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this story.
Process of Elimination -- Chapter Ten -- Part A
Disclaimer: The primary colors in this story are from Takahashi, Viz
(Ranma 1/2), Pioneer (Tenchi Muyo!), and Kitty Films, Naoko Takeuchi
(Sailor Moon).
Additional tinting provided by: Takada Yuuzou, and Kodansha (3x3
Eyes), and Takada Yuuzou, and A.D.Vision (Bannou Bunka Nekomusume
Nuku-Nuku). The easel is mine. That's all.
Notes: Diverges from Ranma after volume 24, continuation for OAV 2 in
the Tenchi universe (well, one of them). Nuku Nuku is from the OAVs,
not TV. Sailor Moon occurs, well, at some point in the series, but
it's something of an alt anyway. 3x3 Eyes diverges before OAV2. This
fic uses the bizarrely vague 'Pick One!' scenario. Enjoy.
-----------------------------
"It was a battle between titans. On the one hand we had monstrous,
inhuman beasts, and on the other, we had guardians that were willing
to throw attacks at _us_ for the sake of fighting their enemies. And
on top of this, the Chinese government was so afraid of the monsters
near us that they launched nuclear missiles at us... and what could
we do?"
Asagari Ken -- Interview for G.N.N., Old Terran Year 2005, July 27th.
Nuku pouted.
Her Ranma-papa was furious -- furious enough that he was ignoring her
in favor of the man that he had retrieved from that funny space
between any two points. "Ranma-papa-san, what's wrong?" she asked,
trying to get his attention.
He glanced at her, his sword pointed at the man on the ground.
"Atsuko," he said grimly. "I don't want you to see this. There's not
much time left -- take Ran-oh-ki and Washuu through the Gate, and do
what you can to keep her safe."
"Ranma!" Washuu protested, seizing his arm. "What can you hope to do
here?"
"I can destroy one more monster," Ranma replied flatly, his sword
slowly ceasing it's unsteady waver at Don Hai's throat. He glanced
at Nuku briefly, then back to Washuu. "Washuu, please..."
The woman shook her head resolutely. "I'm not abandoning you," she
stated firmly. "Atsuko, take Ran-oh-ki and get through the Gate."
Nuku's pout turned into an unhappy frown. "Nuku-Nuku won't run away,
either! Nuku-Nuku can still fight! Ran-oh-ki, can you help
Nuku-Nuku?" she pleaded, turning to look at the small creature in
her cupped hands. It was so aggravating to her... she was so
useless! She couldn't protect Ryunosuke, she couldn't protect
_anyone_. Why couldn't she help her Ranma-papa and Washuu-mama? She
needed something to help them...
Ran-oh-ki gave a vigorous nod, and vaulted skyward, while Nuku
ignored Ranma and Washuu's exclamations. Above the courtyard, with
the line of refugees streaming through the vast archway, the small
furry being suddenly exploded into a veritable swarm of spires and
protrusions, a dozen meters and more across. It emitted a piercing
cry that shattered the windows of nearby buildings, and sent the
refugees into a panicked stampede towards the Gate. The glass slowly
rained down, nearly melodic in the background, sunlight sparkling
off of the flowing collapses. Nuku offered Ranma a victorious smile,
as a shaft of light speared out from the bottom of the confused
topography of Ran-oh-ki's new form, enveloping her and raising her away.
Inside, there was room for perhaps a dozen people, and a seat that
could accommodate a person several times her size. She bounded
across the smooth, reflective floor, and landed in the seat, raising
a fist into the air and crying out, "Ran-oh-ki-niichan! Let's get
rid of whatever's making Ranma-papa-san unhappy!"
Ran-oh-ki made a noise in confirmation, and lurched suddenly,
rocketing upwards, as a pair of metallic clamps swung down, meeting
Nuku's ear-sensors as they swung up, and carefully restraints
latched around her waist. At either side of the oval-shaped chamber,
portals irised open, revealing the large satellites that Ranma had
retrieved only a few days ago, and Ran-oh-ki had inadvertently eaten.
As she watched, they opened up, sensors and interfaces from Ran-oh-ki
entangling with the local system and integrating it into himself.
"Ran-oh-ki-niichan has weapons?" Nuku asked, elated.
"Ran-oh-ki-niichan attack!"
At her words, more viewscreens irised open, revealing the sky, with
green lines and indicators streaming what her old father had called
telemetry data, and more that she recognized instantly as targeting
data. Ran-oh-ki trembled slightly, and the starboard laser fired,
searing through the sky and vaporizing the first of the targets.
"Good job, Ran-oh-ki-niichan!" Nuku encouraged him. "Let's get them
all!"
_This_ time, she would protect her family!
***
Ranma stared wordlessly at the massive attack craft -- smaller than
he had seen Ryo-oh-ki to be, when Ryouko had ordered her partner to
change, but still larger than a small house. Twin lances of green
fire issued from the craft, brilliantly bright, and causing all of
the refugees to freeze in their panic, staring upwards in awe.
Norris yelled at them to calm down, and resume their evacuation,
while Ranma simply blinked, nearly dropping his sword to the ground
at his side. Belatedly remembering Don Hai, he sheathed the blade,
muttering, "Maybe we can stop it after all."
The man's eyes were wide with fear as he gazed upward, and babbled
something Ranma couldn't understand. He knew basic Chinese, but
nothing that the man was saying. Ranma dismissed it for the moment,
turning to Washuu, and asking, "Why didn't you tell me that
Ran-oh-ki could do that?"
The scientist stared upwards also, her mouth a round 'o' of surprise.
"I didn't know he could," she managed. "He's not supposed to use
lasers like that as weapons."
"Is it bad for him?" Ranma asked fearfully.
"Ah... no," Washuu managed. "If he's integrated them, then they won't
be dangerous to him, only... whoever happens to be on the receiving
end."
"Well," Ranma mumbled, clenching his hands. "I'm out a good reaver
detector, but I think it's a good tradeoff." He glowered at Don Hai,
and added, "Though I don't know if that makes up for his actions at
all."
Washuu made a face, worried. "Don't kill him," she said quietly.
"He's not worth it."
Ranma grunted, crossing his arms over his chest and trying to sense
where the reavers were -- Ran-oh-ki was busy at the moment, but
Ranma could easily forgive his partner's distraction, given the
situation.
Sighing, Ranma pulled the replacement gem from his left wrist,
shooting a sidelong glance at Washuu. "I don't sense any reavers
nearby at this second." Furrowing his brows, he kicked Don Hai as
the man climbed to his feet, clipping the man in the temple and
flipping him over to lie on the ground, unmoving. Norris bit back a
curse, and ordered one of his men to secure him elsewhere.
"Ranma," Norris growled. "It's not a good idea to attack the people
in charge of the country we don't even have permission to be in."
"I refuse to be afraid of this coward," Ranma spat. "He would have
killed everyone I know, and who knows how many innocents--" He cut
off, wincing, as Ran-oh-ki streaked overhead, firing at some distant
point. "Look, I'm willing to trust Atsuko and Ran-oh-ki, but they
might not be able to stop this. One of them could get through. This
man tried to kill us all, when the damned reavers aren't even above
the ground to be _hit_ with the bombs! I say that we kill him, or
better, leave him to the reavers."
Norris crossed his arms over his chest, sighing. "Ranma," he said
levelly, "we cannot afford to make more enemies. We have to ensure
that Don Hai's allies don't come after us for vengeance. We're going
to be in enough trouble for trespassing -- armed, I might add -- in
their own territory. I'm guessing politics aren't your strong suit,
but trust me on this one."
Ranma narrowed his eyes, glancing upward, and sighing. The gem from
his ear was replaced within his wrist. "You got that right," he
grumbled. "I fight. That's what I do, and that's what I need to do
right now."
And with that, he rose the merest distance from the ground, and vanished.
***
Part of his mind told him that he should be seething with envy.
He dismissed that part, giving one final shove, and hauling a
massive, unbroken section of concrete atop the rubble-filled pit.
Far ahead, he could see the line of refugees stir, preparing to move.
Taking a deep breath, he reclined against the rubble of the hotel for
a moment, glancing to his side. Mousse had taken off his robe in the
chill air, wearing only his blue Chinese pants while he worked, much
to Minako's delight. The blonde girl stared at Mousse with enough
fervor to unnerve _him_, though Mousse affected not to notice,
hastily pulling his robe back on once the work was done.
"Jealous?" Ryouga asked after a moment.
The other boy stared at him for a long moment before comprehension
set in. "No," he said flatly. "There's a price to pay to be a hero,
you know."
Ryouga nodded quickly, agreeing completely. Ranma had paid for his
power -- paid for it in spades, in all truth. Ryouga could not
begrudge his one-time rival that. And trying to consider Ranma a
rival at this point would be futile. He couldn't hope to lay a hand
on Ranma's current level... perhaps without Ranma's new abilities,
but even then, Ryu had had a hard time of it.
He glanced at Ryu, who stared fixedly away, further towards the
eventual goal of the refugees. "What about you?" he asked. "Jealous
much?"
"Not really," Ryu muttered. "I've got the Umisen-ken and the
Yamasen-ken. I don't need much else. The rest... I don't think it'd
be worth it. And I got worse girl troubles than he does, anyway. "
Mousse choked back a laugh, and Ryouga bit his tongue. "Do yourself a
favor," Mousse noted quietly. "Never try telling _him_ that."
"Okay, I guess," Ryu answered, narrowing his eyes in confusion. "Sure
wish we had Ranma's pet here, though. I keep thinking that we're
going to get attacked any second."
Ryouga shushed him with a movement of one hand, checking to see that
none of the refugees heard the complaint. "Don't say things like
that too loudly," he mumbled.
Ryu rolled his eyes, glancing across the street to Minako and Makoto.
Ray had climbed up on top of the roof of the store opposite the
collapsed hotel, and was doing a passable job of looking like he
knew what he was doing, rifle held at the ready. None of the
refugees reacted to Ryu's mumbling, but he accepted the admonishment.
"I think this is a good sign," Ryu said after a moment of quiet.
"Looks like we might get out of this one after all."
"Let's hope," Ryouga grunted, fingering the cloth strip around one arm.
Mousse adjusted his spectacles, gazing upwards and squinting his
eyes. "What's that?" he asked, pointing.
Ryu and Ryouga joined him in glancing upwards, all of them staring in
surprise as a dark shape tore across the sky, faint screaming sounds
emanating from it as it tore through the atmosphere. Twin lines of
light so bright that all were forced to shield their eyes emanated
from the front of the strange bundle of spires and points, streaking
across the sky to some place hidden from their sight.
"I don't know," Ryouga grumbled, motioning to Ryu, who was still
carrying the radio. "We should ask." Grunting, Ryu handed the radio
to Ryouga. "Mr. Norris?" Ryouga asked in cautious English. "Can you
tell us what's going on?"
Norris responded a moment later, explaining, "Anti-missile defense.
Keep the civilians calm, over."
Ryouga stared at the radio in dumb silence, then turned to look at
the other two boys. "Missiles?" he asked.
***
Ran-oh-ki felt the rush of air against his new form, wind whipping
across vanes and sensory spikes, providing him with an entirely new
and dizzying array of input. He narrowed down the input to the bare
minimum necessary channels; his partner had been working himself far
too hard lately.
Stupid as his partner might be, Ran-oh-ki knew he meant well, and for
that, Ran-oh-ki agreed completely with Nuku. If she thought that he
should be spared some small effort and that _they_ could fix another
problem, so be it.
He activated the weapons he had managed to integrate into himself,
though they weren't well designed to deal with the heat they
generated. A stray impulse adapted for that, altering highly
conductive materials to shunt the heat directly to his skin, which
was chilled by the air that tore against it. Makeshift solutions,
until he could find something better to eat.
Another corner of his mind quickly filed away what to look for later,
when he had a moment, yet another responding directly to the linkage
he maintained with some layer of Nuku's mind, juking neatly around a
stray projectile. He spun about in air, still sliding backwards, and
another beam of energy swept across the missile, reducing it to
little more than molten vapor, though another stray impulse warned
of potentially toxic material, and he adjusted for that, too.
It wouldn't affect him, but it might hurt Nuku, and that wouldn't do,
so the filters that allowed air to enter the main cabin were sealed,
reworked, refined, and reopened, all in the time it took him to
wheel about once more, orienting himself against the thirty two
remaining warheads.
Already his mind and elements of Nuku's had calculated what it would
take to destroy all of them in time, and already they knew that no
matter what happened, they would fall short. Utilizing one pattern,
all but one could be stopped, and using another, all but three.
Ignoring the three would allow two to fall far enough away that they
might be dismissed, but that was uncertain, and the third would land
squarely atop the people that his partner was trying to save. Nuku
didn't want them hurt, either, except for Don Hai, because _that_
one had _upset_ his partner.
The other would allow one to fall not far from his partner. That
didn't suit him, even though it would probably catch Don Hai,
because it would _also_ catch one of the red-haired woman's metal
things, and as tasty as they were, she was _very_ protective of
them. And he didn't want to be kicked.
On the other paw, it would also strike near his partner, who had
shown himself to be variously capable.
All of this passed through the linkage between he and Nuku in what
his internal chronometer assured him was only three seconds.
For that, then, a choice. Three, or one? One, then, despite the
greater risk, and likely annoyance to his partner. His partner would
not approve of a choice that let people get harmed, one way or another.
And, of course, if anyone could stop it, it would be his partner.
***
Ami looked up, along with Yosho, though Yakumo was still too absorbed
in studying his own hands to stare at the sky. Haruka joined the
others in gazing skyward after a moment, and blinked at the display
as a strange, dark bluish-black form seemed to... slide... across
the sky, curving, and sending brilliant beams of green energy
towards the horizon.
"What is that?" she asked apprehensively.
Yosho pursed his lips, and glanced towards Ami. "I could guess, but I
think you could, too, Masaki-san," she mumbled.
"Right," Yosho said quietly. "I can tell you that _that_," he pointed
at the largish form before it passed out of sight, low to the
skyline, "is on our side." Indicating the refugees, he noted, "They
won't know that, and they've had enough from us for one day, more
likely than not. I doubt they'll listen to us very happily, so how
do you suggest that we keep them from panicking?"
"Very carefully," Ami responded. "I doubt anything we can do directly
to them will have the desired effect of calming them. I would
suggest we merely remain as calm as possible so as not to alarm them."
Yosho's face twisted into a grimace. "'Them'," he spat. "Just putting
more distance between us. But you're right. I suppose we can just
sit here and count reaver carcasses. Ami, are there any near us at
the moment?"
She stared intently into her visor for a long moment before
announcing, "There are... there are some, but they are a good
distance underground. They seem to be retreating."
"Not for long," Yakumo muttered. "They'll be back. They're just
hiding from something that scares them."
"Scares them?" Yosho asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah. They got two emotions. Hate, and fear. They hate all of us,
but they fear some of us, too."
"Who do they fear?" Ami asked, unable to keep a tone of worry from
her voice.
Yakumo scrubbed at his eyes with the heels of his palms for a moment,
before trying to explain. "Blue... blue. Something about a woman...
or a girl. Something blue, and something about her that's... green?
No, they think green is something else... something... I think it
has to do with life. They're afraid of her. They hate the blue...
but they don't hate her." He shook his head, staring upwards.
Haruka crossed her arms, frowning thoughtfully, and asked, "Who's that?"
"I don't know," Yakumo responded. "They hate that which is of them
and which is not with them, and they are scared of that which they
cannot destroy. That one I do know." He chuckled sardonically,
"That's me. They think I'm one of them."
Haruka grimaced, prodding, "What else?"
"They fear that which changes more than they do, and so quickly that
they don't know how to counter it. It... it uses the blue that they
hate, and stands before the one they hate more. Something... I don't
know. They don't have a color for that, but it's the one they hate
even more -- the one that they're trying to capture." He frowned
thoughtfully. "I'm pretty sure that's Ranma. They also see him --
like a crazed tiger, clawing through one, like an enraged demon,
shattering one beneath the water... every time he kills one, they
remember. He embodies something else... something red. They hate
that more than anything, but..." Yakumo trailed off, screwing his
eyes shut, and concentrating.
"If this is difficult for you, you don't have to do this," Yosho
advised. "I can't imagine it's easy..."
"No, no... I can do this. I have to. I might lose this -- someone who
can remember should hear it." He blinked, then nodded. "They don't
hate the red the way they hate the blue... they hate it because it's
something they don't have, but desperately want. Ugh... what an ugly
way to be. They can only hate and fear."
"What about their goddess?" Haruka pressed, morbid curiosity apparent
on her visage.
"They don't love her," Yakumo managed, shuddering. "They just... they
just... I can't put it into words. The only thing they have for her
beside loyalty is a lack of fear or hate. No love." He shuddered
again. "I can't think about her," he gasped. "It hurts... my mind...
I can't think about her."
Ami moved to console him, shooting Setsuna dark look and tentatively
putting an arm about Yakumo's shoulders. "Then don't think about
her," she soothed him. "Think about something you love, instead."
He relaxed instantly, sighing in relief. "Pai," he muttered. "Pai...
thinking of her makes it stop. But... the other thing they fear is
something that they can't... they can't move around. Something they
can't shift through. It's invisible, but it steps around their
armor, and destroys them from the inside. I don't know what it is,
though... but they're afraid of that thing without hating it."
"Radiation," Yosho guessed. "Washuu mentioned that. So then, the
explosives would probably do nothing to them, it's the radiation
that kills them."
"Maybe," Yakumo muttered. "That would explain it... but I don't
know... I don't know how they knew something was coming."
Yosho looked distinctly uncomfortable at that. "Not a happy thought,"
he grumbled. "For the colors... I can guess. I can make a guess, I
think, but it wouldn't be much more than that."
Haruka gestured for him to speak. "What's your guess? Any information
could be useful," she said.
"Mmm. Perhaps. I think they're afraid of Tsunami, who is the goddess
of life. The goddess of Jurai. Washuu said they have no... she
called it a quantum signature. I'm not sure precisely what she meant
by that, but I think that means that on some level, the reavers are
a construct, they're... well, undead."
"Like me," Yakumo noted. "No souls." He shook his head a moment
later, dislodging Ami's arm and standing. "Why would that make them
be afraid of her, though?"
"I may not know what a quantum signature is," Yosho explained, "but I
do know what ki is. It's life energy. Ranma said that he could throw
a bolt of it--"
"Yeah!" Yakumo exclaimed, eyes widening. "That's right! It looked
like gold fire, he threw it at a reaver, and it got stuck in the
ground!"
"Right, so if ki is a specific person's ki, and it makes it so that
they can't phase..." he trailed off thoughtfully.
"Wait... Hibiki-san and Mousse-san said that their ki also interfered
with the reavers," Haruka noted. "Hibiki said that he could break
through their armor, and Mousse said that he could tangle them in
his chains."
"Then that might make sense," Yosho completed. "It would mean that
they fear that power because if they were touched by pure life
energy, from Tsunami or another source that could also touch that
power, that they would probably be more than just confused or stuck.
It could destroy them."
Haruka looked like she was about to ask something else, but stopped,
turning to look at the city, and frowned. Yosho joined her in
watching, and suddenly yelled, "Down! Down! Close your eyes!"
And a tide of searing bright light exploded on the horizon, shining
easily through the buildings between the heart of the city and the
harbor.
***
Ranma spared no more time for Norris, or his discussion. Let Norris
deal with Don Hai, if Norris was so certain that the man needed to
be spared.
He willed himself to a point that Ran-oh-ki had suggested he move to,
and stared upward. His eyes adjusted with their constant reminder
that he wasn't human by any stretch of the imagination, allowing him
to see exactly what Ran-oh-ki had warned him of.
A momentary request through their bond, and Ranma knew exactly what
lay before him, down to the number of rooms in each of the
buildings. It was a dizzying flood of information, but much less so
than when Ran-oh-ki had accidentally sent too much, telling him of
every object he could sense in space at once.
More importantly than just the location of buildings, or the number
of rooms in a given building, he knew where all the soldiers were.
Luckily, only a few were in the area he needed to evacuate; the
majority were on the southern side of the city, towards the roads
leading out. Taking a breath to calm himself, he remained hovering
over the fourteen-story building he was on, and split into two.
It was disconcerting, to be in such close proximity to his otherself,
since he was in both places at once. She regarded him as oddly as he
regarded her... but there wasn't time to waste on that. Blinking, he
teleported again.
Not bothering to explain why, he and his otherself simply moved the
five soldiers he had found emptying canned goods from a grocery
store into carts to the rooftop of his chosen building two at a
time, until the last. Once they were there, much disgruntled, he
allowed his two halves to recombine, and addressed the soldiers. "I
don't know what happens when one of those things," he gestured
vaguely towards the dark specks that the soldiers probably couldn't
see, "goes off, but I don't think you want to be under it."
The lead soldier recovered quickly, and asked, "We have incoming?"
"Norris called it an 'SRBM'," Ranma said, struggling with the English
sounds, and thankful that his gem was translating for him again.
The Marines all shared an uneasy glance, and turned to regard him.
"Orders?" their apparent leader asked.
"Wait here," Ranma advised, turning his attention to the incoming
object again. He tried to ready himself, thinking of the wall of
force that he was able to summon when he needed. That wall was
generally not very large, but it took him almost no effort to raise,
once he had gotten the practice of it down.
The trick of it would merely be making it big _enough_, since it
would need to cover the entire city to shield the refugees, and he
wasn't certain how long he'd need to maintain it, either. On a
sudden impulse, he removed his sword from his side, thrusting the
sheath into the concrete before him. It stood, imbedded into the
surface, and he plucked the gem from his wrist, preparing himself.
It would be difficult, at best, he decided. The gem's power would
need to be utilized, and in a worse case situation, Washuu had
appropriated a small bag of sapphires for the purposes of turning
them into more gems. Furrowing his brows, he released the gem to
float sedately a few centimeters over the hilt of the sword,
rotating and sending scintillating motes of light to flutter down
around it. "Let's see if I can work this right," he mumbled. He
raised his arms, palms outward on either side of the gem, slightly
higher than the level of his waist.
And at that precise second, while his eyes were screwed shut in
concentration, the same moment he had established the dimensions of
his wall of force, the object exploded, blinding him even through
his closed eyelids. He heard muffled cursing behind him from the
Marines, and felt a strain not entirely like the time he had
attempted to support an entire collapsed building on his spine to
protect Nonoko.
Grunting, he staggered backwards, not opening his eyes. The light
slowly faded, and the force lessened from something he could never
hope to stop, ever so slowly, to merely being a heavy burden, much
like bearing the Tetsusaiga against a reaver, and then less than
that, to only the effort required to levitate.
Slowly opening his eyes, he beheld the area before him, stark in its
devastation. The Tetsusaiga glowed, surrounded by the same blue
energy that enveloped him when he tried to heal someone, the flames
dancing upward and linking it to the gem, still floating above the
hilt. In a smooth, nearly flawless line in either direction along
the wall of force, a shimmering barrier stood. The barrier spat
motes of blue, and sparks of white along its length, anchored firmly
by the gem and the sword.
"I think I got it," he mumbled, seeing where the buildings had been
sheared in half along the line, and upwards to the sky, where a
massive cloud of flaming smoke boiled upwards. "And now I'm out a
translator again."
He turned to the men, all of whom were staggering about in confusion.
Shaking his head, he reached out carefully, expending even more of
his power to heal them -- they had looked directly at the light, no
doubt. His own eyes were still screaming with the pain that it had
caused, so he knew full well how much it must have pained them. Only
a moment and a careful touch to each later, and their sight was
restored, though the effort left him weary.
The lead Marine babbled something gratefully, spying the devastation
from the blast, but without a translator, Ranma could only guess at
his words. "Just... just wait here," he muttered hopelessly. "And
make sure no one touches the sword."
Nodding in understanding, the Marine hefted his positronic laser
rifle, and nodded, then gestured to his radio. Ranma gave him an
encouraging smile, and looked up, as Ran-oh-ki swept towards him, a
much subdued but still deafeningly loud cry ringing out from his
partner.
Nuku was deposited at his side in Ran-oh-ki's beam of light, and his
partner then collapsed into the small furry form that Ranma knew
best, to tumble through the air a moment later. The girl seized onto
him immediately, wailing apologetically, "Nuku-Nuku couldn't stop
them all, Ranma-papa-san!"
Ranma worked one arm free, and caught his partner as he drifted
downward. Turning his attention back to Nuku, he said, "Atsuko, you
did a great job. You and the rat both."
Ran-oh-ki managed a half-hearted growl, but no more response than that.
"Really?" Nuku asked hopefully.
"Yes, really," Ranma answered tiredly. "Come on, let's get back to
Washuu. I'm feeling hungry."
"Okay!" the girl caroled out, her worried sorrow vanishing easily.
***
Norris instinctively shielded his eyes, blinking away the effects and
staring at the wall of shimmering light that stood to the north,
bisecting the entire city. He shook his head, staring at it in
confusion. "What the hell is that?" he muttered slowly.
Washuu gaped, shaking her head and stuttering before she managed,
"That's... that's about as strong as a barrier can get without being
a Light Hawk Wing! Ranma?" She growled, and tapped her bracelet, but
dropped her hands to her sides as Ranma returned again, bearing both
the furry creature that had served as a remarkably efficient missile
defense system, and his daughter with him.
The girl caught him as he stumbled, looking exhausted, his sword
absent. "Ranma!" Washuu exclaimed, approaching him and his daughter
worriedly. "What did you do?"
"Not much," Ranma mumbled tiredly in Japanese. "I used the sword and
the extra gem to make a shield... uh... I think I stopped it, but
there's still something trying to come through the wall."
Washuu blinked, staring at the shield in surprise. "It's probably
blocking out the radiation," she deduced.
"That's a good thing," Norris opined. "That was the area of one of
Patterson's supply requisition squads. Did you see any soldiers there?"
"Yeah," Ranma yawned, slumping back against the tree he had slept
against previously, shifting to female form again. "I saw some guys
there, they're watching the sword... told them not to touch it."
Patterson raised an eyebrow, turning towards the radio to contact the
troupe. "Well," Norris announced to no one in particular, since
Washuu was fussing over Ranma, and Nuku was cuddled up against her,
already asleep, "we should be ready to leave in about five and a
half hours. That would get us out of here at about sunset, assuming
that we can get all of the refugees through the gate before then."
At Washuu's lack of interest, he turned to study the crowd, which was
moving at a fast march, having calmed slightly from the all-out-run
that Ranma's partner had inspired in them.
"Gem," Ranma muttered. "Gotta get another one before I fall asleep."
Norris shook his head, wishing he didn't have to feel so powerless in
the face of the events that were transpiring before him.
***
The distant explosion, whatever it had been, had been halted by a
blue-white curtain of force that extended some distance into the
harbor north of them, and as far to the west as they could see.
The light was short-lived, and the cloud behind that shimmering wall
betrayed what the blast had been, leaving Ami to shiver
uncomfortably. Scary enough to see forces that she knew well in
action -- her own powers, and the powers of the other senshi...
But there was something that simply shook her to the core, seeing
what she knew was a nuclear attack so close. She could only guess at
what was holding it in check, as the radio gave nothing but static
after the explosion occurred.
They needed something to distract themselves.
Using the aid of the Marines, Ami was able to freeze the still-oozing
carcasses of the slain reavers, and then haul them to the bay. Yosho
leant his own strength to the effort, while Ami watched her visor
for more reavers, until the last of the massive chunks of
toxic-ichor-spewing monstrosities was disposed of.
She wondered what effect it would have on the creatures that lived in
the sea, but tried not to think about it too hard. It was a losing
situation, she felt. Thinking about it... thinking about it just
hammered that point home. Unless...
"Fuji-san?" she asked quietly, while Yakumo gazed fixedly at the
curtain of power.
"Yeah?" he asked uninterestedly.
"How many reavers are there?"
He frowned, blinking. "I... I'm not sure," he said after a moment.
"Less... less than three hundred, I think."
Ami brightened at that. "Really?" she asked. "If... if that's true,
then maybe we're worrying too much! If there's that few, then we
could probably stop them all easily!"
He shook his head, sighing. "It's not going to be that easy. I can
tell." Yosho nodded silently, and Yakumo added, "They're up to
something else... I just know it."
"Like what?" Ami asked apprehensively.
"In the wars where reavers were used," Yosho said quietly, "only
fifty or so were dropped on a planet."
"And?" Ami asked. "Haven't more than that been killed? Ranma-san
stopped one when we first met him, and then two more under the bay
at the same time. Washuu-sensei said he'd stopped three more before
that, and then there were the four that Ranma-san stopped a few
hours ago, that's at least ten. Fuji-san, you, and I stopped one on
the boat when we first met Fuji-san, and another two earlier today!
And that's without counting the ones that Hibiki-san stopped! Aren't
we winning?"
Eyes distant, Yosho quietly continued, "Those fifty would breed to
thousands in only a few weeks. Within a month or so, the planet they
were infesting would be devoured, all of the mass reduced to
reavers, which would then turn on each other, until only one
remained. That final reaver would collapse under the collected mass,
and explode, scattering the planetary matter away."
"But, they haven't done that yet!" Ami protested. "If there's less
than three hundred of them... haven't they been here for more than a
month? America didn't disappear overnight."
"Close to it," Yosho grumbled. "Washuu says they can't multiply, for
whatever reason. That's something I can't complain about, but..." He
trailed off, staring away.
A seagull, gliding in from the bay and squawking loudly at the
refugees broke the silence of the moment.
Swallowing apprehensively, Ami prompted, "But?"
"But I can't shake the feeling that there's more to this," Yosho
admitted. "Even if we destroy the reavers, the impact on this
world... the lives of the people who live here..."
"I think you're just being pessimistic," Ami countered.
Haruka made a thoughtful noise, finally contributing to the
discussion. "I'd have to agree with Masaki, I'm afraid," she noted.
"Rei's dream... I don't think we can simply dismiss that. If
Serenity appeared and told her what was going to happen, I don't
want to ignore that. I still don't understand how Ranma's sword made
a difference here," she allowed, "but I will trust her that it did."
"Time will tell," Yosho said. "But one way or another, I still intend
to fight as long as I can."
Yakumo echoed the sentiment, "Right. I'm not going to stop, either."
Sighing unhappily, Ami shot the men a disappointed grimace before
turning her attention to her computer. Washuu had told her a good
bit about the database, telling her what was old and what was new...
there might be something there that could help, one way or another.
Maybe something from the Silver Millenium...
***
Washuu pensively watched Ranma sleep. Nuku was snuggled up against
her, arms tangled around the form of her unsuspectingly labeled
'Ranma-papa'. While asleep, she generated enough power to slowly
charge another gem and, in female form, maintain the barrier.
Of course, the barrier was operating at a net loss, and by the time
the day was over, that gem would crumble to dust. She grit her
teeth. She wanted so much to wish that Ranma didn't have to fight...
to try and protect her, and everyone else.
If Ranma could simply live her own life... but no, it was her fault
that Ranma was trapped into the situation she was in.
She'd simply need to do more to shift the tide of the battle, then...
only what did she have to call on to make a difference? Something
tugged at a corner of her mind, and she summoned her computer,
seeking out the distraction.
Blinking, she surveyed the traces of data, flashing from a point not
terribly far away to an ancient, nearly forgotten orbital relay, and
from there, to the Earth's moon. "Hmm," she mused, setting a
subroutine to analyze and decode the data stream.
It only took a moment for the processes to return, displaying a
message for her perusal:
Ethos array active.
Status... check... failure.
Self diagnostic begin.
-Ethos one -- offline.
Aperture inoperative.
-Ethos two -- offline.
Target acquisition control function disabled.
-Ethos three -- offline.
Awaiting technician -- condition unknown.
-Ethos four -- offline.
System sleep cycle termination -- condition green.
*Ethos five -- online.
Sentinel system running -- battery not suited for orbital bombardment.
-Ethos six -- offline.
System sleep cycle termination -- condition green.
*Ethos seven -- online.
External system monitor -- critical function error.
Washuu frowned, mumbling, "Ethos? What is..." She trailed off,
watching, as the cursor typed in a command.
[]query -- ethos1 info
Ethos One: commissioned in year twenty-eight of the reign of Omiki
Amatera for in-system defense and monitoring. Local suppression
effect and ecologically sound destruction of Terra-native targets.
The first of a planned ten Luna-surface to Terra-surface prototype
energy cannons, utilizing the experimental disassociation of phase
valances for suppression effects. Ethos One is currently offline.
[]query -- phase valance
Phase Valance: the controlling geometry of a non/sub-space that
differentiates local space from external space.
[]query -- phase valance disassociation
Phase Dispersion Cannon: an effort intended specifically to fight of
the effects of both Phased-Space and Anti-Phased-Space attackers,
such as any life form that uses non/sub-space attributes natively.
The PDC is designed to shift the phase valances in a given region in
such a manner that everything within the target area is disrupted
and anything with more than one subdimension aspect is divided into
component dimensional attributes. [MORE?]
PDC (cont.): This weapon was scheduled to be tested in year
thirty-five, after completion. Hypothesized results varied, so every
precaution was taken before primary utilization. Test results are
currently available. Authorization required. [MORE?]
[]su Admin
Password.
[]******
Verified. Proceed.
Washuu clicked her tongue, frowning in consternation. The only person
she could think of who could be accessing a computer on the moon --
though according to that last snippet, there was a lot more than
just a computer up there -- would be Ami. And there was a good
chance that as well as she meant, Ami didn't really understand what
exactly she was playing with.
And the same could be said for any idiot who thought that playing
with phase valances was something that should be done on a casual
basis. She knew full well the results of that tampering without
needing to look over the terminal's notifications of the findings
after the attempt. It was telling enough that only seven were
completed out of the proposed ten.
Typing quickly, she located the sender, and queried the correct
ports. The shocked image of Ami came onto her screen in a small
window. "Washuu-sensei?" the girl sputtered. "What... what's going on?"
Washuu sighed, glancing at the data that was still streaming by. "Oh,
just watching you," she remarked dryly. "I hope you don't intend to
use the Ethos array on any reavers."
Ami's eyes grew round. "How did you know?" she asked, shocked.
"Your security measures are a tad... outdated, shall we say?" Washuu
suggested. "And of course nothing could stand before a genius of my
caliber anyway, but that's aside from the point."
"O... okay, Washuu-sensei. But what's wrong with using it against a
reaver?"
"They affect a little more than just the reavers," Washuu drawled.
"Things like surrounding continental plates, and whatnot. Generally,
they'll take everything within about fifty miles of the central
point of impact, and attempt to turn it inside out. That works quite
well on reavers, but unfortunately, it works pretty well on
everything around them, too."
Ami blanched. "Oh," she said quietly.
"Oh indeed," Washuu snorted. "It would also very likely disrupt and
kill Ran-oh-ki instantly. I don't think that Ranma would appreciate
that much."
"I hadn't realized he was so fragile," Ami whispered.
"He's not. That's a devastating weapon. A phase valance is no more
than the geometrical location of normal space that stands between
hyper-space and sub-space. Destroying that, however, allows all of
the sub-space tied to that phase-valance to explode into
hyper-space, and the backlash of two infinite spheres of non-space
is explosively devastating on a massive scale." She trailed off,
glancing at the data, and added, "You'll note that after the initial
test-firing, they were all retrofitted to work on non-terrestrial
targets primarily."
"Yes, but... I wanted to find something to help us speed things up
and kill all the reavers..."
"Fair enough," Washuu allowed, shrugging. "How about we look for
something else? You're exploring a large system, we should be able
to find something aside from dangerously high-scale phase dispersion
cannons."
"Er... we, Washuu-sensei?"
"Yes," the scientist affirmed, offering the girl a smile through the
screen. "I can probably help you a little more than just asking the
computer."
"I might know something, too," Setsuna added from behind Washuu.
"Then let's get to work," Washuu announced, sending the woman a
backwards glance.
***
"Welcome again to my realm. I wonder how you've hidden myself from
me, small one."
He blinked, unable to shake off a muzzy, thick feeling in his head,
as though his sense were all dulled, toned down. The ground
immediately before him was a thick, white material, soft and fuzzy,
much like the hide of some creature. Which it was, he realized
belatedly, raising his head, finding himself kneeling on the carpet.
A moment of dizziness surged across him, and he fell forward,
catching himself on his splayed fingertips, and struggling to his
feet. The same pillars that had surrounded him the last time he had
dreams of the woman had returned, along with her, sitting as she was
atop of her dais.
He squinted at her, feeling inexplicably thirsty, but pushed that
aside. "What are you talking about?" he asked, confused, voice
scratchy from his dry throat. "And why the hell can't I remember
this when I'm awake?"
"Because I do not wish you to," the woman returned, shifting her
position to rest one elbow on her knee, and her chin on her fist,
scrutinizing him like some poorly crafted work of art. One that she
did not find entirely to her liking. "You've hidden from me long
enough," she said blandly. "I have no more patience for your games.
Now I wish you to bring Washuu to me, so that we can be quit of this
pointless struggle."
"Okay," Ranma said evenly, wishing for his sword, though even the
robes that his ancestors had bestowed upon him were gone, leaving
him only in the skintight black outfit. "You've been trying to tell
me what to do for a long while now, right?" He wracked his brain,
attempting to remember something. There was _something_ that he was
missing, he knew it... but what was it?
She nodded slightly, expression not changing in the slightest.
"And you haven't bothered just plain asking me for help, right?"
She nodded again, expression still as impassive as a marble facade.
"And you said that your pets are taking care of things for you, right?"
Once more she inclined her head in a nod.
"Which means that your pets are the reavers, right?"
"You might refer to the Qvansti as such," she allowed, then lapsing
back into her prior state.
"Right. Okay. So you're on the side of the reavers, and you want me
to betray Washuu and leave everyone on Earth to die, right?" he
questioned, scowling slightly. Damn that elusive thought... what was
it? Something... something... he had someone to help him in these
situations?
"Not at all," she said, shaking her head very slightly. "I do not
intend to mercilessly kill. I intend to press the evolution of a
species faster. Are the reavers not the ideal tool to accomplish that?"
"No!" Ranma yelled. "They are not! They're mindless machines that
destroy everything they can! They kill without remorse, and people
learn nothing from them but fear and to run away!"
"Then they are too base to be elevated," the woman responded, eyes
narrowing. "A strong species will adapt and change when they must.
The reavers hasten this process. If a race cannot adapt fast enough,
then it's a sign that my sister has failed in her task." Smiling,
she sighed, explaining, again as though Ranma were a child, "The
blame you seek to place on me belongs to my sister. Would you not
bring her here that I could set her on the right path?"
Ranma stared at her, blinking. "So..." he said slowly. "If Washuu
were doing her job, she would have made the entire planet like me,
so people could fight reavers better?" Who was supposed to help him,
though? He was alone entirely, here. Not even--
"Indeed," she returned smoothly.
He continued staring at her, thinking the situation over. "So... the
answer to the problem here is to take everyone's humanity away from
them," he drawled. "Turn them all into monsters like me. That
doesn't make any sense! Didn't you say that I was made specifically
for you? Wouldn't anyone else that Washuu made like that be 'yours'
too?" The link was always there... even when he was asleep. It was
what kept him from losing himself around the rats.
"Of course," she answered, still smiling. "Then they would all pass
beyond the needs for the shallow existence they possess."
Ranma felt a prickle across the back of his neck, and growled. The
link was there, in the back of his mind. His partner was asleep, but
still peripherally aware. He mentally prodded that link, staring at
the woman before him. "No," he snarled. "I think you're god-damned
crazy. I don't want to listen to you anymore, so let me the hell out
of this stupid dream!"
The woman's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Do not think to disobey me,"
she admonished, rising to her feet and glowering at him. "You are an
enigma, mortal. And one I have no time for. You will do what I say,
and you will do it _now_," she insisted.
"How about _not_," Ranma growled, feeling along the mental link... he
wanted... there it was. "And how about you let me go, or I just kill
you for what you say you've done?"
"You cannot harm me," she notified him, her fair features twisting
into a disgusted grimace. "I am so much more than you can ever hope--"
Ranma wasted no more time, grabbing firmly onto the little ball of
fear that Ran-oh-ki had taken from him when they first bonded. That
little ball of fear that was so much more than a little ball...
Claws and darkness and scratches and growling and anger and hate and
fear and anger and hate and fear and anger and hate and fear....
He felt much like a passenger in his own mind, falling back into a
vast, dark pit, where he could hear them moving around. They were
quiet, and they were clean, so he couldn't smell them, but he knew
-- oh, how he knew they were there. Any moment they would leap at
him again, and again they would bite him, claw him, scratch him.
Hurt him.
And his father... he could hear his father quietly above, mourning
his son's incompetence. But he couldn't fail; he couldn't make his
father unhappy! He had to struggle, to fight... to become what his
father wanted. He had to make his father happy, or else the man
wouldn't love him anymore, and he'd never get to see his mother
again! He had to make them happy!
Unleashing a yowl, he tried to sense where they were -- he knew they
were there. He knew it. He flung himself forward, his grasping and
clawing hands battering into one, pinning it. He was only dimly
aware of his teeth sinking into the soft flesh that his paws held
immobile beneath him. The cries of pain, and then the awful
stillness. And again, another yowling leap, his teeth filled with
torn flesh and loose fur, to repeat the cycle. Because that was the
only way to survive.
As though he were watching the scene unfold from a great distance, he
watched the woman stare, impassive, some invisible force that he
couldn't penetrate holding him at bay. "Impressive," she allowed.
"But savage. I warn you this, mortal, never try that again, or I
will see to it that you are completely unmade."
The same force that was keeping him at bay suddenly turned, flinging
him backward with enough power to sunder the column immediately
behind him. His bones shattered, and his flesh tore at the force of
the impact, leaving him to lie broken and bleeding while rubble from
the demolished column slowly rained down on him.
He wanted to writhe in agony, so strong was the pain. To cling to the
disgustingly sticky taint of fear and hate that gave him power...
but it wasn't enough power, was it? And indeed, it was almost as
though some other force warned him against it. Hate and fear...
those were the tools of his enemy. He couldn't use them and expect
to remain above them.
"I," he gasped out, feeling blood slowly pool in one lung, "ain't...
gonna help you." He could afford to ignore it; he didn't need to
breathe, after all.
"Humph," the woman derided him, stooping to lift him off the ground
by his chin. "You will be difficult to break, but perhaps more
worthwhile for it." She stared at him for a long moment, then tossed
his body to the foot of her dais without effort. He tensed himself,
willing his body to heal. He would _not_ give her the satisfaction
of defeating him. Even...
Giving in, he shifted, becoming female while landing, still weak and
dizzied from the damage that had just been undone. "You will never
break me," she said defiantly. "And you aren't gonna hurt anyone I
can protect if I can help it, either."
The woman stared, glowering silently.
"You can cut me open," Ranma yelled at her. "You can break my bones
and take me apart from the inside out. I'm willing to throw myself
to the... the... to them to fight you. Nothing you can do will make
me help you.
"And if you hurt _anyone_ I care about, I _will_ do everything in my
power to destroy you," she finished.
"Healing," the woman stated, disgust evident on her features. "You
have the power to crack stars open when you are fully matured, the
strength and the ability to annihilate planets..."
She trailed off, gesturing, and as if his mind were available for all
to see, forcibly relived his entrapment beneath the collapsing
building in Tokyo, trying to save Nonoko. "Enough strength to crush
the child easily," she observed, staring directly into Ranma's eyes.
"You could have spared the child her own suffering and weakness, yet
you try and protect her.
"Strong enough to destroy the one who has affronted you," she
continued, as Ranma was struck to her knees at the memory of the
fight with Ryu. "And yet, instead you give him something of nearly
infinite worth to yourself, in the fragile hope of standing against
the Qvansti."
She was thrown back further into her own memory, watching her partner
eat her mother's sword. "And here," the woman continued, fascination
creeping into her voice, "you have the strength to make that being
see and do as you wish, or destroy her for her failure to accede to
your desires, and yet, you let her live unchallenged.
"And here," she droned on, voice filling with loathing, "you use your
power, that vast strength that you have been given nearly
unparalleled in your universe, and you restore damage to the people
who fear you." Again a memory surged through him, this one more
recent, as he healed the man near Ryouga's team among the refugees.
"What's... what's wrong with that?" Ranma protested, reeling. "I can
stop the damage! I can keep people alive!"
"Fool!" the woman spat, scowling at Ranma, eyes aglow with anger.
"Healing! The enemy of growth! How can you not see that your abuse
of power, repairing your fragile, mortal shells only serves to make
you weaker? Medicine is the enemy of evolution! You only serve to
weaken the species with your attempts!"
"You know what?" Ranma asked tiredly.
"What?" she snarled. "Dare you defy me further?"
"Yeah," Ranma answered, smiling grimly. "So _fuck_ you."
***
Nuku rested uneasily, unsure why the attempt with Ran-oh-ki had left
her so drained, but largely contented to sit with Ranma. She
twitched in her sleep fitfully, and Nuku carefully maintained her
position, arms wrapped around the slightly smaller girl and
restraining her easily. The little part of her mind that told her
how strong her grip was seemed to be damaged, as restraining Ranma,
who was only twitching very slightly, appeared to take a force that
would shred tensile steel.
Of course, that part of her mind seemed to worry far too much about
numbers, so she seldom paid it heed. Ranma whimpered slightly, then
lapsed into stillness for the time being. Nuku frowned, wondering if
she were having a bad dream, and asked, "Ranma-papa-san?"
She didn't respond immediately, so Nuku gave what she thought was a
gentle shake, rousing her instantly. "Who... what's going on?" she
mumbled tiredly, peering around in confusion.
"Ranma-papa-san?" Nuku asked. "Did you have a bad dream?"
"Don't remember," Ranma answered, stretching. "I'm hungry. What about
you?"
Nuku shrugged, glancing at Washuu, who offered them a good-natured
smile, before turning her attention to her terminal, Setsuna
watching over her shoulder thoughtfully. "Norris said that there
were some rations for you," the scientist said, typing at something
or another. "I don't know that they're any good, but they're there,"
she said, gesturing to a small pile of vacuum-sealed packages.
Ranma grunted, shaking her head at some memory or another, and
glanced at Nuku. "Atsuko, could you let go of me so I can get
something?" she asked plaintively.
She released the smaller girl, pouting, and Ranma moved to
investigate the pile, grabbing a few of the packages with a shrug
before sitting down next to Nuku and offering her a smile again.
"You want anything, Atsuko?" he asked, eyeing the rations dubiously.
"No thank you, Ranma-papa-san," she said, smiling, and glad he had
offered. She wasn't hungry, simply tired. Ran-oh-ki fared little
better, still sleeping soundly. Shivering, Nuku absently hoped that
they wouldn't have to do it again, though for Ranma and Washuu, she
gladly would. So would Ran-oh-ki, for that matter.
After eyeing the contents of one of the packages dubiously, she began
eating, and asked between bites, "Has anything important happened?"
"Not that I know of," Washuu noted, still typing away at her
terminal. "Ami and I are working on finding anything left over from
an older civilization... nothing useful yet, I'm afraid. Most of the
weapons are either useless, or broken."
Ranma raised an eyebrow at that, and even Norris glanced over
curiously. "More weapons?" he asked. "Like what?"
"Nothing very useful," Setsuna added, eyeing Norris and then turning
back to Washuu's terminal. "At least, not yet."
He stared at her, assessing something in his own head, then nodded
brusquely, turning his attention back to the radio. "Emry," he
snapped into the device, "monitor the airspace nearby and notify me
of any changes, over."
Norris's men said something back, though Nuku heard it more through
her own sensors than from the speaker in Norris's radio, but she
paid little mind regardless, instead focusing on Ranma. Ranma
stopped eating for a moment, made an odd face, and did the strange
thing that changed her to him, though Nuku still wasn't certain how
it worked, merely that it did.
Ranma grumbled something under his breath, finishing off whatever
substance was in the packages, and folding himself into a meditative
position. Allowing his eyes to drift shut, he said, "The reavers are
moving away."
"Mmm," Washuu noised. "I'm having trouble tracking them, Ranma. Where
are they headed?"
"West," Ranma said slowly. "And... they're moving fast. Some of them
are still staying nearby... Why are they leaving?"
"Who can say?" Washuu muttered. "I'm just glad they're going away
from us."
"What about," Setsuna began, then frowned uncertainly, shaking her
head. Staring anew, she asked, "Do you suppose we should ask Fuji?
He might have some small insight into the reavers' minds..."
Washuu considered the question thoughtfully, offering Nuku a smile
before answering, "We might as well. It couldn't hurt."
***
Usagi was not normally given to contemplation, or deeply searching
insight. That wasn't to say that she was a fool, exactly, as much as
it was to say that she preferred having the situation such that she
needn't think about what she was doing. And her situations,
generally, were much more clear cut than the present.
Mamoru's mind was made up already on the subject, and part of Usagi
wanted to agree with him, and simply state that Higurashi was wrong.
But there was something that she simply couldn't dismiss... as much
as he looked like a half-youma monster, as much as he had powers
like theirs... He didn't need to name any spells, so it was an
ability of his, not magic.
At least, she thought that was what it was... Perhaps his grandmother
would know better? "Cologne?" she asked the woman, who was carefully
reading through the aged parchments that Ranma had given her.
The old woman looked up, raising her eyebrows. "Yes, Child?" she
returned, carefully tucking the papers away into her robes somewhere.
"Why was Ranma angry at us?" she asked carefully.
Mamoru grumbled at that, arms crossed over his chest as he dubiously
watched the pair converse. Rei and Eric stood across the street with
Michiru, staring at something further down the road and conversing
quietly, while Hotaru simply admired the small square of cloth that
Ranma had given her, ignoring Mamoru's reproachful attitude.
"Ah," Cologne said, nodding knowingly. "He's simply doing what any
hot-blooded young man would do to defend his honor."
"What do you mean?" Usagi asked, mystified. Had the reavers done
something to damage his honor?
"Allow me to clarify a little," Cologne drawled, drawing a pipe from
her robes and putting it to her mouth thoughtfully. She did not
light the pipe, merely left it in her mouth while she looked
thoughtful. "Now, much of what I know is not my place to say,
because it falls on Ranma and his ancestors. What I can tell you,
however, is that Ranma's many times great-grandfather and many times
great-grandmother have charged him with doing what he can to protect
everyone." She nodded to herself, then gestured with the pipe,
indicating the crowd. "Everyone here, he's trying to protect. Why he
was angry at you is because... for whatever reason, some of the same
energy exists in the crystal you bear, as in the monsters he fights."
"So he hates the monsters?" Usagi asked quietly. "I can't blame him
for that."
"I don't know many who could," Cologne remarked dryly. "I don't think
he was angry at you, as much as the power that created the reavers."
After a moment, Usagi thought to ask, "What was Ranma-san like?
Mamo-chan told me that Hibiki-san and Mousse-san explained some of
it a while ago, but we've never really met him before."
"Well, I've kept him busy training," the old woman admitted. "I don't
know him as well as I would like to. Hmm. I suppose you could say
that he's a very driven person, and he refuses to let anyone keep
him down, though he forgives easily enough once he wins... I don't
think that's changed much. He's not really that different from
anyone else, I suppose."
"Except that he can fly, walk through solid objects, and everyone
seems to forgive him for threatening Usako," Mamoru spat.
"Watch your mouth, child," Cologne advised, her eyes narrowing.
"You've killed a reaver, haven't you? Young Rei struck it with her
ki and you crushed it, yes?"
The man nodded uneasily. "Yeah," he allowed. "I did. Why?"
"Ranma's killed six before today," she said. Mamoru fumed silently,
glowering, and Cologne added, "Of course, the largest number of
kills isn't everything, not by a long shot... the point, however, is
that we're in the middle of a war, child. A war that I, for one, do
not intend to lose.
"However, in a war, you must cast aside petty and childish things and
be prepared to do what must be done." She frowned thoughtfully,
aware of Hotaru's sudden attention, and Usagi's curious gaze.
"Consider this, child," she began again. "Mousse and Ryouga, have
fought with Ranma nearly non-stop since they met, because that's
what they do. Like any martial artist, they seek to constantly
improve themselves, and that means they would fight constantly."
"So he thinks that he can threaten Usagi and get away with it?"
Mamoru growled.
"Not at all," Cologne continued smoothly. "But I'll tell you this
much -- whenever something came up that required them to work
together, they would do that. Much more so, now. Child, our lives
depend on all of us combining our strengths and working through this
together. I don't think for a heartbeat that any of us will win if
we fail to ally with one another. "
Mamoru's anger faded slightly, and he shook his head, frowning. "If
you say so," he muttered dubiously.
Cologne shook her head, turning back to Usagi. "Did you have any
other questions, child?" she asked.
The girl simply shook her head. She'd learned a bit, as little as she
liked it. Still, it was something to think about, and there was
something inside her that couldn't be denied that told her that
Ranma was the key to a puzzle... one she'd do well to solve, if she
wanted to protect people.
Her thoughts were distracted by the refugees, moving forward slowly,
then slightly faster, until they were moving at a calm pace, quickly
striding down the street. Smiling, she said, "It's working! We're
going to get everyone else to safety!"
***
"Yukojino?"
The mechanized interface whirred to life as summoned, absurdly
human-like features descending from the central computer's dome and
turning to blink at the speaker. "Yes?"
"How long until we get to Earth?"
"Current course and headings indicate that we should be able to reach
Sol system within two standard days, given minor variance for
galactic weather conditions."
Mihoshi sighed, slumping in her seat, her uniform slightly disheveled.
The computer blinked at her again, prompting, "Is there anything else?"
"Can't we go any faster?" she pleaded. "Tenchi said that he wanted me
to do my best, and this is taking too long!"
"Without breaking formation with the advance convoy, we are
constrained to our current deadline, Mihoshi. Perhaps you should
take a break, and rest?"
"I don't want to," Mihoshi pouted. "I want to get to Earth faster."
"You are welcome to attempt to improve on my current route, but we
are unlikely to find a more efficient path at this juncture."
Mihoshi shrugged indifferently, idly punching a button, and calling
up the display. She stared at the path in confusion, and complained,
"This will take forever! Can't we just take another way?"
Yukojino regarded her momentarily, then warned, "Changing route
mid-jump would be inadvisable."
"But you just said that I was welcome to find a better route!"
Mihoshi complained, absently stabbing at the display with one
finger, eyes firmly fixed on Yukojino. The computer chirped
negation, a low grinding, unpleasant noise. Unbeknownst to her, the
current course heading shifted its route, going in a straight line
through a clearly labeled black hole.
The second she removed her finger, the computer changed the course back.
"That route adjustment has been considered and calculated. Changes
would extend travel time by an unknown duration."
The blonde sighed unhappily, slumping over the console. "This is
boring, and I want to help," she pouted.
***
The same, unyielding docile blandness passed beneath it without
according further notice than the most efficient route and method
that a later pass would consume it. Occasional breaks came, rarer
metals or other materials being phased through quickly, but that was
not what it was looking for.
That came into its mental view shortly. It wasn't certain how it
managed to hear the signals it did, though only a very few escaped
its sensory net. This site, though, was something that needed to be
destroyed and abandoned, before the invisible poison from the target
seeped through its armor.
Defenses on the compounds were unworthy of note, not offering
noticeable resistance before they were mown down, and everything
that felt remotely vulnerable was destroyed. That done, it drew
back, surveying the damage to itself. Only three segments weakened,
and those not beyond recovery. A fourth only grazed by the poison,
but escaped.
Good.
Attention unfocused for a moment, taking in the entirety of itself.
There were not enough; there needed to be more. Some component was
missing, though. It couldn't tell what.
It spent a moment, planning on focusing its attention on the two that
its mistress desired, and the others that confounded it.
It desired so much to rend the flesh and eat the bones of its enemy.
It replayed a moment of striking down the one who was of it and yet
not, reveling in the hatred, denying the fear. Always, always,
always it would be thwarted.
Not this time.
Defenses were prepared, as enemies were catalogued.
Some of them could be felt in its mind. Where to attack... where to
attack... the one that made cold. She would need to be destroyed.
The docks had been a failure at the last attempt, though. One of the
things there frightened it -- was of it, yet _not_ it. That too,
needed to be destroyed. But it was dangerous.
It had sent much of itself towards the strange construct that all of
the weak flesh-beings had walked to, but those were thwarted, too.
No matter where it went, it would attract the attention of that
other, that favored. Then to attack in two places at once? Or
perhaps more?
How much of itself could it spare to the task?
Enough.
Yes.
All was ready.
***
Ranma shivered suddenly, and stood, shrugging his shoulders
nervously. Washuu couldn't tell what had upset him, merely that
something had. "Ranma?" she asked cautiously. "What's wrong?"
"Dunno," Ranma answered quietly. "But I got a _real_ bad feeling."
Whirling, he seized his still-sleeping partner, and turned to
Norris. "Norris?" he asked. "Tell your men to keep a real close eye
out. Something's up."
Following up Ranma's hunch, Washuu turned her attention to the
monitors she had set up. "Ah," she said, frowning. "Well, China
won't be firing any more nuclear warheads at us."
Norris scratched behind his ear nervously. "I'm not going to like
finding out why, am I?" he asked.
"They've all been destroyed by reavers, it looks like."
"In a way, I can't complain," Norris grumped. "They finally did
something that helps us. Okay. Patterson, have all ground-forces on
the alert, tighten up the cordon since we're actually moving people,
and have Dew's team watch out. Yosho's team's been attacked twice
today already." Norris's aide nodded quickly, and began speaking
quickly into the radio.
The man then turned to Washuu, his glance flickering to Setsuna for
the merest moment before he asked, "Did you find anything else that
can help us?"
"Yes," Washuu said slowly. "Another lunar array, this one less
overpowered than the Ethos array. This one is just a lunar based
matter disruption cannon."
"How's it work?" he asked cautiously.
"The Halcyon array is a very sophisticated weapon," Setsuna answered,
glancing at the screen and reading the details. "It might be enough
to turn the tide."
"It's an exceptionally crude weapon," Washuu countered. "But that
could help us more in the long run."
Setsuna scowled. "It's not that bad," she muttered.
"It's good enough. It'll turn everything in its targeted area
unstable, and cause it to collapse into its component atoms.
However, it's not a precision weapon, and the side-effects of all
those compounds being ripped apart into basic atoms and then
recombining is not exactly a good thing."
"At this point it's a tradeoff we'd have to accept," Setsuna admitted.
"Will it work on the reavers?" Norris asked skeptically.
"It should," Washuu said, frowning. "It operated just like radiation.
At the very least, we'll get a few shots off before it becomes
useless -- it's only got enough energy left for a few shots anyway."
Norris nodded slowly. "Great. What kind of area does it cover?"
"About a mile square," Washuu said.
"Okay. Well, be prepared to use it if the opportunity arrives, but it
sounds pretty dangerous -- it'll kill us just as easily, after all."
"Only if we're careless," Washuu said, shaking her head. "Sufficient
shielding on our part can block it if we have to, and masu aren't
affected by it anyway."
"Masu?"
Ranma snorted, breaking from his silence, and explained, "Me and the
rat. But I don't think I can manage another shield at the moment, at
least, not for very long. It's taking a lot out of me to just keep
that one going." He broke off, gesturing to the glimmering wall of
force. "I guess it's just radiation, but it's still there. I can
feel it..." He cracked his knuckles, agitated, and looked to Washuu
for guidance.
"The effect only lasts for a few seconds," she said. "I think you
could stop that without exerting yourself too much. But we don't
want to take that risk if we don't have to."
"I wish I had my sword," Ranma muttered.
"Ranma-papa-san?" Nuku asked anxiously. "Can I fight with you?"
Ranma scowled, and shook his head. "Just protect Washuu, Atsuko."
After a moment of hesitation, he handed Ran-oh-ki back to her,
shaking his head. "I have a really bad feeling--"
"Commodore! We have reports of an attack from Ryouga's group!"
Washuu turned to tell Ranma to be safe, but he was already gone.
"Damn it," she swore softly, noting that Ranma had left Setsuna behind.
Norris frowned, looking around. "Anything else?" he asked after a moment.
"Another attack among Cologne's group, Sir."
"All right. Men, spread out, and stand at the ready!" Norris shouted
to his Marines.
-----------------------------
[End, Process of Elimination chapter 10, Part A]
Author's notes:
The pre-readers have been sacked. No one has yet dared brave this fic
for grammar and spelling. Thanks to Slacker, Bjorn, Ginrai, and
MageOhki for general impressions on the flow of the chapter.