The Road Not Traveled

Part 3 "...where demons dwell and take their toll."

 After the wedding at Joketsozuko the girls changed their formal 
clothing for more comfortable summer clothing to go with Ranma to 
the cursed grounds.
 "Here it is honorable guests, the drowned girl cursed spring." 
Said the Jusenkyo guide.
 "This is it Shampoo, jump in." 
 "OK, Ranma." 
 "Aiya!, why did you told her to do that." Exclaimed the guide but 
Shampoo was already inside the spring. "Oh, terrible thing is going 
to happen."
 "What do you mean. Isn't this the way you reverse Jusenkyo 
curses." Asked Akane. 
 "Why didn't you tell us!" Demanded Ranma.
 "You didn't ask. Guests never ask how the cursed grounds work."
 "OK, tell us, QUICK!" Said Ranma as he noticed that the cursed 
spring started to generate a huge amount of bubbles.
 "Please listen carefully honorable guests." Said the guide as he 
retrieved a very small and very old booklet that said "Jusenkyo's 
Guide Handbook" on the cover in Chinese.
 "Okay, ... If someone cursed in Jusenkyo introduces part of cursed 
body into another cursed spring, he gets part of the new curse into 
his cursed body." 
 "That�s how Pansuto got his tentacles, thank goodness Shampoo 
won't end up looking like that freak." Interrupted Ranma in an 
anxious voice as the cursed spring had become a whirlwind.
 "... If someone cursed in Jusenkyo introduces cursed body 
completely into another cursed spring, then actual body becomes 
non-cursed form and new cursed form is that of actual cursed 
spring."
 "Then Shampoo should have entered as a cat!" Ranma interrupted 
again, trying not to panic as beams of light irradiated from the 
spring.
 "That's right, and ... If someone cursed in Jusenkyo introduces 
NON-cursed body completely into another cursed spring, then second 
curse mixes with first one." 
 "WHAT?!" Said Ranma as Shampoo jumped about 30 feet into the air 
out of the pool. It was clear that Shampoo's body was now that of 
her female self, but with many feline characteristics like a furry 
skin and a long tail that emerged from below her skirt. She landed 
besides Ranma and he jumped into Akane's arms, very afraid. Afraid 
of Shampoo's cat body and afraid of what would be Shampoo's 
reaction when she realized how she looked.
 "Sh-Sh-Sh-Shampoo." Said Ranma, unsuccessfully trying to get a 
hold of himself as Shampoo was looking at her new body. She looked 
at her paws. She looked closely at them and then nasty looking 
claws sprang from them. Ranma gasped just by thinking what those 
inch long claws could do to him. Shampoo then looked at Ranma.
 "Aiya. Shampoo likes this body. Shampoo tired of being small and 
weak when cursed. Shampoo likes it a lot more this way." Shampoo 
smiled with her eyes closed and her paws near her chest while 
everybody fell flat on their faces.
 "Err, Would you mind waiting here Shampoo?" Asked Akane afraid 
that Ranma might freak out if Shampoo was near him in her new form.
 "OK, Shampoo waits here." Answered Shampoo. Akane then instructed 
the guide to lead them to the "drowned man spring". 
 *Now Shampoo kills the other brides so that Ranma is only for 
Shampoo. But Ranma must not realize that it was Shampoo's doing. 
Ranma would never forgive Shampoo.* Shampoo thought while smiling 
to herself.
 Shampoo went to a nearby place where no one could see her. She 
waits a few minutes to make sure that Ranma and the others won't 
hear or see anything. She extracted a small piece of black onyx 
belonging to Cologne�s jewelry collection from her T-shirt pocket.
 The gem held a demon who had been imprisoned there many years ago 
by Cologne. Shampoo had heard Cologne say that demons may be 
summoned to do your bidding but were very dangerous creatures, but 
Shampoo was not afraid. She was confident that she could make the 
demon do what she ordered. She broke the gem in two with her hands 
and dropped it to the ground.
 Before Shampoo materialized what appeared to be a very strong 
looking man with black hair. His face had human features but a very 
inhuman expression and glowing red eyes. His hands ended in very 
thick and long nails. He was wearing an ancient looking red silk 
robe.
 "Stupid werecat, you think you can make me do your bidding without 
magical protection and the proper incantations?. I will give you a 
painful death." Said the demon in a guttural voice.

 "Shouldn't you carry some of this water to your father?" Asked 
Akane to Ranma.
 "Nah, he doesn't deserves it and besides, it would be very 
dangerous to carry this stuff around. Who knows what could happen 
if a bottle of this water would break by accident." Answered Ranma 
as he climbed out of the pool.
 Then everybody heard a very loud THUD from the direction they had 
left Shampoo. Akane and Ukyo ran towards the sound. They saw 
Shampoo laying semiconscious on the ground near a rock boulder 
which now had Shampoo's body outlined on it. Shampoo's body had hit 
the boulder after being kicked by the demon, even tough she had 
managed to block the kick with her arms.
 About ten meters in front of Shampoo stood the demon; his hands 
started to glow with an eerie red light as he hurled hellfire at 
Shampoo to finish her off. Ukyo barely managed to arrive in time to 
block the hellfire with her giant spatula. Even tough Ukyo never 
liked Shampoo a lot, she wasn�t the kind of person that would allow 
someone to murder Shampoo, specially now that she carried Ranma�s 
baby. Meanwhile Akane swung her hammer and managed to hit the 
demon's head but it was unaffected. He kicked Akane away from him 
the same way he did with Shampoo.
 "What is this, do you really think your pathetic weapons can harm 
me. I will slowly kill all of you." 
 "You will have to get me first." Taunted Ranma as he arrived to 
get the demon�s attention. He indeed got his attention as the demon 
suddenly materializes behind Ranma and starts to attack him with 
well coordinated series of kicks and punches Ranma barely managed 
to evade.
 The demon gives his back to Ukyo and she takes advantage of the 
situation, throwing half a dozen spatulas at him. But not even one 
of them injured him as they tear his robes, hit his back and bounce 
to the ground without slowing him down as he continued to fight 
Ranma. Then he paused for a moment to check his cloths, giving 
Ranma a moment to catch his breath.
 "So you have ruined my cloths." The demon said as he made a motion 
with his arms and powerful gust of wind blew Ukyo up in the air. 
She managed to land on her feet even tough she felt like if a human 
sized fist had punched her. Ranma didn't waste the opportunity. He 
knew Akane, Ukyo and Shampoo needed him more than ever. He couldn't 
fail. Ranma�s aura started to grow and became visible.
 "MOUKO TAKABISHA." Shouted Ranma as he released the full version 
of his special technique. The ki sphere became a beam and hit the 
demon with full force. The demon was momentarily stunned from the 
strength of the ki-blast, but was still standing. Ranma was 
astonished; he had once blown a wall of rock several meters thick 
with a similar blast. This being couldn't be human so he would not 
hold back.
 "MOUKO TAKABISHA." Shouted Ranma as he released another blast. The 
demon recovered before Ranma released the ki-blast and 
instinctively jumped into the air. He stretched his arms to release 
hellfire all over Ranma. He realized to late his error.
 Ranma had anticipated the demon�s jump and had pointed his hands 
towards the demon, not just towards the demon general direction. 
The demon was blasted by the ki-blast before he could summon 
hellfire to attack Ranma.
 A few seconds after his rough landing the demon stood full of 
inhuman rage and jumped towards Ranma. He had the firm intention of 
extinguishing the life of this mortal with a single blow. The demon 
looked at Ranma�s face to rejoice later remembering his expression 
as he snuffed the life out of him. *Why is he smiling?*
 "HIRYUU SHOUTEN HA." Shouted Ranma, one instant before the demon 
reached him with his glowing claw. The demon was thrown into the 
air. After falling to the ground it tries to raise, but falls into 
the ground head first.
 "Very well done, son-in-law." Said Cologne jumping on her staff 
near Ranma.
 "What, since when have you been here?" Asked Ranma.
 "Long enough to see your feat, very impressive. You defeated a 
lesser demon all by yourself."
 "A DEMON!? What is a demon doing in Jusenkyo?" Demanded Ranma, but 
Cologne had already left towards the place the demon was laying. 
She produced a piece of black onyx from her cloths and a piece of 
paper with some rare symbols in it from the other. She placed the 
piece of paper over the creature. The demon transformed into a mist 
and entered the gem.
 Ukyo, Akane and Shampoo had recovered enough to walk and they 
arrived to the place where Ranma and Cologne were standing.
 "Great grand-daughter, is that you?" Exclaimed Cologne when she 
saw the changes in her great grand-daughter�s anatomy. 
 "Yes Great grand mother. Shampoo likes this new body." 
"We are a mess, aren�t we Ranma honey."
 "Yeah, We are all covered with sweat." Pointed out Akane.
 "Shampoo knows place with beautiful waterfall near. Shampoo take 
Akane and Ukyo there."
 Akane turned to tell Shampoo she must be out of her mind if she 
thought they would go to any place with her, but was greeted by 
Shampoo�s big imploring eyes. Shampoo felt very bad with herself 
since Akane and Ukyo had fought the demon SHE had summoned, risking 
their lives in the process without thinking about it twice.
 Shampoo now could not bring herself to harm Akane or Ukyo. She 
wasn�t inherently evil, but she was raised without inhibitions 
(specially about killing if the need arose). But she wasn�t a 
ruthless killing machine, otherwise she would have probably killed 
female Ranma in Japan when Ranma told her that he was really a 
cursed female. 
 "OK, lead the way, coming Ukyo?"
 "Why not, after this fight I really need a bath."
 Akane turned to invite Ranma but realized he was trying hard not 
to freak out in the presence of Shampoo�s feline body and decided 
it would be a bad idea to bring him in.

 Shampoo, Ukyo and Akane arrived to the waterfall and started to 
bathe. They were very tense near each other. Then a group of men 
arrived. Shampoo knew they must be from outside Joketsozuko since 
men weren�t allowed near this waterfall. Shampoo had heard of gangs 
of wandering bandits but there was never a gang stupid enough to 
get near the village.
 "Look what we have here, three lovely girls alone, maybe we should 
make them company." Said the leader in Cantonese. They moved 
menacingly towards them. Even though the girls hadn�t understand a 
word of what they had said, their facial expressions showed they 
couldn�t have any good intentions. The girls came out of the water 
as fast as they could and grabbed their cloths before the bandits 
spotted them. Shampoo was the first one to finish dressing since 
she only wore a T-shirt, a skirt and sandals.
 "What do we have here, some kind of circus freak? This is getting 
interesting." The leader said mostly to himself in a sly tone of 
voice when he saw Shampoo approaching him. In the mean time Akane 
and Ukyo had managed to put on their cloths. Akane drew her hammer 
apparently out of nowhere, Ukyo grabbed her giant ass spatula and 
Shampoo decided to check out how good her claws were (since she 
couldn�t grab her maces with her chubby paws anyway).
 "So... you want it rough, get them boys. But make sure you don�t 
hurt them too much."
 The three girls promptly kicked some bandit ass. The thieves 
proved to be tough, not that they had any chance of even touching 
the terrible trio. They only took more punishment from Shampoo, 
Akane and Ukyo. After the light workout the three girls felt less 
stressed and strangely enough, revitalized. They left the bandits 
and happily walked back to the village.
 After the fight they somehow realized that they were no longer 
enemies, their long battle for Ranma had ended in a triple draw and 
there was nothing they could do about it. Therefore there was no 
longer a reason for the three of them to continue fighting each 
other.
 They started to chat as if they had always been friends. They 
realized they had many things in common besides loving the same 
man. They were (in one way or another) considered tomboys, they 
were martial artists, they were very independent, they had their 
sudden mood swings, they had never loved another man, etc. Once 
they put behind their rivalry they found out they really didn�t 
disliked each other.
 By the time they arrived, they were hugging and laughing silly. 
When Ranma saw this he freaked out (even after Shampoo poured some 
hot water on herself) because he thought they had gone nuts. After 
a delicious dinner the girls basically dragged Ranma to the 
bedroom. Ranma was very nervous since this was probably the moment 
the fighting would probably start anew. But instead of that, they 
decided the order with a scissors, paper or rock game.
 For a moment Ranma thought he was dreaming and that he would wake 
up any moment, but after pinching his arm he realized he indeed was 
awake. He felt that at least he could relax. But the moment he 
allowed his body to relax for the first time in the day he felt a 
throbbing headache. He had relaxed enough to allow his body to 
complain for the poor treatment it had received at the hands of the 
demon he had fought earlier. 
 "Akane, Could you please give me two aspirins from bottle I have 
in my bag."
 "OK" Akane reached for the bag at her feet and quickly produced a 
bottle from inside. She extracted a couple of pills and handed them 
to Ranma. He went to the kitchen for some water and returned to 
bedroom.
 "OK, just give me couple of minutes and my headache will be gone." 
Announced Ranma as he leaned on the bed and closed his eyes.
 A couple of minutes went by and Ranma was still laying peacefully 
on the bed. 
 "Hey, Ranma Honey." Ukyo shook Ranma a little but got no response.
 "Ranma!?"
 "Is husband feeling all right?"
 But they got no response from him. Ukyo then fixed her gaze in 
something near the bed, grabbed it and gave it to Akane. She gave 
it a quick look.
 "Sleeping Pills!?!" She exclaimed as she read the label on the 
bottle she had taken from Ranma�s bag. A big sweat drop formed on 
her forehead.
 Ukyo exchanged glances with Shampoo.
 "I�m sorry." 
 "Don�t worry Akane. Maybe it is better this way since he will be 
well rested tomorrow." Ukyo said in a very understanding tone as 
she extracted something from her suitcase.
 "Poker Anyone?"

 In the morning Ranma was the first one to wake up. He then 
realized that he was completely surrounded. Akane was over his 
right arm, Ukyo over his left arm and Shampoo was over his chest. 
Ranma thought they definitively had to find out another layout as 
his arms felt cramped. Ranma then realized the girls were sleeping 
peacefully, even Akane. Ranma felt a very special emotion filling 
him as he felt the love his wives have for him, yet he sensed no 
anger. Somehow they had come to accept each other. For the first 
time Ranma had the feeling that his bizarre marriage could work 
out.

---------------------------------------------------------------
    Writer: Ricardo "Do I ... know you?" Martinez Garza
    Editors: Jose Antonio "Smiley" Chavez Espejo
             Shannon "Ukyou" M. Richmeyer
Unsuspecting Cultural Advisor: Hitomi "Ranma-chan" Ichinohei
                                       
 I also wish to thank Lee Ginther and Darren Demaine for their
initial feedback.

 This fanfic started originally as a lemon fanfic. But since:
a)The lemon scene is just another scene of the fic (and it isn't
a requirement to read it part to understand the story).
b)Some people are offended by lemon scenes. Therefore, I have
removed the lemon scene from the fic. Anyone interested in
it need only to send an e-mail to ftp@ranma.net for
information on how to get it.

As usual any c+c is welcome.

Ricardo Martinez Garza