Morphine screamed.  He dropped to his knees and slammed his head into 
the floor, "NOOOOOO!  No!  I can't stand it!"
   Fellowship watched with saucer eyes.  She had never realized how her 
brother must feel.  If this was what it was like, she shivered.  Morphine 
was raking his nails down his face and shrieking.  Ranma and the others 
had backed into a corner.  They looked scared.  Morphine smashed his face 
into the ground again.  It wasn't hard to understand why they were in the 
corner.  Fellowship wished there was something she could do.  They looked 
trapped over there.
   "OH GOD!!! ITS TOO MUCH!  Its too much!  its just to much to bear. . ."
   Sarcasm stepped forward and lifted Morphine by his shirt, "It always was."
   Fellowship blinked.  Everything seemed ok.  She couldn't see a change, 
just that it felt better.  Emotion loosened her vice like grip on 
Fellowship's hand.  Anger took out a cigar that lit itself.  Doubt looked 
confused.  Despair scratched his head and shrugged.  Ranma and Akane took 
a quick reassuring look at each other, and then pretended not to have.  
Ryoga turned around to say something to Akane.  Kuno nodded to Sarcasm.  
He can see us?  Nabiki let out a sigh[1], and reluctantly watched Ranma 
and Akane.  Sarcasm dropped Morphine and walked out the door.  Morphine 
looked around dazed.  HE was gone.  She didn't remember HIM moving, but 
now HE was gone.  She had never realized that HE had such a menacing 
aura.  She looked down at Emotion and Emotion smiled back up at her.

   "Kuno baby, tell me something."
   "I like your hair cut."
   Nabiki stared at him.  Kuno sounded distracted, like the contious part 
of his mind was busy composing something poetic to spout at Akane.  It 
was like some sub-contious Kuno had answered her.  He liked her hair 
cut.  So what if he's on auto pilot, that just means he's not teasing!  
Right.  When has Kuno told a joke in his life?  Nabiki gathered her cool, 
"Do you have any idea why we all came to Dr. Tofu's?"
   "Hmmmmmmm . .. . ," Kuno turned around and looked at her, "I think we 
came here to have your eye looked at."
   Nabiki frowned, that didn't sound right.  Then again her eye didn't 
hurt.  She reached up and touched the tender skin, still a little sore.  
Maybe she did get Dr. Tofu to look at her eye.  Ranma and Akane started 
up their eternal feud behind her.  Nabiki checked her watch, wow, three 
minutes without fighting . . . it might be a record.
   "Well excuse me!  I'm not the one who beat up Nabiki!"
   Nabiki groaned inwardly, great.  Mental note, write love note from 
Ranma to Shampoo to leave on dining room table.
   "Ranma!  How dare you say that about poor Akane!  She was possessed," 
yelled Ryoga, grabbing Ranma by the shirt.
   "It was your fault I was possessed in the first place!"
   "That's right Ranma!  How could you . . ."
   "Aw come on, its not like that," Ranma got out of Ryoga's grip and 
edged toward the door.
   "And how is it then Ranma."
   Nabiki smiled, she didn't know what Ukyou was doing here, but it 
promised to be good.  She looked mad as hell.  It looked to be tag team 
Ranma beating day.  She saw Kuno nod and turn back to her.  The boy must 
be completely mental.
   "Ah the long day doth draw itself into closing and I grow weary of. . .
why is Ukyou attacking Ranma?"
   "She said something about Ranma dumping her, or something."
   "And the lovely Akane she seems so . . ."
   "She always does that when she's jealous," Nabiki broke in.  Gotta stop 
Kuno before he rambles, it could be weeks before he finished the sentence.

                                *

[1] Another missed photo opportunity.  Oh well maybe another day.

                           ************

   They simply forgot about him.  Morphine watched as they walked, or 
limped in one case, off.  The pain was all gone.  As quickly as it had 
come, it was gone.  He felt relieved.  Even his own problems didn't seem 
as great.  it was like having a weight lifted from you.  Not forever, 
just long enough to give you a little breather.  The pale man, how could 
he have done that?  And all that pain.  It was as if the weight of the 
world WAS on his shoulders.  Only a god would . . . be . . . oh.  
   Still there was the demon.  It was at large.  Morphine sighed 
inwardly.  Who cares.  It just didn't seem that important any more.  Even 
after all the terrible things the demon had done to him.  All he really 
wanted now was to, well to help out.  To make people happy.  To . . it 
was . . . but .. .demons twist your soul . . . how could . . .Morphine 
saw it.  Truth was something that most people only see in veiled 
glances.  But Morphine could see it now.  The demon had twisted him, from 
evil to  . . .good?  At any rate, he was no longer what he had been.  He 
stood up.  His legs felt wobbly.  He felt weak.  All that hate, all the 
pain he used to drive his magics . . .
   "Are you all right?"
   Morphine looked at Dr. Tofu, a good honest man.  Interested in the 
well being of others, "No doctor, I think I've lost."
   "I'm sorry to hear that, is there anything I can do for you?"
   "I think its for the best.  Can you teach me?"

                           ************

   The spell broke.  Mousse snapped awake almost instantly.  He caught 
Shampoo before she could hit the ground.  She looked so peaceful.  He 
hated to wake her . . .

                           ************

   Shampoo woke up.  She was in bed, tucked in.  When did . . . Mousse.  
Shampoo wished Mousse would quit being nice to her. . . it made it hard 
to think of Ranma.  Big strong Ranma, who didn't propose to cows . . . 
well besides that stupid Akane . . .

                           ************

   Kuno frowned as he watched Akane and the others chase Ranma toward the 
Tendo dojo.  Part of him longed to go.  To chase and challenge.  To woo 
Akane to his breast.  To . . . <Take Nabiki to a movie.  You'll have more 
fun, and you won't have to watch Akane fawn over Ranma if he gets hurt.>  
Kuno blinked, Damn.  Must be the voice of reason, he thought.  Someone 
else in there snickered. 

                           ************

   Ranma jumped over the wall, dodged some small spatulas and jumped over 
Ryoga's attack.  He was also caught mid-air by a rather large spatula 
which propelled him into the pond.  She wondered if she shouldn't just 
sleep there, it was like a home away from home.  Ranma stood up.  She was 
soaked, her shirt was sticking to her breasts, she hated that feeling.  
Ryoga was mid-air with a flying kick that shouldn't be to hard to avoid.  
Breasts?  Her shirt sticking to her breasts?  Oh no!  Not again.  Ranma 
knocked Ryoga's kick aside, and caught him.  This really looked bad, "Oh, 
hi there Ryoga."

                           ************

   Ranma had caught him.  It was humiliating, and to make matters worse 
she was using that cute look.  Ryoga hated the cute look.  He reached 
way back, it was the most obvious punch in the history of the world.  
Then again, there was no need to fake it, Ranma wasn't going anywhere.  
The cute look?  Wait a minute.  Ranma only used the cute look when he was 
a girl.  The most obvious punch in the history of world died in the 
middle of the swing, "Your a girl."
   Ranma threw Ryoga across the pond and into the wall, "Who are you 
calling a girl pig boy!"
   "I thought you said you were cured."
   Akane turned to Ukyou, "And when did Ranma tell you he was cured?"
   Ukyou smiled maliciously at Akane, "Why just yesterday.  Ranma spent 
all day talking to me. . ."
   "RANMA!  YOU LETCH!"
   There was a blur of motion and then something small and perverse 
attached itself to Ranma's cleavage.  She didn't even bother to look 
down.  She punched him on the top of the head.  As he slid down her torso 
he tore all the buttons off of her shirt.

   "Hooboy!  There you are my pretties!," Happosi lunged for the 
beautiful full breasts before him.  At one time they might have been 
attached to someone, but right now they were a world unto themselves.  
They were  . . .
   His forward momentum was arrested by a fist.  The fist was placed 
directly in line with his nose.  The view was cut off by someone pulling 
a shirt over his precious breasts.  Suddenly the world snapped back into 
focus, it was full of fist.  Happosi dropped to the ground to prepare 
another attack, but wait, there was Akane.  Unguarded, open, waiting, 
free to be groped, "Akaneeee!"

   There was only one thing faster than Ranma defending himself from 
Happosi, and that was Ranma's defense of Akane.  He moved like a blur and 
caught Happosi by the foot.  Happosi would have stopped a tantalizing 
foot from Akane's chest.  Would have, if Ryoga's fist hadn't been there.  
Ryoga had run across the yard and pulled Akane behind him.  It was a good 
defense, if Ranma hadn't caught Happosi he would have been stopped by the 
fist.  There was only one problem.

   He had Akane behind him, his arm around her to keep her from falling 
over.  It was a very heroic pose.  She was sure to be impressed.  He 
could hear it now, [oh Ryoga, your so strong and brave.  You saved me 
from the Evil Happosi].  Bliss.
   "Oh Ryoga."
   He turned to face her, odd, she looked angry. . . He followed her gaze 
. . . oh, no wonder she felt so soft ... and ... cushiony, "er . . ."
   "YOU PERVERT!!!!!" POW!
   Ryoga had never taken the Akane Express to the stratosphere.  There 
was a first time of everything. . . It was kinda peaceful up here.  It 
looked like he'd be landing in that yard over there. . . figures they'd 
have a pool.
   P-Chan crawled out of the pool, peh, chlorine.  He shook himself, now 
where was he?
   "Charlotte!"
   ARRRRGGGGG!

                           ************

   Sarcasm growled.  He hated this.  HE could communicate more by not 
talking than anyone else, "They didn't get it.  She isn't going to stop, 
she thinks its just a convenient coincidence.  Except for Morphine you 
might as well forget the whole thing."
   HE just stood there silently.
   "Fine.  I know, but I'm not the one fond of interfering."
   HE didn't even move.
   "Oh sure.  She can't screw too much up, but look at the picture.  I 
never would have thought it was important."
   HE continued his display of inertia.
   "Now I know, well that's great.  I'm supposed to clean up after my 
sister.  Or am I supposed to be teaching her something.  You know as well 
as I do that she doesn't listen."
   HE moved, it was like a machine in motion.  HE disappeared into a 
darkened archway.  Faintly, as if brought to him by a trick of the wind, 
Sarcasm heard HIM say, "You know, we were designing the universe along 
a magical axis until Chagrin detonated the sun . . ."
   Sarcasm watched the shadows, he had always assumed that there was a 
reason for everything.  Fixing Fellowship's screw ups didn't sound like 
such a chore in comparison.  Sarcasm put his hands in his pockets and 
started back home.

                           ************

   It was still there, he hadn't thought it would be after all this 
time.  The book was still in good shape too.  Of course it was one of 
"those" books so it would be in good shape.  Morphine knocked the spine 
of the book against a tree to loosen some of the dirt, casualy opened 
the book, and flipped a few pages.  He smiled, the D'nghl Cl'ft.  He used 
that to summon up Bin Twagahn once . . . ah the memories.  He close the 
book, he'd have to keep it.  Just the sentimental value alone was worth 
it.  Plus there were a few rituals he thought he could work out with out 
the blood requirements.