Here's my current pride and joy.  The original took 3rd place for July
in the Best of Ranma 1/2 voting - Oneshots.

Enjoy!


Ranma 1/2: Best Served Cold

By Robert Knighton
knighton@scctel.com

Domo arigato Takahashi-sama, without your genius, we would all be a little
poorer.

<Standard disclaimers about Takahashi-sama apply, you know the drill.>

I had originally assumed that this was a "dark-fic", but was politely told
that it really isn't.  For those that did not read this the first time
around because of that labeling, my apologies.  Read for yourself, and make
up your own mind.  I believe that you will be pleasantly surprised.  C&C
always welcome.

The original version was voted 3rd best one-shot by the Best of Ranma 1/2
FanFiction site for July 1999.  Thanks to all those who voted for me.  That
this, not only my first fanfic, but also my first piece of serious writing,
was so honored is a true boost to my ego.

You can find the original version at Jarred Mitchell's home page listed at
the end of the story.  Hopefully, he will keep both versions until the
yearly vote is in.

For now, on with the show:

*...* - thinking
<...> - Chinese.

--------
The attack had come without warning.  No one had seen the enemy come.  None
of the sentries had cried warning.  In the cold darkness just before dawn
it came.  Overpowering, devastating, without mercy it came.

Cologne was in shock.  Tears streamed down her face, as much from impotent
rage and fear as from intense horror, as she looked around in the
brightening pre-dawn at the limp and sometimes bleeding bodies of her
friends, family, and fellow warriors.  She could hear the roaring crackling
of the flames as the village and its fields burned around her.   She was
startled by a nearby explosion of ki force.

*So much power, you would have made the village proud.*

She heard the ripping snap of sound as a building was torn apart by bare
hands, and the on-going battle cries of the warriors turning to screams as
they tried to stop the unstoppable.  Screams that were suddenly, brutally
cut off as they fell.  Singly, in pairs, even a dozen or more at a time,
they failed to do more than slow the awful destruction.

*At least they are buying time for the children to escape.*  The hope of
the village would live on with the teachings of the ancient scrolls and of
those who guarded the children.  IF they could escape.

Shaking herself, she followed the sounds of destruction, and began to get
in front so she could possibly stop it.  Old as she was, she was the best
and most dangerous martial artist in the village.  Soon she was positioned
on a trail in the path of destruction.  She waited, gathering in her ki
with every breath, and preparing for this fight.

The sounds of violence approached steadily, the volume of the battle
rapidly diminishing as the warriors continued to fall.  Then suddenly, the
last of the warriors screamed to the sound of snapping bones and joints,
and fell silent.  In the silence that followed, she heard a soft but steady
tread.  The wind chose that moment to blow the smoke a different way, and
she saw him.  The Enemy.

Much of his clothing was cut or ripped off.  Cologne's eyes widened as she
took in the patterns of blood spread across his body.  Despite the blood,
there were no wounds visible on his body.  *He's learned to apply healing
techniques to himself for almost instant healing!  Such raw power!*

His aura was literally blazing in crimson rage around him, held in check by
his will alone.  His black hair was only slightly singed, and he had some
soot smudging his cheeks.  But most arresting were his eyes.  Blue eyes
that blazed with a cold, unstoppable hatred that seared her heart as they
locked onto hers.  Ranma.

She shivered in fear as she thought about how this had all come to be.  *Oh
sweet ancestors, forgive me for bringing destruction to our home.  How
could I know it would be like this?  I remember that day still...*

***********

It had been a month since Ranma had announced his choice of Akane as his
only true love, and the fiancee he was going to marry.  A month of planning
and observation on Cologne's part, of crying, spying, and several aborted
attempts at vengeance on Shampoo's.  A month of justifiable paranoia on the
part of Ranma and Akane.  It had been hard to wait as Ukyou and the Kunos
all reacted to the announcement with predictable levels of violence and
denial, harder still to control Shampoo, but the waiting had paid off.

Their break finally came in the form of Ryoga.  Shampoo had finally found
him in his cursed form, and had carried him into the Nekohanten.  Cologne
started in on his pressure points immediately, applying a potion at the
last to augment it.  By the time he was changed back, he was in a killing
rage.  Cologne had knocked him unconscious, and gone to Dr. Tofu's, where
Shampoo had reported Ranma and Akane going just a short time before.

Seeing Akane coming out in tears was all it took to set Ryoga off.  The
battle forced Ranma away from Akane, and Akane was blocked from going back
to Dr. Tofu's.  She had headed away towards home before Ranma could get
back; her hand pressed against her stomach, a strange half sad, half elated
expression on her face, Cologne and Shampoo following close behind.

They had caught Akane alone, away from any help.  Shampoo had challenged
her to fight for Ranma with the loser giving up all rights of marrying him.
They had not given her a choice but to accept.  They knew that she wasn't
as good as Shampoo, and had counted on that.  It wasn't until her
great-granddaughter's attack that Cologne had realized her error.  Akane
had suddenly changed.  A cold, angry, almost predatory gleam of
anticipation lit her face as her body became poised with the same boundless
confidence as Ranma's.

It was over in seconds.  Cologne had watched in shock as Akane had slipped
Shampoo's attack, and struck her with a fierce palm strike to the upper
sternum; the sound of breaking bone audible to all as the sternum and both
collar bones snapped.  She spun into Shampoo with a backfist to the temple,
and followed up with a kick to the back of the head and neck as she began
to fall past her; slamming an already stunned Shampoo face first into the
ground.

Then Akane picked her up by the scruff of the neck and struck her in the
face several times with her fist until Shampoo no longer tried to protect
herself.  To everyone's surprise, she had won decisively, and had defiantly
let Shampoo's severely battered body fall at her feet.  Mousse had rushed
in from where he was watching in secret to gather her up in his arms.

"No more..." Akane growled, her battle aura glowing brightly, a look of
sadness on her face.  "All we wanted was peace, but you have brought war.
Let it end here.  Ranma is mine!  He chose me, and I've chosen him.  You
will never have him!  Leave us alone!"

*She defies me!* Cologne thought, turning red with rage. *She, an outsider,
has defeated the best of her generation, and openly defies _ME_!!!  All the
planning, all the hopes and work to bring Ranma back to our village as
husband to Shampoo.  All for NOTHING!!  I staked my position and reputation
on winning him, and this  cannot, WILL NOT be allowed!!*

She still couldn't remember why she struck the first blow.  She had said
that it would never be over, that Akane would never know peace.  But all
Akane had done was to give her a pitying look, and then turn and walk away,
triumph showing in every line.  She snapped.

Mousse screamed a warning, tried to stop her, and was almost killed for it;
her staff catching him under the ear, almost taking his head.  Shampoo had
tried, but she was too hurt to do more than get in her way and be hurt even
worse.  She had been slowed enough that Akane almost got away...almost.

The look in Akane's eyes after her thrown staff had taken her in the back
and paralyzed her was a mix of rage and fear, but no surrender.
"Coward!!" She spat from the ground.  "Honorless bag of bones with no
purpose in life!  I STILL WON!!!  Ranma will always be mine!  You can't
change that!"

With this the rage engulfed her, and she ceased to think or see.  All she
could do was hear the screams and the sound of the staff striking Akane's
body over and over until even the whimpering had stopped.

Chest heaving from the exertion, Cologne looked at Shampoo, and saw her
eyes wide with shock, disgust and fear.  Pointing at Mousse, Cologne said
<If he's not dead, he should be.  No one interferes with an elder and
lives.  As for you...you have failed me for the last time,
great-granddaughter.  I will kill you if you come back to the village.  I
will have you banished forever for your failures.>

Cologne looked at Shampoo with disgust, <No longer are you family.  No
longer am I your Great-grandmother.  Your name shall no longer be spoken in
our village>   Shampoo slumped to the ground weeping in despair.

She left Japan that very night more than a year ago.  She thought that
she'd be safe in the village.  She was wrong.

*********

"I'd started to hope that you wouldn't be coming Son-in-Law.  I have to
kill you for what you've done here."  She puffed with bravado, unwilling to
let him see her fear.

*How had he done so much damage, and kept from being hurt?  How can he be
so strong after so much effort?  Where did he get the strength and power I
see in him now?*

"Your laws hold me no longer," he said.  "It took Mousse and Shampoo a
month and a half to get out of the hospital, and another two months to walk
without pain.  They stuck with each other, and lent each other strength to
carry on.  Shampoo finally fell in love with Mousse, and they were married
three months ago.  They are expecting their first child.  She's finally
found her joy."

She blanched at this news, knowing that everything she had done was all for
nothing.  "Why didn't you come to do this right after Akane died?"

He glared at her.  "She survived. Not for lack of trying on your part; you
almost succeeded.  It took her a month to come out of her coma; months more
to get out of the hospital.  She's had constant nightmares, and was
frightened of almost everyone and everything.  She had to have extensive
therapy, both psychological and physical, and they _still_ don't know if
she'll ever be pain free.  Had Tofu-sensei not come by when he did, and
Happosai not been nearby, she _would_ be dead."

"No, you didn't manage to kill her, but you killed all our hopes of having
a family!  She was pregnant!!  We had just gotten the news from Doctor Tofu
when you attacked.  The beating you gave her was so severe that it ruptured
many of her internal organs.  They had to remove her uterus to stop the
most severe bleeding and save her life!!

He smiled, a cold, almost insanely bitter smile that left her shuddering.
"When Dr. Tofu told me what they had to do, and the consequence of it, I
wanted to come and destroy you in a blind fit of rage, but Tofu-sensei put
me down with one of his shiatzu points.  Left me raging impotently until I
could see reason again.  I really was quite insane for a while there.

His eyes glowed as he remembered the loss of control.  "Then I realized
something: you declared war that night.  A war neither Akane or I wanted,
but war none the less.  I will not let this war go unfinished or unfought.
I've been training for almost the last year for this.

"Happosai had to get my attention when I went berserk, but the knowledge
that Akane might survive only if I helped brought me around.  You see,
Happosai and Tofu-sensei knew of a ki technique where a person could keep
another alive by transferring ki from themselves to the one near death.
They also knew how to open up to the surrounding chi to replenish what was
lost.  That I am also a girl helped, because I could filter chi through my
female side to make it more compatible with Akane's life force.  The worst
was that my fears for Akane, and my fears of failing her and dying myself,
combined with the intense ki and chi manipulation and my already unstable
mental state to start triggering the neko-ken.  The first few times I went
cat Akane almost died; I had no choice but to master it.

"It was a very hard road.  We both nearly died several times, but we
prevailed.  The transfer and healing techniques that I learned to help
Akane were easily transferred to my training in the Art.  Akane is alive.
That is the most important thing.  It is also your people's only salvation."

"My people's?"

Ranma nodded, his aura darkening.  His voice was bleak and cold as he
answered.  "Had she died, I would have had nothing to live for except the
death of every amazon here.

Cruelly, he continued, "Your people are not dead.  Just very badly hurt.
All of your crops, seeds, buildings, scrolls and histories are burned and
destroyed.  They have no food or shelter, and winter's comin' in a month.
They have very few able bodies left.  Just the ones with the children."

With that his aura turned into a cold fire, and an almost evil smile played
around his lips.  "What do you think will happen when the government of the
People's Republic of China has to bail them out?  Your people will cease to
exist.  With no history, and with the PRC scattering them to the far
corners of China, their way of life will be ended."

With quiet menace and cold satisfaction he added, "You brought this about,
Cologne.  You wouldn't leave us in peace; you insisted that the ways of the
Amazons be honored over all.   You declared war on us that night, and thus
I have brought the war to your people.  Your people formed you and your
attitudes, and I can't let you come back to make war on us again.  Now your
people will be no more.  Never again will someone suffer from the Amazons
as I have."

She swayed at this news, her heart pounding painfully.  She knew he was
right.  Her people would be pressed to fade into the larger body of the
PRC.  She'd thought that the scrolls would survive.  Then she remembered,
and hope sparked a little.  Ranma couldn't know about the hidden caches of
scrolls they had prepared for an emergency such as this.  As long as the
knowledge could be passed to the next generation, her people, and their
ways, would survive.  She began to regain her equilibrium.

Ranma saw this, and smiled with cold cruelty.  "Do you honestly think I
will let anything stop what I have begun?  This is WAR.  I will not leave
until I know that there is no chance for your people to reclaim their old
ways.  Your people WILL be no more, and you won't be around to stop it or
to help.

Pausing, he gathered his thoughts.  "You've failed, Old Ghoul.  Akane is
still alive.  Shampoo married Mousse, not me.  Your village is destroyed,
and your people will soon forget their heritage.  All because of the
dishonorable actions you, and you alone, are responsible for.  You brought
war to us, destroying an innocent life, and ruining our hopes for a family.
I cannot forgive that.  Now, I have destroyed your family.  Good-bye.

She gathered herself: hatred, loathing, sorrow and grief all coming
together to help her fight.  She knew it wouldn't be enough, but she had to
try.

Ranma's ki blurred.  It grew tendrils that moved almost too fast to see as
they rapidly touched her in dozens of places in less than two seconds, and
her body exploded with pain.  They caused her joints to lock, and her
muscles to spasm.  They touched pain points over and over again.  It was
too much for her.  A piercing scream of agony ripped from her throat just
before a last ki strike slammed her backwards into a tree, where she struck
with stunning force.  As she slid to the ground, she saw him break her
staff into small pieces.

Then he looked at her again, and she saw the uncompromising purpose in his
eyes.

"Understand me, I've learned from the best there is that I can't leave a
withered old ghoul like you behind.  I'd wind up getting poisoned in my
sleep.  I could have killed you days ago, but for one thing: I wanted to
break you first.

His ki started to rise hotly around him as he said "I also learned from the
best about revenge.  I learned from you.  It truly IS a dish best served
cold."

And the pain, the unbearable pain began again.

**********

Cologne awoke with a gasp, her body covered in a cold sweat.  Her heart
beating like a bird's in its swiftness.  All she could feel was rage.  Hot,
blood hungry rage.

<I WILL KILL THEM ALL!!>  She screamed.  <TRAITORS!! UNGRATEFUL TRAITORS
DESERVING OF DEATH!>

She was disoriented and confused as she began to take in where she was, but
quickly came to herself .  Three hundred years of life came in handy for
_some_ things at any rate.  That... was a _dream_?  Her body and spirit
began to calm as she considered what she had dreamed.  It was so REAL!
Then understanding burst upon her, and she purged the rest of her rage.

*No, not a dream... a Sending.  That was a Sending!  Never before have I
had one so powerful, so realistic.  Never has one been so specific!*

She had planned to catch Akane alone, and have Shampoo challenge her to
finally determine once and for all who got Ranma.  But the Sending showed
that to be folly.  Obviously, Akane had not only been trained by Ranma, but
the two now followed the path of the warrior.  There would be a war she
could not win if she kept to this path.

*I have no doubts that this was a true Sending.  A warning from my
ancestors about the path I contemplated.*  Anger blossomed again at this
final thwarting of her efforts.  She quickly forced it down.  There was no
place for it now; she needed to keep her head clear enough to think.

*What is curious and troubling is our depth of reactions.  Ranma, I could
understand if I truly harmed Akane like that, and ruined their chances to
be a true family.  The stress and almost insane amounts of fear would send
anyone over the edge, and they WOULD see it as a declaration of war, but
what would send _me_ off into that type of killing rage?  It makes no
sense.  It was almost as if I were drugged...*

She checked herself, suddenly seeing things come together.  *Shampoo...
No.  She can't hide anything from me.  I must remember the Sending, see
where I was exposed to anything that would induce that level of rage.*

Meditating for a time, she went over every part of the sending until she
found what she was looking for.  Her eyes snapped open.

*Ryoga!  His natural aura was fighting back against the pressure points, so
I used a rage potion to finally override his conscious mind.  I never
realized that his aura could vaporize some of it.  I breathed in enough to
be affected, but not until it was too late to get away without doing the
damage.

*Time to break out of this impasse.  If Akane IS pregnant, then she really
is Ranma's true wife, and Shampoo would heap ultimate dishonor on her
entire family if she doesn't stop.

*The small dishonor we will face when we return is nothing compared to what
I have Seen.  So be it.  We shall renounce the marriage.  Shampoo will take
some time to convince, but will come around.  She really thinks that she
loves Ranma, but he has made his heart's choice, and when she realizes that
the safety of the village is involved she will obey.  When I tell the
elders of this, they too shall understand why we stopped.*

Another thought struck her, *Shampoo and Mousse.*  She chuckled.  *Perhaps
there is hope for that boy after all.  The Ancestors seem to think it's a
good idea.  I will begin to give him some tips about winning Shampoo.  I
can train him to be able to beat her in a fight too, if need be.*

Yes, and new training for Ranma.  She hated the thought of working with the
old Pervert again, but this was important.  The new ki techniques she had
seen Ranma use were powerful beyond belief.  If they could also help him to
master the Neko-ken, then he would be the greatest warrior in the world.
Dr. Tofu was a surprising revelation, but she would enjoy seeing just how
much he knew, and he would enjoy learning what she had to teach.

*Ranma and Akane following the Path of the Warrior is the truest surprise
of this entire event.  Perhaps Akane would like to join in on the training?
After all, she can beat Shampoo now.*  She paused.  *Besides, teaching her
how to cook was the least I owe Ranma.*  She chuckled at the thought.

*What if we make her an Amazon by adoption?*   That last thought brought
her up short.  It was perfect!  Then Ranma would still be marrying into the
tribe.  Now, how to convince those two that this was a GOOD thing?

It was going to be strange learning to think about Ranma as a friend
instead of an in-law.  Many other thoughts clamored for her attention, and
she sighed as she realized that she wasn't getting any more sleep that
night.  So much to think about.  So many plans to put into action.


-fin-

Author's note:

Revision two from the posted original.

There have been some cogent remarks made about how Ranma was acting so OOC
in the dream  sequence.  How people just couldn't see him being that cruel
and premeditated.  The basic explanation is, I hope, contained in the
story, but for those who didn't get it there, I will explain.

The Way of the Martial Artist and the Way of the Warrior are very close.
The primary difference being one of mindset.  Both are geared to protect
the innocent, bring justice for those who can't obtain it for themselves,
and keep the peace for their families and friends.  The Warrior, however,
recognizes that there will come a time when the only way to do so is to
maim or kill.  He is prepared to do so, and makes that choice each and
every time he gets involved in violence.  Hopefully he decides to do so
only as a last resort, and when a warrior makes that decision, he proceeds
with harsh and abrupt certainty, showing no remorse until it is over.

There was a saying I read over twenty years ago that I have never
forgotten. "Beware the honorable man of peace who is forced to war.  He
will do anything necessary to end the conflict in his favor in order to
protect his own and restore the peace."  See Hiroshima and Nagasaki for a
truly harsh example.

In the Sending, Ranma has seen his future taken from him.  He feared that
it might happen, and it did, and he feels that he failed Akane.  They knew
that there would be trouble, so Ranma trained Akane to be able to stand
against most of it.  The intense stress, fear, and uncertainty that Ranma
would feel as a result of the attack on Akane would likely help him over
the edge into madness.  Her still living would likely pull him back, but
the increased stress would keep him on the edge.  My opinion is that he
would go all the way into the path of the warrior, and decide that he must
do whatever it took to remove the Amazon civilization as a future threat.
No, I don't think he would stop at Cologne.  She is a product of her
civilization, and thus Ranma has the need to stop any future threats to
himself and his family.

About Akane's extreme damage style of fighting:  She always struck me as
the more pragmatic of the two.  Also she was working at a time
disadvantage, and protecting an innocent.  Short and vicious would be the
ONLY way to go here.

But that is MY take on things.

This started out as a stand alone oneshot, and has slowly turned into what
may well be a side story to a fic I currently have under development.  Only
time will tell.

I would like to personally thank Jarred Mitchell
<patrioticmerc@worldnet.att.net> for his invaluable help in editing,
encouraging, and making several small suggestions that helped make this a
better story.  I highly recommend his story - "Living Life Anew" to anyone.
You can find it at: <http://home.att.net/~patrioticmerc/index.html>  It is
still a work in progress.

I would also like to thank Alan Harnum and June "Karaohki" Geraci for their
insights and suggestions concerning the need to revise this story.

Alan, for letting me know that I needed to show why Ranma and Cologne acted
so OOC and dark, and for encouraging me as I bounced a few other ideas
about this story off of him.

June, for showing my grammar and spelling mistakes, and for correctly
critical opinions of my ideas as I sought to  start this rewrite.  She also
helped to spread the word about it to her friends.  Thanks.

Thanks again to all who helped make this the 3rd place finisher in the Best
of Ranma 1/2 voting for July 1999.

On a final note:  C&C ARE welcomed.  Especially from those of you for whom
writing is a well loved and highly developed craft.  Please feel free to
show me how I could have done better at presenting my prose.

Robert
knighton@scctel.com

24-July-1999 - Original sent to RAAC
25-August-1999 - First rewrite
13-September-1999 - second rewrite - Sent to FFML


Robert Knighton
knighton@scctel.com

"I don't write for those who already know the universe I created, I write
for those who are discovering it for the first time.  Thus it always seems
fresh and new."

-- Unknown author