The morning was like any other in the Tendo house. Ranma was still asleep and the family had told Akane to wake him up.
"Get up Ranma, we're late," said Akane as she dumped a bucket of cold water on the sleeping Ranma.
Akane fought hard to suppress a laugh at Ranma's startled scream.
"You could have just shook me, you know," Ranma shouted.
"When has that ever worked?"
"And was the ice in the water really necessary?"
"Probably not"
Akane sighed, "Hurry up and get ready."
"Un-cute, tomboy," muttered Ranma to herself.
"I heard that," shouted Akane as she left the room.
Minutes later, Akane and Ranma were in there usual places. Akane was running on the sidewalk and Ranma was on the fence.
"You could have at least given me time to change back into a guy," said Ranma.
"You should have woken up earlier," replied Akane.
It was then that they heard a loud scream coming from the school gates.
"I wonder what's going on at the school," said Ranma.
"I just hope it's not something Happosai related," replied Akane.
They were soon spotted by Yuka and Daisuke. They looked exhausted, as if they had been running for their lives and they both had some strange looking white threads stuck on their cloths and hair.
"Thank goodness we found you," they said.
"What's going on," asked Akane.
Yuka panted, "Some creepy giant spider is attacking the school. Me and Daisuke were able to get away so we were trying to find either you or one of the other martial artists in the area to help take care of it."
"That spider's already captured at least fifty students. Heck even Kuno, the principal, and Ms. Hinako were captured," said Daisuke.
"I'm on it," said Ranma as she took off towards the school, completely forgetting Akane.
"Ranma, wait up", Shouted Akane.
A giant spider sounded a little more out of the ordinary than usual. Ranma was positive that it was the work of the dark warrior. Ranma quickly grabbed his jade figure from his pocket.
"I need Sheng Xiao power NOW," he shouted she shouted.
Ranma stopped dead in her tracks after she transformed.
"Oh no," she said.
Ranma looked down to see that she was wearing a red version of the girl ranger uniform, complete with skirt. "Why me," she cried.
"Are you really surprised," laughed Akane who finally caught up and already morphed.
"I'm wearing a skirt," Ranma shouted.
"I've seen you in skirts, dresses, and makeup before."
"I know, but it's not like I enjoy it."
"Well, you're wearing a helmet, so it's not like anyone can tell it's you."
"I guess you're right. But that doesn't mean I have to like the skirt."
With that, the two continued towards the school. They leaped up and perched themselves on the school gates. Thick spider webs covered the courtyard.
"Ranma, over there," said Akane as she pointed toward a tree.
Yuka and Daisuke weren't kidding. There was a large tarantula hanging a large bundle of webbing from one of the branches. The harry spider walked on two legs, while using it's six other limbs to hoist up the bundle. Each of its six arms had a single large claw at the end. It had four fangs on its face and they were drooling.
Akane gasped as the Spider's claws opened the bundle, revealing a person.
"How dare you do this to the blue thunder of Furinkan High School. Has the sorcerer Ranma Saotome sent you? Does he fear me so much that he dare not face me himself," shouted Kuno.
Ignoring him, the Spider opened its drooling mandibles and started draining Kuno's energy.
"When I get free, it will be the end of you," said Kuno. It wasn't long before he eyes grew heavy and he fell unconscious.
"That's enough," shouted Akane as she leaped into the schoolyard, followed by Ranma.
"It seems I've attracted some more flies into my web," said the Spider.
"Let our class mates go," said Ranma.
The spider laughed, "What are two little girls gunna do to me."
Ranma felt Akane's anger explode from that comment and he was glad he wasn't on the receiving end of it. Akane leaped toward the Spider, her hammer materializing in her hand.
The Spider was too slow to move out of the way, as Akane smashed its face with her hammer.
Ranma smiled to herself, he loved it when Akane took her anger out on someone that wasn't him. That's when he realized that the Spider purposely took the hit. She dashed forward to help but it was too late.
The Spider took advantage of Akane's opening and grabbed her with its six arms. Akane screamed in pain as the Spider sank its fangs into her side and tossed her aside like a ragdoll.
That did it; no one treated Akane like that. Ranma was mad and this spider was going down. She leaped up in the air, prepairing to strike down with her spear. But something happened that threw her off a little. The weapon that materialized wasn't a spear, it was a Dao sword.
It was a good thing Ranma was the king or queen of improvising. She started spinning in midair, becoming a human buzz saw.
Within the span of three seconds, Ranma had slashed the Spider fifty times, severing two of its limbs. Black fog erupted from the spider's wounds. Ranma then dashed around the courtyard, cutting open any bundles of web she saw, and freeing the students and teachers trapped within.
"I'll be back and I won't go as easy on you," yelled the Spider as it teleported away.
Ranma ignored the Spider as she rushed over to Akane. However, something was weighing her down, "Oh please no," Ranma groaned.
"For your bravery in battle, I shall allow you to date with me, my ruby warrior," said Kuno who was hugging her from behind. He had only just gotten free from the spider's web and his energy quickly recovered upon sight of the ruby warrior.
"Get off me," shouted Ranma as she kicked Kuno into the sky.
Ranma then turned her attention back to Akane. She felt hot, the Spider probably poisoned her when it bit her and now she had a fever. He had to get Akane to Cologne. If anyone knew what to do about the poison, she would.
She should have acted sooner. This wouldn't have happened if she had acted sooner.
Ranma and Akane de-morphed by the time they reached the cat café.
Because it was still early, the café wasn't that crowded.
"I need some help over here," yelled Ranma as he searched for Cologne.
"What happened?" asked Mousse as he ran down the stairs, followed by Shampoo.
"Akane was bitten by a giant Spider. Please tell me you have some kind of antidote," said Ranma.
"Akane such a clumsy girl," said Shampoo.
It wasn't long before Cologne came out of the kitchen, "The two of you need to get in the kitchen. Son-in-law, bring Akane up to my room."
Moments later, Ranma had placed Akane down on Colognes futon and was waiting for the old ghoul to do something.
Cologne placed her hands on Akane's forehead. She felt hot and and her temperature was climbing.
Cologne quickly moved toward her cabinet of potions. She grabbed a small bottle of blue liquid and walked back over to Akane. She opened the bottle and held it under Akane's nose, letting her breath the fumes.
"She should be fine in a few hours. Go downstairs and get something to eat," said Cologne.
"Wait, that's it," said a shocked Ranma.
"It's only spider venom. That's very easy to cure."
Ranma sighed and walked downstairs, grabbing some hot water from the kitchen and transforming back into a boy. As he sat, he pulled out his jade figure, twirling it on his finger. Morphing was becoming like a second nature to him. But was that a good thing. He remembered a time when he didn't need any kind of special power to defeat his enemies. Heck when he fought Herb, he destroyed a mountain.
"I shouldn't have to rely on this thing," he said to himself. He was Ranma Saotome, the greatest martial artist on earth. Before he got this power, he probably would have been right next to Akane, fighting his heart out. She wouldn't even have to lift a finger.
"This is to perfect," laughed Kage. He was watching Ranma over his mirror and laughing at his overconfidence. The Spider had reappeared in the palace not long after his fight with Ranma and Akane. "Koruma, Masara, are the enhancements finished yet?" yelled Saffron.
"Just about, master," said Masara as he welded some metal pieces together.
"Thank you for giving me another chance my lord," said the Spider.
"Think nothing of it. I do have a new mission for you though. Once your enhancements are done, I want you to follow the red ranger and wait till he's alone. Once he's alone, you strike and wait for his overconfidence to get the better of him. I shouldn't have to tell you what to do from there."
"Excellent plan my lord," said the Spider.
Suddenly, the dark aura around Kage flared up, "And if you fail me again, I will squash you like the worthless insect you are."
"Doesn't he know spiders aren't insects," said Koruma.
"I'm not going to correct him," said Masara.
Ranma decided to take a walk. Akane was going to be fine and he didn't fell like having Mousse hurt himself trying to get him away from Shampoo.
He was still messing around with his jade figure. "Do I really need this thing," he asked himself.
Ranma continued walking until he found himself at a construction site. His whole walk, he felt like he was being followed. His usual stalkers would have made themselves known by now. Then again, he would not have felt so threatened by his usual stalkers.
"Show yourself," he yelled.
That's when he saw a tarantula walk in front of him, then within seconds it transformed into the Spider from earlier. To top it off, the Spider had two new arms to replace the ones he cut off.
"Back for more," said Ranma.
"Your overconfidence will be the end of you," said the Spider.
Ranma smiled. This was too perfect. All he had to do was beat this spider down and that would prove he didn't need the jade figure.
Ranma dashed forward, "Kachu tenshin amaguriken," he yelled while punching the Spider hundreds of times in the face.
Unfortunately, he left a small opening that the spider took advantage of. The Spider back handed Ranma with one of its new arms.
Ranma fell back and rubbed his arm, he felt like he had just been hit with a steel bar. That's when he realized, the Spider's new arms must be robotic. Oh well, that wasn't going to stop him.
Ranma leaped over the Spider, and kicked it hard in the back, causing the Spider to hit the ground.
"I thought, you'd have more than that Spidertron," laughed Ranma.
Suddenly, the Spider sprang up and shot out heavy strands of webbing from its arms. The webbing wrapped itself around Ranma's legs, causing him to fall to the ground.
The Spider laughed, "You spoke to soon. Now I will give you a gift from the dark warrior."
The next thing Ranma knew, the Spider was on top of him, lowering its new arms near his face. Suddenly, the claws on the new arms opened up and blasted dark fog directly into Ranma's face.
"That fog will soon invade your mind and you will become a slave to the dark warrior," said the Spider.
Ranma could feel it happening. His thoughts were leaving him and he felt weak. Forget this; there was no way he was going to be beaten by a chump like the Spider. Luckily, the Spider had forgotten to tie up his hands.
Ranma quickly grabbed the jade figure from his pocket, "I need Sheng Xiao power NOW".
Suddenly, Ranma's head felt clearer now and his strength was returning. Ranma's spear materialized in his hands and he used it to cut the webbing on his legs.
"Ready for round two," said Ranma.
"You think your fancy suit scares me," said the Spider.
"No, but this might"
Ranma jammed his spear into the ground and let his confidence fuel his aura, "Moko Takabisha"
A large blast of ki erupted from the red rangers' hands, blasting the Spider into a wall.
The Spider quickly recovered only to for something to hit him from behind and cause him to fall back on his face.
Ranma smirked as Akane, Shampoo, Ryoga, and Mousse appeared beside him in ranger form.
"The Spider is getting it's butt kicked" said Masara
"What should we do, master," said Koruma
Kage got up from his throne and walked up behind Koruma, yanking out one of his feathers, "This is all I need from you two idiots."
Then Kage infused the feather with his dark aura and tossed it through the magic mirror.
"And I thought you would be lost again Ryoga," said Ranma.
"I accidently stumbled into the Café a little while ago. How dare you let Akane get hurt like that," said Ryoga.
"Now's not the time you two," shouted Akane.
"Seriously, we're about to have a big problem," said Mousse.
The five of them looked onward as the black feather darted into the Spiders' back and infused him with its dark energy, causing it grow into a giant.
"I think it's time to call the zords," said Ranma.
The jade figures appeared before the rangers and ascended to the sky. The Rangers were soon teleported inside their respective zords as the stampeded down from the sky.
Once the rangers were inside their respective zords, Ranma announced, "This Spider is one of the few things in the world to make me mad. And I think it's time for me unleash the power of my zord."
The horse's eyes glowed and a wave of energy shot out of its eyes, hitting the other zords.
"What happening?" said Shampoo as she felt her zord being drawn to Ranmas'.
Inside their respective zords, the other rangers felt the same.
Suddenly, the horse's hind legs folded upwards and it's front legs folded in as though it were crouching. The cylinders on the horse's shoulders extended outward and radiated energy towards the tiger and pig zords.
Suddenly, the legs on the tiger and pig each folded in and their heads turned sideways.
The ox's legs also folded in and then it's back opened up. The ox's head folded upward finally transforming the ox into what appeared to be a pair of legs.
The horse then attached itself to the ox legs and the tiger and pig attached themselves to the cylinders on the horse's shoulders.
Lastly, the rooster flew up and landed on the horse's shoulders. The horse's mane then sunk in and the rooster nestled inside the groove. Its wings wrapped around the horse's head and its tail rose upward. The tail feathers twirled around revealing a face that reminded the rangers of a ninja warrior with a mohawk
The other four rangers soon found themselves inside the same cockpit as Ranma. They looked around, to find Ranma sitting at a terminal, his grin very noticeable, even through his helmet.
"Zodiac Megazord, power up," shouted Ranma triumphantly while the other four shook the heads and took their seats at the four empty terminals. Each terminal looked liked a regular computer screen, complete with keyboard.
"That won't help you at all," laughed the Spider.
The Spider quickly leaped forward, slashing at the megazord with its claws. The megazord stumbled backwards and fell. Then the Spider shot out a stream of webbing from its claws, trapping the megazord in a web.
"Now what Ranma," asked Shampoo.
"Working on it," said Ranma.
"Well, work faster, my terminal isn't working," said Ryoga.
Suddenly, a surge of lightning came from the web, zapping the megazord.
"Guys, we're in trouble. My terminal just froze," said Akane.
"Mine too," yelled Mousse.
Ranma then shouted, "Ok I think I've got it, if I divert power from the core, we can activate the feather blades on the head."
Ranma pounded on several keys, and suddenly, Mousse's terminal unfroze.
"Do now, Mousse," said Ranma.
"On it, activate feather blades now," said Mousse as he pounded on his keyboard.
Ranma then looked at Ryoga, Akane, and Shampoo, "Ok, once Mousse, gets the head through through, you guys use the arms and legs to push us through the web. Hopefully the force should tear right through it."
The mohawk on the megazords' head started glowing with energy and then it leaned forward slicing a small tear. The Spider sensed what was about to happen and charged forward in an attempt to stop it.
Suddenly the megazord sprang up, tearing through the web. It raised a fist and punched the Spider in the face, causing it to fall back.
"Wow, for once Ranma had a plan that worked," said Ryoga.
"I'm not done yet," laughed Ranma as he punched in several keys.
Then the tiger's mouth opened and a burst of energy erupted, forming a sword. The tiger's mouth closed in around the blade as it finished materializing.
The Spider got up, "I'm not through yet," it said before firing another blast of webbing.
The megazord quickly slashed the webbing without any effort. It then dashed forward, jumping over the Spider and slicing into its back.
The Spider spun around, attacking with its claws. The megazord easily dodged the attacks with simple side steps.
"I think it's time to end this," said Ranma. He and the other rangers quickly typed in several keys and their terminals read, "Final strike activated."
The megazord slashed twice in the air, forming an 'X' made of pure energy. The 'X' then flew towards and passed through the Spider.
Seconds later, the Spider exploded into a cloud of black fog.
"Master, that vein on your temple looks like it's going to burst," said Koruma.
Suddenly Kage's fist shot out and knocked Koruma off his feet and too the ground.
"We'll just leave you alone," said Masara as he drug Koruma off.
As they sat outside the throne room, Masara muttered to himself, "He's scarier than old lady Keima."
"Who's old," yelled Keima as she punched Masara in the face.
The rangers happily returned to the Cat Café for some well earned rest.
The other four were inside eating while Ranma sat outside the Cat Café, reflecting on the day's events. On one hand, he was doing fine against the spider without his powers. On the other, he could have been turned into a slave without them.
"Shampoo informed me of what happened," said Cologne as she appeared beside him.
"That's nice," said Ranma, before passing his jade figure back to Cologne, "I don't need this. I can beat down any bad guy without the use of ancient powers."
"And what will you do if the demons grow large like they've been known to do."
Ranma became silent.
"Didn't think that one through did you. Besides, you should be thankful. The jade figures can purify the power of the dark warrior and without it; you can't hope to defeat him."
"Oh, please, I can handle him on my own."
Cologne sighed , the she got an idea, "You know, I hate to give you a bigger ego but, like it or not you and the other four are a team now. Every team needs a leader. And from what my great granddaughter tells me, you took charge when I came to defeating that demon today."
"I guess I did didn't I."
"And do think any of the other four can lead?"
"No, Ryoga would find a way to get the megazord lost. Shampoo wouldn't be able to focus. Mousse is blind as a bat. And Akane would probably barrel in without thinking. I guess I am the best to lead."
"I guess you are son-in-law," laughed Cologne. He was so easy. As she walked back inside, she left the jade figure behind and smiled when Ranma took it.
I won't lie. I totally phoned it in on the megazord. I pretty much ripped off the wild force megazord. So to recap what it looks like, just picture the wild force megazord with a Mohawk and a pig where the shark should be.
Anyway, I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter. I appreciate the constructive criticism and the suggestions for story ideas. I won't lie, I feel a little in over my head with this fic.
