[Ranma][NGE][HPL][AMG][Fusion][Fanfic] Sic Semper Morituri Chapter 11:
Green Fire Part 2 of 4
Disclaimer:
I do not own any of the characters from Ranma 1/2, Neon Genesis Evangelion,
Ah My Goddess, or the Lovecraft Cycle involved in these stories. And I'll
put them back when I've finished with them.
C&C , MSTs are welcome
E-mail: dan_s.comments@worldnet.att.net
Call to War
The pilots were all in the elevator to the EVA bay. Only Nabiki
and Shinji weren't in their plugsuits. Shinji glanced from face to face,
normally he liked quiet, but this silence had the feeling of being pointed,
both sharp and aimed. He noted the different demeanors that still
translated the same, 'I'm going to kill that thing.' Asuka's gaze seemed
trying to burn a hole in the wall; Ranma was quietly tensing, then relaxing
his muscles; Rei had nodded to Shinji, then stood with her eyes closed;
Raccoon looked at his hands, his fingers going through complicated
patterns. Shinji glanced over to Nabiki, who was also minutely examining
her silent comrades.
"So why do you pilot the EVA?" Shinji asked Raccoon. He'd asked
Asuka, and gotten a predictable response. He'd asked Rei, and was still
trying to figure out what she'd meant by 'EVA is life'. He'd asked Ranma,
and gotten no answer at all. He wanted to know why they stayed, why they
thought they had to do this.
"I haven't, except that once." Raccoon smiled.
"I mean why are you still here?" Shinji didn't know why he
himself remained, he wasn't needed. He'd failed in his challenge yesterday
night, then he'd lost against this Angel. Asuka and Rei had to save him.
He couldn't win without the others, maybe he couldn't survive without them.
He was a burden, none of them said it, he wanted to know if they believed
it. He didn't know why he should stay, even if they didn't think he was a
burden. The others were more at ease fighting than he was. He didn't
think he'd ever match those grim expressions, he'd never be able to divorce
himself from the idea he was killing, and `eating`, other intelligent
creatures. Even if they were hostile, no one had ever tried to talk with
them, 'You can't,' they told him, when they didn't simply laugh at him for
suggesting such a thing.
One tried to communicate with me, he realized, the challenge had
been non-lethal combat, one of their enemies didn't intend to simply march
up, and take on the EVAs, it would fight the pilots themselves, an attack
that was more direct and indirect, both at once. Why? Shinji wondered.
Raccoon considered, the smile vanished, the lights in the elevator
seemed to dim, "I was trained as a warrior against Chaos's darkness, by a
cabal of Serpent Man and Dragon sorcerers. Inculcated in their deepest
magics, schooled in the darkest lore of our enemies." Raccoon's icy tone
and manner was terrifying.
Shinji felt he had loosed some primordial, malefic force into the
tiny elevator. That minute part of him that came from the things he'd
absorbed, yammered in terror.
"Then, implanted with alien technology of the Great Race, to
further enhance my ability to hunt and kill those things that lurk in the
darkness."
Shinji and the other pilots now glanced around furtively, hoping
to find some here-to-fore hidden means of escape, as their transformed
friend paced the miniature, descending room, staring coldly into each face.
"Then I was cursed by an ancient meta-god, to live to see the dawn of the
last day, to battle my foes, but not live to see the end. Only then, will
I be permitted to die." The pilots had flattened themselves against the
walls of the elevator. Ranma's hand stabbed at the emergency stop, but
kept missing. Even Rei's equanimity had been shattered.
Raccoon grimaced in pain, "After all that," Raccoon continued in
his menacing tone, staring from one to the other, "Not fighting these
things would void my warrantee."
Face faults and screams of outrage all around.
"Hey Langley?" Raccoon shouted, "Is your hair naturally that
color, or do you wash it in the blood of your fallen enemies."
Asuka growled at him, "It's naturally this color, but for you,
I'll make an exception."
"I'm an Ivy Leaguer, a blue-blood. Your hair will end up like
Ayanami-san's. But I'm a Harvard man, so maybe it'll be Crimson. Anyway,
it will clash with your suit and your EVA."
Shinji tried to get his heart rate and breathing back to normal,
resolving _never_ to ask Raccoon another serious question. That's why they
need me, he thought, glancing at the others, They need one pilot who didn't
_start_ crazy, to gauge against the others.
Raccoon looked at all the others, "What's gotten into all of you
anyway? Am I really _that_ bad a pilot? If not, then why are all of you
acting like this? Yes, Shinji-san got hurt, I'm not degrading or
belittling that." He nodded to Shinji.
Shinji nodded back, glad that the conversation's direction had
changed so radically, Another tall tale, to scare us, then perk us up.
"But you act like this is the end of the world, it's just a minor
Angel, we'll kill it, and go home before sunset. What's got you so worried
about this one in particular?"
"Dreams," Nabiki said quietly.
Shinji looked at the floor, he noted the others didn't look at
each other.
"Yeah," Asuka added.
"They were just dreams - " Raccoon said.
"You didn't act like they were 'Just dreams' last night," Ranma
accused.
"I've since remembered who and what I am," Raccoon replied coldly.
Shinji noted Nabiki's interest, and that Rei had stepped close to
him, almost touching, while staring at Asuka. He knew his failure would
cost them, he accepted his wounding as a just penalty. But the others were
all taking it personally, More personally than _you_, he realized, They are
madder you got hurt than you are?! Shinji wasn't sure how to react to that.
"Somebody got hurt," Raccoon said, "It was inevitable."
"We were hurt in training," Rei added, she looked over at Shinji.
"Ayanami-san and Raccoon survived," Shinji said, Partially because
of my actions, "I survived." Shinji was uncomfortable trying to support
the others. Typically, he tried to stay away from them, and their
seemingly endless, angry sparking, one off another. To be the cheerleader,
rather than the one receiving the encouragement . . . .
The elevator came to a stop, opened onto the EVA bay, and the
waiting plugs for the four EVAs.
"Well, let's get to it," Asuka said, as she marched out of the
elevator.
Shinji thought it sounded forced, then she brightened.
"Well Spineless, we'll bring you back its head on a platter, just
don't let Misato cook it," she told them.
"It has no head," Rei corrected.
"It's a figure of speech, Wondergirl!" Asuka told her.
"Yes, Ayanami-san," Raccoon said, "We can expect that from Saotome
- "
"HEY!"
"We expect more from you," Raccoon ignored Ranma's interruption.
Rei nodded.
"Are you saying I'm stupid?" Ranma demanded as he caught up to the
other pilot.
"No, of course not, I'm leaving it for the others to infer,"
Raccoon replied.
Nabiki sighed, "I almost feel sorry for that Angel, when they go
after it."
Shinji smiled and nodded.
----------------------------------------
"The Old Men weren't happy to see you," Fuyutsuki had waited,
outside the conference room, expecting to be called in to explain why he'd
been taking Gendo's place, it never happened.
"They didn't understand," Gendo told him as he exited the room,
"And they aren't happy about that."
"The dreams."
"They didn't know, and I don't intend to tell them. Who would you
expect, the Dread Dreamlord, or the Crawling Chaos?" Gendo asked.
"Without questioning the Children, I couldn't say for certain.
The 'Dread Lord' doesn't understand humans well enough, the Chaos would
have never made these subtle nightmares," Fuyutsuki considered, "A new
player, or an undocumented feature?"
Gendo didn't know, that worried him.
----------------------------------------
Shinji stood with Nabiki in the EVA bay, and they watched the EVAs
move out. It was the first time he'd _watched_ the EVAs heading into
battle. He didn't have to be here, they didn't need him. He felt very
strange with Saotome in `his` seat, and Raccoon in Saotome's. Even though
he'd nearly died the last time he went out, he found he wanted to be with
the others.
"It's no fun, sitting and watching," Tendo-san told him.
"I feel guilty, that it should be me," he replied.
"Come on, Search and Rescue offered to let us watch." The pair
headed for the vehicle bays, where the rescue teams were preparing for all
manner of disasters.
----------------------------------------
Asuka in Repose
Asuka watched Unit 04 moving like a crocodile through the water,
dragging her Unit 02, and Units 01 and 00 along. She'd suggested taking
point in Unit 02, and had Dr. Akagi point out all the metal and organic
parts that could _conceivably_ be attacked, Not certainly, but conceivably.
As if concrete patches couldn't armor them, she thought. No
communications, no active sensors, were permitted, the EVAs were as `dead`
as they could make them.
The Units were dropped off, and settled into the mud at the bottom
of the harbor. Asuka's only reality now was the countdown timer, and her
prog knife.
She intended to kill that thing on their first attempt. Horseface
and Wondergirl can help, but they better not get in my way, she thought,
Twenty minutes. They were early, Couldn't they drop a depth charge as a
signal or something? she wondered at Japanese military planning, and the
cute curlicues they insisted on. Fast, hard and unexpected, and above all
_simple_ were her watchwords in battle. Might be useful on Kaji too, she
smiled at that, then frowned, saddened by remembering his pursuit of
seemingly every girl _except_ her, in the dream. She had to wonder about
that, and if he did anything with Misato's body when he/she was alone.
Asuka hurled that thought as far away as she possibly could, but it came
back that Kaji would have a wonderful opportunity to discover what worked
on Misato, and what didn't. She decided she'd concentrate on her memories,
instead of speculations, after all, despite rumors, no one knew for
certain, they were lovers, or really wanted to be again.
She remembered she and Raccoon had fought in the Dreamlands of
Earth, and in the alien world of El Nureenen's stronghold, and their one
ironclad rule: 'No plan ever survives contact with reality! So they're
just frameworks to make changes on.' It was a good, workable system, it
brought them victories, when many other Generals and Admirals only got
casualties, or got themselves killed. This one seemed too much like a
Misato-created Faberge egg-type of plan, pretty, complicated, Pretty
complicated, she smirked, but not robust enough to take severe handling,
and not enough alternatives to account for changing conditions. It made
her FURIOUS!
A better plan would also take the characteristics of the pilots
into account. It's not the case here, she reminded herself, Misato-sama's
work of art can't be trifled with, under pain of death. Amateurs! she
growled inwardly. She wondered how many pilots that kind of slipshod
operation would cost them.
Then she had the terrible thought that Misato didn't _care_ how
many pilots were lost, as long as the, _her_, enemies all died. Anna's
brother had died of the same stupidity in Germany. They'd never followed
the American or British plan of so many missions, then return home to train
the next batch.
Gunther had been surrounded by a half-dozen `green` Americans who
were at least 70-80% as good as the American veterans, and Gunther's
wingmen/squadron members weren't even 10% as good as he was. He'd gotten
four of the enemy, the other two got him, and the rest of the flight of
eight trainees.
That's probably why they've never proof-tested the ejection
system, Asuka thought, Didn't Japanese pilots fly without parachutes? She
glanced to where Horseface probably was, To prove their courage and
`honor`, she sneered at that, and waited, patted Unit 02's controls, We'll
get it, don't you worry. She thought of the other pilots: Wondergirl did
as she was told, but she was no dummy; Horseface was a dummy, but an
inspired fighter. With her higher sync rate, greater experience and
combat-specialized EVA, she would probably be able to beat him, no
definitely, As long as I can keep him out of his EVA. And Spineless, she
had to admit, out of the EVA she politely despised him, in the EVA, he
terrified her. Of all of them, he was the only one she _knew_ she couldn't
beat EVA to EVA, she just wished she could blend the two, some of
Spineless's caution and thoughtfulness, with 'the Pilot of Unit 01's' fire
and infinite well of determination.
Maybe that's why I'm pushing him so hard, she considered, Trying
to break through, get the two of them to cooperate. She glanced at the
countdown timer, it hadn't moved much, going earlier would get her killed,
if not by the enemy, then Misato would skin her alive for not following
orders.
And people wonder why I'm angry all the time, she grimaced at that
thought.
----------------------------------------
Clash of Arms
Nabiki and Shinji climbed out of the back of the half-track. They
were parked on a hill nearly half a kilometer away from the action, as
close as they dared get. With a top speed of 48 km/hr, they were 45
seconds away, the rest of the crew stood around, or smoked, ready to
reembark at a moment's notice.
Shinji glanced at his watch, "Now," he saw the start time pass.
Right on cue, Unit 04 leapt out of the water and attacked. A huge
fog of water from the odd-`umbrella` protected it from the flames the
creature hurled at it, Tulzscha, something in Shinji's mind whispered, as
the creature's attack stabilized, the other three EVAs appeared, slashing
at the huge arc of green flame with their progressive knives.
"SHIT!" their driver observed, as the arc disengaged one end of
itself from the ground, and slammed into Unit 00. The blow lacked the
corrosive force that had hurt Shinji. Unit 00 didn't stand up immediately,
Shinji wondered how bad Ayanami-san was hurt.
Suddenly facing a flailing opponent, Unit 01 and 02 couldn't
adequately press their attack.
"It's not supposed to do that! Is it?" Shinji desperately asked
Nabiki.
She shook her head, staring at the battle. As helpless to
intervene as he was.
At the appointed time, Unit 01 and 02 leapt back in the water.
Unit 00 was still having trouble standing.
Tulzscha ignored Unit 04, and concentrated on Unit 00 and Rei.
"Ayanami!" Shinji yelled.
Unit 04 pivoted, and banked the water column off an AT field,
giving Unit 00 the same protective shower Unit 04 had initially enjoyed, as
the time flames flashed some of the water to steam, other parts solidified
into ice, whatever that water's `fate` in the future. Unit 04 covered Unit
00's crawling retreat into the harbor's depths.
"Get out of there!" Nabiki shouted as the twisting column moved to
its sole tormentor. She turned to the SAR team, "Do you have a - command
radio?"
"Yeah," one of the men waved her inside, setting the headband like
a nerve clip on her, as she sat down inside the halftrack.
"Wondergirl, Horseface, you okay?" Asuka's voice came over the
speakers.
"Yeah!" "Hai."
"Why didn't you tell us it could do that!?" Asuka demanded, "You
said it was fixed!"
"Aim for the nonmoving base," Misato shouted back.
"Incoming!" the driver yelled, and slammed the half-track into
gear. Unit 04 was in the air, flipping end over end, under intense assault
by Tulzscha, both flames and battering. Its defensive weapon nowhere to be
seen. As the other three EVAs raced in to attack, Shinji watched in horror
as the huge machine took a solid hit, and flew farther into the air. It
reached its apogee, and began its decent. Someone grabbed Shinji from
behind, and pulled him inside the moving vehicle.
He'll be killed, he thought, as Unit 04 crashed into the hill less
than 50 meters from where they had been parked.
"Kill it!" Asuka's voice shouted, "We're almost out of power."
Shinji glanced out the open back of the half-track as it swung
around, he saw the knives of the three EVAs slash at the flailing creature.
Ranma's martial arts seemed to give him the advantage. While Asuka seemed
to know where the creature would be, and wasn't there when the attack
arrived, but her knife was, wounding it horribly. Ayanami seemed unsteady,
and the least skilled, but was doing her best.
"How much do you know about rescue?" Nabiki demanded of him.
"What Roku-kun showed me," he replied.
"They're getting nothing from the plug," she told him.
He gulped, I should have gone. It should be me lying dead out
there, not someone else.
"Keep cool, everyone!" the team leader shouted over the travel
noise, "We haven't lost a pilot yet. There are plenty of reasons for loss
of signal."
That he didn't elaborate on them, worried Shinji even more.
----------------------------------------
They arrived in moments. The crew piled out, swarming the fallen
EVA. They manually ejected the plug, one used Raccoon's new wrench to open
the emergency hatch. Nothing came out, the L.C.L. smelled worse than ever,
and had the consistency of pudding.
"Shovels!" someone yelled. Shinji wasn't waiting, he took a deep
breath. "Shinji!" he heard as he dove in, half-walking, half-burrowing
through the stuff. His skin tingled, and a noise sang in his ears. He
didn't let it distract him, he knew where the command chair was by
instinct, the others didn't. He could get Raccoon out of it, no he
couldn't, the pilot wasn't there!
He kept holding his breath, searched around by feel and memory,
finding the cables that led to the plugsuit. He was running out of air,
and was seeing colored spots dance before him in the darkness. He didn't
need his eyes, only his fingers, as he moved to the `bottom` of the plug.
Something brushed his shoulder, then a hand closed on it, One of
the S.A.R. people, he was graying out, the fumes from the gelatinous L.C.L.
were making him dizzy. The wires ended with a body, he grabbed it and
began dragging, whoever was behind him dragged at him. His world
contracted to the grip his hands had, and the force dragging him backward.
It should be me, not somebody else, just me.
----------------------------------------
Nabiki hoped Shinji had found something, when he started backing
up, she dragged him backward, moving quickly through this material was
almost impossible, the smell was making her dizzy and see spots. Somewhere
on the way back to the hatch, someone grabbed her shoulders and pulled,
another put an arm around her waist and pulled.
Unless someone has three arms! she thought, realized the stuff was
seriously affecting her.
She gasped fresh air as she broke clear of the curdled L.C.L..
Asuka had her around the waist, Unit 00 had a fingertip on each of her
shoulders, gently dragging back. Shinji also broke free and gasped. The
brown lump Shinji was dragging, was hosed off as were she, Asuka and
Shinji, unlike them, it wasn't breathing. Nabiki bent over remembering her
first aid training, she opened Raccoon's mouth, "The L.C.L. inside is still
liquid!" she could feel a weak pulse. How much time has passed? she asked
herself as one of the SAR people held the unconscious pilot upside down,
How much time do we have left?
She watched the black liquid drain out of Raccoon's mouth, a man
started trying whatever they tried for resuscitation in 1947, she pushed
him out of the way. She tipped Raccoon's head back, pinched his nose
closed, and breathed directly in his mouth. "Breathe dammit!" she ordered,
he disobeyed. She kept at it, until a medic and a piece of equipment took
over the job, as they took him away in an ambulance.
"We have to decontaminate you," the team leader told her and
Shinji, to prevent them from following.
----------------------------------------
Asuka and Nabiki sat on opposite couches in the corridor outside
the medical wing, _not_ staring at each other. They'd both long since
dried from their showers, "Where'd you learn that trick anyway?" Asuka
asked.
Awfully quietly, Nabiki thought, "My father studied in China,"
Nabiki told her, she was glad the answer satisfied the girl.
Shinji had collapsed during decontamination, despite her injuries,
Rei was watching over him. Nabiki wondered where Ranma was, she was kind
of angry he wasn't here, Not that he could do anything except wait.
"They'll live," Dr. Akagi came out of the surgery. Nabiki noted
that Asuka relaxed almost as much as she did.
"Since I doubt I could pry you three out of here, without a tank
or an EVA, I sent Ranma to get you three a change of clothes."
Nabiki nodded, He was doing something.
"Neither one is out of danger. We don't know the effect of the
material," Dr. Akagi told them.
It worried Nabiki that she hadn't suffered any lasting effect, but
both Raccoon and Shinji were out of commission.
"We've got a room for the three girls, and another for Ranma,"
Ritsuko paused, "What? No joke about a glass of water reducing it to one
room?"
"When will we know?" Asuka asked with a forced calm.
"I don't know," Ritsuko admitted.
"That seems to be an epidemic around here," Asuka marched off in a
fury.
Ritsuko looked embarrassed. Nabiki was torn between which of the
two to stay with.
----------------------------------------
Rei looked around in the hospital room, the same one she had
spoken to him in, only a few hours ago. She sat next to his bed, looking
at Shinji sleeping in the oxygen tent, with tubes leading from his arms to
various bottles hung near his bedside. It was almost as if the last few
hours hadn't actually happened. Although she knew they had. She'd failed
to protect him this morning, she'd failed to protect him and Roku-kun this
evening. She shifted uncomfortably, with her left leg and arm in casts,
she was off-balance. The bandages covering the side of her face also
obscured one eye, and eliminated her depth perception. That was trivial as
far as she was concerned, the body was unnecessary in piloting. Only the
mind and spirit mattered. Where is his mind, his spirit? she wondered.
When the Second shoved the door open, it startled her. It
startled her even more that the Second self-consciously caught the door,
before it slammed into the wall and made a noise.
"How is he?" she asked.
Rei thought the Second was more subdued than she had ever seen her
before. "There has been no change," Rei told her.
Instead of speaking, the Second nodded.
"Ranma, has a change of clothes, and Ritsuko arranged beds for
us," she told Rei, "So we can stay near them."
Not 'Horseface'? Rei wondered.
"Come on, Rei, there's nothing more to do here," the Second said.
Rei was worried, the Second didn't seem to be herself, she hoped
it was a side-effect of the petrified L.C.L., the Second Children had run
over to the rescue site in Unit 02, as soon as it was clear Tulzscha was
dead, and bailed out to assist. Rei had hurried as well, but took a more
measured pace, especially because of her injuries, and she'd remained
inside her EVA for the same reasons. But the Second's behavior was not
what Rei had expected. She was worried by it, radical changes in such a
universal constant, disturbed her deeply.
----------------------------------------
The Second led Rei to another room in the medical wing. Inside,
Nabiki-kun was arranging the beds head to head to head, as they arrived.
The Second led her to one, and helped her undress, "Wondergirl says Shinji
had no change either."
Rei was comforted by the return to the nickname, but not
completely, the Second was being too solicitous, and Nabiki-kun obviously
did not consider her behavior aberrant. The Second helped her to lie down,
then gently tucked her in. The other two silently settled in. From their
usual behavior, Rei guessed they would stay awake and talk, about important
matters or useless trivia, talking was important to them. She was
extremely surprised that silence reigned among them, she didn't break it,
she had nothing she wanted to talk about, and speculation was useless. Rei
closed her eyes and went to sleep.
----------------------------------------
Fist Full of Pilots
The cowboy walked into the Arizona bar, out of a desert downpour.
Eyes of the customers appraised the youth. Hat, cheap duster: just another
saddle bum. Stangely old, cold, blue eyes glanced around. Caught sight of
the quarry. The spurs jangled up behind him, "Evan MacKinin?"
"Whose askin', boy?" MacKinin didn't think much of a smooth
cheeked, high-voiced youth. The wanted poster dropped onto the table.
MacKinin shoved the youth back and reached for his gun. A fist shot out,
knocking MacKinin's hand away from his gun, then knocking him to the floor.
Before turning to face the three other men.
"Okay boy, we'll let you go this time. Go home to your momma."
"My mother's dead," the fighter told them as they went for their
guns. None of the three got a shot off, before the fighter shot all three
dead, then casually shot MacKinin, who was crawling for his gun.
----------------------------------------
"Four at once. Not bad." The Marshall stood behind his desk, and
doled out the reward money. "They scared off two of my deputies. No way I
was going after them with just one deputy."
"You need better deputies," the fighter brushed a strand of red
hair out of her blue eyes, back under her hat. "The James boys are a
little out of my range. Who's worth the most?"
"Well, Monacon here." The Marshall pointed to the poster, "Is
worth 50,000 pesos, since he escaped. But he's got forty guns, give or
take. Nobody's crazy enough to go after him, except the Army. They asked
for some information about him. He was last seen at White Rock."
"Thanks," the girl walked out.
----------------------------------------
A gray-haired, older man, in stylish clothing of the 1880's,
walked into the hotel bar, unrolled the wanted poster in front of the
bartender, "Where is he?"
The bartender set an empty glass on the bar, "I haven't seen him."
The old man put a silver dollar on the bar. The bartender filled
the glass with whiskey, with seven pours, glancing up at the ceiling,
"Haven't seen him." He made the silver dollar disappear as he wiped the
bar.
The old man nodded, walked up the stairs. He heard the man's
voice, stepped beside the door marked '7', reached over and knocked. The
fusillade cut through the door. The old man shook his head, waited a
moment, then opened the door. The bar girl in the bed looked appraising,
and frightened.
"Ma'am," the old man tipped his hat as he walked through, and onto
the balcony. The man, his quarry, had dropped to the ground, and was
halfway to the livery stable. The old man pulled his pistol, and attached
the shoulder stock with practiced motions. He'd done this many times
before. Firing carefully, he hit the man in the leg.
"The reward is dead or alive!" the old man shouted, "It's your
choice."
The man drew his pistol, a short barreled Colt in a fast draw
holster. The man's first three shots fell short, not even hitting the
balcony, he hobbled forward to close the range. The old man cocked his
pistol, sighted carefully, and drilled the man right between the eyes.
----------------------------------------
"One thousand dollars," the sheriff told the old man, as both
stood in his office, "Takes me almost a year to make it."
"Why didn't you take care of him yourself? Youngster like you."
"Some of us aren't as skilled as others," the sheriff admitted.
The man shrugged, walked over to the wall of wanted posters, "What
do you know about MacKinin?"
"Somebody got him last night, in El Paso."
"Interesting, wonder how that happened." The old man stared at
the Monacon poster, and the 50,000 peso reward.
----------------------------------------
Inside the richly appointed railcar, the crown prince enjoyed the
sport of his bodyguard sparring with the Shinobi master. His bodyguard was
the finest fighter in all Nihon, but the ninja had a few tricks herself.
The squeal of brakes, and frantic train whistle, alerted them all something
was wrong. In this barbarian country, everything seemed to be an
emergency. As the train shuddered towards a stop, none of them lost their
footing. To fall to such a trivial cause, would disgrace whoever they had
trained with.
All heard the shouting from the blue soldiers, in their outlandish
tongue. The sound of gunfire was unexpected. There were bandits in this
country after all, the prince took cover, before his bodyguard had to
disgrace himself by pushing him to the floor.
The ninja had disappeared, while her task was to guard him, there
was something else on the train that was more important even than him.
The explosion shook the entire train, and tossed them around.
There were screams, and more gunfire, as the train rolled to a stop, but
much less than the number of soldiers should have produced. Some of the
shouts were in the prince's own language. The Imperial soldiers were only
guarding two treasures, one for the Empire, one for him.
His bodyguard prevented him from rushing forward until the train
had completely stopped. The bodyguard hastened to the window, and saw the
horsemen ride off. The pair hurried into the ravaged, armored baggage car.
Many dead blue soldiers, and Imperial soldiers. They both had
served their Emperors to the death. "They sacrificed themselves like
samurai," temple priestess, his fiance, was pulled unharmed from behind a
wall of soldiers, some in Imperial silks, some in the rough blue cloth of
this nation. She was disheveled, but more ashamed. "My lord." She knelt
and bowed low, "They have the sword. It . . . it was as if they knew."
The prince nodded, the gold was trivial, the art treasures were to
be mourned. But the personal gift from the Mikado to the American
President _had_ to be recovered.
His bodyguard extracted his shinobi rival from the debris. She
still lived.
"The raiders," she whispered, all she could manage, "Will be
difficult to track. They fear no soldiers. Another way must be found."
"We will do our utmost to redeem our nation's honor, and fulfill
our sacred mission," the prince pronounced, noting the approval of his two
remaining servitors, and his fiance.
----------------------------------------
The old man checked into the hotel at White Rock. Monacon and his
gang had ridden out to hit a train. There was almost no talk in town about
what exactly were on the trains scheduled through, that was almost
unbelievable, rumors were abounding about everything else. But Monacon
hadn't come through here on his way back, neither had the U.S. Army, which
rumors had in close pursuit.
The old man had other, more accurate ways of finding out, and
going after Monacon. But since Monacon's escape from prison, the Mexican
army was after him too. A Mexican bandit hit an American train, and added
the U.S. Army to the people after him. The old man considered that the
Apaches didn't like Monacon either, as he crossed their territory, they'd
be after him as well.
Three mutually hostile groups, all after my quarry's scalp, he
thought as he cleaned his weapons in his third story hotel room, "Quite a
mess," he commented to the darkness outside.
A small man, the hotel launder, came in, head bowed, not looking
at the old man. The frightened man quietly packed up the freshly cleaned
shirts in the old man's bag, and carried the bag outside. The old man
quickly followed, after he checked his coat and weapons.
The small man walked out the front door of the hotel into the
darkness, he paused, looked at someone standing in the street. The old man
made sure his appearance was presentable, and his weapons were easily at
hand, before he stepped into view.
The, boy?, it wasn't a man, gestured to the side. "Take the bag
to the train. The gentleman is leaving." The high voice put the stress on
'gentleman', not 'leaving'.
"Set it down and go away," the old man stepped out of the light of
the oil lamps, putting the light behind him, so he could see his target
better, but he would only be a shadow.
The laundry man let out an anguished cry, and ran back into the
hotel. The old man thought he heard the splash and clang of the frightened
man leaping into his metal wash tubs.
The old man stepped closer, wanting to get a good look at anyone
with enough guts to try something like this. The, it was a girl, very
definitely, carefully stepped on his freshly shined boots, and ground her
foot on them. The old man looked down at the girl's filthy boots, and
merely raised an eyebrow, it wasn't even worth trying.
That infuriated the girl. She punched him, harder than he
expected, knocking him down and staggering him.
He brushed himself off as he stood, reached for his hat. Before
he could pick it up, the girl had drawn her pistol and fired. The hat
scooted away from him. He glanced up, walked to where the hat now was.
Another shot yanked the hat out of his hand. He glanced at the girl, then
continued quietly following his hat.
----------------------------------------
On a cross street, the shinobi urged the prince and the rest of
his entourage to halt. The crown prince and the three others halted their
horses, and looked at the tableau.
"More of these filthy barbarians killing each other in the
streets," the bodyguard pronounced.
"Then look more closely," the shinobi warned, "The girl could not
have missed at that range, so she hit what she was shooting at."
They watched as three more shots scooted the hat out of the old
man's hand, and down the street. As the girl quickly ejected the spent
cartridges, the old man carefully picked up his much abused hat, brushing
it off while taking several long strides to lengthen the range.
"Watch," the shinobi told them, "See this as a match, not a duel."
The prince settled on his horse, watching as the girl reloaded,
and the old man settled his hat carefully on his head, and drew his own
pistol, taking aim with maximum care. The old man paused and looked up, as
the girl's two shots went wide.
"Should we intervene?" the priestess asked.
"No," the prince said, "We will watch what happens, this one had
the other at her mercy, we will see what happens with the situation thus
reversed."
The old man set his feet firmly and took his stance, cocked the
pistol and fired. The girl stood stock still, bravely accepting the
decision of fate. The first shot blew her hat off her head, a quick
follow-up tore through the thin ribbon restraining her long, red hair,
which now blew free in the slight breeze.
"Brave, and lovely," the bodyguard commented. The prince smiled
at the man who seemed to hold all `soft` women in contempt, perhaps why he
found the shinobi so troubling.
"Three," the priestess watched the hat dance in the air, held
there by the precision gunfire. "Four, five, six, seven, eight, nine?"
She glanced at the prince, didn't all these barbarians' guns hold only six
shots?
"Could you have matched that?" the prince asked his bodyguard, who
squirmed slightly.
"Yes, my lord," the man said proudly. "On a sunny, windless day,"
he added quietly.
The prince smiled, then bowed to the shinobi, "Most enlightening.
Very useful to know."
----------------------------------------
The gunfighter let out a sigh at the flash of white teeth from her
opponent. The distance was unbelievable, nine shots instead of six. She
felt some relief, that the caliber and character of her rival matched her
own. She was certain she was faster, but she didn't concentrate on
long-range marksmanship, the way this old man did. She picked up the torn
ribbon that had held her hair, ran her finger through her hair, she
couldn't find any damage.
The old man walked towards her, "Satisfied?" he asked as he walked
by.
"Yeah, I guess." She retrieved her hat, and followed him.
----------------------------------------
The liquor in the glass went down smoothly, not like the rotgut
she was used to. She looked around the fancy third floor room, complete
with large feather bed, and a dresser with a mirror. She had her feet up
on the table. "I have to admire the gentleman's taste." She lifted his
LeMat pistol with the attached stock. "But this, gimmick - "
"That gimmick, boy," he smirked at the joke, "Nearly put you in
boot hill. And you wouldn't be the first. I've been in this business for
nearly 40 years. Can you make the same claim?"
"I've done all right," she replied defensively, she wasn't even 40
years _old_._
The old man nodded. "Still. Monacon's bounty is a lot of money.
But, the rest of the gang is worth three times that. That's a lot of
money, even split two ways, I want in on that game too. Besides, the U.S.
Government just put a bounty of their own on him, and all the other gang
members. Nearly doubles what they're worth, payable in gold dollars. Even
the Army is after him now."
"Which army?" the girl asked, considering the closeness of the
border, and the free-for-all civil war currently raging in Northern Mexico.
"Does it matter? He's slipped away from the U.S. Army, the
Mexican Federal Army, even the Apaches. Man like that, takes a lot of
catching. Two hunters have a better chance working together. Otherwise,
it might be 48 to 1, not 47 to 2."
"I wish I knew why all the activity about him," the gunfighter
said.
There was a knock on the door. The girl had her feet back on the
floor, the old man had his pistol in his hand, both in an instant. Neither
stood in clear view of the door or the room's window.
"It's your room," she told him.
He glanced at her, seemed to determine that she was watching the
door through the mirror while covering the window. "Come in," he said.
----------------------------------------
The Crown Prince led his entourage of three into the room. His
bodyguard and the shinobi immediately took position in front, to guard him.
These two gunfighters had a reputation. Killers who kept their word, and
were relentless in their pursuit. In Japan they would be the lowest sort
of ronin, here they served a purpose. He paused slightly, centering
himself, "I believe you are men we can trust."
"I think we've been insulted," the old man said to the younger
girl, who stepped into view.
The lopsided smile from the girl, the Crown Prince wondered if
they were, or had become, lovers, she was attractive enough, and they were
more similar than they were different. Still, he had thought he'd phrased
the comment to give no offense. He turned to the priestess, whose command
of the barbarian tongue was better than his. She nodded, he'd said it
correctly.
"I meant no offense, you have a reputation of being rigorous
hunters. That is what we have desperate need for." He avoided bowing,
these people would see it as weakness, he needed their respect.
"We?" the girl asked, "You and your friends? The gentleman and I
have a rather pressing engagement, a lucrative payday."
The shinobi leaned back, "I believe that they may already be
planning to attend to some of our mission."
He nodded, wondered how she had gained the insight without knowing
any of their language, "You are planning to go after the bandit Monacon and
his followers. I wish to offer an additional incentive. He stole 70,000
American dollars, in gold, and several cultural treasures from the Empire
of Japan. They were to be gifts to your President and your Smithsonian.
Our nation's honor has been sullied, our outrage knows no bounds. I am
authorized to allow you to keep the gold, if the treasures are returned to
us unharmed."
"This is getting very interesting," the girl said to the old man,
who nodded sagely. She extracted a cigar, considered, then returned it to
her pocket.
"My Lord," his bodyguard spoke quietly in Japanese, and bowed,
"Our honor, these people . . . "
The Prince ignored him, "I can also offer our services as
warriors, scouts, to authenticate the recovery. Anything!"
The girl looked at the shinobi and the priestess, "Keep your
tongue in your mouth old man. I don't think he meant _that_."
The old man grinned at the girl. The Prince couldn't understand
the byplay.
"My bodyguards." The Prince introduced his bodyguard and the
shinobi, who bowed. "My fiance." The priestess bowed.
----------------------------------------
The Pilots Emerge
It was as if whatever had been holding us, let go. The illusion
of a normal appearance disappeared from me, my pale skin and blue hair
returned. As I straightened from my bow, I looked at my fellow pilots,
shedding their roles and returning to their normal appearances, even as I
did. I looked at Shinji-kun, my `fiance`, the Crown Prince, remembering
the careful `meetings`, observed and monitored by court favorites, and the
source of gossip for weeks. I blushed, although I doubt anyone noticed.
"Okay, what was _that_ about?!" the Second Children demanded,
examined her mutilated hat. "You shot at me!"
"I hit what I aimed at," Roku-kun retorted, "I recall I didn't
fire first."
She fumed, then he dropped his bullet-torn hat in front of her.
She stared daggers at him.
"So what do we do?" Nabiki-kun asked, then realized Roku-kun and
the Second were staring at her in confusion. She hadn't understood a word
either of them had said as they argued, and they hadn't understood her when
she spoke. Nabiki-kun turned to Ikari-kun, who was blushing furiously, and
studying the floor. "Thinking about your fiance?" Nabiki-kun teased.
He blushed more, and glanced at me. I felt an odd warmth. Then
he looked at Roku-kun and the Second who were staring at us. "I, uh,
thought they were, umm, gettingtogetherafterthefight."
"Getting together?" Nabiki-kun asked, then laughed.
"Do you understand them?" Saotome asked.
"You don't?" I asked. Everyone seemed to be speaking the same
language, only they didn't hear it, obviously.
"Ranma, you can't understand them either?" Nabiki-kun asked.
"You don't?" `Crown Prince` Shinji-kun asked, "Ayanami-san?"
"I do," I said.
Saotome shook his head.
"I think we're stuck in character, speaking English or Japanese,
as appropriate," Roku-kun told Shinji-kun, who translated for the others.
"What's going on?" Saotome demanded, Shinji-kun translated.
"Why are you all looking at me?" Roku-kun looked at the other
pilots.
Nabiki-kun smiled, she clearly recognized the harassed tone and
expression. She touched the hair at her temples, the hair that had been
gray on him. He shrugged in response.
"We are in a dream," I said, first in `Japanese`, then in
`English`.
"We have to get out of here," Shinji-kun said in `Japanese`, then
angrily repeated himself for Roku-kun and the Second Children.
"Raccoon and I can do the `mission`, and you four can . . . do
something to stay out of our way, I don't know," the Second said.
That doesn't sit well with the others.
"Only Ayanami-san and I speak both languages," Shinji-kun said.
"Then we have to find some way to operate effectively," the Second
complained, "Can't we get a break? Dreams last night, a battle all day,
then more stupid dreams."
"I think I have a solution," Roku-kun said, "Saotome-san and
Shinji-san coordinate operations with the government. Rei-san and
Nabiki-san come with Langley and I, to hit the enemy head on, or develop a
better attack plan."
Shinji-kun translated, and there was an immediate disagreement.
Roku-kun's idea was shouted down, he threw up his hands, poured himself a
drink, obviously savoring the burning liquid sliding down his throat.
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