[Ranma][NGE][HPL][AMG][Fusion][Fanfic] Sic Semper Morituri Chapter 11 Part
2 of 2 Fistful of Pilots
Disclaimer:
I do not own any of the characters from Ranma 1/2, Neon Genesis Evangelion,
Ah My Goddess, or the Lovecraft Cycle involved in these stories. And I'll
put them back when I've finished with them.
C&C , MSTs are welcome
E-mail: dan_s.comments@worldnet.att.net
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(these are the original versions)
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Fist Full of Pilots
The cowboy walked into the Arizona bar, out of a desert downpour.
Eyes of the customers appraised the youth. Hat, cheap duster: just another
saddle bum. Cold blue eyes glanced around. Caught sight of the quarry.
The spurs jangled up behind him, "Evan MacKinin?"
"Whose askin', boy?" MacKinin didn't think much of a smooth
cheeked, high-voiced youth. The wanted poster dropped onto the table.
MacKinin shoved the youth back and reached for his gun. A fist shot out,
knocking MacKinin's hand away from his gun, then knocking him to the floor.
Before turning to face the three other men.
"Okay boy, we'll let you go this time. Go home to your momma."
"My mother's dead," the fighter told them as they went for their
guns. None of the three got a shot off, before the fighter shot all three
dead, then casually shot MacKinin, who was crawling for his gun.
----------------------------------------
"Four at once. Not bad." The Marshall stood behind his desk, and
doled out the reward money. "They scared off two of my deputies. No way I
was going after them with just one deputy."
"You need better deputies," the fighter brushed a strand of red
hair out of her blue eyes, back under her hat. "The James boys are a
little out of my range. Who's worth the most?"
"Well, Monacon here." The Marshall pointed to the poster, "Is
worth 50,000 pesos, since he escaped. But he's got forty guns, give or
take. Nobody's crazy enough to go after him, except the Army. They asked
for some information about him. He was last seen at White Rock."
"Thanks," the girl walked out.
----------------------------------------
A gray-haired, older man, in stylish clothing of the 1880's,
walked into the hotel bar, unrolled the wanted poster in front of the
bartender, "Where is he?"
The bartender set an empty glass on the bar, "I haven't seen him."
The old man put a silver dollar on the bar. The bartender filled
the glass with whiskey, with seven pours, glancing up at the ceiling,
"Haven't seen him." He made the silver dollar disappear as he wiped the
bar.
The old man nodded, walked up the stairs. He heard the man's
voice, stepped beside the door marked '7', reached over and knocked. The
fusillade cut through the door. The old man shook his head, waited a
moment, then opened the door. The bar girl in the bed looked appraising,
and frightened.
"Ma'am," the old man tipped his hat as he walked through, and onto
the balcony. The man, his quarry, had dropped to the ground, and was
halfway to the livery stable. The old man pulled his pistol, and attached
the shoulder stock with practiced motions. He'd done this many times
before. Firing carefully, he hit the man in the leg.
"The reward is dead or alive!" the old man shouted, "It's your
choice."
The man drew his pistol, a short barreled Colt in a fast draw
holster. The man's first three shots fell short, not even hitting the
balcony, he hobbled forward to close the range. The old man cocked his
pistol, sighted carefully, and drilled the man right between the eyes.
----------------------------------------
"One thousand dollars," the sheriff told the old man, as both
stood in his office, "Takes me almost a year to make it."
"Why didn't you take care of him yourself? Youngster like you."
"Some of us aren't as skilled as others," the sheriff admitted.
The man shrugged, walked over to the wall of wanted posters, "What
do you know about MacKinin?"
"Somebody got him last night, in El Paso."
"Interesting, wonder how that happened." The old man stared at
the Monacon poster, and the 50,000 peso reward.
----------------------------------------
Inside the richly appointed railcar, the crown prince enjoyed the
sport of his bodyguard sparring with the Shinobi master. His bodyguard was
the finest fighter in all Nihon, but the ninja had a few tricks herself.
The squeal of brakes, and frantic train whistle, alerted them all something
was wrong. In this barbarian country, everything seemed to be an
emergency. As the train shuddered towards a stop, none of them lost their
footing. To fall to such a trivial cause, would disgrace whoever they had
trained with.
All heard the shouting from the blue soldiers, in their outlandish
tongue. The sound of gunfire was unexpected. ~There were bandits in this
country after all,~ the prince took cover, before his bodyguard had to
disgrace himself by pushing him to the floor.
The ninja had disappeared, while her task was to guard him, there
was something else on the train that was more important even than him.
The explosion shook the entire train, and tossed them around.
There were screams, and more gunfire, as the train rolled to a stop, but
much less than the number of soldiers should have produced. Some of the
shouts were in the prince's own language. The Imperial soldiers were only
guarding two treasures, one for the Empire, one for him.
His bodyguard prevented him from rushing forward until the train
had completely stopped. The bodyguard hastened to the window, and saw the
horsemen ride off. The pair hurried into the ravaged, armored baggage car.
Many dead blue soldiers, and Imperial soldiers. They both had
served their Emperors to the death. "They sacrificed themselves like
samurai," temple priestess, his fiance, was pulled unharmed from behind a
wall of soldiers, some in Imperial silks, some in the rough blue cloth of
this nation. She was disheveled, but more ashamed. "My lord." She knelt
and bowed low, "They have the sword. It . . . it was as if they knew."
The prince nodded, the gold was trivial, the art treasures were to
be mourned. But the personal gift from the Mikado to the American
President _had_ to be recovered.
His bodyguard extracted his shinobi rival from the debris. She
still lived.
"The raiders," she whispered, all she could manage, "Will be
difficult to track. They fear no soldiers. Another way must be found."
"We will do our utmost to redeem our nation's honor, and fulfill
our sacred mission," the prince pronounced, noting the approval of his two
remaining servitors, and his fiance.
----------------------------------------
The old man checked into the hotel at White Rock. Monacon and his
gang had ridden out to hit a train. There was almost no talk in town about
what exactly were on the trains scheduled through, that was almost
unbelievable, rumors were abounding about everything else. But Monacon
hadn't come through here on his way back, neither had the U.S. Army, which
rumors had in close pursuit.
The old man had other, more accurate ways of finding out, and
going after Monacon. But since Monacon's escape from prison, the Mexican
army was after him too. A Mexican bandit hit an American train, and added
the U.S. Army to the people after him. The old man considered that the
Apaches didn't like Monacon either, as he crossed their territory, they'd
be after him as well.
~Three mutually hostile groups, all after my quarry's scalp,~ he
thought as he cleaned his weapons in his third story hotel room, "Quite a
mess," he commented to the darkness outside.
A small man, the hotel launder, came in, head bowed, not looking
at the old man. The frightened man quietly packed up the freshly cleaned
shirts in the old man's bag, and carried the bag outside. The old man
quickly followed, after he checked his coat and weapons.
The small man walked out the front door of the hotel into the
darkness, he paused, looked at someone standing in the street. The old man
made sure his appearance was presentable, and his weapons were easily at
hand, before he stepped into view.
The, boy?, it wasn't a man, gestured to the side. "Take the bag
to the train. The gentleman is leaving." The high voice put the stress on
'gentleman', not 'leaving'.
"Set it down and go away," the old man stepped out of the light of
the oil lamps, putting the light behind him, so he could see his target
better, but he would only be a shadow.
The laundry man let out an anguished cry, and ran back into the
hotel. The old man thought he heard the splash and clang of the frightened
man leaping into his metal wash tubs.
The old man stepped closer, wanting to get a good look at anyone
with enough guts to try something like this. The, it was a girl, very
definitely, carefully stepped on his freshly shined boots, and ground her
foot on them. The old man looked down at the girl's filthy boots, and
merely raised an eyebrow, it wasn't even worth trying.
That infuriated the girl. She punched him, harder than he
expected, knocking him down and staggering him.
He brushed himself off as he stood, reached for his hat. Before
he could pick it up, the girl had drawn her pistol and fired. The hat
scooted away from him. He glanced up, walked to where the hat now was.
Another shot yanked the hat out of his hand. He glanced at the girl, then
continued quietly following his hat.
----------------------------------------
On a cross street, the shinobi urged the prince and the rest of
his entourage to halt. The crown prince and the three others halted their
horses, and looked at the tableau.
"More of these filthy barbarians killing each other in the
streets," the bodyguard pronounced.
"Then look more closely," the shinobi warned, "The girl could not
have missed at that range, so she hit what she was shooting at."
They watched as three more shots scooted the hat out of the old
man's hand, and down the street. As the girl quickly ejected the spent
cartridges, the old man carefully picked up his much abused hat, brushing
it off while taking several long strides to lengthen the range.
"Watch," the shinobi told them, "See this as a match, not a duel."
The prince settled on his horse, watching as the girl reloaded,
and the old man settled his hat carefully on his head, and drew his own
pistol, taking aim with maximum care. The old man paused and looked up, as
the girl's two shots went wide.
"Should we intervene?" the priestess asked.
"No," the prince said, "We will watch what happens, when this one
has the other at his mercy."
The old man set his feet firmly and took his stance, cocked the
pistol and fired. The girl stood stock still, bravely accepting the
decision of fate. The first shot blew her hat off her head, a quick
follow-up tore through the thin ribbon restraining her long, red hair,
which now blew free in the slight breeze.
"Brave, and lovely," the bodyguard commented. The prince smiled
at the man who seemed to hold all `soft` women in contempt, perhaps why he
found the shinobi so troubling.
"Three," the priestess watched the hat held in the air by the
precision gunfire. "Four, five, six, seven, eight, nine?" She glanced at
the prince, didn't all these barbarians' guns hold only six shots?
"Could you have matched that?" the prince asked his bodyguard, who
squirmed slightly.
"Yes, my lord," the man said proudly. "On a sunny, windless day,"
he added quietly.
The prince smiled, then bowed to the shinobi, "Most enlightening.
Very useful to know."
----------------------------------------
The gunfighter let out a sigh at the flash of white teeth from her
opponent. The distance was unbelievable, nine shots instead of six. She
felt some relief, that the caliber and character of her rival matched her
own. She was certain she was faster, but she didn't concentrate on
long-range marksmanship, the way this old man did. She picked up the torn
ribbon that had held her hair, ran her finger through her hair, she
couldn't find any damage.
The old man walked towards her, "Satisfied?" he asked as he walked
by.
"Yeah, I guess." She retrieved her hat, and followed him.
----------------------------------------
The liquor in the glass went down smoothly, not like the rotgut
she was used to. She looked around the fancy third floor room, complete
with large feather bed, and a dresser with a mirror. She had her feet up
on the table. "I have to admire the gentleman's taste." She lifted his
LeMat pistol with the attached stock. "But this, gimmick - "
"That gimmick, boy," he smirked at the joke, "Nearly put you in
boot hill. And you wouldn't be the first. I've been in this business for
nearly 40 years. Can you make the same claim?"
"I've done all right," she replied defensively, she wasn't even 40
years _old_._
The old man nodded. "Still. Monacon's bounty is a lot of money.
But, the rest of the gang is worth three times that. That's a lot of
money, even split two ways, I want in on that game too. Besides, the U.S.
Government just put a bounty of their own on him, and all the other gang
members. Nearly doubles what they're worth, payable in gold dollars. Even
the Army is after him now."
"Which army?" the girl asked, considering the closeness of the
border, and the free-for-all civil war currently raging in Northern Mexico.
"Does it matter? He's slipped away from the U.S. Army, the
Mexican Federal Army, even the Apaches. Man like that, takes a lot of
catching. Two hunters have a better chance working together. Otherwise,
it might be 48 to 1, not 47 to 2."
"I wish I knew why all the activity about him," the gunfighter
said.
There was a knock on the door. The girl had her feet back on the
floor, the old man had his pistol in his hand, both in an instant. Neither
stood in clear view of the door or the room's window.
"It's your room," she told him.
He glanced at her, seemed to determine that she was watching the
door through the mirror while covering the window. "Come in," he said.
----------------------------------------
The Crown Prince led his entourage of three into the room. His
bodyguard and the shinobi immediately took position in front, to guard him.
These two gunfighters had a reputation. Killers who kept their word, and
were relentless in their pursuit. He paused slightly, centering himself,
"I believe you are men we can trust."
"I think we've been insulted," the old man said to the younger
girl, who stepped into view.
The lopsided smile from the girl, the Crown Prince wondered if
they were, or had become, lovers, she was attractive enough, and they were
more similar than they were different. Still, he had thought he'd phrased
the comment to give no offense. He turned to the priestess, whose command
of the barbarian tongue was better than his. She nodded, he'd said it
correctly.
"I meant no offense, you have a reputation of being rigorous
hunters. That is what we have desperate need for." He avoided bowing,
these people would see it as weakness, he needed their respect.
"We?" the girl asked, "You and your friends? The gentleman and I
have a rather pressing engagement, a lucrative payday."
The shinobi leaned back, "I believe that they may already be
planning to attend to some of our mission."
He nodded, wondered how she had gained the insight without knowing
any of their language, "You are planning to go after the bandit Monacon and
his followers. I wish to offer an additional incentive. He stole 70,000
American dollars, in gold, and several cultural treasures from the Empire
of Japan. They were to be gifts to your President and your Smithsonian.
Our nation's honor has been sullied, our outrage knows no bounds. I am
authorized to allow you to keep the gold, if the treasures are returned to
us unharmed."
"This is getting very interesting," the girl said to the old man,
who nodded sagely. She extracted a cigar, considered, then returned it to
her pocket.
"My Lord," his bodyguard spoke quietly in Japanese, and bowed,
"Our honor, these people . . . "
The Prince ignored him, "I can also offer our services as
warriors, scouts, to authenticate the recovery. Anything!"
The girl looked at the shinobi and the priestess, "Keep your
tongue in your mouth old man. I don't think he meant _that_."
The old man grinned at the girl. The Prince couldn't understand
the byplay.
"My bodyguards." The Prince introduced his bodyguard and the
shinobi, who bowed. "My fiance." The priestess bowed.
----------------------------------------
It was as if whatever had been holding us, let go. The illusion
of a normal appearance disappeared from me, my pale skin and blue hair
returned. As I straightened from my bow, I looked at my fellow pilots,
shedding their roles and returning to their normal appearances, even as I
did. I looked at Shinji-kun, my `fiance`, the Crown Prince, remembering
the careful `meetings`, observed and monitored by court favorites, and the
source of gossip for weeks. I blushed, although I doubt anyone noticed.
"Okay, what was _that_ about?!" the Second Children demanded,
examined her mutilated hat. "You shot at me!"
"I hit what I aimed at," Roku-kun retorted, "I recall I didn't
fire first."
She fumed, then he dropped his bullet-torn hat in front of her.
She stared daggers at him.
"So what do we do?" Nabiki-kun asked, then realized Roku-kun and
the Second were staring at her in confusion. She hadn't understood a word
either of them had said as they argued, and they hadn't understood her when
she spoke. Nabiki-kun turned to Ikari-kun, who was blushing furiously, and
studying the floor. "Thinking about your fiance?" Nabiki-kun teased.
He blushed more, and glanced at me. I felt an odd warmth. Then
he looked at Roku-kun and the Second who were staring at us. "I, uh,
thought they were, umm, getting together after the fight."
"Getting together?" Nabiki-kun asked, then laughed.
"Do you understand them?" Saotome asked.
"You don't?" I asked. Everyone seemed to be speaking the same
language, only they didn't hear it, obviously.
"Ranma, you can't understand them either?" Nabiki-kun asked.
"You don't?" `Crown Prince` Shinji-kun asked, "Ayanami-san?"
"I do," I said.
Saotome shook his head.
"I think we're stuck in character, speaking English or Japanese,
as appropriate," Roku-kun told Shinji-kun, who translated for the others.
"What's going on?" Saotome demanded, Shinji-kun translated.
"Why are you all looking at me?" Roku-kun looked at the other
pilots.
Nabiki-kun smiled, she clearly recognized the harassed tone and
expression. She touched the hair at her temples, the hair that had been
gray on him. He shrugged in response.
"We are in a dream," I said, first in `Japanese`, then in
`English`.
"We have to get out of here," Shinji-kun said in `Japanese`, then
angrily repeated himself for Roku-kun and the Second Children.
"Raccoon and I can do the `mission`, and you four can . . . do
something to stay out of our way, I don't know," the Second said.
That doesn't sit well with the others.
"Only Ayanami-san and I speak both languages," Shinji-kun said.
"Then we have to find some way to operate effectively," the Second
complained, "Can't we get a break? Dreams last night, a battle all day,
then more stupid dreams."
"I think I have a solution," Roku-kun said, "Saotome-san and
Shinji-san coordinate operations with the government. Rei-san and
Nabiki-san come with Langley and I, to hit the enemy head on, or develop a
better attack plan."
Shinji-kun translated, and there was an immediate disagreement.
Roku-kun's idea was shouted down, he threw up his hands, poured himself a
drink, obviously savoring the burning liquid sliding down his throat.
----------------------------------------
As they rode along, Asuka looked at Wondergirl and Ice Princess in
the unteasled shirts and Levis they'd bought the morning following the
meeting. She shook her head, and continued to make notes in her journal.
----------------------------------------
>From the Journal of Asuka Soryu Langley
Wondergirl and Ice Princess look completely out of place,
Wondergirl is too pale, and Ice Princess's callouses are from holding a
weapon, not from working. At least I'd been able to get them to stable
their horses. My and Raccoon's personas might have been able to afford
such fine animals, but with the cover of them being Amerind servants,
they'd never ride anything so exotic.
I am glad Raccoon hadn't lost his eye for good horseflesh. While
our mounts looked like a mixed bag, mine and Raccoon's Arabian/Morgan mix,
Wondergirl's Appaloosa, Tendo's and Saotome's mixed, Spineless's Palomino,
they were all first-class horses.
The revolver managed to surprise the others, I reminded Raccoon
about their skeet shooting on the carrier. Wondergirl admitted she'd been
trained with guns, so both of the `gunmen`, us, had insisted she too be
armed. A Schofield revolver, a cavalryman's weapon, it gave her a rate of
fire exceeding my Colt, and Raccoon's LeMat, because of the break-open
action. The little practice we'd gotten in, showed Wondergirl was a
passable shot, up to moderate ranges. Raccoon's marksmanship was just
frightening, especially with the stock attached.
Although I'm the fastest draw, partially because of the Colt's
shorter barrel and better balance, partially my own reflexes. Horseface
decided he wanted to be the horse's other end, he wanted to match my fast
draw. Boy was I glad I managed to find some blanks, after Horseface shot
himself with the blanks three times, he wanted nothing more to do with
guns.
At least we didn't have to kill him to make him learn his lesson,
this time.
----------------------------------------
"Are these stupid dreams going to continue indefinitely?" Tendo
asked as she wiped her forehead, from the dust and the heat, actually
Wondergirl translated.
Asuka thought how weird it was hearing Wondergirl actually
complain about something, she'd translated not only the words, but Ice
Princess's tone, like a recording. "You don't like being attacked every
night?" she asked.
Otherwise, silence reigns, ~I don't know,~ it was clear to Asuka,
that neither did anyone else. She didn't want to think about last night's
dream. As confusing as it had been, being ripped out of it that way had
been painful. She glanced around, no one else seemed eager to comment on
Ice Princess's assertion, even Raccoon and Horseface were quiet. ~What did
they experience?~ Asuka wondered, ~A pleasant insanity that you had to
master?~ She shuddered at the memory, it had gone from bad to worse, to
tolerable and them even memorable to . . . gone. Kaji's departure had been
like a knife in her heart. She remembered Kuno's fumbling attempts to
console her, the only one who'd even recognized she was in pain. She
despised him when they first met.
She glanced at Raccoon, Kuno wasn't the first: the honor-bound
madman who never gave up, even when everyone else did. ~It was unfair,~ she
considered, ~Still, the way the others were acting . . . they _were_ just
dreams after all. Figments of our worries and the madness of a Great Old
One. It's not as though those people could possibly exist.~
She sighed, ~But it was kind of fun. A no-holds-barred battle of
wits against that pack of obsessive morons. And I won.~ She looked at her
fellow pilots, and wondered if it had been as bad for them. ~Spineless can
get depressed about burning toast. But I've Ice Princess, Raccoon and even
Wondergirl were shaken. They're all made of sterner stuff than that.
Horseface . . . ~ "Who knows if he feels _anything_," she whispered.
"They're hardly attacks," Shinji translated her reply for
Horseface and Tendo, "More like tests."
Asuka noted Shinji's reaction to that, made a note to investigate
later.
"Yes," Raccoon added, "But who's doing the testing, and why?"
"It shouldn't be one of our enemies," Ice Princess, through
Wondergirl, tells us.
"Not necessarily," Raccoon corrects, "They may assume this is an
attack. Put us in deadlier and deadlier confrontations, and they don't
have to face us in our EVAs. Maybe the next will be something from
Japanese history."
"This _is_ Japanese history," Spineless tells us, "Right after the
American Civil War, the Mikado was trying to make diplomatic relations with
Washington."
"What does that have to do with what we're talking about?" Asuka
demands.
"The environments have been somewhat familiar," Spineless replied
quietly, "Like this one."
"We have to do something to prevent this from continuing," Asuka
told them, "Getting out of the brown air of Tokyo into the fresh air and
the sunshine is one thing, but this is getting ridiculous. I don't want to
be something's play thing!"
"Then what are we supposed to do?" Raccoon asked.
Asuka paled at that, ~Yeah, you and Spineless aren't exactly in
any condition to do anything, are you?~ Asuka thought, ~That's got to be
tearing you up, isn't it, old friend? Well, we'll protect _you_ for once.~
She smiled at him, and treasured his confusion.
The argument continues, but no conclusions can be determined.
----------------------------------------
"Are you sure of this information Raccoon?" Wondergirl translates
for Ice Princess.
Asuka listens idly.
"Sure? No. It's as reliable as I can make it," Raccoon replies,
he turns in his saddle, "They're in a hurry."
Asuka watches Ranma and Nabiki turn as Shinji translates. Raccoon
pulls a telescope, while she removes her own small set of binoculars.
"Buffalo Soldiers, black cavalry. Best soldiers in the American
Army," Raccoon tells the rest of them.
"They're coming straight _at_ us," Ice Princess adds through
Wondergirl, "Not towards us."
Asuka turns to the others, "Ride!" They spur their horses, hoping
to tire out the cavalry's mounts before their own mounts tire, or to get
across the border before the cavalry catches them.
"What's he doing?" Asuka watches Horseface dismount.
"Holy . . . Oh God! I'll get him," Raccoon turns back to pick up
Saotome, who seems amazed that his horse is outrunning him.
"Keep riding!" she yells to the others.
Asuka keeps glancing back, watching Raccoon catch up Horseface's
mount, and ride back to the martial artist. He quickly dismounts, gets
Horseface by the belt and shirt collar, and throws him back aboard his
horse. Then Raccoon runs back and remounts at a gallop.
~Just like I taught him,~ Asuka thinks proudly, she watches them
close in, Horseface looking put out about getting thrown around like a sack
of meal, Raccoon's attaching the stock to his pistol, ~Two other cavalry
squadrons closing in, and a third group in the distance,~ she notes, ~This
could be worse, but not easily.~
"Monacon," Raccoon tells her.
"You realize that those two groups are closing in on the bandits,"
she yells back to him over the sound of hoofbeats. ~And the cavalry must
think we're stragglers,~ she thinks. She sees that Monacon's group will
cross the border before the cavalry, ~Too bad.~ And calculates that their
group will cross the border ahead of their pursuers, ~We'll still have to
get through the cavalry.~
Asuka is undecided about fighting the Army soldiers, ~We can get
the treasures from Monacon's group after they're dead, except,~ after
scanning the group through her binoculars, ~I don't see anything like a
sword.~ She watches the cavalry shoot some of Monacon's men off their
horses. ~Less bounty, but less to go through to get the treasures.~ Then
the cavalry opens fire on them, that decides for her and Raccoon. She
draws her rifle, and aims for the horses. She sees other officers' horses
going down as the bandits and her group head across the stream that marks
the border.
~Without officers, those men aren't willing to take the risk of
crossing the border themselves,~ Asuka watches Spineless pull one of the
unhorsed bandits on behind him, as they ride out of the trap.
Once it's clear the U.S. Army isn't pursuing, the combined group
slows down.
"They got six of them," Raccoon rides up to her, "Their horses
followed us. As long as they weren't carrying anything on their persons."
"Take a look at our `battle-hardened veterans`," she replies. Ice
Princess and Horseface seem terrified at having been shot at. Spineless is
nervous, Wondergirl is unaffected.
The man who Spineless picked up dismounts, one of the bandits
leads a horse to him.
~Monacon,~ Asuka thinks. Looks at Raccoon, ~He's thinking the
same thing, only Spineless . . . ~
"Why are you here?" Monacon demands, looking over the group from
atop his horse.
"You got there ahead of us," Raccoon tells him, "There was an
armored strongbox on that train, it's full of jewelry and special papers,
for the U.S. Government. You try to blow it up, or smash it open, you'll
destroy half or all of it."
Asuka and Shinji exchange glances, they're silent, ~I appreciate
your chutzpah, Raccoon. But you and I should be glad Ranma doesn't
understand English.~
"I can open it without damaging the contents. I also have
contacts that will let me sell the papers back to the Japanese government."
Asuka keeps her face expressionless, ~Okay Raccoon, I'm ready to
jump out of my skin. What's your next trick?~
"What will it cost?" Monacon wants to know.
"Half of what's in the box, for my people, or equal shares of
everything. Your choice."
Asuka watches Spineless and Wondergirl exchange glances, neither
intends to translate any of this for Horseface or Ice Princess, ~They'd go
into hysterics. They aren't the only ones.~
Monacon agrees to equal shares, "But you get paid, when everybody
gets paid. Even if you have to wait an entire month."
"Agreed," Raccoon tells him, earning a glare from Asuka.
"We should have discussed this beforehand," Asuka tells him.
"When we have the luxury of preplanning," he replies, "Otherwise
we'll have to improvise, both of us."
Asuka frowns at that.
Spineless translates, as Monacon rides among the pilots. "Odd
group," he stares at Horseface and Ice Princess.
"They're Sioux, from Canada, chased there by the 'pony soldiers',"
Asuka tells him, "They don't speak English, or Spanish."
Monacon nods, then stares at Spineless and Wondergirl, he fingers
Spineless's shirt. "And him?"
~Don't faint Spineless,~ she silently implores.
"Cheyenne," Raccoon tells him, "They're no friends of the
Apaches."
Monacon chuckles at that, he turns his horse, "Keep up, we won't
wait for you."
The bandits start out.
"What exactly are you doing?" Asuka demands from Raccoon, she sees
Spineless has ridden close enough to hear the answer.
"Monacon's partner isn't here: even money, he has the sword,
that's our primary target. You agree?" he waits for her and Spineless to
nod, "None of the band have it."
Asuka agrees, "I haven't seen it. But next time tell me your
plans with me beforehand! Even if I disagree, at least I'll know what
you're doing." Spineless drops back to tell the others.
"What are you two whispering about?" one of the bandit `sergeants`
demands.
"Whether I can really open that strongbox," Raccoon tells him,
"And whether we can trust you. Or the Apaches trailing us."
The man spins around, laughing when he doesn't see anything.
Asuka knows Raccoon wasn't joking, they'd both spotted Ranma
watching - something - they couldn't see anything. ~But if Ranma sees
something, it's there.~
Spineless told the others what had occurred. A warning glare from
Ice Princess kept Horseface from screaming.
----------------------------------------
"We're making common cause with these . . . " Ranma finds he lacks
the vocabulary to adequately describe them. Nothing he could think of was
bad enough to actually _be_ an insult. They _were_ filthy, unkempt,
undisciplined, stupid, smelly barbarians, even by their own society's
standards.
"The sword," Rei reminds them.
~I think she's actually enjoying this,~ he watches her return to
Shinji's side. They separate. Ranma glares at the two English-speakers,
~Raccoon thinks we all have to dance to his tune,~ he grimaces, ~At least
that part of the dream is accurate.~ "So why don't _you_ suggest
something?" He quietly chides himself, then glances around. He still
could occasionally spot a single man following them. He couldn't make out
any details. If it was just one man against fifty of them, he had to be
pretty sure of himself, or he had a _lot_ behind him. ~Or he's incredibly
stupid,~ Ranma thinks. He sees a different lone man riding towards them.
Monacon raises a hand, calling a halt.
~Evidently this is where we're going to camp for the night,~ he
watches the others start dismounting.
~Am I glad my`character` can ride a horse,~ Ranma thinks. He
can't believe he could be so stiff and sore from a day of sitting on a
horse. He is jealous, Raccoon and Asuka don't have any problems, ~They
must know how to ride horses for real.~ None of the bandits seem to have
any problems, while someone seems to be stabbing him in the thighs.
One of the bandits swaggers up to Nabiki and Rei, says something that makes
the other bandits in the group laugh. Ranma had heard laughs like that
among the middle schoolers, when they were talking about girls, usually in
a way the girls wouldn't like to be talked about.
Shinji takes Rei's hand, he looks calmly at the man.
~Not daring them to start anything,~ he smiles, ~But claiming
possession,~ Then frowns when Nabiki takes Raccoon's hand, and glares at
the others.
~Speaking of claiming possession! Damned Raccoon!~ he thinks,
~Fine, see if I care!~
Monacon collects a few horses, his ally, and rides off.
~Probably to bury the treasures, like a pirate.~ Ranma is amazed
that Nabiki starts helping Rei make dinner.
----------------------------------------
Nabiki burned about the comments made about and to her. The
bandits had wanted to know 'how much' for her and Rei. She'd quickly
realized what they were saying before Rei translated, despite the language
gap. Ranma had been too far away, and was generally too inattentive, so
she'd teamed up with Raccoon. He'd flatly told them, 'The lady isn't
interested,' again she was guessing. ~Again the white knight. Sorry
Ranma.~
Monacon had laughed that 'Some things aren't worth fighting
about.' Rei had translated that part for her. ~As if I'm not worth
anything,~ she thought. Then Rei had started making dinner, urging her to
assist.
She started helping, with poor grace, glanced at the others. None
of the boys was moving to do anything, Ranma had glared and marched off to
talk with Shinji. She wasn't sure what to do next. One of the men grabbed
her, pulled her up against him, she couldn't understand what he was saying,
she smelled the alcohol on his breath. She readied herself to punch him
out, when Raccoon punched him, pulling her to safety behind him, then the
man came at him.
As she moved around Raccoon to join the fight, Rei took her arm,
"We need to keep a reserve hidden." Nabiki considered hitting the man with
a cast iron skillet, ~Good camouflage,~ she reluctantly agreed with Rei,
watched Raccoon knock the burly bandit down again and again with fists and
kicks.
~Forget this,~ she hefted the skillet, and froze.
The man pulled a pistol, but Monacon had returned. The bandit
chief stepped down on the man's pistol arm until he cried out. Then
shouted at the man and Raccoon.
Nabiki stepped out of the way, and watched Raccoon withdraw a few
steps, to let the other bandit stand up. ~So I'm just a piece of meat to be
fought over?~ she fumed, ~A pretty bed-warmer, a possession?~ Then she had
to admit that was how she'd been treating Ranma, like all his other
'fiances' he was a possession, some_thing_ to be won, not some_one_ to be
wooed. ~So why did you agree to make Ranma jealous? Better question, why
didn't you define the terms better?~ she fought down her fury, at herself,
her family and Raccoon.
Monacon pulled a pocket watch, as the other man stood and steadied
himself. ~That drunk doesn't have a chance,~ she thought, ~It was going to
be a murder, with a semblance of a fair fight.~
Monacon gave a command, then flipped the watch open. It started
playing a tune.
Nabiki was shocked, ~What's wrong with him? Ranma wouldn't look
that thunderstruck if he found out he was pregnant!~ She watched Raccoon as
the tune played, ~Good Grief! I don't think even getting shot will wake
him up!~
Then the tune wound down, and Raccoon drew and killed the man with
one shot.
Nabiki felt sick, ~Another killing, how many more. How many
before I . . . have to kill a _human_._~
Rather than being angry, Monacon called off the bandits, "The man
was stupid, it just means more money for the rest of us." Rei quietly
translated for her.
The gang accepted this, Nabiki watched Ranma march over to
Raccoon, with Shinji in tow. She was afraid that Ranma was going to start
a fight. ~Was Raccoon still in a killing mood?~ she debated whether her
presence would inflame or defuse things. She let out her breath when he
instead demanded, "What Martial Arts did you just use?"
~At least he's consistent,~ she thought, felt relieved at the
return to normalcy. Until she saw the bandits dragging their dead comrade
away. ~I'll never get used to that,~ she admitted to herself, ~Even in
dreams.~
Ranma got an answer he didn't understand: "Savate and Pankration,"
Rei translated Raccoon's response, "Both are older than many martial arts,
Pankration is 2000+ years old, it's from Greece."
Nabiki was glad the demonstration convinced the bandits to leave
her and Rei alone. Although she noted how many eyes followed her as she
laid out her bedroll near Raccoon's, and Ranma's weren't the most hostile
or interested she saw.
----------------------------------------
Shinji awoke suddenly in the early morning twilight. He hears the
jingle of spurs and commands in a language he doesn't understand. Armed
men in dirty clothes surround their camp, as motley a group as Monacon's
followers. Only the blue sashes around their waists mark them as a
faction, their weapons as mixed as their clothing. Monacon's bandits are
frightened of these other bandits, despite outnumbering the newcomers close
to two to one. None of Monacon's bandits seems eager to move. Shinji
realizes they're being reasonable, no one wants to get shot.
He looks around, wishing he understood Spanish, he can recognize
that is the language of these new bandits, then he might understand what is
happening, and what they're telling everyone. ~As if the guns don't make it
all clear.~
One of them, the one with the fanciest clothes, pulled Monacon
from the group, another laughs and grabs Nabiki.
Shinji sees Ranma ready to leap. Shinji grabs his arm, "Getting
killed won't help anyone," he tells him, "I don't see any of the others.
Just trust them."
"I can't," Ranma looks heartsick, "I just can't."
"You have to, you can't beat all of them," Shinji urges, ~Better
to wait. Let the others make their move.~ "_I_ trust them." ~They might
scare me to death,~ he silently admits. "I trust them."
Ranma subsides, the bandits, both groups, relax.
The newcomers toss a rope over a tree limb, while another of their
group makes a small pile of rocks. One of the new bandits ties a piece of
soaking wet rawhide around Monacon's throat, while the rope goes around his
neck, and is pulled tight as Monacon balances on the rocks. Nabiki has her
hands tied to the pommel of a horse's saddle. Another horse-riding bandit
grabs the bridle. The horse trots after, with Nabiki trying to keep up.
"We have to do something," Ranma quietly demands.
"What?" Shinji asks, he worries Ranma's impatience is going to
ruin everything, and get them all killed for no good effect.
The first bullet cut the rope holding Monacon, the choking man
drops to his knees. A second simultaneously kills the leader, a third
splinters the pommel Nabiki is tied to. Then the three snipers begin
gunning down the new bandits. Monacon's men draw their guns and begin a
murderous close-in gunfight. Shinji grabs a gun from a fallen bandit, and
began firing randomly into the air while withdrawing from the enemy.
----------------------------------------
Ranma couldn't bring himself to pick up a gun and kill, or shoot
randomly like Shinji, but equally, he couldn't sit and do nothing. ~We've
got two people out there,~ he darted out into the mess, headed for Monacon,
~He might be the only one who knows where the sword is, and Nabiki's smart
enough to get under cover.~
Ranma dragged Monacon down behind some rocks, after he saw Nabiki
had protected herself the same way. He cut the leather thong from
Monacon's throat, earned a look of silent gratitude from the choking bandit
leader. He watched in horror as the new bandits were annihilated, even
those who tried to surrender.
As Asuka, Rei and Raccoon returned, he followed Monacon back to
the group. The carnage sickened him, especially that none of the three
seemed the least affected by it, ~Maybe they can treat this as unreal, all
an illusion,~ he realized, ~But I _can't_.~
Monacon turned to face them, demanded something. Rei's cold reply
seemed to settle the bandit. He collected his lieutenant and rode off,
with a small group of horses. The others began breaking camp, got ready to
ride. Which Ranma was _not_ looking forward to.
"'Why were you out there?' Monacon demanded," Shinji told him,
"'You didn't set a guard,' Ayanami replied." Shinji shook his head, it was
clear he wasn't comfortable with the carnage either. "Rei asked if they
should search the bodies," Shinji added with disgust. "I'm wondering if
she's playing her role better, or if she naturally thinks that way."
Ranma nodded, he'd been thinking the same thing, he glanced
around, Asuka distributed the weapons and ammunition, while Jeff caught up
the dead bandits' horses. The trio loaded what supplies the dead bandits
had, everyone just leaves the bodies.
"How can you do that, Ayanami-san?" Shinji asked in Japanese.
"We need the supplies," Rei replied in Japanese. The group rode
for a few miles, and stopped for breakfast. Ranma wasn't even slightly
hungry.
----------------------------------------
"When are we going after the treasures?" Shinji wants to know as
they unpack.
"Later," Asuka tells him, "When we can win."
----------------------------------------
Nabiki rode near Jeff, pointing to things, saying the `Japanese`
word and listening to Raccoon's equivalent `English`, trying to learn as
much English as possible. ~Am I doing this to make Ranma jealous, to make
it up to Raccoon, . . . which may be mutually exclusive goals. Or what?
Is that why this is happening? Something is trying to educate us towards
each other?~ She didn't know, and the idea of one of their enemies was
doing that, terrified her. It made no sense, unless it intended to . . .
she couldn't easily think of a way it could be turned against them. The
only way she could turn it against the pilots was so convoluted even Kuno,
or Misato, wouldn't consider it a viable plan. Evidently, all of them had
dreams Sunday night that gave them a feeling of doom, ~Asuka said they were
tests. Boy! Did I ever flunk mine! Am I passing this one? Is that what
this is, test us and destroy the ones who don't make the grade, and what of
those who pass? Or is it the other way around? Destroy those who 'pass'?~
she shuddered, she wanted to ask Shinji or Raccoon about what had happened
to them in the Waking World, but Shinji wouldn't talk about it, and Rei
seemed unwilling to hear the question, let alone translate it.
She glanced back at Ranma, who had been glaring at them as they
rode along, but he'd also been listening to the questions and answers, to
learn `English`.
She was also worried that Raccoon had been looking around, when
Ranma started staring at something. From the look of frustration on the
Sixth's face, she doubted Raccoon was seeing what Ranma was seeing, and
with Ranma's irritation, it was debatable that Raccoon would question the
martial artist about what he saw.
So she asked, "Ranma what do you see?"
"Someone following us," Ranma told her, "Are you sure you can
spare the time to talk with me? Your English lessons seem very important,"
he said innocently.
"We have to be able to communicate," she countered, "You should be
concerned that all our talk has to go through Rei or Shinji. Even the most
simple," the defense sounded weak, she beat down an impulse to tease him
about his jealousy.
Instead, she took a different tack, "You might want to watch your
back, I don't think Monacon is choosy about his partners."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Ranma asked.
Nabiki sighed, "He might prefer you wet, but dry wouldn't stop
him."
Ranma blanched at that.
"That's why, and for no other reason. I'd rather not get raped,
because I'm not `attached` to one of the fighters, that's all it is," she
paused, "That's all it is. It doesn't mean anything else." She watched
Ranma's mount drop back. ~I'm not winning here,~ she thought. The idea of
making Ranma jealous was becoming a less successful tactic as time went by.
~So what _else_ am I supposed to do?~
----------------------------------------
Rei noted the reactions of the town's populace as they rode in, a
look of fear and a closed but not slammed door, as soon as the children
were removed from the street. The gray wood doors in the otherwise
featureless white plaster walls, here and there the plaster had come away,
exposing the brick underneath. No one had made an effort to repair those
blemishes, or add any color to the place, even as graffiti. She also
noticed no people older than about 10 or 12, girls or boys, unless they
were older than 60. She wondered if that was a peculiarity of the place,
or if Monacon's band had depopulated the town.
The strongbox was brought out, and carried into the cantina, a
table was violently cleared, despite the protests of the owner. Monacon
stared at Roku-kun, who brought in a toolkit.
"Open it!" Monacon demanded.
Roku-kun carefully unpacked a drill, wedges, a hammer, and several
vials of chemicals. Rei pushed her way to the front, to carefully take in
his technique. She ignored the pinches and slaps she received, she could
deal with that later.
The drill gingerly attacked the area around the rivets holding the
hinges. A small amount of whitish powder was added, a few drops of a
different liquid. The affected areas smoked slightly.
Then the lock had the same treatment. The bandits waited as
Roku-kun positioned the thin wedges between the lid and the body of the
strongbox. He drove them in, with gentle strokes of the hammer. The snap
of the metal allowed access.
Someone grabbed for the jewelry, Monacon grabbed the man's wrist.
"Wait! We wait until things cool off. Put the lid back on," Monacon
turned to the Second Children and Roku-kun, "Keep the others here. The
division will take place later, when we can actually spend the loot. Then
you can sell the paper and get your cut."
The Second and Roku-kun nodded. Monacon and his lieutenant walked
off with the strongbox, and the small chest containing the gold we'd
offered to Roku-kun and the Second. The sword was not in evidence. Rei
wondered about that, she also looked at the bootprints the pair left as
they carried the load out of the cantina. No one challenged Roku-kun or
the Second Children, to follow Monacon.
The groups separated when Monacon and his lieutenant returned.
As she left to find Shinji-kun, Nabiki-kun caught up with them,
"Do you two want to learn some more of the basics of martial arts? We have
a month to wait," Nabiki-kun said.
Rei thought she sounded out of sorts, wondered what had disturbed
her: ~Did Nabiki-kun need company, need to do something?~ She and
Shinji-kun exchanged glances, then both nodded.
She wondered what they should do: wait, search, kill all the
bandits and search the place completely? What? She wasn't used to
operating independently, she followed orders to the best of her ability.
~Who here gives the orders?~ she wondered, ~I am the FIRST Children, but I
am clearly unsuitable to command.~
----------------------------------------
>From the Journal of Ayanami Rei
The lessons continue what Nabiki had taught us before we arrived
at the Coral Sea. I also note that she tries to get Roku-kun interested in
the lessons. He used a word he'd learned from her Japanese: iie [No]. The
next day, bored by the inactivity, Ranma offers Roku-kun and the Second
Children lessons. They tell him in English to 'Go pound sand.' He angrily
stomped off. I do not believe that is what they meant.
Several of the bandits wanted to see some trick shooting by the
pair of gunmen, the Second urged me to keep my capability hidden,
ironically similar to my warning to Nabiki-kun. Roku-kun's accuracy, 'Is
just frightening,' Monacon comments. The Second Children's quick draw is
faster than Roku-kun's, or any of the bandits. The Second Children brags
that no one can outdraw her.
I have been using the time they had the bandit group distracted,
to mark off the distance Monacon and his lieutenant could have walked
during the time they were gone. This will limit the area the treasures
could be hidden in. I have coordinated with Roku-kun and the Second
Children about searching these areas. Now I know who is in charge, they
command jointly. I wonder how they developed their close rapport, as close
as the Meliorist and the Scholarly Dragon. It is an interesting parallel.
----------------------------------------
Nabiki rushed through the dusty streets to keep up with him.
Ranma was frustrated, "I've had enough! If she's so good, let her prove
it!" Ranma shouted.
"Ranma, don't!" Nabiki urged him, "Don't do this!"
Ranma shook her off, and pointed at Shinji, then Asuka. Shinji
translated the challenge to the redhead. She smiled at him, and tipped her
hat.
Ranma watched in disgust as the bandits let out a shout, most were
already drunk before noon. Ranma listen as Rei announced something loudly
in English, she was clearly unused to shouting, and marched off. ~Probably
denouncing the whole affair,~ Ranma thought, ~What does she know about
honor anyway?~
Ranma followed as Asuka led the entire hollering mass out into the
field where she and Raccoon had their trick shooting exhibition the day
before. He loosened the throwing knives that were part of his `costume`.
Ranma couldn't understand what Raccoon was doing, walking out
between him and Asuka. Ranma ignored the murmurs of the bandits, he also
ignored Nabiki's glare at him, he looked away, not wanting to be
distracted. He also wanted to know what the heck - ~Oh, the target.~
Raccoon faced him, held a bottle over his head, drew his own
pistol. Ranma waited for the signal, Raccoon fired into the ground.
Ranma's throw was fast, nearly as fast as his own body, ~I'll have
to learn this.~
The bottle exploded, showering Raccoon with glass, he seemed a bit
shocked.
~Almost as shocked as I am that he'd risk it,~ he waited for the
congratulations for beating Asuka. "Well?" he shouted, and waited on
Shinji for a translation. ~Maybe Nabiki has a point about the languages.~
He was disgusted with the bandit's disappointment, they'd clearly
expected blood.
"The knife was in the air, thrown with all his skill before the
bullet hit." Shinji paused, waited for the rest of Raccoon's statement,
"At that point, you both died, at least." Shinji struggled to the end of
the translation. For the frown on Asuka's face, Ranma hardly needed a
translation, neither one of them was satisfied by _that_ outcome, a draw.
Shinji translated the rest of what Raccoon said as Asuka marched
away. "Who won would depend on range, longer range favors Asuka, shorter
range favors Ranma."
"Fine," Ranma told the other pilots, "You tell Raccoon that I want
to see if he's as good as he thinks he is."
Shinji opened his mouth to protest, shook his head and shrugged.
The bandits let out a whoop and a holler at the prospect of more free
entertainment. Ranma frowned at that, he was trying to see who the best
was, ~And that pack of morons just wants blood.~
The first throws and shots were fairly routine, the difficulty
ratcheted up quickly. Ranma was straining to keep up. He idly wondered
why Raccoon seemed to be drawing this out, and where Rei had disappeared
to.
----------------------------------------
Night fell, Nabiki was laying out the bedrolls for herself and
Raccoon, in their room. The language gap prevented her from even joking
about sharing blankets, and every time she got close, he shied away. She
didn't press, she didn't need to make him any angrier than he already was.
She hated being 'tolerated'. She wanted to scream 'What do you want from
me?!' at him, but she wouldn't be able to make him understand, ~I'd just be
a hysterical female.~ That he was oh so polite, while in effect, snubbing
her, made it worse. Ranma was acting the same way, staying away from her,
and she wasn't able to keep up with him. She was seriously rethinking this
entire arrangement. With Raccoon about Ranma, with Belldandy about -
everything. ~It isn't worth it. I was always on the outside back `home`,
because of how cold I was. Here I'm too emotional,~ she sighed, ~Not
emotional, angry. Even our enemies are picking on me, reminding me I'm not
as smart as I think I am. Not as in control as I think I am, the one thing
I've got total control over, I had to kill people to get. Asuka should be
having the same problems, but she doesn't. I don't think Rei _has_
problems, just orders and duties. Am I just overthinking things, or
overreacting?~
Rei slipped in, made sure she wasn't being followed. "I found the
treasures," Rei told her, after telling Raccoon. He immediately perked up,
Nabiki resented that Rei turned to him first.
Raccoon told Rei something, she translated for him, "Wake up
Shinji and be ready to fight or run."
Rei and Raccoon left without waiting for her reply, ~Just
expecting me to comply,~ she yanked the door opened a moment after they'd
left, there was nothing out there. ~How did they do that?~ she fumed. She
walked out to find Shinji, and Ranma.
----------------------------------------
Rei led Roku-kun straight to the root cellar where the chest was.
"Only Monacon and his lieutenant have been here," she pointed out the boot
prints. Monacon's were distinctive, his lieutenant's were normal, but the
spacing was correct for the strongbox, they were also much deeper going in
than coming out.
She was glad she didn't have to explain this to Roku-kun. Like
Asuka and Anna, he took her word on faith, not questioning. It was an odd
feeling, it felt good.
Roku-kun's tools opened the locked door, they marched down the
stair into the cool hole, she was disturbed that her night vision was
lacking. She was concerned that their bodies were `normal`, without any of
their enhancements.
At the bottom, in the darkness, she lit a lamp. A large chest was
concealed behind bags of meal.
"It's too small for the sword," Roku-kun quickly picked the lock,
handing her the strongbox of jewelry, and struggled under the weight of the
gold, such a tiny package with such a weight. Rei struggled to carry the
gold to a set of saddlebags, and divided the small ingots into the
saddlebags. She scrambled out to hide the gold while Roku-kun reclosed the
empty chest, and started repacking the treasures into a small satchel.
Without the sword, she knew they were still going to have to continue
playing this game.
She cautiously climbed a tree, to make no noise and draw no
attention to the hiding place, she hung the saddlebags among a heavily
leafed area, hidden from the ground. She rejoined Roku-kun, who was
relocking the door after them. He handed her a small satchel.
"That's the treasures, I left Monacon a special surprise, and
erased all traces we where there," he told her.
She didn't understand what he was implying, but she nodded. She
heard shouts in Spanish.
"They found Saotome," Roku-kun told her, "Get Nabiki and Shinji
out of here!" he urged, then headed towards where the shouting was taking
place. Rei slipped away.
She headed towards Roku-kun and Nabiki-kun's `apartment`, she was
glad she found Shinji-kun was there with Nabiki-kun. "We must go," she
urged, "Saotome has been captured. I have the treasures." She turned to
leave, and was glad that both followed her into the night. She heard the
Second's shouting as they skirted around the horse corrals, the bandits had
picketed it, something they hadn't bothered with before. She knew they
couldn't overcome so many, so she led Nabiki-kun and Shinji-kun out away
from the town and headed out into the desert surrounding the town on foot.
"What are we going to do?" Shinji-kun asked.
"I do not know," Rei told him, "If we are captured, all is lost."
Shinji-kun and Nabiki-kun nodded.
For the sixty-third time since this dream had started, she wished
she was just following orders, instead of operating without them.
----------------------------------------
Asuka felt the bruises and the rope biting into her wrists. She,
Raccoon and Ranma had just gotten the crap beaten out of them. The bandits
had been amusing themselves, instead of giving them a serious beating.
"What's next?" she was pulled to a standing position, and led into
the stables, there she was tied to a post. The bandits chuckled, as they
tied up Ranma and Raccoon the same way in the stable.
Once they were left alone, Raccoon spoke up, "Well, our `camp
followers` would probably get raped, so I sent them out ahead. Langley,
you'll probably be treated as a warrior."
"Thanks," she told him, with a mix of relief and sarcasm, it was
something she hadn't considered, and wasn't happy he'd reminded her.
"Don't relax, all that means is that you'll be treated as we are,"
Raccoon said, "As weird as Monacon and his followers are, that may not be
absolute protection."
Asuka swallowed, glared at him. Then she realized that whatever
happened to her, would happen to Raccoon and Horseface too. That worried
her.
"Katana," Ranma said, "I, katana."
She shook her head. "Oh great," she sighed, "We got close to
first place, but it had to be Mr. Subtlety who found it."
"Could be worse," Raccoon replied. They fell silent as they heard
someone entering.
"Gendo," Asuka said, looking at the Commander of NERV in period
costume, Monacon was walking with him.
"I should have realized these would be hunters," Gendo told them.
Ranma, Asuka and Raccoon exchanged looks, they all understood him.
"When I recognized the Crown Prince and the priestess as I
followed you, I knew you were mercenaries they'd hired. Unfortunate you
interfered. Japan should be pure again," he said with a gleam in his eyes,
"Closed off from the contamination of the outside world. A place of beauty
and honor. But the Mikado will never agree. So, he is shamed by the
losses in a barbarian land, he will be removed. Then we will return to the
old ways. The Day of Redemption and Return is approaching."
Asuka watched Ranma fume as he absorbed the message that was a
perversion of his own beliefs, and the trio considered the implications.
They waited in silence as Gendo and Monacon studied them, then the pair
left.
"What now?" Asuka said, she realized the `mission` had been
betrayed from the start, ~Another lesson? Like last night? What is this,
remedial treachery class?~ "Where have I heard 'The Day of Redemption and
Return' before?" she asked, "And why did he mention it?"
"They haven't killed us, so we're still alive," Raccoon said, "I
haven't heard it before. But I read it somewhere, the details are sketchy,
but it is _not_ good news. The Dragon said 'The stars weren't right' I
would think that precludes the Day of Return." Some moments later, he shed
his ropes, and started cutting her loose with a sharpened coin. The pair
untied Ranma. They slipped out of the stable.
"Rei, Nabiki, Shinji," Raccoon told Ranma, "Katana doko." [Where
sword.]
Ranma grimaced and headed out.
"Weapons?" Asuka asked.
"Weapons," Raccoon agreed. The pair slipped into the darkness
It worried her that Raccoon hadn't been acting normally, he hadn't
been treating this as a game, as she had, but as a purely military
exercise. But he'd completely missed Gendo's inclusion. She ttreated it
was a puzzle to be solved, even last night was a puzzle. You accepted the
insanity and lived the best life you could within it. He seemed to be
taking things far too seriously. ~What did you dream Raccoon. I expect
that kind of behavior from Wondergirl and Horseface,~ she thought ~The
former didn't know any different, and the latter was a hardheaded idiot.
But, old friend, you always defined flexible thinking.~ She spotted a
group of bandits assembling outside the stable behind them. She pointed to
them, drawing Raccoon's attention, he nodded.
~We're walking into a _huge_ ambush,~ she realized, ~The best way
to deal with an ambush is overwhelming firepower, the second it to ambush
the ambushers.~
----------------------------------------
Shinji ducked back into the shadows, hiding from a group of
Amerinds, ~Apaches,~ he guessed. He glanced back, Rei and Nabiki had also
hidden themselves, it was the fourth or fifth such group. Just three to
five men, but it was adding up to a very large number. Most were armed
only with bows or spears, only one that Shinji saw had a gun. From that
man's more elaborate clothing, Shinji guessed he was some kind of leader.
If he could speak their language, he might have considered talking to them.
Finding out if they were here for a fight, or for the reward.
Rei crept up behind him, "We must continue to avoid them."
He nodded, and waited for Nabiki to rejoin them. Then the group
of Apaches reversed their course when Nabiki broke cover. They came
straight at the pilots. Shinji stood and got ready to fight. ~Three
against three,~ he thought, he hoped Nabiki and Rei were as good fighters
as they thought.
The fight was sharp, and short, Nabiki had taken out all three
before they had a chance to close with him and Rei. Nabiki took the bow
and the quiver of arrows from one of the fallen braves. Shinji and Rei
exchanged glances, silently asking 'What got into her?'
----------------------------------------
"There they are," Asuka pointed to their guns, placed in the lap
of a guard with a knife in his belly, "Could they make their trap any more
obvious?"
They scanned the plaza, there was forty feet of empty space
surrounding the corpse, eighty feet to cross to get the guns and get back
under cover. She watched Jeff assemble the derringer from the parts he'd
secreted in his clothes, but that was only two shots.
"I think if we . . . " he started.
She wasn't listening, she started a cartwheel, converted into a
low roll, long enough to get the two pistols, then to a series of front
flips to continue forward to cover across the plaza. She heard the fire
aimed at her, and Raccoon's two covering shots. When she was back under
cover, she flashed him a smile, holding up the two guns.
He was emptying the derringer, he held up the two spent
cartridges. She checked the pistols, both had been emptied. ~Damn!~ She'd
just captured two rather inferior clubs, the knife would have been a better
weapon.
She shook her head, and moved off into the shadows. She was
beginning to realize their opponent was smarter than she had been giving
him, her or it, credit for. They'd have to take out the ambushers to get
ammunition, ~I should have hidden some, somewhere. I'm getting as
complacent as Misato.~
----------------------------------------
Rei was on point. Shinji was close behind her, Nabiki brought up
the rear. They'd encountered a group of eight braves. Nabiki had a better
bow, and three quivers of arrows from that. Shinji had a heavy army rifle
and eight bullets. Rei had a spear and her revolver. And the next group
they came across gave _them_ a wide berth, which was the most welcome part.
The bandits had arranged themselves around the town, but were
facing the wrong way when the pilots or the Apaches came up on them. They
heard war cries and gunfire, indicating more fighting going on, but they
hadn't seen the outcome of these battles. Nabiki had just taken out one of
these guards, who had been shooting at something in the town. Nabiki was
so angry, Shinji hoped the man was just unconscious, then they saw Saotome
breaking cover.
"I found the sword," he told them, "_I_ found the sword," he added
proudly.
"Then why did you reveal yourself, and alert the guards?" Rei
asked, deflating Ranma's ego.
~Rei-san _really_ doesn't like Saotome,~ Shinji thought, ~I don't
think she hates him, but they are contentious.~
"Where is it?" Nabiki demanded, "Let's hope they didn't move it."
Shinji watched Ranma wince from that. Frankly, he wanted out of
this scenario, ~I think the others are getting tired of this as well,~ he
thought.
----------------------------------------
Asuka moved quietly through the town. Since they both had plenty
of ammunition now, the ambushers all had quite a lot, they'd separated to
get as many of the bandits as possible. She spotted Spineless and company,
slipping through town, she picked off two of the bandits who were lining up
on them. Then the other pilots slipped out of sight. She'd have to move
out into the open to cover them directly, and she suspected that she and
Raccoon were the bandits' principal targets. The two killers in their
hideout.
Raccoon's behavior was really starting to worry her, he'd asked
her to leave Monacon to him, if possible, not if practical, not if it was
easy, if possible. She was getting worried, Wondergirl she could
understand playing her part to the hilt, she always went overboard 'being a
good soldier', but she thought she knew Raccoon better, he didn't _do_
things like that. He was the one always cautioning her to stay calm and
collected, 'Keep your mind on the mission.' There were times she wanted to
scream at him for that. She wondered if it was a side-effect of being
unconscious, poisoned by whatever the stuff the L.C.L. had turned into.
She put the memory of that stuff out of her mind. She had to stay
focused to stay alive, to keep all of them alive. ~If possible.~
----------------------------------------
A group of the bandits had cat and moused Jeff into emptying his
pistol's cylinder, and the two survivors weren't likely to give him time to
reload. ~But, the LeMat has another name,~ he smiled as he set his trap.
The two burst into the room where he waited. The shotgun blast
killed both of them, Jeff carefully unscrewed the barrel extension off the
central barrel that gave the LeMat its other name: 'Grapeshot revolver',
replacing it in the detachable stock. Then he laboriously reloaded the
nine pistol rounds, and the central shotgun barrel. He was confused that
all the bullets from everyone's guns fit everyone elses. It wasn't
reality, but it was a tiny mistake that made things a lot easier. He set
off to find the others.
----------------------------------------
Asuka caught up with the other pilots again, she noted when a
bandit had been drawing a bead on her, he fell to Raccoon's marksmanship.
~Overwatch,~ she smiled, ~He isn't completely gone.~
Then the others came under fire, she couldn't see where the fire
was coming from. She moved to where she could better support them. She
saw Raccoon point at a building, while the others hid behind a wagon. He
circled around to attack the building from behind. Wondergirl saw Raccoon
too, she pushed the wagon as a mobile barricade, to catch the gunmen
between her group and Raccoon, while Asuka kept up a steady harassing fire.
The gunshots after the wagon smashed into the building were all
the higher, sharper sound of Raccoon's LeMat, rather than the sounds like
her Colt. Spineless and company scrambled out in one direction, Raccoon
moved off to be in a position to support them.
~Time to move,~ she'd been keeping track of her kills, she figured
Raccoon was doing as well as she was, that meant nearly half the band were
gone now. ~A lot of money,~ she joked as she moved off.
----------------------------------------
Shinji followed Ranma as he led them to an otherwise nondescript
building.
Shinji shot the lock off, and regretted it immediately. ~I don't
care if this is a dream, my shoulder _hurts_.~ He led the way down,
reloading the single-shot rifle as he walked down the stairs into the
cellar dug into the hard ground. Ranma, Nabiki and Rei followed him. They
got immediate proof the sword was still here, when Gendo nearly took his
head off with it. Shinji barely got the rifle up to catch the blow, the
rifle discharged uselessly.
"Father?!" Shinji could hardly believe it. Again he barely got
the rifle barrel in the way of the sword. He couldn't retreat, Ranma had
crowded in behind him, trying to take over the fight. Except on the narrow
stairway, Shinji couldn't get out of the way, not without losing his head,
literally.
"Give me some room!" Shinji insisted, as he squared off against
his father.
Nabiki thrust Rei's spear over his head, and only managed to get
it chopped in half. Shinji was distracted by the falling shaft, and that
nearly killed him.
~If Saotome wants this fight so much,~ Shinji bumped into him
again, ~He should let me run away, then I could let him try his luck
against father.~ He heard the trapdoor into the cellar open, he wondered
who was running away, and why. He wished he could run away too, he doubted
Saotome would defeat his father, with only his bare hands, before he was
badly wounded. He was doing better with the rifle than Saotome would do
empty-handed.
----------------------------------------
Outside the cellar, Nabiki noted Rei was forcing her way into the
building, ~Probably to get at `Gendo` through the floor.~ Nabiki wanted to
find one of their two gunfighters. She doubted any of the others could
`kill` Gendo, ~Rei could never bring herself to do it, the rest of us,~ she
admitted to herself, ~Could never kill anyone.~
The sounds of gunfire had slackened, so she hoped that meant they
were - done. That bothered her even more, she knew these men were
criminals, even by the lax standards of the time. ~But gunning them down
for money doesn't feel right. There are some things no amount of money
could make me do,~ she almost laughed at that thought, ~Some people might
not believe that.~
She heard the difference between Raccoon's and Asuka's pistols,
and the bandits' weapons. Then she heard Raccoon calling out, it was
easier to track his voice, ~Boy does he sound angry!~ she wondered how
Asuka had screwed up to make him yell like that. She headed in that
direction. The gleam of gold caught her eye, a pocket watch, she thought
it was Monacon's, it looked just like it. She heard one more shot, a
bandit's, then silence. She opened the watch, it played the same tune,
then she looked at the picture carefully pressed into the cover.
"Oh SHIT!" she broke into a run. "He wouldn't do that!? Would
he?" She spotted a dead bandit. She relieved the corpse of the pistol and
gunbelt he wore over one shoulder. She heard Monacon's voice now. She
didn't recognize the words, but the phrasing she remembered from the duel
between Raccoon and the gunman who'd assaulted her, then she ran to where
she thought Raccoon and Monacon were.
----------------------------------------
Rei pulled the last of the floor boards away, and dropped behind
`Gendo`. She realized she couldn't kill him, he was too much like the
Commander. But they only needed the sword, she picked up a handful of
dried beans and threw them, a handful of corn cobs followed, ~If I can
distract him enough, Saotome, Shinji-kun and I can disarm him without
harming him.~ She hoped that would work. Another handful of beans, those
seemed to work best, complicating his footing even if she missed her
target. She increased to a steady barrage, scattering the entire bag on
the floor when it was light enough.
"I'll kill you for your interference!" `Gendo` screamed as he
awkwardly charged her.
She was frozen for a moment, ~This thing couldn't possibly be the
Commander!~
She saw Shinji-kun take advantage of the distraction, to bring his
rifle barrel down on the imitation Commander's head. Rei grabbed the
sword, as the thing she had hoped would be the Commander, fell. She still
refrained from killing him, it was unnecessary to win. She took the sword
and ran for the stairs, the silence outside had worried her. She hadn't
expected the Second Children and Roku-kun to finish so quickly, or to be
silent about their success.
When she approached a large open plaza, and things became clear.
Nabiki-kun had her bow drawn and pointed at Monacon, she had a pistol belt
slung over her shoulder like a handbag. Rei heard her call Roku-kun 'A
careless old man,' and was walking between Roku-kun and Monacon, who had
kept his hand away from his pistol. Rei glanced around, saw Roku-kun's
pistol lying in the dirt about a dozen feet from him. She didn't
understand why Nabiki-kun didn't shoot the man herself. Roku-kun was
reaching around Nabiki-kun, unbuckling the pistol belt. He buckled it
around his waist as she stepped away. Nabiki-kun still kept her bow aimed
at Monacon while she walked back to where Rei stood. Rei heard Shinji-kun
and Saotome arriving. They stopped at the edge of the plaza, watching one
or the other of the combatants. As Nabiki-kun sat down, Rei heard the
tune. She'd heard it before, when Roku-kun had killed the man who
assaulted Nabiki-kun, but it wasn't coming from Monacon, but from the watch
Nabiki-kun had.
Rei sat next to Nabiki-kun, they watched Monacon sweat, ~He has to
know we won't interfere with the duel,~ Rei loosened her pistol
unobtrusively, ~If the bandit kills Roku-kun, I will kill him the next
moment.~ She didn't understand, but Roku-kun had trusted her, she would
have to trust him, and the others.
Roku-kun waited, both he and Monacon seemed to know exactly how
long the song played. Monacon's hand moved slowly up towards his pistol.
The bandit's hand had close on his pistol as a shot rang out.
Their last foe flew back to the edge of the plaza. Roku-kun recocked the
pistol, keeping it pointed at his victim.
When the man didn't move, Roku-kun walked over, he kept his pistol
on him as he carefully removed the watch from the dead man's hand. Rei
walked towards him, noted that Nabiki-kun fell in beside her. Nabiki-kun
handed him the duplicate watch. Rei saw the photograph inside: two boys
and an older woman.
"Family resemblance?" Nabiki-kun asked, Rei translated as Roku-kun
took the proffered watch.
"Naturally," he said quietly, staring out across the plaza,
"Between a mother and her two sons," Roku-kun carefully replaced the
watches in his vest pockets.
"I thought pilots were only children," Shinji-kun said, then he
remembered, "Your brother? He died."
"No pilot has siblings," he replied, "When they become a pilot.
If you have the sword, then it's over, where's Langley?"
Rei watched the others look around, she spotted the figure
recovering the gold-filled saddlebags from where she had hidden them.
"I think we're all rich!" the Second had collected all the dead
bandits in a wagon.
~Logical,~ Rei thought, ~They were worth money, and it was a way
of ensuring she had them all.~ She watched as the Second added Monacon to
the pile, Roku-kun was checking his pistol.
"With this hit on the cylinder, I wasn't sure it would still
work."
"Then how what - were you going to do?" Shinji-kun asked.
"Knife and derringer, I figured I'd get him before he got me."
"Shouldn't this be over?" Ranma asked. The Second seemed to be
recounting her collection.
While Shinji translated, Rei saw the movement, turned and fired.
The Second saw the armed man fall from his concealed position,
"Thanks Wondergirl. I was wondering why it didn't add up, bad math, very
distressing," she checked again, "That's all of them." She threw the last
corpse in the wagon, then brought the gold back to Shinji, "Better you keep
track of this, Spineless." Shinji-kun staggered under the load.
----------------------------------------
They rode back across the border, disinterring the other bodies
killed by the other bandits, Roku-kun and the cavalry on their way. The
reward for all the bandits was considerable. Although both Jeff and Asuka
found the Cavalry Captain and U.S. Marshall's reaction to their proof
amusing. Once they were back at the train, they also earned the reward for
the safe return.
"What are we going to do now?" Ranma asked, "We did everything: We
got the sword, killed the bad guys, and got back here, you two got paid.
There's nothing else." Shinji automatically translated.
They were all sitting in the Prince's railcar, waiting while the
engine got up a full head of steam.
"There is one thing we haven't done," Jeff stood up and walked
out. The others followed as he climbed down the stairs to the hardpan.
"There's a question that we have not answered," he drew his
pistol.
"What's that?" Asuka asked.
"What's the others' freedom worth?" he replied, flipped the pistol
up and under his chin, and pulled the trigger.
----------------------------------------
"NOOOOO!" Nabiki crashed onto the floor of the room. She
painfully glanced at Asuka, who was also lying on the medical room floor.
"Ow!" Asuka said, then shouted as she realized she still had the
Colt in her hand. The two looked up from the floor at Rei, who was sitting
up with the covers pulled over her, staring at them.
"Roku-kun?" she asked, and the pair charged out of the room. Rei
pulled the covers aside, revealing the costume of the priestess she still
wore. It was the softest silk she'd ever felt and completely without the
maddening seams. It didn't chafe as ordinary clothes did. She wondered if
it was a bribe, to bring the others to the conclusion she, and obviously
Roku-kun, had come to.
She extracted the Schofield pistol she had been left. She
considered the contest, yesterday the opponent had weakened them as much as
possible, tormented them all mercilessly, in ways they didn't even know
they could be injured. Then battled the wounded pilots in earnest, and
lost. As a result, their opponent had decided to withdraw. Not victory or
defeat, but non-participation.
She also wondered at the tokens they had been granted for their
victory, the weapons would only be useful against other humans. Was that
warning also part of their accolade?
Rei sighed, laid back down, closed her eyes. It was too difficult
to think about. She did wonder when Nabiki-kun would realize she was still
carrying Roku-kun's pistol.
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