The following fanfic was written in response to someone's comment 
(Can't remember who, sorry.) that "The Letters" should have been 
darker. As I recall, the exact wording was "If you're gonna get dark, 
get REALLY dark."


    Be careful what you wish for...
    
--------

                            RANMA 1/2:
                            AFTERMATH
                          by Erin Mills
                  with apologies to Rumiko Takahashi
                  

    He was running. Where the hell was she? Everyone else had gotten 
into the shelters. He himself had about three cops on his tail trying 
to get him to the shelter.
    The streets of Nerima were empty, silent except for the air raid 
sirens that permeated the night air. Somebody had obviously screwed 
up. Whether it was the U.S. or China, no one could say. But he 
figured he had about ten minutes before it was too late.
    He found himself outside the Tendo dojo. He smacked his forehead. 
God, what an idiot he'd been, of course she'd be here!
    He dashed into the house, up the stairs and into the bedroom, 
opening the door so fast that the wooden duck-shaped sign flew off 
the knob and onto the floor.
    There was a form in the bed, the sheet pulled over it's head.
    He approached the bed, uneasy. There was something familiar about 
this setup. His hand reached toward the sheet, grabbed it and pulled 
it off the bed. 
    The rotting corpse of Akane Tendo stared him in the face. He 
recoiled in disgust and shock...
    Then Akane sat up.
    "RAAAAAANNNNMAAAAAAA!!!!!" she bellowed. He screamed.
    
    Ranma Saotome sat up on his futon, sweat rolling off his body. He 
sucked in huge lungfuls of air. Then, when he'd calmed down 
sufficently, he rubbed his eyes.
    The dream again. Every night for the past four years he'd had the 
dream and every night he awoke screaming and covered with sweat. He 
looked out the nearby window. The sun was beginning to rise. 
    Ranma cast off his blanket and stood, looking out the window at 
the vast expanse of desert that Nerima and indeed, all of Japan had 
become.

    It had happened. World War Three. Only not between the U.S. and 
the former USSR. No, it had happened between the U.S. and China. 
Those who remembered what the two nations had decided to blow the 
living hell out of each other over were now so much dust and 
semi-radioactive carbon molecules. 
    Nerima was complete chaos when news of the first strike came. 
There was a mad dash to get everyone into the shelters. Families were 
divided, many people didn't even make it. Ranma had found himself in 
a shelter with most of the people he knew: Ryoga, Kuno, Mousse, 
Shampoo, Ukyou, Cologne, Nabiki, his father, and Soun Tendo.
    It was only after the doors were sealed that everyone realized 
that both Akane and Kasumi were missing. 

    In the months following, everyone in the shelter, (25 people in 
all) tried to pass the time as best they could. Despite all the 
promises, the U.S. had developed a nuclear warhead with enough power 
to screw up the functions of nature for over a year in a radius of 
400,000 kilometers from the main target. The target had been Beijing, 
China.
    Aside from a few rampant cases of cabin fever (put down by Ranma 
and Co.) things were peaceful. There was enough food and water in the 
shelters to last five years. There was an emergency gasoline-powered 
generator, so they had electricity and heat. 
    However, it was soon discovered that not all the radioactive 
seals had taken. 
    Shampoo had died in the first year after the initial blast. 
Somehow, she had found a place where the seals were weakened and 
slowly died of radiation poisoning. Everyone else, who were also 
feeling some of the initial effects, found the room and sealed it 
off.
    Unfortunately, it happened to be the room where Shampoo had been 
sleeping. Getting blasted with radiation for eight hours a night for 
six months had taken it's toll, and she spent the next six dying in 
front of everyone's eyes.
    When she died, the grief had been too much for Mousse to bear, 
and he had run off screaming towards the main doors. Despite an 
attempt by Ryoga, Kuno and Ranma to stop him, Mousse managed to get 
out of the shelter and into the radioactive wasteland Japan had 
become.
    Luckily for everyone else, the shelter's main door was an airlock 
setup so no radiation managed to get in.
    A year after Mousse's escape, it was determined that the world 
outside was once again inhabitable. Japan had become a blasted 
desert, the only remains of Tokyo were the now considerably shorter 
skyscrapers. Those who were lucky enough to get into the shelters 
quickly found each other. 
    After a head count was taken, it was discovered that Akane never 
made it, and two of the persons unaccounted for were Kasumi Tendo and 
Dr. Ono Tofu.
    Soun, unable to cope with the emotional loss of two of his 
daughters, died of grief soon afterwards. Considering what happened 
next, it was probably a good thing he did. 

    Ranma dressed quickly. He wore pretty much the same clothes he 
had in the past, except the red silk chinese shirt had been replaced 
by a black one, in respect for Akane.
    Ranma was currently living in a small shack built on the site of 
the Tendo dojo. He had shunned most company for the last two years, 
only leaving whenever a mutant threat had appeared or when he needed 
supplies.
    He had filled out in the four years since the end of the world. 
The only noticeable flaw was the five inch scar that now ran down his 
cheek. A souvenier from Mousse. Ranma pulled on the leather 
trenchcoat he used for protection from the sands, left the shack and 
began hiking towards Shantytown.

    Shantytown was exactly that. A conglomeration of huts and shacks 
built by the 300 survivors of the war. There were a few businesses 
and a schooling system of sort had finally been implemented last 
month.
    Hell, there was even a restaurant. One which had been around 
since before the war. Ucchan's, Ukyou Kuonji, proprieter.
    Ukyou arose that morning, excited. If Ranma was holding to his 
usual schedule, he was due into town today to pick up supplies. He 
always stopped by the new Ucchan's to say hello. 
    Ukyou was not only the owner of Ucchan's, she also served on 
Shantytown's regional governmental board. The board consisted of 
herself, Nabiki, Cologne, Kuno, and Ryoga. Ranma had been part of the 
board shortly after the first mutant attacks,but he had grown 
disgusted with the whole idea and wandered out into the ruins of 
Nerima. He'd lived like a hermit ever since, but whenever a mutant 
pack decided to attack Shantytown, you could bet Ranma would be back.
    Ukyou sighed and fingered the patch that covered her right eye 
and the scars that came out from under it, onto her cheek.

    Ukyou had lost her eye at the same time Ranma had acquired his 
scar. They had both been inflicted by Mousse.
    Through some unbelieveable twist of fate, Mousse had survived the 
year he left the shelter. But he had changed. 
    The radiation in the air had caused his hair to fall out, his 
canines to form large fangs, and his hands to become lethal weapons. 
A metal claw was fused permanently with his right hand, and the nails 
on his left had become claws. His glasses had broken during that year 
and he only wore one lens. His other eye remained uncovered and 
glowed and eerie green.
    He had managed to beocme the leader of a pack of anthropomorphic 
animals and lead an assault on the survivors a month after their 
release. These attacks killed some of the survivors, Genma Saotome 
included. It had taken Ranma, Ryoga, Kuno, and Ukyou to beat Mousse 
off, even after the rest of the mutants had retreated.
    Mousse had managed to leave a mark on everyone though. Not only 
had Ranma been scarred and Ukyou lost an eye, Kuno had lost his left 
hand and Ryoga had large scars on his forearms and chest and lost a 
fang of his own besides.
    Ukyou had become more cynical after that day. She gave up on 
Ranma, convinced that he'd never love her the way she looked now. 
Still, she looked forward to Ranma's visits, even though he still 
blamed himself for the death of Akane.

    Meanwhile, while the two friends were lost in reflection, Mousse 
himself was thinking about the past. Specifically how he was going to 
make the survivors pay for letting Shampoo die, and especially those 
who he had stupidly thought were his friends.
    HA! His only friends were the humanoid animals he now led. Formed 
from the radioactive air, dogs. birds, fish, and rats had survioved 
and changed, adapting to the climate and growing in intelligence.
    They had changed thier names calling themselves Dawgs, Brrds, 
Rattz, and Phiish. At first, they continued hunting each other, but 
then Mousse had appeared and united the four tribes, telling them 
that it was the humans to blame for the worlds troubles. The tribes 
had believed him and soon were united with Mousse as their leader.
    Mousse felt that the time of the human had passed. He was going 
to unite all the mutants of the new Earth and rule, but first, he had 
a settlement to wipe out and a debt to repay.
    "Satori!" he called. A Dawg dressed in black leather approached 
him. Satori was a breed of German Shepherd and Mousse's second in 
command.
    "Inform the troops that we're going on the move," said Mousse.
    "Against the village, lord?" 
    "Not yet, first we must find a certain place. Then we'll expunge 
the settlement once and for all!"
    "What would this be, lord?" asked Satori.
    "I have discovered directions to an underground missle silo. We 
will travel there. I'm sure at least one missle will be there, and if 
it is, we will use it to kill them all, or failing that, make them 
like us. We will not fail again! Go!"
    "Yes, lord," Satori bowed and left. Mousse grinned, sunlight 
reflecting off his fangs.
    "You will die, Saotome. For Shampoo,"
    
    
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 C&C PLEASE! This thing needs a LOT of work and I don't want to do 
anymore until I polish this up. Thanks.
                        
                                        ---Erin 2.5