Tenchi Muyo Fan Fiction / Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction / Crossover Fan Fiction ❯ The Goddess Dilemma ❯ Nine ( Chapter 9 )

Disclaimer: No mine, not yours, no money here.

 

Rant: I left a bi-directional cliffhanger in the last chapter for a reason, to see what the reading public would say. However, since I didn't get the reviews needed for a direction to take, I have to wander off on my own. Don't blame me. For future reference, please don't ASSUME in reviews. I live life by the motto: “Assumption is the mother of all fuck-ups”.

 

The Goddess Dilemma part nine

 

By: Jim Ohki

 

“I was hoping to not have to use this option,” said Sasami, “She would lose her corporeal form in the process, but this has the highest probability of success.”

 

As she was explaining this, the entire entourage was gathered in a seldom used control room in the rear sections of Tsunami. Seto lay on a biobed, modesty held intact only by a thin blanket. On the tree equivalent was one of the six trees that she had created in hopes of a new bondmate for Seto.

 

“This is a one way process,” added Washu, “We'll still be able to communicate with her, she with us, but the best she might ever manage would be an astral form.”

 

“Just do it,” gasped a weak Seto, getting tired of hearing the same thing over and over again. She was well aware of the risks, but as she was the one holding the group up in this dimension, this would allow for the attempt to get home.

 

There were no pyrotechnics. Seto simply phased completely out of being, and a minute energy trail led into her new shell, a First Generation sapling named Miseto.

 

“All right, let's blow this Popsicle stand,” barked Ryoko, earning nods from all around. Ryo-Ohki was staying silent since her vocalizations would scare the living hell out of that funny character with the pig-tail.

 

“I have a weak lock on our home dimension,” stated Washu, “Hopefully we make it on the first try. If not, then we are going to end up God knows where.”

 

“Buckle your seat belts, eh?” intoned Ranma, making tracks for the nearest chair. It had been decided to make the dimensional jump from Tsunami, simply because it meant that nobody was separated from the group. That, and there was a faint risk that Tsunamis' Sister could rip apart. Even with everything on the three in one ship in the green, it was certainly safer while they conducted the experiment.

 

All present were seated a strapped in with a five point NASCAR harness. Their eyes were on the monitors as a subspace gate opened, then loomed larger as Tsunami approached. Just as the flagship of the Juraian Navy touched the event horizon, she pitched wildly to port. Then there was darkness for all . . .

 

-(Universe C, EVA year 2015)-

 

“MA'AM!” shouted Aoba, who was monitoring the Magi while the plan to free Unit One from the Twelfth Angel progressed. “The MAGI have detected a veritable rainbow from behind the moon! Got just about every color up there except orange and blue.”

 

“What the hell is this?” demanded Major Misato Katsuragi, who had chosen to lean over Maya Ibuki to read the displays. “Three yellow, one red, seventeen gray, and nine purples?”

 

“The signal is on the move, in our direction,” commented Maya, not daring to take her eyes off of her twin Heads-Up Displays. The HUDs had both a currently star filled view of space in the direction of the moon, and the other had the Twelfth Angel.

 

“Nothing on visual yet,” added Aoba, “No change in the Angel either.”

 

“What - those signals just disappeared!” shouted Doctor Ritsuko Akagi, who was manning the third station during what had originally been a bathroom break. “A few of the signals now on the surface, half a click away from the target. They are too close . . .”

 

“Continue the operation,” ah, here we go. Three guesses to who this speaker was, and none of them count, especially if you know the Eva series. Need a hint? Think: BIGGEST ASSHOLE EVER, and CANDIDATE FOR WORST FATHER EVER. Yes! You win the fabulous no-prize by guessing Gendo Ikari.

 

“Movement within the Angel!” yelled Maya, taking her eyes off of the newcomers to watch what would happen next.

 

-(Tokyo-3 Streets)-

 

“What the hell is this place?” demanded Ranma, getting a very bad vibe from both the jumbo shadow on the ground and the flying Zebra Ball. He was part of a small survey team, consisting of Tenchi, Seina, Washu, Kiriko and Karin. The rest had been literally forced to remain onboard both Tsunami and Sister, since this was obviously the wrong dimension.

 

“Damn,” muttered Washu, eyebrows raised at her HoloTop, “This is the weirdest shit I have ever come across. They have a bazillion and one firewalls guarding even the library computers. At least I got a year, 2015.”

 

“Great, another alternate reality,” chimed in Seina.

 

“This one feels . . . wrong,” shuddered Karin, eyeballing the flying ball. The shadow suddenly cracked and spewed blood. The ball began to convulse in several different directions at once, then a blood coated fist appeared.

 

“C'MON!” roared Ranma, Tenchi and Seina as they rounded up the other half of the survey team to seek shelter behind a building. That proved to not work when the streets flowed and flooded with blood.

 

“Up we go!” chorused Washu, having somehow smashed seven inch thick bullet proof glass with a gesture. Nobody else argued, but Ranma mumbled that it was unfair that he had to at least touch something to break it. The entire team made it to the roof to see the reemergence of Unit One into the world, roaring with anger at being restrained.

 

“COOL!” shouted Ranma, earning weird looks from the others. “I saw this anime. We have entered the Neon Genesis Evangelion dimension. If I remember right, that was the Twelfth Angel. Wait a minute . . .” he trailed off, racking his brain for the rest of the Eva series. The others looked around, taking note of the high level of blood everywhere, and the fact that there should be more buildings up than this.

 

BOOM! And the purple Angel eater hath fallen from thine sky . . .

 

“We are here for a reason,” suddenly stated Ranma, a look of determination on his face. “That biomecha is known as Unit One, and now that the . . . berserk? Yeah, that's it . . . berserk mode has shut down, they are going to retract it under ground to their facility. I get the feeling we were brought here to either assist in their struggle, or at the very least witness just how low humanity can go.”

 

“And?” queried Tenchi, an eyebrow arched, “What are you getting at?”

 

“We need to be on the elevator when they pull that unit underground,” suddenly spoke Washu, “My sensors work fine, even though I can't get into the networks here. They detect something, something familiar, in the complex below us. We need to figure out just what is going on.”

 

“Damn it,” cursed the cursed youth, “I can't remember what happens next. I know they will have their hands full with the Thirteenth Angel, but for the life of me I can't remember what the event was.”

 

“Let's go,” commanded Seina, heading for the edge of the roof, “Besides, we do have a mecha of our own. If we encounter trouble we should be able to get out of it.”

 

With a quick change into the Dark Seraphim form, Ranma was able to accommodate the group easily. He took flight in the direction of a now on its' feet Eva. He flew low to the ground, hoping that this would put him below the radar. They made it to the elevator with no incident, hiding behind the right foot as the platform began to drop underground.

 

“Now what, genius?” quipped Washu, noting that Ranma was back to normal. Her sensors detected no listening devices or visual recorders, the first sign of any lax in the security.

 

“Once the elevator gets to the bottom, we are going to have to make a break for it,” he answered, suddenly remembering that to save on the cost of animation there were no service doors visible. As they descended lower into the complex, the launch tube doors overhead began to close. Kiriko and Seina looked at each other, then back up the way they had come.

 

“Now this is a problem,” she said, earning the attention of the others, “My link to Mizuki is blocked now. I can still hear her, but she can't hear me.”

 

“Same here,” added Seina, “I can hear Idol, but she can't hear me. Fuku is just as confused, and from what I can tell only the assurances that we are still kicking is keeping the others from coming down here weapons blazing.”

 

“What -” started to demand Ranma, before trying to access his subspace pocket. “Damn, I can't even get to my stuff in storage. Looks like this will be all physical, and mental. We are going to have to outthink our enemies down here.”

 

“Sublevel thirteen; Eva cages, house wares and lingerie.” came from a hidden PA system, spooking everybody. There were also a few chuckles at the announcement, and a few blushes.

 

“Here we go,” stated Ranma, “Follow my lead.” After spotting a service door twenty feet away, one that had decent foxholes, he made a break for it. The others filed in behind him side by side to hide their numbers. Especially since the shorter people ran against the wall, out of visual range of the catwalks.

 

They made it to the door with out incident, making use of the cover provided by solid steel crates. There were no obvious alarm trips hooked into the door, but rather than risk it sounding the others waited for Washu to finish her probing.

 

“I don't believe this,” she deadpanned, “But apparently security is uber-lax this deep in the complex. Probably never figured that somebody would break in through here. There's nothing on the door or the corridor behind it. No motion sensors, laser beams, nothing.”

 

“BAKSAI TENKETSU!” whispered Ranma, breaking the door with one finger. The rest of the team stared at the dust created by such a door crumbling.

 

“Move out,” ordered Ranma, in charge since this was converted to a ground-based covert operation. He led the way into the hallway beyond, and straight into a surprised platoon of security officers.

 

“Well shit,” he mumbled, “This is not what I had in mind.” With that out of the way, he bowled into the officers before they could raise their weapons. He blurred into a fluid motion, taking out three guards while one in the rear fell back to call for reinforcements. Ranma was simply disarming the guards, hoping that they would get the hint. It was not to be as the alarm sounded, and more guards poured into the hallway.

 

Karin reacted the best way she knew how, by whipping out Durandal, the sword possessed in her family for nine generations. Instantly slicing her way through the guards, defeating the message Ranma was trying to send about not meaning any harm.

 

A few tried to dog pile Seina, only to be sent flying as his enhanced body overrode those of his attackers. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed Kiriko draw her GP blaster and firing at the mob of guards. Tenchi had his sword out, slicing weapons that came within range of himself and Washu. The scientist herself was within a shield, the occasional bullet bouncing off of it in random directions.

 

“I summon you . . . PHOENIX!” roared Karin as she twirled to the right in a full circle, using her sword like a sling for her attack, which she knew as Sonnestark. An image of a Phoenix appeared, and flew through the guards, igniting most of them in fiery death.

 

“Hard ball, eh?” commented Ranma, flinging several Yami-Sen-Kens' into the crowd, ignoring the screams of pain and slow death. The guards all stopped what they were doing, trying to maim and kill our heroes, and stepped back as Commander Gendo Ikari made his presence known.

 

“That is quite enough,” he offhandedly remarked, taking note of the causalities. “Now then, who are you people and what are you doing in NERV?”

 

The team fell back into a circle, keeping an eye on the guards that had them surrounded. Even though they had heard what they assumed to be the head cheese in the place, they decided to play dumb.

 

“No comprende,” said Ranma, the only two words in Spanish that did not deal with food that he knew. Karin launched into German, which considering that her version of it was almost a hundred years old made it hard to translate. Washu and Kiriko started speaking in their native tongues, which considering that they were never from Earth made it impossible for anybody else to understand them. Seina and Tenchi simply remained quiet, not provoking the situation they were in.

 

“Shoot them,” ordered Gendo, as he turned around to walk away from this latest irritant, without even giving his name to our heroes.

 

“Oh no you don't!” roared Tenchi, bringing his Light Hawk Wings to the fore. He only used one for armor, while the other two became whirling blades of death. The fifty guards present opened fire at just about anything that moved, and since Ranma and Seina were spurred into action, that equaled a lot of friendly fire. Ranma barreled into the closest cluster, spinning like a top sending bodies flying in all directions. Seina had taken to snapping weapons in half, scaring a few guards away.

 

“Open door L-Seven-Nine-Foxtrot,” came Gendo's voice other the din of the chaotic battle. He had noticed that the redhead sword-user had switched to an old Ruger pistol, as well as what looked like the first variant of the machinegun.

 

It all mattered for not, as the female part of the team was clustered around each other in a triangular defense. Thus they were standing on the door that the Commander had ordered open, knowing that the tunnel beneath it led into the detention area. The look on their faces was priceless when the door opened, and it took gravity a moment to get their attention before they fell into the darkness.

 

“Now, you three,” sneered Gendo and the male half of the team, “If you want to see them again you'll behave . . .”

 

“I don't think so,” said Ranma while giving Gendo the finger, then he dove into the still open trapdoor. Sounds of a large battle erupted from the tunnel, reminding Seina and Tenchi that there were plenty of bad guys standing around with weapons pointing in their direction. They both went into hog-wild bashing mode, mowing down the soldiers like paper.

 

Lots of gunfire erupted from the trapdoor, followed by a grunt. Then there was silence for a moment, which spooked those on the upper level. Then they heard Ranma's voice.

 

“All right, now I am PISSED! YOU HURT HER!”

 

Tenchi and Seina both fell back towards the door, hoping to see what was happening on the lower levels. Even the guards they were supposed to be fighting were spooked by the tone in the voice, freezing them in place.

 

That is, until the entire complex began to shake . . .

 

“BAKSAI TENTEKSU!” they heard, followed by protests from the superstructure as a part of it went flying in various directions as shrapnel. The guards engaged down below screamed, taking large amounts of damage. As those on the upper level watched the door, the females from before reappeared after quite literally being thrown back up.

 

Karin had a wound to her abdomen, and was bleeding profusely. Washu and Kiriko were merely dirty from intense battle, and were doing their best to save the life of the former German Officer.

 

“SUPER BAKSAI TENKETSU: EARTHQUAKE!” came from down below again, and this time the rumble didn't stop. The overhead lights began to sway in random directions, many catwalks groaned in protest, neatly stacked crates fell over.

 

“We have to get to the safest place around here,” quietly stated Washu to the others, as the extra hands tended to the wounded member. “It would probably be somewhere around the Eva cages, or in the basement of the complex. Either way, we have got to do something before this place falls down around our ears.”

 

WHOOSH

 

Ranma reappeared from down below, looking extremely pissed off. He had morphed into Neo Amon, the God of Wrath unplugged. This form wasn't restricted like the Amon form, even though it was just as ugly. Standing at just over eight feet tall he looked more like a Demon than a God. Thick black leathery hide from head to toe, leather wings, and three finger talons completed the look of most men's nightmares.

 

This was equally true when somebody fired a pistol in his direction, only to reveal a bulletproof hide. The guards froze momentarily, and that was all that Ranma needed. He flew into the ranks, crushing heads and ripping people in half. Blood sprayed everywhere, motivating the other guards to either fall back or die fighting instead of standing around looking stupid.

 

All of a sudden Ranma turned around and began a flight path out the door they had come in. He scooped the others up, mostly throwing them on his back to free his arms for Karin. He then flew an evasive pattern deeper into the still vibrating complex, following the launch pad rails toward the cages.

 

-(Eva cages)-

 

“Damn it, what's going on out there?” demanded Shinji Ikari, Third Child and all around wuss-hero of the world. Even with his fresh return from the unscheduled vacation inside of an Angel, he and the other two Pilots were still kept in their Evas.

 

“Yeah!” chimed in Asuka Langley Sorhyu, Second Child and all around bitch-hero of the world.

 

“I would like to know also,” came from Rei Ayanami, a surprise to those that knew the First Child. Rei was classified more in the anti-hero column because she never did what a typical hero would do. Like trash talking, or hating the task. There was just . . . nothing.

 

“You're about to find out the easy way,” came the voice of Major Misato Katsuragi. “Intruders were near the catapults, now moving towards your location . . .”

 

“We've got movement here!” shouted Asuka as she forced her Eva out of the docking mechanism. “What the hell is that?”

 

“MAGI classifies it as a black pattern,” answered Misato, “We can't tell what the other patterns are, but there is NO blue or orange pattern detected.”

 

“SHINJI!” roared the beast that had just flown into the cages, making more than a few technicians cringe in fear. After all this creature was a bringer of death, and to have his attention was a bad idea. “OPEN YOUR PLUG!”

 

“What the-?” began Shinji, not grasping the situation even as the beast landed on Unit One's left shoulder. “What the hell?”

 

The last was exclaimed as Unit One reacted on her own. The people in the command tower were throwing a fit over the fact that the Eva was in a mild berserk state, again. As least the beast wasn't thrashing about, imitating a giant purple people eater.

 

Then, much to the surprise of those in the tower and the other two Eva's, did Shinji's head disappear between a pair of legs that started in a micro-skirt . . .

 

“Goddamnit,” came the muffled voice of the Third Child, “this most certainly takes the cake at the top of my `How-Fucked-Up-Can-Things-Get' meter.”

 

Then he caught a whiff.

 

No, not from the proximity of his head to her . . . yeah . . . but a smell he was all to familiar with. Even in an Eva it was easy to tell that whoever she was she was bleeding. Okay, now he had a motive for his Eva doing things on her own. Plus he had reason to reinsert the plug and deal with the damn blood smell.

 

“Contamination in the nerve links!” reported Maya Ibuki, wondering why Shinji would have reset the plug into the Eva in a situation like this. “Wait, Asuka don't-!”

 

WHAM

 

“Too late,” barely summed up what just happened. Asuka, in a bizarre mentality that only she can produce, took it upon herself to swat the fly that was Ranma. Since that fly had been hovering next to the head of Unit One, that meant taking a swing. Shinji's head disappeared under the skirt itself, which considering that it was technically not there, meant physical contact. He started thrashing around, arms and legs going wild in several directions at once to get out of his current predicament. Shinji faintly heard Unit Zero tackling Unit Two, initiating a cat-fight of Eva proportions.

 

-(Behind the moon, onboard Tsunamis` Sister)-

 

“Something's wrong,” stated the last person thought to know these things. Her bond to her husband was still strong, but there was a vibe coming from it that meant one thing and one thing only.

 

He was in a rage, never a good thing.

 

“I agree Kasumi,” came from the second most unlikely person to state something in matters like this. “To think, we aren't there to capture this on video. The profits that could be made would be spectacular.”

 

“Always with the money, eh Nabiki?” teased Taki, who had opened up to the group after her inauguration. Since it was a two way street, she had been informed in private about everything that each member of the Certificate had done to the point they had met. Well, there were still a few things that she didn't know, after all everybody has to have a secret or two.

 

Then those of the RSC felt it. Ranma had gone beyond rage to completely and utterly pissed off. Just as they were about to make noise about assisting those on the surface, the SYC felt something from the pair they had sent in the survey team.

 

“What the -” stated a spooked Amane, “What the hell is going on down there?”

 

“Still no contact,” said Tsunami, while trying her best to decipher the mystery around the blocked mind links but lack of block on pure emotion.

 

“That's it, party time,” declared Ryoko as she switched her attire for her combat suit. “They are in trouble, we'd better mobilize and attack.”

 

“She's . . . hurt?” questioned the entire RSC at the same time, wondering where that had come from. Instantaneously did it dawn on them that the only `she' that would get to Ranma like that would be Karin. All three Crews felt it when alarms began to sound.

 

“Highly localized Earthquake, sector five of the Japanese Islands,” said one screen, “Cause: Unknown.”

 

“Let's go!” commanded Urd as she cracked her knuckles.

 

-(NERV, Command Bridge)-

 

“WE HAVE INCOMING FROM BEHIND THE MOON!” roared Hyuga, having taken a forty-five minute bathroom break. He was in his seat not two seconds when the MAGI went crazy trying to track the patterns coming from on high and the ones in their own belly.

 

“Goddamnit, get Units Zero and Two to stop fighting, we have bigger problems!” demanded Misato, pulling on her hair as the stress level increased.

 

“Contamination in Unit One has vanished,” said a surprisingly calm Ibuki, “The passenger is still alive, and has boosted Shinji's sync ratio to eighty-nine percent steady.”

 

“SIR!” shouted Aoba, “Sensors are going down all over Tokyo-Three! JSSDF troops are attacking us!”

 

That got a reaction out of Gendo. It was way too early for the attack to commence, and he knew without a doubt that the Mass Production Evas weren't finished yet. Or so he hoped, considering that SEELE always withheld something from him.

 

“Rei, get the Lance and retreat to the surface,” he ordered, making tracks for his private elevator. “Unit One, sortie to the surface with Unit Two. All personnel evacuate.”

 

There was stunned silence in the Tower at that final command, but obviously Gendo had something up his sleeve or he wouldn't dream of abandoning the Geofront.

 

“You heard the man, everybody up top pronto!” roared Misato, shooing the techs out as fast as she could.

 

All the while, the shaking never stopped . . .

 

-(Tokyo-3, streets)-

 

The masses, are rather what was left of them, fled in terror as the Eva units appeared on the surface, followed by the staff of NERV. The artillery on the ground opened up in their direction, while the troops attacked the security detail that was supporting the staff.

 

Those remaining in the survey team were clustered around Unit One, doing their best to keep any unsavory characters away from her.

 

The battle was fierce, as both sides ruthlessly attacked and counterattacked the other. Many fell on both sides. Yet there suddenly was a common goal when Ryo-Ohki appeared in ship form, and began firing wildly at anything and everything that moved.

 

“Ah great, here we go,” deadpanned Washu, watching at not only Ryo-Ohki, but Tsunami and Sister got in on the act with strafing runs. Although after the first run, Sister reformed into an operable mecha, ready to battle any foe.

 

The ground troops panicked when apparent alien reinforcements arrived. They had noticed a few odd-balls guarding the primary target, but to see even more of these odd-balls guarding not only the mecha but each other really got under their skin.

 

Especially when the two ships on attack runs would zip by overhead, unleashing white death at the forces below.

 

“We've got to get you out of here,” panted Ayeka, who had quickly been forced onto the defensive by the bullets zinging through the air.

 

“Are you insane?” demanded Seina, “Not without Karin. Ranma would go absolutely ape-shit if we left her behind.”

 

“She knows that,” defended Tenchi, giving his cousin a hard look while slicing a few unfortunate NERV guards that had attempted a covert attack on them. “However, our mission . . . whatever the hell that is supposed to be . . . is not finished here.”

 

“Forget it,” barked Washu, “Ayeka is right, we have to get out of here. Whatever was in the bottom of the complex has either died or straight disappeared. My sensors don't detect . . . wait a minute, what the hell is that?” she pointed at Unit Zero, who was getting ready to throw the spear looking thing at Tsunamis' Sister.

 

“FUKU!” yelled Seina, even though the distance was too great for audio reception, “Idol, open the Wings!”

 

His message was conveyed by his link to the two, and they followed the command. Using the Light Hawk Wings of Mizuki, the standard Y pattern, did Fuku help to protect the front. Then Idol opened her Wings, which brought the ground battle to a halt. The six, yes count `em SIX, wing pattern started with a circular disk coming out of the back contained by another slightly larger disk, then two wings for each side was used from the protrusion, forming actual wings. The last two were used after that, forming smaller wings above the larger ones. (Anybody who has seen the GXP episode Parallel will know what I'm talking about.)

 

Unit Zero did a three step wind up, then let fly the Lance of Longinus (damn it, I'm not looking that up) at what was assumed to be the greatest threat.

 

All were surprised when the Lance struck the Wings as a spear, hovered in mid-air, then morphed into a pronged one. However, since the Lance was supposedly created to puncture an AT Field, or Light of the Soul, it was having no effect on the Wings since they weren't made from Soul material.

 

Then something unexpected happened when the Lance completed unfurled, slithered around the giant white mecha, and reformed as a sword on Idols' back. Seeing as in how that weapon was having no effect, the ground forces resumed their bombardment of the Evas and the Alien ships.

 

“Time to go!” declared Tenchi as bullets once again zinged through the air. Then he pointed up at Unit One. “How the hell do we get Karin outta there?”

 

Ranma was fighting like he had never fought before. There was no opportunity for any one on one match-ups, since the entire battle had been a melee. He was aware of the rest of the survey team pointing up at Unit One, then jabbering at each other, then pointing again. Instinctively he knew what they were arguing about, the best way to get Karin out of the purple beast. But there were too many firearms in play at the moment to allow Shinji the time to eject the Plug, get her out and reinsert without being sniped at.

 

Time to see what a tested attack would do on, say a group of five thousand.

 

After a quick morph back to Dark Seraphim, he took to the skies after saying three little words:

 

“For the Child . . .”

 

Immediately did the survey team and their reinforcements vanish into either Tsunami or Sister, which then pulled into a higher orbit to avoid the attack. Ryo-Ohki wasn't far behind them in her own strategic retreat, taking careful note not to make a sound and break Ranma's concentration.

 

Unit One suddenly dove away from the projected impact zone, even though said dive didn't disrupt the passenger contained within. Zero and Two had begun to attack the heavy artillery, but since Rei was more in tune to her surroundings did she catch on that somewhere else was about to become a lot safer than where she was.

 

The ground came to life in an explosion of epic proportions. The earthquake caused by Ranma earlier had subsided only to the point of being a nuisance. But when the attack from above combined with the still occurring attack below, the Geofront collapsed on itself, then exploded outward with the force of a Baksai Tenketsu. Every single foot soldier and artillery gunner within a two kilometer radius was lost in an instant.

 

It was only the quick thinking of Shinji and Rei that saved the bridge crew. However Asuka was being stubborn and refused to move from her location. Eva could take a beating, yes, but from ten trillion tons of earth, concrete and steel?

 

“I'm okay!” came Asuka's voice as the left hand of Unit Two appeared from a pile of rubble. Rei and Shinji set the bridge crew back on the ground, having used the jumbo-sized hands as a mobile bunker. Tsunami and Sister came back down from the higher orbit that they had moved to at the beginning of the end.

 

Ranma, as himself and not a bringer of death, walked right up to the right foot of Unit One. He glanced around at the NERV personnel that were standing around, then back up at the Eva. Just as he opened his mouth to speak, Unit Two landed on him after a leap from the crater that was the Geofront.

 

“RANMA!” cried out those that knew him, even Karin who had by this point returned to the land of the walking and rearranged herself in the plug of Unit One.

 

Very slowly, so that if there were blood and guts everywhere she could hastily replant the appendage, Asuka moved the left foot of her Eva. Much to her surprise, as well as the surprise of those present, Ranma stood there with his arms crossed buried up to his chest in the street.

 

“Hey, that hurt,” he deadpanned, giving a half-lidded glare at the red machine. “Could you watch where you step next time?”

 

-(Universe A, Ranma year 2005)-

 

Airi and Mikami had taken refuge in the Tendo residence after the local media became uber-persistent with their questions. Soun, Nodoka, Mousse, Ryoga, Nightmare, Kilik, Yunsung, Ivy, Maxi and Lucia stared at the intruders before deciding to leave them to their own devices. That was, until the prodigal child Akane returned from her visit on high. She received a mixed reception upon her return.

 

“AKANE!” “YOU!” “MY BABY GIRL!” “DIE!”

 

Yes, it was translated in that order. Once the hubbub of her return died down, the others noted that she was refusing to look at anybody let alone speak. Those that had uttered the promises of pain and death suddenly found a roadblock in the Homo-sapien-sized Tokimi.

 

“Stop now if you do not wish to share her curse,” evenly stated the Goddess, “or her fate.”

 

“Curse? Fate?” asked a bewildered Soun, before attempting to employ his Demon-head, “WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY BABY GIRL?”

 

The third Goddess of Jurai just stared at what was normally an impressive technique. She noted that everybody else had backed away from Mount Soun, just to see him turn into an art sculpture in a fountain.

 

“It is the will of Kami-sama,” she replied, “Nothing can be changed. Although, even somebody in my position would say that the punishment was very harsh.”

 

“And what punishment would that be?” wondered Nodoka, if nothing more than to have the information to relay to Ranma upon his return.

 

“Before or after Kimiko ripped her a new one?” smirked Tokimi in reply, taking a small pleasure in the reactions of the Saotome Matriarch and the Tendo Patriarch.

 

“Ouch,” blurted Mousse and Ryoga at the same time. They had been around long enough to know which subjects to avoid with whom no matter what. They even had their limits with Ranma, not that they exercised restraint when they would be taunted and otherwise goaded into it.

 

“Her fate first then,” stated Tokimi, “Since Akane here had a jealousy streak a mile wide of Ranma and his various abilities, from the Art to the way he could handle his own against anybody given enough time, it was decided upon by Him and a chosen Council that Akane would relive Ranma's life from the beginning of age five to the end of the Jusendo incident.”

 

That got the natives to gasp, especially considering the training methods used by Genma on his only descendant. All present saw Akane give a reaction to the mentioning of Ranma's life story, sans the editor in his brain that would soften the impact it had on others.

 

She shuddered, then fell to her knees crying. She had held out on her reaction in the presence of Him, in hopes of at least some mercy. That and her stubborn streak refused to let such emotions show in the presence of her mother.

 

“And what of her curse?” quietly inquired Airi, taking some pity on the young woman before her regardless of recent circumstances.

 

“Soun, sit,” barked the Goddess before answering, “Her Art is now part of her curse. She had been using it to bully and coerce others into her line of thinking. She would use it to beat Ranma, regardless if he deserved it or not. From this day forth, if she uses violence against another her intended effect will be transferred back to her. Akane Tendo is forbidden, by order of Kami-sama, the Seven Martial Arts Gods, the Greek Pantheon, and the Norse Pantheon, from practicing ANY Martial Art for the remainder of her life. And the next nine incarnations. Yes, for your information it was taken to a vote.”

 

Soun stood back up, taking the events better than was expected of the volatile man. He looked at Akane, then stormed out of the living room in the direction of the dojo. All was quiet for several minutes, until the sounds of heavy objects being broken filled the air. Those present from the Soul Calibur crew grew wide-eyed expressions at the mention of the Greeks and the Norns.

 

“Oh dear,” breathed Nodoka, taking in the sight of a crushed Akane and a furious Soun.

 

“Like I said,” sympathized Tokimi, “it was harsh. This is coming from somebody who has spent the last twenty thousand years in a dimensional prison. But it was deliberated within the Council chambers for nine hours before the sentence was carried out. The Greeks wanted her head, plain and simple, as an example.”

 

“How will she defend herself?” asked Ryoga, the ever thoughtful one. Thoughtful of how to turn this to his advantage while finding a way to blame Ranma.

 

“Not with any help from you, he-who-is-cursed-to-turn-into-a-pig,” growled Tokimi, before turning her attention to the rest of the people in the room. She ignored the way he blanched before continuing, “The other part of her curse, which does have its advantages, is that any who would or have lied, abused her mentally or physically, used her as bait against the Saotomes, or manipulated her with intent to harm will no longer give her excessive amounts of attention. This takes effect the first minute of tomorrow. She will still be able to function as a productive member of society as she will not be isolated, but rather treated with indifference to counter-act her need to be the center of it all. We have set several criteria for her to redeem herself, the details of which she alone knows and cannot speak of.”

 

The object of the conversation had stopped crying by this point, and was sitting there on the floor staring off into space. While not catatonic, Akane had decided that it would simply be easier to do an imitation of Nabiki's `Ice Queen' persona. There was a stomping of foot steps from the dojo, preceding Soun who was still hot under the collar.

 

“Young lady, you are GROUNDED!” he roared, “Go to your room, and do it NOW!”

 

Akane didn't even flinch, she just stood up and mechanically walked to her room. The soft click of her door shutting was the only signal that she had made it without her usual gusto for noise.

 

“Soun . . .” started Nodoka, only to be cut off by the man. He let out a frustrated sigh, then turned to the wife of his old training partner.

 

“I have disgraced and dishonored this house enough over the last ten years, ever since I lost my wife,” he said while sitting at the head of the table. “I had been too soft with her, had not been there when she or her sisters needed me. Instead I made my oldest wait on me hand and foot, the middle take care of the finances, and I let my youngest get spoiled rotten. Well, no more. Upon Ranma's return I shall ask him for forgiveness, then I will gladly turn this entire property over to him. It's not much, but it's at least a small reward for putting up with my stupidity.”

 

Nobody dared to question the when part . . .

 

­-(Universe B, Star Trek year 2379)-

 

Why has the story returned to this Universe? Just to take a quick look to see what changes had been made since the arrival and subsequent departure of our heroes.

 

“I don't believe this,” quipped Commander Riker while looking at the viewscreen. On one side of the current split screen view was, surprisingly, an open subspace aperture. Their guests had left quietly, yes, but also left the Federation feeling like crap. Mostly due to their ally, the Klingons, taking part in the destruction of their capital ship. The other side showed two ships, again surprisingly, both decommissioned to be presented as a `make-up' gift and all-around olive branch.

 

“You think I like this?” asked Picard with an even tone. He was masking his emotions the best at the moment, even though he had voiced his opinion to Command on the absurdity of this . . . offering. Word had come from Command on Earth that there were replacement ships available so that there would be no reason not to send the peace offering.

 

“I know you don't, especially not that particular ship,” commented Counselor Troi, “But Command has spoken, and their will be done.”

 

The two ships, at a complete stop in space, where the Prometheus and the Colorado. Command had sent to specially programmed EMH II's out to pilot the ships into the aperture. They had also sent word that there were three completed Prometheus class ships at the Utopia Shipyards. The Nebula they were parting with due to the age of the class, set to be completely retired in the next ten years. If all went well, but that's another story . . .

 

As a precaution, all of the external markings had been removed. Then the hulls had been painted a navy blue color, to throw off the Universe of origin. The computer cores were cleaned out, except for ship functions. The two holographic pilots would get the ships to their new `owners', then the computer would self-destruct their matrices. This way at least the ships would find their new Captains.

 

“They had better like the gifts from both the Federation and the Klingon Empire or so help me . . .” grumbled Worf, having been in charge of a quick refit. A few extra toys were included in the ships, further beefing the branch.

 

“Prometheus, Colorado you are cleared for entry. God speed to you.” said Picard from his chair, not bothering to stand up to watch as the former Starfleet ships vanished on their journey. He did note in his log that the aperture had finally closed . . .

 

-(Universe C, EVA year 2015)-

 

The NERV personnel were stupefied at the survival of an apparent human that had just been stepped on by an Evangelion. Many were uttering the “How, what, why, I need a beer” phrases, while the rest were staring in shock as Ranma extracted himself from the street. They all quieted down when Ranma casually strolled up to the foot of Unit Two and ripped a piece of armor off the right foot, then . . . tickled it?

 

“HAHAHAHA!” roared Asuka in a mix of anger at the damage done, and the fact that she herself was ticklish on that spot of her foot. Her laughing got worse when Ranma employed a Chestnut Tickle attack, then he leapt away as something that Akagi swore up and down was impossible happened.

 

It was a design oversight, but something organic like the Evas had to have the organs to purge themselves from time to time. Mostly it was highly controlled, since it was closely guarded that even the bio-mechas had to ingest something to stay alive without an operational S2 organ.

 

Controlled no more, Unit Two just pissed herself. Literally, both the pilot and the machine lost control in their fit of laughter. The systems in the plug handled that easily enough, but the red monster created a small lake where it stood.

 

“Now that I'm done playing around,” said Ranma without humor, “Can I please have my friend back?”

 

Since the battle was over, there was no reason for Shinji to hog such, in his opinion anyway, a beautiful German to himself. Granted, he would never voice his opinions to anybody, lest a certain German pilot found out that he could be persuaded by a female with red hair. He hunched Unit One as low to the ground as she would go, then ejected the plug. Once it was done draining, he opened it to see Ranma standing on the left shoulder of his Eva.

 

Ranma was surprised when Karin leapt of out the plug, back to her usual full of life self. The only evidence of being shot was the hole in her shirt. She grinded ear to ear at Ranma, which unnerved him for a reason he had yet to fathom, but knew that the answer would be coming soon.

 

“I see you're feeling better,” he quipped, before being smothered in a bear hug by the German beauty. His eyes grew to the size of dinner plates, daring to glance in the direction of his wives. Not so surprisingly was there money changing hands, most of it going to Kasumi. She simply smiled and waved back at him, a clear victor in the betting pool. Ranma let of a silent sigh in defeat, before rapping his arms around Karin.

 

“You saved me,” she said through the tears that had begun to fall, “Just like Yuri had saved me all those years ago. So brave you are, Ranma Saotome, and I have no doubts about you anymore . . .”

 

“Ho boy, you too eh?” he remarked with no trace of sarcasm or reproach, “My life just gets better and better as time goes on.”

 

“Time to go,” came Washu's voice from right beside Ranma, making the pair leap into the air in surprise. When they came down they turned a joint glare in the direction of their group scientist, before heading in the direction of the remained of the group.

 

“Bring the ships down,” directed Washu at Seina, “We've made too much of an impact here. It's high time we left.”

 

“Uh . . . okay,” he replied, not expecting somebody like her to give him an order as such. He then turned to the rest of his crew that was on the ground. Kiriko, Amane and Ryoko simply blinked back at him. Tenchi did likewise to Washu and Ayeka, looking in their direction as a challenge for them even being on the ground. Of course he knew where his Ryoko already was since Ryo-Ohki was hovering at a high altitude than Tsunami or the back to the first form Sister. Ranma glanced at the Tendo sisters, and for the life of him couldn't figure out why the two nominal noncombatants were on the ground. Deciding that he'd be better off not knowing, he led Karin over towards them.

 

“Where do you think you're going?” demanded Misato, gun at the ready. Granted, it would be nice to have these rouge elements as allies, she had to at least attempt detainment for her reports. They were all going to catch hell from SEELE as is was on the loss of the Lance and the Geofront. Might as well make it look like she tried to redirect the anger of the oldest farts this side of anywhere.

 

“Somewhere far away from you, cutie,” retorted Ranma, not liking to be threatened. Of course he realized that his mouth got away from him again, but would deal with it later. Especially since his group needed to have a long discussion of operation protocols.

 

“Flattery will get you nowhere,” replied the woman with nearly the same hair color as Xian Pu in an even tone.

 

“Except in her bed,” offhandedly remarked the redhead that had bladder control issues. Her attitude gave Ranma the creepiest feeling that if he and Akane had worked it out that this would be a dead ringer for his daughter.

 

“Whatever,” deadpanned Ranma, turning away from the now enraged woman. Because he wasn't focused on the ensuing brawl, he was the first to see a shadow pass by at high speed. Glancing in the direction of travel did Ranma see two familiar shapes suddenly turn around, and quite cumbersome due to not having an atmospheric design.

 

“The hell?” demanded Hyuga, though nobody was trading names. He had noticed the ships because when they banked to turn they created sonic booms from presenting more air resistance than normal.

 

“Something's different about those ships,” mumbled Washu before vanishing. To those that knew her, even on less of a basis than Tenchi did, it was not so surprising. Those NERV personnel in the area however, found it quite fearful that a person could up and disappear like that. Just as quickly she had disappeared Washu reappeared, further spooking the natives with her in and out behavior.

 

“Oh, you are gonna love this,” she said to Tenchi, Seina and Ranma. “Our last . . . encounter left them with a bad taste in their mouth, and I'm not referring to the dumped septic tank. Those are now ours to do with as we please. The holographic pilots absolutely insist that the Prometheus is Ranma's, while we should decide who gets the Colorado.”

 

“It should be somebody in his group,” offered Tenchi. “We already have two ships, Seina and his group have three. It would only be fair, considering that this does add to our resources. Not to mention those replicators.”

 

“Let's discuss this somewhere else,” hinted Karin while making a broad gesture with her left arm at the eavesdroppers.

 

“Right,” sounded off the rest, before vanishing to Sister. The five ships quickly ascended from the atmosphere to head beyond the asteroid belt. This would hopefully blind those on this Earth that had not seen what had happened. The contamination was greater here than in the last Universe visited, and was leaving a very bad taste in the mouths of many amongst the groups.

 

When all members of the three parties assembled in the slightly cramped living quarter of Mizuki, did Ranma and the other two males break away for a brief planning session. They huddled together and whispered fiercely to themselves, knowing that there were many who could hear them anyway. All that they were trying to do was reach a compromise on the situation The three men quickly broke the huddle to turn to their groups to address the issues at hand. Ranma opened his mouth to speak, which surprised them all. This had to be either very serious or something right up his alley like war planning.

 

“First off, I gotta say I hate to do this but it is necessary,” he started while looking through his crowd of followers. “Everywhere we go we end up in battle situations with our pants, skirts, kilts or whatever your preference is around our ankles. Before we had left the last Universe, the three of us decided to put you women to work . . .”

 

“Now just a damned minute!” roared the self-conscious independent types, like both Ryoko's.

 

“Let me finish,” firmly stated Ranma, getting the rowdy ones to quiet back down. “We had a joint thought, that we should put you all to work in the fields you do best. With our fleet growing, and not knowing if we are going to make it home on the next try, we have got to be prepared.”

 

“Thus the three of us sat down,” continued Seina, “To figure out your strengths, weaknesses, and ego clashing that would have been counterproductive. We have set up several fields that we either don't have the time or the knowledge for. This is purely voluntary, we are ASKING you as a personal favor to us for your help.”

 

“Coming from the only three males here without coercion,” pointed out Nabiki, somebody who was familiar with that aspect of life. “Then they are probably right. I say we give them the chance to at least lay out their proposal outlines, and offer our refinements to come to an agreeable solution.”

 

“Exactly,” said Tenchi, “Which is why we have broken the areas that we cannot cover into areas of your interests. Like for example, we would like Kasumi, Neju, Urd and Peorth to be Medical. Ukyo, Xian, Ayeka, Ryoko, Ryoko and Gyokuren would handle food, hydroponics, and inventory of supplies, making them equally in charge of Moral/Nutrition. Nabiki, Taki, Mihoshi, Minaho, Amane and Haruken would handle Intelligence/Counter-Intelligence and if needed, Espionage/Sabotage. We feel that Washu could handle Engineering, with the assistance of Surien. Hild, Karen and Karin would be Security/Magic Trainers. Myself, Seina and Ranma would be the fleet Captains/Combat Trainers. Sasami has her hands full with the sapling Miseto, although she would be welcomed in any field that she chose.”

 

“Does this sound decent enough to you?” queried Ranma, taking note on who was mumbling to who, and who was glaring at who with annoyance.

 

“Why the hell is Mihoshi in Intelligence?” demanded Ryoko H., “Isn't that like a contradiction of terms?”

 

“Hey now,” reprimanded Tenchi, “You of all should know that she can be very effective when focused and reminded of why she's doing it.”

 

The gun suddenly pointed at Ryoko's head made her blink then rethink her statement. Mihoshi had drawn her blaster without a sound, and moved eight paces without falling on her face.

 

“Point taken,” admitted Ryoko, knowing that it would be better to surrender than to irritate Tenchi by proxy of Mihoshi.

 

“Besides,” added Nabiki, “from what I have observed she would be a great asset to the Intelligence department because people would assume that airhead act was her real persona and let their guards down. I have studied her enough in the last few days to know this to be true.”

 

“That and now you all can mingle,” stated Ranma, “Get to know each other. It's been so action packed these last few days that we're still like strangers. Our arrangement also frees up the Colorado for Intelligence, since the ship design is unassuming. Nabiki, I'd like you to Captain her. Minaho would be your First Officer and Amane your Second.” This floored the Tendo woman, going above and beyond her wildest dreams and nightmares.

 

“Why are we planning out a war strategy?” wondered Ayeka, not that she could fault their logic on the issue.

 

“This is the formation of our army, as you all as the Generals,” answered Tenchi, “We proposed those people in those departments because of their strengths. Of course the command structure would be decided amongst those in the departments, but not with the pretense that `I was born to lead'. We are in this for the long haul, until we can get home.”

 

“What about Cassandra and Xianghua?” voiced Taki, taking note that her friends were left out of the loop.

 

“They are not affiliated with anybody at the moment,” replied Seina, “We don't know much about them since they keep to themselves. Especially since the incident on Enterprise.”

 

“Yeah, they sure are quiet,” sighed Ranma, “In fact, a little too quiet.”

 

“We don't know what to do,” came the soft voice of Cassandra, speaking for both. Everything that was happening since the leap forward was above and beyond them. They didn't know how to approach any of the males without threat of violence from the females. Tenchi and Seina looked at each other, jousting with their eyes about who would take who into their little world. Since Cassandra didn't like loud, Seina looked in her direction then back to his cousin. Tenchi agreed with a slight nod, now determined to get their minds operational to find out what they knew about what.

 

“Nabiki,” said Ranma, “Let's go figure out our new toys. Hild, you and your group are with me.” Thus the meeting ended with a tentative agreement in place for who did what. Those in charge of Medical went with Nabiki to Colorado to get acquainted with the medical facilities there. Ukyo and the Hydroponics group left with Ranma for Prometheus to see what could be done there, as well as figure out the mess hall. Washu and Surien stayed on Mizuki for a bit, getting to know each other better.

 

Meanwhile, back on Eva Earth, life wasn't so good. Or so stated Gendo Ikari right before Eva Unit Five landed on him . . .

 

TBC

 

Will our heroes help out the Eva world? Will the arrangement be changed? Will I ever get a life and write something better?

 

Well, at least the first two should get answered in the next chapter . . . maybe . . .

 

Ja Ne!