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Completed: 2002-12-14 Standard disclaimer: I do not own anything in this fan fiction except for the idea behind it and even that is mostly blatantly stolen from a multitude of sources. And if you don’t like that, then SUE ME! Uhm, why are you all staring at me like that? No, it was a joke! Really! No, don’t take my computer, no, not my videogames, no, not my cat!!! NOOOOOOOO!!!! *Sounds of a man being stripped of everything he own can be heard. * (Does anyone know that sound effect BTW?) Timelines: Everything in the canon Ranma ½ has happened in this fan fiction with the exception of the Saffron incident. Only the Ranma ½ reference in this fan fiction will use a modified timeline. Any other references will really just use the characters without any complex plots and/or situations. Age rating: If you can understand all the crap I’m spouting then you are definitely old enough to read this fan fiction. |
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Kenneth
Lönnberg aka Macross_VF1 proudly presents Balance
of Chaos Chapter
4: Neither Bad nor Good Part 1 ***
- - - - *** Setsuna
turned off the VCR and faced the other Senshi. “Well, now you know.” She
stated tiredly. With
the exception of Ami, the other Senshi had a disbelieving expression. “How
sad…” Usagi said, getting a round of nods from the other girls. Setsuna
turned to Ami. “Have you found out anything worthwhile?” Ami
looked up from her computer and shook her head. “Nothing that can help us
verify his claims, with the exception of the existence of Ranma Saotome or
rather lack of. Mrs Saotome’s medical records state that she had a child
about 17 years ago but it was dead at birth. Other than that there’s
absolutely nothing on him!” The
other Senshi blink-blinked at Ami’s outburst. “Don’t worry about it
Ami.” Minako tried to calm the blue-haired Senshi of Mercury. “I’m
sure you’ll find something soon.” Ami
rubbed her temples. “You don’t get it. When doing a big identity
deletion like this, there are always traces, leftovers and blatant misses
that might be found with the Mercury Computer. However in this case, I
haven’t been able to find a single instance of deleted and/or changed
files. The worst part is that it seemingly happened in under a second. Not
even the Mercury Computer is that powerful!” “Doesn’t
that mean he’s just very good?” Usagi asked somewhat confused. “I
hope so. Otherwise, the next time I meet him, I will hound him until he
shows me his computer.” Ami stated rather forcefully. The other Senshi
sweatdropped. This was not an Ami they were used to. Ami continued oblivious
to all this. “On another note, I finally finished my analysis on that
piece of armour he so casually discarded when we first met.” Setsuna
raised an eyebrow. How could that possibly help them? As if sensing the
unspoken question Ami continued. “Of course this doesn’t really tell us
anything, except confirming the fact that we are dealing with some extremely
high-tech equipment. The armour plate consists of several layers of metal
alloys and composite materials intermeshed with each other on a molecular
level. However one of the layers are most intriguing…” “Don’t
keep us waiting.” Rei said. “Out with it.” “I’m
still trying to figure this one out, so bear with me.” Ami took a glance
at the assembled Senshi. “To be blunt, this material doesn’t exist.” “Doesn’t
exist?” Usagi blurted out. “That’s not possible, right?” “You’re
telling me? Frankly I didn’t even think I was going to be able to identify
it, but just as I was about to give up, the Mercury Computer managed to find
something. It was a theory from a Mercurian research report dating even
slightly before the Silver Millennium. The scientists theorized about a
substance called adamantium, which is lightweight yet dense and nearly
indestructible. The hardest material in the universe basically.” “You’re
trying to tell us that there is something that’s harder and more durable
than the ‘woman’s best friend’?” Michiru asked in disbelief. “Yes,
in fact, if the theory is correct, diamonds are not even a close second. And
I’m ready to believe it since it’s the only thing that comes close.”
Ami stated. “And
he just threw away something that’s better than diamonds…” Minako said
in awe. The other silently agreed. “So,
getting anything with that mind-thingamajig?” Usagi suddenly asked Setsuna
after a moment of silence. Setsuna
blinked in surprise, she hadn’t even remembered about that herself.
Somewhere in the recesses of her mind, she was impressed that the ditzy
blond even remembered about the mind meld. “No, just after he left the
dojo, he sent a mental message stating that the technique was malfunctioning
and promptly cut off the link between us.” “Just
like that? No problems at all?” Usagi asked, concern evident in her voice. “Just
like that, but you don’t have to worry, I didn’t feel any pain from
it.” Setsuna reassured her leader and the blonde girl let out a breath of
relief. “Still, now that I think back on it, there was something wrong
though…” Setsuna
had everyone’s undivided attention now. “Can you remember?” Usagi
asked. “Well,
I could feel a lot of feelings… depression, anger, disgust… and
something more…” The green haired Senshi of time got a look of deep
concentration as she tried to recall the mental message Ranma had sent her
the night before. “There was hatred…” She began.
“An immense hatred.” Setsuna shivered involuntarily. “Hatred?
At what?” “I-I
cannot say.” Setsuna stuttered. “E-Everything I guess, but I can’t be
sure of that. I could feel pain intertwined with pleasure and a vast
darkness… Kami… it was horrible.” She whispered and hugged herself as
if she was cold. Hotaru
moved over and embraced her surrogate parent. “Don’t worry Setsuna-mama.
We are all here.” She said soothingly. Setsuna however seemed oblivious to
the rest of the world. “Pain
and pleasure, pleasure and pain… “ The Senshi of time babbled on with
blank look, while shaking uncontrollably. The
others could only stare in horror at her. However, when she started giggling
like a maniac Haruka got up and slapped the green-haired woman full in the
face. It took a few moments for Setsuna to gather her wits. “What
happened?” She asked, distressed by everyone staring at her. “You
spaced out and started babbling and giggling. Almost looked like you were in
the process of being possessed. I had to slap you to bring you out of it.”
Haruka explained. Setsuna
rubbed her tender cheek. “Yeah, I can feel that. Thanks.” Hotaru
once again embraced the older woman in a hug. “Are you alright now Setsuna-mama?”
She asked in concern. Setsuna
forced a smile for the younger girl. “Yes, no need to worry.” Her
expression turned dark. “I don’t know what just caused this but I can
guess… Ranma.” “Are
you sure about that?” Usagi said, not ready to believe that Ranma might
have tried to possess one of her teammates. Setsuna
turned her dark gaze to Usagi causing the blonde to cower a bit in her seat.
“I’m ready to believe just about anything when it comes to him.” Ami
coughed, getting everyone’s attention. “There are too many unknown
factors here. Let’s just be cautious around him.” She warned. “Oh
I’ll be cautious alright.” Setsuna said. “I’ll find out his true
motives, mark my words.” She stated forcefully and promptly vanished. “I
believe the shit is about to hit the windmill.” Minako said, breaking the
awkward silence that followed. Everyone just stared at her. “What?”
Minako said totally oblivious to what she just said. Of course no one could
have guessed just how correct she was. *** Nabiki
stood before the UN ETSPP building silently wondering how to approach it. It
was now three weeks since that fateful day at the dojo and not a word had
been heard from Ranma, just as he had said. The
atmosphere at the dojo and Nerima in general was tense to say the least.
Ranma’s former fiancées and suitors had taken his words and actions
harshly and all were quite depressed. Even Akane was down, although she did
alternate between that state and cold fury. Being around her was just not
safe for anyone and all but Kuno seemed to have gotten the message that a
10-meter safety zone was required around Akane whenever she was in her angry
mood. Her
father and Mr. Saotome was of course planning for a way to get Ranma back,
but so far they had come up with nothing useful. This was in itself
understandable since they were drinking heavily every night and couldn’t
remember squat the next morning. Happosai on the other hand was unusually
pensive and spent several hours each day pondering. Nabiki couldn’t say
what he was brooding about but she was sure it mostly involved Ranma (She
didn’t believe the old pervert could stray completely from the path of
perversion.) Happosai
wasn’t the only one that tried to emulate the famous old Greek statue of
the pondering man. Kasumi seemed to be equally pensive. Sure, most people
would not have noticed any difference, but then again, most people wasn’t
Nabiki. The pristine smile Kasumi often wore seemed to become more and more
forced and Nabiki was sure it was only a matter of time before Kasumi
actually became truly angry with someone. (Most likely her father and Mr.
Saotome.) There
were a couple of people that she had not met recently but she knew quite
well from her cronies and contacts what happened to them anyway. Ryoga was
still in a coma in the hospital. Ranma had done a serious number on him but
the doctors assured everyone that the lost boy would eventually come around
and recover. The amazons weren’t doing anything special, with the
exception of Shampoo being very depressed. Ukyo had not been seen since
Ranma left the dojo and her restaurant had not opened ever since. Nabiki
couldn’t say much of Nodoka either but from what Kasumi told her, who
visited the older woman frequently, she had lapsed into a severe depression.
Apparently, she took Ranma’s words very hard and had become more or less
apathetic to the surrounding world. She didn’t do much more than sleep and
cry and would probably have faded away to nothing more than a mere shell if
Kasumi had not been over and helped her. As
for her self, well to say that she was tired of the tense atmosphere back in
Nerima was like saying Kuno is slightly eccentric. Although she wouldn’t
admit it to anyone, she was dying to know what truly happened to Ranma
during his travels. She did not believe he had lied earlier but there was
still so much that needed to be filled in. Like what happened to his wife
for instance. As
she stood there racking her brain for a plausible excuse for getting into
the building she heard a sound behind her. *** Ranma
yawned just as he stepped out from the portal. *Damn the asses upstairs* He
thought sourly. *The ETSPP works just fine. So what if there is some
collateral damage due to our operations? * However, the person in front of
him cut his musings short. “Please
tell me I’m still sleeping.” He prayed while pinching the ridge of his
nose. He opened his eyes only to find a nervous looking Nabiki still
standing in front of him. “So, what brings you here Ms. Tendo?” He said
in a menacing tone. Nabiki
wanted to smack herself for being intimidated by Ranma. She was the Ice
Queen of Furinkan for Kami’s sake! “Uhm, well… you see…” She
stuttered while trying to come up with an excuse. “If
you came to admire the view then I suggest you go somewhere else. Now good
day to you Ms. Tendo. ” He said and walked past her. Nabiki
whirled on her spot. “No! I came to see clear up the mess concerning
stolen information. You never did finish that one.” There, she finally
managed to find a good explanation. Ranma
stopped in his tracks and let his shoulders slump in defeat. This was not
his day apparently. “Well, don’t just stand there.” He said without
looking back. “Follow me.” He commanded. Nabiki did not need to be told
twice. *** After
a short elevator ride, Nabiki got her first view of the ETSPP bureau inside
(Well, other than the inside of a prison cell that is.) and she had to
admit, she was impressed. First was the reception area where literally
hundreds of different types of creatures lounged. She could swear she saw a
were-wolf, a vampire and an Oni or two along with several other species she
could not identify. Still, Ranma seemed to ignore all that and with Nabiki
behind him he swiftly navigated through the crowd and ended up in the Ops
room. One wall was taken up by a multitude of monitors and several rows of
computers were located before it. To Nabiki this room looked like it was
directly taken from a NASA or military command centre except that the
equipment looked much more high-tech. While
Nabiki studied the room with a keen eye, Ranma walked over to a computer and
logged on. He typed furiously and within seconds he would have the report
finished and the case close. It hurt to push away people he cared for. *No.
* he reprimanded himself. *Who Ranma Saotome cared for. * Still he had
centuries of experience of doing so, and he was sure he would be able to
dismiss the entire matter in a couple of days, just like he always did. A
couple of keystrokes more and he would be free of Nabiki. Suddenly,
an alarm klaxon went off and his screen immediately changed to a yellowish
hue. Sighing, he stood up and took a look at the main screen. “Great…
another ‘dragon’.” He said with another sigh. Nabiki
couldn’t help overhearing his comment and took another look at the screen.
Sure there was… something… shown on the main screen, but she was sure it
was no dragon. Of course, she wasn’t exactly an expert on mythological
creatures, but the big, white bone-like thing she saw didn’t even seem
alive, much less looking like a legendary dragon. “Hey
Ranma.” She hesitantly began. “Correct me if I’m wrong but that…”
She pointed at the screen. “Does not look anything like a dragon to me.”
Ranma
shot her a quick glance before returning his attention to the screen.
“Actually, you’re right.” He said as his eyes scanned the information
that was piling up on the smaller screens beside the main one. “It’s
really just a nickname we have for that type of creature. Of course, there
are real dragons as well but they prefer to be called by something else than
just plain ‘dragon’.” “Kintaro!”
He suddenly yelled in a voice similar to that of a military drill
instructor. A
black mop of hair shot up from one of the computers and turned around.
“Yes sir?” Came a questioning voice. Ranma
jerked a thumb in Nabiki’s direction. “Keep an eye on this girl here
while I go out for a ride.” The
guy named Kintaro suddenly got wide in adoration (Of course, those familiar
with Happosai and/or Ataru Moroboshi would have called the guy’s
expression leering.) as he took a quick look at Nabiki. He recovered quickly
though and turned back to Ranma with a salute. “Consider it done, sir. By
the way, are you taking ‘the Valkyrie’?” Ranma
smiled evilly as he answered. “Yeah, gotta teach that punk that Japan’s
airspace is not a playground for anyone else but me.” With that he turned
on his heel and took a doorway leading out of the ops room. *** Apparently
‘the Valkyrie’ was considered a great show in the ops room since as soon
as Ranma left the room Kintaro yelled over the hubbub “He’s taking the
Valkyrie!” The reaction was instantaneous and almost every screen in the
ops room changed to show an airplane taking to the air. At first Nabiki
couldn’t understand just exactly what was so special about one airplane,
but after ten minutes, when the plane intercepted the ‘dragon’, it soon
became clear what the commotion was all about. In a
swift movement the entire plane changed form to that of a 13-meter tall
robot and engaged the ‘dragon’ with a barrage of missiles and guns
blazing. Nabiki’s eyes almost bugged out of their sockets. It was like
watching an anime only this was real life! The entire skirmish didn’t last
long and a mighty cheer went up in the ops room just as the ‘dragon’
began its retreat. Of
course, just because the skirmish was over didn’t mean Nabiki would be
bored during the 10 or so minutes it would take Ranma to return. That
Kintaro guy didn’t seem to care much about her so she busied herself with
listening in on the conversations in the ops room. “We’ve
got a 2319 here!” ~KABOOOM~ “Study,
study, study!” “Hey
does anyone know where to file Monstrous-Rampagers-In-Learning licenses?” “Study,
study, study!” Nabiki
shook her head to clear it from overloading. More than half of the
conversations she could barely make out the gist of. It was somewhat
relieving to see Ranma entering the room again. After a couple of greetings,
congratulations and high-fives with the staff he finally came up to her. He
took an evaluating glance at her before he spoke up. “So, let’s clear
this mess up then.” Before
he could turn back to his computer, the Kintaro guy stood up with a folder
ready. “Already fixed, sir.” Nabiki
raised an eyebrow. The guy who seemed like a minor pervert and yelled
“Study!” all the time had finished the case just like that? She looked
at Ranma briefly and from his reaction, or rather lack of; she deemed that
this was a common occurrence. Clearly there were some talented people
working in this building. To top it off, she was still curious about
Ranma’s past and consequently she found the decision to be an easy one to
make. Ranma
skimmed through the folder before turning to Nabiki. To his surprise she
stood there with her arms folded and a small smile on her face. “So…
where do I sign up?” She asked as if talking to a military recruitment
officer. Ranma
only raised a questioning eyebrow in response. “Don’t give me that
look.” Nabiki answered with a slight scowl. “You were the one who wanted
me to grow up and get a life away from the dojo, remember?” “You
do not need to remind _me_.” Ranma retorted. “I know perfectly well what
you are talking about. However, I don’t know if you got what it takes.”
He said in a condescending tone. Nabiki’s
Ice Queen mask was firm in place so she didn’t respond to his barb, yet
inwardly she seethed in anger. *Why that… Calm down, he’s just testing
you. * She calmed herself before she responded. “Well, we will never find
out if I don’t get a chance to prove myself, now will we? Of course, if
you think you can afford losing what I have to offer, then I know where the
door is.” She said with her usual unreadable expression. Mentally, she was
smirking though. Their conversation was gathering some attention amongst the
staff in the ops room, and she knew from the little information she managed
to glean from the stolen files, that more or less anyone, who was a citizen
of earth, was supposed to given a chance by the ETSPP. Can’t have a planet
wide organisation safeguarding against foreign influences if you don’t
trust the planet’s own inhabitants. Basically, Ranma couldn’t turn her
down without evaluating her first. Ranma
sighed and his shoulders slumped. “Well, go back the way you came then. At
the entrance there’s a desk called reception. Just tell them, I sent you.
” Nabiki
smiled at her victory and headed out of the ops room in search of the desk
Ranma mentioned. Back
in the ops room, Ranma couldn’t help smiling a bit. Maybe this day
wouldn’t be so bad after all… *** 8
days later, Nabiki entered the bureau as an operative of the ETSPP bureau.
She couldn’t be happier. Well, actually she could but considering the
circumstances, she was more than satisfied with the proceedings. First off
was the pay. Definitely more than enough to support her. Heck, she could
probably use her pay to keep the dojo from going under and still have quite
a bit of money left for herself. However, she wasn’t so sure she wanted to
do that. Her father was going to have to accept some responsibility. She
wouldn’t admit it anyone but she was more than a bit tired of having to
take care of the dojo’s finances. Anyway,
second came her job assignment. The evaluators quickly recognized her skills
in a lot of fields, even areas she herself didn’t even know of. For
instance, she never dreamed that she would be a good marksman. The
evaluators deemed her good enough for the designation agent. Agents were
really the field operatives of the bureau and hence had a very wide range of
responsibilities. Their jobs were therefore the most dangerous in the
bureau. Nabiki quite obviously lacked in the combat skills and special
abilities apartment, but the evaluators reassured her that she was to be
paired up with a skilled partner. What she was not told was that the bureau
was testing out a new brain-brawn type of partnering. This, they hoped,
would reduce the amount of collateral damage done by some agents, like Ranma
for instance or the infamous Kei and Yuri. In
any case, she was grateful for being assigned as an agent. As interesting as
the ops room seemed, she was certain she would be quite bored if she was to
sit at a computer all day long. Sure, her dream had long been to become an
executive of a big company, yet spending almost a year with Ranma meant that
she became easily bored. Something strange, bizarre or just plain ridiculous
had to happen to keep her entertained and the ETSPP seemed like the perfect
place for that. Since
the evaluation was finished 2 days ago she had taken the next two days to
get an apartment, effectively moving out of the Tendo dojo. Soun quite
obviously bawled his eyes out since ‘his little girls were growing up’
but he had helped with the quick move. Nabiki couldn’t help but to feel
like everything went too fast. Just eight days ago she was still living in
the dojo, now she had to take care of a job and an apartment. As
she walked into the ops room for the first time as an agent, she was greeted
by a scowling Ranma and a red-faced ops-commander. “You
know me, Chief. I work alone.” Ranma stated with crossed arms. ‘Chief’
“quickly retorted. Nabiki was sure she could hear a lion roaring as he
spoke. “I don’t care what you think, Wildman! This is a direct order and
you’d do well to obey it.” Ranma
only snorted. “Hmph! If the asses upstairs are so concerned about damage
on buildings then let’s see them do any better.” “That’s
beside the point! Orders are orders and you know what that means. I swear,
only Leona is worse than you.” “Well,
she did have a good teacher. And don’t forget Kei and Yuri.” Ranma
stated with a smirk. “Don’t
remind me about them! If I have a heart attack and die, I will come back and
haunt you.” Chief turned his head and fixed Nabiki with his eyes. “Ah,
here she is.” Ranma
turned as well. His eyes widened for a brief moment before he let out a
groan. “Damnit Murphy, why do you always have to torment me?” He asked
no one in particular. “It’s
nice to see you too Saotome. And who’s Murphy by the way?” Nabiki asked
with a scowl. Ranma
narrowed his eyes at her. “It’s Wildman, remember? As for Murphy,
let’s just say that shitty things happen around me.” Nabiki
winced slightly. It was hard to adjust to his new name. “Sorry.” She
said sincerely. “Now what’s all this about? It’s not like I could help
overhearing.” “That,
my girl, is quite simple.” Chief cut in. “This bonehead over here…”
he said while smacking Ranma on the back of his head. “…has been
assigned a partner. Namely you.” Chief pointedly ignored Ranma’s
red-eyed glare. “Of course, he doesn’t want a partner, since he, along
with Brenten, are the bureau’s biggest boneheads.” The aforementioned
Brenten was currently screaming his head off while mauling a computer.
Something about ‘silicon shitbags’. Neither Ranma nor Chief batted an
eye about it, but Nabiki couldn’t help sweatdropping at the scene. *Well…
maybe I was wrong about ‘talented people’…* She absently thought
before deciding to torment Ranma a little further. “Why Ranma! Such high
praise your boss is giving you.” Nabiki snickered. She quickly shut up
when Ranma focused his gaze on her, but the smirk never left her lips. “It
looks like you two will work wonderfully together.” Chief said in an
overly happy tone. “You have your orders, now follow them!” He declared
before leaving. Ranma
let out a sigh as Chief left and he turned his full attention to Nabiki.
“So…” He began. “It looks like I can’t get out of this. Just
don’t think I will be around to save your cute little butt all the
time.” “Thanks
for the compliment.” Nabiki answered sarcastically. “I know when to keep
my head down and since I’m partnered with you I’ll probably have to do
it even in my sleep. I’m not Ms. ‘I’m-a-martial-artist-too’ you
know.” “True
enough.” Ranma conceded. “Still, I’d feel better if I knew you had
some means of protecting yourself. What gear did they give you?” “Gear?
Well, a rulebook, a mini computer, some protective clothes and a shield
generator of some kind, don’t remember it’s full name though. They were
also talking about a gun, a twenty-two they called it, whatever that
means.” That
got a strange reaction from Ranma. He just started laughing. Scratch that,
he was literally rolling on the floor laughing his ass off. Nabiki patiently
waited for him to finish with a deep scowl and crossed arms. As he stood up
Nabiki continued. “Mind explaining what’s so funny? I know I’m not
exactly a gun expert, heck I hadn’t even seen one in real life before they
took me to the shooting range, but there’s no reason to belittle me for
lack of knowledge.” “It’s
not that.” Ranma said as he dried his tears. “Heh, it’s not that at
all. A twenty-two means calibre .22, which basically is the smallest, most
pathetic bullet you can find. Giving you something like that is an insult
really. Especially since most people around here use at least 5.56 mm
NATO.” Nabiki
didn’t know what 5.56 NATO was but she got the gist of it. “Well, what
do you expect? It’s not like I’ve been through any training. That’s a
thing that’s been bothering me actually, why did they push me through
evaluation so quickly? I expected at least two, three (two, three what?
Months? Years?) before something happened and a couple of months in training
as well. Instead they just hand me some stuff and throw me into service. I
mean, I’m not even through school.” “We’re
shorthanded.” Ranma replied absently. “Say, how good were you at the
shooting range?” He continued with a glint in his eyes. His
strange look unnerved Nabiki for some reason. “Well, they said I’m
definitely above average, especially considering that I’ve never touched a
gun before.” Ranma’s
face lit up in a huge grin. “Great! Now just follow me…” He happily
declared and grabbed her arm. Nabiki
didn’t even have time to protest as he dragged them both through a portal.
She recognized the nauseous feeling from her first teleportation yet it was
considerably less this time. It quickly abated as they came out of another
portal. “What did you do that for?” Nabiki almost yelled at him. Ranma’s
grin never left his face. “Just doing some shopping.” “Shopping?”
Nabiki asked in confusion as she took in her surroundings. It was… white.
An endless sea of white. But that was not the most disturbing thing. No, in
front of her stood hundreds upon hundreds of racks, filled with rifles,
pistols, machineguns… you name it. She could only gape at the enormity of
it. Trying to clear her head she turned her head sideways to get it out of
her sight. Big
mistake. To her left, dozens of even bigger guns, cannons really, were
arranged in neat rows. Behind them came regular artillery pieces and
howitzers. After a short while she began noticing that there was a distinct
separation between archaic, modern and futuristic armament as well. She
wouldn’t have been surprised if this place came complete with an orangutan
called the librarian. (Discworld) Turning
to the right she found a relatively weapon’s free area and she closed her
eyes to allow her abused brain to sort through her scattered thoughts. *Calm
down. * She thought. *Just because I’m surrounded by more weapons than
every country on this planet possess put together, doesn’t mean I have to
freak out. * She took a deep breath before she opened her eyes. “Now
this is a sight I could grow to love. Oh I forgot… I
already do.” Ranma chuckled to himself. “If
I didn’t know you better I would call you obsessed.” She deadpanned.
“Of course that would be comparing you to Kuno and that wouldn’t be
fair. I mean you clearly have him outclassed in that area.” She took
another deep breath before she continued. “JUST WHAT THE HELL DO YOU NEED
ALL THESE WEAPONS FOR?!” She screamed at him. Ranma
didn’t even flinch at her outburst. “You know, I can hear you just fine.
As for your question, I have had to supply entire armies with equipment from
time to time.” “Equipment?
There’s more?” “Yes,
a vehicle, mech, air and spaceship area, as well as a number of workshops
and maintenance rooms.” “So,
you do not have this incredible yet perversely big collection of weapons
just for fun?” She asked with a scowl. “Well,
what did you expect? My life has been more or less a constant struggle. I
can’t even begin to calculate all the lives I’ve taken or the battles
I’ve fought. I’ve never had a choice in the matter.” He stated with
some irritation and a hint of sadness. “Anyway.”
He continued. “I didn’t bring you here to show off my ‘perverse
pleasures’ as you would call it. We came here to give you something better
than the peashooter they were going to issue to you.” “You’re
the expert.” Nabiki replied absently, not really wanting to be in this sea
of white and weapons. “Right-y-oh.”
Ranma said in a distinct English accent before he started looking through a
thick book, a list of all the weapons, Nabiki guessed. After
a couple of minutes muttering to himself, Ranma slammed the book shut and
picked up something that looked like a small remote control. A press of a
button and the racks of guns started moving with great speed from left to
right. Nabiki saw bright, yellow letters on each stand flashing by and she
once again marvelled at the sheer enormity of this place. The
racks soon slowed down and stopped at the letter ‘H’. Ranma wasted no
time and was soon in the process of rummaging through the guns. In just a
half a minute he apparently had found what he searched for. With a rifle in
one hand, a clip in the other and a grin on his lips he went up to a bench
and motioned for Nabiki to come closer. “This…”
He began. “Is a Heckler and Koch MP36F. It is basically a combination of
the HK G36C and a standard MP5, made almost exclusively for the French armed
forces. It fires 9x19 mm Parabellum rounds. I have to admit that it
doesn’t pack much of a punch, especially not when compared to a fully
automatic rifle. However I don’t think that’s much of a consideration,
since I don’t think you’ll be using it much. Besides, the main
considerations are weight and size and that’s where this gun excels. Small
and very light, the perfect companion in a close range firefight. It comes
with selector for one shot, burst and fully automatic fire.” He made a
gesture for Nabiki to pick it up. With
some trepidation she moved forward and took the gun in her hands.
“You’re right, it _is_ light.” She said in surprise. “Yes,
new alloys and plastic materials allow this gun to weigh only 1.7 kilograms
and that’s including the clip. The lack of power is a problem but I’ll
give you something that will take care of that little problem.” He said
with a slight grin. Nabiki
couldn’t help chuckling a little. “You know, I understand what you meant
by shopping now. You look like a car salesman about to sell his most
expensive car.” “Why
Nabiki! Thanks for the compliment!” Ranma’s grin stretched from ear to
ear. “Oh
I wasn’t even trying to.” She replied good-naturedly before turning
serious again. She eyed the piece in her hands with distaste. “Is this
really necessary?” She asked. “I’m not exactly a fighter by any means.
If I ‘fight’, I do it with words and brainpower. A gun feels… well
wrong.” Her
distaste didn’t go unnoticed by Ranma. “I understand what you mean. Most
people stay clear of guns their entire lives. Heck, it took some 200 years
before I even shot a gun.” “And
prey tell why not?” Nabiki asked with a raised eyebrow. “Possibly
a stray memory from my past, who knows?” Ranma said with a shrug. “I do
know however that the situation was dire enough.” The
other eyebrow came up. “Dire enough?” “The
Tyranids attacked. If you stay around long enough I might tell you about
them” Ranma stated with another shrug. Yet under the shrug there was
something that wasn’t right. Even Nabiki had trouble picking it up. What
was it? A shiver? Deciding to not push Ranma for details she turned her
attention back to the gun in her hands. “So
how do I use this thing?” She asked. “Simple.
Point at enemy, pull trigger, reload when out of bullets, repeat.” Ranma
said with a smirk. Nabiki
felt like groaning. “Well,
duh Einstein! Did
you figure that out by yourself?” She retorted. “Yes,
but that’s beside the point. In any case, I will teach you everything you
need to know about the gun and how to take care of it. Some target practice
will have to become part of your regular schedule as well.” Nabiki
nodded, satisfied with the answer. “Ok I guess I just have to deal with it
even though I don’t like it. Another question though, if we’re supposed
to be agents, wouldn’t it be kinda conspicuous to walk around with a 50 cm
long sub machinegun under the arm?” “Kinda.”
Ranma answered sarcastically. “I do have a solution to that particular
problem though. ” “Don’t
tell me, it’s Ranma’s wonder cloaking machine.” Nabiki asked, equally
sarcastic. “Now
that’s one solution, but the ones I have tend to be a bit big… like a
backpack in size.” Ranma answered seriously. “No, what I’m thinking
about is using a subspace pocket.” Nabiki
looked a little confused. “Subspace pocket? You mind explaining that in
terms that a normal person might understand?” “I’m
sure you’re aware of at least some theories of multiple dimensions and
such, right?” Nabiki raised an eyebrow. “I’m
no rocket scientist exactly but yes, I have heard of such theories. One
theory is the Einstein-Rosen Bridge if I’m not entirely mistaken.” “Very good. Yes Einstein had
some interesting theories and I can personally attest to their validity.
However, there is more to those theories than just simple multiple
dimensions.” At Nabiki’s questioning look he continued. “For instance,
this place that we are in now is a subspace pocket. Now a subspace pocket is
really nothing more than another plane of existence.” “Another plane of existence…
like a parallel dimension?” Nabiki questioned. “No, the theory of planes of
existence, or just simply planes, could be compared with a differing
frequency of a dimension. To understand how this is possible I would have to
go into very complicated theories in physics, most of which even I do not
understand. Suffice to say, a subspace pocket is not another dimension,
although not truly part of the dimension is resides in.” “Hold on now.” Nabiki stopped
him. “I’m not really following you.” Ranma sighed. “Can’t say I
blame you. This is complicated physics.” He got a pondering look for a
moment before he continued. “Let’s do an analogy… Suppose that a
dimension is like a book.” He waited for Nabiki to nod in understanding.
“Now a book has several pages, each representing a plane. Each paper is
separate from the other yet the back of the book’s cover connects them
all. ” “I’m still not sure if I’m
getting all this, but go on.” Ranma suddenly smacked his
forehead. “Why didn’t I think of it earlier!” He exclaimed. “Just
where do you think Moose keeps all his stuff?” Nabiki’s
eyes widened in understanding. “So you mean Moose keeps all his weapons in
a subspace pocket?” “Yes!
And that’s not all. Just where do you think Akane hides her damnable
mallet?” Nabiki’s
eyes widened even further. “You know, I’ve never thought of that
before.” Nabiki replied chuckling. “Although I must say it’s nice to
have at least a partial explanation to the craziness back home. I’m
curious though… just where did Akane learn a hidden-weapons technique.” “Beats
me. Some people can apparently do it unconsciously, like me for instance.” “Huh?
That’s not right. You had no such abilities before you disappeared.” “I
didn’t?” Ranma asked slightly puzzled. “Hmm, let me check my
memory.” He said before getting a blank look. Ten seconds later his eyes
once again came to life. “Well I don’t know what to say. I’ve been
able to use subspace pockets ever since the crossing. Of course it took some
1300 years before a doctor discovered their presence and another 300 before
a scientist taught me what they really were.” “Just
what did you do?” Nabiki asked. “I remember that look from before. You
look like you’re dead a couple of seconds.” “Oh
that. Well, that’s a thing I gained from the crossing. My brain has five
implants that make it work like a computer. Among other things it lets me
access my subconscious, meaning that I can backtrack everything my brain has
ever ‘recorded’. I can also connect to virtually every computer system
in existence.” He finished with a smug look. “I
guess that might come in handy sometimes… another question though. Just
what’s this crossing you’re referring to?” Ranma
scratched the back of his head. “I suppose I have to give you the full
story soon… anyway, the crossing is my name for my disappearance. The
short story is this, I reappeared in another dimension and the people there
was not too happy to see me. As I tried to escape I stumbled upon an
artefact, which attached itself to me and changed me. However, that’s just
what I’ve been told. I can’t remember anything from the point where I
woke up in that dimension.” “Any
more changes I should know about? I mean besides you being a 2000 years old
time travelling, butt-kicking, super-computer-for-a-brain, weapon fanatic,
bad-ass.” Nabiki asked with a frown. “Thanks
for the compliments. Besides, you forgot pervert.” Ranma pointed out,
grinning like a madman. “I
should have known… Just when I thought your ego couldn’t get any bigger
I just had to open my mouth and give it a boost.” She mock scowled. “Oh
but you haven’t even seen half of it yet.” Ranma replied still grinning.
His expression turned serious before he continued. “Anyway, as I said
I’m going to give you a device that let’s you access a subspace
pocket.” “And
just how will I access it?” “Simple.
The device is made up of two parts. The first is attached to the gun, acting
like a homing beacon. The other part can be compared to a remote control.
Whenever you push the button on the control, the gun will materialize in
your hands. I’m giving you a subspace clip as well, which means you will
never have to worry about reloading. ” “Subspace
clip?” “It
directly feeds to a special subspace pocket of mine. I keep all my
ammunition there.” “Let
me guess, you have a couple of billion bullets in that pocket?” “Something
like that.” Ranma replied with an almost feral grin. His eyes suddenly got
the same glint as before he dragged her off to this place and she could
swear they got slit like a cat’s eyes. “Say how about you and I take a
stroll down to the shooting range?” Nabiki
couldn’t help feeling like a mouse trapped by a cat... a very big cat.
“Why do I get the feeling I’m not going to like whatever you are
planning to do?” “No
reason at all.” He said in a very serious tone. Of course it was spoiled
by his next sentence. “Just want to see you frag some targets.” With
that he grabbed a _very_ big gun from the racks and ran off to another
portal. Just as before Nabiki had no chance to protest when he dragged her with him. *Oh well. * She thought. *I suppose it could have been worse. * Of course, she just had to choose that moment to remember Ranma’s definition of training and that she was supposed to participate. She could only pray that Ranma had changed in that particular area. ***
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