Prologue


The entire Hunt Pack, as well as its group of prisoners, spoke in rapid
tones of the events that had just happened. The mountain had simply
exploded, replaced by an intense beam of blue-white light. Fortunately, the
only piece of rock that came close to the group was a fist-sized chunk that
bounced harmlessly off of Lime's skull. Not that Cabinet didn't fret over
her husband, much to Lime's delight. He even went so far as to consider
bludgeoning himself some more if he could gain that kind of attention from
his new wife. 

Julep stood off to the side, carefully thinking things through. Judging by
the way the soldiers had reacted, none of them had expected the explosion
to occur. And then there had been the overwhelming changes that had just
occurred to the land surrounding the group. Even as events unfolded, and
that bright beam of light shot up into the sky, Julep's animal instincts
allowed her to feel the transformation in everything around her. For a
brief moment she had thought she was going mad, but she quickly regained
her composure. She was not an animal; she was an Amazon pathfinder. She
would control herself and get to the bottom of this mystery somehow. 

She was about to set off in the direction of where the mountain had just
been when a girl stumbled into view. The brown-haired teenager's outfit was
ripped badly in a number of places, her legs were covered in blood, and she
had an unconscious man draped over her back. Her eyes had a distant quality
to them as she tried to focus on the group before her. 

"Did I miss anything?"

Kyoko Onamuri then collapsed to the ground.


Ranma 1/2 Presents:
Shampoo 1/2
Chapter 39

Aftermath


All C+C is desired. You can contact me at:
sommer@3rdm.net

Standard Disclaimer:
I don't own any of the Ranma 1/2 characters or any from other series
mentioned in this story.

Azatlan has given Shampoo 1/2 a home at:
http://www.geocities.com/~azatlan/Special-Series/shampoo.html

Bloodblade has also put it on his webpage at:
http://www.geocities.com/tokyo/towers/5920

Slashly also has it at:
http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Shrine/5747/Shampoo.html


Last Chapter:

Ranma brought Shampoo back from the dead. That about sums it up. Now it's
time to deal with the aftermath of the recent events...

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


All of the members of the Tendo and Saotome families continued to scan the
shoreline for any sign of their missing family members. The mountain had
exploded some time ago and the light that had radiated up to the heavens
had disappeared without a hint of returning. Twice Genma had to restrain
his wife from leaving, while Soun ran back and forth, crying out about how
his daughter must have been in great danger. Only Kasumi maintained her
composure, staring off at where the column of light had been, and smiled.
She wanted to reassure the others that Akane and the others were all right,
but couldn't explain how she knew it. Rather than give some vague
explanation that might raise more questions, she opted to remain silent. 

"Someone comes," First Mate Kawada said as he pointed to the tree line of
the starboard bow. He and many of the other members of the crew looked
onward, either to see what spectacular fireworks to expect next, or in the
case of Aki's personal 'Idiot Trio', waiting to see in what shape she would
return. Even D'Amour, who had at last stopped bragging about how great he
was in saving the ship, spared a glance in the direction. After all, a lot
of beautiful women were due back at the ship any time now. He could then
brag to them of his heroics, confident he could bed at least one of them.

A blue and black garbed figure came at a hurried pace from out of the tree
line, dragging behind it a huge makeshift travois with a large number of
people on it. Aki made a straight line for the extended gangplank that led
to her ship. 

"Since when did I become a beast of burden?!" Aki shouted back to the
others on the travois. 

"You are the only one that could possibly get all of us here in time to
help the injured," Cologne answered in a tired voice.

Aki was about to complain again when a ribbon cracked itself like a whip
right next to her face.

"Faster, harridan!" Kodachi shouted out, almost in tears. "We must get
assistance for my beloved Mousse-sama." It was luck that the group stumbled
across Kodachi and Mousse, who was in human form now and still unconscious
since his electrocution. There was a black ring of burned flesh from where
the wire had been looped around his neck, and already it had begun to
blister. Kodachi was at a loss of what to do. The only thing that even came
close to calming her was that his breathing was regular.

"Use that ribbon on me again and I'll wrap you up in it and give you to the
captain!" Aki warned. The only thing that kept her from making good on her
threat was that she could empathize with Kodachi's worry over her lover,
but empathy only went so far.

The crew helped the injured people onto the ship: The still comatose Ai,
who Ukyou would not let go of while Perfume tried to keep her alive, the
aforementioned Mousse, and finally Ryouga with his broken wrist and arm
with compound fractures from where the wall had collapsed on the delicate
bat wing. None of the others looked very well either, in varying degrees of
exhaustion or shock, or in Akane's case, unconsciousness. 

Nodoka panicked when she saw that Ranma was not present. "Where's my son?!"
she screamed out.

"He should be at the top of the crystal shard that now stands where Mount
Phoenix once did," Cologne informed her in a tired voice. The diminutive
Amazon felt as though she was going to fall over at any minute. "I believe
he's all right."

"What makes you so sure?!" Nodoka asked, still afraid. 

"We are all still here," was all the explanation Cologne offered as she
went towards her quarters to rest. She needed just a few hours and then she
would be fine. 

Genma was watching Soun cry out in joy that his daughter was okay, when
Nodoka grabbed him by the collar of his gi. 

"We have to make sure my son is all right!"

Genma tried relaxing her. "If the old troll says Ranma's fine, he's fine.
The boy can take care of himself." 

"How can you be so-" The rest of her statement was cut off as she found her
hand suddenly in the grasp of D'Amour. 

"There's no need to fear, mon cherie," the captain said smoothly. "I would
consider it the greatest of honors to allay your worries by retrieving
Panma."

"That's Ranma."

"Whatever," D'Amour said dismissively, then launched back into his
exposition. "A beauty such as yours should never be marred by concern. To
allow such a thing to occur is a crime against nature itself."

Nodoka felt herself blushing at the compliment. No one ever said things
like that to her, not since she had been a young woman.

D'Amour smelled blood and continued. "Yes. The nobility in your visage
simply augments your beauty to a point that brings a tear to my eye."

Nodoka saw that indeed a single tear was in his right eye. Slowly it
traveled down his cheek, leaving Nodoka breathless. "Oh...my," was all she
could get out. 

"After I have retrieved your son, and made certain he is in perfect health,
please come down to my cabin. I am something of an artist, and I wish to
attempt to capture your beauty on canvas."

"With what? Crayola crayons? Those are the only art supplies you got in
your cabin," Second Helmsman Shelby said as he suddenly appeared next to
the captain. "And you don't have any canvas either, unless you're talking
about your canvas sheets. And..."

"Excuse me for one moment," D'Amour said as he gave Nodoka a roguish smile.
He then turned to Shelby, unleashing a smile that was far from anything
that could be described as roguish. The captain grabbed the still rambling
second helmsman by the collar, ran him over to the railing, then hurled him
overboard. 

In a flash he was next to Nodoka once more, bent on one knee and holding
her hand. "Forgive me, sweet lady. That man was quite deranged and had no
idea of what he was talking about."

"I see," Nodoka said as she tittered at the young man paying her so many
compliments. She even began to blush demurely. 

Genma saw the effect the captain was having on his spouse. The only reason
he had let it go on for so long was that he had been certain Nodoka would
dismiss the man. How wrong he had been. "Unhand my wife, you pompous ass!" 

D'Amour appeared genuinely disgusted at the revelation. "Is this man truly
your husband?" he asked Nodoka.

She gave a small, almost shameful, nod in response. 

"How disappointed you must be. It is wrong to have such a lovely young
creature as yourself chained in the bonds of unholy slavery to this
abomination. Surely you find yourself miserable over such a terrible fate?"

"Sometimes," she sighed.

"No-chan!" Genma shouted out, betrayed. 

"Then please say yes, sweet lady," the captain said. "Come to my cabin this
evening, else I should throw myself overboard." 

"Why I do believe that girl over there is topless. And what large breasts
she has," Genma said as he pointed behind D'Amour.

"Where?! Where?!" the blond man shouted wildly as he spun around trying to
spot the girl. 

*WHAM*

Genma's kick sent D'Amour overboard, his body just clearing the railing. 

"I always told the boy that move's a good tactic," Genma mumbled to
himself.


D'Amour found himself floating next to the ship while the crew remained
where they were, watching him. It was a good thing he was only in an inland
lake with no connection to the ocean. If that had happened...

"Someone throw me a flotation device!" D'Amour shouted.

"I'll get one!" Aki shouted back and disappeared from the captain's view.

"Good girl, Aki!" D'Amour shouted back. "I knew I could count on y-" 

*WHAM*

The crew cheered as the lead-filled safe Aki had thrown over the side hit
D'Amour squarely on the head, sending him to the bottom of the lake.

"That's funny. The 'floatation device' doesn't seem to be working right,"
Aki said wryly as she went to see how Ryouga was faring.


"Why did you do that?" Nodoka asked Genma as she watched the crew grab a
bunch of harpoons, all looking over the railing to make sure the captain
would be greeted warmly, if by some miracle he got out from under the safe
and made it to the surface of the lake.

"I just wanted to give him a helping hand," Genma said innocently. "He did
say he would throw himself overboard if you refused him."

"But I hadn't said no yet."

"You would have," Genma said confidently. "I shall paint you tonight."

"You don't know how to paint," Nodoka pointed out.

"I meant finger painting."

"Finger pain...?" Her face turned a cherry red as she understood what he
meant. "We haven't done that since we were newlyweds."

"Then we better make up for lost time."

"Once we know Ranma is all right," Nodoka said as she remembered her
original concerns. Somehow, she felt in her heart that what Cologne had
said earlier was true and that Ranma was okay, although she did not know
why that was.


"We need to go faster!" Ukyou practically screamed in panic as she pushed
Ai's pale form down one of the ship's corridors and headed to the ship's
sick bay. Perfume was running alongside the gurney, barely keeping pace.
Once Ai was placed upon the gurney, Perfume released her hold. There was
nothing left in her to help Ai any longer. She herself was going to need a
long rest to recover her own body's chi levels and overcome the exhaustion
that had crept in from the constant fighting and healing. Still, she had
seen enough to guess how Ai would do. It was now a matter of pride that the
cheerleader stay alive. Perfume had given her all, and it would have been a
savage disappointment to have the blonde die after so much had been done to
keep her alive.

She looked back to see that Kodachi was still fretting over Mousse, who was
also being wheeled along the hall. Ryouga had disappeared though, no doubt
going left when he should have gone right. At least all he had was a broken
limb, nothing like what Ai was suffering from.

The other two crewmen, that were on each side of Ai's gurney, led the way
to the sick bay, hurrying along as quickly as they could. At last they
arrived at the door and barged through. 

"Hey, Doc Sangre!" one of them shouted as they entered the room.

A young man with a brown mustache looked to the gurneys being wheeled into
the room. He headed immediately to the first patient: Ai.

"Don't do that, Doc!" one of the crewmen warned. "Look at the other one."

"I'm a doctor, damn it!" he exclaimed as he bent down to examine Ai. "Let
me see...blood." And with that his eyes rolled into the back of his head as
he slumped to the floor. 

"I told him so," the crewmen chastised out loud.

"What happened?! Why is he on the floor?!" Ukyou's panic doubled. 

The two crewmen looked at one another, then nodded their heads. The one
that had remained silent up until then spoke up. "Well, you see. Doc
Sangre's a pretty good doctor, except for one slight problem." 

The man turned to his companion, and both spoke up. "Blood," they said
together.

The second one picked up the explanation. "You see, any time the doc sees
blood he passes out. Every time."

"What good is he then?" Ukyou said through gritted teeth.

"Oh, as long as there isn't any blood he's great. Sprain, strains,
headaches, colds, venereal diseases. You name it he can cure it, as long as
there isn't any blood involved."

Ukyou grabbed one of the men and began to shake him like a rag doll. "IF
HE'S UNCONSCIOUS WHO'S GOING TO SAVE AI!!!"

"B...B...B...Bubbles," the man barely managed to get out.

"Who's Bubbles?" Ukyou said as she stopped shaking the man.


'Bubbles' appeared about a minute after one of the men reached her on the
onboard phone. As the door opened, Ukyou saw an incredibly attractive
blonde woman, somewhere in her early twenties, wearing a top about the size
of a bra and a tight leather skirt with matching knee high boots. She was
in great physical shape and bore a rather large bust size, augmented all
the more by the top that was about two sizes too tight for her breasts.
Somewhere in the back of her mind Ukyou wondered if Ai would look like that
when she got older. 

"Who are you?" Ukyou asked. 

"I'm Bubbles," the girl said in a high pitched voice, as though that was
all the explanation that was needed. Looking into her eyes, Ukyou wondered
if there was any activity at all in the woman's head. She sounded and
looked like she was an even bigger airhead than Kyoko. 

"I meant, why did they call you?" asked Ukyou, strongly emphasizing the
last word. "Are you a nurse?"

"No," the girl said as she made her way to where Ai lay and started to
examine her. "I'm the ship's exotic dancer."

Ukyou nearly fell over in shock. "Why the hell are you looking over Ai
then?! Get away from her!"

Bubbles gave Ukyou a flat stare. "I also have MDs and PHDs in medicine,
bio-chemistry, genetics, forensics, and have a license to practice medicine
in over seven different countries. The only man I have ever met whose
medical skills surpass mine is the infamous Dr. Blackjack. I know what I'm
doing."

Ukyou was astounded. "But you-"

"Sound like an airhead?" Bubbles finished for her as the blond put on a
surgical gown and examined her instruments. "I have an eidetic memory and
an IQ that measures off the charts. Don't fall for stereotypes. I just
naturally have a high voice and I take care of my appearance."

"Why are you an exotic dancer if you're so smart?" Ukyou asked, as Bubbles
used a scalpel to cut away Ai's remaining clothing, while at the same time
ordering the others to get Dr. Sangre out of sight of the blood so he could
be revived and help Mousse.

"No one wants to hire someone who's smarter and more attractive than they
are. Women see me as a threat, and men want to seduce me. When the guys
learn that I don't fool around with just anyone, and that I'm ten times
smarter than they are, they usually get intimidated and want nothing to do
with me. I ended up short of cash and accepted a job here."

"Why were you hired as an exotic dancer instead of a doctor?" Ukyou asked.

Bubbles paused for a moment to look Ukyou in the eye. "Have you met the
captain yet? The only way that stinking pervert would hire me was as an
exotic dancer. I needed the money, so I accepted. Once I was here, I let
the rest of the crew know what my real fields of expertise are, not that
I'm not an accomplished dancer as well. I've made men pass out in their
seats with some of my moves." She turned back to Ai. "Now I have to get
back to work. Your friend's going to need a hell of a lot of help, and her
chances aren't good anyway. It's going to take everything I have to even
give her a chance to make it through. I can see she has spinal damage and
she's lost a lot of blood. That's just going to make the work harder. So if
you would step aside, I can begin."

"Please save her," Ukyou said quietly, now believing every word Bubbles had
said, no matter how unlikely it seemed.

"No guarantees, but I promise to do my best. I don't think you're going to
want to watch this."

Ukyou backed up, and when she saw Bubbles begin the operation, she hid out
in the hall. Seeing Ai like that...no. It was too much for Ukyou. She just
laid her head against the hallway wall, and sobbed, unable to do anything
for the girl she loved.


"So how do we get up there?" Brunt asked as he looked to Aki, Frog,
Luthorinski, and the handful of others that had volunteered to retrieve
Ranma and Shampoo. It turned out that Cologne had been correct about the
two of them still being close to the pillar of crystalline-like substance.
They were on top of it, in fact.

"Got me," Frog said. He had tried using climbing gear to get to the top,
but it had proved impossible to scale. The surface of the column was
perfectly smooth, almost frictionless, wouldn't break. Even when Aki had
tried to hammer in a piton, all that had happened was that the metal spike
shattered under the impact of the blow. The surface of the substance hadn't
even been scratched.

"Maybe I should just throw you up there," Aki suggested. 

"Don't even joke about it." Frog wasn't sure if Aki would try it and didn't
want to find out. He gazed upwards to the top once more. "Too bad we can't
fly up there."

"A good idea," D'Amour said from next to Frog. 

"Thank you, SiAHHH!!!" The speedy Frog leaped twenty feet away in less than
a heartbeat. Everyone else backed away as well. 

"How...how did you...?" was all that Brunt could get out.

"Fortunately I was only pinned under forty feet of water by a safe filled
with lead. I was never in any real danger."

Everyone just stared blankly. 

"That guy's worse than a cockroach," Aki mumbled under her breath.

D'Amour took charge of the situation. "Now we must turn our attention to
rescuing the beautiful Miss Shampoo."

"And Ranma," Frog added. 

"I'm not sure he's worth bothering with. I don't think I'm going to get
anywhere with his mother, and the guy is a total egotistical jerk."

"Some of us are motivated by things other than our libido!" Aki growled.
"He's my friend!"

"Fine, fine," D'Amour relented. "We'll grab Mr. Sap-to-me. Luthorinski!"

The red-haired scientist moved forward. "Yes, Sir?"

"Build me something that will get us up there," D'Amour ordered. 

Within ten minutes, the resident mad scientist had whipped up a jet pack
from the parts within the seemingly empty pack he carried. "This Alpha
Marauder Jet Pack 1000 Luthorinski Series is sure to get you up there in no
time."

"Not me," D'Amour explained. "Flavio! Get over here!"

One of the nearby crewmen, a handsome man with long flowing brown hair and
who looked as though he belonged painted on the cover of a romance novel,
put down his jar of, 'I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Since It Tastes
Almost Like Butter' and moved to the captain. 

D'Amour gave his orders as he helped put the pack on Flavio. "Fly up there
and grab Shampoo."

"And Ranma," Aki reminded him.

"Got it," Flavio said and pushed the on button. The jet packed worked like
a charm, sending Flavio to the skies above. Just as he was nearing the
height where Shampoo and Ranma were, he went to adjust the speed of the
pack.

"AHHHHHhhhhhh..." he shouted as he kept going straight up into the air and
out of earshot, then eventually out of sight.

"Damn!" Luthorinski said as he clenched his fist. "I knew I forgot
something."

"What?" D'Amour asked. 

"The off switch."

D'Amour gazed lazily up to where his crewman had disappeared. "Ah, it's no
great loss.  I never liked him anyway. He was always hitting on women and
treating them like they were sex objects. I hate that kind of attitude. Why
did everyone just facefault?"

Everyone picked themselves up and regained their composure. Luthorinski
made another jet pack, this one with the off switch. The 'volunteer' on
this occasion was Forlorn. The raven-haired woman was the ship's counselor,
who one never went to see because all talking with her did was make the
patients depressed, no matter what was bothering them. Those that made the
mistake of going to her to have their depression treated usually ended up
on the suicide prevention watch that the crew had set up for such
situations. The single benefit to her presence was that prolonged exposure
to her could depress even the jovial D'Amour, which was always call for
celebration.

"I'm doomed," she said in a low, dismal voice.

"You always say that when you do anything," Brunt said as he finished
strapping on the pack.

"It's always true, isn't it?"

Brunt thought about that and realized she was correct. He made certain to
stand very far away when she turned her pack on.

*BOOM*

Once the smoke cleared, everyone saw the ash-covered form of Forlorn, her
despondent look unfazed. "I told you so," she moaned before passing out.

"You'll never get them down at this rate."

All eyes turned to the newcomer: Ghost Sweeper Minami.

"You should still be resting," D'Amour warned, and for a change he was
right. She was still pale and appeared as though she were death warmed
over.

"I have to save my friends," she stated boldly as she stood next to the
base of the column. Once next to the massive crystal-like substance, she
placed one hand on it and stared. It had an incredibly strange aura, one
she would investigate at a later time.

Getting to the area where Mount Phoenix had once existed had been no easy
task. As weak as she was from her ordeal, she had forced herself to catch
up to the crew and help Ranma and Shampoo. From what the others had said,
she woke up out of her magical-induced sleep at the same moment that the
column of light disappeared. And she had no doubt it was Shampoo and Ranma
that had done it, even if she didn't know how. Now she needed to repay
them.

She crossed her hands over one another, concentrating so that the magic
within her would build up. She released it and initiated the spell. Gently
she rose off the ground and began hovering in mid-air, gradually gaining
greater height as she continued up the side of the column. Within minutes
she was at the top, easily spotting Ranma and Shampoo's sleeping forms,
each with arms wrapped around one another.

She just shook her head. What the others did with their lives was their own
business. Unlike everyone else in Nerima, she acknowledged that romance was
never her strong suit and had no desire to meddle in the love lives of
others. It was good to see the walking ego had apparently made a final
choice though. Poor Akane. Minami had been leaning towards her in the
'Ranma Romance War' since they were sort of friends. The Ghost Sweeper
vowed that she would see what she could do to help Akane later.

She walked over to the couple and magically checked them to make certain
that they were both all right. With that confirmed, she rested a couple of
minutes to gather her strength once again. The illness had taken more out
of her than she had realized. Flying up to the top of column was difficult
enough, but getting down with both of the youths was going to be next to
impossible. Her best bet was to take them down one at a time. At least the
weight would be more manageable, and it would just take a little extra
time. After all, it wasn't as though there were any rush. 

Then she saw the form flying towards them from the distance and heard the
roar of rage from it.

"OH SHIT!!!" she shouted out. They had just run out of time. Hurriedly she
picked up both Ranma and Shampoo's forms, barely keeping from collapsing
under the duo's combined weight. She didn't believe for one second she was
going to get enough lift to keep them from falling, but a small chance was
better than no chance at all, and there was no way she was powerful enough
to fight off what was coming. A demon she might be able to handle, but
certainly not the creature that was approaching. She could almost sense its
malevolence as it got nearer to the column of crystal. 

Looking at the distant ground below her, she thought the others might be
able to protect them if she made it down in time. Summoning every ounce of
energy she had, she cast the spell of flight again and stepped off the
spire. 

At first their decent was controlled, but their speed increased the further
they got down the pillar, and at the three quarters point, she ran out of
mystical energy, plunging all three into freefall. Minami thought, as they
were falling, that at least they weren't going to be roasted alive, or
worse, eaten.


Minutes earlier:

Herb-chan stared at the column of crystal in the distance. That really was
the final straw. First it was two mile long dragons appearing out of
nowhere and radiating enough chi to fry even Herb-chan without blinking.
Next it was huge eyes opening in mid-air. Then it was mountains exploding.
But the last bit was a huge beam of chi popping up out of nowhere and then
the entire land going screwy. It took her a while to make sure that the
huge pillar of chi wasn't coming back any time soon before she worked up
the courage to fly over to the column of crystal, since apparently that was
all that left of Mount Phoenix. 

It was all supposed to be so simple. The Shogun of the Dark would cast a
spell of great power and Herb-chan would be the next emperor of China. Now
she had a feeling that all of the plans were ruined. The great dragon might
have been part of the spell --that made sense with all of the references
the Shogun had made about Herb-chan being family-- but the rest of it
felt...wrong. As though something had backfired. And the Shogun would have
sent some word to Herb-chan that everything had gone according to plan. But
there had been no word. Nothing. It was time to find out what had gone
wrong. And she was going to do it with all the might she had at her
disposal. 

Her hand went to the canteen of water that was now a permanent addition to
her attire. No longer would she travel anywhere without the water. It was
now a refuge, rather than a curse, for humans did not like dealing with
that which was not them. Slowly she brought her chi to a level that would
cause the water to boil so that the future emperor of China could now take
the true form she now possessed. 

With a flourish she held the canteen high above her head, then let the hot
water pour over her, triggering the transformation.

His nose detected the scent of what several members of his nearby troops
had done. ""

And with that, eighty feet of dragon took off into the skies and headed
towards the column of crystal that was off in the distance. Herb still
marveled at the power his metamorphosis had unleashed. The Shogun had told
him that the blood of dragons flowed more fiercely through his veins than
ever before, but even Herb could not have guessed the sort of change that
had occurred to him. Of course he lacked a human male body now, but lately
his cursed girl's form didn't seem so terrible anymore. 

When he was a dragon, his senses were extraordinary. Dragons saw and felt
things so differently from the way humans did. Yet despite the change, he
still wanted to keep a human outlook on things, so he remained in his
cursed form most of the time. Besides, eighty foot dragons tended to scare
the hell out of followers. Not that he didn't revel in the power of his
dragon form. Oh, how seductive that power was. He couldn't have been
happier about his current condition, curse included. He now had the best of
both worlds.

He concentrated on the flight before him. Once he arrived at the spire he
would ask the Shogun nicely what was going on. And if the Shogun was not
there, if there was another who was responsible for Herb losing his dreams,
he would bite him in half and gorge himself on the fool's blood. 

Herb the dragon flew with wings that could carry him at speeds in excess of
two hundred miles an hour if he so chose. The wind blew over his blue-white
scales, allowing him to enjoy what few others could in the form of natural
flight. However, now was not the time to revel in his change. Now was the
time to answer the questions that preyed at his mind. And as he got within
five miles of the column, he at last understood what had happened. 

"SSSSAAAAOOOOTTTTOOOOMMMMEEEE!!!"


Minami felt herself falling to her death. What a stupid way to die. She
just couldn't go out in a blaze of glory fighting the hordes of demonkind,
or trying to save millions of people from doom, or in a hot tub full of
Jello with two handsome male models. Nope. She was going to end up going
splat and looking like roadkill in some backwater countryside with a ship
full of idiots as the only witnesses to her demise.

She should have remained in her magical coma.


"AHHH!!! A beautiful girl and a somewhat attractive one are falling to
their deaths. I have to save them!" D'Amour could not allow such beauty to
come to harm. He leaped onto the tallest nearby structure he could: Brunt's
head, and propelled himself through the air to try to catch one of the two
girl before they hit.

Aki picked up Frog and prepared to throw him like a javelin. 

"Are you crazy?!" he shouted at Aki. 

"Shut up and snag Ranma and Shampoo."

"But what about me?! I'll fall to my death!"

"Typical! Always thinking about yourself." Aki threw him in the air and
shouted, "Don't worry about it! I got you covered!" 

"What about Minami?!" Frog shouted as he timed when he would cross paths in
mid-air with his targets. At least Aki's throw was on the mark and he was
going to hit them head on. 

"I want the captain to catch her!" She watched as Frog latched onto Ranma
and Shampoo. She heard him 'whuff' as his upward momentum instantly negated
by the greater velocity that the pair had built up. Now Frog was falling
with the couple, and at only a slightly slower rate. The only thing that
had been gained was that their landing could be controlled.

Brunt refrained from asking exactly why Aki would want the captain to catch
anyone, though D'Amour's incredible leap had enabled the Captain to snare
Minami gracefully as both began their own descent to the ground. "How are
we going to save Frog?" Brunt asked.

"You're going to break their fall."

"Oh that's...WHAT!!!" Brunt felt himself grabbed by the back of his shirt
and pants and thrown into the air. 

Resigning himself to some pain, Brunt caught the trio, slowing them down
somewhat, then began to fall as well. He made sure all three were cushioned
in his body as they fell. He took one look over his shoulder, timing when
he would hit the ground, then braced for the impact. 

*WHAM*

Yes. It had hurt a lot. He was going to need lots of ice packs and
painkillers for a long while after that little collision. Fortunately his
sacrifice wasn't wasted as he saw that Frog was looking a little bruised,
but aside from that in good health. Ranma and Shampoo didn't look any worse
off either. Actually, they appeared to be resting peacefully, each with
gentle smiles that somehow seemed identical despite being on faces that
held little resemblance to one another.

A second thud shook Brunt out of his reverie. Next to him D'Amour had at
last landed on his feet, buried completely in the dirt up to his knees. In
his arms Minami remained unharmed. What hurt Brunt more than anything was
that gleaming smile the captain gave to Minami as he pulled his legs out of
the holes he had made. D'Amour appeared completely uninjured in spite of
the fall. Aki must have been right. Only a cockroach was that
indestructible. 

"Where's the dragon?!" Minami cried out as she looked towards the sky.

All other eyes scanned the horizon in the direction the ghost sweeper was
looking in. 

"I don't see any dragon." Brunt's comment was reflected by everyone else
that was present too.

"Where in the name of the Fifth Ring of Hell did he go?" Minami said as she
continued scanning the skies.


Seconds before:

Herb had seen them. It was them. Ranma and Shampoo. The two people he most
wanted dead in the world. That those two should be where the Shogun had
been mere minutes ago could only mean one thing.

"" Herb roared as he flew closer to the motionless duo. Whoever
the girl next to them was did not matter; she would die as well for the
crime of being too close to Ranma and Shampoo. Then he would raze
Joketsuzoku to the ground, then go to Japan and burn anything with the name
of Saotome. Then he would find some other way to eradicate those that had
destroyed his dream of ruling China. Oh, how they would all pay.

He was no more than eight miles away when the other appeared.

"Pull over, sir!"

Herb turned his head and nearly fell out of the sky. It was a fat dumpy man
with sunglasses on and wearing what appeared to be a policeman's outfit
with a blue turtle on the sleeve. But the most amazing thing was not the
absurd noise that the man was making, it was the large flying, pink pig
with enormous wing-like ears he was riding.

"Pull over!" the little man warned again. "I need to see your license and
registration."

Herb unleashed a gout of one thousand degree flame at the flying fool. Once
finished Herb saw there was nothing there. He had completely vaporized the
annoying pest and his animal.

"Do you have any idea of how fast you were going?" a voice off to his right
said. 

Herb swiveled his serpentine neck in the direction of the voice. It was the
same blasted fool, still on the same blasted pig. Somehow the little man
had eluded the flames without Herb seeing the evasion. The fat man wasn't
even singed. 

"Do you have a license to breathe fire while airborne?"

Herb unleashed another gout of flame at the dumpy man and with the same
results: there was nothing present.

"You're just making this harder on yourself," a voice said directly from
above his head. "Land on the ground. There's someone that wishes to talk to
you."

"DIE!!!" a third gout of flame was aimed at the flying man. It never
reached as the world went black around Herb and he felt a bitter cold touch
him through his thick scales and all the way to his bones. 

He looked around, but save for the small patch of ground on which he stood,
only blackness greeted him. Everything around him was so cold. How he had
gotten there was suddenly secondary to getting out of wherever he was. Even
in his now natural dragon form he would not last more than a couple of
minutes. 

"You really made that a lot more difficult than it had to be."

Herb turned to see that a man with jet black skin, a brown suit and bowler,
and with a cane in hand was now talking to him. The plain white orbs that
were the man's eyes seemed to bore directly into Herb's soul.

"I usually don't like to be so direct in my offering, but your point of no
return was passing rather quickly and I had to get this offer in before it
was too late." Mr. Domino smiled at the dragon before him, showing those
perfectly white teeth that contrasted so brightly with the jet blackness
that seemed to compose the humanoid creature.

"Why are you doing this?" Herb gasped out as he shivered from the cold. Not
much time left at all. 

"That's so much better than most of the other questions that seem to pop
out of everyone's mouth anymore." He pointed his cane towards Herb. "My
name is Mr. Domino, and I am here to grant you one thing. What do you
want?"

Herb didn't know what game the man was playing at, and in his condition it
didn't matter. He blurted out the first thing that came to mind. 

"I want to rule China."

Mr. Domino smiled even wider at that. "You shall rule a large section of
China, but first there is something you must do for me."

"Whatever!" Herb shouted as he felt his life force slowly bring sucked
away. He knew he couldn't even breathe fire anymore to heat himself up.

Mr. Domino gave a nod of his head. "You are an exceptionally wise dragon.
Here is what I need for you to do. You will make no overt moves against any
power near you. You will consolidate your forces from this fiasco and wait
until such a time as I summon you. From there you will be allowed to
fulfill your wish and rule over a large section of China." Domino turned to
go, but held back for one moment.

"By the way, allow me to give you some advice. Consider it free of charge.
You do not wish to kill Ranma and Shampoo now. If you try you will die,
being blown out of the skies by one with more skill than you, and both
Ranma and Shampoo will live on. I hope I make myself clear."

"P...perfectly," Herb barely managed to rasp out. 

"Excellent." And as Domino disappeared into the darkness, so did the
darkness itself. Herb found himself lying on the ground, heat slowly
returning to his body. There was no doubt in his mind he was going to do
exactly what Mr. Domino had suggested. Even if he was mistaken about being
blown out of the sky, and Herb didn't think he was wrong, the king of the
Musk was too weak to kill Saotome and Shampoo now. He would wait, bide his
time, and hopefully become the ruler of a large part of China. It beat
getting killed, and would afford him time to plan a really painful
resolution to his two Jusenkyou-cursed enemies. Yes, they would still
suffer unimaginable agonies. Far better ones than Herb could have come up
with on the spur of the moment.

As to Mr. Domino himself, whereas the Shogun of the Dark exuded power,
Domino simply was power. And there was no question in Herb's soul that what
Mr. Domino had said was true. Every bit of it. At last he would realize his
dream of being a true emperor. Hopefully it would be a long reign. He knew
that sometimes even accurate prophecies didn't turn out quite the way they
sounded, and there had been no mention of how long Herb's reign would be. 


Frog got off of Brunt and glared at Aki. "What the Hell did you think you
were doing, you dumb bit-" 

Six pairs of hands clamped themselves over Frog's mouth even as he bit down
voluntarily on his own tongue. Too late. 

"What was that?!" Aki growled. 

Six different people spoke up, giving answers of 'bitty' to 'bit of a cute
girl.'

Aki would have none of that. She shoved the others away and grabbed Frog by
the throat, shaking him violently. "What were you going to say?!"

"Nothing." Frog just had to let his fiery temper go out of control and all
but signed his own death warrant. His mother had always told him he had a
foul mouth and it would get him into trouble. It figured 'dear old Mom' was
correct once again.

"Liar! Say it! SAY IT!!!" Aki shook harder, as though that would somehow
bring the answer erupting forth from Frog's lips. 

Off to the side, Luthorinski confronted Brunt, who was wise enough to stay
out of the way of the angry woman and the target of her 'attentions'. "Has
she ever killed anyone that didn't say the b-word?"

"Don't think so, but it looks like she's going for her first."

"I'll talk her out of it," the recovered Forlorn sighed as she walked over
to Aki and began to council her on how wrong it was to be angry at Frog
when there were so many things in the world to be depressed about. That she
began to list them in a monotone that would have brought down Mikado
Sanzenzin from his one thousandth kiss was all it took for Aki to release
her hold on Frog and cover her ears, fearful she would end up moping around
in a depressed state like her cousin so often did. 

Minami was still looking at the skies when she suddenly felt aroused. It
took her only a moment to discover why that was.

"Hey, you jerk! You're fondling me!"

D'Amour shook his head. "Nonsense. I had to grab you to rescue you. It's
not my fault my hands ended up where they are."

"It is your fault when they stay there and squeeze on their own." She
forced herself out of his grasp and grinned evilly at him.

"Hey now, it was all in innocent fun." D'Amour insisted. "And if you liked
that small dose of affection, why not come down to my cabin when we get
back and let me give you the full treatment?"

"I have a better idea for something I can do for 'innocent fun'." Minami's
hands glowed blue. 

"Uh oh!" was all the captain got out before the blue glow encompassed him.

All of the crew smiled in joy and applauded at the sable sitting in a pile
of clothes before them. Rather than wait for knives that would be used to
make him into a coat, he ran off, as far away from the crew as he could,
before someone tried exacting revenge for some imagined wrong he did to
them. 

Even Aki smiled in happiness, forgetting the reason she had Frog grasped in
her hands. The captain getting his just desserts was more than enough
reason to release her anger and depression and continue on with taking the
still unconscious Ranma and Shampoo back to the ship.


Ukyou remained in the hallway with her new companion: Ryouga. The lost one
had wandered by trying to find someone to set his broken wrist and arm.
Ukyou, unable to bring herself to go inside, ushered him into the sick bay
for help. After half an hour, he reemerged, his arm and wrist in a cast
thanks to Dr. Sangre. Once out in the hall he offered his support. There
were no words he knew to help her, so he simply held her to him with his
free arm, allowing her to sob into his chest.

Bubbles finally came out of the sick bay and spotted the chef. Ukyou
closely examined the woman. Blood covered the chest and arms of her
surgical gown; her face a mask of seriousness. 

"I'm not one to give false assurances. I want to be perfectly honest with
you here. Do you want me to tell you the truth, or would you rather not
know?" the dancer asked. 

"Tell me."

Bubbles nodded sympathetically. "She's alive, but in critical condition.
She's in bad shape and could go at any time. Hell, it's a miracle she's
alive at all with all of the blood she's lost. The transfusions seem to
have gone all right and I reattached her nerve endings and fixed the spinal
column damage, but it is possible she'll never walk again. Even if she
recovers, she'll definitely never regain her full range of physical
abilities."

Bubbles paused a moment before continuing. "There's also a good chance she
might have suffered brain damage from the blood loss. I can't be sure right
now since she's in a deep coma. I'm sorry, but she might never regain
consciousness, that's if she survives."

Ukyou absorbed all the information and stumbled into Ryouga as she nearly
collapsed. He supported her as best as he could until she regained her
footing. 

"I need to see her," Ukyou said, her voice holding steady. 

"Of course." Bubbles reentered the sick bay and led Ukyou to where Ai lay.
Various machines Ukyou didn't recognize were hooked up to Ai. One of them,
perhaps a heart monitor, was letting off a chorus of intermittent beeps.
Intravenous tubes led into her arms, filling her with several fluids from
hanging bags. Revulsion rose in Ukyou's throat at the scene before her. It
was all so wrong. Ai should have been fine, giving Ukyou that soft yet wry
smile she would unleash when Ukyou unwittingly did something to flatter the
blonde. It was only lately that Ukyou began to pick up on the small nuances
and quirks that the girl she...loved possessed. 

Ukyou moved her hand to push aside a lock of hair from Ai's face. "Don't
worry, I'll get used to saying I love you. All I need for you to do is wake
up. Just wake up." She recomposed herself after barely choking out those
last words. 

"You can stay as long as you like. There's even a bed you can sleep in."
Bubbles indicated an empty bed near Ai's. 

"Thank you. Do you think it would be possible to have a little privacy? I
know Ai would hate to be put on display like this. She really is too vain
for her own good." Ukyou began sniffling uncontrollably. The request was as
much for her benefit as Ai's. She was about to lose all self control and
wanted to maintain some measure of dignity. It was going to be a long
lonely night. One of perhaps many.


Kodachi was barely listening to the others in the room and their talk of
Ai's condition. Dr. Sangre had done a thorough examination of the
unconscious Mousse and determined his life was in no real danger, though
what long term damage there was from the electricity he had absorbed was
anybody's guess. The doctor took care of the burns that marked Mousse's
throat, telling Kodachi that even after it eventually healed there would
still be a scar there for the rest of his life. 

Kodachi cared nothing for whatever blemishes Mousse would possess. It had
been quite some time ago that whatever vague initial fantasy that had
attracted her to the man that had 'saved' her life that night above the
rooftop of the Tendo Dojo had given way to true love for the man Mousse
was. He had even come to care for her, perhaps even loved her, at least a
little. Always he leaped to her defense, despite those unique traits in her
personality that others foolishly labeled eccentricities, or worse when
they believed she was out of earshot. However, long ago she refused to
conform to the vague standards that others set. She was a unique
individual, not some mindless sheep. Any time others tried to convince her
to change, she would scoff at them and their ridiculous desires to
transform the lone black rose in the field to that of a red, like the
others.

"Except for you, Mousse-sama. If you wished it, I would change my shade for
you." It was an odd admission for her to make, but deep inside she knew he
would demand nothing. Perhaps that was why she trusted him beyond all
others. But whatever the case, he did have her. Of course what he intended
to do with the flower he had picked was anyone's guess. 

Then her reminiscing was brought to a close. 

"Make way!" A crewman shouted as he helped bring in the prone form of
Kunou. 

"A doctor's work is never done," Bubbles moaned as she took a quick look at
Kunou. She shuddered at first when she spotted the tourniquet. Then she saw
the nature of the wound that had urged its use. "The leg has to come off,"
she said mostly to herself. 

As Bubbles was about to don her surgical mask once more she found herself
nearly barreled over by Kodachi. 

"Brother dear!" she cried out.

"You're his sister?" 

Kodachi, unable to speak, nodded her head.

"I see. I have to get to work again, and since I really don't think you
want to see what happens next, I recommend you leave. Although don't go too
far. Your brother might need you once he recovers and sees what happened to
him."

Kodachi assented, wondering exactly how her brother would deal with the
loss he was about to undergo, and if she really could do anything to help
him.


Out in the hallway, another reunion took place as Ryouga spotted someone he
had wanted to see since his return from the fight.

"Kyoko!"

"Ryouga!"

He felt like crying. She was all right. Even with the dressing around both
of her legs, making her look like a half-completed mummy, she was still
beautiful to him. He rushed forward to touch her, afraid that she was some
mirage and that love had fled from his embrace once more. As the two rushed
towards one another, he could make out the tears running down her cheeks
and knew then she was real; never in his wildest dreams had he ever
believed a girl could cry in joy over him. 

As they were almost to each other, she held out her arms to embrace her
man. He took another step and was next to her. Then, without thinking, he
brought his arms up to embrace her as well. His left was over her shoulder
in an instant. His right, which was in a cast that kept his elbow fixed at
a forty five degree angle, met squarely with the bottom of her jaw rather
than over the other shoulder that he was aiming for. 

She stared at him for one moment, a look of confusion in her eyes. "Why?"
she asked before going limp. 

Only Ryouga's good arm prevented her from hitting the floor. "It's not my
fault! It was an accident!" Ryouga shouted out. Panic almost overtook him
until he remembered that the sick bay was at the end of the hall,
thankfully in his line of sight. He carried her with his one arm to Dr.
Sangre's care, hoping she would forgive him when she came around. 


Cologne caught up to the Hunt Pack and Silk as they corralled their
prisoners on the shore, getting them ready for possible travel once more.
The two hours of rest she had gotten seemed to do her little good. Twice
she had nearly passed out before meeting her people. Only Silk seemed to
notice the terrible shape she was in. That was just as well. Cologne would
need the woman's help in the next couple of days. 

"" She noticed that all of them smiled at
one another and stood a little taller at that. Perfume would have to be
complimented on the job she had done with that lot. Even Cologne would
never have been able to convince them to work so willingly together. The
girl's leadership qualities were truly astounding. 

""

The Hunt Pack bowed as one and herded their prisoners together. All felt a
tremendous amount of relief at going home at last and spoke to one another
about what they were going to do once they returned. 

Once they were out of sight, Silk finally dared to approach Cologne. "" she said as she tried to examine Cologne. 

"" Cologne said dryly as she shooed Silk away. It was only with
the greatest of reluctance that Silk agreed. "."

"" Silk interjected, gaining a scowl from Cologne that she
promptly ignored. 

""

Silk had wanted to spend some time alone with Soun. Their rekindled romance
was proving very...satisfying. But Shampoo's life took precedent over any
romantic interludes she would have. Besides, that just meant the
anticipation would build and their next meeting would be all the more
fulfilling. With a bow, she left Cologne's side and ran off, hoping to make
it back before nightfall.

Cologne had just made it back on the ship when the group that had gone to
retrieve Ranma and Shampoo at last returned. Each was still unconscious and
was being carried by stretcher back onto the ship. Even from a distance,
she knew that they were indeed all right. 

"My son!" Nodoka was at Ranma's side the instant he was on the ship.

"He's sleeping," Aki reassured her. "They both are. As near as I can tell
they're both completely exhausted, but physically okay. And after what
happened at the mountain, whatever it was, it ain't really a surprise. They
need to rest."

In spite of the recommendation, Nodoka tried to shake her son awake. She
wanted, no, needed to hear him speak. Needed to know he would be all right.
With her third shake Ranma's eyes fluttered open, causing her to cry out in
relief. 

At last Ranma regained enough of his senses to take in his surroundings,
and that something was missing. 

"Shampoo?" Using all of his remaining strength he barely managed to escape
his mother's grasp, much to her confusion. "Where's Shampoo? Wh-"

"Over here." Aki indicated the stretcher that carried Shampoo's unmoving
form.

Half-dazed, Ranma started to panic at the sight of her still form.
"She's...?"

"All right," Cologne reassured him. "She's exhausted, like you are. What
both of you need is rest."

Ranma was barely able to stagger to Shampoo and half-collapsed upon her
stretcher. "Not gonna leave her," he said in an almost dreamlike state. 

Aki gave a soft look to the couple. "We'll leave you two together. Don't
worry. We won't keep you apart." By the time she had finished Ranma was
unconscious once again. Aki simply picked him up in her arms and followed
the men that carried Shampoo to the sick bay, and was followed in turn by
Genma, Nodoka and Cologne. The elder only paused a moment to ask if the
group had encountered any Amazons. Much to her relief, they had not. The
only Amazons that knew of Shampoo's exact location were Silk and Perfume,
and with any luck she could keep it that way until Shampoo could be cured. 


Bubbles took off her gloves with a flourish as she wondered if she should
ask for a pay raise from the captain, assuming he hadn't already been
devoured by some wandering predator. She smiled a little at the captain's
recent fate and gave the results of her examinations to the concerned
parties. 

"There's nothing wrong with either of them. They're in perfect health, and
I do mean perfect. I've never seen two people in such a flawless condition.
I couldn't find a single blemish on either of their bodies. It's
unnatural."

"Allow me to check something out," Cologne said as she grabbed two empty
bottles and filled them with warm and cold water. Everyone that knew of the
curses held their breaths as Cologne held the bottle of cold water over
Shampoo's form. She told herself there was no point in waiting; what would
be would be, so she poured a bit of the water over Shampoo.

Breasts disappeared and hair color changed from purple to black as her form
grew in size and height. 

Cologne felt her heart sink as she witnessed the change. There had been
some small part of her that had hoped that with Shampoo's 'death' that the
curse had left her, as it had with Tarou, but it was not to be. She poured
some hot water to change Shampoo back, then repeated the test upon Ranma
and ended up with the same results. She waved the crewmen to continue on
their way.

Nodoka watched as several of the crewmen wheeled the still sleeping Ranma
and Shampoo out. "Where are you taking them?"

"To their rooms. There's nothing wrong with them other than simple
exhaustion, and," she indicated the filled beds around them, "this place is
getting a little crowded."

"See to it they are placed together," Cologne ordered the men. 

"Why?" Nodoka asked suspiciously. 

Cologne regarded the woman for a moment. Now that Nodoka knew her son was
all right she was quickly trying to adjust the situation to reflect her
desires. Such strength of will impressed the elder. Cologne found herself
admiring Nodoka Saotome, despite the fact they worked at cross purposes.
"You saw how agitated Ranma was at Shampoo's absence. How do you think
he'll react if he wakes up on his own and Shampoo isn't there?"

Nodoka considered that. Despite what the doctor had said, she was still not
completely certain Ranma was really all right. She was his mother after
all. Worrying was well within her rights. And he had seemed very concerned
over Shampoo's absence. That was not the state Nodoka wanted him in while
he was so vulnerable. 

"Very well. Let them rest with one another." She would check on Ranma
constantly until she knew for certain her son was all right. Any
discussions about recent events could wait until then. 

Aki watched the family members depart. "Thank goodness they're all right."

"Yes. It would be a shame to see someone as lovely as Shampoo harmed in any
way."

"That's very nice of you to saAHHH!!!" Once again Aki managed to be
surprised by the arrival of the impossible.

"You need to calm down," D'Amour soothed. "Too much tension could be bad
for you. What you need to do is lead a stress-free life like I do."

"How the hell did you get out of being a sable?! Minami said that spell
would last for days!"

"Fortunately you left my sword lying with my pile of clothes." D'Amour
indicated his sheathed weapon. "It's magic itself, and has the ability to
cut through magical enchantments. Once I got it out, it was easy to cut
through the metamorphosis spell and change me back to normal."

Aki refrained from bashing her head into an operating table. He was
indestructible. That was all there was to it. He would not/could not ever
die. All she could do was keep trying and pray to the gods above to be
delivered from her captain's hands. 


"Go away!"

"But Akane, this is your father speaking!" Soun protested to the closed
door before him. It took all of his self-control to keep from crying out
loud. Before his encounter with Silk he would certainly have broken down
long before then, but somehow their reborn relationship made him feel much
more in control, like he had been in the old days when his master wasn't
around. Happosai's ending was certainly cause for celebration too. Genma
and he would get as drunk as humanly possible once they had a moment, but
that would have to wait until after Akane was somehow helped. 

"Can you get your sister to come out?" Soun asked the nearby Kasumi. 

Kasumi gave him a sad look. "She wouldn't come out for me either, Father.
I'm worried."

"I'm okay," Akane sobbed through the door. "Don't worry about me like that.
I just need some time alone. That's all I want right now. Please?"

The two Tendos looked to each other and sighed. For ten minutes Akane had
rebuked their attempts to help her, and she was as stubborn as a mule and
wouldn't come out if she didn't want to. Since Soun couldn't bring himself
to break down the flimsy door to his daughter's cabin, he agreed, after
both he and Kasumi reassured Akane they would be there if she needed them. 

Once they were gone, Akane went back to sobbing on her bed. She had lost
probably the two most important people, outside of her family, in her life.
One forever and the other just as well. One that held her heart and another
that had held her trust, and there was nothing she could do about it. The
only thing she had left was her dignity, and she was damned if she was
going to lose that too by crying in front of her family. She couldn't even
bear to see Ranma once Kasumi informed her he was all right. Shampoo was
too, not that she mattered in the least to Akane. If anything, she hated
the Amazon more than ever, and it went beyond stealing Ranma away from her.


Why was it the damned Amazon got to come back from the dead and Tarou
couldn't? Even death had not prevented Shampoo from taking Ranma away from
her. It just wasn't fair. Shampoo had everything while Akane had nothing.
It was all Shampoo's fault. If only she hadn't entered Akane's life
everything would have been fine. Instead the Amazon had ruined everything.
There would be no forgiveness for her. Never. 

Even anger could not be maintained over the depression Akane felt as her
losses claimed her once again. A new wave of guilt brought even more
wracked sobs from her as she blamed herself for Tarou's death. The only
reason he had been there was for her. If he hadn't been there he would
still alive. If only...

Her thoughts stopped there as exhaustion finally claimed her and she went
to sleep, sobbing in her nightmares the entire time. 


Cologne sighed as she considered the information Silk had come back with.
Jusenkyou was destroyed and there was no way to reclaim the magic. There
could be no doubts as to its destruction either. Silk had witnessed
firsthand creatures plunged into the various remaining pools with no change
to their bodies. She had even gone so far as to deliberately drown a mouse
to see if she could force a change to a pool, but nothing had happened.
Jusenkyou was gone, presumably forever, thanks to the huge dragon that had
nearly destroyed everything. 

There was one last hope though. The Guide had claimed that he had kept
small barrels of each kind of water stored in a shack far away. He would
return in two day's time with a barrel of Nyanniichuan for Shampoo and
Nannichuan for Ranma. Hopefully it would work. It should. The Guide had
said that several springs had been destroyed in the past, but water that
had been taken from them before their destruction still worked afterwards.
The waters should still be able to cure the two children. Hopefully. 

Once Silk was finished with her report, Cologne ordered her to remain
silent about the whole affair. The Hibiki boy might try to claim the
Nanniichuan water for himself, and who knew what might happen if word got
out that Shampoo needed Nyanniichuan water. No, the fewer people that knew
about it the better. 

Within the first minute after Silk had left and made a direct line to
Soun's cabin, Cologne felt as though she was going to pass out once again.
She hadn't felt that tired since she was a little girl, and her periods of
strength were growing farther and farther apart. It didn't seem as though
she was ever going to recover her full wits. She paused a moment to look
within herself to see if she could determine what her condition was. It was
hard to concentrate, but she had to focus and try to find out what was
wrong. Summoning her chi was quickly proving itself an impossible task.

"You're dying."

Cologne looked up, startled at the intruder. She had entered without
knocking? That seemed almost as likely as Happosai giving up stealing
underwear, while he was alive anyway.

"What brings you here, Kasumi Tendo?"

Kasumi continued staring sorrowfully at Cologne. "I'm sorry for barging in,
but you didn't answer the knock at the door, and I remember you didn't look
very well. I just wanted to be sure you're all right."

"I am," Cologne reassured her.

"No!" Kasumi cried out. "You're not. I can see it!"

"What makes you say that?"

"I can see your aura. It's very faint. Too faint. You won't last much
longer!"

Kasumi could see chi auras? That was a surprise. She had never shown the
slightest hint of having any extraordinary abilities, aside from the
aptitude to withstand the chaos around her with a smile on her face, which
was quite extraordinary when one thought about it. "Perhaps you are right."
Cologne relented. She had suspected it as well, but had wanted to refuse to
believe it. "I think it was when Ranma took some of my chi from me. Not
that I hold it against the boy. That little bit might have made the
difference between Shampoo coming back or not." She took a deep breath. "If
my time has come, then it has."

"Oh, Elder." Kasumi fell to her knees and hugged Cologne. "There's been too
many people hurt already. Grandfather Happosai. Mr. Tarou. I don't want you
to go too!"

Cologne tried comforting the girl. Considering how long the matriarch and
Shampoo had been at odds with one another in the past, something Ranma
still held against her, it was nice that someone cared so greatly about
her. "If it is my time, it is my time," she said simply. 

"Wait," Kasumi sobbed out. "I think there's something I know that can
help."

"Somehow I doubt that," Cologne said. 

"No," Kausmi said once again. This time resolve was in her voice. "Watch
this." 

Kasumi held her hands apart. Cologne's eyes widened as a narrow line of chi
began to form between them. She just watched in awe as a second line joined
the first. Then a third, then many more lines that began to form in
intricate pattern. Again and again, tiny new lines wove back and forth. 

"That appears to be similar to the pattern we elders use to extend our
lives." Cologne was amazed Kasumi could duplicate it at such a young age.
It was one of the techniques that required a precision that was learned
over decades of time, if ever. And it was a jealously guarded secret. Very
few ever had the skill or talent to create the pattern, and fewer still
that were proficient enough to have it extend their lives as long a Cologne
had. Happosai was, no, had been good enough. And there were a handful of
others that were almost as good as the two of them. But she was the best
that she knew of. True, one had to use the technique at least once a week
early on. Then, as the years became decades, twice a week. And when the
decades became centuries, almost every other day. And there could be no
break in the pattern once it was set. It was as though there was something
that was constantly 'on' in the body, though it was not the sort of thing
that one needed to pay any attention to. It was automatic after a while,
like breathing. And if the weave of chi within the body was broken, the
effects of age would quickly take their toll.

That was what had happened to Cologne when Ranma had taken so much if her
own chi out of her. The weave had been broken and she couldn't seem to
regain enough control, or summon enough to reset it. Using the ambient chi
in the air above Mount Phoenix, using chi in a way other than to reset the
weave within her, had just done further damage, and now it was too late.
She had hoped otherwise, but deep down inside she had known the truth. 

She continued watching Kasumi form the weave. Soon there was a delicate
tapestry that lay between her hands.

"Nicely done," Cologne complimented. "But I fear that that will not be
enough to..." she drifted off as what Kasumi did next startled even her.

The weave between her hands shifted as hundreds more tiny streams floated
between them, the pattern becoming impossibly complex and incomprehensible
to Cologne. That degree of control was just unattainable. Nothing human
could deal with so many flows at one time. Nothing. Not even her.

"How..." was all she could get out.

"It's an improved version of what you usually use," Kasumi's voice became
faint. "It...it won't be able to extend your life as long as before. Not
very long at all. I...I...I'm sorry I'm not guh...good-"

Cologne cut her off. "It's all right, child. It doesn't matter. I can't use
that." Kasumi's eyes widened, causing Cologne to explain before the girl
asked inevitable questions. "I don't know how you can manipulate that level
of chi. If I had suspected, even for a moment, I would have taken you under
my guidance in an instant, but it's too complex for me to duplicate. I
couldn't even get over half of what you did."

Kasumi dried up her tears for a moment as she tried to come up with some
solution. She knew that somehow she had to teach Cologne how to duplicate
what she had done or the elder would die within the week. There was one
option, but Cologne was going to have to agree to it. "Allow me to place it
within you."

Cologne hesitated at that. In order for Kasumi to do that, the elder was
going to have to voluntarily let down all of her guards and allow the young
girl full access to her very life energy. That was incredibly risky. When
one could freely access another's life energy, they could manipulate them
like a puppet. There were a number of officially banned techniques (which,
curiously, a large number of elders and others knew anyway) that could
control a person that had either no, or only very insignificant, control
over their chi. But those that had any real control over it were immune to
all of the techniques. However if one freely allowed others access to them,
with all the guard lowered, that was different. What Kasumi was proposing
would give an opening for that very kind of control over even her. 

Almost her entire life had been about control, over herself or others. To
permit someone else, for even one moment to be allowed to control her was a
bit much. Still, the alternative...

She gave in. After all, if there was any one person that could be trusted,
it was Kasumi. And even if something sinister was happening behind those
trustworthy features, well, it wasn't as though Cologne was going to last
too long anyway.

"I grant you this, Kasumi Tendo. There is still much I have to do."

Kasumi gave a bittersweet smile containing the knowledge that as much as
she could do, it wasn't truly going to be enough.


Kunou stared at the unfamiliar ceiling before him. The land of the dead
seemed to have mildew on its ceiling tiles. Most unusual. He had imagined
it a hall filled with great warriors, like himself, dueling from dusk until
dawn, assuming the Heavens had dusk and dawn. Instead there was a rather
fishy odor to everything, and it seemed rather run down.

"You are awake, brother."

Kunou turned to see his sister sitting on a chair next to his bed. Not dead
then. She certainly wasn't worthy of a warrior's status. That left another
question: Why had his opponent not finished him? Utsutsu Mujuru had been a
true warrior. He should have granted Tatewaki a fighter's death, even as
Kunou would have done the same for him. 

"Why am I still alive?"

Kodachi gave him a warded smile. The odds were good he still did not
realize what had been done to him. "You were saved by the others. Isn't
that-"

"You should have let him finish me!" Kunou snapped. Of course the others
would interfere in his destiny. They were all so narrow minded. His entire
life had been built to that one moment, and others had taken even that from
him. Like they always did.

There was never an instant when he didn't lament the time he had been born
to. Once he understood what being of noble blood truly meant in the modern
day he became frustrated. The centuries had diluted both the land and the
people in it. All of the old ways became lost to the new, and he was an
anachronism in the 'modern age.' Any time he tried to reclaim some small
piece of the past, others laughed at him and rejected him as though he was
some kind of buffoon. Still, he had remained the warrior, ever espousing
words of flowing beauty and a conduct that those lesser than him could look
up to. But no. The foul Saotome and others mocked him and tried to make him
less than he was. However, he resisted their temptations and withstood
their assaults upon his person. Always he returned to show them how
inadequate their attempts had been, laughing in return at their frivolous
ways, content to know that they could not see the truth that he still did. 

And at last he had found another like him. One who was as out of time as he
was. All his life was meant to lead to that moment. To fight that blind
warrior in the old ways, with hearts that longed for the clash of swords
one on one and duels were fought over who had the right to cross a bridge
first. Times that were forgotten, never to return. Time that had left
Mujuru and Kunou behind. One of them was supposed to fall on that field of
battle, fall forever, losing the fight yet also winning by dying in the
fashion that their blood demanded. The one that lost his life might very
well have been the one that had truly been the victor, for now there were
no others that could challenge Kunou. None that could grant him the manner
of death he so richly deserved. The right to die as a true warrior at the
hands of another true warrior.

"My opponent?" Kunou asked. 

Kodachi arched an eyebrow at that particular question. Was her bother still
unaware of his condition? "I believe he was blown up when the mountain
exploded."

A mountain exploded? Truly there must have been a fight of epic
proportions. Still what faint hope Kunou had that Mujuru had survived was
now dashed. The blind one too had not met the fate he deserved. Neither of
them was given the resolution that destiny should have demanded. 

"I will not lie here like a wounded dog!" Kunou pulled away the sheets and
moved as if to raise himself to his feet, allowing his eyes to fall upon
the truth.

"I'm sorry, brother. There was no other way."

Kunou looked down at the stump that ended no more than a half foot past his
pelvis. The first thought through his mind was that he was no longer even a
warrior now. He was nothing more than useless garbage. Then, almost as
quickly, he remembered the fight. Perhaps Kunou the warrior had died as he
was supposed to. Never again could he fight as he had, so perchance this
was what was truly meant in his 'warrior's death'. But what course would
that leave him now? What should he do? Should he commit seppuku, or should
he go on, trying to discover what path he should take next?

In a fashion, Kunou was surprised by his own reaction to his loss of limb.
Had it happened at any other point in his life he would most likely have
ended his existence, but now, now he was not so certain.

"Leave me," he ordered Kodachi with the same strength he possessed before
his loss. The spirit of Tatewaki Kunou had not changed. If it was his fate
to continue on with his life, then he would do it with all of the pride he
possessed. For missing a leg or no, his spirit was still the same as
before. He was still better than everyone else. 

Kodachi was uncertain at her brother's behavior at first. What little
denial in his features had disappeared when he had ordered her away. Most
surprising was that it seemed he was in little danger from himself. Perhaps
it would be best to accede to his demands that one time. After all, he was
missing a leg, and driving that point home by beating him up would be
unwise.

"I shall be next to my Mousse." She indicated a bed not far away. "If you
require my assistance, I will help you."

That was as close to obedience as he had ever seen from his sister. He
nodded in response and asked her to pull the white cloth dividers around
his bed so as to maintain some level of privacy. He had much to consider,
and it would best be done alone.


Kodachi's concerns about her brother were completely forgotten when she saw
that Mousse had at last regained consciousness. "Mousse-sama!" she began
crying as she jumped onto his prone form. He just looked at her, confused.

"What did I miss?"

"Nothing important, Mousse. Just so long as you're all right. That's all I
care about," she continued sobbing into his arms, much to his
embarrassment. 

"Can I have some aspirin? I have a splitting headache." From the moment he
awoke an intense migraine, the worst he had ever suffered in his entire
life, had afflicted him. For a while he had thought his head was about to
burst.

She quickly gave him several tablets from a nearby bottle, and rested in
his arms as he eventually went back to sleep. She was quick to note that,
for a change, he had not given a word of protest. Actually, he had seemed
quite pleased that she would want to do that with him, even going so far as
to embrace her while she rested with him. The feeling of being held by the
man she loved was far greater than she had ever believed it would be.


Ranma sat up bolt upright from his bed, bathed in sweat from a nightmare
that he could only remember the edges of. As before, upon awakening, there
was only one thing on his mind. 

"Where...?" He stopped as his hand fell on a warm figure next to him. By
the dim moonlight that streamed in from the narrow porthole he could tell
who his companion was. Even if the room were pitch black he would have
sensed it. Instinctively he would be able to know her, even without seeing
her. There was no way to explain it, but it was true all the same. 

Shampoo's own eyes fluttered open in direct contrast to his panic-stricken
awakening. Softly her gaze fell on his quickly relaxing features. "You look
tired." 

"Same goes for you." For some odd reason a smile found its way to his lips.
He had never smiled simply because he had set eyes upon her. At least not
before. It just seemed so....mushy. And he was not into all that girl talk
kind of stuff.

He actually managed to chide himself for that attitude. Shampoo had been
dead. He shuddered as he remembered cradling her smashed form in his hands,
but he had done it. Somehow, by some miracle he had brought her back to
life. A little sentimentality wouldn't be uncalled for. Not with what they
had been through. Besides, at the moment, there was no way he was going to
let her out of his sight. Not now. Not for any longer than he had to.

He hadn't even noticed his hand was stroking her face. It was operating on
its own, but still it felt good to have the soft feel of her skin in his
hand. It already seemed a million years ago that he had been afraid he
would never touch her again. But he was touching her, thanks to all the
gods he was touching her.

Her own hand rose in response and gently caressed his, not hindering his
movement in the slightest. It was almost an encouraging gesture, urging him
to continue his ministrations. The way her eyes almost seemed to glow in
the dark, a slight reflection from the moonlight, made his heart surge with
unfamiliar feelings. Not bad feelings, quite the opposite; he found himself
enjoying them all the more. Life seemed inexplicably better somehow.

Maybe acting romantic once in a while was all right. Just so long as no
else caught him acting so foolishly around her, only in private. That was
it. It was okay to do it alone, and deny such behaviors if anyone was
stupid enough to confront him about them.

With pride out of the way, he at last managed to fully enjoy acting on his
impulses. Shampoo found herself drawn in to his embrace. His soft warmness
seemed to fill her, and she snuggled more closely in his grasp. How she
wished the feelings she experienced would never end. If only they could
remain where they were, as they were, forever. All would be right with the
world.

"Ranma?"

"Yes?"

"What do you remember about what happened on the mountain?"

He thought about that. "I remember it, but towards the end it was almost
sort of like a dream. I remember you lying there. And there was..." he
trailed off. There were no words that he knew that could possibly express
the pain that he had felt. "Afterwards, I knew I needed to bring you back
no matter what. No matter what," he softly repeated.

"I know. I felt the same way about returning to you. Nothing would stop me
either. Nothing." She was silent a few moments before continuing. "I
remember talking with an odd man while I was dead. He was Death."

"There's no reason to be afraid. I beat him. He ain't going to get you."
Ranma's voice dropped to the quietest of whispers. "I'll never let him get
you."

She smiled at that quiet, yet bold statement. "I was never afraid. I mean
that. It was something else I felt. Emptiness, I think. That made me feel
worse than any fear. I don't want to ever feel that empty again. I couldn't
take it."

"Yeah," Ranma agreed. "Me neither. Never again."

"Never again?" She moved a little so she was looking directly into his eyes
once more.

He pulled her in more tightly against his body. "Never ever, ever again."

"Good." She said simply, and continued enjoying his warmth. Nothing more
needed to be said. That single word was enough. She snuggled in more
closely to his warm body. He felt so good. "I'm too tired to do anything
tonight."

"Same here." 

Of course, he had thought 'do anything' meant 'grab something to eat since
he was hungry.' Shampoo's definition was somewhat more risqué.

Each of them still had a long way to go.


"Are you sure you should go alone?"

Ranma sighed, staring at the risen sun. He didn't want to go alone. Some
part of him was desperately afraid to allow Shampoo out of his sight, as
though all that had happened was nothing but a dream, and that to let her
go would end it and force him to wake up, still on top of that mountain
with her corp...

No! He fought back the fear. It was stupid and irrational. He had brought
her back from the dead, as impossible as it sounded. It was real. All of it
was! And he would not allow himself to be ruled by fear. "I have to do it
alone. If you were there it would just make things worse." A lot worse.
Even now there were still some things he needed to do alone.

"Okay." Now that Shampoo thought about it, there was probably someone she
needed to talk to alone as well. Things might be said that Ranma would not
understand. It was best to keep it to herself, and not concern him with the
past. Better for both of them, to be sure.


Ranma found himself even more reluctant to approach Akane's door this time
around. It had been bad enough the first time when he had semi-good news to
tell her about needing time to decide between her and Shampoo. However, he
had now made a choice. The right choice. 

So why did it still feel like someone had thrust a knife into his heart?

All too soon he found himself in front of her door. For the first time in
his life he had wished to have Ryouga's sense of direction. Then he would
never have found her room. He could have wandered the ship for days, weeks
if he wanted too. He could have...

...been away from Shampoo for all of that time.

And since when had everything revolved around her? He didn't need to be
around her all of the time. He wasn't reliant on any one person. He could
stand on his own two feet, a man among men. The mantra of his life.

He shook his head. All of the posturing was for nothing. Deep down inside
he could still feel the echoes of hollowness that had accompanied Shampoo's
death, though thankfully the feeling was blunted. Yes, it had made him feel
afraid, not that he would admit it to anyone. So fine, he wanted to be
around her and was in love with her. Everything that accompanied accepting
that admission was simply going to take some getting used to. He would
adapt like he always did. With a new resolve he raised his hand to Akane's
door.

And it was still there five minutes later.

He cursed himself for his spinelessness. No matter what he said it was
going to hurt her, and sneaking off in the middle of the night without
saying a word was not an acceptable solution. It was the sort of thing his
old man would have done. He was better than that. 

The gentle sound of his knuckles on wood sounded like a cry of doom. 

He listened to the sound of movement in the room. It only occurred to him
now that Akane might not have been there. But she was there, thankfully.
Unfortunately. 

"Who is it?" Her voice contained none of the energy it usually did. It was
his fault. It was all his fault. He should have known a long time ago where
his heart was. He should never have strung her along, however
unintentionally, as he had done. He-

"Who is it?" she repeated once more.

"It's me." The words echoed painfully to his ears. That was a mistake. He
should have waited, fled while she didn't know who was there. Now he was
trapped. 

There was no answer to his response, and after several moments he asked if
he could come in.

"NO!!!" was the tearful reply. And he could hear those tears, the soft
sobbing in her voice. Tears of his own welled up in his eyes as he
desperately fought them off. It had to be done, he kept telling himself. It
had to be done.

"We need to talk."

"There isn't anything to say!" The sounds of sobbing were stronger now. It
was almost enough to make Ranma run, and maybe before what had happened on
the top of the mountain he might have done it to avoid his own pain, but
not now. If he could command near infinite power, then he could force
himself to tell Akane the truth. And the words had to pass from his lips.

"Please let me in."

"NO!!! Stay out!"

He couldn't bring himself to break the door down. Having it as a barrier
between them would have to suffice. "I'm sorry, Akane. I'm so, so sorry. I
never wanted to hurt you. If there was any way I could change that, I
would. But there isn't. I'm...I'm sorry."

"I know." That was almost whispered from directly in front of Ranma. He
understood that she must have been pressed right against the door to sound
so close. She needed a barrier now too, even though part of her wanted to
be close to him as well. He realized that, in a way, it was probably
symbolic, though exactly how Ranma couldn't say. 

"I don't know what to tell you." The softness in his voice now matched
hers. They were so quiet, yet each could hear the other clearly. He could
make out her rasping breaths as she tried to control her own voice, just as
he did. Yet each failed still.

"You don't need to say anything." He could almost hear the tears fall as
she said that. Tears that matched his own. Tears which he would no longer
stave off. He would cry for her. He could still do that. He owed her that
much, at least.

"I forgive you," she said almost inaudibly. "I forgive you for everything.
Go."

"Let me see you just onc-"

"No!" she almost screamed. "Just leave me! I understand. I know you love
her. I know it and I love you enough to let go, Ranma Saotome. Do you
understand that? I'm letting you go. Our engagement is off. Go to her. Have
a good life, but please go now. You can't do anything but hurt me anymore.
At least for now."

Tears poured almost as freely as they had on the mountain, though they
lacked the ferocity that they possessed on that distant peak. His
fingertips brushed along the door, feeling where he envisioned her head
rested against it. "I understand. I won't bother you anymore." No other
words came to him, though he knew there was still so much more left unsaid.
But not now. Maybe never. He would have to live with that.

As he turned to go, he took one last look at the door, and through it to
the girl he was leaving behind. "Maybe in a few years?"

"Maybe." He could tell she was still leaning against the door. Perhaps it
would be a long time before she moved from it, but whatever course she
took, he realized he was no longer a part of it. 

Without another word he turned to go. Shutting the door on a part of his
life that he would never be able to return to again.


Kasumi still felt exhausted as she lay on her bed. The night before it had
taken a great deal of energy, but she was fairly certain she had done the
technique correctly and that Cologne's life energy was bolstered, at least
for a little while. If Kasumi reinforced the weave almost every day she was
certain the elder's life could be extended for at least a few more years. A
few, perhaps. Not enough though. There could never be enough. 

It really was most peculiar, although she was grateful all the same, that
she could do that sort of thing. When Cologne had asked her where she had
learned the technique, and how she managed such nearly impossible control,
all Kasumi could respond with was, 'it seemed like it was the right thing
to do.' She was sure her father had never taught anything like that to her.
She wasn't certain where she could have learned anything like that at all.
But still, she knew it and was thankful for it. Too bad it was so
exhausting, though.

She was about to get up on her own when there was a knock on the door. She
told her visitor to enter, and all tiredness passed as she saw who it was.

"Shampoo!" she fairly screamed as she almost flew across the room and
embraced her friend in a hug. Even though Kasumi had known she was all
right it was still a relief to see the Amazon up and about. 

Shampoo's reaction was somewhat different. When she returned the embrace it
was with a long hard cry. Kasumi was left momentarily confused by the
reaction. "Why are you crying?"

"I d...didn't want to hurt you!" she continued her wailing.

Kasumi forced Shampoo out of the grip and examined her more closely.
"Whatever do you mean?"

"I love Ranma! I'm sorry!" Shampoo at last managed to stop crying, though
the sniffling continued.

Now Kasumi was truly confused. "Why on earth would you be sorry you love
Ranma?" 

"Because that means I can't love you that way too." She almost began crying
again.

Kasumi still seemed mystified. "That's all right. I'm happy."

Shampoo stopped crying, almost in total shock. How could Kasumi be so
passive about everything? "What do you mean, 'I'm happy'?"

Kasumi just seemed to smile back, though perhaps not as easily as she
usually did. "You're happy with Ranma, I can see it in your face. You have
no idea of how glad that makes me feel."

"But what about you?"

"What about me?" Kasumi said curiously.

"I thought you loved me, when you said what you did before I left for Mount
Phoenix."

"I do." Kasumi still did not quite grasp what Shampoo meant.

"Then why aren't you sad?"

Kasumi shook her head. "Oh, Shampoo. When I said that thing about becoming
a man and us being together, it was only for your protection. I do love
you, don't doubt that, but I've always wanted what would make you most
happy. And I can tell just by looking at you that's Ranma. Just because you
love him doesn't mean you don't care about me too."

Shampoo looked at her softly. She had expected far more disappointment from
her friend. How could she be so forgiving? "But aren't you sad?"

"Of course not," she said happily. "I have a wonderful family. A wonderful
friend like you. Everyone is healthy, even if Akane's broken hearted. I'll
try to help her as best as I can. I don't know why I wouldn't be happy."

"Maybe," Shampoo began. "Maybe you want someone in your life too."

Kasumi considered that. "I'm sure someday I'll have someone myself. I'll
know when I find them. Until then I can enjoy the love I receive from
everyone else, just like I always have. I'm quite pleased with everything,
especially when compared to almost losing you." She held Shampoo's hand in
her own, worry now etched in her face. "I was so afraid of what was
happening at that mountain. If you hadn't come back I don't know what I
would have done. So if it seems I'm a bit light-hearted about this, it's
because I know how close I came to really losing everything. Compared to
that, this really isn't all that much. I'm really very grateful things have
turned out the way they did."

Shampoo seemed to brighten at that. She had never dared hoped for such
forgiveness, even from Kasumi. "You aren't unhappy then?"

"Not being at maximum happiness does not make me unhappy, so no," Kasumi
explained softly, then gave Shampoo a soft look. "Do you love me?"

"Always and forever," she answered softly.

"I love you too, always and forever. As long as we have that, that's all
that matters." Kasumi embraced Shampoo once more, and this time the hug was
much more pleasant for both of them.


It was a little later that Ranma and Shampoo returned to their new
quarters, coincidentally arriving at the same time. Shampoo took one look
into Ranma's eyes and knew who he had gone to see first.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Ranma shook his head. It was all still too fresh. Only time would make the
hurting stop, a long time, and there was nothing he could do about it until
then. But the pain had to be fought through; there was still much to be
done. However, it would wait for a while. 

"We have inflicted pain on those we care for," Shampoo said, her voice
sounding distant.

Ranma felt the memory of his 'vows' fill him with that statement. Yes. He
had. Damn him but he had done exactly that! But it had to be done. The sole
consolation he had was reminding himself of what else he had almost lost.
He wrapped an arm around Shampoo as both went back to rest some more, the
mark of their ordeal still plaguing them. 


"We might be able to cure both of your conditions."

Ranma shrugged at that. Cologne had dropped by after they had gotten a
little more sleep. He still didn't really trust the old ghoul, in spite of
what she had done for them. Besides, he had gotten his hopes up for cures
before, and every time his hopes ended up dashed. And with Jusenkyou
destroyed...

"This might be our last chance, huh?"

Cologne nodded. "Yes. There shouldn't be any problems. Only Silk and the
Guide know of this. So long as you both remain silent I can't see anything
going wrong."

The two gave a look to her that said, 'Doom us, why don't you', then
afforded glances at one another. It did sound easy. Too easy. Nothing easy
ever worked out. If one made a plan for crossing the street, usually
something went wrong. And to have something as important as the last chance
at a cure, the last sure thing that would allow Shampoo to go back to her
people instead of being hunted down, well, both couldn't help but feel
scared at that idea.

"Let's cross our fingers," Shampoo said.

"Yeah." Ranma could feel his guts knot up at the idea of losing another
chance at a cure, but at the same time some part of him couldn't help but
get his hopes up. To admit his love and to never turn into a girl again, it
seemed too good to be true.

Cologne excused herself, saying something in Chinese to Shampoo which made
her blush. Ranma waited until the elder had gone before asking about the
exchange.

"It's nothing you need to worry about." 

The smile she gave had the exact opposite effect of what she had wanted.
Now he was worried. "What's that supposed to mean?" That got him a wider
smile that put him further on edge.

"I'm still very tired from our ordeal. Time for other things later."

"What other things?" Ranma's bewilderment was starting to overwhelm him.
Shampoo was becoming more confusing instead of less. That wasn't supposed
to happen when you loved someone. They were supposed to be easier to
understand. That was the way it worked. Ranma wondered if maybe he should
ask his father about how he came to understand his mother.

Instead of verbally answering, she sauntered to the shower, leaving the
door open behind her. Warning senses began blaring, telling Ranma it was
time to visit the other set of people that he needed to explain things to.
He chose not to bother Shampoo and silently left the room, just missing the
'why don't you come in and wash my back? I'm not too tired for that,'
question that Shampoo gave. 

When she heard no response, she exited the shower and saw the empty room.
With great restraint she refrained from smashing anything out of
frustration. Ranma was still an enigma to her, and he was getting worse
instead of better. At the moment he was easily the most confusing male she
had ever met. By far the most, and if things didn't start becoming clearer
soon, she was going to pull her hair out by its roots in frustration.
Perhaps she needed to talk to someone about men.


Shampoo returned to her room, furious at her great grandmother and Silk.
All she had done was ask them that since they were older, wiser, and had
more dealings with men, how she could understand males like they did. The
duo looked at one another, and then they LAUGHED at her! They didn't even
have decency to stop laughing, doing it for five minutes straight until
Silk nearly collapsed from lack of oxygen. Shampoo left them rather than
have her pride trampled on further. If they wanted to keep it secret, fine!
She'd figure it out on her own. 

It was two hours later that Ranma returned to the room, the look on his
face precluding any further attempts at deciphering the male mind. "What
happened?"

"Don't ask!" he growled.

She knew who he had gone to speak with now. She could understand him not
wanting to talk with her about Akane. It was difficult for Shampoo to admit
even the obvious, but she acknowledged she would be biased about any
discussion concerning her former rival. But as to the other half of the
problem, and from her point of view, the more difficult obstacle now, that
she needed to know.

A sympathetic hand fell on his shoulder. She wanted to share this pain,
especially since the situation concerned her as well. "Tell me what your
parents said."

A few days before he would have refused the request, but now he
inexplicably felt the need to share. "They won't budge. Especially those
two idiot fathers. My mother said she'd follow Pop's lead, but him and Mr.
Tendo are going on like nothing happened. They said that if I won't marry
Akane then I have to marry Kasumi or," he shuddered as he forced himself to
say it. "Nabiki. Man even saying that name makes my skin crawl."

"Just ignore it then. They can't force you to marry someone."

Ranma shook his head. "I can't have this hanging over my head. I don't want
to alienate Mom, or even Pop." He considered that for a moment.  "Though
maybe I could live with doing that to Pop if I had to. Nah. I gotta figure
out a way to get them to give up their stupid promise. They know damn well
I'm not interested in either of the girls that way, and they ain't
interested in me either. Heck, I think Kasumi'd sooner marry you than me."

Shampoo gave out a laugh that was far too nervous; a laugh Ranma was too
distracted to notice.

"The way I figure it, we'll get cured tomorrow and I'll try talking to them
again. Maybe they'll have changed their minds by then." There wasn't an
ounce of hope in his voice.

"We'll think of something," she assured him.

"Yeah." 

He gently squeezed her hand, then removed it from his shoulder and held it
in his own. He gazed deeply into her eyes, and she found herself drowning
in his blue orbs. By the gods he could still make her heart race with just
a glance. She wondered if the most dangerous thing about Ranma wasn't his
charm.

"Shampoo," he said softly as he drew his face closer to hers.

"Yes," she responded huskily, preparing her lips for the inevitable.

"I think..."

"Yes?" she said seductively, her face drawing closer to his.

"I think I'm hungry. Let's get something to eat."

"Ranma, you are still the master of the Saotome School of Ruining a Mood at
Any Given Time."

Ranma released her hand and scowled. "And just what is that supposed to
mean?"

"It means it's time to eat." She grabbed his hand and led him to the mess.


It was in the early hours of the morning that the two departed the ship for
the Guide's hut, not informing anyone of where they were going. It was
there they were supposed to meet the Guide and get the cure that they so
desperately sought. The way to Jusenkyou should have been clear of any
dangers. Already each of them was practically shaking with anticipation for
what was about to occur. 

"Do you think it's going to work?" Shampoo was fearful of allowing her
hopes to get up. She had been unable to get any rest the night before,
which made her already weakened condition even worse. All she could think
about was a chance at a cure. Was her great grandmother correct? If there
was some sort of destiny to fulfill, had she somehow done it on the
mountain, even if she was unaware of exactly what it was? And even if she
did, with Jusenkyou destroyed, would a cure now work?

And what about Ranma? If he was cursed for the same reason, would he at
last have the cure he so desperately wanted? She wanted him cured. Not for
her sake, she loved either of his forms without reservations, but for his.
He still wanted a cure in spite of any acceptance of the curse he had
undergone. She could see it in his eyes whenever she said the word 'cure'.
Like her, he tried shielding his hope beneath the disappointment in all of
the other failed attempts at removing the curse. However, hope still tried
to take hold of both of them, force them to wish and raise their
expectations for perhaps the last time.

"If this works, I'm burning all of those damn dresses I picked up when I
thought I was a girl," he growled.

Shampoo remained silent about how attractive he actually appeared in them.
That was not the sort of flattery he would want to hear. "If it works, I'm
going to splash myself with cold water until I look like a prune."

"Yeah," Ranma agreed. "I'm going to stand out in the damn rain and just
laugh and laugh."

Shampoo looked up to the sky and held out her hand. Ranma stared at her
curiously. "Why are you doing that?"

She remained silent, leaving Ranma wondering exactly what was going on with
her until he saw the white object fall into her palm, melting almost
instantly.

"It's only early fall and it ain't nowhere near cold enough to snow."

Shampoo nodded her head in agreement. "It's never snowed this early in the
year. And you're right about the-" she was cut off as an icy wind blew
across them. 

"Okay, maybe it is cold enough," Ranma began chattering as he noticed that
the snow continued to fall. 

Shampoo kept looking quizzically at the sky. "You don't suppose this has
anything to do with what you did at the mountain?"

"Of course not! I was trying to save you, not get ready for the ski season.
This is some kind of natural phenomenon or something. This ain't my fault."

Shampoo accepted the answer as the two set off once more. Within minutes, a
light carpet of snow covered the ground, falling too quickly to be melted
by the still warm ground. Both figures shivered in the uncomfortable cold,
trying to hurry to the Guide's cabin. Hopefully he'd have a fire or
something going. It wasn't cold enough to be fatal, but it was unpleasant
and made Ranma wish he had at least brought a jacket. 

After they had traveled a few more miles, Ranma spoke up. "Does this place
feel different to you?"

"Yes." Shampoo nodded her head. "I don't know what, but it does feel
different. Almost like there's something missing."

They continued onward, at last cresting a hill, and saw the raw devastation
before them. When Silk had described Jusenkyou as being destroyed, they had
each assumed that a handful of pools had been demolished and that the place
was basically the same as when they had left it lo those many months ago.
Nothing could have been further from the truth. The earth itself had been
rent as though something huge had been dug out from an earthen grave. Well
over three quarters of the pools had been destroyed outright, a broken
bamboo pole sticking out from the upturned earth here and there. The
remaining springs appeared unchanged, save for the fact most of the
unburied poles had been knocked over and now laid upon one another in a
disorderly mess. 

"It's changed." 

Shampoo nodded in agreement. The air of the place was different now. Where
once there had been a sort of miasma about the springs, now there was
nothing, almost as though the entire place were dead. 

As if to show them how right they were, a heron landed in one of the
springs and began drinking from it, unaffected by any changes. All that
remained was the same bird that had been there before.

"It could be the Spring of Drowned Heron," Shampoo offered, but neither
believed it for a moment.

"Our last chance," Ranma said softly to himself as the two headed towards
the nearby tiny hut where the Guide and Plum lived. Ranma wondered idly if
the Guide was out of work now, and what he would do with himself once it
became obvious Jusenkyou was destroyed for good. 

The snow at last stopped as they approached the hut. The Guide emerged from
the shack as the last snowflake fell to the ground. He waved pleasantly at
them and indicated they go inside, where he disappeared before they got
there. 

Ranma and Shampoo came up to the door and paused. Each stared at one
another, mutual looks of concern on each of their faces. 

"This is it."

"Yep," Ranma agreed. "A cure. At last."

An uneasy silence was suddenly before them, each too fearful to open the
door and take the next step to the final solution to their problems. 

"Ranma," Shampoo suddenly burst out. "I don't care if you're cursed!"

"Same goes for me," he assured her. With that out of the way, both laid a
single hand on the door and pushed it inward.

Upon entering they saw that there was indeed a fire going on the far side
of the room, but that was not what had captured their attention. There were
two small barrels in the middle of the room. On one was labeled
'Nanniichuan.' On the other, 'Nyanniichuan.'

The Guide gave them a wide smile. "Here it is, sir and madam. The water you
want to make you whole. Now you no more have to worry about changing with
your curses. Is the cure you wanted." He stepped forward and to the side a
couple of paces, allowing them a clear path, and pointed to the barrels.

They looked at one another again, mutual smiles blossoming on each of their
faces. No one had attacked them. No one had gotten there first and used the
cursed waters. There wasn't a pack of Amazons waiting for them. No one had
stolen the water and held it for ransom. The barrels were just sitting
there, waiting for them. Each barrel was clearly marked and they were the
correct ones as well. It appeared everything had gone as it should have.
Perhaps for the first time in close to a year things finally appeared to be
in their favor. 

They nodded to one another, hope at last being given free reign. They moved
as one and each went to the barrel they wanted. Synchronized, they each
took the tops off of their small barrels and peered inside. Clear water was
indeed all that each contained. There was only one more thing left.

"It looks like this is it," Ranma said. 

Shampoo nodded. "Let's use them quick, before something bad happens."

"Right," Ranma agreed. 

Each one held their respective barrels over their heads, and with one last
glance at one another, dumped the water over their heads. 

Ranma-chan stared in shock at the black-haired boy before her.

Shampoo-kun stared in shock at the red-haired girl before him.

"It didn't work!" Ranma-chan's voice took on an almost wailing quality. She
had been so certain she had at last found a cure, but to be denied release
from her curse once more, when she had been so clo-

A blow from a metal object struck Ranma-chan hard in the back of her skull,
sending her to the floor instantly. Her head made a loud thump as it
bounced off of the floor as she hit. Just barely she heard the cry of pain
from Shampoo-kun as his form landed next to hers a moment later. Ranma-chan
was just bringing her head around to focus on the attacker when the long
metal rod connected with the front of her face, stunning her once again.
She was just barely aware of the sound of several other dull thuds as she
got on her hands and knees, trying to regain a vertical base. It was while
she was in that position that a foot caught her directly in the solar
plexus, winding her. There was no respite as she felt herself picked up by
a pair of hands and lifted off of the ground. She had just managed to get a
hand on her opponents wrist when she found her body tossed hard into a far
wall, hurting her even worse than before.

It shouldn't have been that way, she knew it deep down inside, but bringing
back Shampoo had taken everything out of her. Even with the two days of
rest it had been nowhere near enough to regain her chi levels or her
tremendous endurance. She was next to helpless from the onslaught of the
attacker, his blows having a far greater effect than they should have.
Still, her spirit was intact, and she brought her head up to see her
assailant. What she saw stunned her.

It was the Jusenkyou Guide himself.

She stared at him in disbelief once more. He held a long metal pry bar, not
a designed weapon but a makeshift one, in his hand and lashed out at the
still prone Shampoo-kun. A blow connected with the small of his back as the
youth cried out in agony. The Guide tossed the bar aside and effortlessly
picked up Shampoo-kun. The man took a moment to spit into the Amazon's face
before throwing him into a far wall.

Rage filled Ranma-chan as she at last regained her footing. "Leave her
alone!" She found enough strength to stagger forward towards him.

The Guide looked at Ranma-chan and gave a wide smile once more. A far more
malevolent one than what he had given at the door. "Oh, honored sir, it
seem the magic water no work on you. Too bad."

"Why are you doing this?" she said as she warily circled her opponent.
Neither she nor Shampoo had done anything to the Guide. Ever. Could it have
been some attempt at revenge for the destruction of Jusenkyou, even though
they had had nothing to do with it?

"You mean you not figure it out, honored sir?" The smile broadened.

"Tell me!" Ranma-chan snarled as she prepared to leap at her opponent. 

"If you insist." 

Ranma-chan's eyes widened. The Guide's voice had changed from the sing-song
pidgin it usually spoke to a deeper baritone that spoke with flawless
Japanese. But the worst part was the new voice itself. It couldn't be!

The muscles on the Guide's face seemed to contort. Suddenly his whole form
shifted as he grew nearly a foot in height. The short dumpy man was
replaced, enlarged to that of an enormous man with a massively muscled
chest and huge arms and legs, while his features took on an all too
familiar cast.

"Gemma!" 


xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Special Thanks to:

Ryan Anderson
Jim Bader
Bloodblade
Jurai-Knight
Gary Kleppe
Jason Liao
Lord Talon
Miashara
Wade Tritschler

    Source: geocities.com/tokyo/towers/5920