Before anybody dared break the silence, Akane finally growled, "Why isn't it getting granted?"
Ranma drawled out, "Alright, Akane. Pay attention to me; You're the genie of that lamp now because you used my wish, I one I handed to you, to become a genie. Thing is, this lamp only grants a person one wish. You used mine. You may be a new genie, but that counts for nothing. I'm a guy you can NEVER grant a wish to, unless you get put in something else. Likewise, anyone else can make their one wish, but unless they want to become this lamp's genie or wish for your freedom, you're going to be stuck in there." Ranma sighed in disgust after having begun the longest oration of his life to date. "I knew, knew that any way I went, I'd never get my wish. I never do, and I think I never will. But this time at least, nobody has anyone to blame but themselves. It's the best I could hope for."
Akane blinked, then she did the one thing none of the dojo inhabitants would have guessed. She started chuckling, with Ranma joining in before they shifted steadily louder to nearly insane laughter.
When Nabiki started to glare at Ranma and open her mouth for some scathing comment, Ranma just rolled his eyes as Akane let her sister have it. "He's right, we don't! I certainly have myself to blame for this, since I was wishing from jealousy, pure and simple. You people have seen wishes and magics screw up around Ranma for months now! Yet not one of you stopped me. Face it, he's right!" Still smiling, she banged Ranma with her lamp and shuddered as if shaken while he rubbed his head, saying a trembling "Ranm-nma n-no bakaka!" in a fond tone.
Genma made a lunge for the lamp as the yen dropped, only to get a SEVERE beat down by Ranma in the background while Kasumi and Nabiki chatted with Akane. Nabiki started with "Alright, you're saying he had that right from the start, how did he figure it out?"
Akane smiled as she said, "Well, you know Ranma in battle mode, and he obviously saw this as a fight. Given how magic is around him, I can't blame him. I'd say he got clued in seeing this." She called up the chalkboard, complete with Genie Limitations:
Rule #1: You can't simply wish for more wishes. Not permitted. Not gonna happen.
Rule #2: The power of Life & Death is not within the province of this particular genie. He'd have to contact an outside source - and if that's a no go - you'd have wasted your wish. So no killings, and no resurrections.
Rule #3: All wishes will comply with the Law Of Conservation Of Magics, least amount of magic required to reach the specified result.
Rule #4: No run-on wishes.
Rule #5: No intrinsic world-wide changes in personality allowed. World peace would require everyone in the world to either be dead or mellowed out to the point of near catatonia.
Nabiki raised a eyebrow. "Rule makers saw Aladdin?"
Kasumi murmured to herself. "They have been keeping a eye on genies since enslaving them this way, I suppose."
Akane said "Hit the floor!" as Genma flew straight at (then over) the sisters and genie to hit the retaining wall and do a floater as a panda. Ranma walked up and collected the lamp from Akane, who smoothly continued, "Probably something like that, yeah."
Ranma hitched a thumb at the blackboard as it faded out. "Talking about the rules, I take it. You know, you could have Kasumi make the wish, unless she mentions becoming a genie I don't think it's gonna stuff her in there. And it's not self interest if that's what you're afraid of, as you don't have that problem at the moment, as long as" Before whispering the last words of his intent into Akane's ear. She turned white for a second, then flushed and hugged Ranma, saying, "Not bad, fool!"
Nabiki said "Hang on, hold up a moment! what's this all about?"
Ranma said "Like you read, anybody I let have this lamp can make one wish, under the limits you just read. They apply, too. Akane wound up a genie of this lamp because she didn't ask to get a different lamp, and this took less magic. You see?" Nabiki simply nodded, paling at the notion Ranma got a concept before she did.
Ranma continued, "Now, you Tendo sisters have a problem. Akane doesn't just now, but she'd get it back once she was freed." As Akane gasped and blinked, he shrugged. "Like you said, I'm better in combat when it comes to thinking these things through. And since genies are slaves of their powers, it's completely sensible for them to not be able to benefit themselves by the use of those powers. Otherwise she'd just fix this mess. As it is, that would be the same as benefiting herself so she'd likely never be able to be Akane Tendo again if she undid this mess on her own." He seemed to be choosing his words with extreme care, while looking at Kasumi a little sadly.
Kasumi just sighed. "So. That's what this is about." She looked about three decades older for a bit, then she blinked. "But they don't-"
Akane looked Kasumi steadily in the eyes. "We may not, but then again we might. Nabiki and I are both a bit different emotionally, and we certainly carry the recessives." Ignoring Nabiki's dash to pray at the toilet as she realized what they were speaking of, the current genie and former youngest Tendo said, "Ranma knows all about self interest screwing you over, so he caught on immediately. If I had the tendency for getting that damned cancer removed forever on my own, that's definite self interest.. unless I never became Akane Tendo again. As of now, I am Genie Akane, slave of the Lamp. Were I to use this power to remove the cancer and recessives without it being someone's wish, I'd either condemn myself to staying a genie forever or end up stricken with cancer the instant I ceased to be one."
Ranma interrupted. "However, someone else could wish for things that benefit a genie as long as it was also in their interest, so you could wish for all Tendo to be immune to and free of cancer. That would free you and any other Tendo of this, and leave Akane to hopefully be released by someone else's wish."
Kasumi was in a daze, and she kept muttering, "If I wish all Tendo were cured completely of cancer forever." in her shock. Akane gently took her lamp back and pressed it into Kasumi's hand at the right moment, then said "Granted." A whirlwind of nearly invisible light twirled through the Dojo and slid through the Tendo sisters, avoiding Akane as she was a genie at that moment. Akane was unconcerned as that wish was forever, and would invoke when she was freed. They all watched as the whirlwind carried off a blotching of something unseen that just felt wrong, heading off to remove any tendency for cancer in other Tendo since the wish was not just for the ones in the Dojo.
Ranma finally commented. "I don't know if this will help all Tendo worldwide, but at least Natsume and her sister will be cancer immune, I figure. Akane, I better secure the Lamp until you all figure out who deserves a wish." Accepting the Lamp back as Akane handed it over, Ranma took off before Genma could try to steal it again.
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(Posted Mon, 13 Feb 2006 08:07)
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