[2:09:31]
His fortress had outer walls a half-mile thick, armored, and was over 16,000 feet tall. The fortress was a single tower with 1000 floors above ground and two hundred below ground level. It was also mostly empty rooms, corridors, stairwells, and had elevator shafts. It had bathrooms on every floor (one of the Prinnies in the background had insisted this was necessary and oddly enough Etna had agreed).
It also had a treasure storeroom, filled, an armory, an energy source (a matter/antimatter engine on level B-24), food (level 300 was entirely food storage and had an enchantment where the cupboards would never be empty), water (level B-12 had the filtration and purification mechanisms while level b-3 was storage), and he had teleport stones for major levels and the roof.
The first thing to address were the troops, as in lack of troops. He needed a mad scientist to oversee things in that area. Who to get?
fwash
"WHAT?! WHERE AM I?" asked the mad scientist.
"You're in my tower, are you the scientist I need to run my labs and stuff?" asked Ranma.
"Waitaminute. The shuttle. Why am I not dead?" The scientist checked himself over. Other than fading spots where he remembered skin boiling off, he seemed whole. As he watched the skin finished healing.
"Cause I brought you here," said Ranma. He didn't mention that he'd used the Great Will specifically looking for someone on the verge of death who could fit the bill of being a mad scientist. "There is a job that needs doing. Do you want me to send you back?"
Doctor Machinegal considered how his latest plan had gone snafu and his shuttle had been hit with enough solar radiation that he and his gynoids were disintegrating one second before he reappeared here - whole. "Bring my assistants in, repair them, and I'll help you."
Ranma focussed again. "Deal."
With the mad scientist and his robot-girls working away down in the labs (levels 500-520), Ranma was relatively sure he'd have a giant robot or two soon.
He STILL needed troops though, and he was going to have a problem with the Doctor later. He'd only been able to get them and alter them to healthy because it was a neighboring universe, but even then he had very little influence over how they developed.
fwash
Ranma looked over the mirror he'd placed on level B-1. Full length, but not showing anything in its depths. "That's funny, I thought this would work."
It had just been a random idea. Someone in dire straits who didn't want to be where they were, who could come across from the mirror to be his loyal minion. That they would be loyal to him was one of the filters put in the way. Wouldn't do to have just ANYONE pop in.
While Ranma was looking, the mirror shimmered and someone stepped out.
"There's a cupboard over there," said Ranma. "It'll have whatever kind of clothes you want, in your size, so long as you open it and close it again when you're done."
The girl regarded him.
"Did it work where you understand the situation?" asked Ranma, hoping that that part of the mirror was working. He didn't want to have to keep explaining this.
"I understand," said Rei Ayanami, her voice soft.
Ranma scratched his head, then used a teleport stone. Well, it looked like this idea was a bust. All he got was some naked winged gal. Rather than stick around a naked girl, he decided to try again on 22. This time he'd use something along the line of that mad scientist's soldiers, these would be loyal to HIM though. It was kinda in-genre for the mad scientist to turn against the Overlord later on, and he wanted to be prepared.
Rei blinked and checked her wings. "Physical manifestation of inner nature, determined by dimensional journey and local area rules regarding such things. Strong AT-field equals strong chi. Part-angel nature manifesting as 'winged being' in this reality."
A second Rei Ayanami stepped through the mirror. "Interesting."
A third Rei Ayanami was followed by a fourth. Then a fifth. Then...
"Service to Overlord named Ranma conditional to passage," said Rei #9. "Perhaps as 'angel of death' we should cause Third Impact to remove obstacles to world conquest."
The various Rei all seriously considered this.
Rei Hino screamed in mortal terror, eyes wide as a NASTY vision dropped into head.
Various psychics, sensitives, and chi adepts all shuddered as they felt some horrible fate suddenly appear in their near future.
"HARUKA!" said Michiru, grabbing her lover close and holding on tight. She openly wept as she felt Doom to her personality and individuality draw near.
"Rei #9," said Rei #7. "Get your maid uniform and keep such speculation down. We're to save the world, not doom it."
"True," agreed Rei #9 after some consideration.
"What the heck was that?" asked Haruka as she felt the same sudden Doom go wandering off.
"I don't know, but we're still alive," said Michiru.
Elsewhere, Rei Hino sagged in relief. Whatever it had been, it was gone again.
Ranma considered the assembly line, then glanced at his timer again. [1:45:17] He'd have to see if this would work but he was running out of time. "Engine START."
It wasn't voice activated. There was a green Start button and a red Stop button. He just felt he needed to say something when starting it up.
clackitta-clackitta went the machines.
Robot soldiers would be produced, with the manga library above (floor 23) and the A/V library below (floor 21) being used as reference material.
He couldn't stay though. Couldn't watch the results. He was fast running out of time. He'd wanted a big imposing tower, and he had one, but people were bound to notice it. Now he also had the timer running out of time.
Ranma used the Great Will to teleport this time, as level 22's teleporter only went to the supply rooms in level 2 from which you could reach the ramp to level 1.
He had a different idea now.
Therefore he missed seeing a Rei Ayanami appear and begin inputting values.
"I'm alive?" asked Misato. Unnecessarily as the fact that she was there to ask the question indicated a distinct lack of deadness.
Rei #4 nodded as she let go of Misato's hand. "I have determined that as this reality has placed myselves in the role of 'angel of life and death' that using the mirror-bridge to guide souls across to this Reality. You are currently installed in a robot body simulacra of your original."
"I'm a robot?!" asked Misato.
"More like a full conversion cyborg, as installing you caused some ripples in the reality matrix," said Rei #4.
"Why have you got a pendant with the western number '4' on it around your neck?" asked Misato, deciding to focus on something trivial. It was better than wondering if she was Misato Katsuragi in a robot body or simply a robot programmed to think of herself as Misato, or...
No, it was better to focus on something trivial like the pendant.
"For identification and to avoid some confusion," said Rei#4. "It was number Seven's idea."
"Ah hah," said Misato. "Okayy..."
"We are currently working for an Overlord who is planning to conquer the world, except he doesn't really want to," said Rei. "Now if you'll excuse me, I will be bringing Asuka, Shinji, Doctor Akagi, Miss Ibuki, and a few others across as well."
"I need a drink," said Misato, bringing up an internal diagnostic and determining if she could in fact get one.
Ranma looked out at the troops he'd just managed to get. It had been tricky, but he now had:
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(Posted Sun, 07 Jan 2007 19:11)
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