Disclaimer, I don't own either series depicted in this fic.

late last week i posted a slightly different version of chapter one other chapters are coming along shortly.

Many thanks to James axelrad and nysk for their help.

And now for:

The last grandmaster chapter 6

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Nerv

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"Well… It seems to have healed…" Ritsuko stated while looking over the x-rays, "Truly remarkable, given the severity of the break that it only took about two weeks to heal…" Holding up her hand at the pigtailed girl to stall any comments the blond continued, "I know you heal fast, still though, it's impressive to those of us whom would have been laid up for a few months…"

"What can I say, I heal fast." Ranma replied with a grin, "So can I take this cast off now?"

"Actually why don't I take it off, this is my office, the last thing I need is stray bits of plaster making their way into every nook and cranny of the room."

"Why are we in here anyway I would have thought that we'd just meet in the infirmary after my x-rays?"

"I have a couple of different things going on right now and this was easier for me" Ritsuko replied with a shrug before adding, "Don't worry though, I have the saw right here." After plugging it in the woman continued, "Just set your leg up on that other chair and I will have this cast off you in no time."

"Sure thing doc." Ranma replied with a grin as she propped her leg up.

Starting at the foot and working her way upward with the saw Ritsuko asked, "So how's school been, I heard that it was quite the spectacle on your first day back."

Rolling her eyes Ranma replied irritably, "That's puttin things mildly… I got mobbed as soon as I got there, and 'cause Misato still wouldn't let me use crutches I was almost late to class. When I finally do get there and go to my desk there's all kind of stuff piled on it."

"Stuff? What kind of stuff?" Ritsuko asked with a smile already having heard about the stuff from Misato.

Rolling her eyes again as her fingers impatiently strummed the desk in anticipation of finally getting the cast off Ranma replied, "Well there was some food,…"

"Just food?" Ritsuko asked again.

Shuddering at the memory Ranma sighed and relented, "Naw, there were lot's of love notes, some panties, a few pairs of boxers, and then there was a stack of photo's of me with little post it notes asking me to autograph them…"

"Well I'll admit the panties and boxers are sort of odd… But what was so bad about the photo's?"

"The pictures were of me… flashing my panties… From right before I went off to fight the fourth angel…" Ranma grumbled in embarrassment before heatedly adding, "I ripped them up, but when I came back to class after lunch there were even more there… stupid perverts…"

Having finished cutting through both sides of the cast Ritsuko replied, "Well I suppose there is a lesson to learn in there somewhere, but I'm sure that this will blow over in a week or so. At the least it should taper down to a more manageable level."

"Yeah I guess…" Ranma replied not convinced at all mainly due to the fact that half of the post it notes had requested that she sign the pictures as the fiery pigtailed goddess.

"Well…" Ritsuko started as she shook her head at the redhead's unladylike position, "A little feminine modesty probably would go a long way in curbing that."

"I'm a guy… don't need no feminine modesty…" The redhead tried to say on reflex, but only actually managed to say, "I'll try…"

"Well, perhaps I can help you with that Yoiko."

"Err… How?" Ranma asked as she held back another shudder, though this one was mostly due to her imagining the blond doctor as a secret master of ladylike martial arts.

"Well, it's mostly the reason I had you come down to my office rather than the infirmary." Ritsuko confessed, "Misato put in a request that got passed on to our tech decision, which was in turn handed over to me as I had to ensure that it met certain standards… " Motioning to a large briefcase next to her desk the blond added, "It's quite heavy for me to lug around… Why don't you open that case up and take a look."

"Sure doc." Ranma replied with a shrug somewhat curious as to what was in the case.

"Is something wrong?" Ritsuko asked as she watched the redhead stare down into the now open case with her right eye twitching like mad.

"Uhhh…. Noo…" Ranma drawled out slowly unsure as to whether or not she would even be able to voice what she thought was wrong with the pink and metallic black monstrosity within, "Just… It's nice and all… But… Pink? What is it?"

"That, Yoiko is the most advanced set of combat armor available in the world and taken up several notches by our tech division." Ritsuko stated with a flourish before continuing, "While it is pretty much impossible to actually make you personal armor that would be able to stand up against an Angel, this suit will offer you more protection than your school uniform. Now this won't protect you from being blasted or hit by an angel. That's just not possible so we had to go a different direction with this armor. So I guess calling it combat armor is a bit of a mis-representation as to what this does. It's more of a highly advanced cushion, we did this due to the majority of your injuries being a side effect of battling the Angels rather than the angels actually hitting you… For example the angel didn't break your leg; technically you did when you fell. Hopefully this armor will help mitigate those types of injuries…"

Smirking a little the blond doctor tacked on, "Plus it has the added benefit of not giving out panty shots to anyone whom might be watching."

"I suppose…" Ranma conceded while holding back a shudder of revulsion at the suits almost offensively girly theme.

"Protection from panty shots aside, this suit has several features built in it." After walking over and withdrawing a thick metal belt Ritsuko continued, "The under armor of the suit is pretty much a reinforced plug suit with a few minor adjustments so that the additional armor can be attached to it. The functions of the armor are routed through the plug suit and into the belt." pointing at a small dial that was repressed into the belt she added, "This should come in real handy for you should you find yourself stranded on top of another angel as the suit is equipped with a glide function. To get that to work you move the dial and then bring both arms straight down to your sides and then move them outward, leaving you with a set of gliding wings from your wrist to just about mid-thigh, your legs are also equipped with this function."

"That's kind of neat…" Ranma admitted, "…probably come in handy sooner or later."

"Oh… But I'm not done yet, this suit comes with a lot of other features for example the helmet has several different setting and can allow you to function in hostile environmental conditions or even underwater. Has a built in communication system, night vision, infrared, enhanced zoom. Following me so far."

"Yeah." Ranma nodded.

"Good…" Ritsuko replied, "The last main function is pretty basic, you twist the knob here in the opposite direction and climbing spikes come out of your shoes and hands." Sliding the belt back across the desk Ritsuko added, "That pretty much sums up the special features of the suit. The only thing left is a standard combat knife, while pretty much worthless against an Angel we thought you might be able to make some use out of it. If nothing else it can serve as a emergency handhold… And now for the final piece…" Ritsuko stated, "If you would take out the large back section of the armor there should be a big disk mounted on it…"

"This?" Ranma asked, "What's this for."

"Release that lever there… Good… Now after you explained to me about the technique you used to defeat the fourth angel you mentioned that you thought that the circle you used for the technique was too small given the massive amounts of energy you had drained and the fact that you really had nowhere to store it… Is that correct?"

"Yeah… I think so, I really can't be that sure though until I try it again but I'm pretty sure that's the problem." Ranma stated unsurely as she looked at the thick round disk she now held in her hand.

"Well we took that into consideration and managed to come up with that, just place your hand on the grip and hold it in front of you… well off to the side more Yoiko, I don't want my office damaged." Seeing that the redhead comply Ritsuko continued, "Now just press that little lever with your thumb."

SHINGGGGG

Ranma blinked as she stared at the now nearly five foot wide in diameter disk she was now holding before grinning, "Thanks doc… Guess I won't have to worry about toilet seats blowing up and smacking me in the face anytime soon."

"I suppose not… If only the same could be said of Misato…" the blond doctor muttered before adding, "Now, before I send you off to meet up with Misato and the others I was wondering if you had made any progress in making a shield with your ki?"

"A little, it's not very strong yet…" Ranma replied with a shrug before smiling, "But I'll get there."

"Good, I can't wait to see it once you have it mastered." Ritsuko commented before saying, "Now, I think I've kept you long enough. Time for you to meet up with Misato and the others…" Sniffing her nose for a moment she added, "Though you might want to wash that leg up a bit first…"

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With Misato

"Welcome to the cooperative combat training hall…" Misato announced with a flourish as she pushed open two large doors to reveal a much scaled down version of Tokyo-3.

"Uhm… Misato? What are we doing?" Shinji asked as he looked past his guardian and into the vast room filled with scaled down buildings and roads to the layout of Tokyo 3.

"If you listened, then you'd find out." Misato scolded with a smile before continuing, "In this room we will work on teamwork, coordinating your attacks, getting to know the city, weapon cashes, power supply stations for your evas, catapult release points. This is a complete mock up of Tokyo-3 everything in the city is in here, even some of the buildings can lower themselves into the floor."

Urging the group to follow her Misato continued, "Now I bet you're saying to yourselves, 'but Misato we already know all of this stuff'… And for the most part you're right. You should know weapon cashes, power supply ports, catapult release points. But that's not the main point of this. The main goal of this room is teamwork, knowing what your partner is doing and where they are doing it along with what they have to do it with." Stepping over to the far end of the room the purple haired women pressed a button causing a section of wall to open up revealing several cases and while most of them were empty two of them contained sets of body armor themed in the colors of Unit's one and zero.

"What are we supposed to do with those?" Shinji asked as he glanced around the room and back to the suits.

"It's simple really, when we run drills in this room you will put these suits on, then go to the catapult access point I assign you for the drill where you will take a small power cord and attach it to the back of your suits to simulate your Eva's power cord. And then once I give the signal you will leave the catapult and begin your assault on the target using the mock weapons that are contained in the various cashes throughout the mockup."

"What about me?" Ranma asked as she looked around, "I haven't even synced with an Eva yet."

"Yoiko, I'm glad you asked." Misato stated with a smile, "Since we have only two Eva's, when we run drills we will be rotating one of you three out. However since you have an amazing skill set I won't be allowing you to sit out around like I would Shinji or Rei. Instead we will be utilizing those skills of yours in the simulation with you as the angel… Now any questions?" After looking around to make sure that there weren't any purple haired woman added, "Good, suit up and when you are ready I will tell you where to go."

Seeing Shinji's face color in embarrassment as he nervously tugged at his shirt Misato commented, "While I'm sure that Rei and Yoiko might not mind watching you strip if you step into the case with your eva suit in it a privacy screen will come down and you can change in there." Turing her attention to Yoiko she said, "For training purposes we have a duplicate suit for training purposes like the one in the case for you, it should be in the last compartment on the left."

"Do I have too?" Ranma nearly whined not really wanting to wear either the suit in the case or the one in the compartment, "I'm going to look like some power ranger reject."

"I'm sure you'll look fine…" After pausing for a minute for the dated referance to register Misato added, "Oh that reminds me, while we do have spares of that suit, you are to keep that one with you at all times outside of Nerv."

Stepping out of her compartment fully dressed in her Eva's orange likeness Rei spoke up and asked, "I am ready Misato."

"Good Rei, report to catapult 9 and await further instructions." Calling out the Shinji she added, "And Shinji you go to Catapult 2..." Turning her attention the diminutive redhead in front of her Misato added, "As for you, when I start the simulation you get your choice of where to begin, however for the purpose of this exercise your final objective is to incapacitate both evas, mostly because I want to keep property damage down and the Goefront mock up beneath us is incomplete at the moment."

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Freely kicking her legs over the side of one of the more medium sized buildings Ranma withheld a yawn. So far they had ran about 20 something drills and the novelty of her sparring with Rei and Shinji was starting to get repetitive. Sure she had mixed things up. The first several sorties had led to her slowly dodging around the defenders until she managed to trip them up with their own power cables. Then in the spirit of mixing things up she had started to divide her focus between the two, leading them about until they would think that they would have her only for her to move out of the way at the last moment causing them to take each other out with friendly fire.

That too had started to get rather repetitive, so once she was done teasing them with her agility she decided to do a bit of training for herself by just standing still and putting up a ki shield to deflect the incoming paint projectiles. However due to the slow speed in which the paint-balls came at her the impacts were negligible and were not really helping her with her own training. It wasn't that she minded helping the others, it was just that she had just gotten her cast off and was feeling more than a little stir crazy as she waited to begin her own rehab.

Hopping down off of the building while testing her stability Ranma called out, "Hey Misato? How many more drills are we going to do?"

Looking down to the floor from the control both Misato replied, "Be with you in a sec Yoiko…" Flipping over a switch to change from the general intercom to the private channel that Rei and Shinji were sharing with her the woman stated, "Alright guys, I think Yoiko is starting to get a bit antsy so this is going to be our last drill of the day." Not hearing anything from either of her two charges Misato added, "Come on guy's lets try to win at least one today. All you need to do is hit her once, it's easy…"

"Misato…" Shinji sighed in exasperation, "We've been trying to hit her, she's just too good…"

"Yoiko is proving to be a most formidable foe." Rei stated in a near monotone that to the elder woman sounded suspiciously like annoyance.

Hoping to raise their spirits Misato stated, "Look guy's, I'm on your side here, this room isn't just here to set me apart from all of you. It also controls all of little Little Tokyo-3's defenses and that means that I can support you guy's…" Not receiving anything other than a single dejected sigh from the teams male counterpart she added, "Alright guy's I got a plan, just wait to engage the target until I tell you to."

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"Come on Misato… What's taking so long?" Ranma called out impatiently.

"Yeesh, I told you it'd be a minute Yoiko…" Pausing to input a few commands into the terminal in front of her Misato added, "We're just about ready now…"

Rolling her eyes Ranma confidently offered, "Look it's not like they are going to defeat me anyway, I mean sure learning how to operate as a team out there is good but this is just…" Trailing off as a siren started sounding off in the background the redhead asked, "Do we need to go somewhere or something?"

Smirking as she entered one last command Nerv's chief tactical officer switched back to the other comm channel and stated, "Alright, guy's this is it, move in on my signal."

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"Well I guess that answers that." Ranma stated dryly as she noticed several new additions to the mock city, most of which were in the form of scaled down weapons and vehicles. Fortunately for the redhead Misato had already called upon a few of the scaled down defenses to assist the others and was not caught off guard as hundreds of paint-balls were launched at her. Taking a moment to idly buff her nails against her armor before putting out her shield she called out, "Is that all you got?"

From her position in the booth Misato smirked, true she knew that the redheads shield would most likely be more than enough to deflect the countless incoming projectiles of the mock cities defenses but she also knew that the technique was rather new and that the redhead had not yet mastered it so it was her hope that the girl would allow herself to be distracted.

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Lazily unleashing her shield to block the countless incoming projectiles that were in the shape of small little balls of paint Ranma called out, "Come on? Is this all ya got?… Too easy…"

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"Okay guy's, you're going to have to move fast with this one. Both of you are going to be arming yourselves with the mock special positron laser rifles to engage Yoiko after I detonate the mock N2 mines."

"Wait… Misato? N2 mines?" Shinji exclaimed out of concern.

"Oh relax…" Misato soothed, "I said this mock up had everything that Tokyo-3 has didn't I? Besides you are really going to like this part, Go ahead and retrieve the weapons, I'm just about ready."

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Snorting to herself in amusement as she watched small droplets of splattered paint run down her shield Ranma taunted, "Come on now… I've seen little old ladies with better aim…"

Smirking as she entered the last command and the automated mock N2 delivery system came online Misato opened the PA and fired back, "Oh, I've just gotten started Yoiko…"

"Yeah… Well…" Ranma started only to trail off when she noticed several 8 inch canisters heading towards her. At first glance she dismissed the incoming projectiles but after noting a few more coming at her she started to get suspicious. The small paint balls she knew she could handle but the new unknown would be iffy as she really hadn't mastered the technique well enough for it to withstand that much force and while the new projectiles moved slower the redhead had her own suspicions about the end result, so with that in mind she immediately began weaving around buildings.

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"Okay guy's move out to sections 2 and 5 and set up, I'll be leading Yoiko to you."

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Ranma grinned, she was fully aware that she was being herded into a position and that with the incoming canisters that she now recognized as some kind of paint grenade she would be hard pressed to alter her course. It didn't really matter though as so far her teammates had not been able to offer anything remotely close to a challenge leaving her secure with the knowledge that she would be able to handle what ever trap that was waiting her.

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"I am in position Misato." Rei stated over the comm.

"Me too…" Shinji huffed as he knelt down while catching his breath.

"Good, she's heading your way get ready." Misato offered while tracking the redheads movements down below.

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"Okay… I can see Shinji's shadow up ahead… So whatever they are going to do it's going to be any minute now… Can't really do anything but walk into it…" Ranma muttered to herself as she slid behind another building. Knowing that she only had a brief moment before the next canister hit and unleashed a wide spray of green paint the redhead prepared herself to move out again.

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"Okay guy's on your toes, firing the last volley now, you're only going to get one shot so make it count." Misato ordered as she watched the scene below.

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While crouching behind one of the smaller buildings waiting for Yoiko to step into view Rei briefly reflected on the redhead and her orders. She had been having difficulties interpreting them and the commander had not been available for her to ask for clarification. Since the last angel battle the blue haired girl had been confused, the redhead seemed like a valuable asset, one whom not only could fight an angel head on without an Eva but also was capable of assisting in the making of tactical plans.

Yet despite that she was still supposed to spy on the other girl and report any suspicious behavior to the commander. The problem with her orders though was that Yoiko had not done anything suspicious and thus leaving her with nothing to report to the commander. At times she considered the possibility that the other girl could be sneaking out at night or a sleeper agent but Rei was slowly ruling that out as it just didn't seem likely, possible, but not likely.

So with Yoiko not doing anything suspicious Rei was beginning to consider another option, one in which the commander had thought that she could use a little companionship so he had ordered her to befriend Yoiko while under the guise of spying on her. However unlikely it was that the commander would order her to do something with that specific goal in mind Rei still couldn't discount it as she knew that the commander had his reasons and would feel no need to disclose his reasoning to her.

"This is very complicated, and confusing…" the red-eyed girl thought to herself, "The commander is aware of what I am… So why would he order me to do such things when it serves no real purpose… Yet Yoiko has not yet proven to be untrustworthy… Perhaps I am just not observant enough…"

Spotting movement out of the corner of her eye Rei pushed past her current thoughts and refocused on the task at hand. Seeing her target step into view she adjusted her aim and squeezed the trigger.

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"CRITICAL HIT.. TARGET INCAPACITATED…"

Pausing her movements to glance up at the booth Ranma immediately objected, "What do you mean? Nothing hit me."

Shinji not yet knowing if the drill was finished stood up and took his shot.

"TARGET'S CORE HAS BEEN PIERCED, TARGET DESTROYED…" Misato stated smugly down at the confused redhead before explaining, "Those two weapons that Rei and Shinji have aren't paintball guns. Those two guns are equipped with MILES gear to simulate Nerv's positron laser rifle and not the standard pallet weapons."

"MILES?" Ranma asked in confusion.

"Think of it as laser tag, we use the paint weapons for solid projectiles and Miles for the non-standard ones, oh and the paint grenades simulate N2 mines, I probably should have briefed you before hand but I think that you not knowing initially offered you more of a challenge." Misato commented offhandedly before finishing with, "Good job everyone, go get changed and report back to the briefing room so we can go over the drills before we head home for the day." Smiling mischievously as she gazed down at the paint covered cityscape beneath her the purple haired woman stifled a giggle before entering one last command into the system. Whistling innocently as she then turned and left the booth Misato was almost able to contain herself as she heard the automated voice of the computer in the booth relay, "Warning city sanitization imininent all personnel are to exit simulation, 30 seconds remaining."

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The next morning Tokyo-3 safe house

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In a nondescript apartment complex Genma Saotome stood rigidly as he waited. For what he wasn't sure dozens of different scenarios had been put into place within his own mind about what was going to happen.

"I have to remain strong, I cannot fail the boy… Not this time. Their control might not let me run from them, but I broke out of their influence once… They are not infallible… I must keep my mind my own, It's the only chance… If only I could move, just a twitch… Something to let me know that I'm in control…"

Sadly for the aged panda despite his best efforts and fierce determination he remained locked in place, statuesque in the background of an otherwise empty hallway inside a vacant building. He tried to take comfort in the fact that his meddling with his own kin had went by unnoticed by the others but with the complete lack of control he was facing the possibilities were starting to look bleak if only he could growl out in defiance or better yet strike out with his paw and smite his tormentor before whatever plan they were following went into fruition.

"Genma…"

A small flicker of his claw went by unnoticed as the senior Saotome waited for further instruction as he mentally glared at the person whom had opened the door.

"Come in, and stand in front of my desk. I have many questions for you to answer."

Obediently, without pause he stepped forward, unable to flinch in foreboding as the door closed ominously.

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Meanwhile at the Katsuragi Apartment

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"Where's Yoiko?" Misato asked with a yawn as she stumbled into the kitchen and retrieved a beer from the fridge, "She's not still mad about yesterday is she?"

"She is out training on the roof." Rei replied as she gathered up her empty plate and left the table.

Shaking his head negatively Shinji grumbled, "I don't think so… What was the idea anyway, you got us all soaking wet."

Temporarily ignoring Shinji to answer Rei Misato asked, "Already…" After popping the tab on her beer and slamming it, forgoing her usual cry of happiness, the woman added "Didn't Ritsuko tell her that she needed to ease into her rehab?"

Shrugging as he tried not to stare at his scantily clad guardian Shinji replied, "She said she needed to make up for time lost."

"She still shouldn't be out there, sure it's healed but she could re-injure it if she doesn't take things easy." Misato countered.

"Come on Misato…" Ranma interjected as she walked into the room, "If I didn't train like I do I wouldn't be able to do half the things…"

"Yeah… Yeah…" Misato fired back cutting the teen off, "I know, your body needs to be kept to a certain standard."

"But it does…" The redhead huffed back in mild annoyance, "An angel could attack at anytime, I need to be ready."

Sighing at the tiring argument of her attempting to get the redhead to slow down a bit the purple haired woman noticed her male charge shuffling his eyes about uncomfortably. Temporarily sidetracked by the odd behavior she tried to figure out what was wrong when she took notice of Yoiko's attire of sports bra and tight workout shorts and her own outfit consisting of loose short shorts and a comfortable white camisole that she used for sleeping Misato suddenly grinned and teased, "See something you like Shinji?"

"Huh.. yes … No …" Shinji floundered out.

Smiling lightly Misato motioned over to the redhead and asked, "Look at what you've done, you're upsetting Shinji by disagreeing with me…" Not giving Yoiko a chance to respond the taller woman embraced the younger girl and replied over her shoulder, "Don't worry Shinji, we won't fight anymore."

Had he not been mentally preoccupied with the image of Misato tenderly embracing a slightly sweaty Yoiko Shinji might have been able to counter a, 'yeah right," As it seemed that Yoiko's training regime was a constant source of mild arguing.

Flushed because of the way she was being held Ranma mentally warred with the idea of pulling away. True the woman could be irritating with her constant insistence of taking things easy but it wasn't a bad thing. The near constant harping about her needing to be more careful felt uplifting to her in a way that filled her with a steady warmth that she hadn't even been aware that she needed before.

Seeing the flushed look increase on Shinji's face Misato mentally cheered in triumph and was about to make another comment before the doorbell rang and reminded her of the upcoming day's events. Pulling away from her redheaded charge she suggested, "Shinji could you go get the door, Yoiko here needs to get ready for school." Pausing as she guided the girl out of the room she added, "Oh don't forget, parent teacher conferences are today so I'll be dropping by the school. Afterwards Yoiko needs to report to Nerv for a sync test."

Snapping back to herself before she could be caught staring at the purple haired beauty Ranma reluctantly moved off to get ready for school, coincidentally having forgotten to ask for a note to get her out of gym class as today would be her first day actually dressing for the class.

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A little later on the way to school

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"Stupid perverts…" Ranma muttered to herself as she overhead bits and pieces of the questions Shinji's two friends were asking him from her position behind the group.

"Do you not like our classmates?" Rei asked having overheard the redheads grumblings. "Can you not just ignore them if they bother you?"

Sighing because she knew she wouldn't be able to actually say what was bothering her Ranma replied, "Naw… It's not that, everybody should have friends… Shinji needs a few guys to hang out with… even if they are perverts…"

"I do not understand?" Rei asked in confusion as to what was bothering the other girl.

"I don't even know how to explain this…" Ranma thought, "I can't just tell her that while I don't really like overhearing some of the comments that Toji and Kensuke say to Shinji it's not what's bothering me… Fact is the two perverts remind me of Hiroshi and Diasuke with some of the things they would say to me… We weren't all that close but being able to just hang out with a couple of normal guys was sort of relaxing… Wish I knew what happened to them." Turning her attention back to Rei whom was still awaiting an answer Ranma tried, "Having friends is a good thing, even if they are a couple of perverts. Seeing Shinji with those guys just sort of reminds me of some of my old friends I guess…"

After mulling over the redheads answer for a moment Rei asked, "So you find Shinji's friends annoying? But you otherwise do not mind Shinji being friends with them because they remind you of your old friends?"

"Yeah pretty much." Ranma commented.

"You are lonely?" Rei asked in a way that sounded more like a statement of fact before adding, "Am I your friend?"

Pausing to consider her answer briefly Ranma awkwardly conceded, "Of course you are Rei, Shinji too. It's just… Well Shinji has the two perverts, you have Hikari… I guess I just miss having a friend that's normal…" Shaking her head at the way the last part came out she tried to clarify with, "Not that you and Shinji aren't normal but… Well sometimes it's good to have a friend that's not really involved in the same things… Sort of helps to keep things in perspective I guess…"

Not really understanding what the redhead meant Rei offered, "If you wish I will endeavor to share Hikari with you so that you have a normal friend."

"Uhmm… Thanks Rei…"

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Later at Nerv

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"Are you okay? You seem preoccupied?" Misato asked as she spared Yoiko a concerned look.

"I'm fine, just nervous I guess." Ranma lied in return not wanting or even knowing if she would be able to talk to Misato about what was actually bothering her.

"You sure?"

"No, but it's not like I can tell you how weirded out I am by having to change in the girls locker room for gym and acting like it's a normal thing while I mentally twist myself into knots."

"Well okay I guess." Misato added after a moment of silence, "It's time for your snyc test now, but if you want to talk about it later my doors always open for you."

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Nerv control booth

"So did she sync with the Eva?" Misato asked breaking the silence that had befallen the booth.

"Yes and no…" Ritsuko offered in return while she stared down in confusion at the readings before her. "The Eva activated but these readings are all over the place." pointing at several squiggly lines she added, "I'm not sure what this means though, this line is supposed to represent Yoiko's ego but it's blurred, then there's this phantom ego that's interfering with the test… I really don't know what to make of this… It almost looks like feedback but it shouldn't be given how low the sync level is… Maya try to reset the nerve connections to see if that takes care of the interference."

"So… That means?" Misato drawled out not unsurely.

"It's low, but high enough that she should be able to pilot the Eva. Until we can figure out these readings I can't really say for certain what, if any affect these other readings are going to have on her performance." Shaking her head as the readings continued to offer sporadic results the blond added, "This isn't working, we're going to have to run a full diagnostic… Maya have Unit 0 prepped, We'll have Yoiko try to sync with that one, That way we can at least try to rule out some of the potential issues."

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Sitting quietly in the entry plug of Unit one Ranma tried to not squirm uncomfortably while she focused on clearing her mind. Unfortunately the taste of blood in the LCL combined with the feeling of being compressed that seemed to get worse the longer she sat inside the eva were making it difficult. Finally unable to take it any longer she spoke up, "Are you sure everything is okay? I'm starting to feel like I'm slowly being crushed… And it's starting to get a little uncomfortable."

Tearing her gaze away from the readings Ritsuko scoffed in an annoyed tone, "You're being crushed? That's not possible."

"Well not physically…" Ranma muttered in response, "It's sort of like I'm constantly being hit on all sides by a very weak but constant ki blast… At first it wasn't that bad but the longer I'm in here the stronger it feels…"

"Interesting…" Ritsuko commented back as she switched screens to look at the Eva's individual readings. "Maya, cut power and eject the entry plug."

"Doctor?" Maya questioned.

"I think I know what is wrong… Well partiality…" Ritsuko answered, "Yoiko's special abilities are interfering with the Eva's functions on a small scale, with practice she should be able to increase her sync rate but due to background interference she will be handicapped by her own abilities."

"Meaning?" Misato demanded.

"Well basically, I should be able to filter out some interference but Yoiko will probably always have a lower snyc ratio than Rei and Shinji. We just don't know enough about the Eva's for me to give you a better answer."

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Later that evening

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"What is the status of the fourth child?"

"She managed to get a snyc ratio of 23 percent before we finally pulled her out. That's enough for her to be able to pilot but not enough to really consider using her over Shinji. I postponed the activation test for Unit 00 for the moment to give me a chance to go through all the data and try to figure out a way to minimize the feedback before we try again."

"This feedback, do you know the cause?"

"Well…" Ritsuko started off slowly, "This is only a theory at the moment but I believe that it has to do with Unit 01's AT field, at least partiality. It's sort of like trying to fit a basketball into a baseball. On a scale proportionally the fourth child's own soul and AT field is larger than that of Unit ones. In turn I believe this to be responsible for the crushing feeling that she claimed to be experiencing, as for the Ego readings, I'm really not sure, it could be that Unit one was passively rejecting her but short of the unit actually going berserk I can't really be sure."

"Is there a way to be sure?" Gendo asked hiding his annoyance behind his steepled hands.

"Well, if we had another Eva and access to the fourth's mothers' soul then I could narrow some of the potential issues out but as things are I'm not sure how long it will take me to figure this out."

"I see. You mentioned before that you believed the fourth's soul and AT field to be more potent than that of Unit ones."

Blinking at the impassive implication of where she was beginning to suspect the conversation going to Ritsuko nodded and replied, "Yes, proportionally it is as Yui Ikari had none of the advanced training or abilities that Yoiko exhibits and given that the Eva itself acts as a sort of lens for the human soul trapped within then…"

"Just how much more powerful are we talking about here doctor?" Gendo asked.

"Well, due to the restrictions and safety measures we take to keep the Eva's under control then I would say double at the least but no more powerful than a magnitude of 5 and that's only if we could find a pilot for the unit, given the difficulties with Unit 00 I don't think cloning would work in this case and she doesn't have any offspring so unless we can find someone whom she shares a strong emotional bond with extracting her soul into a Eva just would not be feasible at this time."

"I see… Dismissed doctor."

"Commander…" Ritsuko acknowledged with a nod before turning around and leaving the room.

Waiting for the door to close Fuyutsuki stepped out of the shadows and asked, "Surely you are not considering what I think you are?"

"Not at the moment, but it does not hurt to explore all possible options available to us. Besides this information alone could work to our advantage in getting Unit 3 released to us."

"Any word on Unit 02?"

"It is being prepped for transport and will be on its way by the end of the week." Gendo replied as he leaned back in his seat, "Is there any progress with the files from the Ministry of Intelligence?"

"We have the possible locations narrowed down to 4 different locations, I have already sent out teams to investigate."

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A few days later early morning Katsuragi residence

121

"Do I have to?"

"Yep."

"Can't Shinji or Rei go instead?"

"Nope."

"Why not?" Ranma pouted as she glared menacingly into her closet at a plastic covered uniform.

"Because, Yoiko." Misato started as she went into the girls closet, "Rei and Shinji aren't super powered teenagers that have managed to gain the interest of every single defense firm and government agency on the planet." Taking a brief moment to pick up the top photo from a large pile of photo's that she knew the girl had confiscated she added, "That's not to mention your civilian fan base…" Pulling the plastic covered uniform out of the closet she continued, "We need you to show your allegiance with Nerv in defense of the planet. Honestly I went over this last night with you in the furo…"

"But…" Ranma tried to object not wanting to tell the woman that she had been too distracted by the other woman's presence and hadn't really heard anything that she had said.

"I know you'd fight the angels whether or not you were with Nerv but we need you to do this, if the other agencies see you standing by us then that can translate into more funding but. It also shows that we are capable of working together which could possibly help us win over some new political allies…" Seeing the redhead deflate as she held out the skirted uniform Misato added, "It's win-win for everyone, we get more allies and funding and our chances of stopping third impact increases."

Sighing as she took the dress uniform from the woman Ranma countered, "Fine, I'll go… But do I have to wear the heels?"

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"So where are we going again?" Ranma asked as she hopped up into the transport.

"Told you already Yoiko, we're going to old Tokyo. There's a rival project called Jet Alone that's holding a demonstration today." Misato explained.

"So we're going to get more help with the angels then?"

"Hardly…" Ritsuko scoffed, "Jet Alone is a waste of the scrap used to build it."

Taken slightly aback by the venom in the woman's words the redhead stated, "If it can help with the angels why is it a waste?"

"Because it wouldn't last a minute against an Angel, probably less than that if we pitted you against it…" Ritsuko contemplated with a small gleam in her eye at the possibility of getting Yoiko to destroy the Robot.

"Well it doesn't have to fight to help does it…?" Seeing the incredulous stares directed at her Ranma hastily added, "Well you guy's are always saying that only an Eva can fight an Angel but I'm here, then there's that laser cannon you used for the last one and those N2 mines, what's to say that there isn't a use for it somewhere." Spotting the still mostly intact form of the 5th Angel as the transport took off she continued, "If nothing else it could help with disposing of the dead Angels… Still don't understand why you don't have the Eva's helping with that, it looks like it would be good training."

"What, do I have something on my face…?" Ranma stated nervously as she shifted in her seat from the intense stares that she was receiving from the two older women.

"No…" Ritsuko started.

"Why haven't we thought of that?" Misato interrupted, "It would be a good training aid and should alleviate the cost of disposing of the Angels, that's a really good idea Yoiko."

"Well there would still be some logistics to work out with the disposal, plus there is a gore factor involved but we should still be able to come out ahead of the current methods." Ritsuko commented while she made a few notes on the idea.

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"This is so boring…" Ranma muttered to herself as she fidgeted slightly in her seat while trying to ignore the scent of food drifting over from the other tables. Unable to contain herself any more as her stomach grumbled loudly in protest to what her nose was sensing she asked, "How come the other tables get food and all we got is a few bottles of already opened wine?"

Shrugging as she chewed on the last remains of a pocky stick that she had fished out of her pocket Misato offered, "It's probably a snub cause we work for Nerv."

Grumbling as she stood up at the injustice of it all Ranma replied, "Well snub or not I'm hungry, I'll be back in a few."

"Just make sure you don't wander off too far, and don't forget your case. Even if you are staying in the same general area as it I want it on your person at all times." Shooting the redhead one last glance she added, "And if it's not too much trouble bring something back for me…"

"Sure Misato… Ritsuko want anything?"

"I'm fine." the blond doctor replied as she looked over the small information pamphlet she had been handed.

"Okay." Ranma chirped back as she began to scan the various tables. Spotting a table near the back that looked ripe for the picking she altered her course and pasted a bright happy smile on her face.

121

"So what brings our exalted honored guest from Nerv to this lowly table?"

Not having expected such a cold reception from the elderly man sitting alone at the table Ranma decided to up the old Saotome charm a few notches when a female voice piped in from behind her.

"Seto-san, that's no way to greet our honored fellow guests, especially this young lady."

"Bah… This is just some flunky Sergeant from Nerv security, though she seems a bit young."

"Sergeant?" Ranma repeated to herself before she remembered that Misato had told her the Rank was honorary and just a means to elevate her above her fellow pilots as a means to placate the JSSDF and the UN.

"You really need to get those eyes of yours checked out. This is no mere flunky as you so gently put. This young lady is none other than Yoiko Saotome, the rumored last Grandmaster, why this young girl was directly responsible for the defeat of the first two Angels."

"You sure?" the man stated quizenly as he took out a pair of reading glasses to place them on.

"Oh yes, I'm sure." the woman stated firmly as she stepped around Ranma bringing herself into view.

Now wearing his glasses the man squinted a little while looking the redhead over and conceded, "I suppose you're right, though I thought she would be a bit taller."

Frowning at the slight against her height Ranma was just about to let her mouth run free when the woman interrupted again.

"Behave yourself Seto-san, this young lady is an honored guest." Having sufficiently chastised the old man at the table the woman turned to the young Saotome and continued, "Forgive me for Seto-sans rudeness, Kodachi Takahashi at your service."

Had she been able to Ranma would have recoiled in shock upon realizing whom the woman was as there was no real trace left of the crazed gymnast that she remembered from what was to her only a few months ago. But it was the same person, she could see it now. The body looked different, taller and more filled out, with what little baby fat the woman had had in her youth replaced with the refined features of a woman in her early mid-thirties. Then there was the eyes, the craziness of her youth seemed to be a shadow of the past replaced by something that hinted at a sadness that the woman kept buried within.

She instantly was filled with a thousand questions about what happened to everyone, why she was there, but her mouth refused to cooperate. Instead much to her dismay she found herself bowing slightly and replying, "It's a pleasure to meet you Takahashi-san."

"Oh the pleasure is mine." Kodachi replied with a smile that instantly fueled Ranma with more curiosity. "So you never answered my esteemed colleagues question. What brings such a prestigious guest to the outer fringes of this little banquet?"

"Well…" Ranma started only to be cut off by a loud protest from her stomach causing her to unconsciously flush in embarrassment.

"Ah I see…" Kodachi smiled, "The hungers of youth, I'm sure Seto-San wouldn't mind you joining him for a bit…" Leaning over to whisper conspiringly into the younger girls ear she continued, "Despite his gruff demeanor he's actually quite the softy when it comes to pretty young girls, why I bet you could have him wrapped around your little finger with nothing but a wink and a smile. You must drive all the boy's crazy… a little heartbreaker like you?"

Mentally shuddering at the suggestion the redhead chose to immediately start cramming food into her mouth in the hopes of preventing herself from saying something in response.

"So Saotome-san…" Kodachi began once Ranma had begun to help herself to the food, "What do you think of this little project. After all you are among the top few on the front lines and should this project take off as it should it will be you among those most affected by it."

"Think it's a good idea…" Ranma mumbled through bites of food before catching herself and finishing, "The other pilots…" Cutting herself off as she managed to withhold herself from talking about Rei and Shinji and how she thought that they didn't belong out there she went on to say instead, "If this thing can help out I'm all for it. I mean these angels are serious so it really isn't the time for bickering about who can do what, we need to work together on this… I'm not invincible… well not yet anyway…"

"I see… So the rumors were right? That you were still recovering from injuries during the last Angel attack?"

Caught in the middle of chewing a rather tough section of what she hoped was beef Ranma offered a nod of acknowledgement rather that speaking.

Nodding to herself as she considered everything she had heard from the young redhead Kodachi almost hesitantly started, "Forgive me for intruding. But there is something I must know." Seeing that she had the girls attention she pushed on and asked, "You wouldn't by chance be related to a Ranma Saotome from Nerima would you? I know that they haven't mentioned anything in the press releases about your parents but… See… He was an old friend of mine and… Well… I had thought that he had perished on the day of second impact… I lost a lot… of… Friends… that day and… I suppose that I'd just like to know that one of them made it out okay… Normally I wouldn't ask such a question but you do share a remarkable resemblance to someone else of my acquaintance."

Chewing her food slowly as she considered her former self-appointed fiancée Ranma tried to figure out if the woman really wanted an answer or was just simply playing on some sort of script. Originally she had thought that the woman was aware of whom she really was but after listening to her she was starting to have her doubts. And if it turned out that the woman didn't actually know who she really was then Ranma knew her words were only going to hurt her. Shamefully she bowed her head hoping to hide the hidden guilt that she knew wasn't going to show through and commented knowing that even if she had wanted to she would be incapable of telling the truth, "Ranma Saotome was my father… But he's gone now, both of my parents are. I'm not sure what happened or how it happened… I'm sorry…"

"There you are." Misato exclaimed as she came up behind the redhead, "They are going to be starting soon so Ritsuko sent me to get you, said something about presenting a unified front or something like that."

Looking back over to Kodachi Ranma smiled slightly and offered, "It was nice to meet you Takahashi-San, This is Misato Katsuragi, my…" Pausing because of how childish it seemed to admit what she was about to say the redhead reluctantly added, "My Guardian…"

"Pleasure, I'm sure…" Kodachi replied hauntily before continuing with a glance at the podium on the stage, "But your guardian is correct it does look like they are going to be starting soon so you best get going."

12321

"Ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for attending this exhibition by Nippon Heavy Industry Solidarity. You will be observing the official demonstration from the control room. Are there any questions? "Ranma heard as she followed Misato back to their table while successfully managing to not blatantly examine the older woman's gait as she strutted along.

"Yes." Ritsuko called out as she stood up.

"Ah, the famous Dr. Akagi Ritsuko! I am very glad to see that you and your colleagues could join us today." The man replied snidely from his position behind the podium.

"May I ask a question?" Ritsuko fired off almost immediately.

"Certainly, by all means go ahead."

"According to the explanation the unit is equipped with an internal Nuclear Reactor? "

"Yes. With it's reactor the Unit is able to operate for 150 consecutive days." The man replied confidently.

"Isn't that a bit dangerous? A Nuclear reactor in a land based weapon designed to fight the enemy hand to hand?" Ritsuko scoffed.

"It's more useful than a weapon which lasts less than 5 minutes without its power cord or even a girl who seems to spend most of her time in traction." The man fired back smugly.

"But there would be problems with remote-control in an emergency situation."

"Not only is our system is more humane, but it doesn't cause mental illness in pilots simply from the stress." The man defended before looking down at Ranma and adding, "It also has the benefit of not sending out little girls to do a mans work."

"HEY… WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?" Ranma objected loudly as she lurched back to her feet and shot the man an angry glare and adding, "I was all for your little tin can… This no time for bickering… Angels are out there and they could attack at anytime and instead of even trying to work together on this you're bickering like little kids over who gets to play with what…"

"Now calm down miss." The man chided, "No reason to get excited…" turning his attention to the rest of the audience he added, "Jet alone takes the human element out of the equation leaving us free of our dependence on loudmouthed hormonal little girls."

"DON'T YOU DARE TALK ABOUT YOIKO LIKE THAT!" Misato exploded as she surged to her feet to join the others.

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN…" Kodachi called out loudly as she approached the stage, "You must forgive Mr. Yamoto for his trespass, he is known to get a bit opinionated when it comes to the project." Shooting the man a glare that sent him scurrying back and out of the way she continued, "I think in the interest of moving things along that perhaps we should just move on to the demonstration. I believe a ten minute break is in order and then afterwards if everyone would kindly meet back in the control room we can get the demonstration underway and afterwards we can answer any questions you might have."

1234321

Standing with her hands folded in front of herself with her ever present briefcase at her side Ranma found herself wishing that she had taken the time to develop a technique that shot lasers out of her eyes so she could burn that asinine look off of his face. As it was the only thing keeping her from taking off her shoe and beating him with it was the steady comforting hand of Misato as the older woman seemed to know that she was still stewing over the way she had been spoken about. She knew she was over reacting on the issue but her hormones were working against her at the moment and consequently knew that her patience and understanding would be lacking for a few days.

"Hey… There's the woman from earlier…" Misato stated as she watched the woman approach the man from the podium.

"That's Kodachi Takahashi, she's one of the main financial backers for Jet Alone." Ritsuko stated with a glance, "It's was sort of a surprise to see her jump in like she did though as she usually prefers to shy away from making any public appearances."

"She seemed pretty nice." Misato countered before directing her attention to the redhead to ask, "What did you think Yoiko? You were sitting with her earlier."

Ranma half shrugged at the question as her focus was currently on trying to make out what the now older woman was saying to the jerky Mr. Yamoto. From her position though the only thing she could really get from them was that the conversation was rather animated and that was just mostly from the glare and gestures that she could see coming from Mr Yamoto. Sighing as she gave up, unable to overhear from her vantage point with all of the background noise she stated diplomatically, "She seemed okay, she really didn't say much she pretty much just asked me about my parents…"

"Ladies and gentlemen if you would all direct your eyes to the observation window the trial activation and test run of Jet Alone will be starting within the minute." Kodachi announced as she stepped away from the program director pausing only enough time for the director to issue the activation command to his staff the woman continued, "Now you will hear commands and status reports from the technicians in the room please pay them no mind. Let me assure you that there is nothing to be concerned about."

"Release all engines…"

"As you can see they will be giving a little play by play for the demonstration, this is no reflection on Jet Alones abilities as all of its possible movements are stored within the onboard computer system."

"Start walking."

"Move left leg."

"A computer system programmed to account for any conceivable possibility. So once again while the technicians are issuing commands, the commands themselves are nothing more than the Standard Operating Procedure meant solely for the staff so they can double check what Jet Alone is doing versus what it is actually supposed to be doing."

121

"So it can walk… Yay…" Misato offered to her redheaded companion with a sarcastic whisper.

Nodding more to herself than to the older woman Ranma silently agreed with the sediment. Now that she was seeing the thing in action she was starting to agree with Ritsuko's view on the robot as the glorified tin can while monstrous in size did not seem nearly as nimble as a Evangelion.

121

"Something's wrong…"

"Reactor pressure is increasing…" Another technician shouted in alarm.

"Ladies and gentlemen if you would remain calm I am sure the staff here has everything under control." Kodachi offered in assurance over the increasing volume of worried whispers from the spectators in the control room.

"Open the release valve… Pump in…"

"Negative… Pumps not responding…" A tech cut in.

'EMERGANCY STOP… CUT THE POWER…" Mr. Yamoto shouted over the choas as the giant robot continued its collision course with the control room.

"Negative… It's not accepting the commands…" the tech from before franticly stated before looking out of the control rooms window and shouting, "It's out of control and coming right for us…"

"EVERYONE REMAIN CALM, GO TO THE EMERGENCY EXITS." Kodachi tried as the room erupted in chaos.

Knowing that while she would be able to knock a hole in the wall to escape from being crushed her friends were pretty much stuck. With that thought in mind moments before the robots foot came crashing down through the ceiling Ranma had managed to push both Ritsuko and Misato down into a corner where she could at least shield the two from harm.

121

Misato blinked slowly, one minute she had been standing and then the next she was huddled into a corner peering up into Yoiko's eyes as she huddled over her like a mother protecting her young.

"I think we can get up now." Ritsuko stated dryly after a few moments of awkward silence.

"Right… Sorry…" Ranma stated awkwardly as she forced her eyes to break contact with Misato's while stepping back to offer both women a hand up.

Once on her feet and after checking to make sure the younger girl whom had so selflessly shielded her from harm was okay Misato walked right up to Mr. Yamoto and asked, "What's the status?"

"This can't be happening, the computer was given programming to account for all possible emergencies…"

"Get a grip, it's happening, like it or not…" Misato chided before adding, "What of the reactor?"

"We can't shut it down… Unless it shuts down on its own then…"

"What are the odds on that happening."

"It would be a miracle." Kodachi stated sadly as she approached, "The odds on a self stop are around the .000002 percent mark. Meaning it's not going to happen, I suggest that all non essential personnel evacuate the area while there is still time."

"Is there a way to shut it down?" Misato asked.

"We've tried every possible way to shut it down."

"Surely there is another way?" Kodachi questioned in return

Shaking his head the man replied, "The only possible way to stop it now would be for someone to go in and manually enter the commands into the onboard computer."

"Great…" Misato chimed sarcastically, "Looks like there is a way to stop it after all."

"No you don't understand…" The man warned, "You'd have to catch up to it first, then get inside and after that you'd have to deal with the extreme heat from the reactors along with massive amounts of radiation… That's not to mention that once you make it past all of that you still have to enter the password into the system and as of right now I'm not authorized to give you that…"

"Well you better get me authorization then." Misato pushed as she folded her arms across her chest.

Kodachi after briefly shooting a look over to Yoiko and then to Misato stated, "I think I might be able to assist in greasing the wheels, politically of course. However seeing that the Jet Alone robot is in danger of a meltdown it perhaps it would be best if I did so from the comfort of my personal transport. Perhaps it would be wise for you and your Nerv companions to do the same while the clearance issue is sorted out."

Glancing back where Yoiko was standing with Ritsuko Misato agreed, "Perhaps you are right."

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20 minutes later

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"So what are we doing again?" Ranma asked as she watched the ground disappear beneath the transport as it sped along to Tokyo 3, "And aren't we going the wrong way? That Jet Jaguar guy is heading the other way."

"It's Jet Alone Yoiko…" Ritsuko chided after a slight pause after failing to place the reference.

Cutting in where her friend left off Misato added, "And we are heading back to Tokyo 3 because I want to be ready with an eva on stand by and not be sitting around waiting."

"Ma'am…" the pilot of the craft interrupted, "We are receiving a secure transmission from Chief Yamoto. He wishes to speak to you, says he has the password."

"One sec." Misato said as she rose out of her seat to take the copilots chair where she slid on a head set, "Captain Katsuragi here…"

"…."

"Hope?" Misato parroted back, "Okay we'll take care of this." While keeping the headset in place she commanded, "Get me a channel to Central Dogma."

"MISATO…" Ranma called out, "We don't need a EVA for this, I can handle it."

Sliding one of the ear pieces off of her ear the older woman turned and replied, "We need to keep that thing steady so I can get inside the control room."

"That's not a problem… And who says you are going in there?"

"First off I say so…" Misato fired back, "You have a hard enough time working a basic laptop at school. Something might go wrong and I might have to try to improvise something and you just don't have the skill set for it."

"Okay…" Ranma returned somewhat heatedly, "I'm getting better… Secondly I am the king of improv… So while I don't know all that computer mumbo jumbo stuff I'm pretty sure that I will be able to work something out…"

"Yoiko this isn't something that you can just smash up, one misstep could mean instant meltdown…" Ritsuko put in.

"Still… We are wasting time going back to Tokyo 3 every second we waste that thing gets closer to a populated area. If we act now we can hold if off and then even if things do go wrong at least the damage it causes would be contained to an unpopulated area."

Looking over the redhead in concern Misato knew the younger girl was right, they really didn't have the time to spare. Hindsight being what it was the woman also realized belatedly that if she had wanted to use an Eva to stall Jet alone then she should have already made the arrangements. Wanting to save a little face in the eyes of the younger girl Misato asked, "Not that I am going to let you go ahead and try to take that thing on but lets just say I did let you… What exactly would you do?"

"I don't know." Ranma returned, "But you guy's said that it's just a robot, so unless it has an AT field I should be able to handle it no problem. Does it have an AT field?"

"No it doesn't."

"Well then I should be fine then…" Ranma affirmed.

"I don't know Yoiko, at least with an Eva we know that we can keep it occupied." Ritsuko put in.

"How about this; call ahead for an Eva and while it is being prepped for transport let me have a crack at it that way if I can't handle it back up will be on the way."

"I don't know… Ritsuko? How will Yoiko's suit hold up to radiation?"

"It has slightly higher tolerances that the ones we have on board, and it is a lot more durable." Ritsuko replied.

Signing in defeat Misato nodded over to the pilot and ordered, "Turn us around and get me connected to Central Dogma."

12321

A short time later

12321

Seeing the robot looming into view on the horizon Ranma said, "Hey just take up a position ahead of the robot… Somewhere near those ruins, we don't need to land… Been wanting to test out this glide feature since I got this suit."

"No way…" Misato protested, "We are going to set down and you can exit the transport like a normal person, besides there are two turbines on either side of this transport and you don't want to get too close to either one of them."

"Fine…" Ranma grumbled as she set her head piece in place and activated it consequently sealing herself in the suit.

"Don't worry, we can always schedule some high altitude jumps for training purposes later." Ritsuko comforted.

Growling at the betrayal of her friend in her attempts to keep the younger girl from getting hurt Misato replied, "Absolutely not."

"Now Misato, it's in everyone's best interest for Yoiko to have experience in operating all of the suits functions."

"We are in position, Command has a ETA of 32 minutes with Unit one." The pilot offered as he gently set the transport down.

"Alright, Yoiko this is our stop. I want the transport to take off and maintain it's distance until I radio for extraction." Misato ordered as she hopped off, seeing the gigantic form of Jet alone rapidly gaining on their position she added, "I really hope you know what you are doing."

"So how do you want to do this? You want to stick by me or hang back?" Ranma asked as she lightly stretched a few cramps out.

"I'm sticking with you."

"Okay then." Ranma chirped, "I can work with that."

"So do you have a plan yet?"

"Working on it." Ranma replied as she heard the transport taking off behind her.

"Well if you are going to do something you are going to have to do it soon, preferably before we are turned into pancakes."

"Alright… Fine I got it, just stay close to me incase this doesn't work."

"In case what doesn't work?"

"Well we don't want this thing getting any closer to the city, so first things first." Ranma stated as she began to draw upon her confidence.

Recognizing what the redhead was about to do Misato took a few extra steps back. Rotating her gaze between the looming bulk of Jet Alone and the increasing blue ball of energy she felt it necessary to state, "Any moment now…"

"Just a little more…"

"How much more is a little?" The older of the two asked as she watched the ball of confidence swell to the size of 8 feet in diameter.

"Just about… Moko Takabisha…" Ranma called out as she fired off her attack.

Almost falling off her feet from the backlash of the younger girls attack Misato was unable to track the blasts trajectory and caught totally off guard when a blur swooped in, sweeping her off her feet just moments before a deafening crash followed by a massive wall of dust slammed into her with what she could only equate with being hit by a freight train.

121

Moments later

121

"Well that could have went better." Ranma admitted dryly as she tried to pat some of the excess dirt off of her suit.

"You think…" Misato commented as she tried to glare at the girl but instead wound up staring down a half buried pile of twisted metal due to the layer of dirt on her helmet.

"So where's this hatch at?" Ranma asked as she tried to help Misato in clearing off the dirt obstructing the older woman's vision.

"Near the top on the back…"

"Good, then we're still in this." Ranma fired right back as she watched the robot begin to try to get up. "Unfortunately we are going to have to get a move on it, it's leg is pretty banged up but I don't know how long it's going to remain immobilized."

Sighing as she realized that her helmet was about as clear as it was going to get the purple haired woman agreed, "Let's get a move on it then, times a wasting." Pausing to glance over at Jet Alone she added, "So any idea on how we are both going to get up there?"

Scoffing at her companions question the redhead answered, "That's easy."

"What do you mean?" Misato managed to get out before she was once again swept off her feet.

"So this the hatch?" Ranma asked while adjusting her footing to keep from falling off the robot that had started to slowly crawl forward.

"I don't know…" the woman shot back, "It's kind of hard to tell… the only thing I can see is your gigantic butt."

"Hey… I do not have a big butt!"

'If you say so." Misato teased while the redhead moved her off of her shoulder while keeping a steady hold of her. "Yep that's it, lets get inside before this thing rolls over on us."

121

"Man it's hot in here…"

"Well hopefully we won't be in here for long, the command terminal is just up ahead."

"I'm going to try something…"

"Don't be blasting holes in this thing you could hit something important."

"Relax, Just going to try out the soul of ice, I'm not sure how well it's going to work but at the least it should lower the temp in here a few degrees."

"Just be careful."

"Gotcha."

121

"I know I shouldn't be surprised, but that actually seems to be working somewhat…" Misato complemented as she felt the temperature around her drop considerably.

"I suppose…" Came the deadpan reply as the redhead tried in vain to wipe away the condensation building up on the inside of her helmet.

"Well here we are…"

"Did you enter the code?"

"Does it seem like I entered the code?" Misato ground out as the floor lurched under her signifying the robots continued attempts to stand back up.

Luckily for the older woman though Ranma despite temporarily blinded by a haze of condensation was more than aware enough of her surroundings to reach out and steady the woman before she got a painful introduction to the nearest bulkhead.

"Thanks for the save."

"Anytime…"

"Alright, trying to enter the password now… That's not good…"

"What's not good?"

"Give me a sec, trying again… Yeah, I think we might have a problem." Misato commented as another error message appeared on the screen, "Without the password we're locked out so it's on to plan B."

"Sure… Uh Misato? What's plan B?"

"See those giant cylinders coming out of the wall over there?"

"No not really…"

Ignoring the redheads comment the woman continued, "We are going to try a manual shut down, so all we have to do is slide them back into the wall."

"Sounds pretty easy…" Ranma commented before the robot lurched again, this time sending both her and Misato tumbling backwards.

"Let's just get this over with…" Misato groaned out before shakily climbing to her feet and heading over to the nearest control rod where she began to toil fruitlessly with pushing it back into the wall.

Blindly groping about as the older woman left her to fend for herself Ranma called out, "Misato a little help here… I can't really see anything."

"There are seven of them coming out of the wall right in front of you, just feel your way in…" Feeling the redhead's hands on her own behind she gasped amidst her struggles, "There's no rod in there…"

"Right… Sorry…" Ranma sounded off somewhat unrepentantly before finding a control rod and easily sliding it into place.

121

Huffing and puffing amidst her efforts Misato desperately continued with her struggles with the unmoving control rod.

"Need a hand?"

"No… I'm fine… Just do what you can… If we can't get these back in we're going to withdrawal and let Shinji and Unit 01 try to take care of this."

"Are you sure you don't want any help?"

"Just focus on your own."

"But I already got that one in."

"Well move to the next one then."

"I put that one in too."

"Then move to the one after that…" Misato stated rather heatedly as she took a momentary break to glare at the redhead only to blink at the fact that all the rods with the exception of the one she was working was already in position. "Right well what are you standing around lollygagging about, push this rod into place so we can get out of here."

123454321

Late that night at the Katsuragi home

12321

Staring deeply into her reflection Ranma glanced over with minor annoyance at an empty fishbowl before tentatively setting both her journal and panda plushy next to it. After reaching out with her senses to ensure that everyone else was asleep she took a deep breath and steeled her resolve while locking her eyes into that of her reflections.

"My name is Ranma Saotome and I am a m…."

"Okay… I'm close, I just need to focus more…" Confident that she was almost there the current redhead bit down on her trepidations and willed herself to say the one truth she wanted to say above all others, "My name is Ranma Saotome and I am a mmmmm…"

"I'm close… I can feel it, just one more… Deep breaths… Focus… I am my own master… This is my body and my mind… I will not be controlled!" With sweat pouring down her brow she gripped down on the cheap particle board ledge of her dresser and once again started, "My name is Ranma Saotome and I am a mmmmmmmmmm… Mighty fine smoking hottie!"

Groaning as she brought her head down to the desk top the afore mentioned girl muttered, "At least I'm not lying…"

Abcdefedcba

Notes:

Ranma's armor, think of it as a slightly beefier version of the uniforms in Tron mixed with a plug suit. And a dash of inspector Gadget mixed in for good measure.

Also about the Eva core issue, it is canon that Yui Ikari was absorbed into Unit 1 and that Asuka's mother resides in Unit 02 and while it is only extrapolation as to whom resides in unit 0 whether it is Rei 1 or another fragment of Lilith there is enough evidence in the series that they would need Nodoka for Unit 03's core. Well they think they need Ranko's.

Luckily I've already taken that into consideration

And the final note for this chapter, the Journal and the plushy I added those to try to show that there is some progress being made to reverse what's been done, it's minute at the moment but before my intent was going to let it wear down subtly by having Ranma's thoughts specifically mirror his own words instead of contradicting them as per what I have done in specific instances.

Now some might say that I'm ignoring certain actions that make Ranma uncomfortable like in the previous chapter but my initial intent for those was going to have Ranma be aware of some of those changes. And that brings us to the journal, it's purpose is actually two fold, one part it will allow some entries where Ranma can vent to himself and the other it serves as a very useful source for Rei's mission.

So while there is no entry in the Journal yet, there will be in later chapters.

Anyway thanks for reading and feel free to drop a review if you are so inclined. However, Anonymous reviews are disabled and I won't be turning them back on for this fic.

And I guess I should also state that while doing revisions on this chapter I noticed that I was missing a few b's, this was a technical problem and I think it was resolved so this draft should not be missing any letters if it is feel free to point it out to me.