The fourth spamfic - following on from Shock!, Quest!, and
Chance!

With thanks to VGAP for plotting help. :)

Wish! A Cure for A Curse?
By Kagami

Zelgadis stepped up beside Ranma. "I wonder what Joe was
about to say before you attacked? He seemed surprised by
something." He was about to say more, but his eyes were
drawn to the runic script covering the walls beside the
mirror. "Wait, there's some writing here ..." he trailed
off tantalizingly.

"Well, what does it say?" asked Ranma when the pause
became a long silence.

"Actually, I can't read it at all," admitted Zelgadis,
"but I'm sure it's pretty important."

"Doesn't matter. The mirror's here and I'm going to use
it."

"Wait a minute, Ranma," Zelgadis spoke quickly. "From
what you've told me and from what I know about this type
of artifact, you only get one chance at changing the past
with it. It attunes itself to your mind when you touch it
and responds to your most urgent desires."

"So, you're saying it can change more than one thing at
a time, Zel?" Ranma wondered aloud. What about his fiancee
problems? They were a big, unsolvable issue as well.

Zelgadis nodded. "Right, it can grant wishes but only once.
The crystals power it for that one use, then they shatter
and the mirror with it."

"How does it work?"

"Simple enough. Think hard about what you want, and place
your hand on the surface of mirror."

"Okay, Zel, on the count to three..."

A solution, Ranma thought firmly as his hand reached for
the smooth surface, for my curse and my fiancees. A cure,
thought Zelgadis, for my cursed body as his own hand stole
towards the mirror.

"Death to you, defilers!" shouted a broken lump of stone
on the floor. "Think you've beaten me? I'm Joe. I've stood
guard over that darn thing for five thousand years. I'll
pull the temple down around all of us, rather than let you
have it!"

Ominously, pieces of stone fell from the ceiling to
shatter on the floor.

"We've got to get out of here!" Ranma shouted nervously.
Not again! Why did these things keep happening to him?
He kept his hand moving towards the mirror.

"Keep your mind focused, Ranma!" Zelgadis replied.

Right, Ranma's mind yammered, a solution for the fiancees
and his cur... a shadow fell over them. Involuntarily,
Ranma looked up to see a massive block tumbling towards
them. "Look out!" he burst out.

Then, his fingers touched the cool pane of glass.

The world went white.

---

The road to Gann town curves in a slight arc as it crests
a small hilltop. From this point, it was possible to gain
a truly majestic view of the Temple of the Water Dragon
Lord. Of course, ever since the temple fell into ruin,
few travelers on the road stopped to gaze at the scenery.

However, for four weary travelers cresting the rise, it
provided the vista for an awe-inspiring scene: the sight
of the broken walls and mouldering stone piles tumbling
into the sinking ground. For them, the final destruction
of the temple meant a great deal more.

"Ranma!"

"Zelgadis-san!"

"My cure!"

"Say, was that the Temple of the Water Dragon Lord?"
Gourry asked artlessly. "How are we going to get in now,
Lina?"

"No, no, no, no, no!" Lina ran over to the rubble and
began kicking at it in despair. "It can't be gone! *Flare
Arrow!* *Blast Ash!* *Digger Volt!* *Mega Brand!*" She
paused, panting, then continued, "Darkness beyond
twilight ..."

"No, Lina-san!" Amelia protested. She shook herself out of
her stupor and ran up as she heard Lina begin the Dragon
Slave. "Stop it, Lina-san! Zelgadis-san and Ranma-san are
still down there. You might kill them!" Akane and Gourry
arrived to help her restrain the upset Lina.

Lina turned to flash a sunny smile at Gourry that somehow
seemed a trifle overdone. "Gourry, lend me the Sword of
Light, will you? I just need to use it for a bit."

"Huh? Well, okay, Lina." Gourry removed the hilt from the
scabbard hanging by his side, and shouted the summoning
words, "Light, come forth!"

He handed the Sword of Light over to Lina, still looking
puzzled. "What are you going to use it for, Lina?"

"This." Lina charged at the caved-in ruins, brandishing
the sword, before hacking and stabbing the energy blade
into the rubble. Each stab was violently punctuated with
a savage 'No!'.

"Ah! Lina! Be careful with my sword!" Gourry clucked with
worry.

Akane sank down on her knees, sick with despair, as she
watched Lina attack the debris. They couldn't be dead,
could they? It wasn't possible, not Ranma ...

---

Zelgadis awoke with a major headache. That was fairly
unusual, since the last time had been the incident with
the cannonball. He raised his hand to his sore forehead
when he suddenly paused, eyes widening in disbelief.

His hand was normal! Flesh-toned skin, pinkish
fingernails, and light traces of hair. Perfectly normal.
Zelgadis felt his face; it too was normal skin, rather
than hard stone. He was cured. At last.

It was then that he realized that he was sitting on a
grassy hilltop, and not buried beneath tons of rubble and
debris. And that he wasn't alone. Another form lay beside
him, unconscious to the world.

Ranma. But, he was in his female form. That wasn't right.
The mirror should have cured him as well. What had gone
wrong? Even as he began to examine him, Ranma started to
stir.

"Ranma! Are you all right? What happened to you and why
are you still female?" Zelgadis asked with concern.

"Owww! My head hurts like hell," Ranma groaned, holding
his head in pain. "Whatcha talking about, Zel?" he
mumbled, "I've always been a girl."

Uh, oh, Zelgadis thought.

---

Heh. See it coming from a mile away?