Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma ½ or any of the manga's characters. I write these stories only for my own personal pleasure.

Aftermath

Ranma was about to hit Ryoga with his final attack when the lost boy suddenly dropped his fists to his side and just stood there. Ranma taunted him, "Come on P-Chan! Let's finish this!"

Ryoga looked over at Ranma with clear eyes, "Thank you…for…freeing me, Ranma."

He rubbed his eyes for a few seconds and continued, "The old ghoul had all of us in her control. We were trapped within our own minds and she was in control of our bodies. If you hadn't stopped her, we would have continued to fight …to the death."

"Indeed…" replied Kuno as he slowly got to his feet. "That vile wretch had a vise grip on our very souls."

Kuno walked up to Ranma and said, "Many times I have accused you, Ranma Saotome, of being a vile sorcerer. But while that horrible woman had control of my mind, I saw what true black magic really was. I now know that I have been unfair in my judgment of you, Ranma Saotome, and I apologize for my past actions.

Ranma looked at Kuno for a minute, "Listen Kuno, I'll accept your apology under one condition."

Kuno smiled and said, "Just say the condition and I will agree to it."

Ranma's face became serious, "You gotta stop chasing my girl half."

Kuno stared at the ground and shook his head slightly, "So it is true then. You and the pigtailed goddess are one in the same. My twisted sister spoke of this to me earlier, and while in the grip of that old woman, I saw some of her memories. Many were of blue-haired maiden and her Amazon tribe, but several of those memories were of you. In those images I saw you change to a girl and back. I know of your curse now, Ranma Saotome, and I agree to your terms."

Ranma stood there for a while Kuno's words sunk in. Then he grinned, "Thanks Kuno, that means a lot to me. Apology accepted."

"I…too…was wrong, Ranma."

Mousse stood up with his hands against his ribs continued, "That dried up monkey was playing us for a fool the whole time. She never cared about you or Shampoo's happiness. All she really wanted was to keep you as a captive for breeding stock so that your children would strengthen the Amazon tribe."

Ranma slowly shook his head, "I knew it was something like that, but I never thought she would be this ruthless."

Mousse produced another pair of glasses and shook his head, "Use of the mind control crystal is forbidden under all but the most dire of conditions. By Amazon law both she and Shampoo will have to face trial by the elder council. I will do what I can to protect Shampoo, but she will nev-Shampoo!"

Everyone turned as Mousse suddenly ran over to a figure on laying nearby on the ground.

When Ranma reached Mousse, he was holding the unconscious form of Shampoo in his arms. Ranma looked closely at the Chinese girl and could see that she had a broken arm and a nasty gash on the back of her head. He could see by her ki that she was still alive, but she needed medical attention. Ranma knelt next to her and gently placed his hands on the back of her head. He used what reserves he had to channel healing ki into shampoo, but he could tell it was not enough.

"We're going to need more help if we're going to save her."

He got up and just before he took off said, "I'll be back right back."

Nabiki was sitting on the ground holding her head in her hands as the mother of all headaches began to fade. Suddenly she felt herself being picked up as a pair of comforting arms held her close. She leaned against him while the pain faded and after a few seconds and Ranma smiled, "I'm very proud of you Nabiki. You saved all of our lives down there. Without you, Mousse, Ryoga and Kuno would be dead, or I'd be tied up and on a boat to China by now."

Nabiki looked up at Ranma and blushed, "It was your training that opened m eyes to the art, Ranma. Besides, I was just helping out my best friend."

Ranma gave her a squeeze and said, "Were going to need some of that skill from both of us. Shampoo is hurt really bad."

Nabiki tensed, "I was only trying to stop Cologne. I may dislike Shampoo, but I didn't want to really hurt her."

"That's ok Nabiki, it couldn't be helped. But I think that if we use our ki together, we can stabilize her till we can get her to the hospital."

"Ok, but I don't think I have the strength to hike down this hill."

Ranma gave her a wink, "Who said anything about you hiking?"

Before Nabiki could say another word, Ranma was running down the hill with her in his arms. As he carried her, Nabiki thought to herself, "Mmmm, this is really nice!"

She snuggled up a bit closer as Ranma carried her to Shampoo.

When they got there, Ranma set her gently down on one side of the Amazon. Then he moved to the other side and pointed, "Ok, were going to make a single healing ki ball together and then we're going to gently press it into her body. The energy should help her recover."

Kuno leaned over and spoke, "I already phoned an ambulance, they should be here in a few minutes."

"Good work, Kuno." He turned back to Nabiki, "She's going to need this real fast or she isn't going to make it at all."

Nabiki was a bit nervous, "I'm not sure about this Ranma. I've never done this before on anyone but myself."

Ranma smiled, "It'll be okay Nabiki. Just lay your hand over mine and form up your ki with me nice and easy."

Nabiki closed her eyes and started working on her ki. It had been easy for her earlier, but seeing Shampoo hurt so bad was making it hard to concentrate. Ranma noticed and said, "Easy now. Nice and slow. Just work on channeling the ki. That's it. Nice and easy."

Nabiki could feel the now familiar chill wash over her as she started channeling. She opened her eyes and saw that the ball of healing ki was much larger then she had ever seen it.

Ranma then said, "Ok, now I want you to help me press the ball into shampoo's head. This is not like healing yourself and the ball will fight you just a bit, but keep pressing until it has been absorbed into her body."

As Ranma pushed, she followed behind him. The Amazon's body at first resisted the twin ki forces and the ball would not enter. As the resistance increased, the ball began to pulse and glow. Slowly the ball began to enter Shampoo's body but to Nabiki it felt like she was pushing her hands through sand. In a few seconds the ball was gone and her hands were touching Shampoo's hair.

"Ok Nabiki, that's about all we can do till the ambulance gets here."

Ryoga tilted his head and said, "I think I hear it now"

Ranma got on his feet and said, "Okay, let's see how bad the old ghoul is."

They found Cologne laying face up in a pool of her own blood, the remains of the mind crystal scattered about her in tiny pieces. There was a large gash in the side of her head that looked bad but was no longer bleeding. Nabiki grabbed Ranma's arm tightly and cried, "Oh god, Ranma! Is she dead? I only wanted to stop her, not kill her!"

About that time, the ambulance pulled up and two rescue workers jumped out and headed for Shampoo.

Cologne's eyes suddenly snapped wide open and focused on Nabiki. "So that was you I saw on the hill, Miss Tendo. My congratulations. Only a handful of people have ever mastered the art of ki manipulation enough to become a mage, much less an ice mage. I take it that son-in…Ranma had a hand in your training."

Glad to see the old woman was not dead, Nabiki smiled and nodded.

"Once again I have underestimated you, Ranma."

Cologne looked towards Nabiki, "There has not been a mage in this part of the world for over three hundred years. Your presence is sure to attract the attention of many high-powered people, Miss Tendo. Stay close to Ranma and look to him for protection."

Nabiki became concerned and said, "What do you mean? Am I now a target because I can channel magic?"

"Yes and no. As with Ranma, there will always be people who will challenge your skill in the form of contests and fights. But there will also be people that will want to use your talent for evil purposes. Be extremely careful for those, Miss Tendo."

"I've had some experience dealing with those kinds of people, Elder. It shouldn't be too hard to discover what they are really after."

Cologne laughed for a moment and said, "I'm sure you can. Remember too, that you may also be visited by elders with the ability to train you further. Keep an open mind but remain cautious of their true intentions."

"You both would have been wonderful additions to our tribe. Unfortunately, I underestimated you and because I used the mind crystal, I will be tried when we return to the village."

Ranma spoke, "What will they do to you?"

Well, the least that will happen is I will lose my leadership as a tribal elder. The worst is they will put me to death."

Ranma frowned, "We may have some differences, but I never wanted to see you killed."

Cologne laughed, "Well, well…showing a bit of concern, eh Ranma?"

"No…I just…you know…"

"Well, don't worry about me, sonny boy. I've learned a few tricks these past few hundred years and they're not going to get me that easy. I'm not going down without a fight."

One of the attendants came over and started to check on Cologne. As he worked on Cologne he said, "Pardon me folks, but I'm going to have to ask you to stand aside while we get this woman transported to the hospital."

In a surprise move, Ranma quickly knelt down and clasped Cologne's hand while he whispered in her ear, "Although I hold you responsible for what happened here today, I can't deny that you are also responsible for much of my martial arts ability. I thank you for that and I wish you luck when you return to your tribe."

Cologne smiled and softly said, "Don't worry sonny boy, I'll be back someday."

Ranma smiled and backed away as the attendants placed her on the gurney and took her inside the ambulance. As the ambulance drove away Ranma whispered, "I have no doubt you will."

Although Mousse rode with Shampoo in the ambulance, Kuno and Ryoga stayed for a few minutes. Kuno stifled a yawn, "That foul magic drained my body and I feel I must get to sleep soon. Ranma, Nabiki, I bid you a good day, and good night.

As Kuno turned and walked away, Ryoga spoke up, "Ranma, I never saw true hell, until today. The mind control that woman used was worse than anything the curse has ever thrown at me. At least as a pig, I had a choice."

Ranma smirked, "Yeah, having that old ghoul in your head must have been creepy."

Ryoga laughed, "You don't know the half of it.

He paused for a bit and continued, "I'd like to apologize for my previous actions, Ranma. You were giving me a chance and I chose to ignore you. I'll do my best to keep P-chan away from Akane."

Ranma smiled and extended his hand, "That's all I ever wanted to hear, Ryoga. You're welcome to see her as long as it's you and not the pig."

Ryoga grasped the offered hand, "Thanks Ranma. After what happened, I may not deserve it, but I appreciate hearing that from you."

Ranma asked, "So what are you going to do now?"

Ryoga looked at the ground for a bit, "I have a lot to think about, Ranma. I'll come back after I've gotten my head straight."

Ranma nodded as his rival turned and walked away. After he was out of sight, Ranma turned to Nabiki and smiled, "Well, that's the end of it. The whole fiancé thing has been cleared up and I can now lead a somewhat normal life."

Nabiki nodded and with a bit of hesitation commented, "So I guess all we need to do is head on home and you'll confess your feelings to Akane and fulfill the engagement contract."

Ranma slumped his shoulders slightly, "Yeah….Lets go home."

As Ranma and Nabiki walked towards home, they passed through a small park. When they approached a little bench, Nabiki said, "Let's stop here for a few minutes. There's something I want to show you."

"Sure."

After they sat down, Nabiki reached into her kimono and pulled out a little box. She handed the box to Ranma and said, "I think that you will like this."

Ranma took the small felt covered maroon box and smiled, "So they were able to repair it?"

He opened it and gasped at what he saw. Nabiki smiled, "Not only did the jeweler have a replacement diamond, but he was able to restore the finish of the ring and the other jewels. It's quite a beautiful little piece of jewelry, actually."

Ranma gently pulled the ring out and as he admired it, said, "Nabiki, I'd like to see how this ring looks on a woman's finger. Would you please try it on for me?"

"Well, okay. Akane and I have the same ring size so it should fit."

Ranma gently removed the ring from the box and with his free hand reached down and grasped Nabiki's left hand. Nabiki felt chills run down her spine as Ranma gently slid the ring on her finger. As Ranma held Nabiki's hand he looked at the ring and smiled warmly, "You're right, it is very beautiful."

Ranma looked up into Nabiki's eyes and said, "I wish it could stay on your finger for all time, Nabiki."

Nabiki's eyes widened in shock, "Wha-what do you mean?"

Ranma gently clasped Nabiki's hand in both of his, "What I mean is we have grown very close to each other. I enjoy our time together and I care for you very much, Nabiki.

A sudden burst of chills rippled down Nabiki's back, "I care for you too, Ranma, but-."

Ranma's voice seemed to be breaking as he continued, "I…I think I'm falling in love with you, Nabiki. No other person has ever made me feel like this and I…I would like you to marry me."