==============
Writer's note:
==============
Yeah, this is the epilogue of "The More Things Change". You'd have to
read it to know what's going on.
I know what some of you are thinking.
"WHY?! WASN'T TEN PARTS ENOUGH?!?!?"
I'll answer that in a moment.
To those that thought "The More Things Change" was _stupendously_ long,
well, I'm sorry, here's one more part. It's the LAST part. I _promise_.
Anything involving Ryoga the romantic epicenter of Nerima and the clan
Muhoshin will be in an entirely seperate sequel. Yes, I know, TMTC was
stupendously long. I know I'm sounding like a politician with my promises.
But I swear, I shall add no more to TMTC.
WHY: I was jammed on my Kuno fic. And I was beginning to get ideas for
a sequel to TMTC. BUT if I was to do anything else connected to
TMTC (like a sequel or a mini-story) there were a few things I had
to clear out of the way first. This is my way of re-opening the
door, I guess... once this is out, I'll go back to staring numbly
at the Kendo web pages and trying to iron out a plot. As far as my
script for the Kuno project (Tenatively titled "Blue Thunder Rising")
goes, go look up Shakespear in Bartlet's Familiar Quotations. You'll
see what I mean.
and now....
----------------------
THE MORE THINGS CHANGE
E P I L O G U E
----------------------
The sun rose slowly, filtering through the windows. Within the bright white
room, several people awakened to the new day...
"Doctor! Doc!"
"Painkillers! I need painkillers!"
"Ow! It hurts!"
"Get this cast off! I've got an itch!"
"Where's the PILLS?!"
A nurse quickly entered the room, looking angrily at the people. "Now
listen up, you're disturbing the patients in the other room! Just wait a
minute and the Doctor will be here soon."
She cast an angry glare at the many figures, all trapped in their hospital
beds due to one injury or another. They all were sporting casts in one body
part or another, and in some cases, were in entire body casts.
They had been in the hospital for two days now, with some not regaining
consciousness until just yesterday night. Now, with all of them awake, the
hospital staff was experiencing a nightmare.
She shook her head in disbelief. The Nerima district always brought
patients in, but the circumstances under which these people ended up were
stupidly amazing.
------
One figure in particular, restricted by a full body cast, groaned and woke
up. He began to talk.
"Ye gods! What pain is this that ails the mighty blue thunder!"
"Oh no, he's awake." someone muttered.
"It feels as if I had fought through the very depths of hell itself! What
fiend has inflicted such pain upon my personage? Tatewaki Kuno shall have
retribution!"
"Shut up!" the person next to him yelled.
"Brother dear, I think it would help alot if you'd just-"
"None interrupts the soliloquies of the great and mighty Kuno!"
"SHUT UP!" everyone in the room yelled.
------
"So, doc," asked Ukyo, "how are the guys doing?"
"Well, they've all suffered several degrees of burns, fractured bones from
the force of the explosions, and multiple bruises."
"So when will Ranma be able to leave the hospital?" asked Akane.
"Ranma? Hm..." said the doctor, flipping through his files, "Saotome,
right? He's recovering fast, really. Oughta be out in three weeks or more."
"And how about Hibiki?" asked Ukyo.
"Hibiki... Hibiki... hm.... ah, here it is. Three weeks also, maybe a few
days less than that."
Akane and Ukyo thanked the doctor, left his office, and decided to make
a little visit.
------
"I'll kill you, I'll kill you, I'll kill you..." Ryo muttered, staring
directly at the person in the bed across from him.
"Look, I said I was sorry, didn't I?" whined Gosunkugi.
"I'll kill you, I'll-" *CLANG* "OUCH!"
"Leave him alone!" Ukyo yelled as she walked past Ryo's bedside.
Ryo sulked quietly.
Ukyo went over to Gosunkugi's bed. "Hey, Gosunkugi, how's things?"
"Oh, could be better. I wish they gave us more painkillers."
"Hurts alot, does it?" she asked, brushing his hair back with her hand.
"Yup." Gosunkugi blushed. He wasn't used to women brushing his hair back,
or even touching him at all.
"What'd you do to get Ryo over there so mad?" she asked, pointing at the
person across from Gosunkugi.
"Well, I, um, well, it's an embarrasing kinda thing."
"C'mon, tell me." said Ukyo.
"Well, I thought he was... a spirit that was imitating me and going nuts
attacking people, so I tried some spells like purification, blessing,
exorcisms, and banishment of evil type spells."
"And?"
"Well, aparently I took away that guy's powers."
Ukyo looked over to Ryo. Gosunkugi was right. Ryo, who several days ago
was almost always surrounded by a dark purple, blue, and blackish aura and
had eyes that always glowed with those colors, now was normal. His aura was
gone. His eyes were non-glowing. Even his hair was not quite as spiky as
it was before.
"Not only that, but Kuno too."
"Kuno?" Ukyo asked. "What about Kuno?"
"Oh. He was glowing like the other guy was."
Ukyo shivered. A super-powered Kuno was not what the world needed.
"And I think I put Happosai into a coma."
"Don't worry, they deserved it."
"Who is that guy anyways?" asked Gosunkugi.
"Him? He's an old rival of Ryoga's."
"Typical for our neighborhood, I guess. Who's those others? I've never
seen them before."
"Ryo's brother and sisters. Compared to him, they seem nicer."
"One of them's been looking at Ryoga like she's in love with him."
Ukyo tensed up.
"Hey, you alright?"
"Absolutely. Nothing wrong at all."
"If you say so."
"Well, I've gotta go see how the others are doing. Hope you get better
soon. See ya!" She patted Gosunkugi on the head and walked off.
-----
Meanwhile...
"Hey, Ranma, are you alright?" asked Akane. She bent down and kissed Ranma
on the forehead.
"This, you know, is your fault."
"Hey, you're the one with a big mouth." Akane angrily replied.
"If I wanted criticism, I'd talk to the rest of the people in this room.
It's bad enough I'm stuck with them."
"You only have yourself to blame."
"Well, I have you."
Akane smiled a bit.
"To blame. OW!"
Akane removed her fist from his face. "Shut up."
"Look, your latent violent tomboy tendancies aren't exactly helping my
situation, y'know. Ya want me to be stuck in here for a month? Hm, maybe
if you bring that dinner in here, I'll be stuck in the hospital for two months.
Geez..."
Akane turned a dark shade of red. "So, that's the way you're gonna be, eh?"
"Hey, wait a minute..."
"FINE! I'M LEAVING!" Akane yelled, and stomped out of the room.
"Aw geez." said Ranma.
"Saotome, said Ryoga, "you just don't know when to shut up."
"Saotome you fiend! How dare you slander against the noble Akane Tendo!"
Ranma sulked.
"Hey, Ranchan, Ryoga, how are you two?" Ukyo said, walking up to them.
"Ucchan! Nice to see ya!"
"I'm doing okay, Ukyo."
"Well, it looks like you won't be lonely around here, at least." Ukyo said,
gesturing to the contingent of Kodachi, Tatewaki, Tsubasa, Ryo, Ryoko, Kyoko,
Megane, and Gosunkugi.
"Ask'em to get us different rooms, will ya?" asked Ranma.
"Sorry, the place is crowded. You're stuck together."
Ranma and Ryoga groaned.
"Hey, Ranchan, how'd you end up with this bunch?"
"Akane booted me through the roof, and right in the middle of this idiot's"
he said, gesturing at Ryoga, "massive fight."
"I gotta head back to the resteraunt. Anything you guys want next time I
visit?"
"Food!" both of them said.
Ukyo smiled. "Alright, you guys. See ya later." She kissed both of them
on the forehead and left.
------
"This is your fault." Megane flatly stated.
"I'm not in the mood for this. Don't even start." said Ryo.
"You just HAD to chase after Hibiki."
"May I ask what _you_ were doing there?" said Ryo.
"Er... Ryoko, this is all your fault."
"Hey! Don't start on me now!"
------
Outside of the crowded room, several nurses were talking.
"So, what happened to these guys?"
"It was kinda muddled. I heard it had something to do with some martial
artists..."
"Isn't it always" someone added in.
"...a mech, a gas main, that pervert Happosai, some bombs, a cargo truck
full of gasoline, and a power line."
"You're kidding."
"That's what I heard. Say, what happened to Happosai anyways? He's not
with this bunch."
------
Somewhere, deep underground, a small platoon of men in white medical coats
marched, surrounding a medical bed on wheels. The bed contained a small
figure, encased in a metal body cast.
They wheeled into an elevator, where it went even further underground.
They exited the elevator and went through a security barrier in a long
hallway.
They walked through a contingent of Shinto priests who were setting up all
sorts of holy symbols and items.
They went through a foot thick metal door and entered a room full of
monitoring equipment, ki-dampeners, and security devices.
A man with glasses and greying hair looked down at the entrapped figure.
"This time, Happosai, you're not getting away."
------
Despite her vow, Akane had decided to try and make peace with her fiancee,
several times, over the span of the next week days.
Unfortunately, it wasn't going well.
"Look, that's not what I meant!" protested Ranma.
"So what exactly do you mean?!" Akane yelled.
"Will you two stop?" asked Ryoga.
"Somebody sedate me!" yelled Ryo.
"Will you just listen to me just once, you stupid tomboy!" yelled Ranma.
"Why should I, you insensitive jerk!" countered Akane.
"Dammit, I can't get any sleep." muttered Megane.
"Leave my darling Ranma alone!" yelled Kodachi.
"You macho chick!"
"Pervert!"
"I'm warning you, Saotome, stop insulting her!" yelled Ryoga.
"Darling! Don't get involved!" said Ryoko.
"He's MY darling!" yelled Kodachi.
"Smite him, my love!" yelled Kuno.
"Jerk!" yelled Akane.
"Ugly!" Ranma shot back.
*WHAP*
"And it begins." muttered Ryo.
"Please don't riot, you guys?" whined Gosunkugi.
"Akane Tendo, DIE!"
"Put that ribbon down Kodachi!" Ryoga yelled.
"You dare threaten a member of the Kuno lineage? I shall smite thee!" Kuno
yelled.
"Oh no." muttered Gosunkugi. He covered his head with the pillows.
------
The doctor sat in his office looking thoroughly worn out. He wasn't sure
how much more he'd be able to put up with a certain group of patients. He
would have loved to seperate them, but the hospital was suffering from
overcrowding at the moment. The bickering seemed to have stopped amongst them,
but the damage in terms of sheer iritation they caused the staff with their
constant whining, bickering, and minor skirmishes was bad already.
It was two weeks. Two long weeks until any of them would be ready to leave
the hospital.
"Doctor," a nurse said, popping her head into his doorway, "it's them
again. They're wrecking the room and making more demands. I think some of
them made their injuries worse."
The walls shook for a moment. He heard an explosion in the distance. The
doctor reached for his own medication. The nurse patted him on the back.
"Have courage, doc."
- the end -