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: Tekkaman Blade, Ranma 1/2 and Vandread all belong to someone else, so I can't take credit for them.
italics: Thoughts
Chapter 23 Part 3
A Mother's Tale
On Mejele...
"What are the latest reports?" Grand Ma asked as one of her subordinates stood before her in the Main Conference Hall in the Planetary Capital.
The young woman took a deep breath as she read the report. "The entire Outer Patrol Fleet has been totally wiped out. The Inner Fleet and the Orbital Observation Stations are currently engaged with the enemy and are reporting heavy losses. Our strongest weapons and most powerful ships are almost useless against these monsters. They say that they won't be able to hold out much longer and that it will only be a matter of days before they are overrun. Several hundred thousand of these aliens have already begun landing on the planet's surface, attacking the smaller cities and destroying the major military installations. Also, there are reports that the enemy are planting some kind of vegetation that are draining the planet's natural resources. There is widespread panic among the general populace and there has been countless incidences of rioting and looting." She shook her head sadly and gazed upon the Supreme Leader of the all-female world. "What are we going to do, Lady Grand Ma?"
The aged woman considered all possible options. If what her subordinate had said was true, then further resistance against these invaders would be pointless. There had already been too much loss of life, and she had to consider the future of her people and those who had not yet begun to live. Deep within the surface of the planet, hundreds of thousands of individuals still slumbered within cryogenic suspension capsules. They had been part of the original crews of the Great Migration and had been in suspended animation for well over a century. It was her duty and Grand Pa's to safeguard the future of the human race. And as such, she had to consider their lives, along with the second and third generations of Mejele.
Though she hated to admit it, the women needed help... from the men. Since she had been hearing reports that the men of Tarak were actually putting up better resistance against the same aliens, it would make sense to try and enlist their aid. She then made the decision to open up the ancient line that gave her a direct link to her husband... Grand Pa.
Meanwhile, aboard the Nirvana...
"I know this sounds impossible, Ranma, but I am Nodoka... your mother." Magno said as she sat opposite to Slade at the Conference Table.
Naturally of course, Slade was more than a bit skeptical at this old woman who claimed to be his natural mother. For one thing, she didn't look a thing like the woman he remembered from his former life as Ranma Saotome. His memories of his youth were sketchy, but Magno Vivian bore no resemblance to that image of his mother whatsoever. For one thing, Nodoka did not have blond hair. He had seen a strand of her hair hanging out from beneath her hood.
"I thought I told you never to call me Ranma." The Tekkaman growled. "And I'm not at all buying this story about you being my mother. It's been over five hundred and fifty years. You're old, but you're not THAT old."
Magno chuckled a bit then said, "You're right. I'm NOT that old. I'm only one hundred and three."
"There, so..."
"However, I am your mother." Magno cut him off. "It was a very long time ago, in another lifetime, when I went by the name of Nodoka Saotome..."
Flashback, October 1996...
Nodoka Saotome bowed her head as the funeral services concluded. Since there were no bodies to bury or cremate, the ceremony had been entirely symbolic to honor the passing of her son and husband. It had been two months since she had been informed that her family had perished at a strange place called Jusenkyo.
Though Genma's wife was harboring a hidden anger over the foolishness of her late spouse, and her own for letting him take her only child away, she kept such thoughts to herself. It did not matter anyway with her family gone forever. It was time to move on.
End of flashback...
"I mourned your death for a very long time, Ranma... I mean, Slade. I was so distraught over losing you that I considered ending my own life." The pirate captain said.
"Well I guess it's obvious that you didn't." Slade remarked with a sarcastic tone. "Not that I believe that you're really my mother."
Magno's expression hardened at Slade's lack of respect toward her, then it softened as she realized that he had every right to be bitter. She continued with her story. "Three years after the funeral, I remarried and took on the different family name of Tensuke. My second husband, your stepfather, was a much kinder and understanding person, unlike that fool Genma. I was happy... for a time. Then, fifteen years later..."
Flashback, June 2014...
"I'm sorry Nodoka, but the tests were positive." Her friend Dr. Sasaki stated as she read the results. "The terrorist bombing that killed your husband has also caused you and your son to be infected with the virus. You and Kenji are in the final stages of the disease. You have less than six months to live."
The twice-widow lowered her head in sadness. It had been eighteen years since she had lost her first family. Now fate was about to take her second family. It had been her misfortune that she, her husband, and her second son had been in the airport when terrorists had released a viral agent with the use of an exploding device. The explosion killed dozens of people, including her second husband. The disease spread throughout the surrounding areas and hundreds more were doomed to a slow and agonizing death. Some lingered on for months before succumbing. Unfortunately, both Nodoka and her son would be among them.
End of flashback...
"Hold on!" Slade interrupted. "Kenji? As in... your SON Kenji?"
The woman who was once Nodoka took a deep breath, then sighed while nodding. "Yes. Kenji was the child that I had with your stepfather. He was... your half-brother."
"Half-brother?! So not only are you saying that you're my real mother, but that I also had a half-brother?!"
"I don't expect you to believe it right away, but it is... was true. However, the disease that Kenji and I had contracted would have killed us within a half-year."
Slade snorted in disdain. "Well it looks like it didn't."
Magno sighed again. "No, it did not. However, I sometimes wished it did. I wouldn't have had to suffer through centuries of despair and loneliness. There was a way to save me and Kenji. However, it meant that I would have to give up my home, my friends, and ultimately my very identity..."
Flashback November 2014...
"Are you sure about this?" Nodoka asked as she was being prepared to undergo the experimental cryostasis procedure. She had been given an injection which would freeze her body's vital functions and prevent cellular crystallization and degradation once the freezing process had begun.
Dr. Sasaki nodded as she gave her friend a reassuring smile. "This is the only option we have. Our scientists are close to finding a cure for the disease, but they're still several months away. You and all the other victims do not have the time. You're lucky that the government is paying for this cryogenics process. I know that they're saying that they only want to help the victims, but everyone knows that they just want to cover themselves up for their part in the terrorist attack. In any case, once the cure has been found, you and your son will be revived and cured. Your son is already in stasis and he's doing fine, and so are the other patients. You are the last one. We have to freeze you now, before the disease reaches its critical phase."
"So, I guess I'll see you in a few months then."
"Don't worry, Nodoka. You won't even know that you were frozen when you wake up. It'll be like waking up from a short nap."
"And my personal effects?"
"They'll be stored in a separate facility."
"And the scroll?"
"As you had instructed, it was put into a nitrogen-filled capsule to keep it from degrading any further. Though I can't understand why you still hold onto that damned agreement. Why anyone would want to have a reminder of that idiot Genma is beyond me."
"I keep it not to remind me of Genma. I keep it to remind me of what I've lost, and because it's all I have left of Ranma..."
Later...
Nodoka felt a numbing cold as she was sealed within the cryo-pod. Already she could feel her body stiffen as she began to lose consciousness. This was not the sensation that one felt when one was dying, but rather what one felt when one was falling asleep. As her thoughts became stilled and her body froze, one last image flashed before her eyes. It was an image of her sons... fifteen-year-old Kenji... and five-year-old Ranma.
End of flashback...
"My cryo-nap was only supposed to last a few months, a year at most." Vivian said with a tired tone. "I never imagined that it would last for centuries." She let off a rueful chuckle. "You weren't the only one who went to sleep for a long time."
Slade scowled at the comment. "I didn't ask for that Tekkapod to swallow me up and turn me into a Tekkaman."
The aged woman shrugged. "And I never asked to be infected and be forced to be frozen until a cure could be found. However, we can't change what has happened. Once we went to sleep, the world forgot about us... at least for me, until a hundred years ago..."
Flashback, January 2447...
Nodoka squinted as a bright light nearly blinded her. Her body felt stiff and sore from being dormant for so long, but she slowly managed to rise to a sitting position. She looked about and saw that she was in a medical bed in some lab. She was dressed in a kind of hospital wrap. A lingering chill still caused her to shiver due to the after-effects of the cryostasis. She hugged herself and rubbed with her hands to get circulation going and to warm up. Then a blanket was draped over her shoulders as a young man in a medical lab coat addressed her.
"Easy now. You're just getting over the cryostasis process. Give your body time to adjust and you'll be fine."
"T-Thank you." Nodoka said in a coarse scratchy tone. Her vocal cords had been inactive for a long time and her throat was somewhat sore. She then gazed upon the man, who looked to be about in his early twenties. She then noted that the lab she was in had technology that was far more advanced than any she had seen before she had been frozen. She started to wonder just how long she had been gone. It was obvious that it had been more than a few months. Then she saw the readout on one of the computer screens. Her eyes widened as she saw the date... January 28, 2447.
The medic nodded as he noted her expression. Her shock was understandable as he began to explain. "Ms. Nodoka Tensuke?"
She looked back at the man, momentarily forgetting what she had just seen. "H-How did you know who I am?"
He held up what looked like a clipboard, but instead of sheets of paper, the face had a holographic screen. He started to read the data. "According to the file that was in the cryo-pod's database, you are Nodoka Tensuke. You were fifty-six years old when you were put into stasis, due to being infected with a disease from an archaic biological weapon. You were only supposed to be in stasis for a few months until a cure could be found. However, due to the Great Tsunami of 2015, you never received your cure."
"W-What?"
The medic took a deep breath and continued. "On January 14, 2015, there was a massive undersea quake in the Pacific Ocean, which caused a huge tsunami to hit Japan. Nearly all of the smaller islands and much of the main island of Honshu was flooded. The facility where your cryo-pod was had gotten caught in that huge tidal wave and was swept into the ocean, along with all the others who had been in stasis. You and everyone else in that facility had to be considered as lost."
"B-But... I don't understand. How am I alive now?" She pointed to the computer console. "Is... it really...?"
The man nodded again. "Yes. It is now the year 2447, or the mid-25th Century. I have to admit, they really knew how to build things back in the 21st Century. Your cryo-pod was still operational and almost entirely intact when an underwater research team came across the ruins of the facility. That pod had kept you alive for more than four centuries! That's got to be a record!"
Nodoka reached out weakly toward him and asked, "My son! My son Kenji was in one of those pods! Please! Tell me that you found him! Is he alive?"
The man in the lab coat bowed his head sadly and shook it. "I'm sorry, Ms. Tensuke. Your pod was the only intact one that we found. We also came across a storage room where your personal effects were still preserved. Every other pod we came across had long since failed and the people within them had died centuries ago. We did not find all the pods that were listed in the facility's registry, but there was no sign of the one which contained Kenji Tensuke's body. Most likely, it was destroyed during the disaster of 2015."
Nodoka felt the color drain out of her face as she just realized that she had just lost her second child. It was then that she began to weep uncontrollably and cursed Fate that she had outlived not one but two sons.
Later on...
After drying her tears and finally accepting that her second son was lost to her, Nodoka continued to ask the medic about her situation. "But I still don't understand how I could be alive now. You said that I never received the cure."
"That's right. You didn't receive the cure that had been developed by the Japanese Government at the time. However, as of now, you don't need it."
"What?"
The medic gave her a slight whimsical expression as he explained. "Remember, you're in the Twenty-Fifth Century now. Medical science has come a long way since then. The disease that had you to be frozen was easily cured when we thawed you out. Our medical facilities here at the Orbital Space Ring are top notch."
That statement caught the still-recovering woman off guard. "Excuse me? Did you say... Orbital Space Ring? We're in space?!"
"That's right. The zero gravity and vacuum of space does provide us with a very good environment for experiments and research. When your cryo-pod was discovered, it was transported here so that you could be revived and cured."
"So why aren't I floating or something?"
"Oh, the artificial gravity fields are what keeps you on the floor, but that's not important. What is important is what you are going to do now, Ms. Tensuke. Though it wasn't something that you wanted, you've been given a chance to start a new life."
End of Flashback...
"So I decided to take my new chance to start over, and I did so... literally remaking myself." Magno said as she finished with her story. "From that moment, Nodoka was dead and Vivian Magno was born. I did not want any more reminders of my past life, save for this and a few other items." She gestured to the parchment that was still floating in its nitrogen-filled capsule and suspended by the anti-gravity field projector.
By this time, Slade was looking at her with less of a sarcastic expression, but he was still unconvinced. "That still doesn't explain why you don't look a thing like the mother I remember. I may have only been five years old, but I still..."
"See her as a kind woman with brown hair, sky blue eyes, and holding a giggling, younger you in her arms and posing for a picture?" Magno inquired.
This statement took Slade by surprise. "H-How did you know about that?"
The pirate captain nodded as she produced another object. It was an aged photo inside a plastic frame, permanently vacuum-sealed to keep it from degrading. She placed the frame on the table and pushed it toward Slade. When it slid to a stop in front of him, he picked it up and gazed upon the ancient image. His hand shook as he recognized the scene from his newly-discovered memories. He made several double-takes as he looked back and forth at the captain and the photo.
"Look familiar?" Vivian asked.
Slade shook his head in total denial. "No... it can't be! It can't be!"
The leader of the Mejele Pirates nodded as she explained. "Quite a difference, isn't it? When I said I remade myself, I meant it. I underwent some genetic restructuring and used some rejuvenation methods to keep me from aging somewhat. That's why I only look to be just over one hundred. When I said I was only one hundred and three, I meant that was how old I am as Vivian Magno, not Nodoka Tensuke or Saotome. Then came the time of the Great Migration and... well, I'm certain that you can figure out the rest."
She then got up and walked over to where her son was sitting. She gazed upon her first-born for a long while and neither one said a word. Finally, she broke the silence as she placed a hand on his right shoulder. "My son, I had never thought I would ever see you again. It's as if the powers that be finally decided to reunite us after all these centuries. I know that it is a lot to take in and I am willing to give you some time to think things over. Perhaps we can...?"
At that moment, Slade snarled at her and slapped her hand off his shoulder. He got up and glared at the ancient woman. "DON'T... EVER... TOUCH... ME!" His tone was dripping with scorn and rage. He threw down the picture with such force that the protective case broke open, exposing the old photo to the open air. It took all of his self-control to not lash out at the old pirate captain.
"Ranma?" Magno was taken by surprise by this sudden burst of anger, though she should have expected something like this might happen.
"I told you... don't call me Ranma!" Slade growled. "And most of all, don't call me your SON!"
"But-"
"What? You were expecting me to say all is forgiven and accept this?! I haven't had a mother since I was five! I had no one but Pops to take care of me! And after enduring everything that he did to me, I had long decided that I had no mother to begin with! After all, you were never there when I needed you! Where were you for TEN years?! Why did you let Pops take me away?!"
"Ran... Slade, you're not being fair!" Magno shot back as she felt her own anger rising. "I had no way of knowing what your father was doing to you during that training trip!" She had been informed of Genma's many crimes when she had been informed of his death and Ranma's. "He always kept on moving and the only contact I had was the occasional letter..."
"And not once did you ever try to find us!" Slade snarled. "And just NOW you want to be my mother?!"
"I was told that you were dead!"
"Then maybe it's better off that I remain DEAD to you!"
"What?"
Slade bowed his head as he trembled with barely-contained rage. He then spoke with an emotionless tone. "I don't care about the last five hundred fifty years, since we didn't have a choice during that time. But I can't forget those first ten years, when you abandoned me to Pops! I was all alone, and having Pops around all the time wasn't any better, especially with all the Hell he put me through. You're not my mother. You are a stranger to me and with all the time that's passed between us, I don't think there's anything left to try and save." He raised his head and glared at her. "When this business with the Radam is over, I'm leaving this ship... and you... I'm NEVER coming back! And I warn you... if you tell anyone, and I mean ANYONE about what you told me today, then I will ABANDON this ship, just like how you abandoned me all those years ago! Do you understand?"
Magno gazed for a long time, then bowed her head in resignation. "So be it. I will not tell anyone that you were once Ranma Saotome... my son."
Slade then turned about and left without another word.
After he departed and the door to the Conference Room closed, Magno slumped down into a chair and bowed her head in her hands. She then started to weep as she had just lost her first son... for the second time.
Slade continued to brood as he walked down the hallway. He started to think about the half-brother that he had never met and wondered what had become of him. He then shrugged and decided that it was better off that he had perished. At least he would never know of the anguish and frustration of having to meet up with the mother that had thrown away her only child to a fool like Genma. He was probably the lucky one.
The Radam Fleet...
As Darkon's forces continued to press their unyielding attacks against the citizens of Mejele, a lone Tekkaman continued to slumber within the confines of the Tekkapod. As his body was being evolved toward the penultimate form of the Tekkaman process, his thoughts focused on one goal... defeat his rival and prove to all that he was the stronger of the two.
Saber had always considered Slade and he were two of a kind. And why not? They both had much in common, first and foremost was their mutual past with a certain individual... Nodoka Saotome.
Before being transformed into a Tekkaman by the Harvesters, Saber had been one of the many wretches that had been surviving by stealing the organs of others. His was a very special case, due to having advanced cellular degeneration... from extended cryogenic suspension. He had been found in a malfunctioning cryo-pod during the time of the Great Migration and had been deemed too fragile to survive the rigors of space travel. He could not be put into suspension again and had to spend his existence being tied to a life-support machine.
When the Radam presence in the Earth's Paksis offered to turn him into a cosmic warrior, he had readily accepted the offer. He had grown quite bitter due to the Harvesters' treatment of him, but the core of his resentment stemmed from his previous life. His mother had doted on him, but was always referring back to her long-lost first born. In his eyes, Saber had been merely the substitute and had felt nothing but bitterness against his long-dead half-brother. Often, she would mistakenly call him by his half-brother's name, rather than his own. And ultimately, she had abandoned him to a frozen grave, just as she had abandoned her first child.
Then he learned that his mother and half-brother were still alive.
They were the reason why Lord Darkon treated him so shabbily. They had always thwarted his plans and made him look like a fool in the eyes of the Radam Warlord. Until he had destroyed the source of his constant failures and proven to all that he was someone to be reckoned with, he would never stop. Magno and her pirates will be destroyed and Slade will finally be defeated.
Tekkaman Saber... formally Kenji Tensuke, swore it.
We're two of a kind, my dear brother Ranma, but the universe does not need the two of us. I shall make certain of it!
To be continued...
Preview...
Jura: "We're finally near the end of our journey as we draw closer to Mejele and Tarak. Huh? Slade seems quite agitated. I wonder what happened?"
Meia: "Only he and the Captain would know. I wonder what went on between them? He doesn't even want to talk about it. The Captain's pretty downcast as well, but is dodgy about the details. I'm beginning to worry."
Slade: "Only one more week, then I can say goodbye to the Nirvana… and Magno… forever… I will not take this. Once again, I have another unwanted encounter. Before I leave, I'd better patch things up between me and Ukyou XVII. I'm lucky Gasco was around to help. Next time, on TekkaDread Remastered: 'End of the Line for Mejele…'."
Dita: "Slade… you kept your promise to me…"
Slade: "Huh? Did you just call me by my name?"
Author's Notes
Well, that takes care of chapter 10 as new secrets are revealed. There's only three more chapters (with multiple parts to each), and things are about to come to a head once the Nirvana reaches Mejele and Tarak. There are more surprises and plenty of action as Tekkadread the Second Stage reaches its climax. See you soon!
Please read and review!