Hey again folks! Here we are with your long awaited… possibly… dose of the FMP fic with the far too long name that the authors regret to this day.
Aaaanyhow, we've got little to say up here, so we hope you enjoy.
Chapter 2 (14): Tomo Died That Day.
Kaname could still hear the contrasting sounds of a burst water pipe and smouldering fires over the faint ringing in her ears as she sat, slumped against the wall of a classroom, staring at her shaking hands.
"They're definitely gone," Sora reported from where she knelt under the window, a slight tinge of irritation in her tone.
"We've got to go after them," the captain said, crawling over to the window herself and looking through it.
Sora shook her head. "No, Ma'am," she said flatly. "You and Kaname aren't suited for field operations, and I can't leave you unprotected."
The teal haired girl had her mouth halfway open to object when she froze, her mind replaying the sensation of the gun's sharp kick against the palm of her hand and the loud crack jolting her, a human being slumping over. Her mouth snapped closed.
The grey haired girl, however, had no reservations as she frowned at the redhead. "I understand that I'm not ground combat personnel, but I'm not helpless, and if A-21 gets ahold of that boy the consequences could be dire. I can at least get Ms. Chidori and myself some place more secure."
"The only safe house we have in this area is compromised," Sora objected. "I've called for backup, but until it gets here…"
"Aunt Nabiki's," Kaname said, faintly. When the two looked over at her, she continued. "It's only a few kilometers away, and they wouldn't have much reason to connect us to it."
"I don't like using a location I haven't checked first," Sora frowned, "but it might be…" She was cut off by the sound of an incoming helicopter. She immediately waved the captain deeper into the room, raising her rifle and looking through the sights out into the school yard.
Reaching into a pocket in her uniform shirt with her free hand, she placed an earpiece on her ear and listened for a moment before speaking. "Urzu 7, roger."
"Sergeant?" the captain asked.
The redhead mumbled something Kaname couldn't hear before replying, "Reinforcements." She pulled herself up and out the broken window, landing on the other side with a slight stumble. It was only at that moment that Kaname really took notice of the growing dark blotches covering the back of the other girl's white uniform shirt.
Without thinking, she was up and moving, somehow managing to clear the broken glass herself without getting caught on any. "Sousuke? You're hurt!"
"It's not a problem," the redhead responded. "Just some shrapnel from the bench exploding."
"Not a- You're bleeding!" Kaname burst out.
"So are you," Sora deadpanned, pointing down at the taller girl's leg.
"That's completely different!" Kaname shot back. She was certain that Sora was about to demand to know how, but she was saved from having to answer the question as the helicopter flew overhead, dropping a hulking shape in front of them with a crash that stirred up dust. When it cleared, Mao and Kurz stood in front of them, the blond smiling goofily.
"Here we are to save the day!" he sang, causing the dark haired woman to facepalm.
"You're late," Sora said simply.
"What happened here?" Mao asked, looking around the wreckage of the school's front courtyard. Kaname drifted off as Sora began giving a report and the captain moved to join the group of soldiers.
She was still worried about Sora's injuries, but now that Mao and Kurz were here the worst of the night was over. Crack! She closed her eyes tightly, her stomach roiling. "Ms. Chidori, is that acceptable?" She opened her eyes, and then blinked at the concerned gaze of the captain.
"Wha?" she asked, articulately.
"Sergeant Sagara and I are going to accompany you to the place you mentioned, your aunt's house?"
"Oh… yeah," Kaname nodded. "That's fine."
Mao spoke up now. "And remember, get those wounds looked at when you get there, don't just stand guard acting like a hardass the whole time. That's an order, got it?"
"Yes, Ma'am," Sora replied, stiffly.
Kaname gave the captain a puzzled look. "Where did that come from?"
The grey haired girl's returning one was concerned. "Perhaps you should be looked at as well, Ms. Chidori? The sergeant major yelling at Sergeant Sagara when he tried to ignore his injuries was… loud."
"Yeah, maybe," Kaname nodded. "So… Aunt Nabiki's, right? We can get there on the subway a few blocks from here." She began to walk as Mao climbed into the Arm Slave that sat in the middle of the yard.
HR.
"Aren't you on mandatory sick leave?" Lt. Commander Kalinin asked, looking over the man who had just been hustled into his small room by two angry looking guards.
"Tried to tell 'em that," Ranma tried to shrug, but was stopped by his restraints. "Doc's gunna be pissed at the number of stitches I've pulled."
"Shut up!" one of the guards barked, clubbing the dark haired man on the back of the head to absolutely no effect.
A woman wearing an A.S. pilot's suit stepped in behind the two, walking to stand close to the bed the grey haired man lay in. "I know this man is with your organization," she said, gesturing towards Ranma. "From how you've spoken to me so far, I doubt you'd want one of your people to die."
"This one is a bit of a special case," Kalinin mumbled.
"I love you too, sir," Ranma shot back.
The brown haired woman looked between the two of them and raised an eyebrow. "Your subordinate here doesn't seem to understand the gravity of the situation, but fortunately he doesn't have to. If you don't tell us what we need to know, he's going to die."
"I see," Kalinin nodded. "I wonder… what would your mentor have thought of this sort of thing?" The woman answered him with a hard, single-finger jab into his bandaged and bloodstained ribs that caused him to suppress a grunt of pain. She was interrupted before she could speak again by another man entering the room, somewhat out of breath.
"Ma'am, we've recovered Takuma," he reported. "They're bringing him back here right now."
The woman nodded, and then turned to the two men holding Ranma. "Kill him in five minutes if the old man doesn't talk. Let me know of any progress." She then turned and left the room.
The room descended into an uncomfortable silence for a moment, Ranma shifting on his feet to try and get some pressure off of his arms. "So…" he said, after about a minute.
"Sergeant Ranma," Kalinin started, "Why are you still here?"
"Well, somebody put me under mandatory sick leave, so I can't fight anyone, right?" the pigtailed man asked.
The older one snorted. "I see," he nodded. "Well then consider your leave temporarily suspended."
"Temporarily?" Ranma asked, disappointed, as his two guards looked at each other in puzzlement. Getting no response other than a steady look from Kalinin, he nodded, and his restraints tore free from the chair to which he was bound. He brought an elbow back into each guard's stomach, folding them forward, and then hitting them both on the back of the head, sending them slumping to the floor.
"Unconscious?" Kalinin asked, slowly sitting and throwing his legs over the side of the bed.
"Probably wake up in an hour or so," Ranma answered.
The russian gave him a brief look, before forcing himself up. Kneeling next to the two men, he quickly secured guns, ammunition, and several keys. He then paused for a long moment and stood again. "Let's go." Walking to the door, he checked his weapon and stuck his head out, checking for security before stepping out and running down the hall.
"Wait!" Ranma called, and Kalinin turned to see that he was standing outside the room, lightly supporting himself on the wall. He looked slightly embarrassed as he confessed "Still a bit too banged up to run, sorry."
Kalinin raised an eyebrow. "You just ripped a folding chair in half and knocked out two men, but you can't run?"
"...not gunna be able to do that again, either," Ranma admitted with a wince.
"How badly are you injured?" Kalinin asked as Ranma began moving towards him.
"Nothing new, really, aside from a few bruises and stab wounds," Ranma answered as he caught up and the two began walking. "These guys don't do interrogation or prisoner brutality all that well, even when it's obvious they're really trying. You sure A-21's a big terrorist organization?"
Kalinin shook his head. "They're planning something big, but they don't seem to have the organization themselves to have put it together. They're like a bunch of kids lashing out, but they've been given a lot of high end military tech and resources."
Ranma winced again. "Great, so I'm guessing we aren't done until we find out what this big plan of theirs is and how to stop it?"
"I'm afraid not," Kalinin replied.
Ranma increased his pace somewhat and took his hand off the wall. "Think I'm gunna need the rest of my sick leave after this, boss."
HR.
"You girls okay in here?" Nabiki poked her head into the living room where her daughter and her friends were sitting around a table and smiled. Chiyo and Yomi were still trying to study, while Tomo was asleep with her head resting on a pile of comic books, and Osaka was spinning a globe in the corner of the room and studying it in fascination. "I can order a pizza if you want."
"Good thing Tomo's not awake," Yomi replied. "She'd be all over you begging for one, but I think we're fine."
"Right," the brown haired woman nodded, passing by the room and smiling to herself. She wondered, for a moment, how many heart attacks she would have caused in Nerima if they'd seen her offering to buy pizza for a bunch of kids, but it cheered her up to see Chiyo have such a good group of friends… even if her weak will and Tomo's stupidity could cause… issues… occasionally. She was about to enter the kitchen to pour herself another cup of coffee when the door buzzer went off.
"I've got it!" she called as she turned towards the front door. Tapping a button on the screen next to it, she blinked as she saw three schoolgirls standing in front of her gate, and one of them had the very distinct hair color of her niece. "Kaname? What are you doing here at this time of night?"
"Um, hi Aunt Nabiki, something's happened and we need to stay here for a while. I'll explain when we get in."
"Right," the older woman said, slowly, pushing the button to slide open the front gate. "Fine, but this had better have a good explanation."
As she waited for the visitors to make their way up to the house, thoughts raced through Nabiki's mind. Kaname's face had looked a little off when she'd talked to her, and something about the redhead struck her as very familiar.
"Who was it, Mom?" Chiyo asked, standing in the living room doorway.
"Your cousin Kaname," Nabiki replied. "Hope you don't mind, but she and her friends might be crashing your party."
"Oh! I haven't seen Kaname in a while," Chiyo said cheerfully. "I'm sure the others will like her, though."
"I'm sure they will, if Tomo doesn't drive her insane," Nabiki agreed as the front door opened to reveal a bedraggled, tired-eyed Kaname and two other girls who were about the same age.
Where he was laying in a corner near the door, the family dog, a large great pyrenees named Mr. Tadakichi, raised his head and sniffed the air. He then got up and padded over to the three, nuzzling his head against the leg of the redhead who stood next to Kaname.
"Well, at least Mr. Tadakichi seems to like you," Nabiki noted, looking the group over. "You're the guy with the first-aid kit, aren't you?" She snapped her fingers, her nagging sense of familiarity finally making sense. "Though… why do you look exactly like Ranma? And why are you registered at Kaname's school in that form, with a different name?"
"He's my father," the redhead returned, "and to help my cover."
"I… am trying to be surprised right now," Nabiki drawled. "And you are?" She turned to the grey haired girl on Kaname's other side.
"My name is Tessa," the girl bowed in her direction. "I'm one of Kaname's friends from school."
"...Right," Nabiki shook her head. "There haven't been any new transfers other than medkit boy here in the past three weeks, and you don't match any of the profiles."
"...You have profiles on my classmates?" Kaname asked, faintly.
The older woman's returning look was very flat. "After you got kidnapped by international terrorists? Yes. Yes I do."
"A wise precaution," Sora mumbled, getting a sidelong glare from the teal haired girl.
"You're not helping."
"Well, um, yes…" Tessa shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot, one hand reaching up to her hair before she forced it back down.
"You aren't Saotome's kid as well, are you? You're a terrible liar," the older woman shook her head.
The grey haired girl just continued to shuffle, sidling slightly behind Kaname, who rubbed her forehead with a hand that Nabiki observed was shaking. "Ugh, this is pointless!" her niece huffed. "Miss Captain here just showed up at Sousuke's apartment a few hours ago with a captured terrorist, and since then we've been shot at, kidnapped and almost blown up! So I… I just want someplace to sit and calm down, since my apartment's probably been torn apart by mercenaries and we just had a firefight at the school!"
"Well.." Nabiki blinked slowly once, before looking the group over with a much more critical eye. "If any of you are hurt, there's a first aid kit in the bathroom." She pulled a set of keys from a pocket in her suit jacket and tossed it to Sora. "Med-kit boy, safe in the office, third door on the right, go."
The redhead nodded shortly, and was half-way past the older woman before she grabbed her shoulder. "What the hell happened to your back? Grab the first aid kit and patch yourself up first."
"But I…"
"Now!"
"A...aunt Nabiki?" Kaname stammered, as the older woman reached into another pocket and withdrew a cellular phone.
The brown haired woman barely looked up from paging through numbers. "I used to live in Nerima, and I'm not a martial artist," she explained, before pushing a button and raising the device to one ear. "Hey Tofu, it's me. No, I don't care how late it is, I've got someone here who looks like they've taken a blast from a Bakusai Tenketsu." Hanging up the phone, she turned and gestured towards Kaname and Tessa, who numbly followed her, the situation seeming like it'd just spun out of control.
"Oh, Kaname! It's so good you're he…" Chio's happy exclamation died as she saw the look in her mother's eye. "Um, Mom, you're looking scary again," she said, worriedly.
"It's nothing for you guys to worry about," the brown haired woman said. "Something's just come up. I'm afraid your friends are going to have to stay over for the night, though."
"So… this suddenly got turned into a sleepover?" Yomi asked, looking up from her book. "I'm okay with that, I guess, but you'll have to explain it to my parents. What's going on?"
"Nothing important," Nabiki shrugged dismissively. "Conditions outside just might be a little unsafe tonight. That's why Kaname's here, she and her friends got stuck out here when the weather went bad."
"Aww, but I wanted to watch the dance…" Osaka muttered, from where she was gazing out the window vacantly.
Nabiki glanced at her for a moment, before shrugging and turning to leave the room, her phone already out again and another number being dialed.
Once her mother was out of earshot, Chiyo walked up to Kaname and tugged on her sleeve, breaking the teal haired girl out of her stunned stupor. "Um, excuse me, but what's really going on?"
Kaname sighed, sinking to a seat next to the kotatsu in the middle of the room. "That obvious, huh?"
"It's a really nice night, I don't think Mom was even trying," Chiyo nodded.
"It was just another kidnapping attempt," Kaname said, trying to be casual about it.
"What disturbs me," a girl with long brown hair and glasses chipped in, "is that you just said 'another' kidnapping attempt so casually… especially since we only just got Osaka back."
"Hmmmmm?" A blank-eyed black haired girl asked as she turned from the window. "You say somethin' Yomi?"
"Nothing, don't worry about it," the brown haired girl said, waving off.
"Oh, you're the whispered from…" Tessa started, her eyes wide before she clamped her mouth shut so fast her teeth clicked.
Kaname gave her a sidelong look, but no one else seemed to catch the slip. "So, what're you guys doing?" she asked, looking around. "I see you made new friends in high school really fast, Chiyo!"
"Yeah, I guess you were right," the much younger girl nodded. "I didn't have anything to worry about."
"Yeah… I'm going to go get some water," Kaname said, standing. "You guys want anything?"
The others shook their heads, all but the one girl who was sprawled across the other side of the Kotatsu, somehow still sleeping on a pile of books.
Kaname ignored Yomi starting to question Tessa as she exited the room into the hallway. Making her way to the kitchen, she stopped next to the bathroom door as she heard a loud grunting noise. For a moment she was frozen in fear, waiting for someone to level a gun at her. Then, for another crazy moment she was prepared to burst in there and accuse Sousuke of doing something perverse. Then the fact that it had been a grunt of pain fully processed, and she tore the door open.
"What the hell are you doing?!" she demanded, hands going immediately to hips as she gazed at a topless Sora, hunched over the American style bathtub and dumping a bottle of something over her back. The redhead's head shot around and she reached down to the edge of the tub, bringing up what almost looked like a parody of a handgun, the thing was so over-sized. "And what is that?"
"I am attempting to treat my injuries," Sora responded, restraining a wince. "And this… is what your aunt keeps in her safe."
"That isn't how you treat injuries," Kaname stepped into the room and grabbed the bottle of rubbing alcohol from the other's hand. "Sit down and let me do it. How aren't you screaming in… never mind, it's you."
After a moment of looking over the supplies Sora had already laid out, she started to get to work. "You know, I was supposed to be watching a new episode of my favorite soap tonight," she grumbled, dipping a swab in a bowl full of alcohol. When she applied it and Sora barely twitched, she honestly wasn't all that surprised anymore. "Even if it was a clip show." Ah, that jab got a grunt out of him. "I didn't expect to have a rocket shot at me, or to find out your submarine captain's really my age, or to have Uncle Ranma probably taken who-knows-where."
"...Kaname, you're hurting me," Sora said in a level tone.
The teal haired girl took a shaky breath, forcing her hands to steady. "Sorry. Maybe your way would've been better after all, huh?" She laughed a little, continuing much more methodically.
"You shouldn't have been involved in this, I'm sorry," the redhead spoke a moment later.
"Yeah, well…" Kaname sighed. "I was, and it wasn't your fault. I'm the one who stuck my nose in it like I always do." Sora didn't speak until she was finished, applying the last bandage. "It looks like there wasn't anything too deep," she offered. "A lot of blood, but that was mostly from scrapes."
"Thank you," the shorter girl said, standing and walking towards the door.
"Hey, wait! Your shirt, idiot, remember?" Kaname barked. "Wait, no, let me go find you another one." When she opened the door, her eyes widened. Standing across the hall, next to the front door, was a long-haired man wearing a set of patterned white chinese robes and a brown haired man in a black fighting gi. She hadn't even heard any doors open.
"Dr. Tofu?"
The man in question inclined his head to her, and then looked her over critically. "Kaname, you seem mostly alright."
"Yeah," She stepped a bit to the side. "Sousuke took the most of it, but he's okay, too."
"I see," Tofu nodded, but walked into the washroom past her, regardless. There was some muffled conversation, but she didn't catch it as the door closed.
"Kaname," the white robed man said, inclining his head in greeting. "I'm Mousse. We last met…"
"That time with the guy who was going to extort Aunt Nabiki, right?" she asked, snapping her fingers in recognition. "You're the guy with the training potty!"
The man sighed. "Everyone remembers that…"
"Well it is the most memorable thing about you," her aunt drawled as she entered the hallway. "Couldn't get ahold of anyone else, so looks like it's just you on guard detail, Mousse."
"Not a problem," the robed man said, an extremely large blade sliding from one of his billowing sleeves. "I packed pretty thoroughly for this one."
"Did you bring the duck?" Nabiki snickered.
Mousse rubbed his forehead. "If you must know, they were part of my basic training. The elders wouldn't give me blades to practice on, and the factory was nearby. There are probably still a few hundred in there somewhere."
"Probably clashes with the rest of your magic act when you pull one out, huh?" Nabiki smirked.
"You know, I could just leave," Mousse crossed his arms.
"Alright, alright," Nabiki said placatingly, holding her hand up. "I'll be good."
Leaving the two adults to their snarking, Kaname headed for the living room, where Tessa seemed to be nervously shying away from the spikey haired girl who had formerly been passed out on her books.
"I mean come on, that hair can't be natural," the girl was saying loudly, while her brown haired friend looked on and groaned.
"Tomo, give it up, please?"
Tessa was holding her plate to herself as though it'd been yanked on.
"Come on guys," the teal haired girl said as she walked in. "Lay off her, okay?"
"Now if you wanna talk about a hair color that isn't natural," Yomi commented. Leaning forward, she added, "That is some dedication, though, dying your eyebrows to match."
"My hair is perfectly natural," Kaname crossed her arms over her chest.
"You'd almost think she's related to Shampoo," Osaka drawled.
"Shampoo?" Chiyo replied. "You've met her?"
"Yup…" Osaka replied slowly. The others waited, expecting elaboration, but getting none.
"So, um, Kaname… is your friend okay?" Chiyo asked, after a few moments of uncomfortable silence.
"Yeah," Kaname nodded. "I think so, but Dr. Tofu's gone in to check." As if on cue, the bathroom door slid open, and the doctor emerged, followed by Sora in a long black t-shirt. Everything looked perfectly fine… aside from the fact that she was still holding that ridiculous gun, and apparently Tomo noticed.
"Oh man, what is that?!" she asked, bolting up and charging across the room. She was answered in an unpleasant, yet sadly predictable manner as Sora brought her hands up, entering a shooting stance with the barrel pointed directly between the black haired girl's eyes.
"You know, I gave you that to point at intruders, not my houseguests," Aunt Nabiki said as she entered the room. "Then again, it is Tomo…"
"M-Mom…" Chiyo stammered, her eyes as wide as saucers.
Sora gradually lowered the weapon as Tomo raised her hands. "I apologize," she said quietly. "Reflex."
"I repeat, it's Tomo," Nabiki shrugged, getting a disapproving look from her daughter.
Sora nodded, flicking the safety on the gun. "You know, this isn't a very good personal defense weapon, especially for someone your size and build," she observed. "It's liable to break your arm if you fire it incorrectly."
"If the kind of thing I need that for shows up," Nabiki said seriously, "I'm only getting one shot."
Sora considered this for a moment and then nodded, going over to sit by Osaka at the window.
"Oh, hi Sakaki," the distant eyed girl said, pleasantly. "Ah like your hair better longer."
HR.
"So, how've things been going with Sousuke?" Ranma almost stumbled for reasons other than his injuries as this question came from Kalinin.
"You're asking this now?" he asked incredulously.
"Well, we don't talk very much," the older man explained. "Especially since you've been off-ship for the last few months."
"It's going… fine, I guess," Ranma replied, pushing a door open and wincing at the staircase behind it. "It might surprise you, but I've got no idea how this being a parent thing works, and Sousuke isn't exactly a normal kid."
"I suppose that's true," Kalinin admitted as they started making their way deeper into the boat. "Still, he's a fine boy. It's just that the experiences in his life haven't been… pleasant."
"Look," Ranma asked, exasperated. "Is there a reason you're bringin' this up?"
"I just…" The older man let out a frustrated breath. "I just wanted you to take everything into consideration. You've got to understand all aspects of a situation, that's…"
"...Wait a second," Ranma interrupted him. "This is sounding suspiciously like some very stupid conversations I've had before."
"Excuse me?" Kalinin asked, offended.
"Yeah, all that's missing is a bunch of stuttering and blushing… and maybe a punch… and I'm pretty sure it's for a different reason. At least I really hope so," Ranma responded. "So let's cut the crap, we're both adults, what is it about me bein' Sousuke's dad bugs you so much?"
"You're about as subtle as a sledgehammer," Kalinin replied. "The fact is that for a long time, I raised the boy. It was after some… unfortunate things happened to him, some of them my fault."
"Yeah?" Ranma asked as the two got to the bottom of the stairs. "Well the whole damned thing was my fault." He shoved the hatch open, and they peered into the hall beyond. "Damn, did everyone go on a coffee break or something?"
"I don't think this ship was very heavily manned to begin with," Kalinin offered. "And how was all of it your fault?"
Ranma shrugged. "If I'd have known about the kid, maybe I coulda kept him from getting shot at for ten years."
"You… have a point," Kalinin admitted.
"So to answer your question," Ranma winced, "I'm gunna do my damnedest to help the kid out, and if he asks me to buzz off, I will."
"Fair enough," Kalinin nodded, the two heading as quickly as they could down a hall with a dim light at the end. "So, what do you think they're planning?"
Ranma blinked at the rapid subject change, but went with it. "No clue, but whatever it is, it's either some sort of big super-weapon or ritual, or something fairly low-end. Too few people for a serious assault."
"I… doubt these people go in for demonic rituals," the grey haired man shook his head.
"You'd… be surprised," Ranma disagreed. "May wanna check the mission report from October of last year. Demonic sewing circle."
"I'd ask if you were joking, but-" Kalinin cut himself off as the two made it to the end of the corridor, entering a room that made up most of the ship's rear half. Sitting in the middle of it was a giant red arm slave, the suspended lights gleaming off of its armor.
"So… super-weapon it is…" Ranma said, a little awed.
"B… but how?" Kalinin stammered. "An A.S. that large couldn't possibly support its own weight. What could they possibly be planning?"
"Well, if they could actually get it running, it'd cause a hell of a lot of damage," Ranma offered.
"Ding ding ding! We have a winner!" The two men turned to see a brown haired boy standing nearby, next to the woman in the pilot's uniform, who had a gun aimed at them.
"Well isn't this a surprise," the woman said, glaring at Kalinin as several men moved up on their other side.
"So this is your grand memorial to your master?" the grey haired man asked, seeming to ignore the guns aimed at him. "I doubt this is how he would want to be remembered."
"Shut… the hell… up," the woman growled, her teeth gritting and her hand suddenly shaking.
"Wow, you're almost as good at that as I am," Ranma whispered.
"That still doesn't explain how you're going to get this oversized monster to move." Kalinin ignored Ranma's comment and gestured at the massive machine with the arm that wasn't helping support the martial artist.
"It's simple, as long as we've got a lambda driver to take the load," the brown haired boy chuckled."I'm gunna take that baby out for a spin and make big sis proud!"
"So that's why he needed the treatments…" Kalinin muttered. "He's going to activate the lambda driver?"
""Just keep 'em distracted for a couple seconds," Ranma whispered, positioning one arm between himself and the bulkier man.
"You catch on quick for an old guy," the boy said, smirking.
"You know what else your mentor probably would've told you?" Kalinin asked, stepping slightly forward, eyes locking with the woman in front of him. "You probably shouldn't talk to your enemy unless you've got something to gain." He threw himself forward, a gunshot going off over his head.
"Kijin-Gun Dai Ranbu!" Ranma yelled, his arms blurring in multiple long arcs, slightly tinted distortions of air flying away from him in multiple directions, some intersecting with the bodies of the people surrounding him, and some intersecting with the heavy cables that supported the massive A.S. in the middle of the room.
There was a reverberating snapping sound and a lashing cable smashed into the side of the room, tearing up bits of the metal walls. There was a strangled cry from the other end of the room as half a torso fell into the pit, the hull shrieking in protest at the sudden redistribution of weight.
"I think that's our cue to get outta here," Ranma offered as the deck lurched.
"Yes, I… suppose it is," Kalinin said, though he wasn't moving, his eyes fixated on the lifeless face of the woman who had been standing in front of him. Ranma bent down, offering a hand, and he took it. "Let's get the hell out of here."
HR.
"Well, they sure know how to throw a party." Kurz whistled as the pickup truck he'd commandeered skidded to a stop in front of a dock that had once housed a large ship.
"Hey, you guys!" Mao's amplified voice boomed above him, the M-9 towering behind the truck, "Line up along the dockside, now!"
Kurz hopped out of the truck, glancing over the couple dozen camo-clothed people who had evacuated the boat, now held under Mao's gun. "You think he got off?" he asked, holding a pocket radio up to his mouth.
"If he didn't I want to know who did that," Mao replied, her A.S. gesturing at the settling hulk of the ship.
"Well I wanna know HOW they did that," Kurz shot back. "We… did leave Sousuke at the school, right?"
"Ah, that explains it," he said a moment later, his eagle-eye catching sight of something. Pointing, he continued, "I guess Sousuke takes after his old man."
"You've got to be kidding me…" Mao muttered, as Ranma and Kalinin came walking slowly down the docks, both obviously injured.
END.
Now if only we could get far enough into Jonabee Fanfic to do its FMP crossover. We would say "Yes, it's going to happen," but with our update rate, probably not.
Anyhow, we hope you enjoyed, and request that you tell us what you think. Thanks for reading!