The Curse

Disclaimer: None of this is my fault.

*

Sakura peered at Ranma intently. "I can do this."

Ranma dared to hope. "You mean it? You can cure me?"

"And me!"

"And him?" he continued, pointing at Ryoga. "You've done this sort of thing before?"

"Of course! Well...I must admit the curse seems a bit trickier than what I've dealt with before, but it should be easy to unravel. Both of you carry an abundance of spiritual energy. It's almost like you're being haunted. Once I extract the evil spirit from you, I banish it. No problem." Sakura closed her eyes. "Hara-tama, Kiyo-tama!" she chanted.

"Wait a moment!"

She stopped in annoyance. "What?"

"Do you need to set up any spiritual defenses or anything? And what are we supposed to do, anyway? Just stand here?"

She sighed. "Ok, here is what's going to happen. I begin. You don't disturb me for any reason. Eventually you'll shift to your cursed forms. That's normal. I'll separate them from you and then banish them. If you break my concentration, then they rebound back to you and it would be bad. Follow me? Good. Now shut up!"

Sakura glared at them both for a moment and began again.

Ten seconds passed. Ranma frowned. "I don't know. She seems kind of weird. Maybe we should have waited for the other guy."

"Shut up, Ranma."

"YOU shut up. Don't you think she seems a bit strange?"

Ryoga elbowed him in the gut. "Shut UP, Ranma! She said if we disturb her, it wouldn't work. How's she supposed to concentrate if you keep talking?"

Sakura abruptly stopped. "This isn't working! You need to be quiet!" She glared at them for a moment and sighed in defeat. "Guess we'll have to do this the hard way. Hold still."

She walked toward Ranma, who eyed her with suspicion. Sakura carefully opened Ranma's mouth and reached down his throat. "I know it's around here somewhere."

"Mfff! Mfff!" complained Ranma.

"Be quiet! I've almost got it!" She frowned in concentration. "This is it. I think. Aha!" Sakura pulled and strained with all her might while Ranma flailed his arms in pain. Ryoga peered closer. There was definitely something that she had a hold of, and it wasn't his tongue as he has previously suspected. Whatever it was looked to be humanoid, and completely made of dark mist.

"Help me!" Sakura demanded, putting her foot against Ranma's chest to get more leverage.

Ryoga glanced at Ranma's terror filled eyes, shrugged, and took hold of the thing's leg. It shrieked in a high pitched voice, which momentarily surprised him. It had a death grip on Ranma's tongue with both of its clawed hands. Ryoga braced himself against Ranma's shoulder and pulled. The beast screamed louder. For an instant it lost its grip, but it managed to save itself by desperately grabbing for Ranma's lower lip. It turned towards Sakura and hissed.

"What the hell is that thing!?" demanded Ryoga.

"Ranma's curse. On three! Ready? One. Two. THREE!" Together they yanked it free and threw it into the middle of the circle drawn on the floor. The creature immediately recovered and started slamming itself against the circle's perimeter.

Ranma collapsed, his breathing ragged. "That's my..?"

"Ranma, meet your curse. A rather nasty one, too."

The curse in question stopped its assault to glare at everyone in general.

"Now what?" asked Ryoga.

"Your turn."

Five minutes later, Ryoga was leaning against a wall coughing, Ranma was grinning, and Sakura was preparing for her 'Banishment Ritual'. As she waited for Ryoga to recover, both the demons grew to about a third of the size of a man. They tested and retested their prison, howling and shrieking all the while.

Sakura rolled up her sleeves. "Now I banish them."

She advanced on the two spirits, which glared back. She pointed menacingly. "Now. Demon, BEGONE!"

The demons in question looked around for a moment. They both ran out of the circle, across the room, and out the door. Everyone stared and silently watched them go. Ryoga could have sworn one of them waved.

Sakura looked embarrassed. "Oops. Heheh. Hmm. That wasn't supposed to happen."

Ranma was outraged. "That's your demon banishment ritual? 'Demon, begone', and they just take off? What kind of a sorceress are you?"

"There isn't much call for actual demons around here. I specialize in spirits and other supernatural things. Demons are actually kind of rare."

"How many have you done in the past?"

"Well. Just this one. Counting yours was two." she added, pointing at Ryoga. "Besides, I think it was actually more of a very strong spirit, and not a demon at all. Demons are usually a lot larger and nastier. I'm sure if they were real demons, they wouldn't have just left like that."

"What would they have done?" asked Ryoga.

"They would have killed us first. Ripped us limb from limb. Devoured us afterwards. Violent creatures, demons. Lucky for us, huh?"

"Yeah. Lucky."

"Anyway, they should be back eventually. Spirits need a place to call home, and right now the two of you are the closest things they have. You're both familiar to them. When one or both of them show up, I'll trap them and banish them properly."

"What happens if they attack someone?"

"Spirits wouldn't just go after anyone. Someone that they would want to target would have to be a very unlucky person that...." Sakura suddenly paled. She was thinking of a person whose unluckiness was legendary.

"Well, I know where they're likely to go. This could be bad. This could be very very bad. Care to join me?" Sakura asked.

*

It was a typical day. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and a demon chased Ataru Moroboshi down the street.

Ataru was having a very annoying and generally bad day. He was currently at a dead run heading away from the thing that was chasing him.

While demons flying after him intent on bringing him harm was nothing new, this was not a familiar demon. Although he never glanced back, he kept up a routine of dodging and direction changes almost unconsciously. He didn't need to look to see if it was gaining. He just assumed it was still there.

As to why it was pursuing him in particular, Ataru didn't think about it. He raced down a flight of stairs without visibly touching them, climbed a ten foot fence, and vaulted into a nearby tree to change directions, gaining velocity from each swing along the branches. He hit the ground running, vanishing around a nearby building.

Thinking himself safe enough for now, he paused to rest and catch his breath. Slowly, he peered around the corner.

"Moroboshi."

"AAAHH!" Ataru jumped in the air screaming. The instant he hit the ground, he was off again. Mendo watched in puzzlement as Ataru ran down the street, dodging and weaving against imagined attacks. He made a brief effort to try to figure out this bizarre behavior, then he dismissed the matter as just Moroboshi being Moroboshi.

The thing Ataru was running from had originally been left behind three miles back. It could fly faster than most birds, it wouldn't get tired, and yet this human had easily outdistanced him. While it could track him with other senses, catching him was another matter.

Unfortunately for Ataru, in his frantic efforts to Get Away, he had changed directions so much he was heading back in the direction he was originally fleeing from. The creature watched as Ataru rounded a corner, coming closer and closer. Suddenly, the demon broke cover, reaching out two clawed hands with the advantage of complete surprise on his side. Ataru unconsciously dodged the attack, and the demon missed.

Ataru was thinking that maybe he had finally outrun the thing, when he heard a scream of rage not ten feet away, directly behind him. With a fresh burst of terror, Ataru finally accomplished what no other human could have done. He broke the sound barrier.

The demon blinked. He stepped away from the burning pavement. He was having a bad day.

*

"La la la la la la la LA la la!"

Ran stopped and peered at the short figure standing thirty feet away. It was completely black except for parts she could distinctly see through. "What could that be?" she wondered aloud. It suddenly seemed to notice her. Its eyes were glowing red and clearly visible even at this distance. It growled, exposing a mouthful of fangs.

Rans eyes widened. "Oh, no! It's a..." Suddenly she was stuck. It was no alien Ran had ever seen before. She couldn't just say monster. That was too vague. 'Hideous Earth Creature' was also out. A spirit or demon? A wild animal or beast?

The creature spread its arms and formed claws. Ran shrieked theatrically. She backed up a step or two. It grew a set of wings and launched itself toward her. Ran drew back, looking about wildly as if searching for a means of escape. When it got close enough, Ran revealed the rocket launcher she had been concealing and calmly shot it. It exploded.

"Mercy! Whatever is that thing?" Ran walked closer, her weapon held out in front of her pointed unwaveringly at its target. There were pieces of it everywhere, but the main body was surprisingly intact. If it so much as twitched, she would shoot it again.

It twitched. She shot it again.

"Hideous thing. Attacking a poor defenseless girl like me." Ignoring the smaller pieces, Ran fished out some gasoline from her purse and began to pour. "If I don't hurry, I'm going to be late!" She tossed the empty can aside and pulled out a grenade. "There you go!" She skipped off, resuming her song.

"La la la la la la la" BOOM "la la!"

*

The call was made to the Moroboshi residence. Sakura was certain that Ataru would answer this invitation immediately. Once he arrived, the spirit would follow, and it would be certain to come here. All they needed to do was to prepare the trap. Once the demon crossed the perimeter of the circle, Sakura would activate it, and it would be neatly sealed. She could then banish it at her leisure.

Together they hid behind a row of crates they had assembled as a barricade and waited. And waited. The hours crawled by.

"Aren't shrines like this one supposed to be protected from supernatural things?" whispered Ranma.

"Of course! We're well protected in here." Sakura answered.

"How is it supposed to get to the trap if it can't get inside the shrine?"

Sakura was silent for a moment.

"I hadn't thought of that."

The resulting explosion shattered the barricade.

*

Ataru stood at the gates outside the shrine where Sakura made her home. He didn't trust her. He had no reason to trust her. If there was something supernatural running around the city, Sakura was one of the few people who could deal with it. He would tell her and leave. It wasn't really his problem. He could pick up a spirit ward or something as protection in case it showed up again, but that would be that. Nothing else.

It was either her, or her uncle. Her uncle wasn't an option. That made his decision easy, right?

*

Sakura was just finishing up. She was armed with a collection of spiritual charms, wards, and other defenses. If the spirit couldn't get inside the shrine, then she would have to go out and hunt it down. While she was at it, she could find Ataru and use him as bait.

It wasn't a great plan, but she had used similar ones in the past. It had also occurred to her that one of the spirits may even be waiting just outside, waiting for one of them to leave so it could attack. As the two martial artists were loudly arguing over who would go first, there was a scream from outside.

The two stopped immediately and listened. Sakura had recognized Ataru's scream instantly. It wasn't one of those pain filled screams from when Lum was shocking him into obedience. It sounded new, like one of the spirits had found him.

"New plan. When he comes inside, I activate the trap. Both of you get back!" Together the three scrambled behind the newly constructed barricade.

The screaming changed pitch, sounding more horrified, and continued.

"Um, shouldn't we be helping him or something?" asked Ranma.

"Would you risk getting your curse again? It should only take a second more."

They waited. The screaming continued.

Ranma stood up. "No one deserves that. I'm going to help him." As he said this, the noise outside diminished and finally ceased.

Just outside, a demon was trying to Get Away. Ataru had never seen it coming, and the demon had gotten closer and finally leapt directly into Ataru back, vanishing inside. Ataru had screamed in surprise, but there was no pain. A few seconds later, the demon emerged from Ataru's chest, frantically trying to get back out.

Ataru was understandably horrified by this, and he alternated with jumping around in a panic while pummeling the spirit at every opportunity. Eventually the demon was drawn back in. This was typical of his unluckiness. The unlucky would run across Ataru. The truly unlucky ones would be forced to stay.

Ataru dropped to the ground, feeling generally disgusted.

Five minutes later, Ataru staggered into the shrine. Sakura was hidden in the shadows. She watched patiently until he was directly in the center of the circle. Ataru stopped and looked around. "Hello?" he called. "Is anyone here?"

Sakura took a step forward, reached down, and touched the circle's perimeter. It instantly flared with light. She let out a sigh of relief. "Ok. One down. One to go."

"What was that light supposed to do?" asked a voice directly behind her.

Sakura froze.

"Hey! Where did he go? He was right there!" shouted Ryoga.

Hands reached around her waist in a tight hug. "Oh, Sakura! You look so cute dressed this way!"

Ranma was looking at her and back to the circle in confusion. "How did he move so fast?"

Ryoga stepped up. "You're Ataru Moroboshi? We were expecting you."

"You wanted me here? I knew it! I knew we were always destined to be together!" Ataru's hands caressed Sakura lovingly.

Sakura had reached her limit. Reaching around, she seized a handful of Ataru's shirt and brought him around for a severe beating, followed by a kick that sent him through the roof.

She made an effort to calm herself while the two others watched at a safe distance. Ryoga frowned. "I thought we needed him."

Sakura felt herself engulfed in a hug from behind again. "You needed me! I'm so moved by your concern. You don't know how long I've hoped and waited until.." Ataru was interrupted by Sakura slamming him into the floor. He was then picked up, beaten severely, thrown into the air, and then kicked again as he started to fall, putting another Ataru Moroboshi shaped hole in the roof.

Ranma shaded his eyes from the sudden glare of sunlight streaming in. He watched as Ataru was just now beginning to arc downward to crash in the woods below. "Nice distance."

The instant he took his hand down, he noticed a small black skinned demon standing next to him. He stared at it. The demon grinned back. Suddenly it launched itself at Ranma. Ranma yelled and jumped out of the way, and the demon sailed into Ryoga, who had been standing behind him.

Ryoga gaped in horror, clawing at where the demon had vanished into his chest.

"Man. That's too bad. Tough luck, pal." Ranma said, jumping down from the ceiling rafters.

Ryoga dropped to his knees. "No. I can't be cursed again! It's not fair!"

"Don't worry. She can remove it again. Right?"

Sakura grimaced and looked away.

"Right?"

"Umm."

"Saotome! This is all your fault!"

"What? Why is this MY fault?" Ranma began to back up.

"If you hadn't got out of the way and taken your curse back like a man, this wouldn't have happened! I.." Ryoga stopped, looking puzzled. "I feel strange."

Ranma peered out from behind the barricade. "Probably guilt at attacking me setting in."

Ryoga scrowled. "No, it's not that."

"What, then?"

"I don't know."

*

Ataru was headed for an empty clearing with only one large rock set in the middle. Naturally, he hit the rock. When he woke up, all he wanted to do was to go home. Sakura could handle it herself. He just couldn't get motivated enough to go back. He had a persistent strange feeling.

*

Ryoga couldn't bring himself to kill Ranma just yet, so it was relatively easy for Sakura to convince the two that they should hunt down the remaining spirit. She did mention that Ataru probably had the curse as well, and part of it was knocked free and into Ryoga. Sakura searched for a while and eventually found a charm that should prevent Ranma from getting reinfected.

"Why should HE get the charm and not me?" demanded Ryoga

"Duh, Ryoga. You've already got your curse back. It wouldn't do you any good."

"And whose fault is it that I got my curse back?!" he yelled back.

Sakura stepped up. "Calm down! I have one for you, too."

"And what good will that do me NOW!"

"There's still a chance I can get rid of the curse. The charm will weaken it and eventually I can try to exorcise it again."

Ryoga was silent for a moment. "When?"

"In just a few years."

"YEARS!"

"Would you rather be stuck with it forever? I'm the best chance you've got!"

Ryoga looked away and glared. "Fine. Give me the charm."

Sakura silently handed it over. There was the matter of the price of 20 thousand yen, as it was a valuable charm, but she could discuss that later. Ryoga didn't seem to be in a very good mood just now.

"Let's go."

*

Finding the spirit was going to be the easy part. Sakura was skilled in locating supernatural things. She led them down street after street and finally stopped.

"According to this," she began, holding up the purification wand "it's over there, and it's also over there." She pointed north and to the west. She looked puzzled.

"Maybe it split up?" asked Ranma

"It's a spirit! How can it split up?"

Their question was answered when a small group of demons rounded the corner to the north. There were at least twenty of them. All were identical to the others except for their size, where they ranged from one to four feet tall. They were still distinctly humanoid except for the wings and hands that ended in four inch claws.

At times like this, thought Ranma and Ryoga, it's good to have a strong sorceress with you that specialized in supernatural things like this. Any second now, she would be throwing devastating spells that would eliminate the horde facing them.

As for Sakura, she was thinking that in times like this, it was good to have a couple of absurdly powerful martial artists on your side. Any second now, they would simultaneously attack the horde and beat them senseless.

The three stood there as the horde rushed them, shrieking in anticipation.

"Umm." the three said simultaneously.

The horde got closer.

"RUN!"

Sakura and Ranma ran south. Ryoga ran west.

"Why didn't you attack them?" asked Sakura

"Why didn't YOU?" answered Ranma

Ryoga realized he had picked the wrong direction the instant he found himself in the middle of the other group. There were only a dozen of them, and since he was already cursed again, that meant it was time for a little payback. This was his curse in a form he could hurt, and he absolutely hated his curse.

Sakura and Ranma both heard him yelling. Guilt set in, and they stopped and turned to face the pack. Ranma leaped into the fray. Two seconds into it, he realized he had a good chance of winning. They had no skill whatsoever, and they didn't attack using pack tactics like he was used to encountering. Their only advantage was numbers. This was going to be easy.

As for Sakura, she was more than a bit unnerved by the sight of the horde, but she was determined to do her part. She tried a minor fire spell at one of the closer ones. There was a flare of light and the demon was assaulted by a score of business cards. "Oops. Wrong spell."

Every so often, Ranma would stomp or kick them into nearby walls. Each time one was hit hard enough, they splattered. Ranma doubted they could actually be killed since they were spirits, and he began to relax and have fun. Within seconds, it was over.

"This is easier than the packs of girls at school!" Ranma laughed.

Sakura walked over and smacked him in back of the head.

"Ow! What did you do that for?"

"No different than packs of girls at school? What kind of person are you?"

"That's not what I meant! And I didn't say 'no different'! I said easier! OW!"

Ryoga jumped down from a nearby building to join them. He was covered in bits of demon, and was grinning. "That was fun!"

Ranma grinned back.

Sakura frowned. She was looking at the demon parts scattered around the street. Each pile was growing, forming into smaller demons smaller than half the size of their predecessors.

"Umm. Guys? We may have a problem."

They looked and saw what was happening. Both simultaneously jumped into the middle of the mess and began stomping.

"Stop it! You're only making it worse! They're only getting smaller! You're not destroying them!."

"Then what the heck are we supposed to do, anyway?" asked Ranma in exasperation.

"I don't know. Let me think."

Ryoga then noticed the bits of demon on Ranma were also reforming. "Um. Ranma? You've got something on your shoulder." he said, pointing.

Ranma looked, screamed, and the offending demon dived inside Ranma's shoulder before he could sweep it away.

"Ahh! No! Not again!"

"Tough luck, Saotome. Don't worry, in a couple short years..."

"Why didn't you warn me earlier?"

"I DID warn you!"

"We should leave now." suggested Sakura. "They should stay at this current number unless someone reacts violently to them."

*

In another part of town...

BLAM!

Ran sighed and reloaded for the fourth time that day. She was using the smaller guns now. "These things are everywhere!" she complained.

*

Lum was currently in a rage, flying high above the city. She had found out by chance about the message for Ataru to meet with Sakura. She flew over to her shrine immediately with the intention of dragging him back. No one was there, so she began to search.

She found Sakura and the others within the hour. They were standing there arguing about what to do next. Darling wasn't with Sakura now, but there was a decent chance he would show up eventually. In the meantime, she listened to Sakura's story. Before, she was angry. Now she was just confused.

Sakura was considered the expert on the supernatural, so Ranma and Ryoga both decided she should be the one to think of a plan. As for Sakura, she was thinking she was in over her head. From what they were saying and from what she had felt when she encountered the spirits, she concluded they were very powerful but were actually getting weaker.

It seemed to make sense that there were only a set number of spirits making up each 'curse'. Violent actions made them separate into individual spirits, which were weaker than they were united, but still had lots of power. This included the ability to infect others.

Separating them further would take time and could spread the curse. Also, from what she felt, there could be hundreds or thousands of spirits. In their weaker form, she might be able to destroy them. Anything less would separate them further.

She didn't share these conclusions with the others. Being a sorceress meant that you didn't reveal your secrets. She did tell them what she was going to do, but was deliberately vague on the exact reason why she was going to do it. The two martial artists were currently giving Lum the bottom line on what the situation was, and how they got there.

"It's all Saotome's fault!" Ryoga yelled.

"Enough, you two! We need to make a decision on what to do about the ones that are still running around. Anyone have a better idea than mine?"

Sakura's idea was to use a magical artifact. It was a iron fan called the Halisen that had the ability to throw fire over a wide area. It was created specifically for the purpose of incinerating enemies. Attacking them as they were now with smaller weapons would only make them smaller and more numerous, and with this, she could hit the weaker spirits at once and destroy them.

"Hi, Lum-chan!" said Ran, joining the group. "What are you talking about?"

In consideration of who they were now talking to, Ranma and Ryoga both began explaining the situation in bits and pieces so as not to alarm her. She seemed to be on the fair side of delicate. Ranma was hoping she wouldn't be falling for him anytime soon. Lum talked with Sakura instead.

"I've seen one of them before!" Ran exclaimed.

"You have? Where?" asked Ranma.

"It was over there. The one I saw was much larger. I managed to get away somehow. I was so scared!"

"Don't worry. Ryoga and I are martial artists. We can.."

BLAM!

Ran put her gun away. "Sorry. What?" She gazed at them in wide eyed innocence.

Ranma and Ryoga thought about this. She seemed much too nice to do anything even remotely violent. They both looked at each other, as if the other could confirm they had seen what they had just seen.

"She didn't just shoot something, did she?" asked Ryoga.

"Nah. She wouldn't..."

BLAM! A little demon at the edge of their sight went flying end over end into the bushes.

"She DID! You shouldn't be shooting them!" Ranma yelled.

Tears shimmered in her eyes. "You mean ME? I wouldn't do that!"

"You just did!"

"You must have imagined it."

Ranma turned to Ryoga. "You saw it, didn't you?"

BLAM! Another demon clutched its chest, staggered, and fell over.

He whirled back to Ran. Ran whistled innocently, looking towards the sky. "What pretty clouds!" she laughed.

"I said stop it!"

"But I didn't do anything! Right, Lum-chan? She smiled a special smile. Lum looked away and shuddered.

Sakura and Ryoga both seemed fascinated with the construction of a nearby wall.

"If you react violently to them, they only get stronger and multiply. We've to find a way to stop them!"

"Whee!" Ran clapped her hands.

Ranma frowned. "You don't have a clue as to what's going on, do you?

For an instant, Ran's mask slipped. She looked shocked, and her eyes narrowed. "You'd take just about two seconds to kill."

"What!?"

"I said, you must have some skill! To deal with them, I mean." Her eyes sparkled

Sakura stepped up. "We should leave and get the Halisen before we're surrounded again."

"Are you sure this will work?" asked Lum.

"Of course it will work." said Sakura, irritated. "It has to work. The idea that it would fail would be inconceivable."

*

Everything was ready. Sakura was protected by a spirit ward that glowed in a blue light which surrounded her. The demons were waving their fists angrily and throwing garbage at her since they could approach no closer than ten feet. There were about a hundred of them. Any others must have already found hosts, so this was as good as she was going to get.

Sakura held the Halisen up and swung it in an arc. "Lekka...Shinen!" Flames erupted around her and tore through the demons. They disintegrated almost instantly, and the fires died away.

A few minutes later, a black mist rose from the ashes, and it headed directly for her. When it couldn't get past the shield, she knew she had made it worse. It flowed out toward the rest of the city, spreading out through the streets.

"You made it worse!"

"I'm aware of that!" she snapped.

"Now what?" demanded Ryoga.

"I'm thinking, dammit!" Sakura thought for a moment while the others glared. Ran clapped her hands and whistled a happy tune.

"Look on the bright side. Now it's a disease. We can treat it with modern medicine!" offered Sakura hopefully.

"It's not just a disease! It's a MAGICAL disease! It's sentient! It has a will of its own! You can't treat that with medicine!" Ranma yelled back.

"Sure, you can!" said Lum. Everyone turned to look at her.

"If you want things to be the way they were before, I can use Savhat on them."

This was nothing Ranma had ever heard of, but he had run out of ideas long ago. "Go ahead, then." he said.

"No, wait! What exactly would it do?" asked Sakura.

"It turns microscopic life into giants, in this case back to their original form, so you can fight them with conventional weapons."

Lum looked around at the shocked expressions. "You mean, that isn't what you wanted?"

"No, that isn't what we wanted." Sakura replied. "I was thinking more along the lines of a cure, but since it is magical, I don't know what we could do."

"I can get a cure, too! A disease follows a predictable path. It infects only certain things, and it can be treated. I can treat it. I'll be back." Lum took off into the sky.

"Bye-Bye, Lum-chan!" Ran called, waving.

Ataru was there when she returned a few minutes later from her visit to her UFO. Sakura was explaining the situation to him. Watching the two of them carefully, Lum dumped an armful of alien medical devices onto the ground. No one was in the least familiar with them, except for Ran, and she wasn't talking about it. Most of the cures, germs, viruses, and other biological agents were still on Lum's UFO. She only brought the ones she was familiar with.

Everyone crowded around to see. She didn't do any of the actual work herself. Instead, she instructed the machines on what to do, and they did all the work. "Before we continue, there's something important we need to do." she said.

"Immunize ourselves?" asked Sakura.

"Start running now?" asked Ataru.

"No. We need to decide on a name! It's something new, after all."

"How about calling it "Ranma's Fault?" suggested Ryoga

'Hey!"

"It's 'Lum-chan's Fault'!" said Ran, laughing.

"In what way is it MY fault?" demanded Lum.

"Oh, I don't know. I'm sure if I traced it back I could find out, though."

"Sakura's Tragic Mistake? How about 'Sakura's Cure', or 'Sakura's Attempted Cure Gone Horribly Wrong as Usual?" suggested Ataru.

"I like 'Sakura's Tragic Mistake." said Lum.

"How about just calling it 'The Curse' and leaving it at that before someone gets hurt?" growled Sakura.

"That's boring!" complained Ran.

"How about 'Sakura's Infectious City-wide Cure for Everyone?'" added Ataru.

"How about shutting up!"

"I like 'Sakura's Cure.'" said Ranma. "It simple. Its ironic. It makes sense. She's the one who blasted the horde into a disease, after all."

"How about 'The Horde'?"

"How about 'Sakura's Demonic Curse that Got Away from her As Usual and Infected Everyone?"

"The cure won't effect anyone at all until it bonds with Aikre. Then we'll have to rename it again!" said Lum.

"What are we deciding on names for, then?"

"For the disease, so Seeker knows what to go after. It's for our benefit, actually, so we don't get confused with the cures and disease once we change them."

She took out a clear, empty vial and dumped it out.

"What was that for?" asked Sakura

"That was Seeker. Don't worry. They're well disciplined."

"Well disciplined? How can a cure be well disciplined?"

"That wasn't actually a cure. It's a 'biological agent.' It will hunt down and destroy the other disease."

A nearby building exploded. "See?" she said brightly.

Everyone looked confused except for Ran. "Why don't you release D'kratrik while you're at it?" she suggested.

"Good idea!"

"Wait a moment! What exactly is this seeker supposed to do?"

"It's been instructed to go after Sakura's Tragic Mistake and hunt them down and destroy them." Lum pulled out another vial and held it up. "Here. See for yourself. Be careful not to shake the jar. You don't want to annoy them."

Sakura glared at her and took the vial to examine it closer. Inside were thousands upon thousands of small creatures she first assumed were gnats.

"I have a picture. Just a second." Lum flipped through a large book and stopped near the center. There was a full color picture of a greened skinned insect, wearing body armor, carrying what appeared to be a rocket launcher "They're very efficient fighters. Their only goal in life is to hunt and die in glorious combat."

"They wiped out the Algraik virus only two years ago!" confirmed Ran.

Another building mysteriously caught fire.

"This is your idea of a cure?"

"No. Seeker hunts down the disease that hasn't found a host yet. I'm going to release D'kratrik next. Then we cure everyone with D'kratrik as the target. I'll just add it to Sakura's Mistake so it knows what to look for."

"What's D'kratrik do?"

Ran spoke up. "It makes the victim start laughing for no reason. It wears off soon, but during that time it makes them easy to spot as carriers or for targeting for cures. It's fun! It only effects those that have the target disease or the ones that don't have it, depending on your preference. It isn't bad. It makes everyone with the disease look like complete idiots."

"First, we need a sample of Sakura's Mistake, so we have something to work with. I NEED PRISONERS!" Lum called loudly..

A few seconds passed. Sakura spoke first. "Who were you talking to?"

"Seeker."

"Ah. Right. And it just obeys you, then?"

"Of course! See?" Lum pointed to a series of empty containers, which were slowly filling with dark mist. She waited until they were filled.

"THANK YOU! Now, we can run tests." She picked up another vial, carefully read the label, and placed it back on the ground. She picked up one of the samples of Sakura's Mistake and added it to the vial.

"Now we combine them." She took the vial and shook it vigorously in exactly the same way you should never shake a vial of nitroglycerine..

BOOM!

The smoke quickly cleared. Lum got to her feet, examine her hand to make sure all of her fingers were still intact. "Normally, that doesn't happen too often. So we don't use D'Kratrick. It doesn't matter. Instead of only curing those who need curing, we'll expose everyone to the cure."

"Shouldn't we be discussing this before you just start letting out alien diseases?"

"These aren't diseases! They're carefully designed genetically constructed cures, more or less."

"So, Lum-chan," asked Ran, smiling, "what are you going to use to cure them?"

"I was thinking of Larian's Coriani and then Bargass to cure it."

Ran flinched.

"What's that one do? And why is it necessary to release half a dozen things to get rid of one thing?"

"Larian's Coriani bonds to the Sakura's Mistake, and it spreads through casual contact and through the air, and Bargass cures it completely. Unfortunately, Bargass doesn't spread very effectively, so we need Aikre to make it more contagious. Aikre bonds instantly to whatever disease you expose it to."

"Which is Bargass, and which is Aikre?" asked Ataru.

"Bargass. Aikre." said Lum, pointing to two different containers. "Now I need to combine Sakura's Mistake with Larian's Coriani, and wait for it to take effect." She picked up another container and placed it with one of the samples of Sakura's Mistake in a larger machine.

She closed the doors to the machine and turned it on. The machine began to vibrate. "I should have used this before. It's better armored against sudden detonations." Lum didn't realize that she had lost her audience the instant the machine began to shake.

A minute passed.

Ding!

Another door on the machine opened. Dark smoke rolled out. Inside was another container. Lum took out the container, opened its lid, and dumped it out. "There. Now we wait an hour or so for it to take effect, and we release the cure.

"Why don't you release them all while you're at it!" yelled Ryoga.

Lum looked offended. "That would be irresponsible!"

Everyone stared. Lum rolled her eyes as if surrounded by idiots.

"Look, the first one kills the disease that hasn't found a host. The second is designed to bind with the disease and it has a cure. The disease is now something new that can be cured. The third one is the cure for new disease which now has a cure. The fourth one makes the cure spread. Happy?"

"My god. I actually followed most of that."

"I didn't."

"That's because you're a moron."

"You take that back!"

Sakura still looked worried. "Are you certain this will work?"

"Of course it will work." said Lum, irritated. "It has to work. The idea that it would fail would be inconceivable."

Lum started going through the vials. "Have you seen the Aikre?" she asked, smiling. There was a hint of panic in her voice.

"No. Why?"

"Ha ha ha! No reason. Guess I'd better find it." She resumed her search a bit more frantically.

"I guess we know what to call the next version." muttered Sakura.

"The Oni Strain?" asked Ranma.

"That's been taken." said Ran brightly.

"The Oni Plague?"

"Taken!"

"The Oni Planet-Wrecking Bug?"

"The Oni Planet DESTROYING Bug." Ran corrected. "Taken."

"You've got that wrong. Everyone knows it's 'The Oni Kalkidri-Wrecking Bug." said Lum, irritated.

"We could change it to 'The Oni Earth-Wrecking Bug'."

"Earth isn't going to be wrecked!"

"The Oni Clean Sweep Bug?" asked Ryoga.

"No, it's the 'Oni Clean Sweep VIRUS. Taken." Ran began to count off on her fingers. "And the 'Death to Higher Life Forms', the 'Get Off The Planet NOW', the 'Armageddon', the 'So This Is It, We're Going To Die, and it's ALL KHARRO'S FAULT', the 'Graveyard Cure', the 'Oni Are Scum and so is Their Cure', the 'Overpopulation Solution', the 'It's Gotten Worse' and 'Run Away', and 'Larian's Coriani', which translates to 'Larian's Rotting and Lingering Death', which Lum has just released into the atmosphere."

"WHAT?" yelled the group as one.

Lum glared at Ran. "You know perfectly well that Larian's Coriani has a cure!" she accused.

"The word 'Coriani' sounded harmless!" protested Ryoga.

"That's so no one is alarmed when it's released. It has a cure. Bargass. But unfortunately Lum seems to have lost the Aikre, and the Bargass needs that to spread around and cure everyone. We'll be ok because we have the Bargass right here, but as for the rest of the world..."

"I didn't lose it! I just..misplaced it. I know I had it." said Lum.

Everyone was silent.

"It was a good planet while it lasted."

"Taken."

Lum looked around.

"Where's Darling?" she said to herself. "He probably got scared and ran off." she thought.

*

Ataru was at that moment in his room at his house. He studied the two vials he had taken from Lum. One contained a sample of Sakura's Mistake, which, according to Sakura and what he had overheard, was an easily transmitted curse that turned men into women. The other was Aikre, which made it even more contagious, and was the only thing that would make the 'cure' spread. As soon as they were identified, he waited for the right moment. When Lum was distracted, he took them and escaped.

He was a genius. This was The Plan of all Plans. All the men would become women, leaving himself as literally the Last Man on Earth. He wasn't interested in the men that had changed. The Plan involved the women, who would then have no normal men anywhere except for him to choose from. He wouldn't even have to go looking for them. If there was going to be a next generation, it would have to be with his help! His harem would assemble without even trying! Lum had the cure, which meant that he had the cure, and it wouldn't spread without using Aikre, and he had the only Aikre on the planet!

Overcome by the magnitude of it, Ataru laughed. The laugh went on and on, changing pitch and becoming more and more maniacal by the second. He paused for breath, looked again at the two vials, grinned, and laughed some more. He was a genius! This was foolproof! It was an absolutely beautiful plan!

Still grinning, he held the two vials into the air in triumph. No one could stop him now!

*

Lum was working on her machine when Ataru returned. Everyone else seemed to be depressed.

"I could use Nilraneth combined with Bargass. That would spread and cure Sakura's Mistake!" Lum pointed out to Ran..

"And everyone dies within thirty years." Ran stated

"But that gives us thirty years to think of a solution. I could weed out most of the side effects, and make it forty years!"

"That isn't good enough! You need to think of something else!"

Lum held up her hand. "Why don't we just use cloak?"

"And what does that do?" asked Sakura.

"Have you noticed the curse doesn't effect reptiles? Cloak is a preventative drug. It turns the user into something the target disease doesn't effect, so that they can wait it out until the disease dies from lack of carriers or until a cure can be found. In our case, we could survive being exposed to Sakura's Mistake for years, with no real harmful effects

"Assuming we can cure it."

"Assuming we can cure it." Lum confirmed.

"No."

"What do you mean, no?"

"I said NO! I don't want to be a lizard!"

"Well, neither do I! It's only temporary until the cure is found, and then you go back. It's not so embarrassing if everyone is changed. Also, 'reptiles' was just an example."

"It's one of your free-willed, adapting, sentient cures? No thanks."

Ranma spoke up. "It's also not a good idea because we don't know what the curse can do. It may not have any forms it can't take. I'm sure there could easily be a 'Spring of Drowned Snake' in Jusenkyou. It wouldn't surprise me."

"That 'Cloak' sounds nasty, anyway. What's everyone talking about?" asked Ataru, who had just returned.

"The Aikre is gone. We need it to make the cure spread to everyone else. We're trying to think of alternatives." said Sakura.

"Besides running." said Ran.

"Ah. Pity." said Ataru. He was thinking to himself, "I must not brag. I must not brag. I must.."

"Brag about what, Darling?" asked Lum.

Ataru froze. He was certain he had said nothing aloud. His plan was safe.

Lum got up and walked over. She looked him in the eye. "What plan? What did you do, Darling?"

No! No! How could she know? She couldn't possible know!

She studied him. A second later, she was angry. "You stole the Aikre to spread the curse? How could you?"

For a moment, he was just astonished that she knew him so well. "How can you be doing this? Are you reading my thoughts?" he asked in stunned amazement..

"We're a married couple, remember?"

Ataru thought about this. It had implications that he was tied closer to Lum than he thought. It was scary.

Lum anger vanished. "You have that ability, too. Tell me what I'm thinking, right now."

Ataru looked into her eyes and read her easily. He tried not to, but it was easy. She was thinking that she loved him.

"Tell me." Lum repeated. "Don't think of anyone else. Think only of me."

Anyone else... Like Sakura,

"Darling..." Lum warned.

Ran, Benten, Shinobu, Oyuki,

"Darling!"

The PLAN! He had almost forgotten the PLAN!

"DARLING!"

Lum tried to grab him, but it was too late. Ataru darted past her and ran down the street. "The plan! The plan! My master plan for the ultimate harem!"

"Darling, you idiot!" Lum threw a bolt of lightning after him, missing and hitting a parked car. She took to the air in pursuit. "Get back here! Wait!"

Everyone else watched them go.

"Does this happen a lot?" asked Ranma

"Everyday." said Sakura.

*

"My plan can't be stopped! I'll be the last man on Earth! If nothing else, no one can used that excuse again!" Ataru yelled as he ran, dodging the lightning strikes being rained down towards him.

"It won't work! I won't let you!" Lum yelled back.

"It has worked! I'm keeping the cure! I'll be a god!" Ataru completed his jump to the top of a fence, stood there, and struck a pose. He had time for a short maniacal laugh before Lum could recover from her last attack and gather the power necessary for another assault. An instant before it hit, Ataru jumped away. His timing was flawless.

Lum lost him as he ran around a corner a few minutes later. She started tracking him by the sound of his laughter, and realized too late that she had been following an echo.

She returned a few minutes later. "He got away." She angrily walked over to the bag by the machine, opened it, and pulled out an alien device.

Ranma was curious enough. "What's that?"

"Tracking device. I surgically implanted a transmitter on Darling while he was asleep." She turned a slow circle with the device held out. It began to beep. "That way. About two miles distant." she said.

Sakura pulled Ran off to the side. "Did you know Ataru had that implanted?" Sakura whispered..

"No. And I'm not going to tell him, either."

"So, any idea on what he's planning?" asked Ranma.

"He wants to make a harem out of the world. He said the curse turns everyone female, and he wants to be the last normal man, anywhere." said Lum angrily.

Ranma and Ryoga gaped in shock. Sakura and Ran just shrugged.

"Ambitious, but it couldn't possibly work." Ranma said.

Lum's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"

"The curse stays with you, but you go back to normal when you use hot water. I gather he thinks it's a permanent shape change?"

"I think so. Why are we so worried about curing it, then?"

"Because you change to your cursed form with cold water, and you have no control over it! It's caused me more trouble... I'd do anything to get rid of it! Also, the female form isn't the only one."

"What other one is there?"

"Tell her, P-chan."

"Shut up, Saotome!" Ryoga snarled.

"It isn't just MY curse roaming the streets." Ranma continued. "The other one will turn people into pigs. I think that guy is going to go into shock the next time it rains."

"Before it just happens to rain and he shows up voluntarily, we need to get that Bargass back!" Sakura pointed out. "We need to hunt him down and torture him until he tells us where he's hidden it!"

"Hey! He's MY Darling! If anyone tortures him, it's going to be me!" shouted Lum.

"Ryoga and I will handle it." said Ranma.

Ryoga looked over. "We will?"

"Sure! He sounds like a certain freak of nature we know back home. We can probably set a trap for him. It should be easy. He doesn't even know martial arts!"

*

Two hours later, Ranma and Ryoga were standing around arguing in the middle of a park. The children had long since fled. Both martial artists were united in this goal of building a trap, but they would be damned if they would work together.

Ranma was working on the park's center. Surrounding the bait were several six foot pits covered with branches and leaves. The crossbows were designed as a diversion, to force the victim into dodging about, increasing his chances of falling into a pit. The branches also concealed the spears which were arced downward, to prevent the victim from casually leaping out. The bait itself was set over another pit, covered by metal debris. If the bait was taken, the victim would fall in followed by a rain of iron.

Ryoga had lost no time in using the surrounding trees and chains from the swing-sets to create a series of 'non-lethal' traps. He couldn't decide on a single one that he liked best, so they were all linked to go off at once if one were triggered.

Stepping back, he admired his work. There were several trees bent in unnatural angles, held in place with other trees and the length of chain. Once triggered, they would spring back and knock the victim harmlessly into one of the large rocks Ryoga had placed on the perimeter.

If one of the trees missed, then the slides were certain to succeed. They were carefully balanced within the outer trees. When the trees were set off, they would be catapulted into the area, knocking the victim into submission to be revived at Ryoga's leisure.

The bait itself was a collection of bras and panties. Both thought this would be suitable pervert-bait. They got to arguing once they had seen what the other had been doing all this time.

"Are you kidding? The entire park screams 'It's a trap!' He's going to take one look and stay away!"

"At least my trap is going to work! You're trap is too simple. He's not going to just walk away from mine!"

"He's not going to walk away, period! It'll kill him!"

"I thought he was supposed to be some sort of unkillable pervert? If Happosai walked into this one, he'd be out for the count and we could tie him up, lock him in a chest, load it down with iron chains, and still have time for lunch before we dumped him in the ocean!"

"This is just some normal high-school pervert that knows a few tricks but doesn't know ANY martial arts! Besides, the freak would never be stupid enough to walk into this."

"As you just pointed out, this isn't him! He should fall for it. He won't even get to your stupid simple trap."

"My trap is better BECAUSE it's simple! He falls in, we pick him up. Easy."

"Fine. We'll see which trap works. If I win, you buy lunch."

"Done."

They both made their way towards the center, hid themselves, and waited.

The hours passed...

"This is stupid. He's not going to show up." complained Ryoga.

Ranma sighed. "You may be right. If he shows up, we should be able to drag his unconscious body out of this mess. Let's go get some food." He stood up, looking around.

"I know where MY traps are, but do you know where yours are?" Ranma asked with a sense of dread.

"Of course I do! I knew we were going to be here for awhile, so I made certain to remember the way out. The sun was directly over the correct passage."

"That was two or three hours ago! The sun would have moved since then!"

"It's not the middle of the night, Saotome! The sun is still up!"

"I'm not talking about that! The sun rises from the east and sets in the west, on the other side of the horizon!"

"Are you saying the sun rises and sets in different places? You think I'm stupid?"

"Yes! I DO think you're stupid!"

"You're making that up! That's a crazy idea!"

"No, I'm not making it up! You're just an idiot!"

Ryoga snarled. He clenched his fists and advanced, falling into one of the concealed pits.

"Ha! I knew it! I told you it was a good trap! You owe me lunch!"

"Baksai Tenketsu!" Ryoga yelled back. The ground underneath Ranma's feet exploded. He was tossed into the air and landed painfully nearby. He got up quickly as Ryoga climbed out of the crater. His aura was flaming red.

"So much for your trap containing anyone. You owe ME lunch!"

"It could catch anyone else!" Ranma shot back.

"You couldn't catch time!"

Ranma opened his mouth to respond and stopped. He thought about that last sentence in puzzlement. This was all the diversion Ryoga needed. He landed a solid punch to the stomach that sent Ranma flying into a nearby tree. He recovered instantly, avoiding Ryoga's following attack. The tree splintered on impact.

"That's KILL time, you moron! You couldn't KILL time!" he taunted.

"Shut UP!" Ryoga screamed.

*

It began to rain shortly after the fight began. This ended the fight and crushed Ataru's newest dream. The rain itself lasted for only five minutes. The riots lasted much longer.

Ataru Moroboshi watched the scene unfolding before him in horror. He had expected his own change. It hadn't been the first time his sex was reversed. Being a female wasn't terrible when you knew it was only temporary, so he was unconcerned, even when he found himself growing shorter and shorter. His plan would have unfolded in the coming years with the normal women seeking him out, but what he was witnessing now was not what he wanted.

Everywhere he looked were pigs. There were some women scattered about, but they were not acting like women should act when they found themselves suddenly surrounded by pigs. He understood that the men would change, and he guessed that this was what he was looking at.

But that didn't explain the pigs!

"Bwee!" Ataru complained. "Bwee! Bwee!"

A few seconds later, he realized what he had said. He realized he had been cast into Hell! This was all Lum's fault! She must have done something!

Five minutes after the rain ended, Ataru found himself changing back without knowing why.

*

After the rain ended, Ryoga, now P-chan, sat down nearby and glared. Ranma-chan started to rebuild the damage. "It's your own fault, you know." she was saying.

P-chan grunted a reply

"You're just lucky you didn't fall into your own traps. Stupid pig." She pulled off her shirt and wrung it out.

"Oh, Baby!"

Ataru was suddenly just there. He had seen this girl a couple times before on different occasions before this mess started, and was certain she was not one of the Cursed. He launched himself from a nearby tree and glided effortlessly towards her, an aura of lust keeping him afloat. Ranma-chan saw it coming, but did nothing but gape in shock. Ataru embraced her tightly, and then just as suddenly released her.

He backed away in horror. His senses told him this was wrong. "You're one of THEM, aren't you? You're one of THEM!"

Before Ranma-chan could do anything other than cover up, a small, perverted, infamous freak of nature vaulted off of her head, heading towards the bait. Happosai had arrived at last. He had been traveling for close to an hour. He could detect a gathering of undergarments like this from halfway across the country. It had called to him.

"Ranma! You shouldn't have!" He landed in the middle of the undergarments and suddenly vanished with a shout as the entire assembly crashed in on him.

She stared in shock. "Let's get out of here!"

Happosai crawled out of the wreckage. "Ranmaaa!" he growled. He vaulted towards her, and she blocked with one hand while holding her shirt out with the other. Happosai was sufficiently distracted, and Ranma-chan used his velocity to send him sailing towards Ryoga's traps.

The trees sprung to life. He avoided the first two, but not the third. It swept him toward one of the boulders. There was a sharp crack of crunching bone which, knowing Happosai, was probably the sound of the rock breaking.

When the dust cleared, Happosai was sliding down the rock face. There was a Happosai shaped indent, but he was clearly still alive at that point.

They assumed both of the slides missed him when they landed an instant later, because it was wiser to assume that he was out there somewhere, plotting vengeance. Relaxing could get you killed.

*

After the rain, Sakura made an interesting discovery. The spirit wards weren't complete protection, since the curse was now part Larian's Coriani. The charm's effectiveness was cut in half, but it had an effect in getting rid of it later.

Since the entire group was female, they all picked up the 'little black piglet' curse, and everyone immediately shifted except for Sakura. For her, it took over a minute of rain. They had no one left to get hot water to change them back, but five minutes after the rain ended, Sakura slowly switched back on her own. She turned the others back after preparing some hot water.

Ranma and Ryoga arrived ten minutes later with Ataru. They watched as Lum tested Sakura for the disease. It turned out she was complete cured of it.

She now had a theory. "It may act like a disease, but in reality it isn't. It's still subject to magical protection, and I can still banish it. If we tell everyone to use hot water, then Seeker can hunt it down and no one will have to be reinfected."

"Why didn't I change back, then? I had a charm!" Ranma pointed out.

"You started this with a curse. It got its hooks in more deeply on you two. For everyone else, we can be free of it with a banishment or charm."

"By the way, we can't keep using Seeker." said Lum. "There is a danger of Seeker evolving. According to the way it was designed, the odds are supposed to be against it ever happening. The way odds build up, the chances against it evolving THREE times in a row may be astronomical, but there is a chance. It learns, adapts, and eventually demands more money."

"How long until that happens?"

"Usually Seeker finishes up within the day, and it's released just before the cure is, but that didn't HAPPEN because SOMEONE stole the Aikre!" she yelled, glaring at Ataru.

Sakura suddenly smiled. "I know how we can kill it."

"No one is killing Darling! I don't care what he's done!"

"Not him! The curse!" Sakura yelled back. "It involves a spell I ran across a while ago. It's supposed to be one of the most powerful black magic spells ever. It's only power is against supernatural entities. The surrounding area shouldn't be affected."

"Why didn't you use it before?"

"Weren't you listening? It's black magic! Those type of spells are based on negative emotion and are destructive by design and I may not have translated it properly, anyway. It may not work. It may work perfectly, and things could suddenly be worse. All I know about it is what I've been able to gather from stories and legends. It's a last resort, but it should work. Here's the idea:

"We know the curse is actually a collection of spirits. It or they were once bound up in Jusenkyou by Chinese sorcerers or priests centuries ago in pools of water. We know that they get a taste of freedom from time to time when people fall into the pools. We know water makes those spirits more active, or it suppresses them. We also know that hot water can get them out of a host that had never been 'cursed' by falling in a pool. We can't use this as a solution because once they're free, there are spirits still roaming around out there, and they'll just get reinfected.

"I never told her all this. She's making this up, isn't she?" asked Ranma

"Probably." Ryoga replied.

Sakura continued. "Here's the plan, since we have Ataru Moroboshi on our side. I can work up a spell using water that should get all the spirits out of the people in the city. We can use Moroboshi to attract the spirits, once they're out of their hosts. They go to Moroboshi, and we use the spell to blast them all into extinction. Ataru would be in the center, but he shouldn't be hurt."

Sakura looked around. "Anyone have any questions or comments?"

"I have a question." said Ataru. "Are you all completely insane? You want me to be at ground zero of your mad experiment? What makes you think I'll take part in this? "

"Because it's your fault that the cure wasn't released on time. Because it's the right thing to do. Because I'll break your fingers joint by joint until you agree to do it."

Ataru winced. "Well, since it is the right thing to do..."

"Very good."

*

The water spell was easy. She had lots of rain making spells to adapt and choose from, and had an abundance of magical artifacts that dealt specifically with causing rain. All she had to do was heat it up a lot. Making it rain indoors would be the tricky part.

Ataru was standing at ground zero in the middle of the city. Since his location was the only one not getting rained on, then in theory the spirits would come to him. When enough of them were gathered they would activate a series of alarm glyphs carved into the ground. They weren't designed to stop the spirits. Instead, they would just flare up, letting Sakura know the spirits were there. When it was bright enough, she would use the spell.

Ataru was given the cure against the Larian's Coriani part of the Curse. No one suspected that the Bargass would change him to a bright orange salamander. It was one of the reasons why he was upset, even though he was swiftly changing back as the drug went through his system.

"I've changed my mind. This isn't a good idea. Someone untie me!"

"Shut up!" Sakura yelled. The group watched as she began the rain spell. It took nearly half an hour, but clouds were quickly forming. Sakura began to modify the incantation, and the clouds were brought down into the streets and buildings. It then began to rain. At this point, it was still the normal temperature for rain.

Everyone in the city except for the small group changed to their cursed forms. Sakura was expecting this. Again, Sakura modified her spell, bringing up the temperature of the rain. As the streets filled with steam, a new, unforseen problem suddenly appeared. The men shifted back to men, but the women found themselves turned into pigs, then back again to normal a minute later, minus their clothes.

Ataru was aware of this immediately, even though vision was obscured by the steam. The glyphs around him began to flare, but he ignored them. His attention was directed elsewhere. He grinned a lecherous grin..

In a nearby park, buried in a shallow grave with a slide as his tombstone, Happosai suddenly opened his eyes. They were filled with an unholy light.

Ataru stood up despite the ropes. Sakura had wanted to expand the storm, but she realized there was a sudden danger of the bait leaving the trap. Making her decision, she closed her eyes and began the black magic spell. "Darkness beyond twilight and crimson beyond blood that flows..."

The others were also beginning to realize that Ataru was leaving. Ranma and Ryoga ran forward, thinking only to stop him. It never occurred to either of them that the particular spirits drawn to the area would more likely choose them rather than Ataru.

Sakura was still in deep concentration, and thoughts of how she might miss her target vanished from her mind. She took her time, refusing to rush the spell. It was said to be the most difficult black magic spell to cast, and the most powerful. She hoped she wasn't risking more than her life.

Ataru was now casting off the ropes in irritation as if they were an extra set of clothes. He didn't notice the two martial artists speeding toward him until they were right on top of him. Together, they slammed him into the ground with excessive force and made certain he stayed there.

Ryoga looked up. His expression suddenly to changed to concern. "I think you hit him too hard."

Ranma looked shocked. "What do you mean, I hit him too hard? You hit him harder than I did!"

"No, I didn't! I barely touched him!" Ryoga began to back up. "It was always your fault, Ranma. You probably deserve this." Ryoga turned and started running.

"Deserve what?" Ranma asked, genuinely puzzled. He frowned..

Ranma didn't notice Lum floating in the air ten feet behind him. He never saw her angry expression, and he was definitely not in a position to realize or appreciate how the vast amounts of electricity gathering between her hands could power a small city for a day. As he stood watching Ryoga's fleeing form, Ranma's only warning was his hair suddenly standing up on end, and a cold voice whispering, "Nobody touches my Darling!"

The warning was not nearly enough to save him. Those with the extra senses to see spirits would have seen a number of them gathered around, looking at each other with a 'you go first' expression.

Fortunately for Lum and Ataru, Lum was flying away with her Darling when Sakura reached the conclusion of the spell. Sakura opened her eyes and shot both hands in the direction where Ataru was supposed to be.

"DRAGON SLAVE!" she yelled. Ranma was conscious enough to see and realize exactly what was going on, and this would help him later on in casting the blame.

Sakura's aim was off by a bit, due to the fact that she clearly saw Lum casually flying past her carrying her target, heading in the opposite direction.

Ranma wasn't in the exact center, but it was close enough. Ranma, the surrounding spirits, and the surrounding parts of the city were engulfed in a fiery white light. No one heard Ranma shrieking above the noise of the destruction.

Within a span of seconds, there was a large, deep crater where the center of Tomobiki used to be. The buildings at the perimeter had fallen away from the blast or just collapsed. The rest of the city was surprisingly intact, considering the older residents were having World War II flashbacks of a similar event.

Sakura stood there and stared for a long time. "Oops."

*

Ranma was severely unconscious. He would recover eventually, given a week in a hospital or two weeks of rest. He was in excellent health before, which counted a lot for his survival. Another fact to consider was that he was the host to a multitude of spirits, and Ranma surviving was in their best interests.

Ryoga heard the blast and kept on running. He just assumed Lum was a bit more powerful than she seemed, and he hoped that she wouldn't be coming after him next.

Sakura confirmed that there were no other spirits other than the ones present in Ranma. As for Ryoga, she could find no trace, and was sincerely hoping she hadn't vaporized him.

Ranma was definitely a mess. Compared to the surrounding buildings, or rather, the lack of the surrounding buildings, he was in good condition. Sakura felt responsible enough to bring him with her to her shrine. She was still a nurse, after all. She could treat his injuries, and perhaps do something about his curse while he was in his weakened condition, and was still unable to protest.

* Conclusion...

During the following week, the biological agent Seeker was getting frantic. They found themselves suddenly without an enemy. Lum forgot all about them and never came to collect them or give new orders. Since they were always eager to please, and since they had lots of ammo left, they decided to rid the world of any other deadly viruses they could find.

With weapons held high, they ventured out with a fanatical gleam in their eyes to butcher the first bug that looked even remotely suspicious. They searched for an enemy common enough to be declared as a legitimate true enemy.

Eventually they found a relatively harmless cold virus that was working its way around town. Seeker mercilessly gunned them down, leaving the dead as an example to the others. The cold virus was not capable of terror, but morale for Seeker was at an all time high.

This was good news and bad news for the inhabitants of Tomobiki. The good news was that the cold didn't get a chance to spread. The bad news was that Seeker was carefully watching all the carriers of the cold virus around the clock, where they were convinced the bug was 'hiding' from them.

The instant one of the cold viruses made a break for it, they swarmed around it and shot it. Occasionally they missed, which explained the sudden pain the people felt whenever they sneezed. It also explained the occasional bleeding. It even explained how the kleenex would suddenly explode or burst into flame in their hands.

Once the cold virus was contained, Seeker took to amusing themselves by terrorizing and tormenting other bacteria they found floating nearby. They took the occasional prisoner, but it always ended in death when their captives stubbornly refused to talk. Other sympathizing viruses were slain without a second thought.

Since Seeker was visible to the naked eye, people began to use pesticides and other chemicals on them. Seeker at first ignored this puny attack, since gas masks were standard issue. The smart people learned to ignore them. The stupid ones recovered within a few days.

Since Seeker tended to generalize its targets, within a few days there weren't enough legitimate cold viruses to kill besides the ones they had trapped. They expanded their battle plan to anyone who sneezed for whatever reason.

During the week that Seeker was changing its behavior, Sakura had come up with the design for a revolutionary new medicine that would suppress Ranma's curse completely. It would use the power of the inhabiting spirits to boost his power of healing. It would be like a constant supply of adrenaline, giving him extraordinary strength and speed. He would be nearly invulnerable and perhaps even immortal. She was very proud of it.

The idea that it would fail was inconceivable. Once she was caught up on some much needed sleep, she would mix it together. It shouldn't take more than an hour or so, but it would require her to be fully alert.

Akane arrived just as she was getting to sleep. Sakura gave the ingredients over to her. "Most of these are rare and nearly irreplaceable. Are you certain you can mix it properly?"

"Of course!" Akane replied with confidence.

Wordlessly, Sakura handed over a list of directions. She was thinking she could have prepared it herself, but she was honestly too tired to be concerned right now.

Ranma knew nothing of this. He was eager to leave. As far as he was concerned, Sakura had done nothing but run test after test. After a week, he was really getting sick of them.

He was currently confined to bed. Nearby was a glass of water and a box of kleenex. "Ah-CHOO! Ow! Ow! OW!" Wincing in pain, he quickly tossed the used kleenex aside before it caught fire. It landed in the nearby wastebasket, flared brightly, and went out. "Nice to see you, Akane." he said, genuinely pleased to see her.

"Nurse Sakura gave me medicine to help you!" Akane said brightly, holding up several small pouches that were tied together.

Ranma realized that meant Akane would be preparing it, and this cure may just finish him off. Suddenly, his injuries didn't feel severe at all. He spoke without thinking. "I'd rather stay here!"

Akane swung the bundle savagely into Ranma's head, knocking him senseless. "You are NOT going to stay here with her." she growled

"You're not jealous, are you?"

CRUNCH!

"OW! Stop it!"

"Why would I be jealous? Now are you coming with me or not?" she demanded.

"Yeah. I'm coming. Stupid..."

CRUNCH!

"What! WHAT! What did I DO?"

Akane folded her arms and glared back at Ranma. He slowly got to his feet, watching her suspiciously for another attack.

"I'll go with you, but I don't need any medicine. I feel fine!"

"You'll take the medicine I'll prepare for you and you'll LIKE IT!"

After a few minutes, "How did you find me?" he asked.

"Ryoga. He showed up at the dojo earlier this morning. Said you might be here. He was kind of vague about some things. Something about you and an explosion and some other kid."

"Ataru. Ataru Moroboshi. I wonder what ever happened to him?"

"I assume you'll tell me what happened?"

"Later. Let's go home."

At that moment, in another part of town, Ataru Moroboshi sneezed. It is worth noting at this point, and the reason will soon become apparent.

Ranma made it home intact. Akane locked herself in the kitchen and tried very hard to get as close as she could to what Sakura intended. The first batch of medicine got away. The second batch was a crunchy red substance that took time and effort to separate from the cooking pan. Needless to say, she had managed to create something almost completely entirely unlike what Sakura intended to make.

Once the cure was broken down into smaller pieces, she put them one by one into a glass of water, where they dissolved instantly. The next few hours were spent hunting down Ranma. After subduing him sufficiently, she opened his mouth and poured in half the contents of the glass.

Ranma awoke instantly and screamed for a few seconds, and then suddenly stopped. Akane assumed this was due to Ranma realizing that the medicine wasn't bad at all, since he wasn't even trying to get away anymore. This was actually due to Ranma's brain playing back random dreams and memories in a frantic effort to ignore the pain. Akane took his complete withdrawal as a sign of encouragement, and used the rest of the medicine.

He recovered from the cure relatively quickly. Once he learned to walk again, he began to get back a good measure of his old strength. It was still annoying for the others when Ranma would engage them in conversations from years into his past and call them Larry, but he was getting better.

Over the weeks, the events diminished and finally ceased. Ranma literally forgot about it. Everyone else learned to avoid the subject, and no effort was made to replace the drinking glasses Ranma had smashed in a rage one day. Things returned to normal.

As for the Tomobiki district, it was only a week after the Dragon Slave incident before Lum found out from TV about this new painful cold virus that had infected a few people and generally wasn't spreading. She understood immediately what was going on. Waiting for Seeker to run out of ammunition would take too long, so she would have to do something.

Making her decision, she went to the window and opened it. She cupped her hands, yelling "New orders! Finish off the ones you've got! When you're done, get back here for payment and reassignment!" Outside, people stopped and stared at her. She ignored them.

"Darling, I'm going to get some money for them. Keep them here!" Without another word, she flew out the open window.

"What?"

Ataru was confused for a while, but he quickly grew to understand when clouds of small gnat like creatures started flying into the house. Understanding lead to fear.

His mother glared at the swarm and slowly reached for a can of Raid. Ataru held up his hands in what he hoped was a non threatening manner. . "Nobody kill them! Lum's going to pay them off! You hear that? She's going to pay you!"

Once the entire collective of Seeker was in the house, Ataru Moroboshi sneezed. This was due to a relatively harmless conversation between Ranma and Akane happening at that time elsewhere in the city, and the sneeze was completely involuntary on Ataru's part.

Ataru distinctly noticed the swarm suddenly turning its collective attention his way. He only had an instant to panic before hundreds of thousands of weapons went off with the noise of a rushing wind. They weren't trying to kill him in particular, and that helped. Since he didn't dodge into the crossfire, he was fortunate and was only hit by about forty thousand shots.

Ataru blinked and fell over and didn't move for a long time. The crossfire managed to tear up the living room and start a few fires. The entire barrage was invisible except for the effect, and it was enough to send both parents fleeing for the safety of the kitchen.

Lum put out the fires herself when she arrived with a bag of money a short time later. Darling was lying on the floor. She could hear his parents arguing in the kitchen about whether Ataru needed to be rescued and who would do the rescuing. When Lum realized he was trying to say something, she leaned closer to hear what he was whispering.

"Make them go away!" His eyes were beginning to burn from not blinking. Since he was unaware of what prompted the attack, he refused to move.

Lum glared at the swarm. It was time to get serious. "That's it! You just lost your bonus!"

The swarm seemed to grumble.

Special thanks for Lanin for his help and ideas.