Kyle was back in his murky world, tracing the morons interested in Neo Mitochondrial 'evolution' of humans. The last thing any of the survivors or newly awakened symbiotic people wanted was for Maeda's work to end up benefiting the same kinds of fools that initiated Shambala and were eventually used by Parasite Eve. Aya in particular had seen that twice now, and she felt striking out altogether was unhealthy for all concerned.
Aya and Eve were a few miles out from the outskirts of Dryfield. The town was slowly rebuilding now that the residents felt it safe to return. They were looking out in the direction of the 'new meteorite impact' currently under government scientist supervision.
"How long until the cover up crew turn it loose?" That question came from a much more social Eve Brea. She'd not spoken all that much at first after Shambala, which was understandable given her upbringing as a living weapon and clone of Aya.
Aya snorted. "How long until the whole site is sanitized, you mean? They're working hard. I figure they'll yank everything and call it a cave complex that was placed under the impact region within a year. Right now they are reportedly ensuring the crater site doesn't connect to irradiated crevices from underground nuclear testing as a rationale for sealing the area." Aya and Eve were closely connected, for more reasons than the cloning itself. Their shared Mitochondrial power made them feel deep kinship with one another. This was only added to when one took into consideration that Eve Brea was at the time of discovery just a few inches taller than Aya's late twin sister Maya.
"That's a cute story. Bets that anything they miss gets written off as mutation from that mythical radiation leak?" Eve was learning and socializing at a huge rate of speed. Unlike most isolated children, her physical sensitive periods for learning were not a issue. Eve had active symbiont mitochondria, just as her source material/mother Aya had, and they were streamlining her development just as thoroughly as they had placed and maintained Aya at her absolute peak condition. Further, the link Aya and Eve shared provided the closeness required for full social development. Neither Aya nor Kyle was stupid enough to think that was a coincidence, and Maeda confirmed upon observation that Eve's powers were in fact creating a feeling of community between the young Brea and people around her. Those she could trust, at any rate.
Aya looked sharply at Eve, although her grin belied the fierceness of her glare. "Do you think I'm going to start taking sucker bets now, young lady?" The banter was part of their ongoing adjustment. Aya called their relations sisterly, feeling that closeness she had missed since the car crash that took her family. Eve considered Aya her mother, in all senses. And to everyone else who could be bothered to give a opinion, they were friends, comrades in arms, and loving family. The general consensus was a shrug and the urge to make sure it worked, definitions be hanged.
They turned around as a hot violet light shone from behind them.
Ranma blinked. He had felt himself rushing along a tunnel of energy, as when he had come to the complex. This time the energy had been different and the experience had left a faint feeling of connection to something left behind. He was clad in his usual clothing again, rather than the spandex he'd been wearing in the seat.
Looking around himself, Ranma found he was in a rather spacious and well designed dojo, as the girl had promised. He began shifting and flowing through kata, finding his body responded as it should. That faint sense of connection remained, and as he examined it, Ranma became aware it was sensed in the same manner as his sensing the symbols behind all around him back in Nerima, and the feelings those tiny machines Karl had mentioned gave him. Centering himself once more, Ranma vaguely felt the symbols around him once more, comprising his body and all else in the dojo.
Ranma lost his lock on them save for the sense of connection as he heard a intense but friendly voice speak with a faint Chinese accent. "Once you grasp that instinctively, you'll be capable of amazing things." Ranma's surprise came from the speaker's identity, as the man approached. A martial artist of Ranma's caliber appreciated a man like Bruce Lee for his philosophical achievements even more than the actor's martial feats. So a bit of astonishment was understandable.
Bruce had a answer for that, however. He moved in swiftly, his high rate of speed not making him look rushed in the slightest. Ranma's palm stopped the three punch combo easily enough, but it did bring Ranma back into a conversational zone, as intended.
"Oh, man. You're almost real. I mean, I-I'm Ranma Saotome. Sorry about this." Bruce felt almost certain his opponent had said those words before.
"It's nothing. I am well aware I was made to be in this place. You are far more real than I, whatever real actually turns out to be." Bruce smiled. "This place is obviously for training you in combat, but it has another purpose. This is a computer simulation, what some would call a virtual reality. Like any simulation, it uses rules to emulate reality. And as with any computer, those with the knowledge and talent may alter or break those rules to the extent of their talents."
As Ranma fought to understand this and reconcile it with Nerima's being like the dojo, Bruce stepped in, kicking in a thrust kick to the side before hooking the leg in. Ranma almost let the attack hit, but instead of attempting a sweep he was certain would result in Bruce counterattacking, he flipped over the simulation opponent. His back-wards kick did not connect, but Bruce's grab attack failed, so Ranma kip-upped neatly into stance as Bruce turned to face him.
Bruce spoke before attacking once more. "Flexibility, shifting tactics, you learned the art well. Fight!"
The combat was among the more exhilarating Ranma had fought, as the Bruce he fought used more than his historical arts or the Jeet Kun Do he had developed. The struggle was one of constant adaptation, as Bruce and Ranma traded and shifted between scores of techniques, in every art from Dim Mak to Aikijustu. Every once in a while, Ranma felt Bruce's connection to the dojo and 'land' around him increase. At those times, Bruce simply turned into a near blur and knocked Ranma into the wall.
It was after Ranma had been bashed through the wall of the dojo and into the lands around the building that Ranma attempted that same grasping. This time the symbols did not fill his vision, but he sensed their flow and pulled at his own in the manner Bruce did. The resulting burst of speed had his whole body moving at speeds he associated with the Chestnuts maneuver, and Ranma used it to great effect, punching through the slower defenses of Lee.
By unspoken agreement, they stopped. Ranma said, "Why are you doing this? I haven't been briefed yet, as I'm pretty sure you know, and it's only raising more questions."
Bruce smiled. "Exactly. This means you'll ask them. It is time for you to go now. You should find your bruises are reflected in your body, if not as strongly." As Ranma groaned at being handed yet another question to ask, he felt the dojo fade from perception.
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(Posted Sat, 11 Feb 2006 03:25)
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