Once again, I don't own Ranma or the Matrix. Wish I did. I'd be rich beyond my wildest dreams. As it is, I'm just a poor sailor boy.
RANMA UNPLUGGED
Chapter 2: Let Your Mind Go
"This is amazing," Akane stated as she examined the room they were all in. Ranma couldn't agree with her more. In a mere instant, they had gone from the all-white space they had been standing in to a perfect simulation of a dojo. Not just any dojo, either. All three were amazed to find themselves back in the Tendo dojo from home. They took a few minutes to look around and admired the detail that had been recreated.
"We hope you don't mind," Morpheus said, "but we felt that you might be a little more comfortable in here."
"How did you know what this place looked like?" Ranma asked. He noticed that Morpheus, Neo, and Trinity had all shifted to a kung-fu style of training gi. Akane was still in hers and Ranma had shifted to the one he had worn when he and his dad had been on their training journey. Ryoga was in his usual traveling outfit. Sometimes Ranma wondered if he owned any other clothes.
"Like I told you before, we researched your lives back in the Matrix. This is just one of the many places we discovered. It seemed to be a place you liked to go when you had to sort things out."
"Speaking of sorting things out," Ryoga said, "are you going to tell us now why certain things are so different than they were before?"
Morpheus sat down in the middle of the dojo with Trinity and Neo taking a place to either side of him. Ranma and the others did the same facing them. When everyone was comfortable, Morpheus began his tale.
"Back when the Matrix was first created; there was a man inside who could do amazing things, things that were normally impossible. He had the ability to use his mind to reshape the Matrix in any way he saw fit. It was he who freed the first of us and taught us how to fight back. When he died, the Oracle prophesized his return. She told us that his arrival would herald the end of the Matrix and bring with it the freedom of humanity."
Ranma interrupted Morpheus. "That still doesn't explain why things are so different now." Morpheus stopped him with a raise of his hand.
"Please allow me to finish. You see, we humans weren't the only ones who knew of this prophecy. The machines knew it as well. Just as we waited and searched the Matrix to free this person, so did the machines in order to destroy him. At one point, the machines believed they had figured out who the One was."
Akane paled. "You guys were originally after Ranma and not the rest of us. Are you saying that Ranma is this One you were looking for?" Ranma for his part had a rather smug look on his face. It would seem to be on par for his life as a whole. Morpheus noted the smirk and smiled.
"Settle down, Ranma. You are not the One we were all looking for. We found him only a few months ago."
"Well then if it's not Ranma, then who is it?" Ryoga demanded
"Me," Neo stated. "But this is getting off of the original question."
Morpheus nodded and continued. "As I said the machines thought they knew who the One was. They had been monitoring the Matrix for any signs of a person who could do impossible things. Imagine what they felt when they noticed all the things that one Ranma Saotome could already do and what his potential was in the future.
"The machines were cautious, though. They began to watch you closely, Ranma, and look back into your past. As they watched, they noticed that, while skilled as a fighter, you were missing certain mental abilities. The machines were about to move on when they discovered the marriage agreement between your two fathers. Upon learning of it, they then began to watch the Tendos, more specifically the Tendo daughters. The machines found that what was lacking in Ranma was to be found in the three daughters.
"From you, Akane, was a physical strength and mental determination unmatched by anything they had ever encountered. From your sister Nabiki, a cunning and calculating mind able to plan for any circumstance. Finally, your oldest sister Kasumi had in her the ability to keep her mind at total peace no matter what circumstances surrounded her.
"It was then that the machines began to fear not someone who already was, but someone who was to be."
Ranma finally understood what Morpheus was saying. "No matter which sister I ended up marrying, any child that was later born would be taught everything that each of us knew. In essence, a person who would be at peace 100 both in mind and body."
"Exactly, Ranma. The machines knew that the Tendo family was so close to each other that they would pass down all their knowledge and skill to any future descendants."
Akane spoke up. "So why didn't they just plan to not allow us to have any children? The machines control the Matrix, so they could do that, couldn't they"
"That's true," Trinity told her. "The Matrix could simply be programmed that you would never bear a child for some unknown reason, but then they could not plan for the possibility of you adopting or somehow finding another way to raise a child."
"Then the next logical thing would have been to kill Ranma," Ryoga stated. "Why didn't they try that?"
"Whoever said that they didn't?" Morpheus answered. "Think of Ranma's Neko-ken training or Shampoo's kiss of death. Each time Ranma managed to escape death."
"The machines tried everything they could to prevent Ranma from reaching the Tendo dojo to fulfill the agreement, but despite their efforts, you became engaged to Akane. The machines then did the next thing they could try to do."
"They did everything that they could to keep us from growing closer," Akane realized. "Then the Matrix was responsible for all the craziness."
"We found out that certain emotions were enhanced in several people surrounding Ranma," Neo told them. "With Ryoga, they amplified his feelings for Akane in an attempt to bring someone else into her life as a possible love match. Akane's temper was greatly increased so that she would hopefully drive Ranma away and destroy any feelings he might develop for her."
"You mean everything we went through was all caused by our minds being 'tweaked' by the system." Ranma was not sure how to react to this revelation. In a way he felt violated. "I don't understand, though. You said that Neo was revealed to be the one. Do the machines know this?"
"Of course they know. Tell me when was the last time something truly extraordinary happened to you to keep you two apart?" Morpheus asked Ranma and Akane.
The answer was obvious to all of them. Akane was the one who gave the answer. "It was six months ago, back when everybody kept us from getting married at the dojo."
"I was pulled out two days later and revealed to be the One," Neo said. "After the machines realized this, they began to reduce their efforts to keep you two apart, seeing that it was no longer necessary."
"You're right," Ranma exclaimed. "Both Shampoo and Ukyo became less aggressive, at least a little, but the machines couldn't suddenly have everything change or we would have noticed that something was wrong. That's why Akane still had her temper and didn't figure out the connection between P-chan and Ryoga." Ranma turned to Ryoga. "Come to think of it that was when you started spending most of your time with Akari."
Ranma regretted his words when he saw Ryoga stiffen, his face becoming sadder. Akane saw this as well and put a hand on Ryoga's shoulder.
"Sorry, Ryoga," she said. "We know you must really miss her."
"Yeah," Ryoga said sadly, "but I'll be okay. It will just take time, that's all." Nobody noticed the soft grin that was appearing on Trinity's face.
Finally Ranma turned to Morpheus. "What about the Jusenkyo curses? Obviously the machines were responsible for that, but I hadn't made it to the Tendo dojo by then. What was the reason behind them?"
Morpheus shrugged. "Honestly we don't know. We did find some mention to it in the Matrix information files but they always referred to a weapons testing program. It doesn't go into much detail at that level though. We are still looking.
"This conversation has taken longer than expected and it's getting late. I was planning on getting an idea of your combat abilities so we could begin your training, but that can wait until tomorrow. For now, let's go back and get something to eat. After that I suggest you all get as much rest as you can for…"
Morpheus was interrupted by a loud siren that seemed to be screaming all around them. Ranma, Akane, and Ryoga were immediately on their feet looking for the danger they knew had to be there.
"What's going on?" Akane cried.
"Sentinels," Morpheus shouted, getting top his feet. "Link, get us out of here."
Link quickly disconnected the plug from Morpheus who ran to the bridge. After disconnecting Neo, he ran to the control station for the EMP pulse. Neo disconnected Trinity who helped him disconnect the rest of them. When they were done all five of them ran to the bridge to join Morpheus. Neo and Trinity started to scan the area outside the ship while Morpheus navigated the tunnels from the pilot's chair. Ranma, Akane, and Ryoga joined them before they realized they didn't know what it was they were supposed to be looking for.
"Uh, Neo, just what exactly are we looking for?" Akane asked.
"They're called Sentinels. Machines sent out for one purpose."
"And that is?" Ranma asked.
Trinity gave him a hard look. "Search and destroy."
Ryoga gulped hard. "So what do they look like?"
"We also call them squiddies because they resemble big metal squids," Neo stated.
"Quiet," Morpheus said as he piloted the ship into an alcove and set down. He then proceeded to powered down all but the essential systems. "How are we doing, Link?"
"Full system shut down complete," Link said over the intercom.
Neo checked a status board near him. "EMP is charged and ready," he reported to Morpheus.
"EMP?" Akane asked.
"Electromagnetic pulse," Trinity replied. "It's the only real effective weapon against the machines."
"What does it do?" Ryoga asked.
"It puts out a pulse that disables any electronic equipment within the blast radius."
"I said quiet," Morpheus repeated. "Here they come."
A few seconds later, a metal monstrosity appeared in front of the ship. Just like Neo said, it resembled a giant metal squid. The Sentinel spread its arms out in front of it, dishes protruding out of the end of its tentacles. It hovered there for what seemed like several hours, though in reality it was only a few minutes. Finally the Sentinel retracted its arms and moved on. Morpheus waited another ten minutes before breathing a sigh of relief.
"All right, Link, let's slowly power up the ship."
"Yes, sir," Link said over the intercom.
"I don't get it," Ranma said. "It was right in front of us. Why couldn't it see us?"
"They can only pick up things like sound, heat, and energy signatures. At our low power level, it only saw us as another piece of rubble," Trinity explained.
"We'll wait about another hour before we move from here to a place we can rest for the night. Tomorrow we'll start your training."
Neo and Trinity led the three youths through the ship into the cramped mess hall. Ranma, Akane, and Ryoga each grabbed a bowl from the table and followed Trinity to a spout connected to a pipe coming from the ceiling. They watched as she turned the lever on the side of the spout and were horrified at the substance that came out. It was a gloppy white liquid that seemed to have yellowish lumps mixed in with it. When her bowl was full, Trinity turned the lever back to its original setting and sat down at the table.
Ranma walked up to the spout and eyed it suspiciously. He really could not see how what had come out could ever be classified as food. He looked around but didn't see anything else to eat in the space. Finally, he sighed and pulled the lever. When his bowl was full, he turned off the spout and joined Trinity, who was already eating. He turned to her slowly.
"This is food?" he asked her with a disbelieving look on his face. The other two Nerimans seemed anxious to hear the answer as well. Neo grinned as he looked on. He recalled thinking along similar lines when he had his first meal on board. He was sure these three would find the answer as satisfactory as he did.
"I know it doesn't look like much; hell, I'll be honest it doesn't taste like much either; but it will fill you up," Trinity replied.
"But what is it? I mean even Akane's cooking looked better than this."
Ranma flinched as a spoon came sailing across the room and plastered it self on his forehead. Everyone turned to the source of the spoon which was a somewhat irritated looking Akane. "Watch it, Ranma," she growled, giving him a nasty little smile. She sat down on the opposite side of the table from him.
Trinity decided to avoid any further confrontations by answering Ranma's question. "It's an amino acid compound fortified with protein and vitamins. Basically, everything your body needs to sustain itself."
Trinity looked to Akane. She instantly saw that her answer hadn't distracted the young girl from her anger. She sighed and hoped they wouldn't be needing the medlab again so soon.
Ryoga slid beside Ranma and leaned close to him. "If you want to stay on her good side, I would suggest you try the Saotome Crouch of the Wild Tiger your pop showed you when Happosai gave you that moxibustion thing," he whispered into Ranma's ear.
Ranma gulped and nodded; he really hated having to use this technique, especially with other people around. The fact that he was doing it to Akane made him feel worse. Finally, he resigned himself to his fate and performed the dreaded technique. Taking Akane's hand in his own, he bowed his head.
"Akane, I'm sorry. I spoke without thinking like I always do and I hurt your feelings. I'll try to not do it again. I humbly ask your forgiveness."
He looked up to see Akane smiling at him. "Well I guess you just wouldn't be Ranma if you didn't stick your foot in your mouth once in a while. You may not get the mallet treatment in the real world, but I can still bop you in the head. Just remember that."
Ranma smiled at her and nodded. "I wouldn't have it any other way. He leaned forward across the table and gave Akane a warm kiss which she returned. "I don't know if anyone told you," Ranma said after the kiss was over, "but Morpheus has a room with a double bed set up for the two of us to share."
Akane blushed and looked down. "I don't know, Ranma. I mean I do love you, but we're not married yet. It's not really proper for us to be in the same bed, is it?"
Trinity smiled. "It all depends on the two of you. We do have priests and marriages in our society in Zion, but we have also learned that love doesn't need to be bound by it. Neo and I have never been through any kind of ceremony but we sleep together in a room of our own for the simple reason that we love each other. Happiness is a rare commodity in this day and age. So when you find it, you best enjoy it."
Ranma lifted Akane's chin so that she was looking into his eyes. He could see the tears that were threatening to come forth. "Akane, it's up to you. I love you and I don't have a problem with this if you don't. If you want to wait until we are formally married, though, then I will respect your wishes."
This time the tears did come as Akane looked into the eyes of the man she loved. Finally she stood up and walked to Ranma's side. Taking his hand in hers, she led him out of the mess hall.
Neo and Trinity couldn't help but smile until they saw Ryoga's depressed look. Trinity looked at him and put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, Ryoga. I have a feeling it won't be too long before you find someone to make you happy too."
Ryoga just looked at her sadly and got up, heading out the door to his own room. After he left, Neo slid beside her. "I saw that grin you had earlier in the construct. With what you just said, I'm beginning to think you know something the rest of us don't."
Trinity smiled. "That, my dear Neo, is something I will keep to myself for now."
Neo kissed her neck. "C'mon, let's go to bed. We all have a long day ahead of us tomorrow." With that, he took Trinity's hand and led her to their room.
Once they were out of the messhall, Akane led Ranma to a corridor that appeared would afford them some privacy. She looked around to make sure that they couldn't be heard, then gave a deep sigh and looked into his eyes.
"Ranma, I think we need to really talk about what is happening between us."
The look that Akane was giving him immediately gave Ranma a cold feeling in the pit of his stomach. He knew what his feelings were for the girl -"No, woman," he told himself- and though he was nervous about it, Ranma knew that he couldn't bear to lose her. He reached up to caress Akane's face.
"I don't understand. I thought our feelings were obvious, especially with the kiss we shared earlier."
"That's just it, Ranma. That kiss has got me thinking about everything that has happened between us over the last year. Let's face it; we've never had what anyone would call a loving engagement. Now with all of this that has happened, it scares me. I really do believe that I love you, but I think I still need some time to sort out all of my feelings."
Akane's tears were coming harder now. Ranma looked at her with a longing look and then took her into a strong embrace. He let her cry into his shoulder for a few minutes and then lifted her head to look into her eyes. They were puffy and red, and yet they still looked like the loveliest set of eyes he could ever imagine. Finally he lowered his head and gave her a peck on the cheek.
"Akane, I meant it when I said I loved you. I also meant it a few minutes ago when I said I would respect whatever your wishes are."
"I want us to have a real relationship, but I think we need to slow down some and take our time. Would you be upset if we shared the room, but not the bed?" Akane's eyes were pleading with every ounce of her soul as Ranma continued to look into them. Finally, he nodded.
"If that's what you want, then it's alright with me." He was immediately rewarded with a hug big enough to put Shampoo's daily glomps to shame.
"Thank you, Ranma. This really means a lot to me."
Ranma caressed her face and then took her hand. "C'mon. Let's find Morpheus to show us our room and get a bedroll for me."
The next morning, Neo waited for the door to be answered after he knocked on the door to the room Akane and Ranma had been assigned. When Ranma answered, Neo was quite surprised to find the bedroll on the floor next to the bed. Ranma followed his gaze and then chuckled, scratching the back of his head.
"We decided to take things one step at a time for now," he stated. Neo nodded in understanding.
"Everybody else is waiting in the control room, so we need you up there right away. Did you get enough sleep last night? That doesn't look too comfortable sleeping on the floor."
Ranma shrugged. "It's no worse than some of the places me and Pop slept on our training trip. All we had were bedrolls even after we got to the dojo."
"Well, in any case, I guarantee that you'll have no problem sleeping tonight." With that he walked out of the room, leaving Ranma to puzzle over those words while he woke up Akane.
Twenty minutes later, Ranma and Akane arrived on the control deck and took in all the activity going on. Ryoga was already getting settled into his chair with Morpheus operating the terminal next to it. Ranma and Akane both went to the chairs Trinity and Neo were setting up and sat down in them. Morpheus finished his preparations on Ryoga's terminal and came around so that all three of them could see him.
"As I said yesterday, we will now begin your training. The first thing we are going to do is teach you about this ship and its operations. After that we will get into weapons training. This will familiarize you with a numerous assortment of hand weapons as well as several different types of firearms."
"Wait a second," Ranma objected. "We're martial artists. We don't use guns. There's no honor in them." The others nodded in agreement.
"Tell me, Ranma, is there any honor in dying uselessly simply because you refuse to use the tools required of you?" Morpheus words gave Ranma pause as he thought about it. Finally, he gave up and slowly shook his head. "While there will be times that you will be fighting hand to hand, you will find that most of the enemies you encounter in the Matrix will simply try to shoot you. You will need to learn how to use firearms in order to defend yourself against them. Is that understood?"
All three of them nodded their heads though they still had dejected looks on their faces. They listened closely as Morpheus continued. Neo and Trinity went around to each of them and inserted the interfaces into their necks.
"Finally, Neo, Trinity, and I will join the three of you in the Construct to evaluate your fighting skills in order to determine what you need to learn to complete your training. Are there any questions?" Morpheus concluded. He nodded to Akane as she raised her hand.
"This is an awful lot for us to learn. How long is this going to take?"
Morpheus smiled. "You should be able to have the basic knowledge for piloting and operating this ship in about half an hour."
Ryoga thought he must have heard wrong. "How are we going to do that?"
"Like this," Morpheus said as he signaled Link. When he saw it, Link hit a button on the screen in front of him. Immediately all three youths reacted with strained looks and tightened grips on their chairs. After about ten seconds, they finally relaxed though all of them were gasping for breath.
"What the hell was that?" Ranma demanded. He was instantly shocked into silence as he realized that his last question had just come out in fluent English. Ryoga and Akane were just as surprised to learn that they had understood perfectly what Ranma had said.
"That was the complete English language being downloaded directly into your brains. I admit it's quite a rush. It's also the fastest way we have to teach you. It also means you will remember every detail of what you learn. On a side not, it also made English your new first language, so it's what you'll be speaking from now on. At least unless you consciously choose to use another language"
"What's wrong with Japanese?" Akane asked.
"Why, nothing at all. I happen to think it is a very beautiful language. It just doesn't happen to be the official language in Zion. Besides, poor Link here hasn't been able to understand a word of our conversations since you guys got here. Unlike the rest of us, Link was born outside the Matrix in Zion, so he can't have information downloaded into his mind like we can. That's another reason for you to be speaking English, by the way. Link is going to be our lifeline between us and the real world whenever we go back into the Matrix. It's critical that he be able to communicate with you at all times." Morpheus looked over each of them to gauge their physical reactions to the information input. Satisfied that they were still physically healthy, he asked them, "So are you ready for lesson two?"
The rest of the morning went by in a blur for the three youths as byte after byte of knowledge was dumped into their minds. Following the impromptu English lesson were courses in Mathematics and all the sciences known to man. In the span of an hour, Ranma, Akane, and Ryoga had received a school education equivalent to most four-year university programs.
Morpheus declared a fifteen minute break so that they could sort through all the new knowledge they now possessed. At the end of it, all three settled back in their chairs and began to absorb the basics of mechanical engineering followed by complete schematics and operational procedures for the ship they were on. After another two hours of forced learning, it was time for lunch. Morpheus told them afterwards they would begin weapons training. Neo and Trinity led the trio back to the mess hall.
"How are you holding up?" Trinity asked Akane.
Akane groaned. "I never believed in information overload until now. I think I know how Ranma felt every time I nailed him with Mallet-sama."
Ranma laughed painfully. "No, trust me, Akane, this is worse."
"Mallet-sama? You mean that big hammer thing you pull out of thin air?" Neo asked.
"Yeah," Ranma replied. "It's an inside joke. You wouldn't understand."
True to his word, as soon as they were back, Morpheus had the three back into their chairs. They were surprised to see, however, that Morpheus was settling into a fourth chair.
"What are you doing?" Ryoga asked. "I thought we were getting weapons training pumped into our heads."
"This aspect of your training will take place in the Construct. I am going to be your instructor." With those words he settled his head down and Neo inserted the interface. "Are you three ready?" After getting affirmative answers from them, Morpheus nodded to Link, who in turn hit a button on the console in front of him.
The air was crisp all around them. Ranma looked around and saw that they were in what appeared to be a rock quarry. In the distance, he could see several man-shaped targets spaced apart ranging in distance from 50 to what looked like 500 yards. He turned around and saw that they were under a wooden structure. In front of him was a wooden counter behind which was a vast and endless looking supply of firearms. The variety ranged from simple handguns to shotguns to assault rifles. He was amazed to see that there even seemed to be rocket launchers on the shelves. Ranma turned to look at Akane and that's when his jaw dropped. Ryoga noticed his look and turned to see what he was staring at. What he saw threatened to give him an immense nosebleed.
Akane stood before them in skintight black jeans that showed off her features quite admirably. A black tank top adorned her torso hugging her body so close that it made Ranma wonder how he could have ever called her a tomboy. For shoes, she wore a pair of laceless black leather boots supported in the back by broad two inch heals. All in all, it was an outfit that screamed out her womanhood while also projecting the image that she was not one to take lightly in a fight.
"A-Akane," Ranma stammered, "how did… I mean when did you…?"
Akane giggled. "I take it you like."
Ranma grinned as he nodded. "It's definitely different. I mean you actually look like a girl now instead of some tomboy."
Having once again demonstrated the Saotome habit of inserting foot into mouth, Ranma soon found himself making impact with the side of the bunker. Slowly he got up and look towards Akane, who was just now dispelling Mallet-sama back into thin air.
"I did it again, didn't I?" he asked.
Ryoga just sighed and turned to Akane. "How did you do this anyway, Akane?"
"Well, Trinity was talking to me last night as we were going to the mess hall. I told her how I liked the outfit she was wearing when we first met her and she told me how I could appear in whatever clothes I wanted to anytime we went into the Construct or Matrix. All I had to do was picture myself in it. This was the first chance I had to try it out."
"I must say it is a look that suits you," Morpheus stated from behind her. This caused Akane to jump and answer with a spin kick to Morpheus' side, which he casually caught. "That will come later, Akane. For now I will familiarize you with the various pieces of arsenal we have at our disposal inside the Matrix." He walked behind the counter and reached for several handguns that included Beretta 9mm's, Walther PPK's, Glocks, and Desert Eagles. These he placed on the counter in front of Akane, Ranma, and Ryoga. Akane's eyes seemed to fall on the Eagles and she picked on up to get a feel for its weight. Morpheus immediately grabbed it out of her hands and placed it back on the counter. "Do not touch any of these weapons up until I have told you," he admonished. "The first rule with this lesson is you must always think safety."
"I thought you said this was a simulation," Ryoga said. Morpheus nodded. "Well then doesn't that mean that none of this is real?"
"Your mind makes it real. It accepts the pain and interprets the damage that your body receives."
Ranma paled. "So you're saying that if you die in the Matrix…"
"Then you die in the real world, too," Akane finished.
Again Morpheus nodded. "Because the body cannot survive without the mind. That's why even in here these weapons are dangerous and you must all follow set safety rules, the first of which is to treat every weapon as if it were loaded."
Akane humbly nodded and bowed her head, asking forgiveness of the person who was now their sensei.
"It's alright, Akane. You didn't know." He smiled as Akane raised her head. "Now then shall we begin?"
Despite their earlier protestations, it was clear that the aversion the young martial artists had to guns was soon decreased to one degree or another. Akane almost instantly saw the advantage such devices could hold to her, most especially because, unlike Ryoga or Ranma, she was unable to project a ki-based attack towards an opponent. After an hour of trying the various handguns available, Akane tended to favor the Desert Eagle she had first picked up and was quickly becoming quite skilled as a marksman. In the end, she decided on not one but two of the weapons which she would keep in a shoulder holster on each side.
Ranma and Ryoga were still a little reluctant to use the firearms, but they both conceded the point that there may come a time when it would be necessary to use them. They both settled on a single Beretta 9mm. How they would carry them was as yet undecided as they still did not know what kind of attire they would favor in the Matrix. Morpheus also had Ryoga train with a belt-fed M-60 automatic rifle. He reasoned the traveling backpack Ryoga wore would be ideal for concealing the weapon as well as holding a near-endless supply of ammunition. Ryoga was uninterested at first, but soon came to appreciate the rate of fire that it had as well as its accuracy.
After each had chosen their primary weapons, Morpheus set them on getting used to the various other choices that they had. They trained with everything, including M-4's, MP-5's, assault rifles, and shotguns, both standard and sawed-off. For a grand finale they were introduced to a fairly sizeable shoulder mounted rocket launcher complete with laser guided rounds. Akane, Ranma, and Ryoga inwardly dreaded the kind of opposition they would face that would force them to use such a weapon. After they had finished with all of their weapon's training, Morpheus called a halt to their lessons for the day.
After being unplugged from their interfaces, Morpheus told them to get some rest. The next day they would begin hand to hand training. The three youths went back to their rooms and, true to Neo's words, were fast asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillows.
Morpheus and Link sat in the control center after everyone else had turned in for the evening. They were going over the playbacks of the day's training. Link to say the least was impressed.
"It's amazing, sir. I've never see anyone pick up this stuff as fast and completely as they are. Look here." He pointed to one of the monitors; it appeared to be displaying the brain wave patterns of the trainees. "Their neural kinetics are off the charts. It's like nothing I've seen before."
"I have," Morpheus told him. Seeing Link's shocked look he continued. "When we first began training Neo, his brain wave patterns were similar. Well, actually they were even more impressive."
"You know, sir, looking back on Ranma's life in the Matrix plus the skills he had, I wouldn't be surprised if he gave Neo a good run for his money in the combat training tomorrow."
"That could very well be, Link. I know what you are thinking. Neo is the One, not Ranma. Ranma may turn out to be as good as, or even better, than him in hand to hand combat. That doesn't make him the One, though. It's Neo's ability to bend his mind around the Matrix itself that makes him what he is. In any case, tomorrow should prove interesting."
"You think they'll be ready for the Jump and Agent program tomorrow?"
"With the speed that they are absorbing things, it wouldn't surprise me. I'm going to get some rest myself. Good night, Link."
"Good night, sir."
Morpheus had just made it to the door of the control room when Link called him back inside. He turned to find Link answering a communication from inside the Matrix. By the time Morpheus reached his side, Link had pulled off the headset and handed it to him. There was a great look of amazement on his face.
"It's her," was all Link said as Morpheus adjusted the headset. He didn't have to ask who "her" was.
"Oracle," Morpheus ventured.
"Yes, Morpheus, it's good to hear your voice."
"As it is to hear yours, but this is most unusual for you to contact us like this."
"If I had another option, I would use it. The time has come for me to speak to your new additions. The day after tomorrow you must bring them to me. We will make it easier on them by using a location familiar to them."
Morpheus' eyes widened as he recognized the address she told him. They went even wider at the words that followed. Finally, after receiving a few more instructions from the Oracle, he terminated the call and handed the headset back to Link who was looking at him with a puzzled look. "So what do we do now, sir?"
"Exactly as we must, Link. We'll wake them in another three hours. Have the dojo simulator prepared."
"Sir, they're already mentally exhausted. Are you sure they can take the pace of this?"
"They have to."
"But why?"
"Because they're going to save Zion."
END CHAPTER 2
OK I know this chapter is shorter than the last one and it doesn't cover everything I said it would but there's a good reason. I had to do a bit of a rewrtie and addition after I realized that I was bringing Akane and Ranma closer together faster than I wanted too. I also had to go back and explain how the gang was able to carry on conversation's with Morpheus crew in the real world when all they speak is Japanese (Thanks, Seth). I hope I covered that one well.
The next chapter is going to take me a few weeks because I have to right three separate fights and I've never done even one before so I hope you will all bear with me. I promise it's coming and we will return to Nerima and revisit old friends. For anyone who is a Ryoga fan, all I can say is in the next chapter, he will be pleasantly surprised.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed chapter two.
