Okay, here we go with the third and maybe final part of this. Fasten
yer seatbelts, it's gonna be a bumpy ride!
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The Rage, Part Three
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"HELP ME!" The muffled shout managed to carry over the walls of the
Tendo Dojo, disturbing the otherwise peaceful quiet. Akane, Ukyo, and Ryoga
stopped dead, a sense of cold dread washing over them.
"Was that..." Ukyo began.
"Nabiki?" Ryoga finished.
"Oh, no..." Akane's face grew pale, eyes widening in horror as the
realization hit home. Ranma... he wouldn't... would he? She leapt to the top
of the outer wall, vaulting herself over as Ryoga and Ukyo followed suit.
"GET AWAY FROM ME!" Nabiki's voice was filled with stark terror, an
emotion so alien to Akane's percieved image of her sister. Her own fear
began to grow, the adrenaline puring into her blood spurring her onward. If
Ranma had hurt her...
From the corner of her eye she saw Genma and her father running to
the dojo from the porch, Kasumi not far behind. She didn't take notice of
their faces, it was likely they mirrored her own. She just hoped they
wouldn't be too late.
=============================================
"Not so damn cocky now, are ya!" Ranma shouted at the cowering
Nabiki. The sight of the little slut shivering in terror, and the knowledge
that it was of him, combined to form a sensation of power unlike any other.
The power became yet more fuel for the raging fires in his mind, the rabid
anger urging him to inflict even more pain.
He felt the heat gathering in the palm of his hand, its glow drawing
Nabiki's wide eyes. The horror he saw in them excited him, despite the
nagging feeling that he should be revulsed at what he was doing.
"Do you know how much I've wanted this?"
"Ranma..." Nabiki's voice was high and tense, barely more than a
squeak as she crawled backward to the door. "Please. Stop!"
"Maybe now you'll think twice before usin' me, BITCH!"
The door to the dojo slammed open, Ranma's glare fixing on the group
that poured through. He felt the rage grow even hotter, threatening to burn
him from the inside out, but he did not care. Ranma feasted on the hate,
gorging himself on its bitter juices as the ball of supercharged ki in his
hand continued to build.
"RANMA!" He scarcely acknowledged Akane's shout, the urge to tear
the hideous diesel dyke limb from limb.
"What is the meaning of this!" Soun, that worthless puss of a man
hollered.
"Blow me, Soun!" He saw their faces take on stunned expressions at
his expletive, their reactions goading him even more.
"Wha... what?"
=======================================
"RANMA! How dare you say such a thing to your father-in..."
"You too, GENMA!" Akane stood there in numb shock, unable to
comprehend what Ranma had wrong with him. He had never called her father or
his own by their first names, and he definitely hadn't said anything like
that to her own father before. The sight of him towering over Nabiki with
that red ball of ki in his hand brought home the tarrifying fact that Ranma
was no longer just a jerk, but a definite threat to her and her family.
"You DARE HIT MY DAUGHTER?" She could see her father beginning his
Demon-Head attack. "RANMA.....!"
Ranma's attack came blindingly swift, far faster than any of them
could dodge. The angry red sphere flew from his right hand, exploding with
violent fury once it hit them.
The pain was intense, beyond anything Akane had ever felt in her
entire life. Every nerve in her body sang with pain signals that threatened
to overload her brain as she flew backward into the yard. Akane landed hard
on her back, her skin burning from the blast. What had Ranma just done?
She fought to stay conscious, despite her mind's almost overpowring
desire to succumb to the abyss of sleep. Akane reached deep within herself
to find the will to rise, to stand up. Besides, she felt that if she didn't,
she may never wake up again.
"YOU THINK YOU CAN TAKE ME!?" Ranma's voice... it hardly sounded
like him anymore. "YOU THINK I'M AFRAID OF YOU!?" Slowly, painfully, Akane
struggled to rise to her own two feet.
She gasped at the sight of Ranma slowly bearing down on them from
the ruined entrance of the dojo. His aura... it wasn't even an aura anymore!
Flames danced around his body, red energy tinged with black that looked as
if it would melt steel. The dojo's entrance was little more than a charred
and smoking hole, tiny embers still glowing in the wood. Wait, where was Nabiki?
Akane found her sister lying face-down near the pond, her chest
still rising and falling regularly. The relief was almost a physical
presence as her stomach loosened a little. Her sister was okay, and the
others were coming to their feet as well. Kasumi sat near the house, shaking
her head as if to clear it. At least she hadn't taken enough of the force to
hurt her.
"Ranma?" Genma said, his anger suddenly replaced with fear and
confusion.
"DON'T EVEN TALK TO ME! YOU KEEP PUSHIN' ME INTO SHIT I DON'T WANT!
YOU THINK YOU'RE THE MAN HERE!? YOU SOLD YOURSELF TO THAT LITTLE PERVERT!
YOU WEREN'T HIS STUDENT, YOU WERE HIS BITCH!"
"Ranma, stop it!" Ukyo shouted.
"SHUT UP, SLUT!"
Ukyo's face went pale, tears brimming in her deep brown eyes as her
hand shot over her mouth. Ranma just stood there, pouring out obscenities
and insults on the stunned chef.
"You were probably a doorknob at that boy's school, weren't ya!"
Ranma yelled. "I bet EVERY guy there had a turn with ya!"
"HOW DARE YOU!" Ryoga shouted, stepping up in front of Ukyo, who
looked on the verge of breaking down. His fists were balled at his side, his
face screwed into an expression of animalistic rage that rivalled even
Ranma. "Have you no shame?"
"You're one to talk about shame, asswipe! You're the one who sleeps
with Akane every chance you get!"
"WHAT?! I never... Ranma, what the hell is wrong with you!"
"You ever wonder where your widdle P-chan goes off to?" Ranma
sneered, his eyes shining with malice begging for release. "I'll tell ya!"
"SHUT UP RANMA!" Ryoga's face went bone white, his voice further
betraying his fear. What was this about?
"He goes to find hot water! That's right, P-chan's a man, baby, an'
he's standin' right across from ya!" The world itself seemed to get suddenly
silent, a slight breeze blowing through the front yard of the Tendo Dojo as
Akane slowly looked at Ryoga.
She couldn't believe it, no way. Ryoga was P-chan? Ridiculous! But
the expression on Ryoga's face told her otherwise. His eyes were wide from
shock, fists now uncurled at his sides. His jaw hung open, looking for all
the world like someone had told him he would die. Was it... true? Could it
possibly be true?
The others gathered looked at the lost boy as well, seeing all that
she saw. Despite herself, Akane began to wonder if Ranma was telling the truth.
"Ryoga," Akane said slowly, "is it true?"
"Akane... I..."
"It IS, isn't it?" Surprisingly, her anger wouldn't come. She just
felt numb all over, betrayed by someone she viewed as a friend. "How could you?"
"Aw.... ain't this just SO goddamn sad?" Ranma's voice sounded like
it was coming from a distance as she stared at Ryoga. The lost boy began to
shake uncontrollably, a green aura glowing around him like a strobe. "What,
you gonna do somethin', PIG?"
The wail that erupted from Ryoga's throat held no hint of humanity.
It was the sound of ultimate suffering, the sound of one whose entire world
had been destroyed in one fell swoop.
Ryoga rushed forward, his emerald glow and Ranma's hellish aura
clashing before their fists. The resulting flare of light pierced Akane's
eyes, nearly forcing them shut as the sounds of battle thundered in her ears.
As abruptly as it began, the debacles ceased. Akane opened her eyes,
seeing a now female Ranma standing over a small black piglet. Akane's eyes
lingered on the shivering animal for a brief moment before moving to Ranma.
Her aura was gone, a look of utter horror on the girl's face as she
fell to her knees. The shaking started soon after, a sob bursting forth from
Ranma's chest.
"What have I done?" she cried, the sobs gaining strength as the
tears soaked the grass. "Oh, what have I done?" Akane saw Kasumi standing
behind him, fear in her eyes and an empty bucket in her hands.
Ukyo moved over to Ranma, not sparing a glance at the unconscious
piglet... RYOGA!... as she knelt by Ranma's side. She placed a comforting
hand on the red-haired girl's shoulder.
"H...help me," Ranma's voice was devoid of rage, instead filled with
uncertainty and pleading. "I... can't control it. What's happening... to me?
Please... help me...."
=============================================
"Well, what is it?"
"To be honest, I've never seen anything like this before. Ever."
Doctor Tofu's announcement caused them to look down in frustration, Ukyo
actually punching the surface of the low table they all sat around save
Kasumi, who was in the kitchen preparing food. Nabiki sat near Akane, a
bandaged wrapped tight around her chest beneath the sweater she wore.
Another such bandage was around her arm and one more around the top of her
head. Ryoga, still in pig form, lay in a nearby corner.
"What brought this on?" Ukyo asked, as confused as the rest.
"I have no idea," Tofu replied, "but apparently the shock of
triggering his curse brought him out of it. For now, anyway."
"What do you mean?"
"The point I used on Ranma should have put him out. Instead, it just
weakened him. The anger is still there, and is practically supercharging his
ki. There's no telling what he could do."
"So, we have to keep him tied up, then?" Nabiki asked.
"That's a good idea now, yes."
"But what if he gets out?"
"I have to keep administering the proper shiatsu technique to keep
him weak," Tofu answered, "but that's only a temporary solution. Unless we
find out what the real problem is, Ranma may be in serious trouble."
"Ranma?" Nabiki blurted, "what about us? He nearly killed me, you know!"
"She's right," Soun said, "Ranma is a danger to all of us now."
"And to himself," Tofu added. "His ki was hot, almost blistering
from all that rage. At least the chains should hold him for now."
"So what do we do?" Akane asked.
"For the time being, keep a constant eye on him, and remove the gag
evey now and then. If he should..."
"We get the idea, doc," Ukyo snapped, the thought of her Ranchan
tied like an animal upstairs disgusting her, even though an animal was what
he was rapidly becoming.
"Maybe Cologne would know something?" Genma said.
"I just bet she would," Akane snarled.
"Someone should go tell her," Nabiki said.
"I'll go."
"Not a good idea, sis. I'll do it."
"Nabiki?"
"I'll be proof of what's happening to Ranma," Nabiki said, "besides,
what we don't need right now is you flying off the handle at the old bat."
"Soun, go with her," Tofu said, "the rest of us will stay and keep
an eye on Ranma." Soun nodded once, then rose to his feet. He offered a hand
to Nabiki, which she ignored as she stood on her own. The two then left the
foyer, Nabiki moving with a slight limp as she did so.
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That's it for this one. Okay, so I didn't end it here. C&C? Love to
hear it!
Jed