as she dropped the gun and fell to the ground unconscious.
"Ranma!" Morpheus quickly rushed to the girl's side.
"Tank! Get us out! Now!"
As Morpheus waited to be released from the construct, he
looked at Ranma's target and took a more scrupulous look.
For a copy, Ranma's simulated double bled
realistically enough. Each and every shot she took was
perfectly aimed at one place... the heart.
~~~
Room 710 of Tokyo General Hospital, the room of
patient Akane Tendo, was empty. Thusly so, the man who was
assigned to guard it had much to say about that.
"What do you mean she's gone?!" the agent raged.
"As I told you, Ms. Tendo has been relocated to my
laboratory for further observation." the gray coated scientist
explained.
"But I was assigned to watch over her!"
"You were assigned to watch over her ROOM." The
scientist corrected. "You are more than welcome to do that."
"I don't care! I want to see her!" the agent rebuked,
reaching an escalating level of frustration.
"I'm sorry, that is not possible. Now if you please, I
have work to complete. I suggest you grab something from the
cafeteria. You're scheduled to be here a while."
The agent simmered in rage as he stormed out of
hospital room 710. Standing beside room 709 was Trinity and
Neo, who had overheard the entire conversation.
"The elevator's this way..." Trinity pointed to the
elevator at the end of the hall. "Just in case you were
wondering." She gave a fake cough.
"Huh? Oh... yeah. Thanks." the dark suited man
replied.
"Just didn't want you to get lost again." Trinity kindly
muttered.
The man arrived at the elevator and mashed the button
to summon it. He was soon joined by Trinity and Neo.
"You look as if something's bothering you." Neo
observed with fake, yet convincing concern.
"Nothing you can fix. Mind your own business." the
aggravated agent snapped.
"Hmm. Would it have something to do with the person
who was in room 710?" Neo inquired, drafting a short bluff in
his mind.
"Wha-..?! What do you know of her?" the man
questioned.
"We're private investigators looking into her
disappearance. We thought we'd finally found her here and...
well, thought wrong. Do you mind if we ask you a few
questions?"
"My job prohibits me from talking to outside
investigators."
"Who do you work for?" Neo probed. He couldn't ask
the question quickly enough.
"The secret service." the man replied.
Trinity and Neo slowly turned their heads to meet each
other's gaze, then slowly turned again to face the man. Thank
goodness for mirrored sunglasses...
"Y-you're an agent?" Trinity asked, failing to mask her
nervousness.
"Trainee, actually." the man sighed.
Trinity and Neo, again, gave each other another
perplexed gaze. Their necks were starting to ache from this
habit.
"Uhm, do you know who we are?" Trinity inquired.
"Should I? I don't remember ever meeting you before..."
"Hmm. I see." Neo replied.
"Why are you looking for her? Is she in trouble?" the
man inquired.
"If we don't find her, she probably will be." Neo
replied.
"You're not going to hurt her if you find her, are you?"
Ryoga asked with skeptical concern.
Trinity shook her head. "We're trying to protect her,
provided that we can find her first."
"Oh really now?" the man gave a reluctant sigh. "Huh.
Well, I trust you a hell'va lot more than I trust that doctor.
That's not saying much, seeing as I just met you."
"I thought your job prohibited-..."
"I trust my employer even less." The man interrupted.
"I'm thinking about quitting. It's because of this job that I
ended up hurting her in the first place."
"-You- hurt her?!" Trinity inquired with shocked
revelation. "How?"
The man sighed. "I was the one who shot her... but it
was an accident, mind you!"
"YOU?!"
"I already feel bad enough about it, alright?!" Ryoga
shook his head in shame.
"Who are you?" Neo asked, amazed to see remorse in
an agent, regardless of whether he was a trainee or not.
"Hibiki. Ryoga Hibiki."
"Ho... ly... shit..." Neo quietly whispered as another
piece of his fractured puzzle of clues fell into his lap. Trinity
looked at Neo in confusion.
"What's wrong?" Ryoga inquired.
"Mr. Hibiki, take my cell phone. I'll be in touch, so
keep it with you. I have to... uhm, get to a staff meeting. Oh,
and don't quit your job just yet."
"How do I get in contact with you?"
"You don't." Neo answered.
"Don't call us. We'll call you." Trinity added, playing
along with Neo's rushed attempt to depart.
~~~
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!