TWISTED- the board game. lemon? (sort of, things are rather
more descriptive in this chapter. no spurting bodily fluids,
though. at least onscreen!) that said, basics by Gregg
Sharp, with lots of input from Chris Olsen, Jim Bader's
working on some scenes to be included, and feedback from a
whole lotta other wonderful people. Opinions expressed are
those of the characters and not necessarily those of the
writer. In a few cases definitely NOT those of the writer.
This is also a twisted DEMONIC board game, so there are DARK
endings. And some lighter ones.

virtual disclaimer: Set Disclaimer = (Ranma.cha = (tm)Rumiko
Takahashi; SpellsR.Us_="Bill.Hart") If Ch1 or Ch2= nullset
then goto RAAC Archive
 ------------------------------------
Twisted: the board game: Chapter 5, Aftermath & Resolutions.
------------------------------------
AKANE'S ENDING:
 Cutey Mercury spun the spinner, calculating exactly how
much force to use and monitoring the various vectors through
her visor.

 Gradually the pointer came to the "Advance to End" field
and the Senshi let out a breath she hadn't been aware she
had been holding.

 The tiny Akane figurine stepped into the Finish square and
looked up at her.

"The game is ending, play is done,
  Akane Tendo, you have won,
  Choose your wording now with care,
  The wish to grant, speak and beware."

 Akane thought immediately of just saying that she wished
she'd never bought the game, or visited some store named
"Spells R Us" but the reminder that this was a cursed game
was prudent. Likely wishing that she never bought the game
or visited the store would have her die prior to that event.

 Too, there had been insights aplenty here that she'd just
as soon not forget. As well her enhanced figure and
intellect, Senshi powers and the like that she would prefer
not to get rid of.

 Taking a deep breath, and hoping she was right about doing
anything greedy or benefitting one's own interest being a
sure road to disaster, Akane spoke. "Akane wish that changes
game make on everyone EXCEPT Akane be removed, and all
curses including prior to game cured."

----------------------

 Nodoka Saotome was sad but firm. "No, Ranma. I realize that
you and Akane love each other dearly. She's an android, and
even an android from the Silver Millenium cannot have
children. You can keep her as a mistress but you must have a
wife who can bear children!"

 Shampoo listened for a moment before raising her hand. "I
marry Ranma, then accept Cutey Mercury as Amazon co-wife, is
OK? Least Shampoo can do for Amazon sister who save
Shampoo's life from youma! Shampoo happy to have enough
children for both Akane AND Shampoo."

 Soun began to object when a large hammer made out of ice
mysteriously formed above his head and knocked him out.

 Akane frowned but figured this was likely the best deal she
could get at the moment. Maybe later she could find a better
way. No way she'd play second-fiddle here. "All right.
Deal."

======================

GENMA'S ENDING:
 The woman formerly known as Genma Saotome smiled as the
game piece entered the finish area. It appeared as if she
had re-entered the game just in time.

 There was a certain joy in knowing she was pregnant.
Finally the two schools were united, and who would have
thought it would be Genma and Soun themselves who did the
deed. Or at least they would be as soon as the ceremony
could be performed.

 Soun hadn't stopped crying about it.

 It was such a joy to know that you were carrying a life
within you. (Wait. That's it! And certainly it would remove
any doubt about Ranma being a "man among men"!) Genma
grinned at the thought.

 Genma's eyes swept the room. There was Ranma's cursed self,
still trying to seduce Ranma-kun. Shampoo holding Chibi-Ukyo
in her lap, Akane (looking a little odd in her fuku and
little heart choker), Kasumi (wings properly folded behind
her), Nabiki (obliviously naked).

 "I wish that Ukyo were sixteen years old again, and that my
son Ranma would prove that he's a man among men by..."

 As Genma continued to speak, she completely missed the
looks of horror.

-------------------------

 Ranma was frazzled and then some.

 "Ranma! Get me another drink, will you?" Nabiki held out
her cup. "You *are* responsible for me being this way, you
know."

 "You remind me every five minutes, Nabiki," growled Ranma
under his breath.

 "That's not fair, Nabiki, it was Mister Saotome who made
the wish that all the girls present would get pregnant by
Ranma-kun." Kasumi waddled into the room, making her daily
reminder about who to hold responsible about the current
state of affairs.

 "It's just a good thing Ranma was a boy at the time," Akane
quipped, knowing it would get a response from Ranma-chan.

 "I'M the real Ranma, damn it!" Ranma-chan insisted, though
looking through another Vogue magazine and "oohing" over the
Spring Fashion Extravaganza!

 "Yeah right," grumbled Ranma-kun.

 "Shampoo need belly rub, airen."

 "Good idea. Ranchan, when you get done with her, I could
use one myself."

 "My drink, Saotome."

 Ranma grumbled. His father just *lived* to make his life
miserable, didn't she?

======================

KASUMI'S ENDING:
 Kasumi folded her wings carefully behind her and considered
the possibilities as the little Housewife miniature crossed
the Finish line.

"The game is ending, play is done,
  Kasumi Tendo, you have won,
  Choose your wording now with care,
  The wish to grant, speak and beware."

 Kasumi didn't want the "wa" of the household to be too
uncentered. That would be bad. What to change, that was the
question.

 Kasumi looked over the crowd surrounding the table. Ranma,
eyes slightly glazed from exhaustion and shock. Akane,
looking so cute in her little sailorsuit with the Amazon
emblems. Chibi Ukyou reading another one of Nabiki's mangas
in between Nabiki and Shampoo, who were both smiling down at
the little tyke.

 Nabiki's lack of clothing, *that* could be a problem.  It
just wouldn't be proper. And these wings were quite pretty,
but Kasumi admitted that she'd have to modify her wardrobe.

 "I wish..." Kasumi began, uncertainly. "I... wish that
Nabiki would wear more clothing, and wouldn't be quite so
mercantile, and that Ranma wasn't so immature, and that
everyone got along a little better..."

-----------------------

 Kasumi closed the door behind her, listening to the sounds
of the argument behind her. As usual, it was about Akane
wanting to go off and fight crime and youma by herself.
Ranma and Shampoo BOTH wanted to accompany her, while Nabiki
wanted to follow and sketch everything out for her manga.

 "Auntie Kasumi," said little Ukyou, looking up from her
play. "You go somewheres?"

 "We're out of soy sauce," said Kasumi with a little smile.
Such an adorable little tyke. And with that Kasumi spread
her wings and soared into the morning sky.

 At least they didn't need to repair the house as much as
they had.

===================

KODACHI'S ENDING

 Kodachi smirked as her gamepiece entered the finish line.
Her Ranma-sama had hesitated but then had chosen that common
Tendo tramp to be his sister. Now Akane Saotome was out
there somewhere, removed from any hope of ever stealing her
Ranma-sama from her.

 Kodachi Kuno, the Black Rose of Saint Hebereke High School,
was quite prepared to enjoy her victory. The look of panic
on everyone's face was too delicious for words. (Well,
everyone except that winged girl over there. And the child
didn't look terribly concerned.)  They could not stop her!

 Kodachi's eyes flicked back to the child. Of course, rather
than wish that her love be returned in kind, she could
remove the other harridans from consideration. She'd have to
word it so that the pig-tailed temptress was also caught in
the effect, but for a Kuno it would be a simple matter.

 Turn them all into children? Animals might be fun. Men?
Roses? So many delightful opportunities stretched before her
but she needed to choose quickly before the chance was lost
to her.

 "My wish is that the obstacles to the love between myself
and Ranma Saotome be transformed at once into children!"

 There was a feeling of darkness descending upon the group,
and then it passed.

 In it's wake...

 Chibi-Ukyou looked up, now she had plenty of playmates.
There was a six year old Amazon, and a six year old Ranchan
(!), and a six year old winged girl, and a six year old girl
in a dress with a sunflower print, and a six year old girl
in an oversized leotard who was crying in torrents.

 Ukyou smiled. "Ranchan, Nabchan, Kaschan, Shamchan, LET'S
PLAY!"

 Six year old Kodachi watched the other kids go off into the
backyard. It wasn't fair! She wasn't the problem! She
shouldn't have been affected! Ranma-sama wasn't an obstacle
to their union! Why? Why...

 Why was she still here? That looked like fun.

 "Wait, I wanna play too, you guys!"

 And everyone was more less living happily ever after, just
not in the manner that any of those affected had thought
they would.

===================

NABIKI'S ENDING

 Nabiki laughed as her game piece crossed the Finish line.
She'd thought about this for quite some time, and was ready
for it.

 "I wish I were the wealthiest woman in Japan! No! The
wealthiest woman in the WORLD! NO! The Wealthiest Person In
The World!"

 The evil voice chuckled, causing Nabiki to reconsider the
cleverness of her wording.

-------------------

 The rubble shifted as Nabiki cautiously made her way to the
market. The silence, the awful silence, was a weight upon
her.

 There was also still the smell, all the dead bodies
everywhere from the Plague. She, as far as she knew, was IT.
The last living human being.

 Some wish. Make her the richest person in the world. Well,
it had been granted. WHICH world hadn't been specified. So
she'd been relocated to a world where everyone had died
three months previously from a genetically engineered
plague. The plague had then apparently burned itself out.

 She hadn't been able to handle burning the bodies of her
family at first. She'd left the Tendo dojo behind and found
a mansion that had been in fair shape.

 "Yeah, richest woman in the world. ONLY woman in the
world." Nabiki chuckled without mirth at the way the wish
had been granted.

 The wild dogs weren't that common anymore. The rats were a
problem. The overwhelming soul-crushing loneliness WAS a
problem.

 Nabiki had everything she had thought that she wanted. She
was in hell.

==================

RANMA'S ENDING:

 Ranma gave a sigh of relief as his figurine crossed the
finish line. The figurine looked back at him, indicating
that he had to make the wish now and that he had to be
careful of the wording.

 With a certain degree of panic, Ranma realized he had
absolutely no idea what to say.

 "Uhm, well, er, I guess that I wish that Akane had found
some other way to solve these problems and she hadn't gotten
this game. Maybe gone to some other store than 'Spells R Us'
at least."

----------------------

 "Y-y-y-you KILLED them?!" Ranma backed away from the cutely
smiling girl in front of him.

 "Kasumi didn't approve of the marriage. It was in little
ways but if you knew her you could tell. Nabiki was always
finding a way to interfere. The Kunos, Ukyou, the damn
Amazons, they all would have interfered. Now we can be
together, Ranma. It will be fine."

 "But you KILLED them?"

 "Ranma, you obsess about the littlest things." Akane
continued to smile at him. "I went down to that 'Needful
Things' store and got a wonderful little martial arts
technique on a scroll. And the owner only took something
immaterial from me, something I wouldn't miss once it was
gone."

 Ranma shrank back from the monster in front of him. "Your
conscience? Your soul? Your sanity?"

 Akane nodded again and chambered, drawing back her fist to
unleash the Hellclaw Technique. "He never did say what the
price was, but that doesn't matter. We'll be together now.
It'll be wonderful. You'll see.

 "And this will even cure your curse. Isn't that nice?"

==================

SHAMPOO'S ENDING:

 As the Amazon miniature entered the Finish area, Shampoo
smiled. She KNEW what she wanted, and to make sure the game
understood, she was going to say it in her native language
instead of this clumsy Japanese.

 "<I wish that Ranma will marry me today - willingly, Mousse
will happily marry Akane (they make such a cute couple), and
that me and Ranma can adopt Ukyou (she's such a cute little
girl).>"

-------------------------------

 Akane was miserable. Mousse had apparently tried to get
Shampoo with a love potion, gotten it himself, and had
fixated on HER now. Being wrapped up like a sushi roll in
various chains was really beginning to vex her. Especially
as it seemed to occur almost hourly. This was NO way to be
treating  Cutey Senshi Sailor Mercury!

 And there was Ranma's problem. Shampoo had married him and
now the Amazon was discovering that being Ranma's wife had
some definite downsides.

 Well, what did you expect with such a sterling example of
manhood as Genma acting as his only role model? Ranma's idea
of married life was no sex, no honeymoon, sleeping
seperately, being insulting and rude, and going off for long
training trips WITHOUT the wife.

 Akane figured that if Genma was being held as an example,
then eventually the two would have a child but Ranma would
probably pull the same sort of nonsense and become just as
fat and balding as his father. AND eventually Ranma would
drag the little boy or girl off for a lifetime of misery.
Child abuse tended to be inherited, after all.

 Of course, there was a CHANCE that Ranma could break the
various cycles. Shampoo wasn't inclined to sitting back and
doing nothing. She wasn't cold in her affections at all. She
was quite UNLIKE Ranma's mother. There was a chance,
therefore, but Akane thought it so thin as to be almost
nonexistent.

 Thank goodness she'd come to her senses rather than marry
the baka.

==================

SOUN'S ENDING:

 Trying desperately not to think about what he'd been doing,
much less who he'd been doing it with, Soun Tendo watched
his miniature walking into the Finish area with even less
calm than normal.

 How could he have been so unfaithful to his wife?!

 Soun stopped and considered this. His wife?

 "I wish my wife were returned to me!"

 The sense of something dark approached. Soun screamed as he
saw what had been deposited in the living room.

==================
TATEWAKI'S ENDING: by SKJAM

     The Blue Thunder smirked as his figurine crossed the
finish line.  Despite an unfortunate beginning,
thankfully his mental functions had been somewhat impaired
so the game's punishment was the teensiest
bit vague in his memory, he had returned in time for some
lightning moves to move him to victory.
     The golden swordsman recited the winner's poem, and
Kunou started to think.  "Which one?  Both are so
delightful, Akane, the demure tigress, and the pig-tailed
girl, as firey as her hair..."  He went on in this vein for
several minutes.
     The figurine was tapping its foot impatiently. "Make
your wish!"
     "I wish--I wish--aah!  I cannot stand it! Akane Tendou
and the pigtailed goddess, I must have them both!"
     "Granted," said the game's voice with a definite
chuckle.
     Akane Kunou immediately made her opinion known to her
new husband.  "Baka baka baka BAKA!!" *wham crunch spindle
fold mutilate* (Don't worry folks, slapstick violence rules
are in effect.)  She then turned to her co-wife.  "Somehow
this has to be your fault, R--you're not Ranma!"
     "Indeed, I am not."  The woman was taller than Akane,
and very beautiful in an ethereal sort of way.
She was wearing a deep blue kimono with white wave patterns
that seemed to move as she breathed.  She had sea-green
eyes, and shimmering black hair--tied back in a pigtail.
     "Who are you?" everyone chorused.
     "I am Nami, goddess of waves.  And this is the last
time I take Toltiir's advice on hairstyles."
     Kunou sat up, little the worse for wear.  (Told you
slapstick rules were in effect.)  "My goddess!"
     Nami glared at him and waved her hand.  Kunou turned an
interesting shade of green and ran for the
toilet.  "Prepare to be seasick for the remainder of your
life, annoying mortal."

alternate A:
     "I wish--I wish--aah!  I cannot stand it! Akane Tendou
and the pigtailed goddess, I must have them both!"
     "Granted," said the game's voice with a definite
chuckle.
     Akane Kunou immediately made her opinion known to her
new husband.  "Baka baka baka BAKA!!" *wham crunch spindle
fold mutilate* (Don't worry folks, slapstick violence rules
are in effect.)  She then turned to her co-wife.  "Somehow
this has to be your fault, Ranma!?"
     Ranma-chan grinned and looked over her co-wife and
husband with a gleam of speculation.
     Ranma-kun just looked disgusted and went with everyone
else to wash various substances off his body. He'd clobber
Kuno later on general principles.
     At least he'd gotten rid of his curse, and Cutey Senshi
Mercury had her Kendo Mask.
     Ranma couldn't get rid of the feeling that SOMETHING
was wrong, but wasn't entirely sure what.

==================
UKYO'S ENDING:

 Ukyo had the grace to look embarrassed as her eyes passed
over Chibi-Akane Tendo. Poor Akane, having drawn a Dare and
then it had turned out to be "Transformation/Curse
Exchange." Which meant, of course, that Ukyo (Cutey Senshi
Sailor Mars) was now entering the Finish square instead of
the six year old girl currently using a toy hammer on
"Ranma-baka."

 Ukyo could hardly wait to leave the room so she could try
out her "Burning Spatula" attack. Not to mention finally
getting a chance to use the bathroom.

 "I wish that Ranchan and I were happily married, and we
could adopt Akane (she's such a cute kid) thereby uniting
the schools and getting him out of THAT honor obligation,
and that the bad stuff that occurred during the game be
cancelled out." Ukyo thought that this would cover most of
the problems. She hoped.

---------------------

 Ukyo shuddered as Shampoo and Nabiki cornered her again.
"Come on, can't we keep it platonic? Guys?" She couldn't
transform with them this close and they knew it.

 "Shampoo make too too delicious ramen for Ukyo!"

 "Come on, Ukyo, you KNOW we only want what's best for you."
Nabiki smirked, she'd use blackmail if this didn't work.

 "Help?!"
=========================

notes:
         hi folks, this was an attempt to do something
different. This is the first time i've explored a purely
lemon plotline ("Addicted To Love" was more about the
character interaction and longterm ramifications than about
sex, at least in my original concept) and attempt to do a
lemon but without the detailed sexual descriptions common to
lemons.
         Also this was an attempt to remain mainly IC
manga-canon post-wedding-disaster. i LOATHE the
characterizations of this period. At least at the beginning
of the series, you could root for people. Through the course
of the manga the personalities largely devolve, until at the
end of the series you have some particularly loathsome
individuals. Nabiki not only is completely mercenary, but
doesn't even seem a particularly good businesswoman if you
contrast the money received versus damage done. Kasumi's
comments reveal someone who is actually less intelligent
than Genma. The only one who comes across at all
sympathetically is Akane, and in a story just prior to
leaving for China she poisons Ukyou's customers (since it is
commonly held that her cooking is cured by the end of the
manga, then this must be a deliberate poisoning) in an
attempt to "help out." Ukyou and Shampoo have been reduced
to the level of psychopath, Soun is a manipulative bastard
as well as a poor planner, Happosai is illiterate, Ranma's
both braindead and a jerk, etc.
         i got a few comments during the writing of this
about "finally paying attention to the characterizations"
and "coming around to finally understanding how Akane is a
goddess" and so on. i usually go from the beginning of the
storyline and use anime continuity. i don't and can't
support spousal abuse, marriages where equal amounts of hate
and love provide "sparks", or drug abuse.

OMAKEOMAKEOMAKEOMAKE
When you wish upon a sword...

a Bet Omake by Gregg Sharp & Skysaber. all disclaimers,
provisions, and limitations apply.

 Nabiki smirked. "Everybody just LOVES Ranma." Now if she
could just figure out a way she could get him to relinquish
the sword and wish to her. She could think of *so* many uses
for it.

 "You don't," Ranma pointed out.

 "Moi?" Nabiki raised an eyebrow at that, a plan beginning
to gel. "Whatever makes you think that, Ranma-kun?"

 "You sell me out whenever you get the chance," grumbled
Ranma. "Or sell me off."

 Akane was about to correct Ranma when she remembered a few
"candid" shots of herself that had been sold to Kuno.
"That's right, Nabiki. You don't care about anything besides
money, do you?"

 "Hey!" Nabiki winced at that. Mainly due to the accuracy of
that statement. "I don't sell out family."

 "Often," said Kasumi in a voice that was as soft as a leaf
landing in snow.

 "Shampoo call her Mercenary Girl for reason."

 Ukyou shrugged and wondered aloud how many situations Ranma
had been in that Nabiki had made worse. THAT got all of them
thinking.

 Nabiki began to visibly sweat as she eyed the sword in
Ranma's hands. "Uhm, Ranma-kun, this is getting away from
the subject at hand. Shouldn't we be working on getting rid
of your curse? Now, for a slight fee, I might. . ."

 Nabiki's voice trailed off as everyone started looking at
each other and making an odd grin. It looked oddly familiar,
but it took a few moments for Nabiki realized that it was
her own "I've got you now" smirk. "Uhm, maybe I spoke a
little hastily?"

 "Wishbringer, I wish that Nabiki. . ."

 Nabiki squawked. "NO! Ranma, you can't!" She mentally added
that she would, in a heartbeat. One of the wishes she wanted
to use would have had everyone else in the room her willing
slave, that way she could work them into the ground and
never have to lift a finger herself. She could see that and
a thousand other fates being inflicted ON her instead of BY
her. It was horrifying.

 Ranma sighed. He was *so* tempted. All he had to do was
wish that Nabiki was a nicer person, or that she had a
conscience, or that she liked something else more than
money. It wasn't the curse he'd been wanting to get rid of,
but it *was* becoming a curse on his existence. "Nevermind.
Cancel that. That wasn't what I wanted to wish for."

 "Wish cancelled," the sword acknowledged. "Awaiting new
input."

 Noting that he still looked tempted, Nabiki tried to avert
disaster further. "Now, Ranma, you realize that you've been
just as greedy as I have! When was the last time *you* did
something for someone else without any thought of payback?"

 Ranma tried to remember and couldn't. Everytime he'd done a
good deed, it had been a completely thoughtless gesture, and
therefore he couldn't remember any such actions. He felt his
stomach turn at the thought that he was actually like
Nabiki. Of course, to prove it wrong, he ought to do
something completely selfless with the last wish. But what?

 Ranma's eyes swept the room. They passed over the cute but
fuming Akane, the still-a-little-panicked Nabiki, the
unconcerned Kasumi, the cutely smiling Ukyou, and the
trusting look from Shampoo. Ranma frowned a little as his
eyes swept back to Kasumi, who was doing needlepoint. It
occurred to him that Kasumi was often there, in the
background, working a LOT of the time. Never complaining,
rarely stopping. If he were to do a good deed with this last
wish, as he STILL couldn't think of a way past the ("grant
the pigtailed girl a wish"/being free of the curse = no
pigtailed girl) paradox, wouldn't it be completely UN-Nabiki
of him to pay someone back who'd never asked for it?

 Ranma tuned out the argument starting up between Shampoo
and Akane, it was the same one they always had anyway.
Besides, he was getting the feeling he was on to something
important. It was the same kind of feeling when he was about
to master a new martial arts technique, like shoving some
great weight up a slope just before it slid down the other
side.

 What could he do for Kasumi? She had been a mother to her
sisters for so long. . .

 Ranma stopped. Mother? The Tendos had lost their mother.
Ukyou had lost her mother. From what he had overheard,
Shampoo had lost her own mother.  They'd all grown up
mom-less, like this was some kind of club for the Maternally
Deprived. Even the Kunos...

 "Are you listening to me, baka?!" Akane yelled at Ranma who
had an expression on his face she'd never seen before. A
peculiar intense expression. "WELL?!"

 "That's it," whispered Ranma into the silence following
Akane's question. The sword came up. "WISHBRINGER! I wish
all our moms were alive, completely healthy, and here!"

 "Insufficient power for such a request."

 Ranma's face fell. Everyone else was still staring at Ranma
in shock. "Oh, well how about just Mrs Tendo, then?"

 "Am requesting access to sufficient power to grant first
wish. Working."
------------------------------

 The request went first to the Goddess Relief Office.
Getting a busy signal, the request then went to the Earth
Assistance Hotline. When that resulted in a voicemail
message, the request went to the next power that could
possibly do this task.

------------------------------
 "Rival Relief Office, we do more with less. This is Grey,
may i help you?" The reluctant demon listened to the
message. "You're kidding? You're not kidding. Oh kay. Let me
see if the system's got enough manna charged up. Nope."

 Grey paused. Doing more with the Barely Adequate (For Most
Tasks) Force than some did with the Ultimate Force was a
point of pride for the RRO. He couldn't let it go that
easily. "Hmmm. We can reconstruct the bodies and handle the
teleport OK. It's the lifeforce requirements that stick.
Hang on. There may be a way to do this."

 Tapping wildly at all three keyboards, found in Timeline
394178 Aleph where the Devilhunters were about to rumble
with the Senshi, diverted their manna into the system with a
hacking program, then set up for a not-quite-Divine
Intervention.

-------------------------------

 The phone rang. Kasumi went to answer it. "Ranma, it's for
you. It's concerning your wish."

 Everyone blinked at that.

 "Uhm, who is it?" Ranma wondered briefly if Sasuke had
snuck in and reported this to Kuno.

 "He says he's working in Heaven and has a way that you
might be able to do the...first wish?!" Kasumi's voice broke
a little. It was possible?!

 "Uhm, I. . ."

 "Oh for Hea-urk. Damn, I wish they'd lift that restriction.
It really sucks having to refer to the place you work at
with a bunch of metaphors." A portal formed in midair and an
oddly dressed young man stepped out. "Look, I only gotta
little time before I have to go back. The main problem is
that there isn't enough lifeforce available for the three
mothers that are dead. YOUR mom is alive and well over in
Juuban, so there's no major problem there."

 "She is?" Ranma looked startled. He had a mother? She was
alive? Why did he spend all that time with his Pop then?!

 "There's really a Heaven?" Nabiki's eyes began to bug out.
If there was a Heaven, then there was  a significantly
higher chance that there was also a Hell.

 "Yes," Grey said to Ranma then repeated the answer to
Nabiki. "Oh, and yes there's a Hell, Tendo-san. It's not a
nice place. Don't go there if you can avoid it. Just the
suburbs are a pain. Pink flamingos everywhere. AND you don't
wanna know what they're doing there. Uhm, oh yeah. THE
PROBLEM! Saotome-san, can you spare some life force for a
little while?  Look at it as priming a motor before you can
start it up."

 "Huh?"

 "Oh, not mechanically inclined in this timeline? How about,
er, a match needed to light a campfire."

 "Uhm, can I get my wish then?"  Ranma was trying to focus
on some aspect of this he could deal with. This was weird
even by his standards.

 "Yes," the demon said before vanishing.

 "Ranma," Akane began to caution. "Maybe you shouldn't..."

 "Then do it!" Ranma followed the tenets of the Saotome
School. Action without thought.

 "Then your wish is my command," announced the sword.

 Ranma collapsed. Nobody noticed as  bodies suddenly
appeared in the room.

 "Mother?" Kasumi stared, tear tracks forming at the sight
of the pale figure weakly moving before her.

 "Mom?!" Akane wasn't even aware that she had stepped on
Ranma's face to cross over to her mother's side.

 "Don't mind me," mumbled Ranma weakly.

 "Mother?" Nabiki said, crossing herself. She wasn't
Christian but at moments like this, why take chances?

 "<Mother?!>" Shampoo stared at the Chinese woman struggling
to rise.

 "Mama?!" Ukyou squeaked, unsure of the woman's identity,
but she *did* look like a relative.

 The noise level rose abruptly with crying, laughing, two
languages being spoken, and the occasional groan from the
martial artist otherwise forgotten about on the floor.

 Ranma watched as three daughters Tendo carried their mother
upstairs to rest. As Shampoo hauled the frail form of her
mother off to the Nekohanten.  As Ukyou struggled to support
her own  mother  and take her to the Ucchan's.

 "Uhm, somebody? I can't move. Help?" Ranma gasped. He felt
more helpless than he had during the time that Happosai had
weakened him using the Weakness Moxibuxtion. This was nearly
as bad as when Kodachi had paralyzed him, and then Akane had
gotten angry and left him alone on the roof all night.  It
had been cold and wet that night. At least this was indoors.
Though it felt a LOT colder than it had earlier. "Someone?
Please?"

 His eyes tracked to the stairs. They'd abandoned him.
Surely *one* of them could help him after he'd just done
this thing. No, *everyone* had to go off at once. Shampoo
and Ukyou at least had the excuse that carrying one person
by themselves was a difficult task.

 Couldn't *someone* come back for him? He remembered that
night. He hadn't had any idea of the problems Kodachi could
cause or what to do. Kodachi had paralyzed him and would
have kissed him but Akane rescued him from the kiss only to
abandon him while he couldn't move. He *hated* being
helpless.

     Then came the thought he might be stuck this way.
Powders wore off, but the three moms were alive, so that
meant lifeforce went their way,  which...

     "Anybody?!! Help??" He choked out at what was for him
maximum volume. He was beginning to feel real scared. No, he
would NOT cry, he wouldn't...

     "Hello?"

     A voice came from the front of the house, footsteps
followed. In moments a woman in a kimono and with reddish
brown hair came into view.  "Hello, I'm sorry. I was passing
by this house and I heard a cry for
help. Is anything the matter?"

     Ranma was blubbering. "I can't move." He whined out,
his confidence gone with the rest of his power.

     "Oh dear, let me help you then." The woman lay down her
bundle and began to arrange cushions. "Is this a frequent
problem? Are there any medications I could fetch for you?"

     Ranma was bawling. "No, it ain't ever happened before."

     He was looked at with some concern. "Then what
happened? What could have caused it? Did you injure
yourself? I shouldn't move you if your back might be broken.
Do you want me to call you a doctor?"

     Ranma discovered he couldn't even shake his head. Some
martial artist he was. "No. It ain't that. I ain't hurt er
nuthin." He sobbed off the rest of his words.

     "Then what could be the problem, why can't you move?"
The woman asked.

     He considered telling her, then not, then.... aww, why
the heck not?  This stranger was being nicer to him than
anyone he'd thought of as friend or family.

     "It's because I made a wish. I wished that the moms of
my friends would be alive again, and here. Then some guy
from Heaven showed up and said there was 'insufficient life
force' or something and asked if I'd be willing to donate.
And... and I agreed to it."

     It didn't come out that elegant. But pieced between the
sobs and the mumbling and the repetitions, that was what she
got.

     She blinked at the young man. "So you are saying magic
made you like this? I'm not sure I can believe you."

     Oh, he had an answer to THAT alright! "If you don't
believe in magic, just pour cold water on me. Go ahead, I
can't *wait* to see the look on your face."

     Puzzled, the lady inquired the way to the kitchen and
returned with a cool glass, which she poured delicately on
the young boy's chest (the face seemed impolite). Then
dropped the glass to the tatami mats when the young man
morphed.

     "I... I see." The woman blinked several times at the
young girl now lying before her.

     The moment of bitterness gone, passed with the worst of
the sobbing,  Ranma closed his eyes and found that it felt
really good to have someone to listen to him for once. "I
got a wishing sword from Kuno, I was going to use it to cure
my curse so I can be a guy again. But I... instead I used it
to... I made a wish that all our moms were alive and here
again."

     The sobs threatened to return, but the well of pain was
weaker now. "Then all my friends abandonded me here when I
couldn't move. I guess... I dunno if I can blame 'em is all.
They got their moms back, and that  *would* kinduv occupy
their attention. I know it would mine."

     The woman looked quite concerned. "Didn't you get your
own mother  back?"

     "I dunno. The guy who came said she lived in Juuban. I
guess I could go see her sometime."

     The woman's heart went out to this youngster. "Do you
know her name? I live in Juuban. I might know where she
lives. If not I could ask."

     "I dunno. It's been ten years since I'd seen her. Pops
always let me think she was dead. I," Ranma had to take a
deep breath. "I don't even know what her name is anymore."

     "Then what is your name?" The woman decided to be
businesslike about this. There were ways she could use to
find the woman and reunite her with her lost child.

     "Ranma. Ranma Saotome. My pop's name is Genma Saotome."

     The woman could only stare at him. He began to think
he'd done something wrong. "Look, if you're another person
pops said I'd marry your daughter, or if he sold me to ya
for food, I already got hundreds of
things like that hanging over my head. So don't be trying to
get me to marry somebody er nuthin like that.... err, why
are you lookin at me like that?"

     The woman had tears running from her own eyes, but
hadn't moved or budged. "Ranma. You say your name is Ranma?"

     He would have nodded, but was too weak to do so. So the
boy-turned-girl merely said. "Yah."

     "And your mother lives in Juuban, and you wished for
her to be alive and here?" The woman wished to be clear on
this.

     Growing puzzlement on the young girl's face. "Yah."

     Gently and tenderly, the woman stroked the redhaired
girl's face. "Well, here I am. My name is Nodoka Saotome.
Pleased to meet you again, my son."

     If Ranma could have thought of anything other than what
he was feeling at that point, he would have understood about
how the others had reacted. At the end of a very tearful
reunion, Nodoka lifted her bundle, and gave it to her
offspring, wrapping her hands around it so that it wouldn't
fall, and swept the girl up to carry her home.

     On their way out they noticed a letter with Ranma's
name on it pinned to the door.

     Curious, they read it while they walked, which required
much juggling and some fussing about with hands, but they
managed it.

     "There ya go. Don't sweat it, Saotome-san. You'll be
able to move in the morning, but you won't be back to full
strength for about a week. A normal person'd be recovering
from something like this for years. I don't expect the three
mothers to be up to full strength for a long time. You did
good, Saotome-san. I'm sure the Powers That Be have updated
your files accordingly."

     There was a picture of the demon smiling at him and a
P.S., along with a phone number.

     "Y'know, Saotome-san, you might try forgiving without
the forgetting part. It'll solve you a lot of problems in
the long run, mainly by not making the same mistakes over
and over again. Just advice, y'know. And if  you need to
talk sometime, call."

     As they walked further along, Nodoka said. "You know,
son? I think that it was very brave of you to wish good
things for others instead of a cure for yourself."

     The smaller redhead sniffled. "I ain't that brave. And
I did try to cure myself, the sword wouldn't do it."

     Nodoka smiled, she was a mother again. "No dear, you
could have wished for knowledge of how to cure your curse or
many other things. But you didn't. You helped others. I am
proud of you."

     Ranma started blinking. THAT kind of an answer hadn't
occured to him!

     As they walked on into Juuban, Nodoka whispered. "But I
do think I am going to have to do something about Genma."

     Ranma laughed weakly, leaned further into her mother's
chest, and whispered. "I'll hold him down for ya."

     They laughed and walked on into the night.

-----------------------------------------
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mail: metroanime@mindspring.com
"Shampoo get to kick major butt in this scene?"
          -The Bet: Four Wishes
thanks for reading.gregg-san