Ukyo awoke to the sound of gunfire, a distinctly uncommon sound in Nerima or Japan as a whole. Wondering if the guard was watching a movie around the corner, she slid off the uncomfortable rack, and tried to peer around the corner. Unfortunately, the position of the bars and the wall towards the end of the room prevented her from seeing anything other than painted cinderblocks.

Another gunshot rang out, this one both closer and louder, and Ukyo paled. She and Ranma had killed one of those things... were they coming for her?

"Ranma?" She asked weakly, a moment before someone outside screamed. The scream died suddenly, and Ukyo shivered, "Ranma! Wake up!"

Ranma shifted on his cot, but continued to ignore her, lost in dreams or memories of happier times. Another shot sounded, the sharper POP of a shotgun, and Ukyo shivered as she heard one of the things' screams, followed by another human shout of pain. They were getting closer.

"RANMA!"

"Huh?" Ranma mumbled, sitting up slowly. Ukyo was about to tell him about what she was hearing when a panic-stricken police officer ran into the room, a pump-action shotgun in one hand, the other arm bleeding profusely from three ragged gashes in his bicep.

"What's happening!" Ukyo nearly shouted at the man.

"It's... they're... they came..."

"The creatures?" Ranma asked, waking up instantly.

"Yes... I... Maybe... the things..." The officer said shakily, pinning the shotgun to his side with his bloody arm while he fished a couple shells from his pocket and tried to reload the weapon. Three of the five shells fell to the floor, but the officer didn't seem to notice, pumping the weapon once after he was sure his pockets were empty.

"Let us out of here! We're innocent!" Ukyo shouted.

"Innocent?" the officer said, turning to look at her, as if he didn't know what the word meant.

"Yes! Damn it, open these doors! We didn't kill your friend! We tried to-"

There was a deep thump, and Ukyo literally felt the walls shake as something rammed the door leading to the holding area. Outside, she could hear hisses and shrieks, but no more sounds of human life.

"Let us out!" Ranma bellowed, kicking at the bars. Instead of the gratifying crash of the bars falling down, they only bent slightly. The officer gave an insane titter.

"Those bars were reinforced... for martial artists..." he said quickly, jerking as the door shuddered again.

"Let us out! Let us help you!" Ukyo cried, feeling tears stream down her face as she began lunging at the bars futilely. Unlike Ranma, she didn't have the strength to even bend them slightly, instead she just felt her shoulder ache. The door suddenly flew into the far wall, the solid piece of metal twisted into an almost unrecognizable shape.

"No!" Ukyo shouted a moment before one of the creatures skittered into the room, crawling across the ceiling. The officer, who'd been aiming low, tried to bring the shotgun up, but before he made it even halfway, the creature was already in the air, shrieking.

Ukyo backed away as the creature brought its tail around and slapped at the man's bloody arm almost too fast for the eye to see. There was a wet snapping noise, but Ukyo barely had time to register it as the creature's lunging body got within striking range and swung at the man from the other side.

The officer had started falling back, but this only hastened his death, as the claw meant for his head instead caught his throat, tearing out a huge chunk of vital tissue and flinging it towards Ukyo, who was screaming. The body gurgled as blood poured from the ragged wound, and the creature began tearing into it, as if merely killing the officer wasn't enough.

"No," Ukyo said weakly, feeling droplets of blood covering her face, but incapable of wiping them away. She kept her gaze on the creature, as it crouched over the body and began eating the dead officer's now-exposed intestines, taking a couple bites before suddenly turning its monstrous head towards her.

"No!" she whispered as it rose and began stalking towards her cage on two legs.

"Hey! HEY DAMN IT! Come over here!" Ranma shouted, waving his arms and jumping around to draw its attention. He couldn't fire off a Moko Takabisha because the creature was between Ukyo and himself, and the cell bars weren't bent quite far enough for him to squeeze through, yet.

Ukyo felt something bump the back of her knees and she fell back onto her cot silently as her legs gave out beneath her. The creature was staring at her through the bars now, and reached up to grab one, trying to pull them apart enough for it to slip through.

Ranma looked at the shotgun, lying just out of reach, then back at the gap in the bars of his cell, wishing he were just a bit smaller so he could squeeze through.

Suddenly, he realized he could shrink, and lunged at the filthy toilet in the cell with him, punching through the lid and feeling his hand moisten. Scooping out a handful of the blue water, he splashed himself in the face, ignoring the smell and the tingle of the chemicals, and sighed as he felt the curse take effect.

Ukyo, sitting on the cot as the creature reached through the bars at her, trembled, but felt a little hope as the bars meant to hold people like Ranma prevented the creature from reaching her as well.

Suddenly the creature shrieked at her, and its tail shot through the bars, slapping her on the side of the head hard enough to send her reeling. Despite all her training, the blow nearly knocked her out, and she stumbled to the floor, unable to do anything other than moan as she felt the creature's tail push up against her and drag her towards the bars.

Ranma pushed her way through the gap in the bent bars, her eyes glued to the creature's back as she tried to squeeze through as fast as possible. As small as she was, her breasts made the narrow opening near impossible, and she felt tears come to her eyes involuntarily as the bars pushed them in to the point that she could feel her ribs ache. Finally, she was through, and fell to the floor with a gasp, the pain in her chest nearly overwhelming.

The creature turned, its tail snaking back through the bars quickly, and Ranma rolled back as the creature leapt at her, landing where she'd been lying a moment ago.

"Ukyo, are you okay?" she shouted as the creature stood up before her. Ranma frowned, and took a step back, almost tripping on something that slid out from under her foot. Hearing her friend moan she glanced at the offending object, and realized she'd stood on the shotgun.

Weapons weren't something Ranma had much respect for, and all her life she'd been taught that they were a weakness, a crutch that hindered one from their true potential. Firearms, while rare in Japan, were even less respected, and because of that, she'd had no training whatsoever with them. The first time she'd ever touched one was earlier, with Akane, and that had firmly cemented her hatred for the objects. Still, she had no time to build up a Moko Takabisha, and she needed to act now.

Kicking up the weapon with her toe, she grabbed the weapon out of the air and spun it towards the creature with a wordless shout, before pulling the trigger. That the creature had managed to coil its tail under it to help launch itself at Ranma when she fired was testament to the thing's own deadly speed, and the pellets struck the thing's shoulder instead of its head as Ranma had intended. The impact with the blast sent the thing's trajectory off enough that it crashed into the bars of Ranma's cell, bending them inward.

Ranma yelped in surprise as two pellets failed to penetrate the chitinous exoskeleton and came back at her, one each entering her arm and chest. Before the creature could take advantage of her surprise however, Ranma spun the shotgun, deflecting a tail thrust before bringing it down on the creature's back. The monster shrieked, and scrambled at the floor. Leaping back, Ranma looked at the shotgun in surprise. The barrel was bent almost 90 degrees, the wooden furniture splintered and falling to the floor in slivers. Tossing the useless weapon aside, she took another step back as the creature reoriented itself and hissed at her.

Ukyo slowly climbed to her feet, using the bars of her cell as the world swum around her. Ranma needed help. Looking down at the dead officer, she squinted at the key ring on his belt, and crouched, wobbling as the world twisted around her, before reaching out and grabbing the keys.

Ranma wasn't sure how she'd beat this thing in this confined room without killing Ukyo, but wasn't about to give up. The creature shrieked again, and Ranma crouched, preparing for another attack. Suddenly, a taloned hand wrapped around her wrist from behind, and she screamed as the hand squeeze hard enough to bruise even her tough skin. Whirling, Ranma grabbed the wrist the hand was attached to and threw the creature, feeling her shoulder almost pop as its spider-like grip on the floor finally came loose.

Ukyo was frantically trying the keys, when suddenly the wall behind her exploded, a large chunk of concrete striking her in the back of the head and sending her to the floor again. Ryouga stared through the abysmally small hole in the wall and scowled, punching it and feeling metal reinforcements bend but not break. Looking through the small hole, he saw Ukyo lying still on the floor, and the dead officer's body, before he looked to the left and gasped as Ranma's girl form stood facing two of the creatures, a third rounding the corner behind her.

"Ranma, behind you!" he shouted, before tearing into the hole rapidly.

Ranma turned enough to spot the third creature out of the corner of her eye, and snarled.

"Get Ukyo, and I'll meet you around the front!" She shouted, leaping back as the two in front of her used their tails to try to impale her and the creature behind her lunged, landing where she'd been. The bladed tails stopped at the last minute, not touching the third, and Ranma grimaced as she realized they were somehow coordinating their attack. Turning her back to the three, she ran, doing her best to ignore the screeches that rose behind her, and the bodies littering the small station. Two more of the creatures rose from behind the desks, blood and flesh dripping from their jaws as Ranma interrupted their feeding. Glancing outside, she was surprised that the sun wasn't up yet. Ignoring the screeches and hisses behind her, Ranma headed for the front of the building.

She hated running, hated not being able to do anything for the people who littered the floor around her, but they were beyond her help, and there were still people out there she had to protect. 'And,' she thought, jumping through the glass window to avoid the creature that had leapt into the doorway to block her, 'I'm not dying until I avenge Akane...'

Ryouga scowled as the reinforced wall refused to give way, and began rapidly poking his finger at sections of the wall, barely feeling the flying chips of cement as the wall seemed to explode. Smelling blood, he reached forward and grasped one of the steel rods that had been implanted in the wall and pulled, slowly widening the gap and shouting at Ukyo.

Ukyo flopped on the floor as the world suddenly and painfully came back to her, and she mumbled something at the idiot yelling nearby, hoping they'd leave her to sleep. Her head was throbbing, and she could feel something trickling down the back of her neck, but her arms weren't cooperating. Suddenly, the past couple minutes came back to her, and she jerked, the blurry world reducing itself to a bright spot at the end of a black tunnel, before slowly returning.

Ryouga saw Ukyo jerk and tremble, and redoubled his efforts at pulling the bars apart. Nabiki shuddered nearby, wishing there was some way for her to help, but knowing she'd only get in the way.

Ranma saw another creature stick its head out of the open manhole outside the police station, and leapt onto the building across the street as one of the things shrieked and leapt at her from the station.

Spotting one on the roof heading towards the side Ryouga was working to free Ukyo, Ranma frowned and leapt, wishing she had the confidence to charge up a Moko Takabisha, but feeling too drained to do much more than shake the creature up. Leaping towards it, she decided to try a different attack, and snapped her arm forward as she descended.

"Kijin Raishuu-Dan!" she shouted, launching a vacuum blade at the creature's exposed neck. The head topped to the roof, and Ranma grinned as she landed beside it, avoiding the spreading puddle of acid as it began eating its way through the roof. Suddenly realizing that Ukyo might still be inside, Ranma jumped over the side, shouting for Ryouga to hurry.

Ryouga snarled at Ranma's shout, knowing the opening was too small for him to squeeze through. Ranma looked at it then pushed Ryouga out of the way, diving through the narrow gap and scooping up Ukyo as the ceiling above her began to discolor and hiss ominously.

Something dripped on Ranma's shoulder, and she suppressed a shout as it began to eat into her skin. Moving with Ukyo towards the hole, Ranma heard Nabiki scream outside, and shoved Ukyo through the hole at Ryouga, hearing something fall to the floor with a muffled splat behind her. Droplets of the creature's acidic blood splattered on her clothes, and she leapt through the hole before ripping her pants off, hopefully before the acid or fumes began affecting her legs.

Nabiki screamed again, and Ryouga turned away, just in time to see Nabiki fall back as a creature landed right where she'd been standing. Ranma leapt forward, kicking the thing in the head and knocking it back, before scooping Nabiki up and running. Ryouga followed, silently praying that his directional sense wouldn't kick in as he carried Ukyo.

Ranma wasn't sure where she was headed, and didn't really care, just so long as she got Ryouga, Ukyo and Nabiki away from those things. Taking stock of herself as she ran, she winced as she felt the throbbing ache in her chest, the sharp pain of a hot piece of metal stuck in the muscle of her arm and her chest, the sting of a diluted acid burn on her shoulder, and a dozen or so cuts she'd sustained jumping through a plate-glass window. Fortunately, aside from being sore from use, her legs seemed to have avoided taking any damage so far, and Ranma briefly thanked her touch-and-go luck for that as she sped through the prefecture.

Ryouga didn't take his eyes off Ranma- didn't blink- as he followed rapidly through the streets of Nerima. Finally, Ranma stopped, and Ryouga had to leap over the girl to avoid running into her. Looking up, Ryouga recognized the Tendo Dojo, and blinked as Ranma suddenly turned away, heading almost back the way they came.

"Ranma? Where the hell-"

"Not there. There's... I can't go back there," Ranma muttered almost too quietly for Ryouga to hear. A few minutes later they landed outside of Ukyo's restaurant and Ranma pulled the door open with her foot, slipping inside and shutting the door after Ryouga had entered.

"Well, now what?" Nabiki asked, staring up at Ranma. Ranma set Nabiki down and winced as the Tendo accidentally bumped into her chest. Nabiki looked at Ranma's chest and frowned. "You need to change back and hope that heals, Ranma. It looks like you ruptured something."

Nodding, Ranma made her way behind the counter, while Ryouga set Ukyo down in a booth.

Nabiki followed Ranma, pulling a first aid kit out from under the counter and made her way over to Ukyo, who was groaning slightly.

Quickly cracking the kit open, Nabiki pulled out some rubbing alcohol and a couple cotton swabs and began wiping away the bloody knot on the back of the chef's head. Ranma, groaning as he turned male and every wound shifted along with him, made his way over to the kit and pulled out

a pair of tweezers before gritting his teeth and digging around for the shotgun pellets in his arm and chest.

Ryouga, not sure how he could help, made his way over to the window and began watching the streets outside for any more of those things.

When Ukyo's head was bandaged as best Nabiki could do, and Ranma had taped and bandaged the largest and worst of his wounds, the two of them stared at each other quietly for a moment before speaking.

"We've got to stop these things..." Nabiki said.

"I have to... I... Nabiki, you can't fight these things..." Ranma said, slowly.

"This is no time for-"

"No, Nabiki, Ranma's right," Ryouga said, interrupting her. Nabiki glared at him, but remained silent.

"Well, we still have to figure out where they're coming from," Ranma muttered, staring at the ceiling and wincing as his shoulder tingled. He'd done his best to clean up the acid burn and dig out the melted metal and roofing material, but it still stung, and he wondered just what kind of crap was leaking into his bloodstream from that.

"I don't see how they're moving around without everyone seeing them," Nabiki said, scowling.

"Sewers," Ranma muttered, remembering seeing one pop out of a manhole outside the police station.

Ukyo groaned, then wheezed, "the other night, Ran-chan... open-sewer..."

Ranma sighed as he remembered meeting Ukyo before the rain the night before his life went to hell.

"So, they're using the sewers to get around," Nabiki said, looking out the window at a manhole cover. "Most of the missing people cases happened around the east side of the commercial district," she continued, then frowned, "I don't remember any cases taking place to the west, where people live."

"So where are they coming from?" Ranma asked.

"The east," Ukyo said softly, managing to point out the obvious.

"Well, yeah, but, I mean, where-where?" He emphasized.

"Umm... I might know something about that," Ryouga said, making his way over to the table.

"What do you mean?" Ukyo asked, frowning.

"Well, I was in Akita when -" Ryouga started, before being interrupted.

"Ryouga! This is no time for stories!" Nabiki shouted.

Ryouga frowned at her, and continued, "I met a man, he said he was a vet, and his truck had broken down on the way to Tokyo."

"That's great, Ryouga... but not exactly important," Ranma growled.

"Damn it, Ranma! Listen to me! The guy had a cow with some sort of THING attached to its face!" Ryouga nearly shouted.

Nabiki paled, "you mean..."

Ryouga nodded, "Yes!"

"But," Ukyo said, looking up at Ryouga, "how'd they get to Tokyo?"

"Well, I offered to push him to Tokyo-"

"YOU BROUGHT THESE THINGS HERE!" Ranma shouted, jumping to his feet.

Ryouga fell back, surprised by Ranma's sudden outburst. "I... I don't know. The thing didn't look anything like those things out there. It was pale and all fingers and..."

"Ryouga," Nabiki crouched before the lost boy, her eyes deadly serious, "listen to me... Where did you take it?"

"I... the vet said he had a friend at the University."

"But Tokyo University is nowhere near here!" Nabiki said, the only one in the room who knew anything about the college.

"It's not?" Ryouga asked, looking surprised.

Nabiki scowled at him, then turned to Ranma, "we have to check it out."

"No, you're catching the first train out of town... Or plane. Ukyo's going with you."

"The hell I am." Ukyo said, pulling herself up so she was sitting more than laying.

"Ukyo, look at you, you're-" He started to say.

"What? I'm what, Ranma? Have you taken a look in the mirror lately?" Ukyo suppressed a wobble as the world swam around her, before continuing, "Akane was my friend, too. And Kasumi... no... This is personal. The only way to keep me out of this is by force. And none of us are in great shape; we'll need to work together if we're going to survive this." The Chef shook her head determinedly. "No, I'm going."

Ranma looked at his friend's bandaged head, decided against knocking some sense into her, and then sighed, "Fine. But Nabiki-"

"Oh no you don't! My family was slaughtered by these things... I'll have my revenge. You can not deny me this, Saotome."

Ranma snarled. "Well that's just fine, then!" He shouted, throwing his hands up in exasperation as he ranted. "We can all just wander around, wanted by the police and dodging those things like it's all a fucking stroll in the park. Maybe I should invite some classmates, too!"

The three stared at Ranma, surprised at both the outburst, and that he'd given in so easily.

"Okay then, let's go," Ryouga said, standing up. Nabiki stood as well, but Ukyo, when she tried to, stumbled, pulling Nabiki with her towards the floor. Ranma caught them before they could complete their fall, but winced as Nabiki landed against the oozing wound in his chest, and Ukyo draped her arm over the acid burn.

"On second thought," Nabiki muttered, glaring at Ukyo.

"I'm sorry," Ukyo muttered, staring at the floor. Nabiki sighed, looking at the clock.

"No... we're all hurt... Ryouga and I had to break out of the hospital, and despite everything, I feel queasy and unstable, too. We need to rest before we try to go anywhere."

"Rest? We don't have time!" Ranma shouted.

"Then. Make. Time." Nabiki growled through clenched teeth. When Ranma frowned at her, she prodded the bandage on his chest, making eye contact the entire time, and watched him wince in obvious pain. "Unless I'm mistaken, I'm the only one who knows their way to the University anyway. So let's get some sleep."

"Sleep? How the hell are we supposed to sleep with those things out there?" Ranma asked, incredulously.

"Ryouga and I aren't as hurt, so we'll take turns keeping an eye out. You and Ukyo need it the most," Nabiki retorted logically.

Ranma frowned at her.

"Actually," Ukyo said, looking somewhat annoyed, "aren't concussion victims supposed to be kept awake for 24 hours?"

"Yes," Nabiki mumbled, somewhat surprised the chef knew that, "Still, you and the rest of Nerima's martial artists aren't exactly normal... you might not heal as fast as Ranma, but I think it's safe to let you get some rest... you were unconscious earlier and you came around."

Ukyo nodded, before shuffling off towards the back room. The others followed her, and Ranma paused to look out the windows one last time before closing the door to the stairwell and following the others upstairs.

Staring at the small bed, Ranma began lying down on the floor, before Ukyo nudged him with her foot. "What?" He snapped.

"Get on the bed, Ranma..." Ukyo said, sounding exceedingly tired.

Ranma shook his head, "You take it, Ukyo. It's not right to make you sleep on the floor."

"No, sleep with me," Ukyo insisted, now tugging at his uninjured arm. Ranma pulled his arm from her grip and spun to pin her with a glare, fury in his eyes. "You're thinking about that now? What the-!"

"No!" Ukyo cried, backing up, "Not like that! I'm freezing! And you're shivering, too. Get in the bed, and we can share body heat."

"I'm not cold," Ranma insisted, moving back towards the center of the room.

Ukyo just sighed and looked at Ryouga, who sheepishly picked Ranma up and put him in the bed beside the wall.

"What the hell do you think you're doing!" Before he could move, Ukyo had collapsed beside him, and pressed her back up against him as she curled up on the bed.

Ranma glared at her for a moment, and considered climbing over her, but Nabiki and Ryouga both didn't seem to care, and he was feeling chilled. Grumbling to himself, he pulled Ukyo's blanket up over them and turned his back to the chef, before slipping away into sleep. Right before consciousness faded, he heard Ukyo call his name softy.

"Yeah?" he asked, his voice sounding just as tired as hers had.

"I'm also... well... scared," Ukyo said, the final word so soft he might have imagined it. Right before old habits kicked in and he teased her about it, he paused, his sleep-laden mind processing her words briefly before a single answer tumbled out of his mouth and he faded into sleep with her. "Me too."

What felt like a couple seconds later, someone was shaking him. Jerking around, he looked up at Nabiki and Ryouga, who both looked a little better (relatively speaking).

"Time to go, Ranma. You and Ukyo have been asleep for six hours," Nabiki explained.

"Six hours?" He said, sitting up. Looking at the window, Ranma growled at the overcast weather, then looked at Ukyo's bedside clock. 3 p.m.

Nabiki woke Ukyo up, who grudgingly climbed out of bed, looking weak from sleep, but not as shaky as she'd been earlier.

Making her way to her dresser, she quickly pulled out some clothes to change into, and tossed Ranma some clothes before leaving the room. A minute later she returned, looking freshly dressed and a bit more awake. Ranma had pulled on the clothes, ignoring the way they were a little tight in the shoulders and short in the arms and legs, and the four of them headed downstairs.

"One second," Ukyo said, making her way over towards the grill. Reaching behind it, she pulled out another large spatula, and the strap she wore it on when she wasn't holding it, slipping it over head before slinging the weapon.

Ranma nodded, and the four slipped outside and headed northwest, towards the University.

"Ranma, without the police, what's going to happen," Ryouga asked, staring at the barren streets.

"Umm..." Ranma replied, unsure himself.

"There are still police... by now, they've probably got the JSDF on their way, if they're not here already," Nabiki said. A moment later, a military jeep pulled up, and an enlisted man jumped out, his rifle slung but loaded.

"You four, there's a city-wide curfew in effect. Everyone is to remain indoors unless there's an emergency. Some sort of beast is loose in town," the soldier stated.

"God, it's nice to know the authorities have most of the facts," Ukyo muttered.

"There's a lot of them, actually," Nabiki said, frowning. The man said nothing, but by the way he reacted, it was obvious he knew that.

"They're coming from the east, using the sewers," Ranma added. The soldier's eyes widened slightly. He hadn't known that. Before Ryouga, Ukyo, or Ranma could say anything else, Nabiki spoke up, "We were attacked... we're on our way to the hospital."

The soldier looked the four over and nodded, for the first time seeing all the bandages and bruises.

"We'll have to escort you there, whatever these things are, they attacked a police station... killed almost every officer in the area."

Ranma opened his mouth to let the soldier know that they'd been there, when Nabiki elbowed him, accidentally hitting the wound in his chest. Wincing in pain, he nodded slightly as Nabiki scowled at him before asking the soldier if everyone was alright.

"No," the private replied, not giving any more details.

Nabiki paused, before frowning. "Well... if it's as bad as you say, we know our way to the hospital. You could continue your patrol..." She trailed off as the solder shook his head.

"No, ma'am. If something were to happen to you, I'd be held responsible, and I radioed in when I spotted you. There's room in the jeep if you all squeeze in a little."

The four tried to protest without it looking like protesting, but the soldier was resolute, and finally they climbed in, knowing there was no point in arguing further.

"Well, while we're there, we might as well get patched up properly," Ukyo said, prodding the wound on her head gently and wincing as the dull pain spiked at the contact.

Nabiki glanced at the soldier, who was busy talking into a handheld radio while driving, before returning her attention to the others. "The hospital is mostly on the way to the University. We won't be going too far out of our way."

Ranma shrugged, "If nothing else..." He trailed off momentarily, frowning before continuing, "If nothing else, we can tell my pops what's up."

Ryouga sighed. "I just... want to get this over with."

The others nodded in mutual silence as the jeep carried them towards the Hospital.

Author's Notes: Meh.. a little short, but damn, I've been sitting on that forever and a day. I was never satisfied with a few scenes, but only after all this time did I finally realize what I'd done wrong and fixed it. So now, it's here, and ready to go... and hopefully, now that a near-three-year blockage has finally been removed, I can finish this. Hopefully in about three more chapters. Thanks to Parker and Nate, who managed to help resolve my complaints and point out to me that 'new' cannot be used in lieu of 'knew.' Maybe that's one of the causes behind my feelings of incompleteness? Whatever the case may be, hopefully chapter four won't take nearly as long as three has.