[FFML] [Ranma][NGE][HPL][AMG][Fusion][Fanfic] Sic Semper Morituri Chapter 30 - What Faith in Immorta

[Daniel Jess Gibson]

[Ranma][NGE][HPL][AMG][Fusion][Fanfic] Sic Semper Morituri Chapter 30 -
What Faith in Immortality, Joy or Sorrow?

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.

C&C , MSTs are welcome
E-mail: dan_s.comments@worldnet.att.net
Stories are available in Rich Text Format and HTML at:
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ftp://ftp.cs.ubc.ca/pub/archive/anime-fan-works/Ranma/Sic-Semper-Morituri/

http://www.cs.ubc.ca/cgi-bin/ftp/archive/anime-fan-works/Ranma/type/Sic-Sem
per-Morituri
(these are the original versions)

What has gone before:
About Book 11 of the Tankoubon Manga, Akane and Soun Tendo throw Ranma
out of the house. Nabiki, in the guise of a wish, follows him. They meet
EVA pilots Shinji Ikari, Rei Ayanami, Asuka Soryu Langley and Jeffrey
Davis.
Asuka and Jeff make the breakthrough in the equations governing the
AT fields. They teach the other pilots the math to understand it. Ranma
understands enough to use the AT field the way he had against Nyogtha.
Hiroko accidentally discovered the truth about Ranma/Ranko, and is
ordered to keep silent. She asks to be a pilot, both Rei and Ritsuko try
to convince her not to. She is killed during the battle against Cthugha,
along with her entire family, and Ranam's friends Kenta and Seisuke.
All of the pilots react to the disaster surrounding the destruction of
Cthugha and his cult in there own ways. Nabiki retreats, Asuka
investigates, Jeff attacks the SEELE. supporters, Ranma seeks a decisive
battle and is frustrated in this end, Rei and Shinji try to support Nabiki.


"Say this to the People of Israel, 'I Am has sent me to you.'"
Exodus 3:14
Lucifer (Latin: Morning Star)
Webster's Dictionary
Here I Am
Will you send me an Angel,
Here I Am
In the Land of the Morning Star
Send Me an Angel - Klaus Meine (Scorpions)


Chapter 30 - What Faith in Immortality, Joy or Sorrow?
Two o'clock in the Morning Courage
The man once known only as SEELE 03 had fled to these desolate woods.
In a dark clearing he had lighted the fires, now he said the words. A man
with the regal Egyptian features in the red three-piece suit appeared.
Then swiftly removed his bow tie.
"Oh Lord! I have done your bidding. Your enemy is dead, no one can
trace the act to you. But now your enemies hound and hunt me. This was
not to be my reward. Even your secret that would preserve my life has been
discovered and destroyed." The man's words tumbled out in a single breath.
"You wish to serve Chaos, which you will do." The Dark Man extended
his hand, reducing the acolyte to a mass of orange goo.
"Why didn't you tell him you removed the jar from SEELE HQ?" Mara
stepped out of the shadows, she'd been watching the man since he escaped
from the battle of Tokyo. "Good plan though, first rule of assassinations:
kill the assassins."
"Oh, he isn't dead, merely rewarded," the Crawling Chaos told her, "I
even have a gift - for you. While pilot Tendo would have eventually fallen
into your lap, I have accelerated the decline. Suicide still automatically
places the perpetrator in your sphere of influence, I believe. Humans are
so fragile, the death of a silly girl, and one pilot falls to you. Saotome
will follow soon enough, Ayanami will be taken, then it becomes a race
whether Ikari or Davis goes next. Then, whichever is left will expend
himself alongside Langley, both having lost all hope." The Crawling Chaos
chuckled at her distress, "Think of all the deals your people will make,
not that they'll do any good against us, our time is coming."
"It _ISN'T_ your time!" Mara shouted, "The Stars aren't Right!"
"The strong make their own time," the Dark Man assured her, "Too bad
you can't do anything. To save a soul from guaranteed damnation, that
would be - well it wouldn't be appropriate. Now would it?"
Mara turned and left at a run, the monster's laughter echoing in her
ears, Damn you, Crawler! By the Infernal One and the Adversary, I'll make
you pay! By all the Fiends and Archangels, I'll see you destroyed! If I
have to coddle every one of those pathetic wimps, if I have to spoon feed
them the darkest arts, I'll see you welter in your own blood! If I have to
abase myself to Belldandy and her simpering siblings, I'll make you _pay_
for this indignity! Mara raged as she vanished back to Tokyo, already
forming a counter for Nyarlathotep's plan in her head.
----------------------------------------
The Dark Man stood alone in the clearing, waiting without moving.
Another dark figure detached itself from the gloom of the forest.
"I only seek wisdom, Lord," the scruffy vagabond bowed low, idly
scratching at whatever vermin infested his scalp and body.
"You have your orders?" the Dark Man asked.
"To kill the pilots, but your plans my Lord?"
"Carry out your orders," the Dark Man still hadn't moved.
"Ia! Ia! Ny har rut hotep." The foul man bowed and scurried away,
intent on his god's task.
The Dark Man stood unmoving for a long time, staring at nothing.
Then he turned, his head transforming into the head of a rattlesnake,
before he vanished completely.
----------------------------------------
Natsumi Matsuda lowered her handmade telescope, "H-he loo-look-ed-ed
at ri-right me . . . ," she stammered, "Right at me!" she said with dread,
"An Angel, in Osaka, and he looked _right_-_at_-_me_!_"
She walked carefully away, deliberately putting one foot in front of
the other to keep from breaking into a run, and not stopping until she hit
the ocean. She was glad she hadn't been in Tokyo during the disaster, but
she hadn't expected to find the mythos in Osaka. Osaka wasn't Tokyo. She
had to contact . . . "Who? Ayami-san is dead, and the 'Boss' can't be in
good shape."
She discovered she was running now. She'd never been so scared in her
life . . . just from that . . . thing . . . looking at her. "Kensuke-san!
He's the military expert, he'll know what to do, he's in Tokyo!"
She ran for the post office and the long-distance line there, to make
the call to Tokyo.
----------------------------------------
Rei was discovering that kowtowing did not seriously interfere with
using a telephone. She didn't know why a goddess and a demon had awakened
her with orders to make a phone call. Once she'd heard the message she was
to deliver, she needed no further urging to act.
"Roku-kun, Nabiki-kun is in danger, go to her apartment, now!"
"Are you all right?" Roku-kun asked.
"Please go!" Rei insisted, trying to keep her terror under control.
She had failed to protect Nabiki-kun, now the 'Higher Powers' looked down
at her and her failure, looked down at her unworthiness.
Despite the hard concrete scraping her bare skin, she dared not raise
her head from the floor to look at them, to see if they were gone. She lay
there as the minutes crawled by, awaiting some sign that she was free to
move again, awaiting her punishment.
"Rei-chan?!" Shinji-kun took her bare shoulders and raised her from
the floor.
He looked so worried, she felt so ashamed for making him worry. She
couldn't meet his eyes. She bowed her head, he responded by settling her
head in his lap. She wrapped her arms around his waist.
"I failed, we almost lost Nabiki-kun," she told him.
"It's all right, you warned us, you did your best." He stroked her
hair, "You did your best. We all did, we didn't lose."
Someone pulled the blanket off her bed, draping it over her. "Get a
room," the Second said as she left the apartment, closing the door quietly
behind her.
----------------------------------------
Asuka walked out, sat down outside Wondergirl's apartment. Sammi had
accompanied her here, Misato had arrived with Spineless. The two older
women stared at her, expecting an explanation for the sudden flurry of
activity.
"She's fine, he's safe, for a while." Asuka grimaced at the place.
She thought she could still smell the cleanser she and Raccoon had used,
Good Lord! Was it only the 12th? Asuka thought about the past week and a
half. She took her violin from Sammi, and leaned against the railing as
she tuned it. She still didn't know what had possessed her to bring it
with her. Once she was satisfied with the tuning, she began playing a
series of her favorite sad songs.
She distantly heard Sammi shushing an inebriated Misato. While she
was playing, Asuka would have ignored anything less than an alert or an
artillery barrage, the music was all that mattered.
She wondered how Raccoon was doing with Ice Princess. Whether
somebody, anybody, would ever explain why Wondergirl called Raccoon, then
he insisted she and Spineless come here.
----------------------------------------
Nabiki steeled herself, the razor was warm, the first bite of its edge
would be the worst. After that, it was just a matter of waiting.
The towel that dropped over her head shocked her. Having the razor
snatched from her hand furthered her confusion, she hadn't heard or seen
either door open.
"That's not how it's done," she heard Raccoon's voice as she scrambled
to get the towel off her head, then she thought she really ought to cover
herself with it. It's not like it would matter, considering the
embarrassment of getting caught, doing this, she thought, expecting a stern
lecture on the 'evils' of suicide. She had a few arguments on that score
herself.
When he returned with a safety razor, a brush, and an oversized coffee
cup, Nabiki remembered the cup was half-full of solid soap. "An example of
wishful thinking on my part." He gestured with the cup, then ran his hand
over the peach fuzz on his cheek. "You had the hot water right, but that's
only part of it. If I may?" he asked as he squatted next to the furo.
When Nabiki didn't react, he dipped a little water into the cup and started
stirring with the brush. "I haven't the faintest idea why you thought this
was necessary."
I'll tell you, Nabiki fumed as she formed a scathing retort.
"You've got even less hair there that I do," Raccoon told her as he
applied lather from the cup to the leg she had out of the furo.
Nabiki blushed as she realized what he'd said. Then frowned at the
prickly scraping as Raccoon ran the razor over her skin. Nabiki glanced up
at Ritsuko, who peered into the bathroom through the crack in the door.
Nabiki saw the look of abject fear on the older woman's face. It was too
much, she bowed her head and cried, she couldn't even do something like
this, without shaming herself and everyone around her.
"Sorry. I didn't think it would hurt that much. I haven't had much
practice."
She stared at him, saw he wasn't mocking her, she saw only honest
concern.
"You miss them, all of them?" he asked.
She nodded.
"When my parents died . . . I was actually glad, not just pleased, I
mean huzzahs and handsprings, buy a dozen rounds for everybody happy." He
turned away from her and Ritsuko, leaned back against the furo. "I hated
them. Nothing I ever did was good enough. I was fluent in six languages
by the time I was eight. 'Why didn't you learn useful languages like
French and Hebrew?' Little wonder why I haven't mastered either of them
yet. When I got on the Harvard Honor roll, 'Your father, and your uncles
were on the Honor roll the entire time they were at Harvard.'" He paused,
"So I hated them, and I was glad they were dead, I hoped they suffered
terribly before they died. Twelve seconds later, I regretted it, regretted
all the missed opportunities and the things left unsaid, but even hating
them that long makes me a terrible person, doesn't it?"
Nabiki didn't know what to say.
"Even now, sometimes I get so _angry_ at them. However, the dead
can't defend themselves, so there's nothing you can say or do. Except be
ashamed of the anger."
As she moved through the furo to be near him, to hear him, she
realized he was speaking in German, so only she and he would know what he
was saying. She was grateful for the added privacy.
"Still, the rage, at injustice, at loneliness, at being abandoned
doesn't go away. Sometimes it rises, filling my brain, clutching at my
throat, until I choke on it." He looked over his shoulder into her face,
"But I'm the only one who feels that way. It's not like anyone else has
ever done something so foul as that." He turned away again, "I just can't
imagine Langley being angry with her mother for leaving her, or Shinji . .
.. or even Ritsuko. No, I'm some kind of monster, for thinking ill of the
dead, for missing them so desperately, after all, I'll supposedly meet them
again, after I die. But I guess I'm the only one silly enough to think
like that. Right?"
Nabiki smiled, laid her head on his shoulder, putting her arms around
him. He didn't seem to mind she was soaking his shirt. "Thank you."
"You're welcome."
Nabiki realized she could wait, maybe she wasn't the filthy aberration
she thought she was. You might not know it, she thought of her companion,
But never being good enough may be why you act the way you do. You're
still trying to win your parent's love, by being perfect, even though it's
hopeless, they're dead, you'll never prove it, you still keep trying.
----------------------------------------
Honest Self-Criticism
June 22, 1947
"So he walks out of the bathroom," Horseface complained to Asuka as
they walked along, "After he's been in there, alone with Nab-chan naked,
for an hour, and what does he do? Looks at me, gives me that stupid salute
Nab-chan taught him. 'Be seeing you.' And he gets a big hug from Rit-chan
as he's leaving."
"What did he look like?" Asuka asked, "Did he look different somehow?"
"What, besides wet?" Horseface asked as he searched his memory, "Yeah.
He looked tired, weird kind of tired."
"Worn out?" Asuka asked. Do I have to lead you by the hand to _EVERY_
conclusion? Asuka wondered as she smiled at him.
"Yeah, yeah, worn out."
Asuka almost shouted for joy when she saw it all click for him,
Finally!
"Like Shinji, and Rei . . . and you." Horseface stared at her.
"Oh well, four out of five, that's still a 'B'," Asuka muttered, Maybe
if I can find a mirror fir him. "So, what? Are you jealous? Or were you
expecting them to churn the furo into foam while they were alone in there?"
Asuka looked at the stands being set up all around the University of Tokyo,
as they walked among the bustle. "Nab-chan, yes Nab-chan, yes Nab-chan.
Oh, Raccoon. Raccoon! Rac-COON!"
"That's not it!" Horseface insisted as he turned white, "They'd never
do something like that!"
Asuka smirked at that, and at him, as Horseface turned beet red. "Oh
they'd insist on you being there. Although Ranko would probably be the
better choice, for both of them . . . well, you're too young and innocent
to understand what they were doing to you, and that you should just sit or
lie back and enjoy it." Asuka was pleased Horseface looked so utterly
humiliated by her suggestion.
"They wouldn't do . . . " he gulped, "I mean, not both of them, not
with Ranko, together, not at the same time? Would they?"
"Sure," Asuka assured him, "One cuts the nails on your feet, the other
on your hands. It's kind of nice after a long bath, makes you feel
pampered and nice. They'd insist you do the same for them." She stopped,
stared at him, "What did you think I meant?"
"Oh nothing nothing." He shook his hands, as if trying to cool off
any anger she felt.
They walked along in silence, Asuka mentally separating the booths
that just provided information, from those that would have games, when they
were up and running. She smiled at the thought of taking all these rubes
at their 'games of skill'. She'd learned all the cheats they used, and
ways to beat them. She smiled, I'm gonna have _fun_!_ She noticed that
Horseface had spotted all the couples walking around, and had stuck out his
arm for her to take. We aren't on a date! she didn't let the thought reach
her mouth, they'd been working too hard on civilizing him. "Full marks on
manners, Saotome," she told him instead, "Except we aren't on a date, we're
doing a survey."
"Of what?" Horseface asked, looking disappointed.
Maybe if you'd offered your arm to Ice Princess a few times, rather
than her having to _take_ it, you wouldn't be in this mess, Asuka thought.
"Games, a little fun." She softened her tone, "It isn't as if you couldn't
use some."
"Yeah," Horseface said despondently.
Asuka actually felt bad for him, he just didn't understand, until he
did, he'd never get out of the hole. "More important question, Horseface."
She pointed at the set-ups going on all around her, "Why is the college
having a festival? Didn't finals just end?"
"To welcome prospective students and faculty," Horseface told her,
"It's on banners all over the place."
Some of us can't read kanji characters, Asuka thought. "But why
carnival games? I saw a shooting gallery, and a couple other games.
They're advertising a fireworks show." That much I can read, she thought.
"How am I supposed to know?" Horseface practically shouted at her,
"It's not like I went to college!"
"I think you're jealous," Asuka told him.
"What, that you wasted years of your life listening to boring people
tell you boring stuff?"
You're going to _pay_ for that, Horseface, she thought as she smiled.
"No, of Raccoon and Ice Princess," she said mildly, "You could beat them
up, but you can't get them to talk to you. Yet they spent an hour alone,
probably talking. Ice Princess naked in there alone with him. That's the
problem with you and your martial arts. It's why you'll never win in a
real fight."
"I seem to remember blowing up that giant glowing beach ball, and I'd
have finished it off myself, if _someone_ hadn't interfered."
"Uh huh," Asuka nodded, "If I hadn't, you would have blown the whole
thing."
"Howda'ya figure that?" Horseface shouted, loud enough to disturb
everyone working around them. The sudden silence was disturbing.
"NOBODY TOLD YOU TO STOP WORKING!" Asuka shouted at them, glaring at
them. Most returned to work immediately. "You stand up on a hill and say,
'I'm the greatest martial artist, no one can defeat me!' and the
challengers climb up after you one at a time, each waiting their turn. A
soldier's life isn't like that. He - " or she, Asuka thought. "Gets
orders to attack or defend a place, they can't pick their ground. They
have to make the best of where they are, and they have to fight whatever
comes at them. If your infantry platoon has to face three companies of
tanks, you'd better deploy in depth, and be ready to lose every man. If
your battalion of tanks is facing one martial artist screaming about
invincibility from a hilltop, you deploy one platoon to shell the hill,
while the rest of the battalion drives on, to the real objective."
"What does that have to do with anything?" Horseface asked
sarcastically.
"Simple, you've never learned to pick your fights. You try to win
every one, to defeat your opponent. You've never considered that the -
battle - may require other solutions. Winning your fight immediately may
be the worst thing you can do, or maybe you want to lose."
"Why would I ever do that?" Horseface sounded insulted by the very
notion.
"To draw attention and resources away from the others. If you can
convince someone that _you_ are the weak point in the line," Asuka
explained more patiently than Horseface deserved, "You'll draw off strength
from those attacking the others in the line. You can't defeat the entire
enemy force, but you can draw enough of it away from the others, that your
allies can defeat it. That's the point, you look only at the fight, not at
the battle."
"I didn't see you 'looking at the battle' when we fought that thing,"
Ranma retorted.
"Did you have a sonic glaive in your hands, were you tossing those
balls around?" Asuka asked archly, "The fight, isn't the battle. In 1940,
we smashed superior French and British tanks, because our German and Czech
tanks were better led, more reliable and had radios. In 1944, the
Americans and British slaughtered our superior tanks, because their
Shermans were more reliable and numerous, and they were really just bait
for their air support. Both won the fights in the engineering shops and on
the training fields. Technology and doctrine won, long before they reached
the battle field." She was amazed, Horseface was actually considering what
she'd said.
"So what does that all mean?" he asked as they walked along.
"It means look at the battle, the whole thing. Look at what a victory
really means. Ignore the fight until you know what you're fighting for.
Raccoon, in the Dreamlands, kept an entire enemy army occupied by marching.
He had two regiments and ten sets of colors appear at so many points along
the enemy's route of advance, they thought they were facing four divisions,
with two more as a mobile reserve. He stole the idea from the Peninsula
Campaign and John Bankhead Magruder's 11,000 troops, they held up General
George McClellan and his 150,000 plus troops."
"That's insane!" Horseface insisted.
"In both cases, the enemy retreated. The _battle_ was to buy time,
fighting would have been suicide. Ignore the fight until you're in it,
concentrate on the battle." Asuka shivered, remembering the battle
Raccoon's delaying action had made possible, a disorganized, murderous
fistfight, that the two of them and their troops were a tiny part of.
Until her cavalry and two dragons, and Raccoon's mages and infantry had
found a gap in the enemy's line. They'd split in two and attacked in both
directions, breaking the enemy's lines. " 'One good knight is worth a dozen
hirelings afoot', we found _that_ wasn't true by a long shot."
"You okay?" Horseface actually sounded concerned.
"Bad memories," Asuka admitted, "That butcher's yard wasn't my first
battle. It was the first time that many _civilians_ got killed. I've been
in battlefields where it was possible to walk from one end to the other,
walking on the dead, never having to set a foot on the ground."
Horseface looked sick.
Well, it's good he's seeing it, finally. Well, if Misato won't see
it, it's good the rest of us do. But I'd better lighten things up, before
his delicate stomach empties itself all over the road. "Well, do you see
enough here to come with me on Wednesday?"
"Wha-wha-what-t? A date?" Horseface stammered.
"Don't be disgusting!" she insisted. Wondergirl, you are going to owe
me for this! "I need someone to trounce, and to carry home all the prizes
I win. You're strong enough."
The transformation was comical. From a nauseous Spineless, to drunken
Misato in a full battle rage. "You won't win! I'll win all these games!"
"Ha," Asuka already knew that wasn't likely, the shooting gallery for
one, the 'guess the number of marbles' for the other. He might win _most_,
but not _all_, she thought as she smiled evilly at him, and watched the
confidence drain out of him. "Little bet? That you don't win _all_ the
games, not just against me, but at all?"
The switch flipped again, "You'll never beat me!"
"You're thinking of the fight again, I said you won't win every game,
you have to beat them, not me."
Then Asuka realized Horseface had been hanging around Ice Princess too
long. "What are the stakes?" he asked.
Damn! Asuka didn't let her disappointment show. "You have to give ole
Raccoon a passionate kiss." That'll get him!
"And you have to kiss 'Wondergirl'," Horseface replied, making a good
show of Ice Princess's calculating gaze.
Well, I'm not going to lose, Asuka thought. "Agreed." I can tell her
I'm teaching her, if Spineless is there, I can make that work. Besides, he
didn't say on the lips.
She smirked evilly, she knew she had him, Frankly, getting Ranko to
kiss ole Raccoon ought to shake him out of his malaise. She considered the
possibilities and other things they could do at the college. She also
wanted to tour the engineering department here.
----------------------------------------
Jeff looked at Kensuke as the boy talked and gestured wildly to him
about something of dire importance. "Slow down!" he insisted, "You sound
like you're playing at 78. What is it?" All Jeff really wanted was sleep
Kensuke took a deep breath,
"Natsumi-saw-an-Angel-in-Osaka-it-looked-right-at-her!"
It all sounded like one word, but Jeff could understand him. "All
right, let's go report to Captain Ramsey. Admiral Simson is at a
conference, I suspect he's getting in trouble for not getting us in trouble
for . . . "
I don't feel anything, Jeff thought as he stared across the city, All
those others, all the losses, and all I feel is weary. How do I tell the
others that? Do I tell the others that? Nabiki thinks she's a monster for
being angry, what does that make someone who's indifferent, apathetic?
"Well, you know."
"Yeah." Kensuke nodded, "She showed us the pictures, then she took
them to the Admiral. So we were ready for them. Wasn't enough."
"Don't beat yourself up over it." He smiled at the other boy, "That's
an order."
Kensuke smiled back, saluted, "As my General commands."
"Let's go trouble someone else with this," Jeff told him, "It's always
fun to share the misery. That's why it has eight other states around it."
"Huh?"
"Missouri loves company," Jeff told him. It took the rest of the walk
to the Naval base to explain the joke.
----------------------------------------
Good grief, Asuka thought as she looked over their tour guides, This
kid is shorter than I am, and is his girlfriend on happy pills, or what?
And what's with the marks on her face? She doesn't _look_ Hindi. She was
glad that this Keiichi kid knew his stuff about engineering, and his
girlfriend Belldandy spoke enough German to translate some of the technical
terms he used.
"Belldandy, I bet you have a sister Skuld and Urd," Asuka said.
"Why yes, how did you know?" she said.
Horseface chuckled, "Somebody's better at jeering than our local
champion."
Asuka resisted sticking her tongue out at him. Keiichi looked shocked
at the exchange.
"So are you taking your war-bride home?" Asuka asked the girl, "Back
to Norway, or is it Denmark?"
"Well," the girl blushed, "I am Scandinavian, originally."
One point for Asuka, she thought.
"Still, I'm going to stay with him, always," Belldandy sighed and
smiled.
The way she said it turned Asuka's stomach. If it was fake, it was
saccharine-sweet; if it was real, it made Asuka jealous. She knew Kaji
would never look at _any_ woman the way Keiichi looked at his girlfriend.
Spineless, Horseface and Raccoon weren't her type, the first two were too
immature, the last too grave.
"Well," Asuka continued, "I understand your fascination with
automotive engineering, but I'd like to see the aircraft and chemical
engineering sections as well."
The boy blanched again. "The peace treaty doesn't allow Japan an
aircraft industry," he smiled trying to hide his embarrassment, "I can show
you the chemical engineering section."
"You aren't the chemist," Horseface said, "Raccoon is."
"You know a raccoon?" Keiichi asked, "A real one?"
"Yeah," Horseface interrupted, "He's a real raccoon all right."
"That's just a nickname," Asuka explained with a frown, the last thing
she wanted was these two to discover they had two pilots in front of them.
She'd seen that mindless adulation often enough in Germany, during the war.
"Most Japanese can't pronounce his name correctly - "
"But Raccoon applies," Ranma insisted.
"Yes, Horse - face," Asuka said, calming him down. The two college
students looked unhappy.
"If you love someone - " the girl began.
"If I _EVER_ fell in love with Horseface . . . I'd shoot myself in the
head," she got nose-to-nose with the girl, "I'd need a lobotomy to tolerate
him. Understand?"
"Yes," Belldandy said quietly.
"Chemical Engineering," Asuka told the boy. He nodded and led them
through the building.
----------------------------------------
The yeoman opened the door to Captain Ramsey's office. Kensuke looked
around the room at the strange assemblage of people. An Army WAC, a police
officer, a guy in a black suit pressed with creases you could slice with, a
rumpled working man, a housewife, and a guy who practically screamed
'certified accountant'.
"Come in Mr. Davis, Mr. Aida." Ramsey waved them in, "How is Miss
Tendo?"
"Better, I hope," Raccoon said.
Kensuke watched the others watching Raccoon, it was spooky the way
they were looking, moving out of the way. Not as if he were offensive, but
almost respectfully, or fearfully.
"And Mr. Saotome?" Ramsey asked.
Raccoon sighed, "I don't know, I just don't have the words. I don't
think words are what he needs. I can't - I won't give him what he _thinks_
he needs. A fight."
Kensuke watched the people glancing at each other, weighing the words
carefully.
"Mr. Aida, what are you here for? Considering what happened last time
one of the 'eyes and ears' arrived in my office, I'm expecting the worst,"
Captain Ramsey said.
"There's a Great Old One in Osaka," Kensuke said, then repeated
Natsumi's message word-for-word.
Ramsey digested it. "Is Miss Matsuda remaining in Osaka?"
"Yes," Kensuke said.
"We'll put her and her family under guard. Then we'll send some
people to interview her properly."
"And a sketch artist, I doubt she took a camera or any pictures,"
Raccoon added.
It gave Kensuke chills how still and attentive the others in the
office were, as if they were vultures waiting for a kill or something.
"Are you sure she said it removed its tie?" Ramsey asked.
Kensuke's nod elicited a smirk from both Ramsey and Raccoon, then he
saw it on the others. Kensuke wondered why they thought that was
important.
----------------------------------------
Asuka could hardly believe it, she wondered if Horseface had set out
to humiliate her, or if it just happened. "The entire Karate and Kendo
clubs, all at once? What were you thinking?"
"You know, college might not be too bad an idea." Nothing was going
to erase that smile from his face.
Asuka considered, all she needed was to take the edge off. "You have
to have a college degree, before you teach at a college, and that means
learning to teach, as a professional. That also means teaching anyone in
the class, not just the ones you want to. It also means teaching them,
whether they want you to or not."
Horseface frowned at her. "What are you saying?"
"I'm saying, don't think it's easy, it's not," Asuka told him. "I'm
also telling you that your grades aren't good enough to even get in here."
"If I'm a war hero, they'd be happy to let me in here," Horseface
replied.
Probably true, Asuka admitted to herself, But . . . "They aren't
going to pass you, or let you teach. If you aren't qualified, they'll have
you in an office somewhere, and they'll wheel you out to show off to the
contributors and potential students."
"You're making that up!" Horseface replied.
Asuka just smmmiiillleeed at him.
----------------------------------------
Keiichi was quietly wondering how he'd survived that little encounter.
He knew both of them were pilots, he remembered Belldandy's descriptions,
of both their appearance, and their personalities. He'd thought she was
exaggerating. Instead, she had politely understated things, as usual. He
actually felt a little sorry for the things they fought.
"If Skuld and Urd fought that much . . . " he began, as he watched the
pair recede, "Well they wouldn't, except maybe over sake-flavored ice
cream." He smiled at that.
"You asked why I did not help them." Bell looked terribly sad, and
very happy at the same time. "It hurt more than you could know, to stand
back, to let them suffer, when I could have made things right. You see how
they are now?"
"Yes, like Urd and Skuld, 'The only one who fights my sister is me!'"
Keiichi told her.
She smiled, nodded. "Kami-sama's plan seems so cruel, to let them go
this way. I hope they will learn their lessons more easily, that they can
rescue each other. Soon they will go where only they can help each other."
Keiichi decided he did not want to know anymore.
----------------------------------------
Groundwork for Clouds
Ramsey looked up from his desk, as another visitor entered. He
suspected he'd never get any of the paperwork done. From Saotome's
expression, this was going to be one of those deep discussions. "Can I
help you Mr. Saotome?"
"Yeah, I guess, I mean I hope you can." Ranma fidgeted, like he
always did when he had to admit his ignorance.
Ramsey put on his best 'fatherly' demeanor, he didn't offer Ranma a
seat, he never sat in this office. Pacing and looking out the window, as
if he wanted to be anywhere else. Ramsey guessed this would be no
different, "You have a question?"
"Yeah, how do you win a war?" Ranma asked, "How does a navy, a nation,
and an army win a war."
Ramsey blinked, decided he needed a ground-pounder to help explain
things, maybe more. "Follow me, I think I've got a few people you can talk
to." He stood and headed for the door. "What prompted this?"
"I need to know how you win a fight, when you can't be there," Saotome
admitted.
Ramsey told his yeoman to cancel all other appointments. He had a
feeling this was going to take a _long_ time. Mr. Aida's revelation was
already in Admiral Simson's capable hands.
----------------------------------------
Asuka hadn't the faintest idea why she was going with Hikari to visit
Toji's sister. She didn't have much use for the chief of the three
stooges, she certainly wouldn't have any use for his kid sister. Though,
even in a coma, she's probably more interesting than he is, Asuka thought.
But when she had arrived, she'd found Hikari packing a basket full of
goodies. It seemed that every Sunday, Toji spent a couple hours with his
sister, lately Hikari had brought him lunch, and the two of them talked to
Toji's sister. Asuka had been disgusted by how many times Hikari blushed
telling the story, as if she were sneaking off for some illicit rendezvous.
Asuka had promised not to fight with Toji, so she could come along.
Asuka doubted it would be as interesting as paint drying, but she didn't
have anything else to do.
"Who would have guessed I'd miss school," Asuka said disgustedly.
"You like being popular," Hikari said as they walked along the road.
"So, what's the diagnosis?" Asuka asked, she knew Hikari's next
question would be about boyfriends, a subject Asuka wanted to avoid. She'd
never be able to explain why she was spending time with Horseface, before
the rumor mill had them dating, or worse.
"They don't know," Hikari said, her face downcast, "Her injuries
weren't severe, but . . . she hasn't ever woken up."
"Sometimes an Angel will do that, hurt people in the vicinity with
just it's presence. I found out that's why the Search and Rescue and
decontamination procedures." Asuka shuddered at what Ramsey and Simson had
revealed to her, she hated those monsters now more than ever.
"I wish there was a magic wand I could wave, and make her all better,"
Hikari said, "Too bad Raccoon is only good at blowing things up."
"He didn't cast a spell and . . . " Asuka trailed off as she realized
she was being had. Hikari could barely keep her smile hidden. "Being a
pilot doesn't automatically make you a wizard." Why _hasn't_ Raccoon fixed
her yet? she wondered, It should be an easy job for him.
They entered a simple three story wooden building, sparkling white of
course. The girl's room was on the first floor, with a southern exposure.
Toji's father and grandfather had enough pull at NERV to insure that.
Asuka heard Toji's voice droning on and on about sports and the
weather. Asuka shook her head, "A girl doesn't want to hear about all that
stuff."
Hikari smiled, "That's why I brought you along." Then she got a grave
look on her face, "Unless you aren't up on all the latest gossip."
Asuka growled at her, especially when she started laughing.
----------------------------------------
"So why haven't you healed her?" Asuka asked Raccoon as they washed
the dinner dishes together.
"Simple, she isn't there," Raccoon had gone 'linguistically agile',
changing languages with every word, making it almost impossible for anyone
but her to understand. It also told her that he didn't want anyone
understanding their conversation.
"So, she's . . . elsewhere," she shifted through the languages they
shared, "We have allies in the Dreamlands, we could search there."
"She isn't there, I already checked. She and about 50 other people
were affected by what's called 'Angel's Malaise'. I worked on another one,
before I offered Toji. I couldn't help."
"That's saying something," Asuka admitted, "Where else could she be?
You know what I'm asking."
"Literally anywhere, even with the Red Dragon's searching, it could
take a hundred years," Raccoon replied, handing her another dish to dry.
"Why would someone do that?" Asuka asked, "There has to be a better
way to collect slaves, sacrifices, or whatever."
"There are thousands of reasons for some. For Toji's sister, I can
only think of one: blackmail."
"Blackmail?" Asuka asked, "His dad or grand . . . blackmailing _him_?_
_The_Stooge_?_"
Raccoon's answering nod shook her.
"They don't have any reason!" Asuka said.
"They would have the same reason for Hikari, for Hiroko, maybe
others," Raccoon told her.
She was glad they were keeping the conversations secure, the
implications of this were incredible. "How many? The whole class, the
whole school?"
"I don't know, maybe one in four could function as pilots. None as
good as we are, none could ever come close to you."
She knew it wasn't empty flattery. "But in war there are always
casualties. Replacements, blackmail one of them . . . an agent in place.
Terrific. We have to find her." She glared at him to prevent a protest,
"I know it won't be easy."
"It would be _very_ easy," he sighed, "The cost, the personal cost,
would be . . . prohibitive."
Asuka considered the deal Raccoon would have to make to get the
information where, or rather who, was probably holding the girl's spirit.
She wasn't going to support trading the blackmail of a possible
replacement, for whatever trap her old friend would be caught in. "Maybe
there's another way?"
"There is, we just have to think like one of our enemies," he told
her, "And narrow our search accordingly."
"Oh joy," Asuka replied, taking the last plate and drying it.
----------------------------------------
June 23, 1947
Sakai Hijo left his house for his job, a job he was very glad to have.
Out in front of his apartment, his boss waited. The older man had his hat
in hand, crushing the brim, turning it slightly, then crushing that
portion. Hijo had only seen the old man do that when he was terribly
worried. The two men who stepped up behind his boss didn't look the least
bit worried. They must have been the cause of his distress.
"Hijo-san," his boss said apologetically, "They wish to speak to you,
about your tenure aboard the I-400. Your trip to America."
One of the men approached, a Japanese-American, from his utter
confidence. "You aren't being charged with anything," he assured Hijo,
"Our investigation is for the United States Senate. We just need to know
who and what your ship carried to Boston, in April 1945."
Hijo frowned, he wasn't certain this didn't mean trouble. If it
didn't mean trouble for him and his family, then for those he'd carried
into the heart of the enemy.
----------------------------------------
Captain Katsuragi walked through the hallway. At the end of a long
work shift, all she wanted was some dinner, a few beers and sleep. She
hoped Shinji cooked something interesting for once. She heard gunfire
coming from the indoor rifle range. "Who'd be using it at this hour?" She
opened the door. Damitsu, wearing shooting glasses and headphones, was
carefully firing his .45 automatic at the target 75 yards away. He emptied
the clip, slid the empty pistol back under his coat, and walked to the
tunnel under the range that led to the targets.
He left his headphones on, so Misato decided to trail him. By the
time she got through the door and into the tunnel, he was already climbing
the stairs at the far end. What did he do? she wondered, Fly down there?
She jogged down the tunnel, mindful of the noise she was making.
There was no way out of the pit behind the targets, except through the
tunnel. So she knew she could catch him.
She saw Daimitsu standing behind where the targets could be pulled
down out of the line of fire. He was examining his target. She looked
carefully, she couldn't see the perturbation a gun would make in the lines
of his jacket. That meant special tailoring or . . .
The target in his hands had holes all over it, "Good evening,
Captain." He didn't look up.
"I didn't expect anyone would be using the range this late."
"Considering the events of the last few weeks," Deimisu said, still
not looking at her, "I thought it a good idea to keep my proficiency up."
"Congratulations on your commendations."
"Thank you. I wish there had been another way."
"May I see that?" she asked. He handed her the target. It consisted
of eighteen small bull's-eyes, each no more than 3 cm. across. Each one
had a half-inch hole in it or touching it. The logo at the top read 'For
75 yards Small Bore Rifles.'
"That's good shooting. No standard .45 can do that." Misato
commented, Daifitsu shrugged. "Can I see your pistol?" she asked.
He reached into his jacket and carefully pulled the pistol out, using
his thumb and forefinger, handing it to Misato butt first. Noticeable
differences were the adjustable sights, and the barrel extending out of the
frame with compensating vents cut in the top of the exposed length. She
pulled the slide back, the forward-most inch of the frame stayed locked to
the barrel and a tube under the barrel.
"Gas operated, like a Garand rifle," he explained, "A very good
gunsmith owed me a big favor. I wanted a 45 that was more accurate, but
could still handle dirt and hard use."
She handed it back. It disappeared into his jacket, his arm seemed to
go farther in, than a shoulder or belt holster would require. Unless he
carries it at the small of his back, Misato thought, That also explains the
lack of jut in the jacket.
"I'm heading home. I could drop you by Sammi's place."
"She lives 4 miles from your place, Captain. I don't want to trouble
you. Besides, I still have another 36 rounds to go."
"I'll wait," she offered.
"You'll need eye and ear protection."
"I'll wait in the gallery."
He shrugged. She watched the boy cut two more targets like the first.
She was suspicious that he'd been politely trying to get rid of her. Maybe
he's only shy about older women, she discarded that thought as he came out
of the tunnel for the last time. Shutting off the lights and the
ventilators as he entered the gallery.
She asked for the other two targets, "Have you considered the
Olympics?"
"No," he said flatly.
"Shame," she teased, "You could win a gold medal with shooting like
that."
"It's not something I'm interested in. I don't care who's the best.
I just want to know I'm very, very good." He packed away the ear
protectors. He'd already collected his spent brass.
"Reloads? Sammi lets you do that? I doubt Ritsuko would."
"No, I sell them. There's a jeweler who makes them into bracelets,
earrings and such. Sends them all over the world." He held up an empty
casing. It read 'NERV' and a string of numbers. "Empty casings from one
of the pilots' personal sidearms. Lends the whole thing an air of mystery
and danger. The refugee funds appreciate the extra donations, and a pilot
or NERV officer who goes down to see the kids and the others. Considering
what happened, they'll really need the extra funds and encouragement."
The fires of suspicion died in Misato instantly, "You really care."
"We brought death to this city, after the war was over, somebody has
to be willing to stand up and explain to those who have to pick up the
pieces that it's worth it. Even if I am not as sure as I sound."
"You have doubts." Her suspicions flared again, "After all you've
seen?"
"Who do you serve, Captain Katsuragi? You command the most powerful
fighting force in the history of the world. Yet you're intimate with a man
whose loyalties are shadowy at best. Doctor Akagi is your old friend, but
you don't want to know what she really does. Yes, I doubt _because_ of all
I've seen. I'm sorry Captain, I've changed my mind, I'll walk home."
Damitsu tipped his hat and headed off.
Misato watched him leave, she silently cursed. Shinji withdrew from
teasing, Ranma teased right back, but she could never predict what these
Americans were going to do. "This time, he hit me in the face with the
truth, his truth. Then when I don't claim it as mine, he walks away
disappointed," she said angrily.
----------------------------------------
Listen to the Fizz
June 24, 1947
Ranko didn't know why she was doing this. She was more likely to get
answers from Raccoon than from any of the others, but it wasn't answers she
was after. She wasn't sure she liked tricking Raccoon, Not like this
anyway, she thought as she waited in his room, listening to the shower shut
off. Five minutes, Ranko thought, Still typical of him. She wondered why
he never indulged himself, a hot bath was one of the few things you could
really enjoy. She waited as she heard him finish, and exit his bathroom
dressed in pajamas, a shirt and pants, the same tan ones he always wore
when he slept in the room with Ranma.
He stared at her for a few moments. She hated how tired and dazed he
looked.
"I came here because I want . . . " Ranko almost said 'to be
punished', then she realized that she was alone in a boy's bedroom, and
`punishment` led down too many dark paths she really didn't want to travel.
She doubted that Raccoon would ever take advantage, but there were a lot of
things that a girl and a boy could do in a room together, that _Ranma_
would definitely consider punishment.
"I want to help."
"Ranko, I appreciate the offer," Raccoon said softly, "But you aren't
a strong enough Dreamer. I'm sorry I haven't . . . "
She'd walked up to him, stood on her tiptoes and kissed him gently on
the lips, a very gentle, chaste kiss. All part of the plan, but she felt
strange doing it, and at Raccoon's resulting submission. Ranma could beat
him up for a week, and not get that. "Trust me?" She pouted a little,
remembering what Asuka had said about fighting the battle instead of just
the actual combat. His talk with Ramsey and his staff had been helpful,
sort of. Ramsey had told him a lot of things. Most of them didn't make
any sense.
Except one that started making sense on his run home. The Americans
gave the British the technology to mass-manufacture 100 octane aviation
gasoline, to fight the Battle of Britain. It gave the British fighters
another advantage. On the way home, running faster than most people could,
he'd realized the answer: fuel. Not just any fuel, the fuel of life
itself: chi. Ranma realized he had enough to spare, and the others were
burning theirs without realizing what they were doing. If they were linked
together somehow, if he could 'refuel' one of them, he could help them all.
Raccoon hadn't said anything, merely stood there, considering. He
wasn't reacting as if Ranma had made the suggestion. "What do you need me
to do? I think you can guess, I have a rather pressing time concern."
"Go to bed, go to sleep," Ranko led him over to his bed, "I'll help
you relax. You're fighting something, something attacking Nab-chan."
"Against herself, actually." Raccoon lay face down in his bed,
turning to look at her.
She sat on the edge of his bed, began massaging his shoulders, and
reading his ki and chi levels and distribution. She always knew he was
bony, he was lighter than Rei or her, but hadn't been as thin as this. She
suspected he'd actually _lost_ weight. More proof that her suspicions were
correct.
"No funny stuff," he murmured.
Ranko instantly recognized that the impulse could only have come from
the 'other', it was just too catlike to be her own. That didn't stop her
from following through on it.
She was several times stronger than the average person, but she also
had absolute control of that strength. She clamped her arms around his
ribs and after applying slight pressure, held him, like a band of steel.
She also closed her teeth on his trapezeus muscle.
To another cat, it had all kinds of sexual messages, but not to
humans. For Ranma's peace of mind, it was something boy cats did to girl
cats, mainly.
"Okay! Okay!!" Raccoon told her.
She instantly released him. She was afraid of a few of the subsequent
images the 'other' added, 'suggestions' for dealing with a reluctant tom.
That's _not_ why I'm here, she reminded herself. "No, no funny stuff, it's
an experiment." She laid down on his back, she felt his individual
vertebrae through her cheek, "It's all about chi."
Raccoon moved slightly to compensate her added the weight.
Ranko abruptly got an answer to a lot of unasked questions. She'd
thought what she needed was physical contact with the others. An
under-the-table motive for being here. Now she felt the truth. It wasn't
being touched that was missing, and needed. Now she understood how wrong
that was. The touch wasn't as important as the motion behind it, the
_living_ motion and energy behind it. When Ritsuko had consoled him that
first night of Nab-chan's nightmares, she'd been so still that it hadn't
helped, really. But now, she felt the touch, the motion, and most
important, the chi that drove it.
It was that need, that had prompted him to offer his arm to Asuka, in
hopes of feeling her move beside him. It explained why he tolerated, and
by mutely tolerating, encouraged Nab-chan's touching and groping. The
physical sensations were pleasant, in a jarring sort of way, but the
interaction of his movements with hers, and the chi needed to make those
movements, was what really drew Ranma and Ranko, and drew them to Nab-chan
and Raccoon. Raccoon had very little chi and effectively no ki, but what
he did have virtually sizzled, like Nab-chan's.
Her own chi well-nigh sang in response. Like Asuka's wineglass trick,
one makes a sound, and another next to it makes a sound a lot like it.
Asuka had told Ranma the word for it, it didn't matter right now, as her
chi sang as it hadn't for days. If Nab-chan and Raccoon hadn't isolated
her and Ranma this way, she'd never have figured it out. That song defined
her, it and the touch made her real.
The others could use words, trusted words and numbers to define
reality. Ranma didn't, couldn't. If he couldn't see it, couldn't _feel_
it, he couldn't believe it was real. Photographs and movies were the
ultimate of this unreality. They contained nothing he could experience as
real, they were representations of something else, and were uninspiring.
So was music, until he went to the concert, saw the people moving,
felt them creating it, making the music themselves. He could sense the
difference, although up until a moment ago, she hadn't been able to
understand it.
Ranko understood her attractions to Nab-chan and Raccoon, while Asuka
was prettier, she wasn't as interesting, and forget Rei, she was a smooth
pond. They didn't fizz this bewitching way. She didn't know _why_ these
two were different, but it made sense.
The blast of almost indescribable cold brought her back to the
present. The odd voids she'd found in Raccoon's chi, that had puzzled her,
were now filling with mana. But it was like watching someone stuff an
entire glacier into a cupboard or a briefcase. Ranko didn't know if mana
and chi were equivalent, but if they were even close, Raccoon's mana
reserves were nearly as vast as her own reserves of chi. And he's
preparing to use them _all_ in this battle, Ranko thought in fear.
For the next few hours, she waited and analyzed. Briefly the mana
would flare, suffusing a pattern Ranko couldn't make out. Then as the
flare died down, she realized the reserves were less, sometimes far less,
than they'd been.
Incredibly, as the night wore on, those almost unlimited reserves were
drained dry, Raccoon scavenged and expended the last speck. Ranko idly
wondered what kind of enemies Nab-chan was conjuring that would require
that kind of effort, then she decided she _really_ didn't want to know.
Then to her horror, Raccoon's chi flared the same way: forming a
pattern, then returning to normal, but smaller. There hadn't been much to
start with, and Raccoon halved that before he gave up.
That was when Ranko acted, it was what she had planned, though the
thought still daunted her. She slowly bled her own chi into Raccoon,
hoping whatever circuit or connection he had with the others would carry it
to them. She instantly felt as if she were filling a lake with an
eyedropper. She increased the flow when Raccoon didn't react,
concentrating on channeling it to areas where his chi had been the
strongest. She also felt it draining away almost as fast. She would have
known and felt it, if it were 'leaking' back into the room. So she had to
guess it was going to the others. She was growing alarmed, there seemed to
be no noticeable increase in Raccoon's chi, as her levels dropped near his.
She couldn't believe the others were such bottomless pits that they could
have absorbed all she had given them, without any evident effect.
As her level equalized with Raccoon's, Ranko found the flow stopped of
its own accord. She knew she could force more out of herself, but she was
terrified of the possibilities of draining herself completely. She cut the
flow and lay there exhausted and frightened. From his breathing and other
signs, she could tell Raccoon was still sound asleep. She couldn't raise
her head off his back, she was weak, shaking, and disoriented. She felt as
if her body had completely lost all coordination. Some parts responded to
commands instantly, but others had a slight hesitation.
Merely trying to sit up caused her to tumble to the floor, she
couldn't even move to break her fall. As she lay there, she hoped she'd
done some good for the others, because she felt awful.
She completely missed the bedroom door opening, and Sammi padding
across the floor. Ranko stared up at her, with her powerful build and her
brown nightgown, Sammi did look a lot like a bear. From Sammi's crooked
eyebrow, Ranko knew she would have a _lot_ of explaining to do. Right now,
she felt like a turtle on its back.
Except turtles have an excuse, Ranko thought, I just can't get all the
pieces to cooperate. She didn't complain or even comment when Sammi
scooped her up, and silently deposited her in a bed in one of the spare
bedrooms. Ranko was exhausted, but she thought she'd be too worried to
sleep. A few minutes later she realized how wrong she was.
----------------------------------------
June 25, 1947
Morning came, and with it, mourning. Ranko felt as if she'd been run
over by a train, then, after they buried her to rot for a few months, dug
her up and steamrollered her a few times. They must have poured what's
left into this bed, she thought. Only the delicious smell of okonomiyaki
urged her to wakefulness. She slitted her eyes at the harsh light that was
slipping in under the door. There wasn't much, but the way she felt, every
ray seemed to be clawing at the back of her eyes. She lay there and tried
to let her eyes adjust, she was glad she had a few extra minutes. She
could also hear the stirrings of the others as they began the day. She
smiled at Asuka's quiet grumbling about 'morning people', and driving a
sunbeam through their hearts, 'each and everyone of them!'
Ranko still couldn't move in a coordinated manner, even her smile at
Asuka's discomfort was lopsided. Her only real regret was that she
couldn't get up and see if her embarrassment and the risk had been worth
it.
A moment later she had her answer, and her reward. All wrapped up as
one.
Raccoon arrived with a tray and _six_ of those delicious smelling
discs. Ranko thanked whatever gods were still looking after the pilots
that it was Raccoon who was bringing them. Anyone else would have teased
her mercilessly, by putting them _just_ out of reach. Which for her right
now, was about three centimeters. No Raccoon might kill you without
warning, but he'd never take advantage of a helpless girl, she thought.
Raccoon set the tray on the bed in front of her, and propped her up in
the crook of his arm. While he carefully cut out small pieces and let her
take them off the fork. They were delicious, as usual.
How can someone who can't stand these, make them so well? Ranko
wondered to herself.
"I would be interested to know if you think the experiment worked. It
had several positive effects, whatever your intentions were."
"Don't know," Ranko wondered how she could politely urge Raccoon to
move faster with the food, he paused every few bites to wipe some
insignificant crumb from her mouth or chin.
"Ah, you need to see the 'test subjects' shall we say."
She nodded, waited for the last of the okonomiyaki to pass her lips
before answering in detail.
"Let's find out." He settled her back in the bed.
The food had helped, so had his presence, he was in much better
condition. Raccoon didn't look so weary and beaten down. If Asuka had
improved, that implied Rei and Shinji also had, and that would make the
whole exercise worth it.
"Langley," he called from the doorway.
Suddenly, Ranko didn't want to know if Asuka was back to normal.
The other redhead peered into the room, unfortunately, she wore her
habitual expression. Ranko pulled the covers over her head, a major
accomplishment.
"Langley, she was asking about a new hairstyle. I don't believe Miss
Tendo will be helpful." She heard Raccoon say.
Then she heard laughter that made her hair stand on end. She risked a
glance over the covers, saw Raccoon and Asuka smiling and rubbing their
hands together. "SAMMI! HELP!!"
All hope of rescue ended, as Sammi entered, rubbing her hands
together, and laughing the same spine-chilling travesty.
----------------------------------------
Carnival of the Body
Asuka sighted the rifle carefully. She ignored the sights, they were
off, on purpose. The top of the target, the uppermost edge was her mark.
She fired and watched the green block tumble over. She worked the action
of the rifle, the game's proprietor was sweating now. He knew that of the
four colors: yellow, blue, red and green; that green was both worth the
most points, and was supposed to be the most difficult to knock over. The
trick was to weight the target, and make the hinge as stiff as possible.
That meant you had to hit the target as hard as you could, as far away from
the hinge as possible.
The stand had three rifles, she'd had to buy three tries just to sight
in each one. Her fourth was for the points. Twenty shots, each target a
green worth twenty points. With twenty shots, Horseface had barely managed
12 points on the best of his three tries. She could win this, beat
Horseface completely. Make up for being humiliatingly defeated at catching
goldfish with a paper net, and at the ring toss.
He didn't have to toss them over his head hopping on one foot! she
thought, forced the anger back, calming herself as she fired. The target
went down, only one left to go.
The proprietor began coughing. She took the pause to adjust her
kimono to a more comfortable draping. She felt a little guilty, well
before the `incident`, Ice Princess had helped her pick out these fancy
clothes. The red silk was the color of her hair, decorated with a yellow
and blue flower motif, the blue center of the flowers was the same color as
her eyes. Ice Princess had helped her find and fit the clothes, and they
had the desired effect. _Everybody_ looked at her, boys and girls. She
liked that, it was the whole point of dressing up.
However, she was out having fun, while Ice Princess was . . . it
didn't bear thinking on. Especially when it was Wondergirl and Spineless
who were looking after her. Her last shot knocked down the twentieth
target. She stood up, smiled at the owner. He was practically crying now.
The prizes were stuffed animals. The only one worth 400 points was a
huge purple elephant. Most of the girls took one look at it and announced
'KAWAII!' to the world. Forcing their boyfriends into useless attempts to
win it. Asuka had no use for it, she was rather intrigued by the 'see no
evil', 'hear no evil', 'speak no evil' trio of monkeys, or were they pigs.
In either case, they looked a lot like the Three Stooges. She thought that
they would be good presents for Hikari, Wondergirl and Natsumi. She
glanced at the pile of prizes she and Horseface had already won, she hardly
needed more. The problem was, they were 140 points a piece, 420 for all
three.
"That elephant is soooo cuuute." She smiled at Horseface, setting the
proprietor to shaking. Horseface frowned, he didn't approve.
"But those three monkeys, wouldn't they be a nice present for the
others?" she asked while she pouted at Horseface.
"Oh! Of course, the young lady has excellent taste." The man thrust
the trio into her hands. "Please, enjoy the rest of the carnival, please!"
he said with hands clasped in prayer.
Asuka had proven her point, and won the bet, she could go with a light
heart. Horseface rebalanced the load on his head and walked alongside her.
She still didn't know how he kept it together and balanced. She had a
sneaking suspicion he didn't know either, but he'd never let on.
Let's see if it has something to do with concentration, she thought.
"I hope Raccoon appreciates the passionate kiss he's going to get from
you."
The load disintegrated, nearly burying Horseface under the kitschy
stuffed animals, trivets, junk jewelry and other prizes they'd won. He
managed to catch all the breakables, but the rest rained down.
"From Ranko!" Horseface protested, then hung his head. "We could go
back, try that shooting thing again." His 12 points hadn't been enough to
win anything.
"You closed your eyes even before you fired," Asuka said gently, she'd
won, she could be magnanimous, "You'll never hit anything that way.
Besides, the sights were all misadjusted. Maybe with a couple weeks of
training you could do better. You don't use guns very well, it isn't a
fatal failing, and I never said the kiss had to be public."
He brightened, "It doesn't?" He lifted the load again.
"Sure, after you slept with him, a private kiss is just the - " she
stopped as the pile of swag buried Horseface yet again.
----------------------------------------
The night was warm, it was the first night she'd been out since
Hiroko's death. Nabiki had spent the time just walking, staring at the
stars, wondering what it all meant. Not the grand cosmic questions of life
and existence, but the simple question, why did Hiroko love her? Why did
Ritsuko? Why did Ranma care for her? Why did anyone?
She knew she was a troublemaker, she knew she could be cruel, she
enjoyed making people edgy, before she closed in for the kill.
Figuratively, she thought.
She'd let people die, she'd arranged people's just punishment, capital
punishment. But she wasn't a killer, not yet. She sighed, walked along
the pools of light from one streetlight to the next. She glanced back, she
couldn't see Juri, she figured the woman was trying to be discreet.
There were no answers in the dark, nor could the silence all around
her penetrate and silence the thoughts whirring in her mind. Raccoon's
revelation of his own feelings didn't make hers any less unworthy and
dishonorable. Rei had admitted similar feelings, as had Shinji and even
Ritsuko. So they were normal, along with the anger at everyone and
everything for allowing this to happen. That didn't make her feel any
better. What made her feel worse was how she shriveled up inside every
time she even looked at Ranma. Shame, anger, fear, too many other emotions
to quantify, and she just retreated from them, and him.
It's wrong, and hurtful, she admitted, But I can't _do_ anything else.
She looked at him and remembered Hiroko's dead face, eyes staring at her.
She didn't know if the dead girl expected vengeance, explanations, or what.
But Nabiki couldn't give her vengeance, nor could she explain, or even live
up to her factor's expectations. Hiroko had wanted 'the Boss' to be happy,
now Nabiki couldn't even do that.
About the only benefit to standing out in the dark was that no one
could see her cry. She had been doing far too much of that lately, but she
couldn't stop herself either. She was supposed to be the one who was
distant, detached and lucid, instead she started blubbering if she
remembered anything even remotely sad. If she took after Soun a little
more, she could drown the next Angel by remembering all the lost
opportunities in her life.
----------------------------------------
Ritsuko was actually having fun. She'd forgotten how much fun
sneaking around was, when it wasn't likely to get you killed, or lose you a
meal if it failed. Her black slacks and jacket were hardly 'ninja' wear,
nor was the black watchcap that covered her hair. They weren't meant to
be, she was tracking her `quarry` for fun and to satisfy her curiosity.
Tracking Jeff from a distance was surprisingly easy. That he towered
over most Japanese made it like looking for a sailing ship on a roiling
sea. The jacket, fedora and walking stick clearly set him apart from any
American service man on the street. So she could concentrate on remaining
undetected, rather than countering any evasive tactic he used.
She knew she wasn't using her full abilities, with them she could
practically have walked behind him, and he never would have known.
But they're disgusting, she thought, and was amazed by that thought.
She'd spent immeasurably more time in her native state, than she had
masquerading as a human. But I identify with them so much more strongly
than I do my own, she lamented silently, also she could imagine the
reaction of her charges to discovering the truth about her. She liked
being Ritsuko/Dr. Akagi/Rit-chan, she liked that they came to her, for
companionship, for mothering, for advice, even Rei had tried to reestablish
the relationship they'd once had. Rei had not even revealed to the others
Ritsuko's darkest secret.
The building she entered was far off the beaten track, deep in the
manufacturing areas. There were sounds of activity, in other buildings
around them, but they were far away. This building looked like it had been
abandoned since the war, and a lot of the wartime temporary repairs were
proving how temporary they were.
Her first impulse was collect Jeff and get him out of here. Except,
she'd lost sight of him when he entered, and she hadn't spotted him again.
She moved carefully, this was the kind of place, that in the movies, a
monster waited around the corner. She smirked at that. She knew for a
fact that any 'monster' she ran into was going to be in a lot of trouble.
She spotted him lying on the floor in an office, as she walked past.
She'd almost missed him. Sneak, she thought, If he hadn't been looking
right at me, I wouldn't have seen him. The light reflecting off his face
had given him away.
"Okay, Jeff, fun's fun. But let's go home, or find a park to play
hide and seek in." She didn't want to go home yet, she was having some
fun. She was a little annoyed he didn't move. She wasn't eager to adopt
Sammi's technique of 'throw'em over your shoulder and walk out', it went
against the grain.
She walked closer, and she made out more details. The dim light
didn't impede her vision in any way. Her refusal to accept what she was
seeing did. He was looking at her, except he was lying flat on his chest.
Something had rotated his head almost completely around. No, he put his
coat on backwards! she thought as she leaned down to touch him, The body
was still warm. No pulse, no breathing, her scientist mind accepted this,
as another part wailed in rage and agony. The scientist continued, that
there had been no sounds of a struggle, and he'd only been out of her sight
for perhaps 90 seconds.
The first blow took her completely by surprise.
----------------------------------------
Shinji stared at the other person under the little bridge in the park.
Rei had told him 'It is imperative you go. The person you meet has
something for you, that belongs to you. I do not wish you to be without
it. I am sorry about your mother. I wish you could have known her
better.' He'd arrived a little early. Rei had been closemouthed about any
details, simply telling him she refused to answer.
"Father," Shinji said, "Ayanami-san said I would meet someone who had
something that belonged to me." He saw the scowl forming on his father's
face, but he found he didn't care. His father hadn't taken the risks he
had, his father was his Commander, but he wasn't God. "She said that
someone had something to do with knowing mother. I wasn't expecting you."
"She told me," Gendo said softly, "I had lost something. That she
thought it important I get it back." He smiled, a warm and genuine smile
for once.
Probably a joke only he'd understand, Shinji thought. He didn't want
to deal with his father, but if it meant getting information about his
mother, he'd do it.
"I lectured her on responsibilities." Gendo continued with his wan
smile. "From what I've heard about her treatment of Miss Tendo, now you .
.. . and me, it seems she's taken it to heart. Like many others, I created
more than I intended." Then he was back to normal, stern, uncaring. "The
answer is there." His aim was a graveyard.
Not the best place to go at night, Shinji thought, but he wasn't about
to let that frighten him off. The things he'd seen in Nabiki's mind, the
things she'd conjured up to hurt herself, were as bad as the Angels.
Shinji doubted any ghost story would ever frighten him again. "I ran away
the last time I was here." He stopped, paused, "Rei found me. I knew I'd
seen her before . . . but . . . " It had been one day, one terrible day,
long ago. Realizing his mother was gone, and she was never coming back,
and somehow it was his fathers fault. Ironically, Gendo was the one who
had told him all of that. So he'd run away, from his father, from his dead
mother, from everybody. Even the little blue-haired, red-eyed girl who'd
stood over him and stared down before leaving, hadn't made an impression.
He'd met Katsuragi that day too, she'd taken the sobbing little boy to the
man who would be his tutor. Then he and his tutor went back to the man's
home on the train. He hadn't thought about it since then. Until a little
while ago, all he remembered was the grave, and how cold his father had
been. That he didn't care that mother was dead. Now that he'd seen Nabiki
draw into herself, try to wall off the rest of the world, he understood.
His father had done the same thing. Only he didn't have Rei outside with a
battering ram, Shinji thought, Until now.
----------------------------------------
Asuka looked at the jar. Ranma couldn't imagine what she was doing.
What was the point of counting the marbles in the jar? She probably can
calculate their actual volume and guess the number, Ranma thought, It's a
stupid game. He did have to admit she looked cute in her kimono. No, not
'cute', he admitted to himself, Beautiful. Once he'd lost the bet, all the
tension seemed to leave the pair of them. They weren't on a date, but they
were two friends having fun.
"Tricky, really," Asuka said as she returned to his side, "The white,
black, and cats-eye marbles are all the same size, 12 millimeters. The
swirly blue ones are 10 millimeters, and the yellow swirled are 14
millimeters. Add to that the irregularities of the jar itself, and it
becomes a very interesting packing problem."
"Interesting to _you_," Ranma said, "You aren't having to carry all
this stuff."
"Not all of it is for me." Asuka turned to him, put on her cutest
pout.
Ranma felt uneasy, but he'd prepared a counter, "Why were you so
insistent on Raccoon kissing Ranko." He sighed as he got it out without
stammering, the sad, almost-crying eyes still got to him, even when he
_knew_ Asuka was faking it.
"Ranko kissing Raccoon," Asuka corrected automatically, spoiling the
'poor-little-girl lost' look. "I've seen the way she looks at him, the
little kisses and touches. _AND_ how nervous you get about it. Until you
get that out of the way, it's going to be 'Forbidden Fruit', an endless
source of curiosity and distractions. Better to get it out of the way, so
you can concentrate on how your relationship develops, or fails to
develop."
Yeah, riiight! Ranma thought. "So embarrassing me has nothing to do
with this?" he asked innocently.
"Of course, that's what made this entire exercise worth it," Asuka
explained, "When I saw that shooting gallery, I knew I had you, the Auto
Club's 'count-the-marbles' booth was just the clincher. I knew you
couldn't win, so I knew all I had to do was maneuver you into a challenge."
Her cruel, too-sweet smile and tone dropped away, "Since you wouldn't
listen to words, I thought you might understand a demonstration."
"You all trust words, numbers, science, I guess. I don't," Ranma
admitted, "Words and numbers and science can't explain what's happening
around us. Not the Angels, not me and Ranko, not . . . not Nab-chan."
"They do," Asuka replied quietly, "You just don't understand how."
She gestured around, "That's what places like this are for. You can't tell
a six-year-old about death and insanity. They won't understand it. You
need a certain age and maturity. I don't like 'boys', because I don't like
immaturity, I don't like not being able to talk to them. You can't talk to
Nab-chan, imagine walking through life not being able to talk to anyone,
except a few brilliant scientists, or in your case, martial arts experts.
Imagine, nobody without a tenth-degree black belt could even say hello
without embarrassing both of you to the point you want to strangle them."
Ranma could imagine that, all too easily. If most of the boys from
the school were here with a pretty girl, they would be headed for the
tunnel of love, or some hidden corner. What they'd do there . . . he
doubted the accuracy of their claims. He nodded. "What about Raccoon?
Sometimes he can think rings around you." He saw her scowl, remembering
the ring toss game, he smiled at her, making it seem the accident was
intentional.
"I don't know. It just doesn't feel right somehow. I'd like him to
be happy, but not with me. I've haven't seen him like he is with Ranko,
not for a long, long time." She turned to him, gave him a smile that made
him wish she was a Great Old One, then he could stab her to defend himself,
"And you, _Ranma_?_ Have you ever felt the way Ranko does, with anyone,
Nab-_chan_, Wondergirl, Rit-_chan_, Misa-_chan_?_ Hmmm?"
"Hey look is that a flying car!" Ranma shouted. It distracted
everyone, except Asuka who was pressing her nose against his.
"He could make you very happy," she whispered, "He could teach Ranma
to be a real gentleman."
Ranma was sweating now. Suddenly Asuka backed off, "Saotome, you are
too easy!" She turned and marched to the booth, "The jar contains 14,752,
do you want a breakdown by color?"
The short boy who'd been their guide earlier this week, and a scowling
black-haired younger girl with the odd facial markings, stopped arguing
with each other. They stared at Asuka for a split-second, then both
fainted dead away. Asuka flashed him a triumphant smile, then started
negotiating with the girl who had been their other guide, about delivery of
the quilt that was first prize. It had salt shakers and cats looking out
windows, and all kinds of scenes of home and hearth. It seemed the exact
opposite of what Asuka would _ever_ want. Asuka marched over to him, if
she'd been a ca . . . like the 'other', she would have had her tail in the
air, she radiated triumph.
"Now we have your gift for Nabiki, let's get some food." With that
she marched off, leaving a very confused Ranma holding all the other junk
they'd won.
What planet am I on now? he wondered as he raced after her.
----------------------------------------
Carnival of the Mind
Dr. Akagi opened her eyes. She'd never been hurt this badly before.
As she assessed the situation, she focused on the figures in the darkness,
Rei had knelt over the fallen figure, which was wearing a suit. She wanted
to tell Rei that she'd already checked, the boy was dead, but her lungs and
vocal cords were elsewhere. She was shocked when Jeff stirred, the popping
of bone, as his head turned around, disgusted the scientist.
He sat up, unsteadily.
"You must rest," Rei urged.
"No time."
Rei was holding him up now. Now she held him close with one arm
around his shoulders, the other stroking his back and neck, and she sang.
Ritsuko had never heard anything as sad or beautiful in her life. It
spoke to her of healing and vitality lost and regained.
As suddenly as it started, it was over. Ritsuko felt a pang of loss.
"My thanks, Ayanami-sama. It seems now is the day for secrets to be
revealed." Jeff walked unsteadily to the wastebasket, looked down and
removed Ritsuko's head.
"I'll dispense with the 'Poor Yorick' jokes," Jeff told the piece of
the scientist.
Ritsuko could only glare at him.
"Ayanami-sama, please help me find the rest of her."
They began searching for and stacking pieces of the Doctor that the
attack had scattered around the abandoned office. The savagery of the
attack had stunned Ritsuko, she knew she could eventually recover from it,
but being dismembered this way brought back too many terrible memories.
Memories she had hoped to never revisit.
Once the two pilots had all of the parts, down to the smallest finger
joint, they laid them out like a jigsaw puzzle. There was very little
blood, Ritsuko knew there wouldn't be, Jeff didn't seem to care. Rei
seemed more terrified of Ritsuko and 'Roku-kun's' equanimity, than the
dismembered `corpse` itself. Ritsuko was worried about her charge's calm
acceptance of this, Rei she could understand and accept it, but not Jeff.
"The head goes on last, I don't think the reassembly proper . . . will
be all that pleasant. And Doctor, the technical term is Blunted Affect. I
seem calm on the outside, because I can't scream on the inside."
Ritsuko couldn't nod. Rei was wide-eyed and ready to bolt at this
point.
Jeff placed two of the pieces together, then drove his fingers into
the parts. "I'm hoping the trick I used with the EVA Units 04 and 01 will
work here," he explained, "And that the pieces will remember being part of
a greater whole. I figure, considering the same people built both of them,
the same design philosophy applies."
Ritsuko froze at that. He knows, but he said nothing? she wondered
what it would cost her to keep her secrets, she didn't want the others to
know. Especially not Nabiki and Maya. She agreed with his assessment, it
was logical, it was also an excruciatingly painful process. She screamed
and sobbed, as they restored her head to the rest of her body.
Rei laid a gentle hand on her back as Jeff held her, until the pain
and howls subsided.
"Well, maybe you'll be sympathetic with your tests in the future."
The effort had exhausted Jeff. She held him until he looked well enough to
stand, or at least until all three of them could lean on each other.
Ritsuko stood up, supported by Jeff and Rei. It was a toss up which
of the three of them looked shakier.
"If I don't?" Ritsuko chuckled.
"You'll wake up inside Misato's empties some morning. That, plus her
usual hangover, should be very interesting," Jeff told her.
"I will tell Maya," Rei added.
Rei had never threatened Ritsuko before, it worried her, even if it
might have been an attempt at humor.
"So, what did they make you for? Ayanami-sama and I are weapons. Did
they build you as a doctor?"
"I don't know, a bulldozer I guess," Ritsuko admitted, wondered how
much the Sixth Children really knew about the First, and what she was.
"Maybe as food," she added.
"Did you see what attacked you?" Rei asked, recent experiences seemed
to have drawn her a little more out of her shell.
"No, it blind-sided me," Jeff admitted.
"No, I checked the body out I . . . "
"Went to pieces," Jeff suggested.
Ritsuko tightened her grip on his neck.
"It didn't attack you, Ayanami-sama?" Jeff croaked.
"No."
"Then it's one operating to a plan, or it's several, each with a
separate target."
"Ikari-kun," Rei breathed.
"Very likely either or both." Jeff stopped. "Ayanami-sama, can you
find Shinji? I think we'll need the EVAs, at least they'll be safer in
them then outside. We'll get help."
Rei nodded and ran off.
"How is she supposed to find - Right." Ritsuko shook her head, then
noticed they were about 100 yards from NERV headquarters.
"I didn't lie at St. Louis. And explanations will remain among the
three of us. You may need leverage against Gendo-chan."
"Let's get to the EVAs," Ritsuko told him, "Unit 00 and 04 are in
maintenance."
"I'll take Unit 01."
"Do you think that's a good idea?"
They ran through the headquarters, Jeff unbuttoning his coat, vest,
and shirt as they ran through the corridors.
"No, you've got a while to think of a better plan."
She followed him into the locker room.
"By the way, Doc. Krazny - zamok, Dr. Aka - gi, did you have to be
_that_ obvious. I thought my puns were bad."
----------------------------------------
"How are you going to find them?" Ritsuko asked from the command deck,
technically she hadn't released the EVA for combat operations. Jeff was
using the EVA for Search and Rescue procedures, while SAR was using their
conventional vehicles to locate the others.
Fuyutsuki had finally arrived and was beside her, eliminating the need
for the fiction, but Jeff still clung to it, even reminding the EVA of
their mission.
Neither Ikari could be located, and Security wasn't reporting in, no
radio communications what-so-ever.
"I can find Ayanami," Jeff told them from the cockpit of Unit 01, "I
know she'll find them above all the others."
"And then what?" Fuyutsuki asked.
"Shinji gets the chair, and I go looking for the others. Any word?"
"No." Fuyutsuki and Ritsuko chorused.
----------------------------------------
Shinji ran. Gendo wasn't far behind him. It was very like the last
time they had visited his wife's grave, except this time it was something
else that had driven them away. Gendo quietly hoped the parallels
continued, and he hoped Rei was in Unit 00 when she found them.
Neither expected this moment of togetherness. Gendo was finally able
to explain some of the things he'd tried to explain to the young boy. In
his grief, he couldn't understand how the boy couldn't understand what he
was telling him. So the boy did what he could understand, he blamed Gendo
and ran away. None of that had happened this time. Shinji, the young man,
had understood, nodded, spoke of what he remembered of his mother. They
both spoke to Yui. Gendo had been wondering what had prompted Rei to
decide to take this action, how she had interpreted his instructions into
this. They would have a lively conversation when he got a chance to talk
to her again.
What had come after them hadn't fit any pattern the elder knew of.
The attacker came from nowhere, his pistol had no effect, Shinji had urged
him to run. For once, Gendo thought, The boy has the right idea. He'd
followed, Shinji ran as if to a shifting goal only he could sense.
"Follow." Rei appeared in front of them, gesturing them forward.
Gendo and Shinji didn't question, they both ran. "Help is coming," she
assured them, as she slowed to let them fall into formation with her. For
a moment she hesitated, he could see she was troubled, if she had to save
just one of them, which would she choose?
"Discard the thought," he told her. He knew if either were
threatened, she would destroy that threat, or be destroyed first.
----------------------------------------
Ranma glanced warily at Asuka and the ice-cream cone she held,
offering it to him. He reached out his tongue, expecting to have the cone
smashed in his face or have her jerk it away at the last moment. Instead
she held it steady, letting him enjoy it, while smiling at him, and
enjoying his uncertainty.
He and Asuka had enjoyed the carnival, competing at the games, eating
the food, Asuka enjoyed the admiring looks. Ranma had to admit, he liked
the jealous looks from the boys, and the measuring looks from the girls
aimed at _him_._
He admitted part of the fun had been all the contests, they split
between themselves, physical versus intellectual. That both of them beat
almost every barkers was immaterial, despite the terms of the bet, they
were really competing against each other, that both technically `won` was
immaterial. He'd lost the bet, that worried him, but he had put it aside
and was starting to enjoy himself.
Ranma glanced around, something was beginning to bother him. It
wasn't that Asuka was being nice to him, too nice. He liked it, but it was
setting him on edge. Then he realized it wasn't Asuka that was bothering
him. He looked around more carefully.
"Ogling all the girls, Baka Horseface?" she asked, a little too
angrily to be teasing.
"No!" Ranma replied, "Do you see any of the security guards? Where
are Sammi and Carter-san? They normally follow us around everywhere!"
Asuka looked around, "Sorry Horseface, I don't normally consider
them." She chuckled nervously, "I've been under observation, if not under
guard, most of my life. The minders change, but they are always there. So
I just ignore them."
"Well, where are they?" Ranma looked around again.
"Okay, Ranma." Her calling him that scared him. "You're correct,
either they're being a lot more discreet than usual, or they aren't there
anymore."
"Do we call in?"
He watched Asuka bite back her automatic reply. He could almost read
her thoughts, 'Horseface rarely worried about anything, now he sounded
worried.' He could see that really worried _her_._
"Yeah, come on baka. Let's show you you're worried about nothing."
She hustled away, Ranma followed with their load.
----------------------------------------
"Asuka! Where are you?!" Ritsuko practically shouted at them over the
phone.
Asuka cringed at the sudden noise, switched the phone to the other
ear, "At the college festival," Asuka shot back, "Didn't Misato or Sammi
tell you? She was going out with Kaji."
Horseface winced as she tightened her grip. She was anxious.
"Come back here, we have a problem. We need you and your EVAs, as
soon as possible," Ritsuko told her.
"Ask her where Security is," Horseface suggested.
Asuka covered his mouth with her hand. "What's going on?"
"We don't know. Raccoon, I mean Jeff, and I were attacked, we think
there may be other attackers."
"We're on our way. Don't send a car, we'll use the Ranma express.
Bye." She hung up and turned to Horseface, "Okay, Horseface, make with the
super leaps, we have to get back to headquarters, right now."
"But all this - "
"Drop it!" she commanded, "It's not worth the delay."
Horseface dropped it all and picked her up, soon they were racing
towards NERV HQ. Asuka thought being carried this way, this fast, was
almost as exciting as piloting her EVA. If only Kaji could do this, that
would be pure heaven. She frowned at that, Kaji didn't care about her,
didn't really care about anyone. She wished she knew what he did care
about.
----------------------------------------
It is closing on them, Rei realized, she dropped back to face the
shadow pursuing them. Shinji-kun and Gendo kept going. It was clear it
was after one of them. She did not want to know for certain which.
The immense hand of Unit 01 closed on the thing chasing them, and
squeezed. Gendo was ashen, she knew that Unit 01 had moved on it's own
before, but not have it leave Headquarters to come after him and
Shinji-kun.
Unit 01 extended it's other hand, gathering both Ikaris and Rei,
lifting them to the entry plug hatch, the plug partially ejected.
"Three may be a little cramped, four is too much." Roku-kun climbed
out of the hatch.
"I will - " Rei began.
"You will NOT," Roku-kun countered, then looked at Gendo for support,
"Agreed?"
Both Ikaris nodded.
"They already tried me, I think they only get one chance. Get in."
Gendo paused and paled at the plug filled with the dark, foul-smelling
liquid. Rei couldn't think of one thing to tell him, except to trust them.
She knew he could trust the three of them in this.
"It's safe with two pilots in there with you," Roku-kun told him
gently, when Gendo still hesitated, "With all due respect, sir. Get in -
or I'll throw you in."
Gendo grimaced at the rank insubordination, but slid in none-the-less.
Rei smiled at Roku-kun, then glided in after the Ikaris. Once inside, she
saw Roku-kun descend the EVA's extended arm to the ground. She didn't know
where he would head, who he would choose to rescue.
----------------------------------------
"We've got two minutes to get back to base." Shinji drove the EVA at
its full speed.
"Commander?" Ritsuko's voice and image came through.
Gendo had never been in the L.C.L. before. Rei had carefully fitted
the A10 nerve clip on his head, and held his hand. It seemed ridiculous
that she was trying to reassure _him_._ The foul taste and smell of the
L.C.L. made it almost impossible to avoid retching. Added to that, the
impossibility that he should clearly see the pilots, despite the
impenetrable darkness around him. It was all very disorienting. "Yes,
Doctor, status?"
"There were attacks on Pilot Davis and myself."
"On us too, Doctor," Shinji interjected.
Ritsuko nodded, filing the information away, "We've reestablished
contact with Pilots Langley and Saotome, they're on their way back to base.
We are rushing Units 00 and 04 out of maintenance. Unit 02 is only
awaiting a pilot, and we have a full set of power packs for Unit 01. We
can't identify our attackers, what they are, what they want."
"Pilot Davis killed the one chasing us: there may be some residue on
the EVA's hand to allow us to do an analysis. When Unit 01 returns to
base, it will take up a security patrol, evidently they've also target the
staff," Gendo expected a comment or protest from Shinji, he didn't get one.
"Recall all senior staff," Gendo ordered.
"Short of sounding an alert, sir. We can't, none of the
communications gear is working. Pilot Saotome reported losing sight of the
minders. If this indicates they have been separated from their charges, or
killed, we don't know."
"Is there a tether plug near the entrance to the EVA bays?" Shinji
asked.
"There is," Rei pointed to where it was on a map that sprang up in
front of her.
"Why?" Gendo asked.
"There are two of those things trying to get through the doors to the
bay," Shinji said coolly.
'I've got to protect Misato,' Gendo heard him murmur. Rei released
Gendo's hand, and rested her hands on Shinji's shoulders, "You must fight
those in front of us first." She waited for him to nod.
Gendo had never seen the look of determination on their faces, or
never acknowledged them if he had seen them.
"Let me out here," Rei said, "The Fourth must contact Captain
Katsuragi."
"Wait a bit, and we'll send Ranma with you," Ritsuko said. Gendo and
Rei didn't argue.
----------------------------------------
"So, the kids keep you too busy for your boyfriends?" Kaji asked as
they sat in the restaurant.
"Too busy for you," Misato countered. Kaji laughed. Both were
enjoying the repartee. Then Nabiki ran up.
"Is there a problem?" Misato asked. A cloud of black smoke shattered
the windows at the far end of the restaurant.
"You can say that. Forget the bill, just run." Nabiki urged them out
of their chairs and out into the street.
"What are those things?" Misato demanded as she ran.
"Lethal," Nabiki replied, "Asuka's on her way with Unit 02. Raccoon
is on his way, these things are target specific, and they already tried
Raccoon and Ritsuko." She desperately hoped they didn't ask how she knew,
she'd never be able to explain about Belldandy. Nabiki hadn't had time to
demand why Belldandy and her `boss` had allowed all of this to occur.
She glanced back, the pair ran after her. Misato and Kaji exchanged
glances, and ran faster.
----------------------------------------
Carnival of the Spirit
Asuka ran Unit 02 at its best speed, to . . . where? Horseface and
Wondergirl had headed off again, all she knew was the address where Misato
and Kaji were supposed to be. She didn't know where the two actually were,
or what the things were, or anything. Except the invincible EVA pilot
Baka-Shinji had killed two of them with Unit 01, and Raccoon had killed a
third, also in Unit 01. That troubled her. Unit 01 had a reputation
almost as bad as Unit 03 in the pilot/technician community. Now there were
_three_ pilots who could control it in combat. Stupid monster wouldn't
even _react_ to me! Asuka fumed.
Her Unit 02 was supposed to correct the flaws in Units 00 and 01, to
allow a wider range of synchronization candidates, and easier
synchronization, and so it was the only one of the four EVAs she could sync
with. She worried that everyone else could control more than one EVA,
Everyone except _ME_!_ she thought, Stupid monster probably just likes
boys. She thought as she headed downtown, searching for sights or clues to
these things.
----------------------------------------
Rei had led the Fourth and Roku-kun straight to the security guards,
after they'd gone to Sammi's apartment to collect additional ammunition and
a few hand weapons. She had thought the Fourth's refusal to avail himself
of the weapons had been pure stupidity. The three pilots walked through
the small room slapping and yelling at the somnambulant guards. The adults
woke slowly, almost reluctantly.
"What happened?" Juri asked.
"Somebody knocked you out," Roku-kun told them, "Then brought you
here."
"What about the others?" Sammi shook her head, trying to clear it and
wake up faster.
"They have already been attacked," Rei told them flatly.
Furious murmurs answered her comment. The guards were angry at having
been neutralized like this.
"Do any of you know how you arrived here?" the Fourth asked. The
guards looked at each other, none of them could answer.
"Magic," Roku-kun whispered to Rei and the Fourth. None of the three
of them was comfortable with _that_ idea.
The guards stood, stretched. "Where do we go now?" Sammi asked.
"Shinji-kun is in Unit 01, the Second in Unit 02, they are safe," Rei
told them, "Nabiki-kun will locate Captain Katsuragi and Ryoji Kaji, I must
locate her."
"Great," Tomiyo Tendo glanced around at the others, "How do you do
that?"
"Follow me," Rei turned and headed out of the room.
The Fourth glanced at Roku-kun, Roku-kun shrugged and followed Rei.
"What am I getting myself into?" the Fourth asked no one in particular.
----------------------------------------
Shinji waited as two of the creatures moved towards a heavy, armored
door. He had ducked Unit 01 down behind a small hill and peered through
the trees atop it. He didn't consider that hiding a 40 meter, 700 ton war
machine was ridiculous. He didn't consider it, because he'd successfully
attacked two other pairs of these creatures, using the exact same tactics.
If he didn't move, he didn't make noise or draw attention to his presence.
In the cockpit of Unit 01, Shinji narrowed his eyes, he could pick the
shadowy creatures out of the darkness. He could sense their attention was
elsewhere. Now! he thought, as he commanded Unit 01 into action, closing
the hundred and fifty meters in seconds. Each hand extended, questing for
these creatures. He couldn't do the AT field tricks Asuka, Rei and Ranma
could, but he could form one strong enough to destroy such creatures
easily.
The two shadows flashed briefly, then vanished. Shinji resumed his
patrol, to find any more of them. When they died, he had felt the
single-minded hatred that drove the creatures. He intended to destroy any
more of them he could find.
They aren't the only ones who can hate single-mindedly, he thought as
he searched.
"We have reestablished contact with Security," Gendo's image appeared
and told him.
"Any word on Misato-san or Kaji-san?" After all, she's my parent, he
thought, You said so. He didn't let that information reduce his vigilance,
he trusted Asuka to rescue Misato-san.
"Unit 02 is on its way to their last known location," Gendo told him.
Shinji didn't like that answer, but there hadn't been any of these
creatures _inside_ headquarters, and he intended to keep it that way. Only
an EVA could stop them. Like Asuka had done earlier, hunting the flame
vampires attacking the hospital: a few steps, then freeze to look and
listen for anything, then another few steps. He'd caught all the targets
that way, it worked.
"We were attacked by one," Shinji said, "All the ones here have been
pairs."
"We will relay that to Security," Gendo told him, then cut the
connection.
He doesn't know what's going on either! Shinji realized, This is
getting out of hand. He wished they had Units 00 and 04 in launchable
condition. But Ritsuko had told him that might take several hours. Why
don't you have Raccoon fixing them? Shinji silently asked, He's got a
talent for that. He sprinted Unit 01 at a possible target, and scared a
Marine out having a smoke. Shinji smirked at the terrified man's
expression as this huge monster with glowing eyes, his EVA, appeared out of
nowhere. Shinji turned Unit 01 and continued his patrol.
----------------------------------------
Gendo stood on the Commanders' level of the command deck. He glanced
at Fuyutsuki, "I've never read any descriptions of these creatures."
"The analysis of the residue on Unit 01 clearly indicates they are not
Shoggoths," Fuyutsuki told him.
Gendo didn't like mysteries, he liked them even less when they
threatened the entire project. "Do you think the old men sent them?"
"I wish I knew," Fuyutsuki admitted.
Gendo picked up a phone, dialed the EVA bay, "Dr. Akagi, did you get a
clear view of what attacked you?"
"No," Ritsuko answered over the phone, "I didn't see it or hear it . .
.. or smell it. It attacked out of nowhere, the next thing I knew, Rei and
Davis were helping me recover. Davis didn't see anything before - whatever
these are - attacked him. Rei must have frightened it away. That's the
only explanation I have."
"Understood," Gendo said. He considered, The debriefings will be
individual and private, there are things the pilots and staff do not need
to know. Gendo looked at the operation, trying to find a pattern, a better
way to deploy his forces.
----------------------------------------
The platoon of NERV Security men had joined the four personal guards,
and the three pilots. The assembled force walked behind Rei through the
top floor of the new Tokyo Museum. Ranma followed as she led them
relentlessly forward.
Nab-chan had reported by telephone that she, Misa-chan and Kaji had
retreated there. However, she hadn't known how to differentiate which of
the two buildings they were in.
Ranma could see that Rei was irritated that while she could lead them
straight to their goal, she had picked the wrong building. "The quickest
way to the other building is the pedestrian walkway," Rei told them,
heading towards the down staircase to it.
"Did you memorize the entire architecture of Tokyo?" Ranma asked, as
he jogged alongside her. He'd never figured out why she concentrated on
such weird stuff.
"Haven't you?" Rei asked. He was never sure when she was kidding, and
when she wasn't.
She couldn't have actually done that - could she? he wondered.
She was ignoring him, concentrating on her goal. Ranma wondered if
she could feel them, tell if they were close.
They headed down the two flights of stairs at a jog. "You didn't tell
us the walkway is six stories above the street." He jogged towards the
doors, getting ready to yank them open for the others.
As Ranma touched the doors, Raccoon suddenly yanked him and Rei back
from the slashing claws that came at them through the gap between the
doors. Ranma dropped into a defensive stance. He hadn't felt anything, no
presence behind the door, and no sound of the attack.
Magic, Ranma thought, as the hair stood up on the back of his neck.
Despite seeing the unkempt man right in front of him, he couldn't feel him.
It was like looking at a hole. He steeled himself, I should be glad,
overjoyed, he thought, I've been wanting to fight, to fight something
without holding back.
"There's nothing here for you, Saotome-san," Raccoon took the saber
and scabbard Rei had carried since they left Sammi's apartment, "You'll
need this." He handed Rei his walking stick.
Ranma remembered what that stick could do, wondered if Raccoon was
that confident. Or does it mean something else? Ranma thought as he looked
from Raccoon to Rei, wondering which he should stay with.
"We go around." Rei headed away, most of Security troops followed
her.
Ranma glanced at Sammi, who seemed ready to stay with him, whichever
way he went. He stepped back and watched, normally he judged people not by
what they said, but by how they acted and moved. He'd always distrusted
Raccoon because he didn't move naturally. He hadn't been able to
categorize it, he'd been too shocked the first time he saw it, but now he
saw clearly. `Raccoon` was an ill-fitting veil: The well-educated clown in
a suit. What was beneath, what was real, Ranma now discerned clearly, the
two opponents were warped reflections of each other, both killers. There
was no hesitation as each prepared to kill another human being.
After all the killing, Ranma wanted to shout, Haven't you had enough?
He wanted nothing to do with this. The monsters they fought he could
understand, they had no conscience. If Raccoon was really like this, Ranko
would have felt it in his chi, it didn't track.
Unless he hates what he's facing, Ranma considered as he jogged after
Rei, with Sammi right behind. Maybe he's going to kill that guy, maybe
he's going to die trying, Ranma thought, He's absolutely unconcerned about
it. It went beyond personal honor, duty or vengeance. Ranma didn't
believe Raccoon cared about living, and Ranko had missed that too.
He's insane, Ranma thought as he ran to where Rei was, And I'm stupid.
He felt guilty abandoning Raccoon, but he didn't know what he could do to
help. Magic scared him, and if neither Rei nor Raccoon thought he could
help, he probably couldn't.
----------------------------------------
Rei had unscrewed the brass knob from the top of the cane and unwound
the cord that formed the handgrip. She replaced the knob and smashed out
the window with the cane. She had seen Raccoon do exactly this in the
Dreamlands.
She sighted along the length and hurled it like a javelin. Without
even pausing to see if it was secure, she pushed past the Security men and
tied off the line to a heavy table.
"How are we supposed to cross?" One of the Security men asked. Rei
merely ran down the line to the other building.
"Run along or use your coats to slide down, I don't think she's going
to wait." Ranma stepped onto the line. "It's a bridge," he told them,
"Handrails and everything." He ran down the bridge after Rei. A moment
later Sammi followed, then the other personal protectors.
Rei was already punching through one of the windows with her bare
fist. She ignored the cuts the glass made in her hand and arm. Ranma saw
the same dissociation with her he'd seen in Raccoon, as if wounds, even
death had no importance next to the _goal_._
Ranma spared a glance at the pedestrian walkway. The thing unleashed
a burst of lightning that stopped short of Jeff's crossed saber and
scabbard.
What the heck is he fighting? What the heck is he? Ranma wondered,
then looked at the hole Rei had punched through the armored glass with her
bare hand, What is she?
Ranma watched the guards waiting to cross over, one at a time. All of
them looked uneasy at walking on nothing. Rei seemed impatient with the
delay, but was willing to wait until they had helped the personal guards
through the window and into the building.
Ranma saw Raccoon parry the creature's claws, which sliced out chunks
of concrete. His confusion at Raccoon's lack of counterattack vanished
when he remembered Asuka's words about the battle, Raccoon was keeping its
full attention focused on him. Until they got Misato and Nab-chan, then he
could risk trying to kill the thing. "We'd better hurry," he told Rei.
"We have enough," Rei replied as they assembled a squad, leaving two
regular guards behind to collect the others. They headed off.
"How do you know where to go?" Ranma asked as he ran after her, even
he was having trouble keeping up.
----------------------------------------
Nabiki had watched Kaji and Misato empty their pistols into the
things, twice. They would have had more effect throwing rice balls. She'd
repeatedly attacked the shadows with a ferocity and determination she
hadn't imagined she possessed. She managed to slow the things down long
enough for the two adults to run a little farther. Then one or both
managed to get a grip on her and toss her away. She'd lost count how many
display cases and other fixtures she'd destroyed by flying through them.
Evidently, someone had 'preprogrammed' the shadows for Misato and Kaji, and
nothing else was a threat.
No, Nabiki thought as she stood painfully, Beating me up is just fun.
She ignored the twinges from her shoulder and knee, she had no illusions
about the fate of anyone, who lacked her Nerima-born toughness, taking on
those things.
"We're running out of places to run to." Kaji looked around. The
museum at this point was a series of balconies surrounding a large open
area.
Better to deal with the heat, without air conditioning, Nabiki
realized, then wondered whether blood loss was finally making her
irrational. I could have just waited a few days, she thought, This hurts
worse than the razor, but nobody will assume I had any choice. "Down!" she
tackled the two adults.
A fusillade of bullets and a ball of light had interrupted her
consideration of the architecture and her own mortality. The impacts
staggered, but didn't stop the creatures, but help was arriving. She
almost regretted that, almost.
Well, well, well, Nabiki thought, Ranma finally mastered that little
trick. She glanced around. "This way!" she dragged the pair to their feet
and towards the stairway, the level below crossed to a gallery below where
there help was: down, across, and up. And then we'll all be one big
target, Nabiki considered angrily, they needed an EVA, or a battleship, and
they needed it now.
----------------------------------------
Ranma should have been jumping for joy at mastering what was almost
the pinnacle of the Art, instead he could easily match Nabiki's
frustration. All the time they'd been running, he'd gotten glimpses of the
sorcerous duel occurring far across the nearly empty museum. Raccoon's
fighting was pathetic, as usual, but it was no sham to distract the enemy.
He really was that outmatched.
And it's _my_ fault, Ranma reproached himself, If I'd bothered to
_train_ him, like I promised, he could have polished that jerk off already,
and he'd be helping us. That Ranma's attempt to intervene had been less
than useless didn't help his attitude.
While he and Rei had waited for the guards to catch up, they'd watched
Raccoon forced back nearly 20 meters by the relentless claws swipes and
lightning bolts. Then Raccoon had gone down.
He had to protect him, to do something. Nab-chan had nearly died,
because she didn't care anymore, and he'd been oblivious to it. Raccoon
had known and had saved her. Ranma couldn't let Raccoon go down the same
hopeless path.
He'd somehow taken that need, crushed it to a point, infused it with
ki, and hurled it at the attacker. It hit and expanded, like the versions
using the AT field he'd fired from the EVA. And it did nothing, except
draw an answering barrage of lightning. Raccoon had to rescue himself with
a flash-bang of some kind.
Rei had been a lot more affected than his target, 'Don't do that
again,' Rei had insisted, angrily for her.
Ranma was miserable. He could watch and analyze the battle, but he
couldn't affect the course of it.
You could have intervened, weeks ago. He could have been trained by
now, instead of proving you're better than he is. Well now you know. That
thing will finish him off and kill the rest of us, he thought. Now they
had Nab-chan and Misato-chan in sight, they were still facing an opponent
that gunfire and physical attacks were useless against.
----------------------------------------
Asuka pounded the console and shook her fist at the image of Gendo
before her in Unit 02's cockpit, "What do you mean you lost contact with
Security, _AGAIN_!_?_"
----------------------------------------
Ritsuko stood behind Gendo on the command deck, and with everyone
else, winced at the sound and the fury. "The last report was, they were in
the museum," Ritsuko said in a placating tone, they finally had Unit 04
ready, and no pilot for it. Ritsuko had to convince Asuka to bring at
least one of the pilots back here, "We lost contact after that."
----------------------------------------
"I'm supposed to walk my EVA through a building full of Rembrandts?"
Asuka shouted at the image, "Nobody's that much of a Philistine!" Well,
she smirked, Maybe Ranma.
A flash like blue-white fire illuminated the tops of the nearby
buildings.
"Never mind, I know where they are." Jeez, Raccoon! Why don't you
take out an ad