Ranma 1/2
Tortured Echo (parts 7-12)
(see previous post for disclaimers)
------------------------------------


                          CHAPTER 7:
                          ---------


"Strike!" The voice called out.

Mousse lunged at where the voice was. He felt his hand come into
contact with the side of a building. There was an explosion of
pain and he grabbed his hand, howling in pain.

Something struck him on the head. "You call yourself an Amazon?
You should be ashamed of yourself."

"My hand..." Mousse began.

"Ignore it." The voice demanded. "Your priority is to avenge
Shampoo and Cologne. You must learn to ignore all other things."

"How can I avenge them with a broken hand?" Mousse demanded.

"You'd rather I give you a broken back?" Foam inquired. "Now,
back to your training. And hit it harder next time."

Mousse struck the wall again and again, ignoring the trickle of
blood that ran down his scraped knuckles, driven by the voice of
Foam.

* * * * *

"Are you going to tell her?"

Ranma looked up at Dr. Tofu.

Ryoga and Toma were training with Sasuke and Akane was still
asleep. Ranma envied her. She was probably dreaming about how
Nerima used to be. How he hoped it would be again."

"Tell...?"

"Akane," Dr. Tofu explained, "about P-Chan."

"I don't know." Ranma replied. "I mean she has a right to know.
But he should be the one to tell her."

"Have you thought about why he said it."

"Yeah." Ranma replied. "But I can't figure it out. Why did he
give up Akane. I mean, he loves her. Doesn't he?"

"I think you know the answer already." Dr. Tofu replied. "I
guessed it last night."

Ranma turned his mind back to his conversation with Ryoga...

"I can't marry her. Not after..."

"Not after I've been..." Ranma began. But he refused to let
himself finish. It made his stomach churn to think that Ryoga
could have suffered such humiliation and pain. He turned to Dr.
Tofu.  "Ryoga's been ... disgraced, hasn't he?"

"That is what I've concluded." Dr. Tofu replied. "Ranma. You must
watch over him carefully in our upcoming battles. He is a strong
warrior, but his overwhelming sense of honor and his overpowering
hatred of the enemy could cloud his judgement in combat."

"I understand." Ranma nodded.


                           Chapter 8
                           ---------


"I don't need any medical help." Ryoga protested. "I'm fine."

"You were assaulted, weren't you?" Dr.Tofu challenged.

Ryoga turned to Ranma, a look of anger and accusation on his
face.  "How *dare* you tell Dr. Tofu lies about me!" He raised
his fist to strike Ranma. but Dr. Tofu stopped him.

"I'm a doctor," Dr. Tofu replied. "I know about these things.
Look, I understand you're embarrassed. But there are possible
medical consequences that you need to face."

"I'm fine." Ryoga protested further.

"He's right, Ryoga." Ranma told him. "You need to have yourself
looked at. Please?"

Ryoga was about to make yet another protest when an explosion
shook the building they were in.  He picked up the uzi he'd armed
himself with upon his escape from the prison and rushed toward
the source of the explosion with Ranma and Dr. Tofu close behind.

Rounding the last corner, Ryoga raised the Uzi, then lowered it
as he saw Mousse running toward him. There was something with
him, a small object, like a toy planet but far more
sophisticated. The object flew to just above Ryoga.

"Strike just below my voice." it told Mousse. "The one who
killed Shampoo is here."

"Mousse..." Ryoga began to say. But Mousse struck him and
knocked him back several feet.

Ryoga dug in his heels and skidded to a stop, then struck Mousse
in return

"Kill him!" the object cried out. "Kill him and avenge Shampoo's
death."

"I will obey you, Foam." Mousse promised as he renewed his
attack on Ryoga.

Ryoga blocked Mousse's blow, then countered with one of his own.

The sphere warned Mousse, who evaded Ryoga's blows.

"Why are you attacking me?" Ryoga demanded. "We're friends.
Well, sort of."

"You killed Shampoo!"

"No!" Ryoga tried to reason with Mousse as he defended himself
from Mousses's blows. "They took me prisoner. I was held for
days. Tortured." He blushed with shame. "Raped."

"But they still let you live." Mousse spat at him, bitterly,
disbelieving, throwing another punch.

Ryoga blocked it: Sasuke rescued me." He countered."I almost
died. And why are you following orders from a stupid little
floating object."

"The Soul of the First Amazon Queen is not a stupid little
floating object." Mousse argued, throwing a series of blows, most
of which Ryoga ducked, though some hit home.


"That is not the soul of an Amazon anybody." Ryoga insisted,
spitting out blood from a cut lip. "Its a machine." He struck at
it. catching it, and handing it to Mousse.

Mousse felt the small object in his hand.

"Kill him." It said.

Mousse felt confused. He wasn't sure of himself any more. He had
killed so many on his way there, because Foam had told him to.
But it wasn't Foam. it was...

"NO!!!!" he cried out, lashing out with all of his anger.
"You're trying to trick me! You're all trying to trick me!
You're all in this together!"

"I am not with those ruffians." Toma sounded very insulted. "I
shall teach you what it means to insult me!" He called up an
illusion instinctively, then remembered that Mousse was blind.

A second later, Mousse was knocked into the wall by a blast from
Ryoga.

"I seem to be doing that a lot lately." he mused. Using some of
his bandannas, he tied Mousse to a chair, then woke him.

"So, I am a prisoner of the enemy."

"No." Ryoga told him, sitting at his bedside in a sturdy chair.
"I tied you up because you were freaking out. I didn't want you
to hurt one of us, including yourself."

"I can smell the enemy on you." Mousse snarled. "All of Nerima
knows you're their whore. You enjoyed it, didn't you? Foam said
you did. I told her I wanted to seek you out, but she said they'd
gotten to you and had taken you and that you had enjoyed every
minute."

Ryoga felt himself flush with rage and embarrassment. His eyes
blazed with hate and he jumped to his feet

"Ryoga..." Tofu began.

"Just getting my gun." Ryoga told him, darkly.

"Ryoga, that's not Mousse talking. That's his pain talking. He's
hurting the same as you are."

"I didn't kill Shampoo or Cologne." Ryoga snarled. "Why is he
attacking me?!

"Because, Ryoga." Tofu explained, gently, "you're the one who
told him that his quest for revenge was a lie."

"That still doesn't give him any right to insult me like that! I
was ... I was violated by those assholes! How *DARE* he say I
enjoyed it! How..."

"Calm down." Dr. Tofu put an arm on his shoulder. "I know you're
angry. But we need Mousse."

"He's blind and stupid and he's an agent of the enemy."

"I was tricked into it." Mousse spat bitterly.

"Then let's trick the enemy back." Dr. Tofu suggested.

"How?" Ryoga was intrigued. He must have been giving Dr. Tofu a
look of wonderment, because the man offered an explanation before
one was asked of him.

"I signed up for the draft, which was required back when I was a
teenager," he explained. "Of course, the idea of killing people
repulsed me, so I signed up for their medical staff. I had always
wanted to be a doctor, but my family's money was tight. I knew
that if I could do will in the army medical training, I would
have the perfect resume for a possible loan or scholarship, plus
I would have a head start once I enrolled in med school."

"How long did you serve?" Ryoga asked.

"Three years on active duty." Dr. Tofu replied. "I'm technically
still in the service, but I'm on inactive duty. Its sort of like
being on call. I would've been called in this time, if the attack
had been announced."

The enemy announces attacks?" Ryoga asked. "That's news to me. To
the enemy, too, apparently."

"Don't you usually yell "Ranma Saotome, prepare to die?" the
doctor inquired.

Ryoga sighed. "That point goes to you, doc."

"I'm glad you agree. And while you're being so agreeable."

Oh no, Ryoga thought, here it comes..

"How about seeing a medic to make sure you're not sick or
infected."

"Very well." Ryoga gave in. "Tomorrw."

"First thing." Dr. Tofu nodded. "I'll take you there."

                       Ranma 1/2
                  Tortured Echo (part 10)
             --------------------------------

Ryoga stared at the doctor in disbelief. "You have to be
mistaken." he stammered. "You *must* be."

"I triple checked." the doctor replied. "I'm sorry."

"Its not the end of the world, Ryoga." Dr. Tofu reassured him.

"That's easy for you to say." Ryoga blurted out. "Do you have any
idea how lonely I get when I'm lost out there. How good it feels
to come back here and know you've got friends who will give me a
hug and cheer me up."

"They still will." Dr. Tofu reassured him.

"No." Ryoga shook his head. "they'll shun me. Turn me away.
Shrink back from me. I'm sorry, but I can bear that. I just..."

"I won't force you to not kill yourself under the
circumstances," Dr.Tofu told him. "But just remember, suicide is
permanent, so it should be reserved as a last resort.".

Ryoga nodded in agreement.

"Now about that attack plan of yours."

"Easy." Dr. Tofu replied. "Mousse gives us to the enemy, that
will get us inside their stronghold. Once there, we can mount a
decisive strike against the invaders."

Ryoga nodded. It was clear his mind wasn't entirely on what had
just been said by Dr. Tofu. He had other problems on his mind.


                            Ranma 1/2
                       Tortured Echo (part 11)
                     ---------------------------


For the remainder of the trip back, Dr. Tofu was silent.

Mousse looked up, out of habit, as they arrived.

Ryoga saw the torn, empty sockets of his eyes and thought:

You think *you've* got problems?

But he didn't say a word.

Ranma, who was playing a game of chess with Sasuke, looked up
from the board as Dr. Tofu and Ryoga returned.

"Ryoga?" He asked.

"Ranma! Its your fault!" Ryoga bellowed and he ran out of the
room, sobbing.

"Ryoga! Wait!" Ranma ran after him. "You can't go out there! Its
too dangerous!"

Ranma caught up to Ryoga just before he reached the exterior door
and caught hold of his wrist.

"Ryoga, are you out of your mind? You'll get yourself killed if
you go out there." He said, concernedly.

"I'm already dead, Ranma." Ryoga sobbed.

"Ryoga?" Ranma asked, his concern deepening.

"That son of a bitch gave me AIDS." Ryoga choked in horrified
resignation.

A part of Ranma wanted to pull away, to let go and back off
in disgust. But... no. He couldn't do that. Ryoga was his
friend. He wouldn't abandon his friend. He reminded that part of
him that you couldn't get it just by casual contact. And even if
you could, so what? He wasn't immortal anyhow and he had no
intention of becoming immortal.

And this wasn't Ryoga's fault. He didn't get it by being
promiscuous, or by shooting up. He'd been raped. Ranma felt a new
surge of hatred toward their shared enemy.

Well, he thought, if Ryoga's got it, then that means the bastard
who gave it to him has it, too. Good! I'm glad. That son of a
bitch deserves to die for what he's done to Ryoga!

Ryoga fully expected Ranma to storm off in disgust. To treat him
as if it were his fault. That's what happened in the TV movies.
You could be a nice person and catch it from a bad transfusion
and suddenly everyone's saying how you must be promiscuous or a
drug addict.

Instead, Ranma hugged him close and wept with him until their
tears were spent.

*****

Dr. Tofu looked up as Ryoga and Ranma returned.

"Are you okay?" He asked them both.

Ranma looked at Ryoga.

"I'm fine." Ryoga nodded. His heart had found new strength in
Ranma's unyielding friendship. Ranma hadn't pushed him away,
hadn't shunned him or blamed him. He felt grateful now that he
knew at least one friend would always by there for him. "Now,
lets talk about this attack plan."

Dr. Tofu nodded. "We'll need to find some explosives." He said.
"If we plant a few small ones near the oil heater in the basement
of the high school, it will blow up the whole building."

"I'm sure they've got all the explosives and materials for
making them." Ranma pointed out. "So that plan's a wash."

Ryoga contemplated for a moment, then looked up at them. "No." he
said. "its not."

Ranma stared at Ryoga. "You don't mean..."

Ryoga nodded.

"Ryoga, you'll be killed if..."

"I'm already a dead man, Ranma." Ryoga reminded him.

"There are treatments, Ryoga." Ranma said. "And they will find a
cure some day."

"They're not even looking, Ranma." Ryoga snapped. "You know that
as well as I do. Why should they? Its more profitable for them to
keep treating patients than cure them."

"Where'd you hear that?" Ranma asked.

"Some movie. Johnny something or other." Ryoga shrugged. "I was
lost in the United States at the time. Look, if I'm going to die
anyhow, I'd like to take those bastards who did this with me."

Ranma nodded in resignation.

"So, Mousse will return to the enemy with us in tow and get us
inside." Dr. Tofu summarized. "once inside, there will be a
struggle. While this is going on, Ryoga will head down to the
basement and go to the oil heater. Once he reaches it, he'll
signal us through these walkie-talkes. Then we'll evacuate.
Everyone clear on the plan.

They all nodded.

"Okay." Dr. Tofu concluded. "Let's go."

Ranma punched Mousse in the jaw.

"What was that for?!" Mousse demanded.

"Make your position more believable with the enemy." Ranma
pointed out.

                            Ranma 1/2
                       Tortured Echo (part 12)
                      -------------------------


Mousse followed the sphere back to the enemy stronghold. The
female voice, Foam, guided him to the front gates.

Dr. Tofu had repaired the sphere and Akane was now speaking
through it.

"Who are you?" The guard asked.

"Mousse," Akane said, in her best ghostly voice, "you must take
the prisoners in to the general. He will dispose of them. Then,
your vengeance will be complete."

"Yes, My Queen." Mousse replied, his tone obedient.

The guard recognized the sphere and permitted Mousse and his
prisoners entry into the school.

They reached the hall, then the sphere dropped to the ground, out
of Akane's range.

"Huh?!" A soldier turned.

Mousse heard him and attacked him with a terrible fury. "YOU
KILLED SHAMPOO!!!" he shrieked.

Dr. Tofu, Toma, Sasuke and Ranma followed suit. The battles
raged on for several minutes. Then for several more minutes.

Then Ranma caught sight of Ryoga looking around in confusion.
Ryoga's eyes turned to Ranma for a moment and then caught sight
of the man Ranma was fighting. There was a flash of recognition
in his eyes and Ranma caught it.

"This is for Ryoga." He snarled, as he reached down and without
hesitation, broke the soldier's neck.

Ranma jumped up and grasped Ryoga by the hand, running and
pulling him along.

"This way." he said, leading him to the stairwell and heading
into the basement with him.

They sneaked past a number of soldiers in the basement, then
reached the oil heater.

"Go." Ryoga told Ranma. "Signal me when you're clear."

Ranma stood there, tears in his eyes.

"Ranma..." Ryoga began.

Ranma shook his head. "No." He said. "I'm not leaving."

"Ranma?"

"Ryoga, listen to me." Ranma took Ryoga's hand. "I don't want to
live without you. Okay, that's pretty corny, I know. But I don't
care. I... I love you, Ryoga."

Ryoga looked at Ranma in wonderment. "I love you, too." he
finally said. "I wanted to tell you for ages, but I thought I
would scare you off. If I did."

Ranma nodded. Then he drew Ryoga into his arms and gave him his
first... and last... true kiss.

Ryoga returned the kiss for a moment, then broke off and stood
back.

"You can still change your mind." He told Ranma.

"No way." Ranma replied. "I'm not staying here without you.
Besides, how are you going to find your way around up there
without me?"

Ranma spoke into his walkie-talkie. "Dr. Tofu. Get the others
clear. We're going to begin now."

Ranma and Ryoga embraced once more, each thinking about the fact
that the other was about to die, this one thought more heart
shattering to them than any other. Their bodies began to glow,
their ki fusing into one single envelope of energy surrounding
them.

They spoke their last two words together, their voices united as
their ki had been.

"Shishi Hokodan."