These are the words of Hung Nguyen. I just have permission to post them and make it easier to read. Just want to give his stuff the recognition it deserves.
I am scrunching both works into one story, maybe even adding something extra. Any new updates will be told here. Think of this as the "Remastered version". Welcoming new and old readers alike!
Disclaimer: How much longer do I have to tell people that Vandread, Tekkaman Blade and Ranma 1/2 do not belong to me?
italics: Thoughts
[* *]: Telepathic thoughts
Chapter 23 Part 1
Mindscape
As the Nirvana continued on its voyage, a lone figure stood on the observation deck of the Bio-Park and stared out into the endless void of the nebula the ship was traveling through. He was deep in thought and for someone who had just lost his entire memory, that was saying a lot. He did not even notice a certain someone as she came up to him with a tray of food.
"Mr. Alien?"
Slade turned around with a puzzled look on his face. "Who?"
"You, silly! You're Mr. Alien!" Dita replied cheerfully.
"Mr. Alien? That's a funny name. So I'm an alien?" Slade cocked his head to one side and his puzzled expression became more pronounced. "What planet am I from?"
Dita was half-expecting him to get annoyed at being called Mr. Alien as she had gotten used to that reaction. This new response was a bit unnerving. It was so unlike him to be this... unsure of himself. Just where was the Slade that she knew and loved? It was like talking to a total stranger. Ever since Slade had recovered from his cellular degeneration and had gained near-total amnesia, Duero had suggested to the crew to try and familiarize the Tekkaman to things that he once knew, in the hopes that it might jog his memory. So far, it had not been successful.
"Here! I made you a batch of your favorite brownies!" The red-haired girl said as she held up the tray.
Slade continued to look puzzled as he gazed upon the offered food. "Uh... that's great. They smell good, but... don't you think you made too much?"
"What do you mean? You always ate this much and more!"
"I did?" He scratched the back of his head.
"Yes. Don't you remember the last time I made you these? You gobbled them up!"
The cosmic warrior could only shake his head. "No... I don't remember. By the way, who are you?"
"I'm Dita!"
"Oh... Hi. I'm... Mr. Alien."
Dita could only gaze helplessly as she let the tray drop out of her hands and land on the floor of the observation deck with a clatter.
Another time...
"And these are the plans that we devised together so that the Vanguards and the Dreads could coordinate with each other." Meia stated as she showed Slade some tactical patterns on a monitor.
"Uh... okay. So... how do they work?"
"You should know. You were the one who came up with the basic maneuvers." The normally tough-minded female said.
"Me? I came up with these?"
"You lead the Warrior Squadron."
"I do?"
"Yes! You've been training Xian Pu, Ukyo, and the others for months!"
"I have?"
"Yes!" By now, Meia was getting exasperated. Surely he couldn't be THIS dense!
Slade was silent for a long time before finally replying. "So... how did I do that? And by the way, why are you in that dress?"
Meia looked down at herself and blushed furiously. She had purposely put on the white sundress in the hopes that it would help Slade remember. He had commented before that she had looked lovely in it, and she had been waiting for him to say it again.
However, like Dita, her attempts at bringing back his memories had hit a wall.
The Gym...
He's GOT to remember this!
Jura walked seductively into the training area where Slade was currently bench-pressing 5 tons. She was dressed in the same tight thong leotard with leg warmers from before as she swayed toward the future Ohma of her children.
Hmmm, I wonder how I got so strong? And why is it that I feel at ease when I'm working out like this? The Tekkaman thought as he finished with his reps, then sat up. It was then that he noticed that he wasn't alone.
"Hello there." Jura said in a singsong voice as she leaned forward, which of course allowed Slade to get a good view of her bosom. She had purposely tugged down the plunging neckline of her outfit.
Unfortunately for Jura, Slade did not react as he did before as he had totally forgotten that she was intent on mating with him. He looked up with an innocent expression and asked, "And... who are you?"
"You remember me, Slade. I'm Jura, and you're supposed to be helping me to have a baby."
"I am?"
"That's right. You can't say that you've forgotten that!"
"Well, I can't say that I remember ever agreeing to anything." Slade said as he shrugged his shoulders. "And... don't you think that this is all too sudden? I mean, we've only met just a couple of days ago."
"No we haven't! Slade, we've known each other for almost a year now!"
"We have?"
"Yes! Surely you remember this!"
She then leaned forward, framed his head with her hands, and gave him one of the hottest, wettest, and most tongue-twisting kisses she had ever given. They remained lip-locked for over a minute and when they finally pulled away, she gave his lower lip a gentle nip, and sucked on it briefly before facing him again. When she saw that slight glint in his eyes, she began to hope that her kiss had been the key to reopening his lost memories. Perhaps... he would finally...?
Slade continued to look puzzled with a bit of lipstick on his mouth. "Uh... so what was that all about? Not that I'm complaining mind you, but don't you think this is going a bit too fast?"
The blonde Tekkaman felt like ripping out her own hair. She was tempted. She was so TEMPTED to just jump on him, tear off his clothes, and do the wild thing nonstop (she had been studying that video she had seen) until he finally remembered... or got her pregnant. In his current state, he was unlikely to stop her.
However, she didn't.
Though his naiveté was charming in its own way, Jura wanted the old Slade back. She had liked the way he stuttered and tripped on his own feet whenever she made advances toward him. It would have made the conquest ever more satisfying when she finally seduced him. It would have been honest and more meaningful.
Then she had a terrifying thought.
What if he had forgotten HOW babies were made in the old days?
The Cafeteria...
"It's like talking to a complete stranger." Ukyo XVII commented as she and Xian Pu ate lunch. "He walks around like a ghost and I've had to teach him how to work his station."
"I know. The only thing that he seems to remember is his martial arts." The Amazon stated. "The doctor told me that Slade seems to have some sort of physical memory ability and his fighting techniques are like a conditioned reflex. He doesn't have to think, he just reacts. But that doesn't help if he can't lead the Warrior Squadron with the tactics that HE made, especially if he can't even remember the codes and signals."
It was then that the okonomiyaki chef thought of something and snapped her fingers. "Hey Xian, you told me once that your Amazon ancestors had some kind of technique that could manipulate memory."
Xian Pu nodded. "Yes. It was called... the Xi Fang Gao Shiatsu Technique, if I remember right. It used some special herbal shampoo and specific pressure points that could erase or restore memories."
"Maybe you can do it on Slade and get his memory back?"
The red-haired warrior shook her head. "It wouldn't work. First of all, the memory-restoring technique only restores memories that were ERASED by the Xi Fang Gao Shiatsu. Secondly, I don't have any Formula 119 and I don't know the pressure points."
"What's Formula 119?"
"It's the shampoo blend-type that was used to restore memory. To erase memory, you use Formula 110. The recipes for mixing both have been lost for centuries, and I only know about the technique from an old diary from my distant ancestor. Her name was Xian Pu as well."
The Recreation Room...
"Oh, Pyoro 2!"
"I told you, her name is Nodoka." Ezra said with some annoyance as she breast-fed her daughter. She wished that the Navi-robot would stop thinking that her child belonged to him. He had nothing to do with her birth and most certainly was not related to her in any way.
"Her name is-"
"Oh hello Slade." Ezra said in a singsong voice.
Pyoro stopped in his tracks the moment he heard that name. He quivered a bit as he slowly turned around and expected to be knocked across the room by the Tekkaman. However, to his and Ezra's surprise, Slade simply walked past them without even noticing them.
"Slade?" Ezra called out to him.
He stopped and looked over his shoulder to her. "Uh... are you talking to me?"
"Why of course, silly. Now would you please tell Pyoro my daughter's name is NOT Pyoro 2?"
"Really? That's an odd name for a baby. So what is her real name?"
"You named her."
"I did?"
"Yes!"
"Okay... so what did I name her?"
Ezra couldn't believe it. The rumors about Slade having near-total amnesia were true and now she had Pyoro constantly insisting that Nodoka belonged to him and was named Pyoro 2.
Later...
"I can't stand it any more!" Jura lamented as she and the others were gathered in the Conference Room. "I want Slade back!"
"Calm down, Jura." Magno said tiredly. "We all want him back, but things like this take time."
"Time is not a luxury that we have to spare, especially since we are nearing Tarak and Mejele. And there is a chance that Slade's memory may never come back." Duero pointed out. Though he hated to be the bearer of bad news, as a doctor he had to be objective and give all relevant facts. "However, I believe that Slade's memories may still exist somewhere in his innermost psyche. The problem is that we don't know where to look. Though I do know of a procedure that just might help..."
"Really? What is it?" Dita asked hopefully.
"Mind you, this sort of process is not normally taught at the Academy." The Tarak man replied. "I only learned about it after going through the medical logs. There has been one instance in which a person was able to regain his memory after suffering a traumatic experience. This was done completely by accident, and it hasn't been duplicated since, but the process was recorded."
"Explain." BC queried.
"Well, if I read the report correctly, a small boy on Tarak had slipped into a deep coma and was in danger of suffering brain damage. In an attempt to preserve his memories and keep him from mental instability, one of our scientists decided to experiment with a new device, which allowed another person's brainwaves to synchronize with the boy's. It was called..."
At that moment, an urgent message was sent to the main monitor of the Conference Room. One of the bridge crew informed the captain that they had arrived at a planet that had been hidden within the nebula. The inhabitants had hailed the Nirvana on the communications station and asked specifically if Slade was aboard.
The bridge...
"Ghaleon Viperson?" Magno was quite surprised to see the Tekkaman of Mission Delta Six.
"Hello again, Nirvana. Fancy meeting all of you here." The silver-haired youth smiled as he greeted his friends on the main monitor.
"What are you doing here? I thought you were protecting the Mission."
Tekkaman Phantom shrugged. "I can't protect a place that isn't there anymore."
"What?"
"It's a long story and I'll be happy to tell you all about it. Can you guys come down to the planet? There's some people I'd like you to meet and I want to discuss some things with Slade. By the way, how's he doing?"
Magno was a bit at a loss at how to answer.
An hour later, on the planet's surface...
Ghaleon smiled as he and a group of people came to meet the Nirvana's landing party. The individuals he was with included the former leader of the Mission, Rebecca, and two men who were dressed like Rabat. One was in his late twenties, while the other was far older and looked like an ancient Native American shaman.
The old man smiled as he saw Slade and stepped forward. He nodded to the Tekkaman, and then to the surprise of the Nirvana's crew, his voice was heard in everyone's head.
[* It is good to see you again, Slade. *]
Slade was by far the most shocked to hear his voice in his head. "Huh? How'd you do that? I didn't see your mouth move."
The Shaman was somewhat puzzled by Slade's reaction. [* What do you mean? You know that we developed a way to speak with our minds when the Harvesters took our vocal cords. You were here on our world a year ago. Surely, you can't have already forgotten? *]
Magno nodded as she understood that the inhabitants of this world were telepaths. She addressed the Shaman. "I'm afraid that he has forgotten... everything."
After a long and detailed exchange of information, both sides were both brought up to date on the past few months. They were all gathered in the main conference hall of the village, which was cut into the side of a large mesa.
"So the Mission was destroyed and all of you ended up on this planet four months ago?" BC asked.
Elizabeth nodded. "That's right. We were chased across the galaxy by the Radam and barely managed to escape them by entering this nebula. It was lucky for us that these people were here to help us out. We were almost out of food, medical supplies, and power packs. I don't think we would have made it without their aid."
"Yeah." Ghaleon agreed. "And they helped me out a lot, too."
"How?" Duero asked.
"They helped me overcome my problem with the thirty-minute time limit. Thanks to their mental training, I don't lose control over my Tekkaman form any more. Even if I stay in it longer than half an hour." He then snapped his fingers as an idea came to him. "Hey, maybe they can help Slade regain his memories, too!"
The Tarak doctor considered the idea, then addressed the Shaman. "It does sound feasible. With what I've seen so far, your people do possess some considerable psychic ability. Perhaps...?"
The old man shook his head and mentally replied. [* It is not as easy as one might think, Mr. McFile. With Ghaleon, it was a simple matter to quell the rage and battle-lust of his Tekkaman form. However, with Slade, the task is far more difficult. There is no reference or starting point in which one could use. It would be like exploring a totally uncharted world. You must understand that a person's innermost psyche is like a universe in itself and there are parts of one's being that he may not even be aware of. That is doubly true in Slade's case.*]
"Explain."
[* When he first came to our world, he was quite lost, both physically and emotionally. When we probed him, we discovered that a large part of his spiritual being was missing... hidden deep within his own mind. None of our techniques were able to coax it out. What you knew of as Slade only represented a minor portion of his inner self. It was all that he had. Now, he does not even possess that much. There is nothing to start with. The entirety of his soul now drifts in Limbo. *]
"You're being very vague." The Tarak doctor commented. "Could you be more precise in your descriptions? If I knew some values, some figures to start off with, then perhaps..."
The Shaman let off a sound that resembled a muffled chuckled, though with no larynx, it was hard to tell. [* I wish I could, but even we could not even begin to know where to look for Slade's memories, and we have made numerous attempts before. If we had some kind of link to his inner self... then perhaps we would know which direction to search...*]
The Nirvana landing party looked at one another with expressions of worry and uncertainty. Among them, Slade stood in silence.
Later, on the Nirvana...
"Hello Misty, how's it going?" Ezra asked as she sat down opposite to her in the cafeteria. In her arms, little Nodoka slept.
The fourteen-year-old sighed as she twiddled her spoon in her mashed potatoes. She did not respond to Ezra as she continued to stare at her uneaten meal. Her holographic friend Q-chan appeared on her shoulder and mimicked its master's mood.
"Misty? Is everything all right?" The normally quiet female pressed.
Finally, after a long stretch of silence, Misty responded. "I was thinking... when the Nirvana heads out of the nebula... you can just leave me behind on this planet."
This caught Ezra by surprise. "What? Are you serious? Why would you want to do that? You're a part of the crew."
"Am I? Do I really belong on this ship?"
"I should think so. I mean, you fit right in as a bridge operator and..."
The blue-haired girl shook her head. "That's not what I meant, Ezra. What I'm trying to say is that I feel so... lonely on the Nirvana. I mean, I was in that cryo-pod for more than sixty-three years. Everything and everyone that I knew is gone and I find myself in a place where things are totally different from what I grew up with. No offense to anyone or your planets, but this all-female all-male stuff is really weird to me. I thought that I'd never find anyone who could understand me... until I met Slade..."
"I see."
"Yeah, he was the ONLY person who understood! I really wanted someone who knew what I knew, and I thought that maybe... he and I could..." Misty lowered her head in sadness. "But he never saw me as anything more than just a friend. And the more I tried to get close to him, the further we got. And I couldn't compete with Jura, Meia, and Dita, especially when they became Tekkamen. Now, Slade doesn't even remember me. So where does that leave me?"
"Misty... I never knew... I..."
The young girl sighed as she shook her head. "It's okay, Ezra. I shouldn't have expected Slade and me to get together, just because he knew about how things were between men and women." She pushed her tray aside. "I've been thinking about this for a long time now. And I heard that the people on that planet know about the old ways, so... maybe I can find my place there..."
"Misty... I..."
The fourteen-year-old (technically 77) said nothing more as she got up and walked off.
In the Nirvana's Sick Bay...
"What is this?" BC asked as she, the captain, and others crowded around two strange devices that looked like cryo-pods, but were modified near the head regions with sensor panels and energy emitters. Slade was not present at the time.
"The Cerebral Wavelength Synchronizer." Duero explained. "You do remember when I said that on Tarak, there was a device that was invented to allow a person to regain his memories after a traumatic experience? Well, this is it. It took some doing for Parfet's engineers to construct a working model."
"And this will help Slade remember who he was?" Magno asked.
"Possibly. In the only recorded instance, an old man's brainwaves were synchronized with a young boy's when the child suffered brain damage and near-total amnesia. The process allowed the boy to recover all of his memories and the tissue trauma was repaired."
"Then let's use it!" Jura said excitedly. "I'll do it!"
Duero shook his head. "Not so fast, Jura. The boy recovered, but the old man died as a result. That was the main reason why this project was abandoned. Plus, there is an added danger that the person who synchronizes with Slade may end up like him, provided that he or she survived the process. Synchronizing two separate brainwaves is a tricky business and intermingling thoughts can result in mental instability, emotional stress, or even permanent insanity. Still interested in volunteering?"
Jura was taken aback by this news, though she, Dita, and Meia were intent on helping Slade.
"So if it's that dangerous, why did you have it built?" Magno asked.
The Tarak man nodded as he replied. "I was initially reluctant to suggest this type of action, but that was before we met our telepathic friends." He gestured to the shaman of the psychics. "With their expertise, the person who synchronizes with Slade will have additional mental support and guidance through his subconscious. The telepaths will also be able to keep the volunteer's mind from intermixing too deeply with Slade's. And, I believe that the person who enters his mind should be someone who has a close psychological rapport with him. That would be either Jura, Meia, or Dita, considering that they all share similar bio-rhythms."
Meia nodded as she stepped forward. "I'll do it."
"What do you mean? I'll save Mr. Alien!" Dita said as she also stepped forward.
"Oh no! I'll do it!" Jura interjected.
The three began to argue among themselves as each tried to convince the doctor that she would be the perfect volunteer.
Later...
Both Jura and Dita stood with expressions of jealousy and disappointment as they watched Meia being strapped into one of the Synchronizer Pods. Beside her in the other pod, Slade was already sedated and sleeping peacefully. It had been decided that Meia had the most disciplined mental state and was therefore chosen to be synchronized with the Tekkaman. Sitting nearby, the telepathic shaman leader was prepared to guide Meia's mind through Slade's subconscious.
"It's not fair! I wanted to do it!" Dita pouted.
"So did I, but if it brings Slade's memories back, then I guess it doesn't matter." Jura let off a sigh. "Though I would have LOVED to see just what goes on in Slade's mind."
"It'll be fine, you two." said Barnette as she patted each of them on the shoulder.
At that point, Duero was giving last-minute instructions to Meia.
"Now remember, if things start to get intense, then we will pull your mind out of Slade's. The shaman should be able to guide you through Slade's subconscious and find his memories, as well as keep your own psyche stable. Be careful. We have no idea just what you might encounter in his inner mind."
"Understood." Meia said as she began to feel the effects of the sedative. In seconds, she was asleep as the doctor instructed Parfet in working the control panel. He still couldn't touch anything or anyone without causing damage with his super-strength. He wondered just how Slade and the others managed to keep such power in check.
"Begin brainwave scan."
The bespectacled girl nodded as she started the process. "Okay, here goes."
Both pods let off simultaneous hums as they powered up. In Meia's pod, her mind was being merged with Slade's. On her forehead, a small spark of light appeared and flickered. It was a tiny white dot in which no one noticed. And in Slade's pod, a miniscule green mark also appeared.
No one in the Sick Bay noticed as the process continued. Sitting cross-legged and in deep meditation, the shaman used his psychic ability to ease Meia's mental journey into Slade's inner being.
"Brainwave activity stable... beginning synchronization..." Parfet said as she began matching the thoughts of the two Tekkamen.
Off to one side, Jura began feeling a twinge of pain as she brought one hand up to rub her right temple.
"Is something wrong, Jura? Ow!" Dita asked, then she felt a pang of pain in her own head. On both of their foreheads, red and blue lights appeared. Each light then took the shape of their Tekkacrystals. In the pods, the lights on Slade and Meia also took the forms of their crystals.
"Jura? Dita? You all right?" asked Barnette when she noticed their conditions.
At the control console, Duero became puzzled when the readouts began showing some odd figures. Parfet was also in a state of confusion.
"What's going on, Parfet?"
"I don't know!" The engineer said. "One minute, I'm reading two separate brainwaves, and now I'm showing four!"
"That's impossible. Slade and Meia should be the only two. Where are those other brainwaves coming from? Shut down the process!"
"Too late! The brainwaves are in a state of final synchronization! I can't stop it now!"
The shaman's brow furrowed as he bore the brunt of the additional psychic energies, but managed to convey them all into Slade's being. There was a tremendous flash of light as both pods whined and then fell silent.
That was when Jura and Dita collapsed on the floor unconscious.
Somewhere... in Slade's mind...
Meia felt an odd feeling as she found herself floating in a place that was hazy and full of shadows. She wondered if this was what the inside of a person's mind was like. Then suddenly, it got bright and she found herself falling. She let off a startled scream and landed hard on her rear on the ground.
"Ow!"
She rubbed her sore posterior and stood up. Meia looked about and saw that she was in a place that could only be described as... weird. The landscape was strewn with odd shapes and colors. Coming out from the ground were strange tendrils that resembled vines or ropes. Every now and then, flashes of light would appear across the multi-colored sky. It was chaos in its purest form, and it was not at all what she expected to see. And then, she saw them.
"Hey Meia!"
"Where are we?"
The blue-haired girl's eyes widened as she beheld her two compatriots. "What the?! What are you two doing here?!"
Jura shrugged as she replied. "I don't know. One minute, I was watching you and Slade in the Sick Bay... the next minute I get one really big headache, and I find myself here."
"Me too!" Dita chirped.
It was then that they all heard Duero's voice echoing around them.
"Meia! Can you hear me?"
The three girls looked about for the good doctor but could not see him anywhere.
"Yes! We can hear you! Where are you?" Meia cried out.
The Sick Bay...
Duero nodded as he spoke into the console's audio emitter. "I'm where you left me, in the Sick Bay. The shaman is setting up a kind of psychic link to allow me to communicate with you inside of Slade's mind. Are you all right? Can you describe to me what's going on in there? And why did you say 'we' can hear you?"
Nearby, Paiway, Barnette, and two other crewmembers were tending to the unconscious forms of Dita and Jura.
"I don't know how, but Jura and Dita are in here WITH me." Meia's voice replied from the console. "I don't understand, Doctor. I thought I was the only one who was going to synchronize with Slade."
"Hmmm, I wonder if this has anything to do with them being unconscious..." The physician pondered for a while, then addressed his apprentice. "Paiway, can you do a cerebral scan on Dita and Jura? Give me a reading."
The young doctor-in-training nodded as she took out a small device and waved it over Jura's forehead, then Dita's. She then looked at the readout and said, "I'm getting a reading of 0.0475 on the delta wave frequencies. It's like they both went from full consciousness to near-comas instantly. I'm not picking up any signs of physical trauma or anything that might have caused them to be this way."
Parfet then looked at the psycho-scanner and exclaimed, "Wait a second! Did you say point-zero-four-seven-five on the delta wave frequency? That's exactly the frequency that Meia's brainwaves are synchronized with Slade's!"
Magno and Buzom were also shocked to hear this news.
"Fascinating." Duero commented. "I've always suspected that Slade and these three girls shared some kind of psychic bond, considering that Dita, Meia, and Jura's powers were derived from Slade's. However, I never imagined that their connection to him would be this deep. It could be that the Synchronizer and the shaman's telepathic ability amplified the connection." Then again, that could be the same for me and Barnette. He mentally added as he glanced at the girl in question standing by the unconscious blonde Tekkaman.
"So you're saying that they're now ALL in Slade's mind?" Magno queried.
"That's about the size of it." Duero answered. "Now separating four brainwaves instead of two will present a considerable problem."
The shaman decide to speak. [* Indeed, but I suggest that we focus on the task at hand. We must first locate Slade's true self. We shall deal with the other problem afterwards. *]
"Agreed."
[* Now then, instruct them to imagine a hill and begin climbing it. *]
"A hill?"
[* It is the mind we are dealing with, correct? Therefore, one needs only to THINK, in order to make it real. And all things must begin with the first step. We must start from the bottom and work our way up. *]
"A hill?" Jura wondered after Duero relayed the message.
"That's what the shaman said. He says that you need to imagine a hill and start climbing it." Duero responded.
The three females looked at each other for a while, nodded simultaneously, and closed their eyes. Sure enough, a slope appeared before them and they started to walk upward.
After what seemed to be hours, the slope leveled off and the trio looked about at their surroundings. Everywhere seemed to be a jumble of strange forms and colors. There was no real way of telling if they were going in the right direction or wandering aimlessly.
Dita looked about in awe and decided to investigate one of the many tendrils which were strewn haphazardly all over the landscape. She slowly reached out and touched one of them. In an instant, she saw a brief intense image in her mind. She immediately withdrew her hand.
"Wow! What was that?" She reached out and touched the tendril again. This time she did not withdraw her hand. She smiled as she recognized the image of Slade in his Tekkaman armor as he fused with her Dread. "Hey! I remember that!"
Jura and Meia walked over to where she was standing.
"What are you doing, Dita?" Meia asked.
"I think I may have found one of Mr. Alien's memories! Touch this!"
The two girls did so and were similarly amazed to see what Dita had witnessed. They went off in different directions and started to touch other tendrils.
Jura winced a bit after seeing a scene of her first Tekkadread's form. "I always hated that form! The second one was better!"
Meia saw a scene of herself in her white sundress and blushed. Then she turned back to her companions. "I think these... things must be... like threads of Slade's memories... sort of like recordings."
"Hey, maybe I can find more of me in here!" Dita said excitedly as she began checking out more of the tendrils. However, Meia reached out and grabbed the red-haired girl's right arm.
"Hold on, Dita! We can't just go running off in his mind! We need to collect his memories and bring Slade back."
"Meia's right." Duero said through the communicator. "You can't go wandering about in his psyche and randomly finding brief periods of his personal history. Just looking for memories that you've shared with him is not enough. You have to find the source of what makes Slade who he is."
"I don't understand. I thought we were here to help Slade remember us." Jura said.
"The shaman tells me that we need to find Slade as a whole, not just the part that we remember. I know it sounds more philosophical than scientific, but this procedure is unorthodox and I believe what he is referring to is Slade's... soul, his spirit, the intangible... something that makes him unique. We need Slade to remember not just us, but himself as well."
The trio were even more confused and were about to ask where to go, when Jura noticed a light off to her left and pointed to it.
"Hey, why don't we try over there?"
"Why?" Dita asked.
Jura shrugged again. "Why not? It's not like we know where else to go, right?"
Meia couldn't argue with the logic as she and Dita followed the blonde's lead. Unknown to them, a shadowy figure was hiding behind a nearby tendril and was watching them intently.
Some time later...
"How long have we been walking?" Dita inquired.
"I haven't the slightest idea." Meia said. "It's hard to tell time in this place and we still haven't found anything that remotely resembles Slade's 'soul'. I don't even know what to look for."
In front of them, Jura suddenly stopped and looked around. She turned around to face her friends. "Do you girls feel something?"
"Huh?" Dita replied. "What do you mean?"
"I'm... not sure. I've been getting the feeling that... someone's been following us."
"Are you sure? I mean, who else would be in Slade's mind besides us?" Meia asked.
"Uhhhh... me?"
The three girls turned to face the new voice and were surprised to see Slade hiding behind a tendril and quivering. He was dressed in a pale yellow-colored version of his usual clothes and he had a very meek expression on his face.
"Mr. Alien!" Dita immediately tackled him to the ground and hugged him tight.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" Slade cried out in fear as he tried to get out of her embrace. He scrambled out of her arms and cowered behind another tendril. He shivered like a leaf as he peeked around the tendril and said, "Keep away, you scare me!"
To the girls, this was a first. Since when was Slade afraid of anyone, let alone Dita?
"Meia? What's going on? I thought I heard Slade's voice. Did you find him?" Duero asked.
"Uh... I think so...?" Meia didn't quite know what to make of it. This person looked like Slade, but didn't act like him.
Just then, another figure appeared behind them and spoke in a suave voice.
"Hey there, sexy! Mind if I taste you?"
Jura was caught totally off guard when someone grabbed her by the waist, turned her around, and lip-locked with her. Her eyes widened in shock then closed in absolute joy as she realized she was kissing Slade. A red-colored Slade, but a Slade nevertheless.
"Mmmmmmmmm!"
Meanwhile, Dita was trying to coax the yellow-colored Slade out from behind the tendril.
"Oh come on, Mr. Alien! It's me, Dita!"
"Stay away! Don't hurt me!" Yellow Slade said as he cringed even further from her.
"Hurt you? I would never do that!" said Dita.
Meia stood in confusion as one Slade cowered in terror and another continued his osculation with Jura.
"Just what is going on?" She said to no one in particular. To her surprise, someone answered.
"Looks like the end... I knew it."
Meia turned about to see a blue-colored, sad-looking Slade. Then, just as she was about to address the newcomer, another Slade appeared behind him and whacked him upside the head, causing him to cry. This one was colored purple.
"You know how depressing you always make me?! I am sick and tired of your whining all the time!"
"Hey, lay off! What did he ever do to you?" A dark green Slade said as he came to his counterpart's aid.
"Shut up! Don't piss me off more than I already am!" shouted the purple Slade.
"If you think that's going to scare me, you're sorely mistaken!"
"Please guys... don't fight..." the blue Slade pleaded in tears.
An orange Slade (this one with spectacles) also made an appearance. "Indeed. Resorting to violence as a first and only measure begets more violence, and in the end destroys the question itself before reaching any solutions."
"And just remember, that it takes two to tango, three to make a conga line, and only one to do the twist." A brown Slade with a goofy-looking expression pointed out as he appeared.
The orange figure stared at his opposite half with confusion. "Just what does that have to do with anything?"
The brown Slade shrugged. "Hey, when in Rome, do as the Greeks do."
A gray Slade came into view behind Meia and let loose with one HUGE belch.
"UUUUUUUUUUUUURRRRRRRRRRRPPPPPPPP!"
A pink Slade then came to chide him. "At the very least, you could have said excuse me!"
"Whatever... I'm gonna go sleep now..." said the gray Slade as he suddenly collapses to the ground and is soon snoring loudly.
"You shouldn't just lie there. What if you catch cold?" The pink Slade then turned to Meia and bowed to her. "I must apologize for his behavior, Miss. If there's anything I can do for you, please don't hesitate to ask."
"Uh... it's not really necessary..." said Meia in an awkward tone.
At that point, Dita was lightly tapped on her back. She turned to see a smiling magenta Slade as he quickly embraced her.
"DITA! Mr. Alien is SO glad to see you!" The magenta Slade said happily. "You're still the cute and beautiful girl I know and love! Don't ever change!"
He soon started to spin Dita around in a playful manner while laughing joyously. The redhead couldn't help but blush at the compliments this Slade said to her but was soon laughing giddily along with him as she was spun around.
"Mmm... has anyone ever told you that you got a seriously hot body?" Asked the red Slade after he finally paused with kissing Jura.
"Well... as a matter of fact... oh!" Jura yelped in surprise when red Slade got bold and fondled her body.
"They're so big and soft... you should be proud..." said red Slade as he began planting kisses along her neck while squeezing one of her breasts.
Jura blushed in excitement as she felt hot and aroused from red Slade's fondling before being in liplock with him once again.
A light green Slade started to insistently tap on red Slade's shoulder as he continued to hotly make out with Jura.
"Aw c'mon! When do I get a chance?"
Nearby, two Slades, one white and one black, were pounding the living daylights out of each other. Then more Slades appeared, each one colored in a different hue and acting differently. They began arguing among each other and the three found themselves in a sea of Slades.
"What the heck are you doing?!"
"Hey! Where's the party?"
"I'm hungry!"
"Uh... excuse me?"
"You guys are so lame!"
"Will you just shut up?!"
"Please, can't we all get along?"
In the Sick Bay, Duero became more concerned as Parfet announced that Slade's brainwaves were getting erratic. Furthermore, it was becoming harder to distinguish the brain patterns of the three females. It was if they were becoming swamped by the intensity of Slade's mental activity.
"Doctor!" Meia's voice sounded from the console.
"Meia! What's going on?" The Tarak man said through the audio transmitter.
"I don't know! Suddenly, we're surrounded by dozens of Slades!"
"Dozens of Slades?"
The shaman nodded as he determined the cause of the confusion. [* Ah, it seems that they have found many pieces of Slade's whole. *]
"Many pieces of Slade's whole? What's that supposed to mean?" Meia wondered after Duero had relayed the message. She gazed upon the crowd of Slades that surrounded them and then realized what the shaman was getting at. "Dita! Jura! I figured it out!"
Dita came over to Meia after she broke away from the magenta Slade who gave her a playful wave in which she returned, promising him they'll play again later. As for Jura, though she hated to stop kissing the red Slade, she too broke off from him. He flirtatiously blew a kiss towards her, making her blush. She went over to the former Dread Leader.
"What is it?" The blonde asked.
"Yeah, why are there so many Mr. Aliens?" the redhead added.
Meia nodded as she explained. "The shaman said that these... people are pieces of Slade's whole. What I think is that each one represents a different part of Slade's personality. The yellow one must be his fear, while the red one is his love... or his... lust." She blushed furiously after saying it.
"I LIKE that one!" The voluptuous Tekkaman remarked. "Now why couldn't we see more of him?"
"I get it!" Dita said. "The blue one is sadness, the magenta one is happiness, the green one is jealousy, and the gray one..."
"Exactly!" Meia nodded, cutting her off. "And I think that the reason why Slade can't remember us or anything else is because all of these... pieces are scattered about in his mind. If we could bring them all together, then maybe Slade will get his memory back."
"That's sounds like a reasonable hypothesis." Duero spoke from the Sick Bay. "However, there are many properties to a person's personality and I don't have any idea of how you are going to gather them all up."
[* They already possess the key. *] The shaman stated telepathically. [* After all, the three of them were able to enter into Slade's inner world. *]
Duero pondered the statement then snapped his fingers. "Meia... Dita... Jura! You three must have some kind of connection to Slade's inner being. It's probably the reason why all of those sides of his personality were drawn to you. If you all concentrate and focus on everything you know about him, then perhaps you can get those sides to merge."
Inside Slade's mind...
"It sounds like a really crazy idea." Jura stated. "So how are we going to do this?"
It was then that Dita got an idea. "Hey! Maybe we can get Mr. Alien back with this!" She raised her right arm and made her blue Tekkacrystal appear.
"How did you do that?" Meia asked.
Dita shrugged. "Remember Mr. Doctor said that we only had to think to make stuff real in here? I just thought of my crystal and well..."
The other two girls nodded and brought out their own Tekkacrystals. They held them aloft and the Slades responded, by making their own crystals appear. More Slades appeared before them and made their crystals appear. Soon, an infinite number of Slades were present as they all held their crystals up. A minute later, a flash of light engulfed the entire area, blinding all in its brilliance. A heartbeat afterward, the light was gone, and only four people remained... Meia, Dita, Jura... and one Slade.
The remaining Slade shook his head to clear it and made his emerald Tekkacrystal disappear. He was dressed in his usual garb and was normally colored. He looked toward the girls and smiled. "Hey Dita... Meia... Jura... what are you three doing here?"
"You... remember us... Mr. Alien?" Dita asked tentatively.
"Of course I remember you... though I really wish you'd stop calling me Mr. Alien. It's getting really old and- ERK!"
Slade was immediately hugged by three joyous females. All three began crying and going on about how glad they were that he was back. The trio threatened to squeeze the life out of him, and he had to forcibly break loose from their embrace.
"Whoa! Not that I'm complaining, but what was that all about?"
"Oh Slade! It's good to have you back!" Jura said happily. "You remember us!"
"Mr. Alien! I'm so glad you're you again!" Dita jumped up and down.
"Welcome back, Slade." Meia said, trying to keep her composure, but her eyes were watery.
"Uh, sure... I'm glad to be back, though I can't say I remember going anywhere. Last thing I recall was fighting that Radam battleship and blacking out, but that's about it."
"So you remember everything?" Meia inquired. "The time you first met us? The time we were thrown across the galaxy? And when you came to Tarak?"
"Yeah, I remember all of that, though I still can't recall anything before that and..."
It was then that the four of them noticed a dark shadowy area just over the horizon. It was accentuated by periodic flashes of light and had a foreboding presence emanating from it.
"Mr. Alien? What is that place?" Dita asked.
Slade shrugged. "I don't know. I never went there before. I never could get close enough to it. Every time I tried, it would block me out and I'd feel some kind of cold sensation, so I left it alone."
"Do you think that place may be where to find all of your lost memories? The ones about your unknown past?" Meia asked.
"I don't know. It could be." Slade answered.
"So why don't we go find out?" Jura suggested. "The doctor did say that we needed to find every bit of your soul, right?"
The other two girls nodded as they began to head toward the darkened area. Slade soon followed and the four of them disappeared into the shadowy realm of the Tekkaman's psyche.
In the Sick Bay, Duero became alarmed as warning noises sounded off.
"Hey! What's happening?" asked Barnette as she looked between the machines and the four unconscious bodies. She may not be a scientist, but she knew those sounds didn't mean anything good.
"I can't separate their brainwave patterns!" Parfet cried out. "They've gone too far into Slade's subconscious!"
"Meia! Dita! Jura! Can you hear me?" Duero tried to raise them on the console, but all he got was static. He began to worry that the girls were now lost in Slade's inner-being with no way to get them out.
The shaman however, continued to remain calm as he spoke. [* Do not fear. They are safe and shall return, with ALL of Slade. They are nearing the end of their journey into his soul... *]
"I don't like this place!" Dita said as she and the others continued on their way through the deepest and most foreboding part of Slade's mind. It was if the shadows were alive and were trying to smother them in an endless black void. Though she had stopped being afraid of the dark when she was six years old, this blackness was more fearful than any childhood nightmare she ever had.
Though Meia wouldn't admit it openly, she too was unnerved by the shadows and hoped that they would find that part of Slade's soul for him to be complete. She was curious as to what he was like before she had met him. However, to have that missing part of his being trapped within a place such as this, it had to mean that something intense must have happened to him. Something so terrible, that he shunned that portion of his life and memories away. She began to feel the sorrow and pain that she felt when she was younger. She also felt that familiar sense of anxiety as the shadows seemed to close in on her and her claustrophobia began to surface. Meia began to suspect that what she was experiencing was somehow connected to this place and Slade's lost past. She wondered just what had happened to make him want to deny this part of his inner self and affect her in such a way.
For Jura, she put on a brave front so that the others wouldn't realize that she was scared out of her wits. Something about this place was making her feel the fear she had gone through in her younger years. During her time in grade school, she had actually been a plain-looking child and was the butt of many practical jokes by the other children. Though she had toughed it out and eventually blossomed into the beauty that she is now, the fear of loneliness and never being noticed had stayed with her. She always wanted fame and recognition since then, and until the time she met Slade, that was her only concern. She clung to his arm for reassurance that she wasn't alone and there was at least one person who thought of her as someone special.
As for Slade, he couldn't help but keep scratching at the scar on his left eye and cheek. For some reason, this area of his subconscious was connected to the wound. Then, as they neared the center of the shadow, red dots of light began appearing all around them.
The White Tekkaman felt a cold shiver travel down his spine. As the lights neared, he began to realize why he was feeling this way. He had experienced this many times before, in that same recurring nightmare. And he wasn't the only one. Due to their bond with him, the three girls had also witnessed this particular scene in their dreams. The shadows became darker as those crimson lights drew ever closer. Then the four could see that those lights were actually eyes, which had a kind of savage and hungry look about them.
Then, without warning, the eyes flashed and swarmed upon them like a school of ravenous piranha. A kind of yowling was heard, and the four cried out in shock and pain as unseen claws and teeth began scratching and tearing at them. Though this was all in their minds (or in this case, Slade's mind), the terror was all too real for them.
For Slade, he began to reach his breaking point of mental sanity as an intense and horribly familiar sensation of fear tried to force its way into his psyche. He knew that he had experienced this before and he wanted nothing more than for it to stop. Finally, he could take no more and let it all out.
"STOP IT!"
His aura flared like a small nova, blinding his three companions, but also driving away the darkness. The shadows revealed feline forms as they scurried away from him and disappeared into the landscape. The yowling stopped and all became silent as Slade powered down. He looked at the girls and was glad to see them no worse for wear. Then, they heard... him.
"ROWR!"
The four all turned around and saw a small boy several meters away from them. He was in a crouching position on all fours. The youth was wearing a torn and bloodied karate gi and was barefoot. He had dozens of cuts all over his body, but what really stood out was a large bloody gash over his left eye and cheek.
Slade reached up toward the scar on his own face, then realized that the boy was...
"Mr. Alien! He looks like you, only little!" Dita gasped as she saw a striking resemblance.
Meia nodded as she also made the connection. "So, this was you when you were young?"
Jura could only look in awe. So this is what her future children's ohma looked like when he was a child? If it weren't for all the injuries, he would have been considered adorable, even by Mejele standards. Then she started to wonder what her own children would look like after Slade had fathered them.
"HISS! FFFFTTT!" The boy continued to regard the group as potential enemies as he prepared to spring. His hands curled into claws and powered up.
"Mr. Alien? Why are you... I mean, why is he acting like a cat?" Dita was reminded of the pet cat she had as a little girl.
Slade began to see scenes in his mind and knew that his long-lost past was finally coming back to him. He looked back down at his previous self and motioned for the others to get back. He recognized the stance the boy was in.
"ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWWWRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!"
As soon as the cat-boy launched himself at his future self, Slade immediately let loose with a quantum energy blast. He used only enough to stun the wild child. As his younger self landed on his back in a daze, Slade quickly ran over and pinned him down, their eyes locked with each other. The boy immediately started to thrash about in an attempt to break free, but Slade held tight. It was extremely difficult as the boy possessed a strength that went beyond belief. The Tekkacrystal symbol on Slade's forehead appeared as he continued to restrain the lad.
There was a long stretch of silence as Meia, Jura, and Dita waited for the outcome.
Finally, the boy stopped struggling as his animalistic nature faded away. His eyes no longer reflected that of a cat's, but as a human being's. He looked up in wonder at his own older face. At the same time, his older self stared down at his youthful counterpart. Then at last, the silence was ended as Slade asked the boy...
"Who are you?"
The boy smiled at bit as he replied. "Ranma."
Then a bright light enveloped them all.
The Sick Bay...
"Huh?" Parfet was surprised to see all four brainwaves on her monitor suddenly separate on their own. "Now how did that happen?"
The shaman smiled as he came out of his trance and got up. [* It is done. *]
To Duero's amazement, Meia, Jura, and Dita regained consciousness simultaneously. He looked over to the control console with a questioning expression. Barnette looked at the waking forms of her friends before looking at Parfet, who could only shrug and shake her head. She hadn't even touched the controls, but they had come out of near-comas on their own. The captain and BC were similarly puzzled. Then all eyes turned to Slade.
The person in question sat up and shook his head to clear it. He was silent as he stroked the scar on his face.
"Slade?" Magno inquired with a slightly trembling tone.
"Ranma."
The ancient captain felt as if she was having a stroke when she heard that.
"What... did you say?"
"I remember now. My name is... Ranma Saotome."
To be continued...
Preview...
Meia: "We've succeeded in bringing Slade back his memories. Not only that, he now remembers his past."
Jura: "So how do you feel, Slade? Or should I call you Ranma? Isn't this what you wanted?"
Slade: "I'm fine, but I prefer to be called Slade, as I haven't gone by the name Ranma for over five centuries. But I'm not sure if I feel happy as that name carried a lot of bad memories of myself…"
Dita: "Really? It can't be ALL that bad, can it?"
Slade: "You have NO idea… Finding my lost identity didn't have all positive effects as now I face the sins of my past. Damn you, Old Man… you're already dead, yet I'm still paying for your acts of stupidity! Now what? Why does the Captain want to see me in private? She was acting way too familiar for my tastes… as if she knew me before. That's impossible, I've never met her before the takeover of the Ikazuchi. Next time, on TekkaDread Remastered: 'Finally… Here's Ranma!'."
Magno: "It is you… you've finally come back!"
Slade: "What…?"
Author's notes
Well, that was certainly a long one! For those of you who are wondering about the mind search, I was inspired after watching Irresponsible Captain Tylor. Plus I also got some extra inspiration from Alex Burgos, Mike Silva and a few other pre-readers. Listed below are the different aspects of Slade's personality.
In the next part, Slade must now come to terms with the memories of his former life as Ranma Saotome, and we will finally discover the connection between him and Magno. I've received a lot of theories from my readers, but only one has guessed right. We'll see the repercussions of Slade's rediscovery of his past and not all of it will be positive. In the meantime, Darkon will begin preparations for his final assault as this story nears its climax. See you then!
Happiness/humor - magenta (always cheerful and laughing)
Sadness - blue (does nothing but mope and cry)
Love/lust - red (will flirt with and hit on anyone of the opposite sex)
Fear/shyness - yellow (too scared to be around anything, antithesis to Bravery)
Anger/rage - purple (always pissed off about something and is pretty violent)
Intelligence/wisdom - orange (bespectacled and reading, spouts out logical phrases)
Bravery/confidence - dark green (very gung-ho and faces off against anything)
Rudeness - gray (just plain sloppy, insensitive, and is the foot-in-mouth instigator)
Kindness/courtesy - pink (very polite, consoling, and pacifistic, Kasumi would be proud, tries to fix up Rudeness)
Weirdness/idiocy - brown (just the way it sounds, gets on Intelligence's nerves)
Envy/jealousy - green (demanding of anything and everything, mostly at odds with Love)
Cruelty - black (dark side of Slade, Yang)
Purity - white (light side of Slade, Yin)
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