Epiphany Chapter 03
By Tripolar Disorder
Revision 4.1
This is an alternative universe from the Ranma timeline.
*****************************************************************
Meanwhile in Ranma's nightmare...................
Darkness. A swirling mass of black, so dark, that no light could
escape it. He was trapped within the icy cold tentacles of the
darkness. It played with him, permeated him, leaving him weak
and defenseless against the coming attack.
The cats were on him. All over him. Worse than the darkness,
he felt their claws tearing away at both his flesh and his mind.
Ranma struggled to retain control. He could not let the cat in
him take over. He tried to fight back, but the hopelessness he
faced could not be overcome, and he lost.
With the last strength he had left, he weakly cried out for his
mother.
A terrible crash near his feet and he thought he saw her. His
mother was there and she would save him. She lifted him up out
of the pit and he was feeling safe.
The pain of the pit subsiding, he was no longer crying, but then
realized he was a she. Nodoka gasped and moved away from her.
No matter how fast she ran toward her mother, she kept getting
further away.
Ranma-chan cried outward, her arms outstretched as she ran as
fast as she could. She stumbled and fell, and darkness claimed
her again. She curled into a ball once more, feeling her heart
torn out yet again. The voice of her father echoing insults
filled the air. "You sound like a girl, Ranma." "What kind of
man are you?"
As she opened her eyes, to look into the darkness, something
didn't feel right. He blinked and found himself in his room at
the Tendo's. He cursed himself that it was all a dream, and that
he had been weak to be frightened by it. He got up and walked
over to the door, and was about to open it, when a hand was
placed on his shoulder.
Ranma jumped and turned around to face his girl-side. She was
wearing an identical silk shirt and tie leg pants. He noticed
her smile. She turned her head as she followed him, as he
circled her. She kept her hands behind her back, clasped
loosely.
"Who are you?!" He almost shouted at her. "You another one of
those mirror clones?"
Her smile changed to a frown, but only for a moment. "You insult
me Ranma. Don't you realize that you are still dreaming?"
Ranma gestured around him. "It sure looks real to me."
The girl nodded. "So I did a nice job huh? The least you could
do, would be to compliment me on my accuracy. With a wave of her
hand the walls split from the floor and he could see flowing
darkness, a swirlng void that sent chills across up his spine.
Just as quickly, the walls moved back into place, once again
enclosing the room."
"Uh yeah, nice job. Just curious, who are you, and why are you
in my dream?"
"You can call me Ranko, since we are so found of the name, and
as to who I am, I am your curse. As for the why, I decided that
I could no longer let you be consumed by your nightmares."
Ranma had a confused look. "My curse? You mean my cursed form?"
Ranko shook her head. "No, I am your curse. I am the magic that
causes you to change into a girl. I have simply invaded your
thoughts and taken this familiar form."
Ranko turned around and walked over toward the wall. She
continued to face it as she began to explain.
"Ranma, magic is a funny thing. When the spirit of the springs
targeted you to be cursed, it didn't look into your mind. But
once you are cursed, the magic gets to know you. Created by the
springs the moment you were dropped in the pool, my job is to
make you a water magnet. I influence your actions to cause you
to come into contact with cold water. I know everything about
Jusenkyo curses and the cures. I learned about everything else
from you, by looking through your mind."
Ranko sighed and she turned around. "I am sorry Ranma. I have
seen the horrible things within your minds eye." She sighed and
walked over to him. Ranko then dropped down onto her knees and
gave Ranma a hug. She held it for a long time before releasing.
Ranma meanwhile, had stiffened slightly before trying to comfort
the girl.
When she parted he could see her eyes. She was beginning to cry.
Ranma was genuinely curious as to what was happening. Ranko
noticed this, and she sighed.
"I know what you are thinking. Why am I crying? I'm crying
because I have done nothing but cause you more pain and
suffering. You almost lost everything thanks to me, but today I
have witnessed an event that has shown me a path."
"A way to make everything better and give you back what I took
away, and I fully intend to use it."
Ranma looked at her, "Whddya mean?"
"Your thoughts are open to me at all times. I know you feel more
comfortable in your female form than you let on to others. I
think that some around you know this."
Ranma pulled away from her. He stood up and walked away from the
redhead. "You’re lying! I don't like being a girl. Everyone
knows that."
Ranko stood up and walked over to him. He stepped backward upon
her continuing advance.
"You look in the mirror and see the face of a broken man, the
effect your idiot father's attempt to make you a man amoungst
men. You own face is a visual reminder of all the aches and
pains of old wounds. Everything you did to get your mother
back."
"But when you look at this face in the mirror, you see a
different person. You know it's you looking out, but you see
this body as your chance to escape the pain. I want to give you
that new life."
He was still looking away from her, shaking his head. "You're
lying!"
"You are the one who's lying to themself here and there is no
need. It only makes your problems worse. Genma and Soun aren't
around to fill your head with nonsense. Your mother is happy
having you as a girl."
Ranma gave her a suspicious glare. "You don't know that."
Ranko shook her head. "I do too, and so would you if you stopped
and felt outside your body for a moment. She's out there holding
you and trying to make your nightmare fade. She heard you cry
out for her and she came running. She took the door off it's
track."
Ranma was still backpedaling, until he hit the wall. "But, but,
but,...."
"Ranma, I did not come here to convince you that you should be a
girl. I came here because I wanted to offer you the choice. I
want you to be truly happy and this is the only way that I can do
it. Then you can make your own mind, and no one will have a say
in it but you."
Ranma braced himself against the wall. "What are you going to
do to me?"
Ranko smiled again. "You have accepted the curse Ranma, wheither
you admit it or not. I know the truth and so do you. I will
surrender my power to you, and you can discover your own
feelings for yourself."
With that she threw herself at him. Ranko wrapped her arms
around his torso, and squeezed. Ranma was stunned, but he felt
the urge to return the embrace, and did so. Suddenly there was a
bright blue glow around them. Ranma closed his eyes as the light
was immensly bright. Ranma could feel a new source of power
engulf him. He could feel it flowing through his veins and
giving him strength. It felt strange, like softness and warmth,
and it calmed him. When it faded Ranma found that he was
standing in the middle of the room again, and that he was a she.
She looked around franticly. Ranko was nowhere to be found.
Ranma-chan even called out to the emptiness, "Is this some kind
of a joke?"
She was about to scream, when a soft voice echoed against the
wall. Ranma-chan turned to see Ranko sliding in through the
wall like a ghost. "Oops, I got thrown off you there. I
couldn't quite handle the energy output. Sorry about that."
"So what did you do?" Asked a frustrated Onna-Ranma.
"Welcome to the first day of your new life. I promise to help
make it better than your old one."
And with that, the room faded into darkness and Ranma-chan opened
her eyes.
****************************************************************
Meanwhile.....
Nodoka had carried the sleeping girl downstairs, laying her on
the couch. She had then gone in to help Kasumi with breakfast.
She returned to look upon Ranma-chan, who was still asleep and
murmuring softly.
Nodoka was about to wake her, when she noticed Ranma-chan's face
contorting and a dark blue aura formed around her.
Nodoka took a step back as the aura became larger and encompassed
more area.
As she continued to watch, the aura began to brighten. Marbled
clouds of bright red flowed across it until it settled on a
violet hue. Then it faded away.
She was concerned about what she just saw and was moving closer
when Ranma-chan's eyes opened. She yawned and sat up.
"Oh man, what a dream." as she scratched the back of her head.
Nodoka came over and hugged her. "How are you feeling dear?"
Ranma-chan smiled, and returned the hug. She looked around at
the living room. "How did I end up here?"
"I carried you down here. I saw you having a nightmare last
night and I heard you crying out my name, so I ran in to save
you, but I couldn't seem to wake you up."
Ranma-chan hung her head, leaning against Nodoka's shoulder.
"I'm sorry you had to see that." Inwardly she was thinking,
<Ranko was right. She did hold me all night. Maybe she does
love me.>
Nodoka frowned. "I hope that you can tell me that the Neko-Ken
was the worst of the training that your father put you through.
I do not want you to withhold anything like that from me ever
again."
Ranma-chan nodded, and Nodoka gave her another hug. She didn't
let go, but just held on.
Kasumi interrupted them by exiting the kitchen with food,
signaling the start of breakfast.
****************************************************************
Breakfast went rather uneventful. A few minutes after breakfast
however, Ukyo showed up.
Ukyo had been worried about Ranma since he was not at school.
She had also seen Shampoo, who had told her that Ranma's mother
was at the Dojo and Ranma was very happy, dispite his father's
death.
At the current moment however, Ranma-chan and Akane were becoming
ill at the sheer volume of sucking up that Ukyo was doing.
Seventeen Okonomiaki all decorated with Kanji "Welcome Mama
Saotome" were sitting on every available horizontal space,
including the floor.
Then there was the flowers. Ukyo had stopped by a florist along
the way. Several large vases stood in the entryway, since they
could not be taken in any further. A multitude of colors spilled
out from them.
Nabiki was standing there with a calculator trying to determine
the worth of the whole mess just for her own personal amusement.
Ukyo was calmly sipping tea next to Nodoka and Kasumi.
"It is nice to meet you Mrs. Saotome." Ukyo was talking in her
'cute as a button' voice.
"The pleasure is mine. I appreciate it when people knock and not
just invite themselves in."
Ukyo smiled.<Well...> she thought to herself <...at least I made
a better impression than that chinese bitch.>
Ranma-chan shook her head, looking around at everything. "I
can't stand to be in the room with all the sucking up going on."
And she left to take a bath.
Ukyo and Nodoka were discussing the events that led to her being
engaged to Ranma, the stealing of the Yati cart and her sworn
revenge, when everyone's thoughts were interrupted by a scream.
Ranma-chan's scream.
Akane and Kasumi were the first to action. Ukyo and Nodoka
followed in close behind. Ukyo noticed that the Saotome
matriarch's sword was already out, so she got her battle spatula
to the ready.
What the group found in the furo was a crying redhead. Naked,
but all alone. She was curled up, her knees up at her chest.
Shaking, and her head just above the water.
As Akane burst through the door she was in battle stance.
She and Ukyo did a sweep of the room and found no signs of any
intruders. Kasumi and Nodoka grabbed Ranma-chan and pulled her
from the water, wrapping a towel around her.
As everyone was trying to figure out what happened, there was a
familiar "Oh my" from Kasumi before she plunged her hand back in
the water.
"What is it Kasumi?"
Kasumi stood up. Her face turned pale, and she pointed toward
Ranma-chan. "The water is hot!"
****************************************************************
Cologne was busy in the kitchen at the Nekohanten. She was
adding several rather strange looking herbs to what looked to be
Italian pasta sauce.
She stopped a moment. She felt the aura of Ranma, as if he was
just outside the kitchen and was, less then happy. She hopped
out to find the dining area empty, but the aura was getting
stronger. It was coming from near the front door.
Cologne became pale. She had never witnessed such a focused rage
from Ranma before, and the worst part is that it was clearly
directed at her.
She suddenly felt it spike, and she dove under a table.
A circular section of the front exterior wall exploded inward.
Flying debris caused a dust cloud that cut visibility to nothing.
When the dust settled she saw Ranma-chan standing in a slumped
over, staggered stance in the middle of a ten foot diameter hole
in the wall.
Cologne hopped up on her stick. Trying to hide her fear of the
immense aura surrounding the girl, She calmly asked.
"Hello Son-in-Law. What can I do for you?"
No sooner than the words came out of her mouth, then she was hit,
and slammed into the wall. The image of Ranma-chan vanished from
the hole in the wall.
Cologne was amazed, that she could move with such speed to fool
her own eyes. Ranma's aura was so large at the moment that it
was almost impossible to determine where the girl was.
As she tried to move away from the wall, she felt the air near
her ripple, and was forcefully slammed against the wall again.
<Son in law is just playing with me. The boy could easily beat
me or kill me at this point, but he isn't. Thank goodness for
his ethics.>
Nodoka looked about the room, and saw Cologne leaning against the
wall. She pointed toward the Amazon. "Ranma is not very happy
with you. I myself have no interest in your well being, so I
suggest you put forth the remedy to whatever you have done to my
son."
Cologne paused a moment, her mind in deep thought. She could not
come up with an answer and so she spoke. "I am sorry to sound
naive, but what are you talking about?"
That was when she finally noticed Ranma-chan. Just a few feet
away with with teeth clenched and settled into a crouched, ready
stance.
Ranma snorted out of her nostrils, and Cologne swore she saw
smoke. "All right old mummy, Unlock my curse."
"Indeed, please produce the cure. It has been hard on us already
with Genma's death." Nodoka had stepped up behind Ranma-chan and
put her hands on the shaking girl's shoulders.
Cologne was already thinking. She mentally listed all the ways
that one would use to lock a person into cursed form. But each
time, it was denied, for she neither had the method, nor a cure.
Finally Cologne bowed head. "I swear on the name of my tribe
that I have done nothing. Please believe me. If you have been
locked into your cursed form Son-....., Ranma, then let me see if
I can figure what has done it?"
Ranma stood there glaring into Cologne's eyes. She felt the
girl's piercing gaze, and her aura pushing against her. Then it
ended.
Ranma visibly calmed. She turned toward Nodoka. "Mom, she is
telling the truth. She has never lied to me before on something
this important, and I believe she is telling the truth now."
Cologne picked up her staff. She looked around the cafe. The
hole in the wall, several broken and shattered tables were
composing a pile of debris that was all created by Ranma in the
span of just a few seconds without touching anything.
She stretched out her chi, cautiously, trying to feel out the
girl. She could feel the strain Ranma was having holding her
temper in check. Her aura was shifting around, as if in pieces,
barely holding itself together.
<Ranma-chan was having a mental breakdown. Her actions were more
violent and less planned.> Then she remembered what Nodoka had
said. <Ranma's idiot father was dead. So now he will no longer
stand in the way. But the stress of his death, and Ranma somehow
getting locked into cursed form was too much.>
She hopped over to the pair and looked Ranma-chan over. "You
used a great deal of energy there Ranma. It would be best if you
get some sleep." And with that, Cologne quickly tapped a spot on
Ranma-chan's forehead and the girl collapsed to the floor,
asleep.
Nodoka swept the redhead into her arms, glaring at Cologne.
"What did you just do to her?"
"I put her to sleep for her own good. Whatever has happened to
her is not helping her. I sensed a problem with her conscience
thought patterns. If she sleeps, we will have an easier time
determining what happened."
Cologne instructed her to carry Ranma-chan upstairs where she was
laid out on Shampoo's bedroll. She took great care in placing
the pillow under the girl's head.
Cologne then left the room and returned moments later with
several boxes. As she opened each box they appeared to hold
jewelry, but with the way the old woman handled them they were
much more than pretty gems.
Cologne dangled several of them over Ranma-chan, swinging them
back and forth in small arcs. Each time Nodoka noticed a look
of disappointment, followed by the gems being tossed back into a
box and another taking it's place.
Meanwhile Shampoo had returned and curious as to why her arien
was sleeping in her room. She was shushed and so stood in the
corner and watched.
After a minute Cologne looked up, and held a clear blue sphere
out to Shampoo. "Take this child and hold it so that we can both
see it."
Shampoo did as she was instructed. In her hands the sphere
instantly clouded over until it was a smoky black in color.
Nodoka was amazed at the transformation. "What is that?" She
asked.
Cologne took back the sphere and it changed back to it's original
clear blue color.
"This gems detects the presence of water sprite magic. When in
contact with anyone effected by magic of a water based origin it
changes like you just saw. Shampoo also has a Jusenkyo curse.
But look here."
Cologne placed it in Ranma-chan's hand and it did nothing. "As I
thought. Ranma is longer cursed." She took the gem and put it
back in it's box.
****************************************************************
Ranma-chan was standing in the room in her mind again. She was
frantically looking around when Ranko phased in through the wall
opposite her.
"Finally, I've been trying to tell you, but you were so cought up
in emotions you couldn't hear me."
"I have been trying to tell you that you're not locked. I told
you I wanted to give you the choice."
She nearly dived forward as Ranma-chan feel to her knees. She
took the girl into her arms. "Shhh, you're alright. You'll be
okay."
Ranma-chan buried her face into Ranko's shoulder. Ranko
comforted her, by stroking the crying girl's hair. After a few
minutes, Ranma finally seemed to calm down. "Please change me
back, please..." she mumbled into Ranko's shoulder."
"I'm sorry, I should have explained myself a little better. You
can't ever be locked into one form or another anymore. No one
can hurt you like that ever again. I promise. You control your
curse now, not water, and not anyone else. No magical artifacts
or other craziness."
Ranma-chan quickly pulled back, her face a mix of surprise and
excitement as she looked into her twin's eyes. "So, I change
when I want? No more splashing?"
Ranko nodded. "Just focus and think about being a man, and you
can do it.... well, when Cologne wakes you up that is."
Ranma-chan hugged her fiercly. "Thank ... you."
Ranko hugged her back. "Anytime you need someone to talk to,
just think to me, cause I'm not going to hide. We can talk to
each other whenever, and if you need me, I'll be here."
Ranko then looked up, "Oops, time to wake up. You better get
going, and remember, I'm here for you."
Ranma-chan smiled and stood up. She smiled. "Thank you Ranko
for the cure and for being my friend."
As Ranma-chan faded out, Ranko smiled back, and spoke outloud,
knowing no one could hear her. "You need a real friend Ranma,
and I intend to be the first."
****************************************************************
"HI YAAA!! If arien no longer cursed, then why is arien still
girl-type?" Shampoo was giving Cologne a quizzical Dog-head
tilt.
"I would like the answer myself child."
Cologne turned toward Nodoka, paused for several seconds trying
to decide how to tactfully question her, then spoke.
"I would like to explain what happened to Ranma, but there are
only a handful of ways this could have happened, none of which I
have ever witnessed. Tell me, did you see anything strange
happen to Ranma lately?"
Nodoka's eyes bounced back and forth, she appeared to be involved
in mental deliberate. Finally she said.... "Define Strange. I
have seen my son change into a girl, a strange glowing ball of
light surrounding her while she slept, and...."
She was interrupted by Cologne, "What do you mean by glowing ball
of light?"
Nodoka sighed. She explained what she had seen earlier that
morning, before Ranma woke.
Cologne pondered this for several moments before giving up. She
turned away from Nodoka, to face Ranma. "I'm sorry, I don't know
what happened and I don't know what that was. Whatever it was,
it must have removed the curse magic from Ranma. She is for all
intensive purposes, a normal, healthy young woman."
She turned back to Nodoka. "I do not have any remedy for this.
Ranma is now a girl for the rest of her life. Whatever has done
this is beyond any magic my tribe has witnessed in the many
centuries we have lived near the springs."
Cologned sighed. "Please forgive my previous actions. In my
attempts to get my granddaughter Shampoo married to Ranma, I have
used methods which may have strained your daughter's fragile hold
on her self-image."
"Downstairs, Ranma seemed no longer stable and being trapped as a
girl may remove whatever holds her sanity together. I'm afraid
of what she may do when I wake her up. I can surmise that she
will be either forcefully angry, or fall into a state of
depression and apathy."
Shampoo thought to herself. <Just what she needs, I’m betting on
the latter, but the hole in the front wall was impressive. I
hope that we can calm her down either way.>
Nodoka hung her head. "It will be alright. I will do anything
to make her happy now. Please wake her. She needs to hear the
truth."
Cologne picked up her staff and tapped Ranma-chan on the forehead
again. The redhead's eyes snapped open. She sat up slowly.
"Forgive me for putting you to sleep like that Ranma, you felt
ill and I wanted to give you some rest."
Ranma-chan nodded. "I understand, I'm sorry for losing it."
Nodoka pulled her daughter into her arms. In turn Onna-Ranma
closed her eyes and leaned against her mother. Nodoka decided to
break the news.
"Ranma, Cologne says she cannot figure out why you don't change
anymore. The magic within you seems to have gone."
There was a long pause they waited for a response. Ranma's face
was unreadable. Her eyes remained closed and her breathing
continued slow and gentle.
Finally, she replied. "Momma, ... if I was a girl forever, would
you still love me?"
Nodoka had tears in her eyes. "Of course dear. Nothing could
ever change how I feel about you. I finally have you back and I
promise not to let you get hurt again."
Ranma was still calm. "Many times after I got cursed, I had
nightmares like this, but in them you never accepted me. I never
dreamed you would say that. Pops made me think that you wouldn't
love me anymore, and because of him I was afraid to go home. I
was ready to kill myself..." She wiped a tear from her eye.
"... but I always wished you would accept me."
She leaned back against her mother and closed her eys. Where
everyone was expecting a tense moment, there had been none,
however the few moments of silence were broken by light sobbing
as her situation's full impact must have finally struck her and
increased in intensity until Ranma was bawling outright, her face
buried in her mother's shoulder once more.
Cologne looked almost shocked. She was having trouble believing
that the great fighter that she had envisioned Ranma to be was
crying her eyes out. In all her dealings with the boy, she
thought him to be the pillar of emotional strength, when in fact
it was all an act. The last hour or so, her eyes had opened to
the truth. All the clues were right in front of her face, and
she had ignored them. Shampoo told of all the time Ranma spent
under the bridge, all alone. She also recalled in her mind the
days of the chestbut fist training, and how Ranma acted back
then. Now being locked forever, with no cure, would finally
break the child's frail psyche.
She noticed Nodoka now holding the role of strength. Gently
comforting her child, her abused and neglected offspring who's
difficult life had finally taken it's toll and her defenses had
broken down for the last time.
Cologne suddenly felt a bit of remorse for everything she had
done, and in a moment of personal weakness, she added her tiny
arms to the embrace.
Ranma and Nodoka both felt the slight chill when Cologne stepped
in. Ranma looked at Cologne, "Does this mean that Shampoo has to
start hunting me down again?"
Cologne shook her head, much to onno-Ranma's relief. "No child.
The kiss of death was removed long ago. And I remove the kiss of
marriage as of now. You don't have to worry about anyone from
our village attacking you anymore. I will personally punish
anyone from my village who attacks you from now on."
"Even though I can stil turn into a guy huh? You are freeing me
from all those obligations. Now maybe I can just find a way to
get Ukyo and Akane off my back and I can be a normal teenager."
Heads fell downward. All believed Ranma had shut out of her mind
what her mother had said. Nodoka pulled her daughter in even
tighter. "I'm sorry hon, but Cologne says you can't change back
anymore. You will be my daughter from now on."
Still smiling toward Cologne, Ranma replied. "Ahh, but the magic
is not gone."
Cologne shook her head. Ranma-chan turned toward Shampoo and
smiled. "You’ll flip when you see this!" She giggled.
Ranma-chan closed her eyes. She imagined herself changing. At
the same time she felt the power within her grow until it came
from every fiber of her being. Then it faded just as easily.
She opened her eyes and she was a he again.
Shampoo was staring with wide eyes. No water, no nothing. Ranma
just changed at will. She couldn't believe it.
Nodoka looked at her son. "Is that supposed to happen? I'm not
too familiar with your curse."
Ranma shifted forms again, smiling. "It does now."
Cologne's face was currently planted into the floor.
****************************************************************
End of Chapter 3
New day, new revision, and new plot to rewrite.