I don't own Ranma or Power Rangers

The sky is dark and cloudy. She comes shooting from out of it and lands on a building. She takes a cell phone-like device from her side and speaks in it. "I'm here." She looks around and sighs. "Are you sure he's around here?"

A voice comes from the other side. "Yeah. You should be right on top of him."

"Right on top of him?" She goes to the side of the building and looks over. A small crowd of people has gathered in front of the rather large building she's standing on. She shrugs. "Might as well check it out."

Getting in proved to be easier than she first thought. The bouncers at the front door were distracted by a fight that allowed quite a few people to enter without paying. ("What is this place?") She wonders. She walks through a hallway towards the sounds of cheering. She turns a corner and stops dead in her tracks. "What is this place?" She asks herself once more. There are bleachers, concession stands, and a large fighting ring of some kind. Within the bleachers men and women are drinking alcohol and flashing money. A few of them are speaking to people with pads of paper. The men with the paper are writing furiously and taking money from different people. She hears a few people shouting about unfair odds or something upon those lines. Then it hits her. ("Underground fights!") She draws herself away from the crowd and slowly makes her way to the bleachers. ("What would he be doing here?") She reaches the bleachers just in time to hear the announcer begin to speak.

"Ladies and gentlemen now that all bets have been placed we will now move onto our next fight." He stops to clear his throat. "In the red corner we have local favorite Michel Daniels!" A large black man, about 6' 6" and weighing around 250 pounds, steps away from the corner. He acknowledges the crowds cheering with a few waves and fist pumps. "Michel is the local champ and is facing off against a newcomer to this area, Ranma Saotome!" A black haired Asian man takes a step away from the corner and nods to his opponent. The cheers he receives are noticeable less; in fact a few laughs are thrown in.

The girl stands up suddenly and gasps. "Ranma!" Her surprised shout is lost within the noise of the crowd.

"You know the kid?" An older man asks her.

She nods. "Yeah. He's a friend of mine."

The man snorts. "Don't know what he's thinking, but that Daniels guy is going to tear him apart. That guy's the champ around here, never lost not once. Just hope your friend has some good insurance."

The girl shakes her head. ("What is he doing? Without his magic there's no way he can go up against that guy. He's got to be twice Ranma's size.")

"Fighters to the center of the ring!" The announcer calls out. Ranma and Michel stand facing one another studying each other. "Now remember the rules," He pauses for dramatic effect. "There are none! Ha!"

Michel smirks. "Don't worry kid, I won't hurt you too much." Ranma doesn't acknowledge the man's comment. "Not gonna say anything kid?" Ranma doesn't move or speak. Michel shrugs. "Fine by me."

"When you're ready!" Both opponents nod. "Fight!"

Michel is on Ranma immediately. He lays into him with punch after punch. The force of the strikes causes Ranma to fall back step after step. A powerful roundhouse kick tosses him to the side. Michel begins laughing at the young man. "Is that all you're gonna do? Just sit there and be a punching bag for me?"

The girl in the stands cringes with every strike. She gasps when the kick lands. She is on her feet and making her way to the ring before she even knows it. "Ra…" Her words die in her throat. And indeed everyone in the building goes silent.

Michel's eyes are wide and his mouth is hanging open in shock. "No way," He mutters.

Ranma slowly stands. He brings his left hand to the side of his head and forces it to the side cracking it. He then brings his right hand to the corner of his lips and wipes the trickle of blood away with his thumb. His emotionless eyes fall on his opponent. Michel takes a step away from the dead eyes. "That it?"

It takes a moment for his words to register. But when they do Michel's reaction goes as expected. "You little shit!" He screams. His charges is wild and lacking any skill. He lashes out with a single punch, a punch that is skillfully redirected by Ranma. It takes a second for Michel to regain his control and turn. A slipper covered foot fills his vision for a millisecond, and the all is black.

Ranma sighs as he sits alone in an isolated corner of the building. ("Beat the local champ and everybody runs away. Buncha wimps.")

"Ranma?"

He doesn't look. He doesn't need to. He knows the voice. "What do you want Maddie?"

Maddie sighs. "I want you to come home."

Ranma frowns. "Don't have one of those." He finally looks up at her. "You guys made that abundantly clear."

She bows her head in shame. "Yeah we screwed up big time. We jumped to the wrong conclusion. Please forgive us Ranma, we made a mistake."

Ranma's eyes narrow. "You betrayed my trust." They're silent for a moment before he speaks ago. "What are you doing here anyway? Shouldn't you be off saving the world or something?"

"Korrag beat us Ranma." Her voice is small and meek. "He beat us and took our combining power. He used it to bring up this guy named Morticon. Our power alone wasn't enough to free him permanently, but Korrag kept it." She looks up at Ranma with tears in her eyes. "We need you Ranma! We can't do this without you!"

"You need me?" He asks her in a sarcastic tone.

"Yes! You're our leader and best fighter!"

"I'm no leader."

"Please!" She falls to her knees and places her hands on his shoulders. Ranma's eyes go wide. "Please! I'll do anything! Anything! I swear I'll never leave you! I'll never abandon you! I'll never betray you! Never again!" She hugs him to her and buries her face in his shirt.

"I'll never leave you, Ranma."

The words echo in his mind, words spoken by someone else long ago. "Never?" He asks in a hopeful whisper.

"Never."

"Never."

The words are whispered back.