Standard Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters of Ranma or the Matrix. They belong to other people. I admit I did make up Captain Patch and his ship the Argos. At least, I'm pretty sure that I did. Maybe it was just those itty bitty voices in my head. Anyway I work for the US Navy, I have a wife and two kids. What I'm basically trying to say is that I am broke all the time. Don't bother suing. It would do no good.

RANMA UNPLUGGED

Chaper One: Welcome To The Real World

Ring, Ring

Unidentified Signal Detected. Trace Initiated

"It's me. I have news."

Voice Ident: Perp008936 NEO

"This could be traced."

Voice Ident: Perp 006253 MORPHEUS

"That's not a problem."

Trace Program Error. Diagnostic Cycle Starting

"Are you saying you found him already?"

"Believe me, it wasn't difficult."

"Link noted an explosion in the area. Did you encounter Agents?"

"No, it involved the target."

"What do you mean?"

"There was an incident involving him and a girl who is his fiancé."

"Is he safe?"

"Yeah, but he's going to have one hell of a headache from that mallet of hers."

"Mallet?"

Diagnostic completed. No Faults Found. Resuming Trace Program.

"Yeah, I'll explain when I get back. I think we may have two potentials now."

"Okay, Link says the nearest exit is a payphone outside a place called Nekohanten."

"Got it; I'm on my way."

Click

Signal Aborted. Trace Incomplete. Content Filed For Further Investigation.


An hour later, the crew of the Nebuchanezzar was gathered around the table in their mess hall while Neo told the rest of them what he had seen while inside the Matrix. The looks he received at the end of his tale were of shock and unbelieving. Not that he could blame them. He barely believed it himself.

"You're saying she pulled a material object out of thin air?" Morpheus asked.

"Yeah, one minute she was running at him with her hands over her head and the next minute, WHAM! He was plastered to the wall after the mallet hit him. It didn't look like it did anything more than knock him out," Neo replied, taking a sip from his water cup.

"And you think we should pull her out as well," Link said.

Trinity answered for Neo. "I don't think we have much of a choice. God knows I could have used that ability quite a few times myself. Besides, wouldn't pulling both of them out at the same time help them to make the transition, seeing as how they are engaged and all? They could lean on each other for support."

Link laughed. "I don't know. I mean how good can the relationship be if she clobbers him with a mallet she pulls out of thin air?"

"She does seem to have a problem with her temper, but I think a good amount of training in the construct will be most helpful," Neo remarked, smiling at Trinity.

"And just what is that look for?" Trinity asked. "You don't think I have a problem with my temper, do you?"

"Well, Tank did say something about you tearing apart the Lady in the Red Dress back when I first was pulled out."

The look Trinity gave him made Neo think about looking to see if his old room onboard was still habitable. Morpheus brought them both back to the issue at hand.

"Very well, then. If were going to get them both then we will need help from the Argos in case their modules aren't together. No matter what they will both be assigned to and trained here. Link, contact the Argos and tell Captain Patch that we will require his assistance. Well handle the extractions from the inside ourselves so he doesn't have to risk his crew within the Matrix itself."

"I think we should set up a third extraction chair and trace pill, just in case," Link suggested. "After all we've never done a double before and it would be better to have a back up."

"Agreed. If that's all then let's get everything set up. We also need to arrange a meet with those two." With that, the meeting ended and everyone got to work.


Ranma Saotome awoke with a headache and was quite surprised. Not so much that he had woken up or had a headache. That was pretty average for him. What surprised him was the fact that he had woken up in his room at the Tendo Dojo. He took a quick look around to be sure that he really was where it appeared he was. That's when he got his second surprise. Sitting in the corner of his room was the person who had caused his headache in the first place. From the look of it, Akane seemed to have been asleep for sometime.

Sitting up, Ranma rubbed the back of his head and replayed the events of the day in his mind. He remembered leaving the school after the last bell and running over to Ukyos for a free okonomiyaki. Just when he was about to take his first bite, the door slammed open to reveal a fuming Akane. Before Ranma could say anything, she had knocked him unconscious with that magically appearing mallet of hers. The next thing he remembered was waking up in his room.

"But that would mean . . . Nah. she couldn't have done that. There's no way that Tomboy would have done that," thought Ranma. His eyes fell on the package at Akanes knees. He realized it was a bento box. Suddenly, Ranma vaguely remembered that Akane had been holding it when she stormed into Ukyos.

"Ranma, theres someone here to see you," Nabikis voice yelled from downstairs. Slowly, Ranma got up, careful not to do so too fast after having been clobbered in the head. Before he left, Ranma took his blanket and wrapped it gently around Akane's still sleeping form. He then quietly walked out of his room and down the stairs.

"Ranma Saotome?" the man at the door asked.

"Yeah, thats me," Ranma replied.

"I have a delivery for you." The courier handed him a small package. Ranma signed for it and thanked the courier, who then took his leave despite the tea Kasumi was offering him.

Ranma looked over the package. He found a note attached and, opening it, saw that it merely said to open the package only when he was alone. This made Ranma immediately suspicious, especially since there was no return address on the small box.

"That's weird," came Nabiki's voice from behind him. Ranma jumped in shock and took a minute to catch his breath. "Who is it from?"

"I don't know," Ranma replied. "There's no return address on the package. It has to be from somewhere close by though. There isn't much postage and the stamp is from Tokyo."

Nabiki eyed the parcel suspiciously. "Maybe it's from Shampoo or Cologne. It has been a while since they tried something to trick you into complying with that marriage law of theirs. There's also Kodachi and her poisons."

"Well, I'll never know if I don't open it. I think I'll go to the dojo. There's less to damage there and no chance of anyone else getting hurt in case it is dangerous."

Ranma walked out to the dojo and closed the doors behind him. He moved to the center of the floor and sat down cross legged with the package in front of him. Cautiously he sniffed the package and, after not passing out or being unable to move, decided that there were no poisons in it. Carefully he tore into the brown paper and opened the small box inside. Ranma tilted it down and caught a small cell phone that had tumbled out. He eyed it closely and then nearly dropped it when it suddenly rang in his hand.

"Hello," Ranma answered.

"Satisfied that the phone is safe?" The voice on the other end asked him.

This caused Ranma to blink. He quickly looked around the dojo, but found that he was still alone in the room. He returned the phone to his ear.

"Who is this?" he asked, a touch of rage in his voice.

"I don't have a lot of time. This is probably being traced. We need to meet. I have information for you that I believe you will find to be of extreme interest given your present situation. There is an old warehouse about five blocks from where you are now. Meet me there in an hour."

"WAIT, WHAT IS THIS ALL ABOUT!" Ranma yelled into the phone.

"Oh and bring your fiancé with you. She needs to hear this, too. She should be waking up now."

With that, the line went dead on the other end. Ranma stared at the phone before deciding what he was going to do. While the arrival of the phone had been weird and the phone conversation even weirder, he reasoned he had no choice but to investigate further. The caller had talked about his present situation and the only thing Ranma could think that meant was his curse. It sounded like the person was offering him a cure. Ranma thought about that. He had grown used to his curse. Sure it was an inconvenience to him, but he didn't hate it anymore. At least not like he used to. It had even helped him out of a few trouble spots at times. Still if there was a chance at a cure, he had to go, if not for himself then for everyone else he knew that had a curse.

But why did they want Akane there? Maybe it was going to be something painful or difficult and they thought it would be good to have her there for support. Not that she ever gave him much but the other person did know she was his fiancée so he probably just reasoned that it was natural for her to be there for him. Ranma laughed. Weren't they in for a surprise.

Finally Ranma made his decision. He got up and, pocketing the phone, walked out of the dojo and into the house. When he got to his room, he noticed that the doors were still closed. Not wanting to get Akane upset by just barging in, Ranma knocked gently. When he didn't hear anything, he opened the door slowly. Akane was still asleep in the corner, though it did look like she was beginning to wake up. By the time Ranma got to her she was fully alert.

"Hey, Akane, I need to talk to you for a minute."

The rage that had been building in Akane for finding herself in Ranmas room subsided when she noted the nervous look on his face. She calmed herself down and decided to hear what he had to say. She nodded at him to continue as he sat down in front of her. Fifteen minutes later a curious Ranma and Akane were heading for the abandoned warehouse.


"They're on their way to you now, sir."

"Okay, Link, stand by to find their locations when they wake up," Morpheus replied.

"You sound pretty sure that they'll take the red pill. I know you can't believe it will be that easy to convince them."

"I know it won't but I also know that we need to get them out. They have skills we desperately need. Is the Argos ready for the extraction?"

"Yes, sir. They're standing by."

"Very well. I'll call when were ready."

Morpheus killed the line and went back to inspecting the chairs.


Neo saw them coming up the street and was instantly on guard. Instead of the young man and woman he was expecting, there came two women. One he recognized as Ranmas fiancé. The other was a young buxom redhead that looked vaguely familiar. She looked like she had encountered a freak rain storm as she was wringing some excess water out of her shirt. It also seemed strange that Ranmas fiancé was holding onto her arm. He stopped them at the door to the warehouse.

"Can I help you two with something?" he asked the redhead.

"You tell us." Ranma-chan replied. "You're the one who sent me the phone and arranged this meeting, aren't you?"

Neo was taken aback at her answer. He looked closely at the redhead and then it dawned on him. "Ranma Saotome?"

"Yeah, that's right. You seemed surprised."

"Well the last time I checked on you, you were a guy." Neo looked beyond Ranma to Akane. "You are a girl, right?"

Akane instantly fumed. "Of course I'm a girl," she yelled. "I'm not the one with the curse." She stopped and regarded Neo's face. It was one of puzzlement. "Wait a minute. You mean you didn't know about Ranmaa curse?"

Neo shook his head. "We are interested in Ranma for his fighting abilities and you for your little mallet trick. I didn't know anything about a curse although it would explain our man's reports about you being highly unusual."

"Well if you didn't know about my curse, then you didn't call me hear to talk about a cure. What is this all about?" Ranma was getting increasingly frustrated when Neo's last words hit him. "What do you mean 'your man'?"

Neo regarded them before answering. "It's not my place to explain. That will be done inside. Uh, is there anyway for you to change back before we go in. It would make things go smoother."

Akane pulled a thermos from behind her back. She opened it and poured the steaming contents over her fiancé's head, returning him to his male form. Satisfied, Akane threw the canister away. She had a feeling she wouldnt need it any longer.

"Glad I thought ahead?" she asked a now male Ranma.

Ranma nodded. "Does that old lady water all the sidewalks in Nerima or what?"

Seeing that they were as ready as they would ever be, Neo gestured for them to proceed inside. They followed him up to the eighth floor and through a door into the next room. Inside they found a tall black man wearing a formal black suit and sunglasses that seemed to be clipped to his nose. He bowed to them in greeting which Ranma and Akane returnedout of habit. He motioned for them to sit in two chairs in the middle of the room while he sat in the one facing them.

"Hello, Ranma and Akane. My name is Morpheus. I expect you have many questions. First let me ask you one. Have you ever had that feeling that there was something not quite right with the world you live in? That it seemed like a dream you can't wake up from?"

Ranma and Akane looked at each other and sighed. Finally Ranma spoke.

"You haven't been watching me for a long time, have you? Just about everything that goes on in my life doesn't feel right. I have three fiancés, none by my choice, my dad changes into a panda, I change into a girl, and every week it seems that somebody new comes around looking to either kill me or marry me. Now what about any of that seems right to you?"

This apparently was all news to Morpheus as he had the most surprised expression on his face. He looked to Neo who merely shrugged and shook his head. Morpheus turned back to the young couple.

"It seems our operative's report was not as specific as it should have been. Be that as it may, that wasn't exactly what I meant. I usually wait until after a person is unplugged to tell them this much. What if I told you that the world you think you live in wasnt real? What if I told you it was all a dream and I could give you the chance to wake from this dream? Would you take the chance?"

Morpheus gauged their reaction. Surprisingly, he didn't see the disbelief he usually got. Instead it looked as if Ranma and Akane were contemplating what they had heard and were trying to make up their minds as if he had asked if they wanted tea or coffee to go with breakfast.

Ranma and Akane looked at each other after a few minutes and nodded. They didn't fully believe all that they had just been told but it did seemed to make sense given how chaotic their lives were. Finally they both looked at Morpheus. Akane spoke first.

"If this place isn't real, then I dont think it makes any sense for us to stay here. There is one thing I'd like to know. Is the real world any better?"

Morpheus sighed. He hated this question. "I really can't tell you yes or no. That will be for you to decide. However, I will say this. If we are successful in getting both of you out of this place, I promise you will be allowed to stay together."

Hearing this, Ranmas pulse quickened though he kept his outward appearance neutral. Unknown to him, Akane was also doing the same thing. He looked at Akane, who nodded to him. Ranma sighed.

"I guess were in. What do we have to do?"

Morpheus pulled two containers from his jacket pocket and opened them. Inside each was one red pill and one blue one. He held these out to Ranma and Akane. "An important step in this is the fact that you must openly and voluntarily decide to do this. If you take the blue pill, you go back to sleep and, when you awaken, you will remember none of this and be able to continue to live out the rest of your lives in this place. Take the red pill and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes. Whichever you choose, know this. There is no turning back once you have taken either one."

Ranma and Akane paused for only a moment before they both took the red pill and swallowed them down. They were then led by Neo and Morpheus into the next room where they found three barber-like chairs arrayed around a computer terminal. Behind the terminal was a young woman clad in skin tight leather from the neck down. She seemed to be inputting some final commands into the terminal. She looked up to Morpheus and nodded.

"We are ready then? Good. Ranma if you would sit back in this chair and Akane in this one." He helped Akane into her chair and put some pads connected to wires on Akanes head. Akane turned to see that Neo had done the same to Ranma. "The pills you took are part of a trace program that will allow us to locate your modules and get you after you wake up."

Akane started looking nervous. "This isn't going to hurt, is it?" She asked, a tremble in her voice. She looked to Ranma who surprised her by offering his hand. She surprised him even more by taking it.

Neo was about to answer her when the door to the room suddenly slammed open.

"Great, now where am I?" Ryoga asked. He looked around the room and saw Akane seated in her chair hooked up to a monitor and, even worse, holding Ranmas hand. "Akane, what are you doing?"

Neo moved between Ryoga and the others while Morpheus frantically dialed a number in his cell phone.

"Operator."

"Link, you're supposed to be keeping a look out. How the hell did this guy get here?"

"I don't know, sir," Link replied. "One minute the room was empty save for all of you and the next he was there. It was almost as if he came in from another part of the system."

"That's impossible. Nobody has that much control, not even Neo."

"I just call them as I see them, sir."

"Fine, Link. Signal the Argos to stand by for the extraction."

Morpheus ended the call and told everyone what Link had told him. Only Ranma and Akane didn't seem surprised by this. Finally Neo spoke up.

"If he can do this, he doesn't seem to be aware of it. If he could get control of this ability, there's no limit to what he could do for us."

Morpheus nodded. "I guess it's a good thing we have the extra equipment plus the Argos. Now all we have to do is convince him to go."

Ranma, who had overheard all this smiled and spoke up. "That's no problem. Watch this." He turned to Ryoga and yelled to him. "Hey, Ryoga, Akane and I are going on a training journey. You wanna join us?"

During all this Ryoga had been scratching his head and trying to figure out just what the hell was going on. To him it had seemed as if he had stepped into some cheesy horror movie where mad scientists were doing experiments on people he knew. He finally registered the last words that Ranma had said. He looked at Akane, she nodded uneasily. That made his decision.

"Wherever Akane goes, I go. What do I have to do?"

Morpheus came up to him and guided him to the last chair. Trinity handed the last pill container to Morpheus, who opened this in front of Ryoga. "If you want to go with them, then you take the red pill. If you don't then you..."

Morpheus didn't get the chance to finish as Ryoga grabbed the red pill and immediately swallowed it. With that Neo helped him into the last chair and hooked the monitors to him. Morpheus had meanwhile pulled out his phone once more.

"Operator."

"Link, a change in plans. There will be three people coming out."

"Understood, sir. I hope this works."

"So do I. Have you found them yet?"

"I just got a lock on the first two. Damn, we lucked out. Their pods are right next to each other. Ten seconds to extraction."

Morpheus looked at Trinity and counted down. At zero, he signaled her and she hit a final button on the console. Ranma and Akane jolted in their seats and immediately saw all black.


Ranma awoke once again with headache. His eyes burned and he immediately shut them. After a few minutes, he slowly opened them again. He looked around and was shocked to find he was not in his room. Finally Ranma focused on the nearest body to him. It was Morpheus.

Morpheus leaned over Ranma. "Welcome to the real world." This was the last thing Ranma heard before he passed out again.


When Ranma woke up again, he found himself in a cramped, dark room surrounded by metal walls and pipes. He sat up slowly and was immediately racked with pain, forcing him to lie down again. He wondered if this were all a dream. To convince himself, he slowly moved his hand to his face and pinched his cheek. The pain he felt did two things: yell out and decide that this was definitely not a dream. He tried sitting up again and, though it still ached, he was able to hold himself up. He looked over his body.

The first thing Ranma noticed was that his muscles seemed to be less developed as if he had never been training in his Art for the twelve years he remembered doing so. His flesh was pock marked by what looked like circular electronic plugs. That's when he felt the main source of his pain and reached his hand to the back of his neck. There he found a huge plug with a large hole in the center. He also found that his pigtail, or for that matter his hair as a whole, was gone, cut down to near nothing. It was just like the haircut that wacky school principle had tried to give him ever since he had returned to the school from that Hawaii place.

Ranma searched his mind to try and piece together what had happened to him. He vaguely remembered that Morpheus guy welcoming him to the real world. Before that he had suddenly woken up to find himself inside a vat of red goo with all kinds of wires plugged into him. He recalled some machine like out of a bad Sci-fi movie looking him over then grabbing his neck. Next came the pain of the cables detaching themselves from him and then of the main interface unscrewing from the back of his neck. There was a sensation of falling into some kind of lake and then being picked up by a claw like he had seen at some of the arcades back in town. The only thing he could remember prior to all this was him and Akane sitting in their chairs back in the warehouse.

That made Ranma look frantically around. AKANE! Where was she? He tried to stand up to go looking for her and felt his legs give out. He began to fall forward and was immediately caught by a pair of hands.

Neo had just come into the room when he saw Ranma pitching forward under his own weight. He barely moved in time to catch him, dropping the tray of food he had brought to him.

"Whoa, take it easy. You don't want to move around too fast just yet. Your body still needs some time to gather its strength. After all, you haven't used your muscles in almost 17 years." Neo gently eased Ranma back onto his bed. He then sat down in a chair that was nearby. He looked Ranma over and wondered if he had really looked the same back when he had been pulled from the Matrix. Neo couldn't remember too much about that time either. Like Ranma, all he could recall about it were bits and pieces.

Ranma settled himself in a reclining position and rested his head on his knees. Looking over to Neo, he spoke only one word.

"Akane?"

Neo smiled. "She's just fine, though like you she is feeling a little weak and disoriented. Trinity is with her now, I imagine. We really lucked out. Your modules were right next to each other, so you both came out in the same place. We grabbed her right after we pulled you in."

Ranma looked around at his surroundings. "Where are we?" He asked.

"You're on a hover ship called the Nebuchanezzar. Morpheus is captain of the ship. My name is Neo, by the way."

"Morpheus? Neo? Trinity? What kind of names are those? Your parents must have had a warped sense of humor," Ranma laughed.

Neo laughed as well. "It's good to see you didn't lose your sense of humor. Actually I was known as Thomas Anderson back when I was still a part of the system. Neo was my hacker alias. I was pretty good, too. That's why they pulled me out, among other reasons." No sense giving him too much to absorb at once, Neo thought.

Ranmas eyes widened suddenly. "Hey, I remember now. Nabiki said something about you hacking the Japanese Nikon market one time. She was quite impressed. The fact that you made her a couple thousand yen didn't hurt either."

Now it was Neo's turn to be surprised. "That must have been that 'Nabs' person who sent me the email after that congratulating me. Never did find out who she really was. They pulled me out a couple weeks later."

Ranma suddenly had a cold thought. "Neo, what about my family and friends back home? Will I ever get to see them again?"

Neo sighed and shook his head. "I'm afraid not. For all intents and purposes you, Akane, and Ryoga are dead in that world. I'm afraid it's just too dangerous to see them again, both for you and them."

"What do you mean?" Ranma asked.

"That will be explained later," Neo replied. "For now, try to get some rest. You're going to need it for your training tomorrow." With that Neo got up and opened the door. Before he could leave, Ranma called out to him.

"You mentioned Ryoga. Did he make it here ok, too?"

"His pod was in another area of the system, so another ship made the pick up. We're heading to a rendezvous point to pick him up now. Dont worry they've been healing his body just like we have been doing to yours. I know you feel really weak compared to how you were in the Matrix. Your muscles have atrophied since you haven't been using them all your life. We've done what we can using acupuncture and electroshock therapy. The rest you will just have to do on your own the old fashioned way. Get some sleep for now. Like I said, you're going to need it."

Neo walked out and closed the door behind him. Just minutes after he left, Ranma was once again fast asleep. He found himself dreaming of Akane.


Neo headed up to the ship's bridge. On the way, he met up with Trinity who was heading in the same direction.

"How is Akane doing?" he asked.

"Resting right now. She wanted to see Ranma right away, but I didn't think it was a good idea seeing as how I didnt know what his condition was. It wasn't easy but I finally calmed her down."

"Is it always like this? This is the first time I've helped to unplug someone."

"I'll tell you this. It never gets any easier. Even with the children because they're so dependant on their parents. Its tough to just forget everything you were and knew."

"They left behind a lot of people. Do you think they will be able to fully let go?"

"Well, they have each other, at least. That's a start. Well be meeting up with the Argos soon to pick up their friend. That should help as well especially with all the training."

They soon found themselves on the bridge. Link and Morpheus were already there waiting for them.They came to the forward window and scanned the landscape looking for a sign of the other hovership.

"We're still a little early," Morpheus said, settling back into his pilot's chair. "They aren't supposed to be here for another ten minutes or so." He pulled his black knit cap onto his head and closed his eyes. "So how are our newest members doing?"

"Sleeping at the moment, though they are quite anxious to see each other again," Neo replied. He was still looking out the window for the Argos. Trinity came up behind him and put a hand on his shoulder. Neo grinned. "Hey, Morpheus, do we have another room with a double bed. I have a feeling they are going to want it."

Morpheus just chuckled. "We'll see how things go, but I think we can arrange something."

"Got something coming up on the scopes," Link said. He adjusted a few dials on the holographic projector in front of them. Slowly, but a little more clearly with each second, another ship appeared that looked like the Nebuchanezzar. "We should see them in a second."

As soon as he said this, the other ship appeared on the horizon. It approached slowly and cautiously before finally touching down just in front of Morpheus' ship. Trinity, Neo, and Morpheus went aft to the airlock, grabbing their pulse weapons on the way. You could never be too careful. A sentinel just might wander by. Outside, they made their way to the hatch that was opening on the other ship. A tall, muscular man with graying hair and a goatee approached Morpheus. He looked a little worse for wear sporting a bandage on his nose and a black eye. Behind him came two other crew members carrying a stretcher with a sleeping Ryoga on it.

"You really owe me big time for this, Morpheus," Patch stated. Trinity and Neo took over with the stretcher and carried it aboard.

"What happened to you?" Morpheus asked Patch, looking over his wounds.

"Your new recruit happened, that's what. After we got his muscles and body healed, we tried talking to him, let him know what was going on. He went wild when he didn't see anyone he recognized. My medic finally got him sedated but it cost him a broken arm. Not to mention what he did to me. Like I said, you owe me." He turned around and boarded his ship. "We've been called back to Zion for recharge and refit. Commander Lock says you are to hold our position here until we get back."

Morpheus frowned and boarded his ship. He met up with Trinity and Neo in the medlab where they had taken Ryoga.

"So what's next?" Neo asked.

"Tomorrow, when Ranma and Akane wake up, we bring them straight here. I don't want a repeat of what happened on Patch's ship when Ryoga wakes up. After that, we'll take them into the Construct together. I'll handle the explanation, but given what little we know of their past, a little extra help wouldn't hurt. Until then, lets see how much we can find out about their lives inside the Matrix. Trinity will do the background on Akane, Neo will take Ranma, and I'll do Ryoga. Understood?" Seeing the nods around the table, Morpheus stood. "Okay, let's get to it."


Ranma woke up early the next morning after more than ten hours of sleep. He slowly raised himself into a sitting position and shook his head to clear the cobwebs. As he looked around the room, he realized two things. First, Ranma realized that everything he remembered about the last two days had actually happened. Second he realized that he was hungry. He was about to go out in search of something to eat when someone knocked at the door.

"Come in," Ranma said as he turned towards the door. He didn't know whether he was expecting to see Neo, Trinity, or Morpheus. He was definitely NOT expecting who came in.

"Hello, Ranma," Akane said. Her voice was trembling as if she was terrified.

It took Ranma a minute to understand exactly why she was so nervous. Unbidden, memories of all the times that he had called her an uncute tomboy came rushing back to him. Now as she stood there before him, Ranma realized that Akane was afraid that he would think it even more now that her hair was cut as close as his was. In that instant Ranma knew after everything that had just happened to them, the one thing that Akane feared above all else was that he would reject her. Ranma kicked himself inside for all the times he had hurt her. As he continued to stare at her, Ranma noticed how close Akane was to tears. Finally he did what he knew he had always wanted to do. Slowly Ranma rose off the bed and walked to Akane and, before she could move or say anything, raised her head and kissed her deeply.

Akane was shocked by what was happening. She was even more shocked to find that not only was she returning Ranma's kiss but enjoying it as well. She wrapped her arms around him and held him tightly against her for what seemed like forever. Finally they broke the kiss and stared into each others eyes. In that moment, more was said between them than any amount of words ever could. Finally Akane broke the silence.

"So does this mean you don't think I'm not cute?"

Ranma looked her and smiled. "No I still think you are so not cute." Before Akanes temper could come to a head, he kissed her again. "I think you're beautiful," he finished.

Akane flushed and playfully swatted the back of Ranma's head. "You sweet baka. C'mon lets go see Ryoga."

Akane took Ranma's hand and led him out of his room towards the medlab.

Ryoga's ears worked. He knew this because he could hear himself groan in pain. He wasn't too sure about his eyes. First, he couldn't stand to open them, they hurt too much. Now, all he could see was a bright blur. Slowly, he sat up and shook his head clear. The room came into focus little by little. The first thing he noticed was that he was in a different room than he was before. It looked about the same but some of the details were different. That realization snapped him fully alert. DETAILS? The worse part of his misdirection was that everything always looked the same to him. He had never been able to distinguish details before. Looking around he saw the one thing he thought he would never see in all of his life.

Akane nudged Ranma with her elbow while she held onto his hand. When Ranma looked her way, she nodded towards the bed where Ryoga was sitting up. At once, Ranma released Akane's hand. Akane began to get upset and demand what was wrong when she noticed Ranma dropping into a defensive position, his eyes staying fixed on Ryoga. Akane then realized that Ranma had only let go of her so that he could defend himself against one of Ryoga's jealousy-motivated attacks. She quickly moved out of the way in anticipation of the first blow.

Strangely, Ryoga just stayed on the bed looking shocked. Finally, he got up and weakly made his way to Ranma who stayed on guard. Ranma didn't know what to expect from Ryoga but he swore to himself he would be ready for anything that happened. At least, that's what he thought. Nothing could have prepared him for what Ryoga actually did.

Walking right up to Ranma, Ryoga looked at him for only a second before surprising everyone by taking Ranma's hand in a friendly grasp.

"Congratulations, man. Just be sure you treat her right."

If face-faults were real, the whole ship would have shook form the one that would have occurred. Ranma just stood there looking from Ryoga to his clasped hand and back again. Finally, he smiled and returned the handshake.

"Thanks, Ryoga. You know I will."

Akane came forward at this time, tears streaming down her face, and grabbed both of them in a huge group hug which everyone quickly returned. After she pulled away, she looked at Ryoga and said, "Are you sure you're okay with this? I mean you were pretty infatuated with me before."

Ryoga smiled gently at her. "I know. For some reason my feeling aren't as strong as they were a few days ago. I really can't explain it."

"No, but I think that maybe I can," came a new voice from the door. Everyone turned to see Neo standing there with Trinity and Morpheus. "If you will all come with us I think it's time for us to tell you the whole truth. It may not be pretty but at least it is the truth."

The three Nerimans looked at each other and slowly followed the trio to the control room of the ship. In the center of the room were numerous chairs just like they had seen in the room at the warehouse. There was one noticeable difference. Where their heads rested was a large hole and positioned behind it was a large metal cable that ended in a point. It was in the right position to be inserted into the plug in the back of their necks. Ranma, Akane, and Ryoga eyed the chairs suspiciously until Morpheus spoke to them.

"Have we done anything yet to harm you? Believe me, if I could prove this to you with just words, I would,but this is something you need to truly see in order to accept it."

Grudgingly, each of the new crew members allowed themselves to be helped into the chairs. They became a little more nervous when they noticed that their wrists and feet were being restrained.

Neo smiled. "Take it from me. It's necessary for your first time."

Akane wished she could reach out to take Ranmas hand as Trinity came behind her. "This is going to feel a little weird," was the last thing she heard before she felt a surge in her head.


Akane opened her eyes to find herself, as well as Ranma and Ryoga, in what for all intents and purposes was nothing. She then gasped as she realized that her hair and body were back to normal. She looked down and noticed she was wearing her favorite blue and yellow dress. One look at Ranma and Ryoga confirmed that they too looked the same as they had a few days ago. Ranma had his customary pig tail and red Chinese shirt and black pants while Ryoga was in his usual traveling outfit complete with bandannas and umbrella. She felt a presence behind her and turned to see Morpheus, Neo, and Trinity in the same clothes they had worn when they had first met. As a group, the three teens walked towards them.

"W-where are we?" Akane asked.

"This is the Construct. It's a simulation program similar to the Matrix," Morpheus answered, gesturing around them.

"You mean we're inside a computer program right now," Ranma stated.

"Is it so hard to believe?" Morpheus asked. "Look at yourselves. Your hair is back to the way you had it before. The plugs in your arms are gone. Your clothes have changed. What you look like now is what we call residual self image. More basically, it's how you see yourself as being in the Matrix."

Morpheus gestured behind the three teens. They turned and saw three chairs facing a television. All of these seemed to have come out of nowhere. Ranma, Akane, and Ryoga walked over to the chairs and felt them as if trying to prove their existence. Reluctantly, they each sat down.

"So this isnt real?" Ryoga asked.

"What is real? If real is what you can see, hear, touch, or taste, then real is simply electronic signals processed by your brain." Morpheus picked up a remote and clicked it at the TV. Meanwhile Neo and Trinity moved behind the three chairs, readying themselves for any kind of reaction to what was about to be said.

"This is the world you knew," Morpheus said. The TV came on and showed Nerima as they remembered it. Views of the Tendo dojo, Uchanns, Furinken High School, and the Nekohanten passed on the screen. "This was mankind at the turn of the twentieth century. It was practically the peak of our existence. Now it is merely an existence within a complex and interactive virtual reality simulation that we call the Matrix."

Ranma slowly began to digest what was being told to him. "Are you saying all that we have done, all that we have experienced never really happened?" Ryoga and Akane leaned forward in their chairs awaiting Morpheus answer.

Morpheus sighed. Now came the really hard part. "That's right. You all have been living in a dream world. This is the world as it exists today." As he said this, Morpheus gestured with his hands. The world around them became a dark place. Everyone found themselves standing on a rock face. The sky was black and stormy, thunder and lightning crashing all around them. With no sun available, the air was cold and harsh. Akane moved instinctively to Ranma who wrapped his arms around her. As the three of them looked around, they saw the towering remains of a huge city, the buildings now no more than crumbling spires of rusted metal.

"Welcome to the desert," Morpheus simply stated.

Akane shivered in Ranma's arms and he held her tighter, looking into her eyes to help offer her some strength. Ryoga stood nearby and looked at Morpheus.

"What happened to this place?" he asked.

"We don't know for certain all the details. What we do know is this. At some point in the early 21st century mankind made an astounding achievement that united the entire world. We created AI."

Akane looked confused. "AI?" she asked.

Surprisingly it was Ranma who answered her. "I know what that is: artificial intelligence. Are you saying we created a machine that could live and learn?" He suddenly noticed that everyone was staring at him in shock. "What? It was on one of those American Star Trek shows."

"That's exactly what happened, Ranma," Morpheus replied. "That first machine then began to create an entire race of machines that could think, learn, adapt, and evolve. In essence, the machines truly did live.

"For a while, things were peaceful. The machines did a lot of the work while humanity enjoyed life. But after a while something happened. We don't know what. We don't even know who struck first, but the peace was shattered."

Ryoga blanched. "You mean there was a war between man and the machines."

Morpheus nodded. "And man lost. In a final act of desperation, the leaders of the time devised and carried out a plan that would block out the sun for centuries to come. The machines at the time were dependant entirely on solar power as an energy source. What they had in reserve however was enough to practically destroy mankind."

"I don't get it," Akane stated. "If we blocked out the sun, how are the machines still surviving? Where are they getting their energy from now?" She just knew they wouldn't like the answer. She feared she already knew what it was.

Morpheus smiled. "For centuries, man has depended on his machines to live. It seems fate is not without a sense of irony."

Ranma immediately caught what Morpheus was saying. He thought back to the plugs that were all over his real body. "They're using us. Humans are their new energy source." Morpheus nodded. "So the Matrix..."

"Is a way to keep humanity under their control while the machines process our bioelectrical and thermal power to stay alive, "Morpheus finished.

"But humans grow old. They die. Plus, they need nourishment to keep their bodies alive," Ryoga protested. "How are these machines doing all this?"

"Are you sure you want to know? The answer isn't pleasant."

"Nothing of what you have told us so far has been either," Akane pointed out.

"Good point. Very well then." Morpheus pulled out the TV remote and pressed a button. Instantly, everybody was back where they first appeared, staring at the TV screen. On the screen was what looked to be a human baby inside the womb. But as the screen pulled back, they were shocked to see that it was a module of some kind on what appeared to be somesort of mechanical tree. The three watched in horror as another machine literally picked the pod off the tree and sucked it into a tube. The next image they saw was of a newborn baby with cables plugged in all over it's body and a feeding tube stuck down it's throat. Akane paled.

"W-what do they feed them?" She stammered.

"The machines liquefy the dead to be fed to the living."

"This can't be true," Ryoga stated.

"I don't believe this," Ranma followed with.

"It's just not possible," Akane finished.

"I didn't say it would be easy," Morpheus stated. "Just that it would be the truth." He looked worriedly at his newest crew members. They were starting to turn a sickly pale. He motioned to Trinity and Neo and they were each just in time to catch one of them as they passed out.

"Link," Morpheus called as he struggled with Ryogas unconscious form. "Pull us out."


"We can't go back to the way things were, can we?" Ranma didn't rise up in his bed as he asked the question. He still couldn't believe what he had been told, but didn't have a better explanation for what was going on. He knew he wasn't dreaming; he had experienced too much physical pain. His mind was too alert to be hallucinating, so he figured it all must be real.

"I told you before you took the red pill that you couldn't." Morpheus sighed from his chair on the other side of the room. "Even if you could, would you want to?"

This time it was Ranma's turn to sigh. "No, I don't think I would. As crazy as the real world is, it still pales in comparison to my life inside.

"About that, I think you and Ryoga need to talk away from Akane. We pulled your histories of your lives inside the Matrix while you were asleep and I think we need to address a certain issue, especially since it's going to be one of Ryoga's main weapons."

"You're talking about P-chan, aren't you? Ryoga's curse I mean." Ranma pulled himself up and looked to Morpheus who nodded.

"A big part about being a member of this crew is trust. Ryoga betrayed Akane's for a long time inside. Since he will probably be using it sometimes when he's working for us inside, she's bound to finally see it, no matter how hard he tries to hide it. The rest of us can't be the one to tell her though. Like I said it's all about trust."

Ranma nodded and got up off his bed. "Is Ryoga awake yet?" Ranma asked.

"Neo is with him now telling him the same thing I'm telling you. I feel a little guilty about him. We brought him out without giving him any real clue as to what was happening."

"That was my fault, remember? I'm the one who convinced him to take that red pill in a hurry. I was the one who lied to him. If you show me where he is, we'll have a little talk about it."

Morpheus nodded. As he was leading Ranma out of the room, he turned back towards him. "By the way, since you and Akane are an engaged couple, I've arranged for the two of you to share a room with a bed big enough for two. Similar arrangements will be made for you in Zion"

"Maybe we should wait to see how Akane reacts to my knowledge of P-chan before you make that permanent," Ranma smiled as he followed Morpheus through the ship to Ryoga's room. "What's Zion?"

"It's the last real human city. Hopefully, you'll live long enough to call it home like so many of us have."

"Where is it? I can't believe there is a part of the surface that the machines can't reach."

"There isn't. Zion is buried deep underground as close to the Earth's core as we can get."

Ranma was trying to imagine what Zion would be like when Morpheus pointed him towards the door to Ryoga's room,


Ryoga was in a panic. He knew, of course, that Neo was right about having to tell Akane about P-chan. That didn't make it any easier on him though. He had betrayed her by continually posing as her pet pig for the last year, using it to sleep in her bed and watch her undress. He had tried to justify it by telling himself he was protecting her from Ranma, but now he realized that he had been lying to himself the entire time. He had even caused Ranma to hurt Akane by making him keep his secret from the woman that he loved.

Ryoga was still debating what to tell Akane when Ranma knocked and entered his room. Ryoga turned and saw that Ranma was looking very uneasy at the moment. In fact it was almost as though he was in regret over something. Finally, Ranma spoke.

"Look, Ryoga, I really feel like I owe you an apology. I tricked you into coming with us without letting you know what was really going on. I mean I didn't know everything we just found out, but I still knew a lot more than you did."

"Why did you ask me to come with you anyway? You knew how I felt about Akane, or at least how I did inside the Matrix. You could have gotten rid of me and had her without any risk of interference."

"I don't know, really. I guess because I knew it would make things a little easier for Akane to have someone else she trusted come along. To be honest, it's helping me as well. We may never have been good friends, but…"

"But we were never really enemies either," Ryoga finished. "Yeah, I felt the same way. I knew all those times I said I was going to kill you that I never really could."

"I know. Now we have one more obstacle to overcome. Morpheus said we have to tell Akane the truth about P-chan."

"Yeah, Neo just told me the same thing. They're right, too. We can't have any more secrets now. Not with what we have facing us. I just don't know what to say to her."

"Hey, man, neither do I." Ranma put a reassuring hand on Ryoga's shoulder. Ryoga looked over at him and smiled. He felt a great weight had been lifted off him in that moment. Ranma continued. "But you won't have to tell her on your own. I'll be right there with you."

"Thanks, Ranma. I appreciate it."

"No problem. Now let's go find her and get this over with."


Three youths soon found themselves surrounded by nothing but white. Ranma and Ryoga were both clad in their usual attire. Both were surprised to see that Akane was wearing her old training gi. She noticed that both Ranma and Ryoga were both fidgeting in front of her, nervously trying to look at her without looking into her eyes. Finally, Ryoga spoke up.

"Akane, there's something that I really need to tell you. You're probably not going to like it, but it needs to be said." He looked at her and was instantly on his guard. She was beaming her brightest smile at him. Ryoga immediately looked to the ground. "Well, you see, it's about your little pet pig, P-chan."

Ranma noticed that Akane was slowly walking towards Ryoga. Her hands seemed to be rising above her head.

"You have got to be kidding," Ranma thought as he moved to intercept her. He already knew he would be too late. Ryoga was still looking down.

"The truth is I have a Jusenkyo curse and, well…" Ryoga just yelled the last part. "AKANE, I'M SORRY BUT I'M P-CHAN."

"RYOGA NO BAKA!" Ryoga looked up to see Akane produce her mallet above her head and swing downward. He steeled himself for the blow. When he didn't feel it, he slowly opened his eyes. Ranma must have stopped her. He looked up and froze in fear.

Akane's mallet had stopped a mere inch away from his head. Surprisingly, Ranma was still running to get to them. What happened next shocked both of the men. Akane's mallet dropped to the floor followed by Akane herself, rolling around and clutching her sides. She was laughing so hard she had tears running down her face.

"You…should...have...seen...your...face," she blurted out between laughs. "It was so priceless." It took her a few minutes to get control of herself. Akane stood up and wiped the tears from her eyes.

"You knew," Ranma exclaimed as he reached her side. "You knew before we came in here, didn't you?"

She flashed him a bright smile. "Uh-huh," Akane nodded.

"But how?" Ryoga asked. "Did Trinity tell you?"

"Nope, I figured it out for myself."

"When?" Ranma demanded. "You seemed to be totally clueless back in the Matrix."

"Actually, I was," Akane replied. "But after we were pulled out and I had some time to remember things from our lives inside, I started to notice things like the bandannas, how you both constantly got lost, how I never saw you two at the same time, and, of course," she finished, looking at Ranma, "how you, Ranma, were always trying to keep P-chan away from me at night. We will have to have a little talk about you not telling me, by the way."

Ranma cringed, thinking it was a good thing that he asked Morpheus to keep that room open. Ryoga stepped in, though.

"It wasn't his fault, Akane. I used his Warrior's Code to make him promise not to tell you. I'm sorry."

"Well, you guys did intend to finally tell me so I guess I can forgive the both of you." The look she gave Ranma, though, made it clear they still had some things to settle.

This finally proved to be too much for Ranma. "Alright!" he yelled. "Something here just doesn't add up. Akane realized Ryoga and P-chan were the same, Ryoga's not in love with Akane, Akane's temper is practically non-existent, and now she is quick to forgive us. What the hell is going on?"

"I believe we can finally answer that question," a deep voice said behind them. All three of them turned to see Morpheus, Neo, and Trinity walking towards them. "It's time we had another long talk."

END CHAPTER ONE

Well, here it is. The first chapter of my first fanfic. I was originally going to extend it to include their training and first trip in the Matrixall the way up to their first meeting with the Oracle. The only problem was I found myself starting to write Ch. 4 already or at least some scenes from it. I'll just say that Chapter four will be a big moment in this story. I won't say more than that.

Because this is my first attempt at a fanfic, I welcome all C&C, but, for the same reason, I hope you will be gentle with any criticism.

I hope to mak this story at least ten chapters long. I have ideas out to at least the end of Chapter 5 with some vague ideas swimming around on how to continue.

For timeline purposes this story take place approximately six months after the failed wedding and two months after Neo has been freed.

I wish to thank my prereaders. Mostly they are people on my ship. I am fortunate that one of them is Alan Harnum. Although he does strongly disagree with something I planned to do in the future, his help has been invaluable.

I also wish to thank Stiffanie Flores for being a prereader and for inspiring me with her story "Waiting For You." It was this story that helped me make a very difficult decision about the events to come.

Finally I wish to thank my loving wife, Jewel, who has just been a endless source of creative inspiration. Honey, I love you so much.

OK I know these notes are getting a little mushy, so all I have left to say is I hope you enjoyed this first chapter, and I promise that I am workingon chapter 2 (and 4) as we speak.