Disclaimer: This is a fan-fiction and not an official Ranma 1/2 Story line. 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 7: The Shades of Red / Episode 8: What Now?

Episode 7: The Shades of Red

As Ranma stood silently, Shampoo took the moment of confusion to rush Ryoga and sent a jab straight for the stomach, as he fell, Shampoo grabbed him by the hair and sent a knee to his face, sending him into the cafe, momentarily stunned and out of the fight. Akane was next to fight Shampoo. She used what she knew of Anything Goes Martial Arts along with her inhuman strength to fight the best she could. She and the enraged Amazon fought for a few minutes but, in the end, Akane wasn't strong enough to defend against the powerful blows to the chest and head that the Amazon inflicted. After the minutes passed, Akane was beaten of her strength. She was on her knees, at the mercy of her opponent. Shampoo, too enraged and emotional to think logically, sent Akane flying with a kick so powerful, it broke Akane's arm. She was so tired and in so much pain, she fell unconscious for a moment.

As this brutal fight ensued, Ranma was in his own mind trying to find a reason to fight or even live after what she had done.

-Why? Why would they help me? They obviously don't know that I took a human life. Ryoga didn't even consider the possibility, and Akane, her eyes said it all. She was terrified that I was capable of something like dealing death. So why? Why go through this pain and suffering?

He could hear them screaming his name. But all he could do was listen to them

-(Ranma, snap out of it and help us! Do you WANT her to kill you?)

-Ryoga...

-(Yeah, just like Ryoga said, get your ass in gear and help us fight this weirdo!)

-Akane...

He couldn't help them. He was a murderer, what if he killed them in the future? What then?

These thought were all interrupted from a single sight. He snapped out of it as Akane fell to his feet. Her breathing seemed shallow, dangerously shallow, he looked at Ryoga, was he . . BLEEDING?

This sent Ranma into a frenzy. The emotions he felt for killing the boy, for his friend, for his fiancee, were all turned into rage.

As Akane awoke, she stopped feeling the pain for a moment. She saw Ranma's hair go from a scarlet red to a dark crimson, this was due to the hatred Ranma felt toward his opponent. His aura matched his emotions and it became a dark crimson as a result.

Ryoga also awakened but was immediately horrified by the energy he felt. It was so dark and felt like a void, an endless nothingness. He looked just in time to see Ranma vanish as he sprinted to confront Shampoo.

As he looked, there was a few seconds of momentary silence as Shampoo searched for the now crimson-haired girl. But she was too slow to see the girl appear right in front of her a deliver a flurry of punches to the chest and stomach and disappear again. Shampoo recoiled from the pain and continued to search, but with no success. Then as she looked down, the girl delivered a deadly knee to the chin, launching the Amazon far into the sky. As the girl fell, the crimson girl launched herself to meet the girl, where she did nothing but relentlessly beat the girl until they were near the ground. At which point, the crimson haired girl backed away, allowing her opponent to fall.

Ryoga was just as much amazed he was mortified, he had never seen such energy matched to a fighter, nor the abilities displayed.

Akane felt differently though, she only felt fear. She had never seen Ranma fight so brutally and without mercy, not even with his father or even Kuno. But what she feared was not those things, what she feared was that Ranma's hair and energy, reminded her, of the infected.

As both friends finished their thoughts, Ranma's hair went back to scarlet and collapsed.

Akane was too weak to move, but Ryoga was able to run with a limp back to the house for help, even with his concussion from Shampoo.

Back at the house, all the combatants were attempted to be hospitalized at varying degrees of injury.

Ranma was exhausted from all the emotions he felt and the fight.

Ryoga had scrapes and bruises along with a concussion, but otherwise just needed rest.

Akane was unconscious and had a broken arm, but would make a full recovery.

Then there was Shampoo. She had been beaten so badly, that the house was shocked to think that she survived. She had dark bruises all over and broken ribs with a fracture to her skull.

The whole house, including Ryoga and Cologne were at a loss for words as they stared at the unconscious scarlet-haired girl. Was Ranma really capable of doing so much damage? If so, was he a risk to everyone in the house?

They all jumped as Ryoga awoke and then Akane.

Genma was the first to ask about the fight.

-Ryoga, please tell me this damage wasn't just Ranma.

Ryoga winced in pain before he spoke.

-We were there so that woman wouldn't kill him. But all we did was fuel his rage and make for trainin dummies for her. We tried to fight her, but she was too strong for us. Ask her, she saw something I didn't.

The group then looked at Akane, who was ready to tell them, Every. Last. Detail.

She started:

-I was sprinting there when Ryoga blocked her first attack. But she easily overpowered him with technique. I was then to fight her, but she outmatched me as well. But when I saw Ranma . . .

She trailed off, as if reliving the memory.

-His energy was so powerful, his hair changed to a dark crimson. He was so fast, even she couldn't keep up with him. It was like he became faster than light. The sight was so brutal . . . yet I couldn't look away. But the scariest thing that I felt, was the energy itself. It felt like I was looking at an Infected.

Genma and Nadoka were ready to come to their son's/daughter's immediate defense. Genma went first.

-NO, THAT'S NOT POSSIBLE, YOU'VE ALREADY SEEN HIS BACK IN BOTH FORMS, HE'S NOT INFECTED.

Nadoka came afterwards.

-Exactly, and even if he were infected, wouldn't he have displayed symptoms much sooner?

The guest room was now silent. The Saotome parents were terrified. Would their son be treated like a threat after this? Would his own fiancee avoid him like the infection?

The splash of water made everyone, including the two patients jump at the sound.

It was Ranma, becoming male again, with a depressed look about him.

-I'm gonna go to the local hospital for supplies for Shampoo. If you don't want me here anymore, don't let me in.

Before anyone could speak, Ranma was gone, jumping rooftops towards the city.

The families stood silently, realizing that he heard the entire conversation and knew their thoughts. They felt almost ashamed. Ranma had done their dirty work and now, they almost considered threw him out into the apocalypse, alone and with no support.

This was especially felt by the two who were just protecting the boy, now they were about to consider leaving him to the streets of Nerima or even worse.

As Ranma jumped roof tops, he couldn't stop thinking about what they said about, and the looks of fear they gave him.

-Well, it was good while it lasted, I had a family, a fiancee and a friend. They accepted me for who I was, even with my curse.

He made it to the hospital, sneaking silently, just in case he found a few Infected. He gathered what the house might need. If only they had a doctor to help them properly treat Shampoo's wounds.

As he jumped rooftops to return, he readied himself for the worst. He mentally prepared to either leave the Tendo home, or to be feared by those he cared about. But as he returned. It was his mother who greeted him at the front, trying to hold back sobs.

As he landed he started his imagined statement:

-Mom, I know what ya think and I-

His mother suddenly hugged him with all her strength, not allowing him to breathe. He noticed the tears streaming down her face.

-DON'T GO RANMA, PLEASE! She wailed

-DON'T LEAVE ME AGAIN, NOT THIS TIME! YOU AND YOUR FATHER ARE THE ONLY FAMILY I HAVE LEFT IN THIS GODFORSAKEN HELLSCAPE.

-As he tried to breathe, he saw that everyone else, except for Cologne, was in the courtyard, waiting for his arrival. He sensed no fear or sadness among them, only relief.

As the day passed, he was able to notice that it wasn't a front, everyone was relieved to have him home, he delivered the supplies to the guest room, where Cologne treated Shampoo.

After he handed her the supplies, he felt her aura, it only contained sadness and grief, nothing that would soon become rage. But before Ranma left, she had a few words for him.

-Sonny boy, wait. I need to ask you something.

Yeah, what is it?

-Was he really a Jiāngshī, or Infected as you call them? Did he suffer at all?

Ranma had made peace with the situation when he went to the abandoned cafe. But, instead of taking a sword to the chest, he could try to dispel another's grief.

-Yeah, he was infected when I checked. The thing was literally breathing up his neck. He didn't suffer though, his face was still peaceful, even after death.

-And you only killed him to keep him human, yes?

-Yeah, so he wouldn't turn into one of those mindless bastards.

Cologne looked as if she were about to ask about another question, but she held back, not wanting to make the boy remember the traumatic scene.

Ranma left the room, and headed for the dojo to train with Akane and Ryoga, teaching them new techniques that his own pops had taught him. Although, some of them were more useless than others, in any situation at that.

A couple months have passed, the seasons changed, it was now the summer of 1986, instead of ending their third trimester and becoming second-year high school students starting their first trimester of school with their friends, they have made a tradition of daily training exercises and supply runs to the city, and making their way to make the Tendo household larger and become self sufficient. Everything they once saw as sad and depressing about their new lives, now has become normal to them.

It was the afternoon of May twentieth when the first new broadcast came. Soun Tendo, when he heard the sound of a new broadcast, he shouted for everyone to gather near.

[HELLO. HELLO. THIS IS A SPECIAL BROADCAST FROM THE JAPANESE GOVERNMENT, IF YOU ARE LISTENING, PLEASE PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO THIS SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT]

As the radio repeated the initial statement, Soun Tendo went to the dojo and the courtyard to round up the house and their, now neighbors, Cologne and a fully healed Shampoo, who was no longer filled with bloodlust.

As the group sat closely and silently around the radio, the broadcast began.

[THE PRIME MINISTER WILL BE SPEAKING FROM AN UNDISCLOSED LOCATION.]

(A different voice then began to speak)

[HELLO PEOPLE OF JAPAN, IT HAS ALREADY BEEN TWO MONTHS SINCE THIS, FOR A LACK OF A BETTER WORD, NIGHTMARE, BEGAN. AFTER COMMUNICATING WITH OTHER NATIONS, WE HAVE CONCLUDED THAT MOST OF THE WORLD HAS BEEN OVERRUN WITH THESE INFECTED BEINGS. ANOTHER THING WE'VE LEARNED IS A MORE DETAILED ORIGIN OF THIS INFECTION AND THAT THERE ARE MUTATIONS OF THIS INFECTION, SOMRE MORE NOTICEABLE THAN OTHERS.]

The broadcast went on to explain in depth about the two pieces of information

[THE ORIGIN OF THE INFECTION: THE ORIGIN OF THIS INFECTION IS, AS WE ALL KNOW, IS THE CURSED SPRINGS OF JUSENKYO TRAINING GROUNDS. WE UNDERSTAND THAT MOST ARE CONFUSED BY THE NAME AND LOCATION. SO I AM HERE TO EXPLAIN WHAT WE KNOW. JUSENKYO IS A LAND OF TENS OF THOUSANDS OF HOT SPRINGS. ALTHOUGH THESE HOT SPRINGS LOOK NORMAL, THEY HAVE AN UNKNOWN POWER, THEY CAN MAKE ANY PERSON WHO TOUCHES THE WATERS BECOME A PERSON OR ANIMAL THAT DROWNED IN THE SPRINGS. THIS HAS BEEN TESTED BY CHINESE SCIENTIST WITH WILLING PARTICIPANTS WHO CONFIRM THIS THEORY. THERE IS NO LASTING CURE FOR THIS MYSTERIOUS PHENOMENON, OTHER THAN APPLYING WARM WATER TO THE AFFLICTED, BUT THEY CAN JUST AS EASILY REVERSE THE EFFECT WITH THE APPLICATION OF COLD WATER. IT HAS BECOME A DANGEROUS TRAINING GROUND FOR THE MOST DARING OF MARTIAL ARTISTS. THIS PLACE IS LOCATED IN THE BAYANKALA MOUNTAINS OF THE QINGHAI PROVINCE OF CHINA. WHY DO WE SHARE THIS INFORMATION, YOU MAY ASK. IT IS BECAUSE THE PARASITIC INFECTION THAT HAS RAVAGED OUR WORLD CAN ONLY BE FOUND IN THESE WATERS. AFTER DRAINING AND DIGGING THROUGH ONE OF THE HOT SPRINGS, THE BONES OF AN UNKNOWN SPECIES OF LARGE REPTILE WERE FOUND TO HAVE THIS PARASITE HIBERNATING INSIDE THE FOSSILIZED BONE MARROW OF THE CREATURE. THE PARASITE WAS REVIVED DUE TO THE WARM WATERS OF JUSENKYO AND SPREAD THROUGHOUT. WHAT SCIENTISTS BELIEVE IS THAT PATIENT ZERO FELL INTO ONE OF THESE CURSED AND INFECTED HOT SPRINGS AND LEFT WITH THE PARASITE STILL WITHIN THEM. THEY THEN QUICKLY BECAME AN INFECTED THAT SOUGHT TO INFECT OTHERS. THIS IS HOW THE PARASITE NAVIGATED TO THE NEARBY AMAZON TRIBE AND INFECTED OTHERS BY RUTHLESSLY ATTACKING THEM AFTER THEY REVEALED THEMSELVES. THIS IS HOW THE INFECTION SPREAD.]

The broadcast then went onto mutations of the infection. The sound of fumbling papers could be heard through the speaker before they Prime Minister began to speak again.

[NOW FOR WHAT WE KNOW OF THE MUTATIONS. AFTER THE UNITED STATES CAPTURED AND SECURED INFECTED INDIVIDUAL, THEY WERE THEN DISTRIBUTED TO COUNTRIES THAT WERE ALSO RESEARCHING THE PARASITE. IN RETURN, EACH COUNTRY, INCLUDING OUR OWN, SHARED INFECTED FROM EACH COUNTRY TO OBSERVE AND STUDY. THE INVOLVED COUNTRIES WERE THE FOLLOWING:

-THE UNITED STATES (ARE PHYSICALLY DEFORMED DEPENDING ON THE INFECTED)

-CANADA (RESISTANT TO COLDER TEMPERATURES AND HAVE GAINED NIGHT VISION)

-AUSTRALIA (ARE RESISTANT TO HEAT BASED WEAPONS AND MOST POISONS)

-THE UNITED KINGDOM (COLDER WATER TRANSFORMS THE INFECTED INTO DIFFERENT CREATURES)

-THE PHILIPPINES (QUICKER AND DEADLIER EVOLUTIONS DUE TO HIGH HUMIDITY AND HIGH RAIN)

- MEXICO (HAVE ADAPTED TO THE ARID CLIMATE AND REQUIRE LESS WATER TO EVOLVE)

-GERMANY (HAVE EVOLVED TO TRANSFORM INTO DECEASED INDIVIDUALS, THE ONLY DIFFERENCE BEING THAT INFECTED HAVE NO FACES)

-ITALY (HAVE EVOLVED TO CAMOUFLAGE, ARE ONLY ABLE TO BE SEEN BY THEIR SHADOWS OR SHAKY BREATHING )

-IRELAND (HAVE EVOLVED TO BECOME STRONGER WITH THE CONSUMPTION OF BLOOD )

-JAPAN (HAVE EVOLVED TO TRAVEL IN VARYING SIZES OF PACKS, FROM A FEW, TO HUNDREDS WITH AN INTELLIGENT AND DISTINGUISHABLE LEADER TO GUIDE THEM)

-POLAND (HAVE EVOLVED TO BE ABLE TO TRANSITION INTO A LIQUID STATE, DUE TO THE HUMIDITY)

-EGYPT (HAVE NOT EVOLVED DUE TO THE EXTREMELY ARID AND DRY CLIMATE OF EGYPT, MAKING IT IMPOSSIBLE TO OBTAIN LIVE SAMPLES)

-ARGENTINA(EVOLVED TO BE ABLE TO CREATE STRATEGY AND ATTACK WITH ALARMING ACCURACY)

-AND SWEDEN (EVOLVED TO BE ABLE TO HIBERNATE IN THE UNFORGIVING ARCTIC CLIMATE AND NIGHT, BUT CAN REANIMATE WHEN ALERTED BY SOUND, MAKING IT EASIER TO OBTAIN LIVE SAMPLES)

THESE COUNTRIES ARE DOING ALL THEY CAN TO RESEARCH AND CREATE A VACCINE THAT WILL MAKE US ALL RESISTANT TO THIS INFECTION, BUT ALSO TO CREATE AN EFFECTIVE WEAPON AGAINST EACH AND EVERY POSSIBLE EVOLUTION. BUT IF YOU COME INTO CONTACT WITH THESE INFECTED, DO NOT ENGAGE IN CLOSE COMBAT, AS AIR, BLOOD AND PHYSICAL TOUCH ARE ALL POSSIBLE TRANSMISSIONS AND THERE IS NO TELLING IF AN INFECTED IS EVOLVED OR WHAT EVOLUTIONS THEY HAVE UNDERWENT. IF YOU DO COME IN CONTACT WITH THESE INFECTED, TRY TO USE A LONG-RANGE WEAPON TO ELIMINATE. FURTHER UPDATES WILL BE GIVEN ON THIS FREQUENCY IN THE FUTURE. GOODBYE FOR NOW, PEOPLE OF JAPAN, AND MAY GOD PROTECT EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU WHO HAVE SURVIVED THUS FAR.]

End of Episode 7: The Shades of Red

Episode 8: What Now?

As the broadcast came to a close, the group looked at each other with utter confusion, they were martial artists, close combat and using their techniques were what they did best. They would need an alternative type of weapon to fight with

-How about guns? I've heard about them from the shows that Nebiki watches.

Ranma jumped to his feet hopefully in a room that had a certain look about them.

Nebiki, remembering how dumb the boy could be so . . so . . SO DUMB!

-Ranma, you know that most of the stuff I watch that involve guns are purely fictional, right?

(Their looks said (Press X to doubt.)

He shrank back down, hurt that his idea was shot down so fast.

Shampoo then started with a deep sigh

-I hate to admit it, but the Bit-, I mean Ranma has point. Grandmother, what you use against army like that? And Blue-haired girl, can you launch every Jiāngshī that choose to fight you? (And hopefully kill you.)

Soun nodded, and then announced:

-Okay, it seems I understand how to solve our predicament. If we use our fists, we will only become infected and everyone dies. But if we obtain guns, as Ranma just suggested, we will gain their attention and die as well, we will need ways to silence our weapons. Ranma, if you can find any weapons at all, AND find a way to silence them, we will go with your idea, but you will need lots of help, so anyone who agrees with Ranma's idea can help him, unless they think they have a better idea.

Akane, Ryoga and Genma immediately stood up, ready to assist the boy.

Although, Genma also thought that this would get him a chance to not do daily chores around the house for once, slightly grinning as he thought about transforming into a Panda and doing nothing at all.

Akane spoke, and then Ryoga.

-We believe in Ranma, if we can do this, we'll have a better way to defend ourselves and our home!

-Yeah, and we're prepared to look all over for these weapons.

After Ryoga finished, everyone was surprised to see Shampoo of all people, stand up and join the group, with a pissed off look aimed directly at Ranma.

She said nothing, but Ranma could've swore he heard her whisper under her breath.

-I won't hesitate to throw you into one of those living husks, you red-hair bitch.

He understood that she was still pissed from March, but hey, she's the on who didn't hear the explanation, and she also nearly killed his friends, so the fight was a little warranted, although, he did admit, the damage was a little overboard. He gave her a nervous smile to mean no harm, but she still glared at him.

Nadoka tried to join the group, but Genma stopped her.

-Genma, what are you doing right now?

The woman became visibly angered, as if taking extra offense to this action.

-Nadoka, it's not that I think you're weak, it's that I don't want you to get hurt, and they also need someone who can defend them.

Nadoka then calmed down, and then proceeded to kick Genma in the groin area as hard as she could, sending Genma to the roof, and then reeling in pain as she went andstood next to her son.

As he was kicked, Genma went into a vision where he was standing by a lake, looking as his mother sat in a boat on the white lake.

-Mom, is that you? Where have you been?

He heard a voice in the distance.

-Pops, you said you never met you mom!

Genma looked around for a second. Holy shit, where the hell was he? The last thing he remembered was-

-Oh yeah. Huh. So who the hell was he looking at?

The pain was blinding, but he was no longer in the vision.

As Genma was down, and nobody was looking, she had some choice words for the purple-haired Amazon.

-Next time you wanna to call my son/daughter a bitch, ' N.

Shampoo didn't look it, but if felt like her soul just left her body from just those few words.

She didn't know, but Ranma heard her, and even he was shaken by his mother's words, even more than the demon aura that Mr. Tendo released when he was most angry.

Akane also heard, but she now saw where Ranma got his female ruthlessness from. The resemblance was uncanny.

The meeting ended, each was goin to their rooms, when Ranma suddenly pulled Akane outside. She jumped out of surprise and then glared at the boy.

-What the heck Ranma, what'd ya do that for?! I-

Ranma stopped her, then he pointed up to the roof. He wanted them to go up to the makeshift watch tower on the roof, which looked over a few neighborhoods and was steady after some improvement.

As the two sat down in the surprisingly spacious watchtower, they talked.

-So, Akane. What do ya think of all this?

-What do you mean Ranma? There are so many things wrong with the world right now, we only have time to ourselves when we eat and sleep that's all! And we also have to fear for the hordes of Infected that come and go, threatening to overrun us if we're not careful!

Akane looks out to the city, only being a few miles away from their unsettlingly quiet neighborhood. A tear forming in her eye as she felt anger and sadness at the same time. She was angry about their situation, but sad that she was powerless to do anything about it.

-I always told myself, "It's not fair!" or "We should be in school right now, not looking for something to defend ourselves with!" but it all comes down to the fact that you nor do I control the world and there's nothing we can do about it.

Akane leaned onto Ranma, supporting her after she tired herself from the rant. He held her looking out at the full moon, a beautiful thing, shining on a planet full of horrendous sights and despair.

-Ya know, Akane, when I came back here a few months ago, I lost hope in anything and everything. I thought that you guys would feed me to the wolves, left to die for what I did. But, when I came back, my mom was the first one to let me in, and then the rest of you... You guys looked at me, like me and not a murderous monster. It felt like a weight was taken off of me, allowing me to be myself again. But it was when I saw you, Akane, that I-

He looked down, she was knocked out from what he could tell. He stopped his rambling, gently lifted her up in a princess carry and carried her to her bed. She awoke for a moment to see his face, but fell back to sleep, knowing it was her fiancee, the one she was falling for, carrying her. She had totally forgotten about their relationship as fiancees.

As he laid her to bed, he made himself comfortable on the rough, but comfy carpet floor.

The next day, as Akane woke, she suddenly remembered the night before. She blushed hard, Ranma had never been so close to after she leaned on him.

-Wait a minute. How'd I get here?

She then remembered the fact that he carried her. It was as if he was Romeo and she was Juliet, just without all the stuff about different ages, drama and death. With this in mind, she blushed so hard, she covered her face so nobody would see her. She then checked to see if Ranma was still in the room, we was, and sound asleep. This moment was all ruined by a husband and wife, leaning on the window to see what was going on. Akane sighed and went to wake up Ranma for breakfast. He awoke groggily and peacefully went downstairs, not even noticing his own parents spying on him.

The families and their neighbor ate breakfast together, ready to discuss the plan of action that would take place.

End of Episode 8: What Now?

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hey y'all, I'm glad your liking the story so far! Really, seeing how many people are following along with the story makes me ecstatic and inspired to write my idea into fruition. Although, I want to hear YOUR thoughts! Tell me anything! Like, What's your opinion is so far or Who do you think would deserve to die in this setting. Just send me a Private Message on my profile or head onto Reddit and send me a message there or comment on my updates for future episodes! Thanks so much and I'll catch you guys in the next Episode!

-Emerymiles2004