Disclaimer: This is a fan-fiction and not an official Ranma 1/2 Storyline. All rights to the official name and official characters are reserved for their proper owners.

Before you Read: As the Chapter title suggest, I am starting this story at the same point as the Ranma 1/2 Anime.

Another thing: ++++ Represent any setting change or time-skip.

Episode 17: Aftermath / Episode 18: Almost Normal

Episode 17: Aftermath

-What the hell? Where am I?

Genma looked around, he was in his family's room that the Tendo's gave them as a place to sleep. But something was wrong. Nadoka wasn't next to him and it seemed to be the afternoon.

-(I may be gettin older, but I never wake up after the sun rises...)

He then remembered the last thing that happened before he was knocked out.

After avoiding him for what felt like days, Ranma went right up to her father

-Yo pops!

Genma jolted on the dojo floor, the only place he felt at peace now.

-About time you stopped avoiding me like the plague! What is it boy?

Although Genma felt an ominous cloud had just fell over him, he decided to ignore it, it was his son after all, this feeling was normal by now!

-Well Pops, I have chosen to forgive ya. I also wanted to take ya up that sparring offer from before.

Genma stood, got into a fighting stance and prepared for a fight that would be tougher than usual, given the circumstances.

But . . . . What he saw next . . . . he couldn't begin to describe the emotion he felt.

It was a fear . . . so primal . . . He swore he could hear the seven trumpets from Heaven itself, the ones that came right before the APOCALYPSE ITSELF.

His son, the THING, standing in front of him.

Her hair became a dark crimson, different from the scarlet it usually was. The aura, almost visible, felt like God's icy wrath was about to strike him down!

But the most terrifying feature . . . . . . . . .the thing that mad Genma fear for his life . . . . . . . . her eyes . . . They were lifeless, just like that of an infected.

In fact, as Genma payed more attention after the initial fear . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . .

Ranma's body looked like he was an evolved infected, his limbs, seeming to move unnaturally for a human, twisted and contorted, almost as if to give the host the most power and agility possible.

Time had slowed to a standstill. He looked at the place his cursed son once stood, now the most horrifying thing in existence that he had ever seen.

But, time resumed and the thing disappeared. The room felt pressured, yet it was unsettlingly silent.

P A I N...

It was all he felt in the first seconds, a blur would appear for a second, then he would feel a sharp pain from a hit, from an unknown attacker.

The pain each blow dealt was 10 TIMES worse than what the master would do, his attacks seemed like playful taps compared to this torture...

After just a few seconds, everything faded to black.

Genma looked at himself to look for damage. His body was full of black and blue. But he discovered something else, chains around his hands and his rifle was missing from the room.

He panicked. Tears streamed from his eyes, not from pain, but the image of the son he knew was gone, replaced by the infected monster he had became. Was this what Akane meant all those months ago, bot instead of seeing it, she only felt it? He needed to warn them! Warn them before they are killed by his own son!

But as he ran to the sliding door, his friend was there to face him.

-Soun, oh thank God it's you instead of t-t-that monster!

-Saotome! I can't believe what I am hearing! After all you did, even now you see her as an Infected?! I won't stand here and listen to this!

Genma was dumbfounded, but he couldn't do anything but look at his best friend with awe. He was alone, because even when the world stood against him, Soun was right there next to him.

Soun stopped as he faced away from Genma to leave.

Before I forget, your weapon has been confiscated and you are not to participate in any supply runs until further notice. I don't know what you'll do here, but try to learn from what you've done.

Soun walked away as he said:

-Remember, this is for your own good Genma, you are a dear friend, and I want you to survive. This will be temporary, but I am still disappointed in you! You've done many things in the past that I questioned, but you have gone too far this time, even to me.

Genma stared at the wall across from his room, they were ALL angry and disappointed in him, but what could he do to prove himself?

-(I know! I just have to get proof of him going infected! But, HOW THE HELL WOULD I DO THAT? He's too fast to snap a photo, can't force him to do it in front of everyone... How?)

Meanwhile, while Genma was knocked out and after Ranma took the man to his room.

As Ranma came back, he started:

-Check in on him very now and then will ya Mr. Tendo? Knowin him, he might try to do somethin reckless without thinkin.

-Yes Ranma, we are aware. Where are you going?

-Me and mom are gonna crash at Ukyo's for now until things settle down. We'll come over daily and do night watch, but we'll be sleeping over at her place for a while.

-So this means you've already asked her right?

Silence enveloped the room...

-You asked her RIGHT?

-Well, I haven't really got the chance yet...

-YOU FUCKING WANT WHAT!?

-Calm down Ukyo, we're just hoping we could sleep here for a while, given what's happened in the past few days.

Ukyo stood at the front of the house that sat to the right of the Tendo household. She was pissed at first, but let them stay after she calmed down.

"Finally, I can spend some time with an old friend without anybody interrupting", She thought.

It was now midnight. Ranma and Akane were watching the neighborhood and the stars together as they usually did these days. They talked and relaxed in each other's company.

But what they didn't know what that they were being watched from close up and afar.

Ukyo watched from her own roof, laying down as to not be seen. Shampoo did the same from across the Tendo household on her and Cologne's roof. But one surprise was Nebiki. She was listening to the pair as they chatted the night away.

But there was another. Although he could not see nor hear them, he was plotting his revenge against the one who betrayed him and posed a danger to everyone around him.

Genma imagined how he would do it. Strangulation, stabbing, shooting, there were so many possibilities, most of which wouldn't work, no matter how hard he tried.

-It would have to take him by surprise or without him knowing in the first place, but first things first, I have to get my gun back...

-...

-...

Genma stood in place. What the hell was he thinking?! Ranma was his only son! He raised his from the tender age of TWO to bring him up to be a man among men and to take over the Tendo dojo!

Genma then laid down in the room, tears forming as he silently contemplated what he should do next...

Would he:

A: Wait out this misunderstanding and eventually mend his relationships with everyone, especially Ranma and live a happy existence, even with what he saw in Ranma earlier.

B: Plan out an assassination attempt on Ranma, killing him and keeping everyone else safe at the same time, eliminating the threat, but losing everyone he's ever cared about

-(Sigh) Ya know, I'll think about this later.

Genma curled into his bed, alone, waiting for this punishment to end.

End of Episode 17: Aftermath

Episode 18: Almost Normal

Time had passed since Genma was first punished. Everyday, he would roam the property as a panda. He wouldn't force anyone to talk to him and generally didn't cause any trouble. He slowly began to mend all of his relationships, beginning with Shampoo then Ranma and so on.

It was now the beginning of fall, and one day, something changed in the daily life that Genma became accustomed to.

-Saotome, come to the common room, I have something to show you!

Soun led Genma to the common room of the Tendo household. In the common room, everyone was waiting for him and on the table, his assault rifle from when he was out on supply runs.

Everyone happily greeted Genma in their own ways as they sat in the common room.

- H-hey everyone... Tendo? Whats this about?

-Genma, you made up with everyone, and we have come to forgive you and apologize ourselves. We have realized that our bitterness was a little much. To make amends, we have decided to return your gun and allow you to rejoin Ryoga and Nebiki!

-Wait, REALLY, I can go out there again!? And you guys are okay with that, me coming with you two?

Ryoga and a slightly more mature Nebiki nodded their heads to confirm.

In the following weeks, Genma learned a few things he had missed during his time without going anywhere

-While Ranma and him mother were staying at Ukyo's, she had tried to make him fall for her, but to now avail, not because he was loyal, but because he is one dense motherfucker.

-While Ryoga was with Nebiki alone during the supply runs, they started to form a very close relationship.

-Ranma and Akane have both been slowly progressing with their own relationship, now they openly show affection for each other instead of doing it in secret.

-The Infected are evolving, but they seem to still be apart of the hive mindset.

It was a cool fall evening, Genma was sitting in the watch tower, watching the all too familiar scene of the empty neighborhood with no signs of life.

As he sat, Ranma came up and joined him silently.

-Things really have changed since we've come here, huh Ranma.

-No kidding Pops, Mom's here, I don't have to hide my curse, I have a healthy relationship with my fiancee, I could go on and on about the things that have changed.

-So, do you still mind your curse, do you . . . I dunno, ever worry?

-About what?

-About your curse and the infection. You saw what happened, Shampoo almost became one of them. Thank the gods that Cologne was her villages surgeon or she would've turned after a few hours!

-Like what if I became infected? And don't think I've forgotten the aura that you can summon that gives you extreme strength and speed, but only as a woman.

Ranma looked at Genma confused.

-What're ya talkin about Pops? I can't do that. And if I did, I woulda remembered wouldn't I?

-Ranma, you beat me with that ability and I've seen your expression when you use it and after you used it to protect Ryoga and Akane awhile back, trust me boy, I know.

-Welp, I guess there's no point in hiding it then. So what if I have this Infected ability, I'm still just a cursed human!

-*Ahem* I think the term is Cross Dresser.

-Pops, I'm gonna say this once... I'M NOT A GODDAMN CROSS DRESSER!

Genma laughed. He missed moments like these with his son, the days in which they bonded during their trainin trip around Asia.

Ranma saw this and chuckled with him, the two lived in each others company until morning.

Today was a new day, and another supply run day.

Soun was at the head of the table, with his usual childish drawings on his white board, but something that Ryoga and Nebiki were the first to have noticed. There was red marker over the entire area where they were usually assigned for supply runs. (Everyone were so used to the drawings at this point, they could easily understand Soun's map and terrible art skills.)

Nebiki was the first to question the image.

-Father. What's with the red? Is there something wrong with it?

-*Sigh* Nebiki, Ryoga, I'm sorry to inform you, but that area is CRAWLING with Infected for some reason. After the most recent supply run, I had Ranma check it out. When he got there, Infected were just standing still in that area, still, but aware. They were all facing a single building, just staring at it. Isn't that right Ranma?

-Yeah, and if I even went near the edge of them, they looked at me with rage, but the terrifying thing was that, it wasn't one or two of them, hundreds of them looked at me with the same expression! So I just got the hell outta there. From where I was, they went on for a mile! It's weird though. It looked like an army, but there wasn't a single leader Infected among them, nor were they migrating, like some of the hordes do around our neighborhood in Nerima.

Now it was Ryoga's turn.

-Okay so with that in mind, where do I, Nebiki and Mr. Saotome go?

-Well Ryoga, none of the groups currently go south due to how little ground there is to cover, but due to the current conditions in the west, you three will go south and look around there for anything we could need.

The rest of the morning went over the usual explanations and the farewells to Soun and Kasumi. But today was different, to Genma at least. This time, Ukyo was with Ranma and Akane, Shampoo and the Nadoka were best friends now and he would be with Ryoga,but also Nebiki.

Supply runs went as they normally would. Ranma would argue and scavenge with his partners, Nadoka and Shampoo would silently search through different places than the previous time and Ryoga, Genma and Nebiki would go their own route, but this time it was the south.

Each group would go about their usual business, mostly.

[GROUP 1]

As Ranma, female, looked through an abandoned garage for tools or supplies he would need, Ukyo and Akane stood outside, standing guard. Ukyo and Akane were both pissed after he had told them some of his usual cruel and degrading jokes and splashed water on him. They felt a little regret, but overall stood their ground on the decision to dump water on their strongest, now slightly less strong, member. Ukyo was losing patience as she waited.

-Hey Ranma, you almost done looking through all that crap yet? There's probably nothing in there, so you can come out now!

-Give me a damn minute, I'm almost through everything!

A minute later, an engine roared to life! It was a Pristine 1983 Toyota Ae86 Sprinter Trueno with a license plate number [24-87]

Before Akane and Ukyo could ask questions, Ranma smashed the garage door wide open and he drove the car out of the garage.

They heard music coming from the stereo, something they recognized from American media they sometimes came across. They could hear it, although a little muffled by the windows:

"UH! Bad boys watcha gon, watcha gon, watcha gonna do?

When sheriff john brown come for you?

Tell me! Whatcha gonna do? When they come for you?

Bad boys, bad boys whatcha gonna do whatcha gonna do?

When they come for you?

Bad boys bad boys whatcha gonna do?

Whatcha gonna do whatcha gonna do when they come for you?"

Ranma was sitting in driver seat with a huge grin on his face until he saw Akane and Ukyo glaring at him.

He quickly turned off the music and rolled down his window, a little embarrassed but showed no regret.

Ukyo was ready first.

-You have got to be FUCKING KIDDING ME RIGHT NOW! YOU SPENT 20 MINUTES, FOR A FUCKING CAR!?

Akane was her backup.

-Yeah Ranma, you should've said something earlier so us two could've looked else where.

Ranma's joy faded and he just responded flatly.

-SO you guys want us to walk home or give our feet a rest at the end of the day? Your choice.

As Akane and Ukyo were about to chew Ranma out even further, an unholy scream that sounded like a demon spawn screeched so loud, it alomst shattered the windows of the car and everyone had to cover their ears to stop them from bleeding.

A dull rumble started.

Ranma looked at the equally terrified girls and shouted at them.

-DON'T JUST STAND THERE! GET IN!

The two leapt into the car and listened.

There was absolute silence, even the rumbling faded almost immediately.

The phone Ranma had scared the living shit out of everyone.

Ranma picked up.

-Hello?

-Ranma, it's me, Soun! Did you all hear that? It sounded close to the house. I think you should come home. Y.

-I understand. We found a car and will be able to get back pretty quick. Have you called the others?

-I'm about to call Ms. Saotome and Shampoo, you call Genma, Ryoga and Shampoo, NOW!

Ranma ended the call, quickly calling the third group, the receiver clicked and a voice was heard, Nebiki.

-Nebiki, are you and the guys okay? Where are you all?

Ranma started to ramble about the screech they heard and the rumbling.

-Okay slow down Ranma, I can;t understand half of what you're saying! Also, did you guys hear that scream? And the rumbling thats getting more and more violent? I think there might be an earthquake.

Ranma went as white as a ghost before responding calmly with fear in his voice.

-Nebiki, listen carefully. Get yourselves in a car or find a hiding place.

-Why? What the hell was that?

-Remember this morning, that giant horde? . .

-OHMYGOD. *Click*

The line went dead.

All these three could do, was pray for their survival. That horde was the size of a small army. Killing them or driving through them was pointless. But why were they moving now of all times?

As Ranma drove towards home, he went slow, as to not possibly drive into any of the giant horde.

As the three silently made their way for home, the three wept for their friends and family.

As they parked in the garage of the house next to the Tendo home, Soun and Kasumi ran to them as they entered the home with tear-filled eyes. They did not know if their family and friends would return at all.

Ranma needed to know.

-Has anyone else came back yet?

Soun looked with sorrow and answered.

-No

But as the group began to fall into sadness and mourning, a pair entered the home. It was Shampoo and Nadoka!

The two walked in, after a minute, Cologne entered to check on her great-granddaughter.

After the short-lived happiness faded, the present group waited around in the common room, waiting for the three absent members to enter sooner or later.

Minutes felt more like hours an hours felt like days. They waited, waited and waited and waited and waited... for those three to come back, ALIVE.

End of Episode 18: Almost Normal

Author's Notes:

1: The Ae86 was a reference to an artist from the Ranma Subreddit, U/Shawn_Hernandez-005: r/ranma/comments/11paa33/1983_toyota_corolla_sprinter_trueno_ae86_ranmas/

2: A little bit before posting these two episodes. The story surpassed 1,000 views on this website! Thanks for reading everyone and I'll see ya in the next episode!