Two vehicles drove down a dark tunnel from the underground complex beneath Mach Speed Noodles, dusty from the years of lack of use from before the outbreak of the nano-virus, heading for the Bunker at Mendou compound at the other end.
Ranma sat in the back seat of the white command car next to Akane, with Hayate sat at the end, while Ryuunosuke drove and Shinobu rode shotgun. Megane and his friends rode with Ukyou, Kasumi and Nabiki in the red car behind. The four women in the strange blue, red and green uniforms had already went on ahead in electric carts.
“How long has Tomobiki been like this?” Ranma asked.
“About four months or so, give or take.” Shinobu said. “We're surprised that you hadn't heard much about what's happening here.”
“Well, we heard about a terrorist attack on the Mendou home a couple of months back.” Akane replied. “And the sarin gas attack in the Tomobiki shopping centre...”
“That must've been what the media thought,” Shinobu said. “Or what they would have told you. It's likely nobody outside of Tomobiki, let alone Nerima knows what's going on.”
“But if Tomobiki's been hit, then that means Lum was too!” Ranma replied. “Isn't she like, an international celebrity and all?”
Shinobu nodded. “There's that. But there's all manner of powers who kept the lid shut on events in here. A lot of people had a lot to lose and gain from this, and they didn't want to create widespread panic.” She sighed. “So Tomobiki was cut off from the outside world, figuratively speaking. Lum can tell you stories about the lengths they went to try and minimise the weirdness that went on in Tomobiki. And because of that, it looks like nobody was prepared to deal with the Converters spreading to Furinkan. If we don't act now, the virus could spread across Tokyo before we stem the tide.”
Ranma sat back in silence, and turned to look at Akane.
Akane turned her head to look back, just as messages filled Ranma's eye. One caught her attention:
TZ-9124: Thank you for helping me, Ranma
TX-8451: How are you feeling?
TZ-9124: Weak. Ryuunosuke said the power cell she got was defective.
TZ-9124: She said she could get a new one for me soon.
TX-8451: I'm glad.
TZ-9124: Do you think the others are safe?
Ranma mulled over Akane's question.
TX-8451: I don't know.
TZ-9124: Do you know where your mom was?
TX-8451: No. I think she went out to find a blacksmith to see about that sword. I don't know what to do.
TX-8451: I'm scared, Akane.
Akane's eyes misted over, and her fingers intertwined with Ranma's.
TZ-9124: I know.
TZ-9124: Don't worry, Ranma.
Hayate watched Ranma and Akane curiously, then turned his gaze to the blast doors rapidly looming towards them. The cars stopped in front of the doors, as Shinobu slipped out and went over to a small monitor set in one of the doors.
Shinobu placed her hand in front of the monitor, which shimmered for a second, before an automated voice barked “State-your-pur.pose-u.nit-Tee-Dee-Three-Eight-Two-Two.”
”Unit Tee-Dee-Three-Eight-Two-Two and Unit Tee-See-Seven-Six-Three-Nine are relieved of duty, and are bringing in new arrivals. Five males, one new. Three gynoids from Furinkan.” Shinobu replied, in that strange metallic voice Ranma heard Ataru speak.
”Ac.cess-gran.ted-wel.come-U.nit-Tee-Dee-Three-Eight-Two-Two.”
There was the sound of gears grinding into life, as the blast doors slid open to reveal a massive room, filled with various vehicles and other machines, and teeming with people, many of them female.
Hayate's head almost swivelled around on his neck as he took in the sight, seeing various people tending to cars, jeeps, a couple of tanks, and what looked like a couple of F/A-18 Super Hornets and an AH-64 Apache, sitting by themselves. Then a sudden loud shrieking sound caught his attention. “What the hell was that?!”
Ryuunosuke's eyes widened as her eyes caught sight of people swarming towards her. “Oh shit. Somebody let slip about Ranma.”
Ranma shrank back in her seat as a gaggle of young women suddenly swarmed the white car, all screaming out variations on Ranma's name, some of them dressed in the Tomobiki summer uniform, others in the strange blue and red uniform the four women earlier wore.
Hayate grabbed hold of his seat. “I knew that Ranma was popular with the ladies, but never like this!”
“I know!” Shinobu shouted over the din. “Your reputation precedes you, Ranma!”
Ranma groaned, and scooped Akane up in her arms. Without warning, she bounded out of the car, and across the cavernous hangar, causing the screaming fangirls to run off after her.
Ryuunosuke and Shinobu watched as Ranma leapt across the hangar with great ease, ducking and dodging through the various obstacles in her way. “She looks like she could be useful to our cause, don't you think?” Shinobu asked.
“Lady...” Hayate sighed. “You ain't seen nothing yet.”
The car rolled onto a metal rack, where Ryuunosuke shut off the engine. As the three remaining people exited the car and stepped off the rack, it was lifted into the air. Hayate paused to watch the car being carried over to a massive structure holding several vehicles inside and slotted in, as if it was a model inside a display case of metal.
Hayate whistled. “Who paid for all of this James Bond-type business, I ask you?”
“All paid for and designed by the Mendou Conglomerate, of course.” Shinobu said. “Shuu-chan was always very... serious on the issue of home security. As is with all Mendous, I suppose. Come this way. We need to get you signed in with Lum and Sakura.”
Hayate followed Shinobu and Ryuunosuke into a rather nice-looking elevator, with mirrors and wood panelling on the walls, and rode up several floors. He was then lead through what he realised was the hallways of the Mendou mansion, until they stopped in front of a large double door. After a while, Akane and Ranma joined them, escorted by one of the uniformed ladies from earlier.. Ryuunosuke knocked on the door twice, then waited.
Of all of the expectations the three had before then, none of them prepared him for what he saw when the door opened. He had expected that a beautiful woman would be waiting, maybe two or three like what stood before him, but to see them in the flesh was entirely different.
There was a woman there of a mature age, late to mid twenties maybe, sat in a chair against the far window. Her hair reached down to her mid-back, thick, yet impeccably brushed and combed, coloured a deep bluish black that you could easily get lost in. Her eyes were of the same piercing blue that Ranma's male form had, but more elegantly shaped to go with her feminine face and pointed chin, her perfectly upturned nose and delicate lips painted blood-red. Her body was obviously was pleasingly curvy around the areas likely to attract an average male's attention, and was thankfully covered in a red blouse and short blue skirt. However, her incredibly long legs were left bare, leading down to white heeled pumps.
The second woman was almost instantly recognisable: the verdant green hair of Lum was always unmistakable. Straight, long and seemingly able to move as a single mass, with a sheen that seemed to catch all colours of light, it framed her face well, youthful but not childish. She twirled around on the spot to face them, and he could gaze at her slender body, not curvy like Sakura's but still pleasing all the same. She wore a Chinese qi-pao, which clung attractively to her form, and was made of bright yellow silk, decorated with the familiar tiger stripes she was famous for. The skirt of the dress was also slitted up one leg up to mid thigh, allowing one of her bared legs to be visible, as they reached down to her feet, clad in black high heeled pumps.
Confronted by two women so beautiful that he could only think in prose as purple as the preceding paragraphs, Hayate was struck with a feeling that was almost completely alien to him.
Hayate became lost for words.
“Well?” The black-haired woman asked. “What have you got to say for yourself?”
Hayate realised that the woman was talking to him. He tried to muster all of his self control in order to answer her. “W-well, I... I...” Then he realised that he had lost track of whatever conversation led to this point.
Akane nudged his side with some degree of irritation.
Lum blinked. And then smiled to herself.
“He came with the new arrivals today, Sakura-san.” Ryuunosuke supplied helpfully. “He's a friend of Saotome's, and a student in Akane's dojo.”
Sakura scowled at Hayate, an expression that startlingly complimented her face.
Hayate began to gibber.
Lum giggled softly. “I think you broke him, Sakura-san!”
“What? No! Not, I'm not broken! I'm functional! Up and ready and raring to go!” Hayate's mouth went on autopilot as he tried desperately not to take in Sakura's beauty, Lum's beauty, and the increasing tension in the room. “Wait, was that offensive? I'm sorry if I offended you, I had a busy day today, what with all the... you know...”
“That will be enough, Ichimonji-kun.” Lum said. “We'll get your details down here.” She smiled again at him. “It'll help if you just answer our questions.”
The three quickly answered Lum's questions, while Sakura took them down on the computer system on the desk. Within minutes, three new names was placed on file within the system.
However, one question caused suspicion: “Are you comfortable with sharing rooms with a gynoid, or two?”
“What's that question for?” Hayate quickly asked.
“Some of the males here aren't exactly comfortable being in our presence.” Lum replied. “We place them in their own separate dorms if they still choose to work here regardless. We like to be fair to everyone who comes here.”
Hayate's brows furrowed. “Well, then. I don't see any problem with that...”
“So you'd share with any gynoids?” Lum asked.
“Well, I'd like to share a room with Ranma and Akane...” Hayate faltered as he realised that Ranma and Akane both were looking at him. Not with irritation or anger. Just curiosity.
Sakura nodded. “That can be arranged, I suppose. You three can move to the east wing. Tomorrow, you'll be assessed here for retrieval operations. I hope to see you there.”
Hayate nodded stiffly, and turned on his heel.
“I didn't say you were dismissed!” Lum said.
Hayate froze.
“Saotome has to stay with me for a minute.” Sakura said. “We need to run some checks on her... his internals, for any potential upgrades compared to us.”
“Now you're dismissed!” Lum giggled.
Hayate glanced over his shoulder at Lum's beaming face, and walked out of the room alone.
“We'll come by once we're done, Hayate-kun!” Akane called out just before the door closed behind him.
Now...
(Posted Sun, 24 Feb 2013 00:56)
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