Jed M Bidwell wrote:

Ranma 1/2 used without permission
C&Cis, as always, welcome and appreciated

        For those of you who haven't read the revised version of Crimson
Dawn 7 I just put out, please note that Nabiki opted to keep her suspicions
about Ranma to herself rather than tell everyone about it. With that said,
on with the fic. ^_^

=================================

        //AH! Man, that hurts!\\ Ranma thought as he doffed his cloak and
dogi. The clothing lay in a pile on the rough surface of Tokyo Genreal

"General"

Hospital's roof as Ranma forced his mind to ignore the pain his body was
feeling. As he traversed the rooftops on his way back to the hospital, the
pain from his injuries had been muted. He knew he had been hurt, but could
not feel it. After removing the cloak, however, the pain returned with a
vengenace, almost taking his breath away.

"vengeance"

        The cold wind blew through his Chinese blouse and pants like a
ginsu, numbing his skin with it's icy chill. His breath came out in clouds
of white steam, drfiting upward before being carried off by the moving air.

"drifting"

        //Gotta get off this roof,\\ Ranma thought as he stuffed the outfit
back in the ventilation shaft. Replacing the grate, he rose to his feet and
made his way to the door leading into the depths of the hospital. The pain
in his ribs was still bad, but at least manageable. It wouldn't slow him
down much, perhaps he could slip it past Akane.

        "Looks like you had a rough night," came an ancient, scratchy voice
from behind him. Ranma jumped in surprise, taking in an involuntary gasp of
cold air as he spun around to face the speaker.
        "Do ya HAVE to sneak up on people like that?" Ranma asked
indignantly as he stared at Cologne. The wizened matriarch simply remained
in place, balancing effortlessly on the tip of her staff as she eyed him
dispassionately.
        "It is one of the perks that comes with all my years," Cologne
replied in a flat tone. Ranma stood his ground, his eyes locked on hers. He
didn't know what the old ghoul wanted with him, nor did he care. All he
wanted to do was get back to Akane.
        "It looks like you have a couple of ribs broken, son-in-law,"
Cologne said in that same tone, as though she couldn't care less about his
injuries. "It must have been one rough fight."
        "It ain't none of your business," Ranma snarled. "I'm goin' in. I'm
freezing my ass up here."
        "It is now," Cologne said, her voice going from flat to almost
arctic in the space of a second. Her white mane billowed slightly in the
breeze as she reached into her green tunic. Withdrawing her hand, she
produced a jade vial from the folds of the fabric.
        //Oh, hell,\\ Ranma thought as his eyes fell on the emerald
container. His heart nearly froze in his chest, his mind spiralling
uncontrollably into a wild panic. Cologne just stood there, staring at him
with a neutral expression on her wrinkled face.

        "I know what this is, son-in-law," Cologne said, her voice still
cold as the air around them. "Where did you get it?" She could see from the
boy's face that his mind was in total chaos, Ranma simply wasn't very
skilled at hiding his thoughts and feelings. Emotionally, he was an open
book for anyone to read.
        Ordinarily, Cologne would have preferred not to use such a direct
approach as this. The truth never stayed hidden forever, eventually finding
its way back to the surface. Sometimes it took a while; months, years, or
even centuries, but it always came out in the end.
        However, Cologne wasn't sure they had any such time. Here, Ranma had
somehow gotten his hands on a substance Cologne had seen only once before in
her entire life, back when she had just begun to blossom into womanhood.

        Cologne had once contracted the same unfortunate disease that had
been eating away at Akane. It was known as consumption back then, but the
result was the same, Cologne had been dying before she had the chance to live.

Tuberculosis?

        Had it not been for Fei Quan, the disease would have consumed her.
Fei Quan had been Cologne's mentor, a friend and teacher whom Cologne had
loved dearly. She'd had a vial of the Crimson Dawn, which she said she
bought from a travelling merchant many years before. Joketsuzoku's clerics

This isn't a D&D game.  

had not been able to reverse or even slow the progress of the tumors, and so
Fei Quan had begged on hands and knees to use Crimson Dawn.
        The Council had refused. While Crimson Dawn's healing powers were
incredible, even greater than the springs at Ryuugenzawa, nothing was known
of possible side-effects. The ancient texts which related to the mystical
substance had been badly ravaged by time and the elements, and much of the
legend was lost forever.
        Cologne never really knew just what had pushed Fei Quan to defy the
Council that night. Perhaps it was love, or a mix of other emotions, but Fei
Quan had given Cologne the Crimson Dawn.

        //Now this looks interesting,\\ Nabiki thought as she stared at
Ranma and Cologne's face off. The chill air stabbed mercilessly through the
jeans she wore, her sweater not faring much better.
        After having managed to extract herself from the crowd below, citing
the need for a visit to the bathroom, she had gone over her train of thought
about Ranma's recent behaivior and nearly busted out laughing. Ranma, the

"behavior"

caped avenger? It was sheer lunacy!
        Crouched behind a large piece of machinery whose purpose Nabiki
could not divine, she had sat in wait for Ranma to return. Nabiki had wanted
to catch Ranma at his most vulnerable, removing the weird cloak, and grill
him. She'd had it all planned out and was confident that he would crack.
After all, he wasn't the best liar on earth.
        Cologne's almost gravelly voice had caught her as much off-guard as
it had Ranma. As she stared at the two, her ears strained to make out
Cologne's exact words. Ranma's shouted reply that it wasn't her business
reached her loud and clear, giving Nabiki cause to believe that Cologne was
probably asking about Ranma's whereabouts.
        It was entirely possible that Nabiki could learn what she wanted to
without having to approach Ranma at all. Perhaps if she just let Cologne do
the all the hard work, she could end up with the rewards. Idly, Nabiki
wondered if Cologne knew she was there. It was very likely, perhaps she
didn't care that Nabiki was watching, or that she wanted her to see what was
about to happen.

        "Nova Blast!" The shout made Nabiki's heart stop for a moment, the
red blast lancing the darkness as it streaked toward Ranma. Ranma leapt
backward, though his timing looked a little off. The blast detonated on
impact with the roof, the concussive force flinging Ranma through the air
like a limp ragdoll. Nabiki watched as Ranma hit the roof hard on his back,
a short cry of pain bursting from his throat.
        //I don't think this is a good thing,\\ Nabiki thought as she looked
at the black-clad man who had appeared from out of the darkness.

========================================
1>         //What now?\\ Ranma groused as he rose to his feet. The pain in his
ribs, which had been bad before, was now almost unbearable as it stabbed
into him again and again savagely. The agony made his vision blur as tears
welled involuntarily in his eyes. Ranma shook his head violently in an
attempt to regain his focus, whoever this was had managed to get the drop on
him and Ranma could not afford to let him press the advantage.
        The darkened roof almost reluctantly came back into focus as Ranma
fought to ignore the screaming from his ribs. He saw a figure in black
standing in the glow of the pale moonlight, a cloak billowing gently in the
breeze. Ranma could almost feel a pair of intense eyes boring into him,
shock numbing his pain as he realized just who was standing before him.
        "Aw, not you again!" he shouted at the shadowy form.
        "You were expecting maybe Bela Lugosi?" the form replied in his icy
voice as he approached.

Ranma:  Who?

        Ranma assumed a stance, feet about shoulder-width apart and arms
bent at the elbows with his fists perpendicular and on each side of his
face. The stance strongly resembled the traditional boxer's crouch, and
provided Ranma with a good amount of stability. He'd need every trick in the
book to fight this guy again, especially in his injured condition.

        "Oh, my God..." Nabiki whispered as the cloak wrapped about Ranma's
body. Her blood ran cold at the sound of Ranma's agonized scream, even
muffled it sounded excruciating.
        Her eyes widened as the cloak hoisted Ranma into the air, blue
electricity crakcling around it's black surface. As she witnessed Ranma's

crackling

plight, and the fact that Cologne was doing nothing to help, Nabiki knew
that Ranma was going to die.

I find myself skeptical that Nabiki would realise any such thing.  

        Without warning, an intense wave of agony ripped through Akane's
body. Every muscle tightened at once, the torment quickly overriding her
conscious thought. Akane's stiomach cramped violently as the pain spread
through her like fire.

"stomach"

        Deep within herself, Akane was aware of what was happening.
Something was wrong, she knew, something terribly wrong. The world outside
disappeared, and her body felt as though it was being torn apart. She fought
desperately to regain control, to find the center of calm that would allow
her to weather this hellish storm.
        As she struggled, Akane felt another presence stirring within the
confines of her mind. The pain became augmented by sheer terror as she felt
the alien presence grow and approach ever nearer.
       Despite all her valiant struggles, the presence enclosed her. Akane
could feel her will slipping away, her own self being absorbed into
something far greater. The dark entity invaded her very soul, it's cold
tendrils smashing through her defenses easily as it melded with Akane on a
spiritual level. Soon after, Akane Tendo was no more, and would never be again.

That might be giving a little too much away.