"He's alive" she answered, not sure if he qualified as 'all right' at the moment. She then turned to the girl, staring at her for a few moments in wonder. She knew this girl well. They all did. It was Ranma's female half. His cursed form. The second body that he had wanted for so long to be rid of. So that's how the spell had cured the curse; It had literally torn it from him.
Dr. Tofu approached the girl and kneeled beside her, reaching down to feel for a pulse.
"She's alive."
Akane's eyes widened and she barely heard Kasumi's soft exclamation of "Oh my..." as she stared at the doctor in disbelief.
"Alive? That's impossible...I just checked Ranma's pulse. He's alive so how can she be? She's just his cursed body..."
The girl suddenly stirred and groaned.
"And apparently the body has a soul" Tofu whispered. "Come on, let's get them both upstairs. Better make the old woman comfortable, I'll need to have a look at her as well."
Kasumi rushed to a closet and came back with two blankets. Ranma and the girl were quickly wrapped in the blankets and carried upstairs. A futon was brought down for Cologne and she was placed carefully on it, and covered as she had begun to shiver. It wasn't particularly cold in the house (though the night outside was a little chilly) but no one knew what else to do.
* * * * * * * * * *
Akane sipped her tea quietly and stared into space. Nabiki was beside her at the table, reading a book and apparently unconcerned even after what had happened only a short while ago. Every now and then she would take a cookie from the plate in the center of the table and eat it carefully, never taking her eyes off of her book. Kasumi was in the kitchen baking another batch, and Everyone else was upstairs worrying over Ranma.
It had been nearly two hours and neither Cologne, Ranma, or Ranma's... other half had awoke. Dr, Tofu insisted that they were perfectly fine, only exhausted as powerful spells tended to drain the energy of those involved. Of course everyone worried anyway. Everyone except Nabiki. She continued to read her book and eat cookies as if nothing at all were wrong.
Kasumi came from the kitchen carrying another plate and blinked as she noticed that the one already on the table was only half empty.
"Akane why don't you have some? Dr. Tofu says that Ranma is just fine so there's no need to worry. I really think you might feel better if... Akane?" Kasumi blinked again and knelt down in front of her sister who didn't seem to have heard a word she had said. She placed the plate on the table beside the other one and waved her hand in front of Akane's face.
Akane blinked.
"What.. Kasumi? What is it?"
"Akane I said you might feel better if you eat something. Ranma's going to be just fine. It won't do any good to sit here and worry like this."
"I know" Akane sighed. "But it's not that I'm worried all that much about Ranma. It's...Well, it's his girl half. I mean...Who is she? She can't be Ranma since his guy half is still alive...But if she's alive too, she has to be someone right?"
Nabiki looked up from her book. "Maybe not" she said, as she took another cookie. "My guess is that she'll be a new person. Like a baby but without a baby's body."
"You mean we'll have to teach her to walk and talk and everything?" Akane asked.
"I dunno, it's only a guess" Nabiki said with a shrug.
Footsteps were heard on the stairs and Dr Tofu stepped into the room a few moments later. He looked at everyone and smiled.
"Ranma's awake."
The room was quickly emptied as everyone clambered to their feet and rushed upstairs to the guest room. When they entered, Ranma was sitting up on his futon, rubbing the side of his head. Akane rushed to him and threw her arms around him, hugging him so tightly his eyes almost bulged out of their sockets.
"Ranma, you're awake! I was so worried! How do you feel?"
"Well, besides this killer headache I'm also bein' squeezed to death...Could ya let up a little Akane?"
Akane frowned.
"Well excuse me for caring."
Ranma grinned and hugged her back. "Sorry, I'm just not feelin' all that great. Nothin' an aspirin won't cure."
He put his hand to his head and closed her eyes tightly to block out the glaring light. After a few moments he slowly opened then and frowned, looking around at everyone in the room. "Did...Did the spell work? Did it cure my curse?"
He wondered why everyone suddenly looked so uncomfortable. Finally Doctor Tofu said hesitantly, "Yes Ranma... It did get rid of the curse. You shouldn't have to worry about turning into a girl anymore."
Ranma grinned and gave a triumphant shout, then winced and put a hand to his head as the pain suddenly returned. "Ow...Damn." He continued to rub his head and look at everyone else with a confused expression. "None of you look too happy... What's wrong? Did somethin' happen to the old troll?"
"The same thing that happened to you" Tofu said. "She's still sleeping."
"So Cologne's okay and my curse is gone... What's wrong then?"
He continued to look at everyone, too baffled to be happy that he was finally cured. Dr. Tofu was adjusting his glasses and looked as if he was trying to think of what to say. Beside him, Akane was fidgeting with the edge of her dress and biting her lower lip, and Kasumi was standing with her hands clasped in front of her, looking at the floor. It was Nabiki who spoke first.
"Well, it didn't exactly get rid of the curse, it kind of..."
"It did eradicate the curse Ranma" Dr. Tofu interrupted, "But in a very unexpected way."
Ranma frowned again. "Come on, what happened?"
"It will be easier to show you" Tofu answered. "Come with us."
Still confused, Ranma got up and followed Dr. Tofu out of the room. Everyone else glanced at each other once before going after them.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Ranma groaned as he woke and tried to sit up, but immediately regretted it as a wave of pain lanced through his skull. He let his head fall back onto the pillow and took a few deep breaths. The pain began to subside a little. Not much, but enough for him to try sitting up again. This time he succeeded.
Looking around, the first thing he noticed was that he was in Kasumi's room, lying in her bed. What was he doing there? The second was that he wasn't dead. Strange to notice that second, but his thoughts were jumbled.
So the spell hadn't killed him after all. He would have been immensely relieved if he could think clearly. Damn this headache... The third thing he noticed was that he was a she. How had he gotten into his girl form? Oh yeah, that water Cologne had thrown on him. He must have been too distracted to notice the change.
"Great" she muttered aloud. "The spell didn't kill me but it put me through hell and didn't cure me either."
With another groan, she lay back down. She considered calling for someone to bring something for her head but the very thought of yelling nearly caused her skull to split, so she just lay quietly and wallowed in her misery as she rubbed her temples and tried to think through the headache.
Yet another failed cure. She should have expected it really. After all, none of the others had ever worked. It had been stupid to get her hopes up and even stupider to believe Cologne when she had said that the spell would cure her. The old hag had probably been lying all along. All that stuff about inflicting needless pain for revenge not being honorable. Feh... It was against *her* code of honor, that was for sure, but the Amazons had their own idea of honor and she knew from past experience that it was pretty screwy.
As she lay there brooding, she heard the door open and saw Dr. Tofu enter the room, followed by Kasumi and several other people. She tried to sit up further so that she could see who they were but the resulting pain in her head caused her to squeeze her eyes shut and lay her head on the pillow once more.
"Hey Doc, do you think you could get me somethin' for this headache?" she asked.
Dr. Tofu came toward her and knelt down beside the bed. There was a strange expression on his face and he looked extremely nervous for some reason.
"Hey, is somethin' wrong? Come on, I can't even open my eyes without my head feelin' like it's gonna explode. Can't you get me somethin'?"
The doctor shook his head and muttered, "Ah...Yes, of course. Just a moment." He pressed a point on her neck and the pain in her head vanished. She sat up.
"Thanks Doc" she said. Now what's up? Why are you lookin' so...." she trailed off as she turned to look at him and saw who was standing behind him. Akane, Nabiki, Kasumi, Soun, and her parents were standing near the doorway and beside them stood someone she knew very well. Someone who should *not* have been there. Ranma stared at him and he stared right back, neither one sure what to say. No one else seemed to know what to say either. Finally they both blurted at once, "Who are you?"
"I'm Ranma" the boy answered. "What I'd like to know is who you are."
Ranma frowned. "I'm Ranma!"
The boy just continued to stare.
Ranma began to get desperate now. What was going on here? She knew who she was! Whoever this guy was, he wasn't her.
"What are you lookin' at?!" She yelled, sitting up further in bed and glaring at the boy who looked like her. "Stop starin' at me like that, I know who I am! Whoever you are, you aint me!"
"Ranma calm down." Tofu put a hand on her shoulder and pushed her gently back down onto the bed.
"Somebody get me some hot water" she grumbled.
Tofu sighed. "I'm afraid that won't do you any good."
"Ranma blinked. What d'ya mean it won't do any good? she asked, starting to get angry again. "I want some hot water!"
"Listen" Tofu said, his hand still on her shoulder, "I think I know what's happened here. Both of you are Ranma. The spell didn't exactly cure the curse, it split your body into a male form and your cursed female form. Apparently it did more than just that though. it seems to have split the soul as well. Hot water won't do you any good because the curse no longer exists. You have become two seperate people."
Ranma blinked and stared at the doctor for a few moments. Then she turned to stare at the boy who wore her face. It was like looking into a mirror, only far stranger. That was her standing across the room. She was looking at a copy of herself, another Ranma. But... what if he wasn't the copy? After all, the male form was the true one and the female form was the cursed one. What if she was the copy? Suddenly she was terrified.
"Y...you mean, I'm....I'm stuck like this? And he... he..."
She had no idea what to do or say. This wasn't like any of the other times she had been faced with the possibility of being stuck in her female form. This time there was no way to undo it because she wasn't stuck. She had been split from her male half. The cure had worked and she was the side-effect. She didn't know whether to be sad, angry, afraid, or all three. Unless there was some way to reunite her with her other side she was going to be like this forever. It didn't help when she saw her father hang his head and walk slowly out of the room. Her mother looked for a moment as if she wanted to say something, but apparently decided not to and turned to follow Genma. Soun looked at Akane who was hovering next to the male Ranma and looking at the girl in the bed like she was a snake ready to strike. He shook his head and patted her on the shoulder.
"I'll be downstairs" he said simply.
"Ranma are you all right?" Kasumi's concerned voice reached Ranma's ears and she turned to stare at her, still in a daze.
"All right? Uh, yeah Kasumi I'm okay... I guess."
"Would you like to come downstairs and get something to eat?"
"I'm not hungry. I think I"ll go back to sleep."
"Um... All right but come down when you're feeling better okay?"
"Sure..." Ranma said, before lying back down and staring up at the ceiling.
Everyone waited in uncomfortable silence for a few more minutes. Finally, when it became obvious that Ranma wasn't going to say anything else, they slowly turned and left. As the door clicked shut behind them, they all looked at each other, no one really knowing what to say. All except Ranma. He was staring at the door as if it were the most horrifying thing he had ever seen in his life.
Finally Doctor Tofu spoke.
"Well, it's getting late, so I'de better be going. I've examined Cologne and aside from severe exhaustion she's fine. Ranma, you and your... You and the girl had better come to see me tomorrow. I'de like to do a few more examinations just to make sure both of you are all right."
Ranma nodded, not even turning to look at the doctor.
"Are you sure you wouldn't like to stay for something to eat doctor?" Kasumi asked. "We all missed dinner and I know you must be hungry."
Tofu turned red and his glasses fogged up just a little.
"Dinner? Ah... Yes, that's very kind of you..." he shook his head and appeared to regain some control of himself. "That's very kind of you K...Kasumi, but I really should be going."
"Perhaps tomorrow then?" Kasumi asked, with a polite smile.
"Yes... Tomorrow would be wonderful."
"I look forward to it" Kasumi said, still smiling. "Let me show you out."
"Out? Oh yes... Out. Going home. Thank you Kasumi, you really are so very kind."
As Kasumi and Tofu left, Akane turned to Ranma.
"Ranma are you okay?"
He turned to look at her, a strange expression on his face.
"I dunno Akane. I mean... She's me... It's..."
"I know" Akane whispered. "It's strange."
Ranma shook his head. "Not just that. What... what are we gonna do with her? She... she's gonna hate me. She is me. And she's stuck like that..."
Akane turned to look at the door as well, feeling more than a little scared. That was Ranma in there... But this was Ranma here with her. No matter how hard she tried she just couldn't get the idea completely out of her head that the Ranma that stood beside her was the real one and the one in Kasumi's bed was only a copy. She knew it wasn't true, but her mind refused to let go of the idea. Two of one person was just too wierd of a concept for her to accept. Her brain forced her to latch onto this Ranma because while he was cursed she had known the male half to be his real one. It was all just too strange... Not at all like the time Happosai had called up that evil Ranma clone. She'd seen the eyes of the girl in Kasumi's bed. She was just as much Ranma Saotome as the person standing beside her.
"I wish I knew what to say" she said, shaking her head.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Ranma huddled under the blankets in Kasumi's bed, staring at the closed door and listening to the muffled voices of her double and Akane. She'd known there would be some risk involved when she decided to chance the spell, but this... Hearing them talk about her like that was more than she could take. That should be her out there. She vividly remembered holding Akane close just before stepping into the symbol. The way she had felt... She would probably never hold her like that again. Never. And what was worse, she was not only losing her fiancee but she was losing her to her own double. What was she going to do? Could she even continue to live here? How would she be able to endure seeing her other self marry Akane and start a life with her while she was left behind? What would her father think of her? Her mother? Was she really even Ranma or was she just a copy made to fill this discarded body?
She lay quietly, still staring at the door, though the voices had stopped some time ago. Her stomach rumbled and she realized that she was hungry but she didn't dare go downstairs. That would mean facing him and she wasn't ready for that. She didn't think she would ever be ready for that. She tried to fight back the tears but finally gave in to them. The world was suddenly a very scary place.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Shadows whirled about, grasping for handholds, but finding none. Colors swirled, dipped, dived, and wove themselves into wonderfuly intricate ribbons of invisible light before falling away suddenly into nothingness. Everywhere, little mishaps were beginning to occur... For someone had disturbed the balance. Somewhere in the infinitely massive and oh-so-ancient machine, something had gone wrong. A gear had rusted, or a cog had fallen out of place; a spring had snapped, or a pulley had finaly given way from too much stress. It was only a minor problem, whatever it was, but it was throwing a good portion of certain areas into complete disorder. The machine wouldn't have survived as long as it had, though, if it couldn't look after itself a bit. And so it set about making repairs.
Well, there you have it... Once again, C&C would be greatly appreciated, as I know this is far from perfect. And I promise it's not going to be just another 'Ranma gets split and has to learn to be a woman' story. Those, to me, get old pretty fast.