Kind Angel's Thesis - 3Teineina Tenshi No Teze
Kind Angel's Thesis
A Ranma 1/2, Neon Genesis Evangelion Crossover.
Neon Genesis Evangelion and all character belongs to Gainax
Ranma 1/2 and all characters belong to Takahashi Rumiko
No copyright infringement is intended.
Thanks to my pre-readers:
Ben
Aevan
Kevin D. Hammel http://www.anime.sobhrach.com/~khammel/
Isawa Kazeko tanzelax@reviewpe.com
Blood Blade http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Towers/5920
Please distribute this work unaltered and crediting the author.
dzillman@ozemail.com.au
http://www.ozemail.com.au/~dzillman/fire
What has gone before:
In the year 2000, Ranma was attacked by a demon summoned by Happosai. In an
attempt to save Akane, he travelled to the Antarctic to gain power of a heavenly
warrior Cologne told him about. Unfortunately, he died in the effort.
It is now 2015, and Ranma has been reborn and recruited as the Fourth Child for
NERV. This is because the First Child, Ayanami Rei, has gone missing. When Ranma
was sent to do reconnaissance against the Fifth Angel, it used its deadly
particle beam to incapacitate his Eva.
(Story 3)
Ranma languidly blinked his eyes as he felt someone move nearby. Slowly focusing
on the ceiling, he managed to see white tiles and a fluorescent light. There was
an omnipresent smell of antiseptic and some other smell that he did not want to
try and define. Hospital. He was in a hospital. How did he get in a hospital?
Akane must have given him a good one this time.
Ranma sifted through his confused memories, trying to figure out why he was
here. The last thing he remembered was... pain... burning pain. Slowly it came
back to him: the Angel, the Evas... Akane. A tear trickled down the side of his
face.
From near the foot of his bed he heard a voice. Although it was soft, he felt as
if someone was jabbing an eight inch ice-pick into his eardrum every time they
spoke. "Ranma? Can you hear me? Ranma?"
The voice got up and walked to the door. They must have been muttering, because
they spoke softly enough that the idiot stabbing him in the head eased off a
little. "I... I hope he can hear me... Akagi-sensei said he should be conscious
now."
Rolling his head to the side, Ranma swallowed his bile and caught sight of
Shinji as he stood at the door way. "I'm awake... Ohhh, that hurts."
Shinji came back and sat by Ranma's bed pointing to a covered tray. "Dr Akagi
says that you might feel hungry." Actually, Doctor Akagi had said that he would
probably not want to eat for the next week, but they should offer him some food
anyway. It was a confidence thing, if they made him think he could handle solid
foods, he would be more likely to get back in the Eva. When he got back from the
mission, they could offer him more hospitalisation and an IV drip while he
recovered.
Sliding back in the bed, Ranma braced himself against the wall and clutched his
aching skull. He thought Shinji was supposed to be a quiet guy. Why was he
yelling every word now? Can't he tell I've got a headache? Looking down at the
food, Ranma's stomach rebelled. All he wanted to do was be violently sick, but
the teaching and habits of a lifetime were powerful. Slowly he nibbled on a
piece of toast. It took a titanic effort to swallow, but Pops had always said:
'eat when you can'.
Shinji smiled at Ranma. He must be better than Dr Akagi thought. "Misato-san has
a plan for defeating the Angel."
Taking out the little black notebook Misato had given him with Ranma's briefing,
Shinji sat on the edge of the bed. Since his eyes were flicking over the list of
points, he missed Ranma's wince at the slight movement of the bed. "Here we go.
Pilots Saotome and Ikari will assemble at the cage at 1730 hours. After that, we
go up to Mt Futago and wait for a while. The actual operation will be starting
at midnight, but we need to be there before then."
Shinji looked up at the other boy. Since Ranma had come to his school, Shinji
had not had much chance to talk to him. It was difficult to tell what he was
thinking, but Shinji could guess. Shinji was not the one that was suffering the
bio-feedback trauma, but he did not want to get back into the Eva. How would
Ranma be feeling? His first time at piloting an Eva and he had almost died. That
description sounded familiar to Shinji.
Ranma looked up and met Shinji's eyes until the other boy looked away. Forcing
out the words through the jack hammering in his head, Ranma spoke tightly. "I'll
be there. Ain't no-one that can keep me down. What time is it now?"
Hiding his shock, Shinji covertly studied Ranma. Ayanami was strange enough: she
would do anything she was ordered. Somehow he expected that if it was Ayanami
lying in the bed, she would sit up and do whatever she was told. Ranma was
worse: he was eager to get himself killed. When Shinji had seen Dr Akagi before
coming here, he had caught some of her previous chat to Misato. It was not a
question of whether Ranma was sick or ill, it was a question of whether he had
survived the experience or not. Much more time in the Eva and his mind would
have been ruined.
"It's 1630 at the moment, so you've got an hour. Take your time. If... if you
need any help, just call out for me."
Ranma waved weakly and Shinji left. As the medical door hissed shut behind him,
Shinji berated himself for being so glad that it was Ranma there and not him.
'Someone had to pilot the Eva that time, why does it hurt so much to think that
someone else got injured when it could have, should have, been me?' Pondering
the question, Shinji walked off. Maybe they won't really need Ranma after all,
he hoped in vain.
Inside the medical room, Ranma swung his legs over the side of the bed and
fought down instant nausea at the movement. When his head had calmed down and
the room stopped rocking, Ranma slipped off the bed and tottered on the floor
for a moment before landing in a sprawl. Clutching his head in agony, he rocked
back and forwards trying to ensure that nothing more embarrassing than
collapsing happened.
*Saotome-san.*
*Saotome-san.*
"Shinji." He said weakly. He didn't even remember hearing the door open. At
least he had learned to talk softly enough now.
*No. Ayanami.*
"I... I thought your name was Ikari... Give me a hand, I need to get up."
*I cannot.*
Raising his head from the floor, he finally saw there was no-one in the room.
'Great. I'm finally going insane.'
*If you are going insane, you are even less suitable for an Eva pilot.*
Struggling to his hands and knees, Ranma decided to crawl to the bathroom. Maybe
his father had been wrong with that "eating whenever possible" advice... it
wouldn't be the first time Pops had been wrong.
*You must give control to me, Saotome-san.*
Halfway from the bed to the bathroom, Ranma collapsed to the floor again as
agony took over. After it subsided, he rolled onto his back and contemplated the
white ceiling tiles. Speaking to himself he whispered. "Now I'm hearing voices
in my head."
*No. You are the voice from my head. You have suffered severe mental trauma. You
must relinquish control to me.*
"Crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy..."
*Pour cold water on yourself. I must have control to pilot the Eva.*
An idea grabbed Ranma by his very soul and shook him. He was crazy; they even
had a name for it. Multiple Personality Disorder. (He has seen it in one of
Kasumi's books when she accidentally left it open.) That explained why he
couldn't remember things before a few days ago: he must have made some sort of
other personality when he got hurt by that Angel in the Antarctic. He really was
talking to himself.
Slowly he turned and looked back at the bathroom again. Turning into a girl
wouldn't help. He knew from experience that all his injuries carried over to his
girl form. But... Oh, god, if he could get some other personality to do
everything, he could just sit back there and feel sorry for himself. A slow grin
spread on his face. Best yet, no- one would see him while he was weak. Everyone
would be saying: "Oh my, who is that cute little red-head?"
Giving a low chuckle, Ranma crawled forward again. No-one keeps Saotome Ranma
down. Slowly, very slowly, he inched his way across the floor. With an all
mighty effort, Ranma reached the basin. Heaving himself up, he reached out and
splashed cold water all over himself.
Instantly he could feel the usual twitch as he changed sex, but this time it was
different somehow. The pain - all mental trauma - almost vanished. What was
worse, what was most terrifying, was the fact that he (or she now he supposed)
was moving. Ranma could feel herself standing and walking. She paused briefly by
the bed and ate some food. It tasted... bland.
As he willed himself to chug down a jug of orange juice, he could feel his
traitorous body turning and leaving the room. While facing the door, he could
feel his arm reach out and touch the admission switch. The door hissed open, and
the female Ranma padded softly down the deserted corridor.
*Hey! Hey! Go back! I wanna drink the juice!*
'I do not need any more food now, Saotome-san.'
*Hey! Whose the boss around here? This is my body, I say go back and eat it!*
'Incorrect. This body is mine. I will pilot Unit-00 in the mission.'
Ranma was just about to pose some sort of scathing retort when a thought hit him
like a club over the head by Ryoga's umbrella. He had been naked in bed.
*Stop! Stop! We're naked! We don't have any clothes on!*
Silence. Just the soft sound of bare feet that persisted on walking despite his
every attempt to stop them.
*Hey! Did you hear me? I said stop! You can't do this!*
'We do not have time to stop. You required forty-seven minutes to reach the
water. I must prepare for the mission.'
The strange detached feeling of someone else walking you along (while naked)
stopped for a moment. Another door opened and his body walked itself into a
locker room. Ranma was starting to get really freaked out. Being in control of
your body was one of the prime tenants of any martial arts. Things got even
worse when he saw a slender, pale hand open a locker door and pull out a white
plug suit.
Ranma had been a girl lots of times before, but this was definitely one
experience that he never wanted to repeat. He thought wearing a dress was bad.
Being in girl's body as it donned a skin tight rubber suit... it made his skin
crawl. Actually, it made him glad he never went out with Kodachi, he could see
her being into that sort of thing.
Wearing the plug suit, Ranma could feel himself turn and leave the room. As the
eyes swept across the room, he caught a glimpse in a mirror. *Stop! Stop! Go
back!*
'As I said, Saotome-san, I do not have time to stop.'
*Yes, you do. Please, just one minute. Please... Look in the mirror.*
The point of view hesitated then turned back and looked into a small mirror on
the inside of the locker door.
*Gasp*
It... It wasn't him. It was someone else's face staring back at him. Gone was
the cute little red-head he had become attached to. Gone were the shining blue
eyes that could defeat every serving boy in any ice- cream shop. Gone was the
pert little smile. What started back at him was a stranger, a demon in
possession of his body. She had deathly white skin, a small, thin mouth, and
blue hair. Strangest of all, staring at themselves in the mirror, were a pair of
huge red eyes.
Ranma was still stunned and silent when his time expired and the stranger
running his body, her body, whatever, left the locker room and began the trip to
the Eva cage.
*Who... Who are you? You're not me.*
'I am Ayanami Rei, designated First Child and pilot of Evangelion Unit- 00.'
*GIVE ME MY BODY BAAAACK!*
* * *
'17:28', Shinji's chronometer said. Two more minutes and he would need to call
Misato and tell her that Ranma had not been able to make it on time. She in turn
would tell Dr Akagi, and Dr Akagi would send some medical orderlies down. Shinji
did not know the details of the plan yet. All he did know was that to succeed,
they thought they needed two pilots.
At 17:29, Ayanami Rei walked through the doors to the Eva cages. She looked as
cool as an ice cube and as graceful and poised as a model on the catwalk.
Stopping in front of the stunned Shinji, Rei spoke softly. "Pilot Saotome is
incapable of piloting at this time. I shall pilot Unit-00 during this mission."
Too stunned to speak by her sudden reappearance, Shinji could only nod
helplessly as she walked past and climbed into an entry plug. After his initial
hesitation, Shinji raced to his own plug. Ayanami was going to have to explain
this Misato, and he really wanted to hear what her explanation was.
Inside Unit-00's entry plug, Rei slid into position and toggled the microphone.
"Captain Katsuragi, please reset all parameters on Unit-00 for me to pilot it."
There was a stunned silence on the comm-link for a moment, then an image window
appeared in the side of the plug. The window showed a stunned Misato, with an
equally stunned Ritsuko behind her. "Rei? Rei! Where have you been?"
"I have been waiting. Please reset all parameters on Unit-00 for me to pilot
it."
Misato continued to gape like a fish at the amazing sight of Rei in the entry
plug: she had managed to hide herself so that not even teams of NERV personnel
had been able to find her in the last week. Suddenly the girl was back again,
and just in their hour of greatest need. Behind Misato, Ritsuko had almost
finished resetting the Eva's control parameters.
Down in Rei's cockpit, there was a sudden strobing of colours, then the inside
of the plug seemed to vanish. All around her, Rei could see the rest of the
world. A slight tensing of her muscles allowed her to feel the might of the Eva
all around her. Synchronisation had been achieved.
Managing to cling to the original schedule by the skin of their teeth, both Evas
set out for a mountain exit. Walking up the lightly wooded side of Mt Futago,
the Evas stomped noisily, but their pilots and adult advisors were all silent.
At least, the adults were not talking to the children; the supposedly mature
adults were too busy yelling at each other.
Inside the control room atop the three Magi supercomputers, Misato was bawling
out the head of security. "How on earth could you lose Rei in the first place?
She's an irreplaceable pilot, without her, we might have had to use the Saotome
boy just to provide a pilot! You've seen what condition he's in."
"But---"
"Don't interrupt me when I'm shouting! It's bad enough you're goons lost track
of her, but now you let her back into NERV headquarters without anyone knowing!
How can you justify that?"
"She---"
"Exactly! She's just a girl. Obviously she's too dangerous for your people to
handle. Have you ever considered that this is just one little girl? Someone
that's never even raised her voice at anyone, let alone studied espionage or
infiltration? This little girl managed to make it past all of your security,
into the best guarded building in the whole of Japan."
"I don't---"
"Of course you don't! You haven't had time to think about that. You're too
worried about how she not only made it in, you're worried about the fact that
she knew all about pilot Saotome being injured. THEN she found out when we
needed her. FINALLY, she made it past all your security and the only person who
saw her on the way to her entry plug was Shinji!"
"We---"
"We couldn't stop her? Of course you couldn't: Rei's too big and mean for your
troops. I'm just glad she wasn't an assassin. Think how well we'd be feeling
tonight if you had let someone in, and they had decided to kill Shinji. Exactly:
there's no way that Ranma could hold the positron rifle stable enough to shoot.
All our work would be for nothing."
"I'll---"
"I'll have a report ready for you as soon as this operation is finished, Captain
Katsuragi? I'm so glad you offered. Now get out of here!"
Turning her back on the poor major that was in charge of security, Misato
stalked over to her chair and slumped into it. The head of the internal NERV
security actually outranked her, but since she was directing the operation, and
was directly appointed by Gendo for this task, she was the one that got to kick
his butt. This whole charade of losing Rei then her turning up again was one big
joke. It was a farce from beginning to end, and Misato would personally ensure
that heads rolled.
Sneaking a glance up to the top command platform, Misato studied Gendo for three
seconds before returning her gaze to the latest update on the power connections
for the positron rifle. The only sign he had given to indicate that he cared in
the slightest about security or anything that was actually going one was when he
had briefly clenched his fists on the table and studied them with a lowered
head. His only words on the matter: "Welcome back, Rei."
With both of the Evas now in place, Misato only needed one more thing before she
moved herself to Mt Futago also. By the rapid clicking of heels on the floor,
her last item was rapidly approaching in the form of Ritsuko. The good doctor
had gone down to medical to tell Ranma that he was not needed for the mission,
and to allow him to return to bed. He was already late arriving at the Eva cage,
but they would forgive him of that minor transgression in the light of
everything else that was happening.
"He's gone!"
"Who? The Major? Humph! I didn't yell at him that much."
"No! Ranma. He's missing. Gone. Completely. No-one has seen him since Shinji
left sickbay almost two hours ago. All his clothes are still there, and his plug
suit is there too."
Misato growled low in her throat. Why did it all have to happen at the one time?
"All right. Call out security again. Get every spare medic in on the search too.
If he's as sick as you said, he should be pretty easy to find."
As Ritsuko turned to give the orders, Misato rose to her feet and grabbed a
binder filled with the latest reports. "Ritsuko, you take care of Ranma. I'll go
and look after Shinji and Rei... and see if I can get some answers from her."
Misato's high-speed drive to the hills around Tokyo-3 ensured that she arrived
only moments after the Evas. Although they had started with a significant head
start, they needed to be slow and cautious as they passed all of the delicate
electrical equipment. Misato, on the other hand, apparently had no need to
respect any sorts of road rules, and made the trip at well above the maximum
safe speed - even though the maximum safe speed was already higher than the
legal limit.
Misato was smiling as she climbed out of the car. Only two things felt better
than driving fast: drinking a cold beer in one go, and watching all the boys
watch her as she walked along. It was nice to see that everyone still noticed
her, despite the fact that she was almost old enough to be Shinji's mother.
Speaking of Shinji, he was just climbing out of his entry plug now. When she had
first been told that she would be his commander, she had thought about trying
her usual philosophy for dealing with men: blow their socks off with charm and
good looks; hence the photo she had sent him. Since then... Since then she had
realised important things about who she was and who Shinji was. He was not just
a pilot, another organic component for the Eva. He was a human being. A young
boy who needed love, compassion and support the same as everyone else. Including
her.
Watching Shinji as he patiently waited for Rei to join them, Misato smiled. Rei
was really quiet, but Misato could see that Shinji liked her. Misato liked her
too, even though she did not know her well. Like herself, Rei seemed to have
shut herself off from most of the world, only doing her job and not much more.
Misato was like that before Shinji arrived. It was work and it was drink, that
was all there was to life. Even though he never said much, Shinji seemed to be
able to get behind her armour and see the real her. Maybe he was doing the same
for Rei. Misato know she enjoyed having Shinji live with her, it was so nice
having a friend there when you got home from work. Perhaps that was what Rei
needed to help her open up.
The two fourteen year olds were now standing in front of her, waiting for their
final briefing. Shinji was standing more confidently, and Rei... Rei watched her
with detachment. It almost looked as though she was thinking about something
else. Maybe she was just wondering how she would explain to Misato about her
little disappearing act. Misato was wondering that too, but she had already
decided one thing. Whatever Rei's reasons were, Misato did not mind.
When Shinji had run away, Misato had scolded him. His one friend abandoned him
in his hour of need. She had almost lost someone she was becoming very attached
to, and NERV had almost lost their best pilot. Perhaps she could learn from her
mistakes and stop herself from doing the same things to Rei.
"It's nice to see you again, Rei."
*Hey! What about me? Doesn't she even care that I'm not the pilot?*
'No. I am an adequate pilot.'
*Well, doesn't she care that you've been missing for ages while I've been here?*
'No. It is not Misato-san's duty to care about me.'
*Huh? But... but you're a pilot and well, you're just a kid. Sure she's gotta be
worried.*
'I see no reason.'
Silence.
"Are you well?"
*'Well', in the sense that she's taken my body? Or do you mean 'well' in the
sense that she hasn't got massive feedback trauma from the Angel? Or perhaps
even the sense of 'well' that means she is just about ready to pilot a giant
killing machine IN MY BODY!?*
"Yes."
Ah, Rei was obviously as chatty as ever. "After I give you the final briefing,
do you think you could spare some time to talk to me about where you've been,
Rei?"
*Ha, ha, ha. I'm looking forward to hear you explain this one!*
"According to Ikari-kun's briefing to Saotome-san, I must be ready to pilot the
Eva at 23:30. I am available until that time."
Misato groaned softly at Rei's overly obvious interpretation of the question.
Misato was directing the operation, of course she knew that Rei had time, it was
just a polite way of asking if she was interested.
Pointing behind the children - and next to the Evas - Misato explained how they
would use a high powered positron cannon to punch through the Angel's AT field
at long distance. For a short period of time, all the power in Japan would be at
their fingertips.
Inside Rei's head, Ranma saw and felt everything she did. Despite the fact that
she was running the body, Ranma was starting to get a headache. She never
blinked. He had watched for it. In the entire time that it had taken them to
walk their Eva up the hill, then to greet Misato-san, she had blinked three
times; it wasn't natural.
Even worse was the way that she looked at their boss. Looking at Misato's face
as she talked was all Rei did. She did not look at her body, she did not look at
Shinji unless he spoke. She did not look around. All she did was look at the one
spot, watching it, but not really learning anything from it. Ranma was trying to
ignore what Misato was saying and get some sleep when she came to the
explanation of the roles in the mission. "Shinji will fire the particle beam."
"Hai."
"Rei, you will carry the shield. If the Angel tries to fire while the particle
beam is recharging, you'll need to protect Shinji."
"Hai."
"This is because Shinji's sync ratio is higher than Rei's. The best precision
and control is needed for this operation."
*Ha! See, I bet I'm better than Shinji is!*
Just as she was about to explain the problem in the mission, when Rei spoke. It
was such an unusual occurrence that Misato immediately stopped talking.
"Is Saotome-san's sync ratio higher than Ikari-kun's?"
Misato had to strain to hear the words. Rei always talked in such a soft,
unassuming voice that against the backdrop of construction vehicles and trucks,
having a conversation with her was quite a challenge. "No, Rei. Actually,
Ranma's is exactly the same as yours."
*Humph. That's just because I've only had one go at piloting it yet. Just you
wait and I'll show you.*
After a moments silence, Ranma continued. *Rei... I'm sorry about what I said
earlier in the locker. I... I guess you're not really some sort of demon. I was
just kinda surprised to see you in control of my body. But what I wanna say is
that... well... I suppose we're gunna be here together for a while, so I didn't
want you angry at me or nothing.*
Silence
*Rei? We really gotta talk more. Do you hate me or something? I mean... you
never really say anything.*
'I do not hate you, Saotome-san. I have no need to speak to you at this time.'
*Yeah, well... Maybe. Anyway, can you quit with calling me 'Saotome- san'?
No-one ever calls me that. I'm Ranma. Just Ranma. If we're sharing this body, we
might as well be on a first name basis.*
'I shall comply.'
Not noticing Rei's internal concentration - she normally looked like that -
Misato continued. "The shield will only last for twelve seconds against the
Angel's attack. Shinji, since the particle beam takes seventeen seconds to
recharge, you'll need to make sure that you hit first time."
Shinji nodded and looked nervous. Rei simply nodded. She also blinked. Once.
"Misato-san? What happens if the Angel fires while the particle cannon's
charging? You said that the shield will only last twelve seconds..."
Misato looked at Shinji and wished he was just a little less perceptive. "Don't
worry Shinji. We're so far away, the Angel will probably never notice our
preparations. Even then, we have no evidence that it can fire for that long.
You'll be fine."
The children were silent at that one. Misato was not sure if that meant they
believed her, or if they realised what a load of garbage she had told them. They
did not have any evidence to suggest that they were in danger... but they also
had none to suggest they were safe. Misato's gut feeling suggested that they
were both in danger, but when the option was to let the world be destroyed by
the Angel, she had to take the risk.
"So, Rei, do you want to tell us what you were doing for the last week or so?"
"If you wish."
Shinji moved in closer to hear this. He had been really worried about her when
he found out that Rei was missing. She was just a girl, and she seemed so...
fragile.
"I was watching Ranma's actions."
"Huh? Sorry Rei, you'll have to speak up, it sounds like you said you were
watching Ranma."
Rei spoke up slightly, now she was almost at a normal conversational level.
Almost. "That is correct."
Shinji and Misato were both confused. How could she have been watching what
Ranma was doing? Most of the time Ranma was inside buildings, if she wasn't
there, how could she watch him?
That was not the only thing that confused Shinji. Apparently Misato had missed
it, but Ayanami had just called the Fourth Child 'Ranma'. There was nothing
wrong with that in itself, it was just the connection to other things that
confused him. Even after their time together, Rei still called him 'Ikari-kun'.
Stranger still, just a couple of minutes ago, Ayanami had referred to the Fourth
Child as 'Saotome-san', a much more formal name, in keeping with the way she
usually spoke.
"Ayanami... Why did you just call him Ranma? Did you meet him in the infirmary?"
"He has requested that I use that name. But, no, I did not meet Ranma in
person."
Crouching slightly so that she could look Rei in the eye, Misato placed a hand
on the girl's elbow. "Rei, this is very important. When was the last time that
you saw Ranma? He's gone missing at NERV."
Rei hesitated thinking about the question. "The last time I saw Ranma was
exactly two days ago, at 7:18 in the morning."
Cursing to herself, Misato wondered if his location so long ago would have any
relevance. "What was he doing? Where was Ranma when you saw him?"
Pause. "He was messing his hair. At home."
Misato snorted. That sounds about right. Ranma had about the wildest hair that
she had ever seen. It might have been about the same length as Rei's but the
only time it ever lay neatly on his head was when he stepped out of the LCL.
Even then it only seemed to take him moments to make it into a great spiked mess
again. She had never seen anyone take that much interest in having a mess on
their head. At least she thought it was a mess, apparently Ranma had other ideas
about style and appearance.
"So was that when he told you to call him 'Ranma'?"
"No."
Sighing, Misato tried to remember that beating the truth out of your
irreplaceable pilots is not a good idea. Trying to find out anything from Rei
was like extracting teeth from an angry crocodile: It caused you lots of pain,
and you still did not get anything useful.
"Rei," she said slowly. "Where is Ranma now?"
"I do not know the location of Ranma."
Signing to the two children that she was through with the briefing, Misato left
them alone. She needed to watch the technicians working on the particle cannon.
They should be on schedule, but... Just as importantly, she needed to speak to
Ritsuko and find out if she had found Ranma. He and Rei seemed to be a matched
pair: they always disappeared whenever the other one turned up. Oh, well, maybe
he had just gotten lost in NERV headquarters. Misato herself had done that a few
times.
Alone on the edge of Mt Futago, the two pilots sat between their Evangelions.
All three people stared out into the city at night. It was still lit up at the
moment, but that would change soon. According to the schedule, they would be
beginning to siphon power to Mt Futago... now. With military precision, the
lights went out below them. All that remained was the blue, angular Angel,
seemingly lit by it's own inner source. Soon they would be going into action.
Although he felt sorry for Rei having to pilot the Evangelion, Ranma tried to
avoid clouding his internal voice with his true feelings. *You've had more
experience piloting these things than I have, Rei. What do you think Shinji's
chance's are of winning?*
'Ikari-kun will do his best.'
*But do you think he can do it?*
'He will do it because I shall ensure he succeeds.'
That did not sound too good. Actually, it sounded so bad, it almost mimicked his
assessment of the situation. They'd save the world - Ranma knew he was good at
that - his side never lost when it really mattered. Whether Saotome Ranma would
still be around to celebrate was another matter. If it was martial arts he would
have said in an instant that he would have won and been celebrating with the
best. But this... this was giant robots and holy warriors, both of them almost
gods in their own power. In a battle between gods, what are the lives of men?
Ranma was relieved that Rei took her responsibility seriously. She seemed to
take her job as an Eva pilot more seriously than he expected a fourteen-year-old
girl to ever take anything. He had only known her for a little while, but she
never mentioned dresses, dolls or friends at school. All she talked about was
the Evangelion. He was going to ask Rei why she piloted it when Shinji beat him
to the punch.
Rei looked over at Shinji then back out onto the darkened city. Even though she
had not answered him, the young boy continued to speak. "I think I do it because
I want to belong. I want to feel wanted. Being an Evangelion pilot makes me feel
needed. How about you Rei? Why do you pilot?"
"I pilot because Commander Ikari tells me to. I am an Evangelion pilot. That is
why I do this. Without piloting the Evangelion I am nothing."
Through Rei's ears, Ranma could hear the subtle sounds of movement. Rei might
have been a weak, young girl, but she seemed to be in good condition: her vision
was clear and her ears were good. "I don't want to die piloting the Eva, Rei.
I'm beginning to think that I want to live through all of this."
"I will protect you, Ikari-kun."
Shinji might have lapsed into silence now, but Ranma gotten his second wind - so
to speak. He had been stunned by Rei's callous words, but he could not let her
go out facing death believing that no-one cared about her as a person. *Come on
Rei, you know that's not true. What about your parents? I bet you're something
to them.*
'I have no parents.'
*All right, what about the Commander and Doctor Akagi. They seem to like you.*
'They do not like me. I am needed to pilot the Evangelion. If I do not pilot it,
I will be replaced.'
*Come on, Rei. They told me pilots are hard to find! They can't just replace
you.*
'They can. I am expendable.'
*WHAT? No-one is expendable! Rei, you're important to ---*
Ranma broke off as the body he was in rose to its feet and turned towards
Unit-00. He had seen it when Rei had looked at her watch, but since he was not
concentrating on it, he did not notice the time. "It is time."
Watching through Rei's eyes, the Eva approached step by step. *Rei, I want to
say thank you. You're a good fighter and a nice person. Not everybody would be
willing to take these risks to save someone else.*
'You are welcome. It was interesting knowing you, Saotome Ranma. I wonder if we
will meet again when I am replaced?'
"Goodbye, Ikari-Kun."
As they climbed into the cockpit, Ranma snorted mentally. *You know, before a
fight your supposed to cheer people up. Make 'em more determined to win. Make
yourself more determined. You gotta get this idea out of your head that you will
die. You have to fight like you want to live.*
There was silence as Rei synchronised with Unit-00 and picked up the shield she
would use to protect herself and Shinji. It was the bottom heat shield from one
of the latest orbital rockets. Misato had said it would last for twelve seconds
against the Angel's particle beam. Twelve seconds then they would need to block
the beam with their own body. Misato had not told them how long the Eva would
last with the Angel burning through it. Ranma hoped he would not find out.
Rei piloting the Evangelion was the strangest experience Ranma had ever tried.
His link to Rei - whatever it was - distanced him one step from all of her
physical sensations. He could feel her tiredness or hear what she heard, but it
was all abstract in some way. Watching though her eyes was more like watching
television. Feeling her walk let him know she walked, but it seemed to lack
something. It was subtle separation: he could feel her pain, feel the seat
beneath her, but pain never hurt _him_. _He_ was not the one that was tickled as
they slid into the smooth seat of the entry plug.
The Eva was always that step removed. You could move your body within the
cockpit, but simply by willing it, you could move the Eva. The Eva's pain was
yours too. Dr Akagi had once told him it was the same as moving the Eva, he
should be able to distance himself from it. Unfortunately, that did not seem to
work too well. The pain was too immediate, too apparent to be ignored or
disbelieved.
When he was not the one piloting the Eva, he was yet another step back. He could
feel Rei, feeling the Eva. When she picked up the shield, he could feel the
Eva's response to it through Rei. Having piloted Unit-00 yesterday, it felt
particularly strange to be in the entry plug and not be sending commands to the
Eva, but to still be feeling everything it did.
Experimentally Ranma tried sending a command to the Eva; just clench the left
fist. Nothing happened, causing him to sigh in relief. In an emergency, Ranma
was not sure that he could sit quietly on the sidelines and let Rei pilot. This
way it did not matter what he did: the Eva was synchronised to Rei, not him:
there was no danger of him giving conflicting commands that would hamper them in
combat. It would not take his commands, and obviously did not send him the
direct neural feedback.
In a moment of revelation, Ranma realised that this was why Rei was not
suffering the same bio-feedback trauma that he was. The pain had fed back into
his brain, Rei would have known about it, but that was all, the pain would not
have been as real or immediate as it was for him.
It disturbed Ranma deeply that she was the one piloting the Eva. The fact that
he was not yelling and screaming at her to let him pilot meant that he was
giving tacit approval to this crazy plan. A crazy plan that placed a young girl
as shy and fragile as Rei in the path of the enemy's fire. Ranma wanted to speak
up and say something, but there was nothing he could say.
Rei was right in every way. In his condition, he was not competent to fight the
Angel, and if they failed to protect Shinji, it would mean more than just their
deaths, it would mean the deaths of everyone on Earth. It was amazing that a
little girl like Rei had the strength of character needed to be able to battle
something like this. His father had always raised him to think that girls were
weak and needed protecting. Living around Akane, Shampoo and Ukyo had taught him
slightly differently. The girls were not always weak, but they still needed
protecting.
Even though the girls he had known were stronger than most men, and were willing
to fight in battles that would have sent lesser mortals running in terror, they
still had human fears. Rei, on the other hand, seemed to be as fragile as a
flower, physically. The short glimpses she had taken of her own body, combined
with the way she moved and carried herself had taught him that she was not a
fighter. He could tell by the very way that she walked and the way she stood
that Rei did not have any martial training. Despite all of that, Rei was a girl
who was willing to lay down her life for her friend and for all humanity.
He could not feel her inner thoughts, just those she chose to send to him. He
knew that she must be terrified, she just could not show it. At the very least,
there was a good chance that the Angel would manage to shoot them and give her a
short lesson in the pain he had suffered. At the worst she would perish
defending Shinji. Ranma could not remember ever meeting anyone so willing to
risk themselves to defend another.
Rei might be as fragile as a flower on the outside, but inside she was high
grade, double stressed, carbon steel. He could only watch and wish her luck as
Misato gave them the final call to ready for battle.
Kneeling behind the large, shuttle shaped shield, Rei's Eva crouched beside
Unit-01. Shinji was lying down holding the massive positron rifle, looking for
all the world like an emaciated blue sniper. It took all Ranma's will power not
to distract Rei with laughter. When Misato's voice echoed through the cockpit
announcing that the Angel was showing signs of charging its own weapon, all
thoughts of laughter evaporated like yesterday's rain.
Rei's eyes were locked forward like a targeting computer. Her steady vision did
not waver one millimetre as she studied the Angel. Around her there were sounds
of the Eva, but that was all. Nothing penetrated the entry plug to distract her,
and even Ranma tried to hold his breath so he did not disturb her intent
concentration. Without lungs, it was difficult to hold his breath, but he tried
in a figurative manner.
A twitch appeared in the corner of Rei's eye to indicate that Unit-01 had fired
the weapon. Instantly a brilliant blue beam lanced from the positron rifle.
Ranma almost had enough time to feel elated before he spotted the dreadful pink
beam arrowing from the Angel back at them.
Rei moved slightly, and Ranma could feel her dilemma. All her job was to do was
stand in the way of that beam and protect Shinji and the vital equipment.
However, if she moved now, it would block their own attack, possibly ruining the
only chance of defeating the Angel. The fact that it would mean that Shinji's
gun would slice their leg off would not even enter her focused mind. For Rei it
was simply victory or death. Nothing but one would prevent the other.
The decision of what to do was rendered moot by the particle beams' interaction.
Encased in a magnetic "bottle" to protect the positrons from reacting with the
atmosphere they were flying through, each shooter had missed the fact that the
opposing forces would warp their own containment and alignment. Twisting like
mating snakes, the blue and pink beams wrapped around each other before
separating at wild tangents from their original heading.
Power sufficient to run all of Japan for almost twenty seconds was focused into
Shinji's beam, and the Angel's was equally powerful. Deprived of their rightful
targets, the beams vented their titanic fury against the unsuspecting city and
the hillside near where the Evas lay. Since Misato had the foresight to arrange
the majority of the equipment on the leeward side of Mt Futago, they were still
in action, and Shinji began his reload.
While Rei watched the target and monitored the radio, Ranma took a moment to
concentrate on what she could see of the city. Several buildings had been
smashed, but it looked like the city's special defensive structure had saved
most of it. Relaxing with relief, Ranma realised that unlike most of his fights
in the past, all the bystanders were already well away and in shelters. There
should be no casualties from the stray beams.
The sense of motion confirmed his worst fears. Even as Misato was telling that
the Angel was powering up for another strike, Rei was moving into position. They
were barely two seconds into the recharge / cooling sequence, and they were in
trouble already.
"Goodbye, Ranma."
Ranma did not know which scared him more: the brilliant flaring light of the
Angel's beam as it started burning through their shield, or the fact that Rei
had just spoken out loud. Rei always seemed so careful about what she said and
did, she must be terrified to have made a mistake like that. Just as bad, it
meant that everyone tuned into the Eva's comm frequency would have heard it.
This was exactly how rumours got started, and he had already had enough of them
to last a lifetime.
Sitting in the back of Rei's mind, Ranma marvelled at what it was like to be the
ultimate observer of someone else's life. He could feel Rei's heart rate and
breathing increase with every second. The field of view narrowed as she squinted
until all he could see was the brilliance flaring around the small vision slit
in their shield. When Rei's eyes flickered down to the shield itself, Ranma
wanted to gibber in terror. It was already a rosy red colour, and it seemed like
barely five seconds had passed. It must be longer, but the surreal dissociation
he was feeling deprived him of a true feeling for the time. Any moment poor
little Rei would be feeling exactly what he had felt just a day before.
Then it happened. The Angel was through. Mentally Ranma gasped in shock. Through
their link, he could feel Rei's pain, even if it was all in her head. It was the
Eva being destroyed, not her, but the pain felt so very real. Even distanced
from it, Ranma was decidedly uncomfortable. Responding in entirely natural ways
to the agony around her, Rei's brain dumped huge quantities of adrenaline into
her system, and she gripped the controls so tightly, Ranma was sure she would
break them.
No matter what the pain, no matter what the agony, Rei stood there. While it
felt like her flesh was being burnt from her bones, Rei kept the Eva carefully
in the beam's path, not moving a millimetre. Rei was arching her back to the
point of breaking as she fought against the pain when it suddenly all stopped.
Gone, there was no more pain.
Although Rei collapsed to the seat in total fatigue, Ranma managed to capture a
brief glimpse out the cockpit before her eyes closed. Shinji had definitely
fired, and the Angel had stopped, he hoped that meant what he thought it did.
*REI! Rei! Are you all right?*
'I am... unwell.'
*Come on, Rei, stay with me. Feel that? Shinji's coming to get us.*
Indeed, first the Eva had been cradled in Unit-01's arms like it was a sick
child, then they felt someone ripping out the back of their skull. While it was
not the most pleasant way to be rescued, the sudden cessation of bio-feedback
from the Eva meant that their entry plug had been extracted.
'I wish to sleep now.'
*No! Stay with me, Rei. Come on, you gotta try and conscious until help gets
here.*
'I do not... feel well. Please...'
*Hey! Feel that? It's Shinji! Come on, open your eyes Rei. You can do it. Look
at him. Come on, stay with us.*
As the vision slowly came into focus, Rei could just make out the shape of the
younger Ikari standing in the doorway of the entry plug in just the same way
that his father had only a couple of months ago. Oddly enough, it seemed that
every time someone visited her in the entry plug, it felt as though she had just
been through a wheat thresher. At least this time none of the damage was real
and physical.
Shinji's face slowly filtered through her consciousness. He was crying again.
"Why are you crying?"
"I... I'm crying because I'm happy..."
"I know I should feel something. But I do not know what I should do."
*Just relax, Rei. The medic's will be here soon. They'll take care of you.*
"Smile... just smile."
Shinji reached in and offered his hand to the stricken girl that had risked her
life to save him. As she took his hand, Rei tried his advice. Slowly,
tentatively, she smiled. It was less a smile and more the absence of the
thoroughly neutral and slightly disapproving expression she normally wore.
However, it did seem to have an effect on Shinji. Shinji seemed to have been
stunned by something.
"Are you all right?"
Shinji blushed and pulled her out of the cockpit. Putting her arm around his
shoulder, Shinji carried Rei away from the pair of Evangelions. The mechanical
monsters could wait for another day, he needed to get Rei to the doctors as soon
as possible.
For her part, Rei cast a single glance back at their battered war machines and
then leaned more heavily into Shinji as the rescuers arrived. Evangelion Unit-00
looked as badly as she felt, which was little or no surprise. As she was lowered
onto a stretcher and taken away, Rei idly wondered if it could be replaced as
easily as she could. Probably not. Unit-00 was large and expensive. She was
expendable.
Exhaling deeply, Rei lay back and watched the concerned face of Misato who was
walking beside the stretcher bearers. She knew the Captain was saying something,
but at the moment, she just could not understand what was being said. It was all
so hard. Everything was spinning, and her stomach felt like it was revolting
against her. Moaning, Rei tried to raise a hand to her tortured head and hold it
still, perhaps somehow suppress the terrible throbbing.
Somewhere, as though from a far distance, she could hear Ranma talking to her.
She knew he was trying to give her some sort of good advice, something useful,
but all she really wanted to do sleep. Sleep and let the pain go away.
*Rei! You're going to be OK. It's just in your mind. You have to try and relax.
Just calm down. Rei. Rei! REI??!*
"REI!"
Ranma looked around them quickly lay back down. He was in an ambulance. It must
have happened when Rei's eyes were closed and she was almost unconscious. She
had been sort of drifting in and out for a while, and he had been trying to keep
up a steady stream of reassuring chatter for her. He did not know what would
happen if she really went unconscious, but he did not fancy being trapped in a
completely immobile body.
His eyes were closed, but he could hear Misato's voice from beside him. She was
asking if Rei was all right. Ranma waited for Rei to answer, since he was
suddenly feeling very tired. "Come on, say something if you're awake... Misato's
probably upset."
The girl's eyes snapped open and began flicking around the room before they
anchored on the anxious face of Captain Katsuragi Misato. Then Ranma realised
something and closed his eyes instantly. It was him. He was the one doing it. He
was the one moving around. No wonder his last few words to Rei had sounded
different: he had actually said them out loud! Misato must think Rei was
delirious! Even as he lay there, he could feel his reaction to the sudden
tension and excitement. His martial arts training had kicked in as soon as he
perceived a threat, and already he could feel the chemicals his body generating.
The sedative induced fog was thinning quickly, and he felt more alert.
Misato was asking how Rei was, but Ranma carefully did not answer. Rei was
silent in his head: unresponsive to all his queries. Following the example that
she had set, Ranma lay quietly on the stretcher and waited for Misato to calm
down. A slight movement of his fingers revealed that he was definitely in a plug
suit, which meant that he was still Rei.
So that's what happens, Ranma thought to himself. Rei's gone and I take control.
I wonder if that means she took control while I was asleep and stuff? As the
stretcher was carried out of the ambulance and Rei was prepared for a long stay
in the hospital, Ranma knew that he would have to ask Rei next chance he got.
Did she get up every night and wander around as he slept? He knew he was a heavy
sleeper. Heck, Nabiki had proven that Rei would have been perfectly safe pouring
cold water on herself to change back to a girl and Ranma would not have woken
up.
Somehow it disturbed Ranma that Rei had not done something like that to him. He
knew that if he suddenly had another personality trying to take possession of
his body, he would fight it every way he could. Rei had not... but why hadn't
she? Did she really have such a low level of self esteem that she did not care
that she had vanished off the face of the Earth for two weeks when Ranma had
arrived? They really needed to talk.
Finally they had Rei's body dressed in a simple hospital gown and in bed. There
was a oxygen mask on her face, and Ranma thought that the funny smell meant that
they must be giving her another sedative. Well, time to see how long he could
resist that!
Apparently Ranma could resist for long enough, because he was still conscious
when the last person had left the room. For some reason, Misato and Shinji had
hovered around for ages, talking to the orderly and making sure she was all
right. Finally they were gone and Ranma ripped off the gas mask with a grateful
sigh of relief.
His vision was cloudy, and his head felt like it was filled with cotton wool,
but Ranma knew that he would recover shortly. It took more than just a few lungs
of anaesthetic to knock him out. Laughing quietly to himself, Ranma walked over
to the bathroom and prepared to splash himself with hot water.
Before he could even place his hands under the hot water to splash himself, he
was caught by face in the mirror. Was this really the same face he had seen
earlier today? All he could remember from then was horrific red eyes and pale,
dead looking skin. Now as he looked more closely, he realised that it was just
his fear talking when he had said that. True, Rei's eyes were bright red; a
strangely unnatural colour for eyes. On the other hand, her hair was a very
pretty shade of blue. Natural, too, not like some girls he had known who had
dyed their hair for fashion. Somehow he could not see Rei doing anything purely
for the sake of fashion.
Turning her head slightly each way, Ranma gave herself a quick view of her
profile. It was amazing. Rei might have been albino, but she had the bone
structure of a model. Her face was... well... pretty good and all that. Angelic
would be how Kuno would describe her he thought. Rei's face gave a very
unladylike snort when Ranma realised how inappropriate that particular
comparison was in today's world. He might have lost the cute little red head he
used to be, but Rei might even be a trade up, especially since it meant that he
could get someone else to sleep through classes for him now. Of course, he would
never tell _her_ that.
Acting on impulse, Ranma gave the mirror a quick smile. It was only a little
one, more in keeping with how Rei had smiled, rather than his own open grin. It
did however make one thing perfectly clear: Ranma now knew why Shinji had acted
the way he did when he was helping Rei from the entry plug. While emotionless
Rei was pretty... Rei smiling...
Ranma shook himself and liberally splashed his head with hot water. It might
have been Rei's body, and he might just be a passenger, but there was no way
that he could let Shinji carry on like that. If Shinji could make Rei smile like
that too often, she might end up liking him. That could lead to Rei kissing him,
and... Ranma gripped the basin as he fought the urge to throw up. Best to nip
that one in the bud as soon as he could. Drying himself off, Ranma contemplated
the short hospital gown he was wearing and then catalogued his recent movements.
If his memory was right, his room should be just around here somewhere. If he
was lucky, no-one would have noticed his absence and he could grab his clothes
and get out of here.
Sticking his head out the door, Ranma took a quick look around. The hall was
completely deserted. Moving down the wall, he tried the next door. A quick
glance showed that all the hospital rooms looked the same, but somehow he
suspected that this might be his. After all, it's got to be easier if all your
patients are next to each other.
Walking into the room, Ranma almost ran straight into Dr Akagi. "D... Doctor.
What are you doing here?" Catching herself up against the wall, the startled
woman ran a hand through her short blonde hair and looked at the young boy. How
on Earth could he be so healthy? "R... Ranma? You've up? Where have you been?
How have you been? I didn't think you'd be able to get out of bed yet, let alone
walk."
Something about that disturbed him, especially since he was supposed to be the
one piloting earlier, not Rei. Letting the remark slide, Ranma put a hand behind
his head and scratched. "Heh, heh. Well, I'm just a real fast healer, you know?"
Putting her hands on his head, Ritsuko looked closely at his eyes and examined
his reaction. Speech clear, balance fine, pupils dilating correctly. How could
he possibly be healed this quickly? "The bio- feedback had nothing to do with
physical injuries. You... you can't heal mental damage that quickly. Even under
sedation, it would have taken you at least forty-eight hours to recover. We
would have needed to stick you in a complete sensory deprivation tank to stop
your body feeding back on itself to recover this fast. I don't understand. How
are you even able to talk this clearly?"
Oh, boy! That was one thing he did not want to discuss. It was bad enough when
he had needed to explain that he used to change sex with cold water. Now he
changed people entirely. He needed help here. 'Rei? You in there, Rei? Can you
respond?'
The persistent silence told him that Rei was sleeping. He had already learned
that you needed to be careful what you said. If she did not think she needed to
answer a question, Rei would sometimes just ignore you. Having gotten no help
from his co-conspirator, Ranma decided to see if Dr Akagi was as easy to side
track and Akane had been. If he had started this trick back then, she would have
nailed him once then stalked out of the room. If he was lucky, so would the
doctor.
Reaching past the woman, Ranma grabbed his shirt from the closet. "Do you mind
if I get dressed?"
"Not at all. I'm a doctor... Oh, I see, you want me to wait outside."
For a short while, Ranma considered trying to climb through a ventilation shaft
and escaping that way, but decided against it. Better just to face the music and
spin his boss some sort of story. He had one leg in his pants when the thought
hit him. Next door was Rei's room. If Dr Akagi went in there while he was
getting changed, the whole thing could end right then!
With deliberate casualness, Ranma pulled open the door to his hospital room and
stepped outside. Thankfully, the blonde woman was still there, idly flicking
though some notes on a clipboard. "I suppose you want to go home now that you're
better?"
Ranma nodded rapidly. The sooner he got out of here, the better. Unfortunately
Dr Akagi was not satisfied with letting all the mysteries of the last couple of
days just walk out of NERV's front door. Especially since this particular
mystery constituted 100% of NERV's able bodied backup pilots at the moment.
Although she led him to the lifts leaving the hospital complex, Ritsuko kept a
keen eye on the boy she had recruited. "Care to tell me where you've been for
the last... twelve hours?"
"Umm.... Would you believe I went for a walk?" Quick, quick, gotta think of a
reason why I was missing... I know: lie! I'll just make something up, she'll
never see though it.
End Of Chapter
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